An Unexpected Reunion at the After-Party

Even after his turn ended, Hyun didn’t go home.

He hadn’t really intended to eat yangdaechang with Song Him-chan, but he felt bad about leaving so heartlessly.

Since Him-chan had cheered him on so much, it seemed he should at least stay until Him-chan came out.

The excitement of pitching still coursed through his body. Detecting his trembling fingertips, Hyun let out a hollow laugh and shook his head.

He had resolved to be eliminated no matter what after facing Cha Seok-young, yet he had given it his all. He hadn’t known he was such a contradictory person.

The testing area curtain was drawn surprisingly quickly. It hadn’t even been 15 minutes since Song Him-chan went in. Song Him-chan, whose face had turned completely dark, stumbled out and his eyes widened when he spotted Hyun.

“Hyung-nim, you didn’t leave?”

He approached with a ghostly expression, mumbling. As the distance narrowed, the young face crumpled. Like a child who had fallen badly and then faced their parents, Song Him-chan crumbled the moment he stood before Hyun.

“Ugh, I totally messed up.”

He pouted his lips and then burst into sorrowful tears. Hyun quickly sat the loudly sobbing Song Him-chan on a chair. He tore off some tissues from afar and handed them to him, then crouched down in front of him.

“The results aren’t even out yet, why are you like this already?”

“No, really. Sniff, like a total lunatic… I threw wild pitches. It’s so embarrassing. All the balls went astray, sniff.”

Hyun silently patted Song Him-chan’s knee. He had been so cheerful all day that Hyun thought he would be stoic about the results, but it seemed he truly wanted to do well.

“I came here thinking this was truly my last chance…”

The trembling voice weighed on his heart. So many people were desperate, and here he was, conceitedly thinking he shouldn’t pass.

Hyun slowly let out a long regretful sigh and stood up.

“Him-chan, let’s go eat yangdaechang. Hyung will treat.”

He finally used the informal address that Song Him-chan had been begging him to use all day. Surprised, Song Him-chan even stopped crying and blinked slowly.

“But that’s a bit expensive, hyung-nim.”

That was all he said, sniffling. Thinking he was still just a kid, Hyun smiled and pulled him up. He patted his slumped shoulder to straighten it and walked with an arm around him.

“Because it’s expensive, hyung has to treat.”

“Ha, hyung-nim. I truly love you.”

“Him-chan, love comes so easily for you, huh?”

“That’s somewhat true.”

Song Him-chan grinned and roughly rubbed his tear-streaked face. His face, already devoid of tears, looked excited at the thought of yangdaechang.

The yangdaechang restaurant was hidden in a small alley opposite the stadium. Although it was a quiet residential area with small villas and houses lined up, the place was bustling with customers. Still, thanks to it being a weekday, they managed to get an empty table.

As Song Him-chan had warned, the prices were quite steep. Hyun was inwardly surprised when he checked the menu, but with a calm expression, he ordered three servings of yangdaechang and kimchi rolled noodles.

“If you want to drink, have one.”

“Oh, what about you, hyung-nim?”

He didn’t usually drink much. But wasn’t the twenty-one-year-old in front of him sparkling with swollen eyes? Deciding to match him with just one drink, Hyun pressed the call button.

“Soju or beer?”

“I drink everything well!”

“사장님 (Owner), please bring one soju.”

Soon, a soju bottle with a thin layer of ice on its surface and the food arrived. The pre-grilled yangdaechang cooked to a golden brown on the grill.

As promised, he only had one drink. Song Him-chan couldn’t hide his joy at the command to drink the rest himself, as it would be a waste.

“Hyung-nim is truly cool.”

With just this much kindness, Song Him-chan opened the floodgates of his heart and poured out his feelings. His complaints, starting with “Actually,” led to his feelings when he failed the draft, his grandmother’s illness, and his eldest brother’s nagging.

“This program, hyung-nim. It’s not just because I want to keep playing baseball, but I came here to show my brother that even a slow worm has a trick up its sleeve. To tell him to watch, that I’ll earn all of Grandma’s hospital bills. But I guess I really don’t have talent. It was obvious since I didn’t get drafted, and honestly, I was too greedy. Now I’ll just focus on making money. I need to get my act together if I want my younger siblings to be able to do what they want.”

Instead of premature comfort, Hyun refilled his glass. He could have offered platitudes about not being pessimistic because he had a bright future ahead, but he merely took some cooked meat and placed it on Song Him-chan’s plate.

Hyun had gone through such a period himself. Days when he saw no path forward, no escape. The desire to simply disappear, that alone, was still vivid.

The person who held onto Hyun, who was endlessly falling into darkness, was Kwon Hyuk-won, his current agency CEO. He met him by chance at the beach, and strangely, he read Hyun’s mind. He suddenly threatened, “You can’t die even if you jump in here?” and then asked to meet again the next day.

At the time, he thought he was a strange person, but now he somewhat understood his intentions. Hyun smiled slightly and held out his phone to Song Him-chan.

“Him-chan, do you want to come out again tomorrow?”

“Huh?”

“Let’s at least play catch every day, hyung and you.”

As he tapped the screen for Song Him-chan to enter his number, Song Him-chan’s eyes welled up. Wrinkles like walnuts appeared under his chin, and his lips twitched busily.

“Hyung-nim, I truly love you.”

It was another easy declaration of love. Even while sniffling, Song Him-chan diligently typed in his number, wrote ‘Cute Him-chan’ in the save name, and returned it.

Hyun smiled and shook his head, then paused. He thought he had just caught a glimpse of a face he shouldn’t see in his peripheral vision. No way.

“Jung Hyun, we meet again?”

Indeed, it was an unmistakable face. Cha Seok-young was approaching with a chilling smile.

Beyond him, the main PD and the judging panel members were visible.

It seemed they had all come for an after-party. Hyun quickly stood up, wiping away his expression of dismay. Song Him-chan, also realizing the situation, quickly bowed.

“Hello.”

“I told you this place was a hidden gem. I knew I’d run into someone. My handsome battery! Nice to see you?”

“Dae-gyu hyung, could you please be quiet for a bit?”

“You disrespectful junior, I don’t want to be!”

“We’re right next door. Looks like we can fold this partition and combine the rooms, so shall we just join tables? PD-nim, it’s just two people, you’ll pay for their meal too, right?”

“Ohh, Captain is so cool.”

In an instant, the surroundings became noisy. As attention gathered from other tables and the commotion grew, several staff members rushed over. All the wide-open sliding doors quickly began to close.

Hyun exchanged bewildered glances with Song Him-chan. They hadn’t even heard the results yet, and they were supposed to join the after-party? While they hesitated, the room was already opened up.

The space that had only a small four-person table combined with the next room, creating a 16-person seating area.

“You can leave early if you finish eating, so don’t feel pressured and just eat.”

Captain Baek Sung-joon said, sitting next to Song Him-chan. It was a rather kind tone, but laughter erupted from around them.

“Ah, how can they do that in this atmosphere? He’s only twenty-one.”

“Him-chan, you rascal, you won’t be able to leave until five AM now.”

“Yes! I can drink all night!”

“Oh, oh? Don’t force him to drink, really!”

Amidst the harmonious atmosphere, Hyun alone was serious. To his right sat the burdensome starting catcher Seon Dae-gyu, and to his left, Cha Seok-young. How on earth was he supposed to navigate this predicament? It was as he pondered with a serious expression.

“This is the first time we’re drinking together. Do you drink often?”

Cha Seok-young lightly nudged his arm and asked. Perhaps aware of the surrounding gazes, his voice was unusually affectionate, making Hyun’s ears tingle. Hyun subtly flinched and replied.

“No, I hardly ever drink.”

“And yet you came out alone with him and even drank with him. Jung Hyun, you’re a good hyung, aren’t you?”

Cha Seok-young closed the distance Hyun had painstakingly created. His lowered voice was damp and eerie.

“Have one drink with me too. We promised back then.”

“…Promise?”

“Even though you didn’t keep it.”

He felt the presence of a long smile on his earlobe. A shiver ran down his spine, translating into a specific memory.

“Cha Seok-young, on January 1st, let’s drink fairly. I’ll come to your house.”

“You’ll have your first drink with me?”

“It sounds a bit strange when you put it like that. But yeah, the meaning is generally right.”

“Okay, I’ll be waiting from the 31st.”

‘No way he still remembered that?’ He looked back in surprise, and Cha Seok-young held up a soju bottle. His smiling face, shaking the bottle, was as innocent as ever.

Hyun had never had more than three shots of soju outside of home. He felt anxious but couldn’t refuse the glass. Hyun extended his glass, feeling as though he was keeping a belated promise.

Cha Seok-young poured the drink. Cha Seok-young urged a toast, and they drank from their clinked glasses. Something he thought would never happen in his life was happening so naturally.

Everywhere the alcohol touched felt numb. As he managed to empty his glass, Cha Seok-young immediately refilled it.

“Hey, that’s enough.”

He whispered a small refusal, but Cha Seok-young gestured with his chin towards the captain. For a moment, he was puzzled by the captain’s amused expression, then the captain stood up and began a toast.

“Everyone worked hard at the tryouts today. And Hyun-ssi and Him-chan-ssi, you both did great.”

Everyone filled their glasses and raised them. Hyun also inevitably joined the line of glasses gathered in the middle of the table.

He ignored Cha Seok-young’s small tease from beside him, “You said you were done.”

“The weather will get cold now, so take care of your health, don’t skip training, and let’s watch out for injuries!”

“Ah, Captain, my arm’s going to fall off.”

“Alright. Come on, pitch again!”

“Run!”

“Re-emergence!”

“Dreamers!”

The clinking glasses were all emptied in one go. It seemed no one would scold him if he didn’t drink, but it was also an awkward situation to refuse.

In the end, Hyun closed his eyes tightly and gulped down the alcohol in one go.