Chapter 3.2

After showing a brief glimpse of the interview, the screen returned to the briefing room.3

Anchor Hong Aran looked straight at the camera and continued.

-Galhyeon-dong’s righteous man, it was an interview with Mr. Sun. Fortunately, Mr. Sun only had a mild concussion despite him rolling down a hill. On the other hand, it is regrettable that the righteous passerby scored an average of level 1 on several mock tests by the Korea Institute of Evaluation.

[t/n: 1 is like… a perfect score, top 4%]

-It’s heartwarming yet unfortunate news. What about the other victim?

-The other victim, identified only by his surname Choi, was later taken to a hospital. Apart from a broken rib, we know that he only suffered minor bruising.

-I’m glad to hear that.

-Yes, of course.

-Has this incident put the Road Traffic Authority on a cutting board for poor license management?

At that point, I turned off the DMB screen.

When I opened the internet, I saw my name plastered in the news sections.

-On the day of the CSAT, an examinee saved an old man in his 70s…

-‘Galhyeon-dong’s righteous man’ Sun Woojoo-ssi, ‘compared to what I did, too much attention is uncomfortable’

-Seoul National Police Agency, reviewing commendation for Galhyeon-dong’s righteous man

Feeling the cold air, I looked up to the night sky.

Everything in the world was happening.

When I was a trainee, I used to imagine it every day.

To climb up on a stage and be well known, how would it feel if I became so famous that people know me from just hearing my name?

Ironically, that was my current situation.

Of course.

I know better than anyone else that this is just temporary interest.

But today, I was more famous than any trainee in the world.

Besides the grandiose title of righteous man, other parts have become hot topics on the internet.

Screenshots of my interview went around on the internet.

-wow so handsome lol

-but he looks really young.. i thought he was a highschooler

-if i was a director for a cram school for retaking exams id invite him right away and offer a years worth of paid tuition

Compliments for my appearance piled up to the point I felt like my arms and legs were crawling.

Rubbing my arms and legs, I read each comment one by one.

I was happy people showed interest, but it was strange.

Anyways, it’s true that my 2 years of studying were wasted.

“Huu…”

I felt the cold wind as I looked up at the night sky before looking back at my smartphone in my hands.

Messenger notifications kept popping up.

Countless notifications.

From close friends to acquaintances who contact me from time to time and those whom I don’t even remember the names of.

My usually quiet cell phone was exploding with people trying to contact me.

They probably just wanted to ask me how I was after looking at the news or the internet, but I didn’t feel like responding to everyone.

Right now, there was something more important.

I looked at the baseball in my hand.

An empty schoolyard.

Since it was the night of the CSAT, all the school lights were turned off.

I grabbed the ball when no one was looking.

What happened today.

It was necessary to investigate what happened.

As an experiment, I was going to throw the baseball at the playground stand when my phone suddenly vibrated.

The moment I saw the name on the screen, I couldn’t help but be startled.

What the, why is he calling all of a sudden?

I pressed the answer button.

“Hello?”

-Oh, you picked up?

I opened my mouth in surprise.

“What do you mean ‘picked up’, hyung.”

-Iya, you’re just calling me hyung. Did you forget my name already?

“Of course I remember.”

-As expected, my personal connections management power isn’t dead yet.

“Look at you, saying weird things. It seems like you’re all better now.”

The caller’s name was Yoon Seokhwan.

He was the manager who took care of me during my time as a trainee.

“Is your body okay, hyung? I heard that you quit because of your intervertebral disc as soon as I left.”

-How did you know?

“I heard from Taehyun-ie.”

Han Taehyun was a trainee with whom I prepared for TNT with.

After quitting, we kept in contact for a while but as soon as I got back from the army, I only checked to see if he was alive or dead on TV.

“Are you feeling better now?”

-I’m fine. I started working again while you were in the army.

“At TJ Entertainment?”

-I tried to go back but I heard my position was already filled. This is what all big companies do.

“The company’s kinda like that.”

We strengthened our friendship for a bit while naming the flaws of the company.

“Anyways, what’s up?”

-Do you think we only keep in contact for business?

“Yeah.”

-……

“We kept in contact for business, don’t think too badly.”

-There’s something I want to suggest.

“Can’t you say it on the phone?”

-You’re too much. It’s customary to speak to people face to face when it comes to business. Do you have any prior engagements today?

“No, none.”

-Then go out, punk. It’s been a long time, so let’s meet up. I’ll buy you a meal.

Gulp.

Come to think of it, I haven’t had the chance to have dinner since I was stopped here and there.

I coughed, feeling my stomach growl.

“I won’t go if it isn’t expensive.”

-I got my corporate card ready. Name the place.

“Sirloin.”

-Sirloin?

“Yeah, but not just any sirloin, Korean beef sirloin.”

-Didn’t you like pork?

That was true.

It’s still the same now.

As I rolled down from the icy hill, my last memory was especially clear.

45,000 won for 3 sirloins.

If it weren’t for that memory, I would’ve asked for pork belly.

-Anyways, I should’ve known you liked free stuff. Then, I know this amazing beef restaurant, wanna go there? You’re in Eunpyeong-gu right now yeah?

“How did you know?”

-‘How do you know?’, your face is everywhere on the internet.

To that extent?

-I’ll send the address to the meat restaurant by talk.

[T/N: talk is referencing kakaotalk]

“Hyung, it’ll take me some time to get there.”

-How long?

I replied while fiddling with the baseball.

“I got something I need to do.”

-Okay, call me when you leave.

I got up after ending the phone call.

I dusted off the dust on my backside with one hand and searched for something on MeTube with the other.

[MLB top plays]

Edited and uploaded videos of the best games of American major league baseball players.

When you click on the video, the gameplay was uploaded with BGM.

I held my breath while watching.

How long has it been?

I was only able to be sure once the video ended and advertisements rolled around.

A strange feeling.

While watching the video, I felt like I was being stimulated by an inexplicable sensory organ.

If I had to explain it somehow…

Beyond the five senses, a sixth sense.

The experiment I was doing right now served to test it.

After observing the rough play video, I put my phone in filming mode and set it on a stand.

Then, I took my time to widen the distance by stepping back and took a pitching position.

The moment I intended to throw the ball–.

Without me knowing, my body moved.

The same way I had thrown that police officer this morning.

My body moved by itself.

Woosh–

Because of the angle that went beyond my flexibility, I felt some pain, but only for a moment.

My right arm made a dynamic line.

[t/n: i hate action phrases]

Paang–!

The baseball hit the stand and bounced for a bit before rolling away.

Instead of picking it up, I immediately reached for my phone.

Then, I checked the video.

[First video]

Before watching the MLB video, I played the video I took first for comparison.

As the video began, I shuddered with embarrassment.

Every movement in the video was awkward.

During my trainee days, the nickname ‘robot’ stuck to me for no reason.

Starting from my drastically disconnected movement to my vague arms and limbs position.

Fwish.

The ball flew with no problems.

After that, I threw a few more balls, but there was no need to see any more.

I clicked back to exit the video and then clicked on the next video.

[Second video ]

Within seconds of the video playing, I let out a breath without realizing it.

Is that really me?

It was different.

The way my attention was handled was different from the first time.

It was a bit clumsy, but deserving of a ‘have you played baseball before?’

The interval between the videos was five minutes.

However, in just five minutes, the posture changed so much it was even unbelievable to me, the person involved.

There is only one factor that can explain the huge gap between the two motions.

It was that I had seen the pitching movements of the professionals.

Doubt became belief, and belief became conviction.

If I see a movement once, can I copy it?

For whatever reason, I didn’t know.

Maybe the concussion altered the nerve cells in my head, or maybe it’s heaven’s reward for my hard work.

But I was certain of two things.

“….ugh!”

My thighs ached.

This was my because my legs, which I raised beyond to imitate the pros, exceeded my level of flexibility.

I realized something while squeezing my stiff thighs.

My body can’t keep up with the movement.

In this world, there’s no such thing as a perfect freebie.

That was the first thing I was sure of.

And the second…

It was that a new road would open for me.

☾ ⋆･ﾟ:⋆･ﾟ:⠀ ⋆.:･ﾟ .: ⋆*･ﾟ: .⋆