The Genius Hitter Who Conquered America - Chapter 42

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 42
Soo-ho, Mark, and Casey emerged from the stadium and looked up at the sky in unison.
The season had truly ended.
Before them lay a new opportunity: the Arizona Fall League.
Casey was the first to break the silence.
He adjusted his bag and spoke casually.
“See you later.”
It was a brief farewell.
But within those words lay the promise to meet again in Arizona.
Knowing Casey’s usual demeanor, Soo-ho chuckled softly.
‘Casey has changed a bit.’
He was someone who normally avoided conversation with anyone, yet here he was, initiating a goodbye.
It felt good to have grown closer, even if only slightly.
“Yeah. Take care on the way.”
“Mm.”
As Casey disappeared without looking back, only Soo-ho and Mark remained.
Soo-ho spoke first.
“Mark. When exactly does the Arizona Fall League start?”
“According to the schedule, about two weeks from now?”
“Two weeks…”
Soo-ho stroked his chin, lost in thought.
Two weeks. Short if you thought about it one way, long if you thought about it another.
“So what do we need to prepare? Can we keep using the club’s training facilities?”
Mark shook his head in alarm at Soo-ho’s question.
“Whoa, whoa. Relax, Korean workaholic. No preparation needed.”
“What? Why?”
We’re heading to the best stage prospects can reach.
Soo-ho naturally believed preparation was essential.
But Mark thought differently.
“Right now, you absolutely need to rest.”
Mark’s expression turned serious.
“We joined late in the season, but we gave everything in every game, didn’t we? Your body is far more exhausted than you realize.”
It was a fair point.
Baseball is a marathon.
But for Soo-ho and Mark, this season had been like sprinting at full speed every single day.
Unlike players who build their bodies gradually from winter through spring, finding their rhythm.
Being thrust into the season mid-stream, adapting to an unfamiliar environment, and pouring out that energy had drained them doubly.
So now, the battery was nearly depleted.
Forcing training now would only increase injury risk without any benefit.
“Besides, the Arizona Fall League isn’t a place to learn—it’s a place to prove yourself.”
To catch the scouts’ eyes, a player must demonstrate 100%—no, 120% of their capabilities.
To catch the scouts’ eyes, a player must demonstrate 100%—no, 120% of their capabilities.
“To do that, putting down the bat right now is the right call. Recovering your body to peak condition. That’s the only preparation we need to focus on right now.”
Soo-ho nodded at Mark’s words.
He was right. There was no way I could compete against players in the upper leagues with artificially squeezed-out stamina.
I wanted to show my best self there as well.
‘I heard that if I perform well, I can get promoted.’
If so, I should be able to satisfy the condition the Dodgers had set: promotion to the upper league within a year.
Even with time remaining.
Achieving it faster would be better for me too.
I’d be able to play baseball with a lighter heart.
“Got it. Then I should rest well for two weeks and get my body in lighter shape.”
“Yeah. Exactly that.”
Mark smiled with satisfaction.
But soon his expression darkened.
It couldn’t be helped.
‘Most players go back home or head to vacation spots.’
But Soo-ho had no home to return to.
He could go back to Korea, but…
‘For two weeks? He’d have to fly, which would only worsen his condition. Would Soo-ho really do that?’
He absolutely wouldn’t.
Not with the Arizona Fall League and promotion on the line.
He would never do anything that would harm his conditioning.
‘He’ll probably want to head to Arizona first.’
The team dormitory where he’d stayed during the season had to be vacated once the season ended.
‘That doesn’t seem like a good idea either.’
Arizona was unfamiliar territory for Soo-ho.
Going early to adapt made no sense.
‘It’s not like he can adapt to the ground beforehand.’
At best, he could adapt to the downtown area near Arizona, but that had nothing to do with baseball.
Just as Soo-ho was pulling out his phone to open a lodging app.
“You have nowhere to go, right?”
Mark hit the nail on the head.
Soo-ho laughed awkwardly.
“I’ll figure it out now.”
“I thought so. Don’t mope around alone—come stay at my place.”
“…What?”
“Stay at our house for two weeks. Then when we have time, we’ll fly over together.”
Soo-ho was taken aback.
Even though we’d grown close, imposing for two weeks was no small matter.
Considering Americans’ individualistic tendencies, it felt even more presumptuous.
“That’s a bit much… They have families too. I’d just be a burden.”
Soo-ho truly hated being a burden to others.
Having been alone since childhood made it all the more so.
The moment he fell out of favor, his status as an orphan tightened its grip around his ankles even more.
The world held no one who was truly on his side.
“A burden? Don’t be ridiculous.”
Mark tapped Soo-ho’s shoulder lightly.
“There are three reasons. First, because of you, I can go to Arizona too. That’s a ticket no amount of astronomical money could buy. How could I not offer you a place to sleep for someone like that?”
Mark continued.
“Second, my mom’s cooking is incredible. Recovery from eating out? That’s nonsense. Real recovery comes from resting after home-cooked meals. Of course… she doesn’t know how to make Korean food. Still, it’ll be much better. And it won’t cost anything either.”
Mark paused for a moment, then spoke the final reason with a slightly embarrassed expression.
“The last one is… we’re partners, aren’t we?”
“….”
“Going into a battlefield like Arizona, shouldn’t we prepare and go together?”
That’s what he said.
But the real reason lay elsewhere.
Mark knew that Soo-ho was an orphan.
He wanted him, even if just for a moment, in this land called the United States.
To feel the warmth of family.
He genuinely believed this approach would lead to better performance in Arizona later on.
Baseball is a mental sport.
No matter how strong one’s mental fortitude.
The loneliness of being alone in a foreign land quietly erodes a player’s energy.
So the strength to endure on a battlefield-like ground comes, paradoxically, from the most comfortable place to rest—home.
When your back is secure, you can run forward with focus.
‘Actually, Major League players always try to spend time with their families outside of training too.’
That’s why he wanted to give Soo-ho, who always seemed to stand on the edge of a cliff, a place to lean his back on, even if just for a while.
He was certain that sense of stability would turn Soo-ho into an even more perfect monster.
Mark wanted to repay the debt he owed Soo-ho this way.
Of course, since what he owed was as vast as mountains, he had no intention of calling it even.
“Thank you.”
Meanwhile, Soo-ho’s heart swelled at the consideration from this towering friend who made him often forget he was a foreigner.
Refusing when Mark was going this far would be impolite.
“I’ll impose on your kindness.”
“Okay! Decision made! I need to call Mom right away.”
Mark eagerly pulled out his phone.
Soo-ho smiled watching him.
The road to Arizona.
How fortunate it was to no longer be alone.
* * *
After riding the Uber for about thirty minutes, the scenery beyond the car window began to shift.
When people think of Los Angeles, they typically envision the glittering glamour of Hollywood or the beaches of Santa Monica.
Yet none of that existed in my field of vision.
Instead, I saw weathered walls covered in faded graffiti and windows barred with rusted metal grates.
Abandoned along the streets were dilapidated automobiles, their paint long since surrendered to time.
This was South Central—Los Angeles’s notorious crime district and the impoverished heart of the city.
This was Mark Williams’s hometown.
The taxi came to a halt before a solitary house, its paint peeling away in great sheets.
The yard’s grass had grown wild from neglect.
One corner of the roof looked precarious.
“We’re here,” Mark said, scratching the back of his head with a hint of embarrassment.
“It’s a bit run-down, I know? Once I make it to the Major League, I’m moving us out. Just bear with it for two more weeks.”
“No, it’s fine. It smells like a real home. What more could I ask for?”
In truth, I wasn’t unsettled by a place like this.
I had grown up in an Orphanage myself.
Though the facilities here didn’t appear superior to that, it was far from uninhabitable.
More importantly, Mark cared for me.
I smiled as I retrieved my luggage.
“It feels better than a five-star Hotel.”
“Hey, now that’s pushing it!”
“I mean it. No matter how expensive a Hotel is, nothing beats home, right?”
“Well… I can’t argue with that!”
Just then.
“Big brother!”
“Hyung!”
The front door burst open, and small children with tightly coiled hair shot out like bullets, clinging to Mark.
Five-year-old Lily, his youngest sister, clung to his leg like a cicada.
Ten-year-old Tommy, his younger brother, playfully jabbed Mark’s stomach.
And standing in the doorway was fifteen-year-old Jenny, his eldest sister, arms crossed and wearing an exaggerated smile of maturity.
“You’re back? Look how much bigger you’ve gotten.”
“Yeah! You monsters doing okay?”
Mark’s expression melted instantly.
With his towering frame exceeding 190 centimeters, he lifted Lily effortlessly with one arm, hoisting her onto his shoulders, then tousled Tommy’s hair.
The grumbling demeanor from the Stadium had vanished completely.
He was nothing but a devoted older brother.
Soon after, a middle-aged woman in an apron hurried out from inside the house.
It was Mark’s Mother.
A middle-aged woman in an apron hurried out from inside the house.
It was Mark’s Mother.
“Oh my, my son! You’re here?”
“Mom! I’m home.”
Mark set his younger siblings down and embraced his mother with enough force to nearly crush her.
His mother was so small and frail that she practically disappeared into Mark’s arms.
“You must be exhausted. Why is half your face so swollen?”
“Swollen? It’s worse than that. But Mom, say hello. This is my friend and my benefactor, Oh Soo-ho.”
Soo-ho bowed respectfully.
“Hello. I’ll be imposing on you for two weeks. I’m Oh Soo-ho.”
“Oh my, so you’re the Soo-ho Mark’s told me so much about! We don’t have much, but let’s eat first.”
As Soo-ho stepped into the house, he surveyed the living room—worn but radiating a gentle warmth.
The furniture was chipped and faded, yet every corner gleamed with the careful touch of its owner’s hands.
Soo-ho’s gaze drifted to the family photographs arranged on the mantelpiece above the fireplace.
There were photos of Mark in diapers, his younger siblings at birth, and recent family portraits.
Dozens of photographs lined the shelf, yet nowhere among them appeared an adult man who might be their father.
‘So they’re divorced.’
Soo-ho grasped the situation immediately.
Divorce was common in the United States.
Single-parent households made up a considerable portion of the population.
‘But that commonality doesn’t lighten the burden on those left behind.’
Soo-ho watched Mark’s mother from behind.
‘He mentioned she works at a restaurant.’
Mark had told him on the way here.
The years of raising four children alone and enduring this rough neighborhood seemed to emanate from her very presence.
And Mark, the eldest son…
‘Now it makes sense.’
Mark was a baseball player, yet he only sought cheap food like hamburgers.
Why he always appeared so frugal.
Why he clung so desperately to money and success.
‘I think I understand now.’
But Soo-ho decided to stop thinking about it.
Mark was his benefactor.
There was nothing ruder than prying into his circumstances.
‘And… honestly, isn’t his situation better than mine?’
Soo-ho let out a quiet laugh and shook his head.
He had been invited. For now, he would simply accept that invitation.
“Soo-ho! Go wash your hands quickly!”
Mark called out from the kitchen, apron tied around his waist, ladle in hand.
The dining table was laden with steaming pasta—humble but fragrant—and roughly cut bread.
The children had left a seat empty for Soo-ho, their eyes bright with anticipation.
Soo-ho smiled softly and set down his bag.
“Sorry. I’ll be quick.”
Soo-ho headed toward the bathroom, his thoughts drifting.
At least these two weeks of cohabitation would undoubtedly be quite lively and filled with the warmth of human presence.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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