The Genius Hitter Who Conquered America - Chapter 44

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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 44
The two of us sat in silence on an old camping chair in the backyard, sipping juice.
The wail of sirens drifting over the stone wall endlessly reminded us of the harsh reality of this place.
Mark fidgeted with his empty cup, stealing a glance at me.
Truth be told, exposing one’s vulnerabilities to others isn’t easy.
Especially not when the subject is poverty.
Someone as proud as Mark would have wanted to hide it forever.
But somehow, it felt right to open up to Soo-ho.
The reason was simple.
Soo-ho was a good person.
Beyond his baseball skills, he was genuinely exceptional as a human being.
I could almost imagine a newborn recognizing his goodness.
Most of all, what he’d shown this morning in front of my siblings was decisive.
The way he’d deftly steered us past a moment that threatened to grow heavy with talk of money.
That thoughtful consideration that even protected Jenny’s pride.
Seeing that, I decided to unlock the door I’d kept firmly sealed in my heart.
‘This guy won’t mock me for showing him my heavy burden, even for a moment.’
Just as the sirens beyond the stone wall continued their relentless reminder of this place’s reality.
“Loud, right? This is my everyday life.”
Mark opened his mouth as if the moment had arrived.
It was a bitter smile, but honest and unadorned.
“Baseball… it costs a lot of money. Sometimes buying a decent bat or glove costs as much as Mom’s grocery budget for several months.”
Mark continued to fidget with his empty cup.
“Actually, when I signed with the Dodgers, the contract money was pretty decent, right? But I didn’t keep a single cent. It all went toward paying off the family debt that had accumulated over the years.”
The immediate crisis was averted.
My mother’s shoulders, weighed down by debt collectors, became slightly lighter.
But that was it. We’d gone from negative to zero.
We hadn’t reached the positive.
“The real problem starts now. Jenny’s about to be a high school student, and Tommy and Lily are growing up too. There’s tuition, living expenses—money needed everywhere—but a Minor League salary is barely enough to live on.”
My mother was earning money too, but the amount wasn’t substantial.
That’s why I had to be relentless.
I had to climb to the higher leagues.
High-A, Double-A, Triple-A.
With each step up, the salary increases bit by bit.
And finally, when I reach the Major League, that’s when a real life reversal becomes possible.
“I complain about how hard things are normally, right? But I can’t do that in front of my family. If I fall apart, our family’s hope falls apart with me.”
Mark’s voice carried the weight of a painful reality.
“I’ve taken everything my siblings should have enjoyed. Because I stupidly got injured and forgot about the ten-thousand-dollar rehabilitation fee, Jenny gave up her school trip multiple times. And Tommy, who dreams of being a baseball player just like me, has been using a torn glove for a year now. So how could I let them see me struggling…”
That ten-thousand-dollar rehabilitation fee.
It referred to the Rehabilitation Academy that I had also benefited from.
So at the very least, I can’t complain in front of my family.
It would be a betrayal of those who sacrificed everything for me alone.
“That’s why I smile. The kids feel reassured when I do. Of course… I can be pretty sulky normally, right? I know that about myself.”
I had to be a superhero within those four walls.
I couldn’t let them see my fear of poverty, my exhaustion with life, the weight pressing down on my shoulders.
All those unspoken grievances I couldn’t dare reveal in front of my family.
Mark was venting them through petty complaints in places where his family wasn’t present.
He was still only twenty years old.
An age where, despite being technically an adult, the world remained a mystery.
No—rather, twenty was far too young to carry such a burden.
“And it’s my way of managing my mental health. If I didn’t do this, I’d fall apart. And because I do, I can come home and smile again, supporting my family.”
Soo-ho nodded slowly.
Now he understood.
Why the cleanup hitter had abandoned his pride and followed his lead.
Why he’d persisted so stubbornly despite being called stingy.
For him, baseball wasn’t a dream—it was the most pragmatic means of survival to protect his family.
Mark turned to face Soo-ho seriously.
“But the most decisive factor was… you appearing before me.”
Mark’s voice trembled slightly.
He furrowed his brow as if recalling a past he’d rather forget.
“To be honest, at that Baseball Tryout when we first met. I was really at a loss.”
Mark laughed bitterly.
“After the injury, my form completely fell apart, no team wanted me. And at home, there were endless expenses…”
If this doesn’t work out, it’s really the end.
“I seriously considered just quitting baseball and going to work at a construction site.”
It was true.
Before meeting Soo-ho, Mark had been backed into a corner.
His pride as a once-promising prospect had hit rock bottom, and crushed beneath the weight of reality, he was even forgetting the joy of baseball.
At that Baseball Tryout, when everyone treated him as a washed-up injured player, it was only Soo-ho who extended a hand.
It had to be that way.
At first, he’d simply thought of him as a grateful guy.
An easygoing Asian friend who’d approached him first at that brutal Baseball Tryout, easing his nerves.
But that friend, contrary to appearances, ran around the Ground like a madman and showed incredible ability.
“Inspired by that performance, I was able to ignite my own fire too, and thanks to that, I passed the Baseball Tryout. But the real shock came after that.”
It was when he learned about Soo-ho’s past.
An orphan who’d been released from the Korean Professional Baseball Minor League—a failure.
When Mark learned that fact, it felt like he’d been struck on the head.
He’d always thought he was the most unfortunate person in the world.
A poor family, the responsibility of younger siblings trailing behind him, a body damaged by injury.
The burden on his shoulders was so heavy that he’d only resented the world for being unfair.
But Soo-ho was different.
Compared to the weight he carried, this was truly nothing at all.
Soo-ho had no home to return to, no family waiting for him.
Moreover, a single failure could mean parting with baseball forever—the one thing that held the most meaning for him.
Yet he had crossed the ocean to the United States and started baseball anew, like diving headfirst into bare ground.
‘I was ashamed.’
At least I had family as my foundation.
“Seeing your desperation made all my complaints feel like nothing but whining.”
This guy plays baseball to survive.
That was when it began.
From that moment on, Mark came to see Soo-ho not merely as a friend, but as a partner in his baseball life and a benefactor.
Soo-ho was the only one who had instilled in Mark not defeat, but the will to fight.
“So I made a promise to myself. If I go with you, at least I won’t lose my way.”
Mark rubbed his nose sheepishly.
“So if you forge the path, I’ll follow in your footsteps no matter what. And we’ll definitely succeed. I have a feeling you will. Not just in Arizona, but in the Major League too—I just have this sense about it.”
Mark knew it well.
That he was going to Arizona was entirely thanks to Soo-ho.
Without that opportunity, he would be waiting again in this dilapidated house for an uncertain next year.
Or he’d be trembling with anxiety on construction sites, covered in dust.
“So you’re not just a teammate to me. You’re the benefactor who reignited the flame of hope for our fading family. For me. So… I’m truly grateful.”
He meant every word.
Over the past three months, Soo-ho had brought Mark far more than just victories.
He was the savior who had transformed the heavy burden Mark carried as a provider into something called hope.
Soo-ho listened quietly, then raised his glass and gently clinked it against Mark’s.
Pity or hasty consolation wasn’t needed.
Besides, I was in no position to pity or console anyone.
‘Still, it feels good.’
A faint smile spread across Soo-ho’s lips.
The fact that Mark trusted me completely filled my chest with a profound weight.
It was true.
From being released in Korea to coming here.
I had always been someone evaluated, rejected, and ultimately abandoned by others.
There were times I thought of myself as worthless.
‘It felt like there was no place for me anywhere in this world.’
But that wasn’t true.
I had found a friend who came to me, baring even my deepest wounds.
A friend I could open my heart to and trust with my back.
That was a treasure worth more than gold.
‘So if anything, I’m the grateful one.’
Running alone is lonely and frightening.
No matter how strong you pretend to be, exhaustion eventually arrives.
But if you have a partner breathing heavily beside you, running alongside you through it all?
That path is no longer frightening.
The unwavering sincerity Mark had shown me.
Had become an unshakeable driving force within me.
“Mark. Let’s try it.”
“What, what do you mean?”
Mark was startled by my suddenly brightened voice.
I laughed clearly.
“Let’s go for it. The Major League.”
This declaration struck me like a bolt from the blue.
It had to be that way.
In truth, when I came to the United States, I never even dreamed of becoming a Major League player.
It didn’t make sense!
What kind of place was the Major League?
The final destination of baseball geniuses from around the world—a realm no different from the divine.
I simply wanted to play baseball a little longer.
That’s why I came to the United States.
Not when I passed the tryout, not when I signed with the Dodgers, not even when I claimed the championship this season.
I had never harbored such grand dreams of becoming a big leaguer.
It was because I’d always been realistic.
Or rather, I had no choice but to be realistic.
Raised in an orphanage and released from Korean Professional Baseball.
My life had always been oriented toward survival rather than dreams.
I knew viscerally through experience how bitterly false hope could end.
But now was different.
A dream I could never have dared to aspire to—a goal had been born.
‘Mark is like that, and Casey too.’
These unparalleled geniuses were acknowledging me, weren’t they?
And I had Taylor and Alex, an authority on mechanics, beside me as well.
How could I betray their trust?
With such a shallow mindset—just wanting to play baseball a little longer, wanting to endure one more year.
Did I have the right to stand beside them?
‘No. I didn’t.’
Now was the time to believe in myself.
Of course, this wasn’t about becoming arrogant.
The road ahead was still long.
My skills and level still weren’t there yet.
But that was fine.
‘I’m changing too, here in the United States.’
The situation itself had changed.
I could now play baseball in a better environment.
So I simply needed to transform further and grow beyond where I stood now.
‘A Major Leaguer. I have to make this happen.’
Soo-ho’s eyes gleamed with a depth and resolve unlike any moment before.
They were the eyes of a challenger, not merely a survivor.
Soo-ho extended his hand to Mark.
After all, it was Mark who had given me this pivotal new dream in the first place.
I wanted to share my transformed aspirations with him before anyone else.
“Let’s go together.”
I wanted him by my side.
Mark, his eyes reddened, grasped Soo-ho’s hand in return.
“Yeah. Take me with you. I won’t hold you back.”

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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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