The Genius Pitcher Dad Throws for His Daughter - Chapter 55

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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 55
#55.
The game ultimately ended in a tie.
Through the seventh inning, it had been an intense pitching duel that moved at a brisk pace of one hour and forty-two minutes, but by the time the game ended, nearly three hours had elapsed.
It started after I came down from the Mound along with Park Myung-hwan.
Suddenly, a hitting frenzy erupted.
Combined, both teams burned through ten pitchers.
A pitcher would take the Mound, secure one out, and then hits would come in succession, followed by runs. The next pitcher would rush back out to plug the dam.
This continued for three innings.
Six times in total.
One team would pull ahead, the other would chase them down. Then they’d pull ahead again, only to be caught once more.
When the game finally ended, the only possible outcome was a score of eight to eight.
“Good work out there.”
“You too, thank you.”
As the Batter’s swing missed and the game concluded, Kim Se-jin tapped my shoulder, and I responded in kind.
Both teams quickly emerged onto the Ground to exchange greetings.
On the way back through the Dugout toward the Locker Room, my senior pointed a finger in a particular direction.
“Hey, want to go see him now?”
That direction was none other than where Park Myung-hwan stood.
“I… well….”
Truth be told, I lacked the confidence to follow my senior and face Park Myung-hwan right now.
To be precise, it wasn’t embarrassment or shame at meeting him—it was regret over what I’d done today.
‘I must be insane….’
Before the game, I’d wanted to show him the curveball I’d learned from him, to express my gratitude that my growth was thanks to him, and I’d thrown with the thought that perhaps I could develop my pitching further.
But the moment I stepped off the Mound and the game ended, the first thing that came to mind was my Daughter.
‘A single point is precious….’
This was an opportunity to extend her time.
No matter how much time my Daughter had available now, every point mattered.
Yet I’d squandered this chance to earn points through my own selfish desires, and self-reproach was welling up inside me.
‘If only I’d gained something from it….’
What bothered me most was that after watching Park Myung-hwan’s pitching, I’d gained absolutely nothing.
I gained nothing.
I’d forfeited the points, felt sorry toward my Daughter, and the game had ended in a tie—I was thoroughly unsettled on every front.
“Hmm… yeah, it’d be awkward to just greet him right after the game, wouldn’t it?”
Interpreting my hesitation differently, Kim Se-jin nodded and simply headed toward the Locker Room.
I followed behind him, and that’s how I concluded today’s game.
The water cascaded down.
Even as I stood under the falling stream, tangled thoughts refused to leave my mind.
I couldn’t judge whether what I’d done was right or wrong.
Even after the warm water followed by cold, my mind wouldn’t settle easily. Fearing I might catch a cold if I stayed like this, I warmed myself under hot water once more before finally stepping out.
“You here? Should we head out?”
To my surprise, it was Kim Se-jin waiting for me. I found myself being led along by my senior to a nearby restaurant.
“Oh! You made it.”
Park Myung-hwan and Gu Hyun-im were there, greeting us warmly.
* * *
I was the only one who felt awkward at the drinking table.
The three seniors were the same age, had played against each other several times in high school, remained close in the professional league, and had even competed together for the National Team.
For someone like me who had just made it to the 1st Team, the seniors before me were inevitably a bit uncomfortable to be around.
“Mmm… Kim Se-jin really does know how to pick the meat.”
“Thanks to him, we eat well.”
Park Myung-hwan and Gu Hyun-im ate meat relentlessly.
Park Myung-hwan had started today’s game, and Gu Hyun-im had played as the designated hitter. Naturally, their appetites were voracious.
No matter how much they snack during games, after just finishing a match, they were genuinely ravenous.
“You eat too.”
“Yes, senior. Thank you.”
I was also busily picking up meat to eat.
Even if the atmosphere was awkward, I had to eat when I could. If I didn’t eat now and conversation started later, I might not be able to eat anymore, so I had to hurry.
“Phew… you little pigs….”
Park Se-jin, who hadn’t played in today’s game, said that while grilling meat, and the Restaurant Owner, hearing it as if by instinct, brought a new grill and plate to the next table and immediately began cooking meat for us.
“My goodness, VIP customer Park Se-jin, Park Myung-hwan who once served as a national representative, Gu Hyun-im, and our hope and future ace Kang Ho-jin—this level of service is only natural.”
Thanks to the Restaurant Owner, who enjoyed baseball quite a bit and provided generous service, I was able to eat my fill.
“Phew… I think I’m finally satisfied.”
Park Myung-hwan finally set down his chopsticks and wiped the corner of his mouth.
Kim Se-jin, who had been busy grilling meat, was just beginning to eat, while Gu Hyun-im still looked like he wanted more.
I had already fallen behind.
These older gentlemen ate far better than me, yet their digestive systems still seemed to be in their twenties.
“Your stuff was good today.”
Park Myung-hwan said to me with a slight smile.
It wasn’t sarcasm or negativity—it was pure admiration in his voice.
“Your pitching seemed much better, senior.”
I was sincere too.
How could a pitcher at thirty-two years old, who had been sidelined with injury just days ago, perform like this?
Even accounting for rest and rehabilitation, seeing him throw pitches today that rivaled his prime made him seem even more monstrous.
But there was something strange: before I returned to the past, Park Myung-hwan had quietly retired after this year, performing as a starting pitcher who ate up a few innings following his injury comeback. He never showed the kind of transformation I witnessed today.
If my senior had shown this kind of form before I returned to the past, my Major League performance would have probably changed.
‘Because I copied his pitches so much.’
At least when it came to his curveball alone, I believed it was the kind of pitch that would work not just in Korea but in Major League Baseball as well, and the evidence was the record I left behind.
Well, though it’s a record that no longer exists now.
Anyway, my senior was different from before I returned to the past.
I wondered what the reason was, when suddenly I received words of gratitude.
“Thank you. It’s because of you.”
Not understanding what he meant, I stared at him in confusion, and I could see his eyes shift from the smile of moments before to something hollow and tinged with sorrow.
“Ah….”
And then I understood.
Where I’d seen those eyes before, and what kind of pain birthed that sadness.
It was precisely the look in my eyes when I stood on the Mound before returning to the past.
“You know, don’t you? That my Wife was ill….”
And so the Senior Pitcher’s past began to unfold.
All I knew of the Senior Pitcher’s history was what I’d read in articles—that his Wife had been ill and eventually passed away.
Now I heard more detailed accounts, stories that had clearly weighed heavily on him. And what shocked me most was the revelation that the Senior Pitcher’s Wife had been Gu Hyun-im’s younger sister.
“Sigh, that’s not why I called you here. I’m sorry.”
Park Myung-hwan, sensing the awkward atmosphere he’d created, looked apologetic.
Gu Hyun-im, the person directly involved in this story, had turned his head away, gazing into the distance, and Kim Se-jin, who already knew everything, wore a similar expression.
“Anyway, that’s not what I called you here to talk about.”
He suddenly pulled a ball from his pocket and gripped it with a curveball grip.
“What do you think?”
Looking at the Senior Pitcher’s grip, I realized it was no different from mine.
Then what was it? Where did the difference lie between the Senior Pitcher’s curveball and mine? Thinking simply, various hypotheses came to mind—perhaps the difference wasn’t in the grip but in the throwing motion, or the stride, or the way the body rotates, or some other variable.
As Yu-sim watched the ball in the Senior Pitcher’s hand, he smiled slightly and put the ball away.
“It’s not that.”
At words that seemed to peer into my very thoughts, I looked at him in bewilderment, and suddenly his eyes transformed completely.
His pupils seemed to blur and sharpen simultaneously, and an aura emanating from his body turned unnaturally cold—like gazing into a deep, dark abyss. Witnessing this transformation, I suddenly grasped it.
‘Ah… it’s about mindset….’
Honestly, you might think this is nonsense, but that’s what it was.
The Senior Pitcher’s curveball reached its peak when his Wife was hospitalized, and it was perfected not long after she passed away.
Now that I think about it, I too felt my curveball evolve to another level after losing my Daughter, and ultimately, I perfected it while living alone in the United States, in solitude.
So what about today’s curveball? I wondered.
“The answer is you.”
“Is that what you mean, sir?”
“Yes.”
From eyes that had seemed to be pulled into that dark abyss, a sudden ray of light seemed to break through.
“It’s a bit embarrassing to say, but watching you throw on the Mound with hope for your ailing Daughter made me think—what if I had thrown with hope like you instead of wallowing in despair and sorrow? And somehow, everything I’d been suppressing in my heart just vanished, and now I’m like this.”
Modern science could never explain such a thing.
But having felt the same pain, sorrow, and despair as the Senior Pitcher, I understood what he meant.
It came not from mere conditioning or technique, but from mindset itself.
“That’s why he hit your pitch. When we throw our curveballs, our eyes change.”
“Ah… so that’s….”
Being practically inseparable from Park Myung-hwan, Gu Hyun-im had noticed that change faster than anyone else.
“Anyway… don’t follow the same path I did. Make sure you’re happy.”
The Senior Pitcher raised a glass of water, not alcohol, toward me.
I raised my glass toward my Senior Pitcher and clinked it against his.
“Thanks to your curveball, I’m able to stand here today. I’m truly grateful.”
My sincere words satisfied him, and he drained his glass before breaking into a grin.
“Then from now on, call me hyung.”
“Yes, hyung!”
If anything, I should be the one thanking him.
A living legend of Korean baseball was now my hyung. It felt reassuring, like I’d gained a powerful backer.
“Me too.”
“Yes, Hyun-im hyung.”
Gu Hyun-im, who chimed in from beside us, also insisted I call him hyung, and Kim Se-jin poked me in the ribs with his finger.
“Hey, shouldn’t I be the first one to hear ‘hyung’ if we’re going by seniority?”
“I apologize, hyung. I’ll do better going forward.”
“Too late, you bastard. I’m going to work you hard when it’s my turn to pitch!”
“Ah, hyung.”
Unlike the gloomy atmosphere from before, smiles bloomed on our faces.
Myung-hwan hyung spoke of mindset, but he didn’t forget practical advice either.
He gave me a hint to apply pressure with my fingertips without the ball jumping at release, ensuring my trajectory and control remained flawless. I committed this to memory, planning to throw it two days later.
Two days passed.
When I threw the curveball, I knew.
‘This is the real completion.’
I’d developed a truly devastating curveball.
– You have fully mastered your excellent mentor’s curveball.
– Curveball rank has increased.
– Curveball (A)

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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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