The Genius Pitcher Dad Throws for His Daughter - Chapter 93

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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 93
#93.
The exhibition game schedule was announced.
Once the schedule came out with 12 games per team, the players’ faces showed they understood the real season was finally here.
“So, shall we restart our gatherings now?”
I smiled faintly at Senior Pitcher Choi Jin-ha’s words.
We hadn’t naturally gathered since the league hadn’t started.
The T-time meetings resumed after the games.
The core members were eight in total: myself, Senior Pitcher Choi Jin-ha, the four members of the Clutch Team, the Catcher, my older brother Do-bin, and Myung-su, who joined us this year.
Adding the nerdy Kim Deok-hwan, who not only rose in rank while helping us for the past half year but also doubled his salary, we had quite the group.
With our numbers growing, we could no longer fit in someone’s room—we now occupied an entire Conference Room. Seeing everyone gathered together, I could sense that we’d all prepared well for this season.
Surprisingly, I was the Pitcher for the exhibition game opener.
Unlike other teams that typically sent foreign Pitchers to the mound, Manager Bong Jun-sik smiled slightly when he saw my puzzled expression at being sent out first.
“The fans wanted it.”
He simply sent me out because the fans desired it.
This was different from last year, when we would have squeezed out results by any means necessary, even testing players in exhibition games.
How did I know? I was in the 1st Team for exhibition games last year too.
I pitched one game and was immediately sent down to the 2nd Team, but the 2nd Team Manager gave me a fair opportunity nonetheless.
It was only possible because 2nd Team Manager Jang Si-wan gave every player equal opportunities without factionalism, politics, or personal feelings.
“And most importantly, the rebuilding period was supposed to end this year. We need to make the most of every opportunity we can.”
His words spoke of rebuilding, but his eyes told a different story.
It was as if he was aiming for a top-tier finish if the opportunity arose, and I could tell he’d spent countless hours alone in the Manager’s Office wrestling with thoughts and concerns while others rested.
That withering cactus of an ashtray was proof of it.
Anyway, after finishing my meeting with the Manager, I prepared for the first exhibition game.
That game was a two-game series against the Incheon Serpents, and we headed to Incheon for the away games.
* * *
The day of the exhibition game opener.
The Dolphins Community was already predicting a championship.
– Let’s go for the 14th exhibition championship!
The Busan Dolphins had already recorded 13 exhibition championships through last year.
Naturally, no one acknowledged this championship, and no one recognized it.
Yet there was one reason why Dolphins fans obsessed over this championship.
Because they hadn’t witnessed a real championship—it was essentially the desperate cry of Dolphins fans.
It was a cry bordering on anguish, but that’s what fans were—they loved even this.
– They said this year is still rebuilding, right?
– Looking at the lineup, there are some familiar faces but also many new ones
– Yeah. Just the shortstop, center fielder, and left fielder are unfamiliar faces
– The overall lineup shows some changes in the pitching rotation too
– I don’t know about the rest, but the fact that Kim Se-jin is participating from the exhibition games is significant.
– Right, Kim Se-jin is our ace and a legend, so of course.
– Let’s fight hard this year! Let’s go!
└ Wow… I haven’t seen “let’s go” in a while.
The Dolphins Community was beginning to wake from hibernation.
Posts started appearing one by one in that place which had been quiet throughout the winter. Comments poured in, and recommendations flooded the threads.
But those active in the community knew the truth.
Last year, the team showed promise for a brief moment and some fans returned, but the majority of Dolphins fans had still turned their backs on baseball and weren’t even following the news.
They needed to come back soon.
Only then could the Dolphins pull off their signature All-Star voting manipulation.
– Please… let this year’s performance be good enough to wake those reclusive ghosts….
In response to someone’s final post, everyone seemed to agree—no new posts appeared.
It was as if they were truly waiting for those fans to return, a solemn silence, like performing a quiet memorial service without adding comments.
Then, one comment appeared.
– They’re not reclusive ghosts—they’re just dead. Get your head straight.
And that comment was instantly buried under downvotes and disappeared.
It took less than three seconds from the moment it was posted.
* * *
I awoke from sleep, staring blankly ahead.
“Ugh….”
Upon waking, my hand was stretched upward toward the sky.
It was as if I were reaching to grasp someone’s hand, and my palm trembled with desperation.
“Damn it….”
I had been dreaming.
A nightmare so terrible that curses spilled from my lips involuntarily.
My Daughter was sick.
But beside her wasn’t me—it was Ye-jin’s Mother. Cradling my Daughter in her arms, she screamed at me with raw anguish.
“You abandoned Ye-jin and left! You created this situation! If you hadn’t made that mistake that day!”
Ye-ji, clutching my Daughter in her embrace as if she might shatter, screams at me. Her voice was so cruel that with each word, my chest crumbled.
And I could only watch from a distance as my Daughter lay in the hospital room and Ye-ji withered away day by day at her bedside.
Both of them leaving me at the same moment, and I open my eyes with tears streaming down my face in the face of that horrific scene.
“Ha… I never thought I’d have this nightmare again….”
A terrible dream I hadn’t experienced even once since returning to the past.
One of the nightmares that had consumed me was returning, trying to drag me down into the abyss once more.
“Ha. Haha. Hahaha.”
Yes, I know.
This happened before I returned to the past, and I am different now.
Now I have a way to save Ye-jin no matter what.
As I recall this, my heart, which had been thrashing wildly like a madman, begins to gradually settle.
Why is this happening?
Until now, I hadn’t had dreams like this, dreams that pushed me to the edge of a cliff.
Even though I’ve longed for my Daughter since returning to the past, I’ve been having dreams where I could see hope, not nightmares like this.
But today was truly strange.
Crack-!
In that instant, lightning flashes outside the window.
The rain wasn’t particularly heavy.
Yet those raindrops resembled the cold sweat I was shedding, and for just a brief moment, they dampened the world around me.
Under the overcast sky and the unseasonably cool temperature, I bundled up my clothes and left the Hotel Room.
As I headed toward the Gymnasium, I found myself standing alone in an eerily quiet place.
In that unnaturally silent space, I turned on the treadmill.
Beep-!
I warmed up my body at my usual pace.
Longer than usual.
And slowly, for an extended time.
Something felt off, so I took the time to prepare thoroughly.
“Play ball.”
With the Umpire’s declaration, I heard Myung-su’s pitch-com input.
Four-seam fastball, lower-middle.
I understood it meant to throw it straight down the middle with heat, so I nodded and gripped the ball without hesitation before releasing it.
“Ah….”
Then I knew.
Crack-!
The ball I’d just thrown was going to travel quite far.
With luck, into an outfielder’s glove; without it, over the Fence.
And today, I was the latter.
Roaaar-!
The roar of Serpent fans who’d come for the exhibition game echoed through the stadium.
A home run on the first pitch.
The game had begun with me giving up the first run to them.
And the problem was that this was only the first batter in the bottom of the first inning, and I got shelled.
0 and 0/3 innings.
Without recording a single out, I was pulled from the game.
Five runs allowed.
* * *
The moment Ho-jin was pulled, the Dolphins Dugout became a flurry of activity.
“Sigh….”
A shadow fell across Manager Bong Jun-sik’s face.
I hadn’t expected the first exhibition game to go so badly.
No, such situations could happen.
The opposing team could have prepared well, or it could have been the result of the pitcher’s poor conditioning, or the opposing team could have simply played well after reading the pitcher and catcher’s intentions.
Not long after Ho-jin came to the Bench, I quickly realized that the second of these three possibilities was the correct answer.
Not long after Kang Ho-jin came to the bench, he quickly realized that the second of the three thoughts was the correct answer.
“Hey, you fool! You should’ve said something if you were hurting!”
At the Senior Coach’s words, I looked over at Kang Ho-jin and saw his face was different from usual.
It was flushed red, and his breathing was quite labored.
It was a sight I’d never seen from him before, and anyone could tell he was in pain.
“No! But he was fine just a moment ago!”
The problem was that until we prepared Kang Ho-jin for today’s starting rotation, he looked perfectly fine.
He seemed so normal that I’d decided to let him pitch as planned, and the Manager, coaching staff, and all the players had been looking forward to an exciting game today.
But the result was Kang Ho-jin being pulled without recording a single out.
“What could have gone wrong…”
Manager Bong Jun-sik raised his hand and rubbed his face wearily.
I’d deployed my best card, my most reliable pitcher, only to have it become the worst possible move.
The problem was Kang Ho-jin suddenly falling ill, forcing me to hastily cycle through the Bullpen and somehow manage to contain the damage, but thinking about the remaining innings gave me a headache.
It was all the worse because it happened in the very first exhibition game.
‘Even if we call it bad luck…’
I felt apologetic to the team, the Front Office, and the fans for no good reason.
But after wiping my face a few more times, I finally spoke.
“Why is everyone so flustered? We’ve had worse happen during the regular season. Let’s stay calm and take things one step at a time.”
I stepped forward before everyone could lose their composure.
Thanks to that, the commotion in the Dolphins Dugout gradually subsided, and soon everyone could focus solely on baseball again.
Final score: 4-9.
Though we lost, I felt relieved at how well we’d managed to recover from such an early collapse.
After the game ended, I returned to the Dormitory and picked up my phone.
“Yes, it’s me. How did it go?”
In response to my question, the other side answered.
“That’s fortunate. Then I’ll remove him from the rotation and focus on the other players instead.”
– Thank you for your understanding.
Fortunately, it wasn’t a serious issue.
It was just a common cold that people catch during seasonal transitions, though it turned out to be a rather severe case of the flu.
Knowing he’d recover with a few days of rest, I simply needed to plan operations assuming Kang Ho-jin would be unavailable for a while.
“Tsk… Was he feeling pressured?”
I worried whether I’d burdened him by starting him in the exhibition game.
I began reconsidering whether I should revise my decision to name Kang Ho-jin as the opening day starter.

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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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