Variable (5)
Tips for enjoying baseball, given confidently by Jennifer.
It was about deciding which team to root for.
“What is it? What is that sour face?”
Jennifer folded her arms when she saw Choi Ki-seok looking disappointed.
“I thought it was something great.”
“In the first place, small tips are great. So, Mr. Choi, quickly decide on a team to cheer for. Since our clinic is in Minnesota, why not cheer for the home team, Minnesota?”
“Of course.”
Choi Ki-seok answered harshly.
But suddenly, a player swinging a bat on the mound caught my eye.
Surprisingly, the player is Asian.
Now that I think about it, I know that there are quite a few Korean baseball players who have advanced to the major leagues…
“Jennifer. Do you know that player’s name?”
“Oh Byeongho Kang? That’s right! That player is from Korea!”
Jennifer smiled and nodded.
“It just worked out. It will be more fun to watch the game since Byeong-ho Kang is from Minnesota.”
“That really might be true.”
Choi Ki-seok stared at Kang Byeong-ho, who was practicing batting.
Strange land, different race.
I felt like I was struggling in that situation.
“What kind of team are the Minnesota Lions?”
“Hehehe. Mr. Choi is finally starting to take interest? Minnesota is, to put it simply, a last-place team. Last season, they had more losses than wins.”
While Jennifer was speaking, she spread her hands wide.
“What does that mean?”
“We had over 100 losses last season. People call Minnesota ICBP. It can’t be possible for Minnesota to do well.”
“Somehow…”
Choi Ki-seok frowned as he looked at the audience.
Despite being the home stadium, the Minnesota cheering stands were quite empty. Perhaps due to prejudice, it seemed like he couldn’t really feel the heat from the fans’ cheering.
“We both need to cheer hard, right?”
“we?”
A faint smile appeared on Jennifer’s lips.
“Mr. Choi, I’m sorry, but we can’t be together. Actually, I’m a Chicago Black Sox fan.”
“This… I can’t believe it…”
“You know what I mean, right? We may be colleagues at Meijo, but here today, we are enemies!”
Jennifer’s declaration of war pierced my heart.
While there was a moment of silence, Ki-Seok Choi looked into the Chicago team on his cell phone.
Chicago’s performance this season is at the top.
They were currently in 4th place in the American League.
‘Is this like hitting a rock with an egg?’
Ki-Seok Choi smiled bitterly and turned his attention to the mound.
The game started with Minnesota’s offense in the top of the first inning.
phut! phut! phut! phut!
Choi Ki-seok tapped the light stick and imitated the home fans’ chants.
Jennifer was right.
As soon as I had a team to root for and started to empathize with it, I fell in love with baseball without realizing it.
“Strike! Out!”
The referee shouted loudly and raised his hand.
1 Minnesota’s offense ended in vain as the second batter struck out and the third batter was put out in the outfield.
“Mr. Choi. You are going to experience hell from now on.”
“G… hell?”
“Minnesota has a weak pitching staff. It will be especially difficult today with ace Irving missing, right?”
Jennifer turned her attention to the mound.
Her prediction was correct.
The first batter got on base with a bunt, and the second batter got on base with a clean hit.
Although the third batter struck out, the fourth batter hit a double, allowing Chicago to score one run and load the bases.
‘Ha… the blood is drying.’
Choi Ki-seok suddenly clenched his fists.
Even if there is an emergency at the hospital, you can maintain your composure with a frozen heart. However, it was not easy to calm my mind in this daily life.
Taaaaagh!
A long hit occurred.
The defender caught the ball, but the runner on third base quickly returned home.
“Good job! Klein!”
Jennifer stood up and cheered, and for the first time, Ki-Seok Choi thought she was obnoxious.
‘Let’s try it whether it’s porridge or rice.’
Choi Ki-seok used encouragement when Minnesota players appeared or left the mound.
[You failed to use the encouragement skill.]
The failure alarm rang one after another.
Perhaps because there was no rapport with the players, or because they thought his encouragement was just cheering, all of their skills went astray.
Except for one person, Kang Byeong-ho.
As Choi Ki-seok encouraged him in Korean, Kang Byeong-ho smiled brightly and waved.
In Minnesota, he was the only one who had an encouraging effect.
The next game.
The trend gradually tilted toward Chicago. Chicago’s pitching staff tightly tied down Minnesota’s batting staff, and the batting staff ate away at their scores.
The score difference between both teams at the end of the 5th inning was 6:0.
Looking at the one-sided trend, a reversal seemed impossible.
‘Is there still anything left?’
Choi Ki-seok placed his hand on his pounding heart.
This unique rumble was a foreshadowing of the Sixth Sense, and the foreshadowing was vividly telling. There is definitely a reason to watch the game until the end.
“Maybe I should have told you to cheer for Chicago instead?”
“It’s okay. I like Minnesota.”
Choi Ki-seok shook his head at Jennifer’s words.
“Well, I’m glad if that’s the case, but… it’s actually difficult and sad to cheer for the last-place team.”
“But I can feel it. Minnesota will have something to show today.”
While the two were talking, an electronic display board illuminated the audience.
Fans energetically waved their hands and cheering equipment. The video that scanned the audience one by one soon showed Ki-Seok Choi and Jennifer. At the same time, the outside of the electronic display screen took on a heart shape.
‘This… this?’
Choi Ki-seok, an outsider in baseball, was also able to find out.
That now is kiss time.
When I stared at Jennifer with a surprised face, Jennifer blushed and lowered her head.
“Kiss me! Kiss me!”
My ears tingled from the voices of people around me.
However, just when the awkward tension was in the air, a twist unfolded.
The camera angle moved once more.
Now, in the heart of the electronic display board, there is a middle-aged man who resembles Choi Ki-seok and the Kentuck Chicken grandfather.
Sweet music flowing through the speakers.
The angle didn’t move as if it had been decided.
‘Oh my god…’
Choi Ki-seok couldn’t spit out all the noise he was feeling inside. Kentuck Chicken Grandpa boldly kissed him.
“Wahahahahah!”
“It’s the best! The best.”
The audience burst into laughter.
Choi Ki-seok’s face turned bright red and he kept wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.
I felt a sense of shame as to why I came to the baseball stadium for this reason.
After kiss time, the game started again.
Contrary to Sixth Sense’s prediction, Minnesota did not exert much strength.
Rather, the score gap widened by one point.
In the top of the 8th inning, with two runners out, 7th batter Kang Byeong-ho came to the plate.
phut!
Whoa! phut!
A series of sharp fastballs hit the mitt.
The first pitch went cleanly into the strike zone, and the second pitch came out in vain.
‘Let’s go calmly. ‘Keep calm.’
Kang Byeong-ho took a deep breath and composed himself.
He won the home run title in the KBO for four consecutive years.
Although he came to Minnesota and suffered the humiliation of being demoted to the minor league due to injuries and poor performance, the pride from that time still remained in his heart.
Before taking up a batting stance, I turned back and looked at the audience.
“Byungho Kang! Fighting! Cheer up!”
One Korean spectator was banging his light stick until his arms fell off.
Is it because it is the first major game they are playing in after being relegated?
I was deeply grateful for his support.
‘Goes!’
I held the bat tightly in my hand and took a batting stance.
Sessssssssssssssssssssssss.
The ball left the pitcher’s hand and flew like a thunderbolt.
Kang Byung-ho instinctively sensed that it was a change-up and focused on the drop of the ball. And he hit the ball with all his might, as if to shake off the hardships and adversity he had endured.
Baaaaaaaa!
The ball went straight out with a refreshing hitting sound.
“Wow wow wow.”
“It’s a home run. Home run!”
“Byeongho River! Byeongho River! Byeongho River!”
Minnesota fans stood up and praised Kang Byung-ho, regardless of who was first.
His home runs were sweeter than rain in a drought.
“Did you see Jennifer? It was an over-the-park home run! An over-the-park home run.”
Choi Ki-seok ran around like a child.
A thrill of excitement enveloped my body, just like when I saved a patient.
Kang Byeong-ho’s home run brought the score to 7:3 for both teams.
Afterwards, Minnesota gained momentum and caught up to 7-5, but ultimately lost to Chicago. The biggest reason was that the bullpen gave up 3 more points and the upward trend slowed down.
‘I lived too narrowly.’
Choi Ki-seok muttered to himself as he left the stadium.
* * *
Two days have passed since the off ended.
Meanwhile, Ki-Seok Choi was reborn as a star of Mayjo.
For saving a patient from a suicide attempt, he became the cover model for the clinic’s monthly magazine and received an excellent employee award at the monthly meeting.
This is unprecedented for a new resident.
Now, there is no one in Meijo who doesn’t know him.
In addition, the patients he had become attached to left his side one by one. Mike overcame the aftereffects of awakening during surgery and was discharged, and Thomas, who fought in the Korean War, also left in good health.
“Shall we go soon?”
Choi Ki-seok got up from the bed and stretched.
It’s a new week, and there are a lot of things that haven’t been resolved yet.
While thinking about this and that, I arrived at the ward.
Drurr.
When I entered the duty room, Morgan and Jennifer were having a conversation.
Choi Ki-seok exchanged greetings with the two people and then sat down.
“You two look a little suspicious?”
“what?”
“When it comes to handing over, you always talk first without me.”
Morgan averted his gaze at Choi Ki-seok’s point.
Even the lively Jennifer hesitated, unable to find an answer.
“I’ll wear Mr. Choi from now on, too.”
“That’s it? You two continue to spend quality time together.”
“It’s not what you think.”
“What am I thinking about?”
“Anyway, it’s not like that.”
“Let’s hand over quickly.”
Morgan and Jennifer changed the topic by matching each other.
Choi Ki-seok chuckled as he watched the two people. I had vaguely noticed this for a while, but today the relationship between the two became clear.
“Two patients were hospitalized early in the morning yesterday, and I think Mr. Choi should take charge of them.”
“I’m at full cap.”
Morgan added to Jennifer’s words.
Cap is the number of patients a resident handles as an attending physician.
The maximum cap of Mayjo Clinic is 5 people, which is about 3 times less than that of the medical school.
“okay.”
“Then let’s begin the patient briefing.”
Jennifer calmly took over the handover.
Choi Ki-seok took notes on important things and came up with a treatment plan for new patients.
Eventually, the 10-minute handover ended.
Jennifer left the ward, and Ki-Seok Choi and Morgan headed to the medical office to prepare for the meeting.
“How have you both been?
Ethan ran into me from across the hallway and waved.
“It looks like you had a good rest during the break. Your face looks much brighter.”
“I think so too. I guess I’ve accumulated a lot because I haven’t been able to rest properly.”
Ethan smiled brightly at Choi Ki-seok’s words.
The dark appearance he had shown so far was gone, and he regained his former lively appearance.
Choi Ki-seok belatedly . Something came to mind, so I used the Eye of Hippocrates on him.
As expected, Smith’s debuff, the invisible hand, disappeared.
The debuff’s duration had already ended.
‘No way!’
While looking at Ethan’s status window, his eyes widened.
Ethan had a Dark Seal.
It was clearly an item that wasn’t there when he looked at it before…
Exactly!
Choi Ki-seok, who was thinking about it, quickly snapped his fingers.
He finally found it.
The Dark Seal. How to get it!
