Chapter 23
Kang Noa.
An internet streamer who burst onto the scene like a comet.
An oddball who can read the future by flipping over a single card.
Kim Juhyung couldn't put his phone down.
Ever since meeting him, he'd watched not only the recap videos of his streams but the full broadcasts too.
And he realized.
He was real.
Then what he said might be real too.
"Juhyung! Let's go!"
[In the next game against the U.S., with two outs in the ninth, a batted ball will take an unexpected bounce over your head. Catch it and you'll win the game, miss it and you'll lose.]
Those words he had said still lingered in his mind.
WBC quarterfinals.
The opponent was the U.S., one of the title favorites they could never afford to underestimate.
"Is everyone ready?"
At the manager's words, the players cheered happily.
The opponent was a strong team.
But that didn't mean they had to be scared.
"We're strong too."
"We're strong!!"
"Winning here won't get you out of military service, but if you do well, maybe you'll make the Olympic roster, right?"
The players who still hadn't resolved their military service issues laughed awkwardly.
Kim Juhyung was one of them.
Normally he'd have laughed at the manager's joke, but he couldn't.
Because Kang Noa's words still ruled his head.
"Juhyung!"
"Y-Yes? Yes!"
"Are you not concentrating? What's wrong?"
"N-no, sir!!"
"Good. Stay sharp!!"
Then the manager explained the strategy.
Listening to it, Kim Juhyung let out a long sigh.
Soon, the game began.
The WBC stadium, watched by countless spectators.
To raise his market value.
And for the sake of national pride, he had to do well here.
"Play ball!!"
With the umpire's shout, the game began.
Even then.
Kim Juhyung still had his words in his head.
.
.
.
3:2.
The game went back and forth, and in the ninth, it was the U.S.'s turn at bat.
"Hoo..."
His heart was pounding.
Two outs.
The opposing team had a runner on second.
The situation he mentioned would be coming soon.
Would it really happen?
Just as Kim Juhyung had gone stiff.
-Crack!!
The opposing team's number-two batter swung his bat.
The hit ball flew toward him.
Straight at him.
It would be best to catch it before it bounced, but the distance was a little off.
Then he could just catch it and get it to first base quickly.
This was a moment when not a single mistake was tolerated.
'Inside.'
His training instincts had already picked out where it would bounce.
He had to bring his glove down.
But.
He squeezed his eyes shut.
Instead of going down, Kim Juhyung's glove went up.
-Thwack!!
Whether it had struck a rough patch of the field or not, the baseball bounced up irregularly and headed toward his face.
The ball was sucked into his glove as if drawn in.
Kim Juhyung threw it straight to first.
"Out!!"
The game was over.
The players rushed over amid the cheers.
"You bastard!!"
"Nice job!! Bastard!!"
Even as his teammates shouted while pounding him on the back.
Kim Juhyung couldn't say a word.
***
We won.
WBC quarterfinals.
Korea had beaten the U.S.
When I went in, everyone was celebrating the win.
-Kalmira : Fuck!! My money!!
-Orabang : Hahaha!! Landlady!! One bowl of makgeolli here!!
-OstenImplant : Patriotic betting always wins!!
It was around then that I used my green-name moderator privileges to boldly hand out 10-day bans to anyone who crossed the line while browsing the gallery where gamblers' joy and despair coexisted.
-Ring-ring!!
My phone rang.
It was Kim Juhyung's number.
It was about time he called.
"Hello."
-Teacher...!!
Fear was mixed into the tired voice.
-I would like to meet you!
"We can meet after the game."
.
.
.
Korea in the WBC had narrowly lost in the finals.
Still, second place is nothing to scoff at.
Second place is good too!
Maybe because of that?
"Whoa... Kim Juhyung..."
"Kim Juhyung came all the way here?"
"No joke..."
"Should I ask for an autograph?"
When I went to my usual cafe, Kim Juhyung was sitting there waiting.
He looked nervous.
He kept chewing on a straw and looking around.
"Hello."
"O-oh, Teacher!"
The atmosphere from when we first met was completely gone.
Like a little kid.
He rushed over as soon as he saw me.
"Teacher! Teacher!!"
"What on earth are you?"
"It's Kang Noa...!!"
"Kang Noa gets called Teacher by Kim Juhyung? Wow. That's freaking awesome..."
At this rate, I won't even be able to show my face at the neighborhood cafe.
Honestly, this happens every time I go to a cafe.
"Please calm down."
"Teacher. Please..."
"I'm not even going to eat you..."
Kim Juhyung didn't know what to do.
After I finally calmed him down and ordered a sweet café latte, I sat across from him, and he was trembling all over.
"My future... is ruin. Is that really true?"
Surprisingly, yes.
Whether he succeeded or failed this time, he would still receive a match-fixing offer.
And he would still be falsely accused and shamed because of it.
"Why...!!"
He had spent his whole life doing nothing but sports.
For someone who had rejected doping offers and built his skill with nothing but blood, sweat, and tears, such a stain was unbearable.
"Why is this... happening to me...?"
"I don't know either."
Isn't it because of those money-crazy bastards?
I took a sip of my coffee.
"The problem isn't that. It's how to get out of that situation."
"...How can I get out of it?"
Well.
I'm only here to see the future, not because I'm an expert in this sort of thing.
That's why I brought him here.
"Teacher Kang!"
The cafe door opened, and a rough-looking man entered.
Dobong Police Station's Section Chief Kang Injeong came in.
He came straight over to us and quietly pulled something out of his bag.
It was a baseball.
"K-Kim Juhyung, sir. I'm a fan."
"......"
No, don't look at me like that.
After hesitating, Kim Juhyung carefully signed the baseball.
Only then did Kang Injeong, satisfied, let out a sigh.
"I heard about it from Teacher Kang. That you'd be involved in a match-fixing case..."
"Y-yes..."
"This is serious."
Even if he wasn't involved, once something like that happened, an investigation would be unavoidable.
Much less if money were deposited into his grandmother's bank account.
"If we got rid of his grandmother's bank account..."
"That won't do."
His future changed.
Instead of his grandmother's account, the money would go into his aunt's account.
"That alone won't solve it. So let's think in a different direction."
"Hmm... then how about this? Among the prosecutors I know, there's one who specializes in match-fixing cases."
"Oh..."
"Work together with him."
If that happened, we could contact him right away.
If he were not merely a suspect, but a collaborator who had already been coordinating with the prosecution, wouldn't he avoid pointless false accusations and scandal?
"Teacher...?"
Kim Juhyung's eyes trembled.
They looked as if he was wondering whether this would really be okay.
"This is pretty good."
"R-Really?!"
"Yes."
The future changed.
From a wrongfully accused victim to a hero who cooperated with the prosecution and stopped match-fixing in baseball.
"But it does sound pretty exhausting."
He'd have to be dragged around for this and that.
And because it would happen during the season, he'd have to skip training too.
"Would that be okay?"
"Of course!!"
It was far better than an unjust disgrace.
Kim Juhyung shouted happily, and I nodded at Kang Injeong.
"Then let's proceed that way."
"Yes!!"
Now my work was done.
Then I guess I'd better finish this and head out...
"Teacher Kang."
"Yes?"
"If you don't mind, how about you come along too?"
"Me?"
Was there any need for me to get involved?
But Kang Injeong looked quite serious.
"I don't think cooperating with the prosecution would be a bad thing for you either, Teacher."
There are many things in this world that can't be solved by the police alone.
If the prosecution helps then, it'll be to my advantage.
That was certainly true.
"Then I'll be counting on you."
.
.
.
A few days after meeting Kim Juhyung.
I headed to the Uijeongbu District Prosecutors' Office with Kang Injeong.
It was my first time at a place like this. How fascinating.
"This way."
The place he led us to was an office inside the prosecutors' office.
The office piled high with documents looked rather busy.
"Good grief! If it isn't Chief Kang!"
A man with graying hair and a build as big as Kang Injeong's greeted us with a smile.
"And this man?"
"This is Kang Noa, the person I'd like to introduce to you, Prosecutor."
"I'm Kang Noa."
"Ah, yes. Nice to meet you. I'm Prosecutor Gu Namcheol."
"Nice to meet you."
"Haha. I've heard a lot about you from Chief Kang. And I looked you up myself too."
Smiling, he handed me a cup of instant coffee he'd made himself.
"But is it really true?"
"Would you like to check for yourself?"
Smiling, I held out the card.
As he chuckled and flipped the card over, I said calmly.
"Prosecutor Gu Namcheol. You failed the bar exam twice before passing, fought with a friend at the Judicial Research and Training Institute, and have a bitter feud with the Cheollyong gang."
The grin that had been on his face froze.
His eyes slowly widened.
"...Haha..."
"You've had a lot happen during your years as a prosecutor. Among them, the thing you regret most is... fighting with another prosecutor who was both your classmate and your friend."
"........"
His eyes were growing sharper and sharper.
Still, I didn't stop.
"Also, it looks like you're thinking of taking your daughter on a fishing trip as a peace offering after your fight four days ago... don't do that."
Surprisingly, as an apology gift for his middle-school daughter, he was planning to take her on a fishing trip and buy her an expensive fishing rod.
He should just buy her an iPad with that money instead.
"Lastly. You're looking for the boss of the Dorongi gang who's on the run right now, aren't you?"
"....!!!"
The boss of the Dorongi gang, Go Ilnam.
A wanted criminal currently being doggedly pursued by Prosecutor Gu Namcheol for murder, assault, and operating illegal gambling dens.
"He's in Room 207 at Anyang Oyasu Motel."
"...You're really incredible."
He sprang to his feet and called someone.
An hour later, after saying he'd step out for a bit, he returned with shining eyes.
"I subscribed to your channel, hit like, and even signed up for membership!!"
Gu Namcheol had become my fervent follower.