Rural Ace

Chapter 2: the rich kid (2)

I definitely heard it.

“You too.”

We stared at each other in silence for a long time.

My father kept looking at me, fiddling with the glove, and I finally spoke, trying to sound as casual as possible.

“Yeah. You too?”

My father didn’t answer, but he bit his lip, and I knew that meant yes.

My head was spinning, but I knew thinking too hard wouldn’t solve anything.

“You said something before, didn’t you?”

“What…?”

“That if I could go back in time, I shouldn’t do it.”

“Ah…”

“What happened?”

I wasn’t sure.

At least I didn’t lose anything.

I wanted to play baseball again, and I got the chance.

Not with an old, broken body, but with a young, healthy one.

My father slumped onto the couch and, after a long pause, began to speak.

—

I never thought I’d have to tell this story. It was something I thought I’d take to my grave.

Seo Tae-seong, who debuted in the KBO, was on the verge of conquering the league and aiming for MLB.

He had swept championships and individual awards, and several MLB teams were actively pursuing him.

He also had a daughter he wouldn’t trade for anything.

The world seemed to be his, and scouts flocked to every game he pitched.

But just before his MLB debut, in the season opener, he was hit in the head by a line drive.

To make matters worse, he fell awkwardly, fracturing his skull and suffering brain damage.

Not only was MLB out of the question, but his career as a player was over.

He thought everything was over.

He wanted to end his life countless times, but he couldn’t because of his wife and daughter.

He recovered miraculously, but the fact he was deeply troubled by the thought of never being able to pitch again.

Just as he was about to throw away all his baseball gear, he found the glove he used in middle school.

Without thinking, he put it on and cried.

“Please, let me play baseball again.”

—

“That’s how I went back in time. As soon as I returned, I went to your mother and begged her to marry me.”

My father’s story was shocking.

I picked up on a clue in his story.

“You said if I could go back in time, I shouldn’t do it…”

“Did I get married? Did I have kids?”

My father had mentioned a daughter.

But I’m an only child.

“No, you didn’t get married, and there were no kids.”

“…Good. That’s a relief.”

That explained it.

No other words were needed.

Those memories still seemed to haunt him.

After a brief silence, my father asked, “How did you live?”

I started telling my story.

My father nodded or chimed in occasionally, and my story flowed from when I was 19 until the moment I put on the glove and cried.

“You had a tough life too.”

“Not as tough as yours, though.”

“It’s in the past now.”

“Same for me.”

“But were we really that bad?”

I scratched my nose and answered.

“…Yeah. I’m sorry about that.”

Should I start with something trivial?

But my father shook his head.

“No, it’s fine. As long as it doesn’t happen again.”

Then he looked at me and smiled faintly.

“I’m sorry.”

“No, I’m the one who should apologize…”

It was awkward, but not uncomfortable.

In fact, it felt like a weight had been lifted.

I wanted to untangle the knot, and thankfully, it hadn’t gotten too tangled yet.

When I was younger, I resented my father…

I brought it up playfully.

“No wonder you were so good at baseball…”

My father replied with an awkward expression.

“Well, it was my second time… I didn’t have to make many mistakes.”

No one had probably ever seen this side of my father.

He was always confident, and that attitude often made enemies during his playing days.

“By the way, Mom doesn’t know, right?”

My father’s expression turned serious.

It was a look I’d never seen before.

“No. And she must never know.”

I also dropped my playful tone and nodded.

“Understood. It’ll be our secret.”

“Thanks for understanding.”

—

My mind, which had been a mess, felt a bit clearer now.

That glove was just a smelly old relic.

My father was sure it wouldn’t work again.

I didn’t ask how he knew.

There were still things I hadn’t told my father… but maybe we’d talk about them someday.

We had time.

Still, my father’s past story was truly shocking.

“I can’t even hand out my business card.”

“What business card?”

Talking to my father still didn’t feel entirely comfortable.

“I used to think I was the most unfortunate person in the world.”

But there was someone far more unfortunate than me.

I listened to my father’s story for a long time.

My father spoke with a dry expression.

“You can’t compare misfortunes.”

I felt even more ashamed.

Not just about the misfortunes, but also about how I hadn’t even tried to talk to my father before going back in time.

Just as I was about to sink into self-loathing, my father spoke.

“So, what are you going to do now?”

‘What am I going to do?’

‘I wanted to play baseball. ‘

Now that I had the chance, of course, I’d play baseball.

“I’m going to play baseball.”

“Yeah?”

My father’s face turned serious.

Then, with a slightly troubled expression, he said, “I’ll help you.”

“Thank you. But you’re busy, so I’ll just take your kind thoughts.”

My father was quite busy.

After retiring, he started a business in the U.S., and it was doing well…

“No.”

He shook his head firmly.

“This is my third chance. If I’m going to do it, I’ll do it right.”

“But…”

“I’ll quit the business and come back to Korea to help you.”

“That…”

“Huh? What’s wrong?”

When I rolled my eyes, my father chuckled as if he understood.

“What, am I going to become a U.S. senator or something? Or is the business going to blow up…”

Well, what should I say?

The business had been doing well, but in the near future, it almost went bankrupt.

Should I be honest about that?

Seeing me hesitate, my father smiled warmly.

“It’s fine, Ye-seong. I’ve made more money than I can spend in a lifetime, and maybe the business was just an escape. Let me be a dad for once.”

Even though the business had gotten tough, I knew he’d made enough to be fine.

Maybe it was okay to leave some secrets untouched and let things go smoothly.

“…Thank you, Dad.”

“Haha, no need to thank me. I’m the one who’s grateful.”

My father smiled warmly, then checked his watch and said urgently, “It’s time for your mom’s show. Let’s watch it together.”

Then he made a face as if he’d just realized something.

“Oh, Ye-seong, you’ve probably already seen it. How many years ago did you come back?”

I laughed.

“About 17 years ago. I don’t remember, so let’s watch it together.”

“Is there beer in the fridge? Should we have a drink?”

“Sure. It’s my first time drinking with you.”

“Wait.”

“Yeah?”

“Aren’t you still in high school?”

“Well, technically…”

“Just bring mine.”

“Huh?”

“Since when does a high schooler drink in front of his dad?”

…Is that how it works?

—

My mother is a lawyer.

She has both U.S. and Korean bar licenses.

At this time, she was quite busy, often appearing on TV shows.

Once, she appeared on a current affairs program as an expert consultant, and her firm statement that someone “should be hanged” made her famous as “Punishment Noona,” leading to appearances on mystery shows.

But according to her, that was due to devilish editing.

The part where she said, “I feel like doing that, but…” was cut from the broadcast.

Anyway, my father and I were watching the mystery show together.

“When it’s just you and your mom, don’t people think you’re siblings?”

“…Yeah.”

“Look at her beauty. Wow.”

“…”

“Celebrities or whatever, they all pale next to my wife.”

“…”

…I decided to think that the wall between my father and me was crumbling so fast that he was making silly comments to get closer to me.

My father kept saying things like that throughout the show.

It felt like he wasn’t watching the show but just staring at my mother.

I almost asked why they lived apart in the U.S. if he loved her so much, but I held back.

There must have been a reason.

The mystery show ended with the other cast members flinching under my mother’s sharp gaze.

“Wow, she’s the queen of endings.”

“By the way, Dad.”

“Yeah?”

“Does Mom know you’re in Korea?”

“…”

My father’s pupils shook.

“Well, I came in a hurry.”

“You could’ve at least left a message.”

“I did, but it didn’t go through. I found out when I got to Korea.”

“Mom will be home soon. She texted earlier, saying let’s have dinner.”

The image of the cast members flinching at the end of the show overlapped with my father’s expression now.

“Should we go out to eat somewhere nice…?”

And at that moment.

The intercom announced that a registered car had entered.

“…Should we pretend it’s a surprise? Do we have any event stuff hidden?”

I saw a lot of new sides to my father today.

He muttered strange things while looking around, then found something.

“…What are you doing?”

“…Huh?”

My father was tying a curtain string around his head.

To be precise, he was trying to make it look like a ribbon.

“…”

“…”

What should I even call this?

In two lifetimes, this was a first.

But I wasn’t flustered.

Flustering things could happen anytime, anywhere, and I could handle this.

“Should I tie it for you?”

“Make it pretty.”

“…Okay.”

After returning to the past, the chaos that followed was just another layer of confusion.

When my mother saw my father, who had returned to Korea without a word, wearing a ribbon made from a curtain string, she wasn’t shocked or happy to see him after so long.

Instead, she had a slightly different reaction.

“What? You two were together?”

My father and I hadn’t gotten along since I was in middle school.

Not just not getting along—it was worse than that.

“…Did Ye-seong tie that for you?”

It seemed my mother was more surprised by that than by my father’s return.

She sniffled and shed a few tears.

After all, even before I went back in time, she had been stressed about the relationship between my father and me.

“At least I get to see you two make up before I die…”

“No, it’s not like that! Honey, aren’t you happy to see me?”

Maybe it was like that.

Thinking about it, it felt like things had somehow smoothed over.

“Are you two completely reconciled now?”

My father tried to argue in a weak voice that we’d never fought, but my mother cheered happily.

“He even tied a ribbon on your head, so let’s say you’re good now! Let’s go out to eat! When was the last time the three of us ate together without scowling?”

However it happened, seeing my mother’s genuinely bright face made me feel good.

“Honey, you changed the car?”

“I told you before. Don’t you remember?”

Maybe I’ve seen Seo Tae-seong’s pupils shake more than anyone else.

…He showed a lot of silly sides today, but the father I remembered was full of charisma, so it was just surprising.