S113

Society Protocol 13

Manager

Ji Seo-hoon, the CEO of an entertainment agency, was originally an aspiring professional baseball player.

He used to go to the baseball stadium with his father, a baseball fan since childhood, and was also a children's member of a team based in Seoul.

He began his athletic career by joining a Little League team, dragging his father by the hand.

His family was not particularly well-off.

However, watching their son sleep in his baseball uniform and with a picture of his favorite player hanging on the wall,

His parents worked hard to help Ji Seo-hoon achieve his dream.

However, due to the IMF economic crisis, the company he worked for went out of business, and his livelihood became difficult as he started his own business.

As a baseball player, Ji Seo-hoon's skills continued to improve in proportion to his hard work.

With his speed and batting sense, he was not a slugger, but as the leadoff hitter, he always had the highest on-base percentage on the team.

He also had an excellent sense for spotting openings to steal bases or bunt, and he was particularly talented defensively as a shortstop. Even for difficult-to-catch balls, he would observe the runner's position, decide where to throw in advance, and then play defense while considering how to catch the ball to make the next throw easier.

Coaches, recognizing his exceptional intelligence, continued to take notice of and acknowledge Ji Seo-hoon.

Although his middle school team did not achieve good results, he caught the eye of coaches and was admitted to a prestigious baseball high school. It was a favorable condition that also included scholarship support.

Ji Seo-hoon's parents were proud of their son playing baseball, but they made him continue to study, even if it meant forcing him.

They had him read good books and made him read newspapers aloud before going to school in the mornings.

At first, he disliked it, but as it became a habit, he became accustomed to reading.

Furthermore, wanting to go to the Major Leagues, Ji Seo-hoon studied English in his spare time, using something akin to blackmail, in an attempt to become close with the friend in his class who was the best at English.

However, his grades in Math and Science were truly the lowest.

Conversely, his scores in Language and Social Studies were quite high.

Therefore, if he achieved good grades as a student athlete, he had developed the skills to the point where he could sufficiently enter a top-tier university.

However, the high school he entered was a prestigious baseball school, so the pool of players was deep.

Therefore, he could not become a starting player in his freshman year.

Furthermore, it was difficult to secure a starting spot because there were outstanding players in his sophomore and junior years.

So, Ji Seo-hoon continuously practiced his fielding and worked hard on strength training, such as bench presses, to improve his batting power, which he felt was lacking.

The restaurant run by Ji Seo-hoon's parents faced difficulties and eventually closed down.

They were burdened with debt and even lost the small house they had been living in.

As a result, the family had no choice but to move to the countryside,

and Ji Seo-hoon came to live in a dormitory run by the school for students from the provinces.

Seo-hoon's parents worked day and night to pay off their debts, so they could not pay attention to him.

However, Seo-hoon did not stop reading newspapers, books, and studying English—things that had become ingrained in him like a habit.

But while he was reading newspapers from the previous day that the teachers had discarded,

the seniors began to mock him for it.

“You’re acting like a scholar. Hey, are you reading out loud just to show off that you’re reading? If you really want to read, don’t make a sound, just read it.”

Thinking that he might be offending others, he folded the newspaper and was about to leave when

a senior, apparently bothered by his behavior, snapped at him.

“Hey, I heard your family is ruined? But what can you do? Your father’s son is a perennial reserve, just picking up newspapers to read. Your father must be very worried.”

[You bastard who can’t even play baseball]

He thought this to himself, but he didn't voice it.

However, seeing the look in his eyes that seemed to look down on him, the senior eventually assaulted Ji Seo-hun.

Ji Seo-hun took the hits at first, but eventually, they exchanged blows and fought back.

Although the coach was not informed, the news that a freshman and a sophomore had been fighting in the dormitory reached the ears of a junior.

Upon hearing the details, it seemed true that the sophomore had acted somewhat excessively.

However, punching a senior just because of that was unthinkable in a disciplined sports club.

From then on, hellish days began for Ji Seo-hoon.

The coach sent Ji Seo-hoon into games a few times, but there were instances where he played good defense at shortstop and threw well, only for the first or second baseman to miss the ball, resulting in an error.

Unless someone watched closely, it could have looked like a wild pitch thrown by Ji Seo-hoon himself.

Unlike a standard catch motion, he would prepare in a completely unexpected spot,

and then move to receive Ji Seo-hoon's ball only to slip away.

Sensing something was amiss, the coach also stopped fielding Ji Seo-hoon.

It was around the time his three years of high school were almost over.

With all his seniors having graduated, Ji Seo-hoon entered a tournament that would be his last chance in high school.

The fact that the seniors had lynched Ji Seo-hoon was already well known in the baseball club.

However, Ji Seo-hoon practiced batting every night and ran consistently.

He also built up his slugging power by doing weight training.

Since he could not play in games, he practiced even harder to improve his skills.

Then, because the starting shortstop, who was his peer, showed instability in his batting, a junior sophomore stepped in as the starter.

Because it was such a prestigious school with a deep roster, they had been on a winning streak,

so they didn't feel the need to change their starting lineup.

They advanced after finishing first in their group.

However, starting from the quarterfinals, which was the tournament format, increasingly stronger opponents appeared, making defense and batting even more critical.

It was determined that it would be difficult for a sophomore shortstop to handle the situation. Yet, using Ji Seo-hoon felt somewhat unsettling.

In sports competitions where skill is the primary factor, officials, including players and coaches,

possess a kind of jinx.

Because they have experienced defeats despite giving their all and working hard, and wins by luck even when things were lacking and proceeded haphazardly,

such jinxes had a significant impact.

However, the situation became such that they had no choice but to field Ji Seo-hoon, who was afflicted by that jinx.

With one out, the bases were loaded. Even a decent hit would result in a run being scored.

This meant the score would become 4-2, and if they gave up a big hit, the gap would widen even further.

It would be difficult to catch up starting now in the 6th inning.

Furthermore, the sophomore shortstop was increasingly feeling the limits of his stamina.

His right elbow was also in poor condition, possibly due to an injury sustained while fielding.

He had already dropped the ball several times, creating a crisis.

Ultimately, after pondering how to escape this crisis, the coach had no choice but to send Ji Seo-hoon to the field.

The opposing team's manager, seeing Ji Seo-hoon—whom he had never seen throughout his high school days and who had ruined his team with wild pitches in a few games—come out, instructed the cleanup hitter to swing precisely toward Ji Seo-hoon.

The strategy was to break through the shortstop and score three runs at once to close out the game.

A hit-and-run call was also made simultaneously.

If everyone started batting at the same time, they would run blindly.

In that moment, the manager who had sent Ji Seo-hoon out realized his mistake.

Although he was clearly a good fielder, his game experience was practically zero, so his mental state could have been shaken,

and he had momentarily failed to anticipate that the ball would be sent in that direction.

As the pitcher threw the ball, the opposing team's ace and cleanup hitter made precise contact with the bat.

The ball landed right in front of Ji Seo-hoon's feet, bounced once, and was about to drive through.

At the same time, all the runners began to run.

However, before the ball could bounce, Ji Seo-hoon ran forward and caught it.

He then made an accurate throw to first base to secure a double play and end the crisis.

Furthermore, having recorded an RBI(Run Batted In) in his first at-bat and tied the game, he came in with two outs in the 9th inning and hit a closing solo home run to secure the victory.

All the teams participating in the tournament suddenly came under the spotlight for Ji Seo-hoon, who came out with fantastic defense and led his team to victory with a 1.000 batting average in two at-bats.

The team reached the finals but did not win the championship.

However, Ji Seo-hoon played a key role, raising his batting average to .800 and displaying impressive defense.

Professional baseball scouts and universities began to take notice of Ji Seo-hoon.

And immediately upon graduation, he became a professional baseball player.

As a newcomer, his salary was low, but he received a substantial signing bonus, so he intended to buy a house and bring his family back to Seoul.

However, perhaps feeling fed up with life in Seoul, his family refused to come up.

All they did was have Ji Seo-hoon's mother occasionally bring him packed side dishes.

In his first year, he failed to become a starter and occasionally appeared as a pinch hitter, but he did not perform significantly.

It was the difference between professional and high school baseball.

However, Ji Seo-hoon possessed an intellectual charm despite being a baseball player.

Upon joining the professional team, he used a calm tone of voice and words that sounded intellectual,

which gave him recognition among some female baseball fans.

In his second year, he became a starter and, excelling as the leadoff hitter, won the Golden Glove and the Popularity Award for his defense and batting prowess,

becoming a professional baseball star overnight.

Afterward, various broadcasts invited Ji Seo-hoon, and his popularity began to rise as he displayed a warm expression mixed with wit,

and used his sturdy and solid physique as a weapon.

However, he suffered an injury while fielding after colliding with a runner advancing to third base, and the vision in one eye deteriorated significantly.

Since then, it became difficult for him to properly distinguish the ball, and he was unable to perform well in both fielding and batting.

At that time, a broadcasting station official suggested a variety show, and Ji Seo-hoon had no choice but to participate.

As he gained popularity and adapted to broadcasting, he signed a contract with a famous agency, and it seemed his popularity would continue.

However, it did not last long, and he eventually disappeared from television.

Nevertheless, Ji Seo-hoon continuously studied the entertainment industry, a new field for him, morning and evening.

Unlike other celebrities who treated their managers like servants, he asked questions to seasoned managers,

and treated them as teachers, asking for their guidance. As a result, the managers helped him as if it were their own business.

Eventually, when another manager quit the company to start a new business,

he contacted Ji Seo-hoon, and together they established an entertainment agency.

Watching singers dance extensively and gain love from the public during their trainee days,

Ji Seo-hoon felt a certain commonality with baseball.

[The way the entertainer executes the movements accurately on stage without trembling, even while out of breath, without missing the lyrics or melody, makes them look just like a professional athlete.]

Ji Seo-hoon began learning from the singers as well.

He listened attentively to their difficulties and tried his best to make them feel as comfortable as possible.

As word of this spread, the number of singers whose contracts had expired coming to Ji Seo-hoon's agency began to increase.

Consequently, Ji Seo-hoon established his own agency, secured investment, and became the CEO.

At that time, the singers he was managing began to gain explosive popularity and he started to become known.

He established a system of signing exclusive contracts with composers who had written songs he liked but had not yet made it big.

And these masterpieces, which had never seen the light of day, began to rise in popularity, influenced by the singers' growing recognition.

They also gained popularity overseas, leading to the hosting of world tours.

Ji Seo-hoon made a fortune from this.

However, just before Ji Seo-hoon was about to leave to establish his own agency, a certain organization approached him.

They made the following proposal.

[If you do what we ask just once, we will never forget it.]

They explained specifically how they would help.

They said that management and legal advisors would be provided to help establish an entertainment agency,

the song would be continuously played on broadcast to become a massive hit,

and that they would make it popular overseas as well.

Ji Seo-hoon was suspicious at first.

However, the messenger they sent was a famous actor known to anyone in South Korea.

Although such an actor spoke, Ji Seo-hoon did not take the bait immediately.

Then, a politician who frequently appears on television showed up and explained the achievements he had made.

At that moment, he couldn't help but be tempted.

So, he asked what he needed to do to help achieve his dream.

They said that if he made the promise first, they would ask for his help later when necessary.

They added that until then, they would continue to support him as a token of friendship.

Ji Seo-hoon could not understand why such an opportunity had come to him, but he eventually signed a contract with them.