Life and baseball are quite similar.
You can fail countless times, but one swing can change your destiny. Conversely, you can be walking a path of success without any obstacles, only to fall into ruin because of one wrong decision.
In the world of baseball, if it were chess, I was the queen.
I could go anywhere, do anything, and was the most important piece on the board.
But the moment I stepped off the field, I was nothing.
Rookie of the Year, Cy Young Award, League MVP, Gold Glove, Silver Slugger.
What meaning do they have?
World Series championship rings?
I have several. But the only thing I’m holding right now is a cheap ring my ex-wife gave me a long time ago.
We were childhood friends, and we started dating when I was in middle school. I think I got this as a birthday present when I was in high school.
I regret it.
Honestly, damn it. I don’t know.
I went to bed wearing the ring, which had turned completely black.
I want to call and apologize.
But I despise myself for being so pathetic that I can’t even do that, and I curse myself.
What good is being great at baseball?
* * *
Maybe it was because I slept with the ring on, but my ex-wife appeared in my dreams.
“Hey. Kang Geon-woo. Happy birthday.”
It was Yuri, from when we were younger.
She’s two years older than me, but I never called her "noona" no matter what.
Yuri held out a ring to me.
"A ring?"
"It's not just any ring."
"Then what?"
"It's a magic ring that, when Kang Geon-woo makes a huge mistake and says, 'Please, just once, Yuri noona, look at me,' it allows him to go back to before the mistake."
I scoffed, and then got hit.
Hmm. I remember something like this happening before.
After waking up from sleep, I unconsciously mumbled to the ring.
"Please, just once, Yuri noona, look at me."
...But, it’s not like this is actually a magic ring.
However, when I said that and opened my eyes...
I had returned to my past, back in my third year of high school.
"Kang Geon-woo-ssi, if you choose the Oceans instead of the Major Leagues, the club promises to treat you with the best conditions. You can play in Korea for now, and we’ll give you full support to eventually make it to the Major Leagues. Please, trust us!"
...Wait. Is this really a magic ring?
Back to before the mistake? Does that mean going to the Major Leagues was the mistake?
