In This Life, The Greatest Star In The Universe

Chapter 3

Oh my god.

What have I done?

Are you okay?

I hurried over to the policeman who was groaning on the marble floor.

Im sorry! I dont know how

I-Im fine.

Grab my hand and get up.

As the young man grabbed my hand and got up, my head was in a mess.

Whats going on?

It was unbelievable.

My body moved on its own and I slapped a stranger on the floor.

He looked shocked, but so was I.

The move I used to flip him over was the same one I had just seen in a movie on TV.

Hello.

After moving to a cafe in the hospital, the man introduced himself.

Im from the Eunpyeong Police Station. Im the investigator in charge of this case.

Hi.

He had a short sports cut.

His skin was rough and his features were thick, making him look like a detective.

His name card said Traffic Investigation Team Chief Jang Kyung-il.

Are you hurt?

Im fine.

Jang chief smiled coolly.

I used to be in the judo club back in the day. This is nothing to me, ow, ow, ow!

Are you okay?

Ah, ah I mean, its nothing.

He seemed to be in a lot of pain, but I let it go.

Youre amazing at flipping people over. Youre not a beginner, are you? You must have been a professional to do it unconsciously.

Ah, yes

Figures.

It was a lie, but I couldnt say I just copied the technique from a movie, haha. here, could I?

He then took out a notebook and started asking me questions.

I answered faithfully.

After a short Q&A, I asked him a question I was curious about.

Was he drunk driving? The car was swerving all over the place.

No, he wasnt. Hes an epileptic. He said he was dropping off his daughter at the test site when he had a seizure.

Can epileptics have a drivers license?

Yes, they can.

The policeman nodded.

Well, its complicated to explain here, but there was no legal problem with his license.

I see.

I felt bitter thinking that the reason he couldnt take the exam was because of the family of another examinee like me.

What happens now?

Hell be arrested. He almost killed two people, after all.

I almost died.

I realized how reckless it was to jump in front of a speeding car.

Would I do the same thing if the situation repeated itself?

Honestly, I couldnt guarantee it.

My life is precious, but there is one person in this world who lives only for me.

Have you contacted your family?

My grandmother lives in Gunsan. I tried to call her, but her phone is off. She must still be praying for me at the temple.

Oh

The young policeman, who had a hard time expressing his feelings, changed the subject.

I know this is not the best thing to say, but you did a great thing.

Thank you.

How many times have I heard that today?

About 26 times, I think.

But the policeman said something different from the others.

You must feel wronged and angry right now. But life is not free, you know. You get what you give.

Yes?

Youll be fine for a while.

He smiled as he picked up his notebook and asked me.

What did you say?

Do you know what hospitals and police stations have in common?

I dont know.

Rumors spread like wildfire there.

He shook my hand with a smile.

What did he mean by rumors?

I was about to follow Chief Jang, who left me with a puzzling riddle, out of the hospital cafe.

Thats when I realized what he meant.

Oh? Hes here.

A crowd of people surrounded me.

They were all different in gender and attire, so I didnt notice at first.

But as soon as I saw someone carrying a camera on their shoulder, I knew what was going on.

Someone handed me a business card.

Hello, Mr. Seon Woojoo. Im Noh Yong-ki, a reporter from KTN. Do you have a minute?

I blinked my eyes in confusion, then understood.

Thats what he meant.

The story must have spread through the people who work at the hospital and the police station.

Well, it was a good story, even from my perspective.

-A student on his way to take the college entrance exam throws himself to save an old man pulling a handcart.

I smiled at the reporters business cards.

Sure. I have time.

I remembered a proverb I had seen in an English textbook while studying for the exam.

When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.

It means to turn a crisis into an opportunity.

Yeah. If its already happened, I might as well enjoy it.

I was ready to make some lemonade.

***

KTN Evening News.

A middle-aged anchor with neatly combed hair was on the TV screen.

[2014 College Entrance Exam]

With that screen as the background, the anchor opened his mouth.

-This is the Issue Talk Talk corner, where we look at the issues in the online world, with anchor Hong Ah-ran.

-Yes.

The anchor appeared on the screen that popped up on the right.

She was standing in front of a screen with the internet search rankings.

-Today, on the day of the college scholastic ability test, a heartbreaking but heartwarming news was reported, right?

-Yes. Thats right.

Hong Ah-ran touched the screen, and the internet search term number one was enlarged.

-The internet search term that we will cover today on Issue Talk Talk is Galhyeon-dong Hero. He has been the top real-time search term since this morning. Shall we watch the related video?

The source was written on one side of the blurry video.

It was a black box recording of a car parked nearby.

The video started with an old man struggling to pull a handcart.

A young man in a yellow padded jacket appeared and started to push the handle with him.

Then, the screen changed to a CCTV footage.

A car started to speed up and the young man ran and pushed the old man away.

Bang!

There was no sound, but the handcart was smashed in an instant, and the paper inside flew everywhere.

The car spun out of control and stopped.

The screen returned to the briefing room.

-This accident happened at 6 a.m. today, in front of a high school in Galhyeon-dong, Eunpyeong-gu. The car caused an accident while speeding. According to the police investigation, the driver had been suffering from epilepsy since last year. The police suspect that he stepped on the accelerator while having a seizure.

-Thats unfortunate. Were there any victims?

-Yes, as you can see, the 70-year-old old man, Mr. Choi, who was pushing the handcart, almost died, but luckily he was rescued by a passerby.

-The rescuers personal information was the talk of the day, right?

-Yes. Thats right.

Hong Ah-ran touched the screen and a video thumbnail appeared.

The same young man in a yellow padded jacket.

-The hero who saved the 70-year-old old man was a student who was on his way to take the college entrance exam today. Shall we watch the first interview that reporter Noh Yong-ki obtained this afternoon?

The young man was sitting in a cafe.

He took off his yellow padded jacket and wore a black sweater.

His face was slightly tired, but handsome.

[Seon Woojoo / Galhyeon-dong Hero] : Do you regret it?

The young man smiled bitterly and said.

[Seon Woojoo / Galhyeon-dong Hero] : I do regret it a bit. But human life comes first, right? I dont think it can be compared to an exam that I can take again next year.

[Reporter]: What were you thinking when you went to save him?

[Seon Woo-ju / Galhyeon-dong Hero]: Well, I dont think I had any thoughts. My body moved before my mind did.

The screen briefly showed a clip of the interview, then returned to the briefing room.

Anchor Hong Ah-ran looked straight at the camera and continued.

-That was an interview with Mr. Seon, the hero of Galhyeon-dong. Fortunately, Mr. Seon only suffered a mild concussion despite rolling down the hill. On the other hand, it was revealed that he had scored in the top percentile several times in the previous mock exams, which makes his sacrifice even more regrettable.

-Its a heartwarming but sad story. How are the other victims?

-Mr. Choi, the victim, was transferred to the hospital afterwards. He broke a rib, but other than that, he only had minor bruises.

-Thats a relief.

-The incident has also raised questions about the poor license management of the Road Traffic Authority.

I turned off the DMB screen at that point.

When I entered the internet portal, my name was plastered all over the news section.

-On the day of the college entrance exam, a student saves the life of a 70-year-old man

-Galhyeon-dong Hero Seon Woo-ju: I feel burdened by the excessive attention for what I did.

-Seoul Police Agency considering awarding the hero of Galhyeon-dong

I looked up at the night sky and breathed in the cold air.

What a crazy world.

I used to imagine that every day when I was an idol trainee.

I wanted to be famous, to be recognized by my name alone.

Ironically, that was the case now.

Of course.

I knew better than anyone that this was a temporary interest.

But today, I was more famous than any other trainee in the world.

And not only for being a hero, but also for something else that was trending on the internet.

The screenshot of my interview that was circulating on various online communities.

-Wow, hes so handsome lol

-But he really looks young I thought he was a high schooler

-If I were the director of a cram school, I would hire him right away with a years tuition

The compliments on my appearance were embarrassing to read.

I cautiously read the comments one by one.

I was happy to receive attention, but I felt strange.

After all, the fact that two years of studying went down the drain was true.

Sigh

I looked at the night sky again and then at my smartphone in my hand.

It kept buzzing with messenger notifications.

Countless messages.

From close friends to acquaintances I rarely contacted, to people I barely remembered.

My phone, which was usually quiet, was spewing fire with all the calls.

They probably saw the news or the internet and wanted to check on me, but I wasnt in a situation to reply to all of them.

There was something more important than that right now.

I looked at the baseball in my hand.

An empty playground.

The school lights were all off because it was the night of the college entrance exam.

I held the ball in a place where no one was watching.

What happened today.

I needed to verify what it was.

I was about to throw the ball to the stand of the playground for the experiment, when my smartphone suddenly vibrated.

I couldnt help but gasp when I saw the name on the screen.

Why is he contacting me all of a sudden?

I pressed the call button anyway.

Hello.

-Oh, you answered?

I pursed my lips at his surprised tone.

What do you mean, you answered, hyung?

-Well, Im glad you still call me hyung. You havent forgotten my name, have you?

Of course I remember.

-See, my networking skills are still alive.

The callers name was Yoon Seokhwan

Youre talking nonsense, are you feeling better, hyung? I heard you quit soon after I left because of a herniated disc.

-How did you know?

I heard it from Tae-hyun.

Han Tae-hyun was a trainee who had made it to the debut group TNT with me.

We kept in touch for a while after he quit, but after he came back from the army, I only checked on him through TV.

Are you feeling better?

-Im all healed. I started working again while you were in the army.

TJ Entertainment?

-I tried to go back, but they already filled my spot. Thats how big companies are.

They are a bit like that.

I sighed as I badmouthed the company.

By the way, whats up?

-Do we need a reason to contact each other?

Yes.

-

You contacted me because you have something to say. I wont take it badly.

-I have something to propose to you.

Cant you do it over the phone?

-You know how it is in this industry. Its customary to talk face to face. Do you have any plans today?

No, I dont.

-Then come out, man. Lets meet and catch up. Ill buy you dinner.

Gulp.

Now that I think about it, I havent eaten dinner because I was so busy.

I felt my stomach rumble and coughed.

I wont go unless its expensive.

-I have a corporate card ready. Just name the place.

Flower sirloin.

-Flower sirloin?

Yeah, not just flower sirloin, but snowflake sirloin.

-Werent you a pork lover?

That was true.

It still is, but.

The last thing I remembered when I slipped on the ice at dawn was very clear.

Three servings of sirloin for 45,000 won.

If it wasnt for that memory, I would have suggested pork belly.

-Anyway, I appreciate that you like free stuff. How about I take you to a amazing beef restaurant I know? Youre in Eunpyeong-gu right now, right?

How did you know?

-How would I know. Your face is all over the internet communities.

Was it that bad?

-Ill send you the address of the restaurant on KakaoTalk.

Hyung, but it might take me some time.

-How long?

I fiddled with the baseball as I answered.

I have something to do.

-Okay. Contact me when you leave.

I hung up the phone and got up.

I brushed off the sand that was stuck to my butt with one hand and searched for YouTube with the other.

[MLB top plays]

There were clips of the best games played by the American Major League Baseball players.

I clicked on the video and the games started playing with BGM.

I focused on the video with bated breath.

And how long had it been?

When the video ended and the ads started playing, I was sure.

A strange feeling.

I felt a sensation that I couldnt describe with words throughout the video.

If I had to express it

A sixth sense beyond the five senses.

The experiment I was doing now was to test that.

After watching a rough play video, I set my smartphone to camera mode and placed it on the stand.

Then I stepped back and took some distance before taking a pitching stance.

As soon as I intended to throw the ball.

My body moved on its own.

It was the same as when I slapped the cop in the morning.

My body moved involuntarily.

Whoosh-

I felt a momentary pain due to the angle that exceeded my flexibility, but it was only for a moment.

My right arm drew a splendid curve.

Bang-!

The baseball that hit the stand bounced a few times and then rolled away.

Instead of picking it up, I grabbed my smartphone right away.

And then I checked.

[First video]

Before watching the MLB video, I played the video I had recorded for comparison. 𝚏𝚛ee𝐰𝗲𝚋n𝐨𝘃𝗲l.𝐜𝐨m

As soon as the video started, I shivered with embarrassment.

I looked awkward in every movement in the video.

It was no wonder I was nicknamed robot when I was a trainee.

From the choppy motions to the awkward arm and leg positions.

Ping.

The ball flew away without any appeal.

I threw a few more balls after that, but there was no need to watch any more.

I pressed the back button to exit the video and then entered the next one.

[Second video]

The video started playing and within seconds, I let out an involuntary sigh.

Is that really me?

Its different.

From the eye contact to everything else, its different from the first one.

It was clumsy, but enough to make people say You must have played baseball before? wherever I went.

The interval between the two videos was five minutes.

But in just five minutes, my posture had changed so much that even I couldnt believe it.

There was only one factor that could explain the huge gap between the two movements.

It was that I had seen the pros pitching movements.

Doubt turned into evidence, and evidence turned into certainty.

Could I use the same movements as the ones I saw once?

I didnt know why.

Maybe it was because of the concussion that changed the nerve cells in my brain, or maybe it was a heavenly reward for a good deed.

But two things were certain.

Ugh!

My thigh twitched.

It was because I had lifted my leg beyond its flexibility to follow the pros pitching movement.

I grimaced as I massaged my sore thigh.

My body couldnt keep up with the movement.

There was no such thing as a perfect freebie in the world.

That was the first certain fact.

And the second one was

A new path had opened up for me.