Once media day ended, Ken returned home alongside Daichi and Rohan. After almost 5 hours of mind numbing photos and interviews, they were all exhausted.
“I never want to do that again.” Daichi said, taking up a spot on the couch. “Back in Japan it wasn’t nearly as bad as this.”
Ken shook his head, “Here I thought we’d be able to relax before opening night.”
BUZZ BUZZ
Ken who had just turned his phone on, suddenly saw a bunch of notifications assault his phone. He saw a few familiar names, but the one he saw the most was Tara.
His heart sank.
“I need to make a phone call…” Ken said, excusing himself from the lounge and walking outside.
He called the number and it picked up before the first ring finished.
“Ken! What have you done?” She screamed shrilly on the other end, forcing him to hold the phone away from his ear.
“Calm down Tara, let’s have a conversation like adults.” Ken replied.
“Calm down? CALM DOWN?” She exclaimed.
There were a few noises on the other end before he heard another voice.
“Hey bro, long time no chat.” A manly voice called out.
“Steve, buddy. What’s going on?” Ken asked with a grin.
“Oh not much. Just dealing with the consequences of your actions, nothing new here.”
Ken laughed in good humor. It was good to hear Steve sounded relaxed despite the chaos going on at his place. “How bad is it?”
“Not too bad. Tara says you’ve gained over 200k followers in the past 2 hours, but many trolls are posting obscenities on your posts.” Steve explained calmly.
“Well, tell Tara not to worry. I meant what I said today, if I don’t achieve every single one of my claims, I will quit baseball for good.” Ken said, his confidence unwavering.
“HUH!?”
This time, Steve’s calm demeanor crumbled. “You mean you’ll quit if you don’t do all 3 this season? Ken, that is madness…”
“K—Ken, let’s talk about this.” Tara’s voice quivered as she stole the phone from Steve. “This is just your first season in the Majors, why would you state such a thing? You have many years to accomplish this in your career.”
Ken shook his head, “There’s no changing my mind. Not when I’ve come this far already.” He stated.
“I’m going to send you a video, please post it to my social media as soon as you can.”
After that, Ken said his goodbyes and hung up the phone and made his way back inside only to see that both Daichi and Rohan were eavesdropping.
Instead of getting angry, Ken laughed. “I need to record a video, can one of you do it for me?”
This was not something that he would usually do, but Ken had a plan.
Daichi took the phone and gave him a countdown before pressing record.
“Hello to all my fans, haters and everyone who decides to view this video.” Ken said, wearing a smile. “I’m sure you may have already seen my interview where I said some pretty outlandish things.”
“I’d like to take the opportunity to apologize.” He said, his smile unfaltering.
“I should have been clearer with my words back then, but allow me to clarify for you all sitting at home.” Ken’s grin widened.
“I will complete 3 things this season.” He said, placing 3 fingers up in front of him.
“First, I will throw a perfect game. Second, we will qualify for the World Series. Third… I will break the record for the fastest pitch.” Ken stated, putting down a finger for each thing he labeled.
“For those of you who might think I’m joking, hear this: If I fail to achieve any one of these claims, I will quit baseball at the end of the season.”
“WHAT!?”
A cacophony of cries called out in the lounge room. Apparently the commotion had attracted everyone in the house.
Ai, Miho, Daichi and Rohan were gawking at Ken who was sitting on the couch, talking into the phone camera.
“Well, this should tell you how serious I am. Keep an eye on the Detroit Ligers this season, we’re coming for the win.” Ken said, sending the camera a wink.
On queue, Daichi ended the video and lowered the phone. His face was filled with disbelief, as were everyone else’s.
“Ken, you can’t be serious right?” Daichi asked in Japanese.
“I’m 100% serious brother. This season, we’re going to win it all.” He said with a small laugh.
Tetsu and Naomi were by the side looking confused. They did not speak English very well, so they did not understand what was being said.
“What’s happening? Why does everyone look so serious?”
A few moments later, Tetsu and Naomi were wearing bewildered expressions.
“Can we have a word?” Ai grabbed Ken by the arm, pulling him softly.
Ken retrieved his phone from Daichi and agreed. He followed Ai up to the bedroom.
After closing the door, Ai looked at him. “Ken… I don’t understand why you’re doing this. This isn’t like you.”
Ken saw his wife’s concerned expression and couldn’t help but feel guilty. He probably should have spoken to her before he made this decision, not that it would have changed his actions at all.
“Ai… I don’t expect you to understand completely, but can you trust me this one time?” Ken asked, grabbing both of her hands and placing them in his own softly.
“I…” Ai looked troubled. He had never seen her like this before. “Of course I trust you… But is doing this even more important than your whole career? You’re still young, you have plenty of time…”
‘I don’t have time. If I don’t do this, I’ll lose everyone.’ Ken whispered in his heart.
“This is important, please trust me…” Ken said, pulling her into his embrace. “You don’t need to worry at all, I’ll take care of us.”
However, Ai backed away from him, tears forming in her eyes.
“Ken… I’m pregnant.”
Ken’s entire body froze.
“Truly?” He asked, his voice breaking.