A Love Stronger Than Whispers of the Past

Divided Hearts inside the Diamond of Fire

Slippin' Into Darkness

The roar of the ecstatic Korean crowd still felt like a physical blow to Soichiro Yamazaki. Kneeling on the pitcher's mound long after the game, but not before the lamp turned off, the weight of his team's crushing defeat pressed down on him. The once-vibrant lights of the Estadio Alfredo Harp Helú blurred with unshed tears. Shame, a bitter pill he refused to swallow, burned in his throat. Displeasure, agony, wrath, combined into one.

His mind, a chaotic battlefield, replayed the fateful pitch. A split-second decision, a lifetime of regret. The ball, a traitorous missile, sailed towards the right field before getting returned, a feast for the hungry bat of the Korean slugger.

The crowd erupted, a tidal wave of jubilation that drowned out his own despair.Flares burnt dyeing the red ballpark in azure and blue.

The culprit was none other than Soichiro Yamazaki himself, the relief ace of the San Diego Padres. A man accustomed to the spotlight, the roar of the crowd, the sweet taste of victory.

But tonight, under the indifferent gaze of the Arizona sky, he felt like a failure. A colossal, irreparable failure that might've broken the best of the best.

Not long after the press conference and kerfuffle in the dressing room, his phone buzzed, a jarring intrusion into his solitude. He ignored it, the silence more comforting than any human voice.

But the insistent vibration persisted, a relentless reminder of the world outside his personal hell. Finally, with a resigned sigh, he answered.

"Jeongyeon," he said, his voice a mere husk.

Her laughter, light and airy, was a stark contrast to his despair. "Earth to Soichiro," she teased. "Did you miss me that much?"

Her voice was a lifeline, a bridge to normalcy. But it was also a reminder of their unconventional life, a life lived under constant scrutiny, a life where every move was dissected, every word analyzed.

"Yes. I miss you," he managed to say, his voice barely audible.

"I lost my mind,"

There was a pause, a pregnant silence that stretched into eternity. And then, her laughter again, this time laced with understanding.

"Soichiro Yamazaki, the great," she said, her voice dripping with sarcasm and bittersweet irony, "lost another finals. Shocking."

He could hear the deep sadness and anguish in her voice, a silent promise of support, of unwavering love. It was in those moments, when the world seemed to crumble around them, that he realized the true depth of their connection.

They were a modern-day Romeo and Juliet, their love story a forbidden fruit in the orchard of public opinion. It was a relentless battle against the odds, a constant negotiation with the public, a daily exercise in resilience.

"And I'll never lose my faith in you; How will I ever get to heaven if I do?"

The young couple walks away without fanfare, as the lyrics of "Lost in Space" by Lighthouse Family echoes through the empty hall of the Padres' spring training complex.

Nevertheless,in the heart of that battle, they were learning to rely on each other, to find strength in their vulnerability, to build a love that was as unbreakable as the human spirit.

Kind of...

A sleek, modern kitchen in a penthouse suite overlooking Petco Park.
Around a month later.

Jeongyeon, in an oversized tee and fluffy slippers, is meticulously chopping vegetables for dinner. Soichiro, towering over her at 6'3", is drenched in sweat, his once idol-like physique now replaced by a more athletic build. He's holding a scouting report, his brow furrowed in concentration.