"Hey, Rick… I told you! Damn it, we should have talked to Cha Tae-hyun then! Look at that New York Mets scout's face, he's already gone mad!"
"I agree, Jake. That pitcher Kim Shin-hwa's curveball was beautiful, but Cha Tae-hyun's hitting, which perfectly countered it, was gorgeous…"
"Right… and knowing that, why didn't you just grab him and talk to him when you first saw him? At this rate, some other team will snatch him up!"
Rick, his eyes filled with melancholy for a moment, replied, "I didn't say anything then… but that boy was walking hand-in-hand with a woman, looking very happy… I couldn't bring myself to interrupt his love."
Jake scoffed and grumbled, "What a romantic… Anyway, we have to get Cha Tae-hyun today, no matter what. Got it?"
"Well… if that girl isn't by his side."
"You… you crazy… I hope to god she's not here today so your crazy plan doesn't happen…"
Contrary to Jake's hopes, she, Lee Mi-yeon, was not far away.
'Now even the major league scouts are here.'
Lee Mi-yeon smiled faintly as she glanced at the foreign-looking scout. It was enjoyable to see Cha Tae-hyun do well, but it was even more joyful to see him being recognized.
But a thought crossed her mind, and her smile faded.
"Is Tae-hyun going to the majors…"
Although Cha Tae-hyun had said he would go to the Phoenix, she wasn't sure if he was serious, and more importantly, he was showing skills that made it strange for him not to go…
If she thought about his future, she should be supportive…
'It'll be hard to see him if he goes to the US…'
She couldn't help but think that first. What was the problem with not being able to see him? They weren't in any special relationship. Just a teacher and a student.
That was their relationship. But the fact that her heart ached just at the thought of not being able to see him as often was strange.
Slap!
To clear her complicated thoughts, Lee Mi-yeon slapped both her cheeks and forced herself to look at the field. But… the knot in her chest remained.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
The Dae-san High catcher, who had rushed to the mound, first checked Kim Shin-hwa's face. He was clearly furious about giving up the home run, his expression soured, but that was a relief.
It was better than being mentally broken and staring blankly.
"Are you okay?"
Tsk. Kim Shin-hwa clicked his tongue.
"It's fine. It was a mistake pitch. I didn't grip the ball right."
'…The pitch itself seemed perfect.'
Honestly, he thought it was the cleanest curveball Kim Shin-hwa had shown so far, but the catcher tactfully nodded.
"Right. You can throw a mistake pitch once in a while. It's only a two-run difference. Don't feel too pressured. The opposing pitcher is nothing special anyway, we'll get to him! And… about that Cha Tae-hyun…"
Kim Shin-hwa cut him off.
"Don't tell me to walk him."
"Uh… no, I wasn't going to say walk him."
"Don't tell me to play it safe either."
'Haa… this little brat…'
The catcher barely suppressed a sigh, handed him the ball, and went back to home plate. Cha Tae-hyun was definitely on a different level, but Kim Shin-hwa's pitches weren't bad today.
'As long as it's not Cha Tae-hyun… they probably won't hit it easily.'
The catcher called for a fastball and moved his mitt inside.
"Hey, Dae-san."
At that moment, the 5th batter, Lee Ji-ho, spoke. The catcher ignored him. He'd already been burned by trying to play mind games with Cha Tae-hyun; it was better to keep his mouth shut.
Soon, Kim Shin-hwa wound up and threw the ball, and Lee Ji-ho, in his batting stance, opened his mouth.
"If you're going to talk trash… you should see who you're talking to."
CRACK!
A loud crack of the bat that sent shivers down his spine. The catcher, who had once again thrown off his mask, looked up at the ball, and it flew over the fence again.
"Ah, fuck…"
The catcher's head dropped with a sigh and a small curse.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Although he gave up back-to-back home runs, the ego-driven Kim Shin-hwa wasn't shaken and cleanly retired the lower part of the lineup.
Nevertheless… the atmosphere in the Dae-san High dugout was so subdued that it was hard to believe it was the same place as before the game started. It was understandable.
They had thought it would be an easy win since Lee Seung-tae wasn't pitching, but their top three batters had been retired in order. And Kim Shin-hwa, who had been so confident and trash-talking, had been roughed up in the first inning…
'…This isn't good.'
The one who was most flustered was the coach. The aces who had returned from injury had perfectly adapted, and there were several players, including Kim Shin-hwa, who had grown significantly.
So he had thought this Blue Dragon tournament would be the one to restore Dae-san High's honor. Honestly, even though it was only the second inning, even the coach didn't think they could win.
'The only one I can trust is Hyun-gyu…'
The coach's hope, the 4th batter Moon Hyun-gyu, stepped into the batter's box. Moon Hyun-gyu was a pretty good batter. He was the 4th batter for Dae-san High, a team known for its batting.
It was just that now, monsters like Jin Tae-hyun and Cha Tae-hyun had appeared. Before that, he was always considered one of the top batters. Moon Hyun-gyu took a deep breath and got into his stance.
'It's not Lee Seung-tae… I can do it.'
This confidence might seem arrogant, but at least for Moon Hyun-gyu, it was well-founded. He had never forgotten the day he had been struck out by Lee Seung-tae without even being able to touch the ball, despite being the 4th batter.
He had used that humiliation as fuel and trained relentlessly, and he was confident that his skills were now completely different. So, it was perhaps natural for him to underestimate Kim Chang-hyun a little.
But… there was one thing Moon Hyun-gyu didn't know. If he had trained relentlessly for a year…
Thwack!
"Str-ike!"
Kim Chang-hyun had trained to the point of coughing up blood.
[153km/h]
'…It's fast.'
Moon Hyun-gyu, who had watched the first pitch, understood why the previous batters had been so easily defeated. Well, he understood, but he didn't think he would suffer the same fate.
He had faced Kim Shin-hwa countless times and prepared for fastballs, and he had always trained with the pitching machine set to over 150km/h. Unless it was the 157km/h pitch Lee Seung-tae had shown recently…
'I can hit this!'
Whoosh!
Although his mind thought he had hit the ball, his bat cut through empty air.
'What…?'
When he came to his senses, the ball was already in the mitt.
"Str-ike!"
He was now in a two-strike count, an absolutely disadvantageous situation.
'Is he going to throw one out of the zone? …He finished the others with a forkball after two fastballs… he wouldn't throw a forkball again, would he?'
As Moon Hyun-gyu's mind started to get complicated, Kim Chang-hyun wound up and threw the ball. The pitching form was clearly different, and the ball was much slower.
He didn't know exactly what kind of breaking ball it was, but considering the pattern so far… another forkball with two strikes? Wasn't that too disrespectful?
He must have thought that, and he must have known it was a bait pitch to trick him… but the moment the ball flew in, for some reason, he swung the bat.
Whoosh.
The umpire made the call as the bat cut through empty air again.
"Strikeout!"
"Haha…"
Was this the kind of pitch you couldn't help but swing at, even if you knew it was coming? Moon Hyun-gyu, who had received a fresh shock, shook his head and left the batter's box.
"...That Dae-san High 4th batter is flustered."
"It's understandable. The ball has a lot of power for its speed. The spin rate must be incredibly high. That batter probably doesn't even know why he couldn't hit the ball."
"…Right, the ball seems to rise a bit. And that forkball he's using as his out pitch… it's top-notch. Does he have any other pitches?"
Jake chuckled and continued, "Well… then Kim Chang-hyun is worth considering, isn't he?"
"I agree."
The next 5th batter playfully tapped Moon Hyun-gyu's shoulder on his way to the plate.
"What's with the strikeout? It's not Lee Seung-tae, it's embarrassing."
The 5th batter had said it as a joke, but Moon Hyun-gyu replied with a hollow laugh.
"That bastard, he's unbelievable. He must be on fire today… he's no different from Lee Seung-tae."
"Haha! You're just making excuses because you're embarrassed. I'll show you."
"...Yeah, go ahead and show me."
The 5th batter, who had confidently left, couldn't hide his smile even at the plate.
'What's he talking about, on fire? His speed is even lower than Shin-hwa's.'
And that confidence was maintained even when the first pitch came, no, until he brought the bat to the first pitch. Exactly until he made contact.
'Why can't I hit this…?'
Thwack.
He hit it. The ball hit the bat. But it was way too late, he was way off the sweet spot, and the ball popped up weakly. Should he even call that a hit? The 5th batter's head followed the ball, and at its destination stood Kim Chang-hyun.
The moment their eyes met, Kim Chang-hyun grinned and lightly held out his glove, and…
"Out!"
…the ball fell into it.
The 5th batter, who now understood the meaning of Moon Hyun-gyu's hollow laugh, also laughed and left the batter's box.
"Haha… this is a big problem. Can we even score today…?"
As the 5th batter muttered that, another thought was added to his mind.
No… can we even get a hit?
Not long after…
"Strikeout!"
The 6th batter also struck out.
"Strikeout! That's his third strikeout today, and he hasn't allowed a single runner on base through the 2nd inning! He's proving himself!"
└ wtf, for real? Is Dae-san High trash, or is Kim Chang-hyun just that good?
└ Can't you tell from the pitches? Look at that heavy fastball, the ball is rising, lol.
└ That kind of OP fastball for two strikes, and then finishing with a drop ball is just evil, lol.
└ Hmm… can't we somehow get both Lee Seung-tae and Kim Chang-hyun for the Phoenix?
└ Where's your conscience?
└ Kim Chang-hyun is our Daejeon Volcanos player. I'd appreciate it if other teams didn't mention him ^^.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Shin Ha-yoon was a baseball lover, a lifelong Phoenix fan. So when her family suggested going to the Blue Dragon tournament finals instead of going to the department store, she didn't have any reason to complain. But now, sitting in the stands, her lips were pouting.
"Ha-yoon, watching the Blue Dragon tournament in person is really fun, isn't it?"
"What's fun about it when it's not a Phoenix game… I said let's go to the department store, what's with this Blue Dragon tournament final…"
"What does it matter? There are two Phoenix players, so it's a Phoenix game!"
"Where are the Phoenix players?"
Shin Ha-yoon's mother giggled and pointed at the Hyuksan High dugout.
"He's not playing today, but our Seung-tae is over there… ah, here he comes, Ha-yoon, look, here comes our Phoenix player!"
Shin Ha-yoon sighed as her mother started making a fuss, and she flinched at the cheers that followed.
"Waaaaah!"
The reason why the baseball fan Shin Ha-yoon was uncomfortable at the Blue Dragon tournament finals. The very reason, Cha Tae-hyun, was walking to the plate.
"Tae-hyun oppa~!!"
"Our ace, hit another one!"
"Our son-in-law! Let's set a new record~."
"Hey! Who's our son-in-law!!"
Shin Ha-yoon shrieked, and her family burst out laughing again. It wasn't that she was uncomfortable because she was the butt of her family's jokes. No, that was also quite uncomfortable, but…
Shin Ha-yoon's eyes darkened as she glanced at Cha Tae-hyun's face. Every time she saw that face, she remembered the Cha Tae-hyun who had teared up during the interview, and her chest felt tight. So she didn't like it…
"Ha-yoon? Where are you going?"
"To the bathroom."
She didn't really have to go. She was just uncomfortable with Cha Tae-hyun at the plate. As she was walking towards the bathroom she didn't even want to go to…
"Tae-hyun-ah!!!"
"Uh…?"
A voice she had definitely heard somewhere stopped her in her tracks. She turned her head towards the voice, and her head tilted slightly.
"Teacher…?"
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