Jo Jong-hoon, the pitching coach, shot me a suspicious glance at my sudden surge in pitch power.
Over the past few days, my velocity had spiked dramatically, and the furrow between his brows had deepened even more.
"Hyun-jun, growth is important and all, but... sudden changes like this can strain your body."
The coach's voice was heavy.
Deok-gu and the other catcher trainee standing nearby swallowed hard in the tense atmosphere.
"So spill it to your coach. What method did you use?"
The coach's suspicion stemmed from my abrupt growth.
I hesitated for a moment before pulling an item from my nearby bag.
"This is it."
"...What's that? A grip strengthener?"
"Yeah. It's been really effective for building hand strength."
I'd pulled out a grip strengthener.
A flash of relief crossed the pitching coach's worried face.
What was that? Did he think I was going to pull out a syringe or something?
To clear up any misunderstanding, I quickly added more.
"I've been using this every day to build my grip strength."
"Ah."
"Whenever I have time, I do dumbbell presses at home for chest muscles, plus dumbbell curls and hammer curls to train my biceps and forearms."
"Ah..."
I'd brought the grip strengthener just in case.
It seemed convincing enough, as the coach's grim expression gradually brightened.
These weren't just empty words.
I'd started personal workouts at home just yesterday.
Following Seo Ji-hoon's advice as a scout.
That prompted me to begin all sorts of exercises to boost my pitch power.
"A grip strengthener... Yeah, that can be pretty effective for increasing power."
Jo Jong-hoon, the pitching coach, seemed somewhat convinced.
But his face still said it wasn't quite enough.
That's when Deok-gu, who'd been silent, stepped in.
"Hyun-jun sunbae always trains hard."
"What?"
Under the coach's puzzled gaze, Deok-gu glanced at me briefly before speaking plainly to the coach.
"Even when he was changing his pitching form a few months back, he'd stay late to correct his mechanics. Even after Manager and Coach left for the day."
"...Really?"
"He was always doing shoulder strengthening, lower body, and core workouts too. I didn't know he'd added grip strengtheners and upper body exercises this time."
"Ahh...!"
Deok-gu calmly testified to my usual training habits with a straight face.
Jo Jong-hoon, the pitching coach, who'd been listening quietly, suddenly brightened up.
"Hyun-jun, you've been working really hard lately. Good to see."
The coach shifted his gaze from Deok-gu to me, his face now full of approval.
"You've always been diligent, but now the results are showing. Haha, makes me feel good too."
"Huh? Oh, thank you."
Even as I stood there blankly, Jo Jong-hoon patted my shoulder warmly and encouraged me.
"I'll make sure to report to the manager how hard you've been working. Just keep it up like this."
"Thank you!"
"Haha, it's your effort that counts. Somehow, I'm looking forward to the weekend league game now."
With that, the pitching coach left the bullpen training area, patting my shoulder and in high spirits.
It started like an interrogation, but somehow I'd ended up earning major recognition...?
"Hmm..."
I thought it over for a second.
The sudden velocity jump could be explained by my changed pitching form.
The issue was the power.
I'd prepared the grip strengthener, but convincing the coach about the one-day power boost wasn't easy.
Then Deok-gu unexpectedly backed me up, fully convincing the coach and even earning me praise.
"...?"
This was all thanks to Deok-gu.
The honest guy tilted his head, not understanding my gaze.
"Deok-gu."
"Yes, sunbae."
"Come here for a sec."
"Huh? Okay."
That's when I called Deok-gu over and pulled cash from my pocket, where I'd been keeping it safe.
Precious money, but gotta spend it where it counts.
With trembling hands, I pulled out a 50,000 won bill and handed it to him.
"Deok-gu, go get yourself a meal with this."
"...Huh?"
"There's a good soup house down by the school. Go with your classmates."
"Ah..."
"Take it. You're a sharp one, kid. Your sunbae has high hopes."
I forced the bill into the stunned Deok-gu's hand.
Feels good.
Thanks to Deok-gu, I'd left a great impression on the pitching coach.
That boosted my chances in the weekend league starting pitcher competition.
"What could our Park Jin-woong be up to~?"
Suddenly, my weekend game rival popped into mind.
I was dying to know the team hierarchy No. 2 pitcher's situation, so I hummed a tune as I walked.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Meanwhile, in the bullpen training area after Hyun-jun left.
"...."
Deok-gu stared down at the bill he'd been handed, silent for a long while.
After quite some time, a change came over his stiff expression.
"Hyun-jun sunbae... He's a really good guy."
A smile.
Behind the catcher's mask, Deok-gu's usually serious face slowly broke into a grin.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Park Jin-woong.
Seomun High's No. 2 pitcher after the undisputed ace Shin Su-ho.
Thinking of him brought an evil grin to my face.
"Heh heh heh, where's our Jin-woongie~?"
Insane stamina that didn't drop even after complete games, a variety of breaking balls, rookie-unlike control of pace, and even tricky hidden motions.
Coldly assessing it, until a few days ago, he was way out of my league as a bottom-tier team pitcher.
But that's fine.
I knew one of Park Jin-woong's weaknesses well.
"Is our Jin-woong's mentality holding up right now?"
Park Jin-woong. He had pretty much everything a starter needed, except for one thing.
A weak mentality.
"Guess I should go shake him up a bit. It's all part of the competition in sports."
The weekend league game against Gyeongin High was just three days away.
Winning that locked in our Blue Dragon Cup spot—a crucial match. And I'd be competing with Park Jin-woong for the starting pitcher role.
"Too bad my skills still can't match his."
That was exactly why I had to stop by Jiwon Mart and Grandma's Soup House after today's schedule.
"But if I boost my velocity and power stats a bit more, I could at least mix it up with Park Jin-woong—not sure about Shin Su-ho, though?"
As I headed out to find Park Jin-woong with that in mind...
"Huh?"
I didn't need to.
For some reason, Park Jin-woong showed up right in front of me, his face flushed beet red.
"Song Hyun-jun."
"What."
"Don't get cocky thinking you beat me."
"What the hell?"
"It was just that one practice game."
Oh, yesterday's game.
Park Jin-woong had nearly taken the loss against Deokyang High yesterday.
I'd saved him from that, and now this? My evil grin deepened.
"Yeah, you were crumbling on the mound."
"Grr! Yesterday was just a practice game that doesn't even count officially. You didn't beat me, Song Hyun-jun!"
"Who said anything?"
"What?"
"You think I play baseball to beat you?"
"Th-then what?"
"To beat the other team."
"...Ah."
Park Jin-woong's face went blank for a moment.
Funny.
"Why're you laughing?"
"'Cause it's hilarious."
"What's so hilarious?"
"I save you from a sure loss, and you yap at the winning pitcher. Kinda funny."
"...What?"
"Even in a practice game, shouldn't you start with thanks for keeping you off the hook for a loss? Park Jin-woong."
Advice.
Let's call what I was saying to Park Jin-woong right now advice.
"Don't waste energy on weird stuff. Since when was I your rival, Park Jin-woong? The guy you need to beat in competition is Shin Su-ho, right?"
"That's..."
"I'm out. Don't burn out before the Gyeongin High game. Their ace is Sa Seung-jun, the national-level lefty ace. Don't screw up your pride by wasting energy elsewhere—manage your condition. Listen to your hyung."
"...Song Hyun-jun, who the hell are you?!"
"Forgot already?"
"What?"
"Yesterday in the bullpen, you said I'd need 140 km/h to critique you?"
"...Huh?"
Seeing Park Jin-woong's dumbfounded face, his words from the bullpen yesterday overlapped perfectly.
"Haha, Song Hyun-jun, you critiquing me? Worry about yourself. Save that for when you hit 140."
And in yesterday's game, I'd done exactly that—hit 140 km/h.
Precisely 142.1, actually.
So.
"Here, critique."
"...Ah."
"Win the Gyeongin High game to advance to Blue Dragon Cup, so do your best. Park Jin-woong."
"You do your best."
"Me? Already am. Pitching coach is singing my praises everywhere—didn't you hear?"
"...I heard."
Huh?
The pitching coach had already bragged about me to Park Jin-woong too?
No wonder his face was all twisted when he stormed up.
"Why's Coach... praising a scrub pitcher like you?"
"Scrub? Guess that scrub's been doing well lately."
"Song Hyun-jun!"
"I'm in a good mood today. So let's compete nicely."
"..."
"Gonna train."
Done.
I turned and walked away coolly.
Advice given, mentality shaken.
Nailed it.
Feeling great.
"You think I'm on your level, Song Hyun-jun? Our talent levels are different!"
Now that's crossing the line.
"Yeah?"
"I'm Park Jin-woong, Seomun High's No. 2 pitcher!"
"Not even No. 1."
"What?!"
"Busy. Gotta compete for weekend league starter against some foul-tempered guy."
"You bastard!"
"Seriously going. Prep well till the weekend. Good luck."
That scratched him good.
So I quickly got out of his sight.
I didn't hear Park Jin-woong grinding his teeth as he muttered to himself.
"Just you wait, Song Hyun-jun! You think you're the only one who can train?"
And the next day.
Park Jin-woong, gritting his teeth, left clear marks on the pitching tracking system—for velocity and power too.
I only heard about it days later.
⚔ PITCH TRACKING ⚔ 148.6 km/h Fastball Spin Rate: 2,469 rpm
CRACK!!!
The sound filled the indoor space.
Lee Min-han, the manager checking players via the monitor display, couldn't hide his shock.
"Ah...! Jin-woong, you...!"
Seomun High's field general, Manager Lee Min-han, let out a startled voice.
"...."
Park Jin-woong's eyes gleamed like an angry panther.
The pitching tracker monitor showed his throw.
148.6 km/h.
Park Jin-woong had shattered his personal velocity record.
The weekend for the Gyeongin High league game had arrived.
Read More Chapter on Our Website:
- NovelsHub.org
New chapters released daily —don't miss out!