Macaron Doping
Seo Ha-yoon stared at me silently for a moment. Her gaze lingered strangely long, so I tilted my head first.
"Why?"
Then she spoke.
"You've been seeming so amazing lately."
I was caught off guard and immediately shot back.
"Huh? Why suddenly?"
Leaning against the wall, Seo Ha-yoon continued slowly.
"You've got crazy popularity these days, and your stats are great too. Honestly, I thought we were on the same level for a pretty long time? But then at some point... it felt like you just shot way ahead."
Seo Ha-yoon averted her eyes for a bit.
"Our team doesn't have a ton of fans anyway. But the number of fans who like you has exploded. They keep multiplying by the day. Even fans waiting for you super early have increased a lot. So I started feeling weird about it. Like we're drifting apart. Or maybe we already have?"
...?
Is she misunderstanding something?
If anything, she's the one way ahead of me... Does she not know?
Then she looked back at me and added,
"But seeing you resting here like this... it felt good. Like seeing that hardworking rookie from back then. You haven't changed."
"I was good back then too, you know? And you've already got tons of popularity yourself."
I continued sincerely.
"Honestly, if you were a cheerleader for a popular franchise instead of the Turkeys, you'd be one of the top cheerleaders out there. I know a thing or two now. You're already among the finger-countable popular ones, and you're the most popular rookie cheerleader."
Seo Ha-yoon's eyes widened briefly before she chuckled.
"I've heard similar things. Team leader Jeong Su-a and even the boss said if we were with a popular team, we'd be doing great as influencers too."
Her expression brightened a little.
"So they said winter gigs should line up nicely thanks to that."
I didn't quite get it right away and asked,
"What do you mean winter gigs will line up nicely?"
She said it like it was obvious.
"Oh, you didn't know? Baseball ends in fall. In winter, we jump to volleyball and basketball cheer squads. You say you know the basics, but you don't know a lot?"
"Ahh..."
I nodded as if it finally clicked.
Seo Ha-yoon kept going.
"Anyway, they said thanks to this, we can negotiate good deals even with decent teams now. So... I'm thinking of working harder, taking a page from you."
Uh... why's she saying something so embarrassing...
Right then, chills ran down my spine. I'd remembered something I'd forgotten.
Wait, what time is it?
I hurriedly checked the time.
Crap...
And realized I was slightly late for team training.
I shot up.
"I gotta go, I'm late!"
"Oh, yeah? Hurry then. Take this."
"Huh? Thanks. Bye."
I grabbed the box of macarons she'd handed me and rushed out.
Before the game, that exhausted feeling surged back up. The condition boost from the macarons had held through team training, but as soon as it wrapped, it plummeted fast. Even resting during the away team's training session didn't help much recovery. My legs felt glued to the ground, and my footwork was a beat slower than usual.
Still, I couldn't show it. I kept my expression neutral and sat in the dugout.
That's when Son Tae-ho senior came over and sat beside me.
"Kim Hu-seong, you okay? You look kinda unmotivated today."
How does he know I'm off right away? Is it showing? Or do captains just see everything?
I hesitated for a second but nodded.
"A bit tired, yeah. But how'd you know?"
"Hm, tired? Curious?"
"Yes. Curious."
"Just asked. I had something to say anyway, so it was a good icebreaker."
Ah...
"No big meaning. But yeah, had to ask to find out. Now I know your condition. Just sit and rest then."
Son Tae-ho senior glanced at my face again and said calmly,
"Hu-seong, you're a pretty important asset now."
Important asset...
Why say that all of a sudden?
"Your opinion carries weight these days. Share good ideas, but skip the unnecessary stuff. Got it? People are paying attention to what you say now."
It was advice and a warning at the same time. Pinpointing my position in the team and the weight of my words.
"Really? I had no idea."
"No idea? Doubt it. Think about it."
Hmm... so my suggestions are getting traction?
"Got it. I'll watch my words."
I replied shortly.
Son Tae-ho senior nodded, satisfied.
"Good."
He turned his gaze to the field and added,
"Schedule's getting fun ahead. Alternating bottom feeders and top teams. And the bottom ones in perfect order: 9th, 8th, 7th, 6th, 5th."
I couldn't help but smile despite the fatigue.
"Dojo breakers?"
He chuckled.
"Nice. Wanna try? Minimum losing series to top teams, winning series to bottom ones—might work."
"Oho, let's do it."
"Yeah."
Right then, word spread that the game was starting soon.
Ah, didn't rest much. Tsk...
"Game time. Let's go."
With that, Son Tae-ho senior headed to the field first. I dragged my heavy body up and followed.
Top of the first. Heading to shortstop, my soles felt glued to the dirt—heavy. I tried light steps, but they lagged half a beat.
Tsk, this is bad. Game hasn't even properly started.
Bad premonition: today wouldn't go easy.
One silver lining: today's starter was the team's ace, Spencer. He threw fastballs—four-seam, sinker—plus curve. Velos in the low-to-mid 150s, and lefty to boot. Nightmare matchup for hitters.
So the pitcher should hold us.
Thwack!
Hitting sound rang out. Opposing leadoff, Kim Seung-nam, fouled off Spencer's cutter. But it didn't lift clean—grounder rolling straight to short.
Damn, Spencer! Strike him out, don't induce grounders.
I cursed inwardly and dashed forward. Luckily straight at me; minimal movement needed from center. Gloved it clean, fired to first. Easy out.
Next balls stayed in play. One to third—Hong Yu-chan handled calmly for the out. Then to second—Kim Han-seong dropped low, scooped and threw.
Just like that, three quick outs. Top of first over.
Phew... good. Somehow cleared it.
Heading back to the dugout, my mind wasn't at ease. If this much movement tires me out, today's condition is seriously bad...
Then I remembered the pink macaron from Seo Ha-yoon. The mouth-filling sweetness, the instant energy surge.
Tsk... eat another?
It got me through training...
Decision made, I bolted past the dugout straight to the locker room.
Inside, I opened the small box from her. Untouched macarons neatly packed. Picked a blue one this time.
Nom.
Munch munch...
Unwrapped and popped in—sweetness flooded again, thicker than before.
Then a voice from outside.
"Kim Hu-seong! Where'd you go?"
Damn! Right in the happy moment...
Leadoff hitter's plight—no time.
No reply; I chewed slowly and headed out. Gear on, helmet, bat grabbed. Out of dugout to the plate, sweetness lingering. Strangely, power welled from inside, slow but steady.
Each step, legs lightened.
What? This is pretty good. Condition surging for real.
Like... doping?
Not really, but right now, it felt real—condition climbing.
Into the box, I eyed the pitcher naturally. On the mound: Daejeon MacPhies' fourth starter, Choi Kang-hyuk. Rookie of the Year contender with me, lefty.
Objectively bad matchup for me. But weirdly, felt different. Thought I could handle him now.
Body responding, confidence building. Funny that macarons fixed the fatigue, but wanted to test this state.
And against Choi Kang-hyuk? Perfect. Check how far this boost goes.
I swung the bat lightly, stared him down.
Perfect sacrifice right now.
Muttered inwardly, settled into my stance.
Come on. I'll serve you hell.