Chapter 12
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Translator: Wjin
Chapter: 12
Chapter Title: The Left-Handed Pitcher Equips Velocity
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Seomun High's manager, Lee Min-han.
"...Huh?!"
As Song Hyun-jun's innings piled up, he kept finding himself stunned over and over.
"Did Hyun-jun... ever throw a forkball...?"
He had no memory of it at all.
In his recollection, Hyun-jun was a crafty lefty who alternated between slow fastballs, even slower slurves, and the occasional power curve.
"Coach Jo, what's going on here?"
His puzzled gaze turned his way, and pitching coach Jo Jong-hoon spoke up.
"I taught him."
"Ah...!"
"I showed him back at the start of the year, and he picked it up so fast that he can now throw forkballs and splitters distinctly."
Manager Lee nodded.
It made perfect sense coming from Jo Jong-hoon, the coach famous for his forkball during his playing days. Hyun-jun's pro-level forkball right now was no surprise.
"I see. But why didn't you tell me?"
"I did."
"Huh?"
"You personally approved it, Manager."
"R-Really? Hmm..."
Manager Lee felt a pang of guilt inside.
He'd paid so little attention to this pitcher named Song Hyun-jun that he couldn't even remember giving the okay.
"We've got so many players on the team."
"True enough."
He thought that would let it slide, but then came Hyun-jun's dominant pitching, mowing down Gyeongin High batters with strikeouts in droves.
"Swing! Strike—batter out!"
"Batter out!"
When the streak hit four in a row and then five, even Manager Lee couldn't hold back and muttered softly.
"...And when did he pick up a changeup?"
He said it too sheepishly to raise his voice.
It was embarrassing that he, as manager, hadn't even bothered to notice a pitcher working this hard all this time.
"Batter out!"
And with that, Hyun-jun struck out yet another Gyeongin High batter in brilliant fashion.
Manager Lee could only stare in a daze.
"Was Song Hyun-jun... always this good...?"
Seomun High's Lee Min-han.
That was the moment the three letters of "Song Hyun-jun" were etched clearly into his heart.
And it wasn't just Manager Lee feeling that way.
Mokdong Stadium. On the field.
"Whoa..."
"Wow..."
Seomun High's fielders.
They'd already forgotten the stifled game up through the fourth, when Park Jin-woong had started.
"Was Senior Song Hyun-jun always this good...?"
Shock and awe.
The matchup against tough Gyeongin High had felt impossible.
But after Hyun-jun took the mound, it was like, Is this even the same game?
"Gyeongin High's cut ghosts can't even touch the ball?"
"Those guys were fouling off Senior Park Jin-woong's 148 km/h fastballs... How come they can't lay a bat on Hyun-jun senior's stuff?"
It was astonishing.
When Park Jin-woong had been on the mound, Gyeongin High batters fouled off nearly every pitch in the zone.
Crack! Crack! Tick!
Fastballs, breaking balls—no pitch was safe.
Their average pitches per plate appearance (P/PA) was 6.9.
More than double the high school average of the low 3s—they were dragging out two plate appearances worth in a single one.
It was more than enough to crush Park Jin-woong, who'd wanted to shine in the first inning with his shiny new 148 km/h heat.
"Huff... huff... huff! Damn it... grrr..."
By the fourth, he'd topped 100 pitches, collapsing in the dugout under a towel, utterly spent.
Seeing a ton of pitches was their strength.
But it didn't work on Hyun-jun at all.
"Swing! Strike—batter out!"
"Strike, batter out!!"
The home plate umpire's spirited strikeout calls fueled the crowd's cheers as Hyun-jun's K count climbed.
When it passed seven, Gyeongin High's dugout froze over completely.
"...Why?"
Gyeongin High manager Kang Seong-geun.
He couldn't believe what was happening.
"He just shows up out of nowhere... What the hell is this?"
Unbelievable.
Coming in during a bases-loaded, one-out jam in the fifth and striking out seven straight.
Even in high school ball—not pro—this was ridiculous.
"What the hell are our hitters doing?! Swing the damn bats!"
The manager finally blew up.
His outburst from the top spot was enough to rattle the young players whose mental game wasn't fully baked yet.
And the fallout showed up in an unexpected place.
"Sa Seung-jun's shaken."
Gyeongin High's ace, Sa Seung-jun.
The nationwide lefty phenom hailed as the top southpaw talent in the country right now.
His control was starting to waver.
"Walk."
The umpire's first walk call on Sa Seung-jun.
Our dugout and teammates clapped, sensing opportunity.
"Yes!"
"Sa Seung-jun's human after all!"
A crack in the opposing pitcher's dominance.
Our hitters pounced, piling on relentlessly.
Crack!
"Out!"
But no runs scored.
Still, dragging Sa Seung-jun—who'd thrown under 50 pitches through five—up to 85 over the sixth and seventh innings was a win.
"Even shaky, a nationwide ace is still an ace."
"By the eighth against Sa Seung-jun, we might squeeze out 1-2 runs...?"
The mood was shifting, bit by bit.
Manager made his call.
"Hyun-jun."
"Yes."
He grabbed my hand tight as I came off after the seventh and made his request.
"I've overlooked a pitcher named Song Hyun-jun all this time. I'm sorry."
"Huh?"
"You're an outstanding pitcher, Hyun-jun. Stronger in games than in practice—that's you."
A heartfelt apology and praise.
Something I'd never heard from the manager before.
"Ah...!"
My chest tingled.
So this was what it felt like to be recognized as a pitcher...?
It felt good. Really good.
As I soaked it in, his promise followed.
"I'll give you more chances from now on. That's my word as manager."
"Yes, sir! I'll give it everything I've got—just put me in."
"So hold it down for just one more inning."
"Huh?"
"Keep 'em scoreless for one, and we'll find a way to rally in the eighth."
"Ah..."
"Please, Hyun-jun."
His plea left me lightheaded.
I'd poured everything into facing those seven batters.
I had the stamina for five-plus innings with some pacing, but I'd gone all-out on every pitch to flip the momentum.
And Gyeongin High's batters.
They cut everything so relentlessly, the last guy went full count and beyond to nine pitches before I finally K'd him.
Over 40 pitches already.
For a bullpen guy, that was the limit—and past 50, it was starter territory.
With closers like Im Seong-rak and Jeong Hyun-se on the team, why me...?
The manager's desperate voice cleared it up.
"To get Sa Seung-jun or those Gyeongin High hitters right now, you're our only shot, Hyun-jun!"
Trust. Faith.
His voice brimmed with it, directed at me.
The manager was starting to truly believe in me.
From a pitcher to test out, to one who could carry the win.
A real one who could hold the mound.
I... couldn't say no to that.
"I'll do it!"
"Hyun-jun!"
"The lineup hasn't even gone full circle—might as well face 'em all before I come out."
I grabbed my glove with bold words.
Back to the mound for the eighth.
Somehow, luck held, and I shut it down.
"Huff... Man, these clingy cut ghosts."
Gyeongin High was so tenacious, curses slipped out naturally.
When the leadoff hitter doubled after the order turned over, my heart dropped.
Crack!
The next guy's massive shot toward the wall had my heart skipping beats.
But still.
"Out!"
Our left fielder snapped to it with a killer play, back to the fence, bailing me out.
Whew, thanks, Jin-sik.
"Nice, Jin-sik!"
I raised my glove high, clapping for Jin-sik as I walked off.
"Good work, Song."
"Chae-geun, uh, no."
"Just trust me."
"Huh?"
"I'll make you the pitcher of record."
"Ooh... Appreciate it."
Even got some warm words from the team's captain and home-plate king, Shim Chae-geun.
And with that, my stint was done.
3 and 1/3 innings. Zero runs.
A very satisfying stat line for my first regular-season league start of the year.
This alone would've been a great game,
but in the bottom of the eighth, something even better happened for me.
Thwack!!!
Shim Chae-geun.
He'd done it for real.
"Whoa!! Wooaaahhh!!!"
"It's a come-from-behind win! Captain crushed a go-ahead homer!!"
Following his fifth-inning three-run shot, another three-run bomb in the eighth against Sa Seung-jun this season—the first back-to-back homers against him.
The score flipped to 4-3.
In that spot, ninth inning.
The manager rolled the dice.
"Get Shin Su-ho ready."
"Huh? Su-ho?"
Pitching coach was stunned.
The players were too.
Team ace Shin Su-ho, out a few days with injury.
Manager confirmed his nail was healed and slotted him as closer.
"We win this."
For a split second, his eyes went not to Su-ho, but to me—flushed after 65 pitches.
"Hyun-jun held this game together with his body. We gotta grab that win for him."
I was honestly touched.
A scrub like me... getting this kind of treatment anywhere?
So, relaxed now.
Time to ride the victory shuttle from our team guardian deity, Shin Su-ho.
"Out!"
"Strike, batter out!"
Seven pitches to erase the inning.
Game over.
"Woooaaahhh!!!"
I couldn't hold back my roar, pumping both fists.
One win.
The most precious record to me.
Mokdong Stadium stands.
As Seomun High's comeback victory wrapped up, a middle-aged man in a light shirt smirked.
"Seomun High pulls off the reverse sweep."
No need for a credential around his neck—the Angels logo on his jacket said it all.
Angels scout chief Choi Seong-pil.
Devils scout Seo Ji-hoon grinned back at his postgame assessment.
They'd spotted each other in the stands before first pitch and watched together.
"Seo, since we're here, wanna watch the game together?"
"Sure thing."
The rival-team scouts stuck it out side by side to the end.
"How'd you like the game?"
"Top lefty prize is still Sa Seung-jun."
"Today's show says Song Hyun-jun, no?"
"One game."
Short exchange, done.
Seo Ji-hoon inwardly sighed in relief at his counterpart's Sa Seung-jun tunnel vision.
"Woooaaahhh!!"
His eyes drifted—to the young lefty roaring on the mound, Song Hyun-jun.
The image burned into Seo Ji-hoon's mind.
"Knew it... My eye's spot on."
A deep smile, then straight back to the office for scout Seo Ji-hoon.
He promptly submitted a report.
[Rookie Draft Pitcher Candidates]
[RHP Seomun High Shin Su-ho]
[LHP Seomun High Song Hyun-jun]