Olivia's Fiancé...?
London's Heathrow Airport.
The Korean national team was filing in one after another.
A few Korean expatriates settled in the UK had come out to watch, but they mostly kept their distance, observing from afar.
As Seong-muk walked side by side with his teammates toward the gate, just before boarding the team bus, he heard someone calling his name.
"Seong-muk...!"
"Olivia...?!"
It was a voice he knew all too well.
Even with her sunglasses on, he recognized her instantly.
Olivia was there at the airport.
The unexpected encounter was a delightful surprise, but right now, he was with the team and had to stick to group movements.
It wasn't easy to break away, but Olivia clearly understood that.
"Seong-muk, take this, please."
"Oh? Ah, a bento box. Thanks, I'll enjoy it."
"Read the note, okay? I have to go now!"
She handed over the bento and slipped away just like that.
As Seong-muk boarded the bus, he felt the burning glares from his teammates.
"This guy's insane. You again, Geum Seong-muk...?"
"...In Japan, a Japanese girl. In the UK, a British one. You've got local wives lined up everywhere you go."
"Heh, that's why they say a man's gotta think with his lower head..."
Seong-muk dodged their stares and sat next to Ri Dong-hyeok. He pulled out the bento bag and extracted the enclosed note.
Seong-muk,
this is my home address.
Come over if you have time later!
[39 Ashbury Lane, Notting Hill, London W11 3NS]
"...Oh?"
It was a slip of paper with her home address.
Seong-muk unpacked at the hotel and quietly slipped out, heading to Olivia's private residence.
To think Olivia was in the UK...
Her filming schedule had lined up perfectly, apparently.
Anyway, having someone he knew in this distant land felt great.
"Want to try some of this? It's delicious...!"
"Mmm, yeah, it's good."
Perhaps making up for lost time, Olivia kept offering him bites of everything. As the two enjoyed their intimate moment, a maid burst into the kitchen.
"M-Miss! A guest is here!"
"Maria! I specifically said no visitors right now...!"
"B-But... he was so insistent, I couldn't stop him..."
At those words, Seong-muk glanced out the window. A blond man in a full suit was stepping out of a luxury Jaguar.
Moments later, the kitchen door flew open.
"Oh, Olivia!"
".........!?"
A handsome blond man with a tall, solid build appeared.
He lit up with joy the instant he saw Olivia.
Her face, meanwhile, soured completely.
"Even after years apart, your beauty is still like a single blooming rose! As expected of my fiancée...!"
"...Who said I'm your fiancée? That was just my father's reckless decision."
"Oh, playing hard to get? Even that pretense is adorable. Haha...!"
"Ugh..."
Olivia was visibly repulsed.
Seong-muk quickly pieced together who this obnoxious guy was.
So that's the guy—her dad forced the engagement on her.
She'd told him how it made her realize the true meaning of "cooking for someone," but she couldn't take it and fled to Korea.
If some sleazy prick like that clung to me, I'd bolt too.
As Seong-muk thought the guy's face looked vaguely familiar, the blond man glanced at him and nodded curtly.
"Who are you, Oriental?"
"...Hoo."
Calling him "Oriental" right off the bat. Seong-muk could sense the heavy entitlement.
"Shouldn't you introduce yourself before asking someone else's name?"
"Fair point. Allow me."
The man cleared his throat.
He flashed a smug grin and launched into his self-introduction.
"My name is Kingsley Felix, eldest son of the noble Felix family—one of Britain's highborn aristocratic houses."
"I've walked the elite path since childhood, and I'm a lock for the number one draft pick with Tottenham, London's premier baseball team."
He cleared his throat dramatically again before continuing.
"I've got 300,000 Instagram followers, sponsorships from luxury brands, and I'm even captain of the youth national team."
"For a perfect specimen like me, there's no woman more fitting than Olivia. I don't know who you are, Oriental, but surely you see the difference in our levels?"
Felix straightened his suit tie and puffed out his chest. He stepped closer to Seong-muk, eyeing him sideways.
"Haha, you're frozen stiff! No surprise—where else would you meet someone this flawless!"
"Yawn..."
"...!"
Felix recoiled in shock.
Daring to yawn while he spoke? For a British noble like him, it was an unprecedented insult.
"Done talking?"
"You insolent Oriental bastard! How dare you yawn in my presence...!"
"Jeez, my ears are falling off."
"You, you...!?"
"Why you yapping nonstop? You can't even play baseball."
"What did you say...?!"
Felix's eyes bulged.
He trembled with rage, as if the insult was unbearable.
Seong-muk hadn't meant it as an insult—just genuine curiosity.
Ding!
Name: Kingsley Felix
Nationality: UK
Age: 19
Height: 186 cm
Skill / Royal Road (A)
: Ball velocity increases moderately during windup stance.
Pitching Stats (*Potential) / Left-handed three-quarters
Stamina: A (*A)
Control: A (*A)
Fastball: A (*A)
Velocity: B+
Breaking Balls: A+ (*A+)
...Felix, huh? Just a lucky Im Tae-yul knockoff.
He wasn't bad.
But not good enough to brag like that.
In Korea, he'd be street trash. In a backwater league, maybe a local hero.
That was Seong-muk's assessment from playing the original game.
The issue was his poker face—or lack thereof. In crises, his expressions gave everything away, leading to collapse. That was Felix's pattern.
Yet his ego was sky-high; he delusionally saw himself as a world-class prospect.
Getting called out on it, he was now throwing a tantrum.
"How dare you say I can't play baseball? Who the hell are you to talk?!"
"Me? Geum Seong-muk."
"Geum... Seong-muk...?"
Felix furrowed his brow.
He clearly had no clue.
"...Who's that? Never heard of you."
"Tch."
UK and Korea were facing off in the round of 16 first match, yet Felix didn't even know Seong-muk.
Basics are nonexistent. Doesn't even know the opponent's key players?
And Seong-muk wasn't a bench guy—he was the undisputed starter.
If he didn't know that, he knew zilch about the Korean roster.
Pathetic work ethic.
Acting like that would only hurt his own team, but Seong-muk added an explanation anyway.
"Tch, I'm on the Korean national team."
"What, Korea?"
The guy looked shocked for a split second.
Then...
"Pfft-haha...!"
He burst out laughing. There was even a hint of pity in it.
"The Korean team! The one everyone's calling the weakest in history! I'll let your rudeness slide. Tough luck."
".........?"
"This year's UK squad is the strongest ever! You lost to Japan of all teams—getting crushed by us is a given. Pfft-haha...!!"
".........??"
Did this idiot eat something bad?
Seong-muk was genuinely puzzled.
The guy's self-awareness was nonexistent.
UK baseball lags behind even Spain, Italy, and France in Europe.
In the original game, fourth in Europe was spot-on for them.
This generation was decent, sure—but nowhere near beating Korea. They'd get wrecked by the Japan he just dismissed.
Of course, Felix, high on British hype, thought otherwise. He even cited UK experts pegging their championship odds at 70%.
This is gonna be fun. Real fun.
When someone was that clueless, it didn't annoy—it amused. Seong-muk asked with generous curiosity.
"Pretty confident, huh? You starting?"
"Obviously! Who else but me—the captain, noble, and ace of Team UK?!"
"Oh-ho."
Seong-muk licked his lips.
His mouth watered.
Perfect timing—you showed up when I was bored.
He smelled a golden stat-washing opportunity. Crush the jerk, rack up stats. Two birds, one stone.
Felix, nose in the air, kept boasting. Then he sensed something off and glanced between Seong-muk and Olivia.
"Hold on, Oriental. Why are you in Olivia's house?"
Oh-ho...
Seong-muk saw a chance to rattle Felix psychologically.
And solve Olivia's pest problem too. He grabbed her waist and pulled her close.
"Eek...?!"
"This is how we are, as you can see."
"............!!"
Olivia and Felix both jolted in surprise.
Felix's face turned beet red.
"'How we are'? What the hell does that mean?!"
"What else? Olivia's my girl."
"Nonsense! Let go of her now...!"
"I'm the one who's baffled. Why do I need your permission to hold my girl?"
"Grr, you bastard...!"
Felix turned to her with desperate eyes.
"Miss Olivia! Is what he says true?!"
".........."
Olivia, nestled in Seong-muk's arms, her face flushed like a ripe tomato. She pressed closer to him and shyly nodded.
"...Yes, it's true."
"Gah, why?!!"
Felix punched the wall in frustration.
Seong-muk smirked and tossed in a line.
"Wanna know why? Look up my game footage from Korea. You'll get it then."
"Damn you, we'll see...!!"
Felix fled the scene.
Leaving the two alone.
"............"
"............"
An awkward silence stretched.
Seong-muk was still holding her.
He started to pull away first, but...
Squeeze—
".........!?"
Olivia clung tight, refusing to let go.
He looked at her in confusion.
"Olivia?"
".........."
She gripped his sleeve, eyes misty with plea.
"He barged in so suddenly—I was so scared, my heart won't calm down..."
"...Can we stay like this just a little longer?"
"Ahem..."
Seong-muk cleared his throat.
He nodded silently.
"...Thank you, Seong-muk."
She buried her face in him. Seong-muk gazed off into the distance.
Whew, good thing Solar Divine Vein isn't active... or I'd be in trouble.
It would've skyrocketed.
First time he was glad it was dormant.
But at that moment, something Seong-muk didn't notice was happening.
Hum—
Blood flow stirred below.
His lower region's circulation kicked in slowly. As if ready to unfurl its wings of revival soon.
############
Whoa...!!
"This can't be...!"
Felix, having looked up Seong-muk's videos, was dumbfounded.
"H-How can some Oriental have such a massive tool?!!"
It was at least twice his own size.
He ground his teeth.
Crunch!
Seong-muk had said watching his footage would reveal why he won Olivia.
His mind spun lurid imaginings, pupils shaking wildly.
"No way—my Olivia with that filthy Oriental monkey...?!!"
Impossible.
He burned with enmity.
The target: Seong-muk.
Wait—the father-in-law's coming to the Korea game...!
Felix had heard Olivia's dad, "Mr. Ramsay," would attend in person. He grinned slyly and cackled.
"I'll smash you in that game and take Olivia back. Geum Seong-muk!!"
A showdown between the thief and the robbed.
The inevitable clash between the Land of the Morning Calm and the Land of the Rising Sun—er, the Empire Where the Sun Never Sets—was about to begin.