Cheolwon Decisive Battle -1
Whoosh!
A dozen or so buses climbed up Geumhaksan Mountain in Cheorwon, Gangwon Province, all at once.
They were packed with students from Munhyeok High.
The school had loaded up everyone who'd signed up to attend the game as a group and was ferrying them out.
"Whoa!"
The breathtaking scenery unfolded before them.
Even though the game was still a ways off from starting, the students were already buzzing with excitement.
Noah was riding on one of those buses too.
Along with her cheering squad friends.
She was technically part of the baseball team as manager, so she could've gone ahead with the players, but she hadn't.
I wanna go with him so bad, but I can't slack on the cheering!
She handled manager duties day-to-day, but her real main gig was cheerleader—practically the head of the cheering squad these days, so there was a ton to take care of.
Cheolwon First High's got those didgeridoos or whatever...
Blasting that ear-piercing didgeridoo cheer.
Up in the highlands, wind instruments carried far and wide, so they loved using them.
It's crazy loud, but Cheolwon First High's players are used to it by now. First-timers get thrown off big time, though.
To counter it, Munhyeok High needed something of their own.
If they've got weapons, we've gotta arm up too!
Fight wind with wind!
No same-type wind instruments, though.
Next up: percussion, obviously.
And the top candidate? Mini drums they could hand out to every single fan coming to cheer for Munhyeok High.
These could go toe-to-toe with the didgeridoos...!!
But the hopeless part? Each one cost 30,000 won. Asking fans who were already shelling out time and money to come all this way to buy their own felt like too much.
So they'd have to buy and distribute them themselves. But the chairman shot that idea down.
"Chairman, I wanna get some cheering gear."
"Oh, great idea! How much we talking?"
He'd heard her out and gotten a quote.
His face drained of color in seconds.
He'd already dropped a fortune chartering all those buses.
Cheering drums on top?
Even buying just a thousand would run 30 million won.
No way could they burn that much school budget on cheering for one game.
Sure, he poured money into the baseball team, but torching cash on props like that? Tough call.
To an old-school guy like the chairman, it probably seemed like overkill for "just cheering."
"Agh, yeah, no helping it then...!"
Noah flashed an awkward smile and backed off.
Best option gone.
She was racking her brain for alternatives when salvation dropped right into her lap.
"What's got you worried?"
"Ah, Ye-bin unnie!"
Seo Ye-bin plopped down on the bench next to her.
She'd eyed Noah warily at first—back when Noah seemed cozy with Olivia—but Noah's sweet vibe had thawed her out, and now they got along fine.
"Ugh, just stressing over the cheering routine..."
"Cheering routine?"
Noah spilled the details.
Ye-bin blinked, then asked dead seriously,
"...No drums? Just buy some."
"Th-they say the budget's tight. Chairman's already spent a ton."
"Oh, my bad. Forgot the subject."
"Huh? Subject?"
Ye-bin pulled something from her pocket.
A black card with a Roman soldier on a black background—the infamous "black card."
"Here, buy it with mine."
"Wh-what?!"
"You need it, right?"
Ye-bin's face was utterly sincere.
Noah blinked in panic.
"No! No! It's fine, I wasn't trying to burden you or pressure you or anything...!"
"...Burden? Pressure?"
Ye-bin tilted her head.
She was genuinely puzzled.
"Noah."
"Yeah?"
"If a close friend asked you to spot them pork soup, would that feel like a burden?"
"Uh, no?"
"Exactly. So don't sweat it."
She grinned as she said it.
To her—the girl who'd gobbled up most of Yujin Holdings—that was genuinely pocket change.
"It's for Seong-muk in the end, right? Spend freely. I'm out."
"Ah...!"
She sauntered off like it was nothing.
No limit mentioned, no repayment deadline.
Like it was all up to Noah.
"She's on another level...!"
Noah came from money herself, but chaebol cash flow? Whole different beast.
Anyway, cheering gear for Munhyeok High was secured. The fans were primed to go wild for the team in Cheorwon.
1. Choi Adam SS
2. Do Dojin 2B
3. Takahina Ryuji 3B
4. Geum Seong-muk RF
5. Seok Un-gang C
6. Ji Suyong CF
7. Ri Donghyeok DH
8. Seo Kyungsu LF
9. Lee Tae-kyung 1B
Starting Pitcher: Park Chan-jun
Normally, Geum Seong-muk pitches without a DH, but today they're slotting Ri Donghyeok—the closer—into the DH spot!
Munhyeok High's players were gearing up for the batter's box.
They kept scanning around, searching for someone who wasn't there.
"Guess Hassan's not making it, huh."
"Coach, any word from Coach Ma Deok-su?"
Myeong Sinu, the coach, shook his head regretfully at the players' worried questions.
No contact from Ma Deok-su even on game day.
Meaning Hassan's other personality was still out of control. The team had half-expected it, but they were bummed anyway.
"Tch, figured it'd be tough to rein in."
"No choice now!! We'll just lock it down till the next game!"
Easier said than done—dropping from three pitchers to two was a massive strain. If Hassan was out the whole game, Park Chan-jun would have to shoulder 6-7 innings solo. All eyes turned to him.
"Chan-jun ham, we believe in you!!"
"Munhyeok High's big bro! Fire up that knuckleball!!"
The players beamed at him with sparkling eyes.
Park Chan-jun scratched his head sheepishly, then nodded firmly.
"Yeah, I'll make it work somehow."
With big bro's awkward grin behind them, Munhyeok High's leadoff hitter, Choi Adam, trudged toward the plate.
Bwooooooo—
"Whoa, loud!"
The didgeridoo assaulted their ears.
The ump raised his hand.
"Play ball!!"
"Huff, huff. Late again, damn it!!"
"Agh, seriously—like that Daegwallyeong High game!"
Two high school guys tumbled out of a taxi and bolted.
They'd been late to the spring tournament game against Daegwallyeong High too. And today? Same story.
"Eh, we're winning anyway, right? Park Chan-jun hyung's been dealing lately."
"Yeah! Cold-game blowouts two games in a row!"
Late, but hopeful as they hustled to the stadium.
They entered Cheorwon Field and peered down at the action—and their faces froze.
0 : 4
"Wha—?!"
"Why are we losing?!"
Bottom of the 3rd, 2 outs, runners on first and second.
At the plate: Cheolwon First High's cleanup hitter, Bong Ha-ram.
The extreme uppercut swinger pulled another sky-high hack, and Park Chan-jun's knuckleball caught the sweet spot dead-on.
Crack!
"...........!!"
The ball rocketed out on a monster trajectory.
No doubt—a three-run homer.
0-4 ballooned to 0-7.
"What the hell..."
"7-run pounding in the 3rd?!"
The two students gaped in shock.
Déjà vu hit hard.
Like that time they arrived to Hassan getting shelled with homers from the jump, blowing the game early.
But they didn't jump to conclusions.
Munhyeok High had that grit—they'd flipped worse bloodbaths.
"Let's sit for now."
"Yeah... our bats'll come alive."
The pair settled in.
Separate from their optimism, Munhyeok High's dugout hung heavy.
"................"
"................"
Park Chan-jun stared at the ground.
He'd gained confidence with his A+ knuckleball, but this park was poison for it.
Cheolwon First High had brought in a pro knuckler to drill counters just for him—huge factor.
Getting dicey.
Geum Seong-muk clenched his teeth.
He sensed the need to step up and turn this around.
Right now.