Chapter 17
Chapter 17
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 17
Chapter Title: Sister, Give Me Your Little Brother!
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Geum Seong-muk stood on the mound, while Do Do-jin stepped up to the plate.
Though the two held high regard for each other, right now they were simply pitcher versus batter, locked in combat.
"Hoo."
Do-jin took a shallow breath.
And cleared the random thoughts from his mind.
'Right now, my matchup with hyung comes first.'
Do-jin’s head had been a mess ever since the trouble with his sister before the entrance test.
And it all started with a single phone call from Geum Seong-muk.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Do-jin was watching a video he’d recorded of his own swing when his phone buzzed. He scrambled over to check the caller and picked up with a grin.
"Hyung Seong-muk! Long time no talk."
["Yeah, it’s been a while. Do-jin, entrance test’s set for next Saturday. No pressure—just fill the spot."]
"Got it, hyung!"
The call from Seong-muk he’d been waiting for.
He’d worried it might never come, but now there was no need to fret.
Do-jin turned to Do-yeon, who was cooking at home, and declared it outright.
"Noona, I’m transferring schools."
"………!?"
Stunned by her brother’s sudden announcement, Do-yeon dropped her ladle.
Her thoughtful little brother had floored it out of nowhere, leaving her at a loss.
"Why all of a sudden? You’ve been killing it lately."
Lately, Do Do-jin had been riding a hot streak with his bat, earning a fixed spot as the team’s number-two hitter. Transferring right when he needed to maintain that form? Sure, moving to a better baseball team might look great to outsiders, but with the one-year ineligibility rule, he’d likely waste time on the bench.
"Seong-muk hyung called. I think I need to go to Munhyeok High too."
"………!"
That name again.
Geum Seong-muk.
Do-yeon had known the name for a while.
It had circulated in a community only baseball experts could access.
For a Korean baseball player boasting world-class talent, getting any recognition there was incredibly tough. Especially outside Seoul—the farther away, the harder unless you were nationally elite. And the reason it reached her ears was anything but good.
📰 High School Baseball Title: Holder of High School Baseball's Worst Work Ethic.jpg This pitcher from Busan, first-year Geum Seong-muk—his work ethic is the absolute worst. Always drinking booze, smoking cigs, chasing girls, hanging with biker gangs, riding motorcycles... I've scoped out Bujeon High's field, and I've never seen him actually train properly. Even so, he hits 150km/h, so he'll probably get picked anyway. Just makes me sigh. The moment that name left Do-jin’s mouth, the memory flooded back.
Part of her wanted to yell, 'Don’t hang with that thug!' right then, but he’d saved her brother and fixed his swing properly, so she held her tongue.
But going to the same school, same baseball team? That was different. With parents who couldn’t fulfill their role, it fell to Do-yeon—as his only family and big sister—to keep Do-jin from going astray.
"No...!"
"What?"
"I said no. You don’t know what kind of guy he is."
Do-jin’s eyes widened at his sister’s firm stance.
But he was just as resolute.
"Noona, I’m kinda disappointed. Judging someone you’ve never met like that isn’t cool."
"……………!!"
For the first time, the brother who always trusted and followed her words was pushing back—defending a notorious delinquent, no less. The situation felt utterly alien to Do-yeon.
"Do-jin, what’s wrong with you? You’re acting weird today."
"I know the rumors about Seong-muk hyung. I looked into how he transferred here, dug around a bit. Honestly, he looks rougher than anyone I know."
"But thanks to that Seong-muk hyung, I was saved. Noona, you know how rough it’s been for me lately, right?"
"What...?"
"I thought I just had to tough it out a little longer. Thugs who drag me out to beat me up after asking you to introduce them, baseball team seniors who know and do nothing, useless coaches who don’t help at all..."
"Thinking I had to endure two more years of that? It was hell. To the point I considered quitting everything."
"…………!!"
Her brother admitting he’d contemplated extremes.
Do-yeon felt a heavy stone crash into her chest.
The reason the original Do-yeon became a shut-in.
The reason Do-jin vanished from the pro scene as a player—it was all here.
"That’s when Seong-muk hyung showed up and fixed everything. The thugs he beat down spread the word, so no one messes with me anymore. And thanks to the swing he fixed, baseball’s going great."
"Even so, Noona—is it weird that I want to repay him?"
"………."
Do-yeon was speechless.
Nothing her brother said was wrong. And she felt ashamed. She’d thought she cared for him more than anyone, yet she hadn’t noticed his dark thoughts—or that a total stranger had resolved it all.
"Hoo..."
She let out a sigh.
Then pulled her brother into a tight hug.
"Noona?!"
"Sorry, Do-jin. For being such a lousy sister."
"No, it’s not your fault..."
Do-jin softened at her sincere apology.
Do-yeon, seemingly resolved, spoke to him.
"We’re transferring, no question. Go take the Munhyeok High test too."
"For real?"
If what he said was true, staying on that team wouldn’t help him—skill-wise or mentally. With his improved game now, transferring to a top school was feasible. Wherever they went, moving was right.
"But I need to talk to him first."
"To Seong-muk hyung?"
"Yeah. Like you said, I’ll meet him and judge for myself."
"And if he doesn’t meet your standards?"
"Then..."
"I’ll keep you two apart. Whatever it takes."
"…………!"
Her sister’s chilling gaze felt entirely serious to Do-jin—not an empty threat.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
'Geum Seong-muk...'
Do-yeon had watched all his matchups against the batters. Arriving early at the stadium, she’d gleaned quite a bit.
'His injury recovery isn’t complete yet. That act he just put on was partly to hide it.'
He’d thrown plenty to warm up against multiple batters. Yet his velocity hadn’t broken the low 140s km/h. She’d spotted it—his shoulder hadn’t fully extended in his form.
Test batters only faced him once, so it wasn’t easy to notice.
'What’s amazing is that performance despite the incomplete condition. As a first-year, he must’ve relied purely on raw physicality. What happened in that one year?'
From what Do-jin had said before, his understanding of baseball went beyond high school level. To Do-yeon, this was a new type of person—one impossible to pin down.
'Need to watch more.'
She’d been jotting notes on his pitches when she set down her pen and approached the net.
Now it was her brother—Do-jin—at the plate.
"Hoo."
Geum Seong-muk rubbed rosin on his hands, tossed it to the ground.
Exchanging signs with Seok Un-gang, he fired the long-awaited first pitch.
Pang!
"Strike!"
"…!"
The curveball plunged right into the heart of the zone.
Do-jin flinched, glancing at his bat.
Seong-muk grinned.
'That kid thought I’d start with a fastball and planned to crush it first pitch.'
In this test, he’d mostly started most batters with fastballs in the zone to grab the first strike.
It exploited hitters’ tendency to watch a bit against an unfamiliar pitcher. Do-jin had expected the same.
'He’s Do Do-yeon’s brother—his baseball IQ can’t be bad.'
Throwing like he would to thick-headed hitters would backfire badly against Do-jin. Seong-muk twisted his pitch mix up a notch from usual.
Pang!
A high fastball jammed into the upper zone.
Do-jin shuddered but held his swing.
Seong-muk thought he’d barely restrained it and clicked his tongue.
Seeing Geum Seong-muk’s fastball up close made Do-jin’s body tingle.
He even felt a strange awe at the pitch.
'Seong-muk hyung’s incredible. Recovering this much in such a short time!'
On the day he’d beaten down the thugs and saved Do-jin, he’d barely hit 120 km/h. How hard must he have worked to restore his velocity here? Do-jin’s chest swelled with emotion.
Pang!
"Ball!"
The third pitch—a slider way off the zone.
Not what he’d intended; Seong-muk tsked.
'Tch, gotta grind control training hard.'
With control stats still around C+, he struggled to hit spots without easing off power.
Count: 1-2. Time to sneak in a strike.
'Nah, not that.'
After shaking off Un-gang’s signs a few times, Seong-muk went into his motion.
And the fourth pitch flew.
A slider diving into the outer edge of the zone.
Tricky low course, hard for the batter to reach.
The battery figured he wouldn’t touch it, but—
Crack!
Do Do-jin somehow reached it.
Timing a bit off, it smacked the back net.
"Ugh, so close."
He’d waited for the slider, pulled it, but still adjusting to Geum Seong-muk’s mechanics, his timing slipped.
Count: 2-2.
No time to think—Geum Seong-muk’s fifth pitch came.
Pang!
A quick inside fastball hugging the righty batter’s body.
Do Do-jin dodged back a step, full count now.
Here, Do-jin pondered.
'Why’d Seong-muk hyung throw that tight inside fastball.'
Hitters are as sensitive to stimuli as pitchers.
An inside pitch forces you to shrink back unconsciously.
So if he throws a tight outside next?
'I’d be toast. Normally.'
Do-jin finished thinking.
Narrowed his zone to the outside.
Seong-muk exchanged signs with Un-gang.
'Okay, last one outside.'
Batter’s read matched pitcher’s course.
The final pitch sailed.
This one would decide it.
'Just as expected—outside...!'
And definitely a fastball.
He couldn’t explain exactly, but he was starting to distinguish off-speed pitches.
No doubt, he swung.
Course, pitch type—all as predicted.
Then the ball stopped.
'...Huh?'
And viciously broke.
Escaping the bat already turning on a fastball path, veering outside.
The A-grade circle changeup he’d hidden all test long.
Pang!
"Strike three!"
Whiff on the circle changeup tailing out of the zone.
Do Do-jin was dumbfounded.
He hadn’t expected that weapon still in reserve.
Even completely fooled, he was thrilled.
"Pulling that out only in my at-bat, huh."
It felt like recognition as a true player.
Do-jin bowed to Seong-muk and headed to the dugout.
With that, all applicant hitters shut down.
Not yielding first base to anyone, Geum Seong-muk stepped off the mound.
"Good work, ace."
Manager Myeong greeted him with a fist bump.
Seong-muk smirked and bumped back.
His work for the day was done.
Under the guise of batter testing, he’d imprinted on everyone that Geum Seong-muk was this team’s ace and centerpiece.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
'After this is the Blue-White game, right.'
They’d split applicants into A and B teams for a scrimmage.
A Team starter: Hassan.
B Team starter: Ri Dong-hyeok.
Ri Dong-hyeok’s stamina at C wasn’t ideal for starting, but with the need to test various pitchers, they were rolling him out.
"Guess I’ll munch popcorn from the stands."
After getting Manager Myeong’s okay, I wrapped my shoulder in ice packs and left the dugout for outside the field.
'Vending machine should be around here.'
Craving an ion drink, I wandered to grab one when someone approached from afar.
"Geum Seong-muk."
It was Do Do-yeon.
She’d been watching from the stands but had followed me.
"Hi, I’m Do-jin’s sister, Do Do-yeon."
"Nice to meet you. Heard a lot about you from Do-jin."
She smiled politely and bowed, but—
'Her eyes are kinda cold.'
I could tell she didn’t think highly of me.
The wariness was obvious.
Not hard to understand.
My current look could spark prejudice from thin air.
"Seong-muk, can we talk for a sec?"
She looked like she had something to say.
I grinned and nodded.
"Sure. Lead the way."
Lately, I’ve been chatting with a lot of beauties—
I followed behind her.