Closing the Distance
"They never said I had to throw from 18.44 meters this time either."
If I threw from closer, the velocity should come out faster, right?
I took my stance about two steps away from the strike zone board.
"I've thrown a lot of pitches today, so let's just do a light test for now."
Throwing at about eighty percent of my usual power normally got me into the low 130s km/h, so if I could hit around 140 now, that would count as a success. Tomorrow, after a proper warm-up and throwing at full strength, I should be able to reach 150.
"Hup!"
Thud!
The lightly thrown ball slammed into the strike zone board attached to the wall with a solid thud. The sound came much earlier—and louder—than usual.
"Let's see..."
I immediately grabbed the tablet positioned outside the pitching lane and checked the velocity of the pitch I'd just thrown.
"Huh...?"
A velocity no different from usual.
"What the hell... Let me try one more time."
Thud!
This time I put a little more into it.
But—
Still no real difference in velocity.
"Hmm... Maybe it's because there's no mound."
I dragged over the portable mound that was precisely set to 18.44 meters and planted it in front of the strike zone. Then I wound up again and threw with real force.
Even so—
It was only a little faster than before. No real difference. Wondering if the machine was broken, I was about to move the mound back to the full 18.44 meters and try again when—
Growl.
"Ah."
My stomach sent up a clear signal that it wanted food. I checked the time and realized it was already past one o'clock.
The schedule I'd glanced at before leaving earlier came back to me.
14:00: Flexibility Enhancement and Recovery Session
If I wanted to eat and digest in time for the next session, I was cutting it close.
Startled by how late it had gotten, I hurried out of the pitching facility and headed for the cafeteria.
By nearly one-thirty, everyone else had already eaten; the cafeteria was almost empty. But over in one corner, a familiar silhouette was scooping food onto a tray.
Team Leader Cheon Sojin...!
The moment I saw her, the morning's events came flooding back.
"I know. I have no intention of going against the club's wishes. There's just something I wanted to confirm first."
"It feels like the manager is hiding something from me. And... you are too, Team Leader."
The club had clearly been trying to present the best path forward for me and to communicate with me, and I had turned around and accused them of hiding things.
The more I thought about it, the hotter my face burned with shame and regret.
"Of all times..."
I knew I was in the wrong, and I fully intended to apologize. But when I remembered her expression and tone from that morning...
That hadn't been "a little annoyed." She had looked genuinely offended.
So I'd planned to wait until she cooled off a bit, buy her a coffee, and then talk it out...
I never dreamed I'd run into her this soon.
Just then—
Whoosh.
Team Leader Cheon Sojin suddenly looked my way. Our eyes locked before I could even hide.
"..."
An awkward silence.
My mind was already pure chaos.
Ugh, she saw me. What do I do now...
It was too late to run, and just standing there was even weirder. On top of that, I had almost no time left before the next training session, so I absolutely had to eat.
After a brief internal struggle, I squeezed my eyes shut and pushed open the cafeteria door.
Even while I was loading my tray, the fretting continued.
What do I do? Sit far away? But we already made eye contact—if I sit way over there, won't it look like I'm starting a staring contest?
I snuck a glance in Team Leader Cheon Sojin's direction. She was eating with a perfectly calm expression, as if she hadn't even noticed me.
Damn it. She still looks pissed. If I plop down right in front of her without reading the room, that's just asking for trouble, right?
While I kept turning it over in my head, my tray had somehow filled up completely.
Okay. I'll eat fast, leave, and come back with a coffee. Eating together might just make things more awkward. I'll apologize after the meal.
Having settled on that plan, I was about to sit as far away as possible when a voice called from the other side.
"Han Doyoon? Come over here and eat with me."
I'm screwed...!
Clink.
Chew, chew.
Just as expected, the atmosphere was pure ice. Without a single word spoken, the only sounds filling the space were the occasional clink of utensils and the quiet noise of eating.
I was the one who finally broke that razor-thin silence.
"Um, Team Leader!"
Team Leader Cheon Sojin's eyes went round as she looked over at me. Her pupils trembled ever so slightly.
"I'm really sorry about earlier... I was way out of line..."
"Oh, no. It's fine. Any player would want to get into games. I understand that feeling completely."
Contrary to my worries, the cold edge from that morning was gone from her voice.
In fact—
"Don't stress too much about being moved to the developmental squad. Developmental squad is just that—developmental. It's not the third team."
—she was even comforting me.
This person... what was she? An actual angel?
I'd dragged a perfectly busy person out of her work, whined about wanting to go back to the first team, and instead of scolding me she was offering comfort?
"And if not being able to play is really hard on you... we have counselors on staff. You should talk to one. It really helps a lot."
Then she looked at me with eyes that genuinely seemed worried.
Wait, had I looked that miserable?
"Ah, no. I'm fine. I've accepted it. I'm in no condition to pitch in games right now. I'm not stressed at all."
The continuous concern and kindness were starting to feel a little overwhelming, so I waved it off. That only made Cheon Sojin launch into an even more passionate speech.
"No! Doyoon, nothing is more foolish than bottling things up alone when you're struggling. If your body gets sick you go to a doctor; if your heart gets sick you see a counselor. It's only natural!"
The sudden intensity caught me a little off guard, but Cheon Sojin barreled right on without caring.
"This won't do. Originally the counselor was scheduled to start next month because of the yips, but I'll move it up a bit. I'll update the calendar, so you have to go, okay?"
"Yes, I understand. I'll definitely go. More importantly, I stopped by the pitching facility earlier and the velocity readings seemed a little off?"
Her almost overwhelming care was so startling that I hurriedly changed the subject.
"Huh? Which pitching lane? How was it off? That shouldn't be..."
"Lane three. I happened to throw from closer in, and the velocity came out exactly the same as when I throw from 18.44 meters. It felt weird."
Naturally I left out anything about the Status Window and simply explained what had happened in the pitching facility.
At that—
"Huhhh? Isn't that completely normal?"
—Cheon Sojin asked back with a look of pure incomprehension.
"Shouldn't it register faster if you throw from closer? The ball loses speed to air resistance as it travels, right?"
"Don't tell me... you don't know how pitch velocity is measured?"
"Huh? I don't know the principle. I'm not a scientist."
I couldn't make sense of what she was saying. You measure velocity, you measure velocity—was there some special method?
But Cheon Sojin's expression was growing stranger by the second. What had started as pure puzzlement slowly shifted into the mischievous look of someone who had just found a fun new toy.
"Doyoon. Velocity is measured right after the ball leaves the hand. Not when it arrives."
With those words, little snorts of laughter started escaping her.
"So of course it reads the same even if you throw from closer. Wait—you're a baseball player and you didn't know that?"
Ah...
I hadn't known. I really hadn't known.
I'd thought it was a brilliant idea for hitting 150 km/h, and it turned out to be nothing of the sort...
"Wow, Doyoon, you're seriously creative. How did you even think of running that experiment? If you hadn't become a baseball player, you could've been a scientist."
Haa...
Watching her grin and tease me, embarrassment flooded in until my ears burned.
"No, I was really worried, you know? You were crouching against the wall bouncing a ball and giggling to yourself, so I thought the stress had finally gotten to you. I'm just glad it was over something this silly."
Strictly speaking, that hadn't even been a velocity test, but...
Wait. She was worried after seeing that?
Okay. Got her.
"Ahhh, so that's why you were worried. You thought I'd been traumatized or something?"
The moment she heard that, Cheon Sojin seemed to remember her own earlier behavior; the playful smile froze solid on her face.
"What was it you said earlier~ 'If your body gets sick you go to a doctor; if your heart gets sick you see a counselor. It's only natural!' Was that it?"
I parroted back the words she'd used to worry over me, and this time her ears turned bright red.
"Wow, Team Leader. I was genuinely moved. I never knew you worried about me that much."
"...Stop teasing me, Doyoon."
Team Leader Cheon Sojin set down her spoon and turned her head away. The tips of her ears were unmistakably red.
I couldn't help the way the corner of my mouth twitched. For the first time, it felt like I could finally breathe again.
Whew. At least that's a relief.
Until a moment ago there had still been about one percent of awkwardness lingering, but now it was completely gone.
I took a spoonful of soup and snuck another look at Cheon Sojin. She was still avoiding my eyes, just sipping water. The sight was so oddly cute that I couldn't resist adding one more line.
"So... when is that counseling appointment? Like you said, I'm so stressed I really think I need to go..."
"...Do you want to get hit?"
"Haha, just kidding, just kidding."
The ice-cold atmosphere had melted away as if it had never existed.