Toward 160 km/h (4)
“Okay. Take a little break.”
“Already?”
Whether it was the solid sleep that had helped my recovery, my arm felt far better than expected. I checked the time on my phone: 11:56. Just four minutes left until tomorrow.
I sat on the ground, washing down an energy bar with water while opening the daily quest window.
Daily Quests — Day 6
☑ First Quest: Complete 10 km run — Complete
☑ Second Quest: 20 long tosses of 90 m or more — Complete
☑ Third Quest: Full-body strength routine, 100 reps each — Complete
☑ Fourth Quest: Record max velocity of 157 km/h — Complete
Okay. Today’s all done.
I pulled out another energy bar and held it out to O Daesik beside me.
“Want one?”
“No thank you. I’ll be going to sleep soon, so refined sugar isn’t good for me.”
“Pfft. Yeah, that sounds exactly like you.”
True to form—O Daesik fretted over his own health like it was a matter of life and death.
“Actually, working out at this hour isn’t good either. Did you know nighttime exercise tanks sleep quality?”
“Really? Doesn’t working out make you tired so you sleep better?”
“Light walking or stretching is fine, but at this intensity your sympathetic nervous system stays fired up. You end up sleeping worse.”
Every time Daesik launched into one of these lectures I couldn’t help thinking the same thing: the guy looked like a mountain bandit, yet he knew a surprising amount and managed his body with real scientific care. Last time we’d talked pitching mechanics he’d rattled everything off like a professional pitching coach… He was my junior, but he was seriously impressive. Kids like him deserved the spotlight more than a Status Window freeloader like me.
Daesik’s body-management lecture rolled on while I chewed the energy bar and caught my breath—
Velocity Increase — Hard
Day 6 completed.
Day 7 has begun.
Daily Quests — Day 7
☐ First Quest: Complete 10 km run — 0 / 10 km
☐ Second Quest: 20 long tosses of 90 m or more — 0 / 20
☐ Third Quest: Full-body strength routine, 100 reps each — 0 / 100, 0 / 100, 0 / 100
☐ Fourth Quest: Record max velocity of 157 km/h — / 157 km/h
The notification I’d been waiting for finally appeared. I checked my phone again—exactly midnight. The date had rolled over.
“Alright.”
I crumpled the empty wrapper into my pocket and stood.
“Shall we get back to it?”
“Already?”
O Daesik picked up the radar gun he’d set on the ground and rose with me.
“Hyung, what kind of training is this, anyway? Does it really have to be at night?”
“Mm… yeah. It absolutely has to be at night.”
I walked slowly toward the mound.
My plan was simple.
Around 11:30—right before the date changed—hit 157 km/h once. Then the second the clock struck midnight, hit 157 km/h again. That way I could clear Day 6 and Day 7 in one go. With this method I only needed to throw at game intensity once every two days.
If consecutive days of throwing are too much strain, just finish two days’ worth in a single session, right?
Of course, stacking two days meant more pitches in one night, and if I failed to hit 157 before midnight the whole thing collapsed into instant failure. It was a razor-thin plan. But the generous forty-eight-hour recovery window after using my arm made it a gamble worth taking.
Besides, the original method never would have worked anyway.
I’d tweaked the other quests to fit the same routine. The first quest—running—and the second—long toss. Thinking about it, there was no need to clear them separately. I could knock out about eight kilometers of the run, then finish the remaining distance as a warm-up right before the fourth quest. Long toss before the velocity attempt naturally loosened the shoulder. Most efficient way possible.
“Hup!”
The ball sliced through the dawn air with a sharp whoosh, and the net billowed.
“One-fifty-four.”
I confirmed the number Daesik called out, then picked up the ball that had bounced back. My shoulder still ached and the fatigue in my arm lingered, but right now even that pain felt minor.
Because once this session ended, forty-eight full hours of recovery waited for me.
I took one steadying breath and stepped back into the windup.
After finishing Day 7’s fourth quest, O Daesik and I put the netting back in place and headed for the nearby bus stop.
“Hey, Daesik. Good work today. Use this for bus fare at least.”
“Wha—hyung! What are you doing? I don’t need it. I came out to train too. And you said you’d buy me protein!”
Daesik waved both hands in the air, batting away the fifty-thousand-won bill I was trying to force into his pocket.
“That’s separate. This is for today’s hard work. Just take it when someone offers. And you’re coming out again the day after tomorrow, right?”
“Th-the day after tomorrow too?”
“Yeah. Exactly once every two days—night training with me.”
“…I’ve been wondering this whole time. Does it really have to be at night…?”
“Yeah. Absolutely.”
Right then the screech of bus brakes cut through the quiet.
The bus Daesik had been waiting for pulled up to the stop.
“Bus is here. Get going.”
“Uh… yes.”
Daesik clearly still wanted an answer to his question, but I couldn’t give him one, so I just waved him off.
“Go on. Hurry up and get on. You did good today.”
“You be careful heading home too, hyung!”
When the doors opened he glanced back at me one more time. For someone who looked like a mountain bandit, he was such a diligent, reliable junior. Where else would I find another one like him?
“Day after tomorrow—you’re really coming!”
“Ah… yeees…!”
His reluctant answer drifted out through the bus window. He was making a show of not wanting to come, but I knew he’d show up anyway. That was just the kind of guy he was.
The doors closed and the bus pulled away slowly. I shoved my hands into my pockets and turned down the dark road.
The dawn air cooled the leftover heat in my arm, and I could still feel the deep tremor in my sore muscles.
Now… time to actually rest.
Forty-eight sweet hours of recovery were waiting for me.
Forty-eight hours after finishing Day 7, when it was time to head out again for the 157 km/h throws of Days 8 and 9, the effects of the rest hit me properly.
…Two full days off really does make a difference.
No wonder bullpen pitchers hated throwing on consecutive days. The recovery from two days of rest was beyond anything I’d imagined. It wasn’t just fatigue melting away—it felt like the joints and muscles had been oiled. My body settled back into place on its own; I could feel it.
Having experienced that change firsthand over two days only strengthened my conviction that Days 10 and 11 had to follow the same method.
You have completed the fourth daily quest of Velocity Increase — Hard!
“Whew. That’s it for today.”
“You threw a bit more than the day before yesterday, huh?”
I rolled my shoulders and gave a short laugh. Until a few days ago Daesik had endlessly pestered me about what kind of training this was, but after I kept dodging the question he finally stopped asking.
We cleaned up the field and stood waiting at the bus stop when Daesik suddenly spoke up.
“Hyung, did you change your pitching form?”
“Huh? No? I didn’t change anything.”
“Really? Watching from behind just now, something looked different.”
“Like what?”
Daesik drew a breath, thought for a moment, then shook his head.
“Never mind. Must’ve been my imagination.”
I snorted.
“…What a letdown.”
While Daesik laughed sheepishly, a bus approached from the distance.
“Go on home.”
He climbed aboard and waved once.
“You too, hyung!”
The doors closed and the bus quickly pulled away. After confirming it had completely vanished from sight, I started walking home. The dawn air brushing against my cooling sweat felt quietly refreshing.
As the entrance to the villa came into view, a silhouette approached from the opposite direction. When it drew closer, a familiar face came into focus.
“Oh? Han Doyoon?”
It was Park Haeun.
Until now I’d only ever seen her in sweatpants and a hoodie with her hair pulled back in a casual bun. Today she wore glossy loose hair, a thin knit sweater, and slacks. The mature air was completely different from her usual cute vibe.
“Oh, hello.”
I greeted her cheerfully, and Haeun returned a careful smile.
“You’re out late. Coming back from training?”
“Yeah. But you’re pretty late yourself, Haeun…-ssi.”
I hesitated a second over the honorific and settled on “Haeun-ssi.” She let her shoulders droop and lifted her bag to show me.
“I was… working on an assignment. Just caught the last train home.”
“That must’ve been rough. Working on it until this hour?”
“Nah… it’s nothing compared to a baseball player. I just sit and tap on a computer.”
“Hankuk University, Statistics Department, right?”
Haeun’s eyes went round.
“Oh… y-you remembered?”
“Of course. You told me last time.”
Park Haeun tilted her head with an embarrassed little laugh. Despite the mature outfit, her way of speaking was still the same shy, cute Park Haeun.
“And you were… coming back from training, Doyoon?”
“Ah, yeah.”
She glanced at my workout clothes and the dried sweat marks, then spoke with open admiration.
“You really work hard. The season only just ended, didn’t it?”
“We finished last. Gotta work hard so it doesn’t happen again next year.”
“Wow…… that’s so cool…! Fighting…!”
Her eyes shone with genuine support. It made me a little bashful, yet somehow the feeling was good. We chatted about this and that as we climbed the stairs together.
“Well, go on in.”
“You too, Doyoon.”
After that brief goodbye I returned home. Once I’d showered and stretched out on the bed, the whole day drifted past in slow review. The quests had progressed without a hitch, and on the way back I’d even run into Park Haeun for an unexpected bit of healing.
Feels good… a leisurely day like this.