No Malice (3)
"Woooooooo!"
It was still only the top of the first.
The starting pitcher had yet to inspire any real confidence.
But none of that mattered right now.
The Daejeon Hawks' traveling fans were already losing their minds.
"Can you believe it? On his very first at-bat on the Korean stage, on his very first swing, Jays unloads a massive home run! He's showing everyone exactly why the Hawks chose him."
"He golfed that curveball and sent it that far… Ah, this kid is the real deal."
"It's fine. The stuff isn't bad."
"Yes…"
Gwak Hangyu was the kind of pitcher whose batting average against ran higher than his ERA would suggest. That sometimes earned him the dismissive label of a "luck pitcher," but at least he wasn't the type to bleed runs or surrender a mountain of home runs. In a league where pure domestic starters were scarce, he had more than enough ability to hold down a fourth-starter role.
But watching a properly broken curveball sail into the distant seats of Jamsil Stadium was an entirely different story.
If he took the long view, he could shake this moment off. Yet he had just been taken deep by a former teammate who never used to draw any attention, and then immediately by a hitter in his very first Korean at-bat. As a pitcher who routinely danced through trouble, a strong mentality was mandatory—but right now, keeping his composure was anything but easy.
Crack—!
Crack—!
"A base hit over the second baseman's head!"
Gwak Hangyu's strength showed when his off-speed pitches found something close to the intended location. But the high curveball away looked far too easy for the Hawks' second baseman and number-five hitter, Ji Gyeongjun.
"The runner from third, and the runner from second as well—both score! Ji Gyeongjun's clutch single plates two more, and the Hawks pull further ahead!"
"What sets this Hawks team apart is that once they seize momentum on offense, they refuse to let it go."
A walk to the number-three hitter, Park Jinhyeok. A double from the cleanup man, Kim Dongseong. The few Hawks fans who had fretted when Park Jinhyeok failed to score had worried for nothing.
The faces of the Lakers fans who had come hoping to cheer a team still chasing first place grew steadily harder. Meanwhile, the Hawks fans who had traveled to face a powerhouse and already tasted victory on day one were in full festival mode.
Pararararararara!
Not a single out had been recorded yet. The opposing manager was already climbing the mound. The only thing on the fans' minds was the delicious prospect of watching their team dominate the entire game.
"We've got the upper hand right now, but nothing's decided—stay locked in, everyone!"
Captain Kim Dongseong called out as he crossed home plate. No matter how loudly the stands celebrated their own heroics, the Lakers still boasted one of the league's most dangerous lineups. They were, after all, a genuine powerhouse sitting in second place. Complacency was not an option.
Crack—!
"Out!"
"A weak ground ball, and Gwak Hangyu of the Lakers finally limps through a brutal first inning."
A slightly awkward smattering of applause and cheer sticks rose from the Lakers faithful. And now Oh Junsu, gifted a four-run lead from the first inning, was taking the mound.
"Batting first! Im Hyeseong! Batting second! Kim Seongjun!"
Only after the painful half-inning ended did the home fans of the Seoul Lakers finally get to chant the names of the lineup they were so proud of. True to the popularity of any Lakers-Hawks matchup, the stands had been packed long before first pitch.
Facing them as the enemy feels…
The roar washed over Lee Hajun as he listened to the hitters being announced. From a defensive standpoint, the thought that rose unbidden was pure claustrophobia. This was a lineup optimized for a home park where home runs were hard to come by. Most of them boasted excellent gaps between batting average and on-base percentage, yet they hadn't abandoned power entirely either.
Pop—!
"Ball!"
"It misses—walk!"
"As expected, Im Hyeseong's plate discipline is truly outstanding."
Crack—!
"A softly stroked ball finds the outfield grass! Kim Seongjun's single puts runners on first and second with nobody out."
Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop!
Their vaunted table-setters, both sporting on-base percentages well over .400, did not disappoint. The Lakers crowd was coming back to life.
"Time!"
Catcher Hwang Jaewon called time and climbed the mound. The man now stepping in was regarded as the greatest foreign hitter in Seoul Lakers history—first baseman James. A bat worthy of following the league's best one-two punch, he had posted back-to-back seasons of .300 with thirty home runs and a hundred RBI. Even in the bottom of the first, cutting him off here was good timing. There was no law that said Oh Junsu couldn't go the way of Gwak Hangyu.
"It's going to be tough, but it's inside every time. If we can't get him, just walk him."
"Understood."
Hwang Jaewon returned behind the plate and pulled his mask back on. In the sweltering heat Oh Junsu was already pouring sweat, but he still had a job to do.
"Oh Junsu wearing a tense expression. Can he escape this jam and keep the game tilted in their favor?"
"Look at that—Hwang Jaewon is calling for inside pitches, right? Against James, anything that drifts even a little off the inner half turns into hard contact right away."
Whatever joy the top of the first had brought the Hawks fans had vanished; worried faces now stared down as Oh Junsu fired toward the inner half.
Pop—!
"Ball!"
The first pitch had been too far inside. Before the second pitch, the catcher's mitt dropped a fraction lower.
It doesn't have to be a strikeout.
Hwang Jaewon thought. If a pitch that tight got squared up, that was simply beyond the pitcher and catcher's control. But if they could just disrupt the timing, take a little of the sting out of the contact…
Crack—!
"He pulled it!"
James's bat came through without hesitation. Even on a well-located pitch the ball jumped off the barrel—proof that his recent hot streak was no fluke. Yet the trajectory stayed within the range where infielders could still make a play. The ball was headed for the hole between shortstop and third. But Lee Hajun had already glided into perfect position, glove flashing, and the throw that followed was lightning-quick.
"Out!"
"Out!"
"Lee Hajun snags it backhanded! Out at second! Out at first! Double play! A clean double play turned by Lee Hajun!"
"From above it looked so fast I thought it was a hit. That defensive ability is just incredible."
"Why are Hawks fans so crazy about this player? If you watched his at-bat in the top of the first and this play just now, you already understand!"
"Woooooooooooo!"
"…"
Baseball is a sport packed with dramatic swings even within a single game. Bottom of the first: the one-two hitters reach. The three-hole hitter smokes a hard grounder. Fans who had been deflated moments earlier roared back to life, while those who had been tasting a comeback felt as if a bucket of cold water had been dumped over their heads. And in the middle of summer, it wasn't even cold water—just sticky heat and pure irritation.
Pop—!
"Strike three!"
"A diving splitter! An Eunwoo freezes completely. Three outs!"
"When it catches the outer edge like that it looks so far away, hahaha."
In a full-count battle, buoyed by Lee Hajun's spectacular defense and a comfortable four-run cushion, Oh Junsu had been free to work carefully. He threw the splitter with the mindset that a walk was acceptable if the hitter didn't swing. He was never a pitcher of pinpoint command, yet the pitch somehow found the perfect location without him even intending it.
"Batting first! Lee Hajun! Base hit! Lee Hajun!"
Lee Hajun had led off the top of the first. Now he was leading off the top of the second as well. The score remained 4–0 and the mood was good, but against that lineup no one could truly relax. The order given to Hajun was simple: tear open the wound the other side was desperately trying to close.
Gwak Hangyu and Lee Jeongseok calmly exchanged signs.
"…"
Watching Gwak Hangyu's delivery, Hajun began locking in his timing.
Pop—!
"Strike!"
Pop—!
"Ball!"
"Full count! And Lee Hajun still hasn't taken a single swing!"
"Gwak Hangyu's command is looking sharp too. Of course if he lets him on base he's going to suffer."
No changeup in the mix?
Hajun waited for the pitch he was hunting. Even after surrendering a home run, a pitcher still trusted his primary weapon—the changeup.
Lee Jeongseok's mitt sat just off the outer edge. Gwak Hangyu delivered.
Crack—!
"Foul!"
"Foul ball! A slow curve!"
"Just what pitch is he sitting on?"
"Hmm."
Hajun's expression stayed completely unbothered as he reset. The next sign exchange dragged a little longer, but when the time came Gwak Hangyu threw again.
Pop—!
"Ball!"
A curveball diving low. Hajun's bat never so much as twitched. His eyes had already filtered it out.
"The slow breaker misses—walk!"
A collective sigh rose from the home stands. They needed to make up for that wasted bottom of the first in the second, yet here was a leadoff walk in the top half.
"Lee Hajun reaches base in consecutive plate appearances. He's doing exactly what a leadoff man is supposed to do."
"This player isn't just elite at making contact—his plate discipline is outstanding too. And from the Lakers' perspective… heh heh heh, they've just put a very dangerous runner on base."
The runner was Lee Hajun. In the box stood Jays, the same man who had already gone deep in the first. Gwak Hangyu was in more than enough trouble.
Pop—!
"Ball!"
"He's going!"
Hajun's explosive first step. Catcher Lee Jeongseok scrambled to throw to second.
"Wooooooo!"
"Ohhh the ball gets away!"
It was already going to be a comfortable safe call. And it didn't end there—the ball skittered past the second baseman into no-man's land.
"In the meantime Lee Hajun flies all the way to third! Once again he's shaking the game with pure speed!"
"This is Lee Hajun baseball right here!"
"Home run, defense, walk—apparently that still wasn't enough. Now he's stolen third and is stealing the fans' hearts right along with it."
"And if you're rooting for the other team, this guy is pure evil."
The player who had scored the first run, then snuffed out a rally, now stood on third ready to widen the gap even further. Gwak Hangyu's face made no secret of how deep the hole had become.
Pop—!
"Ball!"
Even on a walk, number-two hitter Jays flipped his bat as if he had just gone deep. First and third, nobody out, and now the number-three hitter Park Jinhyeok stepped in—the man who had led the team in home runs three seasons running.
Crack—!
"He pulled it! Over the left fielder's head!"
Before Park Jinhyeok even reached first base he was already pointing at the sky. A three-run shot that buried itself in the upper deck of Jamsil Stadium. Walk, stolen base, and a pitcher already convinced that five runs was an insurmountable mountain—his last breath of hope was cut off clean.
When the game finally ended in a Daejeon Hawks victory that day, the highlight reel waiting for their fans was rich and plentiful.