Daejeon's Princess (3)
“Alright, players!”
The HawksTV producer gathered the team. Club marketing staff stood nearby, watching closely.
“Daejeon Hawks fighting!”
“Daejeon Hawks fighting!”
The moment Han Seoa struck the pose, every player inside the camera frame clenched their fists and shouted the exact same words.
She’s incredible. Really.
Hajun couldn’t help but be impressed. Fame was one thing. Looking like life itself had been handed to her on a silver platter was another. But to wrap an entire professional baseball team around her little finger with nothing but a smile? That was something else entirely.
The only person who might outdo her was probably the Hawks’ owner himself, if he ever showed up.
“Thank you all so much for making practice comfortable for me.”
“Not at all!”
“It’s an honor to meet you!”
“We’re winning today for sure!”
“Oh my?”
The players’ bold replies burst out one after another, and Han Seoa’s laughter spilled free. Even for a woman whose job was to smile, the sound was so clear and bright that everyone present truly believed she was happy to be there.
“You all looked like you were having a blast.”
“You were enjoying it too, hyung.”
“Quiet. If we win today, the standings might flip. Let’s give it everything.”
Han Seoa headed for the waiting room while captain Kim Dongseong pulled the players together and steeled their resolve.
Yesterday’s game had been a clean win. Today looked even more promising.
Saturday and Sunday. The Daejeon Hawks were sending out their foreign duo—Ryze and Estrada. Ryze was the Hawks’ undisputed ace, and Estrada had been dealing ever since he joined mid-season. Against the team’s most reliable one-two punch, the Busan Clippers were countering with their domestic right-handed ace Lee Saenal today and fellow right-hander Jeong Segyun tomorrow.
They were the two most trustworthy starters among the Clippers’ Korean arms, yet they still lacked the sheer presence of the Hawks’ foreign duo. Factor in the explosive recent form of Daejeon’s lineup and bullpen, and these were games the Hawks simply had to take.
“Never forget—we’re still the challengers.”
Manager Park Taesik added his voice. He deliberately avoided any talk of aiming higher. Focus on today’s game first. Target sixth place. Then fifth. Once they secured a postseason berth, they could start fighting for better seeding.
And if next season comes…
Park Taesik shook his head inwardly. What mattered was this exact moment. Stay locked on the present and only dream of the future.
Hawks Park still baked under the summer heat. The packed stands carried a different energy today.
“Before the game, we have a ceremonial first pitch for good luck!”
“Waaaaaaaaaah!”
Whether fans had come to cheer the home team or the visitors no longer mattered. The color of the uniform the pitcher wore meant nothing.
[Hawks Park is absolutely on fire today.]
[This is basically Korean Series atmosphere at this point, isn’t it? Hahaha.]
The scoreboard played a video prepared by the Hawks marketing team—showing just how deeply Han Seoa loved this club and how long she had waited for this moment. Then, accompanied by the team mascot, she stepped onto the mound.
“Hello, I’m Han Seoa of Evelyn.”
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Clap! Clap! Clap! Clap! Clap!
Both sets of fans, plus Evelyn fans who barely knew baseball, raised either light sticks or bare hands and made noise.
Then came the pitch—a ball so far outside it might as well have been intentional. The scoreboard immediately cut to Han Seoa covering her face and shaking her head left and right in pure embarrassment. That little gesture became the highlight of the entire first pitch.
[Hahaha, look at the players—their grins are ear to ear.]
[If you look closely, the ones managing their expressions best are the married guys.]
“Our team has been playing such great baseball lately that every game is so much fun. Thank you to the players for teaching me so kindly so I could throw comfortably today. I know the heat is exhausting, but please hang in there a little longer. Daejeon Hawks fighting!”
“A big round of applause for Han Seoa and her wonderful first pitch!”
Clap! Clap! Clap! Clap! Clap!
Han Seoa waved toward the stands, blew a kiss, and left the field. Foreign pitcher Ryze and catcher Hwang Jaewon accepted her greeting, then immediately locked back into game mode.
“Hoo… haah…”
Starting at shortstop, Hajun took a deep breath.
“Get your head in the game, Hajun.”
“Huh?”
Second baseman Ji Gyeongjun, standing a short distance away, called over.
“You’re completely spaced out compared to usual.”
“What are you talking about… No, I’m not.”
Hajun waved both hands, insisting on his innocence.
No way.
I am always serious. I always give everything. Spaced out? He must have misread me.
“If you say so. Here it comes.”
Thump. Thump.
Ji Gyeongjun tapped his glove with his free hand.
[Batting first! Lee Hajun! Second! Jays! Third! Park Jinhyeok!]
Daejeon Hawks fans proudly roared out the names of their treasured lineup.
Top of the first.
Ace Ryze’s three-up, three-down inning—complete with two strikeouts—only poured more fuel on the fire.
[Just before the game, Hawks fans cheered for a shining star. And now here is a rising supernova ready to blaze even brighter. Daejeon Hawks’ Lee Hajun!]
“Wooooooooah!”
A game that pulled in not only Hawks and Clippers fans but baseball fans of every stripe—and even people from completely different fandoms. The caster introduced Hajun with a line prepared for exactly this moment. The hunger for young stars was not limited to the commissioner of Korean baseball.
[Today’s Clippers starter is Lee Saenal. Can he stop the Hawks’ scorching lineup?]
[I say this every Hawks game, but if you let this hitter on base, all hell breaks loose.]
A hitter who made pitchers miserable whether the bases were empty or loaded. Lee Hajun settled into his stance and waited for the first pitch.
Whap—!
“Strike!”
“·····”
He watched the first pitch carefully. The board flashed 151 km/h. According to the scouting data, that was nearly full effort. The opposing pitcher clearly understood how critical it was not to allow a run in the first.
[Here comes the second pitch.]
Whap—!
“Ball!”
[A splitter that drops out of the zone.]
[As expected, his bat doesn’t chase those easily.]
The second pitch was a splitter. Hajun’s bat started forward, then stopped. Lee Saenal worked quickly.
Crack—!
Hajun swung with an unshakable form. A calm swing produced a line drive like a volcano erupting. The ball smashed off the mound and kept going.
[Lee Hajun connects—and it gets through for a hit!]
[Same location as the first pitch. Way too casual.]
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
“Lee Hajun! Lee Hajun! Lee Hajun!”
Leadoff man Lee Hajun on base. Two words Hawks fans never tired of hearing. A moment that always settled their hearts.
[One of the most terrifying hitters in the league has just become one of the most terrifying baserunners.]
[At the plate, on the bases, in the field—if a guy like this had been on the other team when I played, I wouldn’t even want to imagine it.]
The pitcher was rattled.
“Safe!”
“Boooooooo! Throw it to the plate!”
After two straight pickoff attempts, the fans fired back with irritated chants.
[Did you see that just now? Hahaha.]
[Looks like she’s already fully locked into the game.]
The broadcast camera caught Han Seoa laughing and copying the pickoff chants. She had long since settled into the ceremonial pitcher’s seat to watch the game.
Crack—!
[He turned on it!]
Number-two hitter Jays swung at the first pitch. A hard, well-struck ball. But Clippers second baseman Kim Seunghyeon reacted instantly and cut off what should have been a clean single through the infield. The ball that wasn’t cleanly fielded still produced an out.
“Out!”
Too late for second; only the batter was retired at first.
[Kim Seunghyeon takes only the batter-runner! The runner from first advances to second.]
[Lee Hajun is incredibly fast, and Kim Seunghyeon didn’t get greedy—his decision was sharp.]
Good hitting, good baserunning, good defense all in one sequence. The baton passed to third hitter Park Jinhyeok.
[He’s going!]
Whap—!
“Strike!”
Hajun broke for third on the first pitch. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust the heart of the order—creating a better situation was simply his job.
“Safe!”
[Safe at third! Lee Hajun showing ridiculous speed!]
[The runner just won the mental battle against the battery.]
The Clippers couldn’t stop Lee Hajun at the plate or on the bases. Their starter had just watched a dominant top of the first from the other side, then walked into a one-out, runner-on-third mess. More than enough to scramble a pitcher’s head.
Crack—!
No balls, two strikes. Perfect pitcher’s count. The splitter that dropped in had just a slightly ambiguous break.
[He lifts the dropping ball—soft single in front of the left fielder!]
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
In a situation where even a sacrifice would have brought home the first run, Park Jinhyeok not only drove it in but stayed alive himself without costing an out.
“Park Jinhyeok! Park Jinhyeok! Park Jinhyeok!”
In a game they were favored to win, the first run was everything. Park Jinhyeok exhaled in relief after collecting the RBI.
“Yeah!”
“Nice! That’s it!”
Hajun high-fived his teammates on the way back into the dugout. The broadcast camera found Han Seoa doing the exact same thing—jumping with joy and high-fiving the two Hawks fan staff members sitting with her.