Weekend League Game 6, Munhwi High [1]

"Whoa, so this is Munhwi High's baseball field...!"

"The facilities are definitely better than ours."

Daeji High School had no game scheduled today, so they came to watch the Weekend League matchup between Munhwi High and Haneul High. Park Minhu had suggested it, hoping to pick up some pointers from other teams. Kang Ayul and Lee Taehyun walked in together, flirting the whole way, followed by the rest of the Daeji players and their manager, Ryu Eunseong.

But there was one person who couldn't easily step inside the stadium.

"...You okay?"

"...Well, not really."

It was Daeji's second baseman Park Minhu and their catcher Choi Younghoon.

"Is it because of the trauma?"

"........."

Choi Younghoon's words struck right at the heart of it. Park Minhu couldn't bring himself to answer. He already knew the truth. The old knee injury had been caused when Munhwi High's starting catcher, Na Hyunsu, deliberately targeted his leg during a tag play. Na Hyunsu had done it on purpose just to clear the position for his friend. That was also why Park Minhu had stopped taking aggressive risks on the basepaths.

Ryu Eunseong had tried to fix the problem, but unfortunately, it had exploded during their recent game against Seoul High.

"If I'd run at full speed back then... could I have made it home?"

"Well, the manager told you to go, so yeah, you probably could have."

It had been the bottom of the tenth inning with two outs and a runner on first. Lee Taehyun had crushed a massive fly ball off the fence. The ball had rolled into foul territory—if the runner had been fast enough, he might have scored. Park Minhu was one of the few players on the team capable of that kind of baserunning, but the fear of another injury had frozen him at third.

Because of that hesitation, the game that had gone into extra innings ended in a meaningless tie. The chance to steal a win against Seoul High—one of the strongest contenders in the Seoul D division—had slipped away because of Park Minhu's indecision.

"We're currently in fifth place. We have to win every remaining game to make it to nationals. If you're going to decide, do it quickly. Are you going to run... or are you going to stop?"

"...I guess I have to."

After those words, Choi Younghoon led the Daeji players into the stands with Lee Taehyun. Park Minhu could only watch them go.

"......"

"Oh, isn't that Minhu?!"

And then, the worst nightmare of Park Minhu's life began walking toward him with a devilish smile.

-THUD!

"Wow, so you actually made it onto a baseball team!"

"....."

The moment he saw him, Na Hyunsu locked Park Minhu in a headlock and squeezed. Park Minhu stayed silent. Na Hyunsu smirked and kept talking.

"How's that knee doing?"

".....I can run. You don't need to worry about it."

Na Hyunsu's lips twitched at the response.

"Aww~! It was an accident that happened when I collided with you. Of course I should worry. Jae-young's been really concerned ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠too."

Yoon Jaeyoung. Na Hyunsu's longtime friend and the guy who had once competed with Park Minhu for the starting second base job. He didn't remember their relationship being good enough for Jaeyoung to worry about him after the injury...

"Anyway... Daeji High, huh? It really suits you."

"Oh? Thanks—"

"Right? It really does suit him. And you guys suit each other perfectly ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠too."

"?"

At that moment, a voice cut through their conversation, accompanied by several shadows.

"I heard Munhwi High's mascot is a dog. A team that's never made it past the round of 16... yeah, a dog really fits them."

The boy took off the cap with the Haneul High emblem. It was the same face he'd seen at the batting cage yesterday.

"What the hell did you just say?"

"Should I say it again... or should I just explain it? A dirty mutt who bit his teammate's leg just to save one of his own kind that got cut during the starting lineup competition. That's exactly your level."

"You little shit, what did you say?"

Na Hyunsu exploded with rage and stormed toward Lee Seojun.

"What did I say? I said you're a pathetic loser who can't win a starting spot with skill, so you injure people instead. That's what I said, you idiot."

"You son of a bitch!"

-GRAB!

Enraged by Lee Seojun's taunt, Na Hyunsu immediately grabbed his collar and raised a fist, but...

"What? You gonna hit me?"

Lee Seojun stared back with such brazen confidence that Park Minhu was momentarily speechless.

"You know this place is covered in CCTV, right? Touch me the wrong way and it won't matter if you're a player or not—you'll get blacklisted immediately."

-THUD!

Na Hyunsu glanced at the cameras, then his hand dropped weakly.

"What, you were gonna punch me if ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠there weren't cameras? You've probably taken out a few players that way already~ How scary."

"......See you on the field."

"Ah, maybe I should've waited for Game 7 instead of Game 6. Looks like another cold game today."

Lee Seojun threw one last provocation at Na Hyunsu's retreating back. It could have easily turned into a huge fight, but surprisingly, Na Hyunsu returned to the dugout without another word.

"Man, that guy talks like absolute trash. I almost thought he had a split personality."

"You don't talk to me like that, Hyung."

"Ugh, like I'd risk getting a 158-kilometer fastball to the head. You think I'm crazy enough to provoke you?"

Unlike the Munhwi side where Na Hyunsu stood alone, Lee Seojun now had backup. Behind him was the monstrous genius catcher that Na Hyunsu always swore he'd destroy—Yang Uijin.

"You good, dude?"

"Uijin Hyung, we've never even met before, have we?"

Yang Uijin greeted him casually, remembering their encounter from last year's Weekend League. Lee Seojun chimed in from behind him, picking apart the situation.

"Wait, I know you. We played Munhwi last year. The really fast second baseman with great defense. That's you, right?"

"...I'm at Daeji now. But yeah, that's me."

"Oh, you transferred? How did that—"

"Hyung, let's go inside first. I'll explain later."

"Huh? Sure."

Lee Seojun practically shoved Yang Uijin toward the stadium. Everyone assumed he would follow, but instead...

"I'll make sure today's game becomes one you'll never regret. And... take this. That place specializes in athlete rehabilitation."

The boy handed over a business card, then immediately sprinted into the stadium.

".....What a strange kid."

It was the second meeting between the two boys, who would later encounter each other again on the national team.

...

...

...

"Seojun is batting first today. His contact ability has been the best lately."

"Yes!"

Having his leadoff spot stolen, Heo Kangmin's eyes sparkled. His mouth was smiling, so it was hard to tell what he was thinking... but it gave off a strangely ominous feeling.

Well, it's not exactly a good feeling to lose the leadoff spot to a first-year...

"These days, the second spot is given to the team's best hitter. That's you, Kangmin."

"YES!!"

That attitude flip was way too fast...?

The moment Coach Kim spoke, Heo Kangmin's face broke into a huge grin, his eyes sparkling again. The rest of the batting order was similar to the one against Busan High, with a few changes. The main difference was that starting outfielder Jeong Jiman had been replaced by Moon Kyung-hoo from the second team in left field.

It wasn't because of injury. He got pushed down.

By now, Jeong Jiman was probably disappointed about being sent down to the second team and working hard to get back up to the first team.

"Munhwi High is different from any team we've faced so far. I'll say it again—keep your heads on straight and focus on the game!"

"YES!!"

After shouting their fighting spirit in the dugout, we stepped onto the field for the game that was about to begin.

"Please take care of us!"

After the players exchanged bows, it was time for the handshake. Na Hyunsu pushed aside the student next to him and walked straight up to me.

"Take care of me?"

"Of course. As long as you don't pull any of your disgusting shit first."

"Haha, you arrogant little bastard."

-CRAAAAAACK!!!

Oh, he's putting some real strength into it.

The moment I spoke, Na Hyunsu squeezed my right hand like he was trying to break it.

Too bad for you.

Powerful pitching starts with a powerful grip.

".....Ugh!?"

"If you can't even grip properly, don't start a fight."

I crushed Na Hyunsu's hand right back, then casually returned to the dugout, grabbed my helmet, and headed to the plate.

...

...

...

-THUMP!

"Ball!"

"Wow, is my head the target? If you throw a headshot, it's an automatic ejection whether it's intentional or not..."

"Sorry, sorry. Looks like our pitcher hasn't loosened up his arm yet."

Bullshit. That ball's trajectory was aimed straight at my head.

He must've been pretty pissed off earlier.

-THUMP!

"Ball two!"

This time it was a normal waste pitch. He was probably trying to throw a pitch that threatened the inside corner to mess with the batter's strike zone, then sneak one just outside the twisted zone (which was actually a ball).

Typical high school thinking.

Normally I like to see a lot of pitches, so I stand slightly outside the batter's box when I swing, but this Na Hyunsu bastard was positioned way too far forward. If I swung the bat, it would barely miss his mitt.

-WHOOSH!

"Strike!"

"Whoops, that was such an obvious pitch and you still swung?"

Too bad.

If it had been just a little closer, it would've hit the mitt.

That would've been interference...

Batter's interference. It was a great rule that automatically awarded the batter first base if the catcher's mitt ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠touched the bat during a swing. Most of the time it happened because the catcher got too eager trying to catch the ball. Even if interference was called, I would only benefit from it. There was almost no downside. And...

-THWACK!

"Aaaaaargh...!!!"

"Whoops, that was a dangerous spot. Are you crazy, reaching out there like that? Is your brain made of stone?"

It was also one of the few legitimate ways for a batter to teach a lesson to an annoying catcher and deal significant damage. Of course, this secret weapon was only used against trash like Na Hyunsu—arrogant, cliquey, foul-mouthed, and constantly causing problems for everyone. Good players, please never copy this.