Weekend League Game 6: Munhwi High [Part 2]

"Ack, aaaaaack...!"

Na Hyunsu screamed from the ground, his hand clearly in agony. The feeling that washed over me as I watched him was...

Like stepping in dog shit.

Not the refreshing satisfaction of defeating a villain, nor the slight thrill of squashing a bug. Just the pure displeasure of stepping in something foul.

"This is interference, right?"

"Yeah, just head to first."

"Got it."

There was no way I could use the precious bat Kim Sihu gave me for a bat flip ceremony. I handed it safely to the coach and began walking slowly toward first base. Even from the ground, Na Hyunsu's glare as he stared daggers at me was utterly filthy.

Does the durability enhancement from Iron Arm (H) apply to the head too?

He might openly target my skull with a four-seamer next at-bat. Well, if I saw the trajectory and decided I needed to dodge, I'd dodge.

That's one thing, but...

-Crack!

This was something else entirely. The pitch Na Hyunsu called for the second batter, Heo Kangmin, looked like a curve or forkball from the Professor (L) trajectory. Perfect pitch type for stealing.

"Stealing second. Thanks for the meal?"

-Whoosh!

"Safe!"

My steal was so fast that Na Hyunsu couldn't even get a throw off to second. Amid all the eyes fixed on him, I muttered "dumbass" under my breath while looking straight at him. It was quiet enough that even Yoon Jaeyoung, the second baseman right beside me, couldn't hear. But Na Hyunsu, who had been staring directly at me, immediately lost control and started demanding a high fastball against Heo Kangmin.

The catcher, distracted by his battle with the batter, called for a curve to build the count, and...

"Delicious. Stealing third."

-Swoooosh!

"Safe!"

"Fuuuuck!!"

Of course that curveball wasn't fast enough to stop my steal of third. Allowing a steal of third—especially one loud enough to be heard clearly from third base—is one of the most humiliating things a catcher can experience.

A normal steal from first to second, which is farther from the catcher, has roughly a fifty-fifty success rate. But running from second to third, which is much closer to the catcher, has a significantly lower success rate. On top of that, this is the era of big swings and run-and-hit baseball. Many argue that steals are practically meaningless.

The risk of losing an out and a baserunner just to advance one base is enormous. In a high-scoring high school baseball environment, coming home on a long hit from the next batter is far easier ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠than stealing second and third then scoring on a weak single. But...

What if the opposing catcher's throw is pathetically slow, and my legs and instincts have the exact stats needed to steal successfully?

If the success rate is one hundred percent, then stealing is absolutely worth it. It turns singles into triples. As someone who's played catcher myself, I knew exactly how much it wounded a catcher's pride. And above all, the greatest function of stealing bases was...

This is pissing me off.

It could shred the mental state of both the pitcher and catcher to pieces.

Heo Kangmin followed with a clean walk to reach base safely. With the successful steals, we instantly had runners on second and third with no outs. Na Hyunsu cursed again and received a warning from the umpire.

Next up was Haneul High's third batter, Yang Uijin, who strode confidently to the plate. Yang Uijin, who loved to foul off pitches and dismantle a pitcher's mentality. The Munhwi High starter, who normally took only four or five seconds to decide on a pitch, was taking an unusually long time—whether from matching signs or pure tension.

Why is it taking a whole minute to throw one pitch?

Na Hyunsu, who considered Yang Uijin a lifelong rival like so many other catchers, was probably thinking deeply about how to handle the lead.

How can I strike this bastard out and show off my incredible talent to everyone here, especially the high school scouts?

If a pitch clock existed, the pitcher's routine was already long enough to force a walk.

....Now!

The moment the pitcher turned his head toward first base as part of his usual routine, wasting time with a larger lead than usual—

-Swoooosh!

"Safe!"

"....Wow, incredible."

"Thanks for the compliment."

I slid straight into home, scoring a precious run.

"Oh, are you okay?"

Of course, it was to avoid Na Hyunsu's tag...

".....Fuck... this bastard really knows how to play dirty...!"

I'd ended up throwing the first punch, but haha.

"Haha, sorry. I just don't trust ex-convicts. It's my style to stab first so I can relax, you know?"

During the leg slide, I'd apparently spiked Na Hyunsu's thigh. Thankfully it was a meaty area, so it would only hurt like hell without damaging bone... but why was he acting like such a baby?

"Is this how you treat players competing for the starting job? Easier than I expected."

"That son of a bitch!"

"Whoa, one more warning and you're ejected, aren't you?"

With even Yang Uijin, who was standing at the plate, backing me up, my momentum burned even hotter.

Oh, and Na Hyunsu was a second-year. Meaning... he was my senior.

But do I really need to speak respectfully to someone who's not even human just because he's older?

"Doesn't Munhwi High only have that guy as catcher now? Behave yourself... or rather, let's all behave ourselves, yeah?"

After saying that and returning to the dugout, I watched the pitcher and second baseman rush to hold back Na Hyunsu, who looked ready to charge at me any second.

Serves you right.

Only two people holding him back? It seemed like only those two were part of Na Hyunsu's little faction in the Munhwi High baseball club.

"Hey, why are you provoking their catcher again?"

"I'm trying to get him ejected too... Coach, let me tell you what kind of bastard that arrogant prick is..."

(After the explanation)

"Ha, destroying a promising kid's knee just to secure the starting spot? I've never seen a bastard who deserves to be beaten to death more than him...!"

After I returned to the dugout and told them exactly what Na Hyunsu had done, the atmosphere in our dugout began to burn with righteous anger. On the other hand, they seemed to have gotten their mentality in check, because they were also impressed by how Munhwi High had limited the damage to five runs despite the insane bases-loaded, no-outs crisis.

"Should I head up?"

Before we knew it, the bottom of the first had arrived—Munhwi High's turn to bat.

Haneul High : Munhwi High 5 0

-Thud!

"Nice. It's been a while since I've pitched, but this is the first time the atmosphere has been this hostile."

I warmed up leisurely on the mound while the parents of the Munhwi High players shot me glares that were anything but friendly.

Well, I did almost wreck their starting catcher's leg... plus all those steals. Yeah, it'd be weird if they didn't want to hit me.

I'd stop here for now. There was no need for me to personally take revenge for Park Minhu. This should be more than enough payback for when he grabbed my collar earlier.

And...

"Lee Seojun, fighting!"

In the Haneul High stands were both supporters who had come to cheer for our students and Epinel. There was nothing to feel intimidated about.

First batter, Gil Geonyul.

"Shall I show them something fun?"

I wouldn't be using the three-quarter form. A fun idea had ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠occurred to me.

"Hehe."

As I toyed with the ball inside my glove, imagining the Munhwi High players falling over in shock at what I was about to show them, my chest already swelled with excitement.

The first pitch I threw was......

-BOOM!

"Striiike!"

"Wow, that was tasty."

The batter looked flustered as the ball rose from an extremely low release point—not just the illusion of rising, but actually rising. My current form was... nuclear submarine.

The player who had crossed over to America and debuted in the majors in the blink of an eye, building the most brilliant career in Korean baseball history. His prime was short when looking at his entire career, but that peak surpassed every Korean player and achieved the unbelievable feat of a World Series championship. Born to K. Abbreviated as BK—Law-Abiding Hyung himself.

(Kim Byung-hun once flipped off fans who were booing him, which is how he earned the nickname "Law-Abiding Brother.")

......

-CRASH!

"Fuck!!"

Meanwhile, right after the chaotic top of the first ended, Na Hyunsu hurled his helmet and completely ruined the dugout atmosphere. The coach's eyes narrowed sharply.

"Na Hyunsu, that's enough."

"Haa... fuck, this is complete bullshit..!!"

-CRASH!

Even though he was fourth in the lineup and could have been batting, Na Hyunsu grabbed a pack of cigarettes and a lighter from his pocket to vent his rage and headed outside the dugout where the cameras couldn't reach.

The dugout atmosphere had gone beyond cold—it was like someone had dumped ice over everything. Surprisingly, though, Munhwi High seemed used to this kind of thing and began preparing calmly.

"Lee Seojun ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠is a pitcher who throws without a leg kick. Keep that in mind and time your swings properly."

"Yes, sir!"

The Munhwi High coach, who had already obtained and reviewed Lee Seojun's game footage, still couldn't shake his anxiety.

Village money. In other words, bribes. Na Hyunsu's parents had contributed a massive amount—in fact, the most in the entire Munhwi High baseball program. Thanks to that, even though his skills were slightly inferior to the others, Na Hyunsu had locked down the captaincy and cleanup spot. The team atmosphere naturally revolved around Na Hyunsu rather than the coach.

There had even been days when Na Hyunsu's parents drew up the lineup themselves and spouted nonsense about building the roster exactly like that.

Still, Na Hyunsu's rampages had usually ended at breaking bats... but this time it was getting seriously out ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of hand.

The cause is probably that pitcher.

After suffering a hand injury from the interference, having second and third stolen, and even getting home-stealed on (with a slight collision), Na Hyunsu's temper had finally burst through its limits.

Minhu... I miss you.

He had spotted Park Minhu in the stands earlier with students who looked like they were from another school's baseball team. He also knew exactly why Park Minhu had left Munhwi High.

Na Hyunsu's parents had already started covering everything up with money. Even if it became public, there was no way to help Minhu. If anything, the coach would probably get fired for ruining the team atmosphere.

The only thing he could do now was regret that the talent named Park Minhu had slipped away to Daeji High's sly old fox, Ryu Eunseong. Even if he begged him to return, he couldn't send the boy back into that hellish environment where Na Hyunsu held all the power. Park Minhu had barely escaped and was trying to rebuild at Daeji High. So all he could do was miss the one who had left.

-Whoosh!

"......?"

Something was off. Lee Seojun clearly hadn't used a windup...

-Whoosh!

"Strike, batter out!"

The pitching form from the videos had clearly been a unique three-quarter delivery without a leg kick. Yet what they were seeing now resembled a Korean-made nuclear submarine that had bombed America. No—even Kim Byung-hun himself had never physically made the ball rise like this.

-Boom!

"Strike, batter out!"

-Boom!

"Strike, batter out!"

The first batter struck out swinging on three pitches. The second and third went down looking without even swinging. All nine pitches were hammered into the strike zone.

Thankfully Na Hyunsu, who had gone out for a smoke, didn't have to face this monster yet, but...

How the hell are we supposed to get through this flawless-inning monster from the very first pitch?

That was probably what most of the Munhwi High players—except Na Hyunsu, who was enjoying his smoke break—were thinking.