A Connection from the Past

"Yeah, a first-year… To be exact, we met during the Haneul High entrance test?"

"Yep."

Inside a high-end restaurant in Gangnam, I was currently undergoing a thorough interrogation in front of Epinel’s parents.

-Thud.

Right as those words landed, a single book was placed in front of me.

That’s… an album?

When I flipped open the cover, it was packed with an overwhelming number ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of Epinel’s photographs.

"What do you think? You probably know more about Epinel than I do, so let’s test—Gack?!"

"Dad, why on earth did you bring that here!"

Epinel’s fist immediately slammed into her father’s head. It was a good thing we were in a private room; if this had been an open dining area where everyone could see, it probably would have become a massive black mark in Epinel’s history later on.

After that, things stayed relatively calm. While the food was being served, they asked how I first fell for Epinel and started dating her, what kind of food she liked, and other similar questions. The dishes did arrive, and while I remembered swallowing the food, I couldn’t recall what any of it actually tasted like. That kind of meal.

Oh, they also asked which team I cheered for. I knew her father was a Heroes fan, but when I honestly answered that I rooted for the Tigers—just like him—he cleared his throat.

"Ahem. I can’t really complain if you support the same team as your girlfriend’s father…"

He seemed willing to give me some credit so he wouldn’t lose face with his daughter.

Now I get why she lives in the dorms.

Every time our eyes met, he would start praising Epinel again. She looked embarrassed but still accepted the compliments. To an outsider, the amount of attention and love they poured on her might seem excessive, but Epinel knew it all came from a place of genuine care, so she didn’t seem to mind.

It really is a good family.

Of course, if I were on the receiving end of that much intense affection, I’d probably find it a tiny bit uncomfortable.

"Haah… I shouldn’t have come. You carry my album around every day, but I never thought you’d actually show it to him…"

"I liked it. I got to see new sides of you I didn’t know about."

"W-well, as long as you’re happy."

Summer was approaching, so the air had grown from merely warm to downright hot. Epinel wanted to hurry back to the dorm where the cool air conditioning waited, so we decided to part ways there.

I’m pretty hot myself.

This weather never did anything halfway. March through May had been tolerable, but from early June the heat started building, and by the end of the month it had become this. I had no idea how I was supposed to survive July and August. What scared me most was that the rainy season still hadn’t arrived, meaning July and August could easily turn into an even worse hell.

At least the WBC is being held in Japan. That’s a relief.

Japan, as the league right behind the majors, had excellent stadium facilities. Of course the KBL commissioner was currently working hard to get dome stadiums built for every team, but only eight were complete so far—including the Heroes’ Gocheok Sky Dome. The Nest in Daejeon, which would probably finish right around when Lee Taehyun made his pro debut, would be the final piece. Once it was done, every KBL team would have its own dome.

But if the KBL had reached this level, what about Japan next door? All twelve teams—six in the Pacific League and six in the Central League—already had domes. In particular, the Tokyo Dome, home of the YM Giants, was considered world-class.

U-23 youth tournaments probably wouldn’t be held there, but at least we’d still be playing inside a dome. I supposed I should be satisfied with that.

Come to think of it, the HS Tigers’ stadium was originally open-air but got replaced with a fully enclosed dome.

Koshien—the home of Japan’s national high school tournament—was an open stadium in the original world, but according to what I’d read online, it had long since been converted into a dome.

The baseball dynamics between Korea, the US, and Japan here are a bit different from the original world.

The country with the most wins: the United States. The most recent winner: Japan. The first winner: Korea. A strange tournament indeed. Of course, the early WBCs had been won by minor leaguers because the major leaguers avoided the injury risk, but South Korea’s baseball level was still far higher than in the original world.

For starters, both senior Choi Dong-il and Yang Jun-hyeok—who had never made the national team in the original timeline—had represented their country here. Whether or not they all possessed the History-grade skill known as “Promise of the Eighth Inning,” the majority of their victories came from dramatic eighth-inning comebacks. It was practically a macro at that point.

The legendary matchup between Ichiro and Park Chan-ho had surpassed ten million views and was still talked about to this day.

"Oh, the U-18 is at Fukuoka Dome. The U-20 is at Escon Field Hokkaido (home of the NPH Fighters, formerly Nippon Ham Fighters)?"

After checking online, I learned that the U-18 WBC where Lee Taehyun would make his first appearance was being held at Fukuoka Dome. It was the stadium used by the SBK Hawks, where Joseon’s fourth batter Lee Dae-ho once played, and it held the distinction of being Japan’s first dome stadium.

Escon Field Hokkaido was where a certain player named Ohtani Shotaro here—Ohtani Shohei in the original world—had played before moving to the Angels in the majors.

Well, there was no reason I’d be selected for the U-20 team, so I only needed to focus on information about Fukuoka Dome.

At least I won’t be roasted alive by the heat.

Was that something to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠be grateful for? Anyway, there was no point worrying about it until after I actually made the national team.

-Screeech!

"Oh, the bus is here."

Right on cue, the direct bus home arrived at the perfect moment. After riding it about a fifth of the way, we reached the point where it was time to head back to the dorms. Epinel sent me off with a cheerful goodbye.

I let out a small chuckle at the message, then went to bed looking forward to this week’s matchup against Current High.

...

...

...

There were a few more practice games after that. We especially had a lot of tune-up matches against the powerhouse high schools in the Seoul region. Thanks to that, various quests triggered and I managed to pick up some good skills from several players.

Revolver (E) has grown a lot.

It was a pitch that burned a ton of stamina but greatly increased the chance of pop-ups, whiffs, or grounders. Without Iron Arm (H) it would have been a B-grade skill that only ate stamina, but when combined with Iron Arm’s massive reduction in stamina drain and the way all other stats exploded as stamina dropped, it became an incredibly synergistic honey of a skill.

And then the iron gates of Haneul High opened. Not the Haneul High bus, but buses from other schools began pulling in.

-Screeeeech…!

An old, worn-out bus painted with the two simple letters [Current].

"Whoa, this place has a dome? Our stadium is on a completely different level."

"Hey, that’s Seojun over there!"

"Oh! The best output from our Current Middle School!"

The Current High players stepped down from a bus barely bigger than an old village shuttle.

"Hello, sunbaes."

"Hey now, shouldn’t we be the ones greeting you? A first-year who throws in the upper 150s, haha!"

It was the beginning of the Blue Dragon Flag round of 64 match: Current High versus Haneul High.