Blue Dragon Flag Round of 64, Haneul High [1]

I exchanged quick greetings with the guys I'd known since our days at Haneul Middle School, and one thing became crystal clear.

"A first-year throwing 150 is considered normal? Are you out of your mind?"

"Yeah, I figured you'd say that."

Thwack!

My back stung. He really did look completely dumbfounded.

"Exactly! Sure, Korea's a baseball powerhouse ranked third in the world, but where the hell do you find a monster throwing 150 in his first year of high school? And you're not even touching 150—you're hitting the high 150s! You're just a balance-breaking lunatic, you know that?"

Judging by Min-su hyung's reaction, the theory I'd been mulling over was spot on. The author had to keep throwing crises at Lee Taehyun since he was the one who needed constant growth. That resulted in making him face off against schools like Haneul High and Seoul High—teams that had already surpassed normal high school level—during the national tournaments, grinding him through the wringer.

......I thought baseball here would be way ahead of the Korea ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I knew from my original world... but it doesn't seem like the gap is that huge after all.

That also explained why, even though the game overlapped with KBL match times and fewer reporters had shown up, nearly thirty to forty of them had still swarmed just me.

The coach keeps telling me to avoid ego-searching and stuff like that, so I guess it's become a habit.

Ego-searching rarely brought good results. If an idol saw controversies or criticism tied to their name in search results, those sentences would burrow deep into their brain and make it nearly impossible to focus on work.

Just typing three letters—Lee Seojun—into the search bar brought up...

What the hell is Ain doing in there?

Anyway, a whole bunch of potentially controversial related searches popped up.

"Still... I don't really feel anything about it."

My mental fortitude had already maxed out at 100. Pure curiosity drove me to click on [Lee Seojun Ain], and that's when I finally understood why our names were linked in the search bar.

Ah, I thought she came to the stadium for the broadcast. She was just streaming the video from the broadcasting room and doing the play-by-play remotely.

Apparently, Ain—who had zero interest in baseball—had done a remote broadcast of the Haneul High versus Busan High game and somehow turned into a fan of Haneul High instead of any pro team. She'd even declared on stream that she'd root for the GL Devils, the team most of the Haneul High players were headed to.

Since Lira and JR from Shinsegye Idol were both from Busan... it seemed Ain had gone to Busan to meet them, and the two had suggested she become a fan of the LT Oceans. But Ain hadn't felt any particular pull toward that, so when JR—who graduated from Busan High—mentioned the matchup between Busan High and Haneul High, she decided that while she couldn't make it to Sajik Baseball Stadium in person, she might as well stream the video and try doing remote commentary. The whole story was neatly summarized in the Shinsegye Idol fan cafe.

If JR really is a Busan High alum, that explains why some random virtual YouTuber was doing the broadcast.

No wonder the broadcast booth had been completely empty... So that's what had been going on.

Thud.

"Anyway, please go easy on us. Getting knocked out in the round of 64 is... well, it's against Haneul High, so I can accept that. But getting mercy-ruled would be pretty heartbreaking."

"Uh, I'm pretty sure I'm not starting today..."

"Still... it's uncomfortable..."

"Hey, don't I need to build my own career too?"

"True, I can't exactly stand in the way of a promising junior's future... Yeah right! Just take it easy on us, will you?"

After we finished shaking hands, Min-su hyung headed toward the stadium with the rest of the Haneul High students.

.........Well, I have no idea how this is gonna turn out either.

...

...

When we stepped inside the stadium, there were way more spectators than I'd expected. Parents of the players, students with nothing better to do, and even regular baseball fans who followed everything from the pros down to high school games. To fill Haneul High's dome, you'd need around twelve hundred people, but it looked like roughly eleven hundred were already seated.

The average skill level in baseball was similar between this world and my original one... but thanks to the spectacular collapse of Korean soccer in this world, interest and popularity in baseball seemed far greater than back home.

These are the people who keep the baseball world turning.

There was the middle-aged man cracking open a beer can while lamenting his team's runs allowed, and the young boy bawling his eyes out with overwhelming joy after one player's walk-off home run. They were all precious fans who powered the KBL and valued audience members enjoying the sports spectacle that was baseball.

......It's interesting. In my original world, I retired without ever getting to enjoy any of this... What a truly sad thing.

Just like how Coach Choi Dong-il had left me with the Iron Arm (H) skill, I too would carve a massive mark into the history of the baseball world.

"Hey, hurry up and get over here! The coach is about to read the lineup!"

"Ugh, you could've told me sooner, Jihun-shichi."

"I told you to stop calling me shichi!"

"Aww, Jihun-shichi!"

Thanks to that, I managed to slip into the dugout and join the team right before the coach finished reading the order.

1: Lee Seojun (CF)

2: Heo Kangmin (3B)

3: Yang Uijin (C)

4: Lee Surin (DH)

5: Lee Hyun-bin (RF)

6: Lee Yu-ta (2B)

7: Oh Han-il (1B)

8: Yoon Do-hyun (LF)

9: Oh Jihun (SS)

0: Kim Sihu (P)

"The game against Haneul High is likely to turn into a slugfest. Since these are the same players you've been facing since middle school... you all know how to handle them, right?"

"Yes!"

"Good. Then go rip the wings off that butterfly—the symbol of Haneul High—and come back victorious!"

"Yeah!"

After shouting the cheer loudly in the dugout, I grabbed my outfield glove and headed out onto the field.

"Looking forward to working with you today."

"Just focus on getting us some run support before you say that."

"What? Don't you trust us?"

When Kim Sihu turned his head, the entire Haneul High defense—including me—stared straight at him.

"Don't let your guard down, and whenever possible, send the ball toward Seojun. Running is hard for me."

"Leave the infield to me and U-ta hyung-nim!"

Hmm... In the original [3X3], Kim Sihu was basically just a young old man...

These days he grumbled a lot, but he still lent me equipment, sometimes bought me meals, and threw the ball well. He was the textbook definition of a tsundere.

"If you guys just defend properly, I won't have to allow any runs. So handle your defense well."

See? Textbook.

Alright. I'll carry the defense for us.

The plan I'd set my mind to was...

Slip!

"Gahk!"

"Seojun, you okay?"

"Never mind that—just throw it to third quick, Hyun-bin hyung!"

"Damn it, you crazy bastard!"

It seemed like I'd collapsed quite spectacularly the moment I overextended to catch that batted ball. And the fact that he was disappointed enough to curse loud enough for me to hear it all the way out in the outfield... Sihu, Sihu-ya...?

...

...

First batter, first pitch, triple.

It was literally the worst possible scenario for Kim Sihu. I'd thought it would be ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠ruled an error on me, but unfortunately the Blue Dragon Flag umpires had kindly decided it was a hit and recorded it as a triple.

Whether it was a fly ball, a squeeze, or even a simple advancing hit, Kim Sihu would give up a run in the blink of an eye. If we combined his Weekend League and Blue Dragon Flag ERA, it would still be an acceptable average... but apparently that wasn't how it worked here.

If he allowed a run like this, Kim Sihu's ERA would shoot straight from 0.00 to 27.00.

Crack!

The second batter's hit flew straight toward me. Even at a glance, it looked like a sure hit. The runner on third had already rounded the bag and was jogging home at a leisurely pace, while the batter sprinting to first couldn't hide the thrilled expression on his face.

If I miss this one too, I'm really dead.

Kim Sihu and Yang Uijin giving me that disappointed "Seojun-ah..." look?

I'm dead...!

Mentally, of course.

Tap tap tap!

Judging by the trajectory shown by Professor (L), if I sprinted at full speed there was a 33% chance I could catch it.

Can I get it?

If I played it safe and waited for the bounce, I could hold the runner at first even if it cost us one run. We could look for a double play after that... but if I missed this ball, the runner heading to first would reach second in an instant... creating yet another scoring opportunity.

"This is my atonement defenseeeeeee!"

Thwack!

I leaped like springs were attached to my legs, covering an absurd distance and barely stealing the would-be hit. The first-base runner, who clearly hadn't expected me to catch it, quickly retreated from home toward third.

"Third! Third base!"

"I know!"

Oh Jihun, who was near shortstop, shouted urgently, but I could already see the first batter's footsteps racing toward third.

"Hup—!"

Take this—my 158-kilometer laser throw! With that thought, I unleashed a full-power throw.

Whoosh!

The first batter was doing a head-first slide as he raced toward third, but inside Heo Kangmin's glove waiting on the bag...

"Oh, he caught it."

"Out!"

The ball I'd thrown was already nestled there. In an instant, the situation had completely flipped from no outs with a runner on third to two outs with no runners.

Clap.

Kim Sihu, who had been glaring at me fiercely just moments ago, had completely changed his attitude and was now giving me a thumbs-up.

......I almost died.

Of course, pulling off that defensive play had been an incredibly surprising and new experience for me too. If this were the pros, the runner wouldn't have gone home—he would've watched the ball all the way and either tagged up or run home properly. It was the carelessness of a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠high schooler's easy batted-ball judgment that had created those two outs.