The Korean Express

When I woke up that morning, a bizarre system window was already hovering in front of me, glitching like a broken screen.

What the…? A bug? That was the first thing I saw after opening my eyes.

I had pressed the prompt about combining Fireball (L) and Revolver (E) to create ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a higher-grade skill, and now this had popped up. Rising Fastball (H), huh?

Rising Fastball (H) was a skill that created the optical illusion of a fastball rising while maximizing strikeout probability. It was an amazing ability, but having it appear so suddenly left me with a strange feeling.

It feels like someone planned this whole thing.

There was no way I should have been able to pick up skills this smoothly. How were they coming at me with such perfect timing?

Well, it’s good for me, I guess.

-Ding!

“Hm?”

A text had arrived. It was from Epinel.

Aha.

Well, I had already seen the mess that happened when someone who only received military exemption benefits and never once participated in an international tournament defended Ahn Woo-jin amid the school violence controversy. My mentality wasn’t shaking over something like this.

Most of the internet reactions were similar. Half criticized my selection for the WBC, while the other half discussed Ahn Woo-jin’s failure to make the team and listed my strengths.

“Let’s see… KBBS and JTBBC… I probably shouldn’t do interviews with these guys later.”

Had JTBBC gotten burned badly on Strongest Baseball and developed a grudge? The only place that had written favorably about me was MBBC.

I guess I’ll only do interviews with MBBC from now on.

Still, I had never even met President Heo Gu-yeon before. Why on earth had he suddenly picked me for the WBC roster? And what was he thinking, declaring he’d resign if we didn’t reach the semifinals or better?

Maybe Coach Kim knew him from his playing days.

I thought about asking if he could connect us, but…

The following Monday, on the way to school.

I felt a sense of unease the moment I saw three to five suspiciously discreet sedans parked near the school gate. I told myself it must be related to other sports teams since it was national team selection season, then slowly opened the door to the clubroom.

“Ah, nice to meet you, Player Lee Seojun.”

“……Y-yes, sir.”

Why did you come all the way to Haneul High?

The man sitting there was the one who, in my original world, had delivered the legendary line that “Jeong Dae-hyun is the best sinkerball pitcher in the country.” He was also the GOAT of Korean baseball association presidents who had realized the legalization of sports betting and the construction of dome stadiums in the world of 3X3.

President Heo Gu-yeon himself.

“Haha, I’m sorry. You must have suffered a lot because of the articles and all the noise.”

“No, it wasn’t really a big deal.”

“Haha, you have impressive mental strength for someone so young.”

“Thank you for the compliment.”

“Ah, does Player Lee Seojun drink coffee?”

“Because of the caffeine… water is fine.”

“Of course. You’re still a young student, so caffeine isn’t good for you.”

At the president’s gesture, the man who appeared to be a bodyguard quickly poured water and handed it to me.

This kind of treatment… it’s really my first time.

“If Player Lee Seojun doesn’t think this is a natural spot for you, you may refuse the call-up. This was an impulsive decision I made simply after seeing your velocity and movement.”

“I heard… that if we don’t finish in the top four, you’ll resign…”

In this WBC, the Korean team had shown their worst performance ever — nearly suffering a cold loss to Japan and throwing away a winnable game against Australia — and ended up eliminated in the group stage. Public opinion on baseball had completely soured, and it was the tournament that exposed the structural problems of Korean baseball, where Kim Kwang-hyun, who had pitched in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, was still a starting pitcher rather than a reliever in 2022.

But wasn’t he not the president yet back then?

From my memory, the change had happened after the WBC disaster.

“Well, I’ve already done everything I wanted to do here. It’s fine if I step down. There are plenty of successors.”

Ah, so in this world he has already achieved all his goals.

Once the conversion of all stadiums into domes was complete, President Heo Gu-yeon’s dream would be fulfilled. The only stadium that wasn’t a dome yet was the Falcons’ home ground, but since “The Nest” was currently under construction, it was essentially already done.

“For a first-year high school student like you to participate in the WBC would be a tremendous opportunity to face truly world-class players.”

“Still, I’m only a freshman…”

“No. Throughout my career as a manager, commentator, and now president, I’ve seen countless raw talents and watched what becomes of them. Player Lee Seojun… you possess the greatest talent in Korean baseball history.”

……Ugh, if you say it like that…

When he put it that way, I couldn’t bring myself to ask to be sent to the U-18 team instead.

“I believe you are the player who can symbolize the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠generational change in Korean baseball — especially for pitchers. This WBC can imprint your name on the fans. Of course, if the burden is too heavy, the U-18 team…”

“…I’ll do it.”

“Good. You’re still a first-year in high school, and the WBC is… wait, what?”

“Could you please do something about the public opinion? The Blue Dragon Flag final is on Saturday, so I can’t afford to lose focus until then.”

“Haha, I’ll have a word with the media outlets.”

“Thank you.”

“On the contrary, I should be the one thanking you for accepting this old man’s request.”

With those words, President Heo Gu-yeon shook my hand briefly and left in his car.

“…………”

“Did something happen in there?”

I had been standing there in a daze for a while when Coach Kim approached, apparently thinking I was in shock.

“I think I’m more greedy than I realized.”

“What are you suddenly… Don’t tell me you’re actually going to join the WBC?!”

“Yes. I’ll need to train much harder for a while, Coach.”

Something was burning inside me. It was an intense feeling I had never experienced in high school baseball before.

Ahem. Is this dramatic enough?

……?

Perhaps reacting to that thought, even though I hadn’t directly encountered any Legend Data yet, I suddenly gained access to someone’s Legend Data.

So you came after hearing about me from Mr. Choi Dong-won?

That’s right. He talked about you quite a lot.

It seemed Choi Dong-won’s Legend Data had spoken highly of me.

I originally wouldn’t have been able to make contact… but thanks to your skill, I was able to approach quite easily. Saying that reminds me of the day I was with the Dodgers…

……I think I know exactly who this is.

If contact was possible thanks to Revolver (E) and Fireball (L), then it had to be Rising Fastball (H)… and the person in Korea whose pitching style matched that pitch best was…

If you use the History-grade Skill Random Draw Ticket now, you’ll be able to meet me directly.

“I’m on my way to meet you right now.”

It was a bit of a waste to spend the random draw ticket and two skills, but this was a skill I had to obtain even if it meant sacrificing all of them.

Come, Rising Fastball…?

“Huh?”

What the hell is this skill—

My mind was instantly sucked into a storm of time and space.

My memories… are gone?

What was going on? I was supposed to make contact with the Legend Data, but when I came to my ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠senses, all I could confirm was the complete absence of any memory from the encounter — and my stats that had been inflated to insane levels.