Chapter 6
Chapter 6
Translator Wjin
Chapter 06
Lee Mi-yeon took out her wallet.
‘I’ll pay for him…’
She had already lost 50,000 won, which was a significant blow, but she felt too guilty to ignore Cha Tae-hyun, who was even saving on lunch money. And she happened to have a 10,000 won bill…
The moment she took out the bill…
Clang!
A clean, crisp sound echoed through her body. She quickly looked up, and the ball, flying in a straight line, hit the target perfectly.
“Oh…! Did you see that?”
“He seems to be a good hitter.”
“His form is different. Is he a former player?”
The crowd started murmuring. Lee Mi-yeon, too, couldn’t help but exclaim in admiration.
“Wow… how did he hit it right in the center like that?”
‘Could it be…?’
Maybe he could do it? As soon as she had that thought…
Clang!
Another clean swing, and the ball flew powerfully and lodged itself in the center of the target.
“Wow! What’s with that guy!”
“Amazing! Is he a real player?”
Hitting the target perfectly twice in a row instantly hyped up the atmosphere, and Lee Mi-yeon grinned, clenching her fists.
As the gazes and breaths of the people watching Cha Tae-hyun grew more intense…
“Oh… excuse me. I’m sorry!”
The owner came out and bowed repeatedly.
“I… I accidentally touched the mouse and pressed the stop button. We’ll start again soon, so please wait a moment.”
“What—”
Before the momentarily furious Lee Mi-yeon could say anything…
“Hey! Are you kidding me right now!”
“What kind of trick is this! You’re going to raise the speed again, aren’t you!”
The people around them started protesting. Threats of breaking the machine if he touched the speed and telling him to do it properly if he didn’t want to go out of business were flying around. But surprisingly, Cha Tae-hyun spoke up.
“Well, if you want to raise it, you can.”
Everyone, even the owner, was stunned by his unexpected words.
“It’s about 142… no, 3? Something like that. Since it’s come to this, raise it as much as you want.”
“Ah… no, why… Just one more hit, and he gets the bat…”
Lee Mi-yeon muttered in a small voice, hoping no one would hear. But in fact, everyone else was thinking the same thing. Except for one person, the owner.
“Oh my… the customer knows how to have fun. Then I’ll raise it by about 10 kilometers and set it.”
“Sir—”
“Yes. Do it.”
Cha Tae-hyun’s words came out before the crowd could explode. He was so confident that it was hard to believe. The owner coughed once and then went into the control room.
Whirring.
As the sound of the machine warming up was heard, the crowd let out a collective sigh of disappointment.
“Just one more hit, and he would have screwed over that owner…”
“What a shame…”
Lee Mi-yeon’s lips pursed into an inverted triangle.
‘Tae-hyun said he’d hit it!’
Honestly, she hadn't believed it at first… but hadn't she just seen his two hits? She truly believed that Cha Tae-hyun could do it. And that belief soon…
Clang!
…became a reality.
“Tae-hyun!!”
Lee Mi-yeon, smiling brightly without realizing it, was about to run to Cha Tae-hyun, but…
“Wow!!! What on earth is that guy!!”
“Wow!!!!!!!”
“Wow, I’ve never seen such a fast ball before, and the guy who hit it is something else!”
“Did he just hit it? He stuck it right on that square board! Even a pro couldn’t do that!”
A group of men swarmed around him, pushing her away.
“Hey! Where are you from? You’re from Busan, right? Do you like the Phoenix?”
“What…?”
“You look like a Phoenix fan. Come to the Phoenix!”
“Right! That’s great! He’s a perfect ace for the Phoenix!”
“He’s handsome too, in a manly way! You have to come to the Phoenix!”
Lee Mi-yeon smiled shyly as Cha Tae-hyun was showered with compliments, not knowing what to do. It felt as if she were the one being praised.
“You’re going to go pro, right!”
A question from one of the men. Lee Mi-yeon was also curious, so she focused.
“Pro? Of course, I have to. It’s my dream. To be a professional player.”
“Wow!!!! As expected! So which team are you going to? The Phoenix? The Busan Phoenix? The Phoenix!”
Cha Tae-hyun was silent for a moment at the man’s question, his face flushed. Everyone fell silent, as if they couldn’t miss this.
“I’ve been a Phoenix fan since the moment I was born.”
“Wow!!!!! He’s going to the Phoenix!”
People started cheering as if they had just won the Korean Series. Lee Mi-yeon didn’t shout, but she smiled brightly and nodded repeatedly.
“Right! Tae-hyun is a good kid, after all!”
The atmosphere was so hyped up that they were about to give Cha Tae-hyun a victory toss, but…
“Wait! Wait a moment!”
The owner pushed through the crowd and started approaching Cha Tae-hyun.
“Sir! You’re not going to refuse to give him the bat now, are you?”
The people around them nodded, thinking the same thing.
“Oh… do I really look like that kind of person?”
Everyone, including Lee Mi-yeon, nodded and glared at the owner.
“I’ll give it to him. I’ll give it to him, so everyone please calm down… Anyway… what was your name?”
“It’s Cha Tae-hyun.”
“Right. Cha Tae-hyun. A name that sounds like a good baseball player. You’re going to the Phoenix.”
“If they call me.”
“Is that true? Can you swear on it?”
“I picked up a Phoenix hat at my first birthday party.”
‘Tae… Tae-hyun?’
Lee Mi-yeon momentarily thought, ‘Did you even have a first birthday party?’ but she didn’t say it out loud. The owner suddenly rummaged through his pockets and took out two keys.
“This is the warehouse key, and this is the control room key. Use this when I’m not here.”
“What…?”
“Do you think I’d take money from the ace who will lead the Phoenix? I have a lot of my old baseball equipment in the warehouse, so take whatever you need.”
“…”
Cha Tae-hyun’s mouth fell open. He had honestly thought the owner would be a pain about giving him the bat, but he had never expected such generosity.
“Wow… sir, you looked like a bit of a tightwad earlier, but I see you in a new light.”
“He’s a real fan!”
“Wow, he knows how to invest! Even I can see that he’ll succeed.”
As Cha Tae-hyun just stared blankly at the keys, the owner placed them in his hand.
“Th-Thank you!”
Cha Tae-hyun shouted loudly, and the owner grinned and turned away, leaving him with one last word.
“Right. When you debut, make sure to mention in your interview that I was your sponsor.”
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
When I left the batting center, the stars were already out. I had spent more time than I had expected and had missed my training time, but…
“Hehe… It even has Lee Myung-seok’s signature…”
Seeing Ms. Miyeon looking at the bat with ecstatic eyes, unable to stop smiling, I felt it was worth it. If she was happy, then I was happy.
“Are you that happy?”
Ms. Miyeon’s head bobbed up and down vigorously. Honestly, her level of excitement was a little overwhelming even for me. She must have been that excited.
“Thank you, thank you so much, Tae-hyun… I really wanted this. Is it really okay for me to have this?”
“Hey, don’t worry about it. And you spent a lot of money today. You need to get at least this much to sleep well.”
Ms. Miyeon’s face turned a little red.
“Oh, I didn’t spend that much…”
“Alright. Let’s go. I’ll walk you to the bus stop.”
“Oh? It’s okay.”
“If I want to be a baseball player, I need to build up my body, so it’s good to move a lot.”
“Ah, that’s true! Then shall we run together?”
This teacher’s energy was insane. How excited was she? I finally burst out laughing at her, who was even getting into a running stance.
“Let’s just walk. You can’t run with that, can you?”
“Haha! That’s true. Then let’s walk, Tae-hyun.”
“Yes.”
And so, facing each other, we slowly walked along the night street. Whether it was because of the pleasant cool breeze or because the stars were so clear tonight, the world felt beautiful.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Three weeks had passed since I came to this world. I seemed to have blended into this society quite well, to the point where I could say I had adapted. But I still hadn’t been able to shake this delinquent image…
To get rid of this image, I had to stop sleeping in school, but that was impossible with my training and part-time job schedule, so I just gave up. Well, what did it matter if I had that image at school?
“Tae-hyun, want a lunchbox?”
“If you’re giving it to me, I’ll gladly take it.”
As long as Ms. Miyeon thought well of me, that was all that mattered. In the empty classroom, as the students rushed to the cafeteria, Ms. Miyeon sat at a desk by the window and patted it. I sat across from her, and soon, a lunchbox appeared on the desk.
A lunchbox filled with care. I was so grateful that I was on the verge of tears. Ms. Miyeon had said, ‘I have a hobby of making lunchboxes… I was hoping you could eat some,’ but I knew that was a lie.
There was no mention of her having such a hobby until the last episode.
“Come to think of it, Tae-hyun, are you going to join the baseball team soon?”
“Yes. I think I can keep up with the training to some extent, so I’ll be joining soon.”
“Really? That’s great! If you have a game, make sure to tell me. I’ll come and cheer for you.”
I flinched at her words. This was a line she had originally said to Lee Ji-ho. In a way, I had stolen her support from him…
Who cared? He was the one who would eventually abandon her for his childhood friend.
“Yes. If it’s a weekend game, I’ll let you know.”
At that moment, a breeze blew through the window, and Ms. Miyeon’s hair fluttered slightly. Thinking it was nothing, I turned my head towards the window and happened to see…
Seo Ji-ah…?
I saw Seo Ji-ah, the second most popular heroine after Shin Ha-yoon. She was carrying a box full of baseballs and heading somewhere. Even now, I thought that the character of Seo Ji-ah… was just wrong from the start…
Where would you find a female manager in a Korean high school baseball team…? It wasn't a Japanese baseball manga. A character created by the author of Nemesis, who liked to include many heroines, and who had thrown historical accuracy to the wind.
That was Seo Ji-ah. I frowned and looked at her face carefully. It wasn't to see how pretty she was. Even if she was pretty, she was a yandere heroine, so I didn't particularly want to get close to her. …Has it already started? She doesn't look well.
There was no better way to find out about the branching point of the Nemesis episode I had to intervene in than to check on Seo Ji-ah's condition.
“The wind is blowing, and the sun is shining today, Tae-hyun, isn’t it?”
“Ah, yes. It is. I feel like I could fall asleep right away if I close my eyes.”
“You should get some sleep at home! Anyway, on days like this, go for a walk once in a while. It’s good for your health.”
“Yes. I’ll try that next time.”
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Hyeoksan High School, known for its prestigious baseball team, had facilities that lived up to its reputation. A large field and even a well-equipped indoor practice facility. However, they usually trained on the field.
There was no reason to be in the indoor practice facility unless it was raining. But now, with the sun shining brightly, and it being lunchtime, a time for eating… two baseball team members were in the indoor practice facility. And with bats and balls, as if they were training.
At a glance, it might seem like a commendable act of training on their own, even giving up their lunch break…
Thwack!
“Ugh…!”
Thwack!
“Ugh…!”
“What are you doing? Hwang Gwang-hyun. Get up.”
Was hitting balls at a junior, who was standing less than 3 meters away, really training? It wasn't. It was just Lee Seung-tae, the senior and the most influential member of the baseball team, bullying his junior, Hwang Gwang-hyun, as usual.
Thud.
The ball Lee Seung-tae hit struck Hwang Gwang-hyun’s thigh, and he collapsed with a groan. But Lee Seung-tae, instead of apologizing, just urged him to get up.
“...Stop, stop it.”
Seo Ji-ah, who was watching the scene of bullying through a crack in the door, muttered. She wanted to shout at him to stop, to intervene, but her body wouldn’t obey.
She had started as a baseball team manager to change her extremely introverted personality, which had always made her a loner. In fact, she had become more talkative, and the hobby of baseball had reduced her constant depression.
The baseball team, which had given her a new life, was a precious place and a sanctuary for her. And now, an act that was sickening the baseball team was happening right in front of her. The helplessness of not being able to do anything.
Ugh!
At another groan, Seo Ji-ah squeezed her eyes shut and slumped to the ground.
“Please… please, someone… the baseball team…”