How to Raise Influence: Feud with Lee Seung-min
The classroom atmosphere shifted in an instant, making it look like I was picking a fight with Lee Seung-min. Whispers started rippling through the room in low voices here and there.
And the first one to catch on and step in was Yoo Sera.
"What are you two doing? Cut it out."
She quickly moved to defuse the situation.
"Jeong-ui, come on, sit back down."
Then she turned right to Lee Seung-min.
"Seung-min, you too—just head back to your seat."
You could tell from her tone that she'd worked hard to keep any emotion out of it.
Lee Seung-min looked like he wanted to say more, but the classroom vibe and Yoo Sera's words shut him down. He clamped his mouth shut and walked off.
Watching him slink away without another word, I felt a wave of relief inside.
Yeah, that's more like it.
Smashing that guitar over his head would've felt even better—definitely cleared the air. Taking crap from a rude punk like that would've been stupid anyway.
I wanted to push it further, but the situation wouldn't let me. That was the frustrating part.
"Why'd you do that? You guys are on the same baseball team—get along."
The relief was short-lived. Yoo Sera started scolding me like a little kid.
"Even if you're right, you can't just say it like that."
She came closer and spoke in a low voice.
"That little spat just now? Disappointing."
Hearing that hit me right in the chest. It hurt… With the rock in my heart already shattered, I had no defenses left.
Of course she's taking his side. He's her boyfriend, after all. I'm just some guy from class she sees in the mornings.
Suddenly, I felt so small. Pathetic, even.
"You could never understand how I feel right now."
"Huh?"
I left it at that and slumped back over my desk. I didn't want to say more. No—every word would just make me feel smaller.
A few hours later, afternoon practice time rolled around. I dragged myself to the school field, exhausted. I hadn't slept properly during break because of what happened.
Thinking back, it still pissed me off. Was I supposed to just sit there and take him treating me like an idiot? Even if blood bends toward family… I'm the disappointed one here.
When I got to the field, the baseball team was already mostly set up.
Damn, late. But whatever. I'm just a free agent member—no need to stress. If anything, stressing too much might make the coach or director notice and feel awkward.
Today, I'd just toss some balls half-assed and call it.
I scanned the team casually. I could throw to myself, but having a catcher is way better.
Jae-uk hyung, the third-year? Nah, Hwang Jae-uk was swamped. As a senior, he had heavy training loads and vice-captain duties to handle everyone.
I turned to check the first-years. There was the first-year catcher. Easiest option, if you had to pick.
But… not much to learn there. He drops my pitches sometimes…
So, only one choice. I headed straight to the coach.
"Coach, mind if I practice with Na-seong today?"
"With Na-seong?"
Couldn't just drag him off without a reason. Had to make one up.
"Yeah. When the third-years leave, I'll have to pair with him anyway. Might as well get a head start."
"Alright, go for it."
The coach nodded like he got it.
Throw together a casual excuse like that, and it usually flies.
"Kim Na-seong! Quick stretch, then catch some balls with Jeong-ui. Got it?"
"Yes, sir."
A bit later, Kim Na-seong finished stretching and came over.
"Today, I'm only throwing sinkers, okay?"
His face soured instantly.
"Didn't you say your control on those still sucks?"
"Yeah. That's why we're practicing."
We started with catch ball. No chit-chat, just short tosses, gradually widening the distance, then closing it back up.
After about twenty throws, I got ready to throw for real.
"Here it comes."
I stared at Kim Na-seong in his stance and let it rip.
Whiiip! Thwack!
I threw sinkers silently. At first, they weren't much different from usual.
Wait a sec.
Wasn't this guy kinda tight with Lee Seung-min?
There are nine players total, including me in second year. Eight of them are paired up in the same classes, two per class.
Are those two in the same class? Or just close as second-years…?
Hmm… Then I remembered what they'd been talking about earlier.
Infuriating. I gripped the ball harder and started throwing with feeling.
Emotion surged into my hand. My fingertips scraped the seams like they were gripping tighter, the release shifting just a bit.
And in that moment, the ball's trajectory changed.
Whiiip!
It broke sharper than I wanted—thwack!
Kim Na-seong couldn't glove it properly at that angle.
"Huh?"
The ball popped out the side of the mitt, and he reacted with a short yelp.
I knew it right away. This is it.
Getting kicked out of the band was hell. But… that pain made me grow.
I recalled Julia's words—how she'd channeled the agony of being booted from her band into her guitar playing, claiming the pain had made her stronger.
Strangely, it lined up perfectly with me right now.
Just throwing the ball normally didn't get the trajectory right. But in this emotional turmoil, I could make it do what I wanted.
I had to make this sensation mine.
"I got the feel now. So, thirty minutes? Hour? I'll keep throwing till I'm used to it. Bear with me a bit."
Kim Na-seong knew he had his own training, but after flubbing that sinker, he hesitated then nodded.
"Okay."
I gripped the ball again and fired. The sinker traced a path like my slider thrown in reverse.
The ball went exactly where I aimed.
I got what I wanted. My mind settled as the anger faded.
Then Yoo Sera's words from before came back: Baseball teammates should get along.
Chewing it over, she had a point.
Because Julia did the same.
When she joined her new band, there was some distance at first. But she built influence through skill, and eventually, even if she didn't run the show, she could at least avoid situations she hated.
Why? Because she hadn't done that in the old band—and got kicked out for it.
To avoid that happening to me, I needed to build influence too.
And the perfect guy was right in front of me.
As a pitcher, I'd be paired with catcher Kim Na-seong through next year no matter what.
Get close to everyone? Impossible.
So, I'd stick with the few I really needed.
Time to use my influence for him.
"Okay, that's enough."
I signaled Kim Na-seong to stop.
"Think I got the hang of it."
"Good…"
He stood up at my words.
"I'll go report to the director that I can throw sinkers now. You did great."
"Yeah, sure."
Then I headed to the director.
"Director…"
The weekend league's third game was coming up. Our opponents: Seoul Heungjin High School, rated the weakest in the district.
Pre-game vibes were loose, the dugout full of easy confidence.
Kim Na-seong sat next to Lee Seung-min, holding down the dugout. But Lee Seung-min's face was especially grim while waiting.
"Why the long face since we got to the field today?"
Lee Seung-min scowled briefly.
"Eh, just… something annoying with Kim Jeong-ui."
"What?"
He bit his lip.
"Nah, because of him, Sera and… fuck it."
His face was full of gripe, but he trailed off.
"Sigh."
Kim Na-seong let out a short breath at the dodge and dropped it.
After a quiet beat, Lee Seung-min spoke up again.
"You've been catching Jeong-ui's pitches a lot lately. Why?"
"Coach just told me to."
"Yeah? You two seem glued during afternoon practice. I fucking hate that guy. Everyone knows by now—he doesn't pay dues, trains half-assed, plays games. How much leeway does one guy get?"
Kim Na-seong thought a sec, then added his honest take.
"He is good, though."
"What?"
"His pitches are nasty. Straight heat, slider, sinker—all slamming right into the mitt. Unreal. Guess that's why the perks."
Lee Seung-min's face hardened more. He'd expected agreement, but Kim Na-seong was straight-up impressed by Kim Jeong-ui's stuff.
No point talking further. He clammed up.
The game went as expected. Our bats piled on runs early; pitching held steady.
By the seventh, it was 8-2. We were cruising.
Dugout loosened up; tension melted away.
"Kim Na-seong."
Before the eighth, the coach called him over.
He went right up.
"You're in from the eighth. Get ready."
Kim Na-seong's eyes widened.
"Me?"
In high school baseball, catchers are usually third-years playing most innings. A second-year like him was pure backup.
With few games, backups rarely saw action. He'd never played yet.
No wonder he was shocked.
"Yeah. Oh, Jeong-ui requested it. Said he'll pair with you through third year, so in blowouts like this, if he goes in, put you in too."
"Jeong-ui did?"
Kim Na-seong glanced at me. I was warming up to the first-year catcher.
"Yep. Makes sense, so we're doing it going forward. Stay ready for big leads. Got it?"
His heart started pounding.
"Yes, sir."
"Good."
The coach clapped his shoulder.
"Go loosen up."
"Right! Yes, sir."
Kim Na-seong geared up and headed to the bullpen.
"What, you're here? I was just asking the first-year."
I said to him.
"Gotta warm up too."
"Warm up?"
I played dumb.
"Oh? The thing about blowouts…"
"Yeah, I said that. Didn't think they'd slot you in right away."
Well? Got something to say now?
"Uh… thanks. Got to play because of you."
Heh heh heh. Close to kowtowing.
Nice—his attitude toward me was warming up.
But I couldn't take full credit here.
"You're playing after Phoenix Prep ends anyway. Just a few months early."
"St… still, getting innings now builds experience. I'll be better for it later."
I nodded like I agreed.
"Next batters: two lefties, one righty. You've caught plenty of my sinkers, so leading lefties should be fine, right?"
"Of course."
Kim Na-seong sounded confident, like leave it to him.
Good. Now he'd listen to me more than that outfielder punk.