I-It's Not Like I'm Jealous or Anything! / Game 1 vs. the Vanguards
"Nice to meet you. I'm Myo A-rin. I look forward to working with you all."
Applause filled the locker room, bright and lively—a distinctly different atmosphere from earlier.
"Hey, check her out."
Since when had this guy been standing next to me?
Geum Byeong-hyeon had glued himself to my side and was whispering so only I could hear.
"Wow... that figure is unreal, right? She's gotta have a boyfriend."
"Well, isn't she way too tall?"
"I like tall women, personally. Seems our little runt doesn't share that taste, huh."
"That's... not what this is about."
Apparently Geum Byeong-hyeon had taken an interest in Myo A-rin.
Heh... well, whatever. Not my business...
And yet something... something about it was just... off.
What is this? What's with this queasy feeling?
"Alright then, I look forward to working with all of you. Go, mighty Urbans! Fighting!"
With Myo A-rin's greeting, Team Leader Lee Kang-woo wrapped up the introductions to the Strategy and Analysis Team and filed out with the rest of his staff.
Right up until the moment they left, Geum Byeong-hyeon's eyes stayed locked on Myo A-rin.
"Good work today, everyone. Tomorrow's a home game, so come in a bit early. That's all!"
With the manager's words, the mad dash to clock out began.
And sure enough, Geum Byeong-hyeon shot out the door faster than anyone.
I don't know why, but I found myself chasing after him, hurrying out of the locker room right on his heels.
Just as I was about to tail him, I spotted him far down the corridor at the far end, standing with Myo A-rin.
Whoa, whoa!
Instinctively, I hid beside a pillar and watched them.
They looked cozy. Myo A-rin's face was absolutely blooming with smiles.
Well, look at that? She's laying the feminine charm on thick.
The two chatted a bit longer, then seemed to wave their goodbyes.
That was when Myo A-rin looked straight toward the pillar I was hiding behind.
Yikes!
I ducked out of her line of sight in a flash.
No! What are you doing? Why are you hiding?
I asked myself that... but honestly, I had no idea why I was doing this.
All I could say was that my body moved on its own.
Maybe ten seconds passed? I poked my head out again, just a little.
Myo A-rin was nowhere to be seen. Only Geum Byeong-hyeon remained, chuckling to himself as he stared down at his phone.
Playing it cool like I'd just stepped out of the locker room for the first time, I strolled casually over to him.
"Hyung-nim, what are you doing?"
"Dude, guess what! I got her number."
Her number? Myo A-rin gave him her number?
Wow, you really do see everything if you live long enough. That woman who's only biologically female—Myo A-rin—gave her number to Geum. Byeong. Hyeon., the walking alpha male himself?
Unbelievable.
"Ahem, ahem! Is that so? Congratulations."
"She's got such a straightforward personality too. I mean, technically we work for the same organization now, so does that make us a campus couple?"
"That's not a campus couple, that's just an office romance... campus means university..."
"Ah, shut it, you punk. Just let it go. Does it matter?"
"Ahem! Anyway, congratulations. I'll head in first."
"Damn it... if you're gonna congratulate me, congratulate me. Why the sulking and the attitude?"
"When did I sulk! Anyway, I'm off!"
Right. Whether Myo A-rin dates Geum Byeong-hyeon or not is none of my business.
There's nothing wrong with feeling attraction to that flashy, useless-at-baseball meathead.
Hmph, damn it!
I should go home and eat some chimaek.
Wait... no. Before that—she got a job at OUR club?
Why didn't she tell me?
Tch... I'm a little hurt, actually.
Since I was doing chimaek anyway, food bought with someone else's money would taste better, so I decided to text Myo A-rin.
If you get a job, treating everyone to a meal is the unwritten rule, right?
There is absolutely, one hundred percent no other reason behind this.
I was about to hit send when something felt off.
Hmm... doesn't this sound kind of whiny?
Hmm... this one's weird too.
Yeah, this is the one. This sounds right.
Nodding to myself, I pressed send.
Bzzzzzz—
"Gahk!"
The instant my message went through, Myo A-rin called me.
"F-freaking hell!"
Before I knew it, my finger moved on its own and hit the decline button.
"N-no, why? Why on earth? What! Why!"
Even by my own standards, it was an absurd thing to do. Dodging Myo A-rin's call? Why?
Bzzzzzzzz—
"Gahk!"
She was calling again.
This time I answered as naturally as I could manage.
"Ahem! Hello?"
"Why'd you hang up, you little punk?"
"I pressed it by accident! Obviously!"
"You said chicken. Come out."
I thought she'd send me a gift certificate instead...
"T-today?"
"What, you want to book an appointment first?"
"O-okay, got it!"
"Hurry up, the taxi's almost here."
I hung up and bolted straight out of the stadium. I skipped the main gate where the fans were waiting and slipped out the side door next to it.
I'm so sorry. I'm in a bit of a rush today. I'll work extra hard on fan service next time.
Not that many fans would be waiting for me anyway.
Still, deliberately avoiding the fans made me feel guilty for no good reason.
Carrying that apologetic heart, I sprinted my hardest.
Outside, I spotted Myo A-rin hailing a taxi.
"Hurry up! The driver's waiting."
At her words, I scrambled over and climbed into the taxi with her.
A moderately noisy neighborhood bar.
A-rin stared blankly at Han-sae as he wolfed down his chicken like a man who hadn't eaten in days.
Then, out of nowhere, a memory surfaced—yesterday, on his way home from work, Han-sae talking with some woman.
She'd wondered if women were already starting to swarm around him, and had only breathed a sigh of relief when it turned out the woman was a reporter.
"Hey! You made the news, you know."
"You saw it? They wrote me up pretty nicely."
"That woman was the reporter, right?"
"Yeah, you saw her yourself."
"She seemed pretty pretty, actually..."
"Mm... well... I was kind of focused on the interview..."
A-rin had probed as slyly as she could, and the only thing it confirmed was that Jang Han-sae was, without question, the densest man alive.
Times like this, I'm grateful for that.
"Hey, but why didn't you tell me?"
This time it was Han-sae who asked. Why had she kept her new job a secret?
"Just felt like it. A surprise? What do you think? Surprised?"
The expression on Jang Han-sae's face the moment he'd walked into that locker room. It was the kind of face she wished she'd photographed.
"Well, a little?"
"Liar. You looked like you'd seen a ghost."
The memory of that face made A-rin chuckle.
"I-I mean, thanks to you I get free chicken, so it's all good..."
"Yeah."
"Oh, and congrats, first of all... and, um..."
What could he possibly be beating around the bush for? A-rin found herself getting nervous for no reason.
"Was Geum Byeong-hyeon hyung... hitting on you earlier, by any chance?"
What's this? Concern?
"Hmm... that depends on what you mean by 'hitting on me.'"
"I saw you two together when we were leaving... Did he ask for your... number?"
Wait. Is he JEALOUS? Oh my god, that is disgustingly cute.
A-rin's heart started doing somersaults.
"Yep! A good-looking athlete like that asks for my number—what woman on earth would say no?"
"Well... y-yeah, I guess..."
A-rin cupped her hands together into a flower shape and pressed him.
"Why, oh why? Are you perhaps jealous?"
"M-me? Jealous of wh-what!"
"Then why are you so curious?"
"N-no, it's just... Geum Byeong-hyeon hyung might seem a bit sleazy on the outside, but he's actually a good guy at heart! I just wanted to tell you that! Give it your best!"
"Really? You mean that?"
"O-of course... no, wait, what's gotten into him today? Why so much confidence all of a sudden? He got ONE phone number and he's acting like a big shot! Today of all days!"
Watching Jang Han-sae's insides spill out for all to see, the smile would not leave A-rin's lips.
So he does care about me.
"That's right, I did. So what are you gonna do about it?"
"Ugh... but does he actually make you happy?"
"Hmm... well, looks-wise he's not exactly my type, but he is handsome. I'll find out when we go on dates, I guess?"
"...Dates..."
Han-sae's complexion turned visibly grim.
"What? Should I not go?"
"Wh-why are you asking ME... if you want to, then go!"
Ugh, this oblivious idiot!
Unwilling to drag things out any longer, A-rin decided to throw her changeup.
"Do you like me?"
A fastball jammed right up and in.
Against the pitch A-rin had just thrown, Jang Han-sae had no response at all. He simply froze solid.
"W-hey! Look at the time already, hahaha! Well, would you look at that. I need to get some sleep early if I'm gonna prepare for tomorrow's game. Hey! Thanks a ton for the meal. Man, this chicken is absolutely incredible. Anyway, I'm heading out first! See you, um, at the club tomorrow! Bye!"
Faster than his own fastball, Han-sae rattled off the words, leapt from his seat in a panic, and vanished.
Left alone at the table, A-rin rested her chin on her hand, gazed toward the door with a faint smile, and murmured to herself.
"What am I going to do with him?"
She decided she could afford to pitch a little more aggressively from now on.
"Why on earth..."
Game 1 against the Incheon Vanguards.
Jamsil Baseball Stadium.
Top of the eighth inning.
I took the mound with our razor-thin 1–0 lead on the line.
Great... bases loaded, nobody out. Again.
And of course, standing in the batter's box was none other than Edison.
The foreign slugger straight out of Major League Baseball.
"What did I ever do wrong?"
Apparently I'd somehow gotten on the manager's bad side.