Chapter 7
Chapter 7
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Translator: Silver Dragon
Chapter: 7
Chapter Title: Morning Classes
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Morning classes.
It had been so long since he'd worn his school uniform that it felt awkward.
Having been eliminated from the Blue Dragon Cup, Choi Seung-taek now had to attend morning classes back at school.
Ever since the high school baseball weekend league had been introduced, even the baseball team had to attend classes in the morning like everyone else. There had been a ton of backlash at first, but over time, it had become the norm.
Choi Seung-taek generally viewed the system positively. After all, only a tiny fraction of players ever went pro.
Every year, around a thousand players from high schools and colleges entered the draft pool. But pro teams only drafted about a hundred of them.
A 10:1 competition rate. A hundred players got picked and entered pro ball. But the other nine hundred—who knew nothing but baseball—were left incredibly vulnerable. They hadn't studied like regular students, which made things even harder for them.
As stories about the lives of those who didn't get drafted started gaining attention, by the time Choi Seung-taek had become a power analyst, it had become natural for athletic club players to attend classes like everyone else in the morning before training in the afternoon.
Of course, right now in 2014, these morning class hours were just sweet downtime for Choi Seung-taek before practice.
Heading to the classroom to catch some sleep seemed like a solid plan.
He'd avoided studying for so long; there was no way he could keep up with senior-year classes right before the college entrance exam. It was only natural.
'Hmm... Does it look okay?'
The uniform from his first year of high school felt too small overall. Especially his upper body—it felt like it might burst at the seams, so he had no choice but to wear it half-open.
Choi Seung-taek struggled to find his classroom. His memories from high school were already fuzzy, and the ones from classrooms where he'd only slept were even fainter.
He entered the Class 2-3 room for seniors and plopped down in one of the back-row seats reserved for the baseball team. Kim Min-jae, the third baseman, was already there, face down and snoring away.
'Lucky bastard. Already asleep. Maybe I should crash too.'
There was no point trying to follow the lesson anyway, and with the college entrance exam just three months away, it was polite for an athlete like Choi Seung-taek to sleep quietly.
His mood had been sour from yesterday's loss, so he hadn't slept much trying to shake it off. He figured he'd make up for it now.
He closed his eyes to doze off, but suddenly his mind flashed with clarity.
'What an idiot! You think you can afford to slack off like this?'
Thinking about it, he'd have to spend over four hours every day like this—zoned out or asleep—for the next month and change.
It felt like a waste. He couldn't just sit there dumbly during time he could use productively.
'So what should I do? What would make good use of these fixed four hours?'
Choi Seung-taek's mind raced. He was drawing on his experience as a power analyst.
Know yourself and know your enemy, and you'll win every battle. Basics. No opponent yet, so knowing himself would do for now.
Choi Seung-taek looked for something to write with. But he had nothing to record with.
He glanced at the other students. A girl up front smelled nice.
'Borrow first, pay back later.'
He tapped the chair of the girl in front of him.
"Huh?"
She turned around.
"Uh... hi?"
The girl stared at him with wide eyes. The baseball team were always-sleeping NPCs to her, so she was startled that one had spoken to her.
"What? Something wrong?"
"Sorry, but could you lend me a notebook?"
"A notebook?"
"Yeah! I'll pay you back later."
"Uh... You mean the whole notebook, not just a page?"
"Yeah, that's right. Got one?"
She hesitated a moment before handing over a nice notebook.
'Score!'
"Ooh~ Choi Seung-taek! Hitting on a girl from our class? What's that about?"
Kim Min-jae, who had been asleep, piped up from the side with a snicker, as if he'd woken up just for this.
"It's not like that. Go back to sleep."
But there was still nothing to write with.
'Damn it. Should've borrowed a pen too.'
Tap tap.
Choi Seung-taek spoke with an apologetic look.
"Huh? What now?"
"Uh... something to write with too..."
"Oh..."
An awkward silence hung between them. The girl looked a bit troubled but lent him a pen anyway.
"Th-thanks."
"No problem."
'I'm such an idiot. I'm such an idiot.'
As Choi Seung-taek berated himself and opened the notebook, an excited voice chimed in from the side again.
"Whoa, Choi Seung-taek. Borrowing a pen after just to chat more with the girl in front? Catchers really are masters at number games."
"It's not like that, you lunatic."
Choi Seung-taek jumped in surprise, which only fueled Kim Min-jae's mischief.
"You know the girl in front of you is the class president, right?"
"Huh...? She's the class president? No idea."
Kim Min-jae looked smug, like he'd hooked him perfectly. He immediately waved at the girl up front.
"Hey, class president!"
"Hey."
"Bet she's feeling neglected. Even if you're on the team, you should've known she's the class president."
'Ah... this guy.'
Sure enough, a flicker of hurt passed through the class president's eyes.
'Ugh.'
Choi Seung-taek felt a slight pang of conscience. Even digging through his past memories, he hadn't known. This was genuinely new info.
But Kim Min-jae's assault didn't end there.
"Seung-taek, you know her name at least? Nah, you don't, do you?"
As Choi Seung-taek sat there dumbfounded, Kim Min-jae went in for the kill.
"Knew it. If you didn't even know she's class president, no way you know her name."
'Argh, seriously. I'm gonna lose it.'
"Hey, Ga-young."
"Hey."
Kim Min-jae waved again, blatantly for Choi Seung-taek's benefit.
"There, Seung-taek. Now you know her name! You should thank me."
"Sure, Min-jae. Thanks a ton."
Choi Seung-taek said it sarcastically, but Kim Min-jae cheered instead.
"Kukuku, why thank me? You idiot. Thank Ga-young for lending you the notebook and pen."
'Ha... damn it.'
"Come on, repeat after me. 'Ga-young, thanks. That's what you say when you're grateful. Easy, right?'"
'Uwaaaah. He's really doing this. So freaking embarrassing.'
Grind.
Choi Seung-taek clenched his teeth so hard they ground together audibly.
"Ga-young... thanks."
"Haha, no need."
Thanks to Kim Min-jae's antics, Park Ga-young looked a bit uncomfortable. Choi Seung-taek glared at him, face beet red.
"Kukukuku."
"I'm seriously gonna kill you."
"J-j-just tryyy k-k-k-kiiiillll meee."
I couldn't hold back and lunged at Kim Min-jae. He laughed for a full thirty seconds while taking the hits, then quietly face-planted back onto his desk.
"Haa..."
Once calm again, Choi Seung-taek opened the notebook. Park Ga-young's was brand new and pristine.
'Gotta make a plan. President's Cup is just three days away.'
The Golden Lion Cup and Blue Dragon Cup were tournaments pitting the top teams from the weekend leagues against each other.
By contrast, the President's Cup included teams from across the country, so the early rounds would be much easier.
A few initial games should be winnable even without Choi Seung-taek playing.
That left about a month and a week.
'What should I do in the meantime?'
After pondering, Choi Seung-taek decided to evaluate himself first.
He searched his phone, compiled all his records up to the Blue Dragon Cup, and played videos of his own plays to review precisely.
'Pathetic. They drafted this in the tenth round? What was that Busan Sea Gulls scout thinking?'
His performance up to the Blue Dragon Cup had been truly dismal.
Decent defensive catcher for high school level, sure. But against pro standards? Trash.
Choi Seung-taek jotted down objective facts about his past self in the notebook. Viewing himself through his analyst eyes, the harsh criticism felt cathartic once it was on paper.
He'd ripped himself apart, but it was accurate.
"Isn't your baseball team going too far?"
"Huh? Whoa, you scared me."
Choi Seung-taek jumped at the voice from behind. He'd been so focused, it hit harder.
It was their homeroom teacher.
"I like you athletic kids. But sitting in the back watching videos on your phone? That's a bit much, don't you think?"
"Teacher, I'm studying in my own way right now."
Choi Seung-taek responded immediately. Better to cut off misunderstandings fast.
"Studying? What's the video?"
"This... that's me in the video. It's from the tournament."
Choi Seung-taek emphasized the "Blue Dragon Cup Round of 16" text and the "Suseok High School" name on screen.
"Hmm... fair enough. Then what's this?"
The teacher took Choi Seung-taek's notebook and read it aloud.
"Choi Seung-taek, batting average..."
'Wait, she's reading this where everyone can hear?'
Choi Seung-taek suddenly felt dizzy. Embarrassed.
"If a pro team scouted him, that scout must be blind. Lacks the skills for pro in every aspect..."
The teacher's voice trailed off as she read aloud.
"Seung-taek, you don't have to be so self-deprecating."
Her expression hardened. Kim Min-jae, who'd overheard the brutal self-assessment, jumped in.
"Teacher, we got knocked out big-time in the Blue Dragon Cup yesterday, so everyone's a bit down."
"Oh, I heard about that. Must be a change of heart. Don't... go too hard on yourself."
The teacher handed back the notebook.
"No, Teacher. I'll do my thing quietly without bothering anyone else."
"Keep writing that?"
"It's a time when I need to objectify myself. Like how the others are prepping for the November exam, we're facing our own test. I'm just preparing for that."
Choi Seung-taek opened the notebook again as he spoke.
"It's like an error notebook. Same as studying. The kids up front for the exam, me for baseball."
"Alright, got it. I'll tell the other teachers to let you study your way. But keep it quiet."
"Yes. I won't snore or anything. I'll study quietly."
Still bothered by something, the teacher asked one more thing.
"But do you really need to watch videos? Other teachers might not get it."
"I need to analyze them, so no choice. But I'll keep the sound off and stay quiet."
"Sigh... fine, okay."
The teacher relented at Choi Seung-taek's words. She seemed to appreciate the effort to study in his own way.
She returned to the podium to prepare for class.
Choi Seung-taek swiped to the next video on his phone.
...
'Huh?'
No next video. Broke as he was back then, he'd already burned through his data.
'No way.'
As despair set in, a devious idea surfaced.
'Ah... this is kinda scummy. But no choice.'
Choi Seung-taek quietly reached toward Park Ga-young's chair.
"Um, Ga-young?"
He clasped his hands pleadingly.
"Mind if I borrow your phone...?"