The President's Cup Final: Day 1
After advancing to the semifinals, Choi Seungtaek found himself in a tricky spot at school the next day.
“Hey, everyone! Good news! Our school baseball club has finally made it to the final!”
The male teacher grinned as he delivered the announcement.
Coaches at the school always kept an especially close eye on tournaments like this one. Sports fans—both teachers and students—tended to overindulge, eyes glued to every game. If their own class was participating in interschool soccer, basketball, or tug-of-war, they cheered loud enough for the whole room to hear.
Instead of subtle support, some teachers openly rooted for their students to succeed and refused to tolerate even the smallest loss.
“Give a big round of applause for our baseball friends who made the finals!”
Clap, clap, clap.
“Wooooaaaah!”
Students in the classroom turned around and joined the applause and cheers.
‘Teacher, you don’t have to do that.’
Choi Seungtaek and Kim Min-jae, sitting in the back, suddenly felt self-conscious under all the attention.
“First- and second-year students have been quietly cheering for you guys, but you’re all seniors now. So let’s enjoy the rest of the tournament and use the remaining time to study hard.”
“Yes, Teacher.”
With the college entrance exam only a short while away, the words made perfect sense to everyone.
But Choi Seungtaek scanned the room for someone he was waiting to see.
Park Gayeong caught his gaze. She answered with a silent smile and a nod.
‘Haha… she’s already heating up again. I’m going to have to kill her after practice this afternoon!’
Kim Min-jae, sitting directly in front of her, noticed the signal and braced himself to become Choi Seungtaek’s “evil spirit” once more.
***
“That bastard’s gone wild!”
The Buma High coach watched Choi Seungtaek’s interview and shook his head. The provocation was ridiculous.
“Go Taesan, what do you think?”
“No issues.”
Go Taesan had already seen the interview the day before. It was quite bold, so the other players had quickly passed the details on to him.
“If you have the skill, you can say whatever you want.”
Go Taesan recalled his past memories.
In the last Cheongryonggi tournament, his fastball had looked nearly perfect, yet Choi Seungtaek had still managed to hit it once. At first he’d thought it was just luck, but now the hitter’s vision was terrifyingly clear.
“It’s simple. Just show who’s really better this time.”
“That’s right. You confident?”
“Finals, so send it hard.”
“Understood, Coach.”
Go Taesan agreed completely. He was a passionate pitcher and was already boiling with anger.
So he would throw without holding back—dominating pitches all the way through.
***
The day of the final arrived in the blink of an eye.
“The crowd’s really packed in.”
Han Bang-man’s observation echoed inside the stadium.
“It’s unbelievable how many people showed up. Looks like half of them are wearing Buma High gear.”
“Our own fan base doesn’t seem nearly as large.”
Buma High was famous enough for baseball that every final drew massive crowds. More than half the stands held banners cheering for Buma.
“Huu… All right. Let’s just play our own game.”
Feeling the pressure already building, Choi Seungtaek stepped onto the field with heavy footsteps and spoke.
“And there are too many eyes on us. Everyone needs to keep their heads straight and play clean ball.”
Choi Seungtaek’s gaze swept the home-team bleachers. Every MLB front-office scout from every major league was already in attendance.
“A… so that’s why. But why didn’t the coach or the coaches tell us any of this?”
“Because they figured you’d overthink it and get too nervous.”
‘Oops, that was my mistake.’
Coach hadn’t explained it, but the reason was clear the moment Choi Seungtaek glanced around. Most players already looked tense.
“Okay, everyone’s clearly nervous. Coach is about to announce the lineup—get ready.”
Coach Kim Ik-hyun had understood his request perfectly.
“Today’s lineup has a few changes. First batter, Choi Seungtaek.”
The sudden shift stunned most of the players.
“Second batter, Seo Gi-hyun…”
Coach simply kept reading the order without missing a beat, as if he’d already anticipated every reaction.
“Why is Seungtaek suddenly first? That’s confusing, but we have no choice. The only hitter who can even touch Go Taesan’s fastball is Seungtaek himself. So we’re basing everything on him today. Let me explain the tactics we’ll use…”
Once the strategy discussion began, every player leaned in to listen.
“Super simple. Seungtaek hits a home run, and that one run wins the game.”
“What? That doesn’t make sense, Coach.”
“Asan can’t let in any runs. The rest of you batters need to get Seungtaek one extra plate appearance. Everyone clear?”
Go Taesan was a pitcher who could finish nine perfect innings. That meant half the batting order would only come up once before being pulled. One runner on base meant Seungtaek would get another chance. Buma’s only path to victory was to keep the score at zero and let Seungtaek take the final at-bat.
The players were supposed to be furious at the outrageous plan, but they’d already been destroyed by Go Taesan in the previous game. So no one complained. Instead, they saw a realistic target they could actually aim for.
“But Seungtaek, this is real, right? You can do it?”
As Choi Seungtaek stretched casually, Kang Taepoong asked.
“That’s the plan. What other choice do I have?”
Choi Seungtaek slowly slipped on his catcher’s gear and answered. Kang Taepoong let out a long sigh.
Kang Taepoong had never faced Go Taesan’s pitch this season. He’d learn the truth soon enough.
Choi Seungtaek stepped into the batter’s box, mask in hand.
He believed the plan completely. He trusted the System and trusted Lee San.
‘Actually, the ace pitcher at Suseok High isn’t Kang Taepoong—it’s Lee San!’
[Lee San: A-Grade Prospect, Condition: Excellent.]
[Pitch Types: Fastball, Circle Changeup, Slider—prefers Fastball.]
[Trait: Stable three-quarter delivery. Same mechanics across all pitches. Unreadable to hitters.]
The identical mechanics meant it was impossible to pick up. After careful study and real-game feel, Lee San was closer to professional caliber than amateur. Kang Taepoong and Lee Tae-yang would struggle to adapt in the minors, but Lee San could already pitch in the middle of the rotation or start.
Choi Seungtaek settled into the batter’s box.
“Let’s go.”
Since it was the final, Lee San looked a little nervous. But the tension was still manageable; a good warm-up would help.
“Throw!”
Swish.
Thunk.
Lee San’s smooth fastball landed right in the mitt. Even while fielding practice balls, Choi Seungtaek guided the pitch to every corner of the strike zone.
Each time the ball kissed the edges of the zone, Choi Seungtaek relaxed. A pitcher who controlled the zone perfectly was far easier for the System to read than one with overwhelming velocity.
Normally the zone was divided into nine sections. Lee San not only threw every section freely but also controlled the outer edges. Choi Seungtaek was thoroughly impressed.
“Suseok High ready?”
“Yes, ready.”
The umpire signaled the start once the players looked set.
- Suseok High used Kang Taepoong in the semifinals, so Lee San is starting today.
- A second-year pitcher starting means Suseok is at a disadvantage, but Lee San throws a good mix—hard to call early.
- With Go Taesan pitching, it looked overwhelming at first, but maybe Suseok has a real shot?
- Exactly. Especially with Choi Seungtaek’s bat on fire. We’re all looking forward to this matchup.
- The interview afterward was pretty provocative too—can’t wait.
Buma High’s leadoff hitter, Go Myeongjin, stepped into the box.
- Let’s start with Buma High’s lineup: Go Myeongjin, Kim Dae-in, Lim Seonghan, Baek Horyeong, Ha Seung-yoon…
- Buma’s batting order looks solid. Excited to see how Suseok’s battery will counter it.
Choi Seungtaek studied Go Myeongjin carefully.
‘This time it’ll be different.’
Buma High was the team he had analyzed the most.
Every weakness—pitcher and hitter alike—had been broken down, and the System had confirmed every detail.
[Go Myeongjin: A-Grade Prospect, Condition: Excellent.]
[Batting Style: Level Swing—prefers Fastball.]
[Trait: Strong contact. Vulnerable to low inner and outer pitches.]
Blue highlights marked the low inner and outer corners of the zone.
Choi Seungtaek began by targeting the low inner edge.
[Low Inner Fastball]
Swish.
Thunk.
Strike.
A sharp fastball slammed into the corner.
‘Easy when the pitch is so consistent.’
[Low Inner Circle Changeup]
Swishhh.
Thwong.
Strike! Two strikes.
‘Almost finished.’
[Low Outer Fastball]
Choi Seungtaek quietly reset to the outer part of the plate.
Lee San threw.
Swish.
Thunk.
Strikeout!
The sharp fastball buried itself in the corner; the umpire called it a strikeout.
‘Yes! That’s exactly what I wanted!’
- Suseok High has struck out the first batter of Buma High!
- Whoa, that control is insane. Two in the inner half, then that outer one looks like it’s a mile away!
The commentators erupted in praise for the level of pitching Lee San had shown.