The Batter Who Achieved a Million Views
Choi Seungtaek felt a surge of relief wash over him as he sat in the dugout, the weight of the upcoming matchup lifting just a little. Things were finally going his way for once, and that alone brought a quiet smile to his face.
"Hey, Seungtaek, what did you talk about with the manager?"
Huang Ganggyeong, ever the one to sense trouble before it happened, had called him over with visible concern. He looked ready to scold his friend, but the truth was simple.
"Ah! It's nothing, Ganggyeong-hyung. Just a quick chat."
Huang Ganggyeong's eyes narrowed, but he nodded slowly, still a bit shaken. "I was seriously about to panic thinking you'd get chewed out again. You're sure it's nothing serious?"
The other players in the dugout had noticed the tension, their faces tight with worry, but they kept quiet. Everyone had grown used to Choi Seungtaek's pull from the coach's office. This time, though, the worry lingered a bit longer.
"Well... it looks like we'll be seeing more defensive shifts coming up. That's what he wanted to discuss."
The words slipped out smoothly, the perfect lie rolling off his tongue. Choi Seungtaek never lied for the sake of it, but the situation demanded it.
Thwack!
Suddenly, Tae Pyung-yang, the leadoff hitter, sent a sharp double down the left-field line. The crowd roared as he rounded the bases.
"Whoa! I'll be right back then, hyung."
"Yeah, go get 'em."
As Choi Seungtaek grabbed his helmet and bat from the equipment room, Lee Sung-sip was already facing off against Kang Taepoong at the plate.
Thwack!
- Lee Sung-sip's ball is coming!
- Ah... caught in right field.
The drive was deep, but the right fielder leaped and hauled it in for an out. Disappointing, but the inning rolled on.
And then it was Choi Seungtaek's turn.
"Hoo... This one better match my expectations."
His time in the system had brought real growth, but that recent loss to Kim Gwang-gyeon still burned. A slump? Maybe. Or perhaps just the gap between the top starters and the rest. Either way, this was his chance to prove it.
His instincts, backed by the System, still felt sharp. Please let this one land right.
Choi Seungtaek stepped into the batter's box and locked eyes with Kang Taepoong.
[Kang Taepoong: B-grade starting pitcher. Condition: Good.]
[Pitches: Four-seam fastball, curve, slider. Preference: Four-seam fastball.]
The familiar lines appeared in his vision. He studied them closely.
And then...
[Trait: Clenches index finger when throwing fastballs (deleted), curls glove before breaking pitches (new).]
"Taepoong-ah... You're still an easy mark. Thanks for that."
By leaking the old tell earlier, Choi Seungtaek had forced Kang Taepoong to erase it consciously. The problem? Overthinking it had birthed a new one. Choi Seungtaek grinned in the box, the confidence radiating from him like a spark.
"He smiled?"
Kang Taepoong felt it immediately, that unfamiliar confidence rolling off Choi Seungtaek in waves. It unsettled him more than any of the previous matchups.
- Wow~ Choi Seungtaek and Kang Taepoong, two high school rookies facing each other! It's never easy to see classmates from the same school squaring off. This should be a fun one, right?
- Both first-round picks, both in the top two picks overall. Hot rookie battle!
The commentators kept hammering the story, but Choi Seungtaek tuned it out completely. His focus narrowed on the pitcher's release.
"Hmmm... I know the trajectories. Now I need to read the new tell in the glove."
He stared straight at Kang Taepoong, willing the System to show him everything.
Click.
No movement in the glove.
"No tell on the fastball?"
Shiiiiiik
Thud!
Strike! 151 km/h.
Kang Taepoong's heater zipped in tight, filling the zone like it belonged there.
"Hmmm... Control's better, velocity's up?"
Whatever training the Falcons had run, it had paid off. The fastball looked harder now. Choi Seungtaek adjusted his stance, already feeling the frustration creep in.
Click.
He locked eyes again.
The glove curled slightly.
"There it is."
Choi Seungtaek zeroed in on the breaking ball. Two options: curve or slider.
"This time... I'll time the slider and go curve if needed."
Shiiiieeek
Bwoong!
Thud!
He swung clean, missing the slider entirely.
"Done for?"
He glanced back at Kang Taepoong.
If I were the catcher, I'd look outside. Two breaking balls already; the fastball looks wide out there.
Click.
Still no movement.
"Fastball."
He shifted his weight to the outside edge.
Shiiiiiik
Bwoong!
Thud!
Strikeout.
"Huh?"
Choi Seungtaek blinked, surprised.
The pitch came right down the middle, low. His bat sliced straight through the top of the ball.
"Whoa..."
The opposing catcher was Yang Sa-jang, the veteran who had owned the plate for Seoul Falcons since he was twenty-three. Batting over .300 and a solid defender. Experienced as hell.
"Yes!"
Kang Taepoong pumped his fist openly, waving at Choi Seungtaek with a triumphant grin.
"Damn it... Next time. We'll see who wins."
Choi Seungtaek ground his teeth and trudged back to the dugout, the loss sitting heavy in his chest.
This matchup belonged to the Falcons.
***
The inning crawled on until the bottom of the fourth.
Choi Seungtaek and Russell had dominated the previous half-inning, holding each hitter to five pitches or fewer. But now Samoss Kim stepped up again.
The high fastball zone at the top of the strike zone glowed bright red in the System overlay.
"Hoo... Not easy. How do I get immediate feedback?"
He still had two strikes to work with. Hope remained.
[Body-high fastball]
Click.
Russell fired instantly, reading the sign.
Shiiiiiik
Thwack!
"Huh?"
The ball sneaked just inside. Samoss Kim swung and missed.
- Oh! Samoss! Single to right field!
"Tch... Fine. We'll adjust."
Greig, the Falcons' foreign cleanup hitter, came up next.
Choi Seungtaek studied the foreign batters' tendencies. Everything looked sharp here, no glaring holes.
'Perfect. Can't pick on the overseas guys from here.'
He felt confident in his adjustments.
[Body-low fastball]
Click.
Shiiik
Crack!
- Greig's ball heads toward shortstop!
The slugger swung hard, but the grounder found its mark. Hwang Ganggyeong charged in and dropped the routine roller.
- Whoa! Ganggyeong! He drops it!
The caster let out a startled cry.
"Huh? Dropped it?"
Now the Falcons had runners on first and second.
"Wow... This is getting annoying."
Choi Seungtaek rubbed his temple, annoyed at the easy ball he had missed. He sat back down and let the next hitter come up.
Yang Sa-jang stepped into the box.
"Whoa... The Falcons really are something. Catcher batting .300 and solid defense too."
Choi Seungtaek had prepared for this. He called for a defensive shift immediately.
[Shortstop base beyond second... shortstop third and second baseman in between...]
The infield funneled toward the shortstop side.
[Body fastball]
He deliberately fed Yang Sa-jang a pitch right down the middle.
Shiiiiiik
Thwack!
Yang Sa-jang hammered it. The ball hopped and rolled straight toward third baseman Shin Heeseong.
"Good! This is going to be a triple play!"
Shin Heeseong scooped the ball, planted his foot on third, and threw to second. But the throw was too far off, sailing past the second baseman's reach into right field.
"No way!!!"
It was supposed to be either a double play or a triple at worst, but the ball got away. Greig from the Falcons raced home from first.
- Ahh!!! What a blunder! The Falcons score first!
"Damn it... I'm so pissed."
Choi Seungtaek's stomach twisted. The inning ended without further drama, one run against them.
***
Back to the top of the fifth.
"Good. Time to turn this around. Hit another home run and we're winning."
He locked eyes with Kang Taepoong again.
Click.
The glove was starting to bulge.
"Breaking ball! Slider on the first pitch? No way. Curve for the count, right?"
His eyes lit up with excitement.
Kang Taepoong began his windup. The ball left his hand in slow motion, like the System had slowed time just for him.
"As expected! Thanks, Taepoong-ah!"
Choi Seungtaek watched the curveball hang like a huge melon in the air. Perfect revenge for the strikeout the last time.
Crack!
"Yeah! This one's gone!"
The stadium exploded with noise. The ball shot toward center field at Jamsil Stadium.
"Ho!"
Choi Seungtaek sprinted toward first, mocking Taepoong's earlier celebration the way he had done himself. Taepoong stared with a defeated expression, then turned to watch the ball disappear.
"Damn it... Again?"
- Choi Seungtaek's ball~!!
- Ah... caught before it reaches the warning track.
The center fielder leaped at the last second and made the catch. Choi Seungtaek's feet skidded to a halt. His celebration froze mid-step.
"Eh... Damn?"
"Hahahahaha!"
"Kkkkkk!"
Explosive laughter erupted from the Falcons dugout. Kang Taepoong collapsed on the mound, gasping and chuckling helplessly.
"Ah... I really want to die today."
The center-field fence at Jamsil Stadium felt colder than ever against Choi Seungtaek's palm as he stood there, staring at the ball that had just been caught. The System flickered once, then settled back into its usual quiet glow, leaving him alone with the sting of defeat and the growing certainty that this was far from over.