A batter stepped up. Seo Jae-yoon. On the first team, he was known for his concentration at the plate and fierce competitive spirit. As a third baseman, his defense was solid and his batting was reliable, so he had a massive fanbase.
Just knowing such a famous batter was standing there to hit my pitch should have made me nervous, but instead, my mind grew calm.
Right now, the only thing in my head was the need to get more outs.
"Hoo."
Seo Jae-yoon, who had been lightly swinging his bat, set his stance. Anyone could see it was a pose aimed at one big hit.
He must have thought he could hit a double or even a home run after seeing the pitch I threw a moment ago.
But no matter how great a senior he was, I had no intention of letting him off.
I rolled the ball inside my glove. The grip I instinctively settled on was the knuckleball.
Only then did I feel the ball stick firmly to my hand. It felt like we had become a single, perfect unit.
A smirk tugged at the corners of my mouth. And right at that moment—as Seo Jae-yoon narrowed his eyes at the sight—
I leaned back and set my pitching form, my elbow rising diagonally. My arm moved smoothly, and at the same time, my fingertips and joints straightened together, pushing the ball out.
Swish—.
At first, it was clearly an ordinary fastball. But soon, Seo Jae-yoon's pupils trembled.
The ball was fluttering. Like a butterfly riding the wind, it swayed in midair, veering left, then right.
The moment Seo Jae-yoon's bat tried to slide forward, the ball suddenly changed direction.
Smack.
For an instant, the stadium fell silent.
And what broke that silence was the coach's voice as he looked at the umpire.
"S-Strike!"
At the same time, the first-team batters' voices erupted.
"What was that? Was that a sweeper? A circle changeup?"
"No, it's a knuckle."
"A knuckle?! No way. He's a developmental player, right? A development player throws a knuckleball like that? And the velocity is insanely fast?"
The first-team batters muttered one by one, seemingly bewildered. But the most bewildered person in this situation was Seo Jae-yoon standing at the plate.
"What kind of pitch was that?"
Seo Jae-yoon asked Jae-yul.
"It's a knuckleball, senior."
"What, a knuckle? He really throws a knuckleball?"
"Yes."
At that, Seo Jae-yoon burst out laughing in disbelief.
"I saw my first knuckleball when I was in the American minors. This is really my first time seeing one in Korea."
Gripping his bat again, Seo Jae-yoon set his stance.
"And I've never seen a knuckleball that fast, even in the minors."
A burning competitive spirit lit up in Seo Jae-yoon's eyes.
"But that was just one pitch. Knuckleballs are hard to control. I'll hit it this time."
Regardless of what Seo Jae-yoon said, I prepared my next pitch.
Everyone was desperate, and so was I. So I had to prove it.
By striking out Seo Jae-yoon.
My adrenaline was already pumping from throwing that strike, so I had nothing to fear.
I threw the ball again. This time, even harder.
Swish—.
The ball soared fast, tracing an irregular trajectory. Just as Seo Jae-yoon instinctively tried to swing his bat—
Smack—.
Seo Jae-yoon flinched, visibly confused. The ball was already in Jae-yul's glove.
"Huh?"
Laughing in disbelief, Seo Jae-yoon gripped his bat once more. Unlike before, his gaze was deadly serious.
One more strike and he was out.
Strike out Seo Jae-yoon?
My blood boiled again. I decided to throw even faster than the last pitch.
If I was going to do it, hitting 130 officially during the game would be best.
Pressing the ball firmly with my fingertips again, I swung my arm.
Swish—.
And this time, as if he truly meant to hit it, Seo Jae-yoon swung his bat fiercely.
Thwack—.
The stadium fell silent once more.
Seo Jae-yoon's bat came up empty.
The ball I threw was in Ryu Jae-yul's mitt.
"Strike, out!"
That voice snapped me back to my senses.
A strikeout.
It was a strikeout I hadn't gotten in a long time. Half a year—no, it had been even longer since I'd struck anyone out.
The game itself had been a while too. Ever since my shoulder was wrecked, I'd been riding the bench.
My chest swelled with emotion. A strikeout that I'd once taken for granted now felt completely different.
I was desperate.
"Wow, you're incredible?"
At those words, I fixed my gaze on Seo Jae-yoon. Smiling, he waved his hand up and down like a slithering snake.
"The ball was cutting every which way, wasn't it?"
Then he spoke to the next batter, Yoo Seong-mo, who was waiting behind him.
"Hey, he throws a high-speed knuckleball."
"A knuckle? Really?!"
Yoo Seong-mo's eyes widened, and then he quickly whipped his head toward me and asked.
"Wow? You throw a knuckle? No wonder a development player got called up. But why were you throwing so weirdly during warmups?"
"Ah… that was just, strategically…"
"What? Strategy?"
Yoo Seong-mo laughed loudly, as if it was absurd.
"What strategy when it's just us? We're on the same team anyway. We're just doing this to warm up and see your skills."
Same team.
Come to think of it, I'd been so focused on proving something that I'd been treating the first team as opponents I had to beat.
Seeing my embarrassed expression, Seo Jae-yoon gave me a thumbs-up.
"Anyway, you threw well. Throw some my way next time. I want to take a crack at it."
"Ah, yes!"
"Hyung! Hurry up and get out. Let me hit too!"
"This kid, so impatient."
At Yoo Seong-mo's words, Seo Jae-yoon stepped away from the batter's box as if he understood.
Now standing at the plate was Yoo Seong-mo, not Seo Jae-yoon.
Yoo Seong-mo. Shortstop for the ER Hawks. His defense was rated among the best in the league, but his batting was a bit on the weaker side.
"Hoo."
I took a short breath and swung my arm.
Swish—.
Smack.
Yoo Seong-mo, who had been watching quietly until the ball entered the mitt, shouted.
"Wow, it's my first time seeing a ball like this."
Yoo Seong-mo, who had shouted as if fascinated, simply watched the ball without a single thought of swinging, until he struck out.
The next batter who came up after Yoo Seong-mo was the same.
A three-pitch strikeout.
Unable to contain the taste of a strikeout felt at my fingertips after so long, I couldn't hold back.
"Uwaaah!!!!!"
I clenched my fists and let out a wild shout, and everyone burst out laughing as they looked at me.
I couldn't help it, no matter who was watching. I couldn't suppress this surging emotion.
As I came down from the mound after striking everyone out in one go, the second-team players muttered one after another.
"Good job, Gang-woo."
"Chae Gang-woo, you need to come up to the second team, don't you?"
"Second team? With that pitch, he could go to the first team right now."
I bowed my head in greeting and turned my gaze toward Ryu Jae-yul.
As I raised my hand, Ryu Jae-yul, still wearing his mitt, lightly slapped his palm against mine.
"You threw well."
"Thanks for catching? But I'm going to throw even faster next inning."
"Huh?"
Ryu Jae-yul looked at me as if I were crazy, but I had to give him a heads-up.
Because in the next inning, I really was going to throw harder and better.
My heart soared at the thought that I'd done my part. And perhaps because I'd shifted the momentum, the second-team batters started to awaken too.
They hit in consecutive at-bats in the next inning and managed to score two runs.
2:8.
The batters were giving it their all, and swept up in that energy, I awakened too. I gritted my teeth and put strength into my fingertips.
2:8.
The game ended without me giving up another single run. As a bonus, I'd hit a top velocity of 125.
"Hey, Chae Gang-woo! You really threw well."
"Good work, you."
And then it happened.
The first-team batters on the other side began swarming over. With bats in their hands, no less.
Were they seriously going to discipline me for daring to beat a senior? Did adults really do stuff only middle schoolers would do?
I was watching the approaching first-team batters with extreme tension, when—
"Ah, come on. I said I'm hitting first."
"Hyung goes first, you bastard. Where does a junior get off!"
"Both of you move. I'm first."
The boisterous first-team batters soon stood before me.
Jin Gang-ho, Jo Hyeok, Seo Jae-yoon, Yoo Seong-mo, Kim Ryeo-un, Park Hye-seong, Lee Gyeong-jun.
They were starters on the first team.
"Chae Gang-woo."
Seo Jae-yoon continued with a grin.
"Throw it for me one more time. I really want to hit your pitch, you know?"
My pitch had probably properly provoked Seo Jae-yoon's competitive spirit.
"Now, now. A senior goes first."
Jin Gang-ho stepped forward.
"Chae Gang-woo? Throw me some. Let me take a swing."
Even Jin Gang-ho, speaking in a dialect-laced tone.
"Ah, Hyung! I said I go first!"
"Hey, you bastard. Hyung-nim goes first."
I was dazed.
The reality that all these famous players were asking me to throw for them was unbelievable.
I could throw right away.
"I'll throw!"
I got up from my spot, glove in hand. Just as I was about to head straight for the mound, Manager Yoon Seong-geun appeared.
"These crazy bastards."
I froze. I hadn't expected a curse to come out of Manager Yoon Seong-geun's mouth.
The first-team players who had been speaking up retreated at the appearance of Manager Yoon Seong-geun.
"What are you doing with the kid? If you've got time to stand around gabbing, go run."
Manager Yoon Seong-geun, who had merely chuckled in front of me, suddenly turned into a tiger in front of the first-team batters.
"Manager! The pitch is amazing, so we wanted to hit it. Please let us."
"That's right. Just one swing!"
At that, Manager Yoon Seong-geun waved his hand in the air. He was telling them to go.
"It's not good to keep hitting knuckleballs. You won't be able to hit other pitches. Try hitting him when his pitch gets even faster later."
Wait. It would get even faster from here…?
"Ah, Manager!"
Turning his back on the players throwing tantrums unbefitting their age, Manager Yoon Seong-geun called me.
"Gang-woo."
My heart suddenly raced at that call. Because of the thought that he might be promoting me to the second team.
"Yes!"
"You threw 125 today."
125. For a knuckleball, 125 was incredibly fast. It met the criteria for the high-speed knuckleballer Manager Yoon Seong-geun wanted.
He would praise me, right?
I thought he'd surely offer at least a word of praise, since I'd not only revived the dying team's atmosphere but also stopped them from giving up more runs.
But the next words from Manager Yoon Seong-geun left me extremely bewildered.
"You can raise it higher, right?"
"...Excuse me?"
"I clearly said a high-speed knuckleball. So you need to raise it more."
Wait.
"Isn't a 125 knuckleball… high-speed enough?"
At my question, Manager Yoon Seong-geun let out a chuckle.
"Not by your standards."
Just what kind of standard did he have for me?
"Since you were a fireballer, that's how hard you should throw."
He seemed to be mistaken. I'd been a fireballer when I was a right-hander.
But now I was a left-hander.
"Manager… I'm a left-hander now,"
"One-thirty."
Cutting me off, Manager Yoon Seong-geun smiled benevolently.
"Yes. If you make it to 130, I'll promote you to the first team."
All the players looked back and forth between Manager Yoon Seong-geun and me with wide eyes. I didn't have the luxury to care about those gazes.
One-thirty.
It was clearly an absurd statement, but the promise of being promoted to the first team made my train of thought grind to a halt.
Not even the second team, but the first team?
"Excuse me? Really?!"
"Yes."
My goal was 130 anyway. It wouldn't be difficult.
Then my answer was only one.
"I'll do it."