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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Wjin
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Even though it was for a brief moment, seeing Ms. Miyeon made me feel grateful to the author who had thrown me into this world.
Ms. Miyeon was just as I had imagined, no, she was even more attractive.
“Did everyone bring their gym clothes?”
At Ms. Miyeon’s words, Shin Ha-yoon, who was sitting next to me, rummaged through her bag and took out her gym clothes. The other kids did the same. Hmm…
I had brought my bag, so… I opened it.
…
Cha Tae-hyun, you son of a bitch.
Why didn’t you pack my gym clothes?
There wasn’t even a pencil case, let alone a single writing utensil. All that was inside was a water bottle.
I was starting to suspect that Cha Tae-hyun was a real delinquent…
“Alright everyone, let’s get changed and go to the field!”
At Ms. Miyeon’s words, everyone got up and left the classroom. They were probably heading to the locker room.
As for me… was there anyone with an extra set of gym clothes? Honestly, with Cha Tae-hyun’s image, I could probably get a set with a polite request? but… no, that was out of the question.
My already rock-bottom image might sink even lower. I had no choice but to go to the field as I was.
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Being disliked by someone you liked was more painful than I had thought. No… it wasn’t even to the extent of being ‘disliked.’
If our eyes just meeting was enough to make her face turn pale, then I was an object of disgust or fear. Damn gym clothes.
This was all because of the gym clothes. This novel must have thrown historical accuracy to the wind, because on the first day of school, all the students miraculously brought their gym clothes to gym class.
All except for me.
Thanks to that, I stood out, and naturally, my eyes met with Ms. Miyeon’s. I had wondered if she knew about Cha Tae-hyun’s bad rumors… and it seemed she definitely did.
Her reaction wasn’t something you’d show to a student who just forgot their gym clothes.
“I’m sorry. I forgot to bring them.”
“Th-That’s… that’s okay! It happens! Right. It’s fine!”
The teacher smiled and nodded repeatedly. But her forced smile was so obvious that it was painful to watch.
-Wow… did you see his glare? He’s looking at Ms. Miyeon like he’s going to kill her.
-I know… I feel so bad for her…
The unfounded accusations were relentless. What, later on, would just breathing make them say, ‘Look at that bastard sighing, he’s trying to intimidate someone…’?
“Since it’s the first class, how about we play a ball game? I think softball would be good. What do you all think?”
Surprisingly, no one objected. Usually, it would be, “Why softball? Let’s play soccer.” Was this a baseball novel world or something?
“Is everyone okay with that? Then I’ll call out your student numbers, and the person called will be the team captain and pick their teammates.”
Student numbers. Even Ms. Miyeon hadn’t memorized all the kids’ names on the first day. Of course, neither had I.
“Number 4!”
As the number 4 was called, a student stepped forward. A handsome face and a tall stature. Although he hadn’t introduced himself, I knew who he was the moment I saw his face. Lee Ji-ho. The protagonist of Nemesis. He was a spitting image of the illustration.
“Next… number 28?”
The moment Ms. Miyeon cheerfully called out the number, a silence fell. An uncomfortable atmosphere lingered, but number 28 didn’t step forward. Was he too shy to be a team captain in gym class? How frustrating.
“Um… who is number 28? I haven’t memorized all the names yet.”
Ms. Miyeon finally spoke, but everyone just glanced at each other, not saying a word. At that moment…
Lee Ji-ho looked at me and said, “It’s Cha Tae-hyun.”
Ah, it was me? I stepped forward.
“Th-Then, how about the captains play rock-paper-scissors to… decide the order of picking teammates?”
As the teacher said with a forced smile, Lee Ji-ho glared at me fiercely.
Hey, I didn’t even do anything… Anyway, I played rock-paper-scissors for the first time in a long time… and surprisingly, I won. It was just rock-paper-scissors, but to beat the protagonist… was there no protagonist buff in rock-paper-scissors?
“Tae-hyun? You can pick your teammate first.”
“Ah. Yes.”
I thought for a moment and picked number 29. No particular reason. I just didn’t know anyone’s name, so I called out the number after mine.
“Ah.”
A clear sigh was heard. So she was number 29? Shin Ha-yoon came forward and glared at me with a frown. You think I’m happy about this?
Lee Ji-ho’s expression was no less fierce. His gaze was so intense it was murderous. He seemed to have a major misunderstanding. He glared at me for a while, then clicked his tongue and called out the next number.
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As expected of the baseball-loving Ms. Miyeon, even though it was just softball in gym class, she gave the team captains the mission to act as managers and even set the batting order.
That Lee Ji-ho over there seemed to be quite seriously putting together his batting order. I had no intention of doing that.
“Anyone want to bat first?”
Instead of answering, everyone was busy avoiding my gaze. Except for one person, Shin Ha-yoon. She was glaring at me like she was going to kill me.
“Then let’s just go in order from here… okay?”
“No… why are you so careless!”
Shin Ha-yoon objected, but I ignored her. This wasn’t a professional game; it was a game in gym class. Everyone should just have fun. And as for me…
“I’ll bat last.”
Then I went to the stands, sat down, and closed my eyes. I didn’t want to show this side of me to Ms. Miyeon, but whatever Cha Tae-hyun did last night, my fatigue was at an unbelievable level.
What the hell was this bastard doing to be so sleepy…
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Shin Ha-yoon, who had taken over as manager for the sleeping Cha Tae-hyun, scored a run and returned to the stands. The game was now in its final stages, and considering the remaining time, this was the last inning.
The score was 5 to 2, with Shin Ha-yoon’s team trailing by 3 points. The bases were loaded, and there were two outs. A big hit could tie the game or even lead to a walk-off victory. It was a crucial at-bat, but the next batter was…
“Haa…”
Shin Ha-yoon sighed as she looked at Cha Tae-hyun, who was snoring in a corner of the stands.
‘Of all times…’
Although it was just a game in gym class, for her, who was serious about baseball, her pride was on the line. She couldn’t just forfeit. She gritted her teeth and approached the soundly sleeping Cha Tae-hyun.
“Hey, wake… up?”
Her voice, which was about to shout, suddenly softened.
‘…Did he always look like this…?’
Perhaps because he was sleeping, his usual fierce and sharp impression had softened a little. He looked kind of handsome like this…
‘No, what am I thinking…’
“Hey. Wake up! It’s your turn.”
Feeling a strange sense of shame, she called out loudly, but Cha Tae-hyun didn’t budge.
“Haa…”
With a deep sigh, Shin Ha-yoon turned around and went to the batter’s box.
“Huh? Ha-yoon, why are you here?”
“Well…, Cha Tae-hyun is sleeping. I was just going to bat in his place. Is that not allowed…?”
Lee Mi-yeon thought for a moment and stopped the game.
“Then I’ll wake him up.”
“What?”
“You could bat for him, but it’s still class time. Everyone should participate.”
Honestly, she was a little scared, having heard the rumors about Cha Tae-hyun, but her passion for education was stronger. Lee Mi-yeon strode to the stands and approached the sleeping Cha Tae-hyun.
She got right in front of his face, took a deep breath, and opened her mouth.
“Tae-hyun… you have to wake up.”
Shin Ha-yoon, who was watching from behind, shook her head. She had practically shouted at him, but he hadn’t woken up. Lee Mi-yeon’s voice was too soft in comparison.
‘Huh…?’
But Cha Tae-hyun’s eyes slowly started to open. As if he wasn’t fully awake, he looked at Lee Mi-yeon with hazy eyes and suddenly opened his mouth.
“So pretty… really.”
“Wh-What?”
The same words came out of Shin Ha-yoon’s and Lee Mi-yeon’s mouths at the same time.
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I heard a voice through my hazy consciousness. A soft… healing voice that washed away the overwhelming fatigue. My vision slowly started to return. A woman’s face appeared in my blurred vision.
“So pretty… really.”
I had blurted out my thoughts without realizing it. Soon, I heard a murmur, and my consciousness became clear. Ah. After coming to my senses, I realized what I had done.
The students around me were staring at me with stunned faces… and Ms. Miyeon’s mouth was slightly agape. Shin Ha-yoon was also looking at me in disbelief. I needed to quickly salvage the situation.
“Did I say something wrong? I tend to talk in my sleep.”
“Ah…, sleep-talking…. Right. I see. That can happen.”
I sighed in relief inwardly. It seemed my hasty excuse had worked.
“I’m sorry. I dozed off for a bit.”
Ms. Miyeon went back to the batter’s box first, and I stood up and stretched. Then, I snatched the bat from Shin Ha-yoon, who was standing at a distance, looking at me with disdain.
“Oh, bases are loaded? What’s the score?”
“……5 to 2.”
“Really? Then you should have just batted. We would have won.”
“…We’re the 2.”
Aha. So it was a crucial moment. A big hit would be a comeback… interesting.
“And I wanted to bat myself. But the teacher said you had to participate… Just don’t strike out.”
“Don’t worry. That won’t happen.”
I walked past Shin Ha-yoon and stepped into the batter’s box. A rubber bat, since it was softball. A big yellow ball. Defenders were positioned everywhere to ensure all students could participate.
This couldn’t really be called baseball or an at-bat, but strangely, my heart was pounding, and my lips kept twitching. I had thought it was okay not to be able to play baseball, that I wouldn’t regret it.
But seeing myself now… it seemed that wasn’t true at all. I gripped the bat and got into my stance. I remembered my old routine and waggled the bat over the plate.
“I’m hitting a home run.”
Uh oh. That was a mistake. I had spoken to the catcher without realizing it. It was a habit I had developed after experiencing so much racism in the major leagues…
I didn’t expect that habit to come out now… Was I still half asleep?
“Uh, yeah. I’ll tell them to give you one down the middle.”
“Just kidding, just kidding. You don’t have to do that. It doesn’t matter where they pitch it.”
Anyway, with this image of mine, I couldn’t say anything.
“Time!”
What? Someone had called time, and I saw that it was Lee Ji-ho.
“Can I pitch? Woo-seok doesn’t look too well.”
As Lee Ji-ho had said, the pitcher, Woo-seok, did look unwell. His face was pale, and he looked like he was about to collapse. Was it because of me?
Anyway, Ms. Miyeon soon gave the okay sign, and Lee Ji-ho stood on the mound. He held the ball and glared at me fiercely. I felt like the villain for no reason.
I was curious, though. Rock-paper-scissors was a minor event, so it wasn’t that surprising that I had beaten the protagonist… But in this showdown, with an out on the line, could I beat the protagonist of this world?
Well… I’ll find out. He held the ball and wound up his arm. An underhand pitch, the softball pitching style. At the same time, I took a small breath, and the moment the ball left his fingertips,
I recalled my batting form, the essence of my decades of baseball experience, and swung. Hard.
Whoosh.
Huh?
I spun around after swinging the bat and crashed to the ground.
“Pfft!”
A clear laugh. Shin Ha-yoon was covering her mouth and chuckling. Her shoulders were shaking, she was enjoying it so much. I got up and grabbed the bat again.
It had been too long since I had healthy legs… After living with one leg paralyzed for years, I had lost my sense of balance. But… I had gotten a feel for it with that swing. I got back into my stance and focused on his fingertips.
Swoosh
As expected of a protagonist, even though it was softball and he was pitching underhand, the ball came in at a frightening speed. One slapstick moment was enough. A second would be overkill.
Thwack!
With my unique batting form, the bat swung powerfully and made solid contact with the ball. The dull thud of the impact traveled up my arms and through my body, and the ball soared high into the sky.
I watched it fly, dropped the bat, and as the ball disappeared over the fence, I started jogging towards the bases.
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