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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Wjin
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I opened my eyes, and surprisingly, there was no one left in the classroom. Did I sleep until the end of class again? But the sun was still bright, so that wasn’t it.
“It’s lunchtime.”
That explained the empty classroom. There was still plenty of time left for lunch, so I could go and get some food.
“Cha Tae-hyun, you’re really something else…”
He hadn’t even signed up for lunch, trying to save money on that too. I wasn’t particularly disappointed. In fact, it was for the better. I needed to manage my diet to build a body for baseball, so it was more efficient for me to do it myself.
I took out my phone. Since I was awake, I decided to send the message I hadn’t been able to send at dawn. It was simple. I was quitting half of the part-time jobs Cha Tae-hyun had packed into his week.
My nickname in my prime had been ‘Indestructible,’ so working two part-time jobs a day wouldn’t be a problem. I had gone through much tougher training. But it wasn’t efficient, and I needed to free up some time for when I joined the baseball team.
“I have about 10 million won, right?”
He had probably saved it little by little for Ji-hyun, who would be going to college… I’d have to start using some of it now. If I quit half my jobs, it would be difficult to get by without dipping into those savings.
I’ll definitely succeed with this money and pay you back… I sent the messages and then lay my head down again. To endure this grueling schedule, I had to sleep as much as possible at school.
Just as I was about to drift off again…
Tap, tap
Someone touched my shoulder. I tried to ignore it, but then I heard a voice I couldn’t ignore.
“Tae-hyun. It’s lunchtime. Let’s go eat.”
I slowly raised my head.
“Did you sleep well?”
Ms. Miyeon’s smiling face was right in front of me. I flinched and pushed my chair back. Ms. Miyeon chuckled, reached out, and patted my shoulder.
“Still not fully awake? Wake up and let’s go eat. You must be hungry.”
Were her words true? Was I still half asleep…? My face flushed.
“…I didn’t sign up for lunch.”
Ms. Miyeon’s eyes widened.
“Huh? Why…? You must be very hungry.”
I thought for a moment about how to answer…
“I don’t have parents… so I’m trying to save as much as I can.”
I just told her. It was a bit of a sudden confession, but I thought it would be okay to tell Ms. Miyeon.
“…Oh. No… that’s…,”
Ms. Miyeon’s face turned pale, and she was at a loss for words.
“I’m sorry…, I asked without thinking.”
“It’s okay. I’m the one who told you.”
Ms. Miyeon glanced at me for a moment, then asked in a smaller voice, “Did you… not sign up for evening self-study because you have to work?”
Starting with that question, she began to ask me various things. It suddenly felt like a counseling session, but it wasn’t unpleasant at all. I could feel the genuine concern in her eyes.
When I finished my story, Ms. Miyeon wiped her teary eyes and handed me something.
“It’s a lunchbox… Tae-hyun, you have it.”
“What…? Isn’t that yours?”
“I-I’m fine! The teacher from class 3 brought some bread earlier!”
‘So eat it!’
She said, and then disappeared as if running away. I stared blankly at her back, then opened the lunchbox. It contained octopus-shaped sausages and white rice.
I picked up a sausage with the wooden chopsticks that were included, and suddenly, I felt a surge of resentment.
“He chose Shin Ha-yoon over Ms. Miyeon?”
I really couldn’t understand.
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Even though I had said I would work until they found a replacement, the owner of the meat restaurant sent a reply saying not to come in starting today.
He even added a blessing, saying that I would succeed wherever I went. He seemed like a decent person. Thanks to that, I was now at a park near the school. I had some precious time, so I couldn’t waste it.
“Should I start with a light run?”
There was nothing better for building up basic stamina. I was stretching and getting ready to run when a flyer on the ground caught my eye.
[Phoenix Batting Center! Finally Open!]
“What’s with this tacky flyer?”
The tacky font and various fanfare decorations were impossible to hide. But the facilities looked decent. The shine on the machines in the photo was so vivid that it was as if they were boasting about being brand new.
I continued reading and burst out laughing at the last part.
[Grand Opening Event! Hit the target 3 out of 10 times and receive a premium bat (ZZET brand) signed by 7 Phoenix players!]
*Professional players are not eligible!
“Are they even trying to give away the prize?”
I didn’t know the location or distance of the target, but hitting it 3 out of 10 times? It wasn’t easy even for a professional, and it was practically impossible for an ordinary person. Well, if they only threw fastballs at the same spot, it might be doable… but that was unlikely.
And the fact that they had written, ‘Professional players are not eligible!’ made it seem like it wasn’t just an event, but…
“A Phoenix fan showing off their signed bat.”
I had been planning to avoid batting until I had built up my body… but this was too tempting. I followed the map to the batting center.
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Lee Mi-yeon got on the bus and turned on her phone. Her fingers quickly tapped on the Phoenix Gallery, an online community for Phoenix fans.
Since the team was always at the bottom of the rankings, it was usually called the Kkolnix (Last Place Phoenix) Gallery, but… anyway, reading the featured posts on the Phoenix Gallery was one of her small pleasures.
As she was chuckling and scrolling through the featured posts, one caught her eye.
[Big event at the batting center next to Hyeoksan Park ㄷㄷ]
‘Hyeoksan Park?’
That was just two stops away. Her finger, as if possessed, clicked on the post.
[Author: ㅇㅇ]
Just picked up a flyer on the street, and I was seriously surprised.
What kind of prize is this?
Isn’t this seriously crazy?
[Likes: 32] [Dislikes: 78]
└The conditions are crazy lol
└Is this even an event? Lmao
└The owner must be rich, to hold an event like this lol
└’Professional players are not eligible!’ is hilarious ㅋㅋㅋㅋ
└I’ve been playing in an amateur league for 10 years, I’m going to try it out lol
└You think you can do it?
Lee Mi-yeon’s eyes widened. ‘A Phoenix players’ signed bat!’ The bat itself was expensive, but with the signatures of 7 Phoenix players? Was this for real? And all 7 players were her favorites.
This stop is Hyeoksan Park. Next stop is Hyeoksan I’Park…
“Ah… Sir! I’m getting off here! I’m sorry!”
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As much as she loved baseball, Lee Mi-yeon was also good at it. In fact, she had been the cleanup hitter in her little league team as a child. Although her dream of becoming a baseball player had naturally faded over the years, she still frequented batting centers as a hobby.
‘I can do this…!’
She was confident. Soon, she entered the batting center and was surprised by the larger-than-expected crowd.
‘Who would do this…’
It seemed all the Phoenix fans who had seen the post had gathered. Worried that someone else might win the prize, she hurriedly went up to the second floor where people were gathered. But when she got there, there wasn’t a line. Everyone was just watching from a distance.
‘How do I participate in the event?’
As she was looking around, a middle-aged man who seemed to be the owner approached her.
“Are you here for the event?”
“Ah! Yes!”
The owner stroked his chin and asked, “It’s 10,000 won per attempt… is that okay?”
“T-Ten thousand won?”
‘It didn’t say that…’
Noticing her surprise, the owner quickly said, “For women, we set the machine to throw easier balls. It’s a new machine, so we can adjust it in real time.”
“…Really? …Then I’ll do it.”
At that, the people around her exclaimed in admiration. Feeling a little embarrassed, Lee Mi-yeon quickly went into the event batter’s box, and the owner went into the control room. The speed for female participants was 80.
The owner, who was raising the gauge to 80 with the mouse, paused when he saw Lee Mi-yeon’s stance at the plate.
‘…Her stance is pretty good.’
“Ahem…”
The owner stealthily, surreptitiously raised it by another 20, setting it to 100.
‘Men’s speed is 120~140, so 100 isn’t a lie.’
Click
As soon as the setting was complete, a whirring sound was heard, and a ball shot out.
Clang!
“Huh?”
The owner’s eyes widened. Not only was her batting form exquisite, but the ball had flown cleanly and hit the target in the center.
‘I set it to 100, though?’
As he was about to check the speed again,
Clang!
Another sharp crack of the bat echoed through the room. This time it missed the target, but it was still a solid hit.
Gulp.
“…She must have been lucky.”
Clang!
Clang!
Clang!
As Lee Mi-yeon continued to hit solid line drives and finally hit the target a second time, a drop of cold sweat trickled down the owner’s forehead. Soon, it was the last, 10th pitch… His hand stealthily moved to the mouse.
‘I never said I wouldn’t throw breaking balls…’
Of course, he had only thrown fastballs to the female participants so far, but he had never said he would only throw fastballs.
Click.
Whoosh.
In the end, Lee Mi-yeon’s bat swung through empty air at the forkball. A sigh of disappointment from the crowd. A sigh of relief from the owner in the control room. The owner left the control room and approached Lee Mi-yeon.
“Oh…! So close. You did really well.”
“Sir, why did you suddenly throw a breaking ball? You only gave fastballs to the other women.”
Zap, Lee Mi-yeon glared at the owner, who chuckled and replied, “No… breaking balls are also part of it. The other participants must have been lucky. Anyway! Good work. Thank you for using our Phoenix Batting Center—”
“One more time.”
“What…?”
“I said, I’ll do it one more time.”
Lee Mi-yeon’s voice was sharper. Not only was she upset about not winning the prize, but she was also angry about being struck out by a forkball.
‘I got struck out by a breaking ball…’
She had no right to curse at the players on TV now.
“Haha…, it’s 10,000 won per attempt, are you sure?”
‘Please just go!’
“It’s fine, so let’s start quickly.”
The owner smiled wryly and went back to the control room. He thought about raising the speed for a moment, but he shook his head.
‘I have to draw the line somewhere. Let’s just increase the ratio of breaking balls…’
He had already crossed the line long ago, but he seemed to be genuinely unaware of it.
And so began Lee Mi-yeon’s second attempt. She didn’t swing and miss at the breaking balls as futilely as before, but…
“So close… it hit just to the side.”
“I know… But the owner is a legend too. How are you supposed to hit a target with a breaking ball?”
It seemed difficult to hit the target with a breaking ball.
“One more time!”
“One more… time.”
“One… more… time.”
The owner, who had earned 40,000 won in an instant, had a wide smile on his face, while Lee Mi-yeon’s face grew darker.
“Ah…”
A sigh escaped her lips as her bat swung through empty air. And so, her 5th attempt also ended in failure.
“Oh… really! That was so close… You only needed to hit it two more times… Do you want to try again?”
At her first attempt, he had been so timid and seemed to want her to leave, but now he was so relaxed that it was annoying. Lee Mi-yeon lowered her head and bit her lip. Otherwise, she felt like she would explode.
“Well~? Are you going to do it or not?”
The owner, whether he knew it or not, was annoyingly prodding her. Finally, as she was about to explode and shout…
“What are you doing here.”
A familiar voice was heard. She looked up, and there, as if he had been there all along, was Cha Tae-hyun.
“How can a teacher be gambling like this?”
“Ah, no, it’s not gambling… it’s an event…”
“What event? It’s 10,000 won per attempt. Give me the bat.”
“…Huh?”
Before Lee Mi-yeon could react, Cha Tae-hyun’s hand snatched her bat.
“Tae-hyun? Are you going to try too…?”
Lee Mi-yeon looked at him with worried eyes. Cha Tae-hyun was in a situation where he was even saving on lunch money. A 10,000 won event might affect his livelihood.
“The bat is nice…, yes, I definitely want it…! But it’s too difficult. I don’t think you should do it.”
“I don’t particularly want the bat.”
“…Huh? Then why?”
“Because I felt bad seeing you waste your money. I’ll win it for you.”
Feeling her face flush, Lee Mi-yeon lowered her head slightly and said, “Oh, I didn’t lose that much!”
Cha Tae-hyun chuckled, placed a hand on her shoulder, and…
“Tae, Tae-hyun?”
…pushed her out of the event batter’s box. He looked at her from behind the door for a moment, then closed it, leaving her with one last word.
“Just wait for 3 balls. I’ll win the bat for you.”
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