First Round of the Bonghwangdaegi Tournament
Just as Coach had said, hitting was all about timing.
That was why even a pitcher with an overpowering fastball could struggle if he had no breaking ball.
No hitter would stay helpless forever against a pitcher who threw nothing but fastballs.
In that sense, Cheongsin High's pitcher Kim Sinhyeong is actually pretty decent.
At least, today's Kim Sinhyeong is.
His fastball wasn't especially fast, but he had a much slower curveball he could use to mess with a hitter's timing.
An off-speed pitch.
A pitch designed to disrupt the timing a hitter had set for the fastball.
On days when Kim Sinhyeong was in good condition, he could even command his curveball well enough to make it genuinely troublesome.
Normally, relying on a curveball you couldn't control was about as foolish as it got.
And most of the time, Kim Sinhyeong was exactly that kind of pitcher.
But if he could freely throw the curveball both inside and outside the strike zone whenever he wanted, that changed things.
The problem is that he normally can't do that, but of course today he can.
Still, it wasn't impossible to handle.
His curveball had distinct topspin, and he couldn't completely disguise its trajectory.
For a high school pitcher, though, it was still a fairly polished breaking ball.
Of course...
None of that mattered against me.
CRACK!
Just because it's a curveball doesn't mean you can't hit it for a home run.
Unlike a slider, which moved more horizontally, Kim Sinhyeong's curveball had strong vertical movement.
That meant the hitting point was more like a single precise spot.
In other words, if you wanted to make solid contact, you had to match both the timing and the hitting point almost perfectly.
But what if you already knew the curveball was coming?
Then hitting a home run like this wasn't especially difficult.
Even if a pitcher tries to surprise you, his basic tendencies don't change that easily.
As expected from an aggressive pitcher, the curveball came into the strike zone.
My bat met it cleanly, and the ball sailed over the left-field fence.
The pitcher couldn't even bring himself to turn around.
He simply dropped his head on the mound.
That's it!!!
Nice, Kim Nahan!!!
You're on fire today!
My teammates rushed out of the dugout, shouting my name.
They clearly hadn't expected much from the situation, so everyone was completely fired up.
I glanced toward them before turning my eyes to the seats behind first base.
Ah.
Father was sitting there with a man who looked strangely familiar.
Even from a decent distance away, I could clearly see Father clapping and giving a small nod.
I slowly jogged toward first base.
Just before stepping on the bag, Mother's message suddenly popped into my head.
Don't forget to make a heart toward your father if you hit a home run.
Making a huge heart over my head with both arms was still far too embarrassing.
That wasn't an excuse.
Wasn't it difficult for a middle-aged man whose mental age was already over forty to suddenly start making giant hearts with his arms?
People couldn't completely change overnight.
Still...
I had decided to change, little by little.
Before passing first base, I raised my thumb and index finger and made a small finger heart toward Father.
I wasn't sure whether he could see it from that far away, but...
I hope he liked it.
Father looked like he was smiling after seeing my finger heart.
Feeling strangely happy, I rounded first and eventually returned to the dugout.
Minseok grinned and gave my butt a light slap.
Good. I hereby permit you to drink one more bottle.
Yeah. Thanks, you idiot.
The others greeted me with smiles too.
Nice!
That was good. Really good.
There are a ton of scouts here, and you're putting on a show. At this rate, aren't you going to get picked in the first round?
That's a little much.
I sat down while enduring all the hands smacking my helmet and back.
As I wiped the sweat from my face with a towel, Coach walked over.
That was a curveball. Were you sitting on it?
Yes. I thought he'd try to mix things up.
If you were wrong, you'd have fallen behind in the count.
I thought it was worth the risk.
Coach stared at me for a moment before smiling.
You brat. Not bad. Good job.
He patted me on the shoulder and returned to his seat.
That reminded me of the quest window that had appeared before the game.
It told me to erase Page 15.
Page 15 was about the rookie draft.
In my previous life, I had struggled throughout the Bonghwangdaegi Tournament.
Because of that, I hadn't been drafted until the seventh round.
The diary had been filled with Father's disappointment and regret over it.
If only he'd been drafted within the first four rounds.
That was one of Father's wishes written in the diary.
And it was also the clue I needed to complete the quest.
The moment I'm drafted later than the fourth round, the quest probably fails.
Now I had another reason to perform well in the Bonghwangdaegi.
No.
Simply performing well wasn't enough.
I need to dominate.
For now, that's all I should think about.
Because that would be the best outcome for both Father and me.
Mushin came to Mokdong Baseball Stadium to watch his son Nahan play.
His son almost never invited him to games, so Mushin had even used a precious vacation day to come.
Because it was a weekday, the stadium was quiet.
Aside from a few people who looked like parents and a handful of students, most of the seats were empty.
I hope having me here doesn't put pressure on him.
All Mushin wanted was for his son not to stiffen up just because his father was watching.
I'm not asking for much.
Just get one hit.
Although...
An extra-base hit would be even better.
After all, wasn't the home run the flower of baseball?
Mushin imagined his son hitting a home run and then making a heart toward him.
The corners of his mouth rose before he even realized it.
Excuse me. Is anyone sitting here?
At that moment, a neatly dressed man approached the seat beside him.
What? There are plenty of empty seats. Why here?
And he's wearing a suit in this heat?
Despite his confusion, Mushin answered politely.
No, it's empty.
Then would you mind if I sat here? Watching together is better, isn't it?
Sure. Go ahead.
The man wiped the seat with a wet tissue before sitting down.
After dabbing the sweat from his face with a handkerchief, he turned toward Mushin.
Are you a parent from Seongsin High School?
No. I just came to watch the game.
You must really like baseball.
Mushin lied without even realizing it.
There would've been nothing strange about saying he'd come to watch his son's game.
For some reason, though, admitting it felt awkward.
The man gave a faint smile after noticing Mushin's uncomfortable expression.
High school baseball has a different charm from professional baseball. Especially today. The famous Kang Jihoon is pitching, after all.
That's true.
Maybe he's nicer than he looks.
Mushin quietly studied the man beside him.
A neat suit that looked completely out of place at a baseball stadium.
Thick, square-framed glasses that made him look even more serious.
And the way he sat perfectly upright while staring at the field made him seem almost obsessive.
If I didn't know better, I'd think he was a scout or worked for an agency.
Mushin suddenly became conscious of his own shabby clothes.
Maybe he should've dressed a little better.
While those thoughts crossed his mind, the game resumed.
One out.
Runner on first.
After exchanging a few words with the second batter, who had just been retired, Kim Nahan walked toward the plate.
Of course there's a runner on base.
It would've been better if he could bat in a more comfortable situation.
Until now, his son had always performed better with the bases empty than with runners on.
It was probably psychological.
With someone on base, he might feel like he had to make something happen.
Or maybe the possibility of grounding into a double play put extra pressure on him.
At least the runner isn't in scoring position.
Nahan's batting average with runners in scoring position was around .200.
With only a runner on first, it was around .220.
