The Extra in a Baseball Novel

Miyeon took out her wallet.

‘I should pay for him…’

She had already lost 50,000 won, so the loss was significant, but she felt uneasy about ignoring Cha Taehyun, who even saved money on school meals.

There happened to be a 10,000-won bill in her wallet…

Just as Miyeon picked up the bill—

Whack!

A sharp, clear sound resonated through her body.

She quickly looked up to see the ball flying in a straight line, striking the target dead center.

“Oh…! Did you see that?”

“His form is different. Could he be a former athlete?”

The audience quickly started murmuring among themselves, and Miyeon let out a gasp of admiration like the others.

“Wow… How did he hit it right in the center like that?”

‘Could this… be possible?’

Just as she thought that maybe it could work—

Whack!

Once again, a clean swing sent the ball soaring, landing right in the center of the target.

“Wow! Who is that guy?”

“That’s crazy! Is he really not a pro?”

When he hit the target twice in a row, the atmosphere immediately heated up, and Miyeon’s lips curled into a broad smile as she clenched her fists.

Everyone’s eyes were fixed on Cha Taehyun, their breathing growing heavy as they watched.

Then—

“Oh, excuse me! Sorry!”

The owner rushed out, repeatedly bowing.

“I, uh… I accidentally touched the mouse and pressed the stop button. I’ll restart it right away, so please wait a moment.”

“What the—”

Before the enraged Miyeon could say anything—

“Hey, old man! Are you kidding us?”

“What kind of trick are you trying to pull here? You’re not planning to increase the speed again, are you?”

The crowd erupted in anger, with threats to break the machine if the speed was tampered with, and demands for the owner to run his business properly. Then, surprisingly, Cha Taehyun spoke up.

“Well, if you want to increase the speed, go ahead.”

His unexpected words left everyone stunned, including the owner.

“Right now, it feels like it’s around 142… no, maybe 143? Since things have gotten this far, why don’t you just increase it to whatever speed you want?”

“Wha— No… you just need to hit it once more to win the bat…”

Miyeon mumbled in a small voice, hoping he wouldn’t hear. To be honest, everyone was thinking the same.

Except for one person—the owner.

“Oh my, you really know how to have fun, don’t you? Then I’ll set it to 10 kilometers faster.”

“Old man—”

“Go ahead.”

Before the others could even start protesting, Cha Taehyun’s words came out so confidently that it made people wonder if they had heard him correctly.

The owner cleared his throat and went back into the control room.

Whirrrr.

As the machine began warming up, the crowd let out disappointed sighs.

“If only he hit it one more time, the owner would be screwed…”

“Such a shame…”

Miyeon clenched her jaw, her lips forming a downward triangle.

‘Taehyun said he’d do it!’

To be honest, she didn’t believe it at first, but hadn’t she just seen his two hits?

Miyeon sincerely believed that Cha Taehyun could do it.

And soon, that belief—

Whack!

—became a reality.

“Taehyun!!”

Miyeon instinctively smiled brightly and was about to run toward him—

“Wow!!! Who the hell is that guy!!”

“Whoa!!!!!!!”

“I’ve never seen anyone hit such a fast pitch before, but this guy hit it!”

“Not just hit it! He nailed that square target! Even pros can’t do that!”

A group of older men swarmed around, pushing her away.

“Hey! Where are you from? You live in Busan, right? Do you like the Phoenix?”

“What…?”

“You look like you belong with the Phoenix. Join the Phoenix!”

“Yeah! That’s perfect. He’s ace material for the Phoenix!”

“And he’s got such a ruggedly handsome face! You have to join the Phoenix!”

Cha Taehyun, overwhelmed by the compliments, looked lost, and Miyeon couldn’t help but smile.

It almost felt like she was the one receiving the praise.

“You’re going pro, right?”

One of the older men’s questions rang out.

Miyeon was curious too, so she focused on his answer.

“Going pro? Of course, I have to. That’s my dream—to be a professional athlete.”

“Whoa!!!! As expected! So, which team will you join? The Phoenix? Busan Phoenix? The Phoenix, right?”

Taehyun, his face turning red, paused before answering.

Everyone fell silent, as if they wouldn’t let this moment slip by.

“I’ve been a Phoenix fan since the day I was born.”

“YEAH!!!!! He’s going to the Phoenix!”

The crowd erupted in cheers, as if they had just won the Korean Series.

Miyeon didn’t shout, but she nodded her head energetically with a radiant smile.

“See! I knew Taehyun was a good kid!”

The atmosphere reached a fever pitch, and just as they were about to toss Cha Taehyun into the air—

“Wait! Please, everyone, wait a moment!”

The owner pushed through the crowd to approach Cha Taehyun.

“Old man! You’re not trying to back out of giving the bat, are you?”

The crowd seemed to share the same suspicion, nodding their heads.

“Oh, do you really see me as that kind of person?”n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

Miyeon and everyone else glared at the owner suspiciously.

“I will give it to him. I will, so everyone calm down… Anyway, what’s your name?”

“Cha Taehyun.”

“Alright. Cha Taehyun—sounds like a name fit for someone who’d be great at baseball. And you’re joining the Phoenix, right?”

“If they call me, yes.”

“Is that true? Can you swear it?”

“I grabbed a Phoenix cap at my first birthday party.”

‘T-Taehyun?’

For a moment, Miyeon thought about asking, “Did you even have a first birthday party?” but couldn’t say it out loud.

The owner suddenly rummaged through his pockets and took out two keys.

“This one’s for the storage room, and this one’s for the control room. Use them whenever I’m not around.”

“Pardon…?”

“Do you think I’d charge the future ace of the Phoenix? There are plenty of baseball supplies in storage that I used to use, so take whatever you need.”

“…”

Taehyun’s jaw dropped.

Honestly, he had expected the owner to put up a fight and refuse to give him the bat, not to provide such benefits.

“Wow, old man, you seemed a bit sketchy earlier, but I see you in a new light.”

“You’re a true fan!”

“Now that’s how you invest! I can tell he’ll succeed.”

As Taehyun continued to stare blankly at the keys, the owner placed them in his hand.

“Th-Thank you!”

When Taehyun shouted in gratitude, the owner gave a sly smile and turned his back, leaving him with one last remark.

“Alright. When you debut, make sure to mention that I was your sponsor in your interview.”

‘Is he senile? This really is a novel! This shit would never happen in the real world. Was this a plot convenience made for the protagonist?’

By the time they left the batting center, stars were already shining in the sky.

They had spent more time than expected, and as a result, Taehyun had missed his training session.

“Hehehe… It even has Im Myeong-seok’s signature…”

Seeing Miyeon unable to stop smiling at the bat with a blissful look, it seemed like it was well worth the time.

When Miyeon was happy, that made Taehyun happy too.

“Do you like it that much?”

Miyeon nodded her head so vigorously that it was almost overwhelming.

That was how excited she was.

“Really, thank you so much, Taehyun… I really wanted this. Is it really okay for me to have it?”

“Come on, I told you not to worry about it. Besides, you spent a lot of money today. You deserve this much to sleep well tonight.”

Miyeon’s face turned slightly red.

“I-I didn’t spend that much…”

“Okay, let’s go. I’ll walk you to the bus stop.”

“Oh? It’s fine.”

“To be a baseball player, I need to build my body, so it’s good to move around.”

“Ah, you’re right! Then should we run together?”

This teacher’s energy is crazy. How excited is she?

Miyeon even got into a running stance, which made Taehyun burst into laughter.

“Let’s just walk. You can’t run while holding that.”

“Haha! You’re right, let’s walk then, Taehyun.”

“Yes.”

They faced each other and slowly walked along the night path.

Maybe it was the cool breeze, or maybe it was the stars shining brighter than usual.

Either way, the world felt beautiful.

Three weeks had passed since I arrived in this world.

I had adapted quite well, blending into this society.

However, I still hadn’t shaken off this delinquent image…

To change that, I’d have to stop sleeping at school, but with my training and part-time job schedule, that wasn’t possible, so I resigned myself to it.

So what if I have that image at school?

“Taehyun, want to eat this lunchbox?”

“If you’re offering, I’d gladly eat it.”

As long as Teacher

Miyeon saw me positively, that was enough.

With all the students in the cafeteria for lunch, Miyeon sat at a desk by the window, tapping it lightly.

When I sat across from her, she placed a lunchbox on the desk.

Just by looking at it, you could tell it was made with care.

I was so thankful that I was almost moved to tears.

Miyeon had said, “I have a hobby of making lunchboxes… so if you could help eat some of it, that’d be nice.”

But I knew that was a lie.

There was not a single line in the novel mentioning that Teacher Miyeon had such a hobby, even in the final chapter.

“Come to think of it, Taehyun, are you planning to join the baseball team soon?”

“Yes. I think I can keep up with the training now, so I’ll join soon.”

“Really? That’s great! Let me know when you have a game. I’ll come to cheer you on.”

I flinched at Miyeon’s words.

That line was originally directed at Lee Jiho.

In a way, I had stolen the teacher’s support from him…

But who cares?

He’s the guy who would eventually ditch the teacher for his childhood friend anyway.

“Yes. I’ll let you know if it’s a weekend game.”

Just then, a breeze blew through the window, causing Miyeon’s hair to flutter slightly.

I turned my head toward the window out of curiosity, and that’s when I saw…

Seo Jia?

Seo Jia, who was the second most popular heroine after Shin Hayoon, was carrying a box full of baseballs and heading somewhere.

Now that I think about it, that character Seo Jia…

Her very existence is absurd…

When have you ever seen a female manager in a Korean high school baseball team? It’s not like we’re in some Japanese baseball manga.

She was a character created by the author’s tendency to include numerous heroines, disregarding all sense of realism.

That was Seo Jia.

I frowned as I observed her face closely.

Not because I wanted to see how pretty she was.

Even if she is pretty, she has yandere tendencies, so I don’t want to get close to her.

…Has it already started? Her expression doesn’t look good.

To figure out when I should intervene in the novel’s plot, nothing was more telling than observing Seo Jia’s condition.

“Isn’t the weather nice today, Taehyun?”

“Yeah, I guess so. I feel like I could fall asleep if I closed my eyes.”

“Sleep at home! Anyway, on days like this, you should go for a walk or something. It’s good for your health.”

“Yes, I’ll try that next time.”

The baseball facilities at Hyuksan High School, known for its prestigious baseball team, are quite advanced.

There’s a large field, of course, and even an indoor practice area.

Usually, the team practices outside unless it’s raining; there’s no reason to use the indoor practice area.

However, on this sunny day, during lunch break, two baseball team members entered the indoor practice area.

They even had bats and balls with them, as if they were going to train.

From a distance, they might seem like diligent players, sacrificing their lunch break to train on their own…

Whack!

“Ugh…!”

Whack!

“Ow…!”

“What are you doing, Hwang Kwang-hyun? Aren’t you getting up?”

But hitting balls toward someone standing less than 3 meters away is hardly considered training.

In reality, it wasn’t.

This was just Lee Seungtae, the senior and the ringleader of the baseball team, bullying his junior, Hwang Kwang-hyun, as usual.

Thud.

A ball hit Hwang Kwang-hyun directly on the thigh, causing him to groan and collapse to the ground.

But instead of apologizing, Lee Seungtae only urged him to get up quickly.

“…Stop. Stop it.”

Seo Jia, who had been watching this scene through a crack in the door, murmured.

She wanted to yell at them to stop and intervene,

But her body wouldn’t move.

Her extremely introverted nature had made her a loner for most of her life, and becoming the baseball team manager was her way of trying to change herself.

She had developed better social skills, found a new hobby in baseball, and reduced her constant feeling of depression.

The baseball team, which had given her a new life, was a precious sanctuary for Seo Jia.

Watching the team get ruined before her eyes

And being unable to do anything about it filled her with a sense of helplessness.

Ugh!

As another groan echoed, Seo Jia closed her eyes tightly and sank to the ground.

“Please… Someone, anyone, save the baseball team…”

—