Spending my time frantically like that, a month passed before I knew it, and the first half of the High School Weekend League came to an end.
From what I heard, the results, honestly speaking, didn't come out as well as expected.
We won, but it wasn't with an overwhelming feeling, and in the losing games, clear limitations were visible.
Still, the fortunate thing was that we secured a record good enough to participate in the Golden Lion Championship held in May.
Teams with bad records can't even enter such tournaments.
So Seoul Jeonsan High wasn't in a situation where we didn't even have a chance.
A few days later, the Manager called me separately.
He stopped organizing his papers, looked at me, and spoke calmly.
"Jeong-ui, you can now enter the roster for the Golden Lion Championship and play in games."
The moment I heard those words, my mind stopped for a moment.
And an unknown euphoria rose up.
Finally...
The Manager continued.
"If possible, I want to give you a chance too. But if the game gets tight, you might not be able to come out."
It was an obvious statement.
Actually, I knew very well where my position was.
To put it badly, a position not much different from a newly enrolled first year.
Of course, it's true that I receive expectations because of my control and my dad's fame.
But still, in the end, I haven't reached the level of a third year yet.
The tournament is ultimately a stage for the third years.
So I'm thinking it would be fortunate if I could even play once.
And honestly speaking...
Our Jeonsan High is far from being a strong team.
It would be a jackpot if one of the third years went pro, and it would be considered a success if a few went to university through baseball.
Therefore, we have no choice but to deploy the third years, who are the best assets, even more.
Because surviving comes first.
It wouldn't be strange even if a situation came where I couldn't go out.
However, saying such thoughts out loud might be seen as looking down on the team, so I just answered the Manager saying I understood.
Still, one side of my heart was definitely excited.
Because the fact that my name was on the tournament roster was meaningful in itself.
Above all, the thought of telling this news to Se-ra made me feel good for no reason.
Finally, I also got to go to an official tournament.
( ❋ ❋ ❋ )
The next morning, I naturally brought up that story to Yu Se-ra.
"I think I'll go to the tournament now too. I might participate in the Golden Lion Championship."
Then Yu Se-ra opened her eyes wide and said.
"Oh~! You were only preparing for a whole month, and finally you're going into a game?"
I couldn't nod immediately.
"Probably they'll send out the third-year hyungs first, right? I might come out in the next rotation, but I don't know how it will go. Anyway, winning comes first."
I said that, but I knew well myself that it was an ambiguous position.
Yu Se-ra was silent for a moment, then made a slightly regretful face.
"Mm... Is it because you're a pitcher? Was it that there were already two pitchers in the grade above?"
Correct.
I thought for a moment, then spoke honestly.
"Mm... that too. And I haven't shown anything in a real game yet, so I don't know how it will go. If I really do well, I could still play, but I don't think I'm at that level yet. But if we are winning big or losing big, the probability of coming out gets higher."
I said it with a laugh for no reason, but realistic calculations were mixed within it.
"I see."
Yu Se-ra nodded, then suddenly brought up her own story.
"Ah! That's right. I only have a few weeks left too. It was boring practicing only the same piece all this time, right?"
I answered immediately.
"Ey, it's okay."
That was sincere. No matter how many times that piece repeated, I didn't dislike the violin sound heard in the morning at all.
Rather, it was more comfortable now because I got used to it.
Silence flowed for a moment, then suddenly becoming curious, I asked.
"But how much do you practice a day? You're not just doing it in the morning, right?"
Yu Se-ra spoke as if it were obvious.
"Similar to you. When school classes end, I practice, and practice again... I only practice until 10 PM. And then I come early and practice. This time works the best."
I was momentarily stuck for words.
"And yet you come early in the morning and practice again?"
"Yeah."
Hearing that short answer, I shook my head.
"Wow... I really respect that."
Then Yu Se-ra waved her hand while laughing.
She looked very happy.
"No. I goof off a lot in the middle too. I watch violin videos and then drift off to mukbang channels."
At those words, I laughed too.
I felt a bit relieved thinking that even someone who looked perfect was eventually similar to me.
( ❋ ❋ ❋ )
It became Friday afternoon.
It was the day when the Golden Lion Championship was right around the corner.
The Manager gathered the players while wrapping up training and said.
"Everyone go home early today and rest. There's a game tomorrow, so come out on time in the morning. Got it?"
It meant that recovering the body before the game was the most important thing.
So there was no afternoon training that day.
For the first time in a while, I was able to go back home right after afternoon classes ended.
Shouldering my bag and leaving the school gate, I saw two familiar backs in the distance.
As I got closer, it became clearer.
"Really?"
"Yeah. So I think I'll probably play in the game."
"Really? That's great."
"One outfielder spot opened up, and since I'm the best among the second years, it turned out that way."
It was Yu Se-ra and Lee Seung-min.
The two were walking side by side talking, and the atmosphere looked much more natural than I thought.
The timing of their laughter was similar, and their walking pace matched. They looked like they were on good terms to anyone watching.
"But the opponent is a strong team, so I'm a little scared."
"No way, are you going to get eliminated right away?"
"That might happen."
"Could you lose big?"
"Probably?"
The moment I saw that scene, the inside of my chest became strangely uncomfortable.
It was hard to explain the reason precisely, but I felt a sense of rejection instinctively.
Rather than being angry, it was closer to the feeling of my heart stepping back one step.
I didn't have the thought of wanting to intervene between the two. Rather, the thought of wanting to escape from that scene came first.
I just didn't want to see it.
Queasy...
My stomach felt strange.
Haa, surely... it's not that, right.
I'm probably just being sensitive for no reason.
Since they were originally close.
I tried to calm myself down like that, but my gaze didn't drop easily.
Eventually, I turned my head and hastened my steps.
I had a blank face all the way back home.
The fact that an important tournament called the Golden Lion Championship was ahead, and even the Manager's words to rest today became faint in my head.
Just in a state where no thoughts came to mind, I returned home like that.
( ❋ ❋ ❋ )
The next day, we went to the Golden Lion Championship.
I almost overslept and prepared frantically, but fortunately, I arrived at school on time and was able to board the bus.
Throughout the ride, I was only looking out the window, and the scene I saw yesterday remained in my head continuously.
I tried hard not to think about it, but one corner of my heart was strangely heavy.
Arriving at the stadium, I put down my luggage in the locker room and came outside.
"This is Mokdong Stadium."
Hmm...
Mokdong Stadium.
This place, which was once the home stadium of the Gocheok Turkeys, was now hosting major high school baseball tournaments in place of the demolished Seoul Dongdaemun Stadium.
Since it was before the game started, I walked around here and there and looked at the field.
Normally, tension and excitement would have risen first, but today, strangely, I couldn't feel emotions well.
Forcibly... what I saw yesterday...
I walked around to forget what I heard yesterday.
A while later, as I was returning to the locker room, I stopped my steps at the voices coming from inside.
It was Lee Seung-min and Kim Na-seong, second years in the same grade as me.
I didn't intend to listen, but the conversation entered my ears clearly.
"Hey, you were going with a girl yesterday. Wasn't that the girl from Class 5?"
At Kim Na-seong's words, Lee Seung-min answered as if it were nothing.
"That's right."
The next words followed.
"What? What is the relationship between you two. Girlfriend?"
Lee Seung-min spoke without a moment's gap.
"Well, you could say it's almost like that."
The moment I heard those words, I gritted my teeth.
My mind went blank for a moment.
Honestly, I had thought it could be possible. Still, hearing words coming out directly and lightly like this, emotions flooded in all at once.
"Wow... she was super pretty. When did you start dating? You should tell me about things like this."
"No, well. Do I have to say it? People might talk for no reason..."
"That's true too. They'd ask what kind of baseball player has a girlfriend. Since there's no time."
Frustration slowly filled up inside my chest.
Kim Na-seong laughed and asked again.
"So that's why you said you'd go to Class 5 instead of me?"
Lee Seung-min spoke with a voice mixed with laughter.
"Yeah. Thanks to Jeong-ui, I could talk to Se-ra to my heart's content at school. If kids from other classes come, they hate it, but since I came because of the baseball team, they can't stop me."
And he continued speaking as if it were nothing.
"Besides, it was good because Jeong-ui also became a topic of conversation. Thanks to that, I ended up talking about this and that a lot, you know?"
"You should be grateful to Jeong-ui."
"Do I have to? Honestly, isn't it enough that I went? I heard he was originally closer to the outsider side, so he should be grateful that I went."
With those words as the end, I turned my steps quietly.
There was no reason to listen more, nor did I have the strength to do so.
Haa, fuck.
(End of Chapter)
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