The Extra in a Baseball Novel

“Haha… shit…”

A dry laugh escaped from Lee Seungtae’s lips.

“What the hell… seriously…”

He couldn’t comprehend the situation at all.

When that strange guy suddenly appeared and started to irritate him, he had thrown his pitch with a bit more force than usual.

It had even gone so well that Lee Seungtae himself was a bit surprised, thinking that it might have been the best pitch of his life.

‘And he hits it, smashing it into the ceiling…?’

“Sigh…”

After a deep sigh, Lee Seungtae turned around without a word and walked towards the exit.

But… there was nothing he could do about it.

His head was spinning, and he just wanted to get out of there.

He’s backing down more cleanly than I expected.

I had been preparing for a potential second round with Lee Seungtae, maybe even a fistfight, but he left the practice area without a word.

Hwang Gwanghyun thanked me briefly and disappeared somewhere too.

Well, I guess it’s for the best.

As I put down the bat and walked towards the exit—

“Uh… hey!”

A weak voice called out to me.

I turned my head to see who it was and quickly turned back.

Why is she here?

I only caught a glimpse, but I was sure of who it was.

Short stature, rare purple hair, a silver earring on one ear, and a signature cat-ear hat.

It was the sub-heroine, Jia, who had the second-largest fanbase after Shin Hayoon.

Why she was here, I had no idea, but this was definitely not a good situation.

To be honest, Jia was… a problematic character.

It’s hard to sum up the problems with her.

She had done so many things… too many.

If I were to put it simply in one word…

She’s a landmine.

She has a severe dependency issue and gets overly attached to Lee Jiho. Eventually, she even becomes jealous of her best friend, Shin Hayoon, nearly ruining their relationship.

If I remember correctly, she originally took an interest in Lee Jiho because of his good looks, but gradually fell for his kind nature.

So, considering my image and face, there’s probably nothing to worry about.

Still, it’s best to avoid landmines.

Better to be cautious.

“Didn’t you hear me? Hold on!”

Her voice was getting closer, so I walked faster.

I heard her footsteps quickening behind me.

I pretended not to hear her and walked as fast as I could, but eventually, she managed to grab my sleeve.

“Huff… huff… I told you to stop.”

“What do you want?”

I said in a tone as if reading from a textbook.

With a slight look of surprise, Jia blinked her big eyes and then bowed her head.

“Thank you. I just wanted to say thank you.”

“Uh? What are you talking about?”

“I… I was watching from the back, you chasing Seungtae away…”

I didn’t really chase him away, though.

“If it weren’t for you, Hwang Gwanghyun could have been seriously hurt. I really, really appreciate it.”

She bowed her head deeply, expressing her gratitude. Despite my effort to stay cold, I felt my resolve weakening.

I need to get out of here quickly…

“It was nothing. Don’t worry about it. I’ll be going now.”

I turned and started walking again, but Jia quickly caught up with me.

“Um, what’s your name?”

“…”

“What about your grade? You’re a second-year, right? We’re probably the same age. What class are you in? You’re a second-year, right?”

“Yes, I’m a second-year.”

“Oh, then why don’t you just talk casually? Why the formal speech?”

Because if I get involved with you, it’s going to be a big problem.

That thought came up to my throat, but I managed to swallow it.

No matter how true it might be, it would just make me look like a jerk.

“Formal speech is just more comfortable for me.”

“Really? I like formal speech too. My dad speaks formally to me as well.”

“Mind if I speak casually? It’s more comfortable for me.”

“Oh? Sure. Yeah, speaking casually is fine.”

What is this…

I’m clearly showing how much I don’t want to talk, but why does she seem amused?

Is this that famous “impossible to win” situation?

After fidgeting with her fingers for a while, Seo lowered her voice.n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

“You said you’re joining the baseball team… So, will you… make sure that Seungtae doesn’t pull that crap… I mean, that nonsense anymore?”

Well, of course.

“I’ll make sure of it.”

If Jiho gets targeted by Seungtae, who knows how it might bring him closer to again.

Oddly, she became quiet despite constantly talking up until now.

I glanced over and saw that she was staring blankly at me.

When our eyes met, she quickly averted her gaze.

Why suddenly act shy? It’s making me uneasy…

“W-Well… I know it’s weird for me to say this, but messing with Seungtae might make your life in the baseball team difficult.”

I’m aware of that.

Even the protagonist Lee Jiho struggled with Seungtae’s sneaky bullying, falling into a slump.

But… that’s Jiho.

I’m different.

“I’ll just bully him back.”

“Huh…? What do you mean by that…”

“I’m better than him. I might as well bully and tease him. The coach won’t say anything, right? Isn’t that how it works?”

Jia blinked, looking dumbfounded for a moment, then nodded with a smile.

“Right! You do look like you’d be good in a fight!”

I stared blankly at her, and Jia hastily opened her mouth, as if realizing her mistake.

“No, no, I didn’t mean you look like you’d fight, it’s just… I…”

“It’s fine. I don’t really care. People say I look like someone who goes around beating others anyway.”

“No! That’s not it!”

Surprised by her sudden outburst, I flinched.

Why did she suddenly blow up like that?

“You stepped up today, didn’t you? Why would they think you’re some thug? Something must be wrong with their heads.”

Frowning with her lips pursed, Seo Jia seemed to feel more indignant than I did.

Hmm… Maybe it’s okay to get a bit closer?

Thinking about it, we’re going to be in the baseball team together, so avoiding her altogether might be impossible.

Besides, she’s all about looks.

There’s no chance of things developing further.

I decided to modify my plan of ignoring her to simply responding if she talks to me.

As we walked, with Jia chattering and me responding half-heartedly, we eventually arrived in front of the classroom.

“You’re coming to the baseball team tomorrow, right?”

“Yes, I’ll be there.”

“Okay. See you tomorrow!”

Waving her hand, Jia finally left.

Phew… that was exhausting…

Was she always this lively?

She seems like an extrovert with lots of friends.

As I returned to my seat in the classroom, a smile formed on my face.

[I waited, but you didn’t come, so I went in first! Enjoy your meal! ^^]

On top of the lunchbox left on my desk was a small Post-it note.

I thought I wouldn’t be able to eat it today.

“ Jia really is the best.”

You can’t just join a high school baseball team just because you want to.

Regardless of skill, if you don’t have the “baseball special admission” qualification, you’ll be rejected right at the door.

Even if you can throw a 160 km/h fastball into a 9-square grid or bat an average of 0.400 every game,

Without a record of participating in middle school tournaments, you can’t join a high school baseball team.

In other words, an ordinary student like Cha Taehyun in this world can’t join the baseball team unless he is reborn.

This had been giving me a headache for a while.

Fortunately, it seemed that the author, who sent me to this world, had given me some consideration. According to my investigation, there were no such requirements in this world.

If I show the coach enough skill to be recognized, I can join the team.

With that thought, I went straight to the coach’s office.

“Isn’t that right, Coach? As long as you’re good, what’s the point of starting early? You can start baseball in high school.”

“…Looks like it’s time for me to retire if guys like this start showing up.”

Things weren’t going quite as I expected.

Since this coach had been letting Seungtae run wild due to it being his retirement season, I thought if I talked enough, he might at least let me take an entrance test.

But he just treats me like a madman?

I seriously considered dragging Seo over to testify about what happened with Seungtae yesterday.

A bat?

A fancy-looking bat hanging behind the coach caught my eye.

Before I knew it, a grin crept up on my face.

Fine. If I’m already seen as crazy, might as well go all out.

I boldly walked over and grabbed the bat off the wall.

“What the hell are you doing?”

“Well, since you don’t believe me, Coach.”

Holding the bat, I swung it right in

front of the coach.

“What’s wrong with this guy?”

At first, the coach’s face was twisted in disbelief.

His mouth, which had been constantly moving to tell me to put it down—

“…”

—was now completely focused on my swing, rendered speechless.

After about five more swings,

I heard the wheels of his chair rolling as the coach stood up.

Walking past me, he said,

“Follow me.”

A black car entered the parking lot of Hyuksan High School.

A man and a woman stepped out.

They were scouts, carefully selected by the Phoenix Front Office, who had been criticized for their inability to recruit good players.

“It’s been a while since I’ve been to Hyuksan High.”

“A while? We were just here last week. Can we please stop coming here? There might be hidden gems in other schools.”

Ji Su-yeon’s words made Kim Eun-chan smirk.

“Yeah, there could be hidden gems in other schools. But none are better than our Seungtae. Besides, today, Hyuksan High is playing a friendly match against Dongshin High. You think I’d miss that?”

“Oh my… You’re such a Seungtae fanboy…”

“What? What did you just say to your superior?”

“Yes, yes… Let’s go. Go see your precious Seungtae.”

—