The Extra in a Baseball Novel

The game, which had been trailing by three points, was instantly overturned with a home run.

Given the remaining time, it was effectively a walk-off home run.

Despite such a dramatic moment, the field was silent, with no cheers to be heard.

The only sound was Cha Taehyun’s footsteps as he rounded the bases.

Everyone stood there, mouths agape, staring up at the sky in a daze.

“How far is that ball going?”

That was probably the thought on everyone’s mind on the field.

However, the ball’s final destination would remain unknown, as it had disappeared from sight over the fence.

Only then did the students start to murmur.

“Yeah, did he learn baseball somewhere?”

“Well… was it that impressive? Sure, he hit well, but this is just softball.”

Amid the murmuring, there was still one person who hadn’t yet gathered her thoughts.

Shin Hayoon.

She was born to parents who were die-hard Phoenix fans, grabbed a baseball at her first birthday, and had been watching Phoenix games in person since she was five. She was a girl madly in love with baseball and Phoenix.

Naturally, she was well-versed in baseball.

She was secretly nurturing a dream of becoming a professional baseball coach, so it was strange for her to be so captivated just by seeing a home run in a softball game during gym class.

Even she thought it was unusual.

However,

The batting form Cha Taehyun just showed…

“Does that even make sense?”

As someone dreaming of becoming a coach, she had seen countless batting forms from players.

That’s why she was even more confused.

His positioning suggested he understood his body structure perfectly.

A flawless leg-kick timing.

A launch angle that seemed designed solely to create a home run, without a single misstep.

Although it was her first time seeing this batting form, the smooth, precise execution was nothing short of awe-inspiring.

It’s said you can gauge a batter’s level just by their batting form.

If that were true, then the form this man just displayed was at the level of a professional player.

Perhaps…

“His batting form might even be better than Jiho’s…”

“No, that can’t be…”

She shook her head vigorously, but soon frowned again, tilting her head in confusion.

“No… no way.”

Even considering the difference in how she felt about the people she liked and disliked…

The batting form she saw was powerful enough to shake those feelings.

“Hey.”

At that moment, Cha Taehyun, who had approached unnoticed, tapped Shin Hayoon’s shoulder with his fist.

“You took on the manager role for me, right? Thanks. Just hang in there a bit more. It’s almost over.”

“…”

She stared blankly at Cha Taehyun as he returned to the stands and placed a hand over her chest.

For some reason,

her heart was beating a little faster.

The game ended, and the students returned to the classroom.

However, Teacher Miyeon stayed on the field.

Because there was still one student who hadn’t returned to the classroom.

Taking a deep breath, Miyeon clenched her hands, resolving herself.

“Don’t be scared, Miyeon. You woke him up once already.”

Of course, back then, she had the students around her, giving her courage, unlike now, when she was alone…

But still… how could a teacher be afraid of a student? If the student was on the wrong path, it was her job to guide him onto the right one.

“Yes, that’s what a teacher does.”

Summoning her courage, Miyeon slowly approached the sleeping Cha Taehyun.

Even though her body trembled a little, it soon calmed down.

“What is this…?”

The moment she saw the peacefully sleeping face of Cha Taehyun, a faint smile crept across her lips.

“He’s still just a kid, after all.”

Though she didn’t believe in reading faces, his sleeping face looked so innocent.

It almost made her think that the rumors about Cha Taehyun might be untrue.

As she was about to wake him, her mouth opened, but then…

Cha Taehyun’s lips moved first.

“Miyeon… Teacher…”

“…?”

“Miyeon Teacher… it’s so sad… what should I do…”

Miyeon’s mouth dropped open at his unexpected words.

“Is he… sleep-talking? He did say earlier that he talks a lot in his sleep…”n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

That was the most logical explanation, but the way he said “Miyeon Teacher” seemed like he was referring to her.

More importantly…

Cha Taehyun’s face was full of sorrow.

It was as if he was genuinely worried about her.

“Oh.”

Perhaps feeling sorry for him, Miyeon instinctively stopped the hand that had been reaching for his face.

“I need to wake him up… class is about to start.”

Smack!

Slapping her own cheek, Miyeon lightly tapped Cha Taehyun’s shoulder.

“Taehyun?”

Although she didn’t call out loudly, Cha Taehyun’s eyes immediately opened.

“Oh… Miyeon Teacher…?”

His drowsy tone made Miyeon chuckle softly.

“No matter how tired you are, you can’t keep sleeping here.”

“…Yes. I’m sorry.”

“It really seems like those rumors were false.”

He might look a little intimidating, but his sleeping face was gentle, he was polite, and he even apologized properly…

More than anything…

“He seems to like baseball.”

Recalling his batting earlier, Miyeon smiled faintly.

Someone who loves baseball couldn’t be a bad person.

It might sound ridiculous, but for her, a baseball lover, it was a pretty convincing standard.

“Let’s get up now, Taehyun. The bell will ring soon.”

Miyeon extended her hand first. Cha Taehyun hesitated shyly before taking her hand and standing up.

“See? He’s just an ordinary kid.”

Smiling, Miyeon walked back to the classroom with Cha Taehyun.

“Hey.”

“…Hey.”

A voice that sounded irritating even in my hazy consciousness called out.

Ignoring it and trying to sleep again only made the voice grow louder.

“…Hey!”

“I’m awake-“

Before the high-pitched voice could pierce my ears, I lifted my head.

[5:30 PM]

My blurry eyes glanced at the clock; it was well past the end time.

School usually ends at 4:30 PM, so I had been out for an hour.

No wonder the classroom was empty.

Except for one person.

“Why haven’t you gone home? It’s the first day, so there’s no evening study.”

“…What?”

Shin Hayoon made a dumbfounded face, making me chuckle.

“Just kidding. Thanks for waking me up.”

I genuinely meant it.

All the other students had left me behind.

If it weren’t for Shin Hayoon, I might have slept here until nightfall.

My first impression of her wasn’t great, but as the main heroine, she does seem to have a kind heart.

“…It’s not like I waited an hour just to wake you up, you know?”

“Sure.”

I gave a short reply and was about to leave when I heard her irritated voice.

“I’m telling you, it’s not true!”

“…Alright, I get it.”

“I came back because I forgot something in the classroom. Then I met Miyeon Teacher, who was on her way to wake you up, so I came instead.”

She gave such a detailed explanation that it seemed like she really couldn’t accept the idea of “waiting an hour to wake me up.”

Wait, so Teacher Miyeon was going to wake me up?

As expected of Miyeon Teacher.

Even a delinquent like Cha Taehyun gets her care.

“Why are you smirking?”

“Something good happened.”

“…Even though you were just sleeping.”

“There are things like that.”

After saying that, I started to leave the classroom, but…

“Hey.”

Shin Hayoon’s voice stopped me.

Turning around, I saw the reddish light coming through the window, half-illuminating Shin Hayoon’s face.

Staring at me, she suddenly bit her lip and started to look pained.

…What was she trying to do, calling me back like this?

I was seriously puzzled.

I considered ignoring her and turning away, but then…

A small voice reached my ears.

“Did you… learn baseball?”

I chuckled quietly.

I wondered what she was going to say that seemed so agonizing, only to find out that she was just curious if I had learned baseball.

“…Did you learn baseball?” she asked again, urging for a response.

Her face was turning a bit more flushed, probably because she was embarrassed.

“I did learn it.”

Most of my baseball techniques were self-taught, but I was part of the baseball team at least.

“Then… that batting form… did you learn it? If so, from whom?”

Shin Hayoon started speaking faster, and I finally understood why she had approached me, despite feeling so conflicted.

“You want me to teach you the batting form?”

Shin Hayoon’s eyes widened.

She probably thought my batting form was impressive and wanted to record it.

That’s just how passionate she is about her dream of becoming a coach.

I’m inclined to teach her out of admiration for that passion.

“But not now. Maybe next time when I have some free time.”

For now, adapting to this world comes first.

Shin Hayoon looked a bit disappointed but got up and walked past me.

Without even a goodbye.

She made her exit in the coolest way possible.

Watching her back, a thought crossed my mind.

“Was her character always this rude?”

As I exited

the school gate, a familiar dizziness struck me, and Cha Taehyun’s memories started flooding in.

They weren’t particularly important, but…

I finally figured out the cause of the extreme fatigue I had felt all day.

“This Cha Taehyun… he’s really something.”

For reference, my calling him “crazy” was meant as an exclamation of admiration.

I had also grown up without parents, so I had experienced a rough life…

At least I only had to take care of myself…

But this world’s Cha Taehyun?

He has a younger sister two years younger than him.

Working two part-time jobs every day to take care of his only sibling.

“And they treat this kid like a delinquent…”

I don’t know who spread those rumors, but that’s really too much.

Even I feel wronged on his behalf.

“Taehyun, let’s get back to work! Customers are coming in. Bring out some meat!”

“Yes, I’m on it!”

I quickly got up and headed for the meat storage.

After working a five-hour shift at the barbecue restaurant and a six-hour night shift at a convenience store—a total of eleven hours—I finally looked at the clock to see it was 4 AM.

“At least the house is close by…”

If the convenience store had been far away from my home, I might have collapsed on the way.

I inserted the key into the doorknob, turned it, and went inside.

Creak.

I opened the door gently, but…

It seems the door is really old.

I was about to carefully enter my room when the door next to mine opened.

“Oppa… you’re back?”

A girl approached, rubbing her eyes with her disheveled hair.

I was seeing her for the first time, but strangely, she didn’t feel unfamiliar.

Instead, I felt a warm sensation in my chest.

Unknowingly, the corners of my mouth lifted slightly.

“Why are you up? Go back to sleep.”

“I just woke up…”

“Sleep tight. You’ll oversleep.”

My sister… no, Cha Jihyun, smiled faintly before going back to her room.

I entered my room as well.

“…What the heck.”

Originally, I planned to collapse and fall asleep as soon as I got home.

But my emotions were all over the place after seeing Jihyun just now, so I couldn’t close my eyes easily.

My chest hurt.

Were these Cha Taehyun’s feelings for his sister?

Or was it just my compassion for siblings growing up without parents?

I closed my eyes to think for a moment, and soon came to a conclusion.

I decided to consider them my own feelings.

That seemed easier. You can’t ignore feelings just because you want to.

Especially since these were feelings for family, something I had never experienced before.

“Let’s stay up a bit longer.”

I am the type who acts immediately once I set my mind on something.

The moment I accepted these feelings as mine, I also gained a new goal—to take responsibility for my family.

So, sleeping now was out of the question.

That’s just how I am.

I closed the door and turned on the light.

“Now, let’s see… The money I’ve saved up is… 10 million won… I’ve worked hard… Since I’m a sophomore now… I need to build a body fit for a pro within a year… If I can make it to the draft…”

…

…

…

…

…

After roughly outlining my plan, I finally lifted my head.

“Ugh…”

Stretching my body, I glanced at the window, then let out a hollow laugh.

“It’s already time for school…”