The Extra in a Baseball Novel

“Uh… Did you perhaps experience any injustice?”

“What’s with the sudden talk about injustice?”

“No, it’s just… how should I say this… You don’t seem to have much energy.”

Lee Seungtae chuckled.

“I get what you’re trying to say. Everyone I meet asks the same thing. ‘Did something happen?’ or ‘Did you get bullied here?’”

Have I become more perceptive since joining the baseball team? I understood what he meant right away.

“It’s something like that.”

“You don’t need to worry about it. The people here are alright. There aren’t any trashy guys like me from the past.”

I felt a bit awkward. I didn’t mean to criticize his past.

“But it’s not like there’s absolutely no hierarchy… there are boundaries. You know what I mean?”

“As long as you don’t cross the line, they don’t bother you?”

“Exactly. They won’t interfere as long as you stay within the boundaries. But… have you crossed the line?”

I didn’t need to ask what crossing the line entailed. I had a pretty good idea.

“Is it because I skipped the rookie camp and did self-training?”

“Yes, that’s it. The seniors probably don’t care since they’re mostly here to ‘relax,’ but the coaches might look at you with disdain. They’re pretty old-school.”

Hearing Lee Seungtae’s words, I felt even more confident that choosing self-training had been the right decision.

“Oh, there is one strict senior. His name is Lee Suho, and he’s the only one in Phoenix who has any passion left.”

“The only one? Didn’t you say everyone was alright?”

“Well… as people, they’re fine. They’re friendly and not bad-tempered, but as players… that’s another story.”

So… it’s like saying, ‘My kid might be lazy, but they’re a good person’?

“…This team just lacks passion. Do you know what the seniors say? They say Phoenix is a place where players come to rest after making one last big payday in free agency.”

Hmm… Now I get it.

No wonder Lee Seungtae seemed so drained.

If all the lazy players are enjoying their salaries while the rookie ant, Lee Seungtae, works his tail off, how could he possibly stay motivated?

“Anyway, let’s go greet the pitcher squad first since they’re nearby.”

“Yes.”

[Phoenix’s Eternal Ace Lee Suho Re-signs with Phoenix!]

[Lee Suho: ‘Phoenix is my only team.’]

Although Lee Suho re-signed with Phoenix without hesitation out of his love for the team, Phoenix was not exactly a good team.

– “I know this isn’t right, but thank you for staying, Suho…”

– “I feel sorry for you… and thank you.”

– “Why, Suho… why did you stay with Phoenix again…”

– “I feel sad every time I see Suho now…”

– “Having an ERA in the low 2s but only 7 wins? Unreal.”

– “If it weren’t Phoenix, his ERA would be even lower, probably in the 1s LOL.”

– “Just give us Lee Suho, Phoenix. You guys are last anyway.”

– “Hey, what can we do? Our Suho doesn’t want to leave.”

– “Well, he was born a Phoenix fan… what can you do?”

– “He said he won’t go anywhere else until Phoenix wins the championship…”

– “So, he’s saying he’ll retire as a Phoenix player.”

– “That’s harsh, man.”

This was how fans were; they’d rather see a franchise star go to another team than suffer here…

“Suho, shall we go to Seomyeon after the game?”

“Sounds good. You’re treating?”

“Oh, come on, didn’t I treat last time?”

Even after losing by a miserable 12:3 score, the players were already thinking about drinking and didn’t seem to care about the standings.

It felt like Lee Suho was the only one trying hard while everyone else was slacking.

Not all players were like that, but most of them were.

“I’m Lee Seungtae! I’ll do my best to become a pitcher that will help Phoenix under your guidance, Senior Lee Suho!”

Still, Lee Suho liked this rookie named Lee Seungtae.

His eyes shined with a determination that was unlike the rest of the players who had grown used to losing, and he seemed full of passion.

…But even such a passionate rookie turned into a hollow-eyed fish in no time.

“…Senior, I don’t even know what I did wrong…”

Did he do something wrong? Not really. It was remarkable for a rookie who just graduated high school to finish the season with an ERA in the low 3s on the first-team stage. ṛ𝘢𝐍ỘᛒЕṩ

If it weren’t for Phoenix’s horrible defense, he could have aimed for an ERA in the 2s, achieved 10 wins, and had a shot at Rookie of the Year.

But he lost all of that because of the lazy, positive-thinking teammates around him. It was no wonder his spirit was crushed.

Oh, there was one thing Lee Seungtae did wrong. It was a huge mistake, actually.

“You should have gone to the majors. That’s your mistake.”

“Isn’t that the same for you, Senior?”

I tried to hit back with a jab, but Lee Seungtae’s response struck me in the heart instead.

“Haha… That’s true. I made a mistake, too… But what can I do? For me, Phoenix is… the light of my life, the flame of my existence, my sin… my soul.”

“What are you talking about all of a sudden?”

“I don’t really know either. It’s just something I heard somewhere. But that’s exactly how I feel about Phoenix.”

If not for Lee Seungtae, Lee Suho might have seriously considered transferring to another team.

But thanks to Lee Seungtae, he found hope and started dreaming about Phoenix winning the championship once more.

And with the monster rookie Cha Taehyun joining Phoenix, maybe he could reignite his passion for the team one last time.

Lee Suho, however, felt quite displeased when he heard that Cha Taehyun didn’t join the rookie camp.

‘Was his talk about aiming for a Phoenix championship just a bluff?’

It wasn’t because of some petty reason like, ‘How dare a rookie skip training and do whatever he wants?’

It was just disappointing to see him seemingly following the path of those passionless players who were draining Phoenix from within.

‘I’m not usually into things like this, but…’

Lee Suho stared sharply at Cha Taehyun, who was brought in by Lee Seungtae.

For Cha Taehyun’s sake, and for the sake of Phoenix.

‘I need to set things straight.’

We arrived at the area where the pitcher squad was gathered, and soon, the ‘good people but no passion’ seniors that Lee Seungtae mentioned approached.

“Oh? Is this the rookie everyone’s talking about?”

“The one who signed a 2-billion-won contract?”

“Wow… How can a rookie contract be worth 2 billion? He must be really good.”

“Look at his face. I bet he’ll have a lot of female fans soon.”

Just like Lee Seungtae said, no one seemed to have an issue with me skipping rookie camp. Instead, they were praising me, saying they were envious or had high expectations, so I guess he wasn’t lying about their personalities.

However, there was one person who was glaring at me.

His face said it all: ‘A rookie who’s slacking off!’

That must be Lee Suho, the one who still has passion, unlike the rest.

“Is your name Cha Taehyun? As a rookie, you should be putting in more effort. I heard you skipped the camp…”

Just as I expected, Lee Suho spoke up, and Lee Seungtae hurriedly stepped in to defend me.

“Uh… Senior Suho, he’s my junior from school. He’s not the type to slack off. Even if it was self-training, he probably worked hard.”

Is he looking out for me because we went to the same school? Lee Seungtae has really changed.

Despite his defense, Lee Suho’s gaze remained sharp.

“Ah, come on, Suho! Isn’t this the player you’ve been waiting for to lead Phoenix? Players who are really good can afford to take it easy.”

Lee Suho scoffed.

“Oh yeah? Then let’s see if he’s still good when he’s taking it easy. Let’s have him face me for one at-bat.”

I’m fine with that. Sure, I skipped camp, but it’s not like I haven’t been training. I was starting to get a bit annoyed.

“Alright, let’s do it. If I get a hit, will you acknowledge that I trained hard?”

The surrounding players started murmuring, “Oh~.”

“He’s got the guts of a star, huh?”

“Now I see why everyone’s been talking about Cha Taehyun. Look at him standing up to Suho.”

“Follow me.”

With just those words, Lee Suho coolly walked out to the practice field.

“Is Senior Suho taking this seriously? He’s warming up his shoulder.”

“Seungtae just wanted to introduce him and then head to the fielders’ side, but now it looks like he’ll be stuck with the pitchers.”

“Who said

it’s his fault? You guys dragged him here.”

“Senior Sangjin? How did you know?”

“How? When all the pitchers are suddenly gathering in one place, it’s hard to miss. So, what’s Suho up to?”

Lee Sangjin, the cleanup hitter and the de facto leader of the fielders, asked curiously.

“Oh, you know Cha Taehyun, right? The 2-billion rookie. Suho’s planning to set him straight because he skipped the rookie camp and opted for self-training.”

“Really? That’s good. The batting coach was giving me an earful about the rookie skipping camp.”

After finishing his warm-up, Lee Suho briefly explained the rules to Cha Taehyun.

“It’ll be one at-bat. If you get a hit, you win; if you get out, I win.”

“If I win, you’ll acknowledge that I trained diligently?”

Lee Suho’s lips twitched at Cha Taehyun’s confident tone, as if he had already secured the victory.

“Sure. I hope you do.”

Lee Suho climbed onto the mound, touched the rosin bag, blew on it, and dusted off his hands.

Then, he stepped on the pitching rubber and glanced at Cha Taehyun.

‘He’s got a good look in his eyes.’

He didn’t know what kind of reputation this rookie had, but his focus at the plate seemed to be solid.

Lee Suho was a renowned left-handed fireballer, known for being a top-level pitcher who could still throw fastballs at 154 km/h even at 34 years old.

It might seem a bit unfair for such a high-level pitcher to go full throttle against a rookie, but if he was going to set him straight, he needed to do it properly.

Lee Suho wound up and threw the first pitch with all his might.

The ball shot out of his hand fiercely, aimed toward the strike zone, only to curve away and exit the zone.

“Oh… Suho really went all out. That slider had insane movement.”

The other players watching were in awe of the impressive slider.

However,

“Ball!”

“Wait… how did Cha Taehyun not fall for that?”

Even top-tier KBO batters might have moved their bat slightly at that slider, yet Cha Taehyun stood frozen, like a statue, calmly watching the ball go by.

“Did he freeze because the pitch was too good?”

“Seems like it.”

‘I don’t think so…’

Lee Sangjin, who had keen eyes, could faintly make out Cha Taehyun’s expression. He was sure he saw one corner of his mouth curl up slightly.

If he were frozen by the pitch, would he make that kind of face?

Well, it was still hard to say for sure.

Even Sangjin would have at least flinched at that pitch.

The second pitch came. Another breaking ball, this time a forkball dipping low.

It was another beautiful forkball fitting of Lee Suho’s reputation, but Cha Taehyun’s bat remained still.

“Wow… He really seems to be watching and taking them.”

“Yeah, that forkball just now was a masterpiece.”

The murmurs among the team started to grow. It wasn’t just the players who were surprised.

‘That pitch dropped perfectly…’

If it had been any other top-tier KBO batter, they probably would have swung and missed at least once.

‘His strike zone judgment is pretty decent, huh?’

“Alright… Let’s see if he can handle the fastball.”

Lee Suho switched to a four-seam grip, wound up his arm, and firmly planted his foot.

He put a little more power into this one, to the point where it felt almost excessive, rotating his upper body vigorously.

Lee Suho’s four-seam fastball, known for its speed over 150 km/h, was what made him a top pitcher in the league.

‘That’s a good pitch.’

The moment he released the fastball, Lee Suho felt a thrill he hadn’t experienced in a while and allowed a small smile.

Right then, Cha Taehyun, who hadn’t moved an inch before, swung his bat forcefully.

– Crack!

A terrifying sound of impact echoed through the field, reverberating through Lee Suho’s entire body.

The ball soared directly at Lee Suho’s head, grazing a few hairs before rocketing upward.

Despite the near-miss, Lee Suho wasn’t startled. Instead, he urgently turned to track the ball’s path.

The launch angle wasn’t very high. It had barely grazed his hair.

It shouldn’t go far… right?

The ball defied his expectations and kept soaring, eventually clearing the top edge of the fence.

“Wow… are you serious?”

“This guy’s insane.”

“Senior Sangjin, wasn’t that pitch just now really fast?”

Like the bewildered Lee Suho on the mound, Lee Sangjin was also in a daze.

‘You’re asking if the pitch was fast?’

It was fast, sure… But Lee Suho’s four-seam wasn’t all about speed.

Its strength lay in its heavy, vicious rotation. Having faced it himself a few times, he knew how tough it was.

But this rookie sent it over the fence at that launch angle? With a laser-like trajectory?

Lee Sangjin let out an incredulous laugh.

“…Looks like I’ll have to move down to the fifth spot in the lineup.”

As I watched the ball fly out of the field, I turned toward Senior Lee Suho, who was approaching me. My heart sank.

Did I go overboard?

I had hit his pitch right out of the zone without hesitation.

And this was a challenge to test a junior’s mettle, right? I must have ruined his pride.

I could almost hear Phoenix’s championship chances dropping.

“Cha Taehyun…”

His voice didn’t sound pleasant. How should I smooth things over?

“Why…”

“What?”

“Why…!”

Senior Lee Suho suddenly grabbed both of my shoulders and raised his voice.

Is he about to start yelling at me?

But then, he suddenly broke into a bright smile and said something confusing.

“Why did you come so late!!!”

Uh…

This guy must have been through a lot too.

—