NOVPUBThe home stadiums of the Juoh Dragons and TC Knights, Jamsil Baseball Stadium.
‘Thank goodness the weather is clear.’
Under the bright and clear sky, with a refreshing breeze, an event was being held for families with children, celebrating Children’s Day. Although the match hadn’t started yet, the place was already packed with people.
“Wow, there are so many people.”
“I didn’t realize it was this crowded. The TV rarely shows the outside of the stadium!”
Dokgo Miro, Kim Yoori, and Sa Wolseum were all speaking with excitement. They had missed the game when Dokgo Miro sang the national anthem at the Korean Series, and now, for the first time in a while, they were experiencing the atmosphere of a baseball stadium.
Passersby glanced at our group, intrigued by the sight. We were all wearing matching authentic icing T-shirts, each one printed with phrases written by the students of our class, making us stand out even more.
The phrase on Kim Yoori’s shirt, “Reliable Class President,” was written by Mr. Ham Geun-hyeong, and Sa Wolseum’s shirt read, “Future Bounty Hunter,” written by Han I.
“Oh, the Sundae Bokkeumbap shop wasn’t here last time.”
“The place that used to sell churros has turned into a hot dog stand. What a shame.”
“Woolam, they’re selling churros over there! It looks like they’ve moved.”
The kids, who had been distracted by the crowds, began to focus on the food stands.
Mang Hyo-don, wearing the T-shirt with the phrase “Disciple of the Unbelieving Hermit” (written by Hwang Ji-ho), had two cups of stir-fried sundae with offal and seasoned perilla leaf sundae in his hands.
Sa Wolseum and Kwon Lena were eyeing the churros they hadn’t gotten to eat the last time they were here.
Woolam, wanting to treat Kwon Lena to every flavor of churro, was determined to buy them again, just like last year.
‘Mang Hyo-don didn’t write this phrase for him to buy churros.’
On Woolam’s T-shirt was written “Hurry Up and Give It,” a phrase Mang Hyo-don had written after learning about Woolam’s violin skills.
By the way, Kwon Lena’s phrase, written by Jeong Jeong-muk, read, “I hope you aim to be a master of sound,” which seemed to be a rather cryptic phrase.
It seemed like a traditional martial artist’s well-wishing.
“Han I, should we go for churros too?”
“There’s no sugar-free option, and it seems to bother him. But I think it’s fine to eat something you want on a day like this.”
“......”
There was a group of people deliberating over which snack to choose, and it consisted of Han I and two of his self-proclaimed close friends.
Dokgo Miro was wearing the T-shirt with the phrase “Expecting the New Song Release! ^▽^” written by Kim Yoori, while Hwang Ji-ho wore the T-shirt with “40,” written by Woolam.
It was a bit unfortunate that the phrase “40” on Hwang Ji-ho’s shirt resembled a player number in a baseball game.
Not many people would recognize that it referred to Hwang Ji-ho’s average score.
Unfortunately for Han I, he ended up wearing a shirt with the phrase “Mun Gyeong Ji Woo (刎頸之友),” a phrase that meant “a friend who would sacrifice their life without regret.”
‘It’s an expression for a close friend, but its origin and meaning aren’t light. It means that you would not regret sacrificing your life for a friend, no matter what.’
Dokgo Miro likely chose that phrase to control the old tiger’s fondness for using phrases like “close friend” or “childhood friend.”
Despite this, there was likely some sincerity in it as well, considering that he is a king who single-handedly stormed a police station to destroy it for his friend.
“Even with so many people here, we’re still getting attention. It’s worth taking the time to come.”
“It’s obvious we’re being noticed! After all, the partner of the elegant and noticeable genius, the great Druid, is right here!”
The attention-seekers were enjoying the lively atmosphere of the baseball stadium and the occasional glances they received.
When the people who had noticed Dokgo Miro turned to look at us, their attention immediately shifted to the attention-seeking duo.
Both of them had brilliantly refashioned their T-shirts with aurora-colored decorations, making them so flashy that it almost hurt the eyes.
The motif of the decorations, though, was somewhat random: it was a motif of the “Sundial Flower.”
Min Green had written the odd phrase “Sundial Flower of the Tourist Spot” for Oh Gildong.
‘Although it’s a random phrase, since he used to get called an attention-seeker, he must have wanted to attach a positive meaning to it.’
Min Green, desperately trying to please, had created a two-line phrase for attention-seekers that Oh Gildong responded to quite gentlemanly.
After graciously thanking him, Oh Gildong said he would create a Sundial Flower decoration, following the phrase written by his esteemed artist.
Gu Seul-bi, watching this, made a face as though the world was crumbling before her eyes.
Her expression matched exactly the one she had shown last time when she and Oh Gildong were partnered for a treasure hunt during the theme park picnic.
‘It was when Oh Gildong had saved the day by choosing Gu Seul-bi’s phrase.’
Oh Gildong had written, “Partner of the Elegant and Noticeable Genius” for Gu Seul-bi.
The genius referred to Oh Gildong, and the phrase “Elegant and Noticeable” seemed to describe both the genius and the partner.
Gu Seul-bi, who had loved that phrase, seemed to have relaxed after hearing it.
The fact that only these two attention-seekers added the aurora-colored decorations made Gu Seul-bi even happier.
‘Although the two attention-seekers stand out, honestly, I think the one who’s getting the most attention here is Jeong Jeong-muk.’
Jeong Jeong-muk had layered a half T-shirt over his light martial arts outfit.
As a result, his outfit, which was as bizarre as the attention-seeking duo’s, stood out just as much.
What’s more, the T-shirt had “The Darkness of the Swordsman, Darknees” written on it, a phrase written by Gu Seul-bi.
I had no idea what it meant, but Gu Seul-bi had said that if she kept using the same words in the same order, it would be boring and unnoticeable, so she tried something fresh.
Jeong Jeong-muk, while accepting the phrase, said, “As long as one walks the right path, there’s no problem, no matter the order or form.”
It seemed that even though they were different, strange people like them had a way of connecting.
“Sorry I’m late.”
At the exit where we had agreed to meet, Mr. Ham Geun-hyeong joined us.
Mr. Ham had been coming back from a business trip to Hongcheon and barely managed to join us on time.
Thinking about the upcoming scenario, I was somewhat concerned about the frequent business trips to Hongcheon.
‘If it was only last year, I might have overlooked it, but if this continues this year, I’ll have to connect it with the scenario.’
While I was lost in thought, I suddenly felt a presence approaching from behind.
Someone had blended into the crowd and then suddenly revealed their presence.
“Everyone’s here. I’ve arrived too.”
It was Yong Je-geon.
Yong Je-geon was our class’s homeroom assistant, and since he had contributed during last year’s incident, it was no surprise to see him here.
‘He said some members of the Dragon Tribe and Red Lion would come, but I didn’t expect them to wear class T-shirts all the time.’
Yong Je-geon’s class T-shirt had “I Won’t Ascend” written on it, a phrase written by Sa Wolseum.
There was no need for him to wear the class T-shirt before joining the class, but it seemed like he had been wearing it all along.
Maybe he just liked the T-shirt, but it seemed like he was showing off that he wasn’t ascending.
“Yishin, you’re wearing the class T-shirt well. I’m happy as a member of the Dragon Tribe.”
My T-shirt had the phrase “ㅇㅈㅇㅇㅇ,” written by Yong Je-geon.
When Yong Je-geon participated in the T-shirt phrase selection, the class got really nervous, and I ended up as the victim.
At first, he had written “Benefactor of the Dragon Tribe,” but Hwang Ji-ho vehemently opposed it.
—Are you trying to make Yishin a target for those who are hostile to the Dragon Tribe?
—Shouldn’t the Dragon Tribe protect Yishin from harm instead?
After a tense exchange, they agreed to switch to the initials, which made it look more normal compared to the other phrases, and I was somewhat happy with it.
With food in hand, our class headed to the central seats.
Securing a seat behind the catcher was tough, but thanks to many members of the Dragon Tribe and Red Lion Team not attending, our class was able to get invited to sit there.
“Hey, guys, you’re all here.”
“Wow, Class 0 has gotten so big.”
Ju Su-hyeok and Do Shi-ho, who had entered earlier, waved their hands.
I looked around for Jang Nam-wook and spotted him sticking to the fence, watching the Juoh Dragons players stretching.
‘Everything he’s wearing and holding seems to be new stuff released this year.’
Last year, there were a lot of merchandise items, and it looked like he bought even more this year.
Soon, Jang Nam-wook, noticing the attention, turned around.
“Yishin? Oh, hey! You’re wearing the cap well this time. Did you get the ones for everyone? Good job.”
As soon as he saw me, Jang Nam-wook was about to nag but stopped with a satisfied look.
Since there were people like Sa Wolseum who didn’t want media attention, we all wore caps.
We made sure to sit in places where our faces wouldn’t be caught on camera, taking precautions before arranging our seats, and while there were many plans, it was better to be overly cautious.
“Where’s Yu Sang-hoon?”
“He was going to come at first, but when he heard that Hyung Won and Sister Sang-hee were coming, he decided to stay home and just play games.”
Yu Sang-hoon had complained last year about not being invited, so I tried to invite him, but in the end, he didn’t come.
Do Won-woo came here with Sang-hee after being rejected when he asked her out last year, but this year, they came together.
Life is unpredictable.
“Who’s the first pitcher this year?”
“Like last year, they haven’t announced it. Since TC Knights are the home team this year, it won’t be the Dragon Tribe.”
Both teams share Jamsil Baseball Stadium as their home field, so the home team alternates on important days like this.
Since the Juoh Dragons were the home team last year, the TC Knights are the home team this year.
As the game time approached, the first pitcher took the mound.
The pitcher was wearing a mascot-style pitching cap.
“That’s...”
As soon as I saw the first pitcher, Hwang Ji-ho’s mood suddenly worsened.
Then, the first pitcher took off the cap and revealed their face.
It was someone I knew.
‘So that’s why they made such a fuss to get them here.’
The first pitcher was Okto Yeon.
‘So that’s why they made such a fuss to get them here.’
Okto Yeon was the first pitcher. Everyone had been hyping up the event, but I hadn't expected it to be her.
The entire stadium was bustling with excitement as Okto Yeon, the unexpected pitcher, stepped up to the mound. She took a moment to smile at the crowd, and the audience erupted in applause.
‘I guess that explains all the efforts to bring her here.’
Okto Yeon was an unexpected choice, but there was no doubt that her appearance would make the day even more memorable. As a key figure in our school’s community, she held a special place in everyone’s hearts.
The game was about to start, and the excitement in the air was palpable. I turned back to our group, all wearing our matching shirts, feeling a sense of camaraderie that was hard to put into words. This was more than just a baseball game – it was a gathering of memories, friendships, and shared experiences.
