The Extra in a Baseball Novel

Saying it’s about treating me to something delicious is basically like a date.

Or more accurately, it could be called “keeping Miyeon entertained.”

The streets of Seoul are full of so many things to see and do that Miyeon is tirelessly exploring everywhere.

Well, not that I mind. Just seeing Miyeon having fun recharges my energy.

“Taehyun, look at that! Isn’t that the ice cream that’s on TV?”

Miyeon grabbed my hand and pulled me along, so I quietly followed.

“One, please!”

The Turkish man selling the ice cream handed Miyeon a cone.

Miyeon reached out quickly, but—

“Haha!”

The Turkish man with a big mustache laughed and moved the cone around with his stick.

He kept moving it just out of reach, and Miyeon’s face slowly turned into a pout.

Didn’t she do this because she wanted to see this trick…?

Anyway, if this goes on any longer, Miyeon might really start crying, so I snatched the cone away.

“What…”

I gave a thumbs-up to the stunned Turkish man and handed the cone to Miyeon.

“Thanks, Taehyun.”

Miyeon, with a bashful smile, took the cone and immediately grabbed my hand.

Hmm…

I glanced at Miyeon, who was just happily licking her ice cream.

Maybe she grabbed it out of habit?

Well, it’s fine with me. I walked along, following wherever Miyeon led.

‘I… grabbed his hand!’

Of course, I was fully aware. I just pretended it was an accident.

I know I really shouldn’t…

‘But what can I do if I want to hold it…’

It’s so strange. Why does something as simple as holding hands make me this happy?

And this is Seoul. No one here knows that Taehyun and I are teacher and student.

Usually, even when I want to be with Taehyun, I’ve had to hold back because of others watching.

But if no one is watching…

This was the moment when Miyeon’s suppressed desires were starting to surface.

As we walked along, Miyeon suddenly intertwined her fingers with mine.

“…Teacher?”

“Hm? What’s wrong?”

Miyeon looked at me with a completely innocent expression.

This was really surprising…

But I didn’t dislike it, so I just kept walking.

Though, I felt like she was getting closer and closer to my shoulder…

“Taehyun, do you know you’ve become really famous?”

“Huh…? I have?”

“You were already famous on the Phoenix Gallery, but now, thanks to the broadcast, all Phoenix fans probably know who you are.”

Well, considering the performance I gave today, it makes sense.

“Lucky you. You’ll get to eat for free around Sajik Baseball Stadium.”

I think I’ve heard something like that before.

But is that true?

“Oh, come on… would they really give it to me for free?”

“They probably would.”

As we chatted, we looked around at the restaurants along the street. I pointed out a few places that seemed nice.

“Teacher, how about that pork cutlet place? I like it.”

“Hmm… it looks good, but… let’s keep looking!”

“There’s a shabu-shabu place over there. How about that one?”

“Hmm… just a little bit more looking!”

“Wow, they even have a pork soup restaurant here in Seoul. Should we check it out?”

“If there’s a pork soup place in Seoul, there might be something even more interesting.”

It seemed like Miyeon wasn’t that hungry yet.

It wasn’t until it started getting dark that we finally entered a restaurant.

I looked at Miyeon and teased her.

“So, we ended up at the pork cutlet place. It’s the one I first suggested.”

Miyeon’s face began to turn as red as a tomato, and I couldn’t help but smirk.

“…S-sorry.”

“I’m just kidding. I like pork cutlet.”

“But I said I’d treat you to something nice… We should have gone for something more expensive.”

“Price doesn’t matter. What’s important is that I’m eating with you.”

“Uh… um… o-okay…”

Now fully tomato-red, Miyeon’s face made me laugh out loud.

“You know we still have one more left, right? I hit two home runs, so next time, you’re treating me again.”

With that, the pork cutlet was placed in front of Miyeon, who nodded vigorously.

True to its name, the “Cheese Bomb Pork Cutlet” was covered in cheese.

It was quite unusual. Normally, the cheese is inside the pork cutlet, but here it was all over the outside.

But it seemed like Miyeon was having trouble cutting it, struggling a bit with the knife.

“Here, let me.”

I quickly cut it into seven pieces and handed it back to her.

“Thanks.”

Miyeon picked up a piece with her fork and took a bite. Her eyes widened in delight.

“Is it good?”

“Yeah! It’s really delicious, Taehyun. You should try some.”

Smiling, Miyeon offered me a piece of the pork cutlet she had just taken a bite out of.

“Oh, sorry. I didn’t mean to… Hold on.”

I quickly grabbed the fork before it could be pulled back and popped it into my mouth.

Hmm… it is pretty tasty.

It’s delicious, but Miyeon froze, still holding the fork.

“What? You want some too, Teacher?”

I cut another piece and offered it to Miyeon.

Hesitating for a moment, Miyeon eventually opened her mouth and ate it.

“Is this one good too?”

“…Yeah.”

In the past, when I saw couples feeding each other with “Aah~” in public, I found it cringeworthy…

Now I get it.

Even if I don’t know the reason, seeing her eat what I give her brings a strange sense of happiness.

Well, I don’t do the “Aah~” thing. I just say, “Eat this.”

“Want another one?”

“Ah, no, then you won’t have enough to eat.”

“Fine, forget it.”

“N-no, I’ll eat it.”

Right. What’s happiness, anyway? This is happiness.

By the time we arrived at the KTTX station, the clock showed 1:20 a.m.

Luckily, in Nemus, the KTTX runs late-night services.

“Teacher, this is my first time on a late-night train. There’s really no one here.”

“It’s not that there’s no one, it’s just us.”

This was a first for me as well. The train hadn’t even departed, yet it was so quiet.

“Feels like we rented it out, doesn’t it?”

I nodded at Miyeon’s oddly cheerful words.

We had reserved standard seats, which were two seats right next to each other. The first-class seats in front were more spacious and separated.

“Since there’s no one here, should we sit in the first-class seats?”

“No, Taehyun! Even if no one’s here, we have to be honest.”

“…Right. Then, shall we sit here?”

“Yes!”

As we waited for the train to depart—

Thud.

Miyeon’s head fell onto my left shoulder.

I glanced over and saw that her mouth was slightly open.

“She fell asleep so fast.”

It hadn’t even been ten minutes since we sat down.

I carefully pulled out my phone from my pocket without waking her.

Covering the speaker, I took a photo of sleeping Miyeon.

Came out pretty well.

Smiling in satisfaction, I was about to close my eyes when—

“Taehyun… I want to go to a baseball game… with you… and… go on a trip… together…”

Miyeon mumbled in her sleep.

A baseball game together, and a trip…

Does this mean that if I ask next time, she’ll say yes?

I gained some useful information.

It was a good thing I didn’t fall asleep.

I closed my eyes too.

As soon as the KTTX departed and Cha Taehyun fell asleep, Miyeon slowly opened her eyes.

“You’re really asleep, right…?”

She pressed his cheek a couple of times, and when Taehyun didn’t move, Miyeon ran her hands over her face.

“I’m crazy, I’m crazy, I’m really crazy, Im Miyeon…”

Pretending to sleep-talking about wanting to go to a baseball game date and a trip together was completely reckless.

Luckily, he didn’t catch on…

But what’s done is done.

All she could do now was reflect on today and be more cautious from tomorrow on.

“Yeah… From tomorrow, I’ll go back to being the teacher, Im Miyeon… Yes… from tomorrow.”

Having made up her mind, Miyeon pulled out her phone and snapped a photo of the sleeping Taehyun.

Satisfied, she put her phone away and slowly leaned her head on Taehyun’s shoulder.

“Just for today, I’ll enjoy it…”

Under the starry sky, the train carrying just two passengers headed toward Busan.

After winning the intense round of 64, which was practically the finals, we advanced smoothly to the championship match.

While everyone was predicting that Hyuksan High would win, one team started gaining attention.

Cheongsin High.

It was their first appearance at the Golden Lion and their baseball team was historically weak.

But a player named “Jin Taehyun” emerged from this underdog team, creating a miracle and making it to the finals.

Now, people were starting to wonder if Cheongsin High might actually win this

.

Perhaps because of this narrative, this year’s Golden Lion finals have attracted unprecedented interest.

“Wow… I’ve never seen the stands completely full before.”

“It’s because of the real Taehyun and the fake Taehyun.”

Oh, by the way, the “real Taehyun” is me, and the “fake Taehyun” refers to Jin Taehyun, who has been carrying Cheongsin High on his back.

“Wow, doesn’t the fake Taehyun remind you of something?”

“Hm… the protagonist of a passionate baseball manga?”

“Yes! That’s it! I watched a broadcast of his game, and he was practically sobbing every time he got a hit. Just like Changhyun-senpai.”

“But the real Taehyun is… well, he seems passionate, but…”

“He’s boring. He’s too good; it’s annoying.”

I smirked and approached Jin Myunghwan.

“Myunghwan, for there to be passion, you need something to boil over. Right? I actually envy Jin Taehyun. Imagine how fun baseball must be for him.”

“Wow… You’re so annoying…”

“Just kidding. Let’s get ready. The game’s about to start.”

Well, half-joking, at least.

Under the blazing sun, the finals of the Golden Lion tournament began.

—