The home stadiums of the Juoh Dragons and TC Knights, Jamsil Baseball Stadium.


    <em>‘Thank goodness the weather is clear.’</em>


    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 ce was already packed with people.


    “Wow, there are so many people.”@@novelbin@@


    “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 nced 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 ss, making us stand out even more.


    The phrase on Kim Yoori’s shirt, “Reliable ss 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 herest time.”


    “The ce that used to sell churros has turned into a hot dog stand. What a shame.”


    “Wom, 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 peri leaf sundae in his hands.


    Sa Wolseum and Kwon Lena were eyeing the churros they hadn’t gotten to eat thest time they were here.


    Wom, wanting to treat Kwon Lena to every vor of churro, was determined to buy them again, just likest year.


    <em>‘Mang Hyo-don didn’t write this phrase for him to buy churros.’</em>


    On Wom’s T-shirt was written “Hurry Up and Give It,” a phrase Mang Hyo-don had written after learning about Wom’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-proimed close friends.


    Dokgo Miro was wearing the T-shirt with the phrase “Expecting the New Song Release! <em>^▽^</em>” written by Kim Yoori, while Hwang Ji-ho wore the T-shirt with “40,” written by Wom.


    It was a bit unfortunate that the phrase “40” on Hwang Ji-ho’s shirt resembled a yer 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.”


    <em>‘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.’</em>


    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 toe.”


    “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 asional nces 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 shy 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.


    <em>‘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.’</em>


    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 shownst time when she and Oh Gildong were partnered for a treasure hunt during the theme park pic.


    <em>‘It was when Oh Gildong had saved the day by choosing Gu Seul-bi’s phrase.’</em>


    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 rxed after hearing it.


    The fact that only these two attention-seekers added the aurora-colored decorations made Gu Seul-bi even happier.


    <em>‘Although the two attention-seekers stand out, honestly, I think the one who’s getting the most attention here is Jeong Jeong-muk.’</em>


    Jeong Jeong-muk hadyered 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 epting 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’mte.”


    At the exit where we had agreed to meet, Mr. Ham Geun-hyeong joined us.


    Mr. Ham had beening back from a business trip to Hongcheon and barely managed to join us on time.


    Thinking about the uing scenario, I was somewhat concerned about the frequent business trips to Hongcheon.


    <em>‘If it was onlyst year, I might have overlooked it, but if this continues this year, I’ll have to connect it with the scenario.’</em>


    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 ss’s homeroom assistant, and since he had contributed duringst year’s incident, it was no surprise to see him here.


    <em>‘He said some members of the Dragon Tribe and Red Lion woulde, but I didn’t expect them to wear ss T-shirts all the time.’</em>


    Yong Je-geon’s ss 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 ss T-shirt before joining the ss, 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 ss T-shirt well. I’m happy as a member of the Dragon Tribe.”


    My T-shirt had the phrase “?????,” written by Yong Je-geon.


    When Yong Je-geon participated in the T-shirt phrase selection, the ss 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 normalpared to the other phrases, and I was somewhat happy with it.


    With food in hand, our ss 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 ss was able to get invited to sit there.


    “Hey, guys, you’re all here.”


    “Wow, ss 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 yers stretching.


    <em>‘Everything he’s wearing and holding seems to be new stuff released this year.’</em>


    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 ces where our faces wouldn’t be caught on camera, taking precautions before arranging our seats, and while there were many ns, it was better to be overly cautious.


    “Where’s Yu Sang-hoon?”


    “He was going toe at first, but when he heard that Hyung Won and Sister Sang-hee wereing, he decided to stay home and just y games.”


    Yu Sang-hoon hadinedst year about not being invited, so I tried to invite him, but in the end, he didn’te.


    Do Won-woo came here with Sang-hee after being rejected when he asked her outst year, but this year, they came together.


    Life is unpredictable.


    “Who’s the first pitcher this year?”


    “Likest 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 teamst 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.


    <em>‘So that’s why they made such a fuss to get them here.’</em>


    The first pitcher was Okto Yeon.


    <em>‘So that’s why they made such a fuss to get them here.’</em>


    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 apuse.


    <em>‘I guess that exins all the efforts to bring her here.’</em>


    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’smunity, she held a special ce 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.