The girls met up together in the morning at the front of the school. Hyunjin told them about her dad being able to help out by coaching them. They were happy that she was able to find someone else experienced with the sport.
The day went by somewhat quick and they decided to meet at the park by Hyunjin’s house. That’s where she used to play and the baseball field was the size of the one at their school.
Her dad would meet them there once he gets off of work.
Once they all arrived, Hyunjin showed them how the equipment worked and what you need offensively and defensively.
As she was showing the equipment, the girls asked questions and Hyunjin would answer them patiently.
Ten minutes later, they see a man that resembles a lot like Hyunjin and he looked younger than most fathers.
She noticed her dad coming and ran up to hug him.
“Hi dad, these are my friends and they joined my team to help me win against Jinhyuk” they smiled and bowed at him then introduced themselves.
He gave them a fatherly smile ” hello girls you can call me Hunjoon and I’ll be your coach. I used to coach Hyunjin’s team back when she was in middle school so I can help y’all”
After talking about a few things, he made the girls stretch and jog around the field to loosen up a bit.
They were alright with jogging except for two girls. Even though they only did one lap, the duo were exhausted and laid on the ground.
Heavy breathing was heard “i can’t do thus anymore” Yeojin was panting and Chaewon nodded as she also panted.
“Come on guys you can’t be tired already”
“We literally just ran one lap”
“Get y’all asses up and run before I throw baseballs at y’all”
They quickly got up hearing Hyunjin say that knowing she will do it. They started running again till Hunjoon stopped them.
“Alright girls, Hyunjin told me that she was going to teach everyone how to play their positions” he was met with nods “well how about we do something different?”
The girls were confused and looked at Hyunjin to see if she knew anything. But she was also confused “what do you mean dad?”
He smiled “well I thought about how stressful it would be for you to teach different things so I called up the other coaches that helped you”
As if on cue, they saw four other younger looking men walking towards them. Even though they were middle aged, you could tell they kept up with appearance just like Mr. Kim.
Hyunjin recognized them and started remembering how they always treated her like she was their daughter.
Mr. Kim smiled at how excited Hyunjin began. The girls saw how she excitedly greeted them and introduced her team.
Haseul raised her hand “wait so you guys are going to teach us how to play our positions?”
“Yea Hunjoon called us yesterday telling us about the whole situation”
“That douchbag doesn’t know what he’s in for next week” he chuckled.
Hunjoon told the girls to just call them Son, Lee, Jung and Choi. They were okay with just being called their surnames.
“Dad you know we’re just going to play one game right? Its not like we’re playing in the world series” Hyunjin thought he was going a little overboard and she didn’t wanna scare the girls.
Sooyoung spoke before her dad could “I actually like this it makes it more dramatic” Jinsoul and Hyejoo nodded and they fist bumped each other.
“See they like it which means you should too Jinnie”
Her dad reassured and once they were ready they split off into the correct groups.
Before they can all separate, he asked one more question “who’s playing shortstop?”
Haseul raised her hand and Mr. Kim nodded “okay then you know that you’re captain right?”
She nodded and then proceeded to go with her group. This is how they split off:
Choi: Infield
Jungeun, Vivi, Haseul, Jinsoul, and Yeojin
Lee: Outfield
Sooyoung, Hyejoo and Yerim
Son: Pitching
Jiwoo, Heejin and Hyunjin
Jung: Hitting
Chaewon
Even though Hyunjin was part of the infield, she helps the pitchers on which pitch to throw.
Right now they were working on knowing their defensive positions. Then once they’re comfortable, they’ll start hitting some baseballs.
With Chaewon
Jung was setting up a tee set to start off easy. Once he finished, Chaewon listened on how to use a tee.
“This is a tee and its used by players to help hit the ball better. So I want you to get into a hitting position”
She didn’t exactly know how to get into a batting stance but he helped her. He showed where she should hold the bat and made sure she was comfortable.
Once she got her stance, Jung told her to swing and hit an imaginary ball.
She swung a few times to see how it feels and then he made her try to hit the ball on top of the tee.
The ball was attached to a string which was connected to the tee. So when she swung, it would come back to her.
Her first swing, she missed but Jung helped her on how to make contact with the ball.
The next few swings, she hit the ball and he was surprised at how quick she managed to get the hang of it.
“Wow you got it! Let’s keep using the tee then I’ll throw you the balls okay?”
Chaewon nodded but she was scared to hit the balls because she thought they will hit her.
With The Outfield
Lee was helping Sooyoung, Hyejoo and Yerim how the outfield works.
He told them how a fly ball works and how to catch it.
“So you’re going to hold your glove like this when catching a fly ball and then close it like this” he demonstrated using a glove “you have to keep it close till one of umpires call it out because if you drop it, its safe for the other team”
They focused and listened intently wanting to get it down easily.
He told them to stand in a line and then he threw them some balls in the air to catch them.
It was easy so they continued to the harder part, which was running to catch a ball.
“Now for this one, you’re going to need to focus well on the ball once it hits the bat” He pointed to home plate “you have to watch where its going to catch it and if you don’t then thats a base hit”
Yerim was more nervous on this one then the others due to her not being able to run fast.
Lee noticed her nervously looking at the ball “hey Yerim its okay to be nervous since you’re barely learning but just watch the ball and run. Don’t look at anything else, not even where you’re going”
She nodded and was patted on the shoulders by Sooyoung and Hyejoo. They smiled at her and she returned it.
He told Hyejoo to go back ten steps then he stepped back also. “I’m going to throw this ball like someone hit it and I want you to run and catch it okay?”
She nodded and got ready. He threw the ball over her head and she kept her eyes on it.
Sooyoung and Yerim watched in amazement when Hyejoo caught it easily. Lee complimented on how well she caught the ball.
“Wow good job Hyejoo you tracked it down well and caught it easily” he then turned towards the others “now its your turn guys” they nodded and Sooyoung got ready.
With Choi
It was going to be a little hard since there are more infielders than outfielders. Although, Haseul made that they listened to Choi well enough.
He explained to them how the infield works and to know how to throw the balls to a base.
He demonstrated how scoop up a ball with a glove and then throw it to a base.
“you scoop up the ball like this and put your hand on top once you got it so the ball won’t fly out” they tried it as well.
Yeojin was nervous and scared that she would drop the ball. She didn’t want to be scolded in front of everyone.
Haseul reassured her by giving her words of encouragement and it worked. She smiles at her and then tried it out.
After that exercise, Choi told them to get on their base. He told Yeojin to stand beside him to let the others work before he puts her in.
“Okay now we’re going to do the same thing except now you’re going to throw it to first base. Jungeun are you okay with catching right now?”
He wanted to make sure she was comfortable with catching and didn’t want to force her.
She was a bit hesitant but nodded anyways and ran to first. She mentally told herself to not get scared.
Unknown to her, a blue haired girl stared at her worried that Jungeun didn’t have to catch if she wasn’t ready. They smiled at each other once they made eye contact and she reassured Jinsoul that she’s fine.
Choi rolled the ball towards Jungeun and she scooped it up and then stepped on the base.
“That was good. Now we’re going to the same thing but make sure you throw it directly to her glove”
They nodded and listened to him on how to throw the ball on target. They each threw it well to Jungeun, even Yeojin was confident in her throws. Jinsoul had it harder since she was across the diamond but she threw the ball exactly on target.
With Son
Son talked to them about how they strike zone works. He helped them understand where they needed to throw to get a strikeout.
Both Jiwoo and Heejin were being taught how to throw the baseball first. Once they got the hang of it, Son showed them how to grip the ball to throw a specific pitch.
He showed them which grip is which pitch. They received a small card with different pitches and numbers.
“This card tells you what type of pitches you can throw and what number it is. When your pitching, in order for the batter to not know what you’re gonna throw, the catcher gives you signs on which pitch to throw” he finished
They nodded but Heejin looked a little confused.
“Wait so the catcher tells us what to pitch?” Jiwoo also looked up at Son wanting to know why.
“Yes because the catcher knows which pitch will be effective. But both of y’all have to be in agreement with the pitch they signal”
They nodded and her continued talking more about how to make a pitch effective to strike the batter out.
Hyunjin was getting help from her dad in remembering some pitches and positions of the balls in the strike zone. She was fine with her defense but she needed more help with her offense.
She looked around and smiled as she saw the girls having fun in learning. She was glad to have found a great group of friends that enjoy each others presence. If she happens to lose against the guys, she knows she won something greater than a regular baseball game.
The sun started to set and they decided to stop where they are and just continue tomorrow. They picked up the equipment and then gathered around.
Mr. Kim spoke first ” I just wanna say wow you girls learn quick and you’ll be ready to play in no time” the other coaches agreed and complimented them.
The girls thanked them for teaching and helping them on their own time. They talked about wanting to finish what they started today for tomorrow and then move on to hitting.
The team bid goodbye to each other and set off to their homes. Hyunjin asked her dad if he can give Heejin a ride home and he complied.
They sat together in the back and to say that they were both nervous was simple. Heejin already agreed with herself that she has a crush on the dark haired but what about her?
Hyunjin kept on questioning what she felt when she was around the older. She had an idea of what it might be but she wanted to make sure it was the right feeling.
The Kims dropped Heejin off and she gave her hug before she went inside her house. The bunny blushed and bid goodbye to Hyunjin before going in.
Getting into the car, her dad noticed the blush on her cheeks and was stopped by her before he could question her.
“I know what it looks like but I wanna be sure that I like her. Probably I’ll ask her out after the game if it is a crush” he smiled at his daughter having a crush.
“Well I just want you to know that if you’re happy then I’m happy alright and I think she likes you” she turned her head so fast that he thought she got whiplash.
“What? No she doesn’t?”
“I saw the way she looked at you when I was teaching you. And I know that look because I used to look at your mother that way when we first met”
She sadly smiled at the thought of her mom. She knew how much her dad missed her ever since she passed. She still remembers the way her mother would hug her and tuck her in for bed.
Her mother passed away about two years ago due to a drunk driver hitting her car. Since then she’s been appreciative of her dads effort to be there for her and her brother just like her mom used to.
He saw her sad expression and tried to change the topic.
“Just remember to be sure that you absolutely like her to ask her out” she nodded and got out of the car as they arrived home.
The day ended just like any other day and the girls texted each other like usual before they slept. They had a feeling that they were going to get through this and win.
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A/N: hopefully i made it simple enough for you readers to understand the sport a little more. For the next few chapters I’m gonna focus on the couples then to some drama then to the game and i hope you guys like it
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