Starting with the Monday morning assembly, Lucas received congratulations from Mike.
"You joined the baseball club?"
Lucas licked his dry lower lip with his tongue.
How did he know so much when he hadn't even bragged about it to anyone?
When Lucas looked at Mike with a puzzled expression as if asking how he knew, Mike smiled and said, "I know because the notice is posted in a big square."
"Notification?"
When Lucas asked again, Mike shook his head in frustration.
"You don't know about the school SNS?"
You can get all the school news on the school SNS.
Although it was a space that all students in the school used, Lucas did not enjoy using the SNS.
"I see it sometimes. But I don't really go in."
"There, the baseball club recently posted a big banner saying that you had joined the team."
Lucas controlled the laughter that was escaping from his mouth.
So, he went to the school's SNS, clicked on the baseball club category, and even read the notice?
It may sound easy, but this school wasn't just about the baseball team, especially since the current FS High School baseball team's performance was not good.
If you wanted to get news about the baseball team, you had to scroll down.
'Mike likes baseball a lot too.'
It will definitely be like that. Surely, Mike doesn't like him.
He was definitely the popular kid at school and even had a girlfriend.
"You like baseball so much, why don't you play it?"
Mike furrowed his brow slightly. Then, he moved his lips as if he was going to say something for a minute, and then changed the subject.
"Well, so you're going to be the starter in this week's practice game?"
Lucas didn't bother asking when Mike abruptly changed the subject.
'There must be a reason.'
That's why he just gave a vague answer to the question.
"That's not it."
"Huh?"
Mike nagged Lucas with an expression of disbelief.
"No. Even though you joined the baseball team, you're still a candidate? I don't think our school's baseball team coach has such poor judgment, do you?"
"No, that's not it. He told me to first build up my body to prevent injuries."
Mike nodded repeatedly in agreement.
"That's true. You're not very balanced right now."
Lucas blinked his eyes and stared blankly at Mike. How on earth did he know that?
But something even more curious came out of his mouth.
"Is our director famous?"
"Huh? You don't know Director Donald Trump?"
"Uh. I don't know."
Mike continued, struggling to hide his dejected expression.
"Well, maybe you don't know. Americans know the director quite well. You're Korean."
Mike clenched his fist and tapped his chest.
"Donald Trump. Former Major Leaguer. He was a top prospect in high school and was drafted first in the first round. But he retired early due to injury."
First round, first pick in the draft. It means that he was the best baseball player that year. After his injury, he took the path of a leader and even played for a Major League team.
"Of course, since then, he has been focusing on nurturing promising young talents. He is now in his seventh year at this school."
'A Major League player and a coach. It's really crazy. Isn't he amazing?'
"So, he was such a famous person."
"I heard that the school was even gloomier before the director came in. The director was the one who finally brought us out of the dark times. He has a unique perspective on coaching."
Mike continued.
"So listen to him carefully. Even though our school had poor academic performance, a Major Leaguer came out of it."
"Joel Austin?"
"Oh? Oh yeah?"
Well, we met. But Lucas didn't bother to bring that up because right now, the director's presence came as a great shock.
'Well, he's someone Joel Austin calls his benefactor. He can't be an ordinary person.'
Lucas, who felt the director's greatness once again, decided to trust and follow Director Donald from now on. But before that, Lucas waved Mike up and down.
"Help me."
When Lucas suddenly asked for help, Mike let out his curiosity.
"Help you? What?"
"Because of the food problem. What did you eat to grow so big?"
As with any sport, physical fitness is important in baseball.
If Lucas can grow a little taller during his growing season, it will be of great help in the future.
Lucas's current height and weight are 183 cm and 70 kg. But Mike's physique was much better than his own. He was at least 5 cm taller and appeared to weigh at least 10 kg more.
"You're the one who eats rice crunchily. I eat everything without being picky."
Have you seen me eat? But Lucas also agreed because what Mike said wasn't wrong.
'It may be a bit genetic. Koreans used to be short, but now their average height has gone up considerably, right?'
It was clear that eating habits had an influence. In fact, Americans are generally tall and well-built. So, Lucas was thinking of following American eating habits, even if it's just for lunch.
"Will you help me?"
Mike tapped Lucas on the shoulder and lifted it up.
"Okay. I'll help you. Do you think a baseball player can throw a ball properly after eating like that? Oh. He threw 90 miles. What a fucking talent gap…"
Mike looked dejected.
Lucas chuckled softly at Mike's dejected expression. It was rare to see Mike so animated, especially about something as simple as eating habits.
"Thanks, Mike. I appreciate it," Lucas said, genuinely grateful for the help.
Mike nodded, his usual confidence returning. "No problem. We'll start today. Meet me at lunch, and I'll show you what to eat."
Lucas agreed, and the two headed to their first class of the day.
The morning passed in a blur of lectures and note-taking, but Lucas's mind kept drifting back to the conversation with Mike.
He knew that improving his physique was important, especially if he wanted to make an impact on the baseball team.
But there was something else that was starting to weigh on his mind: the expectations that came with joining a team coached by someone as famous as Donald Shoemaker.
During a break between classes, Lucas pulled out his phone and opened the school SNS, something he rarely did.
He scrolled through the posts, looking for the baseball club's announcement. There it was, a big banner with his name on it, welcoming him to the team.
Seeing it in writing made it feel more real, and a mix of excitement and anxiety bubbled up inside him.
'This is really happening,' he thought. 'I'm part of the team now.'
He continued scrolling through the posts, and soon he found a series of comments under the announcement.
Most of them were encouraging, with students congratulating him and wishing him luck. But a few caught his attention for a different reason.
[Let's hope he can bring some wins this season.]
[Another recruit, but will it make a difference?]
[Maybe this time the team won't embarrass us.]
Lucas felt a pang of pressure reading those comments. It was clear that some students had high hopes for the baseball team, and by extension, for him.
He knew he had a lot of work to do to live up to those expectations.