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"Foot on the bag, asshole."
Taerae ignores him, taking an even longer lead. Matt keeps one eye on the pitcher and the other on Taerae.
Hanbin wheels on the mound and fakes a throw to Matt, and Taerae scrambles to get back on base. Matt cackles at him.
"What did I say?"
"I wasn't listening, I was distracted by how good your ass looks in those pants."
Matt grits his teeth. He and Taerae broke up a whole year ago, but every time they cross paths, Taerae finds a way to get under his skin somehow. He's dating one of his teammates now, which Matt would say is a real stupid call but can't because he's doing the same thing, and he doesn't get why Taerae won't leave him the fuck alone.
Well, no. He does. Taerae and Jiwoong have propositioned him before, in fact. Even when he politely explained that he had a boyfriend, actually, they made him tell them who, and then extended the invitation to Gunwook as well.
That's a no, obviously.
Obviously.
Yujin hits another foul. Even all the way from second, Matt can see his frustration. It's gotten into his posture. Yujin's a good player, but he's young, and the game still gets in his head sometimes.
Taerae's taking a lead again. Behind his back, Matt makes eye contact with Hao, who signals Hoetaek behind the plate.
Hanbin turns again, fast as lightning, and throws to Matt for real. Unfortunately, Taerae gets back to base before the ball does.
"I told you to keep your foot on the fucking bag," Matt says after he returns the ball to Hanbin.
"This is so much more fun, though. Isn't this more fun?"
Matt declines to respond.
At the plate, Yujin fouls off two more pitches and then strikes out.
Matt clicks his tongue. "Poor kid."
"Hey, shut the fuck up." Taerae scowls across at him.
"I'm serious! I like Yujin. Which is more than I can say for certain other members of your team."
Speak of the devil: Jiwoong is up.
Not that Matt has anything against him particularly, really. He's not actually a bad guy. But he associates with Taerae, so Matt dislikes him on principle.
Jiwoong's bat makes contact on the first pitch, a fat crack echoing through the stadium, and Taerae takes off. The crowd loses their shit. It's high, heading left field. Gunwook starts running and Matt starts praying.
A clean catch. Jiwoong is out. Gunwook doesn't even hesitate, throws to third immediately, and Taerae turns around but he doesn't have a prayer. To his credit, he keeps running right up until Matt has the ball in his glove, and then drops into a walk and lets Matt tag him out in spiteful formality.
Three out, and that's the inning. Four more to go.
.