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“STRIKE!”

“You threw that at my head, bastard, that’s not a strike!”

“STRIKE!”

“Jaebum, throw the damn ball in the strike zone pl–...hey, I wasn’t ready!”

“STRIKE THREE, YOU’RE OUT!”

Jinyoung stalked toward Jaebum on the pitcher’s mound, baseball bat held above his head, ready to enact revenge. Jaebum almost tripped over the bucket of baseballs behind him as he stumbled backwards away from his approaching friend, all the while clutching his stomach as he howled in laughter.

Jaebum and Jinyoung had laid dibs on the small baseball field for the day, betting on who could hit the farthest or pitch the fastest. They may have been preventing some young children from using the field but hey, finder’s keepers. It was nestled in the middle of a neighborhood with just enough field space for small kids and teenagers to not have the strength to hit a homerun far enough to break someone’s window. However, it was still small enough that they could see the faces of people passing by on the sidewalks surrounding the field.

“Alright, pitch the ball for real this time, Jaebum.”

“Who says I need to listen to you?”

“The dude with the metal bat in his hand says you need to.”

“No need to resort to violence there, buddy.”

“Throw the damn ball, Jae.”

Jaebum winked mischievously as he ceremoniously brought the ball into his gloved hand. He side-eyed Jinyoung, playfully glaring as the other brought his bat back and readied his stance. Jaebum picked his front foot off the ground and swung his arm behind him, his other gloved hand pointing toward the targeted sweet zone of the strike box. Jinyoung leaned all his weight on his right leg, ever so slightly lifting up his left foot in preparation for the swing. His eyes followed the baseball as it left Jaebum’s hand, red seams spinning rapidly as the ball became closer and closer. Jinyoung’s grip tightened around the handle. He stepped, swung his arms down and out, and watched as the ball made contact with the bat right in the middle of the barrel.

With a loud crack, the ball went flying over Jaebum’s head and into the outfield. Both Jinyoung and Jaebum brought their hands to their face as they shielded their eyes from the sun in order to follow the baseball. It continued to soar over the outfield, going, going, going, with neither of the boys knowing when it would drop. Jaebum let out a low whistle at the distance.

Jinyoung jogged toward Jaebum as the ball finally started to descend. Both boys knew they would have to jog out to catch it, and Jinyoung really wanted to rub in Jaebum’s face how far he hit the baseball.

What neither boy was expecting, though, was for the ball to drop right on the head of an unsuspecting pedestrian. Jaebum and Jinyoung watched as the baseball whacked the person on the side of their head, causing him or her to immediately collapse to the ground.

Jinyoung was staring wide-eyed, baseball bat slowly slipping from his fingers until it dropped onto the gravel field. Jaebum’s hand was over his mouth in shock, eyes glued on the fallen figure in the distance.

The younger was the first to speak.

“....”

At that one word, both boys seemed to snap out of their trance. They scrambled out of the field and sprinted to the prone figure on the sidewalk, muttering frantic curses the whole way. Jinyoung was the first to reach the man on the ground. He immediately kneeled down next to him, reaching his arm under and lifting the unconscious man up.

“Hello? Hello?! Dude, are you okay? Can you hear me?!” Jaebum rambled while panting from the sprint, placing himself on the other side of the man being held by Jinyoung. Jaebum reached up and turned the man’s face side to side, taking off the man’s baseball cap and looking for a red bump on his head. When he couldn’t find anything, he patted the man’s cheeks and shook his shoulders in an attempt to wake him up, hoping that there was no need to call an ambulance. A person can’t die from a baseball to the head, right? Right?!

Jinyoung was on the verge of tears. He didn’t mean to. He just wanted to show off to Jaebum. He didn’t mean for an innocent person to get whacked in the head. He should’ve known that the field was too small for adults to play on. He should have known, yet here he was, holding a stranger in his arms, hoping that the person was still alive.

“ ..., what are we gonna do?”

“Jae, is he...is he even breathing?”

“, I don’t know...”

Jinyoung brought his finger under the man’s nose to check. When he felt warm puffs of air, he sighed in relief. At least the man was alive.

“Mister? Excuse me, sir? C-Can you hear me? Please tell me you’re okay!”

His arms were shaking from nerves and guilt while holding up the unconscious man. Jinyoung was scared, so scared, and he could tell that Jaebum was as well. The older reached a shaky arm toward the man’s head again, searching for the area he was hit.

“Ow, what the–”

The man in Jinyoung’s arms stirred and swatted Jaebum’s hands away from his head. As soon as he moved his head, though, he let out a stream of whispered curses and brought his hands up. As he gingerly touched the spot beneath his blonde hair, he winced in pain.

The two other boys just stared in shocked silence. Jinyoung still has his arm wrapped around the now conscious boy, holding him up. The boy didn’t seem to notice at first until he lowered his hands from his head and looked around.

“...um, who are you?”

“Mark, I really am so sorry–”

“I know, you’ve said it ten million times.”

“Yeah...but I just want you to know that–”

“Just shut up and buy me an ice pack.”

The three of them were on their way to the nearest convenience store. When Jinyoung had offered to call an ambulance, Mark had shaken his head in annoyance (and pain) and just asked for an ice pa