Even the phrase "unstoppable momentum" felt inadequate to describe how fearsome Ilhyeon baseball club's form had become.

Even before the All-Star break, still in the first half of the season, they had already recorded two separate ten-game winning streaks, and had suffered back-to-back losses only once — a truly dominant run of results.

Every batter from the first spot in the lineup to the ninth was hitting above .280.

And among them, Seung-hyeok Yang's performance stood out above all.

—Everyone knew Ilhyeon would do well this year. Especially the performance of Seung-hyeok Yang in what's being called the "fire lineup" — any fan who loves Ilhyeon would never have doubted it. But... no one could have predicted he'd do quite this well.

—That's right. With about a third of the professional baseball season gone, Seung-hyeok Yang currently leads the league in batting average, most hits, RBIs, and slugging percentage, and ranks second on his own team in home runs. Including stolen bases, he's placed in the top five across every offensive category. At this rate, he looks like the clear favorite for this season's MVP.

—Every baseball fan knows about Seung-hyeok Yang's emotional struggles. He was driven out of his hometown team, and after transferring, he went through a prolonged slump, unable to find his footing. But this year, with his dramatic return to his hometown team, he's found his true form again.

The praise for Seung-hyeok Yang never seemed to stop coming from the TV.

Byeong-jin Jo wore an expression as pleased as if the praise were for himself and said to Seong-ho, "This is really it this time. Whatever anyone says, we're winning it all this year, no question."

Taking a bite of a piece of fruit, Seong-ho gave a small laugh and said to Byeong-jin Jo, "Why, is someone saying we can't win it?"

Stung by how precisely Seong-ho had hit the mark, Byeong-jin Jo made a pained face and said, "It's not that... it's just that everyone in the baseball world is saying exactly that."

"What are they saying?"

At Seong-ho's question, Byeong-jin Jo answered in…