Superstar From Age 0

Chapter 302

“Come on! Get in!”

“…What?”

Seo-jun blinked his eyes at the sight of Jack, who was laughing and tapping the car with scratches all over it.

A car he had never seen before.

Jack Smith, who was smiling sheepishly.

Eric and Maria, who were nowhere to be seen.

‘Judging by the atmosphere…’

Seo-jun’s eyes narrowed.

“…Jack, you drive?”

“Hahaha!”

Jack Smith burst into a hearty laugh and took out his driver’s license.

“I got it as soon as I turned 16!”

Seo-jun took the driver’s license from Jack and looked at it carefully.

He reflected it in the sunlight and tilted it sideways. 

After examining the driver’s license thoroughly, Seo-jun looked back and forth between Jack and the driver’s license.

‘…It’s not a fake, is it?’

Jack Smith shouted at Seo-jun’s doubtful gaze.

“It’s not a fake!”

“How did you know?”

“Your eyes! You’re an actor, so you can see very well!”

Come to think of it, in California, you could drive from the age of 16. 

Seo-jun looked at Jack’s driver’s license again.

‘Jack turned 16 last year, so he could get it, but…’

Still, Seo-jun couldn’t believe that Jack Smith was driving.

‘It feels like Subin, who just started first grade in elementary school, or Eunsu, who is still in kindergarten, grew up and told me they were driving.’

“Our little Jack…!”

“Our little Jack… I’m older than you by one year! Oh, just get in.”

At Jack’s urging, Seo-jun got into the passenger seat with a nervous expression. 

Jack Smith, who had a large build, sat in the driver’s seat.

Seo-jun fastened his seat belt and clenched his hands tightly. 

This… isn’t this dangerous? 

Seo-jun’s gaze turned to Jack Smith, who was inserting the car key.

‘Maybe it would be better to knock him out here.’

He saw the back of Jack Smith’s round head. 

If he was [Hwang Bo Se’s youngest son’s pet dog], he could have solved it with one blow.

‘Jack’s ability was brought out for training purposes… but I have other abilities too, so I can make him fall asleep without any aftereffects.’

Jack started the car with a humming tune, unaware of Seo-jun’s increasingly fierce thoughts. 

Contrary to Seo-jun’s anxiety, the car started smoothly.

‘Is it okay? Is it okay?’

Seo-jun watched Jack Smith grab the steering wheel with ease and loosened his grip on the seat belt a little. 

He didn’t trust Jack’s skills.

‘If it gets really dangerous, I’ll have to escape with Jack.’

Seo-jun had already given up and started to think of ways to escape.

Then Eric Smith came out.

“Where are you guys going today?”

“We’re going to the batting cage and then to the beach.”

“Really? Have fun.”

“Eric!”

Seo-jun called out to Eric Smith, who was about to go into the house. 

Eric Smith turned around and saw Seo-jun sitting in the passenger seat.

“Jack, can he drive well?”

“Well, he won’t die.”

“Haha!”

Eric Smith and Jack Smith laughed cheerfully.

Eric’s joke rather reassured Seo-jun. Seeing Eric’s calm demeanor, he seemed to be good at driving.

“Then we’ll be back soon.”

“See you later.”

The car left the Smith house and ran on the road.

Seo-jun looked at Jack Smith driving leisurely with curiosity. 

At Seo-jun’s gaze, Jack smiled and said.

“Don’t worry. I’ve been driving for a year already. I wouldn’t put a superstar in a beginner’s car.”

‘I practiced hard to give him a ride when he came back, but the car ended up like this.’

But it was only the outside that looked like this. 

The car was sturdy. 

And he had just passed a safety inspection a few days ago.

“I still don’t trust you. Our little Jack is already driving…!”

“Little…”

It was a nickname that didn’t suit his current size at all. Jack wrinkled his nose and asked Seo-jun.

“How old do you have to be in Korea to get a license?”

“18 years old. I can get one after my birthday in two years.”

“You answered right away?”

“There are sometimes scenes where I drive in my works. I have to prepare in advance.”

Jack laughed at Seo-jun’s answer.

“I knew it.”

Contrary to his anxiety, Jack Smith drove quite well. 

Seo-jun finally relaxed and leaned back on his seat. 

He felt a little stiff from being tense.

“Where is the batting cage?”

“We’re almost there. The new place has a good pitching machine. It has a lot of courses and you can go up to 100 miles per hour.”

Seo-jun nodded at his words.

***

Bang!

“Good job!”

Jack Smith, who hit 10 balls in a row, pressed the stop button and came out with a big smile. 

Seo-jun, who was standing outside, smiled warmly.

“It’s been a while since you did it, too.”

“Should I?”

At Jack’s words, Seo-jun smiled and grabbed the baseball bat.

He swung the baseball bat lightly a few times and pressed the start button and took his position. 

The pitching machine threw the ball at a fast speed. 

It was the speed that Jack, a baseball player, had hit, but neither Seo-jun nor Jack were worried.

Seo-jun watched the ball until the end and shifted his weight from right to left, swinging the bat. 

The bat moved smoothly in a circle.

Bang!

Seo-jun and Jack both laughed heartily.

“It’s fun to do it after a long time!”

“You said you didn’t do it in Korea, but you seem to have gotten better?”

“Really?”

“One more ball is coming.”

At Jack’s words, Seo-jun took his position again.

Once again, he moved his weight to his left leg and swung the bat. 

The ball flew fast with the force of the bat pushing it to the end.

Bang!

Seo-jun hit 10 balls in a row like that.

He looked at the ball flying to the end and Jack Smith opened his mouth.

“Do you feel more comfortable now? Jun. Do you want to go faster?”

“Yeah.”

“Let’s go up to 100 miles per hour then.”

Jack smiled mischievously and Seo-jun also grinned as he fiddled with the bat handle.

“Okay.”

***

“Jack Smith?”

The scout stopped at the familiar face. 

It was his day off today, but he couldn’t help but move his feet when he saw the batter entering the batting cage.

“Shall we see how he practices?”

He might see a different side of him than in the game. 

The scout, who was following Jack Smith, spotted the Asian boy he had seen yesterday. 

They seemed to be relatives since they were together yesterday and today.

The scout followed the two into the batting cage and took a seat on one side. 

He could see Jack Smith and the boy well through the green netting.

First, Jack Smith swung the bat.

“Your condition is good today?”

His posture was stable.

Usually, in American high schools, the batting stance was left to the players’ discretion, so each player had a different stance.

Among them, there were players who hit with a wrong stance, and players who hit with a stance that suited their body.

‘But Jack Smith is different.’

Despite being a high school student, Jack Smith’s balance of upper and lower body was perfect as if a pro had taken care of him.

His batting stance was also like that. 

A stance that was unique to Jack Smith, that seemed to fit Jack Smith.

‘I thought he had a personal trainer, but he didn’t have anyone in the end.’

Once again, the ball that Jack Smith hit flew into the air.

Oh, this one is a bit.

As soon as he thought that, the boy with the hat who was standing outside said something to Jack Smith. 

He couldn’t hear it because it was a small voice. 

The scout strained his ears.

“Good. Try hitting it like that.”

“Okay!”

The conversation must have ended by then. The scout sighed and looked at Jack Smith.

Jack Smith swung the bat. 

The ball that flew at him hit properly and flew to the other side.

‘It seems better than before?’

It was good before, but his posture seemed better now.

He hit 10 balls like that and came out, and the boy with the hat went inside and took his position.

“His posture is good. Is he a Korean high school player?”

There was a separate part for Asian scouts, but the scout analyzed the boy as if it was his occupational disease.

Bang!

The scout’s eyes stopped with the loud sound that echoed in the batting cage. 

He heard Jack Smith’s voice faintly saying ‘As expected of Jun!’.

“…He’s good?”

He did well enough to compare with Jack Smith.

‘No, wait. He did well enough to compare with Jack Smith?’

The scout’s eyes twitched.

Wasn’t Jack Smith the best hitter in this area among high school players?

The scout’s trembling gaze turned to the boy with the hat.

He hit 9 balls like that.

Inside, outside, below, above. 

The boy hit all the balls that flew in various courses without missing any.

Before he knew it, the scout had grabbed the green netting and stuck to it.

He swallowed his saliva.

‘Why did I find such a player now?’

Of course, it was a batting cage, so it could be different from a real game, but just from what he saw now, he thought he would make a name for himself in high school baseball.

The scout took out his phone while thinking of the Asian players he knew. 

In the meantime, Jack Smith and the boy took turns at bat. 

The speed of the ball got faster and faster and the course changed more diversely.

Bang!

Then, a louder sound than ever before rang out. 

He didn’t know when the ball flew and when he hit it. 

It probably wasn’t an ordinary speed that he usually saw.

“100 miles! I knew you could do it Jun!”

“It felt… a bit faster this time.”

“A bit? This is not a bit fast!”

The two laughed happily at their conversation. 

The scout opened his mouth wide at their relaxed attitude.

***

“Shall we go eat lunch now?”

“There’s a new burger place nearby. It’s delicious.”

“Burgers are good.”

Jack, who was walking ahead of Seo-jun, noticed a man who was stuck to the netting and lost in thought. 

The man’s gaze was on Seo-jun. 

Jack moved his steps to block Seo-jun as if to protect him.

‘I came here at a time when there were fewer people because of Jun… but one person should be okay.’

He thought so, but still stood next to Seo-jun as they left the batting cage.

Seo-jun opened the car door and got out as soon as they left. 

Jack quickly handed Seo-jun his hat.

“Thanks!”

He didn’t know what it was, but Seo-jun wouldn’t move so hastily for no reason. 

Jack shouted to Seo-jun who was about to run away wearing his hat.

“I’ll park and come right away!”

“Okay!”

Seo-jun answered and pressed his hat down firmly and ran towards the beach.

Not only Seo-jun, but also people on the beach started to gather one by one in one place.

Seo-jun arrived at his destination and looked at it while catching his breath. 

He heard the sound of rough breathing getting weaker.

The people who gathered took out their phones and filmed it.

Jack, who parked quickly and ran over, stood next to Seo-jun as if to block him from moving around. 

And he let out a breath that was either admiration or sigh at the sight that came into his view.

“Jun… this is…”

A little boy who had squeezed in to the front with a toy sand shovel opened his mouth wide at the huge thing in front of him and shouted.

“Mom! A whale!”

A whale as big as Jack Smith’s car was lying on the sand.