Superstar From Age 0

Chapter 312

“Hello.”

The practice field became lively as Seo-jun Lee appeared with a bright smile.

“Nice to meet you, Lee!”

Robert, a pitcher, and Hayden, a batter, from the LA Dodgers’ promotion team greeted Seo-jun, who would join them for today’s training. 

Philip, a scout, also welcomed him.

There were no reporters yet, as they had not announced Seo-jun’s pitching news. 

There was only a filming team that would capture Seo-jun’s practice scenes for the press release.

“I look forward to working with you today.”

“So do we.”

After exchanging greetings, Seo-jun, Robert, and Hayden started to warm up. 

They looked like they had some experience in exercising, as they stretched skillfully. 

The two players watched Seo-jun with curious eyes.

“Jun. Have you ever exercised before?”

“Just as a hobby.”

Seo-jun answered with a smile to Robert’s question. 

Hayden seemed to recall something and said.

“I heard you have a friend who is a baseball player. You must know how to swing a bat, right?”

“Yes. He taught me in detail yesterday.”

“Then, since pitching might take longer than hitting, why don’t we start with pitching?”

Seo-jun and Robert nodded at Hayden’s suggestion.

They finished stretching and Hayden took his place at the catcher’s seat. 

Seo-jun and Robert stood a little ahead of the mound.

“Let’s start from here and slowly increase the distance.”

“Okay. I got it.”

Robert showed him an example first.

He showed his hand holding the baseball to Seo-jun. 

His index and middle fingers were holding the seams of the baseball horizontally. 

Seo-jun tried to hold the baseball in the same way.

“A fastball would be better for throwing accurately into the catcher’s glove. It flies straight to the home plate and it’s not that hard to control.”

“Yes.”

“It’s windup, kicking, stride, release in order.”

Windup, the pitching preparation posture.

Kicking, lifting the pivot foot up.

Stride, stepping on the ground with the other foot.

Release, letting go of the ball from the hand.

He showed each posture slowly to Seo-jun and then moved quickly.

The baseball flew out of Robert’s hand and hit Hayden’s glove. 

Seo-jun clapped his hands and Robert said with a smile.

“You don’t have to throw too hard. Focus on control rather than speed. Don’t worry if it’s near the catcher’s glove, he’ll catch it well.”

“Yes. I understand.”

“Shall we try throwing lightly then?”

Seo-jun nodded at Robert’s words and took his stance. 

He thought he would throw once and then correct his posture.

First, windup.

It was natural to be awkward if it was his first time doing it, but there was no sign of that from Seo-jun. 

Robert and Hayden, who was wearing a catcher’s mask, widened their eyes.

The next movements followed quickly.

Kicking,

Stride,

And release!

Seo-jun stepped on the ground with his lifted foot and shifted his weight forward. 

Then he swung his arm and threw the ball.

The baseball flew out of Seo-jun’s hand and hit Hayden’s glove without much speed. 

Everyone looked at Seo-jun and the catcher’s glove with surprised faces.

“Jun. Can you throw harder?”

Robert, who was standing near Seo-jun, asked him with shining eyes. 

Seo-jun looked relaxed even after throwing the ball, as if he hadn’t used all his strength yet. 

Seo-jun answered with a smile to Robert’s question.

“Yes.”

“Then why don’t we try from the mound? Let’s raise the speed a little bit. Control is… as long as it’s near the catcher, Hayden will catch it well.”

Seo-jun nodded at Robert’s words.

This time, they decided to throw from a longer distance, from the mound.

As Seo-jun was about to throw again, the promotion team leader called a team member and ordered him to bring a speed gun. 

Every record like this would become a press release and a topic of discussion.

‘It would be even better if it was an outstanding record.’

Robert gave some advice to Seo-jun and he adjusted his posture again. 

He threw the ball once more.

He stepped on the ground more heavily with his pivot foot and put more strength into his arm. 

The ball flew faster than before and went straight into the catcher’s glove.

The distance was longer but the speed was faster and the control was perfect.

Robert, who was staring blankly at that scene, turned his head and looked at Seo-jun.

“Jun. Have you ever played baseball in Korea?”

“No. I just played with my friend.”

“Do you have any interest in playing baseball…? You seem good enough.”

“Hahaha.”

Seo-jun laughed as Robert looked him up and down.

His pitching posture was natural and flawless, and his control was perfect. His speed was faster than Robert expected.

‘And… he still looks relaxed.’

Robert wanted to ask Seo-jun to throw harder, but he couldn’t make a unreasonable request to an actor who was not a player. He just swallowed his words.

That’s how Seo-jun threw a few balls from the mound.

Windup, kicking, stride, release.

Seo-jun’s natural pitching motion looked like a player’s practice rather than an actor’s pitching practice.

The baseball flew out of Seo-jun’s hand at a fast speed and hit the glove. Robert scratched his ball and said.

“I think you don’t need to practice pitching anymore.”

He didn’t have to throw 100 miles, he just had to throw enough to get into the catcher’s glove. 

The promotion team agreed with Robert’s words. 

They thought it would take a few hours, but it ended too soon.

At Robert’s words, Hayden took off his catcher’s mask and got up from his seat.

“Shall we try hitting now?”

“Yes.”

“I heard from the scout that you hit some balls at the batting cage.”

Seo-jun looked at Philip at Hayden’s words. Philip, who was surprised, smiled awkwardly. Seo-jun smiled slightly and nodded.

“Yes. I go there sometimes with my friend.”

“Then let’s see how you swing first and then check it out.”

“Okay.”

Robert stood on the mound.

“The speed is about 140. The location is right in the center.”

“Yes!”

He had only hit balls from a pitching machine or thrown by his friends, but this was his first time hitting a real pro player’s ball. 

Seo-jun was a little nervous, but it was a pleasant thrill.

He clenched and unclenched his two hands holding the baseball bat, then exhaled. 

He looked at Robert on the mound.

“Is this a practice or a game?”

The people who were watching from a distance looked back and forth between Robert on the mound and Seo-jun at the batter’s box.

They understood why Seo-jun had a serious expression on his face, but they were puzzled by Robert’s tense expression. 

He looked like he was playing a real game.

There was an inexplicable tension in the practice field.

Soon, Robert took the windup posture.

“The most important thing is not to take your eyes off the ball.”

Seo-jun repeated Jack’s words in his mind and his eyes never left Robert’s hand holding the baseball.

Robert swung his left leg and his right arm. 

The baseball flew out of his hand and hit the catcher’s glove before it even met the bat. 

Seo-jun pushed the bat up as it was.

Bang!

Everyone except Manager An Da Ho, who knew Seo-jun’s athletic ability well, and the two players, had no idea that Seo-jun would hit the ball from the first practice. 

They could only stare blankly at the white ball flying in the air.

Robert on the mound also followed the ball with his eyes.

“I knew it.”

He laughed incredulously and turned his head to look at Seo-jun.

“That was close.”

A pitcher had to read the batter’s mind and throw the ball where he couldn’t hit it.

He was momentarily confused by Seo-jun’s eyes that never left the ball and his feeling that he would hit it somehow.

He felt ridiculous for thinking of him as a ‘batter’ while looking at a Hollywood actor. 

He almost threw the ball not to the center as promised, but to the outside of his body, and even faster.

And another person.

Hayden, who had been admiring Seo-jun’s posture since he took his stance, asked him.

“Have you ever played baseball in Korea?”

“No. I just played with my friend.”

“Do you want to play baseball? You seem good enough.”

“Hahaha.”

Seo-jun laughed at Hayden’s sparkling eyes.

“I think I know why you wanted to see me hit.”

The promotion team leader swallowed his bitter voice.

He had watched baseball for a long time, so he had a good eye for it. 

He was surprised when he saw him pitch, but he was even more surprised when he saw him hit.

‘It would be better if he hit well and had some behind-the-scenes stories.’

The promotion team leader’s heart leaned toward hitting, which looked more spectacular and could be seen from any seat.

Everyone admired Seo-jun’s hitting, which was so splendid that it made them doubt if he was really a Hollywood actor. 

It continued like that. Robert threw faster balls, but Seo-jun hit them all without missing any.

“Is he an actor by profession and a baseball player by hobby?”

They couldn’t help but think that as they watched the white ball fly over the fence with a loud sound.

Robert looked at Seo-jun and asked him.

“Jun. Are you okay with other courses?”

“Hmm. As long as you avoid my body, I think it’s fine.”

He could hit any ball, but since he was filming, he didn’t want to cause any trouble.

“Don’t worry about control.”

It wasn’t a game where he had to strike out the batter.

Robert smiled warmly as if he was looking at a talented young player… No, that’s not right. 

He smiled happily as if he was looking at a talented junior without realizing it.

Hayden also felt the same way and gave some advice to Seo-jun’s stance.

Seo-jun Lee’s pitching and hitting practice turned into a practice-like practice between him and the two players. 

Seo-jun threw the ball and Hayden hit it back. 

Robert threw the ball and Seo-jun hit it back.

As Robert threw faster balls, the distance of Seo-jun’s hits increased.

Bang!!

They knew by that sound.

This one is going over.

Robert, Seo-jun, and Hayden looked up at the sky. 

The cameras and people’s heads also looked up at the sky.

“Wow…!”

Finally, everyone let out a sigh mixed with admiration as the baseball went over the fence.

They looked at Seo-jun with regretful eyes, as if his talent was wasted on acting.

An Da Ho gave him a sports drink to quench his thirst. Seo-jun asked Robert and Hayden.

“Do you think I can hit a home run if I do it like before?”

“Oh. You want to hit a home run?”

Hayden asked him back and Seo-jun said with a smile.

“I don’t know if I can or not, but I want to try.”

They had a feeling that Seo-jun might really hit a home run with his bright smile.

***

[Actor Lee Seo-jun hits at LA Stadium!]

[Lee Seo-jun will hit at LA Stadium tomorrow!]

[Not pitching, but hitting? Influenced by his friend?]

-? Why so suddenly?

-But seeing the recent buzz, I’m not surprised.

=22 There are also many whale-related products. Lee Seo-jun should come out.

=I saw a whale-shaped cake. It was delicious.

-It will be a topic until the documentary comes out.

=It will be a topic even after the documentary comes out.

-Our Seo-jun is hitting… Is he going to hit a home run?

=I think he will.

=With Seo-jun’s athletic ability, anything is possible.

-I want to go to LA and see him!

=22 I can’t believe I can see Seo-jun in my neighborhood!

***

On the day of the LA Stadium home game.

Many people were interested in Lee Seo-jun’s hitting news and that interest led them to the LA Stadium.

A black man sitting in the driver’s seat stuck his head out of the window and looked around.

“….Is this a parking lot or a road?”

“Can we get to the stadium today?”

Tom and his friend, who had rescued the whale with Seo-jun, looked at the cars filling the road with bored eyes.