The teacher with the black-rimmed glasses hurried a step forward, took the exam paper, and stood at the entrance of the conference room to read Mark King's math test. After carefully looking at a few questions, he glanced at the child in front of him with a frown. After repeatedly reviewing the test paper, he finally put it down, sighed, and smiled slightly, saying, “Your name is Mark King, right? If I were you, I’d take a nap in the conference room before handing in the paper. In a moment, Principal Clark will help you with the enrollment procedures. When school starts in September, report to Class 3, Grade 1, which I teach. I am your homeroom teacher and also the vice principal of this school. My name is Charles Park.”

The expressions of the people around changed miraculously once again. Even Mark King's grandfather, who was nearly 60, couldn’t help but shift his expression from anger to extreme satisfaction within three seconds. The surrounding teachers, meanwhile, returned to the slightly dazed look they had when Mark King handed in his paper. As for the director of studies, surnamed Cui, he still wore a smiling face, as if he had an unchanging composure, but at this moment he was cursing in his heart: Damn it, in this sweltering heat, I still have to help with the procedures? Why can’t this brat go to the affiliated middle school of Kent Foreign High?

Mark King's family were originally Koreans who had obtained permanent residency in the United States, commonly known as dual nationality, so the enrollment procedures were completed quickly. Of course, the sweating Principal Clark didn’t see it that way.

After resolving the enrollment issue, Mark King picked up his beloved baseball bat again and began wandering around Seongdong District, Jung District, and Gangnam District. This time, Mark King's grandfather no longer meddled in his business. After all, in the grandfather’s eyes, the most important thing for a boy is good grades, and once you have good grades, sports become the second priority.

Chapter 6: A Magical Baseball Team

Thus, in the Seoul area, among elementary and middle school students on summer vacation, a legend quickly spread: It was said that there was a kid only about ten years old—no one knew his name, he was just called Number 1, because he always wore a Los Angeles Angels jersey with the number 1, and was often seen alone carrying a bat, appearing around the Dongting area by the Han River in Seongdong and Gangnam.

Whenever he saw other youth baseball teams playing, he would take the initiative to step forward and challenge both teams at once as a pitcher. The bat in his hand wasn’t for hitting balls at all, but for beating people if they refused his challenge. Although this Number 1 was just a pitcher, among all the teams in Seoul made up of students below middle school, not a single person could hit his pitches.

Mark King never expected that his feats would, over time, gradually become Seoul’s most famous urban legend. More than a decade later, this magical Number 1 had become associated with curses, violence, and the rivalry between students of different grades. In the end, it was even adapted into a horror movie. But by then, as he watched the film in the theater, he no longer realized that this urban legend was actually about his eleven-year-old self.

That being said, the number 1 on Mark King’s back was indeed famous along both banks of the Han River between Gangnam and Seongdong. In less than five days, he had subdued the only barely-formed youth baseball team in Seongdong—a team made up of a mix of middle and elementary school students. Then, as captain, he led this team to utterly crush the two elementary-level baseball teams on the Gangnam side of the river. In the end, even the troublemakers in Gangnam started hanging out with Mark King. For a while, all the adult sports teams in Gangnam and Seongdong were on high alert, afraid that dozens of rowdy kids would invade their sports venues. But considering that Mark King’s summer vacation would last until early September, these adults would have to live in fear for a while longer.

During the entire month of July, as Mark King enjoyed his carefree life, the only major event was a phone call from Emily Thompson, inviting him to attend a movie premiere with her at the Samsung VIP Cinema at Gwanghuimun on August 3rd. Other than that, nothing much happened. But precisely because nothing was happening, Mark King gradually began to feel bored. At his age, his grandmother was reluctant to let him go far to play, and in Seongdong and Gangnam, his reputation (or infamy) in baseball meant there were few challenges left. At this point, he actually started to miss school days, movie-shooting days, and even the days of taking care of the little crystal princess.

So, on the last day of July, when more than a dozen troublemakers from Gangnam came running to him to complain, Mark King almost jumped up immediately.

According to these elementary schoolers, this morning they were planning to practice baseball at an open-air stadium by the Han River, but a team of adults arrived at the same time. Without any discussion, the adults drove the kids out as if they were shooing away stray animals. The kids didn’t dare argue with the adults, but with such good weather during summer vacation, they were reluctant to give up baseball, so they decided to ask their boss to step in and negotiate with the adults to share the venue.