Shooting Trajectory is Visible - Chapter 158



Only Krnovel

lever

* * *

The long-awaited winter break has finally arrived.

In the car, I took a moment to reflect on the events of the first half of this season.

‘It was eventful.’

From the Olympics to a return to the Bundesliga. A brief injury and a debut for the national team. And a free kick goal that came to mind with a change of perspective… .

‘You’ve grown a lot, Kim Min-woo.’

Based on steady growth, I was gradually gaining fame.

In Europe, when people called me an Asian goalkeeper, they meant me, and when people called me a famous Korean player in Europe, I was the second most popular Korean player after Son.

Considering that there are quite a few talented players active in Europe, other than Son Heung-min, I guess I’ve made a huge impression on Europeans in this short period of time.

I did that well.

and.

“We have arrived. Please get off.”

Philip Harris looked at me and my mom in the backseat through the rearview mirror, wearing sunglasses.

We got out of our seats and looked around, as Philip Harris had said.

The ProWear staff knew we were coming at this hour and they were there in the parking lot to welcome us.

“Welcome Kim!”

“Nice to meet you!”

Although it was a Korean company, it was a German branch, so most of the people there were German.

I nodded, and my mother nodded slightly as well.

Philip Harris got out of his car and spoke to the welcoming crowd without showing any particular enthusiasm.

“Where should I go?”

“Oh, just follow me!”

That’s how we entered the Proware building.

I must have been getting a lot of attention, because as soon as I entered the building, all the employees seemed to welcome me.

‘Ah, this is burdensome… .’

I came out into the lobby and there was a huge crowd of people clapping, um… well?

But in this crowd, no one asked for an autograph. Perhaps they had thoroughly trained their staff. What kind of idiot would ask for an autograph in a meeting before signing a contract?

Then I got on the elevator and arrived at the floor where the high-ranking officials were. There were about 7 Koreans and 3 Germans among the high-ranking officials.

“hello!”

And Director Park Min-soo appears with a bright smile and asks to shake hands. He must have been really upset because the meeting was delayed longer than expected, but his appearance didn’t show it at all.

This is… a salesperson?

We exchanged greetings and smiles with the Proware staff and then went into the conference room to have a serious talk.

Rather than a story, I first watched the video provided by Proware.

The lights in the bright conference room turn off, and a video of my activities starts playing along with the majestic music that starts with a thud.

The video mostly contained my saves, but it was mostly comprised of some of my best saves.

And the video continues, and after that, it shows not only my defensive ability, but also my build-up ability. My ability to launch a counterattack with my incredible arm strength. Finally, the video ends with a free kick goal and the commentators giving me praise.

As the video ended, the lights came back on and the Proware staff in the conference room applauded.

I blinked and looked around.

‘… Usually, in cases like this, shouldn’t the person who sees the video for the first time be the one to applaud?’

Let’s move on for now.

“People call the best soccer players in the world world class. But in my opinion, Kim Min-woo is not world class.”

what?

At the moment when the impression was about to disappear, Director Park Min-soo hurriedly moved his mouth.

“A player of a type that has never been seen before. A player who shows unbelievable ability and growth every time. How should I express it? There is no word to describe a goalkeeper like Kim Min-woo, so I can’t express it. To be honest, even the word ‘GOAT’ is weak to describe Kim Min-woo.”

I nodded with as indifferent an expression as possible.

I agree with what you said, so I meant to say try a little more.

“And a player who has never appeared on Earth needs a pair of boots that symbolize him alone.”

When Kim Min-soo gestures to the employee who was waiting, the employee puts down a box. It looks like a box of soccer shoes.

“This is it.”

The box was opened, and what appeared inside were sky blue soccer shoes.

“We named these soccer shoes ‘Flying Kim’ because they block all enemy attacks with a flying appearance… … but it is still a tentative name, and if Kim Min-woo wants, he can change it to a different name.”

My own pair of soccer shoes named after me.

Was this Proware’s secret weapon?

It’s a little interesting.

And that wasn’t all.

Park Min-soo declared that he would decide to split the profits by setting a percentage every time a pair of soccer shoes were sold.

I heard it’s a pretty radical condition.

And the nuance was that the signing bonus would be comparable to that of the highest-paid players in Europe.

The exact amount has not been disclosed yet… … but I am not worried about such headache-inducing details as Philip Harris here at H&B will take care of them.

And finally, Director Park Min-soo.

“Player Kim Min-woo. I think that player Kim Min-woo must have received many offers from Nike, Adidas, and other prominent Western companies. If you compare, the offers that we have received may be much better than what we are offering.”

Team Leader Park Min-soo, who had been speaking in English until just now, is now speaking in Korean so that the Germans and British people here cannot understand.

I glanced at my mom and then looked back at Park Min-su.

“In this day and age, I’m not trying to talk about stupid things like patriotism or respect for one’s hometown. Of course, it’s right for a player to sign a contract with a company that offers a better offer, regardless of the company’s nationality. But, Kim Min-woo.”

I looked into the serious eyes of Director Park Min-soo. And I thought.

‘Don’t be fooled. He’s just an adult my father’s age, worn out by social life. It’s just a thoroughly prepared play to shake up the younger me.’

Although I didn’t show it on the outside, I listened to Director Park Min-soo, inwardly suspecting his intentions.

Why, aren’t children like me lacking in social experience and at a young age where I like things like ‘romance’?

But I am not.

At least he’s not the type of person to be swayed by a few words and make strange decisions.

Besides, I even have my mom next to me, who is the second wisest.

“Our prowear company is now trying to challenge the world. Our position, which was limited to Asia, is now taking a step forward to North America and Europe, and if Kim Min-woo joins us in this journey, we will be able to achieve even greater growth.”

“… … .”

“We will not offer long contract terms like other companies. Usually, once you sign a contract, you sign for 10 years, right? We will have time to review the contract term and renew it every three years. Let’s grow together. As you will see later, we have prepared a contract deposit that is no less than that of large Western companies.”

“… If it’s a three-year contract, I won’t be able to afford my deposit when it renews later.”

“It’s okay. I believe that if Kim Min-woo signs with us, we will grow as much as he grows. If that doesn’t work out, I’ll send him to Nike or Adidas. There’s nothing more ugly than holding on to someone who doesn’t have the ability. Haha.”

hmm.

Am I still young?

Even though I doubted and distrusted endlessly, those few words that seemed true melted my doubts away like winter snow being washed away in spring.

I looked at Park Min-soo for a moment, then chuckled.

‘Okay. That’s why we have Philip Harris.’

And Philip Harris also moved quickly when he saw that I seemed a little shaken.

“Well, speaking in Korean so that I wouldn’t understand was a really good strategy. I don’t know Korean, but your speech was powerful. Let’s briefly review the terms of Proware’s contract and then we can go back.”

Philip Harris immediately took control of the atmosphere in his favor, reviewed the contract terms in detail, and hurriedly took us out of the ProWear building.

The staff welcomed us as we left, just as they had when we arrived, and we got into the car and left the building after exchanging greetings with each other.

And on the way back to Hanover by car.

Philip Harris opened his mouth.

“Kim?”

“yes?”

“Kim, would you like to wear ProWear’s football boots? Well, it’s a Korean company after all.”

“… No. I don’t necessarily think so.”

“Hmm. I see.”

Then, Mom couldn’t hold it in any longer and asked Philip Harris some questions she was curious about.

“Philip? How are the terms of the Proware contract? Are they okay?”

“To be honest, it’s pretty radical. You can think of it as the best that Proware can offer.”

“…is it so?”

Mom’s voice seemed surprised. But Philip Harris just chuckled and shook his head.

“But it would be the worst of the worst to sign a contract just because the terms are good. Now we will enter into bloody negotiations.

“Just because we’re negotiating doesn’t mean we’re going to sign a contract with Proware. We need to start a fight between companies.”

“If it’s judo, then what…?”

“According to my sources, Nike, Adidas, and Puma are also desperate to sign with Kim. And if you slowly reveal the terms of the pro-wear contract… … they might roll their eyes and offer a contract that matches this. Or even a better contract.”

Just then, the signal went off and Philip Harris took off his sunglasses. Then he looked at me in the rearview mirror and said,

“And among them, we will sign with the company that offers the best contract terms. Kim also said that he doesn’t necessarily intend to sign with Proware, so this is okay, right?”

“Of course.”

“Then I will stay here and take care of the remaining work while Kim goes to Korea. I will select a friend to accompany me to Korea and send him to you.”

“yes.”

That’s it for now regarding soccer shoe sponsorship.

H&B will handle the rest of the traffic, and will make it a competition of competitions, and sign a contract with the last one who survives.

And before that, Philip Harris will notify me.

‘Who will survive?’

Sorry to Proware, but Proware’s disruptive proposal will be the spark that ignites competition among other companies.

Whether that will be the end of Proware’s role, or whether it will survive and come to me for a contract… … Only time will tell.

* * *

And we came straight to Korea.

This trip to Korea didn’t really feel like a vacation like last season.

“Wow. Do I have to do all this while I’m in Korea?”

I stuck out my tongue as I looked at the schedule I had brought. It was filled with all sorts of lucrative tasks that H&B had asked me to do.

As I said before, there are countless advertisements.

There was even a pictorial where she was wearing only underwear and almost completely exposed, but I didn’t want to do that, so I took it out.

Honestly, my body has gotten a lot better… … but I still feel embarrassed and ashamed.

Above all else.

‘I would never take that picture if I thought Kim Shin-ah would make fun of me.’

Maybe I’ll put that as my profile picture. There’s nothing more horrible than that.

In addition to that, we provide educational services for children who are learning soccer.

And a charity auction for my football boots and the football I scored a goal with.

In addition, filming with several YouTubers… .

“Oh my.”

I wrote that I had a good rest.

But this isn’t all bad.

Last time, I had so much time on my hands that I just stayed home.

Yeah. It’s okay to be busy. It’s nice to meet Korean people often after a long time.

* * *

My first external activity was volunteer work rather than commercial activity.

To share the abilities I possess with young children who dream of becoming soccer players.

I’m now at a grassy practice field where there are several cameras set up to film our volunteer work and upload it to YouTube.

There are three kids I will be teaching. Since my position is my position, naturally, the kids’ positions are all goalkeepers.

however.

‘No matter how much I think about it, I don’t know if I have anything to teach you… .’

I’m just a goalkeeper who is favored by Football Manager.

Above all, it is impossible to say to children with bright expressions, ‘Hey, I can see the trajectory with my eyes. I can predict the opponent’s shot and block it! You can do it too! If only you get the choice of a football manager!’

But I decided to do this activity anyway, and in fact there was no reason to oppose it.

‘Still… … Since I have the experience of having been educated in the Spartan style by Geralt, I guess I can educate him in the Hanoverian style.’

Except for Football Manager. I’ll just teach you guys what I learned.

And then the children with their excited expressions, and behind them, adults who appear to be their parents, approach them, cheering them on.

I looked at the children and waved my hand with a happy expression.

‘Oh, but wait a minute. If I make those kids do what I taught them… … I think it might lead to child abuse.’

How much should I adjust the difficulty?