Shooting Trajectory is Visible - Chapter 26



Only Krnovel

The game is over.

The game could be summarized as a show of defense by Suyang High School’s Kim Min-woo and a counterattack show that stirred up the space behind the attacking line.

The score was 2:0 and Suyang High School advanced to the quarterfinals.

The standout performer in this match was the goalkeeper.

The offense was good, of course, but the goalkeeper was even better. It seemed like everyone else saw it that way, too, as the spectators were all talking about the Suyang High School goalkeeper.

As soon as the final whistle blew, Yoon Tae-yoon collapsed to his seat and patted Im So-yeon on the shoulder.

“You used to use a lot of things. What did you use?”

“Just my personal opinions.”

“So let’s meet up.”

As I reach out to take the note, Im So-yeon puts strength into the note. Then she shakes her head. Huh?

“Oh, over there!”

When he suddenly pointed to Kim Min-woo, Im So-yeon turned her head towards him, and in the meantime, Yoon Tae-yoon snatched the note away.

“Ah, brother!”

“Hehehe.”

He immediately got up from his seat and ran away.

Then, Im So-yeon immediately comes in pursuit.

As I was running around the stands, old memories came to mind.

They used to joke around like this in the past, but now that they’ve gotten older, they start hitting walls and using formal language.

I read the notes in my notebook with admiration.

‘Kim Min-woo. Excellent save ability. Mask is also good. Goal kick assist. Strong thighs? What is this?’

Why did you write about firm thighs?

“Hand it over!”

Lim So-yeon, who sticks around and takes the note.

Oh, I haven’t read it yet. There’s so much written that I have to turn the pages.

Yoon Tae-yoon smiled and joked.

“Doesn’t it remind you of the old days?”

“Ouch, seriously… Grow up. You’ll be thirty next year.”

“There are people who still cry out ‘youth’ even at the age of 50, so what’s wrong with my age~”

Lim So-yeon squints her eyes.

Yoon Tae-yoon laughed and dragged Im So-yeon out of the stadium.

“Let’s go first.”

“Where to?”

“Where are you going? You have to go by car.”

It rained on and off for a while, but it has stopped now. But who knows when it might rain again.

Yoon Tae-yoon, who hurriedly got into the car, stared blankly at Im So-yeon, who was sitting in the passenger seat.

The notebook and pen are now tucked away in my pocket.

“But why did you write things like ‘tight thighs’? Is that your taste?”

Im So-yeon’s expression changes greatly. Her face, which used to resemble a stone Buddha, becomes distorted into a fierce expression, which is a bit scary.

“···It’s exactly as it is. I wrote it like that because your thighs look firm. You must have worked out hard, that’s what it means. I told you, right? And it’s my personal opinion.”

Lim So-yeon spoke quickly and a lot, as if flustered. Yoon Tae-yoon nodded with a face full of laughter.

“Okay. I understand. It’s your personal opinion. Our Soyeon likes someone eighteen years younger than her. I’ll know that.”

“Gyaaaah!”

Lim So-yeon runs towards him screaming.

Yoon Tae-yoon laughed out loud.

It feels like I’ve finally found my real cousin.

“Just kidding!”

“Do it to the best of your ability, really!”

“Soyeon, you haven’t changed? I thought you’d change as you got older, but you’ve just hidden it?”

“···People don’t change! They just wear masks!”

Oh. You’re not even using formal language anymore?

It was a great change.

However, he seems to be in a bad mood as he crosses his arms and stares ahead with a sharp gaze.

Tae-yoon started the car engine first because it was humid inside. Then he contacted Kang Jae-wook, the head of the power reinforcement department.

A brief ringtone. And then.

-Oh. Did you watch the game?

“Yes, sir.”

-how is it?

“That’s right. It’s perfect. I don’t think I need to write a report or anything. I can just sign the contract right away…”

-Stop talking nonsense and keep watching. And write a proper report and submit it.

At those words, Yoon Tae-yoon’s expression hardened.

“Sir, I’m not saying I’m not writing reports because I’m lazy-”

-That’s right, you punk. And, does it make sense to sign a contract after watching just one game? You have to watch it closely! At least until Suyang High School gets eliminated from that competition!

“Huh? No, then if I don’t get into Suyang High School, I’ll have to stay here until the finals?”

Here in this remote village? Until August? In this humid and hot rainy season?

– Isn’t it nice that you have plenty of time? Since you’ve already gone all the way to Changnyeong, why don’t you check out some other Gyeonggi-do areas? If you see any good ones, you can submit a report.

“Oh, no, sir!”

-Okay. Just in case, if you touch the intern, you’ll die?

“Ah, no, what!”

Even though I’m a total loser, I wouldn’t mess with my relatives!

And then the call suddenly disconnects.

I put my head on the steering wheel with a deep sigh.

If you make a mistake in this remote corner, you’ll be stuck there until August.

“The manager wants me to stay here?”

“······Why are you speaking informally to me?”

“When did you complain about being treated with respect?”

Ah. Damn···.

“No, if you just watch, it’ll be taken away. You have to sign the contract right away. Ugh···.”

The reactions of the other scouts were unusual. If we just sit back and watch as the director said, it will definitely be taken away. We have to step forward first.

The problem is, he’s a minor.

Parental consent is required to write a contract.

So I thought about it for a moment.

“What are we going to do now?”

“Be quiet for a moment.”

As I focused on the steering wheel, the surroundings became quiet. After a while, I slowly got up.

“Soyeon. You should go up first.”

“···what?”

The first step in a minor’s contract.

Building rapport.

First, you need to build a rapport with the parents of the contracting parties and then proceed.

And for building intimacy, it is much better to be approached by a woman with a favorable impression, like Im So-yeon.

It would be better if I could join, but shouldn’t someone be here to check Kim Min-woo’s performance and closely examine his strengths and weaknesses?

And I can’t leave that job to an intern, so I have to be here.

Building rapport isn’t something I can leave up to the interns… but I don’t have two bodies, so there’s nothing I can do.

“Listen carefully. I’ll only talk this once.”

While driving, I told Im So-yeon what she had to do. She was a smart girl, so she understood everything after only saying it once.

***

“Khuhhhh···.”

Eugene Ho sat quietly in his bedroom and laughed.

Finally, finally. The scout came in person.

That’s not the only one.

Suwon Shenyang Bluewings, Seoul Furics, Ulsan Daehyun, and Daejeon Mirae Citizen, which are all affiliated with K League 1, are on the back of Eunhaengsa.

Scouts from four teams each came to inquire about Kim Min-woo.

And now it was just the beginning. As Kim Min-woo continues to play and perform well, more and more clubs will come looking for scouts.

Then, naturally, the treatment of Kim Min-woo will also rise.

The price is fixed when you debut as a pro, so there’s nothing you can do about it, but that’s only the case when you debut, so let’s ignore that.

Naturally, this exciting news was kept a secret from everyone except Eugene Yoo and the other two coaches.

Of course, it is a secret even to the person involved, Kim Min-woo.

If I say something for no reason and it interferes with the game, it will be a big problem.

“Oh my, I thought that Seungwoo Han would debut as a pro at Suyang High School···.”

Breaking everyone’s expectations, even Yoo Jin-ho’s own expectations, Kim Min-woo ended up debuting first.

And who was the first to discover Kim Min-woo and give him experience in competition despite everyone’s opposition?

“It’s me.”

Eugene Ho flapped the bed with his hands.

Kim Min-woo, you’re so pretty.

“I should take this opportunity to build up some connections at the National Agricultural Cooperative Federation.”

There is a wall in the Korean soccer world that cannot be overcome with skill. If the players are good, they can go abroad and prove themselves, but that is not possible for the coach.

If you have a coaching career in Korea, people overseas will pick you and say, “Oh, this guy is good.” But to become a professional coach in Korea, you need a damn “connection.”

Even in the age group representatives, aren’t there incompetent losers who are keeping their positions thanks to the impressive records they built up during their playing days?

Just thinking about that makes me angry.

“If they’re the heroes of the World Cup, then they’re heroes, you fucking bastards···.”

If you don’t have the skills, you should know how to get out and get out, but these greedy old bastards from the National Agricultural Cooperative Federation have no intention of leaving.

So I have to somehow squeeze myself into it. The more Kim Min-woo is active, the more opportunities I will have to jump to higher places.

“And there’s also Kim Jun-young and Han Seung-woo… phew.”

Yoo Jin-ho took out the soju he had brought and poured it into a cup.

Since we’re in the middle of a competition, let’s just have one drink.

I felt really strange right now.

A mixture of emotions, including hope, thirst, and anxiety about the future, swirled around in my head.

Thinking about whether everything will work out and lead to the future I had imagined, or whether everything will go wrong and lead to the opposite of the future I had imagined, makes my heart feel heavy and even pressured.

“It’s confusing. It’s confusing.”

Rather, I feel anxious because I think things will go well.

Uncertainty. Opportunity. Risk. And conflicting emotions.

Yoo Jin-ho pressed his eyebrows and put the alcohol he took out into the mini fridge.

I need to train tomorrow, but I can’t train while I’m completely drunk. One drink will do.

“Let’s just work hard.”

Your mind may be complicated because of expectations and fears about the future, but if you don’t think about those things and just steadily climb the stairs in front of you, you will eventually reach your desired goal.

I couldn’t do that when I was a player, but I wanted to do it this time.

So, let’s not overthink it and just think about what we need to do right now.

***

It’s been two days since the round of 16.

We now move on to the quarter finals and quarter finals.

This time our opponent was a team from Gangwon Province.

Taebaek Central High School.

Is it an illusion that the name is similar to the team that faced them in the finals of Geumgangbanseok?

No it wasn’t.

Taebaek Central High School was a rival high school to Taebaek Jeil High School, and was the youth team of Gangwon FC, which is in the K League 1 Division.

The team we’re playing against today is none other than Gangwon FC’s U-18 team.

“I think we’re having an early final, guys. You guys, you’ve already beaten your rivals, Taebaek Jeil High School. Don’t be scared. Pro team youth? But they’ve lost to Taebaek Jeil High School many times.”

Coach Kim Tae-ho encouraged us like that.

The players were listening intently to the coach’s words, but I was different.

Rather, I was deeply moved.

‘I’ve come this far.’

After joining the soccer club on my own for a few months, I have finally made it to the level where I can compete with a K-League youth team.

I have a huge thank you to Football Manager, even if you can’t hear me.

“···More than anything, our team has a goalkeeper who has never conceded a goal.”

At those words, everyone’s eyes turned to me. I shouted, making an ‘L’ shape with my arms as if showing off my muscles.

“Trust only me!”

“Wahahahaha!”

“Yeah, we have one legend on our team who never lets a goal go, so don’t worry!”

“Well then, we won. Since we caught Taebaek First High School, now let’s go catch Jungang High School~!”

“Let’s go!”

At that time, director Yoo Jin-ho came in.

He’s not very manly, but he’s wearing sunglasses that directors often wear.

The weather is cloudy today, so let’s just come with our bare eyes. That guy really likes to show off.

“How has everyone been?”

“yes!”

“Yeah. Today’s game is a big one. Are you all ready to cross the Taebaek Mountains?”

“yes!”

“You’ve climbed once, so how can you not climb twice? Coach Park! Bring the tactics board!”

“Yes, sir!”

Coach Park Hyun-woo comes in, mumbling, holding a tactics board. Coach Kim hurries over and helps him carry it.

And then the tactical guidance that we had heard the day before begins. It’s a kind of ritual. It’s something we’ve already heard and know, but it’s a ritual that we do the final check.

“Today we start with 4-5-1.”

It was also a space defense strategy.

The overall strategy was almost identical to the Diamond Rock finals. It was a strategy of blocking every empty spot and ending the game with one blow.

Well, it’s a different team from Taebaek First High School, so they might get beat again, but really?

But since they are rival teams, why didn’t they do a replay of the Geumgang Banseok competition?

‘I’m curious.’

How would you feel if you were beaten by a team that beat your rivals with the same strategy?

Now it was time to go check it out.

End

ⓒ Doctor Am

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