Shooting Trajectory is Visible - Chapter 32



Only Krnovel

The second half was even more intense.

Actually, I didn’t know it until now, but there was a reason why the players were so passionate about this kind of soccer competition.

‘Why didn’t I think about it? A winning record reflects a high score on college entrance exams.’

So, this is how the lion and the reaper ran.

For high school athletes, winning the President’s Cup would be a line in the resume for some to enter college football, and for others, it would be a few points toward a pro career.

‘So that’s why your mom called you.’

I don’t know who told her what, but the idea that I could get into college without having to study was enough to get my mom excited.

“Focus! Focus!”

I shouted that to encourage myself. I said it to the defenders, but I also said it to myself.

If you have distracting thoughts during a game, you’ll be in big trouble.

“hey!”

“here!”

“Hit him!”

On the field where all sorts of screams and physical movements were mixed together, Suyang High School’s build-up process was not smooth, and both their offense and defense seemed to be creaking and cracking.

‘Coming.’

A red trail appeared.

It’s clearly a shot from outside the penalty area.

I was preparing, and as soon as my opponent kicked, I lowered my body’s center of gravity and blocked the shot with both arms.

It would have been nice to catch it, but the ball was slippery because it was soaked in water, so the best I could do was push it away.

Ko Young-jun quickly approaches and snatches the ball I blocked, then kicks it forward.

I was relieved, but every time was a crisis.

‘Why is there no game that goes easily?’

It really was.

I felt a lot from this competition and from this final match.

‘Just because you can see the trajectory doesn’t mean you’re invincible.’

He hasn’t scored a single goal since his debut, but that was partly due to ‘luck’.

Surely it will work someday.

‘What the hell, here we go again?’

As soon as I paused, Seoul Jinwi High School’s attack continued. This time, it was a mid-range shot. The trajectory was created again. I prepared once again. And······.

Liar-!

Powerful shot.

Stopped it again.

“Eww!”

And then a scream erupts from the stands.

I realized it too.

I cursed inwardly and moved desperately to somehow catch the ball that had fallen behind my body.

The opposing attackers, our defenders, and I all get mixed up, and the area in front of the goal becomes a mess, and the referee blows his whistle to intervene.

“Oh, sir.”

This time I almost got scammed.

The shot was so powerful that even though he blocked it, the ball hit his body and went backwards.

If I had reacted just a little slower, the ball that fell behind my body almost went into the goal.

“Please focus! Stick close so I don’t get kicked!”

I almost cried out to the defenders. No matter how well I block, I can’t stop all the attacks that come my way.

If they poured like this, there was bound to be at least one shot, so the defenders were important. They had to either not give the shooter a shooting angle or somehow reduce the threat, but Suyang High School’s defense was like a bicycle with a missing gear, and it was useless…

And my yelling turned to resignation within a few minutes.

Our defenders seemed to be saying something like this.

“Hey, even if it breaks through like this, the goalkeeper will block it? Even like this? Even like this?”

“We trust the goalkeeper and try to overlap? Hahaha!”

*Overlapping (the act of a defender joining the attack)

‘You little shits…’

Since there were so many saves, I thought I should buy a spare pair of goalkeeper gloves. The gloves were already starting to feel worn out from blocking so many shots.

“Minwoo! Here he comes again!”

Youngjun Shichi’s cry.

This time it was a cross attack coming from the side.

The trajectory was immediately created. Looking at the trajectory, it was clearly a header aimed at the left goal post. I was getting ready… and then… yuck!

He blocked the sharp and quick header with a 0.5 second quicker reaction. Others may have thought it was a divine save, but it was different in reality.

It’s just a matter of reacting to what you see in advance…

‘Huh? Wait a minute!’

I thought I blocked it and was relieved, but I was wrong. I couldn’t catch the ball and it bounced away like before.

However, the bounced ball did not bounce very far, and a melee broke out in front of the goal.

Several Suyang High School defenders and several Jinwi High School attackers fought over a single ball as if they were playing ice hockey.

I reacted immediately. Another trajectory appeared. A ground ball shot in the middle of the goal! I had no idea when this would come or how fast it would come, so as soon as I got up, I immediately lay down on my side.

And then the ball immediately enters your body.

I held on to it tightly and never let it go.

I don’t know what kind of crazy bastard it was, but he kicked the ball he was holding. Does he want to die?

“Kim Ya-shin! You did a great job!”

Ko Young-jun bumps his head with mine and pats the back of his head. Young-jun-shichi. I appreciate the compliment, but you need to do better… I’m going crazy.

***

They say that when you’re young, you grow up very quickly.

External growth.

As children enter puberty, they grow taller, develop facial hair, and their voices change.

But in the world of sports, things were a little different.

Even though he is young, he doesn’t show any noticeable growth.

There are countless cases where a player who scored 10 goals last year will score 10 goals again this year or even worse, and if he scores more than that, he is considered a special case.

Eugene Ho kept brushing his chest while watching the game.

As luck would have it, there were two special cases in his team.

‘One of them is a crazy monster who grows with each match.’

Of course, it was Kim Min-woo. If you compare when he first joined the soccer club to this moment, it was a world-changing change.

‘He grows with every game he plays. It seems like he just absorbs every experience.’

That’s never easy.

Aren’t humans creatures of forgetfulness, creatures that repeat the same mistakes?

I can’t say that Kim Min-woo doesn’t repeat the same mistakes, but it’s clear that they’re increasing.

It was a distinct change, like growing taller as an elementary school student entered middle school.

‘Now his goal kicks are not bad, and his movements are faster.’

If it was the old Kim Min-woo, he would have definitely conceded a goal during this offensive. However, as the level of the game improved, Kim Min-woo also seemed to grow along with it, and he never allowed a goal.

It was getting a little scary now. I wonder how much he’s trying to grow like that…

Even the guy was still a rookie who had only just started playing soccer.

‘Is that really genius?’

Yoo Jin-ho thought he had seen many geniuses in soccer, but among them, Kim Min-woo was incomparable.

It is too overwhelming to be simply dismissed as a special case······.

“Phew.”

“Coach. It seems like Youngjun is having some physical issues. Would you mind replacing him?”

It was coach Park Hyeon-woo.

Eugene Ho sighed deeply again and shook his head.

“Let’s just watch a little longer. If you see this kind of behavior again… then it’s time for a real replacement.”

Ko Young-jun, the captain of the defense, is about to graduate in a few months. Objectively, he is not good enough to join the pros.

However, his will to continue playing soccer was clear, so I hoped that he would be allowed to play until the end without being replaced and would be allowed to join a university soccer team.

He must be desperate and hopeless to the point of going crazy. So let’s watch him one last time.

And time passed.

I continued to watch the game with my arms crossed. Another special case from Suyang High School caught my eye.

“Hey! Hey!”

Kim Jun-young.

A guy who actively runs in and participates in defense.

He must have run out of stamina after playing all the games, but he kept running in this game as well. He barely walked during the game.

‘That guy’s growth is also really amazing.’

It seems like only yesterday that I was struggling because I couldn’t compete with the second-year students, let alone the third-year students, but after Kim Min-woo came in, his growth began to shine.

Kim Jun-young is good at attacking as well as defending. If Han Seung-woo is an attacking one-tool, then Kim Jun-young is like an attacking and defensive two-tool?

Even both of those abilities were at an excellent level, if not adequate.

‘That guy will definitely go pro. Maybe not this year, but next year. At the latest, the year after next.’

It would be nice if the three most capable guys leave at once, but it’s okay if they don’t. All I need is for them to leave and do a great job.

“Um. Coaches, come here for a moment.”

“Yes, sir.”

I thought we would easily win this tournament since we crossed the Taebaek Mountains in the quarterfinals, but that doesn’t seem to be the case.

then······.

Just as he was about to give instructions on tactics, a scream suddenly erupted from the stands.

For a moment, I looked out onto the field to see what was going on, and something strange was happening.

‘What? I just saw that Kim Min-woo was holding the ball?’

In that brief moment, Kim Jun-young was holding the ball and dribbling it.

As Jinwigo’s defense swarmed in, he passed the ball to Han Seung-woo and penetrated again. Then, when Han Seung-woo threw the ball into space again, Kim Jun-young ran alone.

Jinwigo’s defense collapsed so suddenly that it was incomprehensible for a moment.

And 1v1 with the goalkeeper. The opponent knew that Kim Jun-young had scored a goal with a chip shot, so he didn’t leave the goal, and Kim Jun-young easily scored a goal by kicking the ball despite the goalkeeper being there.

“Wow!”

Is this what it means to blow your nose without using your hands?

The final of the last competition was also a soccer match between Kim Min-woo and Kim Jun-young, and this time it was the same!

Eugene Yoo, who was about to give tactical instructions, hugged the coaches and rejoiced.

“I won!”

Isn’t this Suyang High School’s winning pattern?

1 point = win the game.

We were a team that could put in but couldn’t eat.

***

“Gooooooooo! Kim Jun-young! It’s Kim Jun-young’s goal that saved Suyang High School from being mired in the swamp!”

“Ahhh! This is a similar development, although the scene and result are different from the first half! Suyang High School blocked Jinwi High School’s solo chance, but Jinwi High School failed to block it and ended up conceding a goal!”

The casters and commentators shouted excitedly.

The first goal came in the 69th minute of the second half.

It was an even more valuable goal because Suyang High School was on the rise throughout the game.

“Ahh! Really! Kim Min-woo! Okay, the replay is coming out!”

Although Kim Jun-young scored the goal, it was the caster Choi Jun-ho who called out Kim Min-woo.

The entire process of the goal was shown in the replay scene.

Kim Min-woo’s goal kick was the start.

Kim Min-woo’s goal kick flew accurately and was delivered in front of Kim Jun-young, and with his dribbling, when the defense turned towards him, Kim Jun-young broke down the defense with one pass.

Han Seung-woo, who received a pass and ran for a while, passed the ball to Kim Jun-young as the defense gathered around him again.

After that, Kim Jun-young’s quick run led to the goal.

The goalkeeper blocked the goal, but he was just a scarecrow. He couldn’t stop Kim Jun-young’s toes.

“Kim Min-woo! As commentator Park Jun-seo said, wow! Of course, Kim Jun-young and Han Seung-woo made great goal kicks!”

“Yes! Kim Min-woo’s goal kick was crucial! Jinwigo’s solid defense collapsed with just that one kick! It was a goal kick that couldn’t have come at this time!”

“Ah! That was the best scene a goalkeeper could show! Although, it won’t be included in the goal participation record······.”

The two commentators chattered excitedly for a while.

The picture of Suyang High School’s victory was gradually taking shape, and isn’t the story of an underdog’s victory always touching?

***

“Now let’s focus and block it well.”

He consoled the delighted defense.

Phew. I’m glad it worked.

‘It was a good thing I saved it.’

The trait ‘Quick and Accurate Kick’ can only be used once per match, so it is rarely used unless it is certain.

Jinwigo looked disorganized in the second half, and I used my trait to take advantage of the gap that could only happen once.

The results were successful.

Kim Jun-young, who received a goal kick, created a goal through a collaborative play with Han Seung-woo.

Now there was only one thing left to do.

That’s what Suyang High School is good at.

Space defense!

“All defense!”

The coaching staff also gave such an order. Yeah. People’s thoughts are all the same.

All the field players rushed into full defense, and Yoo Jin-ho stopped the bus in front of the penalty box as if he was not going to give them any angle to hit.

Nevertheless, Jinwigo came in and criticized it well.

These are the guys who somehow create empty space and break through it.

Suyang High School players fought back desperately against them.

They just engage in physical contact, grab, and block the opponent just enough that the referee doesn’t call a foul.

As we went into full defense, no matter how much the opponent attacked with all their might, there weren’t as many scoring chances as before.

Even our team is good at counterattacking, so we can’t just attack blindly.

And so time passed tick by.

It must have been frustrating for everyone watching, as sighs erupted from the audience as Jinwigo’s attacks kept getting blocked.

The ground was about to collapse with that sigh.

and······.

Beep- beep- beep-!

The familiar final whistle sound.

We stopped it again and won.

As soon as the whistle blows, the Jinwi High School players collapse on the ground as if they have used up all their stamina, and the Suyang High School players start running around the field, unable to contain their joy.

‘It’s hard.’

I feel like my head is going to burst from concentrating so hard.

I took a deep breath and was about to collapse on my seat when I made eye contact with my family watching from the audience.

It was his second win, so he seemed a little restrained in his excitement.

But my family was clearly looking at me with pride, and a smile came to my lips without me realizing it.

My younger sister, Kim Shin-ah, noticed my gaze and waved enthusiastically, while my mother, next to her, waved a little more calmly. Even my father nodded as if he was proud.

I almost fell over, but I managed to gather my strength and stand on the ground.

And he raised both arms in joy.

Now there’s just one step left to go pro.

Let’s go.

End

ⓒ Doctor Am

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