Shooting Trajectory is Visible - Chapter 9



Only Krnovel

My eyes opened wide.

I turned over and checked my phone, and it was an hour before the alarm was set.

“Oh my···.”

He chuckled.

There are times when I wake up before the alarm goes off.

I don’t know if it’s because I’ve gained stamina, or if I woke up early because I was excited about the match today.

but.

I jumped out of bed and tried to wash my face, to get the boogers out of my eyes and to wake up.

But it already had an owner.

Chikachika-

Kim Shin-ah was brushing her teeth while wearing a face wash band. She glanced at me through the mirror and then raised her other hand to wave me out.

Of course, he didn’t leave just like that.

“What’s wrong with you? Why are you up so early?”

“And you?”

My pronunciation was not clear because I was brushing my teeth, but it was heard clearly.

“I asked first.”

Kim Shin-ah responded by waving her hand again. I sighed and walked across the kitchen, stopping in front of the refrigerator.

Since it’s come to this, I might as well have a sip of water.

I took out the water bottle, took out a cup, and drank some of it.

I felt strange as I looked at the dawn sky through the balcony window.

It felt exactly like the day we left for the school trip.

“Soccer, you’re still playing, right?”

Kim Shin-ah, who had just come out of the bathroom, said that to me as I was drinking water in the kitchen.

“What does it matter?”

“···Do you really intend to continue?”

“I’m going to decide soon.”

“Ugh.”

Kim Shin-ah shook her head and went into her room. I went into the bathroom to wash my face and while I was killing time on my phone, wasn’t Kim Shin-ah trying to leave in her school uniform?

“Hey. Are you leaving already? Why are you leaving so quickly?”

“What does it matter?”

“what!”

Kim Shin-ah just repeated what I said and left.

She’s a younger sister I really don’t like.

If she was a boy, I would have beaten her up to establish the pecking order, but she’s a girl and pretty, so whenever I try to do something, she runs to her dad and nags, so I can’t do anything.

“Ugh.”

I tried doing a few chin-ups right away while stretching and visiting the chin-ups I had installed. I think I feel a little better now.

*

I arrived at school and started fiddling with my phone.

These days, just watching YouTube shorts on your phone kills time, so class time comes around in no time.

Normally, I would have pretended to listen, even if not very diligently, but today for some reason I couldn’t concentrate at all.

Even though the teacher shouted at me to concentrate because it would be on the test, I just held the pen between my nostrils and opened my lips, making a ‘woo’ sound. I wasn’t that focused.

With that kind of concentration, the first, second, and third periods passed.

Break time.

“Kim Tekka! Why don’t you play soccer with us these days? Huh?”

Im Do-hyeon, ranked third in the soccer rankings, tapped me on the shoulder and spoke to me. I responded lightly.

“If I join, the kids in other classes won’t join. It’s not balanced.”

“Hey. That’s when you play with kids from other classes. And you just have to give the other team a few points.”

“Okay. I don’t want you guys to have fun if I join, so I’m not joining.”

“Oh. You can’t join because your level is not right? This, this, I heard you joined the soccer club recently and you’re really arrogant. How’s the soccer club?”

“Soccer club?”

Im Do-hyeon nods his head and looks at us with curious eyes.

I answered with a snicker.

“Ace check is being chewed up.”

*

They say that as you get older, each day becomes shorter.

I’m only eighteen years old and still a young man, but honestly, I agree with that to some extent.

When I was in elementary school, I thought time really didn’t pass, but when I entered middle school, time seemed to pass 1.5 times faster than in elementary school, and when I entered high school, time seemed to pass 1.5 times faster again than in middle school.

So what will it be like when I graduate from high school and become an adult? If time passes so quickly now, how fast will it go when I become an adult?

Does each day pass by so quickly that you can’t even feel it?

‘They say time flies so slowly in the military…’

The distracting thoughts ended as I began my warm-up exercises after the gymnastics.

Soon we will have a match against Suyang Football Center, and when I heard that I would be a starter in that match, my whole body felt tense, excited, and the hairs on my head stood on end with anticipation.

This match was neither a neighborhood soccer match between the two teams nor a practice match between the blue and white teams. It was a match that would be officially recorded. I heard that clearly from the coach.

‘You’re using me in a game like that…’

Director Yoo Jin-ho is definitely crazy.

Now, you’re putting a guy who’s been playing soccer for a little over a week in a match against guys who’ve been playing soccer for years, if not decades.

That’s how important this match was.

If I carry Football Manager on my back but still perform below expectations, coach Yoo Jin-ho will withdraw the ironclad support he has shown me so far.

So, in common parlance, the husks are peeled off.

But what if I do a good job as a goalkeeper as coach Yoo Jin-ho expects?

‘Then I guess I really need to take soccer seriously.’

In high school football, the authority of the coach is absolute. Although its status has declined a lot compared to the past, the authority of the coach is still strong.

If the director continues to give me the same support as he does now······.

“Oh. Here we go.”

A soliloquy from one of the soccer club members.

When I turned my head to follow that guy’s gaze, it was true. On the large bus, it said ‘Suyang Football Center’ and also had an emblem symbolizing the football center. It was an emblem with two crossed swords on the face of a wolf.

Then the door opened and a bunch of stocky men started to come out. I couldn’t see them well because they were far away, but their faces looked young and they looked like they were about my age.

“Okay, the game is about to start. I’ll give you one last tactical summary. Everyone, gather around.”

The coach gathered the soccer team members.

There was a tactical board next to the manager, and there were also tactical pawns.

“We’re going to play 4-1-4-1 today. Sound familiar?”

Suyang High School’s Plan A.

Coach Yoo Jin-ho quickly moved his tactical words around and conveyed detailed tactics to the players. I nodded as if I understood and focused my eyes on the tactical board. Honestly, I don’t really know what he’s talking about.

Director Yoo Jin-ho originally gave me separate instructions: just block it like you usually do. That was it.

Well, how could a guy who has only been playing soccer for ten days really get any proper tactical instructions?

I pretended to concentrate and looked at the tactics board to check the stats I had accumulated since Football Manager became active.

[Kim Min-woo]

– Stamina: 35

-Stamina: 37

-GK Kick: 18

-GK Diving: 22

-GK reaction speed: 19

-GK position selection: 23

-GK Speed: 21

– Trait: Eye of Yasin

-Height: 185 cm

-Weight: 75 kg

==

‘Guryo···.’

I don’t know what these stats are, but they looked bad at first glance. I couldn’t compare them because I couldn’t see the stats of other soccer team members, but I was able to check my running mate’s stats.

[Kim Jun-young]

– Stamina: 63

-Stamina: 61

[Details]

Location: 61

Dribble: 63

Pass: 55

Determination: 57

Kick Power: 60

Heading: 54

Defensive Sense: 39

Intercepts: 41

Speed: 58

Agility: 62

Balance Control: 65

Body fight: 56

– Trait: Increased Stamina

Opposite foot accuracy: 1/5

Height: 183 cm

Weight: 74 kg

Dominant foot: Right foot

==

‘hmm.’

How many years did Junyoung play soccer?

I vaguely heard that he had been doing it since elementary school.

‘The stat list is different, and there are a lot of stat differences.’

Goalkeepers and strikers. It’s hard to calculate accurately because the fields are different, but the difference is roughly 30 to 40.

In other words, without the ‘Eye of Yasin’ trait that shows the trajectory in advance, I would just be a scarecrow.

It was a bit shocking to see the numbers showing how poor my soccer skills were, but it was objective enough to make me calm.

‘Yeah. It doesn’t make sense that someone who just started playing soccer has high stats.’

Besides, if you train well or play well, don’t you get good stats?

I shook my head and shook away the negative thoughts.

After the coach’s tactical instruction was over, I used the goalkeeper gloves that were rolling around in the soccer club.

The legendary Hejin goalkeeper gloves that a senior who graduated a long time ago was too lazy to throw away so he just threw them away.

I felt reluctant to borrow the equipment of existing goalkeepers and I didn’t think they would lend it to me in the first place, so I wore these used gloves.

I sniffed the opening of the gloves before putting them on and it smelled sour.

‘I should wash my hands right after the game is over.’

It was awkward, but there was nothing I could do. It’s not too late to buy soccer-related equipment when you’re serious about playing soccer.

Even the soccer cleats he used were just rolling around, so that says it all.

Now it feels like the game is about to start. I approached Kim Jun-young before the game started and tapped him on the shoulder.

Kim Jun-young looked back and said with a smile.

“Are you ready?”

“Yes. Are you ready, hyung? Just do as you usually do and there will be no problem.”

“Okay. You too, just do as you usually do. Don’t get excited for no reason.”

“Hehehe. Yes.”

I had to look after Kim Jun-young’s safety.

There was another reason.

[Official first match!]

[The amount of experience points accumulated varies depending on the activity level of the player and running mate.]

If we’re going to do it, let’s do it well. If we do worse than usual, it’s disappointing, and if we do worse than expected, we get kicked out.

Before the game started, we gathered in the center circle and had a handshake ceremony. Looking at the faces of the opposing players, it didn’t seem easy.

To add a little more tension, there were even spectators at this game.

In the stands, there were adults who appeared to be the parents of the soccer team members gathered together and were gossiping, but since I had no connection with them, I felt even more nervous.

***

Kim Shin-ah walked home from school laughing and chatting with her friends.

Because of club activities, I got home from school later than usual.

Shin-ah joined the dance club, so she came to school early today and practiced choreography to a song with her club members.

The choreography we practiced is Hyper Boy by YoungJeans, which is said to be the most popular these days.

They have been practicing hard recently to perform on stage at a festival before the summer vacation.

Not only did I have to learn the choreography for Hyper Boy, but I also had to learn the choreography for Titto, a song by the same girl group.

In fact, it was a very big decision for Shin-ah, who disliked standing in front of others, to join a dance club.

I would never have joined if it weren’t for my friend’s constant persuasion.

And when the dance club I joined said they were going to perform on stage at a festival, I really threw a tantrum and thought about quitting.

However, even after much persuasion from my friends (who asked me when we would ever get to stand on stage in front of hundreds of people), I was able to promise to go on stage, but my heart still races when I think about that day that will come someday.

“Huh? Why is there a bus···.”

There was a large bus parked inside the school that we would ride on school trips. I looked at the playground wondering what it was and it seemed like a soccer match was taking place.

Kim Shin-ah, who suddenly thought of her older brother, shouted to her friends, “Wait a minute,” and ran to the stands overlooking the stadium just in case.

But what the heck.

“What? You’re even competing now?”

Kim Shin-ah looks at her older brother Kim Min-woo with a bewildered expression.

There were referees wearing yellow and referees wearing red, so it was a proper match.

And her older brother was loitering in front of the goal during the game. He was far away, but Kim Shin-ah, who had 2.0 eyesight, could see him clearly.

“under?”

I told him not to do that.

“Shina? Why are you here all of a sudden?”

Her friends followed her around and looked around. Shin-ah felt her stomach turn, but she answered in a calm tone.

“Oh, yeah. Sorry, do you guys want to go first today?”

“Huh? Why? For what reason?”

“It’s nothing special… I know someone who is running. He’s someone I’m close with, so I wanted to go and check it out.”

Her friends were speculating whether it was a crush or a crush, but Kim Shin-ah didn’t say anything and just sent them away.

Kim Shin-ah, who was so dumbfounded, sat in the stands and rested her chin on her hand.

“That doesn’t make sense···.”

Were you this serious about soccer?

No, how long has it been since you played soccer and you’re already playing in a game like this? Does that make sense?

Kim Shin-ah made all sorts of guesses, but then finally started to focus on the game with the mindset of, “Okay, let’s see how good he is to do this.”

End

ⓒ Doctor Am

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