After Coach Jo Seungju left for China, Jang Unhyeong took Choi Sangwoo home.
He explained to his wife that Choi Sangwoo was a relative of Coach Jo Seungju.
He had decided there was no point in going into detail about Choi Mincheol.
His wife knew that Jang Unhyeong had been indebted to Coach Jo Seungju during his time on the national team, so she took Choi Sangwoo in without a word of complaint.
Afterward, Jang Unhyeong looked into Choi Mincheol.
And he learned a few things.
Coach Jo Seungju had taken Choi Sangwoo under his wing not simply because he was close to Choi Mincheol.
The very person who had inflicted the injury that ended Choi Mincheol's playing career was Coach Jo Seungju.
Of course, Coach Jo Seungju hadn't done it intentionally.
It had simply been bad luck.
He had reportedly suffered from guilt for a long time over the thought that he had ruined Choi Mincheol's life.
Perhaps he had still not escaped that guilt even now.
"I looked after that kid for half a year too."
The man drinking coffee in front of Jang Unhyeong was Gwak Dojin of the Football Association.
"You too, sunbae?"
"I'm talking about Jo sunbae. He never got married, you know. So he asked this junior and that junior for all kinds of favors."
It seemed many others had taken Choi Sangwoo in as well.
But Choi Sangwoo showed no sign of it.
Perhaps he had learned how to hide such signs after moving from household to household.
* * *
"Sunbae, how do you rate Sangwoo's ability?"
"Ability?"
Gwak Dojin tilted his head.
He seemed to be asking what kind of nonsense that was.
"What ability could that kid possibly have?"
"His shots are impressive."
"That kid plays soccer?"
"He's quite good?"
Gwak Dojin narrowed his eyes.
"Like father, like son?"
"He wasn't playing soccer when you took him in, hyung?"
"They said he couldn't stand the very word 'soccer.'"
"How did that happen?"
"Who knows."
* * *
Gwak Dojin put a cigarette in his mouth—one he didn't often smoke. At that, Jang Unhyeong shrugged.
"The price of cigarettes has gone up, so you should quit. Besides, most places are non-smoking indoors now."
Gwak Dojin said, flicking his lighter.
"In this rough world, if I can't even smoke, how am I supposed to live?"
"Life at the Football Association... doesn't look easy."
Gwak Dojin narrowed his eyes.
"Pressure from above, being pulled from outside, and the staffers are left to suffer. Damn it, if I'd played better as a player, I'd be managing some team by now."
To think a sunbae who had gone to the World Cup as a national team defender would say such things.
It seemed things weren't going as smoothly as one might think at the Football Association.
"When was it that you took Sangwoo in, sunbae?"
"Last year."
"Huh?"
"Why are you so surprised?"
"Well... doesn't that mean he's only been playing soccer for a year? I can't believe he could develop so much in such a short time."
Choi Sangwoo's skill was that of a boy who had played soccer for at least five or six years.
Trapping, dribbling, shooting...
His shooting, in particular, hinted at an innate gift.
'To think he could develop to this extent in just a year? Unbelievable.'
Jang Unhyeong indulged Gwak Dojin's complaints for about thirty minutes before rising from his seat.
If Gwak Dojin's words were true, he might have stumbled upon an incredible gem.
* * *
Name: Choi Sangwoo.
Age: fifteen this year.
Substitute on the Gangnam Middle School soccer team.
An orphan abandoned by his parents.
Seven years since losing his father.
Unable to devote his heart to anything, he had simply drifted aimlessly through life.
He didn't even have the courage to rebel and go astray like the delinquents who frequently appeared on TV.
No, it would be more accurate to say he lacked the luxury to go astray, rather than the courage.
The delinquents on TV had at least relatives or grandparents to catch them when they fell.
But he didn't even have that kind of relative.
If Coach Jo Seungju hadn't taken him in, he would have been shuffled between child protection facilities.
It was a life lived without dreams or hope, as the saying goes.
That dreamless, hopeless life had changed one year ago.
One year ago.
Choi Sangwoo could no longer endure the voice echoing in his head.
'Play soccer!'
'Play soccer!'
'Play soccer!'
The painfully repeating message made him consider going to the hospital.
But he didn't have the money for that.
Moreover, if it was revealed he had a mental illness, he might be kicked out of the place he was staying in.
In the end, Choi Sangwoo decided to try playing soccer.
"You want to play soccer?"
"Can I join in too?"
"There's no reason you can't."
He inserted himself among the kids playing on the school field.
A moment later, his head cleared as if by magic.
The message was no longer audible.
Choi Sangwoo thought everything was solved. But this was only the beginning.
[ Score a goal in a match ]
- Time Limit: 30 days / Reward Points: 10
A message floated before his eyes, as if he had received a quest in a game.
'What is this? Who on earth is giving me this kind of quest?'
It felt like he was trapped in a bad dream.
But he had no choice but to follow the message.
'If I miss the 30-day deadline, that message will fill my head again just like before. I can't just let that happen.'
He charged toward the goal.
But all his attempts ended in failure.
They were just neighborhood kids, but they weren't about to let a novice like Choi Sangwoo score on them.
Choi Sangwoo scored his first goal two days before the deadline.
Moreover, it wasn't a goal created by his own strength, but one he'd capitalized on after an opponent's mistake.
'W-well, I got lucky.'
The moment he let out an inward sigh, a message appeared before his eyes.
[ Score a goal in a match ] (Complete)
- Obtained 10 points.
[ Dribble past an opponent's defender ]
- Time Limit: 30 days / Reward: 10 points
'So the quests don't end with just one?'
He concluded that in order to clear the repeating quests, he had no choice but to play soccer regularly.
* * *
"You want to learn soccer? Good thinking. I'll look into the equipment and a team for you."
Coach Jo Seungju gladly recommended Choi Sangwoo to a youth team.
Choi Sangwoo thought this meant everything would work out fine.
But the trials were only beginning.
The youth team Jo Seungju recommended was renowned as a prestigious one.
"Your fundamentals are lacking. It's impossible for you to play in matches until you've built them up."
"The other kids have been playing for over five years. Watch from the bench for the time being."
The coaches made him a substitute among substitutes.
He had only kicked the ball around with neighborhood kids a few times, so it was actually a natural result.
Most of the youth team kids had at least five years of experience.
Choi Sangwoo thought about going back to the neighborhood kids.
If he only thought about the current quest, going back made it much more likely he would complete it.
But he soon changed his mind.
'I don't know what quests will come up in the future. To prepare for them, it's better to improve my soccer skills.'
Choi Sangwoo gritted his teeth and plunged into soccer like a madman for an entire year.