00016 In the Spotlight ------------------------------------------------------------------------=
Rumors cannot be stopped, and the more one tries to stop them, the faster they spread, eventually getting stamped as fact.
Frankfurt had tried its best to suppress the rumors circulating among football officials, but the situation had reached a point where those who were going to know already knew, and even a local football media outlet had released a story about Minjun.
Consequently, at least within the Frankfurt region, Minjun had become a child of considerable interest, leaving the club with no choice but to show concern.
If too much attention fell upon a child, it could create pressure that prevented him from displaying his abilities, or arrogance could develop and his character could crumble. They had managed this aspect thus far, so when this crisis arrived, they very sensitively monitored how Minjun's attitude was changing.
But...
"No particular changes?"
"There are... no changes. He's exactly the same as before. He always arrives first and works the hardest......"
"I-is that so?"
"At school too, he still gets along well with Schmidt and the others."
"Haha, this is truly the real deal among real deals......"
At the five-month mark since Minjun had joined the D-League, just as with the E-League, he had become the center of the D-League before anyone realized it, displaying an un-childlike neutrality and leading the other children.
It was youth soccer where the captain was not fixed and rotated sequentially, but in reality, Minjun had become the leader, and the team operated around him.
And their record was six wins and three draws.
Considering their first-half record had been three wins, ten losses, and two draws, they were writing a truly incomparable record, and the children couldn't help but acknowledge it.
After Minjun arrived, the team's performance had improved considerably, and games that seemed certain to end in defeat were ending in draws or victories.
"I was incredibly worried, not knowing what to do if Minjun became arrogant. Truthfully, isn't Minjun's influence in the D-League enormous? The way the children approach training has changed greatly too."
"That's right. He makes you feel... like you want to do it together with him."
"Yes. And because he's so witty, he turns even difficult training into a very fun atmosphere, so he's extremely popular among us staff as well. But... I was so anxious watching over him, worried that he would get swept up in this atmosphere and change. Phew... but to the point where I can say 'as expected,' I only confirmed that Minjun remains diligent and is indeed outstanding footballing material."
At the staff member's appearance of delighting as if it were his own affair, Coach Bernhardt also nodded in satisfaction, but soon scratched his head.
"Something like this... another club would check it as a plus factor... and lure him with even sweeter offers."
"Hmm... but shouldn't you stop worrying about that now? Both Minjun and Mr. Daniel have firm wills."
"That may be true... but the moment Minjun rises to the C-League... and enters the B-League will become a very dangerous situation for us. That's when the big-market clubs lying in wait will come rushing in. Well, I suppose the front office will handle it."
"Well, I suppose so. Haha."
Coach Bernhardt was curious what the club would have to do to seem appealing to Minjun and make him debut here, but as the staff member had said, he considered it a matter of the quite distant future, so he set it aside and shelved such complicated thoughts about Minjun.
Thinking that if they continued to show Minjun as much goodwill as they did now and maintained a stable, positive atmosphere, he would surely remain here.
* * *
"Minjun, you're totally killing it these days, huh?"
"Right. He keeps scoring goals too. The D-League guys are strutting around with their shoulders all puffed up, bragging about being undefeated in the second half."
"Ugh~ I was more annoyed listening to Jonathan brag about how his older brother recorded attacking points in three straight games. I don't know why he's so passionate about his brother's business."
"Hehe, ignoring Jonathan just makes him sulky again, and calming him down becomes a whole task... so it's better to just listen even if it's tiring. And Jonathan's older brother is a pretty nice person."
Jonathan was a child attending the same school as Minjun and Schmidt.
He was usually quiet, but when football came up, he became very passionate, so they often talked, and after learning that Jonathan's older brother was in Frankfurt's youth academy, they had grown close.
The children had thought his personality wasn't bad and that he was a decent kid, so at first they got along without issue, but it turned out Jonathan liked football to the point of obsession beyond mere passion, and he unleashed it upon Minjun and Schmidt, who had now become his friends.
Perhaps not satisfied with just his own brother, he would find out how Minjun, Schmidt, and the other children practiced and even what they ate, keeping records of it all... and if they refused, he would get sulky and stay that way for quite a while.
The children found it annoying, but they understood Jonathan's behavior because there was a reason he showed such extreme reactions to anything related to football. Jonathan had had a weak heart since birth and couldn't exercise strenuously, so he greatly admired his older brother, who was becoming a wonderful football player with a healthy body, and he became more and more immersed in football, turning out this way.
For that reason, he was proud that his brother was a football player, and Minjun, who belonged to the same youth academy as his brother and was even featured in the local football press, was an object of admiration as wonderful as his brother to him. And Schmidt and the others, who played with this object of his admiration, were likewise objects of admiration.
"Well, that's true, but sometimes when Jonathan asks me questions like that... I feel like I've become a superstar. You know, like I'm being interviewed by a reporter?"
"Yeah! I felt that too. Hehe. Maybe that's why I end up working harder. Like I feel I wouldn't live up to Jonathan's expectations or something."
"Hey, hey, why did we suddenly switch from talking about me to Jonathan? I was about to show off how cool I am to the fullest."
As the atmosphere loosened up a bit with Jonathan being mentioned, Minjun spat out even more playful words to dispel his embarrassment at his friends' praise, and Schmidt crumpled up a tissue lying on the floor and threw it with a huff as he spoke.
"Cool? What cool... the moment we open our mouths, your coolness just comes crumbling down. You look like you'd be good at everything, but you're completely hopeless with machines."
"Right. Last time, you couldn't plug the earphones into the hole right and grumbled that the tape player wasn't making sound. And before that, you said that without even putting in the batteries."
"You're good at soccer and good at studying... how are you only like that with machines? Tsk tsk. Come to think of it, you can't even play video games well among us."
The children, prickling at the word "cool," hurled continuous, playful criticisms, whereupon Minjun, as if he had suffered a fatal wound, put on a playful expression and collapsed, and the children all giggled as they watched him.
"Hehe... see, that's what you get for showing off!"
"Hey! You were the one who said it first. Wow... you guys are too much. Eat your pizza! Tch."
"Ah. Is that so? Well, anyway, we were trying to praise you because you've been doing so well lately. Krr~ you're getting stronger and stronger."
As Schmidt picked up a piece of pizza and munched while talking, Minjun too picked up a slice and spoke while eating.
"There was something in a book about how practicing ball control with a tennis ball is really good—gulp—so I started about a month ago? Around then. It seems effective."
"Really? You should've told us about that right away!"
"How could I recommend it when I didn't know if it was effective or not? And what I'm reading is a book I brought from Korea, so I thought they would've already been doing it in Germany first."
His father, Suman, had brought a whole load of football-related books, and Minjun had stored them here at their hideout, looking through them occasionally. He had happened to see the tennis ball training method and was following it.
"Hm... that makes sense. Well, anyway, you do it with a tennis ball?"
"Yeah. It's pretty good. Anyway, let's eat quickly. We have to practice heading. If I drop it this time, next time we gather here, I'm buying pizza and drinks too. I will... never forget the allowance I spent today. Grr!"
At those words, Schmidt made a smirk and said,
"Hmph, guys, don't you think we'll be feasting again next time we come here?"
"Seems like it."
"Hehe, right? Why did you talk nonsense about receiving everything even though your timing is a mess?"
It had been a spirited declaration from Minjun, who had wanted to succeed at heading from any position and in any posture, and perhaps because of that, his allowance was being completely drained every time in this heading training, so Minjun let out a sigh.
"Sigh... I must've been crazy. But a man keeps his word!"
"You'll shout 'man' and empty your pockets. Well... we're grateful, at least."
"Tsk. Is that so? You guys wouldn't accept it even if I took it back anyway!"
"Of course. We have to make an effort to uphold our friend's principles. That's what best friends are for!"
At Schmidt's statement, Minjun eventually declared surrender, stuffed his mouth full of pizza, and chewed, taking solace in the fact that his technical growth recorded in Football Edit had been improving markedly lately.
---------------------------= Author's Afterword ---------------------------=
Hello there!!
If I were to just gloss over the youth portion...
it would severely lack plausibility;
so I'm writing this, so please bear with meㅠ.