00021 Agent ------------------------------------------------------------------------=
Daniel, having taken a sip of the juice Gyeongsuk had set down, looked at the man standing before him with a nervous expression and spoke.
"Hmm, an agent… It certainly seems about time Minjun had a proper one attached to him."
"I was well aware that you, Mr. Daniel, have been handling various matters for Minjun quite capably, which is why I hesitated… However, I have come to the conclusion that if he is to advance into the professional world going forward, someone like me, who has built a wider network of connections, must be by Minjun's side."
"My, my. Those are words I cannot tell whether they are confidence or arrogance. I don't know a thing about you, after all. Have you produced any accomplishments worth mentioning?"
At that, he opened a file containing a scrapbook of materials documenting his successful transfer cases and began to speak.
"As you can see, I have transferred many players from the Portuguese league to Spain, England, and so on. Although I have been working as an agent focused on the Portuguese league, I now intend to focus my activities on Europe's big leagues through the network I have built up in the football world until now."
"Hmm. What you're saying is that you do not particularly have a foundation here right now. Looking over the players… as you said, most are Portuguese, and the focus is centered on these two leagues: the Premier League and the Primera Liga. There is one in Serie A as well."
When Daniel pointed out that this meant he had absolutely no connections in the Bundesliga, he took a small deep breath and soon spoke.
"I hope you won't limit Minjun to the Bundesliga. And… with Minjun as the starting point, I plan to build up a substantial network in the Bundesliga. Minjun is not merely a client or a business partner to me; he is someone who will make my dreams come true… and for Minjun, I will strive to build an infrastructure in the Bundesliga. Furthermore… the preparations are already complete. Once Minjun is on board, we need only execute."
Seeing him speak as if everything were prepared and anything would be possible once Minjun came on board, Daniel thought he was bluffing. But then the man produced something akin to a business plan and handed it to him separately, and Daniel couldn't help but be quite surprised.
"Hoo… Who are these people?"
"Yes. These are people from various clubs in the Bundesliga who have been sending love calls to Minjun. I came to Germany and worked hard to build close relationships with them, and if Minjun becomes my client, they will contribute greatly to raising Minjun's value even higher."
"Heh heh heh, well, I'll be. Agents truly are remarkable. And among them, you seem to have the greatest nerve. The truth is… while many club officials have come to Minjun, not a single agent has come. You are the first."
"I am aware. Most people thought that you, Mr. Daniel, were his agent, since you have been his guardian and have handled the club affairs with Frankfurt so well up until now. After all, it is quite common in the sports world for family members to act as agents."
"Exactly. In this cutthroat world, there is no one more trustworthy than family."
As soon as Daniel brought up the subject of trust, the man—who had been speaking at length about his plans—swallowed dryly and said,
"The kind of agent I pursue is one where, ultimately, the football player devotes himself entirely to football, while I support him from behind. As I mentioned earlier, I do not seek merely to provide benefits to the player and call it done; I pursue a bond greater than that. The kind of bond where we could go to hell together."
The moment he uttered the words about pursuing a bond that could go to hell together, Daniel looked into his eyes. The unwavering pupils and gaze filled with determination certainly inspired trust, and Daniel spoke what he had been thinking.
"To be honest, I had been planning to entrust Minjun to an agent who focuses intensively on youth players. I have many friends in the football world, so I can more or less figure out their characters quickly, and I was going to pick the best fellow for the job."
"…"
"I have nothing but the wish for Minjun to achieve his dream. My wife and I, as well as Minjun's great-aunt and great-uncle… but we have no children of our own, so we have been raising that boy as our son."
Daniel vividly recalled Minjun coming to Germany, going fishing with him, watching football together and cheering enthusiastically, walking here and there around Frankfurt together, and continued speaking with a deep smile.
"I know my emotions are getting the better of me… but that is how we have been pushing Minjun forward from behind. Can you do the same?"
"Did I not tell you? Even if we fall into hell together, I will passionately support him from there as a supporter."
"Keu~ I must say again, you certainly have guts. Do you know why I called you straight out to this place?"
"Was it not to size me up?"
"No, there is one more reason besides that. It was to gauge whether you read the flow well. And you read it very well indeed. You already understand well the things I have only come to know after growing old through the years. You know the timing to press and withdraw, when to speak and when to listen."
At Daniel's praise about reading the flow well, he smiled broadly as if in a very good mood, and Daniel thought the young friend was impressive.
"You said your name was Jorge? I will discuss you thoroughly with Minjun. I have a feeling that you, of all people, will take very good care of Minjun."
"Th-thank you!"
"There is no need to thank me when we haven't even signed a contract yet. Besides, I only give advice to Minjun; he has made every decision himself up until now. Up until now, I have done nothing but discuss matters with the club as his guardian. Minjun has been extremely mature since he was young… so that was all I could do for him."
At the fact that the decisions were entirely Minjun's, Jorge recalled his first meeting with Minjun and let out a sigh.
"Sigh…"
"Hm? Why the sigh?"
"It's just… the moment I pressed the doorbell for my first meeting with Minjun, I somehow ended up meeting him like this……"
"I know. Minjun brought you here from there like that."
"Tsk. I showed a rather clumsy side there. I was so startled to see Minjun that I stammered through my introduction."
"What? Puhaha! You really are an interesting fellow."
Daniel found Jorge's remark quite amusing and burst into laughter for quite some time; the clumsy appearance seemed humane and inspired trust.
It was because he was certain that, given how seriously Jorge seemed to regard Minjun, he would not treat Minjun carelessly.
And he figured that since Jorge had shown such a clumsy side to Minjun, Minjun wouldn't feel such a strong sense of rejection either. In fact, after letting Jorge into the house, Minjun had called him an "interesting mister" and gone up to his room.
Regardless, Jorge could only let out a sigh of regret, unable to forget how his first meeting with Minjun had gone and the way Minjun had looked at him then—as if regarding him as a very amusing person.
* * *
"An agent… It certainly has been a topic among the kids these days. There were kids chattering about how you have to do this or that to sign a professional contract. They whisper that there are older guys worrying about offers from other teams, so this place seems a bit different from the C-League."
The B-League was a group with kids who could sign professional contracts, so the atmosphere was quite different from other existing youth leagues.
From the way the children trained, one could call them semi-pros without exaggeration, and there were children who conversed in a more adult-like manner.
So he had found it off-putting at first, but thinking that he shouldn't be put off by such things, he had gone around listening carefully here and there to gather information.
"That's right. So you need someone who can make it so you don't have to worry about such things and can just focus on playing football. However… I am already too old to do such things. And my behind is too heavy to do more than pull a few strings for you with a handful of clubs at best."
"Hmm… For now, I plan on staying active in Frankfurt. In that case, I think Grandpa Daniel would be much better."
"That may be so. But if you think of the wider market, it is undeniable that someone who has built infrastructure in other leagues, even if their German foundation is a bit lacking, is preferable. I asked my friends to look over the materials he left behind, and while he isn't big yet, they said he is definitely a small but elite agent with tremendous competence."
Watching Daniel offer praise after praise as if he had taken quite a liking to him, Minjun could only recall him stammering, seemingly startled at the sight of him.
Other than that, his only impression had been that Jorge seemed quite docile.
Thus, while he could not empathize with Daniel's continuous praise, knowing that he was not superior to Daniel when it came to judging people, he nodded in agreement.
"But still, I wish you would do it, Grandpa Daniel. At least while I'm in Frankfurt. Is it… too much to ask of you?"
"Hardship? To me, it is a great joy. And he already spoke about that part as well. He said he would give me the rank of department head in his company and put me in charge of you exclusively within Frankfurt. It seems work fortune is striking in my old age, heh heh."
"He said you could do it that way?"
"Yes. He wants to catch you even if it means doing so. He said he can only start in the Bundesliga if you are with him."
At Daniel's words, Minjun pondered for a long while before soon concluding that his life would not change much for the next few years, nodding in acceptance. Having acquired a professional agent he had heard about from some of the other kids, he felt a strange sentiment.
Of course, he was a bit worried because Jorge gave off a somewhat clumsy feeling.
---------------------------= Author's Afterword ---------------------------=
Actually, besides Jorge...
I was going to use a different super agent this time...
Well, what does it matter who the agent is?
Since some have asked for his current age, I will answer.
It is 2002, and he is 16 in Korean age.
He has to turn 17, so he still has some rolling around to do.
^^