In the universe we inhabit, there exists a law called ‘inertia.’
I’m not particularly good at science, so I can’t explain it in detail, but from what I roughly know.
All objects possess a property that tries to maintain their current state, and that is called inertia.
And I know that we, too, are included among those objects.
Therefore, since we humans are nothing more than a single object from the universe’s perspective.
We cannot be free from the law of inertia.
I think this doesn’t merely talk about a law of physics; it also includes our lives.
The ‘me’ formed by the amalgamation of innate temperament, surrounding environment, life experiences, and so on.
Such a being called ‘me’ is an existence that continuously advances from the past toward the future.
Because time never flows backward; it always moves forward.
Having boarded that train called time, we too have no choice but to be carried forward.
Thanks to that, we live according to inertia, and that is a natural thing that makes sense.
We live today as we did yesterday, and we live tomorrow as we did today.
Unless some force strong enough to defy inertia acts upon us, we have no choice but to live that way.
I think this might be the reason people say that humans don’t change easily.
From the very start, the structure is such that change is unnatural. That’s what this is.
Just as it takes a tremendous force to keep from falling over in a train that suddenly brakes while speeding, and just as it takes an enormous amount of strength to do more than merely brace yourself—to push back against it.
If we want to become someone different from who we were yesterday, we must pour in tremendous energy.
Just hearing about it tells you it’s no easy task.
The effort to defy inertia is, in itself, inevitably a challenge.
So, to be honest.
I tend to agree with those words.
The saying that people don’t change easily, that is.
To be truly honest.
I think there is only so much we can change through effort alone.
To create a dramatic change large enough to alter one’s life, effort is certainly necessary, but.
I believe you also absolutely need the assistance of some other great force.
And that great force is luck.
Fortune.
Without it, I too would definitely have.
Been running in a different direction from where I am now.
“Do you have a girlfriend?”
“Huh? Ah, no...”
“Ah, I see. Then, is there someone you like?”
“Uh... well...”
“There is, isn’t there?”
“...”
At my question, the fourteen-year-old kid hangs his head and flushes.
Seeing that figure feels like looking at my past self, and I let out a chuckle.
Hmm, no, that’s not right.
If it were the old me, I would have played dumb and said there was no one; in that respect, this friend is better than I was.
“Then you’ll have to work even harder.”
“...Why?”
“Why do you think? You have to show her a cool side of you. To do that, you need to work harder.”
After tying my shoelaces, I stand up from my seat.
I visited the Under-17 team’s training ground on this rare day off.
I had received a request from the coach asking if I could briefly tutor a friend here who was similar to me.
So I came gladly.
In the past, I would have refused, asking who was I to teach anyone.
Who was I to say anything?
I thought it absurd for someone like me, who could barely take care of himself, to give advice to another.
It was a bit embarrassing, too.
But a few months ago, I changed my way of thinking.
Of course, my belief that advice shouldn’t be given carelessly hadn’t changed; but I shifted toward thinking that I shouldn’t be embarrassed by these kinds of encounters.
The reason I changed my thinking?
Just as I had met Jiu in a corner of the school classroom.
Because I realized that, for someone out there, meeting me even for a brief moment could be the stroke of luck that changes their life.
“Shall we start with a light warm-up?”
“Y-yes, sir.”
A couple of months ago, I received contact from Mateo.
I thought it would be the usual greeting we exchanged from time to time, but he sent a few photos.
At first, I couldn’t tell what the photos were even looking at them.
They were photos of a handsome man with short blond hair, but I couldn’t recognize who it was, so I couldn’t understand why Mateo had sent them.
So I asked, and the answer I got was a bit shocking.
He said they were pictures of himself.
Only after hearing that answer did I look closely and see Mateo’s face.
That’s how healthy Mateo looked in the photos.
Mateo, who said he’d held back for months after being discharged because he wanted to surprise me, told me he had completed his treatment well and was healthy, and thanked me, saying these words.
That if I hadn’t come to the hospital then, he wouldn’t have been able to return to daily life like this; that because of that small piece of luck, his whole life had changed.
It made me think it was truly a relief and a good thing, while at the same time making me reflect on myself once more.
The thought that I could be someone’s luck made me grateful for everything.
So, hoping that more friends like Mateo could come into my life in the future.
I decided never to shy away from opportunities like this if they arose.
“How long ago did you say you joined the team?”
“Um, uh... it’s been four months now.”
“Have you gotten closer with your friends?”
“Um... a little...?”
I’d heard there was a friend from Korea who was similar to me, but the more I looked at him, the more he seemed to share a personality like mine.
They said his talent surpassed even the hyungs who were three or four years older.
For some reason, his timid appearance looks just like I’m looking at myself.
Which probably means he isn’t adapting easily to life overseas.
“It’s best to get close to them as fast as you can. That shows on the pitch, too.”
“Ah... yes.”
“...Hey, that’s not a good habit. Ending with one-word answers. You have to keep the conversation going to get close to your friends.”
“Ah...”
“This won’t do. You ask the questions. Anything you’ve been curious about, or make something up if you have to.”
The friend hesitates.
Without pressuring him, I wait while stretching, and the friend, stretching along with me, throws out a question.
“Um, you know.”
“Yeah.”
“What does it feel like... to win the Ballon d’Or?”
“The Ballon d’Or?”
“Yes...”
“Well...”
I answer with a grin.
“Hard to say. There’s no way to put it into words. Just that it feels incredible.”
“Ah...”
“So you’ll just have to feel it for yourself later. Then you’ll know what I mean.”
At those words, the friend’s eyes go wide and he shakes his head urgently.
“Ah, no way. Me, of all people?”
“Why? What’s wrong with you?”
“...It’s not something just anyone can win. Only geniuses among geniuses can receive it...”
I snort a laugh.
If a kid playing for Manchester City’s Under-17 team at age fourteen isn’t a genius, then who is?
“You could be that genius among geniuses.”
“...That could never be me.”
“Why do you think it couldn’t?”
“...Well...”
The kid scratches his head and speaks.
“...I have to do my best every single moment.”
“So?”
“The other kids who are really good, or hyungs like you for whom soccer comes easily—those are the real geniuses. I’m not like that, so...”
...Well, damn.
It’s like someone secretly made a clone of me somewhere.
It’s strangely chilling enough to give me goosebumps.
I speak in a deliberately teasing voice.
“Do I look like I just play around?”
“Huh? Ah, no! That’s not what I meant!”
“...I’m joking. But you know what? When I was young, I thought the exact same thing as you.”
“You too, hyung...?”
“Yeah. I also didn’t think I was a genius. I always did my best, too. Soccer never felt easy to me.”
I’m speaking from the heart, but the kid’s expression shows he doesn’t believe me at all.
Look at this kid.
He even takes after me in not believing people.
“That’s why I always wondered. What goes through real geniuses’ minds when they train and play soccer. You think that too, right?”
“...Yes.”
“I’ve met quite a few geniuses, you know. But I’ve never met the kind of genius I imagined.”
“...What do you mean?”
I shrug and continue.
“People like that don’t exist in the first place. It’s just a fantasy, you could say. Even those worthy of being called true geniuses each have their own worries, and they work hard where no one can see.”
“...Really?”
“You don’t believe me right now, do you?”
“Ah, no. That’s not it.”
*Chuckle.*
I burst into laughter and then let out a sigh.
“Have confidence. Belief is important. Belief can make the impossible possible.”
“...”
“I never thought I would win the Ballon d’Or until just hours before winning it. But there were people who believed in me. Their belief made it a reality. So both for me and for you, you have to believe in yourself more. It won’t hurt you to do so.”
“...Yes, sir.”
I take a ball from the cart and toss it to the kid.
Even though I threw it suddenly, he receives the ball smoothly, glances at me, and starts juggling.
“Keep going.”
*Thud, thud.*
The kid continues juggling with concentration.
The boy who had looked awkward just moments ago suddenly becomes a different person.
As if someone had threatened to hit him if he dropped it, his eyes, focused on the ball, look sharp enough to pierce through it.
“Not bad. Let’s pass it back and forth.”
“Yes!”
*Thwack—!*
*Thwack—!*
We start lightly passing the ball back and forth.
At first we exchange ground passes, then send it slightly lofted, then harder, gradually increasing the distance.
*Swoosh—!*
*Swoosh—!*
Before we know it, we’ve opened up a great distance and are exchanging lobbed passes.
His trapping is good, and his kicking form is good, too.
It’s clear at a glance that this is a friend overflowing with talent.
If only he had a bit more confidence, he would get so much better.
If someday, far in the future, the kid remembers this.
What more should I tell him so that he can look back and say that meeting me then was a stroke of luck?
I hope that this brief time can be a piece of luck for him.
*Thwack—!*
*Thwack—!*
Having widened the distance from one end of the training ground to the other, we close the gap and come together again.
“Want to try a one-on-one?”
“...Me against you, hyung? I won’t stand a chance.”
“If you manage to get past me or steal the ball even once, I’ll grant you one wish.”
“...I’ll attack first.”
After that, we try a one-on-one.
Of course, I don’t go easy on him.
It’s not courtesy to hold back because he’s a child.
“That’s too much...”
“Then work harder if it’s unfair.”
After that, I spent time answering questions and teaching him my own know-how.
I don’t have a coaching license, so the coaches who normally teach him could undoubtedly teach him much better.
Still, I tried my best to pass on whatever might be helpful.
Before I knew it, I only realized the allotted time had passed when my entire body was drenched in sweat.
“Whew. That was fun, wasn’t it?”
“Yes. Th-thank you so much...!”
“No need to thank me. I’ll come by often, so you have to practice harder. Got it?”
“I will.”
I suppose I spent the time somewhat meaningfully.
With a desire to keep giving more, I ended up staying longer, and the time flew by.
Hmm.
Yet what is this lingering feeling of regret?
I want to bestow upon him some greater fortune.
Is there anything else I can say to him?
...Hmm.
“And, you know.”
“Yes.”
“You said there was someone you liked, right?”
“...Huh? Uh...”
“Does she live nearby?”
Perhaps because it was so sudden, the boy’s face, burning with motivation until just now, reverts to that of a timid child.
“No...”
“Is she in Korea?”
“Yes...”
“Are you still in touch?”
The boy shakes his head.
When I ask why not, he says they’re too far apart and he doesn’t think they’ll ever meet again, so he doesn’t.
“Do it. You make the first move.”
“...Huh?”
“You never know. You might meet again someday.”
“But...”
“Hey, you should listen to your hyung.”
“...Yes.”
I smile and pat the boy’s head.
“Luck is something seized by the courageous. So sometimes you need to muster courage. Because that courage might just change your life.”
“Yes.”
I think luck is not something that comes to you first; you have to reach out and seize it.
Therefore, what you need is the courage to reach out.
“See you later.”
“Yes!”
Fortune can come to anyone.
Just as I experienced.
If all that is needed to seize the luck that changes your life is courage.
Wouldn’t that be a price well worth paying?
I hope everyone gets to experience it at least once.
Just as I had.