Save 10. New Home
Sin Uison, who had come off the bench, moved quickly and warmed up his body.
But warming up and actually being put into the match were different stories.
Because if the team doctor signaled that everything was okay, he would have to return to the bench.
—So they’re requesting a player substitution after all.
—Misfortune has befallen Leeds.
But unfortunately for Pedi Kenny, the team doctors signaled for a substitution. They had determined that he could no longer play the match.
—Well, if that’s how it is.
—Player Sin Uison, who transferred not long ago, will have his debut match today.
—It’s his professional debut as well.
—Ah, the atmosphere among the Leeds home fans is not good.
The gloomy appearances of the home fans were caught on screen.
2014. It was no longer an era where it was difficult to find Asian players active in Europe.
But when it came to goalkeepers, it was still a rare sight.
Moreover, people cast doubtful gazes toward a player whose name they had never heard until now.
—If there’s a variable in today’s match, I think this is where it might come from. After all, he’s a player who has just made his professional debut.
Regardless of what the commentators said.
Sin Uison stood on the touchline with an expressionless face.
Was he nervous?
Or was he thinking nothing at all?
To the extent that the home fans had such thoughts, Sin Uison looked calm.
[How do you feel right now?]
‘I don’t really know.’
Perhaps it hadn’t quite sunk in yet.
Just then, the fourth official announced the player substitution, and Sin Uison took a step inside the touchline.
It was a wondrous experience.
The moment he stepped onto the ground.
The moment the cold air turned hot.
Waaaah!
Leeds! Leeds! Leeds!
Elland Road, the home stadium of Leeds United, was heated to a boil.
The dazzling floodlights, the support that felt almost like madness, and the heat emanating from the passion of the people. All of this was felt directly, without filter. It was enough to send shivers down his spine.
‘So this is it.’
Sin Uison looked on in a daze.
It was on a completely different dimension from quiet reserve matches. It was completely different from what he had felt sitting on the bench just moments ago.
This was a moment he would never forget.
‘If I could continue feeling this way.’
Why players couldn’t be satisfied with backup positions and left for starting spots.
Sin Uison finally understood them.
At the same time, the referee blew the whistle signaling the restart of play.
—Nottingham is showing more aggressive movement.
—Nottingham’s shot! Blocked!
—That was a bold shooting attempt!
Nottingham shot at the first opportunity they got. They fully intended to test the newly entered Sin Uison, or perhaps they saw him as easy pickings.
However, their aim was off, and none connected as shots on target.
Watching the ball fly off into the distance, Sin Uison cracked his shoulders for no reason.
How long did the back-and-forth match continue like that?
—The ball goes out after hitting a defender.
—It’s a corner kick for Nottingham Forest.
The first set piece of today’s match was awarded. Nottingham players came up one by one and entered Leeds’s penalty area.
‘A corner kick, huh.’
Looking at the players crowding in front of him, Sin Uison adjusted his gloves.
Should he have trained for set pieces consistently if this was going to happen?
It was a meaningless thought now.
Nottingham’s kicker raised his hand.
Soon after, a cross loaded with power curved into the penalty area.
—Sam Byram clears it!
—Ah, but Nottingham’s turn isn’t over yet!
Nottingham took possession of the second ball that had gone outside the penalty area.
After some short passing, they sent a long ball out wide, and at the end of it was the player who had taken the corner kick.
Boom!
He delivered another cross.
A cross that broke down the defensive line in an instant.
—Huh? Huh! What’s this?!
Leeds’s center-back stared blankly at the ball passing over his head.
Nottingham’s striker, not missing the opportunity, finished it with a header right away.
With players blocking his vision, and on top of that, a shot that had bounced once off the ground.
It was the worst possible situation for a goalkeeper.
[It’s coming.]
‘I know!’
He sucked in a breath and held it, tensing his body.
His nerves stood on end.
Was it because of his increased prediction ability? A sensation he wouldn’t have felt in the past sparked and rang out.
It didn’t matter if he couldn’t see it with his eyes.
In this brief moment right now.
The penalty box was under his dominion.
Sin Uison crouched low and quickly dived to catch the ball.
—Huhhh! H-he stopped it!
—How is this possible?!
It wasn’t just the commentators who were astonished.
The home fans who had been casting doubtful gazes at the newly debuting goalkeeper.
Manager McDermott, who had screwed his eyes shut, unable to watch.
And even the Nottingham players who had thought the goal was going in.
Everyone looked at Sin Uison with astonished faces.
“Hmph.”
Calmly pulling the ball into his embrace, Sin Uison nodded.
“It’s more doable than I thought.”
***
—Oh my! Sin blocks another shot! Once again, without panicking, he calmly adds another save!
—Is this player really in the middle of his debut match?!
The commentators’ voices rose. That meant they were excited.
And for good reason. The actual performance of a player whom no one had expected anything from—who they had worried might be a liability—was beyond imagination.
‘How many minutes are left?’
Sin Uison checked the time.
The 43rd minute of the second half.
There wasn’t much time left, but the match wasn’t over yet.
A crisis could come at any moment.
—Nottingham is pulling out a defender and inserting a striker.
—It means they’re not satisfied with just one point.
Nottingham, having failed to score until now, made increasingly aggressive substitutions as time went on.
Their momentum was so fierce that Leeds could hardly go on the offensive.
When even the 3 minutes of added time were almost up.
Nottingham finally got their last chance.
And it was a one-on-one chance.
—A fatal mistake from Leeds’s defense!
—Is this a goal? Is it a goal?!
—Shooooot!
Everyone expected a goal. Just when Manager McDermott, who had been thinking he’d at least draw the losing match, was screwing up his face and about to curse—
—H-he stopped itttt!
Sin Uison had blocked it with his body.
Even though the shot had hit him in the stomach, he showed no sign of pain and hurriedly secured the ball.
Beeeep!
At the same time, the whistle signaling the end of the match blew.
—And so the match ends! Nottingham Forest sees all their earnest attacks blocked!
—The Nottingham players don’t look happy!
—Even though both teams took one point each today, they look like they’ve lost!
The camera caught Nottingham Forest’s side. Players, fans, and the manager alike were all shaking their heads with gloomy faces.
If you looked at the shots on target, that difference was clear.
Nottingham had created more chances and could have widened a clear gap.
But the reason it didn’t lead to goals—
This time, the camera caught Sin Uison.
Unlike when they had filmed him on the bench, the intention was clearly different this time.
—It was an impressive debut.
—Yes. For Nottingham, it was a nightmare of a match.
—Sin Uison, who recorded a clean sheet with his own power from his very first match.
Even though they couldn’t turn the game around, the reason Leeds United could at least avoid losing in today’s match was all thanks to this goalkeeper.
His professional debut.
And his first clean sheet.
It was the achievement of a goal that had always felt distant since his second cruciate ligament injury.
“Ah.”
He forcibly held back the stinging in his eyes and shook his head.
[You’re a crybaby.]
“I’ll turn off the voice function.”
[Oops. Still, as your assistant, if I may offer some advice: I recommend you don’t spend too long wallowing in sentiment. You still have a long way to go.]
“Yeah, that’s true.”
Sin Uison nodded obediently at the straightforward advice.
It was barely the first step.
The first step as a professional player.
His full-fledged player career had begun.
Even though he had wished for it even in his dreams, honestly, it didn’t feel real.
“Sin Uison!”
“Sin! Sin! Sin!”
“You were great today!”
Sin Uison smiled as he looked at the fans shouting his name or waving their hands.
The greatest joy today wasn’t the clean sheet, but that he had changed the fans’ expressions.
He would have liked to throw his uniform or gloves if possible, but for today, he wanted to keep them as a gift for himself.
[There’s another gift for you.]
‘What?’
Just as he tilted his head as if asking what that meant—
【Challenge Cleared!】
【Challenge: Pro Debut】
-> You’ve only just taken your first step!
-> Acquired 10 Points!
【A locked feature has been unlocked!】
Sin Uison froze at the suddenly appearing screen window.
It didn’t take long before he rubbed his eyes and was shocked.
[Yorkshire Evening] Sin Uison, younger brother of Sin Haji, has an amazing debut!
[Leeds Live] Sin Uison, it’s a happy night.
In the regional papers of West Yorkshire, Sin Uison had become quite the talk.
Despite his sudden debut, he had shown an excellent performance.
His performance was recognized to the point that he was selected as the Man of the Match, or MOM.
“I’m happy. I’m happy to debut in front of the fans, and I’m happy to record a clean sheet today. I intend to enjoy this happiness for tonight at least.”
Sin Uison calmly conveyed his feelings through the interview.
“How serious is Pedi Kenny’s injury?”
“At the moment, we can’t pinpoint an exact timeframe.”
Manager McDermott shook his head at the reporters’ questions. However, looking at the team doctors’ atmosphere, the situation didn’t look very bright.
“Then that means player Sin Uison can continue to come out as a starter?”
“Considering the performance he showed today, there’s no reason he can’t.”
Sin Uison checked that interview as well.
At this level, it seemed that the next start would be possible without difficulty.
He had succeeded in getting the manager’s stamp of approval.
‘Someone’s misfortune becoming someone else’s opportunity.’
It was nothing to sympathize over, nor anything to resent.
But it was truly a cruel thing.
Sin Uison soon shook his head to brush away his thoughts and shifted his gaze to the menu window.
“A locked feature?”
[Yes. It’ll be faster to check with your own eyes.]
The screen changed. He could see a tab added that he had never seen before.
Traits.
Sin Uison, wanting a more definite explanation, asked.
“What is this?”
[It can be said to be one of this place’s true features.]
“To that extent?”
And didn’t that mean there were more such important features?
Ones he hadn’t opened yet.
Features that might open who knows when.
With a bitter taste in his mouth, Sin Uison checked the traits window.
【Intuition】
【Acrobat】
【Long Throw】
There were traits like these, but what stood out was their structure.
There were some traits that ended in one.
But like stratified layers, there were traits linked in stages above them.
It seemed that to see beyond that, he had to unlock the first trait.
[That’s correct.]
The assistant sealed the confirmation.
Sin Uison pressed one of those traits.
“Ugh, 5 points?”
However, traits were not free. Having confirmed the points needed to acquire one trait, Sin Uison turned off the window in shock.
“Isn’t this a rip-off?”
[If you actually experience it, you’ll realize it’s rather on the cheaper side.]
“Even so…”
Despite those words, Sin Uison couldn’t easily relax his expression.
And for good reason.
【Intuition】
-> Allows you to make better predictions.
The other traits were the same.
Acrobat allowed him to perform acrobatic movements, and Long Throw literally let him throw the ball far.
They weren’t expressed numerically, and while it said they would improve, he couldn’t grasp by how much.
Even if they were too good, that was a problem.
“If just one trait has an enormous effect, wouldn’t investing points in stats from now on be foolish?”
[Not necessarily. If your basic abilities don’t support it, in the end, no matter what trait you unlock, it’ll be difficult to see great effects.]
The sweat he had shed until now did not lie.
At those words, Sin Uison quietly closed his eyes.