The Director of Taeseong General Hospital
The day after returning from an away victory over the Ulsan Dolphins, the training ground at the Suwon Blue Sky clubhouse was buzzing with life for the first time in ages.
Confidence was written plainly across the faces of the players as they drilled. Voices carrying over the crisp passing exchanges, bursts of laughter breaking out here and there — the whole place brimmed with warmth.
It was a scene that would have been unthinkable mere weeks ago.
Back then, the team had been sinking deeper into the swamp of a losing streak, relegation all but certain if things continued. The training ground had hung heavy with nothing but the stench of defeat and listless exhaustion.
But then came the dramatic comeback draw against Gangwon — overturning both a numerical disadvantage and a three-goal deficit in the second half — followed by yesterday's away win against the Ulsan Dolphins, one of the league's front-runners.
Those two matches were more than enough to flip the entire team's atmosphere one hundred and eighty degrees.
Watching the players from the edge of the pitch, Manager Kim Seongcheol found a rare smile spreading across his face.
And at the very center of this transformation in the squad's mood was...
His gaze drifted naturally toward a single player training hard in the middle of the pitch.
Kim Hanbin.
A rookie whose entire résumé, barely two weeks ago, consisted of nothing more than a middle school football club — a player nobody had ever heard of. Yet in just two matches, Kim Hanbin had revealed a presence massive enough to change the fate of the entire team.
Signing him on Kangmin's recommendation was truly the right call. There's still polish to be done, but... with this kid, I think we'll be fine.
Manager Kim beamed warmly toward Hanbin.
**
Morning training was briefly paused, and a break was called. The players sprawled out on the grass or chatted with teammates, savoring the rest.
Hanbin settled onto a bench to catch his breath, picking up his water bottle and his phone.
Huh? What's up with Mom?
They'd already talked for a good while last night about the match. Had something urgent come up?
"Oh, Mom. What is it? I saw you called."
His mother's voice over the phone sounded faintly flustered.
"Um... Hanbin. It's about your father... we moved him to a new hospital today."
"What? The hospital?"
"You know Taeseong General Hospital, the one you told me about before? We suddenly got the transfer this afternoon. It's a hospital your father's always wanted to go to, so that's good and all, but... it all happened so fast that I can't quite figure out what's going on..."
Taeseong General Hospital. It was exactly the hospital Hanbin had asked the club's General Manager about when he signed with Suwon.
Ah... so the transfer to Taeseong that I requested through the General Manager when I joined Suwon already went through?
The paperwork had moved faster than expected. The waiting list there was famously long, and he'd figured it would take at least a few more weeks.
"And the room he's in now... it's not a shared ward. It's a private VIP room. Something felt off, so I asked the hospital staff about it over and over, but all they'd say was that yes, it's a VIP room... and they kept asking, 'You are Kim Hanbin's parents, correct?' Is this really okay?"
A VIP ward? Hanbin had only asked them to move his father to Taeseong General Hospital — he'd never said a word about anything like a VIP room.
Besides, there was no way a club would grant such extravagant treatment to a rookie who'd just turned pro with no background whatsoever.
I know the General Manager went out of his way for me, but... a VIP room? What's going on...?
He needed to check it out first.
"Mom, don't worry too much for now. I'll look into it. It might be the club doing something special for me. Let me confirm everything and get back to you."
"All right, dear. Anyway, your father's just happy to be getting treatment in a much better environment, so..."
"Yes, I'll find out soon and call you back. Give Dad my best."
Finishing the call with his mother, Kim Hanbin rose from the bench. He approached a coach standing nearby and asked for a moment's leave.
"Coach, I'm sorry, but may I run over to the clubhouse building for a minute?"
"Oh, sure, go ahead."
The coach readily agreed, and Hanbin headed straight for the clubhouse at a brisk pace.
The moment he stepped into the main lobby, he ran into a club staff member who was just heading out. Spotting Hanbin, the staff member spoke up.
"Oh! Player Hanbin! Perfect timing — the General Manager is looking for you right now."
"The General Manager?"
"Yes, he just asked me to bring you to him immediately. I'll show you the way."
The General Manager? Could this be about my father's hospital situation?
The staff member navigated the corridor with practiced ease and stopped in front of the General Manager's office, giving the door a light knock.
"General Manager, I've brought Player Kim Hanbin."
A low voice came from within — "Come in" — and the staff member opened the door.
Hanbin gave a small bow and stepped inside.
Two middle-aged men were seated on the sofa, deep in conversation. One was General Manager Lee Sang-ho of Suwon Blue Sky, whom Hanbin had met at his contract signing just days ago.
The other man, seated in the place of honor, was someone Hanbin had never seen before.
Gray-streaked hair and a gentle countenance, yet somehow radiating an air of aristocratic dignity — a distinguished middle-aged gentleman.
General Manager Lee Sang-ho spotted Hanbin and rose from his seat to welcome him.
"Ah, Hanbin's here! Come on in. We were just talking about you, as a matter of fact."
Then he introduced Hanbin to the middle-aged man sitting beside him.
"Director, this is Player Kim Hanbin. Hanbin, this is Director Lee Donggyu, the head of Taeseong General Hospital. Go on, introduce yourself."
The director of Taeseong General Hospital...!
The head of South Korea's top hospital. Why would someone of such stature be here? But greetings came first. Hanbin — endlessly deferential toward those above him — bowed his back at a crisp ninety degrees.
"It's an honor to meet you, Director! I'm Kim Hanbin!"
At the young player's bow, Director Lee Donggyu chuckled heartily and straightened him back up.
"Aigoo, Player Hanbin. I'm delighted to finally meet you in person. I watched your last two matches — especially the Gangwon game — and I was deeply impressed."
"Oh — no, sir! I just got lucky!"
Hanbin answered with a somewhat dazed expression, and General Manager Lee Sang-ho smiled at the sight of the two of them.
"Now, now, let's all have a seat and talk. Hanbin, come sit over here."
At the General Manager's invitation, Kim Hanbin carefully perched on the edge of the sofa.
Once everyone was seated, Lee Sang-ho spoke first.
"Hanbin, so — I take it you've heard your father's been moved to the new hospital?"
"Yes, General Manager. My mother just called me about it. It's just... I heard he was moved into a VIP room rather than a regular one, and I couldn't help wondering if there'd been some kind of mix-up..."
Kim Hanbin asked cautiously. No matter how he turned it over in his mind, he simply couldn't believe such extraordinary treatment would be given to an unheralded rookie like himself.
The General Manager shook his head and gestured toward Director Lee Donggyu beside him.
"Not at all. That part was arranged through the special efforts of Director Lee Donggyu here."
"What?!"
Kim Hanbin stared at the Director with wide eyes. The Director looked back at him and smiled benevolently.
"Oh come now, General Manager. Why would you say such a thing? It was hardly anything at all."
"It is NOT nothing! Thank you so much, Director!"
Hanbin sprang up from his seat and bowed deeply toward the Director once more, but the man waved him down.
"Please, Player Hanbin, sit down. You see, I'm a devoted Suwon Blue Sky supporter myself, so being able to do even this much for you — I couldn't be happier about it. Hahaha."
The Director burst into laughter, genuinely delighted.
"Still... if you'd only moved him into a regular room, that would have been more than enough... A VIP room is far too much for someone like me, isn't it? I'd hate for it to come at anyone else's expense..."
Hanbin couldn't hide his sheepishness.
"Haha, Player Hanbin. Believe it or not, a regular room would have been the harder arrangement."
The Director explained with a smile.
"As I'm sure you know, our general wards at Taeseong are so sought after that patients typically wait weeks, sometimes months, just to be admitted. If I pushed your father ahead of all those people, that would be an ethical breach — simply not something I could do. But the VIP rooms... frankly, they sit empty more often than not. It's space that goes unused regardless. Accommodating one gentleman in comfort hardly affects the hospital's operations at all. That much leeway, I can exercise at my hospital. Hahaha."
Only then did Kim Hanbin relax, offering his thanks once again.
"Truly... I don't even know how to thank you, Director."
"Think nothing of it. You have no idea how heartbroken I was when our Suwon got relegated to the second division a couple of seasons back. So keep the good matches coming. Hahaha."
The Director clearly meant it as a joke, but the moment the word relegated left his lips, Hanbin could plainly see General Manager Lee Sang-ho's expression stiffen with embarrassment beside him.
The Director, however, paid it no mind whatsoever, continuing to shower Suwon Blue Sky with affection and offering Hanbin generous words of encouragement.
And so the conversation carried on in that warm, convivial atmosphere for a while.
How much time had passed? General Manager Lee Sang-ho glanced at his watch, seeming to sense it was time to wrap things up.
"Director, thank you so much for taking the time today. I'm sure it's given Hanbin great strength as well."
"Haha, don't mention it. If anything, I worry I've been the one holding you up. Player Hanbin, let's see each other often."
"Yes, sir! Thank you so much, Director!"
Kim Hanbin offered his heartfelt thanks once more, and with that, the conversation drew to a close and he left the General Manager's office.
He truly has the magnificent presence befitting the director of the flagship hospital of Taeseong Group, Korea's number-one corporation...
Then he pulled out his phone and sent his mother a message.
Kim Hanbin headed back to the training ground.
All right! Let's push even harder today!
***
Meanwhile, the atmosphere inside Seoul Citizen's scouting office was a frozen wasteland.
Section Chief Yoon in particular had spent days biting his lip, glaring at nothing but his monitor.
On the screen, highlights of Kim Hanbin's exploits from the Ulsan match played on an endless loop.
Damn it...! That's not even possible. How is that real?
Kim Hanbin — the player brought in by Section Chief Park of the rival faction, the very player Yoon had twisted himself into knots to block. The player he'd opposed on the grounds that his entire career consisted of middle school, even going so far as to raise doping suspicions.
That player was now the hottest topic in the entire K League.
His debut performance against Gangwon — two goals and an assist — had been shocking enough, but what he'd shown in yesterday's away match against the Ulsan Dolphins was nothing short of overwhelming.
Against the league's strongest team, he'd broken the deadlock, then followed it with a spectacular diving header. That diving header was already being touted by K League fans as a candidate for goal of the season.
Four goals and one assist in two matches.
Numbers impossible to believe from a rookie — no, from a player who didn't even have a proper football résumé to his name.
What tormented Section Chief Yoon even more was the fact that Kim Hanbin was far more than just a goal scorer.
The way he'd toyed with Ulsan's veteran center-back Seong Taeuk on the pitch had left every single analyst in the tactical room clicking their tongues in awe.
Command of every aerial ball, built on monstrous physicality — plus clinical set-piece delivery.
He wasn't merely a physically gifted player. He was a target-man striker, dominant in aerial duels, equipped with genuine finishing ability.
The kind of all-around talent any football club in the country would covet.
And that talent had, until only recently, been on the verge of signing with Seoul Citizen.
The man who had blocked that signing more zealously than anyone else was Section Chief Yoon himself.
Every time Kim Hanbin delivered another heroics-filled performance, the looks thrown Yoon's way within the club grew colder and colder.
Especially among the people loyal to his rival Section Chief Park, the talk had become completely open now.
"Section Chief Park went through hell to unearth a treasure, and then Section Chief Yoon just went and kicked it away..."
"Letting a player like that slip through his fingers... I can't even imagine how aggrieved Park must feel."
The one saving grace was that the blame for the failed contract didn't rest on Yoon alone. In the end, it had been Seoul Citizen's own General Manager who presented the absurdly lowball offer of a 27-million-won league-minimum salary, causing the deal to collapse. That the General Manager was, for now, staying quiet was Yoon's only comfort.
Had it not been so, he would have already been summoned to the General Manager's office for a very unpleasant conversation.
Damn it! Who could've known a kid whose career ended at middle school would turn out THIS good...? It doesn't make any sense!
And then there was the matter of the K League's fiercest derby two weeks from now — the so-called Super Match, the most famous rivalry in the league, pitting Seoul Citizen against Suwon Blue Sky.
If Seoul were to lose to Suwon thanks to a Kim Hanbin masterclass...
Section Chief Yoon didn't even want to imagine it.
Scrolling through search results for anything on Kim Hanbin, his eyes suddenly went wide.
This photo...?!