The End of Patience
Whether to call it reincarnation or not was still up for debate, but ever since his rebirth, Hodrigu's new life had been one nonstop shock after another. Every single day felt fresh and electric.
It started with his face.
Nice. Very nice.
Today, as usual, he'd taken a solid smack on the back from his mom and briefly channeled his inner fire-attribute filial son before checking himself out in the mirror with a satisfied grin.
I liked it from the start, but the more I look, the better it gets.
Was this what they called glow-up?
Hmm.
Hodrigu nodded contentedly.
The trendy slang Yu Seo-rin had taught him popped into his head naturally—clear sign he was adapting just fine.
Sure, he was handsome, but the unfamiliar Asian features had felt off at first. A month in, though, that awkwardness was gone, leaving only pure satisfaction with his good looks.
But that was just the tip of the iceberg when it came to the surprises.
The real jaw-dropper was the everyday scenery.
Like the overwhelming peacefulness, for one.
No junkies, no gangs in sight. Sure, the news made a fuss about it sometimes, but real men like Hodrigu didn't trust TV—he trusted his own eyes.
And there was nothing to see.
Not even if he scrubbed his eyes raw looking. The streets were spotless, too. Hell, women walked alone at night or even dawn in this country! How peaceful could a place get?
Of course, that wasn't all.
A month into his new life, Hodrigu had been stunned by countless things, but the absolute biggest shocker was something else entirely.
Spandex shorts.
He'd become East Asian himself, so he'd tried to embrace the culture generously for the sake of fitting in. But spandex shorts? No way he could wrap his head around that.
Girls here thought nothing of baring their legs, yet they always wore those damn shorts under their skirts.
Why the hell?
If you're gonna cover up, just skip the skirt altogether. Shorten it to show off those thighs, then slap on spandex? What was the point?
What a garbage culture.
It wasn't like he was dying to see panties or anything.
He just hated it on principle.
Damn those shorts—they always dredged up annoying memories.
If spandex was the biggest shock, then the person who'd shocked him most was the one who'd introduced him to that horrifying fashion faux pas.
Yu Seo-rin.
This infuriating girl was apparently second in the entire school academically. He'd known she was student council president, but top two? Wasn't that impressive?
The former soccer emperor, whose formal education had ended in elementary school, had always admired kids who aced their studies. Kids only, though. Adults were a different story.
Back in his past life, he'd snapped his fingers and made elite lawyers, bankers, and stockbrokers grovel. No way he'd respect adults begging at his feet.
So why respect students? Simple: Hodrigu had never had the chance to learn himself.
Odd to idolize kids but not adults? Whatever. He'd grown up in the slums without ever stepping foot in a real school.
No wonder she wears glasses.
Hodrigu nodded in understanding.
Glasses equaled total nerd, obviously. And she was great at sports, too.
Ace of the track team, apparently.
Made sense—her stamina was insane.
"Gonna challenge me again today?"
"Bring it. I'm winning this time."
That was straight from the countless races over the past month, where Hodrigu had lost every single one.
Thanks to those defeats, though, his stamina had shot up fast.
…But the real shock and awe had been the physical training.
As expected, Hodrigu joined the team the very day of their intramural blue-white match.
The problems started right after.
First up: player registration was a nightmare.
As a minor, he needed parental consent for official league registration. But his parents flat-out refused.
"Soccer club? Good call. You need stamina to study well, especially in your senior year. Building it early is smart… What? Pro aspirations?"
"What about your studies? You're almost a senior…"
Which parent would cheer their top-ranked kid suddenly chasing soccer?
"I need to march down to that school and see what's going on! Get ready!"
His parents even showed up at school, but…
"Aigoo~ Sir, Se-jin studies great, but his soccer's on another level. He's a total genius. You can study anytime, but soccer? Miss the window, and you're done for. He's already late to the game, but Se-jin's such a prodigy, he can still make it."
The coach's desperate pitch,
"Uh… I'll help Se-jin as much as I can. I'll do everything to keep his grades up."
Yu Seo-rin's persuasion—which somehow framed her as the scheming number-two student dragging the top student into soccer corruption—
And above all—
"It's my life. I'll handle it. I'll forge the consent myself."
"You little punk!!"
Hodrigu's blazing filial my-way-or-the-highway attitude wrapped it up.
It was his flaming display of piety that finally drew a roar from his mild-mannered dad, who'd never raised his voice at home before.
If that had solved everything, great—but problems piled up like mountains.
Parents' approval or not, Hodrigu dove into club activities and immediately confronted his trash-tier physical condition.
"Balance is a mess, agility's a mess… everything's a mess. Your body's not ready at all. How the hell did you pull off those plays?"
Coach Jeong Tae-ho was floored by the disastrous post-signing fitness test results.
His solution? Simple.
"Stamina's the big issue. Focus there, but work core and balance too."
Shut up and train stamina.
You needed stamina to play, right?
"It's gonna hurt. You sure you can hack it?"
Hodrigu flashed a cocky grin at the coach and staff's worries.
Stamina training? Piece of cake.
Sure, he was a no-experience high schooler now, but Hodrigu was a former soccer emperor with thirteen pro years under his belt. Training? Tough, yeah—even emperors hated the grind.
But doable.
Painful, but he'd breeze through.
He was wrong.
"Modern soccer's way more dynamic than the old days. Short version: physicality rules. Average ball touch in the 1966 World Cup final? 2.6 seconds. 2011 World Cup semis, Spain vs. Germany? Just 1.06 seconds. Get it?"
"Huff… puff…"
"Oho~ Top of the school, huh? Smart cookie. Right—shorter touches demand explosive bursts. You're lucky. We've got me on the team."
"Gah… cough, cough. Haah… haah. H-how much… longer?"
"I'm the physicality expert. Interval training builds stamina best, but no time for that. Gotta hit stamina, balance, core—plus team drills! Schedule's packed. Happy?"
Clutching his bursting lungs, Hodrigu screamed inwardly.
This was thirty years in the future's cutting-edge training? It was just more brutal!
"We're doing HIIT—high-intensity interval training. Killer for soccer. Two sets down. Two to go—move it!"
This… was half?
Only half done? Half still left?
"Careful not to shake off the monitors. Go!"
In the cramped field, four players scrambled chaotically.
"Ramp it up! Keep one-on-ones, keep shooting! Two minutes down—one left. Hold intensity! Stop. Now our high-intensity actions thickened your heart walls, boosting stroke volume for more blood and oxygen to muscles and organs during exertion. Two-minute rest boosted recovery elasticity too? Time to move!"
He wished he could just collapse—but he couldn't.
Was this body packed with potential, or was the training just that effective?
Head foggy, Hodrigu gritted his teeth.
Stubborn pride as a former emperor, the thrill of his heart pounding after so long… but mostly raw spite to beat that annoying girl.
"Hey, you can do more! Science is wild. Feels like you're dying? Nah. Fool yourself all you want—the machines don't lie. Look—still got reserves? What're you waiting for? Move!"
After the coach's annoyingly cheery stamina hell, a brief rest.
Then more training.
"Elastic bands to wreck you lightly today, then side steps. Happy?"
"…"
"Add coordination. Ladder drills."
"So happy I'm gonna die."
"Right? Makes me happy too if you're happy, Se-jin. Still talking casual, though? Pissed me off—extra running after. Maurizio Sarri method. Coach'll guide you special."
What got Hodrigu through wasn't science or gadgets.
Pure spite.
"Challenge again today?"
That smug, spinning grin from Yu Seo-rin—he'd beat her, no matter what.
Amid Hodrigu's gut-wrenching soccer initiation, one person was bizarrely tangled up in it all.
Yu Seo-rin.
Student council president, school-wide number two, track ace, hiding her killer looks and figure behind big glasses and baggy sweaters—but she'd blown past even Hodrigu's hawk-eyed combat scanner. Plus that secret Ho-dongsaeng taste.
The all-around prodigy Yu Seo-rin had spread soccer fever to Hodrigu, earning her smears as the one corrupting the top student. She got roped in deep against her will.
Blame Hodrigu.
His pro dreams had flipped home and school upside down, sparking a total disaster.
But Yu Seo-rin, who'd hidden her Ho-dongsaeng obsession for years, had ironclad patience. She bulldozed through rumors, misunderstandings, and biases.
"He keeps his grades, problem solved. You say it's my responsibility? Fine, I'll own it."
A bold charge worthy of a top Ronaldo disciple.
And the result?
"Why are you like this? Not gonna cooperate? I'm carving out time to study with you, and you pretend not to know basics? Soccer tanking your grades?"
"…"
"I don't get it. You ace it when you try, but you always make me mad. Wait—is that it? You piss me off on purpose so I crush you in our bet? Some self-destructive kink?"
"…"
His ears rang like they might bleed, but Hodrigu couldn't speak.
Top-student skills hadn't vanished—he solved problems effortlessly when focused. But focus? On studying? Hell no.
The top-student vs. number-two study session ended in Yu Seo-rin's one-sided verbal barrage.
Followed by their bet.
"Love the ground that much? Can't even get up."
True to her track ace rep, Yu Seo-rin's stamina crushed him.
Even after brutal training left him wheezing, he'd think Maybe if I play it perfect… but nah, she always won.
"Tsk tsk. Stamina like a wet noodle? Can't win once? How you gonna play soccer? It's ninety minutes of high-intensity nonstop. When you begged me to help join the team, you swore you'd be soccer emperor. Leapfrog Messi. Can't even beat me?"
"…"
"Told you to train stamina. This is the gap between diligent and lazy."
He wanted to deck her—just once.
Hodrigu ground his teeth. First girl this infuriating in two lives.
Thus passed a humiliating month of trials and humiliations.
"Finally! Se-jin, you're officially registered!"
Hodrigu shed tears of joy. Internally, of course.
Time to reclaim his throne as soccer emperor.