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# Chapter 2. A Strange Man
When the whistle blew, the sky I looked up at was clear without a single cloud, as if it were hinting at my bright future.
Looking at the stands, which had fallen silent as usual after a match, I burst into a satisfied smile.
I had done it again.
What a badass.
"Hello? Are you Juwon?"
I turned around, wondering why he was asking when I was wearing a shirt with my name clearly printed on it, and was startled.
"Ah, yes, that's me."
I recognized the person who had spoken to me at a glance.
Jo Jung-hwan, a former national team player and a YouTuber with 500,000 subscribers.
"You played really well today. Would you mind doing an interview? I came here to watch today's match, and you really impressed me."
"Of course! Absolutely."
Was there any player who disliked becoming even a little famous?
I instinctively knew that a player like me, who hadn't been able to play many matches, needed to seize opportunities like this if I wanted to become a professional.
After briefly and skillfully arranging the camera angle with the cameraman, the interview began immediately.
"Hello, subscribers! Nice to see you~! You all know Hwaseong High School, the Suwon Oseong youth team, right? I came here today to watch the round of 16 at the national tournament between them and Jiogo High School because I wanted to see those promising players. But! I discovered a gem here. All right! Why don't you briefly introduce yourself?"
"Hello. I'm Juwon, a midfielder for the Jiogo High School soccer team."
"Juwon? Your name is only one syllable? Wow~ Maybe because you're so good with the ball? Even that looks cool."
Senior Jo Jung-hwan's interview, just like what I had seen on YouTube, made me feel comfortable with his characteristic playfulness and friendliness.
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The interview, which had naturally flowed along with me simply answering his questions, was already nearing its end.
"How come no one noticed you until now when you're this good? Were you a player in elementary and middle school too?"
"Yes, I've been a player since elementary school."
"Oh? At school? Or were you from a club?"
"I was on a school soccer team. My circumstances weren't good enough to spend money separately on soccer...."
I'd never received private lessons in my life, nor had I even thought about getting them.
Too expensive. Way too expensive.
"Ah~ I see. A school soccer team is all you need, right~? It was like that in my day too. So, was there something that made our Juwon start playing soccer?"
"Me? Haha... Now that I think about it, I guess I was won over by Choco Pies."
"Hmm?? How?"
"Well, you see......."
Whether there was something special about Senior Jo Jung-hwan that made words flow so easily from my mouth, or whether I had simply wanted to tell someone my story at least once, I found myself drifting into memories of the past without realizing it.
Starting with the elementary school coach who promised to give me Choco Pies if I played for the soccer team, I told him my entire soccer story without holding anything back.
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.
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"......."
Perhaps it wasn't interesting despite being a touching story, because Senior Jo Jung-hwan fell silent.
"Ha... Seriously, whether it's then or now, shitty things happen everywhere."
"Ah, well, yeah."
The lively expression he had shown before the interview was gone. He looked at me with a rather dark expression.
"Juwon, you've been through a lot. I'll edit this really well and upload it. For now, since you haven't finished high school yet, I'll edit out the problematic parts and keep them stored...."
He patted me on the back, saying that he would use them later to make sure the bad guys got what they deserved.
"And call me hyung, okay? This is my number, so contact me anytime if anything happens."
"Thank you."
I had agreed to the interview because I thought becoming famous would make it easier to turn professional, and now he was even offering to teach those bastards a lesson for me.
What an unexpected bonus.
"Oh, and does your leg hurt? The taping around your knee looks pretty tight."
"It hurts a little. But I'm a player, so everyone has at least one injury they're carrying around, right?"
Senior Jo Jung-hwan rubbed his chin silently, as if thinking.
"When you feel pain around your knee, it's better to get it checked immediately. Do you know any hospital?"
"No. I've never been to a hospital."
Gulp-
He abruptly covered his mouth with one hand and looked at me again.
"I wish the foundation had been able to find talented players like you sooner. How could you play as a player and never even go to a hospital... Gulp."
At first, I thought he was just a talkative person, but it turned out he was actually very warm-hearted.
"Ha... Anyway, I'll introduce you to a hospital I know, so go there right away, okay?"
"Yes, thank you."
After hearing my answer, Senior Jo let out a short sigh and stood up.
Ah, but I don't have money for hospital bills.
"Senior, but..."
"Call me hyung."
"Yes, hyung."
"What is it?"
"How much will the hospital bill be?"
Gulp-
Jung-hwan hyung hurriedly turned his head away from me and stared up at the clear sky, while the cameraman handed him a tissue.
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I went to the hospital alone, but fortunately, they said the examination costs would be charged to Senior Jo Jung-hwan.
"It must be nice to have a doctor you know too."
Once, a friend from the orphanage injured his teeth and went to the dentist, but when they told him the treatment would cost more than 100,000 won, we ran away.
After hearing that story, I had become afraid of going to hospitals.
"With 100,000 won, I could buy a pair of soccer cleats."
That's how I had lived, but now I had even received a proper diagnosis at a hospital....
Was this the sweetness of success?
Lost in my own fantasies of success, I walked along until I eventually arrived at the school soccer team's building.
"Coach. I'm here."
"Oh! You're back? So, is your knee okay?"
"They said they'll let me know as soon as the results come out."
There was no training or match today, but the coach had called me in, so we had agreed to talk for a while.
"All right. I'm sure it's nothing serious. Anyway, you really worked hard. A hat trick in the round of 16. If you keep playing this well, I think I'll finally be able to push for you without holding back."
The coach had not used me for almost a year and a half because of the pressure from Lee Seungwon's father.
Rather than thinking, "Oh, so he can't use me because he's being pressured," and accepting it, I had resented him much more.
Because I thought the coach was ultimately the one who made the decisions.
Perhaps this time, he had put his position on the line and taken a gamble.
It was my life he had been gambling with, but I was grateful that he had found the courage to take a stand, even if it was only now.
"Thank you."
"No. I was ashamed of myself. I'll come up with a strategy so that you can play as a starter for the remainder of the season, so give it your all and show everyone what you've got."
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On the way back to the orphanage, the corners of my mouth kept twitching uncontrollably.
I won.
In the end, I had overcome it once again.
If there is a god, answer me.
Is the reason you keep giving me trials because you want me to overcome them and become stronger?
Or were you telling me that I was a lost cause and should give up soccer and do something else?
I don't know who you are, but if there really is someone up in the sky, could you please stop tormenting me now?
Drunk on the sense of victory over some unclear opponent, I walked proudly until I spotted a convenience store with its lights on.
"A convenience store...."
On a day like today... Yeah, surely it was okay to be a little greedy just for today.
I splurged on a cup of instant noodles and a triangle kimbap, then found a seat on a riverside bench with a nice view.
"Ooh, this looks delicious."
I was just about to take my first bite of the sufficiently cooked noodles when—
Bzzzzzz-
I checked my ringing phone and saw an email from the hospital.
"I can't let the noodles get soggy, so I'll put this on hold for now."
I clicked on the email to open it and then focused on my cup noodles again.
"Ahh- This is it."
Slurp-
I closed my eyes and savored the seafood aroma spreading through my mouth.
Then this time, I took in the night scenery.
The black night sky, the riverside illuminated by the moon, streetlights blinking atmospherically, a fence that was rusty and seemingly shabby yet somehow had a certain charm, and a man standing on top of it.......
This is healing, huh? Huh-? A man??
What the hell? Wait a second.
The strange man's movements were so natural, almost blending into the surroundings like camouflage, that I jumped to my feet.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Mister, wait!"
I instinctively ran toward the man who was obviously just about to jump into the river.
"Damn it!"
Ugh-
I barely managed to jump and grab the stranger's clothes, and the force sent both of us rolling across the ground.
"What the hell are you doing here?!"
"Ah......."
He didn't even look at me. He simply stared blankly at the river, and a chill ran down my spine.
Up close, I realized he wasn't actually an older man. He looked about my age.
He had definitely been about to jump.
Whatever his circumstances were, I didn't like it.
Living in an orphanage meant hearing all kinds of tragic stories, but everyone there struggled to keep living.
Me included.
"Wait!"
Regardless of how I felt, I wasn't cold-blooded enough to simply stand there and watch someone try to jump.
I had grabbed his arm while calling out to him, but—
"Why are you so damn big?"
Once I got close, I realized he was taller than the biggest guy on our team, and he had quite a build too.
Gulp-
Was he some kind of martial arts fighter?
The intimidation was no joke, with someone of that size giving off such a strong aura of death.
"Do you... really have to do this...?"
I had no idea what to say, so I just blurted that out.
"......"
"I don't want to see someone die, so how about you think about it for one more day?"
I didn't even know what I was saying.
The man stared at me for a while before opening his mouth.
"For once, at least at the end, I want to do whatever I want without thinking about other people......"
His voice was filled with such gloom that there wasn't even a trace of hope left, as if he had already been dragged into hell.
Wait, so was he going to jump again right now?
"Why? You're in great shape too. Look at me. I'm an athlete, and even I'm like this. And I don't have parents either. I've had plenty of other misfortunes, but I'm still living."
I thought there was nothing more useless than telling someone about to jump, "You're more unfortunate than me!" But as I spoke, my emotions welled up and spilled out.
"Really...? We have something in common. You're amazing."
Oh, what? Did that actually work?
Perhaps my appeal about my own misfortune had gotten through. The strange man stared blankly at the fence he had been about to jump from.
"I worked hard at sports too. But it all became meaningless... Did you say you're an athlete? Someone like you should have had this body instead of someone like me, who's terrible at sports..."
He let out a short sigh.
"Yeah. I won't die in front of you. I'll have to find a way to do it without causing you any trouble."
"No...."
Apparently, his thoughts hadn't changed at all. His voice was firm.
He said that, yet suddenly headed toward the fence, so I hurriedly moved and grabbed him again.
"Ah, I left my shoes over there. I need to get them."
I glanced at where he pointed and saw his shoes on the other side of the fence.
"I'll get them. Wait here."
With that physique, if he simply jumped, I didn't think I'd be able to stop him, so I figured I'd feel better if I got them myself.
I leaned against the fence and waved my short arm around, trying to grab the shoes lying outside.
Perhaps I looked like I was struggling, because I heard his voice behind me.
"Uh... Should I get them?"
I had some pride. How could I admit that I couldn't even get one pair of shoes because my arms were too short?
This was nothing compared to the trials I had been through until now.
"Wait."
I hung over the fence almost up to my hips and finally managed to reach the shoes.
"Ha-! This much is nothi—"
The moment my hand touched the shoes, my body suddenly lost its balance.
"Hey! Be careful-!"
Crash-! Bang!
With a strange, unidentified sound, I toppled over the fence.
No, this wasn't falling over.
I was falling.
And above me, the strange man was falling too, his arms stretched out as if he had tried to grab me.
"At least catch me properly. Now we're both falling. He really is terrible at sports."
Everything felt like it was moving in slow motion, to the point that I could even think useless thoughts like that.
Life really was a bitch.
I felt a powerful impact against my back, and before I could even writhe in pain, water rushed over my entire body and blocked my scream.
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"Are... you... okay...."
I could hear muffled sounds from somewhere around me.
Even when I turned my eyes toward the sound, everything was so blurry that it was as if someone had put a magnifying glass over my eyes.
Figures that might have been people or angels were frantically covering my body with something.
"Ah... Am I alive?"
As my body began to warm up, my vision gradually returned.
I only moved my eyes and looked around.
An ambulance, firefighters, several people.
And among the firefighters lay a man with a very familiar face.
The man I saw every morning in the mirror and thought, "I'm not bad-looking."
He was lying there.
"Ah- I'm dead-"
My consciousness faded.
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Beep-
Beep-
Beep-
I opened my eyes to the faint, regular noise.
"The sky in heaven is full of square tiles."
Well, there was no way I would go to hell.
"Oh, he's moving?"
A man's voice came from beside me.
I slightly turned my head and saw a man I had never seen before in my life looking down at me with one eyebrow furrowed.
"Why the hell do you make a mess when you can't even die? It's annoying as hell."
"......?"
What the hell was wrong with this guy?
Amazingly, the first living creature I met in heaven greeted me with a stream of profanity.
When I just stared at him in shock, the man gave me a sardonic smile.
"Yeah, you can just live quietly like a dead mouse, right? Huh?"
The man kept smiling as he lightly tapped my cheek.
So if this was heaven, did that mean this guy was an angel or maybe God?
Was I suffering all this time because of this bastard's schemes?
Look at this. He had a grudge against me.
That's why he had been tormenting me.
These vicious bastards had ultimately taken soccer away from me at the very end.
All the pent-up resentment I had endured throughout my life surged up.
At the same time, I sprang up and grabbed the man's collar.
"W-What the hell are you—!"
Thud-!
I slammed my forehead into his face.
"Uaaagh!"
I had been lying down just moments ago, but I felt stronger than usual.
Right now, I felt so full of strength that I could tear that bastard apart and still have energy left over.
"You're dead."
As I walked toward him, the man fell on his backside and began crawling toward the door.
"Come here, you bas—Ugh!"
A sudden headache hit me.
The bastard ran away, and at the same time, mysterious memories began pouring into my mind.