Chapter 145
Chapter 145
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: uly
Chapter: 145
Chapter Title: Start (8)
“Meow~!”
“Here, food.”
Outside the office window, Jeong-woo crouched down and poured feed froMad Dogisposable plastic bag into the food bowl.
He didn’t have a house or a housecat, but there was a stray that kept showing up for the steady meals.
In short, it had been chosen.
“Hee-won, that jerk, tried planting lettuce here.”
Jeong-woo chuckled softly.
It had been a while since the thriving lettuce had become a tasty snack for this calico cat.
Splash, splash, splash—!
Soon, Jeong-woo emptied the water bowl next to the feed and refilled it with fresh water from the jug.
“Meow~!”
The calico cat rubbed against Jeong-woo’s legs, then dove nose-first into the food as a thank-you.
Jeong-woo smiled contentedly as he watched it eat without even pausing to breathe.
Then, still crouched, he glanced back, rolling his eyes.
There stood Charlotte Emma, demurely watching the cat eat.
“You don’t... like cats?”
He’d imagined her beaming happily, cooing “Oh, a kitty~” while petting it. Completely off the mark.
That’s when it happened.
Pop—!
Emma casually undid the top button of her white shirt.
“No, wait a second. Not here...!”
Jeong-woo shot to his feet in a panic, turning his head away.
But his gaze instinctively locked onto one spot.
His pupils trembled wide.
Emma, noticing his stare with a puzzled look, pinched the necklace around her neck between her thumb and index finger and pulled it out.
“It’s a cat.”
It really was.
A golden cat pendant shaped with its tail curved like a question mark.
Emma gazed back at the calico cat and murmured softly.
“I like cats, too. But I can’t pet it right now.”
“Why not?”
“Because I have backlog work. I’m certain that if I touch this one now, I won’t be able to pull myself away.”
Her expression seemed resolute yet tinged with quiet regret as she said it.
She even tensed her eyes with a sense of injustice.
“Ah...!”
Jeong-woo let out a small exclamation.
Meanwhile, his gaze hadn’t budged from somewhere a bit lower.
Drawn like a magnet.
Gulp.
He even swallowed hard.
Seeing that, Emma furrowed her delicate brows.
“Your eyes are getting weird again.”
Good thing.
Only the eyes got caught...
* * *
In Round 7 of the league, Bolton drew 0-0 against Millwall FC.
This draw kept Bolton firmly in 3rd place.
Moreover, they became the only team in the Championship with zero goals conceded through 7 rounds.
The press praised them effusively.
[Bolton Wanderers! Hottest run among promoted teams...!]
[Bolton Wanderers! Perfect reinforcement in attack and now defense...!]
They even notched a unique record just from the clean sheets.
[Bolton! Breaks Championship record for consecutive shutouts since opening match—7 games!]
The Championship record for most consecutive shutouts was 12 games.
But Bolton was the first to do it from the opening match.
Naturally, the press and fans lauded Manchester City loanee goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu.
- <JuYongPark> : Gavin Bazunu, heard this kid was already the national team’s top keeper prospect at his age—reflexes are on another level!
<LifeIs90Minutes> : Agreed. Great split-second judgment too. Knows exactly when to punch and when to save.
- <LittleKidInMe> : Old keeper Scratch isn’t bad, but... Bazunu’s superior in reflexes and build-up play, gotta admit. And his age is killer.
- <SergeantKang> : Our Manager Ma... lined up perfectly. Frank Gerrard and now Bazunu.
In truth, Gavin Bazunu impressed with his reactions to aerial balls and low-driven shots to the corners.
He ranked 3rd in the Championship for clean sheets, too.
But the player receiving even higher praise was Gary Todd.
One headline from the press summed it up.
[Gary Todd, Transforming Bolton’s Defense!]
* * *
After Round 7, with rest granted, Gary Todd still showed up at the training ground, dreaming of his striker revival.
“Huff, huff, huuuuff—!”
Even alone on the vast pitch, he wore his black headgear.
Thwack—!
Clang—!
This time, he’d placed balls around the training ground, darting between spots to unleash shots from each.
He practiced insteps, outsteps, various spins, using both feet without discrimination.
And he was thrilled.
‘He came to watch again...!’
He didn’t even need to look.
From the bench, Jeong-woo watched solely him, arms crossed.
That burning gaze of trust felt so intense it set his whole body ablaze with passion.
“Uoooooh—!”
Fueled by that gaze—which he interpreted all on his own—Todd let out his signature roar and moved even faster.
Of course, Jeong-woo and Hee-won were there to train Ethan Roberry, who still had zero minutes through 7 games.
They were observing Todd’s play while at it.
It wasn’t long before.
“Gary!”
Jeong-woo called shortly from the bench.
“Yes!”
Gary Todd bounded over like a puppy, no hesitation.
“You called?”
His eyes brimmed with respect.
Pat, pat, whoosh, whoosh!
Jeong-woo flinched at Todd’s gaze, which had only grown fiercer since joining.
“This.”
“Yes...?”
Todd blinked in confusion, then his eyes went wide.
There was a box beside Jeong-woo.
Jeong-woo patted it lightly with his palm—tap, tap!—and grinned.
“A gift.”
Gary Todd opened the box.
His pupils shook as he peered inside.
“This is...!”
Something utterly unexpected.
Black base with his number 3, initials G.T. embroidered.
Plus the Bolton embleMad Dog his profile.
Above all, an illustration of himself roaring like Ronaldo after a clearance—Todd was overcome.
“Boss...?”
Todd’s face nearly crumpled into tears as he looked at Jeong-woo.
He kept glancing between his hands and the new headgear, unable to tear away.
Jeong-woo rose, cooing sympathetically at Todd’s reddening eyes.
He stepped closer and said.
“That headgear—you’ve worn it since Manchester United days. It’s got all that Man U stink on it. And it’s worn out.”
Smooth.
Jeong-woo placed a large hand on Todd’s shoulder.
“You’re a Bolton player now. And my player.”
“...”
Todd couldn’t utter a word.
Jeong-woo’s gaze felt so warm, so steadfast.
The opposite of how Man United coaches treated him post-injury.
‘Still wearing that headgear...? Isn’t he fully recovered?’
‘Leave him. Trauma or whatever.’
‘How’s he gonna header with that on? Guy used to bang in 10+ with headers... tsk!’
They’d taken him back reluctantly.
Then benched him, then cut him loose.
But not Jeong-woo.
Squeeze—! As pressure hit his shoulder, a strange thrill surged from Todd’s feet upward.
At the same time, Jeong-woo said.
“The headgear—we’ll take care of it. Me, no, all of Bolton.”
Then he added.
“Here.”
“This is...?”
Todd looked puzzled again, on the verge of tears.
Jeong-woo patted his shoulder with one hand, then offered a document neatly set aside on the bench.
At the top: Consent Form.
* * *
League Round 8.
Nielsen Oakley of the second-generation Wanderers family visited Bolton’s home stadium with his son.
Average attendance had topped 30,000 since League One days.
The place was packed today, too.
“The heat...! Oh man~!”
Oakley was awestruck by the Wanderers’ fervor—fans all around jumping, screaming, no room to sit.
A smile wouldn’t leave his face.
Instead, his mouth gaped round throughout the match.
“Ooooh, oooooh! Ooooh!”
The seated Wanderers echoed cheers.
Simple reason.
Bolton Wanderers hammered counters against the league-bottom team.
Then, 27th minute of the first half.
Swipe!
From the left flank, a ground pass rolled in—Pak, back to the opposition, let it slip through perfectly.
Thud—!
He exploded into a ferocious sprint.
Ooooooooh—!
Fans including Nielsen Oakley roared loudest.
[Whoooosh—!]
Commentators shouted in shock.
Just like Tottenham’s Son Heung-min—slipping the flank pass and bursting forward in an instant.
The approaching fullback hesitated, then gapped four steps behind Pak in a flash.
That was it.
Thwack—!
Clang—!
[Gooooooal! Emmanuel Adebayooooor~!]
[Starting Adebayor taps in Pak’s deep left-box cutback with his right foot at the 28th minute!]
[Ah, Adebayor! Activity just 1.5km through 28 minutes!]
[Insane efficiency...!]
Just 4 minutes later, star Pak scored.
He darted between center-backs onto Owen Precise’s lob pass, nudging it home with a right-footed instep for the second.
Now the Wanderers belted out chants in ecstasy.
Then Nielsen Oakley noticed his son eyeing one spot intently.
“Son, what’re you looking at?”
As if waiting, the boy’s eyes sparkled, tiny finger pointing.
“Daddy, buy me that!”
No need to follow the finger—clear he’d fallen for Gary Todd’s new headgear.
Oakley himself had kept glancing at Todd’s headgear pre-match, with Bolton emblem, number, initials.
‘Vintage vibe’s pretty cool, huh?’
But Oakley soon smiled bitterly and shook his head.
“Can’t buy that one, son. It’s custom.”
* * *
First half ended 2-0 to Bolton.
Nielsen Oakley took his son to the fan store during halftime.
To cheer up the disappointed boy after the headgear letdown, get some Bolton merch.
But at the entrance, Oakley’s eyes bulged.
“Come on, this way!”
“Whoa, tons of stock!”
Staff in Bolton kits hauled boxes into the store.
A clerk pulled an item from a box and placed it on the display shelf.
Gary Todd’s headgear from the match moments ago.