Chapter 146
Translator: uly
Chapter: 146
Chapter Title: Start (9)
Black-Haired Tactical Genius
Chapter 146: Start (9)
At a table in the food corner.
Charlotte Emma sat primly, her eyes narrowed.
In her hand was a tablet PC displaying:
[Bolton's Free Kick! Gary Todd's Headgear! On Sale Now...!]
[How to Purchase: Bolton Official Club Website and In-Store...!]
[Price: 20 Pounds (Approximately 32,000 KRW)]
Click-!
The moment she hit refresh, the headgear that Gary Todd had worn during the league's 8th round had already sold out.
That was when the tip of Emma's slender eyebrow twitched upward.
"Failed."
"Hoo~! Slurp! What failed?"
Ma Jeong-woo, sitting across from her and blowing on his ramen, asked curiously.
Emma turned the tablet PC toward Jeong-woo.
"There were ten thousand units, but the moment I clicked, it went to zero."
In other words, she'd failed to snag tickets—or in this case, merchandise.
"Pfft."
Jeong-woo couldn't help but burst out laughing at Emma's expression.
"Why are you laughing?"
"You really don't know?"
"I'm asking because I don't know."
Instead of answering, Jeong-woo stared at Emma, who looked utterly baffled and wronged.
She was so indignant that even the usually composed Emma had a faint blush on her cheeks.
Her large eyes were wide with intensity, showing no sign of letting up.
It was so cute that Jeong-woo felt like pinching her cheeks.
"Ahem, it's nothing."
Worried that pointing it out might make her never show this side again, Jeong-woo pretended not to notice.
Fortunately, EMad Dogidn't press the issue.
Instead, she closed her eyes briefly and opened them, returning to her cool demeanor.
"Truly, the chairman seems to have a knack for business."
Her eyes held a mix of admiration and gratitude.
From the lottery event to the Ma doll merch and the glamping site, Jeong-woo had surprised everyone with his clever ideas.
He'd poured the commercial revenue back into Bolton without hesitation.
As a result, Bolton's finances were far better than they had been a year and eight months ago.
This headgear was surely part of that same strategy.
Jeong-woo cleared his throat with an "Ahem" as Emma praised hiMad Dog her turquoise eyes fixed on him.
"Nah, what’s there to praise about that...? Heh."
Still, he felt good, and one corner of his mouth tugged upward smugly.
Then, glancing at Emma, he said,
"Our team leader deserves a lot of credit too."
"My credit?"
"Of course. Without you, I wouldn't have even thought of that product."
Emma blinked.
Jeong-woo took a sip from his water cup and shrugged.
"That necklace you showed me last time."
"Necklace?"
"The cat necklace."
"Ah."
Emma belatedly recalled the incident from a few days ago and parted her lips slightly.
The memory flashed by of the Ma chairman giving her necklace a strange look.
But Emma still looked puzzled.
She tilted her head slightly, which was adorable.
"But how does that...?"
Jeong-woo set his empty water cup down on the table with a clunk and explained.
"That necklace sparked the idea right away. Fans love symbolic player merch, like cat-shaped costume pendants for animal lovers."
Jeong-woo spread his arms wide and continued.
"Kids are crazy about Gary Todd more than I expected. And even though it's only been a few rounds, his headgear is already his signature."
"You... came up with that idea from my cat pendant?"
"Yeah, so I talked to Todd's agent, then had the marketing department create the image and place the order right away."
Charlotte Emma was genuinely shocked.
Only then did she start to understand that strange look from before.
'The eyes he had when conceiving such a groundbreaking item...!'
She couldn't imagine coming up with something like that in her own head.
Meanwhile, her heart pounded.
'This man...!'
Even in a casual moment, he'd been envisioning Bolton's future.
She felt pathetic for brushing it off so casually.
That was when it happened.
"Um,"
Jeong-woo smacked his lips for some reason and muttered.
"That necklace... could you show it to me one more time? It was pretty cute, ahem."
And Emma saw it.
Jeong-woo's eyes turning that strange way again.
Emma responded to his passionate gaze with a small smile.
"I'll show you."
There was no hesitation.
If anything, it reaffirmed her conviction.
'This man is Bolton's present and future...!'
* * *
Ethan Roberie, who might just reach 170cm, was in the middle of training.
"Huff, huff, huff-!"
Harsh breaths poured from his mouth nonstop.
Yet his mind was filled with questions.
'Is this training really enough...?'
He was currently doing balance drills on Bolton's first-team training ground.
Zigzagging through cones using only one foot at a time.
Meanwhile, Hee-won ran alongside, occasionally giving Roberie's body a light shove.
It happened again now.
Thud-!
"Hold steady!"
As Hee-won shouted, he shoved Roberie's shoulder with his palm just as he passed a cone.
"Eek!"
Roberie gritted his teeth and endured.
But his balance crumbled, sending him stumbling a few steps off the cone line.
After twenty minutes of that, they moved to sprint drills.
Roberie started jogging in place, then exploded into a sprint on Hee-won's whistle.
"Hahk, hahk! Hahk!"
His breathing grew rougher as time passed.
Still, the doubt lingered.
Balance training was fine, but he'd never done any physical training since arriving here.
How much time had passed?
Thud-!
Roberie finally collapsed.
"Good job!"
Hee-won, the Manager who'd been coaching him nonstop, ruffled his hair as he passed.
"Huff, wait a sec!"
Unable to hold back, Roberie stopped Hee-won.
More precisely, he stared straight at Jeong-woo, who had been sitting slouched on the bench observing his training.
His gaze was full of dissatisfaction.
'Damn kid.'
Jeong-woo slyly curled his lip upward.
After all, it had taken until the 8th round for the kid to show his frustration.
It was a situation ripe for complaints.
During the league's 8 rounds, Roberie hadn't even made the bench once.
In between, Jeong-woo had called him over for one-on-one tutoring sessions.
He'd seen it clearly when bringing the kid in on loan from Man City.
'Talent's definitely there.'
His incisive movements and dribbling were top-notch.
'Hoseb hyung's sore spot.'
The problem was his physicality—once hit, his balance shattered completely.
His growth had stalled as a result.
But now, the kid was questioning the tutoring method.
'Not physical-focused.'
Jeong-woo knew.
Back when he played for Manchester City, they'd pushed physical training hard.
Even if he hated it, the coaches would've prioritized it.
'His frame's not suited for the rough Championship or EPL.'
But Jeong-woo was different.
"Huff...! Why... is that?"
Roberie, catching his breath, stepped forward two paces and asked.
For someone who still looked boyish, his eyes were sharper than expected.
"Why what?"
Jeong-woo tilted his head cockily and shot back.
Roberie vented his grievances.
"Why no physical training?"
"Physical?"
"I've done it since Manchester City. It's obviously what I need...!"
Roberie knew it well.
With each passing year, his physical weaknesses led to him falling behind.
That's why he was stubborn about physical training.
He was greedy for it and growing impatient as time went on.
He wanted to prove himself on the Championship stage as soon as possible, and eventually return to the EPL.
But Jeong-woo just stared at him with a weird look instead of answering.
"Coach, please tell me. I honestly don't see how this training is helping me. And... I haven't even debuted in the league yet."
In Korea, a youth not even an adult yet questioning the coach's training would be unthinkable.
'They'd treat him like moldy trash in the corner.'
But this was different.
Players had to promote themselves however they could, sometimes boldly speaking up.
That this position, this training, isn't benefiting me, and so on.
But Jeong-woo shook his head.
"Muscular endurance, explosiveness, stamina, and flexibility."
"Yes...?"
As Roberie tilted his head, Jeong-woo furrowed his brow and continued.
"That's the foundational training we've been doing. It's all physical abilities, same as what you're asking for."
"But...!"
"I know. You're talking about strength training. What you've always done and really want."
Roberie opened his mouth to retort but froze as Jeong-woo nailed it instantly.
But the next words left him flustered.
"No strength training for you. Bulking up? Might as well feed it to the dogs."
"...What?"
"You deaf like Todd for a sec? Strength training doesn't suit you."
Roberie couldn't retort easily this time.
He couldn't at all.
The unprecedented evaluation left his mind in chaos.
Seizing the moment, Jeong-woo shot to his feet.
Then he shoulder-checked the dazed Roberie from the side.
Boom-!
"Urk?!"
Splat!
Caught off guard by the shoulder charge, Roberie toppled over ungracefully without even trying to brace.
Beyond flustered, anger flared as he glared up at Jeong-woo.
"What the...!"
But he couldn't finish.
Swish-!
Flinch!
Jeong-woo, with the sun at his back, was already squatting in front of him, flashing white teeth in a grin.
He ruffled the stunned Roberie's hair and said,
"Kid, your body and natural talent are far from strength-based. Sure, 'technique shines with physical backing' makes sense. But physicality isn't just strength."
Thud-!
Jeong-woo paused mid-sentence and flicked his index finger at the center of Roberie's forehead.
"Especially not for you."
Now Roberie's pupils shook wildly.
Jeong-woo stared down at him, then chuckled and landed the blow.
"I'm starting you in round 9. Reward for following my training well. And... you've shown more noticeable progress than expected."
Roberie was still puzzled.
He felt like he'd been stuck in place without even bench time over 8 rounds.
But Jeong-woo's gaze said otherwise.
'Why...?'
Clearly, it brimmed with expectation.