A Bolt from the Blue
"Join the club? Our Yohan?"
"Yes. To put it bluntly, our club would like to bring Yohan in along with a few of the other children who participated in this camp. We have a strong desire to develop him into a professional player."
Sister Caterina's eyes went wide at Salvatore's proposal. She had expected him to suggest a tryout, but she never imagined they would want to sign him right away.
"Hmm… Is Yohan really that good?"
"Of course. Well…"
Salvatore trailed off. He wanted to speak honestly about Yohan's abilities, but he was worried Sister Caterina might take offense.
These days, parents sometimes got angry when you tried to explain their child's strengths and weaknesses. It was especially common when the strengths were few and the weaknesses many, but he had also seen plenty of cases where parents got upset even when the opposite was true, claiming you were criticizing their child. Even when the feedback was perfectly reasonable advice, twisted maternal instincts would occasionally make things exhausting for everyone involved — themselves, the other party, and everyone around them.
But this concern was almost certainly unfounded. You could tell a lot about the parents by looking at the child. In his eyes, Yohan was a child raised by someone with sound parenting values. So Salvatore decided to speak about Yohan's abilities without holding anything back.
"Technically, he's behind. But everything else is outstanding. What we call football IQ — the mental side of the game — Yohan's is higher than the other kids'."
"Is that so…?"
"Yes. Of course, just because a youth player has talent doesn't mean they'll all make it to the professional level. The kids who actually become pros are few enough to count on one hand. Parents these days all know this. That's why football associations in every country strongly recommend balancing academics with football, and we follow that approach as well."
"So you're saying academics wouldn't be a problem?"
"That's right. And through our club's systematic training program, we'll only train Yohan within limits that won't put strain on his body. These days, that's the standard pretty much everywhere."
The club did have a dormitory for youth players. They housed children from distant regions and other countries there, and in some cases focused entirely on football. But recently, as football associations in each country had recommended balancing studies as mentioned earlier, they no longer threw children entirely into football the way they used to. Still, once a child reached a certain age, having to choose between academics and football was an inevitable, natural part of the process.
"Once a player's talent becomes clearly visible, that's when they gradually start deciding whether to go all-in as an athlete. The timing varies from person to person, but it usually shows around age twelve or thirteen. Of course there are individual differences, and for someone like Yohan who starts specialized training later, that point might come later as well."
Listening to Salvatore's courteous explanation, Sister Caterina fell into thought. For Yohan, these were conditions that couldn't be better. And from Sister Caterina's perspective as well. Balancing academics with athletic development — it was like a safety net for a child who might one day have to give up their dream of becoming a player. From the standpoint of someone who thought of Yohan as her own child, the club's approach was something that would put her and the other nuns at ease.
If Yohan had been sitting beside her, his face would have flushed red in an instant and he would have raised his hand to say yes right then and there. Sister Caterina herself was more than ready to accept. But she needed to discuss it with Yohan first. No matter how much Yohan wanted to become a footballer, and even though she knew he would accept without even being asked, it was only right to ask the child for his opinion.
"I'm truly grateful for the offer, but I'd like to discuss it with Yohan first when he gets back."
"Of course. Before that, let me explain our plans so you can feel at ease. If Yohan decides to join the club, we plan to cancel the camp starting from the second week entirely and bring him into the club instead. Naturally, we'll refund the fees."
"Ah, I see…"
"Any costs incurred during his development will of course be covered entirely by the club. And—"
"Just a moment. I'm sorry to interrupt, but may I take notes?"
"Yes, of course."
"Thank you."
This was a conversation that could completely change the course of Yohan's life. She needed to absorb every detail — and if she didn't understand something, she would ask until she had it all locked in her mind. With that resolve, Sister Caterina fetched her notebook and listened to Salvatore with the utmost concentration.
Yohan hadn't gotten much of his vacation homework done. The boys had asked who he'd met at the club, and he'd spent the time telling them about Laurentino. Starting from that topic and going all the way through how many goals and assists he'd gotten, far too much time had been consumed. It was only thanks to the girls — who were relatively less interested in football — scolding them that they'd managed to start at all. Without that, they might never have begun the homework.
Fortunately, they'd managed to scrape through the amount they'd set for themselves before starting, so the children breathed a sigh of relief and enjoyed a game of dodgeball. Afterward, they ate the dinner prepared at the convent — a mix of Korean and Western dishes — and when their parents arrived, they prepared to head home.
"Bye. Get home safely."
Yohan politely greeted his friends' parents, then shook his head with a look of regret as the group of boys and a few of the girls lingered reluctantly.
"Can we come again tomorrow?"
"No. I have to go to camp, remember?"
"What… Can't you just not go?"
"I can't do that. Let's all play together again once camp is over."
It pained him to see his friends looking so disappointed, but the football camp was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. That overwhelming joy that might never come again if he let it slip now — Yohan didn't want to miss it.
"Promise?"
"Yeah, I promise."
After seeing the children off, Yohan went into the room the nuns had worked so hard to prepare for him and lay down on the bed. But when a careful knock came from outside the door, he sat right up and answered.
"Yes, Sister."
The person who opened the door was Sister Caterina. She entered with a flushed expression, as if she had good news, sat Yohan down in a chair, and cleared her throat.
"What is it?"
Then, to the bewildered Yohan, she relayed everything she had heard from Coach Salvatore that day. That AS Roma wanted to sign Yohan as a youth player. That he would continue living at the convent and attending school as before, but train under Roma and be officially registered as a player to compete in the youth league. She went through every addition to his current daily life carefully, step by step, and slowly — so that Yohan wouldn't get confused.
"…What?"
But even with all that care, confusion settled over Yohan's face. He had just heard something so shocking he had never even imagined it. It was the kind of news that would leave any nine-year-old speechless, and Sister Caterina, who had anticipated this reaction, slowly explained Roma's proposal once more.
And she watched. The more she spoke, the redder Yohan's face became in real time. This, too, was a reaction she had expected. Once she finished speaking, Yohan would flap his arms and bounce up and down on the spot. Yohan always did that when something made him happy. Some might find it a bit immature, unbefitting of his age, but Sister Caterina saw it as the natural behavior of a child.
But her prediction missed the mark completely.
"Is it really true…? From Roma?"
"Yes."
"They want to sign me as a player? They'll train me too? With the goal of becoming a pro?"
Yohan was quietly, carefully reviewing everything Sister Caterina had said. He even pressed his hips firmly into the chair, as if trying to steady his racing heart.
"Yes… that's what they said. As long as our Yohan is okay with it."
"…I want to do it…!"
And more than that — his eyes burned with such intensity it would be fair to say they were blazing, fixed with fierce determination.
"Y-you do…?"
Sister Caterina's eyes went wide — she had never seen Yohan react like this before — but when she noticed the rapid puffs of breath coming from his nose, she couldn't help but let out a pleased little laugh.
He's just that happy.
It wasn't ordinary happiness — it seemed like a joy that transcended joy itself. Having been briefly flustered, Sister Caterina quickly nodded.
"Then I'll let them know."
"When do I start?"
"They say they'll start training you as early as next week, but since it's the off-season, they won't go at too high an intensity."
"Next week is tomorrow, isn't it?"
"That's right."
"When next week…? Tomorrow?"
"Tomorrow I'll first pass along your thoughts to the coach, and if things move forward, he'll call the convent."
"Okay…? I want to do it."
Watching Yohan repeat the same words, Sister Caterina thought she might have made a mistake.
Maybe I should have told him tomorrow.
She was worried he wouldn't be able to sleep properly like this. He would almost certainly be far too excited. He might even stay up all night.
Just as she thought, Yohan had no intention of sleeping at all. He was already soaring on the wings of extravagant imagination — a scene of himself in a stadium packed with seventy thousand seats, scoring through an incredible play and receiving thunderous cheers from his teammates and the fans.