Farewell to Peaceful Days
During the community outreach, Yohan met all sorts of people—Lorenzo’s wife, of course, along with the players’ relatives and friends. He spent time with people of every nationality and race.
Afterward, with promises of the next season, he returned to the convent. There he held a modest party with the nuns, then went out for a meal with Caroline and Haley.
A few people recognized him, but none approached, as if unwilling to interrupt their dinner. Thanks to that, Yohan finished his meal in peace. Only then did the restaurant owner and other fans come over for photos and autographs before he left.
“So much for peaceful everyday life, huh?”
In the car heading back to Haley’s house, she fiddled with her phone as she spoke. Yohan shrugged.
“It’s still peaceful.”
“I don’t think so. They’re already digging up your entire past.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Look at this.”
Haley held out her phone to him.
On the screen was an article about Yohan from a daily newspaper in Rome.
Currently, if one were to name the hottest topic in Serie A, it would without a doubt be Roma’s Yohan Lee.
Three matches, two goals, one assist, average rating of eight.
With a performance unbefitting a mere prospect, he made a major contribution to Roma climbing to fifth place. He made his debut as a substitute in the thirty-sixth-round match against Sassuolo.
In that match he recorded one goal and one assist, announcing his presence to the world. When the final whistle blew, he crossed the running track, pushed through the enthusiastic welcome of the Giallorossi, and headed for the cheapest seats.
There he embraced the four nuns who had come to watch the match of the son they had raised in their hearts, and shed tears of joy for a long while.
“I didn’t cry, though…”
Suddenly bashful, Yohan scratched his head. Haley teased him.
“You totally would have.”
“Would I…?”
“Keep reading. Scroll down.”
“Haven’t you already read this?”
“Not all of it.”
Yohan Lee is the son of Mateo Lee, who once worked as a firefighter in Rome.
Mateo Lee was born in Rome to an American father and an Italian-American mother…
Yohan Lee’s mother is the Korean Sohyeon Lee.
She, too, was a firefighter like Mateo Lee. According to the reporter’s investigation, the two first met at the World Firefighters Competition held in Korea and fell in love at first sight…
Despite the long-distance relationship, they developed their bond quickly. After two years of passionate romance they married, quit firefighting, and moved to Rome. In Mateo Lee’s hometown of Trigoria they invested their severance pay in a guesthouse catering to tourists.
It was then that Yohan Lee entered the world under the blessing of Romulus and Remus.
The year after Yohan was born, the couple’s guesthouse struggled, so they took him back to Korea…
Mateo Lee taught Italian and English to Koreans,
while Sohyeon Lee studied for firefighting certifications and worked as a recreation instructor…
As Catholics, the two often volunteered at Korean orphanages…
One day, while volunteering at an orphanage, fate intervened and they reunited with Mateo’s childhood friend, Caterina Bellucci…
Yohan Lee was raised by the nuns of the Trigoria Convent, whose lives had been saved thanks to his parents.
The Trigoria Convent sits near Roma’s first-team training ground, so one can dare say it was inevitable that Yohan became a member of the Giallorossi.
The Trigoria Convent is a small convent with four hundred years of history, built even earlier than St. Peter’s Basilica.
Though its history runs deep, few know of it. It is situated in a remote place, and the nuns rarely engage in external activities.
Yohan Lee’s jersey number 39 is the date the Trigoria Convent was completed.
A romantic number choice befitting a member of the Giallorossi.
If you pass by the Trigoria Convent at noon, the strong seasoning aroma unique to Korean food tickles your nose.
According to rumor, the nuns at the convent cook Korean food better than most Koreans living in Rome.
On Korean holidays they freely distribute fermented foods like kimchi and various other dishes, so if you’re interested, visit the convent.
However, just because it’s free, if you act up you’ll receive divine punishment—so better to be polite.
Thanks to the fateful connection arranged by God, Yohan Lee grew into an excellent person and became a member of the Giallorossi.
Let us all send him our unstinting support.
The article ended there.
It felt less like a reporter’s piece and more like something a devoted fan had written.
“How did they find all this out?”
Yohan muttered, mouth hanging open at the sheer accuracy of the details.
Haley took the phone back from him.
“Is all of that true?”
“Yeah.”
“And this photo? I’ve seen pictures of your parents, but I’ve never seen this one in your room.”
At the very top of the article was a photograph of four-year-old Yohan dangling from Mateo’s arm while the man laughed heartily, with Sohyeon Lee standing beside him, arm linked affectionately through his.
Looking at the photo, Yohan smiled with quiet longing.
“That’s from the Korean orphanage. My parents took me along when they went to volunteer. They took it separately before the group photo with the kids.”
“You never brought it with you?”
“No. The orphanage takes pictures of the people who come to volunteer and pins them on the bulletin board. That one was hanging there, so we didn’t take it.”
“So the reporter went all the way to Korea?”
“Maybe. Or they just contacted them.”
“To go hunting for a photo like that… that’s some serious dedication.”
“Right? I was surprised too.”
Haley simply stared at the phone in silence.
She looked a little swept up in emotion, gazing at the photo of Yohan’s past.
There was a time when she could look at the pictures in his convent room without batting an eye. Yohan thought, Haley’s changed a lot too.
The moment the season ended, talk of Coach Ferraro’s future flooded the media.
Until now the Roma owner had always spent extremely thriftily on signings. Even after Ferraro arrived it was the same—he ran the club mainly on loans, and when he did buy, he never spent large sums.
No matter how high-intensity Ferraro’s tactics were, producing many injuries, the club’s failure to reinforce properly was clearly a problem as well.
Even this past winter, when injuries piled up, they brought in only a single player on loan and that was it.
Despite all that, Ferraro still guided Roma to fifth place—a thoroughly respectable campaign.
In situations like this, people blame the club, not the coach.
Moreover, Ferraro was receiving love calls from Chelsea. The fact that a big club recognized his ability only fueled the fans’ fury; they screamed at the owner to finally spend some money and let them see what Ferraro could really do.
They had made the same demands last year and the year before. In truth, every single year the fans nearly tore their hair out over the owner’s stinginess and begged him to open the purse. Yet nothing ever changed—until this time.
Whatever wind had blown through the owner’s mind, he declared he would open the checkbook.
It might have been to keep Ferraro. Or, with the long-dormant talk of selling the club rising to the surface again, he might have wanted to make signings, improve next season’s results, raise the club’s value, and sell at a higher price.
Either way, the fans remained half-skeptical of the owner’s sudden generosity—until the sporting director moved quickly. Before long an article broke that they had offered thirty-five million euros for the key defender of a Bundesliga side that had stormed the league this season.
Then came word that they had beaten every other club to the punch with a total bid of forty million euros for the Czech striker who had scored fifteen goals for Sampdoria and was drawing heavy interest. The fans, still a little dazed, erupted in massive cheers.
While the club kept generating one huge transfer rumor after another, Yohan stood at the airport with Caroline, Haley, and Simone.
Caroline and Haley were flying straight back to the United States. Yohan would take part in a U-17 national team match, then spend a few days helping the nuns with volunteer work after they arrived in Korea on a later flight, before heading to America himself.
“The season just ended and you’re already playing again?”
“National team games are always scheduled during the league breaks.”
“When you’re done, come straight over and check out the new house.”
“Got it. I’m looking forward to it.”
“There’s plenty to see around there, so you can go out and play, or you can just sleep as much as you like.”
“Why would I sleep? I’ve got a campaign to do. Aiden already lined up a party in LA too.”
“Didn’t you say last time you’d just do it over video call?”
“We’ll do that and also go in person.”
“Haa… you’re such a total nerd.”
Yohan gave a fond hug to Haley, who was shaking her head in exasperation, then did the same with Caroline and saw the two of them off.
Afterward he boarded the flight to Korea with Simone.
The seat the national team side had booked for him was business class. Simone, however, had paid for his own ticket; from the beginning he had volunteered to accompany Yohan on this trip to Korea.
“I could have gone alone. Sorry for the trouble.”
“Not at all. It’s Yohan Lee’s first national team call-up—of course I should come along. I was planning a family trip to Japan in two days anyway, so I’m just stopping by first. No need to feel any burden. And when we land, you might be a little surprised.”
“Why?”
“You’ve become famous not only in Italy but in Korea as well. There may be more reporters than expected.”
“Ah…”
“As I mentioned a while ago, the national team side has asked the sports reporters to limit themselves to just a few questions. There’s one thing you need to be careful about, though…”
“What is it?”
“Korean football is in a bit of turmoil right now. Right before the World Cup the president of the Korea Football Association was arrested in a scandal big enough to be called a ‘gate,’ and the post is vacant. If any reporter tries to ask about the association, under no circumstances give a personal opinion.”
“I don’t know anything about that stuff. I only know how to play football…”
“That’s exactly how you should answer. Someone from the Korean national team side will try to block those questions, but just in case, keep it in mind.”
“Understood.”