Chapter 15
Chapter 15
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 15
Chapter Title: Today Is the Best Bargain - 2
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“Wow, congratulations!”
“Congrats, Bruno!”
“Lucky bastard.”
“Thanks, guys.”
“So, you’re treating us, right?”
“Of course I am. I’ll treat you properly on Friday.”
I was getting ready for training, but the atmosphere was unusually noisy today.
Our team’s starting winger, Bruno, had just arrived for work, and the kids were swarming him to congratulate him.
I wondered what was going on and eavesdropped a little. It seemed Bruno had just signed a professional contract.
“So... how much are you getting now?”
“How much did you ask for?”
The clamor suddenly died down, and their voices dropped to a whisper. I pretended to be distracted and crept closer.
Cough. Secret talks are always the most interesting, after all.
Bruno looked around for a moment, then spoke.
“About ten times. They’re offering around two thousand euros now.”
“Whoa, damn!”
“Two thousand euros a week...”
“We’d have to save our wages for two months just to match that.”
“Bruno’s a god...”
A chorus of impressed gasps erupted from the kids.
I had to swallow my own gasp.
So, signing a pro contract means your weekly wage jumps tenfold.
No wonder the kids were so envious...
“Wow, so all ten of us combined now equal just one Bruno?”
“So jealous... what are you gonna do with the money?”
“Well, I was thinking of buying some new soccer cleats. The latest model.”
“Wow, you rich bastard!”
Cleats. It was about time I bought a new pair too. It was impressive that he could buy the latest model without a second thought.
Well, it wasn’t like I was struggling for money or anything. My current weekly wage was around 200 euros, so I was effectively making over 200,000 won a week.
That came out to almost a million won a month.
I’m not an adult yet, but a million won is more than enough to live on at my age. The cost of living here is a bit high, so I can’t spend it lavishly, but still.
Still, I couldn’t help but envy Bruno.
Ten times. That means he’s making 2 million won a week. 8 million won a month.
The numbers would change with taxes and whatnot, but still, it’d be around that much.
I’m jealous. I’m so damn jealous.
If, just if, I signed a pro contract like Bruno... if I were making 8 million won a month, what would I do first?
First, I’d pay my share of the rent my dad pays for our apartment.
I’d pay for my own food. Fix the washing machine that’s half-broken. Buy a bigger fridge.
Treat Ji-woo to something delicious and show off a little.
...I’d still have money left over after all that, right?
If I saved that for a few months, I could even buy my dad a car. Wow, thinking about it like that, it really is a huge deal.
“Bruno’s a god...”
The thought made me mutter without realizing it. Bruno is a god... a god...
“Fall in, fall in! Let’s start training!”
I’m so jealous.
I hope... I get good results on my next contract negotiation too. Is that too shameless of me?
Well, I’ve been doing nothing but stealing a wage for the past few months. Hoping for more makes me a greedy bastard, doesn’t it?
“Congrats, Bruno.”
“Huh? Oh, thanks. Lee Ji-an, make sure you’re free on Friday too. I’m treating you.”
“Ah, yeah. I’ll make time.”
Seeing Bruno’s bright face made my own mood lift for no reason.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
“Good, good! Let’s go again!”
“Hoo, alright.”
I caught my breath for a moment, then pushed off the ground again, dribbling the ball forward.
Eventually, I came face-to-face with Coach Luca, who was waiting in a low stance...
Tap-tap!
I tried a feint, mixing up my upper body and footwork.
I faked to the right with my torso, then moved my foot as if going left.
But Coach Luca was unmoving.
He wasn’t easily fooled. He won’t fall for the same trick twice. I’d already used the feint-and-breakthrough move earlier.
So, what should I try?
I can’t beat Coach Luca by just powering through. I have to trick him and steal the timing. Maybe I should try this?
Whoosh!
I shifted my weight to the right while feinting with a stutter step.
Thump!
Using the rebound, I quickly cut to the other side.
Ta-ta-tap!
I saw Coach Luca flinch for a moment, losing his timing.
I got him.
“Good, good! This... I can’t move an inch, can I?”
“Ah, haha...”
At Coach Luca’s praise, I brought the ball back and awkwardly scratched my head.
He’s giving me too much credit. It’s embarrassing.
After all, he was deliberately letting me get past him.
“Good, good. Let’s go again?”
“Yes. I’ll try.”
After the team training ended.
I was staying behind at the training ground, doing personal training.
Thankfully, Coach Luca was watching over me personally. He said I shouldn’t get hurt while training alone, and my training volume needed to be controlled, so he stayed.
He went beyond just watching, acting as a personal trainer and training with me.
When I did dribbling drills like this, he’d play defense. When I practiced shooting, he’d put on gloves and even play goalkeeper.
At first, I felt more burdened than thankful. I thought it was unnecessary for him to stay behind just for me and go this far...
But Coach Luca never showed any sign of being annoyed; rather, he was more enthusiastic in helping me train.
Thanks to that, I could focus solely on my training with a grateful heart.
I thought I should do something for the coach someday if I get the chance.
“Alright, shall we try to kill ourselves now?”
“I’ll take it.”
After the skill training, I finished with physical training. Coach Luca had designed a customized interval program for me, so all I had to do was roll around and give it my all without thinking.
I ran back and forth on the agility ladder, resisted Coach Luca’s pushes with my body, and played non-stop tag in a confined space.
“Hoo... hooo...”
It was already hot, and the intense physical training made me feel like I was going to die. As I did it, there was a point where my mind just went blank.
It was a level of pain that the words ‘it’s hard’ couldn’t describe, the kind that could kill a person.
It’s a secret from Coach Luca, but throughout the training, Korean curses I never normally use kept popping out of my mouth.
“Here, drink.”
“Ah... thank you...”
But, even though it was so hard while I was doing it...
Physical training was always the most rewarding once I finished.
It’s hard to explain, but it gave me a sense of accomplishment, as if I’d won a battle against myself. Also, when I push myself to the absolute limit, my mind goes crazy and I feel incredibly good.
More than anything, after training like this, I felt proud because I was certain that tomorrow’s me would be better.
If I repeat this dozens, hundreds of times.
Someday, I could become a real soccer genius, at least to someone.
That was what I thought.
“Grrr...”
“Haha.”
I gulped down the sports drink Coach Luca handed me and let out an old-man-like groan, which made him laugh.
I came to my senses a bit, sat up, and bowed my head to the coach.
“Thank you again for today.”
“What is there to be thankful for?”
“For training with me like this.”
“Training the kids is my job. If anything, I should be thanking you for being so proactive.”
“Still, thank you. I’ll find a way to repay you someday.”
At my words, Coach Luca looked at me and laughed heartily.
“Repayment, huh. Then do well in this week’s match. There’s no better repayment for a coach than that.”
“Ah, this week’s match...”
“Well, I’m not trying to pressure you. I’m saying you should fight for what you deserve. After sweating like this on such a hot day, you have to do well, if only to avoid feeling wronged, right?”
I nodded, and Coach Luca nodded as well.
“I know because I was a player too. There’s no such thing as coincidence on the field. Not even a deflected goal off a defender. Is that just a coincidence? No. You take hundreds of shots in training for that one shot. Nothing happens by coincidence.”
Coach Luca put his hand on my shoulder and continued.
“In the end, I’m telling you to believe in yourself more. Then others will recognize your value. Got it?”
“Yes. I understand.”
“Good. Get up. Go home and rest right away. Go do the massage I taught you, for sure.”
“Yes.”
Believe in yourself more...
I stored that line deep in my heart and finished my training.
I thought I’d have to run myself into the ground for the next match.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
An afternoon with bright, clear sunlight shining down.
Monteboro Youth Soccer Stadium in Empoli, Tuscany.
On the field, players from Fiorentina in white uniforms and Empoli players in blue uniforms were preparing for the match.
“Heh... heh... let's see here...”
An old man sitting in a corner of the stands, organizing some documents, clicked his tongue and muttered.
It was Paolo Rossi, the director of Fiorentina’s youth team. He had come here today to see players whose contracts were about to be renewed.
“There’s a hole here... and a hole there... money is just leaking out. Leaking.”
There were too many players to contract.
The money coming down from above was limited, but there were countless places to spend it. It was a huge headache.
Especially this time, the timing had coincided strangely. The U17 team had more members than ever. As a result, players hoping for a pro contract had all gathered at once.
To handle this all at once would require a huge sum of money, so Director Paolo’s nerves had been particularly sharp recently.
“As if that wasn’t enough... what’s this now...”
Director Paolo’s displeased gaze landed on a page of the documents. It was a page with a player’s profile.
16 years old, Lee Ji-an.
A kid they’d brought in from Juventus at the beginning of the year... a player who hadn’t played a single game in the past few months.
Even if the wages for youth players weren’t much, there was no way Director Paolo would look favorably on that profile.
Actually, not playing wasn’t a huge problem. He’d just turned 16, so he wasn’t that old. It could happen.
The problem was that he’d shown no development in those few months.
At first, Director Toni had insisted on waiting and trusting him, so he’d gone along with it. But no matter how long they waited, there was no response. Whenever he asked how he was doing, he’d just say he needed more time.
You need to show visible progress to be worth spending money on. A pro team isn’t a charity.
But, the week before last.
It seemed he’d finally started to change. He was training hard, and showing the form he’d had in the past. Director Toni was making a huge fuss about it.
He said he’d done well in training, so he put him in the game, and he even scored a goal.
He even started last week.
He played 60 minutes and scored two goals, and the opponent was Napoli. I couldn’t watch the match live, but I saw the video, and there was definitely something there.
“Yes, good... this is good...”
It was a welcome development. They clashed occasionally due to their respective positions, but Director Paolo fundamentally respected Director Toni’s skills.
And the kid he’d picked out was starting to produce results. How could he not be pleased?
“But why is he making such a big fuss over just two games...”
However, he couldn’t understand Director Toni’s excitement. He kept rushing him, saying they had to hurry up and sign him just because he’d started playing in matches. What was so urgent about a 16-year-old?
Well... anyway.
Money is meant to be spent where it’s needed, so you have to save it where you can. If he had that much value, there was no reason to delay the contract. If he delayed for no reason and got snatched up by hyenas, that would be an even bigger headache.
That’s why he’d come here himself.
To see for himself. Whether the kid truly had that much value.
What was so special that Director Toni was making such a big deal about it?
“Let’s see for ourselves... let’s watch...”
As Director Paolo watched the field with his stern eyes.
The match between Fiorentina and Empoli began on the field.