Chapter 3
Chapter 3
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Translator: Silver Dragon
Chapter: 3
Chapter Title: Grand Debut
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Korea had just hammered three goals past Spain, perennial favorites in international tournaments.
The locker room buzzed with warm praise, everyone convinced they could ride this momentum to victory.
Kwang—!
That was until Kim I-seok, the soccer association's spoiled brat backed by the federation brass, ruined it all.
"..."
The locker room fell silent in an instant.
Kim I-seok had suddenly hurled his cleats into his locker.
The coach was still nowhere to be seen, off doing who-knows-what.
I-seok fumed alone for a bit before storming out.
The teammates, who had gone quiet, started chattering again one by one.
"Yeager."
The right winger, our rising prospect Ki Daeryong, who'd been eyeing me cautiously, finally spoke up.
He was the one who'd assisted my second goal.
"Daeryong, you've got real talent. Keep playing like that."
"...Thanks."
Starting with Daeryong, the others drifted over one by one to talk to me.
"Me, scoring against Spain... It's all thanks to you."
"Yeah, yeah. You did great too. We all did."
Mun Seonjun, who'd notched a goal himself, thanked me with a look of awe.
Of course, not everyone reacted the same.
"Um... Yeager. Defense-wise..."
Lee Doran, our central midfielder.
His passing left something to be desired, but he'd more than covered for my limited stamina. A real lifesaver.
Tap.
I placed a hand on Doran's shoulder and gave him a serious look.
"You're the real MVP of this match. Thanks to you, I could focus purely on attack."
"..."
Would he really buy something this obvious?
No matter how dense, no one falls for flattery that transparent...
"No way! Compared to you, I just ran my ass off!"
He did.
"Two goals and an assist against Spain... You're our country's hero!!"
"I knew you had it in you!"
"Doran, you run twice as hard!! That's efficient, right?!"
Guess they're still young.
These kids are so pure.
'Well, yeah.'
Who cares about details when they've just beaten unbeatable Spain 3-1?
These guys are already drunk on national pride.
"Alright, alright. Keep it up like this! Let's head back to Korea in glory!"
Waaaaah—!!!
It was cringey as hell, but they loved it, so I played along.
'Gotta nurture them right...'
A bunch of these guys would stick around the national team for years.
'Just grow up like this...'
Kwang—!!
Ah, the vibe was perfect until then.
They needed more time to hype me up.
In strutted the coach—Luoyang's own吕布 in the locker room, a total incompetent.
"No time, so straight to the point. We'll make a sub right at the start of the second half."
Coach Kim Byungho grabbed a marker and started scribbling on the whiteboard the second he walked in.
"Seonjun's coming off for I-seok. I-seok's got killer finishing, so Yeager, feed him the ball."
Now I saw I-seok, who'd stormed out earlier, slinking in sheepishly behind the coach.
Pulling our goalscorer Seonjun for I-seok, who'd been a disaster in the previous two games?
Utter nonsense, but no one dared object.
Because they trusted the coach?
Hell no.
They'd argued until they were blue in the face before—it was pointless.
In this low-stakes U-17 tournament, connections trumped talent.
But this tournament was different.
They'd crushed Spain, drawing massive hype and attention.
'Is he an idiot...'
I-seok, an attacking midfielder by trade, slotted in as striker.
Meaning he figured benching me was a no-go...
But swapping Seonjun for I-seok? That'd fly?
Thanks to that, sidelining the coach and I-seok would be easier than expected.
'A hat-trick should do it.'
——
The second half kicked off with Korea's ball.
"Hey, make something happen for real this time?"
'This guy's got no shame?'
I-seok's kickoff pass to me started the half.
Spain came out fired up, maybe after some halftime pep talk, charging with renewed vigor.
Thud.
I tapped it forward to the right back's vicinity and pushed upfield.
Spain players surged past me, shrinking the space toward the ball.
"Pass it up front!"
I bolted into space ahead, opening a passing lane.
Spain players pounced like they'd been lying in wait.
They knew most plays ran through me—it was inevitable.
A midfielder barreled straight at me, ready for a full-on collision.
I nutmegged him clean, dodging the challenge entirely.
The ball rolled straight to Ki Daeryong on the right wing.
"To me!"
I took the return pass and slotted a through ball ahead of Daeryong's run.
Daeryong had all the time in the world.
He settled himself and whipped in a pinpoint cross.
Straight to Kim I-seok in the box.
Beep—!
The ball sailed past I-seok, who mistimed his jump, flying out for a goal kick.
Twenty minutes in, after that first botched chance gave possession back to Spain.
Incredibly, Korea dominated, racking up three shots on target.
Yet the score stayed 3-1.
Fail to convert this momentum, and even up two goals, a comeback was possible.
Kim I-seok hadn't scored once from those three.
Including golden opportunities he didn't even touch, the misses piled up.
'What a headache.'
I wasn't pinning big hopes on him, but this was worse than his usual trash form.
The silver lining? Marking on me loosened up a tad.
Three massive misses in a row.
We lamented his finishing, but Spain saw it differently.
A player creating chance after chance.
Finishing rough, but consistently dangerous.
Especially field players with limited info—they'd feel it more.
The second focus shifted even slightly to I-seok, they'd never contain me.
"Yeager!!"
Left back Lee Seokho stole the ball and fired a progressive pass my way.
Thump—
Joel Aiden crashed into me from behind right away.
No need for a strength contest.
Shrrrk—
I laid my right foot flat on the low, fast ball.
It rode my boot up and over Aiden's head.
"Shit!!"
Aiden leaped late, but the ball just cleared him by inches.
I controlled it smoothly and surged forward dribbling.
Spain's backline blocked my path.
They'd been burned by my runs before, so they kept distance, waiting for my move.
They'd leaked chances to killer passes after sucking me in, so even feinting a pass made them twitch.
Forcing the brutal dilemma, I closed in—they had no choice but to drop deeper.
The penalty box line loomed, but they held distance, waiting for me to blink first.
Tap— Tap—
"Pass!!"
I timed it, and right as I-seok signaled...
'Here comes my panic button.'
Pang—!!
I unleashed my right foot.
The instant the ball left my boot.
Goal.
My body already spun toward the stands; I just glanced at the net.
The ball rippled the mesh.
Waaaaaaaah—!!!!!!
I ripped off my jersey and bolted to the crowd.
Thrilled fans reached out to me.
Amid the chaos, my mind raced.
'What to do...!'
This celebration could become my signature.
Had to nail something iconic, defining me.
'What defines me...'
"Ah!"
Mid-chant with the fans, inspiration hit—I acted on it.
Slipped my jersey back on and pounded my chest.
"““Ban Yeager!!! Ban Yeager!!! Ban Yeager!!!”””"
"““BAN!!! BAN!!! BAN!!!””"
"““BAN!!! BAN!!! BAN!!!””"
I'd flipped the jersey so name and number faced front.
Right hand drumming my name like conducting the crowd.
Left hand over the middle of 18, making a 10.
10
The style that maxed my talent.
My symbol. My path forward.
——
Beep—!
72nd minute of the second half.
Spain kicked off, but Korea seized possession fast.
Spain had lost heart, but Korea's momentum was off the charts.
Plus, they'd honed a clear plan through the match.
Everything through Ban Yeager.
Tap—
No worry of passes to Yeager getting cut.
Spain had no one to track his movement.
Tap—
Yeager's return passes connected perfectly.
His vision was just that good.
Repeating simple passes drained Spain's stamina fast.
Yeager played casually with two markers glued to him.
By the time the ball hit his feet, a third piled on—but he escaped presses with ease, keeping flow alive.
No need for flashy runs.
He'd already proven his impact.
Standing still, Yeager did the work of three.
Beep—! Beep—! Beeeep—!!!
90:00.
With such a lopsided score, the ref blew full time right at regulation end.
Final: 5-2.
At 85', Yeager's early cross nailed Ki Daeryong's head, shaking the net.
Spain got a corner header late, but it couldn't flip the result.
Against invincible Spain.
3 goals, 2 assists.
Ban Yeager's monster game earned him Man of the Match.
The performance was shocking enough, but as a total unknown, it drew insane buzz.
Yeager's first taste of fame: the MOM interview.
Soccer fans worldwide watched the new star's grand debut.