Chapter 6
Chapter 6
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Translator: Silver Dragon
Chapter: 6
Chapter Title: Pouring Love Calls (2)
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England's Premier League.
Spain's La Liga.
Italy's Serie A.
Germany's Bundesliga.
France's Ligue 1.
Love calls poured in from nearly every league, including Europe's Big Five.
Among them, the first team to make contact with me was, regrettably, the one I most wanted to avoid: South Korea's K League.
"This kind of barging in unannounced is really troubling."
"We've called you so many times, but you never picked up, so we had to come in person."
"Sigh..."
This unwelcome visitor was the coach of the U-san Middle School soccer team.
I'd looked up my home address and come all this way, and I'd only reluctantly opened the door because I was still technically affiliated with his team for this year.
Their goal was for me to advance to U-san High School and naturally join the K League's Seoul Hawks.
"As you probably know, I'm already thinking about transferring abroad right away."
"Haha... Of course, that's a fine choice. But you know how hot the support from Korean fans is right now, right? Wouldn't staying in Korea and contributing to the growth of the K League be a great way to give back?"
"Wouldn't the public prefer seeing a player go overseas?"
"..."
There was no way he could argue with that.
To begin with, he knew full well that the whole pitch he was making was absurd.
"You know what happened to Lee Seung-oh when he left Korea young. It's not too late to build up experience here until you're an adult and then go abroad."
"You're talking about the youth protection rules, right? My whole family will be moving together, so it'll be fine. Thank you for your concern."
"Please head out now. I don't think there's anything more to discuss."
"..."
Seeing my firm stance, Coach Kim Shin-myeong started making a call to someone.
"It's the association president."
"Ah, Ban Yeager."
"Association president... You mean the president of the Korea Football Association?"
"His name's Jeong Mong-gu. Since he's calling, it looks like things aren't going well."
"I'm sorry, President."
"No long talk. Ban Yeager, stay in Korea."
"I'm sorry, but that's not possible."
"This isn't persuasion or a proposal. And it's a good choice for you too. Don't you know how many young players flop after rushing abroad too early? You might end up as the second Lee Seung-oh instead of the second Zidane. The fate of a traitor to his country."
"How is... How can you interpret going to an overseas league as betraying the country? I love Korea more than anyone, and I can confidently say that! I plan to dedicate myself to the national team based on experience from top competitions!"
"Your choice might eliminate any chance of that."
"What you're saying is..."
"Just in case. I want to see you playing with the Taeguk mark too. I expect a wise decision."
The phone clicked off.
"You have my number, right? I'll be waiting for your call."
"..."
BAM!
A threat holding national team selection hostage.
Do what we want, or we'll make sure you suffer somehow.
It was a threat that wouldn't faze me in the slightest.
As long as I grew to a level they couldn't touch, the public would rise up with pitchforks if they dared bench me.
And I was confident I could do just that.
"Ah, Ye-rin-ah..."
After confirming the coach had left, I turned around and spotted my little sister peeking through the cracked-open door.
"Is he gone?"
"Yeah. Sorry for startling you."
"Don't worry about it. More importantly, this..."
Ding!
"This is..."
The phone my sister handed me had a video of everything that just happened.
"Just in case, I recorded it."
"...You."
"What? Was that bad?"
"You did great, of course! Come here, my pretty Ye-rin—it's been too long for a hug!"
"Eek—! What are you doing?!"
"Heh heh heh... Come here!!"
I belatedly regretted not installing a home cam the moment I let the coach in.
I'd recorded the whole conversation on my phone in my pocket as a backup, but it turned out I didn't need to.
My sister had captured a perfectly framed video.
We had solid evidence with my voice, Coach Kim Shin-myeong's, and even Association President Jeong Mong-gu's.
After some playful tussling with my adorable sister,
we'd each retreated to our rooms to pack.
Our family had already decided we'd all move together if I signed with an overseas team.
Starting just a few days from now, we'd visit various clubs in person to talk things over.
The league most advantageous for my situation—and thus the first country on the list—was
England.
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