Goalkeepers Don the Sunglasses. Unstinting Support. Plan 2.0 (4)
Javier and Jennings, the two goalkeeping coaches, were putting five keepers through their paces—including the academy lads.
Jennings held a specially engineered pair of electric sunglasses in his hand.
"This is the cheat key for reaction speed."
Cheat key?
They were a special pair of glasses powered by electricity.
"These sunglasses are cutting-edge safety goggles designed to maximize a player's reflexes and concentration."
The lenses blocked incoming vision in different modes according to electrical signals—an innovative piece of kit conceived to sharpen instantaneous reactions when the ball came from a blind spot or was screened.
They were the same equipment favored by Liverpool's Alisson, a name always mentioned when great saves were discussed, and by Swiss keeper Yann Sommer, who had filled in for a full year after Neuer's skiing injury at Bayern Munich.
Thanks to Han Shin's unhesitating support, brand-new gear was being rolled out at Sunderland in full force.
Sunderland's number-one goalkeeper, Anthony Patterson, eyed the sunglasses with open curiosity.
"What exactly is this, Coach? I've never seen kit like it."
Jennings added the explanation.
"These glasses will optimize your vision and sharpen your reflexes. Here—try them on."
"They just look like ordinary sunglasses."
"You've got to switch the battery on."
Anthony pressed the button on the right side, like the spectacles of some detective from a mystery manga. Instantly half his vertical field of view vanished behind a silver shutter.
"You're right. I can't see anything on the outside at all."
Javier, whose undyed hair was already speckled with white, chuckled.
"Heh-heh-heh… clumsier with equipment than an old man. Press the button a few more times."
"Ah… understood, Coach."
Anthony cycled through modes that blocked upper and lower vision, and even one that flickered without pause.
Meanwhile Jennings wheeled over a cart piled high with balls.
"Basketball players used this gear to raise their reaction times. Perfect for keepers too. How does it feel?"
"Still not sure."
One of the academy keepers tried the glasses and mashed the button.
"I don't really get it, but it's super fresh and fun!"
Jennings waved a hand.
"Playtime's over, Patterson! Senior man first—demo time. Flicker mode, stand in front of the goal."
Anthony Patterson, wearing the peculiar black sunglasses and his gloves, scrambled to stop the shots Jennings fired into every corner of the net.
"I really can't see a thing."
With his vision so drastically restricted, six out of ten shots sailed straight in.
"Doesn't seem very effective. All it does is blind me."
White-haired Javier clicked his tongue.
"The true value of those sunglasses shows when you take them off! Heh-heh-heh…"
After roughly twenty shots, Jennings gave the order.
"Anthony—take them off now."
The moment the glasses left his face, Anthony marveled at how wide the world suddenly felt.
"Something's different! Has the world always been this sharp?"
"Those safety goggles have been optimizing your reaction time. Ready for tougher shots?"
Jennings unleashed strikes from every angle.
Patterson, transformed, produced astonishing reflexes and stopped every single one.
Ten shots. Ten saves.
Grinning ear to ear without the glasses, Anthony called out.
"Coach! This really feels like using a cheat key! I can see exactly where the ball's going!"
Javier nodded.
"That's it, Patterson. You were already an outstanding keeper, but this will help you use every last scrap of your vision. If you're going to stop Darwin Núñez's shots, this is the level you need!"
"Yes!"
"Next!"
In that first session with the latest training equipment, the goalkeepers marveled at the club's full-throated support and grew more confident by the minute.
Putting the glasses on and taking them off again and again sharpened their reflexes until the improvement was unmistakable, and their concentration peaked.
"Thank you so much, Coach!"
The keepers lost all track of time in the shot-stopping drills, then one after another collapsed spread-eagled on the grass, sweat pouring off them.
Jennings smiled.
"Stay lying down and listen. Our new arrival, Coach Javier, is a senior I deeply respect—an extraordinary man!"
"An old man on the verge of retirement… heh-heh."
That was hardly something you could absorb while flat on your back.
One by one the keepers sat up on the turf.
"The manager and we coaches will stay up nights researching methods for you. Just trust us and follow every day on the training ground, and the goal will become even more solid. Understood?"
"Yes! We'll give everything!"
Goalkeeper was an especially cut-throat position. Once you were chosen as the number one, you usually stayed there for years—so their fire burned all the hotter.
"Above all, the manager's tactics are outstanding. If we keepers simply do our job and guard the goal like an iron wall, Sunderland will be invincible in the league!"
"Yes!"
Han Shin opened a window and waved.
"Training finished?"
"Yes, Boss!"
"How do you like the club's generous support?!"
"Boss! We're so happy!"
All five keepers waved their newly issued gloves in reply.
"Seeing you happy makes me happier than anything! Think you can stop every Liverpool shot?!"
"Yes! Absolutely!"
"Hahaha! I love the confidence! Well done, all of you!"
"You worked hard today too, Boss!"
Han Shin closed the window, humming a little Korean tune under his breath as he packed his bag.
"Time for me to go chase that A Licence too~~"
A crescent moon hung in the night sky.
Back from the academy, Han Shin sat in the study of his home.
On the solid oak desk sat a cold cup of instant noodles with chopsticks still stuck in it, and a solitary sheet of A4 paper titled "TTS Recording."
He had leaned the chair all the way back and closed his eyes.
"Zzz… zzz…"
No—he was asleep.
Creeeak—
A moment later the door opened with careful stealth.
Emily, in her nightclothes, padded in on tiptoe carrying a blanket.
Manager… if you're going to sleep like this, just use the bed.
She gently draped the microfiber blanket over him.
Then, afraid of waking him, she stayed perfectly still and simply gazed at his face.
Asleep he looks as cute as a child. He might wake up… so no kissing.
Noticing the laptop screen crowded with open windows, she glanced at it for a second.
Shall I sneak a peek at his YouTube algorithm? What if bikini girls pop up?
But the screen was packed with information—so much that she dared not even move the mouse.
Still, she couldn't resist a quick scan.
"Wow…"
Sunderland 2.0 Plan
It was the master schedule Han Shin had broken down into yearly, monthly, weekly, daily—and finally hourly—tasks.
A calendar filled with all forty-six league matches plus the EFL and FA Cup fixtures, collated reports from the coaches on what training was needed, and his own ideas scribbled throughout.
This is extreme T and J territory. Or maybe not even T?
MBTI had ridden the K-pop wave into a worldwide craze; even Emily had started typing herself.
ARK Project
A prototype demonstration video from Nebula Nexus.
Four 3-D-modeled men in red kits stood in a line inside a stadium that was the spitting image of Anfield.
Below it was a note that the AI had been trained on footage of peak-era Van Dijk making tackles.
What is this? I don't get it. How is AI supposed to do that?
She decided not to touch anything—every time she laid hands on a computer something went wrong.
The last thing Emily saw was:
Performance Bonuses Linked to Attribute Gains
What's this? Performance bonuses paid according to attribute rises?
Money.
Who on earth disliked money?
As she scrolled further, Emily suddenly gasped.
"Huk—this would properly motivate the players!"
A rustling sound.
Han Shin woke.
"What are you doing, Emily? Am I still half-asleep, or is this a dream?"
"Oh my! You startled me! You're awake? I'm sorry."
Roused by her voice, Han Shin yawned and asked,
"From that reaction, it's not a dream. Yaaawn~ Looks like I'm the one who should be surprised~ Anyway, thanks to you I'm awake."
"I'm sorry, Manager. I got curious and started reading…"
"What did you find most interesting, Emily?"
He rubbed his eyes as he asked.
"I didn't mean to snoop. Let me clear away the cup noodles."
"No, it's fine. You can read whatever you like. And don't go…"
He tapped his knee with a finger.
"Blanket."
"Pardon?"
"You brought this blanket, didn't you, Miss Emily?"
"That's right. You'll catch a cold if you're chilly."
"Come inside the blanket and sit on my lap. I'll explain everything you're curious about."
"Is that really all right? Shouldn't you be sleeping?"
Han Shin showed her his phone; the timer had about two minutes left.
"No—I set the alarm so I could get up right about now. It's fine. Thanks to you I'm wide awake."
"Then I'll take you up on that!"
Emily nestled into his arms like a kangaroo.
Looking up at him, she chattered like a little songbird.
"By the way… it must have been quite a shock. Did you see the news that Manager Zenit was sacked?"
"I read the article. My guess is it wasn't a sacking—he may have resigned."
"Why?"
"Men hate losing even at rock-paper-scissors, you know?"
"True."
"Yet after the red card he only brought on a youth player and made no further substitutions. It's one of two things: either successive titles killed his competitive fire…"
"Or pressure came down from above?"
"Exactly. I think so too. And there's that unpleasant coach."
"Vladimir?"
"Apparently he sent the club a bill demanding treatment costs for a few weeks' injury he claims he got from you?"
"He did?"
"He said if they don't settle it he'll sue. What on earth did you do?"
"Curious, are you?"
Smack—
Han Shin planted a sudden kiss on her forehead.
"Oh—does my mouth smell of cup noodles?"
"No. That… never mind! Th-this! Tell me about this."
"All right. So—what did you think of your little sneak peek?"
"Hmm… Sunderland 2.0 amazed me with how thorough it is. The ARK Project I don't understand at all. And the performance bonuses are so original they feel completely fresh. Explain, please!"
"Really? Then look here… and tell me if anything sounds odd while you listen."
Emily, perched on his lap, took the mouse and asked question after question while Han Shin answered; time slipped quietly past.
And so Sunderland, right down to the goalkeepers, was clothed in a modern training system.
Three days flew by in a flash.