First Steps (2)
Among Korea's major sports media outlets, Sports Korea reporter Kim Min-seok primarily covered overseas soccer. Perhaps because he'd spent half a year studying Spanish in Spain before becoming a journalist, he often wrote about La Liga. And the quality of his articles was quite impressive—within Sports Korea, no one could match him on La Liga coverage.
That said, for Korean soccer fans, La Liga drew less attention than England's Premier League or Germany's Bundesliga. Those leagues always had at least one Korean player in the top flight each season, but Spain had seen virtually no Korean pros at any professional level in recent years. Sure, Korean players went abroad to Spain for training stints, but success stories were rare. Especially in La Liga, where non-EU players were limited to just three in the first division and two in the second, breaking into those spots was no easy feat.
And yet...
"Huh?"
A Korean player in La Liga after all these years. Not the top flight, but the second division—and Kim Min-seok couldn't help but be stunned.
...Cha Tae-oh?
The name was utterly unfamiliar. This wasn't some high school phenom dominating the scene or a pro turning heads with solid performances en route to Europe. An unknown signing a pro contract with AD Alcorcon, a mid-to-upper-table La Liga 2 club? Kim Min-seok quickly dug into the player's info. It wasn't hard to find.
Just a few months ago, Cha Tae-oh had been released by Gimpo United, the bottom-feeders of K League 2. And that fact only confused the reporter more.
No way... A guy cut from K League 2 signs a pro deal with a La Liga 2 club not even three months later? Does that even make sense?
The surprises didn't stop there. His stats from three semi-pro games with AD Alcorcon B were eye-popping.
Th-three games: 16 goals and 5 assists???
Holy shit, seriously?
"...What the hell?"
Kim Min-seok stared blankly at his monitor, tilting his head repeatedly.
AD Alcorcon B played in Spain's fourth tier, Segunda Federacion—definitely a step below pro leagues like K League 2. But racking up 16 goals and 5 assists in three games there, then getting a pro offer and signing in under a month?
The club must've been head over heels for him...
Meanwhile, Cha Tae-oh's K League 2 stint with Gimpo United? Just three games, zero goal contributions, and cut after his rookie year. Gimpo had clearly written him off. And now, not even three months later, he'd flown to Spain and inked a pro deal with a solid La Liga 2 side?
"...No, this can't be real."
The muttered doubt slipped out loud before he knew it. Snapping back to his journalist instincts, Kim Min-seok pulled up a Hangul document window. Details could wait—he needed to write the article first.
The piece he posted blew up.
The day he signed the pro contract.
Aunt Han Mi-ju and Uncle Adrian shut down the restaurant right after lunch service for a full-day break.
"Party time! Celebrating Theo's pro contract! Everyone who can make it—hell, everyone's coming! No excuses! Woo-hoo!"
Uncle Adrian was buzzing with excitement. Aunt Han Mi-ju was too. They hadn't spilled details on the contract size, but hearing from Camilla Bravo that it'd been a solid deal had Aunt beaming at me with pride.
"Your mom must be thrilled. You called her, right?"
"Yeah, right after the photo shoot this morning."
Mom had been over the moon. Dad, as always, just said a curt "Congrats," but his voice had cracked a bit. Looked like it was time to make up for all the lost filial piety—and that made me feel even better.
The party went down at Gonzalo's place, the sous-chef. Everyone showed to celebrate me. Even the aloof Elena surprised me by joining. Yuko wanted to come but had work later. Tiago rolled in straight from CD Coslada training and bear-hugged me like it was his big day.
Jose Bravo and Camilla Bravo, who'd been huge in making the deal happen, couldn't make it—Camilla for health reasons, Jose swamped with work. We'd catch up later.
With the whole Corear crew gathered, Uncle Adrian led the toast as the rep.
"To Theo's success!"
"To success!"
Clink! Glasses chimed crisply.
"Congrats again, Theo!"
"Seriously, huge congrats!"
"Conquer Alcorcon, then come to the Whites! Woo-hoo!"
I could feel how the Corear staff treated me differently now. Made sense—in Spain, soccer players got mad respect. You couldn't just call yourself one. Only pros in La Liga or La Liga 2 could proudly say, "I'm a soccer player." With nearly every guy playing the world's most popular sport, breaking pro took serious chops—and earned universal props.
I'd become that guy.
"Still can't believe it, though. Pro contract in like three weeks? Don't they usually watch for months?"
As the vibe peaked, buzzed Gonzalo asked in awe. La Liga know-it-all Tiago jumped in.
"Months minimum, years sometimes. La Liga's got salary caps, so they're super picky about roster spots."
Salary cap. A league-imposed ceiling on a team's total player salaries. Common in US sports, but La Liga micromanaged all soccer-related spending to prevent debt-fueled bankruptcies.
"Makes Theo even more impressive. They saw he was on another level and jumped."
"Gotta catch one of your games on an off-day. Missed the Coslada one."
"You'll see. Theo's different. For real! Right, boss?"
"Damn right! Hey, Gonzalo, let's hit Alcorcon's opener next season. Nah, listen up, everyone."
Tipsy Uncle Adrian shot up and bellowed.
"Corear's closed for Alcorcon's opener next season too! Can't miss Theo's debut! Everyone here goes—no choice! This is our bond with Theo!"
"Vamos!"
"Vamos!"
The Corear guys, led by Uncle, leaped up, hoisting glasses sky-high. Only me, Aunt, and Elena stayed seated. (I'd barely touched my drink—pro life meant no benders, just a light sip.)
Clink! Another crisp chime echoed.
And right then...
Clink-clatter—
Splash!
Wine flew from a glass, arcing through the air... straight onto my pants.
"What the—?!"
"Who did that?!"
"Hold your glass right!"
"Spilling on Theo's pants?!"
It happened so fast, no spotting the culprit.
"Nah, it's fine. Cheap pants anyway. Don't sweat it, haha!"
I wasn't pissed. Shit happens, and this was all for me. No way I'd sour over something small.
"Got spare pants for you. Hang on."
Gonzalo bolted to his closet; Aunt rushed off for a dry towel.
I patted the wet spot urgently. Pretty soaked—hand-shaking wouldn't cut it.
"......"
Then I noticed how deathly quiet it'd gotten. Looking up, every eye was on me. Thought they were gauging my mood at first, but no—all stares locked on one spot.
I followed their gaze.
And got it. The wine-soaked crotch fabric clinging, outlining my massive bulge.
Everyone gawking in admiration.
"......"
"......"
Mostly envy. But one gaze was... different. Felt familiar. Like Kim Hyo-jin and Yuko's eyes when they first saw it.
Elena was sparkling with that same look.
"Pants here!"
"Towel!"
Gonzalo and Aunt returned; stares scattered like nothing happened.
Flushing a bit, I grabbed the pants and towel, heading to the bathroom. Weird vibe. Not shame... more like unexpected superiority.
Ring!
Phone blasted from my pocket. I ditched the pants, pulled it out—barely damp, lucky. Glancing at the screen, I tilted my head.
A voice message from an old soccer team buddy from middle/high school.
"Yo, what's up?"
His voice crackled through the speaker.
"Dude! What the hell?! When'd you go to Spain? No heads-up?!"
I'd kept it secret. Announcing Spain might invite nosy advice, so I'd zipped it.
"What's going on?"
"The place is blowing up, man! Article dropped—you signed with Alcorcon. And 16 goals 5 assists in three fourth-tier games? What the fuck's been going on? No contact lately?!"
I tilted my head, eyes widening.
No way...?