Chapter 27
Translator 8uhl
Chapter 27
Chapter Title TyneWear Derby Fever
The young Toons crushed Manchester Citys sprouts!
And 31 at that!
An Asian kid did almost all of it by himself!
Word like this started spreading among the Newcastle folk.
You think thats worth all the buzz?
Thats just cause you dont know the Toons.
Anything related to Newcastle Unitedeven the tiniest thingtheyd turn it into pub banter.
On top of that, with decent talents coming up from the youth team and making waves in recent years, interest in the youths had spiked big time.
No doubt about it! I thought I was watching Messi. That big lug Ezequiel turned into a total clown!
Man, mustve been a sight seeing those City pricks faces. Aint their manager the guy who bagged a hattrick against us back in the day?
Nah. Looked like he was drooling all over himself.
At Jasons words, everyone in the pub listening rapt to his tale scowled.
Those rootless trash bastards are messing with kids now, too.
Fits a club that struck it rich overnight without any roots. Vulgar as hell.
Having to buy themselves some history means theyve got no choice but to poach our young ones.
Having ripped into a team with a long history but fuckall trophies before the oil money, the Toons swung back to youth talk.
But how longs that kid been with us?
First game was this one, they say?
What? All this fuss over just one match?
Nah, that one match was insane! Go see for yourself.
One by one, folks started getting curious at the cries of Churrai!
Even after that, with no clashes between youth games and senior league fixtures for a bit, more and more headed to Little Benton.
By the next round, half the small stadiumwhich held about 2,000filled up.
Opponents Everton U16.
Oh!
Thats the Asian kid?
As soon as the game kicked off and Newcastle got an attacking chance, Taeyang seized it, breezed past two defenders in a flash, and slotted home.
Folks cheered wild as the young Toon scored, asking each other
Whats his name?
Tayyoang? Tayyang?
They say its SUN in our tongue?
Wow!
That day, the boy notched a goal and an assist, shook Everton senseless with dazzling dribbles time and againthe Toons started calling him Sunny.
Next round Liverpool U16.
No direct ties to Newcastle United, but as one of the Premier Leagues top dogsthe club that produced legends like Gerrardpeople turned up expecting a show.
That day, Taeyang went even crazier than last time two goals, two assists.
For the young Toons threepeat!
For the Toons hopes!
To the future Toon sun!!
The lads who watched gathered at the pub, toasting the young Toons and Taeyang.
Three wins in a row! Might be more fun cheering the kids than the seniors.
They werent just hyped over three straight wins, though.
This seasons Newcastles been proper shite.
Generational swaps gone tits up.
Newcastle Uniteds firsthalf form this season had been pisspoor.
A team scrapping for Champions League spotsnot title contenders, surebut sitting 12th even midway through? No wonder the fired gone out of supporting them.
Still, theyd end up at the new St. James Park eventually, but the U16s had caught their eye.
And the next match? One no Toon could ignore.
A derby you wont see with the senior side.
Rare as hens teeth.
Gotta go.
Newcastle Uniteds archrivals, Sunderland. The TyneWear Derby.
Two cities so close, theyd been at each others throats for nigh on a millennium, and that rivalry poured into football.
Sunderlands slide started twentyodd years back, so senior derbies were rare treats in cup ties.
Youths were different, though.
Youth teams split into North and South leagues based on signups, and these twothe closest cities in the Northboth played North.
So folks craving a derby always hit Little Benton.
Hell, you could say theyd added stands to the youth pitch just to humor the derbystarved Toons.
Usually it was reserves in Premier League 2 or U18s drawing crowds, but U16s had their share too.
This time? Even more.
With the youths on a rare win streak, the U16 TyneWear Derby packed the standsoverflowing, even.
Show us what you got today, Sunny!
Hattrick against those Sunderland cunts, yeah?
Sunny!!
And the stadium rang with calls for Taeyangs nickname.
Sunny, huh.
Feels kinda girly. Not thrilled.
Not loving the chant from the stands, either.
Already get enough pretty like your mom grief.
Grow up quick, bulk up some linesfingers crossed.
Our Sunny can do great today, right?
Problem was Mom, too.
Sunny, Daddys here, so play your best. Got it?
Dad, too.
Sunny oppa, fighting!
Sunny hyung!! Do great!
Sunny, go!!
Even the siblings.
Our eldest grandson, our Sunny will do well, yeah?
So many calling you Sunny. Nice, eh? Already got a nickname. Heh heh heh.
Grandpas, tooall jumping on the Sunny train.
What if I end up Yoon Sunny?
Hope Sunny doesnt trend over Yoon Taeyang back home.
Wonder if headlinesll pop up like Sunny shines in Sonnys old league.
Drinking the kimchi soup already?
Eh, whatever. Its good.
Rare for adults to care this much.
A millenniumold derby, they said?
Then shine bright, stick in their minds.
If we win here, dyou think youll skip up a year?
Shalett asked, eyes sparkling.
Come to think, this guys three years older.
Oh, skipping means no more games with you? Thatd suck. Games with you are fun, yknow. Lately Ive been getting off on reading your passes. High and hard to trap? Play it cool from the start. Low and zippy to my feet? Quick onetouch. Long ball? Just run. Right? Nailed it? How do you pack so much into a pass? Amazi
Ah... right.
Shalett, warming up to me, started unleashing his true self from that shy shell.
Talked. A lot. Incarnation of toomuchtalker.
Sitting next to him? Ears bled.
Germans this chatty?
Key bit Germanstyle, boring as fuck.
Hed chuckle midway, like it cracked him up.
Alright, chitchat over. Eyes here, lads.
Saved from chatter hell Coach Aiden.
Todays the TyneWear Derby. Every staffs drilled how big this is for Newcastle, right?
Yes!
Coach pointed back.
Thats why Little Bentons bursting. Honestly? Full house for our age group? Rare sight.
......
So youre shaking?
We glanced around at his words.
Some kids looked jittery, others like memeh.
Coach eyed us.
Normal to shake. But on the pitch? Forget it all. Eyes on the game only.
Noncaptain for a reasoneasy words.
Forgetting aint simple.
Sure enough, the greenhouse flower Newcastles couldnt shake the nerves.
Perfect. Faces alive with it.
...Does our coach not read emotions or faces?
Frontal lobe glitch or summat?
Good. Take that fire out there. Go flatten those Sunderland wankers noses.
We bolted for the pitch.
Sunderland kids lined up opposite.
If ours looked like pampered young sirs, theirs screamed rough street toughs from the slums.
Whats this, Newcastle rich boys? Oiled up so now youre fielding fucking Asians?
At the halfway line, the roughs flaunted their rough mouths.
Not checking a mirror, but flashed my brightest grin back.
You lot cant afford kids like me? All English, eh? Cant even snag Scots or Welsh?
......Fucking moneybags. Only Champions League run you buy.
Yep. Even broke, we never sank like you lot.
You little......
Who you mouthing off to?
Orphanage didnt just bulk fistsmouth too, eh.
Tweet!
Whistle blew as the prick glared daggers.
Crowd erupted into Coming Home Newcastle on cue, ball at my feetgame on.
Coachs orders Push the line high from kickoff, trap em, batter Sunderland.
We raised the line, pinned their lot below halfway.
I lined up midfield, dictating passes.
Kept eyeing Shalett.
Our attack ran through me and him now Sunderland eyed him too as I did.
Shalett drifted wide casuallike I whipped an early cross.
Me fixating on him pulled their fullback and centerback, opening space.
I sprinted into it Shalett stabbed a through ball like clockwork.
Our pattern, honed over three games.
Sunderland predicted itsweeper at the backbut too deep.
Channelled Ribéry sidestepped him, curled to the far post.
Splat!!
The ballloaded with venomripped the net.
Rooooar!
Sunny!!
Good lad!
On cue, Toons in the stands belted Local Hero.
Time to flex.
Sprinted to the loudest cheering pack, spun, pointed two hands at my back.
YOON
7
Number 7, Yoon Taeyangearned after three games shine.
My ceremony screamed Remember this teams number 7.
They roared.
Number 7!! Sunny!!
...Yoon, not Sunny.