Chapter 37
Translator 8uhl
Chapter 37
Chapter Title Dios Alvarez Carbia
Oppa, wheres Spain?
My youngest brother Gyeoul stared at a globe as big as his own body and asked me.
Spains here.
Its close! Right?
Yeah, pretty close, huh?
If Gyeoul goes too cant I?
So that was the point?
Gyeoul looked up at me with sparkling eyes full of anticipation, and he was so cute that I stroked his head as I told him,
Gyeoul, it looks close on this thing, but to actually get there, you have to take a plane.
Really? How long does it take?
Hmm around three hours? And thats not counting the time to get to the airport or going through proceduresitll take even longer.
There were still a lot of tough words for Gyeoul, apparently. He tilted his head, looking confused.
Eeeh Oppa, soccer. Wanna watch!
You can watch next week, so lets do it then.
Now cant I?!
Yeah, yeah, you cant just wander in there.
We can! Right?
The way he was already calling Newcastle United we meant Gyeoul had turned into a proper Toon faster than anyone.
When I thought about it, considering the time ahead, Gyeoul would end up spending more years growing up in England than in Korea.
Big bro! Big bro, where you going!
Yeoreum, whod apparently just gotten home from school, was the same way.
Now eight years oldor seven in Western countingYeoreum was starting to shed his baby fat and show some real cheekykid vibes.
Big bro, not going to Spain?
Im heading out now.
When you coming back? Tomorrows the match, so tomorrow?
What, you think Im coming right back?
Our Yeoreum had grown up a lot.
As a little kid, hed been so glued to his big brother that Mom and Dad worried he had separation anxiety, but now he was all about his friends over me.
Mom said he was a total social butterfly at school.
Birthday parties, all kinds of partieshe was getting invites left and right because of Yeoreum.
It made me a little jealous, but it was a good thing.
Yeah, Ill be back tomorrow evening, so have fun with Gyeoul.
Okay!
I patted Yeoreum and Gyeoul on the head and stood up.
Leaving already?
Yeah, see you tomorrow?
Okay! Safe trip, big bro!
Bye, oppa!!
The two of them had so much to chat about that they plopped down and started gossiping. I watched them fondly as I grabbed my bags.
Now it was time to go meet the player whod become a future god.
Spain itd been a while.
Dios Alvarez Carbia.
He was the crown jewel of Real Madrids youth systemthe revived La Fabricaand the news articles were calling him the top mainstay product of the future. Hed started making his name first in Spain, then across Europe, and now the world.
The only players you could really compare him to were Manchester Uniteds Vitor Feliciano and PSGs Avinu.
Dios! Were counting on you today.
Dios, Newcastles nothing, right?
The senior team stank up the Champions League, but I saw it comingtheyve been slacking lately. You wont do that, right, Dios?
Thanks to all that, expectations for Dios at Real Madrid were skyhigh.
Not just from the fans, but from everyone in the club.
Even as he headed into the locker room to prep for the match, the janitors, laundry staff, coaches from other age groupseveryone was stopping him to offer words brimming with hope.
And Dioss response to all their expectations was always the same.
Yeah.
Short and curt.
Youd think his apathetic attitude might come off as cocky, but people actually liked how consistent he was.
They figured the kid had ice in his veins.
And they werent wrong.
Dios never got rattled in a match.
Truth be told, he had no reason to.
No team or playerPrimera Division or Europa Cupever made him tense.
Hed gotten excited once hearing about peers on his level, but when he actually faced them, they couldnt touch him.
And Dios was only fourteen.
With the age gap and growth spurts creating physical differences even now, and the skill gap this wide, he wondered if itd ever change when they grew up.
Yawn.
Lately, soccer didnt feel fun anymoreit was just something he had to do.
Dios!
He walked into the locker room, and his teammates all welcomed him warmly.
Dios gave a lazy wave to acknowledge them and sat at his spot.
Behind him hung his jersey with the number 7 on the back.
The number hed claim on the senior team someday.
Even that felt meh these days. Everything was just annoying and boring.
Whore we playing today, anyway?
Come to think of it, he hadnt even checked the opponent.
The team didnt drill tactics into him or make him scout aheadthe opponents had long stopped bothering.
Newcastle.
Newcastle? That hick team with the blackandwhite stripes? The rich one?
Any spark of motivation he mightve had fizzled out completely.
Reading his listless expression, a teammate spoke up.
Youre not in the starting lineup today.
Yeah?
Premier League teams played rough anyway, and he hadnt wanted to risk an injury. Perfect.
Feeling much lighter, he prepped for the bench when the coachs voice rang out.
Dont play like the senior teamcareless!
Yes, sir!
He asked the teammate next to him after hearing the coach.
Everyone else is on edge toowhat happened?
We lost 10 to Newcastle.
What? No way, thats bullshit.
We got totally had. Dominated them all game, then ate a setpiece goal right at the end of the second half.
Jeez.
Dios shook his head in pity.
Hed never let that happen.
Even against weak teams, losing hurt his pride, so he always gave it everything.
Well be different.
Yeah.
He halfassed a response to his teammate and peered out at the pitch.
Newcastle kicked off, passing calmly and methodically pushing the line up.
Their passes meshed like perfect gears.
Spoton positioning, seamless buildupit all looked good on the surface.
But that was it.
Real Madrid had dissected Newcastle Uniteds tactics thoroughly and spotted the weakness.
Their precise system left no room for individual judgment, improvisation, or adaptation.
Sure, a few players slyly ignored the coach and freelanced, but a handful like that couldnt handle a fully polished Real Madrid squad.
Unable to advance the ball through the designated zones, Newcastle kept recycling it backward. Real Madrid pounced on the gaps, intercepting and switching play.
The ball swung out wide to a winger amid the packed center, who hugged the touchline, drove deep, and whipped in a cross.
Real Madrid Juvenil As secondmosthyped striker after Dios, Rafael, met it.
Rafael controlled the dropping ball in the air, shrugged off the marker glued to his hip, and rifled it home for the opener.
Rafael delivers, as always. Killer instinct.
The staff nodded in approval, and Rafael roared through his celebration, firing up Real Madrid.
They really suck.
Watching that, Dios wrote off Newcastle as just another rich, mediocre club and lost interest.
Keeping an eye on the coach, he eventually dozed off on the bench.
Cono!!!
What the!
How long had he been out? The coachs shout jolted Dios awake.
He wiped the drool from his mouth and lookedthe coachs face was beet red.
The guy was always gentle with the players, never yelled, but now he was cursing up a storm. Dios glanced around, bewildered.
What the hell? Why are we losing?
It was the 36th minute of the first half.
Hed only nodded off for a bit, but more time had passed than he thoughtand the score was 21 against them.
What the hell had happened all half?
Puzzled, he followed everyones gaze to the pitch.
An Asian?
There was a blackhaired kid there.
Around the halfway line, hed picked up the ball and was charging toward Real Madrids goal.
Is he nuts?
His own half had defenders in place, backed by holding mids.
All top prospects.
The centerback duo Real Madrid had nurtured to win this comp last season, the trusted Brazilian defensive mid, fullbacks bred for cuttingedge tactics.
Even Dios thought scoring on them was no joke.
He didnt love racial stereotypes, but no way an Asian was putting one past that lot.
Right thenthe holding mid got breezed through like hed taken a bribe.
Then a fullback got nutmegged, the chasing centerback bought a stepover and crumpled to one knee, and even as the remaining fullback and defender sandwiched him from both sides, they didnt steal the balltheir fouls whiffed hilariously, clearing the path.
The Asian kid shook off five defenders in one go, closed on the keeperwho came rushingand dragged him with a backheel, slotting it into the empty net.
Unbelievable
Dios shook his head in disbelief and glanced at his teammate.
The guy was staring at the Asian kid, looking shellshocked.
Did our guys turn stupid all of a sudden, or is that kid just that good?
His teammate flinched at Dioss words and turned.
Its a hattrick.
Huh?
He did that solo for all three goals.
For real?
When Dios pressed, incredulous, the teammate shoved his arm in his face.
Look, my hairs are standing on end. Everyone else too. That guys a freak. Insanely good.
Better than me?
The teammate froze.
Normally hed say, Of course youre better! without hesitationbut freezing said it all.
Dios turned to stare at the Asian kid, Taeyang.
For someone whod just bagged a hattrick, he trudged back to halfway looking bored as hell.
Something hot surged in Dioss chest.
A feeling he hadnt had in ages.
Pure competitive fire.
And the urge to face that player and win.
As if reading his mind, the coach looked at Dios and said,
Get warmed up, Dios. Youre coming on in the second half.
Dios flashed a rare grin.
Yes, sir!