7. Role Model (2)
As I stepped out of the classroom, a female student caught my eye.
She had long, straight hair neatly reaching her shoulders. Her face looked pale, probably from recent stress, but even so, she was stunning enough to turn the heads of every guy passing by.
Her appearance felt both incredibly familiar... and strangely distant.
That was unavoidable.
It had been 16 years since I'd last seen her.
Of course, that was from my previous life.
In this timeline, it had only been about nine days.
"Ah...!"
The moment she spotted me, her pupils trembled, and she fidgeted restlessly, not knowing what to do.
She wanted to say something but couldn't find the words.
Eventually, she bit her lower lip hard, as if hoping I'd curse her out first.
"Long time no see. Wanna go somewhere quiet and talk?"
"...! Y-yeah."
It was lunchtime, so we had time.
I led her—Seo Eun—to a secluded bench on school grounds.
That's right.
—Can I become a cool guy if I become a soccer player? Can I date Seo Eun-ah?
She was the reason I'd set my sights on becoming a soccer player in the first place.
We were both seniors, but because of her early birthday, she was a year younger than me. We'd gotten close simply because our names were similar.
Lee Seojun and Seo Eun. Even the hanja characters matched, so our kindergarten teacher mistook us for fraternal twins.
Once she saw our birthdays didn't line up, she figured we must be half-siblings or something.
That silly story reached both sets of parents through the teacher, sparking a connection that had our families bonding like old pals.
We drifted apart in elementary school, never sharing a class, but when middle school split us into different schools, I couldn't take it anymore. Harboring feelings for her all along, I confessed, and we started dating.
After that, we took it slow.
A leisurely relationship, fitting our names that both carried the "slow and steady" character Seo.
I'd even thought about marrying Seo Eun.
Our personalities meshed, and unlike plain old me, she was so pretty that other guys gossiped about her.
Pro athletes settle down early, so I planned to propose after my first year as a pro.
But it all shattered in an instant.
Because of my parents' deaths.
"I'm sorry, oppa... I'm so sorry...!"
Seo Eun blurted out an apology.
The reason was simple.
Her parents had been among the creditors my parents owed money to.
In other words, she blamed herself for contributing to driving my parents to suicide.
What an idiot. How absurd is that?
But in my previous life, I was the real idiot.
Furious, insisting it wasn't suicide but murder by others, I lashed out at her—the one apologizing so sincerely—spewing venomous words.
We broke up after that and never saw each other again. I didn't date anyone else afterward.
Sure, I had the excuse of focusing on soccer, but... I must've been pretty hurt too.
Regret over how stupid I'd been, maybe.
"I'm really sorry. S-sob! S-sob...!"
I shook my head.
"What are you talking about? You've got nothing to be sorry for. If anyone's sorry, it's me. So lift your head."
"Wha...?"
"You and your parents did nothing wrong. It was all on my parents."
Well, primarily the scammers who dragged them into ruin first.
But my parents were just as bad for begging friends and family for money afterward.
Seo Eun's parents had lent them a whopping 30 million won—good people through and through.
Choosing suicide while leaving debts to folks like that made my parents as guilty as those scammers.
No matter that they'd done it for my future—I couldn't deny the truth.
"I'm sorry, Seo Eun-ah. My parents were irresponsible and put you and yours through hell."
"Huh? N-no..."
"Tell your parents that too. I'm truly sorry. I'll repay every won soon."
I'd renounced inheritance to avoid crap like travel bans from debt collectors, but I planned to pay back every debt my parents owed.
In my previous life, too much time had passed, and records of burned-off debts were gone.
But now? Different story.
Money? Stocks, crypto—whatever. I'd make it and atone to the victims, soothing my parents' spirits in the process.
"Trust me and wait. I'll set everything right."
I apologized sincerely, and she gradually calmed down, sniffling.
"Yeah...! But don't worry about my parents. Mom and Dad are worried about you. They feel bad you're left alone..."
"I see..."
"Yeah, so no need to blame yourself, oppa. Cheer up."
She smiled brightly, insisting there were no issues between us.
I was flustered.
Even if it was past-life baggage, I'd treated her like garbage, and 16 years had eroded most romantic feelings. All that remained was fondness and guilt.
Getting back together now? Awkward as hell.
"Th-that said, maybe we should keep some distance for a bit."
"Wha...!? Why!?"
"You've got college entrance exams this year, and I'm quitting soccer to try something else. Gonna be busy for a while."
Her eyes widened like a rabbit's at the news of switching to basketball and transferring.
"So for now, let's focus on our futures separately. Sound good?"
"..."
She scowled, clearly unconvinced. Her stare stung.
"How about we talk again once you're in college?"
I figured she'd forget a guy like me and meet someone new by then.
"I'll have more time then."
"..."
"Haha..."
"..."
Eventually, she nodded, seemingly accepting it logically—but made one thing clear.
"...We're not broken up."
"Huh?"
"We can talk on calls or texts even if we don't meet. And no matter how busy, we can see each other sometimes. No need to break up."
"Well..."
"Am I wrong?"
Her firm expression screamed "this is my line in the sand." Once Seo Eun got stubborn, no one could sway her. Mess this up, and she'd threaten to transfer to my school.
I nodded, and her stern face finally softened. Then she started asking about my new school.
With my new nest secured, proper basketball training kicked off in earnest.
My immediate goal was clear.
I need to head overseas ASAP.
I'd felt it during tryouts: to accelerate growth, I needed the big leagues.
Simply put, if those tryouts had been for a U.S. high school team, I wouldn't have shone like that.
I'd have hit walls, realizing my shortcomings crystal clear.
For a late-bloomer senior starting basketball? That shock therapy was essential.
And there was the perfect stage: Park Eun-ho had tipped me off.
—End of June this year... about two months away. FIBA U-19 World Cup. You've got the chops to make the bench as a defender. Shine there, and you're in easy.
The youth World Cup.
A chance to gauge my limits and the world's scale.
To make the entry roster, I needed results now.
Sangwon High School fit perfectly.
A run-of-the-mill academic high school with a basketball team—but zero winning record. Total weaklings.
That meant freedom in training and play, plus a big role on the team.
...Or so I'd thought when I chose it.
But seeing the reality up close? Way crazier than expected.
April 29th, my first day transferring.
Captain Kim Chang-min guided me to the gym.
The friendly guy chattered about school facilities, then summed up the team in one word.
"Our basketball club? Slam Dunk in a nutshell."
"...What?"
"Tons of similarities. Most guys only know basketball from Slam Dunk."
Why? Not an elite program.
About 40 high schools nationwide had teams, but only around 15 aimed for elite status, producing pros.
The other 25? Dumps for regular exam-takers.
Sangwon High's team was that.
Of nine rostered members, only three—including me—dreamed of pro ball. The rest were phys-ed kids picking basketball as their specialty for college apps.
"Why basketball club of all places?"
Chang-min gave a wry smile.
"Adult bullshit. Soccer and baseball need big fields and stir up noise complaints. Basketball? Just an indoor gym, no noise, easy to manage dropouts. Perfect spot to shove artsy kids who ditched studies."
The gym we entered was pure chaos.
Half the floor was the court, where students trained haphazardly. Opposite, behind rebound nets, eight girls in headphones played instruments or painted on canvases.
I gawked; Chang-min grinned, as expected.
"Legendary, right?"
"Y-yeah."
He explained more reasons for the Slam Dunk vibe.
First: no coach.
A supervising teacher, but no dedicated coach. A basketball instructor came twice a month for lessons. Otherwise, players ran everything.
What is this, an orphanage?
At least they huddled like Kim Sugeom's crew to plan strategies.
"Second: we've got our Han Na, So-yeon, and Seo Taewoong."
"What!?"
"I'll explain later..."
Chang-min pulled out his phone.
"Finally, we're all-in on the Slam Dunk concept for fun training. Your turn to pick."
"P-pick what?"
This was getting scary.
These guys were nuts.
Now I noticed: a guy practicing threes muttering, "Say my name," or "I'm the flame guy."
Another yelled "Rookie shot!" on every layup. Everyone laughed uproariously, hyped up.
My head's spinning.
No coach made this possible.
With one? Instant boot to the ass, back to normal.
Eh, not so bad.
I'd head overseas soon anyway, and this vibe meant I could train and play my way.
Anyway.
Captain Chang-min shoved his phone roulette app at me.
Pick my Slam Dunk character concept.
"You're center material. Cool with that?"
"...Okay. Whatever. Chae Chi-soo's free?"
"Only one center on the team, so most are. Go for it!"
I pressed start. The wheel spun wildly.
Byeon Deok-gyu, Gomin-gu, Shin Hyun-jun, Jung Seong-gu, Kim Pan-seok... names flew by.
Finally, it landed.
[Sanwang Industrial High - Shin Hyun-chul]
That was my assigned concept.