U20 World Cup (2)
The match between South Korea and Argentina was held in a stadium that seated roughly forty thousand.
Forty thousand.
It sounded small, and yet it was an enormous number. The packed stands looked like a bustling market street. A few empty seats were scattered here and there, but they barely registered.
The fan ratio was impossible to miss — Argentina's supporters clearly outnumbered the rest. Roughly seven to three, at a guess.
Even so, the Red Devils stood out sharply in the crowd.
"Baek Yujin! He receives the ball! As expected, his trapping is clean!"
"That's right! Seong Yumin and Baek Yujin. When they play like that, you can't help but get excited every time a pass goes their way!"
But there was someone in the stands who was a fan of neither side.
"Beautiful."
Among the scouts and managers, the man murmuring to himself was Alexandro — currently the manager of the EPL club Arsenal.
He should have been in London. He had arrived here by pure chance.
A scout who had been watching promising talents from around the world ahead of the winter transfer window had suddenly shown up and put the footage of the U20 friendly between South Korea and France in front of him.
I thought he wanted me to look at Pierre.
Pierre, already playing in the French league, was on his radar — so Alexandro never imagined the video would be about anyone else. But as he watched it through, he gradually became absorbed in the match, and by the thirty-minute mark he was stunned.
Three goals in twenty minutes?
A player he had never seen before had scored a hat-trick in under twenty minutes. Against France's U20, no less — with perfect play. The beautiful trapping and technical skill immediately called someone to mind.
"What's this player's name?"
"Baek Yujin, sir."
"Baek Yujin? How old is he? Twenty?"
"H-he's seventeen by Korean age, sir."
"...What?"
The player he had thought was perfect was only seventeen? International age sixteen, and that level of skill? He had been certain the boy was already playing in a professional league. When he heard that four others were around the same age, he was shocked all over again.
I have to see him in person.
This was something he needed to witness firsthand. Fortunately, there was about a week with no matches scheduled. Thinking he might never get another chance, Alexandro left training to his head coach and headed straight for the United States.
Because of the schedule he would only be able to watch a single match on a day trip — but he considered it more than worth it.
"South Korea's free kick. It looks difficult to convert into a goal from here."
"The players are talking among themselves. Do they have a set play?"
South Korea had won a free kick from the flank. The trajectory was awkward for a direct shot, and the distance was too far.
Beep—!
When the referee blew the whistle, the attacking players sprinted into the box. Hong Seoin, lining up the free kick, sent in a cross. It curved on a trajectory that drew gasps of admiration.
The ball looked as if it would sail out of play, then dropped past a defender's head and met the foot of Baek Yujin, running in from the opposite side.
"GOOOOOAL!!! A precise cross and a clean finish!!! Baek Yujin scores!!"
"South Korea takes the lead!!"
Hong... that player is excellent too.
As expected. Coming all this way had been worth it. South Korea had always been an interesting country.
"What do you think, sir?"
When Baek Yujin scored, the scout who had come with him asked.
"He's definitely good. More importantly — what's the name of the passer?"
"The passer... Hong Seoin, sir."
"Hong Seoin..."
Alexandro smiled with satisfaction and went on.
"Go approach him."
"...Really?"
"Yes. Seoin as well, if possible."
Watching them celebrate together, they seemed close.
There's a high chance they'll come as a package.
Most of the Koreans he had met so far had a strong sense of loyalty. He had never coached a Korean player himself, but that was the general impression. They might both refuse — but both had more than enough talent. He hoped they wouldn't turn him down.
Once word got out, the media would make a fuss about their ages and the lack of proven track records. But that would be settled simply by proving their ability. Alexandro believed those two could prove it.
"...Won't there be a lot of talk?"
"You brought this up first, so why are you second-guessing? Besides, nothing is confirmed yet. They could both refuse, couldn't they?"
"Yes, sir."
"It's a no-loss deal for us."
Those two weren't well-known yet, so their transfer fees would be cheaper than other prospects. Of course, as the tournament went on, other scouting offers would come in and their values might rise — but even then, they would still be at prospect level.
"Then how should we negotiate..."
Alexandro thought for a moment, then spoke at once.
"Go straight for a professional contract with the best terms among prospects."
"...!"
The scout's eyes widened at the extraordinary offer. There was nothing to be surprised about. It was simply giving proper treatment to those who deserved it.
Alexandro chuckled.
"Right now, with no club attached, is the cheapest they'll ever be."
Making a move now was nothing more than a gamble with nothing to lose.
I scored a goal.
All I did was put the finishing touch on an outstanding pass.
Ddolgaeng-a, just run. I'll drop it right on your instep.
I trusted what Hong Seoin said and ran, and the ball really came flying to me — I just stuck my foot out.
If he'd gone to the EPL, it would've been fun.
It was amazing and strange that Hong Seoin, with this level of skill, had been playing in Korea in my past life.
Would he go abroad right away if there was gukbap?
If that was the case, I should have a talk with him sometime.
The match against Argentina had looked difficult, but Seong Yumin scored another goal, we conceded one, and we won 2–1.
Then, a few days later, in the second half against Senegal.
"...What the hell is that?"
When no goals had come, Senegal suddenly locked the game down, setting their defensive line like a double-parked bus. They were treating South Korea as a strong side and going for a draw. Even when we patiently circulated the ball, they held their positions firmly, with no intention of winning it back.
It felt like I was doing all the hard work alone.
...I can't believe we're actually doing this.
Just in case, we had trained for attacking against parked buses. At first I'd thought there was no way that would happen — I never dreamed the situation would actually arise.
I had been calmly joining the build-up, then pushed up right in front of their defenders. They looked tense, not knowing what I was about to do.
Both of them are on the flanks.
Positioned like a front three, a pass from Han Seonwoo came flying to me at just the right moment. At the same time both wing players cut inside, and the opposing players didn't know what to do.
Senegal's midfielder and center-back tried to close me down first as I went to receive. I got the first touch, and conscious of the charging center-back, I used my heel to simply change the ball's direction and let it roll behind me.
A clean touch and link-up.
The ball slipped between his legs toward the wing player making the run, and the center-back raised his hand as if calling for offside. It was offside, technically.
But that hyung, you see...
The moment the center-back tried to slow down—
"...!"
The wing player let the ball roll on, and Seong Yumin, who had clearly been behind the line, burst through and carried it all the way to the goalmouth. When the keeper came out, an immediate chip shot.
The result was, of course, a goal.
"Vamos!!!"
Being a supporting actor was a bit of a shame, but assists were fun too.
I need to score as well.
Having conceded one, Senegal came out aggressively, unwilling to lose like this. If we had stayed defensive, one counter would have easily sealed the win — but we didn't back down either, fighting aggressively in midfield.
If they scored one, we scored two. That was our motto.
Though we would have won no matter what. One fact I was so used to that I almost forgot: Korea's midfield right now was full of geniuses.
Thud—!
I took Han Seonwoo's low pass from the flank with a non-stop curling shot into the net, and Korea won 2–0.
Our team was stronger than I'd expected. We also won the next match against Mexico and advanced to the round of 16 as group winners.
"Pretty smooth, ain't it."
"...Yeah."
As Hong Seoin said, it had ended so easily that I was a little bewildered.
Creak.
I naturally walked into the next room and found several people gathered there. This was familiar. With matches coming up soon, we couldn't train hard, and for mental management we were told not to use social media — so all we could do was hang out and talk or play games. We were close enough that it wasn't awkward at all.
"Oh? Fighting game?"
Today they had somehow gotten joysticks and were playing a fighting game.
"Seoin and Yujin here?"
"Where'd you get the joysticks?"
"Coach bought them 'cause we said we were bored. Can't play too long, though — want a round?"
"Sure, why not?"
It had been a while since I'd played a fighting game.
"You even know what a joystick is?"
As I sat down, Seong Yumin asked, genuinely curious.
So this is his first time with games too?
I hadn't played in middle school, and in high school I'd only done football — so I'd never gamed. None of them would know my skill level.
"This is the left punch, and this is the right..."
"Ah, it's fine. I know."
"Really? Good, then."
Do Woojun, who had been about to explain the controls as my opponent, looked relieved.
"At least you won't feel cheated when you lose."
"Haha. Aren't you underestimating me a bit much?"
"It's your first time."
"Well, yeah."
Do Woojun seemed decent — but playing against me would change his mind.
Tap, tap-tap.
I worked my hands with flair, landing combos, and went three wins straight against Do Woojun.
"...Didn't you say it was your first time?"
"It is."
In this life.
In my past life, I'd played quite a lot out of boredom. So I just knew how to land combos and such. That was all.
"What, did you only play football and games at home?"
"I said I don't play games."
"Who knows? Maybe I've got talent."
"If that was all it took, everyone would be a pro gamer."
"Haha."
While we were laughing and bantering, Lee Eunho opened the door and came in.
"Where's Seoin?"
"He went to the bathroom."
"Yeah? Then Yujin — come with me for a second."
"Ah, okay."
Perfect timing. I'd been about to get roasted in more ways than one for supposedly being bad at games — this was a good escape.
I slipped out of the group and followed Lee Eunho to a quieter spot.
"I have a girlfriend."
"I have a wife."
"What's this about?"
Lee Eunho hesitated, then opened his mouth.
"Yujin. Do you like Arsenal?"