Europe (1)
If I had to sum up my first live stream, it was pretty fun.
Afterward I heard the viewer count had hit three hundred thousand toward the end. The comments were scrolling so fast they were nearly impossible to read, but they were nothing but praise for me, so it wasn't like I couldn't keep up. Looking only at what I wanted to see and laughing as I talked with people made me want to stream again if I got the chance.
Maybe even every day.
The problem is that Jia noona saw it…
If it had just been an ordinary live stream, there wouldn't have been an issue. But she saw me speaking English. Fluently, at that.
Being good at English is a plus. If you're going overseas, you need to speak at least that much. If I hadn't been lying to tease her about it, it wouldn't have mattered much at all.
"…It'll be fine, right?"
What could really go wrong? Jia noona would just tease me a little and leave it at that.
There was a problem.
"Yujin. You're really good at English."
"…"
A day later, back in Korea, the first person I met was Jia noona. Her throwing herself into my arms was exactly what I'd expected—but there seemed to be a barb buried in her words.
"…I learned from you, noona."
"Did I teach you the accent too?"
"…"
I looked away, not knowing what to do. Finding that cute, Jia noona laughed and ruffled my hair.
"Hehe. I'm kidding. Just kidding."
"…You are kidding, right?"
"Of course. I'm glad you're good at English."
"Haa…"
Only then did I let out the breath I'd been holding.
Ah, right—I should tell her this.
There was something I always wanted to ask first whenever I saw her.
"Noona."
"Yeah? What is it?"
"What would you think if I got an offer from the EPL?"
"So an offer came in, then?"
"…"
As expected, I couldn't fool her. She'd seen straight through my attempt to sound her out.
"Yeah. It did."
"From where?"
"The EPL, La Liga, the Bundesliga—all of them."
Nothing was finalized yet, so I couldn't speak with certainty, but clubs from the top five leagues had reached out in one form or another.
"What do you want to do?"
"I…"
"Be honest."
"…I want to go."
Part of me wondered whether I was good enough to play in the EPL, but the moment I pictured myself scoring goals in those matches, not going simply wasn't an option. I just had to keep doing what I'd always done—play well.
"Still, I want to talk with a few scouts first. Contracts need to be handled carefully."
"That's a good way to think about it. Are you exhausted right now?"
"A little? Looking at your face, though, I feel fine again."
"Hehe. That's sweet of you to say, but let's spend today at your place."
"Okay, noona."
After more than a month apart, we clearly had a lot of catching up to do.
A month is more than enough time for something to fade from everyone's memory. No matter how famous you become, a single flash of brilliance is bound to burn out.
Even so, my name still hadn't left people's minds, and rumors of contracts with various European clubs kept circulating.
In the end, Seong Yumin signed with Barcelona, Kim Minjun and Lee Juwon went to Bayern Munich, and Han Seonwoo—the one everyone had talked about the most—finally signed with Atlético Madrid.
The previous generation had already paved the road to Europe, so things went far more smoothly this time around. Other players took advantage of the wave as well and signed with European clubs.
Seoin hyung seems to have signed with Arsenal too.
Korean players were flooding into Europe en masse. And whenever those articles made the rounds, my name never failed to appear.
Maybe that was only natural. Someone who had put on that kind of performance at such a young age still hadn't signed anywhere—of course people would wonder where he was going. If I were them, I'd keep writing articles about me too.
While the internet stayed ablaze and people argued among themselves over which club I'd join, I met with various scouts and talked things through. Fortunately, most of them came to Korea in person. That alone said something about my value. These weren't half-hearted probes they could walk away from—they genuinely wanted me at their club, not someone else's.
The clubs that made the trip left a good first impression.
Of course, not everyone put a good contract in front of me.
"I don't think we'll be able to sign."
There were contracts full of word games, but whenever that happened, Shin Hawon cut them off without mercy.
He really is good at his job.
After talking with about ten scouts, I was now in my final conversation—with Arsenal's.
"These are the terms we'd like to offer Yujin."
The scout slid a sheet of paper across. Shin Hawon and I read the contract carefully.
This is the best one yet.
The terms alone were the strongest I'd seen. Anyone looking at this contract would think I was already a professional.
"These are quite good."
"That's how much we want Yujin."
"Both the manager and the owner?"
"Yes. You've seen the articles, haven't you? The manager is already building a squad with Yujin in mind."
"…"
From what I was hearing, both Arsenal's manager and owner wanted me.
I'm not signing today, though.
The biggest hurdle before going to Europe was still waiting.
After a brief exchange, I spoke to the scout.
"How long will you be staying in Korea?"
"We're scheduled to remain through tomorrow."
"Then let's meet again tomorrow."
"Understood."
He accommodated me without a single objection—proof that they truly wanted me. I didn't think I'd be the one to betray that expectation.
The hurdle left for me was big or small depending on how you looked at it.
Jia noona.
The first time I'd brought up Europe, she'd asked for a month, so today we were supposed to talk at her house.
Her mother will be there too, right?
It had been nearly half a year since I'd last paid my respects. With winter settling in, I dressed in a coat and a simple pair of glasses and pressed the doorbell at her place.
Ding-dong!
I stood there only a moment before the door opened. The face that appeared wasn't Jia noona's—it was her mother's.
"Oh my, Yujin! You look handsome as always."
"Hello, ma'am. This is for you."
No matter how comfortable I felt, I couldn't show up at my girlfriend's parents' house empty-handed.
"You didn't have to bring anything."
"It's from the heart, ma'am."
"Hehe. Come on in."
Her mother had such a youthful, beautiful face that it was easy to see where Jia noona got her looks. She seemed genuinely pleased by the gift. Having looked after me since I was little, even a short conversation with her put me at ease.
Inside, a refined white interior caught the eye. I sat down as I always did, and soon Jia noona came out of her room and settled beside me.
"You got here fast."
"Yeah. I wanted to."
"Let's talk over some snacks."
"Ah—thank you."
Simple refreshments were set out, and we exchanged ordinary conversation.
"Belated congratulations on the championship."
"No, you've already congratulated me."
We talked about the U-20 World Cup she'd already celebrated with me.
"Is football still fun these days?"
"Yes. Just touching the ball makes me happy."
"I'm glad to hear that."
We asked after each other and kept things light. The atmosphere gradually softened, and it felt like the right moment to ask.
"Noona."
"Yeah, Yujin?"
"Why did you call me over today?"
We'd gone on dates and spent time at my place, but I still didn't understand why she'd specifically invited me to her parents' house today. If it had been something ordinary, there had already been plenty of chances.
"Well…"
"Jia, how are the profits these days?"
"About ten million this month."
"If you're already at that level from the start, it should be fine."
"…?"
For a second I wondered if I'd misheard.
Profits? Ten million? From the start?
"…What are you talking about?"
"Well. When Jia heard you were going to Europe, she said she wanted to take over my business—so I handed her part of what I had and put her to the test. So she could stand on her own. It's been about three months now."
Even as Jia noona tried to stop her, her mother laid out the truth.
"…"
I understood what she meant. Both of Jia noona's parents ran businesses. I didn't know the details, but I knew they operated on a global scale. Whatever she'd given Jia noona was one of those.
Three months?
Three months ago was when my name first started spreading worldwide. Starting then meant noona had already been anticipating my move to Europe.
…But ten million won on her first business?
I knew she was good at everything, but I hadn't expected her to be good at business too.
Why didn't I know about this in my past life, though?
In my previous life, I'd never heard anything about her inheriting a business. This was completely new. Which meant it was tied to my football career.
Because I couldn't play football, she never took over the business either.
Whether she eventually did or not, it certainly hadn't been at this point. My early path to Europe had changed things.
"…Are you okay with it, noona?"
"With what?"
"Going to Europe with me."
I could just drop out of school, but Jia noona—top of her class—was different. Dropping out meant giving up a lot.
"Being with you is what I want most. And I was going to take over the business eventually anyway."
"…"
"The reason I asked you to wait a month was because Mom said she'd give permission once my net profit passed ten million won a month. It just happened to work out."
"Jia threw such a fit that I didn't have a choice. Said she couldn't live without you?"
I was moved.
Really… if I don't make her happy after this, it should be a crime.
How many women in the world were this devoted? I didn't think there were any.
Without thinking, I took out the ring I'd been carefully keeping close.
"What's that?"
"A gift."
Click.
A simple silver ring came into view.
"It's how I feel."
"Oh my, oh my—is this a proposal?"
"Haha. May I marry her?"
"I approve. Jia's father would probably feel the same."
"…"
While her mother and I traded jokes, Jia noona's face turned completely red.
The conversation had ended successfully.
Let's go.
Nothing could stop me now. All that remained was to finish the contract and head to Europe.