How to Erase a Negative Trait 1
I couldn't help but panic.
No matter how much it wanted an example, this crossed a line.
Suddenly going after someone else's little sister… was that not completely insane?
It was telling me to say something I had never once considered in my life. My mind went blank.
No… isn't there another example?
The moment that thought crossed my mind, the letters floating in the air shifted once more.
Response delayed. A selection has been forced.
…What?
My mouth fell open in pure disbelief.
So what am I supposed to do about that?
As if my protests didn't exist, a new sentence appeared.
Devil's Tongue will be used temporarily.
At the same time, my body began to move on its own.
Strangely enough, it didn't feel forced. It was as natural as if I were thinking and acting of my own free will.
But it clearly wasn't my will.
Really.
I placed a hand on the shoulder of Mateo, who was standing right in front of me, and opened my mouth.
"Mateo."
"…?"
"I heard something. Your little sister's pretty cute, right? Introduce me."
Mateo's expression hardened in an instant. Inside, I was already screaming.
Hey! Hey! You can't actually say that!
But my mouth wouldn't stop.
"In exchange, I'll give you this. Not a bad deal, right?"
The moment those words left my lips, the air around us froze solid.
Mateo scowled and stared me down, while the school thugs gathered around us all looked equally stunned by what had just come out of my mouth.
"Pfft…"
"What the hell…"
Bringing up someone's family—and their little sister, no less—like that was basically the same as picking a fight, so their reaction was only natural.
No, what am I supposed to do if it forces me to say this stuff!
While I was drowning in despair, more text appeared before my eyes.
From now on, you must come up with better lines on your own in order to use Devil's Tongue.
Not better lines—trashier ones, you mean.
While I was still reeling, another sentence floated up.
The next example has been prepared.
A long stretch of dialogue appeared right after.
"You guys see this bastard's eyes? He's seriously about to sell off his own little sister for a single jersey. What a psycho. Hey, no matter how bad you want Chiesa's autograph, are you even human if you're sitting there weighing whether to hand over your sister? Just go get the damn signature yourself, you idiot."
The second I read it, my eyes went wide.
…Wait. This one was fine. I could work with this!
This way, I could spin the whole thing into light teasing. For the thugs, it would shift from a situation they wanted no part of into something they could more or less live with.
Hurry up and go!
That instant, my body moved again.
I pointed a finger straight at Mateo and spoke.
"You guys see this bastard's eyes?"
Just as things were about to turn ugly, every gaze swung back to me.
"He's seriously about to sell off his own little sister for a jersey. Is this guy not a complete psycho?"
A few of the thugs, catching the shift in mood, were already twitching at the corners of their mouths.
"What are you even—that's not…"
The moment Mateo started to snap, I kept right on going without missing a beat.
"Hey, no matter how bad you want Chiesa's autograph, are you even human if you're sitting there weighing whether to hand over your sister? Even for a guy who messes around, that's low. If you want a signature that bad, just go to the training ground and get it yourself, you idiot."
A brief silence fell. And then…
"Pwahahaha!"
"No kidding. What a psycho."
"Yo! Mateo, you were actually considering it, weren't you?"
The guys around us burst out laughing.
Mateo's face had gone red, but the atmosphere wasn't nearly as hostile as before.
"Okay, that was actually funny just now."
"For real. For a second I thought Teo had completely lost it."
Just like that, the mood flipped into laughing and joking around.
Only then did I let out a breath of relief.
But Devil's Tongue wasn't done. Letters appeared in front of my eyes once more.
Here, take this. It's yours.
Wait—give him what?
It had to be that jersey. No question.
No, why would I give him this?
Regardless of what I was thinking, my body was already moving.
I held the jersey out toward Mateo.
"Here. Take this. It's yours."
When I suddenly offered him the jersey, Mateo stared at it with a frozen expression.
"What? You're… giving me this?"
The thugs behind him looked just as dumbfounded.
"Out of nowhere?"
"What the hell?"
But Devil's Tongue still wasn't finished.
I'm giving you this because I'm already sorry. Sorry. Anyway, I'm late for training, so I'm out.
Huh? What is that supposed to mean? Why am I sorry?
But my mouth refused to stop. I gave Mateo's shoulder a light pat and spoke.
"I'm giving you this… because I'm already sorry. Sorry."
Pat. Pat.
I tapped his shoulder twice for good measure and headed for my scooter.
"Anyway, I'm late for training, so I'm out."
At first, Mateo just looked dazed.
He couldn't make sense of the situation. Neither could I, and neither could the thugs standing around.
But it didn't take long for Mateo to figure it out.
I figured it out too.
No way. This was a setup?
"Hey!"
Vrrrooooom…
"Teo, you son of a bitch!"
Mateo suddenly clenched the jersey in his fist and shouted after me.
"Sorry for what!! Say it!"
I flinched and glanced back. Mateo hurled the jersey and bellowed.
"Take this back, you bastard! You so much as touch my sister—!!"
Thanks to the unexpected mess at school, I arrived at the training ground a little later than usual.
I'd been worried about being late, but luckily, after the match the day before, the team's entire schedule was just recovery work.
Most of the first-team players had already finished in the morning and gone home, so even though I showed up late, it ended up being a session just for me. No real problem.
I followed the trainer's instructions right away—getting a massage to loosen up tight muscles, then working through stretching and a light recovery program in order.
While I trained and got massaged, the coaches didn't hold back on the praise for yesterday's performance, and I mumbled my thanks, a little embarrassed.
Once I'd sorted out my body and wrapped up the day's schedule, I headed home with a much lighter step.
"I'm home."
Huh?
The moment I stepped inside, something felt off. My mother was sitting in the living room with a complicated look on her face.
"Mom, what's wrong?"
She hesitated for a moment before speaking quietly.
"Son. We got a call from the Korea Football Association."
My eyes went wide.
"What?"
For a second my heart pounded hard—was this about the senior national team?
"The U20 national team wants to take you to the U20 World Cup this summer, in 2023."
Hearing that, some of the tension drained out of me.
"Ah… really?"
"Yeah. They said they'd treat you extremely well. They're bringing you in at the U20 level for now, but after the World Cup they want to call you up to the senior team. They even said you might make the 2026 World Cup squad."
My first World Cup had been the U20 World Cup held in 2025.
I'd performed well enough there to get called up to the senior national team.
But a call-up was all it had been—I never actually played. By then my form had already tanked, and the manager hadn't exactly been fond of a guy who kept spending so much time overseas.
I hadn't been particularly eager to impress a manager who so openly kept his distance either. I'd even thought that if that was how it was going to be, he might as well not call me at all.
Looking back, I was actually grateful I hadn't been on that roster.
That had been the 2026 World Cup in North and Central America—widely regarded as one of the worst World Cups in history. The chaos had completely buried how poorly I was doing at club level.
"The U20 World Cup, huh…"
This was a chance to go head-to-head with promising talents from all over the world.
It would definitely be useful experience for the rest of my career. That much was true.
And this was about two years earlier than before.
Making the senior team would be that much earlier too.
Well, I didn't have time to spare, so it wasn't a bad deal.
"Should I say yes?"
"Yeah. Sounds good."
Besides, the fact that it wasn't the senior national team was actually better.
I could put in a strong showing without locking in my national team allegiance just yet.
And the future Korean national team had a solid lineup, but the manager wasn't great, so they ended up drinking from a bitter cup…
Even that strong squad would start to thin out by 2030.
It was a team that was already a long way from winning anything.
Wait. So if I joined the Korean national team, I'd basically be dead in the water?
I wasn't exactly a player who always delivered victories, after all.
Which meant somehow I had to get out and switch to another national te—
Zzzt!
Something shimmered in front of my eyes again.
I looked at my mother.
Just like with Chiesa before, she showed no reaction at all.
This was something only I could see.
What is this? This is definitely not a Devil's Tongue situation…
Is it responding to my thoughts?
I was just thinking about switching to another national team.
So is it saying that's the right call?
Zzzzt-zzzt.
Flash!
Then, from the crackling space, a burst of light flared up.
You have discovered a Hidden Mission.
…?
After representing the Republic of Korea at the U20 World Cup, transfer your senior national team allegiance to another country.
Reward on success:Permanently remove one negative trait.
Finally… a chance to erase a negative trait…!
But right away, my thoughts started racing.
If I performed well at the U20 level and then switched national teams, the fallout would be no joke…
Or maybe I should just accept that something this big was the price of getting rid of one.