I Believe in My Skill
Pohang, huh…
Jung Hyuk looked at Choi Chul-yong. Pohang United currently sat atop the K League standings — a club so well-capitalized that people inside the league called it a dinosaur franchise. Being a scout for a team like that had clearly filled Choi Chul-yong's face with confidence. Jung Hyuk, for his part, simply nodded with the same unbothered expression as before.
"Yes. Nice to meet you, Scout Choi Chul-yong. Go ahead."
Choi's eyebrows twitched. The sight of a kid this young mouthing off without a shred of fear was enough to sour his mood. And that brazen attitude — what the hell was that supposed to be?
You dare act like this in front of me?
So he asked.
"I'm curious what exactly you're counting on to swagger around like this."
Jung Hyuk's answer came at once.
"Why are you asking something that pointless so seriously? And when exactly did I swagger? Care to explain?"
A vein jumped on Choi Chul-yong's forehead.
"…Talking back like that, every single word."
"You asked a question, so I answered. Would you rather I shut my mouth?"
"A kid your age with zero manners."
"So manners are about age. Good to know."
Choi Chul-yong drew a long breath in, then let it out hard. He needed to stay calm. Getting worked up and letting this brat reel him in would be a mistake. So he forced a smile and made his request in a softer tone.
"Look, how about showing a little respect? We're all roughly your father's age."
The answer came just as fast.
"If you'd shown respect first, I would have been perfectly courteous. And if you were my father, you would have shown respect even to a high schooler. You wouldn't have dropped formal speech just because of your age, either."
Choi Chul-yong let out a hollow laugh. He was still pretending to be composed, but his face had already flushed red.
"Ha! So you really do have something backing you up? Which club are you under contract with? Tell me. I'll call them right now and flip the whole thing over."
"Oh…! So you're powerful enough to pressure other clubs? That's impressive. But what a shame — I'm not under contract with anyone yet."
"What? A kid with no contract is running his mouth like this?"
Choi Chul-yong's voice rose.
"Yes. That's how it is."
"Is your father a company president? Or does he run a few factories?"
"No. He just runs a small business."
"So your family isn't rich, and you don't have any connections either? Then what the hell are you counting on to act like this?"
Jung Hyuk smiled.
Ever since the regression, I keep getting asked what I'm counting on to act this way.
It was a tiresome question, but today it almost sounded interesting. And answering it was not hard at all. It was the easiest thing in the world.
"My skill."
"…What?"
"I said I'm counting on my skill."
Yoo Seok-cheon stared blankly after the two boys as they walked away. Kim Min-woo called out to him in a rush.
"Senior!"
"What?"
"What are you doing? They're leaving! Aren't you going after them?"
"I'm not going. You saw them talking with the other scouts just now, didn't you?"
"But we haven't even properly spoken to them yet…"
"What would change? Did you not see them not even flinch through all that scout nonsense just now? Especially Jung Hyuk — you saw him say everything he wanted right to Choi Chul-yong's face, right?"
"…I saw it."
"You saw all that and you're still telling me to go over there? Huh? You think me walking up and talking to them would change anything?"
"…No, it wouldn't."
"See? And you saw the way those old-fart scouts were talking. If I were Jung Hyuk, I'd have written off the entire K League on the spot."
"Ugh. It was pretty rough, yeah. So when are you going to approach them, Senior? We still need to talk to them at least. Prospects like that don't grow on trees."
"I'm not."
"What?"
Kim Min-woo looked stunned. Not approaching them? What kind of talk was that?
Has Senior lost it? Or did he win the lottery or something? Still, making an offer would be better…
Then Yoo Seok-cheon spoke.
"You said you trust my eye, right?"
"…I did. But why? Did you see something in those two?"
"I saw it… I saw it very clearly. From where I'm standing, those kids never planned to play domestically in the first place."
"What? Then…?"
"I think they're aiming for Europe."
"Europe? No matter how badly they want to go to Europe, they're just shutting out the K League like this? And how exactly are they planning to get there?"
"What do you mean, how? Scouts show up for the final. I've heard quite a few clubs are coming. You've heard the rumors too."
"Weren't those just rumors…?"
"Min-woo. Where there's smoke, there's fire. You think this industry runs on one-day, two-day gossip?"
"So you really think European scouts are coming this time, Senior?"
"Yeah. I don't know how many, but they're definitely coming."
"…Then do you think Jung Hyuk and Oh Jung-hoon already knew European scouts would be there?"
"How the hell would I know that?"
"Could they really act like that without knowing in advance? That doesn't make sense, does it? Unless their guts are enormous…"
Kim Min-woo watched Jung Hyuk's retreating back with a look of genuine astonishment. In that moment, Yoo Seok-cheon spoke with absolute certainty.
"In my opinion, I don't know about Oh Jung-hoon — but Jung Hyuk? That kid's guts are the real deal."
"What?"
"Like he said just now, he's a kid who believes in his own skill. Even if he had no idea European scouts were coming to the final, he would have acted exactly the same way. And has Jeongwoon High ever made a final before?"
"No."
"But he's already certain they'll reach the final, and he's planning to catch the eye of the European scouts who'll be there? That doesn't make sense either. That kid is just a natural-born monster. He's so confident in his ability that he's sure he can go to any club he wants. Whew… it's a rare type, but that one is a soccer genius with guts so big you can't even compare them to a normal person's."
"…If you sliced that kid's guts, you'd get about ten servings."
"…You trying to kill the mood?"
Yoo Seok-cheon's face went dead serious. But there was something he didn't know. Jung Hyuk had known for certain that European scouts would be at the final. He was certain they would reach the final. He was certain they would go beyond the final and win the whole thing.
Back at the dorm, Jung Hyuk went straight into bodyweight training — push-ups, sit-ups, squats, the basics. He would have gone to a gym if there had been one, but the lodging Jeongwoon High had arranged didn't have a fitness room.
About an hour into the workout, Oh Jung-hoon, who shared the room with him, answered a phone call with a face gone completely white.
"Ah… yes! I'll gather the players and come right away."
Jung Hyuk turned his head.
"What's going on?"
"Coach wants everyone in his room right now."
Oh Jung-hoon answered in a rush.
"The coach's room?"
"Yeah. He said hurry."
"I'll put a shirt on and come. You go ahead."
"Got it. I'll pass it to the next room and head over first. But you better be quick."
"Okay."
Jung Hyuk pulled on the T-shirt he'd taken off and left the room. Reaching the coach's room one floor down didn't take long. When he opened the door, though, the rest of the players were already gathered.
"Oh~! Jung Hyuk's here? Sit down."
Jung Hyuk sat on the floor, looking at Coach Lee Jun-seok, who greeted him warmly. Every player competing in the tournament was packed into the coach's room.
What does he want to talk about?
Just as the question formed in Jung Hyuk's mind, the head coach opened his mouth.
"First of all, well done today."
Clap, clap, clap—
The Jeongwoon High players applauded. With evening approaching, the sound wasn't loud. Once the clapping faded, the coach continued.
"Watching today's match gave me hope. If we can maintain that level of performance, I strongly believe there is no limit to what Jeongwoon High can achieve."
He slowly looked around at the players' faces.
"I don't think your thoughts are any different from mine. Am I right?"
"Yes, sir!"
The players answered with smiles. And in that instant, the coach's expression hardened.
"But a short while ago, I received a very unpleasant phone call."
The atmosphere in the room turned cold in a heartbeat. Coach Lee Jun-seok stood beside the head coach with a heavy face, while the young players rolled their eyes, reading the room between the two men.
Looks like it's really starting now.
Only Jung Hyuk waited calmly for whatever would come out of the coach's mouth.
"The person who called me introduced himself as a scout for Pohang United."
So that was it.
The corner of Jung Hyuk's mouth lifted. Now the picture was clear. Choi Chul-yong of Pohang United had thrown a fit at the Jeongwoon High coach. He might even have made threats.
The coach would want to hear the truth of what happened. And Jung Hyuk's read was not wrong.
"Jung Hyuk. Oh Jung-hoon. Would you explain what happened?"
"…Yes."
"Yes."
Oh Jung-hoon answered first in a trembling voice, followed by Jung Hyuk with a stiff expression. Jung Hyuk did not like this situation at all.
Did he really need to gather all the kids for this?
He thought it would have been better handled privately. Spreading the story that they'd had a run-in with scouts didn't help anyone.
Ah, whatever.
He had no intention of lying, so Jung Hyuk explained what had happened that afternoon. When the fairly long explanation ended, the Jeongwoon High players began to murmur.
"They turned down pro offers? Why?"
"Whoa… I thought Hyuk had been acting different lately, but rejecting a K League offer…"
"What the hell? If it were me, I'd have signed on the spot…"
"But why did Jung-hoon turn them down too?"
"Both of them rejected K League recruitment offers… Why on earth…?"
Then the coach barked, face set hard.
"Quiet!"
The whispering died instantly. Having silenced the room, the coach spoke with a rigid expression.
"So… you turned down every single offer from all those scouts?"
"To be precise, we didn't reject them. We said we'd look into it and get back to them later."
The coach frowned at Jung Hyuk's answer.
"I heard you behaved disrespectfully toward the scouts."
"They spoke without any courtesy first, so I gave them the same treatment."
"…Then why didn't you accept the offers right away?"
Just before answering, Jung Hyuk thought about what to say. He had no intention of honestly explaining why he had stood firm against the scouts' offers. He couldn't say that he already knew European scouts would come to the final, that he was going to Europe anyway, so he'd had a go at the scouts who acted like jerks. And with the coach's true intentions still unclear, there was no need to speak purely from temperament.
So Jung Hyuk began saying things he didn't mean.
"I thought it was only natural."
"…Natural?"
"Yes. Who taught me soccer? The coach and the assistant coach standing in front of me. The moment I received those offers, I thought — shouldn't I inform the coach and the assistant coach who made me who I am first? Shouldn't I ask them, discuss it with them, and only then sign a contract?"
"……"
The coach said nothing. He simply focused on Jung Hyuk's words.
"So I told the scouts exactly what I was thinking. And they called me arrogant. I didn't understand that. Informing my coach and assistant coach is the obvious thing to do, and they called that arrogant… So I said I'd contact them later and came back to the dorm."
The coach made a deep sound in his throat. Then his gaze shifted.
"Oh Jung-hoon. You too?"
Oh Jung-hoon looked at Jung Hyuk with wide eyes. Jung Hyuk nodded.
"Yes… that's right."
In that moment, Coach Lee Jun-seok stepped forward and raised his voice.
"Are you two insane? Do you know what kind of opportunity that was—!"
"Coach Lee, enough!"
The head coach stopped him. Then he walked over to Jung Hyuk and Oh Jung-hoon.
What's he doing?
Jung Hyuk watched him with a puzzled look. The moment suspicion crept in, something unnatural — almost like acting — became visible in the coach's manner.
The coach placed a hand on each of their shoulders. Then, in a quiet but firm voice, he said:
"Well done."
He removed the sunglasses he'd been wearing and continued. Without them, his eyes curved into crescents.
"But! You two are going to have to work even harder. That's the only way those gentlemen will really feel the sting, isn't it?"
Jung Hyuk answered with a smile.
"That's the plan."
The coach turned to the rest of the Jeongwoon High players and raised his voice.
"All right! You all heard that? Right here at Jeongwoon High, we have two players that K League scouts are desperate to take home. With guys like that on our side, is there anyone we can't beat? This tournament — we're aiming higher than we've ever gone before."
At the coach's sudden speech, fire lit in the eyes of the Jeongwoon High players. Those words had set their hearts ablaze. And in that moment—
Whoa. Looking at him now, this guy is scary. He's going to spin it like this?
Jung Hyuk was impressed.
I had my doubts, but this was all scripted?
Setting the mood as if he were about to scold them for rejecting the scout offers, then using the whole thing as a show to lift the team's morale.
So that's why he gathered all the kids.
Jung Hyuk looked at the coach with a satisfied smile.
He's smarter than I thought.
Somehow, winning the tournament felt like it might be even easier than he'd expected.