Not the Teams I Want
Inside the Park Young-nam Sports Agency in Seoul, the atmosphere was lively.
Very lively.
"Hahahaha! You have no idea how much eel I fed that kid Hyuk growing up just so he'd play better soccer! I haven't had a single eel tail in years because of him."
"Hahaha! Of course! So it was a father's devoted effort all along! I've been dying to know how a player this good even comes into existence."
"Honestly, this is the first time I've properly watched our Hyuk play a match, and wow! To think he could be this good! Hahaha! I know he's my son, but even I'm shocked."
"And this is not me saying it just because you're sitting right here, sir — Jung Hyuk's talent is genuinely insane."
"Hahaha! Your eye for talent seems pretty sharp too, Director!"
"Oh, please, eye for talent? I'm just grateful that people of your caliber came looking for me. This is all thanks to you and Jung Hyuk."
Ahem.
Jung Hyuk kept his head bowed low, letting the two men's conversation wash over him. It was so mortifying he could barely stand to listen.
…Those two always got along like a house on fire in my past life, and even after regressing, nothing's changed.
It wasn't just any conversation — it was a nonstop praise relay about him. Jung Hyuk simply did not have the shamelessness to sit there and soak it up with a straight face.
"Haha! Looks like Hyuk's getting embarrassed. Let's leave the compliments there."
Seeing his son's reddened face, Jung Hyuk's father gently steered things to a close. Park Young-nam stopped laughing as well and looked at Jung Hyuk with a serious expression.
"Jung Hyuk."
"Yes."
"You said you want to go to Europe, correct?"
"Yes."
"In my opinion, you're more than competitive enough."
"Ah… yes. I think so too."
Jung Hyuk answered honestly. Frankly, Europe was basically his home turf. He had no worries about competitiveness.
"Haha! That kind of confidence is excellent. All right then — could you hand me the business cards you got from the European scouts? I need to check which clubs made offers."
"Yes."
Jung Hyuk pulled the cards from his wallet. And in that instant, Park Young-nam's eyes went wide.
"Five… six… seven…? H-how many clubs did you get these from?"
"Eight, actually."
"Of course! There's no way European scouts would miss talent like yours. Let's see… the clubs are… wait—"
Hup!
Park Young-nam sucked in a sharp breath. The names on those cards were staggering.
"Ajax… Liverpool… Bayern Munich… Barcelona?!"
Jung Hyuk's father, who had been listening in, cried out with a stunned face of his own.
"What? Those are all huge clubs, aren't they? You're saying every one of them showed interest in our Hyuk?"
"Yes! Exactly. They're incredible clubs! Wow… this is even more massive than I expected."
Whirling around, Jung Hyuk's father fixed his son with enormous eyes.
"Hyuk! Why didn't you tell me clubs this good gave you their cards?"
"…I did tell you I got business cards from European scouts."
"You didn't say they were from Barcelona, Munich, and Liverpool! Wow, look at this kid acting so nonchalant. Am I the weird one here? Director Park — am I overreacting right now?"
"Ah… no. From where I'm sitting… Jung Hyuk might just… well… not fully believe this is real yet."
That was what he said out loud. Internally, Park Young-nam was staring at Jung Hyuk with pure disbelief.
How is he this calm? He's eighteen, right? An eighteen-year-old just got recruitment offers from Barcelona and Bayern Munich, and he can still look like that…?
These weren't just any clubs. Barcelona currently reigned as one of the two absolute powerhouses of Spain's La Liga alongside Real Madrid — a club stacked with World Class players like Lionel Messi, Xavi Hernández, Carles Puyol, Andrés Iniesta, David Villa, Cesc Fàbregas, and Dani Alves. They had also just claimed the 2012–13 La Liga title.
Bayern Munich was no less formidable. The undisputed kings of the German Bundesliga, they had likewise just finished their league as champions and were charging toward another title this season with devastating form.
Which made Jung Hyuk's reaction all the more astonishing.
How is that even possible…?
Getting offers from clubs like these was extraordinary. Jumping for joy would have been the normal response. And yet this eighteen-year-old showed not a flicker of excitement. He was calm — too calm. Honestly, he didn't even seem particularly pleased.
What on earth… is going on with this kid?
Still wearing that baffled expression, Park Young-nam turned to Jung Hyuk's father.
"Sir, has Jung Hyuk always been a bit… mature for his age?"
"Well, he has seemed a little different lately… Hyuk, you do know what kind of clubs Barcelona and Bayern Munich are, right?"
Jung Hyuk smiled as he answered.
"Of course I do. I'm a soccer player. Obviously I know Barcelona and Bayern Munich."
"Heh heh." His father laughed and pressed on. "And you understand just how massive they are?"
"Yes. I know. Both just won their leagues. World-class name value."
"Then why are you sitting there looking like some neighborhood corner store just offered you a job? What's with that face? Are you so shocked it hasn't sunk in yet?"
That was when the bomb dropped from Jung Hyuk's mouth.
"Because they're not the teams I want to go to anyway."
Naiba, Korea's largest portal site.
Anyone with an interest in sports regularly checked Naiba's sports category. It was the place for the latest information across every sport, and soccer fans in particular lived on that page.
And right now, soccer articles were sprouting up one after another in the sports category — articles that set every soccer fan's heart racing.
Soccer fans went wild over Jung Hyuk's movie-protagonist trajectory.
But the articles grabbing soccer fans' attention didn't stop there. Alongside the pieces on Jung Hyuk, articles about another player were popping up as well.
Oh Jung-hoon.
He, too, had drawn the attention of European clubs.
The fact that players barely eighteen years old were drawing European interest only grew into a bigger and bigger story as time went on.
And then — one of those highly watched players walked into the Park Young-nam Sports Agency office with his parents.
"Hello."
Jung Hyuk, mid-conversation with Park Young-nam, turned his head toward the entrance.
He's here.
The guests who had just opened the door were Oh Jung-hoon and his parents.
The conversation stretched on for a long time.
Jung Hyuk's and Oh Jung-hoon's parents, already acquainted, brightened the mood further by trading compliments about each other's sons. After that, the discussion turned to analyzing which leagues and clubs best suited each player.
"Oh Jung-hoon has excellent physique and outstanding athleticism. On top of that, his technique is solid. A player of this type can realistically thrive in just about any league."
Park Young-nam offered his take with his trademark passion.
"So Oh Jung-hoon has a lot of paths open to him. Of course, among those, the best options would be Germany and England."
"Why are Germany and England the best?"
Oh Jung-hoon's eyes sparkled as he asked.
"First, they're big leagues, and among European countries they have the best conditions for Korean players to succeed. In England's case, the language barrier is relatively easy to clear — English is far more familiar than other languages, right? Once you're taking private lessons on-site and using English every day, your skills will improve fast. German feels harder by comparison, but for some reason Korean players tend to pick it up surprisingly quickly. Ah — and both Germany and England place a huge premium on physicality. So for Oh Jung-hoon, whose physique is already fully developed, those leagues are naturally advantageous."
That's right.
Listening from the side, Jung Hyuk nodded. In his judgment as well, Oh Jung-hoon's style was best suited for Germany and England.
Then Oh Jung-hoon answered with a bright expression.
"Oh! I actually wanted to go to England or Germany myself, so that works out! Then… should I go to Liverpool?"
At that, Jung Hyuk shook his head with a heavy look.
"I don't think choosing Liverpool would be a good move."
"Huh? Why?"
"At our age, you want to play as much as possible. Getting into as many matches as you can and stacking experience is what matters. Liverpool isn't a good team for that. It's not a club where young players get opportunities quickly. Of course…"
That changes after Jürgen Klopp takes the Liverpool helm.
He didn't bother saying the rest out loud. There was no need to talk about things that would happen in the future.
Either way, it would still be a long time before Liverpool started actively using young players. On top of that, Oh Jung-hoon's ability wasn't finished yet. Coldly speaking, cracking Liverpool's first team was a stretch.
No — it was close to impossible.
If Oh Jung-hoon transferred to Liverpool, he would almost certainly spend a long stretch stuck in the reserves.
In that case, going somewhere else would be far better.
Oh Jung-hoon nodded. His face was a little bitter, but he understood the reality too. He knew he still wasn't good enough.
"Then I'll wait and see what you pick, Hyuk, and rethink it."
At that moment, Park Young-nam turned to Jung Hyuk.
"Have you decided where you're going, Jung Hyuk? Honestly, your style would work well in any league… the Spanish league could be a good fit too…"
In truth, Jung Hyuk hadn't been thinking about it much at all.
Of course he hadn't. From the moment the European scouts made their offers, he had already chosen his path.
He had already decided which club he was going to.
So he answered.
"Yes. I've decided."
"Oh! Where are you thinking of going?"
Park Young-nam asked with a face full of anticipation.
And then, with his trademark unreadable calm, Jung Hyuk opened his mouth.
"I'm…"