The U-20 World Cup Call-Up
The World Cup.
Held once every four years, it ranks among the most popular sporting events on the planet. As the tournament that crowns the best soccer nation on Earth, the World Cup draws the eyes of millions. Even people who normally pay no attention to the sport flock to stadiums during World Cup season just to cheer for their country. A far greater sense of patriotism than usual often blooms overnight.
It is a competition of colossal scale—and the birthplace of countless soccer stars.
And while nothing quite matches the World Cup’s popularity, there is another tournament that still commands a massive following of its own.
The U-20 World Cup.
Only players aged twenty and under may take part. Unlike the senior World Cup, which comes around every four years, the U-20 edition is held every two. The participants are young, and the scale is smaller than FIFA’s full senior tournament, yet it can never be dismissed. Players under twenty already possess largely finished technical foundations. The tournament has always been a fountain of prodigious talent.
Naturally, being selected to represent one’s nation at such an event is an enormous honor for any young player. Park Young-nam knew that better than anyone, which was why his voice blasting from the phone speaker was more fired up than usual.
“It’s done! Hahahaha! It’s done! You guys are national team players now!”
Recently, the South Korean national team’s results had been poor. The U-20 side’s record was even worse. Under Manager Jeong Min-woo, the Republic of Korea U-20 National Team had looked shaky from the very first round of qualifiers. They had scraped through—barely, just barely—to reach the finals.
Reaching the finals was an achievement, yet Korean soccer fans still tore into Manager Jeong Min-woo and the players.
Looking at the performances, there was simply no hope in sight. That fact alone enraged the fans.
A few days later, the Korea Football Association took drastic action.
They had fired the current U-20 manager and appointed a new one. The man chosen was Yoo Jung-seok, who until recently had been managing Jeongun High School.
Soccer fans were stunned.
Some voices urged giving Manager Yoo Jung-seok a chance, but most fans called the appointment a reckless gamble by the association. They insisted the new side would be no different from Jeong Min-woo’s—or might even be worse—and that the whole move was pointless.
Yet Yoo Jung-seok’s appointment was already final. There would be no reversal.
Immediately a new topic ignited among Korean soccer fans.
Would Yoo Jung-seok, former Jeongun High manager, actually call up Jung Hyuk and Oh Jung-hoon to the national team? If the two joined the U-20 side already filled with older players, could they overcome the age gap and perform well?
Interest among Korean soccer fans only grew hotter as the U-20 World Cup drew nearer.
And then, at last, the article every Korean soccer fan had been waiting for appeared across every major portal site.
The reaction was explosive—both in the best and worst senses. Some celebrated the chance to finally see Jung Hyuk and Oh Jung-hoon’s true level; others immediately branded them parachute appointments by Manager Yoo Jung-seok.
At that very moment, Jung Hyuk and Oh Jung-hoon landed in Korea.
“Hell yeah! I missed you, Korea! Hyuk, we’re finally home!”
“We’ve only been in England a few days.”
“Ugh, it felt like a whole year to me. Man! Korea really is the best.”
“······.”
Jung Hyuk shook his head in mild exasperation.
Just then a car pulled up in front of them. The window rolled down, and the man behind the wheel beamed and shouted at the top of his lungs.
“Oh! Our Premier League boys! Welcome to Korea!”
It was Park Young-nam. Jung Hyuk covered his face and ducked his head at the over-the-top greeting. Oh Jung-hoon, on the other hand, matched the energy—and then raised it.
“Ohhh! Young-nam hyung! That accent is fire! I’ve been grinding English like crazy lately too! How are you? I’m fine, thank you!”
“Hahahaha! Our little Jung-hoon is basically British already! Guess I’ll have to make your breakfast even bigger from now on~?”
“Thank you so much!”
The two men kept trading increasingly ridiculous lines, as if competing to out-crazy each other.
Why are these guys like this?
Jung Hyuk ignored them and climbed into the car as fast as possible. He genuinely liked Park Young-nam as a hyung and Oh Jung-hoon as a friend, but right now the whole scene was mortifying.
Once Oh Jung-hoon piled in as well, Park Young-nam’s car pulled away. Not long after they started moving, Oh Jung-hoon turned to Park Young-nam with a worried look.
“But Young-nam hyung, are you okay? Those dark circles are no joke······?”
Jung Hyuk, riding shotgun, turned to study Park Young-nam’s face.
He looks pretty exhausted.
Indeed, thick dark circles that hadn’t been there before now sat under Park Young-nam’s eyes.
“Heh heh! I’m dying. But it’s fun. My players are doing so well that even when I’m exhausted enough to drop dead, the work still feels rewarding.”
Then Jung Hyuk asked the question that had been on his mind.
“Did the club side object to us coming to Korea? I figured they’d hate letting us go so soon after the transfer.”
“Why? Did Pochettino or one of the coaches say something? That they didn’t want to send you?”
“No. I never heard anything like that—I was just curious. Either way, Southampton signed us for the first team, and there’s only two months left until the season starts. Plus Jung-hoon and I still haven’t fully settled into the squad. If I were the club, I’d keep us for team training instead of releasing us to the national team.”
“Looks like Manager Pochettino put in a word.”
“Sorry? Manager Pochettino?”
“Yeah. Pochettino was happy to let you go. What did he say again? Ah, right. He said training to build chemistry with the team is important, but at your age nothing beats real match experience. So he hoped you’d go to the World Cup, grow a lot, and come back. That’s what he told me.”
“·····I see.”
A faint smile touched Jung Hyuk’s lips. He could almost hear Pochettino’s voice.
So that was it.
The Pochettino Jung Hyuk knew was a manager who valued the player more than any short-term gain right in front of him. Among all the coaches Jung Hyuk had ever known, he was the most human.
Nice.
Being called up to the U-20 national team was an excellent opportunity for Jung Hyuk. Training with the club was good, but Pochettino’s words—that nothing beat real match experience—were something Jung Hyuk fully agreed with. He had no choice but to agree.
I need to raise my stats a lot.
Stats grew faster in real matches. For his own growth, playing competitive games was simply the best method.
Just then Park Young-nam, still driving, called out to both of them.
“Hyuk, Jung-hoon.”
“····?”
“Yeah?”
Surprised by the sudden address, both turned toward him. Park Young-nam kept his eyes on the road, his expression serious.
“Just in case, don’t worry about me at all. Everything I said a minute ago is completely true. These days I’m really, truly happy. The work is so fun that even when I barely sleep I don’t even feel tired.”
“····That makes me feel guilty.”
Oh Jung-hoon gave a bitter little smile. He was giving everything he had, yet he was still struggling to adapt to the team. Seeing Park Young-nam cut sleep just to throw himself into agency work made him feel like he was somehow at fault.
“What are you talking about? Why would you feel guilty?”
Park Young-nam’s eyes went wide. Oh Jung-hoon answered with an awkward laugh.
“I’m still not adapting well to the team····.”
Park Young-nam’s face turned stern.
“Jung-hoon, you haven’t even been with the team a full month. This is completely normal, so stop with the guilt. What did you do wrong that you need to feel bad about? Why would you even think something like that·····”
He broke off and turned the question to Jung Hyuk.
“Hyuk, what do you think? Isn’t Jung-hoon adapting ridiculously well already?”
Jung Hyuk answered without a second of hesitation.
“He’s doing incredibly well. Jung-hoon’s honestly in the genius category. There aren’t many kids his age performing at that level.”
He meant every word. In his previous life Jung Hyuk had judged Oh Jung-hoon’s talent good enough to play for a mid-to-upper Premier League side—provided he worked hard. That alone was already remarkable. But watching Oh Jung-hoon train at Southampton FC had proven even that assessment too low. His adaptation speed was far faster than Jung Hyuk had expected, and his ability was climbing just as quickly.
Maybe... Jung-hoon could become an even greater player than I ever imagined.
If he could just push through the current difficulties, if he could keep growing without major injuries—Jung Hyuk could no longer predict how far that growth might go.
At that moment Oh Jung-hoon rounded on him with an incredulous look.
“What? What the hell are you talking about? Me, a genius? Come on, what genius am I? Then what about you, Jung Hyuk? You already finished adapting to the team and you’re playing better than the guys who were already there—what does that make you?”
“I’m, uh····.”
Jung Hyuk trailed off. Nothing suitable came to mind.
“You’re what?”
Oh Jung-hoon fixed him with a glare that demanded an immediate answer. Jung Hyuk looked away and muttered,
“I’m, uh····· a super genius·····.”
The voice was tiny, yet Oh Jung-hoon heard every syllable.
“What?”
Oh Jung-hoon stared at him in pure disbelief. Park Young-nam, still driving, also checked Jung Hyuk’s face in the rearview mirror, equally unable to hide his shock.
“A su···per genius. No, wait—I’m a super-duper genius·····.”
Ahem! Jung Hyuk cleared his throat and avoided both of their gazes.