One Who Doesn't Tire Easily
The instant the Southampton–Sunderland match ended, Korean community sites erupted into flames.
Two Koreans had put in outstanding performances. On top of that, one of them—Jung Hyuk—had delivered a monstrous two goals and three assists. Korean fans simply could not calm down. Alongside the excitement, a flood of voices demanded that both Jung Hyuk and Oh Jung-hoon be called up to the senior national team.
And right now, those two players who were soaking up all that attention were doing completely different things.
“Two hundred one···· two hundred two···· two hundred three···· two hundred four·····.”
Jung Hyuk was doing push-ups while watching TV.
“Uggggh! Ubbebbebbeuk!”
Oh Jung-hoon had a towel clenched between his teeth and was thrashing the blanket with his feet. A moment later, Jung Hyuk finished his set, wiped the sweat from his face, and asked,
“Whew! Jung-hoon, what are you doing?”
“Hyuk····· I’m finished.”
“Finished how?”
“Did you see the articles and comments on Naver? Everyone’s calling me a weirdo and roasting me nonstop!”
“So what? Is that really such a big deal?”
Jung Hyuk reacted as if it were nothing. Oh Jung-hoon’s face filled with pure betrayal as he shouted,
“Hey! How can a guy who’s supposed to be my friend say that? It’s mortifying! Wow···! I’m getting mocked by the entire country and you just act like it’s no big deal?”
“····Why are you showing a weak side like that? You’re the guy who’s going to take over the Premier League, remember?”
“Hey! You’re doing it too? That was just—I got too hyped in the moment and—”
“‘Too hyped in the moment’? You’ve already pulled something similar before. The whole ‘I’m going to become a legend’ thing.”
“····Aargh! Why is that story coming up again right now?”
That was when Park Young-nam, who had been cooking in the kitchen, walked out holding a ladle.
“Oh? Why is our ‘world-class’ Oh Jung-hoon, the man who’s going to take over the Premier League, getting so heated? Something wrong?”
“Ah! Hyung, not you too! I’m seriously so embarrassed I’m dying of stress!”
“Hahaha! The guy who’s going to waltz straight into the national team is getting stressed over something this small? Pull yourself together already.”
“Aaaargh! Hyuk! You say something at least. Ugh! If even Young-nam hyung is like this, what am I supposed to do? I’m not kidding—I’m telling Mom and Dad on both of you, Jung Hyuk and Young-nam hyung.”
Hahahaha!
Park Young-nam and Jung Hyuk burst out laughing at Oh Jung-hoon’s reaction. Even Oh Jung-hoon, still kicking the blanket, eventually cracked up with them.
Afterward Jung Hyuk had dinner with Park Young-nam and Oh Jung-hoon, then went into his room. Sleep was gently pulling at him, but there was something he had to do before bed. First he opened his status window.
Talent:S
Traits:One Who Never Gives Up, One Who Never Gets Injured, Soccer Genius, One Who Sees Through, One Who Sends Accurately
Points Held:0P
Looking at the status window, Jung Hyuk’s expression turned satisfied.
“Incredible.”
He was still only sixteen internationally, yet he already possessed a stat over ninety. That alone was enormous. On top of that he already held five traits. Considering there were still more traits he could obtain, that was remarkable as well.
“Priority is shoring up the tackling stat, then I need to push every seventy-range stat into the eighties as fast as possible.”
Finished with that thought, Jung Hyuk turned his gaze to the card floating in midair. It was the card he had received for completing the special reward condition in the Sunderland match.
“What am I getting this time?”
Points would be good; a trait would be good too. If points came out he planned to patch his weaker stats; if a trait appeared it would help him somehow no matter what it was. In a situation where anything would be useful, Jung Hyuk reached for the card.
Swoosh.
He flipped it. Instantly the card’s information appeared.
◈ A trait will be granted. The type of trait granted is random.
Clench!
Jung Hyuk squeezed his fist so hard it trembled. It was a trait. Even a handful of points would have been welcome—and he had gotten a trait!
His face lit up.
Even an ordinary-level trait is a massive win.
That he would receive a trait was now certain. The only question left was which one. He didn’t set his expectations too high. Even if a trait with a mediocre effect appeared, it would still be more than enough help.
And now—
Inhale. Exhale.
Jung Hyuk took a deep breath and checked the name of the trait.
The Premier League is a place where rough physical battles happen constantly. Naturally, any player who wants to survive there needs a solid physique. Even players whose main weapons are blistering speed and dribbling still need enough physicality that they won’t simply get bullied off the ball. There is no other choice. If your body is weak, unless your technique is overwhelmingly superior, you will almost certainly struggle against aggressive defending—because EPL defenders are specialists at using their physicality for exactly that kind of rough defending.
Which is why, aside from a handful of players born with freakish physiques, the vast majority of Premier League footballers pour enormous effort into weight training.
And—
“Uwaaaaah!”
“Ugh! Kkeuuuugh!”
“Kkeuaaaah!”
The Southampton FC weight room was likewise filled with the players’ shouts of exertion. Aside from a few who were doing other drills, nearly every player was focused on strength work. Then a boy who had just finished his individual training walked into the weight room. The moment he appeared, the Southampton players lit up.
“Oh! The Korean Monster’s here?”
“Korean Monster! Skipping weight day again? Never!”
“Hey, Jung Hyuk! Come show these big lugs what real strength looks like!”
That boy was Jung Hyuk. Looking a little embarrassed by the noisy welcome, he began lightly loosening up. One of the players watching him turned to Dejan Lovren beside him and asked,
“Is that kid really that strong? He doesn’t look like much of a powerhouse from the outside····?”
Lovren let out his trademark booming laugh.
“You only just joined the team, so you wouldn’t know yet, would you? That kid Jung Hyuk is a monster. We don’t call him the Korean Monster for nothing.”
“····Really?”
A short while later Jung Hyuk set up for bench press. Clank. Clank. Instead of starting the set he kept adding weight, and the players around him erupted in cheers—while a few others began to look worried.
“Ooooh! How many kilos are we going for today, Korean Monster?”
“What? He’s loading more than usual? Hey, fitness coach? Is that even okay?”
“Looks like he’s pushing it today. Even for you, Jung Hyuk, that weight is a bit····.”
And the fitness coach, Damon, was startled as well. He approached Jung Hyuk and carefully offered his opinion.
“Jung Hyuk, that’s heavier than yesterday. Adding more from here could be dangerous. Of course progressive overload is good for muscle growth, but the safe way is to increase it gradually over time.”
Jung Hyuk answered with a small smile.
“Understood. Then I’ll just attempt it. Coach Damon, stay right beside me—if you decide it’s dangerous, I’ll stop immediately. I’d appreciate it.”
“····Alright. Let’s just try it, then.”
Damon, the man in charge of Southampton FC’s fitness, stood close to Jung Hyuk with an uneasy look in his eyes.
How many kilos is this right now? One hundred···· two hundred··· whew! He’s going to lift two hundred kilos? Even for Jung Hyuk, this is too much.
Before anyone noticed, Southampton players had crowded around Jung Hyuk.
“What is this? That’s 200 kg! He’s going to lift that? Oh my god! Has he lost his mind?”
“Isn’t this a bit dangerous? He’s not an Olympic wrestler····.”
“200 kg is rough.”
The Southampton players knew. Bench-pressing 200 kg was extremely difficult. Even professional footballers who trained every day often couldn’t manage 100 kg. Of course, in their eyes Jung Hyuk was already something else. Only recently he had shocked them by successfully benching 180 kg. And he was still only a sixteen-year-old boy. A body that hadn’t even finished growing was producing that kind of monstrous power—how could they not be stunned?
And now Jung Hyuk unleashed that power.
“Hup!”
Ssshhk! The 200 kg bar that looked like it would never leave the rack rose. The strength was absurd. Even more shocking was that it didn’t end with one rep.
Huff! Huff!
Breathing hard, Jung Hyuk successfully pressed 200 kg ten times. After finishing the bench he moved on to other exercises at the same insane intensity, displaying monster-level endurance.
“····The Korean Monster just became the Super Korean Monster.”
“How does that kid get stronger every single day····?”
“It’s getting scary at this point·····.”
The Southampton players stared at Jung Hyuk the way people stare at a real monster. Coach Damon, mouth hanging open, simply watched him train. Any remaining concern for Jung Hyuk’s safety had already left his head.
Jung Hyuk, what the hell are you?
Whew!
When Jung Hyuk finished training, his expression was the brightest it had been in days. His mood was at an absolute peak.
“This is insane.”
Today he had trained with heavier loads than usual. Naturally the difficulty had been high. Under normal circumstances, a session of that intensity would have left him exhausted quickly. Thanks to his S-class talent he grew stronger faster than anyone else, yet even for him the workload he had just completed should have been enough to leave him drained. And yet—
The newly acquired trait had allowed him to endure that brutal training for far longer.
The information on the recently obtained trait, which possessed such an outstanding effect, was as follows:
The rate of stamina consumption is reduced by 30%.
Even after finishing the Sunderland match, Southampton’s schedule remained packed.
Southampton defeated Norwich City 3–1. In that match Jung Hyuk recorded a hat-trick and fully cemented himself as the team’s ace. Moreover, the sheer volume of running he displayed against Norwich left football fans in awe.
In the following fourth-round fixture Southampton also beat West Ham United, carrying their soaring momentum forward.
And before Southampton’s next match even began, a new talking point swept through the Premier League—one that Southampton fans and Korean football fans alike would love.
And the talking points didn’t stop there.
Southampton FC, already whipping up a storm from the opening weeks of the season, against Liverpool FC, one of the Premier League’s traditional powerhouses. The mere fact that the match was coming drew the attention of football fans across the entire world.