An Unusual Rookie (2)

The K League Round 4 match against Daegu had been a gritty, hard-fought scrap unlike anything before it. But as the old saying goes, the flower that blooms after hardship is the most beautiful of all, and of every match I'd played so far, this was the one where I'd walked away with the most.

"Yi-an and Seung-hwan, you two must have it rough, prepping for matches and still going to school."

"Ah, it's not that bad. Full classes would be rough, sure, but the school cuts us some slack. And more than anything, we get to make our official debuts while we're still students."

"Yeah, that part's pretty good. Back in my day you couldn't sign early, so I spent forever agonizing over whether I had to plan all the way through university. Thinking about it that way, nothing beats being attached to a team ahead of time."

I'd gotten close enough to Yong-ho, the oldest player at Jeonbuk, that I was riding in his car to and from the clubhouse. Something that would have been completely unimaginable before. The idea that Han Yong-ho himself would personally drive a lunatic like me ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠around… Whatever change of heart he'd had during his injury lay-off, anyone who'd known him before would have been floored by how different he was now.

"By the way, Yi-an, watch that last celebration of yours from now on. You know the interviews said it went way too far, right?"

"Exactly, exactly. I was standing right next to him and I thought Baek Yi-an had completely lost his mind."

"I'll be careful next time, hyung."

He'd softened up a little, sure—but that didn't mean he was going to let anything that crossed the line slide.

Still, Yong-ho hyung really has changed. In the old days, giving me a ride? Yeah, right. The second he saw that celebration he would've told me to run the whole way from Daegu back to Jeonju after the match.

Even so, the shift was real, and it was helping the team's chemistry. That much was impossible to deny.

The conversation had lulled for a moment when Yoon Seung-hwan, who'd been quiet in the back seat, spoke up again.

"Anyway, Yi-an. Did you get an apology from the guy who smacked you in the face with the ball? After you and Yong-ho hyung got sent off I don't remember seeing him again on the pitch."

"Never ran into him. The coaches told us not to even look at the Daegu locker room so nothing else would kick off."

"What? So you never even got an apology? That's messed up…"

The air went a little awkward at the mention of no apology, until Yong-ho hyung cut in.

"If you're talking about Eun-chan hyung, he already apologized publicly. I saw it on the morning news."

"He apologized on the news? Throwing a ball at someone's face is a big deal, but if it made the news instead of just the club website…"

"From what I heard, Daegu's front office tried to settle it with a private apology to our side, but the video blew up so hard on the communities that they had no choice. Yi-an, check the articles—sports tag, it'll be right there."

"Sports tag? Hang on… Ah. Found it."

Just like Yong-ho hyung said, the article was there.

Looking at his temper, I figured he'd rather die than apologize… Guess the fallout was that massive.

This wasn't some perfunctory statement. This was a full head-bowed apology in front of the cameras. In football, apologies that go that far are rare. Even players who pull ugly stunts on the pitch usually settle for a quick interview line, an SNS post, or a note on the club homepage. Bowing your head in front of reporters? That was something else.

"There's a channel called Jeonbuk Clip Collection that edits and uploads our match highlights. A live-commentary streamer posted the video too, and it blew up."

"They uploaded the video?"

"Yeah. Clear footage of a veteran chucking a ball at a kid in pure rage. He got absolutely roasted. Eun-chan hyung will probably contact you personally to apologize too."

"He already got a suspension. I don't think he needs to go that far."

"Haha, the atmosphere's that vicious, so he doesn't have a choice. You might still be pissed, but if he reaches out, better to accept the apology."

"Of course. I wasn't even that angry when it hit me."

Thinking about it, Confucian hierarchy had its upsides. A young player showing flashy personality in front of older seniors got called "disrespectful" in a heartbeat—but when a senior pulled that kind of dirty play on a kid, people called him a maniac instead. The reason my reverse-celebration hadn't drawn more heat was probably because I was the victim who'd taken a ball to the face from Hwang Eun-chan. I didn't hold any real grudge, but for the sake of my career, playing the fragile victim a little longer didn't seem like a bad idea.

"Mm… we're here. Yi-an, you wanted off near Hadong, right? You can get ready to hop out."

"Thanks to you, Yong-ho hyung, the ride was easy. Appreciate it."

"Eh, I was heading this way anyway. Rest up, see you at the clubhouse."

We'd killed time chatting, and before I knew it Yong-ho hyung's car had reached Sipri-gil in Hadong, where I needed to get out. Unlike me, who'd been handed a rest day for recovery after the suspension, Yong-ho hyung and Yoon Seung-hwan were heading straight back to the clubhouse. Even though the red card meant I couldn't play, they still wanted to watch the match and keep their edge sharp, or something like that.

When the car stopped I grabbed my bag, opened the door, and gave a quick bow.

"Thank you. See you tomorrow at the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠clubhouse."

"Yeah. Have fun, and don't cause any trouble."

"Yes. I'll head out first. Yoon Seung-hwan—go hard against Pohang."

Finished with the goodbyes, I picked up my pace toward where A-yoon would be waiting. I'd barely taken a few steps when something weird drifted from behind me.

"Ah… if I'd known it would go like this I should've just grabbed somebody and launched a Bundesliga kick of my own. Maybe I should do a reverse-celebration against Pohang too?"

"What the hell did you just say?"

"Yes, sir. Why, hyung? It was a joke… You don't seriously think I wanted a red card just so I could rest like that maniac Baek Yi-an, do you? I'm going to score against Pohang and chase the golden boot. Ahaha."

A rookie talking about wanting a red card in front of a veteran senior. No matter how I look at it, Yoon Seung-hwan's not normal either.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

I'd been worried I might waste the unexpected day off just wandering around, but luckily A-yoon had already thought of that. We found a spot, settled in, and spent the time eating.

"Yi-an, try this too. How is it?"

"Hmm… a little different from the last one. Pretty salty."

"Too salty? I made this one myself…"

"I like salty food anyway. Yeah, this hits the spot. By the way, are you sure we can just sit here like this? It's not an injury, so a little walking around would be fine."

"No way. Times like this, you rest properly. Fatigue sneaks up on you even when you think you're fine."

We ate the lunch she'd packed and I enjoyed the massage she gave me for a while. Then the conversation swung right back to what had happened in the match.

"Oh right. I wanted to ask you something. Did Seung-ah post anything on YouTube?"

"Seung-ah? Why?"

"I heard Hwang Eun-chan apologized for the match incident because of a video that went up on YouTube. You mentioned Seung-ah had started doing live commentary for Jeonbuk, so I wondered if that was related."

"Ah, that? She probably did upload it. She's been doing K League live commentary lately, her viewers have shot up, and the views are solid. Considering what happened in a match we were watching together, it's not weird that it became a controversy."

"So that's what it was. I was wondering why he suddenly did a public apology."

"Come on, a public apology is the least he should do after pulling something that insane."

Maybe because I was the one who'd taken the ball to the face, A-yoon still ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠hadn't cooled off. A two-match ban was clearly a heavy punishment for a player, but civilians and professionals always saw suspensions differently. That was just how it went.

Still fuming, she was shoveling the ice cream she'd bought for dessert when she suddenly startled and tapped my shoulder.

"Oh! It's four o'clock—Jeonbuk's playing right now, isn't it? Since we're already like this, let's watch together."

"The match? Nothing better to do, so why not?"

K League Round 5. Jeonbuk's opponent today was none other than Pohang Ironers. Despite never having massive resources, they'd been called a powerhouse ever since the K League launched. Even with key players leaving every transfer window, they'd been the first club to properly lock in a youth system, so they kept producing talent. For a Jeonbuk side aiming at the league title, the Korea Cup, and the ACL, they sat right up there with Ulsan and Seoul as teams you had to watch carefully. When you could take points off them, you took them.

The unfortunate part was that Jeonbuk was missing me—the backbone of their build-up—and most of the regulars were already feeling the physical load. I wanted them to win, of course, but against a side like this I decided I wouldn't obsess over the result as long as they put in a good performance.

In that match, Jeonbuk fell to Pohang.

"Ah… that's really rough. They tried to claw it back in the second half but just didn't have enough."

"They still did well. The performance wasn't bad, right? Missing key players and it still only finished 2-1."

A-yoon kept glancing at me after the loss, probably worried I'd be crushed that my club had gone down even though I hadn't played. But I didn't take the defeat that hard. It wasn't that I had no love for the team or that I only cared about matches I started. If they'd completely collapsed it would have been different, but Jeonbuk's performance hadn't been poor.

I never cared about an unbeaten title run in the first place. And against a strong side like Pohang, with key players missing, they still put in a solid display.

In the dying minutes Chaperi's goal had swung the momentum back, and Jeonbuk pinned Pohang so hard you could almost call it a siege. A little more time and they might have equalized—maybe even stolen the win. With a performance like that, there was nothing to feel bitter about.

And the most important thing is still ahead.

The Jeonbuk–Pohang match had been played today, April 1st. That meant the season that started in March was already a full month old, and around this time there was always one major event.

"Whew… even I'm getting nervous. By the way, Yi-an, you're not tense at all? The awards are about to drop and you look completely calm."

"Well, I figure I'll pick up at least one. Player of the Month feels out of reach, but Young Player or Goal of the Month—I should land one of those for sure."

The awards given to the best performers over a single month. Normally the winners were decided right after the final March match and announced in early April. According to the federation, the March winners would be revealed after today's Jeonbuk–Pohang game.

So it would be any moment now.

I pulled A-yoon, who was shivering in the spring breeze, into my arms and stared at my phone screen. The second the Pohang player's Man of the Match interview wrapped up, a new post appeared on SNS.

"Oh, it's up! Yi-an, I'm clicking it?"

"Yeah, hurry. This is gonna be good."

A-yoon's hands were shaking as she opened the official K League account. And there, in the list of winners, a familiar name jumped out.

"Y-Yi-an… this isn't fake, right? This is the official site? So my boyfriend just won Young Player and Goal of the Month the second he debuted?"

"Looks that way."

Young Player of the Month and Goal of the Month in the same month, right after debuting.

"Th-this is real, right? Wow! Congratulations, Yi-an!"

As if she still couldn't believe it, A-yoon confirmed the results and immediately threw herself at me. Losing Player of the Month to Yoon Seung-hwan stung a little…

But this isn't half bad either.

I glanced down at A-yoon nestled in my arms and allowed myself a small smile.