The Call of the Nation
Annie was furious at the fake smile plastered across Ha Sunmoon's face. The way he countered her so casually only made her blood boil even more.
"My brother is an incredible footballer, you know? What makes you think a little kid like you could even play on the same team as him?" Annie's face flushed slightly as she spoke to Ha Sunmoon.
Clive Harrison clicked his tongue as Annie kept running her mouth without backing down.
"Where does this amazing brother of yours play?"
"He plays for the Espanyol B team, obviously. There's no way he'd share a pitch with someone as short and ugly as you. By the time you make it to the U17s, he'll already be a regular in the first team."
After listening to Clive, Ha Sunmoon immediately began his second round of teasing Annie. He put on a slightly gloomy expression.
"Hmm... I actually can't go to the U17 team right now."
Of course, he meant he wouldn't be dropping down because he was heading to the B team, but Annie, who had no way of knowing that, looked triumphant again.
"See! I knew it. You look like the type who'd be struggling in the U15s... Mmph."
"Annie, that's enough."
"I'm so sorry, dear. What's your name? I promise I'll give Annie a proper scolding later."
When Annie's sharp tongue kept going, her parents covered her mouth.
"We're sorry, Mr. Raul. We've caused a scene in your restaurant."
"No, it's quite all right."
Annie's parents apologized to Raul as well.
"Mom! Why are you covering my mouth? I didn't even say anything wrong!"
"Annie, be quiet! Why do you always have such a foul mouth?"
Raul, the restaurant owner, looked at her with a pitying gaze. Since he'd seen Ha Sunmoon several times before, he knew quite a bit about him. He could tell that Ha Sunmoon was laying the groundwork to tease Annie.
"Annie, you shouldn't judge people by their appearance. And this uncle here is an Espanyol fan, so he doesn't want anyone bad-mouthing our Espanyol players in his restaurant. Do you understand?"
"Yes..."
Raul was usually warm and gentle, but this time he spoke firmly to Annie. The implication that one more wrong word would get her kicked out was clear, and even Annie looked intimidated.
"Then apologize to Sunmoon right here."
"Huuu... Okay."
"Sorry. Hmph."
Annie clearly hated every second of it. She glared at Ha Sunmoon, radiating reluctance.
Clive Harrison's lips curled up at Annie's extremely brief apology. She couldn't even apologize properly.
"Annie? Can't you apologize properly?"
Her parents urged her, but Annie turned her head away.
"It's fine, Annie. I'll accept your apology."
When Ha Sunmoon said he would accept it, Annie turned to face him again.
"Ah! By the way... what's your son's name in the B team?"
"Why do you need to know?"
"Vegas. His name is Vegas. Thank you for asking first."
When Annie opened her mouth in the wrong direction again, her mother answered Ha Sunmoon for her.
"I'm 'Sunmoon Ha,' and I've been playing for the U19 team until today."
"U19 team?"
Ha Sunmoon still hadn't grown past 160 centimeters. So Vegas's parents had assumed he was playing in a much younger age group. They were quite surprised to hear he was on the U19s.
"Ah... is that so? You must be older than you look? We thought you'd be in the U15s."
"I'm born in 2003, so it's understandable you'd think that. The age range you're imagining is correct."
At Ha Sunmoon's words, Vegas's parents' eyes widened. A player who should be in the U17s playing in the U19s meant he had already skipped a grade.
"But Sunmoon, what do you mean by 'until today'? What exactly does that mean?"
Raul had caught the odd note in Ha Sunmoon's words. Ha Sunmoon grinned. It was a line he'd deliberately planted under Clive Harrison's guidance, waiting for someone to ask.
"Ah! That's because starting tomorrow, I'll be joining the Espanyol B team. The coach told me today to move up. So I came here to celebrate with a meal."
"Is that right? Oh my! That's wonderful news."
Raul looked delighted at Ha Sunmoon's words. From the moment Ha Sunmoon mentioned playing for the B team, Annie had been staring at him with her mouth agape.
"Ah! And earlier you were really worried about Vegas playing left-back, right?"
Ha Sunmoon shook his head as he spoke. Then he put on an arrogant expression.
"Don't worry. Vegas won't be getting any playing time as a left-back. I'm the starting left-back."
As Ha Sunmoon spoke calmly and steadily, Annie, unable to accept reality, went into full denial mode.
"Th-this... That can't be true! My brother is the best! And you're only just coming up—how could you be a starter?"
"By the way, how much does your brother earn?"
"Huh?"
Annie didn't know exactly how much Vegas earned, so she just rolled her eyes.
"I get one million euros a year."
"Hic."
"Ha."
"That's the value Espanyol has placed on me. It means they see me as a prospect worth promoting to the first team."
Whether from a sense of injustice or not, Annie's face twisted up, and she looked like she was about to cry any second.
"Well then, take care. I'll be going now. Uncle Raul."
"Of course! Come back anytime. And congratulations on moving up to the B team."
Ha Sunmoon gave a small laugh and stepped outside.
The next day, Ha Sunmoon was in a great mood at the thought of training with the B-team players. He headed to the training ground early, but he couldn't jump straight into practice.
"Where are you telling me to go?"
"First, head to the club conference room. Someone wants to meet you."
David, the B-team coach, sent Ha Sunmoon to the indicated location.
"Me?"
In front of a dumbfounded Ha Sunmoon stood a local staff member from the Korean Football Association.
"Yes. In South Korea, they've added player Ha Sunmoon to the roster for the U17 World Cup. It's quite late for you to join, but we have high expectations for you."
"But... I've only just joined here..."
"You must participate. Do you not know where the U17 World Cup is being held?"
Ha Sunmoon paused for a moment. He knew exactly where it was being held. But he didn't want to recall it. Because it reminded him of Lucas. This was also why Ha Sunmoon had chosen Spain over the Brazilian league. It still wasn't easy to completely forget Lucas.
"I'll think about it."
"There's not much time left. The tournament opens on October 27th, and we need to depart in mid-October."
"Then why are you calling me now?"
"We tried to call you much earlier. We knew about your talent. Didn't you realize we were the ones who sent you to study in Brazil? We've been monitoring your progress the whole time, but there was an accident. You quit your studies midway and returned to Korea, didn't you? After returning from Brazil to Korea, we couldn't reach you. Your guardian wasn't contactable either, so it was difficult to find you."
"Ah..."
Ha Sunmoon nodded as if he finally understood.
"For now, we plan to include your name on the roster whether you participate or not. We hope you'll join us if possible."
"Do as you wish."
It was currently mid-September, so there was still about a month left.
"Sunmoon. You're quite popular, aren't you? Called up for a national team tournament the moment you join the B team."
B-team coach David greeted him warmly.
"It seems they're calling me because it's in Brazil. They probably think I'm familiar with it since I played for Fluminense."
"That makes sense. But you look like you have a lot on your mind?"
"Yes... I do."
Ha Sunmoon's head was spinning with complicated thoughts.
"Anyway, welcome to the B team. If you do well here, you'll get called up to the first team from time to time. Of course, there are still two first-team left-backs holding their positions, so I don't know how it'll turn out."
"Understood."
"Then let's go."
Ha Sunmoon followed David to where the other players were training.
"Everyone, this is Sunmoon H, who has come up from the U19 team."
"Isn't he too young?"
Most of the B-team players had the same thought.
"What year were you born?"
"2003. He's sixteen now."
"Whoa..."
The coach explained about Ha Sunmoon, and upon confirming his young age, the B-team players shook their heads in quiet amazement.
"Now then, Sunmoon, do you have anything you'd like to say?"
Something suddenly occurred to Ha Sunmoon, so he carefully observed the B-team players.
"Who's Vegas here?"
"Vegas?"
At that, one player in the corner clutched his head with both hands. The red-haired boy wore a rather pained expression.
Ha Sunmoon nodded as if he understood. The bright red hair made him stand out perfectly. It was convenient.