Seizing the Call-Up Chance
Sunmoon was heading home with a bright, sunny smile after an unexpected encounter at the beach.
"Of course I'm happy. Why wouldn't I be? Man, I just made a good friend."
"Come on~ That's completely different."
"No, what I mean is the guys on the B-team are my colleagues at work. Clara is a friend my own age I met and got close to here in Barcelona."
"Absolutely not."
Sunmoon dodged the question.
"Well, that's the kind of thing that could change depending on the situation."
"Uh… um… I'm hungry. Better head back to Uncle Raul's."
As Clive began to grumble, Sunmoon arrived at Raul's restaurant.
"Uncle Raul~!"
"Sunmoon, how was your trip?"
"It was great. The Barcelona beach is an incredible place!"
"Oh~! Looks like it left quite an impression?"
Raul tilted his head slightly at Sunmoon's over-the-top reaction, but he was pleased that the boy was happy.
"Did you come for food too?"
"Yes! Exactly!"
"What would you like?"
"You already know—same as always."
"Right. One paella coming up. Have a seat over there."
Sunmoon sat where Raul had pointed and waited for his meal. Perhaps because the hour was late, the restaurant filled quickly. Customers settled in one by one until only the table beside Sunmoon's remained empty.
"Here comes the paella."
"Thank you, Uncle Raul."
"Enjoy it, kid."
While Sunmoon was digging into his paella, a very familiar figure appeared at the next table.
"Huh? You're eating here again today?"
The moment he heard the voice, Sunmoon knew exactly who it was—a red-haired girl with a sharp tongue.
"Hi, Sunmoon."
"Hello, ma'am."
Annie's parents greeted him warmly, and Sunmoon returned the greeting with equal politeness. From their eyes, he clearly read the silent plea: Annie is hopeless, so please look after her a little.
"Hey, Annie. Yeah, I come here often. The paella here is seriously delicious."
As he spoke, Sunmoon began rapidly emptying his plate.
"Hmph! Getting pushed around by Rancho and not even making the first-team bench."
"Well… at least I'm not like your brother, stuck guarding the B-team bench."
The instant Sunmoon fired back, Annie's face began turning steadily red.
"Hmph! That doesn't change anything! My brother is going to play well in the next match and move up to the first team!"
"Wow. It's not even certain he'll get on the pitch next match, and even if he does, how exactly is he supposed to break into the first team?"
By the time he had nearly finished eating, Sunmoon was genuinely dumbfounded by Annie's words.
"He can! The first-team manager himself is coming to watch the next match and run tests!"
"Annie, you shouldn't be spreading that around."
Sunmoon watched as Annie's father hurriedly tried to silence her.
"What does that mean?"
"Dad, stay out of this! My brother is definitely going to play well next match and make it to the first team. He'll get there before you, the guy who just sits on the bench!"
Annie spoke in a tone that said bet you didn't know that, but Sunmoon's mind was already spinning at full speed.
Another chance! If I play insanely well next time, I can jump straight into the first team! I can escape this boring B-team! I'll finally get to play for the first team!
Sunmoon shot to his feet.
"Is that true?"
"Huh?"
When Sunmoon suddenly approached with a bright face, Annie looked visibly flustered. He pulled her into a grateful hug.
"Thanks for telling me!"
"Eh?"
Annie froze solid the moment he hugged her. Her parents stared in shock.
"Um?"
"Uh?"
"I've finished eating, so I'll be on my way. Goodbye, Vegas's parents."
Annie's parents nodded, still slightly dazed, while Sunmoon looked around for Raul.
"Uncle Raul, I'm heading out! The paella was delicious as always! Thank you again!"
"Sure thing, Sunmoon. Take care!"
Having received incredibly valuable information, Sunmoon headed home in high spirits.
"Yes! I'm going to absolutely crush it next match!"
And Annie, still stunned by the sudden hug, turned an even deeper shade of crimson.
Two days later, another B-team fixture arrived.
"Of course."
According to the information Annie had accidentally let slip, the first-team manager would be watching today's match. It seemed he wasn't satisfied with the current first-team squad and wanted to scout talent from the B-team. The information was genuine and had quietly spread among the B-team parents, though Sunmoon had no way of knowing that on his own. Luckily, Annie had told him, and he refused to treat it lightly.
"Perfect."
Sunmoon reached the locker room. Whispers floated through the air.
"Did you hear? The first-team manager is coming today."
"Really? I hadn't heard anything."
"My mom told me…"
While Sunmoon was warming up, Vegas approached with a troubled look.
"Sunmoon?"
"Yeah? What's up?"
"Did something happen with my sister again yesterday?"
"Annie?"
"Yeah. I was out with friends and when I got back she kept asking about you."
"Ah… we did run into each other yesterday, but we didn't fight like usual. Still, she seemed to have some complaints."
"I see. I'm really sorry. My sister can be pretty fierce."
"It's fine. Redheads tend to be like that."
"Sunmoon, you can't say things like that."
Sunmoon grinned.
"I know. It was a joke. The fact that there's a good redhead like you proves me wrong anyway."
He gave Vegas a light tap on the shoulder and stood up.
"Let's focus on today's match. The first-team manager is watching, right? You're starting?"
"Uh… yeah, I think so."
"Then let's tear up the left flank. I'm ignoring tactics today and going full attack mode. Just don't drag my ankles down."
"Uh… got it."
Vegas looked slightly startled by Sunmoon's aggressive attitude.
The referee's whistle blew. The B-team match began.
The opponent was Terassa, another third-division side based in Barcelona. Since Terassa fielded an adult team, it was no match to take lightly, but the Espanyol B-team players—including Sunmoon—burned with fierce determination.
Sunmoon began with the agreed zonal defense. With the ball circulating in the opponent's half, the plan was to wait patiently for them to make a mistake.
The Terassa central midfielder switched play to the right. The right winger who received it surged forward at speed.
Sunmoon closed him down immediately. The Terassa winger was dragging the ball, clearly undecided on which direction to take. To Sunmoon, every hesitation was obvious.
He's not a quick dribbler. He turns his body and pushes forward slowly. In that case, I need to stretch my leg out fast…
The moment the winger turned to the right, Sunmoon simply booted the ball out over the touchline. The assistant referee signaled a Terassa throw-in.
As the Terassa right-back prepared the throw, Sunmoon pressed tight, won the ball back cleanly, and immediately passed it to the midfielder before launching into an unfamiliar play.
Sunmoon immediately overlapped at speed. In an instant, four Espanyol players—including him—faced off against Terassa's defenders.
Unlike the two forwards who were reading the play, Sunmoon never slowed down. He kept surging forward. Because of it, one Terassa defender had to keep an eye on him, opening up a perfect pocket of space.
The Espanyol commentator rolled his tongue dramatically over the word, and the B-team supporters erupted in cheers.
Having run from one end of the pitch to the other, Sunmoon caught his breath and jogged over to Carlos, who was busy celebrating. The entire sequence had been watched by the new first-team manager, Pablo Machín. He turned to the youth-team coordinator beside him and began noting down the names of the players who had shone during the counter-attack.
"Who was the kid that made the dummy run just now?"
"That's Sunmoon Ha. He starred for the U-17s."
"Prepare him for a call-up. He knows exactly how to unsettle the opposition."
"Understood."