Damn It, Manchester Again?
Bloody hell, Manchester again?
Thanks to the football club coach, Ha Sunmoon had learned a great deal and returned home. By the time he arrived, the sun lay stretched low across the sky, and darkness was beginning to settle in.
“What are you going to do about it, kid?” Harrison asked when he saw Sunmoon still standing there in a daze even after coming home.
“I can’t do it. I don’t think I can,” Sunmoon replied in a drained voice.
“Hmm…”
When Sunmoon let out another weak sound, Harrison felt a surge of frustration.
“From where I’m standing, it doesn’t look like you can’t—it looks like you simply lack the will.”
“That’s part of it… You saw what happened earlier. I was playing a simple match against elementary school kids and still ended up gasping for breath halfway through. I can’t even run properly anymore.”
Harrison tilted his head at the mention of stamina issues.
“Stamina? You truly believe that’s the problem?”
“Yes. I spent three whole months just doing part-time jobs, so my body feels heavy and nothing works the way it should on the pitch. Honestly, what you said back then was right, Harrison. My skills are lacking right now. To be frank, I’m not even sure I can do this.”
Harrison suddenly straightened, his presence growing heavier.
“That can be fixed with proper preparation.”
“Preparation?”
“That’s right. Have you ever suffered a serious injury? If you have, recovery could take time.”
“No, nothing like that.”
Harrison looked directly into Sunmoon’s eyes. There was almost no spark left in them.
It’s not a stamina problem. The boy is carrying far too many scars. This is a mental issue.
“You said three months remain, correct? That’s more than enough time to rebuild your fitness. If you simply follow the training I give you, I can restore your conditioning perfectly in two months. So what will it be?”
But Sunmoon offered no reply. Harrison then recalled everything he had learned about the boy so far—the hospital stories, the will, and the football coach’s account he had just heard.
He showed the flair of a Brazilian player, so his time abroad must have gone well. In the end, the core of his trauma is family. I’ll have to strike there.
Having finished his thoughts, Harrison spoke slowly.
“Kid, you have talent for football.”
“So?”
Sunmoon remained passive.
“Talent like that is incredibly precious. And if you let it bloom brilliantly, you’ll be able to do so many things. You said you don’t know who your father is and that your mother disappeared, right?”
The moment Harrison mentioned family, Sunmoon reacted instantly. Unlike before, he stared straight at the man, his eyes now filled with clear hostility.
“Let me tell you one certain thing. If you become famous through football, you may get the chance to see your mother again.”
Sunmoon’s pupils trembled.
“You might even be able to find your father. Once you’re famous, people from all walks of life will step forward to help you.”
Sunmoon looked slightly confused by Harrison’s words.
“Of course the outcome could be good or bad, but surely it’s far better than staying in the dark like you are now?”
Gradually, vitality began returning to Sunmoon’s eyes.
“Really? Could that actually happen? Is that possible?”
“That’s what football can do! If you become a world-class star, you can change countless things. From what I see, you have more than enough talent. After all, they only sent you to Brazil because of that ability, didn’t they? They even originally planned to send you to England.”
Harrison now stood like a strict drill instructor, gaze locked on Sunmoon.
“You said stamina was the problem, soldier? Worry not! I am a man who made it into the British special forces. With my guidance, your conditioning will recover in a single month to the point where football will pose no issue whatsoever. But since three months remain, I will forge you into a player who never tires on the pitch. Can you do it?”
“Yes, sir! I can do it!”
“Eat dinner, wash up, and get some sleep. Proper rest is the beginning. We start real training tomorrow.”
“Understood!”
The next day, Ha Sunmoon, who had woken early, opened his eyes.
“Rise and shine, soldier!”
“Mmm…”
Having grown used to waking at dawn for part-time work, Sunmoon grumbled for a moment but quickly got to his feet.
“You’re up?”
“Yes. But why are we waking up at this hour?”
“First things first—make your bed. Tidy your sleeping area and clean the room. Keeping your immediate surroundings in order is the foundation of everything.”
“Yes, sir!”
Still half-asleep, Sunmoon nevertheless began organizing his bed and cleaning the room exactly as instructed. The moment he moved without hesitation, Harrison’s expression grew visibly satisfied.
Yes. In the end, you must move. You overcome by taking action.
Since Sunmoon had never done much around the house and the room itself was small, the cleaning was finished in no time.
“All done!”
“Excellent, soldier! Now we begin morning PT. A run.”
“A run?”
“Correct! We’re heading out immediately. The goal is thirty minutes of running the moment you wake up each morning.”
Sunmoon dragged his somewhat heavy body outside.
“Right—start from there and loop all the way around to that point. One full circuit and back should be perfect.”
“That seems pretty far…”
Harrison pointed out the route with his hand. The distance looked considerable, and Sunmoon briefly wondered if he was expected to run all day.
“Just run it. My estimate is thirty minutes will suffice, but since this is day one you may walk if needed. Just don’t stop—keep moving.”
“Yes, sir! I’ll give it a go.”
And so, on the first day, Sunmoon ended up taking a full hour to complete one lap around the neighborhood.
Having run since dawn, Sunmoon returned home utterly spent and collapsed onto the floor.
“But how did you know I have talent for football, Harrison? You’re a soldier.”
Harrison leaned arrogantly against the wall, wearing a smug expression.
“My family has always been military, so I became a soldier in the end. But I was once a Liverpool youth player. Somehow I never continued with football and ended up in the forces instead.”
“I had no idea.”
“And we British love football more than anything. Any Englishman who watches the game will take one look at you and say you’re good—because we all have an eye for it.”
“Then could you show me how to play as well?”
“That might be difficult. It’s rather regrettable that I can’t demonstrate ball control in my current state. By the way, which team were you with during your time in Brazil?”
“I was in Fluminense’s youth academy. It’s a football club in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.”
Harrison’s face lit up with deep satisfaction.
“That’s an excellent pedigree. When you finish training and take the test in June, I suspect those Spanish scouts will be very interested in you. And if you follow them to Spain and succeed, you could very well become a world-class football star.”
Sunmoon suddenly tilted his head, looking puzzled.
“But do I have to succeed in Spain specifically to make it?”
“I don’t know how it is now, but when I followed football, Italy’s Serie A was considered the pinnacle. Still, Spain’s La Liga was enormously popular too.”
Sunmoon scratched his head.
“But right now the Premier League is the best, isn’t it?”
“What? The Premier League is the top league?”
Harrison looked utterly dumbfounded.
“Yes! The most popular league in the world right now is England’s Premier League. Even when I was at Fluminense, a lot of the lads dreamed of playing there.”
Now that he thought about it, it made sense. Two days earlier, before he had passed out and turned off the television, the broadcast had clearly said Liverpool were the best team, and the match tempo had been lightning-fast and thrilling.
Suddenly Harrison grew curious about the current state of European football.
“Then what’s become of Liverpool?”
His eyes wavered as he asked.
“Liverpool? They’re a powerhouse now! Ever since Manager Klopp arrived they’ve been unstoppable.”
“Klopp?! And they’ve become a strong side again? Then they must have won trophies recently, yes?”
“Not yet.”
“Damn it! Then where are they in the table?”
Sunmoon felt the dignified soldierly aura fading from Harrison.
“Second place.”
“Second? So they’re in a title race, then.”
“Yes! They were top but got overtaken.”
Harrison’s face twisted with disappointment once more.
“It can’t possibly be those bloody Manchester United bastards in first, right? Please, tell me it isn’t.”
When Harrison asked with a trembling fist, Sunmoon found the sight strangely amusing.
“Hehe. Harrison, you look pretty funny right now.”
“Will you answer the question?”
To Sunmoon, Harrison appeared extremely anxious.
“It’s not Manchester United.”
“Phew, thank goodness.”
Harrison let out a huge sigh of relief. As a Liverpool man, Manchester United were utterly repulsive to him.
“Then who is top? Arsenal? Leeds? Blackburn?”
“Huh? Leeds and Blackburn? Arsenal wouldn’t be bad, but…”
“Leeds and Blackburn are good teams—why the reaction?”
“Haha, you’re really laying it on thick. Both clubs are in the lower leagues now. Manchester City are top of the table.”
“What? That yo-yo club bouncing between divisions is in first?”
Harrison looked genuinely shocked. Sunmoon found his reaction hilarious.
“Yes! They’re currently battling Liverpool for the title. The two teams are only one point apart.”
“Bloody hell! It’s those damned Manchester lot causing trouble again?”
Now, standing before Sunmoon’s eyes was a full-blown football hooligan.