Real Madrid Match 3: "Stop Him!"
The whistle blew and the stadium erupted. "Stop him!" came the frantic shouts from the Real Madrid bench as quick footsteps pounded across the grass. "Uwaaaaah! It's Ha Sunmoon!!!"
The Korean commentators were losing their voices from pure excitement. "Ha Sunmoon is rattling Real Madrid nonstop! Their right side is in serious trouble!"
Until the ninetieth minute, every time Espanyol attacked, the play funneled down the left where Ha Sunmoon operated. And every single time, he tormented Real Madrid's right flank without mercy.
Alright, here we go again.
As soon as Ha Sunmoon tapped the ball forward and surged up the pitch, Real Madrid players began closing in on him.
One at seven o'clock. Another at five o'clock.
In his vision, a third opponent was rushing in from two o'clock. That left only one escape route.
I'll have to ride the line from ten to eleven o'clock.
Ha Sunmoon judged that was his only option. The commentators exploded again.
"Ha Sunmoon! He feints inside, then bursts outside!"
"Ha Sunmoon's escape from pressure is incredible! It's like he has eyes in the back of his head. He accelerates perfectly into the open space!"
Ha Sunmoon raced up the touchline at full speed.
A cross from here would be perfect... but I can't.
The moment he broke free from the markers, the crossing window opened, but Harrison knew Ha Sunmoon wouldn't take it and kept quiet. In that instant, Ha Sunmoon twisted his head to check the Real Madrid players chasing from his right and rear.
If they're coming like this...
He feinted as if he would follow the goal line, then suddenly spun backward with a Marseille turn.
"Ah! Ha Sunmoon! He uses a Marseille turn to escape again! This is insane!"
"Wow... I... Is this player really from our country?"
The commentator was so stunned his tongue nearly froze. Harrison could only marvel.
He's crazy.
The moment everyone thought he was trapped, Ha Sunmoon slipped away with a single feint and a sharp turn. No matter how many times Harrison saw it, the instinctive brilliance still sent a shiver down his spine.
Once clear, Ha Sunmoon slipped a quick pass inside to Puado, who had made a clever run, then dropped back into position.
"The thing is, Real Madrid players aren't usually toyed with like this. Could it be because they've played so many Champions League matches already?"
"Exactly. They're exhausted from the brutal schedule, and now they're facing a kid with this kind of footwork. No wonder they can't keep up."
Damn! Counterattack incoming. Defense!
After pushing forward, Ha Sunmoon was retreating to his spot when the counter exploded. He immediately chased down Casemiro, who had received the ball and was advancing along the line, and slid in with a perfectly timed tackle. The ball squirted loose. Real Madrid's left-back Marcelo and Espanyol's right-winger Wu Lei contested it.
"Wu Lei reaches it first, but Marcelo steals it with a clean tackle!"
"Marcelo plays it to Vinicius."
"But Gomez answers with a ferocious challenge!"
Even as the second half wound down, both sides continued to clash without pause.
Espanyol's in-house reporter Marcos watched the match with an enchanted expression. The team's poor start to the 19-20 season had left him blank-faced for weeks, endlessly debating what negative angle to take in his articles. Today was different.
Sunmoon Ha. Sun, moon, and smile. When he'd first heard the name, he hadn't expected much. A Korean signing who'd earned decent praise in South America—nothing special. Plenty of those came and went.
But today, facing Real Madrid, Marcos became certain he'd been wrong.
As the second half drew to a close, he hurriedly opened his phone and began typing a post on social media platform Y.
While typing, Marcos watched Ha Sunmoon get surrounded by three Real Madrid players, only to dribble his way out twice in succession. The sight left him dizzy—not from displeasure, but from pure, electrifying shock. He quickly composed a second post.
The replies from local Espanyol fans flooded in at lightning speed.
The match ended in a 1-1 draw. The Real Madrid players, whose title hopes had taken another hit, wore grim expressions. In contrast, the Espanyol squad looked radiant.
"Everyone played brilliantly."
"Hell of a game, lads."
After exchanging congratulations among themselves, the Espanyol players went to shake hands with their opponents and build some goodwill.
"Haa... haa..."
Having run like a madman for ninety minutes, Ha Sunmoon collapsed to the turf the moment the final whistle sounded.
You okay, kid?
"Haa... I think I'm dying."
Maybe he'd sprinted too many times. His stamina had improved dramatically, but exhaustion was still exhaustion.
Take deep breaths. Ideally while standing, but... well, can't be helped.
"Yeah... I guess so."
Weren't you trying to do something earlier? You just going to lie there?
"Ah... right."
At Harrison's reminder, Ha Sunmoon pushed himself upright. Naldo rushed over to help the fallen player to his feet.
"Sunmoon! You alright?"
"I'm fine. Just ran a bit too much and got dizzy."
"You were outstanding today. Looks like you'll be a permanent first-team player soon."
"Really? That's a relief."
"Don't you want to meet the other Brazilians? There are quite a few at Real Madrid. I'll introduce you."
"For real?"
"Yeah. Your legs might feel heavy, but hurry up and follow me!"
Ha Sunmoon stood and slowly followed Naldo across the pitch.
Heh... how frightening that the world has changed this much.
"What do you mean, Listen hyung?"
The manager over there at Real Madrid... I once played against him.
"Wait, you mean Zidane?"
Yes. Back when I was at Liverpool, we met once. I remember he was playing for some French club at the time. He was quite good, so it stuck with me. Now he's managing a team...
Harrison looked slightly overwhelmed. The world had changed enormously while he'd been a ghost.
Hmm... so Harrison hyung was born in the 1970s... He looks like he's in his twenties, but technically I should be calling him uncle...
Ha Sunmoon glanced at Harrison.
If I switch from "hyung" to "uncle," he'll probably get sulky.
When the slight generational disconnect created a small distance between them, Ha Sunmoon finally met the Real Madrid players. Naldo was chatting with Casemiro, Real Madrid's defensive midfielder, and soon introduced Ha Sunmoon.
Taking a deep breath at the sight of Casemiro, Ha Sunmoon greeted him.
"Huu... Hello?"
"Hey! So you're Ha, right? Interesting name. Still, it's nice to speak Portuguese with an opponent. It's funny that we're doing this even though you're not Brazilian or Portuguese."
"Portuguese? I learned it as Brazilian Portuguese?"
"Haha. Funny kid."
"Thank you for remembering my name so well."
"Ah! Right, it's Ha. Haha."
Casemiro looked amused. Having come through Sao Paulo and then moved to Real Madrid, he was a success story every Brazilian knew.
While talking with Casemiro, Ha Sunmoon was finally approached by Marcelo.
"Marcelo!"
"Naldo!"
"Have you heard about this kid?"
"Ah! Vinicius was saying something about him earlier..."
"He came from Fluminense!"
"Oh~ really?"
Marcelo approached Ha Sunmoon with a bright smile. Ha Sunmoon, who had been speaking with Casemiro, turned and began conversing with the legendary left-back in Portuguese.
It was only then that Harrison snapped back to reality and realized something crucial.
When we first talked about the Premier League, the teams he wanted to support were Manchester City and Liverpool. The reason was that both had lots of Brazilian players.
But the same was true of Real Madrid.
Oh no... I missed the most important thing. Marcelo. A Brazilian who played for Fluminense.
Harrison watched as Ha Sunmoon laughed with a brilliantly bright expression while chatting away in Portuguese with Marcelo.
And he's a left-back—just like Sunmoon.
"You were truly excellent today. A little stiff at the beginning, though."
"I thought I was going to die from nerves. I was playing in the same match as the player I respect most."
"Who would that be?"
"My position is left-back. Who else could it be?"
"Hahaha! Me?"
"Of course!"
The biggest reason Ha Sunmoon had wanted to play against Real Madrid was Marcelo.
Damn it. We're screwed.
In guiding Ha Sunmoon toward Liverpool, Harrison's greatest obstacle wasn't Manchester City—it was Real Madrid.