The Entrance Test
Tryout test. Heh. Heh. Harrison was a ghost. So even when he got angry, there shouldn't be any heat coming off him. Yet for some reason, Ha Sunmoon felt a scorching heat radiating from wherever Harrison stood.
[Hoo… Kid?]
Harrison looked like he was trying to calm himself down. His mouth was smiling, but the corners were trembling.
"Yes."
[By any chance… which team are you a fan of?]
Ha Sunmoon knew all too well from his time training in Brazil just how passionate football fans could be, how their loyalties worked, and how crazy they could get for their clubs. He had played for Fluminense's youth team in Rio de Janeiro, the city with the giant Christ the Redeemer statue. The passion he had felt watching senior matches back then was still vivid in his memory. So he could tell exactly what state Harrison was in and what question was coming next. Of course, he had no intention of giving the answer Harrison wanted.
"Me? If I had to pick, I'd say I'm a Fluminense fan."
[Ah… Ah? Right. Of course.]
Sports fans were usually formed around local teams. In that sense, Ha Sunmoon's answer as someone who had lived in Rio de Janeiro was perfectly normal. For a moment steam had seemed to rise from Harrison after he asked which team was good, but he quickly realized what an idiotic question it had been. Asking a Korean kid standing in front of him whether he was a fan of an English club was strange to begin with.
"But I do have a favorite team among the English clubs."
Just as Harrison was berating himself for asking a stupid question, Ha Sunmoon tossed another log onto the fire.
[Ahem… Yeah? Obviously a Premier League team, right?]
"Of course! I watch a lot of Premier League matches."
[Really? Which one?]
"Right now my favorite teams are Manchester…"
[Spitting out something incredibly disgusting—]
"City and Liverpool."
[Huh…? No! Only half of it is disgusting.]
"Heh heh."
The moment Ha Sunmoon added "Liverpool," Harrison immediately corrected himself. Sunmoon found Harrison's flustered state rather amusing.
[But liking both Manchester City and Liverpool at the same time… it's hard to be a fan of both teams, isn't it?]
"I never said I was a fan, though? I just said I like both teams."
[Then why do you like them?]
Harrison's eyes urged Ha Sunmoon to quickly list the reasons he liked Liverpool.
"Well… both teams are really good right now."
[And?]
"They have a lot of Brazilian players."
[Huh?]
"Having three Brazilian players on one team is pretty charming, don't you think?"
The word "bzzt" perfectly described Harrison's current state.
[So… you just like them because they have a lot of Brazilian players?]
Harrison asked, looking slightly dazed.
"Yes!"
Ha Sunmoon was a Brazil returnee. After spending nearly three years there, he had practically become half-Brazilian.
[Uh… I see? So which players are on those teams?]
"Manchester City has Jesus, Fernandinho, and Ederson! Liverpool has Firmino, Fabinho, and Alisson! They're all really good!"
As Ha Sunmoon spoke excitedly, it was now Harrison's turn to calm him down.
[Alright, alright. I get it, kid. But how about you just like Liverpool from now on?]
"Why?"
[Wouldn't it be better to support just one team?]
"Hmm… I'll think about it. I'll give it some thought later."
Faced with Sunmoon's expert-level push-and-pull, Harrison could only manage a sour smile.
[Ahem. Liverpool has historically been a strong club. They're on a completely different level from that disgusting Manchester club.]
"All I know is that Liverpool were terrible for a long time and are only doing well for a short while now."
Ha Sunmoon stated the facts plainly, and Harrison felt something stir somewhere in his chest.
[When I was young, Liverpool was an incredibly strong team. They dominated the league for years and won the Champions League plenty of times.]
"Oh… Really?"
[That's right! So forget about that pathetic Manchester team!]
"Haha. Got it. I'll think a little more in Liverpool's direction."
In the end, Ha Sunmoon still refused to give Harrison the answer he wanted.
The next day, while running again, Ha Sunmoon had a question.
"Hoo… Hoo… But will just running every day like this really help me enough to play at the professional level?"
[Of course. Running will eventually build your basic stamina. Right now it ends with running, but soon I'll have you doing plenty of strength training too. Then you'll have a powerful body.]
Next to Ha Sunmoon ran Harrison in the same running motion. He wasn't there as a running mate so much as to supervise whether Sunmoon was actually running properly, but thanks to him, Sunmoon didn't feel like he was running alone.
"I have to do strength training? In Brazil I just played with the ball."
[You need muscle to win physical battles against opponents.]
"Physical battles? Can't I just dribble past everyone?"
[Just… dribble past everyone?]
"Yes. If it doesn't work out, I pass the ball and go past the opponent."
Harrison, who had watched Ha Sunmoon play football in Brazil during a time filled with rough physical duels, realized their views on the game were quite different.
[Hmm… You could think that way, but you need a foundation of strength to keep your center of gravity low and generate explosive speed. If you want to suddenly burst forward with a bang, you need muscle.]
"Aha… Hmm… Still…"
[From now on, make sure to eat plenty of meat at meals. That's how you'll build muscle.]
At the mention of meat, Ha Sunmoon suddenly stopped the conversation and looked at Harrison.
"But… Brother Harrison. I don't have any money."
[Huh?]
"I don't have money. I quit my part-time job a few days ago…"
Not having money was a serious matter. Harrison was flustered. It was even worse because, as a ghost, there was nothing he could do about it.
[Then how much money do you have left?]
"The landlady said she won't charge me rent, so if I eat ramen three times a day, I might last three months."
[Ramen? That absolutely won't do. Even if your young body seems fine, football requires a lot of calories. Same when you're building muscle.]
"Hmm… Then I absolutely need to earn more money. With what I have now, it seems impossible."
[What kind of work did you do before?]
"In the morning I delivered newspapers, at lunch I washed dishes at a restaurant, and in the evening I cleaned grills at a barbecue place."
[You were working way too much. You lived like that for three months?]
Harrison himself had worked after school as a student, so he didn't find it particularly strange, but working all day long still seemed excessive.
"Yes."
[Do you stand in one place selling newspapers?]
"No. I have to go around to houses. Sometimes I go around apartments too."
[I see. Newspaper delivery involves a lot of movement, so let's just do that. Don't do the other jobs. Instead, on weekdays when you're free, focus on strength training and running, and on weekends get the coach's permission to practice with the ball at your old school. Stamina is the urgent issue, so let's adjust the ratio.]
Harrison calmly explained the plan he had made for Ha Sunmoon.
"Got it. But… can I do strength training without heavy equipment?"
[Of course. Trust the military's bodyweight training know-how. And for football, you don't need to lift anything that heavy anyway. It's about maintaining balance. But I swear the training will be so tough you'll want to quit.]
Ha Sunmoon nodded as if he understood.
Before he knew it, June had arrived. Following his teacher's instructions, Ha Sunmoon headed to a large-scale tryout being held at a football field near the Han River in Seoul. Only recommended students could participate, and since Sunmoon met the qualifications, he made his way there.
Gulp.
"I'm a little nervous."
[Don't be nervous. It's nothing. If you stay calm, you can do anything. There aren't many people here either.]
"This is 'not many'?"
[Yeah. When I went for Liverpool's youth tryout…]
"I'm just going in. There really aren't many!"
Though there were far too many people and it was chaotic, Ha Sunmoon headed straight inside for the tryout.
"Those here for the tryout, please come this way."
Ha Sunmoon saw others who had come for the test, and a staff member was gathering them. He followed the staff member's call.
"Are you here for the tryout?"
"Yes. I'm here for the tryout."
"Which club and who are you with?"
"Uh… I'm Ha Sunmoon from Suseok Elementary School."
"Suseok Elementary School? Just a moment."
Since this tryout was for the U15 age group, middle school students were expected, but the sudden mention of an elementary school name made the staff member flustered. He hurried off to consult a superior.
"Team leader… Someone said they're from elementary school… Should we send them back?"
"Don't tell me, Suseok Elementary?"
"Yes, that's right."
"Then it's not a mistake. There's one student listed under Suseok Elementary School. That kid came back after training in Brazil."
After hearing the explanation, the staff member confirmed that a student from Suseok Elementary was indeed on the list.
"Sorry for the wait. May I have your name?"
"It's Ha Sunmoon."
"Confirmed. I'll just fill in a few details."
Ha Sunmoon finally let out a sigh of relief.
"We'll proceed with the process. Suseok Elementary School's Ha Sunmoon. You were with Fluminense's youth team in Brazil, and you completed middle school through their club-linked academy."
The staff member's eyes widened slightly in surprise as he read Ha Sunmoon's background.
"Yes, that's correct."
"Do you speak any foreign languages?"
"I can speak a little Portuguese."
"What's your preferred position?"
"Left-back."
"Alright! The process is complete. Please wait over there."
Ha Sunmoon went to where the other students were waiting, while the staff member took his documents to the classification area and sorted him according to the rules. Students who had already completed the process were grouped by position, and Ha Sunmoon was the only one listed under left-back.