Gaining Weight in Barcelona

The sports community began buzzing with a single topic.

That was right. Espanyol were set to face Valencia soon. If things went well, fans might get to see two Korean players face off in La Liga. With a promising Korean talent at Valencia, the community couldn't ignore the fixture.

Some comments were more cynical.

Negative opinions were slowly gaining ground.

While Korean fans argued back and forth, the real problem lay elsewhere.

"Hmm… why is he suddenly like this?"

David looked visibly flustered as he watched Ha Sunmoon, who had returned after a week. During training, Sunmoon was noticeably slower and made several uncharacteristic mistakes.

After the session, David called him over.

"Sunmoon? Can you tell me what's going on with you right now?"

"Sir? Nothing's happened to me."

"Hmm?"

David studied him closely. Now that he looked properly, Sunmoon had put on noticeable weight in just one week.

"Are you injured somewhere? Is that why you're swollen?"

David needed to rule out injury as the cause. Sunmoon had never shown drastic weight fluctuations before, so there had to be another explanation.

"No, sir. I'm perfectly fine."

"Ah… well. So you've just gained weight. What exactly did you do this past week?"

Harrison had predicted this exact outcome, and now that it had come to pass, he frowned. He knew precisely what had happened to Sunmoon.

It was simple. For an entire week, Annie had come looking for him every day, and Sunmoon had followed her around Barcelona, sampling the city's best restaurants. Thanks to the authentic local spots she took him to, he had eaten heartily at every stop. With no training and nothing but eating and relaxing, the extra weight had crept on quickly. Harrison had occasionally warned him to eat in moderation, but Sunmoon had been too busy enjoying Barcelona's cuisine.

"Sunmoon, this makes it hard to select you. I can't put you in this condition. We're facing Valencia soon. At this rate, you won't play."

David began scolding him for failing to manage his weight.

"But I felt really good this week."

"What?"

"I mean…"

Both David and Harrison had been ready to explode, but Sunmoon's next words quickly defused their anger.

"Ugh… I suppose there's no helping it. Just make sure you drop the weight again by next week. Can you do that?"

"Yes, of course."

* * *

At 4 a.m. Korean time on February 2nd, people were waiting for the La Liga team sheet.

They had been following the Espanyol vs Valencia match and could now check the squad.

The team sheets were out, but Korean fans could only stare in disbelief.

* * *

When Ha Sunmoon returned home, he was greeted by a familiar face.

"Felipe!"

"There you are, Sunmoon. How have you been?"

Felipe had returned after handling various European matters for his agency work.

"You've put on a bit of weight. That's not good…"

Because it had been a while, Felipe immediately noticed the change in Sunmoon's appearance.

"Hehe…"

Sunmoon scratched his cheek, looking slightly embarrassed.

"Let's have some tea first. What would you like?"

"Hmm… mate tea, please."

"Mate tea? You never used to drink that."

"I've been making an effort to drink it lately."

"Oh? Really? Then why have you gained so much weight?"

"I was told I wouldn't be able to play today because of it."

"Oh dear…"

Felipe didn't look pleased. As an agent, he didn't want his player making mistakes, so he felt the need to have a talk with Sunmoon.

"Have you been eating too well at Raul's restaurant ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠lately? It doesn't seem like you just ate for no reason…"

"Ah… it's not that. I mean… where should I even start…"

Sunmoon pondered where to begin, then found the right moment.

"Sir, do you remember I picked up a minor injury against Villarreal?"

"Yes, I was watching that match. I was quite upset. You were playing so well that day."

"After the injury, I was given a week off. During that week, I went around Barcelona with a girl named Annie."

"Annie?"

"Yes. She's Vegas's younger sister."

Felipe tilted his head.

"You went out with that girl? Didn't you say before that she wasn't very nice?"

"Well… when the transfer rumors were going around, she cried her eyes out."

"Hahaha. That's an interesting story."

"So I decided not to think too badly of her. She's still my B-team teammate's sister, so I figured I'd treat her like a little sister. Anyway, Annie showed me all the good spots in Barcelona, and it was nice."

"Is that so?"

Sunmoon nodded.

"Sir, do you remember when I first arrived in Rio de Janeiro?"

"Hmm… I do. When you were struggling to adapt?"

"Yes. Back then, you and Lucas took me to Ipanema Beach and Santa Teresa. I still remember eating bacalhau and feijoada there."

"Yes, we did."

Felipe was beginning to understand where Sunmoon was going with this.

"So you're saying that going around with Annie helped you?"

"Yes. Thanks to spending a week exploring comfortably, this place finally feels like home."

Footballers moved around constantly and often struggled with adaptation. In that sense, Sunmoon feeling settled at Espanyol wasn't a bad thing. Felipe thought it was acceptable. Harrison and David didn't scold him too harshly either. Sunmoon was still a young player, and young players needed time to adjust to new environments.

"So you want to stay here?"

"Yes. So… um… I hope the contract renewal goes well."

"But you should know this. The reason negotiations are dragging on is because your value keeps rising every day."

"Really? That's a good thing, right?"

"Of course. Since nothing else is urgent, I'll stay here and talk with you. I'm sorry I couldn't help you more while you were adapting."

"It's fine."

Felipe watched Sunmoon calmly sipping the slightly bitter mate tea and felt at ease. When a South American footballer started drinking mate tea, it meant he was taking care of his body.