A Bad Day
On a bad day.
"So that's all it took."
"Yeah. A player can say that much. Depending on the player, some even throw a fit and demand a transfer. It's not that big a deal."
"What? There are guys like that?"
Clara looked at Ha Sunmoon and flashed him a bright smile.
"Why wouldn't there be? When a player gets dissatisfied, they skip training or pull all kinds of stunts. Words alone don't always work."
"Hmm…."
Ha Sunmoon nodded as if he understood what Clara was saying.
"But Clara."
"Yeah?"
"I think I need a softer way to handle it too."
Ha Sunmoon decided to look for other solutions.
"A softer approach?"
"Yeah. I think the manager was pretty disappointed when I played as an inverted fullback. Of course, part of it was that I couldn't train because of the injury and ended up gaining weight…."
"The inverted fullback is a good role, but… yeah. Your manager might not know how to use it tactically."
"Really?"
"Yeah. There's nothing you can do about that. You just have to solve it by performing well yourself."
So in the end, there's no answer?
"Can't you teach me a little more?"
"Hmm…."
Clara looked troubled by Ha Sunmoon's request.
"The person who designs that is the manager. Hmm. How should I explain this…."
Clara fell deep into thought. Since she was neither an active player nor a coach, she could only explain things from a theoretical standpoint.
"Okay, first of all, you understand that when you take on that role, you can create a numerical advantage in the midfield battle, right?"
"Yeah. Um… yeah! When I tucked in beside the midfielders, I definitely felt like we had more numbers!"
"The advantage of operating closer to a midfielder than a defender is that it gives you tactical flexibility and creates space in other areas. Finally, by defending a bit higher up, you can intercept attacks earlier."
Hmm. That makes sense.
Harrison nodded immediately as if he understood right away, but Ha Sunmoon still wore a slightly puzzled expression.
"If you want to understand it in more detail, shouldn't we start with the origins of the inverted fullback?"
"Mhm."
"Originally, the inverted fullback was designed to make better use of left-backs who were right-footed."
"Right-footed?"
Clara nodded.
"Since they couldn't use their left foot well, it was hard for them to exert influence from the touchline. So it's easier to think of it as them tucking inside like a midfielder."
"Hmm. So it's better to be right-footed?"
"But! These days the 'role' of the inverted fullback has become more important than the dominant foot. So it doesn't matter if you're left-footed. What matters is timing your movement into the center properly."
"Ah, I see. It's still better if you're right-footed?"
"Well, yeah. You can cut inside like an inverted winger and shoot more easily."
"Oh! That sounds great!"
"But the most important thing is that you need to be good at using your right foot."
"That's no problem! I'm good with my right."
When Ha Sunmoon declared this confidently, Clara tilted her head slightly.
"Really? I thought your dominant foot was your left?"
"No. My dominant foot is my right."
"What?"
Huh? What did he just say?
Both Clara and Harrison looked stunned at Ha Sunmoon's words.
"I use my right hand for everything. My feet are the same."
"Then why did you play left-back?"
"Ah, that. Well… When I was in Brazil, I had a friend named Lucas who played with me. He was a left winger, and I wanted to link up with him a lot, so I chose left-back."
"What? That was the reason?"
"Yeah. But they said left-backs need to use their left foot well, so I deliberately avoided using my right foot all this time. I trained mainly with my left on purpose."
Oh my god. He's only telling us this now.
"So using your right foot is better?"
"Yeah. I've caught up a lot now, but it's always been better with my right."
While Clara and Harrison stared at Ha Sunmoon in blank amazement, uninvited guests appeared.
"Well, well. Who do we have here? What are you doing in a place like this?"
"Huh?"
"Hey? What are you guys doing here?"
Three men approached Clara and Ha Sunmoon. It was clear Clara knew them.
What the—? Those are the bastards from before.
Ha Sunmoon recognized them instantly too.
Those rotten pieces of trash.
"Hey? Isn't this that guy?"
"What the hell, Clara? Why are you hanging around with an Espanyol bastard?"
Clara? What the hell is that about?
Ha Sunmoon frowned as he watched them.
"Clara, do you know these guys? They're trash with no character."
"Diola? What the…."
"Hold on!"
Clara was in an awkward position. She realized that not only her acquaintances but Ha Sunmoon too had become agitated the moment they saw each other—something had clearly happened between them.
"Have you all met before? What's with these reactions?"
"We have. They like picking fights with kids younger than them. Nasty pieces of work."
Ha Sunmoon ground his teeth as he spoke, but the other side wasn't about to stay quiet.
"Haha. Who's the nasty one here? How's that redhead doing? You're the one already sleeping with a fan. A girl was openly walking around wearing an Espanyol jersey."
"That's about the level you'd expect from a relegation team player. Hehehe."
As both sides glared and growled at each other, Clara paled and quickly stepped in to calm things down.
"You guys, back off. Go home. I've already heard plenty from Mom about how you keep going overboard. He's my friend too, so just go."
"Ooh~ So you're friends with an Espanyol player! Ooh~ You can't do that."
"Hurry up and leave without starting trouble. If you keep this up, I'm telling."
"Ooh~ She's telling. We should be the ones telling on you."
The young men, who were clearly Barcelona fans, eventually left after Clara's scolding.
"Are you okay?"
Clara looked at Ha Sunmoon. He was still breathing hard, still furious about what had happened the day before.
"Calm down."
"Calm down? After what those bastards did yesterday? If the Espanyol fan who lived right across the street hadn't been there, it could have been a disaster. You're actually friends with them?"
Ha Sunmoon explained it quickly. Clara answered just as fast.
"Two of them are my neighbors and one is a relative. I don't know exactly what happened, but it must have been unavoidable."
Grind.
Ha Sunmoon stared at Clara.
Unavoidable?
But remembering the ugly atmosphere from that day, he couldn't simply let it go.
And that means Clara is a Barcelona fan. Oof. The situation just got a lot more complicated. I expected it, but hearing it confirmed still stings.
"And you're a Barcelona fan."
"Yeah. That's right. I never lied about it."
Ha Sunmoon had half-expected it, but he didn't press the issue. If she had been an Espanyol fan, she probably would have viewed him more favorably.
"Then you were right. It seems the two of us should keep our distance."
"What?"
"You didn't even tell me your real name properly… right?"
"Hmm…."
Clara's expression showed a flicker of guilt at Ha Sunmoon's words.
"Sigh. Thanks for listening today. I'll get going."
"Yeah…."
Ha Sunmoon headed straight back home.
Kid? You okay?
He had pretended to be fine when they parted, but Ha Sunmoon's mood was terrible. The fact that those damn bastards from before were close to Clara—no, to Diola—felt like shit.
"That's just how derbies are, right? You run into each other on the street and things get ugly."
Th… that’s true, I suppose?
Of course, not every local derby was that hostile, but Liverpool and Everton had an especially vicious rivalry, so Harrison struggled to give a comforting answer.
Of course, the area I lived in was even worse than this. It all depends on the case. I didn't realize Barcelona and Espanyol were on such bad terms.
Suddenly, Ha Sunmoon stood up and began checking something.
"Is this why they kept provoking me?"
What did you see?
In two days, on Wednesday, they had the fifth round of the Copa del Rey against Bilbao. And the following Sunday, they had a home match against Barcelona.
"Listen, hyung."
Hmm?
"We've got a match against Barcelona this weekend."
Yeah. We do.
Grind. Ha Sunmoon clenched his teeth hard.
"I've got work to do. We have to beat Barcelona."
Ha Sunmoon looked at Harrison as he spoke. His eyes were blazing.
Now that's a good look.
Harrison liked the fire in Ha Sunmoon's eyes very much. He could see a ferocity that had never been there before.
He must be furious about what happened with Annie on top of today's mess. Excellent. He's finally showing the eyes a man should have.
But kid, there's one small problem.
"Problem? What is it?"
You can't even play in the cup right now, and it's looking difficult for you to appear in the league either. We need to fix that first.
"Ah…."
The fire in Ha Sunmoon's eyes dimmed slightly.
Ahem… I don't love the idea, but it's not like there aren't options. Isn't Mr. Felipe at home right now?
"Ah! That's right."
Ha Sunmoon remembered what Clara had said earlier.
Then at the very least, you might get to play against Barcelona. Plus, you haven't renegotiated your contract yet, so there's plenty of leverage to pressure them with.
"Should I go talk to him right now?"
Your current state is perfect. Anyone can see you're furious. If you go see Mr. Felipe like this, won't he have no choice but to let you start against Barcelona?
Ha Sunmoon nodded and headed toward Felipe.