Revival at Six in the Morning
6 AM. Resurrection. [Wake up! Wake uuuuup! Get up! Get up, I said!]
Ha Sunmoon opened his eyes to Harrison’s rough voice.
“Mmm…”
[It’s already six in the morning. Straighten the bed.]
“Haaaaah.”
[No time for yawning. Make the bed and change into your jogging kit. You’re moving that slowly on day one? Even a seventy-year-old granny would already be out on her run by now.]
Ha Sunmoon frowned at the Englishman’s sharp tongue and changed his clothes.
[Right, light stretch and out you go!]
Ha Sunmoon carefully woke his body up and stepped outside.
[Run! Go! One full lap around the neighbourhood without stopping!]
‘Something feels off…’
But Ha Sunmoon had no stop button. The moment he paused the schedule, Harrison’s scolding and shouting followed, forcing him out of bed and making him choke down seven meals a day without fail. When night came and he lay down, he passed out before he could even speak, and the moment he opened his eyes it was morning again—another day of hellish jogging.
. . .
Two weeks passed.
They say humans are creatures of adaptation. Ha Sunmoon endured two weeks of nothing but cardio, strength work, and meals, and now he had enough energy to openly grumble to Harrison about how ridiculous the schedule was.
“Listen, hyung, this can’t be right. I eat so much my stomach doesn’t even get a break! Eighteen hours a day of stuffing my face? It’s too much!”
[Your organs get roughly three hours of rest while you sleep. That’s plenty. The rest of your muscles never stop—they tear, recover, tear, recover. To keep feeding a body that’s growing this fast, you have to eat like this. Just keep at it.]
Ha Sunmoon complained, but it was useless. Harrison gave a brief explanation and brushed him off.
“Aaaagh, this is brutal. I don’t think my body can take it. What if I actually die from this?”
[Relax. I’ve never seen anyone die doing this programme. Especially not someone your age in a growth spurt—your body’s swimming in natural steroids. Perfect timing. Stop worrying and just run.]
“Eeeek. How would you even know? Isn’t this the kind of thing only a handful of soldiers can handle? Special forces wash people out all the time. Only the ones who can do it stay, right?”
[No. This is about mental strength. And if your body really can’t handle it, there are warning signs. We stop then. But Sunmoon, your body is nothing like the ones that break. You’re not showing any damage, and the fact you can still complain proves you’re handling it just fine.]
“Gaaaah!”
[Quiet! You might not feel it, but your body is improving every single day.]
Ha Sunmoon was completely crushed by Harrison’s pumpkin-hard words. Yet he couldn’t argue. Surprisingly, no matter how hard it was, he kept going. At first he had been too exhausted to speak, simply enduring each session in silence before collapsing into sleep the moment it ended. Now he had enough breath to grumble in between.
And Harrison knew exactly how far along he was.
[The instructor is very pleased with our Sunmoon’s condition right now.]
Ha Sunmoon’s face twisted at the suspicious tone.
“So?”
[It means it’s time for stage three! Time to push you at the highest level!]
“What? Listen, hyung. What do you mean, stage three?”
[If your mouth is working again, it means you’ve got enough left in the tank. Now we can really wring you out at max level.]
Ha Sunmoon stared at Harrison with dead eyes.
[Don’t worry. You won’t die. People don’t die that easily.]
“Eeeeeeeek.”
* * *
“Good afternoon, viewers in Korea. We are at Reale Arena, home of Real Sociedad, for the Copa del Rey semi-final!”
As the commentator spoke, the players began to walk out.
“The Copa del Rey, delayed by the pandemic, has finally resumed. And we have more good news for you, don’t we?”
“That’s right. Ha Sunmoon of Espanyol, who has been out for a month, has been named in the starting lineup again. We honestly didn’t expect him back so soon—it’s a real relief.”
“Since Ha Sunmoon’s absence, Espanyol have played six league matches in three weeks, recording four draws and two losses. Including the two draws from before his injury, they’ve now gone eight games without a win.”
“Exactly. Espanyol have been through a very difficult period. They were top of La Liga 2, but a recent defeat handed first place to Mallorca.”
The broadcast showed the current La Liga 2 table: Mallorca first, Espanyol second.
“But with Ha Sunmoon’s return, perhaps we can expect a turnaround?”
“I think it’s very possible. In his previous two matches he seemed to be struggling with balance—probably because of his sudden growth spurt—and made quite a few mistakes. But his profile has just been updated.”
“His profile changed?”
“Yes. Previously it listed him at 162 cm and 58 kg.”
“Oh… he really was that small?”
“Of course, that was when he first joined Espanyol. But when I checked today, Ha Sunmoon’s profile now reads 178 cm and 75 kg.”
“Whoa!”
At that moment the camera caught the players, and Ha Sunmoon appeared on screen.
“Ha Sunmoon looks completely different!”
“Ha Sunmoon looks completely different!”
Both commentator and caster said the same thing at once.
“Hahaha. Wow. He was growing bit by bit, but the change over the last two months is really striking.”
“It is. He grew so fast he lost his balance, but it looks like he’s spent the last month training properly.”
“The international break last week must have been a huge help to him.”
Then the commentator’s voice rose with excitement.
“I’m already looking forward to today’s match. Ha Sunmoon feels like he’s going to be outstanding.”
“Really?”
“Yes. You can see it in his body. The muscle tone alone suggests he’s ready to dominate. I’m starting to worry about manager Kang Jung-ho for leaving him out of the national team squad.”
“Oh! You’re going that far?”
“I am. Even through the screen I can feel it. Just like before, Ha Sunmoon is going to deliver a win for Espanyol today.”
* * *
[The time has come.]
“Hoo…”
Standing on the pitch at Reale Arena, Ha Sunmoon waited for the referee’s whistle.
Piiiiiiiiiiip!
[Do what you’ve been doing. The team has adapted to your pace by now.]
The match began. Home side Real Sociedad started the attack.
— Sanchez intercepts in midfield. The defensive midfielder read the passing lane and cut it off, then played the ball to Ha Sunmoon.
[Good. Give it to Vargas up front and go!]
Ha Sunmoon passed to Vargas. As soon as Vargas received it, the opposing right winger closed him down. Ha Sunmoon sprinted past the struggling Vargas, who rolled the ball into his path. The ball sat perfectly at Ha Sunmoon’s feet as he ran up the left touchline.
[Got it!]
The moment Ha Sunmoon took possession, Espanyol’s two forwards changed their runs.
[Right, smash it forward and run! Keep it simple!]
Following Harrison’s instruction, Ha Sunmoon smashed the ball over the head of Sociedad’s right-back and took off.
— Ha! He’s launched it long and he’s chasing! Ha Sunmoon’s height keeps increasing, so he’s still adjusting his balance for Brazilian-style dribbling. Harrison’s solution is simple: go for pure straight-line speed instead. The core of his training has been the lower body. Those rock-solid thighs and calves have turned him into a sprint demon.
— Ha! He’s flying! He’s too fast! Sociedad’s right-back can’t keep up! It’s like watching Bale!
The right-back tried to turn and chase, but the gap opened instantly. The centre-back dropped to cover, but he was too late and had to position himself to block the route to goal. Ha Sunmoon had no intention of shooting.
[Two of them! Go in!]
Ha Sunmoon struck a cross without breaking stride.
— Ha! Cross! Thomas and Puado are storming the box!
With the centre-back pulled out, only the remaining centre-back and left-back stood between the two Espanyol strikers. Two attackers, two defenders.
Ha Sunmoon’s cross was vicious. It swerved sharply toward goal. The goalkeeper came out, then desperately tried to adjust. Tragically for Sociedad, the ball deflected off Puado’s foot.
Thump!
— Goooooooal! Puado meets Ha Sunmoon’s cross! Espanyol take the lead in the 2nd minute and 10th second!
“Yes!”
Ha Sunmoon clenched his fist as the ball hit the net.