An Invitation from the Legends
"Won't you come here?"
“Interesting. Very interesting.” Roberto Carlos wore the expression of a man who had taken an immediate liking to Ha Sunmoon.
After the three of them unpacked at the villa and shared a light drink, they settled into a proper conversation.
“You said you were in Brazil before, right?”
“Yes. I was with Fluminense in Rio de Janeiro.”
“Hmm. So that’s why Marcelo keeps hovering over you.”
“Haha…”
Marcelo then looked at Ha Sunmoon with a trace of regret.
“I really thought it would be perfect if you came to Real Madrid. It’s a shame about the renewal with Espanyol. If the chance comes up, would you consider joining Real Madrid?”
Ha Sunmoon was slightly flustered by Marcelo’s directness.
No! Hey! We don’t even know how the contract talks will go. Besides, they already have a backup left-back.
“Ugh…”
Ha Sunmoon echoed a similar sentiment after listening to Harrison.
“If I ever leave Espanyol for another La Liga side, it would definitely be Real Madrid. But… with Mendy already signed, it doesn’t look like there’s any room for me right now.”
“I’m talking about after me. You come once I’ve left Real Madrid.”
“Oh… Well… That actually sounds pretty good. If the timing works out that I can leave Espanyol when you depart Madrid, I’ll give it serious thought.”
Uuuugh… Yeah.
When Ha Sunmoon’s ears visibly perked up, Harrison looked positively pained.
“And… just listen to this next part.”
Marcelo’s expression grew twice as serious as before.
“I don’t make offers like this often. I’m only asking because you’re special.”
“Sorry? What is it?”
“Have you… ever thought about naturalizing for Brazil?”
“Pardon?”
A player who could one day become world-class. With the Brazilian left-back pipeline running dry, Marcelo asked the question in complete earnest.
“I still haven’t found a junior in Brazil who can truly succeed me.”
“Mm. The kids do have some areas that fall a little short, to be honest,” Roberto Carlos added, backing up Marcelo.
“But you’ve given us enough to talk about that I’m even bringing it up.”
The Brazil national team?
“You’ve already proven plenty. The way you played against us at Real Madrid last season, and against Barcelona, was incredible. And that’s not all. Lately you’ve shown us a completely different style and still delivered. That speed of yours isn’t something just anyone can produce. If you have a player who can rattle the flank at that pace, you can absolutely torment the opposition.”
“On top of that, you dribble like we do, so cutting inside is just as dangerous. It’s an outstanding talent.”
Ha Sunmoon was overwhelmed by the praise coming from two all-time greats.
Damn it! The opposition is way too strong!
It was the kind of situation where you could lose your nose while staring wide-eyed; even Harrison couldn’t steady the shaken Ha Sunmoon.
“I’ll think about it once I’m ready. Right now… I still have family I need to find… And more than anything, I’m not in a complete state.”
“Not complete? Ah, I think I know what you mean.”
“You can’t pull off all those flashy individual moves and dribbles like before. Is it because of the growth spurt?”
Roberto Carlos and Marcelo guessed the source of his trouble in an instant.
“Yes… That’s exactly what’s been bothering me.”
“What does that have to do with anything?” Roberto Carlos let out a booming laugh at the sight of Ha Sunmoon’s worried face. “We’re all Brazilian players, but we don’t play the same way. Roberto and I are both classic fullbacks, yet we’re nothing alike. You just have to find your own path. And from what I’ve seen, you’ve already found yours remarkably fast.”
That’s only because I had Listen-hyung.
“Honestly, when I watched that match I thought you were Bale. It’s been a long time since I saw anyone dominate an opposing fullback so completely.”
“Really?”
“Of course. Anyway… what I want to tell you is this. You already have the qualifications. At some point you stepped into what people call the world-class realm. Not complete? That’s the life of a fullback. The inability to dribble isn’t a problem at all.”
Ha Sunmoon felt a strange twist in his chest at Roberto Carlos’s words.
“It actually means you already possess a lot. Never forget your strengths. To be frank, Marcelo jumped the gun a little. Give it a bit more time and you’ll be flooded with naturalization offers from all over the world.”
“Me?”
“Yes. You haven’t been called up to the senior national team yet, so the window is still open. And your position is left-back. No, now you’re a player who can also feature at right-back… The interest in you is going to be enormous. We simply got to you first. At the very least, two left-backs who represent their countries came to coax you. To put it more boldly, two left-backs who have defined an era in world football came to see you.”
Gulp.
When he thought about it, that was exactly right. The only reason Roberto Carlos and Marcelo Vieira would be sitting in the same room with one young player was because this meeting had a clear purpose.
“Haha… I’m not sure. Honestly, even though I’ve overcome some things, I still lack confidence. There are too many areas where I’m lacking… and so much left to learn.”
“Is that so? What exactly do you think you’re missing?”
“My shooting is mediocre… my passing is weak… dribbling too… To be honest, after growing so tall and becoming this mess, I thought it was fair that I got cut from the Korean national team.”
Ha Sunmoon still carried a somewhat shrunken air. No matter how much the two greats praised him, the gap between them felt painfully real.
Roberto Carlos knocked back the rest of the bottle in one go and set it down empty.
“There’s a pitch here too… While we’re relaxing, I’ll teach you a few things here and there. My kicking is still decent.”
“Really?”
“And stop worrying about the dribbling. You simply can’t use it yet because you haven’t finished growing. Once you do, it’ll come back. Looking at your frame… it might actually be smart to study Ronaldo’s dribbling. These days the trend is inside-cutting fullbacks like Marcelo, so knowing a striker’s dribble like that will be a huge help.”
While staying with Marcelo and Roberto Carlos, Ha Sunmoon would head out with a ball to train his technique whenever he wasn’t spending time with women.
“Sometimes a player needs to play. It blows the stress away.”
Brazilian players have a certain heat to them. They didn’t only teach Ha Sunmoon about football; they also taught him about the pleasures of life in between. Thanks to them, he witnessed scenes at the villa that made his head spin, but in the process he ended up meeting quite a few women himself.
“But what’s with those clothes?”
“You only brought training kits?”
“Well… after I shot up in height I didn’t have anything that fit… The club only had training gear in every size, so this is all I have.”
“What an idiot! In times like these you take everything off except shorts. Walk around shirtless.”
“Ah…”
At Marcelo’s suggestion, Ha Sunmoon peeled off his top.
“There we go!”
“Whoa~ You’ve been training properly. I don’t think I can stand next to this kid.”
Roberto Carlos remarked after seeing the physique Harrison had forged through special-forces-style training.
“If you go out there now you could wreck everyone. You might even be able to swap out the girl waking up beside you every single morning.”
“No, what are you even…”
“Never mind. Just follow me.”
Ha Sunmoon, whose mixed heritage gave him a unique charm, quickly grew close to many women thanks to the two Brazilian legends’ backing. Yet in the end he was still too shy to go all the way; whenever the mood grew ripe he would slip away as if fleeing.
“Hoo… Haa…”
His whole body burned. He stepped out onto the beach to cool his flushed face.
While walking absentmindedly through the night breeze, he collided with a woman.
Thud.
“Ah.”
“Oh…”
Huh?
Wait! This person is…?
When he saw who he had bumped into, Ha Sunmoon couldn’t hide his shock.
“Clara?”
“Hm? Who are you?”
A name he hadn’t heard in a long time. Clara Guardiola lifted her head and looked confused by the face that felt both familiar and utterly unfamiliar.
“Huh? Wait… No way. Ha Sunmoon?”
Having not seen him for so long, Clara hadn’t immediately recognized the much taller Ha Sunmoon.
“It’s me.”
“Wow… I really didn’t recognize you.”
Ha Sunmoon noticed that Clara’s tone had changed somehow.
“Hmm… Not bad. Want to go somewhere and talk?”
“Sure. How about that spot over there?”
Ha Sunmoon sat with Clara on a bench that offered a clear view of the beach.
“It’s been a while.”
“It really has…”
Now that they were face to face after so long, Ha Sunmoon found himself at a loss for words. The unpleasant way they had parted last time made it even harder.
“There’s something I’m curious about. Can I ask?”
Clara looked at him.
“What is it?”
“Which team are you going to?”
“Which team? I’m not planning to leave Espanyol.”
Clara tilted her head at his answer.
“What? Haven’t you heard today’s news?”
“What news?”
“They said Espanyol is putting you on the market.”
Huh?
Huh?
For a moment, Ha Sunmoon and Harrison stared at each other with identical blank expressions.