The Veterans' Office
Harrison 3 “There’s far too much to handle. Let’s take it one thing at a time.”
Manchester City’s director, Chiqui Begiristain, was overwhelmed by the transfer issues this season. “What are we doing about Messi?”
“Messi wants to stay at Barcelona, but… just in case, we could reach out…”
“We nearly signed him last season too, but it fell through, didn’t it?”
He brought up the Messi saga from the previous season while listening to the opinions of the sporting director and scouts.
“Messi is still Barcelona’s symbol, so it might be better not to touch him. We don’t even know when this will end…”
“Then let’s keep our distance from Messi for now and watch. Next?”
“Next is Jack Grealish.”
Jack Grealish. He had long been eyeing the Aston Villa ace as a potential target.
“The £100m price tag is steep, but that’s the buyout clause…”
“It’s the player Pep wants. We’ll buy him.”
The fee was high, but stealing another club’s star player was never easy. Spending this much would at least make the player, the club, and the fans understand.
“How much time is left on the buyout clause?”
“Not much. You’ll need to decide soon and make an offer.”
“Right. I’ll discuss this with Pep one last time before we proceed. Anything else?”
“There is. It’s the player Pep mentioned before. He seems to be on the market now.”
“Who?”
“Sunmoon Ha.”
“Ah, right. He did mention a player like that. What’s the asking price?”
“Around €30m should be enough to get him.”
“Is that so?”
Chiqui Begiristain nodded, finding the price reasonable.
“What position did you say he plays?”
“His main position is left-back, but he also plays right-back from time to time. He’s a similar type to Cancelo.”
“Really? That explains why Pep likes him—versatile across multiple positions. Let’s look into him as well.”
“Want to take a trip to England?”
“Sorry?”
[Oh!]
Ha Sunmoon was startled by Felipe’s words.
“Did I get an offer already?”
“No, nothing like that. It’s just to visit a few stadiums and see which clubs you like. A few teams have already shown interest in you.”
“Which ones?”
“Tottenham, Manchester City, Liverpool, and Manchester United—four clubs are interested.”
“Four clubs?”
Ha Sunmoon let out a sigh of relief at Felipe’s words. He had been worried ever since hearing that the market had frozen over.
[Hoooooo. Hoooooo. Hoooo.]
Ha Sunmoon was slightly flustered by Harrison’s presence behind him, but he pretended to be calm and responded to Felipe.
“So it’s like a little tour?”
“Something like that. You can look around the clubs that are interested and decide which one you want. Manchester City and Liverpool are clubs you already like, but you haven’t made up your mind yet. Tottenham has a Korean player, and Manchester United used to have one, so neither of those two is completely unfamiliar either.”
“Phew… Understood.”
“Why? Is something bothering you?”
“No… It’s just that things are going well, but I was a bit worried until now.”
“Don’t worry. It’ll all work out.”
Once Ha Sunmoon went into his room, Harrison couldn’t hold back any longer and shouted.
[Let’s go! Finally! To England!]
“You’re that happy?”
[Of course! It’s like going home for me too! It took long enough.]
“Then where should we go first when we get to England?”
[Well… it might not help you much, but could you do me a favour?]
When Ha Sunmoon suddenly asked Harrison where they should go, Harrison spoke politely.
“You’ve helped me so much already. What do you need?”
[I’d like to visit the Veterans’ Affairs office first.]
“The Veterans’ Affairs office?”
[Yeah. I thought maybe going there could give us some clues about who I am.]
Harrison grew more cautious when he saw Ha Sunmoon’s serious expression.
[I won’t take up too much of your time. Just a quick visit… You know, to get some information about me…]
“Ah! I wasn’t worried about that. What exactly does the Veterans’ Affairs office do?”
Ha Sunmoon’s serious look faded as he asked Harrison.
[Oh! Was that what you were wondering about?]
“Yes! I was curious what kind of place it is.”
[The Veterans’ Affairs office is, quite literally, a place for the war dead and veterans. Since I’m dead, it’s a place I can go. And if I go there, I might finally learn exactly who I am. Honestly… I still don’t fully know myself…]
Ha Sunmoon had often had that thought. He himself was somewhat unfortunate, but the Harrison standing before him was the same. That was why he nodded at Harrison’s words.
“Alright. As soon as we arrive in England, we’ll go to the Veterans’ Affairs office first. We can figure out the rest of the schedule after that.”
And so Ha Sunmoon arrived in England with Felipe. He told Felipe he had somewhere he wanted to visit first and parted ways at the hotel. Then, like an ordinary tourist, he began wandering around London.
“But how do we get to the Veterans’ Affairs office?”
[See that car over there? The black one with the yellow sign on top.]
“Yeah, I see it.”
[That’s a taxi. Just take a taxi and go.]
“Aha~!”
Ha Sunmoon stood awkwardly and waved his hand at a taxi. The taxi pulled up in front of him, and he got in.
“Where to?”
“To the Veterans’ Affairs office, please.”
“The Veterans’ Affairs office?”
The middle-aged taxi driver glanced at Ha Sunmoon and nodded before heading toward the office.
Office for Veterans’ Affairs
Ha Sunmoon entered the building marked with a lion and unicorn emblem.
“Uh…”
The place was filled with older people—former soldiers—and the staff who managed them. Ha Sunmoon stood there, unsure what to do.
“What do I do now?”
[Just wait a bit, will you? This is my first time here too.]
“Your first time?”
[Yeah. I’m dead, so of course it’s my first time. Would’ve been nice if I’d walked out of the army alive and come here on my own two feet.]
Ha Sunmoon let out a deep sigh at the reasonable remark.
“Then I’ll just look around here for a while.”
[Sure. About… thirty minutes should do it.]
Ha Sunmoon nodded, and Harrison immediately began searching for anything that might trigger a memory.
“Hmm… What should I do?”
Thud!
“Ow!”
“Ugh.”
While looking around the building, Ha Sunmoon collided with someone.
“Damn it! What’s a kid like you doing here?”
The old man who had bumped into Ha Sunmoon fell over and immediately shouted at him in a sharp voice.
“William! He still looks like a child—don’t be so harsh.”
“The boy needs to watch where he’s going!”
“My husband has a bit of a temper. Please understand.”
“Haha… No, I’m the one who’s sorry.”
“Hmm~. Your way of speaking is a bit unusual. Did you grow up in Liverpool?”
“No… I’m Korean. I just came here for something.”
“Ah~ I see.”
“Korean? There are two countries I hate. One is Korea, and the other is Iraq!”
“William! Are you going to keep saying strange things? Can’t you stay quiet?”
The grandmother scolded her husband again for his irritable reaction.
“Ahem~ Sorry you had to see that.”
“It’s fine… But why do you dislike Korea and Iraq?”
“I lost family in both places. Military family, you see.”
“Ah… I understand.”
“Still, your English isn’t perfect, but you sound just like one of us.”
“Haha, do I?”
‘It must be because of Brother Listen’s weird English pronunciation rubbing off on me! I’ve never really been told my other languages sound strange.’
“What brings you here, anyway?”
“I came because of someone I know. We’re supposed to meet again in about thirty minutes…”
“Is that so? Then, would you mind filling a seat at an event related to our son? It won’t take long.”
“Ah…”
Ha Sunmoon wanted to refuse, but because he had bumped into the grandfather, he felt guilty and ended up being dragged along.
The place they took him was an event hosted by a veterans’ charity organization. Memorial services were being held for various fallen soldiers, and one of the two elderly couple’s children was among those being honoured.
‘Hmm?’
“…So they went to Iraq in our place… and met a glorious death there. We extend our infinite gratitude to the families who have come today.”
There was a eulogy that was short if you thought it short, long if you thought it long. Most of it was in memory of those who died in the Iraq War, and there were far too many casualties from a conflict that had already ended nearly ten years ago.
“Thank you for joining the event with us.”
“Not at all.”
“It was nothing, really—just standing there…”
“William Harold. I told you not to say nasty things.”
“Ugh…”
At the grandmother’s words, calling him by both his first and last name, the grandfather looked sheepish.
“Did your son die in that war?”
“Yes. There are so many Iraq War casualties that only their names are listed. Our son’s name is up there… He fell in the early days of the war… Our poor boy…”
“This damn country. They send the kids who went to one region off to another place again. It’s ridiculous.”
Ha Sunmoon looked where the grandmother pointed.
Clive. H
It was a name that seemed familiar.