The Prince's Promise
I picked up the ball. I placed it carefully on the white penalty spot. “Hoo…” The jeers and cheers from the stands, the shouts of my teammates—they all blurred into the background. Hayun’s face was naturally nowhere to be seen. All that remained were the goalposts, the goalkeeper, and the sound of my own heartbeat.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
The goalkeeper spread his arms and legs wide, shaking his body. A classic attempt to break my focus. I settled into position with a calm expression. I took two steps back, then rolled my foot forward. My scraped knee throbbed. It didn’t matter. All I had to do was score. If I put this one in, we win.
Peeep—!!
The moment the whistle blew, my leg snapped forward. I struck the ball with every ounce of power I had. Thuuud—!! The ball flew like a clothesline, straight as an arrow, smacked the goalkeeper’s hands, and slammed into the back of the net, rattling the mesh.
Whoosh—!! Whoosh—! Whoosh—!!
The sound of cleats digging into the turf came from every direction. It was our players sprinting toward me. I was lifted into the air by a group of massive men, arms raised high. More confident than I had ever felt in my life. I folded all three fingers of my right hand, then thrust my fist toward the sky.
Far off in the distance, I spotted Carlos. My old seatmate. I’d heard he posted on the soccer community that I’d score a hat-trick and got absolutely roasted for it. Yet here he was, screaming louder than anyone.
He looked happier about my hat-trick than I was. 4:3. After sealing the comeback with a hat-trick, I looked over at Ebrima Tunkara. He couldn’t meet my eyes, his head hanging low.
“Hey, kid!”
“Huh?”
“What are you waiting for? Go on!”
John pointed toward the stands. Hayun was in the front row, crying. As a die-hard Pericos fan, she must have been over the moon about that winning goal. I gathered my courage and sprinted toward the stands.
“Hayun!”
“Suhyuk! Suhyuk!! You were amazing! So cool!!”
Hayun was sobbing. I looked at her and, mustering every bit of courage I had, said:
“What do you want to eat tonight?”
“I-I’ll buy you anything!!”
#
There were nine minutes left in the match, including stoppage time. Suhyuk, whose knee wouldn’t stop bleeding, was substituted out. The player coming on in his place gave him a high-five and said,
“Good work out there.”
“Thanks.”
“Hey, kid.”
“Yeah?”
“I’ll protect the goals you scored. I promise.”
“Alright. Do your best.”
Since we weren’t particularly close, the conversation felt a little awkward. But both of them were smiling like they didn’t mind it one bit.
“Lee.”
Ben patted Suhyuk on the back.
“Yes, Coach.”
“Well done.”
“Thank you.”
“You accomplished a lot today.”
Ben personally applied ointment and a bandage to Suhyuk’s knee as he continued,
“In a crucial match, you scored and then ran straight to the girl you like instead of your family. That kind of youthful romance is something only someone your age can pull off.”
“…”
“You turned teammates who used to compete against each other into a real team for the first time. The whole squad rallied around you, Lee. Not just anyone can do that. You united eleven players into one team.”
“…”
“And finally, today you were the fantasy star. Your clean, flawless play captivated the entire crowd.”
Suhyuk felt embarrassed, but he was also incredibly happy. He gave a pure, innocent smile like a puppy from the countryside.
“Lee.”
“Yes, Coach.”
“Today, the face of Barcelona is you.”
“…”
“You are the symbol of these streets today. Enjoy it. You just proved that you’re the world’s top prospect against La Masia—the academy where the world’s best young talents gather.”
“Th-thank you.”
“Thank me? I should be the one thanking you.”
Peeep—! Peeep—! Peeeeep—!!
The final whistle blew. The players had run until their lungs gave out to protect the goals Suhyuk had scored, and they succeeded in holding onto the 4:3 scoreline.
In other words—
RCD Espanyol had beaten FC Barcelona. The perennial underdogs had defeated the overwhelming favorites. And at the center of that miracle was a young genius from Korea.
Spain’s own Little Prince, Lee Suhyuk.
“Lee! You were the best today!”
“Lee! Thank you!”
“Our little bro just needs to get a girlfriend now, huh?”
“You were seriously incredible today, Lee.”
The moment the match ended, the players poured out of the tunnel. Suhyuk emerged with an excited flush on his face, clearly looking for Kim Hayun.
“Hey!”
Someone called out to him.
“Ebrima.”
“You’re Lee, right?”
“Yeah.”
Ebrima Tunkara approached with a complicated mix of emotions on his face.
“Good game. You were impressive today.”
“Ah, you too.”
I’d expected some trash talk, not for him to come over and compliment me first. Suhyuk hid his surprise and shook his hand.
“That said, I don’t see this as my team’s defeat. I hope you don’t look down on our La Masia.”
“I never looked down on you. And I don’t think I beat you personally. You were amazing today, Ebrima.”
At Suhyuk’s words, Ebrima Tunkara shrugged his shoulders as if deeply moved.
“Lee.”
“Yeah, what is it?”
“Let’s meet at the top.”
Suhyuk let out a small laugh. He liked the sound of that.
“Yeah. Let’s meet at the top.”
No one knew where that top was. Maybe it would be the Champions League final. Suhyuk smiled pleasantly as he imagined that unknown summit, then asked Ebrima Tunkara,
“Do you have a girlfriend?”
“Of course I do.”
Ah, shit. The guy who’s already at the top… Suhyuk looked at Ebrima with a deeply displeased expression and muttered,
“Must be nice.”
“Wait, you don’t? With skills like yours?”
Suhyuk let go of his hand and walked into the tunnel with a thoroughly sulky look on his face. Watching his retreating back, Ebrima Tunkara—born in 2010—belatedly realized he had made a terrible mistake.
. . .
The moment Suhyuk stepped out of the stadium, Spanish beauties swarmed toward him. Some were girls from the same international school, others were complete strangers. There were even fans who had only just discovered him from the stands today.
“Sign this for me!”
“Lee! You were so cool today! Are you coming to school tomorrow?”
“Lee, want to have lunch together at school tomorrow? I’ll pack a lunchbox for you!”
Suhyuk was experiencing this flood of attention for the first time in his life. Back in Korea, girls didn’t really care about soccer. And even if they did, they usually only paid attention to the handsome players on the school team. But this was completely different. Every girl in the stands seemed to be flocking toward him.
Watching from a distance, Daniel, John, and Hugo looked at Suhyuk with proud, almost fatherly expressions.
“Looks like our little bro won’t have any trouble meeting girls anymore.”
“We need to teach him to be careful with women from now on.”
“Yeah. We should show him how to meet a proper girl.”
At that moment, Suhyuk was awkwardly signing autographs and telling all the girls,
“Hey, why don’t we all go eat together? I’ll buy!”
In a player-fan relationship. And in front of a bunch of girls. Suggesting they all go eat together…
The trio remembered the advice they had given him. They’d told him that if he scored a hat-trick, he should casually ask Hayun to buy him a meal and naturally set up a date. Suhyuk had used that advice perfectly.
Just… in the most catastrophically wrong way possible.
“Hehe, how cute.”
“I want to eat with you alone, though?”
To the Western girls, Suhyuk’s pure, clueless behavior—broadcasting that he had zero dating experience—was utterly adorable. They continued to hover around him.
“…So even if you play like an idiot, if you’re good at soccer it still works, huh.”
John, Daniel, and Hugo stood with their arms crossed, watching the scene unfold.
That was when Kim Hayun slowly walked over from a distance. Seeing the swarm of girls around Suhyuk, she let out a small, wry laugh.
He’s not even that interested in girls anyway.
He was probably forcing an awkward smile while signing autographs. With that thought in mind, Hayun approached Suhyuk. The three Espanyol strikers who recognized her subtly tried to signal him—telling him to stop hanging around the other girls and go to Hayun. But Suhyuk, still busy signing, didn’t notice.
“Hehe, really? I wasn’t that bad today?”
“You were incredible! Let’s get food next week. Can you give me your SNS ID?”
The girl who introduced herself as Sofia held out her phone. Suhyuk smiled brightly and gave Sofia his SNS username. Sofia was a student who seemed especially interested in Suhyuk. She was a classic Western beauty—voluptuous blonde with perfectly tanned skin and a face like a sculpture. She looked overjoyed just to have received his ID and lightly touched his forearm.
“I’ll message you. Love you!”
…Love you on the first meeting? Is Spain always like this? Or was that a confession? Suhyuk’s head spun with confusion.
And Kim Hayun, who had been watching the whole thing…
He looks like he’s having the time of his life?
She glanced back and forth between Suhyuk and Sofia, a cold, twisted smile forming on her lips.