ASR 9

Chapter 9

Minors often have their lives shaped by their surroundings without even realizing it.

There were extreme cases, like Jang Ik-deok being abandoned by his parents, but that wasn’t the kind of thing I was talking about.

What I meant was moving.

“You’re saying we’re moving?”

“Yeah. Of course, it hasn’t been finalized yet. My son has to make the final decision.”

Dad said that, but the adults had probably already come to an agreement.

The moment I said I was willing to go, the move would proceed as smoothly and quickly as if they had been waiting for it.

But where?

“Seoul, of course. We’ve decided to live with your grandfather.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.”

“Um… are you sure that’s okay?”

Living with Grandpa would certainly be convenient for me. The team would be closer too.

But from my parents’ perspective, living with Grandpa might be uncomfortable.

“Actually, ever since your grandmother passed away, I’ve wanted us to live with him. But your grandfather always refused, saying he was more comfortable living alone.”

There was no way he actually preferred being alone.

He had probably been considerate of my parents.

On the other hand, Mom thought of Grandpa as if he were her own father, so she had wanted to live with him ever since he was left alone.

Perhaps because Mom, like Jang Ik-deok, had grown up without parents, she had a particularly strong attachment to family.

“If nobody else has a problem with it, then I’m happy.”

“Aren’t you worried about leaving your friends behind?”

“I’m fine.”

Of course I was fine.

I didn’t have many good memories with them.

If I didn’t have Jang Ik-deok’s memories, I probably would have become one of those school troublemakers the moment I entered middle school.

No, I had already been hanging around with that sort of crowd, so cutting ties quickly was the best option.

They weren’t good friends.

They weren’t real friends, either.

When kids who hadn’t even entered middle school yet were offering you cigarettes, that pretty much said it all.

In a situation like this, it was better to trust Jang Ik-deok’s experience than Choi Yo-han’s emotions or reason.

Anyway, that was how our family ended up moving.

The move progressed incredibly quickly after I agreed.

After Grandma passed away, Grandpa had rented out the apartment he had originally lived in because the place was too big for him and moved into a studio apartment.

As it happened, the tenant’s lease had ended, and they were moving out.

So we decided to move into that apartment.

We only replaced the wallpaper and flooring, then brought the furniture we had already been using.

There was no real reason to buy anything new.

It was the house Dad had grown up in from around middle school.

Mom had lived there briefly when she and Dad were newly married.

And before Grandma passed away, I used to visit it all the time whenever I was bored.

There was nothing unfamiliar about the place.

If anything, it felt welcoming.

There were three bedrooms.

My parents would take the master bedroom, Grandpa would use the middle room, and I would get the smallest room.

The apartment was old, but it had two bathrooms, and because it was an older building, the rooms were actually larger.

Personally, I liked it better.

Thanks to how quickly we completed the move, we were able to change my registered address before enrollment and get assigned to a nearby school without any problems.

—Guys, I’m done moving. Found out which middle school I’m going to too lol.

I shared the news in the Iron FC group chat.

—Whoa, where?

—Yangcheon Middle School.

—Oh, that’s Jin-sol’s school.

I was the only first-year student on the team, while everyone else was in their second year.

Somehow, after I became friends with Jin-sol, the entire team started treating me like a friend too.

Normally, if you’re good enough, people respect you regardless of your age.

And since we didn’t go to the same school, it was even easier.

Wait.

Jin-sol and I were going to the same school.

—Don’t act like you know me at school.

Sure enough, Jin-sol immediately sent a message.

—Stop being embarrassed.

—Who’s embarrassed, you little— Want to die?

Our Jin-sol really was embarrassed, apparently.

—LOL.

I simply laughed.

—I want to transfer to Yangcheon Middle School too.

Then someone else sent a message.

It was Park Yu-chan.

Park Yu-chan, who had been a player at Shingil World Academy, had transferred to Iron FC after our practice match.

I didn’t know the reason.

All I knew was that he constantly followed me around and asked me all sorts of questions about football.

He was annoying, but he looked like he had the potential to become a great player, so I was teaching him a few things here and there.

For the record, he was also a second-year student.

Unlike Jin-sol, who was the same age as me but had entered school early, Yu-chan was genuinely a year older than me.

Yet from the day he transferred to our team, he had treated me as a friend.

Come to think of it, maybe it wasn’t just Jin-sol.

Maybe this guy was the reason the entire team had started ignoring my age.

It didn’t hurt me, so I didn’t really care.

Still…

—Seeing you at school too would be kind of annoying, though?

—Why?

—We’re in different grades anyway. Why bother transferring? It’s not like we’d see each other that much.

—Still, Jin-sol and you are there, so I want to go.

What was he, a baby bird following its mother around?

And besides, there was no way his parents would let him transfer schools that easily.

I ignored Yu-chan’s messages and put down my phone.

Anyway…

I was really going to be a middle school student now.

It felt strange.

Going through middle school again.

[What was middle school like when you were Jang Ik-deok?]

The angel suddenly appeared and asked.

Jang Ik-deok’s middle school days?

It was a bloody life.

I got beaten by coaches until blood flew.

I got beaten by older students, fought back, and more blood flew.

At the orphanage, I fought for the position of leader among the kids, and there was blood there too.

[…]

[I think I understand why your way of making friends is so messed up.]

What was that supposed to mean?

[Nothing, nothing. Once you enroll, your football career really begins in earnest, doesn’t it? You’ll be playing in a league too.]

“March is mostly training and practice matches. The league starts in April.”

Iron FC belonged to the Seoul Region 1 division of the National Middle School Football League.

The middle school football league was divided into twenty-five regions nationwide, with Seoul alone divided into four regions.

The season ran from April to September.

The top two teams from each region—a total of fifty teams—qualified, along with ten additional teams determined through matches between the third-place teams from each region.

On top of that, the top four teams from the I-League, which included professional youth academies, also participated.

Together, they competed in a 64-team knockout tournament known as the King of Kings Tournament.

If a team made it all the way to the final, the schedule wouldn’t end until November.

It was a reasonably well-organized system.

Young players had the opportunity to play matches regularly and accumulate experience.

Of course, not just anyone could participate.

A team needed enough financial resources and the proper conditions to complete the entire league schedule, as well as a sufficiently large squad.

After that, they had to apply to the Football Association and be accepted.

Iron FC had only been participating in the league for five years.

Grandpa called Yu-chan, Jin-sol, and me a trio.

He had high hopes for this season’s team built around the three of us.

He expected us to produce good results, qualify for the King of Kings Tournament, and even make a deep run.

[What’s Iron FC’s highest finish?]

As far as I knew, their best record over the past five years was finishing second once in the Seoul Region 1 League and reaching the Round of 32 in the King of Kings Tournament.

[Hmm. Is that supposed to be good?]

Well, considering there were hundreds of teams across the country, reaching the Round of 32 was definitely impressive.

[Then what’s our goal?]

Winning, obviously.

I was going to build my trophy cabinet here.

Before entering high school, I planned to join a professional youth academy.

[Before high school?]

Yeah.

That way, if things went quickly, I could even play in the K League during my second year of high school.

Originally, players in Korea had to be eighteen, in their third year of high school, before they could play professionally.

But the worldwide trend had gradually shifted.

Younger players were signing professional contracts earlier, breaking into first teams, and gaining experience in cup competitions and smaller matches.

Following that trend, Korea had lowered the age requirement by one year.

Three or four years ago, the rules changed so players could compete professionally from the age of seventeen—the age of a second-year high school student.

My current goal was to sign a professional contract as quickly as possible, earn money, build a name for myself, and eventually move to Europe while earning enough to bring my entire family with me.

That way, we wouldn’t have to live apart.

[Then you can’t afford to waste a single day.]

Of course not.

First, I needed to improve my stamina.

I had only played for around ten minutes against World Academy, and I was already getting a little out of breath.

Honestly, forget about becoming a professional for now.

My immediate task was simply becoming capable of playing a full ninety minutes for Iron FC.

Though I had a feeling that wouldn’t take long.

The body God had created for me improved at a speed Jang Ik-deok could never have imagined, even with only a little exercise.

“Yo-han! What are you doing? We have to go pick up your school uniform!”

Mom’s voice came from outside my room while I was making and reviewing my plans.

Ah.

I had to pick up my uniform today.

Come to think of it, school started next week.

[You know you’re not allowed to fight at school, right? If you get disciplined, you probably won’t be able to participate in competitions.]

I know. Besides, I doubt I’ll have any reason to fight.

[Why?]

Jang Ik-deok had a face that invited trouble.

But my current face invited affection.

[Ah.]

…

Being handsome really was nice.

There wasn’t anyone at Yangcheon Middle School who didn’t know Kim Jin-sol.

He was popular too.

“Jin-sol, we’re playing football during lunch. Want to join us?”

“Jin-sol! Want to go eat ramen at the convenience store after school?”

“Jin-sol!!”

“Kim Jin-sol!!”

…

Among the boys.

He was the best fighter at Yangcheon Middle School, but he didn’t bully weaker students.

Instead, he beat up the bullies who picked on other kids.

On top of that, he was athletic.

He was quiet, but he got along well with his friends.

It was impossible for someone like that not to be popular.

But even Kim Jin-sol had something he struggled with.

“Jin-sol, the PE teacher is looking for you.”

“Huh? O-Oh. Y-Yeah…”

He was weak around girls.

The moment a girl talked to him, his brain shut down.

Considering his position at school and in his class, he should have dated at least once.

But he had never had a girlfriend.

That didn’t mean he wasn’t interested in girls.

It would have been stranger for an adolescent boy not to be curious about the opposite sex or have romantic feelings.

It wasn’t as though he had a crush on anyone in particular, either.

Jin-sol was simply cautious.

He believed looks weren’t everything.

He wanted to talk to someone, get to know them, and understand what kind of person they were before developing feelings.

But he couldn’t even hold a conversation with a girl.

“Jin-sol, you’re seriously hopeless at dating.”

Jin-sol turned away from the many friends talking to him and looked at the guy who had taken the seat beside him.

“You really transferred here? How did you manage that?”

“I just said I wanted to transfer, and they let me. My parents usually grant my requests.”

“…And we’re even in the same class.”

“Guess we got lucky. But where’s Yo-han?”

As expected of someone who constantly followed Yo-han around, Yu-chan had barely sat down after the new semester began before asking about him.

“He’s a first-year. He’s probably downstairs.”

“Let’s go see him. What do you think?”

“Well…”

Kim Jin-sol was about to continue when he suddenly stopped and turned his head.

Yu-chan, waiting for his answer, did the same.

“Hey, did you see the new student? He’s seriously insanely handsome.”

“I swear, I thought my heart was going to stop when I saw him. How can a kid be that good-looking?”

“Isn’t he some agency trainee or something? He’s handsome enough to be an idol trainee.”

“Seriously, my heart is still pounding. I have to go see him again!”

“What? You saw him? Where is he?”

“Class 1-3. I even found out his name. It’s Choi Yo-han!”

“Even his name sounds special. Yo-han? That’s such a cool name.”

Jin-sol and Yu-chan exchanged glances after overhearing the girls.

“I knew Yo-han would become famous because of his face right away.”

Park Yu-chan grinned as though someone had complimented him personally.

“No… I mean…”

Jin-sol couldn’t believe it.

Yo-han had become a celebrity almost instantly.

Just because of his face.

Was that even possible?

“Hey! Have you guys been to the first-year hallway? A third-year senior confessed to Choi Yo-han the moment she saw him!”

“What? Seriously?”

Not only had he become famous, but he had already received a confession on his first day of school?

“Ha… Yo-han is so cool.”

While Park Yu-chan sighed in admiration, Jin-sol felt strangely empty.

He had never been confessed to even once…

“Damn it… The world is so unfair.”

Jin-sol swallowed his tears inwardly as he heard the exact words he wished he could say from the very person who had just received a confession.