Translator: MarcTempest
Editor: Rxel
Chapter 195 The First 30 Seconds.
As soon as the game started, Gu Seonwoong’s shot almost scored, but it was blocked by a crazy save from the goalkeeper.
The game resumed.
“Hey, hey, hey! What are you doing there? Go in! Go in!”
“Block it!”
“Pass! Pass!”
The fans in the stands cheered, and the idol members running around the field shouted.
A heated atmosphere.Kang Beomsu, who was standing at the director’s seat, was no different.
“Block it! Blo… sigh…”
He yelled and then brushed his head gently and sighed.
‘Our defense is a mess.’
At this rate, it was like opening the door with the shutters down and saying ‘Please score a goal for us’.
They were doing their best, but the other team’s attack was too strong to stop with effort.
“Hey! Hey…”
The defense was broken through again.
Fortunately, the crisis was over for now, thanks to Jung-gun, the wild card who was the only one doing his job as a defender.
Director Kang took a deep breath.
“Whew…”
Cold sweat dripped from his hand.
‘We’re going to lose this way.’
The goalkeeper was lucky to save the shot in the first 30 seconds, but he couldn’t do it all by himself.
The goalpost was the last line of defense.
Before that, the defenders had to cut the pass or kick the ball away.
It was common sense that the blocker was at a disadvantage when it came to a one-on-one fight between the striker and the goalkeeper.
It should be that way, according to common sense…
But he witnessed something strange.
‘What, what is that?’
Gu Seonwoong, the striker of the other team, mocked the defense line again and came in to shoot.
A cannonball-like long-range shot.
Bang! The sound.
The friendly defenders also avoided it because it was so powerful.
But Kim Junghyun had a calm face, as if he knew where the ball would go, and just lifted both hands.
‘He’s going to hurt his wrist like that?’
Director Kang was about to shout urgently.
Clap!
“…”
He blinked his eyes.
‘Clap?’
Like a monkey doll with cymbals, Kim Junghyun clapped his hands and the ball settled in them.
“…”
The spectators, the broadcasters, the producers, and the idols all blinked their eyes.
Gu Seonwoong, who shot the ball, also had a stunned expression.
“Wow!”
The cheers from the audience and the same team followed, but the opponent was just fiddling with the ball with a calm face.
Coach Kang narrowed his eyes.
How did he move his hand precisely at that timing? It was an amazing athletic sense, no matter how many times he saw it.
His heart was pounding.
‘He should be an athlete…’
A 22-year veteran of soccer.
Kang Beom-su found a gem in a special variety show.
The problem was that the gem was an idol…
The first half ended and the second half began.
As if to avenge the early onslaught, the ragtag soccer class started to counterattack.
But the focus of the spectators was elsewhere.
Thud!
Clap!
“…”
Thudd!
Clap.
He lifted his palm and threw it away, catching it lightly.
Sometimes he seemed annoyed and just kicked the ball with his foot.
The attackers of FC Real Daddyzers shot like crazy, but Kim Junghyun didn’t allow a single goal.
The commentators exclaimed.
“Wow, that’s the wall of lamentation itself. Junghyun of New Black. He really doesn’t allow a single goal.”
“The keeper is carrying the team hard. He has a crazy physical. The ball looks more painful than him right now.”
“The other team’s expression is gradually hardening.”
As they said, the members of Real Daddyzers continued to shoot meaninglessly with a lost face.
They cursed inwardly.
‘No.’
Gu Seonwoong swallowed his tears.
‘Why won’t it go in! Why! Why!’
He was the one who won the MVP with the most goals in the last Dollympic Futsal.
But not today.
His calm face lifted his bear paw and blocked it every time.
The tears of Gu Seonwoong piled up.
The other members of FC Real Daddyzers were the same.
‘It feels like shooting at a concrete wall.’
‘Come on, at least give us one out of courtesy!’
‘Yally yally yallya. Yalla ri and… Ehera.’
The members went crazy as time went by.
When their faces were full of disappointment, the ragtag team had good news.
“Shoot! Goal! Wow, finally the ragtag soccer class scores their first goal!”
“Wow!”
The scene of Wild’s leader hugging and jumping around with his teammates elicited cheers from everywhere.
And they all ran in one direction.
“Woohoo!”
They all hugged and cheered with the keeper, who looked bewildered and clueless.
It was only natural.
Thanks to the keeper’s amazing performance, the defenders and the other teammates could attack with ease.
Soon, Kim Junghyun’s peaceful smile as he joined the woohoo was captured by several cameras.
“Thank you!”
“Our keeper is the best and the most awesome.”
“Do you want to eat meat after this? I’ll buy you meat.”
After having some time to celebrate with their teammates, the game went in a favorable direction for the Scrappy Soccer Class.
The number on the scoreboard was 1:0.
The other team launched desperate attacks to make up for the situation, but the keeper was like an impregnable fortress.
“Aaaah!”
Every time the other team shot and screamed in frustration on the ground, the Scrappy Soccer Class’s teammates were pleased.
‘After all, the goal of the game is not to win, but to annoy the other team.’
A satisfied smile appeared on everyone’s face.
Yeonhu of Tinspirit was one of them.
‘He’s awesome. This guy.’
He couldn’t help but admire.
How could he use his body like that?
Everything looked splendid, from his sturdy physique to his casual ball handling.
Of course, he knew about the team called New Black before.
He had seen them at the end-of-the-year stage where they won the rookie award, and more importantly, they were the nice team that filled in when they were late for the event.
But he had no idea that there was such a character in that New Black team.
‘Amazing.’
He quietly watched near Kim Junghyun, who took off his keeper gloves and wiped his sweat.
‘What is he doing?’
He was holding the ball and mumbling to himself, as if he was preparing for a goal kick.
Yeonhu listened carefully.
“…Hmm.”
He had a serious expression.
“Will this burst if I squeeze it hard?”
“…”
“Will I get scolded by Woojoo Hyung if it bursts?”
“…”
“No. No.”
He shook his head and put on his gloves again.
“But I can try this, right?”
What was he going to try?
He wondered as he stood on the defensive line and observed the opponent.
Soon, Kim Junghyun furrowed his brows.
He scanned the field quickly with his brown eyes, his face serious like a pro player who was nervous before a real game.
He adjusted his breathing and set the ball down.
Then he stepped back a few steps and ran up to kick the ball.
Boom!
Yeon-hoo dodged the ball in surprise.
“Wow, what the heck!”
The ball whizzed past his face like a bullet.
‘What, is he shooting a missile or something…’
Kim Junghyun, who shot the ball like a character from a different genre, put his hand on his forehead to make a shade.
He then followed the trajectory of the ball.
Everyone on the spot craned their necks to see the angle.
‘Could it be…’
As the same thought crossed everyone’s mind.
Clang.
The ball went through the hands of Andrew, the goalkeeper of FC Real Daddies.
“…”
There was a moment of silence in the broadcast booth.
“…?”
There was only one person who muttered to himself at that moment.
The person who rubbed his nose with satisfaction.
“Wow, it really works.”
“…”
Yeon-hoo, who was standing nearby, nodded his head. It was a goal kick that seemed to cure his puberty just by looking at it.
‘I shouldn’t mess with that guy.’
Meanwhile, the silence in the stands was over.
“Woah-!”
“Goal! Goal!”
“Look at Coach Kang’s face. He looks like he’s crying.”
The face of someone who rubbed his nose with satisfaction after scoring a goal kick was close-up on the screen.
It was a scene that was chosen as one of the best scenes in futsal at the 2015 Lunar New Year Special Olympics.
I was anxious all day.
I was so anxious that I held my phone tightly whether I was in the practice room or at the restaurant, as if I had left my child by the water.
I had asked Min-ki, who had followed him, to give me some updates on the situation, but there was no contact.
Min-ki [Arrived at Goyang Gymnasium]
Min-ki [I’ll text you later]
I sighed.
“Why am I so anxious?”
“That’s right. Hyung. I’m worried that he might get into some trouble.”
“What kind of trouble would Junghyun get into?”
We took turns answering the youngest’s innocent question.
“What if he gets into a body slam with the other team and gets sent off? TNT Seon-woong is also coming out, and the moment he sends him off, our Junghyun will get a million anti-fans.”
“He’ll get a four-week fracture just by grazing him.”
“Junghyun’s whole body is a weapon. Jiho.”
Of course, I was worried that he might get injured and come back, but that was a normal case.
The problem was that he was the kind of guy who would go out and hit someone and come back, not the kind who would get hit.
No.
Even if he got hit, the person who hit him would be taken to the hospital.
“…Hmm, he’s amazing.”
Jiho nodded his head as if he agreed.
Since we couldn’t watch it live, we were all worried about what he was doing.
Zing.
Suddenly, texts started pouring in.
Min-ki [Junghyun blocked a shot]
Min-ki [He blocked it]
Min-ki [He blocked that]
Min-ki [Again]
Min-ki [Wow, he blocked that too]
We all stared blankly at the texts that arrived with a gap.
At first, I thought it was a light commentary on the futsal game, but more and more strange texts were coming in.
Min-ki [He scored a goal with a goal kick]
Min-ki [The other team is in shock]
Min-ki [He won the first game 2-0]
And that was the start of the weird texts that day.
Min-ki Hyung [Won the final 1-0]
Min-ki Hyung [Director holding Junghyun’s hand and crying]
Min-ki Hyung [He was a talent that the soccer world needed, but they found him too late]
Min-ki Hyung [Oh]
Min-ki Hyung [Junghyun got the MVP award]
Min-ki Hyung [A Teen Spirit kid got a signed ball]
We blinked our eyes.
“…What is he doing?”
All day long, we were curious about those incomprehensible texts, while also making incredulous expressions.
And in the evening.
When we were eating at a Korean restaurant near the company, Won-seok Hyung, who had heard the whole story, smiled and said to us.
“Now you know how we feel.”
“Huh?”
“We’re the same. In Taiwan too, we get texts about what’s going on at the site, and there’s always something exploding.”
“…”
“It’s a familiar thing.”
The manager looked at us with a sympathetic expression, as if he understood us.
“But this is Junghyun we’re talking about. We don’t do anything weird, you know.”
“…”
“Hyung, why don’t you answer me?”
“Wow, the knife-cut noodles are so chewy.”
He avoided answering and slurped up the noodles.
It was unfair.
Anyone would think we were the kind of people who would do something strange and come back.
The next day.
We arrived at the Goyang Indoor Gymnasium at 6 a.m.
We had to stop by the shop and finish our makeup, so we only had a few hours to sleep.
We arrived at the waiting room in a drowsy state.
We sat on the sofa and curled up.
“Our Supple fans must be cold.”
“It’s so cold outside. It’s not fair to make them wait out there, is it?”
“Ugh, I don’t like it.”
We saw the long lines as we drove by.
It was dark, and we passed by so quickly that we didn’t know which group’s fans they were, but it hurt our hearts to see them.
Was it when I was in elementary school?
On a cold winter day, when our Kim Deok-soon lady went out to sell things at dawn, I felt sorry for her as I curled up in the electric blanket and saw her off.
I wondered why I had to suffer so much at dawn.
I sniffled as I shook the mini hand warmer.
I have to do really well later.
I have to do so well that they won’t regret coming today.
That’s what I was thinking when it happened.
When we changed into our gym clothes and waited for the production team’s call, the door opened with a click.
“Who… huh?”
We all jumped up at the sight of the person who came in.
It wasn’t just us, the managers were the same.
A person wearing an old coat and puffing steam from his head.
“President?”
“How have you been?”
A bald man with a kind face, our Park Kyu-ho president, came into the room.
The managers, including Seok-hwan Hyung, bowed politely with both hands, while we looked nervous.
“How did you get here, President?”
“Oh, I heard they wanted me to attend. I’m going to watch the opening ceremony and a few games later.”
From what I heard, it seemed that the representatives of each agency would attend the opening ceremony of the Dolympic today.
…It’s kind of stressful.
No matter how friendly and nice he is, it’s a burden to have someone of his position near us.
It’s like even if the brigade commander says ‘Woojoo, we’re friends’, the brigade commander is still the brigade commander.
And today, the president’s mood was a bit strange.
“So, how’s the preparation going, Woojoo?”
“Uh, yes.”
“Specifically, how…?”
“Huh?”
“I mean, I’m curious how the event preparation is going…”
Our president is not very interested in the small details, he only cares about the big things.
But he was asking us about the preparation like a nervous person.
I answered.
“I’ve been practicing hard at the archery range that you lent us. Rihyuk is also doing mind training by pretending to be chased by a thief since morning. I’m watching basketball videos.”
“I see. Hmm…”
Director Park asked.
“Are you confident… no, no, the most important thing is not to get injured. Right. Your health comes first.”
“Yes, Director.”
“Health is the priority. Yeah. That’s right.”
“Ah.”
Something flashed in my mind.
One of the comments I saw on the internet before.
-Are Kyuho and Hyunsik fighting again?
That’s when I remembered the rivalry between our company and DNS Media.
We’ve been so close with the Street Boys lately that I forgot about that relationship.
Our director and their director are sworn enemies.
I imagined the scene when they would meet at the ceremony today and it was drawn in my head.
I smiled and said to the director who told us not to get hurt.
“We’ll do our best.”
“Good.”
The director patted our shoulders and was about to leave the waiting room.
“But, Director.”
“Hmm?”
“What will you do for us if we do really well today? Like, we beat DNS and get the trophy and stuff.”
Our youngest spoke with a playful tone and the director chuckled.
“I can do anything for you. Just tell me what you want. I’ll give you anything. Really.”
“Can we have a delicious meal…”
“That’s a given. Is that enough?”
The director shook his head and said.
“I heard that you need a composing equipment. The A&R team leader told me something about it.”
“Oh, yes. That’s right.”
“I’ll buy it for you. Sure.”
“Wow…”
I was moved by the director’s big smile.
Ever since I visited Director Jo Kyuwan’s house, I felt the need to upgrade my composing equipment.
I didn’t expect him to say that.
But…
He doesn’t seem to know how much it costs.
I’m sure.
He wouldn’t be able to say that so generously if he knew the price.
As the director laughed and said he would buy us anything, Seokhwan Hyung was about to open his mouth.
“Well…”
“Shh.”
I grabbed our manager’s hand.
Then I smiled brightly as if I was serving a customer.
“Director.”
“Hmm?”
“I’ll work hard.”
The director laughed again as I bowed my head.
“I’ll get the trophy today.”
“You said not to get hurt.”
“I’ll get it without getting hurt.”
“Did you see his face? He’s totally determined. Woojoo Hyung.”
My siblings backed away from me, filled with firm resolve.
“Where are you going?”
I grabbed Rihyuk and wrapped my arm around his neck.
“Let me go. This.”
“60 meters. Run with all your strength. Rihyuk.”
“Ugh. I hate this.”
“It’s worth it if we win.”
As I nodded and cheered for Rihyuk, we walked slowly down the hallway.
We met people coming out of the waiting rooms.
“Oh, hello!”
“Hello!”
We exchanged friendly greetings as we headed to the stadium.
That’s when I saw a familiar face.
“Hey, isn’t that Teen Spirit seniors?”
Jiho whispered and we turned our heads. Teen Spirit was walking out confidently with a ‘badass’ vibe.
As they greeted everyone, we also said hello.
“Hello, senior.”
“Yes.”
They accepted our greeting as usual.
As the other members passed by us, one of them, Yeonhu, stopped briefly and nodded his head to Junghyun.
“…?”
We blinked our eyes as he spoke.
“Good morning, sir.”
“…”
“See you later.”
We watched him politely say goodbye and leave. Then we looked at Junghyun.
“…?”
What was that?
What just happened?