Chapter 17: Cheon Mu-seok Coin Skyrocketing

[Cheon Mu-seok’s Squad Defeats Powerhouse Brazil.]

[The Veiled Trio of 17-Year-Olds Turns Out to Be Golden Eggs.]

[Coach Cheon Mu-seok Silences Controversy with Skill.]

That’s right. I blocked the final penalty kick and secured South Korea’s victory.

‘Honestly, I was lucky.’

If the ball had been even slightly slower, it definitely would have gone in easily.

Ironically, Gabriel Mendes’s fast shot helped me save it.

‘The gasps of the Brazilian players and spectators after I blocked the ball… it was thrilling.’

And look.

Because we did well, the people who were mocking and criticizing the national team are gone, and everyone is excited about beating the powerhouse Brazil, praising us.

Of course, I shouldn’t get carried away.

‘If we lose the next game, the media will flip again.’

Even if they praise us like this, if we mess up the next game, they’ll criticize us again as if nothing happened.

‘So…’

“Just stay still for a bit.”

This guy, Lee Tae-yang, was currently looking at the national team gallery, giggling and making a ruckus on his bed.

“Hehe, Tae-woo, look at this. People are finally starting to recognize the greatness of this Lee Tae-yang.”

On the phone screen Lee Tae-yang showed me, there was a post like this:

[Lee Tae-yang’s perseverance is insane]
-Honestly, even though Yoo Hee-sung scored the goal, and Jeong Tae-woo made all the saves, and Lee Tae-yang didn’t score and isn’t as handsome as those two, I think Lee Tae-yang’s perseverance is amazing.

‘Is this even a compliment?’

Honestly, this comment seemed more like a backhanded compliment than actual praise. Saying he’s not handsome and didn’t score, just praising his perseverance?

Of course, I always tease Lee Tae-yang, but he’s not actually ugly.

He’s rather good-looking.

It’s just that with me and Yoo Hee-sung next to him, he looks like a squid.

“Yeah, you’re great… But I also saw the gallery, and there was more talk about me and Hee-sung than about you, though?”

“Ha, it can’t be helped. Tactically, I couldn’t score. But next time, I’ll definitely-“

“Nope, not true. You had a chance to score, but it was blocked~”

“Hey, that would have gone out anyway if it wasn’t for me!”

“Nope, not true~”

Watching Lee Tae-yang seethe, I smiled victoriously and delivered the final, heavy blow.

“You look even uglier when you’re seething. You just can’t do anything. You had to scroll through 5 pages of the gallery just to find your name.”

Lee Tae-yang’s face instantly turned beet red.

“Hey! Jeong Tae-woo! You really…”

He grabbed a pillow and threw it at me.

But I quickly dodged it and couldn’t hold back my laughter.

“Ah, whatever! You guys were just lucky! I’ll definitely score a goal in the next game!”

“Nope, not true. Park Seo-joon sunbae-nim will score next time anyway.”

I quickly ran towards the bed and threw a pillow too.

“You son of a… Oof!”

Lee Tae-yang, hit in the face by the pillow I threw, made a pig-like sound and fell off the bed.

“Puhahaha! Why are you making pig noises?”

“This bastard… Die!”

Lee Tae-yang got up from the bed, gripped the pillow tightly in his hand, and lifted his right leg.

He threw the pillow as if a baseball player was about to throw a ball.

‘Faster than I thought?’

I was mostly going to let him hit me, but this crazy guy threw it with real force.

I quickly dodged and was about to tease Lee Tae-yang for missing, but a sound that shouldn’t have been heard came from behind.

“Thump!”

Turning around, it was the sound of the TV shaking. It seemed the pillow had hit the TV, making it wobble forward.

We both froze and stared at the TV, and after a moment, regaining our senses, we quickly rushed over, but the TV slowly tilted forward and then…

“Crash!”

The TV eventually fell forward, and with the sound of it hitting the floor, the room instantly fell silent.

Lee Tae-yang and I looked at each other, speechless.

Our eyes widened as if we couldn’t believe what had just happened, and our faces turned pale.

“Hey Tae-woo, we’re in big trouble, right?”

Gulp.

“Tae-yang, actually, if you think about it, you threw it first, and you’re the one who hit it.”

“Hey, don’t tell me you!”

“So, if you think about it, this is your fault.”

“No, how is that my fault alone? It hit because you dodged it.”

‘Well then, don’t throw it with full power.’

Of course, even if he threw it with full power, it was a soft pillow, so it wouldn’t have hurt, but I threw mine lightly, so it’s unfair if I get hit hard when he threw his hard.

I covered my ears and said.

“Aaaah, anyway, it’s your fault for hitting it.”

“Hey, how could you-“

Before Lee Tae-yang could finish his sentence, a knock came from outside, followed by the voice of the person we least wanted to hear.

“Boys, I heard a loud noise, is everything alright?”

“Hey, Tae-woo… That’s not Coach Joo Eun-gyeom’s voice, is it?”

I didn’t bother answering Lee Tae-yang’s question.

Lee Tae-yang probably already knew the answer.

Cold sweat ran down my back.

“Who’s going to open it?”

We both looked at each other and remained silent.

Neither of us wanted to step forward first.

“Boys, please open the door quickly.”

‘What should I do? If Coach Joo Eun-gyeom sees this…’

Just imagining it was terrifying.

“Tae-woo, let’s move the TV to a place where it can’t be seen when the door is opened.”

‘Ah, right. He might not come all the way into the room, so if it’s just not visible when he looks in from the door…’

After speaking, Lee Tae-yang and I tried to lift the TV and move it into the bathroom, but…

Click-

“Boys, why is the door so-“

The door opened with Coach Joo Eun-gyeom’s voice.

We froze, half-lifting the broken TV.

The coach’s gaze shifted from us to the TV, and then back to us.

The room was instantly enveloped in silence.

Lee Tae-yang’s face turned pale, and I stood with my mouth agape, unable to say anything.

Coach Joo Eun-gyeom said with a smile.

“Jeong Tae-woo, Lee Tae-yang, shall we hear about what happened on our way to my room?”

A smile was on the coach’s lips, but that smile was scarier than any horror movie.

The sharp gaze hidden behind his gentle expression seemed to pierce right through us.

Lee Tae-yang and I exchanged glances, then silently nodded and carefully placed the broken TV on the floor.

“Yes… Coach.”

Both our voices came out trembling.

The coach tilted his head slightly and gestured towards the hallway.

“Well, shall we go?”

We walked out of the room with heavy steps, like prisoners who had just received a death sentence.

Walking down the hallway, Lee Tae-yang whispered in my ear.

“Hey, what do we do? Are we finished now?”

I bit my lip and replied.

“I don’t know… We have no choice but to tell the truth…”

When we arrived in front of the coach’s door, Coach Joo Eun-gyeom opened it and ushered us inside.

The moment we stepped into the room, we didn’t know what our fate would be, but one thing was certain.

It was going to be a very scary and long night.

***

Today, since we had a match yesterday, light training and recovery training were scheduled.

Tactical analysis and drills in preparation for tomorrow’s match against Denmark, known as an African powerhouse, were also planned.

So, early in the morning, the players started to come out to lightly warm up.

“Well, I mean…”

“Huh? Isn’t that Tae-woo and Tae-yang?”

“Wow, the new superstars are the most diligent, out here earliest.”

The surprised voices of the players were heard. Jeong Tae-woo and Lee Tae-yang were at the training ground earlier than usual.

But their appearance was different from usual.

The two stood there with dazed expressions, as if their souls had left their bodies. Jeong Tae-woo was continuously staring at one point, and Lee Tae-yang was looking up at the empty sky, sighing repeatedly.

Yoo Hee-sung approached the two and waved his hand.

“Hey, are you two okay? Why are you spacing out like this?”

Hearing the voice from the side, I slowly turned my head and looked at Yoo Hee-sung.

“Huh? Ah… I’m fine.”

Lee Tae-yang also barely managed to come to his senses and said.

“Just… a little tired…”

Park Seo-joon asked with a puzzled expression.

“Did something happen? You both look like zombies.”

“Well, a lot happened last night.”

“What could have happened to make our super-confident Lee Tae-yang tremble like this?”

“Park Seo-joon sunbae-nim, just thinking about it is too scary. It was like, like…”

“Haha, why are they really like this, Hee-sung?”

Just then, Coach Joo Eun-gyeom entered the training ground.

Coach Joo Eun-gyeom saw me and Lee Tae-yang and smiled.

“Oh, our TV destroyers are already here. It’s good to see you working hard.”

At Coach Joo Eun-gyeom’s words, all the other players’ gazes instantly focused on us.

“Haha, well, you see. These energetic young men, last night…”

The players who heard Coach Joo Eun-gyeom’s words to the end burst out laughing.

“Puhahahaha, Tae-yang is one thing, but even Tae-woo.”

“Hahaha, that’s what friends are.”

“They say friends become alike.”

Right now, I couldn’t even retort to being compared to Lee Tae-yang.

The image of yesterday’s demon was still not erased from my mind.

‘Later, if I succeed and write an autobiography, I’ll definitely write about this. How scary it was…’

“Alright, that’s enough. Let’s focus on training. Tomorrow’s match against Denmark is important.”

At Captain Park Seo-joon’s words, Coach Cheon Mu-seok, who was listening, clapped his hands and said.

“Yes, Seo-joon is right. Alright, that’s enough. Let’s focus on training. Tomorrow’s match against Denmark is also important. Everyone gather.”

At the coach’s words, we all gathered in one place.

The players’ laughter subsided, and the atmosphere of the training ground instantly became serious.

As the coaches and the head coach surrounded us, everyone’s attention turned towards them.

It was time to temporarily forget the TV incident and focus all our attention on the strategy and tactics for the match against Denmark.