Chapter 40: Star Mission: Grand Operation (4)

Inside the bus, the ride was quiet, without any particular incidents.

After a while, the bus stopped, and the PD spoke.

“Alright, everyone. We’ve arrived at the final mission location.”

We disembarked from the bus one by one.

Before us lay a small futsal pitch.

The sunlight pouring onto the artificial turf was dazzling, and the goals at either end greeted us.

“Now, before we start the final mission, soccer, shall we have one last mini-game?”

“Alright, let’s do it. If we win this game, we get two items. This mission will be too easy.”

At Yoo Jaeseung’s words, the PD gave a meaningful look and shouted.

“Hehe, you think so? Now, come on out, the Children’s Corps!”

‘Children’s Corps?’

From the building next to the futsal pitch, a swarm of what looked like elementary school students came running out.

A crowd of what seemed to be 100 children rushed towards us, cheering.

“Waaaaah!”

“The name of this mini-game is a 100-on-5 futsal showdown.”

“Hey, surely you don’t mean for the five of us to play futsal against these 100 children?”

Amidst the shocked atmosphere, the PD spoke with a laugh that sounded like a twisted psycho.

“That’s right. You will now pick five players to have a 3-point soccer match against 100 children.

If you win, we will give you a special item that will make all previous items feel like a joke.

As a side note, Jeong Taewoo must play in a position other than goalkeeper.”

“Hey, wait a minute. Why can’t Taewoo play goalkeeper?”

Gwansu shouted.

“Because if Jeong Taewoo plays goalkeeper, the game might never end.”

“Hey, this game is just designed for us to lose!!”

“Come on, surely not,”

The PD replied slyly.

“This Children’s Corps is composed entirely of soccer club members from various elementary schools.

We wanted to give them the experience of learning from Jeong Taewoo. Isn’t he famous for his offense as well?”

‘This is going to be difficult too…’

I was confident if I played as a goalkeeper.

I was sure I wouldn’t concede a goal, and I might even be able to score with a long shot.

But playing as an attacker was a different story.

What if I played seriously against elementary school students and one of them got hurt?

Wouldn’t my name be all over the news again after the broadcast?

And not in a good way.

‘They’re truly evil.’

The PDs had judged that I wouldn’t concede any goals as a goalkeeper, so they excluded me from the position under the pretext of giving the soccer club children a good experience.

“Ugh, these psychos… What should we do, Taewoo?”

Perhaps because the sport was soccer, everyone was relying on me.

“The numbers are too different. To win, I think I’ll have to send long passes upfield for someone to score with a header. Shooting might cause injuries.”

“Then we need tall people to play?”

“That would be advantageous.”

And so our team was decided.

The basketball player and tallest member, Kim Cheolmin; Lee Gwansu, known in the entertainment industry for his ‘long legs’; the soccer-loving Kim Jeongguk; Yoo Jaeseung; and myself.

Of course, since this was a variety show, an interview with the children before the match was a given.

“Hello, friends!”

Yoo Jaeseung greeted them with a bright voice.

“Yeeeees!!”

The sound of 100 children shouting was incredibly loud.

“You’re all about to have a futsal match against the five of us. Are you confident?”

“We’re confident!”

One child answered with an incredibly loud voice.

“Oh, you were the first to shout ‘We’re confident’ so coolly,”

Yoo Jaeseung said as he approached the child.

“What’s your name?”

“I am Yoo Seungmin, from class 1-3 at Pungwol Elementary School.”

Yoo Jaeseung smiled and nodded.

“Oh, Pungwol Elementary, that’s where Jeong Taewoo went. Do you know him?”

Yoo Seungmin’s eyes sparkled.

“Yes! He’s the guy who did well in the Olympics!”

“Haha, I see,”

Yoo Jaeseung laughed and looked at me, asking.

“What do you think, Jeong Taewoo?”

I was looking at the child named Yoo Seungmin in astonishment.

‘Yoo Seungmin… isn’t he the genius midfielder from the novel?’

A genius player who received the Golden Ball at the U-20 tournament at the age of 16 and transferred to Real Madrid.

But he had competed in the U-20 tournament representing Argentina, not South Korea.

‘I remember it said that due to a conflict with his coach in elementary school, he couldn’t play soccer in Korea and went all the way to Argentina.’

‘If Yoo Seungmin stays in Korea and plays in the World Cup with me, wouldn’t our chances of winning increase?’

For now, since we were on air, I quickly composed myself, smiled at the camera, and answered.

“Yes, as a graduate of Pungwol Elementary, I’m really happy to see my juniors loving soccer.

I hope Seungmin and I can play in the World Cup together someday.”

‘I should visit Pungwol Elementary.’

From what I recalled, the coach at Pungwol Elementary was definitely not a good one.

In this world, corruption like backroom deals between coaches and players’ families wasn’t rampant, but the Pungwol coach was one of the few problematic ones.

“He came when I was in the 6th grade, so he couldn’t touch me, but it must have gotten worse now.”

When that coach arrived, I was already the ace of the soccer team and about to graduate, so he couldn’t mess with me.

But he probably started taking bribes after I left.

‘I should have remembered sooner and visited.’

No. It’s a relief I remembered now.

Watching the smiling and jumping Seungmin, I made a promise to myself.

“This time, let’s play in the World Cup together.”

***

Once the game started, Seungmin’s play was noticeably different.

While the other children chased the ball,

Seungmin moved as if he was reading the game.

His passes were accurate, and his ball control was superior to his peers.

At times, he even showcased skills that were difficult for adults.

“Ah. No!”

Yoo Jaeseung’s despairing cry was heard.

Seungmin had just sidestepped Jaeseung with a Marseille Turn and was now running forward.

‘To think such obvious talent could be overlooked for money…’

To send such pure talent to another country because of money…

“Ah! Yoo Seungmin has just dribbled past Yoo Jaeseung with a Marseille Turn and is now on the run!”

The commentators hired by the PDs started getting excited by Seungmin’s amazing play.

“Is this player really in the first grade of elementary school?”

I stood in front of Seungmin, blocking his path.

‘What will you do?’

I was curious.

Just how much talent did it take to win the U-20 and immediately transfer to Real Madrid?

And I saw a glimpse of why Seungmin would later become a prospect for Real Madrid.

“Waaaah! The moment Jeong Taewoo blocks his path, Yoo Seungmin unhesitatingly passes the ball to where his teammates are gathered!”

“Jeong Taewoo just became a scarecrow!”

“Seungmin, you’re good,”

“Hehe, thank you.”

And then he quickly ran past me.

Young players often prefer to be attackers rather than defenders or goalkeepers.

‘When you’re young, the less skilled kids play goalie, and the good ones play offense.’

The reason is simple.

Attackers have the flashy role of scoring goals.

Young players want to be in the spotlight and experience the cheers and joy of scoring.

He already understood the importance of teamwork at a young age,

and he showed the judgment to make the best choice depending on the situation.

“Hey Taewoo, what are you doing there? Hurry up and come here!”

At Jeongguk’s words, I ran to block the ball,

but I couldn’t even get close to it because of the sheer number of children.

In the end, our team suffered a crushing 3-0 defeat to the Children’s Corps.

“The winner of this match is the Children’s Corps team!”

As soon as the PD’s declaration of victory rang out,

the pitch instantly turned into a festival ground.

“Waaaaaah!”

The children’s cheers pierced the sky.

The sight of their small bodies hugging each other and jumping up and down was a moving scene in itself.

The children returned home,

and we faced the PD.

“Oh, what a shame. This item was a time extension coin,”

“Wasn’t this just a mission game designed to not give us the item?”

Jeongguk grumbled in dissatisfaction.

It was a moment to once again realize the true nature of the show.

A program that creates laughter through the cast’s failures and penalties in difficult, impossible missions.

In short, a program that extracts entertainment from the cast’s suffering.

‘Please let it be something manageable.’

I absolutely did not want to do a bungee jump.

Because I had a fear of heights.

“Still, you have the ‘One More Chance Coin’, so I think it should be manageable,”

“It better be. If it’s like this again, I’m… I’m going to expose you on the forums,”

The PD, lightly ignoring Seokjin’s threat, began to explain the next mission.

“The name of this final soccer mission is…”

All the cast members’ eyes were fixed on his lips.

“…”

“…”

“…”

“I’ll announce it in 60 seconds.”

“Ah, what the hell,”

“Gwansu, let’s go teach the PDs a lesson,”

“Sounds good, Jaeseung,”

“Just kidding. I’ll announce it for real…”

The PD said with a mischievous smile.

“The name of this soccer mission is ‘Elephant Nose Spin Soccer Darts’.”

“Elephant nose? You have to consider our Seokjin’s age. Haven’t you heard of attacking the elderly!”

‘Attacking the elderly?’

“Gwansu, it’s not ‘attacking the elderly’, it’s ‘respecting the elderly’,”

“Agh, it’s the same thing. Whose side are you on now?”

‘Gwansu is just pretending to be dumb for the sake of the show. He’s not actually dumb.’

‘Really!!’