Chapter 55: Truth

“What happened!”

The coach and the medical staff rushed over.

Ederson and Ramirez were writhing in pain on the ground.

And I was groaning beside them, pretending to be in pain.

“Ugh…”

“The three of them got tangled up and fell during an aerial duel!”

The nearby players quickly explained the situation.

The medical staff quickly checked their conditions, their expressions turning serious.

“This… I suspect an ankle fracture. I think they need to go to the hospital immediately.”

“What about Tae-woo?”

The coach asked with concern.

“Fortunately, it doesn’t seem like Jeong Tae-woo is seriously injured.”

“Ha… why did something like this have to happen.”

Coach Peter Guardian sighed and clutched his head.

“Two players at once, right at the start of the season…”

The training ground was instantly thrown into chaos.

The medical staff were busy calling for an ambulance.

The players looked at each other with worried expressions, whispering amongst themselves.

Ederson and Ramirez were being carried away on stretchers.

Mathias came over and patted my shoulder.

“Are you okay, Tae-woo? Don’t blame yourself too much. This isn’t your fault.”

The vice-captain, Alexander, added to Mathias’s words.

“Yeah, if anything, they were the ones who initiated the rough body contact. It’s a relief you weren’t hurt.”

“Ha… still, if only I had been a little more careful…”

I did my best to look as if I was blaming myself.

I even remembered to hang my head low and let my shoulders slump.

Some might say breaking someone’s ankle was too harsh.

But if their plan had succeeded, I would be the one being carried off to the hospital, not them.

‘If they were going to ruin someone else’s life, they should have been prepared to have their own ruined too.’

In the end, the training session was brought to an abrupt halt.

The coach headed to the hospital to check on Ederson and Ramirez’s condition.

The players, each with a heavy heart, made their way to the locker room.

As I was about to leave, Mathias and Alexander approached me once again.

“Tae-woo, it’s really not your fault. You know that, right?”

Mathias said in a serious tone.

Alexander nodded in agreement and continued.

“Don’t worry too much. Go home and get some rest.”

I nodded at the two seniors’ warm words.

They watched me with concerned eyes until I left the locker room.

‘Tsk… this is making me feel a bit guilty.’

Well, doesn’t that just mean my acting was perfect?

I decided to look on the bright side.

***

Manchester Institute of Sports Medicine & Rehabilitation (MISMR), a state-of-the-art sports specialty hospital located in the heart of Manchester city.

In one of its examination rooms, Coach Peter Guardian was speaking with the medical staff, his expression grave.

“Is it very serious?”

The coach’s voice was filled with worry.

“Ederson has a ruptured ankle ligament, and Ramirez has damaged his knee cartilage.”

The doctor pointed to the X-ray images as he continued.

“Both players will likely need surgery. We’re looking at a rehabilitation period of at least three to six months.”

Coach Peter Guardian’s face hardened.

He had no intention of simply benching Ederson.

On the contrary, his plan was to rotate him with Jeong Tae-woo to help Ederson regain his form…

Now, that plan was completely out the window.

“I see. When will the surgery…”

Just then, a commotion could be heard from outside the examination room.

“Coach! This was no simple accident!”

It was Ederson.

His face, as he sat in a wheelchair, was contorted with rage.

“When he was falling, that bastard deliberately put his weight on…”

Just then, Thomas Wilson cautiously opened the examination room door.

He was the B-team striker whose skills had impressed Jeong Tae-woo during today’s training.

The reason Jeong Tae-woo hadn’t recognized him was because it was his first time ever participating in a first-team training session, having come up from the City youth team.

“Coach… I’m sorry, but there’s something I happened to overhear last night.”

Thomas cleared his throat and began to explain what had happened that day.

At Thomas’s words, Ederson’s expression froze.

Ederson quickly raised a hand to try and stop Thomas.

“Wait-“

But Thomas didn’t stop.

“Last night, because it was my first first-team training session… I was so excited that I stopped by the training ground for a moment.

That’s when I heard Senior Ederson and Senior Ramirez talking behind the locker room…”

Thomas hesitated for a moment before continuing.

“They were planning to aim for Jeong Tae-woo’s knee during the final aerial duel in today’s practice match.”

Ederson’s face instantly turned pale.

“Coach, that’s not true! This kid is-“

“SILENCE!!!!!!”

Guardian’s furious roar echoed through the examination room.

The coach glared at Thomas with sharp eyes.

“You’re not lying by even one percent about that, are you?”

“No, sir. I definitely heard it yesterday.”

“However…”

Guardian asked in a cold voice.

“Why are you only telling me this now, after the training, and not before?”

Thomas lowered his head for a moment before answering in a trembling voice.

“I’m sorry… I’m new to the first team, and the thought of reporting two senior players was frightening… I also wasn’t sure if I had misheard them, so I lacked the conviction…”

At Thomas’s words, Ederson tried to push himself up from his wheelchair, shouting loudly.

“He’s lying! Coach, this kid is trying to slander us-“

“Can’t you shut your mouth?”

Coach Peter Guardian’s cold voice cut through the air in the examination room.

Ederson froze on the spot.

Although it wasn’t often apparent amidst Manchester City’s recent success, Peter Guardian was a figure of fear among the players.

His charisma and strictness were well-known, and even veteran players held their breath when he was angry.

An icy tension instantly filled the room.

“You two.”

His voice was low and heavy.

“As soon as your surgeries are over, come to my office immediately. I will be requesting severe disciplinary action from the board.”

Ederson tried to say something again, but a firm gesture from Coach Peter Guardian forced him to close his mouth.

“Manchester City is a place for football, not a den of gangsters. An attempt to harm a fellow player… This is not a matter of simple discord or competition.”

His fist slammed down on the desk beside him.

“I’m ashamed that such an act even occurred at our club. The board will decide what punishment you receive, but my opinion is already set.”

Ramirez kept his head down, unable to say a word.

“Thomas.”

Guardian’s voice softened considerably.

“It was the right thing to do, telling me this, even if it was late. From now on, if anything like this happens, report it immediately.”

Thomas let out a sigh of relief and nodded.

Peter Guardian stopped at the door and turned back.

His eyes, once filled with anger, now held a deep sense of disappointment.

“I’m truly disappointed in you, Ederson. You were a player I trusted.”

Ederson’s face turned ashen.

“I planned to rotate you and Tae-woo this season. In fact, you were scheduled to get more playing time. Tae-woo is still young, after all.”

At the coach’s words, Ederson’s eyes widened.

His hand gripped the armrest of his wheelchair tightly.

“But you’ve ruined it all.”

With the sound of the door closing, Ederson’s head slowly dropped.

Just as Coach Peter Guardian had said, the disciplinary action was carried out swiftly.

The club’s board convened an emergency meeting within 24 hours of the incident.

Thomas’s testimony, additional statements from Guerrero and Sanchez, and the medical staff’s report—all the evidence was clear.

The meeting concluded in three hours.

Ederson and Ramirez were each handed a six-month suspension and a 50% reduction in their annual salary.

It was one of the most severe punishments in Premier League history for an attempt to harm a teammate.

The next morning, the coach summoned Jeong Tae-woo to his office.

Knock, knock-

“Coach, it’s Jeong Tae-woo.”

“Come in.”

As Jeong Tae-woo entered the office, Coach Guardian let out a deep sigh.

“First… I’m sorry.”

Was this an unexpected apology?

Tae-woo’s eyes widened.

“I should have noticed it sooner. The strange atmosphere between Ederson and Ramirez… and how difficult it must have been for you.”

“No, Coach. It’s my…”

“No.”

Coach Peter Guardian cut Jeong Tae-woo off, shaking his head.

“A coach is responsible for the safety of his players. The fact that a young player like you had to go through this… is entirely my responsibility.”

‘I’ve been too caught up lately.’

“You may go now. From today on, there will be no more incidents like this. You’ll be able to focus solely on football.”

Jeong Tae-woo bowed his head and left the office.

He gazed out the window at the training ground, lost in deep thought.

He never imagined that the conflict between an 18-year-old goalkeeper and a veteran would escalate to this point.

He sighed, reflecting once again on his own carelessness.

“It seems I still have a long way to go…”

***

‘Ha, I didn’t think it would get this big.’

To think someone had overheard Ederson and Ramirez’s conversation.

Really, thinking about it now, what a pair of idiots.

“What happened?”

As I came out of the coach’s office and returned to the training ground, Guerrero, Sanchez, and Castillo were waiting with anxious expressions, like kids in a neighborhood alley waiting for their friend to come out after being scolded by his parents.

“It’s not like I did anything wrong. The coach just said he was sorry for not knowing and that nothing like this would happen again. That was it.”

“Phew, that’s a relief.”

Sanchez let out a sigh and shook his head.

“But seriously, how can two guys conspire to hurt their own team’s prospect? Are they insane?”

“I know, right? It just shows that not everyone is like the captain.”

At Castillo’s words, I couldn’t help but nod.

Last night, as soon as the players found out that Ederson and Ramirez had tried to harm me, the captain had called.

He apologized profusely, saying he was sorry for not noticing sooner and stopping it.

He was truly someone to learn from, even among the adults I’ve met so far.

“Those idiots, if they had seen Tae-woo’s expression, they would have thrown that plan straight into the trash.”

“Huh? What expression?”

Castillo, who hadn’t seen it, asked with curiosity.

“It was like if the devil existed, he would have that exact expression-“

“Hey, shut up.”

I smacked the back of Guerrero’s head for his pointless chatter.

“Let’s hurry up and get to training.”

I said, leading the way.

‘Was that expression really so scary?’

A fun thought suddenly crossed my mind.

If Guerrero ever does something stupid, I should try threatening him with that expression.

‘Then he wouldn’t say crazy things like wanting to go to Man U.’