Before going talent-hunting, Ho-young went through the entrance ceremony first.
He received his uniform, took photos, and participated in an interview. It was hard to believe this was just a football academy.
'Well, I guess every little thing like this helps build the academy's reputation.'
If Ho-young became a star player in the future, even a single photo like this would be a priceless marketing tool. It was all part of leaving a footprint.
After the commemorative shoot, he followed S-Class head coach Lee Sang-woon to the practice field.
At the same time, Kim Hee-sun was watching from the observation room with her younger son.
"Ho-il, look at your brother. Isn't he so good?"
"Giggling!"
"Oh my, what a cute baby. Hello. First time here?"
Just then, a stylish woman in her 30s gracefully walked over from the side of the observation room.
"Oh, hello. Yes, today is our first day."
"Hohoho, I knew it. You're from Shoot Dori, right?"
"Ah, yes."
Shoot Dori.
Among parents of young football prospects, it was already a hot topic.
"My goodness, but you don't look like a mom at all. You look like a young lady. People might get the wrong idea. I'm a snake sign, so I think we can speak casually, right?"
"Uh... sure. That's fine."
"Hoho. You look even prettier in person than on TV. But your son must've learned football somewhere before, right?"
"No, not at all. He's just been kicking a ball around since he was little."
"Come on~ don't be stingy with info. Share a little."
"I'm telling the truth... he just played with his dad. That's it."
"What does your husband do? Is he a footballer?"
"No. He works at a semiconductor company."
At that, the woman lifted her luxury bag onto her lap and raised her chin slightly.
"Oh, the CEO?"
"No."
"Then?"
"Assistant manager."
"Oh... hohoho, I see. But can you really afford the tuition here?"
That snide, condescending tone.
Kim Hee-sun, with her gentle nature, smiled it off.
She didn't want to stir up trouble unnecessarily.
There are always people like this, no matter where you go.
So she simply replied with one line.
"My son is a special talent student."
"Special talent? What's that?"
"A scholarship student. So we don't have to pay tuition."
"Why? Why is your son the only one on scholarship?"
"Because he's really good at football. You've seen him, right?"
"Oh..."
A wealthy husband might be something to brag about.
But in the end, nothing beats raising a great child.
The outdoor training ground was covered in lush green grass.
And even here, Ho-young was a standout.
'The kid's improved again already.'
That was Lee Sang-woon's assessment after seeing Ho-young play for the first time in ten days.
Kids learn fast, but Ho-young was on another level.
That was actually a concern.
'Sometimes growing too fast leads to early burnout.'
Some kids look like the next Maradona in their youth, but end up crashing once they reach the senior level.
It's often due to an imbalance between theory, real match experience, technical development, and physical growth.
All of these need to be in harmony, or else early growth becomes a disadvantage.
Ho-young wasn't showing any signs of that yet, but Lee was cautiously worried.
It would be a huge loss if such a talent went to waste.
S-Class had top-tier coaches, so they received the best instruction available.
Though the training still focused over 90% on fundamentals, Ho-young was learning valuable lessons from day one.
Ball control, dribbling, and passing were the basics.
But they also started with warm-ups to prevent injuries, and he was taught the fundamentals of positioning and movement by role.
Like how body contact should be made using the shoulder, not the whole body, or how to win possession first during a challenge.
There were countless basics that Ho-young had never learned before.
"Ho-young! You've got to run after making a pass!"
"Where to?"
"If you don't know where to go, then just make it a habit to move somewhere. That's how you learn good off-the-ball movement."
Off-the-ball movement.
It refers to movements and positioning made without the ball. Simply put, it's about how well a player can smell out chances to score.
"Ho-young, I saw you put down forward as your preferred position on the form?"
"Yes. I love scoring goals the most."
"Then you need to focus even more on movement. Every move you make needs to have a purpose. You need to get an advantage out of it. Which means you've got to cut down on pointless running. Understand?"
"Uh... yes."
"If it still doesn't make sense, try copying the movement of great players."
"Okay."
It might've been tough for an elementary schooler, but Ho-young nodded.
'I've always wanted to learn more about positioning. This is great.'
In the past, when he knew nothing, he thought football was all about on-the-ball skills.
Flashy dribbles and stunning shots.
They looked great, so he thought that was the core of football.
But the more he learned, the more he realized how important off-the-ball skills were.
Some coaches even say positioning and movement are the tactics.
In that sense, today's lesson was sure to be invaluable for Ho-young.
Because.
'Aside from the lesson, there's talent everywhere!'
Pausing training for a moment, he started scanning for talents among the kids.
Since this was a lower-grade elementary class, there weren't any high-grade talents, but even that was a blessing.
'Let's start with that one.'
As the first period neared its end.
[Select the talent you wish to obtain.]
Stylish Curved Free Kick (C-)
This was the talent he obtained by fulfilling the condition: "Win 3 out of 5 free kick duels."
'Maybe if I develop this, it could evolve into a knuckleball free kick?'
A plausible thought, but there was no way to be sure.
'Forget that. I should find something more useful for now.'
Ho-young widened his search radius to explore more talents.
'Hmm. A-Class is disappointing too.'
He wanted to reach the U13 group that would play in youth tournaments, but that group was separate and off-limits unless permitted.
As for the coaches, their talents were either irrelevant or the conditions were too difficult to meet.
'Most coaches have teaching-related talents, not playing ones. The best talents are definitely with active players.'
But meeting pros wasn't exactly easy.
Even if he did run into one, the conditions had to be met to acquire the talent.
'Guess I'll just keep snatching them from the kids for now.'
Just as he was about to approach the kid with [Outsider's Wing Penetration (C+)].
"Is Coach Cha at the Suwon house?"
"Yes. He's been meeting with Suwon Sinsung officials a lot lately."
A voice coming from the inner bench made Ho-young's eyes light up.
"Whoa!"
No way. What was he doing here?
Even with the cap pulled low, the eyes gave it away. It was him.
Cha-icon. The Runaway Locomotive. The Doolim Ceratops. Chai-ron Man. Chadurim Risk. Chadroid.
And the nickname that said it all: Chaminator.
The eldest son of Cha Bum-kun, the greatest striker in Asian football history.
'Why is Cha Du-ri here?'
Cha Du-ri.
He had shone brilliantly at this year's Korea-Japan World Cup. Of course it was shocking to see him here.
"What should I do?"
Was this fate?
Excited by the rare chance to meet him, Ho-young stayed still for now.
Naturally holding his breath, he tuned into the conversation.
"So you're flying out on the 26th next month? To Leverkusen?"
"Haha, yes."
Clap!
Ho-young clapped once and nodded.
"Oh, I remember now!"
Cha Du-ri was set to debut as a pro after receiving a call-up from Leverkusen, the very team where his father played.
And that time was coming up in the winter transfer window.
At that moment, Ho-young stood at a crossroads.
It wasn't like he could just go up to a complete stranger and ask for a talent.
But letting this opportunity pass was a waste.
'Who knows when I'll get this chance again? Just go for it.'
This was a once-in-a-lifetime chance.
He needed to at least check out the talents and their conditions.
[Cha Du-ri]
[Possessed Talents: Chaminator's Run and Drive (U), Legs Faster than a Pass (A-), Iron Body (B+)]
(You can obtain one talent by meeting the required condition.)
(Condition 1: Play football together for over 500 minutes)
(Condition 2: Do leg workouts together for over 500 minutes)
'U? What's that?'
He figured it probably stood for Unique.
'With Chaminator in the name, it's probably his signature talent.'
Which meant.
'I absolutely need that one!'
But the conditions weren't just hard. They were really demanding.
'Because he's got fast legs, the condition must be leg workouts. Let's go.'
Ho-young headed to the pharmacy inside the building.
"So I just need to bring the youth tournament documents?"
"Yes. I was stopping by my old teacher's school when my father asked me to drop them off."
"That's kind of you. But you look tired. Have you been busy?"
"Not really... I'm just feeling a bit worn out these days."
On the bench, Lee Sang-woon and Cha Du-ri were chatting.
Cha Du-ri looked visibly exhausted, with dark circles under his eyes.
"Why not get a massage? You should rest and loosen up before you fly out."
"I should. But it's chronic fatigue now. I guess the pressure of what's ahead is getting to me."
Just then.
"Hello!"
"Hmm?"
"Oh? Ho-young, what are you doing here?"
"I brought something for Du-ri hyung!"
"Me? So you know who I am?"
Du-ri was impressed that Ho-young had recognized him, even with his cap pulled down.
That first impression was a success.
Seizing the moment, Ho-young took a glass bottle out of his pocket.
"Here. Take this."
"Huh? Isn't this Bacchus?"
He had bought it from the pharmacy.
"I didn't have money for Ursus, but this should help. It's the best for fatigue, you know?"
"What? Hahahaha!"
Du-ri burst into laughter.
That was all the response he needed.
'Nice. I left a strong impression.'
While that was happening, Coach Lee laughed and chimed in.
"Hahaha. What a funny kid. Du-ri, remember this one. He's the next big thing in Korean football."
"Really? He's that good?"
"You'll be shocked when you see him."
"Oh, that good? If Coach Lee says that, then he must be the real deal. Hey, kid. Want to kick the ball around with me?"
"Huh?!"
What a stroke of luck.
Ho-young answered immediately.
"Yes!"
Turns out, Bacchus really works wonders!
(To be continued.)
◇◇◇
◇ I'll be dropping two bonus chapters for every 10 reviews.
◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 100 Power Stones.
◇ You can read the ahead chapter on Pat if you're interested: p-atreon.c-om/Blownleaves (Just remove the hyphen to access normally.)