Lazy Genius Striker [EN]: Chapter 20

< 019. Willing >

‘I was in such a good mood, and now this…’

Ban Seok-ho roughly checked the message and shoved his phone back into his pocket.

The message was from someone he didn’t want to hear from.

And at such a good moment, too.

‘That bastard, what kind of conscience does he have…’

The sender’s name was Hwang Jong-yeon.

Hwang Jong-yeon.

He was a person deeply connected to Ban Seok-ho.

Hwang Jong-yeon was Ban Seok-ho’s agent during his playing days.

-Seok-ho, long time no see. I watched your son’s game. You made a tough decision because of him, and it looks like good results are starting to come out. A truly proud Korean bloodline, isn’t he?

Replaying the message, Ban Seok-ho almost cursed in front of his family.

What? A truly proud Korean bloodline?

For that kind of talk to come from his mouth, of all people.

Ban Seok-ho wanted to fly to where Hwang Jong-yeon was and spit in his face.

‘Son of a bitch…’

Just thinking about Hwang Jong-yeon’s face made Ban Seok-ho shudder.

They had been through so much together.

Those events had become memories he didn’t even want to recall, so he couldn’t explain them all one by one.

Hwang Jong-yeon remained as just one word to Ban Seok-ho.

Greed.

Whether it was money, power, or fame.

Hwang Jong-yeon was a man driven mad by greed.

And, as an agent, his greed wasn’t for the sake of his players, but for himself.

Thanks to that greed, he now seemed to be doing well, holding a prominent position in the Korea Football Association.

Back then, because of Hwang Jong-yeon, who was so eager to shine more than the players, Ban Seok-ho had to work like a dog and overexert himself.

‘I thought that was normal back then.’

Looking back, he felt foolish.

Ban Seok-ho had even been grateful.

Because he hated sounding weak, he thought he should be grateful for the hardship, and he only thought about overcoming any difficulties on his own.

But,

He shouldn’t have.

That wasn’t normal hardship.

It wasn’t the hardship that one had to endure to become the best player.

He had simply been thoroughly exploited by Hwang Jong-yeon, that son of a bitch’s greed.

‘Unnecessarily, my father also gained a burden on his heart because of me.’

Ban Seok-ho never told his father about any difficulties.

Ban Seok-ho hated whining more than anyone else.

Because of that, his father found out about it late.

And he felt sorry.

As a father, he felt like he hadn’t fulfilled his duty.

Ban Seok-ho hated that so much.

Everything was only because of Hwang Jong-yeon’s greed, but his father, who had done nothing wrong, was feeling sorry because of him.

From then on, Ban Seok-ho gritted his teeth at Hwang Jong-yeon, and the football association that had used him along with Hwang Jong-yeon.

They were people he never wanted to see again.

Those who were only focused on increasing their own wealth.

Trash who regarded a player as nothing more than a disposable item and demanded sacrifice.

‘I’ll never send my sons into that den.’

Having gone through such things, Ban Seok-ho brought his sons to England.

He didn’t want his sons to experience what he had experienced.

So, no matter what they said,

He had no intention of responding.

‘Yohan, you just play soccer without worry. This dad will protect you no matter what.’

No matter what, he would be a reliable fence for Yohan as a father.

He would never let him experience what he had experienced.

Ban Seok-ho took out his phone again and deleted all the messages he had just received.

…

“…Ah.”

“Hey, kid, feeling great?”

“Hahaha! He looks pissed!”

“Ooh, is the kid mad? Mad?”

After the game.

The players who returned to the locker room gave Yohan a grand celebration.

By pouring all the drinks in the locker room on him.

Thanks to that, Yohan, who was completely soaked, sighed.

‘Ugh. It’s going to take a long time to shower.’

“Hey, we weren’t wrong after all.”

“I told you, right? It’s not that I couldn’t stop him.”

“Hey, Antonio. You were a bit harsh that day.”

“You saw it today! It’s not just me who can’t stop him!”

“Hahaha! I’ll let it slide today!”

The locker room became a festive atmosphere every time they won a game, but today the atmosphere was especially heated.

Perhaps because Yohan, who was a bit big but still looked like a baby to the older players, had played the best game today, everyone seemed to find him admirable.

Everyone was surrounding Yohan and offering words of congratulations.

“Hey, kid. My assist was the best, right?”

“You’re funny. It was a pass that was embarrassing to even call an assist. The pass I gave was the real deal.”

“Yeah, you two are both forced assists. Kid, thanks to you, these two washed-up guys got an attack point after a long time. You know how to respect your elders, you admirable guy.”

“What? Who’s washed up, you bastard.”

“You’re washed up the moment your value drops, you jerk.”

“Hahahahaha!”

“Hey, kid. Do I look washed up to you? I did well today, right? Right? I’m not washed up, am I?”

“Yes…”

If someone who didn’t know them saw it, they might misunderstand that the dark-skinned older guys were bullying the kid, but clearly the older guys were finding Yohan cute.

“Good job. Do better in the next game. I think you can do it. You’re going to be something.”

“Yes… Thank you.”

It was tiring to have to thank everyone like he was some kind of popular star.

But still, Yohan didn’t feel bad.

In fact, Yohan was a kid who had never strongly belonged to any one place.

It was also because he had left his hometown when he was young,

And because he was so lazy, he even found it annoying to form relationships.

That’s not to say he had experienced discrimination after coming to England, but there had never been so many people who liked him because of him.

The only ones who gave him unconditional love were his parents and his brother.

But,

Everyone was being so nice and happy.

‘Honestly, the first impression wasn’t good…’

Everyone looked a bit rough, and they were really tough during training.

Because of that, the older guys weren’t the best first impression.

But looking at it like this, they didn’t seem like such scary older guys.

Yohan wasn’t showing it on the outside, but

He was inwardly feeling a sense of pride for the first time.

Just like when he saw his dad and brother happy because of him.

“Hey, you guys, stop bothering the kid and come out. Hey, kid. Let’s go for the interview.”

“Yes? What interview?”

“What interview? The MOM [Man of the Match] interview.”

“…Do I have to go out like this?”

“What’s wrong with it? You’re cute.”

“Please stop saying I’m cute. It doesn’t make me feel good at all.”

“Oh, that makes you even cuter?”

“Hahahaha!”

“…Where do I go?”

“Follow me. The captain himself will guide you.”

Gordon takes Yohan’s hand and heads to the interview.

MOM, the player who played the best in today’s game, usually does an interview after the game.

Hmm. An interview.

Even if you play too well in the game, it becomes annoying.

Should I just do moderately well next time?

Anyway,

I have to stand in front of the camera completely soaked.

I don’t like that.

“It’s okay. You’re cute.”

“Stop it!”

“Hahahaha!”

Damn it.

I guess I misunderstood for a moment.

I thought these older guys were good guys.

I guess not…

…

“Huh. Training exemption. That’s surprising.”

The morning after Yohan’s debut game.

Ban Seok-ho, who was trying to wake Yohan up and send him to the training ground, couldn’t help but be quite taken aback.

“Permission… I don’t have to go… Goal assist per day… Training exemption… Snore…”

Yohan said he didn’t have to go to training.

Coach Schmidt had set a condition of training exemption per attack point.

Even though it was absurd,

Anyway, Ban Seok-ho closed the door and came out, since the coach had said so.

He wondered if this was okay,

But considering that Coach Schmidt had put Yohan in the game with the condition of exempting him from training, it also seemed to mean that Coach Schmidt highly valued Yohan’s talent.

In some ways, it seemed like a good thing.

I don’t know. I guess he’ll take care of it.

“Dad.”

“Yeah?”

“Take a look at this.”

“What is it?”

When Ban Seok-ho came out to the living room, Rohan, who was getting ready for school, held out his laptop.

On the laptop screen, a large picture of Yohan taken at yesterday’s game was displayed.

“It’s a mess. It’s all plastered with Yohan’s pictures.”

“Let’s see.”

Ban Seok-ho’s face soon lit up as he took the laptop.

Hammers.com, the largest West Ham fan site where West Ham fans gather.

Yohan’s picture was plastered on the front page of Hammers.com.

[Sensational Debut! 16-Year-Old Young Gun Shocks!]!

“Kuh.”

Hammers.com was in a lively atmosphere.

All the local fans seemed to be greatly shocked by Yohan’s debut game yesterday.

It was only natural.

A 16-year-old player with 2 goals and 2 assists in his debut game.

He was responsible for the victory by receiving the MOM [Man of the Match] award of the game.

Besides, since that player was from the youth team, how could West Ham fans not fall in love?

-A huge striker prospect has appeared!

-He’s the striker we wanted!

-Good physique, natural sense and scoring ability, and composure that doesn’t match his age. Why didn’t we hear about this friend sooner?

-Friend, do you know why? That’s because it hasn’t even been a month since he joined the youth team. It’s crazy.

Full of surprise and praise.

The emergence of the striker we were looking for, this child is the future of the club, a talent who will represent the league, etc.

Of course, this was a fan site, so it was only natural, but even considering that, the fans’ reaction to Yohan was unprecedentedly enthusiastic.

[Innate Talent, Legacy of a Legend!]

-He was Van Nistelrooy’s son. I knew it.

-There’s no doubt. There was a reason he was born with talent.

-If he’s Van Nistelrooy’s son, he must become a legend too!

-He’s a guy born with DNA. Good genes.

“As expected, Hammers only has fans with high insight.”

Smirk.

Ban Seok-ho smiled contentedly as he read the comments.

The fans were also mentioning Ban Seok-ho without forgetting him.

Legacy of a legend.

It was a phrase that couldn’t help but make him feel proud.

British netizens are famous for their excessive hype, but they are definitely people who know how to make people feel good. They also treat legends well.

They definitely suck up when they suck up.

“At this rate, people will recognize him when he goes outside. Yohan.”

“Hmm. Actually, that’s a bit of a concern. The more popular he becomes, the more annoying things will happen. I wonder if Yohan can handle that.”

It was good that his popularity was increasing,

But there were definitely some concerns.

Gaining recognition and popularity inevitably comes with annoying things.

Simply, it’s annoying to be recognized by someone when walking down the street.

Of course, ordinary players feel more grateful than annoyed, so it’s not a big problem.

But Yohan probably wouldn’t be like that.

If even a little bit of annoying things happen, he would feel a lot of pressure.

Besides, if he becomes even more famous, flies like Hwang Jong-yeon will smell it and flock to him.

Gaining popularity and becoming famous isn’t always a good thing.