I rejected the school bully's confession because of soccer. - Chapter 6

On the night of the first broadcast of “Soccer King Golden Child”.
A man, half-lying on the sofa, was fiddling with the remote control when he suddenly stopped.
On the screen, little kids were playing soccer.
He was planning to watch for a moment and then change the channel.
But.
“Wow… what on earth is that little kid doing?”
His eyes widened at the sight of Kang Tan freely handling the soccer ball in the middle of the screen.
The man jumped up and grabbed his phone.
He wanted to quickly share this unbelievable sight.
“Hey! Turn on the TV, quickly! KBC! Soccer King Golden Child? Yeah, that’s it! It’s crazy, a real monster has appeared in Korea. From what I see, this kid’s dad must be Pelé.”
His voice was full of excitement.
“This is going to cause a stir among people. For real.”
If watching a child kick a ball makes you want to eat chicken, that says it all.

At the same time, in the broadcasting station’s monitoring room.
PD Seo Ji-hoon was biting his nails while checking the real-time ratings.
Next to him, the CP was also watching the monitor with his arms crossed, and both of their expressions were stiff.
“This can’t be happening…”
The PD mumbled quietly.
“It’s the first broadcast. These days, unless it’s something really special, there’s no reaction on the first show. Wait and see. You saw our Kang Tan. With that level, won’t word spread?”
The PD glared at the ratings graph with wide eyes.
“For word to spread, there needs to be a basic level of viewership.”
“Hey, get a grip. We just need to endure the first week. Next week is the real deal.”
The CP tried to speak as calmly as possible, but his voice was trembling.
In fact, he too couldn’t erase the shadow of failure in his mind.
“I guess our expectations were too high.”
“Let’s leave this week alone and see next week, I’m telling you.”
Just as they were about to resign themselves, it happened.
The graph in one corner of the screen started to twitch and slowly began to rise.
And soon it started to soar at an astonishing speed.
“Wh-what…?”
The PD whispered with a dumbfounded face.
The CP also narrowed his eyes and checked the graph.
“The ratings are going up, right? Am I seeing this wrong? It seems like an error?”
They both stared at the graph in silence for a moment.
An abnormal movement.
Between the two stunned men, the CP was the first to come to his senses.
“At this rate… that might be possible too.”
The PD looked up at him.
“If it’s not an error, certainly…”
The CP’s eyes came back to life.
“You know what I’m talking about, right? Get ready immediately. We need to make it explode from the next episode.”
“Yes… but is that really right?”
“We can’t be sure. I’ll go check if it’s an error, so don’t count your chickens before they hatch and wait.”
As soon as their conversation ended, the graph soared once again.

The training had definitely become more systematic than before.
Of course, it was still close to play, but different from before.
How to kick the ball accurately, dribbling know-how, training to improve reflexes, etc.
Programs to build basic skills were added one by one.
The children still seemed to enjoy all of this with innocent expressions.
‘It has changed a lot… but it’s still not enough for me.’
But I had no intention of slacking off just because I knew all the training.
Even if it’s basic skills, I’m solidifying them again.
While I was continuing my training with a serious mind, Choi Iseul approached from over there.
When she, who had joined as both manager and MC, appeared, men’s mouths always stretched to their ears.
Adults and children alike.
“Tani!”
She called my name with a bright smile.
“You could be an actor. How can a child be this handsome? If you debut, you’ll become a top star right away, won’t you?”
For a moment, the surroundings went quiet.
It should have been a compliment, but the reaction was strange.
When I looked up, I saw that the adults, especially the men, were all looking at Choi Iseul with stiff expressions.
Their cold faces, which made me wonder if these were the same people who used to die for Choi Iseul, even had a hint of murderous intent.
Eyes that seemed to say, don’t even dream of such a thing.
Choi Iseul tilted her head, looking puzzled.
At that moment, Ji Sung-woo opened his mouth with a hint of a smile.
“Ms. Iseul, it would be troublesome if you try to take away a child who could change the history of soccer in our country.”
“What?”
Choi Iseul’s eyes widened in confusion.
I realized one thing for certain.
That adults have no intention whatsoever of letting me go anywhere other than soccer.
‘I guess that means their expectations are enormous.’
At this rate, if the regression buff wears off, it’ll be too much to handle.
I really need to work hard.

“Today, we’re going to have an official match with another team.”
“What’s ‘official’?”
“It’s eating rice! Stupid!”
Coach Ji Sung-woo smiled and delivered his message.
“A formidable team is coming.”
“He said formidable!”
“But we have Tani, don’t we?”
A formidable team…
Despite the coach’s words, I didn’t have much expectation.
I thought, what kind of amazing match could they plan in an entertainment program?
I’ll just practice individual skills like last time.
But the moment they appeared, I was more surprised than when I saw Coach Ji Sung-woo.
Barcelona.
The unique blue and burgundy uniforms unfolded before my eyes.

‘Wait, is this a hidden camera prank?’
I doubted my eyes.
‘Is it real? Isn’t it just borrowed from somewhere?’
While I was looking at them with eyes full of doubt, Coach Ji Sung-woo opened his mouth.
“Do you kids know that uniform?”
The children weren’t interested in that question.
“Wow! Foreigners!”
“Our uniform is cooler!”
The coach smiled.
“That team is the youngest among Barcelona’s youth teams. Do you know Barcelona?”
“No!”
“Don’t know! Don’t know! Don’t know!”
Hwang Min-chul shook his head like crazy.
“It’s okay if you don’t know. But you should never think of their skills as just children’s.”
Among the children, I was the only one who properly understood the meaning of the uniform.
La Masia Pre-Benjamin.
They were the youngest from one of the world’s best youth systems, called the essence of Barcelona.
But they brought those kids here? Is that possible?
I glanced at the adults leading the La Masia children with a dazed expression.
But their gazes kept meeting mine.
That was strange.
It didn’t feel like they were simply observing us, but rather as if they were closely watching me.
‘What’s this? Why are they so interested in just me?’
At that moment, the coach patted me and said,
“Tan, do as you like. Just play fun as you always do.”
I nodded.
I was excited to play in front of La Masia officials.
And I pondered what I should do to show my potential on this field.
And the conclusion I came to.
‘Just play soccer well.’

The whistle blew to signal the start of the game.
The La Masia children quickly moved the ball.
Their passing work was so smooth and organic that it was hard to believe their young age.
As if the ball was a part of their body, the trajectory of the ball moving from foot to foot was beautiful.
Not only the production team on site, but even Coach Ji Sung-woo slightly twitched his eyebrows.
“Wow… are those really kids?”
A camera director muttered quietly.
“They are. We thoroughly verified their ages.”
The writer added, but his expression was still sticking out his tongue as if it was hard to believe.
Kang Tan, who was almost overshadowed by the La Masia children’s play, did not step back at all.
He read the opponent’s fast passes and intercepted the ball at the right place and time.
“Nice, Tani!”
With Coach Ji’s shout, Kang Tan escaped their pressure with an exquisite dribble.
The moment he had the ball, Kang Tan literally shone.
He was driving the ball when he encountered two opposing defenders.
Without panicking at all, he instantly twisted his body and spun with the ball, slipping between them.
“Huh… he’s doing a Marseille turn against those kids.”
The production team looked at Coach Ji Sung-woo in surprise at his words.
“Coach, a Marseille turn? That just now?”
“Yes. It’s a technique that’s not easily used even among similar skill levels in professional play. But he executed it incredibly lightly and cleanly.”
Ji Sung-woo shook his head, unable to continue speaking.
Individual skills often come out easier than expected during practice, or in front of those who are inferior.
But as soon as the level becomes similar, you lose composure, and it becomes difficult to perform individual skills for the sake of showing off.
True individual skill is being able to use it skillfully like your own at the exact moment it’s needed.
‘He’s completely looking down on them.’
It doesn’t look like Tan is being arrogant.
In reality, the name La Masia is being erased.
As the game continued, Kang Tan showed increasingly bold plays.
Having gained possession again, this time he quickly moved his legs in front of one opposing defender.
His feet, alternately touching the ball left and right, looked like they were dancing.
As Kang Tan pretended to send the ball to the right, the defender momentarily lost balance.
Seizing that gap, Kang Tan broke through to the left.
Once again, an exclamation burst from Ji Sung-woo’s mouth.
“A flip flap is really…”
A technique that feints the direction by pretending to kick outwards, then pulling back inside.
“Even pros can’t use that properly in actual games.”
The production team watching the game also held their breath as they observed his play.
There was still quite a distance to the goal, but it was a one-on-one chance.
He could have calmly approached without needing to shoot from that distance.
But Kang Tan took the shot from where he was.
The strongly curved ball grazed the keeper’s hand and went straight into the goal.
“Goal!!”
“Tan is even ambidextrous?”
Exclamations burst from the production team.
Coach Ji Sung-woo crossed his arms and shook his head.
“He’s really… scary, so scary.”
If they were of the same generation, he would have been jealous for life… no, he would have been an object of awe, not even daring to be jealous.
Now, in the midst of the game, the La Masia officials were staring intently at Kang Tan.
“That child… he’s really amazing.”
“I don’t think ‘amazing’ is enough to describe this child? We must have a talk with him.”
Another official nodded.
“We shouldn’t let such a talent pass by.”
Kang Tan felt their gaze.
But he pretended not to notice and was smiling, high-fiving his teammates.