Field Commander - Chapter 4

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 4.

Chapter 4.

Chapter 4.

“Who are you?”

As I wandered around the playground, a middle-aged man approached and spoke to me.

“I’m Kim Sang-hyuk, who joined as a member a few days ago.”

“Ah, Mr. Kim Sang-hyuk!”

The middle-aged man smiled and extended his hand.

“I’m Kim Sang-su, the treasurer of the Early Morning Soccer Club.”

“Yes, nice to meet you.”

“How long have you been playing soccer?”

“I played soccer until high school.”

“Ah, a school team player?”

“Yes.”

“Oh… what position?”

“I was a defender. But I can also play as a defensive midfielder.”

As we were talking, another man approached us.

His head was bald and he looked the oldest here, but his body seemed well-built from long years of exercise.

“Who is this?”

“Ah, President. This is Mr. Kim Sang-hyuk, our new member.”

This person is the president of the Early Morning Soccer Club?

“Just looking at his face, it’s written all over that he’s a defender. Forwards would all run away just seeing him.”

Well…

Someone might feel bad hearing that.

My high school coach said the exact same thing when he saw my face.

“Hahaha… that’s not really the case though.”

When I laughed, the two men finally smiled as well.

“Nice to meet you. I’m President Jo Jung-sik. I’m from an old semi-professional team.”

“Ah, then you were a pro…?”

“What pro when I only played for three years? Back then, anyone who could play soccer a bit joined semi-professional teams. Anyway, nice to meet you. Please take care of me from now on.”

“Yes, please take care of me too.”

While Jo Jung-sik moved to talk to other people, Kim Sang-su handed me a uniform.

“Our members may look a bit old, but most of them are former school team players. And the president greatly contributed to establishing Cheongju FC, a 3rd Division League soccer team. Some players who played here even took entrance tests there and signed contracts. If you want to continue playing soccer, it would be good to play hard here.”

“Ah, is that so?”

“The problem is securing 50% of players who have Cheongju as their residential area. What’s your dominant foot?”

Kim Sang-su looked at me and asked.

“It’s my left foot, but I can use my right foot to some extent too.”

“Wow!”

Kim Sang-su tilted his head.

“Left foot… Looking at your build, you probably could have gone to university.”

“I couldn’t go because of a major injury.”

“Ah, injury. That’s something all players want to avoid.”

I greatly empathized and nodded my head.

“We’re using a 3-5-2 formation. We’re following Cheongju FC’s tactics. The central center-back position happens to be open, so you can play there.”

“Yes, understood.”

“The team we’re facing today is one that competes with us for 1st and 2nd place in Cheongju. It’s a practice game, but it could get quite rough.”

After that, I briefly heard about tactics.

“Since the weather is cold, please warm up sufficiently to avoid injury.”

I put on the uniform I received and changed into soccer cleats.

Since the weather was still chilly, my breath came out in white puffs every time I breathed.

I warmed up lightly near the goal post while watching our team members kick the ball.

‘They kick well.’

Everyone seems to have solid fundamentals.

In terms of soccer experience, they’re decades ahead of me, so it’s natural.

* * *

After finishing warm-ups and entering the playground, Jo Jung-sik said loudly.

“Shall we see what our new member can do?”

Then he sent me a pass that was almost like a shot.

But whether he mishit it slightly or not, it flew not toward where I was but somewhat to the left.

I instinctively moved toward that spot and lightly extended my foot.

– Thud.

The ball hit my soccer cleat and fell to the ground with its speed completely killed.

– Bounce bounce.

‘Ah, this feeling.’

Really…

I missed it so much.

“Oh, good judgment and trapping?”

He probably kicked it that way on purpose.

“Pass it this way.”

Although my dominant foot is my left, I wanted to check how my injured right foot was doing.

I planted my left foot and gently pushed the ball with my right foot inside kick.

‘Huh?’

It felt like kicking with my dominant foot.

Power went into the ball, and it arrived accurately at Jo Jung-sik, skimming low across the grass.

“Ooh?”

Jo Jung-sik received the ball and let out a slight exclamation.

“Wasn’t your dominant foot the left?”

“Yes.”

“Try kicking with your left foot too.”

“Yes.”

I received the ball and this time kicked with my left foot.

A similar feeling to when I kicked with my right foot.

That familiar feeling I always had when kicking the ball.

Like when I kicked with my right foot, the ball sliced through the grass as if gliding and arrived accurately at him.

“What? Are you ambidextrous?”

Other members who were watching said.

‘What’s with my right foot?’

I too couldn’t quite understand this situation.

Rather, should I say my right foot feels better than my left foot?

It felt like my right foot could do what my left foot couldn’t.

“Wow! Nice! Hey, are you feeling good today? I have a feeling we’re going to win?”

Jo Jung-sik laughed heartily and shouted.

* * *

It’s been 2 years since I couldn’t play soccer due to injury.

About 9 months lying in the hospital and building up my body.

For nearly 3 years, I hadn’t played a single match.

But standing on the ground, memories of my school days when I played matches came flooding back.

Win or lose…

I was always happy just to be able to run.

And now, even though this was just an Early Morning Soccer Club practice match, I felt the same level of happiness as back then.

‘This feels good.’

– Tweet!

The match began with the sound of the whistle.

For now, I didn’t try to show off and focused on observing my teammates’ movements.

But you couldn’t underestimate early morning soccer – perhaps because they’d been playing for so long, both teams moved very systematically.

It wasn’t the destructive or overwhelming feeling led by a few geniuses that I felt in high school, but rather the feeling of playing the soccer they were capable of.

The match tempo had definitely dropped.

Still, everyone was seriously focused on the game.

I was also clearly doing my role well.

Using physical battles to prevent opponents from getting the ball, or using my long legs to intercept passes…

Less than 10 minutes into the match, the opposing team slightly changed their attacking tactics.

They started moving the ball left and right to send in crosses.

“Ball coming!”

The opponent’s cross came up, and I could instinctively tell where that ball would land.

‘Have my mental abilities not deteriorated?’

The ball’s trajectory was automatically drawn in my head, and instead of blocking the attacking player rushing in, I moved toward where the ball was flying and jumped with all my might using my right foot.

“Huh?!”

Based on experience, when I jumped this much I should have been able to header it properly, but I ended up receiving the flying ball with my face – specifically my chin.

I had jumped higher than I thought.

While a teammate dealt with the dropped ball, I sat down as I felt dizzy.

“Haha… this is ridiculous.”

The opposing striker shook his head.

“What’s with this guy’s size and jumping power? Even if you’re short on people, how can you bring a basketball player?”

Laughter erupted around us at those words.

Hey…

I’m a soccer player, you know?

“Are you okay?”

Teammates gathered one by one and threw out worried comments.

“Don’t be too nervous, Sang-hyuk.”

“Should we substitute you if you’re not feeling well?”

Substitute?

Absolutely not!

I absolutely have to enjoy this fun event!

I came to my senses and quickly got up.

“No. I can keep playing.”

Before the match resumed, I tried jumping a few times in front of the goal post.

The top of the soccer goal post was well below my line of sight.

‘A soccer goal post is 2.44 meters high. My height is 1.95 meters. So I’m jumping almost 80cm or more in sergeant jump?’

In high school, even when I tried my best, the goal post would barely touch my head. My jumping power had also improved incredibly.

‘…This doesn’t feel like my leg. This right foot. They said they’d heal it… but it feels like they attached someone else’s foot.’

Still, because of this performance, the opposing team drastically reduced the frequency of their crosses.

I also didn’t leave my position or make risky plays, and tried my best to blend into this team’s play style.

And around the 25th minute of the first half, we got our first corner kick.

“Hey, mark number 88.”

As I entered the opponent’s penalty area, two people stuck to me.

Two big guys, about 180cm and probably around 100kg each, stuck to me and kept applying pressure, so my movements inevitably became unnatural.

“Don’t let him get inside!”

At that moment, a teammate took the corner kick, and as soon as I saw the ball’s trajectory, I realized it wasn’t properly curled.

‘Is this actually better?’

The people blocking me from entering the goal area looked deflated as I quickly stepped back and took a running jump with my right foot.

The top of the goal post was visible below my eyes, and after confirming the flying ball, I turned my head to check the goalkeeper’s position.

– Thunk!

This feeling of my head ringing.

The ball flew directly toward the goal without losing speed.

– Swish!

The net shook immediately.

Everyone on the opposing team looked dumbfounded, and I threw a light uppercut into the air from the surging joy.

‘Right. This is soccer.’

So enjoyable!

* * *

The match ended 3-1.

I scored one more goal with a header from a free kick situation at the end of the first half, and voluntarily substituted myself around the 30th minute of the second half due to stamina issues.

After that, both teams showed similar performance and exchanged one goal each.

“Oh my, you played well.”

“Good work.”

“Wow, our team is going to have a tough time this year.”

“Hahaha. I think so too.”

The presidents of both Early Morning Soccer Clubs shook hands and chatted.

And the opposing Early Morning Soccer Club president pointed at me.

“This guy doesn’t seem like he should be playing at the early morning soccer level?”

“Hahaha…”

Jo Jung-sik just laughed at that comment.

“What’s your name?”

“Kim Sang-hyuk.”

“Kim Sang-hyuk? It sounds familiar but also not. Anyway, instead of wasting time here, how about quickly taking some professional club entrance tests?”

It was an Early Morning Soccer Club match with a tempo incomparably slower than high school.

If my stamina couldn’t handle a full match even at this tempo, a professional debut would be nearly impossible.

“Thank you. I’ll seriously think about it.”

After greeting the opposing team players, Jo Jung-sik quietly called me over.

“You worked hard today.”

“Yes. You worked hard too.”

“You’ll keep coming, right?”

“Yes.”

“Good. Try playing here for about 3 months. It seems like you have stamina issues. Do your individual training diligently too. Then there might be good results.”

Good results…

I nodded and answered.

“Thank you for the advice.”

“Despite how you look, you’re a good person too. Not bad. Not bad.”

“…”

* * *

Jo Jung-sik climbed into the large luxury sedan and briefly felt the plush sensation.

In his mind flashed Kim Sang-hyuk’s header goal, diving down from the air like a bomber.

It had been quite an unfamiliar shock.

Of course it was just a morning soccer game, but he was someone with a long career in a corporate soccer team.

He also had deep connections with soccer officials.

“His position selection seems crazy… but with that size and jumping power, he’d definitely work in the pros.”

His skills seemed far from ordinary, but what caught his eye was how he tried hard to match this team’s team play.

It felt like he could do much more but was holding back?

“He couldn’t have just appeared out of nowhere.”

He muttered as he started the car.

“Kim Sang-hyuk, was it.”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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