1. AUDITION(9)

January 15, 2012. Santa Ana, California. West Edinger Avenue. Mater Dei High School

FRIENDLY GAME

Mater Dei HS vs. West Chester HS

The last 2 days were very hectic.

Training itself was difficult but learning the tactics and strategies of a new team was more difficult than I thought. Especially when the basics and fundamentals of the game were so different here.

"(How are you feeling?)"

But the time spent was also very rewarding.

"Not too bad."

"(Not bad, huh? You need to feel good today. Stanley can get pretty fussy.)"

Dwayne may have said this while laughing, but it wasn't loosening me up. On top of that, the fact that today may be my last chance made it even worse.

"(You have too many thoughts.)"

"…"

Although it was a short period of time, it seemed like Dwayne was able to figure out what sort of a man I was.

"(Basketball is very simple.)"

"I'll try my best."

Dwayne thought the fact that I played basketball in a different kind of environment was preventing me from moving forward. So, he told me to forget anything that I knew about basketball that he did not teach me.

There were a few players from Korea that reached for the NBA.

There are players like Park Moe, who was in the NBDL and proved to be very active. There was also Ha Seung Jin, who was nominated and drafted.

"(Trust me. You have a special ability that the kids here don't have.)"

"Thank you."

I always appreciated how Dwayne tried to speak slowly and simply for me to understand. Since he told me to trust him, I will rely on him.

David said that's the best thing I can do.

"(Dwayne!)"

"(Huh? Oh!)"

As the doors to the gym opened, a herd of guys started to come in.

Among them, a guy with a black training outfit with red strips called Dwayne. There was no doubt that this man with a shiny, bald head was West Chester's coach.

My eyes started to look behind him.

"…"

I found him! That stupid guy.

The guy from L.A who took my watch while playing street ball. On his right wrist was the G-Shock watch that was on my wrist just days ago.

"?"

"…"

"!"

He seemed to be surprised as he made eye contact with me but, as he looked at me, he started to smile. He put his thumb across his neck and slid it, trying to taunt me.

Although I wanted to run up to him and cuss him out, I held it in for now.

Even while we were stretching, he kept looking toward me and trash talk.

"(Do you know that kid?)"

Dennis noticed the strange tension and asked me if I knew him. So, I just shrug my shoulders and find the right words to say.

"He is just jerk."

That's right. He's just a fool.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

MOMENTS BEFORE 1ST HALF TIP-OFF

America's amateur basketball is divided into 2 halves rather than quarters.

20 minutes each half, with around 30 seconds for each offensive play. The traditional 6 fouls each was implied.

"(MD has an Asian?)"

"(I don't know. Hey, Clarence!)"

As the teams greeted before the jump-ball, the attention was all on me.

"(Hey, who's this Chink?)"

"(He's not Chinese, Joe.)"

"(Then what, a pig foot?)"

Leaving the commotion aside, acting as if nothing was happening in front of me was very difficult and upsetting. So, I bumped shoulders with the guy named Joe as I walked by.

"(Hey! You better watch yourself!)"

"…"

"(Damn! Looks like I gotta teach him some manners!)"

They continued to treat me very badly.

There was a guy that kept talking trash while watching me, I then learned his name was Brown when he put on his uniform.

"(I'm going to take it back.)"

"(Hehehehehe. I'm sorry, what?)"

"My watch, you son of a bitch. I'm gonna take it back."

He positioned himself to the back of the court while he laughed, as if he didn't want to go up against me.

As it was time for the game to begin, I matched up with the guy that was calling me with racially offensive names.

Joe McKie? He was a bit smaller than me, but I wasn't going to let my guard down.

"(I'm Korean.)"

"(What?)"

"I am Korean, asshole."

McKie seemed to be a bit shocked as the jump ball began, the ball went to West Chester's court. I don't know if it was because I was smiling brightly when I cursed at him, but he started being friendly and tried to converse with me.

"(I really like kimchi. I also had bulgogi.)"

"Yeah? You wanna taste that kimchi?"

"??"

"(Nothing. I like kimchi too.)"

After talking for a bit, McKie ran forward through a screen and attempted to jump, but I successfully blocked him. I was able to stretch my hand forward to the ball when he jumped.

As the basketball went out of bounds since my fingertips touched it, McKie unsuccessfully tried to hide his surprised expression.

While the players on the bench sent me applauds, Clarence ran past and tapped my butt as he went to McKie, who was attempting a sideline pass.

"(Hey, Joe.)"

"(Huh?)"

"(Don't let your guard down. Or you'll get your butt whooped.)"

"(Psh.)"

As the ball was passed to Brown, McKie turned his back to me and raises his hand.

"(Pass it to me! Ronny!)"

That's right. They called him Ronny that time too.

I'm going to face you another day. Right now, I have to focus on blocking this guy.

"(I just let my guard down, friend.)"

McKie used his left-foot as his center of gravity and moved his right foot, challenging me to a face-off. As he dribbled the ball between his legs, he extended his right leg, as if he was about to run toward the right.

When he saw that I didn't fall for the fake, McKie started to look nervous.

He moved back to his original position with his right leg and immediately went for a jump. Instead of moving my whole body to stop him, I raised my hand just enough to stop the ball.

*SMACK*

"OH MY LORDIE PATORDIE!"

McKie's face, who was confident just a few seconds ago, began to look agitated.

Dwayne told me this, scoring points isn't going to do me any good today. I had to realize that I couldn't carry the team alone to victory.

At that moment, I realized Dwayne did a lot of investigation on me. With David's help, he gave me the advice that I really needed.

["I understand you were able to do a lot on the court. But you don't need to do that here. You have to be the puzzle piece the team is missing. If you concentrate on your strong points a bit more, you will be an extremely successful player."]

There is a reason why 5 people run on such a small court.

Some people will directly lead the team to victory, but some will make sacrifices for the sake of the team. Dwayne believed that if I find a balance between these two qualities, I will shine the most.

"(Wow! Good pass!)"

There were people watching the game to scout out Mater Dei players, including Dennis.

Even in this fast-paced game, Dennis easily weaved between 2 defense players and passed the ball. His pass amazed the audience because it was at such an unexpected angle and in an unexpected direction.

It was unexpected, however, I was also in a good position.

That's what was most important.

"THREEEEEEEEE-"

American basketball is noisy.

Korean basketball was quite noisy too. But most of the noise was cheers for their team or words of encouragement to the players. They would scream out areas that are empty or places with screens.

But American basketball is quite different. To put it simply, there's a lot of chatter. There are a lot of cheers for plays, but they seemed to be genuinely enjoying basketball.

Even when I jumped to take a shot, the audience would be out of their seats holding 3 fingers up in the air and yelling.

*SWOOSH*

"Wooooooo!"

"…"

Although I quietly returned to my defensive position, I'm sure my face was happy.

Teammates and opponents with high levels of play. The feeling this new and fresh air gave me. Most importantly, this feeling of freedom and open-mindedness that made everything feel possible.

If it were here, I can move forward. Even if there is no evidence or proof. I have no doubt I can make it. If I focus on nothing but basketball, I can succeed.

I want to stay in the States. I want to keep playing basketball here. I want to show how good I am at playing basketball as much as I can.

*TING*

As West Chester missed another shot, Clarence passed the rebound ball to me.

At the same time, I heard a loud voice call to me.

"Kim!"

I ran forward with the wind and passed the ball toward 2 guards without any hesitation. It's only been two days, but through plenty of practice, I knew the tendencies and playstyles of Mater Dei's guards.

In this fast-paced play, Dennis tossed the ball up and Clarence grabbed it mid-air and took the shot.

"OHHHHHHH!"

Once more, as this incredible finishing play happened, the audience burst into an uproar. It was at this time, I noticed that the spectators are just everyday people.

Rather than saying I was losing focus instead, for the first time, I felt my nervousness go away.

"(That was a good pass.)"

As Dennis ran toward the back of the court he gave me a high-five, I went back to Joe McKie. In less than a minute of the game, I was able to outplay him twice. I could tell he was more on guard than earlier.

Once again, we are in the elbow position with the ball in McKie's hands. He tried to dart forward in order to avenge his misplay earlier. However, compared to Dennis or even Brown, he was much slower.

As I followed his body movement, I fell backward.

*FWEEEEEEE*

"(You! Offense foul!)"

"(What???)"

As McKie ran toward the referee, Mater Dei's players came to me and put their hands out. The feeling of being somewhere new and strange slowly faded away and was being replaced by faces of people I recognized.

"(Man, you seem to be the main star for now!)"

"(Very good, Kim.)"

This was fun. Has basketball ever been this fun?

Although nothing has been decided yet, a great feeling that I couldn't describe with words started to build up in my chest.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

1ST HALF-TIME / 18:46

Mater Dei HS 5 vs. 0 West Chester HS