Chapter 5

Take them all.

"You idiot! You have to trust your family! What if you get scammed?!"

I expected my father's reaction like this.

"Why would someone who knows that stupidly trust a scammer and invest in something they don't even know about!?" I wanted to shout, but held back.

"Don't worry. I won't leave the money management to anyone else. I will handle it myself. The partnership with them will be carried out through a legal contract."

"law!?"

As expected, the law is the best way to keep the common people quiet.

My parents were terrified when they heard the word "law."

"Once I earn enough money, I'll buy you a house, a car, and a lot of pocket money. Don't be too upset. I'm just asking you to stop dealing with contracts and money management. Honestly, neither of you know anything about civil law, contracts, or financial management."

"…"

My parents were very embarrassed.

It makes sense that a kid who only worked out would suddenly start talking about property management and the law in a businesslike manner.

But it was a necessary measure.

Because I had to protect my family from scammers.

After resolving the issue of the World Cup national team's Cha Beom-jin-ho abandoning boarding, I went into my room and worked on 'some work' all night.

***

The next morning.

Mom was surprised to see people coming to the house.

"Can I take all of these?"

"yes."

"Son! What are you doing now!?"

"It's about getting rid of unnecessary stuff."

"You don't need it!? This! This! I just bought all of this!?"

"They're all cheap anyway, sir. Take them all."

I called a junk dealer and had him remove all the cheap stuff that was filling my room.

The room was completely empty after all the cheap furniture and clutter had been removed.

"I feel so refreshed."

It felt like I had completely cleaned out all the clutter in my head.

In the afternoon a new bed was delivered.

"What kind of bed is this?"

My mother's eyes widened when she saw that the knights were setting up the bed in my room and it looked expensive.

"This is a special memory foam bed made with NASA technology. It is essential for athletes because it helps the body recover quickly even after just a short sleep."

"How much is the price…"

"5 million won."

"what!?"

"I paid off my 12-month installment plan with my mom's card. Is that okay?"

"Son… no matter what…"

"Mom. My body is my fortune. I can't afford to skimp on investing in it. And look at this."

Mom saw the note I gave her.

This was a meal plan I made by racking my brain all night.

"It's listed by day of the week, so please prepare your meals like this from now on. And please never bring fish juice, frog juice, or any kind of juice into the house."

"Whole grain cereal, peas and barley rice, egg whites, vegetable salad, fruit juice, white fish, chicken breast… All foods with minimal salt, no sugar, no chili powder, no pepper? No! An athlete would eat this every day!?"

"yes."

This is something that cannot be understood with common sense these days.

Even at that time, European professional soccer players lived on junk food and beer.

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Later, Ronaldo made money by maintaining his best body condition until his late 30s through strict diet management, and Messi significantly reduced his injury rate by quitting junk food and carbonated drinks and eating a diet centered on seafood under the advice of Pep Guardiola.

If I start eating like this from now on, I'll be at least 10 years ahead of other athletes.

"I feel like my mind has cleared up."

The empty room contained only a newly brought-in bed, a small desk, and a chair.

The desk and chair were also of the highest quality Italian products, so it was comfortable to sit on.

I laid out a yoga mat in an empty space and did a handstand.

"Now I can see the way forward."

The environment has a great influence on the human mind.

So, people who want to accomplish something big must clean up not only their own body but also their surroundings.

If you live in a room full of cheap stuff, your life will become cheap too.

I only buy the bare minimum items I need, and use the best quality ones, and secure as much empty space as possible, where I practice yoga and train my body and mind.

This is my new lifestyle.

***

I went to Osung Hospital in the afternoon and did rehabilitation exercises.

Kim Seung-jin now treated me comfortably like a big brother.

I guess calling the National Agricultural Cooperative Federation on my behalf was quite a meaningful experience for him.

It was a boring rehabilitation exercise of repeating the same movements, but I focused and faithfully performed every movement.

The leader was amazed.

I know that my body is money, so shouldn't I be frugal?

After finishing training, I went to Gangnam Station.

I woke up and finished my English class and asked Kevin Kim.

"Is there a yoga studio near Gangnam Station?"

"As expected~ It's fast!"

"Why are you like that?"

"You already know that yoga is a great exercise for soccer players."

"Yes. Especially since I lack flexibility, balance, and core strength. There is no exercise as effective as yoga."

"Gunwoo is really ahead of the curve. There is probably no other soccer player in Korea who is ahead of the curve like this."

"Hahaha. Don't give me too much credit."

"No. I'm telling you the truth. He's very smart and is preparing to become a professional player. I can't help but admire him."

I hate to say this, but Kevin Kim is head over heels in love with me.

Whenever I said something, he would express admiration and stroke my body.

His slightly burdensome habit made me think, 'No way? What if?' but luckily he had a girlfriend.

It was Sayaka-sensei who taught me Japanese.

Sayaka, who resembles actress Hirosue Ryoko, loved Korean culture and spoke Korean well.

Should I say I'm an original Korean Wave fan?

Interestingly enough, it was [soccer] that brought Kevin and Sayaka together.

The two were crazy soccer fans, so they met at a gathering and started talking about soccer, and eventually became a couple.

When Kevin introduced me as a soccer player planning to advance to the J-League, he jumped in and offered to help me.

"Geonwoo is handsome, so if he goes to Japan, he will be very popular with Japanese women."

"Be careful of Japanese women, Gunwoo. Appearances aren't everything…"

"Brother Kevin… What are you talking about?"

"No! Nothing!"

Even the smart Kevin Kim couldn't do anything to Sayaka.

I went to the yoga studio he told me about.

There were quite a few yoga studios at the level of just regular physical education at the time, but what I wanted was [Ashtanga Yoga].

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Ashtanga yoga was the most masculine, difficult and intense form of yoga.

To get to the advanced level, you had to put in almost as much effort as you could in terms of breathing and body modification.

After registering and taking my first class, I arrived at Eunpyeong-gu from Gangnam Station and it was already pitch dark.

"I'm busy. I'm busy."

Since returning, I've been surprisingly busy.

The busyness of the present is a happy busyness.

Because I was busy trying to save myself and those around me who were ruined by soccer, each and every moment was precious, rather than being difficult.

"I need to do CrossFit too… but I don't have time."

As my knee condition improved, I decided to start doing CrossFit exercises.

In 1998, there was no concept of CrossFit in Korea, let alone a word like that, so it wouldn't be easy to find a gym.

"Hello, Mother."

"Yeah. Our Geonwoo is here."

The place I went to was a snack shop in Eunpyeong Market.

It was a snack shop run by my friend Lee Yu-chan's mother, and my younger sister Hyun-ji was helping her mother diligently when she said hello.

This family is also one of the people I must save.

"Hello, brother."

"Yeah. How are you doing, Hyunji? You're helping Mom today too. You're such a filial daughter."

"Hahaha. No."

The local laughed awkwardly.

It was a long time since I saw that smile, and my heart ached.

Because I know her miserable future.

"Our Gunwoo news just came out."

"Hey, look at that!"

My face actually appeared on the small, greasy TV in the corner of the snack bar.

[High school soccer prodigy Kim Gun-woo and Cha Beom-jin-ho refuse to board!]

It was an embarrassing title, but strangely enough, they reported it as if I had disobeyed the coach using my injury as an excuse.

Those damn rags.

They're always like that.

They catch the so-called [Yama] in a provocative way and manipulate the facts to suit their taste.

So anyone can make a bad guy.

Three months later, those rascals trashed not only director Cha Beom-jin but also his family.

"Oh my. They're reporting it as if my brother is making excuses and missing even though he's not injured. Why is that?"

"Because it's trash."

"A scrap?"

Oops.

There probably wasn't such a word back then.

Before the Internet, the media and journalists had quite a lot of authority.

It was a time when everyone believed that something was true if it was reported in the newspaper or on the news.

"Trash reporters combined into one rag."

"Hohoho! That's so funny. Did you make that up?"

"huh."

Suddenly, it became a new word generator.

At that very moment.

My friend Lee Yu-chan came into the snack bar.

"Hey, Gunwoo. You were here?"

"Geonwoo oppa came and waited for a long time."

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"You didn't even come to school. What were you doing all day?"

"Are you done with training now?"

"Yeah. The director must be really angry because he was acting really mean today. Could it be… is it because of you!?"

"I don't know. Anyway, let's go. We have something to talk about."

As I was about to take Yuchan out, Yuchan's mother asked cautiously.

"Geonwoo… tell me honestly."

"yes?"

"… The tteokbokki doesn't taste that good?"

"ah."

I barely touched the tteokbokki that Yuchan's mom gave me to try.

"I'm currently recovering from an injury, so I can't eat a lot of seasoned food. I'm sorry for leaving any leftovers."

"The taste is… what does it taste like?"

"Shouldn't it be spicier so that students like it?"

"More than this!?"

"Yes, Mom. Let's talk about tteokbokki separately later. I'm a little busy today."

"Okay! I'm sorry!"

Yuchan's mother kept bowing her head.

When I saw that sight, my heart ached as if it were going to burst.