I rejected the school bully’s confession because of soccer.

As the whistle signaling the end of the second half approached.

In the stadium filled with tension, an opposing defender was sticking to Kang Tan like a shadow.

He consistently interfered with Kang Tan’s movements, occasionally throwing sharp words.

“Seeing you give up good chances, seems like you can’t do anything alone?”

Kang Tan smiled slightly.

‘So predictable.’

This was a common psychological warfare.

A ploy to induce self-centered play and draw out mistakes.

It was a low-level provocation that often appears even in children’s games.

He inwardly chuckled and waited for the ball to come to him.

And finally, the ball rolling to his feet.

The opposing defender’s eyes sharpened, and his footwork became busy around him.

“I’ll indulge your provocation.”

Kang Tan casually threw out a word.

His feet handling the ball moved smoothly on the field.

Kang Tan, who had been shaking the opponent back and forth, simply shook off the defender with one body feint.

The opposing defender was already chasing behind when he realized he had been properly fooled.

‘That bastard…!’

In an instant, a 1-on-1 situation.

Left alone with the goalkeeper, Kang Tan approached calmly while slowing down.

A moment when even the watching spectators held their breath.

He swung his leg as if to shoot.

The goalkeeper reflexively diving.

But the ball didn’t move as he expected.

Because Kang Tan didn’t shoot, but folded.

Even at that moment, he didn’t shoot, but dribbled past the goalkeeper’s side with the ball.

The goalkeeper trying to get up hurriedly.

The opposing team’s players running at full speed.

All of these looked slow to Kang Tan.

Finally, the goal passed by dribbling without a shot.

As the ball crossed the goal line, cheers and sighs erupted simultaneously from the stands.

Kang Tan lifted the ball high inside the goal.

At the same time, he turned his head to look at the defender who had provoked him, and smiled quietly.

“It’s fucking hard to pretend to be incompetent against kids.”
At those words, the opposing team’s players approached Kang Tan with fierce expressions.
“Are you mocking us, deliberately dribbling over the goal line like that?”
Kang Tan shrugged.
“Didn’t you guys start it first? The mockery.”
They couldn’t continue speaking.
Teammates rushed to such a Kang Tan.

It was a moment when the opponent’s goal was filled with teammates.

“Ya! You crazy bastard! Crazy bastard!”
“As expected of Kang Tan! I knew you could do it!”

The game ended with the winning goal.

With the final whistle, the spectators erupted in even greater cheers, and there was a big response from the bench as well.

Meanwhile, the opposing team’s players were catching their breath with faces properly deflated.

Even after the game ended, the heat on the field showed no signs of cooling.

Teammates lifted Kang Tan up.

“Hey, you did it all!”
“This goal was really amazing!”

Kang Tan smiled awkwardly amidst the congratulations.

Honestly, he had to admit that he enjoyed that last goal a little himself.

“Well, I just did what I could do. It wasn’t just me who did well. Without your help, there wouldn’t have been such an opportunity.”

At Kang Tan’s words, the teammates cheered even more enthusiastically.

Encouraged by the recognition of their contribution, they shouted with even louder voices.

Meanwhile, Antonio, the scout watching them, smirked.

‘The last goal seemed a bit playful, but that’s oddly charming.’

Small build.

But on the field, he was a giant.

No, perhaps more than that.

A god playing with the game lightly.

‘It might be an excessive title for a child, but it’s not an exaggeration to say he created everything alone.’

Antonio closed his notebook with the Real Madrid mark.

“Barcelona… I’m almost jealous.”

When the team arrived at the lodging, Kang Tan went up to his room with his luggage as usual.

The teammates, still excited from the game, gathered in groups of three or five to review today’s play and.

They were discussing preparations for tomorrow’s game.

Kang Tan also put down his luggage in the room and came out to the corridor, leaning against the wall to listen to his teammates’ laughter.

“Kang Tan, catch.”

Turning to the familiar voice, Lucas was standing with two cans of drinks.

He handed one to Kang Tan.

“Why did you buy this?”
“You worked the hardest in today’s game. You should at least accept this much.”

Kang Tan took the drink and opened the can.

The popping sound briefly broke the awkward silence between them.

“By the way, your last goal today was really amazing.”

Lucas spoke up.

“I’ve never seen anyone play so comfortably in front of the goalkeeper. You seemed to be just enjoying it.”

Kang Tan took a sip of his drink and said.

“I was lucky.”
“Lucky? Ha, that’s funny.”

Lucas laughed as if in disbelief.

“If we could all do that much with just luck, we would have all done that today. Don’t say such things to others. You’ll be cursed for being cocky.”

Kang Tan felt somewhat embarrassed hearing such words from a much younger child.

“Well, still… Senior also did really well.”

Lucas smiled looking at such a Kang Tan.

“You spoon-fed me. How could I not eat when you even blew on the already cooled porridge and put it in my mouth? That was all you.”

At that moment, one of the other teammates grabbed Kang Tan.

“He’s the number one contributor to today’s victory!”
“Yahaha! Bring him here!”

The children who experienced the thrilling come-from-behind victory were already excited as if they had advanced to the finals, not just the group stage.

“Wooooah!!”
“We’re first place, right?”
“Confirmed for the main round!”

After the last game of the group stage, the team atmosphere was hotter than ever.

Kang Tan’s team won all three games in the group stage.

In some games, they even showed the luxury of securing an early lead against relatively weak teams and conserving energy.

After each game, teammates congratulated each other, recognizing each other’s merits.

And Kang Tan’s name was always at the center of those congratulations.

Near-perfect game management, creative movements disrupting the opponent.

Not only that.

Cold judgment shown in crucial moments.

Even the opposing team’s coaches would watch Kang Tan with expressions mixed with regret and admiration after the games.
That momentum, raised as high as it could go, continued unstoppably to the finals.

When the final match-up was announced, the team naturally became enveloped in tension.

The final opponent was Sporting CP, a traditional European powerhouse.

A team representing Lisbon along with Benfica.

They were already famous for their systematic development of youth players.

Time passed, and the team was moving to the stadium to play the final.

The pressure of facing the last game was clearly visible on the teammates’ faces.

Even Lucas was continuously exhaling tense sighs while looking out the window.

“Senior, if you keep breathing so heavily, you’ll run out of oxygen. Save some of the air we’re sharing.”

Kang Tan said jokingly, patting his shoulder.

“Kang, as expected, you don’t seem very nervous.”

Kang Tan scratched the back of his head with one hand.

“Well, I found that getting nervous only makes my legs stiff and doesn’t do much good. So I’m just trying to enjoy it.”

Lucas smirked and shook his head.

“I’m human, really.”
“Of course senior is human.”

Lucas turned his head, pretending not to hear.

Shortly after, they arrived at the stadium.

The children now found the locker room familiarly.

“From now on, it’s a single-elimination match. One mistake could be fatal. Kang Tan, you need to be the center.”

Kang Tan nodded at the coach’s request.

His position was left winger.

The coach deployed Kang Tan in that same position.

He had been performing the optimal role in shaking the opponent’s defense.

And because Sporting CP’s defense was overwhelming in height and strength.

The important thing was Kang Tan’s agility and flexible movement.

“Kang Tan, your job is simple.”

The coach said, drawing a brief tactic on paper.

“Since Sporting’s right fullback enjoys advancing, aim for the space behind. If you succeed in breaking through, create chances for Lucas or Adrian waiting in the center.”

The final opponent Sporting CP exuded an overwhelming atmosphere from before the game started, living up to their reputation.

However, Kang Tan had also reached this stage with tremendous performances.

Perhaps word had spread, as the opposing team was keeping a close eye on Kang Tan from before the kickoff.

While Kang Tan was lightly warming up on the left wing, Sporting’s defense line pointed at him, nodding to each other as if making plans.

Kang Tan also noticed their movements.

There was an atmosphere of the opponent being especially wary of him.

‘It’s good for me if they focus on marking me. It widens the space for our team’s kids.’

Kang Tan lightly exhaled, trying not to take the attention focused on him too heavily.

With the kickoff whistle, Sporting applied strong pressure at the level of gegenpressing.

The moment Kang Tan got the ball, two defenders quickly approached.

One blocked the front, while the other moved to cut off space from behind.

‘Ah, like this?’

The movement of the two was undoubtedly designed to seal him off.

In his first breakthrough attempt, Kang Tan quickly passed the ball while protecting it.

“Our Kang won’t go down that easily.”

Lucas said emphatically.

However, the movement of the defender quietly approaching Kang Tan’s back became increasingly aggressive.

Just as Kang Tan was about to receive the ball, a tackle that seemed to lightly brush his ankle.

It was called a foul, but there was no warning from the referee.

Kang Tan’s eyebrows twitched.
‘Look at these bastards?’
Meanwhile, on the bench, the coach openly frowned.

“That seems like they’re deliberately trying to provoke him.”

The assistant coach said in a worried voice.

The coach nodded with his arms crossed.

“If Kang Tan reacts, it will get worse. Their defense is used to stealing the flow that way.”