Chapter 11

11. True Talent

A simple and short line. It could have been a line that most people would gloss over, hard to bring to life.

"Damn, really."

But it was perfect in every detail. There was no awkwardness in trying to move on to the next line, no exaggerated emotional expression typical of amateur acting.

Beginners usually shout immediately when they feel annoyed.

But Woo Jin-hyuk expressed his annoyance with a muttering tone, a slight distortion of his face, and a look in his eyes.

Instead of dramatically throwing his bag, he made a gesture as if he were extremely bothered.

Jin-hyuk clearly conveyed the type of annoyance his character felt.

It was as if he had naturally become that character. Even though the line was muttered, his diction was clear.

Then silence followed. When Yeon Seong-hoon began to feel something was off.

"Director. Next line..."

"Oh..."

Yeon Seong-hoon had been so engrossed in Woo Jin-hyuk that he forgot to deliver his line.

It was absurd. Seong-hoon hastily read his mother's line.

"This brat! Why are you throwing your bag around and causing a fuss! What's wrong? What happened?"

"Ah, I don't know. Don't tell me what to do!"

That was when it started. Yeon Seong-hoon himself became a real mother, absorbed in Jin-hyuk's performance.

A series of surprises.

When the short script reading was over, Yeon Seong-hoon fell silent again.

Or was it a low moan?

"..."

"..."

"Acting... is this really your first time?"

"...Yes."

Ha. That's right. So that's why.

This kid is crazy.

At that moment,

Woo Jin-hyuk was amazed by himself.

As soon as he saw the script, he thought about the character's reasons for action.

Then, at some point, not only the reasons for action but also the emotions and personality of the character flowed into him like a flood.

When he came to his senses, Yeon Seong-hoon and Lee Bong-chun were staring at him with wide-eyed expressions.

'What is this?'

It felt as if he had become someone else for a moment.

Was it because the body of the young Woo Jin-hyuk and the soul of the middle-aged Woo Jin-hyuk were together?

Or was it the flexibility of his mind that allowed him to accept another character's life as his own?

Or was it a talent that the young Woo Jin-hyuk originally had?

One thing was certain. It wasn't a talent that the mercenary Woo Jin-hyuk had.

"Bro. I'm not the only one feeling this, right?"

Lee Bong-chun looked at Yeon Seong-hoon with wide eyes.

"Probably."

Yeon Seong-hoon smiled with satisfaction.

'This is real.'

Yeon Seong-hoon felt a shiver run through his body.

That appearance, those eyes, and that innate talent.

The actor he had been looking for was standing right in front of him.

***

Summer vacation had long ended, but summer seemed reluctant to end its days.

It still emitted scorching heat in the afternoon, trying to push away the approaching autumn.

But as the heat of summer weakened in the morning and evening, autumn inevitably crept closer.

This subtle approach of autumn made people ponder their clothing choices.

Strange emotions crept into Woo Jin-hyuk's heart, like autumn itself.

Happiness.

In his past life, it wasn't that there were no moments of happiness at all.

Even in the hellish battlefield, moments of happiness would occasionally visit him when he spent time with his comrades.

But every time, Jin-hyuk would forcefully push away that feeling.

His life was too sinful to embrace the emotion of happiness.

It was also a fear.

What if, in this hell, he would chase after the mirage of happiness? What if he would want to escape this hell?

He couldn't survive the hell with a desire to escape.

Jin-hyuk fought against the happiness that came to him, just to endure the hell of today and tomorrow.

And in this second life,

Happiness was still a strange emotion. But what was even stranger was that he no longer needed to push away the feeling of happiness.

"Captain of the sports team. Go get the ball!"

"Wow!"

The students cheered. Getting the ball meant they could play freely during this physical education class.

"Hey! Basketball, basketball!"

"Who wants to play soccer?"

The passionate sportsmen who grabbed the ball first recruited warriors to join their cause.

Woo Jin-hyuk couldn't participate in physical education classes for the past two weeks. His homeroom teacher, Mr. Jeong Su-jin, who knew about Jin-hyuk's accident, had asked the physical education teacher to take care of him.

Sitting on the stands and watching the children play was like torture for Jin-hyuk, who did high-intensity physical training every day.

Finally, today was the day of liberation.

It was time to show the true talent he had in his previous life.

Woo Jin-hyuk hesitated for a moment. Soccer or basketball.

For Jin-hyuk, who had pent-up energy, this was a more difficult decision than choosing between spicy noodles and black bean noodles. After all, there's a compromise like spicy black bean noodles, but there's a clear difference between soccer and basketball, as distinct as hands and feet.

After a short but deep contemplation,

Jin-hyuk finally made his decision. Soccer, of course.

He felt sorry for James, who was a basketball fan, but if he had to prioritize, soccer was still his first choice.

As Jin-hyuk approached the group to play soccer, one of the boys said,

"Hey? Are you going to play soccer, Woo Jin-hyuk?"

Play soccer? No. He was going to show them what real soccer was.

Woo Jin-hyuk smirked.

A different kind of war on the field.

Today, Jin-hyuk was going to give the inexperienced warriors on the soccer field a deep lesson on what true battle soccer was.

"Can you play soccer? Don't push yourself too hard."

But the boy with the soccer ball looked at Jin-hyuk with a doubtful expression.

For the ace of mercenary soccer, Woo Jin-hyuk, this kind of treatment on the soccer field was unfamiliar.

While Jin-hyuk was struggling to adapt to the unfamiliar situation, Do Min-woo patted him on the shoulder and said,

"Jin-hyuk, you can run now, right?"

Woo Jin-hyuk nodded, and the other boys' gazes... were not exactly welcoming.

Then,

"Hey, Class 3. We have 11. You guys need to match the numbers."

The boy holding the ball in Class 3 started counting. One, two... and including Do Min-woo, ten.

The boy's gaze lingered on Woo Jin-hyuk.

"Eleven."

Thus, Jin-hyuk barely managed to join the soccer team. Do Min-woo whispered in his ear,

"But, are you okay? I mean, looking at you lately, I thought you'd be running marathons."

Woo Jin-hyuk nodded. 'I'm fine. I'm more than fine. Don't worry so much. I'll take it easy.'

These kids wouldn't know what mercenary soccer was.

Mercenaries didn't just risk their lives on the battlefield. They were also mercenaries on the field of war called the soccer pitch.

And Jin-hyuk, who was a constant striker on that brutal field.

"Then, Woo Jin-hyuk, you'll play defense from the back."

"..."

This guy. Does he want to die?

The awkward sensitivity of adolescence sometimes burst out uncontrollably. Jin-hyuk had to suppress the emotion that rose up in an instant.

This wasn't the field where the mercenary Jin-hyuk, the master of the battlefield, was recognized. It was just a normal and peaceful high school sports field.

So, he could be assigned to defense. He could.

"... Okay."

Barely managing to respond, Jin-hyuk took his position as a central defender in front of the goalkeeper.

"Alright, let's start!"

With the 5th class as the first kick, the 11-on-11 neighborhood soccer game finally began.

Energetic high school students started charging towards the small ball.

All attack, all defense. A true total soccer that even Johan Cruyff would admire and turn away.

The 19 dogs, who had abandoned their positions, were kicking the ball madly.

The single-minded determination towards the ball.

Everyone except Jin-hyuk and the goalkeepers on both sides looked like that.

Even the goalkeepers on both sides seemed to be unable to resist the urge to run towards the ball, pacing around the goalposts like dogs in heat.

So,

In other words, this was...

a mess.

If this was the case, why did they even set positions for attack and defense?

As Jin-hyuk shook his head,

Thud.

Countless kicks, whether aimed at the ball or at the opponent, were flying. The ball, lost in this chaos, fell in front of Jin-hyuk.

"Wow!"

Ten opposing attackers charged towards Jin-hyuk. But Jin-hyuk smiled confidently.

In a high school sports field where proper tackling was difficult, there was no hero who could stop the ace of mercenary soccer, Woo Jin-hyuk.

"Grunt!"

Several opponents were quickly knocked down by Jin-hyuk's physical play.

"Hey! Foul! Foul!"

Shouting was useless. There was no referee to blow the whistle here. And,

'What foul?'

It was clearly a legitimate physical play. There was no broken leg or dead person, after all.

Jin-hyuk started breaking through the enemy lines, leaving the groans of the fallen behind. Several opponents were quickly brushed aside.

"Wow!"

This time, the children's admiration for Jin-hyuk's dazzling individual skills followed.

This was the combat-style phantom dribble.

Due to the crowded players, as soon as he broke free from a small space, the enemy's territory became an open field.

At that moment, in quick succession, his classmates from Class 3 started running towards the enemy goal.

Thus,

The wild sprint of the nine attackers playing with Jin-hyuk continued.

"Jin-hyuk, here!"

As if they had made a pact, the nine attackers who wanted to be heroes in this war all raised their hands and shouted for the ball.

Jin-hyuk, mocking their demands with a light laugh, continued his storm-like solo run.

"Ugh! What's so fast. Huh. Huh."

Even while running with the ball, Jin-hyuk was faster than anyone else.

And soon, facing the goalkeeper in a one-on-one situation, the frenzied goalkeeper of the opposing team rushed out hastily