Chapter 4

4

2. Special Application, Helper (1)

"How was it? It must have been delicious, right? You didn't even need water, eating like an excavator. Of course, it must have been delicious!"

I nodded half-heartedly at Harry's loud words echoing in the car, but inside, I had other thoughts.

Delicious? What a joke.

It was so tasteless that I crammed it in without even tasting it. How could French fries be tasteless? I wouldn't have been able to eat them without ketchup.

I was told that British breakfasts were delicious, but I heard that everything in the media is a lie... Why...

Harry's taste buds must be numb.

How can anyone survive eating this? Ah, that's why he was using so much ketchup. It seemed like he was eating more ketchup than French fries... He must be mistaking the taste of ketchup for the taste of the food! No doubt about it.

The only good thing was that the look of displeasure on Harry's face, which he had when I was only looking at my phone and not eating, was gone, replaced by a deep smile.

It seemed that my hurriedly shoving the food Harry bought for me had worked.

"Open the glove compartment."

I opened the glove compartment in front of me.

"Turn that on..."

Inside was an iPad. Following Harry's instructions, I turned on the tablet and selected an app, where a list of names appeared.

"Press the fourth one, Sebastian Rodriguez."

Sebastian Rodriguez's photo appeared on the screen.

"Read through his profile, match videos, hobbies, and so on. It's data organized by the agency. I'll send you the files later."

"Oh... Thank you."

Just as I was about to press the first item, Harry's question came.

"Have you heard of Sebastian before?"

"Yes, I knew him as S. Rodriguez. His performance in the U-20 World Cup was also impressive." "You know him?"

Knowing something always makes me feel good. So, every time,

"He's a promising player from the Atletico Madrid youth system. He's a classic winger in the style of Jesus Navas and Joaquin Sanchez. Although his physicality is a bit lacking, his pace and individual skills are good, so I had high hopes for him. I was looking forward to seeing him in the Premier League next season after dominating the Championship this season, but I haven't seen much about him in the news lately, which is disappointing."

I turned into an explainer. It was a habit. Harry was looking at me with a blank face.

"Harry, front, front!"

The car, which was about to enter the adjacent lane, soon found its course. Harry glanced at me again and said,

"Did you prepare for this?"

"No, not really..."

"Then you already knew about him?"

I nodded, and Harry smiled.

"I like it. Yeah, Sebastian will be a great player."

Harry joined in my conversation. Sebastian Rodriguez, born in 1996, is currently in a slump, but if he overcomes it, he can easily be a star in the top league.

In Korea, whenever I start talking about football, people look bored, so I have to restrain myself, but Harry listened to me without any hesitation. He seemed very excited, just like me.

The conversation eventually shifted from Sebastian to whether Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo is better, and then to who will be the next Ballon d'Or winner, and which country will win the next World Cup, and so on.

It was fun.

Then I realized that we were about to arrive in Brighton.

"Harry... It's a bit disappointing, but I'll have to talk to you later. I need to look at Sebastian's data now."

"Oh, right!"

Harry's face brightened slightly as he closed his mouth. The atmosphere in the car had become quite warm. I thought this might be a good opportunity to clear up the doubts I had heard from the agency.

Trying to sound as casual as possible, as if I wasn't really interested, I said,

"By the way... Since I'm in charge of Sebastian, the office's reaction was strange. Is there any problem with Sebastian?"

Harry didn't answer.

*

Until we arrived at the Brighton training ground where Sebastian was, Harry didn't answer my question and talked about other things.

As soon as we entered the Brighton restaurant, Harry pointed to a corner with his finger and said,

"That's the problem."

The player I had only seen in photos was right in front of me. It wasn't as moving as when I met Aaron Ramsey, but I didn't feel that way.

Because Sebastian was sitting alone at a corner table, picking at a salad.

Like an outcast.

"He hasn't adapted. He says the climate doesn't suit him, and he doesn't want to learn English. It's been over half a season, and he hasn't spoken a word to any other players."

I observed Sebastian closely. The other players were eating heartily, but Sebastian was nibbling on his salad.

With his round, innocent eyes, he looked small and frail, making him look even more like an outcast. His face had a slight Southeast Asian look, as I had seen in the data.

Sebastian is a Southeast Asian mixed-race person, born to a Spanish father and a Filipino mother, similar to David Silva of Manchester City.

I heard Harry sigh.

"He says he's going back to Spain at the end of this season. Starting with personal sponsor compensation, trust with the club will be completely lost. It's the worst. He definitely has the talent, but it's heartbreaking. Really."

Sebastian got up without finishing his plate, returned his dishes, and came over to us.

"Harry."

"Hey, you're here?"

Harry replied in Spanish. Sebastian Rodriguez looked at me intently.

"Is this the new interpreter?"

"Yeah, his name is Taehyun Seok. His last name is Tae, and his first name is Hyun Seok."

"My name is Taehyun Seok."

I extended my hand. Sebastian Rodriguez looked at my hand, hesitated, and then shook it, quickly letting go.

"Should I call you Mr. Tae? Or just Tae?"

What's with the pronunciation?

"No, Tae."

"Tae?"

"Calling me by my name would be better..."

"Hyun... Seok?"

Damn.

"Call me whatever you like. No, Tae is better. How should I address you?"

"Call me Sebastian. If it's too long, you can call me Seba."

Since foreigners won't know what Tae means, I'll just have to bear with it. Sebastian mumbled "Tae, Tae, Tae" a few times.

Harry told us to talk for a moment and then headed to the beverage section of the restaurant. Sebastian and I looked at each other in silence for a while.

It was awkward.

Then, someone tapped my shoulder. This much contact can be considered friendly. It hurts.

"Oops, sorry."

Thinking it was an accidental bump, I was about to say it was okay, but Sebastian's face had turned pale.

First, I'll say it's okay...

"It's okay."

Behind me was a muscular guy with short, brown hair tinged with red.

"Scary, isn't it? Do you look at strangers like that in your country?"

"What? This is my usual expression."

The brown-haired man laughed slyly.

"Really? I thought you were glaring because your eyes were narrowed."

Judging by his training gear, he seemed to be a player, but he wasn't in my memory. That means he's not a big player. On either side of him, a black man and a blonde man were smirking unpleasantly.

I immediately thought of the racist I had a run-in with in the restaurant, and my mood worsened.

"Is that all?"

"Did it make you feel bad? I misunderstood, sorry. You're here as Sebastian's interpreter?"

Despite the bad feeling, I nodded at his apology.

"Really? An Asian?"

"...Yes."

This guy was definitely picking a fight.

I glared at the brown-haired muscular man without blinking.

"Hope we get along. You'll be coming to the training ground, right?"

After a long stare, he smirked, tapped my shoulder, and walked away. The two behind him also tapped my shoulder as they passed.

It felt terrible. Really terrible. But I held it in.

Not knowing the situation or the atmosphere, I was just Sebastian's interpreter. I couldn't cause any trouble for Sebastian.

I kept drawing the character for "endurance" on my palm and repeated it to myself.

"What are you doing? Did you greet them?"

"Yes."

By the time I looked up, Harry had already brought a plastic tray with drinks. Sebastian, who had been staring at my hand, flinched and looked away.

Harry grumbled.

"Those guys are still acting like gangsters. Sebastian, don't get close to them. Got it?"

Sebastian smiled awkwardly.

It felt uneasy.

"I'll be back in a moment... to the bathroom..."

I rushed into the bathroom and immediately turned on my phone.

My phone had been buzzing every time Sebastian shook my hand and the other three tapped my shoulder. Maybe there was something written here, like how I matched Harry's food preferences earlier.

The screen turned on, and the status bar showed +12 and an envelope icon.

When I activated the Helper, a list appeared.

As expected, Sebastian Rodriguez's name was there. The other three names were unknown, but they were probably the three players who had tapped my shoulder.

First, Sebastian.

- Likes superstitions.

- Current ability: ★★★★★★

- Mentally weak due to racial discrimination.

I smirked at the superstition, marveled at the same level as Aaron Ramsey, and then,

"What... is this."

I quickly pressed the next player.

- Racist

- Potential ability: ☆☆☆☆

- Dominant foot: Right

I checked just in case, but the back of my neck felt cold, like before.

What is this app?

I rushed out of the bathroom. When I sat down at the table, I asked Sebastian,

"Was the player's name Liam Grant?"

Sebastian's eyes widened, and he slowly nodded.

My question wasn't over. If this is right, really, maybe...

"Are you experiencing racial discrimination?"

Sebastian's face turned pale.

"How... how did you..."

"It's the mystique of the East."

I deflected it for now.

As soon as he heard my words, Harry pressed Sebastian. But Sebastian kept his mouth shut, staring at his knees. He occasionally glanced at my face, but my attention was on my phone, and I couldn't do anything.

I fiddled with my phone in my pocket several times.

I took out my phone again and checked the information on the other two. I asked Sebastian for the names of the black man and the blonde man, and they matched.

One even had his birthday, and another mentioned what he had for breakfast. Most importantly, the entry for Kevin McGregor, the blonde guy, said,

- Enjoying the thought of bullying Sebastian during training.

Is this country obsessed with racial discrimination? What a dog's life.

"Um..."

I went back to the home screen and glared at the app called Helper.

What are you? Is what's written there really true?

"Hey!"

I jumped and looked up. Sebastian was already sitting next to me, shouting in my ear.

Sebastian and Harry were staring at me. Harry seemed to be looking at me with a bit of disdain. I quickly bowed my head.

Why do I keep doing this? I need to stop acting so dazed. What am I doing on the first day?

"I'm sorry."

"There he goes again. Kids these days... Sebastian, you should use your phone less, got it?"

Sebastian nodded and looked at me with sparkling eyes.

"Would you like to have dinner with me?"

The guy who didn't even answer Harry was asking me to have dinner. I nodded without thinking. Harry seemed surprised too.

"Are you staying in the same place as the last interpreter?"

"Yeah, that's right."

Just then, Harry's phone rang. Harry's face turned red as he answered.

"Leon? Why?"

Then Harry started shouting, making the whole restaurant shake. Many people seemed to want to say something, but they just looked at each other, intimidated by Harry's fierce expression.

"I need to go to London urgently. I'll give you the address and the key, can you find it? We'll do the handover after the work is done."

"Sure, it's fine."

"I'll take you there!"

Sebastian said confidently. He looked better, but he was staring at me so intently that it was a bit uncomfortable.

Harry gave me the key and gave some instructions.

"Take videos centered on Sebastian when you're not interpreting. The staff will stop you during tactical training. Here, take this."

Harry took out a camcorder from his bag and handed it to me along with his access card. He said my access card would be ready tomorrow, and Katie had already applied for it.

"And if there's a problem, contact Katie. Got it?"

"Ah... Yes."

"I'll be back as soon as I'm done. I'll be back in a few days!"

Harry grabbed his jacket and rushed out of the restaurant.

After Harry left, Sebastian was very kind to me, bringing me a new drink and showing me around the training ground.

There was still an hour and a half before the afternoon training, so we had time to spare after touring the training ground.

We sat in the lounge and chatted about trivial things.

Sebastian intentionally avoided talking about the three players and the racial discrimination. I didn't force it, so we talked about football.

Before I knew it, I was engrossed in talking about the U-20 Spanish national team.

"Is Asensio really that good?"

"He's on a different level. His left foot is really..."

Being friends with a player from Real Madrid, a well-known player even to Korean football fans.

Wow, this guy is really a professional player.

I keep forgetting because he looks so innocent.

Although we had only met for a short time, Sebastian was a very gentle and considerate player. However, during this long break, no one approached us. Even if they passed by, they ignored us as if Sebastian wasn't there.

What's the problem with Sebastian? Or is it not just those guys, but all the other players who are discriminating against Sebastian? Since there were no Asians in Brighton, this possibility remains.

I fiddled with my phone while listening to Sebastian's story.

If this app is real, it will be a great help in solving my curiosity. So far, everything has been accurate. If just one more thing matches, it will dispel any doubt.

Since I made Harry think I was a smartphone addict, I want to get some payback.

As time passed, Sebastian and I went to the training ground together. In the center of the field, the three guys from earlier were looking at us with smirks.

According to the Helper's information, they are definitely trash.