Keep it in the Family (228) - World Cup • Group Stage • South Korea vs New Caledonia III (Patreon)

Dae-hyun's POV:

Even on the world stage, everything clicked so damn perfectly well that even someone like him was starting to get delusional with dreams of grandeur. But what the fuck, he wasn't gonna let a thought like that ruin the hype that the match had going on.

Some people are great because they have God-given skills and insane talent, other people are great because the support network around them can create a bubble, a system where they can shine and exceed any expectations.

Sure, every one of them was a skilled player. You kind of had to be to get to the U-17.

But even among those budding athletes, those future superstars, a few anomalies always rose to the top. Dae-hyun wasn't the smartest tool in the shed; he'd freely admit that--but you had to be outright blind not to notice such why this machine that was South Korea had become so lethal.

Cha Jae-il.

Kim Jun-hwan.

Those two.

They were the ones who made everyone else better.

Everyone else fed off their energy and brilliance. The entire team's tactics revolved around them, and rightfully so, because they were the only ones who could make things happen.

He, Dae-hyun, was not a star. He was a solid, reliable winger who did his job. He wasn't a future superstar, and he wasn't likely to stick around for longer after the World Cup. Jae-il and Jun-hwan would slowly disappear to perform for bigger stadiums and stakes.

Still, one couldn't help but simply marvel at their craft.

To witness such a display of pure individual excellence, and see such raw talent do the most extraordinary things at such a young age was like attending a seminar at a Nobel Prize ceremony.

He wasn't too envious. He wasn't angry.

Instead, he couldn't believe how blessed he was, a mere seventeen years of age, to be in the presence of future legends.

He watched, with his mouth agape, and a skip to his step, as his two comrades dismantled the entire New Caledonia lineup with complete ease.

He swore, just when he felt content with his own abilities, Cha Jae-il and Kim Jun-hwan took a step higher.

He found his own eyes catching Jun-hwan's gaze as the latter fooled a Caledonian defender, Number 4, with a cheeky overstep before switching the direction of his run. And since Jun-hwan could sometimes pull something completely outrageous like that and have it work, the 6'3" central midfielder fell flat on his face, while Jun-hwan controlled the ball right around him before dishing it off to the rest of them.

Another one-touch feint was pulled off by Sung-tae, against the poor, lanky New Caledonian left-back, Number 3, whose size and defensive awareness was ultimately his biggest detractors. Sung-tae sliced a pass towards Jae-il, who one-touched it straight towards Jun-hwan. The latter ran full throttle for a mere 3 seconds before once again finding a teammate with a low pass.

The sphere ping-ponged around their defensive area before going to another teammate and looping back to Jae-il, who blasted the ball right above a rushing goalie and the weak barrier his teammates had constructed for his lonesome.

It was 3-0, and 15 minutes remained in the first half. The announcer was no longer being the courteous and objective commentator but a clear Jae-il fan.

The 4-0 came not soon after, with Jae-il still being a core element of the whole sequence. He galloped forward with so much momentum that all three of Caledonia's defenders couldn't come close. He slipped a perfect pass in between them to Jun-hwan, who was in the perfect position outside the box for a beautiful curler. The number 9 goalkeeper leaped to catch the ball in vain, his fingers brushing past the material but ultimately not being quick enough as the ball entered his own net.

Such a foregone conclusion.

Everyone piled up on Jun-hwan, Dae-hyun chief among them.

Look at this shit! South Korea dominated even outside of Asia!

This was the renaissance of Korean football.

Every Korean man and woman, watching and eating dinner at home, were hyped. And so were the press, the supporters, and the squad members themselves. The whole bench had stood up, with Coach Anh ki-seok playing it cool and nonchalant, as if this result was expected.

Every person who could stand screamed at the top of their lungs.

Dae-hyun was the last to disengage from the sweaty heap, taking in the exasperated looks on their opponent's faces. While for them there were two more matches to go, their prospects of winning any of them seemed nil. They had barely reached the World Cup, and here they were facing a team led by an undefeatable machine.

He jogged after Jae-il and Jun-hwan, who were the epicenter of the team. Two tectonic plates shaping the world. The undisputable center of the universe in the South Korean camp.

...

The second half followed the first like the tail follows the comet. New Caledonia was slowly torn apart. Coach Ahn ki-seok gave a brief pep talk before the second half kicked in, something about securing the result. Dae-hyun, like everyone else in the team, had kind of turned a deaf ear to it, for the sole reason that it wasn't as much as the man's tactics that got them this far, but the two demigods on the pitch.

He huffed a breath, lungs aching but exhilarated, as he watched them.

It was the 70th minute.

Jae-il had the ball near the center circle after intercepting New Caledonia's spearheading; their Number 11 had given Korean's keeper the cold sweats with a power shot from distance, likely borne from desperation as they had been pushed too far back against the metaphorical wall.

And just as it had happened there, it was obvious that a cornered prey would put on the biggest fight possible, to force its attacker into a situation that it wanted. The attacker, of course, would not be cowed nor fall into such pitfall, and so Dae-hyun watched with fascination, and maybe some arrogance, as Jae-il showed once again why he was a fucking God.

Three Caledonian players had surrounded Jae-il, trying to either depossess him or force him out of the line for a throw-in. Jae-il was more than physically strong and technically good enough to shrug it all off. He warded the ball from a lunge, and as a different set of legs crowded him, he did a nifty pivot with his foot, taking him and the sphere around one man, nutmegging the other while shouldering off a third.

The crowd burst into a deafening cheer.

That was when his eyes spotted Jun-hwan, already closing towards the box for the same purpose, Dae-hyun coming up not that far behind. He couldn't run too far ahead of his partner without jeopardizing the coherency of their attacking play. Jae-il lobbed a low cross towards Jun-hwan, approaching his favorite striker position.

His partner easily pounced on it.

The goalie approached.

Dae-hyun was a maniac, almost a mindless addict in a rush for his next fix.

There was one last blockade on Jun-hwan's path. Dae-hyun sensibly didn't overtake, or he'd risk an offside. Jun-hwan could've likely made short work of the last defender and made it to the box unmarked, but instead, his partner angled a perfect curling pass to Dae-hyun, who that day, scored his second easy tap-in of the tournament.

5-0

It was not as stylish. Nothing like the mesmerising spectacles created by Jun-hwan and Jae-il. But as the referee blew the final whistle and his teammates tackled him down to the ground, it didn't matter.

This was his moment too. His moment.

2 goals. Two. Two of five that had been scored in this group opening match.

Every single teammate yelled in his ears. "You bloody rock, mate, look at that!!!"

Even though his contribution consisted in tapping in the goals the true aces, his true idols had created for him. An open net. A keeper already ill-positioned. And plenty of space and time to drink a coffee, admire the scenery, and put in a gentle strike.

Not much contribution.

Yet still enough, and enough is a more than respectable score.

With the cheering white-red wave of the supporters surrounding him, Dae-hyun walked towards the centerline. New Caledonia's despondent, utterly beaten team was shaking all their hands and giving congratulatory nods. He offered his and got an empty stare back.

Jong-su slapped his ass hard. Dae-hyun let loose a boisterous laugh as he and his friend engaged in a playful boxing match. Their head coach broke the scrum, ruffling the hair of the players.

"Congratulations, men!" 

Ahn ki-seok bellowed with that stentorian, sandpaper voice of his.

“Fuck yeah!”

“Dae-hyun, you scored two goals in an important match, fucking finally!”

“Even my grandma could’ve scored those two goals, though.”

“Hey, you…!”

Laughter. Everyone wore smiles. Everyone was so fucking proud of themselves. 

A Korean team was finally showing up on the world stage that Asians were more than capable of being a threat. 

A/N: Wrote in a rush, to be rev