After the match, by coveting Benzema's "Precise First Touch (A+3)", Ho-young's "Ball Sense at the Peak of Mastery" increased slightly in its absolute value.
More importantly, he was able to acquire Zinedine Zidane's invaluable talent, "Miraculous Press Resistance (S+)".
The hidden condition had been the "Hosting of the Official Retirement Ceremony."
Late at night.
Following the official ceremony, a press conference was held in the underground room of the stadium.
Even before it began, Zidane's eyes were already welling up.
Though known for his calm and composed personality, he couldn't suppress the overwhelming emotions.
Amidst that, a journalist asked,
"You undoubtedly stand shoulder to shoulder with Michel Platini as a symbol of French football and a legend of Real Madrid. There were many teammates along the way. Who among them left the strongest impression on you?"
A typical retirement ceremony question. One that usually puts players in a difficult spot.
Most players tend to give vague, diplomatic answers when faced with it.
But Zidane responded immediately, without sugarcoating.
"There are countless people who come to mind. For France, there's Vieira, Makélélé, Desailly, Henry. And for Real Madrid, Raúl, Roberto Carlos, Guti, Ronaldo, Casillas, Salgado. And as everyone knows, Ho-young was with me in my twilight years. I want to express my deep gratitude to them all."
"That last part is quite moving. But it raises an interesting point. As widely reported, did Ho-young really influence your footballing life that much?"
"My reason for starting football was Enzo Francescoli and Michel Platini. And my reason for starting it again, was Ho-young."
That line kicked off an interview that lasted over 30 minutes.
Though normally soft-spoken, Zidane had a lot he wanted to say today.
And immediately after the interview.
Zidane exited the press room and headed to the smoking area for a cigarette.
"Now I can smoke freely anywhere I want."
Having retired, he no longer needed to hide while smoking.
In truth, he had always had a close relationship with cigarettes.
Once known as a heavy smoker, he often snuck cigarettes away from the press.
He had attempted to quit smoking countless times, but always ended up failing.
The longest he had gone without smoking was for about two years, starting from the day he watched Ho-young and resolved to make a comeback after the 2006 World Cup in Germany.
That same reason had delayed his retirement as well.
Zidane let out a small laugh as he looked out the window at the Santiago Bernabéu.
Just as he had said in the interview earlier, the reason he was able to play for so long at this stadium was thanks to Ho-young.
"He's a mysterious kid."
Every moment with him had been extraordinary and full of wonder.
In the past, he had amazed people with his potential. Now, he brought joy with his jaw-dropping skill.
Watching how much Ho-young had grown naturally brought a smile to his face.
Having directly taught him for over a year or two, Zidane felt a tremendous sense of pride.
It was no exaggeration to say he had been more devoted to Ho-young than even to his own son.
And now—
Sigh...
All of that had suddenly become memories of the past.
The thought of his legacy disappearing from the Santiago Bernabéu, where he had spent eight years, filled him with melancholy.
Of course, he wasn't planning to leave Madrid entirely.
He had long hoped to stay on at Real Madrid, starting as a coach and working his way up to manager.
But the problem was Calderón.
There was no way Calderón, who had a poor relationship with Pérez, would hire someone so closely aligned with Pérez like Zidane.
"I'll have to leave Madrid for a while."
If he stayed, he would surely become a political scapegoat for Calderón.
He had already received a call from Pérez not long ago.
So, for the sake of the future, he decided to step away from Madrid for now.
Flick.
After finishing his cigarette, his mind felt refreshed.
He then headed toward the locker room.
Thanks to the club's consideration, he was there to clean out his still-undisturbed locker.
Naturally, the lights were off.
The players had all returned home long ago.
But then—
Tap, tap.
"What the...?"
Suddenly the lights turned on, and players who had been lying flat on the floor began to stand up one by one.
"Good grief..."
Wrinkles spread across Zidane's face as he smiled.
Every single player who should have already left on the team bus was still here.
The atmosphere was solemn.
Not one of them was smiling. Even Marcelo, usually full of mischief, looked serious.
This was how players responded to a legend's farewell.
Then—
"You've done well, Zizou."
Raúl stepped forward and embraced Zidane.
"You guys..."
Zidane's eyes welled up once more.
He had always been shy, and he was especially weak when it came to emotional moments like this.
But that wasn't the end.
Clap.
The lights went off again, and from the back, a tall figure suddenly appeared.
Carrying a cake lit with candles, Ho-young approached Zidane.
His face was calm.
Though he had never wanted this day to come, Ho-young knew that to send someone off properly, you had to do it wholeheartedly.
Only then would there be no regrets.
He also believed Zidane would return someday as Real Madrid's manager.
"You've worked hard."
"Thank you."
All Zidane could say, after receiving this unforgettable gift, was those simple words.
That was their final moment.
August 30.
The next day, the entire squad was given a well-deserved break.
But Ho-young was already busy getting ready to go out early in the morning.
He styled his hair with wax, swept it to one side, dressed neatly, and hopped into the car Lucci had prepared.
He left home at 8 a.m., and after about 30 minutes, arrived at SAK International School El Castillo.
"Wow, look at all these people."
Even though there was still a week left before the new semester, the front of the school was packed.
What stood out was that students, parents, and guests alike were dressed in suits and formal wear.
"So this is how graduation ceremonies are done in Spain. I didn't expect the students to be dressed in full suits and dresses."
"Is it the same in Korea?"
"Hmm... I wouldn't know. I never went to middle school in Korea."
"Haha, right. Of course."
Today was the graduation ceremony for SAK International School El Castillo.
In other words, it was Monica's graduation day.
"Alright, take care. Don't go calling me for help when you get swarmed by fans. You know that's the hardest thing for me, right?"
"Ha. Don't worry. Just go take care of your business. I'll see you later."
As usual, Ho-young, wearing sunglasses, quietly entered the school.
He was certain paparazzi were tailing him, but he had no energy to care about that today.
'Maybe people won't recognize me right away since I did something different with my hair today.'
But the moment he stepped inside—
"Ah?! WHY?"
"Damn it."
Barely one second after entering, a boy recognized him.
"Y-you're Ho-young, right?"
"Hello. Could you pretend you didn't see me?"
"Wow..."
When Ho-young reached out to shake his hand and made the request, the boy looked flustered and began searching his pockets.
"Damn it."
He soon looked completely dejected.
"I don't have a pen..."
"I'll sign it next time we meet."
"Ah, wait a second. Please don't go. I'm a fan. No, you're my idol."
The boy, seemingly around Ho-young's age, darted off like lightning and returned with a pen.
Then, lifting the back of his shirt halfway, he said,
"Please sign here!"
"This is a permanent marker."
"Yes, that's fine! Just sign it!"
"Ah, okay."
That's right.
He had momentarily forgotten.
To the Spanish, football was life itself.
"All done."
"Wow, thank you. Really, thank you. I'm a huge fan."
"Ha ha. Thank you. How about a handshake?"
"Thank you!"
To have someone like him this much—it was something to be grateful for.
Ho-young gave a sincere fan service and started walking again.
But by then, it was already too late.
Countless eyes had begun to focus on him.
He could read the flow of a football match, but not the social cues in a crowd like this.
"Hey, look over there."
"Isn't that Ho-young?"
"What's he doing here?"
"He must know someone!"
"Could it be his girlfriend?"
"No way."
"Impossible."
"Not acceptable."
"Let's go check."
Men, women, young and old, everyone began crowding toward the center.
Ho-young had already half given up.
It wasn't his first time experiencing this.
'Was my hair too flashy today? Or was it the sunglasses?'
Judging from the over-the-top reactions of the women, maybe that wasn't the only reason.
To be honest, he had paid more attention to his appearance than usual today.
That probably explained the explosive response.
'This is wild.'
Completely surrounded by the crowd, Ho-young gave in and took off his sunglasses with a smile.
He had already decided to fully relax today, so he might as well treat it like a spontaneous fan signing event.
Meanwhile, inside the school, students preparing for the graduation ceremony were in an uproar.
"Hey, did you hear?"
"Hear what?"
"Ho-young's outside."
"What? Where?"
"I heard he just came inside the school."
"Gasp."
"Hey, where are you going? We're supposed to be preparing for the ceremony, you crazy girl!"
This was a natural phenomenon considering Ho-young's main fan base consisted of teenage girls and males aged 5 to 100.
Earlier this year, he'd even become a character on school supplies, with the main buyers being teenage girls and fathers shopping for their children.
The image rights revenue flowing into the club and Ho-young himself was substantial.
That's how big the Ho-young craze had become worldwide.
But one girl still didn't understand any of it.
"Ugh. Everyone's losing their minds. It's a once-in-a-lifetime graduation, and they're acting like they've never seen a footballer before."
Maria Sarda.
Since she already had a rich, handsome boyfriend, she had never felt any attraction to Ho-young.
And above all, East Asians simply weren't her type.
She had never seen Ho-young in person, but even if she did, she was sure she wouldn't be impressed.
So she couldn't understand the others' behavior.
What was so great about him?
"Hey, are you a fan of Ho-young too?"
Sarda asked the girl next to her, who was putting on makeup.
Monica replied.
"Yeah. I really like him."
They were roommates.
But their relationship wasn't exactly warm.
As always, Sarda envied Monica's looks and body and often picked on her.
Today was no different.
"You already have a boyfriend. The one you talk to secretly at night. Wouldn't he be hurt if he found out?"
"I don't do that anymore. He bought me a new phone."
"Oh my, are you bragging about how rich your boyfriend is now? How rich can anyone be at our age, really~."
Monica just smiled.
She wanted to say, "Yeah. Ho-young's my boyfriend," but she didn't.
Because he wasn't officially her boyfriend.
At least, that's what Monica thought...
'It might just be me thinking that way.'
That was why she couldn't say it, even if she wanted to.
Then Sarda said,
"Hurry up. It's about to start."
"Yeah."
Soon, the graduation ceremony began with a dazzling performance from the juniors, fitting for an arts school.
The graduating students would now either enter affiliated athletic academies or work with private coaches as they pursued their Olympic dreams.
This year, Monica planned to enroll in one of the more affordable athletic academies.
Though even that required significant financial help from her family, she was grateful just to be in Spain.
As the ceremony wrapped up in celebration, Monica looked around.
Most of her friends were already taking photos with their families.
'Ho-young isn't here yet?' she thought.
Just then—
"Monica!"
A voice urgently calling her name.
"Take a picture for us!"
It was Maria Sarda.
Standing beside her was the boyfriend she had constantly bragged about for being rich and handsome.
Monica had no reason to refuse, so she did as asked.
"Ready? Smile."
Click.
Then, right after snapping the photo—
"Monica."
"Oh, Ho-young! You're here."
"Of course. I just stepped out to the bathroom for a bit."
Ho-young had suddenly appeared from behind.
At that moment, Monica felt like her heart had stopped.
Seeing him in stylish clothes made the moment feel even more special.
They truly looked like the perfect couple.
With his hair styled and dressed to impress, Ho-young looked even better than she imagined. And Monica, with her makeup and graduation dress, was just as stunning.
And then, something hilarious happened.
"Hey!"
Sarda's boyfriend came running over.
To Monica's shock, he turned out to be the same boy who had asked for Ho-young's autograph that morning.
"C-can I get a picture with you?"
He completely ditched Sarda and rushed to take a selfie with Ho-young.
Stunned, Sarda turned to Monica.
"You two... know each other?"
The one who answered wasn't Monica.
"It's because I'm her boyfriend," said Ho-young.
Thump.
Monica's heart pounded loud enough for everyone to hear.
(To be continued.)
◇◇◇
◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 200 Power Stones.
◇ You can read the ahead chapter on Pat if you're interested: p-atreon.c-om/Blownleaves (Just remove the hyphen to access normally.)