Three days had passed since the practice game against Cheongun FC.
The Blue Hawks had returned to their regular practice routine.
But the players’ mood was different from before.
The competition Coach Cha Donghyuk had emphasized was slowly taking root within the team.
Before practice began, the players didn’t naturally gather together.
Instead of laughing as they kicked the ball around, they each warmed up on their own and focused on their individual training.
Watching them, Minseok’s expression grew increasingly grim.
He couldn’t shake the feeling that, as captain, he was failing to hold the team together.
“Everybody in.”
Coach Cha’s voice rang out.
The players quickly gathered in the center.
“Today, we’re playing an intrasquad practice game.”
The look in the boys’ eyes changed.
“Twenty minutes per half.”
“The losing team will do extra conditioning after practice ends.”
Tension spread among the players.
Coach Cha began handing out pinnies.
This time, Junho and Minseok were on the same team.
Hyunwoo and Doyoon were on the other.
Since Taeyoon was the goalkeeper, he would switch between the two teams.
Hyunwoo grinned as he pulled on his pinnie.
“I’m winning today.”
Minseok smiled too.
“It won’t be easy.”
Coach Cha blew the whistle.
The game was rough from the start.
Even though it was only a practice game, no one held back.
The moment Hyunwoo got the ball, he tried to dribble past Junho.
But Minseok moved ahead of time and blocked his path.
“Not here.”
Hyunwoo tried to change direction, but he pushed the ball a little too far.
Junho rushed in and stole it.
The attack switched in an instant.
Junho immediately sent a pass out to the wing, then sprinted back toward the center.
Minseok moved while dragging a defender with him, creating space.
The ball came back to Junho.
He was in a position where he could have taken a shot.
But Junho didn’t get greedy.
He passed to a teammate in a better position.
The shot, however, sailed well over the crossbar.
Junho looked disappointed but said nothing.
Coach Cha’s voice came from the bench.
“Kang Junho.”
Junho turned around.
“Why didn’t you shoot?”
“I thought my teammate was in a better position.”
Coach Cha studied Junho for a moment.
“Soccer is a selfless sport.”
A flash of relief crossed Junho’s face.
But Coach Cha continued.
“It’s not a sport where you pass the responsibility along, too.”
Junho couldn’t say anything.
The coach let the game continue.
This time, Hyunwoo got the ball.
He drove toward the center, only to be surrounded by two defenders.
If this had been before, he would have taken a reckless shot.
But this time was different.
Hyunwoo spotted Doyoon running in from the opposite side and sent him a short pass.
With a single touch, Doyoon slipped the ball back in front of Hyunwoo.
Hyunwoo ran straight toward the goal.
Shot.
Whap!
The net rippled.
“Goal!”
Taeyoon shouted at the top of his lungs.
Hyunwoo raised both arms, but soon turned to look at Coach Cha.
The coach was silently making notes in his notebook.
Hyunwoo found it strange that evaluation had come to mind before the joy of scoring.
Meanwhile, Junho watched the scene, lost in thought.
Hyunwoo was changing, too.
His friend, who used to try to solve everything alone, had chosen to pass.
Then he had received the ball again and scored.
He was clearly growing into a better forward.
Just then, Coach Cha blew his whistle.
“Stop the game.”
All the players gathered in front of the coach.
Coach Cha looked at Minseok.
“Captain.”
“Yes.”
“The team is losing its balance.”
Minseok’s expression hardened.
“Do you know why?”
Minseok glanced around for a moment.
His teammates stood silently.
Their faces were tense instead of smiling.
There was less conversation than before.
Slowly, he opened his mouth.
“...We’re all focusing too much on competing with one another.”
Coach Cha nodded.
“That’s right.”
The field fell silent.
“In that case...”
Coach Cha looked straight at Minseok.
“You, as captain, need to fix it.”
Instead of answering, Minseok clenched his fists.
At that moment, he realized for the first time:
Being captain wasn’t about wearing the armband.
It was about bringing a team that was falling apart back together.
Minseok couldn’t get Coach Cha Donghyuk’s words out of his head.
“You, as captain, need to fix it.”
That one sentence weighed heavily on his shoulders.
The referee’s whistle sounded again.
The intrasquad practice game resumed.
Minseok shouted from the back.
“Junho! Push up a little more!”
“Doyoon, cover the left!”
“Taeyoon, we’re pushing the line up!”
For the first time in a while, Minseok’s voice rang across the field.
The moment Junho heard it, he felt strangely at ease.
It felt like the old Blue Hawks had returned.
The ball was at Hyunwoo’s feet.
He went one-on-one with a defender on the right wing.
When Junho moved inside, Hyunwoo called out shortly.
“Junho!”
At that one word, Junho sprinted into the open space.
Hyunwoo didn’t hesitate before threading the pass through.
The ball connected perfectly with the space in front of Junho’s feet.
Instead of shooting, Junho carried the ball one more step.
He saw a defender charging toward him.
At that moment, Minseok broke into the open space on the left.
Junho passed without hesitation.
Minseok put all his momentum into it and swung his right foot.
The ball grazed the goalkeeper’s fingertips before sinking into the goal.
Whap!
The net shook violently.
“Nice!”
Minseok clenched both fists.
Hyunwoo raised a hand with a grin.
For that brief moment, they seemed to forget they were on different teams.
Coach Cha Donghyuk quietly watched the scene.
He opened his notebook, but soon closed it again.
This time, he was watching the players’ movements before making any notes.
The game started again.
This time, Hyunwoo’s team kept up the attack.
Doyoon sent a long switch from the back.
Hyunwoo sprinted into the space behind the defenders.
His first touch was too heavy.
Junho chased him all the way and leaned into him.
Their shoulders collided hard.
The ball rolled out over the line.
“Nice!”
Taeyoon shouted.
Hyunwoo laughed as he caught his breath.
“You’ve gotten stronger.”
Junho smiled too.
“You didn’t budge either.”
The two naturally slapped their palms together.
They were competing, but that didn’t mean they had stopped acknowledging each other.
Five minutes remained.
Coach Cha Donghyuk suddenly blew his whistle.
Tweet!
All the players came to a stop.
“That’s enough.”
“Coach, there’s still time left.”
Minseok spoke up.
Coach Cha nodded.
“I stopped it on purpose.”
He called the players to the center.
“That goal just now.”
The players’ eyes turned toward Junho and Minseok.
“Who played the biggest part?”
A brief silence followed.
Hyunwoo spoke first.
“Junho.”
Coach Cha asked, “Why?”
“He drew in the defender and made the best choice.”
Coach Cha nodded.
Then he looked at Junho.
“And you?”
Junho thought for a moment before answering.
“Minseok created the space.”
“Hyunwoo also played the pass at the right time.”
Finally, Coach Cha turned to Minseok.
“And the captain?”
Minseok answered with a smile.
“All three of them played well.”
For the first time, Coach Cha Donghyuk showed a faint smile.
“That’s the right answer.”
The players looked puzzled.
Coach Cha continued slowly.
“Soccer isn’t a sport made by one person.”
“Good goals come from good movement, and good movement comes when you trust one another.”
The field fell quiet again.
“That’s why I’m making you compete.”
Junho looked at the coach.
“Not to create players who are good on their own.”
Coach Cha’s gaze passed over every player.
“I want to create players who make one another better.”
It was the first time the boys had heard Coach Cha Donghyuk’s true feelings.
After practice ended.
Minseok called the other four over.
“Wait a second.”
Hyunwoo, Junho, Doyoon, and Taeyoon gathered in a circle.
Minseok looked at his friends in silence for a moment.
“We... might’ve changed a little.”
No one denied it.
“Competing is good.”
Minseok continued.
“But we can’t stop talking to one another because we’re competing.”
Taeyoon nodded first.
“I was thinking the same thing.”
Doyoon added briefly, “We’ve been talking a lot less during games.”
Hyunwoo looked at Junho.
“From now on, we’ll call out to each other like before.”
Junho smiled.
“Even yell at each other if someone doesn’t pass?”
“Yeah.”
“Maybe chew each other out?”
Hyunwoo burst out laughing.
“Within reason.”
The five of them laughed together.
Beneath the red-streaked sunset,
the five friends of the Blue Hawks formed a single circle again for the first time in a long while.
The competition wasn’t over yet.
But at least today,
they were able to remember once more that the team came before the competition.
And watching them from a distance, Coach Cha Donghyuk quietly smiled.
“Finally... they’re becoming a real team.”