Dad was a Genius - Chapter 5
Only Noblemtl
My Dad Was a Genius Episode 005
“The team will all gather at 10:30. As you told us in advance, the front office and coaches will also gather in the auditorium.”
“Yes. Thank you for your hard work, Captain.”
In a soccer team, the general manager is usually above the coach.
Unless the club decides to give the manager more power, the general manager is the one who can touch even the smallest details.
But here it was completely the opposite.
As the manager, I was essentially the most powerful person in this club.
Of course, it must be because I have the Taesan Group behind me.
[Taesan Cheonan stained with parachutes.]
[Strong protest from supporters. Disband the team instead!]
When I glanced down at the newspaper, Manager Kim looked embarrassed and started to fuss.
“I will call back and correct the article. It seems like another rival team is trying to suppress Cheonan’s momentum by doing this. You don’t have to worry about it.”
I shook my head at those words.
“It’s okay. Even from my perspective, it doesn’t make sense. The owner’s son is parachuted into the manager’s position.”
“That, that is… … .”
“And if you try to stop this, it will only cause more controversy. Just leave it alone. If you prove it with results, won’t public opinion change?”
Then, Manager Kim smiled.
“Yes, I’m sure it will.”
“Then I’ll see you later.”
“Oh, yes. Okay.”
After Manager Kim left, I leaned back in my chair and let out a long breath.
On the outside, I pretended like nothing happened, but in the end, I’m only human, so I couldn’t help but feel nervous and worried.
Is this the weight of the director?
During that time, I worked as a scout and coach for a big club.
Of course, I felt a great sense of burden back then, but as my position rose, the sense of responsibility also became heavier.
Even though he was the manager of a team that was always last in Korea, I never looked down on him.
Even here,
“I have a father.”
Dae-Ho Kang, who wears the number 5 jersey for Taesan Cheonan and plays as a central midfielder.
This is my father.
“… … .”
I stared at my father’s profile quietly.
When I first got this body, I wanted to jump into the Taesan Cheonan team right away and meet my father.
But I held on tight.
Because my father doesn’t know that I’ve traveled back in time and entered someone else’s body.
Even if I were to be honest, my father wouldn’t believe me and it would only cause more confusion.
So I suppressed my feelings and waited patiently.
“Phew. Let’s go.”
And now I go to see him.
My father, and my muse whom I have searched for my entire life.
* * *
Taesan Cheonan players gathered in the auditorium in a heavy atmosphere.
Just by looking at their expressions, you could tell what the team’s current situation was.
Some people were just relieved, while many others were dissatisfied with the current state of the soccer team.
“Does this situation make sense?”
“No matter how bad the team is, I never thought it would be this bad… … .”
“If it’s going to be like this, wouldn’t it be better to just disband?”
“If we break up? Do you have a place to go?”
“… … .”
However, the players were unable to protest strongly to the front office because they had nowhere to go.
Since Taesan Cheonan was on the verge of disbandment, they also wanted to join another team.
But there was no place that would accept him, and the few players with talent had long since left the Cheonan team.
In other words, no matter how dissatisfied they were, they should at least bow down and be thankful that the team was extended for another year.
“But is there anyone on our team who has played with Coach Cha Seong?”
“I heard that senior Lee Woo-sik and senior Yang Ho-young ran together.”
“I heard that his personality is really different from the others. He even said that if we don’t want to see him dirty, it would be better to leave now.”
Stories from the days when Cha Seong-eun was a player spread like wildfire.
That wasn’t all.
“I heard there’s going to be a lot of trouble for the team.”
“Given last year’s results, they probably won’t try to overhaul the team?”
Last year’s performance was not something that could be singled out as a fault for anyone.
Because everyone here couldn’t do it.
Therefore, it was natural to drastically reorganize the team.
That’s why everyone couldn’t help but be nervous.
That’s because there was no way of knowing whose head would be cut off in the sword dance that the new manager would soon begin.
‘Surely not me either… … .’
The same goes for Kang Dae-ho.
Although it is a professional league where players usually debut at the age of 20, Kang Dae-ho was scouted by a professional team at the relatively late age of 23, and has only played one game and is currently stuck in the second team.
They say that 24 years old is the age at which a soccer player can clearly demonstrate his talent.
Since he hadn’t even made his full-time debut, he couldn’t help but feel uneasy about his position.
‘please…….’
Kang Dae-ho prayed earnestly, folding his hands together.
I hope we can avoid this storm safely.
Click-.
Soon, the auditorium door opened and Cha Seong-eun, a tall man in a flawless suit, appeared. He stood on the podium, his heels clicking, the sound of which resonated throughout the auditorium.
“Hello. My name is Cha Seong-eun, and I am the new manager of Taesan Cheonan.”
The people gathered in the auditorium welcomed his greeting with appropriate applause.
The tension was evident even in the sound of applause.
“I know that the front office and the players are in disarray due to the sudden appointment of a temporary manager. That’s why I feel an even greater sense of responsibility.”
Is this the end of the formal greetings?
Cha Seong-eun got straight to the point.
“Shall we talk about our Cheonan team? My favorite Taesan Cheonan’s performance last year… …I think you all know without me having to say it.”
Taesan Cheonan’s performance was also befitting of its perennial last place title.
In fact, there were three teams that disappeared in 2012.
Originally, Taesan and Cheonan were supposed to be included, making a total of four, but this time, with the extension of one year, they were barely able to maintain a breathing apparatus.
“Let me summarize our Taesan Cheonan in one word. It is the worst soccer team in the K-League.”
“… … .”
“If we can’t attack, we should at least be good at defense, but that’s not the case. We just can’t play soccer.”
No one could refute him.
“So whose fault is it? The manager? A particular player? A coach? Or the front office? Yes. All of us. It’s all of our fault.”
After taking a moment to catch his breath, Cha Seong-eun continued speaking.
“Our Taesan Cheonan needs innovation. If we don’t change, we will end up repeating the history of last place.”
Innovation, change.
What does it take to drive innovation in your team?
“Everyone here knows that their contracts are running out. It can’t be helped. Originally, we were going to disband the Taesan Cheonan team.”
That is, the change of manager and players.
The manager has already been replaced, so now all that’s left is the players.
“So the first thing I’m going to do is make a change to the team. A very shocking change.”
The players gathered in the auditorium swallowed dry saliva.
Because what was coming has finally come.
‘Is this the end?’
The players closed their eyes tightly.
If Coach Cha Sung-eun speaks so openly, doesn’t that mean he’s going to completely overhaul the team?
There was a high possibility that the sword would be aimed at the entire team.
however,
“I will extend the contracts of all the players here by one year. And I will double their salaries.”
“… … !?”
The players momentarily doubted their ears.
It’s amazing that they’re extending every player’s contract for one year, but on top of that, they’re doubling their salaries?
Naturally, everyone had no choice but to stare at Cha Seong-eun on the stage with their eyes wide open.
“This is the first innovation I want to bring about in Taesan Cheonan. And I want you to understand that as your salary has doubled, you should also have a corresponding sense of responsibility. And… … .”
“Wow, woahhh!”
Cha Seong-eun couldn’t continue speaking.
This is because the players gathered in the auditorium could not hold back and cheered.
More than half of them were even shedding tears.
This may be because I felt liberated from the anxiety and pressure of having to put an end to my short career.
“… … .”
Cha Seong-eun understood their feelings and waited for them to be able to freely express their passion.
Then his eyes stayed on one place.
One person in the middle of the seats was shedding tears of joy while hugging his colleagues.
It was his father, Kang Dae-ho, whom he had desperately wanted to see.
* * *
“I… …Father. I have something to tell you.”
Chairman Cha Cheol-ho responded to Cha Seong-ho’s cautious tone by placing a baduk stone.
“I knew it when you suddenly asked to play a game of Go. What is it?”
“There’s that youngest one.”
Chairman Cha, who had been staring at the Go board while listening to the youngest’s story, raised his head.
“Why him?”
Cha Sung-ho said, exhaling deeply.
“Ugh-. I think the youngest had an accident.”
“Accident? What kind of accident?”
“That… … I spoke to the youngest on the phone this morning. Since it was his first day at work, I wanted to cheer him on and tell him to do well. Since it was his first time, he might be nervous and make mistakes, so as his senior in life… … .”
“This is a long story. Let’s get to the point.”
“Oh, yes. That’s because the youngest player doubled the salaries of all the players in Taesan Cheonan.”
“……what?”
“Yes. I had exactly the same reaction. At first, I thought it was a joke. He would change the team and double the salary. But this guy really messed up. He made an announcement when he met with the team earlier.”
Chairman Cha took off his glasses with a hollow laugh.
Cha Sung-ho’s shoulders naturally hunched over at the harsh scolding that was about to pour down from Chairman Cha.
“Isn’t that the youngest trying to do something well? It’s his first time running a team, so he’s bound to make mistakes, so I hope you don’t get too angry at him… .”
Still, as the second oldest brother, I tried to defend the youngest as much as possible.
But Chairman Cha’s subsequent reaction was quite unexpected.
“That guy is quite something.”
“……yes?”
“It looks like he really wants to do it. I thought he was just bluffing.”
Rather, it was Cha Seong-ho who was embarrassed.
What is all this all of a sudden?
“What do you think Taesan Cheonan needs most right now?”
“Well, maybe he’s a new player?”
“Well, it’s important to call in talented players and rebuild the team. But there’s something more important right now.”
“What is that?”
“Increased morale. The will to fight and win against other teams. The Cheonan team needs such a bad boy right now. The youngest guy knew what the Cheonan team needed most. And he used the method that could give it to them most definitely and strongly.”
So that’s what it meant.
Cha Sung-ho had no idea.
But how did the youngest member, who was now running a team for the first time, know that?
“But isn’t doubling the annual salary too much?”
“If you say it’s twice the salary of the entire team, it may seem expensive. But when you actually look at it, it’s not like that. How many players do you think are getting an annual salary of over 50 million?”
It was a time when it was difficult to earn an annual salary of more than 100 million won unless you were a star player.
It wasn’t as popular as other sports, and although it enjoyed a brief boom after the 2002 World Cup, that popularity has long since faded.
Even players who came from abroad as mercenaries had a hard time receiving an annual salary of more than 30 million won.
Furthermore, what about the salaries of the players from the Cheonan team that comes in last every year?
Since the team had been preparing for disbandment since the year before last, there were no players receiving high salaries from the Cheonan team.
“The youngest must have been very excited because he knew that. In fact, it didn’t cost that much. At the same time, it must have definitely raised the morale of the players.”
“ah…….”
Cha Seong-ho let out a short exclamation.
Is it true that the youngest one really had such a plan?
I can’t believe it.
Is that really the youngest member of the Taesan Group who was called the loser?
“If what Father said is true… …then the youngest is really sincere.”
“Yeah. You know what he said to me last time? He said he’d take that messed up team and win the K-League championship.”
“yes?!”
“At first I thought he was bluffing, but it seems like he’s really trying to do something serious… … .”
Chairman Cha smiled and picked up the go stones.
But just now, I completely forgot about the situation on the Go board because of that story.
The youngest one wasn’t the only one who shocked the team.
It was quite a shock to Chairman Cha, who was sitting here.
“That guy… … He changed so much.”
“I think the same. The youngest one has really changed these days, like a dragon rising from a stream.”
Chairman Cha did not dislike the change in his youngest son.
I wonder what kind of ripple effect this positive change will have.