2. GAP(3)
GAME OVER
U-South Korea 77 VS 92 U-China
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"Well, it does seem like it will be difficult to participate in the Olympics. There's a lot of good players besides me anyway."
Amongst the top-most qualifiers for the London Olympics, my name was on the list. There had been a few times where I was called to play for the Korean international team.
However, I wasn't interested in playing with them.
"Hey! Minhyuk!"
"Huh? Oh, yes?"
As I headed over to the locker room after the interview, a familiar face came up to me.
It was the famous Changwon LG Sakers's coach. He is one of the many pioneers in Korean basketball that I have the utmost respect for.
"You did really good today? Hmm?"
As he massaged my neck, the coach asked me about me going abroad to America. What College it is, which coach I will be under. Or things like how I was able to adjust to being in a new environment.
Unlike how I replied to the reporters, I tried to tell him everything in much detail.
"Hmm, is that right? Well, go for it! If you do well, it may even have an effect here. Agreed?"
"Yep. I'll do my best!"
"Good, good. Go on ahead."
When people found out that I was advancing to America through the media, our coach was planning to shut me out from the beginning. There was the incident with Jinsoo, so he was more than willing to allow me to go to America.
Of course, I thanked the coach as he told me that Korean basketball needs change. However, with the face of an old city, that wouldn't be possible.
["We need a new face. A face that will receive people's absolute support.]
I don't know what sort of face would be considered good, but most Koreans would think a scratchy face is what a sports player should look like.
Baseball's Park Chan Ho, soccer's Park Ji Sung.
These players who have become the center of their team shone the most in international tournaments, to the point where people would invest in their teams. In addition, the players who grew during this period were called the golden generation.
Basketball was just the same. Basketball games from the past such as Yonsei University versus Korea University. Samsung versus Hyundai.
Countless investments came because of all these basketball star players and, as a result of this, the pro league was born. That's when the KBL was formed.
However, unlike people and the star's expectations, their fame and success eventually came to a halt. At times they received a lot of attention from the press, but it wasn't steady. It's even said that they degraded when it came to international fame and progress.
A dead person will eventually rot.
My coach would always tell me this.
"I'm glad it's this way. Do you really want to go to America though? Just come to Chung Ang University. If we do it right, not only could I get you a 4-year scholarship, you could also get a salary."
"…"
Once I entered the locker room, another University representative approached me.
He was none other than the "old city" that my coach was talking about. It was really time for me to leave.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++
January 26, 2012. Incheon City, South Korea. Jung Gu Un Seo Dong Airport Road 272. Incheon International Airport
"Yes, mom? I'm just getting to my seat. How's Minzy?"
Today was a very hectic and meaningful day.
Not only was David waiting for me at the airport in America, but the fans seemed to be very supportive and gave me a boost of strength. One man from the community even gave me a hand-made figurine of me as a present.
As I fiddled with the figurine, I worried about my biggest source of concern.
Our relationship contained more fighting days than peaceful ones. Minzy would always ask me when I was leaving for America and I assumed she would feel good about it.
Whenever I looked at the internet, the sister of a brother who was enlisted was always happy that their brother was out of the house. I always thought that's how Minzy would feel about me.
However, Minzy started to cry when I left.
"She's in the bathroom right now. See. What did mom tell you? She may seem tough on the outside, but she relies on you a lot."
"You're right. Tell Minzy if there's anything in my room she needs to use, feel free to use it."
"Really? What's up with you? Did you suddenly grow up? You usually don't even let her go near your room!"
"Cut it out. There's not much in my room anyway."
I did feel a little emotional because my sister never showed that sort of emotion. Come to think of it, she's only in 7th grade and whenever she saw me outside the house she would run to me with excitement.
But all I did was ask her to bring me water, to turn off the lights or to cook me ramen.
Ah. I was a really bad brother.
"Did you just realize that? Then make sure you work hard in America. That way Minzy and I can come to visit you."
"I'll work hard. How's dad?"
"Dad's on the phone because of work. Honey! Come talk to Minhyuk."
"Minhyuk. If it gets too tiring you are always welcome home. Just because you fail there, doesn't mean it's the end of your life. Got it?"
My father would always say the same thing, then and now.
I said a few more things to my mother and hung up then leaned against my seat. Although I was on an airplane just a few weeks ago, I felt a bit more nervous this time.
It's an unfamiliar country to begin with, but Utah?
At least the name Utah was familiar to my ears.
John Stockton and Karl Malone were one of the most famous one-two punch duos of the 80's and 90's. My father still had respect for them, he even had videos of the duo and, at times, we would watch them.
However, I don't know anything about the state of Utah. I rustled through my backpack that was laying on the floor and found a small book.
"Hmm? What are you doing?"
David came back from the bathroom before the takeoff.
"Studying."
"Studying? What are you st--"
*SMACK*
"C'mon, David!"
"Hey, hey hey. You have to experience these things first-hand. If you read about these things, you'll have higher expectations."
That was a good point.
As David shoved the book into the compartment in front of me, he sat down next to me and repeated himself.
"You just need to know one thing."
"What's that?"
As I replied in an irritated and blunt voice, David tapped my shoulder as if he thought my reaction was cute.
"It's an extremely quiet and boring town."
"…"
Wasn't he just planting prejudices on me?
However, David was 100% correct.
++++++++++++++++++++++
Ogden, Utah. Kingston Drive.
As we got off at Salt Lake City International Airport, David and I couldn't figure out why they told us to wear the same clothes as we do in Korea.
["It's so cold!"]
I wasn't sure what the temperature was here, but the wind could cut like a knife.
From what David told me, Utah's weather in January ranges from 5 degrees below 0 to 10 degrees above 0. It was a bit warmer than Korea, but the fierce winds made it feel much colder.
However, my Seoul body was able to adjust quickly, to the point where my body began to warm up as we waited in the parking lot.
["Hmm? They're here."]
["…"]
A green truck (David said it's called a pickup truck) drove into the parking lot as its engine loudly rattled. A red-haired girl who seemed to be around my age jumped out of the truck.
David told me she's Stanley's daughter.
Stanley couldn't have been more than 40 years old. How old was he when got married?
Anyway, our destination didn't seem to be too far from Salt Lake City International Airport. After about 40 minutes of driving, the truck was parked in a quiet and peaceful looking town.
"(You guys can stay here for now. Everything you need should be there. We go shopping once a week, so you can accompany us for anything you'll need. And try not to go out too late at night. It's not a dangerous neighborhood, but Asian people will stand out.)"
"(I'll keep that in mind.)"
"(Haha. We're going to have dinner at our house tonight. The house across the street with the green roof is ours, so see you guys at 7 o'clock. And one more thing.)"
As David and Sally were talking, I stared at this huge 2 story house in amazement. How much would it be to buy this a house of this size in Seoul?
I was just curious.
"Woops. Sorry!"
As I was distracted, I felt something hit my chest. I was startled and instinctually apologized, as Sally looked up to me while chewing gum.
What's this? Is she mad?
"(He's pretty cute for an Asian.)"
"(I'm-I'm sorry. What did you say?)"
"K-Pop. Kimchi. Bul-gogi. Heheheh. Bye~"
"…"
As Sally slightly shook her right hand she walked off to the house, I turned my head and asked David a question.
"What did she just say?"
"I wonder..."
"C'mon! That expression! What did she say?"
David stiffly turned his head away from me as if he was hiding something and said it's time to clean the house. It was time to choose our bedrooms, there were two on the first floor and another three on the second floor.
But the only ones we could use were the two on the first floor. So, there's a huge inner room and one that is probably noisy because it's under the stairs…
"First person to choose a room will keep it!"
"Woah, hold up! Kim Min Hyuk!"
Whoever claimed it first was always the rightful owner.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++
"(How are you feeling?)"
"(Hmm? Oh. I'm okay. Thank you.)"
"(Haha. Try to get along with everyone. Speaking English will be very important.)"
David didn't translate, but I was able to understand the gist of what he was saying. Language was the most important. Stanley only used simple words much like Dwayne. Using one word at a time for me to understand.
Once again, I was impressed by this gesture and felt very thankful.
"(Haha. So, you'll start studying tomorrow?)"
"(Study?)"
"(Yes. You have to take the SAT1 in 3 months. You being a special student gives you some leeway but having bad grades will put you in a bad spot.)"
This time David translated for me and I nodded my head.
It was embarrassing, but since joining WSU, I have not received any scholarships. That was to be expected. I was recruited, but that didn't mean that all 15 players will get a scholarship.
If I'm not wrong, there was a set budget for special students. The amount was based on grades and how well they perform.
Whether it's a Division 1 team, or a minor conference team such as WSU, only 5 members of the teams were given the scholarship.
Of course, slightly later, I learned that I was wrong.
"(So, Sally here is going to be tutoring you. Try to converse a lot too. Try to be friends.)"
"(Y-yes.)"
I couldn't stop thinking about how Sally looked at me. I was pretty good at reading a situation and I knew what she was saying through her expression.
Ah. I wonder if I can mess around a bit.
"You do know that's Stanley's daughter, right?"
"Ah."
Oh yeah, that's right.
So, I switched my gaze from Sally and looked back at the carpet. It seemed like a dream come true, but it's the coach's daughter.
What would that make me?
I was going to experience embarrassment and I wouldn't even be able to face my family.
*DING-DONG*
"Hmm?"
"(Oh! It seems like Leon's here!)"
"Leon?"
It seemed like there were more guests than just us two.
Sally went to the kitchen to help Claire get dinner ready. Claire was Stanley's wife and you can tell in one glance where Sally got her red hair from.
Stanley got up from the sofa and headed to the front entrance where David introduced me to a fellow named Leon Vaker.
He was a WSU sophomore player, who was the ace of the team since Damian Lillard joined the team. He was a 6'11(210CM) tweener.
A tweener was a player who can play two positions. He played small forward and power forward.
"(Introduce each other. Leon? This is Kim. Kim? This is Leon.)"
"(Wassup, brother?)"
"Uh, huh? Wa-wassup?"
As Leon embraced me, I tried to awkwardly converse with him. Wait. I felt a bit touched. A black guy said wassup to me.
"(Leon is going to take you to the school in the morning and show you around.)"
"(WSU is a great place. Just trust me.)"
"(Th-thank you.)"
He then showed a big smile with his thick lips and white teeth, Leon was very friendly.
From my first impression, I really liked Leon and he took me in really quickly. As Claire said dinner's ready, we all went to the kitchen.
"New family."
As Stanley called me new family I was once again touched, making the distance from home not seem too bad.
America was really a land of hope.
In one day I was able to find dozens of reasons to succeed.
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