1 | Into the Blue Sky

"Pass the damn BALL!"

He got the ball in his possession, and continued sprinting towards the penalty box. He felt his shoes dig into the turf, the bounce of the ball on his feet, the wind blowing into his face from his speed. All the senses were fully running, and he couldn't take his mind off the pressure he was facing.

I'll keep running forwards. They have two guys behind me, one ahead of me, and all my teammates locked down. It's all on me right now. In two and a half seconds, I'm going to dribble to the right, and shoot the ball. It should be within my range, and-

An enemy defender pulled from behind him, which led Yoo to stop immediately.

How did he get past me? Did I not see him? Was I too careless?

Just for this mere second, Yoo Il-sung was faced with a decision. At his feet was a ball that could change his and ten other's lives forever. Feet away from the goal, he had to choose. Pass to Xia Feng and guarantee a win, or shoot and become the greatest striker in the world. After all, he's been training for this his whole life. His mind raced through the hundreds of outcomes.

Do I shoot? Do I pass? There's no guarantee she will make the goal. There's no guarantee my pass will get through. We're both tied in goals this game, and all I need is this one shot....

And in the end....

...he passed the ball.

Feng's eyes glowed with fire.

"..."

Her mind was free of distractions, unlike Yoo's. She brought her leg back, and took the shot. It was explosive, and the ball flew at a speed Yoo could've never imagined.

I knew I should've passed the ball. Now that we have our momentum, we can-

But something immediately felt off. He could tell as soon as the ball lifted off into Feng's signature strike. Yoo wasn't sure why, but this feeling wretched him throughout his whole body.

"WAIT-"

The ball bounced off the goalpost. The whistle was called.

...and the game was over.

Yoo fell to his knees. It couldn't be. This moment they've all been waiting for, returned back to their mere imaginations.

In the locker room, everyone on the team was visibly disappointed. Some expressed this through their words, others chose to get physical with their frustration. All some could do was try to hold back the tears they never thought would surface today. Words of comfort would only be pitiful now, and all everyone could do was hope they do better next year.

"...Dammit." Yoo pressed his head against his locker. He could deny it for as long as he wanted, but it was clear. He had a free shot, and chose to give it up. He began hearing some commotion from behind. Yoo turned around to see Xia Feng being comforted by his friend Joon Yun. Joon's long black hair drooped down as he leaned his head towards her.

"It's ok man, you did good out there. We'll win next year for sure!", said Joon.

".....all the same", murmured Feng.

"Huh?"

"YOU GUYS ARE ALL SO STUPID!!"

"W-what do you me-"

"You wouldn't get it, soccer is my life. Every day, I wake up thinking about soccer. If you guys did the same, maybe we could've won. But you didn't and now we are all here sitting like losers. Sometimes I dream I'm a soccer ball and people kick me around the field. Their bare feet are kicking me around; that's us right now. We're like the soccer ball getting kicked around by the opponents' big, grippy, stinky, absolutely disgusting feet!"

"...what the hell Feng."

Feng stood up, and left the room. Everyone began whispering about her sudden outburst, but Yoo understood her frustration. It was our fault. if we had a stronger power of friendship, we could've won. He understood her point. Except for the feet part that was kinda weird to be honest. All he could do now was reflect on that game.

The next day, Yoo decided to go to the park to practice. He wanted to be a better striker, and make sure what happened before never happened again. It was the middle of January, so he thought the field would be empty due to the sheer cold. However, there was a single person standing there. Though far away, Yoo could make out some features. The long blonde hair that almost reflected the sun's rays with a slender figure paired, it could only be one person.

"Feng? Xia Feng?"

The person turned around, and Yoo was met with her deep, red eyes. Her typical expressionless face seemed to show a hint of surprise upon seeing him, but not enough for Yoo to notice at his distance.

"Yoo Il-Sung?"

"Feng, what are you doing here? This park is pretty far away from the club's practice field." Yoo asked.

"O-oh, I just wandered here... or something hahaaha!" Feng nervously exclaimed. "Why are you here Yoo Il-Sung?"

"This park is near my house, just two minutes away by bike," said Yoo.

"So you bike all the way from here to the practice field every weekend?"

"Yessir."

It only took one glance from Feng to tell that Yoo biked often.

"Well, since you're here, do you want to practice with me?" said Feng, scratching her head.

"Might as well, I guess," said Yoo.

The two of them took turns shooting and blocking the goals in the icy breeze. Their dribble left prints in the frozen dew on the grass; a slight crunch on every step. The ball was cold to the touch, with slight dampness from rolling on the turf. Though these conditions weren't great for practice, Yoo and Feng both adapted naturally to the environment. Out of everyone in the league, the two of them were unrivaled at such.

Seeing this as the perfect moment, Yoo decided to ask the burning question on his mind.

"Hey Feng, mind if I ask you something..." Yoo hesitantly asked. "It's about the game yesterday."

"Oh... sure." Feng replied. She basically knew what he was about to ask.

"Why did you purposely miss that shot?"

"...huh?"

Feng had a puzzled look for a second, taken back by the question. It was a perceptiveness she didn't expect from Yoo. She didn't expect him to notice.

"What are you talking about?" asked Feng.

"Nevermind, sorry for asking." said Yoo.

Yoo thought that she missed on purpose. After all, something wasn't right about the way Feng made that shot. Something wasn't right, but he couldn't put his finger on it. He thought if he asked Feng, he would notice what was missing.

I'm so stupid...

...but what if she didn't miss on purpose? That would just make himself look rude. The game was just yesterday too, and the wound of losing was probably still fresh.

Yoo exhaled heavily and saw his breath in the cold air. He wanted to keep practicing, but knew his limits. Anymore and both of them may not make it to practice this weekend.

"Hey Feng, I'm feeling tired now. Let's call it a day here?" said Yoo.

"Sure, I'm fine with that." said Feng, lowering her head.

"Cool, I'll see you this weekend!"

"Y-yeah."

As Yoo walked across the turf, he thought about practice today.

She's really good at shooting, probably the best on the team. I wonder what happened that day? I wonder when we will get to practice again, just the two of us...

While thinking, Yoo suddenly found himself looking up. The sky was cloudy, but unnaturally dark.

It was his vision

His vision continued to grow darker as he felt his head bounce off the floor.

His words wouldn't come out.

His vision began blurring.

And soon...

...all he could see was the ever growing darkness.

Yoo quickly opened his eyes. The cool grass on his back, Yoo began breathing heavily, desperately gasping for air. He felt a spike of pain for every breath he took.

Like a spear just pierced his lungs.

This was almost enough to distract him from the sudden pulsing in his ankle. It felt as if it was twisted backwards, then pushed in. All he could do was curl into a ball and whimper pitifully.

...

After what felt like an hour, Yoo tried to recollect himself. He felt his leg was in good condition and was indeed attached correctly. As his vision unblurred, the bright rays sank in. He was underneath a tree, smaller in size. Around him were countless other foreign vegetation. Plants he's never seen before beheld his sight, as well as a shadow of an almost human figure.

It ran away almost as instantly as Yoo laid his gaze upon it.

He tried finding the strength to stand up, and ended up supporting himself with the trunk of the tree. The unfamiliar air with a soft breeze that gently whispered in his ear; this wasn't the Korea that he was familiar with.

Yoo turned around to see a cliff a few steps from where he was. He trudged slowly, grasping onto trees when he felt unsteady. Finally, he made it to the cliff and sat down.

What a sight....

"I've finally made it..." whispered Yoo to himself. "I can't believe this is really happening."

Beyond the cliff lies a vast forest, dense with trees stretching far. From where it ended were tall stone walls, surrounding what seemed to be a city. Not the kind Yoo was familiar with though; the city seemed almost straight out of a fantasy. In the middle, he could only make out the shape of a castle, likely housing the one that holds the power to these lands. A grand mountain range was far off in the distance, almost reaching the clouds.

Above Yoo flew a creature of some kind. Resembling the size of a large bird, the creature was armored with red scales. It reminded him of a bloodstained bald eagle. There was nothing quite like this in his hometown.

Yoo pinched himself to make sure he wasn't dreaming.

"...land of the free and home of the brave."

"I've made it to America." Yoo said.

Yoo Il-Sung. A prodigy. He joined a professional league at age 17, and many speculated he wasn't reaching his limit anytime soon. Despite being a genius on the field, not much could be said about his brain in anywhere else.

Yoo was not in America.