Genius Archer's Streaming

Chapter 260. The Memories (1)

"I will win the Olympics."

After that simple remark, Sang-Hyeon stepped down from the podium.

Then, a few other reporters from small local newspapers approached him.

“Would it be possible for us to interview with you? You're really handsome! We’ll give you a big feature in our sports section.

“Please do an interview with us. Do you have some time? I’ll make sure to write a good article about you!”

“How did you meet your coach?”

Many reporters appeared desperate, some even rude, but Sang-Hyeon kept his words to a minimum.

He already said what he wanted to say. And he recalled his coach’s advice about not being arrogant while reaching the top.

He held back the urge to tell them to move out of his way and bowed.

"Sorry."

His coach greeted him after he passed several reporters, "Ah. You're definitely planning on going to the Olympics, right?"

The coach seemed quite pleased with Sang-Hyeon's manners and etiquette during the interview.

Sang-Hyeon wore a somewhat sulky expression though because he wasn't pleased with the compliment.

The coach patted his head while laughing.

"Well done. I've already said it earlier, but you did an extraordinary job."

"Thank you."

He always wanted praise for his abilities, not for his good looks or manners. He thought that only cowards who cared about other people's views would worry about such things.

The coach once suggested switching faces with him, but Sang-Hyeon hadn’t given him an answer to that yet.

"Yu Sang-Hyeon!" Behind the coach, a long-haired girl ran up and happily shouted his name. She wore the same white uniform as Sang-Hyeon and wore a bucket hat. Because of her speed, the hat flew off, and the sun shone on her face.

She got closer and closer with a bright expression.

Smack!

She grabbed his hand and shook it.

"It's really awesome! It's an unofficial record!"

The coach chuckled at her fuss.

She ran up as if to hug him, but stopped at just holding his hand. After all, they were just high school students.

"It's unofficial."

The championship records weren't officially recognized, and the perfect score of tens he shot today already existed in the records from other players. What Han So-Yeon referred to as an unofficial record was Sang-Hyeon being the youngest ever to do it.

"But still! You can make it official next time!"

Sang-Hyeon couldn’t discourage the enthusiastic So-Yeon.

The other team members also chimed in about Sang-Hyeon's performance.

"Wow, Sang-Hyeon. You're amazing. I totally messed up. It's just a talent gap, I guess."

Dong-Su walked over with his usual leisurely stride.

Sang-Hyeon thought if anyone felt content, it was probably him.

"Dong-Su, you don't even practice half as much as Sang-Hyeon and yet you can still compete in the tournament. Aren't you the one with real talent?" Hyeon-Ju, who followed them, snapped back.

She was the only first-year to compete in this tournament.

"Why wouldn't I practice? It just doesn't work, okay. It doesn't! When I was a first-year..."

"Alright. Shall we go eat now?" the coach interrupted Dong-Su and pointed at the car.

"How about some black bean noodles?"

Sang-Hyeon didn't care, but everyone else disagreed with the menu choice.

"What?! Yu Sang-Hyeon won today!"

"What?! No way!"

"Are we North Koreans or what, Coach!?"

The coach corrected himself with a playful expression, "Just kidding. We're eating wagyu today."

A huge cheer rang out.

Sang-Hyeon also smiled widely, not knowing what would happen next.

***

"There's a problem with the brain... it's a permanent disability."

Upon hearing the doctor's words, his grandmother nearly screamed.

"What? Please, doctor! You can't say that! You're saying this... this is permanent?!"

"You might have heard of cerebral palsy. Usually, patients experience this as a developmental issue accompanying cerebral palsy, but..."

"Cerebral..."

"Many cerebral palsy cases only affect part of the body. You can think of Sang-Hyeon as having symptoms similar to acquired cerebral palsy."

"Ah… Oh God..."

Sang-Hyeon's grandmother slumped down onto the floor and began crying.

"?"

The coach looked solemnly at Sang-Hyeon.

"You need to make a careful decision. This is literally a consolation payment."

It was for Sang-Hyeon, who could no longer participate as an athlete. The money was a gift out of pure goodwill.

"The insurance fund can only be used for treatments, but this is cash you can use for something other than treatment. Just so you know, based on what I've heard from the doctor, the chance of fully recovering is less than 0.2%."

"I know."

"And even then, you won't be in the same condition as before."

"... Right."

"What will you do?"

Sang-Hyeon hesitated, but his grandmother couldn't stand the pause and smacked him.

"What are you thinking? Of course, you should get treated! If you make a stupid decision, you're done! Coach, can we proceed with the payment right away?"

Thus, Sang-Hyeon received treatment using the association's subsidy and the taxi company's insurance payment. He resolved to devote himself to rehabilitation, leaving school to focus on his recovery.

Sang-Hyeon went through physiotherapy daily without any time limit. His arm marginally improved, only shaking just enough to not interfere with his daily living.

"Sang-Hyeon, you're overdoing it. You need a break..."

Even the physical therapist worried about his enthusiasm.

"You're losing strength in your muscles."

What sustained him wasn't his muscle strength.

"I didn't reach today's goal."

It was his willpower. A man who lost everything and only had one goal left. Sang-Hyeon was ready to risk it all.

"Sang-Hyeon, I got a call looking for you. They called here instead because you weren't picking up your phone."

At least, that was what Sang-Hyeon thought until he picked up the phone while getting his treatment.

"Wh… Who...died?"

***

It wasn't the first time Sang-Hyeon experienced going to the funeral. He had memories of being the chief mourner at a funeral home when his parents passed away.

He was too young to remember it well, but that place’s atmosphere was clearly etched in his mind.

First, many people were crying.

“No…”

“So-Yeon... So-Yeon…”

“How can you do this to us…”

A heavy air that was hard to describe in words flowed. No one spoke much. Most just quietly offered their prayers and left.

During meals, many cautiously picked up their food to prevent the sound of chopsticks. And many adults looked at him with sorrowful eyes.

They would come up to Sang-Hyeon with a few comments and leave. After that, he never saw them again. When he was young, he found these people irritating and hateful.

But now, Sang-Hyeon himself was visiting this place from the perspective of those adults. Now he realized that he couldn't blame them anymore.

He couldn't console those who were grieving over So-Yeon's death. Therefore, he couldn't easily strike up a conversation.

It felt like it would be unbearable if he tried to offer consolation for what he couldn't take responsibility for. Had other adults carried such a burden when they spoke to him when he was younger?

Sang-Hyeon clenched his teeth and stepped forward.

"How did you get here?"

"So-Yeon…"

"A school friend?"

Friend? Yes, that was right. Their relationship had ended just as friends.

Sang-Hyeon nodded.

"You can go over there to pay your respects. Thank you for coming. She had such a handsome friend."

She seemed to be So-Yeon's aunt. A woman who slightly resembled So-Yeon's mother guided him, and the sound of crying grew louder.

A familiar face looked back at Sang-Hyeon.

It was So-Yeon's mother, who greatly resembled her daughter.

"Sa-Sang-Hyeon, is that you?"

"My grandmother is out working right now. I came first."

"Th-Thank you."

Sang-Hyeon couldn't take her gratitude. He wasn't someone deserving of thanks. Rather, he was the one who caused the tragedy.

Sang-Hyeon suddenly felt weak and sat down.

"... Sniffle."

As he bowed, it became harder to hold back the tears.

"Heuuuuuuk… Sniffle, sniffle…"

He couldn't get up again.

He couldn't stand up and look at So-Yeon's face, smiling so beautifully in the portrait.

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