My Girlfriend Wants Victory

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The first half ended without any special scenes after my equalizer.

If there was anything special to mention…

Right before the end of the match, Hyung-min Son aimed for the goal with a sharp left-footed shot?

Well, it seemed my advice to be careful since Son Heung-min is capable of curling the ball just before the match started paid off, and we made it through safely.

Mats Hummels, who blocked Son Heung-min’s decisive shot, gave me a thumbs-up as a sign of gratitude for the information I provided beforehand.

“Nice defense!”

I smiled and applauded.

It was a small gesture, but these actions accumulate to form team spirit.

Teams that achieve results despite poor morale are few and far between. For victory, such actions are fundamental.

Anyway, the first half ended, leading into halftime.

“Hey, Jinho, you scored a goal in the first half, so now you should set up an assist. Just give a killer pass.”

As we walked into the visiting team’s locker room tunnel, Lewandowski approached, throwing an arm around my shoulder and asking for a killer pass for the second half.

Since last season’s Schalke’s racism incident, we had somehow become close friends.

Perhaps, being Polish and facing discrimination in Germany himself made Lewandowski feel sympathetic towards me, a young player experiencing racism.

“Jinho!”

“Yeah?”

“Just ignore Lewa’s request and pass it to me.”

“No way.”

“Why! I assisted your goal!”

“Oh. Fine, I’ll give you that.”

Of course, it wasn’t just Lewandowski; other players from Dortmund behaved similarly.

After Shinji Kagawa left for Tottenham Hotspur during this summer transfer window, they seemed particularly attentive towards me.

It might be because they think, since I’m also Asian, that I relied on Shinji Kagawa.

“Actually, the only topic Shinji and I discussed was girl groups.”

Well… I should say the atmosphere within Dortmund is good.

Of course, like any group of people, there are those who dislike me, but they didn’t openly show hostility. Even if someone’s not fond of me, we’re on the same team and professionals.

“So, Jinho, you’re the type to just stick out your foot and get a goal pass, right?”

“…You’re asking me to set the table and feed you?”

“…? Why are you suddenly speaking in Korean?”

“Nichts (It’s nothing). Just saying you’re amazing.”

I entered the away locker room chatting with the Dortmund players.

“The head coach is disappointed in you all.”

Then, Jurgen Klopp possessed by the spirit of the commander greeted us.

“…What did you tell Jurgen this time?”

It was a moment of regret as I recalled sharing about Korea’s military culture I read online.

“Watch out for the 40 jersey friend of Jinho, and Jinho, attack more aggressively!”

After breaking the ice with a light joke, Klopp immediately began tactical instructions to the players.

“Let’s show the spirit of the German champions. Heja!”

“BVB!”

Before long, the halftime was ending, and the Dortmund players formed a circle to strengthen their determination for victory.

The second half between Hamburg and Dortmund was fiercely contested.

[Son Heung-min intercepts the ball! He’s speeding down! He’s fast! Really fast!]

The one to shake the net first was Hamburg, boosted by the cheers of their home fans.

[Goaallll─! South Korea’s Son Heung-min scores a multi-goal!]

In the 12th minute of the second half, Son Heung-min intercepted a pass from Sebastian Kehl and charged forward to shake the net with a curling left-footed shot.

“I’m sorry!”

Sebastian Kehl, the psychological pillar of the team, raised his hands to convey his apology to his teammates.

The Dortmund players shrugged with gestures that it was okay.

“It’s fine! There’s plenty of time! Stay calm!”

On the touchline, Jurgen Klopp was clapping and encouraging the players.

When Son Heung-min returned to his side after his celebration, the match resumed with a Dortmund kickoff.

[Uh-oh! Son Jinho goes along the left flank and gets the ball!! Quickly sends in a cross!]

[Son Jinho’s cross!! Just barely over the defender!!! Ah, it’s in! Ivan Perišić!! And the assist goes to Dortmund’s problem-solver, Son Jinho!!]

Soon after, Ivan Perišić scored the equalizer.

“You bastard! That was the best pass!”

Ivan Perišić, who only had to stick his foot out to tap in my cross, ran over and hugged Son Jinho.

Thwack─!

“Ah! It’s not me who scored!”

Dortmund’s players rushed over and patted my head vigorously.

Then, in the 39th minute of the second half.

[Son Jinho, this time he’s looking at Lewandowski! Oh!? Lewandowski has fallen!!]

[He’s calling for it!! The referee is declaring a penalty kick!!]

[Denis Dickmaier, who committed the foul, protested to the referee, but come on…. He didn’t touch the ball at all but rather clipped Lewandowski’s stepping foot as he was about to shoot, so this definitely looks like a penalty kick.]

Lewandowski, who received the pass from Son Jinho, earned a penalty kick, and Mats Hummels, the kicker, calmly finished it up, leading to Dortmund’s victory.

[Mats Hummels neatly scores the penalty kick and Dortmund takes the lead!!]

After the match against Hamburg ended, I received a reward vacation from Jurgen Klopp and had dinner with Hyung-min Son.

“Nice to meet you. I usually watch Son Jinho play.”

Director Son Jung-woong was also there.

“Oh, the honor is mine.”

It felt like meeting a celebrity.

I barely calmed my trembling heart and slowly began to speak.

“Am I a world-class player?!”

If I ever got to meet the director, I had wanted to say this.

For a moment, the director looked at me with a bewildered expression.

“Well…. In my opinion, it’s still too early to call you world-class.”

Seeing the desire for an honest evaluation in my hopeful eyes, the director slowly opened his mouth to respond.

Ah, I see now I’m not world-class.

Receiving a verdict from that person in front of me that I wasn’t world-class felt like becoming a fan-turned-pro.

Perhaps, if I ended up playing with Tae-sang Hyuk, wouldn’t I feel something like this?

As I turned into a fan-turned-pro and began to shed tears, the disbelief in Hyung-min’s voice echoed in my ears.

“…Are you crazy?”

***

[Dortmund wins 3-2 against Hamburg on their away game.]

[There was plenty to eat at the rumored feast! ‘Multi-goal’ Son Heung-min, and Son Jinho with 1 goal and 1 assist!]

└ T_T I’m happy to see the future of Korean football T_T

└ From this match, Son Heung-min was really good too.

└ Son Jinho might be taking the spotlight, but Son Heung-min is also an Asian-level promising prospect o_o

[Son Jinho dominated the Korean Derby with a pass success rate of 92%, 1 blocked shot, 3 interceptions, and 7 key passes, leading the team to victory!]

[Son Heung-min answered a Korean reporter’s question, “Jinho is younger than I am but has a lot to learn. And I think he’s crazy in a good way or a bad way.”]

└ I get what you mean by good, but what do you mean by bad?

└ Seriously, he’s crazy.

└ What happened?

└ They say he asked Hyung-min’s father, “Am I a world-class player?!”

└ Why would you ask that? LOL Asking a friend’s dad! Hahaha

└ So, what was the evaluation?

└ Even in that situation, you’re curious about the evaluation? Hahaha

└ I’m curious too! So what did he say?

└ He said, “You’re not a world-class player yet!”

└ Huh? My big brother isn’t world-class?

└ What? Is it the parents’ assessment?

└ That’s just nonsense;; Honestly, it’s still just a year of flourishing; you need to be consistently good for at least 3-4 years;;

└ But still, the director could have given him lip service saying he’s world-class; he seems like someone who can’t say sweet nothings.

└ So what did my big brother say?

└ He said, “Thank you. I will work harder!” LOL

***

The day after the match against Dortmund and Hamburg, during lunch.

“Glory Man~ U~~~”

Gyeouri sang joyfully about Manchester United’s 2-1 victory over Liverpool.

As I burst into laughter at cute Gyeouri, her gaze turned towards me.

“Jinho, you’re really going to join Man U, right?”

Not “going” but “coming,” huh?

It seems Gyeouri has fully embraced Manchester United.

If I were to tease Manchester United in front of her, wouldn’t she explode in anger as if she herself was insulted?

“I guess I have to go to Man U to grant our Gyeouri’s wish.”

“Of course~ You have to keep your promises!”

“I might as well decorate a newlywed home in Manchester.”

“Hmmm…. You’re just saying that but won’t actually join, right?”

Seeing Gyeouri’s suspicious gaze, I spoke with an innocent expression.

“Should I make it a transfer condition that I want to wear a Man U jersey with our Gyeouri’s face printed on it? And I’ll kiss it while celebrating a goal.”

“…Ewwww. Stop!! Son Jinho, stop!! Got it! Your heart that you want to come to Man U to keep your promise has properly reached me!”

My sincerity finally reached Gyeouri. Her face, once as white as rice cake, turned bright red.

After she waved her hands around for a while, she seemed to calm down and spoke in an excited voice.

“…Now that I think about it, it might not be a bad idea?”