My Girlfriend Wants Victory

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[Manchester United draws 1-1.]

[David De Gea saves the team in a moment of crisis.]

[Arsenal fails to end Manchester United’s undefeated streak.]

[Arsène Wenger expresses his disappointment.]

[David De Gea, named Man of the Match: “I think my body reacted first.”]

[Alex Ferguson protests during stoppage time, “In my opinion, the stoppage time was long. But I respect the referee’s judgment.”]

[“Has Son Jinho become arrogant after winning the Ballon d’Or?” Ignoring a reporter’s interview request and walking past.]

└ Last time he got sued for acting up with young dementia and calmed down, but now he’s causing chaos again.

***

That evening after the draw with Arsenal.

“Once recovery training ends tomorrow, I’ll give you about four days off, so don’t do anything pointless and just relax for those four days before coming back.”

A short yet precious break was granted to the players.

Next week was the period for the FA Cup Round of 16, and Manchester United, who had been eliminated early, could enjoy a sweet break.

“Yeah!!”

As soon as Alex Ferguson finished speaking, the players jumped up, cheering, and dispersed with bright smiles.

Outside the stadium, I noticed several players gathering in small groups, trying to avoid Alex Ferguson’s gaze.

It felt like a point where public interest reporting might be needed, but I decided to pretend I didn’t see them.

Surely, the old man would let it slide this time too.

That’s how physically and mentally exhausting the match against Arsenal was.

And besides, just because I didn’t report it doesn’t mean they could evade the old man’s eyes.

Having held the Manchester United manager’s position for nearly 30 years.

Ferguson’s influence was deeply rooted throughout Manchester.

Information would surely be relayed to him in real-time from the local residents.

Anyway, I headed straight home.

“Baa.”

Upon arriving home, my daughter Haeun waddled over with arms wide open and hugged me.

“Jinho! Haeun hit me!”

Han Gyeouri’s mouth protruded in a pout as she began to tattle.

For a moment, I wondered if this was really their mom. But seeing her smiling at the corners, it seemed like a joke.

“Haeun, why did mommy hit you?”

I asked while picking Haeun up.

“Thaw!”

Haeun swiped her hand towards my face.

“Slow.”

But with the reflexes of a professional athlete, I easily dodged Haeun’s palm.

Seeing her dad casually evade the strike left Haeun startled, as her eyes darted around.

“Uwaaaah.”

Soon, tears welled up and she burst into crying.

“Haeun, Dad’s not bad, right!?”

“Mommy!”

I watched blankly as Gyeouri took Haeun, who was now crying, and started to soothe her.

“…Is this my fault?”

Even if this is my second life, parenting feels tough.

***

As I spent time raising my children, it was already the last day of my holiday on February 16.

Today was the day of the FA Cup Round of 32.

Our family watched the match between Chelsea and Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium, Manchester City’s home ground.

“Mom. Chelsea will win, right?”

“Of course.”

Han Gyeouri, who particularly considered Manchester City a rival, cheered for Chelsea along with her mother-in-law.

But the game was controlled by Manchester City.

[David Silva’s pass to Edin Džeko!! It’s in! Edin!! Džeko!]

When Manchester City scored the first goal, Haeun burst into bright laughter.

“Ah… No. Haeun is turning bad.”

Seeing this, Han Gyeouri took on an OTL posture and bowed her head in front of Haeun.

“Geehee.”

Haeun smiled at her mother’s reaction.

‘Mm.’

It seemed like Gyeouri was unaware that her reaction was turning Haeun into a Manchester City fan.

Well, I didn’t feel the need to inform Gyeouri about it.

Because her reaction was simply too funny.

It seemed like both my mother-in-law and father-in-law also caught onto it.

Shhh.

They seemed to share the same sentiment as me.

Anyway, the match between Manchester City and Chelsea ended with a 1-0 victory for the home team, Manchester City.

Woooom─!

As soon as the match ended, my smartphone began to vibrate loudly.

– Chairman Hwang Geum-soon: Hahahahahahaha

– Cheolmo: Why are you laughing? ^^

– Cheolmo: Let’s see if you’re still laughing after tomorrow’s Arsenal vs. Liverpool match.^^

– Chairman Hwang Geum-soon: Oh. Still, will it be Chelsea today?

– Gyeouri: That’s a fact; honestly, Chelsea didn’t perform well today.

– Cheolmo: Gyeouri, if they got eliminated in the FA Cup Round of 64, they should stay quiet.

– Gyeouri: T_T

– Gyeouri: Manchester United losing was to gain momentum for the undefeated championship…

Family squabbles ended surprisingly quickly this time.

– Cheolmo: Anyway, Jinho, do you want anything to eat for your birthday breakfast?

Since my birthday was approaching, the topic naturally shifted.

– Ho-woo: Since I have to eat what the nutritionist prepared, I’m fine with anything, haha.

That said, lately, I’ve been getting nervous as my birthday approaches.

Perhaps it’s because players tend to overflow with testosterone.

Don’t they have a lot of friends who are particularly mischievous?

– Small child: Does everyone know it’s Jinho’s birthday on the 20th?

– Beomdudu: Of course. Let’s make an unforgettable birthday.

– Evra: Ji. You didn’t tell Jinho anything, did you?

– Jisong: Nope.

– Jisong: But guys, Jinho is also in this chat?

– Evra: Oh. Shit. I’ll make a new group chat, so hop over there.

I began to worry about what kind of trouble they might be planning by making a new group chat.

***

February 20.

The day of Son Jinho’s birthday.

A strange atmosphere began to flow at the Carrington Training Ground.

The grass maintenance manager, Mr. Henderson, wrote birthday messages for Son Jinho on the grass, and the team’s nutritionist prepared Korean food for him.

“Jinho! Happy Birthday!”

As Son Jinho opened the locker room door, he was greeted with congratulations from Alex Ferguson and team administrators.

“SIUUUUU─!”

With Cristiano Ronaldo’s boisterous voice, a birthday cake flew through the air.

Son Jinho instinctively ducked to avoid the cake.

The cake thrown by Ronaldo flew right towards the face of Sir Alex Ferguson standing behind Son Jinho.

“…I told you not to do that.”

In an instant, the temperature in the room dropped below zero.

A chill swept over the locker room.

The playful smile that Cristiano Ronaldo had disappeared as he locked eyes with Sir Alex Ferguson, standing frozen.

“Nouuuuuuu─!”

In a moment of wrath, the players of Manchester United took apart Ronaldo’s car tires after facing the storm from Ferguson.

And all of this was edited and posted on a YouTube video.

***

[Manchester United celebrates Son Jinho’s birthday.]

└ My brother… he’s loved at Manchester United ㅠㅠ

└ Wow. The Korean food looks very sincere.

└ T_T T_T T_T T_T

└ But why is everyone spaced out?

└ Who knows?

└ Why has the old man changed his outfit?

└ Right? What’s going on?

[“Are netizens shocked by Son Jinho’s age?!” Finally, Son Jinho turns 19!]

└ Wow. I suddenly feel that my brother is a legend.

└ Now he’s officially 19 years old lol.

└ Please, just stay injury-free and keep going!

└ Considering my brother’s playstyle, he doesn’t seem at risk for injuries and likely can play long.

└ Wow lol, maybe in about five years, we’ll see my brother monopolize the Ballon d’Or.

└ That’s uncertain; Messi could still be a contender by then.

└ Shut it lol, like Messi is a cyborg? He’ll still be winning the Ballon d’Or by then.

***

[England national team manager Roy Hodgson wants Son Jinho to naturalize.]

└ Damn, now it’s England after Germany?

└ Honestly, I guess any country would be drooling over him.

└ What about the Brazil national team?

└ Isn’t he practically a perfect score for the CSAT? He could choose national teams at will lol.

[The new star of Manchester United, who has caught the eye of the England Football Association, Adnan Januzaj…]

└ ???

└ He always did well whenever he came out, but isn’t it a bit early to keep watching?

└ I think that he looks a little shaky, dragging the ball too long, flashy plays.

└ But still, after getting hit in the balls by Ronaldo against Stoke City, he seemed to have tightened up his play.

└ Ronaldo’s big picture, wow.

***

Two days after Son Jinho’s birthday, on February 22.

After a good rest, Manchester United easily won against Crystal Palace.

After the game, Son Jinho, who was named M.O.M, started the interview by thanking everyone for the birthday wishes he had received a few days ago.

– Who is the most in-sync player to play with?

“Um. There are many good players at Manchester United. Cristiano Ronaldo and Robin van Persie are world-renowned strikers. I can’t say one is better than the other. Everyone is excellent.”

Starting from the match against Crystal Palace, Manchester United, on February 26, played the Round of 16 in the UEFA Champions League against Olympiacos, with Ronaldo scoring a hat-trick to give a 4-0 victory.

[The man of the Champions League, Ronaldo: “I’m happy at Manchester United.”]

[Robin van Persie: “I think Jinho favors Ronaldo.”]

They also easily overwhelmed West Bromwich Albion.

[Robin van Persie, who recorded a hat-trick in the away match against West Bromwich Albion: “Jinho is the best teammate.”]

[Cristiano Ronaldo, unhappy? “Son Jinho needs to pass to me more.”]

Meanwhile, Manchester United drew 1-1 when Liverpool visited Old Trafford.

[“Frustrated, so I scored it myself.” Son Jinho unleashes a stunning 28M long-range shot.]

[Cristiano Ronaldo hints at dissatisfaction with Robin van Persie. “Son Jinho has star syndrome.”]

And on March 19, in the second leg of the Champions League Round of 16, Manchester United, who had a comfortable 4-0 victory from the first leg against Olympiacos, rotated their squad to save their main players’ energy.

The match ended in a 1-1 draw, successfully advancing with a cumulative score of 5-1 into the Champions League quarter-finals.

***

Two days after the end of the second leg of the Champions League Round of 16, on March 21, 2014.

The quarter-final draw for the Champions League began.

[FC Barcelona.]

As a result of the drawn, Manchester United’s opponent was decided to be FC Barcelona.

– G.O.A.T: Jinho, I’m glad to meet you. Let’s have a fun soccer match.

As soon as the draw for the Champions League quarter-finals ended, a message arrived from Lionel Messi, seemingly using a translator.

– G.U.T.O: (laughing emoticon)

Feeling sorry for the cheerful Messi, I wasn’t having a good time at all.