My Girlfriend Wants Victory

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Michael Zorc, the director of Dortmund, looked out at the ground while visiting the stadium.

Taking the opportunity during a brief pause in the match due to a foul, a 16-year-old boy could be seen having a conversation with Jürgen Klopp.

Instead of calling over other veteran players, Jürgen Klopp was giving tactical instructions to this mere 16-year-old.

– “Jinho? His skills are excellent, and his understanding of tactics is superb. I can’t wait to see what kind of performance he’ll show once his physical growth is complete. I just need to make sure I won’t be sacked from Dortmund by then.”

Michael Zorc recalled something Jürgen had once said about Jino.

– “Jürgen, wouldn’t it be quicker for Jino to transfer to another club than for you to get sacked?”

– “Hehe. Then you, the director, will be the one to get sacked before me, the coach.”

His best move as director had been hiring Jürgen Klopp as head coach.

Next on his list of good decisions might have been facilitating Son Jinho’s study abroad in Germany.

“Ole! jetzt kommt Der Jinho! (Here comes Jinho!)”

Hearing the cheers from the fans, Michael Zorc thought of a recent article in the media.

‘The youth system that symbolizes Dortmund itself.’

Even though Son Jinho had been with the Dortmund Youth Team for less than a year, that was hardly important.

“Jino! We know you don’t eat dog meat! Unlike that silly Englishman and that pig woman!”

Son Jinho had already become the very symbol of Dortmund’s youth system for the fans.

– “What the hell kind of nonsense is that?”

– “Huh?”

Just looking at how the fans immediately turned the interviewer’s question about dog meat being a secret to great football skills into a chant was enough to see the fervent interest Dortmund fans had in Son Jinho.

– “Ah, sorry. In Germany, ‘dog’ isn’t an insult, it was ‘pig.’ What the hell kind of nonsense is that?”

‘…By the way, what’s Jürgen teaching that 16-year-old kid?’

While Michael Zorc pondered whether he should ensure that Jürgen Klopp and Son Jinho don’t commute together anymore,

“Ah~~~~~”

Son Jinho’s long-range shot went just wide of Arsenal’s goal.

“Ah!”

“…That was your shot this time!”

“Ah, I didn’t call you, Ivan.”

Though it didn’t lead to a goal, the expressions on the Arsenal players’ faces stiffened, while Son Jinho was cheering on his teammates, bringing a spark of energy to the Dortmund side.

‘…After today’s match concludes, those pirates will stick to us.’

During Son Jinho’s time playing for the Dortmund youth team, Michael Zorc had imagined how the next generation might be shaped around him.

However, it seemed that it was a dream he’d have to carefully tuck away.

Setting aside his ambitions, Michael Zorc was simply hoping for one thing.

‘Please… let him sign a pro contract with Dortmund, and then transfer…’

While there were talks in the media about a €60 million (~750 billion won) valuation,

‘Nonsense! Jino is worth at least €90 million!’

Within Dortmund, they were already contemplating a minimum transfer fee of €90 million (~112.5 billion won) for Son Jinho.

‘…Best case, he doesn’t transfer at all.’

Given his performance today, that seemed unlikely. Dortmund was a good club, but objectively, weren’t there many clubs better than Dortmund?

‘Still, €90 million would at least ease some pressure.’

As Michael Zorc found himself dreaming about where to spend that €90 million,

Time raced on.

Before long, it was the 44th minute of the second half.

As the end of the match approached, Dortmund was mercilessly attacking Arsenal’s goal but couldn’t score again.

Just as the crowd began to express disappointment, thinking the match would end in a draw.

“Booooooooooo─!”

After Mertesacker’s tackle, Ivan Perišić, who had just been subbed in, tripped and fell to the ground.

The referee blew the whistle, declaring a foul against Arsenal.

Son Jinho began to prepare for the free kick.

A silence fell over Signal Iduna Park.

Beep─!

The referee blew the whistle, and Son Jinho sprinted forward.

His right foot connected with the ball.

Swish─!

As the shot evaded Szczęsny’s fingertips and found the back of the net,

“Fuck! €90 million? Screw that! He’s not going for anything less than €180 million!”

Michael Zorc found himself standing up, throwing an uppercut, and shouting without realizing it.

“Ho-woo!”

In his eyes, Son Jinho, along with the Dortmund fans, was shouting in celebration.

*

[Dortmund wins 2-1 against Arsenal in a home match!]

[The 16-year-old dead ball specialist, with a fantastic free kick goal, brings victory to Dortmund!]

[‘Park Juyong’s absence’ made the Korean Derby fall through! Son Jinho plays the full match!]

[Immediately after the match, Park Juyong and Son Jinho exchange jerseys!]

[‘1 goal, 1 assist’ Son Jinho, breaks the record for youngest scorer and assist provider in the Champions League.]

[Football experts claim it might be a great record that could never be broken!]

[Dortmund, which has nurtured the best young talent, why did other teams miss out on Son Jinho?]

[With the performances of Son Jinho and Son Heung-min, interest from big league scouts shifts to Korea! ‘Korea has a lot of great players. Kang Chan playing in the J-League is one as well.’]

[Dortmund’s Jürgen Klopp: ‘We won, but we had many opportunities and failed to capitalize on them. We needed to be a bit calmer.’]

[Arsenal’s head coach, Pat Rice: ‘It’ll be different at Emirates Stadium.’]

[Man of the match, Son Jinho: ‘It’s not just because I played well; it’s a valuable win earned by everyone’s effort.’]

[Dortmund’s director Michael Zorc makes a decision on Son Jinho’s value after his phenomenal free kick goal. ‘€90 million? He’s not going for anything less than €180 million!’]

[Super rookie’s confidence? Son Jinho nods at Michael Zorc’s words! ‘He’s right. My value is at least €180 million.’]

*

That evening, after the match.

Han Gyeouri was sending messages in the group chat with a mischievous smile.

– Gyeouri: Mom, are you ready?

– Mother-in-law: Yes. Let’s start.

– Gyeouri: Okay! I’m inviting you now!

– Me: What are you two up to?

– Gyeouri: hehe, you’ll find out when you see!

[Gyeouri invited Hwang Geum-soon to the chat room.]

– Mother-in-law: lolololol SQUEEEEL!

– Gyeouri: lonolololol BOOM!

– Chairman Hwang Geum-soon: …We’ll see about this later.

– Gyeouri: Pfft… Uncle! I’m not scared of anyone who says we’ll see about it later~~

I quietly sighed while watching my mother-in-law and Gyeouri’s antics.

How exactly are they planning to settle this karma?

*

[Wow! Jinho! Successfully clears the ball just before it goes into the goal!]

[From the moment the team lost the ball, he sprinted with all his might. A very dedicated performance.]

Even after the match between Dortmund and Arsenal, Son Jinho’s exploits continued.

[With 5 goals in 6 league matches, what’s the probability he joins Die Mannschaft (The Team, nickname for the German national team)?]

Seeing Son Jinho, active at a top level in the Bundesliga at only 16 years old, German media began to discuss his potential naturalization.

Online debates sprung up regarding him.

[Personally, I think Jinho could join Die Mannschaft.]

└ Shut up! We were runners-up in 2002, 4th in 2006, and 3rd in the World Cup last year; why would we need some Asian?

└ Hey, chill! Calm down and watch Jino’s play; can you believe he’s only 16?

└ Whether he’s 16 or not, he’s not German, is he?

└ Mesut Özil came from a Turkish immigrant family too!

└ Mesut was born and raised in Germany, while this guy came from an Asian country developing nuclear weapons.

└ Idiot, that would be North Korea; Jino is from South Korea.

└ This dumbass sounds like he’s from East Germany.

└ Shut up, you pig! I live in Cologne!

└ Hey, what about Agyemang-Badu? He was born in Ghana too, right?

└ Agyemang-Badu got German education from a young age; his body may be black, but his mind is German.

└ Jino also… well, not really, but he’s getting an education in Germany, right?

└ That barely makes him qualified after just one year of education in Germany!

And it didn’t take long for the discussions about Son Jinho’s naturalization in Germany to spread to Korea.