My Girlfriend Wants Victory

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A chorus of monkey calls started among some fans and spread throughout the Veltins-Arena, Schalke’s home ground.

“Jinho! You’re a monkey!!”

“U! U! U! U! U! U! U!”

“U! U! U! U! U! U! U!”

Before long, the Veltins-Arena was filled with monkey sounds. An enraged Jürgen Klopp rushed up to the Schalke officials, protesting vigorously.

“Are you seriously going to do nothing while listening to that damn racket!?”

Moreover, he approached the stands and shouted obscenities at the spectators.

“What the hell are you doing against minors! Have some shame! You disgusting bastards!”

The distorted visage of the furious Jürgen Klopp reminded me of a barbarian warrior who has just harvested his enemy’s head with a steel axe and is drinking their blood.

“We’ll take action right now. Please calm down a bit.”

While the team officials rushed to calm the agitated Jürgen Klopp, my teammates and coaching staff from Dortmund hurried over to offer words of comfort.

“Jinho, are you okay?”

“Don’t listen to those fucking idiots!”

“They’re the disgrace of Germany!”

When someone got angry on my behalf, my frustration began to subside.

The sight of Jürgen Klopp and the Dortmund players getting angry for me helped me collect myself.

“First, let’s all head back to the locker room.”

Faced with the continuous jeers from Schalke fans, the Dortmund coaching staff ultimately decided to halt the warm-up.

“Huuh…”

I took a deep breath and, calming my trembling hands from the aftermath of anger, made my way to the locker room.

“He’s Asian! A rice-eating primitive monkey!”

“U! U! U! U! U! U! U!”

“U! U! U! U! U! U! U!”

The monkey cries continued until I disappeared beyond the entrance tunnel.

It seemed that the match would be delayed longer than expected.

*

Once I entered the locker room, I fell into deep thought.

Hearing insults directed at my family wasn’t something new to me.

Before my regression.

I had similar experiences while playing in Korea.

When I wasn’t performing well for the national team or during a match against a rival team, my social media was filled with comments mocking Gyeouri during the dead of winter.

Some fans even hurled insults directly at me in the stadium.

Just look at the Park Ock incident, one of the K-League’s many controversies.

Wherever there are crowds, there are idiots.

I tried to quell the anger bubbling up inside, thinking I had already experienced enough of this.

However, this was different for Jürgen Klopp.

Bang─!

Jürgen Klopp, more candid with his emotions than anyone else, burst into the locker room with a flushed face.

“Jinho! If you want, we can forfeit this match at any time.”

It seemed he was even contemplating storming out of the stadium in protest against the racist remarks.

Well, Dortmund had already secured the league title. If I even said I couldn’t play, Dortmund would leave the Veltins-Arena without hesitation.

But I didn’t want to run away.

Running away is something those in the wrong should do.

It was unacceptable for me to escape the stadium when I hadn’t done anything wrong.

And if I were to run away now, the racists in the stands would only gain more momentum and act out even worse.

I turned to look around, starting with Jürgen Klopp.

The faces of my Dortmund teammates were flushed with fury at the thought of their comrade being insulted.

Shinji Kagawa, who is also of Asian descent, wore an expression filled with vengeance.

“…Let’s play the match. I don’t want to run away like this. I at least want to smash Schalke before we leave.”

As I looked at my fellow players, I made my decision. My voice, colder than I thought possible, resonated through the locker room.

The affectionate yet rough hands of my teammates ruffled my hair as I accepted their gestures this time.

Sebastian Kehl, the captain of Dortmund, stepped forward and addressed the players.

“Let’s crush those disgusting Schalke bastards for Jinho and Shinji!”

Indeed, would the expressions of the Schalke players reflect the same as Dortmund’s right now?

I doubt it.

*

At the same time.

Silence enveloped the Schalke locker room.

They were cautiously watching Atsuto Uchida.

No one could miss that Atsuto Uchida’s face was frozen in an unmistakable way.

While the racist Schalke fans likely wouldn’t care, it wasn’t as if Asians existed only in Dortmund.

Atsuto Uchida, the Japanese right-back for Schalke, was also on the receiving end of monkey chants – an insulting expression aimed at him.

“Hey. Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. I’m fine, just let me be alone for a bit.”

The racism directed at Son Jinho from Schalke’s home fans was actually lowering the morale of the Schalke team.

*

[Ah! Just now, news broke that the match is delayed due to racial discrimination against Son Jinho.]

└ Did they really racially discriminate against our brother?

└ Is this for real?

└ I’m so disappointed in Germany.

└ It’s just like the level of former axis countries, huh? Haha.

└ I bet they’ll just slap a fine on them and be done with it.

[They’ve now reportedly identified the instigator and expelled them from the stadium. Thanks to the racist comments made before the match, quick action was able to be taken. Those spectators are set to receive a permanent ban from the stadium.]

└ They only get banned from the stadium?

└ Isn’t that a really weak punishment?

└ Compared to our country’s standards, sure, but it’s quite severe for them;;

└ Just being banned from watching the game is such a small consequence?

└ In Europe, football is a community, and being banned from the stadium is like being expelled from the community.

└ Is it really like that?

└ Yeah, and actual business dealings sometimes take place in the VIP sections of football stadiums.

[Ah, at the moment I was just talking about it, the Dortmund players are entering the stadium. And our proud Son Jinho is stepping onto the ground as well.]

└ Aww ㅠㅠ My boyfriend looks so worn out; I can see it on his handsome face. He must have had a tough time.ㅠㅠ

└ …Come on, doctor, pay attention, I’m not in the mood to deal with your whining right now.

[How difficult must it be for the young Son Jinho? I hope he doesn’t sustain any emotional scars from this incident.]

└ Is anyone going to go terrorize Schalke’s social media?

└ I heard German kids love Buddhist symbols, so let’s give them that.

└ Buddhist symbols?

└ 卍 <- This, idiot. *

As soon as the match started, we pressured Schalke heavily.

“Jinho!”

Just below the halfway line, Mats Hummels intercepted a pass and immediately sent it to me.

“He’s Asian! A rice-eating primitive monkey!”

As I received the ball, the Schalke fans began to sing their racist song again.

It would be a lie to say I wasn’t angry at the racism from Schalke’s crowd, but it wasn’t as fiery as before the match.

“Shut up with that damn song!”

I could hear Jürgen Klopp’s excited voice as he immediately rushed to the referee to protest after hearing the lyrics.

‘How loud was he shouting?’

I smiled lightly at Klopp’s volume cutting through the jeers of the Schalke fans, glancing forward.

“Jinho, over here!”

At that moment, I saw Ivan Perišić making a run into the space behind Atsuto Uchida, the visibly stiff Schalke right-back.

I quickly sent a through pass into Perišić’s path.

Receiving the ball from the left flank, Ivan Perišić immediately attempted a low and fast cross with his left foot.

The slightly deflected cross from Perišić hit a Schalke defender and flowed through to Robert Lewandowski.

Lewandowski used a drag-back to shake off the defender’s tackle and hit a fierce shot aimed at the top of the net with his right foot.

The Schalke goalkeeper reached out to stop the shot, but Lewandowski’s strike rattled the Schalke goal net without any resistance.

“Boooooooo─!”

Just as the furious Schalke fans were preparing to jeer again after that early goal,

Lewandowski, having scored, picked up the ball from inside the goal and turned to face the Schalke crowd, making a gesture for them to be quiet.

“Scheiße! That fucking Polish pig!”

“Go do some labor, you stupid bastard!”

Having seen that, Schalke fans turned their insults away from me and focused their jeers entirely on Lewandowski.

With the crowd successfully provoked, Lewandowski walked over to me, ball tucked at his waist, winking as he said,

“See? The Schalke fans like me more than they like you, Jinho. I need to score one more for some fan service, so feed me a killer pass.”

I nodded at Lewandowski while looking at him.

Hmm.

To be honest, it felt a bit…

Cheesy.

But it was pretty cool.