My Girlfriend Wants Victory

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I responded to countless handshake requests pouring in, chatting with the children.

“How do you know me? Did you come to the game that day?”

“No! I saw it on the internet!”

“Internet?”

“I saw it in the newspaper that my dad was reading!”

Someone posted my comeback against Schalke online. As it became a hot topic, a local newspaper covered the incident.

“Ho-woo! Can you sign this?”

“Me too!”

“I’ll sign, so get in line. I’ll do it in order.”

I skillfully lined the kids up and started signing one by one.

“Here you go.”

“Thank you.”

As I handed over the signed paper, I turned my head slightly to look at Gyeouri.

“What’s your name?”

“Um… My name is Han Gyeouri.”

Gyeouri seemed to be adjusting well at school. The kids were really interested in her, just like me. She was surrounded by them, bombarded with questions.

Well… Gyeouri looked a bit overwhelmed by the crowd of kids, but she’s a strong-willed girl, so she’ll get through it.

“Where are you from?”

“I came from Korea.”

The kids patiently waited for her to respond in German as it was still a bit awkward for her.

“What’s your relationship with Ho-woo? Girlfriend?”

“I am his girlfriend.”

She answered confidently in German, but feeling shy, she hung her head low and only moved her eyes around, making me chuckle.

“Heh-heh.”

“Hey! Son Jinho! Don’t laugh! How good is your German to laugh?”

Then Gyeouri, thinking that they were laughing at her stiff German, shouted at me.

“I wasn’t the only one laughing!”

“Shut up! Even if everyone else laughs, you can’t!”

Ah. That’s a bit unfair.

But seeing Gyeouri start to talk to the kids around her in broken German put my mind at ease.

*

When I had adapted somewhat to life in Germany, I received a message from Kang Chan.

– Kang Chan: Hey

– Kang Chan: How’s Germany? Is it okay?

– Ho-woo: Yeah. I’m glad I didn’t go to England.

– Ho-woo: I tried the mint chocolate they made in England, and I genuinely couldn’t understand why they made that.

– Kang Chan: …Mint chocolate is delicious, though?

I knew that Kang Chan liked mint chocolate. He was the type to get genuinely angry when I asked if toothpaste was tasty. However, I didn’t expect him to already be enjoying it. I had tried to gaslight him into hating it since he was young, but it seemed I had failed before I even began.

– Kang Chan: Anyway, we’re still undefeated. Haha!

Kang Chan felt the atmosphere was getting weird, so he quickly changed the topic.

I already knew the story from the other players on Geumsun High School’s football team, but I wasn’t socially broken enough to point that out, so I just played along.

– Kang Chan: After Choi Gi-hyun left, the coach is acting as the manager, and wow… It’s like Ferguson possesses him, giving tactical directions like crazy. All his substitutions worked perfectly!

– Ho-woo: The coach seems passionate and capable, so it looks like he’s doing well even after stepping in as interim manager.

– Kang Chan: And scouts came to watch the last game.

– Kang Chan: I think some of them even talked with the players?

– Kang Chan: Maybe several kids from Geumsun High School will go pro? Haha!

Hearing about Geumsun High School made me feel that the future was changing.

I guess this was only natural. I’ve touched a lot of things since my return.

– Ho-woo: Did you get any offers?

– Kang Chan: No, I didn’t! T_T

– Kang Chan: But I’m not going to give up. I’ll keep challenging until I can’t anymore. This time, I won’t give up no matter what! Haha!

Kang Chan’s future, which once was interrupted by the Hojin High School coach, was changing.

– Ho-woo: So, are you going to apply for college?

– Kang Chan: I don’t know… It seems tough to get into college due to Hojin High’s issues, so I’m looking into going abroad.

– Kang Chan: You know, the football team isn’t much different from college, right?

I nodded at Kang Chan’s message.

I remembered that during the U-19 National Team practice match, the coach from Korea Industrial University was caught in a bribery scandal, which was why the game against Yonsei University was changed.

From their perspective, it must be burdensome for Chan. Although he didn’t directly blow the whistle, from the outside, it probably looked similar.

– Ho-woo: If it doesn’t work out, I’ll be your agent later, so give it your all.

Maybe that’s why I cheered for Kang Chan, the football player who wouldn’t give up on his dream.

Really. I hope it works out for him. Ideally, to the point where he makes a name for himself internationally.

– Kang Chan: Thanks, buddy. Even if it’s just words, I appreciate it.

– Kang Chan: So what’s Choi Gi-hyun up to these days?

Kang Chan mentioned the name of the person whose future had changed the most.

Gi-hyun Choi, who used to bask in generosity as the coach of Geumsun High School, was now facing immediate challenges.

My football scholarship was a bit different from the usual scholarships sent by the association. Previous students had a set time limit to return to their respective schools or teams due to their domestic affiliations, but I was in Germany with the chairman’s strong support, so I had no such time limit.

Aware of this, the association planned for a long-term scholarship rather than a one-year stint. They were helping with administrative tasks related to my stay in Germany, like visa and FIFA regulations.

And it was Gi-hyun Choi who had to handle these tasks locally. He was communicating with the association and Dortmund to support my scholarship in Germany.

– Ho-woo: He seems to be enjoying the sweet life.

I recalled Gi-hyun Choi, swamped with paperwork, and replied to Kang Chan. After all, if it’s not my business, it’s all just honey.

*

Time seems to fly by swiftly. It feels like just yesterday that the match against Schalke ended, yet here we are, already on a Sunday.

Unlike Korea, where youth teams play on Saturdays, the youth teams in Germany play every Sunday.

“This time, the team we’re meeting is MSV Duisburg!”

Dortmund U19’s opponent was Duisburg U19.

MSV Duisburg is a team that oscillates between the first and second divisions.

This team isn’t very well-known, but it has some connections to Korea.

During the winter transfer window in 2006, An Jung-hwan was acquired and played about half a season, but he couldn’t stop the team from being relegated to the second division.

After that, An Jung-hwan returned to Korea, and MSV Duisburg faded from the memories of most Koreans as they were relegated.

“Jinho! You’re on the bench for this match! You know why, right?”

I sat on the bench for this match. It wasn’t because of racism or anything like that; it was a sort of punishment for the previous comeback incident.

Well… I was still included as a substitute. If the game doesn’t go well, I might get a chance in the second half.

Anyway.

Bbeeek─!

With the referee’s whistle, the game began with Duisburg U19 kicking off, and the players in yellow from Dortmund U19 rushed in desperately to steal the ball.

It was the famous gegenpressing.

After Jürgen Klopp took over as Borussia Dortmund’s manager in 2008, his signature tactic of gegenpressing and football philosophy were being instilled into even the youth members of Dortmund.

This would later be the driving force behind Dortmund winning the German youth championship (Deutsche Fußballmeisterschaft der A-Junioren) four times.

“Oh no! They got through!”

“Block them─!!”

Well… It seemed like they were still in transition, as they showed some clumsy moments.

“Scheiße!!”

As Duisburg’s number 8 shook off Dortmund’s awkward pressure, the precious honey pot (the space behind) that Dortmund cherished revealed itself.

Duisburg, possessed by a honey-crazed yellow bear, started to invade Dortmund’s territory.

The little honeybees could only watch in shock as the bear stole their honey.

“Yay─!!”

Ten minutes into the first half. The kids of Dortmund looked startled by the earlier-than-expected goal.

“This isn’t good….”

I softly murmured as I watched the ground.

One of the advantages and disadvantages of a young team is that they rely heavily on the atmosphere.

In youth tournaments without veterans, this becomes even more pronounced.

It’s no wonder that high-scoring matches are so common in youth football.

“Damn it!!”

And just as I expected.

Duisburg, having gained momentum, pressed harder against the unstable Dortmund, and before long, Dortmund conceded another goal.

Seeing Dortmund’s team faltering, the Dortmund U19 coach looked at me and issued orders.

“…Jinho! You’re going in the moment the second half starts!”

I slowly nodded at the coach’s words.

It was the emergence of a hornet disguised as a honeybee.