NOVEL NEXT Chapter 36
October 31, 2010. Sunday.
Son Jinho’s return match was approaching.
In the meantime, the SBK filming team, who had been leisurely documenting Son Jinho’s daily life, began to move busily.
“Phew… Thank you for your hard work!”
“Whoa… we really just finished setting up in the nick of time.”
Thanks to the assistance from Dortmund, the SBK filming team successfully set up the cameras before the audience entered.
“Heja BVB, Heja BVB, Heja, Heja, Heja BVB.”
At the Hohenbuschei Football Park, home to the Dortmund U-19 Team, fans dressed in yellow began to file into the stadium.
“Wow… even for a youth game, there are quite a lot of people here?”
“Right? Do people usually watch youth games that much?”
“…!! Camera director! Get that old man on film!”
“Huh? Oh!”
The back of the old man in the yellow uniform had Son Jinho’s name on it.
“Jinho! Why are you only just arriving? I thought you’d show up after I died!”
“I’m sorry! I had a break!”
The Dortmund fan began to chat amicably with Son Jinho. Their interaction resembled that of a grandchild and grandparent rather than a fan and player, warming the hearts of the filming team, including PD Kim Hyun-deok.
“If I score, I’ll come running, so let’s celebrate together.”
“Of course! I need to show you the “Ho-woo” I’ve been practicing!”
With one final greeting, Son Jinho headed to the ground to warm up.
“Hello, sir. Would it be alright if we could do an interview?”
“Interview? By the way, where are you filming from?”
“Oh! We came from Korea to film Son Jinho!”
PD Kim Hyun-deok carefully approached the elderly Dortmund fan to propose the interview.
“Oh! The land of Cha Bum-kun and Jinho?”
As he spoke, other Dortmund fans nearby eagerly joined in for the interview.
“Jinho? He is the future of our Dortmund!”
“Who would have thought that someone at age 15 would be playing for the Dortmund U-19 team?”
Indeed, Son Jinho had become quite a hot topic among Dortmund fans.
Having supported Dortmund for a long time, many had built friendships with the club’s staff along the way, hearing firsthand how much the club cherished Son Jinho.
Curiosity about how well an Asian kid could be cherished by the club led many of the spectators to naturally become fans of Son Jinho.
Beep—!
“Oh! Damn it. The match has started! Iboshu! Is it okay to end the interview here?”
“Huh? Yes. Thank you for the interview.”
As they were interviewing Dortmund fans, the referee’s whistle sounded, signaling the start of the match.
*
Before the match began.
“Well, as you all know, we’ll be going with a 4-2-3-1 formation.”
I half-listened to the coach’s words while cautiously glancing at the stands.
There were quite a few spectators in attendance, if not as much as during the match between Dortmund and Schalke.
According to Rüdiger, most people had come to see me.
“Jinho!!”
Well, that didn’t make the cheers feel burdensome or anything.
I just thought I needed to do my best to meet their expectations.
After all, I had a somewhat unusual nickname as a “attention-seeking midfielder” in my past life.
The more spectators there were, and the more attention the match attracted, the better I’d perform—that nickname stuck with me.
It made sense.
After Winter left, I spent the first few months like a recluse and then immersed myself in football.
At that time, football was all I could focus on.
I was determined to become famous and bring to light the events surrounding Winter.
Eventually, it seemed I played harder in matches with larger crowds and more attention.
“Winter is a bit late. Is something wrong?”
As the wave of anxiety rose from deep within me, a voice calling my name broke through.
“Jinho! I’m here!”
Hearing Winter call my name from the stands, my unease faded instantly, and a smile spread across my face.
Apologies to the other fans, but Winter’s support was more precious to me than the collective cheers of all other fans.
Beep—!
Anyway, with the referee’s whistle, the match began with Borussia Mönchengladbach kicking off.
Maybe due to my nerves at seeing so many Dortmund fans, Mönchengladbach made a mistake.
Well… even without nerves, mistakes are inherent in football. There’s a limit to human stamina and mental strength, making it challenging to maintain concentration for the long stretch of 90 minutes.
“Jinho!”
Regardless, Pascal Nympshu, the assist shuttle #2, quickly seized the opponent’s mistake, passed to me, and made a forward run.
The defenders from Mönchengladbach momentarily focused on Pascal.
I decided to use Pascal as bait.
“Fick!”
Feigning a pass to Pascal, I slipped past the defender in front of me.
A gap opened up for a mid-range shot.
To create a slightly more perfect chance, I could have passed, but I unabashedly took the shot.
Should I say if I shoot, it goes in?
My well-honed scoring instinct became a source of confidence.
Thud—!
A powerful mid-range shot that struck true firmly shook the net, flying past the goalkeeper before he even had a chance to react.
“Olé, jetzt kommt Der BVB!”
With the net rippling, cheers erupted from the crowd.
Having succeeded in scoring, I ran past the celebrations to fulfill my promise to the elderly fan who came to every home game to see me and performed my celebration near him.
“Ho-woo—!”
And the elderly gentleman proved that his practice of “Ho-woo” was not a lie.
“Ho-woo—!”
He shouted more loudly than I ever could.
After finishing the celebration, I lightly sent a heart gesture towards Winter.
“Kyaaa! J…!”
“Ho-woo—! Wow! This match is so fun!”
And in that moment, beside Winter, I spotted PD, who was cheering louder than her.
“… Why do you look like a tourist who’s just come to watch the show with a subscription fee?”
I had a strong feeling that if I snatched away their smartphone and checked the internet history, there would definitely be “Ho-woo gallery” in there.
*
SBK’s PD Kim Hyun-deok, who had been cheering for Son Jinho’s goal, took a seat and began to recall the past.
– Do we really have to go to Germany? Can’t we just film once Son Jinho comes to Korea later?
– Oh dear, Hyun-deok. Do you think this will be fun?
The voices of those expressing opposition to his plans still lingered in his ears.
How hard had he worked to persuade them?
– Hyung, look at that! Even the Chinese fans are cheering for Son Jinho!
– Our SBK is creating sports stars!
– Times are tough, and life is hard now, right? We need healing entertainment like this!
During the global financial crisis, they sought to comfort the nation through the spirits of Park Chan-ho and Park Se-ri.
He had to overcome countless obstacles with all sorts of embellishments.
– It’s just a pilot program, and you’re the only one going to Germany. You better deliver results, got it?
– By the way, what will you do if it gets officially scheduled?
– Well… we’ll need to show the lives of celebrities then, won’t we? I’d love to keep staying in Germany, but that would be tough on the production budget.
Had it not been for the help of a close hyung, it could have been challenging.
After their painstaking efforts, they finally arrived in Dortmund, Germany, where the scent of success tickled their noses.
“Jinho!! Long time no see!”
Every single moment of Son Jinho living in Dortmund was fascinating.
But today was the highlight.
They say a football player looks the coolest when playing on the field.
From the small but heartwarming scenes with the elderly Dortmund fan to the exhilarating goal that surged up from deep within his chest.
‘This is gonna work!’
As PD Kim Hyun-deok felt the anticipation of a hit, a smile began to spread across his face.
*
Time passed, and soon it was time for the SBK filming team to return home.
For the last shoot of the program, PD Kim Hyun-deok conducted an interview in Son Jinho’s room.
Vroooom—!
Just as he was about to ask a question, he found himself distracted by the unusually noisy computer and cautiously asked Son Jinho.
“Uh, Son Jinho. There’s a continuous noise from the computer. Can I ask what you’re doing?”
Though it was a request for him to turn off the computer for the interview, not understanding that meaning at all due to his lack of social skills from solely focusing on football in his past life, Son Jinho answered cheerfully.
“Oh. I’m mining Bitcoin, the gold of the 21st century.”
And thus began the moment when Son Jinho earned the nickname “God of Investment.”