Chapter 1: The God of Soccer—With a Side of Ugliness

What’s the most important thing in life?

Wealth?

Status?

Looks?

Athletic ability?

Intelligence?

Physicality?

Everyone would probably give a different answer.

As someone who’s won the Ballon d’Or seven times, been awarded Goal of the Year ten times, and taken home the Premier League Golden Boot nine times…

With a dazzling career that brought me both wealth and prestige, allow me—Kim Chan-ki, the legend of football—to give you the answer.

The most important thing in life…

Is an overwhelming face.

Looks are the one thing that can overpower all other talents.

I grew up in an orphanage, and my ugly face was everyone’s favourite target.

“LMAO, what’s up with his face?”
“Ugh… just looking at him is making me nauseous.”
“Ew, don’t come near me. I might catch your ugly.”

Those words haunted my ears. But I didn’t let them get to me.

Because I had one thing—

Talent.

In football.

And not just any talent—talent that could shake the entire world.

I put in insane amounts of effort.

I figured, even if I looked like this, once I had money and fame, the women would follow.

And in the end, I made it.

A living legend.

The man who mastered football.

The GOAT.

I had it all.

But what did I get in return?

@soccer_fan1: Kim Chan-ki’s skills are insane, but that face tho LOL!
@sports_news123: Football god Kim Chan-ki gets zero ad offers. Is his fatal flaw… his looks?
@hater9239: God gave Kim Chan-ki football skills, but accidentally forgot to give him a face 😂
@hatere3212: Quiz: What’s rich, ripped, good at football, but still single?
@spo123: Answer: Kim Chan-ki ✅

“F*ck!”

I flopped onto my bed and tossed my phone aside.

The title of “greatest football player in the world,”

the mountain of trophies and medals—none of it mattered in this moment.

“What’s the point of any of this?”

I let out a deep sigh, staring blankly at the ceiling.

I thought with my skills, I could have everything the world had to offer.

But the one thing I wanted most—

recognition and love—still felt forever out of reach.

“If I could just be average-looking… even if it meant being a little worse at football…”

Bzzzzt—!

A notification buzzed on my phone.

“Ugh… I really am ugly.”

Before the screen lit up, I caught my reflection in the black glass.

That familiar wave of disappointment squeezed my chest.

“Wait, is it not just ugly? Am I, like, repulsive?”

I let out a bitter laugh and shook my head.

[New Update: Episode 230 of Manchester United’s Revival Now Available!]

There’s a soccer novel dominating the charts on Novell right now.

And soon… it’s even getting a webtoon adaptation.

I wonder if the author knows.

That the man who’s won seven Ballon d’Ors,

The greatest footballer in Asia—no, the entire world—is actually a fan of his novel.

[The goalkeeper’s eyes gleamed. Jeong Tae-woo, boasting a flawless 187cm physique. His sharp gaze locked onto the striker. His features resembled a sculpture by Michelangelo…]

“Why does he always describe Jeong Tae-woo’s face like he’s some goddamn Adonis?”

Every time this guy showed up—the antagonist goalkeeper—the author went out of his way to write entire paragraphs praising his looks.

– LOL the author simps HARD for Jeong Tae-woo, I’m dying to see the webtoon

– Give some of that face to Chan-ki, please 😂

– Oh nooo not Chan-ki LMAO

– Watching Chan-ki play is eye candy… until he wins MOM and we have to look at that face up close. My eyes…

– Please stop winning MOTM, Chan-ki bro

– “I’m sorry… Not even my skills can make up for this face…”

– Top 1 face to make plastic surgeons retire 💀💀

Even the comments on my favorite novel were clowning my face.

I was boiling.

“Does being handsome help you block goals or something? Why the constant face porn? Is the author just insecure about his own looks or what?”

And then… the author replied.

“I get it, I do go a little overboard describing his looks. But come on, have you seen that face? It’s just too handsome to ignore!”

“What, did he meet Jeong Tae-woo in real life or something?”

It was so ridiculous, I couldn’t help but chuckle.

“Whatever… let’s just get some sleep.”

I sighed, placed my phone on the nightstand, and pulled the blanket over myself.

As I was drifting off…

BZZZZT—!

BZZZZT—!

My phone started vibrating.

Repeatedly.

But I was already too far gone.

BZZZZT—!

BZZZZT—!

BZZZZT—!

It kept buzzing like crazy, but I was slipping into dreamland.

All I could faintly hear… was the echo of the vibration.

“Alright, then. I’ll show you just how handsome he really is.”

***

“Ugh…”

I woke up to sunlight—but something felt off.

My bed felt… smaller?

“Did I get taller overnight or something?”

Shrugging off the weird feeling, I got up and headed to the bathroom.

“AAAHHHHHHH!!”

THUD!!

“What the hell… who IS that?!”

The face in the mirror wasn’t mine.

Not the usual disaster I was used to.

I’ve seen plenty of handsome male celebrities up close in my career,

but this?

This was something else.

Double eyelids with long lashes, captivating eyes, a tall and sharp nose,

A sculpted jawline, pale skin like a vampire’s, and facial proportions that looked like a biracial model.

Taller than 180 cm too.

“…Wait, where am I?”

I looked around.

Gone was my Chester estate.

In its place, a regular Korean family home.

“Whoever this guy is… he’s a soccer fan, clearly.”

The walls were covered in soccer posters and a Korean national team jersey.

Then I spotted a white envelope on the desk.

“To: Player Kim Chan-ki”

“This must be it…”
Somehow, I knew this letter was the cause of all this.

[ Dear Kim Chan-ki,

Hiya!

It’s me—the God of Soccer! (＾▽＾)

Bet you’re shocked, huh? Me too! I can’t believe you of all people read my novel~

I just wanted to show one of my poor anti-fans what Jeong Tae-woo’s face really looked like by tossing them into my novel for a bit…

But whoops! I ended up possessing you instead!

You’re so famous and accomplished that I used up all my God Points on this by accident. Teehee~ (≧◡≦)

Please don’t be mad~ I was going to drop you in as a random extra,
but since I felt bad, I made you Jeong Tae-woo himself!

Just rack up some achievements while living as him, and my points will slowly recharge. Once they’re full, I’ll send you back!

Maybe… (´･ω･`)?

P.S. This letter is gonna explode 💣 ]

“E-Explode?! WAIT—!”

I yelped and threw the letter toward the window, diving under the desk.

Heart racing.

Cold sweat.

Total panic.

…but nothing happened.

“…Did it go off?”

I peeked out cautiously—and there it was.

Back on the desk.

“Wha—I threw it out the window!!”

Hands trembling, I opened it again.

[ (＾▽＾)

Gotcha! Hehe, it’s not actually a bomb! It’s just a special magical letter between us 💌

Sorry if I scared you!

But wasn’t that fun? (´･ω･`)

You’ll be able to keep talking to me through this!

Work hard, enjoy your new life as Jeong Tae-woo, and play lots of soccer!

Fighting!! ヽ(^o^)丿

—With love, God of Soccer (｡･ω･｡) ]

“F*ck.”

So this so-called God of Soccer screwed up and his grand solution is:

“Score achievements in my novel to recharge my God Points.”

As if to rub it in, the letter’s content changed before my eyes:

Boohoo (ㅠ_ㅠ)
I’m really sorry!
But there’s no other way, okay?
Also… maybe don’t post hate comments next time? Hehe~

“This psycho…”

I took a long, deep breath.

“…Haaah.”

But then again, maybe this wasn’t so bad.

I had a face to die for now.

And Jeong Tae-woo’s a goalkeeper, sure, but who says I have to stay in that position?

Why not just play striker like I used to and enjoy this world?

Honestly… it didn’t sound bad at all.

Hey, maybe I should be grateful to this soccer god—

Oh! I forgot to mention! Hehe~ (^_^;)

You have to win the World Cup within 10 years or the character gets deleted.

Also, breaking Jeong Tae-woo’s goalkeeper setting will also result in deletion.

I believe in you, Kim Chan-ki!

Love,
Soccer God (￣▽￣)

Oh COME ON.

“Win the World Cup with Korea? As a goalkeeper??”

Even as the world’s greatest striker, I couldn’t do that.

Now I’m supposed to pull it off from between the posts?

“…Dammit. Fine. I’ll rack up achievements and get out of here in ten years.”

What are the odds of Korea winning the World Cup within ten years?

Zero.

Absolutely zero.