Chapter 19: Heated Interest

[Unbelievable performance! Is this really the Korean team we know?]

[Cheonmuseokho crushes powerhouse Denmark 5-0 in a landslide victory.]

[Cheonmuseokho’s strong offensive tactics.]

[(Photo) Jeong Tae-woo smiling after an assist.]

[(Photo) Lee Tae-yang wailing after scoring a goal.]

More articles and gallery posts praising the Olympic team flooded in than when they won against Brazil.

‘Of course, we haven’t had such a big win in the Olympics recently.’

At first, our Korean players were frozen, but they came alive after the first goal in the 12th minute of the first half.

Park Seo-joon scored 2 goals, Yoo Hee-sung 1 goal, Lee Tae-yang 1 goal, and Yoon Jae-hoon 1 goal, putting on a tremendous performance.

‘Honestly, even I was surprised watching yesterday’s game.’

After the first goal, the Korean team’s play was like watching a strong team such as Real Madrid.

Every attack was powerful, and they were defensively perfect.

‘It would be really comfortable if it always went like this.’

As I scrolled down on my phone, reading articles praising me, one article caught my eye that even surprised me.

[South Korea’s 17-year-old Olympic football sensations capture the eyes of European clubs.]

‘Already? That’s faster than I thought.’

[It is reported that Jeong Tae-woo, Lee Tae-yang, and Yoo Hee-sung, who are playing as starters at the young age of 17 in this Olympics and showing tremendous performance, are receiving interest from several European teams.

Germany’s Bundesliga teams Borussia Dortmund and RB Leipzig, Italy’s Serie A teams AC Milan and Napoli, and Spain’s La Liga teams Sevilla and Villarreal have reportedly expressed interest in them.

In particular, England’s Premier League teams Manchester City and Manchester United are also said to be paying attention to the growth potential of these young Korean players.

This interest from prestigious European clubs signals a bright future for Korean football and is significant in that the outstanding skills of these young players have been internationally recognized.]

[- It’s been a while since I’ve felt this much national pride.]

[- Is this real? Sounds like a rumor.]

[- Looks like it was translated from a European article. Seems real.]

[-Wow, Yoo Hee-sung kept saying Man Utd, Man Utd, is he really going to Manchester United?]

[- But I don’t think there would be a spot for Yoo Hee-sung if he goes to Man Utd.]

[- I hope Jeong Tae-woo goes to Man City, pushes Ederson out, and plays as a starter. He’s been so frustrating lately.]

[- Lee Tae-yang seems like a good fit for Dortmund. They’re known for nurturing young players.]

[- Honestly, if they go now, they’ll all be benched. It’s better to play more domestically and then go. They’re only 17 anyway.]

[- What are you talking about? If a 17-year-old is that good, they should go to Europe and learn. Why talk about domestic play?]

“Hey Tae-woo, where are you gonna go?”

Lee Tae-yang, who seemed to be looking at the same article as me, asked curiously.

“Me? If I can, I should go to Manchester City.”

“Huh? Wasn’t it a lie that you were a Man City fan?”

“I am a Man City fan.”

“I thought you were just saying that because Da-min is a Man City fan, but you were a real fan. Where should I go? I’ll do well wherever I go anyway.”

“I think differently?”

I pretended to cry and mimicked Lee Tae-yang’s voice.

“This time… I barely scored one goal… Uwaaaah… I finally scored… I finally proved myself…”

“Hey, don’t do that.”

Seeing Lee Tae-yang bite his lip as he spoke, I continued my act even louder.

“Uwaaaaaah~ I’m world-class!”

“Crazy bastard.”

“Wow, the picture turned out great too. Look.”

Lee Tae-yang suddenly rushed at me and wrapped his arm around my neck.

I struggled to break free from his arm, but his strength was considerable.

We pushed and pulled each other, wrestling.

“Hey, wait, I surrender! Surrender! Stop it! We’re going to break something again at this rate.”

I shouted with a laugh, but Lee Tae-yang held me even tighter.

Eventually, we lost balance and fell to the floor.

Lying on the ground, we glared at each other for a moment before bursting into laughter simultaneously.

At this moment, an indescribable friendship and joy filled the space between us.

The pressure of the Olympics was momentarily forgotten, and there we were, just ordinary teenage boys, joking and laughing.

Lee Tae-yang, catching his breath as he sat up, spoke as if he suddenly remembered something.

“Oh, right. Da-min and your sister are debuting together this time, right?”

It was news I had already heard from my sister.

Da-min and my sister were included in the 4-member girl group Queendom, which GY Entertainment was ambitiously debuting, and they were said to be practicing incredibly hard.

‘Will they even be able to watch the Olympic matches?’

I hadn’t called or texted Da-min since we met in front of her house, and I only heard about the girl group debut from my sister, so I felt a little sad towards Da-min.

‘Hmm? But how did Lee Tae-yang know?’

“Hey, how did you know that? I only knew because my sister told me.”

“Me? Of course, I heard it from Da-min.”

“What, why did she only call you? She didn’t call me.”

I wondered if I had missed her call and checked my call history, but there was no record of a call from Da-min.

“Hey, it’s because you have your sister.”

‘I feel a bit upset… Huh? Upset… Why am I feeling upset? She probably knew I’d hear it from my sister, and she must be too busy and tired from practice to call.’

Even as I tried to rationalize it, a sense of disappointment lingered in my mind.

‘No. Still, we’ve been childhood friends for years. Shouldn’t she have called me before Lee Tae-yang?’

As these thoughts snowballed, disappointment must have shown on my face.

Lee Tae-yang looked at me with a puzzled expression.

“Hey, Jeong Tae-woo. What’s with your face? Are you seriously sulking because your childhood friend called me first?”

‘What the, why is this guy so sharp in unnecessary moments?’

I quickly fixed my expression.

“Hey, what are you talking about? I’m Jeong Tae-woo.”

But Lee Tae-yang, as if getting revenge for my earlier teasing, didn’t let it go easily.

“Hmm~ From what I see, you look veeeery disappointed. Don’t tell me!”

“D-don’t tell you what?”

I stuttered without realizing it.

“Don’t tell me you and Da-min…..”

Gulp.

I swallowed hard and waited for Lee Tae-yang’s next words.

“….had a fight?”

‘Huh?’

“Sigh, just apologize first. Why are you waiting for her to call first when you’ve fought?”

I was momentarily flustered, but soon let out a sigh of relief and replied.

“Hahaha, right, that would be good, wouldn’t it? I should do that.”

Thanks to Lee Tae-yang’s absurd guess, I managed to escape the crisis.

However, a strange feeling still lingered in a corner of my heart.

“I’m going out to make a call.”

***

“Again!”

In the GY Entertainment practice room, the members of Queendom, soon to debut, were drenched in sweat, passionately engrossed in practice.

The four girls standing in front of the mirror repeated the choreography without any sign of exhaustion.

“Okay, from the top again! One, two, three, four!”

Music flowed again with the dance instructor’s count.

The members, including Da-min, exchanged glances and quickly moved to their positions.

“Sharper on the turn! Yes, like that!”

“Good, now expressions! Brighter, more confident!”

Under the instructor’s guidance, the members focused even more, refining their movements.

Sweat-soaked practice clothes, heavy breathing, and eyes full of passion filled the practice room.

Despite endless repetitions and corrections, the girls’ faces were full of tireless enthusiasm.

“You worked hard, girls. You did really well today. See you tomorrow.”

At the dance instructor’s words, the members let out sighs of relief and slumped to the floor.

“Phew~ That was really tough.”

“Ji-min unnie, you need to practice more.”

“Hmph, Yoo-na, you only pick on me.”

Im Ji-min pouted as she replied to Choi Yoo-na.

She was the eldest in Queendom, but she was often teased by her younger members for her cute mistakes.

“Unnie, don’t be sulky.”

Choi Yoo-na, at 18, was a year younger than Ji-min, but she had a calmer and more mature personality than the eldest, serving as Queendom’s leader.

“Come to think of it, Mi-na, you said Jeong Tae-woo is your older brother, right?”

At Im Ji-min’s words, Mi-na, who had been lying down exhausted, peeked her face up.

“That’s right. He seems to be doing well these days… Oh, right. Da-min unnie, you didn’t tell Oppa that you’re debuting in a girl group soon. When I called and told him, he seemed like he didn’t know?”

The strange feeling I’d had since meeting Tae-woo in front of his house the night before he left for the Olympics had intensified, making it impossible for me to call him.

If I called and heard his voice… I felt like I wouldn’t be able to concentrate on practice.

“It. It just wasn’t necessary to tell him.”

“Aww, still, I think Oppa would be upset. He’s surprisingly petty.”

‘Tae-woo being upset…’

As I briefly imagined Tae-woo’s upset face, a small smile unknowingly played on my lips.

“Eeeek, what’s with this expression? Why does our chic Da-min have the face of a princess thinking about her prince?”

Startled by Ji-min unnie’s words, I snapped back to my senses.

“Unnie, stop saying weird things!”

I retorted, feeling my face flush.

“I’m a romance novel enthusiast, so I know these things very well. Da-min, your expression was definitely that of a heroine thinking about the male lead.”

Ji-min unnie said excitedly.

“This unnie can help Da-min keep it a secret from the company if she’s dating Jeong Tae-woo. Because Jeong Tae-woo is handsome.”

“Face-con.”

Then, Choi Yoo-na, who had been listening quietly, spat out a blunt word.

“No, Yoo-na. You saw him on TV too. He’s really handsome.”

“Having a crush on someone two years younger than her. Disgusting.”

(TL Note: The age reference is a bit confusing here. Ji-min is older than Da-min, and Tae-woo is Da-min’s age or slightly older based on the 17-year-old Olympian context. Yoo-na might be teasing Ji-min about liking someone who’s younger than Ji-min, but also close to Da-min’s age.)

“Ugh, no. I’m still in my third year of high school. And I meant he’s qualified to be Da-min’s boyfriend. It’s a misunderstanding that I like him!”

Ji-min unnie used her whole body to proclaim her innocence, but it didn’t work on Yoo-na unnie.

“Disgusting.”

“Heeheehee, Ji-min unnie, should I tell my oppa a little something?”

“Even the youngest, Mi-na… Sob, I’m still the eldest here…”

I escaped to the bathroom, avoiding my teammates who were chatting and playing around.

“Phew~”

I let out a deep sigh and looked at my reflection in the mirror.

I could see my cheeks were slightly flushed.

To think my face gets this red just by thinking about Jeong Tae-woo…

When I placed my hand on my chest, I could feel my heart beating fast.

Tae-woo, who had always been by my side since childhood, when did he become so special?

I could no longer deny this feeling.

I wanted to see Tae-woo, be with him, and hear his voice.

The desire to hold his hand, to laugh with him, all these emotions were exploding inside me.

“I… I like Tae-woo.”