Chapter 34: Are You a Good Person?

“Go on in.”

“Uh… well…”

Damin, with a look of sudden determination, ran towards me.

“You kept your promise from when we were kids.

The ceremony was cool.”

Before she could finish her sentence, Damin hugged me.

In that moment, her scent and warmth enveloped me.

“W-well, I’m going now.”

Damin, her face bright red, quickly went inside the dorm.

And even after Damin went inside, I stood there for a while.

Because for a moment, I couldn’t tell if it was a dream or reality.

Whoosh~

‘Ah, I should go home now too.’

The night breeze brought me back to my senses, and I slowly started to walk.

‘She smelled so good.’

‘I wanted to keep hugging her, but we can’t show it at school.’

Since Damin would be debuting as a girl group soon, we decided to have a secret relationship for a while.

‘Hah, I just want to reveal it and be all lovey-dovey.’

‘When I go to Europe, we won’t have much time to meet…’

When I arrived home and opened the front door, I heard my mom’s voice.

“Tae-woo, are you home?”

“I’m back.”

“Who did you meet?”

‘A friend…

Damin is my girlfriend now.

A girlfriend is also a friend…’

“Damin.

She said she’s debuting, so I treated her to a meal.”

“Really?

Bring her home sometime.

I want to see her face after so long.”

“Okay, I will.”

“Okay, you have to go to school tomorrow, so go to bed early.”

“Okay, good night.”

After talking with my mom, I went into my room, lay down on the bed, and recalled what happened today.

‘I miss Damin.’

Ding!

‘Who is it at this hour?’

Damin – Did you get home?

‘Hehe, Damin must miss me too.

Lovers’ minds are connected, after all.’

-Did you text me because you miss me?

After seeing my text, Damin didn’t reply for a minute.

Damin – Don’t you miss me?

-I’ve only been thinking of you since I got home.

Imagining Damin’s expression after seeing this, a smile naturally formed on my lips.

Damin – Call me something else besides ‘you’.

‘Something else besides ‘you’…
is it this…’

-Good night, jagi (darling).

Damin – …Good night.

-Won’t my jagi call me yeobo (honey)?
I think I’ll sleep soundly if you do.

‘She must have seen it since the ‘1’ disappeared, but Damin didn’t reply.’

‘Well, with Damin’s personality, wouldn’t she be kicking her blanket with her ears turning red?’

‘As expected, Damin was too cute.’

***

At that time, in the Queendom dorm.

“Kyaaaak!”

Damin buried her face in the bed and screamed.

Her ears were bright red, and she hugged the phone in her hand tightly to her chest.

“Ihihihihi…he called me jagi…”

Damin couldn’t hold back her laughter and giggled, kicking her blanket.

Her face was full of a happy smile.

“Ah, what should I do…

I like it so much…”

At that moment, a sleepy voice came from the next bed.

“Are we raising a water deer in our dorm?

Let’s get some sleep.”

“Heok!”

Flustered at the thought of being caught, she quickly pulled the blanket over her head and lay down quietly.

But the excitement in her heart didn’t subside easily.

And when she looked at her phone again, there was a text from Tae-woo.

Tae-woo – Won’t my jagi call me yeobo (honey)?

I think I’ll sleep soundly if you do.

Poof!

‘Y-y-y-y-y-yeobo…
ugh…’

She couldn’t reply, but her trembling fingers moved across the phone screen.

Yeobo – Won’t my jagi call me yeobo (honey)?

I think I’ll sleep soundly if you do.

***

Morning.

“Beep beep beep-“

I opened my eyes to the sound of the alarm.

‘Hah…I don’t want to go to school.

Okay, let’s just sleep for 5 more minutes and then get up.’

‘Isn’t it everyone’s national rule?

Not wanting to get up in the morning, saying ‘just 5 more minutes’, ‘just 1 more minute’, and then in the end…’

“Tae-woo, hurry up and get up, eat breakfast, and go!”

I was startled by my mom’s voice and jumped up.

I looked at my phone and saw that 30 minutes had already passed.

‘No way, already?’

I rubbed my sleepy eyes and headed to the bathroom.

Even though I had performed incredibly well in the Olympics, I was still just an ordinary high school student.

‘Hehe, am I not so ordinary?

I’m not a single-since-birth anymore.’

A smile naturally formed on my face at the thought of Damin.

“Jeong Tae-woo, aren’t you coming out soon?”

“Yes, I’m coming out!”

‘Let’s just go out quickly, eat, and then think.’

“Ugh, that was delicious.

Mom, I’m leaving.”

“Okay, have a good day.”

I left the house and walked the familiar path to school.

It was the same scenery as always, but for some reason, it felt new.

‘Maybe it’s because I didn’t go to school because of the Olympics, so it feels new.’

“Hey!

Tae-woo!”

At the voice behind me, I turned my head and saw Lee Tae-yang running towards me with a bright smile.

“It’s hard to see your face so soon after eating.”

“Hey, what’s that supposed to mean?

It’s an honor to see the handsome ace of the South Korean Olympic team.”

I chuckled and shook my head.

“Tae-woo, when we go to school, all the students will recognize us, right?”

Lee Tae-yang asked in an excited voice.

‘Aren’t high school students supposed to be focused on studying rather than football?’

I was skeptical.

‘No matter how big of a global event it is, high school students are busy going to academies and studying at home.’

“Give it up.

There are so many people who are passionate about studying in high school.

They’ll care more about their grades than football players.”

“We don’t study, though.”

“Ahem- that’s because we use our brains for studying for football.”

As we passed the school’s main gate and headed towards the building, a large banner caught the eyes of Jeong Tae-woo and Lee Tae-yang.

“Congratulations!

Our proud Olympic heroes, Jeong Tae-woo and Lee Tae-yang”

The banner had large photos of the two of them and a brief summary of their performance in the Olympics.

Jeong Tae-woo: Pungwol High’s ace and most handsome.

Raised the status of Pungwol High by allowing only one goal with amazing saves in the Olympics.

Lee Tae-yang: Pungwol High’s striker.

Showcased the true value of Pungwol High’s attack to the world with outstanding link-up play, pressure, and a decisive goal.

We had different reactions to the banner.

“Ah, really…did they have to go this far…”

I frowned in embarrassment.

This was a trauma of sorts.

During my Kim Chan-ki days, when I came back after becoming the top scorer in the U-20 tournament as a high school student, a banner was hung at the school in the same way.

However, after seeing the photo on the banner that was hung to praise me, the students said,

“Wow, he’s so ugly.”

“Hahaha, looking at his face, he must be really good at football.
Otherwise, his life will be ruined.”

They said that even though they knew I was right next to them, going to school.

‘Hah…it’s different now, but there will definitely be people who curse me.’

‘Of course, my face is now handsome enough to slap a famous celebrity, but aren’t there sometimes complainers?’

I looked around anxiously.

On the other hand, Lee Tae-yang was looking at the banner excitedly.

“Wow, that guy is handsome!

Ah, everyone!

I am that national team ace and most handsome, Lee Tae-yang.

Hahahaha!”

‘This kid really doesn’t care what other people think.’

‘What a blessing it is to be able to act without caring what other people think.’

‘I’m Jeong Tae-woo now, but I still haven’t completely overcome the trauma of my Kim Chan-ki days.’

“Wow!

Daebak!

Tae-woo, I think we’ve become really famous!”

“Hey, let’s go quickly.”

“Hey, slow down.

Wait, celebrities have to show their faces to their fans a lot.”

I walked quickly with my head down, and Lee Tae-yang followed behind me with a triumphant expression.

When we entered the classroom, our classmates greeted us.

“Guys, Jeong Tae-woo and Lee Tae-yang are here!”

“Waaaaah!
You were so good, Tae-woo!”

“Haha, thanks.”

I answered with an awkward smile.

‘This is a little burdensome…’

Lee Tae-yang was still enjoying the cheers of his friends with a bright expression.

“Guys, who am I?”

“Lee Tae-yang!!”

“Uahahaha, very good.

I am the most handsome of the Olympics, Lee Tae-yang!”

“Huh?

The most handsome of the Olympics is Tae-woo.”

“Ahem!”

“Hahahahaha!”

I smiled as I watched this whole scene.

‘Yes, a lot has already changed.’

‘I already have a pretty girlfriend named Damin and friends who congratulate me on my friend’s good fortune.’

“Hey, Tae-woo!”

Lee Tae-yang came up to me and nudged my shoulder.

“Let’s just say we’re both the most handsome.
How about that?”

“Tae-yang, we’re on different levels.”

In this moment, I felt like I had escaped from the dark shadow of the past, even if just a little.

As I was talking with my friends, the teacher came into the classroom.

‘Ah, the lullaby again…’

The teacher’s monotonous voice began to echo in the classroom.

‘Okay, let’s try to endure it.’

“…”

“…”

‘As expected, school classes were a sleeping pill that could put you to sleep even if you had insomnia.’

“Tae-woo.”

“Tae-woo.”

“Aish, it’s so noisy.

Who is it?”

I muttered in a sleepy voice and lifted my head, and only then did I see Coach Kim Seung-hyun standing in front of me.

‘Coach?
There’s no training today…’

I hurriedly straightened my posture and said.

“Heok, I’m sorry.”

The coach smiled slightly and shook his head.

“It’s okay, Tae-woo.

Someone came to see you.

Hahaha.”

“Coach, I feel like I’ve seen this scene somewhere before.”

“I know, right.”

I nodded and got up from my seat.

“Tae-woo, let’s go to my office for a bit.”

I followed the coach’s words and left the classroom.

‘What is it this time?

An agency?

Or is it the good person the God of Football mentioned?’

‘It was a very real possibility.

A player who had become a star by performing well in the Olympics, and who didn’t have an agency, would be someone they would want to sign quickly.’

A moment later, the coach opened the door and went in, and I followed behind him.

‘A woman?’

The woman sitting in the guest chair had the appearance of what we commonly call a ‘career woman’.

Her neat suit and stylish hairstyle were impressive.

“I’ve been wanting to see you, Jeong Tae-woo.”

“Uh, are you by any chance a good person?”

“What?”