Chapter 65: Gamst

[Jeong Tae-woo, the new hero of the Manchester Derby, is capturing the attention of football fans worldwide.

Starting as Manchester City’s goalkeeper, Jeong Tae-woo set a phenomenal record in this match.]

[He made a staggering nine crucial saves in the first half alone and added six more super saves in the second.

But he didn’t stop there. In the final moments of stoppage time, he scored a dramatic winning goal with a 30-meter no-spin free-kick, single-handedly defending and scoring to win the game.]

[What’s more noteworthy is that through this match, Jeong Tae-woo has stood shoulder to shoulder with a club legend.

He has tied the monumental record of 16 consecutive clean sheets held by Leo, known as Manchester City’s ‘greatest guardian’.]

[The eyes of the world are now focused on what legendary records he will write next.]

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.
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[Manchester United’s manager, Raul Cruz, did not hold back his praise for Jeong Tae-woo at the post-derby press conference, despite the defeat.]

[“Jeong Tae-woo is a player on a different level from any goalkeeper I have ever faced.”]

[“A goalkeeper’s saves are understandable.”]

[“But the free-kick he showed today… that’s a level impossible without special talent.”]

[“To be honest,”]

[“I am certain that even if he had chosen the path of a striker instead of a goalkeeper, he would have become the best player in the world.”]

Kheu~

This is it.

They’re finally seeing me for who I am.

Reading the article, I felt pleased that they seemed to finally see me as a world-class player, not just a promising prospect.

Until the Man United match, they acknowledged my skills but still confined me within frames like ‘Asian player’ or ‘young age,’ refusing to remove the ‘prospect’ label.

“Hey, Tae-woo, look at this!”

Chankyu-hyung called out in an excited voice, holding out his phone screen.

On the screen, a video of Gamst, a famous Man United fan, was playing.

[Aaargh! Jeong Tae-woo, he’s so good at football… that f*cking bstard!]

(TL: Gamst is a real-life Korean streamer famous for his passionate, often rage-filled, reactions and his love for Man United.)

Chankyu-hyung burst into laughter at Gamst’s intense reaction.

“Puhaha! You know Gamst, right?”

“Of course, the internet streamer.”

“Yeah, I watch a lot of his videos, and he never says stuff like that about Korean players. You must have been really good… You’re not offended or anything, are you?”

“Nah, not at all. It’s high praise, the highest praise. Getting cursed at by a rival team’s fan is the biggest compliment in football.”

“But it seems like Gamst is getting some flak for this.”

As Chankyu-hyung lowered his phone, the comments below the video became visible.

-But this video is a bit uncomfortable. Is it really right to curse at a player who is young and performing well in Europe?

-No, he was just complimenting him, are you Gandhi or something?

-Am I the only one who’s uncomfortable?

-Yeah, you’re the only one.

-He gave a warning before the video and do you think Jeong Tae-woo would be offended by this? He’d probably just laugh it off.

-Hey, are you Jeong Tae-woo? How would you know if he’d feel good or bad about it?

‘The atmosphere is worse than I thought.’

If it were just one or two comments criticizing Gamst, they would have been buried quickly.

But the more I scrolled, the more comments cursing at Gamst kept appearing.

The number was definitely not small.

“I don’t think this is something to get cursed at for…”

“It’s probably because you’re practically a superstar in Korea right now, but this is a bit much.”

There were even malicious comments in the comment section that were too vile to repeat.

As I was looking at the comments, I saw that Gamst himself had posted a clarification at the top.

[Gamst]

This was absolutely not said with any malicious intent. I was just expressing how good he was in my broadcast’s characteristic exaggerated tone.

Jeong Tae-woo showed a truly world-class performance, and as a Korean, I am incredibly proud and happy.

If my inappropriate expression caused any discomfort to Mr. Jeong Tae-woo, I sincerely apologize.

“I feel kind of bad for no reason…”

Having lived as Kim Chan-ki, I had been tormented by countless malicious comments.

I knew all too well how deep the wounds from those words could be, even if they were just letters.

“Hyung, should I comment myself?”

“Even if you did, no one would believe it’s really you.”

“Is that so?”

Chankyu-hyung was right.

These days, anyone could easily impersonate a celebrity and leave a comment.

It was common for people not to believe it even if it was the real person.

“Then what should I do? I don’t feel good seeing him get so much hate for this…”

“Ah! That’ll work!”

Chankyu-hyung suddenly picked up his phone and turned on Gamst’s live broadcast.

He was streaming right now.

And was in the middle of making an apology.

“Hey, you can just donate right here and prove it’s really you, right? He’s live right now.”

I quickly took out my phone, wrote ‘Gamst’ on a piece of paper, took a selfie, and posted it on Instagram.

[Jeong Tae-woo has donated 1,000,000 won]

Hello, this is Jeong Tae-woo. I just posted a verification photo on my Instagram, so please check it.

Would it be okay to give you a call?

“I’m truly sorr… huh? Wait a minute. One million won? No… is this really Jeong Tae-woo?”

Gamst, who had been delivering his apology, was first startled by the large sum of 1,000,000 won.

Then, seeing the message that followed, his expression became even more surprised.

The chat window exploded in an instant.

-????????

-????????

-Is he real?

-No way he’s real.

-But the amount is too large for a troll?

-Hey, wait, check his Instagram, it’s real.

-Holy sh*t, it’s really Jeong Tae-woo.

-(link) Guys, it’s real lol. He showed up himself.

“Ah… no… are you really Jeong Tae-woo? I am so sorry. What should I do? A call… of course I have to take the call! Just a moment!”

On the screen, Gamst looked genuinely shocked, stammering as he spoke.

“I’ll send you my number through a whisper! Would it be okay to take the call on speaker for the broadcast?”

The chat window went even wilder.

-Kheu, as expected of Gamst-hyung, he knows how to entertain!

-Wow, is there a streamer who gets a donation from a Premier League player during a live broadcast? This is truly epic.

-But what if Jeong Tae-woo gets angry on the call?

-Then he’s screwed lol.

-Look at Gamst’s hands shaking.

[Jeong Tae-woo has donated 1,000,000 won]
Of course, I’ll call you right away.

-Wow, another 1 million won.

-Look at the class of the Premier League.

“Hey Tae-woo, this must be it.”

Chankyu-hyung pointed at my phone.

A whisper had arrived in the AfreecaTV chat window.

[Whisper from Gamst]

It’s 010-××××-××××.

I called the number immediately.

The sound of Gamst’s phone ringing could be heard from the broadcast screen.

***

Bzzzing- Bzzzing-

“Heok! Everyone, the call is really here! Phew… I’ll take it.”

Gamst answered the phone with a trembling hand.

“He-hello?”

“Is this Gamst?”

“Yes, it is! Mr. Jeong Tae-woo… would it be okay if I put you on speakerphone?”

“Haha, of course.”

-This guy only thinks about his broadcast, that’s why he’s so great.

-lol the first thing he says is ‘I’ll put you on speaker’.

It felt like my heart was going to explode.

Jeong Tae-woo, a player from the Premier League, had personally called my broadcast.

This was the first time something like this had happened since I started streaming.

No, even among all streamers, he was probably the first to receive a donation and a call from a player in Europe.

Moreover, a single word from Jeong Tae-woo would put the current controversy to rest at once.

My hands were sweating with nervousness.

‘Still, this is content I can’t miss. If this goes well…’

“Ah, ah… can you hear me?”

“Yes, Mr. Jeong Tae-woo, I can hear you. Would it be possible for you to introduce yourself? Of course, there’s probably no one who doesn’t know you, but just in case.”

“Hello, this is Manchester City’s goalkeeper, Jeong Tae-woo, who recently received high praise from Gamst.”

-lol high praise.

-Yeah, honestly, it was high praise. He didn’t curse him out or anything, just said he was good. There was no need for this to become a controversy.

-Jeong Tae-woo’s got a great sense of humor. lol

“Hahaha, once again, I’m sorry. You were just so good that I couldn’t help myself…”

“Not at all. I really enjoyed watching it. In fact, I feel good, like I’ve been acknowledged by you, Gamst.”

“I’m truly grateful that you say that. As expected of Jeong Tae-woo, your personality is as great as your face.”

While speaking, Gamst glanced at the chat to gauge the mood.

-I agree. The fact that he’s calling like this to clear things up because he knows it’s not nice to hear someone being cursed at on his behalf just shows how good of a person he is.

-This hyung is handsome, has a great personality, and is good at sports too! Please, just not ‘that’…

-Hello, this is the Pungwol High football team. Having showered with him… God is unfair.

-Keuk, damn it, why me.

“You must be very tired… I hope I’m not taking up too much of your time.”

“Not at all. I’m the one who contacted you first, and since I’m always in Europe, it’s hard to see my Korean fans.

So, I’m really happy to have this opportunity to communicate. It would be great if you could conduct it like an interview, Gamst.”

“Ah, really? Then would it be okay if I pick a few questions that the fans might be curious about and ask you?”

“Yes, that’s fine. Oh, and you can speak comfortably to me. As you know, I’m still a student, haha.”

“Th-then, Tae-woo-ya…”

“Yes, streamer-hyung!”

“Kheu~ Everyone, I’m this close with Tae-woo, hahaha.”

– My oppa’s way of speaking is truly angelic…

-Wow, Gamst becoming bros with a Premier League player is legendary.

-Is this really the broadcast where he’s on the phone with my oppa?

-Wow, awesome, look at the viewer count, it’s over 40,000 right now.

-This is a truly legendary broadcast.

Gamst quickly checked the viewer count.

The number of viewers had far surpassed the 40,000 mentioned in the chat and was continuously climbing.

It was the highest record in his broadcasting career.

‘Th-this is insane…’