Chapter 73: Break (3)

“Ugh…”

I stretched and got out of bed, feeling unusually refreshed and revitalized today.

Was it because I had finally laid down the heavy burden I had been carrying in my heart?

My body and mind felt much lighter.

Creak-

I was startled by the sound of my bedroom door opening roughly.

“Who is it?”

“Oppa, hurry and come out!”

It was Mina’s urgent voice.

“Why so suddenly in the morning…”

“Just hurry and come out.”

As I was about to leave the room, Mina grabbed my arm.

Dragged by her hand into the living room, I saw Damin already sitting on the sofa.

“Did you sleep well, Taewoo?”

“Uh, yeah… I slept well, you…”

“Unni, this isn’t the time for greetings. I’ve come up with a brilliant plan. You should listen too, Oppa.”

“Hey, Jeong Mina. What brilliant plan so early in the morning?”

“I thought about it all night,”

Mina’s eyes sparkled.

“I think it would be a huge hit if we revealed your identity by dancing to the highlight part of ‘First Crown’ together, instead of just posting on SNS! Group dance challenges are incredibly popular these days.”

‘…Did I hear that right?’

“Wait, what? What’s that…”

“Ah, you know too, Oppa, how hot ‘First Crown’ is right now! Plus, the fact that the Manchester City goalkeeper and a Queendom member are siblings… this is going to be huge.”

Damin was watching us from the sofa with a smile.

“But still, so early in the morning… I haven’t even washed up yet.”

“Ah, Oppa! This is such a great idea. It’s much more impactful to do it in this unguarded, unadorned state than just posting on Instagram.”

“Hey, you’re all dolled up…”

My gaze turned to my sister’s face.

Recalling one of the common lies women tell, ‘I didn’t wear any makeup today,’ I examined Mina’s face.

Her face was fair, clearly indicating she had at least put on some base makeup.

Seeing my suspicious expression, Mina grinned and continued with a playful look in her eyes,

“And… Oppa, be honest. It’s not because of me, but because you want to go on dates with Damin-unni comfortably, right?”

Damin blushed slightly and lowered her head.

This… this kid, how did she know what I was thinking…

A sudden silence fell at Mina’s words.

“No, that’s… I mean…”

While I was stammering, Mina said with a triumphant smile, “See, you can’t even speak properly. You’re completely caught, aren’t you? So, Oppa, you have to do it, right?”

‘That… that wicked kid is blackmailing her brother? My authority as an older brother…’

“I have to…”

“You should have done it sooner.”

Mina’s smile as she finished her sentence was truly devilish.

If Guerrero and Sanchez had seen her smile, they would have nodded and said, ‘Just like Taewoo’s sister.’

“Ha… so what do I have to do?”

“Oppa, haven’t you listened to our song?”

“Hey, I have listened to it. But how am I supposed to memorize all of that? I’m not a dancer…”

“Aish, I guess I have to teach you everything from one to ten.”

Mina sighed and put on a look of resignation.

“You only have to dance the highlight part, so just watch for now.”

Their song began to play from Mina’s phone.

Fly higher (Fly high)

Run towards my dream (Run now)

Like a star lighting up the stage, I’ll shine forever

Put the First Crown on me

I’m opening a new era

The dazzling Spotlight is my stage

First Crown, First Crown

I’ll become a name everyone remembers

Personally, this was my favourite part.

Listening to these lyrics, I naturally imagined it.

The moment I win the World Cup final and Korea makes new history.

The brilliant future where the whole world remembers the name Jeong Taewoo and I can live with Mina without any worries.

It’s as if this song is predicting the future I want most.

But that’s that…

“No, how am I supposed to dance to that?”

Queendom’s ‘First Crown’ is a song about the journey of four girls who started from the beginning and ran towards the top.

It starts with elegant and delicate choreography, gradually becomes more powerful, and then in the highlight part where they finally reach the top, their intense charisma explodes.

So, the dance also consisted of highly difficult and powerful movements to match.

“Ah, anyway, the public doesn’t think a soccer player will dance well. Just getting the general idea is enough.”

And so it began. The hell of practice.

At first, it was just about getting the general idea, but their ‘general idea’ was quite difficult.

“Ah, Oppa! That’s not how you do it~ You have to fold your hand more, like you’re putting on a crown!”

“Ah, this is driving me crazy. Why is an athlete so stiff!”

“And Oppa, when you turn here, be smoother! You’re too mechanical right now.”

Mina’s corrections continued.

As a soccer player, I was confident in using my body, but a goalkeeper’s instantaneous reflexes and a dancer’s smooth movements were completely different realms.

Damin was watching us from the sofa, holding back a small laugh.

“Taewoo, that’s not how you do it…”

The “that’s not how you do it” time continued for another hour, and finally, we were able to film the video.

‘Ha… how much are you going to drop a man’s pride, you guys.’

“Alright, Oppa! We’re really starting now, so get in position. I’ll set up the camera, so get ready!”

Mina started setting up her phone in front of the living room sofa.

While she was moving around to get the right angle, Damin came and stood next to me.

“Fighting…”

Damin whispered softly in my ear.

Ugh… normally, if someone whispered in my ear, my fist would fly out first, but Damin’s voice was like a spring breeze.

I hugged her slightly and whispered in her ear as well.

“You too, Damin, fighting.”

In fact, the reason I couldn’t be touchy-feely with Damin even though I liked her was because I always had a weight on my mind.

But the moment that weight was lifted, all the seals that had been holding me back were released.

“What are you two whispering about, you’re so close~”

At Mina’s sharp voice, we instantly pulled apart.

I could see Damin’s face flush slightly.

“Ready, Oppa, Unni?”

“Uh… ready.”

“Alright, let’s start. One, two, three!”

Fly higher (Fly high)

I started to move my body as I had practiced.

It was awkward at first, but seeing Mina and Damin dancing together on either side of me, I gradually gained confidence.

Run towards my dream (Run now)

Like a star lighting up the stage, I’ll shine forever

Put the First Crown on me

I’m opening a new era

The dazzling Spotlight is my stage

First Crown, First Crown

I’ll become a name everyone remembers

“Please give lots of love to my !!! brother and the First Crown dance challenge! Bye!!”

The video ended with Mina’s final comment.

“Oppa, I guarantee you. Everyone in South Korea who doesn’t use a computer will have seen this video!”

“Hey, just say everyone will see it. Who doesn’t use a computer and the internet these days? Even kindergarteners are walking around with smartphones.”

I suddenly started to regret it.

The teasing from my friends who would see it…

‘Surely they won’t see it, right? Nah, no way…’

“I should upload it today! After getting confirmation from the agency…”

At Mina’s muttering, I thought ‘no way’, but it was still ‘no way’.

‘How would the guys in Europe see it? They probably don’t even know Queendom…’

***

[Queendom’s Jeong Mina, turns out to be the sister of Manchester City’s starting goalkeeper Jeong Taewoo?!]

[Scandal rumors completely shut down! Jeong Taewoo appears in Queendom’s ‘First Crown’ challenge… even dances with members Jeong Mina and Jang Damin?]

[From Guardian God to Dance Master! Jeong Taewoo’s surprising charm with the Queendom members]

[Is there anything this man can’t do! The endless charm of Jeong Taewoo]

The ‘First Crown’ challenge video with Jeong Mina and Damin instantly recorded an explosive number of views.

Various media outlets rushed to release related articles, and as Mina had said, it became the center of attention to the point where anyone who used the internet would know about it.

– Wow, Queendom’s Mina is our hyung’s sister…

– Why is Jeong Taewoo your hyung? How old are you?

– 25 years old.

– No, but why is he hyung when Jeong Taewoo is 18?

– Heh, anyone who is good at soccer is hyung lol.

– Is this family’s genes for real…

– Designate the Jeong family’s genes as a national cultural asset right now lol.

– Wow, this visual is so holy, is it real lol. I heard Jang Damin is also Jeong Taewoo’s childhood friend.

– Hehe… a romance with a childhood friend…♡

– I approve!!

– I like the younger sister more, hehe.

– ???

“Ugh.”

“Oh, Taewoo, are you okay? Was the car ride too bumpy?”

After the break ended, I was looking at my phone in the car on the way to the training ground, and a sound of nausea came out of me without me realizing.

“No, Chan-gyu hyung, I’m fine. I just… saw a rather disgusting comment.”

“I told you not to read malicious comments. No matter what you do, those people will post malicious comments.”

“No, it was hard to even call it a malicious comment… it was a really terrible thing to say.”

“How bad was it? Let me see. You should sue for something like that. If you put up with it, they think they’re kings.”

Chan-gyu hyung seemed to have misunderstood, but I didn’t bother to correct him.

To me, it was worse than a malicious comment.

‘Hehe with the younger sister… ugh.’

Just thinking about it makes me sick…

But the impact of the video is much stronger than I thought…

“Hyung… surely the City guys haven’t seen this video, right?”

“Nah, no way~ There wasn’t a single article about it in Europe, so don’t worry.”

‘Yeah, surely they haven’t seen it…’

“But Taewoo, isn’t it good even if they saw it? You danced well~ First Crown, First Crown~”

“…Hyung.”

“Puhahaha! I know, I know, I won’t do it.”

When I arrived at the training ground, for some reason, my teammates seemed to be holding back their laughter.

But since no one said anything, I didn’t think they had seen the video.

Then, today, we were unusually having a tactical meeting first, so I headed to the video room.

“Alright, today, we’ll start by showing you the most crucial video.”

After the coach’s words, the video of me dancing appeared on the giant screen.

Run towards my dream (Run now)

Like a star lighting up the stage, I’ll shine forever

“…Ah, damn it.”

A curse in Korean slipped out of me without me realizing.

The tension of my teammates watching it was at its absolute peak.

“Oh! Taewoo, why do you shake your butt so well?”

“Hahaha! He had that kind of talent? I thought he was just a mature kid!”

“Even watching it again, Taewoo’s sexiness pierces through the screen!”

“Oppa, I love you!!”

As I hung my head low, Guerrero came up and threw out a comment.

“Bro~ it’s okay~ Your sexy appeal was perfect!”

‘How do I get to the rooftop…’