Chapter 78: Racism (1)

The interview video Gamest uploaded had a huge impact.

Within a week of being posted, it surpassed three million views.

Because of my final statement, sports news outlets churned out articles with headlines like, ‘Is Jeong Tae-woo’s dream to win the World Cup?’

On social media, the way I looked at the camera and spoke became a spreading meme.

Especially among students who play football, that video became a sort of ‘motivational video’.

[Comments]

-13:23 LOLOLOL When asked to pick a Korean legend, he’s like ‘Well, the goalkeeper is easy,’ and immediately picks himself. What class. But no one can argue with it.

-In the first place, has there ever been a Korean player who advanced to Europe in the goalkeeper position? It’s irrefutable.

[- 32:13 Hello, I’m a middle school student dreaming of becoming a football player.

I was thinking of quitting because things weren’t going well, but after hearing your last words, I’ve decided to work hard until I have no regrets.

I will definitely achieve my dream of becoming a football player. I hope you can achieve your dream of winning the World Cup, Jeong Tae-woo.]

-Seriously, if Jeong Tae-woo continues to grow like this, winning the World Cup might not just be a dream.

Of course, there were also people who mocked my words as mere bravado.

-Korean World Cup victory vs. Gamest reaching 100 million subscribers. Which one is more likely?

-LOLOLOL Why does the former make the latter seem possible?

-F*cking ridiculous. Not even one season is over, he’s just halfway through, so why is he already being called world-class?

-It’s just because he’s ridiculously handsome that women are fawning all over him. I bet his personality is completely different behind the scenes. I bet Jeong Tae-woo aimed to injure Nakamura.

There were people like that, who, unable to criticize my current skills, resorted to attacking my career or personality.

However, once Gamest uploaded a video of Jeong Tae-woo’s fan service, the firepower of his detractors was bound to diminish rapidly.

In the video, Jeong Tae-woo offered his heartfelt thanks to many fans.

Especially the sight of him gifting his own goalkeeper gloves to a young child and giving sincere advice made it impossible to criticize his character.

***

Time passed, and Manchester City marched on as if they had forgotten the meaning of defeat.

They were eliminated from the League Cup after playing only substitutes to focus on the league title, but they won the 21st, 22nd, and 23rd league rounds all with clean sheets.

[Premier League Standings]

1. Manchester City (18W 5D 0L / 59 Points)

2. Manchester United (17W 4D 2L / 55 Points)

3. Arsenal (13W 5D 5L / 44 Points)

4. Liverpool (12W 6D 5L / 42 Points)

An overwhelming gap of more than 15 points had already opened up with the 3rd and 4th place teams.

The gap with 2nd place Manchester United was four points.

While it was still a score that didn’t allow for complacency, if they could just avoid defeat in the second half of the season, no one would be able to take this top spot.

“It’s all because of that guy.”

Peter Guardian’s gaze remained fixed on the training ground.

He clicked his tongue as he watched Jeong Tae-woo, who was laughing and joking around, playfully kicking at his teammates.

“Hah…”

A sigh escaped him, followed by a faint smile.

The one running around over there was just an ordinary eighteen-year-old boy.

After training, he would fool around with his teammates, roaring with laughter if someone fell… he was just acting his age.

“Just looking at him, he seems like a normal kid.”

Peter paused for a moment before shaking his head.

“No, he’s not exactly ordinary. That face isn’t ordinary.”

Peter Guardian let out a small laugh.

How could that face possibly be ordinary?

It was a face that shone brighter than the Hollywood actor whose posters filled his daughter Elizabeth’s room.

That ‘seemingly ordinary yet not-so-ordinary’ goalkeeper was now writing a new history for Manchester City.

“My daughter asked me to introduce them once…”

He suddenly recalled the dinner conversation from last weekend.

Elizabeth, who would usually turn her head away whenever the football channel came on, was acting strangely that day.

She was paying unusually close attention to his talk about match analysis…

“Dad, Player Jeong Tae-woo… do you think I could meet him?”

The moment she asked with a shy, blushing face, Peter almost dropped his spoon.

For a moment, an image of Jeong Tae-woo sitting across from his daughter flashed through his mind.

He would surely be looking at his precious daughter with that bright, innocent smile.

And Elizabeth would…

“No, absolutely not. Not even over my dead body.”

Peter Guardian shook his head vigorously as if to shake off a nightmare.

Like all fathers in the world, every man who approached his daughter looked like a wolf in Peter’s eyes.

And that was no exception, even for his most cherished player, Jeong Tae-woo.

“Especially a guy that handsome is even more dangerous…”

He looked towards Jeong Tae-woo, who was flashing an angelic smile on the other side of the training ground.

His purely shining eyes, his bright laughter, and his perfect features that could steal anyone’s heart.

If anything, that pure smile was more dangerous.

No one could let their guard down in front of him.

His precious daughter would be no exception.

No, if anything, she would fall for that purity more easily than anyone else.

‘I must never… never let her come near the stadium. Even if it’s Tae-woo, he wouldn’t be able to resist falling for our Elizabeth.’

It was a worry that Jeong Tae-woo himself would have found absurd if he heard it, but Peter Guardian genuinely thought so.

‘My daughter is so beautiful…’

***

It seemed like there would be no more crises.

Manchester City was dominating the league, and my clean sheet streak continued.

But the peaceful moments did not last long.

The 24th round of the league, a showdown with Arsenal.

[Yes! Jeong Tae-woo once again blocks a powerful shot from Arsenal’s Marcus Hendrickx!]

[Unbelievable. It really makes you wonder now. Is it even possible for a ball to enter Jeong Tae-woo’s goal?]

Amidst the commentators’ praise, I was putting on a perfect goalkeeping show, just like any other day.

But at that moment, an incident occurred that instantly froze the heated atmosphere of the football stadium.

‘F*ck, is he doing that to me right now?’

Frustrated by my save, Marcus Hendrickx was staring at me mockingly, pulling at the corners of his eyes with both hands.

For a moment, it felt like all the blood in my body was rushing backward.

It was a classic gesture demeaning East Asians.

And the starting striker of a big Premier League club like Arsenal had blatantly done such a thing in a stadium filled with countless cameras.

“This crazy son of a b*tch…”

A curse slipped out of my mouth before I knew it.

Just as I clenched my fists and was about to approach Hendrickx, Castillo rushed over like lightning and grabbed Hendrickx by the collar.

“What did you just do?”

[Ah… what is happening! Player Castillo has charged at Hendrickx!]

[The gesture that Player Hendrickx just showed… is an action that should never happen. For something like this to occur on the pitch…]

In an instant, players from both teams were tangled together, and the referee blew his whistle repeatedly, trying to calm the situation.

The stadium instantly descended into chaos.

But would a player with a character poor enough to be racist admit his fault just because someone grabbed his collar?

“I’d rather ask you. What are you doing right now? Grabbing my collar… you young punk.”

“Ha, I saw it, and all the cameras around saw it. You pulling your eyes. Don’t tell me you’re going to deny it?”

“When did I say I didn’t? I did it, so what are you going to do about it? What’s the problem?”

“What did you say?”

“Look, the crowd isn’t booing me, they’re booing you.”

He was right.

At Arsenal’s home ground, the Emirates Stadium, boos were raining down on us instead.

And mixed in with those boos were unbearable words of hatred.

“See? It’s not my fault.”

Hendrickx roughly shook off Castillo’s hand and sneered.

“You’re the ones causing a nuisance.”

He returned to his side of the field, smiling like a victor.

Even as he did, he didn’t stop the provocative gesture of pulling at his eyes.

Matias approached and reprimanded him, but Hendrickx only nodded his head perfunctorily.

The sneer never left his face.

“It’s okay, Tae-woo, don’t listen to that stuff. It’s just the words of uncultured people.”

Castillo patted my shoulder, but the situation in the stands was getting worse.

Hundreds of spectators were mimicking Hendrickx’s gesture.

The captain, who had reprimanded Hendrickx and rushed over to me, also looked at me with worried eyes.

But right now, I was calmer than ever.

‘I’ve been having so much fun playing football lately that I forgot.’

I had forgotten.

I had forgotten just how cold the gazes of European fans could be towards an East Asian player.

The English pride themselves on being a nation of gentlemen with refined manners, but in reality, the Premier League is the league with the most severe racism issues.

I had tasted that bitterness enough when I was Kim Chan-ki.

The current me… thanks to my outstanding skills and looks, their discrimination was merely lessened.

Thanks to it…

What a joke.

I vividly recalled the days when I was Kim Chan-ki, enduring racism early on and still managing to play.

How I endured, how I survived.

“You guys started this.”

The football match in the grand and dignified stadium, befitting a nation of gentlemen, was now over.

‘I’ll carve into your very bodies just how I survived.’

They would witness clearly through this match today the process by which I overcame all attempts to crush me and rose to the very top.