Chapter 82: Racism (5)

As the second half drew to a close, I made history.

Starting with the first goal, a header from Mathias’s cross, a subsequent right-footed shot split the goalposts, and a left-footed shot shook the net, completing a hat-trick.

Goalkeeper.

I became the first player to achieve a hat-trick from a position no one had ever imagined.

After the game ended, three balls sparkled next to my name on the scoreboard.

Jeong Taewoo (GK) ⚽⚽⚽

Naturally, the Man of the Match was mine.

In front of the camera, a beautiful reporter with slightly flipped blonde hair held out a microphone.

“How do you feel about winning today’s game? You’ve become the first player to achieve a hat-trick as a goalkeeper.”

She said, moving slightly closer.

“First of all, I want to thank my coach and teammates for believing in me. I’ve scored from a free-kick before, but it’s been a while since I scored directly from the field, so I’m even happier.”

‘No, why is she getting so close… Damin will get jealous again.’

A similar situation had occurred during the MOM interview after the last 0-0 draw.

A female reporter had approached me like this then too… and that night, when I checked my phone, there were a whopping 44 messages from Damin.

Her jealousy was cute, but it would be quite difficult if something like that happened again,
so I took a slight step back to maintain a suitable distance.

“Ah, now that I think about it, you also scored a free-kick goal in the first-half match against Arsenal, right? This time, a hat-trick… you’re a complete Arsenal killer.”

“A killer… I guess that’s right. My play seems to come alive when I face Arsenal. And I had some special motivation for this game too.”

The beautiful reporter looked at me with curious eyes.

‘Right, she probably didn’t expect me to bring up the racism issue first.’

But it was something I had to say.

Whether it’s Lee Taeyang, Yoo Heesung, or another Korean prospect, more Korean players will come to Europe in the future.

I didn’t want them to repeatedly experience what I went through today.

I am now a player who has established a certain position in the European stage.

My voice carried enough weight.

Someone had to speak this uncomfortable truth first.

‘At least my juniors… my friends shouldn’t have to go through this.’

Of course, even if I brought it up, the reporter might not notice, or might intentionally overlook it…

Fortunately, she didn’t seem to have any intention of doing so.

“Oh, Taewoo. Could you perhaps tell us what that special motivation was?”

“Hendricks made a gesture of slitting his eyes at me. And the crowd followed suit. Europeans might say, ‘What’s the big deal?’ But I want to make it clear. This is blatant racism.”

I calmly looked around at the reporter and the surrounding journalists.

“It’s even more regrettable that this happened in a league that prides itself on the ‘No to Racism’ campaign, which the English football community is so proud of.”

“Racism is definitely a culture that needs to disappear.”

The reporter agreed seriously.

“Ah, perhaps Hendricks just wanted to imitate my face?”

I asked, feigning innocence.

“But that doesn’t make sense… because my eyes are bigger than Hendricks’s. If he wanted to imitate me, he should have opened his eyes wide.”

I playfully winked at the camera.

Soft laughter bloomed in the atmosphere that had been weighed down by the heavy topic of racism.

“Hahaha, to handle such a heavy topic with humor, you’re truly talented, Taewoo.”

I wiped the smile off my face and continued with a serious expression.

“Thank you. I’m saying this for only one reason. So that we can all be more aware. Let’s enjoy football in a gentlemanly way, without racism.”

In fact, there are very few Europeans who don’t know that the act of slitting one’s eyes is racist.

Because this controversy has been going on even before I debuted.

But in the past, the voices of those who raised this issue were not loud, and it would eventually be buried over time.

Now, it was different.

As a prominent player in the Premier League, my statement would undoubtedly create a bigger stir.

Especially an interview after a game where I scored a hat-trick and was selected as the MOM.

Many people would see this video, and my message would be delivered further and for longer.

As expected, after the interview ended, the world’s media covered my statement with great attention.

[Jeong Taewoo, who achieved the first goalkeeper hat-trick, “Let’s play football in a gentlemanly way without racism”]

[Jeong Taewoo, “The act of slitting one’s eyes is blatant racism… please stop it now”]

The reaction of fans around the world who read the articles was passionate.

Voices of anger and reflection filled social media.

“We are all the same human beings. It doesn’t make sense to judge superiority based on skin color or appearance.”

“It breaks my heart to think about what an 18-year-old player went through. I’m really angry at Arsenal’s behavior. This should never happen again.”

“This should never happen again on the sacred football field. Ironically, a young Asian player is teaching us true sportsmanship.”

But there were also reactions that went in a different direction than I had expected.

“Oh my god, I lost my heart today… He’s not a football player, he’s a thief who stole my heart. A handsome thief.”

“I’m falling into our prince’s deep eyes…”

“Hendricks is really stupid. To make fun of the person with the most beautiful eyes in the world… and with a gesture of slitting his eyes? Could there be anything more ironic?”

Even the famous actress Scarlett, known as Hollywood’s glamorous queen, shared a highlight video of my game on her Instagram.

[✨ @taewoo_jung1 I really want to meet Jeong Taewoo of Manchester City 💙 Not only his outstanding skills, but also the mature attitude and courage he showed at a young age are really impressive. And he’s such a handsome player… his visuals are as perfect as his football skills 😊 #ManCity #NoToRacism #PrinceOfManCity]

Her post instantly garnered millions of ‘likes,’ and the world’s media showed even greater interest.

Of course, I couldn’t be excited about this situation.

It was clear that a bigger wave had been created than I had intended, and many people were forced to confront the painful reality of racism.

That was certainly the beginning of a meaningful change.

But…

Perhaps because of my looks, from famous Hollywood actresses to top models, Korean actors, and even girl group members, they tagged me and showed interest…

And that was something that sharply pricked the nerves of the sleeping cat in my house.

“Do you like it? All these beautiful women calling you handsome, cute, and cool.”

I could feel a dangerous chill in Damin’s voice.

“Haha… what’s there to like. All I need is my Damin…”

Dozens of KakaoTalk messages and endless phone calls.

I was sweating buckets again today, trying to soothe my girlfriend’s heart, which was burning with jealousy.

No matter how much the world paid attention to me, the center of my world was always her.

“…Are you sure?”

Her voice became much softer.

Phew, thank goodness. It seemed that after saying ‘I only have you’ about thirty times, her heart finally softened.

“Of course. How could I look at anyone else when I have such a pretty, beautiful, and good-natured girlfriend next to me? Don’t worry, you’re the only woman among my mutual follows on Instagram, and that’s enough.”

“Hmph~ Okay.”

‘I… I’m saved.’

“But you scored three goals? How can a goalkeeper score a goal? And three of them…”

“I’m good at football, you know.”

“That’s why I was more worried. It looks like all the women in the world are going to like you.”

“Hey, Jang Damin.”

“Huh?”

“I’m really a fool who only knows you, so you can stop worrying.”

I could feel her smile over the phone.

Soothing my girlfriend’s heart seemed more difficult than scoring three goals on the field.

“So… instead of just talking about me, our princess, shall we talk about you?”

“Princess?”

“Now that I think about it, you used to call me a prince all the time when you were young. But I’ve never called you our princess before.”

“…What are you talking about, all of a sudden.”

A hint of embarrassment was in her voice.

“Now, tell me about our princess. Is there anyone bothering you? Or anyone giving you a hard time?”

“There’s nothing like that. Everyone is kind.”

Well, that was a given.

There was no group as successful as ‘Queendom’ among the new girl groups right now, and even without the ‘new’ label, the records they were setting were legendary.

And the company supporting them from behind was a major agency, so who would dare to treat them carelessly?

But that’s why I was more worried.

“…Then, by any chance, is there no one asking for our princess’s number?”

I tried to keep my voice as calm as possible, but I couldn’t hide the tension that was leaking out.

No, there’s no way wolf-like men would leave a beautiful woman like Damin alone, right?

Just the thought of Damin smiling at another man…

‘Ugh… no, calm down.’

“Hey, I’m a minor. What number are you talking about?”

‘Ah, that’s right. We’re still minors.’

A sigh of relief escaped me for a moment.

“Ahem… well, you never know, so be careful of men. All men are wolves.”

The phone call continued late into the night.

The next morning, news headlines broke one after another.

[Arsenal FC, imposes a 10-game suspension and a £200,000 fine on Marcus Hendricks for racist remarks]

[FA, imposes a £500,000 fine and a 3-game ban without spectators on Arsenal for failing to control the crowd]

[FIFA President, “The Jeong Taewoo incident will be a turning point in eradicating racism in football”]