My Girlfriend Wants Victory

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I followed the somewhat unsettlingly smiling Manager Choi Gi-hyun into the coaching room.

The stench of cigarettes mixed with the distinctive odor of the manager’s office.

“Oof! So bright! Is that a flashbang?”

A bald uncle greeted me with a shiny head.

“Oh! Son Jinho! Nice to meet you!”

The bald uncle stood up with a gentle smile and offered me a handshake.

Hmm. His face looks familiar, so he must be a high-ranking official from the football association.

“I am Jo Yeon-jong, president of the football association.”

Ah, so he’s the president.

No wonder that Choi Gi-hyun is grinning like a fool.

“I’m Son Jinho, a first-year student from Geumsun High School.”

As I exchanged greetings with the president, I slyly glanced at Choi Gi-hyun.

“Hehe. The coach who has nurtured a promising player noticed by the president? It’s me,” muttered Coach Choi.

Ugh. Is it really that great?

His mouth just won’t drop.

“Seems like this is going to take a while, shall we sit down?”

At the president’s suggestion, the coach and I took our seats, and upon confirming we were settled, he cautiously opened his mouth.

“Son Jinho, do you know about the study abroad program our football association is conducting?”

“Yeah, I have a rough idea…”

Just as I nodded and started to answer, the president didn’t even let me finish and launched into a history lecture.

“It all began back in 2000 when Seol Ki-hyun transferred to Royal Antwerp…”

I see.

I listened with half an ear; I already knew all this stuff.

In 2000, the Korea Football Association actively assisted Seol Ki-hyun’s overseas transfer. In a way, Seol Ki-hyun was the first player in the promising talent study abroad project.

And after being inspired by Seol Ki-hyun’s performance in the 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup, the Korea Football Association realized the need for such programs.

Starting with the first generation of the excellent player study abroad project in 2002, it ran until 2008, but ended after the sixth generation due to internal resistance and various issues.

“But the fact that I received an offer means…”

It seems my performance is gradually changing the future.

“Uh-oh… Is this going to lead to Manchester United failing its dark evolution because of me?”

That can’t happen. The best word to tease Gyeouri is “Mangu”!

– “Don’t call me Mangu—!!”

While I imagined Gyeouri expressing her anger…

“Actually, we were going to put a stop to the excellent player study abroad project.”

The boring history lecture finally came to an end. At that point, the president finally explained why he personally came here.

“There was a lot of internal resistance. There were complaints about the loss of promising talents and whatnot. There was a lot of chatter. Some schools even suggested candidate players. Because of this, we temporarily suspended the program…”

Jo Yeon-jong, the president, seemed choked up and took a sip of water before continuing.

“Our Son Jinho is showing incredible talent. So I strongly argued that we should send him one last time, just one more time. I gathered all the play footage from the U-19 national team and records from the national high school football league and sent them to Germany, the UK, and Spain. As a result, both Germany’s Dortmund and England’s Swansea showed interest.”

So an excellent player study abroad program.

I glanced at Coach Choi, who was grinning with a peculiar smile while listening to the president’s words.

As far as I know, other coaches would tell players to intentionally screw up in games to avoid being sent abroad.

“Why is this guy so happy about it?”

Seriously, I just can’t figure him out.

“Oh, Mr. President. Speaking of that, SBK also reached out to Jinho for a casting request. It was a reality show filming overseas transfer tests. How about we run it alongside this study abroad program?”

Coach Choi even actively suggested ideas to help me with my overseas study.

“Oh, is that true?”

“Of course! We discussed it just yesterday!”

While Coach Choi and the president were chatting, I slowly closed my eyes and pondered.

If I accept the president’s proposal, the problem of not being able to go abroad would be solved.

The FIFA ban on “minor transfers” would be handled by the Korea Football Association.

Most likely, the association will send a special request to FIFA’s ethics committee, requesting to treat it as a special case to receive an exception.

By the way, Son Heung-min also went to Hamburg using this method.

Well, it sounds like a golden opportunity, but the reality of Son Heung-min’s study abroad in Germany later shocked many.

“They said the staff sent to manage the kids got arrested for theft, so the players were neglected?”

I brought up that internal resistance but perhaps there was also an intent to hush up that incident.

While I wore a serious expression…

Coach Choi burst out laughing and patted my back hard.

“Haha, I guess you’re worried about Jinho’s overseas activities.”

I scoffed at Coach Choi’s words. Am I a kid? Afraid to go abroad?

“Don’t worry, Jinho! This great coach Choi Gi-hyun will go with you and take care of you!”

Um. That sounds a bit scary.

I made a sour face at Coach Choi’s words but then burst into laughter.

It’s a mix of love and hate, I guess.

Well, if Coach Choi goes, it might not be boring over there.

Having someone I know abroad would be nice.

“So then, who would coach Geumsun High?”

But my mouth blurted out something different from my thoughts.

It’s not like I’m confessing my love to Gyeouri or something. It’s a bit awkward to confess my feelings to a grumpy uncle.

“Huh? The coach can handle that. That guy’s been studying tactics hard lately.”

And with Coach Choi’s next words, I genuinely sighed.

Ugh, Gi-hyun.

For heaven’s sake, can you study too?

***

I told the president I would think positively before leaving the coaching room.

What should I say? I felt a bit uneasy.

Honestly, I had a strong desire to study abroad.

I had never had a chance to challenge myself on the European stage in my past life.

But there was one serious problem.

Being neglected isn’t an issue. I wouldn’t really care if I was a genuine high school student. My mind is that of a veteran midfielder, you know.

‘And Coach Choi is going with me too.’

Language wouldn’t be a problem either. I might not know German, but I can manage with English.

The real problem, however, is that if I go abroad, I won’t get to see Gyeouri.

That’s a really serious issue. To me, Gyeouri is everything. She’s essential for living.

“Gyeouri, today the football association asked if I was thinking of studying abroad in Europe.”

After finishing my conversation with the president, I headed straight home to spill out everything to Gyeouri. It doesn’t suit my temper to suffer in silence.

And since we’re getting married, I shouldn’t be hiding anything, right?

Most relationship breakdowns stem from small misunderstandings. Once trust is lost, rebuilding it is that much harder.

“Of course, you have to go! Europe is Europe!”

Anyway, when Gyeouri heard my words, she got furious, asking what kind of ridiculous statement that was.

“But if you study abroad, won’t I be able to see you?”

“Wait a second!”

At my words, Gyeouri began to frown in deep thought with a serious expression. Then, she rushed outside in her pajamas.

– “Mom! Please let me study abroad!”

Did the door not close properly?

The voices of Gyeouri and my mother-in-law could be heard.

– “Hey, you crazy girl! What do you mean study abroad barging in like this!”

Hmm. My mother-in-law’s shouting was very impressive.

***

Gyeouri’s study abroad was easily decided.

There was no hesitation at all.

– “Worried about you two going away on your own? I’m going with you too.”

Upon learning why Gyeouri wanted to study abroad, her family rapidly decided not only her trip but my mother-in-law’s as well.

Though her father suddenly became a goose dad.

– “Ah, Son son-in-law. Please take care of Gyeouri and Mi-yeon!”

For some reason, he looked quite cheerful.

Nevertheless, even though the study abroad isn’t confirmed yet, we were treating football study abroad as a done deal.

Well, considering my football skills, it seems only natural.

‘Dortmund and Swansea, huh.’

I recalled the two clubs mentioned by the president. Honestly, I feel more inclined towards Dortmund than Swansea. The club’s prestige, and anyway, demonic sect style seems cooler, right?

I heard that scouts from Dortmund and Swansea are coming to watch the games at the U-19 friendly tournament in Vietnam this July. I hope not just me but other players shine and go abroad too.

“But Jinho, you got all excited, but aren’t you not being called up to the U19 national team?”

I scoffed at Gyeouri’s words.

“I’m Son Jinho.”

There was no worry about not being called up to the U19 national team.

And rightly so.

– Effort Jinx: Ho-woo, are you ready as a striker?

– Jinho: No, that won’t work.

Since the last call-up, I had been hounded by Coach Han Gwang-jong to prepare “I am a striker” for a while.

– Effort Jinx: You better keep trying until you make it!!

Come to think of it, I felt like I had blocked out his endless mentality.

Hmm. Would an adult like me sulk over something trivial and get excluded from the call-up list?