My Girlfriend Wants Victory

---

*

Just before the match started.

I lightly warmed up and took my position on the ground. The cheers from the stands were faint yet clear.

“Son Jinho, fighting─!!”

“Our son-in-law, fighting─!!”

Turning my head towards the source of the name being called, I spotted my father-in-law and mother-in-law in the stands.

I waved at them cheerfully. They were truly wonderful people. On match days, they came to support me in place of my deceased parents.

I wished Gyeouri could have come to cheer as well, but unfortunately, in 2010, she was in a situation where she had to attend school every other Saturday. She was now forced to go to school with tears in her eyes.

I recalled Gyeouri, who had been whining in our group chat about not being able to come watch the game.

– Gyeouri: Noㅠㅠ Why can’t I watch the gameㅠㅠ

– Gyeouri: If it were at 2 PM, I could have watched itㅠㅠ

– Me: They’ll play at 2 PM next week, so you can see it then.

– Gyeouri: Next week, it’s a no-school day anywayㅡㅡ

– Father-in-law: Don’t worry, Dad will cheer extra hard for youㅋ

– Gyeouri: …But why did you skip work to watch football, Dad?

– Father-in-law: Because I’m the boss of the company.

– Gyeouri: …Such a villainous boss who only sends his employees to work!

– Me: Gyeouri, but it’s Saturday today. Didn’t they take your phone at school?

– Gyeouri: Mlehwrhlhl

After a while of whining, Gyeouri quieted down when her mother promised to record the game for her.

– Mother-in-law: I’ll record the game and show it to you, so put your phone away and study hard, okay? ^^

It seemed she had been waiting for those words.

Having accomplished her goal, Gyeouri sent me a word of encouragement before vanishing.

– Gyeouri: ㅠㅠㅠㅠ Don’t mess up the recording pleaseㅠㅠㅠㅠ

– Gyeouri: Hey! Son Jinho! Don’t be nervous just because I’m not there and play well! Watch out for injuries!

– Gyeouri: And don’t spoil the resultsㅠㅁㅠ

Who on earth claims to be her sister…

I thought of Gyeouri’s messages while looking at the center circle. There were two players from Hanyang High School positioned in it.

“Now that I think of it, back in this era they had to kick the ball forward at kickoff, which is why there are two players in the center circle.”

It was suddenly clear that football tactics and regulations were rapidly changing.

While I gazed at the two players in the center circle with a look of wonder,

Peep!

The referee blew the whistle to start the match, and the striker from Hanyang High School, dressed in red and white striped jerseys, rolled the ball sideways and dashed forward as the game began.

*

Hanyang High School boasted a strong flank attack and good pressure with their 3-4-3 formation, while we came with an aggressive possession-centric 4-3-3 formation.

The moment I saw Hanyang High School’s formation, my eyes shifted to their side midfielders.

Since the flanks were key to their tactics, those two were likely their ace players.

“Hm. Now that I think about it, they seem kind of familiar.”

Given their familiarity, I probably saw them a few times in the K League. Since I couldn’t quite remember, they must not have been starters but rather substitutes or part of the reserve team.

“Well, even that is quite impressive.”

The probability of a youth player becoming a K League player is only 0.8%.

That just shows how difficult it is to become a K League player, and being a pro itself is already proof of excellent talent and dedicated effort.

“Unless, of course, you possess incredible talent without any effort. Or have ordinary talent and worked yourself to the bone.”

Either way, it’s true that this player here is impressive in every aspect too.

“Jinho!”

In the 3rd minute of the first half, the center back from Geumsun High School didn’t just clear the ball aimlessly; he passed it straight to me, just like we practiced in counterattack training.

Perhaps due to the nerves, he miscalculated the power of the pass, making it a bit too long and strong, but that was fine.

I stretched out my leg and lightly touched the ball with my toe.

Tonk.

As the ball touched my toe, it softly landed on the grass.

“!”

The Hanyang High School number 8, who thought the ball would bounce away, approached in panic, but his pressure was a bit clumsy, allowing me to successfully shake him off.

I didn’t even need to use fancy moves like the Marseille turn, flip flap, or nutmeg. I simply faked with my upper body and made it look easy. Maybe because of a lack of experience, my feet responded effortlessly.

Easily escaping the pressure from Hanyang High School’s number 8, I turned around to find a spacious area ahead. I saw number 11 running while raising his hand.

“Wait, damn it. I told you not to run wildly!”

But then again, they were youth players; I was wrong to expect them to adhere strictly to tactics. Instead, I should commend the center back who attempted to pass to me rather than just clearing the ball aimlessly like before.

“If properly nurtured, they might debut as pros!”

Thinking of the center back Kim Jae-hyun, who had passed me the ball, I began to charge towards the Hanyang High territory.

Clearly, while the 3-4-3 formation is strong in forward pressure, it also has a clear flaw of being vulnerable to counterattacks when that pressure fails.

Well… Actually, this is a common weakness for any team that plays an aggressive upfront game.

To cover this weakness, they really need a center back with monstrous abilities. Such a monster wouldn’t be found in South Korea but would likely be part of a big European club or an academy known for nurturing talented players.

“Collaborative defense!!”

By the time I broke past the halfway line and started to see Hanyang High School’s penalty box, a defender who appeared to be a center back revealed himself in front of me.

Once again, I used an upper body fake to get past the defender, and just as I was about to take a long-range shot—

Suddenly—

Whack!

I felt a tug on my jersey from behind. Instantly, I relaxed my muscles and fell backwards.

Spotting the foul from close up, the referee blew his whistle for the foul, and I quickly got up and prepared for a free kick.

About 23 meters away.

Indeed, the speed of a vibrant teenager is on a completely different level compared to a retiree.

“Ah, youth is great.”

If it hadn’t been for my regression, I would’ve probably been fouled from approximately 26 meters out.

Beep!

The referee, who designated the position, blew his whistle. The Hanyang High players, forming a wall, wore nervous expressions.

I slowly approached and swung my right foot, striking the bottom half of the ball sharply.

The ball barely made contact with the instep; I could hardly feel it.

“W-what the!”

The ball flew without spinning, curving sharply right in front of the goalkeeper, and tore through the net.

It was hard to believe such a fantastic free kick goal came from a mere high school league.

The expression of the goalkeeper, staring blankly at the net, was quite impressive.

“Wow waaaaaaa─!!”

The spectators and parents from Geumsun High, who were watching the match, seemed astonished by the wonder goal, bursting into cheers slightly late.

In fact, it was not that I didn’t brag—after all, I was the one who scored against Germany with a free kick in the World Cup. My performance at that time even drew offers from big clubs.

Ever heard of Maenggu? At the time of my regression, it was a team dominating the top of the league and was an emerging powerhouse in the league.

“Whaaaa─!! Jinhoooooo─!!”

Regardless, as soon as I scored, I dashed toward the corner flag. While pondering what kind of celebration to perform, it struck me.

It was still before Ronaldo revealed the Ho-woo celebration to the world.

I immediately began to spin my right index finger in the air as I ran to the corner flag. As I turned halfway, I crossed my arms and shouted.

“Ho-woo─!!!!”

From this moment onwards, I became the originator of Ho-woo.

The slight guilt of stealing another’s celebration… well, I felt it a little.

‘But still, Ho-woo is irresistible.’

“What the hell is that stupid celebration?”

“It’s stupid, but it’s cool!”

See? The reactions are already coming in.

This is the tremendous power of Ho-woo.

The only problem is—

“Hey, you idiot! Are you Adebayor? Why are you celebrating here like it’s a big deal?!”

I must’ve picked the wrong place to get excited.

It seemed I got too hyped up thinking I had become the first great Ho-woo of Ho-woo Shinjyo.

I closed my eyes to calm my heart, then offered a finger heart to the angry parents of Hanyang High in apology.

The Hanyang High parents looked at me and put their thumbs between their index and middle fingers.

“Hmm.”

It surely wasn’t some heinous insult like asking their deceased mother to nurse me. They probably just failed at the heart gesture because their fingers were chubby.

I decided to think positively.

*

The coach of Hanyang High School couldn’t hide his weary smile.

Thirty minutes into the match.

Only thirty minutes had passed, yet it felt like the match was already over.

‘7 to 0, huh.’

If this were baseball, it would’ve been a cold game loss.

It wasn’t that the kids he coached were lacking.

It was just because of one monster positioned in the center of Geumsun High.

The Hanyang High coach checked the jersey number of the familiar monster.

‘Number 10. Son Jinho?’

The moment he saw the name, memories flooded back.

Last year, he was a player who showcased outstanding skills in the second-half middle school championship, and there had been many coaches eyeing him because he had inherited a substantial legacy from his parents.

Of course, those coaches who had an eye on him had been thoroughly stripped clean by Chairman Hwang Geum-soon.

‘By the way, a lot can change in a year, can’t it?’

Not just the skill but also the entire vibe felt completely different.

One could say he had the presence of a veteran midfielder who had weathered many storms.

Perhaps not recognizing him immediately was largely due to the significant change in atmosphere from when he was just a middle schooler.

“Coach, aren’t you going to prepare the tactics for the second half?”

“Tactics? Jinho will handle that himself. Wow─! Did you see that pass? Amazing.”

The Hanyang High School coach approached Geumsun High’s coach, Choi Gi-hyun, who was beaming with admiration for Son Jinho’s play.

He was hoping for a little leniency.

‘Sigh… Who would’ve thought I’d be saying something like this?’

While I generally hated making such requests and detested coaches who did so, looking at the faces of the kids who looked like they were about to burst into tears, I couldn’t just stand by.

“Coach Choi.”

“Hmm? Oh my─! Senior!”

Fortunately, the Geumsun High coach was someone I knew.

*

Thirty minutes in, I had successfully performed 4 single Ho-woo celebrations and 3 double Ho-woo celebrations. That means 4 goals and 3 assists.

Some might question whether a seasoned professional should genuinely want to compete against kids.

But the world of competition is, after all, a harsh one.

And naturally, my physical age is 17. I’m two years younger than the kids currently playing.

At this age of growth, a single year creates a significant gap.

So, isn’t this somewhat fair?

I felt no shame in looking up to the sky.

“Son Jinho!!”

And it was then.

Coach Choi Gi-hyun, who was on the touchline, called out to me.

“Hey. Take it easy. Can’t you see the Hanyang High kids are mentally shattered?”

Coach Choi pointed to the Hanyang High players, whose faces bore the look of having their mental strength broken.

I turned my head to look at the Hanyang High territory.

“…”

The face of their goalkeeper, with tears welling in his eyes, caught my attention.

Hmm.

Maybe I had gone a bit overboard.

I slowly approached the Hanyang High goalkeeper to impart a lesson about life.

“Be good, and Santa will give you presents.”

Who knows, he might even get a status window.