Chapter 113
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Translator: Silver Dragon
Chapter: 113
Chapter Title: Why Park Si-hyun Plays Soccer
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Beep! Beep! Beeeeeep!
The referee's final whistle blew, and the Frankfurt players slunk out of Potsipalais Stadium, heads hanging low one by one.
Top vs. second place—a big match?
The score was 4-0.
This wasn't a big match. It was a public execution.
On the flip side, the victorious Essen fans were hugging each other, crying and laughing in a total frenzy.
They'd smashed the traitor and gotten sweet revenge. For a team that had been floundering in the third division, the thrill of now openly gunning for promotion to the first division exploded all at once.
The points gap with third place and below was already massive. Unless they went on a insane losing streak in the second half of the season, the top-two spots weren't changing hands.
The promotion battle was basically decided today.
I took a light lap around the stadium, waving to the fans, when I spotted a little kid in one section of the stands waving something frantically with both hands.
A small banner. Childish handwriting, but full of effort.
[I'm a Si-hyun fan]
The first Korean I'd seen in Germany.
'A Korean... here?'
It was 2002—overseas trips weren't commonplace yet, and for a Korean to come all the way to Europe took real resolve.
Even a direct flight from Korea to Germany was 10-11 hours; with layovers, 13-15. Not the kind of trip you could just up and do on a whim.
Not something you could decide 'hey, feeling good today, let's go' or pop over for a weekend like a trip to Japan.
It was halfway around the world.
After that grueling journey, a Korean family had come to see me amid unfamiliar language and sights.
That little banner zoomed in like a camera lens, crystal clear in my eyes.
I naturally stopped walking, took off my jersey, and slowly headed toward the kid.
My first Korean in Germany. And those tiny hands clutching a banner with my name in neat Korean letters, shaking it for all they were worth.
...Moments like this make it impossible to quit soccer.
After regressing, I knew I could live rich without playing soccer.
'I know about Bitcoin from the start... it'd be dumber not to get rich.'
Sure, I'd switched from defender to striker to escape the misery of my past life.
But the real reason I'd chosen soccer was moments like this, right now.
The joy of victory, the connection with fans, and the pure dream sparkling in a child's eyes.
As I approached, the kid's face lit up, and he shouted,
"Si-hyun! You were awesome today! I'm gonna be a cool player like you someday!"
"Just awesome today? Lame the rest of the time?"
"N-no! You're always awesome!"
"Hahaha. What's your name, buddy?"
"Kim Tae-hyung! I'm gonna be a soccer player like you, hyung, and win the World Cup!"
Kim Tae-hyung.
A name I'd never heard in the future before I regressed.
Because back then, I'd been a run-of-the-mill K League defender who retired quietly and faded away. No one looked up to me as an idol or a goal.
But now it's different.
No one knows how far this kid, growing up watching me, will go.
Having an idol or someone to follow makes all the difference in pulling out a kid's full potential.
"Yeah? If you win the World Cup, I'll hand over my 'world's best' title special."
"For real!?"
"Yeah."
I gently ruffled Tae-hyung's hair and handed him the jersey I'd just been wearing on the pitch.
Then I bowed politely to his smiling parents behind him and slowly turned away.
The kid's excited voice from behind lingered in my ears for a long time.
After the match, the hottest topic among fans was two photos.
First photo.
Park Si-hyun looking down at Marco Ditlmann being carted off on a stretcher with a torn hamstring.
A single expression told the whole story—an overwhelming shot.
Second photo.
Park Si-hyun approaching a kid in the stands after the game and gently patting his head.
The stark contrast from brutal finisher to warm big brother in an instant totally shook the fans' hearts.
Traitor Marco Ditlmann tries to block Si-hyun and ends up tearing his hamstring lol. Perfect end for a backstabber.
Si-hyun and Ditlmann started from similar spots, but one drags us to the first division while the other betrays us and gets stretchered off... Life's fair.
Si-hyun really seems to love kids. Last time, he took off his jersey to shield the escort kid from the rain on the way in. I have the Red God Cult figurine of that.
Si-hyun's why I'm still alive. I'm old enough to kick the bucket soon, but I wanna see all the glory he brings to Essen before I go.
After the Frankfurt win, the fans' thrill turned into real momentum, and Essen's momentum exploded forward.
Round 12: Victory.
Round 13: Victory.
And now, the DFB-Pokal Round of 32—the reward for promotion to the second division—was right around the corner.
Why skip mentioning the Round of 64?
The opponent was a solid third-division side, and we won easily, just shaking off some rust.
Fans' eyes had been on the Round of 32 from the start—who we'd draw.
When the bracket dropped, everyone froze.
Our opponent: Dortmund, the de facto second-strongest in the Bundesliga.
The team praised as the only ones who could challenge Bayern Munich's dominance. Nicknamed the "Honey Bee Legion," once they got rolling, they shook entire stadiums with explosive firepower.
Individual star power was obvious; their organization had almost no weaknesses.
It's no joke that hearing "Dortmund" in Germany makes the stadium feel like it'll buzz.
A powerhouse that holds its own in Europe. For a second-division Essen, they're a monster beyond just a "wall."
Still, fans loved the DFB-Pokal for a reason.
It was always the stage for upsets. Lower leagues toppling higher ones—the "Pokal magic"—was a tradition every season.
Especially around the Round of 32, second-division teams beating Bundesliga sides happened most, sparking fans' wild hopes and dreams.
There was a clear reason these upsets worked.
Bundesliga teams had packed schedules, so they often rotated or sent second-stringers. Slack off for a second, and boom—they got caught.
That vulnerability made the Pokal more than a cup to German fans: a romantic stage that let them dream once a year.
But this Dortmund match was different.
Even their rotation squad outclassed Essen's starters in name value.
So fans' hearts mixed faint hope—"Maybe a miracle..."—with harsh reality: "But they're too strong..."
The moment the DFB-Pokal Round of 32 opponent was locked as Dortmund, Coach Frank rushed an interview for the club website.
To preempt fans getting scared just because they were the "Bundesliga's second-strongest" and steady the mood.
"Dortmund is one of the Bundesliga's top teams. They even won the league last year. Coach Matthias Sammer is a tactically meticulous genius I respect too."
"All that praise... how can you be sure we'll win? Aren't we the underdogs?"
Coach Frank smiled at the front-office staffer's question and answered firmly.
"No. We're not underdogs. We're a strong team that can face Dortmund head-on. We've practically clinched second-division promotion. So we'll go all-out in the Pokal. But Dortmund can't. They have the league title race and will rotate for stamina management. If it was full strength vs. full strength, maybe—but—"
Frank stared straight into the camera and delivered his final line clearly.
"We bring full strength; they bring split focus. Who has the edge? The answer's obvious."
He spoke to the fans beyond the screen.
"We're still a second-division team, but our form right now could challenge the Bundesliga's top ranks. So fans, come to the stadium with high expectations."
Frank's voice brimmed with unshakable confidence, like it was the most natural thing.
"Just like always, we're ready to write another miracle."