Olmunt the Mascot (2)
Truth be told, he'd half-expected some backlash. Still, he figured that if he were Mayor Jang Yongbeom, he'd bite on that bait.
But he hadn't anticipated it flipping so wildly by the minute.
On the first day, the hate poured in like rain. Everyone was worried about him, at least.
"You crazy? Were you in your right mind? Huh?"
He got an earful from Dojin hyung, but he'd heard that Dojin had stopped the front office from forcing an apology statement.
I'm the one bringing in the investment—why the fuss? Truth was, he was a bit scared. What if this really tanks my career?
Fortunately, by the next day, corrective articles flooded in, and things started shifting.
And the next day, the big fish finally bit.
He'd thought the reaction was worse than expected—big trouble. But the timing was perfect for the big fish to show up.
You...Tube appearance? This feels bigger than the mess I started. But why hasn't anyone told me?
***
"Man... this guy's a born politician, huh?"
In a pitch-black room letting in zero sunlight, Kang Dosik muttered while sipping water instead of booze.
Honestly, he never dreamed Olmunt would speak out so boldly.
'The mayor's a citizen too, so I'll make my plea to him.' Recalling that dizzying interview, Dosik shook his head.
Did he even speak Korean that well? A question popped up, but Dosik sighed in relief reading articles showing the tide turning.
Truth was, this reversal had Dosik's hidden hand in it. From before his coaching days, he'd stirred shit up in various communities.
Multiple posts pushed to popular, a classic public sentiment soothing op. Lucky for them, Olmunt's pay was modest, and he had a rep for great fan service.
Not just Olmunt—the whole Gimpo squad was known for it.
Aside from hardcore FC Korea diehards and highlight chasers, sentiment had mostly swung back.
Coldly speaking, most citizen clubs couldn't escape these issues—constant admin fuckups and ops blunders.
Dosik figured the turnaround happened purely because it was Olmunt who spoke up.
Foreigner who speaks solid Korean, loves the team, great with fans—people wouldn't all hate him for speaking strongly.
"Anyway, time to trigger the second trick bag..."
Muttering that, Kang Dosik opened a file called "Physical Battle Reinforcement Training."
*Click!*
*Fizzzz...*
The soda can opened refreshingly with a hiss of escaping bubbles.
"Here, Mayor. Wish I had tea to offer, but this is all we've got."
"No, no. Tactics room with fancy tea or booze would be weirder. Haha."
Quenching his throat with soda, Jang Yongbeom turned serious toward Nam Suhyeon.
"That aside, YouTube okay? Olmunt and Yoon Chaewoo good with it?"
"Yeah. This stress is needed sometimes. Chaewoo's in. Olmunt will be—he dropped that bomb."
"Hahaha. Bomb for sure. First time I realized Olmunt's Korean was that good."
"Shocked me too—asked, and he said he memorized a script. Ridiculous."
"Whoa... impressive kid."
Nam Suhyeon sighed softly at the mayor's admiration.
"Ugh, tell me about it."
Clutching his throbbing head, Nam glanced out the window. Even if it meant insubordination, he'd smack Olmunt's head.
"Chaewoo."
"Yes, Coach?"
"Tomorrow in training, have the guys tackle Munt a bit."
Wait—smack his head, and he'd flub the YouTube vid?
Mulling where to hit instead, Nam Suhyeon outlined the video structure with Mayor Jang.
***
Not easy.
"Hey, grab him!"
"Agh, Munt hyung, hold still!"
That was his take after dodging Minsu charging at him.
Of course, he knew a scolding was coming. Expected it the next day. But even then, and the day after, it was mostly worry or encouragement—he'd let his guard down.
"Damn, he's fast."
"And strong too."
Blessed body let him dodge nimbly.
Aren't these guys training? What is this?
If I keep dodging like this, maybe training starts normally? Gotta ask Coach about YouTube too.
Optimistic thoughts—until that guy appeared.
"Alright, draw! Olmunt. Been wanting to slide-tackle you."
"I'm done for."
No choice. Can't fight a madman.
Donghan hyung, looking oddly glum, grabbed and dragged him off. Real psycho. Why me for a slide tackle?
"Munt hyung, don't freak. With your record, Coach won't kill you, right?"
Heading to the coach's office...
Guessing the destination amid Heemun's comfort, he trudged in like livestock to slaughter.
Sunglasses on, Coach stared blankly.
Hold it... hold... how many points he's brought...
Mumbling something, but Leo couldn't catch it.
A fist-clenching sound echoed from somewhere. No idea who. Better not know—for survival.
Glanced around—suddenly alone with Coach.
"Hoo..."
Coach sighed deeply, removed his glasses, and stared straight.
"Good Korean. But you don't know Korean politics, right?"
"Huh?"
"Or you planned to grind soccer for two years and bail."
Guilty as charged. Exactly the plan: bomb Korea for two years, bounce.
"Don't seem that spineless. I'll let it slide once."
Inner sigh of relief—then the topic he wanted.
"So, you're doing the YouTube."
"Huh?"
"Script here. Questions included. Like your interview script, but longer. Ask about weird words or phrases—I'll explain. Front office approved too."
What the...
He'd just planned to aggro and hook Mayor Jang on investment. Not this boomerang.
No backing out now. Committed.
So he sat in the office, app translator in one hand, peeking at Coach, pretending to write the script.
Trained, then back to scripting.
Fudged some spelling, sentence order...
Endured Coach's lament starting with "Didn't I teach you not to mix with politics."
What could he do? Karma.
But Coach, no merc this good in a first-year pro coach's debut. Swallowed that, finished the script.
Didn't drop victories while scripting. Like the last Anshan Ulbus hat-trick of assists—"Assist Trick"—he pulled another against Hwaseong Aliens. Unprecedented two-game Assist Trick streak.
Club blocked, no proper MVP interview.
Pity. Not an attention whore, but messing with flustered reporters and interpreters was fun. Won't see that for a bit.
Navigating storms, Gimpo chased 1st-place Incheon by 2 points.
Incheon's slump dragged—nearly caught up.
Suwon Red Motors stumbling; direct promotion iffy? Season shaping as guillotine match: heavyweight Incheon Pelicans vs. dark horse Gimpo Green UTD.
"Olmunt, what're you doing? Come on."
Ah. YouTube soon?
This shoot: Gimpo Green UTD official channel.
Most pro teams' subs pathetic—players not active, budgets tight.
He'd appeared plenty as Olmunt. They loved it. Sure, more face time fed algorithms and hate.
Whew...
Do his best. Mayor's face plus his on thumbnail? 100k views easy.
Greeted Mayor and staff lightly before sitting. Filming began.
"Alright, rolling!"