The Goalkeeper’s First European Step
The day before the Poongwol Elementary School coach was arrested, Eun Ga-young showed her client Jung Tae-woo every transfer offer she had received and immediately began investigating the Jinseong Foundation.
“Did you find anything?”
Eun Ga-young asked her employee.
“Yes, ma’am. The chairman, Jin Ki-cheol, is the illegitimate son of the Jinseon Group. He was pushed out of the legitimate successor line and ended up inheriting the foundation instead.”
Eun Ga-young listened intently to the report, her sharp eyes never wavering.
This was her first client’s request, and Tae-woo had mentioned that young Yoo Seung-min possessed extraordinary talent. So she had to dig deeper.
“He’s trying to build his position through the foundation. On the surface he looks harmless, but internally he’s working furiously to expand the foundation’s influence.”
“He must be furious about something like this happening right now,” she said.
“That’s right. Even if we told him the truth, he’d probably just bury it.”
Illegitimate son… trying to establish himself however he can.
“Alright. Dig deeper and call me if you find anything unusual.”
She ended the call and stood up.
“Director, where are you going?”
“To the Jinseong Foundation.”
“But he’ll never admit it, no matter what.”
“I have a plan. Go on ahead.”
“Ah… yes, I’ll go.”
As soon as the employee left the room, Eun Ga-young moved like lightning.
She was in the car and heading toward the foundation in a matter of seconds. While the car sped down the road, a perfectly calculated strategy was already spinning in her head.
“How may I help you?”
A female desk clerk at the foundation asked politely when she entered.
“Hello, I’m Eun Ga-young from APEX Agency. I need to see Chairman Jin Ki-cheol urgently.”
The clerk looked briefly flustered, then recovered her professional demeanor.
“Are you by appointment?”
“No, it’s a last-minute matter. I have important information I must deliver to the chairman personally.”
“I’m sorry, but without an appointment I can’t arrange a meeting.”
Haa… no choice.
“Then please tell him that SC Group sent me.”
“SC Group…?”
The clerk’s expression changed instantly.
Even though the Jinseong Group was a large corporation, compared to SC Group it was nothing more than a neighborhood shop.
“Do you have an official business card?”
Eun Ga-young calmly took out her wallet and showed her old company card.
It was simple and straightforward.
SC Group Director Eun Ga-young
The clerk’s eyes widened.
Seeing the card from SC Group’s director position, her attitude shifted in an instant.
“I’m sorry, Director Eun. Please wait a moment. I’ll contact him right away.”
The clerk hurried to the phone.
Less than three minutes later, she was escorted straight to the chairman’s office.
“Why are you here?”
Chairman Jin Ki-cheol looked like an ordinary executive, not the kind of man one would associate with a chaebol.
“I’m sorry.”
Eun Ga-young bowed slightly and spoke respectfully.
“I’m Eun Ga-young from SC Group. Actually, I left SC Group and started my own company. The reason I used the old card is because I needed to deliver important information to Chairman Jin personally.”
Chairman Jin’s eyes widened.
“Eun Ga-young… the youngest daughter of SC Group…”
“That’s right. I’m her.”
Chairman Jin looked at her for a moment, then asked with curious interest.
“Hmm… so if this isn’t related to SC Group matters, why did you come?”
“You know about the Poongwol Elementary School coach taking bribes, don’t you?”
Jin Ki-cheol’s expression changed subtly.
He was the chairman; he had to have known.
He was simply pretending not to.
Chairman Jin stared at her calmly and replied.
“Yes, I know. But is this reason enough for you to come to me?”
“Do you know the coach is involved in gambling and even drugs?”
Her words made his face darken.
“Damn trash… I should have kept my hands off it earlier,” he muttered through gritted teeth.
“What exactly do you want?”
“I’m an agent, and my first client is player Jung Tae-woo. I’m also trying to sign the second client, Yoo Seung-min from Poongwol. When I investigated, I learned the coach has been kicking players out of matches unless they take bribes, and behind the scenes there’s gambling and even drugs.”
Jin Ki-cheol’s face hardened.
“Haa… skip the details and get to the point. You didn’t come just to tell me this.”
“That’s right. I want you to report this to the police yourself, Chairman.”
“Are you telling me to call the police and expose this crime happening right here at my elementary school?”
Chairman Jin shouted in anger.
But his fury stopped the moment he met Eun Ga-young’s cold eyes.
Her gaze was like shards of ice—sharp and freezing. Just looking at her made the air around them feel suddenly icy.
“Haa… you’re excited. My apologies.”
“I know you’re the illegitimate son of the Jinseon Group who inherited the foundation, but I also know you’re aiming for even higher things.”
Jin Ki-cheol’s expression froze for an instant.
Eun Ga-young’s words weren’t speculation—they had precisely pierced his hidden ambitions.
“Use this incident to your advantage. Report it yourself and highlight your integrity. If people know your name now, it will be a great help to you as chairman.”
She paused, looking straight into his eyes.
“But if you don’t act now and it suddenly comes out, it will disrupt everything you’re doing. What do you think?”
“……”
“Haa… alright. I’ll do exactly as you say.”
“Thank you. If Yoo Seung-min leaves overseas, the name Poongwol will become even more legendary. Your actions will also be a great help to me.”
She stood up and finished.
“Then I’ll leave this matter in Chairman’s hands.”
Eun Ga-young left, and Chairman Jin Ki-cheol was left alone in the empty office. He let out a deep sigh.
I’m sweating. According to rumors, SC Group’s youngest daughter is useless… how can anyone say that?
The pressure he felt from her was exactly like meeting a chaebol chairman.
Jin Ki-cheol wiped the sweat from his forehead and reached for the phone on his desk.
“There’s something I have to do.”
* * *
After Seung-min’s matter was settled, Tae-woo’s next task was simple: choose one of the transfer offers his noona had shown him.
She said she wanted to sign Seung-min too.
Lightly deducing from the offers, there were five teams: Dortmund and Schalke in the Bundesliga, Lyon in Ligue 1, and Manchester City and Bournemouth in the Premier League.
He began thinking about each one carefully.
The Bundesliga was an excellent league for European players, so Korean prospects usually passed through it when entering Europe.
Ligue 1 was out; it was simply inferior.
With PSG almost taking every big player there, it’s hopeless.
Dortmund was strong, but Lyon was even weaker.
PSG have won the league three years straight lately, right?
He did want to go to Manchester City right away, but among the offers the best one was clearly Dortmund.
Approximate salary figures:
Dortmund: €10,000 per week (about 140 million won)
Bournemouth: €8,000 per week (about 112 million won)
Manchester City: €7,000 per week (about 98 million won)
Schalke: €6,000 per week (about 84 million won)
Lyon: €5,000 per week (about 70 million won)
Of course, if he performed well he could quickly renegotiate and raise it, but the initial offer showed how much the team believed in him.
Still, Dortmund feels the most promising.
With the highest salary, he’d get to play regularly once he proved himself, and playing in Germany before moving to the Premier League would easily earn three recommendation letters without needing Ga-young’s help.
Just then his phone rang.
When he looked at the screen, a phone number with +44 was displayed.
44 is the UK country code?
A call from England… could it be from Manchester City or Bournemouth?
It happened often.
A coach calling a player to discuss how to use him tactically.
Direct communication was also an important way to show the player the team’s interest and plans.
He slowly reached for the phone.
“Hello?”
“……”
After the call ended and he hung up, Tae-woo fell into a moment of silence.
As he replayed the words in his mind, something deep inside him stirred.
At that exact moment, everything became clear. The path he had to take and the team he had to choose appeared sharply in his vision.
Without hesitation, he immediately called Eun Ga-young back.
“Yeah, Tae-woo.”
“Noona, I’ve decided which team to transfer to.”