Ecosystem Destroyer Giant Hornet Son Jinho - 1
I responded to the countless handshake requests pouring in from the kids one by one, chatting with them all.
"How do you know me? Were you at the game that day too?"
"No! I saw it online!"
"Online?"
"I saw it in the newspaper my dad was reading!"
Apparently, someone had uploaded footage of my comeback against Schalke online, and it went viral. Then a local newspaper picked up the story.
"Hoo! Can you sign this?"
"Me too!"
"I'll sign for everyone, so line up. I'll do it in order."
I skillfully got the kids to form a line and started signing autographs one by one.
"Here you go."
"Danke."
As I handed over the signed item, I turned my head slightly to look at Gyeowol.
"What's your name?"
"Uh... my name is Han Gyeowol."
Gyeowol seemed to be settling into school just fine. The kids were showering attention on her too, since she'd come into the classroom with me. She was surrounded, fending off a barrage of questions just like I was.
Well... she looked a bit overwhelmed by the crowd. But she's got a strong spirit, so she'll handle it okay.
"Where are you from?"
"I'm from Korea."
The kids patiently waited for Gyeowol's awkward German responses.
"What's your relationship with Hoo? Girlfriend?"
"I am his girlfriend."
She answered confidently in German, then shyly bowed her head, her eyes darting around—that cuteness made me burst out laughing.
"Heh heh."
"Hey! Son Jinho! Don't laugh at me! How good is your German anyway?!"
Gyeowol thought I was mocking her stiff German and yelled at me.
"It's not just me laughing."
"Shut up. Even if everyone else laughs, you can't!"
Ah, that was unfair. Still, whatever. Seeing Gyeowol start chatting sporadically in German with the kids around her put my mind at ease.
Once life in Germany had settled into a routine, I got a check-in message from Kang Chan.
I knew Kang Chan liked mint chocolate. In his previous life, he'd gotten genuinely mad when I asked if toothpaste tasted good. I just hadn't expected him to like it this early. I'd tried gaslighting him against it since he was a kid, but looks like I failed before I even started.
Kang Chan must've sensed the vibe getting weird and switched topics fast. I'd already heard about it from the other Geum-sun High soccer guys, but I wasn't enough of a social wreck to point that out. I just played along.
Hearing about Geum-sun High made me feel the future shifting. It made sense—I'd meddled with a lot since regressing.
Kang Chan's future had already changed—he'd quit soccer because of the Hojin High coach before.
I nodded at his message. Back during the U-19 practice match, the Korea Polytechnic University coach got busted for bribery, turning their game into one against Yonsei Polytechnic. From their perspective, hyung would be intimidating. He hadn't whistleblown directly, but outsiders would see it that way.
That's why I rooted for hyung's future as a soccer player who never gave up on his dreams. For real. I hoped it worked out big—maybe even making a name overseas.
The name of the person whose future had changed the most came up. The guy sucking honey as Geum-sun High coach was getting shredded in real time right now.
My study abroad was different from the federation's usual ones. Past players had deadlines to return due to school or club demands, but with the chairman's full backing, I had no such limits.
The federation knew that, planning for long-term over a one-year stint. They handled visas, FIFA regs, all the admin.
And handling it on-site? That was Choi Gi-hyeon. He was liaising between the federation, Dortmund, and me for the support.
I pictured him buried in paperwork mountains doing admin and replied. As the saying goes, anything that's not my problem is pure honey.
Time flies, huh. The Schalke game felt like yesterday, but Sunday rolled around already. Unlike Korean youth teams playing Saturdays, German ones kicked off every Sunday.
"Our opponents this time are MSV Duisburg!"
Dortmund U19 was facing Duisburg U19. MSV Duisburg bounced between Bundesliga 1 and 2. Not super famous, but they had Korean ties. Ahn Jun-hyun joined mid-2006 winter transfer, played half a season, but couldn't stop relegation to 2. Bundesliga. He returned home after, and Duisburg faded from Korean memory.
"Jinho! You're on the bench this game! You know why, right?"
I was benched. Not racism or anything—just punishment for the comeback drama.
Still, I was a sub. If things went south, I'd enter late second half.
Anyway.
Peep—!
With the ref's whistle, Duisburg U19 kicked off. The yellow-clad Dortmund U19 players charged aggressively to win the ball back.
The famous Gegenpressing. Since Jurgen Klopp took over Dortmund in 2008, his signature tactic and philosophy had seeped into the youth ranks. It'd later fuel four wins in the German A-Junior Championship.
"Ah! They broke through!"
"Block—!!"
Well... still transitional, so it looked rough.
"Scheiße!!"
Duisburg's #8 shook off the sloppy press, exposing Dortmund's precious honey pot—the space behind.
Duisburg, possessed by honey-madness, tore into Dortmund's defense. The young bees could only gawk as the bear raided their hive.
"Yee—!!"
10th minute first half. Earlier than expected, and Dortmund's kids looked rattled.
"Not good..."
I murmured watching the pitch. Youth teams ride momentum hard—advantage and curse. No vets in youth tourneys amplified it. No wonder high-scoring games were daily bread.
"Damn!!"
And sure enough, momentum-grabbing Duisburg hammered the shaky Dortmund, scoring again soon after. Seeing the team wobble, the U19 coach eyed me and ordered,
"...Jinho! You're on at second half start!"
I nodded slowly. The giant hornet disguised as a honeybee was entering the fray.