Little Honeybee - 1
Dortmund snatches a dramatic equalizer in stoppage time to claim 1 point on the road.
The 16-year-old boy from Korea turns Volksparkstadion into a sea of shock!
'16 years, 138 days'—Son Jinho shatters the youngest goal record with a fantastic shot!
Jurgen Klopp on the sub: 'No burden subbing in a 16-year-old kid when we were losing? Well, seeing Jinho's face burning with desire to play... it just vanished in a flash.'
Hamburg interim coach Michael Oenning: 'That a 16-year-old playmaker pulled this off? Just astonishing.'
Leverkusen beats FC St. Pauli 2-1, narrows the gap to 5 points—title race far from over!
Everyone knew sports were full of ups and downs, but the media and fans were already slapping the "Korean Messi" label on me—a promising rookie who'd just notched his debut goal in his debut match.
"Whoa... now they're calling him the Korean Ronaldo?"
"Do they even know I'm a midfielder?"
I let out a sigh at Gyeowol's words. It felt a bit over the top, but then I remembered my age again.
A 16-year-old prospect scores on debut to salvage a draw? Yeah, that'd blow anyone's mind.
"Who knows~ Maybe they do and use it anyway~? Anyway, check this out."
Gyeowol seemed to recall the same thing, dragging out her words playfully before shoving her phone at me like old times, saying she'd found another hilarious post.
I took the phone cautiously, only to get sucked straight into the abyss.
I should've hit back then, but the abyss held me tight.
"There's more posts!"
I had no choice but to keep scrolling.
"Fun, right?" I nodded at Gyeowol's words. Honestly, it was entertaining since it was hyping me up, but these hardcore fans made it a bit much—my face was burning. Why are they so intense? Because no Hoo? Couldn't deny it hit too close.
After shattering youngest-ever records against Hamburg, it wasn't an exaggeration to say I was one of Germany's hottest prospects.
And not just Germany—mentions of me were spiking back in Korea too.
My debut match and goal aired on the 9 PM news, and congrats messages flooded in from Korean contacts.
Woke up a superstar. Sure, some skeptics lingered, but consistent performances would win them over soon enough.
I sent thankful replies and pocketed my smartphone.
"Jino! Ready?"
"Ja!"
An interview was set to kick off at Dortmund's facilities.
Dortmund wanted to shield their young kid from the press, but after a debut goal, fan curiosity was off the charts.
In the end, with marketing and PR reps watching, I sat for an interview with a Dortmund-friendly local paper.
"Jino, just relax—no need to tense up. If anything's too spicy or problematic, we'll ask them to edit it."
"Trust us only, Jino!"
"Thanks."
I handled the reporter smoothly, drawing murmurs of "genius from the cradle" from the room.
So this is life as a soccer prodigy? Since we were rolling, I laid on the Dortmund love fans craved.
"Dortmund's a club with deep history and class. I'm learning tons from Jurgen Klopp and the stellar players here. Fans are passionate win or lose, and that fire makes me proud to wear this shirt."
...Okay, a bit of it was sincere.
"And now, superstar Jino steps onto the pitch!!"
I burst out laughing at Mario Gotze's over-the-top announcer bit. Talk big, but he was touched.
"Jino! Saw your interview—nailed it!"
Quick hellos with the team, then training kicked off.
"Schöner Pass!"
Robert Lewandowski thumbs-upped after netting my pass in the scrimmage.
"Schöner Schuss!"
I nodded and flashed a thumbs-up back.
Wanted to bond with Lewy, but as the articles later said, he wasn't super social.
Strict work-life divide—like a coworker who just does his job.
Soccer field? Just play well. Whatever.
Not the outgoing type myself, so warming up to Lewandowski felt unnatural.
"Jino, you stole my record! Sleep okay?"
I chatted with Nuri Sahin, my training partner and former record holder.
He'd said his debut felt dreamlike, and his first goal kept him up all night.
Not quite for me—probably the World Cup goal memories dulling it.
A shame, really. Emotions wear down; past life's thrills were gone forever.
Unfair. Inner self might be an old man, but not a perv.
League Round 30: Borussia Dortmund vs. SC Freiburg at Signal Iduna Park.
I made the bench again. Klopp's intense gaze during training hinted at a start, but... even he couldn't start a 16-year-old in a near-title-clinching match.
"Jinho! Might sub you in second half—don't sweat it!"
Plus, I wasn't fully meshed with the team yet. Some sync issues lingered.
Anyway, Klopp respected players' focus—no radios on, just SMS for comms. Time ticked by.
Unaware of Leverkusen and Bayern's results, the players entered the pitch.
"Heute wollen wir siegen, wir gehen mächtig ran! (Today we want victory, we're going all out!)"
"Leverkusen's lost today! We're winning!"
Grins spread in the Südtribüne at news of Leverkusen's thrashing by Bayern Munich.
Borussia Dortmund came out swinging against SC Freiburg from kickoff. Tension melted away with Leverkusen's loss—Dortmund hammered their goal relentlessly.
23rd minute: Mario Gotze latches onto Marcel Schmelzer's pass and rattles the net.
The electric mood chilled at the 26th: Nuri Sahin, midfield anchor, crumpled clutching his right knee.
"Jinho! Warm up quick!"
Jurgen Klopp's face hardened as he called for Son Jinho without hesitation.