Season Opener
“Whoa…”
Sweat beaded on Han Gyeowol's palms as she watched the Dortmund vs. Hamburg match.
It was just the preseason Liga Total Cup, but both teams were going at it tooth and nail, refusing to yield an inch.
“Stay focused until the end!”
Han Gyeowol's eyes locked onto Son Jinho, who was shouting from the pitch.
“Don't slack off just 'cause it's preseason! Think about the fans who came to watch this game!”
After conceding, Hamburg ramped up their attacks even more aggressively, but Son Jinho calmly neutralized them while constantly motivating his teammates.
Shwaak—!
Son Jinho intercepted another pass meant for Son Heung-min once again, then immediately sprang to his feet to launch a counterattack.
“Scheiße! (Damn it!)”
Unfortunately, Dortmund's counter fizzled out when Hamburg's center back blocked it.
“Whiiist—! Not bad, full of fight!”
The passionate play drew cheers from the Mainz fans toward Son Jinho.
“Mom, did you see that!? That's my boyfriend…”
Han Gyeowol's shoulders puffed up with pride. She turned to brag to her mom, only to find…
“Jinho!! Mother-in-law's right here!!! My son-in-law's the best—!!”
…Hwang Miyeon standing up and bellowing in broken German. Han Gyeowol quietly put some distance between them.
“…”
She'd lost the cringe battle against her mom.
As the second half kicked off, Dortmund brought on most of their starters.
Son Jinho was naturally among them. Since it was preseason, Jurgen Klopp decided there was no need to overdo it and subbed him out.
Son Jinho was replaced by Ilkay Gundogan, who had just joined from Nuremberg, right at halftime.
Dortmund scored through Felipe Santana in the 64th minute and Mohamed Zidane in the 66th, sealing a 3-0 victory over Hamburg and clinching the Liga Total Cup.
Son Jinho didn't score in the preseason against Hamburg, but…
“Jino!! You were awesome!!”
His stellar defending played a key role in shutting down Hamburg's attacks, earning rave reviews from the fans.
And then the award ceremony.
“Yeeees~~~~.”
With the trophy held high in celebration, the ceremony wrapped up.
“Heung-min hyung, let's swap numbers.”
Son Jinho approached Son Heung-min to exchange contacts.
“Yeah, hold on… Why'd you bring the trophy?”
He was clutching the still-warm trophy from their preseason win.
“Oh, just… Thought it was pretty, so I wanted to show it to you, hyung.”
Son Heung-min felt a twinge of annoyance seeing Son Jinho grinning innocently while waving the trophy in his face.
…Wanna punch him one.
After the match, I checked SNS.
Seems like my plan to ignite Heung-min hyung's thirst for trophies was a smashing success.
I resolved to keep sending him trophy pics alongside videos of his intense training.
“Oh right, Cheong-ryong hyung and Joo-yong hyung.”
On a whim, I sent Son Heung-min a pic of me lifting the Meisterschale and scored Park Joo-young and Lee Chung-yong's numbers.
Lee Chung-yong seemed touched that a much younger junior was looking out for him, replying with thanks and promises to be careful.
I thought it'd be an easy win, but…
“Hmm… Still, maybe worth a shot?”
“Hyung, what if you can't play?”
The issue was Park Joo-young. He wasn't being stubborn about age or anything. He listened calmly to advice from a young junior without snapping 'What do you know?'
“Then train harder to make sure I can play.”
But… His innate optimism and diligence made persuasion fall flat.
“Jinho, challenging yourself and learning from it is always worth it. Arsenal hasn't inquired yet anyway?”
Ironically, talking to Joo-young hyung had me convinced instead.
Now I wasn't sure. Was it right for me to block his chosen path?
I wrapped it up by personally recommending a club where he could play and grow over a big name.
Time flew by.
July 30th. Lee Chung-yong called to say thanks.
“Jinho, want anything? Hyung'll buy you a gift.”
“Hyung, I'm in Germany— you serious?”
“…Hyung's injured, no appearance fees right now. Let's talk when you're back in Korea.”
Tom Miller's tackle was so deep and rough that avoiding injury entirely was impossible, but it wasn't life-threatening—no oxygen mask needed.
Half-season out? Still bad, but compared to original history where retirement was on the table, it was a relief.
Back then, Tom Miller was horrified seeing Lee Chung-yong carted off on oxygen and apologized profusely.
This time was different.
Having tasted his own medicine via mirror treatment, Lee Chung-yong seemed reflective.
Makes sense— even in original history, netizens called it karma; his play lacked team spirit.
“Shouldn't you apologize if you injure someone?”
Lee Chung-yong vented over the phone.
“…You?”
I instinctively shot back. Like, You saying that? He caught on and went quiet.
A week later, the season finally kicked off.
“BVB! BVB! Last season's champs BVB!”
Fans, parched from transfers and preseason, flooded Signal Iduna Park for opening day.
Dortmund faced Hamburg again at home—just days after the Liga Total Cup. Confident against the recent foe, they expected victory.
And Dortmund delivered, smashing Hamburg just as expected.