Anger - 2
The monkey howls started by a few fans spread throughout the entire Veltins-Arena, Schalke's home stadium.
"Jino! You're a monkey!!"
"Ooh! Ooh! Ooh! Ooh! Ooh! Ooh! Ooh!"
"Ooh! Ooh! Ooh! Ooh! Ooh! Ooh! Ooh!"
Before long, the Veltins-Arena was filled with monkey cries. Enraged, Jurgen Klopp rushed to the stadium staff and protested vehemently.
"You gonna just sit there listening to that fucking monkey noise and do jack shit about it!?"
Not stopping there, he approached the stands and unleashed a torrent of abuse at the fans.
"What the hell do you think you're doing to a minor! Have some shame, you disgusting pieces of shit!"
Jurgen Klopp's twisted face in fury evoked the image of a barbarian warrior harvesting enemies' heads with an iron axe and drinking their blood.
"We'll take immediate action. Please calm down just a bit."
As stadium staff rushed to soothe the heated Jurgen Klopp, Dortmund's players and coaches gathered around me, offering words of comfort.
"Jino, you okay?"
"Don't listen to those retarded fuckers!"
"Those guys are Germany's disgrace!"
Nothing calms anger like someone else getting mad on your behalf.
Watching Jurgen Klopp and the Dortmund players rage in my stead, I finally managed to quell my fury.
"Everyone, back to the locker room for now."
With the Schalke fans' jeers unrelenting, the Dortmund staff ultimately called off the warmup.
"Hoo..." I let out a deep breath, steadying my trembling hands from the aftermath of rage as I headed to the locker room.
"He's Asian! An uncivilized rice-eating monkey!"
"Ooh! Ooh! Ooh! Ooh! Ooh! Ooh! Ooh!"
"Ooh! Ooh! Ooh! Ooh! Ooh! Ooh! Ooh!"
The monkey cries continued at the Veltins-Arena until I vanished into the tunnel.
It looked like kickoff would be delayed beyond schedule.
Back in the locker room, I sank into thought. This wasn't the first time I'd heard insults about my family.
Before my regression. Even playing in Korea, I'd had similar experiences a few times.
Whenever the national team underperformed or faced a rival, my SNS would fill with comments mocking my late Gyeowol.
And some fans didn't stop there—they'd hurl abuse right at the stadium.
Just look at the Park Ok incident, one of K League's scandals.
Where there are people, there are assholes. I'd been through it plenty, so I swallowed my anger, telling myself it was nothing new. But Jurgen Klopp wasn't having it.
Bang—!
More emotional than anyone, Jurgen Klopp burst into the locker room, face flushed red.
"Jinho! If that's what you want, we can forfeit this match anytime."
He was seriously considering storming out in protest against the racist remarks.
Dortmund had already clinched the league title. If I said I couldn't play, they'd leave the Veltins-Arena without a second thought.
But I didn't want to run. Running is for those who did wrong. I hadn't done a damn thing—fleeing the stadium like a coward was out of the question.
And if I ran now, those racist pricks in the stands would get even more bold. I looked around, starting with Jurgen Klopp.
Dortmund players' eyes burned with fury at the insult to their teammate.
Even Kagawa Shinji, a fellow Asian, wore a face full of vengeance.
"...Let's play. I don't wanna leave like we're running away. At least let's smash Schalke on our way out."
I met my teammates' eyes and made my decision. A voice so cold it surprised even me echoed through the locker room.
Rough, affectionate hands ruffled my hair. This time, I didn't resist.
Dortmund captain Sebastian Kehl stepped forward, facing the players.
"For Jinho and Kagawa Shinji, let's crush those revolting Schalke bastards!"
I wondered if Schalke's players had the same fire in their eyes right now.
Doubt it.
At the same time.
A heavy silence hung in Schalke's locker room. They were all watching Uchida Atsuto.
His face was unmistakably stiff.
Schalke's racist fans might not care, but Asians weren't exclusive to Dortmund.
Uchida Atsuto, Schalke's Japanese right-back. The monkey howls from the crowd were an insult aimed at him too.
"Hey, you okay?"
"I'm fine. Just... leave me alone for a bit."
The racist abuse from Schalke's home fans was actually sapping their team's morale.
From kickoff, we pressed Schalke hard.
"Jino!"
Mats Hummels intercepted a pass just below the halfway line and fired it straight to me.
"He's Asian! An uncivilized rice-eating monkey!"
As I took possession, Schalke fans resumed their racist chants.
Lies if I said it didn't piss me off, but it wasn't boiling like pre-game.
"Shut down that fucking song! Make 'em stop!"
Jurgen Klopp, riled by the lyrics, sprinted to the fourth official to protest—I could hear him clearly.
How loud did he yell?
Smiling faintly at Jurgen Klopp's voice piercing the jeers, I scanned forward.
"Jino, here!"
Just then, Ivan Perisic broke into the space behind Schalke's tense right-back, Uchida Atsuto.
I slotted a through ball into Perisic's path.
Receiving on the left flank, Ivan Perisic whipped in a low, driven cross with his left foot.
The slightly miss-hit cross deflected off a Schalke defender and fell to Lewandowski.
Lewandowski dragged the ball back to evade a tackle, then unleashed a powerful right-footed strike—his weaker foot—toward the upper corner.
Schalke's keeper stretched but couldn't stop it; the shot rippled the net unhindered.
"Boooooooo—!"
As furious Schalke fans geared up to boo the early goal.
Lewandowski grabbed the ball from the net, turned to the crowd, and gestured for silence.
"Scheiße! That fucking Polish pig bastard!"
"Go do manual labor, you worthless shit!"
Now the Schalke fans turned their abuse from me to Lewandowski.
Having successfully baited the crowd, Lewandowski tucked the ball under his jersey and approached me with a wink.
"See? Schalke fans like me more than you, Jino. Gotta score another for the fanservice. Hit me with a killer pass."
I nodded at him.
Hmm.
Honestly, a little.
Kinda cringy.
But damn, that was cool.