Chapter 74
Chapter 74
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 74
Chapter Title: Winter Break
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***
We'd run drills for backing out of Yannick Foight's contract, but in the end, those drills never saw real action.
Unfortunately—or fortunately—Union Berlin was no longer that poor of a club.
*Cough*. Our club had grown a lot...
Well, yeah. I knew the club had grown a ton.
But knowing something and acting on it were two different beasts.
This was all because I'd only managed poor citizen clubs for the past two years—and in my previous life.
The penny-pinching mindset of "gotta save every cent somehow" had burrowed into my body like a habit.
Still, the drills weren't totally useless.
My little sister, who'd watched me practice backing out with a doll, had looked pitiful and promised more funding.
"...Chan-hyuk, I'm grateful you're thinking of our finances, and thanks to you we got extra support, but we're not that broke anymore."
Dirk Zingler, the chairman who'd watched alongside her, chimed in too. But compared to the fresh funds we'd gained, it was a cheap price.
And anyway, we never needed to back out in the first place.
Yannick couldn't keep up this pace all the way to the end of the season.
Soccer—and most sports—had their flows. Thinking you'd win the title just because you topped the table early in the season was naive.
"These fucking bastards. Can't they hit that?"
You could tell just by looking at my dad, who'd shouted "This year'll be different!" every spring before the baseball season started.
Well... even if Yannick went nuts and kept this form till the end, it wouldn't matter.
If it meant paying up for promotion to the top flight, I'd gladly spend.
After all, money was made to be spent—and earned back.
***
[Union Berlin Reunites with Paderborn.]
Union Berlin's final match of the first half was underway.
Our opponent this time: Paderborn, from the DFB-Pokal.
We were confident of victory, having already gotten good results against them in the Pokal.
And sure enough, Union Berlin dominated Paderborn from start to finish.
But Yannick Foight didn't score today.
The heavy marking on the in-form Yannick Foight had begun.
*They got hammered by Yannick in the Pokal, after all.*
Bad luck for Yannick personally, but not for the team.
With the opposition defenders glued to Yannick Foight, Son Heung-min and Robert Lewandowski had that much more freedom.
And indeed, Robert Lewandowski crushed Paderborn with a hat-trick.
"Yannick, good work."
"This is...!"
"Special appearance bonus. On me."
After the match, I quietly slipped an appearance bonus to the goalless Yannick Foight to buy some loyalty.
*He worked his ass off. No bonus would be too harsh.*
Timing wasn't great, though.
It would've been nice if his rampage had continued, but this match marked the start of the winter break.
"Ah, I'm feeling it right now. Of all times, winter break."
Yannick Foight seemed aware he was on another level, voicing regret at the winter break.
*Nothing to do but hope the feel sticks.*
And so, Union Berlin entered winter break until late January.
***
[Union Berlin Crushes Paderborn, Finishes First Half in 2nd Place... 8 Points Ahead of 4th.]
└ Whoa, for real? We might actually go up to the top flight lol
└ First time I saw them was when they said they'd hire a Korean in the 3rd division days. Top flight already?
└ Holy shit, it was just 3 years ago the press was buzzing about a Korean assistant coach in Germany's 4th tier lmao
└ Park Chan-hyuk <<< Thought it was Tuchel carry, but he's legit as manager.
└ Still player carry tbh.
└ Player carry my ass—Park Chan-hyuk scouted those players.
└ Dude develops players so well, even Japan wants him to grab their prospects. Player carry lol
***
[Union Berlin Ends First Half in 2nd Place.]
The 2007/2008 season had reached its midpoint, kicking off the winter break.
At the halfway mark of the 2. Bundesliga, Union Berlin sat in 2nd.
Playoffs for Bundesliga promotion would start next season, 2008/2009.
For now, top three went straight up.
2nd place was a pretty stable spot for promotion.
Sure, we could totally bomb the second half and miss out...
*But we've secured a damn good position.*
Anyway.
December 23rd.
Right on cue, the Christmas event kicked off.
"Chan-hyuk, Merry Christmas."
"Yeah. Merry Christmas, Yannick. Hey, got any special plans today?"
"Me? Spending it with my girlfriend. Oh? There she is. Catch you later."
"...Fuck."
Yannick Foight, who'd been hanging out with me, vanished to his girlfriend's side the second she showed.
"...Solo Christmas again this year."
Seeing players enjoy Christmas with their partners made my side ache for no reason.
Oh well. It was fine.
I had a solo comrade, after all.
"Right, Sun-young?"
"Huh? What?"
"You're solo too."
"What're you talking about? I got a girlfriend last month."
"You're Fired!!"
It was only natural for the Trump in my soul to awaken.
***
[Union Berlin Hosts Christmas Event Again This Year.]
└ What's this? Why's Park Chan-hyuk all alone?
└ Looks like Park's the only single lololol
└ Lmao why am I suddenly feeling buddy-buddy with him kek
└ Bro, Park Chan-hyuk doesn't date. You just can't.
└ Fuck off!!
└ Bet Chan-hyuk bro's loaded tho...
└ Loaded, decent-looking, fit... why tf single....
└ If you're wasting your life like that, hyung, gimme that body ㅠㅠ
***
December 25th. Christmas Day.
"Father, Mother, Merry Christmas."
"Yeah."
A family dinner after a long time.
For the record, my parents had gotten permanent residency but not citizenship.
Having lived their whole lives in Korea, it made sense Korea felt more comfortable.
They'd probably come to Germany temporarily, planning to head back once things settled in Korea.
*But me and Park Jung-ah planted roots here for good.*
Must be tough living in a foreign land where the language is a barrier.
"Chan-hyuk, I wasn't gonna say this, but..."
My parents broached the subject carefully.
Looked like they had something on their minds.
*...Are they bringing up going back to Korea?*
I took a sip of water, steeling myself. I'd decided to let them go happily if they wanted to return.
*Little sis can handle herself. Hell, "handling" her is weird—she looks young but her mind's plenty mature.*
But what came out of their mouths was nowhere near what I'd expected.
"So when are you getting married? You asked Jung-ah to set you up last time. If German girls aren't your type, we can check out the Korean community."
Mid-sip, the sudden marriage bomb made me spray.
But how could I spit water on my sky-like parents' faces?
I whipped my head around and sprayed my sister instead.
*Pfft—!*
"Cough cough, what the hell outta nowhere..."
"......"
Water dripped from Park Jung-ah's face.
"...Hey, you okay?"
Sorry, I mouthed, gently wiping her face with a napkin.
***
Once my coughing settled, I made it crystal clear to my parents: no marriage plans for the foreseeable.
"No marriage thoughts for now."
"Then quit whining to Jung-ah about being lonely all the time. Your sister's busy enough as it is."
But the second I finished, they laid into me.
*Park Jung-ah, how much have you told Mom and Dad?*
Anyway.
We caught up on family news.
First off: no plans for them to return to Korea.
"Settle in, and that's your home. Germany's pretty livable."
They seemed more satisfied with life here than expected.
Public services were slow, sure, but hire a proxy and it was no issue.
*...Yeah, money makes anywhere livable.*
Once Park Jung-ah hit adulthood, Dad planned to fully retire and travel Europe with Mom.
*Guess I don't need to worry about Korea then...*
Harsh to say, but Korea's soccer fanbase was tiny.
My worry had been fallout if my parents returned.
*No need to watch my back then?*
Plus, permanent residency exemptions weren't illegal.
Strictly speaking, I was earning foreign currency.
An "industrial warrior" for Korea.
Developing Korean prospects at Union Berlin was patriotic in itself.
*Hell, shouldn't the country offer me exemption first?*
Thinking it over, Korean media had no reason to touch me.
Online chatter maybe, but claiming permanent residency from the mob era? No comeback.
I wasn't pissing off the government or press.
And with a powerhouse sister as backer, they'd hesitate.
*...No need to go at all?*
Just to check, I asked her if skipping service would hurt business in Korea.
"Hey, Park Jung-ah. If I don't enlist, does it mess with your Korea ops?"
Her answer blew past all expectations.
"You're exempt, bro."
"Yeah?"
"You tore your ACL in Korea last year and had surgery."
......Me?