Welcome to Real Madrid, Rookie? - 2
Before the newbie joined Real Madrid, a string of heart-pounding news for South Korean soccer fans came pouring in.
The first was Kim Dongjun, who had been playing for SL Benfica, signing with Real Sociedad.
At his Real Sociedad signing ceremony, Kim Dongjun debated whether to say he'd do well here and transfer to Real Madrid someday.
"It's an honor to join Real Sociedad. I want to put on a great show and lift some trophies."
But since he wasn't Jesus, he held back.
Baek Dongsu, playing for FC Porto, also got offers from various clubs but decided to spend one more season in Portugal.
Following those two, the news that got the whole nation buzzing arrived.
Yoo Youngbeom, who played a huge role in Mallorca's Champions League qualification and Copa del Rey runner-up finish, fetched an astronomical transfer fee for Mallorca and moved to FC Barcelona.
Barca fans sighed that they should've just used that roughly 1300 billion KRW to snag Jesus instead.
But ignoring the financial situation back then, the comment quickly vanished.
With Champions League money rolling in, Mallorca started spending wisely.
Yoo Youngbeom's efforts to squeeze every last euro out of his transfer left a great impression on Mallorca fans.
Jesus clicked his tongue watching, calling him a black-hearted bastard.
Anyway, thanks to that, the image of Korean players improved at Mallorca, and they started scouting Korea for the next Yoo Youngbeom.
In the process, Hong Doyun caught their eye.
They shelled out 105 billion KRW to successfully poach him from Haechi Unicorns.
Park Yoon, the director who tried to rip them off with the "Jesus premium," had to let Hong Doyun go due to pressure from above.
Sitting in his office, Park Yoon regretted sending him for so little.
"Ugh! I could've gotten at least double that!"
To Leo Lopez, Real Madrid was a wonderland.
Seeing soccer stars he'd only watched on TV training, laughing, and chatting with him felt like a childhood dream come true.
Whoa, their first touch is insane.
Apart from their top-tier skills, Real Madrid players were like playful neighborhood big bros helping Leo Lopez settle in.
"Hey! Leo! Wanna bet on hitting the post?"
Among the countless Real Madrid players, the one looking out for Leo Lopez the most was Iker Bravo, whose season retirement announcement had fallen through.
Clang-!
Iker Bravo watched Leo Lopez clutch his head after nailing the post himself.
He was feeling the fresh rookie vibe from Leo Lopez that he never got from Jesus.
Seeing how polite and eager Leo Lopez was, Iker Bravo shared all his know-how without holding back.
"Listen up from now on. I'm gonna teach you how to survive at Real Madrid."
He decided to pass down the 101 ways to survive at Real Madrid first.
"The most important thing is don't fall for what Jesus says. Whatever that bastard suggests, never do it. If you think you have to follow him, ask me or Sergio Pepe first."
Leo Lopez adapted to Real Madrid step by step, following Iker Bravo's advice closely, and his season debut came sooner than expected.
The 2041-2042 season kicked off.
Before the season proper, Real Madrid crushed Arsenal—the Europa League winners—in the UEFA Super Cup and lifted the trophy.
I'd planned to take that trophy home since it wasn't as big a deal as others and toss it to Yohan and Partasu as a toy, but the club staff caught wind and shut it down.
The staff convinced me they'd provide a replica later, so I countered with a suggestion.
"Why not display the replica and give me the real one?"
"Haha..."
I could still picture the staffer awkwardly laughing and texting President Nunez.
In the end, I gave up on the trophy.
Anyway, back to the main story.
Real Madrid's season opener was against Granada CF.
While the team hustled to defend against Granada's aggressive attacks, I scratched my balls and felt a pang of resentment at how fast time flew.
Already my fourth season since regressing.
Next year, the World Cup hits China.
National attention was laser-focused on the South Korean senior national team.
Even folks who ignored A-matches believed the overseas players' form would carry straight to World Cup success.
"Fuck. Wish that were true."
I think I'm more objective about the national team's current strength than anyone. Honestly, even advancing past the round of 16 is dicey.
If even one overseas player gets injured during the tournament, we're straight to hell.
Despite that, public expectations kept skyrocketing.
Blame the media. Their damn hype.
From lurking communities lately, they say my face takes over the 9 PM news like a billboard.
Okay, fine up to there.
It's all facts, right? Even a three-year-old (Yohan) knows I'm winning Ballon d'Or. And yeah, I did snag Asia's first Champions League MVP.
But some media outlets are the problem.
They started warming up public opinion, saying a Korea with the world's best player should at least hit the semis.
Every time I see that shit, the Jesus deep inside me stirs.
"Ronaldo got Portugal to semis once, you fucking idiots!!"
Anyway, because of those articles, everyone in Korea thinks we're guaranteed at least round of 16 in this China World Cup.
And if we fail to advance? The media that stoked the fire will turn on the team and chew us out.
They supply the logs and the spark; the team eats the shit.
And among the national team, I'll get bitten the most.
Come to think of it, back then a reporter asked why I couldn't perform like I do at club level.
What'd I say? Something about the quality of pass shuttles being different?
After that interview, I got every curse in the book.
Still don't get why. If your head's not just a hat rack, wouldn't you compare your teammates?
Take Real Madrid right now—Luka Savic and Luis Garcia, world-class pass shuttles.
But on national duty? Sigh.
Irritation bubbled up from deep in my chest.
Going through the Asian qualifiers last June left me frustrated and on edge.
My patience hit rock bottom.
Yuna's due date approaching wasn't helping, plus World Cup stress. Too much piling up; I was on a short fuse.
Maybe that's why.
I couldn't hold back the provocation.
Radamel Cardona, the Colombian striker who scored first against Real Madrid, charged at me all hyped up, pulling his eyes slanted.
"Puta! You're not the best! You're just a slant-eyed Asian monkey!"
Before the ref, who was rushing over stone-faced, could red-card him...
Poke-!
My finger jabbed his eye.
"Aaaagh-! My eye!!!"
Aaah—the divine finger enlightening his narrow-minded view.