Little Boy and the Korea-Japan Match -1
Real Madrid had become a completely different team after the Radamel Cardona racism incident.
He was a bit of a prankster who often caused trouble at the club, but Jesus was Real Madrid's star player, and when his pranks weren't aimed at you, he was a fun, great coworker.
And right now, the pitch was filled with the Kimchi Pirates, a group of his close buddies, all starting.
They were furious about the racism Jesus had faced, and they channeled that rage into their play on the field.
"Vamos!!"
Luka Savic's through pass went to Roberto Fabian, who rattled Granada's net with a precise shot.
After scoring the equalizer, Roberto Fabian grabbed the ball from the net and did a light high-five celebration with his teammates instead.
And five minutes later.
This time, Luis Garcia, exchanging passes with Luka Savic, curled a shot from the edge of the penalty arc straight into the net.
Real Madrid turned the game around in an instant and, leveraging their numerical advantage, crushed Granada CF in a big win.
The Real Madrid vs. Granada match had ended. As soon as the game wrapped, Granada CF issued an apology for the racism incident and promised it wouldn't happen again.
Cardona himself sent an apology when the backlash was bigger than he expected, but I didn't accept it.
The RFEF launched an investigation, and with clear evidence of racism anyone could see, they slapped Cardona with a 10-match suspension.
Granada CF also decided to sell him off, saying he'd badly damaged the club's image.
I had a pretty good idea why the RFEF and Granada were acting this way.
"Once you've tasted that sweet Asian money, you can't let it go."
With my performances boosting it, La Liga's popularity in the East was right up there with the Premier League.
Hooked on Asia's sweet cash, the federation pushed pro-Asia policies, even adjusting broadcast times for Asian viewers.
Local fans grumbled, but the federation released figures on broadcast fees from Asia and the money flowing to each club.
"Puta! Madre! The Eldorado of the East!"
The complaints died down naturally.
And to begin with, I was pretty popular.
On the day of the Real Madrid vs. Real Betis match, Yuna's labor pains started early in the morning. Dusik hyung, who'd driven in my place, came over with some cold water.
"Want some?"
The cool touch on my fingertips cleared my head, and I finally snapped out of it, thanking Dusik hyung.
"Ah, hyung, thanks for coming so early."
"We're not strangers, and I'm your agent—what's to thank?"
Dusik hyung and I chatted. Maybe because I'd become a dad, all our talk revolved around kids.
"Man, they're starting to look more like their mom every day."
"If they take after your sister-in-law, that's good—they won't get scammed."
While we talked, Yohan was so excited about his new sisters that he grabbed passersby to brag.
"Yohani! Baby sister coming!"
His cheeks flushed with joy, tadpole belly sticking out—it was so cute I wanted to watch forever, but I couldn't bother people, so I scooped him up and apologized.
"Sorry about that."
"...Holy crap! Jesus!!"
As I handled the autographs and photos politely, Yuna—maybe from past experience—gave birth soon after entering the delivery room.
"Waaah—!" "Waaah—!"
Following the nurse's guidance from when Yohan was born, I carefully held my two daughters. Seeing his sisters' faces, Yohan burst into tears.
"Waaah! Yohani's sisters are ugly!!"
We all cracked up at Yohan collapsing to the floor, crying pitifully like he'd lost his country.
SNS was flooded with congrats. Learning from Yohan's case, Yuna named the girls the safe and normal Ju Hayun and Ju Seoyun.
"Amigo! Take care of yourself!!"
The cross at Valdebebas was still up—they'd gotten the club's okay to remove it once godparents were picked.
'These crazy bastards. I was scared shitless when they actually tied me to the cross.'
Due to the fierce godfather battle among the players, the girls' godparents were decided post-A match, and Real Madrid players headed to their national teams.
I got called up too and joined at Paju NF. As I entered the training ground, Yoo Youngbeom—who'd arrived a day earlier—greeted me.
"Hey! Congrats on the girls!"
Yoo Youngbeom, now at FC Barcelona, had solidly filled the gap left by Russian keeper Dmitry Yashin.
"Thanks, you got any news?"
Grinning at my question, Youngbeom made a V sign.
"Due next June."
I congratulated him right away.
"Whoa—congrats, dude!"
With his baby buff, Youngbeom—aka Rangeleluja—shut down two golden chances against Lebanon for a clean sheet, leading Korea to victory.
(I didn't play against Lebanon, FYI.)
Coach Utilike was testing other players in mind of a possible red card or ban for me at the World Cup proper.
Post-match.
Reporters hounded him on why I didn't play, and Utilike answered straight, then added that I'd start next.
"We know the importance of the Korea-Japan match. We'll go with our best eleven for the win."
A Japanese reporter, voice full of disbelief, asked back.
—Does that mean Jesus starts?
Utilike took a sip of water, then answered firmly.
"Little Boy will start the Korea-Japan match."