Jeonbuk VS Incheon (3)
It was the same in every sport. Popular teams in any league always carried a sizable contingent of anti-fans.
Unless something special was going on, a popular club tended to be either successful or loaded with star players, and more than a few people used that status as an excuse to tear other teams down. Of course it was only a portion of the fanbase, but once the numbers grew large enough the spite turned into outright toxicity that made everyone else grimace.
Jeonbuk was exactly that kind of club.
They had been the undisputed rulers of the K-League throughout the 2010s, a prestigious side that produced more national-team players than anyone. The silverware they collected during that golden era had created a massive nationwide following even though they were based outside the capital region. Yet behind those results sat the sort of garbage behavior no sports franchise should ever commit, and that was how the people who hated Jeonbuk were born.
Now, in 2029, Jeonbuk Future Motors and Suwon Ohseong Bluefeather stood together as the K-League’s most popular clubs—and its biggest villains.
Given all of that, it was hardly strange that the live chat for today’s Jeonbuk–Incheon match had turned into pure chaos, Jeonbuk fans and anti-fans colliding in one room.
[Incheon’s attack is coming out far stronger than expected early on, and Jeonbuk look completely on the back foot.]
[Exactly. That kind of aggressive pressing is usually what you see from Jeonbuk, not Incheon. Today, though, Incheon have seized the early momentum completely.]
[Looks like Incheon manager Son Seong-min prepared a brand-new plan specifically for this match against Jeonbuk.]
The anti-fans had seized the early momentum. Watching Jeonbuk get pushed around by a form they never saw coming, they were already convinced that after Pohang, Incheon would be the next side to hand them a loss.
Unfortunately for them, the world rarely follows the script people write in their heads.
[Baek Yi-an! He tracks back behind the surging Lee Dong-jun and wins the ball cleanly with a sliding tackle!]
[Whoa… attempting a slide in that position is genuinely hard. He’d already beaten center-back Yoo Seung-won—if that tackle misses, it’s a free run on goal. But he shuts the attack down with a perfect challenge.]
[I keep saying it, but Baek Yi-an is simply different. He’s the youngest player in the league and yet his game is ridiculously mature.]
[Yes—Baek Yi-an immediately feeds Han Gang-rok. Gang-rok drives into the half-space at speed… oh! Cut-back to Schaferi!]
[Incheon’s defense completely lost Schaferi! He’s not going for a cross—he’s taking it himself! Schaferi! Schafeeeeeri!]
[IT’S INNNNN! GOOOOOAL! Jeonbuk’s Schaferi hammers a thunderous shot into Incheon’s net and makes it 1–0!]
The counter that started with Baek Yi-an’s interception ended in a combined goal between Han Gang-rok and Schaferi.
With the lead secured, Jeonbuk rediscovered their usual swagger against Incheon. And once Jeonbuk started dominating, the anti-fans had only two options left: shut up and swallow their rage, or leave the room entirely.
Of course a few still clung to the hope that a reawakened Incheon might push back…
[Baek Yi-an! Charging in again! Clean tackle! He completely snuffs out Incheon’s equalizer attempt at the source!]
[There’s a mistake high up the pitch from Jeonbuk! But the second ball belongs to Baek Yi-an. When did this guy even get that far forward?]
[Gabriel wins the duel with Park Yeon-woo and tries to switch play… oh! Baek Yi-an turns his back and holds off Lee Dong-jun! He collects the loose ball!]
[Baek Yi-an doesn’t just pass it away—he’s trying to dribble out of pressure himself? Oh! In a tight area he spins away and slips free like it’s nothing!]
There was a player at Jeonbuk whose mere existence turned every sweet dream of the anti-fans into a waking nightmare. And as if determined to wipe out every last one of them still clinging on in the chat, Jeonbuk’s attacks only grew more vicious with time, tearing Incheon apart.
[Kim Choon-jae! Straight into the shot! GOOOOOAL! Kim Choon-jae scores his first of the season against Incheon! The weather might be a little warm right now, but it’s still spring—season of Choon-je!]
[Baek Yi-an to Kang Sang-yong, Kang Sang-yong combines with Han Gyeong-rok and drives forward himself. Kim Choon-jae receives… is he going to shoot? No—a lofted ball toward Park Yeon-woo! Park Yeon-woo! Park Yeon-woooo! Another goal from a sensational header, Jeonbuk strike again!]
3–0.
A thrashing in both scoreline and performance.
The anti-fans who had been hanging on for some miracle, knowing full well there was no hope left, finally ran out of excuses.
Beeeep! Beeeep! Beeeeeep!
[And that’s the final whistle! Jeonbuk Future Motors put in a dominant performance against Incheon FC and take all three points!]
In the end even they couldn’t stay in the room without leaving.
One of the best things about living in an age of advancing technology was that praise articles about me started popping up like mushrooms almost the second the final whistle blew.
Yeah, that’s right. Hard to believe, but it’s true. That hyung originally turned the Jeonbuk from a novel whose aces had all vanished into a powerhouse.
Coming back to the locker room after a shower and reading people praise my performance made a smile rise on its own. Even better was the fact that every refresh brought a brand-new article.
Even I, who’ve been drowning in articles forever, am still this happy… so I guess the hyungs’ reactions aren’t that weird either?
I set my phone down for a moment and the overheated atmosphere of the locker room filled my vision.
“Hey, Schaferi. I think it’s time you admit it. I’m the better winger at Jeonbuk.”
“Bullshit, Yeon-woo. You… skill… below me. First goal… I scored first.”
“Every time this bastard opens his mouth I notice the same thing—when he’s swearing his Korean is fluent. Did you actually master the language and just pretend you can’t speak it?”
“No… Korean tutor… taught swearing first. This is FACTS.”
Yeon-woo hyung and Schaferi were grinning at each other, still high off the fact that both of them had scored.
“Yeah, babe. I’m heading straight to the clubhouse. Tonight I’m taking your parents to that restaurant I told you about. I already made the reservation… Mm, ah! Really? I’m glad they thought well of me.”
Choon-jae hyung, who had won Man of the Match against Incheon and left a great impression on his future in-laws, was practically glowing.
Soccer players were all like this. Their competitive fire burned so hot that a loss left them looking like someone had died and the whole mood went to hell—but the moment they won, they just sat around grinning like nothing had ever been wrong.
Thinking about that, it wasn’t hard to understand why the atmosphere in a team on a losing streak completely shattered.
Still, not everyone looks happy.
While scanning the seniors’ mood I flicked my eyes sideways to Yoon Seung-hwan.
“Uh…”
Look at that bastard’s eyes. Dead fish eyes if I’ve ever seen them.
He sat there with a towel over his head, staring blankly into space. A guy who usually buried every chance he got had failed to score against both Pohang and now Incheon, so of course he was sulking.
This is the same brat who usually turns down the goals I set up for him without a second thought.
His mindset was pure child, but what could I do? The same brat was going to become one of the best strikers in the world before long. For the sake of the quest that had my life riding on it, keeping a good relationship with him was the smart move.
“Hey, Yoon Seung-hwan. Don’t tell me you switched your idol from Ronaldo to Rooney?”
“What the hell are you talking about now?”
“Nothing. You usually act like Ronaldo, but right now you’re sitting there with the face of Rooney after he lost 700 million at the casino, so I figured you might’ve changed role models.”
“…You little—!”
What? I tried to cheer him up and he raises his voice and jumps to his feet?
I only wanted to lighten the mood because he looked miserable, but the emotional wound seemed deeper than I thought. If he was this venomous, better to leave him alone for now.
I barely shook off Yoon Seung-hwan, who came after me like an apocalypse zombie with a towel in hand, caught my breath, and pulled my phone out again.
“Still some time before we board the bus, so I can head over then.”
Until then, maybe I could kill time talking to A-yoon?
The second I unlocked my phone, a pile of messages from her were waiting.
“What? She’s going to the salon? Looks like wave curls… it’s pretty, but why all of a sudden?”
Normally she just left her long hair alone and said that was fine, right?
Well, I did prefer hair with a little curl over completely straight long hair, but not enough that I’d go around announcing it to people.
More importantly, who the hell had been walking around saying that?
The questions only piled up, but amazingly every single one of them was answered by a single interview A-yoon sent me.
— You’ve looked excellent since switching to defensive midfield, and after Andres’s injury you stepped into the attacking mid role again and delivered another strong performance today. Does the constant position-switching cause difficulties?
— I believe a player has to do whatever the manager asks. Of course it’s hard, but once I started linking with Yi-an it felt fine.
— Baek Yi-an seems to be a big source of strength for you. Are the two of you close?
— He’s a junior, so I try to stay close with him. Recently he even told me his ideal type. I expected something like “pretty or cute,” but out of nowhere he said he likes Cocker Spaniels, so I wondered what kind of guy he was (laughs).
“Ah, fuck, Choon-jae hyung!”
The interview left me so dizzy I had to clutch my throbbing temples.