The True Core of Jeonbuk (4)
The Jeon-seol Match — the rivalry that defined Jeonbuk and Seoul.
People who didn't particularly care about either club assumed it had been born out of T-ara, who were riding a massive wave of popularity at the time. But the truth was, the rivalry hadn't started because of T-ara at all.
Think about it for half a second and it was obvious, wasn't it?
If a rivalry had really been born from some idol scandal during a halftime show, it wouldn't have been given a grand name like the "Jeon-seol Match." It would've been called something like the "Lovely Derby."
The spark.
In the process that forged the rivalry between Seoul and Jeonbuk, T-ara's role amounted to nothing more than that. What actually poured gasoline over the deteriorating relationship between the two clubs was — oddly enough — a single player.
Shim Woo-hyun...
A player who had been at Seoul United, lost his starting spot, got traded to Jeonbuk, and then scored the winner against his old club to hand Jeonbuk the victory.
The problem was the celebration he aimed at Seoul's supporters after that goal.
Normally, even after a bitter transfer, you kept the celebrations muted when you scored against your former team. That was the universal code. But Shim Woo-hyun scored the winner, then pointed a gun at his own head — and as if that weren't enough, after the final whistle he declared in his interview that "Seoul United's Shim Woo-hyun is dead," detonating a shockwave that still hadn't fully settled.
In a lot of ways, he was something else. Not just for saying that to his old club — but for claiming his Seoul self was dead and then transferring right back to Seoul a few years later, which meant he had to apologize to the fans after the match.
Years later he made peace by apologizing for that celebration, but by then the damage was done. The relationship between Jeonbuk's supporter group, the Mad Green Boys, and Seoul's supporter group, Suho-shin, had already turned ugly. After that, a string of further incidents sealed it — and the two sides became mortal enemies for good.
The deranged celebration that completely wrecked the relationship between Jeonbuk and Seoul.
If you asked Seoul fans to name the celebration that enraged them the most, that one would almost certainly come out on top. That was how serious what Shim Woo-hyun did had been.
"Are you watching, Master Shim Woo-hyun?!"
As someone who aspired to become the ultimate authority on provocative celebrations, there was no way I could skip this one.
And the situation lined up perfectly, didn't it? A Seoul versus Jeonbuk matchup, Seoul's home ground, and a hard-earned winning goal.
This was heaven itself telling me to recreate Shim Woo-hyun's celebration one more time.
Of course, even as I scanned the faces of the supporters while I moved, a thought still flickered through my head — should I actually do this?
It wasn't guilt catching up with me. It was the promise I'd made to the manager.
"Yi-an."
"I'll be more careful next time."
"You already know what I was going to say, don't you? Good. Let's do this right."
Back then, Manager Ki-baek had looked at me with something like pity after I'd picked up two sendings-off from accumulated celebration bookings. He'd gently ruffled my hair and told me to keep it reasonable.
That promise sat uncomfortably in my chest now, but...
Nah. Promises are made to be broken, right? And the manager enjoyed it too.
At least for now, I decided not to care.
Even after I'd gotten sent off against Suwon, hadn't the manager let it slide because they were a rival? Sure, the level of bad blood Jeonbuk held toward Suwon and Seoul wasn't quite the same — but enemies were enemies either way. He'd let this one go too.
I shook off every last scrap of hesitation and broke into a light run straight toward Seoul's supporters.
And the moment I reached the edge of the technical area—
"Urgh—!"
—was the moment I completely lost my balance on the swamp that passed for pitch at Sangam.
I'd been sprinting to deliver a celebration packed with pure sincerity, only to risk looking like a complete idiot sprawled on the ground instead.
That could not happen.
Not even if I died and came back. I clenched my teeth and fought with everything I had to get my balance back.
Got i— wait?
Unfortunately, all that careful control collapsed into total failure.
I staggered like a drunk, skidded, and rolled across the turf. When I opened my eyes, there was only one thing in front of me.
"Grab that bastard!"
"Has this crazy son of a bitch actually lost his mind?!"
"Hey! What are you all sitting around for — get out there!"
What? Why are Seoul players who are supposed to be on the bench charging out?
Seoul's players came boiling off the bench with their brows knotted like they'd just witnessed something unforgivable. For a second I was just confused about what they thought they were doing — and then someone behind me grabbed me hard and started dragging me away.
"Hey! Han Gang-rok! What the hell are you doing, you idiot! Grab Baek Yi-an's legs already!"
"Ah — hang on, you're too fast, Gyeong-rok! O-okay, got him — run!"
"Ahhhh! Baek Yi-an you absolute maniac, who does a shot-in-the-head collapse celebration right in front of Seoul's bench?! Are you Shim Woo-hyun or what?!"
"...Gyeong-rok. How did I fall?"
"What? You're asking that now? How did you fall? You went down exactly like someone who'd just been shot in the head. Have you been secretly taking acting classes behind our backs?"
Han Gyeong-rok stared at me with a face that clearly said is this guy seriously asking that right now? I probably looked completely unhinged. Not only had I performed Shim Woo-hyun's celebration right in front of Seoul's bench — I'd gone and flopped over like a clown on top of it.
From their side, it was probably enough to make their blood boil. That was why they'd gone for a full bench-clearing charge at me.
Originally my plan had been to pass the technical area, reach Seoul's supporters, and stop there. But if I'd managed to drag that much pure rage out of them anyway?
"So I didn't fall in an ugly way, right? Yeah. That's all that matters..."
"What the hell is 'all that matters,' you psychopath! Ahhh this bastard is so heavy! Hey, Han Gang-rok! Lift properly!"
Personally, I was more than happy to give the celebration a passing grade.