Chapter 71 – After the Olympics (1)

071

The Olympic semi-finals produced an explosive response.

As the score difference widened so much, breaking news appeared even before the game was over, and even broadcasts that had nothing to do with the relay relayed the soccer team’s victory, even with subtitles.

The moment the 5:0 victory was finally confirmed, Korea was excited.

The semi-finals were held on Saturday afternoon.
Even so, the element of a young ace who showed an overwhelming performance in the team performance that was on a winning streak attracted attention.

It would not be an exaggeration to say that the entire nation watched with interest, and in the record-breaking victory in the game, all there was talk about him on TV.

“Breaking news. The Australian 2032 Olympic men’s soccer team defeated Japan to advance to the finals for the first time ever. Out in the field—”
“It is a thrilling moment!! Truly a miracle, a miracle, our players!! Oh really… Really, it’s like a tear. Great job. Good luck our players. The Korean national team is advancing to the final stage!!”
“Yes. Live news running the 24-hour news. We bring you the hot news that just came in. Today’s men’s soccer semi-final match between Korea and Japan was held at the Sydney Football Stadium in Australia, and Korea ended with a 5-0 victory. For the first time in history, the Korean national team stepped on the final stage.”

No matter which channel you go to, it’s only about football.

“Our national team reached the Olympic final and secured at least a silver medal. Now the stage is final! The goal is a gold medal!”
“With our athletes, a gold medal is possible! The final opponent is the Invincible Fleet, Spain, but don’t you have a good memory of defeating our players 3:0 in the group stage? As long as you don’t lose confidence, a gold medal is possible!”

Even the excitement of winning a gold medal has already appeared.
Before the news of the team defeating Japan and advancing to the finals subsided, the broadcasters spurred the fire.

“—This is the best Asian country ever, surpassing Japan’s bronze medal at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics and Korea’s bronze medal at the 2012 London Olympics.”
“Our national team advanced to the final and secured at least a silver medal. It is the best result for an Asian country in the history of Olympic football.”

Something about Olympic records.
It was just soup.

In particular, I paid attention to the record of one player rather than the team record.

“Hong Min-joon scored 8 goals through his hat-trick against Japan and rose to the top of the scoring rankings. This is twice the previous Korean record for most goals, and Hong Min-joon scored his first goal against Honduras in the first match of the group stage —”
“From the 1948 London Olympics to the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, the record for the most goals scored by a Korean player was 4 goals scored by Hwang Eui-jo at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. After that, Chun-Soo Lee (2000/2004), Joo-Young Park (2008/2012), Seung-Woo Ryu, Chang-Hoon Kwon, and Hyeon-Jun Seok (2016) scored 3 goals each and ranked second. With Hong Min-jun’s record-breaking this time, we are going down one step at a time.”

Of course, it was about Hong Min-joon.

Even if it wasn’t, his style itself was gorgeous and it was good to draw attention, he looks better than actors who are famous for being handsome, has a charming husky voice, and even plays the role of an ace in the team despite being the youngest with outstanding performance.

He also scored a hat-trick in the game against Japan, and his domestic popularity soared to such an extent that even though he did not know the president’s name, he knew Hong Min-joon.

“The slope is not limited to this. France’s Gabriel Mendy, who was running first in the scoring rankings, scored only one goal in the last semi-final and was overtaken by Hong Min-jun. Hong Min-jun, who rose to the top spot in the rankings, scored 8 goals, two goals ahead of second-place Gabriel Mendy with 6 goals. One game left each. Will Hong Min-jun be able to keep the top scorer? Also, attention is being paid to whether he will be able to break the record for the most goals by operating the scorer in the final.”
“If Hong Min-jun wins the top scorer title, he will become the second Asian top scorer ever, following Japanese football legend Kunishige Kamamoto, who won the top scorer title at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics. Cheering for Hong Min-joon’s winning the top scorer award, it was KBS Kim Ki-dong.”

Hong Min-joon, the party with unprecedented expectations for the top scorer, was paying attention to the Japanese response rather than the domestic response.

“Senpai, senpai. Have you seen this?”
“Are you bragging again?”
“No, I’m not bragging this time, it’s because the Japanese reaction was funny.”

The analysis of the semi-finals was in full swing on a Japanese broadcast with Korean netizens subtitled.

“Eh again… The Korean national team was strong. In particular, Hong Min-joon was amazing.”
“You can truly call him an Asian hero. Hong Min-joon, who shows Asian spirit!”
“As Asians, we look forward to a good performance in the final stage as we inherit Japan’s will!!”

I thought I was going crazy over a record-breaking defeat, but that was for a while.
They changed their attitude in an instant, and now they are talking about the same Asians and the same Asian countries.

In particular, requests for an interview were pouring in to Hong Min-jun, and most of them were to show off things like, “I beat the Japanese national team, but it was a tough match.”

“What are these guys like? They really make you a hero?”
“Right? It’s fucking weird, guys.”
“It was applied so horribly that I lost my mind.”

The national team members were lying in the dorm and giggling.
From a player lying on the sofa to a player watching YouTube, a player fiddling with their toes…

“It’s bitter. It’s said that the smell is addictive. Do you want to smell it too?”

Everyone was frightened by Seol Yo-han’s act of removing the grime from his toe with his fingernails.

“Ah bro. It’s really dirty, so don’t do that. Please!”
“Maknae. Take care of yourself.”
“Wow… I absolutely hate it.”
“Will you become a national traitor if your brother Min-joon catches you?”
“…I’m sorry, Minjun.”

The tension that felt like walking on a knife edge that I felt right before the semi-finals has long since disappeared. The national team players who secured at least a silver medal and confirmed the exemption from military service were already in the mode of enjoying themselves.

“But can we stay like this?”
“What?”

Senior Seol Yo-han asked back in awe at senior Yoon Hyuk’s question, who was lying on the sofa and munching on snacks.

“It’s the final match of the next game. If we win, we’ll get a gold medal. But didn’t we loosen up too much without training?”
“We did everything we wanted to advance to the finals beyond the bronze medal we were aiming for. I saw on TV earlier that we were the first Asian country to advance to the finals.”
“Still, I came to the finals, so it would be nice if I won.”

After Yoon Hyuk, I added more words, and Seol Yo-han smiled.

“To be honest, we just don’t have to lose like hot pants in the finals. All we have to do is suddenly take off our pants on the ground and not poop. Even if we do it in moderation, it’s going to be a good fight.”
“…Senpai, are you serious?”
“Then I’m serious. This is human nature that can’t be helped. You told me to get a medal… And you ran to death to get a military service exemption. Now that you’ve achieved your goal, you can’t help but feel relaxed.”

At Seol Yo-han’s words, the players sitting around nodded.

“That doesn’t mean I’m going to lose in the finals or run around. If you’ve come this far and don’t expect a gold medal, are you human?”
“Then, training, or at least a relative analysis.”
“Now is perfect. I’ve experienced many things during my career as a player. Anticipation for the finals… That’s why a good tension like now is the best. Besides, we need rest. Haven’t we been playing too hard? Resting and restoring your stamina will be much more helpful for your performance than doing this or that.”
“Oh… Is there a point?”
“Hey, hey. What is Illi? Am I right? That’s why the coaching staff doesn’t say anything. Now is the time to take a break rather than roll anything with training.”
“Oh oh…!”

Indeed claim.
As if he wasn’t chosen as a wild card for nothing, Seol Yo-han shows the dignity of a 30-year-old veteran…

“And honestly, it’s annoying to move.”

… Is that right?
Seol Yo-han, lying on the sofa and scratching his stomach while eating snacks, looked like a veteran. … In a good sense or in a bad sense.

* * *

Still, it was the final, so a four-day break was given after the semi-final.
It was a very short period of time, and since it was a tournament with only 18 players, the 4 days of rest was not enough to wash away fatigue, but one day I took a sweet break.

A media day was held the day before the finals.
In our team, the head coach, captain Seol Yo-han, and I attended the media day, and the opponent was Spain.

Tough guys.
They said that the team that will rise will rise and the team that will fall will fall. Jingle jingle

“Nice to meet you.”
“It’s nice to see you again.”

The coach shaking hands with the manager of the opposing team he met at Media Day.
Attending for Spain were the manager, captain and Jorge Garcia.

“Un placer verte otra vez, guapo chico.”
“Huh? Me? What is he talking about?”

The interpreter gave a timid answer.

“…Is it nice to meet you?”
“Ow~ Thank you thank you. Hey, you’re so handsome to me.”

Jorge’s expression became subtle.