My Girlfriend Wants Victory

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The match ended, and I rushed straight home.

“Dad!”

As soon as the door opened, Haeun came running and embraced me.

“Glory, Glory Man United!”

Gyeouri approached, singing Man Utd’s chant.

“Quick! Quick!”

Just as Haeun grabbed my hand to drag me to her room to play.

Bzzz—

“Haeun, wait a second! I got a text from dad.”

A message arrived from Cristiano Ronaldo.

– Fuming: Son Jinho shouldn’t have done that to me. Just as I respected you, you should have respected me too. A striker proves himself with goals. You, a midfielder, shouldn’t trample on that position.

Being soft-hearted and inherently kind, I had no choice but to comfort the infuriated Cristiano Ronaldo and negotiate.

– Woo: Huh. I’ll compensate with one assist.

– Fuming: NOUUUUUUUU─!

Initially, I thought I could settle with one assist, but Cristiano Ronaldo’s backlash was too strong.

– Woo: Then how about two assists?

In the end, I had to agree to give him two assists.

– Satisfied: SIUUUUU─!

Seeing Ronaldo satisfied, I figured it was a good outcome.

Of course, Robin van Persie protested when he heard this, but Cristiano Ronaldo handled it well.

‘It’s… handled well, right?’

Anyway.

There really wasn’t much time left in the season now.

Only the 37th and 38th rounds of the Premier League remained.

And the FA Cup final and the Champions League final were the only matches left.

[Will Sir Alex Ferguson’s promise be kept?]

The team was close to achieving the goal set by Sir Alex Ferguson before the season started.

[Manchester United is expected to make record profits if they achieve the treble.]

The atmosphere in the club was nothing short of excellent.

While one might consider this natural due to good results,

In my opinion, it seemed that the fact this was the legendary manager Alex Ferguson’s last season unified the team.

Now that everyone has come together for the treble, I felt we could win against FC Barcelona.

And the next day.

At the time we were doing recovery training at Carrington,

An interview with the FC Barcelona manager hit the news.

[Luis Enrique declares victory, “We’re going to win; Messi has been fired up.”]

Upon checking the article online, I burst out in anger.

‘No… what bastard scratched Messi?’

As I hurled various curses, I could only be startled by the message that evening from Lionel Messi.

– Football’s G.O.A.T. Dwarf: Jinho, thanks to you, I realized the essence of heading.

Me?

***

[Lionel Messi scores with a header against Atletico Madrid. “Height isn’t important for heading.”]

[Son Jinho agrees with Lionel Messi’s statement. “Heading is done with the heart, not height.”]

[FC Barcelona confirms the league title with victory over Atletico Madrid.]

[Manchester United departs for an away match against West Ham.]

***

May 17, 2015.

Not long after the Champions League semifinal match against Bayern Munich ended,

Manchester United had just completed the 37th round of the Premier League.

An away match against the lower-tier team, West Ham.

[Manchester United excludes main players from the lineup….]

[Alex Ferguson: “Player fatigue management is a priority.”]

Players who played full-time against Bayern Munich were given a rest. Fatigue could lead to serious injuries.

With all the starters missing, the match between Manchester United and West Ham came to an end.

[West Ham ends in a draw against Manchester United.]

The match result was a 0-0 draw.

[M.O.M. Chris Smalling, in response to a reporter’s question on the secret to his rapid growth…. “I face Ballon d’Or winners in training every day.”]

Manchester United’s promising players did not shake West Ham’s net, but they succeeded in reliably blocking West Ham’s attacks.

It felt rewarding to see the results of the concentrated care they received.

– What was your toughest moment?

“Yesterday…”

– Yesterday?

“I had to face Jinho and Chris.”

– That must have been fantastic as a football player.

“Yeah… it was a crazy, I mean fantastic experience.”

Just as I was moved by Chris Smalling in tears during the M.O.M. interview,

My phone, placed in the corner of the sofa, buzzed.

– Whining: If we had played, we could have won.

Checking the sender, I sighed.

– Whining: Anyway, when are you going to keep your promise to me, Son Jinho?

– Whining: Only one match left in the league.

As the promise remained unfulfilled, Cristiano Ronaldo’s nagging messages began to pour in.

Honestly, I didn’t want to break my promise either.

If I could, I wanted to get the assist over with and shake off the debt.

But just because I wanted that didn’t mean it would happen.

Selecting players was the coach’s prerogative, and it wasn’t something I could meddle in.

Taking a wrong step could get me on Ferguson’s bad side.

‘…Wait a minute, I really don’t need to go.’

Didn’t they say, “The thirsty digs the well”?

It was Cristiano Ronaldo who urgently needed the assist, not me.

There was no need for me to dig a well.

– Woo: You can go get permission from the boss.

I then declared to Ronaldo that if he got the boss’s permission to play, I would immediately fulfill my promise.

Then, blinded by the scoring title, Ronaldo stormed into the coach’s office the next day to persuade the boss.

– Lost for words: SIUUUUUUU!

He successfully secured a spot for the last league match in the Premier League’s 38th round at the cost of his soul.

I was in awe of Cristiano Ronaldo’s greatest achievement of the season.

Wow.

He came back alive.

***

– Whining: Son Jinho, you must keep your promise to me.

– Whining: The reason I secured the playing rights was because of my holy sacrifice.

– Whining: So, just pass to me.

– Whining: Son Jinho, why aren’t you responding to my message?

– Whining: The read receipt has just shown that you read it. Are you ignoring me? I won the Ballon d’Or before Lionel Messi and lifted the Champions League trophy at Manchester United, and I’m the Premier League top scorer… [See more]

– Woo: Give me time to reply, you crazy guy.

– Old Man Whining: Son Jinho, football is about split-second judgments.

– Old Man Whining: So, what are you going to do?

– Old Man Whining: Are you going to only pass to me?

– Old Man Whining: Son Jinho?

– Woo: If you send more messages, I’ll assist Robin.

***

[Manchester United’s final match of the season sees a slew of starting players in action.]

[Nigel Pearson keeps Leicester City in the league. “Facing Manchester United will be a great experience for the players.”]

[Manchester United fans flocking to witness the final home game of the great manager Alex Ferguson.]

[Manchester United legends shout at Alex Ferguson…. “Our eternal boss.”]

***

May 24, 2015.

Premier League 38th round match.

The final match of the 2014/2015 season unfolded at Old Trafford.

Cristiano Ronaldo claimed he convinced Alex Ferguson,

But Alex Ferguson planned to field the starting players in the final league match.

He felt that rotating players in the last league match would disregard fans who purchased season tickets.

But Ronaldo was completely unaware of this, thinking his participation was a result of persuading Alex Ferguson.

Alex Ferguson had heard about Ronaldo’s pompous attitude spreading rumors but chose not to react.

Now, it was too much of a hassle to respond to that.

‘…The next manager is going to have it tough.’

As Alex Ferguson thought about Manchester United’s next manager,

The retirement ceremony for living legend Alex Ferguson began.

Though the FA Cup final and Champions League final remained,

Since this was the last match at Old Trafford, the club and fans prepared for Alex Ferguson’s retirement.

[We bid farewell to Sir Alex Ferguson, the greatest manager in Britain who made the impossible dream a reality.]

The voice of the stadium announcer echoed across Old Trafford.

The somewhat chaotic atmosphere in the stands changed in an instant.

A heavy silence fell, making it hard to breathe.

As Alex Ferguson hugged each player and took the microphone in the center of the pitch.

“Don’t leave us!!”

The cheers and applause from the crowd at Old Trafford began to swell.

Even fans from Leicester City applauded the legendary manager’s farewell.

“This match is not the end. We still have the Champions League and FA Cup finals left. After those two matches, I’ll be able to watch Man Utd and just enjoy it. By then, I’ll be cheering for you guys from the stands.”

With slightly red eyes, Alex Ferguson bid farewell to the fans.

“Meeting you has been the most fantastic thing in my life. Thank you.”