My Girlfriend Wants Victory

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*
The moment Son Jinho’s shot pierced through Portugal’s goal net.

“─!!”

Cheers erupted from all corners of England.

“Rule, Britannia! Britannia, rule the waves!”

In the pub, chants supporting Son Jinho’s joining of the British Empire began to rise.

“Do you believe in Jinho?”

“…I believe!”

“This bastard hesitated for a moment, dive back in!”

“Bloody Hell! I said I believe, you bastards!”

The pub owner dissing Roy Hodgson for appointing a primitive Asian as England’s captain went into the Thames River (by force) and repented.

*
Thanks to Son Jinho’s goal, England started to pull ahead again, but Portugal didn’t give up until the very end.

They still had plenty of time to turn it around.

“Focus! The match isn’t over yet.”

“Vamos─!”

Glancing at the clock on the scoreboard, Ronaldo clapped and encouraged his teammates, and the Portuguese players began to feed the ball to Ronaldo. As their ace, they hoped he would deliver.

[Ronaldo has the ball, attempting to dribble through this time!]

And the hero of Portugal, Cristiano Ronaldo, rose to the expectations of his teammates.

[Ronaldo! He’s entering the penalty box! Ronaldo!!!!]

[Cristiano Ronaldo tripped over Harry Kane’s leg!!]

[Referee! The referee has pointed to the penalty spot!!! Portugal earns a penalty kick just before the match ends! The game isn’t over yet!!]

He created a penalty kick just before the match ended.

[Gooooooal─! The balance must be maintained! The Guardian of Balance, Cristiano Ronaldo! Brings the game back to square one!!!]

└ Aoh─! That son of a bitch is so good!

└ Wow, this is going into extra time.

└ But seriously, why did Harry Kane tackle there?

└ For real;; Even if it broke through there, there was no shooting angle;;

He successfully converted the penalty kick, equalizing the game once again.

*
“Damn! I wasn’t planning to tackle, why did that happen?!”

Ronaldo’s penalty kick broke the net, and I approached the despairing Harry Kane, holding my head in frustration, to offer some comforting words.

“Harry, let’s have a good one later.”

At this rate, could it be that Kane is haunted by the ghost of never winning?

Honestly, I really started to be scared of Kane’s lack of trophies.

Anyway, after Ronaldo’s penalty kick, the referee blew his whistle, ending the second half, and the match went into extra time.

The players sat together, regardless of their teams, around coach Roy Hodgson, and I watched them with a nostalgic expression.

When I first joined the national team, the England squad was so disjointed they wouldn’t even eat at the same table.

But thanks to their good results in the Euro tournament, they now confidently shared jokes and handed out water to exhausted players. They showed signs of being a well-functioning team.

“…Are you okay from the foul earlier?”

“Eh? Um…”

Of course, there were still occasional awkward moments.

Well, it seems like they could change slowly, one step at a time.

“Jinho.”

“Ah. Thanks.”

Watching the awkward exchange, I took the water bottle handed to me by Jordan Henderson and quenched my thirst.

“Phew. Hendo.”

“Yeah?”

“If you want to join, just let me know.”

“…Are you insane?”

And I subtly tried to recruit him.

Isn’t it an advantage of being the club owner and a player that I can naturally approach them during the match?

“Jinho, are you getting permission from our club and recruiting players?”

“Oh. What?! I want to go to Man U too!”

However, my teammates laughed off my comment thinking it was a joke, and I scratched my head with a light smile.

Hmm.

I was serious though.

*
The referee’s whistle blew, and extra time began.

Both teams were showing signs of physical limits.

Some players experienced muscle cramps, and the coaches had no choice but to use their last substitution cards.

While some substitutes were brought in, the starters were too exhausted to change the flow of the game.

Ultimately, the first half of extra time ended without any special incidents.

Then came the second half of extra time.

After a blunder, both England and Portugal found a golden opportunity once, but were thwarted by the goalkeepers’ saves.

With only one minute remaining, Son Jinho’s pass went to Marcus Rashford.

“Raeooouuu─!”

Marcus Rashford started charging toward Portugal’s territory while letting out a shout.

Maybe it was thanks to the teachings from Son Jinho and Ronaldo?

Marcus Rashford successfully shed off Portugal’s pressure and reached near the penalty box.

[Pepe’s very clever foul. The referee is issuing a warning to the fouling Pepe.]

But after exhausting all his last ounce of strength, Pepe sprinted to stop Rashford’s counterattack with a foul.

[The captain, who led England to the finals, Jinho is preparing for the free kick.]

The referee warned Pepe and then declared England’s free kick.

*
Replacing Harry Kane, who had suffered a muscle cramp, Marcus Rashford earned a free kick chance from a good position.

I could feel the attention of the crowd and cameras focusing on me, filling the stadium.

I quietly placed my right hand on my chest.

Thud─.

To be honest, my heart felt like it could burst from the pressure.

But as the captain and ace of the team, I had no intention of passing my responsibilities to someone else.

The referee’s whistle sounded in my ears, and after taking a deep breath, I began my run-up.

Then I took a shot with all my strength.

It was unavoidable. Given the physical limitations, a precisely executed shot had a higher chance of going off target than a power shot.

Boom─!

And the well-aimed shot went past the defensive wall, slicing right through Portugal’s goal net.

Even Rui Patrício, who had showcased brilliant saves, could only watch it in shock.

“Come On!!!!!”

As the net shook, I ran toward the corner flag, roaring at the crowd before turning back and spreading my arms wide.

And just in time, my back was adorned with the flying St. George’s Cross, the flag of England.

*
[What a Goal!! What a Goal!!!!!]

[A dark-haired boy from the outskirts of Asia, now a young man, leads England to victory!!!]

[Everyone bow down! The birth of a new emperor of football!!]

And BBC commentators, filled with national pride, naturally commenced their tea bagging.

[Today, I must convey this message. Thank you Korea!! You have gifted us the most precious gem in the world!!]

*
Son Jinho’s free kick sliced through the net, ending the match with England’s victory.

It was truly a match where both teams poured everything they had.

Players collapsed in place and could not move for a while.

Only the heavy breathing of the players resonated across the field.

The crowd began to send thunderous applause to the players who had given their all until the very end.

*
[The winner of Euro 2016 is England!]

[England achieves its first Euro victory in history.]

[Son Jinho’s charisma united the team, elevating England to the throne of European supremacy.]

[Son Jinho proves concerns about his captaincy with performance.]

[From a team that was eliminated in the group stage of the Brazil World Cup to the Euro’s pinnacle under Son Jinho’s leadership.]

[BBC commentary team’s tea bagging controversy,]

└ After so much tea bagging, I’m used to it now.

└ If we end up in the same group during the World Cup, what will happen then?

└ If that happens, I won’t be using the internet for a while, f*.

[The Korean commentator lavished praise on Son Jinho. “We are living in the era of Son Jinho right now.”]

[Action leadership? England national team colleagues speak about Son Jinho.]

[England’s Euro victory reduces racism against Asians….]

[The British Prime Minister visits the Korean town of New Malden, and Kimchi shooting goes viral….]

[The Son Jinho effect? Surge in British tourists? “Is this Jinho’s country?”]
*
The mainland of Britain erupted into celebrations following their first Euro victory.

Aside from the World Cup held on their home soil, they had no experience lifting a trophy in international competitions.

In fact, they suffered the humiliation of being eliminated by Korea in the quarter-finals during the 2012 London Olympics.

Although they called themselves the home of football, their dismal international performance had led to ridicule; their first Euro victory was like rain in a drought.

For a long time, the British talked about how winning their club league titles brought them more joy than the national team’s victories in international tournaments.

But in reality, that was almost a psychological victory born out of despair for their underperforming national team in international competitions.

This was evident in the scenes across the UK during the current frenzied festival.

Wherever you went in Britain, the image of Son Jinho lifting the Euro trophy was constantly being rebroadcast.

“Rule, Britannia! Britannia, rule the Football!”

Chants in support of Son Jinho filled the streets.

Residents of London flocked to the airport to see the England national team.

Realizing they couldn’t go against this atmosphere, the British government declared a national holiday the following day. They mobilized police to prevent any untoward incidents.

And that evening.

Son Jinho, who returned to Britain (from France), could only be taken aback by the fiery welcome that filled the airport.

“….Is this a revolution?”