Chapter 243 (1/2)
“Hah, then this is it.”
“What is that teamwork?”
“It is just a mess, a mess.”
“It was my fault for believing in South Korea.”
“We will definitely be last place this year.”
“Won’t eggs be thrown?”
All that could be heard after the silence was broken were whispers from the audience. Their words were like sharp awls and I had nothing to say. I hadn’t expected it to be such a mess. Suddenly, I recalled the last words I heard.
...Eggs being thrown. I heard it from Jeongdo on the way here. The team in last year’s World Competition was really miserable and eggs were thrown at the bus carrying the players. It was quite famous and Jeongdo remembered the day in detail. Of course, it went without saying that he told me the details.
...This was bad. I thought that If I had lost like that, I would have nothing to say even if eggs were thrown at me.
Therefore, the atmosphere of the South Korean team was really bad. The South Korean team came out of the capsules and the audience yelled at them.
“What type of national representatives are you?! Are you joking right now?”
“Resign immediately!”
“I wasted my money!”
In a way, this could be called ‘swallowing the sweet and spitting out the bitter.'
The audience literally swallowed the sweet things and spat out the bitter things. One criticism became two, two criticism became three, and all of them were pushing each other on. The change in attitude took place in an instant.
“Honey, p-people have become so scary.”
“Umm...”
“I knew it would be like this.”
My daughter-in-law held Choi Kanghyun’s arm and didn’t know what to do. Kanghyun silently held her and watched the stage. Jeongdo had covered his face with one hand, seemingly expecting it to some degree.
A dispute was already happening between the players on the stage.
“What the hell is this? Eh? A joke?” Lim Sara was trying to kick at the air while being held back by Mido. Her target was Kim Donghyun, who had made a huge mistake earlier. Her feet continued to struggle. “I knew it would be like this. If you don’t want to do it then get lost! Are you still a national representative?! I can’t stand it anymore. Let me go! Let me go! Let go~!”
There was no such thing as shame. What type of shameful behavior were they showing to the people of the world? I hadn’t seen it yet, but I could clearly guess the headlines that would appear in the newspapers tomorrow. Just then, my mobile phone vibrated. I took it out and checked the screen to see who was the person that was calling me.
[Yoo Minseok]
I picked up the call with a sigh. “Hello.”
-Did you see it?
“...Yes. It is a mess.”
“......”
-Then I’ll ask you one last time. Would you like to play for South Korea?
There was a long silence after Yoo Minseok’s words. I looked around while listening to the audience. There were only harsh curses, no good words. I thought about all these criticisms pouring on the players, including my granddaughter, and my heart unknowingly ached.
“...Where should I go?”
-You’ve made a wise choice. There will be a 10 minute break at the end of the first match. At that time, meet in the main hall on the first floor.
“I’ll do so.”
I hung up the phone immediately and got up from my seat. My daughter-in-law glanced at me with a confused expression and asked, “Father, where are you going?”
“I’m going to the bathroom.”
I left without any delay. The destination was the main hall on the first floor. However, I had something to do first before meeting Yoo Minseok. I took out my phone and called someone. I soon heard the sound of it connecting and then Park Muyeol’s voice. “Hello.”
I asked him over the phone, “Where are you? One cigarette for a pizza.”
* * *
At the Korean team’s waiting room in Union Square...
The atmosphere of the Korean team was almost like a house of mourning. The team members were slumped down after calming the angry Lim Sara while Lim Sara sat with her hands covering her face, head lowered. Mido was patting her back and soothing her.
“......”
There was only silence in this waiting room. It was the worst situation and Lim Changyong could only swallow his bitter saliva.
‘Morale has completely fallen to the rock bottom.’
He thought about how the next match would be ruined if this continued. As the captain, Lim Changyong felt a great sense of responsibility. Just then, loud shouts were heard from the TV in the waiting room.
-Wahhhhhhh!
-As expected, the United States is the strongest!
-Michael! Damian!
“As expected, the United States is ranked first.”
The moment Lim Changyong, the ranking table for the various countries appeared on the screen.
[Ranking of Each Country in the World Competition]
[1st. United States - 5 points.
2nd. Spain - 4 points.
3rd. Russia - 3 points.
4th. China - 2 points.
5th. Germany - 2 points.
…
16th. South Korea - 0 points.]
The moment they saw it, the people in the waiting room sighed. Zero points. It seemed that South Korea was destined to repeat last year’s nightmare once again. Just then, the door of the waiting room opened and all the players stood up. It was Director Shin Taeil. “Well done.”
“......”
“Lim Sara.”
“...Yes.”
Lim Sara turned her head weakly to look at Director Shin Taeil.
Shin Taeil spoke to her like she was just a newborn calf, “The result was that you caused a scandal so you will be punished. It is a pay cut for two months.”
“Huh?”