Silent Night, Holy Night

***

It took longer than I expected before I realized something strange was going on among the international students.

'What is it? Why are they suddenly training so hard?'

Apparently, the reason was that I had been far too busy to keep an eye on the international students. I had to analyze each opponent's tactics for every match and explain Thomas Tuchel's tactics in a way the players could understand.

On top of that, I still had to finish preparing for a coaching license that would help me in the future. Thanks to passing last year's License B exam with an overwhelming score, I was qualified to take this year's DFB-Lizenz A exam.

I got a club recommendation from Union Berlin, the club I was currently with, submitted it to the association, and passed the qualification requirements without any trouble.

The only problem was that the DFB-Lizenz A course itself took roughly 320 hours.

Considering I was Union Berlin's active chief coach, the time requirement was reduced a little, but there was no avoiding the reports and projects that came with it.

Well... being young really does seem to be a good thing. I stayed up for two nights straight and was still fine. I guess the sleep deprivation made me feel weirdly high, but it didn't seem to be a major problem.

[Chief Coach Park Chan-hyeok crashes Thomas Tuchel's interview and goes after Thomas Tuchel... “Hair, hair~.”]

Anyway, once I obtained the DFB-Lizenz A, I would be able to take charge of a professional league team through the 'temporary permit system.'

Finding a pro club willing to appoint me was another matter, but given how I was currently rated in German football, it seemed likely that even a second-division relegation candidate would give me a chance.

'The day I really break away from Tuchel is getting closer.'

Well. I wasn't sure I'd actually become independent, though.

Anyway.

'Hiss. No matter how I look at it, those kids are definitely hiding something.'

Even while I was insanely busy, I kept looking into the kids' problem. It would have been nice to ask them directly, but since it was probably a sensitive issue, I had to be careful.

'They're not exactly the type to open up easily, either.'

But I was able to learn the truth from an unexpected source.

'Is this bastard an idiot?'

Old habits die hard, and the new scout had blatantly thrown out a racist remark in front of the other kids. He probably couldn't even imagine that another white person would report him to the club.

There are plenty of idiots among people swallowed by prejudice and hatred, but that bastard seemed to be on a different level.

- Um, my son said something strange today.

- We sent our son there because Union Berlin said it opposed all forms of discrimination... but now I'm worried he'll end up picking up some strange ideas for no reason.

Anyway, the parents of the youth player immediately passed the matter along to the club.

And of course, the club was thrown into an uproar.

“That fucking bastard!”

President Dirk Zingler was going absolutely wild. Since this was racism that had happened after he had publicly told the media there could be no racism at Union Berlin, he must have felt his face had been slapped.

Meanwhile, the scout team leader, who had been in charge of the team member at the center of the issue, bowed his head and apologized to me.

“Well. This isn't really something you need to apologize to me for...”

I shook my head to show that he didn't need to apologize to me.

'That idiot bastard is taking a dump in my jewelry box.'

Other than being fucking pissed off, I hadn't suffered any direct damage.

And it wasn't as if the scout team leader had done anything wrong.

President Dirk Zingler, Director Jörg Heinrich, and Coach Thomas Tuchel gathered together to discuss countermeasures. The scout team leader, who was directly involved in the incident and had a stake in it, had no choice but to be left out of this one.

“That malignant tumor should never be allowed to step foot in the football world again.”

President Dirk Zingler took a hardline stance, saying he would fire the scout who had made the racist remark right now and bar him from ever entering football again.

In fact, once the club had been informed, that future was no different from the one already waiting for him.

Even if the president didn't do a thing, the new scout's career was practically over.

If you were fired over something like racism, getting hired in the same field was impossible unless you were truly exceptional.

And on top of that, the Asian market was going to keep growing fast.

Players of many different nationalities would also be moving into the Bundesliga and making their mark.

In that kind of situation, there was no club crazy enough to hire a scout who had made racist remarks.

'...Though I guess if you looked hard enough, there might be one.'

It was hard to imagine that being a proper club, though.

And even aside from that, one thing I'd learned from living in Germany was that, unlike in Korea, the influence of recommendations from people around you was surprisingly strong.

If you ended up with a bad reputation among the people around you, getting a job became a lot more difficult.

Especially in football, where most people got jobs through their own networks.

In that situation, being marked by high-ranking officials including the president was the worst possible outcome.

This was something I had learned firsthand from spending a year unemployed before joining Union Berlin. It's a story I know well, since I'd already ruined my own reputation once.

And besides, that incident wasn't 100% my fault either. If you were going to assign blame, it would first lie with the other side, the one who had made the racist remark.

'Thinking about it again, it's infuriating.'

I was able to come back because I had Thomas Tuchel, an extraordinary connection, backing me.

But whether the new scout had any such connections was another matter.

'Well... it doesn't seem like it would be easy.'

Anyway.

Once President Dirk Zingler, who had been raging like a madman, calmed down, I looked around.

Director Jörg Heinrich, who opposed racism, was also a hardliner like the president. Jörg's stance was that people who held discriminatory views needed to be cut off at the root so they could never set foot in football.

Thomas Tuchel was sitting there with an expression that said, 'I'm already busy enough as it is, and now you're making me waste time on something useless.'

That was Tuchel as usual.

'Okay. Tuchel is neutral.'

After confirming the stances of everyone attending the meeting, I spoke carefully.

“Thank you, but let's hold off a little longer for now.”

“What?!”

President Dirk Zingler's voice grew louder. He must have expected that, as another Korean, I would be the one to take the hardest line.

But as the children's actual guardian, I had to look a little further ahead.

“Right now, the kids think they can change discriminatory attitudes with their own strength.”

If the adults stepped in and quietly solved it, the children would lose the belief that they could solve problems themselves.

They might even become passive people who just waited for someone else to solve their problems.

Of course, given their age, it wouldn't be that extreme.

But the experience of successfully changing a racist's mindset with their own strength would surely remain a valuable asset as they continued their football careers in Europe.

'However...'

Apart from that, it seemed like the new scout still needed to be given a warning.

Once someone crosses the line, they tend to lose their sense of where that line is.

'Looks like I'll need to keep an eye on that new scout.'

Well, even without me asking, President Dirk Zingler was strongly insisting on that.

***

Quite some time had passed since then.

Winter break had arrived for the Regionalliga that Union Berlin played in.

And then, December 23.

Union Berlin once again held its Christmas carol event this year, just like last year.

Union Berlin fans gathered one by one at the Stadion an der Alten Försterei.

“Stille Nacht! Heilige Nacht! (Silent Night! Holy Night!)”

At the stadium, people of all ages came together and sang the Christmas carol as one. 'Silent Night, Holy Night,' which is widely known in Korea, was surprisingly originally in German. The day I absentmindedly said, 'Huh? Wasn't this originally an English song?' I really almost got beaten to death that day.

Anyway, it was an event for the fans, and at the same time a special Union Berlin event meant to deepen their love for the club and strengthen solidarity.

This event also included the international students from Korea.

In a way, that was only natural. They were already members of Union Berlin now.

'Once they're in our hands, we won't let them go.'

Contrary to my worry that they might face discrimination, Union Berlin's fans smiled and welcomed the international students.

Watching that, I thought today's event would help the kids. After all, wounds inflicted by people are healed by people.

'I hope they realize that not all Germans hold discriminatory views.'

Meanwhile, Leon Han seemed to have gotten close to the Korean international students and was hanging out with them.

The international students were doting on Leon like he was their own little brother.

Watching that, I was honestly worried.

'Leon, you still can't choose the Korean national team.'

Unfortunately, that was a place where hell was waiting.

'They say the road to hell is paved with good intentions, and that fits perfectly.'