Chapter 72
***
Training was underway at Union Berlin’s training ground, Eisen und Blut (Iron and Blood).
Union Berlin had built a brand-new training facility through a large-scale construction project.
[Union Berlin names its new training ground Eisen und Blut in honor of the fans’ devotion.]
└ Kyaa, lol. Romance MAX.
└ This is football. This is sports.
└ There’s still nobody who isn’t cheering for Union Berlin, right?~
└ If you're Korean, please cheer for Union Berlin!
I had suggested a name for the training ground that could symbolize Union Berlin, and with approval from Chairman Dirk Zingler and the staff, it was adopted as the ground’s official name.
Union Berlin’s fans also liked Eisen und Blut, the rallying cry that symbolized them.
'The training environment has definitely improved.'
The youth players were motivated by watching the first-team players train in the same space.
The first-team players, in turn, watched the youth coming up fast from below and regained the focus they had begun to lose.
'By the way…. '
I stared at Yannik Voigt, who was laughing and training with the players.
“What are you staring at so hard for?”
Perhaps because I was blankly watching Yannik, Daniel Teixeira spoke to me.
“Yannik just seems like he’s changed somehow.”
“He does kind of feel like a real man now.”
As Daniel Teixeira said, aside from his unique aura, there wasn’t much difference from before even after becoming a five-star player.
'Maybe it’s because only his mental stats went up a lot.'
I’d probably have to play him in a real match to find out.
Well.
In three days, the DFB-Pokal second-round match against Paderborn would be held at the stadium Union Berlin had rented.
Even with the match so close, the atmosphere at Union Berlin’s training ground was good.
'That just means the players are confident they’ll win, too.'
I wasn’t thinking for a second that we’d lose to Paderborn either. Like FC Carl Zeiss Jena in the previous match, Paderborn was a second-division team in the relegation zone.
'Of course, since footballs are round, upsets can happen.'
Still, something is only called an upset because it doesn’t happen often in the first place.
Three days passed in a flash.
The DFB-Pokal second-round match was held at the stadium Union Berlin had rented.
“Hart sind die Zeiten und hart ist das Team. (The times are hard, and the team is hard.)”
“Darum siegen wir mit Eisern Union. (So we win with Iron Union.)”
Union Berlin’s chant rang out, and the flags symbolizing Union Berlin swayed majestically.
“Did some Korean fans come too? There’s even a Taegeukgi...”
And seeing the Taegeukgi among them, I began to feel all kinds of emotions.
The biggest part of those mixed feelings was an inexplicable sense of helplessness.
It felt a little strange to be feeling this way while watching the fans cheer.
But I couldn’t help it.
'...Shit, what am I going to do about the military?'
For me, it was that serious a problem.
In truth, getting out of military service wasn’t the problem.
I had permanent residency in Germany.
Still, since I’d been milking Korean patriotism back home, using my residency to dodge the military did feel a little awkward.
[Park Chan-hyuk, patriotic in words... but exempt from military service thanks to permanent residency?]
[The grand scam of 'the black-haired German' Park Chan-hyuk....]
[‘The second Steve Ryu?’ Let’s take a look at Park Chan-hyuk....]
I could already see the headlines journalists would write if they caught wind of this.
It was obvious Korean reporters would latch onto this and never let go.
And on this issue in particular, I didn’t think the fans would shield me.
'Honestly, I’d be glad if they didn’t turn that shield on me instead...'
In South Korea, military service and conscription were topics you couldn’t brush off.
After the military issue, there would still be quite a few fans who supported Union Berlin, but disappointment was inevitable.
'Still, I can’t go to the army twice...'
I thought about how to get a formal military exemption.
'The most representative ways are winning bronze with the Olympic team or gold at the Asian Games...'
I knew the exemption benefits were given to players, but I wasn’t sure whether I, as a coach, could get them too.
Unfortunately, related documents were hard to find online.
'Ah... somebody give me a three-line summary! Seriously, if this were the future, I’d just hit GPT and be done with it.'
I mentally scolded Park Jeong-ah.
'Hey, Park Jeong-ah! If you’re from the future, then go develop ChatGPT or something!'
Then Park Jeong-ah might ask what I was doing, but I had my own answer ready.
I’m in the arts-and-sports crowd.
'...They probably wouldn’t let me out just because they plan to use me as Union Berlin’s mascot.'
My head was a mess with thoughts of the military even while the match was going on.
***
Meanwhile, at that time.
'Bitcoin is almost here now. The day ordinary people could mine Bitcoin was January 8, 2009...'
‘Former idol’ Park Jeong-ah visited the stadium to watch Union Berlin’s match.
She had come to the stadium because of the data center project.
“Nice to meet you.”
“Yes, we’re also considering relocating our headquarters, starting with the data center.”
In Europe, it was fairly common to discuss business matters at football stadiums.
It wasn’t an exaggeration to say that every European loved football.
“By the way, I didn’t know you liked football. That’s a surprise.”
“My brother is the manager of this team.”
“Oh. Chan-hyuk. I know him. He’s an excellent manager.”
Actually, just revealing that she was Park Chan-hyuk’s younger sister was enough to change the atmosphere.
The wariness toward a wealthy East Asian disappeared, and the conversation naturally softened.
'...My brother is pretty popular.'
This was the power a football manager held in Europe.
The district mayor of Köpenick asked about the tactics Park Chan-hyuk used.
To be honest, Park Jeong-ah didn’t know much about football.
She just repeated what Park Chan-hyuk had said.
“Oh... I see!”
But for a non-expert, that was enough.
'This works.'
Anyway.
The messaging business her family currently ran was expanding rapidly alongside the release of smartphones.
Using the Apple stock her family held to negotiate preinstallation on smartphones greatly helped the business expand quickly in its early days.
There had been a few minor issues in the process, but they were able to get through them without major trouble.
- Sorry, little lady, but this old guy’s busy....
- I’m Park Jeong-ah.
- ...Really?
Even Steve Jobs, infamous for his 'character,' couldn’t bring himself to hurl a full string of obscenities at Park Jeong-ah.
The risks of verbally abusing an adult and of hurling full-blown obscenities at a little girl (thirteen years old) were completely different.
The former could be packaged as being a picky artist or a temperamental genius, but the latter was just radioactive waste.
Even the great Steve Jobs would have had to worry about the social reputation of 'the guy who screamed at a teenage Asian girl until she cried.'
'It would have been better if he had cursed me out...'
Park Jeong-ah, however, regretted that the negotiations might have gone a little more smoothly if she'd been cursed at.
Anyway, the Fourth Industrial Revolution was approaching, starting with smartphones, and data centers were becoming increasingly important.
'Was it called cloud computing?'
Park Jeong-ah was steadily preparing for future business opportunities.
The Köpenick district where Union Berlin was based was a suitable place for a data center.
Its precise administrative designation was Treptow-Köpenick, the largest borough in Berlin, which also made it the least densely populated.
Because it was the capital, stable power supply was possible, and it was a place where large tracts of land could be secured and the likelihood of disasters was low, meaning it was the best area to build a data center.
And beyond that, Park Jeong-ah also had her own goals.
'It would be nice to make this place our family’s domain.'
The Köpenick area was a good place to turn into a modern-day fiefdom. The local residents already felt positively toward Park Chan-hyuk.
'Though the population is a bit sparse.'
The missing population would naturally grow once jobs were created.
They would soon become a human wall protecting them from the catastrophe to come.
'The subprime mortgage crisis.'
At first, Park Jeong-ah had planned to leave the response to the subprime mortgage crisis to Park Chan-hyuk.
Her brother knew about the subprime mortgage crisis too.
“...You’re shorting with your entire fortune?”
But after talking with Park Chan-hyuk, she had no choice but to withdraw that plan.
“Yeah. That’s how you make a lot of money.”
“Brother, do you have multiple lives or something?”
“I’m on my second life already.”
Just thinking about what had happened that day made Park Jeong-ah’s head throb.
Skimping a bit wasn’t a problem. After all, others had expected that anyway.
But putting all your assets on the line was a different matter entirely.
'...If we leave our money to my brother, our family would really vanish without anyone noticing.'
During an economic crisis, it was less a time for careful persuasion and more a time when people shouted, 'Then die.'
While Park Jeong-ah was busy worrying over her brother Park Chan-hyuk’s problems.
“Yannik Voigt! Fußballgott!!”
Union Berlin succeeded in scoring the opening goal, and the district mayor beside her stood up, shouted, and began singing Union Berlin’s chant.
'...By the way, why is my brother being tied up?'