Right after the match ended.
Most of the Korean players who passed through the mixed zone ended their interviews briefly, saying, "It's disappointing and frustrating, but we'll do our best to finish the remaining match well."
Their expressions were all dark and devastated.
There was not a single player who had not shed tears.
And when Ho-young passed by, the already heavy atmosphere sank even further.
The reporters showed consideration toward him.
"If you're having a hard time, you can just pass by."
"Stay strong. Many people in Korea are cheering for you. We hope you win the third-place match."
"You can do it!"
"Ho-young, fighting!"
Encouragement from reporters regardless of nationality.
Ho-young stopped where he was.
No matter how sad he felt, there was something he wanted to say.
Ho-young spoke in an emotional voice.
"The players gave their best until the end. Although we couldn't achieve our big dream of reaching the final, we were able to play a good match thanks to everyone's effort. It was also a valuable experience for me, and a stage where I learned many things. And I want to say thank you again and again to all the fans who support me and our team without hesitation, both overseas and back home. We will do our best in the final match to finish on a good note. Thank you."
Even as he finished speaking, his emotions surged, but Ho-young forced himself to endure it.
However.
"Young."
When he returned to the locker room, it felt like his emotions would burst.
Casillas, Ramos, Alonso, Iniesta and other Spanish players were waiting outside the Korean team's locker room.
Among them, Ramos approached Ho-young first with a particularly apologetic expression.
He carefully embraced him and spoke.
"Today we were enemies, but we are brothers. Whether it's five years or ten years, that won't change. Take care of yourself from now on. And next World Cup, let's meet in the final. You deserve it."
"That will definitely happen."
Ho-young answered firmly.
Winning the World Cup.
Now that the South Africa World Cup was nearly over, it might have become a difficult dream to achieve.
No, it certainly had.
According to the future Ho-young knew, Korean football would begin a steady decline from now on.
But Ho-young's own football career was still climbing upward.
There were still many heights left to reach.
July 7.
Amid countless World Cup articles being published, the second semifinal of the tournament began at Moses Mabhida Stadium.
It was a clash between Germany, with their perfect organization, and Switzerland, the tournament's surprise team.
The match was tense from the start.
Switzerland threatened Germany repeatedly with dangerous counterattacks based on suffocating defense.
Then around the 20th minute of the first half.
Germany engaged in a physical battle and conceded a penalty to Switzerland, allowing the opening goal.
For a moment, it looked as though an unprecedented upset might happen.
But.
[Germany defeats Switzerland 2-1 in dramatic fashion with Miroslav Klose's extra-time winner. Klose scores his 14th World Cup goal, closing in on Brazil's Ronaldo.]
[July 10, 8:30 PM. Korea and Switzerland clash in the third-place match. Head-to-head record stands at one win for Switzerland and one loss for Korea.]
[Interest in the Korea-Switzerland clash. Can Korea avenge the controversial match from the 2006 Germany World Cup?]
The match against Switzerland, which had previously been surrounded by refereeing controversy, was a highly intriguing encounter.
If Korea defeated Switzerland and finished third, they would surpass the fourth-place finish from the 2002 World Cup.
The match was scheduled to take place exactly three days later.
And on the night before the match.
After finishing the final training session, Ho-young stepped onto the hotel balcony to feel the night breeze.
The cool yet humid wind created a strange feeling.
His mind felt lighter, yet worries lingered at the same time.
The World Cup will be over in a few days.
He had run forward without stopping until now.
And it was about time to decide where he would go next.
After standing there absentmindedly for about thirty minutes, someone opened the balcony door behind him.
It was his roommate, Park Ji-sung.
"You look like you have a lot on your mind."
"Yes. The new season is starting soon."
Rumor-filled articles about Ho-young were spreading worldwide.
Conflict rumors and transfer speculation.
Every day brought new guesses about his future.
Park Ji-sung knew this, and as a senior in football, he wanted to offer some advice.
Over the past few days, he had noticed Ho-young struggling to focus during training.
"Sometimes, even if you want to focus only on football, you can't, right? You can't concentrate, and your body doesn't respond well either."
"You can read my mind perfectly, hyung."
"It would be strange if I couldn't. But I believe a true professional footballer must be able to focus only on football, no matter how difficult the situation becomes. I think that's the most important quality a professional should have."
"But what if you have to choose your path first?"
"It's not that complicated. Just follow your own thoughts. Don't shrink back. Perform wherever you go, and that's enough. Whether it's Spain or England."
"My own thoughts?"
"Of course. You're still young. You're not even an adult yet. There's no need to feel so much pressure already."
"Haha. You're right."
That was true.
There were still many opportunities to choose.
The advice was simple yet clear.
Ho-young lowered his head and answered.
"Thank you for the advice."
"Haha. Let's go inside and get some sleep. We need to play well tomorrow."
"Yes. We have to win."
He shook off his lingering thoughts and filled his mind only with winning tomorrow's match.
The heavy feeling in his head finally began to ease.
And three days later, the match took place at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium.
[Our players have already made us proud just by reaching this stage. Regardless of the result, we hope they show a great performance and finish the tournament well in this final match.]
Most experts predicted Korea would win.
After all, Switzerland had played extra time just three days earlier and had lost a lot of stamina.
Korea also faced fatigue, but Switzerland's condition was far worse.
Because of that, Korea could approach the match more comfortably.
[Ho-young dribbles forward himself.]
[He breaks through the gap between Benjamin Huggel and Gökhan Inler!]
After facing Spain, playing against Switzerland felt like stepping into a different world.
Too many gaps.
Switzerland had set up in a 4-4-1-1 formation and applied heavy pressure centered around central midfielder Gökhan Inler.
Their primary target was Ho-young.
But it made no difference.
Ho-young played his own game, escaping the pressure through dribbling and passing.
Inler, known for his ball-winning ability, chased Ho-young relentlessly but eventually allowed the breakthrough.
[Ho-young with the Marseille turn! He spins the ball around and escapes the midfield pressure!]
[Good! He pushes forward!]
Since beginning to covet Iniesta's press resistance talent three days earlier, Ho-young could clearly feel its effect.
It felt as if effective ways to escape pressure had been stored in both his body and mind.
"Damn it. Bergen! Pull him down!"
Inler shouted after losing Ho-young.
Immediately, the surrounding players led by center-back Steve von Bergen stretched out their arms and legs to stop Ho-young's run.
But it was all useless.
Like a scene from a film, Ho-young slipped past each approaching player and escaped the tight pressure.
It was pure instinct.
As if he already knew the escape route, he narrowly avoided their trap.
He simply kept advancing like a tank that could not be stopped.
When Steve von Bergen stuck out his foot, Ho-young leaned his balance backward and protected the ball. When left winger Barnetta attempted a sliding tackle, he shifted direction and escaped the pressure.
[Ho-young is unstoppable today!]
[This is a chance. The front is open. Park Joo-hyung is waiting!]
Ho-young's eyes were already looking forward.
He was just about to send a lofted pass toward Park Joo-hyung moving into open space.
But then.
Thud.
Philippe Senderos, who was marking Park Joo-hyung, rushed over and struck Ho-young's side with his elbow.
Standing nearly 190 centimeters tall and weighing close to 90 kilograms, the force he applied was immense.
Ho-young, who had been in the middle of his kicking motion, lost his balance and fell to the ground.
Immediately afterward, Senderos raised both hands quickly, insisting he had done nothing wrong.
However.
The pass had already been released toward a decisive position.
Straight to Park Joo-hyung's feet.
[Park Joo-hyung, one-on-one chance!]
[He shoots!]
Park Joo-hyung's curling right-footed shot escaped the reach of goalkeeper Diego Benaglio and headed toward the corner of the goal.
But just before the net rippled, something unbelievable happened.
Whistle.
[Ah! What is this?!]
[The Mexican referee Cerrito has stopped the match. Ho-young did fall earlier, but since it led to a clear chance, play should have continued. But now calling a foul on Senderos…]
[Ah, that's not it. The referee is approaching Ho-young.]
"Ho-young, simulated foul."
"What?"
He was not acknowledging Senderos's elbow.
Instead, he was warning Ho-young.
In other words, accusing him of diving.
[This is unbelievable. It clearly looked like he was pushed by Senderos's elbow. We will have to look again to know for sure.]
But the stadium's giant screen only showed Ho-young's dribble.
The moment of contact with Senderos was not shown.
Experts had argued that replaying controversial scenes on the stadium screen would place too much pressure on referees.
FIFA had accepted this argument and applied the principle during the tournament.
The moment could be seen on television, but not inside the stadium.
[Even if it were a dive, the referee blew the whistle too late. This is clearly a refereeing mistake.]
[Ah… I can't believe it. That was clearly a goal. This has happened before, but I never imagined something like this would occur in a World Cup third-place match.]
The players rushed forward to protest, but nothing could be changed.
Instead, the referee became stricter.
"One more complaint and it's a yellow card. Step back."
Since the World Cup had not yet introduced video review, there was no chance of reversing the decision.
"Boooo!"
"What are you doing, referee!"
"Did you take a bribe?!"
"What kind of ridiculous decision is this! Are you blind? How is that a dive?"
Jeers poured down from the stands, but the referee did not change his decision.
Moreover, some people even defended the referee.
"I understand. From the referee's position, there's a high chance he couldn't see it."
"Yeah, we couldn't see it clearly from here either."
In the end, the Korean players had no choice but to swallow their anger and step back.
"That crazy Mexican referee. If he was going to blow the whistle, he should have done it earlier. He waits until we score."
"Seriously, did he take a bribe? This is basically biased refereeing."
"Tch. Bastards."
Even the players felt something was strange.
Especially since the opponent was Switzerland, already surrounded by controversy over refereeing in this World Cup.
But they could not afford to keep complaining.
"Alright, focus. We can complain after we win the match."
Park Ji-sung calmed the shaken players.
Then he ran toward Ho-young to check on him.
"Are you okay?"
"Yes. I'm fine."
Ho-young brushed himself off and stood up, glaring at the referee.
The man, wearing a stern expression, had been a FIFA referee since 1993.
A veteran like him should never make such a decision in a World Cup third-place match.
He chuckled.
His mouth smiled, but inside he burned with anger.
Something smells rotten.
Ho-young recalled the future he knew.
The 2010 South Africa World Cup, tainted with refereeing controversies and corruption.
He knew certain things about it.
But Switzerland should have been eliminated in the group stage, not playing in the third-place match.
The future had changed again.
Is it connected to FIFA?
Whistle.
As suspicion grew in his mind, the whistle signaled play to resume.
Switzerland received a free kick near the penalty area.
The kicker was Philippe Senderos.
The same man who had struck Ho-young with his elbow now kicked the ball with an innocent expression.
It was a grounded pass toward Steve von Bergen on the left.
And at that very moment.
Ho-young, who had been turning back from the front line toward the second line, suddenly burst forward like lightning.
(To be continued.)
◇◇◇
◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 200 Power Stones.
◇ You can read the ahead chapter on Pat if you're interested: p-atreon.c-om/Blownleaves (Just remove the hyphen to access normally.)