Immediately after the match, in the away team locker room.
Ho-young celebrated the ten-game winning streak with warm embraces from his teammates.
Everyone looked exhausted, but the atmosphere felt like a festival.
Soon after, coach Scolari entered and embraced the players as well.
The first person he hugged was Ho-young.
"You worked hard."
What more needed to be said?
Today was the first time Ho-young had led Real Madrid to this extent.
5-4.
Although there was plenty of help from his teammates, it would not be an exaggeration to say more than ninety percent of the credit belonged to Ho-young.
Of course, it was undeniable that Real Madrid was a strong team.
But today, Barcelona had been even stronger.
And Ho-young had been unbelievably strong.
No matter how exceptional he was, he was still human. He could not produce performances like this every match.
Even so, the fact that he could deliver such a performance even once was astonishing.
Scolari still could not believe it.
The match that lasted nearly one hundred minutes had truly been a miracle.
"You worked hard too, coach."
"…Thank you."
Scolari could not continue speaking.
Ho-young looked as if he were saying farewell.
'I'm probably the only one here who knows the truth.'
He knew everything.
He also knew that the team would have to go through the second half of the season without Ho-young.
That was his biggest concern.
'At least we've widened the gap with Barcelona to eleven points.'
Unless something unexpected happened, winning the league was still very possible.
Players like Cristiano Ronaldo, Xabi Alonso, Gonzalo Higuaín, and Karim Benzema were still outstanding.
But.
'Matches like today won't happen again. President Calderón will regret this immensely.'
Still, what could he do?
The decision had already been made.
Complaining about it would not change anything.
For the remaining two weeks, the only thing he could do was make the most of the time left with Ho-young.
Scolari stroked his mustache.
"Next is the FIFA Club World Cup."
"I look forward to working with you."
"The feeling is mutual. Now head to the reception room. There's still time before the press conference."
"The reception room?"
"You have important guests waiting there. It seems Barcelona kindly arranged it."
Following a staff member to the reception room, Ho-young smiled.
Monica stood up to greet him, her face flushed red, along with her parents.
"It's a pleasure to meet you."
"Nice to meet you. I'm Lucas."
"Thank you for inviting us. I'm Diana. I've heard a lot about you."
Her father looked like an ordinary Brazilian man with a distinctive mustache.
Her mother, however, looked so young and beautiful that Ho-young almost mistook her for Monica's older sister.
He had only heard that she was a Russian-American, but he had not expected such beauty.
Monica had clearly inherited her mother's genes.
Yet Monica herself could not even look Ho-young directly in the face.
She simply rushed into his arms.
"Monica."
"Yeah."
Monica had held back her tears throughout the entire match.
But the moment she saw Ho-young, the tears she had been suppressing began to flow.
She was not usually a girl who cried easily.
Even in difficult situations, she rarely shed tears.
"Haha. But why are you crying?"
"…Sniff."
Because she had been so busy, Monica had mostly watched Ho-young's matches through broadcasts rather than attending them in person.
But whenever she watched, her heart hurt so much that she could barely focus on the game.
The pain and sadness she felt when he was tackled and knocked down were greater than the joy she felt when he scored.
So she understood how difficult things were for him.
But today was completely different.
The pain she felt watching in person was far greater than anything she had seen on television.
From the moment the match began until the final whistle, the insults and abuse directed at Ho-young never stopped.
On top of that, there were constant dangerous moments.
It was a match that was difficult to watch with open eyes.
And although the game had been so intense, Ho-young showed no sign of exhaustion, which made her feel even more sorry for him.
They had always met when he was smiling brightly, so she thought he was always fine.
That was why the tears would not stop.
Yet Ho-young still looked perfectly calm.
Instead, he grinned and gently hugged Monica.
It felt as if his fatigue vanished like magic.
[
[The world's most unfortunate genius, 'Lionel Messi', scores four goals but suffers a tenth consecutive El Clásico defeat, rumors of leaving Spain spread]
That day's match caused a massive reaction.
As a special video compilation of Ho-young's performance spread online, reaction videos showing foreign fans' responses also became popular.
Some retired football players were included as well.
A few of them were particularly impressed and posted messages on social media, which quickly became a hot topic.
Zinedine Zidane: I miss the days when I played alongside Ho-young. And it still feels unbelievable that I was once his tutor. What exactly did I help create?
Ronaldo Nazário: I recently saw Zidane's post. I was also one of the people who taught him. But I already knew back then that he would surpass us.
The entire world was stunned.
England was no exception.
On one football talk show, a special segment about Ho-young was held, with panelists sharing their opinions.
The panel included a former Manchester United technical coach, a current Manchester City player, and a singer known as a football fanatic.
The host spoke first.
"There are three major highlights from this El Clásico that everyone is talking about. His field coverage, the 41-meter free kick goal, and the banana throwing incident. First, let's hear briefly from former coach Cooper. Cooper?"
"Yes. I would describe it as a match that showed the limits of human ability being surpassed. His field coverage elevated Real Madrid to a completely different level. If we compare it to a football video game, it was like a cheat code."
"That seems like an appropriate description. Then how did you see the free kick?"
"In truth, it is not a new paradigm. Using physics is a fundamental and crucial part of shooting. But applying it perfectly in a real match is something no one else can do. No, only Ho-young can do it."
"I see. Then about the banana throwing incident…"
"Wait."
The one who interrupted was a man sitting with his legs spread wide, wearing sunglasses.
"I'll talk about that."
He suddenly pointed at the camera and scowled before speaking bluntly.
"We need to tell those bloody bastards to shove their racist crap where the sun doesn't shine."
Noel Gallagher.
The famous vocalist of the British rock band Oasis, a Manchester City supporter, and a passionate fan of Ho-young.
Known for his extremely blunt personality, he never held back, even on broadcast.
"If I ever get my hands on people like that, there'll be no mercy. I'll knock some sense into their heads so they never think that way again."
"Haha. We understand how you feel. Let's calm down for now. Next…"
The host calmed Noel and passed the microphone to the next guest.
"You have personal connections with Ho-young. What kind of player do you think he is?"
"Hmm…"
The man looked somewhat nervous.
It was Robinho, who had played alongside Ho-young two years earlier.
He spoke.
"Ho-young is a very good player. Honestly, that's the only thing I can say…"
"Did you know he would grow to this level?"
"Well."
Robinho did not hold any particular grudge against Ho-young.
But over the past two years, seeing articles constantly comparing the two had gradually built some resentment.
He was tired of it.
And once again, the journalists would not leave him alone.
Recently, an article titled
Moreover, Robinho had been struggling this season, which only increased his stress.
Perhaps because of that, he spoke boldly.
"Of course, it is an undeniable truth that Ho-young is the best in the world. But performances like that are something you only see in La Liga."
"Are you saying La Liga's level is lower?"
"Of course not. It's not about the level. The leagues simply have different characteristics. When I was at Real Madrid, I constantly produced spectacular plays and received praise from the media. But when I came to England, the style of play was completely different. The moment you touch the ball, three or four opponents close you down. What can you do in that situation? There's a reason it's called the graveyard of technicians."
In other words, he wanted people to stop comparing him with Ho-young.
"So in other words, you believe Ho-young's abilities might not reach that level?"
"Oh come on, that's not what I mean. I don't want to become a public enemy. I know how many fans Ho-young has worldwide. Of course it may never happen, but if he came to the EPL, even Ho-young would struggle to produce that kind of play there. Regardless of his skill level. I can say that with confidence because I've experienced it myself."
"I understand what you mean. But if Ho-young happens to watch this broadcast, it might hurt his pride."
"It's fine. Haha!"
Robinho ended his words with a bright smile.
After saying that much, it felt like his stress had eased.
'It's not like we're close anyway. We'll probably never meet again.'
Unless Manchester City qualified for the Champions League, there was no chance they would face Real Madrid.
'…It's not like he'd fly all the way to England just because his pride was hurt.'
Robinho was not worried at all.
That would be completely ridiculous.
Late December.
Shocking news struck the football world.
[Barcelona sack manager José Mourinho after five months, "We will find a coach suitable for Barcelona. Assistant coach Tito Vilanova will serve as interim manager."]
[2010 Ballon d'Or ceremony scheduled for December 31 in Zurich, Switzerland, final three nominees announced: Cristiano Ronaldo, Ho-young, Lionel Messi]
[Real Madrid's winning streak continues, depart for Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates for the FIFA Club World Cup, a victory would complete a five-trophy haul]
Finally.
The FIFA Club World Cup that Ho-young had been eagerly waiting for was right around the corner.
The participating teams consisted of the champions of each continent's Champions League and the champion of the host nation's league.
They were as follows.
Europe's Real Madrid, Africa's TP Mazembe, South America's Internacional, North America's CF Pachuca, Oceania's PRK Hekari United, Asia's Seongnam Ilhwa, and the United Arab Emirates' Al Wahda FC.
Seven teams in total.
There was no team that Real Madrid particularly needed to fear.
And as expected, even while fielding mostly reserve players, they advanced smoothly to the final.
Their opponent in the final was South Korea's powerhouse, Seongnam Ilhwa.
Football fans around the world described the match in one way.
"Ethnic massacre."
That would be the final match Ho-young would play before leaving Real Madrid.
(To be continued.)