[This truly is a historic moment. For the first time since 1968, Manchester City have won the league title.]
[And the first since the launch of the English Premier League, the EPL.]
[That's right. I dare say this. I have always believed football is a team game. But as of today, that thinking has changed a little. Ah, of course football is still a team game. It's just that I always believed there was a limit to what an individual could do. But today, Ho-young has completely shattered that fixed idea.]
It was not only the commentators who thought so.
Countless football fans around the world.
Manchester City's supporters.
And even Ho-young's personal fans.
As of today, the history of football had been rewritten once again.
[Of course, the other players did well too. But I want to say this was a miracle created by Ho-young. As someone who works in football, I can only feel moved to be living in an era like this. Or am I overdoing it?]
[Not at all. I felt it clearly today as well. That we had seen the limit of human beings. If Ho-young can keep up this level of performance, no, surely that won't happen, but... if he grows even a little more... Am I saying something too ridiculous?]
[Haha... It certainly does sound that way.]
Grow even more from here?
It truly sounded absurd.
As far as they were concerned, Ho-young looked like a player who could grow no further.
After all, they had already witnessed the limit of a human being today.
But.
[Then again, with Ho-young, you never know.]
[That's right. Because he is a player who exists outside common sense.]
It felt as though Ho-young might actually be capable of it.
That was what everyone in the stadium was thinking.
The player standing before them now would surely play for at least another 10 years, and they were all eager to see what kind of level he would show in the future.
[This Manchester City signing may go down as the greatest signing in football history. And many people will remember this moment today. I think this may have been the greatest thrill a football fan can experience.]
From the perspective of an ordinary football fan, that was only natural.
But the stadium had long since fallen silent.
The spectators who had screamed themselves hoarse throughout the match had already left the ground.
Meanwhile, in one corner, around 2,000 fans remained in their seats to the very end, roaring in celebration.
They were Manchester City's supporters, the Citizens.
"Woooooo!"
A festival scene.
As if England had won the World Cup, they were hugging one another, crying, and making a total scene.
There could hardly be another moment in their lives as joyful as this one.
Perhaps that was why.
"This kind of happiness is almost at an end now."
"There's only one match left."
"...He'll go, right?"
"There's no way he stays at City when Real Madrid are waiting for him... It's not like he has any loyalty to our club."
They were sad.
At this point, the thought of letting Ho-young go was almost unimaginable.
[Ho-young is leaving after shaking all of Britain like this. For the fans, having to let him go will be deeply painful. They will never forget these last five months.]
[Of course. How could they not? But it is still too early to give up. It has not been confirmed that he will return to Real Madrid. No matter how strong the buyback clause is, if the player himself does not want it, not even God could force him.]
Ho-young's thoughts had already tilted to one side.
From the start of the season until now, he had been thinking that he wanted to remain at Manchester City.
However.
What is certain is that I will only know once the season is completely over.
July 2011.
Whether he stayed or returned, he planned to make that decision for certain when the time came.
Because that was when his career would truly begin in earnest.
Ho-young was already worried about it, but for now he decided to set it aside.
Now was the time to enjoy it.
[You have acquired Bad Boy's Physical Battle (SU).]
[Bad Boy's Physical Battle (SU) and Shocking Physical Battle (S+) have successfully fused.]
[Bad Boy's Physical Battle (SU)]
[You have acquired Magician's Left-Footed Cross (SU).]
[You have acquired Black Jesus' Innate Physique (SU).]
[Black Jesus' Innate Physique (SU) and Vibrant Muscles (W+2) have successfully fused.]
[Vibrant Muscles (W+3) ↑]
The reward for winning the Golden Boot.
When he acquired Drogba's unique talent, Black Jesus' Innate Physique, good news arrived just as expected when it rose to W+3 grade.
[In 12 days, you will be able to combine all talents closely related to 'Vibrant Muscles' among your possessed talents into one.]
[List of talents that can be integrated with Vibrant Muscles (W+3)]
-Can be checked in 12 days
At last, his physical traits could also be integrated.
Just as Mammon had said, it looked like he would be able to follow the advice to build up his body before surpassing human limits.
It seemed likely that he would transcend almost at the same time as his other talents.
It was a good thing I did not fuse Cha Boom's Thighs.
Originally, he had been able to integrate Cha Boom's Thighs (L) with Vibrant Muscles (W), but for several reasons he had left it untouched until now.
There was something Ho-young had realized when he previously obtained Di Stéfano's L-grade talent.
He remembered that Half-Pitch Domination Versatility (SU) and All-Rounder's Versatility (L) had fused in a single step into W+3.
In other words, if a W-grade and an L-grade were fused together, he judged that there would be some loss because of the limit of the human body, so he had left it alone until now.
He planned to fuse it later, after transcending to TS grade.
After the match, the dressing room was truly a festival ground.
Most of the people connected to the club were there, including City's photographers who had come to capture the players.
Not only that, members of the club's leadership were there too, although Mansour unfortunately had not been able to come to the stadium because of state-related business.
However, in place of Mansour, chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak personally came and thanked manager Mancini.
"You've worked hard."
"It was nothing."
After that, it was the players' time.
"Oooooooo!"
"Blue moon!"
"Now I'm no longer alone~."
The players began singing the club's official anthem in one voice.
Then, to top it off, Adebayor climbed onto a platform in the middle and performed a traditional Togolese dance, while Ronaldinho joined in with an energetic samba dance.
Everyone was enjoying this moment.
But there was one exception.
One player was facing this meaningful moment with a bitter expression.
Robinho.
He was sitting off in a corner with both shoulders slumped.
He looked unable to join in with the others.
And Ho-young understood how he felt.
He must be conflicted.
Ho-young walked over and spoke to him, if only to comfort him.
"Why are you sitting here alone like this?"
But then, something surprising happened.
Robinho began shedding big tears.
And what he said next was even more shocking.
"I'm sorry."
"Sorry for what?"
"I ruined everything. I was too selfish. I only caused trouble for my teammates..."
The regret was only now crashing over him.
Robinho had felt many things during today's match as well.
But Ho-young did not agree with him.
"Don't think you only caused trouble. You've been running for this team from the start of the season until now. There was an ugly incident in the middle, but in the end we did it. And if you can't be happy here, then who can? You were a key member who scored 14 goals this season."
That was true.
Robinho had definitely made a huge mistake, but from the start to the middle of the season he had been one of the key players leading the team.
He was one of the reasons the team had won the title.
"You absolutely have the right to be happy. So why are you crying?"
"Because I'm happy... I'm crying because I'm happy."
Robinho fell silent after that.
His mind was complicated, and there was so much he wanted to say, but he decided not to.
The truth is, I was happy to play with you.
He decided to bury those words in his heart.
There was no need to say something that embarrassing out loud now.
By this point, he could already tell.
They had become true teammates.
The very next morning.
The streets of Manchester were wrapped in blazing excitement.
It was because of the EPL Winners Ceremony held at the Etihad Stadium.
At the celebration, the Gallagher brothers of Oasis voluntarily took charge of the congratulatory performance, and then, at the award ceremony that followed, the head of the EPL handed the Premier League trophy to manager Mancini.
A trophy with a silver body and a golden crown.
The moment Mancini lifted it high.
"Woooooo!"
"City! City! City!!"
More than 40,000 spectators who had packed the stands from early morning roared so loudly it felt as though the stadium might be blown away.
And then.
"Woooooooo!"
When Tevez and Ho-young lifted the trophy together, a roar unlike anything before poured down.
Everyone was going wild for Ho-young.
"Young! Young!"
"Citizen's Hero!"
"He's number ten, He's perfect man!"
Ho-young felt as if electricity were running through his whole body.
A trophy, big or small, no matter where or when you lift it, always gives you a thrilling feeling.
Perhaps that was the very driving force that let a person keep going without stopping.
A little later, honorary Citizens, the VIP supporters, came onto the pitch and pinned EPL champion badges onto the players' chests while exchanging greetings.
"Young, thank you. For letting me experience something this unbelievable before I die. Honestly, I thought it was a dream that would never come true until the day I died."
The Gallagher brothers of Oasis, famous as die-hard Manchester City fans.
Noel Gallagher and Liam Gallagher spoke one after the other.
"You are the absolute hero of us Citizens. So now it's fine if you go back to Madrid. This is enough. No, more than enough. I can let you go coolly right now, so head back in peace before I change my mind. Oh, but before that, please win the Europa League too."
"And before you really leave, please let's have a beer together!"
"Of course!"
If a world-famous rock band asked to have a drink, who would refuse?
And acquiring talent related to performing or singing would certainly be attractive as well.
After the ceremony ended, brief one-on-one interviews were conducted with each player.
The interviews were held privately in a quiet setting.
Now it was Ho-young's turn.
"There is already talk that this year's Ballon d'Or is yours. Do you personally feel confident about it?"
"I still have six months left."
"In other words, no one knows the outcome yet?"
"You could interpret it that way. Or you could say that I intend to make it even more certain over the next six months. I want to challenge myself to achieve an even higher vote percentage than last year."
The Ballon d'Or was only the basics.
Ho-young wanted to go even further and leave behind an unprecedented record, the first and the greatest of all time.
"And there is still one match left before the season ends. I'll finish things properly by winning the Europa League."
"Haha. That is exactly what the fans would love to hear most."
The reporter, who was a Manchester City supporter himself, smiled brightly and then asked the final question.
"Then how many awards do you think you'll win at this EPL awards ceremony?"
"Haha, well. I don't know, but I hope it's a lot."
The EPL awards ceremony was scheduled to take place soon.
But then, 3 days later.
Some unbelievable news arrived.
"Huff, huff..."
"Lucci, what happened?"
It was a lazy afternoon.
Ho-young, who had been sprawled on the living room sofa enjoying a rare nap, shot upright.
For some reason, Lucci, who had gone out earlier, had come rushing back with a stunned look on his face.
"Did you just watch La Liga Round 38?"
"Ah, damn. I fell asleep and missed it. What happened? Real Madrid? Did they win the title?"
"That's not what matters right now!"
"Then what is?"
At Ho-young's question, Lucci opened his mouth with a look of shock.
"The thing we feared might happen has actually happened."
Something unprecedented had taken place.
The EPL awards ceremony was not the only place Ho-young now had to go.
(To be continued.)