Weird Defender Joo Ji-Tae

Chapter 77

77 – Question

077

Jo Jaesin’s gaze shifted upward with anticipation towards the scoreboard.

The numbers of the incoming and outgoing players displayed on the scoreboard. Unluckily, his own number was shining in red, indicating an out.

‘Ha…’

Despite knowing that no matter how much he stared, the red number wouldn’t turn green, Jo Jaesin couldn’t help but feel regret and continued to gaze at the scoreboard.

‘It’s not a traffic light, why is it annoyingly green and red.’

In this way, it seems as if it emphasizes to the player who’s out, ‘You’ve reached here.’

Knowing it was an excessive thought, Jo Jaesin uncomfortably walked towards the touchline.

Perhaps because of his mood, today his steps felt unusually heavy.

In contrast to Jo Jaesin’s mood, the substitute player at the touchline, who had finally found a chance to play, jumped in place as if to express his excitement.

After the palm slapped, he looked back at the ground with lingering regret.

Coincidentally, Ju Ji-tae’s and Jo Jaesin’s eyes met.

Jo Jaesin casually averted his gaze.

A sharp jawline prominently stood out against the gritted teeth that were barely visible.

“Good job.”

As Coach Vilhelm patted his shoulder, Jo Jaesin, sitting on the bench, realized anew how tired he was.

‘…pathetic.’

The game was not going well, and without realizing it, he found himself overcommitting.

Looking at just the distance covered, it might be less than when he played full-time, but there was a significant difference between distributing stamina while running and running without control.

Moreover, those who ran without regulating their stamina found themselves completely drained by the time it reached the late second half, unable to keep up with passes properly.

At this point, not substituting would be rather unusual.

And this not only affected Jo Jaesin’s performance today but also dampened his spirits.

“I’m repeating the mistakes I made in the early days of my pro debut.”

The image of him in the early days of his debut, overcommitting to survive on the pro stage, distinct from the amateur stage, where he now felt he had overcome those mistakes.

Now, the mistakes he thought he had corrected were resurfacing.

For Jo Jaesin, this bothered him more than his lackluster performance today.

“I need to work harder. I have to make sure the mistakes I thought I had fixed don’t come back.”

* * *

Joo Ji-tae watched Jo Jaesin’s back as he headed towards the bench.

Seemed like he was overcommitting more than usual. Seeing him exhausted and barely able to move, Joo Ji-tae thought he would be substituted soon. However, the coach surprisingly waited, showing some understanding.

Substituting him only when his stamina was this low indicated some expectation that Jo Jaesin, with his history, might make a difference.

Of course, it was a consideration that didn’t really register with the person involved.

“Tsk. Clumsy.”

Their eyes briefly met as he left, but embarrassed, Jo Ji-tae quickly looked away.

“Still, seeing him like this, he hasn’t completely lost his mind falling for a woman.”

Thankfully.

Considering there were players who didn’t care about soccer, lost in love with a woman, Jo Jaesin, with his principles, was undoubtedly different.

He wavered for a moment, but fundamentally sound players always had a chance at redemption.

Well, that’s when they truly understood and took heed of advice.

While confirming his friend’s fundamentals was good, the game’s result was still unfavorable.

They lost.

Despite Joo Ji-tae diligently blocking the left side and even contributing to the buildup, the opposing team’s attack, which he was responsible for shutting down, penetrated the center-back duo of Helmut, leading to a headed goal.

“Again.”

As usual, unless Joo Ji-tae employed some kind of magic, it was an unavoidable concession.

This season, out of all the goals conceded by 1860 Munich, only one originated from Joo Ji-tae. Not zero, but certainly not zero. But Joo Ji-tae wasn’t a god, and he, too, was prone to mistakes.

However, such mistakes were extremely rare, and Ji-tae Joo possessed a monstrous skill of covering even minor errors on his own.

That’s why Joo Ji-tae casually brushed off the sticky emotions about conceding a goal.

We’ve already conceded several goals like this.

If we had stacked them one by one, it would have been impossible to withstand.

…Like most emotions, even if you brush them off, the traces are inevitable.

And that was the only goal of this game.

0:1, Leipzig’s victory.

After the game, while other players went to shower, Joo Ji-tae, who stayed until the end to give fan service, noticed Jo Jae-shin, who had also stayed behind, talking to a woman.

She was a stunning blonde with an attractive, well-endowed chest.

Her chest was truly impressive. Undoubtedly, a very splendid chest.

‘Who is she? Why does she seem familiar… If she has such a fantastic chest, I would never forget.’

Suddenly, the name ‘Lana Formel’ flashed through his mind, and Joo Ji-tae’s expression hardened.

“Jae-shin, let’s go. It’s late; we need to shower.”

At Joo Ji-tae’s call, the two finally separated.

The two silently headed to the shower room, and the strange silence continued until the other players finished showering and left.

“Hey, man.”

From Noble mtl dot com

In the locker room where everyone had left, only the two remained.

Responding to Joo Ji-tae’s call while packing up, Jo Jae-shin turned his face in a daze.

“That girl just now. Who is she?”

“Who?”

“The one you were chatting with earlier. The one with the big blonde chest.”

“…Ah.”

After a moment of contemplation, Jo Jae-shin seemed to remember, expressing admiration as if the thought had just come to him.

Joo Ji-tae’s eyes narrowed at his unnatural reaction.

“Lana noona?”

“Noona?”

“Yeah. She’s 25, so I guess she’s a noona. Why call her Lana-ssi?”

Still staring at Jo Jae-shin, who seemed dazed, Joo Ji-tae couldn’t hold back any longer.

“Snap out of it.”

“…Huh?”

“Get yourself together. That woman is a body-selling bitch.”

“……Uh, what did you say?”

“A prostitute, you idiot.”

* * *

Lana Pomel.

Not just your ordinary dirty blonde but a natural, dazzling platinum blonde, described as stunning even with an adjective insufficient to capture her beauty—she possessed ‘natural’ large breasts.

Ju Ji-tae vividly remembered that woman.

Only once, and that was a good ten years ago.

There was never any overwhelming emotion attached to that memory.

…No, of course, seeing those tempting breasts might evoke some intense feelings, but definitely not the kind of emotions he had in mind.

Ju Ji-tae never dated or shared a bed with that woman, let alone held her hand.

The first version of Ju Ji-tae was undeniably a lascivious one, greatly illuminating the woman, but despite that, he never got entangled in any unsavory incidents with her.

In Europe, the popularity of football players was staggering, comparable to A-list celebrities in Korea.

Of course, it was different from being a celebrity. It meant having popularity comparable to a celebrity, but the nature of their fame was distinctly different.

While celebrities who made a living off their images had to be cautious and careful in every public aspect, football players, free from such constraints, often revealed their private lives openly.

As is the case with most young men who are ‘popular, well-built, and wealthy,’ many football players, in their majority, tended to play around freely… Or, to be more blunt, they often led a debauched lifestyle. No, that’s an understatement; it was the absolute norm.

As a result, there were many controversies about their private lives, be it #MeToo, paternity lawsuits, or ex-girlfriend revelations—these were almost daily occurrences.

Surprisingly, Ju Ji-tae was a player without such controversies.

Despite being known for his carefree… no, lascivious lifestyle, he was surprisingly free from any scandals.

The reason? Ju Ji-tae’s discernment, or intuition, when it came to women, or rather, in choosing them, was exceptionally sharp.

And the reason he rejected Lana Pomel was precisely because his ‘sense’ was not right.

Lana Pomel was undoubtedly a very, very attractive woman.

Even Ju Ji-tae, who did not hesitate to catch any woman who came his way, found her irresistibly charming—a woman he would have pursued at least once.

However, when Lana Pomel tried to seduce him, Ju Ji-tae strangely felt uncomfortable and rejected her.

And not long after, Lana Pomel’s scandal broke.

“That woman is a prostitute. Got it?”

Lana Pomel was supposedly a ‘high-class call girl’ catering to the elite.

“So what?”

“Ugh… Seriously, this frustrating guy. How far did you go with that woman?”

“Where are you going? Nowhere.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, really. We didn’t even hold hands. Is it over?”

She was the woman who deliberately approached young players, seduced them, secretly recorded embarrassing videos, and then blackmailed them.

At that time, the number of identified victims was a whopping 11.

In other words, she mixed her body with 11 players, recording hidden camera videos.