1979, Manager Kim is Inheriting Dictatorship! - Chapter 139



Only Krnovel

Episode 139

“Let’s go! Fighting!”

The game begins with the captain’s fighting voice.

And the fighting voices were heard not only in the stadium but all over the country, and the same was true in the hospital room.

Prime Minister Lee Hwa-sung shouts “Fighting!” in a cracking voice.

“Okay! Let’s go!!”

I opened the door and greeted him warmly.

“Prime Minister, how are you feeling?”

The Prime Minister is surprised to see me.

“No, Mr. President, how did you get here?”

Prime Minister Lee Hwa-sung, who was watching the World Cup while leaning on the bed, hurriedly turns off the TV.

“Haha, why are you here? I came to watch a soccer game with the Prime Minister.”

I turned it back on by pressing the power button on the remote control he had left next to me.

The Prime Minister looks at me with a worried expression and asks me.

“You must be busy, how did you manage to get here······.”

“Hahaha, I’m really busy. Who in the world would schedule a schedule for the World Cup quarterfinals?”

“Yes, that’s right, Mr. President. Here, a drink… Gulp… Gulp…!”

Prime Minister Lee Hwa-sung coughs up blood.

I stop him from moving to get a drink.

“Are you okay?”

He became noticeably unwell.

Even when he was Prime Minister, he had a muscular body, as expected from someone who had served in the military, and always maintained his weight at around 80 kg. However, his current body was in a state where only bones were visible, and he might weigh 50 kg.

“Haha, don’t worry. I can’t die until I’ve watched the whole World Cup.”

He makes a lame joke and wipes the blood away with a tissue.

“Is it okay if I don’t call the doctor?”

“It happens all the time. It’s not a problem that can be solved just by having a doctor come. Rather, this is my medicine.”

The Prime Minister points to the TV with the remote control.

His gaze was fixed on the TV.

I said with a bitter smile.

“Haha… is that so?”

It was just as he said.

He has terminal lung cancer.

Even if I called the doctor now, nothing would really change.

I soon followed him and focused on the soccer game.

A fierce battle of wits.

Certainly England were not an easy opponent.

40 minutes of the second half had already passed, but neither team had yet scored a goal.

However, the number of shots was significantly different at 2:7.

It was not an easy match, although the Korean national team goalkeeper managed to block it with his divine defense.

Finally, the second half ends.

“Oh, the whistle blows. The second half ends 0-0 and we go into overtime.”

The commentary explains for those who don’t know about the extra time that South Korea will be playing for the first time in this World Cup.

“As you all know, overtime is implemented under the golden goal system. If any team scores a goal first, the game ends immediately and the team that scored the goal wins.”

The caster nods and adds further explanation.

“It’s a sudden death rule where the game ends immediately once the conditions for winning or losing are met.”

“Yes. However, there is some debate about whether this rule should be abolished or not, but in any case, this rule was applied in this World Cup.”

Prime Minister Lee Hwa-seong let out a deep sigh as he listened to the story.

“Phew······.”

I looked at the Prime Minister, who was taking a deep breath, and asked.

“Why are you sighing so much, Prime Minister?”

“I think it’s because the game won’t be easy. I think the difference in skill level is bigger than I thought.”

I don’t know much about football, but this was definitely true to the Prime Minister’s words.

I don’t know if it was because of poor condition or a difference in skill level, but England was definitely dominating this match, even though they didn’t score a goal.

‘Just because your performance is poor doesn’t mean you’ll necessarily lose.’

I told Prime Minister Lee Hwa-seong that I was disappointed.

“Of course, it certainly doesn’t look easy even to me. However, when it comes to sudden death rules like this, isn’t it true that skill doesn’t always determine everything? No matter how good their skill is, if we get lucky and score first, the game is over.”

The Prime Minister laughs so loudly that you wouldn’t believe he’s sick.

“Hahahaha. I see. Mr. President, you’re right. What’s important in the World Cup is performance and all that. Anyway, both the first and second halves ended in a draw, and now the team that scores in overtime wins.”

I answered with a smile.

“That’s right. All we can do is quietly cheer them on, right?”

*

Just before overtime began.

Everyone was exhausted, probably because they had already been running for 90 minutes.

At that time, the captain asks Changseop, who is called Korea’s hero of this World Cup.

“Haa, Changseop, can you do it?”

“Yes······! I’ll try!”

It was definitely the first World Cup.

So, making it to the quarterfinals was a good enough result.

Even if we fall here, no one will criticize the national team.

However, I felt sorry for Changsub and the Korean national team players.

They knew that their skills were slightly inferior to England’s.

But now, it was a game where we could win by just scoring one goal in overtime.

It was too good of a thing to give up here.

“Then, as the coach said, we’ll make a surprise attack as soon as the whistle blows. You’re the top, okay? Go ahead and attack.”

“yes······!”

Changseop’s eyes sparkled with fighting spirit.

*

Even though they had been commentating for over 90 minutes, neither the caster nor the commentator seemed tired.

“Overtime has begun. Our team players are passing the ball to the defense for a moment. Are they trying to go to the defense?”

“That may be the case. Rather than aiming for a risky golden goal, they may be aiming for a penalty shootout······.”

But before the commentary could finish, the Korean national team’s defense passed the ball to the offense with a long pass.

“Ah, Korea is coming in from the left! Political player Lee Chang-seop crosses to player! Lee Chang-seop receives the ball. One-on-one situation with the England defender! Lee Chang-seop!!! He beats the defender!! Now only the goalkeeper remains! Lee Chang-seop shoots!!!”

The caster spouts off words like a rapper.

‘Whew… Calm down.’

Lee Chang-seop calmly rolls the ball.

And a moment of silence.

People wait for the results like dead rats.

And a little later.

The whole of Korea is in an uproar.

Finally, Lee Chang-seop’s goal shook England’s goal net.

“Wow!!! Lee Chang-seop’s goal!!! The South Korean national team finally beats England and advances to the World Cup semifinals!!!”

“Wow! That’s really amazing! Lee Chang-seop!!! Lee Chang-seop has finally fulfilled the wish of the Republic of Korea!!”

Advance to the semifinals with a golden goal in overtime.

I thought that this might be the noisiest moment in the Republic of Korea since Dangun.

It’s hard to believe that this is a hospital, because the hospital is filled with cheers.

It was past 10 o’clock, a time when some people might be sleeping, but no one complained about the noise.

“Wow!!! Mr. President, did you see that! Lee Chang-seop is really amazing! That young player really answers!”

Prime Minister Lee Hwa-sung also jumps around like a child.

Although he was now an old man on the verge of death, he now looked like a child.

*

South Korea, which reached the semifinals by beating England, was literally in a crucible of excitement.

In particular, the victory achieved through a golden goal in overtime was bound to impress the entire nation.

The World Cup was such a hot topic that no matter where you went, people of all ages and genders would only talk about it.

And there was one more topic.

[President Kim Jung-guk’s prediction comes true. The South Korean national team advances to the World Cup semifinals! – Unification Sports]

[President Kim Jung-guk’s Past Statements Revisited. Will South Korea Really Win the World Cup? – YTM]

The topic of whether I would make it to the semifinals or finals has become a hot topic once again.

And in order to keep my promise that I would see them advance to the quarterfinals, I headed to the Pyongyang World Cup Stadium according to the match schedule.

Just in case the security schedule caused any inconvenience to the citizens, we went there a few hours in advance and waited inside the stadium.

As the time came, people began to arrive one by one, and soon the Pyongyang World Cup Stadium was filled with all 60,000 people.

I waved to the people waving in my direction and waited quietly for the game to start.

The opponent in the quarterfinals was Germany, a country with the same history as the original.

‘It probably won’t be easy.’

But our cheering team’s momentum was extraordinary.

Although the German cheering team was visible, as expected from a home team, most of the cheering spectators were Korean.

The Korean cheering squad in red dominates the stadium atmosphere with their spirit.

The caster starts the broadcast in a very excited voice.

“Ah, this is the Pyongyang World Cup Stadium, where a truly historic match is taking place. The South Korean national team has advanced to the World Cup semifinals! And today, there is someone special watching it in person.”

The commentator looks at me from the broadcast box and gives a comment.

“Yes, that’s right. President Kim Jong-guk is watching in person. He is someone who is greatly respected by the people of South Korea, but apart from that, he predicted that South Korea would advance to the semifinals like a fortuneteller. I think he must also be very knowledgeable about soccer.”

The caster nods and says.

“That’s right. However, President Kim Jong-guk’s prophecy was clearly in consideration of the finals. I wonder if that prophecy will come true. Oh, the referee’s whistle is blowing. The semifinals between South Korea and Germany are about to begin.”

The semi-finals between Germany and South Korea have begun.

The first half was a boring battle between the two teams, with neither team scoring a goal, ending in a 0:0 draw.

But as expected, it wasn’t easy with just spirit, as Germany scored the first goal in the 16th minute of the second half.

Sighs echo throughout South Korea.

‘It was supposed to end here······.’

In the original history, South Korea lost 0:1 to Germany in the quarterfinals.

But this time it was a little different.

As time passed and everyone began to console themselves that they did well enough, in the 44th minute of the second half, South Korea finally shook Germany’s goal net.

“Ah!! Ryu Geun-tae goes in to the left!! He crosses it! Lee Seong-jin scores straight away!!!”

The goal of Lee Seong-jin, known as the Lord of the Rings.

And Ryu Geun-tae assists with that.

Ryu Geun-tae was a 38-year-old veteran.

He was a veteran who started playing soccer a little late, at the age of 21.

Originally, he dreamed of becoming a soccer player when he was young, but it was not easy for him, who was from the so-called hostile class in the ununified North Korea, to achieve his dream of becoming a soccer player.

The reason he was able to start playing soccer was because, with unification, class had lost its meaning, and his family’s financial situation had improved.

In short, the fact that Ryu Geun-tae came to play for the national team was also due to a change in history.

Extra time is 1 minute.

I was about to get up from my seat, thinking that the game would go into overtime, when South Korea once again shook Germany’s goal net.

“Ah!!! Lee Chang-seop solo breakthrough!!! Shoot!!!”

“GOAL!! It’s a goal!! This World Cup’s best star, Lee Chang-seop, does it again!!!”

“Ah, the German players try to make up for it somehow, but the referee’s whistle blows!! South Korea wins!! Advances to the World Cup finals!!!”

“I can’t believe it. South Korea is in the finals of the World Cup being held in South Korea······. If I had told you this a few months ago, I would have been lucky if I didn’t get slapped······.”

Both the caster and the commentator are so choked up that they can’t speak properly.

This World Cup’s biggest star has once again stepped up to the plate.

A player who had only graduated from high school two years ago has literally become a star among stars.

Finally, South Korea will face Brazil in the World Cup final held at Sangam Stadium.