Became The Premier League’S Youngest Manager [EN]: Chapter 184

184: Paparazzi

Carolina held up a tabloid with a massive photo splashed across the front page.

Never underestimate the power of the British paparazzi!

Helena stared at the newspaper on her desk, the headline seeming to echo in her mind.

“Am I dreaming?”

“Dreaming? It’s all over TV too.”

Carolina, who had brought her the newspaper, grabbed the remote from the desk and switched on the television.

Before she could even browse through the channels, the news report appeared.

[…Director Hyungmin Kim is reportedly dating Helena Cartwright, the owner’s representative and CEO of Burnley Football Club. The following photos were recently obtained showing…]

The photos showed them sitting close together at a secluded table in a restaurant, clearly enjoying a meal.

Then came pictures of them holding hands as they left the restaurant and headed off together.

Both Hyungmin and Helena were wearing baseball caps pulled low, but their faces were clearly visible in the restaurant shots where they weren’t wearing sunglasses.

“Hmm… looking at these, it seems someone tipped off the paparazzi when we were on the tour bus. These are from after we got off… I don’t know who it was, but they must have made a killing.”

Snapping exclusive photos like this and selling them to the media would have earned them a hefty reward.

Judging by the fact that it wasn’t just one newspaper or broadcasting station reporting it, they must have spread it around to maximize their profit.

Carolina clicked her tongue at Helena, who was muttering absently.

“Hey, don’t try to escape reality. That’s not the important thing right now.”

Helena, jolted back to the present, snatched the remote from Carolina, turned off the TV, and sighed deeply.

“Why is this being covered on general news?! This is just gossip!”

“The private lives of celebrities are always of interest, aren’t they? And Hyungmin is practically a celebrity in England.”

Helena buried her face in her hands at the words of the head coach, who, as a former world-class player, had experienced his own share of paparazzi, news, and gossip.

“I’ve never had this happen before…”

“Well, according to Taejin, it sounds like Korea is even more of a mess?”

“Gasp…!”

***

“Director Kim Hyungmin in a relationship with a beautiful CEO. Burnley’s Kim Hyungmin, relationship exposed. Who is Kim Hyungmin’s love interest? Kim Hyungmin falls for a blonde beauty. Kim Hyungmin falls for a beautiful talent. Wow, these article titles are so unoriginal!”

Taejin, sprawled on the sofa in the manager’s office, scrolled through articles on his phone, commenting to Hyungmin, who completely ignored him.

“Aren’t you bothered by having your and Helena’s faces plastered all over the internet?”

“Well, I’m used to my face being recognized by now.”

Even if he tried to avoid the media, it was the fate of a Premier League manager to face press conferences before and after every game and to be constantly caught on camera during matches.

Taejin whistled at Hyungmin’s nonchalant attitude, who didn’t seem to care that his face was appearing in newspapers and on TV.

“Wow, our Hyungmin has really grown up, huh? I thought you’d be completely mentally broken by now, hiding in some dark, cramped corner, crying.”

“…What do you think my mental state is?”

Hyungmin, looking dumbfounded, turned the office TV screen towards Taejin, displaying data from his laptop.

“Hey, stop talking nonsense and tell me about the Bayern Munich data you analyzed this time…”

As the conversation shifted to work, Taejin, inevitably returning to his role as coach to his friend, sat up on the sofa.

It was usually nice having a friend as a boss, but it was annoying that there weren’t many ways to get through to him when he changed the subject like this.

However, Taejin couldn’t resist throwing one last jab at his friend, who was about to delve into the analysis of their next opponent.

“…But, hasn’t this news reached Helena’s parents too?”

“…”

Hyungmin, who was handing over the data, suddenly fell silent.

There weren’t many ways to get through to him, but that didn’t mean there were none.

Taejin, who succeeded in landing a perfect hit, chuckled and began to explain the data himself this time.

“I think the key question is about the formation. In the recent game, Bayern Munich changed their tactics in the second half…”

“…”

***

“…I can handle my own affairs!”

Helena didn’t know how many times she had circled her office, but she couldn’t stop pacing as she continued her phone call, walking from one end of the room to the other.

“…That’s because he’s too famous.”

Helena sighed, listening to the other side of the phone with a frown.

“…Mom, it’s different from you and Dad. And you two bragged to me about being featured in the New York Times social column when you were dating!”

Suddenly, a slightly raised voice came from the other end of the line, and Helena flinched, realizing her mistake.

“…Yes, the social column isn’t a tabloid.”

A quiet sigh.

“…Yes, you weren’t on TV either.”

Another quiet sigh.

“…Yes. I love you too. Yes, I’ll see you soon~”

Finally, with a sigh of relief, Helena pressed the end call button, dropped her phone on the office floor, and collapsed onto the sofa.

“Oh, are you okay?”

At Hyungmin’s question, who was sitting on the opposite sofa, Helena, who had buried her face in the cushions, turned her head halfway and looked at him with one eye.

“I think they were more upset that I didn’t tell them in advance than anything else.”

“Ah, I see.”

“But it’s strange…”

Helena muttered, jumping up on the sofa.

“Usually, Dad or my brother would call when something like this happens, but they’re strangely quiet, and only Mom called…”

“Oh, do you talk about your relationships with your dad or brother too?”

*I* generally knew that mothers and daughters were close, but since this is the West, is there something different from what I know?

Helena shook her head at Hyungmin, who looked puzzled.

“Neither of them would interfere in my relationships, but this is about a representative and CEO dispatched to the company who is dating a key employee. Even from a fund perspective, they would usually contact me at least once to confirm, but they haven’t. Of course, Third [her brother] would contact me just to tease me.”

But both of them are strangely quiet.

On the other hand, the atmosphere among Burnley club employees and players could be roughly summarized as ‘Now we can finally talk about it!’

Mike Garlic, John Banaskiewicz, and Jonathan Landris exchanged knowing glances at Helena, who was hesitantly confessing with a slightly embarrassed expression.

“No, did you really think people around you didn’t notice? Aren’t you underestimating us a little?”

This was Jonathan Landris’s reaction, who burst into laughter, seemingly slightly offended.

“I thought you two were a good match, and I was happy that things seemed to be going well.”

This was John Banaskiewicz’s reaction, who smiled kindly like a grandfather.

“Well, we’re all married men, and John and I even have kids who are married. It’s hard to miss these things, right?”

This was Mike Garlic’s reaction, nodding wisely like a sage.

While Helena was shocked by the fact that it had already become an open secret among the club employees, Hyungmin was making a sullen face at the players’ reactions.

“Ah, now that you two are officially known, it’ll be easier to talk about it comfortably when other people ask!”

This was captain Nicholas Seiwald’s reaction.

“Oh, weren’t you two already dating? We just thought you were keeping it quiet because you didn’t want to be exposed to the media?”

This was Emanuel Vignato’s reaction, representing the atmosphere of the new recruits who joined this summer.

In particular, the players from the passionate country of Italy, who had joined in large numbers this summer, nodded in unison.

“But what does the CEO see in the manager? I don’t get it?”

Oscar Mingueza’s question, who was watching the situation with his arms crossed and giggling, was asked with genuine curiosity, but his eyes were shining.

“Ugh…”

Hyungmin, who briefly covered his face with his hand, let out a long sigh from behind it.

“Well, we can’t date, so at least the manager should date.”

Benjamin Šeško, Amar Dedić, and Anselmo García MacNulty, who were the youngest on the team, reacted with a sigh for some reason, and Hyungmin flared up.

“Hey! I never banned dating!”

“But it’s too hard to meet girls here!”

There can’t be many girls their age in Burnley, a rural corner of northwest England.

Most of them have gone to big cities for studies and jobs.

Unless they had someone they were dating before joining Burnley, there’s been no progress in their dating lives since they’re constantly training and playing games after coming here, and it’s hard to even get to Manchester.

“Guys, I think that’s because you’re not putting in enough effort?”

Don’t just play soccer, take care of your love life too.

At Oscar Mingueza’s relaxed remarks, the ‘winners’ in the locker room slightly raised their chins, and the ‘losers’ lowered their heads.

“Ah, stop it and get out to training quickly!”

Carolina, who had been watching from the side, finally clicked her tongue and urged the players, and they, who had been preparing to go out to training even while giggling and talking, began to rush out.

“Manager! You have to tell us later how you seduced the CEO!”

Oscar Mingueza stretched his neck and shouted, looking back even as he was being pushed from behind.

“Definitely!”

“Haa…”

***

Perhaps it wasn’t entirely because the manager’s love life was plastered all over the national media, but Burnley’s last two group stage matches in Group B of the European Champions League against Borussia Mönchengladbach and AS Roma ended in draws.

On the one hand, the managers and coaches of Burnley, who had already secured at least second place in the group, rotated the squad as much as possible to preserve the players’ stamina.

On the other hand, it was also a consequence of the measures taken to restore the players’ sense of the game by utilizing players who had gradually started to return from injury as substitutes.

In particular, it was Sebaastian Szymański, Burnley’s key central midfielder from last season, and Keane Lewis-Potter, a promising player who was signed in the summer transfer market but had not yet made his debut due to an injury in the pre-season, who finally reported their return to the first team at the end of November after a long rehabilitation.

“Yo! Sebaastian! Welcome back!”

“Nicky [Nicholas Seiwald]! You’ve been through a lot while I was gone, right? I’m better than Luka [presumably another player], aren’t I?”

“Ah, whatever?!”

While the players who had been with him since last season welcomed Sebaastian Szymański’s return, someone approached Keane Lewis-Potter, who was sitting quietly on one side of the locker room.

“You’re Keane, right? Nice to meet you. I’m Emanuel, but people here call me Vini.”

The owner of the hand extended with a thick Italian accent was Emanuel Vignato.

Hyungmin was the one who found the name Emanuel too long, and shortening it to Emma seemed like a girl’s name, so he simply modified the last name and started calling him Vini.

It immediately stuck with the players, and sometimes when he said ‘Emanuel Vignato player,’ people were confused about who he was talking about.

Anyway, Keane Lewis-Potter blankly stared at the hand extended by his positional competitor, who was the same right-wing attacker, could practically handle all positions in the attack, including the right, left, and center, and even had a similar height and build.

*What, why is he being so friendly?*

Slightly embarrassed, he shook the extended hand, and Dwight McNeil approached next to him.

“Keane! Long time no see. Welcome back.”

“Ah. Oh, thanks.”

“Thanks for taking care of Keane, Vini.”

“No problem. See you on the training ground!”

*Ah, is that the key?*

Keane Lewis-Potter, who took it as a promise to show him a real taste of the training ground, made a firm resolution.