< Genius -4 > October 29, 2024.
Paris, France, near the Seine River, the Théâtre du Châtelet (Théâtre du Chatelet). The Châtelet Theatre, completed in 1862 with approximately 2,500 seats, is famous as one of Paris's premier venues where performances remain active to this day, but it is also a place familiar to football fans for a different reason.
It is where the Ballon d'Or ceremony is held—the most prestigious individual award announced annually in the world of football.
[Oh, this time the Inter Milan players are appearing on the red carpet. It's Inter Milan, who achieved an overwhelming league title last season.]
Countless cameras and reporters.
Just from the red carpet laid out among them and the thoroughly formal attitudes and expressions of the players,
one can tell how immense the authority of the Ballon d'Or ceremony is.
As with all award ceremonies, only a minority of attendees actually end up winning awards, but the majority of players consider it glorious simply to attend this ceremony.
[Next are the Manchester City players nominated for the Men's Team of the Year. The glorious warriors who achieved back-to-back trebles stand at the photo line.]
The main stars appear on the red carpet one after another, filling the ceremony to the brim.
The sight of Manchester City players gathered not in their uniforms but in suits, at least for today, gives quite a different impression, and among them is I Jian.
[I imagine the fans must wish he'd wear clothes like that more often. A wonderful look.]
[The female fans will go wild. Moreover, all Manchester City fans might go wild today too. We won't know for sure until the announcement, but it's clear he will be ranked highly.]
[There's no doubt he's one of the strongest candidates.]
Manchester City had risen as a powerhouse quite some time ago, but they had never produced a Ballon d'Or winner.
They had won team awards before, but they'd had no connection to the true Ballon d'Or.
In that regard, the fans had been eagerly awaiting this ceremony.
Because there had never been a timing as competitive as this one.
In fact, the closest they had come was last season.
The protagonist then was Erling Haaland.
Even then, Manchester City had achieved the feat of a treble, and among them, Haaland had put on a sensational performance to the point of rewriting the league's scoring records.
Had it been an ordinary year, his performance was undoubtedly more than enough to win the Ballon d'Or.
But unfortunately, the award fell through, thwarted by a force of nature. I speak of 'Lionel Messi, who won the World Cup.'
Last season's Ballon d'Or belonged to Lionel Messi, and Haaland had to settle for second place, promising to try again next time.
Of course, second place was an incredible achievement in itself, but since his performance had been more than enough to win, Manchester City fans had to swallow their disappointment.
That is why today drew even more attention.
But.
This year's competitors were no pushovers either.
[The Real Madrid players are walking the red carpet. We can see Vinicius, and Jude Bellingham as well. We also see Mbappé, who transferred this summer and has continued his stellar performances.]
[All three are players who could not only rank highly but also take home the award.]
[Their club season performances were one thing, but these are players who shined even brighter for their national teams after the season ended. Vinicius led Brazil to a Copa América victory. France's Mbappé achieved a Euro runner-up finish. And Jude Bellingham. He led the England national team to their first-ever European Championship title.]
Until the end of the 2023/24 season, the winner seemed all but decided.
With Mbappé's PSG eliminated in the Champions League semi-finals and Real Madrid finishing as runners-up.
The prevailing opinion was that surely one of the Manchester City players who had achieved the treble would win.
However, variables emerged in the continental championships held after the season ended.
Players who had been placed second or third in the running won their respective continental championships.
Brazil's Vinicius conquered South America, and England's Bellingham dominated Europe.
Any football fan would know the prestige held by the Copa América and the Euro is immense.
The Euro is a tournament whose difficulty is said to surpass even that of the World Cup.
And looking at the Copa América, even a player of Messi's caliber was once undervalued for not having that trophy.
Winning these two tournaments speaks volumes about how much it elevates the standing of these two players.
Therefore, no one could easily predict who the winner would be until the very moment of the announcement.
[I daresay this is a more fiercely contested and unpredictable ceremony than ever. Now, the main ceremony will begin shortly. Let us all watch together.]
As all the glittering stars revealed their presence, the eyes of football fans worldwide were gathered on the Châtelet Theatre.
*“You should push your bangs up more often.”
“I don't want to.”
“Ugh, why?”
“It's annoying.”
“You wash your face like three times a day anyway; what's so annoying about it?”
“...It's just annoying.”
“Hmph. You'd totally fall for me if I dressed up like this... Not even now?”
“Yeah. Not working.”
“Damn it. I'll get you after this.”
“...”
No matter where I looked, the inside of the theatre was solemn yet classical.
Despite my outward appearance, dressed to the nines and sitting ramrod straight like a proper adult,
my conversation with Jiu felt like we were sitting in the back row of a classroom rather than the front seats of an award ceremony.
...Someone was dying of nerves.
Jiu seemed to have come purely for fun.
Just as now and from earlier, she couldn't sit still for even a moment, as if excited—
going on about bangs, about how pretty this unni was or how pretty that unni was.
Thanks to that,
my nerves seemed to ease a bit as well.
“...Ahem.”
However, it seemed unavoidable to keep sitting properly.
After all, the seat was what it was.
I couldn't sit as comfortably as I would on a living room sofa.
Not that the chair was uncomfortable, but how should I put it—
wondering if it was really okay for me to be sitting there...
Honestly, I had never even imagined it in my dreams.
The thought of me sitting here, that is.
It was only natural.
This isn't some neighborhood awards ceremony.
It's the Ballon d'Or ceremony, for heaven's sake.
If I had gone back five years, no, three years, and told my past self, 'You'll be attending the 2024 Ballon d'Or ceremony,' I surely would have laughed in disbelief.
That's how surreal this moment was.
“...”
Even so.
Sitting here like this, I once again saw my dual nature.
Even while sitting here felt like a dream, I saw myself harboring faint, simmering greed.
No, honestly.
Wouldn't it be stranger if I didn't feel greedy?
I've come all this way, after all.
“Ah—please give it to our Jian. If you don't, Jian might cry.”
“...Shut up.”
“Before I end up crying under a blanket for not winning the award, please give it to me while I'm asking nicely. Okay?”
“...I told you it's noisy.”
If Jiu hadn't been here, I might not have cared either way.
Whether I won the award or not.
It would have been nice if I won, and I would have taken it for granted if I didn't.
But because Jiu was so full of expectation,
I couldn't help but feel greedy.
Because I knew very well that even though she talked like that, she would be more disappointed than anyone if I didn't win.
“Oh, looks like it's starting.”
“Yeah.”
“Dudududu—”
“...Be quiet for a second.”
As the main ceremony was finally about to begin, my mouth went completely dry.
*“Congratulations!”
“Well, it's not really something I should be congratulated for.”
“What do you mean? Aren't you a team member?”
“...I guess.”
“Fix that mindset. Got it?”
“...Got it. Thanks.”
“Congratulations!”
Coming down from the stage, I sat back down in a daze and let out a sigh.
Around the time my tension had completely eased because the ceremony had been dragging on a bit tediously,
having gone up to the stage and come back, my mind was wide awake again.
It was because we had been selected for the 'Men's Team of the Year.'
The League, the FA Cup, the Champions League.
Winning all three competitions, we had been recognized as the best team of the season.
...Hmm.
Even though I had been hidden among my older teammates,
standing in front of people made my heart pound.
Perhaps because of that,
the tension that had been dissipating began to feel even greater than before.
“Stop shaking your leg.”
I had been shaking my leg without realizing it and got a smack on the thigh from Jiu.
My hands kept sweating, so I wiped them on my pants.
While I was doing that, a live broadcast feed appeared on the screen installed behind the stage.
“Oh, it seems it has finally arrived.”
Along with the host's words, armed security guards appeared on the screen.
They appeared to be transporting something, and it wasn't hard to guess what that something was.
A heavy vehicle arrived in front of the theatre under heavy guard, and then the rear doors opened.
And what emerged from inside was a resplendent golden sphere.
The Ballon d'Or trophy.
“It is time for the announcement. This will be the final order. The best player of the 2023/24 season. We shall now announce the winner of the Ballon d'Or.”
*Gulp.*
“First, allow me to announce the final three. Everyone, please look at the screen.”
*Click.*
The lights in the theatre went out, and on the dark stage, only the screen shone brightly, drawing everyone's gazes.
And slowly, one by one, faces began to appear in order.
“Brazil, Real Madrid, Vinicius Junior.”
“England, Real Madrid, Jude Bellingham.”
“South Korea, Manchester City, I Jian.”
...My face was there too.
For a moment, my heart began to race like crazy.
Even now, I couldn't believe my face was up there, but when I quietly pinched my thigh, it was no dream.
It hurt.
This dreamlike moment was reality.
“These three players have entered the Ballon d'Or podium. All are great players who have shown dazzling performances, delighted the fans' eyes, and made hearts race.”
“But the protagonist of the main award is only one. Among them, only one can embrace the honor of the Ballon d'Or.”
“We shall announce.”
“The winner of the 2023/24 season Ballon d'Or is...”
In the suffocating silence of that moment, my hands fumbled.
Then, I felt a warm hand grasping mine tightly.
In that soft yet strong grip, my mind, which had been about to flee, was held in place.
The nature of a coward—one who was fearful, perhaps too fearful—was suppressed.
The social mask that had overcome and pushed aside that wretched nature came to the fore.
And the announcer's lips moved.
“I Jian.”
The name called out there was my name.
“——!”
“——!”
The lights came back on, and vague murmurs passed by from the surroundings.
But they didn't enter my ears enough to be deciphered.
My mind went blank, and not a single thought came to me.
Thanks to that, wearing what I thought was an utterly stupid expression, I awkwardly rose from my seat.
And as if entranced, I stepped forward, climbed the shallow stairs, and ascended the stage.
“Congratulations.”
Someone extended a hand for a handshake.
As I took that hand, he pointed behind me.
Turning around at that, I saw what I had seen on the screen earlier.
A resplendently shining golden sphere.
And that sphere was being held out to me.
“...”
I received the sphere.
It was quite heavy, more than I had thought.
I didn't think I could hold it for very long.
“...Ah.”
Thankfully, it seemed they wanted me to place it down nearby.
Following the guidance, I set the trophy down.
And when I turned around again, a chair had been placed in the center of the stage at some point.
It was positioned facing the screen.
“Please sit.”
I sat down as guided.
Having done only what I was told since earlier, I felt like a broken machine.
Anyway, having sat down as told, the stage lights went out again.
And as the screen turned on again, on the screen was someone wearing a similar expression to the current me.
Wearing a Manchester City uniform, the image of me stepping out for my first match began to play.