Chapter 1 - Chapter 1

Translator: Nox

The Woman Who Stole My Flower - Chapter 1The Woman Who Stole My FlowerChapter 1

Chapter 1

#1.

The event hall of the global sportswear brand Bellator was packed to the brim. Sports reporters from news outlets across South Korea had turned out in full force for the launch campaign of the new running shoe, the Speed Run, combined with the appointment ceremony of an honorary director.

Amid a relentless barrage of flashing cameras, standing tall and proud on stage in a uniform emblazoned with Bellator’s logo, was soccer star Kang Joo-heon.

Kang Joo-heon.

The greatest soccer player in Asia. Known by the moniker the Young Lion of Gloucester.

Having signed with Gloucester, a prestigious club in the English Premier League, at the tender age of eighteen, he had played brilliantly for a full ten years, making a name for himself as a proud member of the so-called “Do You Know Club.” This year, he reached the absolute pinnacle of his career by clinching both the Champions League title and the top scorer award with his team.

He was twenty-eight this year. Standing at 187 centimeters with a build that rivaled even the sturdiest European players, combined with exquisite individual skill that defied his massive frame, he was a peerless attacker blessed by the heavens.

And what of his looks? In stark contrast to his fearsome physique, his face bore neat, delicate features, earning him high praise such as “the body of a woodsman, but the face of a fairy.” Many often lamented that the entertainment world had lost a prime talent to the sports arena.

With his contract expiring right after winning the Champions League, Kang Joo-heon was currently a free agent without a club. Due to an ankle injury sustained in the finals, he had returned to South Korea and spent several months in rehabilitation training, yet public interest in him had not waned in the slightest. Love calls were pouring in from elite clubs in leagues across the globe, and even Saudi Arabia was aggressively pursuing him backed by mountains of oil money.

Since this event marked his first official public appearance since returning home, it was only natural that South Korea’s sports press had assembled en masse. Would they be able to catch even a single word regarding his future plans?

Yet when the lid was actually lifted, the story took a wild turn. The journalists’ attention was entirely hijacked by something completely unexpected. It was the left side of Kang Joo-heon’s neck.

Right where the masculine neck that made countless women swoon met his sharp, sculpted jawline, there sat an unmistakable, vivid red mark.

No matter who looked at it, it was a hickey!

The trouble was, Kang Joo-heon was an officially certified bachelor—and one who had been single since birth. He was arguably the most famous virgin bachelor in South Korea. With such a man stepping onto an official stage sporting a glaring hickey, there was no way any talk of soccer could register in their ears.

“Bellator has been sponsoring me ever since I first went to Europe. Thanks to that relationship, I have worked as their promotional ambassador, and I am deeply honored to be appointed as an honorary director today.”

Not a single soul was interested in the story of his relationship with the brand coming out of Kang Joo-heon’s mouth.

“How is your ankle injury coming along?”

“It was never a severe injury to begin with, but I am focusing all my efforts on rehabilitation to ensure no lingering aftereffects remain.”

“Have you begun to narrow down your future plans?”

“I am currently in discussions with several clubs, but nothing has been decided yet.”

While only pre-approved questions were being exchanged, no one dared to voice the single question everyone was burning to ask.

‘Do you have a girlfriend?’

‘What kind of woman is she?’

Kang Joo-heon was not a player particularly friendly toward the media. By no means possessed of a genial temperament, he had terrified more than a few reporters back in Europe by simply clamping his mouth shut and staring them down with cold, piercing eyes whenever an impolite question was asked. Throwing a private question at such a player was terrifying, yet holding back tore at their journalistic instincts.

In the end, one brave female reporter took one for the team and lobbed an unexpected question.

“Player Kang Joo-heon, there seems to be a bite mark on your neck. Did you perhaps have mosquitoes in your room?”

The noisy hall instantly turned as quiet as if cold water had been dumped over it. Even the pouring flurry of flashes paused for a moment. With all eyes locked on him, he reached up instead of answering and gently stroked the red mark on his neck.

“There were.”

What thought had crossed his mind? An expression of sheer exasperation suddenly surfaced across his features.

“……A very large mosquito.”

His handsome jaw tightened. The sound of teeth grinding was almost audible. Yet, Kang Joo-heon quickly returned to his usual frigid composure and spoke.

“Next question, please.”

Once again, a storm of camera flashes rained down upon the most famous bachelor in South Korea.

*

Immediately after the event, this momentous interview became an explosive topic. Since it was an awkward matter to address outright, mainstream news outlets reported it with relative restraint—under headlines like ‘Has Kang Joo-heon Found a Girlfriend?’—but the internet had already descended into complete chaos.

Social media was plastered with all manner of hashtags.

#KangJooheonHickey

#KangJooheonGiantMosquito

#KangJooheonPurity

To offer a bit of context regarding that last embarrassing hashtag, it originated from an incident during the Asian Games a few years back.

At the time, several players on the national soccer team had left their lodging without permission to indulge in nightlife at a local room salon, causing an enormous scandal when a whistleblower exposed the story in the domestic press. The uproar intensified because the establishment in question offered prostitution rather than mere drinks, yet the initial reports did not name the specific players involved.

Consequently, speculative articles rained down heavily on Kang Joo-heon, who was the biggest star on the national team at the time. Many of them were closer to tabloid garbage than actual journalism. One sensationalist MeTuber went so far as to claim that ‘according to an inside source, the number of female celebrities Kang Joo-heon has brought to tears exceeds double digits.’ His nickname was supposedly the Wild Horse on the Bed, was it?

Naturally, that video was swiftly reported and taken down, but rumors spread like wildfire. He was the Emperor of the Night; he was King Uija; he swapped women multiple times a single night!

When every wild rumor imaginable ran rampant, he finally called for an interview himself.

[I believe in saving myself for marriage. I am not seeing any woman right now, either.]

True to his personality, he did not mince words.

[From here on, I will take legal action against all rumors.]

Though brief, the shockwaves were colossal.

Purity!

When a word practically discarded in modern times came from none other than Kang Joo-heon’s mouth, the world was flipped upside down.

Who was Kang Joo-heon?

Was he not a monster of stamina who could play full-time through both halves without a substitution, yet still take post-match interviews looking as calm and unfazed as ever?

Furthermore, what about his physical build? Blessed with towering height along with extraordinary frame and strength, he was famously renowned for refusing to yield an inch even in physical clashes against world-class center-backs.

Thus, while Kang Joo-heon was voted the sexiest man in South Korea, that very man had publicly declared himself a virgin.

Shortly afterward, detailed follow-up reports confirmed that Kang Joo-heon had indeed never been part of the nightlife group, and he proudly took the throne as the National Virgin Man.

A sexy physique matched with pure, modest conduct!

That sheer gap only added fuel to Kang Joo-heon’s soaring popularity. Women, in particular, cheered with fervor.

Now that’s a real alpha male.

For real. The world is overflowing with cheap beta males who throw their bodies around just because they’re decently handsome lol.

Yet that very National Virgin Man had shown up to an official press conference flaunting a hickey and rambling about mosquitoes. Male-dominated and female-dominated communities alike, all of social media was boiling over.

The male-dominated communities were largely split down the middle.

So what Kang Joo-heon meant by ‘giant mosquito’ is a woman, right?

ㄴ Probably?

No wonder his stay in Korea was dragging on despite it not being a major injury. Turns out he wasn’t doing rehab, he was getting ready for a wedding.

I don’t get why everyone keeps writing fanfiction. Doesn’t it just mean there was a mosquito in his room?

Even if it is a woman, is this really something to make a fuss about? Kang Joo-heon isn’t the only guy keeping his virginity at that age. What’s the big deal lol

ㄴ You’re keeping your virginity by force, while Kang Joo-heon is keeping his by choice. Are those two even comparable?

Meanwhile, female-dominated communities had already reached an absolute consensus that a woman was in the picture.

Just who took Kang Joo-heon’s purity ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ

Girlfriend-nim, please pay double taxes ㅜㅜ

My-Heon is officially off-limits starting today ㅠㅠㅠ

ㄴ I’m still calling him My-Heon anyway (heart)

Among them, a few quick-witted netizens raised doubts about the girlfriend theory.

Doesn’t seem like a girlfriend to me. Look at Kang Joo-heon’s face when he said it, he looked pissed as hell.

ㄴ 222222 Looked like he was ready to punch someone if they were in front of him.

ㄴ 333333 Glad I wasn’t the only one who felt that lol

If not a girlfriend, then what?

ㄴ Could he have been assaulted by a sasaeng??????

ㄴ Totally possible. Remember that idol-turned-singer who woke up feeling weird only to find a sasaeng kissing on top of him? Shivers

ㄴ For real. Seeing the airport last time, the clingy stalkers around Kang Joo-heon were insane.

Meanwhile, the mom cafes focused entirely on the other person’s identity.

Losing his purity must mean he’s getting married soon, right?

Our Joo-heon-ssi can’t just marry any ordinary woman ㅠㅠ It has to be someone on the level of figure skating queen Kim Hyunah for it to not feel like a waste ㅠ

ㄴ Why drag Kim Hyunah into this when she’s happily married ㅡㅡ

I’m dying of curiosity about the bride-to-be. If anyone knows anything, can’t you step forward and spill the tea? ㅋㅋㅋㅋ

In the middle of all this, the only ones keeping their ears covered and eyes shut were Kang Joo-heon’s fan cafe, Honey Joo-heon. Although it never became an official fandom because the player himself refused to recognize it, its scale was massive enough to rival top-tier idol groups.

I honestly can’t bear listening to people writing fanfiction anymore.

ㄴ Agreed. If he says it’s a mosquito, it’s a mosquito. Why is everyone acting like this?

Player Joo-heon has such a straightforward personality; if he had a girlfriend, wouldn’t he just say so?

In any case, with only a slight exaggeration, the entire nation was aching with curiosity.

Just who was the woman who had stolen Kang Joo-heon’s purity!

*

“Hey, but about Kang Joo-heon’s giant mosquito.”

At her friend Min-ah’s words, Yeon-seo choked on her own breath.

“Cough, cough!”