A New Beginning (2)
096
Hmm... did something change?
Since there wasn't any dramatic change, I didn't know what was different, but I knew that Oh Ha-rin was under a serious misunderstanding.
The misunderstanding that I'm under immense stress after transferring to Barcelona.
Putting together what Oh Ha-rin said, it seems she feels responsible for the transfer result since she pushed for it as the agency representative, and feels sorry as a wife for not being able to comfort me.
Honestly, it's not even that stressful.
No matter what people around me blabber about, it'll change quickly once I perform well, and I was confident I'd get even better.
Barcelona transfer? That was just something I pushed for; Oh Ha-rin and Yoon Da-ye weren't keen on it from the start. So there's nothing to be sorry about, no need to feel guilty... wait, hold on.
And more importantly, "wife"?
Is it for real that she naturally occupied the wife position in the middle of all this?
Well, anyway.
So, did she call my childhood friend Yoon Da-ye, who knows me best, for my sake because I'm suffering from stress?
'But why is she like this?'
Looking at Yoon Da-ye, who is fast asleep and covered in tears, it's cute how she's smacking her lips, wondering what kind of dream she's having.
"I get what you mean. Then why is Yoon Da-ye crying?"
"That is..."
Oh Ha-rin glanced at Yoon Da-ye and turned her head with a complicated expression.
"I think it's better if you hear it directly from her."
I don't know what it is, but it's hard to persuade Oh Ha-rin when she has that look on her face.
I guess I'll have to wait for Yoon Da-ye to wake up.
I was carefully holding the soundly sleeping Yoon Da-ye when Oh Ha-rin, who had been watching quietly, suddenly stomped her foot.
"Ah, seriously, I can't watch this! Just lay her down on the sofa!"
"...Shall I?"
Shaking off a strange sense of regret, I laid Yoon Da-ye down and came back, and Oh Ha-rin handed me a stack of documents.
"Look through this while she wakes up."
"What is this?"
"A list of teams that want you on loan."
What is it?
I've only been slumping since signing my pro contract, but the documents are actually much thicker than when I transferred?
I flipped through the unexpectedly massive amount of papers, and the difference in name value is definitely huge.
"The famous clubs have all dropped out. Plus Russia, Turkey, Portugal, Netherlands... the leagues are diverse, too."
Hmm... so it ends up like this, huh.
It's fine. I'm still 20.
At an age where I'm still classified as a prospect, and with my Balance adjustment finished, I should be able to perform anywhere.
Let's take on the challenge with the mindset of starting over from the beginning.
"Just asking, do you have any lingering attachment to Barcelona?"
"Not really. You know I don't really have a favorite club."
To be precise, there are many clubs I like, but none I'm crazy about.
It means there's no place I absolutely must play for.
Barcelona? Of course, it's good.
But I have no affection for it. If I could play for Real Madrid, I'd go right away.
"I thought so. That's why I demanded a permanent transfer clause in the loan contract."
"Huh? The club agreed to that?"
"Fortunately, they seem burdened by the short 3-year contract duration and the starting lineup option. They have to start you in 7 games next season, and with only 1 year left on the contract, they have no choice if they want to secure any transfer fee."
Looking through the documents, the transfer fee to be paid upon a permanent transfer is set quite low.
"It worked out better than I thought. Thanks, Ha-rin."
"I'm glad I can at least do this much."
Our eyes met.
A strange atmosphere formed for a moment.
I've been with women almost every day, but after entering the training camp and living an abstinent life for 3 weeks, my pent-up desires are gushing out like an explosion.
At an age where just making eye contact makes you burn, and having been forced into 3 weeks of abstinence, Oh Ha-rin is right in front of me? Ah, I can't resist this.
"Eek!"
I immediately wrapped my arms around her waist and sat her on my lap.
Her legs wrapped around my waist as if she had been waiting for it.
The warmth felt from the body I was holding, Oh Ha-rin's unique scent, and the sensation of her slender waist against my palms.
While enjoying the familiarity and kissing frantically, Oh Ha-rin's half-open eyes suddenly widened.
I felt a twitch in the body I was holding, so I followed her gaze and met eyes with Yoon Da-ye, who was staring right at us with the blanket I'd covered her with pulled up to the tip of her nose.
"Ah... um... sorry, d-don't mind me, just keep doing what you were doing."
Then she quickly pulled the blanket over her head.
...Are you kidding me?
"Hey. If you're awake, make some noise."
"...Sorry. I'm fine, so you can keep going."
"Forget it. Come here, let's talk."
"U-uh? Talk? Ah, talk."
Only then did Yoon Da-ye sit up disheveled, glancing at us with her face still flushed red.
I patted the hip of Oh Ha-rin, who was still wrapping her legs around my waist, and only then did she click her tongue lowly and get up.
"So. Why were you crying?"
"......."
Yoon Da-ye, who was fidgeting with the blanket, glanced at my face and,
"Because I'm sorry."
She answered in a tiny voice.
"Suddenly? What are you sorry about?"
Don't tell me she's also under the delusion that the Barcelona transfer is her fault, like Oh Ha-rin?
Fortunately, that wasn't it.
"Because of me again... you got hurt... again. I'm sorry."
Hurt?
Again?
I frowned, not understanding what she meant, and her nose tip turned red quickly, wondering what kind of misunderstanding she was under.
"Sob... even when we were in high school, you had a hard time because of m-me... and this time again, because of me... hic."
"Ah. That time."
The long slump during my high school days.
If you trace the cause back, Yoon Da-ye is there.
But can you call that Yoon Da-ye's fault?
'...No matter how I think about it, it's not.'
When I was young, it felt like everything was Yoon Da-ye's fault.
Both me and her knew each other's feelings clearly, yet she rejected my confession, and even though I worked hard for what she wanted, she left without a word.
I blamed everything on Yoon Da-ye, but... honestly, Yoon Da-ye is not at fault.
I was solely the cause.
Was I sure of her feelings? That was just my thought; I don't know if Yoon Da-ye really liked me.
It's not like I've been inside Yoon Da-ye's heart, and being sure of someone else's heart would be arrogance.
Even if she did like me, that doesn't mean she had to accept.
She might not have liked me enough to date, or as she said back then, she might have liked me but didn't like my ability.
Rejecting a confession is one's own freedom.
Leaving for another province without a word? Well, I was avoiding her, so it must have been hard to contact me.
At the time, I was embarrassed about being dumped like an idiot, so I avoided Yoon Da-ye. Naturally, I ignored her messages too.
I only thought about going to a prestigious high school to prove my ability and confessing again; I didn't consider at all what Yoon Da-ye was thinking or feeling.
Well, if she really wanted to let me know, she could have done it through my parents... but since she left like that, I thought it was over, but it was a shock that she had been keeping in touch with my parents.
Thinking about it now, the slump in high school was entirely my fault.
But why is she apologizing?
"I-I was scared. I thought you resented me... because you were avoiding me, sob, so, hic, I thought you started to hate me..."
"What? What are you talking about? Hate you? What are you talking about? I just avoided you because I was embarrassed."
"B-but you fell into a slump after that. So, sob, I thought you blamed me for it."
"......."
Hmm.
Spot on.
As expected, she knows Hong Min-jun well.
At the time, I really did think like that and resented Yoon Da-ye.
"See. You, you resent me, right? You hate me now, right? Waaaaah."
A hollow laugh escaped me at the sight of Yoon Da-ye burying her face in the blanket she was fidgeting with and bursting into tears.
Yoon Da-ye, who looked so mature, so sharp, so smart, and looked like she could do anything, was just a girl the same age as me after all.
"So that's why you didn't contact me?"
"Sob, if I heard, sob, that you hated me, I, I... I didn't think I could bear it..."
"Da-ye. Look at me."
"No."
I forcibly pulled down the hands of Yoon Da-ye, who was covering her face with the blanket like a shield.
She's weak.
She looked so amazing, but Yoon Da-ye is just a pretty, smart girl who is clumsy at expressing her emotions.
Her face flushed red.
"Pfft."
"Why, why are you laughing!"
"Because you're cute."
"...!?"
It was cute how she opened her swollen eyes wide and gasped like a goldfish.
"Da-ye. Did you like me?"
"I, I don't know."
I blocked her from covering her face with the blanket as she flailed, and made eye contact.
"Tell me honestly. Do you like me?"
"...I do. From the beginning, I liked you."
My heart is ticklish.
"Why did you reject me back then?"
"Well... because you wouldn't put in the effort unless I did that."
"......."
It's so accurate I have nothing to say.
I was a genius type who could show good results even while slacking off.
But after Yoon Da-ye rejected my confession, I devoted myself to training to prove my ability, and that's when I started hearing the name "Messi of the Middle School League."
"Y-you couldn't study, you didn't show interest in other things, and you had talent in soccer, but you didn't put in the effort."
Stop hitting me... stop with the fact-bombing.
"You just went to the soccer club half-heartedly because I said playing soccer was cool. So... you become a fat pig when you're satisfied, so I did that..."
"Hmm. I see. Alright. You can stop talking now."
"So... so, I watched the national team game, and although I was scared, I wanted to meet you..."
I almost got hurt by Yoon Da-ye's words, who said everything she had to say even while tearing up.
Yoon Da-ye's gaze glanced behind me.
Oh Ha-rin watching with her arms crossed and an annoyed expression.
"Ah. Ha-rin?"
"Yeah... I was so jealous... I'm sorry."
I hugged Yoon Da-ye, who was crying her eyes out, and gently patted her back.
I don't need to hear the rest to know.
She must have misunderstood again that I fell into a slump because she left.
...Do both Oh Ha-rin and Yoon Da-ye have a "misunderstanding" attribute?
I opened my mouth to comfort her, but suddenly a good idea crossed my mind.
'Wait. If I play this right... it might be possible.'
A picture where Oh Ha-rin and Yoon Da-ye, if not getting along well as my women, at least acknowledge each other.