A Selfish Request
Yohan's fame had soared to extraordinary heights.
Because of that, whenever he walked down the street, throngs of people approached him asking for photos or autographs.
It was bad enough even when he went out with friends, so Yohan rarely ventured into the city with them.
He only avoided it because he hated imposing on his friends — alone, he still went out often enough to grab a meal or pick up snacks.
Today was no different.
He stopped by the little artisanal gelato shop he'd frequented since childhood — whenever he had pocket money, or whenever Hailey offered to buy him ice cream — and ordered a chocolate gelato topped with fresh cream.
Hailey was actually nearby.
She was just hiding, ducking the endless stream of Yohan's fans.
"Are you even allowed to eat that? Won't the club give you grief?"
The shop owner's half-skeptical question as he handed over the cone of gelato. Yohan took it with a look of pure guilty conscience.
"It's fine."
"Looking at your face, this seems like a secret snack."
"I haven't been in a while, so it's okay."
"A while? You were here two days ago. But I haven't seen little Newman around lately. You two used to come together all the time."
"If she comes here with me, too many fans show up… These days we only hang out at school. Could I get one strawberry to go? In a cup, please."
"It'll melt if you don't eat it right away. You sure?"
"Hailey's hiding in the alley…"
"Ah… is that so? Got it."
Near the shop entrance hung a large framed photo of the owner with Yohan — advertising that this was a place he frequented.
"Does that help?"
"What? The photo? Absolutely. Thanks to that, the shop's gotten famous. People come from other places now. A few days ago I even saw a Korean."
"A Korean? Really?"
"Yeah. Stood right next to that frame and took a bunch of photos with their phone. Watching someone photograph a photograph was a real first. Here — one strawberry coppa, packed up."
"Thank you."
Clutching the small bag, Yohan took a big bite of his gelato and dashed into the alley.
There he found Hailey fiddling with her phone, and flashed her a grin.
"Got it. Eat before it melts."
"What kind of ordeal is this because of you? Stop giving autographs to every single person who comes up. That's why more of them keep coming."
"Isn't signing autographs just what a player is supposed to do?"
"Even so, you're too much of a pushover. If you were more moderate about it, I'd just walk with you. But you say yes to everything people ask, and just watching is exhausting. The waiting time is a waste, too."
"It'll settle down in a few months."
"How can you be so sure?"
"Once I've given every person in Trigoria an autograph and a photo, they'll stop coming up to me."
"Because they've already gotten their autograph?"
"Exactly."
"That's such a you thought, you idiot."
"Is it? But are you going to keep hiding like this? Planning to go home at night?"
"I asked Mom to come pick me up."
Plip.
As the two of them chatted, rain began to fall from the sky, and they both looked up.
"Hey. Umbrella."
Hailey, raindrops landing on her head.
Yohan asked, bewildered.
"Huh? You didn't bring an umbrella either, did you?"
"Stand behind me and cover me with your clothes or your body."
"Oh… that's the most creatively awful thing I've heard recently."
"Don't take it so negatively. Think of it positively — if one person sacrifices, the other can be comfortable. How great is that? Hurry up and stand right behind me."
"Alright."
Yohan had grown again recently — he was closing in on six feet.
He was quite tall even compared to his peers, and shielding Hailey — whose growth had slowed a bit — was no trouble at all.
Standing close behind her, Yohan covered her head with his hand and looked down.
The sight of Hailey's back as she munched on her gelato, facing away from him, struck him as somehow funny.
"You can't tease me about height anymore, right?"
"What are you talking about. No matter how tall you get, from my perspective you're still a little kid."
"Like a son?"
"More like a little brother who causes a lot of trouble."
"Hmm."
"What. Something you don't like about that."
"I feel like you're the one who causes more trouble."
"I'll give you that one."
"Then that makes you my little sister?"
"That just earned you a beating. Once I finish this, you're dead."
"But it looks like it's going to rain hard."
"Don't change the subject."
Hailey, bickering with Yohan as usual, turned around.
Seeing Yohan's large hand over her head, she lifted one corner of her mouth, then spoke as if something had just occurred to her.
"Oh, right. I'm going to America."
"Huh…?"
"I'm going to America. For good. After the semester ends next summer."
So the day had finally come.
That was Yohan's first thought the moment he heard Hailey's words.
"Really…? Going back together? With Aunt Carrie?"
"Not that. Mom has things going back and forth to Milan, so I'm going first, and she'll come later. About three months after? That's the plan for now."
He'd always known she would leave someday.
But hearing it for real left a hollow ache in his chest.
Of course Hailey wouldn't be leaving Trigoria forever.
She might come back now and then to clear her head, and even apart, he and she would stay in touch often.
But two family members he saw almost every day would be gone — and once they left, the emptiness would be enormous.
Even now, club training and match schedules had reduced how often they met, but the difference between them being in Italy and not was stark.
"Is it that stifling here?"
"It's not really stifling anymore, but America's my home. The house we live in now is pretty far from New York, sure, but I still like America better."
"Doesn't this feel more like home?"
"I've never once thought that. I stuck it out because of people like you and Emma. Without you guys, I would've swam back if I had to."
"I see…"
"Are you sad we're going to be apart?"
"Yeah. Of course I am."
"What am I going to do with you? You can't start getting sad already. You'll be bawling next year."
"I might. Do you have to go?"
"Huh?"
"Don't go."
For the first time, Yohan voiced his own selfish desire to Hailey.
That was how much it hurt — the thought of parting from her.
Seeing Yohan's expression far more serious than she'd imagined, Hailey blinked.
Then she snapped back to herself and tried to soothe him.
"Hey… even if I go to America, it's not like I'm completely cutting ties with you. Don't I have to look after my little brother?"
"How are you going to look after me?"
"I'll come visit Italy every so often, and I'll bring you over to America too. Mom comes here a lot for fashion stuff, so we can see each other then. And she said she hates being apart from you so much that she'll send you a plane ticket to America every year once the football season ends. And…"
"And."
"And they're not selling the house. They're leaving it as is. So it's not like we're leaving for good, okay?"
"If you're going completely, that is leaving for good. You'd just be visiting."
"Well, yeah, but… wait, why am I even making excuses to you? You're talking like we're never going to see each other again when we'll still meet often, so I got all defensive for no reason…! And am I the only one who's sad? I'm sad too, you know? You're always off playing football, barely showing up at school, and you come by our house less and less. Right?"
"That's true."
"See? Plus you said you're about to get insanely busy. Constant overseas trips, cup competitions or whatever. So we'll see each other even less, right?"
It was hard to argue — every word was painfully accurate.
"Right."
"We'll still see each other a lot during your off-season… and Mom and I will come visit Italy… that's not enough to make you tell me not to go, is it? Right?"
"Yeah. But just don't go."
At Yohan's flat, shameless reply, Hailey went blank for a moment.
"What is with you…? Don't be stubborn. What are you, a little kid?"
"You called me a little kid. So I am one."
"What… you always deny it, and now you're using it?"
"If I can use it, I should. Are you really going to America?"
"If you've got a reason I shouldn't go, let's hear it."
"I think it'll be hard without you."
"Hard how?"
"Life."
"Huh…? Is this really a life-level thing…?"
"Pretty much."
"You're crazy…?"
It was an unusually firm statement coming from Yohan, and Hailey gaped in flustered surprise.
Seeing that, Yohan let out a small laugh.
"I was just speaking from my own perspective for once."
"What does that mean?"
"I was just venting. That's how much I'll miss you."
"Really…?"
"Yeah. When you want to go back that badly, how could I selfishly hold you here? Like you said, the number of matches is about to go up so we won't meet as often anyway, and you're not the type to stay just because I dig my heels in…"
"You know me well."
"Still, you said you'd visit often, and I can see you if I go to America, so… it's not ideal, but I can accept it. There is one thing I don't get, though."
"What?"
"Wouldn't it be better to finish high school first? Or not? Is going to an American high school better if you want to go to college in America?"
"That's obvious."
"But are you going to college? Last time you said you wanted to do modeling."
"You remembered something I said in passing? I haven't decided what I'll do yet. And whether I model or go to college doesn't matter. What matters is that I want to live in America."
"I see. That makes sense."
Yohan nodded with a dejected look.
Hailey let out an exasperated sigh — ugh — and patted him on the back.
"Don't worry. We'll definitely see each other often."
"Yeah."
Even through all of this, Yohan still hadn't taken his hand off Hailey's head.
Finding that endearing and a little proud, Hailey soothed him with a bright, full smile.
The fact that she'd pressed herself right up against him without even realizing it was a bonus.