Chapter 26
Chapter 26
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 26
Chapter Title: Good Deed Points +1
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📰 Forum Post I'm a student studying abroad in Barcelona, Spain, but Espanyol fans have slapped up signs in restaurants saying "Lee Si-eon eats free." 💬 Comments — Anonymous For real? lololol — Anonymous Yeah, they even asked me what country I'm from. Told 'em Korean and they said no need to pay. You guys come too. You won't get welcomed like this anywhere else. — Anonymous Damn, now I wanna go to Spain... — Anonymous Dude, if just saying you're Korean gets you that, what happens if Si-eon actually shows up? — Anonymous They just hand over the whole shop lol On the first day off the club gave us, I headed out to eat with Camila.
"Sean... right?"
Wearing a mask or hat felt stuffy, so I just slung on some sunglasses hooked over my nose—and sure enough, plenty of people recognized me.
"Yeah, want an autograph?"
"W-wait a sec!"
The little fan who'd spotted me suddenly dashed out of the restaurant.
"Ehehehe... looks like the great Sean scares kids!"
Camila, who'd been watching from the side, started teasing me like she'd been waiting for the perfect moment.
"Ugh... no wonder they get scared when I keep causing trouble! From now on, I'm gonna be a good boy and play it straight!"
Seizing her chance, she was unloading all the things she'd been dying to say.
Ding-a-ling—
"Sean!!"
Then the door flew open hard, and a voice called my name.
It was the kid from earlier, who'd bolted out in a hurry.
"Autograph please!!!"
"See that?"
I shot back at Camila with a grin.
"Ugh..."
Camila looked pissed. I had no idea why she was mad that her player was so popular.
The uniform the kid held out.
"Oh?"
There were three jerseys in total—and amazingly, all of them had my name printed on the back.
He'd bought the home, away, and third kits, all with my name marked.
"All with my name on 'em?"
"Yeah! Sean saved our team!!"
Saved the team...
Espanyol fans really felt that grateful to me, enough to put it that way.
I signed all three jerseys and asked the kid if he wanted a photo too.
"I don't have a phone yet..."
He looked so disappointed. He'd have begged for a pic if he did.
"Then let's take one with mine."
"Awesome!"
In a flash, the kid was right up next to me, decked out in my jersey.
"Camila, snap it for us."
"Sure~"
Click click
Click click click click click
"Camila, that's enough..."
"Hehe..."
I got my phone back and checked the gallery—dozens of shots.
"Sean! Thank you! Keep carrying Espanyol from now on!"
The kid, who'd just handed me the club's future, hugged his jerseys and bolted out.
'Wasn't he here to eat?'
Bragging to his friends clearly trumped hunger.
I checked the photos Camila took while eating.
'Oh, these came out nice.'
Burst mode let me pick the perfect ones from dozens of shots.
Without thinking, I uploaded my favorite to Instagram.
"This place is good. Let's come back sometime."
"Only if Sean's paying next time!"
"I, uh, forgot my wallet today?"
"What?!!!"
In the end, Camila footed the bill.
"Ugh... a soccer player fleecing a poor club employee..."
On the way home, she kept whining despite my promise to treat her to something better next time.
It wasn't really about the money—she was thrilled to have fresh teasing ammo.
Lately, hanging with Camila felt like gaining a new family member.
Bickering but always looking out for me—like the ideal little sister.
A comfy feeling I hadn't had in ages.
Back home, I crashed straight onto the bed.
I buried my face in the blanket for a bit, doing nothing but resting.
...
"Player Si-eon!!!"
"What now..."
Camila barged into my room.
Scratch what I said earlier.
She was just a nag who wrecked my downtime.
"Your SNS is blowing up, Player Si-eon!!"
"Huh?"
I grabbed my phone and fired up Instagram.
"Whew... you'd have missed it without me managing things, huh? You gotta handle this stuff quick before it spirals! Be grateful you have a competent staffer like me!"
I ignored her self-praise and checked anyway.
"Whoa."
Followers: 5 million.
They'd been climbing steadily since the Copa del Rey semifinal first leg, but yesterday it was around 4.3 million.
I'd checked this morning—700k gained in a day.
Now ticking up live to 5.01 million.
Nothing special today, so I dug in.
The post of me and the kid from the restaurant was on fire.
Ten thousand comments already.
And pinned at the top: over a million hearts.
⭐ Top Comment — Kid's Dad Hello. Dad of the kid in that photo here. Today my boy came home bragging about meeting Sean and showing off the autograph on his jersey. Said they took a pic too, but when I asked where his phone was, he said Sean used his own. I brushed it off, but then I check Instagram and there's my son's photo... Thank you so much. It's a lifelong memory for him—and our whole family. Truly grateful. Espanyol's JESUS. — Fan Espanyol's JESUS — Fan OMG, his first post in a while is a fan pic. — Fan Personality on point too. Sure, he pulls crazy stunts sometimes, but no malice. The comment section was flooded with pure praise.
"This wasn't me messing up—it was actually a good deed, right?"
"Ahem..."
Camila must've rushed over without checking details.
She trembled like she'd lost.
"I'm gonna read my fan praise now, so could you leave?"
"Grrr!!... I'm gonna leave hate comments!!"
She shuddered in defeat and stormed out.
Classic loser's parting shot.
After scanning my posts and community reactions, I reached one conclusion.
'With this good deed stack, I could pull off an incident soon and be fine.'
"Solid crash-out rights secured~"
Copa del Rey semifinal second leg against Valencia. Up 4-0 already, we started with key players benched. Honestly, no way they score three-plus, right? Ended 1-1. Shockingly, a draw. Valencia must've figured a comeback was impossible too. Stuck at 0-0 till halftime, they subbed in starters for the second half. Aggregate: 5-1. Espanyol advances to the Copa del Rey final.
📰 Forum Post Espanyol locks in Copa del Rey final spot congrats x6 💬 Comments — Anonymous Both teams rotated lol — Anonymous Espanyol expected that, Valencia just focusing on league now. — Anonymous Hard to just celebrate though... — Anonymous Opponent's them after all — Anonymous Who the hell are you lol The Copa del Rey final opponent was set yesterday.
We played our first leg a day early, so Real Madrid vs. Real Betis went first.
And as expected, Real Madrid advanced.
They led 1-0 away in the first leg, then hammered three more at home for a comfy 4-0 aggregate.
Espanyol fans praying for a miracle after that slim first-leg margin probably turned off the stream ten minutes into the second leg after two quick goals.
The final's in about three weeks.
Venue: Estadio de la Cerámica.
Villarreal's home ground.
Copa del Rey finals use a neutral site, agreed on ahead—not either team's home.
Usually Real Madrid's or Barcelona's stadium.
But Real Madrid made it, and Camp Nou's under expansion.
So Villarreal's it is.
"Camila, can you snag Copa del Rey final tickets?"
"Hmm~ how many?"
"Three or four?"
"Easy! I'll talk to the club!"
Most meaningful match since pro debut.
My first shot at a trophy—against the world's top club, Real Madrid.
Only one person I wanted to see it.
"Oh, and you don't need me hooking you up—you're coming anyway, right Camila?"
"Duh!!! You didn't know I work here to watch Espanyol games?"
Had to be thrilling as an Espanyol fan.
"We can win... right?"
She seemed secretly worried.
"Has any match I started ended in a loss?"
"Yesss! Player Sean's form is insane!!!! Espanyol champs~~~~~!!"
She'd picked up weird stuff monitoring SNS and forums for me.
"Guess this is my first real test."
"Nooo!!!"