Chapter 30
Chapter 30
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 30
Chapter Title: Tenten
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In front of me, I could see the goalkeeper rushing desperately toward the goal.
And at some point, the ball that had dropped ahead bounced, slowing down.
I sent the ball arriving in front of me flying once more.
The trajectory of the ball was perfect.
The goalkeeper, sprinting without even looking back, seemed oblivious that I'd even taken the shot.
Before the ball could even arrive, I stripped off my uniform and bolted toward the locker room entrance.
There was the little fan who had begged me earlier to score a goal for her.
"Waaaaaaaaah-------!!!!"
The cheers erupted belatedly.
Looks like it went in.
Honestly, I was a little worried it might not.
"Si-eon!!!"
The little kid shouted at me.
I immediately handed her the uniform I'd just taken off.
The child snatched it up and beamed with joy.
'Ah, the match isn't over yet.'
"Can I borrow your uniform for a bit? The game's not finished..."
She looked disappointed as she handed back the uniform I'd given her.
"No, not that one."
Her eyes widened round as she offered the uniform she'd brought with her.
I'd suspected as much, but luckily, it was sized perfectly for my build.
She must have bought an extra one beyond the one she planned to wear herself.
I slipped into the little fan's uniform and headed back onto the pitch.
The match resumed, and all the Mallorca players charged in.
But this time, Paul Hernandez won the aerial duel and dropped the ball steadily to me.
As I cleared it away, the referee blew the final whistle.
The two minutes of added time hadn't fully elapsed, but he must have judged there was no need to continue.
The moment the final whistle sounded, I went straight back to the little kid and returned her uniform.
"Thank you!!!"
Seeing her so happy brought a warm smile to my face.
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This match's MOM was, of course, me, and I went straight into the interview.
"First off, thank you for putting on such a great show. Today, Lee Si-eon scored 2 goals and provided 1 assist, achieving his first multi-goal game. How do you feel?"
"I'm thrilled. I'm grateful to have led the team to victory."
I gave a modestly humble response.
"Yes, next question. After your first goal, Lee Si-eon grabbed the ball from the net and pushed for a quick restart—what was the meaning behind that?"
"Exactly that—I wanted to keep the game moving fast."
"But at that moment, you were already leading. Was it really necessary?"
They seemed to be fishing for a specific answer.
In situations like this, there are two ways to handle it.
The first is to never give them the answer they want, no matter what.
The second is to drop a bombshell even bigger than they expect.
"I was so moved by Sergi Darder's love for his old club that I wanted to do the celebration for his share too."
The reporter was left dumbfounded, unable to continue.
"This first goal is dedicated to Sergi Darder."
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📰 Breaking News Damn, Lee Si-eon with 2 goals 1 assist—he's basically the real Espanyol 💬 Comments — Fanboy123 Whoa, that knuckling free kick was insane; — RonaldoFanKR Korea's answer to Ronaldo! — SkepticGolfer Still feels half-hearted though? — NeutralFan For this match at least, gotta give it to him. Carried single-handedly. — DarderHater Darder got relegated, transferred, and now relegated + loss again lololol — AnalystKR At this point, isn't he the problem? — StatWatcher His floor is insanely high, so he always does more than his share... — CuriousCat So why'd he grab the ball after the first goal? Just greedy for another? — ResultKing He got another goal and hit multi-goal, so it worked out fine? Fans who watched Si-eon's game all agreed it was the game of his life.
It was his first multi-goal, and in such a crucial match, so the reactions were way hotter than usual.
📰 Breaking News Lee Si-eon league stats: 10 goals 10 assists... 10-10 achieved! 💬 Comments — ShockaLad For real?? Insane. — NewbieFan Already?? — TimeTraveler Feels like he just debuted... — FactChecker Debut was less than half a year ago. — MathNerd 10-10 in just 12 games;; Basically 1G 1A per match. — HypeTrain If he'd played from the start of the season, it'd be historic. — FutureGazer Expectations for next year? — RealityCheck Next year he'll be in La Liga though.. — Oopsie Oof... They marveled at the 10-10 league milestone while also being stunned that he'd joined mid-season.
📰 Breaking News Why Lee Si-eon pushed to continue the game even when winning Because he wanted to do the celebration for Sergi Darder's share too. Is this guy nuts? 💬 Comments — LOLMaster lolololololololololololololol — FairPlayFan Darder did foul to give the free kick, so gotta repay lol — InterviewWatcher Said that goal was dedicated to Darder — GiggleFiend Lmaoooo — DarderDefender Isn't that going too far? Darder held back on celebrations out of respect for his old club — SavageReply That's why Si-eon did it for him—what's the issue? — MemeLord Home love is Darder lol — SarcasmQueen If you love it that much, why'd you leave the team? — SmirkGuy Heh heh; In the end, since he succeeded in scoring another and they won 3-1, it didn't spark much controversy.
📰 Breaking News Lee Si-eon's fan service level;; (Clip of Lee Si-eon giving his uniform to the little fan) 💬 Comments — PanicMode Wtf, thought he caused trouble again and came running — TimelineExpert Wasn't that right when he scored the multi-goal and was celebrating? — UniformThief What'd he wear to keep playing then? — LoanShark Borrowed the fan's spare uniform lol — PostMatchHero (Clip of him going back after the match to return the uniform) — BugHunter Uniform duplication glitch wtf? lol — AlchemyFan Worn uniform alchemy is wild lol ⭐ Top Comment — EnvyMaster Man... that returned borrowed uniform is so desirable... — BraggingRights Fr, "Si-eon borrowed and wore my uniform" is lifetime bar material? — ServiceGod Fan service form is top-tier! Seems like the fan service stole the spotlight from my post-match interview.
On the way home after wrapping up everything, I handed my phone to Camila, who was driving, with the community open.
"Look, it's all praise for me."
"Ah, I'm driving!"
She tried ignoring my phone screen, so I shoved it right in her face.
"I did great, right?"
"Yes~ yes~ Now stop distracting me while I drive!"
"No bonus?"
"Huh?"
"This has to elevate the club's status..."
"Heh~ I'll ask tomorrow."
"If bonus comes, I'll give you 10%."
"What?!!! You're seriously gonna ask???"
She clearly hadn't planned to actually ask.
"Fine~ At renewal, I'll strip Espanyol of all its pillars."
"Hehe... You'll renew, right?"
"Depends on Espanyol~ The staff's been making my life hell lately, so I'm torn."
"Gasp... Tonight, I'll prepare a per~fect energy boost dinner!"
That night, she kept asking if I'd renew right up until I fell asleep, so I had no choice but to say yes.
I was going to renew anyway.
After all that effort building the foundation, I gotta reap the rewards of my investment.
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We smoothly picked up points in league rounds 36 and 37.
2:0 and 3:1 respectively.
I didn't record a goal or assist in round 36, ending my consecutive attack point streak there.
In round 37 against Zaragoza, I notched 1 goal and 1 assist, claiming MOM again.
League personal stats now: 11 goals 11 assists.
Including Copa del Rey, it's 13 goals 13 assists.
Five league games and the Copa del Rey final left.
If I go all-out in one, I might even hit 20 goals.
Next up: Copa del Rey final.
Against Real Madrid.
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Meanwhile, Yoo Ji-na, invited by Lee Si-eon to the Copa del Rey final, was deep in thought.
"What do I do..."
She didn't hate the invitation.
How could she?
Watching the game wasn't the issue.
The problem was that he'd even sent plane tickets.
Surprisingly, Yoo Ji-na was already in Spain.
The moment Si-eon's signing with Espanyol was confirmed, she canceled her planned university enrollment back home and looked into studying abroad.
As a result, she was now enrolled at a national university in Barcelona.
Actually, aside from the first three games, she'd attended all of Si-eon's matches in person so far, but the Copa del Rey final had way too much demand, so tickets were sold via lottery—she'd basically given up on it.
So when Si-eon first said he'd get her tickets and for her to come watch, she was thrilled, but realizing the situation later put her in a bind.
The club was providing the plane tickets, so if she skipped airport procedures, Si-eon might find out.
"Ugh... Should I just tell him the truth.."
She'd already told him back when they first went to the cafe that she was set to enter university at home, so if he suddenly learned she'd come to study in Spain, he might think she'd followed him.
Which was true, but still.
"Wh... what do I do...
...
Wh~at do I do~ Wha... rice cake~..."