Chapter 20
Chapter 20
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 20
Chapter Title: The Deposit Has Been Made - 1
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My heart was pounding like crazy, and my face felt like it was about to burst from the heat.
Whoa, I thought I was going to die from embarrassment.
Doing *that* celebration in front of so many spectators.
Just walking over there was embarrassing enough, with everyone staring at me, but actually doing the celebration? I really wanted to crawl into a mouse hole and hide.
But... if I didn't do it, I had a feeling Ji-woo would get mad at me.
So I just squeezed my eyes shut and did it.
Embarrassment is temporary, but Ji-woo's nagging lasts for a week!
"Hoo-"
Anyway.
I came back to the field and waited for the game to restart. It suddenly hit me—what is all this?
A game in front of so many spectators.
I went and took a closer look just now, and most of them looked like kids my age I'd seen somewhere. I wonder if they're my school friends.
Seems they weren't just being polite when they said they'd cheer for me.
They actually came all the way to the stadium.
Well, whatever.
I was a bit flustered at first, but now that the game's started, I don't really feel any pressure from the crowd.
If anything... it feels like it gives me more strength?
I really have changed a lot.
"Peep-!"
Regardless, I need to focus on the game now.
We scored the first goal within 10 minutes and the momentum was on our side, but the real battle starts now.
"Push up!"
"Stay on them! Don't back off!"
After the game resumed.
Looking around the field, I could feel that the atmosphere was no joke. I don't know how to put it, but the opposing team's kids' expressions had completely changed. It looked like fire was about to shoot out of their eyes.
It suddenly dawned on me that today's match wasn't just a simple game; it was a rival derby.
Even someone like me, who doesn't get emotional easily, felt an instinctive urge not to back down easily just from seeing those eyes.
If we easily give in to the atmosphere here, it's worse than a 0-0 draw. The team that scores the equalizer will inevitably gain the upper hand in momentum.
So, we have to clash with them right now.
"Don't get pushed back!"
"They're coming from behind! Careful!"
"Take 'em on!"
Sharp shouts and rough words flew past my ears like bullets from all sides.
The opponents seemed desperate to score an equalizer as quickly as possible, which made them start playing rougher.
Paaang-!
"Ack!"
A player would come in late and bump into me after the pass had already gone, then run off.
"Gack!"
Even players who, in a heading contest, would run in aiming for the man instead of the ball.
"Ref-!!"
"He used his elbow! Elbow!"
Our team's kids appealed, seeing it was too much, but the main referee today seemed to be very lenient. He just waved it off as if it was no big deal.
Is it because the kids here develop faster? I thought youth soccer was usually strict about rough play.
Anyway, if that's what the ref says, there's nothing we can do. Quickly figuring out the ref's tendencies and playing accordingly is also a pretty important part.
This is precisely when I need to stay calm.
Nothing makes an angry opponent angrier than staying calm yourself.
"Stay calm! Don't get drawn into it!"
I nodded at the captain's shout, which was in line with my own thoughts, and focused on the situation around me.
Up close: the space in front, behind, left, and right of me.
From a wider view: I quickly scanned the opponent's territory to find a weak spot.
The opponents were pulling their line up, trying to press us hard from the front. In the process, they engaged in quite rough physical battles, preventing us from easily turning around to the front.
The problem was, it was working.
I could see the kids were slowly becoming passive.
For example...
"It's okay to take it slow!"
The press was late, but they'd pass it back without even checking if someone was rushing in from behind, for fear of being closed down.
"Don't drop back too far!"
The frequent back passes were leading to the goalkeeper having to handle the ball more often.
We were getting pushed back overall.
"..."
What do we need in a situation like this?
Two things come to mind.
One is to fight back with rough play of our own. If we get even more aggressive, the opponents will have to flinch.
But that's a bit hard for me to do.
It's partly because my physique is on the lighter side, but more so because of my personality. I just don't want to.
Even if it's a derby, I don't want to get into an emotional fight with kids I'm seeing for the first time today.
We're playing soccer for our future, not fighting just for today.
I'm not rationalizing out of fear or anything.
Anyway.
That leaves only one other option, which is, as expected, to get the ball and somehow turn around.
The more we're scared of their aggressive tackles and go backward, the rougher the opponents will get.
I know this well.
When someone is picking on me, if I show that I'm scared, they get even more vicious from then on. Whether it's a person or something else, it's the same. In the end, you have to confront them head-on.
Them trying to prevent us from turning around means, in other words, they're most afraid of us turning and quickly launching an attack.
To win the game, we have to do what the opponent fears.
Luckily, this was something I could do.
"Here!"
I ran down along the left half-space, below the half-way line, and shouted for the ball.
The defender on our team who had the ball glanced at me and hesitated for a moment.
It was probably because of the player rushing in right behind me.
"Give it!"
But I shouted even more forcefully, and only then did the pass come my way.
Tatatat-!
I could feel the momentum of the player charging at me from behind. If I just stood still and waited for the ball, I'd get knocked over.
So, instead of waiting for the ball, I sprinted forward.
And using the sole of my foot to stop the ball,
Tatat-!
I turned quickly to face the player head-on.
The player didn't stop and kept charging.
Instead of focusing on the player, I checked the positions of his teammates visible behind him and pre-calculated my next move.
Getting past a defender who charges in like this out of emotion isn't that difficult.
Taaat-!
The player stretches his leg out toward the ball.
A tackle that's way too obvious.
Thanks to that, dodging is easy.
Swoosh-
I scraped the ball with the sole of my foot to evade the tackle,
Tatatat-!
And pushed the ball diagonally with my other foot to get past him.
Then, I quickly pulled the ball along and distanced myself from him,
Paaaaang-!
And stabbed a forward pass into space before running.
Enzo, the center forward, sensed it was a counter-attack and immediately started running toward the box, while Bruno, the left winger, cut inside to take my spot.
My pass was aimed at Bruno, and I started running toward the left, where Bruno had been.
Tatatat-!
While I was running, Bruno held the ball in the center. He turned his head left and right, looking for a pass.
To help Bruno make a quick decision, I ran as fast as I could along the left touchline.
Soon, when my speed reached its peak,
Paaaaang-!
Bruno stabbed a through pass.
The direction was the left space ahead of me, where I was running.
The ball started rolling toward the wide-open space, and now a race between me and the opponent's fullback was about to begin.
Tatatat-!
Actually, my top speed isn't that fast. My instantaneous agility is decent, but I lack the explosive power to run long distances quickly.
But as I ran alongside the defender, I could feel that he wasn't that fast either.
Maybe that's why.
The player didn't seem to want a fair race.
Tuk-!
I felt an impact on my shoulder.
The player had bumped into me.
It wasn't that hard.
But I was in the middle of an all-out sprint.
I was vulnerable to force applied from the side, so I staggered for a moment and my vision tilted.
If I fall...
"Don't fall-!"
"Run-!!
...I can't fall.
Hearing the voices from the stands, I snapped back to my senses and quickly regained my balance.
I didn't want to show a pathetic-looking performance.
Even if that's the reality.
Tatatat-!
I gritted my teeth and ran, catching up to run shoulder to shoulder with the player again.
As I caught up, I could feel the player glancing at me out of the corner of his eye. Was he trying to shake me off for good this time? The player shrugged his shoulder.
He was trying to bump into me even harder.
The moment I sensed it, I stomped hard on the ground and slowed down.
Tatat-!
Is this what they mean by softness overcoming hardness?
The player, who had thrown his shoulder into empty air, wobbled, and I gently pushed him aside before running again.
The obstacle was gone now.
I glanced into the box and ran toward the loose ball,
Peeeeeeeeeong-!
And sent in a ground cross.
A cross aimed at the space between the goalkeeper and the defense. Enzo ran toward that cross.
Just like he did in training.
Chwaaaaa-
Enzo slid and stretched his foot out,
Paaaaang-!
And as Enzo and my cross met at one point,
Thwack-!!
The net shook.
"Yeeeeeeee!"
"Nice-!!"
The players, including Enzo who scored, cheered and ran toward me.
It's scary how excited they are...
"Ack!"
"Nice pass-!!"
"Great turn!"
"Great counter-attack!!"
The players swarmed me in an instant, and I was breathless. Multiple hands messily tousled my hair.
I felt like a dog surrounded by kids.
After being petted like that for a while, I was then pulled toward the stands with arms around my shoulder.
"Yeeeeee-!"
"Forza-!!"
The players shouted cheers toward the stands.
I got squeezed in with them and looked at the happy spectators. They were even happier than we were.
"..."
Watching them, I suddenly had this thought.
They're cheering for us, and they gain joy when we do well. In other words, I can make them happy.
But... what I feel is the opposite.
Seeing the people who are happy because of us, it feels like I'm the one who gains more strength.
This feeling was quite pleasant.
It felt rewarding, too.
Being cheered for is a truly grateful thing.
I hope I can continue to repay that gratitude like this.
Especially the person I'm most grateful to...
Hm?
What's with that arrogant smile?
···
"Are you happy?"
"Huh?"
"I'm asking if you're happy."
"...About what?"
I looked at Ji-woo as if to say, what kind of question is that, with no beginning or end?
But Ji-woo just made a sulky face instead of answering.
"Ah, are you happy because we won the game? Of course I am."
After thinking for a moment and answering brightly, Ji-woo let out a sigh this time.
...Why is she doing this?
A moment later, Ji-woo spoke.
"Our Ji-an is popular, huh?"
"Huh?"
"It's a total frenzy? The moment you get the ball, the girls start screaming and squealing?"
"...No way."
"It's true. They say you're cute. That you're like an idol. That hearts are shooting out of your eyes, a real spectacle?"
"...Is that so?"
The kids did that?
For a moment, the corners of my mouth wanted to go up, but Ji-woo glared at me sharply, so I quickly lowered them.
I don't know why, but I felt like something bad would happen if I smiled.
"Ugh, he says he's happy. I saw you doing that celebration earlier, trying to look cool?"
"No, that was..."
"What was it?"
"It wasn't me trying to look cool, it was for you."
"...What are you talking about."
This time, I looked at Ji-woo.
Then Ji-woo turned her head away...
"If it's funny, just laugh. Don't have your cheek twitching like that."
"Do you want to die? Are you crazy? Lost your mind? Having a good time?"
Ji-woo started hitting me out of the blue.
Ouch, that hurts.
It was my first time getting hit by her in a while, but it felt just like the old days. But even as I was getting hit, I couldn't help but laugh for some reason. Seeing that, Ji-woo also burst out laughing after holding it in.
"Ah, seriously, Lee Ji-an. You're so annoying."
We walked on, laughing without even knowing why, when I suddenly felt something was off and asked Ji-woo.
"But are you mad about that?"
"About what?"
"You know... the girls were cheering for me."
"And? Why would I be mad about that? Why would I?"
Ji-woo looked at me like I was absurd.
"Well, you know... you have no reason to be mad about that."
"I'm not. Of course not."
"Anyway, it's nice."
"What is?"
"That the kids were cheering for me. Especially..."
"Especially what, what? You like it? You like it?"
"Ah, why are you hitting me again."
"Don't be so pleased with yourself and focus on soccer, okay?"
Ah, okay, just stop hitting me.
First, I'm sorry. I'm sorry.
This time it really hurt, so I apologized right away.
But what did I do wrong?
Haa... this is tough, so tough...
···
After finishing the game against Bologna on Sunday.
Since today, Monday, was just recovery training, I came home early.
Dad's... not here.
I wonder where he went.
Hmm.
I sat on the sofa for a while, thinking about what to do today.
"Oh, Dad?"
"Oh, yeah. You're up?"
The front door opened and Dad came in.
"I thought you had work?"
"No. No work today. I went to the bank."
"The bank?"
"Yeah. I made an account and got a card."
A bank account and card all of a sudden?
I tilted my head, and Dad spoke in a cheerful voice.
"For your weekly pay account. The deposit came in the day before yesterday. But since the amount is getting pretty big now, I figured it wouldn't be right for me to hold onto it all. You should manage your own money."
"...Ah."
As he said that, Dad rummaged through his inside pocket and took out a real bankbook and card, handing them to me.
"Try managing it well from now on. You need to know how to manage money on your own."
"Ah... okay."
I took the card, feeling a bit dazed.
Uh...
What should I do first?