Chapter 33
Chapter 33
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 33
Chapter Title: Who Is That Guy? -3
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Sonestly, it felt like waking up from a dream.
The roar of the crowd woke me from my sleep, a feeling as if I were returning to reality.
WAAAAAAAHHHHH-!
Crash.
It was as if the glass of the window had shattered; the veil surrounding my world broke, and things that had felt like another world beyond the glass began to rush at me, sharp and clear.
Now, I could feel the air, the texture of the grass under my feet, and the wind brushing past my cheek from left to right.
Was I dreaming?
Then again. Even I thought it was too unreal.
Me, daring to enter a first-team match as a second-half substitute and score a goal?
Even if it were a dream, that was too much.
It was an absurd dream, embarrassing to even tell anyone. It felt like my own private delusion, something I only thought about, had been laid out before my eyes, making me feel ashamed.
Right in front of my dad, and in front of Ji-woo. And in front of this huge crowd, I scored a goal.
Was it that I wanted a moment like this so badly that it appeared in my dreams?
No... maybe everything before this was a dream too. From the moment I was called up to the first team, or maybe from the moment we beat Juventus, or perhaps from the moment I signed my pro contract. No. It must have been a dream from the moment I heard Ji-woo was coming to Italy.
Yeah.
This ridiculously dreamlike situation couldn't possibly be real.
"..."
I closed my eyes.
Then, fear washed over me.
If I opened these two closed eyes again, it felt like everything would return to its original place.
Back to my original self, my real self.
I was afraid that a dark, gloomy corner of a room would be spread out before me.
But I had to face it.
I gathered my courage and opened my eyes.
Then...
The first thing I saw in my vision was Vlahovic, running towards me.
It wasn't a dark, gloomy corner of a room.
"Heeeey-!! Little guy-!"
Vlahovic's senior's massive body crashed into me. Then, from the side and from behind, I felt the hands of other seniors wrapping around me, one by two.
"Little guy, you've caused a scene!"
"Your face was pale as a sheet, was it all an act?"
"Wow, seriously, where did something like this pop out from?"
"See? It wasn't for nothing that we got beaten by this kid!"
...I couldn't breathe.
Thanks to the sharp smell piercing my nose, I finally realized.
Wow, this isn't a dream.
It's a grim reality.
So I'm incredibly relieved, but... if this is real, I'm going to die from suffocation...!
"Hey, hey! Everyone back off! You're going to kill the kid!"
Before I could die from being crushed or suffocate to death.
Luckily, a helping hand saved me.
When I looked to see who it was, it was Viragi, the captain.
Pushing through the other seniors to clear my breathing, Viragi tapped the top of my head with his palm and said.
"This kid is making his debut and scoring his first goal, and you're making him look like this, you rascals!"
Then, he grabbed my shoulder, turned me around, and pushed me from behind.
"Go on!"
Being pushed like that, I was left standing alone, receiving the gaze of the entire crowd.
WAAAAAAAHHHHH-!
The roar was still pouring down.
Thinking that this roar was directed at me, I suddenly felt like lowering my head, but I couldn't.
I raised my head, met those gazes one by one, and looked around the stands.
I wanted to find my dad and Ji-woo.
But would I be able to find them...?
"..."
There was no way I could.
It was impossible to find my dad and Ji-woo among this huge crowd.
But it was okay.
I couldn't see them, but I was certain they were watching me.
Towards the two of them, who I knew were watching me from somewhere, I clenched my fist and stretched it high into the air.
I wanted to show them.
How the support from my dad and Ji-woo had made me.
It felt great, as if I had shown them that.
*
If there were one person in the world with the narrowest vision right now, it would probably be Lee Ji-an's father, Lee Won-hun.
Because all he could see in his eyes right now was his son.
"Ah..."
Lee Won-hun, standing in an awkward posture, neither sitting nor standing, with his mouth wide open, was not a proper sight for a full-grown adult, but it didn't matter.
His son had scored a goal.
It was already surprising enough just to make the first-team roster and sit on the bench, and it was surprising enough just to step onto the ground as a substitute.
And he even scored a goal.
And it was a rather beautiful one.
Even to him, who didn't know soccer deeply, it was a beautiful goal.
"Huh..."
But actually, the goal itself wasn't that important. What was more important was that his son was standing proudly in front of thousands of spectators.
That's right.
He was standing proudly.
Even though thousands were looking at him, he stood with his shoulders squared.
How could he do that?
His son was someone who was easily embarrassed. His son was someone who felt burdened by cheers.
And now, not just one or two, but thousands of cheers were pouring down on that son of his.
And yet, the kid was facing those cheers head-on.
He was even smiling.
Had he finally learned to accept the cheers as support? Had it finally stopped feeling like a burden to him?
Or maybe he still feels burdened and embarrassed but is just enduring it.
Either way, it was incredibly admirable. Could he now cheer for his son with an easy mind? It felt like a weight was lifted from his chest.
What on earth had made his son grow like this?
"Wow, Lee Ji-an. Can't you find me? Get ready to get an earful after the game!"
Kim Ji-woo, who had been jumping up and down for a long time, sat down with a thud and said.
Tsk. I was waving my hands and shouting so loudly, and he couldn't find me. I'll have to say something to him after the game.
"Still, the celebration was for me, right, Lee Ji-an?"
Well... still, the celebration Ji-an did was clearly for me, so I'll let it slide once.
Tsk. If it wasn't, I'll pinch his side.
"Seriously, it's a huge deal, Ji-an. Seriously..."
Anyway, I was proud.
It felt worthwhile, taking care of him more than my own younger brother. Seeing all these people cheering for Ji-an made me feel proud for no reason. Of course, most of them were middle-aged men, so I could be proud without worry.
That's right.
It wasn't just the two of them cheering for Lee Ji-an.
"Wait, what did I just see?"
"What kind of goal was that?"
Spectators, clutching their heads, murmured as they stood up from their seats. After a wave of cheers had passed, everyone now had a look of utter bewilderment.
It couldn't be helped.
A kid they had never seen before had come on as a substitute and unleashed a goal no one expected.
Whether the substitution or the goal, it was something no one could have imagined. So the admiration came like an aftershock.
"Did you see him give and go?"
"He was the one who carried the ball up from midfield in the first place, wasn't he?"
"And how he finished it. Wow, he's incredibly calm?"
Everyone was marveling, replaying the goal scene in their minds. It wasn't just that he scored a goal; he scored a goal that was perfectly executed.
He picked up the ball near the half-line and carried it up, then beat one defender with a neat dribble.
Then he charged straight into the heart of the packed defense, exchanged a quick one-two with Vlahovic.
With just those two one-twos, he completely tore apart the defense and then, with a calm finish, shook the net.
In fact, the situation itself wasn't something to cheer about so fervently. The opponent was Genoa, and they were already leading 2-0, so it wasn't a dramatic, game-winning goal.
But the process itself was like a rain of blessings for Fiorentina fans, who had been tired of the boring, patternless attacks.
So they couldn't help but cheer so passionately.
It had been so long since they'd seen a goal like that, breaking down the center in such a way and scoring.
And it had been so long since they'd seen an attack that properly utilized a good striker like Vlahovic that they couldn't even remember.
This is what we wanted to see, this!
"He's finally someone I like!"
Eventually, even after the game resumed.
The spectators in the stands all began to mutter the same thing.
"Wait, so who is he?"
"Who is that guy?"
"Number 20, Lee Ji-an? Have you heard of him?"
"Never heard of him, of course."
So, who is this East Asian kid with a youthful appearance who appeared like a surprise gift?
Even though soccer is like a daily routine here, there aren't many hardcore fans who know all the youth team players by heart.
Even if they are interested in prospects, most only know up to the U19 team, and even fewer fans follow the U17 team below that.
As a result, most fans had to hurriedly pull out their phones and scour the internet.
"Uh... he played in the U17 team until last week. This season... he recorded 10 goals and 2 assists?"
"He's a complete prospect? But why didn't I know about him at all?"
"That's... because he only played in 6 games. So, he made his debut less than three months ago."
"Wait a minute. You're saying he made his first-team debut three months after debuting in the youth league?"
"Yeah. And on that debut, he scored his first goal."
A fan who quickly looked up the information marveled once again.
He's only sixteen. He joined the team at the start of this year, but he only started playing in matches about two months ago.
In just those two months, he dominated the U17 league, got called up to the first team today, and scored on his debut as a substitute.
A rising star like that.
"Hey, and besides... he used to be at Juventus?"
"He was with those thieves?"
"Yeah. He was there until he was 15, I think."
"Wow, the more I hear, the more I like this kid!"
They even liked his past history.
He came from Juventus's youth team.
Fiorentina fans call Juventus 'Ladri' (Thieves).
Historically, there have been more than one or two things stolen by Juventus.
It started in the 81/82 season, when the two teams were competing for the league title, and in the final match, the trophy was handed to Juventus through an unsatisfactory call.
Then, in the 89/90 season UEFA Cup final, they again gave up the trophy due to an unfair call, and the resentment worsened.
On top of that, recently, the team's top prospects, Bernadeschi and Federico Chiesa, even moved to Juventus.
To Fiorentina fans, Juventus were thieves who took things away.
But that kid came over from Juventus to this side?
A rising star, and a satisfying one at that!
"A real treasure has appeared!"
"Hah, I wouldn't mind getting my head busted open for this. I was planning on not coming to the stadium next week, but I have to come now!"
"I'm going to trust that octopus head one more time!"
"Octopus head? Watch your mouth! He's a sexy baldy!"
"As expected, the manager is a baldy!"
Laughter erupted in the stands.
It was a joyful laugh they hadn't seen in a long time.
The fans, in such a good mood, started singing their anthem with all their might.
Oh Fiorentina-!
di ogni squadra ti vogliam regina-!
Oh Fiorentina-!
combatti ovunque ardita e con valor-!
Nell’ora di sconforto e di vittoria-!
ricorda che del calcio è tua la storia-!
The powerful anthem echoed from the stands, loud enough to be heard outside the stadium.
*
"You're in big trouble now."
"Yeah. Get ready. You're in big trouble."
"Wow, if I were you, I'd have run out the back door."
It was when they were leaving the locker room after the game.
I had played for only about 20 minutes, but I was completely drained as I walked out of the locker room, and the seniors said that to me.
"What... do you mean? In big trouble?"
I asked with a worried expression, and the seniors burst out laughing instead of answering.
...What is it?
They said I was in big trouble. Why are they all just laughing?
They should tell me what's wrong!
"..."
But no one answered and just kept laughing, so I walked with a look of deep concern, not knowing what was going on.
Someone put their arm around my shoulder.
It was Captain Viragi.
"Hey, little guy."
"Yes...?"
"What were you thinking?"
"What... what is it?"
"What were you thinking, scoring a goal like that on your debut? Can you handle the consequences?"
Even Viragi, the kindest of the seniors, was like this, so even though I didn't know what it was, I felt genuinely uneasy.
Did I do something wrong?
What was I thinking, scoring a goal like that on my debut...
Maybe there's a rule that rookies shouldn't score goals? Because I was being too arrogant?
"..."
Would I get disciplined by the seniors when I get back?
As I made a tearful expression and reached the stadium exit.
Viragi pointed ahead and said.
"Here, this is the price you have to pay."
"......Ah."
That's when I finally realized.
What "big trouble" meant, and what "the price I had to pay" was.
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