Chapter 49
Chapter 49
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 49
Chapter Title: Gelato-Flavored Vacation - 2
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The meal was quite delicious.
We ordered what seemed to be the signature dishes, and out came the Fiorentina steak, pasta, and several types of bread on the side.
Even dishes we hadn't ordered arrived.
"Huh? Did we order this?"
"They said it's on the house..."
"Ha, is this Lee Ji-an's doing again?"
The server recognized me and gave us the complimentary service. Thanks to that, the table was practically groaning under the weight, and Ji-woo was naturally delighted.
"Ah, this is good..."
Even after finishing the meal, we sat there for a while.
The sunset was just beginning to fall, painting the city in hues of orange, making it incredibly beautiful.
The food was delicious, the weather was nice, the distant scenery was beautiful... and it suddenly hit me that my exhausted body was being recharged.
It was a wonderful evening.
"Shall we get going soon?"
"Sure."
As we patted our stomachs and tried to get up...
"Excuse me—"
"Yes?"
"Could you possibly take a photo with me?"
"Huh? Ah, um... sure."
The man sitting at the next table called me over, so I thought something was wrong, but he wanted to take a picture together.
So I took a photo with him... and that was how it started.
"Me too—"
"Me too, just one—"
Almost all the customers from the other tables suddenly started lining up.
I thought everyone didn't know who I was.
Turns out they were just waiting for us to finish eating.
In the end, I ended up having an unexpected fan service session, and Ji-woo volunteered to be the photographer.
"Thank you. Wow, it turned out really well. I'll cherish it."
"See? This is how you take photos."
Ji-woo puffs out his chest proudly.
"...The model's a scam."
Remembering what Ji-woo had said earlier, I threw the same line back at him, and he looked at me with an exasperated expression.
"What did you say?"
"Nothing. Let's go."
Cough.
I cleared my throat unnecessarily and turned to leave first.
But then, Ji-woo called me back.
"Come here for a sec."
"Why?"
"Hey, take a picture with me too."
"...What? A picture?"
"Yeah. Why? You'll take pictures with strangers but not with me?"
"No, why are you suddenly..."
"The background here is too good. It'd be a crime to just leave."
Why is he suddenly asking to take pictures together?
I was about to leave, but Ji-woo grabbed my sleeve and pulled me, so I had no choice but to be dragged along.
"Alright, stand there. Bend your knees a little."
"..."
With the city as our backdrop, Ji-woo and I stood together awkwardly looking at the camera.
...This is really awkward. Why is this happening? It's even more awkward than taking pictures with strangers.
Maybe it's because I'm not used to this.
"Hmm... I should've brought a selfie stick. It's not all in the shot."
Wanting to capture the entire background, Ji-woo stretched his arms out and tried different angles, groaning as he couldn't fit everything in.
"...Give it here."
I sighed and snatched the phone, then stretched my arms as far as possible. I took several photos with the city in the background.
"Done?"
"Wait a sec. Hmm... This should be fine. You don't look good, but I look great."
Ji-woo, who had been carefully examining the results, nodded as if he was somewhat satisfied.
I glanced at it while pretending to be uninterested, and I wondered if it really looked good. Both our faces were bright red from the sunset shining on us.
Cough.
Well, anyway, that's a relief. Actually, my face wasn't red because of the sunset... so thankfully, it was hidden.
"What are you doing. Hurry up."
"Yeah... ah, wait a sec. Why are you so in a hurry?"
"I'm going ahead."
Leaving Ji-woo who was still looking at the photos, I cleared my throat and turned around.
...When we got close to take the photo just now, the scent of shampoo that tickled my nose left me in a daze.
I've been smelling only my seniors' sweat lately, so suddenly smelling that made me unable to adjust.
* * *
Haaaah-
Kim Ji-woo, who had just showered and had damp hair, sat down at her desk.
After roughly applying toner and lotion, Ji-woo fanned her face a few times, then took out a diary from her drawer.
Not every day, but she tries to write it two or three times a week.
Kim Ji-woo held her pen and pondered for a long time before writing the title of her diary.
Title: Date...?
Ji-woo let out a small laugh, then began to write her diary one character at a time in pressed-down handwriting.
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Today, I went downtown.
Ji-an said he was on vacation starting today, so we met up after school, ate, and watched a movie.
Actually, Ji-an looked a little tired.
He must be. He had been away for a match far away.
So I felt a little sorry for suggesting we meet, but thankfully he didn't get annoyed and laughed a lot today, more than usual. He met me first as soon as he came back, so I should pack better lunch boxes for him from now on.
Oh, and when I said that Italian boys are really sweet and that they do things like that for me too, Ji-an's mouth pouted out.
Could it be jealousy...? Hahaha
Anyway, it was really cute.
We ate at a restaurant with a great view.
It was the best scenery I've ever seen in my life. The food was naturally delicious too.
And there, Ji-an took a photo of me, and he said it. That no matter how he took it, it was pretty.
Of course, he wasn't talking to me but to the view behind me. Sheesh... Hahaha
We also took a picture together.
After we finished eating, fans came over and took pictures with Ji-an, and seeing that, I suddenly remembered the old days and asked him to take one with me too.
We have pictures together from when we were little, but thinking about it, we don't have any recent ones.
So I stood next to him to take the picture, but he stood surprisingly close, which startled me a bit.
I mean, he just came right up to me... my face got hot, but thankfully it wasn't noticeable because of the sunset.
Honestly, I looked a bit strange in the picture, but Ji-an looked good even in a candid shot, which annoyed me a little.
Anyway! After eating, we went to the movies.
Wow, but even though he was wearing a mask, people kept recognizing Ji-an, so we almost couldn't watch the movie.
But thankfully, we managed to get in somehow, and there was another funny incident at the ticket booth.
I mean, the woman selling tickets asked us if we were a couple.
I was thinking, 'Do we look like a couple to people?' and was secretly dying inside, but she said if we were a couple, we got a discount, so she was just asking.
I was so embarrassed alone, so I said we were a couple for the discount! ...Hahaha
Anyway, we watched the movie well and walked home together. It was a fulfilling day after a long time!!!
End of diary!
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Thud-
Kim Ji-woo smiled and closed her diary.
Then she got up from her desk, humming a tune, lay down on the bed, and picked up her phone.
Hmm hmm.
Maybe I should change my profile picture since my mood has been lifted. She opened her phone's photo gallery.
And she scrolled through the photos she took today.
"Hmm..."
It's hard to choose just one.
Almost all of them turned out well.
As someone said, no matter how you take it, it's pretty, so it's actually hard to choose.
Ah, there is one photo that I really like.
Of course, it's the photo I took with Ji-an.
But...
'It's a bit weird to use it as my profile picture.'
Using a photo of just the two of us as my profile picture feels a bit... I don't know.
I mean, it's a picture with a friend, so it's fine, but...
"...Ugh."
Ji-woo shook her head and swiped through the gallery.
Swipe, swipe.
She swiped through the photos a bit impatiently, then suddenly, as she was looking through old photos, her eyes widened.
Wow, these are really old photos.
Was it elementary school? A photo of us eating tteokbokki at a snack shop in front of the school.
I remember moving these photos from my old phone, but it's been a long time since I've seen them.
"Wow, we were both such babies..."
Ji-woo muttered with a gentle smile.
We were both so small back then. Especially Ji-an, he was almost like a baby compared to now. He was cuter back then.
"..."
Ji-woo looked at the photo for a long time, then brought up today's photo on the screen again.
This photo and that one... they're similar photos, but you can see that many things have changed.
A lot of time has passed, both of us have changed a lot during that time, and we've even changed the country we live in.
But... we're still together.
Even though everything has changed, everything is still the same.
At that fact, an indescribable emotion began to well up inside me.
If more time passes from now on... this photo we took today will become an old photo too.
By then, many things will have changed again.
But will we still be by each other's sides then? Like now, after meeting again after three years...
"...Ha, this damn early morning sentimentality. Dangerous, dangerous."
I don't know why, but when I thought about that, my eyes stung.
* * *
The second day of vacation, I just stayed holed up at home and rested thoroughly. I did absolutely nothing, to the point where I wondered if it was okay to do so little.
I just lay down for a bit, ate, lay down again, and when my dad came, we ate together again.
And as I was lying down again, it was time for Ji-woo to finish school, so I had a call with her.
By the time that was over, it was evening, so I had dinner with my dad and Ji-woo at our house.
At night, I studied Italian and English a bit before sleeping.
...At this point, isn't this basically the daily life of a poop machine? But the important thing is, even while lounging around at home like that, I was earning my weekly wage.
A soccer player... isn't this a job from the gods?
"Did you sleep well? You look like it, judging from your face."
"...Yes."
"Eat."
"Yes."
Well, the weekly wage thing was a joke... more importantly, even while resting, I didn't feel particularly uncomfortable or anything.
That was a bit strange.
Normally, I should feel a bit anxious to be normal.
But I didn't.
Maybe it's because I've been so busy for the past few weeks.
Or maybe it's just because there's no game on the weekend.
"Are you going to training today?"
"Yes."
"Why not rest more?"
"I'm just going to lightly warm up and come back."
Anyway, even though it was fine yesterday, I felt like I shouldn't do this until today... so I decided to train lightly today.
The first team was resting overall, so it's with the U17 team.
I told Coach Toni in advance.
Actually, I read a phrase while reading a book last night.
The book was called "English Proverbs," and it said there's this proverb in English.
Strike while the iron is hot.
It's like the Korean proverbs "Remove the calf horn while it's still warm" or "Row the boat while the water is coming in."
In short, it means to work hard and not miss the opportunity when it comes.
It felt like he was talking to me.
Thinking about it, right now is the point where the water is coming in for me.
Honestly, at first, I thought I'd just be swept away by the sudden flood of water. It was a big wave that my small boat couldn't handle, so I thought I'd capsize quickly.
But, when I focused my mind and started rowing, I was still floating on the water.
Just barely managing not to drift away... but anyway, thanks to rowing, I'm moving forward.
But I don't know when this water will recede.
It might dry up tomorrow.
The current might get even stronger and I might drift backward.
So, anyway... I shouldn't be content with the present, shouldn't I row even harder?
If I don't row now... I might not be able to feel the happiness I've felt over the past two days.
I don't want that.
With my dad, with Ji-woo, I'm going to be even happier in the future.
"I'm off."
"Take care."
For that reason, I left the house to go row.
* * *
Huu, this brings back memories. Back then, I could at least block it a few times. Now I can't block it at all."
"Ah, no way..."
I awkwardly scratched my head at Coach Luca's polite fiction.
It was after the U17 team's group training had ended, and I was once again in Coach Luca's debt.
I really have no shame, but thankfully, the coach willingly helped me and we did one-on-one training like before.
Thanks to that, I remembered a lot of things from the past.
It hasn't actually been that long, though.
But it feels like it was a long time ago.
"Ooh, look at this. It's completely like a stone. It's not budging at all."
"You're not using your strength, Coach."
"Don't kill me twice. I'm doing my best."
The coach is still the same.
He still tries his best to boost my morale.
I'll never find another coach like this.
"Ooh! Let's take a quick break. My back's going to break."
"Huu... Yes."
So, after sweating buckets... we decided to take a short break and plopped down on the grass at the same time.
As we soothed our heaving chests... I suddenly looked around.
It's past fall now, and winter is starting to set in. Time flies so fast. It feels like just yesterday the hot sun was beating down.
Anyway, it's still a place that calms my heart.
As we were resting with our legs stretched out...
"Kids, what is it. Is there something you want to say?"
The coach spoke to the other side.
A few kids were there. Come to think of it, they were glancing over at us.
The kids hesitantly approached.
"Uh, what is it. Go on, say it."
"Um, sir... can we ask you something?"
"What?"
As the coach spoke, one of the kids looked at me.
"Um, how can I get as good as you, senior? Ah, of course, the coach told me it's because you're a genius, but if there's some kind of secret, I'd like to learn it..."
I almost coughed right then and there.
A kid calling me 'senior'...
Well, judging by his unfamiliar face, he must be a kid who just joined the U17 team.
But... how can he get as good as me? What kind of question is that?
"Hehe."
I looked at the coach with a troubled expression, but he just smiled.
What am I supposed to say to this?
"Hmm..."
I was sweating profusely and thinking, then I decided to just say what was on my mind as it came to me, and opened my mouth.
"You know. I'm not a genius. I'm the worst at soccer in this training ground."
The kids tilted their heads at my words.
I continued.
"I train thinking that. That I'm the least talented, the worst, so that's why I train the hardest. It's okay to be a fool in the training ground. As long as I look like a genius during the game..."
Honestly, I don't even know what I'm saying myself.
But that's what I really think.
"If you train like a fool, people will see you as a genius during the game... but honestly, I don't really know either..."
As I rambled on and scratched my head, the kids laughed and nodded.
Ugh, did I just embarrass myself in front of my juniors?
Haha......