Chapter 75
Chapter 75
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 75
Chapter Title: There's No Separate Advertisement -2
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“Uh, today turned out a bit weird. Just… mix and match whatever you want…”
“Huh? What’s weird about it?”
“The plating didn’t quite work out…”
“Doesn’t look weird to me.”
I tilted my head along with Dad as we looked at the bowls Ji-woo served.
I had no idea what was wrong with it. It looked delicious enough.
Well, I know nothing about cooking, so if Ji-woo says it’s off, then I guess it is. Just like how we can win a game but still feel unsatisfied sometimes, right?
“It just tastes good.”
“It’s delicious.”
Dad and I both said at the same time after taking a bite.
Ji-woo still looked like something was bothering him, but the taste was great. Everything Ji-woo makes is delicious. The real genius isn’t me; it’s Ji-woo.
Dad and I both devoured the food made by the cooking genius.
Having done something completely out of character, I was incredibly hungry.
“Phew…”
As soon as the shoot was over, I washed my hair and scrubbed off the makeup from my face. I changed back into comfortable clothes. It felt like I had returned to my original self, and my mind felt at ease.
And sitting here in the quiet house again, eating with the two of them, my mind feels even more at peace.
Sponsorships and all that are fine, but nothing beats this moment. It’s the same as scoring a goal or winning a game. Nothing can beat this very moment.
After all, all of that is for the sake of this moment.
Yeah, that’s true, but…
“……”
Something feels a bit off.
I thought about what was strange, and realized it was too quiet.
Our meals are usually quite noisy.
Neither Dad nor I say much when we eat, but Ji-woo is the opposite.
Ji-woo would always recount every little thing that happened during the day without missing a beat, and we would eat while listening to him. Thanks to that, there was no room for silence.
But… Ji-woo is unusually quiet today.
“……”
“……!”
Feeling something was off, I glanced at Ji-woo, and our eyes met as if he felt my gaze. However, Ji-woo avoided my eyes. Then, he suddenly got up to get some water.
Wow… Seriously, what’s going on?
“……Cough, cough!”
Oh, my.
Now he’s even coughing while drinking water. His face turned completely red because of it.
…Did I do something wrong?
*
“……”
“……”
After finishing the meal, I was walking Ji-woo home. Both of us were walking in silence, so the surroundings were quiet. I wonder how long it’s been since we walked so quietly.
It’s really strange today.
Well, I’m the same as always. I was never much of a talker, but I become even quieter when I’m with Ji-woo. That’s because there’s no room for me to talk. Just listening to Ji-woo’s stories is a handful.
Ji-woo loves to talk that much. On the walk from our house to his, he would talk non-stop, and that still wasn’t enough, so he’d even message me for the detailed stories once we got inside.
And yet, for that Ji-woo to be silent today is what makes it so quiet.
I’ve felt something was off since a while ago.
Hmm. Well… I guess so. Even Ji-woo wouldn’t want to talk every single day. It’s only natural to have days like this and days like that.
There must be days where Ji-woo is so exhausted he doesn’t even have the energy to talk. I tried to understand it that way, but my curiosity still remained.
“……Is something wrong?”
“Huh? Ah?”
Breaking the silence, Ji-woo looked at me with his eyes wide open in surprise, then turned his head away again.
…This, too, is unlike Ji-woo.
“No, it’s just. You’ve been quiet today.”
“Ah, haha. Have I?”
“Did you have a tough class at school today or something?”
At my question, Ji-woo nodded.
“Yeah, that’s right. I was a bit tired today.”
“I see.”
“Yeah, I was. It was tough.”
“Then you should rest. Why did you go to the trouble of making dinner? We could have just eaten out.”
“It’s fine. That part isn’t tiring.”
Ji-woo gave a sheepish smile and scratched his head.
I tried to say something more, but I took a breath and just kept walking.
Hmm.
Keeping a conversation going is harder than I thought. I usually only speak when I have something to say, so I don’t know what to talk about in situations like this.
Thinking about it, how was Ji-woo able to keep a conversation going without a break, especially with a boring conversational partner like me?
Now that our roles have reversed, I realize just how amazing Ji-woo is.
Until now, Ji-woo has said he finds it more comfortable to talk to a quiet listener like me, rather than someone who talks a lot.
But maybe, in reality, he was trying really hard. A conversation is something two people do, after all. It’s like a pass.
No matter how well one person passes, the play won’t continue if the other person can’t receive the ball and pass it back.
Thinking about it, it makes sense. Even though Ji-woo is an energetic kid, there must have been days like today when he was tired. No, he must have had many. He’s only human.
Yet, Ji-woo was always full of energy. Maybe he was only like that in front of me, since I lack energy. I’m already gloomy enough, so maybe he tried not to show it and kept his spirits up so I wouldn’t feel even more down.
“……”
It was just… that.
It’s nothing major, but walking quietly like this today made me think of such things. Normally, he’s always going on about ‘noona, noona,’ so I never had the time to think about anything else.
Well… I always ignored him to some extent when he called me ‘noona,’ and reacted as if it were ridiculous.
But deep down, it seemed I had acknowledged it to some extent. Whether I knew it or not, I was relying on Ji-woo.
Having these thoughts and feeling awkward about the still-silent Ji-woo, I threw out a joke. It was the best joke I could muster.
“If you have something tough going on, tell me. I’ll listen, bro.”
Jokes like this should be delivered with a bit of a sly tone, but since it was something I never did, my words got jumbled.
Maybe that’s why.
Ji-woo stared at me with his eyes wide open.
“……Bro?”
Seeing Ji-woo look at me so seriously, I suddenly felt like dying. A joke needs to be delivered like a joke for the other person to know it’s a joke. I must have sounded too serious.
No… I just used what Ji-woo always says, that he’ll tell ‘noona’ if he has a hard time. I expected him to react like, ‘Who are you calling noona?’ like he always does.
But the way he looked at me as if to say, ‘What on earth are you talking about?’ was the most embarrassing thing possible. I couldn’t possibly explain it in detail.
I can feel my face getting hot. If they checked my temperature right now, they might rush me to the emergency room.
So, a good pass isn’t a flashy one, but one that’s easy for the receiver to catch.
“……It’s a joke. A joke. Go inside.”
Arriving at Ji-woo’s house at the perfect timing felt like a rescue. I gestured for him to go in and quickly turned around. Then, I walked away briskly.
I thought there would be no more embarrassing moments in my life, but damn it. Damn it…
Whirrr-
As I walked quickly, my phone vibrated. I took it out, and Ji-woo was flooding me with messages.
Ji-woo: You said to tell you if I'm having a hard time Ji-woo: And then why did you run away!! Ji-woo: I actually had a lot to talk about today Ji-woo: Ugh, my throat hurt so I couldn't!! Ji-woo: So message me when you get home Ji-woo: I'm not going to let you sleep early today Ji-woo: You get me?? Ji-woo: Bro. Ji-woo: ^^?
“……”
My face got hot again. I was already dreading how much I’d be tormented by that one thoughtless joke. Once Ji-woo gets his hands on something, he’ll use it until he’s tired of it…
“……”
Still, seeing him return to his usual talkative self made me snicker.
······
Fiorentina’s home stadium, Stadio Artemio Franchi.
Today is the 22nd round of the league season, with 3rd-place Fiorentina facing 11th-place Torino FC.
“The atmosphere is great.”
“The stadium is beautiful. Haha!”
People from Puma’s side were looking around the stadium, which was bustling with preparations for the game, and smiling brightly. They had won the contract after beating out the industry’s number one and two players, so of course, their faces were bright.
“Hmm…”
However, one person was looking at a tablet PC, deep in thought.
Nina Tricenna, the marketing team leader.
“It would be nice if we could run a video ad too…”
Muttering to herself, an employee sitting next to her quickly replied.
“Should I gather some ideas?”
“Yes. Let’s all think about it together.”
“Understood.”
Nina nodded.
Winning the contract was great, and the photos taken for the print ads had turned out very well. But something felt a little lacking. She thought it would be nice to have at least one short video ad. And more importantly, she wanted it to have a sophisticated feel, not a cliché one.
“Hmm.”
As she was pondering this, the game began. Nina decided to watch the field and think about it a little more.
“……”
Looking at Lee Ji-an, the player who could become Puma’s next main model, a satisfied smile crept onto her face. In fact, there had been some debate internally about whether this was the right move. They questioned whether it was reasonable to offer a partnership of this scale to a prospect who had just started to show his potential.
However, no one could deny the performance, popularity, and buzz Ji-an was showing, which was far beyond the level of a rookie who hadn’t even completed a full season. That’s why they were able to push it through. Thanks to that, they were able to beat out Nike and Adidas to win the contract.
Well, even so, one might still say it was excessive. But from the perspective of a marketing team leader, Nina had no doubt that Ji-an would become an even bigger star. She was confident that by the time that happened, no one would be able to say this contract was excessive. So, she thought it wouldn’t hurt to treat him a bit more generously from the start. If they were going to do it, they should do it big. They would produce a killer video ad and attach it when they launch a new line later.
Waaaaah—
In an instant, the stadium, which had been buzzing moderately, was filled with a collective gasp. It was the moment Ji-an got the ball.
She had talked about him becoming a bigger star in the future, but he was already a star. What else could you call a player who could elicit such a gasp just by getting the ball in an ordinary position in an ordinary way?
“Lee! Lee! Lee! Lee!”
As he got the ball, everyone started chanting “Lee.”
“Lee! Lee! Lee!”
The employees, including Nina, also followed the fans and chanted “Lee,” looking at Ji-an with fond eyes.
Tat-tat-tat—!
Ji-an started to drive the ball forward. Then, with a fluid dribble, he easily brushed past one defender.
Paaang—!
And then, a light pass to the left. The pass connected perfectly without a hint of error.
Tat-tat-tat—!
In the meantime, Ji-an had already made it near the box. The ball was passed to him again…
And then, a magical event unfolded.
Whoosh—
Ji-an, with his back to the defender, caught the pass that was heading for an ambiguous height with his chest. Then,
Paaang—!
He kicked the falling ball high with the top of his foot and turned around. His ball control was so good it sent the ball flying over his own head and even the defender’s head behind him.
Shooo—
The ball drew a beautiful parabola, and the moment looked like it was in slow motion. At the same time, every single spectator rose from their seats.
Shooo—
And just before the ball hit the ground, Ji-an, who had moved a step ahead of the defense, reappeared as if charging in from off-screen. It was as if the ball was falling slowly while Ji-an moved like lightning.
Beeeeeeem—!
And a thunderous impact. Ji-an took the shot right then and there. It was a volley. The screen, which had been in slow motion, suddenly sped up as the ball was shot out.
Shoooooo—
And it was incredibly accurate—
Thwack!!
The net rippled. The ball was sucked perfectly into the top corner of the goal. It was the ideal volley that no goalkeeper could have stopped.
Everyone stared at Ji-an with their mouths agape. However, Ji-an simply ran toward the teammate who passed him the ball with a faint smile. As if it were nothing at all…!
“Lee! Lee! Lee! Lee! Lee! Lee! Lee!”
The fans’ cheers rained down on Ji-an, so loud it hurt their ears. And the next moment, an even more heartwarming scene unfolded.
The player who had passed the ball knelt on one knee, lifted Ji-an’s foot almost by force, and placed it on his own knee. Then, he made a motion as if polishing his shoes. It was a celebration that could be seen from time to time.
The fans watched with fond eyes, but the Puma employees watched with eyes that went beyond fondness and into ecstasy. That’s because, to their eyes, the soccer cleats Ji-an was wearing were incredibly vivid.
“An ad… has just appeared…”
Nina muttered, her face half-dazed. No brilliant idea could possibly be more brilliant than this.