Chapter 94
Chapter 94
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 94
Chapter Title: Birthday Present - 3
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"Hey, Romero! Let's go."
"Huh? Me?"
"Yes. The interview."
"Th-the interview...! Finally! At last!"
After the match ended.
At the coach's words, Romero let out a shriek and jumped up and down on the spot like a cartoon character.
"Yahoo!"
...What the.
I didn't know he could jump that high.
"Hehehe!"
Romero, who was happily hopping around, suddenly pointed at me and said.
"Sorry about this! The battle of the two genius rivals! Looks like I win today!"
...What is he talking about.
I stared at him blankly, as if to say 'are you for real?', and Romero flinched before scratching his head.
"S-sorry, I was just kidding! Alright... let's call it a draw..."
He was doing everything from drumming to beating the gong all by himself.
Romero headed out of the field with the coach, and I wiped the sweat off with my shirt, letting out a sigh.
"Phew."
Thank goodness.
Thanks to Romero's hat-trick, I wouldn't be dragged in front of the cameras today.
In fact, I can't deny that I had a bit of that in mind when I kept passing the ball to him.
Well, it's the same as usual, but I really didn't want to do an interview today.
If you ask why I didn't want to... well.
First of all, avoiding the media was becoming my motto.
And I felt especially uneasy today.
It felt like they would definitely ask about it.
That celebration I did in front of the camera after scoring the goal.
Well, it's obvious, isn't it?
'What was the meaning of that gesture?'
'Was it a secret message to someone?'
They'd probably pester me with questions about something that isn't even that important.
It's not like I'm embarrassed to answer it.
I just hate how interviews after a match are supposed to be about the game, but they always ask pointless things.
I'm serious.
I hate how a single word from me gets more attention than our team's victory.
I feel sorry for the coach and the older players, and it just feels bad.
Anyway... it's a relief that I didn't have to do the interview today.
If I had stood in front of the camera and the reporter had asked about the meaning of the celebration... what would I have said?
Hmm.
Honestly, I don't know either.
Why that memory came to me at that moment.
It just... suddenly popped into my head.
Truthfully, I had thought about it a lot, but I didn't have any ideas until I was standing on the touchline waiting to be substituted.
Once I went on the field, of course, I had no time to think about a celebration.
And then, after scoring the goal.
I saw a camera near the goalpost and walked over to it... and in that moment, a memory from elementary school flashed through my mind.
I don't know why that memory suddenly came to me.
It just... for a moment, that day's memory resurfaced as if I had opened a dusty old album.
Jieut and Ieung.
It was Jiu, who had told me to remember because her name and my name had the same initials.
So, I did that celebration.
Hmm.
But I don't know.
Whether Jiu would have recognized it.
Truthfully, I just thought of it suddenly, it wasn't something that even remained in my head usually.
It's questionable whether Jiu even remembers that time.
Probably not at all.
It's actually strange to remember it.
That was already several years ago.
Hasn't it been over 4 years? It really was when we were young.
"..."
I found myself smiling without realizing it while thinking about those days.
Am I getting old too?
I keep reminiscing about memories from my childhood.
...By the way, for some reason, I hope Jiu remembers it too.
I just... hope she does.
Because... it's too embarrassing for me to explain the meaning of this celebration myself.
Yeah.
So for that reason... I hoped that Jiu was also thinking of the same time right now.
···
"Now I'm really your noona?"
"..."
"For the next three months, you have to call me noona."
"I don't want to."
"Wha-? Look at this brat's manners. To a noona who's a whole year older."
"I'm going to call you 'you'."
"Wow, I can't believe this. You're sixteen, and I'm seventeen."
Give me a break.
Who's lacking 'heo' now?
I tried to ignore Jiu's words telling me to call her noona, and nibbled on the panna cotta with a small spoon.
After returning home, we were having an early dinner at a dessert shop located next to the Arno River.
The simple birthday party, which consisted of a meal and blowing out the candles on a cake, was held at home with Dad, and he told us to go out and spend some time together, so here we are.
Nonetheless, Jiu is still obsessed with being called noona.
"Try calling me noona."
"...I've been wondering about something since before."
"Huh? What is it?"
"You want to hear the word 'noona' from a friend? I think I'd feel sick if a friend called me 'oppa'."
When I asked because I didn't understand, Jiu clicked her tongue.
"It's not that I want to hear 'noona', it's that I'm your noona, so you should call me noona. I'm right, aren't I?"
"You're not."
"How am I not?"
"...I don't know."
Well, what she's saying is technically correct.
Here, they go by age based on birthday.
Jiu has officially turned 17, and I'm still 16.
Still, I can't call her noona.
"Say 'noona'."
"No."
"Noona~"
"No~"
"This won't do. I have to tell Mom. A little kid keeps calling me 'you'."
As we were having a ridiculous argument, Jiu said that and suddenly took out her phone.
And then she made a call to someone...
"Hello? Mom!"
...It seems she really called her mom.
Thanks to that, I unconsciously stood at attention, and Jiu, while continuing the call, kept her eyes on me and smirked oddly.
"Yeah, yeah. But Mom, hold on a sec. I'll call you back on video. Okay, okay."
Then she hung up and called again.
In the meantime, I got anxious and said urgently.
"W-why a video call all of a sudden..."
"What's wrong? Can't I do a video call with my mom?"
"No... it must be early morning in Korea right now."
"My mom usually stays up late. Ah, it's connected. Mom!"
The call connected eventually, and Jiu beamed and waved at the phone.
She was just on the phone with her...
But seeing her face must be a new experience.
Jiu went back to the beginning, exchanging greetings, and giggled like a child, talking about how her makeup looked today or if she seemed to have gained a little weight.
Just a moment ago, she was acting like she was the only one doing the 'noona' thing.
When she's with her mom, she turns into a 7-year-old, not a 17-year-old.
In the meantime, Jiu calling her 'Mom, Mom' pricks my heart.
Hmm...
"Ah, Mom. It's not about that, but you know. I'm with Jee-an right now. Should I show you his face?"
Jiu looked at me with an expression that said, 'Just you wait and see if you don't get an earful', and I shrugged my shoulders and waved my hands in denial.
But from the other side of the phone, Jiu's mom's voice was heard, saying she really wanted to see me.
Jiu nodded and turned the screen towards me, and I bowed my head more awkwardly than ever before.
Talking into the phone.
"Ah, hello."
- Oh, who's this. Our son! It's been so long, hasn't it, Auntie? Do you remember me?
"O-of course I remember."
- Really? Oh my, oh my, that's a relief. I was worried our Jee-an had forgotten all about me!
A beauty who looked exactly like Jiu covered her mouth and laughed on the screen.
Hearing the phrase 'our son' after so long, the awkwardness disappeared as if I had gone back in time, and a natural smile settled on my lips.
"There's no way I'd forget."
- That's a relief!
Like I'd ever forget.
I see Jiu, who looks exactly like her mother, every day.
Her voice and manner of speaking are also a spitting image.
Jiu calling me 'our Jee-an', 'our Jee-an' was also something her mother always used to say when I went to her house as a kid.
- Oh, I'm always so grateful to our Jee-an. Thank you for taking such good care of Jiu, I'm always praying for you and grateful.
"Th-thank you. Taking good care of, haha..."
- You know what Jiu always says? Today, she went out somewhere with Jee-an, today Jee-an bought her something, today-
As the mother's words continued, Jiu snatched the phone and snapped.
"Ah, Mom! Stop talking nonsense and just scold him! He's a whole year younger but he keeps calling me 'you' instead of 'noona'."
Then she turned the screen back to me, but the mother on the screen just clicked her tongue and laughed.
- Noona, my foot. Kim Jiu is so funny, isn't she?
"She is."
- We'd be lucky to have him as a son-in-law, and she's talking about being a noona. Right?
"..."
I widened my eyes at the unexpected word, and the mother laughed just like Jiu.
- Please understand our Jee-an. She's the youngest in a family with three daughters. She's been making a fuss about wanting a little brother since she was little. Looks like she still hasn't fixed that habit.
"Ah, haha..."
- A little thing like her, what noona. Right?
"Exactly."
Our conversation was perfectly in sync, and Jiu, holding the phone, looked away and pouted.
- Anyway, I know it's shameless, but please take good care of Jiu from now on too. Well, you'd take good care of her anyway, our Jee-an! Didn't she say you even gave her a birthday present this time?
"Huh? Ah, that..."
- She was bragging, bragging. Said she got the happiest gift she's ever received in her-
"Ah, Mom! Quit it!"
Before the mother could finish her sentence, Jiu snatched the phone again.
And then she yelled, telling her to stop talking nonsense.
She dares to talk back to her mother like that.
Anyway, at Jiu's threat to hang up, the mother said she just wanted to see her face one last time.
Jiu turned the screen back to me.
On the screen, the mother was pouting with the exact same expression as Jiu.
- That girl has such a temper. You must have a hard time, Jee-an.
"I sure do."
- But please take good care of her. It's harder than anything else to make a home in a strange land at such a young age, our Jee-an knows that best, doesn't he? Jiu has you, but how hard must it have been for our Jee-an, all alone.
"......Yes."
I was taken aback by the mother's words, dazed for a moment, then nodded and answered.
It stung a little in a corner of my heart to hear such unexpected words from an unexpected person in a completely unforeseen situation.
I never knew that someone acknowledging how hard it was for me could be this comforting.
- So please play with Jiu often from now on too. Of course, our Jee-an must be incredibly busy, but Jiu also came to Italy to study abroad because of Jee-an-
Whoosh!
Third time.
Jiu snatched the phone for the third time, snapped at her mother, waved her hand irritably, and abruptly hung up.
"Why did you hang up? I couldn't even say goodbye."
"She was talking too much nonsense. Seriously, my mom talks too much. It's annoying."
"Don't you dare be annoyed at your mom."
"Tch, we usually play like this."
I let out a small laugh as I watched Jiu pout and grumble.
Her face, her personality, her way of talking.
It's useless to get annoyed at her mother, who is exactly like her; it's like spitting in the wind.
"Hey, I'm going to the bathroom."
"Okay."
Anyway, Jiu kept grumbling as she headed to the bathroom, and I leaned back in my chair for a moment and looked at the scenery outside the terrace.
The setting sun was casting its glow over the gently flowing Arno River, and a soft breeze was blowing.
It was a scenery that made my heart feel at ease.
"..."
Hmm.
But what was she trying to say at the end?
And, before that.
She definitely said something about 'the happiest gift she's ever received'...
"..."
I unconsciously twitched the corners of my mouth and wiped it away with a dry hand.
While I was doing that, Jiu came back from the bathroom, and the golden sunset light was reflected on her face.
"What are you looking at."
"...Your face."
"Why, am I too pretty? Can't you take your eyes off me?"
"...What are you talking about."
"Hey, but my mom and I look exactly alike, right?"
I nodded at Jiu's question.
Then Jiu smiled a dangerous smile and asked again.
"So then. What do you think of my mom? Is she pretty, or not pretty?"
"..."
The moment I heard that question, I felt like I was surrounded by three defenders at a corner flag.
There was no way out.
If I say she's not pretty, it's like insulting my friend's mother, and if I say she is pretty...
"Uh-uh, you're hesitating? Should I tell Mom? That Jee-an said she's ugly."
At Jiu's prodding, I let out a sigh and looked at the sunset again.
My face must already be reddened by the sunset.
"She's pretty."
"So that means I'm pretty too since I look like her. Okay, got it. End of discussion. Don't say anything more. Shh."
I looked at Jiu with an incredulous expression, and she burst out laughing.
It seems women are the type who can't be satisfied unless they get confirmation for something they already know.