Chapter 244: 19-20 Club World Cup. (1)
“Hup.”
Hearing the commotion outside, my eyes opened on their own. The first thing I did when my eyes opened was to slip my hand into my panties.
“Huu... Good thing nothing happened.”
I don’t remember last night well, but in my sleep, was it a dream? Thinking about whether I saw a woman and maybe had a wet dream, or if I made a mistake with my friends, I put my hand inside my panties. The hand I put inside was not sticky and completely dry. I don’t remember showering before bed, but if I had made a mistake, the inside of my panties would have been sticky. Good thing.
'Yeah, I barely drank that much, so I couldn't have passed out.'
Looking at the clock, it's around 8 o'clock. Why was the outside so noisy? It seemed the other players were about to leave for school.
The players who joined the first team were almost free from the dormitory control, but if I was too late, I might not even eat breakfast, so after washing up a bit, I went straight down to the dining hall, and the kids were already eating.
“Oh. You woke up early?”
“I was woken up by Bruna.”
“I was woken up by Tina. Ha-neul, are you okay inside?”
“Yeah. What about you guys?”
“We’re good too.”
After exchanging greetings, I received my meal and sat down. It would have been perfect for a hangover, but since I couldn't expect that much at the dormitory dining hall, I ate with the kids while chatting appropriately to fill my empty stomach.
'Still, I didn't make any mistakes yesterday.'
While eating, I felt that I hadn't made any mistakes yesterday. If I had been crying and fussing like before, they would have teased me, but since they didn't, that's it. Honestly, I confirmed it, but since I had a memory of sleeping in that room yesterday, I was a bit uneasy, but luckily, it didn't turn embarrassing.
“Ha-neul.”
“Mm?”
After finishing my meal and trying to clean up, Camila called me.
“By the way, do you remember yesterday?”
“Yesterday?”
What mistake did I make? I looked at Camila with a slight tension. Asking a friend who drank if they remember the next day is always a terrifying thing.
“Yesterday, while talking about ideal types, you fell asleep... You don't remember?”
“Huu... I really didn't make any mistake.”
“Did I say something like that?”
“Yeah, I did.”
From Yu-ri adding to Camila's story and Valentina nodding quietly, it seems I didn't remember but said something like that.
Well, my answer would be the same after drinking or now.
“What ideal type? Since I won the Ballon d'Or, I have to win the World Cup next.”
The kids reacted with “of course” to my words. Probably said the same even while drunk yesterday.
“In that sense, after eating, let's meet in 20 minutes. Since I drank, I have to sweat out the alcohol and go to training.”
Since I couldn't get a hangover from food, the only way to sweat out the alcohol is through exercise. Besides, if I didn't do the jogging that's now a routine, the day would be tough.
“Are you coming out?”
To my question about participation, the friends' expressions soured. Only Bruna, who smiled brightly after sleeping from the one-shot yesterday, nodded her head. She woke up early but her body condition seems not good yet.
But the more so, it's necessary to loosen up the body with exercise.
'Well, like that time, if I run and vomit, it's even better.'
Anyway, recently when alcohol talk comes up, they tease me with it a lot, so making a counter card here isn't a bad choice.
“Okay.”
“Then see you later.”
My naive friends, not realizing my intention, nodded their heads pitifully.
'Just one of them, really.'
With that, I smiled wickedly inside, cleaned my tray, left the kids, and went up to the room first.
*
“Haa... I asked the right question, didn't I?”
“Yeah. If I hadn't asked, it would have been complicated. So, are you giving up? Until Korea wins the World Cup?”
“I'm not, of course. What about you, Yu-ri?”
“Me neither, of course. Honestly, winning the World Cup is too dream-like a thing.”
“But even if you win the World Cup, there's a problem. Since you're on the same team, it would be even better for you.”
“Yeah, that's right.”
After Ha-neul left the dining hall, Bruna found it a bit hard to follow the friends' conversation topic.
“What? What are you talking about? What are you giving up?”
“It's done. Let's go prepare.”
“What? What? Tell me too!”
“So, Bruna. In your opinion, can Korea win the World Cup?”
Finally, a topic to talk about. And Bruna's answer to that topic was simple.
“World Cup? Of course not. There's Brazil with me here.”
Korea winning the World Cup? That's impossible, even if you die and come back. Or is it possible if you die and come back? Anyway, Bruna said with confident voice, as if betting all her fortune that Korea can't win the World Cup, like everyone else.
“Sigh. You should be picked for the national team first.”
And looking at such Bruna, Valentina spat coldly and stood up with her tray. But Bruna couldn't say anything to that attitude of Valentina. There was a precedent where Valentina matched her words when she said she got up and did a big deal before Ha-neul came, when talking with friends.
Also, when Yu-ri shook her head looking at herself, I could understand. Because Korea was Yu-ri's home country too.
But even Camila, who is kind-hearted, sighed looking at herself, so something felt wrong.
'Did they catch me lying? Tina didn't tell the kids the truth, right?'
While Bruna was lost in vain thoughts, other friends stood up with their trays.
“Hey! Let's go together!”
I desperately called my friends, but they didn't even look back and walked away.
'Damn, from next time, I absolutely won't do one-shots...'
Thinking that if there's a next drinking session, I'll definitely stay till the end, Bruna chased after the friends.
*
- Barcelona home win 5:0 against Mallorca!
... Thanks to Ryu Ha-neul's hat-trick, Barcelona, who won 5:0 against Mallorca at home...
- Inter, home win 3:2 against Barcelona!
... Meanwhile, Barcelona, who confirmed advancement to the Champions League round of 16 as 1st place, gave rest to the starting players in the away match against Inter... Bruna and Kang Yu-ri, who started that day, recorded 1 goal and 1 assist and 1 goal respectively. But in the 78th minute of the second half, Simeone's counter goal from Inter made the score 3:2...
... Barcelona recorded 5 wins 1 loss, 15 points, advancing to the round of 16 as 1st in Champions League F group, and Dortmund succeeded in advancing to the round of 16 as 2nd with 10 points from 3 wins 1 draw 2 losses. Inter recorded 8 points from 2 wins 2 draws 2 losses, narrowly finishing 3rd in the group and suffering a disappointing exit...
- Barcelona, 2:1 win against Real Sociedad away!
... Barcelona won 2:1 against Real Sociedad away...
Meanwhile, with this match as the last, Barcelona's first half La Liga schedule ended. Barcelona boarded a flight to Qatar for the Club World Cup... The two matches in January are scheduled for early January...
*
Getting off the plane, an unexpectedly warm heat hit me. As expected, Qatar is Qatar, right?
It wasn't a pleasant thing that during the season, they hold an event where European teams always win like the Club World Cup, but the weather in Qatar where you can feel warmth even in winter was really nice.
And another nice thing was that even in mid-December, there was no sign of the epidemic spreading in China.
In my memory, around this time, there should have been chaos in China, but since there's none, it seems there won't be corona in this world.
As a football person, the fact that corona doesn't cause financial problems for each team is quite fortunate, and as a human being, that the worst epidemic doesn't spread is also really fortunate.
'Then, will the Ballon d'Or ceremony be held next year too?'
With the first half ending, my current record is 13 games 19 goals 6 assists in the league, and 3 goals 3 assists in the Champions League, cruising along. And such records will likely continue in the second half, so high probability of receiving the Ballon d'Or next year.
It seemed another goal was added after the treble, so my mood slightly lifted.
“Smiling right after getting off? Is there something good happening?”
Valentina, whose tone became strangely soft after drinking with me, asked me. From the softened tone, it seems I made some mistake while I couldn't remember.
Well, since the fact that Valentina's tone softened is more pleasing than some trivial mistake, I didn't particularly want to know what mistake I made.
“Of course, my mood is good. It's a chance to add one more to my winning career.”
I couldn't talk about corona with Valentina, so I deflected the words. But it wasn't a lie. The Club World Cup was also a path to the treble, and if I do the treble, the probability of receiving the Ballon d'Or increases.
What if I don't win?
That's honestly not a believable thing. No matter how much the Club World Cup is a tournament where champions from each continent gather, the Champions League is the highest level, and it's not easy for the winner of that tournament not to win the Club World Cup.
In the early days of the tournament, South American teams won, but after the late 2000s when the Club World Cup established itself, the formula that Champions League winner = Club World Cup winner was established.
So, this tournament is basically a slightly early vacation of about a week in a warm country?
Moreover, if there was no Club World Cup, I would have been in a physically burdened state facing Real Madrid, but thanks to the Club World Cup, the match against Real Madrid became the first match of the second half with relaxed physical condition, which was also quite a good thing.
“Ha-neul, so how are you going to spend this winter break?”
Camila, thinking this tournament is basically a vacation, asks how to spend the winter break.
“Well, first I have to get a license, and probably spend time at my grandma's house.”
This winter break is at most 8-9 days. It was a time too vague to go anywhere, so probably spend time at grandma's house.
“Oh... grandma's house? Now that I think about it, I've never been there. Can I come visit this time?”
Since it's not someone else, Camila, I thought it's okay to come visit, so I nodded my head and answered.
“Really?”
“Eh? Me too! Me too!”
And Yu-ri, who had spent the winter break together several times, raised her hand saying she wants to be included too. Well, it's okay if Yu-ri comes too. Grandma's house is quite spacious.
“What? Me too, I'll go.”
Bruna also there. Now the only one left is Valentina. When I turned my gaze to Valentina, she smiled faintly and nodded her head.
“In exchange.”
“In exchange?”
“If you win the Club World Cup, I'll invite you.”
To my words, the friends' eyes changed seriously. Winning is of course a given, but seeing the friends' eyes change seriously, why do I feel sorry for the opposing team?
So, I left the airport while apologizing to the opposing team.