The 19-20 Copa del Rey Final (1)
Back at the La Masia dormitory after the Atalanta match, I looked at the girls who hadn't gone back to their rooms yet and spoke up first.
"Want to watch the match together tomorrow?"
"S-should we?"
"Mm..."
They all knew things had gotten strangely awkward between us — with me at the center of it — so aside from Camila, nobody sounded particularly enthusiastic. These days, the only time we even gathered as a group was for training, and even then everyone was so busy reading everyone else that we barely said anything that wasn't strictly necessary.
"What's with those faces? I'm in. Tomorrow's a rest day anyway. Let's watch it, Ha-neul. Actually, isn't it weirder that you're even asking? We always watch the big matches together."
Bruna, of course, hadn't picked up on the atmosphere at all, and accepted the invitation with a sunny smile.
"Tomorrow's a huge match. Real Madrid and Lyon."
I picked up from there, ignoring the stiffness in the air and pressing on.
The winner of that tie would be our semifinal opponent, so the match itself mattered — but that wasn't the only reason I wanted us together.
My friends and I were Barcelona's core prospects. Camila and I were already first-team regulars, and unless someone transferred out, we were going to have to lead this club together for at least the next ten years.
If this awkwardness calcified? The team wasn't going to function. My own greed had gotten us here, and I needed to put it right as fast as I could.
Step one was simply making time to be in the same place. If you wanted to stitch something back together that felt like it was coming apart, you started by spending time side by side. Let this drift go on long enough and the distance would set like concrete.
"Yeah. Let's watch it together. It's no fun alone."
"...Alright."
Camila had already said yes. Yu-ri glanced at Bruna and nodded. Valentina looked at Yu-ri, then finally gave in last.
Phew... one step, at least.
Watching my friends head up toward the girls' floor, a sigh slipped out of me on its own. I'd juggled plenty of casual partners before, but I had never been in love with several people at once, and the thought of it scared me a little.
But I'd chosen this. That meant I had to live with it — even if I had no idea how the whole thing would end.
And so, the next day.
I did everything I could to avoid being alone with any one of them, so nobody would get the wrong idea, and waited for the Champions League quarterfinal second leg between Real Madrid and Lyon to start. Before I knew it, kickoff was almost here.
"You're here? I've been waiting."
"Not like I had anything else to do."
Bruna arrived first, a light sheen of sweat on her from kicking a ball around outside. I'd originally planned to put her next to me and take the seat on the end so nobody would start anything — but seeing the sweat, I figured I ought to sit a little farther away.
"Ha-neul! Bruna! You two got here first?"
"Where's Tina?"
"Tina? Uh... no idea?"
Camila came in alone after that, even though she shared a room with Valentina, and dropped into the seat beside me.
"Oh, Yu-ri's here."
"I told her we should come together, and she goes off to kick a ball an hour early. We even had a match yesterday."
"Gotta loosen up before we watch. Sit here."
"Uh..."
Yu-ri clearly had no interest in sitting next to a sweaty Bruna — roommate or not — and took the seat beside Camila instead.
"...You're all here already? Bruna, what is that?"
"Hm? I was just kicking a ball around."
"You... forget it. Never mind."
Only after the four of us had already gathered did Valentina finally show up. She took one look at Bruna's sweat-damp face, her expression collapsing into a scowl, and sat down next to Yu-ri.
...Which means I have no choice but to sit next to Bruna.
With all five of us here, Bruna naturally edged over into the seat beside mine. At least we were in chairs and not on a sofa, so our bodies didn't have to touch. Small mercies.
There was a faint smell of sweat, sure — but the upside was that Bruna's presence had the others clustered together in a little huddle. When Camila and Valentina had shown up separately despite sharing a room, my heart had lurched. Seeing them bunched up like this, though, the crack didn't feel that wide yet. That, at least, was a relief.
Once everyone had settled, the match was already kicking off on the TV.
We could have gone downstairs and watched it on a better screen, but mixing in with the academy kids was its own kind of uncomfortable. They were still youth players, and we were already first-team — already adults — and they could feel it. We felt it too, which was why we'd ended up in the meeting room with the tactical-analysis TV.
I guess that means it's about time we left the dorms.
While that thought was still turning over, the commentators started in with their greetings.
Spanish broadcast, so of course the commentary had a faintly Real Madrid-friendly tilt.
"Who do you think's going through?"
"Madrid, right? Has to be them."
"I hope it's Lyon..."
"Getting scared, Yu-ri?"
"Scared? Please. I just want an easy ride, that's all."
Each of them tossed in a line over the commentators, and I sat there listening.
Phew... at least they're talking to each other when we're all in the same room.
I wanted to jump in, but I held my tongue. One wrong word from me and the whole mood could seize up again.
"Those bastards have completely given up on the league. That's a full-strength eleven."
One look at both lineups and it was obvious: full power against full power. Real Madrid had all but fallen out of the title race and already crashed out of the cup, and Lyon were stuck behind Paris Saint-Germain with no realistic path to the league either. The Champions League was the only thing either of them had left to play for.
And if it was going to be a collision of two teams going all-out, Real Madrid held the edge. That much was unavoidable.
Except my prediction was wrong from the opening minutes. It was Lyon who came pouring forward.
"What is this? Are those bastards all on their periods today or something?"
"Right? They might actually get caught here."
Lyon's early surge had the girls' energy climbing fast.
"Hey. Ha-neul's sitting right here. What's with the period talk?"
"..."
Bruna's complete lack of tact knocked the mood down a peg — but only a peg.
Our little dip in atmosphere didn't change a thing on the pitch. The match kept tilting Lyon's way.
...If they can just nick one before halftime, this could actually go either way.
There was nothing flashy about it, but watching Lyon pin Real Madrid back like this was genuinely gripping, and I forgot to keep one eye on the girls and just watched.
And just as I'd hoped, Lyon found the opener.
"Yes! That's it!"
"Let's go!"
"Come on, Lyon!"
Not a single person in the room was rooting for Real Madrid, so the place filled with the girls' excited voices and the slap of high-fives going around. I high-fived Bruna beside me and sat back down — and just like that, the quiet crept in again.
...Yeah. Just sitting in the same room isn't going to be enough to break this awkwardness.
Still — if they were high-fiving on instinct, the thing was still salvageable.
Against every expectation, the match ended with Lyon going through. Real Madrid — a genuine threat — were out, and a strange, giddy heat filled the room.
"Alright, I'm going outside to kick a ball around. My whole body's itching. Anyone coming? ...Nobody? Wow. You watch a match like that and you don't even want to play? Fine. I'm going by myself. ...Tch."
Bruna clicked her tongue and headed out, and the leftover heat in the room settled almost immediately into a lull.
Still. The mood isn't bad. Just awkward, that's all.
"Hey."
"Hm?"
"...Yeah."
"..."
I'd kept my mouth shut the entire match, so when I finally called out to them, every pair of eyes turned toward me.
"Our next match is the Copa del Rey final. After it's over, we should all grab a drink together — just the four of us. The club won't throw a party with this much season left, but... we'll be staying at the hotel for a night anyway. Assuming we win, of course."
The high of a trophy, plus enough alcohol to loosen everybody up, and maybe we'd finally say the things we'd been sitting on. Maybe that would be enough to push through this stiffness.
"Okay. I'm in."
Camila first.
"...I don't really mind either."
Then Yu-ri.
"...Then I guess we'd better win. I'm curious what you're going to say after calling us all together."
And last of all, Valentina — the one I'd figured would be the angriest — said yes, and we were able to leave the room we'd been watching in.
...The walk back was a little awkward, given that we were all headed to the same dorm floor.