The Man with a Warm Heart, Jesus -1
Jesus turned his wrist while staring at the away fans from Club Brugge, the Belgian soccer club. Coach Valverde, watching from beyond the touchline, clutched his head.
'Ah! I should've said no back then!'
He vividly recalled the conversation with Jesus, who had come to him right before the Champions League group stage match six.
[Boss, mind if I play against Club Brugge?]
[Someone's gotta lead the young prospects, right?]
[It's a home game—we gotta win this one, yeah?]
Jesus' face with that subtly upturned lip corner floated into his mind, and Coach Valverde let out a sigh.
"Damn it, that subtle smirk was a bad omen!"
But it was too late for regrets now. Valverde prayed Jesus wouldn't cause any more trouble, hurriedly prepped Jesus Gonzalez, and safely pulled Jesus off the bench before halftime ended.
Jesus returned to the bench with a satisfied grin. Jesus Gonzalez, subbed in, scored a second goal and sealed the deal, giving Real Madrid a 3-0 victory. Valverde ended up catching flak from local fans for unnecessarily playing Jesus and risking a card.
"Booooooooo!"
"Bald idiot Valverde!!"
"Why play Jesus in some meaningless game like this!!"
Match Result.
Real Madrid 3 : 0 Club Brugge
[Jesus: 'I trust the club will cover it for me.']
The last league match of the first half wrapped up, and winter break began. Following Real Madrid's event schedule, I headed to a pediatric cancer hospital near Madrid for volunteer work. The kids lit up and cheered when they saw us—the Kimchi Pirates.
"Waaah! It's the Kimchi Pirates!!"
"Captain, soccer god Jesus!!!"
"Squad 1 leader! Zealot Roberto Fabian!!"
"Squad 2 leader! Eternal Blancos Iker Bravo!!"
"Squad 3 leader, crazy poodle! Luis Garcia's here too!!"
"Squad 4 leader, answer bot Luka Savic!!"
The Kimchi Pirates, which started in Korea, had surprisingly caught on overseas with the same name. Luis Garcia grumbled but secretly loved being a captain.
"Hah? Who said I like it!"
Anyway, the kids at the event buzzed with excitement at the sight of the Kimchi Pirates.
"Jesus! How do you play soccer so well?!"
"Luis! Once I get better, I wanna be a soccer player too!"
Seeing kids in hospital gowns tugged at my heartstrings. A few around Yohan's age caught my eye—kids who should be running around wild, stuck in a hospital. It stung deep inside.
One kid in the corner shuffled over shyly. He was way smaller and skinnier than the others.
"...Um, Jesus?"
"Yeah? What's up?"
The kid hesitated bashfully. I crouched down to meet his eyes, giving him space to speak. He ducked his head even more, embarrassed, so I smiled and ruffled his hair.
After a long wait, his mouth finally opened slowly.
"...Could you, um, score against Atletico Madrid later and do a celebration I want?"
I chuckled softly at the cute kid and nodded.
"Sure thing~ What celebration we talking?"
With my okay, he beamed and prepped his demo. Oh right, hadn't asked his name yet.
Just as I thought to ask, the kid suddenly flipped me the bird.
"...Huh?"
"Do this to those dumb Atletico fuckers!"
I was stunned, but it was easy to see his parents were die-hard Madridistas. Anyway, we finished the volunteer work smoothly that day. When the video dropped on the YouTube channel, tons of people loved it. Oh, the kid's name was Raul, by the way.
The sweet winter break ended. Real Madrid players, refreshed from family time, returned to training in top form. Fans reflected on the first half, buzzing about the club's first-ever treble this season.
And the players delivered, dominating from the second-half opener with stellar play.
Match End.Real Madrid 5 : 0 Valencia