110. Not Bad -1
"Wake up. We're here."
"Mmm… mmm…?"
"I said we're here, so wake up."
"Mmm… mmm…"
The plane had already landed in Florence. I nudged Saponara, who was sitting beside me, awake.
But the senior couldn't come to his senses and only mumbled something like drunken sleep-talking.
"Good grief."
At that, I sighed and shook my head.
Just what had he done last night to end up like this?
"Ugh… I'm going crazy… my stomach…"
"Guess you drank too much. Ugh!"
It wasn't just Saponara; nobody could pull themselves together.
I'd heard that the dinner that started in the evening had stretched into a dawn party.
Naturally, Romero and I had been kicked back to our rooms early, so we couldn't see what the party was like.
Something about it being a party they couldn't let the little kids join.
Well, I hadn't planned on staying long anyway, but getting kicked out still irritated me for no reason.
"Argh… get yourselves together, all of you. You look terrible. Fix your hair. Straighten your clothes. Okay?"
"Yeees…"
Anyway, at the manager's words, everyone hurriedly tried to pull themselves together.
I stifled a laugh as I saw Saponara slapping his own head next to me.
"Argh, I'm dying."
Hm.
But the funnier thing was that the manager looked the worst of all.
His face was so swollen that I’d have thought he was someone else, not the manager.
I felt like I knew who'd partied the hardest yesterday without even having seen it.
"Let's go. Let's get going."
"Let's get off."
Anyway, we prepared to disembark.
Honestly, there wasn't really any need to fuss over our appearance before getting off.
But right now, there was a need for that.
Because the moment we got off… a bus was waiting for us.
And of course, it wasn't just any bus, but a special kind.
"Maknae, hold onto it tight."
"Yes."
After finishing preparations to get off, I carefully held the trophy in my arms and got up from my seat.
Soon the door opened, and the seniors filed out one by one. I followed them out, and the closer I got to the door, the more boisterous it became.
And the moment I faced the intense sunlight of Florence……
"Waaaaah!"
I saw countless cameras and cheering people.
Everyone gazed at us with sparkling eyes.
I held the trophy high toward them, just as the seniors had told me to.
Then the people cheered even louder, and looking at them, I broke into a grin.
*
Having transferred to a rather unusually built bus at the airport, we headed for the city center.
What do I mean by unusually built? Hm.
First, it was a double-decker, but I guess you'd say the second floor had no ceiling.
It was wide open so we could see outside, and it was the kind of bus where people outside could see us too.
"Hold on tight. You'll fall."
"Yes."
"Hey, you're not scared, are you?"
"Sc-scared? I'm not scared at all."
"Not scared, my foot. Your lips are bone-dry. Hahaha!"
Sitting in the front seat clutching the trophy tightly, the captain pointed at me and cackled.
This is ridiculous. What do I have to be scared of?
……Hm.
I am a little scared. I can't look down.
If I drop the trophy, it'll be a real disaster, so I better hold on tight.
"Guys, look at Maknae's hand turning white. Guess he's scared."
"What, the maknae's scared of heights? Not very manly."
"Don't tell me you can't even ride amusement park rides?"
"He's a baby. A baby."
With the seniors cackling like that, I ignored them appropriately and stared straight ahead, holding the trophy tightly.
We're supposed to be adults, yet all they think about is teasing whenever they get a chance.
I don't know when they'll ever grow up.
And to think, the same people who were saying they were dying on the plane just now are each holding a bottle of booze again.
Tsk tsk.
As I clicked my tongue and shook my head, the childish seniors burst into even louder laughter.
But it wasn't long after.
Around when the bus entered the road leading into the city center.
The seniors' laughter began to die down bit by bit.
And soon, when the city center had come close enough to take in at a glance… everyone was making an expression similar to mine.
"Holy shit, is this for real?"
"...Are we in trouble?"
"There's that many?"
And it was understandable… what the hell was going on.
From far away, it was packed shoulder-to-shoulder with people.
At this level, it seemed like all the people of Florence had taken to the streets.
The streets, no, the entire city was purple.
People in purple uniforms, purple flags fluttering from streets and buildings everywhere…
I wondered if this was how they had welcomed soldiers returning victorious from war in the old days.
Well, depending on how you looked at it, it might not be wrong.
Since we too had fought, won, and returned.
"Hoo."
Sitting in the very front, I gulped and gripped the trophy tightly.
And the moment the bus entered the city center.
Waaaaaaaaah-!!
A tremendous roar poured out until nothing else could be heard, and I held up the trophy I'd promised to bring back, showing it to everyone.
Wow, what would I have done if I hadn't brought this?
Thank goodness, seriously.
Well, anyway.
I'd kept my promise, so that's what mattered.
"Yeeeeeeah-!"
"Campióne!!"
Countless people beyond the horizon cheered for us, and we too cheered for them.
Still gripping the trophy tightly, I looked down at the city from the top of the double-decker bus.
A sudden thought occurred to me.
Representing a single city… I thought it was a pretty cool thing.
*
"Haaaah…"
Home at last.
After a quick shower, lying on my bed in my room, a long sigh escaped automatically.
All my energy had been sucked out completely; I had no strength at all.
Circling the city in a bus was harder than the 90 minutes of the final match.
I was grateful that everyone had welcomed us so passionately, but lying in a quiet room, I couldn't believe how comfortable it was.
My bed in my room really is the best.
"..."
Letting all the tension drain from my body, lying comfortably, I stared quietly at the ceiling.
Come to think of it, I've grown quite attached to this house.
It had been barely a little over a year since I'd woken up to see this ceiling.
Yet it felt so much more like my own home than the house in Korea where I'd lived since birth, or even the house in Torino where I'd lived for over two years.
I liked how the scenery of the room stayed the same no matter what happened.
However, conversely, I wondered if I hadn't changed too much.
Just a year ago… I was nothing but a loner.
Except when commuting to the training ground, I never left the house, and even on the way to work, I didn't exchange greetings with people, let alone make eye contact.
There were even days when I didn't say a single word at the training ground.
And yet, that me… had just returned from receiving the cheers of everyone in the city.
Everyone smiled and waved at me, called my name, and waved my uniform.
My teammates kept calling for me and teasing me, being a nuisance.
In just one year, everything had changed.
But it wasn't that other people had changed.
What changed was me.
I think that people only changed because I changed.
Yeah. I've changed a lot.
Even I think so.
The me who had found it difficult to even make eye contact with people had become someone who now stood before tens of thousands, and there was no longer anyone who didn't know my name, which even the coach had once confused.
So many things had truly changed, and in the process, there were many things I'd had to give up on or endure.
Now I couldn't go outside without any disturbances, I had to be careful with my actions and words, and I had to work harder and harder to meet the ever-growing expectations.
I'd become someone who couldn't live doing only what I wanted like before.
But if you ask whether I hate those changes because of that…… well.
I don't.
If I think about which me—the one from a year ago, or the one right now—would be a more proud friend to Jiu and a more proud son to Dad… it's definitely the current me.
In the end, it's a change I chose, and I'm thankful that I was able to change.
A year from now, two years from now, I'll change and change again.
However, there's one thing I want to promise myself won't change.
Not forgetting why I decided to change, and how I was able to change.
Because I know.
That all of this isn't a change achieved solely by my own strength alone.
If I had been alone, I could never have changed.
I'd still be holed up alone in my room.
That's why no matter how much my surroundings change or where I stand, I won't forget what I wanted to change for and how I was able to change.
A promise.
If I forget that, I'm Jiu's little brother.
"Haa."
The season, which had felt especially long, had ended, and lying here reflecting on the past year, various emotions swirled within me.
As I was exhaling those complex, subtle emotions with a sigh, the door suddenly burst open.
"Hey, you asleep?"
It's Jiu.
Jiu, munching on an apple as she opened the door and came in, looked around the room needlessly and asked.
"Did you at least shower before lying down?"
"...I showered."
Jiu mostly picks fights as a way of expressing boredom.
Knowing she's not actually trying to fight but is just really bored, I answer her appropriately.
"But hey. Can't you knock before coming in?"
"What knock between you and me. Don't be so stiff."
"How do you know what I could be doing, barging in like that."
...What if I'd been sleeping in just my underwear?
When I said that, Jiu suddenly made a strange smile and answered.
"Why? What were you going to do? Huh?"
"...It's not about what I was going to do. I'm saying knock first."
"Geez, men are all the same."
"...?"
"Alright, alright. I'll knock from now on. Happy?"
"...Yeah."
Jiu's expression, as if she were doing me a favor, was absurd, but I didn't have the energy to argue right now, so I nodded roughly.
"Sleepy?"
"...Yeah."
"Really sleepy? Too sleepy to even go for a short walk?"
"......Yeah."
...She must be really bored.
Her mouth popping out asking for a walk when I said I don't have the energy to play with her—she's like a puppy sulking because she can't go for a walk.
Come to think of it, her face does kind of look like a puppy too.
What was that called again?
"What. Why are you grinning at my face?"
"You… you look like a dog."
"...Like a dog?"
"No, I mean… Ah. Is it a Pomeranian? You kind of look like that."
"Oh my. What's with you."
Complaining yet seemingly not displeased, the corners of Jiu's lips twitched. I decided not to add the words 'a really fierce one.'
"Anyway, yeah. If you're sleepy, sleep. Since the season's over, you'll have a lot of time from now on, right?"
"Yeah..."
"Alright. Sleep tight."
Maybe because I really looked tired.
Jiu left while munching on her apple, and I stared blankly at the closed door.
Then a snicker escaped me.
A sudden, absurd greed took hold in my heart.
Even as I change, I wish Jiu would remain exactly as she is, never changing.
"..."
My eyes slowly closed.
...
The next season, that is, the opening day of the 2022-23 season, is August 14th.
It's roughly two months away, but looking at it like this, the break isn't that long.
Considering that preseason starts even earlier, the actual rest period is effectively only about a month.
I hadn't decided specifically what to do during that time.
Not because there was nothing to do, but because there was too much—I didn't know where to start.
First, I needed to get some real rest, participate in some events held by the club, and do individual training to make up for lacking areas.
And on top of that, I had to make time to hang out with Jiu.
Somehow there was more to do than during the season when I only had to play matches.
If only I had two bodies, no, exactly three, how nice would that be.
Then I could spend the summer a bit more leisurely.
Anyway, this summer didn't seem like it would be as leisurely a vacation as I'd hoped.
...Starting from today, even.
"...How is it?"
Coming out of the fitting room wearing awkward clothes, standing awkwardly, I asked Jiu.
"Hmm……"
At that, Jiu looked me up and down, then shrugged.
"Well, it's not bad."
"Not to the point of looking good?"
"Well… since it's a good day, I'll say it suits you."
...Suits me, my foot. I'm dying of awkwardness here.
Why is this damn tie strangling my neck like this?
"..."
Standing in front of the mirror, I awkwardly looked at my reflection.
A suit and tie.
I'd worn one once before for a photoshoot, but I'd never thought the day would come when I'd buy and wear something like this with my own money.
It was all because of the award ceremony this evening.
Was it the Serie A Awards?
The Italian name was much longer, but it was too hard so I couldn't memorize it.
Anyway, I'd been invited.
I didn't want to go because it was a hassle, but they insisted I come.
So that's why I'm like this now.
"Well, the size seems right, so I guess I'll just go with this."
Since I probably wouldn't wear it more than twice anyway, I'd just buy it all like this.
I finished paying without bothering to look at the price tags.
"I'm done. Now let's go buy yours."
"Y-yeah."
But that wasn't the end.
Now it was time to buy clothes for Jiu to wear.
When I'd asked if family members could come to the award ceremony too, she'd said she had nothing else to do and would come.
Dad and Jiu were going to come with me.
Dad was fine since he had clothes he could wear, but Jiu was about at my level, so she needed to prepare too.
"Hm, but I heard from the seniors."
"Yeah?"
"That, what is it. Women usually wear, like, dresses or something?"
"Dresses? I haven't worn a dress since kindergarten."
Well, I didn't really know either.
When I'd asked the captain, he'd said it's basically standard for women to wear dresses.
"Well… if that's the etiquette, I should follow it, I guess."
"Yeah. Since it's etiquette."
"Right. Etiquette. We are from the Land of Eastern Etiquette, after all."
"That's true."
"Then well… shall we go take a look?"
I wasn't sure, but the people here really valued something called TPO.
They said wearing clothes appropriate for the time, place, and occasion was very, very basic manners.
The reason we'd arrived at an extravagantly fancy store that we felt intimidated even entering was purely that.
It was absolutely not because I wanted to see Jiu in a dress.
"Welcome. Might I ask what product you are here to see?"
"Ah, well… a dress…"
"Ah, you mean a dress for the lady. If you don't mind, may I assist you?"
Hm.
I suppressed a laugh that nearly burst out at the word "lady."
These places really are on another level when it comes to service.
At the staff member's friendly greeting the moment we entered the store, we, knowing nothing, could only nod our heads.
Jiu followed the staff member awkwardly, and I sat in a chair for a moment, clearing my throat awkwardly as I waited.
After waiting like that for a few minutes.
That same staff member returned alone, looked around, and whispered to me.
"I'm a huge fan."
"Ah… thank you."
"She'll be coming out now. Please say she's pretty no matter what. No matter what. That's the wisdom for getting through life."
"...Huh?"
Wisdom out of nowhere.
I looked at the staff member with a bewildered face, and the staff member winked, closing one eye.
......What does that mean?