“This is driving me crazy. Those damned bastards.”
“Is this as far as we go?”
“Hey, let’s just go to sleep. Whew.”
The moment the slip of paper bearing our team’s name was unfolded from inside a ball the size of a fist.
Some sighed, some screamed, and some raged.
The room was completely filled with lamentation.
“No, how the hell are we supposed to take on Man City...”
“We were clapping and cheering for Benfica, but who knew we’d be the ones following them.”
“Do we even stand a chance?”
“Ha, I don’t know. For now, I guess I’ve got to stop Haaland.”
Even when we’d been drawn in the same group as Paris Saint-Germain with Messi, it hadn’t been this bad.
Everyone was growing deathly serious, reacting as if they’d met the Grim Reaper himself.
To be honest, having watched them all this time through thick and thin, they might have been prone to some exaggeration, but they generally had strongly optimistic personalities.
They were seniors who always had a “let’s just try it no matter who we meet” kind of attitude.
“Ha...”
Now, even the captain was clutching his head and sighing, so it really hit me that we’d finally met our worst possible opponent.
Well, no wonder...
“Man City won the year before last and last year, right?”
“The league? Yeah.”
“I heard they’re going for the treble this year.”
“It looked possible. I mean, even their bench players are basically starters for big clubs.”
“If you compare market values, they’re probably dozens of times higher than ours.”
Even I, who don’t really keep up with other countries’ leagues, know exactly what level of team Man City is, so that says it all.
Come to think of it, was it during last season?
I remembered when I’d been flipping through channels and happened across a broadcast of the match between Man City and Man Utd.
I remembered genuinely admiring them back then.
Watching Man City play football, that is.
I’d watched with my mouth hanging open, realizing there was a team that actually played football like that.
The shock was so novel that it even gave me chills, and the memory was still vivid.
And yet, now we were going to face a team like that.
On a single-log bridge called the Round of 16, no less.
So I could understand my seniors’ reactions.
But... hmm, how should I put it.
I thought we were in big trouble too.
But deep down, part of me thought this would be fun.
Everyone else was in despair, so if I said I thought it would be fun, I’d obviously get beaten up, which is why I couldn’t say it out loud.
But somehow... I felt like it might actually be fun.
“Hey, Maknae.”
“...Yes?”
While I was lost in those thoughts, I answered the captain’s call.
Before I knew it, he had even clasped his hands together.
“...You’re the only one I can believe in.”
His voice, his expression—
There was something so desperate about them that he looked as if he were praying to God.
But then, as if he’d made some kind of mistake,
he shook his head, waved his hands, and spoke again.
“Ah, never mind. I was just saying. Don’t worry about it.”
...What the hell. Back and forth like that.
I shrugged at the captain’s awkward display.
Then it suddenly occurred to me why the captain had told me not to worry about it.
Perhaps he was worried I might feel burdened by something he’d just said off the cuff.
Hmm.
There was no need for that anymore, though.
I said as if it were nothing,
“What’s there to be afraid of? I’m here.”
...Ugh.
I’d said it to mean “don’t worry” so the captain wouldn’t needlessly fret.
Even I thought it was a cringeworthy thing to say, so I nonchalantly looked away.
Of course, the seniors didn’t let the opportunity slip.
“Ooh, what’s with that confidence!”
“Is this the spirit of an all-time genius who shone as the U-16 league top scorer and Player of the Year!”
“Well, even if they offered us any of Man City’s players, we wouldn’t trade you for them, right?”
“Ri! Ri! Ri! Ri! Ri!”
Soon, the room grew noisy with the seniors’ chants of “Ri!”, so I sighed, covered my ears, and got up from my seat.
Then I waved my hand and said,
“Everyone, get out now. We need to sleep, don’t we?”
I hadn’t been able to sleep earlier, but thanks to my uncontrollable seniors, weariness crashed over me in waves.
Feeling like at least I wouldn’t have to worry about insomnia, I waved them out.
“Why? Let’s hang out a little longer.”
“Shall we sleep together?”
Of course, they weren’t the type to obediently leave just because I told them to, but...
“Come on!”
“Okay, okay!”
“Wow, he’s kicking us out now.”
“The reporters should’ve seen this!”
I wasn’t the me of old anymore.
I wasn’t going to stand there and take it.
I grabbed the seniors lying on the bed, and while I was at it, kicked Senior Saponara in the rear as he opened the fridge again.
Thanks to the seniors who kept on resisting, it took quite a while to drive them out.
“Just five more minutes...”
“Ah, go. Hurry!”
With a final push to Bonaventura, who’d held out until the very end, I finally managed to send everyone out and defend my room.
Really, what was with their tenacity?
It made me think that perhaps the teams who’d played against us had a hard time precisely because of this.
“Whew.”
Anyway, I sighed and lay down on the bed I’d finally reclaimed.
For some reason, a laugh slipped out.
Well, they all seemed childish, but... I thought that it was precisely because of teammates like them that I’d adapted to the team so quickly.
Well, maybe they were all pretending to be childish on purpose.
Since they were all quite a bit older than me.
To make me feel comfortable, to approach me like a friend.
Thinking about it that way, didn’t that make them truly mature seniors?
In many ways, I felt like I wasn’t exactly lacking when it came to the luck of having good teammates.
So it suddenly occurred to me that I didn’t want to lose in the Round of 16 match a few months from now, either.
The seniors had been going on about the difference in market value between themselves and the Man City players, but
if I were asked who I wanted to play with, there would be no hesitation in my choice.
It was because I wanted to win with these teammates.
On the other hand, that also made me feel a bit regretful.
Because tomorrow I was going back to Italy, and I’d have to be apart from my teammates for a while.
Moreover, it wasn’t just that I’d be apart from them for a while; I’d also be meeting them as opponents.
That was the case with Senior Torreira.
The next schedule was the national team fixtures, the World Cup that would be held in Qatar.
Senior Torreira’s Uruguay was in the same group as the Korean national team that I would be joining.
He’d earnestly asked me to go easy on them, but if we met on the pitch... I didn’t think I’d be able to do that.
Because both he and I were professionals.
Anyway, whatever happens.
Smiling softly at the loneliness that had flown away thanks to my teammates, and feeling anew how precious this reclaimed quiet was,
just as my eyes were slowly closing and I was about to drift off to sleep.
Ding-dong—
I furrowed my brow at the doorbell ringing out of nowhere.
...What now.
I tried to just ignore it and sleep, but feeling strangely uneasy, I sighed and got up.
And as I carefully opened the door,
“...?”
I couldn’t sense even a hint of presence in front of the door; there was no one there.
...This is a ding-dong ditch.
A prank that mischievous friends would sometimes pull when I was young.
“...”
For all that it was obvious who’d done this, my evaluation of my teammates—that they seemed childish at first glance but were actually mature—was immediately revoked.
...
“You really never stay still. By the time I get back this time, I’ll forget your face.”
“Tell me about it.”
“But you can’t forget my face.”
“...And you can forget mine?”
“Yeah. I can, but you can’t.”
I shook my head at Ji-u’s absurd insistence and decided to more or less ignore it, then picked up my luggage.
After returning to Florence, Italy from Paris, France.
Without even unpacking, I’d packed the same luggage and come here, to Rome Airport.
How many international airports had this been in just a few months?
It had only been a few days since I’d entered the country, and here I was leaving again.
Today was the day I was leaving for Qatar.
Even though I’d told them not to come, Ji-u—who’d said there was nothing to do on the weekend—and Dad saw me off as I dragged my luggage out.
“Where are you meeting him?”
“At the lounge.”
“We can’t go in, can we?”
“Right.”
“Hmph, too bad.”
Just before entering the departure hall.
In my heart, I wanted to go with Dad and Ji-u, but this wasn’t some simple trip; I was going to carry out the nation’s business, an undeniable official duty.
Perhaps disappointed that she couldn’t go together, Ji-u pouted and puffed out her cheeks.
The person Ji-u referred to was the monster of Napoli.
Both he and I had to take the same plane to get to Qatar, so we’d decided to meet at the airport and go together.
“Make sure you stick close to your senior. At least you won’t have to worry about getting lost.”
Thanks to that, Dad seemed somewhat relieved that I wouldn’t get lost wandering this huge place alone, but perhaps he couldn’t completely shed his worries, because he’d been nagging since earlier.
I was a national team player, for heaven’s sake.
Moreover, I was on my way to play in the World Cup, but in Dad’s eyes, I must have still been just a son he couldn’t feel at ease about.
To ease those worries, I put on a relaxed expression and checked my ticket, inspecting my luggage once more.
I, too, felt like a child when I was next to Ji-u and Dad.
But from this moment on, I was undeniably a player representing a nation, so I couldn’t act childish.
Honestly, it still felt incredibly awkward that I was a national team player... but that didn’t mean it wasn’t true.
“Um, I think I should go in now.”
“Yeah, okay. It’s good to go in early with plenty of time. Um, text me when you meet your senior. And contact me when you arrive.”
“Yes. Don’t worry.”
“Put on sunscreen properly! If you have time, make sure to ride a camel for me!”
“...I’ll be back. I’ll see you when I return.”
My feet didn’t want to leave Dad—who seemed full of worry deep down despite pretending otherwise—and Ji-u—who was easing the tension with absurd words—but since I had to go anyway, it was better to get it over with quickly for my peace of mind, so even though I had quite a bit of time left, I said my goodbyes and headed for the departure hall.
Holding my passport in one hand, passing through security for my body and luggage, I followed the signs toward the lounge.
In my heart, I wanted to turn back right now and enjoy a winter vacation with Dad and Ji-u, World Cup be damned.
But it’s not like anyone can live doing only what they want.
There are things you have to do even if you don’t want to, and sometimes you have to do the things you don’t want to in order to do the things you do want to.
That’s why I could pull my luggage and move my feet without much hesitation.
That’s probably why there’s a saying like this.
If you can’t avoid it, enjoy it.
Of course, you could say the best thing is to avoid it altogether.
But that’s just how life is.
I’ve lived long enough now, experienced enough to know.
That avoiding everything isn’t necessarily a good thing.
That sometimes, rather than avoiding it, charging head-on and enjoying it is more comforting.
“Ah, Senior!”
“Oh, hey. Wow, making your senior wait? You spaced out?”
“...I’m sorry.”
“I’m kidding, you punk. Have you eaten?”
“Um, not yet.”
“Let’s eat before we go. Airline food won’t fill you up, kid.”
Anyway, it was time to head for Qatar.