I Was an Outsider, but When I Opened My Eyes, I'm a Popular Guy? -3
Open the classroom door, quickly spot an empty seat with my eyes, quickly go sit down, and put my head down to sleep until the teacher arrives.
'Okay.'
This was the plan I had laid before opening the classroom door. Here, just for having black hair and black eyes, I could easily attract attention, so I wanted to enter the classroom as quietly as possible.
But that plan of mine collapsed the moment I opened the classroom door.
"...Huh?"
The instant I opened the door, I made eye contact with some kid, and at that moment I intuitively felt that something was wrong.
Because the kid who met my eyes widened his eyes and suddenly started mumbling with his mouth...
"It's Jian! Fiorentina!"
"Huh? What?"
"Wow! It's really him!"
"You're in our class?"
"Waaah-! Friend! Nice to meet you!"
Before I could even sit down, the moment I took one step into the classroom, I was instantly surrounded by kids.
At first there were only about three or four, but they made such a fuss that eventually everyone in the class crowded around me.
It was utter chaos.
I chided myself.
I had forgotten for a moment.
What football means in Italy.
How much interest the kids here have in football.
"Uh... y-your name?"
"Massimo."
"Massimo... here..."
"Thanks!"
In the end, I even had to hold an impromptu autograph session.
Since I had never even thought about autographs, I just wrote my name in Korean and gave it to them, but for some reason they all loved it.
No, seriously, what did I do to deserve this...
"I'm Luigi!"
"Ah, yeah. Luigi... here."
"Wow, awesome. I watched the match! When you played against Napoli, I went to the stadium!"
"Ah, is that so."
As expected, the problem was the previous match against Napoli.
Having lived here for a few months, I know there's not much to do even on weekends. By far the most popular pastime is football.
But since first-team matches aren't free, I had heard that students without ample allowance go to watch youth matches.
The kids who recognized me first were exactly those kinds of kids.
"I'm Nancy. Can I take a picture with you?"
"A picture? Ah... sure."
With all that commotion going on, eventually even girls who seemed like they didn't know me came to get my autograph or asked to take pictures together.
And even one girl...
"You're really cute. Want to be friends?"
"Huh? Ah, yeah... sure."
"Can you tell me your phone number? I want to learn Korean."
Since she made such an awkward request, I had a hard time refusing.
"Ugh, you don't have a phone? Really?"
"Sorry. I only do football."
"Hmph, okay."
Phew.
Well, no way she asked with ulterior motives, but still, it would be troublesome if unnecessary annoyances happened... I don't even have time to meet Jiwoo right now.
"Okay, everyone sit down-"
Well... anyway.
My unexpected autograph session could only end after the teacher arrived, and only then could I let out a sigh and wipe my cold sweat.
"..."
I had a feeling that my school life ahead would become difficult in a different way.
*
I had been a bit unusual since long ago.
I was a kid who liked class time more than break time.
Not that I had a hobby of studying; except for history or language classes, I would secretly study tactics. Anyway, I preferred class time, where I could sit quietly by myself, over break time.
And today was no different.
It was so hard. Every break.
Whenever I tried to rest, kids would approach and talk to me. After second period, even kids from other classes came looking for me.
Like I'm some kind of debuted pro player.
I couldn't understand why they were making such a fuss over me.
It wasn't break time, it was practically fan service time.
Well... it was a bit draining, but I didn't feel bad or anything.
After all, everyone was treating me kindly.
They even said they'd cheer for me...
Until the moment I first opened the classroom door, I had been worried someone might pick a fight with me. Thank goodness, I suppose.
"Phew."
As soon as I exited the school gate, a sigh escaped naturally.
Having finished class a bit earlier than the other kids, I was heading toward the training ground.
Ah, wait. Look at me.
Come to think of it, today is Jiwoo's first day of school too.
When I quickly took out my phone, sure enough, there were a ton of messages from Jiwoo.
Jiwoo: What are you doing? You can't use your phone until you finish there??
Jiwoo: What. Our Jian must be holed up in some classroom corner again
Jiwoo: I was waiting, thinking you'd annoy me
Jiwoo: Anyway contact me when you're done
Because I was afraid of getting caught for lying about not having a phone, I couldn't take my phone out in the classroom. Also because I was out of my mind with kids swarming me every break.
I immediately sent a reply.
Me: Just finished now... can't use phone at school...
Me: How are the kids there? Did you make friends?
Me: Even kids from other classes came to find me...
Me: Saying they wanted to be friends...
As I tried to put my phone in my pocket after sending that, a reply came before I could even put it in.
Jiwoo: kekekekekekekek
Jiwoo: kekekekekekekek
Jiwoo: Oh my, is that so?
Jiwoo: Our Jian is a popular guy ^^?
What kind of reaction is this?
I'm not lying this time. It's real.
Smirking, I moved my steps toward the training ground.
...
Right when I first signed the contract and came out, and until about that night. Up until then, I had simply been in a good mood. Because my weekly wage had increased greatly, I thought I could now do things I had wanted to do without worry.
But the high from the recontract(?) didn't even last two days.
Once my head cooled a bit, I began to feel pressure on top of the joy.
Because a weekly wage isn't money you receive for free.
Moreover, since I was now receiving twenty times what I used to receive overnight, somehow I felt like I had to work twenty times harder and perform twenty times better.
Truthfully, the training hadn't changed since that day, and the manager, the coaches, and the kids all treated me the same. It was just my own mindset.
So I just worked hard.
I just worked hard at team training, and after team training ended, I worked hard on individual training with Coach Luca.
I would look up our upcoming weekend opponent in advance and prepare for the match by analyzing them in my own way.
That was all.
While returning home after training so hard, one day such a thought suddenly struck me.
I think I've changed a bit.
If it were the past, I would have taken this pressure much more heavily than now. No, I would have waved my hands saying I didn't need such a large weekly wage to begin with.
Rather than being happy about the increased wages, my mentality would have broken. Thinking, I'm not at that level, why are they expecting this from me.
And then I would have trained while crying inside.
To somehow meet those absurd expectations.
But not now.
Of course, the pressure still remains... but I decided to think a little differently.
Recalling what Coach Luca had said.
"If you believe in yourself more, others will recognize your value too."
Why do people have such expectations of me?
It's because I am someone who can do it.
I decided to think that way. Surprisingly, my heart became a bit more at ease.
I had simply flipped the way I accepted it; I had simply decided to believe in myself a bit more. I didn't feel like running away.
Instead, my mind became filled only with the thought that I must definitely show them.
Even now, that's what I'm thinking.
"Come on, let's go! Forza-!"
"Viola-!!!"
After shouting fighting spirit with our hands together, we exited the locker room.
Today's opponent is a team called Bologna FC.
A team in the middle of the group table, not comparable to Napoli, but not a team to be taken lightly like Sassuolo or Empoli either.
And, most of all, Bologna is Fiorentina's traditional rival team.
Their matches against each other are called the Derby dell'Appennino, as their rivalry runs so deep.
Of course, it doesn't resonate much with me; I just know about it because I heard such a thing exists.
Anyway, my thought that we must do well and win hasn't changed. The trust the team has shown me—I will show them I deserve that trust.
It was the moment I stepped onto the pitch with such thoughts.
"Waaaah!"
"Win! Win!"
"Forza Viola-!!"
I was bewildered by the cheers bursting from the stands.
Uh... I didn't expect this.
*
"Waaaah!"
"Win! Win!"
"Forza Viola-!!"
The small stands of the small stadium were unusually noisy today.
The spectators who usually come to watch the U17 team matches are nothing more than the players' relatives and friends, or bored local residents.
However, today students from nearby schools came in groups to watch, making the small stands practically full and extremely rowdy.
And sitting among those spectators, Kim Jiwoo was fiddling with her phone with a sulky expression.
'What day is it today...'
When I came last time there was almost no one. I don't know why there are so many people today.
Is some important match happening today? If I had come late, I wouldn't have been able to sit.
Well, leaving that aside...
"That's him, right? The guy at our school."
"Yeah, that's right. Jian!"
"He's cute? Like a K-pop idol."
"Right? I even took a picture with him."
"What? Really? I should have called out to him too!"
The sound of the kids around her murmuring kept grating on Kim Jiwoo.
She couldn't understand everything. Though she had consistently studied since deciding to study abroad, it wasn't enough to understand everything the locals said.
Still, there were words that stuck sharply in her ears. Like *carino* (cute), or *bello* (handsome). And the girls' shrieking of "Kyaaah-" that even someone who doesn't know Italian could understand.
Above all, the fact that the word "Jian" kept popping up among those rapidly passing phrases grated on Kim Jiwoo.
Not just grating, but extremely grating.
The boys are one thing, but it was obvious these girls had come to cheer for Yi Jian too.
'Goodness. What did he do at school.'
Kim Jiwoo crossed her arms and pouted her lips.
He said he had lots of friends and was popular with the kids... guess it wasn't a lie.
Yeah, well. He did say you're bound to be popular here if you're good at soccer. Since it's Jian, his face is okay too... hmph!
Anyway, seeing that little kid who used to sit quietly in the corner of the classroom having grown so much and receiving his friends' cheers.
It's something to celebrate, and something deeply moving too...
'...Tch.'
I don't know why I keep disliking this situation.
It's clearly a good thing. Something to be proud of.
How should I put it.
Like the feeling when a singer only you knew about suddenly becomes popular, and you get irrationally spiteful?
Ah, I don't know. I said I don't know.
Just play the match well, Yi Jian.
Don't get distracted worrying about other things...!
It was while she was watching the match with such mixed feelings.
"Waaah-! Go, go!"
"Break through! Go up!"
"Show them-!"
It was about ten minutes after the match started.
The stands began to get noisy again.
It was the moment Jian received the ball. He received the ball from far away, and as he dribbled forward, each time he beat one person, cheers burst from both sides.
Those cheers grew louder and louder.
Yi Jian kept running toward the opponent's goal, passing back and forth with teammates with sharp sounds. Before anyone knew it, Yi Jian had reached right in front of the opponent's goal.
And then...
"Woooaaah-!!"
"Amazing!! He scored! Goal-!!"
"Yeeaaah-!!!"
He scored.
The stands went crazy in an instant. Everyone shouted cheers and started jumping up and down.
But then, Yi Jian ran toward those stands.
Having run there, Yi Jian seemed to look for something with his eyes for a moment, then soon saluted with two fingers and returned to the field.
"Kyaaah!"
"Hey! Did you see? He's celebrating toward me!"
"What are you talking about! He did it toward me!"
"No! It was me!"
At that celebration, the girls made dolphin-like squeals and caused a huge commotion. Everyone collapsed as if shot in the chest by an arrow, arguing that the celebration was directed at them.
"...Ridiculous."
Kim Jiwoo shook her head at those kids as if mocking them.
Hey, why are you guys getting excited...? Surely you don't think he did that toward you...?
Is that really so...?
"...Heh."
Kim Jiwoo, who had been sulky until just now, raised one corner of her mouth while crossing her arms.
That celebration wasn't done toward you guys, it was done toward me.
I'm different from you guys.
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