The Older Men Are Obsessed With Me -2
On the way home after finishing training.
The coach personally drove me, and in the car, he talked to me about many things.
“What you eat is incredibly important, more than you’d think. For athletes.”
What he emphasized most of all was diet.
He said there’s a saying like this in Italy.
That a person is defined by what they eat.
He told me to eat well since eating is that important.
When I asked how I should eat, the coach even taught me directly how the first-team players structure their diets.
The basics were getting a balanced variety of nutrients, but for protein white fish is better than red meat if possible, steaming is better than frying or grilling, and so on.
He taught me in great detail.
He said that players who really take care of their bodies eat without even salting their food, but since I’m still young, I don’t need to go that far.
Rather than eating too restrictively, eat clean for three meals a day and eat what you want in between.
Anyway, he said that depending on what you eat, your condition changes and you can even prevent injuries, so…
As soon as I got home, I prepared my own diet.
I bought something that looked like cleaned white fish from the market in front of my house and roughly grilled it to try…
Ugh.
It didn’t taste like something a person could eat.
If it had no taste at all, I could’ve just chewed and swallowed, but this weird, fishy smell kept rising up.
It seems I inherited Dad’s talent for cooking.
So I had no choice but to ask Jiu for help. I asked if she knew how to cook fish,
Jiu: White fish? Like a fish steak?
Jiu: You want me to teach you how?
Jiu: Wait a sec
Jiu: It’d be faster if I just did it myself rather than teach you
Thankfully, Jiu came running over right away.
And then Jiu, seeing my creation, let out a sigh. Clicking her tongue, she clattered around with something and soon presented me with a pretty decent-looking fish steak.
“How is it?”
“Hmm… much better than that thing from before.”
“Right? It’s edible, isn’t it?”
“It’s not just edible, it’s delicious.”
“Hehehe.”
At my review, Jiu smiles with a proud expression. Seeing her like this, she does have a bit of a simple side.
To make Jiu feel good, all you have to do is say the food she made is delicious. Then she likes it unconditionally.
…But seriously, this is delicious.
It’s clearly the same fish I used, so how is it so different?
Amazing. So this is what they call talent.
When I gave her a big thumbs-up, Jiu brushed her hair back with her hand and said,
“But they told you to gain weight?”
“Yeah. To be exact, they told me to increase my weight.”
“How much?”
“First, up to about sixty-eight or sixty-nine kilos.”
“What are you now?”
“Sixty-six.”
The coach said to try gaining exactly three kilos before winter.
He said it was true I needed to supplement my physique more, but forcing myself to gain weight wasn’t very good either.
He said if I change my body too quickly, it’s easy to break my balance and the injury risk actually goes up.
So rather than forcing it, I decided to just focus on eating well so I’d naturally gain weight, but…
For that, I’ll need to learn a few simple recipes from Jiu.
What I made earlier was seriously punishment-level stuff…
“But why the sudden weight gain? Did they say you’re too skinny?”
“Yeah.”
“Hmm. Really? The other kids don’t seem that much different from you.”
“The kids are, sure. But I’m not only going to be playing against kids anymore.”
Jiu tilts her head at my words.
I shrug my shoulders and say,
“Now I’m going to be playing with the older guys.”
“The older guys?”
“The first team. The coach said kids my age don’t match my level anymore. Didn’t I tell you? That I’d move up within a year. But well, it took less than a month.”
“Ooh. You’re really crazy, Jian. Then this Noona is going to get busy from now on too, huh?”
“…Why you?”
“You said you need to gain weight. Then I have to make you delicious food. Could you gain weight eating that stuff from before?”
Hmm.
That would definitely be difficult.
“But you don’t have to go through the trouble…”
“Enough. If I say I’ll do it, just say ‘Thank you, Noona.’ Come on, say it.”
“…What?”
“‘Thank you for raising me, Noona.’ If you don’t say it, I won’t do it.”
“…”
Jiu crosses her arms, smiles, and looks down at me as if telling me to hurry up.
Come on. I have pride too.
Did you think I’d say something like that?
“Thank you for braising me, Noona.”
“Not braising. Raising.”
“…Thank you for raising me.”
“Noona.”
“Noona…”
Ughhh.
If only I had a bit more talent for cooking, I wouldn’t have to suffer this humiliation.
As I speak with my head hung low, I hear Jiu’s laughter.
Even though I’m not treated like this outside. Why can’t I win against Jiu?
Hmm, no.
If I can get food in exchange for a word, doesn’t that actually mean I won?
Right, right.
“Take out all the ingredients you have. I’ll make them into a lunch box you can eat.”
“Hehe. Okay.”
“…What? What’s with that weird laugh?”
“Huh? Ah, it’s nothing.”
Seeing Jiu get so excited just because I called her Noona once, I couldn’t help but laugh.
I told you, she’s sneakily simple. Really.
…
“Whew—”
Letting out a long breath, I trudge toward the locker room.
All the strength has drained from my body.
I trained with the first team again today, and as expected, it was tough.
It’s really no joke, no joke at all.
“Whew.”
I take my bag from the temporarily assigned locker, grab my phone and lunch box, and head outside.
Then I sit in a suitably shady spot and open the lunch box. It’s the lunch box Jiu made me.
Fish steak, rice, and three pieces of broccoli.
She even added tomatoes to vary the colors.
It’s for me anyway, but she packed it prettily for no reason. They say presentation is the life of cooking, or something.
Anyway.
Just as I was about to eat Jiu’s lunch box…
“Oh, good. Good.”
A booming voice came from behind, and I flinched and turned my head to see Coach Vincenzo.
The coach smiled, sat down next to me, looked into my lunch box, and said,
“Wow, that’s a nice lunch box. Is it your father’s handiwork?”
“Ah, this. A… a friend packed it for me.”
“A friend?”
“Yes. I have a friend who’s a culinary major…”
“Ah, so that’s the ‘girlfriend.’”
“…Who told you that?”
“Hmm? I heard it from Tony.”
A sigh.
“…She’s not my girlfriend, just a friend.”
“Ah, I see. Sorry. But your friend packed it very nicely. Your friend.”
“…Yes.”
“Eat, eat. Be comfortable.”
He tells me to eat comfortably, but honestly I can’t eat comfortably.
How can I eat comfortably when the first-team coach is sitting right next to me…
Still, I picked up my fork and started eating.
“……So, in the end, football is……”
Even while eating, the coach talked about this and that, so I nodded and ate.
I couldn’t have imagined it when I first saw him, but Coach Vincenzo was more talkative than I thought.
During today’s training too, he stuck right by my side and coached me the whole time.
It was a tiny bit burdensome, but since most of it was a “Good job, good job!” kind of feeling, I just accepted it gratefully.
It seems he’s concerned because I’m the only youth player. Seeing how he came over like this and is telling me good things even now…
I’m really grateful… I am grateful, but…
“Eat up, eat up. Shall I get you water?”
“I-I’m fine.”
Hmm…
Hey, hey, Jian! Bad thoughts are forbidden! How dare I think that about the coach…!
Well, anyway.
While I was listening to his good advice and force-feeding myself like that…
Vrrrrr—
My phone vibrated in my pocket, and when I took it out, it was a call from Coach Tony.
I excused myself to Coach Vincenzo and took the call.
“Ah, yeah. Jian. Is training over?”
Maybe because we’d grown close, hearing Coach Tony’s voice at the first-team training ground was very welcome.
The coach asked if training was manageable, if anyone was giving me a hard time, to tell him if anyone was being bothersome, and so on.
Unusually for him, he asked me about a lot of things, so I answered that it was fine, that there was no one being bothersome…
While we were talking like that…
“…?”
Coach Vincenzo tapped my shoulder, and when I turned my head, he mouthed, asking who it was.
I also mouthed that it was Coach Tony, and Coach Vincenzo frowned and held out his hand.
“Give it here.”
“…Excuse me?”
“Give me the phone.”
“Ah, yes sir.”
Do the coaches have something to talk about?
He asked for it, so I handed him the phone, and Coach Vincenzo suddenly raised his voice.
“Why are you bothering the kid with a phone call? Jian is eating right now, so hang up.”
Then the voice on the other end of the phone got louder too.
“What are you doing next to him, Coach? The kid can’t even eat in peace.”
Then they both raised their voices almost as if they were going to fight and continued the call.
…What are they doing right now.
“Here.”
After exchanging such a friendly conversation for a while, Coach Vincenzo held the phone out to me again, and when I took it, I heard Coach Tony’s huffing voice.
“Jian. Don’t forget to come to our training ground tomorrow. We need to prepare for the weekend match.”
“Ah, yes sir. Understood.”
“Yes. If Coach Vincenzo bothers you again, tell me right away. Got it?”
“Ah… yes…”
I answered while glancing around unnecessarily and hung up.
Then Coach Vincenzo asks immediately.
“Why do you have to call and make things difficult for the kid? Isn’t that right?”
“Excuse me? Ah, yes…”
“Tsk, tch.”
…Come on.
I really don’t know why both of them are acting like this…
…
After training with the first team on Tuesday and Wednesday, on Thursday I trained with the U17 team again.
I don’t know why, but Coach Tony welcomed me back like crazy. Almost like a puppy who’d run away from home had returned…
Well, anyway.
After training amidst the enthusiastic welcome, on the weekend I headed toward a city called Parma.
To play an away match against a team called Parma Calcio.
“Let’s go! Forza-!”
“Viola-!!”
They said Parma was not a team to be taken lightly.
They were running fourth in our group, a team riding momentum with three consecutive wins.
Especially since their defense was solid and they conceded few goals, I thought my role would be important.
But strangely, stepping onto the field like that, I didn’t feel any tension at all.
The tension I should naturally have felt… I didn’t feel it. Even though it was an important match for me and the opponent was no pushover…
How to put it.
It’s an incredibly arrogant thought, but honestly, the kids all looked easy to me.
In my eyes.
Thinking about why, I wondered if it was thanks to having trained with the first team.
Well, of course it was only two days.
Still, I’d learned a lot during those two days.
I’d felt a lot too.
Having trained against first-team seniors who were active in Serie A, facing kids playing in the U17…
Honestly, I didn’t think it would be difficult at all.
Rather than having gotten arrogant, perhaps it was only natural.
After all, I was the only one who’d done advance studying. I was receiving private tutoring that others couldn’t get even if they wanted it. So if the kids didn’t look easy after that, that would actually be the stranger thing.
So I approached the match with confidence and a sense of responsibility.
The responsibility that I had to succeed since I enjoyed such special treatment alone, and the confidence that compared to the first-team seniors, those kids were nothing.
Perhaps because of that, the match went smoothly.
After seeing the first-team seniors’ defense, the opponent’s defense looked full of holes.
To the point where I wondered if the U17 level had always been this sloppy.
The defenders marking me one-on-one didn’t feel threatening at all.
Even when it wasn’t one-on-one but one-on-two.
“Nice-!!”
“Great job!”
I scored a whopping three goals in the first half.
It was the first time since coming to Italy.
That I recorded a hat trick, I mean.
Really, soccer felt so easy that even I was amazed.
“Jian, good work. Let’s stop here for today.”
“Ah, yes. Understood.”
After the first half ended like that.
The coach substituted me out, and I sat on the bench for the second half.
While watching the match like that,
“Jian. Come here for a moment.”
The coach called me.
The coach had me sit in the seat next to him and asked how today’s match felt. I hesitated for a moment then answered honestly.
That it felt much easier than usual.
“Hmm…”
At my answer, the coach seemed to think for a moment, then spoke again.
“Then, want to try playing with the first team next week?”
“Next week…?”
“Yeah. Coach Vincenzo said he wants to put you on the roster for the league match against a team called Genoa.”
“Ah…”
Suddenly?
It was so sudden that I couldn’t answer quickly.
Then the coach said.
“Honestly, even after recommending you to the first team, I was a bit worried. I didn’t know Coach Vincenzo would want to use you this quickly. I thought we’d have time until at least winter.”
“…”
“So it became a funny situation where I recommended you and I’m the one trying to stop it. Because if the situation changes too suddenly, you might be bewildered. But seeing you today, it looks like you’ve realized a lot training with the first team.”
“Ah, yes. I did learn a lot.”
“Then well, it’s a good thing. If you’re okay with it, I have no reason to stop Coach Vincenzo either. What do you say?”
At the coach’s question, I suddenly recalled the feeling I’d had while playing today’s match.
Also Coach Tony’s words from before, and Jiu, who’d even packed a lunch box for me.
Hmm……
After a brief thought, I nodded and answered.
“I’ll do it.”
That there was no need to be afraid was the conclusion of my thoughts.
“Okay. Understood.”
The coach nodded and patted my shoulder.
But…
Why does his expression look so wistful?
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