Protect the Maknae -3
I’ve been realizing lately that becoming a first-team player means becoming a celebrity.
Not just the kids at school, but people recognize me when I walk down the street now, and if you search my name on the internet, my face even pops up.
People now know I exist, talk about me, and want to know more about me.
What this means is…
I’m now in a position where I can’t lie even if I want to.
Because if I do, I’ll be found out immediately.
Jiwoo: [Link]
Jiwoo: Check if the translation of that and this matches
Jiwoo: If anything’s wrong, correct me!!
On the club bus, headed to Genoa for an away match.
After checking Jiwoo’s message, I gulp.
She’s been doing this a lot lately.
She finds internet news articles somewhere, translates them herself, and sends them to me along with the link.
She says it’s for studying Italian, but…
Well… it’s good that she’s studying Italian like that. But there is a bit of a problem. That is, those internet articles are all about me.
For example… there were articles like this.
─Fiorentina’s 16-Year-Old Super Rookie, a Debut That Shocked Everyone! Injecting Vitality Into Fiorentina’s Stale Attack!
……In the 26th minute of the second half, with Fiorentina leading 2-0, Coach Vincenzo substituted in youth product Gian Lee (16). Lee showed active movement immediately after being subbed on, displayed excellent chemistry with Vlahovic, and even scored just five minutes after coming on……
There was an article like this too…
─[A Glass of Football with Luciano, 9R] A Sprout Blooming in the City of Flowers, Florence
……On this day, in the 26th minute of the second half, an Oriental boy with a delicate face stepped onto the pitch. It was a face never seen before. Even the fans who came to the stadium didn’t know how to read his name correctly. But exactly five minutes later, the spectators at the Stadio Artemio Franchi began memorizing his name and face. Not only that, but all Fiorentina fans watching the broadcast must have started looking him up too.
It was only natural. Although it was a flower seen for the first time, it was fresher and more fragrant than any other flower……
There were column-like pieces like this too.
Good grief…
It’s embarrassing reading it again. It’s so cringeworthy I can barely unclench my fist.
Honestly, I don’t think I played well enough to deserve this much attention.
To call me a super rookie or whatever just because I played about 20 minutes.
Hmm… maybe it is to that degree.
Well, anyway.
Jiwoo sent me plenty besides these, and thankfully, there didn’t seem to be any particularly bad content.
But it did feel burdensome.
Every time Jiwoo sent a link like that, my heart would drop.
Wondering what it would be this time, or if it might be something bad.
Well, it’s one thing if I get hurt by it.
I hate the thought of Jiwoo seeing something like that even more.
Thankfully, it seems there hasn’t been any so far.
Anyway, because of this situation, I can’t go around bluffing or acting tough carelessly anymore.
Because I’d be found out right away.
Well, whatever.
What would it be this time? After clicking the link Jiwoo sent, I quickly squint.
And slowly scroll down to check what kind of article it is.
─Rookie Who Captivated Fiorentina Fans in 20 Minutes, Expected to Feature Against Sampdoria… Sampdoria Coach D’Aversa: “I’m Not Concerned at All.”
……On this day, after finishing training, Sampdoria coach Roberto D’Aversa had an interview with reporters.
The following is a Q&A with Coach D’Aversa.
Q. How are preparations for the Fiorentina match?
A. Strong pressure and defense. Fiorentina is an easy team to face.
Q. What makes you think they are easy?
A. The simplicity of their attack patterns. It’s a fact everyone knows.
Q. But in the last match, Fiorentina showed a new attacking option.
A. I don’t know what you’re talking about.
Q. A 16-year-old rookie. A type of playmaker Fiorentina never had.
A. I’m not concerned at all. Did you say 16? It’d be better if he doesn’t play against us.
Q. Why do you think that?
A. Because we don’t want to injure a 16-year-old boy either.
…Hmm.
Wow, now even articles like this are coming out.
To think my name is coming out of the opposing coach’s mouth.
The world really has changed a lot.
That aside… what does he mean by saying he doesn’t want to injure me?
Is he saying he’ll show me the harsh realities of the pro stage with rough defense after all?
Honestly, I still don’t know if I’ll play in the match.
But seeing this… somehow I feel like I want to get out there.
Of course, just hearing about it is scary.
Because I can already picture players built like mafiosos charging at me.
It’s impossible not to be scared.
But… Jiwoo saw this.
Maybe that’s why I feel like showing pride I don’t even have.
In the end, he looked down on me, didn’t he?
I’m not some coward who gets scared just because someone tries to intimidate me.
“…”
Well, anyway… I sent a message to Jiwoo.
I roughly corrected a few slightly wrong translations and sent them back…
A reply came immediately.
Jiwoo: Omg. So that opposing coach or whatever
Jiwoo: really said that??
Jiwoo: How rude…
Jiwoo: Is he a gangster or what
Jiwoo: Anyway, be careful!! If you get hurt, I’ll scold you!!
After checking the message, I burst out laughing.
I sent a reply.
Me: Someone will get hurt
Me: Of course, that old man’s big nose will
Me: lol
After sending that reply, I covered my mouth and held back my laughter. Wow, even I thought that was pretty witty.
Jiwoo would be impressed too, right?
Waiting for a reply with an excited heart…
Jiwoo: What are you saying ==
Jiwoo: I told YOU not to get hurt!!
“…”
Hmm.
Right.
Let’s just not get hurt.
Just as I was meekly sending a reply saying I got it.
“Who is it?”
“Uwah, you scared me.”
“What. Why are you so surprised? Is it your girlfriend?”
“Ah, no. Weren’t you sleeping?”
“I just woke up.”
Wow, I thought my heart was going to drop out of my chest.
I was replying to Jiwoo when a face suddenly popped up beside me.
It was Torreira sunbae, sitting next to me.
“It really seems like your girlfriend.”
“Ah, I said it’s not.”
Torreira sunbae grinned while looking at my phone, so I hurriedly hid it.
But then, one by one, faces began appearing over the seats in front.
Sunbaes with expressions that said this was just what they needed while they were bored.
“What? Girlfriend?”
“The maknae had a girlfriend?”
“This kid, he really is a man, huh?”
…They’re going to drive me crazy.
If I get injured, it won’t be because of anything else—it’ll be because of these sunbaes.
Seriously.
...
The home stadium of UC Sampdoria, located in the city of Genoa, Stadio Luigi Ferraris, was smaller than our home ground.
Hmm.
Looking at it like this, our home stadium doesn’t seem to be that small either.
The opposing home fans are waving flags and singing their chants, but I don’t feel much excitement.
Our team chant definitely seems much better made. Ours has a really stirring feeling, but theirs somehow sounds off from the melody itself.
Well, that’s one win in the bag before the match even starts.
“Forza, Forza!”
Anyway.
Sitting on the bench, I watch the sunbaes heading onto the pitch shouting fighting.
The truth is, the reason I can be this relaxed is because I’m not in the starting lineup today.
Like the last match, I’m on the substitute list today.
I heard the coach was a bit worried too. Because the opponent is a physically strong team. He seemed to think I would struggle.
However, he told me to be prepared.
To watch the match situation, and depending on how things go, the timing for me to go out might come.
I answered without hesitation that I understood.
Come to think of it, maybe it’s not the world that changed, but me.
The world is the same, but because I changed, it feels like the world has changed.
In the old days, I would have hoped the situation where I have to go out wouldn’t come.
Now… if such a situation comes, I have no thought other than doing my best.
“Forza, Forza!”
“Let’s go!”
Anyway, that’s how my second first-team match began.
*
The match flowed quite calmly.
More than I expected.
What kind of match did I expect… I expected a brawl, with the whistle blowing every 30 seconds.
The opponent is said to play rough, and our sunbaes are hot-tempered too.
I expected a very fierce match.
But in reality, it wasn’t like that.
Maybe because they know each other well?
It felt like they were being more careful.
Because they know they’re the type to explode if you just touch them.
Maybe that’s why, both us and them.
Neither side seemed eager to provoke the other.
Simply put, it felt like they were wary of each other.
That was the flow of the first half.
“Hmm…”
Anyway, the opponent’s defense looked quite solid. Well, in this country, the best players play defense.
Even though Sampdoria is a lower-ranked team, their defense still looked solid.
The defensive shape wasn’t much different from Genoa’s. A form with a thick center.
But even with the same shape, today’s opponent felt more suffocating.
It seemed to be because of the defenders’ physiques after all.
Vlahovic sunbae standing among the defenders looked ordinary, so that says it all.
At 190 centimeters tall, if Vlahovic sunbae looks like that, I must really look like a little kid.
Anyway, thanks to that, we couldn’t gain much from a few crossing situations or corner kick chances.
In the Genoa match, we at least scored the opening goal in the first half.
Today, a more frustrating first half played out.
“Beep, beeeep—!”
With that, the first half ended.
The sunbaes left the pitch and headed for the locker room. Just as I was about to follow them in, the coach called me over.
“Gian.”
“Yes?”
“You stay behind and warm up.”
“Ah, yes.”
“You’re going in right at the start of the second half, so warm up properly.”
“Understood.”
I remained on the pitch and warmed up.
*
“From now on, keep your heads on straighter. Everyone knows what I mean, right?”
“Okay!”
“Forza, Forza—!”
“Viola—!!”
The sunbaes who shouted fighting scattered to their positions. I too took my place near the center circle.
I was subbed in at the start of the second half.
Did he judge that they needed to change the flow?
Formation switched to 4-2-3-1, same as last time.
Since I’ve had my debut, it’s not that nerve-wracking, but…
I don’t know why, but the sunbaes seem more tense now than in the first half.
Is it because it’s still 0-0?
“Beeeep—!”
Anyway, the match begins.
I received the kickoff from Vlahovic, passed the ball back, and slowly started moving.
Swish—
Swish—
The ball slowly circulates.
While our defenders circulate the ball, I position myself in the center and look around.
Hmm.
I feel a different energy from the opponent than what I’d seen throughout the first half.
When we had the ball in the first half, the opponent had dropped back to defend.
They took positions in advance with an attitude of “come at us if you dare.”
But not now.
They’re pushing up.
I can see the opposing striker brushing past me while pressing up, and the opposing midfielders taking positions near me.
Overall, they’ve raised their lines.
If so, that means the space behind them has widened… Good. My head spins quickly, and the things I need to do start lining up in order.
The role I need to fulfill now is the link between offense and defense. I need to play that quickly transitions from defense to attack.
Tatatat—!
Sneaking a glance, I backpedal and move behind the opponent who was standing next to me.
And I secretly run into the empty space on the right.
The opponent lost sight of me for a moment, eyes focused on the ball.
Taking that chance, I quietly raise my hand.
Swaaaash—!
A pass heads toward me.
While the pass is coming, I turn my head to check the situation behind me.
I was planning to pass it on with a one-touch if possible, so it was to check the forward situation.
But what entered my eyes as I turned my head was a huge mass charging at me.
Boom—!
Oops.
The world spins round and round.
I roll around like I’m the ball.
Did I just get body-checked?
“Kuk…”
Around the time the spinning world stopped, the pain hit me belatedly.
Wow… that hurts quite a bit.
It was a force on a completely different level from colliding with the sunbaes during training.
Well, it wasn’t to the point where I couldn’t endure it, and I didn’t want to show myself being discouraged by just this much.
Trying to jump up without showing I was hurt…
A shout rang out from somewhere.
“Hey, you fucking bastard!”
“Has that son of a bitch gone crazy!”
When I raised my head, it was the sunbaes.
The sunbaes were charging at the opponent who’d slammed into me, cursing.
Even…
“That fucking bastard!”
“Is that son of a bitch picking on a kid?”
I could see even the sunbaes who were far away running over.
Everyone had murder in their eyes.
Ah, no.
I’m okay, though?
“I’m oka—”
“Maknae, stay out of it!”
“Uh, yes…”
I’m the one who got fouled, but they tell me to stay out. So I stayed put obediently.
The sunbaes charging as if to kill were scary.
It was scary, but…
“Fuck, everyone get a grip and protect the maknae!”
“I’ll take care of that bastard.”
“Don’t let the other bastards off either. They’re the same fucking bastards anyway, let’s take them down in advance!”
Seeing the sunbaes who’d been teasing me until right before we entered the pitch acting like this…
Somehow, my heart felt warm.
“Ah… it hurts a bit…”
“It hurts? You fucking…!”
For the sake of the sunbaes’ fighting power, I held my chest for no reason and exaggerated.
Then the sunbaes started getting even angrier, so I quietly held back my laughter.
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