“It’s already been about a week. The youth players have a long break, after all. So there’s plenty of time to train.”
Dinner time, sitting together around a fancy-looking table.
Manager Tony spoke, chewing on fried shrimp.
“Even if he’s wearing a different uniform, my student is my student. And it so happens to be Palermo, my hometown team. So I’m running this guy ragged.”
At those words, Gino, sitting beside him, smiled awkwardly.
Gino, who had left the U17 team last summer, had said he transferred to Palermo FC here recently.
I hadn’t heard the details, but apparently it wasn’t a loan; he had finalized a contract and moved teams.
Apparently there was also a clause allowing him to return later, but to me it was a complicated story I couldn’t quite understand even after hearing it.
Anyway… Gino said he transferred teams because he wanted to play in matches as soon as possible, thinking of the future.
“Gino, how many matches did you say you played in November?”
“Three matches.”
“And you scored a goal.”
“I scored one goal.”
Honestly, I couldn’t really understand it.
Transferring teams just to play in matches.
Gino… why?
The Gino I knew had been a starter the entire time I was on the U17 team and the team’s ace.
In other words, Gino was someone I couldn’t even look in the eye, someone I could only look up to.
Memories from just a few months ago surfaced.
When I heard the news that Jiu, who is now beside me, was coming to Italy, and I was placed in a situation where I somehow had to get into matches.
How greatly Gino’s presence had weighed on me then, I remember vividly.
Gino and I were in positions as different as heaven and earth.
Gino was the team’s ace, while I was a non-starter who couldn’t even sit on the bench, a kid without any presence even among the non-starters.
I was at rock bottom and had to climb over countless mountains just to play a match, and standing at the peak of those mountains was Gino.
In short, to me, Gino was a real genius.
Not a fake genius pretending to be one, like me.
But that Gino said he transferred teams because he wanted to play in matches.
This fact didn’t feel real to me, so to speak.
I didn’t know why, but… I felt a strange sense of disconnect. It was hard to explain in words, but I felt somewhat confused and strange.
So I just fiddled with my risotto with my fork and listened quietly to the conversation.
“If you count by minutes, how long did you play?”
“About sixty minutes. Since I played around twenty minutes per match.”
“That’s quite a lot?”
“Yes. It’s gradually increasing.”
“That’s good. You’ll play more in the second half. You need to score more goals too. Let’s try to get double digits.”
“Yes… I hope so, if possible.”
“You can do it, you punk. Other kids your age are all probably playing around right now, but you’re running like crazy.”
Gino smiled, showing his white teeth at the Manager’s words, then looked at me and said.
“I wonder. A genius like this guy isn’t resting either and is coming to train.”
“That’s… because he’s special. Well, you just have to work twice as hard.”
“I wonder if I can surpass him just by working twice as hard. Haha. I’ll do four times as much.”
Gino put his hand on my shoulder and said with a laugh.
“…”
But I didn’t know how to react, so I just shoveled risotto into my mouth.
・・・
The sky was blue, and the sea was blue too.
Perhaps because the sun was blazing, everything came into clearer relief.
It was a beautiful beach.
“Ss-eup… Does it not suit me…”
Sitting on that beautiful beach, Gim Jiu checked her face this way and that with her phone, tilting her head.
The sunglasses were the problem.
She had bought them for vacation a few days ago, but because she bought them in a hurry, they felt somewhat awkward.
You know, she had bought them imagining that cool vibe like Western girls have… Hmm. Why does it feel like a kid wearing her mom’s sunglasses?
“Tch.”
Pouting her lips, Gim Jiu took off the sunglasses and looked around her surroundings.
If you excluded the fact that the ambitiously prepared sunglasses weren’t to her liking, it was a happy scene nonetheless.
Before her eyes stretched a magnificent sky and sea, and along that sea, a sandy beach extended endlessly.
The weather was good, and the scent of the sea breeze brushing the tip of her nose was pleasant too.
She couldn’t believe it anew.
That an ordinary high school girl like her was spending vacation in such a wonderful place.
Before, a vacation meant nothing more than going downtown with friends, eating tteokbokki, and taking instant photos.
The fact that she was now spending vacation on a beach in Italy felt surreal, as if it wasn’t something that should be allowed.
However… that wasn’t why she felt happy. It wasn’t as if being on vacation in such a wonderful place made her happy.
She would have been happy even if it weren’t such a wonderful place.
The important thing wasn’t the location, but who she was with.
“…”
In the distance, she could see four men running on the sandy beach.
She didn’t know how they could run so well on sand where their feet sank deeply with every step.
It must certainly be hard, yet they ran silently even under the scorching sun.
Though she felt sorry to the other three, only one person was visible in Gim Jiu’s eyes.
It was I Jian, running with his long limbs swinging.
He looked really tired. To the point of being pitiful.
It was only natural that it was hard.
They had been running on that sandy beach, where it was hard just to walk, for several dozen minutes already.
Moreover, they weren’t just jogging; they sprinted at full speed periodically. It was so hard that everyone was shouting as they ran.
They had been running precariously, as if they might collapse, for quite a while now.
But even so, I Jian didn’t stop running. Though he looked like he would collapse, he didn’t.
Even though the beating sun made him squint, and the fine sand kept catching his ankles… I Jian only endured and pressed forward.
It made her wonder suddenly.
What could he be suffering so hard for?
Was soccer really that good? How much better could he want to get when he was already so good?
What was he running with his teeth gritted like that for?
Perhaps because memories from when they were young were so strong, to Gim Jiu, I Jian was somehow a friend like a younger brother she wanted to protect.
Of course, he had grown a lot since she last saw him, and these days she felt he had changed a lot watching him play in matches.
Still, her desire to take care of him and protect him hadn’t really changed.
But now the feeling was a bit different.
Though his appearance, as if he might collapse at any moment, was pitiful, rather than wanting to protect him… she felt a sense of admiration.
Oh my goodness.
To think she’d feel admiration for none other than I Jian. It was so cringey.
It didn’t seem like the right expression to use for a close friend… but it was the only word that came to mind.
It was enough to make her reflect on herself.
She had dreamed of becoming an excellent chef, but reflecting on whether she had ever worked that hard for that dream.
Anyway, the current Jian was different from before.
Until he was in Korea, he had been a timid child without motivation in anything.
Seeing that Jian gritting his teeth and running toward his goal like that, she felt oddly proud.
The sight of him overcoming all the obstacles the beach sand threw at him and running on was cool and admirable.
“…”
Suddenly, Gim Jiu lowered her gaze.
And she grabbed a handful of sand with her hand.
She gripped it tightly.
…These damned sand bastards.
Her father—no, her uncle—was beside her, so she couldn’t curse out loud, but she cursed inwardly.
Seeing this sand that kept tripping Jian reminded her of some bad guys.
Those bastards, Juventus or whatever they’re called.
The worst bastards in the world who tormented Jian like this sand did.
She had only learned recently that such a thing had happened to Jian. It must have been the morning he left for his match.
She had been searching for Jian’s name as usual and saw it by chance.
That such a thing had happened to him.
“…Mph.”
Just thinking about it made curses spring to her lips again.
Thinking about what Jian had gone through, thinking about how hard it must have been for him because of that, her heart ached so much.
He was a fragile child to begin with; she was upset imagining how much he must have suffered mentally.
But Jian hadn’t fallen.
Just like now, trampling over this sand that grabbed his ankles and running ahead.
Jian didn’t fall, and eventually landed one blow—no, two blows on those bastards.
It was a bit of an embarrassing story, but she had cried watching that. She had wanted Jian to win more than ever, and when he actually won, she felt strangely grateful.
It was a good thing she watched the match alone in her room from the start, thinking she might do that.
“…”
The corners of Gim Jiu’s mouth, which had been drooping downward, curved upward.
Anyway, she had always felt that way, but after learning that such a thing had happened, she couldn’t help but root for Jian even more.
No matter what happened from now on, no matter the situation, she planned to cheer for and believe in Jian.
Winning or losing in matches wasn’t important.
It wasn’t because he was cool at soccer.
His effort, enduring even through such hardship, was what was cool.
Wasn’t that enough?
Well… the fact that he looked handsome even with his whole body drenched in sweat and gasping for breath was just a bonus.
‘…It’s unfair.’
Gim Jiu giggled.
He was a bit shy, a bit timid, sometimes snapped irritably, and didn’t really know anything besides soccer.
Take that away, and Jian was nothing but amazing.
To the point of making her jealous.
Since even that Jian was working so hard, she felt she couldn’t just stay still either.
Hmm.
But all she could do was cheer for him, so what could she do?
Ah! No, wait.
Jian liked the food she made for him the most, so she just had to make lots of delicious food.
That just so happened to be her specialty, didn’t it?
Great.
Just like Jian was training, tonight would be a cooking intensive. She would have to bring out all her skills to make something delicious.
Just as Gim Jiu clenched her lips and nodded with that resolve.
“……Oh my.”
Looking at I Jian in the distance again, Gim Jiu hurriedly covered her eyes with her hands.
In the brief moment she looked away, the four men’s outfits had become much lighter.
No, it wasn’t just light; only skin was visible to her eyes.
“Oh my… oh my…”
Through the gaps between her spread fingers, Gim Jiu’s eyes darted about.
・・・
“Huff… huff…”
No thoughts came to mind, and no sounds could be heard. The only thing audible was the rough beating of my heart.
They say when you train moderately hard, you want to live, and when you train really hard, you want to die.
Right now, it was so hard I wanted to die.
“Uwaaa—”
“Just kill me…”
It seemed I wasn’t the only one thinking that.
Groans could be heard here and there.
The Manager and Coach who had run on the sandy beach together, and Gino too, were sprawled out all over, barely gasping for breath.
At this rate, it wouldn’t be strange if someone suddenly gulped and stopped breathing.
We had to lie collapsed under the blazing sun for quite a while to catch our breath.
“Phew. I feel like I’m really going to die, but time sure does fly. Right?”
“Right? It’s already been a week since Jian got here.”
The Coach answered the Manager’s words.
I empathized and nodded too.
Time really flies.
A week had already passed since we came to this island.
It felt like we arrived just yesterday, yet the day to board the plane back to Florence was already approaching in three days.
To think we’d been doing this for a whole week.
“Gino and Jian. How is it? Can you feel your stamina improving?”
“Yes.” “Yes.”
Gino and I answered simultaneously to the Manager’s question.
I wondered if there could be a big change in just a week, but in reality, we had improved a lot.
On the first day, we couldn’t even do twenty round trips from one end to the other, but today, the seventh day, we passed thirty.
At this rate, I felt like my stamina had increased enough to run about ten more minutes in a match.
“I think everyone’s bodies have gotten better too.”
Not just simple cardiopulmonary endurance, but I felt my body’s balance had improved significantly too.
After running on this sandy beach for the first time, I had nearly died from the muscle pain felt throughout my entire body the next day.
According to the Coach, it was because I was using muscles I didn’t normally use.
Unlike flat ground, the sandy beach was uneven and feet sank deeply, so muscles used for balance were engaged much more.
Perhaps because of that, I even felt an inexplicable confidence that I could physically battle most players when I went back.
They were meaningful times.
“Should we make an active-duty comeback while we’re at it? I think we’re in better shape now than when we were playing.”
“Competing for a first-team starting spot is totally possible.”
We were feeling a sense of pride as we laughed like that, when Gino spoke.
“Thank you so much for running with us, Manager, Coach. If you hadn’t run with us, I don’t think we could have come this far.”
“Right. We’ve suffered a bit at this age.”
“What thanks. We’re more grateful you followed along without a word of complaint.”
Gino grinned at the Manager and Coach’s reply, then looked at me and said.
“Jian. Thanks.”
“…Me?”
“Yeah. If I ran one more lap thanks to the Coach, and one more lap thanks to the Manager… thanks to you, I think I could run three more.”
…But I didn’t do anything?
When I tilted my head, Gino scratched his short hair and said.
“I was greatly motivated. Even a genius like you trains like this, so how could a guy like me do things halfway? That’s why I really gritted my teeth and ran.”
“A genius. What are you…”
Who was calling who a genius.
As I fumbled my words in confusion, Gino looked at the Manager and Coach, grinned, and said.
“He still hasn’t gotten over this? I thought he’d be fully cured by now.”
At Gino’s words, the Manager and Coach smiled instead of answering.
…What does that mean.
“Jian.”
“Yeah?”
“You need to believe in yourself more. I don’t know who’s giving advice to whom… but this is something I’ve wanted to tell you for a while.”
“…”
“I worked hard too. But let alone the first team, even playing in U19 matches was hard. But you’re a year younger than me and yet you’re playing in the first team. And phenomenally so.”
When I remained silent, Gino put his hand on my shoulder.
“You really are a genius. So, you know, yeah? You don’t have to be so humble. If I were you, I’d already be walking around with my shoulders back saying I’m the best in the world? I’m jealous, really.”
Gino said that and patted my shoulder, and the Manager and Coach laughed heartily.
…I felt strange.
That strange feeling I had when hearing Gino’s story on the first day was coming back.
Gino calling me a genius. It felt like the world had flipped upside down.
But… hmm.
Somehow, hearing Gino say that made me feel like squaring my shoulders a little.
Sigh. I don’t know.
I looked at the sea, gentle waves lapping.
The feeling was still subtle.
“By the way, Jian?”
“…Yes?”
Looking at the sea like that, I answered the Coach’s call, and he said.
“What are you doing tomorrow? Do you have anything prepared?”
“…Tomorrow? Train… shouldn’t I?”
“What? Training?”
“Why…?”
At my answer, the Coach’s face contorted.
Not only that, but the Manager and Gino too stared at me with strange expressions.
…Why?
“Seems like he forgot the date too. Do you not know what day tomorrow is?”
“…What day is it?”
“December 24th. It’s Christmas Eve. You’re going to train and leave your girlfriend behind on Christmas Eve?”
“Jian. No matter how much the Manager is on your side, I can’t take your side on this one.”
“I think so too.”
…Ah.
Come to think of it, time had already flown to that point.
Christmas Eve…
But, do you really have to do something?
“Of course, you punk! You’re on vacation together on this beautiful island on Christmas Eve. You’re saying you have no plans?”
“That’s not right, Jian. Your girlfriend is probably looking forward to it a lot.”
Ah, no.
Is that how it is?
Suddenly my head became a mess.
She’ll be looking forward to it a lot?
What… what should I do?
Should I ask Dad?
“…”
No.
It wasn’t… a good topic to ask Dad about.
…Hmm.
I felt sorry for Dad for no reason.