“···Hey.”
“Hmm?”
“What is··· your dream?”
“···Dream? All of a sudden?”
At my question, Jiu opens her eyes wide and looks at me.
Hmm.
Even I thought it was a rather out-of-the-blue question.
But I was suddenly curious.
What is Jiu’s dream?
“Well, for me, it’s obviously becoming a successful chef.”
Even at the sudden question, Jiu answers without hesitation.
“What does it mean to succeed as a chef···?”
“Well, if you think about it generally, there’s becoming a chef at a hotel or a famous restaurant. Or opening your own shop. But since everyone has different standards for success, I don’t think I can say it’s exactly this one thing, right?”
“Hmm. What’s your standard for success?”
“Me? I’m sure. I’m going to open my own shop. The reason I decided to study cooking was because I wanted to open a shop.”
Jiu says with a determined face, and she looks really cool.
Being able to answer without hesitation to this kind of question means she knows herself that well.
“···That’s cool.”
“All of a sudden?”
“No, it’s just. Having a dream is a cool thing.”
“Well, are you only realizing now how cool this noona is?”
Jiu shrugs her shoulders, and when I break into a smile, Jiu also giggles.
I asked,
“The restaurant··· in Korea?”
“Hmm, well?”
Jiu shrugs.
“I want to open it in Europe rather than Korea.”
“···Why?”
“Why else. It’s because my major is Western cuisine. It’s cooler to succeed in the home country of that cuisine. Hmm. First, I’ll put the main branch in Italy. Then I’ll open the second branch in the UK. How’s that? Cool, right?”
“Cool.”
“Ha, it’s weird how you’re admitting it so readily today. Ijian.”
Seeing Jiu grumble for no reason while the corners of her mouth rise, I also find myself smiling.
I guess anyone would be like this, but it seems Jiu is weak to compliments too.
“But why the UK for the second branch? I heard the food there is really bad.”
“That’s exactly why. Since those kids eat terrible food all the time, wouldn’t they lose their minds if they ate my food? It’s the concept of volunteer work.”
“···Somehow that sounds like it’s about Dad and me.”
“Quick. You catch on fast.”
Jiu laughs.
“Well, actually, there are tons of incredibly famous restaurants in the UK. Restaurants that rank among the best in the world. There are lots of chefs too. I want to stand shoulder to shoulder with people like that.”
“I see···.”
Seeing Jiu get serious talking about her main field feels quite different. She gets serious when talking about this stuff too.
Maybe because we’ve been close since we were young, we’d never really shared such serious conversations before.
So Jiu had that kind of dream.
“What about you?”
“···Me?”
“What’s your dream? Well, I guess it’s obviously becoming the world’s best soccer player?”
This time, Jiu asks me, and I fall into thought for a moment.
Hmm. My dream.
Well.
There are a few things that come to mind right now.
Well, continuing to win games in the future··· not getting injured··· and helping my seniors achieve a high ranking too.
I probably have goals like that.
But those weren’t my dreams.
They’re just goals right in front of me.
I think a dream isn’t something right before your eyes, but something at your back.
The force that pushes my back toward the goals before my eyes.
Isn’t that what a dream is?
In that sense, I couldn’t call those things my dreams.
Then what is my dream?
My dream is···
It’s difficult, but I think it’s probably about being able to hold my head high before myself.
Becoming someone who can tell Jiu that I’m a soccer genius without feeling guilty inside.
Thinking about it, that was my driving force.
The reason I could work hard through tough training, the reason I want to win every match, was all so that my lie wouldn’t be found out.
So in the end, isn’t that my dream?
To be able to say that I’m a soccer genius without my conscience pricking me.
To stand proudly in front of Jiu.
“How great of a dream is it that you’re worrying over it like that?”
“···Ah. Well, that’s right. It’s becoming the best player.”
I answer, nodding my head.
Becoming the best player isn’t exactly my dream, but it’s not wrong either since I need to become the best to achieve my dream.
“Then you’ve already achieved it?”
“···Huh?”
“Isn’t that right? Everyone says so. That our Jian is the best. You’ve already achieved your dream, haven’t you?”
At Jiu’s words, I let out a short laugh and shake my head.
“I’ve still got a long way to go. Um, that is. Not yet.”
“Not yet? What kind of standard is that high?”
Should I say my standards are high?
Rather than high standards, it’s just that there are so many geniuses in the world.
I’m still far off.
“Geniuses are naturally strict with themselves.”
“···What are you on about.”
See.
If a corner of my heart still pricks me, then I’m indeed still far away.
Well, anyway.
As we walked and talked, we had arrived at the center of the shopping mall before we knew it.
I look around my surroundings··· and finally discover the purpose for which I brought Jiu all the way here.
A Puma store catches my eye.
“Huh.”
“What?”
“That···”
When I point ahead with my hand, Jiu’s gaze turns that way as well.
I speak as if I didn’t know anything.
“Isn’t that me?”
“···Uh, yeah. It’s you.”
My photo was hanging large on the glass wall of the store.
Goodness me.
Seeing how I brought Jiu all the way here because I wanted to try this, I’ve still got a long way to go before becoming an adult.
“Hey. You called me here to show me that, didn’t you?”
“No··· I didn’t know.”
“You didn’t know, my foot. And here I thought you called me because you wanted to hang out with me. Wow, really. I knew you had other intentions. So this is why Dad told me not to follow people who say they’ll buy me tasty food.”
“···”
But now that I’ve done it, I feel a bit of self-loathing.
What the hell am I doing right now?
I really didn’t know my photo would be hanging up that big.
I thought it would just be small, tucked in a corner··· but one entire side of the glass wall was my photo.
It was a photo taken at the photographer’s request with a thoroughly arrogant expression, but facing my giant self like this was unbearably embarrassing.
“Let’s go··· to eat.”
“Go where. Take out your phone.”
“···Why?”
“You gotta take a proof shot.”
Reality crashing down on me, I try to leave quickly, but Jiu runs over with light steps and takes a spot in front of my photo.
Then she makes the exact same expression as my photo.
“Take it, hurry!”
“···Okay.”
I captured that look in a photo.
···She’s cute, though.
“Did it come out well?”
“Well···”
“Hmm. It came out okay. Our Jian, I’m so proud. Your photography skills are improving.”
“Thanks to someone.”
“Right. Thanks to your noona. Even having your photo hung up in the middle of Florence is all thanks to your noona. Right?”
“Yeah, yeah.”
“I’m so proud. So proud.”
She might be saying it jokingly, but Jiu’s face really looked proud.
Seeing her like that, for some reason I felt proud too.
“···Let’s go eat something expensive.”
I suddenly wanted to spend money like crazy.
...
“Today, I will defeat you.”
“That’s impossible.”
“Why?”
“Because it’s impossible.”
When I answer Rika Romero’s nonsense with nonsense of my own, the guy makes a strange expression.
His eyes burn fiercely.
“Even if you say it’s impossible, there’s nothing I can do about it! Today will be the day I surpass you!”
At his words, the seniors preparing for the match burst into laughter.
···What an embarrassing friend.
How can he say such cringeworthy lines that you’d only find in manga without batting an eye?
But he has his cute side too.
When I said the secret to my skills was Puma cleats, he really showed up at training the next day wearing Puma cleats.
After the news broke that I had signed a sponsorship contract with Puma, he poured out a sense of betrayal, saying he’d been tricked, but.
“Why aren’t you answering! The truth is, you’re scared, aren’t you? Of this body’s growth rate. You’re afraid you’ll be caught up to at any moment?”
Ignoring the guy babbling on his own, I tie my shoelaces tight.
Then, the captain sitting to my left whispers to me.
“Play along with him a bit. He’s the type to fly around if you praise him.”
“···”
“I’m asking you. The guy who won’t listen to a damn thing the others say changed his cleats because of one word from you. Just humor him.”
I don’t feel like it, but the captain is asking me this earnestly, so I have no choice.
“···Yeah. I’m scared. That you’ll catch up.”
“Mwahaha! I knew it! But what can I do? Even if you’re scared, I’m going to catch up to you!”
When I act moderately scared, Romero’s shoulders puff up to the fullest.
If he gets this happy from one word of mine, I can act scared as much as he wants···
But I really don’t know why he’s so obsessed with me.
“Alright, alright. Let’s go out for warm-ups soon.”
“Let’s go, let’s go!”
Postponing understanding him for later, I finish preparing to leave the locker room.
Today is the day of the round of 16 match of the cup tournament called the Coppa Italia, and the opponent was Bologna.
It was a match held at the opponent’s home.
Perhaps that’s why, as soon as we exited the tunnel, what greeted us were the blatant boos of the home fans.
“Booooo-!!”
“You won’t get past!”
“Because you won’t be able to beat us!!”
“You won’t be returning in one piece!!”
As if to prove they’re local rivals.
Boos I’d never heard at any away stadium poured down.
They were quite blatant.
But even at such boos, the seniors just snickered and went out to warm up.
Was it because they’d heard it all before?
Hmm···
If that’s the case, even me, playing here for the first time, don’t feel much.
Since today’s match is a tournament game with no draws, of course there’s the tension that we absolutely have to win···
But it’s not like I feel intimidated just because I’m being booed by tens of thousands of people.
Rather than scared, hmm··· what should I call this.
I don’t know well, but anyway, that’s how it was.
However, there was one thing I was worried about.
That is, Jiu and Dad had come to this stadium.
From Florence to Bologna is close enough to arrive by train in 40 minutes, so the two had come to watch the match in person.
I’m worried that Jiu or Dad might be worried about me needlessly.
To show them that I’m fine, I warmed up more energetically than ever.
“Alright, alright. Let’s stop here and head back in!”
Finishing the warm-up like that, we head back to the locker room. As expected, boos pour down again, but the captain showed spirit by raising his middle finger at those home fans.
As expected.
I thought that the captain of Fiorentina isn’t a position just anyone can hold.
*
The match began with the opponent’s kickoff, and from the early minutes, it started flowing quite fiercely.
“Press! Fill the gaps!”
“Come up! Come up!”
The manager had said that since we were ahead in objective strength, the opponent would sit back defensively and play the match.
And so they did.
The opponent came out in a 5-4-1 formation with three central defenders, dropping their overall line back and building a solid defensive wall.
We were the picture of pressing such an opponent from a high position and driving them back.
Because of that, the match naturally had to become a bit fierce.
It was already a single-match rivalry game, and on top of that, our tactics collided head-on.
“Beep-!”
Thanks to that, the referee’s whistle is busy today.
A foul is given to Romero, who touched the opponent’s ankle while pressing.
“This! What! Foul!”
Romero protests unfairly, but it was a foul even in my eyes.
The other seniors seem to think so too as they return to their positions, and the guy grumbles.
Anyway, even though it hasn’t even been about 10 minutes yet, many fouls were piling up.
It’s natural since neither side has any intention of backing down.
We and the opponent were about even, but if we had to say who committed more fouls, it was the opponent.
Since the positions where we clashed were inevitably in the opponent’s territory, it couldn’t be helped.
“···”
As I thought that, my head, spinning sharply, tells me at once.
That today, it would be better to play a bit more cunningly.
“Beep-!”
As the match resumes with the referee’s whistle, our pressing begins again.
I too participate in the press while maintaining a certain distance from the surrounding teammates.
For good pressing, everyone must move as one body.
It’s no good getting greedy thinking you can run one step more than the others.
“Rika! The line!”
When I shout at Romero, who keeps trying to rush out on his own, the guy looks around and matches the line.
He’s an annoying guy normally, but in times like this, he’s good.
Unlike the other seniors, I can give him orders to my heart’s content.
Tap-tap-tap-!
We press the opponent without rest.
As we approach quickly while maintaining a constant distance, I can feel the opponent’s movements gradually growing more urgent.
When pressing like this, there’s a moment when you get the feeling that this will work.
The feeling that the opponent will make a mistake.
Now was that moment.
Pa-ang-!
The opponent’s pass is cut off.
Finally, Romero did something.
The guy, having cut off the opponent’s pass with a sliding tackle,
Pa-ang-!
Immediately passes to me.
I take that pass···
Pa-ang-!
Kick it long forward and run.
Since I had already grasped all the opponent’s positions while pressing, no separate preparatory movement was needed.
I only had to follow the route I’d already spotted.
Tap-tap-tap-!
I drive the ball up toward the front of the box.
Then I see the opponent’s central defenders narrowing the gap.
Because of that, the left and right sides open up, and it would have been good if teammates had quickly penetrated that space···
Too late.
But it doesn’t matter much.
Since I’ve already reached near the box, I just need to be more bold.
It’s an opponent with many fouls today.
I intended to use that.
Tap-tap-tap-!
The defensive gap looks narrow to get through, but I advance without thinking about the consequences.
The opponent must be dumbfounded too.
Wondering what guts I have to charge at them like this.
I could see it.
That they’re flustered.
Tuk-!
I tap the ball forward, slipping it between the defender’s legs. And twisting my body, I squeeze into the narrow space.
I was trying to send the ball through first and then get past···
Pueo-eok-!
I’m blocked by the ensuing impact and come to a stop.
I fall on my butt.
Even though I was the one charging in, I’m the one who fell.
As expected, I can’t win in physical contests.
But it didn’t matter.
“Beeeep-!”
A lightning-like whistle rings out, and I see the referee pointing to the penalty mark with his hand.
He recognized my fall as a foul.
“Nice one! Kid!”
“Good job, good job! You earned it, kid!”
I take the seniors’ hands and get up.
Even I thought it was a bit reckless, but I succeeded, so it’s all good.
I earned one.
Just as I’m nodding and dusting off my butt.
“Here.”
“···?”
I reflexively catch the ball thrown at me.
It was Bonaventura who threw it.
The senior tilts his head and points toward the goal.
“You take it.”
W-wait a minute.
The kicker is originally Bonaventura.
But he’s telling me to take it?
“Since you earned it anyway, it doesn’t matter if you fail. Give it a shot.”
Pushed forward against my will, I stand before the penalty mark.
A penalty kick.
Of all things, it had to be a penalty kick. It’s one of the things I hate most···
“Boooooo-!!”
Moreover, all kinds of boos pour down on me.
To think I have to take a penalty kick in front of this··· Is it sca··· It’s not scary?
“···”
I place the ball on the penalty mark. It was strange.
It should normally be extremely burdensome and scary, but it wasn’t particularly so.
Instead, I just felt something in that moment.
I step back a few paces after placing the ball, looking at the home fans pouring rough boos at me···
Should I say it feels silly?
Yeah. The emotion I felt before the match earlier was this too.
They’re trying so hard to intimidate me, but it’s not scary.
Why is that?
I suddenly think of Dad and Jiu, who must be cheering for me from somewhere in the stands.
I think that’s it.
What means more to me is those two’s cheers rather than the boos of tens of thousands.
Isn’t that why I’m not scared?
“Beep-!”
I nodded and ran toward the ball.
< New Experience -3 > End