An Exceptionally Bright Day -3
‘When is he coming out…’
Sitting in a quiet corner of the sparsely populated stands, Kim Jiu watched the match with her hands clasped together anxiously.
She checked the time almost every five minutes.
The first half had ended, and dozens of minutes had already passed, yet Lee Jian still hadn’t appeared.
Before the match, when they had messaged back and forth.
He had said that since today’s opponent was a weak team, the ace—himself—might not play.
Is he really not playing today? Anxiety and regret washed over her.
But just as she was stamping her feet impatiently.
“Ah… It’s Jian…!”
Finally, Lee Jian revealed himself.
Three players had come out from the bench and started warming up, and among them was Lee Jian.
“Jian…!”
Overjoyed, Kim Jiu unconsciously sprang up from her seat, then sat back down, looking around nervously for no reason.
Fortunately, there weren’t many people, so she didn’t draw attention.
“Whew…”
Hands clasped, Kim Jiu watched Lee Jian as he ran along the white line of the pitch, warming up.
He rotated his shoulders in circles, lifted his knees to his chest, and sprinted in short bursts.
Seeing Lee Jian warming up as if he would enter the match any moment, her heart began beating like crazy for no reason.
Far away, Lee Jian’s face looked calm, so why was she the one trembling more?
Her hands were drenched in sweat.
“When is he getting in…?”
Even after quite some time had passed since he started warming up, nothing changed, and Kim Jiu muttered as if she were about to cry.
No, seriously, they got the kid ready—why isn’t anyone paying attention! He’s warming up so diligently!
At this rate, he’ll waste all his energy!
Whether it’s the manager or whoever, send Jian in quickly!
Just as harsh words were about to burst out of her without her realizing.
“Ah…!”
Lee Jian took off the bib he was wearing.
And he stood before the white line as if about to enter the pitch. Soon the match paused briefly, and a player in a purple uniform slowly began walking off the field.
‘Hurry up, you bastard!’
Our Jian needs to get in quickly. It was annoying, but since he was on the same team, she only thought it inwardly.
Anyway, like that, Lee Jian sprinted out onto the pitch.
‘Crazy! He really went in!’
Now her heart was beating as if it would burst.
It was strange. This wasn’t like her.
She had never been the type to get nervous, and she had never understood when her friends fangirled over actors or idols.
But the moment Lee Jian stepped onto the pitch, her heart dropped as if she had let a child loose by the water’s edge.
She wasn’t even the one playing; why was she so nervous?
At the same time, she found herself wishing Jian would get past all those blond heads and score a goal.
‘Give it to Jian, Jian! Pass the ball to Jian…!’
Pass the ball, you big-nosed bastards!
You’ve already kicked the ball to your heart’s content, right?
When a kid just came in, you should give him the ball to kick; these kids have no consideration……
“Ah, ah, ah! That’s it! The ball! Get it! Jian!”
Had her desperate wish reached him? As the ball flowed toward Lee Jian, Kim Jiu half-rose from her seat.
Lee Jian ran toward the ball.
At the same time, a big guy chased right after him; it was terrifying.
If someone that huge rammed him from behind, Jian would just get sent flying.
If he pulls something like that, I won’t let him go, really!
“…Wow!”
But Lee Jian was faster than Kim Jiu had thought.
The moment he received the ball, he quickly turned and shook off the big guy, just like a nimble cat.
And Lee Jian continued to drive the ball forward.
Continuously, smoothly.
It was almost amazing how the ball stuck to his feet while running that fast.
No one could catch Lee Jian.
Bwaaaaang—!
And the moment that clear sound rang out.
With her eyes, nose, and mouth all widened to their maximum, Kim Jiu felt as if time were flowing slowly.
WhoOOOOOosh—
No, it wasn’t just a feeling.
Time really did slow down, didn’t it?
‘If you block this, you’re dead!!’
As the towering goalkeeper leaped and stretched his hands toward Lee Jian’s shot, Kim Jiu clenched her fists.
He had let in like three goals earlier.
If he suddenly blocks this now, he’s dead, seriously!
What had he eaten to make his arms so long? It seemed like the ball would be blocked by those long arms.
But contrary to her worries, the ball was being sucked into an unstoppable spot.
Thwack—!!
At that moment, Kim Jiu burst into an unintelligible dialect, bouncing up and down in her seat.
*
“I told you-! He can do i-! No proble-!”
“H-hey! Calm down!”
As Coach Luca tried to leap from the bench, Manager Tony grabbed his clothes and calmed him down.
“Look! At that!”
“I get it, so please… The kids are watching.”
“Ah, hu… Yes. Whoo-!”
Despite Manager Tony’s restraint, Coach Luca, his face flushed red, couldn’t contain himself and let out a stream of exclamations.
About five minutes ago.
In the discussion about who to substitute in for Gino, it was Coach Luca who had insisted on putting in Jian.
Manager Tony had worried that it was still too soon, but Coach Luca’s strong insistence had prevailed.
Of course, Manager Tony was equally eager to see Lee Jian in action soon.
However, Lee Jian’s attitude had only changed two weeks ago.
Tony had hesitated, afraid that if he sent him out in a hurry, Jian might be overcome by nerves and pressure and revert to his passive self.
But Coach Luca had observed Lee Jian in the reserve squad and pushed for it.
He said Jian had definitely changed, that he seemed to have made up his mind properly.
He even pressed Manager Tony, saying that with the score at 3-0, there was no better low-pressure opportunity than this.
Rather, he argued that if they didn’t play him after he had worked so hard, his motivation might be crushed, and he refused to back down.
And as a result, look.
He’s pulling it off.
Actually, until just before stepping onto the pitch, he had been frozen stiff, so I wondered if I had been wrong.
But once he got in, he’s showing exactly what he does in training.
That’s talent, I’m telling you, that’s talent.
“Phew…”
Manager Tony let out a long sigh.
Even though Manager Tony had known Coach Luca was right, he felt good.
It was only natural, since Manager Tony had been the first to recognize Lee Jian’s talent.
Honestly, just a few weeks ago, Manager Tony had been pessimistic.
He had believed that a person’s character… isn’t as easy to change as one might think.
He thought it was easier for skill to change.
Cases where a child who didn’t seem particularly talented suddenly unleashed their potential as they accumulated experience.
Manager Tony had seen such cases often.
But cases where someone overcame their innate personality and grew were so few that even counting on one hand would leave fingers remaining.
That’s right.
You don’t change it; you overcome it.
That was why it was difficult, and that was why he had rooted for him.
How could he not cheer for a child challenging something difficult?
“Phew, I feel so relieved. Really.”
Watching Coach Luca, who couldn’t calm his excitement and held his fist tight as if it were his own affair, Manager Tony chuckled.
Having been with Coach Luca since their playing days, Manager Tony knew why he was so excited.
It was because Coach Luca had also suffered from trauma during his own playing days.
It was a long story, but to put it simply.
There had been a time when they missed out on the championship trophy because of Luca’s mistake.
And that season happened to be the retirement season of the manager who had been his mentor.
The thought that he had personally blown the last gift for his mentor had shocked Luca, and he had fallen into a deep slump for a while.
This might seem irrelevant to Lee Jian, but they shared a common thread in that both had been wounded in the mind while suffering under pressure.
Circumstances may differ, but pain can be the same.
Manager Tony placed a hand on Coach Luca’s shoulder and said.
“He will overcome it.”
“Of course. If I had gone through it at that young age, I probably wouldn’t have overcome it. But he’s stronger than me. He may look like that, but he’s a strong kid.”
“I know, I know. Calm down. Don’t you trust me?”
“Of course I do.”
It was Tony, who had been a coach back then, who had pulled the player Luca Caparoni out of his slump.
“How about sending him as a starter in the next match?”
“A starter.”
“Isn’t the contract renewal coming up soon? The director will be coming with a sour face before long.”
“The timing is good.”
“If possible, I’d like to see him get a pro contract.”
“We’ll have to wrap it up nicely.”
“No. If we can show him as he is, that will be enough.”
Coach Luca and Manager Tony.
The two looked at Lee Jian and nodded.
*
“He’s definitely different!”
“Great shot!”
“He really is different!”
After my shot rippled the net.
The kids ran up to me and congratulated me.
It was hard to understand exactly what they were saying, but it felt like congratulations anyway.
It wasn’t that I couldn’t understand Italian—I just didn’t know what was supposedly so different.
No, but that wasn’t important…
It went in.
And on the first shot.
Actually, it was the picture I had been drawing in my head the entire time I watched the match.
Gino’s movements, and the opponent’s movements—I had observed them carefully, thinking about how I should move if I went in.
The movement just now was exactly what I had been thinking about.
Drawing the defense out and dropping down, switching with Domenico just like in training, then driving into the center with a quick turn before shooting right away.
It was the picture I had drawn, but I hadn’t known it would be realized perfectly on the first touch.
I was so dazed that I stood there stupidly even after scoring, then suddenly came to my senses and looked around the stands.
We had promised to look for Jiu first after scoring.
Where would she be…
Ah.
It wasn’t hard to find Jiu.
Partly because there weren’t many spectators to begin with…
And with her jumping up and down calling my name like that, it would be hard not to find her.
What is this… should I at least greet her?
Thinking of an appropriate way, I spread two fingers in a salute, then turned around.
……Did I overdo it?
*
“Hey. Do it again.”
“…What?”
“That thing from before. What you did to me after scoring.”
“…Why that?”
“I said do it again. Why? Embarrassed? Huh? Huh?”
…Why did I do that?
I think I’ve just made a dark memory.
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