Here we are. Another important step.
The stadium lights were so bright that they bleached the grass.
The cacophony was indescribable. The noise echoed, rolled, and resonated inside the bowl-shaped coliseum like a crashing wave. I've been in this situation countless tis in the past, and even more so over the last couple of months. I should've been excited, like I usually was before an important ga.
By now, the roar should've lit up, turned my blood into rocket fuel. I should've been running out there on legs pumped up with the superhuman power of a bulldozer, with fire pouring out of my mouth and eyes, roaring as loud as the crowd.
It did, a little.
But not as much as usual. I was more excited about getting the match over with than the thrill of the actual match itself.
My body couldn't show anything other than a robotic composure.
My mind was focused on finishing the tournant and taking it down, as soon as humanly possible, and returning ho, because that was where the real victory, the real winning trophy, the real high would be.
'Co here, little bro. Give your Noona lots of hugs and kisses... and—'
Mia's eyes peered at .
'Jae-il... I've got another idea for a kiss, this ti, both leads are naked and—'
Su Ah's eyes peered at .
Hah.
I shook my head. The fantasy bubbles slowly scattered.
Leave it to Su Ah to fuck with my head, screw it so I couldn't think of anything besides what she'd said and did that night. Leave it to her and to Mia. Both devil-bitches had royally screwed over. I had taken a chance, a stupid one, with Mia. Now that I'd touched the golden snake with my stick, there would be repercussions and complications aplenty, especially since I wasn't fully equipped to handle her psychotic tendencies.
As for Su Ah...
She was a problematic variable.
Even if Su Ah ended up as an unwanted consequence, and a headache I really could've lived without, this particular elephant couldn't just be pushed into a closet and forgotten about. Dealing with Mia and whatever ca along with being with her was manageable, in the greater sche of things.
That being said, our deal was a secret. It wasn't like we could flaunt anything openly. Mia would, obviously, keep her mouth shut. It was her neck on the block, too, but with Su Ah in the fray? The mont either of the sisters so much as breathed the wrong thing at the wrong place at the wrong ti, the jig would be up.
If the rest of the family ever got wind that both sisters had engaged in unspeakable acts with their brother, it would be a whole other ss. Let alone if shit blew up on an international scale, because that's where my career was heading.
A shitty situation. Truly.
I took a deep breath and rolled my shoulders, bouncing on my feet. Tap. Tap. I knocked the tip of my boot against the floor.
Yeah, it was better to focus my thoughts elsewhere, like the ball at my feet. My ga face was firmly plastered, and hopefully, none would see or suspect just how much stress was wearing down on my psyche.
We were surrounded by people, packed shoulder to shoulder like commuters in an elevator.
This wasn't a big event on the world stage—not by any ans. U-17 had their monts of glory as well, but no one really talks about us.
I don't have the endorsents and clout of the U-21 players. Just so dia attention. A decent following. And a whole lot of expectations. 'That one handso Korean guy who plays football.' The football fangirls wouldn't pay nearly the sa amount of attention if I weren't as good-looking.
"Co on, guys. We've got this!"
Soone said from the back. Jong-su. Definitely that bastard.
"Shit… I can't believe we got this far."
"I an, we couldn't possibly lose with Jae-il and Jun-hwan."
"Ah, don't jinx it. Don't jinx it!"
"Jae-il looks mad focused today…"
"He looks more handso too."
"......"
My teammates chattered behind .
Eagerness. Excitent. Anxiety. They encouraged themselves that we'd take this one ho too, while I silently encouraged myself that this ga I had going on with my sisters was not the type to risk my entire fucking life, career, happiness, and future over.
Focus on football.
Focus on the ball.
I opened my eyes and filed out of the tunnel along with everyone else.
The air was warr than usual today. I briefly squinted under the bright lights.
Cara flashes. Thousands of phones. Hundreds of eyes. Voices. Heat. Then, in the stands, soone in the crowd. They began screaming my na. More screaming. Then the whole place erupted. It was deafening.
I jogged onto the pitch.
Then everything started happening in the most traditional fashion. Warm-up. Coach talking tactics. Captains eting. Token handshake with the opposing captain. Go to the middle. Cheers. Smiles. Gave each other pats on the shoulder and waved to the fans.
Finally, the familiar whistle cut through the air.
I received the ball with the inside of my foot. And for one blessed second, everything else vanished. Mia's nails on my back. Her thighs locked tightly around . Su Ah's lips on mine, grinding herself on . It was just . Just the ball and the grass beneath my boots. It felt like old tis.
I played it back, giving the rest of the team enough ti and space to spread out. I knew the ball would eventually find Jun-hwan's feet; he was the maestro in the midfield after all. So I focused on running up the field. The ball was a living thing now, moving from one side of the pitch to the other, with the Saudi defense struggling to regain possession.
I went into motion. A leisurely stroll that turned into a sprint. My legs pumped with power. A path slowly cleared, opening up a lane ahead of . I pushed up the center as Jun-hwan faked one, sending a looping pass up.
Ah, it was perfect. The spirit of Pirlo lived within him.
The pass was aid straight at my run and headed almost perfectly. I read it a step before it arrived and redirected it perfectly onto my right foot.
I brought it down, controlled it, let the pressure of my touch put a spin on it, then transferred to my left. In three quick steps, I went on the offensive, going face-to-face with a Saudi player.
The mont the defender stepped, I adjusted and cut left. He tried to follow, to lock in. I faked towards the right. He committed. I pushed left again, faster than before. He lost balance for a split-second, stumbling slightly on his heels.
That split-second was all I needed.
I exploded past him.
A few yards later, there were more players, but my pace had been too great. I shot forward, cutting across the entire half with a swerve that took the fullbacks by surprise.
Now the only thing I could hear was the rush of my blood past my eardrums and the pounding of the grass under my feet.
One player managed to squeeze himself in the way, to cut off my access.
It didn't matter.
With an overstep that threatened a rolling ankle and a feint that had him flat-footed, I shot to the right, giving him a false glimpse of which direction I intended to go.
He still managed to swing a leg my way. His studs clipped my ankle. I winced, nearly tumbled, but quickly re-positioned and balanced and darted right back. Two other defenders ca to stop the unstoppable. I grinned when one cut off in front of , the other sneakily grabbing a fistful of my shirt and trying to trip .
I nudged the ball away from the first defender, letting it roll just far enough that he had to lunge. He missed. The second one still had jersey in his fist, so I dropped my shoulder hard, spun out of his grip like I was shedding a coat and left both defenders flat and in the dust.
I sped away, like a soaring bird. The crowd erupted and my teammates roared from behind as I sprinted into an emptier box. The Saudi's defence desperately closed ranks before I could squeeze through the gap. It didn't matter. I smiled. Go for a shot? Nah. I an, I could've. Sure. But from this distance there were no guarantees.
And, well, soone was making such a beautiful overlapping run that it would've been an insult not to pass it to him. I had hogged the ball long enough. My eyes flicked up.
I looked towards Sung-tae on my right—who was dashing forward, his arm raised. I had seen him. Of course I did.
So I passed it to Dae-hyun on my left, never taking my eyes off of Sung-tae.
The remaining Saudi defenders were fooled, leaving a yawning gap open. The goalie reacted.
Dae-hyun connected, and his long, graceful stride bought him enough distance to toe it and push the ball right into the box. A brief touch to adjust, and he hamred a clean strike with the inside of his foot.
Thud!
The shot had such a hard, fast flick on it. A slight curler. The keeper slid, but was just short, and the ball snuck past him and rolled into the back of the net.
1-0
My team erupted.
"Good run, you crazy man!"
Sung-tae leapt over to Dae-hyun's side and went in for a jumping hug. "What do you have in those legs? Jesus Christ!" He whooped, pumping a fist. The guys all cheered, back-slapping and ruffling hair in an enthusiastic mass dogpile.
Yes, the dogpile was a ritual no one could escape from. Enjoy the sweaty pile, Dae-hyun!
"Jae-il, you beast! What the fuck did they feed you back there, son?!"
"Kimchi." I chirped, a smile on my face.
"Such a dribbling freak, dude."
I have two polls going on guys, I'd appreciate if you could leave a vote.
One for a Jungle Juice fanfiction, here -> Jungle Juice Poll
One for an original story, here -> Original Story Poll
A/N: Please consider supporting on Patreon and get access to over 30 chapters, illustrations, and even gifs. :)
Or if you simply want to buy a Monster Energy -> Ko-fi
Discord -> Discord
User Comments
0 comments from readers