NOVEL WEB Chapter 4.2
A precious chat with a classmate… Who knew it would be this hard to just talk to someone?
Beeeep!
The whistle blew, signaling the start of the game.
“Let’s go!”
The forwards, midfielders, and center-back all dashed forward.
Meanwhile, the goalkeeper, left-back, and I, the right-back, were left standing awkwardly at the back.
“…”
“…”
This is so awkward… painfully awkward.
A wave of regret suddenly hit me.
Ah… hiding out at the PC café or library was a blessing in disguise.
Next time, I’ll never complain or feel down about it again. That was a luxury, damn it!
“You’re doing great!!!”
Thankfully—or maybe not so thankfully—our team was doing well, and the ball hadn’t come near us at all.
The girls’ attention was focused beyond the midfield, and no one was looking in my direction anymore.
Growl.
…Great. And now I’m hungry.
And to top it all off, I’m starving.
How long are they planning to play? It probably won’t be 90 minutes… maybe two 30-minute halves, so about an hour?
“Oh, they’re playing soccer again?”
“Oh! Hello, senior!”
“Mm, hi.”
Meanwhile, more female classmates and seniors started gathering at the benches one by one.
What the hell is going on? Why is everyone gathering? It’s not like this is some epic match or anything!
Feeling awkward, I nervously shuffled over toward the center-back position, trying to avoid drawing any attention.
The goalkeeper, apparently bored, had already run past the halfway line.
“Pass it up! Pass it up! Send it!”
“Here it comes!”
Cheers and shouts echoed repeatedly from the far end of the field.
Meanwhile, our end remained peaceful and quiet.
Ah… so peaceful. It felt oddly familiar, like the comforting scent of home. It was just like high school.
Back then, I used to just loiter around, killing time and staring up at the sunlit sky…
Thinking about it that way made me feel a bit more at ease.
“Man, I’m exhausted.”
“Whew! Hey, let’s take a 10-minute break!”
“Got it!”
And just like that, the first half ended without me contributing a single thing. Remarkable.
The ball rarely came down past the midfield, and even when it did, the midfielders would dash in like lightning to steal it away.
Must be the start-of-semester energy—everyone trying to impress the seniors by running their hearts out.
“Here’s some water, senior!”
“Oh, thanks!”
Even on the bench, it was awkward.
I wasn’t sweating, so I didn’t need water, and everyone’s attention was focused elsewhere, leaving me in this extremely awkward limbo.
“…”
“…”
In the middle of it all, my eyes met the left-back’s—a fellow defender in the same situation as me.
Both of us quickly averted our gazes, equally embarrassed.
During the short break, lively conversations continued all around.
Topics ranged from games, school life, group dates, meals, and even today’s trending issues, moving so quickly that I couldn’t keep up.
At least time was passing by quickly.
I stuck close enough to be part of the circle but not too close to draw attention. Just listening in was enough, and sometimes, I picked up useful tips.
Stuff like advice on classes or professors… so this is why it’s good to hang around seniors.
“Oh, that textbook for the major? Don’t buy it. I’ll lend you mine. You can copy it if you want.”
“Thank you!”
Copying textbooks? Now that’s something I’d be interested in too.
The short break soon came to an end, and the game resumed immediately.
Occasionally, I noticed glances from female classmates or seniors that seemed to say, Who’s that guy? but I pretended not to notice and focused on the game… or at least tried to.
Why am I paying tuition just to feel this level of humiliation… ugh.
“Alright, let’s go again! With energy this time!”
“Yes!”
Despite the fierce back-and-forth action, the score remained 0-0.
I’m starting to worry they might drag this into overtime.
Still, there’s some good news—or maybe not.
After this, everyone’s going to lunch together.
Well… it’s good in the sense that I’ll save money on lunch, but will I end up choking because of the awkward atmosphere?
“Hey! Pass! I said pass!”
“S-sorry!”
The second half started to unfold a bit differently.
Unlike before, the ball started coming down to the central defense more frequently.
Maybe everyone had exhausted themselves early on because the ball kept slipping through gaps.
“Damn it, damn it! Please don’t come to my side!”
And here I was, once again praying desperately like this.
Thankfully, being stuck in the usually useless right-back position meant most of the action went to the left.
Even when the center defense got breached, just rushing over and pretending to stick my foot out was enough to count as doing my part.
Things were flowing relatively smoothly.
Everyone seemed pretty tired, so instead of dragging it to overtime, it looked like they were aiming for penalty kicks.
“Whoa!”
That’s when a cross from the opposition’s left wing took a long arc and landed in an empty space.
The ball flew past the centre and landed in an empty space on the right.
Of course, it had to land in front of me.
“Jun-hyug! Run!”
But it’s Jun-hyung!
Why do I have to be the centre of attention when the game is almost over?
My lips pressed together, I sprinted forward with everything I had. My hair blew back in the wind, revealing my forehead – ugh, my forehead looks awful!
“Push forward! Keep going! Push as hard as you can!”
“Ha! Ha!”
I paused, thinking I could pass, but the crowd made it impossible.
At the Senior’s booming command, I instinctively dribbled the ball forward.
“Run all the way! All the way!”
Aaahhh!!! At this rate, I’d end up running the length of the pitch!
I sprinted straight down the field, the ball bouncing in front of me as I ran like a madman.
You’re telling me to cross, aren’t you? Damn it, how the hell am I supposed to cross properly?!
I ran so fast that I almost tripped halfway down. If I’d fallen, the humiliation would have made me drop out of school.
I pulled myself together and concentrated with all my willpower.
“Cross it! Cross it!”
Yuck!
But I’m terrible at crosses! I can’t do it properly!
But there was no time to whine. The opposing defender, with the face of a fierce demon, came at me with terrifying speed.
Ahhh! Crap! If I mess this up and lose the ball, I’ll look like an idiot!
Three years of running errands in high school had taught me one thing: if I lost it here, my reputation as a loser would be set in stone for the rest of my college life!
“Screw it, damn it!”
The tragic history of my terrible kicks.
Whenever I had to kick the ball far, it always ended up going the opposite direction of where I aimed.
If I kicked left, the ball veered right. If I kicked right, it curved awkwardly to the left.
If I messed this up, it’d probably go flying out past the goal line in the dumbest way possible.
I silently prayed to the heavens.
‘Dear God, Buddha, professors, and even the Vinyl Shin deity… please, just this once, let it work!’
‘I can do this!’
‘I can do this. Just for today, it’s going to work.’
I’m a man who recently lost my virginity. A man who had an intense, wild night with Lee Ju-ha. The world’s ultimate loser-turned-hero!
With my eyes wide open and all my strength channelled into my leg, I swung my foot and shot the ball.
‘This is it!’
I felt it right away.
A once-in-a-lifetime miracle, the kind that only happens once in three years of high school football.
Even for someone like me, the notorious bad-kick king, it was the perfect shot.
‘Boom!’
With a satisfying sound, the ball soared beautifully into the air.
A perfect cross that screamed perfection to anyone watching.
Even Ronaldo himself, the Vinyl Shin deity, would have nodded in admiration at the flawless trajectory.
The rest was up to the striker’s skill.
I fell to the ground awkwardly, planting my hands on the dirt to steady myself from the kick’s recoil.
‘Please, finish it! I’m begging you!’
“Hup!”
The senior striker didn’t waste the opportunity and leapt into the air. …you? A god among men?
With incredible leaping power, his head hit my golden cross perfectly.
‘Thwack!’
“Wow, whoa!!!”
“Goal!!!”
The net rippled. It swayed like Lee Ju-ha’s chest – bouncy and soft, yet perfectly elastic.
The strikers cheered and shouted, sprinting towards the centre of the pitch.
…Just watching them made me feel embarrassed for them.
And hey, I’m the one who made the cross, dammit. Why don’t they come over here instead?
“You’d better buy lunch! It’s on you!”
“What? I thought it wasn’t a bet!”
“No way, it was definitely a bet! Definitely a bet!”
The seniors, still hyped up, jumped up and down, arguing animatedly.
I brushed the dirt off my clothes and stood up.
“!”
Finally the strikers, who had been celebrating far away, turned and started shouting as they ran towards me.
Oh crap, they’re huge and scary!
“Yes, Lee Jun-hyuk! Number 7!”
“You’re getting the most expensive meal today!”
But it’s Lee Jun-hyung…
I tried to calm my pounding heart and managed to smile awkwardly.
It was exciting – just like when I lost my virginity…