Open the classroom door, quickly scan for an empty seat, quickly go sit down, and sleep with my head down until the teacher arrives.
'Okay.'
That was the plan I had made before opening the classroom door. Here, just having black hair and black eyes is enough to easily draw attention. I wanted to enter the classroom as quietly as possible.
However, that plan of mine crumbled the moment I opened the classroom door.
"...Huh?"
The moment I opened the door, my eyes met with one of the students, and in that instant, I sensed that something had gone wrong.
The student whose eyes met mine widened their eyes, then suddenly started moving their lips...
"It's Ji-an! Fiorentina!"
"Huh? What?"
"Wow! It really is!"
"You're in our class?"
"Wooow! Nice to meet you!"
Far from sitting down, the moment I took one step into the classroom, I was instantly surrounded by kids.
At first it was just three or four, but they made such a fuss that eventually everyone in the class crowded around me.
It was complete chaos.
I realized my mistake.
I had momentarily forgotten.
What football means in Italy.
Just how much interest the kids here have in football.
"Um... Wh-what's your name?"
"Massimo."
"Massimo... Here..."
"Thanks!"
In the end, I had to hold an impromptu autograph session.
I had never even thought about creating an autograph, so I just wrote my name in Korean and gave it to them—and somehow that made everyone happy.
I mean, seriously, who am I that they...
"I'm Luigi!"
"Ah, yeah. Luigi... Here."
"Wow, that's so cool. I watched your match! When you played against Napoli, I was at the stadium!"
"Ah, is that so."
As expected, the match against Napoli was the problem.
I've lived here for a few months now, so I know—there's really not much to do here even on weekends. Football is by far the most popular entertainment.
But since first team matches aren't free, I've heard that students who don't have much allowance go to watch youth matches instead.
The kids who recognized me first were exactly those kinds of kids.
"I'm Nancy. Can you take a picture with me?"
"A picture? Ah... Sure."
After all that commotion, eventually even girls who didn't seem to know me came to get my autograph or asked to take pictures together.
Some even...
"You're really cute. Want to be close friends?"
"Huh? Ah, uh... Sure."
"Can you give me your phone number? I want to learn Korean."
She made this kind of difficult request, so I had to struggle to turn her down.
"What, you don't have a phone? Really?"
"Sorry. I only focus on football."
"Aww, okay."
Phew.
Well, I mean. There's no way she was asking with any other intentions, but still, it would be troublesome if something annoying came up... I don't even have time to meet Ji-woo right now.
"Alright everyone, take your seats-"
Well... anyway.
My unexpected autograph session only ended after the teacher arrived, and only then could I let out a sigh and wipe away my cold sweat.
"...."
Somehow, I had a feeling that my school life was going to become difficult in a different way.
*
I've always been a bit unusual.
I was the kind of kid who liked class time better than break time.
Not that I'm interested in studying—outside of history or language classes, I secretly study tactics. Anyway, I preferred class time when I could sit quietly by myself over break time.
And today was no different.
It was so exhausting. Every break time.
Whenever I tried to rest, kids would come up and talk to me. After second period, even kids from other classes started coming to find me.
I mean, it's not like I'm a debuted professional player or anything.
I couldn't understand why they found me so fascinating.
It wasn't break time—it was practically fan service time.
Well... still, it just drained my energy, it's not like I felt bad about it.
After all, everyone treated me kindly.
They even said they would cheer for me from now on...
Before I opened the classroom door, I had been worried about what I'd do if someone picked a fight with me. So I guess it's a relief.
"Phew."
A sigh escapes naturally as I walk out the school gate.
Having finished classes a bit earlier than the other students, I was heading to the training ground.
Ah, wait. What am I doing.
Come to think of it, today is Ji-woo's first day of school too.
I quickly took out my phone and, sure enough, there were tons of messages from Ji-woo.
Ji-woo: What are you doing? Can't use your phone there until you're done??
Ji-woo: What. I was waiting, thinking our Ji-an would be
Ji-woo: stuck in a corner of the classroom again and bugging me
Ji-woo: Anyway, message me when you're done
I couldn't take out my phone in class because I was afraid of being caught lying about not having one. I was also too distracted by the kids crowding around me every break.
I immediately sent a reply.
Me: Just finished... Can't use phone at school...
Me: How are the kids there? Did you make any friends?
Me: Kids from other classes came looking for me...
Me: Saying let's be close...
After sending the messages, I was about to put my phone in my pocket when a reply came before I could even put it away.
Ji-woo: ㅋㄱㅋㄱㅋㄱㅋㄱㅋㄱㅋㅋㄱㅋㅋ
Ji-woo: ㅋㄱㅋㄱㅋㄱㅋㄱㅋㄱㅋㅋㅋㅋㄱㅋ
Ji-woo: Ohhh is that so?
Ji-woo: Our Ji-an is a popular guy now huh ^^?
What kind of reaction is this.
This time it's not a lie. It's true.
I walked toward the training ground with a smirk.
ㆍㆍㆍ
Right when I first signed the contract and came out, and just that night. Only up until then was I purely happy. With my weekly wage increasing significantly, I thought I could do the things I'd wanted to do without worry.
But the high from the re-signing didn't last even two days.
Once my head cooled down, I started feeling pressure alongside the joy.
Because a weekly wage isn't money you receive for free.
On top of that, I was suddenly going to receive 20 times what I'd been getting before. Somehow I felt like I had to work 20 times harder and perform 20 times better.
Actually, even after that day, training hadn't changed, and the coach and manager and the kids all treated me the same. It was just my own mindset that felt that way.
So I just worked hard.
I just did team training diligently, and when team training ended, I worked hard on individual training with Coach Luca.
I also looked up the opponents we'd be facing on the weekend in advance and prepared for the match with my own analysis.
That was just it.
As I was training hard like that and heading home, one day this thought suddenly occurred to me.
That I seem to have changed a bit.
If it were the old me, I would have felt this pressure much more heavily. No, I would have waved my hands and refused, saying I don't need such a big wage in the first place.
Rather than being happy about the increased wage, my mental would have shattered. Thinking, I'm not that good, so why are they having such expectations of me.
Then I would have trained while crying inside.
Doing whatever it took to meet those absurd expectations.
But not now.
Of course the pressure is still there, but... I decided to think about it a little differently.
While remembering what Coach Luca had said to me.
"If you believe in yourself more, others will recognize your value too."
Why do people have such expectations of me?
It's because I'm someone who can deliver on them.
That's how I decided to think of it. And surprisingly, my mind became a little more at ease.
All I did was flip the perspective, all I did was decide to believe in myself a bit more. But the urge to run away didn't come.
Instead, my mind was filled only with the thought that I would definitely show them what I could do.
Even now, that's how I feel.
"Alright, let's go! Forza-!"
"Viola-!!!"
We put our hands together and shouted our cheer, then left the locker room.
Today's opponent is a team called Bologna FC.
They're currently marking mid-table in the group—not on par with Napoli, but not a team to be taken lightly like Sassuolo or Empoli either.
And above all, Bologna is Fiorentina's traditional rival team.
The rivalry is so strong that they call matches between the two Derby dell'Appennino.
Of course, it doesn't really resonate with me personally—I just know about it because I've heard of it.
Regardless, my resolve to do well and win remains unchanged. I'll prove myself worthy of the trust the team has shown me.
With that thought, the moment I stepped onto the pitch—
"Waaaah!"
"Win! Win!"
"Forza Viola-!!"
The cheers erupting from the stands caught me off guard.
Uh... I didn't expect this.
*
"Waaaah!"
"Win! Win!"
"Forza Viola-!!"
The small stands of the small stadium are unusually rowdy today.
Usually, the spectators who come to watch U17 team matches are just the players' relatives or friends, or bored neighborhood residents.
But today, students from nearby schools came as a group to watch, making the small stands noisy enough to be nearly full.
And among those spectators, Kim Ji-woo sat with a pouty expression, fiddling with her phone.
'Is today some kind of special day...'
Last time I came, there was almost no one here. I don't know why there are so many people today.
Is this an important match or something? If I had come any later, I might not have gotten a seat at all.
Well, that aside...
"That's him, right? The one at our school."
"Yeah, that's right. Ji-an!"
"He's cute. Like a K-pop idol."
"Right? I took a picture with him."
"What? Really? You should have called me too!"
Kim Ji-woo found herself increasingly annoyed by the chatter of the kids around her.
She couldn't understand everything they were saying. Though she had studied steadily since deciding to study abroad, that level wasn't enough to fully understand what the locals were saying.
Still, there were certain words that kept piercing her ears. Words like "Carino" (cute) or "Bello" (handsome). Even without knowing Italian, she could understand the "Kyaaaa-!" screams from the girls.
More than anything, what annoyed Kim Ji-woo was that among all those passing words, the name "Ji-an" kept coming up.
Not just mildly annoying—extremely annoying.
The boys she could overlook, but these girls clearly came to cheer for Lee Ji-an too.
'Seriously. What did he do at school to cause this.'
Kim Ji-woo crossed her arms and stuck out her lower lip.
So he said he had lots of friends and was popular with the kids... I guess it wasn't a lie.
Well, whatever. They say if you're good at football here, you're bound to be popular. And Ji-an's face is decent enough... Hmm!
Anyway, seeing that kid who used to sit quietly in the corner of the classroom now grown up and receiving cheers from friends like this.
It's something to congratulate, and something to be deeply moved by...
'...Tch.'
I don't know why this situation keeps bothering me.
It's clearly a good thing. It's something to be proud of.
How should I put it.
It's like that feeling when a singer only you knew about suddenly becomes popular, and you get weirdly annoyed about it?
Ah, whatever. I don't know.
Just play well, Lee Ji-an.
Don't get distracted by other things and lose focus...!
It was while she was watching the match with that restless feeling.
"Wooow! Go, go!"
"Break through! Push forward!"
"Show them-!"
It was about 10 minutes after the match started.
The stands started getting loud again.
It was the moment Ji-an got the ball. He received the ball from far away, and as he dribbled past opponents one by one, cheers erupted from both sides.
Those cheers grew louder and louder.
Lee Ji-an kept running toward the opponent's goal, exchanging passes with his teammates with a bang, bang. Before she knew it, Lee Ji-an had reached right in front of the opposing team's goal.
What happened next was...
"Woooow-!!"
"Oh my god!! He scored! Goal-!!"
"Yeeeees-!!!"
He scored a goal.
The stands instantly went wild. Everyone started jumping up and down while screaming with joy.
Then, Lee Ji-an ran toward the stands.
After running over, Lee Ji-an seemed to search for something with his eyes for a moment, then gave a two-finger salute before turning back to the field.
"Kyaaah!"
"Hey! Did you see that? He did that celebration for me, right?"
"What are you talking about! He did it for me!"
"No! It was for me!"
At that celebration, the girls made dolphin-like sounds and went absolutely crazy. They all acted like they'd been struck by an arrow through the heart, collapsing dramatically while fighting about how the celebration was meant for them.
"...How ridiculous."
Kim Ji-woo shook her head dismissively at them, as if finding them pathetic.
Hey, why are you all so happy...? Don't tell me you actually think that was meant for you...?
As if that's the case...?
"...Heh."
Kim Ji-woo, who had been pouty just moments ago, crossed her arms and raised one corner of her lips.
That celebration wasn't for you guys—it was for me.
I'm different from all of you.