Soccer Genius Wants to Get Noticed - Chapter 157



Only Krnovel

Episode 157: The End of the Season

Hororok.

Jonas Hector sips a cup of tea inside his splendid mansion. There is something special about a drink after childcare, and it is perfect for pushing away the fatigue that has come late.

Instead of taking a book off the shelf and reading it as he usually does, he looks down at the newspaper on the desk.

[What happened in the Cologne locker room after the final?]

[Anthony Punch of Seong Ha-neul.]

[Steffen Baumgart refuses to answer. Club officials remain silent?]

The newspapers were arranged by date, and the front page headlines were also listed sequentially.

In the first chapter, the reporters were not informed of what happened, but as the chapters progressed, the events of that day were described in more detail.

In other words, the more faded the newspaper, the more vague it was, and the stiffer the paper, the closer it was to the truth.

[Seong Ha-neul is suspended from training and fined for reporting on incident after losing the Pokal final against RB Leipzig.]

[Seong Ha-neul and Anthony Modeste fight, rolling around on the floor.]

[Anthony Modeste’s provocative remarks are the pretext.]

[Who was immature?]

Journalists.

The Cologne captain lifts his mug again and shakes his head.

There were certainly those, like Sandra Schröder, a journalist for Sportau, who respected the wishes of the club and players, but the majority took it for granted that they would dig indiscriminately.

Hit, hit.

“snack?”

“Okay.”

Just then, his wife, Annika Hector, came into the study carrying a plate, a mischievous smile on her face.

“Because there’s cake left.”

“It looks like there are some left.”

“… … That’s right? But you have to eat it quickly. Since it’s homemade, it won’t last long.”

“I’m just kidding. As long as it tastes good, that’s fine.”

She sits opposite him, right in front of the desk, pushing aside the bedding and fan. Even in the first year after giving birth, she was incredibly neat and tidy.

As his life of raising children continued, his study also began to serve as a storage room.

“… … I guess you still worry.”

“hmm.”

And then, with an unusual look in her eyes, she casts her gaze upon a bundle of newspapers.

With her ears perked up, she kept a close eye out to see if she could hear her child crying in the next room, but at the same time, she was aware of her spouse’s worries.

“It’s been quite some time. It’s been over a month since the finals ended.”

“It wasn’t that bad. At least not to the reporters.”

“… … Did you have a big fight?”

I would not have asked about internal affairs of the club, but since he seemed to be deeply troubled, I asked him cautiously.

“There was a huge fight. Three or four coaches rushed in and the players got involved too. It must have been chaos for at least five minutes.”

“Anyone injured?”

“I heard Hanul is okay, and Modeste has some bruises here and there. But the one who was actually hurt the most was Eliye.”

“Elie? Elie Skyri? What happened to that good man? Oh, he got hurt while trying to stop him!”

“Yeah. I guess I was trying to stop you… … . Hmm, it’s kind of similar.”

“Similar?”

“… … There is something like that.”

Despite his wife’s puzzled look, Jonas quickly finishes his speech. It was something he couldn’t help doing.

How could he confess that a human named Mark Utra had taken his hand and stuck it into the mouth of the Holy Sky?

Putting aside the issue of my coworkers’ reputation, I wondered if they would believe me if I told them honestly in the first place.

“ha…….”

As a sigh naturally escapes my mouth, a fork laden with cake approaches and blocks my mouth.

“carrot?”

“pumpkin.”

“… … It’s horrible, but it’s delicious. Cooking is truly amazing.”

“Don’t even think about being a picky eater. If you’re going to do it, don’t even breathe.”

“… … .”

“That’s not like you. When you have concerns, confront them first. That’s the way Jonas Hector is.”

“… … .”

“What’s going on?”

There is absolutely nothing wrong with what my wife says.

But what I still can’t help but hesitate about is-

“Ha-nul doesn’t come out of the house.”

“… … You’re heartbroken.”

“I don’t think it’s heartbreaking, but… … . Yeah, maybe so.”

“Then I guess I can just go and meet him. Go and talk.”

“… … I’m thinking about that. But what bothers me is that it seems to go against my principles.”

“What principle?”

“Don’t interfere too much. That’s clearly interfering with someone’s private life.”

This time it was the wife’s turn to hold back a sigh.

She twitched her lips once, gulped down the cake, and then offered a rebuttal.

“I respect your way of doing things. I don’t even look at things like SNS, and I finish my work at work. I really like the way you live a life where you are faithful to your family. But… … Sometimes, you have to do what you feel like doing rather than following your principles. If I leave it like this, won’t you regret it?”

“… … .”

“If you are confident that you won’t regret it, then do it. But if you think you might have any regrets, then go ahead and go. Go and see for yourself and then tell me.”

“but-”

“no.”

“… … ?”

“When our child cries later, don’t even think about telling him to go and comfort him, saying that he’s going against his principles and that I’m interfering too much. That’s absolutely unacceptable. Do you understand?”

For a moment, I let out a meaningless laugh without realizing it.

Jonas Hector turns his head at the rustling sound coming from the next room, and the conversation ends with the sound of a child whining.

Since the wife has given good advice, it is the husband’s job to go and comfort her.

The case of Seong Ha-neul was not much different.

* * *

Mid June.

The streets of Cologne are in full swing for a summer festival. Christopher Street Day is underway, complete with star-spangled capes and rainbow-colored flags.

The car driven by Jonas avoids the marchers and heads out onto a road outside the city.

From their home in the northwest, they travel through their home stadium, the Rhine-Energie-Stadion, past the training ground in Cologne, next to a small reservoir, past chemical plants and rice fields, and on to small residential areas.

The final destination was Alte Fischenicher Street, where Seongha Neul resided.

Squeak.

As the tires come to a halt in front of a shabby two-story house, he turns on his emergency lights and lifts his cell phone.

When we made plans to meet, I told her to wait inside the house, so I was going to call her and ask her out.

Boom, clank!!

Before I could even dial the number, the front door opened and the person in question came running out. He was wearing jeans and a short-sleeved shirt, and he couldn’t even put on his shoes properly, so he was running with a slouched gait.

Bam!

“go!”

“……what?”

“Let’s go! Quickly! Get me out!”

“… … .”

Kook, wooooow!

I stepped on the accelerator and started off without thinking, but my mind became complicated because it was different from what I had expected.

Weren’t you heartbroken?

“Damn, I’m finally free!”

“… … .”

I guess not.

“……how have you been doing?”

However, it is true that the boy has been hiding for some time. He cautiously opens his mouth to say hello.

“No, my brother’s condition wasn’t very good.”

“Hmm… … I see.”

“I changed my medication to a new one and I couldn’t come to my senses all day. I went to the hospital with my mom, came back, washed her up, went to the library to borrow books and put them in her hands, prepared meals for her, cleaned the house… … Don’t say anything. It was a really hard month.”

“So it’s okay now?”

“Yes. There were no seizures or convulsions, and the doctor said the medication seemed to be working well. He said we just have to watch for another two months.”

“That’s fortunate.”

“Oh, by the way, Mom quit her job too. She’s staying at home now.”

“Oh? That’s good. That’s what you were hoping for.”

I was dizzy from his usual blunt speech, but on the other hand, I felt fortunate because it was Seong Ha-neul’s typical way of speaking.

That was it up to here.

“Not anymore. The nagging was so bad that by the end of May, I was looking forward to an evil wizard coming and blowing Avadakedabra on me. If I could escape this harsh reality by getting a lightning-shaped scar engraved on my forehead, it wouldn’t have been a bad trade-off.”

“… … .”

“That’s what they say.”

What on earth should I say in a situation like this?

Was it like this when you were seventeen?

Unfortunately, Jonas Hector’s child is only two years old this year and lacks the experience to answer that question.

“… … I’ll take it that it worked out well in the end.”

“Yeah. Jonas, do whatever you want.”

“… … .”

“Ha, damn it… … . How much freedom have I had?”

Fortunately or unfortunately, even though it was just the two of them meeting, there was quite a bit to talk about.

“That’s why I said you shouldn’t come to the afterparty.”

“Oh, that thing you did on the last day of May?”

“Yeah. We had a great time with all the players, coaches, and club officials. I wish you could have come too. Why didn’t you say you weren’t coming?”

“How can I go when I was fined and excluded from training? And it’s not like I said I wouldn’t go?”

“What? Then who told you not to come?”

“The head coach.”

“André Pollock? He’s not that kind of guy… … .”

“I asked if it was okay to hit him one more time, but he said not to come.”

“… … .”

Oh, Annika.

Jonas Hector swallows hard and calls his wife’s name inwardly. Regretting it later won’t change the reality.

“Huh, Hanul.”

“No, no. You shouldn’t be calling my name. I was really stressed out at the time. Why is everyone always saying something when you’re complimenting me?”

“Praise… why am I being praised here?”

“It was an honest and rational decision. Think about it. Did you all bring your families with you at that time?”

“… … What is that.”

“But I went there. Do you think the zombie gorilla would have just left me alone? Did we just get through without any problems? Did I pick a fight? From that moment on, a real disaster would have happened. Am I wrong?”

I have to deny it.

I have to firmly push forward my intention that I would like you to attend.

Because his lips wouldn’t part, Jonas decided to change the subject.

“But since when did Modeste become a zombie gorilla?”

“That bastard… … That kid is alive, but he’s as good as dead. And judging from the way he was acting like a bastard before, his brain clearly isn’t working properly. So it’s right to give him the title of ‘zombie.’ Don’t you think so?”

“… … .”

And at this point, he decides to just listen quietly instead of asking questions.

It looked so normal on the outside, but if we kept talking, I might get a kick out of it while driving.

Of course, that doesn’t mean the boy was completely fine.

“… … .”

“… … .”

At one point, Jonas didn’t say anything, so she just kept her mouth shut and stared out the window.