Second Half Chapter 43

“Even if he knew, he’d just say, ‘So what about your soccer? You gonna go play on that planet? If you’re going to transfer, have the decency to spit out your signing bonus first.’ and that would be the end of his nagging. I guarantee it.”

Judging by how he instantly conjured up a reaction that didn’t contain even a speck of affection, it seemed he had endured quite a lot over the years. Thanks to that, Gabriela fully grasped that her sibling’s love life was not going as planned. And that his mind was all twisted up because of it. She shook her head side to side.

“I was going to suggest that if there was truly no other way, you should use the upcoming dating rumors to spark some jealousy, but that won’t even make a dent, will it?”

“Jealousy? As if. I’m telling you, he won’t even know in the first place. He’s not the type to go looking through every little piece of tabloid trash.”

“Then what are you going to do? He doesn’t believe your words, and he has no interest… There’s nothing you can even try to do.”

It takes two hands to clap, doesn’t it? As she looked at Aaron with a gaze mixed half with patheticness and half with pity, he grumbled sulkily.

“That’s why I’m working on it now. So that he’ll at least gain interest again. I was just working on it before I got here. If I keep at it, the opportunity to talk again will come eventually.”

“He didn’t believe you ten years ago; why would he believe you now? You tried to explain back then too, but he ignored you. He ghosted every message you sent… Besides, wouldn’t he believe you even less seeing the dating rumors that have popped up since?”

“That’s why I asked you to bring those documents.”

At those words, Gabriela pulled a document envelope out of the bag she had been holding onto personally and dearly the entire trip, never entrusting it to anyone else. These were copies of materials kept only in physical form in her safe back in the US, for fear that they might be hacked if saved in a digital file format.

Had it not been for Aaron’s request, she wouldn’t have easily taken them out of the safe. They were evidences she had gathered little by little since long ago—proof that she was Gabriela Reyes, not Gabriela Delgado. For example, things like the results of a DNA test conducted behind their biological father’s back.

They were evidences she had prepared as a weapon to charge at her biological father—who tried to hide her existence at every turn—so they could die together if need be, but she never imagined they would be used for a purpose like this. To think they would be used to explain that the two of them were indeed siblings… She had roughly guessed it from the moment he asked her to bring them, but hearing it confirmed directly left a bitter taste in her mouth.

“Be careful not to let this leak anywhere. I don’t want to be threatened again. Just show it to Ban and burn it immediately.”

She tossed the envelope over with a firm warning. Even if she wanted to give it nicely, a nice attitude just wouldn’t come out. Did he really have to go that far just to meet again? From the perspective of someone just watching Aaron’s desperate efforts, she truly felt a fundamental skepticism. Aaron seemed to feel somewhat similarly, as he let out a hollow laugh.

“…Well, I feel like Jerim might just say, ‘So what? We already agreed to act like it never happened and it’s over. More importantly, is it okay to show me something like this? We’re nothing to each other now.’ anyway.”

“You’re the biggest idiot for still liking him while knowing that!”

Even after hearing his sister’s anger-filled outburst, Aaron showed no particular reaction. He simply nodded slightly, showing a hint of resignation himself. Nevertheless, seeing him still wearing a smile as he replied, Gabriela lost all motivation.

“What can I do. Jerim turned me into an idiot.”

✲✲✲

The first Champions League group stage opponent was Italy’s AS Messina, a traditional powerhouse of Serie A. Not only was the away match assigned to a remote city without an airport for the very first match, but considering AS Messina’s strength, there was a feeling it wouldn’t be easy.

The Sefton players, including Jerim, headed to Italy on the club’s chartered plane the day before match day. To enter Messina, they first had to land in another nearby city and then take a bus, so the schedule was tight.

During the roughly three-hour flight, Jerim desperately ignored Aaron, who was sitting next to him, while wearing a frog-eye-shaped sleep mask that Aaron had once detested.

It was because just looking at Aaron’s face made the events of the last holiday flash by like a panorama, making his face burn—and ultimately, he couldn’t stop the pathetic curiosity like ‘Was that woman really Delgado? Is he really preparing for marriage?’ from bubbling up.

He considered just asking point-blank, but since he knew how out-of-the-blue that question would seem from Aaron’s perspective, the words wouldn’t readily leave his mouth. Besides, he felt it would be better to just hang himself and die rather than proclaim his own pettiness by saying, ‘I searched your dating rumors a bit after you left following that phone call, and there was an article saying you and Delgado are getting married soon. Is it true?’

‘Why the hell is this guy sitting in the seat next to me…’

Since there was no way to vent his frustrated inner thoughts, his resentment directed itself toward an innocent target. Even though he knew they had just sat down in the order they boarded the plane, the very fact that Aaron sat in the next seat was annoying. He didn’t know why Aaron made him feel so conscious of him even in such minor details.

Furthermore, he couldn’t even sleep because loudmouths including Aaron, William, Edson, and Jesus were chatting away throughout the flight. The conversation was mainly a serious discussion about what shape William should change his beard into. As the discussion dragged on, even guys who were usually on the quiet side like Lehmann and Craig joined in en masse to continue the heated debate.

“If you really want to change the style… how about trying braids? Like a Viking.”

“Lehmann, high five. See, William. I gave you the exact same advice as Lehmann last time.”

“Mmm… but then again, Bella’s reaction to braids was just…”

“Then why don’t you just do the style your wife wants instead of asking us?”

“For that to happen, you guys would have to not hate my beard so much. Especially Jeri. He’s scary because he tries to pull it out every time he sees it.”

If you know I hate it, just shave it clean! Why are you all worrying about that kind of thing as a group before the Champions League? Are your heads full of flowerbeds?

He barely held back the urge to shout that because he was pretending to sleep. Since harboring utterly useless worries before a match applied to himself to some extent as well, he didn’t have the right to speak up boldly.

How long did he endure in an uncomfortable posture with his arms crossed and a frown? Finally, the plane landed on Italian soil, and they transferred to a bus. And no sooner had he rejoiced at being liberated from that noisy flowerbed than the second round of discussion began.

He had steeled himself to give them a piece of his mind this time, but during the long bus ride to Messina, Jerim truly fell fast asleep due to motion sickness.

“…Rim, Jerim! Wake up. We’ve arrived.”

When he snapped his eyes open at the sensation of a hand shaking his shoulder, his vision was blurry. Blinking his eyes as they tried to keep closing, he barely managed to look around. Outside the bus window, the antique exterior of the hotel building where the team would stay was boasting its grandeur along with a wide-open view of the Mediterranean.

‘It looks like a resort.’

He was about to loosen up his neck, which had become stiff from nodding off the entire time while dazed by the scenery outside the window. Noticing with a sense of wonder that his neck felt quite comfortable unlike usual, he lifted his head to find Aaron’s chin right in front of his nose. Only then did Jerim realize he had come all this way while sleeping leaning on Aaron’s shoulder the whole time, and he corrected his posture.

Wow, shit. I didn’t drool, did I? Anxious, he glanced at Aaron’s shoulder where he had been resting just a moment ago. He also wiped his chin area with the back of his hand. Just as he was feeling relieved because no dirty traces were seen or felt, Aaron nudged a water bottle toward him. It seemed to mean he should drink some cold water and clear his head.

“…Thank you.”

He took the water bottle while clearing his voice, which had become hoarse. As he opened the cap and slowly gulped down the water, his senses gradually returned. When he stretched while holding the half-finished water bottle, Aaron immediately struck up a conversation. He had wondered why Aaron was letting it slide without teasing him for once.

“You were sleeping very soundly.”

“…Why didn’t you just push me toward the window side.”

“I thought you were sleeping like a sick chicken because you hadn’t recovered the stamina you spent last holiday.”

“What stamina did I… You crazy bastard, won’t you shut up?”

Only mid-sentence did Jerim realize what he was referring to, and he hurriedly whispered. The accident that happened last holiday. Right now, one person’s head was a mess because of that incident and they were annoyed, yet Aaron, the other party to the accident, seemed fine enough to throw out jokes like that. Even that set fire to his irritation.