Second Half Chapter 49

The frustration, irritation, and anger that had been seething throughout the first half vanished the moment the whistle blew to signal the start of the second half. Of course, the pressure to score existed, but that was the case for every match. Jerim silently chased the ball, doing his best in every moment based on his split-second judgments.

The long-awaited opportunity to score arrived just 7 minutes into the second half. Following a cross from the left full-back, Marshall, Jerim and a Becina player lunged for the ball simultaneously. When Jerim touched the ball first, the Becina player immediately clung to him, trying to steal it.

Jerim instantly pulled the ball toward his left foot and turned his body to put his back to the opponent. Then, taking advantage of the opponent’s confusion, he quickly spun back around with the ball and dashed forward.

≪Oh, Ban Jerim! He breaks through with individual skill. Becina just lost track of Ban Jerim’s movement!≫

≪I suppose it’s because he’s from the Tabarona youth system, but even if he doesn’t show it often, his individual skill is excellent. His footwork goes without saying.≫

≪He is the pride of South Korea, the pride!≫

At the perfect Marseille Turn, a mixture of cheers and boos erupted from the stands. He didn’t usually attempt individual tricks, but in a situation where they were being pushed back like this, nothing lifted the atmosphere like a flashy display of skill. Inwardly relieved that he succeeded after not doing it for a while, Jerim dribbled near the penalty area and scanned his surroundings.

Edson was on the left, but that guy’s finishing was poor today, and Liam on the right was being tightly marked by a defender, so there was no space. On the other hand, passing to Aaron made him nervous about their lack of coordination…

‘Should I shoot myself?’

It was the moment he was debating. Aaron, who had started running the moment he saw Jerim driving the ball toward the goal, sprinted past Jerim into the penalty area. It was a movement that made it obvious to anyone that he was determined to receive a pass and cram the ball into the net.

At that, three Becina defenders immediately ran after Aaron. Since he was a guy who fired effective shots like a cannon once he caught the ball, it was a natural decision to block him at all costs in front of the goal. Especially when the ball was at the feet of Sefton’s playmaker, Jerim.

Jerim quickly scanned Aaron’s hands. There was no signal that he wanted the pass. Except for the one person marking him, all the opposing defenders had been pulled toward Aaron, and because of that, the space on the left flank was wide open.

In this case, I have to shoot myself. There’s no other choice. Aaron, that guy, has kindly set the table for me.

All those judgments were made in less than 3 seconds. Jerim fired a shot without hesitation. Shot from the edge of the penalty area, the ball accurately pierced the left corner of the goal.

The Sefton fans, who had been wearing miserable expressions throughout the first half, stood up simultaneously as if they had never been upset and let out a roar of cheers. Jerim gestured toward them, raising his left index finger and curling his right thumb and index finger into a circle at the bottom. It was his signature ceremony that formed the initial ‘b’ of his surname.

After posing briefly as a sign of gratitude to the fans who cheered for him, he immediately started running again. He even waved off all his teammates who were rushing over to congratulate him. Even with one goal scored, it was 1 to 2. A long celebration was a luxury in a losing situation.

“Don’t come over! Keep running! Celebrate when we make it a draw!”

As Jerim waved his hands, his teammates scattered with grim faces. From that point on, the flow of the game began to shift little by little. Becina, consumed by anxiety, gradually lost their formation, and mistakes began to pop up here and there. It was because they also knew that Sefton was not an easy opponent to be complacent against with only a 1-point lead.

Instead, the trailing Sefton continued their pursuit with composure. Jerim, in particular, did not let a single mistake by the Becina players go to waste. Aaron, who was working hard on forward pressing, also deserved much credit for the opposing team’s series of errors.

‘Anyway, his stamina is like some kind of bottomless spring…’

Watching the face of a Becina player turn to bewilderment after committing a passing error under Aaron’s pressure, Jerim shook his head. Shortly after, the goal that would bring Sefton to a draw went in effortlessly. Edson, who had been hitting nothing but the goalpost all day, finally scored a goal after receiving a ball that Becina had sent over by mistake.

“Woooooooah!”

The Sefton players surrounded the roaring Edson and offered rough congratulations. Jerim also joined the procession this time and stroked Edson’s short curly hair.

With the equalizing goal as the turning point, the tide had completely turned. However, just as he was thinking it would be difficult to do anything more since the remaining time was so short, Aaron dashed toward the goal again. This time, with his index finger raised.

Seeing that, Jerim didn’t hesitate to stab a pass into the empty space slightly ahead of the direction Aaron was running. The ball soared and dropped sharply behind the Becina defenders. Reaching that spot at the exact moment the ball dropped, Aaron successfully pulled off a light shot.

As soon as he kicked the ball, Aaron didn’t even look at the goal but turned around and ran toward Jerim. While Jerim was going ‘uh, uh,’ Aaron roughly wrapped his arms around his neck, pulling him into an embrace, and buried his lips against his head. Aaron, who was aggressively kissing him while tousling his pitch-black hair, muttered something. It was a tone full of intense excitement.

“¡Eres el puto amo!”

Immediately after, he raised his head and shook his clenched fist toward the stands. It was a ceremony that showcased his confidence—that he didn’t even need to check whether the ball went in or not.

Roughly translated, it was a crude compliment like “fuck, you’re the best,” and at the skinship, Jerim also burst into a helpless laugh and performed his signature ceremony pose once more.

Cheers and boos poured down from the stands simultaneously. Since it was Becina’s home, the number of Becina fans was naturally overwhelming, but the Sefton fans who filled one corner drowned out the boos by shouting cheers and fight songs at the top of their lungs.

≪Wait, what is this! Sefton succeeds in a comeback!≫

≪Honestly, I expected Sefton to have a very difficult time today. Wow, I’m speechless. It’s just a miracle! Sefton is writing a legend just like their fight song!≫

≪The protagonists of the comeback goal are Aaron Reyes and Ban Jerim, Sefton’s number 9 and 10! The saviors from Tabarona!≫

It was a truly perfect comeback goal and a dramatic “theatre” goal.

✲✲✲

Did they all get hit with a bat during the break or something;;;;

Did Jerim hit them?

⤷ Jerim’s performance in the 1st half wasn’t good enough to hit anyone else lol. Looks like the manager hit them.

⤷ God Verdi, please keep using the “bat of love” in the future.

⤷ I should send him a backscratcher.

They really got scolded during halftime.

An interview with Jerim just went up lol

He said he got scolded together with Aaron and snapped out of it.

⤷ Well, they deserved to be scolded. They were fighting like they were about to grab each other’s collars, I was the only one walking on eggshells.

⤷ I was also scared as hell alone in my room at dawn. Aaron is scary-looking to begin with, but Jeri is also terrifying when he’s mad wow

Are the people saying they’re scared of Jeri’s angry side people who don’t watch national team games??

When Ban Jeri gets pissed, it basicallly takes Song Yeobin, Kim Hosu, and Park Heejun combined to stop him lollol

He just has a pushover image because he’s usually so airheaded, but he was always like that when he gets mad.

⤷ Didn’t he get disciplined before for straight up beating someone during a game against a team doing bed football? lol He’s been laying low since then though.

⤷ ⤷ He didn’t openly hit them, he just “stepped lightly” on the guy who was lying down…

⤷ ⤷ Right, our “Rat-hyung” is the type to foul very subtly so he doesn’t even get a card.

⤷ ⤷ ⤷ Is it even possible to “step lightly” with football boots that have studs…?

⤷ ⤷ That’s why he got disciplined lol!

1. How did you feel when you made the comeback? A. Wow, this actually worked…

Jerim-ah lollol Please interview with some dignity like a captain lollol

⤷ He says “this actually worked” after he’s the one who gave the assist lollol

⤷ Jeri got 1 goal and 1 assist today, right? His form is crazy.

⤷ Freeze Jjeri and Aaron… Only melt them to play during important matches and then freeze them again.

⤷ Why are you turning the players into frozen pollack…

⤷ If you repeat freezing and melting, the muscles get damaged and form drops.

Aaron this guy is just a madman.

Honestly, wasn’t Jerim’s goal also completed by Aaron? This guy is just insane in everything from on-the-ball, off-the-ball, to football IQ. There’s no hexagonal striker like him in this era.

⤷ Agreed. The last goal was so cool I hugged my monitor and cried.

⤷ Thank you for coming, seriously… and for free, too… what a lucky charrrrm! There’s no one else like him.

⤷ Why is Jerim’s goal thanks to Aaron? ㅡㅡ Then is the last goal thanks to Jerim?