Kiss the Ground Chapter 8

Approaching his parked car, Chahyun was startled and dropped his keys at the sudden sound of his native language. While it wasn’t uncommon for him to have conversations with Korean officials several times a day, hearing it unexpectedly in the club parking lot was unusual.

Turning towards the source of the sound, he saw an Asian man in his thirties standing there. He was slightly shorter than Yoon Chahyun, wearing a Winchester FC uniform sold in the store and carrying a large backpack.

“I didn’t expect to meet you here!”

Is he a fan? Before he could say anything, the man quickly approached and picked up the keys that Chahyun dropped.

The man had a tense yet excited smile on his face, a familiar expression that people who faced Yoon Chahyun often made. Seeing the trembling hands, it was apparent that he was nervous.

“I came from Korea! I’m a huge fan!”

“Oh, really? Thank you…”

The man stared at Chahyun’s face with an admiring expression, as if he couldn’t believe he was seeing him in person. Then, as an afterthought, he handed over the keys he had been holding. Reflexively, Chahyun reached out to receive the keys, which were damp with sweat.

“I didn’t expect to meet you in person like this… It feels like real luck. Wow, how did I meet you so quickly? You look so cool in person, really.”

“Oh, it’s just the same… Thank you.”

The man, fixated on Chahyun’s face as if he forgot to respond, consistently showed an excited expression. It was the first fan he had met since returning to the UK last week. Smiling at the man, Chahyun suddenly asked.

“But how did you get in here? There’s security at the entrance, and outsiders usually aren’t allowed in. I still occasionally get caught.”

“Oh, there was none today? Maybe it’s a day off. Chahyun, can you take a picture with me, please?”

Reaching into his back pocket, the man took out his phone. It slipped a few times due to his nervous hands, but he managed to grab it and activated the camera. Turning his back to Chahyun and raising the camera, the man stood with his legs spread. Chahyun stood next to him, bending his legs awkwardly, and they posed. The smartphone screen displayed the moving cat ears and whiskers on the man’s face, and Chahyun’s face.

“Oh, this filter is cute.”

Smiling, Chahyun responded while the man, without saying anything, consecutively pressed the shutter button ten times.

Click, click, click, click. The shutter sound was loud.

“That’s really amazing. I’m going to print this on a banner and hang it on my balcony at home. So everyone in the neighborhood can see it.”

“Really? Then, let’s take better shots. Please use Photoshop.”

He couldn’t wait to check the captured photo, swiping the screen with his index finger. My fan… Watching the man continuously examining his phone, Chahyun hesitated before speaking.

“Thank you for your support. I’ve been a bit off lately… not hearing many good things, right? Even on the internet, they say I’m not doing well…”

“Ignore those things! Those idiots spouting nonsense… those who talk recklessly. Those damn idiots.”

The man suddenly turned his head towards Chahyun, looking serious. It happened in an instant. Chahyun blinked, forgetting to close his eyes. The man, who had spat out profanity in a flash, looked at Chahyun with wide eyes, then burst into a sheepish laugh as if the moment had passed.

“I got a bit excited. I genuinely support you, Yoon Chahyun. I can’t stand hearing such things.”

“No, I, uh, appreciate it. Thank you for liking me so much…”

Chahyun smiled awkwardly. Remembering something, the man, who had been laughing heartily, took off the backpack wrapped around his shoulders.

“I actually have something to ask you, Chahyun. It’s important. I came all the way here because of this… Would you take a look?”

“Sure? What is it?”

The man reached into his backpack and rummaged around. The sound of something hitting against each other echoed as he fumbled through the large volume inside.

“It’s this.”

After a while of searching, the man took something out of his backpack and showed it to Chahyun. During this time, he continued to wear a smiling face.

“Oh, this is the away uniform and the third uniform! You bought all three, including the home, right? It must have cost quite a bit.”

“I couldn’t help it after becoming a fan. I even included the markings and this season’s league patch on all three. Want to see?”

Reaching into the backpack, the man pulled out Winchester’s uniforms. The white letters clearly engraved on the back, “12, C.H.YUN.,” were undoubtedly Yoon Chahyun’s back number and name.

The jerseys for sale, which were of almost the same quality as the ones the players used, were inherently expensive, and the prices skyrocketed even more with various added options. Three sets of those… He must be a really devoted fan. Without giving Chahyun a chance to react, the man kept pulling out something from his backpack.

Water bottle, towel, phone case… Various goods with Winchester FC’s logo were spread out in front of Chahyun. The last thing the man pulled out after rummaging through the bottom of the backpack was a name pen.

“Please sign everything here.”

There was something strangely charming about his determined expression while making such a request. Chahyun gladly accepted the pen the man handed him.

“Do you want me to sign on the front of the uniform?”

“Yes, please sign it prominently on the chest.”

As Chahyun signed the uniform, the man, as if determined not to miss a single detail, recorded a video of him with his phone. All the items filling up the large backpack were Winchester FC goods? Intrigued, Chahyun struck up a conversation with the man.

“How long have you been in the UK?”

“I arrived yesterday after touring Sweden and Denmark as the last leg of my trip.”

“Wow… You’ve been traveling in Europe. Must have been really enjoyable. I envy you. I can’t even go nearby…”

“Well, other places were just okay. The UK was my real destination.”

“You’re a passionate fan. How long will you be staying?”

“I’ll be here for another two weeks. Actually, I won a Winchester Club Open Training Day ticket.”

“No way, really?”

Chahyun looked at the man’s face in surprise, putting down the beer glass he was signing. The man had a proud and pleased expression. Considering that it was a rare ticket that was not only limited to a thousand people through online draws but also mostly won by local fans, it was quite an achievement.

“Wow, that’s amazing! People were saying it’s really difficult to get that… They don’t even give priority to players’ families, saying it should be fair.”

“I prayed really hard for it. I asked to be chosen.”

What an incredibly pure person. Perhaps luck finds its way to people like him. With that thought, Chahyun finished signing and closed the pen lid. After it was over, he realized that his wrist was slightly sore.

The man neatly packed the goods he received from Chahyun back into his backpack, just like how they were arranged at the beginning. Draping the backpack around him again, the man looked at Chahyun with a nervous yet smiling face, just like when they first met.

“Yoon Chahyun, it was really nice meeting you. I’ll keep cheering for you in the future.”

“Thank you very much.”

“I’ll also cheer for you during the open training!”

Standing at attention, the man raised his clenched right fist while making a playful cheering gesture, bringing a smile to Chahyun’s face. Due to the incessant online criticism, he had forgotten that there were fans who genuinely liked him. His parched heart felt refreshed as if touched by gentle rain. As the man turned to leave, Chahyun called him back.

“Um, would you consider coming to watch the Birmingham game? It’s right after the open training next week.”

“Birmingham? Well, I probably won’t go there.”

After briefly considering something, the man shook his head.

“That’s okay, then.”

The casually replied man gave one more nod of acknowledgement to Chahyun before disappearing in an instant. If he was such an enthusiastic fan, it would have been nice for him to watch the game since he came all the way for sightseeing.

Left alone, Chahyun opened the car door happily. The heavy feeling from earlier seemed to have flown away somewhere. The unexpectedly received compliments strangely elevated his mood. Maybe it’s time to stop reading criticisms on the internet for a while.

Sitting in the driver’s seat, Chahyun turned on his phone and dialed Winston’s contact. It was probably not too late to taste the cream shrimp at Saint Clement’s. After a long time, his stomach growled satisfyingly.