Free Web NovelChapter 333: The Morning After
"Urgh... What time is it...." Higo groaned as he was awoken by the sound of the alarm next to him.
It was... Well, Higo didn’t know how long it had been since the game was over. The last thing he remembered was that after having dinner with the team, he collapsed immediately, falling unconscious in his bed. The exhaustion accumulated throughout the game was a little bit too much to handle, and once the adrenaline subsided, his body finally couldn’t bear it anymore.
"It is 9 already. You have been sleeping for about 13 hours, Senpai." It was Sano who answered this. The boy looked like he had just finished his morning routine.
Yeah, unlike the main players who were given time to rest, the bench players, those who didn’t play more than half of the game, had to join the morning training session with Kumiko. At least, it was necessary to keep their body sharp when the team needed them the most.
Sano, particularly, trained harder than anyone else. After all, with Fujinaga and Kazawa suffering from the red card in the last game, the team would need an anchor in the midfield for the third round, and the best one the team could offer was probably either Jun or Makino, who had to take over that job. That meant one of the spots on the back would be open, and he had a big chance to appear in the next game.
"13 hours? Fucking hell... No wonder I feel like a crap..." Higo groaned, trying to fight against the dizziness inside his head. The boy wiped the drool on his face for a moment and asked, "How about the others?"
"Well, they are either still sleeping or just gathering in Jun-senpai’s room, playing some games or two. Trying to take everything easy, you know?" Sano shrugged. "Anyway, Kumiko-senpai also asked you to go to her once you are awake."
"Thanks for the message." Higo nodded before going straight to the bathroom, enjoying the warm shower there.
Right after that, the boy could hear his stomach grumbling, then realized that he hadn’t really eaten anything yet since last night. ’Let’s ask Kumiko-chan if she wants to join me for breakfast or not...’ He hummed before taking out his phone. However, the moment the boy unlocked the screen, he was dumbfounded by what was displayed there.
99+ Missed calls.
99+ New Messages.
’Wait, how could it be that much?!’ He frowned.
Higo was always the type of person who couldn’t bear the thought of leaving so many unopened messages on his phone, so he would always clean his notifications every time he got his phone. It was also the same yesterday, as he remembered clearly doing that before the game began. So, it was mind-blowing to have that many notifications just after one night.
The calls there came from unknown numbers, and Higo didn’t dare to call them back here. So, he checked the unopened messages, and it would be a lie if he said that he didn’t get dizzy here.
"So many messages, all of them introducing themselves first? What the fuck is going on here?" He mumbled, scrolling down until he found one message from a person he knew.
Kumiko-chan: Ryukkun, call me once you wake up; we have a lot to discuss here! ASAP!
Confused, Higo didn’t have any choice here. He called the girl’s number, waiting for a while with the beeping sound as the background before Kumiko picked up the call. "Hey, Kumiko-chan, wanna grab something for breakfast first?" The boy spoke first, his tone pleading. His stomach had just grumbled again, and honestly, the boy felt like he had no energy right now.
The girl on the other side of the call didn’t answer immediately. After pausing for a second, she finally said, "Where are you right now? Wait for me."
"I am in the lobby; be quick!"
Well, Higo didn’t need to wait for so long. Half a minute later, the girl came running, wearing her usual thick jacket. Her hair seemed a little bit disheveled that Higo couldn’t help but frown before he stepped forward, helping her fix the mess. "What’s going on? You look so restless right now." He joked around while also rubbing the girl’s hair fondly.
The girl flushed a little at the sudden intimate gesture, but didn’t push him away. "Well, of course, I am worried about you! You fell asleep around 8, and Takaaki-kun said he couldn’t wake you up, you jerk!" She punched him on the shoulder lightly.
"Ah... You cannot blame me for being dead tired after the game yesterday, you know? Anyway, come on! I am famishing right now!"
They went outside immediately, just to find themselves shivering in the cold air there. The weather was a little bit snowy, and while it wasn’t as cold as the temperature back home, it was still enough to make them uncomfortable. Both teenagers walked side-by-side quickly, finding a small Shokudo—A small eatery in the neighborhood that usually provided Japanese comfort food—in the nearest neighborhood.
"Ojiisan, is the breakfast menu still here?" Higo asked immediately once he went inside.
"Sure! Come on, sit at the table you like!" The owner here, an old man whose hair was already white, moved quickly in the kitchen. "How many do you want?" freēwebnovel.com
"For two, please!"
"Sure thing!" ƒrēewebnoѵёl.cσm
The man moved quickly, whipping something behind the stall. Soon, the savory smell coming from the pan was enough to make Higo’s mouth watery, and his unbearable stomach seemed to rebel here, grumbling so loudly that even Kumiko could hear it.
"If I don’t know better, I would’ve thought that you haven’t eaten anything for a full week, you know?" She giggled merrily.
"Oh, shut up! You know I am starving here!" Higo retorted, his cheek dusted pink.
Fortunately, the wait was not that long. After five minutes, the old man carried a tray full of food. There, Higo could see bacon and eggs, spinach and mushroom stir fry, natto, rice, and miso soup, the definition of a humble breakfast for Japanese people like them.
"Come on! Enjoy my craftsmanship!" The old man said proudly.
"Oh, don’t worry about that, Ojiisan!" Higo licked his lips unconsciously as he picked up the chopsticks next to the table. "Ittadakimasu!"
