Five minutes finally passed, and right now, both teams had already gathered on the center line, all watching the penalty box in front of them with tense faces. Hell, some even started muttering some sort of prayer, begging whatever deity above to help them in this shootout.

It was decided that the penalty shootout would be run at Hakodate Nishi’s side. After all, Kang Do-Jin applied it by himself, not wanting his performance to be affected by the sunlight above. Even if it didn’t really bother him in the second half, the Korean goalkeeper still didn’t want to take his chance here.

Well, not that Higo complained, because he himself also felt the same way. Not only that, he was already used by this side of the goal from fighting tooth and nail there in the second half. This just favored him more, giving the boy another bit of confidence.

Before the penalty kick happened, though, both goalkeepers greeted each other between the posts.

"Damn, you really put us on the edge." Kang Do-Jin hugged Higo fondly. "You don’t know how far you drive Han-Gyeol crazy. This is the first time I’ve seen him at the end of his rope, and I have known him for a long time!"

Higo just accepted the hug awkwardly, still finding the interaction to be too stiff. The boy didn’t expect that Kang Do-Jin would be a chatterbox, revealing his friend’s secret in a heartbeat like that. Well, he also didn’t expect the boy in front of him to speak Japanese so fluently, so this just added more confusion inside his head.

"Still, don’t think that this is going to be like the normal time." The Korean goalkeeper suddenly whispered conspiratorially. "You might be confident with your ability, but we have our whole analysis team to figure out your game. Get ready, man, because this will be a rough journey for you."

Well, this was a blatant mind game from Kang Do-Jin, and while it was hard to admit, Higo couldn’t lie and said that it didn’t affect him. He frowned a little bit, looking at Kang Do-Jin intently to figure out something there. Unfortunately, the boy was the personification of a poker face, not showing any worthwhile information from his expression.

In the end, Higo just punched the boy lightly on the shoulder while snorting lightly. "Well, let’s hope that the analysis is not wrong, okay? Just like your captain said, I hope you have the worst luck!"

"Ha! That’s my line!"

After a little banter between the two goalkeepers, they finally said good luck to each other. Even though they were the most crucial part for the team’s winning today, no one wanted to see a goalkeeper crumbling in this moment. Both knew how much pressure they had to bear right now, and if not for those who were in the same position, who would give them support?

Soon, Hiroshi walked to the penalty spot, becoming the first one to execute it. He rolled the ball slightly on that little white spot, trying to adjust it so that he could whack the ball at the spot that he wanted. Kang Do-Jin was also ready under the bar, jumping around left and right while also looking at Hiroshi intently.

FWEEE!

The referee finally blew the whistle for the first kick. Everyone held their breath unconsciously, not daring to let their eyes miss this. All of the Hakodate Nishi players also tensed at this exact moment. While they trusted Hiroshi, the occasion really didn’t let them relax here.

Hiroshi himself took three steps back, starting his run-up from the penalty arc. He didn’t even glance at the goal, having already locked in the direction he wanted to send the ball into. The moment he was close enough to the ball, Kang Do-Jin also started to make a move. He shifted his center of mass toward the left side, ready to jump there. However...

Thud!

Instead of using power, Hiroshi chipped the ball lightly, letting it create a parabolic route in the air straight in the middle. Kang Do-Jin couldn’t help but have his eyes widen here, not expecting Hiroshi to be this bold. Unfortunately, he had already moved, and the only thing he could do was watch the ball getting into the back of his net gently.

"OH! A FUCKING PANENKA!"

"That’s a bold move from Hiroshi! Come on!"

All the people on the stand applauded, getting excited from the execution. It was pure beauty, and being done in the most crucial stage like this, they had no words to describe how much they appreciated this boldness.

Hiroshi himself clenched his fist immediately; somehow, a long, relieved sigh escaped from his mouth. This was definitely a pre-planned scenario, as he saw at the last second that the goalkeeper had already made a move, but the thought of doing that really gave the boy a heart attack.

As he went back to the team, all the players there also celebrated the goal crazily.

"Hiroshi, you crazy bastard! You really have the ball of steel, huh?!"

"Damn, you gained all the coolness points in the world just by that one shot!"

"Come on! We are in the lead!"

Then, the next person came to execute the shot, and this time, Kang Do-Jin switched positions with Higo. Now, Higo could see Park Han-Gyeol walking straight to the penalty spot, and he recalled the boy’s intelligence from Kumiko earlier.

"He is a power hitter, but at the most crucial moment, he would never dare to aim too boldly. You managed to save his penalty in Niigata a few months ago, so you should understand this. His penalty kick will never be far away from the middle, so read it correctly and brace yourself for the impact!"

There was no data placed, no percentage was given. Kumiko also didn’t give him any prediction of where the boy would send the ball to. Still, Higo preferred this way, as his judgment wouldn’t be clouded by anything else. He could just maximize his clairvoyant ability, using it to read the opponent’s next move.

’Now, where are you going...’