The Rise of the Iron Wall!
Chapter 407: After the Game (I)
"COME OOOOON!"
The moment the penalty kick from Kang Do-Jin went in, all the Shimizu Higashi players on the center line swarmed to the penalty box immediately. Some were screaming like crazy, while the others had tears flowing from the corner of their eyes already. Still, at this point, no one cared about that trivial matter.
No, they just went there, jumping on Kang Do-Jin enthusiastically. Just within a heartbeat, all the players with the white jersey had gathered in the box, all hugging their hero of the game.
On the other hand, Higo, who somehow became the last one to fail both in scoring and saving the penalty, could only sit blankly on the ground. Right as the referee blew the whistle, the boy could feel all of the strength in his body ebb away. Everything ached, and he couldn’t move, but what hurt the most was definitely his heart.
’So... I lost, huh?’ He just stared at the opponent celebrating straight in front of his face, his mind going blank at that exact moment.
In fact, he wasn’t the only one here. All the Hakodate Nishi players could be seen losing all the liveliness among them, with most starting to lose their strength instantly. Those who got hit the hardest were definitely the ones who failed to execute the penalty, from Denji, Kenji, Kazawa, Fujinaga, to Ishinori.
Those five, just like Higo, just looked at the opponent’s celebration blankly, haunted by so many ’what-ifs’ scenarios inside their mind. Unfortunately, no amount of regret would be enough to allow them to rewind time, forcing them to accept this bitter reality.
Things were worse for some players, such as Makino and Kuroki. The moment they witnessed Kang Do-Jin’s penalty going in, they felt their knees buckle, and with one quick glance at each other, they both had the same thought instantly.
’So, this is the end, huh?’
Yeah, those two were probably the most emotional ones right now, knowing that their high school time was finally over. Higo should be on the same boat, except that he was not. He had only come to the team last year, far from the dedication that both Makino and Kuroki had put into the club since joining it the first time after they entered high school.
Those two witnessed the team’s entire journey, from when they were at rock bottom, scrapping their way through the third round of the Hokkaido prefectural tournament before getting eliminated there, to having one of the best, some might even argue that he was the best goalkeeper in Japan right now, to carry the team to the national tournament.
Honestly, they had never thought they could go this far, but as the elimination finally came through, a reluctant feeling also sprouted inside their heart.
"Our journey is finally over, huh, Kuro?" Makino smiled bitterly, tears streaming down his face.
"Yeah, after all this time..." Kuroki just laughed hollowly, lying on the ground with his face getting covered completely by his hands. Even though he only played for the last ten minutes, the boy was somehow so exhausted beyond everything. Still, this only lasted for a while before he shook his head strongly and got up from the ground. "Come on, we need to get Higo. He should feel like crap, right?"
Makino jerked for a moment before his eyes fell on the person under the crossbar immediately. With a single nod, he accepted Kuroki’s hand and said, "You are right, he should be in his worst mood right now."
Higo himself still stared at the opponent’s group in front of him with a hollow stare. Surprisingly enough, though, once the crowd started to spread, the first one to greet him was none other than Kang Do-Jin, the one who beat him in a head-on shootout earlier. The Korean goalkeeper offered a handshake, helping him to get up from the cold ground.
"Good game." The man said with a genuine smile, one that could make Higo puke instantly. The more genuine the opponent was after winning the game, the more it felt like a mockery for the losing side. "You really are a better goalkeeper than me, I swear! I mean, four saves out of five?! I could only pull two, you know?!" He laughed a little, wanting to cheer the boy up.
"...We still lost." At the end, that was the only sentence that came out of Higo’s mouth. At this moment, no amount of praise would be enough to hide his gloominess. What made it worse, though, was the fact that he knew full well he was the one who caused the team’s defeat. He couldn’t stop the last penalty even though he failed one earlier.
This made his stomach twist like crazy.
"Eh, your team lost, but I can say you are not." Park Han-Gyeol suddenly came and hugged Kang Do-Jin’s shoulder from behind; all the hostility toward Higo since the game began was gone at this point. "We should’ve won in the normal time if you were not that insane, you know?!" He patted Higo’s arm while smiling broadly.
"They are right, Higo-san. You have done all you can do, but you are let down by your teammates." Mamoru suddenly chimed in out of nowhere. "If only you had a stronger team, it would be us who were in trouble."
This was definitely the highest praise that an opponent could give, and yet, there was nothing wrong with that statement. Higo had been single-handedly carrying the whole team so far, dragging them to the penalty shootout today. Hell, besides the four penalty saves he made, the boy also put up a big show by recording 17 saves, tying his own record that he got against Shohei High a few days ago.
That just showed how great he was today.
Unfortunately, no amount of consolation would be enough to make him feel better. Just like Higo said earlier, a loss was still a loss. He would rather play terribly, but the team still won rather than lose in this situation. Also, the way they spoke really infuriated him, as if they were a clear better team today. Not that it was hard to admit, but this was like them rubbing this straight into his face.
In the end, Higo just took a deep breath here. "Well, it doesn’t matter. We lost, so we will go home. Good luck for the rest of your tournament."
Then he left, not even turning back at the Shimizu Higashi boys again.