Everyone gathered at Hyunsoo’s house before the opening game of American football.
Since parking would be difficult on game day, they agreed to ride in the student council president Jessie’s car, which had a fixed parking spot.
“Wait, is this right? To get to a school that’s 20 minutes from my house, I have to drive 30 minutes to pick you guys up?”
The only unplanned part was the meeting place.
Originally, they were supposed to meet at a place closer to the school, but the basketball trio’s practice ran late.
Angela said it was perfect timing and came over to chat with her mom, so Jessie had no choice but to come here.
“I even brought the tickets, and now I have to pick you up myself. I guess I’ll be treating you to a late-night snack after the game?”
Charles and Deonte agreed enthusiastically to Jessie’s comment.
“Sounds great! Eating after the game is a must. How about burgers? Lucky13 is the best.”
“What the heck? That’s a bar. This guy has a really innocent face but has tried everything.”
“… So you don’t want to go?”
“I never said I wouldn’t go.”
The two then started giggling and whispering among themselves.
Jessie sighed in annoyance.
“Ha… Are they the idiots, or am I the idiot for picking them up?”
Just then, Hyunsoo, who had just finished showering, came out looking apologetic and patted Jessie’s back.
“Really sorry. Thanks for coming. It wasn’t too far, was it?”
“Huh? Oh… It’s fine since I drove.”
“We could have come over there instead. Thanks for accommodating us. We lost track of time playing basketball.”
“Well, you always do your best in everything…”
“I’m going to change clothes quickly. Make yourself at home.”
“Take your time. We still have some time.”
Jessie watched Hyunsoo go upstairs and suddenly felt a gaze on her, making her turn her head quickly.
“…”
Angela, who had come out of the master bedroom, mimicked the sound of a camera with her mouth, saying, “Click.”
“The title of this piece, ‘Temperature Difference’.”
“What are you talking about?”
“It means if I had taken a picture just now, I would name it ‘Temperature Difference’.”
“I get that, but why call it ‘Temperature Difference’?”
Angela glanced at the two idiots on the sofa and then at Hyunsoo’s room door, smiling mischievously.
“Never mind if you want to pretend you don’t know.”
“Stop talking nonsense…”
Jessie couldn’t finish her sentence.
“Oh? A friend I haven’t seen before?”
A woman with a kind face greeted them with a smile. She looked so young that it was hard to believe she was Hyunsoo’s mom, but Jessie remembered their family relationship and greeted her brightly.
“Hello! I’m Jessie, Hyunsoo’s school friend.”
“Ah, Jessie… I’ve heard a lot about you. It seems my son mentions someone more often the prettier they are.”
Angela perked up her ears.
“Really, ma’am? Then does he talk more about me or her?”
“…”
Jessie pretended not to care but was listening intently.
“Oh, Mom, come on!”
Before his mom could answer, Hyunsoo came rushing down.
“They hate it when I say they’re pretty, even as a joke. Don’t say I do that.”
“My son, really.”
“…Why?”
“Nothing. Yes, this is my son. Anyway, I approve.”
“…Approve of what? No, don’t say it. I don’t want to know.”
His mom patted his butt affectionately.
“Must be tough being my son, huh? I approve of everything, but as a guy, do you prefer the sexy type?”
“Mom! You say anything in front of my friends. Let’s go quickly. We’ll be late. Go, go, go.”
Hyunsoo hurriedly pushed everyone out, worried his mom might spill more embarrassing secrets.
‘Sexy?’
Jessie couldn’t help but smile as she compared herself to Angela while walking to the car.
‘Well, I did wear tight workout clothes today.’
“I’ve never seen so many people at school.”
Hyunsoo couldn’t hide his amazement.
It was a familiar scene, but today it was completely different.
There seemed to be no place to park within a 1km radius.
Even on the way to the American football stadium, the crowd was so thick that people bumped into each other if they weren’t careful.
Jessie found Hyunsoo’s reaction amusing.
“I’ve never met someone who’s never watched a school sports game.”
“Really?”
“Of course. It’s the highlight of high school. It feels more personal than professional games because our school team is playing, and I know the players. Losing to a rival school makes my blood boil.”
Watching Jessie passionately talk about high school sports, Hyunsoo could only smile bitterly.
His past memories came flooding back.
‘Yeah, sports are fun.’
Hyunsoo originally loved sports.
His father had a big influence on him. They used to play ball together and watch overseas soccer while eating chicken.
The day after a game, he enjoyed mimicking the professional players’ fancy skills with his dad.
Whenever he couldn’t play ball because of exam studies, his body itched, and he couldn’t concentrate, enjoying various sports besides soccer.
But everything changed after they immigrated.
‘In my first year, I had no friends to play with.’
The first year of studying abroad was not as beautiful as in the movies.
He was good at English in Korea, but by American standards, his pronunciation was awkward, and his vocabulary was limited.
Initially, he tried to have various conversations with enthusiasm, but the cultural differences and lack of common ground made it hard to continue.
-What did you say? Can you say it again?
-Was that even English?
Especially when people couldn’t understand him, his confidence dropped sharply. So, he stopped trying to start conversations.
-Asian exchange students are all like that. That kid from China was the same.
-At least he doesn’t smell. Better to be like a ghost than to be a nuisance.
For a while, he avoided parties or sports events with many strangers, finding comfort in being alone.
‘In the second semester, I got used to English and started making friends… only to have an accident during summer break.’
Since then, he couldn’t help but hate sports.
After being diagnosed with total paralysis, watching sports felt like a cruel reminder of his reality.
‘The memories with my father suffocated me more. Knowing how happy those moments were made the loss unbearable.’
As a result, Hyunsoo stopped watching any sports.
His father also stopped enjoying all the sports he used to love, unable to bear seeing his son in pain.
‘This time has to be different.’
Hyunsoo cherished those memories and made another resolution.
Even if it wasn’t soccer, he would somehow revive the happy traditions with his father.
Since he had become a starter on the basketball team, his father could come watch his games, or they could find another sport to enjoy together.
He wasn’t going to miss this new opportunity.
“These are our seats.”
They found their seats in the stadium through the crowd.
“Absolutely the best.”
Charles was impressed, and even Hyunsoo, who was visiting an American football stadium for the first time, had to agree.
They had a full view of the field, and the seats were more comfortable than the benches others were sitting on.
“Do you know the rules?”
Hyunsoo’s expression became ambiguous at Jessie’s question.
“Just the basics. I don’t know the details like the roles of each position or the fouls.”
“Then I’ll teach you. It’s more fun if you know the rules.”
-Beep!
The opening game was against South Cal’s Peach High School.
‘Watching a game live is definitely different.’
Hyunsoo felt himself getting excited without realizing it.
A game where he could breathe with the audience.
He felt regret over missed touchdowns and anger at the opponent’s fouls, just like the crowd.
-Wowwww!!!!
When Johannes High School narrowly won, the stadium erupted with cheers. Everyone relished the victory, jumping up and down.
‘This is so much fun!’
He finally understood why players were treated like celebrities among the students.
At least within the school, they had a presence greater than professional athletes.
“How is it? Worth coming every week?”
Without hesitation, Hyunsoo nodded at Jessie’s question.
“Of course. I regret not coming at all last year.”
“Then I’ll get the tickets for next week too… Oh?”
Just then, someone shouted from down on the field.
“Hey.”
A blonde guy in football gear approached, taking off his helmet. With a face straight out of a romance comic, his jersey number indicated he was Johannes High School’s quarterback…
“Are you Hyun?”
After looking at the guy’s face, Hyunsoo turned to Jessie.
‘He looks like a male version of Jessie?’
“Oh… so this is Kyle.”
She covered her face embarrassedly with one hand.
“Yeah. All the good genes must have gone to me, so feel sorry for him.”
Kyle smiled nonchalantly, used to his twin’s harshness.
“You’re already bad-mouthing me to your boyfriend. It’ll be interesting when you get married.”
“Have you ever been knocked out by a helmet?”
He skillfully dodged Jessie’s punch and focused on Hyunsoo.
“Hmm. Your face is decent. Being smart is an Asian trait. I saw a video; you seem to play basketball okay… even though you lost to the second team.”
“Second team?”
Hyunsoo had already participated in several basketball practices and knew the players.
“We played against the first team during tryouts?”
“Hehe, this guy doesn’t know yet. The real first team of the basketball club is in our football team. Right, Deonte?”
“…?”
Deonte didn’t even look at Kyle, his face hardened. Given his quick temper, it was strange he hadn’t reacted yet.
Unable to stand it anymore, Jessie spoke.
“…What are you talking about? Stop with the nonsense.”
“Am I wrong? It’s laughable seeing former football dropouts acting like stars on the basketball team.”
“Do you want to keep crossing the line? Do you want to die? Fix your language.”
“Jessie, you don’t know. The basketball team is so confident lately, acting like they’ve already won the season. If they’re at the bottom, they should humbly focus on training. What are they doing? Embarrassing the school?”
“…”
“The truth is, until recently, Coach Russell was begging the football team to join tryouts. He said he was desperate because the basketball team was so hopeless. It’s infuriating.”
Charles snorted.
“That’s old news. He won’t have to do that anymore. Bring the football guys; they won’t match us in basketball.”
“Haha, see? This is why they don’t improve. A guy who’s never played a league game talks big. I’m really worried. Should we have a match? Football team vs. basketball team in basketball. How about filming it for MyTube, Angela? No mosaic, okay?”
Kyle kept taunting annoyingly.
“Hm.”
Suddenly, Deonte stood up.
As the tallest and biggest, he approached with a hardened face, making Kyle’s eyes waver.
“Uh…”
But Deonte passed the slightly scared Kyle and sat next to Hyunsoo.
He then spoke to Hyunsoo.
“I have a foul mouth, but I’m not genuinely racist. I insult everyone equally, black, white, or Asian.”
“…”
“But this guy is inherently a white supremacist. He thinks he’s the best, and others are inferior. Don’t you sense it in his words?”
“Huh? I’m just stating facts.”
“You heard that, right? He’s like this.”
Kyle suddenly realized the atmosphere was off.
Why was Deonte talking to Hyunsoo like he was tattling?
And why wasn’t Jessie, who would usually intervene by now, saying anything?
Deonte, Jessie, Charles, even Angela; they were all ignoring Kyle and waiting for Hyunsoo’s reaction.
‘What are they expecting?’
Meanwhile, Hyunsoo, who had been quietly thinking, looked around at his friends and shrugged his shoulders once.
“Let’s do it then. That game. Knowing the ‘real’ first team’s level will help us prepare for the league. I look forward to it.”
The next evening.
Kyle gathered five players with experience in basketball and top physical condition from the football team.
They had monstrous builds unthinkable for high school students, justifying their claim to be the crème de la crème of the football team.
One of them was even a middle school basketball state conference champion, making their specs superior to the basketball team’s starters.
Kyle couldn’t stop bragging before the game.
“Don’t blame me if you get crushed. Just use this as an opportunity to grow.”
And after 40 minutes.
[51:7]
The football team was utterly defeated. Their faces were drained of all spirit.
Kyle especially was in denial.
“This, this isn’t fair. Let’s play football. Let’s play football, you bastards!!”
