Lazy Genius Striker [EN]: Chapter 81

< Episode 080 – Trophy Obsessed Man >

Usually, when a player in the same position joins a team, it’s not always a welcome situation.

Even if they’re on the same team, they can still be seen as rivals.

However, Johan was different.

“He’s a striker like me?”

“Yeah.”

“Then, does that mean I’ll have more days to rest?”

“Well, you could say that.”

“Oh.”

Johan grinned broadly.

He heard from the older players that Kane was his backup striker.

Since he couldn’t play every game alone, Kane would share the burden and support him from behind.

So, it was good news for Johan.

How could he not be happy when a player who would play in his place and reduce his burden had arrived?

Out of sheer delight, Johan even went up to Kane and greeted him first.

“Nice to meet you.”

“Uh, uh…”

And in response to Johan’s greeting, Kane nodded.

Then, Kane’s eyes sparkled as he looked at Johan.

‘The benefactor of London…’

This year marked Kane’s 17th year as a professional.

He had been the league’s top scorer, the assist king, and had done everything he could.

There was even talk that he was one of the best strikers in the world at one point.

But despite all that, he had never won a single championship trophy throughout his career.

Because of that cruel career, it wasn’t surprising that Kane was obsessed with the element of ‘luck’.

At first, it was just for fun.

After failing to win the championship even with Galatasaray.

Kane was walking down the streets of Turkey, and out of frustration, he went into an astrology house to get his fortune told.

And then,

The astrologer’s words pierced Kane’s heart.

“You are destined to achieve everything, but you will not achieve the one thing you desire most.”

It was clearly his story.

The one thing he wanted most.

The championship trophy.

He had achieved everything else, but he didn’t have that one thing.

He had wandered around Europe for it, but the trophy seemed to avoid him like a trick of fate.

“Then what should I do?”

“You must meet a benefactor.”

“A benefactor…?”

“A benefactor with a fate opposite to yours. You must be with that benefactor to fulfill your wish.”

“Opposite fate?”

“A fate that allows you to obtain everything you want without much effort.”

The astrologer looked at the divination for a long time and then said.

“London… Taurus… He is your benefactor.”

“London? Taurus? Who is that?”

“The brightest star in Taurus. It is shining on London.”

“No, so who is it?”

“Any more than this would be revealing divine secrets.”

“Crazy.”

Even after persistent questioning, the astrologer only repeated that it was revealing divine secrets and refused to answer, and Kane left the astrology house with a snort.

He felt miserable.

He was momentarily taken in by such superstition.

After that, Kane forgot about that day.

But then,

Kane remembered that day again after accidentally seeing a player named Johan Van.

West Ham’s monster striker.

Kane didn’t know why he was reminded of that day as soon as he saw Johan.

But, as if possessed, Kane searched for Johan and was shocked.

Johan Van

Born: April 26, 2011 (Taurus)

“London! Taurus!”

Kane was certain.

That the benefactor the astrologer had mentioned that day was Johan.

After that, when West Ham made an offer, it was natural that Kane accepted without hesitation.

His obsession with the trophy.

The only way to change that fate was to go to West Ham.

“Left foot, left foot.”

The players warming up for training.

Johan was also warming up,

“…”

He felt a piercing gaze from somewhere and turned his head, and his eyes met Kane’s.

Kane smiled brightly when their eyes met, and Johan responded with an awkward smile.

‘What is it.’

Johan frowned as he turned his head again.

He looks a bit scary when he smiles like that.

Why is he looking at me?

And what’s with that goofy smile?

No, wait a minute.

I still feel that piercing gaze?

“…Heh.”

“…”

When he turned his head slightly again, he met Kane’s eyes again.

And Kane smiled at him again.

…This is really scary.

Johan scratched his head.

The uneasy feeling continued throughout the training.

Whenever he felt something strange and turned his head during training, Kane was always there, looking at him.

Smiling.

‘What is it.’

Johan wasn’t intimidated even at Anfield [Liverpool’s home stadium, known for its intense atmosphere].

He wasn’t intimidated even by tens of thousands of Kop fans [Liverpool’s supporters].

But even Johan was a little scared.

A big man, almost 190 centimeters tall, was constantly looking at him with a strange expression that he couldn’t read.

How could that not be scary?

What’s so scary about being with another man?

It’s even scarier because he’s a man.

“I’ll be leaving now.”

“Good work. See you tomorrow.”

Anyway, after finishing training.

Johan headed to the locker room with light steps to go home.

He was about to open his locker to change his clothes,

“…!”

Johan’s hand stopped.

Jonathan Naison used to use the locker next to his.

But the owner has changed.

To Harry Kane.

“…”

Kane’s face, who had been staring at him intently throughout the training, came to mind, making him feel eerie.

Why did he have to put his locker next to mine…

Even though there were empty lockers.

No, this is really scary.

“Hoo.”

I need to go home quickly.

Johan took off his sweaty training clothes and headed to the shower room located in the locker room with new clothes.

Shwaaaaa-

Real men’s style.

Solve everything with one soap.

Johan washes everything from his hair to every corner of his body with soap.

But then,

Thud-

His hand slipped and the soap fell to the ground.

The moment he bent down to pick up the soap.

“…?”

A huge shadow loomed over Johan.

Johan raised his head,

“…!”

The owner of that shadow was Harry Kane.

A completely naked Kane was looking down at him.

“Aaaaaah!”

Johan screamed.

“Hahaha!”

Team Gordon, who rushed in after hearing the scream from the shower room, burst into laughter after hearing the whole story from Johan.

“It’s easy to misunderstand. I would have freaked out too.”

It was definitely a situation where you could misunderstand.

But, it was literally a misunderstanding.

Kane was married and even had children.

Kane was even more embarrassed by Johan’s scream, and Johan finally breathed a sigh of relief after hearing Gordon’s explanation.

“No, hey. Why were you staring at him so intently?”

“No… I just liked him…”

“…Yes? Wait a minute. Let’s make sure. I’m suddenly confused after hearing that. It’s really a misunderstanding, right?”

“What, what?”

“You said you were looking at him because you liked him?”

“Ah, no. I mean. As a player. I mean I like him as a fellow striker. What else would it be.”

“Right? You’re sure?”

Kane nodded, flustered by Gordon’s glare.

“Ah, but this is really funny. It’s the funniest thing I’ve heard lately.”

Anyway, it was a misunderstanding.

Johan apologized because he felt sorry for misunderstanding, and the misunderstanding was resolved.

Kane also felt sorry for acting in a way that could be misunderstood, so he offered to take Johan, who didn’t have a car yet, home.

So, Johan got into Kane’s car and headed home.

‘So many things happened.’

Johan smiled as he looked out the window and thought about what had happened earlier.

No, but it was really scary at that moment.

Why did I have to drop the soap at that time?

I feel sorry for misunderstanding someone who even has a daughter, but honestly, anyone would have misunderstood…

“See you tomorrow.”

“Thank you. Go in safely.”

Thanks to Kane, Johan arrived home quickly, got out of the car, and headed home.

But then,

‘Uh?’

Johan, who was heading home, stopped.

Wait a minute.

Come to think of it, that’s strange?

I didn’t give Kane my home address?

But how did he take me right in front of my house?

“…”

Something’s wrong. Johan turned his head.

And,

“…!”

The moment he saw Kane’s car entering the house next to his.

Johan’s face turned pale.

‘I, is it really a misunderstanding…?’

Johan’s mind was complicated.

ㆍㆍㆍ

January 24, 2028.

The day of the 25th round of the season.

West Ham traveled to Turf Moor to face Burnley, the bottom of the league.

Burnley’s home, Turf Moor, is known to be quite difficult.

First of all, Lancashire, where the stadium is located, is far from London, and transportation itself is not easy because Burnley is such a small city.

In addition, it is a place where it rains for 4 days a week, so the weather is bad.

Turf Moor was a difficult away game even for strong teams when Burnley’s style of playing rough defense and external factors combined, and it took a long time to recover even after playing an away game at Turf Moor.

Perhaps conscious of this, coach Schmidt excluded Johan from the list for this away game.

This week is a break.

It was time to rest as he had played in 8 consecutive games, including the FA Cup game, since the 17th round against Newcastle.

In particular, the derby match against Tottenham was waiting after the game against Burnley, so it was definitely a week that needed a break.

Also, although the Turf Moor away game is difficult, the current team atmosphere of Burnley has collapsed a lot, so it was judged that they could win enough even without Johan.

Above all, Harry Kane’s physical condition, which he had watched during training, was not bad.

In the first place, Kane had been playing games without problems in the Turkish league, so there was no major problem with his condition, and he was ready to play in the game right away.

As expected, Kane, a classy player and a veteran with a lot of experience, perfectly understood the team tactics with just a few training sessions, so coach Schmidt immediately put him on the starting list.

The game started with sleet falling on Turf Moor.

The game went as everyone expected.

Burnley set up a solid defensive wall by sitting deep with their big defenders, and West Ham gave Capello the attacking rights and looked for opportunities to break Burnley’s ten-back.

In fact, if this matchup had been held only in December, West Ham would not have been able to easily solve the game.

It would not have been easy to break through the defense of a team like Burnley without Johan.

But the current situation was completely different.

West Ham had Capello, who was capable of creative passes that could shake up the rigid defense.

There was Harry Kane, who could fill Johan’s void.

Kane reported his Premier League comeback by scoring a goal in just 16 minutes of the first half.

His 225th Premier League goal and his first goal for West Ham.

Kane’s class was certain.

West Ham had lost all the games in which Johan was absent.

For this reason, there were many games where they wanted to let Johan rest, but couldn’t.

But now, with Kane, they could trust him and manage Johan more.

West Ham won the game 2-1.

And Harry Kane, who was selected as the MOM [Man of the Match] of the game, poured out complex and subtle emotions in the interview.

“It must feel like you’ve returned to your hometown after a long time. What are your thoughts?”

“I’m happy to have played a successful game. I will become a player who plays for West Ham.”

“In fact, there were many questions about why West Ham in particular. What is your answer to this?”

“It wasn’t an easy choice, but I was sure. West Ham has great players, and I thought I could lift the trophy here.”

“Was it simply because the current ranking was high?”

“Rather than that, it was because there was a player I really wanted to be with.”

“Who is it?”

“It’s Johan Van.”

Kane’s interview that he wanted to be with Johan.

Johan was watching that interview with his dad at home.

“Haha! I feel reassured. Right, Johan?”

“…Yes.”

Reassured…?

No. Dad.

Actually, I’m a little scared…

Johan felt like Kane in the TV was looking at him.