Chapter 8
(Chan's POV)
Three Days Later – First Match of the Season
Chan was ready.
He had already imagined several times about this, what would he feel when the moment came, the final season of his professional career as a footballer. Now that the moment had come, Chan can say with his head held high that he feels happy and proud, that he doesn't regret one bit of his entire career in this sport, that he has always considered it as the most beautiful sport on the planet.
This was the first of his last 38 matches, and Chan was determined to play the full game in all the matches. He was doing this not only for personal satisfaction, but also to honor the club that has made his name. Like his idol, Paolo Maldini of AC Milan, Chan was a one-club footballer. This football club was his home since he was 11 years old, when he first entered the BSFC academy, until he retired at the age of 36, as the BSFC captain, at the end of this season.
Chan walked slowly out of the dressing room, through the corridor, raised his hand and smiled at all the staff who had taken care of them, the BSFC players. After crossing the corridor, Chan began to approach the tunnel, where the two teams were already lined up, waiting for the referee's signal, so they could come out onto the pitch.
Chan strode to the front of the BSFC line of players, to touch his teammates' shoulders one by one, giving words of encouragement, advice, suggestions, warnings, carrying out his duties as captain. This is the first of his last 38 matches.
When he stepped on the pitch, the screams of the BSFC fans filled the stadium, calling his name, screaming his name, chanting his name.
Who's the strongest defender?
DADDY! DADDY! DADDY!
Who's the unmatched footballer?
CHAN! CHAN! CHAN!
Who's the greatest captain?
DAAAADDY CHAAAAN!
CHAN! CHAN! CHAN!
CHAN! CHAN! CHAN!
CHAN! CHAN! CHAN!
CHAN! CHAN! CHAN!
When Chan bends down to touch the grass on the pitch, where he had competed for nearly 21 years, with both of his hands – part of his ritual; accompanied by the screams of BSFC fanatical supporters, the captain's eyes are slightly filled with tears. This was the first of his last 38 matches, and he was determined to enjoy every second of it. Later on, when he reached the 38th of his last 38 matches, he will walk this pitch one last time as a footballer to say goodbye. He will surely miss all the football maniacs who scream non-stop in the stands of BOC Stadium, the home ground of BSFC. But nothing lasts forever, and everything must come to an end.
Chan was ready.
Let's do this!
(Tankhun's POV)
Tankhun was enjoying his favorite tea, white peony, in his study upstairs, when he faintly heard Kim's voice from the living room downstairs, it seemed like he was chanting non-stop, getting louder and louder by the minute.
His curiosity suddenly arose and he decided to find out. Tankhun just opened his study room door slightly, and Kim's voice already sounded even louder. His youngest brother truly was chanting like a maniac. Wait, did he chant Chan's name?
As Tankhun walked closer towards the stairs, suddenly he heard Pa's voice from the balcony.
"Today is the league's opening match, and BSFC is playing."
Oh, no wonder his younger brother was super excited.
"Pa, why didn't you tell me you were drinking tea on the balcony? I could accompany you," asked Tankhun. He was actually surprised but at the same time pleased to see his Pa come out of his bedroom today.
Even though Ma had died 15 years ago, Pa still had not managed to overcome the loss, half of his soul seemed to be taken away when she was gone. And as a result, Pa is getting out of his room less and less, especially now that he's decided to retire completely from the company.
"The garden looked very beautiful today when I peeked out of my bedroom window, so I decided to have tea here," explained Pa.
"I'm glad."
"Are you going to join Kim watching the football match downstairs?" asked Pa.
At first, he did have the intention to do that. But he was afraid he couldn't cover his guilty face when he saw how happy his youngest brother was, watching his favorite captain play football on TV, while he had the person's phone number on his cell phone.
I need to do something big for Kim.
"No, Pa, I think I'll just let Kim have his fun. I won't disturb him."
After confirming once again that Pa didn't want company, Tankhun then decided to watch the match in his own bedroom. Something that he rarely did, as he was never really interested in football, even though he was the one who always took Kim to practice ever since he was 8 years old.
As soon as the TV was turned on, the first thing that Tankhun saw was the back of Chan's head, who was standing with his back to the camera. He and his teammates were lining themselves up in one long line, as were the players from the opposing team. They were getting ready to hear their national anthem play.
When the national anthem fill the air, one by one the faces of the Bangkok Super Football Club's players were shown on television. Chan, as the captain of BSFC, was standing on the far left, next to the referee, shown last. And Tankhun had to admit that Chan looked so damn good in BSFC black uniform.
His broad chest beautifully filled the tight jersey, tight enough that Tankhun could see the hints of the captain's six pack abs. The lower part of his thigh muscles that stick out under the football uniform shorts were also beautifully shaped, as well as the calf muscles that were still visible even though they were covered in knee-length socks. For a footballer in his 36 years old, Chan's body is no different from that of his team-mates, some of whom were 10 years younger or even more, than Chan.
However, there was one other thing, aside from Chan's good looks that caught Tankhun's attention at that time.
O~h someone is being naughty...
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
(Chan's POV)
It seemed his conversation with Pond Krisda, the owner of BSFC, was longer than Chan anticipated. But it's understandable since the topic of conversation that they raised was quite serious. As usual Mr. Krisda, generous as he is, once again offered him a spot in BSFC management. And if Chan wants to join the coaching team, the FC will support him 100% and help him get his license. Of course, he was very grateful for Mr. Krisda's attention and offer, but after retiring, all Chan ever wanted was a total rest, at least for a year, before he decided what he wanted to do next. Maybe he could travel the world and really enjoy culinary freedom, something that he really wanted.
When he reached the big silver door of the BOC Stadium dressing room, he couldn't hear any sound from inside. And silence was not something you connected with players' locker rooms, especially after a victory in an opener match like today. It appears that his assumption earlier was right, his conversation with the owner of BSFC did take quite a long time. He didn't even hear Coach's loud voice. I guess everybody has gone home already.
But it turned out that he was wrong, because when the Captain opened the door, he was greeted with one of the oddest sights he had ever seen happening in a dressing room, in his entire career as a footballer, and he saw a lot. Arm and Pol, the running back duo of BSFC, pressed their backs and left-side of their faces against the dividing wall between the players' lounge and the locker room. Both of them look like Spiderman in casual clothes.
WTF?
Before Chan could say anything, Arm and Pol had already noticed his presence – did they have Spidey's sense too?, and immediately signaled him to not make any sound. Not only that, they also made Chan press his back and his face against the wall too, exactly like their position earlier. So now instead of two, there were three fake Spiderman.
"Boys, what…"
"Shh~ Cap, quiet, please~" whispered Pol. "We need info for our update."
Update? Fuck, if these two boys do what he thinks they do... they're so dead.
"Okay, this is get- ungh "
"Sorry, Cap, but we really need your cooperation, please … this information is crucial for the next plot," whispered Arm, pleading with puppy eyes as his hand still covered Chan's mouth.
Chan closed his eyes and took a deep breath, these crazy boys actually held him hostage here and even dared to keep his mouth shut, just for the sake of fanfiction plots?
THEY ARE SO DEAD.
The captain was so ready to rip Arm's hand that is covering his mouth and scolding the hell out of them, when he heard Pete's voice from behind the wall.
"Have you seen the match fixture?" asked Pete.
"I have," answered Vegas. "Just my luck, I guess."
"We knew this match was coming, we just didn't expect it to come so soon," stated Pete.
Ah yes, the game fixture.
At the start of every season, each time they got a new match fixture from the League, the first thing the team did was to check when they met their arch enemy, Bangkok United – Vegas's old team. Chan actually hoped that they would meet in the 11th or 12th match, and preferably starting with a home game. But it turns out that luck wasn't on their side in this matter as Vegas stated just now. Their first away game of this season was against Bangkok United, and if that wasn't enough, it was the 3rd game in the fixture.
"Do you think we're ready? We still misunderstood each other. I still cannot read your movement perfectly," said Vegas.
"Ready or not, we have to be ready, there is no other choice. Personally, I think our performance today wasn't bad," Pete replied. "Good goal by the way, congrats on your first BSFC's goal."
"Thanks... and thank you for the assist, it was a superb pass."
"I know."
Chan chuckled lightly at Pete's smug tone and at the same time felt very relieved. He had no idea what Pete had said to Vegas on the last day of their super-chaotic pre-season training, but whatever it was, it worked. Chan felt very proud of his co-captain. He will make a very good captain.
"Aaaaw," whispered Pol to Arm. "My heart…"
"They're starting to get sweeter with each other…"
Listening to Arm and Pol chatters, Chan's smile immediately disappeared from his face. He couldn't even imagine what shape or color his face looked like at the time. If it weren't for the fact that he didn't want Vegas and Pete to know they had been eavesdropping on their private conversation, Chan would have hit these two crazy boys in the head. Especially when he thought about them intentionally trapping and involving him in gathering info for their fanfiction. Ugh!
"You think we need to work on some signal?" asked Vegas.
"What kind of signal?"
"Some kind of secret sign, so we won't misread each other's intentions," explained Vegas. "I think we need to do this before we really get used to reading each other's gestures."
Chan has a hunch Pol will make a new chirps or innuendo that will irritate him, so before that happens, Chan pulls Pol's ear close to his and whispers in a chilling voice, "Say one word, and I swear at the next training session I'll give you twenty ."
Pol nodded his head in acknowledgment of his order.
"I think we can work on that, Vegas," confirmed Pete. "Good idea!"
"Shall we go and discuss it some more?"
"Sure."
As soon as the sound of Vegas and Pete's footsteps drifted away, Chan planned to catch Arm and Pol, he'd have them do 100 push-ups for him. Unfortunately, they read him too well and already make their escape faster than Chan.
"Bye, Cap!"
"Till Monday, Cap!"
"Prepare for hell, boys!" shouted Chan.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
After finishing taking a shower, Chan found out that he was the only person left in the dressing room, not even one single BSFC kit staff left. Since he had no other plans after this but to go home and sleep, Chan walked unhurriedly to his personal locker to get a change of clothes and his duffel bag. As soon as he opened the door, something caught his attention, the notification light on his cell phone flashing. Chan decided to check it right away, just in case it was something important, because the last time he checked his message was an hour before kick-off.
New Message from It's Doctor!
Chan chuckled lightly at the name he chose to save Tankhun's phone number on his cell phone. He was determined to call the doctor – the next time they met, with all the endearing names he could think of. He found the look on Tankhun's face and the way he responded each time he heard Chan call him that was so funny. He kinda liked it.
Like?
The Captain quickly dispelled whatever thoughts that were flashing in his head earlier. But still, instead of wearing some clothes, he chose to sit on the bench in front of his locker, with only a towel wrapped around his waist to read the message from Tankhun.
It's Doctor!
You did something naughty or should I say 'rebellious' last night, didn't you? Spill!
The first thing Chan did was burst out laughing, then murmured under his breath, "Fuck me! How the hell did he know!?"
Chan
Objection, Your Honor! Baseless accusation!
It's Doctor!
I would like to disclose the first evidence, Your Honor.
That message was quickly followed by a new message. This time with an attachment, which was a pic of Chan's face when he was standing in line with his teammates on the pitch while the national anthem was being sung. Below the photo there was a caption: that is one hell of a smug face, mister!
Busted!
Chan hesitated for a moment but decided to just give Tankhun a call. His fingers couldn't type fast enough, so messaging definitely was not his style.
Tankhun picked up on the third ring, and immediately charged him, "Are you ready to plead guilty, sir?"
"Guilty as charged, Your Honor," answered Chan, deciding to be honest.
"HAH!" yelled Tankhun, then added excitedly, "So? Spill!"
"I ate a caramel mini cupcake."
"You and your caramel! How many?"
God damn it! He's reading me like a book!
"What do you mean?"
"Please … like one tiny cake would be enough for you."
Chan could just imagine Tankhun rolling his eyes at him.
"Six."
"WHOA! Exceed my expectations for sure. Can you still run, old man?" teased Tankhun.
"You tell me, you watch the game, right?" Chan teased him right back.
You're not the only one who can play this game, my dearest Doctor!
"Nope."
"From the evidence previously disclosed, Your Honor, it is clear that you took a pic of me from the television screen."
"Okay, fine, I only watched half the match tho."
Chan laughed joyfully.
Gotcha, little liar!
"So, what can I do for you, Doctor?"
"Please let me know my second and third task already, this waiting game is tiring," pleaded Tankhun.
"What's the hurry? I can assure you that you will definitely get those tasks."
"First, I'm busy. Second, I think the sooner this matter is done the better, so we can move on with our own life. Don't you agree?"
Chan didn't know what was going on, whether he was being sensitive or what, but Tankhun's words just now stung.
"Well, I haven't found the perfect assignment for you, so you just have to wait," snapped Chan, with all the intention to bite back.
"That is SO not fair!"
"That's life, Sugar."
"Ugh, I really hate you right now and it's DOCTOR!" Tankhun shouted at him before disconnected the call.
Now that he had annoyed Tankhun, Chan wasn't feeling any better either, in fact he was feeling worse.
FUCK!
TBC