Chapter 10

(Chan POV)

Derby Match – (3 rd Match of the Season)

"How do you feel?" Chan asked Vegas, who was getting quieter by the minutes. The young midfielder is indeed not a talkative person, but his silence this time has nothing to do with his character. As a one-club footballer, Chan will never be able to fathom Vegas's feeling at having to go to the stadium he once considered his home, and having to compete with people who used to be his team-mates. Not to mention, if you factor his ex-fans into the equation. Because of the decades of rivalry, United fans have never been kind to BSFC players and vice versa, but surely, they will be more hostile toward Vegas, who in their eyes considered a traitor, even though his move to BSFC was not his own wish, but the wish of Bangkok United's management who couldn't wait for him to develop to his full potential, and opted to transfer a more senior and experienced attacking midfielder.

"I'll be fine, Cap, just a little nervous," Vegas replied.

Chan put his hand on Vegas's left shoulder, squeezing it a little to give him encouragement, before continuing his pep talk.

"I'm not going to pretend that I understand how you feel, I never played against any old team, because I only ever play for one team, but this isn't your first derby, so you more or less know how the fans will treat you."

"Like the BSFC fans treated me last season?" asked Vegas with a faint smile.

"Exactly, but they might be a bit more aggressive today, because they'll definitely call you a traitor or various variations of that word or maybe trying to throw things at you," specified Chan bluntly.

Vegas grimaced.

"You don't need me to spell out to you the best way to silence them, do you?"

"No, Cap."

"Good. I'm sure you'll be just fine, Vegas, and YOU will make them very sorry for letting you go," stated Chan confidently. "Yes, Cap!"

After finishing his talk with Vegas, Chan got up from the bench inside the visitor dressing room of the United Stadium, turned his body to face his teammates and shouted loudly, "Ready to take revenge for last season's draw at BOC Stadium, boys? I want a victory, you hear me? This is the last time I'm competing in this stadium, let's make them unable to forget my face. Ever !"

"YES, CAP!"

"LET'S GOOOO!"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

(Tankhun POV)

Tankhun came back from his shopping spree in a much better mood, for there is no better medicine than retail therapy. Although to be honest, the reason why his mood was so sour lately was a bit unclear, but he was very satisfied with the items he bought.

Just as his feet stepped into the house through the main door, he was greeted by a cursing that came from the living room, where the 60-inch smart TV was placed.

"FUCK! What kind of tackle is that? Ref, are you blind!? That should be a free kick for our side!" Kim shouted, pointing at the TV with the remote control in his hand.

Kim is always emotional when watching BSFC matches, but this time he sounded even more emotional than usual. Tankhun decided to approach Kim to find out what was so special about this match.

"Yes, Cap! Tell him! Stupid referee! UGH!" he shouted again.

"Why are they wearing white? Isn't the color of the BSFC uniform black?" asked Tankhun as soon as he saw the white uniform that was worn by Chan, who was seen on the TV screen still protesting to the referee. The sweat-drenched uniform clung to Chan's body, mapping all the curves of his chest and abs muscles. The effect of the black uniform was quite severe, but the white one? Damn, there was nothing left to the imagination, it's borderline indecent. Tankhun suddenly felt his face hot and his mouth dry.

Damn…

"Oh, hi, P'!" greeted Kim. "This is their second uniform, for the away game. I'm surprised that you even know the color of the BSFC uniform."

Tankhun heard Kim's explanation, he really did, though only faintly, because his eyes were still glued to the TV screen, that damn uniform now clings to the captain's back muscles.

"P'! Did you even hear what I say?" asked Kim… well yelled to be exact.

As usual, Tankhun's instinct to always look cool in front of his youngest brother kicked in in an instant, even though his brain was still stuck on that damn white jersey, Tankhun replied casually, "Du~h, Kim. I've seen poster in your room so many times and I'm the one who bought you your first BSFC's jersey."

"Oooh, it's starting again! Come on, P', sit here and watch the game with me," said Kim as he tapped on the sofa.

Tankhun hesitated a bit, could he trust himself not to blurt out the truth about Chan to Kim, especially regarding Porsche and Kinn – because it was not his story to tell, but seeing how focused Kim was on this derby, Tankhun felt like it's pretty safe now. So, he decided to join Kim sitting on the big black leather sofa.

"You're not going to regret it, P'. Derby matches are the best. Nerve-wracking for sure, but fucking awesome ."

"No free-kicks for BSFC, even though the captain tried hard to reason with the referee. Ball for United."

"Ugh, not only stupid but blind. BOO~~~" cried Kim, jumping on his feet and once again pointing at the screen with the remote.

Looks like Kim would chime in with whatever the commentators on TV say, so Tankhun intended to just sit back and enjoy his baby antics. Well, he was the one who raised him since he was 5 years old, so Kim was and always will be his baby.

"Ten minutes before half time and it's still nil-nil here at the United Stadium. It's been a fantastic match, full of excitement! So far, we've seen two superb saves from each goal keeper; wonderful, wonderful attempts of goals and countless individual skill displays. You don't want to take your eyes off this match, not even for a second!"

"COME ON, GUYS!"

"Wonderful passing from Big to Daddy Chan who slightly moved forward from his position as a center back. Looks like this time it's the captain who is going to orchestra the attack. Daddy is still dribbling the ball, what a beautiful skill… Vegas is on his right side and Pete is moving backward to take the defensive position. Lovely through ball from the captain to Tay, the BSFC left winger, who crossed! There's Vegas there… ah superb control of the ball from the young player, is he going to shoot? Looks like he's going to do it… but it's NOT! It's a feign! Clever moves from the newest player of BSFC who is also the ex-player of the home team… the goalie was tricked and misstep, and of course Daddy Chan is already waiting in front of goal... GOAL FOR DADDY~~~~ 1-0 for the visitor! Woohoo~~~~

"FUCK YEAHH~~~~~ MY CAPTAIN IS THE GREATEST!"

Kim screamed so loud, Tankhun's eardrum actually hurt. Then, he jumped on his feet to run in front of the TV and started to chant, "CHAN! CHAN! CHAN!"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

(Chan POV)

The booing sounds that came from the United Stadium stands were like music to Chan's ear. He punched into the air with his right hand and shouted, "YEAAAAAH!"

"CAAAAAP!"

"OMG!"

"YEAAAAH!"

"WOOHOOOO!"

Vegas, Tay, Pete, Tem, and Ken, came rushing towards him. They screamed and yelled and tried to hug him at the same time, so in the end all of them fell and rolled on the grass in one big pile. The sound of their laughter that sounded like madman must have been heard all the way to the stands, because the booing sound from United fans was getting louder and louder.

"BOOOOOOOOOO~"

"BOOOOOOOO~"

The sound of the referee's whistle awakened them from their euphoria, all BSFC players rose to their feet immediately to return to their positions. As a goal scorer, Chan of course received the angriest shouts and ridicule from United fans, but Chan just put on his super annoying face and then put his right hand behind his ear, provoking the United fans to be even more emotional and livid.

Afterward, he pulled the BSFC badge that pasted on the left side of his jersey to his lips and kissed it. The booing was getting worse and Chan just smirked at them with pleasure.

Ah~ I love derby.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

(Tankhun POV)

"Hahahaaaaa~ I love it when he's being a bastard!" hollered Kim who's still jumping in the living room like a maniac.

Tankhun looked at Chan's face on the huge TV screen, with the most annoying smirk on his lips… and he couldn't help himself not to smile.

Yup, he's a bastard… a very sexy one… FUCK!

"Three minutes before halftime, the score is still 0-1 for the visitor. A quick kick off… Time, the midfielder that was acquired by United to replace Vegas, kicks the ball to Game who passes it right back to Time… He moves forward along the left wing… Vegas tries to confront him… lovely inside hook from Time… he still got the ball… he managed to move past Daddy too, this guy has an amazing dribbling skill… Ping, the left fullback of Bangkok United, overlapping from behind… Time finally let go of the ball… Ping took it and passed it to Tawan but Pol already covered him… Tawan then kicks the ball back with his right heel… Time gets the ball again… Big who guarded Time moved a second too late, Time managed to release the ball to Tawan who was sliding on the ground… OH! AND HE SCORED! What a beauty! One-one."

"NOOOOOOO!" screamed Kim as he covered his face.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

(Chan POV)

"Boys, this is not over yet! We can still win this!" shouted Coach in the dressing room at half-time break. "I have a good feeling about this!"

"Vegas, I just want to say, good feign move there, thanks for the assist," said Chan to Vegas before addressing his other teammates, "I think we all can see that the new midfielder is having a mad dribbling skill, and he's their attacking general. Every single attack is starting from him, and Coach, I think you agree with me if I say we can take advantage of this fact."

"Definitely!" affirmed Coach. "Now, who wants to help Chan to guard this Time guy? We need to disable this player's movement."

"Coach, I'll do it," replied Pete right away.

"But, Pete…" said Vegas, which Pete immediately cut off.

"No, Vegas, this is your old team, you know best about their defense. You're the one who's going to arrange the BSFC attack in the second half, I will take the bottom position."

Call him paranoid, but as soon as he heard the word bottom, Chan suddenly looked at Pol and Arm. If they dared to speak or smile meaningfully, Chan vowed to hit them hard on the head, this very second. Luckily, they didn't act stupid and looked very serious. Yeah, the derby match indeed made everyone extra.

"Big?"

"Yes, Cap!"

"Since my position is going to be a little more forward than usual, that means you will be the last defense before the goalie."

"Understood, Cap!"

"Good, I know I can count on you," said Chan. "Jom, Arm, Pol!"

"Yes, Cap!"

"Jom, you're the goalie, talk to them three about the best arrangement. Pete and I will make sure Time can't pass as freely as the first-half, I leave the defense in the hands of the four of you."

"Understood!"

"Let's finish this with style, boys!"

"BSFC!"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

(Tankhun POV)

When Kim said this match was nerve-wracking, he wasn't kidding. Tankhun had never felt so involved in a football match before. When United attacked, he actually held his breath, and vice versa, when BSFC attacked he screamed along with Kim. This was madness.

"It's been 40 minutes since the kick-off of the second half, and the score is still tied at 1-1. There's only 5 minutes left on the clock, and neither team is willing to give up, and accept a draw. United of course want to maintain their dignity as the home team, and BSFC want to avenge the draw result in their home ground last season. May the best team win."

"Come on… come on…" muttered Tankhun under his breath, he couldn't explain what happened to him, but Tankhun really wanted BSFC to win this match. Was it because of Chan's determined face throughout the match, or because of Kim who miraculously didn't lose his voice, considering he's screaming non-stop?

"Do you understand now, P'? How beautiful is this sport? I can't believe it took you this long to realize it," Kim said, with a face full of hope. When Kim's round puppy eyes stared at him like that, Tankhun was helpless.

"Yes, Kim. I do."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

(Chan POV)

There wasn't much time left, and Chan was starting to feel that his desire for a victory in his last match at the United Stadium seemed very unlikely, especially now that the ball was in United possession.

"Cap, we got this!" yelled Pete. "Look, it's Time again, and he looked as tired as us. We can do this, Cap!"

"Hn."

Chan had to admit that United's newest attacking midfielder is indeed a top-class player, his dribbling almost perfect, it's almost impossible to take the ball from him without touching his legs, and Chan couldn't afford to make another foul this moment. Not when there was only so little time left to carry out the final attack. He and Pete, both of them, have been yellow carded, but they must be able to get the ball from Time, and do it with clean tackles.

Again, Time dribbled the ball trying to get past Pete and Chan, and after many times throughout this match they fought head-to-head, Chan was starting to be able to read Time's movement, and if his guess was right, Time would do a step-over after this, and he did exactly that.

The key to winning the ball when the opposing player was doing a step-over is perfect timing, the problem was, Time's step over is very fast, so it's very difficult to get the ball without committing a foul. But it looks like what Pete said earlier was true, Time was as tired as them and his step over wasn't as fast as usual. Chan wasn't voted as the best defender for five years in a row if he didn't have perfect timing, so in the end he managed to steal the ball from Time with a clean tackle.

Look at that, boy, this old man still got it!

The remaining time was probably less than a minute, so they only had one chance to attack. Chan quickly passed the ball to Pete, who then screamed loudly at Vegas.

"Run!"

The next sequence was like a dream, Vegas sprinted forward while maintaining his on-side position, and Pete launched a long ball forward, which fell right in the middle of the opponent's penalty box. How he did it, Chan couldn't answer, but adrenaline always makes players do things beyond reason. Because the ball was too high, Vegas had no choice but to volley it straight into the opponent's goal with his left foot, and he did it! The ball shot straight into the top left corner of Bangkok United's goal, silencing the whole stadium.

He did it! He fucking did it! He silenced the whole fucking stadium!

Chan fell to his knees; he had been drained. He raised both his hands into the air and shouted using his remaining energy, "AAARGHHH!"

Afterward he lifted his head to look at his young teammates, Vegas was standing tall in front of the stands behind United's goal. Just like Chan, he also raised his hands into the air and shouted as loudly as possible to the ex-fans who used to cheer him on but were so hostile to him throughout this match.

"FUCK YEAH~~~!"

Yes, boy, make them sorry to let you go!

Pete, followed by Tay, Ken, Big, Tem, even Jom, sprint towards Vegas. Pete, who was running in the front, jumped onto Vegas' back or tried , because at the last second Vegas turned his body around. So, instead of Pete climbing onto Vegas's back, he landed on his chest. Since Vegas didn't know the intentions of his teammates, he wasn't at all ready to catch Pete's body, so he ended up falling on his back with Pete falling on top of him. Seconds later Tay, Ken, Big, Tem, dan Jom, also piled on top of Vegas and Pete.

"Kyaaaa~~~ they're hugging while lying down!" cried Pol, a scream worthy of any fanboy, which was met with a squeal from Arm with the same intensity.

"OMG! KYAAAA~~~!"

Chan couldn't help but chuckle, after all this, how could he have the energy or desire to be angry at any of them? He demanded victory from them and his boys gave it to him.

TBC