Chapter 10: Building Camaraderie

Tap. Tap. Tap.

"Pass! Pass! No! Come on! You can't score from that position!"

"Ugh! I thought I had the angle. How did that not go in?"

As Frimpong wore a frustrated expression, Gnabry clutched his chest in exasperation and shouted.

"Why are you upset? You missed the goal!"

"Don't worry. I'll score next time."

"Please, just pass the ball. I beg you!"

"Ah! A counterattack! Tackle! Tackle! How could you not stop that? A sliding tackle there was the worst choice!"

The two of them bickered continuously, while Bellerín and Toral played in perfect sync, effortlessly handling Gnabry and Frimpong.

By halftime, the duo had already combined for two goals, easing into the game with confidence.

"The flank is open again! Run!"

"No way! That got through again?"

"Running cross!"

"Clear it with a header!"

"And now, a simple bicycle kick!"

[GOOOOOOOAL!]

As they conceded yet another goal in a similar fashion, Gnabry and Frimpong screamed, holding their heads in despair.

Clap!

Bellerín and Toral high-fived, raising the energy.

"Nice cross!"

"Honestly, I didn't think that would go in."

Toral chuckled.

"They're not marking players properly. They're just holding the sprint button while defending."

"That's a bad habit."

"Should we score one more before wrapping this up?"

"Sounds good!"

The game continued in the same fashion.

They kept conceding goals as if the plays were copied and pasted.

With the repeated losses, Gnabry wailed, and Frimpong completely lost his composure.

It was a crushing defeat.

Bellerín and Toral played flawlessly, leaving no gaps in their defense.

Gnabry couldn't break through alone.

Frimpong needed to help, but instead, he just ran around aimlessly, unable to support Gnabry properly.

'This guy just doesn't improve.'

He simply lacked game sense.

He had enthusiasm but no real skill.

He knew how to pass, shoot, and move, but he couldn't apply them properly.

The only thing he did well was through passes.

But even those were just mindless attempts.

'What's the point of teaching him if he can't use any of it?'

Unable to tolerate the sloppy play any longer, Kai munched on his banana and reached out his hand to Frimpong.

"Give me the controller."

Frimpong's face lit up.

"Kai! You can turn this around, right?"

"If you step aside, maybe."

Frimpong looked hurt but handed over the controller.

As Kai settled into his seat, Bellerín looked at him with anticipation.

"Kai, are you good at this game?"

"Not great. Just good enough to beat Frimpong easily."

"If you can beat Frimpong, you can beat anyone."

"That's true."

At Kai's remark, Frimpong shrieked.

"You're underestimating me too much!"

"You should've played better if you feel wronged."

Before emotions could flare up, Kai pressed the start button.

"The second half will be different."

"Alright! Show me what you've got!"

Kai didn't think of video games as vastly different from real football.

Games mirrored reality quite well.

All goals came from the center.

Blindly crossing the ball was just a way to waste an attack.

Use the full width of the field, and so on.

Playing as if he were in a real match, Kai exchanged short passes with Gnabry in their own half.

"Let's get in sync first."

"Got it."

Bellerín and Toral stuck to zonal defense rather than pressing aggressively up front.

They wanted to see how Kai would play.

Once he got a feel for the controls, Kai started playing forward passes into the opponent's half.

As he linked quick, clean passes, Bellerín grinned.

"He's definitely different."

"That's just basic."

Gnabry adapted to Kai's play and controlled his players accordingly.

Bellerín and Toral began pressing Kai harder in the center.

Players crowded the middle.

Seeing the open flank, Kai sent a pinpoint long pass to the side.

"Oh! That actually worked."

"He's handling the pressure well."

The two defenders still seemed relaxed.

A four-goal deficit was hard to overturn.

Just like in real football, parking the bus made it tough to break through, even in a game.

Kai smirked and whispered to Gnabry, who had the ball on the wing.

"When I get the ball, break the defensive line."

"Got it!"

Gnabry understood Kai's intention and sprinted down the flank before passing back to the fullback.

Kai smoothly dribbled past the pressing defenders.

"Oh!"

Without hesitation, he lobbed a through pass into the box.

Controlling the forward, Gnabry perfectly timed his run past the defensive line and fired a first-time shot.

[GOOOOOOOAL!]

"Yes! That's what I'm talking about! Kai, you're the best!"

Frimpong cheered as if he had scored himself.

With a goal scored so quickly, Bellerín and Toral lost some of their composure.

Finding a lob-through pass angle in that brief moment—kai was definitely a skilled player.

The two of them became more wary.

"You're great at football and gaming?"

"That's just unfair."

Kai casually chewed on his banana and mumbled.

"It's just one goal so far."

"I have a bad feeling about this."

Kai unleashed his full potential.

He varied his attack patterns.

He didn't just pass through the middle.

He utilized the flanks efficiently, creating space.

[GOOOOOOOAL!]

Exploiting the open spaces, he sent another through pass, leading to another goal.

Relentlessly attacking, kai even scored a stunning free kick.

Bellerín clutched his head in disbelief.

"This doesn't make any sense!"

"That actually went in?"

"If you practice, you can do it too."

Kai slowly rotated his wrist and refocused on the game.

The fourth goal came fairly quickly as well.

As soon as he stole the ball, he sent a pass into open space, and Gnabry finished it off beautifully.

Gnabry raised his arms in celebration.

"Kai! Let's keep going like this!"

"Yeah, not bad."

Gnabry looked refreshed, as if a blockage had been cleared inside him.

Seeing this, Frimpong pouted.

It was only natural for him to be frustrated—after all, the moment he stepped out, they had managed to equalize.

Kai chuckled and signaled to Gnabry.

Fortunately, Gnabry was quick-witted.

He hadn't forgotten that this gathering was meant for team bonding.

Gnabry pressed the pause button.

Clutching his stomach, he twisted his face into an exaggerated grimace and put on an award-worthy performance.

"Ugh, my stomach suddenly hurts…"

Frimpong didn't miss his chance.

"There's a bathroom downstairs on the first floor."

"Can I use it?"

"Of course! But can I take over in the meantime?"

"Of course! I'll leave it to you while I go!"

"Hehehe! Just leave it to me!"

As Gnabry bolted out of the room in mock urgency, Frimpong grinned and grabbed the controller.

"I'm back!"

Kai calmed Frimpong's excitement.

"There are only ten minutes left, so let's focus."

"Ehe! I know that. Just give me the ball! I'll score the winning goal!"

Frimpong shouted boldly, slyly hyping up his own skills.

Kai wasn't annoyed.

He had encountered people like this so many times that he had simply accepted that it was just how they were.

"Let's just score one goal."

"Leave it to me!"

"Alright, got it."

Kai pretended to listen and played it safe, ensuring Frimpong received the ball in a secure position.

Rather than recklessly trying to break through, which could result in a counterattack, Frimpong played cautiously as well.

From the wing to the center.

Then back to the wing again.

Kai patiently shifted the ball, disrupting the defensive shape.

Bellerín and Toral clicked their tongues in frustration.

No matter how hard they moved, they couldn't stop gaps from forming.

"He's seriously good."

"Did you eat and breathe this game?"

Frimpong answered for Kai.

"I don't think he's even played for a month."

"Seriously?"

"You're joking, right?"

Frimpong smirked.

"I thought he was lying, but I went to his house, and he doesn't even own a gaming console."

"…"

Realizing the truth, Bellerín and Toral looked completely deflated.

They were getting completely destroyed by a rookie who had only been playing for a month.

Kai scratched his head.

'I feel a little bad.'

In his past life, he had played this game tens of thousands of times.

Even though the series had changed, the game engine remained largely the same, so there was no way he could be bad at it.

He had played so much while recovering from injuries.

Now, showing off his skills in front of these young players made him feel a little strange.

But competition is competition.

'A match is a match! I have to win.'

The moment an opening appeared in the center, he dribbled forward.

"Pass! Pass! Pass!"

Frimpong yelled noisily.

Kai, as always, ignored him.

If only Frimpong positioned himself better, like Gnabry did.

Instead, he just kept shouting for the ball without actually moving into a good spot.

Bellerín and Toral, acknowledging Kai's skill, pulled back.

They fortified their defense inside the penalty box, forming a tight net.

"Let's take this to extra time!"

"Let's go all the way to penalties!"

Their teamwork was exceptional.

There was no clear way through.

But what they didn't know was this game's little quirk.

If you get tackled inside the penalty box, the game always calls a foul.

A wicked smile appeared on Kai's lips.

The player he was controlling had a five-star skill rating—excellent.

With only stoppage time left, Kai advanced toward the center, executing a series of skill moves.

"Kai! What are you doing?!"

"That's not going to work!"

Bellerín attempted a soft tackle to win the ball.

Kai countered with a flashy trick.

A rainbow flick.

The ball soared over the defender's head, but Kai's player crashed into the defender's body and couldn't continue forward.

Whistle!

"Huh?"

Bellerín and Toral's faces stiffened.

Kai grinned like a villain.

"Oh? Would you look at that? It's a penalty."

"Wooooooow! That's our Kai! Let me take it! Can I take the shot? Huh?"

Kai readily handed the controller over.

If there was one thing Frimpong was good at, it was shooting, so he trusted him with it.

And if he missed the penalty…?

He'd just think about it in extra time.

"Hah… Why is this even a penalty kick?!"

"Well, at least the opponent is Frimpong. You can definitely stop it!"

Trying to console themselves, the two defenders moved their goalkeeper back and forth.

Just like Jerzy Dudek during the Miracle of Istanbul, they shifted rapidly from side to side.

Frimpong swallowed nervously.

'Can I actually score this?'

He was terrible at mind games.

It was obvious where he planned to shoot.

A quick glance made it clear—the right corner was the most likely target.

Toral seemed to notice too, as he placed his hand on the right direction button.

"Whew… Whew…"

"Stop stalling and just take the shot."

"You're going to shoot left, aren't you? I know it."

The two kept up their psychological warfare.

Frimpong was feeling immense pressure.

Just as he felt like he couldn't handle it anymore, Kai leaned in and whispered in his ear.

"Panenka kick."

'!'

A flood of humiliating memories flashed through Frimpong's mind—times when Kai had tricked him over and over.

Every single time, Kai would claim he was shooting right but would nonchalantly chip the ball straight down the middle.

Frimpong decided to embrace his inner devil.

It was time for payback.

The player on the screen moved.

At the moment of the shot, the goalkeeper lunged.

"Huh?"

The keeper dived to the right.

But the ball followed a slow, looping trajectory straight into the center of the goal.

Swish!

[GOOOOOOAL!]

Cheers erupted from the virtual crowd.

Frimpong, as if he had actually just scored a penalty in a real match, jumped around the room, performing a wild celebration.

"I scored! I actually scored!"

"I was sure you were going to shoot right."

"You really shot it down the middle?"

Bellerín and Toral stared blankly at Frimpong, who was now throwing a boxing-style celebration.

Unable to contain his excitement, Frimpong grabbed Kai in a tight hug.

"I knew I was the best! I really am the best!"

"Yeah, yeah, now let go."

Kai pried him off and glanced toward Gnabry, who had just reentered the room, giving him a subtle nod of approval.

Gnabry smirked.

"If he missed that, he should just quit playing."

Luckily, Frimpong didn't hear that.

And Kai didn't even want to imagine what would've happened if he had.

"Want to play another match?"

"Yeah! This time, I'm winning for sure!"

"Let's switch teams!"

"That works too!"

As Kai watched the four of them excitedly setting up the next game, he fidgeted with the controller.

When he played alone, he never really enjoyed it.

He had always been obsessed with winning and losing.

But playing with new friends like this wasn't so bad.

"Kai! Sit this one out."

"Yeah! You're too good, so you're not allowed."

Kai had been reduced to a mere spectator.

'Maybe I should've held back a little.'

It was too late for regrets.