149 — The Real Game

Social media never sleeps. It's one big relentless machine. My phone buzzed. Notifications piled up. X posts. Tags. Videos of my goals going viral. Followers. DMs.

#AFCU17Champions.

"Jae-il Cha is the future of Korean football!"

"THAT GOAL. THAT LOB. UNREAL. HE'S 15!!!"

"If he's that good at 15, imagine what he's gonna be like once he's at his prime…"

"Cha Jae-il and Kim Jun-hwan are gonna be a nightmare for defenders worldwide for the next 15 years. Mark my words."

↳ "They're the scariest duo fr fr..."

"Did you see the way he nutmegged the guy? That Qatar player is still looking for his balls."

I scrolled. More praise. Then the weird, 'what the actual fuck' stuff. I was used to it, but the more my image got out there, the more these type of comments

#AFCU17Champions, #AsianCup, #Winner, #SouthKorea, #JAEIL, #JAEILISTOOHOTICANT

"Jae-il Oppa, marry me! You're too hot for the pitch. ?"

"Is he really a football player and not an idol?"

↳ "He's actually both, he just doesn't know it."

"His eyes..."

"Uh oh, I think I'm ovulating…"

↳ "I'm ovulating too…"

↳ "Bruh, you're a dude…"

"My womb is shaking."

↳ "Girl, get in line."

↳ "Girl, I've been in line since the beginning, don't even."

As is usually par for course for this type of hype, critics and non-believers swarmed like moths to a flame.

"Overrated. Qatar was weak. Wait for the World Cup flop."

That comment got ratio'd into oblivion.

"The media is hyping him too much too soon."

A comment from a disgruntled-looking account with a generic soccer ball profile picture.

"Jae-il Cha is all style, no substance. Watch him crumble when he plays against real European teams. He's just a product of a weak Asian league system. The hype will die."

And then the replies...

↳ "Dude's mad he can't even kick a ball straight."

↳ "Keep crying in your instant noodles."

↳ "Imagine being this bitter."

↳ "He's 15 and already won an international trophy. What were you doing at 15? Crying about homework?"

↳ "He's the top scorer of the entire tournament. If that's 'no substance', I'd love to see what you consider substance."

The replies kept going. A tidal wave.

I put my phone down. The ride back was smooth. But the thoughts in my head weren't.

My sisters.

My mother.

The training camp was technically over, and soon I'd be back home. Soon I'd be sleeping in my own bed. Soon I'd be breathing the same air as them. And what then? Was it going to stay the same? Would things be alright? After all, it was all different now.

It was different between me and Mia, and it was different between me and Su Ah.

I had gone all the way with Mia, and while it was easier to keep my distance from her while I was away, it would be a hundred times harder when I'd be back home.

How the hell was I supposed to act? How was I supposed to be in the same house as her, to eat at the same table and pretend that nothing had changed? That I hadn't been inside her? That she hadn't been all around me?

That what we had done was something we could just... ignore?

To tip-toe around the line again, or maybe cross it, because I've long realized that restraint wasn't a word in our vocabulary.

We'd likely still do it, still go mad, even with the risk of our parents catching a whiff of something scandalous, or worse, catching us in flagrante.

And then there was Su Ah, who was getting more and more... bold. She was getting out of hand.

What was my list of offenses now? Engaging in illicit and immoral relations with both my sisters? Was I preying upon them, or was I the prey all along? Of course, these thoughts no longer bothered me like they did in the beginning, but now I'd be around them a lot more and so, questions that were easy to avoid or stave off when there was distance, now have a completely different meaning.

I exhaled, briefly looking out the window.

A few of the guys were singing inside the bus. The celebrations were yet to end, and would probably continue well into the night. I gazed around and found them sitting on the two back rows, Jong-su's, Min-hyuk's, and Sung-tae's voices being the loudest. Sung-tae was taking the center stage, singing a song from a famous idol group.

They looked at me, and gestured for me to join them.

I raised a hand, acknowledging their looks. While I didn't intend to join in their merriment just yet, I didn't plan to sit at the front all by myself.

Jun-hwan was smiling beside me, looking down at his phone. I blinked. "You reading news about yourself again?"

He blushed, looked away, and scoffed. "No..."

"Really?"

"......"

Jun-hwan held his phone possessively into his chest, as if I had any intention of wresting it out of his hands. I knew it must have been comments and posts on him. I had briefly caught him scrolling through comments earlier. It looked like he was still doing it.

"Hey,." I said, and waited for him to turn to me. "Don't get a big head over it."

"Me? Big head?" He feigned indignation, but I saw the flicker of amusement in his eyes. "Never."

"Good."

A beat of silence passed between us. The bus trundled along, rocking a bit as we hit the highway.

"Still." He started, tapping at his phone. He seemed to be reading a comment, and the tips of his ears turned slightly red. "They're calling us the 'Twin Dragons'."

"Twin Dragons?"

"Or the 'Twin Engines'. The 'Purple and Blue Devils'." He listed, a small, bewildered smile playing on his lips.

"Devils, huh?" I leaned back in my seat, crossing my arms. "I suppose it's better than 'The Twin Heartbreakers'. That would be a bit on the nose."

He snorted. "You got that one too."

I blinked. "The Twin Heartbreakers?"

"The Heartbreaker, as in singular." He clarified, showing me his phone. "There's a trending hashtag. #JaeilTheHeartbreaker. It's... well, it's something."

I peered at the screen. A collage of my photos—on the pitch, in interviews, a few candid shots from the camp. All edited with sparkles and roses. The comments were... a special brand of unhinged. I raised a questioning finger. "Are those trending? I mean, do they have a lot of views?"

Jun-hwan sighed. "I have no idea. A couple of them are getting quite a bit of traction." He swiped again, showing me another post. "And here's another of you—wait, what the actual fuck!"

I squinted at it. A fan art. A very... interesting fan art. Me and Jun-hwan, in a style that was less about football and more about—

"DELETE THAT!"

"I CAN'T!" Jun-hwan was as frustrated as I was.

"FUCK!"

He swiped furiously. More images. More delirious comments.

"I should've never looked..." He lamented.

"You should've never showed me." I replied dryly; I should probably not open up any form of social media for a while.

"I did read that, too." Jong-su piped up from behind us. Of course, Jong-fucking-su would pipe in when he smelled this type of shit. "You wouldn't believe it. Some of them are... very creative. Very, very creative. You two are apparently secret lovers, rivals with an intense sexual tension, star-crossed lovers separated by the cruel world of professional football."

"Why would they even think that?!" I threw my hands in the air, Jun-hwan followed suit.

Jong-su gave me a flat look, shrugging. "I mean, I've read somewhere that you never reply to DMs, even from super hot chicks, or streamers, or NewTubers, or well, you know." He pointed at Jun-hwan. "And since he is a good-looking guy too, it's either you are taken, or asexual, or... he's the lucky fella. So..."

Jun-hwan paled, his hands trembling.

I'd have cackled at the sight if I wasn't involved. Jun-hwan nearly grabbed Jong-su by the collar of his jersey. "What am I supposed to do? Make a post saying that I'm very, very straight and would never look at another male like that in a million years?!"

"Don't do that either. That'll make it worse." Jong-su wisely said. "They'll think you're trying to hide your forbidden love."

I didn't know what to say. I pinched the bridge of my nose, a headache starting to brew. "This is insane."

Jong-su turned towards me. "You could post a pic of you and your girl, Jae-il. That'd clear everything up, but you'd lose your 'Heartbreaker' title, along with thousands of your followers."

"I don't have a girlfriend." I stated bluntly.

The whole bus seemed to quiet down at that. All heads turned towards me. I'd have thought I'd just confessed to murder.

Jong-su, bless his soul, looked at me like I'd just told him I didn't like breathing. "You know, we all see you smiling at your phone sometimes, Jae-il. You're not a complete robot." He said, leaning forward. "You're either in love with yourself, or someone's got you wrapped around their little finger. There is no in-between."

I seethed in silence, looking for an escape. Then I caught Jun-hwan's still indignant gaze, and my eyes lit up. "Wait! I've got an idea! Instead of me, why don't we hook him up with a girl and then he can post about it and clear our names for good!"

Jun-hwan looked at me as if I'd just grown another head. "You're kidding."

"No, I'm not. But I'm sure there are many women who'd like to date the 'Blue Devil'." I shot back with a smirk.

Jong-su slapped a hand on the seat in front of him, his booming laugh echoing. For a moment, his grin turned into that of a green-furred creature who wanted to steal Christmas, his meaty paws rubbing like an overeager mosquito. "Yup, that's a great idea! A public appearance, a short statement confirming you're dating someone. The internet will have a meltdown, a new obsession will be born, and the Jae-il x Jun-hwan ship will be sunk for good! All hail heteronormativity!"

I glanced at Jun-hwan, who looked like he was about to spontaneously combust from a mixture of rage, embarrassment and panic. "Come on." I pushed, a little too gleefully. "It's for the team. For the good of the nation. We can't have our future national icons embroiled in some kind of gay scandal. The sponsors would have a fit." I laid it on thick, a theatrical, patriotic pout plastered on my face. "You have to get laid for Korea, Jun-hwan."

The other players were nodding sagely, their expressions serious as if we were discussing national defense.

Jun-hwan looked like he wanted the earth to swallow him whole. He glared at me, and then at Jong-su, who had produced a notebook and was scribbling furiously.

"I got it!" Jong-su announced. "We set him up on a blind date. With, like, a rising idol. Or an actress. Someone with a big social media presence. We leak a photo of them looking 'cozy' at a cafe. Boom. Done."

Hmm.

I rubbed my chin. "It doesn't necessarily have to be an influencer, right? I probably know someone who knows someone who's single, and wouldn't mind going out with our handsome playmaker here."

"Oi! I still haven't agreed to it!" Jun-hwan's protest was lost in the wave of excited chatter.

"The cafe is too obvious." Min-hyuk rumbled, joining the conversation from a few seats away. "They'll think it's staged. Needs to be more... organic."

"Like a chance encounter at a bookstore?" Sung-tae suggested, ever the romantic.

Jong-su snapped his fingers. "A bookstore. Perfect. We can have them both reach for the same book. Their hands touch. Sparks fly. The internet will write the fanfiction for us."

Jun-hwan's face was a shade of crimson I hadn't seen before. I decided to bring everyone back on earth. "This is getting too wild. All we need is for him to go out with a girl, take a selfie, and post it with a cheesy caption."

"Like what?"

"Like 'Found my lucky charm' or something equally disgusting." I answered, and the whole team gave a round of nods.

Jun-hwan buried his face in his hands, letting out a muffled groan of despair. "I hate all of you."

But I knew he'd cave in. The peer pressure on that bus was thick enough to be cut with a knife. And deep down, maybe, he was just a little bit intrigued by the idea.

My phone buzzed again in my pocket. A text. Not from a fan, not from the team group chat, but from a familiar number.

Mia: When are you coming home? I want to see you ?

And then another one, a second later.

Su Ah: When are you coming back? We still have to finish that talk.

Su Ah: Also, don't forget about the comet. I'm already preparing everything.

A third one arrived.

Mom: Be careful on your way back, sweetheart. ♥️

I read the three messages in order, and the bus with all its noise and laughter and the ridiculous plan to stage a fake romance for Jun-hwan, it all faded into a distant, ambient noise.

I was left with the sinking feeling that the real game, the one that truly mattered, was waiting for me at home.