After everything was over, including a short press conference and interview for the team social media that Higo was getting dragged to join, the boy was finally allowed to get out of the stadium, finding the two girls who had been supporting him earlier still waiting for him.
"Sorry, sorry, it takes longer than usual." Higo apologized quickly. He still carried the sports bag on his shoulder, but at least the boy had already changed into decent attire. "You girls haven’t had any dinner yet, right? Come on, I’ll introduce you to a good place! I’m so famished right now!"
Those two girls just stared amusedly at him, following the boy quietly. Kumiko was also in a state of slight bewilderment, narrowing her eyes to observe her childhood friend better.
"I don’t know how to say it, but Ryukkun, you seem to be more... Outgoing?" She finally couldn’t help but blurt out her thought. "Not that it is a criticism, of course! I’m just stating my observation here!" The girl added a second later, shaking her head quickly to show that she meant no offense.
Higo paused for a second before finally letting out a little chuckle. "Yeah, no offense taken. I think it is because this city has taken care of me quite well. I mean, you saw the game earlier, right?’
Even though Higo just wanted to brag, the girls had to admit that the game earlier left a huge impact on their minds. This was the first time they watched a game outside of Japan, and they had never expected that the boy they knew quite well would be so loved in this foreign land.
In this little trip, Higo was also getting stopped by so many people asking for a photo, and whenever they saw Kumiko and Sakura behind him, the boy would always take his sweet time to introduce Kumiko as his girlfriend. The girl herself couldn’t help but feel so embarrassed, and while she could still maintain her politeness, everyone was laughing at how red her face was during the journey.
Not that Kumiko minded, of course. While it was a new feeling to be introduced as Higo’s boyfriend, the girl was so pleased at this, especially when she saw the disappointed expression on some of the girls’ faces who wanted to strike up a conversation with Higo.
’He is mine! What are you trying to do?!’ She smiled smugly while grabbing Higo’s hand whenever some naughty girls were coming.
"You know what, I have never thought my first memory of a football game here would be me being a third wheel like this." Sakura suddenly stated her thought, watching the interaction with eyes dancing in amusement. "I mean, I have never thought you would be so affectionate like this, Kumiko-chan." She smiled playfully at her friend.
Kumiko was so bashful, somehow forgetting that Sakura was still here. Higo himself didn’t bat an eye at this matter. Once they arrived at a small building ten minutes away from the stadium, he entered it and greeted the people inside.
"Imonim, Anyeonghaseyo! I am with my friends today!"
"Oh, Ryusuke! You are here again!" A middle-aged aunty suddenly came out of the kitchen there, a smile beaming from ear to ear. Based on how Higo greeted her, both Sakura and Kumiko figured out that she must be Korean.
The aunty herself also noticed their presence, and after narrowing her eyes slightly, she finally asked the most important question here. "So, which one of you is the girlfriend? Don’t tell me Ryusuke has a lofty ambition to be a harem king or something ridiculous like that. I heard that this has been a trend in your country, right?" She asked in fluent English.
Higo choked instantly, looking at the old woman with the corner of his eyes twitching speechlessly. "Please, stop joking like that, Imonim. The girl with the glasses is the girlfriend; her name is Kumiko Shishida. As for the girl on the left, she is also a good friend of mine; her name is Sakura Aizawa. They both are here for their studies, and this is the first time they have watched me playing a game, so please be kind to them!"
"Ah, so that’s it!’ The old woman widened her eyes in realization. "Well, come in! Come in! A friend of Ryusuke is a friend of mine as well!"
Both girls just stared awkwardly before taking a seat next to Higo. The boy himself just acted casually, even chatting with that old woman like they were old friends. Once again, Kumiko had to marvel at this new change from her best friend, as Higo would never dare initiate conversation when he was at Hakodate.
"We don’t know her true name, but we just call her Imonim, which is aunty in Korean." Higo couldn’t help but whisper gossip once the woman was out of hearing range. "Her son is a high-ranked official in one of the biggest factories in this town, and her granddaughter is studying at the best art school here. This place might not look the best, but she has the most delicious barbeque in this town. You will know it soon."
This was another restaurant that Higo found from the supporters’ recommendation. During his time at Bosch, he occasionally complained about missing the taste of Asian food, so they pointed him to a small Korean BBQ restaurant that was famous around the town.
Kumiko blinked once again, shaking her head in exasperation. She felt like this should be the tenth time she was in awe over Higo’s change, and yet, the feeling didn’t subside at all. The change on Higo’s side was indeed a little bit too drastic, enough to make Kumiko question whether this was the same boy she knew or not.
After all, Higo had never bothered that much with socializing, often asking Kumiko to deal with ordering food or something like that. The fact that Higo in front of him knew about the aunty’s family condition in such detail showed that the boy was not the same person as he was in the past.
"Yeah, it seems that this town really treats him well. He is not the same naïve boy from Hakodate anymore, huh?"
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