The crowd watched them with growing anticipation.
Kang Joon-Seok could feel the intimidating presence looming over him. However, his gaze was fixated on the goal. The post looked even smaller for some reason.
Before it stood a behemoth of a man.
He could palpably feel the exuding pressure from the man before him.
He could also feel the sharp confidence to stop him oozing from his eyes.
He braced himself as he charged ahead.
He had already covered a huge distance to be here. For that, he wouldn’t allow anyone to steal his limelight. The voice inside him wouldn’t allow him to look around him.
‘Score! Score! Score!’
Driven by an insatiable hunger to score, he sped straight into the goal.
‘If the path is blocked then I just have to open it.’
His pulse quickened as Oblak jumped. The distance between them grew narrower with every passing moment.
With every passing second, the crowd was tensing up. The Betis supporters could feel this chance slipping away from their hands.
Finally, just as Oblak was about to touch the ball, he swerved to the right.
With a deft touch, he narrowly avoided Oblak’s reach, keeping the ball away from him. The crowd rejoiced at the scene. However, he lost his footing before he could capitalize on the opportunity.
Beep!
The referee sounded the whistle.
The players immediately swarmed to the box.
“FOUL!”
The Betis supporters cried out with their brows furrowed.
Chaos unfolded on the pitch as the two sides clashed with each other. However, Kang couldn’t take part in it.
“Quit acting!”
Kang Joon-Seok could hear them screaming at him with growing agitation. Yet still, he continued to lay on the ground holding his ankles.
He knew better than anyone that he had failed.
Oblak didn’t even mean to trip him. He had lost his footing and collided with him. However, the others weren’t aware of it.
Hence, he had to act.
He knew it was shameless. But the match was more important than his pride. He wasn’t someone who would die for honor.
‘I have to get this penalty… This is the least I can do,’ Kang Joon-Seok thought, pursing his lips.
While the players from both sides were clashing against each other, Hiro didn’t participate in the chaos. Instead, he chose to observe from a distance.
He never liked taking part in such quarrels.
The referee was having a hard time trying to settle the dispute.
Tension was rising on the field and he couldn’t decide hastily. The rising tension further made him reluctant, clouding his judgment.
He hesitated to decide on the spot.
Though he had seen the collision, he couldn’t decide abruptly. Hence, he turned to look at the assistant referees for help.
However, they looked just as helpless.
‘What should I do?’ The frown on the referee’s face deepened.
Helpless, he asked for a VAR check.
While the referee was proceeding with the VAR check, the tension was still rising on the field. The crowd was getting even more anxious.
With the match nearing its climax, this decision could decide the game’s fate.
Hence, both sides looked rather anxious.
Finally, after a brief review, the referee stepped inside the field pointing at the spot.
The decision was a penalty in favor of Betis.
The Madrid supporters cried out, some cussing the referee for his poor decision. Unsatisfied with the referee’s decision, they protested.
“Are your eyes made of marbles? Can’t you see, you dumb referee?”
“It was a clear dive, you fool.”
Oblak squinched his brows before spitting a mouthful of spit. He then pulled his gloves before averting his gaze from the referee.
Unlike others, he didn’t protest.
He knew he couldn’t do anything about it even if he protested. The outcome wouldn’t change, and if it won’t change what’s the use protesting against it?
“You’ve got better at acting,” Hiro whispered while passing Kang Joon-Seok.
Though he didn’t bother looking at him, contempt was evident in his gaze. Kang could feel the contempt. This made his blood boil.
He squeezed his fingers tightly, his gaze fixed on Hiro’s receding figure.
He could see his wide back getting even bigger.
He wanted to retaliate. However, he couldn’t even bring himself to do so. Pursing his lips, he stood at his spot speechless.
Anthony was the man designated to take the penalty.
Others stood behind the box while Anthony and Oblak prepared to face each other.
Beep!
The referee sounded the whistle and Anthony began to sprint, the strands of his hair dangling freely.
He paused midway during his runup, his movement unpredictable. Oblak focused his entire attention on his eyes.
The venue became ghastly silent for a while.
After a short run-up, Anthony struck the ball with power.
Oblak dived, attempting to save the ball. However, he had been tricked. He had dived in the wrong direction.
The ball rolled to the bottom left corner while he headed to the right corner.
Even before the ball crossed the line, the Betis supporter’s eyes lit up in excitement. They could tell that their star player had scored.
“GOAL!”
The crowd erupted in cheers, the atmosphere electrifying.
Betis had equalized.
“Goal… Anthony strikes again. Just when you need him the most, he shows up. You just can’t go wrong with him from such a distance.”
After scoring, Anthony sped to the sideline to celebrate.
He hit the calm-down celebration.
The Betis supporters rallied around him as they cheered on him, their voices filled with exhilaration. The venue buzzed with their cheers.
On the other hand, Diego was preparing to make some changes.
While almost all of the Betis players were celebrating, Kang Joon-Seok stood at his spot with a rather complicated expression.
‘You’ve got great at acting…’
He kept pondering over Hiro’s remarks.
Even though their side had equalized through his efforts, he couldn’t bring himself to celebrate.
‘But acting is a skill too, isn’t it?’
He tried to justify his actions. However, a part of him couldn’t stop feeling guilty. He wasn’t the type of player who liked to play dirty.
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