Chapter 403 Debut or not?

Chapter 403 Debut or not?

Finally, the day of the match arrived.

Putting on his favorite jersey, he arrived at the venue alongside his parents. The stadium was buzzing with the cheers of the excited fans and the air around the stadium was electric with excitement.

As they approached the venue, Kota's excitement grew. The crowd was a sea of team colors, with people of all ages sporting jerseys of their favorite players.

But he was the only one dressed in a youth jersey. However, it didn't make much difference since both the jerseys for the senior team and the youth team were almost identical.Ne/w novel chapters are published at novelhall.com

And if not for the sponsor part, one could hardly differentiate those two.

"Mom, can we visit the merchandise store first?" Kota asked, pointing eagerly at a stall selling the club's gear.

Though he already had Hiro's jersey, still he wanted to get his hands on those of the senior team instead of the youth team.

His mother smiled warmly and nodded, "Sure, let's go."

Since it was a home game, the stadium was fairly crowded, though not as packed as during derby matches. Still, there were plenty of people around, creating a lively atmosphere.

Squeezing his way, he arrived at the stall. Excitement flashed past his eyes as he reached the merchandise stall. He then began searching for Hiro's jersey, but as he rummaged through the piles, his excitement turned into disappointment.

Unable to find what he was looking for, he approached the shopkeeper, a rather old man with kempt hair, who was busy attending to other fans.

"Sir, I can't find any jersey with Hiro's name on it," Kota said, his voice tinged with frustration and disappointment.

The shopkeeper looked at him, a bit surprised. "Hiro? You mean Takahashi Hiro?"

Kota nodded enthusiastically.

'Is Hiro really not playing today? But, I've personally read his letter. So, it shouldn't be the case. Then it means that his debut was kept secret' Kota's mother tried to figure out the situation.

She knew the truth. Yet, she chose not to argue with those who laughed at her son. It wasn't worth arguing with them. So, she turned to her son.

Looking at him with eyes full of support, she tried to console him, "Kota, don't be sad. They just don't know about it because unlike us Hiro hadn't personally sent them the tickets. They'll know about it once they see him"

Her words had a magical effect on him as they immediately made him feel better.

They then made their way to their seats. The stadium's energy was palpable even when the players were yet to make their appearance. While making their way to their seats, many gave them a strange look.

While some gossiped and laughed about him behind his back, "Look it's that strange kid who said that Hiro was debuting today"

No matter where you go, you'll always find some toxic people. And it wasn't any different in the stadium either. There were quite a few toxic people present in the stands.

But his mother didn't allow their negativity to get on him.

And finally, after walking for a while, they arrived at their seat. It was quite near to the pitch. And the view from there was one of the best in the entire field.

Looking at the pitch in front, his heart pounded with excitement. It wasn't his first time watching a football match in a stadium. Yet, he couldn't stop feeling excited about this match.

Then after a while, starting players emerged out of the tunnel. Kota excitedly looked at the players emerging out of the tunnel, his eyes desperately searching for Hiro.

But, he couldn't find him in the starting lineup.

This greatly disappointed him. And many people even ridiculed him for his earlier confident claims. Frowning, he turned to his mother, "Mom, Is he really not playing?"

Speechless, his mother hesitated to reply. More like she had no words to reply to. What was she going to tell him? She didn't want to disappoint him. But, she had to at least console him. After all, he was her son and she couldn't leave him like that.