Chapter 788: Anxiety Back Home

Meanwhile, far from the stadium, in Higo’s flat, the atmosphere was quite heavy. The two girls who stayed in the building bit their lips nervously as they watched Higo struggling just to walk properly off the pitch, clutching his right arm while also wincing in pain.

Kumiko, especially, had her mind filled with anxiety. She could feel her chest tightening, and if the girl didn’t control her fear well, she would start hyperventilating right now.

Honestly, this was the first time she witnessed Higo in an accident that required him to be substituted. Hell, even when it was the game between Schalke II and Borussia Dortmund II a few months ago, where Higo was elbowed straight to the head, the boy still managed to survive until the end, even if things went too bloody for his liking.

Now, though, the boy didn’t even complain to the coach or the medical team, which showed that he was in real pain and the situation might not look good.

"Should we go to the hospital and check on him?" Sakura asked in a barely audible whisper.

Kumiko didn’t answer immediately. No, if anything, it seemed that she didn’t hear the question at all, as her eyes were still staring at the TV until Higo’s back fully disappeared from the camera’s sight.

Honestly, right now, she wanted nothing more than to pick up her bag and rush toward the hospital to see Higo’s situation. Unfortunately, curse her active brain, because the girl immediately found two problems that would prevent her from doing so.

First, the lockdown situation was still on, and besides those who had permission to go outside, people coming out without any business would receive a hefty fine. Unfortunately, her status right now was just Higo’s boyfriend, not family, so it wasn’t urgent enough for her to go out without the repercussions.

Second, and the most crucial part, was that the girl didn’t even know where the hospital would be. Hell, she didn’t have a clue which hospital Higo would be sent to right now, as this was the first time the boy was injured in this foreign land.

No matter how much the girl wanted to go, she couldn’t, and in the end, she just scrolled through the contact list on her phone to search for someone who could help her.

Unfortunately...

’God... How could I not have anyone from the Schalke team that I could call for this situation?’ She bit her nail while her other hand was still on the phone.

It wasn’t like Kumiko didn’t have any contact with people working for the Schalke team. No, she had Tomasz Waldoch’s contact, as the girl chatted with the assistant coach several times in the past, and Fabian Reese’s social media account, as the blonde boy was basically Higo’s best friend here.

Unfortunately, those two should still be in the middle of the game right now, and no way she would be able to contact them in this situation.

Bzzzt! Bzzzt! Bzzzt!

Her phone suddenly buzzed, snapping Kumiko from her own thoughts. Her gaze shifted, and when she saw the name there, the girl winced unconsciously, knowing that this was going to be an unpleasant conversation.

"Yes, Minami-baasan?" She accepted the call with a deep breath.

"Kumiko-chan! What is going on with Ryukkun? He looks so much in pain right now! Is there something wrong with his hand? Should I book a flight there to see him myself?"

Kumiko had to push the phone away from her ear unconsciously, not wanting to damage her eardrums from the barrage of questions that her boyfriend’s mother launched without giving her any chance to breathe.

"Sorry, Baasan, but I still haven’t heard anything yet from the team," Kumiko answered apologetically. "There should be something wrong with him, but don’t book a flight first. The travel restrictions here are quite tight, especially from the Asian country. The process will be long and costly, so wait until I give you the news later."

Silence followed for a moment before Ayaka’s voice chimed in from the other side of the call. "Is there anyone who could give you information there?"

"Once again, sorry, Aya-nee, but I myself don’t even know which hospital he is going to right now." Kumiko sighed, her shoulders slumped as she felt like she had lost all the strength in her body. "The only chance we can get something is when his checkup is finished, and it could take hours before that happens."

The silence was quite tense, as only the muffled sound on the other side of the call could be heard there. Sakura also sat next to her, clutching Kumiko’s hand tightly as she acted as her moral support.

Even though Kumiko tried her best to hide it, Sakura knew well enough that the girl was close to breaking down right now. Her mind must be in a mess, starting to jump from one possibility to another. Hell, based on how she rubbed her own shoulder, Sakura could guess that Kumiko had been imagining the worst-case scenario, and it would only take a little before she snapped.

"Don’t worry, Kumiko-chan, Ryusuke will be alright." Sakura rubbed the girl’s back soothingly. "You know that injury is a part of the game, right? There is no way he could stay healthy for the rest of his career, and he is also still quite young. His recovery time will be faster right now compared to if this happened late in his career, so he will be okay."

Kumiko took a deep breath before smiling wanly at her friend. She knew full well that being an athlete without experiencing an injury would be a pipe dream, but that didn’t mean she liked to see Higo being hurt like what happened right now.

"Well, yeah, Sakura-chan is right. Ryukkun will definitely be okay." Ayaka finally spoke again, her tone full of conviction. "Anyway, if you get news later, don’t forget to call us, okay? It doesn’t matter what time it is; we will always answer your call."

After that, the call was cut off, leaving both Kumiko and Sakura in a heavy silence there.