Chapter 946: Happy New Year!

"Wait, what?! We have to train on New Year’s Day?!"

As expected, Frohling got mostly groans of reluctance. Well, how could they not, when a holiday like this was within their right as players.

Fortunately, Frohling had already anticipated it, so he didn’t even flinch when the players were complaining in front of him.

"Okay, I know that you are unwilling, but what can we do? This is the real schedule for the league, and we have to accept it." He shrugged. "Also, did I tell you earlier that after the game, you will have three days off to compensate for this?"

Yeah, in the end, he set it to three days, with the first one being the sabbath day that the players usually had a day after the game.

This way, everyone still had two days of a break, which the coach thought was a pretty fair deal in this situation.

Of course, some people were still unwilling to accept this.

"Even if it is the same two days, the weight is different, boss." Fabian still tried to make his case. "They got the holiday exactly in the new year day, and we are basically in the ordinary one. There is nothing to celebrate for!"

"Yeah, at most, we could only drink a pint or two, not even being able to enjoy the festiveness with our family!" Stambouli added.

Those who had already had a family nodded along, feeling reluctant to miss the whole New Year celebration with their family because they had to go to work the next day, which Frohling understood since he was also in the same boat here.

However, before anyone could complain further, Waldoch stepped forward with sunglasses hanging on his nose, giving the intimidating effect that would make the players gulp.

"Don’t complain too much; we are also suffering the same here." He said flatly.

"Also, you have already signed a professional contract, and everyone in the league is in the same boat. Don’t you dare complain about mental health just for having your holiday being shifted one or two days away here when a lot of people couldn’t even work in this situation."

Well, this shut down all the complaints here, pushing back all the words that the players wanted to say back to their throats. Still, that didn’t mean they were happy about it.

"Tch! What the hell is wrong with Tomasz?! He acted so high as if he owned the club!"

"Man, I have to tell the kids that we have to cancel our movie plan..."

"Damn the league! Why would they schedule this shit right now?!"

A wave of grumbles echoed from everyone else, creating a negative vibe in the team. Higo, who didn’t dare to say anything, couldn’t help but feel worried about the team’s current state.

’If they still maintained this kind of attitude, can we really fight properly in the next game?’ He murmured, glancing at the coaching staff to get a reaction.

Unfortunately, the only thing he received was a blank stare, so the boy had to swallow all of his words and go with the flow on this matter.

In the end, this was the problem for the coaching staff, so the boy decided not to overthink it.

’They should have their own thoughts about this, right?’

So, instead of minding the others’ business, he focused on the other thing, which was New Year’s Eve.

Honestly, some people like Morita or Fabian invited him to come over. However, they had their own partners there, and Higo definitely didn’t want to be the third wheel in their relationship.

In the end, he just accepted spending the special night alone. Well... Physically, at least, since the boy had already promised to call Kumiko and his family for that.

As for the time difference between Gelsenkirchen and Hakodate, well, it was easy. He just followed the latter one, where the new year there would happen at around 6 in the evening in his flat.

This way, he could celebrate the new year while also getting a good rest for the training session tomorrow.

"Ryukkun! How are you doing there?!"

The moment Higo connected the video call with Kumiko and the others, his girlfriend’s face popped up so close to the camera, enough to make him smile unconsciously.

"Good, good. The training session has just finished here. Anyway, aren’t you a little bit too close?" He asked teasingly.

"Yeah, that’s what I told her!" Ayaka’s annoyed voice followed as the big sister pushed Kumiko away from the camera in exasperation.

"Well, what can I say here? Not being able to be with her boyfriend is enough to give him anxiety, you know? She even talked in her sleep, ’Where is my Ryukkun?’ or ’Is Ryukkun here?’... Honestly, it is sickening, you know?"

Higo knew, based on the tone, that his sister was just teasing Kumiko here. Unfortunately, the girlfriend got embarrassed first, so her brain reached that conclusion, as her cheeks turned crimson red at that exact second.

"N—No! I don’t talk in my sleep!"

"Well, how do you know about that?!"

"I—No! I know about it! Don’t make it up, Aya-nee!"

While those two were bickering with each other like that, Minami took over the phone, pointing it at her and Yumiko, who were fixing the table after the dinner was over.

"So, have you eaten something, Ryukkun? And don’t tell me it is another bread, okay?"

"No, don’t worry, Mom." Higo smiled wryly. "I brought salad from the cafeteria, complete with the healthy broiled chicken and the barbecue sauce. The Aunty is even kind enough to add more here. Look."

Once the mother saw what was inside his plate, she nodded, feeling satisfied with what he had for dinner.

They chatted for a while, and since it was so close to 6 in the evening in Higo’s place, that also meant they were also getting closer to midnight back in Hakodate.

Even from the phone call, Higo could hear the fireworks starting to explode, as it seemed that the pandemic didn’t really dampen the enthusiasm of the celebration.

"Come on! One minute left! It is time to count down! Let’s count together, Ryukkun!" Kumiko’s excitement was palpable as she changed the camera angle so that Higo could see the firework outside as well.

"Yeah, Ryukkun! Let’s count!" Ayaka chimed in.

Higo’s gaze softened here, somehow feeling their presence so close right now.

"Yeah, let’s count..." He murmured.

10... 9... 8... 7... 6... 5... 4... 3... 2... 1... 0!

"HAPPY NEW YEAR, RYUKKUN!"