Second Half

*Ages in the story are generally given by international age.

*Real and fictional place names are mixed.

*The football rules may not perfectly match real-world regulations.

"I don't need your hand, so get lost."

Jelim, who suffered yet another defeat in the Champions League final on his second career appearance there, harshly brushed off Aaron, the opposing team's striker and his youth teammate, who had held out a hand to him, and ended up being caught in breakup rumors again.

In fact, they really did not get along, so it was less a rumor than just plain bad blood. Since they played in different leagues anyway, he lived without caring about it.

"Let's work well together again from now on, Jelim."

...until a month later, Aaron used free agency* to transfer to the same club as him.

Just becoming clubmates with the same opponent who had humiliated him in the previous final was bad enough, but that opponent was also an ex-boyfriend he had broken up with long ago.

And they had broken up in the worst possible way.

*The act of transferring to a club after a contract ends, as a free agent, without a transfer fee being paid to the former club.