Chapter 984: Kumiko is Finally Here Again!

The one who had just arrived, and the one who Higo was willing to come so far from Gelsenkirchen and wait here for a long time, was of course none other than Kumiko herself.

After three weeks of holiday back home, she finally had to go back to this country, and even though the girl would still be living in Cologne, Higo took his sweet time to pick her up from the airport, not wanting to let his girlfriend have no one to greet her here.

It also helped that the boy missed her a lot, having so many stories to tell.

Still, the moment his eyes landed on her, especially at that pretty smile that was enough to melt the coldest weather in this country, Higo felt like any words seemed to be stuck in his throat, unable to come out properly.

"Hey, what happened?"

It seemed that Kumiko also noticed his dazed state, and she couldn’t help but ask, feeling concerned.

Instead of giving a verbal answer, though, Higo placed his two hands gently on her cheek, and before she even realized it, the boy had already leaned forward, kissing her gently on the lips.

Kumiko was taken aback for a second, but in the end, she closed her eyes tightly before hugging him tighter than ever.

For a moment, the whole world seemed to stop for those two, as if they were the only things that mattered there. It wasn’t until someone gasped that they finally realized that they were in a public place.

"Oh, gosh! What a lovely couple!"

"Tch! They should keep it for themselves if they want to be lovey-dovey; no need to throw dog food at us!"

Those two blushed furiously at the exact same second, having just realized that they had just committed public indecency without even realizing it.

"S—Sorry! That’s impulsive for me!" Higo squeaked, not even realizing his tone was high-pitched.

"N—No, it is okay! I—I also accepted the k—kiss..." Kumiko’s face was as red as a ripe tomato as she said the last part in a voice barely above a whisper.

An awkward silence descended among them for a second, as they were way too embarrassed to say anything that could break this deadlock. In the end, though, Higo coughed a little, and after their eyes met each other a second later, laughter finally broke between those two.

"Oh, gosh! I didn’t know you would be that bold, Ryukkun! I mean, kissing me in the airport? Where did you gain such courage?!" Kumiko slapped his shoulder playfully.

Even though her face was still red, any hint of awkwardness was finally gone, and her smile was brighter than ever. It was clear that Kumiko herself was pleased by the kiss earlier.

"N—No, I didn’t learn from anywhere!" Higo answered, still with a little nervous stutter. "Anyway, where is your luggage? Let me carry it for you!" He snatched it from the girl’s hand, desperately wanting to change the topic here.

Kumiko, of course, noticed this as well. Still, in the end, she just smiled, not wanting to humiliate her boyfriend further.

Soon enough, they had already found themselves sitting comfortably in Higo’s car, while Kumiko was staring at its interior curiously.

"This should be the first time I am in your car, right?" She asked, as if wanting to confirm something.

"Yup! You have never met this little beauty before, just from the photo." Higo slapped the steering wheel playfully. "Even though she is not the best Volkswagen, her performance is great, and you have to admit that her aggressive appearance is quite pleasing in the eyes."

Kumiko just rolled her eyes in exasperation when she heard his boastful tone.

"Since when did you know that many automotive terms? I swear, the first time the endorsement came, you just wanted the bare minimum car, right? Now, you even call it ’she’?"

Higo coughed a little, rubbing the back of his head awkwardly.

"Anyway, let’s go! I don’t want to be stuck at this place at night!"

Once they were comfortable enough with their seat, Higo hit the accelerator immediately, letting the car run through the comfortably busy road in Düsseldorf.

On the journey, they also chatted quite a while, talking about everything that happened recently.

Of course, the one thing that they focused on the most was Makino’s achievement, as they were so happy to hear that their friend finally took a massive jump in his career.

Now, they had already started planning how to get there, wanting to show support for their friend.

"Sint-Truiden itself is a mid-sized city, not as big as Cologne but still bigger than Gelsenkirchen," Kumiko stated.

"It is about 5 hours of travel by train, and we can go there from Cologne. We will have to stop at least once in Brussels, but I don’t think it will be a problem."

Higo nodded quietly while his eyes were still focused on the road. In his mind, though, he had already set the route, and while the boy still had never been there, it would be a lie if he said that he wasn’t excited to travel to Sint-Truiden with Kumiko.

"So, when should we go there?" He asked excitedly.

"Well, that depends," Kumiko answered while looking at Higo amusedly.

"You still have a competition to fight, you know? Also, it depends on how quickly Makino-kun can adapt to the new environment. Let’s come when he finally has a foothold in the team, or he would only be embarrassed to greet us from the bench."

That... Was a thoughtful consideration, as expected from Kumiko.

"I don’t think it will take a long time, though." Kumiko smiled.

"Sint-Truiden hasn’t had a great season so far, being in 14th place out of 18 teams in the league. They are currently one of the worst defensive teams in Belgium, so if Makino-kun can show a strong performance in the training session, he would have a chance to play soon."

Wasn’t that great news?

Thinking that Makino was striving in Belgium while he himself also made a name from Gelsenkirchen, Higo couldn’t help but smile, his eyes gazing far to the past.

"Damn, who would’ve thought that we all would reach this far, huh?"