Chapter 683: The Bombastic News on Top of the Hill!

"Come on! Send your prayer, quick!"

Before the sun could go higher, both Higo and Kumiko found themselves clapping their hands so loudly, shutting their eyes while also muttering their prayer with the most solemn tone they could afford.

"Kami-sama... I hope that we can stay healthy, I have a great career here, and Kumiko-chan will always be with me... Amen..."

"Kami-sama... Please, give Ryukkun an easier time with his team and let him play as quickly as possible... Don’t let any of us or our family members get sick... And please, let me stay by his side forever... Amen..."

Neither of them knew whether their prayer would be effective or not, but it was always a nice tradition to follow from year to year. Once they opened their eyes again, they looked at each other for a moment before Higo gently kissed the girl on her lips and hugged her shoulder while watching the sunrise together.

Kumiko herself was so glad that the sun made everything red, hiding the hue of color on her cheek from that kiss. While they had already been together for more than half a year, this kind of little gesture, like a bear hug, a gentle peck, or something like that, would always be enough to make her shy.

Of course, that didn’t mean the girl was displeased. If anything, she appreciated it more, finding every little gesture that Higo did to show affection to be so romantic. She glanced at him with her big eyes before leaning her head closer, snuggling closer to her shoulder playfully.

"You sure know how to act like a proper boyfriend, Ryukkun. From where did you learn this?" The girl asked, tapping his nose playfully.

"Who else? Of course, it is from Morita-san." Higo couldn’t help but snort. "You don’t know this, but so far, he has already changed four romantic partners in the last six months, and all are the fans who always cheer for him! That bastard took advantage of his fame and dated anyone who he found beautiful, not even caring about his public image..." He shook his head in exasperation.

Yeah, this was something that Higo found to be surprising. For all the talent that Morita showed, the boy proved to be exactly like Naoya from back home, a complete playboy who liked to hop from one girl to another. Honestly, it was a miracle that no scandal had broken about him so far, as it seemed that Morita still had a bottom line in his dating life.

Kumiko just giggled secretly, tightening the scarf around her neck. The surroundings were painted white by the heavy snow that rained down on the city last night, but the warm feeling of the sunrise was enough to make everything better. They just gazed far in silence, enjoying the incredible and peaceful sight in front of them while still hugging each other tightly.

However, their little moment was broken a second later, when Higo found his phone was buzzing so loudly. The boy didn’t really want to answer the call, but when he saw his agent’s name, he knew that it was serious. So, even with him being displeased, the boy still opened his phone immediately.

"What, Fujita-san? Don’t you know that it is New Year’s Day?" He asked a little bit rudely.

However, it seemed that Fujita-san couldn’t care less about it right now. No, he didn’t even say Happy New Year or something like that, just blurting out the information that Higo had been waiting for in the last couple of months.

"It is official! The first day of the winter transfer window, Alexander Nubel to Bayern Munich for 4 million Euros! The goalkeeper spot will be empty for Schalke, Higo! This is it!"

Higo could feel his jaw drop when he heard this. Even though the boy had already known that something like this would happen, when the reality was in front of him, he didn’t even know what kind of reaction he should show.

In the end, it was Kumiko, who overheard the conversation since it was in loudspeaker mode, who reacted first, "Wait, really, Fujita-san?! You are not joking, right?!" She couldn’t help but squeal, showing an unadulterated joy on her face.

"Shishida-san? Of course, it is true! Why would I joke about my player’s career like that?!"

"Oh, my God!" Kumiko gasped once again; this time, her eyes went teary. Higo was confused, not knowing why she would show a dramatic reaction like this. However, in the next second, with her voice trembling, she couldn’t help but say, "I have just prayed for you to be able to play as soon as possible! I have never thought that it would work this quickly!" She gasped once again, covering her mouth while starting to sob silently.

Higo’s face softened immediately when he heard that, hugging the girl tighter than ever.

"Thank you for always praying for me, Kumiko-chan, but why are you crying here?" He mumbled while also rubbing her hair soothingly. "You should be happy that you get your answer so quickly! Maybe, if I want something in the future, I will ask you to pray for me again, okay?" He grinned goofily, trying to ease the atmosphere here.

Kumiko choked a little before starting to giggle uncontrollably, and it finally broke into full laughter. Even though there was nothing funny in this, the laughter spread so quickly as Higo also did the same.

Unfortunately...

*Cough!*

A little cough from the phone snapped them from their own world, and Higo finally realized that the phone was still getting connected to his agent.

"Well, it is nice for you both to have such a beautiful relationship, but please, don’t ignore me like that, okay?" He asked, his tone sour.

"We are so sorry, Fujita-san; we forgot for a moment." Kumiko giggled once again, apologizing to the man immediately.

"Eh, it doesn’t matter." The man brushed it off quickly. "Anyway, back to the topic, don’t worry, Higo, I will remind the team once again about their promise! The next game, you will find yourself having your debut for the first team!"