Then a video call was made.
On his cellphone screen, the face of his mother, Ana, looked very bright against the background of a dining room in South Korea.
This meal together was held at the house of Ana's parents or William's grandparents.
"William! Look at this!" his mother exclaimed while pointing the cellphone camera at a giant projector screen. There, footage of his free kick goal was played over and over again, drawing cheers from dozens of cousins he had never even met. Ana told me with great pride that at her cousin's wedding the guests said they would watch William's match today, especially after they found out that William would be the starter. William couldn't help but laugh, feeling that the heavy burden of the match seemed to have evaporated to be replaced by the warmth of family.
After ending the call with a promise to bring jerseys for his cousins, William opened the message from Maria. The girl told how her house in London turned into an impromptu stand because her female cousin was now officially William's number one fan. In fact, Maria's father, who was abroad, also called because his business partner kept talking about the 'miracle boy number 11' they saw on international television.
After exchanging news, William felt very tired and decided to sleep.
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The next day, William woke up feeling much fresher after sleeping soundly for almost ten hours. Because Pep Guardiola gave him two days off and training will only start on Thursday, William spent his morning with a very relaxed routine. He just did some light stretching at the academy training ground while enjoying the Manchester morning air, a luxury he rarely had since his previous life because he was too focused on training and self-improvement.
In the afternoon William returned to his parents' house, today his parents will be returning from South Korea - they have been there for 3 days so it's time for them to go back.
After arriving home, William rested for a while, then started getting ready to go to Manchester Airport to pick up his father, mother and younger brother who had just arrived from South Korea.
He took the keys to his father's Range Rover which was kept in his parents' room. Interestingly, William had just taken care of getting a British driving license a few days after he experienced a regression to this time.
There is a strong reason why William was so rushed to get the driver's license. In his previous life, as a very busy football player and assistant coach, William almost never touched the wheel of his own car. His father always hired a private driver to take him everywhere, from training to commercial events. However, in this second life, William wanted to experience more real freedom.
Even though in the future he will still employ a driver, having a driver's license makes it easier for him to go on a date with Maria or invite Emi to play without having to ask the driver to take him.
Even though his family has a luxury car in the garage, William actually rarely drives because he often spends his time practicing or staying at home to maintain his focus. When he started the Range Rover's powerful engine, there was a pleasant feeling of awkwardness as he gripped the steering wheel.
William parked his father's black Range Rover in the Stay Parking area and walked towards the International Arrivals Terminal building. Wearing a dark hoodie and sunglasses to disguise himself, he walked through the automatic doors to Meeting Point, the place where pick-ups usually stand waiting for passengers to exit the Arrivals Gate.
Even though he tried to appear relaxed, his athletic posture, handsome face and William's aura as a player who had just exploded on national television were difficult to hide. While standing near the FIDS (Flight Information Display System) to check the status of the flight from Seoul, he noticed several people around him starting to whisper.
"Excuse me, are you William Carter??" asked a young man who was holding a luggage trolley in a doubtful tone.
William lowered his sunglasses slightly and smiled faintly. "Yes, that's me.!"
Instantly, the situation in the waiting area became a little noisy. "Oh my God! It's really him!" exclaimed several other people. In an instant, a group of fans gathered around him. Several airport staff who were off-duty even came closer.
Friendly, William took selfie requests and signed them on paper, some even asked for signatures on the back of their cellphone cases. "Thanks for the goal last night, William! You were amazing!" shouted one fan before an Aviation Security officer approached politely to ensure the crowd was not blocking the exit route for other passengers.
Just as William finished serving the last fan, the FIDS screen showed 'Landed' status for his family's flight.
Not long after, the figures of his father, mother and younger brother appeared from the baggage claim area after passing through Customs inspection.
They exited through the large glass doors, pushing a trolley full of large suitcases filled with souvenirs from Korea. His father was stunned to see his son being surrounded by people before finally realizing that William was no longer just his son who liked playing football, but was a new celebrity in Manchester.
"Wow, looks like we need a tight guard to get to the parking lot," his father teased while laughing proudly when they finally hugged each other in the middle of the crowd at Arrival Hall.
William just smiled at his father's words, after letting go of their hug - Ana rushed to hug her son because she missed him and also felt an immense sense of pride. After that, William immediately took over control of his mother's luggage trolley, but his movements were stopped when his younger sister suddenly let go of her father's hand and ran towards him. With a face showing the fatigue typical of long-distance flights from Seoul, he immediately stretched out his arms towards William.
He deliberately didn't hug his sister because he knew that Emi was very spoiled by him.
"Brother William! Carry it!" exclaimed his sister in a typical spoiled tone.
William laughed, seeing that his younger brother, who was usually very active, now looked sleepy and still wanted to pamper him. Even though his hands were holding the trolley's controls, William still bent down and lifted his little brother's small body into his arms. "You're so big, why do you still ask to be carried?" William teased, but he still hugged his younger brother tightly, feeling the warmth of the family he had forgotten because he focused on football in his previous life.
While walking towards the Pick-up Zone area, his mother, Ana, couldn't stop talking about the excitement in South Korea. "You know, William? Your uncles there almost couldn't believe they saw you on television. They said your speaking style during the interview last night was very mature, not like an 18 year old boy," said Ana while smoothing the hair of her younger brother who was leaning on William's shoulder.
"I'm just trying to stay calm, ma'am," William answered briefly as he continued to walk through the crowd of passengers in the Arrival Hall.
"Calm down? Mom almost cried when she saw you take that free kick!" Ana continued enthusiastically, occasionally waving at people who were still watching her son. "Maria also called Mom many times, she said she was very proud of you. Her cousin even fought over the cellphone just to hear from you."
Arriving in front of the parked black Range Rover, William lowered his brother slowly into the back seat after opening the automatic door. His younger brother was still holding the hem of William's hoodie, not wanting to let go as if he was afraid his brother would go to the training field again.
"Come on in, we're going home now," William said softly, making sure his entire family was seated comfortably before he himself sat in the driver's seat, ready to take them back home with his own hands.
After arriving home, the family didn't do much else, they just enjoyed the atmosphere of the house before finally resting in their respective rooms.
Emi, who really missed her sister, asked to sleep with William in his room tonight and William could only resign himself to seeing his little sister being so spoiled by him.
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I'm not really good at writing slice of life stories but I will make sure that in the future I will write better so sorry if there are fewer chapters this time.