Corruptions Are Best Exposed In The Autumn!

Chapter 17 - A Literal Cat Burglar

The rest of the night was a dream come true.

With one team wearing white pinnies and the other team wearing red, players could easily distinguish the teams. I donned a black and white shirt, befitting that of a referee. From there, it was game on, and I whistled to start the play.

No matter where I was around the 125 by 85-meter field, it was always like watching a real game live, but just closer to the action. The white lines outlining the turf looked as if painted just yesterday, and the thousands of empty seats around the field screamed of prestige. Goosebumps enveloped my body every time I imagined what a packed stadium looked like from a player's perspective.

"Man, to think the ref gets to see all this up close."

As the game progressed, the white team managed to carry the ball into the red team's box, where if a foul was made by the red team, the white team would be awarded a penalty. I dashed closer to the action, hovering my eyes over the ball between the white attacker and red defender.

Launching her feet at the ball, the defender contacted the ball first with her boots, but the attacker dove to the ground, screaming for a foul.

"Hey, that's a penalty!" She yelled with both her hands in the air at me. Yet from the way I observed the tackle, the whistle stayed glued to my chest; my decision was already made.

"Play on," I answered. "That was a clean tackle!"

The white team muttered complaints across the field but none protested further than that nor shouted in my face to repeal my decision. The game carried on, and soon, both sides scored, with the white team managing to score twice.

Wow, this is so fun!

Before we knew it, the timer on my phone rang out like an alarm, and I blew the last whistle to end the match.

"That's game, two-one is the final! White team wins!"

"Woo!" yelled everyone in white, throwing their hands into the air to celebrate. Rin, who was wearing black, gripped her waists and smiled in silence; I guess that was her way of accepting defeat.

"Haha, looks like we still got it, eh Rin?" Rose claimed, patting her back with a smirk across her face. "Better luck next time, hehe."

Rin wiped her face with her shirt, letting me see her stomach. "Man," she murmured. "How did we even lose..."

Once players began handshaking each other and walking off the field to the sidelines, I jogged over to the bench near the dugout, and picked up one of the black plastic water bottles.

This is mine, right? I thought, and opened the lid to take a sip.

"Hey, that's mine!" Rin yelled from the field, but it was too late - the indirect kiss was a done deal.

"Uh, shit, sorry..." I muttered.

"Oh, jeez, you did that on purpose, didn't you?" she teased.

"N-No no!" I waved my hands in front, denying my intentions. All her teammates laughed, and I couldn't help but blush and laugh along with them.

"Well, we better get going," Rose suggested, and the others nodded in unison.

"Ah, okay." Rin responded with a sulking tone, and her old friends glanced at each other.

"Don't worry about us, Rin! You and Kai take your time." Rose giggled with a hand over her lips, staring at Rin and I with eyes of amusement.

"W-What do you mean by that?!" Rin retaliated with a slight blush.