Back To The Hall

Kein left the academy hospital with a smiling face and a pounding heart. He felt like he was reborn after a long recovery that took up a lot of his daily activities. He took a deep breath and exhaled through his mouth with a small smile.

"What a beautiful life."

Kein thought of his long-term life as being in his brain's play whereas it was not that easy to face a group of like-minded people to claim the title of the most influential person in the world.

During his stay at the academy hospital, Kein did not receive material from the teachers directly, but rather the nurses gave him a note every night received from Damian. The young man completely shut himself away and did not want to see his friends for six whole months. Even for so long, Kein wondered to what extent the outside world missed him.

After all, the teachers didn't mind as long as the monthly income went into the account and Kein could understand the explanations his friends wrote down after every practice. Even so, Kein still thanked Damian by giving him various gifts every week, such as watches and other accessories.

At a loss as to what to start the day with, in the end the only destination was to visit the building where they used to practice basketball. Today was a national holiday, so Kein knew that their training schedule would be hectic even though it was a holiday and they rarely got time for holidays.

"I can't wait to see their faces. I hope it's not complicated, but at least they don't jump up and hug me or my recovery period will be increased to a year." Kein shook his head normally for fear of such a trivial thing actually happening.

After a few minutes of walking, Kein found it difficult and tired quickly. The doctor only advised him not to participate in training even though leisurely walking was not one of his training activities. The good news was that he was already in front of the basket hall with the door slightly open.

With his heart pounding and the moment he had been looking forward to, Kein slid the door open and caused subtle distress but distracted the eyes of the building users. Staring at each other for a moment, Kein suddenly entered and smiled as he walked towards them.

Naturally, the only one who showed an overreaction was Damian. His friend immediately ran and jumped towards him. But as expected, Kein did not have to worry about the aftermath with a slight sideways leap.

Bruk!

Damian was knocked down two metres and quickly got up without feeling any pain.

"You bastard! I was so looking forward to your arrival, damn it!" his face was a mess.

Kein laughed, "Haha, forgive me for suddenly disappearing. I thought locking myself up was the best sanction. How are you, mate?"

One by one, his friends came over and patted him on the back. The moment he had seen in a movie was now realised for him. Although not all, many of his classmates missed him because Nicolas Kein was a second-year player who could slightly keep up with his seniors who had experience in international tournaments.

Even so, his seniors did not feel underestimated and were even more excited because they did not want to be beaten by players younger than them.

"Welcome back, Nicolas. Good to see you here again. Are you coming to training today? Incidentally, we haven't started the warm-up yet." Gilbert, a senior and the man who deserves to be captain in every match, also greeted his arrival.

"That was too soon. The doctor won't let me practice even if it's just jogging. It's boring but his orders are risky enough to disobey."

'Alright, there's no need to rush. There's still about a month before the next tournament. Make sure you recover your leg properly. We all need each other, including you.'

"I see..."His gaze was instantly drawn to the figure of the most powerful man in this place.

"Go back to your place and leave us alone."

"Yes, coach!" Without replying, they immediately returned to the field and warmed up.

For a moment, Kein and the basketball academy coach stared at each other. No threat or pressure caused Kein to feel mentally dropped. But he really wasn't good at staring at people for too long and asking questions.

"Is there something wrong with me, Coach Marlon? Can't I come?"

"Sure, why not? This is where you can fly and flutter your talents freely. It's just that you come in like the healthiest human being when six months ago you almost lost a leg. Looks like you're taking good care of your lifestyle."

Kein gulped. He felt a little uncomfortable because imagining what would be discussed would take a long time. Meanwhile, his left leg was trembling slightly, moving too many muscles that were still stiff.

"That's why I've been confined to myself. A little less activity and following the doctor's advice... and this is the result."

"Maybe this is going too far, but I want to hear the reaction directly when we didn't beat Old Olympios." Coach put his hands together while tapping his left foot on the floor.

"I don't know. At that time I thought of nothing but the death of my family. I'm sorry, coach. I can't answer your question."

Quickly, Coach Marlon took Kein's hand and hugged him with one arm. Kein was surprised because he had never received a hug from a coach who was known for being ruthless and disciplined.

"You don't need to apologise. We are all saddened by the death of your family. But you don't have to be sad because many people care about you. For one, Damian almost barged into your room while you were being treated. He's very worried about you mentally having to go through the dark times of adolescence."

Kein instantly looked at Damian who was warming up in the background.

"I was surprised when I realised he went that far. But when I've made my choice, I won't take another option if it's an emergency."

"No big deal. I'm just reminding you not to fall into a pit of regret. I'm sure your family would be proud of your current state. It's just a matter of how you choose not to let them down."

Kein smiled. He got a new outlook on life after being mean enough to comment on his coach's personality.

"Thank you, Coach Marlon. I'll keep that message in mind."

The coach smiled and continued. "They've improved quite a bit. Sit back and watch how they surprise you."