<h4>Chapter 402 Ticket</h4>


    Step!! Step!! Step!!


    Then while he remained t on his bed, suddenly he heard sound footsteps heading his way. It looked like his mother wasing to him. And, since he hadn''t cleaned himself, he''d probably get scolded by her.


    But for some reason, he wasn''t scared of her scolding today. So, despite noticing her footsteps, he remained idle on his bed. He then rolled over to face the wall, so that his mother won''t get to see his face.


    The door to his room slid open and his mother walked in, "Kota, you need to check this out..." she spoke as she entered his room.


    This wasn''t what he expected. The tone of her voice didn''t sound mad even the slightest. Instead, it sounded quite cheerful. Perhaps did she not see his dirtyundry?


    ''What is she talking about? What do I need to check?''


    Several thoughts made it to his mind as he remained idle in his bed with his back facing his mother.


    "Kota, you got something in the mail today," she said, holding out the envelope. "I think you''re going to want to see this."


    ''Huh, mail? Who''d mail me? In this day and age, people still send mail?'' he was quite perplexed to hear that someone had sent him a mail.


    Then he turned his head to face his mother. Just as he looked at her, he saw her with a smile holding an envelope. At first, he thought that she was making things about the mail. But now that he saw her with an envelope, his doubts all vanished.


    Someone had really sent him a letter. But who could it be? Nobody came to his mind no matter how hard he tried to think about the person who could possibly send him a mail.


    Skeptically, he got out of his bed to take a look at the envelope. For some reason, his mother couldn''t stop smiling. He hadn''t applied for any clubs, so it shouldn''t be either. Or did a club scout him?


    He couldn''t rule out the possibility after seeing the cheerful expression of his mother. This kindled a spark of hope within him.


    Then he took the envelope from his mother, noting the elegant paper and the official-looking seal. His heart skipped a beat as he carefully tore it open. Inside was an invitation letter, printed on thick, cream-colored paper. The header read, "Kota, You are Invited to the Professional Debut Match of?Takahashi Hiro. Much love Hiro"


    The letter although short was direct. And, along with the invitation came a ticket for the match.


    He read the words once, then again, unable to believe his eyes. "No way," he whispered, his fatigue forgotten, reced by a rush of exhration. "Mom, can you believe... this? this is... this is amazing!"


    His mother beamed at him, her joy matching his own. "I know how much Hiro means to you, Kota. You''ve followed his journey so closely. I''m so proud of you."


    The reality of the invitation began to sink in. He was going to see Hiro, his idol, y in his first professional match.


    Ovee by exhration, Kota jumped on his toes swinging the tickets, expressing his joy. He couldn''t believe that the person he had admired the most was inviting him to the match. And that too the debut match.


    But all along he had been forgetting something.


    Seeing the ecstasy of her son, his mother couldn''t help but feel touched by the gesture of Hiro, "He''s really something. He even remembered the promise he had made back then"


    As he heard those wordsing out of her mouth, a realization dawned on him. That''s right how could he forget about the promise? Hiro had kept his promise even when he had forgotten about it. It was way back then but he still remembered his promise.


    Thinking about it made him feel guilty. Suddenly, his eyes started getting moist, and soon tears trickled down his face as he could no longer hold back himself.


    Noticing those tears, his mother immediately embraced him.


    "Mom... sob! sob! I didn''t... even remember our... sob! promise. But he remembered it," he started sobbing as he spoke his heart.


    Holding up in her arms, she could feel the guilt in her words. But at this moment, her respect for Hiro grew exponentially. Her son might have forgotten the promise, but still he kept it. This showed how nice of a person he was.


    Not only was he a great yer, but he also was a nice human being.


    ''Thank you, Hiro. You really are the perfect idol to follow.'' She thanked Hiro in her heart, feeling touched.


    But the match was tomorrow on the weekend. And, they had nned a family dinner. His father had already reserved a table too. So, would it be still possible to go to the match?


    Then Kota released his grip and pulled back. Looking at his mother with teary eyes, he spoke, "But, what about the dinner Mom? Dad seemed really excited about this family dinner."


    Noticing the concern in his voice, her tone softened as she spoke, "Don''t worry about it. I''ll talk to Dad. We all will go see him y instead. I''m sure he''ll be happy about it"


    "Can we go? Can we really go?" he asked, his voice trembling with hope.


    His mother nodded, her smile unwavering, "Of course we''ll go. And we''ll all go together too"


    His brows arched as a smile blossomed on his face upon hearing those words of approval.


    "But for now, go get yourself cleaned," she continued, sounding a little mad.


    For sure, she hadn''t forgotten that he had not cleaned yet. And, she wouldn''t let it slide. But it didn''t make him sour. Instead, he happily nodded his head and excitedly stormed off.


    "On my way"


    That night, Kota could hardly sleep. Hey in bed, clutching the invitation, staring at it, imagining the roar of the crowd, the sight of Hiro stepping onto the pitch, and the thrill of seeing his hero in action against the big boys.


    It had been two whole years since he witnessed Hiro on the big stage. Thest match he saw Hiro on the big stage was against Spain in the knockouts of the U17 World Cup.