2026-09-27, 11:00 AM - Word count:
That one big win against Inter London had been about as impactful as one could have hoped with regards to the mood in the squad. Smiles had returned to the training ground on the outskirts of Budapest, and the players had even been out to do some sort of charity event at a local school. To Joe, it had felt strange being back in school. After all, he’d never really graduated, and with the premises looking not too dissimilar to those he had left behind, it was a little like he’d finally awoken from a wonderful dream wherein he’d made it as a footballer, only to find the alarm screaming at him to get to class. Except for the part where it was way, way colder than he had ever experienced. At least the children inside of the school were, well, children, and not high schoolers, so once they were there, it hadn’t taken too long to adjust to the role of role-model visiting young fans.
The lighter mood in the camp also made it a lot easier for Joe to enjoy his now regular little excursions around the town, where he’d walk down new paths whenever he found himself with too much time on his hands to otherwise spend. That was one thing to really appreciate about living in Budapest. Bangkok can hardly be said to be walkable; the sidewalks, where they exist, are narrow to say the least, and one has to dodge whatever other architecture challenges you for the space, whether stairways up to bridges, elevators up to the BTS Skytrain, pillars holding up shelters for bus stops, or most commonly: food and fruit stalls like the one Joe had been helping his dad out at until what felt like recently. Although it wasn’t really recent any longer. It had almost been two years since Joe first departed Bangkok on his life’s first flight. How many had he been on since? Either way, Budapest was, at least in that sense, almost the opposite of Bangkok. Much wider sidewalks, way less traffic. Most importantly, very scenic. Obviously Joe valued his hometown, and Bangkok definitely is a thing of beauty in many ways, but the mix of skyscrapers and sprawl do not quite allow for views like the ones he would often find in Budapest, where what seemed like ancient buildings blended with nature.
After the three points that Rapid Magyar had earned with a 4-1 victory against Inter London, the results had been mediocre at best. A 3-3 draw against Kaapstad, a 2-4 defeat at the hands of North Shore United, and most recently a painful 1-6 spanking courtesy of AS Paris, whose title had already been sealed long before they unleashed hell on the Hungarian team, finishing on 40 points with 17 to the head of the chasing pack. That one win had made all of that feel a whole lot more bearable, knowing that Rapid Magyar would stay up more or less no matter what.
At this point, Joe was entirely too used to these encounters. Casually walking down by the river, something had caused his eyes to lock down on a bench in the dark. Whomever was sitting on the bench had noticed him, and soon enough he had been called a strawberry-picker. Why was that his insult of choice, anyway? Whatever it meant, it was clear that she did not mean anything good by it, though the tone did seem to have mellowed since last. Joe walked very sluggishly towards the bench, feigning strong opposition to the very notion of her being. Of sitting there. “Oh, come on now,” she giggled at him.
“Why is it that we keep running into each other?” he asked.
“I don’t know, isn’t it because you’re stalking me?”
“Me? Stalk you?! Why on Earth would I want to do that?!”
“Oh, I don’t know. Maybe you’re lonely, toiling away in the fields of a foreign land with no-one to talk to, not knowing the local language.”
“Local language? As if you speak..” they had already descended on a much familiar slide, and he stopped himself for a moment.
“So, did you go to the restaurant?” she asked him, not referring to what had evidently been the go-to restaurant for the both of them.
“I did. Not quite the same as back home, but it was so nice to have Thai food again.” This was honestly the second-best thing to have happened recently: finding a decent Thai restaurant in Budapest. Only the win against Inter London could be rated higher.
“Kinda hits the spot, doesn’t it?” she asked rhetorically. “Sometimes it’s just what one needs. A taste of home.”
It really did. Joe hadn’t realised just how much he had missed the taste of home, and so at least one good thing had come from his many random encounters with this otherwise varyingly irritating person.
“My dad always tells me to make sure to try things while I am out here, away from home,” Joe concluded.
“Your dad?” Joe felt weird referring to Tok in a more formal manner, but the lady’s reaction made it quite clear that he probably should have. After a moment, she continued, “I think your dad is right. It’s good to try new things while you have the chance. To savour them.”
“That’s what he says, yeah.”
“But sometimes, it’s OK to want something familiar. Wouldn’t dad agree?” she was right, even if she was teasing him.
“I suppose he would.” Joe just sort of answered without any thoughts in mind. “Hey, do you ever miss home?” He immediately realised that he was now likely to be met with a barrage of jokes about him being a child who misses his dad.
“That’s why I told you about the restaurant, you know. But I try to take in what I can. After all, I feel lucky to be out here.” Uncharacteristically human, Joe would later think.
“Yeah, me too.”
“What, is picking strawberries that much better than whatever you were doing back home?”
She was back at it, and kept going for a while, until Joe eventually excused himself.
“Hey, before you go, just add me on Line. It’s annoying that you keep showing up unannounced,” she demanded with a reference to the most commonly used messaging app in Thailand. Joe obliged, sending her a random sticker on the app, and soon he was on his way.
The following morning, Joe decided to go back to Bangkok for the summer break. He would have a few weeks anyway, and it’s not like money was a problem. Part of the decision was also to not inform anyone back home, except his younger sister who was given strict instructions to not mention it to anyone. Before that, just one final match in the SSL.
The lighter mood in the camp also made it a lot easier for Joe to enjoy his now regular little excursions around the town, where he’d walk down new paths whenever he found himself with too much time on his hands to otherwise spend. That was one thing to really appreciate about living in Budapest. Bangkok can hardly be said to be walkable; the sidewalks, where they exist, are narrow to say the least, and one has to dodge whatever other architecture challenges you for the space, whether stairways up to bridges, elevators up to the BTS Skytrain, pillars holding up shelters for bus stops, or most commonly: food and fruit stalls like the one Joe had been helping his dad out at until what felt like recently. Although it wasn’t really recent any longer. It had almost been two years since Joe first departed Bangkok on his life’s first flight. How many had he been on since? Either way, Budapest was, at least in that sense, almost the opposite of Bangkok. Much wider sidewalks, way less traffic. Most importantly, very scenic. Obviously Joe valued his hometown, and Bangkok definitely is a thing of beauty in many ways, but the mix of skyscrapers and sprawl do not quite allow for views like the ones he would often find in Budapest, where what seemed like ancient buildings blended with nature.
After the three points that Rapid Magyar had earned with a 4-1 victory against Inter London, the results had been mediocre at best. A 3-3 draw against Kaapstad, a 2-4 defeat at the hands of North Shore United, and most recently a painful 1-6 spanking courtesy of AS Paris, whose title had already been sealed long before they unleashed hell on the Hungarian team, finishing on 40 points with 17 to the head of the chasing pack. That one win had made all of that feel a whole lot more bearable, knowing that Rapid Magyar would stay up more or less no matter what.
At this point, Joe was entirely too used to these encounters. Casually walking down by the river, something had caused his eyes to lock down on a bench in the dark. Whomever was sitting on the bench had noticed him, and soon enough he had been called a strawberry-picker. Why was that his insult of choice, anyway? Whatever it meant, it was clear that she did not mean anything good by it, though the tone did seem to have mellowed since last. Joe walked very sluggishly towards the bench, feigning strong opposition to the very notion of her being. Of sitting there. “Oh, come on now,” she giggled at him.
“Why is it that we keep running into each other?” he asked.
“I don’t know, isn’t it because you’re stalking me?”
“Me? Stalk you?! Why on Earth would I want to do that?!”
“Oh, I don’t know. Maybe you’re lonely, toiling away in the fields of a foreign land with no-one to talk to, not knowing the local language.”
“Local language? As if you speak..” they had already descended on a much familiar slide, and he stopped himself for a moment.
“So, did you go to the restaurant?” she asked him, not referring to what had evidently been the go-to restaurant for the both of them.
“I did. Not quite the same as back home, but it was so nice to have Thai food again.” This was honestly the second-best thing to have happened recently: finding a decent Thai restaurant in Budapest. Only the win against Inter London could be rated higher.
“Kinda hits the spot, doesn’t it?” she asked rhetorically. “Sometimes it’s just what one needs. A taste of home.”
It really did. Joe hadn’t realised just how much he had missed the taste of home, and so at least one good thing had come from his many random encounters with this otherwise varyingly irritating person.
“My dad always tells me to make sure to try things while I am out here, away from home,” Joe concluded.
“Your dad?” Joe felt weird referring to Tok in a more formal manner, but the lady’s reaction made it quite clear that he probably should have. After a moment, she continued, “I think your dad is right. It’s good to try new things while you have the chance. To savour them.”
“That’s what he says, yeah.”
“But sometimes, it’s OK to want something familiar. Wouldn’t dad agree?” she was right, even if she was teasing him.
“I suppose he would.” Joe just sort of answered without any thoughts in mind. “Hey, do you ever miss home?” He immediately realised that he was now likely to be met with a barrage of jokes about him being a child who misses his dad.
“That’s why I told you about the restaurant, you know. But I try to take in what I can. After all, I feel lucky to be out here.” Uncharacteristically human, Joe would later think.
“Yeah, me too.”
“What, is picking strawberries that much better than whatever you were doing back home?”
She was back at it, and kept going for a while, until Joe eventually excused himself.
“Hey, before you go, just add me on Line. It’s annoying that you keep showing up unannounced,” she demanded with a reference to the most commonly used messaging app in Thailand. Joe obliged, sending her a random sticker on the app, and soon he was on his way.
The following morning, Joe decided to go back to Bangkok for the summer break. He would have a few weeks anyway, and it’s not like money was a problem. Part of the decision was also to not inform anyone back home, except his younger sister who was given strict instructions to not mention it to anyone. Before that, just one final match in the SSL.
