Back in the locker room, Ken was a little out of sorts after the game. He was happy that they had won, but whatever happened with the system was giving him a bad feeling.
'Maybe it was Mika who initiated the system upgrade on her own?' Ken thought. It was not the first time that she had done something without his consent.
If that were the case, then maybe he had nothing to worry about. The shutdown time for the upgrade was only 72 hours, and even without it, Ken was confident that he could play almost as well.
This was the reason why he had trained so hard to keep up his fitness. Without the buffs, his physical fitness was only slightly worse, but not enough to affect his playing abilities.
"Rookie, we're heading to the bar, your treat." Cain said, flashing him a grin.
"Eh? I don't drink, you guys go." Ken replied off-handedly.
"Rules is rules rookie." Cain shrugged, "Or are you too good to spend some time with your new teammates?"
Ken frowned. He did not like to be peer pressured like this, but the guy was right. He should probably take some time to socialize with his new teammates, otherwise they might think he was arrogant.
"Alright. I don't have a license, so I'll need a lift." Ken replied eventually.
"Wait, you're 21 right?" Rick asked.
"Yeah. I won't be drinking though." In this life, Ken had yet to partake in any alcohol. That part of him had died alongside him before he regressed.
"Suit yourself." Cain quipped, "Rohan can drive you."
Rohan's head snapped up and he glared at Cain, but the guy ignored it, letting out a small laugh as he left the locker room.
Ken's gaze moved to Rohan who was in the middle of a deep sigh. He couldn't help feel a little awkward since the guy clearly didn't want anything to do with him.
"Are you ready?" Rohan asked, his expression returning to normal.
"Mmm." Ken nodded, zipping up his bag.
The two made their way into the car park and arrived at Rohan's car. It was a black silverado, bringing Ken some nostalgia. It made him think of his best friend Steve.
"It's probably a little shoddy compared to what you're used to." Rohan said, opening the driver side door. The sound of metal creaking sounded, driving home his point.
However, Ken laughed, "My best friend has a red silverado like this. But it looks like yours is in way better shape."
Rohan was silent for a while, but a small smile crept onto his face. "It was my dad's old car. Been in the family since I can remember." He pat the roof of the car before stepping in.
Ken went to the passenger side and tried to open the door, but the handle didn't seem to work. It was only when Rohan reached over and yanked the inside handle that it finally opened.
"She's seen better days, but it still gets me to and from work." He added.
"Sounds like its got character." Ken replied, sliding into the seat.
Rohan put the car in neutral and placed the key in before turning it over. The engine made some guttural noises before it managed to fire. The whole car shook as if it was a washing machine on spin cycle.
Only now did Ken feel a little nervous.
However, judging by Rohan's expression, this was a normal occurrence.
"Seatbelt on." He said before placing it in first gear.
Ken did as he was told, silently praying that the truck would not fall apart by the time they arrived at the bar. His knuckles were white as they clutched his bag tightly.
However, after driving for a while, the car seemed to calm down and drive normally, allowing him to relax a little.
Not a word was said for the first 5 minutes of the trip, creating a bit of an awkward atmosphere. Ken wasn't sure what to say, but part of him wanted to get to know Rohan.
Thanks to the coach, he knew a bit of the guy's back story, but he couldn't outright say it. It might have the opposite effect.
"So, why are you hanging onto this car? It seems like she's on her last legs." Ken asked.
"Can't afford another one." Rohan said simply, yet there was no shame in his tone.
"Weren't you drafted? Didn't you get a signing bonus?"
However, as he asked this, he saw Rohan's expression shift slightly. For a moment, Ken thought that he would shut off completely.
But then, he let out a sigh. "I'm sure you heard about my injury from someone in the team." He stated matter-of-factly.
"H—How did you know?" Ken was taken aback.
At this, Rohan laughed with amusement. "I've seen the way you've been looking at me has changed. At first you were annoyed with me, but now your gaze is filled with empathy."
"Ah, right…" Ken didn't know how to respond, so he didn't.
A few moments went by before Rohan spoke again. "I gave most of my signing bonus to my parents to pay off their house and allow them to retire. The way I saw it, I would be on a big contract soon once I debuted for the Ligers."
"But then there was the accident." He said simply. "I was in hospital for a long time and though I had insurance, there were some things that weren't covered. I ended up using the last of my bonus on those bills."
The way he spoke was as if the situation had nothing to do with him, like it had happened to someone else entirely.
Ken did not ask for more details. He already knew that Rohan had been struck by a drunk driver. It was a sad story, but the silver lining was that he was still alive and chasing his dreams.
"Is it hard?" Ken asked, his tone soft, almost inaudible above the old engine.