Ethan woke up to his phone buzzing again.
Not vibrating. Buzzing. Relentless.
He squinted at the screen. Missed calls. Messages. A couple of unknown numbers. His agent. Club media. Someone labelled simply as "PR".
He turned the phone face down.
Ten minutes of silence wouldn't end the world.
The system didn't agree.
Attention Saturation: Rising
"Yeah," Ethan muttered, rubbing his face. "I noticed."
He finally picked the phone up and scrolled. Nothing bad. Nothing urgent. Just… more. More people wanting something. A quote. A photo. A response. An appearance.
It felt strange. Yesterday he'd been chasing chances. Today they were queueing.
Training started with a surprise.
Before boots were even on, club media pulled him aside.
"We want you to open an official Instagram," the guy said, smiling like this was a favour. "Nothing fancy. Just presence."
Ethan blinked. "I don't really… post."
A teammate overheard and laughed. "Just do a mirror pic, mate. Black hoodie. Serious face. Easy."
Another added, "Caption it 'Work continues' or something."
Ethan sighed. "You lot are useless."
They watched him over his shoulder as he made the account. Username already taken. Tried another. Then another.
Finally, one worked.
Profile picture took three attempts. First was blurry. Second looked like a passport photo. Third was acceptable.
He posted it.
No caption.
Within seconds, the likes started climbing.
System:
Public Image Module: Initialised
Ethan locked the phone. "I already regret that."
The training pitch felt tighter today.
Same unfamiliar faces by the touchline. Same quiet observation. Ethan didn't look directly at them this time, but he knew when eyes were on him.
Alex Neil ran the session sharp. Short drills. Demanding patterns. Less room to improvise.
Midway through, Ethan slowed for half a second.
Alex's voice cut through instantly. "Again. Higher intensity."
No name. No warning.
Message received.
System:
Mental Load: Increased
A teammate jogged alongside him during water break. "You're moving different lately."
"Good different or bad different?" Ethan asked.
"Different different," the teammate said. "Like you're being judged."
Ethan forced a smile. "That's because I am."
After training, the squad lingered longer than usual. Phones out. Whispers.
"What's going on?" Ethan asked.
One of the lads leaned in. "Sponsor event next month. Big one."
Another smirked. "Heard a name."
Ethan raised an eyebrow. "What name?"
There was a pause. The kind people enjoy too much.
"Kaia Gerber."
Ethan blinked once. "Right."
The reaction was immediate.
Groans. Laughs. Someone slapped his shoulder.
"That's not a normal name," one of them said. "That's a headline name."
Ethan shook his head. "I'm not meeting anyone."
"You are absolutely meeting someone," another replied. "Just don't lag when you walk."
That one hurt.
The system stayed quiet.
Which meant it was storing something.
Matchday came with a tweak.
Ethan wasn't wide.
He was central.
Alex pulled him aside before kick-off. "More touches. More responsibility. Keep it simple."
Ethan nodded. Heart rate climbed.
System:
Pressure Modifier: Active
The first ten minutes were rough. Too many options. Too many voices. He tried to do too much and gave the ball away cheaply.
The crowd reacted instantly. Not angry. Just sharp.
System:
Error Weighting: Increased
Ethan felt his shoulders tense. He slowed the next phase deliberately. Short pass. Reset. Move.
It wasn't pretty.
But it worked.
By halftime, the game had settled. Ethan started finding pockets. Linking play. Letting others shine.
Second half, he slipped a simple pass into space that led to the goal two phases later.
No assist. No celebration.
Just contribution.
The team won 1–0.
Again.
In the tunnel, Alex clapped him on the shoulder. "That's learning."
Not praise.
Approval.
Jordan caught up with him near the dressing room. "England lads stayed the whole game."
Ethan nodded. "Good or bad?"
Jordan smiled slightly. "They stayed."
That was enough.
The bonus hit his account later that night.
£4,000.
Ethan stared at the number longer than he meant to. It didn't make him feel rich. It made him feel… responsible.
He opened his banking app again and sent a transfer home. Not all of it. Just enough.
No message attached.
The system chimed softly.
Financial Priority Shift: Activated
Ethan leaned back on the sofa, takeaway container on the table, untouched. His phone buzzed again. Notifications from the new Instagram account. Messages he didn't recognise.
He muted them all.
For the first time, he chose quiet.
The system appeared one last time.
Recognition Threshold Nearing
Public Trajectory Lock Pending
Ethan frowned. "What does that even mean?"
No answer.
He lay back, staring at the ceiling, thinking about how fast things were moving. About how every step forward made the ground less stable. About how people were starting to expect things from him he wasn't sure he could always give.
Tomorrow would come regardless.
And apparently, so would everyone else.
END OF CHAPTER 29
Author's Comment
Things are speeding up now — attention, expectations, opportunities.
Quick question:
Do you want to see Ethan lean into the spotlight, or keep resisting it as long as he can?
Appreciate you all 🙏