A Happy Rebellion of the Underdogs

I never made it to the end zone.

But I managed to run all the way to their ten-yard line.

So, roughly sixty-five yards.

And then a diving ankle tackle at the very end, of all things.

Once he grabbed my ankle, I had no choice but to go down.

Even the Gift hadn't predicted an attack from behind. Probably only natural — that area was outside my field of vision.

After that, our team abandoned the running game and went back to passing, settling for a field goal. Three more points. The score was 11–7.

It was unbearably frustrating.

"Ten yards? I could've just walked it in. Why do they keep calling pass plays?"

Oh, it's because I failed to score a touchdown just now! That has to be it, right?!

As I was grumbling to myself, Sanders came over and spoke.

"The situation's getting dangerous. They might start gunning for you."

"?"

"They've been deliberately keeping the ball out of your hands. Those guys out there are probably boiling over with frustration right now, with things not going their way."

In other words, rougher tackles than before could be coming. If an opponent was willing to eat a penalty just to take me down, even my Gift couldn't stop that.

"Still, we're winning thanks to it. We're now in a position where even if they hit a field goal, we win no matter what."

While he was talking, the opponent's drive fizzled out once again. Their offense looked like a blade gone dull — sloppy and half-hearted.

Their mentality had completely shattered. Their momentum, which had been strong at the start, had sunk a full notch.

When our offense took the field again, the defense was running on nothing but a desperate resolve to stop me. Which was exactly why the pass play that followed worked like a charm.

We advanced back down near the ten-yard line, and once more came the field goal.

Thwack!

"Hell yeah! That's it!"

The ball sailed through in a beautiful arc, splitting the uprights. Fourteen to seven. We were one touchdown ahead now.

"Fourth quarter! Just hold on for twelve more minutes!"

We were slowly entering the final quarter. Twelve minutes more, and victory was ours — the bottom-feeder Wichita North beating Derby High School, a championship contender whose name I'd heard until my ears grew calluses.

"Huh?"

"Hey! Hey! We're this close, don't fall apart now! Focus!"

Somehow, the situation had turned grave.

Linemen on the bench, myself included, rose from their seats one by one as we watched the opponent steadily advancing.

No way. A touchdown in the fourth quarter?

At some point, the opponent had pushed all the way to our twenty-yard line. One decent pass play here and the game would be tied.

And then—

"Timeout."

Sanders signaled toward the referee, and the opponent's drive, just about to begin, was severed at an awkward moment.

"Phew."

"Good timing."

The players let out breaths of relief. The coaches huddled and exchanged a few words, then made a beeline for Liam.

"Substitution. Liam, go in at defensive end."

"Got it."

Defensive end — the position that performs the role ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of an edge rusher. Liam, who had been warming the bench all this time, finally rose. His body was already well loosened; I could feel the heat radiating off him.

When were you planning to go in, huh? Saving it for a moment just like this.

One minute of timeout later, Liam took the field at defensive end.

"Stop them! Stop them just once!"

"Don't you dare let them score!"

Just as the players leapt from their seats in a frenzy of shouting—

"Hut!"

The game finally resumed. The opposing quarterback took the snap, and for a heartbeat we all watched, wondering if Liam would deliver right away.

"!!"

"Wh-whoooaa!"

He really did it.

A sack on his very first play.

A bull-like charge shoved the opposing lineman aside, and then, with a sudden twist of his body, Liam cut inside and caught the quarterback clean.

Everyone, player and fan alike, erupted in cheers.

"Liaaaam!"

"I believed in you, Liam!"

"Oh, shiiit! Oh, shiiit!"

Once the sack knocked the wind out of them, the opponent's offense lost its rhythm entirely. The drive collapsed, and in the end they even handed over an interception — a misdelivered pass landing right in the arms of one of our players.

"Interception!"

"Run!!"

And of all people, the one who'd caught it was Liam.

A former running back, he tore straight through the line of scrimmage as he was. Since it was an interception, the opposing defense was caught off guard — Liam ran free across a wide-open field.

"Touchdown!"

"Yeahaaa!"

"Liaaaaam!"

Heh. Watching from the sidelines, I felt a genuine thrill. Was this the feeling everyone got when they watched me play?

So this is why people watch football games. Not a bad show at all.

No wait — was it only fun because we were winning?

Either way, with seven more points on the board, our team opened up a gap of 21–7 and took the victory over Derby High School.

Beep-beep-beeeep—!

Fourth down, and the final whistle blew. The Wichita North players, absolutely buoyant, shouted for joy.

"Wooooaaaah!"

"We won! We beat Derby!"

"Wahahaha!"

Amid all the laughter and commotion, I stood there calmly.

Why am I like this, you ask?

Above the heavens and below, I alone am supreme.

I had no intention of ever looking less than imposing.

THWACK!

"Ah, you—James, you little shit!"

"Wahahaha! Jaehyuk! We won! We beat Derby! It's all thanks to you!"

They say you can't spit on a smiling face. The guy hoisted me up and then tried to hoist me onto his shoulders, and I struggled to fend him off.

No, seriously — why is this bastard so strong?

"Kim Jaehyuk! Get over here, you monkey!"

"Where's our Jaehyuk, who put up eight points all by himself!"

"One, two, three! Woo-cha!"

Did you win the championship finals or something? Calm down, all of you.

Pooo— pooo— ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠pooo—!

The stands had descended into chaos.

It was only the season opener, but the opponent was Derby High School itself. A championship contender against the league's perpetual doormat. The result, however, was the underdogs' gleeful rebellion — and not just a win, but a full-blown upset.

It was a story no sports fan could fail to be moved by. And for the people who had come all this way to cheer on the worst team in the league, Wichita North, it meant something: this was the real deal.

"Wow, incredible! That's the game of the year!"

"That was televised, right? I'm definitely rewatching this one."

"Wichita North beat Derby! Look at that! The Derby side looks like they all swallowed flies! Hahaha!"

While everyone basked in the joy, naturally some were already talking about the heroes of the victory.

"What on earth was that? Where did they dig up that monster?"

"Honestly, when I heard Ronnie Wilder got hurt, I figured we were guaranteed to lose and only came out to console the kids. And then I witness the impossible."

"Kim Jaehyuk, was it? Number 21?"

"Redline 21!"

And quietly overhearing all this chatter was one particular family.

Jaehyuk's family.

Every one of them sat with mouths firmly shut, simply listening as the crowd heaped praise on Jaehyuk.

Heh heh.

But the smile was impossible to hide. What family wouldn't be delighted to hear their own son and brother praised like that?

The moment didn't last. Before long, the euphoric Wichita North crowd spotted Jaehyuk's family — the only group of East Asians in the entire stadium. Eyes were bound to be drawn to them.

"Don't tell me — is that Redline 21's family?"

Jaehyuk had even picked up the nickname Redline 21 by now, and at the question, Minhyuk nodded proudly.

"He's my brother."

"Ohhh! Everyone! Redline 21's family is over here!"

"What? The MVP of this game's family?!"

In an instant the crowd surged toward them, and Jaehyuk's family found themselves swallowed up in the crush. But everyone there was a football crowd through and through — within moments they were laughing and shouting together, fast friends.

Meanwhile, a similar scene was unfolding in the marching band's cheering section.

"Eunbi! What on earth has your brother been doing all this time?!"

"Wow, I'm not dreaming, am I? Wichita North finally won. After losing eight straight last year, I thought the losing streak would just carry over into this season..."

"Eunbi, come on, introduce us to your brother. Is your brother a celebrity or something?"

Surrounded on all sides, Eunbi was being treated like a national hero come to save the day. It made sense — the marching band practically lived and died with the football team.

But as with anyone, cheering for a losing team was agonizing work. And who had today's opponent been? Derby High School, one of the favored title contenders.

Naturally, the band had been cheering halfheartedly, braced for yet another defeat. But as the game wore on, the atmosphere transformed, and now the students were leaping up and down in delight.

"Wait, wasn't Eunbi's brother new to football? Like, just started?"

"No way. Impossible. Really?"

At her friends' questions, Eunbi nodded awkwardly.

"He was on the track team. In football, it's been — what, not quite two weeks?"

"Lies! That can't be true! I mean, Eunbi, you love football too, right? Then you saw it — those moves your brother made? No way someone with less than two weeks of experience pulls that off!"

You're telling me. I'm amazed too.

Eunbi just laughed awkwardly, wearing an expression of serene resignation. She had, in truth, watched Jaehyuk's training every single day — and honestly, she hadn't believed in him.

Granted, after watching his matchup with Barry Sanders and his one-on-one with Liam, she'd known he wasn't talentless.

But is that actually possible?

She had fifteen years of fandom under her belt. Every member of her family except Jaehyuk was a football fan, so she'd loved the game practically from infancy. She'd watched countless games, attended more than a hundred in person, and knew the game well enough to recite the names of every high school prospect in the state.

And yet not once had she ever seen or heard of a case like Jaehyuk's.

Hold on...

Then, suddenly, she whipped her head around and scanned the area.

What she was looking for: college football scouts. If anyone here had come to watch this game in person, Jaehyuk was sure to have caught their eye. And since today's opponent was Derby, the odds of scouts being in attendance were high indeed.

"There!"

"Huh? What is?"

Three or four figures who looked like scouts at a glance. Eunbi studied them with the eyes of a hawk.

"Tsk."

Astonishingly, Eunbi had memorized the profiles of most of the college football scouts out there. Unfortunately, these weren't top-tier program scouts. But they weren't bad, either.

I can drive up his market value.

At some point, Eunbi had come to think exactly like a sports agent.

Post-game cleanup time. The crowd streamed down from the stands to greet their sons — along, of course, with the townsfolk who had come to cheer for Wichita North out of pure devotion.

And above all, the attention pouring toward Jaehyuk, the hero of the victory, was staggering. Even Derby's own supporters came down from the stands at least once just to catch a glimpse of him.

"Redline 21!"

"Seriously, you only just started playing football?"

"Do you have a girlfriend!"

Attention rained down from every direction, but Jaehyuk was too busy checking his victory reward to notice any of it.

"Whoa."

This isn't even a game, and here I am.

Jae-hyuk couldn't help but marvel at the reward. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠And as luck would have it, a girl from the cheerleading squad was standing right in front of him.

"Are you interested in me? I could definitely squeeze in one date."

"Hey, no! He was talking to me!"

"Excuse me? I was standing right in front of him!"

While the argument erupted around him, Jaehyuk — who couldn't have dreamed any of it was because of him — was still staring down at the ground.

What? I'm lacking in strength and stamina?

The thought flashed through his mind — but it was simply true. Up until now he'd been holding up thanks to the Gift; his raw physical abilities were still meager compared to other football players. Even so, with the Gift offering growth in this fashion, it seemed he'd be able to get stronger faster than anyone else.

"Hnngh."

Two touchdowns, huh.

Honestly, it wasn't impossible. The only question was whether he'd get the opportunity.

I'll just have to appeal for the ball however I can.

He was still deep in thought when the people around him tried to speak to him again.

"Oppa!"

"Hm?"

He looked up at the familiar voice and found Eunbi — and the rest of his family behind her.

"Hey."

"'Hey' is not an answer, oppa..."

With that, the family strode toward him in force. In particular, his parents and Minhyuk — who hadn't heard a word of any of this beforehand — looked like they had plenty to say.

Mrs. Park Heewon especially, marching toward him with both eyes blazing, looked anything but calm.

"Kim Jaehyuk! You—!"

But at that moment, someone cut abruptly into the scene.

"Excuse me — are you player Kim Jaehyuk and his parents?"

"And who might you be?"

Mrs. Park shot the question back at the stranger who had so rudely interrupted. Then Eunbi, standing nearby, smoothly stepped in.

"Texas State, right?"

"Oh? How did you know me?"

"I've seen you a few times. Online."

Texas State?

At the sudden mention of a university, Jaehyuk tilted his head. His family, by contrast, grasped the meaning of the situation immediately.

"Don't tell me — a scout?"

"Yes, that's right. John Howard, head scout for Texas State — the one your daughter just identified."

"The head scout!"

A head scout came to watch the game in person?

Savoring the family's stunned reactions, John Howard continued.

"Could I possibly trouble you for a bit of your time? There's something I'd like to propose to player Jaehyuk."

What on earth is going on?

His family had only just learned he was playing football at all, and now a college team's head scout had appeared out of nowhere.

But that wasn't ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the end of it.

"How convenient that you're all here together. Hello, I'm Rachel Parker of Utah State. I'd like to speak with you as well, if I may?"

"I'm Max Bennett, scout for the Tulsa football team! Please, give us the chance to talk as well...!"

"This is Sarah Collins, head scout for the University of Wyoming. If you have the time, I'd love to speak with you too..."

Recruitment offers poured in from scout after scout after scout. Jaehyuk's family couldn't keep their bearings.

Jaehyuk, meanwhile—

"Sounds good. Since it's come to this, why doesn't everyone just talk to me all at once?"

—was smiling, brimming with confidence.