The Storm Before the Game
The match between Derby and Wichita North had stirred up quite a reaction. Or more precisely, the footage posted online had spread like wildfire among young people in a matter of hours.
Thanks to all of it, Minhyuk arrived at school with his heart pounding, and just as expected, a crowd of students came swarming toward him.
"Minhyuk! Redline 21 is your older brother, right?"
"Is this video real? Is that actually your brother?"
"Can you get me an autograph from Redline? Just one?"
"Holy crap!!"
Attention came pouring in from every direction. Minhyuk was a little flustered by a response far bigger than he'd anticipated, but he did his best to answer everyone calmly and in order. Because of that, he stayed surrounded by students right up until class started, and it was only the bell that finally gave him a chance to breathe.
I knew it would be big, but... this much?
He'd been managing Jaehyuk's social media account right up until bed the night before, so he was already aware that quite a lot of people had watched and shared the video. Still, seeing it in person was another matter entirely.
"And here I am, while my brother is out there doing... all that."
This wasn't going to be easy. And knowing his brother's personality, it would only get worse.
Class carried on, and before he knew it, lunchtime arrived. Drained from fending off the students who were still swarming him, Minhyuk barely managed to eat anything before heading for the bathroom.
I'm... dying here.
Who knew attention could pile up like this? Even so, his hand naturally pulled out his smartphone and opened Jaehyuk's account. The instant it loaded, an avalanche of notifications began chiming without a moment's pause.
"Whoa."
Jaehyuk had opened the account at the season opener with 500 followers — which, truthfully, had already been a respectable number. But now the count stood at a full 10,000. It had leapt twenty-fold in a blink.
He took a breath, calmed himself, and started scrolling. Honestly, with this many notifications, checking every single one was a chore in itself — but there was no helping it.
Just in case. What if there was another DM waiting, from somewhere like Alabama?
He was skimming through them when Minhyuk's brow furrowed and his eyes narrowed to slits.
"This is..."
Fake? Real? Nah, no way.
But just to be safe, he decided to check — and opened one particular message. It had come from an account named 'Desttrroying'. If it was the real one, that was a mega-YouTuber with over six million subscribers.
It was a channel Minhyuk loved too — one focused on football-related content with a heavy entertainment angle: challenges, collabs with famous players, one-on-one showdowns, behind-the-scenes looks at players' training. The man running it, Donald, had an incredibly cheerful personality, and he was hugely popular among the younger crowd.
"Uh... uh?!"
It was real.
Minhyuk felt his mind go completely blank, his hands trembling uncontrollably.
What do I do?!
First place in the 100 meters.
He'd gone out and crushed the competition with overwhelming skill, coming home with the trophy. All that remained now was to keep an eye on the seventh game of KSHSAA Football.
Did I somehow get even faster?
He'd officially joined the football team, but he'd decided to keep competing in track meets as well. Honestly, after training nothing but football for so long, he'd been a little worried — but there had been no need for concern at all.
100 meters in 10.16 seconds, a new personal best.
His previous personal best, set in practice, had been 10.21 — and in official meets, he'd never even matched that. This time, he'd blown clean past it.
Must be the Gift rewards.
Until now, only his durability and strength had gone up. Durability, frankly, just meant his body got tougher — but strength boosted his overall performance across the board, so he suspected there was a connection.
By the time he'd finished getting ready in the locker room, Sanders and Tyrone walked in.
"Attention!"
Every chattering team member snapped to focus. All eyes turned to Sanders.
"Tomorrow is our seventh game, against Hutchinson. And this time, it's our home field."
Sanders's gaze swept over the players one by one. Normally he seemed like some uncle from around the neighborhood, but when he took command of the room like this, his presence was truly formidable.
"Lately, all this winning seems to have loosened you up a little. Let me remind you — you're still a bunch of scrubs."
"......"
"Don't let up. Did you think you joined a football team just to finish first in the league? What's our goal?"
"THE STATE CHAMPIONSHIP!!"
"That's right, you knuckleheads! The season isn't over yet! Tighten those belts and lock it in! Am I understood?!"
"YES, SIR!!"
Morale was at its peak. No matter how much Sanders berated or cursed at them, every player radiated confidence — the swagger of a team that refused to be beaten.
But that was only how it looked on the surface.
Of all things, the quarterback had to fall apart.
Mark Hamilton's return kept getting pushed back. Honestly, there was no telling when — or if — he'd be back at all. That left the backup, Tony Garcia, forced into the starting role, and after the mistake he'd made in the Derby game, he'd shrunk into his shell badly.
Under normal circumstances, they would have swapped in someone else entirely — but of course. Of all positions, quarterback was the one just anyone couldn't play. A powerhouse program would have had three or four more backup QBs waiting, but Wichita North had no such luxury.
And so they were stuck going into the game carrying a mentally shattered Tony Garcia.
"And one more piece of news for you all."
They were about to head out to the field for practice when Tyrone spoke up this time. They paused to wait, and Tyrone continued.
"A YouTuber is coming to tomorrow's game. They'll be running interviews — and not just that, they'll be broadcasting the whole game. The spotlight, obviously, is on our Wichita North."
"A YouTuber? Who?" one of the players asked, and Tyrone answered.
"Desttrroying."
"Holy crap, Desttrroying?!"
"No way, are you serious?! Desttrroying is coming to OUR school?!"
The locker room descended into chaos in an instant. I, for one, wasn't surprised — Minhyuk had already tipped me off. Actually, even if I'd heard it right now, I wouldn't have been shocked. Because I had no idea who they were.
"Wait, don't tell me..."
"Jaehyuk! They're coming because of Jaehyuk!"
"Heck yeah, our Redline's getting us on YouTube!"
Meanwhile, these guys all seem to know exactly who this is. I couldn't care less, honestly.
Tomorrow's game against Hutchinson wouldn't just draw Desttrroying, either — David Johnson, the Alabama chief scout I'd met before, was coming too. With so many important figures showing up to watch, I had absolutely no intention of putting on a dull showing.
"Alright, that's enough talk! Everyone outside, now!"
Tyrone led the players out. I followed silently behind, then spotted a familiar back of a head — and quickened my pace.
Tap.
"Hey."
The guy turned around in surprise at my call. It was Tony Garcia.
"Train with me today."
"Huh? Uh... o-okay."
Somewhere along the way, my standing on the team had grown to rival even Mark's as captain. I'd denied it at first, but after several regular-season games of watching what I could do, everyone had come to quietly regard me as something like an angel of victory sent down from above for Wichita North's championship.
Tony, too, had grown far tamer than when he'd first met me. Especially since the last game — he couldn't even meet my eyes.
Hopefully the Gift has an answer for this one too...
Time to turn this dimwitted quarterback back into a functioning human being. Preferably in a single day.
KSHSAA Football, Game Seven. The regular season had quietly entered its second half. When it all began, autumn was still carrying the last warmth of summer — now, the faint breath of winter was creeping into the air.
"Whoa! Yo, so this is Wichita North High School in Kansas! Way smaller than I expected, not gonna lie!"
Donald — better known as 'Desttrroying' — stood near a specially invited bench seat, panning his camera across the field as he spoke with his trademark goofy expression. Beside him, a few members of his YouTube crew handled the filming equipment. They'd rushed all the way out here to Kansas because of one video that had recently set the internet on fire.
"Donald, you really shouldn't say that out loud. This IS the home school of today's main attraction, you know."
Mike, one of the team members, chided him with a laugh.
"Aw, come on, I'm kidding! The size of the stadium doesn't matter, does it? This is where that monster called Redline 21 came from, right?! That insane play! Honestly, I thought it was edited when I first saw it!"
Donald carried on with exaggerated gestures, his eyes sparkling with mischief — but underneath, with genuinely serious curiosity.
"Real talk? The second I saw that video, I got the chills. We HAD to film this! This is exactly what our subscribers love, isn't it? An underdog story, an Asian running back, and highlight plays that defy belief! Those view numbers are gonna explode!"
"And that's how we ended up flying to Kansas. Getting plane tickets was a nightmare, by the way."
"Hey, quit complaining, Mike. This is an investment, an investment! And aren't you curious? How amazing this kid's gonna look in person!"
Donald swung the camera toward the stands. Even before kickoff, a decent crowd had already filled the seats — not just the home side cheering for Wichita North, but the visitors' section for Hutchinson as well.
"Oh, more people showed up than I thought. That video really was no joke. Is everyone here just to see Redline?"
He swept the camera across the crowd, murmuring to himself like he was rehearsing his broadcast lines. Then his gaze snagged on one spot.
"Wait a second..."
They carried themselves in a way that clearly set them apart from the other spectators.
College football scouts.
Years of filming football content had brought Donald face to face with plenty of industry insiders, and among the group, one figure in particular caught his eye.
"Holy... hey, Mike! That guy right there!"
"Huh? Whoa — isn't that Dave from Alabama? Wait, the chief scout came in person?!"
The other scouts looked to be from powerhouse programs as well. But even those men wouldn't dare shove their business cards at Alabama's chief scout.
"Whoa. This is shaping up to be way more legit than we thought."
"No kidding. We just came running because the guy went viral online, but if scouts are gathering like this, he's the real deal — a genuine blue-chip prospect."
Donald, Mike, and the rest of the crew studied the scouts with wide eyes for a while. And as he took in the scene, Donald felt a strange thrill run through him. Perhaps what was about to happen today would be more than just filming fun content — maybe they were about to witness the birth of the next football superstar.
"Whew. Okay, okay! Heads in the game! Let's get the setup right! Today, we're producing one LEGENDARY video!"
With the prep complete, they moved quickly into their opening segments. The game hadn't started yet. They glided over the crowd reactions, the field, and even the Wichita North sideline — and then, at last, it was nearly time for kickoff.
"Aw man, we still haven't snagged that pre-game interview with Redline."
"We can grab it after the game. Let's just watch for now, yeah?"
The Desttrroying crew's eyes locked onto jersey number 21.
A white uniform, and that iconic red line. Word was that the instant Jaehyuk started running, that red line stretched out behind him in a long afterimage — becoming the Redline itself.
Would they really get to see it with their own eyes?
"Ooh, we get the ball first."
"Guess we'll find out right away, huh?"
Screeee!
The whistle blew to start the game. In the same instant, the Wichita North quarterback barked the cadence.
Hut!
The ball snapped, and the catch was clean. As the linemen tangled viciously, grunting like beasts —
Fwoosh—
A quick release, and a pass. The ball flew toward the sideline and landed perfectly in the hands of Jaehyuk, who had been drifting sideways.
Ohhh!
Redline 21, right from the opening play.
But the opposing team had long since learned to fear the Redline.
"Ladies and gentlemen, what's he going to do?!"
As Donald's excited play-by-play rang out, the Redline began to move. At first, it looked almost ordinary — but what came next left everyone speechless.
BOOM!
A vicious tackle came barreling in — and Jaehyuk answered it with a tackle of his own, shattered the defender, and kept charging forward. Redline 21, bulldozing ahead!
What on earth...
The opposing defense was visibly bigger. Jaehyuk was already on the small side for a football player, and yet he'd just demonstrated overwhelming superiority in a contest of raw power.
And that wasn't the end of it. Having blasted through one defender, Jaehyuk sprinted at blistering speed — then, when another opponent dove at him from the side, he toyed with the man using nothing but a couple of steps and shook him off in a heartbeat.
The defenders peeled away helplessly, one after another. But —
What came next was even more astonishing.
"H-his ability to create space is unreal?!"
Donald shrieked. Jaehyuk moved as though he were gazing down on the entire field from the sky. Not merely running in straight lines — he constantly took the optimal route, at times charging recklessly laterally in moves that bordered on madness.
And at the end of it all —
Screeee!
"T-Touchdown!!"
Donald and the Desttrroying crew, worked up as if they'd scored it themselves, thrust their fists triumphantly into the sky.
What a rush! They'd come to review a player, but somewhere along the way, every one of them had gotten completely sucked in.
"Is this REALLY the high school level?! Folks, can you believe that touchdown?! Barely twenty seconds have passed since kickoff! Holy crap!"
It was dominance of an entirely different tier — like a grown man crashing a game being played by children.
"Donald! Donald! This is huge! This video is going to blow up!"
"Who cares about view counts right now?! If you can watch that and stay calm, you don't love football! WAAAAAH!!"
Out of nowhere, Donald ripped off his shirt and started screaming, and his ecstatic reaction drew screams of support from the stands in return.
"REDLINE 21! That gutless wonder is going to become the greatest high school prospect of all time!!"