Rivals Drawn to the Crown

Sports articles came pouring out, one after another. For a high ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠school league, the attention was far more than it deserved — and it was all thanks to going viral online. Between the videos from Desttrroying and the steady social media management Minhyuk and Eunbi kept up, Jaehyuk, despite his short football career, had become a genuine trending topic.

And thanks to that, it was Jaehyuk's family who found themselves getting busy. Calls came in from people who never usually reached out, and his parents were enjoying every minute of it.

"Oh my, Katie! It's been so long. How have you been? Oh, of course, of course. Ah — you saw the news? Ohohoho!"

"Well, you see, our son made it to the state championship final in high school football! Hmm? Wasn't he a track athlete? Hahaha! He switched to football! Turns out he had a whole other talent hiding away! Yes, yes······."

Jaehyuk's parents were sharing the online articles with friends first, then with relatives all the way back in Korea, spreading the news far and wide.

Minhyuk and Eunbi were already being hounded enough at school, so they had no need to broadcast it themselves. Instead, they simply gazed contentedly at their steadily growing follower counts.

"I wonder which sponsor he'll land later on?"

"Ooh, for football it's gotta be Upper Armor, right?"

"I think a beverage company would be nice too."

Even as they chattered, they threw themselves back into editing the next highlight video. Most of the footage went like this: Minhyuk filmed, Eunbi edited — though they swapped roles now and then. The finished videos went up on social media first, and the two of them were seriously debating whether to start a separate YouTube channel as well.

"By the way, Eunbi, is Jaehyuk's doing okay at school?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well... the kids at our school are right in the next neighborhood over, so some of them keep talking about driving out to watch Jaehyuk's games. A few of them even asked me to come along, but I turned them down — I figured we'd just be in the way······."

"Ah, Jaehyuk's been hard to even catch a glimpse of lately. I think he's holed up somewhere doing his own training."

"Really? Well, he hasn't come home yet even today, so that tracks."

Recently, Jaehyuk had been staying out so late that he'd eat dinner away from home before returning. Honestly, it wasn't just recently — it had been like that almost since he'd started football. And every single time, he'd come back with a pair of ruined sneakers, spouting nonsense about them being "proof of blood and sweat," and insisted on collecting them. Eunbi admired her brother, but those odd quirks of his made her think, so he's human after all.

"Still, it's kind of wild how popular he is. All he does is train every day, and he hasn't made a single girlfriend. If it were me, I'd already be dating the school queenka."

"Oppa, you still don't get what kind of person Jaehyuk is? That man is simply obsessed with being number one. Don't get me wrong, I don't think he hates being popular — but a girlfriend? Never. It would get in his way."

"Ooh, that checks out. Yeah, that sounds like him."

At some point, "Jaehyuk" had quietly become "that man." Had he been sitting beside them, he'd have given both siblings a knuckle sandwich — but people will badmouth the king when the king's not around, won't they?

Just as the two were snickering together, their father's excited voice cut in.

"Oh my, you're coming to the final in person? Ah, of course, you love football too, sir. Yes, yes. Oh! We'd be nothing but grateful if you did!"

At this rate, the stands for the final would surely be packed to capacity.

The championship game was played at a neutral venue. Ironically, the site chosen this year was Derby High School's own stadium — the very field Jaehyuk's Wichita North had utterly demolished. Which made it, in a sense, not all that neutral anymore. But the stadium's facilities were better than anywhere else in the state, and from Jaehyuk's perspective, a field he'd already played on wasn't ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a bad thing at all.

"Blue Valley's crazy strong too... but Jaehyuk's gonna win, right?"

"Honestly, it looks like a coin flip to me. They've got two 5-stars. Only three 5-star prospects came out of Kansas this year besides Jaehyuk, and Blue Valley has two of them······."

Eunbi's voice trailed off, a flicker of unease on her face. That seemed to rattle Minhyuk too, because he suddenly started digging through his smartphone.

"Initiating research operation! We'll identify their weaknesses and report them to Jaehyuk!"

"Ooh, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠great idea, Oppa! Wow, I didn't know you were capable of that kind of thinking. Impressive!"

"...Excuse me?"

And at that very same moment.

One of those Blue Valley 5-star prospects the siblings had been discussing — Marcus Thornton, a wide receiver — arrived at Derby High School.

"Blue Valley's Marcus is here?"

Even though Derby had failed to make the playoffs, the field was still burning hot. Coach Steve, who had been preparing an early generational handover for his graduating seniors, was caught off guard by the Blue Valley 5-star prospect who'd shown up out of nowhere.

"He says he's looking for Hopkins."

"...This is about Redline, isn't it."

Gathering that the kid had come to scout out his championship opponent firsthand, Steve went off to find Hopkins.

This isn't good.

Hopkins had been in a slump ever since their last meeting. He'd carried the pride of being Kansas's only 4-star sophomore, and losing to the same opponent twice — to a player his own age, no less — had been a devastating blow. His pride had taken a deep scratch, and though he forced himself to show up to practice, his mistakes had multiplied in a way they never would have before. He looked like a kid whose mind had checked out and gone somewhere else. His rating, which had dropped to 3 stars thanks to Redline's exploits, had been restored to 4 stars, but his condition remained anything but good.

"Hey."

Steve finally reached the locker room. It was a space outsiders weren't supposed to enter — and yet there stood a broad-shouldered Black kid planted inside it as if he owned the place. Was this kid really a high schooler? His body was fully developed, the kind that could pass for a grown man — no, for someone in his mid-twenties — and he was talking down at Hopkins, who sat frozen on the bench.

"You Hopkins?"

"Who's asking?"

"Cute. Acting all fierce with those little eyes of yours."

Marcus smirked. There was something dangerous radiating off him.

"What do you want?"

"Me? I'm Marcus, from Blue Valley."

"Marcus? Marcus Thornton?"

Steve paused at the locker room entrance, listening in. The conversation between the two kept rolling.

"Yeah. Recognize the name now?"

"What do you want."

"Came to ask about Redline. Figured someone who actually collided with him and got broken would know better than anyone."

Hopkins's face twisted at that. Then he spat out flatly, "You're a wide receiver. Same side of the ball as me — our games never even overlap. What's the point of asking?"

"I can't stand not knowing. Honestly, I stopped by Wichita first."

"······That's some dedication."

Same state or not, this was city-to-city distance. Marcus had apparently covered quite a stretch of road, and Hopkins found himself newly impressed.

"Couldn't find the guy, though. Asked the others over there too, but they had no clue either."

Marcus snickered like it was all ridiculous. Then he leaned his face in close to Hopkins.

"So you tell me. What was he like?"

At Marcus's words, Hopkins tried to recall that day's Redline once more. No — the truth was, he thought about Redline every single day. What if I'd done this back then? What if I'd done that? What if I just... hadn't done it? He'd run through dozens, hundreds of hypotheticals — so many that lately his practices and training had fallen apart completely.

But the conclusion he'd reached through all that imagining was simple.

"Haha."

"Hm?"

"Marcus Thornton. I'll grant that you're a 5-star prospect. But I'm a 4-star in my own right. Even a year younger than you."

"The hell — what's your point? I'm asking you what Redline was like."

Marcus's voice turned menacing, but Hopkins only found it funny. Compared to the terror he'd felt that day? This was nothing.

"Redline is a monster."

"What?"

"A monster no rating system can express. Five stars? That's just number play. It can't describe him. Not even close."

Hopkins remembered. The first game, where he'd been tossed around like a rag doll. The second, where Redline had chased him down with such ferocity he could practically smell the killing intent. And then — even after crossing into the end zone — the man's focus never wavered, that insatiable hunger for victory burning all the way through.

He didn't get swept up in anything. Even if he suffered a loss like Hopkins's own, he would never shake. A fierce, blazing ego. A man who seemed to live on nothing but his own self-belief.

"He's not even comparable to you, the kind of guy who crumbles over a few words. For someone like him, this final is probably just another stepping stone to walk across. I doubt he's putting any real meaning on it. Not like us."

"······."

Even as he spoke, Hopkins half-expected this hothead to swing a fist at him. But surprisingly—

Marcus, who had been holding eye contact, straightened up and sank into a long, quiet think. Despite the provocation thrown his way, he was far calmer than expected.

"Huh. So that's how it is."

And then he said just one more thing, as if he truly understood.

"Hey, Hopkins."

"?"

"I'm so damn jealous of you."

"What?"

What is he even saying? Hopkins tilted his head at the baffling outburst.

"You're a sophomore, same as Redline. Which means you get to face him again next year, right?"

"······."

"Damn it, this is my last year. Sure, we might meet in college football someday — but that's a whole year of waiting."

What is wrong with this lunatic?

Hopkins was briefly thrown. And in the same moment, he understood. This guy hadn't come to analyze Redline. He'd come out of pure, honest curiosity. Face to face with a rival like Redline, he was positively savoring the joy of it.

"Anyway, thanks. I get what kind of guy he is now. So watch him closely for me."

Thump!

Hopkins involuntarily recalled the moment his eyes had met Redline's.

"Which of us belongs up there on top. Go take a good, long look."

Marcus pointed a finger at the sky, flashed a savage grin, and vanished. And with him gone, Hopkins sat dazed for a moment — then shot to his feet.

"This is no time to be moping."

I want to be up there with them. On the college stage — no, higher than that!

His agonizing over the past was over. Now Hopkins was making his resolution to move forward. He grabbed his gear from the locker and hurried out toward the field. And Steve, who had been quietly eavesdropping behind the wall the whole time, smiled faintly.

"Ah, youth."

The day of the final had arrived.

Unlike most games, this one was being played in the daytime, so unfamiliar bright sunlight poured down over the field. This was deep-winter weather by now, so the sunshine didn't make it warm — but the crisp, cold air felt sharper than ever. Riding the school vehicles to Derby High School, we found the entrance already a sea of humanity.

"Whoa, there are so many people, Jaehyuk······."

James said, gripping my shoulder like he was the one about to take the field. I brushed his hand off and checked my Gift instead.

Last time it was half a joke, apparently. The Gift really does intend to turn me into an unbreakable wall of steel. My durability had already gone from C1 to C2 as a playoff victory reward, after all.

MVP, huh.

Victory, I never doubted. I'd been prepared ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to claw my way to a win no matter how ugly it got. But MVP — I had no idea what the criteria even were. Probably mine as long as we won, right?

"Hmm."

This reward included a Speed boost, something I hadn't seen in a while, so I absolutely wanted it. And no penalty attached, either. Durability and speed. The double reward — it had to be mine...!

Click. Click. Click.

"Oh my god! It's Redline!"

"Over here, please!"

"Let's go, Wichita North!!"

The game was still hours away, and yet people had come early just to cheer us on. It hit me hard. That was how much they loved football — how much they wanted us to win. To answer that expectation, I'd have to give it everything today and obliterate the opponent.

"You're not nervous?"

"Hm?"

Liam, who'd been walking ahead, drifted over beside me and asked. He'd always been pale, but today he looked whiter than ever. I just shrugged.

"I've gotten used to it by now. Used to be I got a little worked up, sure."

"This is the championship final. And the other side has two 5-star players."

"Liam."

I gave him a mildly annoyed look.

"Three stars, four stars, five stars. They all look the same to me."

"······."

"Whoever walks out there, they can't touch me. I get that you're worried about yourself — but don't go assuming I'm worried the same way."

That wasn't bravado. It was the plain truth. And yet somehow the teammates around us burst out laughing.

"BWAHAHAHA!"

"Hahaha!"

What? Did they think I was joking?

Apparently not — because even Liam smiled and nodded. "Fair enough. I guess we were worrying for nothing. It's hard for ordinary talent to measure genius, that's all."

"Better late than never."

When I nodded and said that, the players broke into laughter all over again — and just like that, the tension that had been wound tight all morning melted away. Before I knew it, they were trading jokes among themselves, walking into Derby's Panther Stadium with all the ease of a normal practice.

"Hoo... hoo."

"C'mon, Wichita!"

"Let's go, buddy! Let's go!"

These idiots. I thought the tension was broken, and they're back at it already.

Still, a healthy dose of nerves wasn't a bad thing. If anything, being too loose was worse.

"Jaehyuk! Say something to us!"

And through it all, that damn James······.

"Just handle it all yourselves. You can play this one asleep. Got it?"

"WHOOOAA!! Let's go! Redline! Today it's all rushing! No passes! No — we're not throwing a single pass!"

"Tony... let's not do that······."

As Tony went completely berserk and James worried over him, the final that would crown the undefeated myth was finally about to begin.