The Red Flash Prototype
"It's been a while."
The first person I ran into upon arrival was Nick Saban.
Given that he'd been showing up since the last camp, it seemed he was collaborating with them in some capacity.
"Good to see you, sir."
I gave a slight bow, and Nick extended a handshake.
"I heard the news that you enrolled at Alabama. Thank you for choosing our school."
"There's nothing to thank me for. It works out well for both of us."
I said it with a shrug.
Alabama was mired in a slump at the moment, and precisely because the situation was so bleak, winning a championship would make for a far more dramatic story.
'I'll show everyone, plain as day, exactly who the best is.'
There were still plenty of people out there who had no idea who I was.
For them, this upcoming season would probably be one of shock and awe.
"Are you settling in well? It must be quite different from high school."
"Yes, sir. The facilities are insane. I'm making full use of them."
"Glad to hear it. Alabama's facilities are second to none, after all. There's simply no comparing them to high school."
As the conversation rolled on like that, Cheryl, having finished talking with the staff, came over to us.
"Let's head to the meeting room. We'll go on ahead, Coach."
"See you shortly."
After parting ways with Nick, we made our way to the meeting room, where the people waiting for me greeted me warmly.
"Ah! Player Jaehyuk! We've never met, but something about you feels familiar, haha! I'm Petr Buiss, the lead designer for this product line."
"Pleasure to meet you."
Before long I'd exchanged introductions with the other staff as well, and we dove into a discussion about the brand product's development.
Honestly, there wasn't much for me to do.
They bounced ideas off each other — how the design should look, the signature line like this, the colors like that — while I contributed a few comments here and there, and somehow a shoe was already taking shape.
"You're not the opinionated type, are you, Jaehyuk?"
At someone's remark, I answered flatly.
"I don't really care about design."
"Still, there's a royalty riding on this product. If it sells well, the amount coming your way will be enormous!"
"Hmm, I see."
When I accepted that just as calmly, they stared at me as if I were some kind of curiosity.
It was a look I'd experienced plenty of times before.
Frankly, money was nice to have, but it wasn't something I'd ever wring my neck over.
"More importantly, our Jaehyuk here is far more interested in performance gear."
Cheryl slipped into the conversation at just that moment, and the others perked up with interest.
"We're actually waiting to hear back from the research lab. Until then, we were just running through some of the design meeting."
"The research lab?"
At my question, Petr explained with a smile.
"Yes — the Nike Innovation Kitchen is located near here. It's a kind of research facility. Its main purpose is developing high-tech performance athletic gear, and they've already received your data and are running studies on it, Jaehyuk."
Ooh. My interest spiked all at once.
A shoe built from the most cutting-edge technology available?
Just then, Petr's phone rang. He picked up immediately and winked at us.
"Ah, Dr. Carter! Yes, yes. We've just arrived. Yes, thank you. We'll head over right now."
After the brief call, Petr turned to us.
"Let's go right away."
We climbed into a Nike vehicle and headed for the Nike Innovation Kitchen, roughly ten minutes away.
The entire grounds belonged to Nike, and they were vast — like an expansive park with sleek, modern buildings suddenly sprouting up in the middle of it.
"Whoa."
Soon we arrived at a distinctive building that looked like a research lab at a glance. A staff member came out to meet us.
"Welcome to the Nike Innovation Kitchen. It's a pleasure to meet you, Jaehyuk."
I returned a casual greeting and we headed inside.
The lab building was enormous. It was divided into sectors — basketball, baseball, soccer, even hockey. There wasn't a sport it didn't cover.
And then, at last — the football sector.
I suspected it was the largest sector inside the entire facility.
Within that football sector, the staff guided us to a particular area.
"This is where we research and build football cleats."
A pristine white space. The walls displayed prototype shoes, samples of various materials, 3D-printed foot models, and more.
Waiting for us there was a friendly-looking middle-aged white man.
"Welcome! I'm Ben Carter, performance engineer."
My eyes were already darting everywhere, my head swimming — but I managed a nod and introduced myself.
"I'm Kim Jaehyuk. I play running back at Alabama."
"Great to meet you, Jaehyuk! You have no idea how badly I wanted to meet you!"
"Me?"
"Of course! I've watched your game footage and studied your data, and it left a deep impression on me. Thanks to that inspiration, I've created an entirely new stud pattern!"
Stud pattern?
Oh — he means the spikes on the bottom of the shoe.
"Alright then, shall we start with the 3D scanning? This way, please."
I did come here to make a brand product today, right?
Why did this feel like getting a custom shoe made?
The 3D scanning took all of ten minutes. The rest was up to the lab staff.
Afterward, we listened to Dr. Carter's explanation.
"We've analyzed your game footage and your high school data in meticulous detail. Especially your explosive first step, your unpredictable change of direction, and that instantaneous burst of acceleration as you slip between defenders — truly remarkable. We plan to scientifically break down these movements and build them directly into the shoe."
Carter manipulated the tablet, and my movements appeared converted into 3D motion-capture data.
Pressure distribution across the foot, changes in angle, ground reaction force — all quantified and displayed as numbers.
"Whoa."
Seeing it laid out like this was genuinely fascinating.
Though I had no idea how impressive it actually was. A point of comparison would have been nice.
"As you can see, the pressure applied to the inner and outer edges of your foot during cutting motions is highly unusual. And when you explosively push off the ground, an incredible amount of energy generates in the toe area. Based on this data, we're developing what we call a Multi-Directional Traction System."
"A Multi-Directional Traction System?"
What was that now?
When I frowned and tilted my head, Carter seemed amused by the look on my face and chuckled before explaining.
"Yes. We're redesigning the traditional stud pattern from the ground up. Instead of just moving forward and backward, we're optimizing the shape, angle, and placement of the studs so that explosive force can be delivered in every unpredictable direction — just like your movement. Like little springs, they let you launch instantly in any direction."
"Ooooh!"
Now that was pretty cool.
Carter's explanation set me buzzing — even me, who rarely gets worked up over anything. If what he said was true, I wanted to try the new shoe as soon as humanly possible.
"For now, here's the stud pattern we've designed."
Carter tapped the tablet, and a hologram appeared before us.
"Wow."
A hologram! It was my first time seeing one in person.
Leave it to a Nike lab.
The hologram rendered the sole of a football cleat. Some of the studs looked like sharp talons; others were clusters of fine nodules packed densely together.
Studying it, I figured it couldn't hurt to offer a thought or two.
"Would something like this be possible?"
"Please, go ahead."
"I want it to grip the ground perfectly, without any slipping, even during hard deceleration followed by re-acceleration. And the ankle should be free — but stable and supportive the instant an impact hits."
"Haha! You've had exactly the same idea we did! Incredible. As for the former, it's already been incorporated into the studs. As for the latter, we'll address it in the ankle section."
Carter manipulated the tablet again, and this time the collar of the shoe came into view.
"We plan to apply our 'Dynamic Fit Collar 2.0' technology. It's made of thin but exceptionally strong engineered fibers, so in normal use it doesn't restrict ankle movement at all — but the moment you make a sharp cut or take an impact, it locks the ankle down firmly to prevent injury."
"Wow, damn. Honestly, I understood about half of that, but it sounds impressive as hell."
"Haha. By our assessment, a low-cut or mid-cut would both suit your playing style, and this technology lets you have the freedom of a low-cut and the stability of a mid-cut at the same time."
From there, the explanations kept coming — the upper would use the latest cutting-edge materials, along with breakdowns of every material in every corner of the shoe.
In a word: everything was state-of-the-art. The one caveat was that because it was so cutting-edge, it could end up being something of an experimental gamble.
"Now, from here on out, it's our turn."
Petr, who had been listening quietly all this while, cut in.
"The design concept is the 'Red Flash' that slices across the field — fitting, given your nickname, Redline."
This time it was Petr's turn to work the tablet, and the shoe's design floated up in hologram form.
"Wow! That's seriously gorgeous!"
Cheryl gasped beside me.
Frankly, it was drool-worthy to me too — a shoe beautiful enough to make even someone with zero interest in design or style feel a flicker of envy.
"This is one of the best we've ever produced. And honestly, the credit for that goes to the inspiration you gave us, Jaehyuk."
Petr said it with a laugh, then launched into the design breakdown.
"Overall, it has a sleek, aggressive silhouette. For the upper, we'll use fine patterns and reflective materials that evoke your blistering speed to emphasize that dynamic quality."
"Reflective materials?"
"Yes! From now on, when you hit top speed, a redline will appear on your shoes too."
"Wow! I want to see it right now!"
Somehow Cheryl looked even more excited than I was. At that, Carter and Petr exchanged glances and shared knowing smiles.
"Heh heh. As it happens, we went ahead and built a prototype in advance, just for this occasion."
The words were barely out of his mouth before a staff member brought in a single pair of shoes.
Just as Petr had described — a beautiful shoe with a smooth matte-black upper, emblazoned with a vivid crimson Nike swoosh and etched with fine micro-patterns.
'Damn. That's clean.'
Seeing it in person, it was even prettier.
I'd wondered why the follow-up after camp was taking so long — now it was obvious. This was what they'd been building toward.
"This isn't the final version. There will be several more rounds of prototyping and testing. You'll wear them yourself, run on the field, and give us feedback — and we'll refine them based on that until the shoe is perfect."
I genuinely loved it.
A football cleat made entirely for me, and me alone.
And they were going to turn this into a brand product?
Sensing my unspoken question, Petr explained.
"The design will carry over to the retail version as-is. Only the materials and stud pattern will be adjusted for the mass market. Even then, we'll keep everything as close to yours as possible."
Anything was fine by me.
I slipped on the shoes the staff member had brought over. Made to my exact measurements, they felt like a natural extension of my own body.
Beyond that, thanks to the special materials, there was zero discomfort. If I weren't standing on them, I might forget I was wearing shoes at all. No sensation of weight whatsoever. The collar wrapping my ankle was flexible and soft, with no interference in my movement at all.
"There's a test field right next door. Would you like to run in them?"
"Right now, yes."
We headed straight for the field.
First, I jogged the field slowly. Light and easy, just a warm-up trot. Step by step.
The feel of the artificial turf came through vividly through the soles of my feet — a rawer, more immediate sensation than any cleat I'd worn before.
After a few laps of that, I picked up the pace.
Tat-tat-tat-tat—!
As my strides quickened, the shoe's true nature began to reveal itself.
Every time my foot struck the ground, it felt as though the force driving me forward was being amplified — as if tiny springs sat beneath my soles, each step landing lighter and faster than the last.
"Oh!"
It was uncanny.
My old cleats weren't bad by any means, but this was a completely different animal. I hadn't expected even the most advanced shoe on the market to feel like this.
"Now, we'll set up the cones. Treat them as defenders and blow past them."
"Can I run with the ball?"
"Of course."
The ball was handed over at once. The moment I gripped it, my Gift stirred faintly to life.
Sets of holographic cones materialized across the test field.
"Alright — here's your cadence! Set hut!"
Paaang—!!
With the virtual snap count, I exploded off the line, following the Gift.
Pababak!
The very first step was different. The studs' grip on the ground exceeded anything I'd imagined — a ferocious bite-and-release, as if my foot had been buried in the turf and then flung back out. My body shot forward, accelerating.
Screeeech—!
Approaching the first cone, I cut hard. The shoe absorbed my intent perfectly, without a single millimeter of slip. The instant my ankle threatened to buckle, the Dynamic Fit Collar caught it — gently, but with absolute certainty.
"Holy shit."
This thing was unreal.
Truthfully, there were moves I'd held back from over the years — but with these shoes, I felt like I could attempt all of them without hesitation.
Pababat.
One cone after another, I wove through them with dazzling footwork. Every time I snapped my steps left or right, that Multi-Directional Traction System — or whatever it was called — braced the ground from a different angle, exactly when I needed it.
"Wow."
"Seeing it live, his movement is even more remarkable."
"He's going to be a franchise star, no question."
The crowd murmured among themselves. When I finally came to a stop, Carter examined his tablet and let out a breath of awe.
"Ha! Incredible! Far more fluid than the data predicted!! Honestly, these numbers aren't thanks to the shoes — they're happening purely because Jaehyuk himself is simply too good..."
At Carter's words, my expression turned a touch awkward.
The truth was, everything I'd just done had been run on the Black Line. Since this wasn't an actual game, not even the Latent Line Perception had activated.
But my real highlight reel happens on the Red Line.
At minimum, I could run one-and-a-half times wilder than what they'd just witnessed.
'Well, they say they'll be collecting live-game data going forward...'
I was already looking forward to the game where I'd finally get to run in the finished pair.
Only a few months remained until the college regular season.
There was already nobody out there who could stop me — and now, I'd just strapped on a straight-up cheat item.