A Rival at the Nike Innovation Kitchen

The Nike Innovation Kitchen wasn't hosting Jaehyuk alone.

Already there ahead of him was Cedric Baxter Jr., better known as CJ Baxter — the starting running back for the Texas Longhorns.

In high school, he'd been a five-star monster recruit. The moment he entered the college ranks, he started as the Longhorns' featured running back from his freshman season — the first true freshman starter in Texas since 1995.

"Huh? What's going on?"

Wrapping up his session and heading for the exit, Baxter's attention snagged on a commotion coming from one side of the facility.

Gasps of admiration. Cheers.

Was there any other reason to hear sounds like that in this place?

"Baxter?"

"I'll go take a quick look."

Leaving his group behind, he headed toward the noise. Before long, he found the test field.

Tat-tat-tat!

"Whoa?"

A man was sprinting across the test field.

He was fast — quite fast, actually.

...He's seriously fast?

But as Baxter kept watching, he realized the speed exceeded anything he'd expected.

Who the hell was this guy?

The moment the runner finally stopped and pulled off his helmet, Baxter couldn't help but do a double take.

"Holy shit, he's Asian?!"

The last identity he'd ever expected. The kid looked barely older than a high schooler — but what shocked him far more than any of that was the fact that he was Asian.

However brief it had been, Baxter had watched him run with his own eyes. He wasn't the least bit inferior to Baxter himself — no, honestly speaking, there'd been moments when the man felt like a wall. Baxter had simply refused to admit it.

Who is this guy?

Not just straight-line speed, either — his deceleration, re-acceleration, and change of direction were all elite. As an opponent, there couldn't possibly be anyone trickier to face. And his position was probably...

"Running back."

A competitor at his own position.

Baxter couldn't hold back any longer and walked straight toward the test field.

"Oh! Player Baxter?!"

An employee who happened to recognize him cried out in surprise, and in an instant, all eyes converged on him.

"I was here on an invitation and happened to catch him running. I hope I'm not intruding."

Baxter asked with a stiff expression. The employees exchanged glances, visibly flustered.

That was when Cheryl, Jaehyuk's agent, stepped forward.

"Oh my, Player Baxter. It's been a while."

"Hm? Ah, Director Sanders. I never expected to run into you here."

"My client brought me all the way out here. It seems you have some interest in our athlete — am I right?"

"So this is a player you manage personally, Director."

Meanwhile, Jaehyuk remained completely absorbed in his new shoes. He bounced lightly on his feet, flexed his ankles, broke into quick short strides.

"Jaehyuk! This is CJ Baxter. An ace running back playing for the Texas Longhorns."

Only then did Jaehyuk turn his head. A listless gaze swept over Baxter once, casually.

"Texas Longhorns? SEC?"

"CJ Baxter."

When Baxter offered his name with a jerk of his chin, Jaehyuk nodded back.

"Kim Jaehyuk. Alabama Crimson Tide. I'll be playing starting this season. See you on the field."

"Alabama? Ah! So you're that ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠guy. The Asian who got into Alabama. I heard they even promised you a starting job."

"That's right."

As Jaehyuk nodded, Baxter's curiosity deepened.

"I caught a bit of your run just now. Not bad."

"Not bad?"

Jaehyuk smirked. Then he spoke with brimming confidence.

"There's no running back better than me. And you call that 'not bad'? Aren't your standards a little too high?"

"Ha. You're a funny one. Aren't you a freshman this year? Do the Tide not bother hazing their rookies or what?"

"Facing overwhelming skill, everyone kneels on their own. If anything, I'm the one who sets the discipline around here."

It was an infuriating thing to say. And yet, Baxter found himself liking this cocky freshman. He had seen the kid run with his own eyes, after all. With that kind of ability, beating Baxter was well within the realm of possibility.

But.

"Individual talent matters. But a game can't be won on individual talent alone."

Baxter himself had been a five-star running back prospect once. His talent was so recognized that he became Texas's first freshman starter in a staggering eighteen years. But college ball and high school ball existed in different dimensions. Unlike high school, where he could chew through entire games single-handedly, football at this level had become a chess match of elite strategy and true team play. Within it, Baxter had only grown sharper and more complete through countless games of experience.

It's like watching my old self.

He'd been exactly like that as a freshman — convinced he could do everything alone. But the college ranks were where monsters talented enough to hold that belief all gathered. To survive, the whole team had to beat as one heart.

"Alabama, was it? Our school's been in the SEC for a couple of years now, and the old East-West split's gone — so we can run into each other whenever."

"Sure."

As Jaehyuk answered while playing with the ball, Baxter shifted slightly. A half-step.

And in that instant —

Jaehyuk's Gift activated without warning.

"!!"

His nerves at full alert, Jaehyuk backpedaled in a heartbeat. The onlookers who'd been following the exchange of words tilted their heads at his sudden movement.

But Baxter alone flinched.

"Good instincts."

Baxter grinned. And Jaehyuk was genuinely impressed.

"So you're not bad yourself, huh?"

An opponent strong enough to trigger his Gift outside of an actual game. Which meant the Gift was evaluating Baxter's movements as though they were live fire — the real thing.

Jaehyuk, who had been dismissing him until this very moment, finally faced his opponent squarely.

"I'm looking forward to it. So the college ranks are full of guys like you, huh?"

"You think there are many of me? But as teams go, plenty of places carry the same firepower."

The moment his words ended — inside ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠that ambiguous off-beat — Baxter suddenly moved.

Pat!

It was fast enough that the stunned onlookers lost him from their vision entirely. In the next breath, Baxter's hand shot toward the ball in Jaehyuk's grip.

But Jaehyuk's Gift had already been running, and in that sliver of a moment, he unleashed a juke move. A fake — then another fake.

Baxter, who hadn't bitten on the first, swallowed hard on the second. That was all Jaehyuk needed to slip clean past him.

"?!!"

"Hup!"

The crowd gasped. And Baxter, having failed to lay a hand on him, stared blankly for a moment before breaking into a grin.

"Puhahaha! This kid's the real deal? Shit — fine. Now I'm actually excited for this season."

Despite being left in the dust, Baxter threw his head back and laughed, giving Jaehyuk a thumbs up. Then, as if nothing had happened, he waved a casual hand and was gone.

"See you on the field, you monster. Heh heh."

It lasted only moments. But it was an incident that would burn itself into everyone's memory.

"Whaaaaat..."

"What did we just watch?"

"He was too fast — I couldn't even see it properly."

"Player Jaehyuk got past Baxter?!"

"The Longhorns' ace..."

Though he'd missed the entire 2024 season with an injury, CJ Baxter had returned the following year and racked up glorious numbers as the Longhorns' relentless, downhill runner — a player in a completely different class from Jaehyuk, who had only just entered college. Yet this same man had been slipped by a freshman, and worse, had seemed to acknowledge him on the spot. The staff could hardly keep their wits about them.

And through it all, Jaehyuk just tapped the ground with his new cleats and asked Carter:

"Does that get recorded in the data too? I ran that one with a little sincerity."

Shoes. All he'd ever been thinking about was the shoes.

With the brand product planning and the custom cleat testing complete, Jaehyuk declined the staff's offer to introduce him to other famous figures and headed back to Alabama. He paid his respects to the great Phil on the way out, then returned to Cheryl's car. It had been an enormously satisfying outing.

"Take care of that body until the season starts. See you next time."

"Get home safe."

After sending ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Cheryl off as well, Jaehyuk returned to his dorm with his new pair of football cleats as war trophies. Then he uploaded the footage Carter had shot for him, at his request, to the family group chat.

It'll take them a while to get all the way here. I should find them a place to stay in advance.

After reading Eunbi's messages, he walked into his dorm room — and Luke was there to greet him.

"Yo! Back from your trip?"

"Why are you here."

"Huh?"

"Go outside and train."

"Seriously..."

Luke stared at him in disbelief. The truth was, Jaehyuk had been living for the pleasure of messing with this guy lately. His reactions were just too satisfying.

"Let's go."

"You literally JUST got back! Rest for once!"

Rest? What kind of word is that.

He'd gotten new shoes, which meant it was time to break them in.

The regular season opener was finally right around the corner. Maybe that was why the atmosphere among the teammates felt heavier than usual — everyone had gone taut as a bowstring. The starters especially seemed one touch away from detonating.

"Aren't you nervous at all?"

Luke asked during a training session together. He'd been a walk-on linebacker candidate all this time, but during spring practice he'd earned a promotion to the rotation.

He'd been over the moon about it — the night he found out, he threw a party. And he couldn't stop thanking Jaehyuk. Which, to be fair, had been thanks to Jaehyuk's help. Precisely speaking, thanks to his Gift.

Jaehyuk had corrected all his bad habits and rebuilt his form from the ground up so his technique wouldn't degrade in the process. It hadn't been easy, of course — no one fixes a decade's worth of hardened posture and habits in a short span. But in the end, they'd managed to rework several of the worst ones.

Once it's all fixed, this guy has some serious potential.

Linebacker aptitude: A-.

Minus and all, that was still an A grade. It would be stranger if he couldn't play.

"Nerves are for the rosin-bag holders."

"So our whole upperclassman roster is rosin-bag holders?"

"Looks like it."

"You're insane."

Somewhere along the way they'd grown close enough for this kind of banter. Luke's easygoing personality had played its part in that. None of the condescending senior posturing — instead, he took Jaehyuk's opinions seriously. Spending months at Alabama, Jaehyuk had noticed something: every one of these guys carried a certain edge in their temperament. It made sense. They were all players who'd earned their way into Alabama with staggering credentials, brimming with self-pride. If anything, Luke was the odd one out.

Ah — though there was one more oddball.

"Yo! Putting in work again today!"

"Good to see you, senior!!"

"Heya."

Ryan Williams. Alabama's ace. Whatever you said about his skill, the kid had an remarkably open mind — bright, warm, everyone's friend. Thanks to that, he and Jaehyuk had grown quite close, and lately they even trained together often. Beyond him, Marcus and Horton, whom Jaehyuk ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠had already broken the ice with, rounded out the crew. Jaehyuk, Luke, Marcus, and Horton — the four of them rolled together most days.

Marcus has a bit of a my-way-or-the-highway streak, sure.

But the guy knew how to have a good time when the moment called for it. Which had produced quite a few hilarious episodes — details omitted.

"Our opener is against the UCLA Bruins. Our monster freshman's debut turns out to be a non-conference game."

Ryan threw an arm around Jaehyuk's shoulder as he said it brightly. That enormous Alabama 'A' chain glinted, almost blinding.

"Still, the UCLA Bruins are a powerhouse, aren't they? Sure, they moved to the Big Ten, but they're still legit!"

"They are. We're counting on you, Jaehyuk! Heh heh."

That was no joke — he meant it. Jaehyuk was in the Alabama team group chat now, and his name got tagged and mentioned on the regular. They'd run scrimmage after scrimmage among themselves to measure where everyone stood, and apparently his performance had been impressive enough that the whole team had its hopes up. Not that he had any intention of disappointing them. It would be hard to disappoint them in the first place.

"By the way, both our first and second games are non-conference matchups."

"Yeah. Which means you'll probably get rotation snaps in game two too, Luke."

"Lezgooo! I can't wait!"

"The real test is actually game three. Texas Longhorns."

From the third game on, it was conference play. And their first SEC opponent was the very team that CJ Baxter called home. The Longhorns were known as a ferociously strong program — people said the season didn't truly begin until game three.

"We have to win."

Ryan's eyes flared with sudden intensity. Come to think of it, this guy's goal was the championship. And this year might be his last. With the NFL Draft possibly awaiting him next spring, a title was everything. His individual numbers were great, but the team's results had fallen short year after year, and it had clearly gnawed at him. Yet even so, Ryan had never transferred — he'd stayed and poured himself into the team.

Romantic, honestly.

Jaehyuk liked him quite a lot. Which meant he'd have to put a championship trophy in the man's hands.

"Don't worry. As long as I'm here, we win."

"Haha! Yeah! I'm putting all my faith in you, Jaehyuk!"

Ryan beamed. Watching the two of them, Luke snorted and shook his head.

I'll blow them all away, spectacularly.

Proof, once again. His heart pounded as if the Gift itself had already activated at the thought of stunning everyone.

His college debut was right around the corner.