Heisman? I'll Take It.
“......”
“......”
The broadcast booth could only stare blankly at their monitors. Several seconds had passed since the touchdown, and still neither man had managed to open his mouth.
Only when the feed cut to a close-up of Jaehyuk did they snap out of their trance, as if waking from hypnosis, and finally speak.
“T-Touchdoooown!!! An opening-play touchdown for the Alabama Crimson Tide!!!”
“What on earth did we just witness?! Number 21, Kim Jaehyuk of the Crimson Tide, stepped into the end zone on the very first play of the game!!”
“That was sheer, overwhelming movement!! The ability to kill a full sprint dead in its tracks, and then explode straight back into acceleration!!!”
“And at the end, he spun clean past the Bruins' safety, Atumbawe! Beating a safety like that with a single move — it's simply astonishing!”
Excitement coursed through their entire bodies. Eyes flickering wildly, the two commentators were only now spitting out the play they'd just witnessed.
“He's a freshman who just enrolled this year! This is his first college game — and he turned his very first carry into a touchdown! That is an extraordinarily rare feat in the history of college football!”
“It wasn't just any first carry, either! It was the opening touchdown of the game — an eighty-yard touchdown, no less!”
While the internet burned white-hot, Bryant-Denny Stadium had descended into outright pandemonium.
“AAAAAHHH!!!! KIIIIIM!!!”
“Jaehyuk! Jaehyuk! Jaehyuk! Jaehyuk!”
“Thank you for coming to us! Thank you so much!!”
“ROOOOLL!! TIIIIIDE!!!”
Screams and cheers, layered over the marching band's blare, churned into pure, glorious bedlam.
The roar of well over a hundred thousand people didn't merely fill the stadium — it reverberated through the entire city.
And that roar pressed down hard on the Bruins, whose composure was already hanging by a thread.
“Get it together!”
Coach Foster shouted himself hoarse at his players, but his own footing was shaking no less than theirs.
What the hell is that monster?!
When he'd first heard about Jaehyuk, he'd written him off as nothing more than a promising high school recruit. And honestly, every condition around the kid had been ambiguous.
His stats and records? Yes, he'd grant that they were historically great.
But the stage had been Kansas. Then there was the fact of his ethnicity — East Asian — and a physical frame that lagged behind the norm. On top of that, Jaehyuk had rarely ever been tackled, so even his durability remained unproven.
No wonder Foster had jumped to the conclusion that no player could rampage across the college field the way he had in high school.
That was no luck.
An untrained eye might have chalked up Jaehyuk's heroics to fortune, but to a professional like Coach Foster, it was anything but.
Sure, a touchdown like that one had its share of conditions falling neatly into place. The point was that a performance like Jaehyuk's was no coincidence.
“Coach, I think we need to adjust the scheme.”
The Bruins' defensive coordinator approached cautiously and offered his opinion. If he hadn't known, fine — but now that he did, changing the strategy was the right call.
“Rate number 21 as a threat on par with Ryan.”
“Understood. I'll keep the blitz in mind as well.”
Coach Foster nodded, then chewed his lip as he watched Alabama convert the extra point.
“Damn it......”
Something told him today's game was not going to be smooth sailing.
“WAAAAHH!!!”
The moment Jaehyuk scored, Eunbi shot up from her seat and hopped up and down for joy. The rest of the family threw their arms around one another, savoring the moment to the fullest.
Nearby, another pack of fans roared out cheers like battle cries, whipping red towels over their heads.
“SEE!! What did I tell you!! I said Kim Jaehyuk would deliver!! He's the savior of the Tide!!!”
“Shiiit!! Fine! You were right!! AHAHAHAHA!!”
“This year's different, Tide!! All the way to the championship!!”
Then, mid-celebration, Derek and his friends abruptly turned and bowed deeply toward Jaehyuk's family.
“Huh?!”
Amid all the frenzied screaming, the sudden bow left Jaehyuk's family — and the fans around them — utterly bewildered.
“Thank you soooo much for sending Jaehyuk to Alabama!!!”
“I love kimchi! I love K-pop! Do you know the Octopus Game?”
“Thank you, family of Jaehyuk!!!”
“Jaehyuk is going to be a franchise star for Alabama!! We'll be cheering him on to the very end!”
At Derek's outburst, the people around them began to realize who they were.
“Gasp! Jaehyuk Kim's family?!”
“Those Korean folks must be his family!”
“Holy—! They've been right in front of us this whole time!!”
Suddenly the center of attention, Jaehyuk's family grew a little flustered.
“Please give our big brother lots of love!”
When Eunbi waved and called that out, laughter and cheers burst up all around them.
The game resumed shortly after. By then, Jaehyuk had already settled onto the bench.
“That's my bro, and I gotta say — he looks badass.”
“Watch your mouth, Minhyuk.”
“Seriously, he's insanely cool.”
“He is. That's my son, and he's genuinely impressive. But Minhyuk, Eunbi — you two have no idea how cool this family is.”
“Dad, you don't have to shoehorn us in. I'm being genuinely awed by Jaehyuk right now.”
“Heh heh......”
The moment he returned to the bench, stares rained down on him. Jaehyuk sat, feeling the stadium din — loud enough to make his ears ring — wash over him.
“Seriously, how are you this calm about it?”
“Jaehyuk! You absolute madman! The opening drive of the season opener — your first carry in a regular college game — and you cap it with a touchdown!”
“You owe me a touchdown celebration later. Who scores and just walks back like that?”
“Hey, I was supposed to run downfield for pass coverage, and I just stood there staring like an idiot, okay? Are you actually insane?”
Attention poured in from every side. Jaehyuk simply shrugged.
“We haven't even won yet. It's one touchdown.”
“WHAT?! One touchdown?!!”
“Heh heh......”
“I guess football's just that easy for you. Yeah, yeah, sure it is.”
“HAHAHA! Good, good! This year, you're the only one we trust, Kim Jaehyuk!”
The bench was warm and boisterous. With the team's fortunes so bleak lately, it was only natural that spirits soared at the arrival of a player who looked like the next-generation ace.
Well — except for the running backs, whose faces were anything but bright. Jaehyuk's brilliance meant, in effect, that the snaps left for them were shrinking by the play.
“Well, I barely did anything out there, so I don't even need to rehydrate. Alright, meeting time. Everybody gather up.”
Jayden Roberts, the mountainous offensive lineman, chuckled and called the players in. The men who'd taken part in the drive soon clustered around the coaching staff.
“Good work, everyone. It may have been a chaotic situation, but you handled it well. That said, I did spot some things to clean up, so let's go over them.”
DeBoer replayed the drive on his tablet.
“See their number 99 over here? Lloyd.”
“Yes, sir! That's my man!”
“He slants out to the sideline here. It's only one drive in, so I can't say for certain, but stay conscious of it and shut it down.”
“Yes, sir!”
“And just as we expected, their second level of defense has its eyes locked on Ryan. So let's design routes that send the other receivers deeper. And Danny — that short-pass action on the last drive was excellent.”
“Thank you, Coach!”
“But you're settling too much once you find the open space. Keep moving a little.”
“Got it, Coach.”
The tactical meeting rolled on. A single drive couldn't yield much data, but the instructions came fast and varied all the same.
One player at a time, DeBoer called each name and delivered his notes — until at last it was Jaehyuk's turn.
Everyone waited to hear what he would say. DeBoer simply looked at Jaehyuk and gave him one line.
“Keep doing exactly what you're doing.”
“Whoa.”
DeBoer was famously strict. He didn't grip players like a hawk, but he was the type who never let even the smallest detail slide. For him to wave Jaehyuk through without a single correction — in his third year here, that was a first.
“Unbelievable! That's our Jaehyuk! He beat the drill-sergeant coach himself!”
Ryan grinned ear to ear and slung an arm over Jaehyuk's shoulder. Jaehyuk stared at him for a long moment, then asked out of nowhere:
“You said you're declaring for the draft next year, right?”
“Hm? Yeah. Probably?”
“Then this is your last season.”
“Guess so, sadly. I should get to play more years alongside you, Jaehyuk — time's a cruel thing!”
Ryan Williams, young-faced for his age but already a fourth-year senior. Jaehyuk smirked at him.
“Then just follow me up to the league.”
“Oh, I will! If it's you, Jaehyuk, you'll be my biggest rival.”
“First things first — let's win a championship.”
“......Huh?”
The words caught Ryan completely off guard. He froze for a beat.
“This season. Whatever it takes — let's win a title.”
“OOOH!! Yes! Let's do it! I want that championship so badly!”
“In exchange, I'm sweeping up all the individual hardware.”
At that, Ryan's eyes lit up as if he'd just discovered a jewel — and he gazed at Jaehyuk exactly like a man who had.
“Then let's compete! If we're chasing a championship anyway, you might as well set your sights on the Heisman Trophy!”
“The Heisman? What's that?”
“Huh? No way! You don't know what the Heisman Trophy is!?”
That's what I'm asking.
Jaehyuk waited patiently for the explanation.
“Hmm, simply put — it's the MVP award for college football!”
“Ah.”
“Alabama's had four winners. Mark Ingram Jr., Derrick Henry, DeVonta Smith, Bryce Young. Everyone except Mark is active in the NFL right now, and absolutely tearing it up.”
Only four?
The thought flickered through his head — and then he remembered that there were well over 120 D1 college football teams alone. Selecting the single best player out of all of them: the competition was beyond imagining.
Sounds good to me.
Jaehyuk, who had never once cared about awards, felt a sudden hunger stir. The desire to be the best had always been his engine — and the Heisman Trophy was, at the very least within college football, nothing less than proof of being the best.
“Come to think of it, no true freshman has ever won the Heisman! Jaehyuk — aren't you going to go make history?!”
Just then, the signal for the change of possession sounded. The Bruins, stuffed on their drive, had settled for a field goal — three points. The score stood at 7–3, but thanks to the blazing-fast touchdown, Alabama held an overwhelming edge in momentum.
Jaehyuk checked his equipment alongside Ryan, rose, and pulled on his helmet. The visor masked half his face — but the exposed corner of his mouth was curled into a smile.
“The Heisman. I'll take it.”
To carve out a brand-new page of history.
Back on the field, the atmosphere had undeniably changed. Opponents glared at me with burning, poisonous eyes.
And of course the visor means we can't even lock eyes.
This is exactly when a good stare-down would get their blood boiling, too.
Heh.
When I snorted at my own little fantasy, the man across from me looked ready to murder me on the spot.
“White 3! Alpha 25! Check! Check! Alert! Eagle!......”
College play calls were unmistakably more complex — the quarterback was reading the defense in real time and audibling on the fly. Had I not enrolled early and drilled the playbook in advance, it would have been a serious headache.
“Set—! Hut!”
The crack of pads. The thud of colliding bodies.
These players were far bigger than in high school — hardly students anymore, but full-grown men, human weapons with monstrous frames packed shoulder to shoulder.
A rapid patter of cleats. A black line bloomed across my vision — the Gift, stained dark — and I tore after the quarterback along it. The ball was extended toward me.
Hup.
I took the handoff and exploded forward. This route ran for the sideline — ignoring the middle, cutting outside!
“Damn it!”
“Stop him!!”
Defenders came flying with murder in their eyes. I snapped out a quick juke, weaving confusion through the pursuit.
It was a moment — short, if you called it short. But it was more than enough time for the quarterback and receivers to work with.
“Th-that's a fake!”
“He doesn't have the ball!”
“It's a pass!! Cover it!!!”
That first play had raised the alarm around me to a fever pitch — and now three defenders had bitten on the fake at once.
“Big catch, fellas.”
I tossed the quip over my shoulder at the defenders sprinting so dutifully the wrong way, while behind me the ball sailed safely into Ryan's hands.
Hup—!
Thud!
He was tackled the instant he made the catch, but the play ended cleanly — a twenty-five-yard completion.
“......”
“Hoo......”
It was only the offense's second snap of the game. And yet the faces of the Bruins' players had turned distinctly sour.
They stared at me and Ryan with troubled, unsettled eyes.
Sorry to break it to you, boys.
We haven't even gotten started yet.
A perfect, undefeated championship.
In this one game alone, I'm going to brand into their minds exactly what kind of player belongs on that throne.