The Genius Reads the Field
In the VIP section of Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium, a group of spectators had gathered inside the enclosed, glass-walled suite to watch the game.
The VIP room was a blend of many different people, and its guest list was by no means a light one.
Ben Irvin, VP of Player Personnel for the Dallas Cowboys — an NFL franchise steeped in glorious tradition and history.
Leo Beck, an agent from Titan Sports Management, one of the largest and hottest agencies in the football industry.
And finally — Darren Woodson, the celebrated former player of the Dallas Cowboys.
As a legendary safety, he had won no fewer than three Super Bowls and served as the defensive cornerstone of the Cowboys.
At that very moment, all three of them were staring blankly at Jaehyuk's first drive, which had just come to an end.
And so, Jaehyuk's shout to the crowd as he rose from his seat, ball still clutched in his hand, came pouring through the audio feed and reached the three men loud and clear.
"...Ha! HAHAHAHA!!"
Clap clap clap clap.
Agent Leo applauded in admiration. Beside him sat Ben with a stiffened expression, and Darren wiping a hand down his face.
"Good call coming here to see it for ourselves. We heard there was a game nearby, but I never dreamed we'd witness something this insane," Darren said with a laugh, and Leo nodded along.
"At this point, we can't doubt Kim Jaehyuk any longer. He put up a record that will go down in football history in his very debut, but everyone kept making excuses — saying it was just a non-conference game."
"But this time it's a conference game. And the opponent is the Texas Longhorns, no less."
Murmuring those words, Darren began to explain what he'd analyzed.
"The Longhorns' defense wasn't bad. It was Jaehyuk's movement that tangled up their lanes."
"Ohh!"
Ben and Leo leaned in — they had, after all, been so focused on Jaehyuk himself that they'd missed what the defenses were doing entirely.
"The Longhorns' defense was playing with the pass in mind. Alabama even brought out a brilliantly disguised fake."
Darren stood in front of the whiteboard provided in the VIP room, and soon he was laying out the tactics.
"Alabama's linemen opened up a path as if they were driving straight up the middle. As I said, the Longhorns were expecting a pass, so the middle opened right up. But the details don't end there."
Darren slid the magnets on the board.
"Just like this — they shifted gradually to the left. They were securing the space on the right where Jaehyuk would run. The play up the middle was nothing but a decoy."
"A deception wrapped inside another deception...!"
"Exactly. The Longhorns eventually realized, too late, that it was a running game, and their linemen made the mistake of trying to plug the middle. But this is where the real story begins."
This time, Darren moved the magnets representing the Longhorns' second-level defenders and the Crimson Tide's receivers.
"Right off the snap, instead of shaking loose from the defenders, they blocked. Nothing unusual so far. But Jaehyuk's movement afterward is the key."
Darren moved Jaehyuk's magnet, tracing his path as though he had every step memorized.
"You've all probably only watched Jaehyuk's movement — but while he was running, the Longhorns' third-level defenders were moving like this."
Bit by bit, Darren shifted Jaehyuk's magnet and the Longhorn defenders' magnets at the same time...
"What the—?!"
"The lanes are overlapping!"
Chaos broke out among the defenders.
What was more, Jaehyuk had cleverly used the matchups between his fellow receivers and the second-level defenders to block the defenders' field of vision.
As a result, the third-level defenders had no choice but to chase the glimpses of Jaehyuk flickering across the chaotic field, tangling up with one another in their struggle to keep up.
"With the linebackers and the defensive backfield thrown into confusion, Jaehyuk did lose a bit of time making all those movements — but in the end, he still drove the offense forward more than sixty yards."
"That's Darren Woodson for you! That wide field of vision and tactical understanding — a reputation as a legendary safety well earned!"
Leo applauded, marveling at the explanation.
"I haven't done anything impressive. The impressive one is Jaehyuk himself. As a running back, he read tackles flying at him moment to moment and played as though he could see the entire field at once. If that's not coincidence, then he's a straight-up monster."
"This is maddening."
Ben shook his head, then walked over to the panoramic window and gazed down at the field.
Alabama was already lining up for their next offensive drive.
"Honestly, I came here to watch the Longhorns. Kim Jaehyuk? I don't judge a man's class off one flash of form."
The Dallas Cowboys — one of the most popular teams in the NFL, boasting a history so successful they'd earned the nickname America's Team.
They had won five Super Bowls, and even now remained a powerhouse that consistently reached the playoffs.
But they hadn't won a Super Bowl since 1995.
Brilliant in the regular season, they would always fall apart the moment they stepped into the postseason.
That was why Ben Irvin, VP of Player Personnel for the Dallas Cowboys, wanted to see a player's class, not some temporary stretch of hot form.
"And yet... my heart is wavering."
Ben murmured to himself.
Meanwhile, the next drive had begun with a pass.
Thrown while every eye was locked on Jaehyuk after his taunt, the ball landed perfectly, and Alabama advanced another ten yards.
The Alabama Crimson Tide began to grind out yardage, bite by bite.
The Longhorns were already flailing as though mired in quicksand.
"When a single player has this much influence on a game, you can't call it temporary form," Darren said with a smile.
Leo nodded in agreement at the same time.
"My company has scouted countless players, but that's astonishing. And hearing Darren's breakdown makes it even more so."
"He has plenty of playing years ahead of him. We can afford to watch and take our time figuring him out."
That's right — the game was only just beginning.
They settled in to watch the rest of the matchup between D1's elite programs unfold.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
CRUNCH!
They had entered the Red Zone.
But the Longhorns threw up a desperate defense and refused to simply hand over the points.
It was already 3rd & 5.
Two opportunities burned, now on their third down. Thirteen yards remained to the end zone.
"Damn it all. Did these bastards chug energy drinks or something? Suddenly they're strong as hell."
Danny rolled his shoulders, then shot a sidelong glance at the quarterback.
A look that said, we've set it up enough — time to use him, no?
Jaehyuk hadn't carried the ball once since the opening drive.
A pass to a receiver, a short pass to the tight end, then the quarterback scrambling himself before getting dragged down.
With far more happening than anyone expected, all eyes were gradually turning toward Jaehyuk.
"No."
But Ty answered flatly.
The opponent, too, was surely anticipating Jaehyuk's return by now, preparing for it in advance.
If they misread the play, it wouldn't just cost them points — Jaehyuk could get seriously hurt.
It's only thirteen yards.
At the same time, frustration was quietly building in Jaehyuk too.
The end zone was right there in front of his eyes — what on earth were they doing?
If they'd just handed him the ball, he could have scored a touchdown ages ago.
Tap tap.
"Huh?"
"Don't worry! This big brother's gonna get you your points!"
Ryan, who had clapped him on the back, grinned wide and took his position.
Watching him, Jaehyuk decided to wait and see just one more play, and lined up behind.
But all of it — every bit of it — was deception. And Jaehyuk realized it.
"Red 16..."
Amid a maze of complicated play calls, the direction of this drive was decided.
A run.
Heh. Son of a bitch.
So even his own team could get deceived.
Granted, there was no way he could know until the quarterback called it — that much was fair. That was why every play for every possible situation was drawn up in advance and drilled into them through practice.
Either way.
Jaehyuk's turn had come, and his eyes went cold and level as he stared straight ahead.
Thirteen yards.
Compared to the distance he'd covered so far, it was a cakewalk.
But he didn't let his guard down.
They got stronger.
That sixty-two-yard run just moments ago.
Truthfully, Jaehyuk had set off expecting to carry it all the way to a touchdown.
And yet he'd been brought down.
Which meant that, unlike before, the opposition's ability had improved dramatically.
Running sixty-two yards even so was impressive, sure — but a good chunk of that had been the play design doing him favors.
Up the middle this time.
A play that demanded he trust his fellow linemen.
Of course, with his Gift, Jaehyuk had no intention of plowing straight ahead — but he still had to move first.
"Ready—! Se-e-et—! Hut!"
His signature lazy cadence rang out, and Ty took the snap and handed the ball off to Jaehyuk.
Thump.
Ba-dum. Ba-dum. Ba-dum.
His vision widened, and the crimson lines pressed in around him. The instant he moved to drive up the middle as the play called for —
he saw a red line vanish.
They read it.
The middle is dead.
Time to decide on a fallback plan — as fast as humanly possible.
Ba-dum!
The lines flickered — vanishing and regenerating in rapid succession. Most of them faint, barely there.
"Whew!"
Jaehyuk thought even as he moved. One second had already slipped by with the ball in his hands.
"What the—?!"
Behind him, Ty panicked when Jaehyuk failed to punch through the middle, and the line began to show signs of collapse as the enemy defenders closed in.
"Hup!"
Here I go. Down my own road.
Tap!
Jaehyuk finally made his choice — he planted, threw a single stutter-step, then leapt into a backstep.
Moving backward. His hips twisted naturally along with the motion, and his body turned sideways.
"Oh, you son of a—!"
Even as quarterback, Ty threw a block to cover Jaehyuk.
In the meantime, the Longhorns' linebackers who had burst through the line began chasing Jaehyuk down.
Ba-dum!
A red line swung behind him, then cut sideways.
He followed it, sprinting — and in a flash, a linebacker came barreling into his flank.
Stumble.
But Jaehyuk's athleticism atop the red line was beyond human. He shifted his movement in an instant, rotating his body —
and the linebacker's tackle, inches from contact, sliced through empty air.
Minus ten yards at this point.
Jaehyuk had retreated a full ten yards behind the line of scrimmage, and his long wind-up was finally complete.
Twenty-three yards to go.
The instant he shook off his first man, an explosion of acceleration coiled around his entire body.
VWOOOM—!!
His cleats and his crimson uniform carved a single streak of red across the field.
The crowd, who had been hurling taunts at him with all their might, fell silent, holding their breath as they watched him run.
In that one moment — the broadcast crew, the viewers at home, and the benches of both teams watching from the sidelines —
everyone forgot to breathe and stared at nothing but Jaehyuk's back.
CRUNCH!
Jaehyuk dropped his stance and absorbed an oncoming defender with his shoulder, sending the man spinning to the turf.
A tackle answered with a tackle — he met it head-on without losing a shred of speed.
"......"
"......"
The broadcast crew shot to their feet at the monstrous sight.
The crowd in the stands, one by one, began rising from their seats at the unbelievable run.
A heart-pounding run. There was something in Jaehyuk's running that set everyone watching alight.
"Hup!"
"UWAAAH!"
Two more players latched onto him — the gatekeepers who'd been waiting in the end zone all along.
But within seconds, both of them lost sight of the Jaehyuk who'd been right in front of them.
"?!"
"Uh—uh?"
Jaehyuk had simply vanished.
Just as the players chasing him stood gaping in disbelief —
"Heheh..."
"What the fuck is that?"
A leap.
Jaehyuk hurled himself forward in a diving jump, sailed clean between the two defenders, threw a full somersault in midair, and landed.
He teetered on the edge of falling for a split second, but braced himself with the hand that wasn't holding the ball and stuck the landing.
Honestly, he hadn't needed to. He was already in the end zone.
"AAAAAAHHH...!!"
"Jaehyuk! You mother—!"
"HOLY CRAP!!"
"OH MY GOD! Jaehyuk! Jaehyuk! Yes! WAHAHAHA!!"
"That jump was straight-up insane, I'm telling you!!"
Every Alabama player on the field stormed into the end zone.
They swarmed Jaehyuk, screaming cheers and gasping in awe as they grabbed him and shook him.
In stark contrast, the Longhorns' players trudged back to their bench, heads hanging.
The broadcast captured that contrast in full and beamed it live to every screen in the country.
For a brief moment, the broadcast booth had gone dead silent.
But soon, like beasts stirring from hibernation, the two commentators creaked back to life.
"Th-the Alabama Crimson Tide! What on earth did they sign?! Where did they drag that monster from?!!"
"A performance that made my own eyes doubt themselves! That was right up there with Jerome Simpson's flip touchdown for the Cincinnati Bengals!"
"He jumped with TWO defenders right in front of him! That is an absolutely absurd performance!!"
"The true freshman Kim Jaehyuk, showing a monstrous side from the very start of the season! There's simply no way not to be excited every time this man takes the field!"
A torrent of lavish praise poured from the broadcast booth, and the chat reactions were just as feverish.
Everyone from people spamming the chat declaring it the college football play of the year, to those dying to know just how far Jaehyuk would go — the chat window dissolved into total mayhem.
What's more, Jaehyuk's jumping touchdown was already being clipped into GIFs and posted across every online community.