The Flag on the Line

Reporter Lee Sang-hak returned from the United States and threw himself straight into an all-night editing session. After several days of round-the-clock work, the finished piece went straight to air on tn Sports — a cable special on Kim Jaehyuk, the Korean playing American football in America.

But American football was still a deeply niche sport in Korea.

The broadcast was assigned a terrible time slot.

"Tsk."

It was disappointing, but there was nothing to be ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠done about it. Sang-hak wrapped up the project anyway, hoping that at least someone out there would come to understand Jaehyuk's true worth.

Then came the day after the broadcast.

And tn Sports found itself flooded with far more attention than anyone had expected.

The tn Sports YouTube channel.

Uploading the special there turned out to be a stroke of genius. The reactions burned even hotter than they had on television, and before long Jaehyuk's footage had spread far enough to become a genuine online phenomenon.

Soon, people began digging up everything else they could find. And then, at last — a video some Korean YouTuber had stitched together from clips across the internet set off an absolute explosion.

Subtitled highlights cut together from overseas broadcasts — even reaction videos from foreign reviewer channels, spliced in for maximum effect.

"HOLY SHEEIT!!! Did you just see that?! That's a perfect stiff arm! He sent a guy that size FLYING with that little body?!"

"Look at that acceleration. He's on another level, man. I'm telling you right now — nobody at the high school level today can handle the Redline."

"WOOOOAAH! KIM JAEHYUK! The No. 2 ranked running back in the nation is finally here at our Alabama Crimson Tide!!!"

"They're starting a true freshman? Hmm, that's a questionable call, the Crimson Tide must be awfully shorthanded this yea— huh? HUH?! WHAT?! NO WAY?!"

"He's INSANE! No true freshman has EVER put up numbers like this in a debut! FIVE touchdowns! What more is there to say? Every other stat line is off the charts too!"

"The Alabama Crimson Tide! You could call this the greatest signing in the program's history! Five wins, zero losses — and the driving force behind it all, no matter what anyone says, is the Korean running back, Kim Jaehyuk!"

It was, in a word, an edit absolutely stuffed to the brim with national pride.

The tn Sports special had been the spark, but once this single YouTuber added subtitles and released his cut, it tore through every social media platform in a matter of hours. People who couldn't have told you the first thing about American football were watching it at least once.

"Wow, this is actually insane."

"He's seriously fast, isn't he?"

"There was a guy like this out there the whole time?"

Before long, people had tracked down Jaehyuk's social media accounts. After bingeing the videos he'd posted there, they fell for him completely.

The one most stunned by all this, as it happened, wasn't Jaehyuk himself — it was Eunbi and Minhyuk, the ones managing his accounts. Startled by the sudden influx of Korean fans, the two of them scrambled to figure out where it had all come from.

"It's got to be that broadcast, right?"

"That's my guess too!"

In truth, Reporter Lee Sang-hak had gone to Jaehyuk's family for interviews even before meeting Jaehyuk, so the family had known the piece was airing in Korea. But as the two of them combed through the internet, they came face to face with one massively viral video.

"A hundred and fifty million views?!"

"Unbelievable..."

Jaehyuk's video had blown up far beyond anything they'd imagined. The YouTuber had produced it with genuinely top-tier editing, and the timing had landed perfectly. Riding the algorithm, Jaehyuk's fame had shot straight into the stratosphere — and the view count was still climbing in real time.

"Whoa."

"The comments are blowing up too."

Once they'd watched the whole thing, the two of them shared the link in the family group chat. Then, glancing at the clock, Eunbi suddenly jumped.

"Ah! The game's about to start!"

"Is it that late already?! Mom!! Dad!! The game's starting!!"

NCAA Football, Week 6.

Alabama Crimson Tide versus Tennessee Volunteers.

A far bigger crowd had gathered than usual. This was a game boasting more than a hundred years of history. It didn't carry quite the venom of the Auburn Tigers rivalry, but the love and hate between these two programs ran more than deep enough for a proper war of nerves.

"Let's go!"

"Let's go, Kim Jaehyuk!!"

"This game! We absolutely CANNOT lose!!"

Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel was screaming, his eyes bloodshot. He looked like a man possessed by pure madness.

But his players were every bit as fired up.

"UWAAAAAH!"

"UH! UH! UH! UAAAAH!"

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

Of all the games on the schedule, this one could not be lost. Losing any other game might be forgiven — but this game alone had to be dragged into victory even if it killed them.

"We already beat them last year! This year's no different!!"

They were different.

But not a soul brought it up. Tennessee knew better than anyone that this year's Alabama Crimson Tide bore no resemblance to last year's — and their record already proved it.

The Volunteers stood at four wins and one loss. That single loss was a bitter wound dealt by the Georgia Bulldogs, one of the powers of the East.

Tennessee had also been one of the programs that had shown interest in Jaehyuk back in his high school days.

Kim Jaehyuk...

Josh had spent the entire week grinding through every strategy and scheme imaginable to stop the opposing running back. The team sitting atop the SEC standings, beyond any argument, was the Alabama Crimson Tide. Five wins, zero losses. Not a single defeat on the record.

Had they only been beating up on weak opponents?

Hardly. They had smashed the powerful Texas Longhorns. And they'd crushed the Arkansas Razorbacks too — not a team you'd rank among the West's top three, but plenty strong in their own right. In the SEC, there were no weak teams to begin with.

"I've said it a dozen times already, but that little Asian kid shatters just like anyone else when he gets tackled! He's slipped through everything so far — but not against our Volunteers!"

"You're damn right, Coach!"

"I'll break him myself!"

"We'll chew him up and spit out the pieces."

The players roared back, blazing. Every single one of them had fire in their eyes.

"Today, we plant the Tennessee Volunteers' flag on this field! Dying is fine — if you'd rather lose, then come back dead!!"

"UOOOOOO!!"

"Let's go! Volunteers! GO VOLS! GO!"

"Let's make 'Rocky Top' — OUR anthem — shake this whole stadium!!"

The Volunteers steeled themselves for battle, then marched onto the field at the announcer's call, roaring as one.

""UWOOOOO!""

The instant they emerged, a deluge of boos came crashing down. But the Volunteers' spirit didn't waver in the slightest — they simply fixed their eyes on the Alabama logo at midfield, driven by a single resolve: that was where the flag would go.

And then it was Alabama's turn to take the field.

Leading the charge came the team's elephant mascot, Big Al, in all his glory.

"WHEEEW—!"

"BIG AL!!"

"ROLL TIDE! ROLL TIDE!"

Behind him poured the Alabama players — a crimson wave surging out of the tunnel.

"UWAAAAAAAH!!"

"COME ON! BABY! COME ON!!"

"GET OFF!!"

The players egged themselves on as they entered, and that ferocious momentum swept the entire crowd of a hundred thousand Alabama fans off their feet.

And the headliner, as always, took the stage last — the player who had become the Crimson Tide's franchise star after barely five games.

Thud.

Thud.

Number 21 walked out with unhurried, deliberate steps, unlike anyone before him.

"ROLL REDLINE!!!!"

"RUN! REDLINE! RUN! RUN! RUN!"

The moment he appeared, the stands detonated. A running back of overwhelming ability who had become indispensable to Alabama almost overnight. An Asian player still a true freshman, yet already saddled with the title of the strongest in the program's history.

"KIM JAEHYUUUUK!!"

"SHOW US AGAIN TODAY!! SHOW US THE REDLINE!!"

A tidal wave of cheers swallowed the entire stadium. It was a roar so fierce that even the Tennessee Volunteers side shrank back this time.

And yet Kim Jaehyuk walked on in silence. Calmly. Steadily. Down the path he alone had to walk.

"WOOOAAAH!!"

"REDLINE!!"

Where every other player had burned with intensity, he was stillness itself. And strangely, it was that stillness that let the fans trust him so completely.

Kim Jaehyuk does not waver. Kim Jaehyuk never loses. Kim Jaehyuk always proves it. He simply shows them — with action.

THUD!

Standing at the very center of the field as if guarding the Alabama logo itself, Jaehyuk planted his foot and glared across at the Tennessee Volunteers.

The fans went absolutely berserk at the display. Even his own teammates, who hadn't been told beforehand, felt their chests burn.

Above heaven and earth, I alone am honored. One player — the one and only.

It was an all-time legendary entrance that said exactly that, without a single word.

REEEEEE—!

The referee's whistle blew, and after one last long look at the Volunteers, Jaehyuk turned and walked back to the Alabama sideline.

"WHEEEW—!!"

"That was COLD, Kim Jaehyuk!!"

"Go out there and kill 'em!"

"The Third Saturday in October is ours!"

By this point, even the Volunteers' morale was wobbling. The boos at their own entrance they could shrug off — but Jaehyuk's aura, witnessed in the flesh, was enough to drain the fight out of even the most elite college players.

"Get your heads straight!! This is enemy territory!"

Coach Josh pulled his players back together.

"Fine — credit where credit's due! That monster of a freshman running back is a lunatic the likes of which I've never seen. The proof is that even Alabama's players and fans — proud as they come ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠— don't rein him in for pulling stunts like that. They love it."

Credit where credit's due. Jaehyuk really was a monster.

But...

"He's still human. If he'd been that gifted from the start, he'd have been famous since he was a kid. There's a way to handle him. Remember the plan we spent all week building!"

""UH!""

The players nodded their answers. Josh looked each of them dead in the eye, then thrust his fist into the air.

"To ordinary people, you lot are monsters too. Kim Jaehyuk? Look at him. Take off that helmet and he's nothing but a baby-faced kid! You're scared of THAT?"

Jaehyuk had come to this game with the visor still fixed to his helmet — but when he briefly pulled it off, a slightly young Asian face emerged underneath.

Seeing it, Tennessee found a scrap of its courage again.

"Think about last year. Alabama's roster is actually WEAKER than last season. The only thing that got stronger is one running back."

""UH!!""

"Alright, boys. All you have to do out there is turn that kid into a half-cripple. Just hit him with ONE tackle that rattles his bones!!"

""UH!!!"

The Volunteers reset their minds, and the coin toss followed.

"Alabama wins the toss."

Alabama had won it. And then—

"We elect to start with the ball."

"...I'm sorry? Could you say that once more?"

"Alabama elects to start with the ball."

At the words of the Tide's captain, Trevor Johnson, the referee — and the Volunteers' captain alike — froze in disbelief.

"Very well. Alabama Crimson Tide will start with the ball! Tennessee Volunteers on defense!"

The Volunteers' captain, robbed of the ball without ever losing the toss, trudged back to the bench and delivered the news.

"What? They won the coin toss... and took the ball first anyway?"

"Yes, sir."

"What are they playing at?"

Josh, naturally, assumed it was some kind of gambit. For now, though, the game had to go on. He sent his defensive unit onto the field and kept a wary eye fixed on the opposing sideline.

What's your angle, DeBoer?

Surely, however much they were being underestimated, they wouldn't open the very first drive with a Jaehyuk run?

I can't tell.

Alabama's unpredictable move had dragged him straight into a mind game. By seizing the opening kickoff themselves, they'd scrambled his reads — he couldn't figure out what offense they'd actually prepared.

If Alabama had done the usual thing and been forced to take the ball first, they'd have slammed Jaehyuk into the opening drive to set the tone. But what if they were baiting him to expect exactly that, planning to open with the passing game instead?

"Damn Alabama. Those bastards have actually learned to think."

In the end, Josh made his choice. He keyed his microphone and called out to his linebackers.

"Watch the pass."

Josh's answer: pass coverage. Surely Alabama — arrogant as they were — wouldn't dare run the ball against this defense the way they had against everyone else.

-Copy that.

His linebackers evidently agreed, because they took their positions without a word of objection.

And so the game began.

"SET! HUT—! HIKE!"

Josh's eyes narrowed, locked onto the quarterback's every movement. But in that instant—

FWOOSH!

A streak of red tore off the line, blasting past the Alabama quarterback in the blink of an eye.

"!!!"

Josh and the entire Volunteers bench recoiled — and then they witnessed it.

"What the hell IS that...?"

A single red line slashed across the field. A violent, brutal sprint that answered, once and for all, exactly why the Crimson Tide had chosen to take the ball first.

KA-DA-DA-DA-DAAK!!

The longer the afterimage trailing behind No. 21 stretched, the colder the sweat broke out and the chill crawled up their spines. It wasn't a human running — it was a beast.

Josh could bear it no longer. He sprinted down the sideline, screaming.

"STOP HIIIIIM!!!!"

KRAKOOM!

But his desperate cry was buried, whole and final, beneath the sight of the Volunteers' defense being flattened by a stiff arm.