“Me?” Min Ah asked.

Donghae nodded. “Yes. The president wants us to represent the school this coming competition.”

She shook her head. “No. I won’t-”

“And there’s nothing you can do with that. Remember, he’s Kim Heechul. No one can, and no one should, say no to him. In short, you can’t back out.”

Yunho walked towards his two club mates. “Come on, Min Ah. You’re the best player here. You can do it. The whole school will cheer for you.”

Min Ah sighed. “You don’t understand…” she trailed off.

Donghae tapped her shoulder. “You can do it. We can do it.”

The classes finally ended. Min Ah left school with Donghae. That’s the usual scene after dismissal – Donghae walks Min Ah home. They’re neighbors. But today, the trip’s a bit quiet.

“Yah. Is it about the monkey?” Donghae asked, breaking the silence.

Min Ah shook her head. “No.”

“Tch. Stop denying.”

“I told you, it’s not about him. He’s not reason.”

“Then who?”

Min Ah didn’t answer. She wants to run to avoid further questions from the fish walking beside her. But something’s stopping her from doing so. She just sighed.

“You don’t want to join the chess competition because you’re afraid that you might see Eunhyuk there. And since you’re not yet over with your feelings for him, you want to avoid him,” then Donghae shook his head. “I don’t really get why you broke up with him. You still love him, right? And I’m pretty sure that he still feels-”

Min Ah cut him off. “Since when did you become this talkative?”

“Tch. Admit it. I’m correct, right?”

She sighed in defeat. “I quit.”

“Does that mean that you’re already accepting Heechul’s offer?”

“No.”

“Min Ah, please. The principal’s expecting much from us. He wants the school to win and that means you should play. You already have his trust and all you have to do is join the competition and give your best shot.”

Silence. Min Ah just continued walking.

“Aish. Fine. I’ll just ask Heechul to have Yunho to replace you. Then I’ll just do my best to win all my games since I don’t really trust Yunho’s skills-”

Min Ah stopped. They’re in front of her house now. “Okay… I’ll join.”

Donghae smiled and hugged her. “Thank you, Min Ah! I’m sure they’ll be very happy to hear this news.”

“Okay, okay. Now, let me go.”

“Sorry,” then he released her. “So, I’ll just see you during practices! Bye!” then he ran home.

Min Ah sighed. “Eotteohke?” then she went inside her house.

---------------------------------------------------------------

“Are you ready?” Heechul asked.

“Of course!” Donghae answered with much enthusiasm.

He glared at him. “I’m asking Min Ah, not you.”

“Fine.”

“… I think I am,” Min Ah said.

Heechul smiled. “Good. Don’t forget to relax. Concentrate on the game. Defeat them all. Okay?”

She nodded. “Okay,” then she stood up. “Excuse me,” then she left her seat.

She went outside the conference hall. She sat on a bench and sighed. There’s still 15 minutes left before the competition starts. 15 minutes is enough for her to breathe some fresh air.

Then someone sat beside her.

“Long time no see.”

Min Ah looked beside her. Her eyes widened. “Y-You?”

Eunhyuk smiled. “I knew it. You’re joining.”

She stood up but Eunhyuk pulled her back to her seat. “Yah! What do you want?”

“A little chat with you,” then he moved closer. “Want to have some deal?”

“Tch. What?”

“I’m pretty sure that we’ll see each other later, on the same table. So, do your best. Defeat me.”

She smiled. “You know that it’s easy for me to do that.”

He shook his head. “Not today, Min Ah. I’m a lot better now. So if I won the game,” he moved forward again, invading a part of Min Ah’s privacy. “You’re mine.”

Her eyes widened again. “W-What?”

He stood up. “If you don’t want me anymore, defeat me. If you still love me, let me win with just three moves,” then he left.

The contest finally began. Each contestant will have a total of seven games and now, they’re done with five. Two games left. Donghae already has three wins and Min Ah with five, easy wins. The pairings were already announced. And for Min Ah’s sixth game, she’s faced with Eunhyuk.

“Let’s begin,” then Eunhyuk moved a pawn. “You’re turn.”

Min Ah moved a pawn, too. Then she tapped the chess clock. “Do you really think you’ll win?”

“Of course,” he said after tapping the clock. “Don’t worry. I’ll make this game a bit faster.”

“Tch,” then she made her second move and hit the clock. “Let’s just see.”

After five minutes of playing, it turned out that Min Ah’s going to lose. She’s starting to feel irritated. She hates losing. And losing to her ex-boyfriend is what she hates the most.

“I told you, I’m a lot better now,” Eunhyuk said.

Min Ah hit the clock. “Shut up.”

He used his knight to eat Min Ah’s queen. “Didn’t see that?”

She bit her lower lip and moved her bishop. “I did,” and stopped her chess clock.

“Why did you break up with me?” he asked after his turn.

“… I don’t love you anymore.”

“Really?” then he made his final move. “Then give me another chance to make you love me. Checkmate.”

Min Ah stared at the board. He’s right. She lost. She closed her eyes and sighed. He defeated her in just six minutes. She stood up and walked away. But Eunhyuk caught her arm.

“… Saranghae,” he whispered.

A smile crossed her face. Good thing she’s not facing him. “I know. You’ve said that before.”

“So… is it okay for me to be your boyfriend again?”

She finally turned around to look at him. “You defeated me. I can’t do anything with that,” then she held out her hand. “Nice game, Mr. Lee.”

Eunhyuk smiled and shook hands with her. “Thanks, Ms. Jung.”

*************************************************************************************

SORRY!! I've been very busy these past few months so, I can't update.:((

AND NOW, I'M BACK!! Consider this as my comeback oneshot.:))

For iloveyou18, hope you liked it!!

- ctrl_me