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It has been a good weekend, Changmin concluded.

He was sitting with his back against the wall, long-legs crossed together, and fingers playing with a wooden figure of a white Knight; a seemingly perpetual smile stuck on his face as he observed the girl in front of him.

Sooyoung was lying on her stomach; twin pillows crushed between the plush carpet and her slumped form. Her features were arranged to that of someone in deep thought, lips pouting and eyebrows scrunched up together as her index finger hovered above the white Queen on her side of the board. She looked like she was deciding on a life and death situation – a stark contrast to the contented glee apparent on her opponent’s face.

Eleven black chess pieces were scattered on a small space before her – a good four piece lead to Changmin’s seven captured pieces – and yet she still felt head on aggressive in finishing the game on her favor.

“Your turn, honey.” Changmin said sappily.

“I know.” came the annoyed reply, “I’m still thinking.”

She hesitated for a few seconds before finally moving the Queen diagonally four spaces up. The resolute smile on the boy’s face gave way to a wide grin.

Changmin neatly put the white Knight back in its place – beside the other pieces standing straight against the wall – and moved his hands quickly across the board. The last of the girl’s white Rook fell as a black Knight took its place. Sooyoung smirked and excitedly moved her Queen two spaces right to take down the Knight that has bitten her bait.

“Check!”

She happily dropped the Knight into her collection and looked confusedly at the boy when the look of amusement didn’t leave his face.

“Are you sure about that, honey?” He grinned and made a tutting noise.

“What do you mean?”

He said nothing and instead moved the unnoticed and once useless pawn to take down her Queen.

“Double check.” He concluded, pointing to the pawn and to the unmoving Bishop at the corner of the board, way clear and wide without the white Queen blocking its way.

Sooyoung’s jaw dropped to the floor when she finally had a clear look of the board. Shut to the left with her useless Knight and two boxes – on the left and the one before it – providing a clear way for Changmin’s immobile Queen, the white King had nowhere else to run.

The girl then gawked stupidly at the boy and frowned. She went back on studying the board, trying to find the flaw in what she thought was a foolproof plan.

 “You shouldn’t have placed the Rook there.” Changmin wrapped a finger unto a piece. “And you should have pushed this pawn forward.” He continued pointing to the other wooden figures. “You should have killed the Bishop too once you had the chance and you should –”

“You cheater.” She mumbled darkly to which the boy gave out a cheery laugh in reply.

“You can’t cheat in chess, honey.”

“Well, you just did.” She gathered herself and sat grumpily. “I’m not going to play with you ever again. Hmph.” She crossed her arms in front of her chest and scowled.

Changmin didn’t even bother suppressing the laughter that escaped his throat when she looked away with her nose up in the air.

They’ve been playing the game for the third time already and though the only punishment for a loss is to rearrange the pieces back into the board, Changmin deliberately played bad so she would win the first two rounds. It was funny how much he has to exert effort not to win. Sooyoung was the kind who would think a lot and get lost once her train of thought becomes too long for her to follow. His wife, he fondly considered, also had a ridiculously short attention span – making her a relatively bad chess player.

He said nothing and instead placed the pieces back unto the board, the stupid grin on his face still undone.

“Another round?” he smiled sweetly at her after he finished putting the last piece in place. Sooyoung gave him a long look and then went back on her former lying position with a smug look on her face.

“Okay.”

Ah, Sooyoung. Why do you have me tightly wrapped around your fingers?

He tried to catch the look on her face and though she kept a good job of hiding it from him, he knows that she was smiling.

“Don’t cheat again.” She said as she propped her arms on the floor.

“But I didn’t cheat.”

“You did.” She looked at him straightly. “You are not even trying. You purposely made me win and that’s cheating.”

The statement had him laughing again. “But I’m cheating for you.”

“It’s still cheating. Even if it’s for me.”

She heaved out a sigh and shifted her attention to the board once again.

“Just play your best now, okay?”

“You’ll lose.” He said matter-of-factly.

“Don’t be so sure.”

“I never lose in chess.” Changmin gave her a toothy grin when she raised her head to look at his direction. “Unless I intend to, of course.”

A declaration Sooyoung found truthful as the game started and Changmin had her King trapped in just four moves. She tried to fight the amazed look on her face but failed miserably as she kept on gawking at the still unmoved pieces on the chessboard.

“How did you… how did you do that?” she looked at him with big, inquiring eyes; to which he answered with a bashful smile.

“Practice.”

“You need to teach me. You really need to.”

The girl looked back on the board and tried retracing the paths of Changmin’s chess pieces. She was too immersed in studying the moves that she completely missed out the long, obvious, affectionate gaze he was giving her.

If only winning your heart is as easy as winning a chess game. Changmin heaved a deep sigh for his forlorn self. Sooyoung was moving the pieces to different positions, trying to replicate the boy’s move when a loud knock on the front door resonated all over the room.

The two stared at each other with identical puzzled expressions. The knocking came again, louder the second time around. Sooyoung stood up on her feet and opened the door to a bedraggled Seohyun, hair flying in all directions, forehead glimmering with sweat, and one huge bag chucked beside her dusty pair of shoes.

“MAKDOONGIE!” Sooyoung exclaimed, opening the door wider and catching the exhausted girl in her arms.

“Unnie…” came the weak reply.

In a flash, Changmin stood up from his seat and dashed to where the two females were standing. He took Seohyun from Sooyoung’s arms and guided her to sit on one of the largest cushions.

“My child, what happened to you?” his face was contorted in worry as he wiped the sweat off the young girl’s forehead with his hand.

“Oppa… Unnie…” Seohyun grunted powerlessly, making the older girl appear on her side in a jiffy, a large glass of water on her hands.

“Min…” Sooyoung pointed with her head the direction of Seohyun’s bag still lying helplessly on the doorstep. He nodded upon understanding and immediately moved to gather the younger one’s belongings.

He left the two in the living room; Sooyoung listened to Seohyun as the latter went on a lengthy monologue on why she has returned. It only took him two trips to transfer all his things from the guest room to Sooyoung’s. He