To be fair, all Joohyun ever wanted was to live a safe and successful life, and getting into university would be the first step in achieving that goal. She had to admit that after the Great Split of 2075, it was difficult to think that there could be some possibility of safety and happiness on the horizon. Sure, the war was tragic, and the divide between the East and the West seemed to grow larger every day, but that did not stop her from trying to become the best physics student and chess player the Academy could produce.

Enter Kim Taehyung, her former best friend. She hadn’t seen him since he was thirteen, and when he returned to the Academy as an arrogant, loud seventeen-year old, he singled her out and vowed to make her life as miserable as possible. He seemed to relish in her misery and was never out of awful tricks to play on her.

Joohyun never wanted to get involved in any of what happened. But after tragedy struck, the two of them were left with an almost impossible task in their hands: take down a dangerous organization, prove Taehyung's innocence, and find out who was truly behind it all.

"You've lost your queen," Joohyun pointed out. "It's impossible to win now."

"Are you sure?" Taehyung propped his elbows on the table. Fiddling with his bishop, he moved it diagonally three spaces.

"Checkmate."