Kyungsoo leaned back on the edge of the island counter in the resident doctor’s break room during his one hour break in the middle of the morning shift he was working on, from six in the morning to two in the afternoon.

Kyungsoo’s bushy eyebrows were furrowed as he held his phone in one hand, while the other hand rested on the counter behind him.

Kyungsoo’s eyes were trained on the five-inch smartphone screen but he did look up every now and then to nod and smile at his fellow colleagues who came in and out of the break room, mostly to take their food out of the fridge or to make themselves a drink.

 

The break room also functioned as a pantry for the resident doctors. There was a table to sit and gather around at and a couch to relax on but most of the staff still preferred eating out on the rooftop patio.

The weather was good and warm this time of the year too so everyone wanted to take advantage of that until the cold harsh weather settled in.

 

Kyungsoo, on the other hand, would have done the same and brought his packed lunch out to eat on the rooftop but he was occupied with something else today. Kyungsoo had even forgotten to eat because of that.

At the same time, Chanyeol was currently playing his final match against his opponent from China.

It was barely an hour since the beginning of the match and Kyungsoo had been kept updated about the progress of the match from the Go association’s official website which updates in live and real-time, informing the moves and the amounts of pieces still in play.

So far, everything seemed neck and neck. It was hard to see who had the upper hand in this situation.

 

Kyungsoo wanted to be there to watch Chanyeol’s match but he had to work and at least it wasn’t a double shift with on-call throughout the night.

If the match didn’t end by the afternoon, Kyungsoo could still take off and rush to the convention center where the match was being held, and still possibly make it in time.

 

It was exciting to be rooting for and supporting Chanyeol during his match. Kyungsoo never felt more proud of Chanyeol than he ever had. Even if Chanyeol did not end up winning, Kyungsoo would still have been proud of him nonetheless.

Kyungsoo was full of admiration and adoration towards Chanyeol. There was so much in Chanyeol that Kyungsoo just wanted to protect and treasure.

How he wished to be there to see Chanyeol play against his opponent and then look up to steal a glance at Kyungsoo.

That small gesture made Kyungsoo feel very and much connected to Chanyeol.

 

 

 

Kyungsoo’s break ended and the match was not even a quarter done with. Professional games were noteworthy for taking a long time and Kyungsoo sort of was grateful it was that way because it made him more likely to finish his shift and get there to cheer on Chanyeol.

As much as Kyungsoo wanted to be there at the tournament venue or watch the match updates on his phone, Kyungsoo had his work to return to.

His job was as important too. Kyungsoo saved lives as a profession and he took pride in it too but since Chanyeol reappeared in his life, Kyungsoo was beginning to see that there were more important things in one’s life other than work.

 

Sighing innately, Kyungsoo locked his phone’s screen and stuffed it into one of his lab coat’s pockets before hurriedly making himself a malt drink and gulping it down before returning to work. He was hungry but he’d just have to eat later on, Kyungsoo compromised.

 

 

The remaining three or four hours of work flew by faster than Kyungsoo thought it would. Kyungsoo had always been the type to stay back a bit after work but not since Chanyeol came back it wasn’t.

Kyungsoo quickly punched out his shift, got dressed and speed walked to the subway station to hop on the next coming train to get to the convention center.

During the subway ride, Kyungsoo checked his phone and saw that the match was still underway and about halfway through at that point.

 

Despite all the moves and pieces captured listed on the website, Kyungsoo could barely make any sense of it to determine whether Chanyeol was leaning on the winning or losing side.

Then again, a player could have even been on the winning side but can still choose to lose by seceding. Such an occurrence wasn’t rare in the world of professional Go.

Kyungsoo texted Sehun, whom he knew was at the venue of the match, asking Sehun how Chanyeol’s prospects looked like.

 

Kyungsoo didn’t expect a fast reply but Sehun did text him back almost immediately.

Kyungsoo had put his phone away, back into his pocket and had to lift his lower half slightly off the seats on the subway car to pull his phone out from the pockets of his trousers again.

Kyungsoo chuckled at Sehun’s reply which was basically: “I have no idea. They’re too good.”

That was the Chanyeol that Kyungsoo knew, alright.

 

 

Kyungsoo alighted at his stop once the subway arrived at another station, before rushing to catch another subway on a different line to head to the convention center.

If it wasn’t for Chanyeol, Kyungsoo wouldn’t even bother going this far off from where he lived or the hospital.

Kyungsoo was never fond of the hassle of the public commute but he still preferred it over maintaining his own car, which was why he was almost thirty and had yet to own his first car although he did get a driver’s license in college.

 

In the second subway car of the day, Kyungsoo had to stand up this time because it was more packed and there weren’t any seats left available.

It was a bumpy ride and Kyungsoo had to hold on both hands to the railing, which disabled him from constantly checking his phone to be updated with Chanyeol’s match in real-time.

 

Once he reached the next stop, Kyungsoo quickly walked out and pushed through the crowd to get out of the station and outside on the road to walk just a bit more to get to his destination.

This time, Kyungsoo checked his phone and saw that both Chanyeol and his opponent had chosen to “pass”, meaning they had decided that they could not make any more noteworthy moves and chose to end the game.

The score was still being tallied up and the results of who the winner was had yet to be announced.

 

Kyungsoo thought that he could still make it in time and shifted from walking to sprinting to the convention center.

At least, the two years of military training service came in handy this time because Kyungsoo was running faster than he thought he would even manage.

 

 

 

Kyungsoo arrived at the convention center with sweat forming under his armpits and wetting the dress shirt he was wearing with an obvious damp patch.

Kyungsoo did take a whiff and decided that the stench of his sweat was minimal and non-obtrusive, and chose to push his way to the tournament hall.

No one at the front bothered to ask for his pass either as they were all busy and engrossed in the titular match ending and wanting to know who won.

 

The hall was full of people standing behind the line which separated the spectators from the table in the front where the match was played out.

The crowd of people was all standing up, heads stretched up and facing to the front to see who would be declared the winner.

There were flashes going off and the clicking sounds of cameras from the reporters and journalists covering the event.

Kyungsoo had only seen this sight in the news report of Go tournaments. He had yet to experience it himself and it would be quite a while until he could actually participate in such a tournament.

 

 

Kyungsoo couldn’t push his way to the front because of the people but he managed to come a bit closer and peek through the gap between two people’s shoulders.

Kyungsoo could see Chanyeol standing at the corner with Takeda and a few other people he didn’t recognize. Takeda was talking to the other people while Chanyeol only stood still, holding his own hands together and looking at the floor instead.

 

The crackling of a microphone was heard as a well-dressed man in a suit who appeared to be in his fifties went up to the stage with a paper in his hand, announcing that he would now reveal the score and the winner.

The crowd fell silent and Kyungsoo could hear breaths being held in the moment of silence when the announcer unfolded the paper and began to read out the results.

 

Chanyeol’s name was announced as the winner and Kyungsoo felt utterly happy and proud. Kyungsoo clapped and beamed, smiling, together with the rest of the crowd.

The two people in front of Kyungsoo moved away from in front of him when the results were announced, allowing Kyungsoo to push to the front of the line.

“Chanyeol!” Kyungsoo called out, waving in Chanyeol’s direction.

Chanyeol did not notice or hear Kyungsoo calling out to him. It also seemed that more people had decided to walk up to Chanyeol and shake his hand, bowing and congratulating him.

 

Although Takeda stopped most of them before they got to Chanyeol, there were a few who managed to slip up and approach Chanyeol.

Chanyeol turned his head away to the side from the people who had come up to him and his line of sight just happened to fall to where Kyungsoo was.

Chanyeol’s straight and poker face quickly erupted into one of joy and excitement when he saw Kyungsoo, who was simultaneously calling out at him.

 

Chanyeol excused himself by bowing politely and raising a hand before skipping off to meet Kyungsoo.

Takeda’s head turned and his eyes expressed concern when he saw Chanyeol run away from beside him; but upon seeing that Chanyeol was just going to meet Kyungsoo, Takeda smiled to himself and did not stop Chanyeol.

The people whom Chanyeol left behind were instead entertained to with their questions by Takeda. This was Takeda’s job after all.

 

“Chanyeol, congratulations!” Kyungsoo immediately leaped up, hugging Chanyeol from around the neck.

Chanyeol smiled, catching Kyungsoo and hugging him back, “I did it, Kyungsoo.”

“I’m proud of you,” Kyungsoo jovially added, pulling away from the hug.

“It’s thanks to you that I can win this,” Chanyeol declared.

“No, I did nothing. It’s all you. You’re talented and gifted,” Kyungsoo praised.

“You did, Kyungsoo. I won this for you,” Chanyeol stated, smiling wide. “When I’m with you, I feel like I can do anything.”

Kyungsoo snickered, “You would have done it without me too.”

 

The brief conversation was interrupted when Kyungsoo felt someone tapping on his shoulder from behind and seeing Sehun near them.

“You made it,” Sehun commented.

“Yeah, just in time and right before the results were announced,” Kyungsoo replied.

“It was a tough match. I was sweating inside this air-conditioned place even,” Sehun informed, fanning himself before turning to Chanyeol, “Congratulations, Chanyeol.”

Chanyeol bowed his head and muttered a low, “Thank you.”

“So, you still owe me that drink. How about we go after the award ceremony and the speech?” Sehun nudged Kyungsoo with his elbow.

“The usual restaurant?” Kyungsoo asked, confirming the location with Sehun.

“Yeah, the usual.”

Chanyeol heard this and lowered his head to whisper into Kyungsoo’s ears, “Can I come?”

Kyungsoo chuckled, “Of course, you can come with us.”

“He’s welcome anytime too,” Sehun mentioned before waving off, “I have some closing duty to do. I’ll see you at the entrance in an hour, alright?”

“Sure,” Kyungsoo nodded.

 

 

 

Kyungsoo waited on a chair from the spectator’s area as the closing speech was presented by the organizers and presidents of the various Go associations.

The awards and prizes were also handed out soon after the speech. Chanyeol went up to the stage to pick up his trophy and prize winnings check but did not stay to give out his speech. It was Takeda who went up to stage to present the speech on Chanyeol’s behalf.

Hardly anyone was surprised at this because to those familiar with the professional Go scene, Chanyeol was always known with his quiet personality and to not give out interviews or speeches; leaving a proxy to do it for him instead.

 

Most people assumed it was because Chanyeol was a private character and that he didn’t like all the attention. Not many people knew why Chanyeol was actually the way he was; the fact was kept well hidden by those around him.

There was more to Chanyeol than his disability, after all, and the people around him wanted the public to acknowledge his skills for his ability and not just because he happened to have a streak of bad luck to end up where he was at.

 

 

 

When the crowd started to leave, Kyungsoo continued waiting on the chair in the hall which was growing emptier by the minute.

Only the staff and organizers remained, putting things away and cleaning up the hall.

Chanyeol left Takeda’s side to sit down beside Kyungsoo, “Let’s go.” Chanyeol too put down his traveling bag on the floor n