Nayeon stood in front of the shelf inside of her room that's holding the hundreds of poker chips she has slipped inside her pocket every winning game she'll have as her personal trophy.

The brunette smirked as she looks at the only empty spot on the shelf.

"Don't worry, you won’t be empty anymore after tonight" She spoke to it as if it was a person who can understand whatever she was saying.

She went to her bedroom and prepared herself and everything else that she'll be needing for her game later that evening. After that, she opened her phone and went to her and her friends' group chat.

"Are you guys free later?" Nayeon typed and sent it immediately.

"Why?" Chaeyoung, the youngest in their friend group, asked her.

"I have a game later, and after it, are you up for some drinks? My treat." She answered.

"How are so confident that you'll win every time?" Her other friend, Momo, asked with matching crying stickers.

"I always win, Momo" she replied.

"Okay, I'll pick up Chaeng. Just send the location later and we'll see you there" Momo answered.

Nayeon smirked as she turned her phone off and kept it inside the black purse that she'll be bringing. She wore her red stilettos and fixed her black gown in front of the mirror one last time before heading out and going to tonight's gambling venue.

---

After hopping out of her red Ferrari, Nayeon fixed her dress and strutted all along the parking area towards the entrance of the casino. But midway, something caught her eye that made her stop in her tracks.

A new, shiny, navy green Lamborghini Sian, a model that hasn’t been released and sold in their country. And as far as Nayeon can remember, only one person has that car.

Nayeon looked at the car's plate number and it confirmed the identity of the car's owner that Nayeon has been thinking about. She stepped towards the car and slightly brushed her fingertips over the car’s back, "Where is she, hm?" she asked while tapping her fingernails over its expensive skin before finally continuing to walk towards the venue.

"She's here?" The confident Nayeon a while ago was now nowhere to be seen. "Why is she here?"

Nayeon presented her invitation to the staff that was in the lobby who immediately escorted her to where her game would be held. Nayeon is well known in the gambling world. Some say she's the best player in their country, and Nayeon would like to believe that.

But she knows deep down that that isn’t true.

When the staff opened the big door of the gaming hall, Nayeon was instantly greeted by a lot of familiar faces which confused her.

"Yoo? Hyo? Why are you both here?" Nayeon asked as she spotted her old colleagues and partners back in their college days. "Is this why you aren’t responding in our group chat? And didn’t you two retire from gambling already?" She asked, trying to get a grasp on what was happening.

"Good evening to you too, Im." Jeongyeon, who’s sitting beside Jihyo, offered a little head bow to the woman standing by the door.

"Yes and yes. But we just felt like playing tonight. You know, just for funsies." Jihyo answered, looking at Nayeon.

The oldest in the room carefully scanned the pair's face trying to read their motives, just like the old days when those two tried to hide something from her, whether it be stolen food from the convenience store or a new puppy they found in the street. Jeongyeon laughed at the funny face the older was making, "That won’t work anymore. We've learned how to mask our emotions. Just like what you taught us" she said before smiling.

Nayeon smiled back and went on to sit on the other side of the table, just in front of her friends. "Just us three?" Nayeon asked.

And as if on cue, the big doors swung open once again, revealing their other co-players for tonight.

If seeing both Jihyo and Jeongyeon was odd, then the whole situation just got crazier for Nayeon as she saw her three childhood friends entering.

"Oh my god, hello guys!" Nayeon's first-ever foreign friend, Sana, screamed as she entered and saw familiar faces. Nayeon became friends with her back when she was around 5 years old, when the Japanese girl, along with her sister, Mina, who was also currently inside of the hall and greeting the others, moved to Korea because of their mother's work and became Nayeon's neighbors.

"Hey, Yeonnie." Her other childhood friend, Dahyun, greeted and went near her, giving her a warm hug.

She hasn’t got the time to go home to their family house which made hanging out with the three hard. It has been a year already since she last saw all of her friends like this in person, and not just in video calls, which made her feel all warm and cozy inside.

"If only Chaeyoung and Momo was here, then we would’ve been complete"

But back to her main thoughts, Nayeon squinted her eyes over her friends, who are now gushing and gossiping with each other.

This is weird.

So weird.

All the people inside this hall, except her, have already backed away from the gambling life since a long time ago. So, why are they here? And who the heck invited them?

A knock interrupted them and made everyone sit down on their seats and awaited whoever will enter.

The door slightly opened, revealing a blonde, short-haired girl along with a long, black-haired one.

Nayeon's eyes widened as she saw the two ladies walk in.

"Hello, we will be your dealers for tonight hehe" Chaeyoung said as she arranged the things that they will be needing before giving Nayeon a cheeky, little smile.

"Gosh, how long has it been since we were all together like this?" Momo, the other dealer, asked as she warmly looked at her friends.

Nayeon pinched herself, trying to check if all of what was happening was real. She was still confused and can’t get what was happening.

Everything feels like a fever dream.

Nayeon was about to speak up and question, once again, the odd situation that they were in when the big doors opened, finally revealing the last gambler they will be up against.

In Nayeon's eyes, she believes that she herself is the best gambler there ever is. But not to the public's eyes. Because who the gambling world adores so much, is the same person who's standing by the door right now and giving her a goofy smile.

Her girlfriend.

The woman who was dubbed as the country's "Serpent" for her venomous, sneaky, and deadly intelligence in games that even made the billionaire of billionaires fall into shambles. The only gambler who hasn’t lost a single match, whatever it may be, ever since she started playing at the age of 7. And the most powerful and influential person, even surpassing the president, living in their country right now.

Chou Tzuyu.

Not like Nayeon and her squad, Tzuyu, albeit being called a cheater multiple times by her contenders who lost against her, plays clean. She's a genius at spotting anyone who's trying to cheat on her and at manipulating the game by making it turn out the way she wants it to be. It's like the game is playing by her rules and not the other way.

Going back, Nayeon rolled her eyes at her girlfriend as the latter stepped towards her.

"You didn’t even reply to my texts all day and you’re here giving me that annoying smile?" Nayeon asked as she huffed and rolled her eyes again before turning her head away from the taller girl and tried to focus on one of the paintings hanging on the wall, trying to send a signal to her girlfriend that she's pissed as hell.

Seconds passed before Nayeon felt slender fingers trying to reach for her chin and made her "unwillingly" look back to the other side. She was about to nag endlessly at her other half when her lips were greeted by the latter's own soft and plump ones which made Nayeon's mind go haywire and her annoyance to evaporate all the way up her zenith until there's none left.

Tzuyu pulled away first and threw Nayeon a silly smile, revealing the former's charming dimples, which Nayeon shook her head at before chuckling and forgiving her girlfriend.

"Did you set all of this up?" Nayeon asked, making silly hand movements trying to point out everything and everyone inside the room.

"Maybe."

Nayeon was about to reply to the taller girl's annoying remark when Chaeyoung clasped her hands together, making a loud clap that made all the players turn their heads towards her.

"We will be starting now so please settle down." The shorter of the two dealers said.

"Wait," Nayeon said.

"Yes?" Chaeyoung asked the older girl.

"So is this like a real match, like is this going to be counted on my records, or is this just a friendly game?"

Chaeyoung didn’t reply and just looked at Tzuyu, who's sitting beside Nayeon, waiting for the taller’s response since she was the one who planned everything.

"It's a real one, hun," Tzuyu said before giving Nayeon a smirk, which Nayeon thinks is something Tzuyu did to provoke her.

Yes, her girlfriend plays clean but you cannot say that she also plays all friendly and kind with her competitors. To be honest, Tzuyu can sometimes be an . A very annoying one, too. One time, all of Tzuyu's competitors stormed out of the room because they couldn’t handle her anymore which made Tzuyu immediately win the match.

Well, if Tzuyu thinks that she can annoy the hell out of Nayeon and make her surrender, then she's wrong. So wrong. Nayeon has lived with her for almost four years now, which made her think that she's going to be immune to whatever Tzuyu had up her sleeves.

“Good. Your first loss will be against me, then.” Nayeon replied, smirking back at the taller girl beside her before turning her gaze towards the dealers.

"Tonight, we'll be playing a game called ‘Up to nine’. The mechanics are easy, we will be using a specialized deck that has seven cards that have the numbers of 0s to 3s each. These cards will then be dealt to every single one of you wherein each person will receive four cards. Each player will drop one card and whoever person who'll drop a card that will make the sum of the dropped cards to nine will be out of the game. For the next rounds, we will still be using the deck and the remaining undealt cards will stay with me." Momo explained.

"We will first play three games that require no stakes then with the four remaining players, we will play an intense round with high-stake bets that can amount up to..." Chaeyoung started before looking up at the ceiling, thinking, "Well, there's no limit actually."

"Did everyone catch the rules?" Momo asked, making sure that everyone understood.

The players nodded their heads in synchrony, collectively perpetuating that they understood the easy rules of the game.

"So, let's start," Chaeyoung said before opening the new deck of customized cards that they will be using. She professionally shuffled it while making sure to let everyone see that she is dealing with the cards fairly and with no plans of trying to collude with anyone, and gave every player 4 cards each.

The seating arrangement goes in a clockwise direction and goes like this: Mina, Jeongyeon, Jihyo, Sana, Nayeon, Tzuyu, and Dahyun.

According to the dealers’ choice, the first player who’ll drop a card is going to be Dahyun, who dropped a two. Mina, Jeongyeon, and Jihyo then individually dropped a one. Sana dropped a two, leaving the next player who doesn’t have a zero to lose the game. Nayeon and Tzuyu dropped their zeroes, making them both safe for the first round.

Dahyun chuckled while looking at the 3 cards left in her hands. Two twos and a three. Dahyun raised both of her arms in the air, surrendering. “I can’t still keep up with you geniuses. Well, at least I won’t need to bet anything. I’m broke.” she joked making the others in the table laugh.

For the next round, Mina started the game by dropping a one. Jeongyeon followed by dropping a two. Jihyo dropped a three, after subtly locking eyes with the oldest in the room for a split second, both thinking that nobody saw it, but if you are playing with THE Chou Tzuyu, someone always watches. The two’s actions made Tzuyu smirk slightly before going back to her stoic game-face mode. Sana dropped a one. Nayeon then dropped a two, making the total sum of the cards to eight, which means that if Tzuyu doesn’t have zero, she’ll lose. But quirky little schemes like this won’t make a great tower fall that easily. Of course, Tzuyu has a zero. She gently laid it on the table, almost as if it was done to mock the girl beside her and her tricks. Mina looked at Dahyun, before looking back at her cards, “Good thing I lost,” she said before looking back up to her friends, “I’m broke too.” She said, making the whole table laugh again.

As Mina stepped out of the main table and sat beside Dahyun who’s sitting at one of the sofas in the corner of the room while eating some of the chocolates that she got from the mini-bar in the other side of the room, Chaeyoung, who’s shuffling the cards, spoke up.

“This will be the last round before the real game begins. So whoever’s broke here, wish you’ll lose” She reminded everyone before joking.

Momo dealt the cards and told Sana that she’ll be the one to start the game.

Just being jolly and not thinking of any strategy at all, Sana placed a one down on the table, while Nayeon placed down a three. After a few seconds of silence, everyone looked up at Tzuyu who still hasn’t chosen a card.

Tzuyu gazed up at Jihyo’s eyes, and right at that moment, Jihyo feels like she was being read expertly by Tzuyu as if she was a very open book. Tzuyu smiled slightly, but enough to show her killer dimples, before dropping her card. A one. Jihyo scanned the cards on her hands, and curiously back up to Tzuyu. The cards on Jihyo’s hands contain two zeroes so she’s safe. But the fact that Tzuyu smiled at her, immediately put her into a nervous state. Was that a threat? Or was that a smile for what’s about to happen later? Jihyo’s unsure, but what she’s sure about is that Tzuyu’s using what she knows to play with her.

“Ah, the classic Tzuyu.” Jihyo thought before looking at the card Jeongyeon placed down. A two.

Jihyo placed down a one, again, making the total to an eight.

Everyone was expectantly looking at what card Sana’s about to place down when the hamster-like girl whined out loud. “Ah… I lost…” She said before acting to wipe some tears away. She then stood up and smiled at her friends who were left at the table, “Well, good luck to you guys,” she said, gathering her things. She then tapped Jihyo, “Babe, I know that you don’t stand a chance, but, may the odds be ever in your favor.” Sana said, referencing a quote from her girlfriend’s favorite movie to which Jihyo replied with a snort.

“Now, the real deal will begin. The main event of our night, the betting stage.” Momo enthusiastically said as she began to clean the cards on the table. Chaeyoung opened a new set of cards, showing the players the cards, still seven sets of 0s to 3s and the remaining cards will be held by the dealers. The blonde shuffled the cards subtly in a different way – a style commonly used by dealers when it’s a crucial round, but still remaining neutral to everyone, and distributed them to her seated friends.

The time Chaeyoung gave Tzuyu her last card, she saw the little smirk on the taller’s lips.

“Chou Tzuyu. You ing genius.” Chaeyoung said inside her mind as she instantly knew that Tzuyu had already won.

Momo flipped a triangular die with the numbers 1 to 4 on each of its sides. The players chose a number beforehand to decide who will go first.

As Momo was rolling the die, Chaeyoung spoke once again, “The minimum bet for this round is going to be 100,000 U.S. dollars.”

“Phew, glad I was out,” Dahyun said while still gobbling up some chocolates, now seated in between Mina and Sana, and made her friends laugh, slightly lightening up the atmosphere.

3.

The die landed on number 3. Jeongyeon.

“I call for a hundred thousand dollars,” Jeongyeon said as she placed her first card on the table. A two.

“This amount is already two years’ worth of my salary,” Jihyo said, shaking her head. She looked down at her cards and onto Nayeon. After years of knowing and playing with each other, Jihyo and the woman in front of her had already developed a relationship where they can communicate even without talking and by just looking at each other’s eyes. “But, I call,” Jihyo said as she dropped a card down. A one.

“I raise to one million dollars,” Nayeon said. The woman looked at her girlfriend in her peripheral vision expecting to see a baffled expression but turns out she’ll be the one to be surprised as she sees her girlfriend chuckling silently to herself. Nayeon then thought that maybe what she did was a wrong move. “No. This is exactly what she wants to do. Play with our heads.” Nayeon convinced herself as she placed down a one.

“Raise to a hundred million dollars,” Tzuyu said unbothered, quickly putting down a two, as if asking everyone to play at a faster pace.

It is now Jeongyeon’s turn. Said girl is now covering her face with her hands, probably contemplating her life decisions and where they brought her. She slightly moved her fingers and peeked at the amount of money at stake. She peeked up at Nayeon and the older girl only tapped her fingers silently on the table. Jeongyeon heaved out a sigh of really out of her lungs and clapped. She looked at her co-playmates and up to the dealers. “I fold.” She said before fully standing up and heading towards their friends on the sofa.

The three welcomed her and offered her some snacks, “Good decision” Sana said, shifting to make more room.

“What do you mean? You know that this isn’t a real game right?” Dahyun whispered.

“Just for the vibes” Sana whispered back.

“You’re weird. I think that’s enough chocolates for you” Dahyun teased.

“Shut up. You’ve eaten more than I did.” Sana rebutted.

“If you two don’t stop whispering all about this, she’ll probably know even before the thing happens.” Mina scolded the two as she offered more snacks to Jeongyeon who’s sitting beside her.

Back to the table, Jihyo’s staring hard at all the chips on the table that has corresponding amounts of actual money, and slumped back on her chair, zoning out. She rested her chin on her palm and pretended to look around the venue while thinking about her next move, when in fact, she was mentally asking Nayeon for help. While Jihyo was “staring” at one of the paintings in the room, she finally hears Nayeon “cough”. Jihyo looked at the cards on her hands and carefully chose a card. “I call…” She said, sounding kind of hesitant, nevertheless, she dropped her card. One.

“Raise to 500,000,000 dollars.” Nayeon challenged with confidence and sneakily tapped her finger on the table before placing down a card. Zero.

“Let’s raise it to 1,000,000,000 dollars.” Tzuyu said coolly before bringing down her zero card on the table. She side-eyed her girlfriend and chuckled lowly but not too quiet, making sure the sound reached the ears of the woman beside her. When she saw the woman’s baffled expression, even though it was only for a split second, she smiled to herself.

“Just a little teasing, Love.” Tzuyu thought.

Excited, Jihyo slammed down her remaining cards on the table and gleefully jumped up from her seat, stretching her muscles before finally speaking, “I fold.”

Jihyo was on her way to head to their other friends who were chilling on the other side of the room when she stopped in her tracks. She turned around and looked at the two people remaining on the table. “By the way, I wish you good luck.” Now, no one knows to who is that message for. Nayeon or Tzuyu?

Jihyo smiled brightly at the two and glanced at the two dealers and quickly raised her eyebrows at them before finally running towards Sana’s open arms.

“Now,” Momo spoke, “Since you two are the only ones left, I think it would be more fun if you play while facing each other instead of playing beside each other. You know, to lessen the chances of cheating.”

“She said move,” Tzuyu said, looking expectantly at the woman beside her.

“No,” Nayeon said.

“Move,” Tzuyu said, softly elbowing the woman beside her.

“You move,” Nayeon replied.

“I won’t make you breakfast for a month.” Tzuyu challenged.

“I won’t kiss you for a week.”

“That’s a low blow.”

“You started it. Now, move, or else I’ll really do that.”

Tzuyu made mocking faces towards Nayeon before scratching her neck and finally standing up to move to the other side of the table.

“For a recall, the bet is now at one trillion dollars. Nayeon, it’s your turn now.” Momo stated.

“I call for the trillion dollars, and I’ll be betting all of my real estates in Connecticut and Los Angeles. Four houses, two farms, and a commercial building, which will all sum up to 1,500,000,000 dollars.” Nayeon said. She dropped a one, making the total of the cards eight.

Nayeon tried to say everything that she had just muttered in a confident way, where Tzuyu will see no fear or cowardice in her eyes. Well, who is she kidding? Who wouldn’t be a mess like this if they sold almost everything they own to the devil itself? The gambling devil. She’s fiddling hard with the ring on her right middle finger underneath the table that it almost flew out of her finger, luckily she moves fast. With her head down, she looked up to the woman in front of her using only her eyes who were met back by Tzuyu’s expressionless ones. She placed her right elbow on the table and rested her cheek on her palm while watching out for her girlfriend’s next moves.

Tzuyu tilted her head to the side, like a puppy, as she blankly looked at Nayeon.

“Tzuyu?” Chaeyoung called her out of her dazed state.

“Call. I bet the ownership to all of my companies, my vehicles, and my residential estates, including condominium units, plus the titles of every land I own both here in Korea and the States. Now, that would be amounting to 450,000,000,000 dollars.” Tzuyu said, her voice no mark of any emotion. Tzuyu dropped a zero.

“Wow, since both of you have just a card left, I’ll now explain the final rule,” Chaeyoung said.

“What? What do you mean final rule?” Nayeon asked, slightly frustrated at everything that’s happening.

“If both of your cards are zeros, then the last who placed a bet or the one who called will be tonight’s winner.”

Nayeon looked at the last card in her palm. A zero. She closed her eyes as the mathematical gears started working inside of her brain. She calculated the possibilities of what digit Tzuyu is holding, and she concluded that it could either be a zero or a one. With the way Tzuyu is playing and betting, it must be a zero right? But Nayeon is still hesitating. “Is she bluffing?” Nayeon mentally whined at the bone-melting nervousness. “No. If she is this confident, then maybe it’s a zero.” Nayeon finally decided.

“Except the things that I have mentioned earlier, I’ll be betting everything that I own. Everything.” Nayeon fixed her posture, her chin held up high in a taunting manner, before she dropped her last card. Zero.

An audible gasp can be heard from the corner of the room. Probably from their friends who were surprised at to what extend the game is going to.

Nayeon was pretty sure that Tzuyu was about to fold when she caught the taller girl’s eyes shaking for a split second. But she was again, wrong.

“Call.”

Nayeon whipped her head up so fast she almost felt all of her blood painfully rushing up to her scalp. Her eyes became wide in anticipation of what the Tzuyu still has inside of her pockets.

“I also bet everything in my life,” Tzuyu said in a painfully slow matter, “including our relationship.”

“What?!” Nayeon abruptly stood up from her seat and almost rushed to the other side of the table, her fists all curled up in her side. Luckily, the two dealers held her down and made her sit back on her seat. “Tzuyu, what the ?!” She raised her voice, allowing it to boom throughout the wide room.

Tzuyu tilted her head to the side while calmly looking at Nayeon with an unreadable expression on her face, “If I win, we’ll break up and you’ll never see or hear about me ever again for the rest of your life. Actually, material things don’t really mean that much to me. So where’s the fun in that? It’s more exciting betting something that you wouldn’t want to lose.”

“No, you don’t get to do this, Tzuyu.” Nayeon countered. “She can’t do something like this, right?!” Nayeon looked at the dealers and frantically waited for their answers.

“As stated in the rules, she can bet whatever she wants. Now, Ms. Nayeon, before she drops her card, the decision is up to you. If you call, you’ll be agreeing to everything she has said.” Chaeyoung started, “But if you don’t like to agree with her offer, you can fold and just admit defeat. Everything you have last betted will be hers.”

Nayeon was shaking. She placed her head down on the table. Trickles of sweat running down from her forehead all the way down to her neck as she felt her life crumble to the ground. She looked up and faced her opponent. Her eyes began to feel full and warm and not even a second passed, these warm tears streamed down her cheeks, mixing with her sweat. Nayeon felt hot. Like she was in hell.

Like she was with the devil.

“Nayeon?” Momo called her out, the dealer was still waiting for her play.

“I…” Nayeon managed to croak out of her choked-up throat, “I fold.” She said.

Tzuyu then stood up and went in Nayeon’s direction. The taller girl kneeled down beside the older’s chair and gently held the latter’s hand.

Tzuyu snorted and chuckled at Nayeon’s red face that’s dull of dried tears and random tangles of hair. The older faced her with a confused expression, “Why are you laughing?”

Tzuyu stood up and placed her last card on the table.

One.

Nayeon stood up and angrily smacked Tzuyu’s shoulders until the younger girl is lying on the floor while holding her sore parts.

“You shouldn’t have folded,” Tzuyu said as she stood up and engulfed her girlfriend in a tight hug, the older still not in the mood.

“Why? Do you want to break up with me so bad? Isn’t it enough that you have everything now?” Nayeon said as she struggled to get out of the taller’s embrace.

“Lovey, the game isn’t a real one.” Tzuyu chuckled once again before loosening her grip on Nayeon. The taller turned to look at her face, “What?” Nayeon asked, confused just like in the beginning.

“I really wanted you to fold though.”

“Why?”

“So I can stop being your girlfriend.” Tzuyu nonchalantly said.

Nayeon’s friends stood up and started to go near Nayeon without making any noises, since the older’s full attention is on the tall girl in front of her, she wouldn’t really notice her friends sneaking up to her.

“I don’t get it. You don’t love anymore? You could’ve just said that easily instead of making me and everyone else play your stupid game.” Nayeon said as was about to turn around and leave when Tzuyu grabbed her by the arm and made her stand still in her former position. The older girl was about to open when the Tzuyu began to kneel down on one knee.

“I need you to stop being my girlfriend and agree to be my wife,” Tzuyu said, “So, after everything that I’ve done tonight, will you still forgive me and give me the chance to spend my lifetime with you?”

Nayeon’s friends then started singing, in a good way surprisingly, in the background with matching little dance steps. Nayeon wasn’t really the type to be surprised since she can easily read people and their motives, but Tzuyu was just really the master of mind games. She stood in place, not moving as she stared at the younger’s eyes seeing nothing but pure admiration and love in it.

“Yes. Yes, I would marry you. Not sure about the forgiving part yet though.” Nayeon said, her bunny smile finally back and plastered on her face, as she pulled up Tzuyu by the arm.

“Well that part is not really important,” Tzuyu said as she returned a cheeky smile before inserting the shiny ring on Nayeon’s finger. “Hmm, I agree” Nayeon replied before pulling Tzuyu by the collar and kissed her sweetly.

And for the first time in his life, Nayeon was happy that she lost, because this time, losing meant winning the universe for her.