The tension was high in the large classroom. Students watched with eager eyes as the club champion placed her stone on the wooden board. Jihyun’s games were always a site to see. Fellow go players would often compare them to an elegant concerto. Every move was precise, every stone placed was another score that only she could compose. People who competed against the young prodigy only had one word for her game, flawless.

            “I concede,” The young boy admitted and Jihyun smiled in victory before shaking her opponent’s hand.

            “Thank you for the game.”

            “Wow, Jihyun!” A young boy in large glasses ran up. “That makes lucky ninety-nine. One more win and you have your one-hundredth victory!”

            Jihyun smiled rubbing the boy’s long hair. “Naturally, CNU, did you have any doubt that I’d win?”
            The younger boy blushed and adjusted his glasses. “I still don’t get why you call me that.”

            “Why not? It’s cute, like you.”

            The boy turned away and grabbed a notebook off the table. “Um, I’m gonna go ahead and copy down the last few moves of the game. I was so into it, I forgot to record them as it went along.”

            “You have a photographic memory, CNU, plus your cousin Sandeul often video tapes the matches for the school website. Why do you insist on copying all my games in that little notebook?”

            “It’s for you, noona. I thought it’d be good to have a written record of your games in case you decide to go pro.”

            “I already told you, I don’t know if I want to go pro yet. I still have to take the exam for the Youth Go League next week. If I can’t pass that, what chance do I have of going pro?”

            “You’ll pass that exam no problem.”

            Jihyun chuckled before rubbing the boy’s hair again. “Thanks CNU, I know I always have your support. You should head home, I know you have to prepare for the YGL test as well and you were really into online games.”

            “Nah, I’ll stick around here for a bit. My little brother was going to meet me here after he gets back from swimming practice.”

            “How is Gongchan?” Jihyun asked.

            “He’s good,” CNU smiled, “Just doing all he can.”

            Jihyun nodded. “Well since you’re staying, let’s see if we can’t find me a hundredth win.”

            CNU nodded, hopped up on a seat and looked around the classroom. All the members of the Go club had seemed to head off to play their own games, inspired by Jihyun’s ninety-ninth match. He was close to giving up when he spotted a newcomer in the corner the room. “There’s a guy.”

            Jihyun looked in the direction her friend was ushering. She smiled at a boy with braces, laughing as he read a book. “Hey metal-mouth!”

            The boy flinched before looking up at Jihyun and pointing to himself.

            “Yeah you, come over here!”

            The boy closed his book and walked over. “I won’t call you outside your name so please don’t call me ‘metal-mouth.’”

            “Fair enough,” Jihyun smiled. “I just haven’t met you before. What should I call you?”

            The boy smiled. “You’ll know that in time. For now call me, Son Dongwoon.”

            “Well Dongwoon, I'm Nam Jihyun. I haven’t seen you around here before. Do you play Go?”

            “I’ve been known to dabble. It’s my first year here so I figured I’d check out some of the clubs on campus.”

            “Oh, so you’re a first-year,” Jihyun smiled. “Then welcome to the Go club. How about a welcome match with yours truly?”

            “Noona,” CNU interrupted. “Should your 100th match really be a scrimmage with a rookie?”

            “It’s fine,” Jihyun smiled. “I’ll give him a handicap so it won’t count as an official 100th match.”

            Dongwoon shook his head, “Please, no handicap. I really prefer even matches.”

            “Suit yourself.” Jihyun sat on one end of an open go board as Dongwoon sat at the other. The two of them look at each other while grabbing their go stones and the game began.

            The game was quiet; each player seemed to be thinking about each of their moves. In Jihyun’s eyes, Dongwoon was a bit sloppy but at the same time, each move seemed to have a method to it. She just couldn’t figure out Dongwoon’s playing style.

            “So tell me about yourself,” Dongwoon suggested, a smile on his face.

            “Shouldn't you be concentrating,” Jihyun pointed out.

            “Well, this is just a scrimmage after all,” Dongwoon smiled. “I just thought I could learn a bit about the members of the club before I decide to join. So how long have you been playing go?”

            “Several years,” Jihyun replied, placing her stone. “My grandfather is a pro. My cousin and I used to play a lot when we’d go visit him but I got more of a talent for it than him. How about you?”

            Dongwoon shrugged placing his stone. “A couple of months. My doctor wanted me to try something out for recreational purposes so he introduced me to the game and I loved it immediately.”

            “Recreation?” Jihyun played her stone. “Go is much more than just a game. For some it’s a way of life!”

            Dongwoon laughed placing his stone, “You’re awfully dramatic. You should be an actress.”

            “What?” Jihyun raised an eyebrow while placing a stone

            “I just think you’d be good at it. At least, that’s what your game tells me.” Dongwoon replied. “You seem like the type fond of fooling people. Your moves suggest you’re the type who's skilled with creating believable charades that can lure your opponents into false victories and beliefs that they have the upper hand, when you have been controlling the game from the start. Someone like that would really make believable characters on stage or in cinema.”

            “How can you tell that with just a few moves?” Jihyun placed another stone.

            “Every game you play is like a part of a person’s personality. You can learn a lot about people just by reading between the lines of each Go game. That’s why I love it so much.”

            “You’re a weird one,” Jihyun commented while placing another stone.

            “Maybe,” Dongwoon placed a stone on the board before standing and grabbing his book bag. “Well, it was nice meeting you, Jihyun-noona.”

            “Wait, are you just walking out on our game?!”

            Dongwoon chuckled. “It’s already over, look.”

            Jihyun looked over at CNU whose eyes were wide staring are the board. She then turned toward the board to see that in only a few moves, black had control of most of the board and there was no way she could make any ground to save it.

            “H-How did you?”

            Dongwoon chuckled, “It's a matter of having control of the game from the very beginning. Also take a close look. I’m sure you’ll find the proper name to call me. See you later, Noona.”

            Dongwoon walked out as Jihyun’s eyes scanned over the board. She could not believe how badly she had lost. It wasn’t until several minutes had passed when she noticed it. At a diagonal angle spelled across the board, there were three hangul characters written in black stones. Three simple characters spelled