White's pawn moved to e4, and Black's pawn to c5.

The moment Eunho made his move, I instinctively countered.

Eunho moved his knight to f3, grinning as if he expected it.

With limited time and feeling tense, I unknowingly guided the game toward my favorite opening, the style I’m most comfortable with, and Eunho had read me well.

It was early in the game, but I was already certain by Eunho’s decisive moves.

‘If he truly knows me, he will follow up with that move.’

Every sports player has their weaknesses.

A technique they make frequent mistakes with, or their chances of winning decrease when facing a particular move, or maybe they can’t block certain angles when aiming for a goal.

The same goes for mind sports like chess.

In the Sicilian Opening, depending on White’s choice, my chances of winning varied.

Soon, Eunho responded with my least favorable move.

The Poisoned Pawn Variation.

When translated literally, it meant the “poisoned pawn variation.”

I glanced at the White pawn on b2, exposed and vulnerable, with no protection at all.

‘...Seongheon really knows me well.’

The poisoned pawn had been a strategy I often fell victim to since I first became a knight.

At this point, Black is forced to choose between two options.

One is to move the queen away from the center, but instead capture White's pawn and infiltrate deep into the enemy’s camp.

The other is to ignore the poisoned pawn and let White dominate the center.

At first glance, the first option seems better, but it forces Black to endure White's attacks on the queen and risks being drawn into a passive ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ game.

Although this move is well-known and has been studied extensively, unless you've thought about how to respond to it before the game, it always makes your hand hesitate when you face it.

I checked the chess records Eunho had made since coming into this world, and he hadn’t made this move before, so I couldn't help but think he must have prepared it specifically for me.

‘He must have studied my chess before coming to this world. Otherwise, there’s no way he’d play this move out of nowhere.’

The parallel universe manipulated vast amounts of information, making it seem as though I had been living in this world since the past, all to help adapt the higher-dimensional future beings to this world.

As a result, before awakening as a player and before losing my family, there remained records of me playing chess.

However, this world had fewer chess players than the world I had come from, and the popularity of chess wasn’t high.

There were far fewer companies sponsoring chess knights and fewer tournaments sponsored by businesses.

Thus, there were limits to how much the parallel universe could implement "Jo Yi-shin, the chess knight."

Most of the chess I had played in my previous world had not been replicated here.

So, I thought only the White Tiger knew about the openings I disliked in this world. But I was wrong.

Eunho also remembered my chess, and he knew the openings I didn’t favor.

‘After the poisoned pawn appears, the chance of a stalemate increases.’

There was a reason I disliked the poisoned pawn.

Just the name of the move hinted that the player intended to increase sacrifices and turn the game into a wild battle.

A stalemate occurs when there are no more moves left, when the number of pieces decreases, and the possibilities are exhausted.

The fewer pieces on the board, the higher the chance of a stalemate.

This didn’t align with my style of chess, where I try to protect as many pieces as possible.

I hadn’t played many moves yet, but I could already predict how the game would unfold.

I had faced countless strong knights who had studied me and analyzed my weaknesses.

But even though I hadn’t seen this move in a while, my hand didn’t shake.

Many knights had challenged me with this move, trying to at least secure a stalemate. The memory of their efforts made my chest burn.

Clunk.

I moved Black's queen as Eunho had guided, taking out the poisoned White pawn.

When I swallowed the poison he had prepared, Eunho smiled even more joyfully.

The basics of chess involve hiding one’s expressions and intentions, but Eunho, who was so good at concealing his emotions, didn’t hide them in our games.

That expression reminded me of Seongheon.

It was from a time we practiced for a debate class, a liberal arts subject.

Seongheon and I were luckily assigned to the same pro side, but during our practice, one of us would occasionally take on the opposing side.

Every time Seongheon presented an argument and I countered with precision, he’d laugh just like that.

He laughed in surprise and joy whenever I managed to catch him off guard or succeeded in a counterattack.

It wasn’t the polite smile he usually gave.

—Why are you laughing like that? Did I say something funny?

—I’m just glad I’m on the same side as you, Yi-shin hyung.

—If you keep laughing like that, the other team will take you lightly.

There weren’t many, but even before Seongheon was embroiled in the false admission and grade manipulation scandal, there were always people who’d pick a fight.

They were the ones who forced Seongheon to drink or the classmates who entered with lower ranks.

The first time I spoke to Seongheon was when I had to deal with those types, so even though I didn’t directly worry, I’d say things indirectly, and it sounded like I was picking a fight.

Because of that, I often regretted what I said, but Seongheon, the kind and diligent junior, always took my words in a positive light.

—Yeah, I’ll only laugh like that when I’m fighting you, Yi-shin hyung.

—Debates aren’t fights.

—But in a competitive debate, where there’s a professor giving points, it’s just like a fight.

The look in Seongheon’s eyes when he called it a fight was sharp, and that made me feel somewhat relieved.

With that look, no one from the other team would dare look down on Seongheon.

But once we started practicing the debate again, I saw him smile and return to being the kind junior, and I couldn’t help but worry again.

—Don’t worry, Yi-shin hyung.

Even though he didn’t directly say anything, Seongheon seemed to understand what I was thinking.

Fortunately, the debate ended in a crushing victory.

When our prepared arguments were shattered, the opposing team got so worked up that they almost resorted to personal attacks, but the professor intervened.

Later, the opponent, possibly feeling embarrassed, disappeared after taking a military leave. 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Seongheon and I finished the semester with top marks. During that time, because of the incidents in the debate class, Seongheon said something to comfort me.

—See, Yi-shin hyung, you don’t need to worry anymore.

And now, Eunho was smiling in front of me, just like Seongheon did back then.

Seeing his face after swallowing the poisoned pawn made the heat inside me fade.

‘Back then, I couldn’t do anything for Seongheon.’

A chess knight is someone who constantly thinks about all possible moves.

What happens when you push a pawn forward, when you move a rook back, when you move a knight over another piece—how does the situation change, and what move will the opponent make?

This isn’t just during the game—it’s the same even after the game ends.

As I review past games, I constantly think about what could’ve happened.

In both the games I won and the ones I lost, there are always moves that I regret.

So, I couldn’t help but think of the “what ifs.”

‘Even without me, Seongheon would have had a good university life.’

Seongheon came into this world and became Eunho, meeting his family and friends.

Eunho was very grateful for that opportunity.

But if it wasn’t me, would Eunho still have found a way to come to this world?

And if I wasn’t here, maybe Eunho would have had an even better school life.

Eunho and Seongheon both said that what happened to them wasn’t my fault, but if I hadn’t been here, they wouldn’t have gone through it.

At the very least, if I hadn’t been there, Seongheon’s half-brother wouldn’t have targeted him if he had the power like those invited to the tea party Seongheon hosted.

Clunk.

The hand that was moving the pieces grew cold again.

After losing my family, every time I play chess, such thoughts cross my mind.

‘I wonder what would’ve happened if I hadn’t played chess.’

Every time I played, a cold thought would freeze my hand.

Seeing Eunho, seeing Seongheon, and knowing they knew my chess so well, those thoughts slowly started to return.

Seongheon didn’t show it much, but seeing Eunho’s chess, it was clear he had studied me and learned about my game.

If I hadn’t played chess, Seongheon would have cared less and paid less attention to me.

And if that were the case, maybe I wouldn’t have made the sacrifice, and I wouldn’t have become estranged from my family.

‘And if I hadn’t played chess, maybe our family...’

The car accident that took my family wasn’t my fault, nor was it chess’s fault.

But during the short life I lived, the fact that my parents worked hard, and that my younger siblings felt lonely, was because of my chess.

Even if the accident that was bound to happen couldn’t be avoided, if I hadn’t played chess, maybe my family would have had a happier life.

Seongheon and my family, because of me and chess...

Boom!

At that moment, a loud noise interrupted my thoughts.

Though there had been cheering outside, a barrier had been set up over the game stage so that the sound wouldn’t reach the players’ focus. But it seemed the barrier had been broken.

The barrier was controlled by Jeegal Jaegel.

The opponent must have broken Jeegal Jaegel’s barrier.

But there was no aftereffect except for the noise.

There was no shockwave, nor could I feel any wind.

The person who broke the barrier seemed to have split it just to transmit the sound.

Mechanically, I made my next move, moving my eyes to look where the sound came from.

“Looks like the cheering was excessive.”

The White Tiger was there.

The White Tiger held a cheer stick, as though he had just swung it.

Wrapped in pure white energy, the cheer stick looked like a great sword.

No, how could I call it excessive cheering after breaking the barrier with a cheer stick?

He should have been in the waiting area, preparing for the next match—why was he here?

Even though the White Tiger was causing a ruckus, Hwang Ji-ho and Cheong Ho just watched.

They were holding cheer sticks and only watching me. They didn’t try to stop him or say anything.

Even the students from our class were the same.

I couldn’t believe it, but it seemed like they were praising the White Tiger for what he did.

I could hear the stunned crowd yelling, but soon, Jeegal Jaegel's newly set barrier muffled the sound.

Clunk.

Finally, Eunho made his next move.

His hand moved unnaturally for a moment, and I involuntarily turned my eyes away, but when I looked back, Eunho smiled.

Seeing his ridiculous cheering and the way our class members and Seongheon were laughing, the "what ifs" that had troubled me before sank away.

In the middle of this game, I shouldn’t be thinking about what might have been.

The people who came to cheer me on, and Eunho right in front of me, were all hoping that I would continue playing chess.

‘Let’s make my next move.’

I moved a piece again.

There was some warmth in my hand now.