When Jo Ui-shin and Eun-ho came up on stage for the match, the students of Class 0, Grade 2 cheered fervently even though they knew their voices wouldn’t reach them.

Just as Jo Ui-shin had looked up once during the last chess competition, they could see this side, so they put a lot of effort into visual cheering.

The design of the cheering hologram was done by Min-green, but Guseul-bi showed off her charm and decorated it extravagantly.

Also, Jo Ui-shin’s cheering stick and star stick, which Mok Woo-ram and Song Dae-seok had specially modified, shone in brighter and more colorful colors.

The cheering was so intense that the players could see it if they just turned their gaze a little, but unfortunately Jo Ui-shin didn’t see it.

However, Dokgo Mi-ro felt Eun-ho briefly looking this way.

“Hey, I think I’ve seen that first-year here?”

“He’s the junior who always eats breakfast with the vice president.”

“That’s right. I’ve seen her often in the dormitory cafeteria. Eun-ha is a close junior of class 0, 1st year, and Eui-shin.”

“Eui-shin will win, but I’ll cheer for Eun-ha too!”

The dormitory students who often saw Eun-ho accompanying Jo Ui-shin as his junior Cheon Eun-ha cheered for Eun-ho as a way to encourage him.

Eun-ho nodded lightly in response and greeted his class lightly.

Not only the 2nd year class 0 students, but also the 1st year class 0 students were holding star flags.

They didn’t care at all that they were openly cheering for Jo Ui-shin instead of Eun-ho, who was in the same class.

Eun-ho had the following conversation with the kids in his class who were worried about cheering.

―Cheering for Eui-shin is no different from cheering for me.

―Then if Eui-shin cheers for oppa, he’s cheering for Eun-ha, so when the two of them fight, I should cheer for Eui-shin!

―A fight! Even if it was a big game, ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) it sounded like my classmate was fighting his senior, so I don’t like it. Use a different expression.

―... ... When the two meet, Eui-shin should cheer for oppa!

When Eun-ho corrected his expression after a short thought, the class nodded in satisfaction.

In fact, if the two of them face off, they would give up cheering for Eun-ho, but there were no opposing opinions on that matter, only irrelevant criticisms.

If Eun-ho were an ordinary high school student, she would have been a little disappointed, but she didn’t care at all.

Rather, she thought it would be good to have at least one more person cheering for Jo Eui-shin, who would have a hard time dealing with her.

When Eun-ho thought it was fortunate that the class did as she intended, there were some children who showed an unexpected reaction.

―I’ll cheer for Eun-ha too, inwardly!

―I’ll do that too!

Eunseoho and Eunho smiled and said, holding the stars.

Those words contained warm sincerity toward Eunho.

Even so, in the end, they meant to cheer for Jo Eui-shin, but Eunho forgot to say it for a moment.

But it was only for a moment.

Eunho skillfully hid his emotions then and now, as he started the game, and looked at the children in his class.

“Will you not think anything after seeing that?”

“I always think. But it will be different from what you expect.”

Cheongho and Hwangho talked while watching the scene, but soon their attention changed from Eunho to Jo Eui-shin.

Jo Eui-shin, sitting up straight, just stared at the chess board, not even looking at the audience.

The stadium was filled with loud and colorful cheering, but when he saw Jo Eui-shin, it seemed as if only the chess board and the opponent he was playing against existed.

To put it nicely, she was focused, and to put it badly, she didn’t seem to have time to look around at the people who came to cheer her on.

“The time limit is not enough, so everyone plays quickly, but the pace is much faster than that!”

“I don’t know much about chess, but I think you two must know your opponent well to be able to play so quickly. Since you two are close, you must have played chess before, right?”

Mok Woo-ram’s doubts were justified, but In-seon-oh said to Jo Ui-shin, whose hands stopped for a moment after encountering the poisoned pawn.

“This must be the first time you two are playing chess together.”

Cheong-ho and Hwang-ho, who knew In-seon-oh’s words were true, turned their eyes to look at her.

Since she was the only one in the class wearing a white jacket, In-seon-oh’s remark made her stand out even more.

“Even if you’ve never played a game before, there are many ways to read the moves. If you thoroughly study your opponent’s records and repeat simulations, you can increase the speed of your moves. The first graders have been studying Ui-shin thoroughly.”

Inseon-oh's words were true, but it wasn't easy to figure out this just by looking at them, not long after they started playing.

The clansmen already knew that Inseon-oh was no ordinary being, but they exchanged glances with a little admiration.

"That's true, now that I hear it. Judging from the pace of his moves, Eunha is much faster than Yishin,"

"But Yishin's queen just grabbed the pawn!"

Kwon-rena said brightly, but the students who knew about chess couldn't help but be pleased.

Jo-eui-shin just grabbed the poisoned pawn, leaving the black queen in a very unstable and vulnerable position.

If they weren't careful, they could have completely lost the initiative by stealing the queen from the beginning.

Of course, instead of explaining each and every one of these, the quick-witted kids waved their cheering sticks even harder.

What they needed now was not pessimistic sentimentality, but cheering.

However, their feelings didn't reach their opponents.

“Your hands are getting slower and duller. If this continues, you will use up all the time limit and lose.”

After the black queen penetrated the white camp, the game became fierce.

Jo Eui-shin did not give up his pieces easily, and Eun-ho advanced white pieces to strategically advantageous locations instead of sacrificing his pieces.

If he made even one mistake, it was clear that the opponent’s moves, which had already secured a good position, would mercilessly knock down Jo Eui-shin’s pieces.

The complicated and intense situation on the chess board seemed to weigh on Jo Eui-shin’s hands, but to those who had been watching Jo Eui-shin, it seemed like there was more to it than that.

“Is he breathing properly, Yi-shin? I don’t see it.”

“I see it too. It’s common for sports players to hold their breath for a moment to stabilize their diaphragms when they show off their sophisticated skills and focus, but it’s not nice to see them holding their breath when their hands are so cold.”

The students of Class 0 who were shaking the starlight vigorously all looked back at Cheongho and Hwangho.

They noticed that Jo Ui-shin was not in good condition, but only a few people noticed it completely.

Sa Wol-se-eum and Guseul-bi shouted in surprise.

“Huh? Ui-shin isn’t even breathing?”

“Why is he!”

“Vice-chairman, what are you doing! Take a deep breath! The Taoist said that you shouldn’t hold your breath for a long time when exercising for a long time!”

When Maeng Hyo-don followed the two and raised his voice, everyone’s attention turned to him.

Upon hearing that, those who had been quietly or noisily cheering Jo Ui-shin were shocked and shaken.

Before the commotion could spread any further, Kim Yu-ri calmed the children down.

“Teacher Kim Shin-rok and Teacher Jegal Jae-geol must have noticed too. They kept an eye on Ui-shin after the game started. If anything happens, they will stop the game.”

As Kim Yu-ri said, the two teachers were already looking at Jo Ui-shin with worried eyes.

Jo Ui-shin’s change was not so great that even the students with excellent observation skills would not notice it, but the two teachers were already watching.

The anxiety had subsided, but the agitation did not disappear.

The suspension of the game due to Jo Ui-shin’s poor condition was likely to lead to a forfeit.

Even in that state, Jo Ui-shin was trying to play chess, so it was very unfortunate that it ended without even deciding the winner.

‘Not only the audience, but Jo Ui-shin and Eun-ho would not want that. One wrong intervention would ruin the match between the two.’

Jo Ui-shin, who had a blank expression, moved his pieces mechanically with his hands.

Hwang-ho could not read Jo Ui-shin’s thoughts, but he could sense his pain.

His desire to immediately stop the game and his desire to cheer him on until the end were intertwined.

Cheongho was loosening his grip, as if he was planning to barge into the stadium if necessary.

At that moment, a familiar aura quickly approached and a huge shadow loomed over him.

Hwangho spoke without even looking back.

“Baekho, this is the cheering section.”

“I know. I came here because it looked like a good place to cheer.”

Although his family register name was Baekho-gun, Hwangho usually called him Baekho, as if it was his nickname.

As a result, other children began calling him Baekho one by one, so some students who knew the identities of the Hojok had to swallow sighs.

However, the Hojok, including Baekho, did not care much.

“Did you come to cheer on Jo Eui-shin? You’ve always made me laugh a lot thanks to Jo Eui-shin, so you should make up for it.”

“That’s why I came.”

He had said it without any expectations, but when Baekho spoke like that, Hwangho narrowed his eyes and turned his head.

When his friend’s face appeared, Baekho smiled as if he had been waiting and raised his star bong.

Cheongho pointed to the god of mourning beyond the sound barrier with the star bong that was emitting fierce light and said.

“He’s not looking here. There are many things that can’t be conveyed without sound.”

When Cheongho, who had actually lost his voice, spoke, his words had a different weight.

Several children, including Dokgo Mi-ro, made solemn expressions once again.

Even so, the smile on Baekho’s face did not disappear.

“I can convey it to you now. I just have to make the god of mourning hear it.”

Baekho said something plausible to his friend, but when he thought about the meaning, it wasn’t very peaceful.

Hwangho, who was the first to understand Baekho’s ignorant intentions, opened his eyes wide.

“Baekho, you....”

Kwaaaaang!

Baekho swung his star bong before Hwangho could finish speaking.

The star-shaped cheering stick was instantly covered in pure white supernatural powers and transformed into a sword, and he swung it at a speed that was hard to follow with his eyes, cutting through Jegal Jaegyeol's soundproof barrier.

The refined verbal barrier, which had been expressed with the polite expression, 'Please be quiet during the game,' lost its power and was mercilessly cut down.

It was to prevent any unnecessary hesitation from causing any interference or Jo Ui-shin's thoughts from becoming more serious, but no one could stop Baekho from moving like lightning.

"Hey, did that second-year kid just destroy our Jegal teacher's barrier?"

"Woogi Hwan Seonbae said he had strong muscles!”

“It’s not just that he’s strong, right? No, he’s not even holding a weapon, and he just broke the sound barrier without leaving a shockwave?”

Geum Chansol and Wang Chansol were shocked and yelled at the broken barrier, but none of the students in Class 0, Year 2 were listening.

What was more important to them right now was that Jo Eui-shin was looking this way.

“You cheered too much.”

Baekho calmly collected the talent from Byeolbong and made a fool of himself.

And while the sound barrier was broken, everyone cheered Jo Eui-shin.

“Yi-shin saw you here!”

“Jo Eui-shin Seonbae, I’ll cheer you on!”

“Yi-shin hyung, Eunha! I’ll cheer you both on!”

Not only the students of Class 0, Grade 2, but also the juniors raised their voices.

The wind was so entangled that it was questionable whether anyone could properly hear what was being said.

Soon, Jegal Jae-geol restored the soundproof barrier, and the voices were cut off again, but everyone could tell that Jo Ui-shin’s condition had improved.

Many people were wary of Baekho, who was suspected of teasing Jo Ui-shin at every opportunity, but this time, everyone praised him.

“That was a great blow! Can I ask you to cheer on Yi-shin again?”

“You should use such a cool and flashy technique sparingly! It might work twice, but he’ll try to block it after the third time.”

“Next time, when you do that with Byeolbong, use the meteor shower penetration device as well! Dae-seok modified it for me, and although it drains quickly, he said it’s okay for two times.”

Except for Jin Jeong-muk, who seemed speechless after seeing the flow of the sword, the other half of the children were very excited.

While the excited children were talking to Baek-ho or rejoicing at Jo-ui-shin’s condition, Hwang-ho observed Jo-ui-shin’s condition.

‘Jo-ui-shin is making the next move.’

Jo-ui-shin took a deep breath and made the next move.

The hand that moved the object was warm.