Tried to Crush the Chess Club but Got Crushed
As soon as we climbed to the second floor, the atmosphere shifted dramatically. Far quieter and more serious than the noisy, chaotic first floor teeming with elementary kids.
Adults peering intently at chessboards, middle and high schoolers, and the occasional upper elementary student.
They all paused their focus and turned to look at us as we arrived on the second floor.
The director introduced us.
"These two are joining the intermediate class starting today. Get along well with them. Yoo A-yeon and Yoo A-rin."
"Hellooo! I'm Yoo A-yeon! Nice to meet you all~!"
I bowed deeply with a bow. A-rin followed suit beside me.
"...Pwease take good care of us..."
Squeeeeak. Everyone in the intermediate and advanced classes stared at me and A-rin.
About forty pairs of eyes. All of them locked on us.
Gulp. The moment those gazes poured in, my mouth went bone-dry without warning.
Two little girls. A bit out of place here.
I knew rationally we'd draw attention. But my body reacted otherwise.
Thump-thump. Heart racing, mouth parched.
My amygdala was kicking in. Even knowing it was safe, the unconscious mind reacted first to the flood of stares.
If I stood alone on stage proving the Riemann Hypothesis, it'd hit ten times harder.
Get used to it. Starting now.
I consciously breathed in and out—whoosh-whoosh. A breathing technique that had helped since my past life whenever tension built.
No avoiding the stares. Accept them naturally. Practice speaking and moving through the anxiety.
Amid those thoughts,
a middle school boy approached, kneeling to meet my eyes.
"Nice to meet you. How old are you?"
"Um... I'm five, and my wittle sister's three."
A brief silence. Then reactions erupted.
"What, five? Three?"
"For real?"
"That's wild."
A high school girl came over to me.
"Impressive... My little brother's seven and still obsessed with his stuffed toys. And you're younger, tackling brain-melting chess—in the intermediate class, no less."
I put my hands on my hips and puffed out my chest at the praise.
"Hehehe! Me and my sister are pretty smart, huh!"
The high school girl burst into giggles.
"Aww, so cute. Makes coming here today way more fun."
Swish. She pulled a Ferrero Rocher chocolate from her pocket.
"This big sis wants to be friends with A-yeon, so it's a gift. Here."
"Eek...! Can I weally have this?"
"Of course. I've got tons."
She reached into her pocket again, and out came a pile of golden balls.
K-high schoolers stockpile snacks in their pockets... Guess it's true. No need for me to prove it myself in twelve years when I become one.
"A-rin, right? Here, you too."
"Eep... Th-thank you so much..."
A-rin shyly accepted the Ferrero with both hands, all polite.
We glanced at Dad with the chocolates in hand. Just in case he said no.
"Heh heh heh. No mom's here to stop us, so yeah. Go ahead and enjoy."
"Yay~! Thanks for the treat~!"
I peeled off the gold wrapper right away.
My mouth was still too small to pop a whole one in, so I bit half—nom—chewed it up, then popped the rest in.
Nom. Munch munch. The chocolate rolled sweet and nutty over my tongue.
"Mmmph yumyum."
"Om nom... hehehe."
The sugar hit my tongue, and my brain exploded with dopamine and endorphins. Stress hormone cortisol dropped, and my racing heart steadied.
A-rin looked way more relaxed too, thanks to the sweet treat.
"How's it taste? Heh, good, right? My fave snack."
The chocolate-giving high schooler grinned wide.
"Hehehe! Yesh! Super dewishush!"
"Thank you... sis..."
"Name's Seo Eun-chae. Let's be friends."
Eun-chae sis held out her hand. We grabbed it.
"Yes, Eun-chae sis!"
"M-me too..."
After the greetings, A-rin quietly looked around.
Most were deep in serious games, staring at their boards. I could see her shoulders relax a bit.
Unlike a kids' cafe, no one here was screaming or running around.
Good. She likes it here.
A few days passed. A-rin and I were settling into the Chess Club bit by bit.
Our win rate against intermediate players hovered around fifty-fifty. Right at the class average.
The director, with his experience coaching tons of students, had sized us up perfectly.
And on days when advanced students played guidance games with intermediates, our record against them was brutal.
We might snag two or three wins out of twenty—if we were lucky. Even twisted positions? High-rated players seemed to love them.
Come to think of it, Dad never shied away from complex setups when we played either.
Eun-chae sis was especially shocking. Sit her at the board, and she turned into a total bomber. Nothing like the sweet smile when she gave us chocolates. Her skill seemed beyond even Dad's. Rumor had it she'd been playing over ten years.
"Ughhh... Eun-chae sis, that's too much."
"Aaah! Sorry, sorry. My cute little A-yeon—next time, wanna give you a confidence boost? I'll spot you a rook."
"...Hmph! Don't tease me!"
Seo Eun-chae, grinning mischievously as she poked fun. She had a real playful streak.
About two weeks into clubbing, the director said,
"A-yeon, aren't you growing a bit too fast?"
"Am I?"
"You're way better than when you started. Your position reading's deeper now."
Scratch-scratch. I rubbed my head, embarrassed.
"Hehehe. Been practicing super hard to beat the advanced big kids~."
"Take it slow. They've got years under their belts."
A middle school girl from intermediate chimed in.
"A-yeon's a total weirdo—in a good way. Positional play at five? Makes no sense."
"Positional play's fun! Twisting things up is more exciting."
"Exactly, that's what makes it weirder."
A middle school boy jumped in.
"But A-rin's no joke either. Her tactics are killer. Thought I had her last time, then bam—surprise tactic, queen gone."
A-rin ducked her head at that.
"Th-thank you..."
She murmured softly, head bowed.
But I caught it—the tips of her ears turning pink, corners of her mouth twitching up...!
"Heh heh heh..."
Hmph. A-rin fell for it too, huh. The sweet taste of praise!
Thanks to Mom's genes, praise makes you grin like you're floating on air.
A-rin must've inherited it strong.
Pat-pat. I stroked her shy head.
Two weeks in, A-rin showed real change.
She used to cling to my hand just entering the club. Now? She beat me to the door.
Jingle-jingle.
"H-hi everyone~."
More familiar faces, more chats—tension easing off.
Predictable people. Rule-followers, turn-waiters, logical talkers.
Just like Teacher Park Ji-soo said—perfect for A-rin, whose social dev outpaced her peers.
"A-rin, game with me today?"
A boy from intermediate asked, and she nodded.
"Okay, sure."
I watched, thinking,
It's working out great.
At least the urgent fire of her social growth was out.
One day, Mom called me over from the sofa where she was reading a journal.
"A-yeon, come here. Got something to discuss."
"Huh?"
Patpatpat. I closed the book and toddled over.
Mom showed me a promo poster on her phone.
"What do you think about you entering this?"
"Speech contest?"
It was a poster for the Speech Contest.
"Yeah. Standing before crowds, speaking clearly and loudly on given topics. Your goal's beating stage fright and regaining lecture vibes, right? This seems perfect."
I pondered.
Speech contest.
Never crossed my mind. Forgot they even existed.
I ran a mental sim.
Hundreds packed in. Yoo A-yeon alone on stage. Yoo A-yeon speaks loud and clear. Audience applauds the great speech.
— Ahem, mic test, mic test! Hellooo, I'm Yoo A-yeon! Today's topic is blah blah this and that~!
Clap clap clapclapclap!
"Wheeee."
Just imagining it was fun. "A-yeon, you're drooling."
"Ack—." Sniff.
Anyway, topic fit aside, for stage fright? Prime opportunity.
"Mom, that's a brilliant idea! I'm in."
"Great! Let's check it out together."
Mom opened her laptop.