Chapter 12
Chapter 12
“Assistant Manager Jung, crush him.”
The branch manager’s voice was firm.
It was the first time I had seen that kind of expression.
If this were the bank, it would have been an order that had to be carried out no matter what.
So I had no choice but to nod.
This was a matter tied to the branch manager’s pride.
That look in his eyes wasn’t simple encouragement—it was expectation close to anger.
Of course.
‘I won’t lose.’
It wasn’t bravado.
It was confidence with a basis.
And also… my own way of explaining why I had deceived the branch manager despite knowing how to play Go.
I sat down at the board where the semifinals of the ‘Gyeonggi Province Top Division’ would take place.
“Then let’s meet again with good news, Assistant Manager Jung.”
“Yes, sir. Please make sure you win!”
As Branch Manager Do moved to the senior section, Assistant Manager Jung sat across from me.
He had thick horn-rimmed glasses and a frail build.
He looked to be in his mid-thirties, and perhaps because of his snake-like eyes, his impression wasn’t good at all.
“I don’t think I’ve seen you in the in-house tournament… so there was someone else at the Samil branch who can play Go.”
Come to think of it, something the branch manager had said a while ago came back to me.
That there was an employee at a nearby branch who was good at Go.
That he had even placed in the in-house tournament and had great performance results.
I remembered him clicking his tongue, saying, “Why don’t we have talent like that at our branch?”
The Assistant Manager Jung in front of me.
This must be that guy.
“I’m Jung Suho from the PB team. And you are?”
“…Kim Inha. My position is a security guard.”
“Ah, a guard.”
Assistant Manager Jung nodded awkwardly with a faint smile.
At that moment, the atmosphere subtly changed.
The instant I revealed my position, I could feel his gaze shift.
It was a look I had seen countless times while working security.
As the announcement echoed, we began to draw stones.
As a result, I took black, and Assistant Manager Jung took white.
“Please take care of me.”
I greeted him calmly first.
“Yeah, well… let’s both play well.”
Something about his tone grated on me.
It wasn’t quite casual speech, nor was it proper politeness—it blurred the line.
Within that ambiguity, there was a subtle sense of looking down on me.
…Another reason not to lose was added.
This wasn’t the bank.
Experience, rank, and position weren’t grounds for discrimination here.
Only the stones and the moves decided everything.
Tap!
I placed my first move on the lower right star point.
Assistant Manager Jung responded with a star point as well, maintaining balance.
Only about twenty moves had passed, but his tendencies were already starting to show.
An openly aggressive style that pursued influence over territory.
The stones he placed mostly on the fourth line rather than the practical third line were proof.
A style driven by momentum.
A style that, once it caught the flow, became uncontrollable.
For now, it was calm, but the groundwork for a full-scale offensive was steadily being laid.
‘This is an interesting game.’
That was all.
Nothing more, nothing less.
“…”
I glanced to the side.
The branch manager stood watching with his arms crossed.
His expression was more serious than when branch performance had dropped.
‘…There’s no reason to go easy.’
I had no intention of playing this game normally, nor of winning in a normal way.
I would overwhelm him with absolute skill.
That would be the ‘perfect victory’ to restore the branch manager’s pride.
For Assistant Manager Jung, Go was part of his social life.
Thanks to Go, he had caught Branch Manager Do’s attention and always had an advantage in performance evaluations.
There were employees who disliked that, but he didn’t care.
If they didn’t like it, they could try it themselves.
Did they think it was easy to give up weekends and split time on holidays to attend tournaments with the branch manager?
‘How good could a bank security guard be?’
Assistant Manager Jung twisted his lips as he looked at Inha, who was thinking about his next move.
A security guard.
If he had good education and ability, he wouldn’t have ended up doing that job in the first place.
He must have some skill to have made it this far, but honestly, it didn’t feel like he would lose.
‘I’ll grind him down and earn some points with the branch manager.’
So far, the game was flowing quietly.
But soon, influence would collide with influence.
There was no more room to expand.
To take or to be taken.
The battle would inevitably occur at that boundary.
‘I’ll take the initiative.’
Assistant Manager Jung fired the first signal.
Before the opponent could stabilize, he intended to disrupt the shape and expand the game.
‘Oh? You’re resisting?’
He sneered inwardly and responded with a strong move.
He was forcing black to retreat.
But then—
Black resisted head-on again with a diagonal attachment.
‘This move works?’
The confidence on Assistant Manager Jung’s face began to darken.
Frequent sighs.
A wandering gaze.
Time slipping away.
With each move, the balance rapidly tilted.
‘What is this…?’
Momentum?
There was no room to create flow, no chance to ride any momentum.
Black’s relentless assault left no time to breathe.
The continuous sequence of moves that seized the entire board made his mind go blank.
It was sheer domination.
The depth of reading itself was different.
The ten moves ahead that he had foreseen were completely crushed and dismantled by Inha’s play.
‘Th-this is impossible. This is 5-dan, 6-dan… no, this isn’t a level a guard could play at!’
Assistant Manager Jung’s Three Kingdoms Go rank was 6-dan.
If he weren’t busy with bank work and could increase his number of games, he had a win rate that could aim for 7-dan.
Yet he was being overwhelmed.
He, losing to nothing more than a security guard?
He couldn’t accept it.
Though he dragged the game toward counting while desperately holding on, the gap kept widening.
‘Damn it.’
Assistant Manager Jung bit his lip.
His fingertips were trembling with anxiety.
Further struggle felt meaningless.
‘Was that too ruthless?’
The outcome had been decided long ago.
There were no more moves to consider.
I always played my best, but this game had been especially focused.
The result—
A difference of over thirty points.
Honestly, it was such an overwhelming gap that continuing was meaningless.
Glance.
I checked the branch manager’s expression.
His previously stiff face now held a sense of ease.
He looked very satisfied.
‘Huh? Branch Manager Do is here too?’
Among the spectators, I spotted him.
Our branch manager approached the grim-faced Branch Manager Do and said something.
Instantly, his face turned sour.
‘…I don’t even need to hear what he said.’
Whenever our branch’s performance was lower than Seongdong’s, he would call in employees and scold them mercilessly.
And now he had even lost to him in the tournament—no wonder he was upset.
At least, the consolation was that I had completely crushed Assistant Manager Jung, who worked under him.
Judging by our branch manager’s expression, his pride seemed somewhat restored.
“I resign.”
Assistant Manager Jung, who had been stubbornly holding on, declared defeat.
“Good game.”
I calmly greeted him and cleared the stones.
“Good, very good!”
As if he had been waiting for this moment, the branch manager placed a hand on my shoulder and beamed.
“What should we do? My employee ended up winning.”
Pride filled his face.
“Wins and losses happen. We both have two prize winners, don’t we?”
Branch Manager Do shot back.
Most amateur Go tournaments don’t have a match for third and fourth place.
Reaching the semifinals means a joint third-place award.
“No, no. Just look at the Olympics. One silver or gold is better than two bronzes.”
At the branch manager’s added remark, I was stunned.
‘Wow… he can be this childish?’
It was hard to believe this was the same calculating, charismatic branch manager I knew.
But what was even more surprising—
Branch Manager Do’s eyebrow twitched.
“I noticed earlier, it seemed like you didn’t even know your employee could play Go?”
“What did you say?”
“Why, am I wrong?”
Our branch manager glanced at me, flustered.
A brief silence.
A cold tension spread.
“That’s because the branch manager was being considerate.”
“…Staff Kim?”
I suddenly stepped in.
The branch manager’s eyes widened.
“I don’t really like playing Go that much. I didn’t even plan to participate in this tournament, but after what the branch manager said, I changed my mind… I’m sorry, sir. I couldn’t tell you in advance.”
The lie flowed out naturally.
It just felt like the right thing to do.
Because this, too, felt like part of social life.
At my words, Branch Manager Do pressed his lips together.
“No, it’s fine. I understand. Take it easy.”
A broad smile spread across the branch manager’s face.
Judging by it, he seemed quite satisfied with my answer.
“More importantly, report the result to the organizers. Go on.”
“Yes, sir.”
I gave a light bow and left.
When I glanced back, the branch manager was chatting happily with a smile.
Meanwhile, Branch Manager Do and Assistant Manager Jung looked sour.
‘This is enough.’
After reporting to the staff, my name was placed at the very top of the tournament bracket.
Final.
A word that always feels good to hear.
Just one more win, and I could claim an even sweeter victory.
As I was about to head back to the match hall, I saw people gathering near the stage.
‘Oh, right. The event answer announcement.’
I had completely forgotten in the chaos.
They said it would be announced before the finals.
I headed toward the front of the stage.
The puzzle had been quite difficult, and most of those eliminated had already gone home.
Even so, more than thirty participants remained.
Jang Yuna, 2-dan, stood on stage and took the microphone.
“You’ve waited a long time, right? I’m here to announce the answer to the final problem of the special life-and-death puzzle event.”
Holding magnetic stones, she placed them on the large demonstration board.
“Hmm, judging by the shape, this seems like the answer… am I right, Instructor Kang Hyuk?”
“The idea is correct, but if white hane’s, black’s next move becomes difficult.”
The two demonstrated incorrect moves while explaining why they didn’t work.
I folded my arms and waited for the correct answer.
After most variations had been shown, Kang Hyuk, 9-dan, picked up a black stone.
“The answer is here.”
I got it right.
A brilliant move that induces a self-atari, eventually causing white’s large group to self-destruct.
It wasn’t that difficult from my perspective, but it seemed otherwise for the others.
“Ah…”
“Got it wrong.”
Most participants turned away in disappointment.
Only about ten people remained, and I was one of them.
“Now then, we will announce the winner. As you know, the correct answer winner will receive a top-quality Go board as a prize. Instructor?”
“Yes, the winner of the life-and-death problem is…”
Kang Hyuk, 9-dan, paused briefly before announcing clearly.
“Participant number 564, Kim Inha.”
“Congratulations. Please come up to the stage right away!”
I had won.
I got the answer right, and I had also submitted it first, so there were no surprises.
I awkwardly raised my hand and went up to the stage.
“Congratulations. Are you a participant?”
“Yes, yes.”
Seeing Jang Yuna, 2-dan, in person felt strange.
There was a sense of disconnect from seeing her on a monitor.
Of course, in a good way.
“Which division did you enter?”
“…The Gyeonggi Province Top Division.”
“I thought so—you solved the puzzle so well, you must be a high-level player. Congratulations again.”
“Thank you.”
“You can receive the Go board below.”
I nodded and stepped down from the stage.
A staff member guided me to the display area.
‘Finally, I have a Go board.’
A real board where I could place stones with my own hands, not through a screen.
For some reason, it felt meaningful.
After checking my participation ID, the staff member struggled as he brought over the board and stones.
“Congratulations. You can take it as is.”
At a glance, it was a high-end wooden Go board, along with glossy bowls and stones.
Just looking at it made me smile.
‘Wait.’
A bad feeling crossed my mind.
‘I have to carry this… myself?’