Chapter 30: The Many Talents That Make Money
Ah.
I found myself feeling a bit proud without realizing it.
Unaware of my thoughts, Yuzuha approached with a bright smile.
“Hello, Inha-oppa.”
“Ah, hello.”
I greeted awkwardly and briefly looked away.
Her eyes were large like those of a deer.
Looking up at me with that gaze, it was strangely hard to meet her eyes.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I made you come all the way here because of me.”
“I said I would come.”
“But still……”
Yuzuha was at a loss for what to do with her apology, fidgeting with her fingertips.
Actually, it was she who had said she would come to find me first.
I had come because it felt burdensome.
But the moment I arrived here, she was overly apologetic.
She hesitated for a moment, then quickly changed her expression.
“Ah! Oppa, please stop using honorifics. I’m still a junior!”
“Is that so?”
“Yes!”
I smiled awkwardly.
Being told to stop using honorifics felt oddly more tense than I expected.
Seeing that, Yuzuha smiled brightly.
“Let’s go to the cafe.”
“Okay.”
We followed Yuzuha up the stairs.
On the fourth floor, we turned the corner and opened a glass door decorated with paulownia wood.
Magnolia Go Cafe.
It was much larger than I had expected.
Go boards placed everywhere.
Spacious floor-to-ceiling windows and wooden blinds.
On one wall, old Go books and game records were neatly arranged.
Inside, there was even a terrace with warm sunlight.
Go and sensibility.
It was a space where the two words blended perfectly.
“Yuzuha, it’s a customer I haven’t seen before?”
As we approached the counter, a middle-aged man greeted us.
His hair was slightly graying, with soft eyes.
A deep complexion with a comfortable smile.
It seemed that this was what it meant to age gracefully.
I found myself thinking that.
Yuzuha introduced me to him, looking at me.
“This is the cafe owner, Master Hwang. He retired from pro and, as you can see, is a successful barista.”
“Welcome.”
Master Hwang narrowed his eyes and greeted lightly.
“It’s my first time meeting you. I’m Kim In-ha.”
I introduced myself briefly.
Master Hwang narrowed his eyes, then asked with a playful smile.
“Boyfriend?”
“What? No!”
Yuzuha shook her head vigorously in surprise.
“T-this is Inha-oppa… I brought him because I wanted to learn from him.”
She added hurriedly.
Then Master Hwang chuckled.
“Is that all? No other feelings?”
“D-don’t tease me!”
Yuzuha’s cheeks flushed as she protested.
“Since he’s someone meaningful to me, please be careful not to cause misunderstandings!”
My mouth went dry.
‘…Meaningful person?’
No.
In this situation, was choosing that word appropriate?
Spouting words full of misunderstanding potential without hesitation.
‘Is she doing this on purpose?’
It was an ambiguous tone, unclear if joking or sincere.
I was momentarily at a loss for words.
Habitual flirting or something.
I was troubled, unsure how to respond, when Master Hwang asked with a smile.
“What would you like to drink?”
“…An iced Americano, please.”
“I won’t charge you.”
Master Hwang subtly gestured towards Yuzuha with his eyes.
“Because he’s someone meaningful. Even if my Korean is a bit rough, that expression is sincere.”
I smiled awkwardly and nodded.
Looking to the side, Yuzuha was smiling with her eyes gently closed.
‘…This can’t be overlooked.’
It was an unintentional, innocent remark.
I resolved not to misinterpret it and act carelessly.
Master Hwang added while placing the coffee.
“Go to the inner terrace. I’ll tell them not to disturb you.”
“Thank you!”
With that, Yuzuha bowed her head brightly and greeted.
I received the coffee and headed to the terrace with Yuzuha.
‘This place is nice.’
Sunlight gently seeped through the windows and landed on the Go board.
A cozy yet nostalgic atmosphere.
It was the kind of place I would want to visit often if the distance wasn’t too far.
But.
‘Eh, eh?’
My feet slowed as I walked inside.
Young people sitting around the Go board.
They were reviewing and researching with serious faces.
The stones on that Go board.
They didn’t seem unfamiliar.
‘This… this is my Go?’
A few days ago.
On Jang Yu-na’s 2-dan live broadcast, it was the exact board where I had played against Chinese player Sun Yao 6-dan.
I stopped my steps and naturally looked at that Go board.
‘It’s unmistakable.’
From the early left-side upper corner fight to the mid-game left-side clash.
It matched exactly the moves I had in my mind.
“Ah! Inha-oppa also knows about Mumyeong?”
As if noticing me, Yuzuha stopped walking.
“Mu… mumyeong?”
I hesitated in speech.
I didn’t know what to say.
“Ah, you don’t know? But you’re still drawn to it.”
Yuzuha explained calmly.
“Recently, the amateur user who’s been hot in Samgukji Baduk. A few days ago, he beat Master Ahn Seong-hyun and even caught Sun Yao 6-dan.”
“R-really?”
“It became famous after appearing on Yu-na unnie’s streaming. Especially among young players, it’s huge…”
Yuzuha cautiously approached closer to me.
Then, standing on tiptoes, she whispered softly into my ear.
‘Actually, a top-tier player is hiding their identity in a deal.’
I was momentarily stunned.
I didn’t even have time to feel the breath on my ear.
That I was a top-tier player?
Was my Go that good?
There was a strangely numb sensation and a sense of reality twisting.
At that moment, the players sitting around the Go board were discussing intensely.
“Here, this move, AI would never recommend.”
“But Mumyeong played it. That move hit the mark.”
“Really, what to say. It’s not the Blue Spot… but he leads the board with his own flow.”
“This jilt too. If you avoid it, it makes you fight. If you fight, it makes you want to avoid it.”
“It’s fun Go.”
Heat rose to my face.
Other people or not, professional players had gathered in one place.
Reviewing my Go.
The unknown amateur I was.
At this moment, I felt like I was in the center of the world.
“Isn’t it Master Oh Soo?”
“He retired a long time ago.”
“I think it’s Senior Won Seong-jin. His style is exactly like that.”
“Hyung, I think it’s Master Na Sang-ho. I felt it in this move.”
My face, which had become embarrassed, burned.
Former top-tier players who had retired.
Or players who had their names listed in the domestic rankings.
Placing myself on the same level as them.
Seeing them talking in front of me, the actual party.
It was too embarrassing to lift my head.
But.
‘My feelings are good.’
That I, the real me, the bank security guard Kim In-ha, was not recognized for anything but pure Go skill.
Bit by bit.
There was no longer any reason to hide.
‘Wait a minute…’
Upon thinking about it.
Yuzuha knew about my Go.
She had told me in DM that Master Kang Hyuk had recommended me.
Then, perhaps.
‘…Did she see Mumyeong’s Go?’
I glanced at Yuzuha sideways.
She was walking towards the terrace with a clear smile, as if she knew nothing.
I was a bit uneasy.
Knowing about my Go meant she could notice that I was Mumyeong.
A good atmosphere terrace.
Surrounded by the Go board where sunlight fell, we sat facing each other.
“I haven’t played or watched Go for a long time. Master Kang told me that it’s a good way to rest.”
‘Ah.’
I felt relieved without realizing it.
That meant she didn’t know about Mumyeong’s Go.
Yuzuha continued with a dark face.
“Then I saw Inha-oppa’s Go and thought. I want to play it. Then I might feel it.”
Again.
That strange speech without subject.
But.
As we continued talking, it seemed I was getting a bit used to it.
“Please make one move.”
Yuzuha bowed her head politely.
I nodded silently.
After preparing, we placed the Go bowls under the board.
Due to the sunlight, the stones felt warm in my hand.
Calmly breathing, I covered the stones.
Black.
We exchanged Go bowls and greeted each other.
‘Her eyes have changed.’
Just a moment ago, Yuzuha who was lively and shy.
She had become a completely different person.
Without any playfulness.
In her clear and deep eyes, there was the solemnity of a professional player.
‘She’s serious.’
I lightly breathed and picked up a stone.
Tap.
First move.
Hwa-jeom.
The classical opening popularized by AI research.
But after a few moves.
‘I have no confidence.’
It felt.
The stones weren’t creating their own paths.
Following AI’s directionality, but nothing more.
No color of her own.
‘Just imitating.’
Accurate shape.
Clean form.
Yet the feeling from the entire board was dead.
Such flow became more apparent as it entered the midgame.
Tap.
I didn’t attack or pressure.
Naturally.
I played the Go waiting for Yuzuha to collapse on her own.
‘I think I know why.’
Why she asked me to play a game.
She herself would feel it.
That her Go was somewhere off.
The slowly collapsing expression of Yuzuha was telling it.
‘…It’s right to tell.’
Could I give advice?
Did I have the qualifications?
I hesitated for a moment.
But.
Someone had to say it.
Moreover, she had extended the hand first.
I slowly placed the Go stones.
“It seems there’s no point in playing more.”
Yuzuha looked up.
No words.
I swallowed and said firmly.
“This Go is imitation. It doesn’t seem like your Go.”
Yuzuha sat quietly with both hands clasped on her lap.
Silence.
Her eyes were trembling transparently.
“Finding the answer isn’t always the solution.”
“I know that too.”
Yuzuha’s voice, opening her mouth, trembled slightly.
“But, from some point on… I unconsciously started looking for only the Blue Spot. Then I forget what I was trying to play.”
I nodded silently.
“It was scary.”
Yuzuha lowered her forehead slightly.
“In real games, making mistakes, being wrong… I didn’t know it was so scary.”
I silently took a sip of coffee.
Bitterness.
I understood that heart.
Me too, after starting AI research recently.
Naturally, I started finding the next move recommended by AI.
Following that, my Go disappeared, and I became obsessed with finding the answer.
‘It’s not necessarily bad.’
The problem is the transitional period.
In this process, if like Yuzuha I lose my own Go.
Slump continues like now, and self-esteem falls.
“Then what Master Kang showed me… was Inha-oppa’s Go.”
Yuzuha looked up again.
Her eyes slightly moist.
Perhaps overflowing emotions, faint blush on her cheeks.
“Even if it’s not the answer, a person who plays according to their own way. A person who makes a move even if it’s scary.”
With that, my heart was pierced.
Somehow a bit embarrassing.
‘I’m not that kind of person.’
I had just placed the best move to win.
It seemed she was looking at me too favorably.
That heart was grateful, embarrassing, awkward.
Yet, one side of my heart was proud.
“I like Inha-oppa’s Go.”
Yuzuha lowered her head shyly.
But the gaze looking at the Go board was firm.
“In this Go, a little… I saw.”
She continued cautiously.
Yuzuha remained silent for a while, breathing.
Then, with determination, she asked with small expectations.
“It will be hard for you, but could you play one more game?”
I stared at her quietly.
Different from before.
“I’ll play with my own Go.”
The face that had been clouded with uncertainty disappeared.
No hesitation or shaking.
Instead, her eyes were much deeper than before.
It seemed she was finding a solution through me.
“As much as you want.”
With my answer, a small smile spread on Yuzuha’s lips.
And.
We quietly started the second game.