The Diamond Roulette Ticket
The stone was placed.
Black’s move carried a faint sense of anxiety.
This I can’t let pass.
After all, ki is nothing but the foundation.
Leaving a weakness that the opponent shows and ignoring it is softness.
Black cut.
First resistance.
Cut.
Wu Xiaoyu 9-dan immediately picked up the stone and played a cut.
It looked like he was forcing a fight while accepting the disconnection.
……That wasn’t the real intention, was it?
I smiled inwardly.
He was trying to force a fight, but I hadn’t missed the one move hidden in it.
If I extended, Black would try to save the tail in the lower side.
Normally, cutting the tail and separating the center would be the way, but since he knew it would lead to a loss in shape, he wouldn’t do that.
More importantly.
Black has a way to live that looks precarious.
A clever move on the first line.
If I hadn’t used my time carefully to read the moves calmly, I would have missed it.
Wu Xiaoyu 9-dan must have seen that move.
Well played.
World-class professionals were indeed different.
They didn’t fall easily.
They constantly challenged, twisted, and shook to seize the initiative.
The problem is that I saw that move too.
I put down my hand and switched the board to another area.
This was a reserve for the middle game, a design.
Wu Xiaoyu 9-dan, who had been hesitating, responded to my stone.
It seemed he judged that if he gave up here, he would lose as he was being pushed in the fighting.
With that exchange, my influence in the center became slightly thicker.
Good.
I placed a stone back in the spot where I had put down my hand.
A quiet extension.
Then, as if waiting, Wu Xiaoyu extended on the lower side to find a way to live.
I cut the stone on the central side.
Black’s moves became faster as he thought about breaking my group and finding life.
It seemed he thought it was a chance for a comeback.
You’ll get what you give.
However, I remained calm.
Even if I gave it up, it was fine.
I could rebuild the group with the same value as what I lost.
Where?
The center.
A concise one-move.
While Black was living in the corner, I built a backbone in the center.
Even in the rough flow, the shape was clean.
Black had gained eight points of profit, and I had obtained thickness that made eight points of value.
Wu Xiaoyu’s face hardened.
He had gained profit but the shape wasn’t closing.
He bit his lip and picked up the stone to tap the center.
……Three times, four times, he aimed at the weakness and looked for gaps.
But I didn’t waver.
Quietly blocking, defending, and stacking.
Blocked by that firmness, Black couldn’t dig deep.
In the end, Black chose to resign.
Meanwhile, the remaining empty spaces on the board almost disappeared.
Endgame.
Wu Xiaoyu 9-dan’s last chance to reverse.
But he wasn’t a strong player in endgame.
Compared to him, I was.
My strength is in endgame.
A fact proven in the previous game.
Adding precise shape judgment.
Wu Xiaoyu 9-dan’s final struggle ultimately failed to create a reversal.
Two and a half points.
Exactly that gap.
This difference in points didn’t even require a komi to the end.
In the end, Wu Xiaoyu’s hand went to the resignation box.
Clack.
He placed the stone on the table and declared his resignation.
“……”
Wu Xiaoyu 9-dan looked half in a daze.
His face didn’t accept his defeat yet.
He had been attacking, shaking, and pressing all along.
But he lost.
The judge confirmed the result and withdrew.
Wu Xiaoyu 9-dan, sitting blankly, slowly stood from his chair.
"Excuse me"
In Chinese.
Wu Xiaoyu 9-dan paused for a moment.
He turned his head to look at my face.
He probably already knew I could speak Chinese.
However.
At this moment, right after the loss, what came out of my mouth would have sounded different.
“Professional players who win by luck have one more on the list of those who won by luck.”
“What?”
Wu Xiaoyu’s expression hardened.
His eyes shook slightly for a moment.
His face was flushing red as if he was about to hit me.
My words had sounded insulting.
However, I accepted that gaze as it was.
I didn’t avoid it.
I was asking with my eyes.
You really don’t remember, do you?
How shameless. Praising himself for beating a few amateurs and some pros by luck.
The day before the quarterfinals.
The restaurant where he had taken his parents.
That mocking remark he had casually thrown.
I remembered it clearly and vividly.
At that time.
Wu Xiaoyu’s lips trembled.
“You, don’t tell me…”
As if remembering belatedly, his expression twisted.
It was enough now.
I gave a short bow.
“Congratulations on your victory.”
In Korean.
He had been staring at me for a long time, then turned and left.
Only after he completely disappeared did I feel the sense of having won.
At that time.
- Ding!
A system achievement window appeared in front of me.
30th Ciel Bank Cup World Masters Finals Qualification.
Continuing your amazing achievements.
You have qualified for the world championship 'Ciel Bank Cup World Masters Finals' as an amateur.
Rewards will be added for achievements.
The 'Platinum Roulette Ticket' has automatically upgraded to 'Diamond Roulette Ticket'.
'Diamond Roulette Ticket' can receive rewards by adding achievements later. Would you like to receive it now? Yes or No
This is it.
I clenched my fist.
As expected, there was something more than the 'Diamond Roulette Ticket'.
If it didn’t exist, there wouldn’t be a phrase like 'rewards added for future achievements'.
It meant that this system still had something more to give me.
If this is the case, have I secured at least one A-rank talent?
I swallowed my laughter and reached out my hand.
No.
Not now.
Although an A-rank talent has value, it would be a shame to stop here after coming this far.
Look a little higher.
Go a little further to the end.
Perhaps S-rank talent might come out.
“Player Kim In-ha, please move to the interview area.”
At the staff’s request, I nodded and stood from the chair.
Outside the studio, I came out to the photo wall area.
Click.
Flash after flash without pause.
Beyond the barricade, journalists.
Nationalities and media companies varied. It seemed there were more than before the match.
The MC approached, smiling, and held out the microphone.
“Player Kim In-ha, congratulations on qualifying for the finals. Please give one comment.”
I took a short breath.
“……Are you going to say a long thing?”
And added calmly.
“The feeling is the best.”
I expressed the emotions I was feeling without embellishment, as they were.
The journalists’ laughter.
And the bursting flashes.
“Then, let’s hear the journalists’ questions.”
The MC gestured to point at one journalist.
“After a fierce competition today, you won. When do you think was the most critical moment?”
A look of expectation.
It seemed he was expecting a comment with some topic.
I thought for a moment and smiled quietly.
“I don’t remember well.”
“Was there no critical moment?”
“Well, it could be, or it might not.”
I left room in the answer as if agreeing.
A kind of service.
Just that was enough for the journalist to nod as if satisfied.
The MC pointed to another journalist.
“Who do you want to face in the finals?”
“Jeong Si-hoo 9-dan.”
“Is it because his Go seems easier to deal with than Lu Quanyi’s 9-dan?”
A question seeking controversy.
Very blatant.
“No.”
However, I didn’t let it pass.
The world’s best flawless player.
I answered with a pat on the back, incorporating respect and aspiration toward him.
“I want to challenge to see if my Go can reach the top of the world.”
* * *
Tteokbokki Festival.
A regional festival with increasing scale each time.
The participating booths had increased, and this year, it was expected that more people would visit than last year.
“Is this heaven? Why is there that saying. Even if you cut off everything, tteokbokki can’t be cut.”
Mukbang specialist YouTuber Moongs.
With 790,000 subscribers, she came to the tteokbokki festival for content shooting.
Like a big YouTuber, the camera followed her diligently.
“What kind of tteokbokki is this? German-style curry tteokbokki? There are too many strange things. Hey, there’s fried tteokbokki too. Shall we go try it?”
Moongs continued talking without pause to make the audio not boring.
She roamed around the booths, tasting tteokbokki, admiring it, and giving thumbs up.
“It’s so delicious. How can you make such taste with tteokbokki?”
The sincerity felt from the expression.
The plates were neatly emptied.
However, her inner feeling wasn’t like that.
Common. It’s not particularly delicious.
It was disappointing, but she didn’t show it.
Because she was a pro.
“Eh? What’s this? Ice cream tteokbokki?”
She approached the booth with excitement.
When she got closer, the savory cream aroma wafted.
“What is this strange smell! This tteokbokki can’t be passed by, right? Hoho.”
Moongs entered the booth, ordered, and waited.
A while later, the ordered tteokbokki and rabo tteokbokki came out.
Red but soft color.
The color and gloss between rose tteokbokki and regular tteokbokki.
The savory smell that tickled the nose made saliva flow.
“Shall we taste it. Oh my. What is this? It’s too delicious, right? I’ll eat one more bite.”
She bit off a large piece of tteokbokki and slurped up the rabo noodles too.
A sincere frown.
“Wow. This is addictive. The savory and the chewy umami. My hand keeps going. Especially, the noodles go well with it?”
In an instant, she emptied the plate and couldn’t hold back, raising her hand high.
“Auntie. Please give me two more servings of tteokbokki and rabo! Ah, and fried too!”
A while later, the middle-aged female owner came out with a surprised face.
“What are you eating so well, young lady?”
“It’s delicious, how can you hold it. Right. Boss, is your son’s name In-ha?”
“How did you know?”
The middle-aged female owner was startled.
“Inha Bunsik. Anyone can see it’s the child’s name. It seems you love him a lot?”
“Then, love it every day. Right now, that tteokbokki was also developed by our son.”
Moongs’ eyes widened.
“Really? Is your son a chef?”
“Eh? No. Our son… is a professional Go player. A Go player!”
A word with pride.
Moongs paused, holding the fork.
Wait a minute, I’ve heard something like this somewhere?
At that moment, while searching memory.
One of the staff sitting opposite explained quickly with a surprised face.
Moongs was startled and shouted loudly.
“Wait, boss!”
“Eh? Why, do you need more?”
The owner turned her head and asked.
“No, is your son’s name… Kim In-ha?”
“What? Does the young lady know too?”
The owner smiled happily and chatted.
“Thanks to my son these days. It’s not because he’s my child, but how great he was… Sigh. He reached the finals of the world tournament.”
Moongs was dumbfounded by the owner’s proud son.
It was real?
A hot name these days.
No, not just hot, a man who dominates Shorts and Community Best posts.
Moreover, a hot figure who appears in YouTube ads as the main CF model for Ciel Bank.
If this goes well…
She exchanged glances with the staff.
She didn’t say it, but they were thinking the same thing.
Kim In-ha.
Inha Bunsik.
Ice cream tteokbokki.
If I ride this wave well… Dream 1 million subscribers.
Maybe.
* * *
Hotel Deluxe Room.
I was looking at the advertisement on the large TV with embarrassment.
“Invest in your future.”
My appearance talking to the camera in front of the Go board.
At the same time, the Ciel Bank logo naturally rising in the bottom right of the screen.
It created an atmosphere reminiscent of a public service advertisement.
I hugged the pillow and groaned.
“Ah, my limbs…”
Nothing was natural about the expression, tone, or voice.
However, the team leader Jung Soo-yeon and the director said that was ‘authenticity’ and ‘conveyance power’.
“……Still.”
I turned my head to look out the window.
The feeling wasn’t bad.
The view of Seoul city from above.
My changed position.
Social status
And success.
The anxiety that it might disappear if I closed my eyes and opened them.
The current reality was satisfying.
“……Is mom doing well?”
Today was the first day of the tteokbokki festival.
Since there was no game, I had said I would help, but mom was firm.
“Mom will do her work, so you prepare for the finals well.”
I picked up my smartphone and put it down again.
It was worrying, but this time I decided to trust mom.
“This must be starting.”
I turned my gaze to the large TV.
The semi-final match between Jeong Si-hoo 9-dan and Lu Quanyi 9-dan.
The winner of today would face me in the finals tomorrow.
“I hope Jeong Si-hoo 9-dan comes up…”
I muttered to myself.
Lu Quanyi 9-dan.
His Go was strangely unsettling. No, it was more accurate to say suspicious.
Anyway.
The winner of today’s game would determine the opponent for the finals.
It was a game that needed to be watched with interest even for the finals preparation.
However.
Something was strange.
The scheduled start time was long past, but the game hadn’t started.
More precisely.
“……Jeong Si-hoo 9-dan isn’t here?”
The camera in the studio.
There, Lu Quanyi 9-dan was sitting alone, silently holding his position.