Translator: Dreamscribe
As soon as they arrived home, after a brief conversation with Mi-young, Woo-hyun set up the chessboard.
Seo-ha didn’t put down the manual from his hands.
“Should I explain the basic rules first?”
“No. I’ve got the rough idea.”
Seo-ha closed the book and took a seat.
‘Chess is similar to probability theory.’
Each move has an assigned win rate.
Like Bayes' Theorem, one can observe the opponent’s previous moves and estimate the probability distribution of the next move.
In Seo-ha’s mind, an 8 x 8 chessboard was vividly drawn. Seo-ha simulated the movement paths of each piece.
“Then let’s begin.”
Woo-hyun pushed the pawn in front of his queen two spaces forward.
‘1. d4, Queen’s Gambit line.’
Probability calculation began.
‘Since it’s the first match, I’ll go with the highest probability: 1. d5.’
The expected win rate of Seo-ha’s first move was 44.2%.
Woo-hyun gave a faint smile and immediately made his next move.
Tak.
Tak.
Tak.
Their pieces began to become complexly entangled.
‘Hmm?’
Seo-ha’s eyebrow rose.
Instead of the move with the highest expected win rate, Woo-hyun played f5.
Classical Dutch.
The variations that could branch off from here were almost endless.
Seo-ha prioritized defense, but even if he won the battle, in the grand scheme of things, the pieces ended up in disadvantageous positions. Like clothes getting soaked in a drizzle, the losses quietly accumulated.
Woo-hyun made the final move.
“Checkmate.”
“I lost. Next game.”
Seo-ha had gained an insight.
‘Humans cannot calculate all probabilities in chess.
You have to make the opponent play as you intend, to narrow down the number of possible cases. That way, you can calculate the win rate from start to finish in your head.’
Tak.
Tak.
Woo-hyun, who had easily won the first game, gradually grew serious.
The time it took to checkmate kept increasing.
Only five games had been played, but he could no longer finish the game easily.
‘It’s getting harder to win.’
Cold sweat dripped.
No one would believe that this Seo-ha had learned chess only today.
Seo-ha entered full concentration mode.
Smith-Morra Gambit.
The pace accelerated rapidly.
‘The teacher’s move selection didn’t follow a uniform distribution, so it was confusing. But now the samples are building up. Focus on limiting the movement routes so that the pawns can’t run free.’
"Please have some of this while you play."
Mi-young brought mixed coffee with floating ice.
But neither of them heard her.
From Seo-ha’s fingertips, the knight moved.
Tak.
‘From Nc6 to Ne5. Securing central control while simultaneously cutting off the teacher’s bishop line.’
Woo-hyun flinched. Seo-ha had about five candidate moves prepared, but this wasn’t among what he had anticipated.
‘As expected, the teacher also becomes stronger when the opponent plays predictable moves. But when the pattern is broken, his calculation time increases. If I push him into a tactical battle with unexpected moves, I can win.’
Woo-hyun thought this might be the only chance in his life to beat Seo-ha in chess.
No matter how brilliant Seo-ha was, that was something his pride couldn’t tolerate.
‘But not on the first day.’
Tak.
Woo-hyun forced an exchange.
Of course, it was a disadvantage for him. But it was likely not within Seo-ha’s calculations.
Twitch.
As expected, Seo-ha looked briefly flustered but accepted the exchange.
‘How immature of me.’
Woo-hyun gave a bitter smile.
A teacher trying to flip the board just to avoid losing.
Still, this too was certainly a part of chess, and Seo-ha could learn that such strategies exist.
Woo-hyun gave up on winning and started aiming for a draw.
Tak.
Sensing something strange, Seo-ha pulled back his bishop. A passive move, unlike him.
‘Yeah, I knew you’d do that.’
Fifteen years of experience doesn’t just disappear.
No matter how much of a genius Seo-ha is, if it’s just the first day, he can at least grab the hem of his pants.
Conservative defense continued.
At this rate, even if his pieces were slightly lacking, the moment would surely come when neither side could end the game.
But on the 15th move.
Tak.
Seo-ha’s queen suddenly leapt into the center.
“Huh?”
‘Ah, damn...’
By the time Woo-hyun realized it, it was already too late. Seo-ha’s defensive moves over the past few turns had actually been to secure a hidden entry route for his queen.
At some point, he had revised his strategy.
Woo-hyun muttered quietly.
“Draw trap.”
It was a reverse-psychology strategy used when the opponent was aiming for a draw.
As Seo-ha’s queen began to threaten Woo-hyun’s king, tension spread across the chessboard.
Trying to block the path to force a draw had been a mistake.
“Qd5+.”
At Seo-ha’s calm voice.
Woo-hyun moved his king, but the downfall had already been set.
From here on, it was a single road.
There was no way to avoid Seo-ha’s forced sequence.
Tak.
Tak.
“Checkmate.”
Silence fell.
Woo-hyun stared blankly at the chessboard.
“This is ridiculous. Even if I wasn’t doing my best…”
Woo-hyun’s body trembled from the irrational outcome.
“Well then, shall we play the next match?”
Seo-ha’s eyes sparkled.
“Let’s stop for today. Let’s play again when I’m in perfect condition."
But Woo-hyun was sure.
The day he could beat Seo-ha would probably never come again.
Those shining eyes of Seo-ha’s looked far too dazzling to him.
***
Saturday afternoon, Seo-ha was reading a chess manual in his room.
Winter in Okcheon was cold enough to chill the bones.
Sitting in the warmest part of the floor, wrapped in a blanket, he read his book and occasionally looked at his younger sister’s drawings.
“Want some tangerines?”
Mi-young, smiling warmly at the two of them, rummaged through the cupboard.
“Yes!”
“Yes.”
Both son and daughter nodded their heads in unison.
Seo-ha began clearing a spot on the table to place the tangerines, when he heard someone calling him from outside.
“Seo-ha-”
‘Who would come looking for me?’
Mi-young paused her hands and looked outside.
“Seo-ha! Looks like a friend came to see you!”
‘A friend?’
When he was younger, neighborhood kids used to come by now and then to play soccer, but not lately.
The front gate opened, and a familiar voice called out.
“Hello. I’m Kim Joon-sik. I’m in the same class as Seo-ha.”
A hesitant voice and awkward posture.
“Oh my! Come on in.”
Pleased that a friend had come to see her son, Mi-young’s face brightened.
But Seo-ha’s mind was full of questions.
‘What’s going on? I’ve never even talked to him before.’
Then Seo-ha’s eyes turned to Joon-sik’s hands. He was holding a workbook.
“I’ll bring you something to drink. Could you wait just a moment?”
“Ah... yes. Thank you.”
Once Joon-sik sat down in the living room, an awkward silence settled. Seo-eun, also shy around strangers, quietly hid behind her oppa and peeked at him.
Seo-ha was curious why Joon-sik had come, but he didn’t rush him and waited.
“Um...”
Now that he was here, he didn’t know how to begin.
Joon-sik had transferred to Dodam Elementary a month ago. It was because he had heard there was a teacher here who taught math very well.
But the lessons he had looked forward to were all basics he already knew.
Even when he said he wanted to do something harder, the teacher just shook her head.
“You can’t. You still don’t have the fundamentals.”
He was angry at the teacher’s response.
“Then what about Seo-ha? Why does he always get to leave without doing extra lessons like us?”
A fifth grader who had ranked first nationwide in a math competition.
His mother had told him to befriend that kid if possible. But even though they were in the same class, he hadn’t had a chance to talk to him. Usually he was always talking with other kids, and when school ended, he went straight home.
Until now, Joon-sik had been the smartest kid in Geumsan.
All the teachers praised him, and he was always the object of envy among the other students... A teacher who came from Seoul even told him he would do just fine in the Gangnam 8th school district.
But here, everything was from the beginning.
“Um... Seo-ha’s a bit different. Joon-sik, you’re a very smart kid. So don’t compare yourself to Seo-ha, okay?”
Even when he asked sharply, the teacher responded gently.
That only made Joon-sik’s insides twist even more.
The center of all conversation among the kids here was always Seo-ha.
“No way! My dad said Seo-ha is going to America!”
“That’s not it, though? I heard he’s going straight to college.”
“Who’s going to help with homework when we get to middle school? With Seo-ha around, there was nothing to worry about.”
Yu Seo-ha was always quiet.
He never showed off or treated friends differently.
Joon-sik realized within just a few days of transferring that most of the girls in the class liked Seo-ha.
‘First place in the national competition?’
‘I’m confident I could win a prize too if I competed.’
Joon-sik felt the need to prove himself. And yesterday, he had searched through all his workbooks at home to find the most difficult problem.
All he needed now was courage!
His body shrank a bit when he saw Seo-ha, but Joon-sik bravely spoke up.
“You’re good at math, right?”
“Huh?”
Seo-ha flinched as if caught off guard by Joon-sik’s words.
“I brought a problem with me…”
Joon-sik awkwardly opened the book.
At that moment, the little kid who had been hiding behind them suddenly jumped out with delight.
“Wow! You like numbers too, oppa?”
Out of nowhere?
The situation was so different from what he expected that Joon-sik’s brain froze. But he quickly figured it out.
“U-uh. Yeah, I do.”
“Wow! Then play with me. Number game!”
Play with a five-year-old? But her eager expression made it hard to say no.
‘I’ll just play with her quickly and get it over with. Besides, if it’s numbers, I’m confident.’
“Okay. What are we doing?”
“Number linking!”
Five-year-old Seo-eun’s proud expression.
Even Joon-sik found her cute.
Seo-ha, who had looked a bit troubled, now smiled.
“Then let’s all do it together.”
Hearing this, Joon-sik quickly asked,
“W-wait. What’s number linking?”
“You say prime numbers. We used to play it when we were little. You just take turns saying them in order from the smallest.”
“Yup! I always beat mom and dad. I can’t beat oppa and Su-jeong unnie, and the kids at kindergarten don’t play with me.”
Looks like, unlike their parents, Seo-ha doesn’t let his sister win.
Joon-sik nodded.
“Ah! If it’s that, then no problem. Let’s start.”
And so, the game began.
“2.”
“Three!”
“5.”
“7.”
He thought it would end quickly, but it wasn’t easy. Before he knew it, they had passed 100.
“101.”
“One hundred three!”
“...107.”
He was a bit late.
Sweat dripped down Joon-sik’s back.
Soon, they passed 200.
“227.”
“229!”
Joon-sik’s face brightened for a moment.
The little girl made a mistake.
“Huh? That’s not a prime number, is it?”
“Hehe. I win!”
As if she didn’t even hear him, Seo-eun stood up and started doing a weird wobbly dance.
For some reason, it scratched at his nerves.
“That is a prime. Check your math.”
He divided it, and sure enough, it was a prime number.
Joon-sik’s face turned red with embarrassment.
“L-let’s do it again!”
From that mistake onward began the number linking from hell.
And every round, the loser was always Joon-sik.
At first, he thought it was just a small mistake, but he kept being the only one who got it wrong.
Joon-sik’s voice gradually got smaller.
He had definitely come here to challenge Seo-ha to a math battle.
“439.”
“443!”
Joon-sik’s turn. His mind went blank.
‘467? 469? 471?’
The numbers spun around in his head.
“F-four hundred…”
He couldn’t speak.
It felt like something was stuck in his throat.
“Oppa, what’s wrong?”
Seo-eun looked at Joon-sik with a puzzled expression.
Joon-sik’s eyes welled up with tears.
"N...no. I have to go now."
Joon-sik grabbed his workbook and hurriedly stood up. Before the drinks even arrived, he put on his shoes and dashed out like he was running away.
“Huh? Seo-ha, your friend?”
Mi-young, holding a tray with cola and juice, asked as she watched Joon-sik’s back disappear.
“He left after playing with Seo-eun.”
Looking at her daughter, who was smiling brightly for some reason.
“He’s a nice kid, huh?”
At Mi-young’s words, both Seo-ha and Seo-eun nodded at the same time.
After that day, Joon-sik never spoke to Seo-ha again.
*****
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