Chapter 17

"That was insane!"

Everyone around him had suddenly blurted out. They all had wide smiles on their faces while bumping onto Chess, forgetting all that happened earlier. The bruises on their faces was visible, but no one really complained. All their eyes are fixed on Chess as they continued praising him.

Chess simply scratched the back of his head with that idiotic look on his face, awkwardly smiling at them.

"I just followed their rules…" he said lowly, but everyone acted like they didn't hear him say anything.

"That was a nice revenge! I was also about to snap, Chess was just a step earlier!"

"Oh, shut it! We all know how badly you trembled earlier!"

"It's just the same for all of us! But, finally! Finally, we settled the score with those beasts!" one of them was so happy that he broke into tears.

He is a sophomore.

Since his freshman years, he had already experienced the cruelty of the class C. They hated them for no reason, causing troubles whenever they join their class. In his eyes, the class C is just a bunch of bullies with their muscles as brains, treating them like they're some sort of playthings.

He remembered how he struggled to hide away from those people's eyes. He also remembered how they humiliate their class in front of the others.

Ever since then, he always thought that this university is the worst. They may be the top in terms of educational standings, but when it comes to how they handle situations inside, they couldn't care less about their students if they're not promising nor important.

He once tried to reach out to one of the professors, but he ended up being scolded instead.

'Isn't that because you're weak? That's why hurry up and exercise. Build up your muscles, not just your brain.'

He remembers those words clearly. That became the lowest point of his life.

He always thought about dropping, but he never had the courage.

This is the top university. If he graduates here, he wouldn't have to worry about his future at all. Just a diploma from this university can make any company hire you. The diploma from this university could lead him to a stable life.

That's why he can't give up now that he had the chance to graduate here. He just had to endure for three more years… he just had to suffer for three more years…

But now, he felt relieved.

Upon seeing how Chess defended them, he suddenly felt all the sufferings he had in this cruel school disappear. He felt that as long as Chess is around, the class C could no longer harm them. They finally had their knight!

But unbeknownst to him, Chess definitely had no intentions of defending them. What good would it do him if he defended them? But if so, then why did he do what he did earlier?

The reason behind his action was simple.

He knew that someone was watching him.

His instincts had already sensed that something wasn't right when he first entered the gym. He felt that the atmosphere was different. He felt the faint aura of a dangerous person, but he didn't feel it from anyone from the students of class C.

Who could it be?

That's when he knew that someone else was inside. To be able to sneak like that, he must be skilled. Or simply experienced. The aura of the person was so familiar it made him smile.

With the thought of someone watching him, he suddenly came up with an idea.

Why not make a scene worth watching? It would be boring for that someone if he does nothing, right? And that's the reason why he did all those things.

"We all thank you!"

Chess just laughed it off when his classmates expressed their gratitude towards him.

But until lunch time, they kept on bugging him, telling him that they would gladly be his slave. He is in the cafeteria, eating together with Angela and Hans, when three of their sophomore classmates showed up.

Hans, who just tagged along in their meal, had raised his brows while looking at the sophomores who were bowing in front of Chess.

"What's with this situation?" he asked as he fixed the glasses on his eyes.

The sophomores who were tailing Chess had turned to look at him, their eyes shining like stars.

"We are here to serve Master Chess! We are Master's slaves!"

Their voice was loud it made the other students in the cafeteria turn to look at them. Upon seeing that it was the Section 1 – B students, they started whispering to one another.

"There goes the nerds… they're being crazy again."

"That's the side effect of being too educated. You get a screw or two loose."

It was not possible to get rid of this small dispute between sections. They were already used to it, so it was easier to ignore.

"What? Why? When did you become so shameful?" Hans had knotted his forehead, looking like a strict parent ready to scold his misbehaving children.

The three had secretly gulped. They may look up to Chess right now, but Hans is still different. They were with him for the past years and had looked up to him like an elder brother.

So, when he raises his brow like that, they can't help but shrink. They feel like they're back on their childhood days.

"This… uhm… this is just…" they didn't know what to say.

The longer they took to respond, the narrower Hans's eyes becomes. Finally, he diverted his gaze and fixed it on Chess.

"What did you do this time?" he asked.

The three sophomores had released a sigh of relief, prepared to escape from Hans, giving Chess a one last salute. Hans had glared at them, making them disperse immediately.

"I just followed the rules…" Chess answered, lightly chuckling.

Hans returned his eyes on him.

Angela, who was so proud of Chess, started to open her lips in order to tell Hans about the happenings earlier. Chess tried to stop her, but her mouth was unstoppable.

Words came from one after another, filling Hans's ears with all the information he missed. After Angela's talk, Hans had suddenly turned serious. He even placed his elbows on the table and rested his chin on the back of his palms. Looking very much like a detective.

"I knew it…" he suddenly mumbled to himself. "I knew why you did that."

Angela, who was back on eating, stilled and turned to glance at Hans. He what? There's more to Chess's action earlier? What is it? She was so intrigued.

Chess, on the other hand, raised both of his brows, looking like a clueless child. But inside his head, he's also thinking about what Hans is about to say.

But Hans's next words left them dumbfounded.

"I knew that you wanted to replace me as the class representative that's why you did that!" he sounded so sure it was impossible to stop him. He had even stood on his feet, his finger pointing towards Chess. "I won't let you! You were just lucky that I wasn't there, but I would've done the same thing!"

Chess ended up scratching his nose while Angela glared at Hans. She felt like choking him, but she didn't. She only puffed her cheeks in annoyance, pulling Hans back on his seat.

"Just eat." She grumbled.

Hans had turned to look at her, giving her a glare, angry that she interrupted his talking. But after seeing the intensity of Angela's glare, he ended up facing his food. He then obediently ate and even commented, "Hmm, this food is good."

Angela released a heavy sigh before going back to eating. Chess, on the other hand, had grinned.

For a minute there, he thought he was found out. But just in case, he would have to be careful next time. Acting so rash wouldn't do him any good…

At the end of the day, they bid farewell to each other. Angela had left with her friends while Hans went back to the dormitory.

"You sure you're not coming?" Hans asked Chess for the second time.

Chess just shook his head and gave him a simple smile.

"You can go first. I still have something to do."

Hans nodded in return before turning his back on Chess.

After sending Hans, Chess turned and made his way towards the forest. While doing so, he made sure that no one was following him behind. He sneaked around the corners while tilting his head from left to right before pushing the wooden gate open.

The forest was as quiet as usual. And Jill was above a tree as usual.

He jumped down and approaches Chess. He had that playful grin on his lips while holding his phone up. Then, faced the screen towards Chess before bursting into laughter.

"Who the heck is this chic?!" he joked while clutching his aching tummy.

Chess glanced at the photo on the screen and immediately furrowed his brows.

"Hey, where did you get that?" he asked, a small smile appearing on his lips.

Jill had wiped his teary eyes before walking beside Chess. He just shrugged his shoulders while chuckling lowly.

At the entrance of the room, Aoi welcomed him with a smile while holding that same picture of him. It made him wonder who really took the picture…

"We have a gift for you." It was Kane, looking so serious.

Because of his expression, Chess had also turned serious.

A gift? But why?

He watched as Kane took something out of a paper bag. It was wrapped in a fine paper, making him widen his eyes.

"What's this?" he asked.

The gift was thin and flat, but it was solid. Chess tilted his head in confusion.

"Open it!" Aoi looked so excited, making him smile.

He followed what he said and had slowly opened the gift. He tore the wrapper and was first welcomed by his face.

After tearing all the wrapper off, he finally realized that the gift was a framed picture of him. It was the same picture as the one they are holding, making him laugh lightly.

It was a picture of him earlier, wearing that short shorts. He, himself, thought that he looked so feminine in the picture, making him scratch his nose.

"Well… isn't this a bit embarrassing?" he remarked.