*beep boop*

I was for sure going to be hopelessly late to the meeting, “gonna make a great first impression” I thought. As I approach room 310, I notice it’s at the end of the hallway and is obviously quieter than the rooms other clubs had occupied. Catching your breath from the exhaustive running I just did, I peer into the window, with a view of two boys playing chess, with the rest watching them, however, my thoughts are rudely interrupted by a sarcastic voice. “Are you going to come in, or are you going to stand there like a moron all day?” Embarrassed yet again, I sheepishly open the door saying, “sorry I’m late, I got kinda lost back there, didn’t know what room we were gonna meet in.”

There were two kids playing chess, completely uninterested in what was happening, and five other kids staring at me, some with an apologetic look, and some with no discernible expression. Eventually one of them speaks up, “Hi, I’m Jungwon, the president of the chess club. Sorry about Heeseung, he’s always been more on the sarcastic side,” he then gives an expectant glare to who I now assume is Heeseung. “...my bad, I’m Heeseung.” Jungwon continues, “anyways, the two playing chess are Jake and Sunghoon; but the other guys beside me are Niki, Sunoo and Jay.” I introduce myself as (y/n), to which the others give a greet me, while the two playing chess give me a grunt of acknowledgement.

“Soooo”, I start, “where are the rest of the chess boards?” After saying this, I am immediately met with laughter by all members, even the two previously engrossed in their own little chess world. “That’s cute,” said Jay, “they actually think we’re given any funding.” Sunoo pipes in saying, “bold of you to assume the school gives a shit about anything other than sports.” “Hey!”, goes Niki, “isn’t chess technically a sport??” Immediately after saying this, Niki and Sunoo start bickering about whether chess was a sport or not, while Jungwon facepalms. “I’m shocked you’d even be interested in joining the club at this point,” Jungwon says in an exasperated tone.

“No, I love chess! Actually, my grandpa was a chess grandmaster, he taught me all there is,” I say, trying to emphasize my interest in chess. At this point, attention is once again on me, with all members looking at me in disbelief. “Wow, so lying through your teeth and looking at people through small windows are two of your biggest hobbies, huh?,” said Heeseung. Getting tired of Heeseung’s bullshit, I retort, “I'm seasoned in the arts, but clearly being a jackass has got to be your favorite pastime.” Heeseung rolls his eyes while Niki immediately shoots questions at a mile a minute. “What was their strategy?”, “When did they start teaching you?”, “Do grandmasters get a lot of mone-.”

“DAMN IT”, yells Sunghoon, “YOU ONLY WON BECAUSE THEY DISTRACTED ME!” Jake pacifies Sunghoon, “you were great, we can always have a rematch when it’s our week to use the chessboard.” “But that’s in two weeks…” Sunghoon says dejectedly. “Wait a minute, you have to wait weeks to play?” I said, confused. “Duhh, there’s only one chess board, do you think we can just all play at the same bloody time,” said Sunoo. “Trust me (y/n), we all wish there was more than one, it’s not like they're expensive or anything, the school’s just uninterested in anything that doesn’t involve sweating like a pig,” sneered Jungwon.

Suddenly an idea hit me, “hold up, I’ve got three extra chess boards at home, I’m sure my parents won’t mind me borrowing them.” The boys visibly become excited, however, my statement doesn’t protect myself from another one of Heeseung’s sarcastic quips, “who in their right mind needs more than one chess board though?” Jay nudges Heeseung, “listen, you can just watch us play since you’re so against us having extra boards.” “No! Fine…” sighs Heeseung.

“We’ve got like 10 minutes until the school kicks us out for the weekend, our next meeting is this Monday, so make sure you remember to bring the chess boards, ok?”, goes Jungwon. “I’ve got a better idea,” goes Jake, “just give me your number, I’ll remind you over the weekend. After all we’re counting on you (y/n), no pressure!” Suddenly, I feel my face going warm, “so he’s cute and friendly, I’m definitely going to make this real awkward, real quick,” I thought to myself. “Uhm, yeah, I’ll just put it in my phone…” “Wait, shouldn't you put your number in my phone?” Jake laughs. “Damn it. Yeah you’re right, I forgot,” trying to laugh off my cringeworthy moment.

“That’s unfair! How come (y/n) can get your number but I can’t?” Niki whines. “That’s because you dropped your phone into the toilet! You don’t have a phone anymore, dingbat,” Sunoo shouts. “Oh yeah…” Niki says sheepishly.

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It’s Sunday, and I’ve been texting back and forth with Jake. He’s been super sweet and even went out of his way to describe each of the chess club member’s personalities and their dynamic within the group. It was similar to the meeting on Friday, Heeseung having a dry sense of humor, Jungwon being the more mature member in the club, Sunoo and Niki finding any possible opportunity to bicker, along with an easygoing Jay, and Sunghoon, a notoriously sore-loser. I asked Jake for the rest of the members' numbers and Jake, being a sweet friend, happily obliged, meaning I now had means of communication with all members of the chess club… sans Niki, because well, Sunoo explained his lack of a cell phone back on Friday.

My parents were cool with my taking of the chess boards and the respective pieces, so long as they were not damaged, after all, they were sentimental since they belonged to my late grandpa. All they said was that I should bear in mind that these boards were on the expensive side, but nonetheless, they trusted me. Besides, they weren’t exactly opposed to their child making new friends through chess. While I was daydreaming about Jake and haphazardly doing my biology homework I heard my phone go off. I checked to see who it was, to find an unknown number telling me “hey (y/n), at ur place, come outside we’re going to get food together.” Obviously I was on edge, I just moved here, and I had the numbers of the rest of the members, who the hell could this be? I text back, “who are u, how do u know where I live?”, to which the unknown number goes, “just look outside dummy”.

I decide to get up and look out my window and I am met with both shock and confusion. How the hell did this guy know where I lived, and why would they wanna hang out with me, we just met like two days ago???

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