Thank you to everyone who left such encouraging reviews! I read every single one, even though ffnet makes it such a hassle to reply -.- This is honestly such a wonderful fandom to come back to, and I appreciate each and every one of you!

Track 14:

JUST U 가사 (prod. GROOVYROOM)

Jeong Sewoon ft. Sik-K 정세운 & 식케이

Waya Yoshitaka woke up on the first day of the Hokuto Cup with a vaguely unsettled feeling.

He had a very odd and bewildering dream about Touya's girlfriend, which was already a bad sign, and beyond the fact he was dreaming about someone else's girlfriend the contents themselves were also very bewildering. He went to one of her concerts with Ochi of all people, the both of them entirely decked out in her fan attire. Ochi and Waya proceeded to argue over who was the better fan, and then they both simultaneously decided to compete for her affections via Go. Cy refused to even play them. She insisted, in fact, that she didn't know how, and seemed confused as to why they would even believe she could. The dream ended as they got kicked out by security. The last thing he remembers was Cy turning to them with a rueful smile, then walking on stage.

Waya supposed he did this to himself; he had, after all, wasted at least three hours of his life last night digging through Cy fan websites. The majority of the information was way too in-depth, frankly, and made him feel like a creep. Did he really need to know what product she used in her hair, or wild speculations on whether she preferred chanel or gucci? He really ought to be focusing on his matches for tomorrow.

It had helped him fall asleep, at the very least.

Still, he felt wholly unprepared for the day. Despite beating out Ochi for second board, he didn't feel confident in his abilities at all. As much as he disliked Touya for being such an annoyingly unflappable player, it was very obvious how Waya and Yashiro compared. Touya was… light years ahead of them. From the way he approached the games, to the way he met everything Waya and Yashiro dished at him head on— the distinction between his level of skill and his amount of experience in high-stakes games was readily apparent. If anything, it had only managed to make Waya feel worse. It didn't help that even the loud-mouthed Yashiro conceded to Touya too.

The most constructive conversation they had without Kurata-sensei in the room had been when Touya's girlfriend had hung out with them. Yashiro and Waya simply didn't feel as if they could argue with Touya— even when it was clear there was a better perspective than his. Kurata-sensei was more of his peer than Waya and Yashiro were, so he had no issue pushing back against him. And between Touya and Cy… well, Touya very clearly held her opinion in incredibly high regard. And in his defense, it hadn't seemed unwarranted; no matter what opinion he had, she had a counter to it that was both perfectly reasonable and entirely different than his. Her perspective had been refreshing.

Waya sighed, shaking his head.

Here he was, thinking about her. Again.

Even after two cups of coffee in the hotel lobby, he still felt a bit out of sorts. He could see Isumi's tall figure over the milling crowds— presumably with Nase, Saeki and Ochi in tow— and wished he could go over and talk to them, if only to settle his nerves. But instead he was stuck here with the babbling Kurata-sensei, the unsettled and fidgety Yashiro, and the ever impassive Touya.

They were all eventually ushered into the room for some photos and PR, where Waya caught his first glance at the other teams.

He was relieved to see they all looked just about as uncomfortable in their formal suits as he did. With the exception of a boy around his age on the Korean team, with wild auburn hair, a disinterested expression, and a sleepy slouch that spoke of blatant disregard to the situation at large. By his side was a shorter boy who appeared to be around Ochi's age, who looked like he was trying very hard to maintain a rather unforgivingly rigid posture, as if in compensation for the boy next to him. The last member, a very tall boy with glasses, looked about as impassive as Touya did. Team China was more or less identical to Team Japan; their first board was unflappable, their second looked uncomfortable, and their third was fidgety and restless.

Waya had, honestly, sort of brushed the Hokuto Cup off as cool but inconsequential in the grand scheme of things.

It wasn't as if an actual title lay dangling at the end of this— there was no real recognition to it. It wasn't an official title, so it wasn't an official match, so as far as Waya had been concerned, it wasn't worth the same kind of effort as his other league matches.

He had vastly underestimated the situation.

It might have been just a bunch of marketing fluff at the end of the day— just a couple of big companies badgering for sponsorship— but that didn't negate the level of pressure the press had created around the event. There were hundreds of people in the lobby, way more spectators than even a title league match, and there had to be at least two dozen magazines and editorials in the room looking for questions and interviews. Waya had never done an interview in his life. What was he supposed to say? He looked wildly towards Kurata-sensei— why hadn't he given them a pep talk about that, at the very least?!

.

.

Akira, meanwhile, had resigned himself to this fate ages ago.

He was no stranger to interviews at this point. His father's infamy had always made the spotlight squarely centered on him. It was annoying, but familiar territory.

He wasn't all that interested in the press. He could tell from the wide-eyed looks Waya and Yashiro were casting towards all the cameras that they were horribly ill-prepared for such a fate, but Akira had assumed this would be the case from the moment he'd gotten wind of the Hokuto Cup at all. He couldn't imagine it to be anything less than a giant publicity stunt, frankly. He was well aware how much sponsorship money had been thrown at this thing. All the same he'd agreed mainly because he believed in the cause, despite all the hassle; this was an excellent opportunity to get more people involved in Go. Especially people his age and younger— the future of the game. As tedious as he found such things, he understood how important it was. Beyond that, he was well aware of his own role in the Go world. As the leader of Japan's so called 'new generation', he had a lot of pressure on him to not only set a good example, but to be the fresh new face on what was rapidly becoming an aging game.

This in and of itself was more than enough reason for Akira to agree to participate, despite his already hectic tournament schedule.

But aside from this important mission, he couldn't really say he was interested in anything else.

Or at least, that used to be the case.

Now, he was far more interested in the other boy across the room from him fighting off a wide yawn, than he was the cameras, the other team, or the entire spectacle around him at large.

It was his first time seeing Ko Yeongha in person— the boy behind the ubiquitous baduk0 handle online. Not that Akira could blame him, when he himself had gone for the ambiguous and totally uninspiring player1. The younger boy by his side was probably krystal14, then. Hikaru had mentioned being friends with him, that he was third board, and that he was actually a big fan of her group, so he couldn't imagine it being anyone else.

He'd never played either of them online, although he'd watched plenty of their games. No doubt they'd done the same for his games. That wasn't all that surprising; everyone on their private server always logged in to catch one of SAI's games, no matter who SAI was playing. He played Hikaru often enough, once a week on average, but not to the same degree those two did. Akira had no one to blame but himself for that, though. He knew Hikaru would happily agree to more games if Akira had just summoned up enough courage to ask her for more, but to be honest he always felt guilty for eating up her time like that. On the other hand, Ko Yeongha definitely didn't share his concerns.

He was sure China's first board was nothing to scoff at, but all the same he couldn't manage to spare the other boy a thought. Most of his energy was entirely focused on Ko Yeongha— he was a little mystified with himself, to be honest.

He'd never been so excited to play someone before. Not even Hikaru.

He was always happy to play Hikaru, to be sure. But for some reason, the idea of playing her didn't give him the same anticipatory sensation that playing Ko Yeongha did. If anything, playing Hikaru was a lot like playing his father; it was an opportunity he relished and enjoyed, but it always felt more like… well, like an invaluable learning opportunity more than anything. Hikaru was an endless wellspring of knowledge, and Akira always felt humbled to be able to witness her unfolding wisdom in person. But frankly, he'd given up on the idea of ever actually besting her. Akira and Hikaru were not equals across the battlefield, in the same way Ko Yeongha and Hikaru weren't equals, either.

But Touya Akira and Ko Yeongha, on the other hand…

Yes, he decided, resolutely. That was the difference.

Ko Yeongha was not just a worthy opponent. Ko Yeongha was his rival.

.

.

Across the room, Yeongha was contemplating a similar analogy.

This was Touya Akira, after all, Japan's star prodigy— and SAI's first pupil. Touya had played Hikaru far before Yeongha did; unfortunately any and all games they had played were unofficial, so Yeongha wasn't privy to the specifics. But Yeongha could see the aftermath in the games that were official. Touya played extraordinarily well in the months that followed, to the point he even qualified to play in the Oza title match, beating out regular juggernauts in the main tournament. Yeongha had made sure to study his kifu intensely; his first game was really subpar, but he put up a far more valiant effort in the remaining games. Winning two out of seven against a titan like Zama-Oza was nothing to scoff at, even if it was ultimately a loss.

Nothing less than he would expect from a rival, Yeongha thought, with relish.

He hadn't been joking with Hikaru earlier when he'd described them both as SAI's prodigies. They were certainly the two who played her the most, and beyond that, were the only ones who regularly interacted with her in real life. Playing a few games against speed demon SAI was something everyone on their server had the opportunity of doing. But only he and Touya, and to an extent Suyeong, had the benefit of being able to pick apart the game afterwards with her. SAI was notorious for leaving the moment a game was over, without any comment whatsoever on the match. Yeongha knew, of course, that this was because Hikaru often just didn't have the time to type out comments when she was out and about. Everyone else was left to speculate if SAI just didn't believe the others were worthy of such wisdom, or perhaps didn't even know how to use a western keyboard, or maybe just didn't have the time.

More to the point, Hikaru usually had nothing to say but positive comments and the occasional constructive feedback when it came to the other pros on his server. She considered them good opponents, and she was too polite to say anything else about them. But it was readily apparent that she held Touya— and himself— in higher regard.

Yeongha was specifically interested in seeing if he was actually worthy of such regard.

By the time the photo-ops were done, Yeongha's boredom had extrapolated tenfold, and he was beginning to get annoyed. He wanted to know the lineup; he didn't care about anything else. All this pandering was exactly the sort of thing he hated. Why were they even bothering with interviews? Was he supposed to just say flattering— and completely incorrect— nonsense about the other players just because it was the nice thing to do? It was obnoxious, to say the least.

"What are you most excited about in this tournament, Ko Yeongha-nim?"

Yeongha roused himself out of his musings at the question, translated into Korean by their translator. Everyone on his team, including the team lead An Taeseon, were giving him looks of trepidation. They were definitely expecting him to say something blasphemous.

He almost wanted to give it to them, if only to make things more exciting.

In the end though, it felt rather contrived. Who knows, maybe Hikaru was rubbing off on him, but he was more inclined to take the path of least resistance than he was to stir up trouble.

All the same, he intended to be honest.

"I am most excited to play Touya Akira," he said into the microphone, expression rather bland considering such a bold statement.

An Taeseon-nim's eyebrow twitched. "Try to say something nice about China next time too," he hissed under his breath.

Yeongha just shrugged.

"Ah, Touya Akira! He is quite a good player. Why are you most excited to play him, in particular?" The Japanese announcer asked, excited.

The translator turned it over towards the team. "Touya Akira-nim is a good player, but why him?"

Yeongha grinned roguishly. "He's my rival."

The translator didn't so much as blink as he relayed it back. The crowd lit up with murmurs. Even Touya himself broke his indifferent expression with a look of surprise.

The host turned to Touya; "What do you think, Touya-san?"

To Touya's credit, he answered evenly; "I am also quite eager to play Ko Yeongha-san. I also believe Lu Li-san will be challenging."

Well, he was definitely more diplomatic than Yeongha, that was for sure.

It was amusing, really, considering the other boy's style. Yeongha hadn't expected him to be so— well, polite. He was just as ruthless and aggressive as Yeongha. He couldn't help but wonder why Hikaru had gravitated towards both of them— two people with completely different styles to her. It was a good match though, he had to admit; playing so often with someone with such a different style than him had done wonders for his own abilities— he was sure Touya had benefited similarly.

All the more reason to want to play him.

Waya looked wildly between the two first boards sitting across the stage from each other, wondering what was going on here.

Sure, it was normal to want to compete against other players across the world, but why had Ko Yeongha singled out Touya like this? Waya scowled. Wait, what is he even saying— because he's Touya, of course. Everyone always looks at him like he's god's gift to the Go world or something. Is it any real surprise that his infamy has made it to Korea?

"— consider him your rival as well, Touya-san?"

Waya pulled himself out of his annoyed musings, curious over what Touya's answer would be. He looked rather put on the spot, but was doing his level best not to show it.

Waya couldn't be any more correct.

Touya wasn't entirely sure how to respond. He couldn't help a fleeting thought of sympathy for Hikaru— is this how she felt all the time? She was inundated with interviews and talk shows all the time. He hadn't realized how nerve-wracking they could be; not unlike a game of Go, honestly. Answering appropriately was all about reading the host's mind; what were they looking for, and what would you give them in response? It was no wonder she was so good at Go, then.

He knew the answer: yes, he considered Ko Yeongha his rival.

But was what really the best way to answer this question?

He had a feeling Hikaru could have found her way out of this mental rat maze. Akira was far less rehearsed in such nuanced mind games though, so he just answered simply; "Yes."

The crowd roared with murmurs again. Kurata-sensei gave him a surprised look. As did the rest of his team. Akira couldn't exactly say anything to them currently, not that he would want to anyway. He wouldn't know how to explain this without also having to explain Hikaru's existence, which was… a subject he wouldn't even know how to approach in the delicate manner it warranted.

Once again, it appeared Yeongha didn't share his compunctions whatsoever.

"Have... you two played each other before then?" The host asked, just as surprised as everyone else both in the crowd and on the stage.

Akira hesitated, unsure how to approach the question.

"We both play SAI on the same server, and while neither of us have won against SAI, I'm interested to see how we will match up against each other officially."

There goes that secret, Touya thought, resigned.

The host sat up straighter at the mention of SAI. The photographer began to furiously snap photos, as voices rose from the crowd like the swell of a tide— not even bothering with the pretense of trying to keep the noise level low. Again, both Yashiro and Waya did a double take in his direction. Akira had to wonder if this Ko Yeongha was intentionally stirring up drama— why bother to mention SAI, otherwise? Nothing stirred up controversy in the Go world quite like the notorious netgo player did.

"Oh, amazing! So you both are part of the private server that hosts Sai? Last I heard, was it not technically owned by Sung Jinwoo-nim, the current Chunweon?"

"It is," Ko Yeongha drawled in response.

The host leaned forward. "That is then, to infer, that Sung Jinwoo-nim knows SAI personally?"

Akira was very relieved these questions were directed at Ko Yeongha and not him. And frankly, it appeared Ko Yeongha had no issue answering them either. "I didn't say that," the Korean pro pointed out. "And at any rate, are these questions not a little off topic?"

The host looked chastised, but looked as if he wanted to continue to push the issue. In the end though, he just turned around and began to pepper the Chinese team with some fairly routine questions. Both the host and the crowd looked dismayed with the boring, but perfectly reasonable turn of events, and Akira couldn't help but breathe a small sigh of relief.

.

.

"Touya Akira plays against SAI?" Ochi looked both bewildered and incensed. "How is that any fair?"

Isumi looked down at the boy by his side and gave an amiable shrug. "I don't really think it's a question of being fair or not." He pointed out, mildly.

On his other side, Saeki gave a loud sigh. "How did he manage to get on that server? That Sung Jinwoo won't accept anyone!"

"And why Touya of all people?" Ochi added, outraged. "Why isn't anyone else allowed to join?"

Isumi thought they were all forgetting what 'private server' really meant. As he saw it, who the current Chunweon did or didn't want to invite was entirely his business. That SAI happened to join what was already an exclusive group was just adding fuel to the fire, though. He was vaguely interested to know, but he also didn't put that much stock in SAI. It's not that he didn't think the elusive netgo player wasn't anything short of impressive— it just felt weird to him to play someone he knew so little about. Part of the reason he liked Go so much was that it was such an intensely personal game between two people; you could read so much into another person's thoughts and feelings just by sitting across the goban from them. All of that was conclusively taken away in netgo. He knew some people favored the anonymity, though.

Around the lobby, everyone seemed to be on the same topic as Ochi and Saeki. Quite a few spectators were bemoaning how unfair it was that both Ko Yeongha and Touya Akira got to play SAI on a regular basis— others were doing the same as Isumi, and pointing out that it wasn't really a question of fairness. People were debating the merits of having a private server at all, which Isumi thought was just ridiculous. Of course pros would like to play each other online; and a whole, playing a professional without being one yourself is usually a difficult endeavor and costs money to begin with, why would they expect such an event to be free and accessible just because it was online?

"Isumi Shinichiro!"

Isumi jumped on instinct. No one used that tone of voice on him but his mother. He half expected to see her towering, scary form when he turned around. Instead it was Nase Asumi, looking out of breath and like she had a serious bone to pick with him.

He looked at her, perplexed. "Did you run all the way from the subway?" He thought she'd mentioned something about having an appointment earlier today and being a bit late to watch the games.

"Nevermind that." She dismissed, marching up to him to poke him in the chest. "Why did I have to find out from Waya of all people that Cy would be attending today?"

"SAI?!" Both Ochi and Saeki cried, in unison.

Nase blinked at them, surprised.

"Not that SAI," Isumi clarified hastily. "She's talking about Cy-chan, the idol from f(x)."

Ochi wrinkled his nose. "Huh?"

Meanwhile, Saeki looked like he'd swallowed his own tongue. "What?!" If possible, his shriek had gotten even louder. His friends quickly shushed him before he could draw the attention of the milling crowds.

"What do you mean, Cy-chan? The Cy-chan?" He hissed, eyes wide.

"Yes, the Cy-chan." Nase repeated, with emphasis. "Do you know any other idols named Cy?"

"What is this nonsense about idols?" Ochi interrupted, folding his arms.

"Yeah, apparently she's friends with Touya Akira—"

"Waya said they were dating," Isumi remarked, surprised.

Nase just rolled her eyes, hard. "Oh please, as if Waya would know the meaning of that word. Anyway, that's a terrible rumor to be spreading around if it isn't true."

"Fair enough." Isumi agreed. This was exactly why he had kept it to himself in the first place.

Saeki, meanwhile, appeared to be hyperventilating. "She's coming? Here? Oh god, I should have worn something nicer than this…"

"I… really don't think you need to worry about that, Saeki-kun." Nase said, mildly, trying to find a polite way of pointing out that there was no way Cy was going to care about that, much less even give them a second glance.

She herself was rather floored with the situation though, to be fair. And she'd had a similar freakout to Saeki earlier when Waya had broke the news to her. He'd said she'd gone to Touya's house, and seemed like she'd been there before! He insisted they were totally dating, but then when she'd pressed him for further evidence he got all shifty. He just mentioned that they called each other by their first names, and argued kind of like an old married couple. Nase pointed out that they could very well just be childhood friends or something, and beyond that, she and Waya argued like an old married couple too, and that was hardly evidence of a relationship. Waya had begrudgingly conceded her point, but still insisted they were totally dating.

Nase wasn't going to entirely dismiss the issue; after all, she had gone to watch his Oza title match. Honestly Nase despaired for herself— how did she not realize she had been in an elevator with Cy-chan, of all people? She even told her to just call her Hikaru-chan! How crazy was that? Her song Why was Nase's number one played song of the year! Then again, she had been wearing a face mask. Nase was still in awe how effective those things actually were at concealing someone's identity; no wonder all the idols used them. And, well, she'd also been a bit distracted by her amazing outfit.

Anyway the point was, if Touya told them later on that he and k-pop star Cy were, indeed, dating, she wouldn't be surprised to hear it. But if they hadn't confirmed it, then Nase was not going to assume. She knew enough about the world of idols and gossip rags to realize how dangerous that could be.

"I didn't realize you were such a fanboy, Saeki." Isumi remarked, with a laugh.

Saeki flushed, but didn't bother to deny it. "Look, she's got a great voice okay." He defended, meekly. "And I really like her personality. She always livens up the game shows, and nothing ever seems to phase her. She's always got some cool and clever response no matter what the hosts throw at her, you know? Like, on Kanto Pop Radio the other day the host kept asking her all this crazy stuff and she totally sailed through all of it—

"Yes, he is clearly a fanboy." Ochi interrupted, smirking.

Saeki just huffed, and crossed his arms. "Whatever." He muttered, flustered.

"Hey now, that's nothing to be ashamed of, I'm a pretty big fan too." Nase chimed in, if only because she felt a little bad for Saeki. "I love her taste in fashion, and she really does have an amazing voice. I'm hoping now that she's launching her solo career we'll get to hear more of it; it's always hard to show that off when you're in a group without seeming like you're stealing the spotlight."

"Right?" Saeki agreed, excitedly. "Don't get me wrong, I love f(x), but Cy was always my favorite. And not just because she's Japanese and she releases a lot of stuff over here."

"I like all of them." Nase nodded along. "I'm definitely going to follow all of them in their solo careers."

"Can we please stop talking about idols now?" Ochi butted in, looking as if he had been done with this conversation from the moment it started. "Who cares if she's here or not? We're all here to watch the matches right?"

"Right." Saeki conceded, looking chastised.

Even Nase appeared caught off guard by her own excitement, clearing her throat. "Yes, let's. It's Japan and China first, right? I'm sure it'll be exciting."

"Err— excuse me. Did you just mention the Japan and China game? For the Hokuto cup, right?"

Nase whirled around, surprised to see a girl her age with auburn hair tied up into twin pigtails. Behind her were a group of girls also around their age; Nase noticed after a beat that they were all wearing the same uniform. That's right— today was the first day of winter break for schools, right? These girls must have just gotten out of the annual announcements.

"Yes, that's right. We were just about to head in— the matches should start soon." Nase explained.

"Oh good," the girl looked relieved. "I was worried we'd be too late."

"Nope, just in time." Nase smiled. "Would you like to join us?"

"Really?" The auburn-haired girl blinked in surprise. "That would be great, thank you! I'm Fujisaki Akari, by the way."

"Nase Asumi." Nase responded in kind. "And this here is Isumi Shinichiro, Ochi Kosuke, and Saeki Koji."

"It's great to meet you, Nase-san, and thanks again!" One of the girls came up from behind Fujisaki. She was really quite pretty, with long, curly chestnut hair tossed up in a high ponytail. "I'm Imai Lisa, and this is Uehara Himari and Hazawa Tsugumi. We're all first years at Kaio Academy." Behind her, the one with long, straight pink hair gave a friendly wave; the shorter one with a cropped bob of brown hair shyly hid behind her friend, but waved all the same.

"Kaio?" Isumi repeated, intrigued. "Are you all in the Go club, then?" That was the school Touya Akira went to, if he recalled correctly. He remembered they also had a pretty incredible Go club, as far as amateur leagues went.

The other two, Uehara Himari and Hazawa Tsugumi both began to laugh sheepishly. Imai-san was fighting off a smile. Fujisaki-san coughed delicately. "Ah, actually, they uh… don't really like us much."

The tall brunette rolled her eyes. "They think we're stealing Touya Akira from them, which is ridiculous because a professional would hardly join a school Go club to begin with."

Nase blinked in surprise. "Oh! So you all are… friends of Touya Akira then?"

"Touya-kun teaches us Go at lunch!" The pink-haired girl, Uehara, revealed.

Nase, Ochi, Saeki and Isumi all stared blankly at her, stunned into silence.

The brunette behind her peeked over her shoulder to add, quietly. "Err— well, he tries to teach us. We haven't made much progress."

"Hey, I play tsumego pretty well now!" Himari interrupted, hands on her hips.

Fujisaki laughed. "That would make one of us, then."

"We really just connive him into hanging out with us at lunch whenever he's in class." Imai Lisa revealed, conspiratorially. Then she flashed a winsome smile; the kind that could bring a lesser man to his knees. "We came here to support him."

"Yep!" Uehara agreed, brightly. "Ganba, Touya-kun~!"

Nase was the first to recover. "Ah, that's really nice of you guys to come out on your first day of break to support him! They should be getting started soon, why don't we go find seats?"

.

.

Track 15:

내 편이 돼줘 (Be by my side)

Crush (크러쉬)

Hikaru exited the bathroom with an annoyed expression, looking around the vast hallway and wondering how she was supposed to make her way back to Team Korea's viewing room. Her expression of irritation was well warranted; why did she have to have her cycle now, of all times? No wonder she felt so terrible, she was probably way more dehydrated than she originally thought, and now on top of that she was having cramps. Lovely.

"How's he doing, Sai?" She asked, as she stood in the hallway.

Sai wasn't floating through walls to watch Go games like usual, though. Instead he was hovering over her shoulder, frowning. "I think the better question is, how are you doing?"

Hikaru gave him an exhausted smile. "Oh, it's that time of the month, if you know what I mean. I'm going to take it easy soon, don't worry."

That didn't stop Sai from worrying at all.

In fact, he was worrying even more. He knew Hikaru's schedule for the next few days— her grandfather was expecting her later today for some sort of party, and after that she had something in the morning tomorrow again. And then she would be watching Yeongha's game against China for the rest of the day. It never felt as if Hikaru ever had a moment to just relax. And if she did, they were always painfully brief. It reminded him so much of Torajiro it hurt to think about, sometimes. As his fame skyrocketed, the Honinbo was constantly being pulled in every direction by people who never seemed to give any care for his health.

"Hikaru,"

The voice startled them both.

"Yeongha," Hikaru said, surprised. "What are you doing out here? Are the games over?"

"No," he said shortly, and then; "What's wrong with you?"

Hikaru reared back, a flush crawling up her neck. "What? Nothing's wrong with me!"

Yeongha looked just as unconvinced as Sai felt. "Yesterday I thought it was just the smoke bothering you, but that can't be the case today. Are you sick?"

"It's nothing like that," she insisted weakly, as even the tips of her ears turned red.

Before she could reel back, he leaned forward and pressed their foreheads together. "You don't seem warm to me." He noted, mildly.

Hikaru lept backwards lightning fast. "Warn me before you do that, would you?" She gasped, hand to her chest. "What if I was contagious or something?"

Yeongha didn't look worried in the least. "I haven't been sick in years."

That was totally not the point. But why was Hikaru even surprised at this point? Yeongha either had no social awareness or, more likely, just didn't even remotely care about them.

He tilted his head then, crossing his arms. "You looked like you were about to faint in there."

"It… was a near miss." Hikaru admitted, honestly. She just didn't have it in her to lie right now.

Yeongha's expression turned from his usual look of vague irritation at the world at large, to something more concerned. "That's not normal." He pointed out, at length.

"I'm probably just dehydrated and low on iron." She revealed, running a wary hand through her hair.

"That is also not normal." He noted, frowning.

Hikaru smiled at him wryly. "Uh… well, it is when you're a girl, if you know what I mean."

He blinked once, twice, and then his eyebrows shot up in recognition. She expected him to look somewhat embarrassed and uncomfortable at the situation, but instead he seemed to take it in stride.

"Come with me for a moment," he said, and walked down the hall. Intrigued, she followed him.

They ended up at a dead end, with a few benches lined up against the wall, a couple vending machines, and a side exit propped open with a door stopper, a small porch beyond it. There was an overflowing ashtray by the door, and the ground was littered with cigarettes. A smoker's haunt, then. Yeongha ignored all of that, propping the door open wide to let in the cool outside air, and then turned towards the vending machines opposite the benches.

"Sit," he said, as he leaned down and popped a few coins into the drink machine.

Hikaru was still too surprised to argue, plopping down onto the bench. The machine rattled, and then a bottle dropped into the dispenser. Yeongha tugged it out and handed it to her; a pocari sweat.

She grimaced.

"What?" He said, annoyed.

"The calories." She complained.

'The electrolytes." Yeongha retorted, unmoved.

Hikaru sighed, she supposed he was right. Although added sugars were exactly the sort of thing she was supposed to be actively avoiding. Without further ado she popped the cap open, and proceeded to down almost the entire bottle. She gave a sigh of relief as she came up for air; she wasn't sure if it was the cold air or the hydration, but she was feeling better already.

"Thanks," she said, belatedly.

Yeongha shrugged. Hikaru fought off a smile; he didn't bat an eyelash at the thought of a menstrual cycle, but looked deeply perturbed at the idea of a bit of gratitude. How typical Yeongha.

"My mom used to always drink those when she had hers." He remarked, and Hikaru looked up in surprise.

Yeongha never mentioned his mother. Or either of his parents, honestly. Well, glass houses and all that. Hikaru wasn't exactly all that forthcoming on the issue either.

"I feel better already," Hikaru said, smiling gratefully. Her smile fell after a beat. "I'm sorry you're missing the end of the games."

Yeongha just shrugged, leaning against the door, head tilted out into the sunshine. "They're probably already done." He said. "And anyway, we'll be going over them for hours after this."

Hikaru grimaced at the thought. Those after-game discussions were intense. She understood why they were so important— arguably, even, more important than the game itself— but that didn't make it any less strenuous to sit through.

The two looked up when there was a clattering noise from behind the corner.

After a beat two new figures emerged at the mouth of the hall; a man in an impressively flashy white suit, and an older gentleman in more traditional wear, holding a cane. Both had a pack of cigarettes in their hand. Hikaru blinked, registering the taller man as familiar. But where had she seen him before?

"Ah, excuse us." The old man said genially, as he made for the smoker's door.

Both Yeongha and Hikaru dipped their heads politely as he passed. The taller man nodded in their direction as well, before pausing.

"Hey, you…" He narrowed his gaze at her, puzzled. "You're— Akira-kun's friend, aren't you?"

Oh that's right! How could she have forgotten that suit?

"Oh yes, yes I am!" Hikaru replied. "It's nice to see you again, Ogata-Judan-sensei!"

He looked so surprised she remembered him, and further, even knew his title.

There was a chortling laugh from the open porch. The older man looked to be amusing himself at Ogata's expense. "Haha, Seiji-kun, you look like you're not used to being so well respected! Don't you know how old you are these days?"

Ogata's brow twitched. "And exactly how old do you think I am, old man?"

"Well, it's natural for the younger generation to pay respects to their elders, is it not?" Hikaru cut in cheerfully,

"Right you are, young lady! But you should know, your generation is not normally as polite as you are." The wily old man gave another hearty laugh.

Ogata eyed her critically. "Did you come out here for a smoke as well?" He held out his pack of cigarettes.

Hikaru could have laughed at the very thought. Smoking was a great way to ruin her vocal chords. She held her hands up apologetically. "Oh, no thank you, I don't—

"I'll take one if you don't mind, thanks." Yeongha interrupted her, and Hikaru watched in wide eyed disbelief as he not only took a cigarette out of the man's pack, but also his lighter when he offered it.

Ogata started at him in surprise. "You're Ko Yeongha, right? Korea's first board?"

Yeongha nodded along as he lit the end of his cigarette, making a vague sound of affirmation as he did so.

Ogata tilted his head. "You speak Japanese?"

He nodded again, and then after a quick drag handed the lighter back to Ogata.

"Why use the translator then?"

Yeongha took another drag and shrugged. "Seemed impolite not to, if he was already there."

Ogata scrutinized him closely. "So, you really think of Touya Akira as your rival?"

Hikaru stared at her friend as if he'd grown three heads. "You do? Since when?"

Yeongha looked away, shrugging again. It was hard to see his expression behind his unruly auburn hair. Hikaru squinted at him. Was he embarrassed right now?

"He said they were rivals because they both play SAI." Ogata revealed. Hikaru felt as if her hair was standing on end. Her glare turned from one of disbelief to one of pure fury. Yeongha was conveniently preoccupied with examining his cigarette.

"Did he now? How interesting." Hikaru said, sweetly, brow twitching.

"Yes, very. I for one, wouldn't mind playing a game against him." Ogata commented, idly.

By her side, Sai lit up like it was Christmas— which, after a moment of deliberation, Hikaru realized was perfectly well warranted. It was actually Christmas, after all.

"Ogata-Judan would brave the net for SAI, huh?" The old man chuckled.

Ogata scowled. "I would prefer to play him in person. I can't stand netgo."

"There is something to be said about playing your opponent in person." Yeongha agreed, amiably. "There's so much of the game you miss without it. But, it's an opportunity to play SAI nonetheless"

"How did you manage to get onto SAI's server, anyway?" Ogata asked, sounding heavily invested.

Yeongha brushed it off impressively; "I played Sung Jinwoo for the Chunweon title and lost, but he invited me to play on his server anyway. I didn't use it much at first, but once SAI started playing on there too I became more active on it."

Ogata sighed. "So, luck of the draw, more or less?"

"Ah, so even the current Chunweon has played SAI then?" The old man scratched his chin, looking thoughtful.

Hikaru blinked rapidly. She had? She turned to Yeongha questioningly. Yeongha gave a half-shrug. Hikaru was surprised, even though she probably shouldn't be; Yeongha had never told her the other players on their server, and she had never asked. All the same, Sai had commented they were all incredible players. Some more than others, though.

"Chunweon… that's the equivalent of the Tengen." Hikaru noted. "Ne, Sai, who do you think that could have been?"

"A title holder, hm?" Sai mused, floating in wide circles in a way that meant he was thinking deeply. "I would have to imagine it to be that ShadowLord character. He's the best on the server."

ShadowLord, really? Hikaru shook her head. Honestly, the things people chose as their usernames… At any rate, no one would guess the current Chunweon would be playing under a name like that.

"He hasn't won once." Yeongha affirmed, nodding.

"Bah! Seiji-kun, you'll have to get me one of these computer things one of these days; I want to play SAI myself and see just how good he really is."

Ogata raised a cool brow. "Ah, even the Honinbo himself would brave the net for SAI, hmm? My, how the tables have turned."

Hikaru gasped. "You're the Honinbo?!" She exclaimed, delighted.

The wizened old man squinted at her, before grinning broadly. "Yes, indeed! Honinbo Kuwabara, that's me!"

"That's so cool!" Hikaru gasped, excited. "Did you hear that, Sai? This is the current Honinbo!"

Sai was just as ecstatic as she was. "That's amazing! Hikaru, Hikaru, we've got to play him! Ask him for a game!"

Hikaru paused. "Ahh… I'm not sure how to go about doing that though without revealing who I am…"

Sai pouted.

"But it sounds like he really wants to play you," Hikaru tried to console him. "I'm sure we'll find a way…"

As if sensing Hikaru's crescendo of excitement and subsequent crushing resignation, Yeongha turned to the Honinbo and said, nonchalantly; "If you really want to play SAI, I can probably set it up for you."

"Really?" This came from the Judan, who bolted upright from his slouch against the railing.

Yeongha just nodded. "Sure. Give me your emails. SAI doesn't respond a lot of the time, but he does set up matches on occasion. They need to be scheduled well in advance though."

"That works better for us anyhow," Ogata replied. "What with tournament schedules being what they are. Alright old man, I'll set you up with an email and everything. You just tell me what works best."

"No need." The Honinbo waved him off. "I'll just use my granddaughter's account. She plays netgo."

Ogata snorted. "You're going to end up playing under a name like SailorMoon123." He pointed out, uncharitably.

The Honinbo just looked enthused. "Well, you've got to throw these young ones a curveball every now and then, don't you?"

"I think it's a really great idea," Hikaru said, genuinely, surprising all of them. She blushed, not expecting all that attention all at once. "Well, it's just— Go is about bridging the past and the future, right? I think netgo is as good a place to do that as any. I think it's really wonderful that you guys would join in, even if it's not your preferred method of playing. It's really an excellent opportunity to further Go around the world."

They all looked strangely humbled by her words.

She chuckled weakly. In hindsight, that was a rather bold statement to be making as someone who didn't actually play the game.

But Sai was nodding along vigorously. "That's exactly right, Hikaru!"

Still, with everyone staring at her like this it was hard not to lose her nerve. "Haha~ but then again, what do I know?"

"No, the young miss is right." The Honinbo conferred, with a shake of his head. "More than just our titles, we are the bridge between our generation and the next. One day, this world of ours will belong to the youth, is that not right, Ko Yeongha-kun?"

Yeongha looked caught off guard that the Honinbo even knew his name. He appeared to think on it as he took another inhale from his cigarette. "Well, I don't expect you to just hand it over without a fight." He replied, mildly.

The Honinbo laughed to the point he almost started wheezing. Ogata made a move to help him, but the old man all but shoved him away. "Ha! What guts you have, kid! As if I'd ever let anyone take this title of mine! They'd have to pry it out of my cold, dead hands! Let me tell you, not just anyone can be the Honinbo!"

Sai was still nodding with great vehemence, looking to be in total and absolute agreement with the old man. Hikaru was fairly sure he'd found a kindred spirit in the cagey old bat. "That's right! The Honinbo is sacred!"

"Yes, it is sacred, isn't it?" Hikaru mused, feeling somewhat forlorn. That was Sai's title, once upon a time. Torajiro's title.

Hikaru felt her breath catch. She wondered if it was just the smoke, or maybe an incoming headache. Her stomach rolled over. She wasn't sure what she was feeling; nausea? Or excitement? No, she'd experienced this sensation plenty of times— in the breathless moment as the lights dim and the crowd roars; the speakers rev to life and the baseline pulses through the stadium.

Anticipation.

It feels like anticipation.

Track 16:

One Shot, Two Shot

BoA 보아

"You're really trying to argue with me here that Electric Shock isn't the catchiest tune on that album?"

Ochi bemoaned his life.

On one side of his seat was Imai Lisa, the purported Ice Queen of Kaio; Ochi had to admit the title was probably well warranted, she was quite stunning and also appeared to have an equally stunning disregard for other people's feelings. Saeki had tried to ask her out within fifteen minutes of meeting her and she'd shot him down cold. That hadn't stopped her from arguing with him over Touya's alleged girlfriend, the k-pop sensation Cy. On the other was a boy he knew quite well— Saeki Koji, shodan. A very surprising tenant for a closet k-pop fanboy.

Saeki was shaking his head rapidly. "No way. La Cha Ta is the best song on the album— hell, it's named after it!"

"I have nothing against La Cha Ta— I think it's a great song. I'm just saying, Electric Shock is just… catchier, you know? It gets stuck in your head. It makes you want to dance." Imai-san narrowed her eyes at Saeki, and then a devilish smirk grew on her face. "Admit it, you've totally danced to it."

Saeki floundered. "What? No? Who— who would even manage to dance to it?! It's not exactly easy!"

"Ah, so you've tried huh?" Imai crooned, smirk widening.

"Why are we even arguing this at all?" This question came from Nase Asumi, turned around in the chair in front of him. At first, Ochi looked at her with nothing but unadulterated relief. Then she continued; "Their best album is Four Walls. Hands down. La Cha Ta was all kitschy pop tunes, nothing super original."

Ochi deflated. He was holding out hope Nase might manage to steer the conversation back into the direction it was supposed to be going— the tournament games.

Hazawa-san— Tsugumi-chan, she had insisted earlier— raised her hand meekly. "... I really liked Heart Attack."

Uehara— Call me Himari-chan, or Hii-chan if you prefer!— nodded resolutely. "Yeah, just because it's y'know, what you'd expect from a girl's pop album doesn't make it any less of a fun album!"

"That's true." Nase agreed, folding her arms as she tapped her chin. "But, I just think Four Walls really turned them from pop sensations into real artists, if you know what I mean?"

Ochi sighed deeply. He had a feeling they were never going to get around to actually discussing any games. He should have known. To his left, Isumi seemed to somehow be taking this all in stride. He knew the other pro was rather easy-going by nature, but really, how could he stand this?

Fujisaki Akari smiled, leaning over him."I totally agree. La Cha Ta was great, but Four Walls definitely showed growth from a muscality standpoint in a lot of ways. I think the songs were more mature, and the beats were more complex, and they just took more risks on it and veered off the usual girls group formula."

Ochi reeled back. She was… way too close. He could smell the soft scent of her flowery perfume.

"And then there's Cy-chan's solo album— I think we can all agree that's the best one, hands down."

At this, all the girls nodded in agreement. Ochi really hoped this would be the end of it.

But then Fujisaki-san looked down at her phone, and then looked around. She got up from her chair, examining the crowds still sequestered about the room, where people were staying behind to recreate the games from earlier. It wasn't as full as it had been earlier, but it was still quite crowded. She stood up on her tiptoes; whoever she was looking for, she hadn't found them yet.

"What is it, Akari-rin?" Tsugumi asked, peering up at her.

"Hikaru said she was going to stop by," Akari said, to the delight of the girls— and Saeki. "I don't see her though."

"Psst! Akari!"

Akari whirled around. Shindou Hikaru stood behind her, a face mask covering the bottom half of her face, in addition to a generous and voluminous scarf that covered just about all the rest.

"Hikaru!" Akari lept at her, wrapping her in a fierce hug. "I was wondering where you were! You said you'd be here!"

"Sorry, I— uh, got pulled into watching it somewhere else." Hikaru hedged off, apologetic. "I'm so sorry. Did you guys manage to catch the games?"

"Yes, they were awesome!" Tsugumi enthused. Then she paused, and added, sheepishly. "I didn't understand much of them… but the atmosphere was really intense!"

"Yeah, I totally wasn't expecting it to be like this!" Himari agreed. "It was actually super cool."

"They should do more tournaments like this." Lisa agreed. "They're really pretty fun."

"It is nice that it's open to the public, isn't it?" Hikaru concurred. "I wish they'd do this with regular title matches."

Then she peered over the girls, smiling in their direction. "Ah! If it isn't Asumi-chan! And Isumi-san and Ochi-san! Nice to see you again!"

Ochi was flabbergasted she even remembered her name. Isumi recovered himself first, dipping his head in greeting. "It's nice to see you too, Hikaru-san," then he paused. "Or, do you prefer Shindou-san? Or Cy?"

In hindsight, just calling her Hikaru-san seemed far too impolite. And yet, she'd only introduced herself as Hikaru when they'd originally met. Probably because Hikaru was a rather common name, whereas Shindou Hikaru was rather well-known as Cy.

To her credit, Hikaru-san— or Cy— took it in stride. "Honestly, Hikaru is fine. It feels weird when people who know me in real life use my stage name."

"Ah, Hikaru-chan! You did so well this morning!"Nase interrupted, leaning over to hug the other girl tightly. "And I totally adored your outfit! The performance was amazing!"

"Oh, you think so? Thank you! I was so worried it was going to rain and ruin all the technician's hard work— not to mention the hair and makeup artists." She laughed it off. Still, it felt nice to hear someone's pure and honest opinion.

"That's right, Hika-chii was on TV Tokyo's Christmas day special!" Himari gasped, sounding horrified. "I forgot to record it!"

Tsugu talked her off the ledge, smiling sheepishly. "It's alright, Hii-chan, I have it recorded. We can watch it together."

"I can always send you a copy. I'll sign it too!" Hikaru assured her. "And I'll be on Idol Net two weeks from now, same setlist."

Himari was looking at her like she was the light of her life— that might not even be a real exaggeration here. "Hika-chi… you're too kind…" She sniffled, dramatically, before also launching herself at the other girl.

What is with girls and dramatics? Ochi thought, annoyed. And further, how in the hell did Touya Akira of all people manage to suffer through this every lunch period? Ochi clearly hadn't given him enough credit for trying to teach this rowdy crew of girls Go. The man must have the patience of a saint.

Unfortunately for Ochi, the dramatics were far from over.

By his side, his fellow Go professional, Saeki Koji, a grown adult man, looked halfway to tears.

"It's Cy-chan… It really is Cy-chan… I can't believe I get to meet her in person…"

Hikaru blinked a few times, registering then that there was a new person she hadn't met before in the group. He looked like he was a friend of Asumi's; probably another go player. And a fan, from the look of it. Hikaru put on her best idol smile.

"Yep! I'm Cy-chan. It's really nice to meet you too! What's your name?"

He looked so stunned that she'd actually directed a question towards him that he didn't seem able to respond. Nase elbowed him in the side, hard. She chuckled weakly. "This is Saeki Koji— he's a shodan. He's also a fan of yours, if that wasn't super obvious." She added, rolling her eyes.

Hikaru was well used to interacting with fans though, and just took it in stride, beaming cheerfully. "That's wonderful! It's always so nice to meet fans!"

She's absolutely impossible to read, Ochi noted with disbelief, as he regarded her carefully.

He wasn't entirely sure what he expected of seeing the girl for the first time— and actually giving her the careful inspection she probably deserved. He'd brushed her off as one of Nase's friends the first time, but he wouldn't make such a mistake this time. She hadn't said much at that time, but what she did say had been completely on the mark. Even now, every word out of her mouth seemed effortlessly and yet meticulously crafted. Delivered with exacting execution; she was friendly, welcoming, but still perfectly poised. There was nothing out of place. Everything was what she wanted others to see.

Ochi wondered if all idols were like this; he'd never met any idols up until now, so he had no idea. He could imagine that having the spotlight so conclusively fixed on you all the time would lead you to watch your every move, but this level of self-awareness was actually impressive, if one knew to even look for it to begin with. He wasn't even sure if anyone else in this crowd was even aware she was doing it, or if they had fallen under the illusion.

She must be a surprisingly good Go player, he thought, unfathomably. But that sort of detailed awareness of both yourself and the world around you was exactly what made a good Go player into a great Go player.

"—totally happy to sign anything! I do have to get going though. I promised my jii-chan I'd stop by his house for this neighborhood party." Cy was in the middle of saying, brushing back a curl of silky blonde hair in a way that seemed casual, but was probably just as fastidiously curated as the rest of her.

"Oh, I'm so sorry! We didn't mean to keep you." Fujisaki apologized profusely.

Cy just shook her head, smiling softly. "It's totally fine, Akari! I'm so happy I got to see you guys. Will you be here tomorrow as well?"

Maybe she's worth further inspection, Ochi decided, filing the thought away for later. She had to play Go after all— there was no way a guy like Touya Akira could date someone (?) who didn't even know how to pick up a stone. Still, he also would have assumed there was no way a guy like Touya Akira could date a pop star. Ochi was beginning to seriously wonder if he'd entirely misjudged the other pro.

Lisa winced. "Japan doesn't play tomorrow, right?"

"I have to help my parents out at our coffee shop," Tsugumi said, apologetically.

Himari didn't even bother with the pretense. "I'm just here to support Touya-kun! If he's not playing, I don't really see why I'd go."

"What about you Hikaru-chan? Are you going to go?" Nase asked, curiously.

Cy nodded resolutely, swooping blonde curls bouncing with the movement. She was obnoxiously pretty, Ochi conceded. He could see why Saeki was all but drooling after her. "Oh, definitely! I'm also friends with Ko Yeongha and Hon Suyeong— so I want to support them too."

The girls looked surprised. Uehara gasped, delighted. "Oh! Ko Yeongha— that's the really cute one, isn't it?"

Imai-san's eyes lit up with recognition. "Oh, yeah, that one. He looks like he could be a k-pop idol himself."

Cy just rolled her eyes. "Oh, sure. He looks like a real prince charming— until he opens his mouth, that is."

Akari giggled. "You seem pretty close to him, Hikaru."

Cy just shrugged. "I guess." She said, evasively. And then, before any of the girls could comment further, she effectively steered the conversation off course; "We should go to a cafe after the Korea vs Japan game! I haven't done that in ages!"

The girls were all waylaid by that, whatever questions they had on the cute Korean boy overtaken by their excitement to go to a cafe with Cy-chan of all people.

"Yes, definitely!" Akari agreed. "I'll text you, okay? And say hello to your ojii-chan for me!"

"Will do!" Hikaru waved, and with a wink and swirl of blonde hair, she was off.

.

.

Hikaru flopped onto her back, wincing when she realized she'd just dropped onto a nest of bobby pins. She fished out a few, before she got too exhausted with the effort and just gave up on it. The floor of her grandfather's shed was nice and cool— not overly warm like the rest of his house.

She'd just managed to finagle her grandfather into returning back to his own house to rest for the evening, after he'd drank himself into a stupor during the majority of the day. The neighborhood party had been a hit, apparently, and while Hikaru was happy her aging grandfather was still a social butterfly, she really worried over his health. He'd been coughing all day, according to the gossipy baa-chan's down the street, and Hikaru had managed to get him to bed with a promise to take some medicine with his tea.

Her eyes slipped shut.

She was hardly in any position to be nagging other people about their health.

"Hikaru? Hikaru~ Come on, you can't sleep here!" Sai peered over her, pouting.

Her eyes fluttered open, and she pushed herself off of the shed floor. "I'm not sleeping." She said, half-heartedly.

She wasn't even all that tired. She'd downed a hot milk tea from the drink machine down the block, and now she had that weird, wired energy that came from being tired but also shocked awake by caffeine. At any rate, it wasn't really late enough to go to sleep yet— unless you were somewhat sick and approaching geriatric, like her grandfather. The neighbors were still out in full on the other side of the backyard wall.

"We should sleep." Sai said, as he floated up to the place his goban had been hiding away for all these years. "It's been a really long and hectic day, no? We should go back to your ryokan now."

Hikaru chuckled under her breath at the idea of the Ritz-Carlton being considered a humble 'ryokan'. Then she rolled her eyes. "As if you're actually tired. I know you're just itching to play a game."

Sai looked bashful. "Well yes, of course, seeing such wonderful passion always makes me want to play," he admitted. "But Hikaru's health is important too!"

Hikaru knew that was true, but all the same, she felt as if it was just as important that Sai get to play. Maybe it was from seeing the excitement SAI caused in the Go world first hand— she had known at least peripherally that SAI was considered something of a Go God in the modern world, but to hear that both Ogata Judan and Kuwabara Honinbo would happily brave the internet just for a chance to play him…

As if by some minor stroke of fate, her phone began to buzz in her pocket.

When she pulled it out, her eyes lit up at the name. "Akira-kun!"

"Hikaru-chan," he said, and he sounded rather relieved. "Am I interrupting something right now?"

"No, not at all!" She assured him, smiling into the phone. "Congratulations, by the way! It was a really great game!"

Akira chuckled weakly. "Thank you… Lu Li is a really great player. On the subject of that…"

He trailed off, and Hikaru waited patiently for what she knew was coming.

"... Would it be possible… would you like to come over?"

Hikaru almost dropped her phone.

Okay, that hadn't been what she'd expected.

"I'd really like to discuss the game with you," Akira continued, and Hikaru remembered to breathe. Yes, that had been what she had been expecting. Of course. He'd just… surprised her with the phrasing, was all. "But I understand if it's already too late."

"Not at all!" Hikaru assured. Then she remembered her sick and elderly grandfather in the house, and winced. "Ah— actually though… my grandfather appears to be under the weather, and I'm really worried about leaving him here alone…"

"That's perfectly understandable." Akira assured her.

Hikaru bit her lip.

"Why don't you come here?" She said, quickly.

"..." It appeared she had caught Akira conclusively off guard.

"I just— his house isn't too far from yours, if I recall correctly. And he has a goban."

When she put it like that, it was actually not a half bad idea.

"Is that really alright?" Akira asked, worried. "I wouldn't want to intrude."

"Of course, I promise!" Hikaru assured him. "And I really want to discuss the games with you, too, so this is perfect."

Akira still didn't seem quite convinced, but clearly he felt the same, because he caved quickly enough. "Well, if you're sure it's alright…"

"Definitely." Hikaru nodded. "I'll text you the address, okay?"

.

.

*the Kaio girls (Tsugumi, Himari and Lisa) call Hikaru Hika-chii as a nickname. It's a thing hs girls do with their friends, like Tsugumi is Tsugu, Himari is Hii-chan, and Akari is Akari-rin. Adding -chi, -rin or -chin is a way of making the names 'cuter' in some way I guess.

*idk if this is right, but for whatever reason whenever I read manwha they tend to use people's full names as opposed to just a last name when they're being formal in Korean? Not sure if this is true or not. I also can't get a definitive answer on whether to use -nim or -sshi.

* Across the Universe (우주를 건너) by Yerin Baek(백예린) might be one of the most beautiful songs I've ever heard? her voice is just so beautiful? Also all the chapters are songs that Hikaru will sing at some point in the story, or has already sung with f(x) or in her mini album 3

thanks again to everyone who reviewed! This chapter would not have gotten out so quickly (or been here, at all) without you! For everyone who said the update made their day - well, you guys make my day too :)