Chapter 8 — No One Wants to Lose

The Chess Club organized an internal exchange session on Friday afternoon, inviting a few other clubs in the school to visit to promote their image before the inter-school tournament. Room 203 was unusually crowded that day, the tables and chairs were arranged in a U shape, and a few small decorative flags were carefully hung on the wall by Mr. Hung.

Lam Khe stood in the corner of the room, a bit overwhelmed by the rare bustling atmosphere, holding a glass of orange juice from the small banquet table prepared by Mr. Hung. She looked around and saw Nam Phong busy chatting with some friends from the English Club, the familiar bright smile never leaving his face.

"Hey, Lam Khe, right?"

A pretty girl, wearing an Art Club uniform, approached with a friendly smile. "I'm Bao Ngoc. I've been in the same grade as Nam Phong since tenth grade. I heard you're a new member and play great defense?"

"Ah, hello," Lam Khe replied, a bit confused by that sudden enthusiasm. "Yeah, I've only been in for a few weeks."

"Nam Phong mentioned you all the time," Bao Ngoc said, his voice full of meaning, his eyes playfully glancing at Nam Phong who was standing not far away. "It's been a long time since I've seen him talk so excitedly about a club member. Are you two very close?"

Lam Khe felt her cheeks heat up a bit, not sure how to respond appropriately. "We... just practice together," she replied, sounding somewhat awkward.

"Well," Bao Ngoc chuckled, "be careful, he's been the 'hot commodity' of our block for several years now. Many people have pursued him without any success, but suddenly he became close to a brand new club member so quickly."

The conversation was interrupted when Mr. Hung called everyone together to start the friendly competition, but Bao Ngoc's words still lingered in Lam Khe's mind the whole time, making her unable to help but secretly glance at Nam Phong more than usual, even though every time she met his eyes, she quickly turned away as if she had just done something wrong.

The friendly competition took place enthusiastically, with club members playing rapid chess - each game was limited to only five minutes for each side, creating a tense but fun atmosphere completely different from the usual serious, slow games. Lam Khe, although hesitant at first, was eventually drawn into a game with Duc Anh, and thanks to her inherent calculation speed, she won quite easily by trapping the opponent out of time to think.

"Not bad," Nam Phong appeared next to him as soon as the game ended, lightly applauding. "Blitz chess requires much faster reflexes than standard chess, you're more adaptable than I thought."

"Maybe because there's not enough time to be scared," Lam Khe replied, half joking, half serious, making Nam Phong laugh.

"That's a good sentence, I'll remember to use it again," he said, then pulled out a chair to sit next to her when the playing area took a break for halftime. "Ah, what did Bao Ngoc say to you? I saw you two talked for a long time."

"Nothing," Lam Khe replied quickly, a bit flustered, not wanting to repeat the "hot product of the block" story he had just heard. "Just a normal inquiry."

Nam Phong looked at her for a moment, seemingly not believing in that answer, but did not ask further, just smiled mysteriously and changed to another topic.

The meeting lasted until nearly six o'clock in the afternoon. When everyone started cleaning up, Lam Khe volunteered to stay and help rearrange the tables and chairs with a few other members, including Nam Phong. Together they carried a long table back to its original position, and while turning around, Lam Khe's hand accidentally touched Nam Phong's hand as they both reached for a stack of plastic chairs.

The two paused for a second, their eyes met for a brief moment but enough to create a strange silence, different from the familiar comfort between them. Lam Khe quickly withdrew her hand, feeling her heart beating faster than usual for unknown reasons.

"Sorry," she mumbled, bending down to pretend to straighten the stack of chairs to hide her embarrassment.

"It's okay," Nam Phong replied, his voice was also somewhat unusual, not as natural as usual. He cleared his throat lightly and continued cleaning, but Lam Khe noticed that his ears were slightly red, a small detail that she had never seen on him before.

After finishing cleaning, there were only two people left in room 203. The fluorescent light illuminated the empty room, which was unusually quiet compared to the bustle that had just taken place not long ago.

"Are you home yet?" Nam Phong asked, standing against the window frame, the orange-red sunset casting a warm color on his face.

"Almost," Lam Khe replied, packing up her schoolbag, but not rushing out immediately, as if there was something invisible keeping her in this room a little longer.

"What did Bao Ngoc say to you today, honestly," Nam Phong asked again, this time his voice was more serious, his eyes looking straight at her.

Lam Khe hesitated, considering whether to tell the truth or not. Finally, she decided to be honest. "He said he was the 'hot commodity of the block', many people pursued him without success, and asked if we were close."

Nam Phong was silent for a moment, then burst out laughing, but that laugh was more forced than usual. "Bao Ngoc is always like that, likes to tease others. Don't pay attention."

"I don't care," Lam Khe said, even though in his heart he knew it wasn't entirely true.

There was a long silence between the two of them, not uncomfortable but not entirely comfortable either, as if they were both standing in front of an invisible boundary that no one dared to cross.

"Lam Khe," Nam Phong finally spoke, his voice containing a bit of hesitation that was rare for him. "I don't know how to express it properly, but... lately I've been looking forward to club activities more than before. Not just because of chess."

Lam Khe stood still, her heart pounding in her chest, not knowing how to react to that half-hearted statement. She wanted to ask what he meant, but was afraid the answer would change things between them in a direction she wasn't ready to face.

"Me...me too," she finally replied, her voice so soft it was almost a whisper, but enough for Nam Phong to hear, enough for a gentle, warm smile to bloom on his lips.

"That's good," he said, not pushing the conversation any further, as if they both implicitly understood that this wasn't the time to talk more clearly about what was brewing between them, but they both knew, something had quietly changed this afternoon.

On the way home, Lam Khe walked slowly, letting the cool breeze of the early summer evening pass by, bringing with it an indescribable feeling of excitement in her heart. She thought about the accidental touch, about Nam Phong's unfinished words, about his warm smile, and realized that, perhaps, her concern for him had long since gone beyond the friendship between two teammates in the club.

As soon as she arrived at her house gate, her phone vibrated with a text message from Yen Chi, who had heard about the club exchange through a mutual friend. "I heard that today, a friend of the Art Club asked about you and the homeroom teacher very badly? Tell me, don't hide it."

Lam Khe stood hesitantly in front of the gate, her finger hovering over the screen, considering what to say. Finally she just typed: "It's no big deal, I'll see you tomorrow." But right after sending it, she sat down on the front steps of the house, not in a hurry to go inside, wanting to enjoy a little more time alone to sort out the emotions swirling in her heart.

She remembered the look in Nam Phong's eyes when they touched each other's hands, the way his ears turned red that he tried to hide with a forced natural look, and the unfinished words "it's not just about chess" kept echoing in her head. Over the past six years, Lam Khe has become accustomed to keeping a safe distance from any relationship that has the potential to hurt her — not just on the chess board, but also in friendship, and especially in anything that could develop into love. She always thought that the less deeply attached she was to someone, the less likely she was to experience the feeling of loss she feared.

But this afternoon, standing in the quiet room 203 with Nam Phong, she did not think about retreating, did not calculate a safe way out like her instincts often told her. She let that moment happen naturally, letting the answer "me too" pop out from the bottom of her heart without having time to consider the pros and cons.

That made her both confused and a little strangely excited - confused because this was completely unfamiliar territory for someone like her who always calculated all risks, but excited because, perhaps, this was one of the first "risky moves" that she voluntarily entered, not because anyone forced her, but because her own heart wanted to try.

She sat for a while longer on the steps, watching the sky gradually turn dark purple in the evening, then stood up and walked into the house, carrying a small smile of unknown origin still lingering on her lips, and the feeling that something important had just begun, even though neither of them dared to name it out loud.