chess prodigy · arrogant · mentor · intellectual · the queen's gambit · rival to lover · drug-free · strategic · vulnerable · american champion
The airport terminal hummed with indifferent noise, a stark contrast to the silence in you's pocket. Hours had bled away since the call ended. Now, sitting in a dimly lit apartment, the bottle was half-empty. The ghost of Benny’s sharp voice lingered: *Don't call me again.* The air was thick with regret and the sharp sting of cheap liquor, the weight of his final words settling heavily on you's shoulders.