"I am Ming You. I am now sixteen years old, and I have three deaths on my hands — deaths of people close to me, close in the eyes of society."
"Right now, I just want to play basketball, but to be more precise, I want to win. As I walked to the nearest basketball court, I decided to revisit some memories of my weak personality, which I also killed."
"I don't remember much before the age of ten, but at ten years old, which I'll call my childhood, enough happened in my life to make me stronger."
Late at night. A seemingly ordinary apartment with a minimalist style and white wallpaper. Ming You sat at the table drinking water, while a rather old man in his seventies sat a little further away. Despite his age, he had a muscular body and a long scar on his neck. This was his father, and he was reading a newspaper with news about missing children in the forest.
A couple of minutes later, a woman in her mid-thirties with long black hair entered the kitchen. She looked both desperate and exhausted, and she forced out the words to her husband:
"Darling, we can't afford to pay off these debts."
He gave her a stern look and crumpled the newspaper:
"It's not "we" anymore, it's you. I've already filed for divorce, and tomorrow I won't be here. You'll have to deal with your debts on your own."
"But what about Ming You? You can't just leave him like this!", She desperately cried out, looking towards Ming You, but he was indifferent and didn't even look up.
"He's old enough not to need such care, so I'm leaving you two alone'" his father stood up from the chair and slowly left the kitchen, gathering his things.
"But how…" His mother began to cry, and Ming You simply patted her on the back and headed to his room.
"After this event, day by day, I sought salvation in hobbies — something that could distract me from dark thoughts and add some color to my gray existence, because after my father left, my mother spent entire days working multiple jobs to feed us and pay off the debts."
"At the same age, in elementary school, I tried different clubs: soccer, volleyball, baseball, and even hockey, but none of these activities brought me satisfaction, as I felt I had no talent."
"But one day, sitting at a chessboard, I felt like I had found what I was looking for. Chess became more than just a game for me — it was a true art where I could showcase my mind and strategic thinking."
"But soon, something more dynamic caught my attention — basketball. Passing by the school basketball court, I saw the ball flying into the hoop, the players fighting for victory, and I realized that this was exactly what I needed."
As Ming You watched the game, the ball flew towards him. He caught it deftly and looked at his peers with mild surprise. One of them shouted to him:
"Hey, want to join our basketball club? You've got pretty good reflexes!"
"Sure!", He said with a smile, tossing his backpack on the bench and joining the game.
"I don't remember exactly if I won that day or not, but I know for sure that I have a talent for basketball. With each game, I became more convinced that talent decides the game. So I decided to prove that hard work can also beat talented players with less experience."
"And so the next four years of my life passed. I trained day and night, improving my game with my teammates, and occasionally visited the chess club. I wanted to quit the chess club for the sake of basketball, but one beautiful day in my life, I met her — a girl with long light brown hair and brown eyes. Her name was Sun Hee, and she didn't stand out much, but I accidentally fell in love with her on her initiative."
"She was the only reason I spent more time in the chess club. She was kind and smiling with me, and when it got hot in the chess club, she would take off her shirt, and during my puberty, I would get a movements in my pants under the table, which is probably why I lost to her so often in chess."
"After school, a couple of days into our friendship, as we were walking together, I confidently but indifferently asked her to become my girlfriend, and she was even surprised how such an indifferent and detached guy could make her such an offer, but she agreed quite quickly. Back then, I guess I just wanted to have sex with her, and I wasn't thinking with my heart but with my friend in my pants."
"It only happened after I suggested she spend the night at my place. Well, she didn't know that, as the pretext was that we would just play chess and do homework, but in my head, I had other plans."
So we did our homework and were about to play chess, but I touched her cheek and said to her:
"Before we play, maybe we can have some fun in a different way?"
Sun Hee looked away and blushed:
"…How exactly?"
Ming You pulled a condom out of his pocket and winked at her:
"Get undressed."
"…I-I'm kind of scared… isn't it too soon?"
Sun Hee blushed even more, but Ming You made an indifferent and slightly contemptuous face:
"Well, if I'm so repulsive to you and you don't like me that much, then do as you please, I completely understand. Get the board, let's play and go our separate ways."
"N-no! You're really handsome, I'm just not ready yet…"
Before she could finish, Ming You interrupted her in a cold tone:
"Don't make excuses, if you think there's no reason for us to love each other, then I can support you, so let's play and part peacefully."
"I-I love you. O-okay, let's have fun your way…"
Sun Hee started to undress, and Ming You's indifferent face turned to interest.
"Convincing her back then was quite difficult, and in the end, we did what I wanted, but now I don't really care."
"A couple of weeks after the best day in the life of my former self, I came home from school and left my backpack by my room."
The apartment smelled strange. Ming You saw the bathroom door open and decided to take a look. His pupils narrowed, and he unconsciously took a step back.
In the bathtub, filled with blood, lay his mother with a slit wrist, and on the floor near the bathtub was a bloodied knife.
Ming You sat on the floor by the bathroom door and pressed himself against the wall.
"I don't know how to describe my emotions—it's not sadness, it's not despair, I'd call it a dead end and panic."
Ming You sat like that for several hours until there was a knock at the door. He ignored the sounds, but a minute later, when the handle turned and the door opened, she walked in — Sun Hee.
"Ming You?"
She called out, not seeing him at first, as he sat hugging his knees and pressing himself against the wall.
"M-Ming You? I-is everything okay… AAAH!"
She peeked into the door and immediately stepped back.
Sun Hee took out her phone and called an ambulance, and when she told them there was a dead woman in the bathroom, the police arrived as well.
"The police determined it was a suicide. I guess that's obvious, considering that over the past four years, her debts had only grown."
"I was lucky that Sun Hee stayed with me at home for a couple of days back then, and I was also lucky that I wasn't taken to an orphanage, as the police didn't yet know that my father had abandoned me."
At home, on the couch, Ming You was hugged by Sun Hee, and she tried to cheer him up:
"Ming You, are you okay? You look really sad, can I help you?"
"I'm just thinking about my mom," he replied, trying to hide his emotions. "She wouldn't want me to feel this way."
"You're not alone," said Sun Hee, taking his hand. "I'm always here. We'll get through this together."
"One day, during another chess game, I decided to play with her on the edge of manipulation. I made her sacrifice her queen, convincing her it was just a joke, that I was doing it for love, though back then, as now, I craved only the feeling of victory and superiority."
"Are you sure you want to continue?", Ming You asked with a sly smile. "Maybe we should just play something else?"
"Are you crazy?", Sun Hee was surprised. "Do you really want me to sacrifice my queen? That's not fair!"
"But it's for love," Ming You said, winking. "You want me to win, right?"
She looked at him in confusion, but in the end, she agreed.
"Okay, if it makes you happy," she sighed, sacrificing the piece. "But you understand it's not fair, right?"
Ming You won, but his joy was overshadowed by the question she asked, looking at him in confusion.
"Are you willing to even kill for victory?"
She asked, looking him in the eyes.
"What? No, of course not," he replied, embarrassed. "You're more important to me than any victory. I was just joking."
"I hope you haven't forgotten that," Sun Hee said with a weak smile. "Sometimes victory can cost too much."
"We'll be together, no matter what," he assured her. "I won't let anything separate us."
Ming You confidently said, then kissed Sun Hee, and they fell onto the bed.
"However, the happiness of my former self was short-lived. Soon, my uncle and aunt decided to take me under their care and move to another city. This meant I would have to part with the girl who had become a source of light in my darkest times."
Ming You sat in the kitchen, surrounded by his uncle and aunt.
"Ming You, we need to talk," his uncle said as they sat at the table.
"About what?"
Ming You asked, feeling his heart tighten.
"We've decided it would be better if you moved in with us," his uncle said. "We want you to live with us. It will be better for you."
"But I don't want to leave!" Ming You exclaimed, unable to hold back his tears. "I can't leave Sun Hee!"
"This is not up for discussion," his uncle said, his voice hardening. "You need to think about your future."
"But she's important to me!" Ming You insisted. "I can't just leave everything behind!"
"Ming You," his aunt intervened, "we understand how hard this is for you, but this decision has been made for your own good."
After the conversation, his uncle and aunt, along with Ming You, got into a taxi and headed to another city.
"After the move, I desperately tried to train in basketball, as there was no one to play chess with, and I channeled all my aggression into the game, hoping to escape reality by completely immersing myself in it."
"A whole year passed since I was forced to part with Sun Hee. That year became a true test for me. On the bright side, I got my driver's license and a certificate of capacity, which allowed me to be somewhat independent."
"But on the downside — I fell into depression, losing interest in everything around me, but trying to release my aggression during basketball training, though it didn't help. Every day was the same as the last, and my only solace was thoughts of revenge and victory. I dreamed of how I would return and show everyone that I wasn't broken."
Ming You looked at himself in the mirror, seeing a sixteen-year-old boy, 178 centimeters tall, with black hair almost reaching his nose, his forehead and eyes uncovered, but his eyes were completely empty, like darkness, though one could still try to find some humanity in them. Ming You looked at himself, trying to figure out how to deal with his despair.
One day, when his uncle and aunt returned home, Ming You couldn't hold back the growing tension. He knew they didn't understand his pain and would never appreciate his passion for victory. Suddenly, he was overcome with madness.
"Uncle, aunt, or rather mom and dad, if you prefer, the shower in the bathroom seems to be broken, and I also wanted to talk to you". Ming You innocently called out, putting on gloves and hiding a knife under his t-shirt.
"Dear, he called us parents. Finally, he acknowledged us today". His uncle said to his wife, "We'll check it out and discuss what's wrong".
He replied to Ming You, not suspecting his intentions.
"Ming You, I'm glad you called us, while your uncle fixes the shower, we can talk, after all, we're the only ones who will try to help you". His aunt said kindly.
"Yes, I have something to tell you, but I don't think the dead will be interested," Ming You said indifferently, closing the bathroom door.
"What are you talking about?" Meanwhile, Ming You had already pulled the knife from under his shirt.
"The shower is fine, what's wrong?" his uncle said before turning around, but Ming You was already cutting his aunt's throat when his uncle saw what was happening.
"Are you out of your mind?!" his uncle shouted, trying to break free as Ming You lunged at him.
"This is for victory!" Ming You growled, ignoring their pleas.
A stab... Splatter...
Ming You plunged the knife into his uncle's throat. Shortly after, he dismembered their bodies, erasing all traces as if it were just another task.
When he finished, he carefully placed the body parts into garbage bags and took a shower, washing the blood off himself. Then Ming You took all the money in the house and went outside with the "trash" bags, throwing them into a dumpster.
His heart raced in his chest, but he felt adrenaline coursing through him. He took a taxi back to the old city, determined to reunite with Sun Hee.
When they met, she looked happy, and his heart shattered with pain.
"Hi, Ming You! How are you?" she asked with a smile.
"I'm... okay," he replied, trying to hide his feelings. "How about you? Is everything good?"
"Yes, I have a boyfriend now," she said, and her words pierced him like a knife.
"A boyfriend?" he repeated, trying not to reveal his pain. "Congratulations."
"Thank you! Can we go for a walk?" she suggested, unaware of his internal struggle.
"Yeah, sure, how about we walk to that abandoned building where we had so much fun?" Ming You said, doing his best to conceal his emotions and intentions.
"Okay, how are you doing? Have you made any friends there?" Sun Hee asked as they walked together to the abandoned building.
"I want to talk to you and discuss everything when we get there, is that okay? I just think that place is a bit quieter," Ming You said, his eyes slightly reddening, but he managed to say it without hesitation.
"I'm fine with that; I like that place too," Sun Hee had no idea of her ex's intentions.
When they arrived at the abandoned building, Ming You, struggling to contain his emotions, led her inside.
"You know, it's so quiet and peaceful here," he said, sitting on a stone. "Let's sit down and talk; grab that stone behind you."
Sun Hee nodded and turned to pick up the stone when Ming You stood up, grabbed the stone, and aimed for her head, throwing it like a basketball, but he hit her in the back instead, as the weight of the stone was quite different from that of a basketball.
"What are you doing?!" she screamed, turning around.
After the stone hit her back, Ming You panicked and kicked Sun Hee's legs, causing her to fall. Then he began to kick her in the throat to silence her. His mind was clouded. Ming You sat on his ex-girlfriend's stomach and pulled the knife from under his t-shirt, tears streaming down his cheeks, dripping onto Sun Hee.
"I'm sorry, Sun Hee," he exhaled, "it's all for victory."
"For... what... cough... victory?" she asked in a hoarse voice, looking at him in horror.
But Ming You did not answer. He suddenly stabbed her by knife, and her eyes filled with fear. Sun Hee could no longer ask questions; her life was fading, and Ming You felt his obsession completely engulfing him.
After that, Ming You, with trembling hands and a bloodied knife, aimed it at his veins, wishing to end his own life. But at that moment, something inside him stopped him, as if a second personality was whispering about the need for absolute victories.
"No!" he shouted, realizing he couldn't allow himself to lose.
"By killing yourself, you won't achieve absolute victory; don't make yourself lose," the inner voice of Ming You spoke.
"No! I've already lost! I have no place in this world!" Ming You said to himself, tears in his eyes.
"I will replace you, granting you victory, absolute victory," the inner voice grew louder.
"I hope you can win in my place," Ming You said despairingly.
"Don't doubt it; now go, I'll take care of everything." Ming You calmed down, changing his desperate expression to indifference. After these words, the first personality of Ming You, which still held a trace of humanity, simply evaporated, leaving only his obsession with victory.
He dismembered Sun Hee's body, covered his tracks, and discarded her remains in the trash, just like he did with his uncle and aunt.
Gathering his thoughts, Ming You headed to the streetball court, where a crowd was placing bets. He knew that there he could find his new goal—a victory that would fill the emptiness inside him.
"Hey, guys, want to play?" Ming You shouted to the crowd making bets on the players.
"You're pretty bold!" shouted one of the guys. "This isn't child's play, kid; we play for money, and quite a lot of it, heh-heh."
"I have something to bet," Ming You replied, pulling out his uncle's and aunt's wallet. "So, how about a game?"