Moonlit Lies (K/DA x Male Reader)

5 | The Weight of our Name

Y/N: "Pawn takes E7."

I moved the white piece over, swapping out the black rook for my pawn. However, my position was still very much precarious. I only had a few moves to salvage my situation for I would be inevitably defeated. I focused, my brain running through multiple possible moves that my opponent would take, with the most obvious one being...

???: "Queen takes E7. Check."

A simple trade. But one that was necessary to keep my king out of checkmate.

Y/N: "King to A8."

Of course, that didn't mean any of my moves were necessarily good. I was simply getting backed into a corner, forced to take moves that would ultimately end in my demise. With his other rook blocking off A6 and B6, I could only take my king up.

???: "You are still too inexperienced. Rook to A6. Check."

His voice was weary, but in his inflection, he carried a certain degree of confidence that bespoke of vast experience. And although his remark was degrading in nature, he lacked the arrogance for it to be viewed as condescending, instead having an almost authoritative parental tone, chiding me for my narrow view of the game state. I sighed.

Y/N: "I know they're bad moves, but I can't really do anything else. King to B8."

???: "Is that why you have that scandal with that Ye-jun girl? If you knew it would turn out for the worst, then why do it in the first place?"

So this was the true reason of his visit? I can't say I didn't expect that.

Y/N: "It's...more complicated than that."

???: "Of course. Life is hardly ever as black and white as we wish it would be. But still, you are not that starry-eyed boy you once were all those years ago when I took you under my wing. You are a CEO now, and you must consider that you carry the weight of the entire company on your back. Your actions have consequences."

Y/N: "I'm well aware. Don't you think I've learned that lesson already?" I leaned back, my eyes glancing back to the photograph of my parents on my bookshelf. How nice it was to be simply...ordinary. "It doesn't change the fact that I have to clean up this whole mess."

???: "I thought I taught you how to survive in this world. I fully expect for you to be able to wiggle yourself out of this predicament."

Y/N: "It's really not that easy."

???: "But it is. You simply manipulate the pieces into a favorable situation. Life is not so much different from the chess board, (Y/N)."

Y/N: "Well I'm not the one who's been doing this for over half my life, Swain."

Swain: "I succeeded Noxus Enterprise when it was on the brink of collapse, and with my own two hands, I sculpted it into the glorious company it is today. And the reason why I was able to do it was because I understood how people work. Somewhere along the road, you forgot that."

How people work...of course I knew that. At their core, humans were all ugly. All I had to do was find whatever one thing they were afraid of and exploit it.

Swain: "I think it's time we wrapped this up. Queen to B7. Checkmate."

Swain's thumb slipped under his blindfold as he removed it from his head, standing to his two feet. In front of me, now, was the full, imposing glory of Jericho Swain, the CEO of Noxus Enterprise. Just like him, his company was a corporate giant that ruthlessly crushed its competitors. Despite being centered in Italy, nearly every country had some branch of Noxus Enterprise in their midst. Even here in South Korea, Swain's presence was profoundly dominant. And although his hairs were grey, his sharp eyes conveyed a sort of mental acuity that was atypical for a man of his age. Perhaps all the wrinkles on his face were indicative of his hard work.