Road to be the Best Chess Player in the World!-Chapter 380: Home (I)

"Ladies and gentlemen, we have just been cleared to land at the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport. Please make sure your seatbelt is securely fastened one last time. The flight attendants are currently passing around the cabin to make a final compliance check and pick up any remaining cups and glasses. Thank you."

As the announcement rang loudly through the plane, Sheva groaned, trying to stretch his stiff body. He could feel some parts were aching, the result of an uncomfortable journey. Inwardly, the boy couldn’t help but curse.

’We are just creating history, even bringing two gold medals and two bronze medals, yet we are still taking the economic seat? Fucking hell! We deserve fucking better after this!’

Unfortunately, unlike his journey to Biel, this time, the ticket was paid from the federation’s pocket, so he had to be satisfied with going with the others. However, the boy also made a note inside his head that after everything was over, he would ask Mrs. Dina, the sponsor’s spokesperson, who usually kept in touch with her, to cover the team’s journey as well. After all, if he could have unlimited funds, why wouldn’t he use them for better comfort?

"Wake up, you dolt!" Bagas nudged him slightly, not enough to make it hurt, but still quite tough to force Sheva to wake up. "Get ready, the roller coaster is about to begin." He said tensely, having his fingers dancing so quickly on his phone.

"What do you mean by roller coaster?" Sheva asked confusedly.

He also saw that the ladies started to apply light makeup, which only made this situation more bizarre. Hell, even Master Susanto and Taher, the two col-hearted men who didn’t really express their emotions outside, seemed to be quite nervous, fidgeting their fingers around as if they were about to face the hardest exam in the world.

However, Sheva’s confusion was answered immediately, as right after the plane landed and the passengers were allowed to step into the airport, they were all greeted by the flashlights snapped from so many cameras.

Snap!

Snap!

Snap!

Snap!

"Urgh!" Sheva groaned, covering his eyes unconsciously. "What is going on here?" He asked. However, before he could get any answer, so many microphones were pointed at him immediately, not giving the boy any chance to comprehend the situation.

"Sheva, congratulations..."

"One word, please! Can you tell me..." 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

"Hey, don’t push around! Sheva, one question, please!"

"Master Irene, this is KompasTV speaking..."

"CNN here! Laysa, how do you feel..."

Sheva was dumbfounded when he saw this. The peaceful airport suddenly got transformed into a battlefield, with all the journalists there trying to get a piece of them. While Sheva knew that the reception would be crazy, he thought that it would be the next morning, not straight after they stepped into the airport.

Fortunately, Bagas worked fast. As if he were the manager of a group of idols, he swept through the sea of people without hesitation, shouting, "Clear the way! We can talk about it tomorrow! Let them rest first! Everyone, follow me!"

Everyone was stunned for a moment, not expecting Bagas to pull this maneuver. However, out of trust and probably reflex, Sheva and Sarah rushed without hesitation, and after that, all of them followed from behind. With Bagas acting as a shield, it was quite easy for them to get through the insane crowd.

The moment they finally managed to leave the airport, four taxis had already waited there, and Bagas didn’t hesitate to shout once again, "Come quickly! The second wave will come soon!"

Well, they didn’t need to be told twice to understand the severity of the situation. Without hesitation, twelve bodies jumped into the vehicles, letting themselves get ’kidnapped’ by the taxis.

"Boss, the location is clear, right?" Bagas asked the driver in a hurry.

"Don’t worry, young man!" The driver, an old man probably in his late 40s, said calmly while also setting up his seatbelt. "Just sit and hold tight! Everyone is waiting for you!"

Based on this conversation, Sheva could figure out that Bagas had already ordered the taxis before they landed. However, he was still full of questions, and Arfan, who coincidentally enough was also here, felt the same.

"Where are we going, by the way?" Sheva couldn’t help but ask.

"Don’t worry, you will know it later." Bagas smiled mysteriously. Coincidentally enough, similar questions were also flying in the other taxis, with the driver keeping their lips tight without giving any hint about the destination. This alone was enough to make everyone curious.

It took a while, but in the end, they arrived at a pretty luxurious hotel, and most of them were in a daze when the drivers put them there.

"Uh... Bagas..." Master Susanto spoke awkwardly. "Are you sure that we should be here?" Even for him, this was indeed a little bit too much. He had never been in this luxurious hotel, so he felt like he was a bit out of place here.

Yeah, the hotel looked like the place where all the big CEOs from all over the world gathered. Hell, it is located straight at the center of Jakarta, the place where all the people with ties and suits would come and go. For mere chess players like them all, they didn’t dare to step into this kind of place even in their wildest dreams, let alone in reality. That was why they felt so uneasy, just staring above at the top of the hotel as if they were frogs inside the well.

"Don’t worry, everything has been arranged before," Bagas said, walking with Sarah confidently. They looked like the second-generation couple who went for a honeymoon, which made the others look more out of place here.

"... Well, the boss has already said so, what choice do we have?" Laysa shrugged, breaking the awkwardness. In the end, the others also swallowed their fear, following Bagas from behind. Even if they were embarrassed, at least they were not alone here.

Just as they entered the hotel, the smell of luxury hit their nostril hard, enough to make them get drunk on it instantly. If Sheva had to say about his first impression, it would be clean and shiny. Yeah, everything looked so bright, as if every single inch of the building was polished hard all the time.

The others also had the same reaction, pretty much nervous after entering the wealthy den for the first time ever. However, their worry dissipated instantly when they saw similar figures inside there, and Sheva even had to wipe his eyes several times to convince himself that this was real.

"Mom?"