PTT - 5

The world was unfair.

“Why can’t our Sayeon understand what I’m saying? Has she gone deaf now? I’m really curious. Can you not hear well?”

“Instead of doing this, why don’t you improve your own skills? No matter how much you bully me……”

“Who do you think you are to talk about my skills? Huh? You dirty bastard, acting so impudent.”

Slap! A sharp sound echoed in the warehouse. The unique metallic taste of blood lingered on the tip of her tongue, as if the inside of her mouth had burst. Sayeon, who was panting heavily, wiped her lips with the back of her hand.

Until now, she had never touched places as exposed as her face, so she must have been quite angry. She glared at the senior in her school uniform, her eyes filled with force.

They said that school uniforms were created to hide the gap between students’ wealth. Even if someone attached such a plausible excuse, the reality did not change.

There was a clear wall between those who couldn’t afford to buy school uniforms costing hundreds of thousands of won and received hand-me-downs, and those who wore branded outerwear over their jackets.

To see beyond that wall, she had to make others kneel. Only by stepping on their small backs could she see ‘their world.’

‘Why is she so angry when she has so much?’

Jung Ah-young. As soon as the rumor spread that a transfer student had come from New York, Sayeon’s class became noisy. Although she entered a year lower due to the curriculum, everyone called her older sister.

It was because no one wanted to be on bad terms with Ah-young. They said she was the daughter of a large conglomerate’s chairman.

Even as rumors spread from the mouths of her classmates, Sayeon silently did what she had to do.

Shooting. It was the only path in her life that showed a glimmer of hope. The problem was that a spoiled rich girl with a bad personality had also chosen the same path.

At that moment, thump! A sharp pain was felt in her solar plexus as if to pull her out of her thoughts. Sayeon, holding her abdomen, coughed.

“Originally, you learn how to read the room if you study. Like English and math.”

“......”

“But poor kids always lack the ability to read the room. Is it because they can’t learn it?”

Ah-young, twisting her long, brown hair that reached down to her chest, lowered her upper body.

Then, she grabbed Sayeon’s thin chin. The tips of her sharp nails pressed gently against her skin. Tilting her head as if she didn’t understand, she whispered in a gentle voice.

“Sayeon. You really don’t want to be second no matter what? Isn’t being second better than giving up entirely? Or do you want to stop shooting now? If that’s the case, I’ll make you quit instead. You should stop draining your old grandmother’s energy and start being filial.”

“Then you……”

“Huh?”

Sayeon, who had been looking down, parted her bloodied lips. If you’re poor, can’t you even dream? Can’t you even hold onto the only hope?

No. That’s all just old talk.

She raised her head and met Ah-young’s gaze. Without even blinking once. An unbearable sneer might have leaked out.

“You, do you not want to be second no matter what? You should be used to it by now.”

At the one sentence that accurately hit the mark, the smile completely disappeared from Ah-young’s lips. Grabbing the golf club that was leaning against the warehouse wall, she spoke in a low voice.

“This is fun. Grab her.”

Third-year male students, guarding A-young’s sides like bodyguards, grabbed Sayeon. She struggled to resist in any way she could, but it was impossible to shake off seniors who were a head taller than her.

Sayeon, gritting her teeth, raised her head. Her eyes, glaring at those who wanted her to beg for forgiveness even though she had done nothing wrong, shone fiercely.

It was only natural that those eyes further provoked A-young. Thump. The golf club head hit the warehouse floor, creating a heavy noise.

“Unnie will do proxy filial piety for your grandmother, Sayeon-ah.”

That was the last thing Yoo Sayeon remembered.

It was when she was only fifteen years old, before she became Yoo Raon.

탕! (Bang!) The sound of gunfire struck her ears. Even with thick earmuffs on, her eardrums felt muffled each time she pulled the trigger, shot after shot.

Raon, maintaining the same posture without wavering from the recoil, held her breath.

The aiming point would blur the moment she exhaled. Concentrating as if she would devour the target, she pulled the trigger once more. Again, 탕! (Bang!) With a heavy noise, the bullet cut through the air and went straight.

After firing, Raon slowly tilted her head back and looked at the ceiling. A thin breath escaped through her lips.

“Hoo...”

The finger that pulled the trigger was always her left index finger. The back of her right hand, which covered her left hand for stability, throbbed.

It had already been over ten years since she had fully recovered, but occasionally the bones in the back of her hand felt numb. The doctor diagnosed that it was due to psychological trauma and that there was no physical problem at all.

Raon knew it too. The fact that her right hand was fine now.

It was twelve years ago that she, who was right-handed, changed the hand she mainly used. Seeing her right hand, which was fractured and swollen, her shooting coach and Soon-ae were shocked.

Raon couldn’t tell the adults who pressed her about who had done it. It was to protect the person she loved most in this world, who was now too old and weak.

And so, Yoo Raon, a week before the national youth shooting team selection, put down her pistol.

“...Why isn’t it working out like this?”

Raon, taking off her clear goggles, checked the target. She was someone who usually hit the bullseye with all ten shots.

But today, her concentration was scattered, and several shots were off the ten (TEN) line. If it was skewed to one side, she could readjust the zero point, but it wasn’t that either. It felt like a large rock was pressing down on her chest, making her feel suffocated.

At that time, the sound of applause was heard not far away. Raon lowered one of her earmuffs and turned her body towards the direction of the sound.

Baek Siheon was standing there. Always in perfect form.

It would be a cliché expression, but he radiated light. He was tall enough that she had to tilt her head back quite a bit, with a sturdy physique. His broad, inverted triangle shoulders were no exaggeration to say were the wannabe of men.

His distinct features, like firmly sculpted muscles, were also one of God’s gifts. From his coolly extended eyebrows, like a stroke of a prestigious family, to the high bridge of his nose that rose from between them.

When he kept his mouth quietly closed, he looked like an arrogant, cold handsome man, but Siheon was far from having a cold personality.

Raon liked the moment when his thin lips curved into a gentle arc. She liked his face that was nonchalant yet gentle, wolf-like yet reminiscent of a fox.

But now he had become someone she could no longer like comfortably.

“I never imagined you would be shooting. The you I knew was someone who liked reading books.”

“...It’s meaningless, talking about the past.”

He, wearing professional goggles, stood next to Raon. She also never dreamed that she would see Baek Siheon shooting.

It was because they had broken up before she could properly imagine the future five years later.

“Yeon... No, it’s Yoo Raon now.”

Siheon, reloading the magazine, held the pistol with both hands and spread his feet shoulder-width apart. His posture, with his upper body slightly lowered and his arms stretched straight out, looked very familiar.

Raon’s gaze was directed not at the muzzle, but at his profile. Exactly three seconds later, Taang! Tang! (Bang! Bang!) Loud gunshots rang out in succession.

Siheon, who pulled the trigger twice in a row, put down the pistol and let out a low breath. Only then did Raon turn her head towards the target in front.

‘The score...’

She could see that both bullets had pierced between the 8 and 9 point lines. It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t a very good result either.

Siheon, who checked the bullet holes, raised one corner of his mouth and let out a languid smile. He looked at Raon, tightening the wrist part of his black shooting gloves.

“...What is it?”

Ten days had already passed since that surreal reunion. During that time, she encountered Siheon every day, but the conversations were always kept to a minimum.

Whenever he showed signs of trying to have a serious conversation, she immediately changed the subject, showing a side of herself that was unlike her.

Days continued with frustration as Raon couldn’t even understand the reason herself.

“Since joining the company, I’ve been doing all the other training, but I’m not good at shooting. I think my grip or posture is wrong...”

“So?”

“You’re one of the best aces in our agency, Yeon. Now that we’re on the same team, help me out.”

Siheon tilted his head slightly and looked at Raon with affectionate eyes. Even if she tried to ignore it, his gaze was persistent.

Raon, who was fidgeting with the back of her hand with an uncomfortable expression, swallowed a sigh.

‘It’s just shooting training... and we’re on the same team.’

Raon, who had properly put on her goggles, replaced her answer with silence. Siheon smiled slyly and took a shooting stance again.

He held the grip closely, his left hand covering his right. Thick veins stood out on his firm and large hand.

“Since you know the basic shooting method... you need to straighten your arm a little more here.”

“Like this?”

“No. So that it’s completely straight.”

Raon, who was demonstrating while standing in place, took a big step closer. It was better to correct his posture once than to lecture on theory a hundred times.

She corrected Siheon’s right arm while standing close beside him.

“You need to straighten it this much. It’s better to keep both eyes open rather than using only your dominant eye. After aiming the muzzle, you should focus on the front sight, not the target....”

Raon, who was continuing the explanation while staring at the target, blinked. Before she knew it, Baek Siheon was looking at her, who was positioned on his side, not in front.

When Raon met his jet-black eyes, she felt like she would fall into their deep black depths.

From the eyelashes under his thin double eyelids to his smooth cheeks and down to his masculine jaw. Raon's gaze fell diagonally. The moment her eyes reached his lips, she realized.

Her heart, sensing a dangerous and precarious atmosphere, pounded without a care.

Ah, this man. He was a wolf pretending to be a fox.