Incarnadine | Prequel to "Viridescence"

10

20th September
2005

Seonghwa looks around the area cautiously, not even having paid attention to anything as they were walking. It seems as though they are in a considerably darker area which also happens to be much colder.

"Our shooting range is in our basement, but we also have a bigger area outside. You'll probably be using this one for most of the time though," Hoseok explains as he rummages through shelves.

Seonghwa eyes the targets on the other side of the large room nervously, shuddering at the sight of all the holes. Will that be him soon?

He watches Hoseok approach Hongjoong with a small pistol in his hand. The man explains a few things to Hongjoong and Seonghwa takes mental notes of the information.

Next, he instructs the two on their posture. Seonghwa pays close attention but he still doesn't feel confident. Hongjoong, on the other hand, seems to soak up every single piece of information like a sponge.

The next thing he knows, Seonghwa is standing side by side with Hongjoong with a gun in hand, facing the targets that are about twenty metres away. He repeatedly takes deep breaths, concentrating on the sound of his breathing with his headphones on.

His eyes whip to the side by the sudden sound of the muffled gunshot. Hongjoong holds a satisfied smirk as he shoots into his target again. Both of the bullets barely hit the edge of the target, missing the middle greatly.

Seonghwa also decides to suck in his breath and go for it. He slowly presses onto the trigger, the metal feeling heavy in his hands. His heart jumps at the same time as the bullet leaves his gun. He gulps loudly as he tries to control his heart as well as the recoil from the gun.

He squints at the target and gasps loudly. Is that new hole near the centre really from him?

He jumps in his place at the feeling of a hand on his shoulder and immediately puts the gun down while pulling his headphones down. "Well done, that was really impressive! You seem to have a good aim," Hoseok laughs loudly, thoroughly impressed.

Seonghwa thinks back to the time his parents forcefully made him take archery lessons for a couple of years. Those really paid off after all, but for the wrong reasons.

"I-It was just luck," he timidly replies, avoiding eye contact. "Maybe...try it again!"

Both Seonghwa and Hongjoong fire at the targets for the rest of the day, growing addicted to the improvement they're seeing in themselves. Seonghwa proves that his first shot wasn't just luck, his extraordinary aim impressing Hoseok over and over again.

Hongjoong's aim isn't as astounding as his friend's, but that doesn't stop him from having a blast.

Hoseok innocently feeds Hongjoong his praise, while the younger child smirks devilishly. He imagines Hoseok and Hyungwon's face on the target as he shoots, providing him with more thrill than the gang members can even imagine. In Hoseok's eyes however, there's a young boy who gets excited whenever he manages to hit the target.

At last, the boys decide to call it a day. Seonghwa finally shows some relief on his face, having enjoyed the session more than he'd like to admit. He'd always been good at archery and missed it, but avoided telling anyone. He had quit because of one of his own stubborn acts, but only after did he realise how much he truly did like it. Guns have always terrified the boy, despite him not seeing one in person before. He'd seen them in movies and TV shows, the loud bang always having him on edge. Hearing one in person from Hoseok earlier in the morning had shaken him up quite badly, and even now it took him some getting used to.