Mirrored Match // ATEEZ ✔

= 1 =

One hit and it will shatter.

Every moment of his training has come to this, yet nothing could have prepared him for this pressure he's feeling right now. All eyes are on him, waiting for him to pull the trigger to set things in motion. One bullet is all it should take for him to claim his goal, for him to be celebrated as a hero.

He doesn't care what it takes, as long as the bullet will pierce through and shatter the glass into pieces. In front of his eyes lies the path the bullet will take, the target at a distance from him. His comrades have failed to clear the mission, and now it's up to him to be able to claim victory for all of them, saving their own faces as the crowd watches on.

He curls his finger on the trigger as he evens his breathing, eyes focused on nothing but the point. He tries to block every other sound but there are persistent voices from behind, making him losing his attention...

"Shoot the glass bottle and get the freaking teddy bear!" Yunho exclaims as he grips Jongho's shoulders, jumping up and down as he repeats, "Get the purple one, you can do this, Choi Jongho!" as San continues the cheer with a little dance, chanting, "Purple, purple, purple!"

"Shh," Seonghwa puts a finger to his lips, a slight shake of his head to shut San up. "Let him do his magic."

The youngest of the group, but the only hope left for them to get the purple teddy bear San has been eyeing ever since they stepped into the theme park. The teddy bear's mouth stays in a wide smile while its belly protrudes as it sits on what seems like a makeshift throne for it at the booth.

With sparkly and pleading eyes San has dragged the three of his friends - all aged no less than 20 - towards the target booth, where shooting a particular target would give them different prizes. San had been the first one to try, but his targets were all nearly missed. It has been a frustrating round of bullets for them until the youngest takes over, where they're pretty sure that the bullet will hit and the purple teddy bear will be theirs.

More specifically, Choi San's.

Taking one last look at his target and the prize, he takes a deep breath before lowering down himself again, having the handle sitting snugly at the crook of his neck. As another round of cheering from Yunho leaves his lips, the bullet launches with one pull and Jongho immediately straightens up, eyes directed quickly to the trajectory the bullet has taken. As soon as the bullet hits the first glass he rests his cheek against the pad once again before he moves the snout of the rifle and the bullets find purchase in five subsequent glass bottles. The shooter cracks his neck while lifting up his eyebrows at the person watching over the booth, a lopsided grin decorating his face.

When it seems that the show is finally over, the crowd disperses, leaving the four adult men waiting for their prize; scrutinizing every move of the booth attendant who is inspecting the broken glasses. San's eyes travel excitedly to the purple teddy bear waiting to come into his arms, but narrows them when the attendant is spending too much time looking at the glass bottles, as if trying to find fault so the bear won't be his.

"I don't like what he's doing," San whispers to Yunho as the attendant keeps on bending over the broken glass bottles before picking up what's left, putting them against the setting sun to see beyond the translucent jagged pieces.

"If he tries anything funny we're stealing that teddy bear and running away," Seonghwa instructs. "Jongho, you distract him while we take the teddy bear and then we'll pick you up on the outside gates of the park."

"I think-" the attendant starts, putting back the broken glass down on the platform, walking over to them while his hands make no indication that they're about to give them the teddy bear any time soon.