Bang! With a gunshot ringing through the air, the flying disc shattered into countless fragments. Se-yul lowered the gun, unable to hide his excitement as he jumped in place with joy.
“Success!”
“Wow, Han Se-yul. You’re pretty good.”
“I may not look it, but I got an A in shooting class!”
Se-yul puffed out his chest proudly. Maybe the lessons were paying off—out of ten shots, he had already hit six targets, while I had only managed to hit two. Normally, I would have hit at least five, so it was a bit disappointing.
“Hyung, looks like I’m gonna win, huh?”
“No, we won’t know until the end.”
Taking the gun the attendant handed me, I adjusted my stance. At Se-yul’s signal, the waiting attendant threw the disc high into the sky. As soon as it aligned with my aim, I quickly pulled the trigger.
Bang! A sharp gunshot rang out. This time, it felt like a hit. With a bit of anticipation, I watched—but unfortunately, the disc fell to the ground completely intact.
“See? I won!”
“Yeah, you won.”
I admitted defeat without hesitation, and Se-yul flashed a bright smile, revealing his neat teeth. We played a few more rounds after that, but I lost every single one.
Maybe I haven’t been practicing enough lately. I frowned at the discs, not even showing a scratch. Han Jae-hoon once told me I was pretty good, but it seemed my skills had rusted completely.
“Hyung, are you gonna keep playing?”
“I was thinking about it. What about you? Are you heading inside now?”
“I gotta go work on my vacation assignments.”
I wanted to ask him to stay and play a little longer, but Se-yul looked like he had a lot on his plate. Having to do assignments even during a measly one-week break—it was a shame. I patted his shoulder in sympathy.
“Then I’ll head in first. See you in a bit, hyung.”
“Yeah, see you in a bit.”
After Se-yul returned to the mansion, I picked up my loaded gun and got back into position. At my signal, the attendant threw another disc high into the sky. I aimed and pulled the trigger, but once again, a misfire.
My aim was on point, and I pulled the trigger at the right moment. I had no idea what was going wrong. But thinking about it wouldn’t give me an answer.
‘Maybe today just isn’t my day.’
I set my gun down, ready to head back, when I realized that Vin was nowhere to be seen. He had been here just a moment ago.
Turning around, I spotted him standing where Se-yul had just left, staring intently at the gun.
‘He’s really focused.’
Vin was so absorbed in watching that he didn’t even notice my gaze. Slowly, cautiously, he reached out his hand. His fingers inched toward the gun at an agonizingly slow pace, and the moment he finally touched it, a faint crimson glow began to flicker across the surface.
“You want to try?”
Vin, as if snapped out of a trance, flinched and immediately pulled his hand back. He then gave an awkward smile, pretending as if nothing had happened, and quickly changed the subject.
“Are you finished?”
“Yeah, I was just about to head back.”
“Oh, right now?”
At the mention of leaving, Vin looked a little—no, a lot more disappointed than I had expected. He didn’t even seem to realize it himself, but his eyes kept darting toward the gun, unable to hide his lingering desire.
“You want to give it a try?”
“Huh?”
“Shooting. Do you want to try?”
Vin’s eyes wavered with clear hesitation. It was obvious he wanted to, but he still couldn’t bring himself to say yes. Seeing him hesitate, I reassured him.
“Don’t overthink it. Go ahead.”
“…Are you sure I can?”
He asked cautiously, trying to act indifferent, but his crimson eyes were already shimmering with excitement.
“Here.”
Without hesitation, I handed the gun to him. Vin received it carefully, almost cradling it like a baby, and let out a soft, fascinated gasp.
He turned the gun over in his hands, inspecting it closely. He must have seen people shoot before because he clumsily mimicked a stance, aiming at the empty air before glancing at me with an embarrassed smile.
“Could you bring a target?”
“Yes, Young Master.”
While the attendants went to retrieve one, I taught Vin the proper stance and how to hold the gun correctly. He nodded eagerly at my instructions and tried to adjust his posture, though it was still a little awkward.
“Is this right?”
“Close enough. But tilt your chin slightly… There, that’s better. And see this here? That’s your aiming point. It needs to be aligned with the barrel.”
After a few more explanations, his form started looking much better. Just then, the attendants returned and set up a target. It seemed a bit far for a beginner, but Vin had already steadied himself, prepared to take the shot.
“Think you can do it?”
“I’ll give it a try.”
Vin took a deep breath and then stilled completely. He aligned his aim with the target and released the safety. Click. The sound made me tense up involuntarily. After a brief pause, he finally pulled the trigger.
Bang! A sharp gunshot rang out, a thin wisp of smoke drifting from the barrel. Vin lowered the gun, his forehead covered in cold sweat. He must have been incredibly nervous. Slowly turning around, he looked at me and spoke.
“Did you see that, Seo-yul hyung? I just fired a gun.”
“Yeah, I saw.”
“I really did it.”
“Yeah, you did great.”
I lightly tousled his sweat-dampened hair, and Vin, already elated, blushed even deeper with excitement. His hands were still trembling as he clasped them together, exhaling a shaky breath.
“My hands still feel it.”
“The recoil’s pretty strong, huh?”
“Yeah. That’s why I like it.”
Vin buried his nose against his still-trembling hands and took a deep breath. He was completely lost in the afterglow of his first shot. Meanwhile, in the distance, the attendant who had gone to check the results was making his way back.
Vin was filled with eager anticipation, but I didn’t expect a meaningful result from this shot. It was his first time shooting, and the target was quite far away.
Still, no matter what the outcome, I planned to praise him for his effort. With our minds occupied by different thoughts, we both waited for the attendant’s report.
“It’s a hit!”
“…What?”
I hadn’t expected that. The target had been far enough that even I would have struggled to hit it, yet Vin, who had just held a gun for the first time today, had managed to land a shot? Seeing my disbelief, the attendant repeated himself kindly.
“A perfect hit, right at the center.”
“Wow.”
A genuine exclamation escaped me. The unexpected result left Vin so stunned that he forgot to react, frozen in place. Only when I clapped did he snap out of it, shaking his head.
“It must have been a fluke.”
“No way. Hitting the dead center by accident is even harder. Vin, you might be a shooting genius.”
“I just did exactly what you told me to do…”
Vin mumbled shyly, smiling faintly.
…Could this be one of those things? A protagonist buff?
I didn’t want to think about it, but I couldn’t ignore the fact that Vincent Shining’s hobby in the original timeline had been shooting.
Of course, instead of targets, he aimed at people.
It’s fine. The future has changed.
I knew that, but I still couldn’t shake the unease creeping up inside me. Was it really okay for Vin to take an interest in guns?
No matter how much time passed, he would never become that crazed murderer again. But I couldn’t help but feel unsettled.
Maybe I was just being paranoid.
“Seo-yul hyung, I want to try again.”
“Shooting?”
“Yes, just one more time.”
Vin, uncharacteristically, started pleading with me. His crimson eyes were more alive than ever. Seeing him this happy, I couldn’t bring myself to say no. I had always been weak when it came to him.
“You can do more.”
“Really?”
“If you practice hard enough to be my opponent when Se-yul isn’t around, that’d be great for me.”
“Thank you, Seo-yul hyung.”
By now, thanking me had become second nature to him. At first, he used to mimic my words without even understanding them, but lately, it had started to sound more genuine. He had been learning all sorts of things from the butler, and this must have been one of the results of that education.
“But let’s make one promise.”
Just as Vin was about to run off, I held out my pinky in front of him. He stopped in his tracks, staring at my hand in confusion. Out of nowhere? His eyes seemed to ask.
“You must never, ever shoot a person.”
“…What?”
I knew. I knew how out of place this sounded. Telling this to a boy who had just fired his first shot today—it made no sense. But I wanted to extinguish even the smallest spark before it could grow into a flame.
Every now and then, I caught glimpses of that Vincent Shining in Vin, and it made me uneasy. The future had changed, but he was still the same person. What if? Could it be…? No, it was impossible.
“Vin, promise me. You’ll never kill someone with a gun. You’ll never shoot a person.”
“…Okay.”
Vin hesitated, then slowly held out his pinky. Our fingers linked firmly. A promise must be kept. I repeated it over and over again. Even though Vin didn’t fully understand what I meant, he nodded along each time.
“Alright. Go ahead.”
“Yes.”
Vin quickly pulled his hand back and rushed over to watch the attendants load the gun. He crouched down in front of them, watching intently as they handled the firearm. Then, unable to resist his curiosity, he reached out, wanting to try it himself.
It’ll be fine.
The story of Mad Love had already started to veer off course. I was fine. District 5 was fine. Vin was fine. It just didn’t feel real yet. I placed a hand over my racing heart and took a deep breath.
Vin took the loaded gun and steadied his stance once more. In just two attempts, he had already shaken off his nervousness. Without a moment’s hesitation, he aimed at the distant target and pulled the trigger.
Bang. The sharp gunshot echoed through my chest.
Another perfect hit. Dead center.
