Empire | ATEEZ

033

I was a coward.

I was an absolute coward and, instead of confronting Seonghwa about what he had said, I had acted like there was nothing I would rather do in this world than learn how to shoot a gun.

What had happened had kept me up for days and yet, instead of talking about it, I now found myself raising my arms in front of me, shakily grasping the firearm in my hands as I aimed at the targets at the opposite end of the room.

The weapon felt much too heavy and much too cold against my skin, but I tried to ignore all of it as I forced myself to control my breathing despite everything about the situation feeling so, so wrong.

A small sound of surprise escaped my lips as I felt Seonghwa come up from behind me after having simply studied me for the minutes it had taken me to even raise the gun in the first place, snaking his arms around me and under my arms, his hands cupping my own as he helped carry the weight of the weapon.

The sudden closeness made my heartbeat pick up, the steady thrumming turning into a hammering rhythm against my ribs, leaving me breathless as I mentally scolded myself.

He had touched me before.

He had held me before.

But as Seonghwa's chest pressed into my back, his arms keeping me trapped against him, I couldn't help but feel small and vulnerable in a way that seemed strangely foreign to me, though I tried to push it away, to ignore it, as I forced my focus back onto the target.

"First," he mumbled, his voice barely more than a breath against my ear, "Aim the gun." I did, carefully moving my hand to the trigger as I tried to steady my hands. "Fix it on the target," he said. I did, shivering a little. "Control your breathing," Seonghwa said. I couldn't.

"And," he paused, carefully letting removing his hands from mine, leaving them cold and weighed-down by the weapon, as he moved them to my waist instead, "Shoot," he said.

I closed my eyes for a moment as a single, shaky breath, left my lips before I, at last, pulled the trigger, flinching at the sound of the gunshot and stumbling backwards as the kick of the firearm echoed through my very bones, but Seonghwa's grip on my waist was firm and secure as he steadied me.

"Good girl," he praised, and I quickly realized what he meant as I narrowed my eyes at the target which I had, miraculously, hit right in the middle, the only trace of the bullet being a small black dot piercing the white board.

I felt a surge of pride welling up within me at the sight, unable to fight the smile tugging at the corners of my lips as I turned around to face Seonghwa who was looking fondly at me.

"Did you see that?" I gasped, "I did that," I exclaimed and he nodded eagerly as if to show that he shared my excitement, his dark eyes both affectionate and tender, and filled with something else as well, something I didn't recognize before he suddenly cupped my face and pressed his lips to mine.

I was surprised but quickly melted into his touch as I let my eyes flutter shut and trailed my hands to the back of his neck, tugging at the strands of ashy blond hair which earned me a hum of approval that momentarily took my breath away.

Seonghwa kept one of his hands on my cheek, cupping it gently, as the other traveled to my waist where he had held me only moments before as he, at last, pulled away.

"You, uhm-" I began, cheeks burning as I straightened myself a little, "You have a meeting. The others were looking for you."

"I see," the hummed, but it was obvious that his thoughts were elsewhere as his eyes traveled across my face. He didn't move away, seemingly unfazed by my awkwardness as I shifted my weight from one foot to another, suddenly feeling nervous.