RED

The Second Chapter

Baekhyun's coach had once asked him to read the most psychologically disturbing story he could find and then the next day they had done pressure training to see if Baekhyun's mental health was strong and focused enough to handle that. Needless to say, Mrs. Lee who owned a local bookstore was surprised to see the young archer asking for a 'psychologically upsetting and disturbing story.'

He had read Perfume: The Story of a Murderer, and true to Mrs. Lee's words, it was one of the most fucked up books he had ever come across. However, he had to agree that the way the book was written was pure art. There had been one particular quote that had struck his sixteen-year old brain – a quote that he could never forget –

'...talent means nothing, while experience, acquired in humility and with hard work, means everything.'

And that was presumably why he had thrown himself into archery.

If archery was an ocean, Baekhyun was the coin they dropped in it, hoping for greater things. He had travelled throughout – seen the sharks, tasted the blood, held onto the fish and got lost in the weeds –

- he'd never once thought that he might lose his shine

Because there was an abundance of gems in the sea – of pearls, rubies, crystals. There were things that shone brighter than him; things that were better than him

- things that could defeat him

- Until now.

Because at that moment, he was staring at the scores. It was a team match with four sets. They were halfway done with the second set, which meant Baekhyun had shot a total of three arrows.

And all of them were eights.

"How's the match going?" Chanyeol asked Kyungsoo, who he had befriended over the numerous days he had spent in the Archery Grounds, as he sat on the plastic chair around the ground.

Kyungsoo gave him a tight smile, "We lost the first set, and the second isn't looking very hopeful either."

Chanyeol frowned. His eyes darted to the digital scoreboard, trying not to let the sun get into his eyes. They had lost the first set by one point, and among two nines, there was one eight that could probably lead them to defeat since the other team had only nines.

"Don't tell me the newbie is the reason we're losing. He was okay during practice," Chanyeol had developed a taste for archery. He found himself watching tournaments. It helped that he lived with an archer – Baekhyun was quick to provide commentary about shooting style, the wind, the points and everything else. The archer had been working really hard for the past few days. This was one of the two matches that would decide his participation in World Archery.

Kyungsoo turned to him; the doe-eyed man was worried, "It's Baekhyun. He's scoring only eights."

Chanyeol's eyes immediately darted towards the said archer, who was standing behind Kim Minseok. He was the last shooter, and Chanyeol could see how blank Baekhyun's face was, completely white. He wasn't thinking about the match at all. It was obvious.

The commentary wasn't helping either.

"...Team had always been victorious, Byun Baekhyun mostly leading them to victory, but now it seems that he has claimed the 'Fallen King' title. Byun has apparently not won any match since the Individual Archery Competition in Winter..."

Chanyeol's grip tightened on the metal rail, "What kind of unprofessional commentary is this?"

Kyungsoo sighed, "Welcome to archery Chanyeol. The commentary is always shitty."