Hard to Love - (chanbaek)

48

"Babe, are you done?"

Chanyeol leaned against the lockers waiting for Baekhyun. It was the end of the day, and they were supposed to be meeting at the front of the school with the rest of their friends. Before they left, Baekhyun wanted to put his heavy textbooks away. He offered to go by himself really quickly, but Chanyeol insisted on accompanying him. Baek pushed his heavy books inside before closing his locker. He turned to Chan with a smile.

"I'm done. Let's go!" Intertwining their hands, they walked towards the school's exit. Finally getting outside, they saw their friends waiting for them. The sound of footsteps had been silenced, Chanyeol stopped moving, pulling Baekhyun back.

"What's wrong?" Baek turned to look at him, confused as he felt the grip on his hand tighten. "Before we go... can you promise me something?" Baekhyun nodded, allowing Chanyeol to release a sigh he had been holding the whole time. "If you have to go somewhere or leave abruptly... please let me go with you or send you off. I'm scared that if you go by yourself, then you'll disappear again..." Chanyeol looked away with flushed cheeks. He wasn't afraid of admitting his worries to the older but... he usually never did, so it was a bit embarrassing for him.

"I... okay. If I have to go somewhere, you can send me off." The taller looked up happily. "Really?!" Baek nodded in response. He wanted this relationship to last. He wanted them to stay together and not fight anymore. If walking him home or to the car put the taller at ease, then Baekhyun would allow it. Chan softly pecked his lips before dragging him to their group of friends.

"Took you guys long enough!" Jongin whined as he held his stomach.

"I'm starving. Let's go!"

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Bang!

"Nice aim!" Daesung clapped with joy.

The training room was being used by many individuals. People were throwing knives, shooting targets, and fighting amongst each other. The training was a form of entertainment for them. They were able to have fun but also improve their combat skills.

Daehyun had been training since 9 am. For him, training wasn't a form of entertainment, more of a distraction. He had been debating the idea of speaking to his brother. He wanted to reach out to him and just hug him, but... it was difficult. He couldn't just go up to Baekhyun and say, "oh hey, I'm Daehyun, your big brother that you haven't seen in years." Baekhyun wouldn't believe him, or he would get enraged because of his disappearance. All the adverse outcomes filled Daehyuns mind. But he had hope...

A tiny bit of hope.

"My shots are still off..." he stared at the dummy with disappointment. Mark looked at the doll with a confused stare.

"You hit the middle of his head? Isn't that like a perfect shot?" Daehyun shook his head and grabbed the beaten dummy.

"I hit more to the left of his head. It isn't actually centered to the middle." Daesung looked at the dummy before nodding in agreement. "But does that even matter? I mean, if you shot towards the center of the head, the person would die. And if you shot slightly more to the left or right, the person would still die." Daehyun again shook his head.

"My focus wasn't on killing. My focus is on accuracy and my sight. I missed this shot by an inch. If I were in a mission and assigned to shoot the chest of my target... what if I shot slightly towards the right or slightly towards the left? If the accuracy of my shot isn't perfect, the target might survive the impact. There are a dozen of possibilities that could occur, the target surviving the bullet is only one of them. That's why I focus on my precision and the spots I shoot. Since I shot slightly towards the left, the shot wouldn't have impacted the brain immediately. Yes, the bullet would have grazed his brain majorly, but I was focusing on the middle. If I shot directly in the center, then the target would be dead within a second. The brain would shut down and stop working from the collision. Without a functioning brain, an individual's power system is basically dead." Mark blinked twice, not understanding a single word. Daehyun rubbed his stomach while placing his gun on the table.

"I'm getting hungry, so I'll take my leave." Daesung hummed, allowing him to do as he pleased.

"What are you gonna eat?"

"I don't know... maybe ramen?" With that said, Daehyun waved his peers goodbye before he left. Mark looked down at his gun with curiosity. He raised his arm and positioned himself. Staring at the dummy, he stationed his arm slightly down.

Bang!

The bullet blazed through the chest of the doll. He went to check his results only to see his bad aim. He aimed for the center of the chest, but the bullet was all the way to the right.

"You definitely need more practice on accuracy..." Daesung shook his head with a chuckle. Giving Mark a pat on the back before checking the knife station.

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"So, what's your plan?" They looked at the well-dressed male in suspicion. "Well, we need to make the kid weak, not physically but emotionally. If he's in a vulnerable mindset, then he'll be easy to kidnap." The gang agreed.

"We get that but, how are you going to do that?" The man let out a sinister chuckle before checking his watch. "His friends are important people in his life. If I turn his friends against him, then he has no one to support him anymore." The men hummed consistently. The man was in a fancy suit, his hair was gelled back, and he looked very professional. But they all wondered... how would he turn the group of friends against the teenage boy?

"Well, anyways, I have to leave. Tell boss I'm doing the gang a favor." The man grabbed his wallet and turned to the door.

Oh, Baekhyun...

I'm sure you missed your dear stepfather.

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