Chapter 51
Chapter 51
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 51
Chapter Title: Beautiful Shot
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Beautiful.
The moment the boy standing at the shooting line drew back the bowstring, Jang Yeonju's every sense was captivated by him.
There's a saying in archery that stance determines everything.
In that sense, Kang Jae-hyeok was not perfect.
His stance was subtly off.
But it exuded a noble elegance.
It gave the impression that this imperfect form was precisely what suited him, and somehow, it convinced her naturally.
'Muscles.'
Jang Yeonju realized why she was convinced.
Even in loose training clothes, the boy's back muscles were tensed in an ideal form.
The same went for the arm muscles blatantly exposed due to his rolled-up sleeves.
Surprisingly.
The young boy was perfectly controlling every muscle in his body in sync with his breathing.
Twang-!
Until Kang Jae-hyeok released the bowstring.
There wasn't even the slightest precursor of any skill.
He hadn't used skills to steady his aim or boost the arrow's power.
He had simply shot the arrow using pure physical strength, mana, and technique.
Yet the result was astonishing.
[Hit.]
"Ah."
She might have foreseen this moment from when the boy drew the string.
That's why it felt beautiful, why it sent shivers down her spine.
Jang Yeonju was so immersed in the boy that she didn't even notice the candy falling from her open mouth.
She examined him from his toes to the tips of his hair, comparing him to her grandfather and everything else.
And soon realized.
'Comparisons are meaningless.'
He was simply someone to respect.
The boy was already a completed archer.
[Hit.]
Before she knew it, Jae-hyeok's eleventh arrow was striking the eighth target.
Eight points.
A record that even No Jun-yeop, hailed as the future of Korean archery, had never achieved.
"Is... is that even possible...?"
The Archery Club members, who had been half out of it, began coming to their senses one by one.
This was reality.
No matter how much they slapped the person next to them or pinched their thighs, they didn't wake from some convenient dream.
[Hit.]
[Hit.]
With 25 seconds left in the time limit.
Jae-hyeok, who had expended all twenty arrows and set down his bow, had set a score of thirteen points.
"...'Genius' isn't even enough. That's a monster."
The facts that Jae-hyeok wasn't in the Archery Club, that he was a freshman who had just entered Lion's Castle, no longer mattered.
An archer who scored thirteen points in Ragnarok Mode without any skills.
Anyone walking the path of archery knew just how monumental this was.
The club members' gazes toward Jae-hyeok, who they had treated like a madman just minutes ago, did a complete 180.
Envy and respect.
They couldn't even dare to feel jealousy toward him.
Some were even hoping he'd just take over as club leader.
Of course, there were dissenters.
"This is cheating! That bastard must have pulled some trick!!"
It was No Jun-yeop.
"Or are you all fooling me as a group? Is this a hidden camera? Ha, no wonder, damn it. I thought it was weird from the start when that Austrian National Treasure Candidate was going crazy over Baek Do-jin."
"......"
The club members fully understood No Jun-yeop's denial of reality.
Not a single person there had expected him to lose.
"Thirteen points in Ragnarok Mode without skills? There are only a handful of people in the entire world who can do that. Cheat in moderation, damn it! Dragging in some no-name mutt from who knows where to pull this stunt."
As No Jun-yeop began crossing the line, Jang Yeonju advised him.
"How long are you going to act so disgracefully? Instead of spouting nonsense, shouldn't you engrave that scene you just witnessed into your mind and try to learn from it?"
"Learn? You want me to learn from that cheating bastard? Don't talk shit, Jang Yeonju! A half-cripple abandoned by the Archery Saint, who the hell do you think you are to strut around in front of me...!"
No Jun-yeop, shouting with bloodshot eyes, abruptly clamped his mouth shut midway.
Dozens of Archery Club members had simultaneously aimed their guns and bows at him.
They were the ones who had arrived late at the scene following Jang Yeonju.
"No Jun-yeop. The only reason we tolerated your constant thug-like behavior was because you were the club leader. In Lion's Castle, the club leader is the law of the club, so even when you tarnished the Archery Club's reputation, all we could do was clean up after you."
Jang Yeonju's eyes were icy cold as she popped a new lollipop into her mouth.
"Don't make us test just how far we can crush you now that you're no longer the leader."
"......"
Archery skill doesn't directly translate to combat prowess.
Just as Jae-hyeok couldn't guarantee victory in a one-on-one with No Jun-yeop, No Jun-yeop wasn't the strongest fighter in the club.
Especially Jang Yeonju—she was a monster.
Granddaughter of Archery Saint Jang Ho-beom.
If she weren't so obsessed with archery, she would have been ranked in the top ten of the second-years.
"Damn it...."
No Jun-yeop, finally accepting reality and with his spirit broken, collapsed to the floor.
No one approached him.
Without the title of club leader, he didn't even have friends to comfort him.
"Get up."
The one extending a hand to No Jun-yeop, trembling with anger and humiliation, was unexpectedly Kang Jae-hyeok.
"...What trick is this?"
"It's not a trick, damn it—it's just a gesture of reconciliation. You're not some vicious criminal; you're just a bratty, immature punk. What's the big deal about offering a hand?"
Jae-hyeok knew the pain of isolation.
As a noble, he couldn't just stand by and watch a loner.
Especially since No Jun-yeop was a boy overflowing with talent. He didn't want someone who could one day serve the nation to be scarred and waver.
"Ha, but I... with Baek Do-jin...."
"Apologize until you're forgiven and do volunteer work. You're going to teach him archery anyway."
No Jun-yeop and all the club members looked at Jae-hyeok with strange eyes.
Only Dahee, who knew Jae-hyeok's temperament, wasn't surprised and proudly nodded along, yes, yes.
"...Fine. Thanks."
In the end, No Jun-yeop grabbed Jae-hyeok's hand and stood up.
The club members buzzed at the sight of him, whose pride was his everything, showing such meekness.
Jae-hyeok thought nothing of it.
'If even an uncle like our homeroom teacher can change his personality, kids should be even easier.'
Would I change someday too?
On the day Father's health recovers and House Kang's honor is restored.
I wondered if I could shake off the lump in my chest and find peace.
Suddenly lost in thought, Jang Yeonju offered him a handshake.
"Welcome to the Archery Club, new club leader."
Jae-hyeok, grasping her hand, replied with a blank expression.
"I'm not the club leader—Baek Do-jin is."
"...I tried to gloss over it, but no luck."
Smacking her lips in disappointment, she posed an important question.
"Does that Baek Do-jin kid even know how to shoot?"
"He's terribly bad at it!"
Dahee answered in place of Jae-hyeok, who avoided eye contact.
"......"
"......"
The world went dark before the club members' eyes.
Jang Yeonju chuckled and brushed back her long blue hair.
"Well, from now on, the Archery Club will just be your money pit, so the club leader's shooting skills don't really matter."
A situation where the club leader doesn't need to know archery.
This absurd setup might not last long.
Every time Jae-hyeok made excessive demands of the club in the future, more members would rebel.
'He knows that too.'
He didn't seem to have any intention of joining the Archery Club, but Kang Jae-hyeok was an outstanding archer.
There was an expectation that, just as he had reached out to No Jun-yeop, he would consider the club members' feelings.
Crunch, crunch.
Her gaze deepened as she rolled the sharp candy with her fangs, staring at Jae-hyeok.
Becoming the greatest archer.
It was the long-cherished dream of Jang Yeonju, born as the granddaughter of the Archery Saint.
But ironically, her first skill had awakened into something completely unrelated to archery.
She had stubbornly pursued archery, awakening a total of four first skills, but without the desired result, she had been pushed by her parents to enroll in school.
It was also her grandfather's wish.
Though unrelated to archery, the fourth first skill she had awakened was extraordinarily impressive.
Her parents' and grandfather's wish that she not let her talent rot.
And between that and her dream of becoming an archer, she had wandered for years.
Kang Jae-hyeok, who appeared before Jang Yeonju, was like a ray of hope.
"Don't worry."
Jae-hyeok reassured her, who seemed to have much to say.
"As long as the Archery Club teaches and respects Baek Do-jin well, I have no intention of making rude demands. Just give me priority on the commissions coming into the Archery Club. Oh, and the club leader activity funds are naturally mine."
What Jae-hyeok wanted was pleasure without responsibility.
He wanted to prevent any situation where excessive pleasure led to unexpectedly shouldering responsibility.
"I'm glad you seem as wise as your archery skills are outstanding."
Teach me how to shoot a bow well without skills.
Jang Yeonju barely swallowed the words on the tip of her tongue and laughed brightly.
For a split second, she wondered if calling a freshman who had wrecked an entire club 'wise' was right, but she wasn't the type to nitpick small things.
"Then I'll be off."
"Yeah, go ahead. We'll clean up here nicely, so don't worry about the aftermath."
"Ah, please don't spread rumors about today's events. It might just get annoying."
"That's something we should be asking you. If word gets out that half the Archery Club got smashed by a freshman, on top of losing the leadership position, it'll be dangerous for us in all sorts of ways."
***
"I'm the Archery Club leader?"
Baek Do-jin, summoned to the snack shop, blinked his puffy eyes.
He couldn't comprehend Jae-hyeok's words at all.
"Why am I the Archery Club leader?"
Three hours earlier.
Do-jin had only vaguely recounted what happened to him at the archery range with Jae-hyeok.
Yet this was the result.
He had taken a short nap and woken up as the Archery Club leader.
Not knowing where to even begin objecting, he flapped his mouth like a crucian carp, and Jae-hyeok calmly said.
"When a team member wants to practice archery, as team leader, you should at least provide the environment for it."
"So cool...! As expected of a noble, so magnanimous!"
Dahee had already passed the stages of surprise and bewilderment at this absurd situation.
She had accepted it early on and was scooping yogurt ice cream while repeatedly thumbs-upping Jae-hyeok.
The simple-minded Do-jin rode the wave too.
"Really? So I can use the archery range freely from now on? Okay! You're the best, Kang Jae-hyeok!"
"......"
Are these kids okay?
As Jae-hyeok worried over his surprisingly simple team members, Dahee asked.
"But why do you use formal speech with Yeonju sunbae? You usually talk casually to everyone, Jae-hyeok."
"I don't talk casually to just anyone. Someone might misunderstand."
A faint smile spread across Jae-hyeok's lips as he denied it.
He was recalling the feel of shaking hands with Jang Yeonju.
"She seems worthy of respect."
The weekend was coming to an end.