Marksman Showdown
After taking that weird bet shower, I stepped out into the living room, where the four hulking guys were huddled together watching TV. They weren't speaking Korean—it was English, so they must've been tuned into something like CNN.
"Awake now, Boss?"
Eric, who'd been staring at the news with a pretty serious expression, greeted me. The place had felt plenty spacious when I lived alone, but with these massive men crammed in, it suddenly looked cramped as hell.
"Yeah, must've been wiped out—slept longer than usual. What's on, anyway?"
At my question, Eric pointed at the screen.
"A U.S. military early warning plane got taken out. Far as I know, this is a first..."
I chugged some ice water and glanced at the TV. There was footage of a massive aircraft wrecked to pieces.
War heating up means the money duplication's going smoothly~
The four operatives wore suitably grave expressions, but Athena sounded thrilled, like it was none of her business.
"But we're not even U.S. military. Why bother watching this?"
Carlos, who'd had the most bored look of the bunch, muttered like he couldn't care less.
"Hey, Carlos. You know how much that thing costs? It getting scrapped means big problems. We should check the gear on our vehicles too."
Carlos shrugged at Eric's tech-obsessed nagging.
"This is Korea, Eric. A country where even getting a handgun's a pain in the ass—what, you wanna talk electronic warfare? Boss, forget this depressing crap. Let's grab something tasty instead."
Right as Carlos finished, my stomach let out an untimely growl. Fair enough—the early warning plane blew up and all, but lunch wasn't gonna eat itself.
We finished up at a cheonggukjang place near the office.
"Tastes good, but that smell..."
Liam grumbled, his face twisted throughout the meal.
"Now that we're fed, you guys go check out some furniture. I've gotta meet a friend."
Today was moving day, so I sent them off to browse furniture and headed to Jamsil for the first time in ages.
"Dude, it's been forever since I last saw you?"
Seeing Hyun-seong for the first time since that shopping trip made me grin involuntarily.
"Man, I'm so freakin' sleepy."
He'd scarfed down a big lunch, and now the blood sugar crash was hitting. Half-dozing at the PC bang while gaming, Hyun-seong suddenly stepped out to take a call. I leaned back in my chair, spacing out, when he came back.
"...Country go to shit or something?"
His face looked like the world had ended, so I joked, but he didn't bite.
"Yo, I'm heading out first, Hyuk."
"What's up? Everything okay?"
"Mom got in a car accident. Gotta go."
I watched him bolt from the PC bang in a hurry, wondering what asshole caused it.
Who was at fault?
Minor contact with a bus. Doesn't seem seriously hurt—don't worry.
I'd planned to hang with Hyun-seong till dinner, but now time was hanging.
"Good she's not badly hurt. So what now?"
Right? Wanna go watch the team shop?
"...Nah. Since I'm back in my old hood after so long, maybe just take a walk?"
Sounds good. You need the exercise, Master.
I let Athena's sudden nagging go in one ear and out the other as I strolled around Jamsil for the first time in forever.
"Feels like ages since I was here, but actually it hasn't been that long."
Life had changed so drastically in such a short time since meeting Athena—my sense of time was all messed up.
Shall I report the returns?
"Returns? From the investments?"
Yep, made bank this time.
Everyone else was screaming about the war, but I felt like I was floating on a cloud—total peace.
"As long as we're raking it in, cool. Tell me when the war ends instead of now."
Checking returns now wouldn't be as dramatic as seeing them double after the war wraps.
"Oh yeah, the NIS thing—handled?"
Handled clean. No tails today—they've backed off.
The law firm slipped up, but our opaque Cayman corp played a role too.
"Feels like I need some serious reflection. Not sure what to do."
Korea's system leaves room for trouble. Better it happened now.
True—if it'd blown up later when we were bigger, I might've gotten hauled before the National Assembly.
"Gotta throttle activity smartly. But flashing too much externally might invite more headaches, right?"
Exactly. Might not get casual strolls like this.
No big tasks for now anyway, and we'd stocked everything needed—no issues on the horizon.
Team's done with furniture shopping. Head home?
My legs were starting to ache—perfect timing.
"Yeah, let's head back."
Back at the Samsung-dong penthouse, we threw a casual housewarming party with Jacob when a fun idea hit me.
"Alright, be honest, guys. Out of you four, who's the best shot?"
My question lit a fire in their eyes.
"Obviously me. Ex-sniper here, remember?"
Liam launched into an enthusiastic pitch about his marksmanship, like I'd hit his berserk button.
At Liam's bold claim, Carlos snorted, setting down his beer can.
"Liam, you take forever to fire one round. In real combat, I'd hose the target before you finish."
"Anyone can spray and pray like you. Real skill's nailing vitals clean."
They traded barbs, volume rising as tempers flared.
"Give a monkey a good gun, and it'll hit a target at 1km. Enabling that? That's engineer territory."
Eric's broad taunt made Liam and Carlos's eyes bulge.
"Shut it, you ditch-digging combat engineer. You weren't even Delta."
Being the only Green Beret, Eric got roasted hard for piping up.
As the debate heated up, Jacob finally spoke.
"Boss, any live-fire ranges nearby?"
VIP range nearby. Reserve it?
"Athena says there's a VIP shooting range close by. What do you think?"
Jacob grinned at my relay.
"Heard that? Quit yapping like schoolgirls—let's see who's best."
We rented four lanes at the range and each brought our Glocks.
"Loser pays."
Everyone nodded at Jacob's declaration.
"Why Glocks, though?"
Ignoring Eric's grumbling about balance, Jacob fired first.
Bang, bang, bang! Crisp shots shredded the target's center at 50 meters. The staffer next to me gaped.
"Skills haven't rusted, Sarge?"
Liam praised; Jacob shrugged it off.
Ignoring Eric's ongoing complaints, Liam took stance and fired.
Bang... bang... bang.
Unlike Jacob's rapid fire, Liam breathed steadily, squeezing deliberately. Carlos mocked, "Turtle shoots faster," but Liam ignored him.
After 10 rounds, the target pulled in—the staffer's eyes widened more.
"...Insane."
The curse slipped out. Dead center 10-ring: one massive hole. All 10 bullets through the exact same spot. Sniper precision.
Liam smirked at Carlos. "Accuracy over speed, right?"
Carlos scoffed and stepped up.
"Eric's right—this is a toy, not a gun. Need some feel."
Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat! Unbelievable speed for a pistol—like a machine gun. The target? 10-ring mangled, cluster tight around it. Not one hole like Liam's, but mastering recoil at that rate? Monster.
"That's combat, Liam. How's it feel?"
As their rivalry simmered, Eric's turn came—still griping despite the others' showings. He fiddled with the Glock forever, adjusting, then fired.
Bang—bang—bang!
Not Jacob's speed, Liam's caution, or Carlos's fury—but mechanical rhythm. Target in: every round in the 10-ring edge.
"...Some engineer."
Liam's face hardened.
Eric set down his safety glasses casually. "Shooting's ballistics—pure physics."
Carlos flushed again at the smugness. "Makes me wanna deck him."
All four were freaks; hard to pick a winner.
"Honestly, you're all monsters. Liam edges on score, but each tops his field."
I grinned at the spent casings. "I'll cover today. But any shoveling? Eric's job."
Carlos and Liam burst laughing. Eric sulked, muttering he'd have won with his gear.
"Boss, you wanna try?"
Jacob suggested; I stepped up. No way I matched these spec-ops beasts. But I had a cheat.
Athena, help!
Let's dent Liam's ego.
Bang, bang, bang! Jacob-speed fire, machine-perfect—no deviation, all dead center.
Control returned; I brazenly holstered like I'd done it.
"How's that?"
Liam's eyes bugged out. Feeling a twinge of guilt under their stares, I swiped my card to pay.
Not my doing, but with my surprise marksmanship, the vets' pride clash wrapped on a high note amid our peaceful routine.