# Chapter 73
The festival day that young Geonwoo had been waiting for finally arrived.
“What do you want to do first, Geonwoo?”
At his hyung’s kind question, Geonwoo smiled brightly and looked around. Geonwoo, holding his hyung’s hand tightly, was excited.
“Wow! Hyung, look at that!”
The festival he was visiting for the first time was full of amazing things. From mouth-watering, delicious-looking food to fun-looking games he wanted to try right away. It was very diverse. There were also a lot of people, and everyone had a big smile on their face like Geonwoo.
“Hyung, I want to try that!”
Geonwoo pointed to a specific place, shaking his hyung’s hand vigorously.
“That?”
His hyung turned his head to look at where Geonwoo had indicated. There, they were playing a shooting game to hit objects with a gun.
“Geonwoo, you want to shoot?”
His hyung stopped speaking there and shifted his gaze to where Geonwoo was staring with sparkling eyes.
“Ah.”
Soon his hyung chuckled. Where Geonwoo was looking, there was a stuffed animal of an animation character that kids Geonwoo’s age were crazy about these days. And it was a huge doll as tall as Geonwoo himself.
“Geonwoo, let’s try that!”
At his hyung’s words, Geonwoo nodded his head vigorously and almost ran toward the shooting game booth.
But.
“Not hitting… at all…”
Geonwoo soon looked dejected. Ten bullets were given in total. The first prize that Geonwoo wanted could only be obtained by hitting all ten shots.
But why couldn’t he hit anything?
All bullets narrowly missed. Having not hit even a single shot, a downcast Geonwoo drooped his head powerlessly.
“Ah! I almost hit it!”
At that moment, a regretful voice came from beside Geonwoo. Geonwoo slightly raised his head to look to the side. Next to him stood a child who appeared to be around Geonwoo’s age, with a dejected look.
But it wasn’t just this child. Everyone around Geonwoo who was playing the shooting game had similar expressions. They were stomping their feet in frustration at having missed shots they could have made, or feeling gloomy at the thought of not being able to get the first prize.
“Ah! What a waste. It just grazed right next to it!”
There were some adults among them who hit a few shots, but none of them hit even half the targets. Geonwoo turned his head to look at those adults.
“Dad, I want that!”
Everyone was trying hard to give their children the first prize, a pet monster doll from the currently popular animation. The children in their arms didn’t have the first prize, but instead had small dolls. That was because they gave a small prize even if you hit just one shot.
“……”
Geonwoo looked down at his hands. Only he had nothing.
Among other happy families, Geonwoo, with his empty hands, felt a little intimidated and quietly moved closer to his hyung. He reached out his hand to grab his hyung’s hand and turned his head.
“Hyung?”
Then Geonwoo paused. As if he hadn’t heard Geonwoo calling him, his hyung was looking at the gun with an expressionless face. Then, suddenly, his hyung quietly muttered to himself.
“Ah, they’ve set it up so it can’t be hit.”
His hyung held the gun, examined it a few times, then soon took his stance.
“Geonwoo, you said you wanted that, right?”
His hyung asked, pointing to the first prize.
“Huh? Yeah…”
Geonwoo answered in a daze. And soon made an “oops” expression. If everyone fails, would his hyung be any different? Instead, Geonwoo was worried that his hyung might feel as down as he did when he failed.
“Hyung…!”
So Geonwoo tried to change his words. He was about to say he wanted the small doll that you could get for hitting just one shot, instead of the first prize.
“Got it.”
His hyung immediately fired the gun.
But what was happening?
Bang! One shot.
Bang! Two shots.
Bang, bang, bang!
“Huh. Huh? Dad! Look over there!”
After five consecutive hits, everyone’s attention focused on his hyung. Geonwoo also had a surprised face with his eyes wide open.
“W-wait! Student!”
At that moment, suddenly, the owner of the game booth urgently called out to his hyung. The owner took out a different gun and handed it to his hyung, saying there seemed to be a problem with the gun his hyung was holding and it might be dangerous. Then, with a bright smile, he encouraged him, saying if he hit five more shots, he could get the first prize.
His hyung looked at the new gun for a moment and made a slightly strange expression. Then, with an even more serious face than before, he slowly took his stance again.
And, bang!
Another shot hit the target.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
As this continued, the owner’s bright smile gradually faded.
And for the last one.
Bang!
His hyung’s bullet hit the center of the object placed in the most difficult position. The object fell back helplessly. The owner’s expression also turned pale.
“Geonwoo, here.”
His hyung, who received the first prize from the owner with a seemingly soulless expression, immediately gave it to Geonwoo. All the children around looked at Geonwoo with envious eyes.
Geonwoo hugged the doll that was as tall as him. His mouth, which had opened wide in surprise, gradually closed, then slowly curved to the sides, forming a big smile.
“Thank you, hyung!”
Geonwoo, hugging the doll, couldn’t contain his joy and jumped up and down on the spot. All the children around had dolls, but when looking at anyone, Geonwoo’s was the largest.
“Geonwoo.”
His hyung looked at the joyful Geonwoo with a pleased expression, then took Geonwoo’s hand and led him.
“Let’s do everything you want to do today.”
At those words, Geonwoo’s eyes gently closed. He was happy. Geonwoo enjoyed the festival, holding his hyung’s hand. I must come here with hyung again next year, Geonwoo thought.
But, that’s when it happened. Suddenly, piercing screams mixed with the joyful laughter that had filled the place.
“M-monster!”
A woman’s voice, filled with terror, grew louder, and an emergency alarm sounded. It was the occurrence of a low-grade gate. This was an unusual event since a gate had never occurred in this area before.
An E-class monster, a giant rabbit, appeared in front of people. The giant white rabbit monster, as tall as an adult, had a cute and gentle appearance, but when it opened its mouth, sharp front teeth that didn’t match its appearance at all were revealed. The monster began to injure people with them.
“Aaaahhh!”
Ordinary people could only be helplessly victimized.
“When are the Espers coming!”
People desperately looked for Espers. But it would take time for them to arrive. People ran blindly to survive. In the eyes of people gripped by fear, other people were not visible. They just started running, pushing others aside to save themselves. Everything prepared for the festival collapsed, and many guns from the shooting game booth that Geonwoo and his hyung had enjoyed lay scattered on the ground.
Amidst the commotion, one child fell.
“Waaaaah!”
The fallen child burst into tears. Parents who spotted the child from a distance were running toward them with pale faces.
But the child’s location was closer to the monster. The giant rabbit looked at the child who was crying loudly. As if targeting the child, the monster approached with its sharp teeth exposed.
At that moment, bang!
A bullet hit the monster’s eye. The eye was the monster’s biggest weakness. It was his hyung who knew this and precisely aimed for it. His hyung had picked up a gun lying on the ground and fired.
However, unfortunately, since it wasn’t a real bullet, all they could do was buy a brief moment as the monster hesitated.
But that short time saved the child. The child’s parents immediately embraced their child and thanked his hyung. Then those parents reached out to his hyung and Geonwoo. Seeing no parents around his hyung and Geonwoo, they tried to take care of them. Even in a dangerous situation, they tried to help the young children.
“Geonwoo!”
But in such a dangerous moment where they might die, there were also people who weren’t like that.
“Kyuuuuuk!”
The monster, which had been making strange sounds unable to open its eyes for a moment, opened them again and, as if angry, rushed at the man in front of it. When the man saw the monster targeting him and running toward him, he unconsciously pushed Geonwoo who was running in front. After briefly showing an apologetic expression, he checked Geonwoo’s face and shouted as if to justify himself.
“You! Y-you’re an Esper! Do something!”
The target had changed. The monster, seeing Geonwoo fallen in front of it, rushed forward with its mouth wide open.
“…!”
Just before the hideous teeth reached Geonwoo, his hyung threw a large stick into the monster’s mouth. The giant rabbit applied force to close its mouth, as if the stick was firmly wedged inside. When it didn’t break as easily as expected, the monster raised its front paw. The monster brought out its sharp claws and struck down at Geonwoo. Though much weaker than its teeth, the monster’s claws were still enough to inflict large wounds on people.
That’s when a soft body enveloped Geonwoo. It was a familiar embrace. It was his… hyung. His hyung raised his hand to cover Geonwoo’s eyes.
“It’s… okay…”
A weak voice reached Geonwoo’s ear.
