378: [Bonus chapter] Am I tripping?

[Bonus chapter] Am I tripping?

"Am I tripping?" Tiger's face squeezed in dismay, watching Heaven and Ivy chat while some people replaced the paper targets. He slapped Bear's stomach with the back of his hand, trying to get the old man's attention.1

"Say, Bear, did I eat anything today?" he asked, keeping his eyes on the paper targets that the staff was collecting. "I think I've been seeing things."

"What do you mean?" Bear returned, feigning ignorant of what the man was mumbling about. 

"I think... no. I was sure she hit those targets." Tiger rubbed his chin, noticing the holes in the paper targets. There was only one hole in each of them, and they were all from Ivy Wei. 

"I think you didn't have lunch yet," Bear said, sliding his eyes to the corner. "Weren't you yawning just now? Maybe you're still dreaming."

Tiger's expression died as he cocked his head to Bear. "Seriously? Me? You think I will miss such a thing?"

"Who knows? You haven't been in action for too long. Considering how lazy you have become, I'm sure everything is in your head."

"What a goddamn terrible liar." Tiger clicked his tongue irritably. 

"Then don't ask me if you won't believe me." Bear shrugged. "It's not that I'm watching this contest. It's not fun." — it was no fun when he knew Heaven already won even before it started. 

Bear slowly set his eyes in Heaven's direction, noticing how she was getting along with Ivy surprisingly well. He thought Ivy was another person that would hinder his boss's peace, but it seemed they judged Ivy Wei too quickly. But then again, that wasn't the point. 

The point was, hitting the bull's eyes was the easiest part of target shooting. 

Bear could do it with his eyes closed, and all the people around him — the people in the organization, including Hera — could hit it easily. Although Ivy's marksmanship deserved praise, Bear was relieved that his boss's marksmanship was still as on point as it used to be. After all, Hera didn't miss the three targets, unlike what everyone believed.

Bear was watching, and thus, he knew she didn't miss.

"Why is there only one hole each?" Tiger mumbled, rubbing his chin as he felt stuck in this loop of questions. "Dang. I am really having eye problems?"

Bear cautiously glanced at his partner for the day. 'No, you weren't having eye troubles.' He slowly set his eyes on the women, watching Ivy take the stand first. 

'Her aim was never the bull's eyes,'he assumed with certainty. 'Her bull's eyes were those existing holes. That's why she requested to use the same paper targets. She's not here to compete on who got the best score but to test if she lost her touch or not. Obviously, she hadn't.'

Therefore, he said Heaven already won even before they started. Because she didn't plan to win this bet, but rather, took advantage of this situation to practice her skills. 

A satisfied yet subtle smile dominated Bear's face until the corner of his eyes wrinkled. 'What an astounding marksmanship. Surely, anyone who is interested in these things will consider it as art.'

*

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BANG! BANG!

Ivy drew a deep breath as she aimed for the third moving target. She narrowed her eyes, controlling her slightly trembling hand. Her moment of pause earned Heaven's attention. 

Heaven stood on the side, glancing at the muzzle in Ivy's grip before a loud, piercing bang echoed once more. 

"Are you okay?" was Heaven's first remark as Ivy turned to her.

"Huh?"

"That was a long pause and your grip was trembling."

"Ah..." Ivy flexed her fingers, opening and closing them before she faced Heaven with a wide smile. "Yes, I'm okay. It's just the recoil is bad."

"It is." Heaven rocked her head, turning her head to see the still-moving targets. "Don't tell me you purposely didn't hit the bull's eyes?"

"What? No." Ivy chuckled. "I told you I won't underestimate you, but I've been target shooting since we started. So, my hand is a little shaky. It's been a while since I did such activity, after all."

"Ohh..." Heaven's lips formed an o-shape again, chuckling. "I thought you were used to it."

"I can only do it in my free time, but I've been busy." Ivy raised her brows momentarily, giving up the stand to Heaven. "So, you can say it's my first time in a long time and I'm not used to the violent recoils this pistol is giving me."

"First time in a long time, but had never missed." Heaven humored, making the other woman laugh. "You're making me feel bad, Ivy."

"I didn't mean that."

Heaven cast Ivy a look, 'That's not what I mean,' but she bit her tongue to refrain from saying that. Instead, she only offered Ivy a smile before proceeding to stretch her shoulders. As she did so, Heaven studied the holes in the three paper targets. 

All of them missed the bulls' eyes, but they were still within the score margin. Ivy was surely a good shooter. If she practiced more, she would surely get better… or would she?

'I didn't doubt her claims when she said she wasn't interested in another woman's husband.' Heaven raised her arm. This time, however, she wasn't holding the pistol with both her hands. She held it with her left hand, her nondominant hand. 

"Heaven…" called Ivy with furrowed brows. "That stance is bad for you —"

BANG!

"Ivy, if you want to be my friend, then you shouldn't lie to me even in the smallest things," Heaven said quietly, her voice almost fading with the echo of the first bang. "But then again, we're simply starting. So I will let it slide."

BANG!

Heaven slowly peeled her eyes from the paper target, facing Ivy squarely. 

"You don't like this extracurricular activity, do you?" she asked with a slight smile, at the same time, the third paper entered Heaven's peripheral line of sight.

BANG!

Ivy somehow held her breath, holding Heaven's gaze in surprise. After a moment, the corner of her lips curled up into a subtle smile. 

"Yes," she breathed out. "I hate it, but no one ever noticed that except you."

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