One hit and it will shatter.

Every moment of his training has come to this, yet nothing could have prepared him for this pressure he's feeling right now. All eyes are on him, waiting for him to pull the trigger to set things in motion. One bullet is all it should take for him to claim his goal, for him to be celebrated as a hero.

He doesn't care what it takes, as long as the bullet will pierce through and shatter the glass into pieces. In front of his eyes lies the path the bullet will take, the target at a distance from him. His comrades have failed to clear the mission, and now it's up to him to be able to claim victory for all of them, saving their own faces as the crowd watches on.

He curls his finger on the trigger as he evens his breathing, eyes focused on nothing but the point. He tries to block every other sound but there are persistent voices from behind, making him losing his attention...

"Shoot the glass bottle and get the freaking teddy bear!" Yunho exclaims as he grips Jongho's shoulders, jumping up and down as he repeats, "Get the purple one, you can do this, Choi Jongho!" as San continues the cheer with a little dance, chanting, "Purple, purple, purple!"

"Shh," Seonghwa puts a finger to his lips, a slight shake of his head to shut San up. "Let him do his magic."

The youngest of the group, but the only hope left for them to get the purple teddy bear San has been eyeing ever since they stepped into the theme park. The teddy bear's mouth stays in a wide smile while its belly protrudes as it sits on what seems like a makeshift throne for it at the booth.

With sparkly and pleading eyes San has dragged the three of his friends - all aged no less than 20 - towards the target booth, where shooting a particular target would give them different prizes. San had been the first one to try, but his targets were all nearly missed. It has been a frustrating round of bullets for them until the youngest takes over, where they're pretty sure that the bullet will hit and the purple teddy bear will be theirs.

More specifically, Choi San's.

Taking one last look at his target and the prize, he takes a deep breath before lowering down himself again, having the handle sitting snugly at the crook of his neck. As another round of cheering from Yunho leaves his lips, the bullet launches with one pull and Jongho immediately straightens up, eyes directed quickly to the trajectory the bullet has taken. As soon as the bullet hits the first glass he rests his cheek against the pad once again before he moves the snout of the rifle and the bullets find purchase in five subsequent glass bottles. The shooter cracks his neck while lifting up his eyebrows at the person watching over the booth, a lopsided grin decorating his face.

When it seems that the show is finally over, the crowd disperses, leaving the four adult men waiting for their prize; scrutinizing every move of the booth attendant who is inspecting the broken glasses. San's eyes travel excitedly to the purple teddy bear waiting to come into his arms, but narrows them when the attendant is spending too much time looking at the glass bottles, as if trying to find fault so the bear won't be his.

"I don't like what he's doing," San whispers to Yunho as the attendant keeps on bending over the broken glass bottles before picking up what's left, putting them against the setting sun to see beyond the translucent jagged pieces.

"If he tries anything funny we're stealing that teddy bear and running away," Seonghwa instructs. "Jongho, you distract him while we take the teddy bear and then we'll pick you up on the outside gates of the park."

"I think-" the attendant starts, putting back the broken glass down on the platform, walking over to them while his hands make no indication that they're about to give them the teddy bear any time soon.

"You think?" Yunho echoes as the attendant approaches them, Seonghwa already having his fists placed on the front table as he leans forward.

The attendant eyes them carefully as he keeps a safe distance, having himself against four enough to make him cautious. The four look like they're ready to fight him over the teddy bear, especially the man having black hair with green streaks, staring at him with sharp eyes. He reverses a bit before looking over the prizes gathered on one table, completely steering away from the teddy bear and picks up one much smaller stuffed toy. He sets it on the table with the players lowering their eyes to rest upon the different prize.

"What on earth is that thing?" Jongho comments as he frowns.

"It looks like a crossbreed between a horse and an elephant," Yunho supplements, stepping away as if the toy is about to turn alive and pounce on them. "With an 'X' over its butt-"

"You said we could win the teddy bear if we hit all the five targets!" San starts to pout as he whines.

"Scammer," Seonghwa growls before thumping his fists on the table, rattling its weak legs and making it wobble. "You told us we could get that teddy bear!" He points an angry finger at the main prize, which almost looks like it will start to whimper now that all attention has turned to it.

"I said," the attendant starts cautiously, still keeping himself at a safe distance from his four customers. "You can get the teddy bear if you hit all the five targets in your first try. But you only managed to hit them after..." he mentally calculates, "eight rounds. That's a total of 40 bullets, and only the last 5 struck. So this is your prize for that trial. Plus-" he puts up a finger when it looks like the tallest among the four wants to start fighting back. He scurries towards the broken glasses before picking one of them up, showing it to his angry audience. "That teddy bear is only given to those who manage to hit the necks of 5 subsequent bottles. Not the body-"

"I hate this system," Jongho rolls his eyes before he starts to hike up the sleeves of his black t-shirt. "Here's the deal." He cracks his neck, "Give me another exact set of 5 bullets and if they hit, the teddy bear and that... horse-elephant crossbreed are ours-"

"Ask for something else," Yunho whispers to him, "That horse-elephant crossbreed looks like its going to summon some demon to our dorms and we won't get a good night's sleep."

Jongho shrugs as he scans the table with the prizes, and stops as he sees a blue penguin stuffed toy. "That one, then."

"That penguin is for-" The attendant walks over to replace the broken bottles but Seonghwa quickly shuts him up with a glare. "Su- sure. The penguin stuffed toy for another set of 5 bullets, to the neck of the bottles here." He smiles awkwardly.

"You're forgetting the teddy bear, we're not going to get scammed twice," San deadpans.

"I wasn't trying to scam you, I was only going by the rules-" the attendant rebuts as his tone gets higher, feeling tired and offended by the four adults persistent on bringing the teddy bear home. He has never met any customers as aggressive as them in wanting the main prize, not even those who have been trying to claim the prize so that they can boast and give them to their girlfriends. These four people are surely keeping the teddy bear to themselves.

"Five bullets," Jongho instructs as he splays out his right hand, sliding a bill towards him worth 7 chromas. "You try to scam us again and we'll burn this booth down. The teddy bear and the penguin, a set of five bullets to the bottles."

The attendant sighs, contemplating his choices of working at the funfair while he's waiting to get a call for a proper job. He awkwardly smiles, trying to hold himself back from throwing all the stuffed toys on the table to the four men and making a run for his life because he doesn't know how to fight. He weighs the choices between getting attacked by these men who look like they're built to punch a tooth out of a person's mouth or getting scolded by his boss when the inventory for today's activities won't tally. Looking at the camera directed towards the inside of the booth, he gives one last look of defeat as proof to show his boss that he has no choice and that he'd rather get scolded than lose a tooth.

"Fine," he sighs. "Just hit the bottles or whatever, and both the stuffed toys are yours."

Satisfied with the new condition, Jongho immediately swipes up the bullets from the counter and slots them in the rifle. He lowers himself as the others huddle closely around him, unsure of whether to focus on Jongho, the targets or the pending prizes. This time it takes him less time than before as his hands work fast in slotting the bullets and firing them, watching as the tip touches the bottles and they explode in pieces. The shattering of the glass sounds melodious to them, the pieces falling to the floor like confetti celebrating their success. They are immune to the weird stares they have been getting ever since they dominated the booth half an hour ago, making people in line give up as they see that they seem to have their feet planted firmly on the ground.

They are not leaving until they get what they want. The attendant hopes this would be the last he will ever see them, now that he's walking over to the front part of the booth, holding the penguin and teddy bear with a tired face, mumbling under his breath about how he's not paid enough to face difficult customers like them. The four men are beaming, two of them - the man with green streaks and the tallest - already have their arms stretched out. Before he even manages to put them down on the table, the two have snatched it from his hands, jumping in joy when the stuffed toys are finally theirs.

The attendants' shoulders slump before repeating his usual parting wishes, "Thank you for playing the 'Shoot your Shot' game and please come again."

"Oh no worries, we will," Seonghwa chirps before nodding.

"Please don't," he mumbles under his breath. "You look like you're about to punch my teeth out when you didn't get the teddy bear." But they hear it anyway, because Seonghwa frowns before his face changes into a surprised expression.

"Did we really give that impression?" San's eyes light up, all in contrast of how the attendant expected them to react.

"Y- yes?" he fumbles over his words, giving a question rather than a definite answer before thinking that this is truly his last day on earth as the one who shot all the bottles is looking at him with an unreadable expression.

"We did it," Yunho says in disbelief before the rest nod in unison, almost looking like they're about to burst into tears. "Someone actually think we look scary! We did it, we passed the final hurdle."

The attendant's forehead crinkles before he sputters, "Of what, exactly?!"

San cries out as he ignores the attendant's question before holding out the teddy bear and hugging it tight. "Madam Seo will be so shocked- heck, we should have recorded that! Seonghwa, record it, you!" He points to the flabbergasted attendant, "Look at us in the eyes and repeat what you told us, the part where you said we looked like we're about to punch your teeth out."

Thinking that the ordeal with this weird bunch is still not over yet, he says a silent prayer in his heart hoping that he'll be able to return home on time today. His impression of them is changing ever-so-slowly, but he still wouldn't want them to be holding him hostage. So he follows their instructions, putting his mouth near the handphone the one called Seonghwa is holding out.

Maintaining brief eye contact with every single one of them, he repeats without faltering, "All of you truly look like you're about to punch my teeth out-"

"And that's enough, no need for the teddy bear part." Seonghwa clicks the stop button before they bid goodbye, leaving behind the attendant who collapses to the ground, defeated.

With San and Yunho hugging the plushies as they walk around the funfair, they tick off the rides they've already went on, save for the ones some of them were too scared to go on. They see that the campaigns for the upcoming election has infiltrated the surrounding funfair too, banners and buntings placed outside the vicinity, the one face of the popular candidate, Bae Wonshik, taking up most of them. He's in the public's favour as he is mostly leading the votes, and will be the most likely appointed prime minister next. He has what they deem suitable traits for their next leader; an open mind with actions that speak louder than words, someone who promises to keep their promises, despite how redundant it sounds.

"Wouldn't it be much better though..." Seonghwa laments, "if these politicians actually do what they always promise to? If Bae Wonshik is as good as he claims, his first decision to run for the chair might not be his last. Maybe... he's somewhat different..."

"Right," Jongho agrees. "Because that's what the previous leaders have promised us for like, what, centuries? But nothing has ever really changed."

"He seems different though," Yunho joins them after running off to buy cotton candy that he distributes to the rest. He holds the penguin plushie with his left hand before gobbling up the cotton candy in his right. Through a mouthful of melted cloud he continues, "There were and are some politicians who win the favour of the public by presenting themselves as this typical family person. They wanted to showcase that to the world to say that 'hey, I'm a loving person, I care for them and I'll care for you'. But Bae Wonshik," he takes another bite of the candy, "you have never even heard of a family. He looks to be very protective of his family, if he even has one. Some has tried digging it out but the reporters can never take camp in front of his house, they'll be shooed away even before they manage to put their glutes down on the asphalt. Heard he has a daughter though, but that's as far as we know. How she looks like, no one knows- well, except for the close people, of course. Still, so far it seems that he has won the public's trust."

"The scrutiny is about to become more intense if he does win the election," San mulls. "Of course people would dig in deeper inside their leader's lives. Maybe he's just preparing them to be shown to the world."

"Interesting," Jongho pauses, "but I still don't trust them."

"Oh-" San stops walking, moving the huge teddy bear out of his vision so he can see clearly what's in the distance. "Isn't that kid crying alone? He looks like he's lost."

They see a young boy who seems to be no more than 10 years of age, holding a fist against his right eye as he rubs it, the tears pouring down on his cheeks as he hiccups. He seems to be walking a short distance to a destination before turning back, weaving through the crowd as he calls out his older brother's name. No one in the crowd is found to pay attention to the little kid, or the atmosphere is too noisy for them to hear his cries.

Seonghwa looks at the rest before breaking off into a light jog to catch up with the boy; from far they can see him approaching the boy with caution, his mouth asking something before he crouches. They join him not long after but it seems that the oldest has not done a very good job. When they could see both clearly, the boy takes a long look at Seonghwa's face before breaking into louder cries.

As Seonghwa looks betrayed, Jongho tuts before addressing it, "You just made him cry harder, you're over here looking like a kidnapper."

"Little kid," Yunho crouches next to Seonghwa before pushing the latter out of the way. "We're not bad guys." He tries to make a point by waving around the penguin plushie in front of him. "See, we just got these plushies at the shooting booth-"

"That's exactly how my brother said bad guys are going to lure and kidnap me!" the boy shouts, finally gaining attention from the crowd.

"Uh-uh," Jongho says in defeat. "Your brother must be a really smart person."

"We're not kidnappers!" San exclaims, his voice semi-loud so as to say to the boy and the crowd around them. In the meantime, he tries to hide his face behind the huge teddy bear just in case the people are starting to capture and record their faces. From behind the teddy bear he mumbles, "We're just here to wind down, not kidnap a child."

From among the crowd they can hear whispers of suspicions, claiming, "Aren't they the guys who look like they're about to murder the booth attendant because they couldn't get the teddy bear?"

All four of them look at each other, deadpanning, "This was not the plan to make ourselves look menacing."

"Woosung! Jung Woosung!" someone from behind shouts, with their attention headed to the newcomer next, ultimately lifting off the accusing eyes of the crowd from the alleged kidnappers.

The newcomer runs straight towards the young boy, enveloping him in a tight hug, almost tackling the boy to the ground. It seems that the older was the one the boy was looking for, as he cries out "Wooyie!" before returning the gesture and crying into his brother's shoulder. "Wooyie, you left me at the booth and I couldn't find you!" he cries while the older pats his head.

As the short drama is over, the people disperse, leaving the four alleged kidnappers and the young boy with his brother. After another round of apologizing to his younger brother for losing him, he pulls away before taking the younger boy's hand in his and standing up. He looks at the four who are sitting on the asphalt, looking slightly angry and annoyed. One of them has their face buried in the humongous teddy bear, like an ostrich burying its face inside the sand.

"Were you the ones who found my little brother-" he starts but Woosung tugs at his hand.

"Wooyie, they tried to kidnap me!"

Wooyoung chuckles before patting Woosung's head. "I'm glad that you still remember what I told you about bad guys. But if they were your kidnappers they wouldn't still be sitting here and looking like angry birds," to which Woosung pouts and turns quiet.

"Angry- birds-" Seonghwa spits as he looks offended.

"My apologies," Wooyoung starts as all of them stand up to match his height. "I taught my brother to be careful out here, and it was my mistake for letting him walk out of my sight. Thank you for approaching my brother and not-" there's a slight smile at the end of his sentence, "-kidnap him."

They see him fishing something from under his suit, and they come to a realization how the person is dressed less like he's going to a funfair but an important meeting instead. The older brother is wearing a black suit with thin grey stripes, and even his watch seems to be indicative of someone of a high status. His silky hair is combed-over and neat, not a single stray hair seen which seems to tell them that he's only here to entertain his younger brother and not get on the rides himself.

Wooyoung takes out a business card and holds it in between his index and middle finger. He hands it over to Jongho, who is the only one who looks to be willing to accept it. "My apologies for making you falsely accused as kidnappers," a slight lilt of amusement, "and as a sign of appreciation for looking out after Woosung, allow me to buy you drinks or take you out to eat. Just a little gesture of gratefulness. Don't be alarmed though, that's my secretary's number so you might hear a much deeper and rougher voice picking up the phone." He takes a look at his watch, before lightly tapping on Woosung's shoulder and saying, "We have to go and arrive on time for dinner. Mother will be waiting."

"But I still want to ride on the merry-go-round," Woosung frowns.

"Woosung, we can do that some other day, okay? It's almost dinnertime and mother won't appreciate it if we're late. In fact, it took me several tries to convince her to take you out here, so you mustn't tell her that I almost lost you, or she won't let me bring you out again. You wouldn't want that, would you?"

"No," he replies quietly.

"Thank you again, I'll be waiting for your call," Wooyoung smiles at them before they walk away, with Woosung looking slightly sulky.

Jongho looks down at the business card in his hand, almost throwing it away at the shock of seeing the words on the card. "Damn, I have no idea that guy has such an influential role. You've heard of this company, haven't you?"

"What?" Yunho asks as he peers over the penguin's head. "That's such a stupid name for a company though. The frick is a Toot Toot Company? What do they sell, cars? Honks? And," he shudders, "why is it that rich people have this way of talking that makes your body prickly all over?" He tries to make an impression, "Mother will be waiting. Mother won't appreciate it if we're late. He sounds like a pre-programmed robot."

"Maybe he's one," San says simply. "Toot Toot Company sounds like a stupid name but the money flowing in sure isn't stupid. They are one of the most promising AI companies, which will only get more famous considering AI is about to get in every corner of our lives. And that guy, Jung Wooyoung," he points to somewhere random, "is the CEO."

"How is he so young and-"

At the same time, a flood of notifications ping their phones simultaneously, with Seonghwa being the fastest to open it up. He squints at the notifications coming in, asking subconsciously, "Did the rest of you get the same text message from Madam Seo, or is it just me?" but he knows the answer anyway, as the message, although sent to him alone, seems to be a bulk message addressed to the four of them.

It reads,
First important job for the four of you. Pack your bags and get ready for me to kick your asses out of the dorms, because you're not staying there anymore. You're about to become bodyguards to an important client, and don't make me regret in choosing specifically the four of you.

"Please tell me I'm reading this right," San supplements as he scrolls further. "We're getting our first job, and it's not something small." He looks up at the banners and buntings of the prime minister candidate, "Looks like we're about to get exclusive entry to the unconquerable area."

They read the brief info of the client they would need to protect.
Your prospective client is Bae Wonshik's daughter. Get back here to the headquarters so I can brief you in half an hour.
P.S. While all of you are outside, bring back two bars of dark chocolate. You know, the ones I like. My supply is running low. If you get the wrong ones, I am demoting all of you. Thanks.