Genius Archer’s Streaming

"I can't believe it's so realistic...."

Sanghyun was amazed by the realism of the virtual reality world that implemented the Olympics.

-Woooohooo!

-Yoo Sanghyun! Yoo Sanghyun!

-Oh, Yoo Sanghyun has grabbed his bow and stepped up. What do you think!?

-Yoo Sanghyun has naturally been talented since he was young...

The cheers of the audience and the voice of the commentators from his competition days mixed in with auditory hallucinations. 

He was enveloped in the tension of actually competing in the Olympics.

Thump, thump.

The sound of his heartbeat could not be heard, but it reverberated in his ears, and his virtual lips felt dry.

He saw the familiar target at the end of the 70-meter distance.

Red, yellow, blue.

The target with several overlapping circles.

It was something he had only seen in his dreams, but it was right in front of him now. How long had it been since he last stood here?

"Whew."

Sanghyun immediately pulled back the bowstring to feel what it was like. It was to prepare himself.

Kiri-ri-lick.

The familiar sensation and sound of the bowstring being pulled back came to him. His heart began to beat faster with the vivid sensation.

'Is this, is this really happening?'

The moment he pulled back and held the bowstring.

There was always one problem at this point. It was his right hand.

He turned his gaze towards his right hand.

'!'

His right hand, which should have been trembling by now, was firmly holding the bowstring as if asking what was wrong.

Sanghyun couldn't do anything for a while in the same position.

Then something hot surged up.

'......'

He struggled to swallow the complex feeling of sadness or joy and carefully felt the sensation of the bowstring again.

'A little different.'

If he were to scrutinize every detail, such as the tension of the bowstring and the texture of the grip according to the force applied, there would be a clear discrepancy between reality and his perception. However, such things were already unimportant to Sanghyun.

As long as he could pull the bowstring with his healthy arm... 

Even if it felt like a toy bow, he would adapt to it.

'Let's try.'

He took out an arrow and knocked it. From now on, he was actually starting to shoot. 

His previously vacant eyes were now aimed fiercely at the target. 

Now he was entering a war with his bow.

Archery is always a fierce and quiet battle between oneself and one's bow. 

The athlete must always make the bow his own through the silent battle. 

The start is the Full Draw.

This is a kind of frontline battle to position where the arrow is pulled back to the most suitable position for oneself. 

Since precision and firmness of the right hand were essential during the Full Draw stage, it had been a long time for Sanghyun since he last tried it.

Giriririk! 

But as if he had done the draw just yesterday, the bowstring settled on his nose and lips. His right hand stuck firmly under his chin as if it had found its original position. 

It was a perfect holding posture.

It was undoubtedly a perfect sequence.

However...

'The weight of the bow and the tension of the string is lower than I thought. Is it made to be easily done by beginners?'

There was a problem. 

The lightness of the bow was actually uncomfortable for him. 

Since he couldn't feel the familiar weight, he was exerting unnecessary force. 

His aim began to shake little by little.

"Again."

In the end, Sanghyun put the bow down without shooting.

As Sanghyun's gaze changed when he pulled the arrow, Joohyuk and the boss gulped.

"Well, well. Pros are different, after all. Even their stance is no joke."

"Yes, I mean, I only heard about it before, but this is actually my first time seeing it for real..."

Joohyuk realized for the first time that Sanghyun was capable of making such a facial expression.

'Is that Yoo Sanghyun?'

Even though he was just shooting arrows in the game, the feeling was as if even the viewers were being hunted. 

The stillness that spread like fog and the sensation that even the wind had stopped blowing and was waiting.

"Huh...? Why isn't he shooting?"

"...?"

But suddenly, Sanghyun put down his bow and arrow.

"Could there be a mental problem related to his right hand?"

Joohyuk asked, biting his lips. The boss next to him added a word.

"I've seen such scenes even in the Olympics and it's not even unusual. But it happens sometimes. Of course, it's not a good scene."

"Ah, I see."

"Maybe he was just too nervous."

Joohyuk also remembered. There was a time when one of the archers in the Olympic Games had to take a break after shooting all the arrows. 

Even professionals find the tension and pressure of the match difficult to endure.

'He's nervous?'

It was hard for Joohyuk, who had seen Sanghyun's behavior in the workplace, to imagine him being nervous in front of a virtual reality game. 

He was someone who was indifferent to everything.

'He really loves it.'

It wasn't until then that he truly understood it.

How much Sanghyun loved archery and how much he missed it.

His love for archery could be felt in every movement, expression, and breath. 

He couldn't help but be nervous. 

It must have felt like seeing his first love again after a long time.

'Money is just an excuse, is it?'

Sanghyun didn't seem to be playing the game just to make money. Instead, it seemed like he wanted to shoot arrows again. 

He wants to escape from his mundane work life and shoot his bow in a vast open field.

'He said his grandmother passed away a little while ago....'

The only reason Sanghyun worked at the company was because of his grandmother, but her funeral happened about a year ago. Now, he can let go of his burden and do what he wants to do.

'To do what he wants to do....'

Even though it wasn't his own life, Joohyuk's heart was beating fast. What would it feel like to do what you want to do? And to be the best in that field. 

It was something that had never happened in Joohyuk's life before.

"Oh, he is shooting again."

The boss lightly tapped Joohyuk's shoulder and spoke.

"Oh...."

There was no time to say anything but 'Oh....'. 

Swish! 

Sanghyun shot the arrow as smoothly as water flows, making him want to complain about how it could have happened.

"!"

Even to a novice like Joohyuk, it was clear that there was something different about his bow.

"This, this is insane!?"

As they watched together, even the boss who had been watching sighed in amazement. 

Even before the arrow arrived, everyone could tell from Sanghyun's shot. 

Thunk! 

That the arrow will hit right in the center of the target.

"Wow!"

"What's up with him? This isn't quite like the archery I know, is it?"

The archery that ordinary people know is the best of the best among the pros. Unless it's the Olympics, ordinary people don't have a chance to watch archery. 

But Sanghyun was even better than that. He didn't know anything, but it definitely looked that way.

Just as Kim Yuna's double axel is much more graceful than other skaters' ambiguous triple axels.

In the case of Yoo Sanghyun, there was an extra layer to his archery.

Thwip!

Another arrow was shot.

As if it were obvious, the arrow hit the center again.

It feels as if the arrow is sucked in by the wind like it was originally connected to that spot.

Thunk!

Three consecutive shots scored 10 points each.

And Sanghyun didn't stop there. He fired two more shots in an instant.

Twang! Twang!

From then on, the target felt pitiful.

[10 points!]

[10 points!]

The loud, ecstatic shouts of a perfect score made one's heart skip a beat for no apparent reason. There was no tension at all.

Sanghyun shot the arrow, and it landed right in the center of the target without any hesitation.

The phrase "turning over the palm of one's hand" might have been created after seeing Sanghyun shoot. It was even enough to make such a ridiculous thought come to mind.

"......Isn't there a discrepancy between this and reality, hyung?"

"Uh, yeah....there are some players who can't adapt, but this guy is different. They usually struggle at first and then get better later. And this guy......"

The boss scratched his head.

"I don't know anything about archery. Isn't that friend a bit different? It feels like something is off. Is that the same archery that we know...?"

It was then that Joohyuk told him that Sanghyun was actually the youngest domestic gold medalist in Korea.

"...The youngest?"

"Yes. He told us while we were drinking."

"If it's a domestic competition, he's practically the youngest world champion, right?"

"He was supposed to be."

"This is no joke..... If you reach that level, it must look different even to the average person......"

At that moment, a loud cheer was heard from the monitor.

-Wow!

-All 10 points! All arrows are in the center of the target! What is this!?

-This, this can't be real!

-He even set a record for the shortest shooting time! It's unbelievable!

Sanghyun put all of the provided arrows in the center of the target and finished the game.

Click....

The capsule lid slowly rose with the sound of clicking.

Joohyuk thought Sanghyun would stand up and smile proudly, but Sanghyun didn't come out.

"Why isn't he coming out?"

Joohyuk approached Sanghyun, thinking, 'He's not going to do something stupid again, is he?'

When Joohyuk looked into the capsule, he was speechless.

"Hey, don't you know how to come out...."

Sanghyun was crying.

He was crying so hard that his tears covered his face.

He had shed tears of ten years' worth of frustration from not being able to hold the bow properly.