The next day arrives. Tiger brushes, takes a bath, and leaves his home rent for school. While walking, he keeps thinking about yesterday.
"So that was my first mission… When will the next one come? I don't even know," he sighs.
He reaches school. His trainer walks toward him.
"Tiger, how is your practice going?"
"Yes sir. You didn't get time to see my training so—"
Before Tiger can finish, his trainer interrupts. "I didn't get time to see your aim before. Now I will. I don't know where that teddy came from… Well, forget it. Let's test you."
He hands Tiger a bow and arrow.
"You must shoot from the red line. No matter how far the target is."
Tiger stands still and focuses. He adjusts his angle carefully and prepares to release the arrow.
He shoots.
Suddenly, the same teddy appears and blocks the arrow. It was very close to hitting the center, but the arrow falls before reaching properly. However, it stabs the teddy.
Tiger's trainer sees nothing.
"My aim missed because the teddy came again," Tiger says quickly.
"What teddy?" his trainer replies calmly.
"Sir, it's right there. My arrow stabbed it."
"I can clearly see your aim was bad," the trainer says.
Tiger freezes. "You… can't see it?"
"Maybe you need some rest, Tiger. Pick up your arrow and try again."
They walk toward the target board. Tiger points again.
"Sir, look. The teddy is here."
"Where? I see nothing."
Tiger stops speaking. His trainer shakes his head. "Enough. Pick up the arrow. Until you aim properly, we won't move to the next level."
Tiger bends down, pulls the arrow out of the teddy, and places the teddy on the ground. He walks back to the red line.
He ignores everything this time. Full focus.
He fires again.
The teddy appears once more and gets stabbed, but this time the arrow hits the exact center of the target.
His trainer claps. "Good. Very good, Tiger."
He walks toward the board. "What happened earlier? Why couldn't you aim?"
Tiger says nothing.
The trainer pulls the arrow out. The teddy falls again from it, but the trainer still doesn't see anything.
From far away, Tiger thinks, Why can't he see it? He even touched the arrow… and felt nothing.
His trainer returns and puts a hand on Tiger's shoulder. "You're shocked by your own aim?"
"No sir… I was just thinking. Can we go to the next level?"
"Yes. But not from 72 meters."
Tiger feels relief for one second.
"Now you'll shoot from 100 meters."
"That's insane," Tiger says.
"That's your limit?" his trainer asks.
"No. It's more than that."
"Then prove it."
The trainer raises his hand. From the ground, two more targets rise beside the first one. All three stand exactly 100 meters away.
They begin moving.
"Three moving targets," the trainer says. "I trust you."
Tiger grips the bow tightly and focuses.
He fires.
The first moving target is hit perfectly in the center. It vanishes into fog.
The remaining two start moving even faster.
Tiger takes the second arrow. Wind begins blowing harder, but he remains calm.
He fires again.
The second target is hit exactly in the middle and disappears just like the first.
Now only one remains. It moves even faster than before.
Tiger narrows his eyes and releases the third arrow.
It hits the center.
But this one does not vanish. It falls to the ground. It was the real target. The other two were copies.
His trainer smiles proudly.
"You've mastered archery. No one has hit from that distance on their first try. I'm impressed."
The sky darkens.
"It's getting late. You should go home. Good work today, Tiger."
Tiger feels satisfied. He leaves the school as night begins to fall.
Tiger walks away from the school as the sky grows darker.
his steps turn toward the narrow street where everything first began… the place where he met her.
The streetlights flicker weakly. The air feels colder than before.
After walking for a while, he suddenly hears a voice behind him.
He stops.
Someone is sitting on the low wall ahead.
A girl.
She's holding a teddy in her lap.
The wind blows softly, lifting strands of her hair across her face. She doesn't move.
Tiger notices something strange.
One of the teddy's button eyes is missing.
His heartbeat slows.
Why here…?
Why now?
The girl tilts her head slightly.
"You're late, Tiger."
Tiger freezes.