Episode 77: Shadow of Fear
White space.
Jinwoo stared at himself.
The same face.
The same voice.
The same eyes.
But something was different.
The other seemed to know
everything Jinwoo had hidden.
The other Jinwoo spoke.
“You’re still running away.”
Jinwoo’s expression hardened.
“No.”
“Really?”
The other slowly raised his hand.
The scenery began to change.
White space.
Playground.
Jegichagi.
The day he first failed.
The ball dropped to the ground.
Eyes watching.
Disappointment.
The memory of wanting to quit.
Jinwoo swallowed.
“Why are you showing me this?”
The other answered.
“Because this is you.”
The scene shifted again.
Ttakji.
Defeat.
Rubber band play.
Mistake.
Hoop rolling.
Falling.
All his failures passed before his eyes.
The other Jinwoo.
“You were always afraid.”
“Afraid of failure.”
“Afraid of disappointment.”
“Afraid of responsibility.”
Jinwoo clenched his teeth.
He wanted to deny it.
But it wasn’t wrong.
At that moment,
the image of the bow entered his mind.
Archery.
The hand gripping the bow.
Fingers pulling the string.
Eyes reading the wind.
But the target wavered.
Like his heart.
[Archery Sync Rate: 24%]
It rose slightly.
But still too low.
The other shook his head.
“You can’t hit it like this.”
Jinwoo.
“Hit what?”
The other.
“The target.”
“And yourself.”
Far away, in another space.
Hanul.
“I’ve never done anything wrong!”
A cry of anger.
And another voice.
“Yes.
That’s why you were always alone.”
Hanul’s face froze.
Darin.
“I’m not afraid!”
The other Darin.
“Then why do you always laugh?”
Darin’s smile vanished.
Soyeon.
Standing quietly.
The other Soyeon.
“Why did you try to carry it all alone?”
Soyeon could not answer.
Each space.
Each wound.
Each fear.
Each truth.
Back to Jinwoo.
The other slowly held out a bow.
An old wooden bow.
Unfamiliar.
Yet strangely familiar.
“Take it.”
Jinwoo asked.
“Why?”
The other replied calmly.
“If you stop running…
then you can begin.”
Jinwoo hesitated.
Then slowly took the bow.
At that moment,
a current flowed through his fingertips.
Countless stances flashed in his mind.
Thousands of shots.
Tens of thousands of practices.
The memory of archery.
[Archery Sync Rate: 38%]
Jinwoo’s eyes widened.
The other smiled faintly for the first time.
“Now.”
“You choose.”
“Keep running.”
“Or move forward.”
The white space trembled again.
And Jinwoo knew.
The real battle
was only beginning.