BANG! BANG!
The bullet from my revolver precisely hit the target. Even in my second life, my marksmanship was still as sharp as it used to be.
One week after I moved out to my new apartment, I vigorously trained my body in the gym and in the shooting center. Though my body condition hadn't reached its peak, this level of performance within one week was still within my expectations.
'I think it's enough for today.'
Reloading my bullets as I put down my earmuffs, I planned to leave.
"Hey, are you going to be here often?"
That wasn't until a stranger came up to me, blocking my way out. Glancing up at him, who's half a head taller than me, I answered.
"Yes."
"I've been observing you these past few days and you could say my interest is piqued. How about a shooting competition? One round. You and me."
'Aha, he's one of those curious ones.'
"Sure, let's have a bet."
Putting on the earmuffs I had just taken off, I smiled at him.
"The one who loses will have to buy the winner a round of bullets."
He grinned widely at my suggestion. Without hesitation, he grabbed his pistol and steadied his hand to shoot.
BANG!
His first hit was a bullseye, followed by the second bullet. A smirk formed on my face, my competitive spirit rose up as I also raised my revolver.
'6 shots.'
BANG!
'And I'm going to hit all of it.'
Continuous fire from both of us created a rhythm I didn't even know possible. When I shot, he also followed, as if he's matching my lead and follow up my attacks.
'What a shame, if this were a battlefield, I would definitely recruit him as my wingman, leaving my back to him.'
CLICK!
'Ah, I'm out of bullets.'
I was too immersed in emotion until I forgot to count. It wasn't until I heard the sound of Cecily's empty cylinder that I finally glanced at my sparring partner's shooting target board.
But the sight of it made me widen my eyes. All of his bullets struck the same spot again and again. Even my shots – which more or less hit the bullseye – still left a few millimeters difference.
His accuracy was terrifying.
"Guess I win this time. You owe me a magazine."
"Pfftt… haha!"
A laugh escaped my lips, it's been so long since I felt this refreshed. As people said, there would always be a sky higher than yours. Seeing the skill of the person in front of me was definitely an eye-opening experience.
"Yeah, I lost. Choose your bullet, it's on me."
He smiled, "Then I'll choose the ones you used."
"But you use a Glock…?"
Inching closer, he whispered, "Yeah, I do." Then he locked gaze with me, "But I changed my mind and decided to try out a revolver instead."
Shifting his gaze to Cecily at my waist, he said, "It's amazing how accurate you could be with what you have–" He paused, narrowing his eyes, "A quality I like the most."
His mismatched words confused me. There seemed to be something he wanted to say between the pauses, but he decided to leave it out and finished the words in his mind instead.
'There would always be weird people like him everywhere.'
"Name's Haide, what's yours?"
"Yolan."
"The name matches you so well."
He smiled as he walked toward the shop, motioning me with his eyes. I followed behind him, purchasing the same bullets I used and handed them to him.
"See you again tomorrow."
Haide waved at me and nonchalantly went out of the shooting center.
'Well… That was definitely something.'
You could always find someone with that kind of caliber hidden somewhere in the world. He wasn't chosen as one of the pieces in my previous life, and he wasn't famous so I didn't know someone like him existed.
What a shame, I would definitely recruit him if I knew him earlier.
"Wow, that guy likes you that much huh? Don't you feel dizzy being masked by his pheromone? I thought you were just acting tough and would definitely collapse after he left, but I guess I underestimated you huh?"
The shopkeeper side-eyed the man who had just passed through the door as he talked to me. But my feet turned cold when I heard his words.
"What…?"
If he released that much pheromone I wouldn't miss it. Being a recessive didn't mean I couldn't smell pheromone at all, it just meant my pheromone wasn't that strong.
'Now that I think about it, I also can't smell my own scent.'
Both back at the ice cream vendor and this time, all of it were related to my ability to smell pheromone.
'But I could smell Richie's pheromone just fine… So why?'
Then a small realization hit me.
'Have I smelled Keith's pheromone in this life?'
No, I hadn't.
So the only exception was for alphas and my own.
'My ability to smell is partially taken from me.'
I rubbed my arm as chills started creeping up my spine. Having reached this conclusion, countless other questions rose inside my mind.
'Are there any other things that were taken from me?'
"Mister, I'll buy three more bullets."
"Three? Not a whole round?"
"Yeah."
I took the three bullets in my hand and feel it against my palm. My steps were steady as I went out of the shooting center, but my hand, which played around with those bullets, reflected my thoughts.
'What a mess.'
A sigh escaped my lips. I was ready to accept any price to reclaim my past. I thought if I died, I would rather die after walking the path of my own choosing rather than becoming the victim of an ordained life.
So if I looked at the bigger picture, I guess this much sacrifice was only a small price for my happiness. But no matter how much I use my logical thinking, the worry in my heart kept swelling up.
'Hm?'
I snapped out of my thoughts when I detected a presence behind me. They tried to conceal the sound of their footsteps, acting all sneaky.
'They are following me.'
I scoffed. These were the same people who kidnapped me in my last life, and this time they tried to do the same to me even though I had no relation with Keith anymore.
'Are they not up to date with their information?'
Nevertheless, a grin still formed on my face.
'Perfect. I still have an unpaid grudge against them after all.'
I turned my heels toward an empty alley. I could sense the people behind me closing the distance between us. With one swift motion, they grabbed me from behind and covered my mouth with a handkerchief.
"Hmph!"
I struggled to break free from their grasp as my limbs were held in their grip.
"Stop moving and go to sleep already!"
Before long, I closed my eyes and let go of all control of my body, making it limp.
"Take him! Quick!"
My body was wrapped inside a sack and dragged across the road. Soon after they laid me down, I heard a click. Judging by how they threw me, I suspected that I was placed inside the trunk.
'What a rough way to treat a delicate omega like me.'
Although I was in what you would call a dangerous situation right now, my mind was still calm. I brought this upon myself after all.
'If I don't pretend to be weak, I could never sneak inside their base and deal with their boss.'
I assessed my situation. The car had started moving, bringing me to their hideout. I needed to prepare in case they did a body check and took my Cecily from me.
'Fortunately, I have my handy pocket knife.'
Feeling the small knife hidden in my shoe's sole, I smiled. I wriggled for a bit to lie more comfortably inside the sack.
'Hm?'
But my feet touched something else inside the trunk.
'What's this? This is clearly not ammunition.'
I narrowed my eyes.
'Suspicious.'
I stretched my hand and touched it to get a feel of it. Though there's a sack obstructing my way, from the shape alone I could tell what this 'thing' was.
'A human.'
So they kidnapped another person to gain more ransom?
I didn't know, because back then, I didn't see any other hostages in their base other than me. Maybe they placed them in a different place than mine.
'Well, if lady luck is upon them, I might have a chance to help. If not… I'll leave it up to themselves.'
I wasn't obliged to rescue people. I was a selfish bastard after all, there's no need for me to act otherwise.
A few hours of endless driving later, the car finally stopped. Hearing their murmurs approaching, I closed my eyes and stayed still.
"Take them to the storage room and tie them up."
"Yes sir!"
The trunk opened and my body was lifted like a sack of potatoes. Before long, I was thrown again – this time to a cold, hard cement floor. I couldn't help but muffle a groan as I winced in pain.
'They really treated their hostage roughly, don't they?'
My sack was torn open and I could finally breathe some fresh air. But it didn't take long before my hands were tied, and my mouth was stuffed with a cloth.
"Put the other one on the other side."
I heard another shuffle across the room. It must be the other hostage that was brought in with me.
"Omegas with these kinds of appearance. That Keith guy is really lucky huh?"
The kidnapper's low voice was heard directly in front of me. I could feel a pair of hands touching my body, slowly tracing it.
Starting from my feet, to my thighs, until they landed on my chest and to my neck. Then he grabbed my chin, raising it and turning my face left and right.
The act disgusted me.
I almost frowned and shot my Cecily right in front of their face. But if I still wanted to keep my head, I shouldn't be reckless in the enemy's den.
"Hey, this one has a gun!"
"Must be for show, do you think a person like him, who lives his life in riches, would ever hold a gun?"
Mocking snickers filled the room. After a few minutes of body search and found nothing else noteworthy, they left the room – seemingly having a meeting.
Detecting no threat left, I finally opened my eyes.
There's something that's been bothering me for a while. Those people clearly brought another person here. And if I hadn't gone deaf, they clearly said 'omegas' in plural. So who's the other omega who's related to Keith? Of course I knew the answer.
I swiped my gaze across the room, and there he was.
Keith's prized lover, Richie.