Act 4: Battle of The Arrows
Mugunghwa Educational Park
11.43a.m.
"Woaaa! This is heavenly!" Soo-jin yelled after eating her first bite on hotteok.
"I know, right?" said Hye-ri, "but should you eat that while it's hot like that? You can burn your mouth, you know!"
Hye-ri looked at Soo-jin's face, which contorted in funny looks due to her bitting on the scorching filling of her hotteok.
"It's freaking delicious, that I can't wait for it to cool down!" said Soo-jin while fanning her palm into her mouth, "I think I'll buy another one."
"Go ahead, there's still plenty of them," said Hye-ri giggling.
"By the way, where's Yu-ra?" asked Soo-jin with her mouth full.
"She's buying the corndog," said Hye-ri, "Oh, there she is."
Yu-ra came, carrying a heavy-looking tote bag with her.
"You bought corndog for Ga-eun?" asked Hye-ri, "But that bag seems heavy."
"I know, I bought corndogs for all of us," said Yu-ra, "Along with hweori gamja, boonguppang, bindaetteok, kkwabaegi, soondae, eomuk, banana milk, and sikhye."
"Geese! Are you going to war or something?" asked Hye-ri, "Why so many food?"
"I have to feed our Soo-jin with Korean street food," said Yu-ra, "This is the chance, while we have so many snack stalls here."
"It's not like the food can't be found outside this event, you know?" said Hye-ri, "Are you going to feed her to the point of explosion?"
"I know, but our Soo-jin needs a crash course for her to survive!" said Yu-ra.
"Oh, guys..." said Soo-jin.
Soo-jin smirked. It's not like Soo-jin didn't know Korean food at all. Before her late mother fell ill, at least once or twice a year, she and her family always used go to Korea, to visit her Harabeoji and Haramoeni. So, she was familiar to at least some Korean food. Well, maybe not hotteok, but kimbap, soondae, kkwabaegi, eomuk, or banana milk, she knew them all. However, she doesn't want to correct Yu-ra right now.
"It's almost midday," said Yu-ra, "We'd better hurry, otherwise we're going to miss it."
"Missed what?" asked Soo-jin.
"The highlight of the day," said Yu-ra, "The Battle of The Arrows."
"Battle of what?" asked Soo-jin.
"Argh... Come on, you'll see," said Yu-ra while hooked Soo-jin's arm.
Hye-ri and Yu-ra took Soo-jin to the center part of the park, which they called "The Velodrome". It's kind of round circus-like arena, in which everyone was free to enter and watch matches or games there. For today, the center area of the circus had been prepared with some kind of strange contraptions. There are two short tables, all covered in white tablecloth side to side on each other, ten big clay pots on each side of the tables, all filled with arrows of different fletching colors, red in the right hand side and blue in the left hand side, and strange looking hexagonal platforms on each end of pot rows; with ropes hanging through the arena to the opposite side behind each oppositing platforms, and ended in some kind of round sacks with large dots on front of each. It seems like something out of jianghu's kind of movie.
"What is this?" asked Soo-jin.
"This is an arena set-up for Battle of The Arrows," said Hye-ri.
"Yes, but what is that?" asked Soo-jin.
"Well, you see..." said Yu-ra.
"Eonnie!"
Soo-jin smiled as she saw her sister, Hyun-jin, running towards them.
"Eonnie, you're here?" asked Hyun-jin.
"Yes, what are you doing here, Hyun-jin-a?" asked Soo-jin.
"Class is on break, so me with some of my classmates go here to watch the crowds," said Hyun-jin.
"This is Hyun-jin, your sister?" asked Hye-ri.
Soo-jin nodded. She then introduced Hye-ri and Yu-ra to Hyun-jin.
"Nice to see all of you Eonnies," said Hyun-jin.
"So do we," said Hye-ri, "hey, Soo-jin's sister is our sister's too, so in the future, if you need anything, don't hesitate to call us, understand?"
"Ne!" said Hyun-jin.
"You said you came with your classmates, but where are they?" asked Soo-jin.
"They go to food stalls," said Hyun-jin, "They're not really interested in this."
"In this what?" asked Soo-jin.
"Ah, this is the part where I'm going to tell you," said Yu-ra, "But let's go and sit on the bench before somebody takes the best spot. Hyun-jin-a, come with us, okay?"
"Ne."
They then looked for the best place to sit. Soo-jin then handed her spare hotteok to her sister, while Yu-ra opened all sort of snacks for them to enjoy while seeing whatever match they will have. She said that she could always buy things for Ga-eun after this, but Hyun-jin has to be entertained first.
"Now, what were you wanted to say earlier?" asked Soo-jin.
"Ah, yes, Battle of The Arrows," said Yu-ra.
"Yes, Yu-ra eonnie, what is that?" asked Hyun-jin, "My friends also told me about that."
"Well, let's put it this way. Gungdo, or Korean archery, is the only Electives owned both by Yongdam and Baekhap," said Yu-ra, "So once a year, in the Elective Fair, both of their top aces are dueling to determine who's the best between both school."
"Oh, I see," said Soo-jin, "Ah, I remember, you're into archery, right, Hyun-jin-a?"
"Really?" said Hye-ri, "So you must be enjoying this a lot."
"Well, I don't know," said Hyun-jin, "Kyuudo and Gungdo are different types of archery; I haven't gotten the chance to witness Korean archery firsthand."
"You will enjoy this, then," said Yu-ra, "Oh, they're about to start."
Daechwita music can be heard to cheer up the situation. Crowds cheered as troops of gungdo electives from each school entered the arena. Students chanted the name "Baekhap" and "Yongdam", echoing in the entire velodrome. From right side is Baekhap Gungdo with their hanbok of magenta jeogori with light blue sleeves and mint color chima. While from the left side is Yongdam Gungdo, with hanbok similar to the Yongdam official hanbok, with the only exception, their jeogoris are adorned with floral blue bellflower patterns. Each of them lined up in two columns, each carrying complete gakgung bows with quivers full of arrows.
As if it was coordinated before, both lines of each schools opened with the girls facing on each other, forming some kind of alley. From the right side, walking through the alley to the middle, is a girl with fancier wonsam, instead of jeogori, of the same color, and her hair tied in a chignon, secured with jade-colored binyeo. She seems to be very confidence, judging from the way she strut.
"That's Lee Yeon-hee, the head student of Baekhap Gungdo elective," said Yu-ra, "She's currently the best ace of Baekhap, given the meritocratic nature of the electives on both schools."
Everyone looked to the left, and a girl showed up from Yongdam's side. She wore almost the same hanbok as every other Yongdam archers, the difference is that she wore a jeollip with a cobalt-colored feather on top. This girl has the same confidence like Yeon-hee, but with different vibes of aura. Soo-jin could only see a glimpse of her face, due to the brim of her jeollip, but she could sense the calm composure in her face which was adorned with thin-frame eyeglasses.
"That's the head student and Yongdam Gungdo's best ace," said Yu-ra, "Her name is Nam Bo-young, and she's also one of the honor roll student of Yongdam."
Soo-jin watched Nam Bo-young carefully, with her lips mumbling the name. There's some strange attraction emanating from this girl, that caught her attention.
"They don't carry any bows or arrows?" asked Soo-jin.
"That's part of the match," said Yu-ra.
"Eh?"
"You see, there are a some clay pots in a row, each filled with one arrow. They must use the arrow for the second part of the match," said Yu-ra.
"Second part? And what is the first part?" asked Soo-jin.
"It will begin right now," said Yu-ra.
Both Yeon-hee and Bo-young sat on each side of the white clothed tables, facing on each other. Then entered some older students wearing dark green jeogori and black chima, carrying two wooden chests and placed them each on the table of Yeon-hee and Bo-young. A girl of authority, seeming to be a senior student, opened each chest, and inspected the contents for the final time. After that, she gave a nod, a sign that she's satisfied with what she saw, and the contents were taken out and placed in front of each ace.
"The C-shaped thing is an unstrung gakgung, then the string, and the two boomerang-shaped woods are dojigae," said Yu-ra, "They provide assistance when we reflex the bow; plus an electric stove to heat the wood so that it more pliable."
"Aah..." Hyun-jin gasped.
"Wae?" asked Soo-jin.
"The first part is stringing the bow, right?" asked Hyun-jin, "And the strung bow then must be used on the next parts, am I right?"
"A hundred percent!" said Yu-ra.
"Ah, so if somebody messed up in the first part..." said Soo-jin.
"Then it will cost her dearly on the next part," said Hyun-jin.
"You know a lot," said Yu-ra.
"I know she would know," said Soo-jin, "But how did you know."
"I took a gungdo course once," said Yu-ra, "That's when..."
"Ssh! Be silent, the match is about to begin," said Hye-ri, "It would be fast, so waste time no more!"
They both then turned silent, and so does everyone in the stands, as in the arena, two large incense sticks of red and blue color were brought out, each representing Baekhap and Yongdam. Both Lee Yeon-hee and Nam Bo-young are staring sharply at their opponents eyes. Tension was brewing in the air.
"So, who's going to win?" asked Soo-jin.
"Are you kidding?" asked Yu-ra, "Yeon-hee, of course! Baekhap is undefeated for 3 years in a row; 8 victories in total over the last decade. You agree with me, Hye-ri-ya?"
"Sure! Baekhap would get its ninth victory today, 4 win in a row," said Hye-ri.
"I'm not sure, Guys," said Soo-jin while shaking her head.
"So you're saying Yongdam shall snatch this year's game?" asked Hye-ri.
"There's something about Yongdam's ace which made me unsettled," said Soo-jin, "what do you think, Hyun-jin-a?"
"Well, I think we should not count the chicks before they hatch," said Hyun-jin.
Everyone then became silent and turned their eye to the arena. Soo-jin hauled her breath deeply. From the look of it, she knew that behind the wise words, there's something her sister didn't tell. Either she doesn't want to tell it, or she doesn't know how to tell it in a way that one will understand.
In arena, the lady of authority raised her hands, and suddenly all the person in velodrome turned silent. All the other retinues has resigned from the premises, leaving only both aces, the lady of authority, and two other girls attending the incense sticks. A metal screen in the fashion of a mosquito net was raised into position to cover the audience. Despite the skill of both aces, archery itself is still a sport with high risk. This large screen net acted as a shield to protect the spectators from any stray arrow, should there be any.
"Begin!"
In a blink of an eye, both incenses were lit, and aces started to light their burner, then flexing the C-shaped unstrung bow for stringing, tied each limb to the dojigae as assisting tools to form the distinctive gakgung shape. Everyone in the stands were gasping in silence. Both aces works quietly, carefully, and as quick as possible. They even observed the heating process carefully so that bow could flex perfectly. There's a difference though, that Soo-jin observed. Nam Bo-young seems fully-committed in working her bow, while Lee Yeon-hee, at some intervals, spend time to check on Nam Bo-young's progress, despite only a mere second.
Crowds were cheering loudly as both bow started to shape out. The chanting of Baekhap and Yongdam echoing in the velodrome.
"Hey, make it quick," said Soo-jin, "tell me part 2 and 3 of this duel."
"Oh okay," said Yu-ra, "you see those clay pots arranged in a row behind them?"
"Yes?"
"Part 2 is both aces must run with their bows, and take arrows on each pot, for each arrow taken, a target will popped-out and they have to shoot the arrow to the target."
"And then? What does the hexagonal platforms on each pots' row do?"
"That's for Part 3. Aces then stand on each of hexagonal platforms, facing their opponents, then try to shoot final target behind their opponents."
"Huh? That's it? I thought there would be differences from Part 2."
"Actually..."
Yu-ra's explanation was interrupted as Nam Bo-young banged her bow hard to the table before taking off. The bow seems to have been strung perfectly. In just fractions of second, Lee Yeon-hee did the same. Both aces are then running on each row of pots. As the first arrow were taken, a target popped out in the sideway. They then locked the arrow on their bows, drew, before loosing the arrow to the target. It happened so fast, that an untrained eye won't be able to see the complete steps.
Lee Yeon-hee ran in straight line, pausing in less than a second just to nock and shoot. Nam Bo-young, however, moveed in twirling pattern like a ballet dancer or gymnast doing cartwheeling, taking the arrow in the beginning of turn, lock, then loosed the arrow as her body reached a complete circle. Targets popped out in random, but they could always locate them whenever they popped, as it would be immediately after catching the arrow, less than a second after popping. Hyun-jin watched this in awe.
They finally reached the final platform almost at the same time, and took the last arrow in the large pot beside the platform. Soo-jin noticed that the last arrow is different than any other arrow.
"What a hell is that?" asked Soo-jin.
"Pyeonjeon," said Yu-ra.
"Eh?"
"It's a short, dart-like arrow, launched from regular gakgung bow by means of a tongah."
Both aces were facing on each other then drew their bow to expose a half-tube shaped bamboo shaft of tongah, encapsulate pyeonjeon, which looked like a mini version of regular arrow. Tongah allowed the bow to be drawn at full strength. The lady raised her arm once more, and both Nam Bo-young and Lee Yeon-hee held their arrows in full-drawn position.
"They're going to shoot on each other?" asked Soo-jin.
"No, Silly! They're shooting on the target behind their opponent!" said Yu-ra, "we could see that the girl and the target are safely apart, but for them, it almost in straight line. As pyeonjeon fly, it would made an image that the pyeonjeons are flying directly at them. And if they flinch and not standing still, then they'll fail."
"How come?"
"The platforms and targets are connected by string, so if the ace flinched, it would shake the platform, thus madking her own target move and the arrow won't find its target."
"Aah, I see..."
"Of course, shooting pyeonjeon with a tongah is high level skill. You only want the pyeonjeon to fly, not the tongah. If an unskilled archer did this and failed to prevent the tongah from launching, then the tongah would turned to be a lethal projectile which would fly wildly and endanger her opponent."
"Tell me about it. Hence only ace of aces of both schools may take part in the duel."
"Yes, one that could master pyeonjeon properly, and even then, facing a high-speed pyeonjeon flying toward you is still a frightening sight."
"I figured. Will she make it?"
"Absolutely! Yeon-hee is one of the best with pyeonjeon! She will succeed!"
"No, she won't," said Hyun-jin suddenly.
"Eh?"
"Loose!"
The lady shouted, and in fraction of second, both Yeon-hee and Bo-young let loose their pyeonjeon. Everything happened very fast that an untrained eye won't see what's happened. Seconds later, Yeon-hee and Bo-young stood on their platform with undrawn bow. Both tongahs can be seen securely at their draw hands, not flying in the arena. Two incense sticks has been put off, with no significant differences between what left on both. The arrows from second part are all stuck in their respective targets, so the crowds quickly turns to each individual targets in third part, a ball-shaped target hung inside a sack, painted with dot of each side's respective colors.
The blue fletch pyeonjeon of Yongdam hit its mark. While the red fletch pyeonjeon of Baekhap... not only did it missed the dot target, but the pyeonjeon itself stuck in the sack part of it, close to the rope which being used to hang it. Nam Bo-young of Yongdam has won!
Yeon-hee fell on her knees, sunk and overwhelmed with the loses. While Bo-young's cold face turns bright as she smiled wide. She took her jeollip off, and waved it to the cheering crowd before threw it up high. At that time, the eye of Soo-jin and Bo-young met one and another. In Soo-jin's eyes, Bo-young seemed to be a perfect embodiment of warrior princess: smart, beautiful, and skillful. But there's strange fire emanating from her aura, a fire that unlike any other around her. The connectioned broke when a girl with round-frame eyeglasses gave Bo-young her jeollip back.
"Hey, come on, let's go," said Yu-ra, "and you too, Hyun-jin-a."
"What? Where?" asked Soo-jin.
"Let's meet Yeon-hee," said Yu-ra.
Yu-ra then dragged everyone down to arena, in which Yeon-hee, after recovering from her lost, were chatting with her fellow gungdo members.
"Leeyeon!" Yu-ra called.
"Hi, Leeyu! Come here!" said Yeon-hee with smile.
Quickly, Yu-ra and the ganks goes to Yeon-he..
"Leeyeon? Leeyu?" asked Soo-jin.
"Yes, that's how we called each other," said Yu-ra.
"So does that means I become Kanghye?" asked Hye-ri.
"And I am Ahnsoo," said Soo-jin.
"Well, that's okay," said Yu-ra, "hold on, here she comes."
Yeon-hee and Yu-ra are embracing on each other when they met. Soo-jin cannot helped but thinking that Yu-ra perhaps has many friends in this school, despite her humble appearance.
"I'm so sorry that you lost, Leeyeon," said Yu-ra.
"Nah, it's okay," said Yeon-hee, "I think I flinched a little bit in the end."
"No, you're not," said Hyun-jin suddenly.
"Hello, who is this?" asked Yeon-hee.
"Ups, mianhaeyo," said Hyun-jin.
"Ah, I forgot to introduce you," said Yu-ra, "you've known Hye-ri, do you?"
"Yes, I remember Hye-ri, alright," said Yeon-hee.
"This is Ahn Soo-jin, the new girl in my class today," said Yu-ra.
"Oh, the tank girl?" asked Yeon-hee.
"Ah, yes. It's already spread, isn't it?" said Soo-jin.
"Hey, I'm not judging, but that's how they called you," said Yeon-hee, "please endure that for one or two months, till the crowds found another hot gossip. They always do, so hang in there, okay?"
"Alright," said Soo-jin.
"And finally, who is this little missy?" asked Yeon-hee.
"Annyeonghaseyo, Eonnie, my name is Ahn Hyun-jin," said Hyun-jin.
"She's my little sister," said Soo-jin.
"I see," said Yeon-hee, "so, Hyun-jin-a, why did you say that I did not flinch?"
"Are you?" asked Hyun-jin.
"Of course not, I never flinched," said Yeon-hee, "and yet my shot failed me, so that's made me upset."
"What failed you was not because you're flinching," said Hyun-jin, "Can I show you?"
"Sure," said Yeon-hee.
"Can I borrow your bow for a second, Eonnie?" asked Hyun-jin, "You haven't unstrung it, have you?"
"Hahaha, sure, here you go," said Yeon-hee.
Yeon-hee then handed her bow to Hyun-jin. Hyun-jin accepted it carefully, and slowly pressed one of the limbs with her hand. Suddenly, the bow skewed to the side where Hyun-jin applied pressure, to the surprise of everyone.
"I knew it..." said Hyun-jin.
"So, you're saying that..." said Yeon-hee.
"Mm-hm, this might seem small, but if you draw the bow, the force would be strong enough for you to skew it without you knowing."
"But, how do you know?"
"At the second part, when you shot the targets, I noticed that each of your arrow landed a little bit off from the center spot, just a few inches. Since the target spots are large, so it's not a problem. But, when you need to shoot the final target which has small target spot..."
"Then an off by inches affect the shot greatly."
"Yes, some sort of that."
Everyone nodded their head.
"But Yeon-hee is one of the best archers I know," said Yu-ra, "how did she made an error in preparing the bow?"
"I'm guessing, that because she checked the progress of Nam Bo-young eonnie every other time," said Hyun-jin, "So, unconsciously, you imitated her pace of preparing."
"Impossible, but that would mean..." said Yeon-hee.
"Yes, I bet that Nam Bo-young eonnie's bow is also skewed, the same as yours," said Hyun-jin.
"But how?" said Yeon-hee.
"That because Nam Bo-young eonnie has learned the way to shoot accurately even with a skewed bow," said Yeon-hee, "you would've compensate that also if you knew that your bow was skewed; but Nam Bo-young eonnie manipulated you into thinking that both bows are fine."
"Damn that b..." Yeon-hee grudged.
Yeon-hee clenched her fist in anger. She then exhaled deep few times, and became calm again.
"Little Missy, can I see your hands?" asked Yeon-hee.
A little baffled, Hyun-jin stretched her hands, as Yeon-hee inspected that carefully.
"As I thought," said Yeon-hee, "You're an archer, right?"
"Yes, what give it a way?" asked Hyun-jin.
"There are few callouses in your hand that indicated a frequent use of bows, and arrows," said Yeon-hee.
"Hey, why I don't developed a callous as well?" asked Yu-ra, looking at her own hands.
"Oh, come on, you quit on our third class; not even touched the bow yet," said Yeon-hee, then went back to Hyun-jin, "The callouses in your draw hand also showing clear sign of thumb draw, but it's different from mine, so this must be a different thumb draw technique. Let me guess, you're a kyuudoka?"
"That's right, how do you know?" asked Hyun-jin.
"Kyuudo and Gungdo both employed thumb draw, but with different pressure points," said Yeon-hee, "Plus I noticed a small Japanese accent when you talk, so it's only make sense that you know about skewed bows."
"Yes, yumi is an asymetrical bow, a skewed bow," said Hyun-jin, "that's why I know Nam Bo-young eonnie employed a stance for shooting an asymetrical bow."
"Nice observation, Little Missy," said Yeon-hee nodded, "Hey, we have an introductory class this weekend, would you be there?"
"But, I'm not suppose to get..." said Hyun-jin.
"No, please come, it's an open class," said Yeon-hee, "Everyone is allowed to go there, and I mean everyone."
Hyun-jin looked at Soo-jin, which gave her a little nod.
"Alright, I'll be there," said Hyun-jin.
"Good," said Yeon-hee smiled, "Be there, or be square."
"Ah, speaking of which, look at the time," said Yu-ra, "I think we have to go now, is it okay with you?"
"Sure, we'll see you again," said Yeon-hee.
"Hyun-jin-a, how about you?" asked Soo-jin.
"Yes, my friends has been asking me where I am," said Hyun-jin checking on her phone.
"Alright, then, I'll see you at home," said Soo-jin.
"Yup," said Hyun-jin, "annyeong, Eonnies!"
They then parted ways. Soo-jin continued strolling with Yu-ra and Hye-ri.
"I kinda think about something," said Soo-jin, while munching on an eomuk.
"Let me guess," said Hye-ri, biting a large chunk of kkwabaegi, "About Yoon Ji-soo? You shouldn't keep worry about her."
"Yeah, most of the time, she's just full of hot air," said Yu-ra, sipping on banana milk.
"I don't know," said Soo-jin, "I have a feeling that she's serious on this matter."
"I'll tell you what," said Hye-ri, "If she's doing something to you, we'll help you to fend her off, okay? I'm gonna kick her pretty a** down!"
"Agreed," said Yu-ra.
"Wow, thank you, guys," said Soo-jin.
"Hey, that's what friends are for right?" said Hye-ri.
Hye-ri and Yu-ra then embraced Soo-jin, and they three walked lightly to return to their class.