Ji-hyun pushed away the lingering thoughts of the anonymous caller as she entered the training center. Tonight, she was here for one thing—to improve. She had already mastered basic shooting, but that wasn’t enough.
She needed to be faster, sharper, deadlier. As she stepped onto the range, she took a deep breath, steadying herself. The instructor, Joon, gave her a nod of acknowledgment.
"Ready?" he asked, handing her a Glock 19.
Ji-hyun took it without hesitation, checking the weight, the magazine, the slide. A week ago, this had all been foreign to her. Now, it was second nature.
Joon smirked. “We’re upping the difficulty today. Moving targets.”
She nodded. “I’m ready.”
The other trainees lined up beside her, their expressions tense with focus. A buzzer sounded, and the first targets popped up.
Ji-hyun’s arm shot up instantly.
She squeezed the trigger—bullseye. Another target appeared—bullseye.
One after another, she fired, each shot clean, precise, lethal. Joon watched her, arms crossed, eyebrows raised. Most of the other trainees struggled. Some missed. Others hesitated.
Not Ji-hyun.
Her shots were unwavering.
But then, the real test began.
The next wave of targets moved randomly, weaving between unarmed civilians. Joon’s voice boomed from across the range:
“Shoot only the marked targets! Leave the unarmed ones alone!”
The challenge was clear.
Hit only the armed ones while maneuvering through chaos. Tension thickened in the air.
The trainees adjusted their stances, guns at the ready. Ji-hyun exhaled, gripping her pistol tightly.
This is what Soo-ah faced.
The buzzer blared, and the targets sprang to life.
Gunfire erupted around her.
She moved swiftly, her eyes locking onto her marks.
One. Bang—headshot.
Two. Bang—headshot.
The speed increased, but Ji-hyun’s mind was laser-focused. She twisted, ducked, repositioned, every shot landing perfectly.
She didn’t hesitate.
Didn’t flinch.
Each target in her crosshairs became the people who made her sister suffer.
Bang.
Bang.
Bang.
She didn’t stop until every armed target was down.
Silence fell over the range.
Ji-hyun lowered her gun, panting slightly.
Then—clapping.
Loud, resounding applause filled the room. Ji-hyun blinked, startled.
What… had she done?
Joon strode toward her, his heavy hand landing on her shoulder.
"Are you sure you’re not in the military?" he asked, his voice half amused, half suspicious.
Ji-hyun frowned, confused. Joon turned her around, pointing to the range.
YOU ARE READING
The Algorithm Of Deceit
Short StoryJi-hyun had spent years burying the past, drowning herself in lines of codes and endless data streams. As a data engineer, she believed in logic, in patterns, in things that made sense. But nothing about her twin sister's death did. Three years had...
