Lily took Lisa's left hand and Sunny took her right, forming a solid, wall-like line of three. A powerful, supportive atmosphere surged between them, and Lisa suddenly felt energized. They exchanged a determined glance.
"We are girls of iron!" they declared in unison, clasping their hands together to show their unity.
Addy cheered loudly for them, clapping his hands high above his head. Ketto joined in with heavy, enthusiastic claps, too. Seeing their solidarity, Joe nodded affirmatively. "Good luck, girls."
Lily turned to look at him, her confidence matching his doubt. "Of course we will," she replied firmly. Sunny simply offered a gentle, reassuring smile.
Lisa handed the first dart to Lily. Lily patted her own chest, psyching herself up. "I can do this," she said. She looked up at the sky for a moment, adjusted her stance and angle, and focused intensely on the target. When she felt ready, she released the dart. It shot through the air quickly, but unfortunately, it veered off course and fell short of the board.
"Ugh, that's so hard!" she exclaimed, her face flushing with embarrassment and disappointment.
"Don't worry. We have many more chances," Lisa reassured her.
Sunny stepped forward, ready for her turn. "Now, look at me."
"Come on, you can do it!" Addy encouraged her from the sidelines.
Then it was Sunny's turn. She stepped forward, her heart filled with uncertainty and doubt. She wasn't sure she could succeed. Lisa gave her an encouraging pat on the back and Lily told her not to worry, to just give it a try and that the result wasn't important.
Sunny looked toward the balloons, took aim, and threw the dart. Miraculously, it found its mark. A sharp pop echoed as one of the balloons burst.
Everyone's eyes widened in disbelief—even Sunny herself was stunned by what had just happened. She was as stunned as the rest.
"You're so good! Well done! That was amazing!" Lisa praised.
"Wow, I'm impressed! Share your secret—how did you do that?" Lily added.
Sunny felt awkward and didn't know what to say. She just smiled shyly. "I just threw it randomly. I wasn't even looking at the target. With a whole wall of balloons, I figured I had to hit one eventually. That's all. But it really is strange and unbelievable!"
"You did wonderfully," Lisa reassured her.
"Oh my God! Oh my god!" Joe screamed, his voice rising with each exclamation. From his perspective, what had just happened was impossible and unbelievable. He scrubbed his eyes with his fists as if to clear them, but the confirmation was undeniable—Sunny had popped the balloon.
After a moment of stunned silence, Joe finally turned to the others and dismissed the feat with a wave of his hand. "That was just a fluke. You know how it is—there's always a lucky shot in these games."
"Oh, shut up," Lily retorted. "You're just jealous. If you can't accept the truth, why don't you take the challenge yourself? I'd love to see how many balloons you can pop."
Joe merely smiled a cold, dismissive smile. "Don't try to provoke me. I'm not an easily baited little chick."
"Don't take it personally. He's acting mean and strange today. I don't know if we offended him or what, but he's acting so sour," Lisa said.
Lily replied, "Maybe he just doesn't respect women. I suspect he's a bit of a male chauvinist."
"Really? I wonder what his problem is," said Sunny.
The owner suddenly cut into their conversation. "What are you doing? Do you want to continue your game or not?"
"We'll be quick. No need to rush us," Lily answered.
Then it was Lisa's turn. She clenched the dart tightly and decided to follow Sunny's method, throwing it randomly just as she had. However, no miracle occurred this time. The dart simply fell to the ground, and no balloon burst.
A silence fell over the group. Lisa sighed in defeat. "Okay, I give up. This game isn't my type. It just doesn't suit me."
"Haha, you finally admit it! If you had listened to me earlier, we would have saved a lot of time," Joe said, feeling smug.
Lisa shot him a quick, sharp glare. But Joe didn't seem to be stopping anytime soon. "I warned you multiple times, yet you never listened. That's on you, so don't blame me."
Lisa clenched her fists, her eyes sharp and blazing with anger. She couldn't wait to punch him. She stormed toward Joe at a quick pace.
"I'll kill you, you jerk!" she yelled, breaking into a jog.
Joe saw her coming and immediately ran away.
"I'm done with this game!" Lisa shouted after him. "But I'm going to make you regret this! Let me teach you how to be a decent person!"
She finished her sentence and sprinted after him, trying to grab him.
With fierce determination, Lisa ran after Joe, chasing him in several frantic laps around the event site.
"If you're so brave, don't run! Stop and let's settle this right here!" Lisa yelled as she ran.
Joe kept going, glancing over his shoulder. "I'm not stopping! I don't fight women, and everyone knows women are crazy. You can't trick me. I won't fall for your lies!" As he finished speaking, he pulled an ugly, taunting face to further provoke her.
This only made Lisa more furious. "You're a total son of a bitch! I'm going to catch you and grind you into the dirt!" she exclaimed, her anger boiling over.
No one else moved to stop the quarrel. Only Ketto tried to mediate, pleading with them several times to stop. Unfortunately, no one listened to him, so he finally just let them be. After all, every story must end somehow, whether happily or not.
The other passengers watched as Joe and Lisa chased each other. Perhaps they thought it was childish, but that was the essence of youth.
Meanwhile, Addy called over to Ketto. "Hey, bro, why don't you give it a try?"
Ketto turned his head. "What? Try what?"
Addy pointed at the board full of balloons. "This game! Don't you think it's worth a shot?" he said with an encouraging smile.
"No, I'm not good at this sort of thing," Ketto refused firmly. "If I try, people will laugh at me. Trust me, I have no talent for sports-related games." He never wanted to embarrass himself in public.
But Addy was persistent. "Come on, bro, just give it a try!" Ignoring Ketto's protests, Addy called out to the owner, "Mr. Owner, give this guy ten darts!"
"Hey! I told you I'm bad at this!" Ketto felt a flash of anger.
There was no time to refuse anymore. Before he knew it, he was pushed into the shooting area. He stared at the board, his mind going completely blank. He wanted to escape, but it was impossible; his friends were standing around him like a solid wall. Running away now would only make him more of a laughingstock.
He gave up on the idea of escaping and clenched the dart tightly. In that moment, he hated Addy for putting him in such an awkward situation.
Ketto was deeply reluctant, but he knew he didn't have any other options. He told himself he would just try it once and then leave. "No one will even remember me," he thought. Even if he did terribly, it wouldn't matter. After all, Lisa and the other two girls hadn't done well either. He was sure he could do better than them, at least. With this thought, he began to feel a little more comfortable and less nervous.
He tried to mimic Addy's professional stance, but every movement felt strange and unnatural—as awkward as a baby bird trying to fly. His body was stiff, and though he tried to relax, he couldn't.
Finally, he took a deep breath, squinted at the target, and released the dart. Much to his embarrassment, the dart fell pathetically to the ground without even making it halfway to the board.
Ketto hadn't noticed that Hanky was also there, watching. He stared at the dart on the ground, overwhelmed by embarrassment and shame.
Hanky's voice cut through the air. "So brave," he said, his tone dripping with mockery. "Incredibly brave. Nobody else would dare be that bad."
Ketto spun around. Seeing Hanky felt like a punch to the stomach. This is it. This will be all over the school by Monday," he thought, his heart sinking. He instantly regretted letting Addy push him into this. He knew he was terrible at these games, yet he had tried anyway.
Addy tried to encourage him. "Go on, you're doing fine. Don't overthink it."
Ketto murmured under his breath, his voice a tight whisper: "Shut up. Thanks to you, I'm the biggest clown here. Everyone thinks I'm a fool. And now you want me to do it again?"
He sighed inwardly, his thoughts racing. And now Hanky saw the whole thing. He's definitely going to tell everyone. He's been waiting for revenge ever since I told the homeroom teacher about them gossiping against the wall."
The thought of the potential fallout made Kettle anxious. He stole a desperate glance at Hanky, silently pleading for him to disappear. But Hanky had no intention of leaving.
"Just drop dead and disappear," Kettle cursed inwardly.
"Hey, are you done yet?" Hanky called out abruptly and loudly, his voice cutting through the air. "We're waiting in line, too. Some of us actually want to play. Hurry up!"
Irritated by the delay, the stall owner chimed in. "Yeah, kid, make it quick. There's a line forming."
A hot wave of anger washed over Ketto. He knew Hanky was just stirring up trouble to humiliate him further in front of everyone.
Ketto had no choice but to raise the dart. He stared at the wall of balloons, disappointment washing over him. He wanted to quit.
"I don't want to continue," he called out to the booth owner, who happily agreed.
But Addy stepped in. "Don't give up," he urged. "You can do this."
Ketto looked back, his resolve firm. "No, I've lost my patience and my confidence."
Addy stepped forward, ready to show Ketto how to aim and shoot. However, the booth owner made his reluctance clear with a low grumble.
Ketto noticed the owner's displeasure and gently motioned for Addy to step back. But Addy paid no attention. He stood his ground, determined to finish his impromptu lesson.
This was the last straw for the owner. "You only paid for ten darts," he said sharply. "You can't spend all day using them."
Kettle insisted, and Addy finally stepped back. Turning to the owner, Ketto said, "Don't rush me. I'll finish quickly."
The owner muttered, "Ever since you all showed up, it's been one strange day after another. You and your friends have wasted too much of my time. Don't you get it? Hmph."
Ketto glared back, his frustration boiling over. "Excuse me? We are the customers. How dare you speak to us so rudely? Your attitude is terrible." He continued, "If you think we're wasting your time, why did you take our business? Why did you want our money?"
The owner flushed red but didn't back down. Instead, he stepped forward, snatched the remaining darts from Ketto's hand, and shoved them toward the counter. "Go," he said loudly, shooing Ketto away with a dismissive wave and a contemptuous glare. "Just leave."
He looked down at Ketto with open disregard. Humiliated and furious, Ketto stood frozen.
Suddenly, Hanky stepped out from the crowd. He moved quickly and snatched the darts back from the owner's hand. Pointing at Ketto, he scolded the booth owner in a firm voice. "He is your customer. You will show him respect. If you behave like this again, I won't let it slide."
As he finished speaking, he clenched his fist, his eyes blazing with sudden protectiveness.
The owner grew visibly worried and nervous as he watched Hanky's fist tighten. However, he only raised his voice in defiance. "I'm closing up now. The game is over for today." With that, he made a sweeping gesture, shooing everyone away.
But Hanky wasn't about to let it end like that. He snatched the remaining darts back from the owner and turned to Ketto. "Don't worry," he said firmly. "Just finish what you started." He shot another sharp look at the owner. "You're the merchant here. Follow your own rules."
The owner shook his head helplessly and finally relented. "Fine, fine. You win. Go ahead, then."
Ketto looked back at Hanky. "Hanky, honestly, I don't want to keep playing. This game isn't for me."
Hanky offered a steady smile. "A real man doesn't say 'I can't.' Be brave and don't show the face of a coward."