Competition Day

                It was the day of the competition, and the media is well prepared for this event. TV stations, magazine and newspaper reporters lined up to cover this event. Since the theme was Hunger Games inspired, the media were on their toes, ready for anything.

                Kevin was in his dressing room, bandaging his fingers. Hoon was next to him and chided “Where are the gloves Dongho made for you?”

                “I’m not wearing them.”

                “And why not?”

                “It’s obstructing.” Kevin replied. “I’ll be fine. Aren’t you supposed to root for Soohyun hyung in the javelin throw event?”

                “Yes, but…”

                “Good. Just go. I’m fine.” Kevin said, pushing Hoon out the door.

                “You sure?” Hoon turned around to ask.

                “I’m sure.” Kevin closed the door as Hoon walked away. Kevin fumbled with his phone and hit the speed dial. A deep voice answered the call, “Hello?”

                “Eli..”

                “Kevin. How are you? Is everything okay? Are you prepared?”

                “I think so. Eli…I’m scared.”

                “Don’t be. Everything will be okay. You are an amazing archer. You know that.”

                Kevin’s dressing room door jilted a little. Someone was outside, and it was Richard. Kevin went, “I have to go.”

                “Take care Kevin. Good luck and I love you.”

                “Your boyfriend?” Richard asked, pointing to the phone. Kevin hung up and stood up from his seat. “Yes, what’s it to you?”

                “He’s not here?”

                Richard laughed at Kevin’s stiff nod. “So sad for you. Your members are busy with other events; your lover is not here. No one is here to root for little Kevin.” Kevin cringed at the nickname Richard used on him in high school.

                “Looks like I have the upper hand here. See you out there, Katniss wannabe.”Richard snickered. Kevin gripped his mockingjay pendant and stuffed it in his shirt. He kicked his chair in frustration. How dare he…

                It was too late to be mad. In a few minutes, the event started. Mr. Applebee played host to the event. It was certainly the most highly publicized event. The media definitely seemed to put their focus on this event. Kevin stepped out and all the photographers started taking their shots. He stood in front of the line. He looked around to check out all his other competitors. Aside from Richard, he didn’t really recognize anyone else.

                “Welcome to the archery event!” Mr. Applebee chorused. Spectators and even media reporters applauded. “This is definitely the most exciting event of the day! Look at this turnout!”

                What a turnout it was indeed. The crowd was definitely the largest Kevin has ever seen. The adrenaline and nerves are definitely creeping up slowly now. Richard is definitely enjoying the spotlight, giving kisses to the crowd and waving like he’s all that.

                “The prize for this event is 250,000 dollars to a charity of your choice!” Kevin’s heart skipped at the amount. 250,000 can buy tons of school supplies for African kids, some mosquito nets to prevent malaria…

                “First up! The moving pig contest!” Mr. Applebee unveiled lots of moving pig boards all with targets on them. “The top 4 with the highest number of knocked down pigs will move to the semi-finals!”

                Out of 6, only 4 will move on? Kevin thought. He stood back and counted the number of pigs. There were 30 of them. The first person hit 10, which was a pretty decent score. The next contestants hit 15, 12, 18 and so on. Then, it was Richard’s turn. Richard hit 24. The crowd went berserk as he started giving kisses to the crowd. It was evident who the crowd favourite was here. 24 is a very high score.

                By the time it was Kevin’s turn, the adrenaline was pumping like mad in his system. He drew his bow and made his shots. Pretty soon, Kevin lost count of his shots and just kept shooting. Time was up and he counted the boards. 22! Yes! I made it!

                “And our semi-finalists are Kevin, Richard, Sarah and Joseph!” Mr. Applebee announced. Kevin waved his hand to the crowd. Richard had already started signing autographs for his fans. That pompous brat.

                The semi-finalists were pitted against each other to decide who would make the finals. The contestants drew lots and Kevin was pitted against Sarah, while Richard was against the other guy Joseph.

                Sarah proved to be not much of a contender as Kevin overtook her score easily. Kevin moved onto the finals, and so did Richard. Now the battle really begins.

                “Each contestant has 3 shots, and the highest scorer wins!” Mr. Applebee said, clarifying the rules and regulations again. Kevin looked down at his fingers. The bandage was giving way and his fingers started bleeding again. Kevin cursed as he rewrapped the bandages. It probably wasn’t gonna last, but he didn’t have a choice.

                Richard took the first shot and scored 7. Kevin took his and scored 8. Then Richard fired his and scored 7 again. Kevin took his and scored 6. Each person had two shots gone, and the score was tied 14-14.

                “Now it’s all up to their last and final shot!” the host said, keeping the crowd enthusiastic. Soohyun, Hoon, Dongho, Aj and Kiseop had finished their individual events and had come to root for Kevin and his final shot. The media was going nuts and the pressure and tension was intense. Kevin was sweating madly, and it looked like Richard was starting to succumb to the pressure as well.

                Richard fired his last shot. “It’s a 9!” Mr. Applebee exclaimed. The crowd cheered and Richard pumped his fist. “Richard could win this competition!” Kevin dropped his jaw. 9? That means I need a 10 to win. I need to hit the bull’s eye.

                Kevin whole body was shivering as he poised for his shot. Millions of thoughts crowded his head. The bowstring was cutting his fingers and causing intense pain. Sweat dripped down his neck. He felt the camera lens go off and eyes watching him intensely. He was going to release…

                He couldn’t. Kevin lowered his bow. The crowd murmured. The other U-Kiss members stared at Kevin. What was he doing? Kevin dropped to the ground, panting heavily. He pulled the mockingjay pendant out of his shirt and the word “Elvin” endlessly. He pictured Eli telling him, “Go for it! You can do it!”. He kissed the bird and rose to his feet again.

                Kevin drew his bow one more time. With a deep breath and his eyes shut, he held in the pain in his fingers as he released the arrow.

                By the time his eyes were open, the arrow had shot the bull’s eye. It didn’t just hit it, the arrow actually penetrated it. The crowd gasped as the arrow pierced the board in its centre. Kevin gasped. It was just like when he hit Aj’s rose. He dropped his bow as he stared at his arrow, the blood dripping down his fingers. The next thing he knew, Mr. Applebee raised Kevin’s arm.

                “Ladies and gentlemen, the winner of the 24^th Olympics for Charity Archery event!”

Next Day

                This year definitely proved to be very fruitful year for U-Kiss. Dongho was the champion again, Aj and Soohyun won in their respective events. Hoon and Kiseop did very well as well. They won 500,000 dollars for charity, and the boys couldn’t feel any happier. The media was all over them, calling them “The Charity Stars.”

                Eli was on his way home from New York. The other members waited in the living room as Kevin went in to his room to change his bandages. Kevin cut his fingers badly and he had to change his bandages very often.

                Eli finally arrived home, and the other boys literally jumped on him. “Eli! You’re home!” The other members hurried to show Eli the amount of money they won. Eli smiled. “I know guys. I saw everything on the papers, internet, tv…”

                “You must be so proud of Kevin huh?” Kiseop nudged.

                “You bet. Where is he?”

                “In his room.” Kiseop pointed.

                Eli tiptoed to Kevin’s room and saw Kevin struggling with the bandages. Kevin lifted his head. His eyes shone when he saw Eli and he lunged at him.

                “Eli!” Kevin wrapped his arms around him and Eli gave him a big bear hug and kiss.

                “I’ll help you with your bandages.” Eli sat on the bed and helped to peel Kevin’s bandages. Kevin tilted his head to look at Eli.

                “Are you mad at me?”

                “A little. For not taking better care of yourself. You should’ve worn Dongho’s glove.”

                “You must think I’m stupid huh? Going through all this to win money.”

                “You?” Eli looked at Kevin. “Never. Richard maybe, because he was stupid enough to go up against you. But you are not stupid.” Eli finished wrapping the fresh bandages and he kissed Kevin’s fingers.

                “That was a very commendable thing of you to do. And I love the way you showed Richard up.” Eli wrapped his arms around Kevin. “You are not as weak as you think you are sometimes, you know. You are just as strong as the rest of us, if not, stronger.”

                “I’m sure I’ve made some kids very happy.” Kevin giggled.

                “You’ve certainly made me happy.” Eli said, kissing Kevin over and over again.

A/N: This is inspired by The Hunger Games, especially the pendant, which I have been very addicted to! This whole thing is a fiction of course, and I don’t own anything but the plot.