ᵇˡᵒᵒᵈᵇᵃᵗʰ

002 | madness lies within.

"namjoon, i can't. i'm on a diet!" a handsome young man who looked to be in his early-mid 20's said. bearing a slightly flustered expression, with eyes turned up into crescent moons—this man looked like a living sculpture. his ivory toned skin and soft pink hair made him even more attractive—almost as if he had just walked out of a classical painting. and the idea of him coming from some painting was supported in the modern-prince style he had—wearing a white button up longsleeve, black jeans, and noir combat boots.

"jin it's just one bite, you're not going to die." a worried young man who also looked to be in his early 20's fussed. wearing a mustard yellow button-up shirt paired with dark blue ripped-jeans and checkered shoes, his short blonde hair complimented black eyebrows and strong features. in his hand had been a fork, bearing a slice of his own steak and despite his persistence, the rosette continued to protest.

"how about you all introduce yourselves before desert?" jeongguk piped up from the head of the table. "jimin?" he hummed, with a smile that quickly put the brunette under another trance.

"o-oh sure! hello everybody, m-my name's park jimin! a senior at morningside highschool. it's nice to meet you all!" the brunette smiled, giving a slight head bow before nudging yoongi's side. the ravenette proceeded to rest his chin on his hand, while casting a bored look towards the guests.

"min yoongi. morningside senior."

however as the words left his mouth, chuckles could be heard from the other side of the table.

"more like senior citizen." a silverette lazily chuckled. jimin flinched as he suddenly felt the degree of yoongi's glare hit a point of no return, as the atmosphere around him grew darker. "you've got something to say?" the ravenette growled through clenched teeth.

"c'mon yoongi, learn to take a joke." the referred male grinned. with long dusty gray bangs framing a handsome face, his silver earrings glinted attractively against them. wearing a silky red longsleeve and dark jeans, his looks definitely put him on the rosette's level. "kim taehyung. another senior at morningside high. the party's been great, but too bad there aren't any drinks around."

"i guess that's where i come in! party king jung hoseok here! a sophomore at blue moon college. let's have tons of fun!" an energetic mahogany haired young man beamed. his hair looked freshly dyed, convincing yoongi that this was one bundle of energy he'd prefer to stay away from. jimin was enough as is.

"nice to meet you all, my name is kim seokjin. a senior at blue moon college and rookie model! i'm hoping to pursue modeling as an actual profession in the future. i'm here with my childhood friend, so i hope we'll have a good time in your care." the rosette said, giving a princely smile before bowing.

"and that leaves me. it's good to meet you all, my name is kim namjoon, and i'm a senior at blue moon college. i'd like to thank you jeongguk, for inviting jin and i, it's all been amazing."

"hold the thanks, the grand finale's about to occur! dessert with a small twist." jeongguk clapped, before a line of maids and butlers alike came in bearing delectable cake slices on dewy porcelain plates.

"twist?" yoongi questioned, tilting his head in suspicion.

"everyone except seung-gi can head home, you've all done well." jeongguk orders, leading to nearly all the servants filing out of the now empty mansion. "and have any of you ever heard of the king's game?"

"well, i think i have. on one's birthday everyone is given a slice of a king's cake, and whoever get's the special slice harboring a plastic crown get's to become the king. ultimately, is granted the ability to order the rest to do one thing." namjoon explained, with a raised eyebrow and leveled tone. "though to no one's offense, it's a peasant game."

"it sure is, but doesn't the idea sound intriguing? and i'll have you all know that this game has become a bit of a family tradition." jeongguk chuckled lightheartedly, as slices of red velvet cake were all handed out.

"and what'll birthday boy do if he has the crown?" hoseok teased, pouting as his fork dug through through the cake effortlessly. nothing but cream cheese frosting and buttery goodness.

"why," jeongguk breathed giving his lone butler a hand signal, leading to seung-gi leaving the hall.

"you'll all have to die."

it was as if time froze in that moment, the atmosphere growing excessively thick. tendrils of anxiety curled around the hearts of jeongguk's guests, as they couldn't believe the words that came out of his mouth. "w-what?" jimin hoarsely whispered.

"did you not hear me? sorry, let me be clearer. i said-" however the noirette cut himself off as his fork cut through his own slice with ease.

watching with wavering eyes, hoseok's eyes widened once he noticed jeongguk subtly shake. "hey, are you okay?" seokjin asked, worry evident in his tone. the breathing sculpture was about to rise out of his seat, before namjoon stopped him.

"where is it. why isn't it here. it was supposed to be in my slice, so where is it." the young master continued muttering, while messily picking at his slice. it was at that moment that the butler came back, with a huge black duffle bag at his side. plopping it onto the floor with a considerably loud thud, the room was so quiet that the sound of the bag unzipping was analogous to thunder.

"whoever has the crown must defend it, and kill the rest." jeongguk continued to mumble, his hands reaching up to pull at his hair.

"the game will start once the clock strikes 10, so i suggest you all start running. now." the butler announced to the stunned crowd, glancing over at a large clock adorning the wall.

9:59PM
10:00PM

"i don't care which one of you have it, but you won't get me." jeongguk said, as the chimes of the grand clock echoed throughout the house. yoongi's heart lept up to his throat as he saw the butler hand a gun of all things to the delirious teen. as the noirette stood up, so did namjoon and taehyung, and this set off blaring alarms in the heads of the rest. yoongi unconsciously held an arm out in front of jimin, as his eyes never left the glimmering pistol.

"SO FORM A CIRCLE AROUND MY FINGERTIPS, AND DANCE UNTIL YOU DIE!" the teen maniacally shouted, with an uncharacteristically mad grin cracked upon his porcelain face, before firing his gun.

"NAMJOON!" jin shouted, tears running marathons down his cheeks as his childhood friend took a bullet aimed at him, in the arm. blood gushed from the wound, and he had to bite his tongue at an attempt to hold back any pained screams. "GET DOWN!" taehyung yelled, as he and hoseok flipped the dinner table to serve as some temporary makeshift shield against the mayhem.

all it took was a single bullet, a series of shrieks, and a life threatening game, to signal the start of a terrifying night.

-

i wonder,
who will survive?

(a/n)
from this point on, their lives will be in your hands! there will be three choices at the end of each chapter where you readers will get to vote on what actions these characters should take to either ensure the survival of others, or themselves. be careful though, some choices clash with the personalities of these characters—which could lead into some dire consequences should they be chosen. i recommend you all to refer to the character analysis chapter while making your choices! have fun and remember:
d̶o̸n̴'̸t̵ ̸l̶e̴t̸ ̴h̸i̸m̷ ̴c̷a̶t̷c̵h̵ ̵t̵h̷e̴m̸!̸