I sit alone at a bus stop, waiting patiently for the last bus of the night to come. I can't wait to go home after a long day of work. It's a warm night; the stars clearly shinning through the cloudless sky. I sigh, enjoying the serenity of the night. My short brown hair lifts in a gentle breeze. My button up feels tighter around my chest than I remember it being, and I assume it's from all the working out I've been doing. Crickets chirp behind me, and I feel at ease with the world.
A man catches my attention as he slowly walks towards the bus stop. He stops and sits on the bench beside me. He's dressed in a black business suit. He's a handsome man, probably in his early forties. He seems rich, unlike myself. I wonder why he's waiting for the bus and not driving himself.
"Alone tonight by choice?" He starts up a conversation. I turn to look at him.
"Just alone." I respond. He nods, pulling a cigarette pack from his pocket. He offers me one, but I decline. He lights it, taking a drag before blowing out a puff of smoke.
"What, no friends or anything?" He asks. I laugh, shaking my head. Most of my close family either hates me or is dead. My friends have become the same. He smiles. "I have no friends either. I do what I can to keep myself occupied." He nods, leaning forward.
"You know, I've been watching you, Kim NamJoon." He says. My heart stops. I've never met him before; how does he know my name? "I know a lot about you. Your age, your personality type. I've chosen you, NamJoon, and because of this you will be all the wiser." He smiles at me. A sharp pain stabs the back of my head, and I fall into a deep darkness.
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I come to in a chair, my arms and legs strapped down tightly. My mind is groggy as I slowly wake up. I blink my vision clear, realizing I am sitting in a circle with six other boys. They are all awake, staring at the floor. It's too dark to see beyond where each person is sitting. We each wear a different colored, striped shirt. Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Purple, Pink. It's like a rainbow. I can't help but notice we are all different sizes. I moan, a throbbing in my head making it hard to focus. Someone in the circle cries. My mind offers a memory; an article I read once about human trafficking. The thought scares me.
"Good morning, my youthful contestants." A voice speaks. It seems to come from all around the chilled room. "I'm eager to begin the contest, but first we must understand the rules of the game. You have probably already noticed the colors of your shirts. This is significant, and determines whether you get an upper hand. Each color is presented to a contestant based on their psychological and physical attributes. The supplies given to you throughout this contest are based strictly on your colors. Do not forget that. Let's begin our introductions shall we?"
"Red, Park JiMin." The lights single onto one boy. He blinks slowly. He seems nicely built and athletic. His brown hair parts in the middle. "Red is passion and anger. Red in previous years has survived the longest." The boy, JiMin, smirks to himself. The light shuts off, switching to another person. This boy seems a lot more intimidated than the first.
"Orange, Kim SeokJin." The brunette boy glances around himself. He doesn't cry, but looks close to it. "Orange is social, and successful. Orange has won once."
"Yellow, Jeon JungKook." The boy stares down at the floor, his face partially hidden by his dirty brown hair." Yellow is cheerful and deceptive. Yellow is hazardous. Yellow has never won, but has never lost, either."
"Green, Kim NamJoon." The light shines onto me. I can't see the other boys, but I can feel their eyes. I blink, scared of what may grab me behind the light. "Green is nature. Safety and healing. Green has never won."
"Blue, Kim TaeHyung." The light shines onto a boy with big glasses who smiles awkwardly at the full attention. His hair is tipped with green, reminding me of sea foam. Fitting. "Blue is calm water. Technology and sleep. Blue has never won."
"Purple, Jung HoSeok." This boy sits calmly. He doesn't seem nervous in the slightest. His jaw is clenched tightly. "Purple is creative and powerful. Purple has never won."
"Pink, Min YoonGi." This boy is much different. Tears stream down his face as he looks around into the darkness. The sounds of his sniffles travel through the crisp air to me. "Pink is femininity. Pink is gentle and emotional. Pink has never made it farther than the first round." The blonde boy cries, shaking his head at the news.
"Now that you have been introduced, allow me to demonstrate the rules. Rule one: you are given supplies based on your color every five days. You are only to use supplies with your color on it. Anyone caught using supplies bearing the incorrect color will be terminated from the contest. Rule two: you are given one item you must use within the day of supply delivery. Failure to use this item results in your termination from the game. Rule three:
survive. This contest is a difficult task. Your objective is to survive by any means. Rule four: you cannot leave the boundaries of the contest. This will result in your termination from the game. The boundaries are set so there is a three mile circle for you all to begin. With each round, the circle becomes smaller. Rule five: there is only one winner. Only one person makes it out of this contest alive."
"That's all there is to it." The voice says with a laugh. "Just a simple survival game. Simple. The only danger is losing your life, but even then it's not so bad once you begin. You'll discover parts of yourself you never even knew existed. You will become wise to the world. Wise to yourself, and your innermost feelings. This concludes our opening ceremony. Tomorrow you will wake up in the contest, so be ready." The lights shut off, washing a deafening darkness over us. I already feel drowsy again. I blink heavily, beginning to fall asleep again.
"Oh, one more thing. Remember: when you wake, everything is a lie."
