Sorry for the very late update. This took longer than I thought it would.
I hope you like it. :)
Ngl I was scared to post this.
..........
"I thought you didnt do love?",
"I thought so too, but you make me feel some type of way that not even being at the edge of my seat with the pleasure of imminent death can make me feel",
"Then I take pride in that, in making you feel more",
"And what about you, you said you weren't for the prospect of love?",
"Temptation seems to spread and you have a way of spreading it, from your sweet voice to you hostile temper, you truly are something else",
"Should I take that as a compliment?",
"Yes", a soft kiss was placed on the strawberry lips. The mirage they face before them so tantalizing and sweet the prospect of freedom, in each others embrace as they watched the sunset, it felt like something they had done ten times over even though it was their first. Soft hands and warm touches the ambiance calm and filled with love. Hongjoong liked it, it was something he wasnt used too but he was sure he could get used too it.
"Yeosang is gonna kill me",
"Why ?",
"Cause I told him once that we were both gonna die single and alone", seonghwa chuckled at the thought of Yeosang and hongjoong making a pact to never fall in love, both if you thought about it deeper yeosang was the first to break it.
"Do you know what's going on between Mingi and yunho ?", seonghwa asked hongjoong leaned his head on the arm wrapped around him.
"Mmm, from the jist of it, yunho seems to want an answer from Mingi but he doesnt know what question yunho is asking so he doesnt know what to answer",
"You couldn't have made it less confusing",
"Do you think Yeosang and Jongho are gonna do okay...for the first torment I mean ?", seonghwa had his worries thought he didnt show it he was worried and filled with dread that something bad was gonna happen. Hongjoong turned and blew a kiss onto the chapped lips,
"It all depends on them, we can only root for them, their the masters of the scene when comes time to play, so we must put our trust in them", seonghwa nodded and untangled his arms from around hongjoong,
"Are you going to tell me more about yourself then ?".
♤♡◇♧D-DAY♧◇♡♤
Gentle hands carded through his hair, the relaxing pull making him lean further into the rebounding touch,
D-day, it sounded so ominous like the beginning of the end.
Jongho looked up, above him the sharp jawline clenched as if he was chewing at something, he was, the soft inner flesh of his gums were shredded his canines and molars practically biting away at the flesh, the iron flavoring disgusting to his tounge, but at least it kept his from biting of his tongue.
Yeosang looked ahead jaw working slowly as he did, the open expanse of basketball court before them showed the rising sun, previously he would have detested coming out so earlier just to watch the meaningless sunrise. But the peaceful silence he and Jongho had while the ball of heat rose was just too perfect to miss.
Fear. It was the thing eating away at his very core, it was the emotion that kept him on his toes, and kept him safe.
But this time he wasnt fearing for himself, no, he feared for the person beneath him, he would never doubt Jongho's mental or physical strength but.....its...its just so hard to explain.
He didnt want the boy to be left hurt, no, not again not to have everyone around you misunderstand you at your every turn not to have everyone shun you like your some broken thing that society didnt need.
Jongho wasn't broken.
Maybe he was....but not Jongho.
'Society is just a bunch of hypocrites with power'
Hongjoong prided himself with those words.
"Stop biting yourself, its gonna bleed",
'Its already bleeding',
"Yeosang",
'How did I get attached to you, jongho..how am I going to protect you ?',
"Yeosang",
'Maybe if I didnt run into to you that day...you wouldn't be in this position...no...I dont regret running into you...I regret dragging you with me when I fell',
"YEOSANG !", yeosang snapped to the male holding his shoulders, eyes wide with fleeting fear eyebrows furrowed with concern.
Yeosang was sure his face looked like if he was deprived of emotions but it was the complete opposite his insides churned so much emotions he had never felt before that it hurt like boiling water.
"Are you here with me ?", yeosang would be a perfect Alice...falling into wonderland.
"I'm here",
"Where did you go sangie ?", jongho asked hands coming cautiously to hold Yeosang's face, said male leaning into the touch instantly, his hands were warm, yeosang would have never guessed that these hands killed they seemed to pure.
"I went to wonderland", yeosang said as he hugged closer the sun was now easing in on their conversation.
"Why wonderland ?", cause it felt like if everything just fell down a rabbit whole shrinkin, enlarging, shaping and teasing.
Then he should he lucky....the queen of hearts wasn't an enemy but the closest ally and maybe..the true Alice in this story.
Tournament 1 : Ring Master
Brief Recap: One teammate is placed in a room blindfolded the other is the master they are able to see and speak to the one in the room, the teammate in the room has three attempts to open the blindfold.
Their body temperature must remain at 20⁰c Reason, in the room are heat guns, specially designed guns which read body temperature, if the body exceeds the set temperature then poisonous gas will be slowly add to the room's ventilation system, it will not begin its effect on the person until after 6 hours.
Given time to get out 8 hours,
The teammate in the room can use any reasonable convention as to maintaining their body heat.
(Their already briefed on this)
Such a mysterious school,
What magic did they pull to have the old school building fully ready for the games ?
The whole building section equally to accommodate the contestants whom applied from their groups for this part of the tournament.
But was it really a mystery ?
-Hall of Requiem
Seonghwa and the other watched in the hall along with the other students monitors where set up each team able to see what was going on in the sectioned rooms.
The hall was silent all studing and watching, like eagles to their prey.
Looking over to hongjoong, his leg was crossed and arms folded eyes fixed to the screen he wasnt visibly tense but seonghwa could tell.
Mingi was practically on the edge of his seat Wooyoung was holding onto San's hand like if his life depended on it, san and yunho looked just like hongjoong nothing visible but the mental whirl wind inside must be eating away at the façade ever so slowly.
Yet looking around..he could count on his fingers how much groups where visibly tense other looked...bored like the lives being put in these rooms of death had zero to no significance to them.
Looking back he focused on the screen, his eyes straining on the monitor showing Jongho and Yeosang.
Two rooms one with a monitor sealed off and sound proof on the inside the other decorated randomly and filled with different objects and aspects, a stark color difference as well.
Jongho looked around at the blueish green light room he was escorted into as he entered the building, the two persons who escorted shaking their heads mumbling something about sadness of youth some nonsense jongho was interested in, the monitor in front of him black as high quality headset dangling carelessly from a hook on the bottom, just hanging there waiting for him. The room was cold and empty aside from the monitor and the sole body idly standing in the middle, it felt like the old isolation cells he was once put in the juvenile detention facility but at least here had light.
Walking closer he put on the head set and watched as the monitor booted to light flashing to the school's crest just before switching seamlessly to a screen with Yeosang.
The room Yeosang was in was....a study ?
Ceiling high shelves filled with books that seemed as old as aged wine dust visibly caking its surface, as well as the surface of everything else, the fireplace was nothing but a black whole in the wall, with fancy brick lining its exterior the desk a cheap knockoff to a grand mahogany desk sat at the end of the room strewn everywhere were files and papers from Jongho's view the room looked pretty much like if someone just picked up and left, but he could see it the even from the thundering orange light he could see things had been shifted multiple times before being rendered to their current position swiping the screen he looked closer at the different angle of the room and Yeosang.
He stood there like a statue black blindfold wrapped around his head, jongho wanted to say he looked beautiful...but the circumstances in which he wore it stopped him, Yeosang's breathing was shallow.
Jongho flinched at the sudden announcement on the PA.
-*THE GAMES SHALL BEGIN IN ONE MINUTE
PLEASE FIND THE HIDDEN CARDS AND PIECE
TOGETHER THE CLUE. THE BLINDED HAVE
THREE TRIES TO TAKE OF THEIR BLINDFOLD,
USE YOUR CHANCES WISELY.
THE GAMES SHALL BEGIN IN
5
4
3
2
1
BEGIN *-
Yeosang's world was black, his senses heightened with loss of a primary he unfolded his arms, tapping on the earpiece in his ears making sure it was on. The room didnt feel warm and from the sound beneath his feet he was most likely stepping on a papers the odd crunching sound a bit drowned due to the earpiece.
"Yeosang hyung can you hear me ?", Jongho's voice sounded small as if he was afraid he might be talking to loud into the mic.
"I can hear you loud and clear, Jongho", yeosang said as he uselessly looked around the most he could do was feel his surroundings but he couldn't quite make some things out, he didnt know how the room looked like for godsake.
Jongho nodded , out of habit, to the screen fingertips tracing the glass as his eyes searched for anything that looked like a clue. The door was locked in three places which meant their was three cards, the first had to have a key, the second a number code and third a object.
"Yeosang can you move three paces to the right there should be a book shelf right beside when you do so",
" 1, 2, 3...the fuck did they clean ?", his hand meet with a thick pile of dust, disgust laced his face.
"I'm here where do I look ?",
"Go down to the last shelf and just pull out the books", jongho wasnt sure but from the amount of detective shows yunho made him sit and watch something had to be hidden behind the book shelf.
"Jongho I'm not feeling anything",
"Nothing ?",
"Just a hard wall, and dust alot of dust, it pretty cold here too",
"Cold air sinks, yeosang hyung, their must be a vent some where close...try another shelf there must be something there", yeosang nodded and started pulling out other books, jongho flipped the screen and looked around , maybe he could see something on the other cameras.
"Ayeee, jongho i think there is something here",
"Dont get to excited your heart rate will go up", jongho zoomed in on where yeosang was focusing on where his hands where to try and make out what he was holding.
A white box ?
"See if you can open it and hold it out at arms length, let me change the camera",
"Your good at this",
"Thank you, hyung, it's a use for a useless skill",
Changing cameras he looked at the box, looked like a normal box to him.
"Throw it on the ground and see if it cracks ",
"How am I supposed to see??",
"Oh geez..hear then",
Yeosang dropped the box with force, a tiny crack appearing on the left side of one of its quarters.
"Its opening pick it up and throw it again", jongho was excited this could be a key.
Five throws later and the box cracked open, a slip of paper inside folded in half.
"Yeosang there is a paper in the box, keep it in your pocket I have an idea",
"Okay, tell if you see something else".
Jongho scrolled through the screens,
-* 2 HOURS HAVE PASSED *-
'Two hours...already...', jongho had froze at the sudden sounding of the PA system.
"Two hours..shit" , yeosang cursed under his breathe.
"Let's speed things up, yeah, jongho ?",
"Yeah lets".
-hall of Requiem
Hongjoong had to take a breather the atmosphere was getting to tense in there, 10 pairs had gotten out so far and the growing tension was beginning to get on everyone's nerves.
"Hongjoong ?", he looked up to the person calling his name.
"Seojoon what are you doing here ?",
"I came to check on you I heard yeosang and Jongho went in for the first game", hongjoong shifted his weight.
"Their in there alright so far they have two, just found the second one, the third might be a bit of a challenge ", hongjoong said grimly, seojoon lended his brother a soft but reassuring grip to his shoulder.
"Hongjoong where are you, hongjoong, hong- Seojoon ?!", and there was seonghwa standing with his mouth open as as he looked at the two brothers standing before him.
"Hongjoong you didnt tell me knew seonghwa, he's the one that helped me that day, remember, I told you didn't I ?", seojoon said as he tapped his brothers shoulder, hongjoong looked between the pair before walking towards seonghwa and closing his mouth, a soft kiss bringing back the shocked male.
"Ooooo I didnt know you too where a thingg~~", seojoon teased,...like if didnt know already but that was a tale for another time.
"He's your brother?", seonghwa asked looking down to hongjoong, hongjoong nodded as he pointed to seojoon.
"My older brother".
- Old school building
"I'm trying okay a this damned blindfold is missing with my sense of direction !",
"Says the person who moved left when told to move right",
"I dare you one more time you bring that up and drag you by your ears",
"Its not my fault you can't tell left from right",
"Why you little-",
-*THREE HOURS HAVE PASSED*-
"What a mood kill",
"So true".
Jongho eased the screen to focus on Yeosang's smiling face, he liked how the others cheeks raised whenever he smiled how they turned round like apples. Yeosang had a gorgeous smile.
But something caught his eyes past that gorgeous smile, a silver of silk.
"Yeosang hyung can you turn right and walk straight until you feel the wall, see if feel anything soft or smooth",
"Did you see something?", yeosang loved carefully each step taken with cautions so he would slip on the scatter paper that crunched beneath his feet.
"It starting to smell funny",
"They must have started turning up the gas levels then, try not to get to happy".
Yeosang felt the wall with his fingers, idly passing them over the fabric of the wall untill it meet with the desired feel, and sure enough he found it now the problem was getting it out.
" I think its stuck ?", tugging harder he could hear the tearing of fabric, propping a foot on the wall he tugged harder.
Jongho was biting his lips, he shouldn't be laughing at Yeosang's struggle he really shouldn't, but gooddamn does Yeosang look like a fool.
"Babe, no, just stop tugging the stupid thing you'll rip out the wall at your rate",
Yeosang paused in his movements his brain registered one word and one word only.
"You called me babe !", the bubbly drunk feeling coursed through his vein, he felt high just from one word.
"Yeosang your heart rates gonna go up stop blushing !!",
"First YOU call babe and expect me not to blush ?!",
Yeosang stepped back rather than talking to wall he stepped back so that he could focus on some odd point in the room hoping that it was a camera to face to face talk to Jongho, but his footing be damned.
Tripping over something almost invisible on the ground he fell on his bottom with a loud thud.
Yeosang howled in pain, it wasnt much but it still hurt.
"Are you okay?", Jongho's wave of concern came crashing through the ear piece.
"I'm fine, just tripped on something", yeosang crawled hands feeling oddly around the paper cover floor for the little bump of what he tripped on. If his consciousness gave hope this could be the last key.
"Found it !",
"REALLY !",
"Not so loud damnit",
"Sorry sorry, make your way to the door five paces forward", yeosang got up key tightly gripped in his hand as he walked to the door.
" you can take off your blindfold",
Yeosang undid the cloth from around his head shaking his head slightly to gets his eyes adjusted to the light.
(A/n: anyone else does that or just me ?)
"Great, let's see, you go here, you go here and here", yeosang placed the silver key into its lock and twisted, the whirring noise of the locks opening and dead bolts coming undone was heard, until finally the door opened with a click.
"How nice", yeosang said as he stepped out stretching his arms and back, he could hear the rejoicing Jongho in his ears,
'Cute'.
Taking off the his headset he ran to the door, eagerness coursing through him, that they finally passed the first tournament.
Reaching the door he pulled it in a hurry but stopped in confusion when the door didnt open.
Pulling harder and he tried to open the door,
"Is it jammed ?", jongho tried harder, anxiety setting in, why wasnt the door opening.
-*YOUR TURN*-
Jongho froze,
"What...this wasn't part of the game !", jongho shouted to the invisible speakers in his room.
"Shit", jongho faced over the headset.
"Yeosang, yeosang can you hear me ?!",
"Jongie what's wrong ?!",
"They fucked with us thats what, I'm locked in, I cant get out !",
"Stay right there I'm coming !",
"Where the hell will I go ?!",
"Dont be sarcastic now !",
Jongho was pacing around the room, the room was bleak so he knew their wasnt any keys for him to look for which meant one of the keys Yeosang has can open the door.
Yeosang was in his own way panicking, cause of two things , one the door all looked the same, two they where nearing the 6 hour mark.
When he means all door look the same, it means their all the same design all the same color and all the same number.
"Hey jongho are you still with me ?",
"Barely",
"I need you to bang on the door, I cant tell which one your in can you do that ?",
"I can try",
Jongho got up from the corner he was in and made his way slowly to the door, the feeling of everything closing in was becoming so much more than he can bare.
Yeosang listened closely, his feet took him to the end of the hall the soft thudding against the hollow iron was loud enough that he could pin point the location.
"Jongho, jongho wake up, WAKE UP !", yeosang shook the boy slowly, having found him passed out by the door nose bleeding slightly wasnt the most comforting thing. He took Jongho in had taken him in his arms and ran, he didnt know where to so he just ran to the only place he felt comfort, the basketball court.
"Wake up~ , you scaring me ", jongho shifted and buried his face in Yeosang's embrace. Yeosang patted the soft hair,
"Let's not do that again...okay",
"We'll never do it again, I promise".
Guilt ate right thorough...he failed to protect Jongho.
(A/n: dont worry that's not the end)
Seonghwa and the other caught up to the sleeping pair after seeing yeosang run out the building with an unconscious Jongho, well they did have to look around the whole grounds before finally reaching the court, yeosang was leaning over Jongho who was curled up on his lap, it looked painfully but it seemed to have not been to Yeosang if he feel asleep that way.
"Thank god their safe !", sighed out Mingi holding a hand over his chest. Wooyoung walked over the check on the pair and helped Yeosang out off his uncomfortable position.
"Hongjoong you think that they had something to do with this ?",
"I'm sure they did", hongjoong was gritting his teeth in anger. He should have seen that coming, everything was going far to smoothly.
"Yunho, san get those two back to the dorm and make sure they get some rest, go ", yunho and san nodded to the command Mingi and Wooyoung giving them a hand to get the tired pair back to the dorm.
"Joong ?", seonghwa called out the male was looking ahead shoulders rising with every breathe.
"Joong ?",
"Seonghwa my family is a mafia", hongjoong said bluntly as he turned around to face the male his face was serious, his eyes were hard.
Taken aback was a understatement, he was sure hongjoong was caught up in something illegal...but he didnt think it was that big..but it was hongjoong so ofcourse it was something big.
"So was what happened today something related ?", seonghwa wasnt going to play surprised even if he was,
"Sharp as ever, my love, yes it was. It's their was of saying their here ".
"But why during the games ?",
"My father is coming home soon, if his heirs die, then everything will go to the eldest of the families, which so happenes to be my stepmothers' younger brother who just so happens to be the adopted son of a allied group, they want war...and they want to have it here, makes things more...delicate", hongjoong said hands gesturing to the school grounds.
"Does the mean you and seojoon...", seonghwa didnt want to finish that question, he dare not.
"He'll play his part, if anything I'll have to leave most of the plans to him, we need to focus on the games, sanhee's still in it...and I have a bad feeling that the alliance with my mother isnt the only one he made".
"So your pretty much going against your step mother and sanhee...do the others know?", seonghwa would feel like a fool if everyone but him knew this.
"Only, you sang, san and yun, I'll leave it up to them to tell their lovers", seonghwa took a good guess and guessed that those three where already part of hongjoong's family mafia business.
Seonghwa came closer to wrap his arms around hongjoong, who was confused to the sudden show of affection.
"You dare die, I'll drag you out from hell and kill you myself", seonghwa said into Hongjoong's shoulder. He huffed in amusement at the tallers
muffled words of threat.
"And what makes you think I'll die so easily?",
"Cause your soft and plushy and biteable",
"You would be surprised ",
"Surprise me then ?".
........
I'm sorry if the main part was boring...cause like idk my writing style isnt really descriptive. So this chapter might have been bland. So my apologies for that and having you wait so long for it.
But on a happier note.
We reached 3 k reads.
I honestly am very honored you guys enjoy reading and for that thank you greatly for giving the book 3k.