Taehyun's magic act was scheduled for the last period of the day. It was the event of the school year. At least that's Taehyun Kang told everyone. He was that weird guy in high school who people tended to avoid. If you had to interact with him, it was strictly out of pity.
Kai Huening was the only person who was genuinely nice to him. He didn't go out of his way to talk to him or anything like that. He simply was the only one who didn't complain when he was partnered up with him for a project. Kai wasn't thrilled about it but he was nice enough to treat Taehyun like a person and not an annoyance. That was three weeks ago.
Taehyun made the magic show free for everyone to attend. Select students and staff members got VIP tickets. Kai and his friend group were some of the people who got one. Yeonjun assumed the only reason VIP tickets were given was so people would actually show up.
And show up they did. The most popular students got VIP tickets. Since the popular kids were going, so did everyone else. Mob mentality. The little theater inside of the school was packed to the brim. Some students even had to sit on the floor.
Kai looked at his ticket and noticed it wasn't with anyone else. His seat was actually backstage. He looked around for a student usher because that had to be a mistake.
Taehyun came out, in a full tuxedo, when he heard there was an issue near the door. He saw Kai talking to a clueless usher. Only he knew why Kai's seat was in the back. This was a special show. All just for him. He walked over to cheerfully greet the most important guest of the night. "Hello Kai! What seems to be the problem?"
"Um. My ticket says my seat is backstage. I was just confused because no one else seems to be sitting back there." Kai pointed towards his friends who were already seated. They looked just as confused as him.
Taehyun cunningly smiled. "I assure you it's not a mistake. I gave you the best seat in the house actually. Follow me!"
Kai really didn't want to follow but Taehyun had already walked away from him. When passing the stage, he looked around and noticed there wasn't any crew in the back. Just a large control pannel that seemed to be automated. He wondered when the school got the money to afford that.
Upon arriving at his seat, he noticed his chair was actually a small leather recliner. A 42 inch flat screen was set in front of it. A mini fridge rested on the side. It was filled with little beverages and snacks. "Wow. This is impressive! You really didn't have to do this for me."
"Of course I did. The show starts in five minutes. I have to go. Please relax and enjoy!"
Kai settled into the chair after grabbing a bottle of coke zero. He sent a selfie of himself to his friends as a humble brag. Beomgyu was jealous. Soobin sent a selfie of their group as a response. Kai began to feel lonely but he could handle an hour by himself.
The lights began to dim. The murmurs of the crowd died down. Everyone was too busy chatting to hear the doors being locked. Everyone but Kai. He felt uneasy in his seat. Something was wrong. Before he got up, the TV turned on. The front of the stage was perfectly aligned with the camera. Kai really did have the best seat in the house.
Yeonjun turned to his right when the stage lights reflected something shiny. He saw a gun. Not just one gun. Several. Each were held by other kids who weren't very popular in the school. He repeatedly poked Beomgyu on his shoulder until he got his boyfriend's attention.
Beomgyu slapped his hand away. "What?!" He looked in the direction that Yeonjun pointed in. It didn't take long for other people to notice what they did. He scrambled to call Kai while everyone was screaming in their seats. "KAI?! KAI ARE YOU OKAY?!"
"Why are you yelling?!" Kai paused to hear people screaming. "Beomgyu what's going on?!" He saw the flash of gunshots on the television as it rung in his ear. Kai couldn't see anything going on out there. The TV only reflected the stage. "BEOMGYU?! ARE YOU OKAY?!"
"OH MY GOD! KAI HELP!" Beomgyu watched the shooters kill everyone who tried to escape. Yeonjun was clinging onto him for dear life. Soobin got up with the intention of going to Kai. Beomgyu pulled him back down before he got shot. "Kai?! Kai where are you?!"
"I'm back here! Is Yeonjun and Soobin okay?!"
"They're fine! We're going to die! They're shooting everyone who gets out of their seat!"
Soobin felt instant wetness on the back of his neck as the person behind him got shot. He started to cry while dialing for his parents. Others were contacting the police. They were trapped. "Mom? Dad? I love you guys so much! I'm sorry I haven't been the perfect son! I'm sorry I take you guys for granted! I don't want to die!"
One of the shooters took the stage. Kai now saw visual proof of what he had been hearing. His call with Beomgyu ended when his finger slipped out of shock.
The shooter commanded "YOU WILL NOW BE SILENT FOR THE GREAT TAEYHYUN KANG! ANYONE INTERRUPTING THE SHOW WILL BE SHOT. ANY QUESTIONS?!"
A teacher cried "WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS?!" Kai watched the guy shoot her down.
The shooter taunted "ANY OTHER QUESTIONS?!"
No one dared to make a noise. A couple cellphones went off. The shooters on the sides of the aisles began to fire into those directions. They didn't care who they hit. Everyone's phones went silent afterwards. Everyone's but Kais', who continued to sit frozen in his chair. As far as he could tell, he was safe backstage. No one even knocked on the door to see if he was there. It was like he was invisible.
Soobin, Beomgyu and Yeonjun heard the footsteps of a heavy police force outside. Their attention went back to the stage when Taehyun stepped into the spotlight. He straightened his red bowtie out then faced the camera. "Ah. I see the last members of our audience have finally arrived. I should warn you though. Step one foot into this room and they have my permission to gun down everyone before they die." The small TV outside showed the police the same footage Kai was seeing.
The camera panned to the audience. Kai saw all of the blood on the walls. Not everyone who was shot was dead. A girl in the front row was trying to hold back her screams from the bullet in her leg. The camera panned at the audience once more. Kai saw his friends uninjured towards the front. That gave him the smallest amount of emotional relief.
Beomgyu quiverred in his chair. He was trying to be strong for Yeonjun but the machine guns to his side were making that difficult.
Soobin's eyes kept darting around looking for an exit. They were all blocked from his vantage point. Kai was always his safe space in stressful situations. Now they were seperated when he needed him most.
Taehyun started his show off with a slow bow. The smile drawn on his lips looked like it was from the devil himself. "Thank you so much for coming tonight. I'm sure some of you were wondering why the VIP tickets were split into sections."
Absolutely no one was wondering that right now. They were only focused on whether they were going to live or not.
Taehyun continued the show by walking back and forth across the stage. His cape floated behind him in his steps. "Let's just say some of the sections will live. The others will die. That includes the staff as well. All you guys had to do was treat your fellow classmates with respect. To those who were bullies, and you certainly know who you are, you will die tonight."
Some who knew for sure they were destined to die, started screaming for their lives. They were shot. A few of the jocks tried to fight back but they weren't faster than a bullet.
Once the commotion died down, Taehyun continued his speech. He looked straight into the camera to talk to his person of interest. "There is only one person who is on the safety list. You know who you are. You're the only one who we all agreed deserved to live. Everyone else could be shot at a moments notice but not you Kai. So enjoy the show! You do have the best seat in the house!"
Kai cringed into his seat. The promise of safety was a lie as bonds busted out from the arms of his chair. He found himself tightly strapped to it by the torso. His arms were free. He tried ripping the restraints off but it wasn't of any use.
The camera panned to his friends and then back to Taehyun. He pulled out a large top hat and a wand from thin air. The top hat was elegantly tossed onto his head. He then twirled the wand in the air and produced a rabbit. The rabbit sat comfortably in his arms while Taehyun locked eyes with the audience. His wand turned into a knife. The knife slit the rabbit's throat. Blood was pouring onto his dress pants while staining his shoes. Some people screamed. They were shot. The red stained carcass was tossed to the side. Taehyun did a ballet twirl then faced the camera once more. "That was my opening sequence. Now, the real show starts."