"Shownu-hyung? Why the hell are you here?"
Kihyun looked really confused, but Shownu wasn't ready to answer that question, not in front of everyone.
"Ha! I knew you guys knew each other!" Minhyuk pointed out excitedly, before Changkyun could stop him.
"Shut up, whoever you are." Kihyun closed his eyes and breathed in, hands clenched into fists, clearly annoyed with Minhyuk. He felt the headache slowly seeping back in. "It's none of your business." Kihyun's stern voice seemed to have worked effectively, as Minhyuk's smile faded away immediately and even backed away. A smart move in Shownu's opinion.
"Why are you here." Kihyun repeated, voice devoid of emotion. It didn't even sound like a question, as if he refused to put any effort into making one.
Shownu stood in front of his ex-boyfriend, still equally attracted by Kihyun's good looks as he had less than a year ago, before they broke up. He was surprised at the hair color change, but the peach, orangey color just made everything look better. Shownu didn't know what to say, still aware of the eyes looking at them. So for now he just allowed himself to admire the beautiful person in front of him, cherishing every moment he had. To Shownu, it seemed hardly a coincidence that Kihyun happened to be the chosen contestant, but now, just for now, he was willing to take this as a miracle, as pure luck.
"Answer my fucking question." Kihyun said, this time anger and annoyance apparent in those words. Even though he had been the one who decided to break up, Shownu couldn't help but to feel hurt by those words. Kihyun was never this mean to him.
Suddenly, the speakers were turned on and Smiley started talking, timing in favor to Shownu.
"Ok! I hope you guys are ready, because I certainly am! Move to the next room please, for the next game! Oh and by the way, our new contestant gets a point too. Don't worry, I'm sure you can catch up!" Kihyun groaned and rolled his eyes, rubbing his temples furiously, trying to fight away his headache but to no avail.
A door nearby flung open and startled Jooheon, who was standing the closest to it. Jooheon flushed in embarrassment when he heard Changkyun laugh, having seen Jooheon's scared reaction. "Hey, who are you laughing at?" Jooheon acted angry, but that just made Changkyun laugh even harder.
Shownu saw their amused faces, which were contrasting with his own distressed one. Suddenly he wished he were a young kid too. He thought it'd be easier to smile, with nothing to worry about. While the others walk through the door, Shownu stayed in his place. Kihyun didn't have to say anything for him to know they would be staying here for a while. He hoped it was just to solve some problems.
Hyungwon was the last to leave, but instead of walking towards the door he went to Kihyun and whispered something to his ear. Shownu saw his lips move like a muted video.
Hyungwon closed the door behind him, leaving Shownu and Kihyun alone.
"Uh..." Shownu decided quickly that it would be best to answer Kihyun's question. "I'm also a contestant. That's why I'm here. Hyungwon, the one who whispered to you just now, he invited me to play. We met just this morning." Shownu wasn't sure what was the point of the last part; he was just trying to add as much relevant information as possible. For some reason he thought saying more will somehow stop Kihyun from asking more questions.
For a moment Kihyun just stared at Shownu without saying anything. Those dark brown orbs were doing crazy things to Shownu's mind, but at the same time something in those eyes forced him to stare back. He couldn't look away even if he wanted to.
Shownu thought, hoped, that Kihyun's silence meant that he was satisfied with the answer. "Um, so can we-"
"You brought me here." Kihyun interrupted coldly. Again, his words were emotionless. Shownu's heart dropped. He'd rather Kihyun get angry and shout at him, because that would at least mean Kihyun cared enough to put some effort to express his feelings. Now it was like Shownu didn't deserve to know Kihyun's feelings at all. As if Kihyun didn't care. As if Shownu wasn't worth it.
As if Shownu was nothing to him.
Just answer him Shownu, he has the right to be like that. You were cold to him. You dumped him. You broke his heart.
"It wasn't all me. I convinced them to let you play." Shownu knew he deserved this cold treatment, but the more he thought about it the more he realized how stupid he was to break up with Kihyun. The more he realized he was just impulsive, that he didn't think properly before acting. The more he realized how much he liked Kihyun still.
"Why?" Kihyun said quietly. It barely sounded like a word, like he had to force it out his mouth.
Shownu raised his eyebrows, struggling to comprehend. What didn't Kihyun understand? It occurred to Shownu that maybe Kihyun wasn't aware of Smiley being a psychopath. He had to be considerate, because the last thing they needed was another person getting angry and irritated.
"Maybe you didn't know Kihyun, but Smiley, the person in the speakers, is crazy." Shownu didn't even care if he was scaring Kihyun, he was too tired to think of another way to explain. The truth seemed to be the easiest. "He told us that he would do something bad to you if we don't invite you to play. I was protecting you."
"What? What are you - ah shit..." Kihyun's hands flew up to his head and bent down, body curling up in pain. Shownu clenched his fists until his nails dug into his palms, rolling his toes inside his shoes, willing himself not to go over and help. He knew he wouldn't be able to control himself if he did.
But he couldn't help it, the voice in his mind told himself it was what everyone else would and should do, so he asked, "Are you ok?" Immediately afterwards his guilty conscience kicked in, telling himself things he'd rather not hear.
What do you think, Shownu? Kihyun is literally on the floor because of the immense pain in his head. Do you think he's ok? He was already confused enough that he was brought here against his will, and now he has to deal with the person that broke his heart.
Do you think he's ok?
He felt bad. Really bad. Nothing could change the fact that he was the main reason Kihyun was right in front of him in the first place. He should probably apologize, immediately, but he had no idea where and how to start. He didn't know how to show the remorse growing inside his heart.
Kihyun recovered a bit and let out a bitter chuckle. "Fuck, Shownu-hyung, are you that stupid? I think even a blind person would know I'm not ok." Shownu opened his mouth to say sorry, but Kihyun didn't let him.
"You know what hyung?" Kihyun stood up, but looked away to the side. "I was at home scrolling through the selfies we took, before I came here. I had a headache, it hurt a lot. And all of a sudden, I started crying. Maybe my head hurt too much. I don't know." Kihyun let out another mirthless laugh. "I don't even know why I'm tell you this. Do you know?"
Shownu knew. Because you still like me, and you want me to know. I'm sorry for breaking up. I still like you too, I really do. Shownu felt his heart breaking apart hearing Kihyun's words. He wanted to make things better by saying what he thought. But what was the point? It wasn't that easy. Shownu knew that, because if it were that easy, all the couples in the world would have a happy ending.
Besides, it wasn't the time to say those things. To Shownu, it didn't seem like the correct time to say anything at all.
"Are you seriously not going to say anything?" Kihyun turned back and looked at Shownu. But even then they weren't looking at each other's eyes. "God, why are you always so quiet?" Shownu wasn't sure why Kihyun said that; maybe it was easier than to cope with silence. But that didn't help with his confusion. He still has no idea what to say.
Kihyun must have realized it, because he started to talk again. "Ok you know what, I'm just going to be straightforward." Kihyun stopped, inhaled deeply, and looked down to the floor. Shownu swore he heard sniffs; it was like someone stabbed his heart. He saw Kihyun's figure going up and down, it was obvious that Kihyun was fighting back tears. Kihyun must've had trouble talking, because he stayed silent for what seemed like eternity. The worse thing is, Shownu didn't know whether to say something to break the silence. Apologize maybe. Would that be a good idea? Shownu didn't know. He never seemed to know. When to say and what to say. He was awkward like that.
Finally Shownu heard Kihyun say, barely a whisper, "Hyung...it hurts. It hurts so much, you know?" Shownu almost missed the words, but after hearing it he'd rather go deaf.
Yes, I know. But I had no choice. "I'm sorry, I truly am sorry." Shownu could go on explaining, but he knew it wouldn't make a difference. Nothing made a difference since the moment they broke up.
"Really? Then tell me, why did you bring me here?" Shownu frowned, wondering why Kihyun asked that question again.
"I told you, because Smiley was going to-"
"Cut that bullshit." What had intended to sound angry came out weak and powerless. The outburst startled Shownu, but he was more angry than hurt.
"Why would you say that?" Shownu tried to sound offended, because that was the only other option. It's either anger or sadness, and Shownu refused to get into a fight, so the second option had its appeal.
"Why would I say that? Why? Are you kidding me?" He tried to push it down, conceal it, but Shownu felt his anger growing. He didn't have the resources to deal with Kihyun's hysterical behavior. Shownu didn't understand how Kihyun could turn from sad to angry so quickly. Everything seemed ridiculous and out of hand.
Kihyun looked up, eyes slightly red. So he was crying. Shownu felt nothing when he saw the swollen eyes. "Sure, maybe someone will hurt me if you'd let me stay at home, but I know that isn't the only reason okay?" Shownu had no idea what Kihyun was saying. It made no sense to him. He had no choice but to keep listening. "You said you were sorry. You said you were sorry, didn't you? Then tell me, if you are sorry, tell me why the hell did you agree to bring me here? You knew it was going to be me, so why did you agree? Fuck, you're driving me crazy, just tell me!"
That was it; Shownu couldn't take this anymore.
"I'm driving you crazy?" He pointed to himself and walked closer to Kihyun. "So you're telling me I'm the one blurting out nonsense and expecting someone else to understand. I was just trying to protect you! I even apologized, but now I don't even know what I apologized for anymore! What the fuck do you want?" Shownu instantly hated himself for shouting, but he couldn't keep it in anymore. It wasn't his fault that Kihyun was put into danger and the only way to save him was to bring him here. It wasn't his fault that bringing Kihyun here meant forcing him to see his ex-boyfriend and bringing back sad memories. It wasn't his fault that Hyungwon had stumbled upon him this morning and started all this chaos.
Nothing was his fault, but Kihyun made it sound like it was.
"I want you out of my face-" Kihyun stopped mid-sentence, surprised at his own words. He covered his mouth with both of his hands and stepped back, shaking his head in the process.
There were no words, but Shownu got it anyways. Kihyun wanted to apologize. But now, sorry was just a meaningless word.
"Okay, fine. I guess we're even then. We both said sorry and apparently both of us think the other didn't mean it." Shownu gave up on arguing. He was tired, and he knew Kihyun probably still had a terrible headache. He told himself he only cared about Kihyun's well being because he was a nice, considerate person, nothing else.
Shownu turned around and walked towards the door, stopping right in front of it.
"I'm sorry I can't get out of your face. Seems like we are stuck together till this thing ends."
Somehow, Kihyun knew that Shownu had meant it this time.
He stood there, and saw as the door close behind Shownu.
It was then that he finally let himself cry.
He didn't know how long he'd been crying, but he made sure to wait until he was sure his eyes weren't swollen enough to be visible. When he was finally motivated enough to enter the next room, he was relieved that no one found out he was crying. Or maybe the door was not sound proof and everyone heard everything and just didn't say anything.
In the middle of the room was a round table, seven chairs surrounding it, each with an iPad-tablet thing placed in front of them. Hyungwon was sitting with Wonho, Minhyuk with Changkyun, and Shownu must have joined Jooheon, because they were sitting together as well.
Kihyun took the last vacant seat, and he realized, dishearteningly, that the only positive thing he could think of was that Shownu sat to the right of Jooheon so he wouldn't have to sit with him.
Turned out, the iPad-thing in front of them wasn't an iPad, because Kihyun's one lying in his home somewhere certainly had more than two apps. The one in front of him had only two icons in the middle of the screen, one of them was the "Smiley" app he was told to install on his phone. The other one was "Geometry Dash", which explained the music coming from opposite of Kihyun, where Jooheon and Changkyun was seated.
Kihyun didn't know what to expect, but he definitely didn't think everyone would stay quiet about his sudden disappearance with Shownu. It wasn't like it mattered anyways, because Kihyun preferred it this way, when no one was asking questions he had no answers to.
Eventually Kihyun realized that the soundtracks from Geometry Dash stopped, and everyone was staring at their tablets. So Kihyun looked down and saw the notification, signifying the start of the game. He pressed the button that came with the pop-up and he was directed to the "Smiley" app. He couldn't stop a groan escaping from his lips. Not because of the long and boring instructions he had to read, but because it finally occurred to him the absurdity of the situation he was in.
It's funny. Kihyun must have been too busy arguing with Shownu and dealing with his perpetual headache to contemplate his feelings. Now that he got some time alone, he understood what kind of horrible nightmare he was in. In some way it was a dream come true, just not the way he wanted it to be.
Kihyun looked around the table to see everyone else focused on their tablets, eyes going left and right repeatedly, never hesitating to continue reading. At that moment, it seemed like everyone knew what to do, and Kihyun was the only one sitting there, still perplexed about everything that has happened. But it was true, because he was indeed the only person that had no idea what to do.
So he looked down and started reading.
Hello fellow contestants! Welcome to the fourth game, with the name "Guess the relationship." In a moment, I will give you scenarios and descriptions of a contestant's relationship situation. All you have to do is to guess which one of the contestants does the description belong to, and press the corresponding button. Don't worry, the buttons are labeled with their names, just press one, it's easy.
Each round will end only when everyone has guessed and pressed the button. If you answered one of them correctly, you will see, at the top right of the screen, that you have gained one point. However, the answer of each round will not be revealed at the end. In other words, only the contestants who answered correctly will know the correct answer.
Before we start, here's a reminder. In this app, you can message other contestants privately. Of course, there is also a group chat, but you can talk in real life for that. The private chat is for you to discuss answers and theories privately, with the ones you trust.
Good luck, and enjoy the game!
The game turned out to be pretty boring, considering no one was willing to reveal their own relationships, or to talk about anyone else's in that case. Most of them just made random guesses until one of their own stories popped out, which, they later found out, was probably the only opportunity to get points. Unless if they got lucky, of course.
Kihyun was fine with that, and judging by others' droopy eyes, they had nothing to complain about either. Maybe all they wanted was to speed through all these games and get out to see sunlight again.
-
Jooheon was about to press on a random button again when he felt his tablet vibrate against his hands. Since everyone had been doing nothing but pressing buttons in silence, the sudden vibration startled him quite a bit. And it certainly didn't help that he wasn't a brave one to start with, so he had to stifle a gasp when someone had messaged him. Privately.
Jooheon's eyes darted around to see if anyone found out. Luckily, everyone seemed to have turned to robots, programmed to do nothing but press buttons. Even Shownu, who was sitting right beside him, seemed to be deep in thought, oblivious to his surroundings. When Jooheon was finally convinced that everything was fine, he pressed into the chat area and read the messages.
Minhyuk
Hi, I'm Minhyuk! This is Jooheon, right?
Jooheon could've ignored him and move on, but there was no reason why he shouldn't answer. Besides, taking a break from pressing buttons was tempting, even if that means texting a stranger sitting less than a metre away.
Jooheon
Yea I'm Jooheon
Minhyuk
Good, do you want to know the answer for this round?
Jooheon
Oh, but I haven't read the description yet.
I saw the notification and pressed on it right away
Jooheon was relieved that someone was actually willing to discuss answers. It was a game after all, and it would go to waste if no one was putting any effort to guess.
Minhyuk
It's ok, I can tell you the description now
"I broke up with my boyfriend less than a year ago, and unfortunately fate has brought us back together today, in this room playing games against each other."
Jooheon
Wait, does that mean there's a couple right here?
Well, if you can still call it a couple, then yes
Jooheon
Right.
I feel kinda bad for them
Minhyuk
But breakups happen all the time; it's nothing to be surprised about
So do you want to know the answer for this round?
Jooheon hovered his fingers over the keys, thinking of a suitable answer. Minhyuk was asking as if he already knew the answer, and he doesn't sound like he wanted to discuss answers either. He decided it would be safest to ask directly.
Jooheon
You sound like you already know the answer?
Minhyuk
Am I that obvious?
Jooheon
Um, yeah
Minhyuk
Okok
I do know the answer, and I will tell you why
Don't tell anyone, ok?
Jooheon
Of course I won't
Minhyuk
Good.
I think there must be a glitch, because the answer showed on my screen
Jooheon
What?
Minhyuk
Instead of "I", it showed me the contestant's name
Jooheon
Wow
Am I supposed to believe that?
Minhyuk
Oh, come on, how could I make up something like that?
Jooheon
Why not?
You seem to have a lot to say, so it wouldn't surprise me that you play tricks with your words.
Minhyuk
Well I'm sorry; I just want to help you
If you don't want my help, just say so, you don't have to be mean.
Jooheon
No, wait
Tell me the answer first
Minhyuk
Ha. Desperate aren't you?
Jooheon resisted the urge to type, "fuck you", and instead looked up to glare at Minhyuk, who replied with a smirk and a really amused expression. If Jooheon had known he would be talking with a brat, he would have stuck with pressing buttons. But now that he started, curiosity got the best of him and he had to know the answer.
Jooheon
Yes, fine, whatever, I'm desperate
Just tell me what the answer is
Minhyuk
Okok
You look cute when you're annoyed
Jooheon
Ew.
Minhyuk
Stop lying; I can see your blush from here
Jooheon
Can you just cut to the chase already?
Minhyuk
Aww I was having fun :(
Jooheon
Well, I'm not
How about I throw this tablet straight at your face
That way I would be having fun too
Minhyuk
No thanks
Just promise me you won't tell anyone at all
Jooheon
I swear I won't
Minhyuk
It's Kihyun
And he's ex-boyfriend is probably Shownu
Jooheon
Omg
That actually makes sense
They knew each other
Minhyuk
Yep, and I was right the first time
Jooheon
Oh, when you saw how Shownu was scared to not invite Kihyun
Minhyuk
Yep.
Jooheon
Can I ask you one more question?
Minhyuk
You sure have many questions
Jooheon
Why are you helping me?
Minhyuk
What do you mean?
Jooheon
Shouldn't you be helping your friend first?
Changkyun?
Minhyuk never answered that question, and Jooheon looked up quick enough to catch him shuffle uncomfortably in this seat. Of course, Minhyuk might have already helped Changkyun, Jooheon had no way to know. What he really wanted to know was if Minhyuk and Changkyun were more than just friends. Jooheon saw all those times when they hugged, and it didn't look like a normal friend or bro hug.
Jooheon had to forget about ever knowing, because Minhyuk was never going to answer. Except maybe he could ask Changkyun, but he should probably answer the question before someone complains about the round going on for too long.
Thinking back to the conversation with Minhyuk, he assumed he was the last person to answer. Only nothing happened after he pressed the button with "Kihyun" on it.
He scanned the contestants one by one and saw Hyungwon whispering to Wonho, while Changkyun was doing weird things with his fingers and his sleeve. They looked like they were done with answering, and was trying to kill time. Eventually Jooheon got to the last contestant, who was Shownu.
Shownu was typing frantically on his keyboard, with both hands, since the tablet was big enough for that. Jooheon wanted to see what was going on, but the screen was made of special materials so that you had to be in the correct angle to see something. Right now all he saw was blackness.
But he didn't have to wonder for long, because someone sent something in the group chat.
Minhyuk
I can tell everyone, right now.
Shownu
Fuck. What do you want Minhyuk?
>>>>>>>>>>
First of all, thank you so much for 100+ views and 17 votes! It is a really good sight to see after I go crazy tired from revising for my assessments.
Anyways, I edited this chapter myself so I'm sorry if there are still grammar mistakes (mistakes are more easily spotted if someone else reads your work). Hopefully you still enjoyed the slight roller coaster ride in this chapter ;) and are looking forward to the next chapter~