A/N: The story is taking a turn~ (Btw sorry but this chapter is a bit shorter compared to the others, because I want to end it after this section if you know what I mean heheh)
"How much do you want to know?" Minhyuk saw how Changkyun held back his eye-roll. He knew he was being annoying, he knew he was stalling, but at the end he still wasn't ready.
Changkyun tried to be patient. "As much as you can tell me before the next game starts."
"I can tell you everything, the question is whether I want to tell you everything." Minhyuk didn't mean to, but that pissed Changkyun off, by a lot.
He groaned loudly. "Ok fine, just tell me whatever you want to tell me then. The 10 minutes is running out." Changkyun said quickly, arms folded.
"Well, he asked me what I desired." Minhyuk chuckled. "Such a creep, I know. Anyways, he asked me what I wanted, and..." He wasn't sure if he wanted to go on, but he knew what he said wasn't enough.
"And...?" Changkyun prompted, encouraging his friend. "I swear to God, I won't tell a soul. Don't worry about it ok? You have to trust me."
Minhyuk sighed, wondering why the 10 minutes felt longer than an hour. "And I asked him why he wanted to know."
"You didn't tell him?" Changkyun was eager.
"Of course I didn't." Minhyuk replied. "Do you want to know more?" He asked, not wanting to reveal anything more than necessary.
"Yea, what's the deal you made?"
Minhyuk almost choked at the question, even though he had expected it from the very beginning. "Do I have to tell you?"
Changkyun stared at his friend, annoyed. "Ok fine, just tell me what your desire is then. I really want to know why you want to win." It was clear to Minhyuk that Changkyun just wanted to get something, doesn't matter what.
Minhyuk debated which piece of information was more worthy of keeping. He decided it didn't matter if everyone knows who he liked, not when the person he liked knew that too. "Ok, I'm telling you why I want to win. Don't laugh, because I know you will. And don't judge, this might sound naïve, and even stupid." Minhyuk looked at Changkyun and made sure he got the message. "I have a crush- well you can't say it's a crush because he already knows, but anyway I have a crush on Jooheon." He sped up the last words and stopped abruptly, reading his friend's expression.
Changkyun looked flustered, eyes flittering and not knowing what to do. "Ah..."
Minhyuk raised his eyebrows. "So, are you satisfied now? Am I free?" He smiled at his own words, but Changkyun still looked confused, neglecting Minhyuk's question.
"Well, first, I don't think winning this game is going to help you win Jooheon in any way at all. Second..." Changkyun trailed off, dodging Minhyuk's questioning look. "I'm only saying this because you told me what I wanted to know, and I promised I will tell you my secret. We made a deal, and it's only fair if I tell you. Just know I don't mean to hurt you or anything." Minhyuk nodded, telling Changkyun to continue.
"Someone confessed to me last night, and that person is..."
"...Jooheon." Minhyuk cut off, completing the sentence, and leaving Changkyun wide-eyed.
"How did you know?"
Minhyuk smiled and shook his head. "Why wouldn't I know is the correct question. It's written all over your face and your actions, just like how you guessed that I like Jooheon."
"Ok, you got a point." Changkyun said, returning the smile, and at the same time remembering. "Don't worry, I won't take Jooheon from you or anything. You still have a chance, I don't like him...at least not yet." A cheeky grin formed on Changkyun's face, but Minhyuk could tell he was serious.
"Thanks. I wonder what he thinks though. I told him I like him, and he said I still have a chance too. Is he choosing between us now...?" Minhyuk found this a bit funny, like they were in a k-drama, but he tried not to laugh.
Changkyun shrugged, his grin getting bigger as well.
Suddenly the door opened and a head poked in from the gap. "Changkyun and Minhyuk-hyung, the game's starting, he told us there are only a few more left, let's go!" Jooheon waved his hand and smiled, enthusiasm radiating all the way from the door to where Minhyuk and Changkyun was standing.
Changkyun and Minhyuk shared a quick look before looking towards Jooheon, starting to walk towards the door.
"Can you guys run? At least show that you care that you're late?" Jooheon shouted, laughing right after.
Once they entered the room, the door closed automatically behind them, and the game started.
Game after game they played, the supposedly "fun" and "exciting" ones turning tedious and dull, mainly because there was no heart put into them. Over and over again they repeated the objective, which was to rush through the games so this could be over, as if they would forget if they didn't remind themselves constantly.
"Let's not doing anything this round so we all lose."
"We can work together and give each other our answers, to speed this up."
"Just press random buttons, I don't care if we get negative points."
Despite the warning Smiley gave them, no one, not even Minhyuk, tried to win anymore. They gave up on giving any effort, refusing to satisfy the man behind all this. Minhyuk was swayed, recognizing the stupidity of believing empty promises by the psychopath and noticing the possibility of gaining what he wanted, by himself.
"I don't give a shit about what he thinks. He can't do anything even if we stop playing his games completely." This was the most frequently said sentence, seemingly being the most encouraging words that filled everyone with determination, determination to end this without giving Smiley what he wanted, to end this as quick as possible and get home.
However, this determination didn't cancel the fact that the journey was strenuous, difficult to say the least.
It became increasingly hard to maintain the strength and faith with every other game they had to play. Dread was filling up their bodies, leaving no space for encouraging thoughts, dragging them down slowly like heavy weights on shoulders.
Changkyun and Kihyun seemed to have suffered most from their inner turmoil, being urged close to tears on several occasions and even being caught hiding in a corner sobbing once or twice. Others kept strong, or at least tried to, hiding their true feelings under a mask that kept them quiet and reserved. But even then, it was clear how the mask was straining their scrunched faces.
Knowing they had another night to get through was most devastating of them all, even having told they only had one more bonus game to get through the following morning.
At least Kihyun's cooking bought some kind of liveliness back to the group.
After dinner, they returned to their new rooms, this time, to their relief, separated into two smaller bedrooms. Shownu, Hyungwon, and Wonho in one and the rest in the other.
Though they didn't show much of a reaction, it was clear to Shownu that Hyungwon and Wonho were delighted to share the same room. It contrasted hugely with his discontent of not being able to talk with Kihyun. Apparently Kihyun still didn't want to get too close to Shownu. The last conversation they had felt incomplete, at least to him. Maybe he just missed Kihyun.
There were speakers right next to the bed, which was very questionable. After a bit of discussion they concluded that they were there to wake them up next morning in a cruel way yet again.
Shownu lied on his bed, back facing Hyungwon and Wonho's shared bunk bed and staring into the wall, doing nothing in particular while waiting for his hair to dry. A bathroom was provided, with towels and all the necessities. At least he had that to be thankful for. He turned around when he felt a presence behind him.
"I believe we have to talk." Shownu sat up and looked at Wonho, stealing a glance at Hyungwon who was sitting on the bed opposite of him.
Shownu scratched his head and exhaled longer than necessary to hide his annoyed sigh. "Why?" He scrambled for his phone, which was sitting next to him on the soft mattress, and flipped it over for Wonho to see. "It's almost midnight, I would want to sleep as soon as my hair dries so I can get enough rest, presuming we would have to wake up at 6am tomorrow just like last time, thank you very much."
Wonho ignored the polite request and shook his head. "We didn't finish our conversation last time, remember?"
Again, Shownu had to look away to keep any rude comments or complaints to himself. At least for now, when it wasn't absolutely necessary. When he found some inner peace, he turned back and put on his most apologetic look he could manage. "Yes, I'm aware, but I'm tired. Like, exhausted. I'm sure you are too, including your friend behind you. Can't we just talk tomorrow?" He yawned, adding to the effect. Of course, he really just wanted to avoid continuing the conversation. But it wasn't exactly a lie; every single drop of energy had been depleted of him.
Wonho wasn't taking any of it, despite having to yawn himself. "No we can't, we'll forget again. There won't be any other chances after the last game. We'll most likely separate and go our ways after we finally leave this place. There is no better chance than this."
This time, Shownu gave up on hiding his emotions, rolling his eyes and sighing simultaneously. "Why now? You had the whole afternoon to talk, plus dinnertime. Why didn't you find me then?"
"Because I didn't want anybody listening. You know what happened last time. It's very inconvenient with people around. Besides, I'm sure you can tell that the atmosphere wasn't the best for talking." Wonho replied.
Shownu would usually be a nice person, but he gets really grumpy in the night, especially when he is very sleepy. The way Wonho talked got on Shownu's nerves, increasing his ever-lasting desire to shout, or even better so, punch something, preferably Wonho himself. But he knew better than to use violence in this situation. There were actually a few reasons that stopped him from doing so. First, he was, and intended to keep on living up to his promise of not hitting anyone except if it was for self-defence. Second, no one would like a violent person, and he still hoped to win Kihyun back. Third, though he cared least about this one, no violence was one of Smiley's rules.
"Fine, let's get this over with." Shownu said, standing up so Wonho wouldn't be towering over him. "Where were we last time?"
"I told you that you were hurting Hyungwon, and you asked me whether I wanted you to apologize." Wonho recited perfectly from memory. "And my answer is yes."
Maybe it was just him being moody, but a certain stubbornness forbade Shownu to comply. "But that doesn't mean I have to listen to you. I don't apologize for something I think was the right thing to do."
Wonho snorted. "Are you saying you think hurting someone's feelings is the right thing to do?" Hyungwon sat nearer to the edge of the bed, ready to stop either of them if things get heated. He wanted to believe that the two adults in front of him knew what they were doing, but he still stayed alert just in case.
"No, I'm saying it was right to question Hyungwon's actions. I was right that Hyungwon should take most of the blame that we are here." Shownu said calmly, controlling his volume and temper, trying to reason with Wonho in a mannered way, even though it took all of his resources to do that. "I really didn't want to bring this up again, but you asked, so I'm going to answer honestly. Hyungwon shouldn't have agreed to a stranger that easily. I can't stop thinking that you and I, plus Jooheon, wouldn't be here if it wasn't for Hyungwon."
Hyungwon felt slightly hurt from hearing Shownu's honest opinion of himself, but it filled him with guilt more than anything. Hyungwon knew Shownu was right, he hated himself all throughout the game, and he knew he never stopped hating himself, despite what he and everyone else kept telling him. He wanted to tell Wonho that it was okay, that Shownu didn't have to apologize, but Wonho beat him to it.
"See, this is what I'm saying. Are you even listening to what you're saying? Those are very hurtful words, and you're saying it like Hyungwon isn't even here." Hyungwon noted that Wonho didn't even turn around after saying it, so Wonho was also talking as if he was invisible. He kept quiet about that observation.
Now the desire to get back to bed flamed up like alcohol added to fire. "Look, I know you're trying to defend Hyungwon. You're good friends, and I get how it feels-"
"No, you don't get it." Wonho said, volume rose, threatening to shout. "You think I'm only on Hyungwon's side because he's my friend, but I'm not. I'm on his side because he isn't what you think he is. He's nice, he didn't bring us here on purpose. It isn't his fault."
Shownu felt like the argument was going in circles, looping back towards the starting point constantly. His brain was screaming at him to stop. It was too much. He was really tired.
"I know it isn't his fault. Listen to me, Wonho, you're not getting the point. I'm not saying it's his fault, I was just trying to explain to you why I said those things this afternoon. I was trying to justify what I said. I didn't intend on blaming Hyungwon on everything. Those words weren't directed you, but you decided to answer them. You were overreacting."
Wonho raised his arms, hands squeezed into fists, breathing heavily. He looked very close to punching Shownu, and Hyungwon stood up for quick actions if needed, but Wonho paced around instead, steps hurried and each thump on the floor an echo of his frustration.
He stopped in front of Shownu again after two circles around the room. "Why do you have to bring that up?" He said, voice back to normal. "Can't you just hate on Smiley, who everyone hates anyways, or be like Jooheon, who kept quiet even though Hyungwon invited him too?" Wonho was pushing away the anger the best he could, and Shownu was glad to see the self-control in the others eyes. At least there was a less chance of a fight now. He didn't want to wake the other people from the other room, assuming they are already asleep in this hour of the night (technically morning).
"Jooheon cares too much about how other people feel about him to speak out. He would never talk to Hyungwon, even if he blamed Hyungwon."
"You're saying like you know Jooheon blames Hyungwon as much as you do. Why can't he be a nice kid who's actually considerate and empathize for Hyungwon?" Wonho said, more quietly now, as if he wasn't sure what he was talking about. Which wasn't far from the truth, because Shownu also sensed that the conversation was taking a weird turn, the focus shifting towards something else.
"He can definitely be that." It was turning into a discussion, about Jooheon, which was weird but Shownu continued, having something else to say. "He is a really naïve person. Still young."
Behind them, Hyungwon sat back on the bed and was starting to doze off, missing his favourite activity – sleeping. Suddenly the door clicked open quietly, startling him and making him jump.
Shownu was confused to see Kihyun poke through the gap. "Kihyun?"
"Hi." Kihyun answered, almost whispering.
Wonho said nothing, staring at Kihyun and wondering why he decided it was acceptable to enter someone else's room past midnight, without permission.
"Wait, did you eavesdrop on us?" Wonho narrowed his eyes and asked.
Kihyun opened the door completely and stood in the doorway. "Yea, I'm sorry. I was leaning on it and the door opened by itself..."
"What's so interesting about our conversation?" Wonho asked, curiosity taking over annoyance from invasion of privacy.
"Well, I passed by and heard you guys talking about Jooheon, and I can't help but think you guys are idiots." Kihyun explained, trying not to laugh at his own words.
"What?" Shownu asked.
"What?" Wonho said, almost in unison with Shownu. They were both more confused than angry.
"You guys were arguing over nothing. The argument was useless. You started in the wrong direction from the very beginning." Kihyun stepped forward, now inside the room. "Both of you want to leave this place, but you never realized why you're here the first place."
"That's what we were arguing over about," Wonho said, correcting Kihyun. "Maybe you just didn't hear us. And why are sounding like a philosopher or something?"
"No, it was never Hyungwon's fault you're here." Kihyun replied, looking at Hyungwon momentarily. "You would never had ended up here if you didn't accept Hyungwon's invitation."
The point was made. Realization washed over Wonho and Shownu. Hyungwon looked at Kihyun in amazement.
"But wait, Hyungwon was lying to us." Wonho said, genuinely curious about the philosophy behind this.
"Yes, and you chose to believe those lies." Kihyun replied, a grin on his face, obviously knowing something that no one else in the room knew about. "Jooheon didn't say anything to Hyungwon, didn't say anything about hating Smiley, didn't say anything about blaming anyone, because he was blaming himself. He hated himself for believing Hyungwon that day. He hated himself for coming here with his own legs, for coming here at his own will."
Wonho had nothing else to say. He was left speechless, like Shownu was.
Kihyun continued. "He said that himself just now, he told us we were different, because unlike you, Minhyuk, Changkyun and I didn't have a choice. We were taken here. Forcefully." Kihyun yawned.
"So the person you should be blaming, is yourself."