Changkyun toppled backwards, dragged down by the weight of the chair. He grunted when he felt a sharp pain on his tailbone. Getting hit there was not fun at all, but it was all worth it when he saw Shownu's hand retract in shock, now safely away from the phone screen.
A sigh of relief and the adrenaline was gone. There was no energy or reason to fight back when he was being carried back to his designated place, in between Minhyuk and Kihyun. He did what he needed to do. Now he just had to finish what he started.
Changkyun got a verbal warning for being "overly aggressive and unpredictable", of which he ignored completely, turning his full attention to the red lines on his wrists instead. Pushing the metal rings down a bit, he examined the scratches and blamed the injuries on his dry skin, thanking Kihyun for a piece of tissue he had kindly offered, for the deeper wounds that had started bleeding.
Minhyuk was switching gazes between Shownu and Changkyun, still trying to understand what had just happened. The shape of his eyes turned softer and the color one shade lighter. No matter what, he was still thankful for Changkyun's sudden change of stance, a significant sign that hinted the increased possibility of saving Jooheon.
Changkyun was dabbing lightly on his wounds, still wincing slightly when he pressed too hard, or simply when he thought of the chance of infection being unable to clean his injuries properly. He didn't need to find something to do to keep himself busy, but his preoccupied with another task didn't mean the other task wasn't there anymore.
Shownu cleared his throat. "Care to explain?" Changkyun looked up and saw Shownu pointing at his phone, face expectant and questioning.
Great question. The perfect question to ask at this perfect moment. Shownu had all the right to know, as with everyone else sitting, and Changkyun had all the responsibility to answer. Yet it was the one question that Changkyun had no definite answer to.
Still, there was no choice but to answer. It was just like being called in class to answer a question you are not sure the answer of. You couldn't just say, "I don't know" because the teacher expected you to know before calling on you.
Crumpling the tissue in his hands, he said whatever came into mind, listing all the conclusions he had made hastily, trying to hide the fact that they were just speculations and theories with no absolute proof.
"To be honest, I'm not so sure myself, I just had to stop you before we lose our only chance."
Shownu raised his eyebrows, doubt washing over his face and spreading to everyone else like a chain reaction. Changkyun felt his confidence wear away just a bit, but he couldn't let the same doubt show on his face if he wanted this to work. It was time to dismiss the fact that he was youngest here and believe that the youngest could be right too.
"Do you all remember the advice Smiley gave us at the beginning of this game?" Changkyun started, already feeling more certain of himself when he saw people nodding. "All of us were really confused about it, but Jooheon was the only person that understood the meaning behind it."
"Do you mean how he hated no one but himself for choosing to join the game?"
Changkyun gave his friend a curt nod and retold the story.
"He blamed himself. He was the only person to do that. And I'm sure we all do when we realize he is right. That's what Smiley meant when he said our choices decide our fate." Saying those words aloud made it seem more true to Changkyun, making him believe his speculations were indeed true, that his hypothesis was justified and correct. He got excited simply by imagining everyone agreeing and even more so when he predicted his plan working out perfectly just like he wanted it to be.
Filled with renewed determination, Changkyun continued explaining before anyone asked questions that he knew would be answered after his short speech. "So the point is, there has to be a reason why Smiley chose Jooheon for this game. He told us it was because Jooheon was scared of the dark, so he could use this weakness as an advantage." The longer he went on, more ideas and explanations popped into Changkyun's head, making him smile at his fast-turning brain and its ability to think of arguments spontaneously.
"But since Smiley repeated his advice only before this game and not the others, there has to be a special reason. It's a hint to the winning strategy for this game. And I think he wants us to follow in Jooheon's footsteps by reminding us of something that separates him from Wonho. So we have to choose Jooheon. I don't know for sure what will happen afterwards, but I dare say choosing him will lead to a better fate than choosing Wonho right now."
Finally the last word was spoken, and there was only one last step to carry out. Wait. Looking around the circle anxiously, he hoped to see realization and acknowledgement replace the confused and suspecting ones. Instead their thoughtful looks gave nothing away, expressions unreadable to Changkyun.
Everyone except for Changkyun was sharing glances as if having a conversation that Changkyun wasn't included in. After a few seconds that seemed more like the longest 5 minutes of his life, Changkyun felt alert again after someone started speaking.
He didn't expect Hyungwon to be the person talking. "Judging by their faces, I don't think they're fully convinced, and I'm not either. It's hard to guess what others are thinking after all, and you can't really prove what you said about Smiley is correct. Of course, we can't do that either. No one knows what's going on in Smiley's head." Changkyun nodded slowly, unsure of where this was going. Though Hyungwon hasn't exactly said he believed him yet, Hyungwon didn't sound like he was going to disagree either, which Changkyun took as a good omen.
Hyungwon looked serious, making Changkyun do the same himself. "Just one more thing, Changkyun." The straight face Changkyun was trying to keep didn't last long when Hyungwon asked his question. "What's your university major?" The question was so off-topic it sounded slightly funny to Changkyun.
Despite having no idea why the question was asked, Changkyun answered anyways, not seeing any reason not to. "Computer Science and Psychology." Saying that out loud reminded him of things he didn't want to remember right now. It was hard enough to take two majors at the same time, now that he missed a few days of school it was going to be hell when he got back.
Changkyun swallowed the exasperated sigh tickling his throat, trying to pay full attention to Hyungwon, who looked satisfied and fully convinced. "Great, let's press Jooheon's button then." He looked at the others as if asking "any objections?".
The confidence Hyungwon showed allowed no room for further questions or suspicions. His eyes had the certainty that determines the final conclusion of the discussion, and he was definitely ready to press the blue button. Before anyone could say anything, Hyungwon's fingers landed on the screen, as if expecting everyone else to follow.
Changkyun was surprised that they did.
Looking for answers, he turned to Hyungwon. "What does my university majors have to do with anything about this?" In his peripheral vision he saw Minhyuk looking down on his lap, probably wiping away the scalding tears he knew Minhyuk had been keeping for a long time.
Hyungwon smiled and shrugged. "Nothing, I just wanted to know."
Changkyun tilted his head, but smiled shortly afterwards, finding Hyungwon's answer amusing. Something in his head told him he understood, but it still felt like trying to get a firm grip on a slippery thread.
Suddenly he felt someone looming behind him, reaching down with gloved hands towards where his wrists were. The action was a bit too invasive for Changkyun's liking but he quickly realized it was happening to everyone else. The practiced hands clicked open the metal cuffs in one swift movement. The sounds of the locks unclasping had to be the most satisfying and pleasing thing they had heard.
They were free.
Changkyun barely had time to stand up, see Shownu pulling Kihyun into an embrace and to give appropriate reactions, before Minhyuk attacked him with one of his own. It was more suffocating than affectionate, but Changkyun put away his complaints and received it gratefully nevertheless, using this as a chance to tease his friend for crying. He got a vengeful squeeze on his injured wrists in return, but forgave Minhyuk when he kissed it right afterwards.
Sweet relief flooded everyone's senses, temporarily forgetting the fact that nothing was confirmed yet and that there were still a lot of problems to fix. Preoccupied with the genuine smiles on everyone's faces, they didn't notice the five workers turning to face the same direction and bowing ninety degrees, nor acknowledge the new guest in the room.
Kihyun stopped talking first, and then when Shownu saw the hardened expression he stopped too, creating a chain reaction that eventually quieted all mutters. In replacement were slow, resounding claps that echoed in the huge gray room just like how it did in everyone's minds.
After a few more claps Smiley stopped and gestured the workers to leave, carrying the white chairs with them.
Shownu narrowed his eyes at Smiley. "You finally showed yourself?" He wanted to throw a punch at Smiley now that his face was exposed, but decided against it last minute. He would do it after Jooheon and Wonho was back with them.
Unsurprisingly, the question was ignored. "Well done."
No one reacted. "Well done" was too vague to mean anything anymore. The amount of different meanings behind those two words was the exact reason why no one could decide what to feel or think.
Wanting to prove their immense dissatisfaction, everyone kept their mouths shut and refused to talk, despite the raging questions urging furiously at them. If Smiley wanted them to talk, he would have to say something worthy of a response.
"I was expecting the opposite to happen, but it turns out you were smarter than I thought." Again, no one was interested in what Smiley thinks. Noticing the bored, diverting gazes, Smiley cleared his throat ostentatiously like they would do in comedy shows.
"Fine, I will get straight to the point." He looked satisfied when most of the attention was back on him. "Seriously, you guys are no fun." His playful look was immediately wiped away when he saw Shownu's clenched fists. Looking elsewhere to settle his gaze, he continued. "Anwyays...I'm surprised Changkyun was the one who deduced everything correctly."
Finally, something that caught their attention. "I did?" Changkyun asked in surprise.
Smiley nodded once, looking impressed. "Not exactly, but you got the general idea." Changkyun sighed, very glad that he did.
The smile on Smiley's face fueled Shownu's desire to hit him. Under that smile he saw a mirthless smirk that arose suspicion as to what he did to their two missing friends. The speculations that Shownu came up weren't exactly pleasant.
"Bring us to Jooheon and release him." Shownu asserted, making it clear he wasn't going to play around anymore.
The stone-like fists and his strong demeanor seemed to have an effect on Smiley. Wasn't surprising considering the latter's small figure. He was the shortest here. If it wasn't for the dark thoughts lurking in his mind he would look somewhat cute. "I was going to." He was definitely uneasy around Shownu, but none of his fear was visible in his authoritative voice.
Minhyuk was the first to follow Smiley, who started moving unexpectedly, though in a languid pace. Changkyun was going to catch up when he felt a tap on his shoulder. Being relatively short as a boy, he recognized the familiar feeling of someone looming over him. Hyungwon.
"Are you sure choosing Jooheon will lead to a better fate as you said?"
Changkyun could tell Hyungwon was talking about Wonho. The honest answer he had wasn't reassuring, so out came a lie. "Smiley said well done, and we were released immediately, so don't worry. Everything seems to be going fine." He felt bad for lying, and even more so for deceiving himself with those fake words. But at least it did delude him to an extent, which compressed the growing apprehension about what was to come at the end of the corridor.
They descended down a flight of stairs and arrived in an immaculate room. It looked like what would be an observation room to Changkyun. Most of the contestants stood frozen at the threshold, digesting the view in front of them and unsure whether they really wanted to see what they were seeing right now.
Minhyuk remembered being in a room with a similar usage in his university. But what he saw back then was nothing compared to what he saw now. Back then it was either looking at animals' behavior or things falling in a vacuum. Now it was two people looking like they were going to go crazy from all the shaking and shouting. He couldn't hear the shouting, but he saw it through the soundproof glass.
He also realized how bad it sounded in his head, but he couldn't stop his brain from thinking he just entered a mental facility.
Living up to his promise, Smiley pressed some buttons on a control panel in front of the glass, switching off the device on Jooheon's head. Smiley's helpers entered the room and removed the device with a special key. So they couldn't take it off all that time. As he neared Jooheon's room, Minhyuk wondered how painfully long they must've persisted on breaking the lock until they realized it was a futile escapade.
Jooheon left his room and hugged the first person he saw, which was of course Minhyuk. "I'm sorry we took so long." Minhyuk could barely say those words with the lump in his throat. He didn't know how much he meant those words until he said it.
Minhyuk felt Jooheon shake his head against his shoulder. "It's okay, I don't blame you. Thanks for coming." Jooheon pulled away, waving and smiling at the others, still standing at the door, to tell them he was fine.
Minhyuk had to think twice about asking that question. "Are you... okay?" He asked, finding it slightly weird that Jooheon looked so unexpectedly calm. Happy, even. It was so different from what he saw just a few seconds ago. Did Jooheon somehow figured what was actually happening? Or was he just fast to adjust? Either way, the amount of relief in Minhyuk's chest was overwhelming.
"Yea, I'm okay." Jooheon leaned in suddenly, whispering into Minhyuk's ear. "I don't want Smiley to hear this. I was scared out of my shit when it first started. You have no idea what he said to me. It was definitely more than a simple horror story to someone like me. I freaked out quite a bit, and I screamed so much whenever I feel like something is in front of me, my voice went hoarse." Jooheon's voice was deeper, Minhyuk spotted, noting how much sexier it sounded like that.
"But after a while, nothing came. I mean, if the room was full of bugs and insects, it would surely climb on my body already. But nothing happened. I still didn't know what was going on, but I figured there weren't much to be afraid of after about 30 minutes. My body was still shaking though, probably because of the conscious reactions. I still get spooked occasionally, but I was definitely better. I don't know about Wonho though..."
Jooheon pulled away. Minhyuk almost pouted when he felt the proximity and warmth leaving him. Instead his lips curled up in relief and complimented Jooheon for being brave. He never knew it was his cheesiness that made Jooheon blush.
"Wait, where do you think you are you going?" Minhyuk turned around to see Kihyun shouting, looking somewhere behind him with warning eyes.
"Back to where I should be." Smiley answered, never turning around. He continued walking towards a door, ready to leave the contestants behind. "The game hasn't ended yet."
Breaths were hitched as the door closed with a soft click. The growing sense of despair accompanied with the suffocating silence was coming back.
"What is that supposed to mean?" Kihyun asked, annoyed. He looked upset. Minhyuk found him the erratic type.
As if scared of Kihyun's unpredictability, Hyungwon moved away and moved closer to the glass instead, finally ready to face what was in front of them the whole time.
Shownu muttered an answer to Kihyun and they exchanged opinions on what was going to happen next.
The scalding tears returned so much easier then what Hyungwon expected. His fingers grazed the cold glass as his eyes flickered back and forth between Wonho's moving body parts, twitching whenever Wonho flinched or stumbled, defending himself from something that was inexistent. If tears could melt glass, Hyungwon would have let himself cried right there. But he knew crying would do nothing to help. In fact, nothing would, until Smiley decided to give further instructions. It was punishing to wait, unable to do anything useful, but it was something he had to do.
"Don't worry, we'll get him out in no time." Hyungwon felt a hand on his shoulder. He was grateful for the reason to turn away; he couldn't pull away no matter how hard he tried because he felt guilty for not showing enough care. It was silly to think that, but it was what it was.
Hyungwon saw Jooheon's reassuring smile and smiled back, though he had to forcefully push his lips upward to make them move. "You sound so faithful. I wish I can be like you."
"What's with everyone saying they want to be like me?" Jooheon said, recalling the conversation with Kihyun the night he was kidnapped again. "You should look at yourselves. What's wrong with being you? You guys are awesome."
Hyungwon blinked at the unanticipated answer. Even though he was the older one, he felt like Jooheon knew a lot more that he didn't know. His lips curled up automatically. "You sure know how to talk, Jooheon."
Jooheon widened his smile, now accompanied with his signature eye smiles. Hyungwon found them interestingly attractive, maybe because his big eyes couldn't bring out the same effect.
Suddenly Minhyuk walked past both of them, gesturing them to follow, a serious and slightly concerned look on his face. Hyungwon turned around, now facing completely away from Wonho, and saw everyone else surrounding something at the back wall.
Smiley was back on the screen, facing them with his mask yet again. Hyungwon didn't see the point of the new mask, but he didn't let such an insignificant thing get on his nerves. Not today. Not at this moment.
"So this is where he should be?" Kihyun asked, the annoyance still in his voice. He was holding his head again, as if he had a perpetual headache that he was enduring all the time, only letting it show when it got too painful.
"Yea, I guess. Let's see what he has to say. We can finally finish this all together." Hyungwon answered in hope that his words lifted some stress off of Kihyun, and also partly because it only felt right to address in some way since he was the instigator of this...unfortunate event.
"Woah, you're so close." Smiley said, a nervous edge in his voice. No one cared to react. "So, since you pressed the correct button, you get to extend the game. Which basically means you get to save the other contestant." Instantly hope bloomed in the room like a huge flower, pleasing their senses with a tantalizing aroma of triumph and success.
"If you can win the game, of course." To them who were standing in front of the screen, those words were meaningless noise that could be ignored. Of course they were going to win the game. They were willing to do anything for that one purpose.
"It's a bit embarrassing to say it out loud, but I have to because it's part of the instructions. But actually, I'm sure all of you have observed by now, that Hyungwon and Wonho have a special relationship. A relationship that exceeded friendship, a long time ago."
Everyone else stood very still, listening intently. However, Hyungwon's hands started fidgeting unintentionally.
He didn't like where this was going.
"How about if I let him go, only if someone else kiss..." Smiley blabbered on about the instructions, but everything turned blurry for Hyungwon the moment he started. He couldn't understand what Smiley was talking about. It didn't make any sense. It was impossible.
Hyungwon had only one thought. It made him nauseous.
Never mind the flower. It got cut off at the stem. A sudden, brutal cut at the stem.
>>>>>>>>>>
To my friend who expected me to post this chapter in the morning (HK time), sorry for not fulfilling my promise 🙇🏻♀️ I was too busy watching a K-Drama called "Are You Human Too?" :P (you should watch it, I recommend this to the readers too)