#kyung-jun x reader | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

divineei · 1 year ago

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TOOTM one. to keep a promise

! ko kyungjun x fem!reader

a/n. this shit took so long omfg. whoever said writing was easy can suck my nonexistent left nutsack.

"i don't get why this is even a discussion."

"oh, cmon! you don't think the conflict around it is interesting?"

"whether its interesting or not doesn't matter because this shouldn't be an existing argument. if your partner or someone you love commits a murder and there's serious evidence pointing back to them, how could you just act like it's not even there?"

"dude, you're missing the point entirely. the question is not about what you would do in that situation, it's about what you should believe."

"that's so stupid. the only factor you should need is evidence. it doesn't matter if the accused is a long time friend, your partner, or even your child. sure, your judgment on their character is still relevant, but if their fingerprints were found at the crime scene there's just no way you can objectively ignore their culpability. at that point, you should either believe your partner is guilty or at best remain undecided."

"in that case, would you say that following the evidence is morally required?"

"absolutely."

"you don't think there might be other ethical factors to consider?"

"for example?"

"even though the evidence is strong, there's still a chance they might not be guilty. imagine how it would feel like to be innocent and have no one believe you, not even your own partner! by not supporting them you run the risk of seriously hurting them on a crucial time of need. and consider what this lack of trust would do to your relationship. could you really go on after seriously suspecting–and believing–they're a murderer?"

"are you saying you'd rather ignore the crimes of your partner, even when the truth is staring you in the face, just for the sake of love?"

outside of the ethical dilemma resonating through yoon yn's headphones, the girl shifted around on her seat. her limbs felt numb from remaining unmoving for so long and, even though the only companion by her side was her bag, the compact space paid no mercy on her back.

after finding a comfortable position she set her eyes on the view outside the window. sunlight hued over the fields of grass and the occasional farm, making the rural landscape imitate a painting in motion shaped by the most gentle brush strokes. the scene felt so engrossingly peaceful, she could almost feel the gale caressing her features despite the glass separating her from the world.

yn couldn't help but thank the scene–and the long lasting battery of her headphones–for giving her something to focus on, seeing as the ride to the resort her class was directed towards had resulted to be such an otherwise tiresome one.

"YES!"

an obnoxious voice popped yn's bubble in spite of the maximum volume she'd set for her podcast. distracted by the sound she turned to glance at the very back of the bus, where the students grouped up at the last row of leathered seats frowned in unison at heo yool–who mocked them with the cheekiest grin one could imagine. judging by their sullen looks, yn figured the citizens had lost yet another round of mafia, a game they'd been playing for who knows how long.

she recalled when her classmates had urged her to join the game the moment she stepped into the bus, which she declined, prioritizing her tranquility over the headache she knew they'd give her, yet promising she'd join in the next time.

after figuring out the source of that ruckus yn set her focus back on her podcast, purposely missing the eyes of the guy she'd been avoiding to the best of her abilities for days now.

just a few rows behind her, kyung jun's eyes never left yn as she disappeared between the sea of heads flooding the bus, and his scheme of intentionally leaving the space by his side unoccupied for her came to mind, especially remembering how his grand plan backfired when that fucking basketball-star-wannabe gave up his seat for her.

that annoying prick just couldn't get the memmo, couldn't he? to him, hyun ho had always been a nuisance; a pest that treaded on yn's heels at every chance he got–even when she used to hang onto the feared delinquent's arm.

"they're so loud," kyung jun muttered. he'd been trying to settle down the bittersweet echoes of his mind since the start of that damned school trip, in vain, since the blaring voices behind him made the flare that was his temper even harder to quell than any of those memories.

luckily, he needn't lift a single finger to make the commotion stop, and he was able to get some peace of mind thanks to his lackeys acting as spokesmen for his aggravation.

on the other side of the large vehicle, kim so mi sneakily took pictures of the class president.

"hey look, isn't he gorgeous?" the vice president called, showing what was sure to be one of her new favorite pictures to her friends seated behind: park ji soo, cha yoo joon and park woo ram. "doesn't this belong in a magazine? how can he look so gorgeous?" so mi repeated with a dreamy sigh, looking at her screen.

"i will tell jun hee tomorrow that you took a photo of him," woo ram threatened with a playful smile.

"oh yeah? what if i tell yn about all the videos you have?" so mi replied, pointing at the camera that always hanged around the guy's neck.

"please do, maybe i'll finally seduce her."

"oh my god," exclaimed yoo joon, "you are so delusional."

"why?" he lifted one of his hands in response to the very serious offense.

"dude, you barely talk to her."

"woo ram, you have the same chances of getting with yn as me and yoo joon of breaking up." ji soo stated.

the guy in mention glanced at his girlfriend, seemingly unaware of the joke. "that's zero, right?" question to which ji soo only rolled her eyes.

"i don't care what you say," woo ram brushed off. "i know she's the love of my life."

"ko kyung jun!" called out so mi.

like a tiny animal trying to save itself from a threatening predator, woo ram jumped to the empty seat by his side, hiding from the vandal's peripheral as much as possible while the rest of his companions laughed.

"fuck, kim so mi!" he cried out, "you trying to get me killed?"

"relax, he's not even looking," revealed the vice president with a cheeky smile.

as if they'd rehearsed it, the four students turned around to catch ko kyung jun's eyes still set on yoon yn, and by the looks of it, he didn't have any plans to cease his staring.

"not seeing them together is kinda weird," yoo joon pointed out.

"does anyone know why they broke up?" so mi asked to her peers, who all looked at each other expecting an answer none of them had.

"whatever," dismissed ji soo, "yn is better off without him anyway."

"yeah, she's been around us a lot more since then." agreed so mi.

"i bet kyung jun barely let her talk to us."

"right? he looks like the controlling type."

"i would never treat her like that." acknowledged woo ram, making his way back into the conversation only to get beaten back down by the three others.

the time inside the bus seemed to work differently than the rest of the world. minutes and hours mixed up in a disorienting spectacle that at least seemed to follow the sun setting over the horizon.

when they finally arrived to the resort, the only source of light were the numerous lamps adorning the streets and the inviting shine of the building before them.

with the bus door finally opened, the students of class 2-3 thronged the exit with overwhelming excitement. the trip had been longer that the teacher had promised and everyone was ready to get comfortable on their temporary rooms. of course, that included yn, who unfortunately had to wait for the rest of her classmates to take their suitcases out of the loaded trunk since her luggage ended up dropping to the back during the ride.

after everyone collected their belongings, the girl was able to retrieve her case at last. it was somewhat heavy but the tiny wheels at the bottom made it easier for her to slide the valise out of the bus' compartment. taking out the retractable handle, yn rolled her suitcase for at most six steps before someone else got ahold of it.

"what are you doing?" she questioned, but the guy simply walked away while pulling her luggage along and up the stairs.

"kyung jun."

at the sound of his name, he stopped. walking towards him, yn stood right between the entrance and the suitcase-stealer.

"what do you think? i'm helping you."

"i can do it myself." yn chided, staring him down harshly.

kyung jun had received many looks like that one throughout his life. from parents, teachers, students... they were all identical, ranging from disappointment to resentment and back. he was used to it. it was his day to day, how could he not be? yet he never imagined the same eyes that used to watch him with so much endearment would scrutinize him so cruelly.

"you used to love when i carried your stuff." he reminded her, scanning yn's face for a spec of something–anything–he hoped could save him from the pain her gaze struck him with.

the girl let out an exasperated sigh. why couldn't he leave her be? why was it that, no matter how much she wanted to distance herself, he always found a way to squeeze back into her life?

yn grabbed the handle of her suitcase and pulled. she wanted to leave, to get away from his side and free herself of his piercing eyes. unfortunately his strength surpassed hers, and she was forced to stay as he kept his grip.

"can you let go?"

"yn," he asked but the girl just focused on the luggage he kept hostage. "can we talk?"

"about what?" she sneered, speaking with as much disdain her troubled feelings allowed.

"you know what."

once again, she sighed. his antics were so infuriating; always pushing down the barrier she tried to put between the two.

"not now."

"then when?" he instantly snapped back, then took a deep breath to stop his grating tone. "you always say that but then you ignore me for days."

"look, i don't have time for this." for the second time, she attempted to retrieve her case. "i promised i'd help with the preparations for the class picture, so–"

"oh, c'mon," and still, he pulled back. "since when do you care about this school-spirit-bullshit?"

he was right, yn never involved herself with whatever activities the school came up with. time and time again, they'd skipped so many classes as to not get involved with all those school projects they both deemed as meaningless, deciding to spend their mornings strolling around parks and nearby shopping districts instead. but that wasn't an option anymore, and yn needed some way to blurr the images that kept torturing her with the agonizing nostalgia of a broken relationship.

"promise me we'll talk. tonight."

"sure," for the third time, she attempted to take back her luggage. but his answer was the same.

"no, yn. promise me."

with every fiber of her being, yn summoned the last shreds of her patience and met his gaze. his eyes held her captive, beseeching her in silence to unravel the troubles he was willing to share with no one but her, and the hypnotic pull of his gaze weakened her willpower to resist.

"i promise." she reluctantly gave in.

as kyung jun finally released the carry-on, yn didn't even bat an eye before snatching it up and walking away. however, as she made her way into the resort center, she couldn't help but feel frustrated with herself for falling for his tricks. all the effort she had put into avoiding him seemed to have gone down the drain so quickly, leaving her feeling defeated.

not wanting kyung jun to catch up to her, yn rushed inside the building.

warm lights illuminated the vast entrance, composed by a lounge area with leathered sofas that accentuated the beige walls with brighter colors and a water dispenser conveniently placed next to the cushioned seats. at the center, a beautiful statue engulfed by faint blue lighting towered over everything below. the perfectly crafted marble giant was impossible to miss, looking like a still guardian watching over the resort's grounds. yet that didn't stop yn from overlooking the sign with the qr code needed for the resort's wifi and facility app.

following the arrows pointing out the way towards the elevator, yn got in and pressed the button labeled dormitories. the heavy doors slid and shut before the steel cage trembled, signaling its vertical movement. suddenly, the girl felt the air tighten inside her chest, twisting her lungs in a way that seemed to strangle them. oxygen got caught up in her throat as images of cables snapping and an imminent fall to her death plagued her mind. in, out, in, out. yn's breath increased as rapidly as tidal waves when the lights malfunctioned and in between flickers, she saw a dark figure out of the corner of her eye.

the moment she snapped her head back to take a look, a faint bell announced the door sliding open. taking in the air as steadily as she could, yn grabbed her suitcase and escaped the cage of death. frightened and disoriented, she questioned if what just concurred has been a quick fever dream or reality. and if it wasn't, why did her mind torture her like that? as far as she knew, never in her life had she experienced something that'd cause this crippling fear of high spaces. so why...?

she shook her head and brushed off the uncanny feeling, dismissing it as a consequence from the tiresome trip and forcing herself to focus on finding the room she shared with ahn na hee and kim so mi, who'd invited her with overwhelming coercion. compared to the elevator ride, figuring out her way to her dormitory was a piece of cake. the girl left her stuff in an empty corner and took the stairs down towards the gymnasium. there, instead of getting scolded by the teacher like she expected, what greeted her was a plethora of different activities performed by her classmates.

in the middle of the room, a group of students flawlessly danced to the rhythm of the songs reverberating from a large speaker, followed by lee joo young and choi mi na silently fighting for the spotlight, and being interrupted by ko kyung jun, who apparently had nothing better to do than to mess with their practice by turning off the music while his two loyal followers, shin seung bin and kim jin ha, played a very dedicated match of ping-pong.

on opposite corners of the gym, jin da bum, choi joo won, lee yoon seo and oh jung won were consecutively separated in two pairs, all conversing with their respective best friends. up on the second floor, cha yoo joon and park ji soo, who never seemed to stay away from each other, watched from above. on the stage, band members im eun chan, nam yeon woo and baek eun ha dabbled with their instruments to make sure everything was perfectly in tune. lastly, jang hyun ho and kim dong hyun busied themselves by organizing all the sport equipment laying around.

"yoon yn!" called kim jun hee from a large set of tables surrounded by the other members of the student council which, of course, included kim so mi and her friend ahn na hee.

with no sight of their teacher around yn walked stress-free to said table, although not before catching park woo ram pointing his camera right at her, which made the guy hastily turning to film someone else.

"you're here," the class president stated. "we thought you got lost or something."

"sorry, i got caught up with something." yn replied. she didn't really care about these preparations, but she did promise to help, and yn wasn't the type to use that word lightly.

"yeah! i was going to text you but we've been so busy preparing everything." so mi ranted, sprinkling salt into the wound.

"i can see that," yn commented, deciding to ignore so mi's backhanded scolding.

"what happened, though? did you really get lost?" na hee asked.

"no, i got stopped by kyung jun."

"oh, right. he was a bit late too now that I think about it."

"is that jackass bothering you again?" hyun ho, who'd come closer to the table just as yn approached, joined in and put a hand on her shoulder.

"no," yes. "everything's fine."

truth be told, yn would rather drop dead than having to deal with kyung jun. however, she knew that telling her classmates about it wouldn't lead to a positive outcome. after all, the only person who had the courage to confront the delinquent was hyun ho, and, given their history, yn was certain his involvement would only make matters worse.

in another area of the bustling gym, the noticeable trio of vandals were causing a ruckus in the corner. as they tossed a basketball back and forth, jin ha hurled the ball at kyung jun, who was too busy gawking at yn's arrival to notice. the ball smacked him right in the chest–a painful reminder of how his focus seemed to always follow after her.

"shit, my bad!" jin ha exclaimed.

their leader squatted to grab the ball at his feet and got back up only for his gaze to fix back towards the girl who constantly distracted him and, of-fucking-course, hyun ho standing right next to her, as always. the sight made his blood boil and his knuckles turn white as he clenched the basketball in his hands, while his rapid heartbeats deafened any coherent thought telling him to settle down.

seeing this, jin ha and seung bin looked at each other before the latter sighed and came closer to his friend. throwing one arm around his shoulders, he spoke:

"why don't we go outside, man? get your head out the gutter."

"yeah," kyung jun agreed, seeing seung bin was clearly trying his best to support him. perhaps he was right, some air would probably do him good right now. "let's go." was the last thing he said before disappearing through the gymnasium's exit, just in time to miss the teacher entering from the other side.

after informing the class presidents about a problem regarding the other bus full of students set to accompany them on this field trip, he left, clearly in a panic because of the unexpected turn of events.

in the meantime, most of class 2-3 remained in the gymnasium. no more than a few minutes went by before the dancing group, who now were fixing their hair and makeup while sitting on the floor, called yn over. ever since they found out about her break up, the girls had been offered her to go out again and again, an opportunity they took to invite her to join their club with not-so-subtle comments.

"oh yn, you should hang out with us more!" were the kind of utterances she always received from the class' cheerleaders.

mi na had insisted on brushing yn's hair. taking the empty stop in front of her classmate, she felt the bristles effortlessly flowing through the roots of her hair to its ends. the conversation was an amicable one. the girls often taking their time to butter up yn and saying how cool it'd be to have her in their club–until the self proclaimed hairdresser decided to dive into something she'd been curious about.

"hey yn."

"yeah?" she answered, eyes closed while enjoying the soothing sensation of the hairbrush.

"why did you and kyung jun brake up?"

mi na found herself at a loss for words when she faced the disapproving and critical stares of the entire group. why would you ask that? their glares yelled in silence, making her feel like she just made a terrible mistake.

"that's between him and i, mi na." yn abruptly ended the change of topic.

why did they break up? that's a question she'd been asked countless times ever since her classmates took note of their separation. a query yn remembered avoiding like a plague, long before this trip. only this time, a strange, guttural discomfort buried into every corner of her brain as she noticed a spec of something missing, unable to put together if the same evasion came as a reflex or because she couldn't answer it herself.

"right," mi na's shame, reinforced by the brutal glares of the other girls, took over her face as her cheeks flushed. "sorry."

luckily for her, just as her face morphed into a cherry tomato, a painful ringing roared through the speakers before the absence of light engulfed the high schoolers in deep darkness.

"c'mon! what is this?" one said.

"what's going on?" asked another.

"hey, turn the lights on!" resonated a voice from above.

a loud clang similar to a metal pipe hitting a hard surface echoed over the four walls, followed by the piercing shrieks of several people. helping themselves with the flashlights provided by their phones, the students revealed a white figure in the middle of the room.

"quit joking around." before any more screeches could be heard, hyun ho launched a basketball to the sheeted ghost, making it fall to the ground just as pathetically as your average cartoon villain.

with the precision of a well-rehearsed act, the room was suddenly lit up, revealing the mischievous culprit behind the childish prank. and lo and behold, it was none other than heo yool.

the collection of complaints from everybody present synced in a perfect expression of annoyance and the occasional insult.

"guys, listen carefully." the class clown™ gathered his classmates' attention as he stood from the ground. "i've heard that, a long time ago, a high school girl killed herself here," he explained, playing the role of a surprisingly talented storyteller. "so there's a few things you should never do: don't look at the mirror and turn around at midnight. and if someone grabs your ankle when you're sleeping, don't look down. if you break these rules," he turned to the group of dancers. "a ghost will pop up!" dashing towards them with the form of a rogish halloween scare actor, he was met with the frightened squeals of the girls.

yn, whose interest in the paranormal had never been deep enough to scare her, grabbed mi na's hairbrush and hurled it towards heo yool. an action that encouraged the rest of the class to throw everything they had at hand, along with some despicable remarks and the teasing laugh of the insufferable rascal.

defeated by heo yool's stunts, the students decided they've had enough as one by one they exited the gym.

"are you coming, yn?" so mi asked.

the girl nodded before answering, "i'll be there in a minute. i want to get some water first."

at the entrance, so mi and yn parted ways. she approached the water dispenser and took one of the cardboard cups provided by the machine. ever since the lights of the gymnasium had turned off, the girl noticed an unusual taste in her mouth that reminded her of her frightening fever dream at the elevator. she felt it at the back of her neck: something eerily creeping behind her at every given moment. was it possible that heo yool's story actually got under her skin? trying to brush off the uncanny sensation, yn took a sip from the refreshment in her hand.

"yn!"

the call startled her, making the water get caught up in her throat. she coughed and patted her own chest as the liquid scraped its way down her larynx, like a tiny bug trying to escape a spider's web. once able to compose herself, yn glanced towards the voice.

"im so sorry!" joo won panicked in a stutter, "i didn't mean to do that, are you ok?"

"im fine." she wiped the water from her lips with her long sleeve.

joo won and his companion standing behind, da bum, stared at her in silence.

"do you want anything or...?"

a simultaneous no and a yes echoed trough the entrance, followed by a confused frown from the girl and whatever silent conversation the two guys were displaying with their eyes.

"do you think maybe you could," joo won took his sweet time to mutter his next words, as if scared. "talk with kyung jun?"

"excuse me?"

what the fuck...? did kyung jun put them up to this?

"we just, well," the spokesman of the duo halted. "we gave some money to his friends a few days ago and we just don't want to bother them."

oh.

"so you bother me?"

"no, no!" da bum spoke promptly and grabbed his friend's arm, pulling him along as he took a few steps to leave. "it's ok, yn. we won't bother you."

joo won released himself from da bum's grasp and walked towards yn. "please," he pleaded, holding one of her hands tightly with both of his. "he'll listen to you."

right as her heart started beating with enough sympathy to care for their situation, the front door opened. seung bin, jin ha and kyung jun walked into the building, the latter playing around with a basketball.

the three delinquents would've kept their saunter if it weren't for yn's presence, which made the group's top dog stop in his tracks. his companions did the same and all stared at the situation unfolding right in front of them. kyung jun's eyes stayed on the hands holding yn and after noticing his threatening glare, joo won leaped away from her.

"what's going on?" asked the fearful leader.

"you owe them money?" yn countered, her eyes flickering between the trio.

"what?" the blonde one laughed, brushing off the accusation.

"they do!" joo won blamed, but instantly went back to his helpless self when met with the bullies' threatening scowls. "please, i just need it for my tuition."

the firm glare of the girl pierced through the tough act of the tamer vandal, making him drop his facade as he approached the feeble boy, closed fist in the air.

"fuck, man! we're on retreat, why are you asking us for money now?"

"yeah," seung bin joined in, defending his friend. "what are you, a loan shark? we told you we'd give you interests. give us some time, dipshit!"

kyung jun, who'd only taken the role of observer until that moment, put down the basketball he held and intervened to slap both of his lackeys' heads. "did you do sports betting again? huh?"

like scolded puppies, seung bin and jin ha faced the floor as they stepped aside.

"da bum," he called, and the guy lifted his head to stare at the bully. "did you lend them money too?"

"huh?" as kyung jun stalked closer, da bum's heart raced faster with every step. his eyes frantically scanned the room, desperately seeking any distraction from the intimidating figure slowly closing in on him. "yes. but i can wait for my money. there's no rush." with a lump in his throat, da bum braced himself for whatever was coming next.

"how much?" kyung jun's open hand grabbed the side of da bum's face, forcing the terrified boy to look right at him. "ill pay you back."

"you will?" da bum stuttered.

"of course," his grin turned into something sinister, which allowed only da bum to see because of their proximity. "in return play basketball with me, yeah?"

he faintly smacked his victim's face twice before coming up to yn. "everything's alright here, yn. see? no need for this." kyung jun reached out to hold her hand but she pulled away before any contact could be made.

was she really so revolted by him she wouldn't even let him touch her? accepting his defeat, kyung jun hid his hands inside his jacket's pockets.

"right," yn looked at da bum and joo won, who were currently being pushed around by the other two, before turning back to kyung jun. "in that case, i'll get going."

"you're not coming with me?" just as yn started to walk away, his words pulled her back in.

"i'd rather not."

"are you sure?"

with a swift nod, kyung jun signaled seung bin and jin ha to go ahead and, bringing along the poor students they were about to torment, they disappeared down the hallway.

they were left alone, just like kyung jun liked it. only them, with nothing and no one around to interrupt their precious time together.

not a single second did he stop looking into her fiery eyes, which only seemed to hold a hostility that antagonized his own devoted regard.

"it's almost midnight."

both held each other's gaze, which kyung jun took as an invitation to step towards the girl. he stopped right in front of her and, unfortunately, yn's heart betrayed her mind as she internally screamed for it to cease its raising beats.

kyung jun's hands raised to yn's face, completely forgetting her previous rejection. for a second, he thought of apologizing, since she'd made it clear time and time again how much she now despised his presence. but how could he apologize for something he was barely conscious of? he couldn't help himself, not when she was merely inches away, not with her. maybe if he insisted–if he didn't give up–she'd finally understand why staying apart was never the world's plan.

"you promised me. remember?"

his hands were close. so close he could feel his fingertips grace her cheeks, a touch so minuscule, yet enough to make his skin crawl with anticipation.

he was too close.

yn stepped back just as she felt the fleeting spark. she would be dammed if she ever allowed him to touch her again, in more ways than one. or at least that's what she told herself as she fell right into another one of his tricks. kyung jun knew her well; too well for her liking. and with such measly words she found herself helplessly cornered by her own self-discipline and morals.

fucking bastard.

up in the vast dormitory area of the resort center, different groups of people were each caught up in their own conversations, without a single care in the world or the impending sinister feeling hanging over their heads like an invisible wrecking ball about to crash and destroy every single thing they ever cared for.

in her room, lee yoon seo was finally able to lose herself in her novel when her phone pinged. slightly annoyed by the distraction she took a closer look to her home screen, which displayed an app in process of downloading.

"i told you i didn't need this." she showed the screen to her roommate.

"it wasn't me." jung won answered, just as astounded.

our perspective changes and now we observe a group of various students, all gathered in one room. the class couple, the cheerleaders and members of the student council all sharing snacks and stories between them in perfect harmony until a knock interrupted.

"come in!" allowed the vice president.

"hey guys," the door opened, reavealing hyun ho accompanied by his best friend, dong hyun, who stayed on the hallway behind him. "has anyone seen yn?"

"how come you don't know? you're always following her." mocked woo ram before taking a handful of chips from one of the various bags scattered around the room.

"you're one to talk." ji soo muttered, which provoked woo ram to throw a scrambled napkin her way.

"i'm serious." hyun ho replied, "i've tried texting her but this wifi doesn't even work."

"she told me she was going to get some water, isn't she downstairs?" just as so mi finished her sentence, one by one every phone in the room chimed.

notifications spread throughout the resort like a 14th century pandemic, resonating around every room as if imitating the never ending bells that announced the beginning of the end.

back in the gymnasium, joo won stood shaking below the basketball hoop with his friend by his side, eyes shut tight as neither dared watch the nearing hit from the ball.

"joo won, stay right there." kyung jun sneered as he prepared himself to throw. he looked up, targeting the net as he bent his knees, faked a jump, and sent the ball right into the boy's stomach.

joo won kneeled in pain, groaning and grasping his abdomen with both hands in his best attempt to soothe the aching sensation puncturing his body.

yn watched the situation unfold as she sat on the rubber gym flooring, otherwise cold if it weren't for seung bin's zip-up laid out below her. it had been kyung jun who'd instructed the blondie to give up his hoodie, since yn declined on taking his own. not a single word was heard from the girl ever since stepping into the gym as the trio took turns tormenting their two victims, until now.

"i didn't come here for this, kyung jun."

almost ten minutes had passed and she was still waiting for kyung jun to approach her and start the conversation he so adamantly pushed onto her.

"c'mon yn, let me give it one more shot."

he must've lost his fucking mind, thinking he had her wrapped around his finger to waste her time in such a way. fed up, yn got up and snatched the basketball out of his hands before throwing it away. it rolled towards jin ha, who immediately picked it up to quite the sound of the bouncing that only seemed to raise the tension of the ex-lovers' quarrel.

yn opened her mouth to give kyung jun an ultimatum, a last opportunity out of her remaining patience, when a sudden ding emitted out of her skirt's pocket. she would've payed no mind to it if it weren't for the other five identical sounds that propagated right after.

each person in the room took out their phones and faced their screens, which displayed a virtual envelope eagerly waiting to be opened.

TAP TO VIEW YOU ROLE, read the text below.

"wasn't this the resort's app?" asked jin ha, to nobody in particular.

resort's app?

she never knew about any app.

"mafia?" seung bin laughed from his spot at the floor and showed his screen. "what's this about?"

"what the fuck is this?" kyung jun mumbled with a frown, clearly confused.

yn brought one hand to the back of her neck as the abnormal sensation from minutes ago reappeared. goosebumps started breaking out throughout her skin and every cell on her body seemed to tremble uncontrollably while she stared at the little black mirror on her hand. which, as she would soon find out, reflected the last version of herself with any shred of purity.

🏷️ @flaneurpastel - @jwijii - @watamotee33

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randomlifex · 1 year ago

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Exceptions

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Go Kyungjun x fem!reader

Plot:even bullies have a soft spot. You may be in Kyungjun’s.

Warnings:mentions of death and fear

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Red lights flashing everywhere in the gym. People were screaming, crying, accusing each other of who murdered who while a robotic voice kept repeating the same words:

“Citizens must identify and vote for the Mafia”

It was an unstoppable loop in which you found yourself paralysed…like always,like in any other situation. Fear to you meant stopping,it didn’t matter if the solution was running;your body would stay still,your brain would break any connection of thoughts. Emptiness. Eyes as pieces of glasses reflecting the world around you.

You were sitting on the ground, surrounded by people running everywhere to get their phones back. They were supposed to be collected into the bean Kyunjun had brought there earlier, but someone had hit it and the objects had scattered all over the place. Your classmates were dying like butterflies shook by the electricity of a lamp as the robotic voice would reveal the identities of those who had passed.

Citizen

Mafia

What even was a mafia? What even was that game? Could you call that a game? It wasn’t.

Your lips started shaking:you had to get up,find your phone and vote for someone, but you couldn’t. A girl fell dead next to you,her empty eyes staring into your soul. Fuck,that was what you would’ve looked in a few minutes? Terrible.

“Move,do something” you repeated yourself. Your body was out of command. Your jaw started shaking and your eyes burning, but somehow tears didn’t seem to be ready to roll down your cheeks.

A guy ran past you, unwillingly hitting your arm with his leg:your body shook, however you still didn’t move.

That was your end, you were sure, there was no more hope in your heart until…a hand grabbed your shoulder.

“What the heck are you doing, idiot?!” Kyungjun mumbled, chaining his eyes with yours. You didn’t answer.

“Where’s your phone?” he asked. Still no answer.

“You’re gonna die!”. Again, no answer.

Kyungjun sighed in disbelief as he grabbed your wrist, trying to get you up from the ground. Your legs answered to the strength of his arms, but it wasn’t enough to make you run like any other student in that gym.

“What’s your phone?” the boy asked again

“It’s…it’s…”

“What is it? Come on,you’ve got no time left!” he tried to encourage you. It took you a second, but then you finally whispered the model of your phone to him.

In a rush, the guy started looking around until he saw your phone in a forgotten corner. He grabbed it and came back to you.

“Vote for someone. It doesn’t matter who, just vote” he told you, resting his hand on the back of your hips. You nodded unsure, voting for the first name on the screen.

A few more bodies fell, a girl got executed and then…silence. No more screams, no more rush, nothing. Your body slowly started functioning again, even tho the response to that wasn’t good.

Your legs lost the strength to support you as you fell on the ground again, scratching your knees and the palm of your hands while trying to not get too much hurt.

“Damn” you whispered, tears were finally wetting your pretty face.

Kyugjun looked at you from above:he hated the feeling rising in his chest, that little burning sparkle that somehow made him melt at your sight; but he couldn’t do anything about it. He was framed; he couldn’t escape, he couldn’t push back that protective instinct he had towards you, so he just kneeled down to your height, sliding some strands of your hair behind your hear.

“You need to control your fear or you’re gonna die” he whispered. Those words weren’t the right ones, he knew, but he wasn’t great at helping people…he was supposed to put them into troubles. He was a destroyer, not a healer…but with you, damn, with you he couldn’t even think about being the punk that he was.

He wiped your tears away with the back of his hand and gently hit your your shoulder

“Let’s go where there are no bodies” he said,helping you standing up and leading you to the infirmary. You sat on a bed, watching as the boy began to open cupboards and drawers.

“Here it is” he said,placing a first aid kit next to you. He grabbed a disinfectant and a few plasters, medicating the scratches on your knees and hands.

Once he was done he brushed the dust away from your uniform and gently grabbed your leg to fix the socks which had fallen down. His fingers brushed against your skin, giving your shivers and an odd feeling of safety.

“You’re okay now” he said, standing right in front of you

“Thank you” you mumbled, staring at the ground as you were so shy that you could barely hold eye contact with him

“Are you scared of me?” he asked, stepping back.

You rose your head, shaking it

“No, I’m just…confused. I didn’t expect you to act like this” you whispered, holding onto the cloth of your skirt.

Kyungjun gulped, scratching the back of his neck:

“I do sometimes make exceptions-he smirked, caressing your cheek-do you wanna be that exception?” he then asked.

You felt your cheeks burning as you hid your face in between your hands; Kyungjun laughed, wrapping an arm around your shoulders. Your head rested on his chest while he ruffled your hair

“I’ll take it as a yes, little thing”

#night has come kdrama #cha woo min #cha woomin x reader #ko kyungjun x reader #night has come #ko kyungjun #night has come x reader #night has come kyung jun

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heavens-moonlight · 1 month ago

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𝗕𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗘𝗥𝗟𝗜𝗡𝗘𝗦 | 𝟬𝟳 : 𝗔𝗟𝗠𝗢𝗦𝗧 𝗜𝗦 𝗡𝗘𝗩𝗘𝗥 𝗘𝗡𝗢𝗨𝗚𝗛

𝟬𝟲 : 𝗕𝗟𝗔𝗖𝗞 𝗛𝗘𝗔𝗥𝗧𝗦 | 𝟬𝟴 : 𝗦𝗛𝗢𝗨𝗟𝗗’𝗩𝗘, 𝗖𝗢𝗨𝗟𝗗’𝗩𝗘, 𝗪𝗢𝗨𝗟𝗗’𝗩𝗘

Authors Note: It has seriously been so long but I've been gone to study as well as test for my boards and didn't want any distractions, but I’m back and more motivated than ever! Thank you so much for all the messages of concern (that I am now only getting around to seeing). This was originally supposed to go up a bit sooner but I thought it was too heavy to start 2025 off with so it's here now instead. Happy New Year to everyone and if you're still reading this story I hope you can excuse the time off in exchange for more frequent updates now that I actually have time to myself. As always, I'd love to hear what you think! Until next time ♡

Faint morning sunlight filters through the sheer white curtains, casting a muted glow in the room. The quiet murmur of the world you've grown accustomed to is now inaudible, muffled by the window's thick glass, separating illusion from reality.

In this hushed room, the oppressive silence adheres to you like second skin, suffocating you in the familiarity—and the loneliness. Even as the clock on the wall ticks away signaling the passage of time, it's not enough to drown out the feeling that it has long since stopped—stalled at a moment where nothing feels possible, where hope is just an echo of something impossible.

A sense of heaviness settles atop your body, aching as though it has been carrying the weight of far too many days for far too long.

Your eyelids flutter open languidly, the effort of rising from the darkness of sleep too much to take. For a moment, you sit still, staring at the tender rays filtering in, but it offers no warmth, only a pale reminder of things that once felt brighter.

Feeble shadows dance across the walls, reflecting off the surface of the floors.

In the dulled haze of the scattered sunbeams, the light is neither enough to pierce through the darkness of your dismal dreams nor your despairing reality.

The beautiful, soft, and serene sunlight doesn't touch your heart any longer, for even if it did, it wouldn't change a single thing.

It feels like a lie, that sunlight.

It promises warmth, but it doesn't deliver.

Your chin quivers and you bring your fingers to your face, rubbing your eyes in an effort to physically hold back the tears. Wanting to close your eyes for just a second, even that small release of tension only makes you more aware of the pressure in your chest.

Only when warm hands envelop your own to gently pull them away do you turn to its source.

Jun-Hee's brown eyes are the first thing you see and shielding your heart, you remain strong, holding his gaze.

It brings you comfort, but also trepidation, as you focus on his irises, a rich, deep hue contrasting that of the soulless, colorless shade of murky white imprinted in your subconscious.

Death was staring at you through his eyes in that vivid nightmare, and instead of running away, you had run toward it.

You both sit completely still in one another's presence for a couple more minutes before the familiar lump lodges its way in your throat the longer you look at him and circling through a million what-if's.

It's too much.

Too much to keep pretending that things will get better.

No longer being able to ground your thoughts or steady your breaths, your hands fall from his and you rise on shaky feet, walking in a non-linear line seeking escape.

The silence swells again and you step forward, feet carrying you toward the door, each movement mechanical.

There's no destination in mind, no plan. Just the thought that perhaps if you walk long enough, if you move far enough, you can outrun whatever's holding you here.

But deep down, you know that you won't.

You know that you can't.

As you pass a mirror hung up on the adjacent wall, you stop short in your tracks.

You swallow, then blink at your reflection in the mirror, barely recognizable to your own self, splatters of blood dotted across your visage and eyes devoid of hope.

It makes you physically hurt.

It makes you want to scream out loud.

Instead, you bite down on your lip hard enough to draw blood and swipe at your own face, each pass more aggressive than the last.

No matter how hard you press, the streaks merely smear, yet refuse to disappear completely.

You wonder if this is how it will be once this is all over.

Try as you might, you can't imagine in the slightest ever being able to rid of the gruesome memories.

The tears.

The blood.

The deaths.

The world outside continues on, unchanged, while you remain stuck in this place, trapped in the moment between yesterday and tomorrow.

At the next raise of your hand, Jun-Hee winds his fingers around your wrist and tugs it down tenderly but still firmly enough that it brings you back to your senses.

The familiar rage and hurt bubble inside your chest and you force it down, bottling your emotions as you have always done.

Wordlessly, Jun-Hee throws open the room's door and drags you along on a path straight to the bathrooms.

He turns your shoulders, facing you away from the wall length mirrors, back pressed against the counter of sinks.

The light flickers overhead as you hang your head, silent sobs wracking your body. Jun-Hee stands in the doorway, heart twisting in his chest at the sight of you. For as long as he has known you, your strength had always been something he admired. But now, you were breaking, and he felt helpless.

"Seol-Hwa," he whispers, voice thick with emotion. "Please."

Your shoulders shudder as you look up, eyes swollen and red. The weight of everything you couldn't say crushes you, too heavy for words.

With determination, Jun-Hee crosses the threshold to stand in front of you, bending down to eye level and ever so gently reaching forward to cup your face in his hands. His touch is steady, even as he fears you would pull away hearing your breath hitch at the contact.

"Look at me," he murmurs, low and even. "I want you to see your reflection of yourself as I see you. Deflect all your pains, your worries, and your fears onto me. In my eyes, there is only you."

Tears make their descent down your face so you shakily inhale, trying to stop the streaming rivulets. Jun-Hee gingerly steps ever closer, thumbs brushing over your cheeks to trace the lines of every drop.

"I—I don't know how to fix it," you choke out, voice trembling. "No one can."

As your tears continue to fall unbidden, Jun-Hee sighs and reaches around you for a stack of paper towels, dampening them with cool water before softly wiping your face as if he were erasing the pain one swipe at a time.

Rather than pulling away or flinching, you surrender to the tender touch, breath slowing just a little with each movement. You can't help but to stare, the course of your nightmare haunting you even when awake.

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

"It's—" you pause, not knowing how to approach it. You decide if you didn't start, Jun-Hee wouldn't have to learn of the ending. "It's nothing."

"It's not nothing if it has you like this."

You shake your head, lips pressed into a firm line.

"Was it a bad dream?"

Hesitantly, you nod, tears brimming on your waterline once more. "In it...you left." It was neither of your faults, yet the words come out laced with bitterness yet also chock-full of longing, of pain, and of regret. "You left...and I was all alone."

Jun-Hee pulls you into a tight hug, tucking your head beneath his chin. He didn't have answers. He couldn't make it disappear. But he could be here. He could hold you.

"Is that what you're afraid of?" One hand comes to nestle the back of your head, patting softly in reassurance. "I'm right here. I'm not going anywhere."

Wrapping your arms around him, you rest your ear against his chest, finding solace in his beating heart signaling life, chambers of sound echoing your feelings for him.

"The future seems far too bleak to give us a choice to stay."

"In any circumstance, even if I had to leave, I would always come back to you, Seol- Hwa."

[ ʙᴇғᴏʀᴇ ᴛʜᴇ ʟᴀsᴛ ᴠᴏᴛᴇ ᴄʟᴏsᴇᴅ, ᴘᴏʟɪᴄᴇ ᴜsᴇᴅ ᴛʜᴇɪʀ sᴋɪʟʟ. ᴅᴜʀɪɴɢ ᴛʜᴇ ɴɪɢʜᴛ, ᴘᴀʀᴋ ᴊɪ-sᴏᴏ, ᴀ ᴄɪᴛɪᴢᴇɴ, ᴡᴀs ᴇxᴇᴄᴜᴛᴇᴅ ʙʏ ᴍᴀғɪᴀ. ᴀʟʟ ᴘᴀʀᴛɪᴄɪᴘᴀɴᴛs, ɪᴅᴇɴᴛɪғʏ ᴛʜᴇ ᴍᴀғɪᴀ ᴀɴᴅ ʙᴇɢɪɴ ᴛᴏ ᴠᴏᴛᴇ. ]

The monotonous announcement drones on soporifically, seemingly mocking Yu-Jun's cries that nearly mask every single word like knives probing at the still-open wounds in his heart.

You can barely bring yourself to watch even after the others have left the scene one by one as Yu-Jun holds Ji-Soo's limp body in his arms behind the previously impenetrable door now split down the middle, a parallel to their parting.

"This can't be..." Yu-Jun intones in despair, shaking his girlfriend's shoulders to no avail. "I still need you here with me..."

Recognition comes at you in full force, causing you to stumble back, clutching at the doorframe in reliance as your head spins, the same exact words you had said to Jun-Hee in your nightmare reverberating in the dark recesses of your mind, echoing far too loud in the vicinity of the now empty hallway.

Sensing the movement, Yu-Jun glances over, a flash of surprise to see you still there, before it's gone and replaced by utter grief.

Pulling yourself together, you hesitantly approach. Even as you kneel down next to the two, you're met with no resistance nor reticence as you had expected.

"You don't have to stay. No one else did." Yu-Jun's voice is muffled as he pulls Ji-Soo ever closer, hunching over with his head against her own.

"I know I don't have to, but I want to," you emphasize.

At this, he looks up, confused. "I don't understand. I'm not someone who should be on the receiving end of kindness."

"That doesn't mean you deserve this," you gesture around, noticing somberly as his hands tighten, clutching at the fabric of Ji-Soo's now crinkled white shirt. "None of us do."

"Maybe I do." Yu-Jun stares straight forward at the wall, focusing on nothing. "Maybe this is karma for everything I've done wrong."

"We're people. Everyone makes mistakes. It's part of being human."

Yu-Jun chuckles darkly. "Tell me, what kind of mistake is this game then?"

"A fatal one."

There's a long stretch of silence between you two before he speaks up. "I'm sorry." You're taken aback by the sudden admission of regret, unable to hide your reaction. Yu-Jun clears his throat awkwardly before addressing you with sincerity. "My friend group, me included, haven't always been the nicest to you or yours and even though I knew it deep down, I never owned up to it. On behalf of them and myself, I want to apologize." His breaths come out ragged with so much still to convey between every intake of air. "In case—" he glances down again at Ji-Soo in his arms and brushes away stray strands of hair from her face. "—I don't get the chance to say the things I've saved to say."

"Do you have words that you regret never having said?"

"Three. Only three."

You can guess what it is without confirmation from the way Yu-Jun's lips quiver, eyes filled with unshed tears.

"Stay alive for her."

"I don't know if I can."

"You will," you respond with certainty, rising back on your feet.

"How are you so sure?"

"Are there not people you still want to save, including yourself?"

Realization finally makes its way onto his face. "H-How did you figure it out? T-That I'm a doctor?" The words come out in broken stutters.

You pull out your phone and turn it around, showing the resurrection screen. "It's hard to recognize those against you, but it's even harder to recognize those with you. We shouldn't let one another down."

Yu-Jun opens and closes his mouth, struggling to find the right words to say. "I feel as though I've already disappointed so many. A second chance is not something I deserve."

"Rather than saying you don't deserve things, prove that you do."

"Do you...not have any desire to reserve revival for yourself? "

"I could, but that defeats the whole purpose of this responsibility assigned to us in saving the innocent. Doctors place the needs of others before their own. Is that not what we are now?"

Yu-Jun's entire demeanor shifts from reluctant to resolute, from hopeless to hopeful. "I'll do my best so that no more sacrifices will be done in vain."

A faint smile adorns your face, acknowledging the partnership wordlessly. "Whatever happens, don't forget to protect yourself even as you're protecting the others."

Yu-Jun makes a sound of affirmation as you turn to leave. "Wait—"

You look back over your shoulder. "What is it?"

"You're a really good person, Seol-Hwa, just as Jun-Hee has always said. I see why he likes you so much."

Faltering, the corner of your lips imperceptibly curl downward. "We're best friends. He's obligated to say that."

"I don't think feelings are an obligation."

"Feelings never do well in a life or death situation."

"Do you have words that you regret never having said?" Yu-Jun uses your own verbatim against you.

Your eyes waver but you tamper down your emotions, refusing to let them show. "I had a dream last night where I said the words I've always wanted to say and Jun-Hee and I still wind up, over and over again, at only one ending sequence."

"And that ending is?"

Swiveling your head back around to hide the tears wanting to fall, you whisper quietly before walking away, "The same as your's."

Despite Yu-Jun declining to join, the rest reconvene in the deserted warehouse, as barren and cold as you were feeling.

Everyone is on edge, warily eyeing one another, no longer trying to hide the smallest ounce of suspicion.

Yoon-Seo speaks up next to you, words curt as she crosses her arms across her chest. "What's the reason for calling all of us down here?"

If it was possible, Kyung-Jun is even more patronizing, walking back and forth in the center with his head held high. Haughtily, he turns to the group. "Do you all not know or are you pretending not to?" He smirks. "Park Woo-Ram, that bastard, the one who deceived all of you was the Mafia. Just who was the only person to pinpoint that?" Throwing his hands up in a show of bravado, he motions for applause. "Me."

Solely, Seung-Bin claps, always one to grovel at his leader's feet. "Of course, it's no one else but you with the great hunch." His positive countenance morphs to one of disdain, transitioned so seamlessly, that it makes you wonder if he has ever displayed a genuine expression. "I can't say the same for you lot of Police. Whoever you all are, you could learn a thing or two from Kyung-Jun."

The person in question waves him off to the back and steps forward, hands in his pockets. "Hear that? If you want to catch the Mafia, do as I say."

Beside you, Jun-Hee deadpans, "Do what?"

"You'll take turns saying who you think is guilty and I'll pick for you."

Whispers grow amongst your classmates and you can sense the growing frustration directed at a single player.

Scoffing, Jun-Hee shakes his head in disbelief. "Who are you to decide? It's up to all of us."

"There's not enough collective intelligence for us to do that. Did you all forget how and why I nearly died last night? Who other than me is definitely a Citizen?" Kyung-Jun strides the length of the room as he scrutinizes everyone in turn, shaking his pointer finger in succession but ultimately drops it as he reaches you. Seeing your mien of indifference, he pivots back around, leaving his next words hanging in the air. "I think the rest of the Mafia members are hidden among those who voted for me yesterday."

"That doesn't mean anything," Na-Hee defends.

"Oh really?" Kyung-Jun whirls back around, fixating on Na-Hee and clucks his tongue at her. "On the contrary, it means everything. For the fact alone that you all sided with the opposition to rid of me. What clearer evidence is there?"

"How were we supposed to know?" Jun-Hee states clearly. "Don't judge based on one round where no one had the slightest clue."

"Then, what should I assess you on?" Kyung-Jun retorts. "Voting is the entire point of this game to figure out who's who."

"Your logic is shit if that's all you use to reason with," Jung-Won admonishes.

"You bitch—"

So-Mi cuts in abruptly, changing the topic of conversation for the time being. "What about Ji-Soo then? Why kill someone so randomly without the need to?"

"Who cares about intention when you yourself could die?"

Behind him, you can see Jin-Ha and Seung- Bin look at one another briefly, weary looks on their faces at Kyung-Jun's words, message loud and clear: Friendship amounts to nothing when it comes to survival.

Yeon-Woo timidly voices from the back. "So, Ji-Soo wasn't the Doctor then?"

"Read the notification carefully," Eun-Chan murmurs to his friend. "She was a Citizen, but that doesn't mean Yu-Jun is."

“Yesterday," Da-Bum adds, "the Police used their skill, so why didn't the Doctor?"

Mi-Na bites at her nails. "Right, because then Ji-Soo would still be here."

You catch sight of Yu-Jun outside through the metal bars across the window opening and once your eyes meet, he hangs his head in shame, walking away forlornly, no longer wanting to listen any further.

No one else notices the exchange and you breathe out on a long exhale, just as much guilty.

"Don't you all think it's weird?" So-Mi's question draws the interest of those next to her. "On the third floor, it was just Ji-Soo and Yu-Jun alone. How come only one of them made it out alive?"

Mi-Na looks over at So-Mi with a gasp. "Could Yu-Jun be a Mafia?"

"Damn," Jin-Ha intones. "If that's true, he really took his girlfriend's life."

In order to not compromise the chance of survival, although knowing that couldn't be farther from the truth especially after seeing the aftermath of the two, you bite down on your tongue to keep peace.

"She did always give him a hard time, what with telling him off and her short temper..." Yeon-Woo trails off.

"Enough of this useless talk that serves no real purpose in pressing matters." Despite the silent resistance, Kyung-Jun still mongers fear in the rest. "I'll single out someone as I see fit."

"How funny! He thinks he's actually in charge," Jung-Won mutters under her breath.

"This one." He spurns her and focuses on Jun-Hee, gesturing condescendingly. "You can tell when he did all that he could to safeguard Woo-Ram."

"Anyone would've done so to save someone who we thought would be a Citizen," you spit out. "Haven't we all been betrayed by someone we trusted?" Kyung-Jun's eyes slide over to yours, jaw clenched, not missing what you alluded to. "If it wasn't you against him, would you be able to say there wasn't even a one percent chance where you couldn't believe him?" His eyes don't leave yours, watching intently your effort at justification. "In the end, we're just victims of a killer."

"Seol-Hwa's right," Na-Hee agrees meekly. "We shouldn't vote just because of a wrong guess."

"Then, let's vote for the right guess this time: Jun-Hee."

"Don't you know about presuming innocence? Stop insisting when you don't have proof." You glare him down. "This isn't a witch hunt where we vote on the basis of who we dislike most."

Kyung-Jun steps toward you and you can feel Yoon-Seo grab your elbow to pull you back but you don't budge even as he bends down, tilting his head to the side, gazing steadfastly at you. "Do you have evidence then?" He fixes you with a challenging stare, reversing your words. "We can't defend based on who we like most."

"You want evidence?" He falters as you merely smile without any real happiness behind it. "I have it."

The hum of the old computer fan is the only sound in the small, dimly lit basement before the clicking of keys fills the silence, rhythmic, almost hypnotic.

Jung-Won's fingertips run across the keyboard, eyes locked on the screen, face bathed in the pale glow of the monitor. She wasn't aware of those standing behind her, too focused, too intent, to notice the interest of the rest, and the trepidation of yours.

"We can get the entire Mafia crew in one go if I manage to pull this off."

From the shadows of the basement, the sound of Seung-Bin's foot tapping repetitively against the floor echoes incessantly. "This is useless. Can't you work any faster than at the rate of a turtle?" His voice breaks the stillness of the room, laced with frustration.

"You're also useless. You have no right to speak," Jung-Won berates, tone sharp as she adds to the tension.

You see the screen flash and spring up from your seat next to Jun-Hee atop a half broken wooden bench discarded in the room. "Do you see anything?"

"I thought I would but..." Jung-Won spins in her chair to face you, "it's all deleted. The files are completely wiped—everything on the drive."

"That can't be." You refuse to even entertain the thought that someone else could've chanced upon this room, especially not after the weird circumstance in which you found it. "Look again." Grabbing Jung-Won's arm a bit too tightly, you urge her to scour the different file locations.

An uneasy silence hangs in the air as you both turn toward the computer once again. Your eyes bat nervously from folder to folder, trying to find something—anything—but the cursor only blinks in emptiness, mocking your desperation.

"It's not that," Jung-Won says aloud as she clicks around, clattering growing louder in defiance. "Any remaining content on here wasn't formatted properly from the start. Whoever had access to this in the first place made sure no else would after them. All traces are erased."

You can't answer right away. Jung-Won's gaze is fixed, but her fingers had slowed. The screen blinks once, twice, before the folder she'd been trying to open vanishes entirely.

A chill runs down your spine.

"It's not... it's not possible..." you whisper, words in tatters. You reach for the mouse but the screen flickers then blacks out entirely as a faint row of red text flashes in the corner.

Deleted: System Error.

The room goes deathly still.

You squeeze your eyes together tightly, stomach in knots and heart plummeting.

"Han Seol-Hwa," comes Jin-Ha's voice. "Were you trying to fool us all? Bring up nonexistent evidence? Nice team-play, Mafias."

"It's not like that! They knew of it beforehand. We're too late!" you shout back, knowing full well evading this accusation just became that much more difficult.

Jin-Ha is about to open his mouth again to reproach you, but one look from Kyung-Jun shuts him up immediately despite his growing displeasure at the newfound tandem. The latter studies you, gauging. "Are you doing this for yourself or for someone else? This whole thing was only brought up because I cornered Jun-Hee earlier."

"Let's calm down and consider the situation first." Yu-Jun sends you what he thinks is a look of support, but even in his encouragement, you can sense that worry outweighed it.

"Don't think you're off the hook either, girlfriend murderer," Kyung-Jun warns Yu-Jun.

"Did you, or did you not, know that this place would have bird's eye view of everything because you were planning to rid of evidence from the beginning?" Jin-Ha corrals you into another corner and you can sense Kyung-Jun holding himself back from going rouge on him.

Jung-Won is by your side in an instant, hands around your shoulders. "You're even dumber than you look."

"Yah!"

"If that was her intention, why would she willingly bring us all here? Unless you've been lobotomized, in what world would someone expose themselves if they're at fault?"

"Whatever," Kyung-Jun concludes, and you look away, expecting him to vote for you without doubt as his finger taps at his screen with finality. "My intuition has never been wrong."

Before the intercom can even announce his choice, Jin-Ha steps in between him and the door, eyes shifting from you to Kyung-Jun and back, equal parts in disbelief and anger. "Have you gone crazy? What are you doing?!"

Seung-Bin stands stunned, looking between the two.

"Didn't you two say that I had a great hunch a few moments ago and everyone should take note?" Kyung-Jun shoves Jin-Ha aside, the shorter of the two bumping into the wall with a thud before a finger is jabbed into the middle of his chest. "Get to learning, bastard."

"Aish shibal!"Jin-Ha curses after his leader's retreating back as Seung-Bin drags him along, the three exiting ultimately with unanimous votes, choices conformed to Kyung-Jun's.

As Mi-Na and Eun-Chan turn to leave as well, you grab at them in a rush. "I really am a Citizen." At their unconvinced looks, you double down. "I'll prove that I am. Please, at least give me until the end of today."

With their evidently remaining suspicions, Eun-Ha comes to your aid. "I trust her. If there's one person who I'm most certain is a Citizen, it has to be Seol-Hwa." She reaches out her hand and gives yours a light squeeze even as your own shakes against hers.

[ ɢᴏ ᴋʏᴜɴɢ-ᴊᴜɴ ʜᴀs ᴠᴏᴛᴇᴅ ғᴏʀ ᴋɪᴍ ᴊᴜɴ-ʜᴇᴇ. ]

[ sʜɪɴ sᴇᴜɴɢ-ʙɪɴ ʜᴀs ᴠᴏᴛᴇᴅ ғᴏʀ ᴋɪᴍ ᴊᴜɴ-ʜᴇᴇ. ]

[ ᴋɪᴍ ᴊɪɴ-ʜᴀ ʜᴀs ᴠᴏᴛᴇᴅ ғᴏʀ ᴋɪᴍ ᴊᴜɴ-ʜᴇᴇ. ]

"I'll be able to restore a few files if I spend a bit more time familiarizing myself with this interface," Jung-Won declares resolutely and you, once again, feel guilty for harboring doubts against her. "I can at least promise this."

"Yes, guys," Na-Hee adds on. "We can vote before night falls once we've all calmed down and have more sound reasoning."

Da-Bum nods in agreement. "We'll know for sure by then. Let's not jump to a decision."

Eun-Ha nudges Mi-Na and Eun-Chan on either side of her, before turning around to motion at Yeon-Woo with her head. They all relent, albeit reluctantly, and as Eun-Ha follows them out of the room, she turns back to give you a half smile in silent support.

So-Mi merely smirks and leaves with everyone else aside from your immediate group, her steps light, your distress her happiness.

You plop back down on the bench and cover your face with your hands. "This is a disaster."

Hyun-Ho scoots in beside you and pats you on the head comfortingly.

"Don't give up just yet." Dong-Hyun fiddles around with the multiple outdated TV's on the opposite wall. "We won't either."

"Da-Bum," Jung-Won calls. "Did you by chance bring a laptop with you?"

"Yeah, why?"

"I need all the help I can get. With your assistance, we should be able to regain lost footage at the earliest an hour before midnight."

"Is that possible? To restore everything?" Da-Bum questions.

"Of course not everything, but if we try our best, clips from the third floor hallway where the incident happened last night is completely doable." Jung-Won is entirely confident as she notifies the group chat while Da-Bum rushes off to get the additional device needed.

Their efforts on behalf of you warm your heart, yet deep down, you can't bring yourself to bask in the momentary peace.

Saving yourself will mean losing Jun-Hee.

The city lights on high above the rooftop cast a backdrop of white behind Jun-Hee, the stark contrast against his black hair like a shining halo.

When he turns to look at you, you can't find it in yourself to hold eye contact, instantly drowning anew in the visions of your nightmare, slipping beneath a blanket of white, the color of surrender.

You wrap your arms around yourself as the frigid night air bites against your skin, and noticing your shivering, Jun-Hee scoots in noticeably closer, pressed against your side in an attempt to offer warmth.

"Is it difficult for you?"

"What is?"

"Giving me your full support, trusting me— believing me without doubt."

Jun-Hee pulls your head onto his shoulder and leans his own against yours. "It's the opposite. You make it easy. I can entrust you with my life."

"Even if all the evidence is evading me?"

"Even then."

Closing your eyes, you let the rise and fall of his shoulder as he breathes calm you. "Why do you trust me so much?"

"I know the kind of person you are, and I know your heart."

"If everyone were to lose their trust in me, as long as you still believe in me, I don't need anything else."

"I'll always be by your side."

"It's weird," you begin. "Not once have I ever thought about my biggest fear, but every night since we have been here, the scent of death keeps lingering, both in my reality and subconscious. I can't rid of it."

"Anyone would say the same."

"Would you?"

"My only fear is that I won't be able to protect you until the end."

You raise your head only to find him already looking at you.

"Is it selfish of me to say that I'm scared? I know the possibility of making it out of here is close to none, but to imagine myself dying, I simply can't." Unabashed, you find yourself crying, tears falling down in twin trails against your cheeks. "I don't want to go like this."

"Who says you have to?" Jun-Hee's right hand cups the side of your face and with his thumb, he brushes away the teardrops cascading down, a mirrored reflection of the morning. "I would never let you die. Until my last breath, I'll make sure you're safe."

"You should always put yourself first, Jun- Hee."

Pulling his hand away from your face, he cradles both of your hands in between his and tightens his own around them.

"Don't you know that I would die for you?"

Shaking your head, you try to get him to rescind his words. "I'm not someone of importance you should sacrifice yourself for."

He smiles lightly. "To me, no one is more important than you—not even my own self."

Your breath catches in your throat and you swallow around the lump forming. "Promise me we'll go home together once this is all over."

Jun-Hee's eyes waver with uncertainty but ultimately nods. "I promise."

"You know it would never be home without you right?"

"Neither without you, Seol-Hwa."

"Then, you can never leave me here alone, if you aren't with me."

"How cute," Jun-Hee suddenly intones and you're taken aback at the fond way he says it. "You think it's possible for me to quit you." He slides off of the bench you two are sitting on, before kneeling down in front of you. From his pockets, he dangles a braided red string between his fingers as he looks up at you, the glimmer of stars reflecting in his eyes. "I wanted to give you this for our friendship anniversary but more than ever, there's no time like the present."

"You've kept this with you the whole time?"

Jun-Hee nods, fiddling with the thin strands to tie around your wrist. "I recently went to Jejudo with my parents and this really kind elderly craftsmen told me these can serve as wish bracelets, granting what the wearer most desires in their hearts." He rotates the woven strings around and you see a small white jade flower charm, its center hollowed-out, dangling from the middle. A snow flower. Your namesake. "The harabeoji said to me, with the brightest smile on his face, that I looked like I had a hidden wish but seemed far too skeptical for his liking. To my surprise, he gifted me with two and told me that sometimes, luck comes only once in a lifetime."

Grinning, he presses the textured string into your outstretched hand and you settle his forearm in your lap, wrapping the bracelet around the opposite wrist you were wearing yours on. His charm is the piece that completes yours, a simple solid sphere—a perfect match.

"I heard that until your wish comes true, the string shouldn't break prematurely, or it will never come to fruition."

"That's what the harabeoji reminded me of too, but I believe ours will be granted." "Do you really think that luck only comes once in a lifetime?"

"I don't know about that, but what I do know is that I must've used all my luck in order to meet someone like you." Jun-Hee runs his thumb over the inside of your wrist where the stone pendant rests against your pulse point, a line leading to your heart. "You're my once in a lifetime person, Seol- Hwa."

A few hours later and your unease has yet to settle, not even at the confirmation text from Jung-Won alerting to her success.

"I think it's safe to say that we'll have the most important of clues as evidence." After a final flurry of movements, Jung-Won stretches her fingers. "There. It's done." She points to the screen and those closest to her promptly swarm the monitor to see. "With the time limit I had, I was only able to bring back the film from yesterday, but that should be more than enough to figure out who entered the room where Yu-Jun and Ji-Soo were."

Before you even have the chance to breathe a sigh of reprieve, smoke starts rising from the console as sparks fly, only briefly at first and then heightening into a full blown flame.

Jun-Hee grabs the nearest fire extinguisher and douses the system unit, but all that remains in the fallout is charred metal. You stare at the black matter, the futility of it ridiculing.

Kyung-Jun touches the box only to recoil at the heat that singes his skin. It's beyond saving and he can only chuckle. "As if murder wasn't enough, you all want to add arson to your list of crimes too? Was this a ploy in hopes that we would all burn down? Is that it?"

"Guys—" Eun-Chan interjects, pointing a shaky finger at the monitor in the corner of the room everyone ignored up until now. "What the hell is that?!" At his question, the screen lights up with colored strips of static that steadies into clear footage, the pool coming into view.

Except, it isn't the only thing visible.

Long dark hair masks the face of an otherworldly figure standing eerily still in the middle of the scene, hands at her sides. For some inexplicable reason, you feel like you've seen her before.

"Seol-Hwa's right..." Na-Hee utters, panic-stricken. "There really is a ghost..."

At that, you suddenly remember the photo you still had in your possession. Drawing it out of your skirt pocket, you briskly extend it toward the group, directing them to focus on one particular individual. "I think... there's something other than us here. She— that apparition—must have something to do with the game."

"Stop with your nonsense," Jin-Ha chastises. "You all must've faked this video to rid of skepticism."

"You idiot," Jung-Won retorts. "Look at the live stamp. It's filming in real time. I know using your brain isn't something you tend to do, but at the very least, tell me your eyes work."

"Whatever this may be," you start, eyeing everyone in succession, "will you just simply go along with it and play the game until we all perish? What if you win? Do you think you can actually make it out of here alive?" Your voice rises, both in exasperation and resentment. "Is it possible for any of us to be the same afterward?" Shaking your head, you fix the rest with a steely glare. "Get a grip! If we find the correlation between every cryptic piece of information, we might finally be able to break free of this illusion."

Without waiting for a response or agreement, you dash off toward the pool, and as you arrive, to your astonishment, the rest ended up following.

Aside from your friend group, Eun-Ha, Na- Hee, and Yu-Jun, the remaining ones do nothing to help. While you search high and low for the right angle the footage could've been captured from—even a glimpse of a hidden camera—the clock ticks by, drawing ever nearer to the hour of death.

"Time's almost up," Kyung-Jun reminds. "Are you all abandoning the poll then?"

"How about we vote in a different way?" Jun-Hee suggests.

So-Mi runs one hand through her hair as she stands akimbo. "I know you mean well, but we don't have enough time to think of another plan. How are we to do it?"

Kyung-Jun casts her aside carelessly and she stumbles, sending him dirty looks from behind his back. "Do you think we're foolish enough to go along with your idea once again? After your last one nearly ended us all? What bullshit are you spewing now?"

"Listen to him first and then decide," Jung-Won reasons, and that settles it for the time being, her intelligence holding weight.

"We have sixteen votes between all of us, and the basis for execution is by the majority. So, why don't we divide the remaining votes equally?"

"Aren't you just trying to save yourself at this point?" Kyung-Jun questions. "You've already received three. Why not take one for the team?"

"I would gladly do it as a last resort."

Jung-Won steps in before pessimism calls for drastic measures. "If I understand this correctly, you want for us to try splitting our choices in order to force a tie?"

"Yes." Jun-Hee's validation draws both curious and concerned murmurs from the group. "If we do so, it will guarantee that all of us will vote without abstaining, and that one person won't be fixed as a target. It'll bypass all the rules we've learned of so far."

"But, who will be one the one to receive the other half of the votes?"

"I will."

"Are you out of your damn mind?!" Kyung-Jun outstretches his hand, almost as if to convince you otherwise, but withdraws when it occurs to him the setting, opting to clench it at his side instead, the vein on his neck visible even under the dim lights.

"Why?" you press. "You all suspected me from the get-go, did you not?" That stuns everyone into silence, unable to refute. "I won't blame anyone. This is my choice."

[ ᴊɪɴ ᴅᴀ-ʙᴜᴍ ʜᴀs ᴠᴏᴛᴇᴅ ғᴏʀ ʜᴀɴ sᴇᴏʟ-ʜᴡᴀ. ]

[ ᴋɪᴍ ᴊᴜɴ-ʜᴇᴇ ʜᴀs ᴠᴏᴛᴇᴅ ғᴏʀ ᴏʜ ᴊᴜɴɢ-ᴡᴏɴ. ]

[ ɪᴍ ᴇᴜɴ-ᴄʜᴀɴ ʜᴀs ᴠᴏᴛᴇᴅ ғᴏʀ ɴᴀᴍ ʏᴇᴏɴ-ᴡᴏᴏ. ]

[ ɴᴀᴍ ʏᴇᴏɴ-ᴡᴏᴏ ʜᴀs ᴠᴏᴛᴇᴅ ғᴏʀ ɪᴍ ᴇᴜɴ-ᴄʜᴀɴ. ]

[ ᴀʜɴ ɴᴀ-ʜᴇᴇ ʜᴀs ᴠᴏᴛᴇᴅ ғᴏʀ ʜᴀɴ sᴇᴏʟ-ʜᴡᴀ. ]

[ ᴏʜ ᴊᴜɴɢ-ᴡᴏɴ ʜᴀs ᴠᴏᴛᴇᴅ ғᴏʀ ʜᴀɴ sᴇᴏʟ-ʜᴡᴀ. ]

[ ʟᴇᴇ ʏᴏᴏɴ-sᴇᴏ ʜᴀs ᴠᴏᴛᴇᴅ ғᴏʀ ʜᴀɴ sᴇᴏʟ-ʜᴡᴀ. ]

[ ʙᴀᴇᴋ ᴇᴜɴ-ʜᴀ ʜᴀs ᴠᴏᴛᴇᴅ ғᴏʀ ᴋɪᴍ ᴊᴜɴ-ʜᴇᴇ. ]

[ ʜᴀɴ sᴇᴏʟ-ʜᴡᴀ ʜᴀs ᴠᴏᴛᴇᴅ ғᴏʀ ᴋɪᴍ ᴊᴜɴ-ʜᴇᴇ. ]

[ ᴋɪᴍ ᴅᴏɴɢ-ʜʏᴜɴ ʜᴀs ᴠᴏᴛᴇᴅ ғᴏʀ ʜᴀɴ sᴇᴏʟ-ʜᴡᴀ. ]

[ ᴊᴀɴɢ ʜʏᴜɴ-ʜᴏ ʜᴀs ᴠᴏᴛᴇᴅ ғᴏʀ ᴋɪᴍ ᴊᴜɴ-ʜᴇᴇ. ]

[ ᴄʜᴀ ʏᴜ-ᴊᴜɴ ʜᴀs ᴠᴏᴛᴇᴅ ғᴏʀ ᴋɪᴍ sᴏ-ᴍɪ. ]

[ ᴛʜᴇʀᴇ ɪs ᴀ ᴍɪɴᴜᴛᴇ ʀᴇᴍᴀɪɴɪɴɢ ᴛᴏ ᴠᴏᴛᴇ. ]

[ ᴄʜᴏɪ ᴍɪ-ɴᴀ ʜᴀs ᴠᴏᴛᴇᴅ ғᴏʀ ᴋɪᴍ sᴏ-ᴍɪ. ]

[ ᴋɪᴍ sᴏ-ᴍɪ ʜᴀs ᴠᴏᴛᴇᴅ ғᴏʀ ʜᴀɴ sᴇᴏʟ-ʜᴡᴀ. ]

[ ᴠᴏᴛɪɴɢ ɪs ɴᴏᴡ ᴄʟᴏsᴇᴅ. ]

Never has the stretch of sixty seconds felt so long as it did waiting for the follow-up announcement.

But, nothing comes.

Tears of happiness and shrieks of excitement ring through as everyone gathers into group hugs, exclaiming words of congratulations, but soon enough, the first flicker of red lights overhead remind you that it is too good to be true.

It is always too good to be true.

[ ᴀs ᴋɪᴍ ᴊᴜɴ-ʜᴇᴇ ᴀɴᴅ ʜᴀɴ sᴇᴏʟ-ʜᴡᴀ ʀᴇᴄᴇɪᴠᴇᴅ ᴛʜᴇ sᴀᴍᴇ ɴᴜᴍʙᴇʀ ᴏғ ᴠᴏᴛᴇs, ᴘʟᴇᴀsᴇ ʜᴏʟᴅ ᴛʜᴇ sᴇᴄᴏɴᴅ ʀᴏᴜɴᴅ ᴏғ ᴠᴏᴛɪɴɢ ᴡɪᴛʜɪɴ ᴛʜᴇ ɴᴇxᴛ ғɪᴠᴇ ᴍɪɴᴜᴛᴇs. ᴛʜᴏsᴇ ᴡʜᴏ ᴅɪᴅ ɴᴏᴛ ᴄʜᴏᴏsᴇ ᴇɪᴛʜᴇʀ ɪɴɪᴛɪᴀʟʟʏ ᴡɪʟʟ ᴠᴏᴛᴇ ᴀɢᴀɪɴ. ɪғ ʙᴏᴛʜ ᴘʟᴀʏᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ sᴛɪʟʟ ᴛɪᴇᴅ ʙʏ ᴛʜᴇ ᴇɴᴅ ᴏғ ᴛʜᴇ sᴇᴛ ᴛɪᴍᴇ, ᴇᴠᴇʀʏᴏɴᴇ ᴡɪʟʟ ʙᴇ ᴇxᴇᴄᴜᴛᴇᴅ. ]

Da-Bum's consternation only serves to intensify the collective panic as the lights dim into obscurity. "We can't just all die here!"

The blaring may drown out the screams, but the horrified looks on everyone's faces ceases to fade, guises set deeper by the shadows casted.

Kyung-Jun points a finger at Jun-Hee while taking steps backward, already set to flee. "I knew it! It should have ended with him!"

Eun-Chan's phone nearly drops out of his hold. "Only five of us should vote right? Aside from myself, Yeon-Woo, Mi-Na, and Yu-Jun are also included. Anyone else?"

"Jun-Hee needs to recast his vote too," Da- Bum recalls. "He voted for Jung-Won earlier."

Jun-Hee turns to you, uttering so lowly you can barely tell if he was talking to himself or to you. "That means you already received one less vote..."

“What do we do?!" Mi-Na cries out.

Without hesitation, So-Mi condemns you while looking you dead in the eyes.

"Kim So-Mi!" Jun-Hee shouts angrily, but it's already too late.

She strides toward you and chucks your phone straight into the very bottom of the pool before yanking the school photo out of your hand, your grip having already gone limp long ago.

Tearing it into shreds, she proceeds to fling it upward into the air above, the pieces raining down on you like joss paper they burn for the dead.

"I thought it was odd when she talked about things that didn't exist and dragged us into this mess. It was going to be her anyway. Just do it!"

"This isn't right and you know it!" Jung-Won pushes her away from you, but all you can do is stand stunned, the sirens resounding far too deafeningly in your ears.

"Fuck!" comes Seung-Bin's agitated voice. "Vote for anyone, godammit!"

"All of this happened because of me," Jun-Hee addresses the group. "Choose me... because I'm the Mafia."

Only then do you snap out of your reverie, turning to him with urgency. "What are you doing? Why are you saying something that isn't true!"

He slights you and barrels on, eyes lifeless and fixated aimlessly. Consequent words that fall from his lips are too toneless, too flat, and too run-of-the-mill, for it to be an admission—all it is is a rehearsed cover up act. "I tricked you into giving up your phones so that it would be impossible to win. Any footage left remaining, I also deleted. If we had the time, I could go on and on about the truths I have hidden and the lies I have told. All I wanted was to survive, but killing people to do so...I cant bear it anymore."

"So he confesses in the end." Kyung-Jun scoffs. "It seems I'm right again."

Disregarding your surroundings, you move toward Jun-Hee and clutch at his hand, the warmth from earlier on the rooftop having dissipated. "I can't let you do this!" you sob out, choking over your words before they can even form. "If you're doing this to protect me, then break the promise you made to yourself. Break it over and over again. I'd trade it all, including myself, to keep you, please..."

It finally dawns on you that in exchange for not smashing the promise into a thousand pieces, your heart is the one that's shattered into a million pieces.

Jun-Hee at long last slides his eyes over to yours, and through your haze of tears, you can see him holding his own back from falling.

You hide your hurt, your disappointment, and your heartbreak, and he pretends he doesn't notice.

His eyes trail over every feature of your face, etching it into memory, and you feel your heart strings snap one by one as he looks at you like it's the last time he ever will.

"You promised! That you would be here for as long as I need you. I still need you, Jun-Hee..."

[ ᴄʜᴏɪ ᴍɪ-ɴᴀ ʜᴀs ᴠᴏᴛᴇᴅ ғᴏʀ ᴋɪᴍ ᴊᴜɴ-ʜᴇᴇ. ]

[ ɪᴍ ᴇᴜɴ-ᴄʜᴀɴ ʜᴀs ᴠᴏᴛᴇᴅ ғᴏʀ ᴋɪᴍ ᴊᴜɴ-ʜᴇᴇ. ]

Pounding footsteps grow fainter and fainter as the others run to safety, leaving everything else behind thoughtlessly.

[ ɴᴀᴍ ʏᴇᴏɴ-ᴡᴏᴏ ʜᴀs ᴠᴏᴛᴇᴅ ғᴏʀ ᴋɪᴍ ᴊᴜɴ-ʜᴇᴇ. ]

[ ᴄʜᴀ ʏᴜ-ᴊᴜɴ ʜᴀs ᴠᴏᴛᴇᴅ ғᴏʀ ᴋɪᴍ ᴊᴜɴ-ʜᴇᴇ. ]

[ ᴡɪᴛʜ ᴛʜᴇ ᴍᴏsᴛ ᴠᴏᴛᴇs ʀᴇᴄᴇɪᴠᴇᴅ, ᴋɪᴍ ᴊᴜɴ-ʜᴇᴇ ᴡɪʟʟ ʙᴇ ᴇxᴇᴄᴜᴛᴇᴅ. ]

Against the growing distance, you hold on until you can't anymore, until Jun-Hee's fingertips are no longer with reach, slipping away from you.

As you get pulled farther and farther away, the jade stone charm dangles in your peripheral vision and you make a wish.

One last chance at a saving grace.

Please, always come back to me.

When your tears distort the image of Jun-Hee in front of you, all you can feel is the bracelet still wound around your wrist, colored like the red string of fate, tethering you to him.

You cling to the string that feels like it's unwinding, holding on to the millions of fraying threads stretched between you two, keeping it from severing.

Gradually, he wanes from view and all that's left is a carmine inferno in your vision.

Perhaps that harabeoji was right after all.

Luck does only come once in a lifetime.

And that, is the greatest misfortune of all.

𝟬𝟲 : 𝗕𝗟𝗔𝗖𝗞 𝗛𝗘𝗔𝗥𝗧𝗦 | 𝟬𝟴 : 𝗦𝗛𝗢𝗨𝗟𝗗’𝗩𝗘, 𝗖𝗢𝗨𝗟𝗗’𝗩𝗘, 𝗪𝗢𝗨𝗟𝗗’𝗩𝗘

© 𝐀𝐥𝐥 𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐭 𝐠𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐍𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐇𝐚𝐬 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐞. 𝐈 𝐝𝐨 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐬 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐥𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨, 𝐝𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐮𝐞, 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐳𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧, 𝐧𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫-𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐭. 𝐀𝐥𝐬𝐨, 𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐝𝐨 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐳𝐞, 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞, 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐛𝐮𝐭𝐞, 𝐨𝐫 𝐮𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐚𝐝 𝐦𝐲 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐞𝐥𝐬𝐞𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐦 𝐢𝐭 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐚 𝐝𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐧𝐚𝐦𝐞.

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myjlla · 1 year ago

Note

Can you write a nsfw headcanon for kyungjun?

nsfw headcanon with Go Kyungjun

Pairing ✮⋆˙ Go Kyungjun x Reader

Warning's ✮⋆˙ this work contain's sexual content, if you are not comfortable please don't read, just ignore. You have been warned.

MINORS DO NOT INTERACT!

Let's start with foreplay

• Kyungjun takes his time with your body, exploring the areas that are most sensitive and responsive to touch

• He enjoys teasing you during foreplay (and not only), using his big, veiny hands, his lips, and tongue to stimulate your zones and places

• Also to get these noises, sighs, and moans out of you

• Kyungjun builds tension and arousal during foreplay, using gentle teasing and more intense stimulation to drive you wild

• Above all, Kyungjun respects his partner's boundaries during foreplay, checking in if they're comfortable

Moving forward

• He is the dominant one, you can't tell me otherwise, he takes charge of guiding the direction all this situation is going into

• He enjoys being in control of the pace, intensity, positions, and activities if you know what I mean. He is also not afraid to issue some commands guiding you

• I see him using his physical dominance to show his control, such as pinning you against the wall, holding you in place, grabbing you and tossing you around, and pinning your hands behind your back or above your head

• He enjoys teasing you and showing his control over your pleasure, using techniques like edging or orgasm denial

• Likes using handcuffs, ropes, bondage, or other props to further assert his dominance

Pleasuring you

• Kyungjun focuses on pleasuring you in every way possible

• He uses his hands, lips, and tongue paying close attention to your reactions

• He is skilled at finding your most sensitive spots and knows how to tease you

• Like I said his touch is firm, yet gentle (cause hurting you is the last thing he would do)

• He is not afraid of trying new things

• Loves to use his long fingers on you but listen, during oral... He is completely focused on your satisfaction and pleasure, he can't even think about himself

Pleasuring him

• Kyungjun likes to receive pleasure and likes it even more when you are the one to initiate it

• I don't think he cares much about how you are willing to pleasure him but his favourite is to receive a nice blowjob

• He can't get over the view of your eyes looking so politely at him, with your mouth full and your knees hurting on the ground, it looks so pretty

• Your tongue just drives him wild with desire for more

Aftercare

• After an intense round Kyungjun pulls you close, wrapping his arms around you tight, he holds you firmly but gently, providing a sense of security

• Peppers you with compliments (even tho he is not a very vocal person he has his moments during and after intimate situations), he reassures you showing the emotional connection you two share

• He might stroke your head or rub your back softly before heading to shower together

✮⋆˙ julliet

Written by @myjlla on Tumblr; do not steal !!

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whatsonmymind03 · 10 days ago

Text

Ko Kyung-Jun x fem!reader

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AN: this is my very first ever fic, after years of reading fanfic I decided to write one for kyung-jun since there are not enough fics out there for him. I love NHC and cha woo min. This is purely self-indulgent and I will possibly continue this story Idk, but feedback would be greatly valued and appreciated as it’s my first time writing a fic (and also posting on tumblr lol)

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It’s absolutely pouring out as you leave the school building. Rain rapidly falls down in pellets, wetting you a bit before you can fully open your black and white polka dotted umbrella. You’re squinting through the thick rain, hearing splashes from the footsteps of students rushing to get home or catch the bus. You lived about a ten minute walking distance from school and began your uncomfortable wet trek home. Your zip up hoodie is not enough to shield you from the cold going through you. After about half way home, you see a figure some ways ahead casually walking in the rain. No umbrella and not even a hood. What struck you the most was how casually he appeared. Hands in his pockets and hair seemingly plastered to his head from the rain and just simply walking. Not even a jog to get home. You start picking up your pace a bit, curious to how they don’t seem to care that they will most certainly catch a bad cold from their endeavor, and you suddenly stop. A splash emits below you from your sudden stop as you see more clearly that infamous green windbreaker.

Ko Kyung-Jun.

And it wasn’t the first time you’ve seen him walking home from school. You weren’t sure where exactly he lived, but on several occasions you would spot him walking home, sometimes with his little gang. He seemed to live a bit further than you as you would turn down a side street where as he would keep going. You rarely interact with him. Both in school and on your walks home. You would usually try to walk a great distance behind him and his gang, trying to be discreet, but on some occasions where you left school first you would be in their view on their way home. Kim Jin-Ha and Shin Seung-Bin would sometimes yell out to you, trying to pick on you or start an altercation, but oddly enough it never escalated to anything as you would hear Ko Kyung-Jun slap them on their heads and tell them to knock it off. You never knew what you did to warrant a pass from bullying from the Ko Kyung-Jun, but you let your curiosity of the boy simmer and remained in your place. Although now you were quite curious about him.

Kyung-Jun stopped in his tracks a few feet ahead after hearing the splash and turned around. You slowly looked up to meet his eyes and noticed an odd expression. He didn’t really seem angry, which he always seemed. Or pissed off which he always seemed. He did look a bit annoyed though, which he also always seemed. But, this time he also looked… defeated? You suddenly felt some sort of tug on your heart. He didn’t seem okay, who casually walks uncovered in a rainstorm? His eyebrows pinched together. Ah, there’s that pissed off expression brewing. Before he could even say anything, which probably would’ve been to tell you to fuck off, you ran up to him.

Stopping a bit in front of him, he took a step back looking down at you, now just confused as to why you would even think to go near him, and then you suddenly jerk the umbrella upwards so it was mainly covering his head. You felt the rain hit you hard on the part of your head and body that wasn’t being covered by the umbrella.

“Here.” You thrusted the umbrella a bit more for emphasis. “Use this. You’re completely drenched. Don’t you know you’re going to get sick uncovered in this rain?” You felt uncomfortable now from said rain, but the next street was the one you turned down, you’d be able to run the rest home without the umbrella. He still had some ways to go.

He’s now looking at you like you’re crazy, and maybe you are. He shoves your hand away, having to duck a bit under the umbrella to get out of it due to his tall frame.

“I don’t want your fucking umbrella or your concern. You’re not my mother.” He scoffed and began turning around.

“Why? Is it because it’s polka dotted?” You honestly were asking, considering he would be the type to make a comment on it.

He glanced up at it now, not realizing the pattern before. He scoffed again, feeling a bit amused by your question. “Yeah, if you’re so concerned I’m going to get sick, go get me a plain black one then.” He smirked down at you, the rain having now completely stuck some hairs to his face, covering his eyes a bit.

You frowned a bit at his remark and went to get beside him, reaching the umbrella up once more. “You just seem pretty cold… and soaked. I know that’s an uncomfortable feeling for anybody.” Your expression never wavered as the two of you stared at each other. You didn’t really know what came over you, but a part of you felt bad for Kyung-Jun. There had to be a reason for his actions and bad reputation. A kindness deep inside him begging to be released. And maybe there was a small part of you that also found him very attractive…

“Take it. And you can give it back to me tomorrow at school.” His eyebrow raised at the command, “or don’t…” You faltered a bit at his intense stare. “You can keep it if you do happen to secretly like polka dots.” You stuck out your tongue at him playfully on impulse, dropping the umbrella and completely getting out from under it. You just teased and stuck your tongue out at Ko Kyung-Jun. You suddenly felt embarrassed, you were definitely going to get it. He caught the umbrella on reflex and watched you start to jog away, instantly getting soaked. He stared up at the polka dots and reluctantly put it above his head. As you jogged off, he noticed something before you turned down your street. It only took him a few of his long strides to catch up to you. He reached out to grab the unused hood from your zip up and roughly pulled it up over your head. You suddenly turned around surprised, putting your hand to your now covered head. You totally forgot you had a hood.

“Idiot. Don’t you know you’re going to get sick uncovered in this rain?” Mimicking, or mocking your words from earlier, he smirked at you as he started walking ahead. Before turning around, he suddenly felt a giddy feeling wash over him. His smirk dropped and was replaced with a poke of his tongue, so fast if you blinked at that exact moment you would’ve missed it. You stared at him in disbelief over his behavior. He continued on ahead with his polka dot umbrella, feeling his mood a bit lightened. He’s the real idiot, doesn’t he have his own hood he didn’t use either? As you continued on towards your house, you couldn’t help but feel more curious about Kyung-Jun, like you wanted to open him up and peer inside, while also feeling your heart speed up and suddenly your cheeks feel very hot…

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dadyscumslutprincess20 · 1 year ago

Note

Hello! I liked the short story you made! But may I request another one? This time I want to request a kyung jun x reader(smut)! That's all, thanks again!

Kyung Jun x Black/Korean Fem!Reader (for this one)

~ Hey loves , I never forget about you guys , just going through a lot but I’m going to try to update a bit more since my depression slowly coming back , I also didn’t forgot about my girlies that read my Wattpad books💕~

Genre ~ Smut

Warning ⚠️: Rough sex , chocking , name calling

Small summary : it’s been a year since you been with Go Kyung Jun , it was hard being the girlfriend of the known bully anytime you saw him bullying someone you would yell at him to stop always allowing the injured person to run away , you were the only person that could get him to stop … at least until you weren’t around anymore , you were heading to you assigned room when two boys that were a bit taller then you as they seemed nervous before asking for you to talk to Go Kyung Jun about this friends that owned them money that they needed .. now here you were confronting you boyfriend and his friends

Standing frozen as you look between both boys who stood over you as one looked down nervously as he rubbed his arm while the other gave you pleading eyes before he spoke

“ Kim Y/n.. could.. could you h-help us please” the boy said voice nervous eyes unsure

“Sure what’s up , are you guys alright ..” reader says softly voice full of confusion and concern as she places her now closed book under her arm as her eyes look between both boys

“Well..” the one wearing glasses now looked up at you as he continued speaking

“I gave Kyung Jun’s friends some money to borrow ..and it’s been a while now and they haven’t paid me back yet .. I d-didn’t want to come to you about it but.. I really need it back” the guy with glasses says as he looks down at his feet once he was done talking

“And you to, huh” reader says with a sigh as she then looks at the other guy as he slowly nods his head before looking down to

“Okay.. I’ll talk to them but you can’t let them keep taking money from you or bully you ..it gets you nowhere you got to learn to stand up for yourselves” reader says as she looks at both boys who just give her a small nod , sighing as she knew they weren’t going to do what she said

“Come on , follow me” Reader says as she turns down the hall heading for the gym, she knew that’s where they would be right now since there was nothing to do at the moment

Walking down the hall as you feel you self become annoyed reaching the end of the hall as you stop in front of two double door grabbing a handle to the right door as you swig the door open not caring about the loud banging sound to made when it hit the wall , waking in to the gym with both boys quietly following behind you as your eyes lock on Kyung Jun as him and his minions turn to look at you

Stopping only a few inches away from the three as you look at them with annoyance and anger in your eyes , pointing at each one of them before saying anything

“Assholes did you take money from them” reader says as she looks at Kyung Jun’s two minions who she didn’t like one bit and they knew it but she didn’t care

“So what if we did..” the blonde headed one said as he’s now a inch away from you as you look at him eye now twitching as you close the space between you two looking up at him since he was taller giving him a innocent smile before raising your legs as your knee came in contact with his crotch with force as he grabs his crotch before falling to the floor screaming in pain as he let out curses your way

“Now .. did you take money from them” reader says as she now looks at Kyung Jun’s other friend who quickly nods his head as he shakes a bit in fear

“When we get home you have a week to pay them both what you owe and if you don’t which I’m going to ask them you and your friend will be in a hospital got it” reader says as he quickly nods turing her head to Kyung Jun who lets out a deep chuckle before pointing at the male standing behind you

“I’ll make sure he gets his money..” turning to the other male as he continues

“Does he owe you to” Kyung Jun ask as the male give a small nod

“See.. I’ll make sure they pay them back love” Kyung jun says as he gives you his innocent smile as you roll your eyes causing his smile to disappear as he walks closer to you

“Don’t be a brat I said they’ll get it back , yah” Kyung Jun says as he looks down at you causing you to laugh as you look up at him

“Fuck off .. you would lie for them in heart beat since they do whatever you say 바보” reader says as she looks at him with annoyance

~translation: Fool ~

“ 다시 말해 봐 ..” Kyung Jun says as he now closes any space you had left between you two

~ translation: say it again ~

“ 바보..” reader repeats boldly as she looks up at Kyung Jun who lets out a dark chuckle before looking straight ahead at the gyms double doors face now showing no expression

~ translation: fool ~

“너만 빼고 모두 방에 서 나가” Kyung Jun says as he looks down at you causing your brows to furrow as you hear everyone run towards the door jumping a bit as he calls out to his friends

~translation: everyone leave except you ~

“Guard the door” Kyung Jun says before you hear their footsteps continue towards the door before the doors were closed as you try to take a step back but Kyung Jun grabbed your wrist before you could

As you try to pull your arm from his hold only for him to drag you behind him as you start to become a bit nervous .. yeah you could put him in his place but when you angered him, he had a way to put you in your place and you DID NOT want to get caught by any of your other classmates especially not your half sister , Yeon Soo .. she already hated the fact that you dated Kyung Jun and she would probably kill you if she knew you were sleeping with Kyung Jun

Panicking as he stops by a table that was left in the gym as you shake you head no , you REALLY did not want to be caught as he rolls his eyes clearly the annoyed one now as he picks you up placing both hands under your plump thighs siting you on the edge of the table as he grabs your neck with a tight grip causing you to grab his arm with one hand

“ you want to act like a brat I’ll treat you like a fucking brat” Kyung Jun says to you his voice now deep and laced with venom as your breath gets caught in your throat panties becoming soaked this was the first time you got him this pissed off and you would be lying if you said it wasn’t hot but you wouldn’t tell him that of course

Keeping his hand around your neck as his free hand moves to your shirt as he quickly pops each button on your uniform shirt face palming yourself in your mind since you didn’t bring a sweater or a spare shirt , yet Kyung Jun didn’t care popping your final button as his hand slowly moves down your exposed stomach slowly going down your skirt as he lifts your skirt over your thighs eyes scanning your clothed cunt as he lets out a deep yet dark chuckle seeing how your soaked panties were now sticking to your soaked cunt

Slowly rubbing your clothed cunt as he feels your wet juices over your panties causing you to let out a soft moan growing as he lets go of your neck for a minute grabbing your panties as he rips them from your lower body , slowly dropping to his knees as he pushes your legs open slowly rubbing your inner thighs as he lets out a loud groan

Moving one of his hands from your thigh as it travels to your dripping cunt stopping as he runs in fingers through your juices as you let out a gasp from his cold fingers causing him to smirk eyes never leaving your soaked cunt , laying his head on one of your plump thighs as he pushes two of his longer fingers in your tight hole pushes his fingers in and out of your dripping hole at a fast pace quickly covering your mouth as to not make to much noise since your voice echoed throughout the empty gym

Grabbing a handful of Kyung Juns hair as he lets out a chuckle ouch if your leg open more every time you tried to close them as he picks up his pace curling his fingers at your sweet spot causing your toes to curl as you try to shake your head no for him to stop as you moans became louder

As you look down at Kyung Jun would lifts his hand from your thigh eyes still locked on your dripping cunt as he gives you soft kisses around your soaked cunt before violently sucking on your clit dropping your hand from your mouth as you place it in his hair trying to push him away with your hands and you keep a tight grip on his hair letting out a loud moan as you feel a knot forming in your stomach

“K-Kyung J-Jun.. s-stop” reader moan out as you feel a sudden vibration run through clit as you hear Kyung Jun “hmm”

“P-please ..c-cum-..” before you could finish what you were saying Kyung Jun pulled his head away as you feel the felt your self cumming Kyung Jun takes his fingers from Troy dripping cunt giving you a shit eating grin as he stands to his feet face full of your juices as you feel your self shiver from his gaze

“Turn around and bend over the table 애새끼” Kyung Jun says in a deep voice full of lust as it echoes through the gym giving you chills

Quickly hopping off the table as you turn you back towards Kyung Jun bending over the table as your huge breast press against the table feet barley touching the ground as your plump ass was now in eye sight of Kyung Jun you cunt dripping with slick that now ran down you inner thighs as your legs were spend apart

Groaning as Kyung Jun quickly removes his belt and uniform pants as his boxers fell with his pants taking off his jackets along with his shirt as his harden cock now stood up with excitement too dripping with precum as he holding your hips stoping for a minute grabbing the back of your shirt as he careful rips it off your body in unbuckling your bra before pulling it from under you as you let out a soft moan from the cold table coming in pant with your exposed chest cashing your nipples to harden letting out a gasp as Kyung Jun pushes his thick cock in you tight cunt as he lets out a loud groan grip tighten around your waist

Without letting you adjust to his size as he normally would he started pounded in your soaked cunt as you let out loud moans feeling as he removes one hand from your hip grabbing at your neck with a tight hold as he slams the rest of his length in you right hole as you nails scratch at the table

“K-Kyung j-jun .. s-slow fuck” reader tries to call out as she feel Kyung Jun pick up his pace not caring about your begging as he removes his other hand from your hip for a second giving you a hard slap on your ass letting out a loud moan as it echoed throughout the gym before grabbing your hip slamming your harder against his cock

“ Shut up or someone might hear you brat” Kyung Jun groans out as you feel his cock head hit you cervix causing your toes to curl letting out a loud moan as you feel tears run down you face as the sounds of skins clapping loud moans and groans echoed throughout the gym nails scratching at the table as your eyes roll back from the pleasure yet embarrassment from being heard as you feel a knot form in your lower stomach body now shaking as you look at Kyung Jun over your shoulder who looks at you with a smirk

“What’s wrong” Kyujg Jun says as he lets out a chuckle

“Why so quiet hm.. don’t want the be a brat now huh” Kyung Jun groans out as he feels you tighten around his cock

“F-fuck..” Kyung Jun breathes out before taking his hands from your hip pushing your lowers back in to the table gas he keeps a tight hold of your neck causing your back to arch a bit more then it was feeling he cock pushes deeper inside your dripping cunt as your walls tighten feeling as he cock twitches inside you cunt

Letting out a loud moan as your eyes roll to the back of your head feeling the knot snap in your lower stomach as your feel juices drip on Kyung Jun would keep his pace as his thrust became more sloppy before feeling his mmm release his seed deep in your womb as you let out a moan feeling your juices mix as they run down your plump thighs after a few minutes of catching your breath you feel Kyung pull out of your soaked cunt as you try to stand to your feet only to fall to the floor

“Fucking Kyung JUN” Reader yells as she looks at Kyung Jun who gives he a grin before handing her one of his jackets once he was dressed

“I can’t go to my room like this .. I share a room with my sister and her friend Kyung Jun ..please” Reader says looking up at him with pleasing eyes as his grin never left his face

“Maybe you’ll think about that before being a brat , I’ll carry you” Kyung Jun says as he gets you dressed willing your with your totem shirt

“You want me to die huh.. my Yeon soo would kill me , are you listening” Reader says as she watches Kyung Jun throw out the totem shirt

“Not my problem brat let’s go” Kyung Jun says before pulling you on his back slowly walking towards the gym door

Letting out a sigh as you hide your face in his back thinking of excuses to tell your sister not seeing the grin that Kyung Jun held on his face as he walked with your out the gym and down the hall heading for your room

#black reader #fem reader #female reader #smut #x reader #night has come #ko kyungjun #go kyung jun x reader #kyungjun #kdrama x reader #night has come x reader

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rainsoughtflowers · 15 days ago

Text

do you see right through me?

part one

tw/cw - angst, graphic depictions of death and violence.

a/n - woohoo next chapter !!

it only takes you a moment to decide.

your eyes swiftly scan the options, left to right, down and across, passing over a large variety of bubbly sodas and fruit flavored milk. your attention snags on a small container sitting in the second row, displaying bright orange letters and a small mango on the packaging. the familiar sight of your go-to drink. your fingers smooth out the dollar bill in your hands before slipping it into the machine and, once checking the number, move over to press the corresponding buttons. you step back slightly, following the sight of the vending machine slowly pushing your drink out of its row. it drops to the bottom with a soft thud, and you reach down to push open the flap.

another hand slips in before you, successfully grabbing the container, causing you to glance up and meet seung-bin's delighted eyes.

he holds it up, inspecting the bright letters printed on the front, "mango flavored milk?" he asks, smirking.

you slowly straighten, nodding your head slightly, "yes. it's my favorite." you reach out your hand, intending to retrieve it, but seung-bin is quicker, swiftly pulling it out of reach and over his head.

"really? your favorite? it must be good then. i think i want to try it." you blink slowly at him, processing his words, studying his cocky smile, amused eyes and arrogant nature. ah, he was picking on you. it was no surprise, really. although seung-bin stayed away from beating up girls, he had no problem messing with them from time to time, especially when he was bored. you just happen to be the unlucky victim for the day.

how annoying.

you angle your body to face him head on, "there's plenty more in the vending machine. or," you tilt your head, inspecting him carefully, "do you need to borrow money?"

seung-bin's entire face changes in one swift moment. he scowls, lowering the can and taking one intimidating step towards you, "the fuck did you say to me bitch-"

SMACK.

seung-bin blinks, stunned, but he has no chance to move away or curse the culprit as he gets smacked on the back of his head two more times. a silence settles over the hallway, eerily quiet, and the air feels suffocatingly thick. only one person would have the confidence to reprimand seung-bin and get away with it.

you direct your attention to the perpetrator, feeling your own version of surprise overcome your body when your eyes settle on kyung-jun. you've never been afraid of him, not really, but looking at him then, taking in the seriousness molding his features, the quiet anger directed at his friend, it's almost enough to make you tremble.

"why do you have to be so damn annoying, huh? don't you have your own money to buy a drink? or did you gamble it all away like an idiot again?" seung-bin flinches at the harsh tone, hanging his head in shame. kyung-jun stares at him for another couple moments before shifting his attention to you. your body seizes at its own accord, but you force yourself to remain steady, never faltering under his intense stare. his hand comes up and latches onto the back of seung-bin's neck, his grip tight, and nods his head in your direction, "go on. give it back."

seung-bin obeys, holding your drink out, and you stare at the offer, noticing the slight tremble in his fingers, the way he refuses to meet your eyes. slowly, you take it, looking at kyung-jun once it's back in your possession. his eyes still haven't left your own.

"apologize." kyung-jun commands, shoving the boy forward.

seung-bin steadies himself, looking at your face only for a quick second before lowering his head once more, "i'm sorry." he mutters, his words quick and unsteady.

"you accept his apology?" kyung-jun asks. you spare a glance at the blond boy in front of you. seung-bin still hasn't moved, either due to fear or complete obedience, you couldn't tell. his hands are clenched tightly at his sides, and his head is still lowered, as if he's afraid of facing any more of kyung-jun's wrath. to be completely honest, not one part of you felt any sort of sympathy towards seung-bin. it was obvious his apology held no real value. still, you didn't feel like dealing with the situation any longer.

you glance up, meeting kyung-jun's eyes, "yes."

a smile curls his lips, easily resting there. you're not sure what exactly amused him. your response or the situation as a whole? either way, he wraps an arm around seung-bin's shoulder, shaking him slightly, "you hear that? she was nice enough to forgive you. say thank you."

"thank you." seung-bin chokes out.

kyung-jun breathes out a laugh, shaking seung-bin once more before pulling him along. the two walk away, and you turn, observing kyung-jun's back as his figure gets further and further away. when he's gone, you look back down at your drink, inspecting the small container with confusion. why did kyung-jun help you? was it his way of repaying you for the umbrella? was he bored? you replayed the scene in your head, assessing. his annoyance with seung-bin was genuine, but was it because he was messing with a girl, or was it you specifically?

you shake away the thoughts, distracting your mind by opening the plastic seal and taking a sip. it didn't matter what kyung-jun's intentions were. it probably wouldn't happen again, meaning, you could learn to forget about the situation entirely. you were kind to him, he repaid you back, and the two of you could go back to living your lives separately, just like before. the way it's suppose to be.

you could forget about the rapid pounding of your heart, and the ghost of a smile threatening to settle on your lips.

unlike before, you wake up quickly.

your eyes snap open, darting around the room as your breathing picks up in only a couple short breaths. music plays overhead, and you feel the sturdiness of the wall against your back, your legs spread out in front of you. your classmates are scattered around the room, some still laying flat on the floor, others slowly getting up as their senses return. across from you, kyung-jun pushes himself into a sitting position, and you watch as his face twists in discomfort and confusion. his eyes scan his surroundings, and when they meet your own, it feels like the only thing grounding you at the moment.

what happened last night? why did we fall asleep here?

the sound of footsteps echo in the hall, and you tear your eyes away to find yoon-seo rushing towards the window. she stops, a small, barely legible cry escaping her lips. she stumbles back, glass crunching under her feet, causing your eyes to deviate from her body towards the ground. there's a trail of blood there, leading down the hall, stopping at the window, which has been shattered to pieces. the images come back rapidly to you then. one after the other, bombarding you with gruesome scenes from the night before. the screams. the pounding. heo-yool, dead outside, no longer breathing.

beside you, you feel your hands begin to tremble.

a chorus of chimes echo in your ears, followed by a small vibration against your leg. you hastily reach for your phone, picking it up and turning on the screen just as an alarm blares from above.

BEFORE THE END OF THE LAST VOTING, THE POLICE OFFICER USED THEIR POWER. CHOI JU-WON WAS EXECUTED BY THE MAFIA. CHOI JU-WON WAS THE MAFIA.

PARTICIPANTS, PLEASE FIND THE MAFIA AND START VOTING.

yoon-seo is the first to break the silence, hastily glancing around the room, "where's ju-won?"

no one answers, and you do a quick survey of the room yourself. sure enough, the boy wasn't to be found.

woo-ram stumbles to his feet, "the announcement," he points to the ceiling, his voice rising in volume with every word he speaks, "who's making the announcement? why do we keep hearing this right now!"

"the broadcasting room is on the second floor," hyun-ho realizes, nudging dong-hyun in encouragement, "let's go over there, let's go!"

hyun-ho, dong-hyun, woo-ram and a couple of others run towards the stairs, their footsteps gradually getting softer and further way. you release another shaky breath, slowly pushing yourself against the wall and standing up straight.

just then, a yell echoes from the distance, the sound blended with such unfiltered horror it causes your entire body to grow rigid in fear. yoon-seo wastes no time in rushing towards the sound, followed by the rest of your classmates. you force yourself to trail after the crowd.

you find yourselves in the boys bathroom, a swift scan revealing da-bum slowly backing away from one of the stalls, along with a large puddle of blood spreading beneath it. the metallic scent of it is so heavy it sits on your tongue, and you have to reach your fingers up to press against your nose to filter the smell.

kyung-jun curses, pushing jun-hee forward, "shit. class president, go open it."

jun-hee hesitates before slowly approaching the door, tentatively pushing it open. he backs away immediately after, and you catch a glimpse of a body, slumped against the wall, his head bashed in and barely recognizable. a sick feeling settles in your stomach.

jun-hee's lip trembles, as do his words when he speaks, "he's dead."

everyone is quiet. some people hide their faces or avert their eyes, while others can't seem to remove their gazes away from the scene. you fall into the latter category. every time you blink, you hope that it changes. that the blood disappears and ju-won gets up, unharmed. or that you'll wake up on the bus, realizing it was all just a bad dream.

"the mafia," da-bum sputters, glancing around at his classmates, "t-this is because of the mafia game. what if we all die too?"

kyung-jun grabs him by the collar, shaking him aggressively, "shut up, you bastard. no one's fucking dying."

"heo-yool died." you mumble, earning kyung-jun's attention. his snaps his head towards your own, dark, intense eyes watching you carefully. your hands slowly tighten around your skirt, shaking ever so slightly, "and now ju-won, too. people are already dead because of this game."

he doesn't answer. you don't expect one. what could he say? you blink once more, and although the scene refuses to change, you can imagine it. the brutal murder that occurred while you were asleep. the banging, the screams, the blood slowly spreading across the floor and drying. all while you were fucking asleep. unaware.

you rush out of the room, stomach turning even more, almost to the point of sickness. you brace yourself against the wall, trembling violently as you eagerly gulp down several deep breaths. when that doesn't calm you down, you squeeze your eyes shut, praying the images branded at the front of your vision would go away. you didn't want to think about it anymore, to see it. don't think don't think don't think don't-

someone bumps into your shoulder, and you open your eyes, watching in bewilderment as your classmates start rushing past you. where are they going? did something happen? someone shoves you lightly, and you glance up into kyung-jun's face, "come on, we're leaving."

you furrow your brows in confusion, "to where? the bus is gone."

"i don't fucking know! but anywhere is better than here!"

you step back in surprise, having not expected the harsh tone of his words nor the sour expression on his face. kyung-jun, even more unexpectedly, appears as if he immediately regrets his words or tone. he clenches his jaw, fingers opening and closing by his side. hesitance lays itself around his shoulders, looking over, a shackle of torment. it's all so unlike him. with the things kyung-jun has done, he never seems to carry any sort of guilt. it's a burden he passes to other people.

so why was that look on his face?

you push yourself away from the wall, coming to a decision, "okay. let's go."

you walk past him, and it only takes a couple moments for kyung-jun's footsteps to fall in line with your own. you don't speak the entire way, not until you reach the lobby and push open the doors. you're the last ones to leave the building, a quick scan revealing each of your classmates already outside, rushing out. kyung-jun rushes towards the stairs, his feet landing on the first step, but the alarm blares to life again. he stops.

THE GAME HAS TO BE PLAYED WITHIN THE DESIGNATED AREA.

the announcer repeats the phrase a couple more times, almost like a warning. unease starts to build steadily within your chest.

a vibration occurs within your pocket, and you reach in and pull out your phone, seeing the same warning displayed on the screen with big, bold letters. your eyes find kyung-jun's, who has done the same. irritation and perplexity lay visible on his expression, "fuck, seriously?"

you glance around, wondering what exactly determines the game area. at first you believe it's impossible to tell, and your class would either have to take a chance and leave or stay locked inside the building until further notice. but then you see it. a white line that wasn't there before, right in front of the road. how did you not notice it? it was nighttime when you arrived, but surely you'd see the peculiar placement of it. did you enter the game when you stepped inside?

"guys, hold on." jun-hee yells, and you spot him at the front, near the boundary. he turns around, garnering everyone's attention, "don't leave and stay for a moment."

"why?" a student yells, causing a thoughtful look to befall jun-hee's expression.

"something's strange." he determines finally.

sang-hwan, the student who spoke before, steps forward, "do you believe bullshit like this?" when jun-hee doesn't answer he swears, bolting towards the line, "fuck, whatever! let's go!"

a rush of voices fill the air, a mixture of sang-hwan's name and people yelling at him to stop. you find yourself stepping forward again, but kyung-jun is pulling you back, his grip firm, "hey, hey!"

but it's too late. even if you wanted to do something to save them, sang-hwan and hyeong-seok, his friend who blindly reached out to him, pass the line. they stop just several meters from it.

LEE SANG-HWAN IS BEING EXECUTED FOR BREAKING THE RULE. KIM HYEONG-SEOK IS BEING EXECUTED FOR BREAKING THE RULE.

breaking...the rule? executed?

both boys stumble, pained expressions distorting their features as they clutch at their heads and yell in agony. they look just like heo-yool did the night before he was executed. not themselves. what did they hear? what did they see? they turn towards one another, considering the other for a moment, and your brain can't fully comprehend what happens next. not until they run at full speed and bash their heads together.

a scream escapes your throat, but it's drowned out by the yells and cries coming from the rest of your classmates. they do it once more, over and over again, the sickening crunch of bones breaking and blood spurting resounding across the space. your hands shakily reach up to cover your ears, but it doesn't cease the sounds. you shuffle back slightly, a cry being pulled out of you when you trip over your feet and land on the ground. a rock is being used now, the sharp end already coated in blood, and you close your eyes as the sharp end meets flesh, lowering your head and praying for it to be over.

CRUNCH.

SCREAM.

THUD.

you finally return to your senses when the alarm goes off, the announcers familiar voice declaring what you already knew.

LEE SANG-HWAN AND KIM HYEONG-SEOK WERE CIVILIANS.

were. what an ugly word. and all it took was a minute for it to change.

it's quiet.

around you, your classmates are scattered throughout the lobby. some stay huddled in groups, trembling in fear, while others remain alone, staring blankly into space. your own body sits at the top of the stairs, knees pulled to your chest, blinking slowly in a trance. yoon-seo and jung-won are a couple steps down, falling into the former category of hugging each other in order to provide comfort. how exactly did you get here? the last thing you remember was being on the ground, unable to tear your eyes away from the dead bodies on the road. was it yoon-seo? jung-won? kyung-jun? unlikely for the latter. you search for him in the room, spotting him at the front desk. he sits on top, his arms supporting himself as he leans back. he, too, stares at the ground, not a trace of his usual anger or amusement found on his face.

seung-bin, surprisingly enough, is the one who breaks the silence first. he throws his phone across the ground in frustration, reaching his fingers up to his hair as if to pull it out, "fuck! seriously, why is the phone not working? fuck!"

da-bum scatters towards the device and picks it up, nervously handing it back to the blond. seung-bin sneers at him, snatching it away.

mi-na speaks next, trembling, "what do we do now? won't we die if we stay here?"

"the teacher will come soon." jun-hee announces, but you're not sure if he's trying to reassure your classmates or himself, "let's wait."

"no one's coming." ji-soo cries, her bottom lip quivering. her eyes are bloodshot, and there are tear streaks dried on her face, "how long do we have to stay with the dead bodies? i don't want to!"

"don't call them 'the dead bodies.' " eun-ha scolds, earning her a scoff from the other girl.

"but they're dead. they're dead. what am i supposed to call them? hey!" she turns to jun-hee, angry tears now spilling down her cheeks, "say something! we need to go home!"

"ji-soo," you mumble. your voice must be unexpected, because she immediately quiets down. you can feel the attention of the room on you as you speak, "please be quiet. you crying is not helping anyone. and you saw what happened to them trying to leave. you still say that? leave by yourself then."

her eyes harden as she takes a step forward in your direction, but her boyfriend, yu-jun, immediately pulls her back. once he's assured that she's calmed down, he turns to so-mi, "do you really not know when the teacher's coming back?"

so-mi stops nervously biting her nail, sending a harsh look at yu-jun, "i don't. he can't be reached. how should i know?"

everyone is silent at that, the gravity of the situation dawning upon them. you lower your head once more, pressing your fingers against your temple. we're so fucked.

yoon-seo suddenly gets up, scrambling up the stairs in a hurry. jung-won calls out her name, but when the girl doesn't answer, she decides to follow after her, along with jun-hee several beats later. you think about following them as well, but you feel numb, and your legs feel weak, refusing to move an inch. perhaps not then. you probably wouldn't be of much help anyways.

you drop your head back into your hands, squeezing your eyes shut. if you concentrated hard enough, the echo of breaking bones disappears.

time passes, and it's much of the same. several of your classmates are full on sobbing now, while others talk amongst themselves, trying to think of solutions. you continue sitting alone, listening to the sounds, staring at the dirt on your shoes. your fingers now clutch the edge of your skirt, twisting the fabric, pulling at the threads. you really should stop that. your last skirt was still at the seamstress getting fixed.

eventually, yoon-seo, jung-won and jun-hee return, pulling a whiteboard to the front of the room and scribbling on it with a marker. jun-hee motions for everyone to gather around, accentuating the importance of the discussion. you shakily get up, slowly walking down the steps and pausing at the outskirts of the huddled group. jun-hee points to the board, which now has a map taped beside their notes, and explains the situation briefly. while they were looking around the game area they found a trail, which should lead into a village.

"what if you leave and die like they did earlier?" jin-a asks, skeptical, "what will you do then?"

"i know. isn't it too dangerous?" joo-young pipes in.

"no, it's safe as long as you don't cross the line. i think we can keep walking to the end." jun-hee explains. murmurs erupt across the room, people exchanging unsure glances. you don't blame them. after seeing what happened just an hour before, anyone would be scared of venturing outside. but if the risk could find a way home, maybe it would be best to try.

"it sucks to keep waiting. it won't be a bad idea to try going there," you're not sure if your ears are playing tricks on you, but sure enough, a quick glance in the direction of the voice reveals that it was kyung-jun who spoke, surprising nearly everyone in the room, including yourself. he's actually agreeing with jun-hee? why? "but do we all need to go? it'd be fucking inefficient."

jun-hee nods in understanding, "you're right. we can't all go," he grows quiet for a moment, considering, before making up his mind, "i'll go on my own."

yoon-seo steps forward, "i'll come with you, then."

"no, you should stay, the trail might be treacherous.

jung-won also steps forward, holding onto yoon-seo's arm to softly pull her back, "he's right. you don't want to slow him down. let's just stay."

a worried look crosses over yoon-seo's face, "he can't go alone."

so-mi loops her arm through woo-ram's, all to eager to please as she jumps at the opportunity presented, "we'll come with you."

woo-ram looks at the girl in bewilderment, "w-why me?"

so-mi ignores the boys protests, turning towards her friends. "na-hee, ji-soo and yu-jun, you're coming too, right?"

ji-soo shakes her head, looking slightly offended that the girl would ask in the first place, "no, i'm not going."

"well, i won't go either then." yu-jun agrees, causing so-mi to scoff.

"don't you have any sense of loyalty?" the couple look away in shame, so she directs her attention to na-hee, "na-hee, you're not coming either?"

the girl looks startled for a moment, unsure on how to answer. her dilemma is cut short when hyun-ho steps up, a confident smile on his lips, "look at you guys. you're too weak to hike properly." he steps to the front, pulling dong-hyun along, "we'll come too."

unsurprisingly, na-hee steps forward, raising her hand slightly, "i-i'll go too."

eun-ha steps forward to volunteer as well, but her friends pull her back. worry seeps into their voices and faces, doing anything to convince her to say. their conversation is too low for you to hear, but whatever eun-ha says as she holds onto their hands seems to work, since they let her go with small reluctance.

the group is decided then. you step towards yoon-seo, patting her softly on the back to reassure her. you then turn towards jun-hee, holding up your phone, "be safe. use the group chat on the game if anything happens. it should work."

jun-hee smiles softly, nodding in understanding. he turns to the group, which form a small circle away from the current one. they begin discussing their plan of motion, and you watch the exchange for a moment before turning to leave.

you reach your room, opening and closing the door with practiced ease. it clicks shut, and you immediately slump against the wooden frame, sliding down until you hit the floor. a heavy weight presses down on your chest, overwhelming, and you have to sit there for a moment, curling your fingers around your skirt to steady yourself. if they didn't find anything, what then? would you simply have to play by the game's rules? and if so, how did you even go about finding the mafia?

you release a deep breath, banging your head against the back of the door. the thump is soft, very unlike the ones from this morning, and you repeat the motion a couple more times. eventually, a dull ache starts to form, urging you to stop and blink away the pain. you glance around the room, noting na-hee's things laid messily around her side of the area, a disaster compared to your own bare space. right. you still haven't unpacked. should you do that now? it'd be a good distraction.

a bit of green catches your eye, the fabric sticking out of your duffel bag. curious, you slowly stand up, walking over and pulling it out. kyung-jun's jacket lays in your lap, your fingers softly roaming across it with slight curiosity. with everything that transpired, you completely forgot about it being in your possession. the scene replays in your mind, recalling kyung-jun's red ears, the warmth the piece of clothing provided, and your pounding heart. questions you had back then return, lingering, unrelenting.

everything was so confusing. the game, kyung-jun's interactions with you as of late. it made your emotions feel like a mess, all of it impossible to pinpoint and sort through. still, there was at least one thing you could work through at the moment.

with kyung-jun's jacket folded neatly in your arms, you begin wandering around the building in search of it's owner. your first stop was the lobby, hoping he was still there, but arriving provided no sight of the boy, not even any of your other classmates. you pause, considering your options for a moment. is he in his room? unlikely. you would've heard voices outside your door. the gym? it wouldn't hurt to look. maybe even the pool would be a good place to check. coming to a conclusion, you direct your steps towards the gymnasium.

on the way there you pass by the arcade and snack bar. you recall reading about the rooms while browsing through the app, but with no staff present, it didn't seem worth trying to go in. the arcade's door is still shut, which you expected, but you cease your movements entirely when you notice something odd. the shutters for the snack bar are pulled up, and if you strained your ears to listen, you could hear voices inside.

you slowly step towards the entrance, surprised, but also relieved, to find kyung-jun inside. he sits at a table with seung-bin and jin-a, all three of them eating out of ramen cups. they glance up at your arrival, and your eyes dart between the three. seung-bin and jin-a wear annoyed looks, glaring at you from across the room in an attempt to intimidate you into leaving. kyung-jun, on the other hand, simply stares at you, but there's a ghost of a question passing over his expression.

you clear your throat, slowly holding up the jacket, "i just...came to return this." you mumble quietly. seung-bin and jin-a's expressions morph into shock, turning their heads towards their friend in disbelief. kyung-jun ignores their questioning stares, simply nodding his head towards a nearby table.

"leave it there." he states simply, before resuming his previous task of eating.

you do as told, placing the fabric gently on a nearby table. seung-bin and jin-a have gone back to staring at you, and their attention starts to have the desired effect. you avert your eyes, turning around to leave, only to pause at the sound of your name being called. slowly, you turn back around.

"you like peanuts, right?" seung-bin asks, and there's a mischievous grin on his lips. the one he uses when he's about to say or do something for his own sick enjoyment, "there's some chocolate bars on the shelf, you should try it. they're good."

you blink slowly, unsure whether seung-bin was actually this dumb or if he was playing another game. you open your mouth to speak, only for kyung-jun to do so before you, "hey, are you stupid? she's allergic to peanuts."

seung-bin laughs, sending you a fake apologetic smile, "right, sorry. i forgot."

he didn't. everyone in the class knew about your allergy, whether they wanted to or not. it was so severe that anytime food was brought in, the school had to check it to make sure it didn't have any possibility of harming you. you even carried an EpiPen in the pocket of your skirt, just in case.

a little annoyed now, you turn to leave again, intending to ignore seung-bin's antics and his childish behavior. best not to provoke it. but then a smack echoes in the room, the sound occurring three times in equal succession. you glance back, spotting seung-bin's shocked eyes and kyung-jun's raised hand. he sneers at the blond boy across from him, "no wonder girls don't like you. and i thought it was because of your face."

seung-bin stops laughing, awfully quiet.

kyung-jun clicks his tongue at him, his annoyance slowly diminishing as he grows satisfied at seung-bin's cowered state. eventually, he lifts his eyes towards your own, nodding his head towards the fridge, "go on. there's mango on the bottom shelf."

you glance towards the fridge, contemplating his offer. normally you would deny, considering it was most likely a trap. but the thought of food made your stomach ache, and you realized with a start that you haven't eaten since the night before. without second guessing yourself you cross the room towards the fridge, opening it up to reveal a variety of drinks. sure enough, on the bottom shelf, sits a mango flavored yogurt drink. you reach in and pick it up, sparing one last glance towards kyung-jun before leaving the room in a hurry.

it hits you as you're walking through the halls. you stop entirely, slowly glancing down to stare at the container in your hand. huh, he remembered you liked mango. and about your allergy. you didn't think kyung-jun paid attention to those kind of things. you thought he didn't care about anyone but himself. lately, however, he seemed to be proving your initial assumptions about him wrong. a funny feeling settles in your chest at the realization, something quiet and warm. it slowly creeps up your neck and settles on your face.

your phone vibrates in your pocket, pulling you away from your thoughts. you take it out, turning on the screen, and any semblance of warmth you had was gone without a trace when you read the announcement.

your hand drops to your side, a numbness taking over your body.

dong-hyun is dead.

everyone is gathered in the lobby. anxiousness takes root into everyone's lives, and it's even more apparent as you wait for jun-hee's group to return. your foot is tapping against the floor, your nails pressed against your lips as you continuously look back and forward between the door and your shoes. it's when mi-na breaks the silence and announces their arrival do you lower your hand, rushing forward.

you falter when you approach jun-hee, realizing that your fears were correct. the class president doesn't meet your eyes, a vacant look reflected in them as he stares at the ground. he looks defeated, as does everyone else around him. na-hee is leaning heavily on hyun-ho, sporting what appears to be a broken ankle, and the athletes eyes shine with unshed tears.

"what happened?" you breathe out.

they don't reply. everyone looks away in shame.

mi-na steps forward, glancing between each member of the group in search of something, anything, "hey, say something. where's dong-hyun? what on earth happened?"

"he thought..." so-mi begins, her bottom lip trembling. a sniffle escapes her, "he thought the white line disappeared...and went to check on it, but he slipped."

it feels like a punch to the gut, hearing her words. it strikes itself into the soft tissue of your flesh, throbbing insistently, and you have to force yourself to breathe when it begins to ache.

kyung-jun walks up, stopping in front of jun-hee, "what about the village. how far did you go?" jun-hee doesn't answer, which is an explanation in itself. still, kyung-jun stares in disbelief, his anger rising along with his tone, "you said you'd find people and ask for help! did you?!"

jun-hee's eyes never leave the ground, and he has to all but force the words out, "we can't go. it's all blocked by the lines."

kyung-jun breathes out a shaky breath. his jaw tightens, and he turns around, throwing his phone on the ground with a curse. it slides across the floor, landing at your feet. you glance at it, feeling completely and utterly numb as jun-hee's words repeat in your mind, over and over again. so you're trapped. you have to play. if you don't abide by the rules or find the mafia, you'll die.

how did it come to this?

you reach down and pick up the phone. kyung-jun's case is black, with a red stripe going down the right side. his wallpaper is a photo of a basketball player, probably one in the states. you don't recognize it. you glance back up, searching for his face, studying the tension in his bones and the frustration in his eyes.

how long until that anger diminishes, and there's nothing left but a trace of himself?

you march up to him, and kyung-jun only has a moment to turn and regard you before you're forcefully grabbing his hand and slapping the phone into the palm of it. he blinks in surprise, but you don't say anything as you walk away, disappearing up the steps, an echo of a thought resounding in your head.

kyung-jun could die in this game, and the thought of that haunts you.

it's nighttime now, and there have been no new developments. no new solutions, and no voice to direct you in the game. you're not exactly sure what happens now. do you discuss potential candidates for mafia? do you find another way around the rules?

you turn the corner, pausing when you spot yoon-seo and jung-won at the end. they're talking to da-bum, and the conversation must have just ended, for the boy turns and walks away. you approach the two girls.

"kyung-jun?" you question, to which they nod. you sigh softly in response. of course. you didn't understand why da-bum continued listening to him. he wasn't small by any means. if he tried, he could probably stand his own against either of the three delinquents in a fight. it must be his meek personality that stops him from doing so.

just then you hear cursing and yelling, and the sound of repeated banging. you all share a look before rushing towards the source of the sound, leading you to an office. jun-hee is inside, slamming a phone repeatedly against the desk while he spews out several different curses.

"hey! jun-hee!" yoon-seo rushes forward, preventing jun-hee from continuing his previous actions. beside you, jung-won turns on the lights, washing the room in light and revealing the messy space, "what are you doing?" the phone rings again, and the four of you glance towards it, "isn't that a phone call? what's wrong?" she reaches down to pick up, but jun-hee turns around and takes it from her, slamming it back down.

"just leave it." he mutters.

"what's wrong?" rather than be angry, yoon-seo's voice softens, her eyes creased in worry.

"it's all fake."

"what?"

jun-hee picks up the phone, showing the cut off cord, "the wire wasn't even connected."

you stare at it in disbelief, "seriously?" how did that make any sense? how could the phone ring when it wasn't even connected? and why?

yoon-seo begins checking other phones, her search producing the same result. you glance around the room, rushing towards computers and clicking on mouses and buttons on the monitor. nothing. opening the cabinets beneath the desk provide a similar outcome.

"look at this." you turn towards jung-won, who holds up a binder. inside, there's nothing. not even blank sheets of paper, "it's empty."

"this is hopeless, isn't it?" you mumble. your words feel heavy in the air, and a small part of you regrets voicing it out loud.

the four of you trickle out of the room, finding some couches nearby. you slump into the seat, staring at the ceiling while processing the past 10 minutes. none of it made sense. was some sort of supernatural being involved? did someone piss off the gods?

yoon-seo breaks your contemplative state with a question, "why on earth do you think the person who created the mafia game is doing this?"

"to torture us probably." you mutter bitterly. no one disagrees.

yoon-seo straightens, determination settling on her features, "we need to first figure out who created this game and why."

"where do you think the creator of this game is? were the only ones here right now." jung-won questions.

"what if they come once we fall asleep? that's when they killed ju-won too." jun-hee reasons, only for yoon-seo to shake her head.

"they said the mafia killed ju-won, but our classmates are the only ones on the participants list."

"yoon-seo's right," you chime in, "anyone else would've been on the list. this is between our classmates."

"then," jun-hee begins, concern building steadily on his face, "does that mean one of us killed ju-won?"

yoon-seo nods, albeit a bit hesitantly, "if its according to the rules, i guess so."

you tried to imagine it. one of your classmates, people you've spent the year with, killing someone in cold blood. it was hard. but then again, did they have a choice? it's not like they wanted to be apart of the mafia team. it was just bad luck, plain and simple.

you stand up, gaining your friends attention, "it's gonna be midnight soon. should we find the others?"

jun-hee nods, pushing himself up as well, "yeah, let's go."

the four of you venture down the hall, searching for any sign of your classmates. just as you turn the corner you run into woo-ram, whose entire body sags in relief at the sight of your group. behind him, hyun-ho and na-hee approach.

woo-ram goes up to jun-hee, holding his hands, "hey, i looked everywhere for you. let's go, everyone is about to vote."

jun-hee's eyes widen in disbelief, "they're going to vote again after heo-yool died?"

woo-ram looks down in shame, "the game has to end for us to leave. we have no choice."

"even so, how can we do that again?" yoon-seo asks, and her intention is clear.

how can we pick someone to die?

yoon-seo shakes her head more forcefully now, refusing woo-ram's words, "we need to stop them. we shouldn't vote."

"how can we stop them?" jung-won asks, a thoughtful look crossing over her face, "we need a plan to persuade them."

"i'll persuade them," jun-hee announces, facing woo-ram once more, "are they all gathered?"

the boy shakes his head, "no, they're in several rooms."

"let's gather everyone first."

"i'll help too." na-hee chimes in.

yoon-seo startles suddenly, glancing between everyone currently present, "where is da-bum?"

"oh," you mumble, coming to the same conclusion. she knew who da-bum was with, but not where. this wasn't good, "kyung-jun figured out a way to open the snack bar. he's probably there."

hyun-ho lets out a harsh breath, "geez, those damn bastards. they really get on my nerves."

jun-hee nods his head towards the stairs "come on, lets go."

everyone rushes towards the snack bar, every second that passes making the agitation in jun-hee's and hyun-ho's demeanor grow. when you arrive, jun-hee throws open the door, yelling at the trio. you're the last one in, and you catch a glimpse of da-bum on the floor, held down by seung-bin and jin-a. kyung-jun sits in a chair across from him, and he glances up at your arrival, meeting your eyes for a brief moment.

"that's enough," jun-hee rushes over to da-bum, pulling jin-a off while yoon-seo pulls seung-bin away. he looks between the three culprits, and you can't remember the last time you've seen jun-hee look so pissed off. it was a little scary, "what are you guys doing?"

none of them answer, so you take the opportunity to walk over and help yoon-seo in pulling da-bum off the floor. you can feel kyung-jun's eyes watching your every movement.

hyun-ho tsks in mock disappointment, "one against three? aren't you embarrassed of yourselves?"

kyung-jun stands up then, ignoring hyun-ho as he yanks da-bum by the collar towards him, "where do you think you're going?"

jun-hee pushes kyung-jun back, but his grip remains strong. jun-hee's frustration spikes, "hey, that's enough. come with us. we need to discuss something."

kyung-jun snaps his attention towards jun-hee, scoffing in disbelief, "why should i listen to you?" when he doesn't answer he shoves jun-hee aside, yelling, "hey! you!"

hyun-ho shoves kyung-jun just as forcefully, "dammit, hey!"

kyung-jun doesn't regain his footing right away, stumbling over a chair. hyun-ho glances at him, up and down, regarding him with little interest. everyone starts to trail out of the room, including hyun-ho, who nudges you along. you spare a glance at kyung-jun, noting his anger, the way he wears it. why couldn't you just leave it at the door, kyung-jun, just this once?

you're almost to the door, next to jung-won, when you hear it. kyung-jun's yell and the sound of a crash. you turn around and a box of candies lay at da-bum's feet. you jump back slightly, startled.

kyung-jun breathes heavily, his lips curled up into a sneer, "why should i listen, you son of a bitch? come here."

hyun-ho glances at the discarded box, releasing a tired sigh, "fucking bastards." he mutters under his breath. he turns around, going over to a can of chips, sizing it up in his hand, "words don't get through to you, huh? you need a beating."

no. you know where this is going. it was expected, of course. the tension the past 24 hours and their frustrations steadily rising, slowing boiling over. but no matter how you look at it, it doesn't end well.

kyung-jun is rearing back for a punch when you dash forward, only to get pulled back by a pair of arms. jun-hee's hold on you is tight, unrelenting even as you struggle in his grip and scream at him to let you go. but he doesn't listen, and you're forced to watch as the two boys fight. bodies are thrown, objects used to hurt the other. it's when kyung-jun is flipped onto the ground and hyun-ho straddles him, his fingers tight around his neck, do you panic once more, your efforts even more frantic.

"stop it!" you scream, staring helplessly as kyung-jun's face turns red, his legs thrashing, "stop it, you'll kill him!"

"let the fuck go! let go, you son of a bitch!" kyung-jun screams, his fingers reaching up to rip hyun-ho's fingers away. it doesn't work.

"will you listen?" hyun-ho threatens. instead of answering, kyung-jun flails around even more, causing hyun-ho to tighten his grip, "will you do as we say!"

"hyun-ho!" you scream.

kyung-jun releases another yell before ceasing his struggle entirely, "alright, you motherfucker!"

hyun-ho finally lets go, and jun-hee releases you. you step forward, watching kyung-jun on the ground. he's breathing heavily, his fingers ghosting over the red marks embedded into the skin on his neck. he finally sits up, his eyes set on hyun-ho, then on a desk towards the side. you switch your gaze between the two, realizing what he had in mind. as kyung-jun picks up the scissors and marches over to hyun-ho you rush forward, gripping his upper arms and pushing him back.

"stop it, just stop!" you plead desperately.

kyung-jun pauses, glancing down at you. his jaw is tight, his eyes blazing, but they waver when they settle on you.

"what are you thinking, huh?" you whisper, studying his face carefully, trying to find an answer. your bottom lip trembles as you speak, "getting into fights and trying to...to what? kill hyun-ho? what will people think?"

jung-won comes up behind you, "don't waste your breath," she looks at kyung-jun, who directs his attention to her, "i think they'll all start voting once we give them the go. how about it?" she waves her phone tauntingly, "should i click your name?"

his face twists in anger again, moving his body to step towards her, "you fucking bitch-"

you push kyung-jun back once more, softer this time. he doesn't fight it, and you take another step closer, reaching for his hands and holding them gently in your own. he focuses on you, and once again his demeanor changes, wavering ever so slightly, "please kyung-jun. this isn't some game anymore. people are dying, and you'll be next if you don't stop." you curl your fingers around his own, your grip firm, "put it down, and i swear we won't say anything. please."

he chews the inside of his gums, contemplating your words. he glances up, examining everyone in the room. eventually, he looks back down at you, and slowly, his fingers relax around the scissors, allowing possession to switch to your hand. he backs away, slumping down into a chair in defeat.

"we'll all gather in the auditorium," yoon-seo announces, pointedly looking at each of the men beaten up on the ground, "you guys should come too." one by one, everyone shuffles out. hyun-ho remains at the door for a moment. kyung-jun lifts up his head, narrowing his eyes in silent hatred.

"keep the snack bar open for everyone." he turns to leave, but pauses when he notices your failure to follow. he calls out your name, "you coming?"

you don't take your eyes off of kyung-jun, examining his face. there are cuts on his nose and cheek, bruises slowly forming in other places around it. an ache echoes in your chest, a sort of hurt that forms at the sight of someone you care for suffering. your words leave your mouth before you can think better of it, "yes. in a minute. i'll meet you there."

he hesitates for a moment before slipping away, leaving just you, kyung-jun and his friends in the room. kyung-jun is the first to break eye contact, averting his gaze towards the ground, frustration steadily making its way onto his features. he kicks at a stray can, the object sliding across the floor as he swears.

unfazed, you shorten the distance between you two, reaching over and pulling on his jacket. another swear word escapes his lips, harshly pushing your hand away, "get off of me."

"kyung-jun." your voice is cold and serious, a tone you rarely use with anyone. it's a demand. the boy glances up, his glaring even more intensified, but you don't waver, standing your ground, waiting patiently for the moment his resolve falters. when it does, kyung-jun swears one last time before getting up. he trails after you silently.

you lead him to the infirmary, pushing the door open and stepping inside. you stop by one of the beds, facing him for a moment to speak, "sit." you tell him, and he slumps down without a word. even so, kyung-jun complains silently. his fingers grip the sheets beneath him, and his head hangs low, the tic in his jaw moving from time to time. was he sulking? the sight of it is almost cute if you weren't so angry with him.

you step towards the nurses desk, opening cabinets and grabbing the supplies you need. when you return, you have a box of band-aids, q-tips and a bottle of disinfectant. you take your position on the space beside kyung-jun, your knees brushing, your body angled towards his own. he glances at you, at the supplies in your hand, and grumbles before mirroring your body language. nervousness builds in your throat, and you swallow thickly to let it pass before starting.

you get to work patching up his face. kyung-jun doesn't make a sound. doesn't even move. just stares at you silently, his eyes intense, carefully following your movements as you press the q-tips against the cut on his cheek and across his nose. luckily, your hands don't tremble as they work, and your breaths come out even, despite being so close to his face. gently, you place the last band-aid over his cut, leaning back ever so slightly to inspect your work.

oh. that was a mistake.

from your position, you can see kyung-jun's face more clearly. there is no emotion guarding his expression, just kyung-jun, raw and untouched. blue moonlight washes delicately over his features, which, other than the bruising and recent injuries, contains no blemishes. not a freckle or a beauty mark. something settles in your chest then, attention pinned to his roughed up state. it wasn't pity. it was something more tender than that, something similar to the warmth you felt earlier in the day. you can't stop yourself from feeling concern morph its way onto your features, or the way your hand reaches up and touches the bruise on his cheek. kyung-jun flinches, and you retract the slightest bit, but he doesn't move, doesn't speak, just continues examining you silently, waiting. you reach forward and touch it again, gentler this time. he allows you.

"it must have hurt." you mumble, brushing your fingers across it softly. you recall the fear you felt, the desperation when kyung-jun was on the floor, facing death. an ache builds within your chest, deep inside your bones.

kyung-jun narrows his eyes in suspicion, "why?"

you blink, tilting your head slightly, "why what?"

"i didn't ask for your sympathy." this time he pushes your hand away, standing up. he looks down at you, his anger slowly returning to it's rightful place, "don't use me as some charity case to fulfill your own moral dilemmas."

you lean back, startled, and you feel your own frustration build. your words are coated thickly in disbelief, "is that what you think this is?"

"what else could it be?"

"do i have to spell it out for you?" you stand up, lifting your head to meet his gaze head on. the words spill out quickly, one after the other, "because i want to, kyung-jun. because i care." you didn't realize the truth of it until you spoke it out loud. when did that happen? when did kyung-jun force himself a place inside your heart?

kyung-jun retracts slightly, as if he didn't expect that answer. for a moment, his walls crumble, but he's quick to put the pieces back together, "well don't."

he turns, leaving the room with a purposeful stride. you watch him for a moment, still in utter disbelief, before rushing after him, "hey, don't tell me what to feel, kyung-jun."

"fine!" he snaps, continuing on. he doesn't spare you a single glance, "do whatever you want. i don't give a fuck."

you release a frustrated breath at his response. isn't that funny? how kyung-jun is the only one capable of bringing out these emotions in you. for so long, you felt like a ghost wandering the earth, barely even really alive. an empty shell of a human being. it was a relief to feel so many things at once, even if it was the ugly emotions, "why are you so difficult?"

he swings back around, and you almost bump into him from the suddenness of the motion, "you're the one making this so damn difficult. you're the one who-" he pauses, and if you didn't know any better, you would think it's panic that comes across his face then. you want to question it, but kyung-jun swings back around before you can, his stride purposeful once more, "you're annoying. now leave me the fuck alone."

you curse him under your breath, continuing your chase once more.

you make it to the gym, and upon entering, everyone turns to stare at the two of you. kyung-jun curses them as he crosses the room, "the fuck you all looking at?"

his words cause everyone to glance away, continuing their previous tasks. you clear your throat, slowly resuming your steps as well. you assume your position next to hyun-ho, who sends you a questioning glance. you ignore it, directing your attention towards the front of the room where jun-hee stands.

"the reason we gathered you here isn't to choose who to vote for. it's to convince you not to vote at all." jun-hee announces, resulting in several murmurs of confusion throughout the gym.

"don't vote at all?" hyun-ho asks, an edge of doubt laced in his tone, "can we do that?"

"if we vote, someone will die no matter what. but if no one votes, everyone can live."

mi-na steps forward, "what if someone secretly votes after we all agree not to? what happens then?"

"she's right. how can we trust everyone?" ji-soo asks.

"we'll have to make everyone trust each other," jun-hee goes quiet for a moment, thinking, before coming to a conclusion, "we can collect all the phones so no one can vote."

everyone ponders the idea, as do you. no voting. would that truly work? it wasn't stated in the rules, but then again, leaving the boundaries of the game wasn't explicitly said either. what if things went wrong like last time?

eun-ha perks up, the first to agree to the terms, "yeah, no one can vote if we collect all the phones. we can do that."

"who's going to manage the phones? that person might change their mind." ji-soo questions, causing yoon-seo to step forward.

"we can collect them and leave them in the middle for all to see."

"yeah, we can all keep an eye on them." jung-won agrees.

"what if someone steals them?" mi-na asks. when no one answers she steps back, shaking her head, "i don't want to. i'm not handing mine in."

people start talking amongst themselves, a mixture between compliance and reluctance. you turn towards hyun-ho, "do you think this is safe?"

hyun-ho grins at your question, turning his body to face your own, "what, you scared? don't worry, i'll protect you."

you glance away, unimpressed, "save the chivalry for na-hee" hyun-ho falters, and you lift an eyebrow in question, almost in disbelief, "come on, you know she likes you."

hyun-ho never gets the chance to respond, for a new voice enters the argument. kyung-jun breathes out in annoyance, "you guys are fucking noisy." he lifts himself up from the bench he was previously slumped on, picking up a yellow trashcan and approaching the middle of the circle, "class president is saying something right for fucking once. why aren't you all cooperating?" he puts it down in front of jun-hee, turning around to face the rest of the class, "you need to hand your phone in so no one can vote. every one of you better hand them in," he pulls out his own phone, holding it up as proof. he turns towards hyun-ho, his expression eerily blank. what was he up to? "hand it in while i say it nicely." his eyes slide over to your own before dropping the phone in the trashcan with a soft thud.

no one else moves, so you take it upon yourself to pull out your phone and walk up to the trashcan. it drops inside, and you avoid looking kyung-jun in the face as you turn around and assume your previous spot.

kyung-jun goes around with the bucket, and everyone puts their phone in with quiet reluctance. he places it in the center of the room, turning back around to face you and hyun-ho. he glances between you two, scoffs, then sits back down on a bench.

it's silent then. na-hee now sits in a chair beside hyun-ho, nervously fiddling with the strap of her bag, and your own nervous habits arise as you fiddle with the edge of your skirt. the alarm echoes at the one minute mark until midnight.

ONE MINUTE LEFT UNTIL VOTING ENDS.

the energy in the room intensifies. everyone is on edge, waiting anxiously for the moment to arrive. unknowingly, your teeth begin worrying at your bottom lip, your knuckles turning white around your school uniform. seung-bin yells in frustration, turning towards jun-hee.

"hey, class president! are you sure this is okay?"

"let's wait for now. it's not even midnight yet." jun-hee calmly responds, causing the voices to quiet down once more.

eventually, the clock passes midnight, and nothing happens.

woo-ram gets up from the floor, "hey...hey hey! it's past midnight, and there's no announcement. did...did it work?"

"we're fine now, right?" so-mi confirms.

everyone starts cheering then, embraces exchanged and relieved tears streaking down faces. you glance at na-hee and hyun-ho, catching sight of the girl flinging her arms around his neck, pulling him into an embrace. normally, you would've felt a semblance of joy at the scene, but unease refuses to release it's hold on you. the hair on the back of your neck stands up, goosebumps erupting across your flesh. something doesn't feel right. you continue chewing on your bottom lip.

an alarm erupts to life, and you glance up, heart pounding.

PARTICIPANTS MUST VOTE TO TRACK DOWN THE MAFIA.

the phones in the bucket start blaring in alarm, a chorus of dings and warnings erupting from that single container. the sound rattles in your bones, echoing in your ears.

joo-young tries running towards it, but hyun-ho stops her, "hey! what are you doing?"

"what do you think? if i don't do anything and die, will you fucking take responsibility?" she screams.

"she's right." mi-na agrees, also moving her body to rush towards the bucket. this time jun-hee is the one to stop her from continuing.

"guys hold on! hold on! we don't know yet."

"know what?" joo-young seethes, frustrated tears spilling down her cheeks, "the game will just progress as it did."

"if we die because of you," mi-na begins, stepping towards jun-hee. her eyes are cold, her teeth clenched, "will you take responsibility?"

so-mi steps forward in defense, "hey! don't blame jun-hee for no reason and calm down."

mi-na stares at her for a moment before turning around, clearly pissed. she only takes three steps before a body falls down in front of her, the impact of it hitting the ground echoing loudly in the gym. she jumps, backing away, as do others around her.

you fall down at the sight, legs giving out beneath you, heart pounding rapidly inside your chest. you stare at the lifeless body just several meters from your own, the limbs bent in unnatural ways, a pool of blood slowly spilling across the floor.

LEE SOO-BIN AND PARK JI-HOON WILL BE EXECUTED FOR VIOLATING THE RULES.

the girl slowly pushes herself up until she's standing straight. blood drips down the side of her head, her eyes missing their pupils. she takes a step forward in your direction, and you scoot back, fear striking itself between your ribs. a body drops down on top of her, landing just inches away from you. a scream rips itself from your throat, piercing. you squeeze your eyes shut and press your palms against your ears.

LEE SOO-BIN AND PARK JI-HOON WERE CIVILIAINS.

there was that word again. were.

"we need to vote. we'll die if we abstain!"

you both hear and feel people rushing past you, a chorus of yells and swears muffled by the hands still pressed tightly against your head. you shake your head numbly, willing the images of the dead bodies to go away. bodies. you can't even call them by name anymore, huh?

the sound of lights dying with a buzz causes you to snap your eyes open, immediately being greeted by darkness. red lights replace them, turning on and off, flashing, the alarm more consistent now. warning you all to do something in order to survive. someone bumps into you again, and you feel pain erupt in your shoulder. then, a pair of hands are gripping your upper arms, shaking you aggressively, pulling you away from your blank state. you glance up, meeting kyung-jun's anxious eyes.

"what the fuck are you doing?" he shouts, rapidly scanning your face.

you can't answer. your lips tremble, moving, but no sounds come out.

kyung-jun swears, releasing you and rushing towards the chaos. you call out his name, but he doesn't listen, shoving people aside as he drops down to his knees and searches the ground. the sight of him, desperate and fearful, forces you to get up and rush towards him, rapidly assessing the ground beside him. around you, people are screaming, cursing, and the announcement continues calling out names. it never seems to end.

he picks up a phone, swears and throws it across the room. he picks up another, and shoves it in your hand, "now hurry up and vote!"

you take it, fingers still trembling, staring at the sight of all your classmates names and images displayed on the screen. but who do you vote for? who do you decide who lives and dies? kyung-jun is still staring at you, waiting, so you pick the first name you see.

"hyun-ho!"

you turn, and na-hee is screaming from the ground, her tears glistening under the red light. hyun-ho's back faces her, slowly stumbling away, and with horror, you realize the meaning behind her anguished cries and his strange behavior. you feel a cry get caught in your throat.

"no. no no no no no." you mumble repeatedly to yourself, moving to get up. you rush towards him, pulling at his jacket, but he shoves you back, hard, and you fall to the ground with a cry. you watch helplessly as he goes towards the stairs, hearing na-hee's screams, the alarm blaring, the voice calling out names and occupations.

his body falls. his bones crack. it swings from side to side.

JANG HYUN-HO WAS A CIVILIAN.

the red lights turn off, the alarm stops, and the room is engulfed in quiet and darkness for a few moments. then, the lighting returns to normal, as if nothing had transpired.

THE VOTING HAS ENDED. BY POPULAR VOTE OF 10 VOTES, BAEK EUN-HA WILL BE EXECUTED. BAEK EUN-HA IS A CIVILIAN.

you search for the girl in the room, finding her on the floor, sobbing violently. she shakily pushes herself up to stand, her sobs growing louder as she goes up to different people in the room, "i told you i was a civilian. i told you i wasn't the mafia!"

you shut out her cries, directing your attention towards na-hee, who is still on the ground, her tears now silent. her sad eyes stare blankly into space, her lips trembling. you shuffle towards her, pulling on the sleeve of her uniform. "na-hee. we have to go."

she doesn't budge. doesn't even look at you, "why? hyun-ho is gone."

it's like a slap to the face, saying it out loud. hyun-ho is dead. he will never make it to the national team. he will never look at you with that genuine concern of his. his presence will never calm the people around him. your lips tremble, several tears escaping your own face, "na-hee, please. if we don't go, the mafia will come and-"

she starts crying even more, her wails striking a deep ache within your chest. but this time, she doesn't protest as you help her up and guide her towards the group still standing in the center of the room.

you get there just as eun-ha is rushing out the room. no one runs after her nor calls out for her to return. you help na-hee to the floor, dropping down beside her. your classmates don't make a sound, the despair hanging above their heads, weighing heavy on their shoulders. you find kyung-jun several feet away, slumped into a chair, his head hanging low and his hands clasped together. a part of you aches to reach over and offer a semblance of comfort.

from above, the same song from last night comes on, rendering you helpless. you close your eyes, body dropping to the floor with a soft thud.

NIGHT HAS COME.

part three.

#fluff #angst #ko kyung jun #kyung jun #night has come #kyung jun x reader #ko kyung jun x reader #kyung jun/reader #ko kyung jun/reader

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mooniiify · 8 months ago

Text

stress-packing — go kyung jun

requested by: @mattybsgf

-ˋˏ✄┈┈┈┈

kyung jun was laying on your bed, head propped on the headboard as he toyed with a plushie he’d stolen from your bed — one he’d won for you at the arcade about a year ago. he watched as you walked around your room, hand running through your hair occasionally.

your room was a mess. your pink suitcase laid open on the ground near the bed, stray pieces of clothing and make-up products thrown over as you continued searching for whatever else you needed.

it was the day before your long-anticipated school trip. you were to be at the school to catch the bus at 7:30 in the next morning. kyung jun checked the time on his phone. it was nearing eleven. he would have to start heading home soon, even though he didn’t want to.

“kyung jun, have you seen my hair rollers? i can’t find them anywhere.” you were rummaging through a drawer next to your desk, not looking at him.

kyung jun sighed. “no. i told you not to pack last minute, dumbass.”

“hey, i have a lot of minutes left before we have to catch the bus!” you stood up and moved over to another cupboard. “hah! there they are.” you tossed that on the pile atop your suitcase as well.

kyung jun sighed and stood up, putting the plushie back where he’d gotten it from. he sat on the ground, in front of the suitcase, and sorted through the clothing and non-clothing items, putting them in two neat piles before he moved to fold the first shirt on top of the pile. he furrowed his eyebrows at the familiarity.

“you’re packing my shirt for the school trip?”

y/n was going through her closed again, not looking at kyung jun. “you got a problem with that?”

“tch, no.” he folded the shirt and put it inside the suitcase before moving on to the next one. “the hell you need all those clothes for? we’re going for a few days only.”

you finally looked back. “better safe than sorry!” then your eyebrows furrowed as you finally took in the situation. “are you folding my clothes?”

“what does it look like?”

you couldn’t help but smile at the sight. walking over, you dropped your tub of vaseline in the non-clothing pile then crouched down next to kyung jun, wrapping your arms around his shoulders from the side and pressing a kiss on his cheek.

he smiled, turning his head just enough so he can look at her from the corner of his eye. “what was that for?”

you shrugged. “you’re cute.”

kyung jun rolled his eyes, but his smile didn’t falter. “never say that in public.”

-ˋˏ✄┈┈┈┈

just some random thoughts. hope you liked! feel free to send other requests !

#go kyung jun #night has come #kdrama #so mi #kyung jun #kyung jun x reader #go kyug jun x reader #jun hee #kim jun hee #yoon seo #fanfiction #x reader #request #drabble

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zenxvii · 1 year ago

Note

hellooo can you make a kyungjun fic where it is a happy ending😭💢 thank you sm

Hiii! Okay okay okay sorry for the last one here’s a happy one🙏🏻

Character: Kyung-Jun x fem!reader

Kdrama: night has come

!!: thoughts are in italics

🫶🏻: -

y/n pov

I walked thru to corridors making my way to my classmates. Jun-Hee hd told me to come down and meet others.

I arrived down seeing I was the last one there. “Now that everyone is here I think we have a solution how to survive.” Jun-Hee started and many heads were turn to his way.

“We know that if we vote someone dies, but if we don’t it should guarantee nobody dying.” What a stupid plan. We can’t be 100% it would work.

“What do you mean. We can’t be sure no one would vote! What is someone votes in secret!” A girl from our class said and I nodded along.

“We’ll gather the phones so nobody could vote.” “What if the holder changes their mind and votes!”

Some people against Jun-Hees plan and others with him. “Shut up! For once the class president has a good idea.” A voice stopped everyone.

Kyung-Jun walked with his minions following him. He walked in the middle with a yellow dumpster(?) “Be reasonable and listen when I’m being nice.” He told and glanced at everyone his glaze stopping at me.

“We’ll put our phones here so nobody can take then and put the bin in the middle.” He said and started to walk around getting the phones with his minions telling everyone the be quick.

I was the last one and he looked straight at my eyes. “Put your phone here princess.” So annoying.

I sighed and handed my phone.

The yellow bin was put on the middle with white clothing around it and nobody didn’t have permission to cross over it.

I could sense everyone being tense and just waiting the clock tick. It was 11.50pm and the ten minute wait would be like hell. I sighed and decided to sit on the ground tired from all the standing.

I eyed everyone, people were quiet no one talking. It was a bit too quiet for my liking, but I didn’t feel like saying anything when everyone was so tense.

11.55pm the five minute wait still there. It felt like eternal waiting for the clock strike 12. I played with my thumbs just waiving them around waiting for the time pass.

The five minutes had now passed even tho it felt like hours. Nobody moved. “We did it!” Someone yelled as the clock struck 12.01am. Now everyone was hugging each others and smiling.

I let out a breath of relief even tho I had a feeling this wasn’t over yet. When people were celebrating the fucking purge sound started again. I knew it.

“Players must identifyand vote out the Mafia!”

People tried to go for their phones but were stopped by the class president telling them it may not mean they would die.

It was before a body fell. And another one.

“For breaking the rules Lee Soo Bia and Park Ji Hoon have been eliminated.”

“Lee Soo Bia and Park Ju Hoon were civilians.”

People were in shock just standing there nobody moving. I had fell into a complete shock, the bodies had fell just few meters from me.

I was still on the ground as I saw the red spilling towards me. Now the purge sound had gotten louder and the lights turned to red.

Everyone were rushing to find their phones to vote. I couldn’t do anything because of the shock. I just sat on the ground.

I knew I needed to find my phone so I used all the strength that I gad and pushed myself off of the ground and started to look for my phone with a wave of people looking for theirs.

The bin had fallen and all the phones were scattered around the ground as people were panicking. I couldn’t find my phone anywhere. I started to panic. More and more people started to get eliminated and some to vote.

I felt a hand tug me. “Haven’t you found phone yet!” Kyung-Jun stood in front of me. “No!” I yelled at him with a slight panic in my voice. “Fuck.” He muttered and started to look for something. I’m gonna die.

I saw as Kyung-Jun motion his minions over and said something to them and they all started to look for something. There!

I saw my phone in the floor but just as I tried to grab it someone accidentally kicked my hand and my phone in the same. “Fuck!” I cried out in pain and watched my phone slide. I held my hand in pain. It was a strong and hard kick.

Just as I got up to get my phone Kyung-Jun was standing in front of me with my phone nodding to Jun-Ha who was standing were my phone hand sled.

“Vote!” He told me and shoved my phone to my hands. I yelped as he shoved it to my hurting hand. “But for whom!” I said I didn’t have tome to think and I couldn’t think straight.

“Vote for me. Now!” Was all he said as he opened his phone too.

I gulped and voted.

“l/n y/n voted for Go Kyung-Jun”

“Go Kyung-Jun voted for l/n y/n”

I felt my heart pounding in my ears with all the ringing from the purge sound. My hand was hurting bad. I used my flashlight on my phone and saw my hand turning a bit purple. Fuck.

Many people had voted and the timer told us it was time.

“Baek Eun-Ha vill be eliminated with the most votes of 10.”

“Baek Eun-Ha was a civilian.”

“I told you it’s not me!” The girl screamed I turned my gaze to her. She cried on the floor looking straight ant So-Mi.

She cried and cried, yelling at people who voted for her telling them she was telling the truth.

I looked back at my hand and saw Kyung-Jun looking it too. “That’s bad.” He said and shook his head with anger. “Yeah.” Was all I could say. “Sorry.” I said and leaned my head against Kyung-Juns chest.

He didn’t say anything but slightly wrapped his one arm around my shoulders. This might’ve looked weird to others. Me leaning on him. But to us it was okay. I guess.

The ‘lullaby’ started ringing and I felt my body going limp and my eyes closing.

I woke up the next morning. My hand sore as I opened my eyes I saw Kyung-Jun in front of me with his eyes closed. He looked peaceful. His hand was supporting my head. what a lucky way we fell.

I sat up and poked him. People started to wake up with groans and some sobs. Kyung-Hun sat up and immediately stood up after to go to his minions.

I looked at my hand seeing it purple, it wasn’t broken. But a big bruise on it. It was sore and I couldn’t move it much, but it was good that it wasn’t broken.

- (sorry i’ll skip the morning😞)

I arrived at the cafe after Kyung-Jun had told me to meet him there. Jin-Ha neither Seung-Bin weren’t there. “Why did you wanna meet?” I asked just standing at the door. “Come closer I don’t bite.” He said and motioned a chair next to him.

I sat next to him. “Ah! I never got to say this. But thank you, you saved my life yesterday.” I said and looked at him. He didn’t say anything but pulled a med kit under the table and sat it on the table.

“Show me your hand.” He told me and I did. I showed my hand to him and he gently grabbed it. “You should be more careful.” He said and wrapped a bandage around my hand. He was surprisingly gently.

“Thank you again.” I told him as he was finished with the wrapping. “Don’t fall for me now.” He said and patted my head and left. I just might..

——

End😳

yes yes I know kinda copied the hyun-ho and na-hee scene but it was just so cute😞🙏🏻

#kyungjunxreader #kyung jun #kyung jun x reader #kyungjun #night has come #night has come (tv)#x reader

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woominutes · 1 year ago

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teddy bear | ko kyungjun x fem!reader

you found yourselves aimlessly walking around the neighborhood, kyungjun leading the way as you follow behind him. it was always relaxing to walk with him whenever he was in a good mood.

your eyes were wandering around the houses and shops when your gaze fell on a mid-sized teddy bear on display on the window of a small store, it immediately reminded you of your boyfriend in some way. "kyungjun, look!" you stop walking, pulling him towards your side while pointing at the teddy bear that had immediately captured your heart. "it looks like you!"

in his typical cocky manner, kyungjun laughs at the teddy bear which does in fact resemble him a tiny bit. "don't try to be cute with me, stupid," he shoves your shoulder playfully and scoffs.

you bite your lip, wondering if taking the comment further would put him into one of his moods. "but it does look like you..." the soft mumble that leaves your mouth catches his attention, noticing the way your gaze lingers on the stuffed animal. he snorts, his mood softening just a little, "fine, it does look like me. but don't think i'm going to actually buy it or any stupid shit like that."

"i never said anything about buying it, kyungjun," you groan as you link your arms so you can keep walking around. it would be weird to get upset over a teddy bear but you wanted it. he glances over at you and rolls his eyes, "so why were you pointing it out, then? just to mess with me?"

you groan, annoyed that he hasn't taken the hint yet, "i just genuinely thought it resembled you."

in response, he rolls his eyes and bumps your hip, "keep telling yourself that, y/n."

he leads you down the street and eventually into an empty playground. he heads for the swing without any hesitation, his long legs making his steps create a quick distance between you two. "come here," he calls you over once he takes his seat on the blue swing.

"what?" you sigh as you make your way to the swing, standing still in front of him and running a hand through his hair.

he wraps his arms around your waist, a small smile tugging on his lips, "just come here, stupid." he pulls you down and places you on his right thigh with a firm grip on your hips.

you are not startled, that is a regular movement coming from him. he gets what he wants whenever he wants it. you sit on his thigh comfortably, looking at him in the darkness of the night.

kyungjun gently strokes your cheek and chuckles softly. it's late and the playground is empty at this hour, the street lamps light the area, creating a romantic atmosphere. you sit there silently for a while, breathing in sync, until he breaks the silence.

"you really wanted that teddy bear, huh?" he stares into your eyes, his expression softening and his body relaxing.

"i suppose..." you nod as you move your gaze to the ground. you can't say you felt connected to a plushie that reminded you of him, it would sound weird.

he smiles softly and brushes the hair back from your face, grabbing your chin to make you face him again. his tone is gentle, filled with affection, "it's adorable how much things like that matter to you, you know."

"why?" you tilt your head slightly, genuinely wanting to see your boyfriend's point of view and what drew him towards this statement. he's not usually expressive so hearing his raw thoughts is rare.

kyungjun's expression softens even more. there's a hint of tenderness in his voice as he squeezes your hips, "it's just you. you seem to find beauty in everything. if you like something, no matter how small or unimportant it may seem to others, you just like it."

"hm..." you trace the back of his head, running your fingers through his hair again. you know there is a deeper meaning to his words, a much more personal one. "are you talking about yourself?"

his breath catches and he doesn't answer for a few seconds. he holds you tight as he lets those words sink in and feels his own emotions, "maybe..."

your other hand drops to his back, drawing big circles of comfort and support, "want to talk more about it?"

he tightens his hold on you and pulls your body even closer, burying his face in the curve of your neck. his expression is distant but his eyes tell another story, revealing the tender feelings behind them. "not right now..." he mutters as he nuzzles his head into your neck.

"kyungjun, you have to open up." you remind him, kissing his forehead. there is no way he can run away without explaining how he fits into the sentence.

he groans softly and turns his head away. he knows it's true, he knows that you're right. he doesn't want you to think that he isn't vulnerable, when in truth he is, he's just afraid of showing it. he finally decides to open up. he swallows his pride with difficulty, "maybe i am just a teddy bear too..."

you pause before bursting out in a fit of laughter that lasts a couple of seconds. "no, i meant–" you try to suppress a giggle, it's not out of mockery but pure adoration.

"seriously, about what you said..." your laughter dies down as the topic turns serious again, "about me liking something small and unimportant, did you mean yourself?"

he holds you close and sighs. he seems a bit upset as he confesses, "yeah... yeah, that's right. honestly... when I think of myself, i don't see much. i guess i'm just a plain guy."

as he says this, kyungjun's expression dims. a silence fills the air as he takes a deep breath and regains his composure. his eyes meet yours, his expression serious as well, "but you make me feel important. when you look at me with those adorable eyes, I don't feel plain at all. my world seems colorful when I'm with you."

he leans forward and kisses you gently on the lips. it is a much more gentle kiss than the usual ones you share. you both pull away after a moment and he sighs contently. the playful mood seems to be changing to a more intimate one. "you are not plain, kyungjun..." you whisper your truth, looking into his eyes.

he smiles softly and strokes your cheek, "maybe you're right... maybe I'm more than what i think i am, you know?"

his expression relaxes even more as he leans forward and places another gentle kiss on your lips. you didn't share big words of reassurance but they were always enough, for you and for him.

his fingers glide along the curve of your lower back while he pulls you into him and holds you tightly. once he has you as close as possible, his hands move to your waist and he places his forehead against yours, gazing at you with a look of love and adoration. "now, let's go get you that teddy bear," he pats your back and helps you up so he can stand on his feet too.

"really?!" you shriek in surprise, your eyes widening. just when you had accepted that the teddy bear would be a forgotten memory, he reminded you of it again. kyungjun chuckles at your cute expression and nods as he grabs your hand, "yes, it's time you got your beloved teddy bear."

the two of you walk hand-in-hand towards the store, your footsteps rhythmic and smooth, the air is cool and refreshing, the street lights illuminating your path. he looks at you affectionately as the wind blows through your hair, he really does love you.

unfortunately, time had passed and the store had closed. kyungjun notices this first, his expression falls upon realizing that you were too late to go to the store and he growls in frustration, "fuck."

it was a long shot anyway, and there was no way it would've been open since you first passed by. he turns to you with an apologetic look as he squeezes your hand, "i'm sorry, y/n, they're closed."

you stare at the closed store, a look of disappointment flashing through your eyes but you shake your head, not wanting kyungjun to feel bad. "it's alright," you look up at him with your lips pursed into a sympathetic smile.

he notices your disappointment and feels bad because of it. he feels even worse once you try to make him feel better. your look of sympathy makes him feel guilty, he feels like he let you down. he squeezes your hand again and lets out a resigned sigh.

"i'm sorry, i should've bought it earlier. that's so stupid of me," he was hesitant to buy the teddy bear because he felt a bit embarrassed about it. he thought it wouldn't suit his bad boy act but now he feels regretful for thinking too much because he could have made you, his girlfriend, happy.

"it's really okay, it's just a stuffed animal," you rub his forearm to reassure him while squeezing his hand. in truth, the teddy bear was indeed just a stuffed animal that he could buy tomorrow, he could've easily bought it back then and made you happy but now that you were disappointed, it felt different. now he felt bad because you felt bad too.

he doesn't like it when he disappoints his girlfriend. you were right, it was just a plushie. however, it was also an important thing for you because you felt connected to it. "i know it's just a stuffed animal... but it mattered to you."

he could have bought it without thinking too much. now, all he can do is feel bad for not being able to get it for you.

"kyungjun, it's fine."

it's clear that you were a tiny bit disappointed by the fact that you couldn't get the plushie but you also feel upset because kyungjun blames himself when he shouldn't. you don't like it when he feels bad because you know very deep down that he's a really sensitive person.

"why the long face? it's not like you!" you chuckle and nudge him, trying to brush the matter off. that makes him crack a smile but it seems like he is still feeling bad about it, though your words seem to cheer him up at least a bit.

you pull him closer for a moment, trying to comfort him. you lean into him and wrap your arms around his waist, gently rubbing his back. you can sense how guilty he feels, and you know how he takes your disappointment to heart. it's a sign that there is a sweet and vulnerable side to kyungjun, a side that you adore. "come on, it's not that big of a deal."

your tone is gentle and reassuring, trying to prevent him from feeling like this any longer. he is quiet for a few seconds but your reassurance and soft touch make him feel better. he relaxes his body and lets you hold him, enjoying the feeling of your arms around him.

your touch is calming in a way, and it's the type of comfort that makes him feel at ease. he smiles warmly at you and squeezes your waist before he suddenly grabs the back of your thighs with his big palms, "i can be your teddy bear instead."

you yelp softly as you are lifted up against your boyfriend's body, grabbing onto his biceps and wrapping your legs around him so your thighs rest next his hips. your face is mere inches away from his, and you stare at him with an adorable expression on your face.

"you were waiting for your chance, huh?" you giggle, completely comfortable and enjoying the feeling of his body against yours, his strength is oddly comforting. kyungjun smirks at your response, his hands fondling your thighs when he starts walking, "maybe I was, you'll never know."

he seems to enjoy teasing you a bit, he always has. his facial expression has playful elements as he keeps massaging the back of your legs. "so let's forget about the toy and just pretend i'm your cuddly teddy bear for all purposes."

you look up at him with a knowing grin, "all purposes?"

he shrugs his shoulders jokingly, "you heard me, all purposes. you were planning to hug and kiss your teddy bear, no?" he chuckles softly with a teasing twinkle in his eyes.

"I was not planning to kiss it!" you hit his shoulder, not wanting him to even think about a scene like that happening. kyungjun chuckles again at how defensive you get about it. it's cute how he can embarrass you so easily, just from a simple harmless joke, "you sure?"

he pulls you a little closer to his body as he continues to speak and he whispers slightly so that no one but you can hear him, "you're so cute when you try to deny it. i bet you would kiss your teddy bear when nobody is looking."

"i would not!" you yell in embarrassment, burying your face into his neck while holding his shoulders tightly, your eyes closing as you get flustered. he feels your grip around his shoulders tighten and your breath quicken against his throat, a sign that you're blushing.

he gazes ahead with an accomplished smile, taking the route to his house, "call your mom."

"call my mom?" you frown in confusion at the sudden demand, pulling away from his neck to look at him. he had actually gotten your mom to like him and he even texted her himself but it was odd to bring her up now.

kyungjun lets out a playful snort, "so you can tell her that you won't be home until tomorrow morning," he says it in a lighthearted tone but it's very clear what he's implying. teddy bear for all purposes, he said.

"oh..." and you reach for your phone inside the pocket of your skirt without realizing it.

by the time you wake up in the morning, your boyfriend's absence from the bed makes you open your eyes wide and search for him around the room, only to find the teddy bear you wanted so much by the side of your feet.

you chuckle softly, knowing he woke up early to buy it for you. as you sit up, you notice the added piercing on its left ear and the card strapped to its little bow tie.

– from your actual teddy bear, kyungjun ♡

#woominutes ♡#nights has come #nhc #night has come ko kyungjun #night has come kdrama #go kyungjun #go kyung jun #ko kyungjun #ko kyung jun #ko kyungjun x reader #ko kyung jun x reader #go kyung jun x reader #go kyungjun x reader #cha woomin

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divineei · 1 year ago

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TOOTM zero. old beginnings

! go kyungjun x fem!reader

# relationship lore, first meeting, heavy infatuation, mentions of kyung jun having daddy and mommy issues

a/n. chill yall i swear im putting my whole authorussy on this

months before the school trip…

rain pours on top of the bus stop's roof. although tiny, the cover is enough to prevent kyung jun's clothes from getting even wetter.

if only he had brought an umbrella. he was in such a rush to get out of his house after yet another fight with his parents, he didn't even hear the water falling from the sky before it was too late and was already running around the streets.

kyung jun had no idea how long had passed since he stormed out, not that he cared anyway. he considered this ten times better than all the yelling at home. when he managed to ignore the cold, the little bus stop was peaceful; quiet.

or it was.

he dug in his pocket to take out a cigarette and put it in his mouth when the sound of hurried footsteps stepping on puddles distracted him. he turned his head towards the noise, immediately setting eyes on the figure sprinting towards him: a girl in winter clothes held a bag above her head as a shield from the rain while she ran in his direction. she stopped right next to him, breathing heavily and drenched in water.

kyung jun turned his attention back to his tobacco. he paid her no mind. why would he? he had enough to deal with seeing as he also fell victim to the pouring rain.

he felt the weight of the stranger sitting at the other end of the bench as he took out his lighter. however, rolling the flint wheel was useless as only a spark came out. he tried again. and again. and again, but still no flame. kyung jun's breath rose erratically and his pent-up frustration with it.

"fucking piece of shit", he sent the thing flying with as much force he could manage, making it break into pieces. was nothing supposed to work in his favor? he can't stop misbehaving like he promised his mother, he can't be the top of his class like he promised his father, he can't stop himself from lashing out right in their faces; for fucks sake he can't even light a cigarette. maybe they were right: he was worthless.

out of the corner of his eye, he saw something being handed to him. the stranger had reached her arm out with a lighter in hand. kyung jun's eyes varied from it to the face he'd been ignoring: drops of water were falling from her hair to her cheeks, she wore headphones around her neck and a lit cigarette between her parted lips, with eyes that stared at him through wet lashes, waiting for him to accept the offer.

he reached for the lighter, brought it close to him, and finally took a puff of his cigarette.

"you okay?", asked the pretty girl.

he looked back at her, seemingly taken aback by her interest but nodding nonetheless.

their interaction was cut short with a quick smile from her as she put her headphones on.

in his mind, kyung jun caught himself juggling feelings from shame to disappointment, realizing maybe he wanted somebody to ask if he was alright. he wouldn't have minded an opening to more conversation, even if it was to forget his troubles for just a few minutes. but he understood. i mean, who would care about a stranger on the streets anyway? who would care about him anyway?

the time passed as quickly as did his pack of cigarettes and now, with an empty box in his pocket, kyung jun's anger was rising once again. not because of the distress of his mind though but because of the loud music disturbing his peace.

after what felt like hours of trying to ignore the noise, he decided he had enough and aggressively waved his hand to catch the girl's attention.

"mmh?", she looked at him and removed one of the speakers.

"turn that shit off."

"excuse me?" she scoffed raising her brows.

"i said," kyung jun pointed at the headphones that were now around her neck, "turn it off. it's fucking annoying me."

she let out a teasing chuckle. was she... laughing at him right now? "fuck off. i'll listen to my music however i want."

...the fuck? his mouth opened in disbelief. this was a first. nobody, and i mean nobody, would even think of talking back to him like that.

"who do you think you're talking to?" he turned his body to her with a scowl intimidating enough to make anyone at his school go running with their tail between their legs.

"someone with no taste in music, apparently."

damn, she really was laughing at him.

kyung jun's mouth opened to fight back but no words came out. he couldn't believe it. he was stunned. did the rain wash out every threatening aspect of him?

it could be the cold, the shock, the contagious smirk of the pretty girl, or maybe the exhaustion finally catching on to him, but for whatever reason, he couldn't find it in him to say anything back. so he laughed. just slightly. some probably would consider it more of a defeated sigh. but he did.

"what?"

her smile was taunting him, provoking him to keep talking.

"nothing", yet he didn't have the energy for it, not right now. so today, he'd let it slide.

her smile shifted from cheeky to genuine when he brushed her off. as much as she enjoyed the banter, she had enough awareness not to tease any further.

"you know what," instead, she disconnected her headphones before handing her phone to the guy. "if my music is so annoying to you, show me something better."

kyung jun frowned, but a small smile graced his face, betraying his attempt at indifference.

and so he accepted her offer, for the second time that day.

minutes went by with surface-level conversation and recommended songs. it was a pleasant distraction for him, at least enough to make him miss the way his pulse merged with the beats of the tunes. they enjoyed their time together until the faint sound of wheels appeared in the distance. turning off the music, the pretty girl stood up in front of him.

oh right, the bus.

for a second, he forgot where they were.

"well, that's my ride" she announced, just seconds before said ride stopped before them.

for a second, time seemed to freeze.

the girl said something else, but whatever it was fell on deaf ears. it felt like his senses were failing him all of a sudden.kyung jun sat there, helpless and paralyzed, as he watched her walk away. a chill ran down his spine, causing goosebumps to break out all over his body. his mind was screaming at him to do something, anything, to make her stay just a little bit longer. he wanted to ask for her name, to strike up more conversation, to find out who she was and where she was going. but he couldn't bring himself to move. all he could do was see her disappear, without time to wonder what might have been.

when he came to his senses the bus was out of sight, and the empty spot on the bench felt heavier than ever.

kyung jun looked at the sky. there was not a single ray of sun to be seen, but at least the rain had finally stopped. he leaned back and just as his hands came to rest in his pockets he touched something cold. he took it out, eyes falling on a lighter. her lighter.

he could feel the beat of his heart against his ribcage. why? where did all this adrenaline come from? since when has he become so soft as to let such a flimsy little thing make his head spin and his face fire up?

"fuck", he cursed to the skies.

as the days went by, his intense but short-lived experience with that stranger remained fresh in the back of his mind. no matter how many times he tried to blur her face she was like a ghost that reappeared every time he looked away, a fading memory he couldn't fully forget.

at the back of the school's building kyung jun took the last puff of his cigarette just when the bell announced the start of classes. he dropped what was left of it on the floor at the same time his two companions dropped the innocent student they had been tormenting. they walked together to their classroom with the same enthusiasm as a kid who received a pair of socks for christmas and sat in the back row.

"good morning, class", the teacher greeted as she stood in front of the students, who immediately saluted back.

kyung jun rolled his eyes and laid down on his desk with no thought other than finding the perfect position for the three-hour nap he was about to take until his next break, wondering if his dreams would finally be undisturbed by images of the one he couldn't fail to recall again and again.

"alright," the teacher clasped her hands to get the class' attention. "before starting our lesson, i'm pleased to inform you that we have a new student coming in today and i hope you'll help them accommodate to the school."

already starting to doze off, kyung jun's eyes remained closed even after someone knocked on the door and the tutor welcomed them in. "welcome, please come in and introduce yourself."

"hello everyone, my name is yoon yn. i hope we get along well."

what the...?

his eyes shot open.

there's no way. no fucking way.

he saw the new student politely bowing at the front of the room like she wasn't the same that had been living in his mind rent free day, night, and day again.

"thank you. please, take a sit."

she walked like in slow motion towards the back of the room and, for a split second, their eyes met. the idea that he must've already fallen into a deep slumber invaded him when she sent him a subtle smile before sitting just a few sits away from him.

the teacher regathered the attention of the room and started her lesson. needless to say, his plan of breezing through the school day with a nap got ruined.

hours passed insanely slow until the bell rang through the speakers and announced a much-needed break.

having pulled up two chairs by his side, jin-ha was cracking up at something on seung-bin's phone. whatever it was, kyung jun couldn't care less. his eyes were set on the crowd surrounding the new girl as his classmates smothered her with questions and compliments.

"are you new in town, yn?"

"what school did you use to go to?"

"were you in any clubs?"

"well–", yn tries to answer in between the frenzy.

"O-M-G, you should join our cheerleading group!" interrupted mi-na.

"im not interested in any clubs, thank you" yn declined with a smile.

"oh, of course." said so-mi, "someone like you was probably on the student council, right? you can always help me and jun-hee with-"

"i'll pass. thank you, so-mi."

"woaah, the class president got rejected!" heo yool pointed out and the small crowd joined in the teasing.

in the chaos of it all, she managed to find him staring. the moment was brief, yet enough for kyung jun's heart to skip a beat.

"you know her?"

"huh?"

"do you know her?", jin ha repeated. "the new girl."

kyung jun hesitated but shook his head, "no, i don't."

"could it be?", seung bin dramatised. "does ko kyung jun have a crush?"

his friends patted his back, mocking him, and giggled in unison.

"shut up," kyung jun sighed and leaned back on his chair closing his eyes with his arms crossed, trusting they'd get the hint that his temper was better off not tested.

"he didn't say no," seung bin whispered, gaining a repressed chuckle from jin ha.

boring lessons and occasional glances between the delinquent and the new student continued throughout the day until finally the moment to get out that hellhole arrived.

by the time kyung jun had his bag over one shoulder and ready to go the class was almost empty. yoon yn was putting away her stuff without any rush as if she wasn't the only one left in the classroom.

"hey, kyung jun!" seung bin shouted from the door. "you coming or not?"

"nah," he answered without turning his eyes away from the girl. "i'll see you tomorrow."

with a shrug, seung bin left the room with jin ha following after him, not before exchanging a knowing look.

"move, nerd!" was the last thing heard from the two vandals out on the hall before they left.

kyung jun approached yn with the same caution you do a stray cat in fear it'll run away and with each step, his pulse accelerated. as the girl cleaned up her belongings, he leaned on the desk next to hers wth his hands inside his trousers' pockets.

"the uniform doesn't suit you, you know?"

she turned to him–smirking–their eyes met and, for the first time today, neither looked away.

"i could say the same for you", yn crossed her arms.

"i'd say it's better than wet clothes.", he shrugged.

"please," the girl rolled her eyes, "it was just a little rain."

"a little rain?", kyung jun repeated. "you were literally running with your bag on your head."

"you were watching me?", yn put a hand over her chest and furrowed her brows, yet her smug smile remained. "you weirdo."

"look who's talking, you fucking stalker."

"excuse me? why the fuck would i stalk you?", she pointed at him.

"you tell me," he teased, lifting his hands. "you're the one in my school."

kyung jun kept staring at yn waiting for another one of her snarky comments but instead she tightly closed her lips together.

"what?" he provoked.

unable to hold back any longer, she let out a peal of laughter which made kyung jun's eyes widen as much as his own smile. he couldn't help it, her laugh was contagious and the situation was amusing. randomly meeting someone and obsessing over them to later find out they just enrolled in the same school as you is something you would only see in movies; or fanfiction.

yet here they were.

"nothing", yn smiled, finally gathering her stuff and putting her backpack over her shoulder, ready to leave.

leave?

flashes of the day he thought he'd never see her again flooded kyung jun's mind. he couldn't bear it. to someone else, this might seem extreme; desperate. now that they were classmates he'd most likely see her every day, so why even panic in the first place? but maybe, just maybe, he was desperate. to him, seeing her leave felt devastating. like a reminder of the day his whole body failed to even ask her name. but if the universe saw it necessary for them to meet again, that meant he wasn't supposed to let her go, right?

kyung jun clumsily opened his backpack and took out the trinket he'd been carrying around since that rainy day, handing it to her.

yn stared at him with her eyebrows wrinkled.

"here", the guy insisted, slightly shoving the lighter toward her.

"why?"

"'fuck you mean why? it's yours."

"i told you to keep it. you didn't hear me?"

"oh," he felt what seemed like a heatwave run through his neck and ears. "i guess not."

"all that shit you gave me about my loud music and look at you." she mocked.

the guy lowered his head. he would have run away right then and there to avoid any more embarrassment if it wasn't for the little pride he still had.

"hey, uh..." she paused. "sorry, what's your name?"

all this time and he still hadn't introduced himself? fuck, he really couldn't do anything right, huh?

"ko kyung jun."

"right. so, kyung jun, since it's such a nice day out i was wondering if you'd be free to show me around?"

like on queue, sunshine started squeezing through the window’s blinds.

he wasn't sure if it really was the world roaring at him to see the signs or if she just happened to take pity on him, but whatever it was he felt relieved, and his anxiety washed away the moment he lifted his head to look at the girl with her arm extended.

this was it, wasn't it? the opportunity he keept missing?

how many times will she have to reach out until you take the chance, dumbass?, screamed the universe.

"sure", kyung jun uttered. "i can do that."

she offered her hand, and for the final time, he accepted.

🏷️ @flaneurpastel - @jwijii - @watamotee33

#fem reader #night has come #night has come kdrama #nhc x reader #night has come x reader #kdrama x reader #go kyung jun #ko kyung jun #night has come ko kyung jun #ko kyungjun #go kyungjun #nhc kyung jun #ko kyung jun x reader #go kyung jun x reader #kyung jun x reader #night has come kyung jun x reader #night has come kyung jun

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randomlifex · 1 year ago

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Don’t you dare

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Go Kyungjun x fem!reader

Plot:your bully turns out to be something way different than what you expected

Warnings:swearing

This story is a request

Author’s notes:hello guys,I’m back. I gotta say that the past days have been painful, but I promised that I would’ve been strong,so here’s a new story for you. I’m sorry if this work isn’t as good as usual,I’m trying my best to process everything. Please,enjoy♡

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ‘♡’- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

You turned the corner, head low in hope to avoid Kyungjun and his friends, as the only thing you cared about was to arrive to class on time.

You believed you would’ve done it, until someone grabbed your shoulder and pushed you against the wall of the corridor.

“Look who’s here” Kyungjun smirked. His right forearm was resting on the wall as he was pressing your body against its cold surface.

Next to him Jinha and Seungbin were staring at the scene with their arms crossed

“I-I have to go to class” you mumbled, trying to sneak away, but Kyungjun stopped you

“Without saying good morning to me?” he lifted your chin up with a finger

“I don’t have money today, please let me go” you talked, collecting the strength to stand his eye-contact

“Let’s see if that’s true,then” he grabbed your backpack, handling it to Seungbin who started spreading your pens and notebooks everywhere on the ground

“I need to go to class, please!” you exclaimed again, trying to stop the blonde guy, but Kyungjun blocked your arms behind your back,pressing your body against his chest.

“No need to be so whiny babygirl, just let him check” he whispered to your ear, warming your cheeks with his breath.

While Seungbin was doing his job, Kyungjun’s eyes were fixed on you,piercing your soul. He couldn’t do much as somehow you were his magnet.

He didn’t give a shit about your money, all he wanted was your attention. That was why, when he bothered you, he was never cruel:the maximum he did was stealing a few won from you, or taunting you a little bit during class; besides that he had never harmed an hair on you.

“There’s nothing in here, just school stuff” the blonde bully mumbled with a disappointed face

“Let me check her pockets” Jinha scoffed, sliding his hands in your jacket.

“Ya! -Kyungjun suddenly yelled, pushing Jinha away- have I told you to do so?”

“But-“

“Answer me! Have I told you to do that?”

“No…”

“Then don’t, idiot”

Kyungjun freed your arms, dragging the other two bullies away.

You were confused, extremely confused, however you had no time to look for answers as you had to ran to class:you were still able to make it on time.

During the whole lesson Kyungjun didn’t stopped staring at you for a single moment, nor he did for the rest of the day.

When he met you at the cafeteria, he made sure he found the perfect spot to admire your sweet eyes and pinky lips.

When you spent the after lunch in the garden with your friends, he made sure to sit at the window which allowed him to see your dimples appear at every smile of yours.

And when classes were over, when outside it was dark and cold, he made sure to walk down the same street as yours to not leave you alone.

Even tho he wasn’t good at showing his feelings, he couldn’t avoid but worry about you.

You turned the corner, freezing on the spot when you saw Jinha resting against a nearby wall.

“What are you doing here? You don’t live in this neighbourhood” you mumbled,holding onto your plaid skirt

“You’re right, I don’t. I was looking for you” he replied with a vicious smirk on his lips

“W-why?” you stepped back

“Do you really think you can fool me?”

“What?”

“I don’t understand why Kyungjun turns into an harmless puppy when you’re around, letting you do whatever you want, but I am not like that with losers”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about…” you whispered, trying to leave, but Jinha grabbed your wrist and pushed you against the wall

“You have no idea what it means to mess with us, and if Kyungjun doesn’t wanna show you, I’ll do -he paused, pulling your hair- you own me today’s money, where are you keeping it?!”

“I had no money with me today, I swear” you cried in pain, trying to push the bully away

“Stop messing with me, it gets on my nerves!” he exclaimed, sliding his hands in your pockets one mode time. Nothing was there so, after growling, he pushed you on the ground and opened you backpack, spreading your things everywhere.

“Seungbin has already checked in there, please let me go!” you were sobbing in fear

“Shut the fuck up!” Jinha yelled. You slid back, against the wall, hiding your face in your hands.

“This is enough! -Kyungjun approached Jinha, grabbing his shirt- the fuck are you doing?!”

“K-Kyungjun…I-“

“I swear, if you don’t leave her alone I’ll beat your ass”

“She-she owns us her money!” Jinha tried to justify himself, but the more he spoke the more his friend got mad.

“Have I told you that she owns us anything? Have I told you to follow her home? I didn’t. You have no right to mess with her”

“But…”

“No buts! If I catch you bothering her one more time I swear you won’t see the light of another day,got that,Jinha?! Kyungjun freed the boy, who ran away.

“Are you okay?” he then asked you, kneeling next to you

“T-thank you…I was so scared” you sobbed

“I’ll take care of him, no one messes with my favourite girl” he spoke, collecting your things before walking you home.

You didn’t know what had just happened, nor why he was suddenly acting like that, but you swore you had never felt safer while going back home.

#night has come #night has come kdrama #kdrama #night has come kyung jun #cha woo min #night has come x reader #go kyung jun #night has come hyunho #cha woomin x reader #kim wooseok #go kyungjun x reader #kim junhee

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heavens-moonlight · 21 days ago

Text

𝗕𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗘𝗥𝗟𝗜𝗡𝗘𝗦 | 𝟬𝟴 : 𝗦𝗛𝗢𝗨𝗟𝗗’𝗩𝗘, 𝗖𝗢𝗨𝗟𝗗’𝗩𝗘, 𝗪𝗢𝗨𝗟𝗗’𝗩𝗘

𝟬𝟳 : 𝗔𝗟𝗠𝗢𝗦𝗧 𝗜𝗦 𝗡𝗘𝗩𝗘𝗥 𝗘𝗡𝗢𝗨𝗚𝗛 | 𝟬𝟵 : 𝗔𝗖𝗛𝗜𝗟𝗟𝗘𝗦’ 𝗛𝗘𝗘𝗟

Author’s Note: Another chapter to start the week off with! The next one is my favorite and I can't wait to share it! Happy reading and see you all in the coming update ♡

The world outside was a blur of gray, skies heavy with the weight of an incoming storm, the streets shimmering beneath the water's sheen.

Rain pitter patters against the glass doors of the school entrance, and you watch as the drops roll down, playing a game with yourself to see which one would reach the bottom first.

Your eyes trace the path of a single droplet, racing its way to the base. It moved quickly, like it knew where it was going, journey already determined.

For a fleeting moment, you felt connected to it—a small thing carried by forces it could neither understand nor control.

You let your gaze drift to another droplet beside the previous. This one, however, moved at leisure. It was slower, like it could afford all the time in the world to figure about where it was going, and you wonder if it would join with one of the other drops or keep going, continuing forward at its own pace, all alone.

Pressing your fingertip to the cold surface, you draw along with the trail that the raindrop streaks, following its non-linear descent as it winds its way downward, seemingly struggling against gravity.

The drop splits into two at a particular curve and you ponder at the ease of separation.

Finger hovering, you lean forward, trying to decide which of the two to follow as they slither in opposite directions.

On the left, it is longer, winding and hesitant. The right one was a quick drop, straight and definite. Blinking, you feel a strange pull to the left, toward what is less clear.

Subconsciously, the leftmost one lingers in your mind, and in that inadvertent choice, it winds up reaching the end of the glass paneling first.

The rain only seemed to grow heavier, tapping a staccato rhythm, the sound somehow both soft and insistent, like the murmur of a secret.

With your forehead against the cool glass, you stare at the droplets as they gather and scatter, running into one another before pulling apart, reforming only to separate again.

How easy it is for things to slip away, unnoticed.

How easy it is for one moment to disperse into a hundred different ones with barely any interference or effort.

The spectacle in front of you fogs up with every breath but you cease to move.

You didn't quite know what you were anticipating, but it felt like waiting for something that wasn't going to show up—for something that wasn't going to stay forever.

Maybe the thought laid in the melancholy of the rain or the anemoia of the atmosphere.

Maybe it was because of the rain drops themselves, so fragile, so temporary.

Maybe it was premonition.

A sudden gust of wind rattles the door behind you, and you instinctively turn to the sound,

"Seol-Hwa?"

You recognize the familiar voice as Jun-Hee walks toward you. Although you haven't known him for long at the moment, he was still one of your cousin's closest friends, and you wanted to get to know him better.

"Oh! Jun-Hee! What are you still doing here?"

"I had a student council meeting," he tells you as he stands across from you, tilting his head. "But what about you?"

"Waiting for Hyun-Ho." You roll your eyes, but it's more fond than anything. "He doesn't want me walking home alone but he's always late staying after for extra practice."

Jun-Hee chuckles lightly at the expression on your face.

"What is it?"

"Nothing."

He tries to suppress his smile but fails.

You cross your arms across your chest and stick a foot out, tapping it against the floor, lips pressed together.

"Is my misery funny to you?" you tease.

He puts both hands up and shakes them in a show of refute. "That's not it."

"Then, what is it?"

"Cute."

"Huh...?"

"You're cute when you get angry—or at least try to. It's like watching an upset kitten."

The expressions on your face grow ever more animated by the second but his brown eyes are warm, remaining unchanged, with that half-smile he always seemed to give you when he catches you off guard—the same half-smile that had always made you feel both seen and invisible all at once.

"I-I'm not cute!"

Jun-Hee looks to the side, trying to hold back his laughter as your face heats up, a pink hue dusting the tops of your cheeks.

"Opinions are allowed, you know?" he continues to poke fun at you.

"Alright that's enough of that sir, time for you to go home."

You grab his arm and tug him toward the door as he chuckles, letting you drag him along easily, only stopping as a strong breeze blows a gust of wind between the slight opening between the cracks in the door, sending you shivering.

Jun-Hee pulls out a folded umbrella and takes your hand resting by your side, putting it against your palm to fold your fingers around it. "Knowing Hyun-Ho, he won't have one on him, but he's strong enough to fight off anything, so I'm not worried about him getting sick on the way home." He tilts the umbrella toward you, a subtle offering. "But I am worried about you."

As hard as you try to tamper down the fluttering in your stomach, your heart refuses to still, stuttering unsteadily like the rain dripping down the window—slipping, wavering, falling.

You look up at him in shock. "What about you then?"

He smiles down at you, pointing a finger up the road. "I live only a few blocks from here, I'll be fine."

"But—"

He ruffles your hair as he dashes outside, backpack raised atop his head, a makeshift cover. Jun-Hee turns back around and waves, shouting over the pouring rain, "See you tomorrow, Seol-Hwa!"

Despite the touching gesture, you felt an odd tightening in your chest as water from the sky continues its descent, gradually hazing his image in your sight as if this was more than just a simple parting—as if you had already seen the split that was coming, not knowing in which ways your paths will diverge, akin to the falling raindrops.

"See you tomorrow, Jun-Hee."

Will I ever get to see you again?

You've protected me time and time again, yet why is it that I can't protect you—not even once?

The events of last night come surging back and you nearly crawl in your haste toward the door, barely registering your friends around you.

"Seol-Hwa!" comes Yoon-Seo and Jung-Won's worried voices behind you as you throw the door open but you don't bother to slow your pace, seeing Hyun-Ho stopping the two with an outstretched hand in your peripheral vision.

"Leave her be."

You wipe your streaming tears with the back of your hand as you run aimlessly, no clue as to which direction led to the pool from your starting point, but that didn't matter.

All that mattered was that you can get to Jun-Hee.

The hallways are a blur—whispers of your thoughts swirling like smoke and the hum of the glaringly bright fluorescent lights overhead, but all you can hear is your heartbeat, thudding, rapid, and disjointed, still echoing in your ears.

You couldn't wrap her head around it. There had been screams, a splash, then silence.

The pool.

The water.

Where was he now?

You stumble forward, steps sluggish and eyes unfocused.

He's waiting for me—just as he always has.

As tears blur your vision, you're forced to look down at your feet, one tripping over the other, all sense of balance off kilter.

Paying no mind, you run straight into someone's chest. Only then do you pause, breathing raggedly, swaying on your own two feet. Hands come up to firmly grip at your upper arms as they steady you, holding on, trying to tether you to the present.

The first words that come out of your mouth make no sense, but it's all that your heart knows—the one person who would always be there for you. "Jun-Hee...?"

"He's not here anymore."

Why must you be reminded?

This isn't the reality you wanted to wake up to.

You finally look up, a single teardrop falling from your left eye. "Yes he is," you whisper weakly. Blinking, you try to refocus, but your vision swims, heart pounding harder like you can still feel his presence. "He's waiting for me," you mumble, eyes glazed as you inch backward, mind half-drowned.

Kyung-Jun's lips tightened. He was used to being hated, avoided, and feared, but being ignored is unfamiliar. There was something about the vacant look in your eyes, the way you were moving soullessly, that made him pause.

It gnawed at him.

He wasn't used to people walking past him like he didn't exist.

He wasn't used to you walking past him like he didn't exist, in search of the ghost of someone else.

"Jun-Hee's dead!"

Kyung-Jun's sharp voice does nothing to snap you out of your trance, but it hurts all the same. "No...no..." you start repeating, shaking your head. "No!" Attempting to remove yourself out of his grip is futile, even as you squirm with all your might, fighting against both his hold and words.

"He's gone! Why can't you accept it?"

"I don't want to."

It shouldn't be this easy to read Kyung-Jun, but it is anyway. Although his words are harsh, his eyes are flitting back and forth between your own, the crease between his eyebrows betraying his veiled concern.

"You need to. Once you see it, you'll have to."

"Even if I see it, I still won't. I never will."

"You can't live in that fantasy forever," he reminds, his face so close to yours now, his breath harsh against your skin. "He's not coming back. Not today. Not ever."

"Then, I'll go to him. Today...or forever." Your eyes search his face, unfocused, like you were seeing past him and not through him.

Kyung-Jun's eyes flicker, and for a brief second, something close to regret flashes through. He wants to say more, to make you understand, but the tightness in his chest— the way his pulse races with frustration— keeps him from speaking.

You didn't get it.

You wouldn't get it.

With the last ounce of strength in your trembling hands, you finally manage to push his away, although with your current state, the harsh intent falls short, and Kyung-Jun pretends as though it doesn't, letting you cast him aside.

He releases you, hands falling to his sides in what he tries to convince to himself is disgust.

You don't move at first, eyes still locked somewhere in the middle distance, but the moment you step away, your head spins and you tumble.

Kyung-Jun reflexively shoots an arm out, fingers moving toward your wrist to steady you, but in your desperation, you pull your arm away with a sharp and instinctual yank, the contrasting movements sending your bracelet flying, ultimately landing on the floor.

You stare lifelessly as the red threads unravel, frayed ends splintering off in different directions.

Without saying another word, you kneel down to pick it up, cradling it in your cupped hands, the weight of the hanging jade stone much heavier than it did last night.

"Why are you like this?" Kyung-Jun probes lightly, much softer than the tone with which he spoke earlier. "You're still alive."

You don't notice.

You never noticed how close he was, how his words dripped with something more than anger.

Kyung-Jun's chest tightens as he watches your fingers graze the string, trembling as they curl around the delicate woven strands.

His throat clenches.

His whole body was on fire with something he couldn't comprehend.

The emptiness inside him was suddenly too much. Too raw.

Getting back on your feet, you tuck the bracelet into your skirt pocket and fix him with a stare devoid of any emotions.

Shaking your head, you get the last word in, to a flash of pain and hurt reflecting in Kyung-Jun's eyes. "I died last night...and you were the killer."

And then—without another word—you turn on your heel to walk away, leaving him standing in the hall, torn between wanting to stop trying and wanting to follow.

But, Kyung-Jun doesn't move.

And you don't look back.

You stand frozen outside the glass doors, breaths coming in shallow, uneven gasps. The sun had just begun to climb over the horizon, casting pale, pink light across the pool, reflecting off the water's surface, still and peaceful.

But it didn't feel peaceful. It felt wrong.

Everything felt wrong.

Your hands shake as they hover just inches from the door handle but you can't bring yourself to touch it, knowing you'd rather face anything than the aftermath that awaits you on the other side.

You couldn't go inside.

Not yet.

You weren't ready.

Your mind is a whirl of frantic thoughts, none of them making sense, all of them circling around the same unbearable truth that everyone else except you seemed to be able to fully grasp even though it had been there all night—growing darker and heavier with every passing hour.

He was gone.

The truth hits you again, stinging as if you had only realized it for the first time.

You had tried to deny it last night and even this morning, even if avoiding the acknowledgment made your feet feel like lead and your stomach twist in a way that bordered on the brink of collapsing.

There is nothing else but the sound of water lapping gently against the tiles, yet the silence had screamed at you. It still screams at you.

He's gone.

You thought—no, hoped—that maybe you'd wake up and find everything to be just nightmare.

But it wasn't a dream. It was real. Too real.

You close your eyes and bite your lip, trying to stop the onslaught of tears accumulating at the corner of your eyes.

You couldn't lose him. Not like this. Not in a way that you couldn't fix.

Drawing all of your strength, you pull the doors open with a soft whoosh as bright light slants across against your face from the ceiling high windows, a complete contrast to the darkness that enveloped the space last night.

When you finally step forward, your feet drag as if they weigh a thousand pounds and the lump in your throat refuses to disappear.

The sunlight had risen fully now, turning the water into a glittering, sharp expanse that makes your eyes sting.

The strong smell of chlorine permeates around you, sharp and unmistakeable, cutting through the morning air. The chlorine didn't mask anything; it just laid over it, as if to hide a truth too ugly to bear, as though it sought to try and erase something that couldn't be cleaned. It felt heavier and thick—suffocating.

For some reason, you can only imagine the lingering metallic scent of blood.

Before you can so much as take a few steps forward, you can already spot Jun-Hee's lifeless body floating atop the water's surface, splayed out face up in its midst.

You stop short, breath hitching in your chest, sharp and jagged as if someone had taken the sharpest point of a blade, flaying your heart layer by layer.

He wasn't supposed to be like this.

He wasn't supposed to be here.

He wasn't supposed to be dead.

Your legs tremble as you take a hesitant step toward the pool, then another, and another, neither able to stop nor turn away.

It isn't until you're almost at the edge that your knees buckle, and you have to catch herself against the metal railing, vision blurring. Passingly, you wonder if you were going to faint.

But then you see it: the pool ladder, the way the water swirled around it in small, gentle ripples, the way his hair spreads out, black and damp against the smooth surface of the water, the way his eyes—his once warm eyes—stared up at nothing.

Your stomach churns.

Bile rises in your throat and you clasp a hand to your mouth, in denial—in grief.

You don't know how long you stand there before finally being able to move again.

Only when you jump into the shallow pool, wading your way toward him that your defense mechanism of denial fails, your breath caught in your throat as though you too had drowned, the water rippling in waves between the two of you.

The sound of water splashing echoes in the empty space, devoid of anyone else aside from you and Jun-Hee.

You belatedly wonder if the tears you've shed could fill this entire pool, so that he could float in the oceans of your affections rather than sink in the cold waves of betrayal.

Although your wet clothes continue to weigh you down, you push through it and manage to pull him up and over the poolside edge, leaning his back against the wall as you sit beside him.

His body goes limp and his head falls onto your shoulder, making the water droplets from your hair trickle down, splashing onto the pendant of his bracelet.

He's still wearing it.

You reach out your hand, warm fingers touching his cold ones and hold on tight, almost as if it was possible to will him back to life.

"Jun-Hee, I'm so sorry," you whisper to the air. "Hearing is the last sense to disappear when someone passes, and I know it may be futile, much too late, now to say what I've kept in my heart all this time, but I want you to know that you meant the world to me— you always will mean the world to me. I should've told you when I had the chance that I—"

You never knew. You never knew how I watched you, how every word you spoke made the world lighter and my days brighter. How your smile made me believe in things I didn't understand. You never knew how I felt...because I never told you.

It is in the silence of it—the answerless answer—that crushes you. It is as though you were existing in a hollowed-out shell of yourself where everything you'd held back was caged, imprisoned in the silence of the words you never uttered.

I should've told you, I could've told you, and maybe you might've...

But now there was no might-have, no more could-haves or should-haves. Only the what-if's lingering in the space between, growing wider by the minute.

A second chance can't exist when you never dared to pursue the first.

Love is the most innocent weapon, yet regret is far too bitter of a remedy.

[ ʙᴇғᴏʀᴇ ᴛʜᴇ ʟᴀsᴛ ᴠᴏᴛᴇ ᴄʟᴏsᴇᴅ, ᴛʜᴇ ᴅᴏᴄᴛᴏʀ ɴᴏᴍɪɴᴀᴛᴇᴅ ᴡʜᴏᴍ ᴛᴏ ʜᴇᴀʟ. ᴛʜᴇ ɴᴏᴍɪɴᴀᴛᴇᴅ ᴘʟᴀʏᴇʀ ᴡᴀs ᴋɪᴍ ᴊᴜɴ-ʜᴇᴇ. ᴛʜᴀɴᴋs ᴛᴏ ᴛʜᴇɪʀ ᴀʙɪʟɪᴛʏ ᴛᴏ ʜᴇᴀʟ, ᴋɪᴍ ᴊᴜɴ-ʜᴇᴇ ᴡɪʟʟ ʙᴇ ʙʀᴏᴜɢʜᴛ ʙᴀᴄᴋ ᴛᴏ ʟɪғᴇ. ]

Your eyes waver and you feel goosebumps rise all over your skin, in disbelief at the odds.

Beside you, Jun-Hee starts coughing and spluttering out water. His lips and skin are still far too pale, but the moment his eyes lock on yours, back to their deep chocolate brown rather than the opaque white of last night, he musters up all his strength to smile faintly at you and your entire world stops.

Without wasting another second, you fling your arms around his neck and hug him tightly, afraid that if you don't hold onto him, he'll disappear once again—this time, forever.

As you cry uncontrollably into his shoulder, he wraps one arm securely around your waist to hug you even closer until there's no semblance of space between the two of you and the other winds it's way to your hair at the nape of your neck, pressing the side of your face against his.

You're so close that you can feel his heartbeat against your own chest. "You don't know how scared and how hurt I was, but none of that matters now. You really came back."

You pull back slightly to look at him but he only draws you right back into his arms, breathing out a sigh of relief. "I promised, didn't I? That if I had to leave, I would always come back to you."

"I forbid you from ever doing that again. Rather than promising you'll come back, just stay here with me. That's all I ask for."

"Alright," Jun-Hee whispers on an exhale. "No more making promises neither of us can keep."

You nestle deeper into his shoulder as his hand runs up and down your hair, comforting you when you should be the one comforting him. "I won't forgive you if you put me before yourself again."

Jun-Hee chuckles softly as you feel him nod against your head. "Is that all you're going to tell me? What were you saying earlier about a chance to let me know something?"

"I—"

[ ᴅᴜʀɪɴɢ ᴛʜᴇ ɴɪɢʜᴛ, sʜɪɴ sᴇᴜɴɢ-ʙɪɴ, ᴀ ᴄɪᴛɪᴢᴇɴ, ᴡᴀs ᴇxᴇᴄᴜᴛᴇᴅ ʙʏ ᴛʜᴇ ᴍᴀғɪᴀ. ᴍᴏʀɴɪɴɢ ʜᴀs ᴄᴏᴍᴇ, sᴏ ᴘʟᴇᴀsᴇ ɪᴅᴇɴᴛɪғʏ ᴛʜᴇ ᴍᴀғɪᴀs ᴀɴᴅ ʙᴇɢɪɴ ᴛᴏ ᴘʟᴀᴄᴇ ʏᴏᴜʀ ᴠᴏᴛᴇs.]

You sit back at the announcement and Jun-Hee drops the subject as the two of you remain in stunned silence, the cruel reality once again dawning.

He runs his fingers over your bare wrist, and you finally look down to see his downcast expression at the missing bracelet.

You withdraw it from your skirt pocket and hand it over to him.

"Will you put it on for me, again? It fell off."

His eyes widen in realization. "So that means—"

"My wish came true, yes."

Jun-Hee delicately ties the red strings around your wrist and you look at the strands, now once again side by side.

"Can I ask what it was?"

"For you to come back to me."

He turns to you, looking upon you with all the fondness in the world.

"You spent a wish on me?"

His fingers reach out to lace against your own, and this time, it's nothing but filled with warmth and life.

"That price was still far too little for what you gave up for me."

Jun-Hee caresses the side of your face with his free hand, eyes staring straight at yours.

You hold your breath when he leans in, but as you close your eyes, he places a soft kiss on your forehead instead, squeezing your hand still in his, the press of his lips still lingering on your skin.

"You'll always be worth it and more, Han Seol-Hwa."

After a piercing scream erupts nearby, you and Jun-Hee dash toward the source, following the sound all the way to the cafeteria where Eun-Chan and Na-Hee are sprawled on the floor in shock while Eun-Ha, Yeon-Woo, and Mi-Na shield their eyes by the farthest corner possible, Seung-Bin's body a bloody pulp laying in the middle of the floor.

Deep gashes mar every inch of his stomach, skin mangled and covered in blood. If you looked close enough, parts of his intestine and abdominal organs were visible just below the surface.

As you survey the scene, the rest of your friend group come running in, looks of relief upon their faces at seeing you and Jun-Hee.

The silence is immediately broken as Jin-Ha stumbles in from the direction of the bathrooms, shirtless and bumbling as if he's seen a ghost.

"Yah..." Yeon-Woo utters. "Did you...kill him?"

Jin-Ha immediately goes on the defensive, shaking his head every which way. "It's not what it looks like!" Despite his insistence, his reactions and behavior make him appear to be far guiltier than he claims. You can't tell if it's sweat or tears rolling down his face but he wipes at it in haste, eliminating all traces. "When I woke up this morning, that's how I found him," his voice cracking at the end. "It wasn't me." As everyone looks from him to Seung-Bin's corpse and back again, he emphasizes hurriedly, "Guys, it really wasn't me."

Putting the growing suspicion aside for the moment, you kneel down beside the body, deftly braiding your long hair to keep it out of the way.

Next to you, Yoon-Seo has her phone at the ready to take pictures of the surrounding shoe prints, imprinted on the floor in blood.

"You two have got to be kidding me," Jung-Won intones from behind, though you pay her no mind.

As Da-Bum brings in a long white sheet to cover up the gruesome scene, you signal for him to wait, extending your hand towards the wounds, pulling the skin back to investigate.

When more blood gushes out of the opening, Yoon-Seo has to clamp a hand over her mouth, getting up to walk over to a trash can, dry heaving.

With your parents having been surgeons, it allowed you to watch more live surgeries than you can count, and you knew your way around the human body fairly well, particularly fatal landmarks.

Jun-Hee hauls you up and away as you sit there staring, trying to connect the dots, preventing the others from clearing the body.

"The three of them were inseparable," Yeon- Woo whispers, referring to Kyung-Jun's group.

"Talk about some loyal friends..." Eun- Chan admonishes, clucking his tongue.

"Between life and death, loyalty is no priority to them," Eun-Ha says openly and the statement hangs heavily in the air, everyone far too privy to the weight it holds.

Jung-Won sighs. "We should go. The smell of blood is sickening."

"Not yet," you refute. Turning to the group, you tell them what you found. "There are multiple stab wounds littered across his body, all inflicted at a particular site. The length and depth of it can be estimated to be by a knife."

"Stop talking about this," Jung-Won cuts in tiredly. "I don't think anyone wants to know the gory details."

You turn to her. "It may be scary to hear, but aren't we all wondering why someone would take things this far? There are far less cruel methods if the Mafia wanted someone to die overnight just so they can add on to their kill count, no?"

"Maybe the Mafia members are just that cruel," Jung-Won deadpans.

"But this..." you pause, eyeing the puddles of bloodstains still on the floor, "...This is way too morbid."

"What do you mean?" Yoon-Seo asks quietly, scrolling through the evidence she was able to gather.

"From what I saw, it looked like Seung-Bin was stabbed even after he had already died. There were wounds far fresher than others, as well as far deeper. To attack his internal organs in such a manner and especially in the stomach where you can quickly die of hemorrhage, the intent to kill extends beyond the reasoning for this game."

"You don't think—" Hyun-Ho starts.

You nod your head sadly. "Yes. In this case, whoever was involved wanted revenge, not simply for him to die. Up until this point, no one's death has been this gruesome or out in the open."

"I can't take this anymore," Mi-Na mutters. "Maybe we should all leave this for now and see what else we can find."

Your huge group ends up in agreement and exit forlornly, ultimately ending up in the annex where the other half of your classmates are crowded around a wall with what appears to be writing on it.

From the Police: Jun-Hee is a Citizen.

"Is this your doing?" Da-Bum turns to Jun- Hee, questioning.

"How can it be? Have you forgotten where I was last night? It's impossible."

Da-Bum shies away in embarrassment as Eun-Chan speaks up, "Did the Police actually write this?"

"Maybe they're finally putting their skill to good use," Eun-Ha suggests before rounding her immediate friend group to go back to their rooms.

"It wasn't here yesterday, right?" Dong- Hyun inquires as he surveys the handwriting.

"No, I don't remember seeing it," Hyun-Ho answers. "If I did, I don't think I would forget to bring it up."

You squint your eyes at the odd shade of the writing, a burnt orange color you've yet to see in typical markers.

On instinct, you reach a hand toward the font and swipe at it with your forefinger, drawing it toward your nose.

Providine.

The silence is defeaning as you all gather in the classroom where the discussion the night of Woo-Ram's elimination took place.

It feels like deja vu: the unending sense of unease, the suspicions leading to betrayals, and the unyielding curse of false accusations.

You sit beside Jun-Hee atop a table as he addresses the group. "I had no choice but to lie yesterday. I'm a Citizen. I don't know who the Doctor who saved me was but I wanted to give a word of thanks."

When you look up, you catch Yu-Jun's eye at the far corner of the room and hope that it's able to convey the enormous gratitude you felt toward him. He wasn't obligated to use it for Jun-Hee, or for your sake for that matter, but it means more than he could ever know.

Kyung-Jun leans forward in his chair and sends Jun-Hee a dirty look. "Living is one thing, but your identity in this game is a separate matter. Just because you came back to life doesn't clear you of suspicion."

"Right," Mi-Na chimes in, and you outwardly roll your eyes. She always bandwagons, going along with whatever someone else tells her rather than come to her own decisions or simply even having her own thoughts. "How come his identity wasn't revealed yesterday? Usually it's customary when they die."

"He wasn't out of the game completely given the resurrection, so why would it be announced?" You turn to Mi-Na and shoot her a look, one that conveys without words your feelings, that makes her lower her head, discouraged from pursuing the issue further.

"It really wasn't you who wrote the message on the wall?" Kyung-Jun changes the subject, but once again, it still targets Jun-Hee, and your fingers tighten around the phone in your hands, tired of this back and forth.

"Do you think I had the time to do so?" Jun- Hee grits out through his teeth, trying to remain civil. "Would it make sense between my waking up and yours, that I would have been able to run to the annex just for that?"

"Who knows?" Jin-Ha intones childishly. "Maybe you wrote it in the middle of the night while we were asleep." He shrugs his shoulders mockingly, before adding, "Why would you willingly choose to be eliminated unless you were crazy and knew you would be saved? You Mafia bastard."

"He's a Citizen," you comment confidently as you stare down Jin-Ha. "Can we say the same about you?"

"What the fuck are you talking about?"

"Isn't there something you want to tell us?"

Jin-Ha stands up abruptly, his chair scraping against the floor. The screeching sound has everyone turning to him. "Don't talk in circles, you bitch!"

"Quiet!" Kyung-Jun shouts, and Jin-Ha turns his head toward his leader, still shaking in anger. "Stop embarrassing yourself."

"You can't so easily cast accusations on someone else when you were the most suspicious this morning," you spit out with venom. "Don't act as if none of us saw you behaving weirdly earlier when we found Seung-Bin's body."

Jin-Ha deflates quickly, dropping back down into his seat, seething as to remain strong and in control. "How was I weird?!" He barely restrains himself from full out screaming at you.

"Since you came out of the bathroom without a shirt on pleading with everyone that you weren't the killer, was it before or after you discarded your bloody top?"

"How did you—"

"Shut up!" Kyung-Jun bellows at him. "Right now!"

Jin-Ha presses his lips together tightly, chin quivering. He knows he's been silenced, his interjection alone more incriminating than he intended.

"What would you do if the Police actually are trying to communicate with us?" Yoon-Seo speaks up beside you.

"Have you ever thought of that possibility?"

"I also think the same," Na-Hee voices meekly. "Perhaps the Doctor knows more than we do and was sure that Jun-Hee's a Citizen. They wouldn't just risk saving a random person most likely to be Mafia."

"Rather than interrogating Jun-Hee, isn't finding the person who killed Seung-Bin a more pressing matter?" So-Mi's words echo yours and that has everyone turning steadily toward Jin-Ha, seeking answers.

"It wasn't me!" Jin-Ha stresses. "He was already dead when I woke up!"

Yoon-Seo shifts on her feet and starts her investigation. "You said it was just you two, right?" At Jin-Ha's nod, she continues on. "Was there anything unusual that happened that you remember of?"

Jin-Ha runs a hand down his face, trying to recall details late last night and early this morning. "Nothing stands out." He looks around and noticing more than a few narrowed eyes on him, backpedals. "The Mafias could have easily smeared the blood on me when I was out cold, but I swear I wasn't trying to get rid of evidence or anything a few hours ago!" Met with silence, he expectantly turns to Kyung-Jun. "Isn't that right? You know me better than everyone here. I wouldn't do that."

Kyung-Jun scoffs, and his next words has Jin-Ha's expectant expression dropping, betrayal written all over his face. "Maybe I don't know you as well as I thought."

"What?"

"More than a few people witnessed you covered in Seung-Bin's blood. Isn't that clear evidence?" Kyung-Jun looks Jin-Ha dead in the eyes, no regrets evident. "Is it not because he kept picking on you, belittling you, that you found the perfect chance to end him completely? It's getting more likely that you'll be voted out."

"Is this how you repay me?!" Jin-Ha questions, and your blood runs cold at the way Kyung-Jun so easily casts people aside, readily sending them to their deaths without so much as a blink of his eyes. "Gaesaekki."

Kyung-Jun kicks his chair aside and it upends after tumbling over its own legs, winding up upside down a few feet away, the sound reverberating in the now still- room. "You must have a death wish, scumbag."

He grabs Jin-Ha by the neck of his shirt and the two wrestle one another, throwing the other onto the tabletops, their strengths nearly equal.

That is, until Jin-Ha bumps into the edge of one and lands on the floor, holding his hip. Seeing the lucky advantage, Kyung-Jun immediately makes the most of it, kicking the former relentlessly, showing no mercy or regard for their past friendship.

Yoon-Seo dashes over in an attempt to pry them apart, but with a quick fling of Kyung-Jun's arm, it sends her straight to the floor with a yelp.

You hurry over to get her back to her feet, supporting her with an arm behind her back and one in the front across her shoulder line as she stands up, moving her farther away from the chaos.

Ultimately, it takes both Hyun-Ho and Dong-Hyun to pry Kyung-Jun off an already battered and bleeding Jin-Ha, new scratches littering his face and lip cut, fresh bleed oozing out.

"Vote him out!"

"How can you be so certain it's him?!" Yoon-Seo admonishes. "What if you're wrong? What then?!"

You squeeze her shoulder and pull her back even more as Kyung-Jun swivels his head to glare at her. "Shut your fucking mouth and do as you're told."

While he's momentarily distracted, Jun-Hee strides toward him and snatches his phone from his shirt pocket.

"Give that back, you fucker."

"For what? So that you can keep doing whatever the hell you want?"

"What's it to you? You do as you wish and so can I."

"If you keep this power trip up and behave like a dictator, there's no guarantee that you won't wind up getting every single vote." That shuts the taller one up for the time being as he realizes no one is on his side. "We'll meet again at eleven tonight to decide as a whole. Let's not act rashly until then," Jun-Hee concludes.

Although everyone is still skeptical and more confused than anything, the crowd ultimately disperses, including a peeved Kyung-Jun who is allowed to have his phone back, courtesy of Jun-Hee.

In a final show of defiance, he kicks a lone table so hard it slams against the wall though no one bats an eye, too used to his anger issues by now.

In the meantime, Dong-Hyun and Hyun-Ho place Jin-Ha's arms, one on either of their shoulders, and hoist him up.

"Let's get him to the infirmary," Yoon-Seo leads, Jung-Won and you trailing behind the other four.

Before you can leave, a hand reaches out to wrap around your wrist.

Sensing you no longer following, Yoon-Seo and Jung-Won look behind them, but seeing the hold up, they nod and head out first.

"Is everything alright?"

Jun-Hee simply nods as he slides his fingers down until they reach your hand, holding them in his own.

"So-Mi," he mutters, startling her as she's cleaning up the fallen tables and chairs in the room as a result of the fight earlier. "Can we talk?"

She immediately stops and turns to him, all bright-eyed and lips curling upward.

"I'll go," you yield, ready to take your hand away.

"Yeah, you really should."

So-Mi can barely contain her smile as she straightens out her skirt and hair quickly.

"No, I want you to stay."

Her smile falls as quickly as it appeared, expression turning ever darker when Jun-Hee laces his fingers through yours.

"Didn't you have something to tell me? Only me?"

"This isn't something just between us," Jun-Hee straightforwardly settles. "Whatever I have or need to say, it will always be in front of her."

"What is it then?"

"Don't ever frame anyone, especially Seol-Hwa, for me."

So-Mi scoffs, hatred burning in her eyes. "Jun-Hee, can't you see that I was trying to save you? All I wanted was to help."

"I never asked for it."

"How can you say that to me?"

“You can blame me all you want, but the truth is you didn't do it for me. You did it for yourself."

"Yah Kim Jun-Hee," she mutters in disbelief. "Don't you remember what I did for you, or are you just that heartless? Who sided with you when you were suspected?" So-Mi points a finger at her chest repeatedly, tapping it against her sternum. "It was me!" Her lip quivers, eyes enlarged. "Get a hold of yourself! Do you really want me to consider you a Mafia?"

"Suit yourself," Jun-Hee replies with utmost disinterest, turning to walk away while pulling you along. "I've only ever cared about what Seol-Hwa thinks of me."

With your back against one of the bed frames for the bunk beds, your brain is elsewhere rather than in reality.

Seated around the table in the middle of the room, Yoon-Seo, Jung-Won, Da-Bum, Hyun-Ho and Dong-Hyun all stare off into space, lost in their own thoughts.

Jun-Hee takes a seat beside you, looking at you warily from where you're not moving your gaze away from your phone, eyes scanning across the device, counting those remaining over and over again.

"Eat even if you don't want to," comes Jung-Won's voice as a triangle kimbap and soda are placed in your field of vision. "I can't remember the last time I saw you eat something ever since we got here."

You look up at her then glance to the kimbap in her outstretched hand. She still remembers your go-to convenience store food, even after all these years.

Hesitantly taking it, you push the soda back toward her. "This one's your favorite. It always has been."

Jung-Won sends you a small smile and immediately cracks the soda can open, taking a long gulp from it.

The break in the silence of the room spurs the rest to take tiny bites of snacks atop the table that up until now had remained untouched.

Da-Bum, Hyun-Ho, and Dong-Hyun all rise shortly after, and you call out to them,

"Where are you three going? Should I be worried?"

Hyun-Ho shakes his head. "Dong-Hyun and I are just going to check around for any more trouble." As he walks past you, he ruffles your hair. "Don't fret so much eomma."

"You—" you retort, but the two are already out of the room before you can follow.

Da-Bum juts a finger in an arbitrary direction. "My laptop is still in the basement so..."

"Oh, right," Jung-Won acknowledges, a light slap to her forehead. "I'll go with you then."

You close your eyes momentarily at the much needed silence, Jun-Hee's and Yoon- Seo's rummaging around the room not at all deterring your peace.

"Hey, Seol-Hwa, Yoon-Seo," Jun-Hee suddenly calls. Your eyes open, one first then finally the other, after seeing him hold Woo-Ram's camcorder in his hands, not a bit worse for wear. You hadn't seen it since the hiking incident, not wishing to ever relive those memories. Huddling around Jun-Hee on either side, you and Yoon-See peer at the small rectangular screen, following the path of Jun-Hee's pointer finger. "Watch." He presses play and it captures a far away image of what appears to be a couple on a cliff outcrop overlooking the ocean. Neither you nor Yoon-Seo had seen this in person, with her having stayed back at the building and you with Dong-Hyun on the other side of the trail. "They don't move at all. Isn't this strange?"

"It doesn't look real."

Even seeing it, you couldn't believe it. The footage enters in and out with static, though the image is permanently at a standstill.

"How is this possible?" Yoon-Seo angles the screen more toward her and Jun-Hee lets her have it as she fast-forwards through the video, eventually zooming in to the couple's faces. "Uh...guys."

"What is it?"

Yoon-Seo quickly flips the screen your way at your concern, and you catch sight of the scratched out faces, exactly like that of the school photos you found.

"What do we make of this?"

Jun-Hee runs a hand through his hair as Yoon-Seo closes the camcorder shut, fingers rubbing her temples.

"I think we should revisit the teacher's lounge."

The two nod as they readily follow your path straight toward the offices.

It's left completely untouched and in the exact same condition you all found it the first night upon arrival.

"Nothing's changed, yet everything has," Yoon-Seo murmurs, more to herself than anything.

You plop down behind one of the computers and reboot the system, hoping something— anything—comes of it this time around.

A flash comes from the corner and you overhear bits and pieces of Jun-Hee's and Yoon-Seo's conversation, although you're too busy looking below the desk for possible clues you've potentially missed.

"A picture of me? What for?"

"I tried with inanimate objects in this room, and the result is fine, but human subjects... the face is distorted. It's so unsettling, Jun-Hee."

As you're about to pull yourself up, the faintest whisper of movement catches your ear. A sound. Faint at first, like a breeze running through paper, but unmistakably...human. Your pulse spikes as you spin around, your breath hitching as you scan the cubicle walls. The air feels thicker now, charged.

Then, the crawling sensation creeps in, running from your neck to trail down your spine as goosebumps start to litter your skin.

When you look over, thin spindly black fingers inch into view, cold, spectral— ghostly and translucent—crawling up the dividers.

The first one appears from the shadowed corner, stretching like a long, spidery limb. Your heart pounds against your ribs as you stare unmoving at the digits sliding up the wall, bending and curving unnaturally, moving without sound.

You recoil back, eyes locked onto the fingers as they continue their slow ascent, unable to look away. There was something hypnotic, something awful, in the way they moved, like they were searching for prey, creeping closer, pale nails directed at you.

You shake your head as you blink, trying to rid yourself of the hallucination, and suddenly, a shiny golden key drops from thin air.

Your fingers are clutched so tightly around your phone that they turn white, gradually losing feeling.

A ping snaps you out of it and with shaky hands, it takes you multiple tries to finally open the animation announcement, a perfect picture replica of the key you just obtained.

[ ғɪɴᴅ ᴛʜᴇ ɢᴀᴍᴇ ʜᴏsᴛ. ]

As you sit stunned with the key still in your outstretched hand laid face-up atop the table, the door swings open and closed again.

"Seol-Hwa...?" Da-Bum whispers, drawing the attention of the others. "Are you... okay?"

Jun-Hee makes to touch your face, but thinks better of it seeing you in total shock. "You look really shaken up. What's wrong?"

Jung-Won leans her elbow on the counter beside you, studying you worriedly.

"I saw a ghost earlier." Everyone's varying reactions would've been comical in any other situation if the stakes weren't so deadly. "It gave me this—"

You present the sole key to them.

"Do you know what it's for?"

Jun-Hee leans over from behind you to peer at it, curious.

"I have no clue, but since there's a message for it, it must be something important."

Jung-Won stands closer as Yoon-Seo and Da-Bum also crowd around to assess. "What did it say?"

"What we've all been wanting: to find the host." You tilt your head at her, confused. "Did you not get the instructions?"

Jung-Won pulls out her phone and scrolls before peering up over the top edge of glasses, staring long and hard at you. "I didn't." Addressing the group, she asks, "How about the rest of you?"

Met with three matching shakes of the head, you gaze at them dumbfounded.

"Was it only for me?"

"Can you show me what it looks like?" Jung-Won gestures toward your device and you readily unlock it, going straight to the notification center within the game.

You bite on the inside of your cheek as the inbox reads empty. "It...disappeared." To your own ears, even you sound odd, but who would lie about something this out of the ordinary. "Regardless, there must be a reason to find the host. Why don't we alert everyone and make the search easier, hmm?"

"Is that really necessary?" Jung-Won exhales and her tone suddenly becomes curt. "I have to be honest with you Seol-Hwa, I can't keep up with the things you tell us. We never find anything based on these half leads. What if you get suspected as Mafia again for saying that?"

The others can sense the tension growing between the two of you as your voice changes from hopeful to one of annoyance. "This has nothing to do with my intuition or pieces of clues. The game itself sent me the message."

Shaking her head, it seems as though Jung-Won can hardly contain herself from iterating something she'd regret. "Yes, to you only, and for your eyes only. We don't even have evidence of it. If other people don't believe it, there's nothing you can do."

"Are you saying I made all of this up?" your voice rises, and Da-Bum jumps in anxiously, hoping to shift the conversation elsewhere.

"It's not that we're blaming you, but rather, the situation..."

"Right," Jung-Won placates. "I just think it's better for all of us to be careful until we find solid evidence. We can't afford to end up in the same position of sacrificing one of us like the previous nights."

Yoon-Seo remains quiet, glancing back and forth between all of you sadly.

As a last resort, you turn to Jun-Hee, but you can already tell it's a lost cause.

"Seol-Hwa, you know I believe you—no matter what it is. It's the fact that the rest doesn't in the way I do that has me worried. Maybe we can keep this between us for the time being?"

You look around at all of them in quick succession, feeling more hurt than you expected. "So the final verdict is what?" you say aloud bitterly. "That you all trust me— just not enough?"

"That's not—" Jung-Won interjects, but you push your chair back, walking away from the desk, key in hand.

"Seol-Hwa..." comes Yoon-Seo's kind voice as you head for the door.

With your hand around the doorknob, Jun-Hee grabs your free one, making you swivel back around.

"Let me come with."

For the first time, you find it hard to readily accept his companionship as you slip your hand out of his.

You know that the look in his eyes as you leave is one of regret, clashing with the look of dejection in yours.

The retreat center was vast, empty in its isolation, with the kind of oppressive silence that swallowed everything—every breath, every thought.

You wander down the narrow stone path outside the entrance, careful not to overstep the borderlines, each step hesitant against the asphalt.

The air is thick with the smell of damp earth, despite no recent downpours, the faint whisper of the wind through the trees, and the looming unsettling knowledge that another night would soon begin.

It wasn't that you didn't know the game was still unfolding, like a nightmare that couldn't end, but you thought you had adapted—that you were resilient enough to brace yourself against the horrors.

However, it was the quiet moments that cut the deepest.

Your heart weighed heavier than usual. You were foolish to think that friendship and loyalty could turn the tides of this situation, but the longer you were all involved, the greater the distance between you all grew with each passing day.

The looks.

The half-formed glances.

The doubts that override trust.

Perhaps no one had outright said it, but it was in their eyes—the fear, the suspicion. You couldn't blame them, regardless of your personal disappointments.

In a game to the death where everyone is forced to play the villain in one way or the other, who could find fault in anyone for becoming paranoid—for not being able to trust anyone fully except oneself?

Exhaling on a long outbreath, you lower yourself onto the curb, sitting down with your legs outstretched in front of you.

"Hey."

A voice cuts through the silence, startling you from her thoughts. Turning, you instinctively gaze upward, eyes landing on the lone figure approaching.

Yu-Jun.

There weren't many instances where the two of you interacted, little in this game, and even more sparingly before it. He had always been distant, even in the halls of school, and just as he had perceptions about you, so did you about him so far as concerning his character, by association of the friends he kept around him.

He had been one of those people who didn't care enough to pretend, too consumed with his own world to notice those of others.

Truthfully, you never liked him, and he'd certainly never been kind to you.

But, things were different now.

Both of you were resurrectors; it was your shared responsibility to bring back those chosen by the game's cruel hand—to give them another chance to survive.

You could see the weight of that responsibility was starting to show on Yu-Jun's face. His eyes were heavy, hollow. There was also something else there now—a weariness you couldn't place, a kind of sorrow you hadn't seen in him when Ji-Soo was still around.

"Hey," you repeat, voice softer than you mean for it to be.

Yu-Jun takes a step closer, his footsteps deliberate, debating whether to sit beside you. "You're out here alone." After a few more awkward shuffles of his feet, he takes a seat on the same curb as you, a respectable distance away.

You shrug, arms crossed tightly over your midsection. "Just needed a little bit of space to myself."

He nodded as if understanding, then looked away, line of sight drifting to the ground. The silence stretches thin, until finally, he speaks again, low and almost detached.

"I can't save anyone tonight, but I know I made the right previous choice."

"Why did you choose to save Jun-Hee?" You dragging the toe of your shoe against the gravel, rocks crunching beneath your feet, finding the right words to rephrase with. "Not that I'm not thankful, it's just... don't take offense to this, but I didn't pin you to be the type to do so."

Yu-Jun doesn't meet your eyes. Instead, he stared off into the darkness, his jaw tight, like the words are hard to force out. "I didn't want you both to end up like me," he mutters, his voice cracking, though he quickly clears his throat to mask it. "I couldn't save her. I couldn't save us."

Your gaze flickers to his, and for the briefest moment, something vulnerable flashes in his eyes. "Do you see you both in Jun-Hee and I?"

He looks down at his hands as if can still feel the weight of Ji-Soo in his arms.

He pauses as if her name still lingers on the tip of his tongue.

"That night I... I should've saved her. I was supposed to—choose between myself and her. Like a coward, I..." he halts, words choking on the air. "I chose myself."

You didn't speak, letting him continue. Something in the way his shoulders hunched told you that talking about this wasn't easy for him and you could sense the bitterness, the guilt, so thick in his tone.

The confession hangs in the silence, suffocating on its own weight.

It was too easy to hear the regret in his voice, the sorrow that he hadn't been able to shake. His past was now a living ghost that haunted him, and you felt a pang of sympathy for him.

"Why didn't you save her?" you ask softly, words careful, far too gentle.

Yu-Jun turns toward you, a mixture of pain and sadness in his eyes. "Because I'm a fool —I have always been a fool. I truly thought I could beat the game. I thought I could make it through. I believed that if I just played the right way, I—we—could survive. But I know now how wrong I was." His voice drops to a whisper, barely audible. "Now, every time I bring someone back... I ask myself if I'm just choosing them to make up for the one I lost?"

You reach out, placing your hand lightly on his shoulder. It wasn't much—just a small, quiet gesture of comfort.

"All grievances are settled at the end of every life. Ji-Soo will hear you and she'll understand. I know so," you reassure, certain.

Yu-Jun stiffens at first, before his shoulders fall and he breathes out, long and slow, nodding in acceptance as he sits in silence to ponder.

You brush off your skirt as you stand up, turning to leave and allow him to be with his thoughts on his own, sensing the end of your talk.

As you take one last look back, you can't seem to shake the feeling that this might be the first and last conversation you'll ever have with him.

𝟬𝟳 : 𝗔𝗟𝗠𝗢𝗦𝗧 𝗜𝗦 𝗡𝗘𝗩𝗘𝗥 𝗘𝗡𝗢𝗨𝗚𝗛 | 𝟬𝟵 : 𝗔𝗖𝗛𝗜𝗟𝗟𝗘𝗦’ 𝗛𝗘𝗘𝗟

49 notes · View notes