They followed. Much as they were afraid to find out what was behind that door. Sooyoung gripped onto Donghae’s arm and half hid her face behind his back to avoid seeing what was ahead. Yuri reached out for the door knob, hesitated for a few moments before she twisted it. The door swung open and a room with a light bulb hanging down from the middle of the ceiling was presented to them. The four friends dragged their feet reluctantly into the room as their eyes wandered around, trying to register their new surroundings. The room was big and it was too dark to make out what could be hidden in the dark shadows at the parameters of the room. As the last member of their group stepped into the room, the door slammed shut and they could hear it being locked automatically.

“Great, we’re trapped.” Siwon tried twisting the door knob but to no avail.

The four frightened college students who felt like animals waiting to be slaughtered gathered around under the light bulb. In this instance, another light bulb ahead of them was ignited and there was a television screen mounted on the wall. It was the latest flat screen television which could not have belonged to the era where the last occupants of this mansion probably were from. Their captor had deliberately set this up.

The television switched on by itself and the image of a masked man appeared on the screen. The girls shrieked as the mask he was wearing was a horrifying Halloween mask of a creature hideous beyond human comprehension. Sooyoung dug her nails into Donghae’s arm and hid behind him, earning a yelp from him due to the pain she had caused. Siwon placed his arm across Yuri’s shoulder as she entwined her arms around his chest and buried her face in it.

“Welcome to the first part of the game where I call it ‘The Room of Revelation and Judgment’. You may wonder why I have selected the four of you to play this game and not any others. The four of you have so much in common and that’s why you have become the closest of friends during the best time of your life. You think you know each other so well but unfortunately you can’t trust anyone but yourself in this world. The purpose of the game is to show you how vulnerable your friendship can be. “

The screen flashed to a photograph of Yoona, secretly taken while she was crossing the road.

“Bastard, what do you want? Don’t you dare mess with me! You cannot hurt the woman I love!” Donghae yelled at the television screen as hot tears welled up in his eyes seeing the photograph of his beloved girlfriend flashed in front of his eyes. If he was never to come out of this mansion alive, the person he would have the most regrets towards would be Yoona.

“Lee Donghae. Six months ago, your girlfriend, Yoona was pregnant with your baby. Because you did not want the baby, you secretly arranged for a friend to cause her to meet with a car accident. Yoona lost the child and suffers from permanent memory loss due to head trauma from the accident.  You cold-bloodedly orchestrated the murder of your unborn child and hurt your beloved girlfriend.”

Donghae’s frightful eyes shifted to Siwon who had a dumbfounded expression on his face. Before Donghae could say a word to defend himself, the screen flashed to a photograph of a deceased man all too familiar with the group. He could almost be considered as part of them because they were always spending time together.

“Choi Sooyoung. Nine months ago, you went on a backpacking expedition with your boyfriend, Cho Kyuhyun to Nepal. You reported that he died while abseiling down a cliff but till this day his body was never found. You lied. You cut the rope which his life was hanging on to and he fell to his death because of your actions.”

“That’s preposterous! What evidence do you have to prove that? It was purely an accident.” Sooyoung was fuming mad and was about to walk up towards the television screen to hit it but was pulled back by Yuri.

The screen showed a newspaper article on a fatal road accident between a sports car and a human.

“Choi Siwon. Three months ago, you got into a hit and run accident along the highway on your way back to Seoul from Busan. You had consumed alcohol and hit a senile old woman who had wandered onto the road by mistake. Unfortunately, she died on the spot before medical help could arrive. Because you did not want to face the consequence of your action, you made your helper take the rap for your heinous crime.”

“Oh so were you there at the scene yourself, Mr Know-It-All? Don’t throw any accusations at me if you don’t have proof!” Siwon had lost his cool for the first time since their ordeal. The other three members looked at him, stunned. This was the first time they had seen the unofficial leader of their pack acting in this manner.

A photograph of a young child with a cheerful smile on her face with a sunflower in her hand was screened.

“Kwon Yuri. Eight months ago, your step-sister who was only eight years old fell off the staircase in your house and died due to fractured ribs which punctured her lungs. You were at home at that time but you lied that you came back only an hour later. You left a young child to bleed and die from her injuries. You could have saved her life if you wanted to.”

Yuri growled and ran her hands through her messy, entangled long black locks.

“What do you want from us? Why are you telling us all these bull?” Yuri shouted at the television screen as it flashed back to the image of the masked man.

He put his face closer to the camera and spoke in a low, distorted voice.

“I had twisted the facts in three out of four cases, meaning that three of you standing in this room are innocent while one is a cold-blooded murderer. You have three hours to decide among yourself who is the guilty one and to murder him. If you don’t, all four of you will die in this room. It doesn’t have to end that way. Why should the innocent die with the guilty one who should face capital punishment? Your time starts now.”

The television screen turned blank as the power to the television was cut off. Another light bulb was ignited at the corner of the room. There was a table under it with a timer that had started counting down from three hours and an axe.