Silence – was the only thing left in the room after Victoria’s and Zhou Mi’s departure.

It was awkward. The awkwardness in the air did not dissipate even though the five so-called best friends had been sitting there for the past fifteen minutes just looking at one another. None of them knew what to say.

Well, what could anyone say after betraying his or her own friend?

The sense of betrayal that Luhan felt was so deep that it was digging a hole in his heart. Oh, the pain had not gone away yet and Luhan had a feeling that it never would. He had a feeling that this incident would scar him forever.

But it was okay. He was going to die, anyway. He did not have to feel the pain anymore by the time tomorrow came. He had a feeling none of them were going to change their votes. Once Kris had decided on something, he rarely changed his mind. Sooyoung was also stubborn and Xiumin most probably could not face him anymore so it would be better to get rid of him. As for Yoona, he was not sure.

He could never tell what Yoona’s move would be next. His girlfriend was unpredictable and it was hard to keep up with her sometimes.

Wait.

Could she even be counted as his girlfriend?

After she had chosen to vote for him to die?

Oh, Yoona most probably did not know how much Luhan hated her at the moment. He despised her enough to kill her at this moment. He detested her enough to hurt her in every way as possible. He loathed her enough that he wanted her to feel the same pain as he was feeling right now. But damn it, his love for her still ran deep. How could he hurt her?

The feeling of betrayal was so deep and it hurt Luhan a lot.

The worst thing about betrayal was it always came from your friends, not your enemies, and it would hurt so damn much.

Luhan stood up from his seat. His legs were shaking slightly but he forced himself to go out of the room. He rushed quickly to the nearest room and dashed into the toilet. He locked the door behind him as soon as he entered the bathroom.

The bathroom was grand, just like the other things in the villa. It was as big as his room back home. There was a large bathtub in a corner and the shelf contained variety of soap, shampoo, facial cleanser and other important things specially for taking care of faces.

He sank to the floor of the bathroom and a small sob escaped him. The tears he had been holding back immediately rushed down his cheeks. He hugged his knees to his chest and cried so hard. He cried for the pain that he felt. He cried for the sense of betrayal that he felt. He cried for the loss of his friendship with those four monsters. He cried for the loss of his relationship with her.

Damn.

He could not even mention her name in his mind anymore. He did not bother to wipe the tears that streaked down his cheeks.

Luhan felt like a lost child. He did not know what to do. He did not want to die but at the same time, he did not want to kill the others. He did not want them to die but at the same time, he wanted to save his own life.

Should he try to get them change their votes?

But was that even possible?

Would they choose someone else instead of him tomorrow night? He let out a small sigh and stood up after he was done drowning himself in misery and self-pity. A knock sounded on the door of the bathroom and he quickly washed his face, erasing any evidence that he was bawling his eyes out in the bathroom.

Satisfied that the fact he had just cried was not evident on his face, he opened the door and put on a cold mask.

“What is it?” he asked as coldly as possible. His tone was sharp and as cold as ice. Right in front of him was Kris and he could tell that the taller guy was shocked at the façade he had forced himself to wear.

“I just want to say I’m sorry,” Kris said softly. “I really am but I don’t have much choice.”

Luhan narrowed his eyes at Kris in disdain. He almost scoffed but he held himself back. He would not give the guy in front of him the satisfaction of seeing him greatly affected by their betrayal. He would not let him see the pain that they had inflicted on him. Never in a million years.

“You’re sorry?” he asked incredulously as he scrunched up his nose. A bitter laugh escaped his lips involuntarily. He started to laugh mockingly at himself. He mocked himself for being so kind to sacrifice his life for them because even if the time had turned back, he would still choose himself over anyone.

Why was he so nice?

He had never thought himself as a nice person before but people around him always told him he was. Up until today, he had never believed but now, he had to think twice.

He was too nice, damn it.

He was even nicer than Xiumin and that meant a lot because Xiumin was like, the nicest person in this world.

“Don’t bother saying sorry, Kris-sshi,” he said after he managed to stop himself from laughing further at his own plight. He noticed that the taller guy staggered backwards as though he had been slapped. Luhan could not help the satisfaction that he felt when he saw that. He wanted to hurt them just like how they had hurt him. It was a desire that he desperately needed to fulfill to make his own self feel satisfied.

He wanted them to feel the same way as he did.

But it was impossible. They did not know the pain he was feeling and never would. But hurting them in many ways as possible was good enough and he would do just that for the remaining twenty-four hours of his life.

Luhan decided to leave the room after he realized that Kris did not say anything. He walked past through the guy and headed towards the bedroom door.

“I’m not going to change my vote, Luhan-ah,” Kris said, his apology was evident in his tone. He almost sounded regretful.

The simple sentence managed to stop Luhan in his tracks, though. He could feel the tears burning at the back of his eyes and he fiercely blinked them away. He turned around slowly and a small almost sad smile formed on his lips.

He wanted to hurt Kris in every way as possible.

He wanted to say something that would make Kris feel as though someone had punched him in his guts. Kris deserved it. He totally deserved it and so did the others. He would deal with the others later. Right now, he was focusing on Kris.

It was a low blow, he knew.

But he could not help himself.

“Oh, I know,” he sneered. “I hope after I die, you will live happily ever after with the others, especially with Sooyoung. Oh, wait. I forgot that you won’t be able to live happily ever after especially since Sooyoung is pretty much in love with Xiumin and the guy is also head over heels with her. I guess your love will remain unrequited.”

“Not to mention that Sooyoung is just making use of you,” he went on heartlessly. “She’s just happy that she’s got you wrapped around her little finger and you will do everything as she says. You practically worship the ground she walks on like a loyal dog.”

The widened eyes and small gasp that escaped Kris’s lips told Luhan that he had succeeded in making Kris hurt so badly and the pain that the taller guy was feeling was almost like the pain that Luhan felt from their betrayal.

Keyword: almost.

But it was good enough for him.

With that, he walked away with his head held high and a satisfied smirk on his face.

During the night, it kept on raining like there was no tomorrow. The temperature of the room was pretty cold but with the blanket draped over his body, Luhan felt warm. Unfortunately for him, his heart could not feel warm anymore. His heart was as cold as ice now. The pain that he felt had made him numb.

Luhan lay awake on the bed that he was sleeping in for the night. Victoria had assigned everyone their own rooms and he was glad for that. He did not want to share rooms with anyone. It would be too awkward.

Letting out a sigh, Luhan finally gave up trying to fall asleep and sat up on his bed.

He was worried for his own life. He badly did not want to die and he was afraid. How would he die tomorrow? The way Victoria had described the slow death that he would feel last night he had a feeling that it would not be a quick painless death.

Ah, how cruel that woman was.

He should do something that would be able to save his own life. He could not just sit there and let himself get voted to die. He had to find a way to save himself.

Should he really try to get those four monsters to change their votes? How?

That was practically impossible and he knew it.

His gaze wandered to the window and he observed the view outside of it. The villa was surrounded by gates and the gates were not that high.

Maybe he could climb over it to escape.

Grinning, he immediately grabbed his wallet and phone and slipped them into his pocket. He only had one problem, though. He would be soaked from head to toe as soon as he got out of the house.

But better to be soaked and maybe catching a cold than dead, right?

He crept out of his room and tiptoed across the hallway. He tried very hard not to make any noise as he fumbled through the dark hallway. He did not want to wake anyone up. Screw the others. He would leave by himself.

He successfully managed to go down to the living room without bumping into things carelessly. Step by step, he approached the front door slowly as he held his breath. He finally reached the front door and he tried to open it.

Locked – the door was locked.

He shook the door again for good measure and it still did not open. He could not exactly bust the door open, could he?

Whoosh.

A heavy sigh escaped his lips. Damn it. Just as he had found the hope to save his own life, the damned door just had to be locked.

Thanks a lot, he thought cynically to the forces up above.

Why didn’t the forces up above do anything to help him? He was going to die and they did not even want to help him.

What had he ever done to deserve this?

“Luhan?” a high-pitched voice called out.

Luhan whipped his head around and he found himself facing Sooyoung. Sooyoung was in her pajamas. Her hair was tied in a ponytail and she was looking at him as though he had two heads.

“What are you doing here?” he asked flatly, showing no emotions.

The girl made a face at him and said, “I was about to ask you the same thing.” She scratched her right arm as she looked at him quizzically.

Luhan shrugged, trying to act nonchalant. “I wanted to escape but the door is locked,” he told her truthfully.

“The door is locked?!” Sooyoung asked, her voice was an octave higher than usual. Her features started to form a frown. She pushed Luhan aside and tried to open the door to be sure. As expected, the door did not open. She turned around to face Luhan but then her face went pale.

Suddenly, the lights in the living room were . Luhan blinked his eyes repeatedly, trying to adjust to the sudden brightness. He whirled around and found the owner of the villa standing at the top of the stairs.

Victoria was wearing a pale purple nightgown that reached her toes. Her long hair was kept down. She glided down the staircase. Her face showed no expressions but her eyes were cold and hard. “If you’re trying to escape this villa, you’d better erase that thought from your minds,” she warned.

“Why?” Luhan blurted out before he could stop himself. He cursed himself mentally for asking that question so daringly.

The woman did not say anything but continued to wal