Chapter 5:
Musical Notes

"Music expresses that which cannot be said and on which it is impossible to be silent." -Victor Hugo, Hugo's Works: William Shakespeare

As everyone knows, time is one of the most precious things in the world. The thing about time is, it does not care about anyone. It will continue to tick by no matter what happens. It will move on like nothing has ever happened. Even if the most important person in the world dies, time will never stop. It will go on as the saying goes, ‘time and tide waits for no man’.

It is amazing, really, because this just shows how worthless everything in this world is. It shows how insignificant we are in the eyes of time. Not that time has eyes but you get what I mean. The most puzzling thing about time is, whenever we want time to pass by quickly, five minutes will seem like forever. But if we want time to slow down, an hour is too short. That is just how time is.

Next Saturday comes by quickly and it is not to Soojung’s liking. She is dreading this day because she knows that one of the eight people who refused to join Miyoung’s alliance will be eliminated tonight. She knows that she will most likely survive because Luhan and Yoona told her last week that the clue they received from Qian's co-host was that the wolf was a male but she still feels nervous, anyway. Miyoung's alliance should receive the same clue. At least, that is what she hopes for.

To be completely honest, she does not really want to be in an alliance with Jinri and Jongin but then, beggars cannot be choosers so she keeps it to herself. There is no way she is joining Miyoung’s alliance because she does not want to be fooled by her. Joonmyun and Joohyun are a couple and she certainly refuses to be a third wheel whereas Sehun is anti-social and Yoona and Luhan have this intimidating aura around them. The only option she has is to join Jinri and Jongin.

Soojung actually thinks that Jinri is too nice to be in this game. She is polite, bright and cheerful and Soojung does not want this game to corrupt Jinri. This is a game of deceit and lies, after all. As for Jongin, she knows that the guy can handle it so she does not really care about him being in this game.

Even though Jinri and Jongin are not a couple, Soojung feels like a third wheeler, anyway, because it is quite obvious that Jongin cares for Jinri – a lot. She can just see it by the way Jongin looks at Jinri. That guy does not know the meaning of subtlety. She tries her best to pretend like she does not see it, though.

Just like last week, she and Sooyeon decide to go to the bungalow together because it is easier that way. Soojung hates the fact that she might have to betray her older sister if she lasts in this game but she tries not to think about it because frankly, she loves Sooyeon a lot. She does not know if she has it in her to betray her older sister.

Sooyeon parks her car next to the road and Soojung unbuckles her seatbelt. She studies Sooyeon’s face carefully before her sister finally looks up and shoots a quizzical glance at her. The younger woman lets out a small sigh. “Who are you going to vote for?” she voices her wonder out loud.

The older Jung pauses for a moment. She does not say anything and Soojung waits patiently for her answer. Seconds tick by and the atmosphere becomes heavier between them. Well, Soojung did not know that her sister would react this way. If she does, she would not have asked. “It’s okay if you don’t want to tell me,” she amends quickly, not wanting the air to grow more awkward than it already is.

At that, Sooyeon chuckles and a small smile etches itself on the older Jung’s lips. “You’ll see later,” she replies, at last. “Don’t worry, Soojung, I won’t vote for you.”

Her sister’s assurance manages to ease the anxiety that Soojung feels slightly and she smiles weakly at the older Jung. “Thanks,” she says softly.

Sooyeon’s eyes widen in surprise at that but soon, laughter fills the car that they are in. She nudges the younger woman’s elbow playfully. “Hey, what are sisters for?” she questions rhetorically as a big smile is displayed on her lips. “I’ll always protect you, Soojung. I promise.”

Soojung fights the urge to snort because she thinks that her older sister’s words are just too cheesy. She does not like it, at all, even though it might be sweet for others. Soojung is not the type of person who expresses what she feels so she also does not like sweet words to be delivered into her ears.

“Whatever, Sooyeon,” she mutters before she gets out of the car. She shuts the door before making her way to the bungalow, not wanting to wait for her sister. She is embarrassed, actually, because she is not used to be exposed to affections.

That is just who Jung Soojung is. She runs away from anything that has got to do with her feelings.

***

The bungalow is the same, as always. It is grand and nothing has changed for the past week since Soojung last entered it. She still remembers the time when she, Jinri and Jongin tried to figure out who the wolf was at one of the rooms on the second floor before they finally decided on one person to vote for. Their choice is a wild guess but it is better than nothing.

Soojung enters the meeting room because they had to gather in that place last week and she finds herself almost smiling when she sees that it is the correct decision. Most of the other players are already seated and they are wearing their lanyards. The young woman curses to herself when she realises that she has forgotten hers.

Seeing that there is nothing she can do about it, she decides to sit down. She looks around for Jinri and Jongin and it is then she realises that they are sitting far apart from each other. She raises her eyebrow questioningly before seeing that their seats are already chosen for them. Someone has placed a paper with their names written on it on top of the chairs.

Soojung looks around for her name before she finally finds it after a few seconds. She sits down on the chair but not before taking that piece of paper and places it on the table. The seat on her right is empty while the seat on her left is occupied by Oh Sehun.

Well, this is awkward, she thinks to herself when she remembers how she accused the guy of being the wolf just because he was wearing a pair of sunglasses. She notes that Sehun is not wearing the sunglasses this time around.

“Have your eyes healed?” she inquires, looking at him to start a conversation. She also notices that the guy is very handsome without his sunglasses.

“Of course they have, Captain Obvious,” Sehun snaps back. His voice is laced with heavy sarcasm. It is quite evident that the guy does not want to talk to her.

But Soojung, being Soojung, does not care about that fact. She continues to keep the conversation going because she is bored at the moment. Besides, the person who is supposed to sit next to her, Park Sunyoung, has not arrived yet. When Sunyoung has arrived, it is then she will stop disturbing Sehun.

“Who are you going to vote for?” she questions, tilting her head to the side in curiosity. She really wonders who is going to be eliminated today.

Sehun, just like Sooyeon, does not answer her at first. He keeps quiet as if he is trying to figure out whether he should tell her or not. He turns to look at her, at last, and his eyes seem to be calculating something at the moment. He observes her carefully before shrugging. “My vote does not make any difference to the person who is bound to be eliminated today,” he responds nonchalantly.

No matter how cruel the words sound, it is the cold-hearted truth. Only Miyoung’s alliance truly has the power to make someone to be eliminated. But then, Soojung feels curious because the guy next to her does not accept Yoona’s and Luhan’s offer last Saturday. There are only two reasons for his rejection.

The first one is, the guy has already known who the person with a criminal record is. He is one hundred percent sure and that is why he does not bother to accept the offer. That is the first reason. The second reason is quite obvious, actually, and right at this moment, Soojung does not know which one out of the two reasons is the real reason for his rejection to that offer.

“Tell me,” she insists. She does not care that she is technically betraying the alliance that she has made with Jinri and Jongin. She will vote for the person that Sehun is voting for. Besides, the probability of Sehun being the wolf is one over twenty.

The guy just shrugs in response before leaning forward to her ear. Then, he whispers a name that makes Soojung raise her eyebrows quizzically. “Why him?” she asks. It seems like she is asking too many questions tonight.

Sehun lets out a sigh, indicating that he will not answer that question. “It’s up to you whether you want to vote for him or not,” he responds.

Soojung just remains in her seat quietly as she thinks about who to vote for. The person that Jinri and Jongin pick or the person that Sehun picks? She has no absolutely idea.

She just decides to go with her instincts.

***

The time has finally come for the voting to take place. The atmosphere is very awkward and silent and Yoona feels extremely uncomfortable sitting in the meeting room. She finds it such a waste that she is not seated next to Luhan. Instead, she is sitting between Choi Sooyoung and Wu Yifan.

The doe-eyed woman can almost taste the tension in the air and she really dislikes it. Nobody is speaking to anyone because most of the people in the same alliance are separated. Seconds continue to tick by as everyone waits for Qian’s arrival.

Yoona catches Luhan’s eyes and the two of them stare at each other for a little while. Their little staring contest has managed to attract attention as everyone begins to look at the two of them curiously. Seeing that none of them bothers to say anything, everyone looks away after some time but the two players are still looking at each other.

The young woman knows that the probability of their choice being correct is high because they managed to get two clues and interrogate the suspects. After talking with Baekhyun, Kyungsoo and Zitao, they have discussed on who they think the wolf is.

Their discussion had been peaceful even though there were times when they had different opinions but after an hour long of discussion, they finally decided on the person that they would vote for.

Yoona really hopes that everything will go on as planned tonight. If she is lucky, only she, Luhan and Miyoung will receive the prize money. She doubts that the other participants will be able to get it right. It is not that she is looking down on them. It is just that they do not receive the same clues as they did from Jongdae.

She taps her index finger on the table impatiently and wills Qian to enter the meeting room and start the voting already. The anxiety and tension in the air are just too asphyxiating for her and she really needs to get out of this meeting room. She refrains herself from doing that, though, no matter how tempted she feels.

After what seems like hours, the door to the meeting room finally opens and Song Qian enters. Her clothes, as usual, are classy but this time, she comes with someone. Jongdae follows her from behind and everyone stares at the guy curiously before realisation dawns on them that this is the guy who asked to use their phones a few weeks ago.

Qian smiles the same sinister smile that makes chills go down Yoona’s spine and the young woman looks away to pull herself together before laying her eyes on the classy woman again.

“Hello there, everyone,” Qian greets in a tone which shows that she feels that she is superior to them. Yoona does not like that tone at all because who does that woman think she is? “Welcome back.” A pause ensues before the host continues, “I would like to introduce my co-host who was supposed to be here last week but he disappeared.”

Jongdae takes a step forward before bowing. “I’m Kim Jongdae, Doctor Song’s co-host,” he introduces himself simply.

Murmurs fill the room but what the players are saying is undistinguishable. Yoona opts to just listen to what Qian has to say next. Besides, she really wants to get this voting thing done and over with. She knows that, except for her and Luhan, all of them are shocked and confused at the moment.

Qian claps her hands twice to garner the attention back to her and everyone reluctantly focuses on her. “The voting will now commence,” she announces, “Someone will be eliminated tonight and I wonder who.”

Her statement causes Jongdae to snort as if they are sharing a private joke and Yoona narrows her eyes at them. There is something that the two of them are hiding, she is absolutely sure of that.

Before she is able to ponder over it, however, the host snaps her fingers and once again, the door opens and this time, Amber enters. She is holding a box but no one can see what is inside of it. Then, she places the box on the table before she starts to pass around smartphones to all of the players.

Yoona receives hers and she looks at the smartphone in puzzlement, not knowing what she is supposed to do with it. She looks around her and finds that all of them are just as clueless as her.

“The smartphones are designed just for this game,” Qian avows. “Unlock the screen and you will find that it will automatically direct you to an application. This application will show you all of the players’ faces and names and you have to click on the one that you want to vote for. After that, we will be able to see the results of the voting on the screen.” The woman takes out a remote and presses a button. The screen appears but it is black in colour with nothing written on it.

“When the results are out,” the host continues, “the screen will show you the people that have been voted for and the number and names of the people who have voted for them.”

Yoona nods in understanding and waits for the next order from Qian. She can barely believe that the first round will be over soon and she is confident that she will be able to move on to the next round. The tension in the meeting room has never dissipated. Instead, it increases as the time for them to vote has come closer.

The doe-eyed woman watches as Jongdae whisper something in Qian’s ear. She looks on as the host just chuckles in amusement but does not make any move to respond. A smug look settles on the host’s face. “I will give you ten minutes to think about who you should vote for,” she drawls.

At that, all of the players quickly unlock the screen of the smartphone that they have received individually. Just like Qian said, when Yoona has unlocked the screen, it quickly directs her to an application. There, she sees all the names and faces of the other players.

She looks up and stares at Luhan, willing him to look at her. The guy seems to be engrossed with the smartphone. She stares at him harder and hopes that he will look up. After what seems like hours but a few seconds in reality, the deer-eyed man finally catches her eyes.

What? He mouths.

Have you voted? She mouths back at him.

Luhan nods in response. Just as Yoona is about to mouth something again, the deer-eyed man beats her to it. Yes, I voted for him.

And now, it all comes down to Yoona’s trust for Luhan. The two of them have agreed to vote for the same person because of the clues that they have discovered and the way that person acted during the interrogation. However, there is a slight chance that Luhan might betray her and vote for another person, instead.

Luhan has looked away from her. He is glancing around him, observing the other players’ actions. She wonders how trustworthy her ally is. Just this one time, she decides. She will trust Luhan just this once and will see how it goes from here.

If Luhan betrays her, she will know that he cannot be trusted ever again. If he does not, she will continue to be in the same alliance with him for the next round. Letting out a small sigh, she pushes her doubts for the deer-eyed man away and forces herself to have a small amount of faith in him.

She looks for the picture of the person that she wants to vote for. She stares at it for a moment, admiring his handsome features before clicking on it, at last.

Are you sure you want to vote for him? The screen on the smartphone asks.

Yoona looks at Luhan one last time and notices that the guy has been staring at her. Luhan gives her a small smile and a reassuring nod. She cannot help but feel that she can really trust him. She blames his cherubic face for that. Without further hesitation, she presses the ‘yes’ button.

Your vote has been sent in, the words appear on the screen of the smartphone and she lets out a small sigh. The first round will be over soon and whether she will get the prize money or not will be revealed in a little while. To say that she is not nervous will be a lie. She is feeling quite anxious but she chooses to hide it with a poker face.

The silence inside the room has become more suffocating as seconds pass and Yoona wishes that the ten minutes will be up soon. Seeing that there is nothing else to do, she takes a look around her. Miyoung is sitting up straight and her lips are curled into a smirk that makes the doe-eyed woman feel like wiping it off her. It is ironic the fact that she despises how cocky Miyoung is but at the same time, she cannot wait to see her alliance’s reaction when they find out that they have been betrayed.

Sooyeon is leaning back against her seat with a bored expression on her face while her younger sister is biting her lips nervously. Jongin is trying hard to act nonchalant while Jinri has her hands clasped as though in a prayer. Yoona looks at Sooyoung who is sitting next to her and finds that the taller woman is twirling her hair anxiously while Yifan, the person who sits on the other side of her, is fiddling with his fingers.

Yoona badly wants to burst into amused laughter when she sees how hard everyone is trying to act like they are not edgy at the moment when it is too blatantly obvious. Even she is one of them. She shakes her head condescendingly and a small smile of mockery etches itself on her lips.

“Time’s up,” Qian informs calmly and everyone puts down the electronic device. They look at the black screen, waiting for the results to show up.

The host chuckles at their impatience before finally pressing a button on the remote. Four numbers appear on the screen causing everyone to exchange puzzled glances.

11      5       2       2

“There are four people out of the twenty players who have been voted as the wolf,” Qian explains. “Of course, the person who has been voted by the eleven people will be eliminated which is such a waste, really.”

Silence ensues for a moment as Yoona’s brain begins to whirl. She feels confused as she tries to make sense out of the numbers on the screen. She wonders why there is not a three up there. There should be a three because she, Luhan and Miyoung most probably voted for the same person. Unless, of course, the person that she and Luhan voted for is different from Miyoung. There is a slight chance, however, that two more people have voted for the same person as she, Luhan and Miyoung did. She decides not to dwell on it further because her head is beginning to hurt.

“Somebody betrayed us,” Taeyeon pipes up suddenly. Her eyes are blazing with anger.

“The most number of votes should be twelve instead of eleven,” Yixing says tightly.

The people from Miyoung’s alliance are filled with anger, judging by their expressions. Fury fills their eyes. “Who is it?” Yifan bellows. “Who is the bastard that betrayed us?”

Yoona flinches at his loud voice. Nobody speaks up. They all just exchange uncertain glances. Yoona steals a look towards Qian, Jongdae and Amber. Qian looks amused by the situation while Jongdae just looks away from them, as if he thinks that they are a waste of time. Amber just looks on expressionlessly.

“This is exactly why I didn’t want to join their alliance,” Joohyun mutters to herself but it is audible enough for all of them to hear.

Sunyoung stands up suddenly and smacks the table with her hands. The sound of the impact is so loud that silence immediately fills the room. All of the players are looking at the young woman. Some of them have a shocked expression at her sudden action while the others just look bored. “Whoever that betrayed us, I swear I won’t let you off,” she vows loudly.

Chills go down Yoona’s spine as soon as she hears Sunyoung’s statement even though she is not the one who betrayed them. She looks at Miyoung discreetly and sees that the owner of the cyber café does not look intimidated at all. Instead, she seems to be amused, just like Qian is.

Yoona snorts in disbelief at that. This woman is really something, she thinks to herself. She feels a surge of satisfaction because the moment that she has been waiting for has finally arrived. She likes how the alliance acted all cocky only to be shocked by the sudden turn of events. She scoffs at them before looking at the screen, wanting Qian to continue.

As if sensing Yoona’s desire, Qian presses a button on the remote again and this time, names appear right under the numbers. “The names under the numbers are the voters. For example, Joohyun and Joonmyun are right under the number two, this means that they voted for the same person.”

The doe-eyed woman reads the names and almost lets out a sigh of relief when she sees that she, Luhan and Miyoung are under the same number along with Sehun and Soojung. This time, more chaos erupt as the players are glaring at the owner of the cyber café.

“You !” Yuri snarls angrily as she stands up. “Was that your plan all along? Fool us into an alliance and then convince us to vote for someone else while you vote for the real wolf all by yourself?”

“You’re going to pay for this, Hwang Miyoung,” Baekhyun threatens lowly.

“Wow, I can’t believe that I got fooled,” Chanyeol states as his eyes burn with anger.

Amidst of all this chaos, Yoona feels awed at Sehun. She wonders how he manages to get the wolf right even though he has declined her offer. It is then she realises that Jongin and Jinri are glaring at Soojung menacingly while her best friend’s younger sister tries her best to avoid eye contact with them.

Betrayals are everywhere, she thinks wryly to herself.

Although Jinri and Jongin have been betrayed by Soojung, the two of them do not lash out in anger. They just sit, trying to stay cool. The ones who are making useless threats are the members of Miyoung’s alliance. They are spitting curses at her and Qian, Jongdae and Amber do nothing to stop them. They just keep watching like this is a show.

Yoona feels disgusted at them but she hides it. It is not like this is their fault but as the host of the game, shouldn’t Qian control the situation? This is getting way out of the line.

It seems like Miyoung cannot stand the curses she gets in her way because the owner of the cyber café slams her hands on the table, causing everyone to shut up. Uncomfortable silence hovers in the air. Miyoung laughs sinisterly at them. “Why are you all getting mad at me?” she asks in a faux sweet tone.

“You did not just-” Sooyoung starts to say.

“Qian told you, didn’t she?” Miyoung interrupts easily as a smirk etches itself on her lips. She scoffs at them. “Do not trust anyone,” she quotes. She rolls her eyes. “All of you are fools for trusting me. You’ve got no one else to blame except for yourselves for trusting me. Besides, what can you do to me? Violence is not allowed in this game.” A mocking smile appears on her lips as she leans forward. “You all deserve to be betrayed, anyway.”

The people in Miyoung’s alliance exchange glances at her words. Some of them have finally accepted the fact that they have been betrayed. The ones who are standing finally decide to sit down. Only silence is left in the room.

Yoona has to admit that she salutes Miyoung for being able to handle the situation just fine. Well, the owner of the cyber café must have expected this. Her words are quite harsh, though, in her opinion.

“I’m not angry at you for betraying us,” Zitao speaks up at last. His Korean is a little bit awkward but it is still understandable. “I’m mad at you for causing an innocent person to be eliminated.”

A dark look crosses over Miyoung’s pretty face but she does not say anything. Instead, she sits down in her seat and looks in front defiantly.

The host takes it as her cue to continue and so, she presses a button on the remote and this time, pictures appear on the screen right above the numbers, indicating that those are the people that they have voted for. The results have finally come out.

“Wait,” Sehun splutters out suddenly. He whips his head to look at Jongin and Jinri. “You guys actually thought that I’m the wolf?” His eyes widen in surprise and the disbelief on his face would have been funny if only the atmosphere is not tense right now.

Jongin and Jinri do not say anything but they just shrug nonchalantly. “Soojung was supposed to vote for you too before she betrayed us,” Jinri responds. Yoona notices that Soojung immediately shift uncomfortably at Jinri’s blunt statement.

“As you all can see, Joohyun and Joonmyun voted for Huang Zitao,” Qian points out, blatantly ignoring the exchange between Sehun and Jinri. “Do you mind sharing with us the reason you voted for him?”

The couple exchange wary glances before Joohyun finally speaks up, “The ones who aren’t in Miyoung’s alliance all know that the wolf is among the mentioned alliance so when Luhan and Yoona specifically chose Byun Baekhyun, Huang Zitao and Do Kyungsoo for the interrogation, we knew that it was one of them and we guessed who, based on their appearances. Huang Zitao is the one who has the most intimidating aura among them so we chose to vote for him.”

The explanation causes Yoona to let out a small snort while the others seem to be mildly amused by it. This is why the quote ‘do not judge a book by its cover’ exists.

“Wait, if you all agreed that the wolf is among us, then why did Jongin and Jinri vote for Sehun?” Yuri questions sharply.

Jongin and Jinri shrug nonchalantly at that. They signal at each other to explain it for them but since neither of them wants to speak up, Soojung decides to cut in. “They thought that it was suspicious how Sehun declined Yoona’s and Luhan’s offer last week. There are only two reasons why he declined it,” Soojung explains. “First, he is the wolf. Second, he already knows who the wolf is. Jinri and Jongin thought it was the first one and I decided to change my vote at the last minute when Sehun told me who he was going to vote for because my intuition said otherwise.”

“You made the right decision,” Jongdae interrupts nonchalantly. “The wolf is, indeed, Do Kyungsoo. Only five people voted for them. Congratulations Miyoung, Luhan, Yoona, Sehun and Soojung. The prize money will be divided equally among all of you so each of you will receive one hundred million won in your respective bank accounts later.”

At the sudden announcement, everyone looks at one another in puzzlement. “Wait, Kyungsoo is the wolf?” one of them asks.

“Damn, I was fooled by his gentle appearance,” another one of them grumbles.

Yoona looks at Kyungsoo, wanting to see his reaction. His expression is blank and it is evident that he does not expect to win the five hundred won by himself so he is not surprised that someone has voted for him. He just looks on quietly, taking in the situation.

“Let’s hear from the winners as to why they chose Do Kyungsoo as the wolf,” Qian suggests and Yoona cannot help but to look away when she finds that people are staring at her and the other winners curiously.

“I’ve got my own resources,” Miyoung says simply with a smug smile that causes a lot of the players to feel repulsive towards her. The owner of the cyber café just flips her hair sassily.

Since Soojung has told them the reason why she chose Kyungsoo, nobody bothers to look at her. Instead, all eyes are on Luhan, Yoona and Sehun now. The three of them look at one another uncertainly. “Like Joohyun said earlier, we thought that the wolf would stay in Miyoung’s alliance because he would want to survive. In order to survive, he had to make sure that he would be among the majority,” Luhan starts out slowly.

“That was how we crossed out the eight people who refused to join the alliance,” he goes on. “I was planning to look for Qian’s co-host to receive my clue and somehow, I met with Yoona accidentally and we decided to look for Jongdae together although we did not know who he was before.”

Luhan takes in a deep breath and Yoona decides to have mercy on him. “We found Jongdae and he gave us two clues. One for Luhan and one for me. The first clue was ‘men are all wolves’ and we deduced that the wolf was a male and so, the six girls in Miyoung’s alliance were crossed out,” Yoona continues to explain their story. “The second clue was that the wolf’s birthday is between January and May. That was why we needed to see your wallets.”

“Did you actually look at everyone's wallets?” Chanyeol inquires curiously.

Yoona lets out a small chuckle at that before shaking her head in denial. “We only looked at the wallets of the six people that we suspected,” she reveals. “From there, we were able to narrow down the suspects to Baekhyun, Kyungsoo and Zitao.”

“So we conducted an interrogation,” Luhan takes over the story again. “During that time we were questioning them, we asked them some questions and looked at how they would respond. Baekhyun was nervous at first but he soon became cocky. He did not give us a straight answer whether he was the wolf or not. This shows that the guy had nothing to lose if we were to vote for him which means that he cannot be the wolf. As for Zitao and Kyungsoo, however, they told us that they were not the wolf.”

“The difference between Kyungsoo and Zitao was, Zitao was relaxed and he answered the questions calmly and sincerely. Kyungsoo was the opposite. He was tense and adamant about him not being the wolf and that is how we concluded that Do Kyungsoo is the person with a criminal record.”

From the other players’ faces, Yoona can see that some of them are awed by them and she feels a tad bit uncomfortable with that. She is used to be admired for her beauty but not her intelligence. “The both of you are smart,” Kyungsoo comments, causing everyone to look at him in surprise. “But I’m more curious as to how Sehun knew that I’m the wolf.”

This time, everyone’s eyes turn to the said guy. Sehun seems to freeze at the sudden attention and it is quite obvious that he does not like it. “Luhan and Yoona missed out something,” he says quickly, wanting to get out of the spotlight as soon as possible. “When they met with Jongdae, they did not mention what he was doing.”

Confused glances are exchanged and the eyes have become more demanding. “Jongdae was playing the acoustic version of Bruno Mars’ Nothing On You on a piano,” he tells them in a rush. “Kyungsoo and I were in the same high school and I remembered that he sang that song during a talent show once. The video of him singing that was uploaded on the internet and it was actually quite popular. It was too much to be a coincidence and that is how I knew that Kyungsoo is the wolf.”

Yoona’s jaw drops open at Sehun’s explanation. Wow, she thinks to herself. It is unfair how Sehun managed to know who the wolf is just by one simple step while she and Luhan actually worked their asses off to find out. No wonder Sehun declined their offer. She cannot help but resent him slightly for winning too easily.

“We’ve heard how amazing the winners are in finding out who the wolf is,” Qian says after a moment of silence. “Now, I reluctantly want to say goodbye to Kim Joonmyun who is the first person to be eliminated from this game. Eleven people have voted for him as the wolf. That’s really such a waste because I’m sure that Joonmyun would be an awesome player if he survives.”

Everyone turns to stare at Joonmyun. Yoona really feels sorry for him because he has been wrongly accused. “Any last words?” Qian asks, tilting her head slightly.

Silence ensues as everyone stares at the first person to be eliminated. Joonmyun shrugs. “Why me?” he asks. It is not a secret to whom the question is directed at.

“Kyungsoo needed a scapegoat and I wanted to win the money all by myself,” Miyoung answers softly. Then, her eyes twinkle and her lips curl into a smile of mockery. “You make the perfect scapegoat.”

Before anyone has the chance to say anything, Qian claps her hands so that the attention will be on her again. “Kim Joonmyun, as the first player to be eliminated, we have prepared a car for you to drive back home. You may leave and go home now.”

Frankly, Yoona thinks that Qian’s words are too cold. She does not know if anyone else thinks the same way as she does but it does not matter. Kim Joonmyun has already been eliminated. The guy makes his way to the door of meeting room. With a small smile, he leaves the meeting room and the door clicks shut.

Awkward silence fills the room. Although Yoona is not close to the guy, she feels a sense of loss. Nobody dares to look into one another’s eyes. Amused laughter rings in Yoona’s ears and she finds that it comes from Qian. The host looks at them before shaking her head in mild disdain. “Don’t act like you all feel sorry for him,” she chides. “Deep down, you feel relieved that it’s not you who has been eliminated, don’t you?”

And Yoona knows that what the host has just said is correct. She does feel sorry for the guy but that does not mean she wants to switch places with him. Humans are selfish by nature, anyway,

Qian snorts. “Kim Joonmyun is the first person to be eliminated from this game. We will begin the second round next week. All of you may now leave the meeting room. Refreshments have been provided in the dining room if any of you wants to eat before you leave,” she makes her closing statements. “Until we meet again.”

With that, the host turns around and leaves the meeting room along with her co-host and helper.

***

The roads in Seoul are slippery at the moment because it is currently raining heavily. Drivers have to slow down in order to prevent themselves from being involved in an accident. It is no different for the young man.

He feels empty, to be honest. He does not really mind the fact that he is the first to be eliminated among the other twenty players. The fact that he has been chosen for the scapegoat makes him feel offended, though. Does he really seem like someone who has a criminal record?

All his life, he has been nothing but a good civilian. His girlfriend studies law too so why was he picked as the scapegoat? It just does not make any sense to him, truth to be told.

He shakes his head and decides to forget about it. He switches on the radio to fill in the empty silence. He wishes that his girlfriend is with him at the moment but he knows that it is impossible. He was practically kicked out of the bungalow earlier.

Sighing to himself, he hums along to the song that is playing on the radio. When the song comes to a stop, the DJ’s voice fills in the car. “Hello everyone, welcome back to Love Doctor, the only radio show in South Korea that helps people with their love problems. I am Kim Heechul, the host of this programme,” the DJ says.

The young man shakes his head. Radio shows, nowadays, he thinks to himself. He presses the off button but to his surprise, the radio is not turned off. Frowning, he tries again but to no avail. Shrugging to himself, he decides to just listen, anyway.

“It is raining cats and dogs around Cheongdamdong area so I hope the drivers who are at the mentioned place will be careful,” Kim Heechul goes on. “I will accept one last song request before I continue with answering the love problems that we have received.”

A short pause ensues before the host speaks up again, “We have received a request and this song is dedicated to someone by the name of Kim Joonmyun who is said to be driving in the Cheongdamdong area right now.”

At that, Joonmyun sits up straight in surprise, wondering who the person who has requested a song on this radio show is. “This is a message for Kim Joonmyun from someone who goes by the initials TDG: Goodbye, Joonmyun,” Heechul says. “Did the two of you break up? I feel sorry for your loss, then, TDG and Kim Joonmyun. Now, I shall play the song that has been requested by TDG which is Avril Lavigne’s Slipped Away. Enjoy.”

The song comes on and Joonmyun feels puzzled. Who the hell is TDG? Why did this person suddenly request a song which is dedicated to him? His mind whirls in confusion and he finds himself distracted. The song continues to play and he finds it distracting. He tries to switch the radio off again but it is a futile attempt.

He is still driving and the road in front of him is empty at the moment. It is understandable because it is a road that drivers rarely take because it is far too narrow. He finds himself wondering who TDG is and slowly, the song that is playing at the moment is coming to an end.

A horn sounds in his ears, causing him to snap back to reality. He looks in front and almost gets a heart attack when he sees that a truck is coming at him at a full speed. He tries to stop the car but the brake does not work. Panic washes over him as he continues to press his foot repeatedly on the brake.

Nothing happens and he wonders what kind of car Qian has given him. Without much choice, he swerves the car, not wanting to collide with the truck heads-on. The car hits a tree nearby and Joonmyun’s head knocks onto the steering wheel. He grunts in pain and he tries to look around him but his vision is blurry.

Blood trickles down from his head to his right cheek. He finds himself slowly closing his eyes and there is just too much pain. Distinctly, he hears the song has finally stopped playing and Heechul’s voice rings in his ears.

Joonmyun really tries to stay awake. He wants to force his eyes open but as seconds pass they continue to close. He hopes that the driver of the truck will quickly call for help. He attempts to make sure that his eyes are wide open. He really does. He wonders why no sirens can be heard. He wonders how long he has to wait. Soon enough, he feels himself slowly fading. He can feel himself slipping away.

And the darkness claims him.

Author's Note: Hello everyone! I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter. It was hard to write it because the voting scene is a little bit messy so, yeah. Congratulations to those of you who managed to guess that Kyungsoo is the wolf. The hint is really obvious, actually. The first round has officially ended and the second round will start soon. Who will be eliminated next? Tell me what you think of this chapter below. Thank you for reading, subscribing, commenting and upvoting! I really appreciate it. Enjoy reading the next chapter! :)