40 students remaining

At first, Minseok thought he was in his classroom back in Hongcheon. There was a lectern on an elevated platform in the front of the room, a worn out chalkboard and a television positioned on the left. Even the desks and the chairs looked similar. On Minseok’s desk, someone carved an anti-government graffiti. Then he noticed his classmates at their desks, the boys and girls clad in their school-issued black and red coat and striped tie, all thirty-nine of his classmates who'd only moments ago (at least that's what it felt like) been riding the bus together…were still sleeping. A few of them were hunched over while a few were sprawled on their desks.

From beside the frosted window on the side of the hall (assuming this building had the same layout as his school), Minseok surveyed the rest of the room. He seemed to be the only one awake. In front of him, to his left and towards the middle of the room was Youngji. Behind her was Byun Baekhyun, and beyond was Zhang Yixing. They were all sprawled on their desks, sleeping deeply. Park Chanyeol surrendered his large body to his desk (that was when it finally dawned on Minseok that the seating assignment was identical to the one they had at Hongcheon Middle School) by the windows on the left side. That was also when he began to realize why the place felt odd. The windows beyond Chanyeol’s body appeared to be covered with some kind of dark material. Minseok guessed it was steel sheets because they provided an icy reflection of the dull light from the rows of fluorescent lights hanging from the ceiling. The frosted glass windows on the side of the hall seemed to be draped in black. Maybe they were boarded up too. It was impossible to determine the time of day.

Minseok held his wrist to his face. His wristwatch read 1 o’clock. In the morning or in the afternoon? How long have they been sleeping here and how did they get here in the first place? Questions flooded Minseok’s confused mind. In any case, they could have been here either three hours or fifteen hours. He guessed it was most probably in the early morning since he could still move his body without too much effort and completely free of headache (which would be the complete opposite if he slept for fifteen hours straight).

Something felt off. Not just the whole situation, but something different. He suddenly realized what it was.

His neck was feeling a bit heavy and cold. He raised his hand to touch a silver metal band wrapped securely around his neck. He looked and found the same metal band around Youngji’s neck, and everyone too. The instance he realized it, Minseok suddenly felt like he was suffocating. Steel collars! Steel collars as if we were dogs, damn!

He tried to get it off but it just wouldn’t budge. He gave up after a few tries.

Suddenly, he heard footsteps in the hall before a loud noise erupted from the front entrance (maybe it wasn’t that loud but the silence intensified the sound).

A man came and walked directly towards the lectern. He was of average height and build. The man’s head was completely covered by a black cap, leaving only his stern face visible. His face was round with rather small piercing eyes. Aside from his cap, the man wore a beige coat and pants, a scarlet tie and black loafers. He looked crisp in his attire and Minseok thought he looked like a middle school teacher if it wasn’t for the familiar scarlet insignia on his left collar, signifying his affiliation with the government.

The mysterious man stood at the lectern and surveyed the students…then his piercing gaze met Minseok’s and stopped. He was the only one awake (assuming he wasn’t dreaming). They stared at each other for at least a full minute when someone yawned from the students. Everyone else was starting to regain consciousness. Their voices, at first sounding confused, gradually turned frantic, waking up the others from their deep slumber.

Minseok looked at the rest of his clueless classmates and caught Youngji’s confused eyes. He pointed to his neck and immediately she reached for her neck to find the same metal collar. Then someone (maybe it was Liu Amber because of the deep female voice) said rather loudly while pointing at the metal collar, “What the hell is this?” Almost simultaneously, everyone grew conscious of the metal collar.

As soon as everyone seemed awake, the man (who the students failed to notice before now) spoke in a clear deep voice, “Is everyone awake? I hope you all managed to sleep well.”

The man behind the lectern continued, “All right then, shall we proceed with the introductions?” He walked over to the chalkboard and wrote his name in large print.

“I am Mr. Yang Hyunsuk, your new instructor.”

Kim Junmyeon, the male class representative, promptly stood up. “S-sir, I don’t understand.” Poor Junmyeon, he must have deluded himself into thinking they were involved in a traffic incident or something and have to stay here for the meantime. “We were on our way to Jeju for our study trip, weren’t we?” He then turned towards the others who nodded in agreement. Then someone cried:

“Where are we?” This set off a wave of cries.

“Who is he?”

“What happened?”

“Do you remember how we got these collars?”

“I don’t remember getting off the bus.”

“I want to go home!”

“I’m scared!”

Minseok looked around and several of his classmates looked in panic except for a few. Kim Jiyong sat quietly in his seat, ignoring his gang members who were completely frantic. His posture exuded calmness as if all these didn’t bother him. Kim Hyuna, on the other hand, was slouching with her head supported by her hand. She looked completely bored with the events and even had the audacity to yawn loudly. She didn’t seem confused and afraid, unlike his accomplices Liu Amber and Im Jinah who were busy talking to each other. Of course, no one in the class has the guts to talk to her, even in this situation. She may have the looks of a pop idol but there was always something off about her. Just looking at the both of them gave Minseok the chills.

Then he once again found Youngji staring at him with those dark brown eyes. Minseok smiled at her and mouthed “It’s going to be alright.” This seemed to have a calming effect on her. Her eyes seemed to relax a little.

"All right, all right, please be quiet." The man called Hyunsuk clapped his hand once. It was clear and loud. The clamor suddenly subsided. "Let me explain the situation. The reason why you're all here today...”

Everyone held their breath. Hyunsuk seemed to enjoy the excitement because a faint grin flashed across his face (Minseok thought, Shame, no one bothered for a drum roll).

Then he said: "…is to kill each other."

Now no one responded. Everyone remained frozen, like figures in a still photograph. Even Jiyong and Hyuna’s eyes slightly widened.

Hyunsuk continued smiling and resumed, "Your class has been selected for this year's 'Program."

Minseok first heard about the Program during his first year in the orphanage (All his relatives had refused to take him in. He heard it was because his parents had been involved in anti-government activities, but he had never confirmed this story.) Minseok thought it was when he was five. He was watching television in the playroom. His favorite cartoon had just ended and the current superintendent of the institution switched the channel. Minseok was just gazing at the screen, but as soon as he saw the man in a stiff suit addressing him, he realized it was only that boring show called "The News," the program they showed on every channel at various times.

The man was reading from his script. Minseok couldn't remember exactly what he said, but it was always the same and probably went something like this:

"We have received a report from the Special Defense Forces and the government that the Program in Gurye County, South Jeolla Province ended yesterday at 5:04 a.m. It has been five years since the last Program was conducted here. The subject’s class was Third Year Class A from Kimhwa Middle School. The undisclosed location was an island 4 kilometers east of Busan. The winner emerged after 4 days, 1 hour, and 12 minutes. Furthermore, with the retrieval of the corpses and autopsies conducted today, the causes of deaths of all 39 students killed have been determined: 19 from gunshot wounds, 10 from knife or blade wounds, 7 from blunt weapons, 1 choked to death and 2 blown to pieces by explosives."

An image of what appeared to be the winner was shown, a girl with wild short hair. Her eyes were even wilder. There was a dark red substance (obviously blood) oozing from her closed left eye which looked damaged. Her cheeks were also slightly torn as if someone tried to force open and succeeded to tear her cheeks halfway making her look like one of those puppets featured on one of his favorite kids show. Yet, despite of her injury, her twitching face still managed to form, strangely enough, a smile.  He remembered how his stomach churned and how he wet the floor after seeing the girl’s gruesome puppet face smile.

He realized now that this was the first time he had seen an insane person. But at the time he had no idea what was wrong with her. He only felt inexplicably afraid, as if he'd seen a ghost.

As Minseok grew older, this same local report, given at the rate of once every other year at any time without any warning, felt more and more ominous. From a pool of all third-year middle school students, fifty classes were issued an annual guaranteed death sentence. That was two thousand students if each class consisted of forty students, no, more accurately, that was 1,950 students killed. Worse yet, it wasn't simply a mass execution. The students had to kill each other, competing for the throne of survivor. It was the most terrifying version of musical chairs imaginable.

But…it was impossible to oppose the Program. It was impossible to protest anything the Republic of the Unified Korean Peninsula did.

So Minseok decided to give in. That was how all the middle school students dealt with it. How many middle school students were there in the republic? The birth rate might be declining, but the chances were still less than one in eight hundred. In Hongcheon that meant only one class every other year would be lucky enough to be "chosen." Put bluntly, someone was just as likely to die in a traffic accident. Given how Minseok never had the luck of the draw, he figured he wouldn't be chosen. Even in the local raffle he'd never win more than a box of tissues. So he'd never be chosen. So off, man.

However, one time when he heard someone in class, particularly a girl in tears, saying something like, "My cousin was in the Program and…" that dark fear choked him up again. He was angry too, for the poor little girl crying because of the government.

But within a matter of days the same girl who'd been so gloomy would begin smiling. And Minseok's fear and anger would gradually wane and disappear too. The vague distrust and powerlessness he felt towards the government nonetheless remained.

That’s how things went.

And when Minseok along with his friends entered Third Year, they assumed they would never be chosen. One-in-a-million chance was too far off (But if he was honest with himself, he had no choice but to assume this anyway) and he was pretty sure they were safe.

Well, until now.

Minseok looked at Lee Suhyun, whose brother is in the Special Armed Forces. Why is she selected? Doesn’t being a family member who’s serving the government exempt you from being in the chosen class?

Then Hyunsuk, as if he can read Minseok’s mind, suddenly spoke.

"A few of you who are related to someone in the government must be wondering why you were chosen for the Program. Well, you must know what equality means. Listen up. All people are born equal. Your family’s job or position in the government doesn't entitle you to special privileges. You are no different. Listen up, everybody. You all have your own distinct personal backgrounds. Of course, some of you come from rich families, some from poor families, but circumstances beyond your control like that shouldn't determine who you are. You must all realize what you're worth on your own. So let's not delude ourselves that you're somehow special—because you're not!"

Hyunsuk’s sudden loud voice shook everyone to the core. Then he continued, but this time calmly.

"Your class will be mentioned in today's morning news. Of course, because the Program must be conducted in secret, the details will remain undisclosed until the game ends. And by the way, your parents have already been notified."

Everyone still seemed lost in a daze. Classmates slaughtering each other? Impossible.

"You still don't believe this is happening, do you?"

Hyunsuk face palmed in a mixture of frustration and disappointment, "I need you guys to come in!"

Three men entered the room and they were all wearing combat fatigues, combat boots, and strapped with assault rifles across their chests. The three of them were carrying a thick nylon bag (was it called a body bag?) which was placed on the lectern with a squishy sound (Hyunsuk moved over the left side of the room by the window to give way to the three men). Various parts of the body bag were sticking out as if stuffed with mannequins. Both sides of the bag protruded over the lectern, particularly the side facing the window, and dangled down, perhaps because the contents were soft.

Hyunsuk announced, "Let me introduce these men who will be assisting you for the Program, Mr. Minho, Mr. Joon, and Mr. Kangjoon. Now why don't you show them what's inside?"

The tall and rather good-looking one (probable the one called Minho) walked over to the body bag and slipped open the zipper.

AAIIEEEEE!

Some girl in the front row already shrieked before the body bag was even fully open. The others in the back row became confused. “Whaaaat?”

Minseok could now see what’s inside.

Protruding out of one end of the bag is the upper body of Mr. Kim Youngmin, Class D’s class adviser. Well, now he was their former adviser.

His bloody head was severely deformed. His body was laid in such a way that his face is staring right up the ceiling. His right eye is missing and most of his front teeth were missing from his half opened mouth. Minseok realized that the back of Youngmin’s head was missing and gray jelly that must have been his brain clung to his hair. A few chunks of Youngmin’s brain splattered on the floor by the lectern.

"All right, all right, all right, quiet now. Be quiet. Silence!"

Hyunsuk clapped his hands, but the girls' shrieking, most especially Jeon Boram’s (Female Student No. 15), wouldn't subside.

Suddenly, the boyish looking soldier named Kangjoon pulled out his pistol.

Minseok expected a warning shot into the ceiling, but the soldier instead grabbed the bag containing Youngmin with one of his hands, and dragged the bag down from the lectern. He held Youngmin’s head up to his face like an intergalactic hero fighting an alien space worm.

The soldier pumped two bullets into Mr. Youngmin's head. The rest of Youngmin's head flew apart. The high powered bullets tore apart his brains and bones which formed a bloody mist and splattered all over the faces and chests of the students in the front row.

The echoes from the gunfire subsided. There was hardly any trace of Youngmin's head.

The soldier tossed Youngmin's body to the side of the lectern. No one was screaming now.

Back-to-back debut chapters done~

The next update will hopefully be finished by Christmas day.

btw sorry if the girl winner and the youngmin stuff is too graphic. i just hadto do that hahaha

The game and it's mechanics will be explained next chapter. And also next chapter, the Program wll officially start so anticipate it~