pairing: BaekChenLay
length: 6362 words
Part Two: Truth or Lies
A/N: This is based off of Danganronpa, which is a Japanese video game franchise that I highly recommend you all check out if you don't know anything about it. It's a great series and if you don't have the time or money to play the games, then you should definitely watch Let's Plays on Youtube. The best person to watch from would beHikkie, whose videos have no commentary and use the Japanese voices with English subtitles. There are also three anime series that complement the games, so you can check those out as well. There will be slight spoilers and some series-specific jargon, but it should be easy to understand as you continue reading.

This was originally supposed to be more serious, but it ended up being heavily infused with crack. I don't know how it happened, but it did and I went with it, haha. I hope you enjoy it and this is also dedicated to the four ladies of 2NE1, whose legacy will be remembered forever.

--

It’s been twenty years since the Final Killing Game that occurred in Japan. Naegi Makoto has reformed the Future Foundation and rebuilt Hope’s Peak Academy. Now that the world has recovered from the Biggest, Most Awful, Most Tragic Event in Human History, in honor of his former colleague Munakata Kyosuke, Makoto has decided to expand Hope’s Peak Academy overseas. With funding from the Togami Corporation, courtesy of his longtime friend and co-worker Togami Byakuya, Makoto has built the South Korean counterpart of Hope’s Peak Academy: Hope’s Summit Institute.

Hope’s Summit Institute is a state-of-the-art high school that hopes to provide a safe place for the Super High School Level students of South Korea to hone their skills and make everlasting friendships. Those who have been scouted and invited to Hope’s Summit Institute will be set for life upon graduation, much like their Hope’s Peak Academy peers. With their Ultimate talents, the Super High School Level students will be able to contribute to society and help better the world. With Hope’s Summit Institute backing them, the Super High School Level students will be able to accomplish anything beyond their wildest dreams.

Welcome to the story of the twelfth class of Hope’s Summit Institute.

--

Baekhyun sighed as he looked up at the giant castle-like building standing before him in all of its glory. The squeaky clean windowpanes glittered with the sunrays' reflection and the white walls glistened as the morning dew slowly evaporated into the fresh air. Several rectangular white flags fluttered atop the pointed towers that decorated the roof of the building he would now call home for the next three years. He absentmindedly tucked a loose lock of black hair under the sharpened pencil that was perched behind his ear as he continued staring at Hope’s Summit Institute. His grip then tightened on the long strap of his large, beige-colored messenger bag that was slung across his chest.

With another sigh, Baekhyun thought mildly to himself that it was currently the time of day when he would usually be locked up in his bedroom at home, penning down various scenarios and plots for his next piece. The thought of upending his perfectly scheduled life had initially put him off of accepting the invitation to Hope’s Summit Institute, deeming it unnecessary as he already had the means to achieve success without the private school’s intervention. He was content with what he had; he didn’t need to go gallivanting across the country to this admittedly picturesque glade that housed the most reputable academy for the blossoming talents of this generation.

But his older brother had insisted that he go. As a graduate from Hope’s Summit Institute himself, Baekhyun’s brother claimed that attending the school had been the best decision he had ever made.

“Besides, you can’t really write believable dialogue and actions without actually interacting and observing people, Baek.”

His brother had a good point, although Baekhyun was slightly miffed that the extent of his creativity and imagination was being questioned. He thought he was quite good at bringing characters to life, if the dozens of grand prize awards he had received at film festivals were any indication of his prowess.

The tall glass doors of the school beckoned him to come forward and step through them as they shone brightly like the rest of the building. Baekhyun drew in a large breath before stepping forward and just as he was about to grab hold of the shiny silver door handle, a slender body collided into him, causing both people to collapse into a heap on the floor. “Oi!” Baekhyun’s elbows ached as he lay sprawled on his back, thanking his lucky stars that his messenger bag had broken his fall. He blinked blearily, finding a starch white collar covering his field of vision. Several clicks were heard in the distance, but a high-pitched male voice soon stole his attention.

“Whoa, dude, your pencil almost stabbed me in the eye!”

Baekhyun did a double-take when he heard the glee in the boy’s voice. What kind of weirdo sounded happy with the prospect of his eye nearly being taken out? “Geroff me,” Baekhyun mumbled as loudly as he could, his mouth covered by the navy blue blazer worn by the other boy.

“Oh, oops, sorry!” The boy pushed himself up from the ground and off of Baekhyun’s thin body, taking care to avoid the sharpened pencil still stuck behind Baekhyun’s ear. “Need a hand?” the boy offered with a wide grin once he was standing properly and had dusted himself off.

Baekhyun wordlessly allowed the cheerful boy to pull him up, noting how the ends of his lips curled up in a fascinating way.

“Sorry again about earlier. I’m pretty clumsy on land and I forgot that there aren’t any brakes on my legs to stop myself from moving, which ended up causing me to continue propelling forward and since you were in my path, I ran into you but because of that, the force of my body was stopped by yours and thus, we ended up on top of each other,” the boy rambled without a pause for breath. And the entire time he spoke, his grin freakishly grew wider and wider.

Baekhyun silently gaped at him. And when he finally found his voice several seconds later, he let out a strangled, “Excuse me?”

“Oh, I haven’t introduced myself, have I?” The boy stuck out his hand again, although this time for a handshake, before saying, “I’m Kim Jongdae, the Ultimate Pilot.”

Well, that explained why he seemed to be such a klutz on land. Just as Baekhyun clasped his hand around Jongdae’s and was about to introduce himself, he heard more of the same clicks that had sounded earlier and he immediately whipped his head in the direction of the noise.

“Gotcha!” A slightly taller boy with a large camera in his hands smirked as he continued snapping photos of the two. “This will make some great headlines when I get the articles written. Two male Super High School Level students caught ing in broad daylight at entrance of Hope’s Summit Institute! Forbidden romance begins on first day of school at Hope’s Summit Institute! Ultimate S—”

“WE WERE DOING NO SUCH THING! WE JUST MET!” Baekhyun bellowed as he sprinted towards the guy who was spouting nonsense, bent on stealing that camera to delete whatever misleading photos were stored on the device. “Gimme that, you creep!”

“Nuh-uh, I wouldn’t be Zhang Yixing, the Ultimate Reporter, if I let you ruin my first big scoop of the school year!” the other male called back, cackling as he hugged his camera to his chest while running away as fast as he could from Baekhyun. His escape would have been flawless if it hadn’t been for Jongdae ramming into him unintentionally.

“I wanted to join in on the fun!” was the Ultimate Pilot’s innocent response when Yixing glared at him from underneath the small, high-strung boy.

Baekhyun tugged Yixing’s camera out of his hands and began scrolling through the gallery, deleting every picture that had him in a comprising position with Jongdae. He grimaced when he noticed how the Ultimate Reporter had purposefully angled most of the shots to give off an image that the two boys had been possibly engaging in lewd activities. Once he was finished, he threw the camera back to Yixing, who let out an anxious yelp as he scrambled to catch the expensive equipment before it hit the cement ground.

“You’re a bully,” the Ultimate Reporter said with a pout as he carefully wiped any dust off of the camera lens before securely capping it and placing it in the black bag hanging off of his shoulder. “But I like you,” he announced with a smile on his face, showcasing a deep dimple in his right cheek. “Let’s be friends.”

Baekhyun couldn’t wrap his mind around how weird these two other Super High School Level students were. Albeit, the only other Super High School Level student he had known aside from himself was his older brother, but his brother was normal. Well, normal in comparison to Jongdae and Yixing. Ignoring the Ultimate Reporter’s offer of friendship, Baekhyun turned tail and walked straight for the entrance to Hope’s Summit Institute, wanting to get as far as he could from those two and hopefully find some normal friends to hang out with at this school.

--

“AHHHH!” Baekhyun felt his soul leave his body after being pounced on by an enormous lion. He had only taken three steps into the building before the animal appeared out of nowhere to pin him to the cold linoleum floor. Several low growls rumbled from the lion’s furry chest, sending vibrations through Baekhyun’s body as his blood ran cold from the shock of being assaulted by this giant golden carnivore.

Yixing, who had entered the building with Jongdae, snickered when he spotted Baekhyun underneath the lion and quickly dug out his camera, removing the cap so he could take pictures of the frightened boy. “Ooh, this will be great on the front page! Super High School Level student engages in public display of in Hope’s Summit Institute!”

“DON’T YOU DARE, ZHANG YIXING!” Baekhyun screeched, temporarily forgetting how scared he was before feeling the hot breath of the lion on his neck and squirming uncomfortably to avoid the animal’s toothy mouth.

“You can’t stop me this time,” Yixing said triumphantly, snapping as many pictures as he could to make up for the lost material from earlier. Jongdae giggled as he stepped towards Baekhyun and the lion, stretching out an arm so he could try to pet the animal’s mane.

“Don’t provoke it, you bumbling idiot!” Baekhyun yelled in fear when the lion snapped his jaws towards the Ultimate Pilot’s small hands. God, he was going to castrate his older brother the first chance he returned home. At this rate, he was going to end up dead in this insane school.

Jongdae just continued laughing as it became a game for him to see how close he could get to the lion and how fast he could pull his hands away before they became snacks. “How’d you find a lion? This is so cool!”

“I didn’t find it! It attacked me out of nowhere when I wasn’t looking!”

“Jjang Gu, there you are!” A tall, slightly tanned boy ran towards the three and began blowing a whistle that hung around his neck. The lion’s ears perked at the whistle’s call and it moved its massive head away from Jongdae’s enticing hands to face the newcomer. With an exuberant growl, it jumped up and bounded towards the boy like a dog, much to Baekhyun’s relief. He was extremely glad to come out of that situation alive and in one piece. “What did I say about running off in unfamiliar places?” the tanned boy admonished as he gently the lion’s back, causing the large feline to purr loudly like an engine. “I know you’re excited about starting a new school, but that doesn’t mean you can go off and do whatever you want, you silly rascal. C’mon, Jjang Ah and Mong Gu are waiting for us in the cafeteria. They’re snacking on treats that a nice boy I met made for them. You want some too, don’t you?”

“Are you an animal whisperer?” Jongdae called out excitedly as he and Baekhyun watched the exchange occurring in front of them. Yixing was too busy poring over the pictures he had taken of Baekhyun, an amused expression painting his chiseled face.

The boy finally noticed the other three boys in the main hall of Hope’s Summit Institute and immediately covered the lion in a protective stance. “Don’t hurt Jjang Gu!”

Hurt Jjang Gu? Hurt the lion? This kid was joking, wasn’t he? Baekhyun couldn’t believe he had the gall to accuse them of hurting the ferocious lion. “That wild thing almost killed me when I entered the school!”

“Jjang Gu isn’t wild! And he would never hurt a fly!” the boy protested as he pressed his hands against the lion’s large triangular ears. “Don’t listen to him, Jjang Gu. You’re the nicest lion that’s ever lived.”

Baekhyun snorted loudly as he picked up his pencil that had fallen from its place behind his ear when the lion had jumped on him earlier.

“And I’m not an animal whisperer. I’m Kim Jongin, the Ultimate Lion Tamer,” the boy clarified with a bow as he answered Jongdae’s earlier question. “Are you guys also part of the new class of Super High School Level students?”

Jongdae nodded vigorously as he bounced around energetically. “Yup!” And then he paused as he turned to Yixing and Baekhyun. “Wait. Are you two also in the twelfth class?”

“Yeah,” Baekhyun glumly responded.

“Of course! And I shall be documenting every moment of our school journey together,” Yixing proclaimed as he stashed away his camera, having finished going through the goldmine of photos he now had of Baekhyun.

“Most of us are in the cafeteria if you want to join us for breakfast,” Jongin suggested as he clipped a long rope to the black leather collar that was hidden underneath the lion’s bushy mane.

Jongdae and Yixing enthusiastically agreed, claiming they were starving, and Baekhyun suddenly found himself being pulled along by those two even though he didn’t remember consenting to join their party. With a groan, he surrendered as his feet dragged across the linoleum tiles, feeling overwhelmed and exhausted already even though the day had just begun.

--

“Welcome to Hope’s Summit Institute’s cafeteria. I am Park Chanyeol, the Ultimate Butler, and I shall be serving you today. Would you like to start off your breakfast with some coffee or juice?” an extremely tall boy asked with a perfect ninety-degree bow to the four once they entered the spacious room. Baekhyun noticed how well-dressed he was in his tailored suit and crisp white gloves, and breathed a sigh of relief that someone in this place was polite and well-mannered.

“What kind of juice do you guys serve?” Jongdae asked, still grinning as brightly as he had when Baekhyun first met him just half an hour ago.

“Hope’s Summit Institute has a wide variety to choose from, including but not limited to: apple juice, orange juice, guava juice, lemonade, pink lemonade, pineapple juice, watermelon juice, and several others,” Chanyeol listed in his low, husky voice.

“Ooh, I want fresh orange juice with no pulp, please!”

“Strong black coffee for me,” Yixing ordered briskly.

Jongin gestured to his lion, saying, “Jjang Gu needs a bowl of water. Tap water will do.”

When Baekhyun didn’t say anything, Chanyeol slightly tilted his head to the side and asked, “And for you, sir?”

“I guess I’ll have a glass of lemonade.”

Chanyeol noted everything on a small pad of paper before tucking it into his front jacket pocket and sweeping his arms towards the large round tables that were scattered around the room. “Feel free to take your pick. I shall be right with you in—”

“OH MY GOSH, YOU ARE THE HOTTEST GUY I HAVE EVER SEEN IN MY LIFE!”

All five of them turned to see a young, beautiful girl running full speed towards them and launching herself onto Chanyeol. The Ultimate Butler staggered under the sudden weight and tried to gently pry her off of him, but the girl had wrapped her skinny legs and arms tightly around his body. “Um, miss, if you could please—”

“Ooh, your arms are nice,” she commented as she began poking his biceps, feeling the contours of his muscles rippling beneath the sleeves of the suit. “And you’re so tall, like WOW, I haven’t seen a guy this tall in so long!”

“Well—”

“And your skin is so perfectly clear!” she marveled as she lightly traced a finger over his defined cheekbones. “You have got to tell me what products you use. In fact, we can have a spa session together in your room tonight!”

“Er—”

“And oh my goodness, your hair is just phenomenal. Did you know that this dark wine red is my favorite hair color on guys? And you’ve swept it up off your forehead without doing the middle part! Your sense of style is great! You are my new favorite person EVER!”                              

“Miss! Please, I—”

“CALL ME SANDARA! MY NAME IS SANDARA PARK! I’M THE ULTIMATE FANGIRL!”

“Well, Miss Sandara, I need to serve these gentlemen their breakfast. I will be more than happy to entertain you once I finish helping them first, so if you could—”

“OH MY GOSH, CAN YOU SERVE ME TOO? THAT WOULD BE MY DREAM COME TRUE!”

Baekhyun felt a headache coming on with this crazy girl’s voice reaching ear-splitting decibels. “Let’s get out of here,” he told the other three boys, wanting to find a place to lay his head down as soon as possible.

But Yixing was busy documenting this new development as he muttered to himself, “Two Super High School Level students publicly profess their love to each other in school cafeteria!” Meanwhile, Jongdae had also climbed onto Chanyeol and was now perched on the Ultimate Butler’s broad shoulders. The Ultimate Pilot’s arms were spread out as if they were wings and Jongdae was making airplane noises as he pretended to be zooming through the sky.

Luckily, Jongin wanted to get away as well so Baekhyun gingerly followed the Ultimate Lion Tamer and Jjang Gu, making sure to stay at least five paces behind the lion in case the animal decided Baekhyun was tasty enough for a morning snack. But to his distress, Jongin was walking in the direction of another large lion, a sleek lioness, and a short boy who was feeding them scraps of dough. “Thanks for watching them for me, Kyungsoo!”

The short boy dusted his hands as he stood up, smiling cheerily. “No problem, Jongin. They’re such lovely creatures. Hello there! You must be Jjang Gu!” The lion bounded forward to the flour residue off of Kyungsoo’s hands and the boy laughed brightly as he felt the animal’s soft velvety tongue wrap around each individual finger. “I’m Do Kyungsoo, the Ultimate Baker, by the way. Have you had breakfast yet?” he asked Baekhyun after noticing the boy standing awkwardly to the side, not wanting to get near the group of lions.

“No, not yet.”

“I’ll whip up something—okay, time to let go now, Jjang Gu—for you in just a moment,” Kyungsoo said as he carefully maneuvered his hands out of the eager lion’s mouth.

“Uh, sure. Thanks.”

Once he dried his hands on his apron that was stained with various types of food, the Ultimate Baker waved to the boys before disappearing into the kitchen to prepare something for Baekhyun. Jongin began cooing to his three lions and Baekhyun, seeing that this was his chance to escape, quickly edged away from the Ultimate Lion Tamer and found an empty table to sit at. He let out a sigh of relief, slightly overwhelmed that so much had happened in such a short span of time. But his alone time was soon cut short by a girl walking over and plopping down in the seat next to him. He would have ignored her if it hadn’t been for the sudden hands on his face that forced his head in her direction.

“You have beautiful eyes.”

“…Thank you?”

“But they need something to make them pop just a little bit more,” the girl mused as she continued scrutinizing his face.

What was with these people and their lack of personal space? Baekhyun had never wished to be a normal student without an Ultimate talent more than at that moment as the girl kept her hands firmly pressed against his thin cheeks so that he couldn’t escape.

“Have you ever worn eyeliner before?”

“No…”

“Time to change that!” the girl announced, pulling a huge hot pink tote bag out of nowhere. As she ped the case, she said, “I’m Park Bom, the Ultimate Makeup Artist. And it would be a travesty if I didn't work on this face that has so much potential to be the most beautiful face on the planet.”

As she grabbed a thin eyeliner pen and uncapped it, Baekhyun immediately blanched at the appearance of the pointed black tip. “I r-really don’t n-need a makeover,” he stammered as he watched the eyeliner pen slowly approach his right eye.

“Oh, don’t be silly. This will be fun!” Bom replied happily, keeping her glittery purple manicured fingers firmly pressed against Baekhyun’s temple as she edged the eyeliner pen closer and closer to his face.

With a shriek, Baekhyun fell backwards as one of the chair’s legs gave way underneath him. He painfully rubbed his bottom, silently fuming at how many times he had fallen to the ground this morning.

“My goodness, are you okay?” Bom asked worriedly with the eyeliner pen still outstretched in the direction where Baekhyun’s face had previously been.

He just waved her away, very annoyed with everything Hope’s Summit Institute had thrown at him so far. As Baekhyun staggered up from the broken chair, an arm swooped under his armpits and helped him up into a standing position. “Thanks.”

A tall, stoic boy nodded before gesturing to the broken chair and asking, “Want it fixed?”

“There are other chairs, so I wouldn’t bother—”

“Just let him do it!” Another arm draped itself around Baekhyun’s shoulders and the boy turned to see a pair of large doe eyes staring back at him. “Oh Sehun is the Ultimate Carpenter, so he loves this kind of stuff,” the newest boy explained, speaking faster than Jongdae had when the Ultimate Pilot was rambling earlier. “Ooh, Kyungsoo looks to be carrying a dee-licious cake that I have got to try. Toodles!” And the boy was gone in a flash, hailing down the Ultimate Baker who smiled as he offered a slice of cake to him.

“Lu Han, Ultimate Racecar Driver,” Sehun clarified shortly as he knelt down to properly inspect the broken chair. “Super speedy. Can’t stay in one place for long.”

“Oh.” Baekhyun nodded as if he understood while pulling out another chair from the table to sit in as he watched Sehun repair the broken one. He was thankful that there was finally silence in his space, even though the cafeteria as a whole was still buzzing with noise. The Ultimate Carpenter seemed to be the most normal person he had met so far and Baekhyun was content with silently watching the other boy work his magic.

As Sehun diligently worked on the chair, trying to fit a rod he had taken from his toolbox—Baekhyun gave up trying to figure out how these people managed to have everything conveniently on hand and just attributed it to their status as Super High School Level students—another boy with a pair of round glasses perched on his nose meandered over to say, “That rod is two millimeters too large in diameter and won’t be the ideal chair leg.”

Sehun briefly looked up with his left eyebrow raised before deciding to ignore the newcomer and continue with his carpentry.

“Seriously. By my calculations, the chair will just end up breaking again if you try to force that rod in. That chair was built badly in the first place.”

“How do you even know that?” Baekhyun questioned incredulously. “You haven’t even touched the rod, much less examined it.”

The boy swiveled his head toward Baekhyun and used his pointer finger to push his glasses farther up his nose before answering proudly, “I’m Kim Minseok, the Ultimate Mathematician. I run calculations on everything I see. For example, the pencil perched behind your ear should be tilted upwards an extra half a degree for the optimal position and its tip should be sharpened just fifteen nanometers more so that it’s still sharp, but won’t break when the slightest amount of pressure is placed on it.”

“Don’t need you telling me what to do,” Sehun responded gruffly as he continued soldering the chair together.

Just as Minseok was about to retort, Kyungsoo arrived with the red velvet cake he had made in the kitchen earlier. Several slices were gone, probably thanks to Lu Han and whoever else had spotted the Ultimate Baker when he was carrying the cake out. “Sorry for the wait! But have some cake!” Kyungsoo said as he carefully placed the remainder of the cake onto the table by Baekhyun.

Minseok leaned over to give the cake a once-over before commenting, “The parameters of the layers are off by three micrometers. And the icing ought to be a third of a centimeter thicker.”

“Really? I don’t usually use exact measurements in my baking so—”

“To the kitchen!” Minseok declared as he hooked his arm around Kyungsoo’s and began dragging the Ultimate Baker back to the kitchen.

“Enjoy the cake!” Kyungsoo called out with a dazzling smile and a thumbs-up.

Baekhyun weakly waved at the Ultimate Baker before hesitantly picking up a fork and stabbing it into the crumbly cake. And once he placed that sliver of cake into his mouth, Baekhyun truly understood what it meant to be a Super High School Level student as an explosion of exquisite flavor cascaded over his taste buds. He had never eaten such a delectable food in his life. It was like heaven in his mouth as he savored that precious bite of cake. Kyungsoo had somehow managed to create the perfect amalgamation of sweet and savory taste in this seemingly ordinary red velvet cake. If there were anything good about Hope’s Summit Institute, it was Kyungsoo’s godly cooking and Baekhyun decided right at that moment that the Ultimate Baker was his favorite person at school.

“Want a bite?” Baekhyun asked Sehun now that his mood was exponentially better than it had been all morning.

“Nah.”

“You sure? It’s really good.”

“Yeah.”

Baekhyun shrugged as he continued devouring the cake all on his own. If Sehun didn’t want to experience this life-changing cake, then too bad for him if he changed his mind later on. Baekhyun was so engrossed in eating that he didn’t notice another tall boy approaching the table until a fork speared the piece of cake Baekhyun had just been about to place in his mouth. “Hey! That’s mine!”

“その　ケーキは　とても　おいしいです. (This cake is very delicious.) 谁做了这个? (Who made this?)”

It was like an alien was speaking to him. Baekhyun had no idea what this person was saying whatsoever. He looked at Sehun to see if the Ultimate Carpenter had any idea what language was being spoken, but the stoic boy was wholly concentrated on fixing the broken chair. So Baekhyun used the rudimentary amount of English he had picked up from watching hundreds of Hollywood films in an attempt to communicate with this cake-stealing jerk. “What…are…you…saying?” he asked in his slow, drawn-out English.

“Oh, you speak English as well? Lovely! I was beginning to think that no one in this school knew the most universal language on the planet,” the other boy responded ecstatically in fluent English while clapping his hands together.

“Korean… Do…you…speak…Korean?” Baekhyun tried again, desperately wishing for the floor to swallow him up when he heard the cringe-worthy, accented English coming out of his mouth.

“Yes, of course I do,” the boy answered in fluent Korean. “I’m Kris Wu, the Ultimate Polyglot, so of course I can speak the local language. I’d be an absolute phony and disgrace if I weren't able to converse in Korean.”

“Well, not everyone can speak multiple languages fluently,” Baekhyun pointed out in a miffed tone. Why couldn’t there be more nice people like Kyungsoo, Sehun, and Chanyeol in this school? Why was everyone so strange and absolutely crazy?

It suddenly dawned on Kris that Baekhyun hadn’t understood his earlier comments in Japanese and Mandarin Chinese on the red velvet cake, so the Ultimate Polyglot began profusely apologizing while vigorously shaking Baekhyun’s hands. “Je suis désolé! (I am sorry!) I always forget that not everyone is multi-lingual and sometimes, sentences and phrases in other languages just escape from me involuntarily.”

“Super High School Level student strikes up multiple romances in one day!”

Baekhyun groaned when Yixing and Jongdae suddenly appeared with a tray filled to the brim with an assortment of breakfast food. “We got you food!” Jongdae yelled excitedly as he rushed towards Baekhyun. However, the Ultimate Pilot clumsily managed to trip over thin air and the food-laden tray was shooting in Baekhyun’s direction, scrambled eggs and hash browns flying into the air.

Luckily, Chanyeol magically emerged as well, and leapt into action as he deftly caught the tray and the soaring food without dropping a single crumb. “Your breakfast, sir,” the Ultimate Butler announced with a bow after he gently placed the tray in front of a gaping Baekhyun.

“Whoa, you have got to teach me how to do that!” Jongdae’s gummy smile stretched even larger as he looked up from his splayed position on the floor.

“BACK OFF. CHANYEOL IS MINE!” Sandara, who had been following the Ultimate Butler like a puppy the entire time, immediately latched onto his arm while shooting a glare at Jongdae and sticking her tongue out at him. “And Yeollie, that was SO COOL! You are so perfect, I swear to God. I’m so glad I chose to stan you.”

The first thing Baekhyun was going to do when he escaped this madhouse was send a strongly worded letter to his older brother for convincing him to attend Hope’s Summit Institute. He was never going to take his brother’s advice ever again.

--

Baekhyun decided that he wanted to spend the rest of the morning in his bedroom as it meant he would be able to lock out Jongdae and Yixing if they decided to follow him. And keep anyone else out of his space for just a few hours of much needed alone time. With his pencil tucked securely behind his ear and his messenger bag slung properly across his chest, Baekhyun walked down a wide lemon yellow painted hallway as he kept an eye on the map of the school grounds in his hands. He didn’t want to get lost in this large castle and the sooner he got to his bedroom, the more relieved he would feel.

“Stop right there!”

Oh no.

With a large gulp, Baekhyun cautiously angled his body in the direction of the voice and found himself face-to-face with a tall boy dressed in strangely archaic khaki-colored clothing while holding a large magnifying glass in one hand. A matching bucket hat was perched on the boy’s jet black hair and…was that dust all over his face?

“Don’t step any further! I need to inspect that spot!” The boy unceremoniously shoved Baekhyun away and began peering through the magnifying glass over those linoleum tiles.

“Sorry about that. He’s Huang Zitao, the Ultimate Paleontologist,” another boy explained as he appeared next to Baekhyun with a large black case slung across his back. “He ousted me from my practice room, raving about how there could potentially be a skull remnant of a Pukyagisaurus or something under there.”

“Pukyongosaurus, you dolt!”

“Yeah, that.” The boy shifted his black case so it was easier for him to reach his hand out to Baekhyun. “I’m Kim Junmyeon, the Ultimate Violinist. You’re part of the twelfth class here at Hope’s Summit Institute, right?”

“How’d you know?” Baekhyun retracted slightly with a wary look on his face.

Junmyeon pointed to the scarlet red tie that Baekhyun was wearing on top of his light blue checkered button-up shirt. “First years wear red ties, second years wear yellow ties, and third years wear blue ties. I’m also part of the twelfth class,” the Ultimate Violinist said as he then pointed to his own scarlet red tie. “By the way, where are you even headed? We’re all supposed to gather in the gymnasium for first-day announcements.”

“I was going to my bedroom…”

“Well, you’ll have to go after the announcements.” Junmyeon walked over to the Ultimate Paleontologist and began pulling the protesting student up from the floor. “And help me bring Zitao, so he doesn’t run off to find whatever bone of the Pukyenogusaurus he thinks he’s sniffed out next.”

“It’s Pukyongosaurus, dummy!”

--

When the three boys arrived at the gymnasium, Baekhyun almost slipped face-first into the wooden floor after his feet skidded dangerously through a large puddle of water.

“Whoa, careful, there,” Junmyeon cautioned as he and Zitao quickly pulled Baekhyun back into a more stable position. “Who left these puddles all over the place?” the Ultimate Violinist asked as he critically surveyed the enormous gymnasium. Amidst the piles of heavy gym equipment that were stacked at the sides of the room, there were dozens of sizable puddles dotting the wooden floor.

“That would be Gong Minji's fault. She's the Ultimate Diver,” a short girl answered matter-of-factly in between the loud smacks of her bubblegum. She then jabbed her thumb in the direction of the raven-haired girl standing next to her with a sheepish smile and a green-and-white striped towel draped over her body.

“You don’t have to say it like that, Chaerin,” Minji complained as she attempted to lightly punch the other girl.

“Don’t you dare touch me,” Chaerin hissed venomously as she dodged Minji’s punches. “I, Lee Chaerin, cannot suffer any injuries as the Ultimate Golfer. That would ruin my perfect winning streak. And if my father finds out that you were the cause of any potential injuries, he’ll shut down your training pool in the blink of an eye.”

“Chaerin!” Minji wailed as she stomped her feet, causing droplets of water to fly from her still-wet body and hit the three bewildered boys.

“Um, ladies,” Junmyeon started in an attempt to stop the fight from escalating any further.

But before the Ultimate Violinist could say anything else, the rest of the twelfth class arrived and pushed the trio further into the room. Baekhyun paled when he spotted Jongin’s three lions prowl into the gymnasium as well.

“There you are!” Jongdae squealed happily as he flailed wildly and landed in Baekhyun’s arms. “Yixing and I have been looking for you everywhere!”

“What…”

“I can’t let my star subject escape! What if I miss a juicy scoop?” Yixing beamed and winked before jovially slinging his arm around Baekhyun’s shoulders.

Just as Baekhyun was about to reply with a nasty retort, the gymnasium’s overhead lights darkened and a spotlight suddenly appeared in front of the sixteen Super High School Level students.

“Yeollie, I’m scared!” Sandara’s voice squeaked out as she clung to Chanyeol, who kept a protective arm around the Ultimate Fangirl.

“I shall be here to protect you, Miss Sandara.”

“Aw, how cute,” a new voice drawled as a large black and white teddy bear jumped into the spotlight. “You all are getting cozy already. It’s so sweet that I might get a cavity, even though I don’t have any actual teeth!”

“Wh-who are you?” Baekhyun asked fearfully. He had a vague idea, having read the dozens of texts published on the history of Hope’s Peak Academy in Japan, but he was holding onto the small hope that he was very wrong.

But he wasn’t.

“Welcome to Hope’s Summit Institute. I am your Headmaster, Monogom,” the talking teddy bear introduced with a theatrical bow. “Now, it’s time to get this school year started!”

“Ooh, do you have any fun activities planned for our first day?” Jongdae asked, his eyes sparkling in anticipation.

“You bet I do!” Monogom answered animatedly, aiming finger guns at the Ultimate Pilot. “We’re going to play one of my favorite games!”

“Then stop dragging out the introduction and tell us already,” Lu Han shouted in one breath.

Monogom huffed audibly as he crossed his arms and stared pointedly at the Ultimate Racecar Driver. “Jeez, have some patience, kid. Children these days are always in such a rush,” the teddy bear commented with a shake of his plush head. “Well, I guess I shan’t keep you waiting any longer. I am a courteous Headmaster after all.”

Baekhyun fervently prayed that the talking teddy bear would introduce a lovely, innocent game for the sixteen Super High School Level students to play. Like a fun ice-breaker or a relay race. Baekhyun would readily give up anything to participate in harmless, enjoyable activities like those.

But his prayers were heard by no one.

“We’re going to have a Killing School Game!” Monogom announced with a devilish grin. “It’s been far too long since the last killing game and it’s finally our chance to spread despair in a place that the Ultimate Hope can’t easily reach.” The teddy bear’s eyes narrowed sinisterly as he growled, “This time around, there will be no meddling and you all are going to see this through to the very end.”

Yes, it was official. He hated Hope’s Summit Institute. He knew he should’ve stayed home today.

--

Baekhyun wished all of this were part of a horrible nightmare. Because the scene in front of him was the most horrific sight he had ever seen in his entire life, short as it currently was. Jongdae whimpered in fear as he buried his face in the crook of Baekhyun’s neck, unable to bear staring any longer. Yixing’s camera hung limply in his hands and the frozen boy was too shocked to snap even one picture.

My name is Byun Baekhyun and I am the Ultimate Scriptwriter. I have the unfortunate luck of being present to document the despair that plagued the twelfth class of Hope’s Summit Institute. I only hope that I live long enough to properly stow away this screenplay chronicling these despairing events in a safe place. As that will mean that I have, against all odds, survived this horrendous game known as the Neo Killing School Game.

♈♈♈