The sky was painted in splashes of velvety golden red hues, expanding vastly from one side of the horizon all the way across. The deserted road stretched out into the unknown with bare trees in their late decomposing state accompanying the lonely stillness. Autumn was a time interpreted as the season of abandonment; the leaves withered, tragically detaching itself from its branch, left to suffer on the lonely cold ground. No one to remember its name. No one to remember its purpose. No one to remember what it possibly could have blossomed into.   Along these gloomy twilight embracing the firmament, a small bus strode its way towards a destination that would soon change the life of the chosen players. A chance to participate in an upcoming reality variety show was surprising. The top twelve students of their campus getting selected was uncanny. But a chance to win a billion dollar prize money, now that was spectacular.   The atmosphere in the bus itself was rather quiet with barely anyone chatting. They all recognized each other. In fact, their status as anything but mere strangers was what made the entire bus ride somewhat suffocating. Forget about the jolly school trips portrayed in movies, reality was much harsher.   “Yes! I won!” A guy with dark chestnut colored hair spoke. His hairline parted on the side, bangs falling lusciously above his right eye. His body started doing some celebratory dance from side to side.   “Unfair Jung Ho Seok, you cheated!” Lee Mi Joo proclaimed and took the phone from his hand to have a try at the game they were playing. Her long fingers gracefully tapped on some keys, and even a movement as simple as that showcased her elegance as a theatre arts major focusing in contemporary dance.   “Hey, no need to use my full name. Sometimes, desperate situations call for desperate measures,” Ho Seok grinned at her.   The two of them were the only noisy ones among the twelve, constantly chatting to keep away the boredom.   “Yes, mom, I am fine. It will be alright.” On the other side, Park Myung Eun was busy reassuring her parents of her safety. She shut off her phone afterwards and tucked her dark locks behind her ear. She was a grown up, but her parents continued to treat her as a child due to her naivety. Choosing to major in music was perhaps the only time she was allowed to decide something for herself.   “They’re just worried. We’ll be here for more than two weeks I’ve heard,” the girl besides her spoke. Lee Soo Jung was her name, and she was notorious for siding with the parents or teachers whenever an important issue was brought up. Her hands gathered the long streaks of her dark hair and tied it into a high and neat ponytail.   “Two weeks?” The delightful girl from behind halted the munching of her chips, her fingers clean, and proceeded with her shock. Yoo Ji Ae placed her abundant stash of snacks aside, swung her hair back, and leaned forward to the two. “I only brought one pair of jeans and three different tops.”   “Worst comes to worse, you can walk around the place with no pants. We won’t mind,” Kim Nam Joon spoke with a grin creeping on his lips. With his blond hair and half shaved head, the math genius resembled a complete ert. The girls all threw him a dirty look.   “I second that,” Kim Tae Hyung raised his hand in the air and began to laugh. His dark bangs moving along to his spastic movements.   “Tae Hyung!” Soo Jung was already using that strict tone and narrowed her eyes. Being more than mere acquaintances suddenly had no perks. “This is going to be broadcasted, so they won’t even allow that.”   “Okay, I take it back then.” Tae Hyung was quick to change his mind. Indecisive.   As other girls whined out a protest, Seo Ji Soo was the only one to remain calm in her seat, shaking her head out of shame. “At least have some decency,” she muttered with a frown.   “If you had some decency, you would’ve taken a different ride,” a guy by the name of Min Yoon Gi spoke, never turning his head to the other’s direction.   The small statement aggravated the girl as she turned to Yoon Gi with a menacing glare. Seeing that auburn dyed hair on his stupid head irked her even more. “Do you want me to kick you out of this bus? I can and I will!” Ji Soo spoke violently and almost got up if Ji Ae didn’t hold her back.   “Come at me,” Yoon Gi continued provoking, grinning at how simple it was to mess with her. She was an easy opponent for letting her emotions get in the way.   “Don’t fight. The game hasn’t even started yet,” the youngest one, Jung Ye In spoke. She gave them all a worried look; worried because she was probably going to be the most mature one among them. But then again, as a psychology major, she had to be calm and look at things from different perspectives.   “Exactly. Why go into a different ride when you can be here with me, right?” The overconfidence was clear in Kim Seok Jin’s voice. He ran his fingers through his glazing black hair and flicked it into a weird pose before resuming to take photos of himself. Celebrity syndrome must’ve gotten to his head ever since one of his food blog videos went viral and made him into an internet sensation. He might continue as a food blogger instead of studying culinary arts.   “Shut up!” Some girls collectively yelled at him, Ji Soo’s voice overpowering them all.   Jeon Jung Kook was the only one who hadn’t said a word and planned on keeping it that way. He had glanced over and flashed occasional smiles, but that was it. He wasn’t planning on getting himself emotionally attached to any of them. His main motive was to play the game. Getting attached would be dangerous and nostalgic, perhaps.   So he went back to the game he was playing on his phone, the sharp edges of his soft jet black bangs pointing downwards as he faced down.   “What are you doing?”   His plan to remain anonymous throughout the game was instantly ruined. He looked up to the seat in front of him, meeting Ye In’s eyes portraying such warmth and curiosity, the same way he remembered them to. It was one of the reasons she drew him in years ago, and he was afraid she’d do it again now.   “Playing a game,” Jung Kook answered shortly and averted his attention back to his phone screen.   Ye In chuckled, a sound that was so distantly familiar. “You did always love to play games,” she recalled with a smile. Then she turned away to properly sit on her seat and took in the surrounding scenery outside.   As the bus closed in to the setting of their stay, the leaves continued to disintegrate from the trees. It swayed lifelessly unto the barren dry land where it perched into decay with no one noticing its absence and no one to remember it by.   No one.     After nearly a half hour, the bus stopped in front of a huge mansion. The building looked like it came out of the late English Gothic period; a mansion so tall they could see an olden style chimney flourish from behind the dark brown colored roof. The wall consisted of imperial bricks—dark grey in color—laid out messily in a flemish bond pattern. Multiple windows extended from the bottom formed a ribbed gothic arc on its upper corner. A bright yellow color blurred out what was inside, and they couldn’t make out whether it was the light that shone through, or a curtain that kept everything hidden inside.   “This building looks like it’s gonna fall apart any time,” Tae Hyung commented. He, along with others, had unloaded their luggages and bags from the bus and were left astonished at the historical architecture.   “The Opus Francigenum is much firmer than you expect it to be,” Jung Kook commented. He was an architect student and could recognize the steadiness of any building if he wanted to. Constructions from the Gothic era were known for its durability.   “Op… Optimus Prime?” Tae Hyung repeated with a frown.   “Opus Francigenum,” Jung Kook repeated, though he knew the others wouldn’t get it. “French Work. It describes the Gothic architectural styles.”   “I have no idea what you’re talking about, but I’m first!” Ho Seok then interrupted their awe filled observations. He grabbed his luggage and quickly sprinted to the front door. Being one of the fastest runners, no one could surpass him.   “Maybe the first person arriving gets a bonus point!” Mi Joo was usually the only one who went along with her friend’s crazy antics, so she quickly ran after him.   “I want it! I want it!” Tae Hyung was yelling along. With his laptop in one hand and a hiking backpack on the back, he quickly surpassed the girl to come running towards Ho Seok.   “Me too!” Myung Eun ran after them, nearly tripping on the air before regaining her balance.   “Be careful, please.” Soo Jung called out of her own desire for everyone to be cautious. She worriedly watched the others run along recklessly.