THE MIRROR ROOM

It’s painful, picking out pieces of glass from already open wounds, but he does it. Seungkwan doesn’t know what else to do. He’s alone, without clues and mission, separated from the new door and unable to destroy anymore glasses no matter how much he screams.

That’s when the door on the other side of the barrier suddenly swings open with a metallic shriek, and Wonwoo steps out. Staggering and sick-looking, his hyung drops one half of a broken key on the floor, then he sees Seungkwan and his eyes almost start to glow.

“Hyung! Hyung!” Seungkwan calls in happy shock. He runs into the glass barrier, beating at it as if it would help now when it hasn’t so far.

Wonwoo’s still confused and stressed by the message and his mission. He looks around himself, wonders what he’s supposed to do and why Seungkwan can’t get to him. Then he sees the table with the glasses, the names attached to them and the shards of Hansol’s glass. The sign underneath which says ‘scream’ on Seungkwan’s side, instead says ‘break them all’ on Wonwoo’s side.

Without thinking too much, Wonwoo stumbles up to the table, takes a deep breath, and looks at Seungkwan. The younger stares back questioningly. Then Wonwoo swings his arm through the line of glasses, sending them all crashing to the floor.

The glass barrier between them shatters with a deafening crack and Seungkwan throws himself backwards as the pieces rain down. He manages to avoid the worst of it, and when it’s over he stares at Wonwoo and smiles.

Wonwoo, however, is terrified. “What have I done?”

THE INTERROGATION ROOM

Jihun uses his hoodie as protection against the still dangerous window frame to climb into Seokmin’s room. He doesn’t know how the glass broke or why, and he doesn’t care. He almost slips on the shards on the floor when he lands. Then he throws himself on his knees next to Seokmin, who is lying unmoving on the floor by the table.

“Seokmin-ah? Can you hear me? Please, say something! Seokmin-ah!”

His calls are useless. Seokmin is pale as a sheet, greyish and warm. Very warm, like a fever is raging in his body. In one hand, Jihun holds the syringe in a cramping fist. He doesn’t know if the horrors the others have faced, and is therefore not afraid to use the means he’s been given to save his friend.

Without hesitation, he sticks the syringe into Seokmin’s arm and pushes the back end. Then he holds Seokmin in his arms, the younger man’s frame so large against his own smallness.

“You’ll be alright,” he chants. “You’ll be alright.”

They stay like that for a while, Jihun checking Seokmin’s temperature every minute to see if it’s dropping. Eventually, he thinks that it does. He folds his hoodie into a pillow and puts Seokmin down, then examines the room like he had his own. It takes only a second to notice the new message on the screen in the back.

켜. 
(Turn it on.)

Dumbfounded he starts feeling across the frame of the TV and finds a single button. He presses it, and a feedback noise fills the silence as if when turning on a speaker.

THE CONTROL ROOM

It’s been a long time since Jeonghan stopped looking at his screens, which are giving him nothing but worry—Junhui and Hansol are sitting on Hansol’s bed to stay clear of the water on the floor, which very slowly closes in on the live electric wires, and ever since Seokmin woke up he’s been out of frame in his screen. The message that flashes on Wonwoo’s screen isn’t helping either.

원우의 결정을 기다리고 있기. 
(Awaiting Wonwoo’s decision.)

That is why it’s such a welcome sound now that Jeonghan flies up from his chair when the speakers give off feedback. The screen with Jihun’s name on it turns black before showing a message for a short moment.

원우가 결정했어. 여기 상금이 있어. 
(Wonwoo has decided. Here’s your prize.)

Jeonghan wants to cry with happiness when the screen switches to another view of the Interrogation Room, and Jihun’s face appears. “Jihun-ah!”

“Jeonghan-hyung? Is that you?”

“Yes, yes, it’s me! You the Communications System. You can hear Sunyeong-ah too, and Junhui-ya and Hansol-ah.”

“Are you alright, hyung?” Hansol asks.

“I’m fine, I’m with Seokmin-ah,” Jihun explains. “He’s been poisoned, but I gave him an antidote and he’s getting better, I think.”

The now five people update each other on their situations. Sadly, Jihun knows nothing more about the rest of their friends than Jeonghan does. Frustration builds up, quenched only by a relief that Seokmin is safe, when the screen with Jisoo’s name suddenly flashes a new message.

상금있었어. 이제 이것이 결과있어. 
(You had your prize. Now here’s the consequence.)

The message vanishes, and a new live feed replaces it. It’s a dim lit room with large metal cylinders in it, and a shape is lying on the floor unmoving. Jeonghan can’t see his face, but he knows that it must be Jisoo. His heart contracts. Then new messages fade in and out over the live feed.

당신들은 대신에 다른 사람을 세 번이나 선택했어. 지수가 제거됐어. 
(You have chosen other people over him three times. Jisoo has been removed.)

THE CORRIDOR

With a loud knock and a shriek, one of the steel doors swings open slowly and a wave of hot air escapes. Seungcheol stops treating Chan’s leg injury at the noise, and they take an anxious look at each other. When nobody comes out and nothing happens, Seungcheol stands up and walks over.

“Wait, I’m coming too,” Chan says and struggles to his feet. Seungcheol helps him, and together they enter the hot Boiler Room.

They find Jisoo in the middle of the room, unconscious in a heap on the floor. Seungcheol lets go of Chan and runs to him, kneels and tries to shake him awake.

“Jisoo! We’re here,” he says. “It’s alright now, I’m here. It’s Seungcheol. Come on, Jisoo, wake up.”

Jisoo is unresponsive, limp when Seungcheol shakes him. Sweat is already pouring from the intense heat. Chan sits down beside them, takes his younger hyung’s hand in his.

“Come on, wake up,” Seungcheol continues, more frantic now. “Open your eyes. Please, Jisoo...”

“Hyung,” Chan says. Seungcheol looks up, sees tears in his younger’s eyes. “Hyung, he’s not...”

Chan’s voice breaks. Seungcheol sees how Chan is holding Jisoo’s wrist—to check his pulse.

“No,” Seungcheol breathes. He holds his fingers against Jisoo’s neck, his lips, his nose. “No, no, no... Jisoo? Jisoo! Listen to me, you’re not dead. You’re not dead!”

He tries everything—crying, pleading, CPR. Jisoo doesn’t wake up. Chan pleads too, but even his heart-wrenching cries are left unheard. Seungcheol pulls Jisoo into his arms, holds him tight and rocks from side to side. “No, no, no, no... Please, don’t. Please don’t leave...”

It’s too late, and deep down he knows it. Jisoo is gone. And he’s not coming back.

THE CLASSROOM

Through the tears in his eyes and the unbelievable pain in his heart, Mingyu sees the change on the TV screen in the front of the room. The screen which so far has only displayed the word ‘Statistics’ at the top. Now it’s filled with text that Mingyu’s expected to read.

He doesn’t want to. How could he? He just heard one of his friends die. He can still hear Seungcheol and Chan’s crying, and the frantic conversation between Jeonghan, Sunyeong, Junhui and Hansol, who can see what’s happening in the Boiler Room but not hear it. Now and again a few words between Wonwoo and Seungkwan slip through too, and they have no idea what’s going on even though Wonwoo has his suspicions.

It’s too much. It can’t be real. Mingyu blinks the tears away in a rage, screams a string of curses and profanity into thin air at their kidnappers. His heart aches again. Jisoo.

Eventually, he reads what’s on the screen anyway, perhaps because he knows that the only way to make sure nobody else suffers like Jisoo, they have to continue the game.

Seungcheol: Strikes [1/3] Key [YES]
Jeonghan: Strikes [0/3] Key [YES]
Jisoo: Strikes [3/3] (eliminated) Key [YES]
Junhui: Strikes [2/3] Key [NO]
Sunyeong: Strikes [1/3] Key [YES]
Wonwoo: Strikes [2/3] Key [NO]
Jihun: Strikes [0/3] Key [YES]
Seokmin: Strikes [2/3] Key [YES]
Mingyu: Strikes [0/3] Key [NO]
Seungkwan: Strikes [1/3] Key [YES]
Hansol: Strikes [1/3] Key [NO]
Chan: Strikes [2/3] Key [NO]

Wild Card: Activate Communications System for one [1] channel.

Select Channel: __________

Mingyu knows he should be happy—he has the chance to be able to talk to one group of friends and tell them what he knows. But in the shadow of Jisoo’s loss, it’s just another step in the direction of more horror. Either way, he has to be smart, or else he might be responsible for another friend’s death soon, and he couldn’t handle that.

SHOULD MINGYU CONNECT HIS ROOM TO

JEONGHAN'S CHANNEL

or

SEUNGCHEOL'S CHANNEL

or

SEUNGKWAN'S CHANNEL?

(Winning option marked in bold font.)