THE CONTROL ROOM

The knocking is barely audible, but Jeonghan notices it because of the complete and utter silence that has filled the room since the power vanished. He hasn’t dared moved from his chair by the control panel until now, and he fumbles in the dark in the direction he remembers the door to be. But something’s off. He had believed that it was Sunyeong knocking from the Locker Room—this sound is coming from the other door.

Before Jeonghan can even reach it, the door suddenly swings open with a metallic screech, and a small light source peeks through. A figure steps inside, and in the light of a touchpad, Jeonghan finds a familiar face.

“Seungcheol-ah!” he all but cries out, and throws himself into his friend’s arms.

Seungcheol hugs him tight, nose buried in his hair for no other reason than because he thought that he might not get to see Jeonghan again. Then the younger pulls away, and in the weak light, Seungcheol sees how red his eyes are.

“How’d you get in here?” he asks. “The door...”

“I think it’s unlocked,” Seungcheol counters quickly, the speed of his mind increasing by the second. “I think that when the power came off, the locks died too, that they’re electromagnetic or something- anyway. Let’s get the others before it comes back on. Quickly!”

Jeonghan barely has time to register the words before Seungcheol grabs him by the hand and pulls him along. Jeonghan pulls free however and rushes for the other door. This one too opens without a problem, and Jeonghan calls inside.

“Sunyeong-ah!”

Sunyeong rushes towards them from inside the darkness. “You have to be kidding me, how’d you do that?”

“Questions later, doors first,” Seungcheol orders, and leads his two friends by the light of the touchpad through the Corridor.

Sunyeong opens the door to the Interrogation Room and rushes inside to check on Jihun and Seokmin. Seokmin is still unconscious and feverish, but it’s much better since he got the antidote and Jihun’s certain that he’ll make it. Together Seungcheol and Sunyeong carry Seokmin out into the Corridor, and Wonwoo comes around the corner to help after hearing the commotion.

“Oh my god, guys, I’m so happy you’re alive,” he says almost breathlessly.

Seungcheol orders Wonwoo to open the Classroom and he does. He’s met by a very confused but happily surprised Mingyu, who only stares at Wonwoo for a long moment, relieved to see him alive after thinking that he froze to death. Then Mingyu snaps back to reality and turns to Seungcheol.

“Hyung, the Bedroom. We have to get to Hansol and Jun fast!”

THE BEDROOM

Hansol looks up from Jun’s chest in tired surprise when the door swings open and a small light shines through. He hears the commotion of ten voices as the water starts to spill out in a flood into the Corridor outside, then the panicked cries of Mingyu and Seungcheol as they lay eyes on the two people inside—one lying motionless and pale on the bed, the other kneeling by his side holding his hand, eyes swollen and sleepy.

“Jun!”

Seungcheol rushes up, Wonwoo and Mingyu close behind. He hands the touchpad to Wonwoo and starts shaking Junhui, who is unresponsive. “Jun-ah. Jun-ah, come on, please.”

While looking with horror at the scene in front of him, Wonwoo notices that Hansol is smiling. Actually smiling.

“Hyung, it’s okay,” the younger says before Wonwoo can ask him. “I got it working.”

Seungcheol looks up, almost in panic again. “Got what working!?”

Hansol’s reply is a sigh of relief. “His heart stopped. I saved him. Jun is alive.”

Seungcheol, Wonwoo and Mingyu all stare at Hansol as if his words are in a foreign language. Then they turn to Junhui, who looks just about as dead as a person could look. It’s impossible to see with only the light of the touchpad, but when Seungcheol places his hand on Junhui’s chest he can feel it—breaths. They’re shallow and uneven, but he is breathing.

The oldest bends his head, letting out a shuddering sigh. “Oh, Junhui... Hansol, I don’t know what to say...”

“Don’t,” Hansol interrupts him. He smiles again, tired and content and a tiny bit proud. Seungcheol accepts that.

By now Seungkwan, Jihun and Jeonghan have also joined them. Jihun’s face is red and tense, as he forces the tears back, while Jeonghan has failed the same attempt. Wonwoo pulls Jeonghan into a comforting embrace, hiding the sobs that still rock his body.

“You should go outside, Hansol-ah,” Jeonghan says over Wonwoo’s shoulder. “Someone go with him.”

Seungkwan offers to go back and takes Hansol by the arm. Hansol is already tearing up again, from the shock and tire and fear. Everybody’s heart sinks when they hear Hansol’s reaction from the Corridor, both to seeing his friends alive and well, and to seeing Jisoo.

Seungcheol is so far beyond tired of this game that he can’t even attempt to comfort his heartbroken youngers. Instead, he takes Junhui’s hand and squeezes it, thanks him silently for being alive, and says nothing.

“We should go somewhere else,” Jihun says. “We have to take care of ourselves now when we have the chance. Seokmin’s still sick, Seungkwan’s badly injured, there’s water everywhere... we don’t know how Jun is... it’s a mess.”

“Where?” Seungcheol asks. His tone reeks of hopelessness. “We’re still trapped.”

“I have an idea,” Mingyu counters.

THE CLASSROOM

Using a plastic jug from the Butcher Room filled with water and the light of the touchpad, the room becomes sufficiently illuminated. They agreed that the Classroom is the best place to stay and regroup in since it has tables that can be made into makeshift beds and lots of chairs too. They’ve all donated as many clothes as they can spare to wrap Seokmin and Junhui in, and torn the rest of Seungcheol’s shirt to shreds and used it to wrap Seungkwan’s wounds, Chan’s leg and Hansol’s stomach. They’d placed Jisoo on the bed in the Bedroom—it is just too much to keep him with them. They also searched the entire house for more doors to see if they could find Minghao, but no luck. Their last missing member is nowhere to be found.

For over an hour they’ve been sitting quietly and still, just soaking in each other’s presence and trying to gather enough strength to continue the struggle. The remaining keys lay on the table in between them—six in total, not counting the broken ones. There’s also Mingyu’s notes and books, and the phone. Everybody’s staring at them, but nobody says anything.

That’s when Junhui wakes up.

“How’re you feeling?” Wonwoo asks once the happy surprise settles down.

Junhui grunts his reply, barely audible. “Like I was hit by a train. What happened?”

“You got shocked by the switch,” Hansol explains. “Cut the power in the entire building.”

With the headache of the century but otherwise just tired, Junhui joins the others in conversation. After having debriefed each other on the rooms and what they’ve been through, Mingyu takes the time to explain his theory.

“It’s all been a game so far, I think we’ve all figured that that out, but it’s more than that. When I talked to the guy on the phone he sounded angry, and I think that’s because Jun stopped the game by cutting the power. And according to my book, the third objective is to reunite. We’re all here now, so that has to mean that we’ve completed that objective and should be moving on to objective four.”

“We’re not all here, though,” Chan says. “Minghao-hyung’s still gone.”

“Are you sure you looked everywhere?” Junhui presses, worried about his little brother, and Seungcheol nods.

Mingyu continues. “I don’t think the game will continue until they get the power back on because they can’t control anything. But that still leaves Minghao... they threatened to kill him if I didn’t turn the power on by myself. I don’t know if I made the right choice...”

“We’ve all made choices and we’ve all done our best,” Jeonghan says. “Nobody blames you.”

Mingyu turns to Junhui for a moment, meets his eyes with his own. There’s judgement in them, but not in an unfriendly way. He understands, and he is forgiving. Mingyu is thankful for that.

“So what now?” Seungkwan asks. “How do we find Minghao and how do we get out of here?”

Nobody has an answer for that. In the silence that follows, when everyone’s trying to think of a solution, the phone starts to ring. The group of friends look at each other in tense expectation before Seungcheol answers and puts it on speaker.

“Yes?” he says.

The voice on the other end is not the kidnapper from before or even one of his accomplices. It’s weak, ragged and so very familiar.

“Hyung... hyung, can you hear me?”

Minghao.

Everyone gathers around, all tire and hopelessness vanished in a heartbeat. They shower their missing younger in questions, too excited to hear his voice to listen to how anxious it is.

“Stop, stop! Listen to me!” Minghao cries and his friends fall silent. “It’s not over yet. The game, they told me it has to continue or else...”

Static, silence, and beeping signals as the call ends. The group all stare at the phone as if it would somehow come alive and tell them what they just heard.

“Minghao!” Junhui yells although he knows that he can’t hear him. “Call the number again. Quickly!”

Seungcheol tries, but the phone is locked and can only receive calls without being unlocked first. Then the phone rings again, and Seungcheol picks up.

“Minghao-ya?”

Not this time. Mingyu recognizes the voice of their kidnapper instantly.

“I’ve given you what you wanted. Now, you have to do something for me in return. The game will continue, it's only a matter of time. You can’t stop it.”

“Who are you!?” Junhui roars. “Where is Minghao!?”

“Ah-ah-ah,” the voice replies scornfully. “For that info, you’ll have to play the game. Congratulations, by the way, for completing objective three. It’s very impressive.”

A shower or curses and threats escape the boys’ frustrated lips before they realise it’s not biting. Seungcheol eventually asks them to be quiet and sighs to himself.

“What do you want us to do?”

“Play the game! Complete the last objective. Save your friend. He’s been counting on you from the beginning.”

The call ends again, and this time it doesn’t ring again. A few minutes later, the lights flicker to life, the white noise buzzing of electronics returns and the screen at the front of the room comes back online. The boys hold their breaths, too tense and afraid to even move.

함께 강해면 쌍으로 더 강해. 게임은 계속 될 거야. 이제 놀아.
(Together you are strong but in pairs, you are stronger. The game will continue. Now play.)

Below it follows a list similar to the statistics, but different still.

• Control Room •
Seungcheol

• Locker Room •
Junhui, Seokmin

• Mirror Room •
Jihun, Hansol

• Interrogation Room •
Seungkwan, Sunyeong

• The Butcher Room •
Chan, Jeonghan

• The Boiler Room •
Wonwoo, Mingyu

The screen flashes, and the by now all too familiar countdown appears—times three. One says five minutes, the second says half an hour, and the third says two hours. A title above the clocks says ‘Objective 4: Escape’.

Altogether, the countdowns start ticking.

SHOULD THEY GO TO THEIR DESIGNATED ROOMS

or

SHOULD THEY STAY IN THE CLASSROOM?

(Winning option marked in bold font.)