I knew getting to know the other pair was probably a better idea but something about being able to gather all these knowledge first called out to me. I offered them an apologetic smile.

"Sorry... I think I want to spend some time in the library first," I said and Hoshi nodded.

"Oh it's totally fine if you want to do that. I guess Woozi and I will go take a look around the area instead."

I nodded and bowed to them as they did the same before leaving the library. I looked up to find Baekho looking at me. "What?"

"No, nothing. Hoshi has been my friend since I started working which hasn't been too long but I feel like you don't really trust him, do you?"

I stared at him before letting out a chuckle. "Trust him? When I barely trust you? Baekho sshi."

"Baekho."

"Baekho... We don't know a lot of things about this game we are stuck in. What if there are spies or things like that amongst the players? We can't be too careless and also... The way to win is so vague. What happens after we hit the target? Do we both get a wish or do we share a wish?"

He blinked and I pursed my lips. "For someone who doesn't play games, you sure have a lot of questions..."

"Yes... Because this also weighs on my survival since we don't know what happens if we die in the games and I said I don't play games much but I do like reading."

Baekho nodded and turned back to the books. "Okay then, Mister smarty pants, what shall we read?"

"I'm guessing anything to do with survival stuff for now... We have only played one game so... There's no saying what else would be thrown at us and even if we don't put the knowledge to use, at least we would have it when we need it."

I took several books and so did Baekho. Most of them about survival or basically little nuance stuff like boy scouts adventure book. We started reading and as we read, we checked our own Knowledge tab as it started to fill up. It wasn't shared but I guessed it was better than nothing.

We weren't sure how long we have been reading but I definitely felt exhaustion catching up with me as I put away my sixth book. I turned to Baekho whose head was already on the table as if smoke was fizzing out of his head. I gave him a slight shake and he looked up with a dead look.

"Gah... This is too tiring. I want a cold drink so badly..."

"Are you thirsty?" I asked him with a confused look and he shook his head.

"No... But... I just feel like having something cold? Like Coke..."

"Huh... But we don't eat or drink here..."

"Can we go and take a walk? My head is overloaded with information already..."

"Okay." I couldn't say no since I was just as tired too. I never realised reading so much would make me feel this tired. It was almost as though my stamina had been drained.

We walked out to the main hall and to our surprise, the lights were dim. A giant clock was ticking on the wall and from the looks of it, it was evening already.

"Had it been that long?" Baekho asked and I shook my head.

"I don't think so... If we woke up roughly at 9, the game lasted for maybe 30 minutes and then our talk with prism, at least 10 minutes... No... It should only be afternoon... We barely read that long," I said, trying to gauge the timing system they had here.

"It's almost like... An actual game. You know, how time flies and its the next morning. Or it skips forward?"

"Well, if that's how time works here, I guess it's time for us to head to our room."

"Why? We can still explore..."

"I know but if tomorrow goes the same as today, we would need all the energy we can get for the game. Reading seems to have reduced our stamina or whatever this exhausting feeling is."

"Hmm... You're right... I guess we should call it a day then."

The two of us headed back to our rooms and decided to take turns taking a bath before laying down.

"So...," he started awkwardly and I glanced over to him. "Um..."

"If you have something to say, then just spit it out already," I sighed and he let out a sigh too.

"What should I do to gain your trust?"

"That's what you wanted to ask?"

"Yeah... I mean, obviously... What else would I ask?"

"Well, just... Be yourself. I'll trust you sooner or later since we are stuck together anyways."

"Right. So... Another thing... Why do you work at a game store if you barely even play games?"

"Hmm? I was just there to help part time... It was the one day that my friend was sick and he asked me to help fill in. I don't actually work there," I replied him and yawned a little.

"You don't? Huh... Funny thing... I don't really go to game stores either and now look at us, stuck together in a room handcuffed to one another..."

I blinked and turned to face him. "My turn to ask a question."

"Yeah?"

"How do I wake you up in the morning? And do you seriously have to hug me so tightly?"

"That's two questions."

"Mmm... Just answer it before I fall asleep," I replied him since I was feeling this lull to fall asleep any second now.

"Okay, okay. Um... I'm not sure how to wake me up since I usually use a personal alarm but I think I do wake up if you tap me here on the arm like five times."

"Five times? You kidding me? I had to slap you awake today."

"I'm sorry... But yeah, it should work. And uh... Sorry about hugging you. I don't even realise I do that but I've always had a bolster or a plushie with me when I sleep and well, I don't have any now."

"Huh... Okay..." I felt my eyes droop and knew I wasn't going to stay up any longer so I wished him good night instead. He said the same and I drifted to sleep.

~~~

When I woke up to the alarm and timer, I wasn't that surprised to find his arms hooked around me this time. I sighed since it was a little uncomfortable to have someone squeeze the living breath out of you but when I turned to look at him in the face, just for a brief moment, I thought maybe waking up next to someone wasn't so bad. That was until he suddenly rolled onto me, legs wrapping around my own like a giant koala. It was instantly even harder to breathe and I sighed as I tried to pat him as he had suggested to wake him up.

"Wake up, Baekho ss-Baekho!" I snapped, hoping that would help. He shifted and I felt something against my leg. I blinked furiously and cleared my throat as I rolled to the side, forcing him back onto the bed. I wasn't expecting him to pull me even more until our faces were barely inches away.

Okay, this was not going to work. I lifted my hand, about to smack him when his eyes suddenly blinked open. He stared at me before a smile suddenly broke out from his lips, confusing me as he let out a relieved sigh and placed his head on my chest again. I was very confused until he bolted up, cheeks dyed with red and he scrambled up.

"I uh..." He started to fix his hair and shirt before clearing his throat. "Good morning."

"Good morning," I replied and offered him an awkward smile so he didn't feel too weirded out by himself. He smiled nervously and nodded.

"Um... Uh... We still have time?"

"Yes... Since you actually woke up today."

"Oh... That's great." Once he straightened himself out, he seemed to regain his composure as I slid out of bed to follow him to the bathroom.

After washing up and putting on a fresh change of clothes, noticing that the laundery basket was emptied out, we headed out from the room. Instead of a slot machine in the hall, there was a fortune wheel instead. People gathered around the hall and of course, Hoshi showed up with Woozi not long after.

"Morning, you two."

"Morning, Hoshi... Woozi," Baekho replied and I bowed just as Woozi did.

"What do you think we are up against today?"

As if on cue, Prism suddenly poked him head out in between Hoshi and Woozi.

"Today, my lads, you are up against lady luck yourselves," he said, surprising us as we all stepped away from him instinctively. He disappeared and reappeared on the top of the fortune wheel where words started forming on the wheel itself. "As always, the game will be chosen and you, lovely lovely people, will have to choose to participate or not."

Before anyone could protest or pose any threat to Prism, he swung the stick in his hand and the wheel started spinning. The tension in the air was high especially since we now knew that our lives were on the line. Unconsciously, I reached out and held Baekho's sleeve. He glanced at me and said nothing as he turned away again. Our eyes trained on the wheel that started to slow down.

Slower.

And slower.

Clack.

Clack.

Clack.

And stop.

"What's this? Ohoho~ Traffic light! How exciting," Prism chuckled in amazement before snapping his fingers. The same option boxes shone on our cuffs and that was when I noticed where my hand was. I pulled away and cleared my throat slightly as I lifted my hand.

"We going in?" I asked and he nodded.

"We still need to figure out how to get more views and all that... Plus, completing more games is also an objective."

I nodded and clicked the tick just as he did. The white light flashed before us as we were teleported to the playing ground. A huge traffic light hovered in the ceiling above us as we seemed to be in some kind of battleground. Surrounding us were statue like dual sword wielders dressed like samurais. They didn't move and neither did Baekho and I. Some people started moving away from the statues before anything happened, checking the platforms and for anything suspicious. There were no exits or doors, just us and the statues and also the hovering light.

"Where's Hoshi and Woozi?" Baekho asked and I glanced around.

"Can't spot them... Maybe they spawned elsewhere?"

"Well, guess we are on our own for now," he replied. I noticed the traffic light turn yellow and nudged Baekho.

"The game is starting," I said and he looked at the statues.

"They're the only things around... Maybe it has something to do with them."

"Yeah... I think we better stay low first. We don't know what we are up against."

We slowly moved away from the people who were raging or creating some unnecessary chaos. I kept an eye on the traffic light since I knew something would happen. Baekho pulled me back slightly when the people in front of us started yelling to be let out.

It happened in just a split second.

One moment the man's head was intact, the next it was cleanly cut off. Baekho and I both gasped, shocked in place as the body fell down. His partner screamed and exploded. I stumbled back and slipped onto the floor. Baekho turned to help me up but just as he moved, a sudden gush of wind blew past us and he froze as a blade had cut through the air right in front of his face. The stone samurai was right next to us and we hadn't even noticed it coming close. It was quiet and swift but it didn't move once we stopped, both shaking in fear. Baekho could have lost the top half of his head completely if he hadn't stopped in time. We held our breaths until it suddenly sped away, moving in a quick yet stoic way as if it was stuck to the ground yet could still move as freely as a chess piece gliding across the board. Baekho and I still didn't move as we watched the massacre around us.

"Stop moving!" someone yelled above the mess and some listened while some didn't. Those who did were avoided by the sword cutting samurais while those who didn't were cut down instantly. The samurais all froze in place of their last kill once everyone stopped moving. Labored breathing could be heard and some were panting heavily from their earlier outburst but the samurais made no move to cut those people down. "They're activated by large motions..."

We glanced over to the direction of the voice to find a male about my age sitting on the ground with his partner close to him. Dead bodies surrounded us and the direness of the situation suddenly sat heavily on my stomach. I wanted to throw up, seeing everything but I dare not even move an inch. I breathed in and glanced up to the traffic light which had turned red again. It was a risk but if I was right, then this game was the very same game I used to play during my childhood days. I let out my breath and looked at Baekho before standing up, startling him but nothing happened.

"Why are you moving?" he asked and I pointed at the traffic light.

"The lights... Its that game... The traffic light game?" I said and others started to take notice as well.

"Does that mean us touching them now would help us win?" someone asked aloud.

"Who knows. This isn't just some ordinary game," someone else replied.

"We could try breaking them," the one from earlier said. "Look. We all gotta work together to get outta this. More people will die if we don't do something."

Baekho turned to me. "You think we can trust him?"

"Do you suggest we try something on our own?" I asked in response before noticing the light had turned yellow. "Well, we gotta make a decision now. Light is going to turn green and they'll be active again."

"Stay low, try breaking or touching them?"

###

1, 2, 3. Green Light!

> Stay low

> Break em

> Touch em