Saerom

Since the girl was found dead, the six people in our part of the dorm were asked to stay behind. Everyone else on the island was sent home in droves, back to the mainland.

I figure that means Wed Game is canceled, and the only reason we’re still on the island is because we’re part of an ongoing murder investigation.

Murder. The word sends shivers down my spine. It's one thing to see it in the movies and the TV shows, but another to experience it in real life. Being questioned by police isn’t all as glamorous or interesting as it is in the movies. It’s harrowing and scary and makes you wonder if you really did do it.

After a few days of questioning, the police and detectives that were sent from the mainland just left. I heard from Number 9, who I learned was named Nagyung, that they concluded it was an accident.

Still, we weren’t able to leave the island. We were still contractually bound to stay there until Joshua released us. We were still part of Wed Game.

In those harrowing days of police investigations and waiting for instruction on when we would go home, we were left to our own devices. We had no phones, no games, nothing to entertain us or help up pass the time. It was so boring, I considered running into the woods myself and letting the ticks take me.

We were all pretty weary of one another at the beginning, but boredom got the best of us, and we began to interact. So the six of us would sit in the same room, talk amongst one another, get to know one another. 9, 18, 21, 69, 133, and 152.

Number 9 is Nagyung. She comes from wealth but her family is struggling. She joined Wed Game with hopes that a marriage with Joshua would help her father’s company.

Number 18 is Dino. He’s a gay dancer and a wannabe idol who joined Wed Game to promote himself and make it in the idol industry.

Number 21 is Mingyu. I had barely spoken to him since he rejected me, but in those days of utter boredom, we eventually spoke again. We even made out in the bathrooms a couple of times just for fun. Just to feel something.

Number 69 is Jiheon. The poor girl would sit in a corner and cry for hours. She was jaded and tired and just wanted to go home. Nagyung, Dino and I would try to help her, talk to her, get her to eat, but she had retired into her shell and it was harder to get through to her.

Speaking of being hard to get through to: Seungkwan took it the worst. He would spend hours on end in solitude, locking himself up in the bathroom. It was like the girl’s death had drained the life from his eyes and the spirit from his soul. He blames himself for what happened to her, so he’s become a ghost of his former self.

I tried to talk to him, help him the way he always helped me, but I’m awful at making people feel better. I nudged him, cracked jokes, even told him I was going to marry him when we got off the island, but nothing seemed to ignite anything in him anymore.

Meanwhile, I was forced to contend with the fact I was indeed going to marry him. Now that Wed Game seems to be over, I have to abide by my promise. I have to it all up and understand that I was never going to fall in love with someone, go on cute dates, have passionate - do all those things that lovers do.

Hence the passionate make-out sessions with Mingyu. In my mind, they’re a way for me to get a last taste of how it feels to kiss someone you’re actually attracted to. To feel the heat of their bodies, and experience that chemistry deep in your stomach.

I will mourn the loss of that experience forever.

Ten days after Chaeyoung’s death, one of the staff members tells all six of us to meet in the hall for next steps.

We are all relieved to hear it. The days of boredom and overthinking are over, and we can finally go home and move on with our lives. Sure, I have an unwanted wedding to plan, but even planning a wedding with a man I don’t want to marry seems better than spending another day on this god forsaken island.

The six of us pack our bags, fully expecting a boat to be waiting for us to take us back to the mainland.

Instead, we see cameras pointed at us again. As if nothing happened.

We sit in the hall, camera crew flitting about capturing our curious and somewhat terrified faces. Suddenly, Joshua comes up on stage. He is smiling at us, but something about that smile feels contrived. It feels like he’s forcing the ends of his lips up, trying to control the muscles of his face to maintain it. It’s a fake smile. A violent smile. A scary smile.

“Hello, remaining contestants of Wed Game,” he says, projecting his voice to all of us, meeting each of our eyes with his own. When his gaze lands on mine, I stiffen. There’s something searing in the way he looks at me, like he wants to shoot lasers into me. “Congratulations on being the top six contestants.”

“Are you kidding me?” Nagyung interjects, which I’m thankful for, because he finally looks away from me. “The game is still on?”

“Of course it’s still on,” Joshua says. “Why would it be off?”

“Your girlfriend died, Joshua,” Dino says bluntly.

“I knew Chaeyoung well,” Joshua responds. “I was close with her, so her death did upset me, I admit. But she was just a contestant of this game, and her death meant her disqualification, as outlined in the contract she signed.”

“What the hell are you saying?” Seungkwan speaks up with surprising passion. “You can’t possibly be serious right now.”

“I am serious, and you all better be ready to continue playing the game, as you are contractually obligated to. Unless you want expensive legal trouble, of course.”

Everyone falls silent. None of us have the money for a legal fight with Hong Pharmaceuticals. No matter how messed up it seems, the game is still on, and we’re all participating in it.

But somehow, we all know that the game now is different than it was before. It’s not about love or romance, with Joshua searching for someone to marry. Now, it’s a game of hate and revenge, with Joshua searching for someone to destroy.