The lights had gone off and we didn’t even tell the new guy what our plans were. After all, it was evidente he would be part of our team now. We got into position, and took hold of each other’s hands like we had been doing since the start of this stage. But, Mr. Bun wasnt included in this formation. We had to make a new strategy so that he could be part of our “human chain”.

MJ: O…K… Mr. Bun, take my hand (he took my left hand)… Ouch.… (he let go, scared of the reaction). Sorry, I just have a cut there. But don’t worry.  It doesn’t hurt much… unless you squeeze it tightly. But seriously oppa, take it (after hesitating a moment he finally took it, this time with delicacy). Now HaeRi, give him your hand (she did). I think we’re good to go….Wait! Sir, do you know your way around here? As in the upper floors I mean.

The man answered with a body gesture; I felt him move. But since it was dark I couldn’t see him. I told him to do it again, but this time I place my right hand on his head. He shook his head; that meant no.

MJ: Well, I guess we’ll have to keep counting on your instincts, Kai. Lead the way. I just hope we get to the Penthouse soon.

Each of us taken by the hands, we began to climb the stairs at a slow pace. Meanwhile, I got to thinking. The Exotics in this floor were far more difficult to handle than the ones in lower floors. I’m starting to think the Bacon Lord is just a video game freak and he turned this building into a live-action RPG. I mean, think about it! As we go up the tower, the enemies become stronger and the area gets more complicated. Plus, there’s a Boss fight at the top of the building. I’m guessing that’s going to be the hardest fight of all. We only need a magic staff, some controllable monsters and BOOM! INSTANT FINAL FANTASY! The only thing wrong with BaekHyun’s little game is that we don’t level up; we level DOWN! Were all exhausted! We haven’t slept since we found HaeRi. Our bodies are bruised, cut, injured… no meds or food to supplement ourselves. Just then, a grumbling was heard from behind me, followed by a squeaky sigh.

MJ: It’s alright Mr. Bun. We’re all hungry too… I hope there’s a big field of fruits waiting for us outside… Or even better... A big fat pig….Mmmm, greasy bacon... I also hope there’s a portable bathroom, because my period isn’t helping my bladder too much. You know what I’m saying?

I heard Kai face palm himself. Lay cleared his throat. HaeRi sighted. Mr. Bun literally laughed out loud.

MJ: …oh… Sorry! Too much info I guess… hehe… But seriously guys, we need to get out of here soon. First thing when we get out of here is to rest and re-supply ourselves. In this state, I doubt we’ll get any further than EXO Tower. Being in such hurry isn’t going to help us much if were dragging ourselves towards the finish line… I’ve finally realized that…

I heard no response. Maybe they didn’t want to hurt me, but… I knew it was wrong of me to be pushing them so hard. I was only thinking about LuHan. I just hope I can make it up to them… Just then, the blue lights , blowing up a great amount of bulbs. We let go and covered our heads as the shattered glass fell on us.

MJ: Kai! What are we going to do?! We’re still in the stairs! Let’s reach the next floor and hide. Lay, take my blazer!

I took off the clothing piece and gave it to YiXing, who immediately put it on. Kai hesitated for a moment, but eventually began to run. We all ran after him. Up we went through the stairs, until we reached the 18^th floor. I thought Kai would go into the floor looking for shelter, but instead he continued climbing the stairs. I stopped and so did the rest. I called JongIn, who was already ascending the next flight of stairs.

MJ: KAI! WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?! WE HAVE TO HIDE! HERE! (I pointed to the floor).

The persistent young man stopped, looked back at us, ignored my request and continued up the stairs. My heart was about to explode; not because of the running, but out of fear. This hard headed guy…

MJ: ! Guys, let’s just follow him! LET’S MOVE!

We continued running up the stairs, until we reached Kai. From there to the next floor about a minute went by. We had reached the 19^th floor, but once again the stairs ended abruptly. It was time I took charge; apparently Kai wanted to kill us all.

MJ: EVERYONE! FOLLOW ME!!

I ran past Kai, straight towards the floor. Everyone followed along. I began to look for a hideout, but sadly this floor wasn’t the “Executive floor” with long, broad tables like before. We all split up, searching for a solution to the problem. I felt like I was inside a dim oven, slowly cooking me from the inside out; this was bad! Desperation took over me, and I came up with the most bizarre idea.

MJ: LAY! THE KNIFE! HURRY!

Lay appeared. He gave me the dirty dagger. I looked at one of the lights in the ceiling and studied my aim. I threw the weapon with all my might towards the light bulb. The dagger flew high above us and struck the light source, making it shatter and falling in pieces. The others around got the idea and began to look for things to throw. HaeRi found a base full of decorative rocks. Kai had his spear. Mr. Bun picked up a chair to use. We all began to kill the lights one by one, when all of a sudden, there was a black out.

BH: What the hell did you people do!?! You ed up the electricity!! Now I have to turn on the back ups!!

The dark room was now lit up very faintly. Light came from a few emergency lights scattered around the room. We all quickly looked for each other and took a hold on one another. I brought Mr. Bun into the group since he still wasn’t use to the drill.

BH: Congratulations! You just reached floor 19. You’re just a floor away to meeting me. Well Miss Park, I have to agree with Kris on this one; you sure have impressed me. You’re progress has been very speedy… Oh! And what’s this? You found another prisoner roaming around. Well done Miss Park…

MJ: Enough BaekHyun. Where are the stairs to the Penthouse?

BH: Oh my! Attitude problems I see. I’ll have to inform you that the stairs end at floor 19. To get up here you’ll have to use the elevator. You don’t expect a couple of plain stairs to be the entrance to my lair, right!? Please girl! I’m a very exquisite person. My entrance door has to be something prominent and breathe taking!

MJ: (in a low tone) Yeah, sure…exquisite person my …

BH: I HEARD THAT! Wow, I’ll have to teach you a lesson when I get my hands on you. Anyways, get here already so we can end the game. It’s not like you stand a chance against me. Still, I’m DYING to mee…

MJ: (I cut him off) Keep your repetitive sarcasm to yourself Mr. Byun. We’ll be reaching you soon. So get ready.

BH: ….very well…

The speakers died and we were amidst the darkness with little light. Byun BaekHyun was a threat at first, but now I found him like an un-educated, stuck up, little brat. I didn’t fear him anymore. I was ready to encounter him; I have confidence that we’ll win.

MJ: Listen up people; don’t let go of each other. Even though we can see a little better, it isn’t entirely safe. Let’s just catch our breath for a moment before going out to find the elevator… But before anything else…

I hit Kai on the back of the head. He touched his new bruise, while clenching his teeth. He then glared and got in front of me, as if asking for an explanation. I sternly scolded him.

MJ: JongIn! That’s for almost killing us all! The plan was to hide in the first floor we encountered, not try to reach the Penthouse under the blue lights! This place is filled with unexpected situations! You should know that! We were under the UVs for more than 3 minutes. That’s enough to give us Cancer! CANCER!! Plus, didn’t you notice the amount of bulbs that bursted when the blue lights came on?! That’s how powerful the rays were; as we ascend the light gets stronger… and deadlier.

Kai was still touching his bump. He began to look to the floor in embarrassment. I knew he deserved the spanking, but my fragile heart couldn’t bear the scene. I touched his head, and spoke softly.

MJ: But I guess we’re not perfect. We all make mistakes. Besides, you were just trying to look for the best solution… It’s not like you knew that all this would happen… Next time, just try to make sure you discuss your plans first, okay?!

He nodded, but still felt a little embarrassed. Now I was facing Mr. Bun. I’ve been calling him that since we met, since I didn’t know his name. It was actually short for “Bunny”, since he reminded me of one so much.

MJ: Before we go on, I have to ask. Mr Bun, what’s your real name?

The man smiled and began gesturing in that weird Exotic language Lay and Kai had spoken with before. Since I didn’t understand it well, my face was in a daze. He noticed and tried to mouth out the words.

MJ: …Min…Soap…MinSoap?... that’s a funny name...

The man shook his head. YiXing came to the rescue; he took my hand, and wrote the man’s name in the air.

MJ: MinSeok? (the man nodded). Oh... What a pretty name! (the man smiled). My name’s MinJeong, and these are Kai, Lay, and HaeRi (I said while pointing at each one). Welcome to the team. I think you already know why we’re here. (his smile faded as he slowly nodded). Anyway, we’ll have time to talk about that some other moment. Right now, let’s just find that elevator.

We all got in our new formation and began to walk around the room. Thank God the Exotics were nowhere to be seen; if not this whole process would have been a pain. We continued searching for the elevator, but still no luck. I was starting to think this machinery would once again be hidden in a certain room. That’s when we began to enter each passing room. An eternity went by and we had given up; the elevator was no were to be scene

MJ: This isn’t working out. We’ve looked everywhere, and the stupid thing doesn’t appear. Are we misinterpreting something? Think you guys! There has to be something we’re doing wrong…

We all got on our thinking positions. Meanwhile, HaeRi got close to me and explained something important she had on her mind. She told me that every time she hears or thinks about Byun BaekHyun she becomes frightened. She doesn’t know why she reacts in such a way, but she doesn’t like it. She feels depressed without a reason. She had tried to hide her fear and reactions, but now she was far more scared because we were at a short distance from him. I took both of HaeRi’s hands into mine and softly spoke to her, so the other members didn’t hear.

MJ: RiRi! You should have told me sooner. It’s alright to be scared; it’s a natural reaction to the unknown. Besides, that guy is so ruthless and sarcastic that it can give anyone a bad impression. But don’t you worry girl, I’ll be her for you. Remember, I’ll always protect you no matter what!

I smiled at her while confidently squeezing her hands. She managed to smile back, still she seemed worried. Our moment was interrupted by MinSeok, who had thought of something important. He tried to explain in that difficult sign language. He then noticed I didn’t understand much and decided to tell Lay. Then Lay told me. MinSeok had thought about what Baekhyun had said about the entrance to his lair: it had to be exquisite. So, instead of searching for some normal steel elevator doors, we needed to search for anything big and royal-like. Kai came into the conversation and gestured out he had found something like that in one of the rooms. I told him to take us there and so we all moved towards said place. It was a cream-colored squared room, and the only thing it had was a big quilted purple velvet panel with scattered buttons of the same color. This masterpiece was stuck to the wall. It was about 12 feet long and 8 feet high, starting from the base of the floor. It had a wide gold-colored wooden engraving on the borders, and in front of said panel was a sort of long bench in the same style and color. It all simulated a tall medieval King’s chair, only wider.

MJ: Well… It can’t get any more exquisite than that… But, what are we suppose to do with it?

Just then MinSeok came and examined the “thing” in front of us. He discovered the bench was removable, and so moved it aside. All was left was the panel on the wall. He touched it everywhere, trying to find some sort of clue. He touched all the buttons, one by one, and upon touching the most center-located one, the panel pinged. We all took some steps back and eyed the thing. Soon after, the panel divided in two and began to separate, exposing what seemed to be the interior of a royal elevator.

MJ: …Woah… I’m impressed Mr. Bun. That’s a nice brain you have in there. If it wasn’t for your brainstorming, we would still be pulling out our hair.

MinSeok smiled. The doors were still opening up slowly. We were all heading towards the elevator when… a young man stepped out from it. He was holding a bow and arrow, aiming it as us. His face was pure anger

MJ: You must be Baekhyun…