MJ: So…You must be BaekHyun…

The pale, dark-headed young man kept furiously glaring at us; weapon still aiming. The man slowly walked towards us, eyeing each one of us with peculiarity. He came and stood before me, scrutinizing me more than he should, and ending his search with a striking eye-to-eye stare. His weapon was pointing straight at me, and I felt my confidence fade away. I stood frozen as he continued to get closer until we were inches apart. Up front I could see him better: big fluttery eyes, a few inches taller than me, straight brown hair with blonde highlights, and a small face; no wonder he had such a diva complex. He looked down as if looking for something in my legs, but only found a bloody mess. He didn’t seem amused. He took his right hand and took my left hand, slowly going up. I felt Kai tense up next to me. The man continued up my arm, with nothing but a poker face on. He eventually reached my upper arm and stopped there. He patted the area, and for some reason smirked. He removed his arm from my body and, unexpectedly, stretched it out. I eyed the man with confused eyes; I felt Kai put a hand on my shoulder, holding me back from shaking the enemy’s hand. The man noticed the tension in the air and shrugged. He took his hand and placed it in the left sleeve of his t-shirt. He raised the short sleeve and revealed… a Cyanide pod…

MJ: …huh?...

The unknown man signaled to his feet, raising his loose pants by the knee, revealing a rusty chain at his right ankle. He looked at me again, this time giving off a sort of snicker.

MJ: So… you’re not BaekHyun?!... You’re a prisoner?

The young man nodded. He then punched his right arm against his flat left hand, then signaling the ceiling.

MJ: Baekhyun, is up there?... Do you want to fight him too?...

He nodded once again. He pointed at himself and then at me. He stretched his arm out as a second attempt. He looked at me with a serious face. This guy meant business, and I felt it was a good thing for us. I looked at Kai, looking for his support. He eyed the man, and after a minute gave me a strong nod. The man was still stretching out his hand; he was persistent. I stretched out mine and we finally shook them together. I smiled at him.

MJ: Well, no point in arguing anymore. I’m sure we’re all here with the same purpose. My name’s MinJeong; I’m the current player. These here are the other prisoners I’ve encountered so far; they’re also my friends. Kai, Lay, HaeRi, and MinSeok (I pointed to each one as I mentioned them). And who are you?

The man mouthed out his name. YiXing seemed impressed with it. He then gestured a message in the Exotica sign language. Lay, apparently my official translator, gave me the message in a simpler manner.

MJ: LanFang… nice to meet you!...And…you’ve been waiting for me?... Because…Slow down Yixing! Not so fast!... because the elevator only works if the player is inside… Really? So that’s why you were waiting in there; besides, it was a good hiding place from the Exotics. So, you ready to fight for your salvation Lan oppa? I hope we can count on you to win this battle.

The man smiled for the first time, showing off to be a very pretty guy. I thought being pretty and manly at the same time was something only LuHan could pull off; guess not.

MJ: Well, this is it everyone. The battle we’ve been waiting for. I just wanted to let you know how proud I am of you all. We’ve gone through ups and downs, but we made it. Winning this fight is crucial for our progress, but aiding our allies is even more important. Please protect each other; our mission is to get out of here alive, and as a group (everyone was smiling and nodding). MinSeok and LanFang, even though we just met you both, you’re already part of the family, so teamwork is essential. Now, let’s go over our supplies and weapons. Kai has a spear, Lay a dagger, and LanFang a bow with arrows. That leaves MinSeok, HaeRi, and I without defenses.

Just then JongIn took his two-headed spear and grabbed it with both hands, kicking it in the center and breaking it in half. Now there were 2 spears; he gave me one.

MJ: Brilliant Kai! But I think we should rearrange ourselves. Take this spear HaeRi; since you can’t fight up close, you can at least defend yourself from afar (I gave it to her). Now Lay, give me the dagger, and Kai, give the other spear to Lay. Since Lay has been fragile these couple of hours, he’s better off with a long-range weapon. Kai and MinSeok, you’re both strong guys, so you won’t be needing weapons… I hope. LanFang can keep his own weapon because we don’t really know how to work with it, so… I think were good to go. Only supplies available for the battle are… a half-filled canteen…ouch… Everyone, drink up! Let’s just pray that after the battle we’ll have the opportunity to refill on everything.

I gave the canteen to HaeRi. She drank and then passed it to Lay. The container made its way around each member of the group, until it got back to me. Only a few drops were left; I drank them, and with that done, we made our way into the elevator.

We entered and the doors closed; the elevator had no buttons or reader inside. Yet, the machine began to run on its own, taking us up towards the Penthouse. I was beginning to get nervous. MinSeok noticed and put an arm around my neck, giving off a cute refreshing smile.

He felt like a comfortable oppa to be with. He’s so cute and cuddly; I couldn’t help but hug him from the side. After some seconds I felt JongIn putting a hand on my shoulder and separating me from MinSeok, just so he could take me in under his arm. I whispered in his ear.

MJ: You don’t have to be so overprotective, dad!

Kai had a serious face on. He was worried about the battle too; I could feel it. Still, he slipped his hand into mine, squeezing it tightly, filling me up with confidence. And so the moment had come. The elevator pinged. It stopped and the doors slowly opened up, revealing the Penthouse… or should I say, battle arena.

This floor was nothing like the others. While the floors below were modern, this one was plain renascence period. It was a long, wide hallway dimmed by poor lights, covered in tapestry and rugs. Byun BaekHyun had a big ego… We got out of the elevator and began to walk slowly down the corridor. At the end a faint light could be seen. Was it me or is this stage ending the same it started? Through a dark hallway?

We all kept moving, eyeing everything in our path. Kai was still holding my right hand; I was afraid to actually let go. This battle was an important and difficult stage… our chances of survival weren’t as high as other occasions. Still, I had faith in us. We soon came to the end of the hall and found the light source. The hallway ended in a circular manner, surrounded by multiple tall candleholders, and at the center, right in front of us, was a throne.

A man was sitting on it, behind the shadows the near candles produced. Some Exotics were standing at both sides of the seat a few feet away from the figure, facing our way. The Bacon Lord actually thought he was a king…We all stopped walking; I felt Kai’s grip hardened. It was now or never. I was about to talk when the figure began his speech. His voice was slow and sarcastic; filled with hypocrisy.

BH: Miss Park, Congratulations. It’s a pleasure to finally have you in my palace. I hope you enjoyed your little stay in EXO Tower. It’s such a shame it didn’t last longer. I watched your every move (he said while pointing to his right, where a big console was surrounded by multiple screens, showing a live view of every floor), and may I say you’ve been the first player to impress me. Well played my friend.

He slowly clapped, making the sound echo in the hallway. I glared at him the most horrible way I could; the others did the same. HaeRi had gotten near me, to the extent of clinging to my left arm. She was nervous; way too nervous. I put my arm around her shoulders and took her in into the crook of my neck. The man finally decided to start business.

MJ: So, MinJeong-sshi. Ready for your boss fight?

The man got up from his throne seat, walking out of the shadows and into the light. He was wearing the same clothing as the Exotics in the Tower; mask and everything. One of his henchmen from the left threw him a long wooden stick; he caught it in the air without even looking at it. He slowly walked up to us, until only a meter separated us. He then took off his mask, showing us his true identity.

I use to think gay men were a waste, because they were usually really attractive and women couldn’t be blessed with them. But after coming to Exotica, I think Exotics are the biggest waste out there. Their evil purposes don’t match their beautiful exteriors. Byun BaekHyun could have been the most delicate and precious thing I ever saw. .. after LuHan of course. Still, the Bacon Lord was far away from what I pictured him like; in my imagination he was a geeky looking guy with Obsessive Playstation Games Disorder. But this Bacon had style: brown straight hair, dark penetrating eyes, pale soft skin, accompanied by some pink lips and hands that were girlier than mine. Did I mention his and thighs looked like a woman’s?... That actually attracted me…

But my thoughts on him were interrupted by a piercing shriek coming from HaeRi. She was screaming uncontrollably while taking a hold of her head with both hands. Her eyes were tightly closed while a river flowed out of them. She fell on her knees and threw herself on the floor, crying her heart out.  I fell to the floor in seconds, taking her in my arms and calling her name out loud repeatedly. She wasn’t responding; she was still screaming and breathing heavily. It was as if she was in a sort of trance. Lay kneeled next to me and tried to control HaeRi’s unconscious movements. The rest of the gang circled around her. That’s when I heard BaekHyun laughing. I looked at him with a stare that could dig holes in steel walls.

BH: Now I remember. I knew she looked familiar… Wow, some show we got ourselves tonight. Hehehe

I was so enraged that my words were coming out cut. My heart rate went up faster than a racehorse. My eyes would explode any second now out of their orbits. A blood vessel would fail me right now. And I would still be alive to kick this guy’s . I stood up in a flash, closing in the distance between us two. Our faces were an inch away. He was snickering.

MJ: How… do you… know her?... And what’s….so…ing…funny?!

BH: HAH! Isn’t it obvious? I was the lucky guy to get her laid after winni…

The man didn’t have time to explain his unforgivable deed. I slapped his straight across the face the hardest I could. BaekHyun lost balance and faltered a little to his right; his wooden stick flew to the other side of the room. He then looked back at me, still chuckling. He was touching his lower lip, which I had broken and was bleeding.

BH: Did it make you feel better? Because her ity ain’t coming back just like that…

I took him by the collar and pushed him back. He fell on his back, and I was kneeling over his body. I closed in my lips to his ear so I could whisper in a fake sensual tone.

MJ: So…You like to little girls, huh? Well, guess what pretty boy? You can’t without a !

I took out the dagger from behind by uniform and was about to circumcise the man, but he grabbed my wrist just a centimeter away from his precious South Pole. I felt possessed at that very moment. BaekHyun’s attitude kept being all cocky.

BH: Easy ! You can’t just start the boss fight when you want; I’m the one in charge here. There are some rules to follow. Now, if you don’t mind getting off of me… Or do you like to top, you ?

I was about to slap the man again, but MinSeok and Kai came to pick me up by the arms. I fought back; all I wanted was to kill the guy. This guy and Chen both deserve to be in the same place: Hell. I heard the evil boss laughing as he got up from the floor. One of his henchmen brought him his wooden stick. I was already sitting next to HaeRi, crying over her unconscious body when BaekHyun talked.

BH: Here’s the deal. You’re group is made out of 6 persons, that means mine will have 6 as well. The player is the one that will fight the boss; your friends can’t attack me or aid you. Your allies will fight against my Exotics. You can use any weapons you desire, or just go with hand-to-hand combat. And finally, the only way to win this battle is by spilling the enemy’s blood; it’s how the door to the exit elevator will open. Any questions Miss Park?

MJ: HAERI CAN’T FIGHT! She passed out BECAUSE OF YOU! How do you pretend to have a fair fight now?

BH: That is none of my business. If she fainted and can’t fight is as if she already lost. The battle will be held 5 against 6. Your friends will just have to figure out how to handle the extra enemy.

I thought it over for a moment. We were in a tight spot now. I couldn’t just leave HaeRi thrown in the floor while we fought! Someone could come and snatch her away; I didn’t trust this people at all. I was coming up with a decision, and even though it would complicate everything, it was for the safety of all. I stood of, leaving HaeRi in Lay’s arms. I was looking at BaekHyun with furious eyes. My blood was boiling. It was time we ended this little party.  I started giving orders without taking my eyes off the enemy.

MJ: YiXing! I’m trusting you with HaeRi. You two will not fight in this battle; both of you are too weak. And besides, HaeRi can’t be alone, so please protect her. MinSeok, Kai! Take their weapons. (I turned around to face them all) And whatever you do, don’t back down. There are things in this world that need to be done.

The devil was chuckling again. I turned around and walked towards him with firm footsteps. I placed myself in front of him, taking on a battle stance with the dagger tightly gripped in my right hand. I didn’t care about circumstances anymore, all I wanted was to see this man suffer…

MJ: Whenever you’re ready Bacon…

He snickered. He stomped one of the ends of his wooden staff against the floor. His henchmen all got up straight, with weapons at hand; ready to spring into action. He slowly lifted his left hand in the air and snapped his fingers…