Have you heard of the Killer Game? No? Click on How to and learn how to play this simple game.

There is just one Killer, one Police (or detective if you want), one Doctor and the Citizens. The participants are chosen by drawing playing cards. King is for Killer, obviously cause it starts with ‘K’. Jack is for Police. Ace is for Doctor and the Numbers would mean citizens.

But there are four Kings, four Aces and four Jacks, you say. Obviously there’s only one of each as for the Numbers, they will depend on the number of participants.

There is only one chance for everyone. You can’t Refresh the page or delete the contents of your desktop, laptop whatever device’s History you have. Your fate will be decided by your hands and how lucky you are.

Prizes? If you survived the game until it’s end or you have captured the Killer (as the Police) or have healed the right people targeted by the Killer (as the Doctor) then you will be justly rewarded. Rewards will be kept a secret but they are worth the risk, we assure you.

Well, do you want to join, wait scratch that. Your participation is mandatory. Congratulations! You are now one of the players. Good luck! And stay alive, because unlike the innocent version, you are really going to die when the Killer finds you.

Junhong scoffs as he reads the words on his laptop screen. “Really going to die my ,” he mutters as he maneuvers the mouse and just for the whack of it clicked – Join. Jongup, his best friend since the start of high school, was looking from over his shoulders.

“What the heck are you doing?” Jongup hissed and startled Junhong.

Junhong glared at Jongup before closing the dialog box.

“You’re not supposed to be playing random stuff using the school computers,” Jongup nagged.

“Chill, Jongup,” Junhong said with a snap and opened the window to their current Computer class assignment.

“What was that you’re playing anyway?” Jongup asked, Junhong just shrugged promising he’d tell later.

*~*~*

“Are you out of your mind?” exclaimed Jongup after hearing about the strange site Junhong had entered. “What if it’s like that Ring curse only it’s happening in real life?”

Junhong snorted, “As if, things like that don’t happen in real life. Besides whoever made that probably was in for the ad payments or something and it’s just the same as any normal RPG whatnot.” But Jongup still looked worried.

But Junhong was curious as well. He had heard of the game from the other gamers at the local internet café. Some of them heard it from others and just like Junhong, joined in the game for the nick of it. None of them, for the past week now had died yet, as what the game had said. None of them had received any emails to confirm their application, nor have they received any deck of cards to choose from as the site’s management has explained. So it was just natural that Junhong would forget it and flaunt the falseness of the curse that Jongup kept blabbering whenever he remembers the game on his face.

*~*~*

It was in the middle of P.E class, Junhong and the rest of the boys were in the locker rooms changing back into their school uniforms and horsing around when his phone vibrated inside his pants’ pocket.

Congratulations Zelo,

Your application has been confirmed.

Now, choose among the deck cards.

The text message read. Surprised and curious, Junhong shrugged off the weird feeling he had and randomly tapped onto a card on his touch screen smart phone. Few moments later as he replaced it back inside his pants, the phone vibrated again.

You picked JACK which is the Police card.

Please wait 24-hours for the start of the most exhilarating game in your life.

Good luck and may the Heavens be kind to you.

“Junhong,” Jongup called from the locker room door. Junhong had been the only one left inside, realizing this, he swiftly grabbed his shirt and polo, shrugged both in and brisk walked out of the room.

“What were you doing spacing out back there?” Jongup asked when they were finally near their homeroom classroom’s door. A look of curiosity and worry about his face which made Junhong wonder if Jongup would ever stop worrying or make everything his problem as well.

“I’m part of the game,” Junhong starts and waits for Jongup reaction, who was just silent. “The most exhilarating game of my life apparently and I’m the cop,” Junhong ends with a nonchalant laugh.

“That’s not funny,” Jongup starts. “Maybe we should tell the authorities or something.”

“Jongup, us telling the authorities because you got paranoid about a mystery-themed game will be something funny,” countered Junhong placing a reassuring hand on Jongup’s shoulder. “Lighten up a little.” But Jongup was still not reassured. Junhong sighed, “I’ll tell you every bit of detail about the game okay.”

Jongup was reluctant but nodded nonetheless. Junhong smirks with a shake of his head and enters the classroom high fiving some of their friends.

Junhong learned that he had three more classmates who had either stumbled upon, or had actually searched for the game and that they were all accepted as well. All four of them were indifferent but also excited about the game. Some of them had tried cleaning their History, another had refreshed the page to re-enter or quit or pick another card but as the game has informed – they only had one chance. That in itself was both enigmatic and bewildering that had lead them to speculate that maybe what they got is a virus instead and after a day their laptops would be destroyed.

“It can’t seriously be a virus,” exclaimed Kyungsoo, exaggeratedly palming his forehead. “My dad’s gonna kill me if I bust the laptop again,” he finished. Jongin slaps him hard at the back, making him lean forward involuntarily.

“That’s what you get for watching all the time,” Jongin snorts.

“Don’t lump me in with my brother okay,” Kyungsoo snaps.

“Well, we can only know tomorrow,” Yoo Kwon said nonchalantly as his eyes and most of his attention was glued onto the game he was playing on his phone.

*~*~*

The following day, Junhong received both a text message and an email stating that the game has officially started.

2/28/2013: Status: ON

Card chosen: Police

Player: Zelo

Mission:

1.       Find the Killer and catch him or stop his plans from being completed.

2.       Save the twenty other Citizens scattered all over Seoul, South Korea.

Reminder: Killer, Police and Doctor have one week to do their job.

From the Admin: Status updates will be in another week, unless you are either one of the three aforementioned players. If you have any questions just click the ‘Reply’ button and send your queries, the Administration will be glad to address to any problems. Good luck and Stay alive.

Despite what Junhong had promised Jongup and his classmates, he didn’t tell any of them. That day, while waiting for the next subject he lied about also getting a Citizen card and went along with them. He also found it stupid and had laughed along. But Jongup knew Junhong far too well than the others and knew he was lying.

“So what are you going to do now?” Jongup asked, trying hard not to be too involved in a way that would irk Junhong. The said person shrugged. “Wait for one week I guess,” Junhong answers.

3/4/2013: 12:00 nn: Status

Card chosen: Police

Player: Zelo

Update: Killer has chosen his first victim.

3/6/2013: 10:15 am: Status

Card chosen: Police

Player: Zelo

Update: Doctor has chosen a Citizen to heal.

Junhong ignored both messages – in text message and email. But he has received another message which forced him to randomly select a number from the deck to ‘capture’ as the game has said and minutes later another update sent his phone beeping.

*~*~*

3/8/2013: 12:01 am: Status

Card chosen: Police

Player: Zelo

Update: Sorry but you captured the wrong person. The Killer is still in the loose.

Scenario: A Citizen had just left his work, he was in PM shift. It was nothing special, he was just waiting for the last train home. Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to ride nor will he ever will. Citizen died on the scene.

Junhong rolled his eyes on the message when he finally read it that morning. He saunters to his seat at the dining table, patiently waiting with still sleepy eyes for his meal. It was a habit of his family to turn the television on and listen or watch the news or do both.

“Junhong, stop dillydallying or else you’ll be late for school,” nagged his mother when she found him frozen in the middle of his meal. Junhong took one last spoonful from his breakfast and hurriedly finished prepping himself and left the house.

It’s just a coincidence, it’s just a coincidence, Junhong kept telling his self mentally as he jogs towards the bus stop. Jogging wasn’t really his thing but he needed to do something to get the weird, nasty feeling out of his system. Junhong heard his phone rang and for the first time he was reluctant to open the message, warily he read it.

3/8/2013: 06:15 am: Status: Privilege message

Card chosen: Police

Player: Zelo

Information: Privilege messages are messages coming directly from us, the Admin, for the main characters of this fun game, namely the Police, the Killer and the Doctor. These messages will only be sent to only one of three or all. None of the other players will be able to read the contents unlike the Weekly updates. Privilege messages are also different from the updates the three main characters get about each other’s choices.

                The [Pv] beside the ‘From the Admin’ section represents said message.

[Pv] From the Admin: We repeat this is not the innocent version. Someone will really die within a week’s time, unless you a.) stop the ‘accident’ from happening or b.) capture the Killer.

Junhong jumps from the sudden pressure on his shoulder.

“Junhong, are you okay?” Jongup asked his eyebrows knitted to a line with worry.

Junhong mentally slaps himself awake and slips his phone inside his pocket and greeted Jongup with a smile he hopes the other won’t find fake. “Y-yeah, just – have you heard about the news?” Junhong says.

“Oh yeah, that was really horrible,” Jongup shared his own opinion as he grabs for the pole to keep himself steady as the bus swerves back to the road. “If it were me I won’t jump in front of the train,” Jongup continues to talk. “I mean I would be unrecognizable during my funeral.”

Junhong laughs along but all the while despite his fervent denial that everything was just plain coincidence, he and probably the other two ‘main characters’ as the Administrators of the game has said were the only ones who knew that it was no suicide.

A person named Lee Minhyuk, a part-timer of a 24-hour convenience store, and a college student majoring in Broadcasting, while waiting for his train was a player of this mysterious game and was unlucky to have been chosen as the first victim.

But nobody knows that, not even Kyungsoo, Jongin or Yoo Kwon knew about it. Still uncertain about the authenticity of the game, Junhong speculates if, among the four of them, was he the only one who had lied about what card he had pick.