“ahehehe.. wakey wakey, it’s time to play…”

The robotic snake like voice slithered into Wooyoung’s ears, filling up every inch of his consciousness with slime. It sent chills down Wooyoung’s spine, snapping him out of a groggy trance. He looked around and noticed he was confined to what seemed like an electric chair, his arms and legs strapped down tightly with rusted metal clasps. He was trapped in a room that looked just like the ones Taecyeon and Chansung were in on the CCTV except there was only one spotlight directed at Wooyoung’s location, the rest of the room pitch dark.  Wooyoung, realizing he was completely alone and separated from the others, started to panic and writhed in his chair, convulsing back in forth to escape the restraints.

“It’s time to start the festivitiesss… the rules are simple…to escape this room…”

“… you just need to get to the door on the other side and avoid any obstacles in the way ahehehe”

Junho took several deep breaths while closing his eyes, trying to calm down. The last thing he remembered was reaching out to Wooyoung before he went into a free fall into the shadows. Now confined to a chair, Junho struggled to get free but the rusted metal clasps holding down his wrists and ankles would not budge. Gritting his teeth, Junho stared intently around the room. He did not see any doors anywhere.

“What sick joke is this?! Get me OUT OF HERE!!”

“ahehehe ready?... it’s time to begin!”

=======================================================================================================================

Suddenly, the clasps that were digging into Wooyoung’s wrists and ankles released. Realizing that he was free, Wooyoung jumped out of the chair. He winced slightly at the gunshot wound in his side but the adrenaline was pumping through his veins so fast that he didn’t care about the pain.

“What do you want from me? Let me OUT!” Wooyoung yelled as he ran around the room, searching for any sign of an opening to escape the confined space. He did not see any exit.

“ahehehe… oh you can escape if you want, but only if you pass the biggest obstacle of your life…”

Suddenly, with a deep mechanical rumbling, one of the walls lifted from the ground exposing a bigger space behind it. At the other end of the exposed room, Wooyoung spotted a green lit up exit sign. But after only taking three steps forward, Wooyoung stopped dead in his tracks.

“…ahehehe... are you surprised? …. The only thing that holds you back in this world…..”

Out from the shadows, a figure stepped forward. Wooyoung was paralyzed from the confusion of what he was seeing before his eyes.

“……. is yourself ahehehe…”

Wooyoung rubbed his eyes but his vision was not playing tricks on him, Wooyoung was looking directly at himself. The Wooyoung looking back was almost identical, but more handsome, more striking, rough around the edges, and had a terrifying sneer plastered on his face. The look in this reflection’s eyes was murderous and thirsty for blood. The rest of the lights flickered on, dimly lighting the rest of the space. Over the hidden speakers, a bell rang signaling the beginning of the fight.

“No, this is a trick… this is all an illusion” Junho muttered under his breath has he stared directly at another, better, version of himself. The dark Junho staring back had eyes cold as ice, sending chills down Junho’s spine.

“…… to get to the other side, you must defeat yourself… lose and you’ll stay in this room… forever.. ahehehe”

Junho knew he had no time to waste. Wooyoung was out there in this maze somewhere injured, and Chansung was in terrible danger. He didn’t care how ridiculous this situation was, he just knew he needed to get out and find his brothers. He had a fire in his eyes and he could see that same thirst in the eyes of the Junho staring back at him. At that moment, Junho knew this was not going to end until the other person was on the ground, permanently.

Time was ticking and Wooyoung knew this was not the time for deep thinking. He had to go with his gut animal instincts and it was time to act and run for his life. Before he even took a step, the dark Wooyoung had already landed a hit.

“ahehehe.. too slow ….”

Wooyoung staggered a few steps back but regained his stance, the pain from the gunshot wound resurging through his side again. He knew he was at a complete disadvantage with his injury so his best plan of action was to counter the opponent’s attack and deflect the damage until he could find a weak spot to strike. Wooyoung raised his arms and planted his feet firmly in the ground, taking deep breaths as his enemy charged towards him.

Junho ferociously attacked his reflection, landing hit after hit. Upper cut. Right hook. Left hook. Haymaker. Side sweep. No one was going to stand in his way of escaping this room and seeing his brothers again. With each hit Junho could tell he was overpowering his foe who had previously been swiftly dodging and countering all attacks.

“Just GIVE UP ALREADY and GET OUT OF MY WAY!!” Junho bellowed as he landed another hit right across his foe’s face, leaving a bloody gash.

His foe was growing considerably weaker but suddenly mustered some last minute energy, jumped up and spun at Junho with a roundhouse kick. Junho instinctively did a backflip and dodged the kick right as it would have hit him in the side. The foe looked bewildered for a split second and Junho smirked, who knew all those years of painstaking acrobatic training would come in handy for once? He used this moment of shock to his advantage and lunged at the foe, kicking him right square in the chest, causing the dark Junho to stagger a few steps backwards. Junho ran at the foe and right when they were about to throw a punch, Junho crouched down and slid right through the enemy’s legs. Junho rolled once, landed his feet, and used the momentum to kick off the ground and punch the backward facing enemy right in the kidneys.

“GOTCHA!”

The evil Junho roared in pain and turned around only to have Junho already right in his face, delivering a crushing blow right in the gut. Junho saw his foe crouch in agony and take a few steps back again. The arrogantly cold expression was gone and dark Junho was breathing heavily, trying to catch his breath. The end was near, Junho knew he had to finish him now. Junho ran at his enemy with all of his might while the foe got into a defensive stance and gritted his teeth with the look of upmost desperation. Right before the foe could land a punch, Junho used the momentum in his run to do an aerial cartwheel, landing his legs right on the enemy’s shoulders. While in motion, Junho clamped his legs together around the enemy’s head and spun in the air taking his foe with him. Junho released his grip and the dark Junho went flying the opposite direction. Junho landed in a handstand and using his continuing momentum, front flipped to finally land firmly on his feet, right in front of the exit sign. Junho bolted out the door without hesitation, never once looking back at the reflection lying completely still on the ground.

Wooyoung deflected a few attacks but it was not enough. Dark Wooyoung was faster, stronger, and more experienced. Crushing blow after blow, Wooyoung could only take so much before his body was shutting down. Wooyoung was on his hands and knees, blood dripping from his side and the cuts and gashes all over his face.

“Please… please stop. I want to live…”

But Wooyoung’s pleas fell on deaf ears as he heard his foe run towards him again for a final attack. Wooyoung gathered up all of his strength and took his stance once more. If he was going to go out, he was going to go out with dignity knowing he tried his absolute best. Suddenly, Wooyoung’s vision went blurry and then static like a broken TV screen. Rubbing his eyes, he blinked a few times and when his vision came to, his eyes widened at the sight of what was happening.

“… Junho?? Junho is that you?!”

Wooyoung rubbed his eyes once more but his vision was clearer than it had ever been. Junho was charging towards him with a vicious look on his face, his eyes completely glazed over. It was never a reflection, it was Junho this whole time.

“Junho-shi!! Stop JUNHO IT’S ME-“

The next thing Wooyoung knew, he was on the ground and his vision was starting to black out. Junho ran out the exit door and as his steps grew fainter in the distance, all the lights in the room were turning off, one by one. As each lamp shut off, Wooyoung felt the light of life in him leave his body simultaneously.

“… Junho.. come back.. help me.. please”

Wooyoung’s head was pounding. His body was in so much pain that eventually everything just felt numb. He couldn’t move his arms, legs, or even turn his head.

“Is this the end? I … I guess I was not meant to live on… brothers... I’m sorry. I love you.” A tear dripped down Wooyoung’s cheek. And then another tear, and then another.

“I love you all so much.” Wooyoung started to sob profusely, each tear draining whatever energy he had left.

“I will watch over you and make sure you escape… I will see you all again someday… “

As the final lamp turned off, Wooyoung laid in the darkness and closed his eyes, his breaths getting more and more shallow. Wooyoung felt a glowing warmth surround him. He could barely open his eyes but when he did,  he saw a soft white light. The warmth around him felt familiar, it felt safe. He felt his body being lifted off the ground and somewhere, like a distant echo either coming from deep within or from the light, he heard a warm and loving voice tell him everything was going to be okay. Wooyoung smiled and closed his eyes.

End of Chapter 2