Do Kyungsoo wasn’t like the rest of them. He remembered his name, he knew he was going to be made to kill the one he loved – Kim Jongin – and he also remembered everything else. Unlike all the others, his memories had remained intact. The owner of the voice hadn’t done this by accident – he loved a game, and a game was exactly what this was. Kyungsoo didn’t know who the owner of the voice was or where he was, and he didn’t know that Jongin had no idea who he was.

     He planned to go along with the game until he met Jongin; then they could escape together. Because of that, he didn’t put much thought into choosing a weapon – though he pretended to. In reality, he chose the one he saw first: the axe. “Good choice, child.” The voice commented, sending shivers down Kyungsoo’s spine. “Jongin will be here soon.”

     Sure enough, Jongin appeared a second later, a sword in his hands and a determined look in his eyes. “So Kyungsoo, shall we start?” Kyungsoo took that as a signal to begin his plan; he and Jongin had always had a sort of telepathic connection, so he believed that Jongin was planning exactly the same scheme as he was. He also believed that Jongin was only calling him ‘Kyungsoo’ to fool whoever had done this to them – he always called him ‘D.O.’ and likewise, Kyungsoo called him ‘Kai.’

     And so he ran over to Jongin excitedly, tossing his axe to the side when he neared him and throwing his arms around his friend’s neck. “Kai,” he whispered, hoping that the owner of the mysterious voice was unable to hear him. “We have to get out of here. We have to run.” Without waiting for a response, he grabbed hold of Jongin’s hand and pulled on it – but the other didn’t move. “Kai, we have to go. Don’t you get it? They’re going to make us kill each other – all of us. Please Kai, come with me.” He tugged harder on Jongin’s hand, but Jongin still didn’t move.

     He just stared at Kyungsoo with dead eyes. “Kyungsoo, I don’t know who you are or what you’re playing at, but I came to kill you and that’s what I’ll do – whether you choose to fight back or not.”

     “Kai?” Kyungsoo whispered in disbelief. This wasn’t the same Jongin he knew, even though it certainly looked like the same Jongin he knew and this one had the same voice as the one he knew – though this one’s voice and expression lacked emotion.

     “Please refrain from calling me that.”

     “What?”

     “’Kai’.” He spat the word out, as if it didn’t deserve to be graced with his presence. “Don’t call me ‘Kai’. It’s not my name. My name is Kim Jongin.”

     Kyungsoo didn’t move. He couldn’t. His feet were rooted to the ground. He only moved when the voice commanded him to do so. “Do Kyungsoo, retrieve your weapon.” He clearly remembered what direction the sound of metal colliding with the floor had come from when he threw his weapon away, so Kyungsoo was able to find and collect his axe quickly. Whatever was going on with Jongin, it looked like they were going to have to fight each other… to the death.

     He stood in a fighting stance that matched Jongin’s, only he was quivery with dread. He scanned the sword in his friend’s hands and immediately regretted choosing his axe. If Jongin won the battle, Kyungsoo would probably meet his end in a matter of seconds; if Kyungsoo won the battle, he would have to hack away at the love of his life until he was dead.

     “You may begin now, children. I wish you a good fight.” Kyungsoo internally gagged at the diplomacy of the voice’s owner; it wasn’t like they had a choice whether to fight or not – they were being forced to do it.

     Kyungsoo failed to move his feet. He swore the axe wasn’t this heavy before, but now he was faced with the task of actually murdering his best friend (with whom he was secretly in love) it suddenly seemed to gain an enormous weight. And so did his heart.

     On the other hand, Jongin seemed perfectly fine. He didn’t appear to be shaken or emotionally distraught. He walked calmly over to Kyungsoo, raising his sword as he did so. It was obvious that he intended to quickly swipe at his opponent with his sword once he was close enough – even the panic-stricken Kyungsoo could see that. In a sudden bout of self-awareness, Kyungsoo kicked out with his left leg when Jongin approached him, kicking his opponent in the shin. Jongin’s knee buckled under the unexpected contact, giving Kyungsoo just enough time to get out of the way of his attack. “Kai- Jongin, why?” Kyungsoo whimpered in fear and confusion.

     The fact that he missed with his first attack didn’t faze Jongin though – and Kyungsoo’s whimper failed to ignite the love that Jongin had once had inside his heart for him. He aimed again – this time at his opponent’s neck – and swung his sword, determined to succeed this time.

     And he would have succeeded… if it wasn’t for Kyungsoo’s catlike reflexes. If he had realised what he was doing, he probably wouldn’t have done it – he would have welcomed death wholeheartedly instead. When he saw Jongin’s attack coming, he instinctively hurled his axe at a random point on Jongin’s body; the random point happened to be his heart.

     The pain that surged through Jongin’s body forced him to drop his sword to the ground and collapse beside it. The metal weapon landed with a clatter that neither of them heard. Kyungsoo realised then what he’d done; he realised it too late. He rushed to Jongin’s side, grasping at his hand and repeatedly apologising. “Kai, Kai, I’m sorry. I had to. I didn’t want to, but I had to. Forgive me.” He sobbed, burying his head in Jongin’s bloody chest.

     He glanced up to see Jongin’s bewildered face and his half-lidded eyes, and leaned in to press their lips together. “Don’t die. I love you, Kai. I really love you. Please, stay with me.” He pleaded as he pulled away from the kiss. But Jongin’s soul had already left his body. Kai was already dead.

     “No. No.” Kyungsoo whined, refusing to admit the truth. “You’re not dead.” He shook his head defiantly, but Jongin didn’t respond. He’d never confessed his love to Jongin before, and now that he had, Jongin was dead. Kyungsoo pulled his best friend and victim’s body towards him, sobbing into the clothes that used to be white, but were by now soaked through with a thick crimson liquid. He whispered sweet nothings into the ear of his dead loved one, knowing that Jongin would never know how he felt and wishing that he had been the one to die instead.