Jinyoung’s POV

“Ugh…” I groaned as my head started spinning the moment I peeled my eyes open.  It did so for a few seconds before it finally went back to normal.

“Oh, you are awake.” A rather low-pitched yet familiar voice greeted me. It sounded rather cold. “Jia…” I squinted my eyes to double check that I wasn't seeing things. “Where am I? What am I doing here?” She smirked a little before putting the glass of water down onto the small table beside the bed I was lying on.

“Jinyoung!” A high-pitched voice exclaimed worriedly. “Are you okay?” She asked as she cupped my cheeks gently with both hands. “Min… Where am I? What am I doing here?” I repeated my questions to her. “This is my house. Y-you fainted on the rooftop.” She looked down as her hands left my cheeks. “Mianhei…” Jia suddenly apologized. I looked at her, confused. “Min told me. We didn’t know that things were so serious.” She hung her head low.

The whole incident struck me again. Gongchan and Sandeul…. They are dead. Because of me. My eyes started to well up. I didn’t realize how important these guys have become to me.  Memories of the days we spent together flashed through my mind. How the BaDuel couple would always bicker with each other but still remain inseparable, how the GaWoo couple (a/n: I hope you won’t mind that I used this, krispythekreme!) would team up against me in arguments, how Gongchan will force me to agree to things with his irresistible ageyo. Tears gradually filled my eyes.

“Jinyoung…” I felt someone shaking me gently. It pulled me back to planet Earth. “Are you okay?” I gave a bitter laugh as I hastily wiped the tears that escaped away. “Where are the others? Shinwoo and Baro?” Right, there is still the GaWoo couple, Baro and Fei! I looked at her gratefully as she reminded me to stop mourning over the loss of Gongchan and Sandeul and focus on saving the rest of them. For the first time, she looked pleasant and surprisingly un-irritating.

“Min…” I called softly as she continued to look at me with a caring gaze. “The paintballs, the key… Who asked you to?” I asked. Guilt was once again evident in her expression as she remained silent. I turned to look at Jia, hoping for an answer but she avoided my gaze. “Tell me, if you want to help me, if you want me to forgive you…”

Min gulped. “This morning, an unknown guy called us and asked if we wanted to play a little game with you. We thought it would be fun and met with him. He only told us about how you would be anxious to find the key, he…” She fought her back tears before continuing. “He didn’t tell us the whole story…”

“Do you know his name?” I asked. “He calls himself Jeongui.” Jia replied instead of Min. The latter seemed lost in her thoughts. “And how does he—“ I didn’t even get to complete my question before Min answered. “He was wearing a black hoodie with a black mask. I couldn’t see how he looked like…” She tilted her head as she tried to recall.

“I think he is of around the same height as you.” Jia added. Min frowned and looked at her. “No, from what I saw this afternoon, this Jeongui guy is taller than Jinyoung by quite a lot!” Min argued. “Maybe?” Jia shrugged. “Anyway, his voice sounds kind of familiar…” Min said while rubbing her chin.

Come to think of it, it does sound kind of familiar…

“Gomawo.” I thanked Min, who froze. I chuckled a little at her reaction. I turned my head to the window, and noticed how the streets looked dark. How long have I been unconscious? I took a look at the time on my phone. 11.30pm?! I have been unconscious for that long?!

“It’s late already, just stay for the night.” Jia said as she nudged the frozen Min, indicating to leave the room together. “Huh? Ah. Neh, Jinyoung, stay for the night.” Min finally snapped back to the real world. “Wouldn’t your parents mind?” I asked. “Min and I live together, on our own.” Jia replied coldly. “Min, let’s go.” She walked out of the room. “Oh, there are some clean clothes over there, you might want to change into them. Goodnight, Jinyoung!” Min waved and gave a smile. “Goodnight.” I  returned the smile.

“AHH!” Sandeul screamed as his body approached the ground from the top of the building at constant acceleration. It didn't take long for his screams to be replaced with a loud ‘thud’. “HYUNG! SAVE ME!” Gongchan shouted as he fidgeted vigorously while hanging outside a the same building. “JINYOUNG HYUNG! AHHHH!” He screamed as he followed the footsteps of Sandeul.

“Jinyoung!” Someone shouted. I turned around. The scene changed dramatically. I am now in an abandoned room, with Shinwoo and Gami being tied down with some ropes some distance away from me. “Jinyoung! Save us!” Gami pleaded for help as they tried to free themselves from the ropes, which proved to be futile. I rushed to them, wanting to help them, but before I could reach them, they suddenly disappeared into the thin air. “Jinyoung hyung!” A deep voice called.

I turned another 180 degrees. The scene changed as a guy in black hoodie and mask, which I assumed to be Jeongui, raised the knife in his hand up high and gave a hard stab through Baro’s chest before disappearing into a cloud of smoke. Baro fell to the ground. One of his hands was clutching onto his wound while the other reaching out for me. “Save me, hyung!” He begged. I ran towards him but once again, he disappeared before I could reach him.

“Jinyoung!” The voice I could never forget called. “Fei!” I turned as the scene changed, again. Blazes of flame surrounded her, leaving her with nowhere to escape. “Fei!” I shouted as I tried to dash through the flames. But I failed, terribly. There is simply no way I can reach Fei safely. “Save me!” Fei pleaded, helplessness and fear were evident through her eye. Even if I die, so be it! I mustered my courage, and using my hand to shield, I dashed into the circle drawn with the flames with my eyes closed. But the temperature of my surrounding suddenly dropped drastically. It felt kind of cold, instead of the burning temperature just a moment ago. I opened my eyes and looked up. I am alone now, in a dark and cold room.

“Jinyoung! Save me!” “Hyung! Save me!” The six of them suddenly appeared beside me without warning. Gongchan and Sandeul dragged their broken limbs towards me, Shinwoo and Gami wriggled on the floor as their limbs were restricted by the ropes. Baro crawled to me with the knife still in his chest and Fei cried from the pain of her burnt wounds as she staggered her way to me. All of them were dangerously close to me as they pleaded for me to save them. “Mian…” I muttered as my sight became blurred from the tears.

“Jinyoung! JINYOUNG!” I shot up. I took in a few sharp and short breaths. I looked around. I am still in Min’s house. It was just a dream. “Jinyoung, are you alright?” Min asked for the nth time. “Neh… I just had a nightmare.” I swallowed a ball of saliva. As if on cue, my phone rang. Unknown user. I guess I know who it is from. I answered the video call.

“A brand new day~ Time for another game~” The robotic voice sang happily. The video showed Gami and Shinwoo being tied together in an empty barrel that far exceeds their height. Yes, even that giant Shinwoo. Water was flowing into the barrel from a pipe steadily, filling up the barrel at a constant speed. He seemed to have noticed that I saw the pipe. “I wonder if you can save them this time, Jinyoung.”  I could hear him smirk from the other end of the call.

I started to observe the surroundings in the video. It looked rundown and deserted, like most places that criminals will do their illegal stuffs. “Look!” Min suddenly exclaimed as she pointed to a corner of the phone screen. It is a signboard, at the far end of the video. I squinted as I tried to figure out the small words on the signboard. I think it writes ‘ER FACTORY’. 

A/N:

Just something to slow the story down a little~ ^_^