It was as simple as that.

The contestants settled their gaze on the unconscious Hyungwon in the box, and then averted their gaze to the screen, which had changed to a huge timer counting down from 5 minutes. They looked back and forth between the two, stomachs churning, unaware or whether fear, or disbelief, was the one that was slowing eating away their patience.

The uneasiness sinks in as they realise the undeniable truth: it was not as simple as that.

Finally the red haired contestant could not take it anymore. "You know what, screw this. I'm calling the police."

The other two muttered in agreement, still fazed by the situation, staring at the finger hovering over "9" as if their life depended on it. Well, that wasn't far from the truth.

The phone was raised to an ear, but no one spoke for what felt like minutes, when in fact the timer indicates that there was still 4 minutes and 30 seconds left.

"Fuck, why is there no sound?" The red haired man ripped the phone away from his ear and glared at the screen in frustration, and if it hadn't been the newest iPhone X, the thin black box would have been on the other side of the room by now.

Phones were pulled out and turned on, well, attempted to be anyways. Nothing showed other than blackness. Disappointing, depressing, blackness.

"Shit, is my phone dead?"

"No, mine is black, too."

"What are we supposed to do now?"

They looked back towards Hyungwon, still lying lifeless against the cold floor. Despite everything, his closed eyes looked peaceful and calming.

No one talked for a good while. No one dared talk. The truth was way too dreadful to be spoken out loud.

Smiley did something to your phones. You have no choice but to make a choice.

"Look, we don't have much time," The tallest one started. "I say we..." He hesitated, searching for the right words. "I mean, he won't actually kill that man right?"

It took a while for the others to realise what those words meant.

"W-wait. You don't mean-We can't just leave him-"

Pat. Pat. Pat.

"Y-yea. I don't want to be a murderer!"

PAT. PAT. PAT

"What was that?" The tallest one asked again.

PATPATPATPATPATPATPATPATPATPAT!!!!!!

Three heads jerked towards the source of the sound, which happened to be the only illuminated area in this room.

"Oh, he's awake." It was not clear who spoke; it was too dark to be sure anyways.

They walked toward the glass box, thinking that everything would be easier since the victim could just make the decision for them.

"What the hell is happening? What's with the timer?" The glass muffled the voice, but the fear and desperation was still very much evident.

The three contestants looked at each other, afraid to reveal the truth.

Hyungwon looked at each of them carefully from left to right, and then focused his eyes on the glass instead when no one spoke. "Since I'm locked up, and since you are apparently scared to even tell me, I assume it's really bad." Hyungwon tried really hard to stay calm, to show even a little control over something that is clearly out of his control. He realized that he was the reason for all this, he had to take responsibility somehow, and staying calm and acting like the leader seemed like the right thing to do.

However Hyungwon soon felt his self-control running away from the intimidating red words on the screen. He could not help it. He did not want this to happen.

It's normal to be scared under these circumstances.

Still, no one talked. And that's when Hyungwon burst.

"Oh come on! Speak up you bunch of cowards! Stop pulling this silence bullshit with me. Seriously. I thought you are all nice people. If you are then help! Do what you are supposed to be doing now." Hyungwon huffed, then added, "Hello? Jooheon? Wonho? Shownu?" Hyungwon hoped to wake them up by calling their names. A bit childish, but that was all he could have done.

The three friends reacted accordingly to their names, so now they finally know each other properly. Well, kind of.

Jooheon opened his mouth and formed words, but none of them can be heard because of the loud booming one that resonated through the room.

"Well things just got interesting. I didn't plan for Hyungwon to wake up."

Shownu, Wonho, and Jooheon clenched their teeth and used all resources to keep themselves from shouting. They did not know who were they angrier at, Smiley or Hyungwon. Hyungwon was why they were here in the first place, but it was clear that Smiley was behind all this. Before they could decide, Smiley spoke again.

"Anyways, I understand that you don't have much time left. And you know what? I'm feeling nice today, and since this is getting interesting, I will give you five more minutes. Don't have to thank me."

The four contestants were supposed to be relieved at the time extension, but that irritating voice seemed to have an opposite effect on them. It was obvious that everything was going wrong. The problem was literally right in front of them. It was not something that could be shaken off and ignored that easily.

"Look, I'm going to get you out ok? I could have been playing soccer right now, but that doesn't matter anymore." Jooheon spoke first, his voice sounding steady enough to reassure Hyungwon. Then he turned around and spoke, this time to Wonho and Shownu. "You will help right?"

Wonho nodded his head vigorously, but Shownu narrowed his eyes at them like they were out of their minds.

"I'm sorry but wait a minute here." Shownu let out a chuckle that made them think twice about saying more.

He looks at Jooheon and Wonho like that when clearly he's the crazy one. Hyungwon thought, frowning at his growing sense of despair.

"I literally just met this guy this morning. We've known each other for less than what, 5 hours? I was told that this was a game. A game. How do you know this isn't just a bunch of lies? I'm not staying to play, I didn't sign up for this bullshit. This is just part of the game isn't it? I want to leave. I know you want to leave too. I don't care if I have to leave him here."

Hyungwon dropped to the floor after that speech. Realization hit him like a rock. He saw how Wonho and Jooheon flinched whenever Shownu said the word "leave". It's his fault that he's so unbelievably stupid and gullible to trust a stranger just like that. Every part of his brain screamed at him to say something, anything, so that he wouldn't be left alone here to rot away. But his mouth was clamped shut. What can he say? He didn't even have the right to speak. He was the selfish one, forcing people he barely knows to play games with him. Shownu's right. Shownu was the victim here. Wonho and Jooheon too.

Hyungwon concentrated on the floor, ashamed to look at the three new friends. He shook his head, frustrated at himself.

What do you mean 'new friends'? They aren't your friends. You don't qualify to be their friends Hyungwon. You're just a selfish coward that doesn't even have the courage to admit to your mistakes and apologise.

"Shownu, right?" It was Wonho. Funny how Hyungwon could recognize them solely by voice, as if they were actually good friends. "You've seen it. You've seen him. He-that guy, he's crazy all right? Who would randomly tell someone to 'recruit' 3 people and play fucking games? Listen, this is fucked up. So shouldn't we help each other?"

"Wonho, right?" Hyungwon heard a snort, probably from Wonho, seeing how Shownu just mimicked his greeting. "Not trying to be pessimistic or whatever, but you said so yourself. This is fucked up. So in case you can't see the obvious, we should definitely just leave this place as soon as possible. Am I right?"

Great. Now they are fighting. They are supposed to be really nice and friendly people. What have you done Hyungwon? They could've been great friends, if you wasn't for you.

"No you're not right." Hyungwon almost laughed at how ridiculous this is. Jooheon said that. He's the youngest one. He was supposed to have the least to worry about. And now he joined in the argument, the argument about Hyungwon. Hyungwon felt like shit. But Jooheon clearly didn't see the bitter expression on Hyungwon's face, because he continued.

"Look, Shownu or whatever your name is. We don't have much time left. Judging by how crazy that person behind the screen is, he will probably still release that gas and make us stay if we don't decide after that timer reaches 0." Apparently Hyungwon was waiting for Shownu to fight back, because he was surprised to be confronted with a silence. He looked up and saw the frown on Shownu's face. There was doubt in those eyes too, Hyungwon saw it.

"Besides, I don't know about you, but I will never want to go out that door thinking I've left someone here to suffer alone. That's just wrong." Maybe it isn't the time, but Hyungwon felt strangely touched by those words.

"Sounds to me like you are just scared." Shownu once again found his words and formed an argument. But Hyungwon heard it. It was different. Shownu sounded unsure. Those words were just, well, words. No effect, no impact.

"This isn't about us being scared. Though I have to admit I am. But it's only reasonable. Who wouldn't be scared? This is ethics we are talking about." Hyungwon looked at Wonho, and saw the seriousness all over his face. A slight frown was still visible under that expression, and it was all Hyungwon needed to see the fear still very much present inside Wonho. Did he act brave just for Hyungwon, Hyungwon didn't know. All that he knew was that he had never felt that thankful before.

BEEEEEEPPPP

A long beep indicates that there was only 1 minute left. Hyungwon's pretty sure all of them were sweating, because he was the same, hands so wet they became slippery.

They were all waiting for Shownu to say something. And Hyungwon knew Shownu knew that, too, because he was staring at Hyungwon, probably deciding whether it was worth it to save this asshole that lied to him.

"Come on, I know you are a nice person Shownu. Don't ask why I just know it. Just like how I know Hyungwon is nice when he decided all of a sudden to eat with me even when we've just met. I know you know it's not Hyungwon's fault. Not all of it anyways. I know you want to save him, because you guys are friends. New friends, but still friends." After that short speech, Hyungwon made a mental note to ask Wonho about his occupation after all this is ended. Because those words, sentence structure, tone and everything else in that, sounded like it came from a professional negotiator.

And Shownu's reactions showed just that.

Shownu took a few steps back, eyes never leaving Wonho's. Under the light, Hyungwon saw clearly how Shownu's pupils moved up and down, then up again, those black orbs quiveringly slightly, trying so hard to look through the person in front of him, examining Wonho like he was an extraterrestrial being. All the other eyes were trained on Shownu, anticipating his next actions.

Everything was frozen in place, and the silence was stretched on. Soon the inevitable has arrived.

00:00:10

The timer showed no signs of stopping. One thing that wasn't frozen was the red numbers on that big black screen.

10...9...8...

Shownu was still frozen on the spot, considering his choices.

7...6...5...

Everyone was gritting their teeth so hard some of the enamel has to have came off by now. Jaws and hands were clenched so tight the muscles started to numb. Yet not enough to numb the anxiety.

4...

Shownu looked at Hyungwon again and shook his head vigorously, as if flinging away everything in his head.

3...

Hyungwon gulped.

2...

There was a sigh, then so quiet it was barely a whisper,

"Fine. I will stay."

The timer stopped.

00:00:01

Immediately Shownu walked as far as possible away from the glass box, without needing to get swallowed completely by darkness. He had his back facing Hyungwon, but Hyungwon knew how those eyes would look if Shownu turned around.

You lost a friend after knowing him for less than a day. Great job Hyungwon. You broke your personal record.

Nevertheless, no gas was pumped into the box. At least that shoved all the negative thoughts away. For now.

Hyungwon wanted to let out a sigh of relief, but it seemed to have gotten stuck in his throat. He looked around at the closed mouths, lips so dry and tensed up, and sees that it was the same for everyone.

"Good game everyone!" Well, except for that one person behind the screen.

"It was a simple game, but you managed to make it so much more interesting! I look forward to the other ones!" They would have cursed at the annoying voice if it weren't for the new layers of fear that buried their original thoughts. Everyone's eyes widened at the reminder. It was more like a confirmation, that they are now stuck here forced to play games for god knows how long. "Oh you are now free Hyungwon." The glass box was lifted by something in the darkness above, and Hyungwon crawled out at the bottom.

No one did anything to comfort Hyungwon. But what could Hyungwon expect anyways, after all this?

Shownu cleared his throat, but before he could say anything, the speakers boomed.

"Without further ado, let's move on to the second game, foosball!"

Groans filled the room at the seemingly childish and boring game. Jooheon groaned the loudest, upset that he somehow knew this was the closest game it could ever get to soccer. Hyungwon resisted the urge to roll his eyes, because at the same time he couldn't help to feel relieved.

Maybe this would turn out ok. Foosball sounds fine.

"Ok, get into groups of two!" The cheery voice coming from the speakers contrasted greatly with the complaints around the room.

"Oh, and please be quick about it, we have a schedule to follow." Hyungwon closed his eyes and breathed deeply, wishing he could just fly up there and punch a hole in the screen. No voice had ever irritated him as much as this one. Thankfully, the screen turned black again.

Hyungwon would be perfectly happy if he wasn't asked to pair with one of the three people that probably hate him. But sometimes you just have to do what you have to do.

I will just let them choose first, and the one left out would have to deal with me.

Hyungwon thought it would be a really awkward process to pair up, considering how he was the mutual friend, and the other three don't even know each other existed until about 30 minutes ago.

But that can be thrown out of the window, because Shownu went straight up to Jooheon, grabbed his arm and pulled him away from Hyungwon. He did all this while giving death glares to Hyungwon, occasionally switching to look at Wonho as well. When he felt like the distance was acceptable, he let go of Jooheon's arm and said, "There, we paired up."

From his peripheral vision Hyungwon saw how Jooheon was caressing the spot where Shownu grabbed him. His face didn't give anything away, but Hyungwon knew it'd probably hurt. Hyungwon figured from Jooheon's dimples that he was clenching his jaw to distract himself from the pain.

Honestly this was perhaps the most reasonable pairing. Shownu definitely didn't want to pair with Hyungwon, and Wonho was practically the one who saved Hyungwon, and he helped more compared to Jooheon, so Shownu wouldn't want him either.

Still, Hyungwon wasn't exactly sure about Wonho's opinion on this. Hyungwon knew he was just overthinking, because a simple game of foosball couldn't possibly go wrong even with a partner that hates you. The worst thing Hyungwon could think of that could happen is being shouted at for sucking at that game. And what hurt would that do?

Turned out that was the wrong question to ask, or rather the wrong thing to say because no questions were needed. Wonho agreed to pair with Hyungwon, without even a slight hint of disappointment or reluctance. In fact, he looked exceptionally happy that Shownu pulled Jooheon away and not him.

Hyungwon saw that Shownu and Jooheon were busy talking at the side, so he decided to start a conversation himself.

"Can I ask you something?" Hyungwon turned to Wonho who was already smiling slightly at him.

"Sure."

"Why...how do I say this," Hyungwon acted casual and looked elsewhere pretending to think. Inside he found it ridiculous that a lawyer that spoke (in front of a group) for a living was having trouble looking for the right words to say to a friend. He had no idea why he was like this, but he had to say something quick.

"Back then, why were you helping me?" Hyungwon had no idea how that sounded to Wonho, but it sounded quite stupid in his head. Unfortunately Hyungwon has a bad habit of speaking everything – whatever it is – in his mind, not stopping until he ran out of thoughts. "I mean, shouldn't you hate me? I brought you here, I was the reason you are still here, waiting to play a stupid game. What I'm saying is, why are so nice? You are still smiling, looking as if you want me to be your partner since you were born or something."

Hyungwon wanted to clamp a hand over his mouth, but somehow his mind was able to stop his stupid action this time, probably because there wasn't a point to shut your mouth after you speak.

Great. You screwed up Hyungwon. You shouldn't even have spoke in the first place. What if he didn't hate you before and was only being nice and polite? You had to say these things that probably made him hate you for sure.

Hyungwon snapped out of it when he heard Wonho laugh.

It was kind of a cute laugh, the sounds came out short and quick, and it only repeats for a few times when he loses his voice and can only open his mouth, laughing silently.

The noise made Hyungwon smile. And suddenly everything seemed ok.

"You know what Hyungwon?" Wonho asked after he finally stopped laughing.

"What?"

"Wait, do you want a short or long answer?"

"Are you giving me another 'choose one' game?"

"Maybe."

"Hmm, how about the long one first, then the short one?"

"Fair enough." Wonho looked at Shownu, then back at Hyungwon. "He was just a bit frustrated, don't hate him. I know because I was quite angry too. He just needed more time to calm down. And I also know he's nice too, like all four of us. No one would want to kill someone, even if it's indirectly." He crossed his arms and looked at Hyungwon from top to bottom. "Besides, who'd kill a handsome guy like you?"

For a moment Hyungwon was ready to get flustered, letting his body react and probably blush against his will, because what the hell did he just hear? But then he realized that Wonho is trying to contain his laugh.

"Yah! Don't say it if you don't mean it!" Wonho burst at that, and Hyungwon laughed along with him.

"Yea whatever. I know you liked it." Before Hyungwon could say anything Wonho went on. "Do you want to hear the short answer then?"

"Yea ok." Hyungwon was starting to like Wonho, he feels like they are becoming actual friends, and he couldn't help but to smile again.

"See I knew you liked it, you smiled." Hyungwon opened his mouth to say something but Wonho was