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"Good morning lovely people!" A shrill voice rang through the air, causing Hyunjin to shoot up out of bed.
Within moments, the boy realized that he was in an unfamiliar room. Gone was his warm squishy bed and soft carpet. In its place was a thin futon and cold tile. The room was small, but soft breathing nearby informed him that there was another person. Turning over, he found another futon a few feet away. The other man rolled over, revealing his face. Thick eyebrows and large, deep eyes greeted him, blinking away the sleepiness.
"Oh, what the fuck?" The voice, although deep and loud, held an immature quality. Hyunjin knew he had seen the man before, somewhere... "Where is my, uh, what's the word, bid? Bed?" He trailed off. Oh.
"Hyunjin Hwang. Lucas Wong, I'm assuming?" Hyunjin held out his hand to the confused man.
"Oh, you're uh- the heir of JYP Games? Yes?" Lucas accepted the handshake, still slightly out of it. Hyunjin chuckled to himself. The man before him was in sharp contrast to what he was used to hearing about. Lucas Wong, one of the country's youngest and most capable lawyers, had always seemed cold and untouchable, despite his occasional language mishaps. Here, he seemed out of his comfort zone, tripping over words left and right.
"That would be me. Do you know what's going on?"
"Not even remote."
"Remotely."
"Yes, that."
"Well? What're you all waiting for? Come out and play!" The voice echoed through the room once more, but Hyunjin couldn't pinpoint the source. Lucas had gotten up and moved towards the door, grasping the handle, before immediately recoiling backward, clutching his hand.
"Fuck, it hurts!"
Hyunjin tied up his hair and moved towards the door, glancing at the casualty. The other's hand had a pinkish tinge and as he moved his own hand near the handle, Hyunjin could feel a faint warmth. That's odd. Pulling down his sleeve to cover his hand, he pulled the door open.
"Jinnie!" He turned to the new voice, practically rolling his eyes at the blinding smile. The girl donned one of her more obnoxious hairstyles, pigtails made of braids, her favorite to hit him with.
"You're here, too." His sister, Yeji, skipped over, towing another girl behind her. He scrunched up his face in disgust at her antics.
"Look who I found!" Taking a closer look, Hyunjin realized the brunette being dragged was none other than Somi Jeon, a popular TV personality. He sighed, understanding immediately what his sister was suggesting. Ever since she caught him staring at the girl on screen, it was all she teased him about. He wasn't actually interested in the girl, more so the curious stain on the front of her shirt. If the stain was bad enough to be seen on TV, he wondered why she hadn't changed. He looked her over quickly. Large brown eyes stared into the distance, just barely passing his face. Why is she here?
Exchanging an awkward greeting he turned his attention to the rest of the room. No windows, no doors. Well, the second part was a lie. There were doors, but they were exactly like the one he just came out of.
"Yeji, I need to talk to you for a sec." Sensing something in her brother's voice, the girl waved the other goodbye as they drifted over to an unoccupied corner.
"What's going on?" Yeji's expression changed at his question, no longer sporting the nauseatingly fake cheerful look from earlier. Her eyes narrowed as the smile slipped off her face.
"I don't know, but neither does anyone else. Did you even notice who else was here?" Hyunjin shook his head, he hadn't even thought to look at the people. "For a start, Hyuna Kim is at the bar over there and Doyeon Kim is talking to Jackson Wang in the center. I think that's her girlfriend, Sookyung, but I don't know. And obviously, Somi, your favorite." She gestured wildly, names rolling off her tongue like a script. He was so focused on registering names that he almost completely missed the last line.
"She's not-"
"Welcome everyone!" The shrill voice from before filled the air, causing the duo to cringe. "I'm guessing the rest of you couldn't get out of your rooms, so I'll be so kind as to unlock them for you!" What do you mean "guess"?
With a quiet pop, three more doors opened at once. Or rather two of them did, the one on the left was just slightly slower. The inhabitants exited, slightly bewildered. A rather buff individual from the right room made eye contact with someone behind Hyunjin, immediately quickening his pace. Startled, Hyunjin backed away rapidly, causing Yeji to giggle.
"Yo man, what's up?" The man high-fived Jackson Wang, falling into conversation easily.
"No idea bro."
Yeji elbowed him, tilting her head to the other newcomers. From the same room sulked out a blonde man. His eyes flitted across the room before settling on a dark haired woman who grinned in response.
"Dawniee ya!" She got up and ran over, as if pulled by a magnet.
From the middle door came a blue haired man struggling to clean his glasses as an equally awkward man hovered behind him.
Three women exited the left room, the smallest of them barreling straight at Hyunjin. What? Who is this? Bracing for impact, he shut his eyes, only to feel nothing.
"Yuqi? Why are you here?" Lucas' voice was muffled by the girl's large puffer jacket. Oh. Hyunjin glared at the girl snickering beside him before turning his attention to the tallest woman. Only to find that she was no longer there. The other girl, with shocking green hair, had gravitated toward the awkward man, exchanging whispers.
"I see you all have made it out! I'd simply LOVE to welcome you to the first broadcast of my show, PSYCHO!" A screen slid down the wall, presenting a figure in a green cat mask.
"What the fuck, dude?" Jackson had stood up, face to face with the screen.
"Oh, it's just a reality show, haha!" Somi had followed suit, a bubbly smile accompanied with shallow laughter. She seemed to do a sweep of the room, before settling on the chair next to Hyunjin to perch herself on. She hesitated for a moment, seeming to wink at the seat before sitting down.
"There are fifteen of you gathered here today! Now, in order to not bore you, I'll get straight to the point. Your goal is to find the killers!" Every word was perfectly annunciated, each movement made to match. Maybe it's a voiceover.
"Hey." Hyunjin leaned over to hear his sister better. "There's sixteen of us, though." Raising his eyebrow, Hyunjin counted the room for himself.
"No there's fifteen-"
"Did you count yourself, idiot?"
"Oh-"
"What do you mean killers?"
"The two killers are hidden among you. If you are able to correctly identify both of them, not only will you be alive and free, but you'll each receive a 100 million dollar prize split among the survivors. If you fail, however, obviously all of you will be dead, and the killers will split the money! When both killers are caught, the game will end."
"What the hell?"
"Now, I know this is a lot of information, so I'll leave you to it!"
The screen blinked out, leaving the group to themselves.
