Dead End | Jun-ho

4 | Mislead Me

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The triangle mask on the other side of the small window paused, thinking for a second. He proceeded to subtly nod, opening the door for her.

Aera walked behind the man, his footprints prominent against the hard flooring, like he was hinting to her that he was in charge. The both of them walked through one long hallway, taking turns every few seconds. None of the walls coordinated with each other, either red, white or a mix of different pastels, most likely to add to the 'childish' effect. Aera ran her fingers over the walls, the colours changing every time they took a turn.

"Five minutes." The man finally spoke. His hand gripped the door handle to the bathroom as his stern words came to a halt.

Aera gave a short nod in response, walking into the bathroom and hearing the door close behind her. She winced her eyes, the light being significantly brighter than the contrasting hallway.

The girl walked over to where the sinks were, mirrors above each of them. Before reaching the sink, she closed her eyes, too scared to look at her own appearance.

Aera suddenly became aware that her heart was beating so fast; she hadn't realised how anxious she was. Her hands tightly gripped onto each side of the sink. She needed support, feeling herself wobble slightly.

Even with her eyes closed, the intense light still seemed to pour into the darkness of her shut eyes. One of her hands found its way to her face, shading them and reducing the sensitivity.

For a short while, it had solved the problem. She focused on the void in her closed vision. Her eyes were glued shut, not daring to open them to the overbearing illumination. Aera breathed in and out, calming herself down and trying to get her heart rate to weaken.

However, it was quickly interrupted. In a state of panic, she rapidly opened her eyes; haunting images of the treacherous game had started to replay in her mind.

Aera didn't want to lose the tranquility from before. She bit down on her lip, hard, drawing a small amount of blood to suppress her heaving chest.

She didn't even want to begin to think about that there was still another five games to go before she could even think about getting the money.

After the game, and before Mi-sun had found her again, a giant golden-lit piggy bank had been lowered from the ceiling. Millions of won had dropped down into it, 100 million won for each player who had died. If a person was to survive all six games, then the money would be all theirs.

It wasn't worth it anymore. It wasn't worth her own sanity; Aera was terrified.

The game, the blood, dying, all recited in her mind, over and over again.

The whole point of asking to go the bathroom was so she could collect herself but she felt worse than before.

The memory wouldn't go away. It was haunting her.

Her hand abruptly slipped off the side of the sink, her palm sweaty as she jittered even further.

You should be grateful.

Mi-sun's rancorous words repeated.

She was grateful.

But that overpowering feeling of guilt was stuck, circling her like a shark.

Aera turned the tap on, freezing cold water spilling out into the sink. She splashed her face, hoping it would somehow erase her memory of today; stop the derealisation.

Turning the tap off, her hands moved to either side of the sink, her soaked fingertips dripping onto the floor.

Aera slowly and cautiously lifted her head to finally look in the mirror. She trailed her eyes around her face twice, noticing all the fatigued differences in her appearance. If it were a normal circumstance, she'd probably gasp at how awful she looked. But she didn't. She had already predicted she was going to look dreadful.