just another cog in the wheel | Night Has Come

Chapter 1

I clutched my phone tightly. The streetlights passed by as the bus churned on slowly down the road.

It can't be this easy. The excuse I made up to tag along with the teacher was a weak one, but the pitying gaze he had looking at me had alluded to my position in the class. And it was something I was grateful for, considering I'm now on the bus with the teacher and hopefully getting further away from the main scenario.

“Let's take a quick break here first.” The home room teacher said when the bus slowed to a halt at the gas station.

I hurriedly followed him down, sticking as close to him as possible. That was until he was about to enter the restroom. Unconsciously, a dismayed ‘ah’ left my lips.

He paused in front of the door and let out a sigh.

“Haneul-ah. You've always been a model student, so when you requested to come with me, I allowed it. But there's a limit to my understanding, especially when infringing on my privacy.” He paused, and looked at me carefully. “Did something happen?”

I bit my lips. There was no way I was able to follow him into the restroom.

“No sir,” I sighed. “Nothing happened.”

With one last glance back, he entered the restroom. The door swung shut behind him, blocking him from my view.

At that exact moment, my phone vibrated. When I glanced down, my heart dropped. The white envelope amidst the black background unfolded to reveal a familiar message.

Welcome to the Mafia Game.

I knew it. I should have stuck with the teacher, even if he thought I was strange.

In the end, I couldn't escape from the game.

***

“Why the hell is this bloody road so long?” I cursed. The morning sun beat down on me, as sweat slid down my temple and dripped onto the hot asphalt.

I should have taken one more bottle of water from the gas station. Somehow, with the supernatural happenings, I thought the walk back would be fast. You know, given that the game host would want me back with the others. But no, I had to walk the entire length that the bus drove. And let me tell you, going upslope in this heat was not fun at all. On the bright side, as far as I could tell, this body was in its top conditions. The figure was slim, but the muscle definition was out of the world. If not for that, I would have long since given up on walking to the building.

At the very least, the road was wide enough that I didn't have to worry about accidentally crossing the boundary. Even if the white lines at the sides were slowly driving me mad.

After a while, I caught sight of the lone towering building, and heard the crackling of the announcement.

“For breaking the rules, Lee Sanghwan will be executed.”

“For breaking the rules, Kim Hyunseok will be executed.”

When I arrived at the front of the building, what I saw was the end result of bypassing the boundary. The two bodies laid still on the road, sunlight glinting off the pools of blood. The silence was oppressing even in the bright day as the rest of the class stood in horror at the sight.

“Lee Sanghwan and Kim Hyunseok were Citizens.”

Even at a distance, I could see the clouded pair of eyes staring at me. I repressed the shudder and trudged over slowly. This may be just a figment of my imagination, perhaps a dream, or just my reality now, but a little respect for the dead won't hurt me.