Mind Games - Night has come

09

— 1 day & 9 hours ago.

"Smile for the camera, Min-ji," Park Woo-ram's voice echoed next to her amid the bus's background noise. He sat beside her, holding a camera close, a wide grin on his face as he recorded.

Min-ji shifted her gaze from the window view, pushing his camera away with a protest. "Save the camera's battery and storage for later," she advised her friend.

He chuckled, lowering the camera. "Just testing the quality, no need to be so aggressive," he teased, a broad smile on his face as he scrolled through the recorded videos.

Min-ji shook her head in disbelief, returning her attention to the passing scenery, now bathed in a yellowish glow.

"Looks like I'm not the only one trying to get some pictures and videos of people," Woo-ram remarked, rising on his toes to observe something a few seats ahead of them.

Curiosity piqued, Min-ji followed his gaze. So-mi, two rows in front, was capturing moments of Jun-hee, who peacefully dozed alone.

"I'll tell Jun-hee that you took a photo of him," Woo-ram playfully teased So-mi as she turned to share the picture she had taken, admiring Jun-hee's appearance.

"I'll tell Min-ji that you've been taking videos of her since we got inside this bus," So-mi responded, her voice loud enough to ensure Min-ji heard.

"Wait, what?" Min-ji exclaimed, caught off guard by being dragged into this and surprised by the new piece of information. "Give me that!" She turned towards Woo-ram, attempting to snatch the camera, but he held a firm grip, both engaged in a playful struggle. "She's lying!" he declared with laughter, resisting Min-ji's attempts to take the camera.

— Present time.

A bell reverberated through the gymnasium's speakers, slowly fading into everyone's ears, prompting their eyes to open and their bodies to rise from the ground.

Despite the passage of hours, the surroundings remained horrific, with the scent of blood permeating the air and deceased classmates scattered throughout the gymnasium.

Min-ji pushed herself up, supported by her hands, surveying the gruesome scene. Her gaze fell upon Hyun-ho's lifeless body, the classmate executed the previous night, lying on top of the stacked tables after his fatal leap.

"Hyun-ho," she whispered under her breath, recognizing his face beneath the blood. Her tears had long dried up, yet the weight of the tragedy pressed heavily on her.

Briefly meeting Da-beom's eyes as he also rose from sleep, a surge of overwhelming emotions passed between them.

Mi-na's voice jolted her back to the present, diverting her attention. She urgently called for Joo-young, breaking Min-ji's eye contact with Da-beom. Her head turned toward Mi-na's panicked voice.

"Something's wrong with Joo-young," Mi-na continued, her body beside Joo-young's lifeless form. Everyone rushed toward the distressing scene.

The siren rang.

"Lee Joo-young was executed by the mafia last night."

Min-ji stood not far from Joo-young's lifeless body, Da-beom behind her. Yoon-seo uncovered Joo-young's face, revealing a pale, dead countenance beneath the white uniform blouse tightly wound around her throat, indicating she had been strangled.

Min-ji's breath caught, and she took a step back in shock, accidentally colliding with Da-beom's chest. His hand reassuringly found her arm from behind.

"Lee Joo-young was a civilian," the voice echoed again, followed by another announcement, "Before the previous voting ended, the doctor chose to use his healing ability on Cha Yu-jun."

The siren rang once more.

"Morning has come."

"All participants, please find the mafia and begin voting."

Mi-na's tear-stained face hovered above her friend's lifeless body, sobs echoing in the somewhat quiet air. After a moment, she rose, locking eyes with Jun-hee as she walked toward him, launching herself at him. Anguish and anger resonated in her voice, "I didn't want to hand in my phone! I said I didn't want to! We wouldn't have slept here if we hadn't collected the phones. And no one would've died."

Min-ji's heart raced, witnessing Mi-na's outburst at Jun-hee, an overwhelming blend of sorrow and guilt washing over her.

Continuing her verbal assault, Mi-na accused, "You killed them all, Kim Jun-hee. Take responsibility!"

Min-ji swiftly moved forward, hand reaching for Mi-na's arm to detach her from Jun-hee, pushing her back. "Watch your words," she threatened, anger in her tone but sadness still etched on her features.

"They're not wrong," Ji-soo interjected. "We survived because we were lucky."

Jun-hee's gaze remained lowered as accusations flew his way, and eventually, in a low tone, he apologized and hastily left the gym. Min-ji observed him depart, hesitated briefly, and then decided to follow him. Hurriedly leaving the gymnasium, her steps were quick.

Entering the lobby, Min-ji's eyes briefly fell on Eun-ha's lifeless body beneath the white statue. She gazed at her with sorrow before tearing her gaze away, refocusing on the task of finding Jun-hee.

"Yoon Min-ji!" The call of her name jolted Min-ji to attention, and she turned around to find Da-beom approaching. His tone was calm as he advised her, "It's best if you go back inside; they're going to accuse you of siding with Jun-hee. They already suspect him to be a Mafia." He paused, standing in front of her.

Min-ji furrowed her eyebrows, glancing away dismissively. "Accuse me?" she repeated, then scoffed. "Let them."

"Kyung-jun is already trying to convince everyone to vote for you two. Go back inside and tell them how he tried to kill you last night," Da-beom added. Min-ji couldn't pinpoint what it was, but something about his demeanor had completely changed. "Let them know that he's a Mafia."

As she prepared to respond, a sudden announcement resonated, "The game has to be played within the designated area." It repeated several times.

Min-ji looked up towards the source of the announcement, muttering in confusion, "What's this?"

Da-beom's eyes widened in realization. "Jun-hee," he said urgently, and hurriedly ran towards the youth center's exit. Min-ji, still perplexed, followed closely behind him.

Unconscious during the previous incidents where classmates breached the white lines defining the game's boundaries, Min-ji hadn't had the chance to hear the warning about crossing them until now. The consequences of such actions were starkly evident, with two classmates paying the ultimate price through execution for violating the game rules. Jun-hee's attempt to breach the boundaries triggered the voice to resonate through the speakers repeatedly. It only ceased when he finally relinquished his effort, taking a step back. Defeated, he stumbled and collapsed onto the ground.

Without hesitation, Da-beom and Min-ji rushed over to him.