Mind Games - Night has come

11

"Choi Mi-na has voted for Park Woo-ram."

The announcement resonated as classmates dispersed, some leaving the cafeteria minutes after Kyung-jun initiated the vote and departed.

Min-ji stood alongside Woo-ram, who appeared to be on the verge of losing his composure, all eyes fixed on their phones.

"That crazy bitch!" Woo-ram exclaimed, realizing Mi-na had voted for him. He moved to leave the cafeteria but was intercepted by Jun-hee.

"Hey, Woo-ram!" Jun-hee called to his friend, taking swift steps and reaching for his arm, halting him in his tracks. "Don't. I'll talk to her." He attempted to calm Woo-ram down, though the situation was already tense. With four votes secured, Woo-ram led in today's voting.

Woo-ram relaxed slightly, sighing and deciding to let it go for now. They settled back into their seats, the silence revealing everyone's efforts to devise a solution.

After a short while, Na-hee and Yoon-seo joined the remaining five classmates in the cafeteria, having been at the nursery during the entirety of the recent events.

"Where is everyone? What happened?" Yoon-seo inquired while assisting Na-hee, who still struggled to walk after spraining her leg during the recent hike.

"Go Kyung-jun got the best out of us," Jun-hee simply replied, his gaze fixed on the table in front of him. "I should've stopped them from voting." The disappointment was evident in his tone.

"Even if you had, would they have listened?" Jung-won interjected, making a valid point.

Min-ji nodded in agreement. "Right. Kyung-jun was just waiting for the opportunity to use his vote on someone."

"Instead of sitting here like this," So-mi began, surveying her classmates, "Shouldn't we at least ask the others to vote for someone else?"

"Who would you suggest they vote for?" Jung-won responded almost instantly, raising another valid point.

"I don't know!" So-mi replied, then paused before adding, "As long as it's not one of us."

"So-mi is right; we should do something rather than remaining here. We can figure out who the Mafia is later," Min-ji declared as she rose from her seat, the chair scraping against the floor. "Let's gather everyone back for now. I'll go convince Ji-soo and Yu-jun."

"They probably went up to their room," acknowledged So-mi, earning a nod from Min-ji.

Everyone watched as Min-ji left the cafeteria, determined to rally her friends and do something amidst the challenging situation. Her steps were brisk, almost resembling a run as she navigated through the youth center. As she ascended the stairs, her phone suddenly rang in her hand, prompting her to halt and raise her screen to check.

"Im Eun-chan has voted for Park Woo-ram."

"Nam Yeon-woo has voted for Park Woo-ram."

"Jin Da-beom has voted for Park Woo-ram."

Min-ji's eyes widened at the announcements, a surge of frustration sweeping over her. "The hell?" she muttered in frustration, running a hand through her hair. The combination of her sprint and the revelation that Woo-ram had garnered three more votes left her breathless.

Just as she contemplated her next move, standing in the middle of the stairs, utterly perplexed and frustrated, Yeon-woo and Eun-chan began ascending. Upon locking eyes, they swiftly averted their gazes to the ground.

"What the hell, you guys?" Min-ji exclaimed, descending a few steps towards them. "Why did you vote for Woo-ram?"

They kept their heads low, refusing to meet her gaze before exchanging a furtive glance. "We're sorry, but Kyung-jun convinced us," Yeon-woo spoke, his tone subdued as they attempted to continue walking up and pass her.