Mind Games - Night has come

20

"He didn't break any rules," Eun-chan spoke, his expression preoccupied as he observed Yu-jun's lifeless body. "So why did he..."

After a thorough search of the entire youth center, Eun-chan and Yeon-woo were the ones to discover him in the warehouse, urgently relaying the message through the group chat. Upon receiving the news, everyone hurried to the location.

Yu-jun lay on the ground, his head against a stack of bricks, his face bloodied—a sight that stunned everyone as they reached the warehouse.

"Did he fall?" Yeon-woo suggested, mirroring the horror evident on everyone's faces.

"Maybe he took his own life," Min-ji shared her thoughts, uncertain about her own theory given the unusual state in which Yu-jun was found, not typical of suicide. "He seemed unable to get over Ji-soo's death," she added.

Everyone pondered her suggestion, acknowledging that he had indeed struggled to cope with his girlfriend's death and had been profoundly saddened.

"He could've just crossed the game's line if he wanted to end his life," Jun-hee proposed, holding the white sheets to cover the dead body between his hands as he awaited the revelation of what had happened to Yu-jun before moving him to the freezer. "Why would he go to such lengths?"

"Someone killed him," Yoon-seo asserted suddenly, her voice carrying certainty as she thoroughly examined Yu-jun's body. "There are signs of a struggle, and there are wounds on his head. Someone attacked him."

The tension hung heavily, and silence pressed down like a weight in the air. The gathering of all the students in the warehouse hinted that the killer might be among them, perhaps there was even more than one. With Yu-jun now killed in broad daylight, the looming threat felt palpable, and anyone else could be the next target.

"Let me help," Min-ji offered, breaking from her thoughts to assist Jun-hee in covering Yu-jun's body. As she crouched down to arrange the sheet, his phone in his hand captured her attention. She took a closer look, finding an open picture of Ji-soo, presumably taken by Yu-jun.

A sense of sorrow washed over her as she realized that Yu-jun's final moments were spent grieving the death of his girlfriend.

"Lift him from there," Jun-hee directed as he approached Yu-jun's head. Yeon-woo and Eun-chan swiftly joined, assisting the two, and as a collective effort, they lifted Yu-jun's lifeless body. They carefully transported him back inside the youth center.

Once they reached the freezer, Min-ji requested placing him beside Ji-soo. They carefully positioned his body next to their other deceased classmates, the floor adorned with white sheets concealing their silent figures. Though unseen, the impact of their deaths lingered in the somber atmosphere.

Exiting the freezer one by one, they rejoined their classmates gathered in the cafeteria. As they walked, Eun-chan noticed something that prompted him to call out to the others.

"Hey, guys," Eun-chan beckoned to his classmates, who turned back in response.

"What?" Yeon-woo queried, returning to Eun-chan's side, with Jun-hee and Min-ji following.

"Come and see this," Eun-chan urged.

The trio walked with him to the spot where he had halted, mirroring Mi-na's discovery from earlier, facing a white wall as if a revelation awaited.

"What is it?" Yeon-woo questioned, puzzled, as he read the words inscribed on a piece of paper now hanging on the white wall, obscuring the earlier message from this morning.

"Jun-hee is Mafia. Da-beom is Mafia - From Police."

"What the hell?" Min-ji whispered, her eyes fixed on the words written with what appeared to be a red marker.