Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
— one
There was downpour and insanity.
In the pre-midnight darkness, Hyunggu knew that they'd end up deranged because of boredom. If not them, he knew he would. And that very moment of obscurity, there emerged a shriek—not the one which is caused due to horror, but the one Hwitaek usually lets out whenever he wins. This particular shriek had the capacity to be neglected to an extent, but later, it was just too annoying that anyone would shove a sock in his mouth.
"This kid needs to stop winning already" Hyunggu heard Hyojong whine. Hyojong was drop dead serious about defeating Hwitaek—at least once in his life—or mainly that night. The disturbing clatter of raindrops wasn't a distraction for him, at all. Nor were the fading sounds of police car sirens or the weird air of solitude. He parted his light, coarse hair away from his forehead with his fingers, and stared directly into Hwitaek's eyes.
Hyojong's complaint was followed by the approval of seven others present in an untidy dorm of two beds, a few tables, a refrigerator and a big, round rug in the middle of the room—all of the boys seated on it in the form of an uneven circle surrounding eight half-eaten packets of chips. This was another get-together they had planned, this time for Hyunggu's birthday in the chilly January. The last time this so called get-together took place was when Yuto climbed a year toward 'his eternal doom' as Wooseok calls it.
Their hopeless card game had ended in Hwitaek's victory. Their hopeless game ended in everyone's agony.
"When will this shit end?" Jinho spoke, getting on his feet, and brushing off his clothes.
"This game?" Changgu asked.
"NO! This stupid curfew!"
"I was going to ask 'the rain' next."
Now this was a story these ten boys in roughly the same college year had experienced for the very first time, excluding the fact that Yuto was caught selling liquor after school and was grounded for two nights (which probably isn't a police curfew, but he does show off about it). But of course, even Yuto hadn't experienced a curfew because of a prison escape. According to the news, four murderers had escaped the jailhouse, causing complete hullaballoo and caution. At first it was adventurous and hysterical. They didn't believe it. They joked around about it. Later it became real, as they saw a man running down the street with his clothes on fire and his screams piercing their ears. And the more they read or heard, the more gruesome ore disgusting it became. Then spread the rumors that these four were initially supposed to be sent into the asylum for ripping apart people's faces, pulling out their eyes, and carving their 'artworks' on their victim's faces. But then, there was no proof found, and it just considered as a mere mysterious myth.
"Well—" Yanan started. But he was interrupted.
In the middle of the room stood Hyunggu, his eyes wide open, and his head tiled in concentration. His arms were spread across, while he hushed everyone, and moved his fingers, telling them to stay still. And they did. Nobody moved, and they held their breaths.
"Why are you taking him seriously?!" Hyojong screamed, breaking the silence. And that very moment, their mind was lost in fear. They could hear footsteps in the corridor outside the dorm. They could hear someone banging on each and every door in the corridor. It was a soft hit of a metallic thing, presumably a rod, but it was frightening. They could hear someone talk outside. They could see shadows of people moving in beam of light from under the door.
"Fuck—"
The clock struck twelve and they could hear the sound of a light bulb shatter.
And now these ten boys wouldn't stop quivering.
It wasn't their fault. Everyone would be white with fear in such a situation. But, them, they were in critical need of someone to hold them when they faint. There was pin drop silence—no one moved, and each one of them either waited for their mind to forget anything ever happened and continue the game, or another sound to come from outside to warn them how much care do they need to take in the next few hours.
They heard a bit of shuffling, and almost forgot that they were the only ones awake at the hostel, and they should've told Yanan to turn off the lights.
"Hey!" Jinho whispered, "Yanan! Switch off that lamp!"
Yanan nodded in response, and stretched his arm to reach the button just next to the main door. The room went black.
"Good" Jinho whispered again.
"B-but hyung, I didn't—"
It didn't take time for them to realize they were in huge peril. A couple of what seemed to them like men had crashed almost thirteen light bulbs, and now had turned off their power supply.
"I cannot see anyone's face" Shinwon mumbled, swinging his arms around, feeling everything with his palms.
"That's my face!"
"HUSH!" Hyunggu hissed.
The next thing they heard was the sound of paper. It somehow sounded like a sheet of paper in the air finally landed the ground and brushed against it. They believed it came from under the door. Then there was a click, and the lamp turned on. And lastly, there was a sound of the main gate of the hostel building creaking. Hyunggu rushed to the window and peeked out. Two obscure figures could be seen walk away from the gate.
"I can't handle this shit anymore, I'm leaving!" Yuto shouted, picked up a packet of chips, and opened the door. It was completely dark, but he didn't mind.
"But isn't it better if we stay together?" Wooseok suggested, staring right into Yuto's eyes, trying to make him stay.
"I'm going to the dorm, if you want to join, you can" Yuto took a deep breath and left, closing the door behind him.
"We seriously need to stick together—" Wooseok repeated, as he put on the green baseball cap Yuto had gifted him, and left the room.
Hyunggu was panicking. He had seen the men leave with his own eyed. But he wasn't sure they were safe. They all knew four men had escaped. And they also knew that they had witnessed the presence of only half of them. Yanan picked up the piece of paper, the one that they believed had come from under the door, and read:
"Ten little Soldier Boys went out to dine; one choked his little self and then there were ni—" he paused, and looked blankly at the others, "it's a poem. It was there in the library the other day. Changgu and I saw it."
Changgu nodded in agreement.
"I swear to god I don't understand anything that is happening" Jinho spoke, as he snatched the paper from the strawberry haired boy and crumbled it into a ball.
"I'm going with Wooseok and Yuto" said Hongseok as he left the room.
"Honestly, it's better if we just forget about everything that just happened, okay?" Hwitaek insisted. To an extent he was right, Hyunggu thought. The two men had left, and anyways they are old enough to take care of themselves. And since the lights are back on, it's sure that they can call the emergency services any time they like.
But he still feared. And he wasn't the only one.
Deep inside Hyojong's heart, he felt that he could've lost his life tonight. Hwitaek thought that this could've been the last get-together the ten had had. Jinho pretended to be brave throughout, but was scared to imagine all of the rest being ripped apart. Yanan felt like his fear could've consumed him. Changgu believed that he could survive, but he knew he could've eventually died. Shinwon thought the same.
