One-Shot Collection (Karma Akabane x OC)

Escape Rooms (Christmas One-Shot)

It was only early December, but the Christmas spirit was in the air. Gigantic Christmas trees towered to the even higher ceilings of the shopping mall, sparkling ornaments and shiny tinsel on their branches with the occasional set of blinking fairy lights. Glittery snowflakes and mistletoe hung down from above, all wrapped up in copious amounts of tinsel. Wherever you went, there was no escaping from the Christmas songs playing, from the annual classics to hot new holiday singles by popular artists and idol groups. People milled about in the shopping mall, already getting started on their gift shopping. Hayoung and Karma, on the other hand, were here on a date. They'd just entered the mall, not sure what to do yet.

Hayoung looked at Karma expectantly. All this while, he'd been leading the way, deflecting every single one of her questions in usual Karma fashion. It was odd to see him so lost.

"So, exactly where are we going? I highly doubt we're having our date right here." She quipped.

Karma looked at her, his face a mix of amused and slightly irked. "Find me a directory, and I'll tell you."

"Too easy." Hayoung pointed out one by a ledge overlooking the lower levels of the mall. "There."

Karma stepped over, typing into the search bar at the top of the directory's screen. "For the record, we're going to the recreational wing. That's all I'm telling you."

Considering Karma usually told her much less, Hayoung was satisfied with the answer. Maybe the Christmas spirit made him more generous with his information. After consulting with the directory, they headed down the escalators. After a tremendous amount of walking, and several instances of going the wrong way, they finally arrived at the recreational wing. There was an arcade, a shooting range, a bowling alley, an escape room and one level below them all, a large ice rink full of people skating. Karma's eyes lit up at the escape room. Hayoung looked askance at him, waiting for an explanation. However, he said nothing and simply took her hand, leading her to the entrance of the escape room. As they entered, Hayoung was left to stare around the spacious lobby perplexedly as Karma talked with the young receptionist. Since when did he have time to book an escape room?

Karma came back to her, a smirk the size of Japan plastered across his face. "You think you can take on this escape room? They're gonna send us in without information at all. We don't know anything about this room until we enter."

"I didn't even know we were doing an escape room until now, and you think I'm ready?" Hayoung stared at him in disbelief. "And of course you went and picked the most ambiguous one... Let me guess, it's also the hardest one, isn't it?"

Karma nodded gleefully. "Yep, 18+ too!"

"Bloody hell..."

"Oh come on! It'll be lots of fun! Besides, we're gonna be stuck together for one hour straight! Isn't that what dates are about?"

Hayoung was at a loss for words. "Well, I certainly know your definition of romance is effed up now."

"Oh, you know me so well." He held out a hand, head inclined towards the employee that would lead them to their escape room. "May we, m'lady? There's not much time."

Hayoung rolled her eyes and took his hand. The employee led them to a plain-looking door marked 'Unknown 4', which opened into pitch black. They were not allowed any flashlights, and their cell phones were shut up in the lockers. However, Karma this didn't faze Karma at all, and still holding her hand, he took a bold step into the darkness. When they were both in the pitch-black room, the employee shut the door behind them. Hayoung let out a disgruntled sigh.