Nightmare | San

2

I scroll through my phone for what feels like the hundredth time now, rereading the instructions for the game over and over again. Seonghwa has already returned to the bedroom, leaving me alone in the living room.

It's late into the night now so it's unlikely that anyone else will use the elevator, making the conditions for the game nearly perfect. I had ran down to the convenience store a few minutes ago to find a small camera, which is perfect for this. I attach it to the collar of my shirt and read the instructions one last time.

No one must come into the elevator except for me for the entire duration. I need at least ten floors in the building. I must go onto the elevator and go to the fourth floor, then the second, then sixth, then second again, then tenth, then fifth and then back down to the first in that order.

Once I click the button for the first floor at the end, the lift should go up to the tenth floor instead. I should get off at the tenth floor, and that's when I'm in the "other-world".

At the fifth floor, a mysterious "man" should walk onto the elevator but I should not talk to him or even look at him. Once I'm done with the "other-world", I just need to repeat the steps in the elevator to get back.

This "other-world" should be like a distorted reality and maybe even somewhat incomprehensible. Just as Seonghwa mentioned, there aren't any people that have described what this world is like in detail so only speculations exist. People online have warned that this world could be extremely unsettling, but they also mentioned that it could be just like the real world with only a tiny bit of change.

Either way, it's a world that simply doesn't exist. If it did, surely there would be more about it on the internet.

I keep repeating the steps in my head while turning the little camera on. If I do this right in the first try, I can get back to Seonghwa faster. I decide to bring my phone just in case I forget the instructions somehow. Just as I'm about to leave, I notice a sentence in bold writing on the website I'm using.

"DO NOT LOOK AT HIM. DO NOT SPEAK TO HIM. He is not a man, if you do, he may decide to keep you for his own."

This sends a violent shiver through me. I shake my head at how aggressive the website sounds. They'll do anything to grab people's attention, huh.

As I'm walking to the front door, I peek into our bedroom one last time and frown when I see Seonghwa furiously typing on his laptop. He doesn't look like he's having much luck.

I hop back out and finally leave the apartment. Time to get this done and over with.

I glance up and down the hallways, making sure no one is present. Not only will it ruin the results for Seonghwa, but it'll also be humiliating to be caught participating in such a foolish game.

I sneak up to the elevator and take a deep breath, accidentally inhaling the thick dusty air. After a short coughing fit, I straighten myself up and take a step in. I decide to begin straight away and press the button for the fourth floor. Once I arrive, I make sure to not get out and make sure no one else walks in before pressing the second floor and I repeat this process with the next few floors.

By the time I'm pressing the button for the second floor again, it hits me how dumb I look doing this. Just going up and down, back and forth. The things I do for Seonghwa.

After reaching the tenth floor, with a sigh I click for the fifth floor. I keep my eyes trained to the ground since I'm not supposed to look at the man that might walk in. This is all so stupid, no one will even be there since it's so late at night. But if I do it the right way in my first go, I can get back and sleep soundly, maybe even cuddle with Seonghwa.

A smile grows on my lips at the thought until the elevator stops again. I automatically reach out to press the next button but then my blood runs cold.

Footsteps?

It must be someone coming home from a late shift at work or a party, it's Saturday after all. I keep calm and see large black boots from the corner of my eye. It seems like it's a man.

As soon as he's walked in, I reach out to press the button for the first floor. Next, it should go up to the tenth floor instead, if it works.

"Hey."

My heart jumps again. Why am I so on edge? It's just a random guy saying hi. However before I respond or even look up, the bold letters from the website flow back into my mind, "DO NOT LOOK AT HIM. DO NOT SPEAK TO HIM." A chill runs down my spine and I decide to continue my little task and not even look at the man beside me. I can always check the footage on the camera afterwards for the man's face anyway.

After a few seconds, I get a bit worried. Why hasn't the lift moved at all yet, even though I pressed the button? I fidget with my fingers, contemplating whether I should press the emergency button or not.

"How are you?" he tries again. It feels odd that this random man is still trying to talk to me even though it's clear I will not speak.

Finally, the elevator starts moving slowly.

My breaths start to quicken when I feel it moving up instead of down.

Could it be that the story wasn't fake after all? No, I probably accidentally pressed the tenth floor instead of the first when I was not paying attention.

"You don't seem to be answering. That's alright, I'd be scared too if I were you. I'm actually about to play that elevator game but I'll wait for you to get off first," he says in a calm tone. My face lights up. Someone else doing this stupid thing? At least I'm not alone. My tension is released after figuring out that this man is just an ordinary person, only feeling slightly embarrassed. That means this whole experiment was a failure. I let out a sigh of relief and grow excited to tell this to Seonghwa.

It should be okay to look at the man now, right? Now that I found out this game is all false, I'll let the man know to save his time. My eyes travel to his heavy black boots and slowly go higher and higher, trailing past his ripped skinny black jeans and black shirt.

Finally I reach his neck until...

A/N
As I'm editing these chapters I am realising how many cliff-hangers there really are at the end of chapters... you're welcome :')