Hall Of Mirrors ~ 1

As they walked through the entrance of the hall of mirrors, Chan kept a tight hold on Sehyoon's arm. Trembles could be felt coming from his body, and Sehyoon tried his best to soothe his friend's nerves - even though he wasn't doing that much better himself. Shuffling could be heard behind them, and they knew it was coming from the glasses guy; knowing where the sound was coming from made it less frightening than the endless darkness before them.

As for the glasses guy, Han-gyeol, his hands were outstretched before him, and his steps were unsteady, as he tried to find his way through the darkness. Disconcertion filled him as he moved forward, and no matter how much he called out, only gurgling sounds would escape his throat.

Before, when the trio was still standing outside, Gyeol had been still lying on the ground and struggling under the foot of the game master, so he could choose nothing from the hat. And then the game master had seemed to grant him some mercy by lifting their foot and giving Gyeol some space to move more freely.

After they had removed their foot from his back, it was like something had taken control of his body, and Gyeol stood up, and in a daze, he moved forward and placed his hand inside the hat. That was why he was now one participant in this game.

The duo ignored the pained grunts behind them. It wasn't like they didn't want to help at the moment; it wasn't certain if they could guarantee their safety.

In the narrow walkway, the mirrors on both sides seemed to stretch on for a while, with no end in sight. Honestly, looking in them was disconcerting, and they kept their gazes trained forwards, lest they saw something frightening reflected in the mirrors' surface. Their hold on one another tightened, and they focused their attention on their feet, to not suddenly trip.

"Why do I feel like something bad is about to happen?" Chan's soft voice echoed in the small space.

Sehyoon turned to glare at him and was about to curse him out for saying words that were jinxed when he heard a creaking noise coming from in front of them. He felt Chan tensing up beside him, and after seeing the younger male's eyes widening and jaw going slack, he looked to the front and his face paled.

Before them was a humanoid-shaped being that at first looked like it was made of flesh and blood, but if you looked closer, you could see that its movements were wooden, and sounds of it creaking echoed in the narrow passageway. Upon its face, the normal features were painted on, and its eyes stared unblinkingly at the trio and its wooden legs stiffly lifted as it came towards them.

Sehyoon and Chan felt as though their feet were firmly planted on the ground, and their breaths collectively got stuck in their chests. Even the sounds of the blinded guy groaning faded away in that instant as fear overtook all of them. At that moment, the two guys felt jealous of him for not being able to see the monstrosity that was coming towards them.

Snapping out of it, Sehyoon moved Chan behind him and said in a low voice, "on the count of three, grab Han-Gyeol and run as fast as you can. I'll distract whatever that thing is and join you after."

"No!" Chan exclaimed and grabbed onto Sehyoon's arm again. "I can't leave you here on your own."

"Just do as I say!" Sehyoon raised his voice unintentionally, and the cracking of teeth could be heard from how hard he was gritting his teeth. "This is the only way. If you want us to get out of here, you have to get away first. Trust me, Chan."

Chan hesitated for a moment, and then slowly nodded his head. "Alright, I'll listen to you this time."

"Good. On the count of three." Sehyoon stepped forward as he began to count, and when he reached three, he heard Chan begging Han-Gyeol to follow him. Then he heard hurried footsteps moving further and further away from the darkened corridor.

"Ok, creepy puppet man, it's just me and you left..."

Sehyoon gulped and thought about how he was going to get out of this predicament.