Murderer

The morning of, Seojun spent an hour picking an outfit just to be told it was too formal by his sister which resulted in a few more tries before he found something that was 'just right'. With a 'good luck' from Seungcheol, he closed the front door and headed for the car parked in-front of the gate.

"Hey, oh," Seojun smiled and waved to the girl sat in the backseat. Dahyun who was sat upright widened her eyes then gave a small wave back and mouthed her reply. She looked as if she was on full alert so it was funny to see her so surprised all of a sudden.

"Ready?"

They headed for the highway right after exiting the neighbourhood and after a while, the car turned off to the exit they needed. From there, the longer they drove, the more lonely the road became. The presence of other cars declined and signs of life that would usually appear by now considering how far they were from the highway, didn't. Even the radio that was playing high beat pop songs had now transitioned to slow-paced, mellow music that sounded almost hyponastic, as if trying to convince the listener this was all just a dream that they will wake up from soon.

There was one last anomaly. The man sat in the driver's seat. 

Seojun noticed Hyunwoo had gone unusually quiet ever since they pulled off the highway. He glanced over and saw a look on his face that could only be described as conflicted. His brows were tense and his eyes looked as if they were holding back tears but he didn't look sad. There was also the occasional small sighs of frustration and impatient tapping of his finger on top of the steering wheel but there wasn't anything clear that conveyed his feeling in the moment. It was as if he didn't know how he was feeling either.

Before Seojun could say anything, the car came to a stop at a red light. They had finally gone off the main road and as he looked around, Seojun felt a slight uneasiness. It was still morning, so why did their surroundings look so dark? The sun was in the sky but the withered trees and grasslands overruled by damp mud and footprints acted like it was never there. There was a street light by the sidewalk that flickered inconsistently. The houses he could see had their windows all barricaded, with some doors boarded close too. 

Seojun's lips parted subconsciously as he stared at the view. There wasn't much to see but for some reason, he couldn't look away either. For the other two, this was more than just a bad part of town. It was a home they couldn't leave behind.

The car started again and there were still no signs of people until they got closer to the school. They pulled into the barely used car park and headed towards the entrance.

Today, the gates were open to the public who were willing to enter.

There was a large banner hanging by the entrance that welcomed everyone to the school's yearly festival. Seojun paused as his eyes caught the sign by the gate that read 'O middle and high school'.

The three were heading towards the main entrance where there was a small crowd, made mainly of locals, but Hyunwoo quickly made a turn. The other two, although confused, followed him as they entered the building through a side door. 

Seeing how familiar Hyunwoo was with the place, Seojun asked a question.

"Is this your alma mater?"

"Hmm, you can say that. Though technically I never graduated."

"You never graduated?"

"Not from here."

"Do you like this school?"

"Not really, why?"

"Why would you come back then?"

"..." Hyunwoo grabbed a pen and wrote their names down on a piece of paper before answering. His voice low as he glanced at Dahyun who was peering into the empty classrooms. "I thought she would want to look around."

Dahyun came back and pointed to a sign at the end of the hallway for the escape room on the second floor. "Mister, can we do that?" 

There were only two classrooms on the second floor but they seemed to be bigger than normal classrooms. According to Hyunwoo, it was so it was big enough to hold all the students in the same grade. The one to the left was heavily decorated, a student outside guided them in and explained the rules before shutting the door behind.

The lights were off and curtains were drawn. From the outside, the room didn't look all that big but it seemed the students utilised the space well as the decors managed to give off a haunted mansion vibe. Around them, walls were filled with small fake wanted posters and the furniture used were all miniature, making the space look bigger. 

In front of the three was a button. There were no notes or any instruction given and despite being able to see there was more to explore, every other section was behind closed doors. With no other choice, they pressed the button. A bright light engulfed their visions and by the time each peered their eyes open, they were faced with the same surrounding, except this time, they were alone and one of the other three doors had opened.

Seojun was about to go towards the door but paused as he noticed the note on the table. On it, there stood three words and nothing else. An instruction and a hint.

'Find each other.'

He went into the room, decorated with historical paintings and ancient artefacts, and started looking around for a key. Since the other two were gone, he naturally came to the conclusion he would find them in one of the locked rooms.

But that still doesn't make sense. Why would finding each other be a way out?

He opened a wooden jewellery box and saw the button like the one at the start. Stuck to the roof of the box was a note that just said 'find me again'. 

"It's just the same thing," Seojun mumbled as he placed it back down, "..."

He signed as he closed the box. Around 20 minutes went by as he waited by his door for a while before feeling a familiar presence. He couldn't see anyone but he still reached a hand out as if someone was there.

As he made contact with Hyunwoo, their surroundings cleared up, placing them in an empty classroom.

"Oh, what, did we do it?"

Seojun looked at him for a moment then chuckled. Unbeknownst to Hyunwoo, when Seojun placed the box back down, he had accidentally used psychometry on it and found out how the room was designed.

"How did you do it?"

The making of it was nothing hard to wrap your head around. It was an escape room made with the use of Hallucination. The ability creates a space in which the victim will only be able to escape if they made contact with reality, in this case, they can only get out by finding their teammates. One way was like how Seojun first perceived it, find the keys to the other rooms and cross paths with each other this way. Hyunwoo went down this route and the game ended right when he opened the door to the second room. So, even though Seojun knew how to finish the game, he had to predict where Hyunwoo would be and follow, assuming he wouldn't go for the second way out.

The second way out was designed for people who wanted to do it alone. If the participant found the button again, that would deactivate the dream space and this was how Dahyun made it out.

"Record time, damn," the student handed some coupons for the food stalls to Dahyun and said something to her to which she replied with a quiet 'thank you' and a polite rejection. "What--" His raised voice cut off as he noticed a stare from Hyunwoo. Clearing his throat, he thanked them for playing as they left.

They played a few more games until lunchtime and took a small stroll around the schoolground, killing time as they waited for the sun to set as the day would conclude with a student talent show. But before that, Dahyun spotted a photo booth the school had set up and asked if she could take some photos.

They nodded and rested up against the window sill as they waited for her. Seojun noticed Hyunwoo was staring outside quietly and followed his gaze. Behind the school was the true living condition of the residents here - a slum.

"You want to ask something, don't you?" 

Seojun took a deep breath, his tone careful as he asked, "did you ever live there?"

"For a bit. I think back when I was 5. But.. that man won the lottery a few months after and we moved back into our old apartment, he got a proper job somewhere and..." Hyunwoo let out a small laugh before going quiet. He felt a hand on his - a silent response that can be mistaken as pure pity was much more than that.

A hand drew open the curtains to the photobooth and Dahyun's excited expression fell slightly as she looked at the photos. 

"Hyunwoo, you should take some pictures with her."

"What?"

"Just a few," Seojun said as he ushered him into the booth. Even Dahyun was looking at him dumbfounded but he nodded at her to go in too then grabbed a few props that was set to the side and handed it to them before quickly dragging the curtain shut.

He could hear Hyunwoo's complaints about what he had picked out and just laughed. "Remember to smile and be natural."

Seojun picked up the photos as the announcement for the student show played over the speaker. With the awkward expression on both their faces and the animal ears held in their hands that stopped in mid-air, the pictures looked like a father daughter duo that was caught off guard.

It also looked like Dahyun was happier with how they turned out this time.

They made their way back to the front of the school, which now had a makeshift stage set up, and joined the crowd of spectators. 

"Good afternoon. I want to say thank you to all the students and parents who volunteered to help today. To close the festival, we will have our annual student show."

A group of five students got in position and after the crowd died down, a song played from the speakers. As the dance performance went on, Seojun realised why it looked so familiar.

"Isn't this the one they covered in the survival show?"

But there was no reply. He looked to his side and Hyunwoo was no longer there.

At the end of the empty hallway, Hyunwoo stopped as the person in front of him paused.

A few minutes ago, he saw a small argument from the side of the stage. At first he thought there was nothing to be worried about, fallouts between friends and arguments during a stressful situation like this was normal. But the one who stood in the centre of criticism was his sister and she didn't seem to put up much a fight.

"Were those people your friends?"

Jiwoo stayed silent with her back turned.

"You should stand up for yourself, don't let people push you around."

"And what? Become like you?"

"Jiwoo."

"Do you want to know why I couldn't stand up for myself? Because they were talking about you. What has what happened even got to do with me? You're the one that killed him."

Hyunwoo received a cold stare. One that said he didn't recognise her and she didn't recognise him.

"..."

"How long are you going to keep taking things from me? First Dad, and now my friends." Jiwoo paused. The anger in her died down as the man in-front of her stood in silence. 

… Not even bothering to make excuses

You should at least pretend you care

"You're not my brother anymore, you're just a murderer."

He remained still until the sound of her footsteps disappeared. Hyunwoo didn't bother going after her, he didn't bother explaining himself. Because a part of him understands why she feels the way she does; and that part of him has stopped him from moving on.

Before he knew it, Hyunwoo had gone to the back of the gym building. The little corner between that and the equipment shed was messy, covered with cobwebs and overgrown grass; even the gap in the wall that he used to use to sneak out of school with friends before was blocked by a heavy barrel.

He knew everything had moved on with time, everything but him. And he felt helpless.

Why did I come back..?

He dug around the rubbish for a while, and smiled bitterly as he found a box of cigarettes, dusty and slightly crushed but still good to use. 

"How did no one find it.."

Fumbling around his pockets however, Hyunwoo realised he forgot to bring a lighter.

"What are you doing?"

It was only when he heard his voice, Hyunwoo remembered why he didn't. Because he seemed to be doing better lately. With his thoughts mixing in with the emotions of the past, he had forgotten he wasn't actually there anymore. But the future doesn't wait. He knew that better than anyone. Yet he still hesitated.

Ah. I fucked up.

"It was out of habit, I wasn't thinking--" He paused as Seojun placed something in his hand. What he had given was returned already.

Hyunwoo caught a glimpse of his face before he turned around. A look that was much more than disappointment, and Hyunwoo couldn't handle that. He watched as the figure walked away, pausing for a moment as if giving him the chance to explain himself. But Hyunwoo didn't say anything.

"... I'm going home."