Death Wish

Act II - Round 1, Colors

Five minutes till the “count down ends. Noh Jin Suk keeps his composure together and tries to stay calm as much as possible. The kid beside him balled his hands into a fist. Five hundred and fourteen people are going to participate in a sadistic game of survival, everyone’s fate depends on their choices. Subtraction is inevitable, most of them are going to die. Hold out for a long time to win, survive till the end, and push aside all of the hesitations, the game is going to eat them whole and won’t dither to do so.

They can’t go back now, what is done is done. They are here based on their own accords, a decision to take a risk to get something they desire. Loud beats of booming hearts, unable to breathe properly because of anxiousness, cold sweats are forming, terrified on what happens next. They chose to be here and they must pay a price to play.

One minute left, the tension is getting tighter, everyone was suffocated with nervousness. No one knows if they’ll be able to handle the challenges that await them after the timer ends. When the timer hits zero, death will be waving in each of one them. The wishers are asking for a death wish to get their own dream wish. An option that hides its true nature. Let the wishing game begin.

An alarm set off as soon as the timer ends, leaving everyone agitated. The word ‘LIVE’ have appeared after the timer disappeared. The word slowly flickers like a firefly powering its light. That was the signal that the game was being broadcast from the outside. Countless people are now viewing the anticipated event of the year, the coming of the twelfth wishing game is finally live.

The bright lights were lowered and made the huge dome dimly lit. The red flickering of the ‘LIVE’ sign was capturing everyone’s eyes. The wishers were looking up at the sign as if they were forced to look at it. Noh Jin Suk and the others know that they are being watched, the feeling of being spectated on is getting everyone anxious as the people from the outside will soon witness their deaths.

“The twelfth wishing game is now live”, the transcendent voice has finally appeared. The chest of the wishers was getting heavy as they try to hide the feeling of nervousness behind them. They stood still and listen to the voice instructions, “The first round of the wishing game is now open”.

All of sudden, at the center of the dome, the wishers were surprised when they saw pieces of particles getting formed together out of nowhere. The particles created something that will amaze everyone. It formed a big wicket gate that has a futuristic design. The gate opened making a screeching sound, no one knows what is behind that gate, it was covered with milk-white lights, making everyone unable to see anything inside. It was like a dimensional portal where it leads you to another space after you entered.

Another timer appeared and this time it was a five-minute mark, “The entrance of the first round is now open, all wishers must enter before the given time ends”, the voice instructed “The wishers who are unable to do so will be instantly eliminated from the game”, the voice added and the two words ‘instantly eliminated’ posed as a great threat for all the wisher. No one wants to know and disobey that instruction.

Four minutes left, no one was entering the gate. They were hesitating, not knowing what is behind that gate are making them question their choices. The wishers were waiting for someone to enter, they might feel a little bit less nervous if someone will enter first.

Two minutes have passed and Noh Jin Suk tried to be bold so he decided to enter first, but then the guy who went out next to his room walked confidently and everyone's attention was on him. He entered the gate without hesitation and disappeared after entering. That made everyone gain courage a little bit, another wisher enters and then followed by another. The wishers are finally entering one after another, following the others who entered first.

Noh Jin Suk saw the kid looking at him waiting for him to go in. He waited for the majority of the wishers to enter. One minute on the clock and almost everyone has entered, all that is left is the wishers who were still hesitating to enter including the boy next to him. Noh Jin Suk looks at the people who were still there and a frail woman with curly hair caught his attention, the woman entered the gate and loses sight of her.

Thirty seconds, the boy was looking at him sweating, he was waiting for Noh Jin Suk to enter. Noh Jin Suk look at him and sighed. He stood straight, finally decided to enter. He walked confidently to the gate and the follows. They went through the gate and what awaits them was behind their imagination.

They were transported to another room and it was much bigger than the dome. It was huge as the size of an airport. It was like a giant chessboard with numerous large square-shaped tiles. Noh Jin Suk looks around the area, they were inside a large cube. He notices that the other wishers were missing, he can only count several of them. He then looks at the far corner and saw the boy who followed him standing there. He was puzzled, he was confused why the boy was there and not beside him. He knows that the boy followed him after he entered. He keeps recollecting to analyze the situation and he concluded on one answer. The gate was a portal that decides the wisher’s location entrance. Once a wisher enters, they will appear on any side of the large room. His hunch was confirmed when he saw another wisher who came out from nowhere at one side of the room.

He was still wondering why there’s only several of them, he was trying to find out where the other wishers went. This thought came to him when he didn’t see the guy next to him, the one who entered first was nowhere to be seen. He realizes that the wishers were divided into different spaces, there were several rooms, something like the one where he is now. There were five hundred and fourteen of them, he confirmed that there’s only a hundred of them including him in the room. He immediately got an answer where they were divided into five and there were five rooms, a hundred wishers for each room. He still doesn’t know if the others are going to play a game the same as them.

He finally clears his confusion and all he has to do was wait for the game to begin. He observe the other wishers and some of them were restless and some were wandering around to check the room out. He caught the boy looking at him and the boy immediately turned away.

After a moment, at the center of the room. They saw a number at the top. One hundred and three, it was the total count of the wishers who were in the same room as him. ‘The first round of the wishing game will now begin’, they heard the voice that will begin a cruel game and they know that it will not be an easy one.

The wishers were getting anxious again, they don’t know how to react as they listen to the instruction of the voice. Noh Jin Suk paid attention carefully, not missing anything single detail of the game.

‘Game, Chasing Colors’, the title of the game is finally revealed and the wishers don’t like its name. They know it is a game that can capture their death but they have to survive until the end of the game.

‘Rule, on a set of numerous tiles. A certain color will randomly glow in each of the tiles. The color of the tile will constantly change after every level’

‘A random color will be selected by the system. Once the name of the color is selected, the tiles will glow with different colors, the wishers must go inside on one of the tiles, the color of the tile chosen by the wisher must be the same as the selected color. Those who fail to get inside the correct tile in the given time will be eliminated’

‘There can only be one wisher on one tile. If both or more wishers are in the same tile with the correct color, the wishers on that tile will be eliminated’

‘There will be six levels, each level has a certain amount of time given. Good luck and may the spirit of your wish will guide you'.

[Round 1]

[Game: Chasing Colors]

[Rule: A wisher must enter a colored tile with the same color that was selected, there can only be one wisher for each tile]

[Levels: Six]

[Time: Depends on the difficulty level]

The first round of the wishing game finally revealed its content. The atmosphere became heavy and everyone was looking at each other not sure what to do. They feel suffocated with the tension they are feeling, the anxiety, the fear, the consternation, negative feelings are getting blended together to make the wishers terrified and scared.

A person who can feel this is brave enough to even face it. No one is safe from the hands of death.

“Dude, what’s wrong?”, Noh Jin Suk heard a guy from the back talking to the other wisher who was wearing glasses. “ Why are you sweating a lot? The game hasn’t even started yet”, the guy with the glasses won’t respond because of the nervousness he felt. The guy gave up on him and went farther from him.

“Ahjussi”, the voice of a girl poked him from his back. The girl went beside him and Noh Jin Suk turned his head to her as he wrapped his hands together. “So where do we position ourselves?”, the girl asked. Noh Jin Suk looked far away, not knowing where to position too. He didn’t respond back and the girl felt embarrassed so she went away.

(Note: 'Ahjussi' means middle-aged man in Korean. Ahjussi can be used when calling an unfamiliar grown man; it is equivalent of calling a man 'Mister')

The guy with glasses was in the corner in their room panting due to nervousness. ‘The game will start in sixty seconds, the voice finally gave the head start. Everyone positioned themselves and some stayed on their spots. For Noh Jin Suk, he had come up with an idea. He went to the center so he can have many options to select a tile and it is much nearer. If he positioned himself on the very side of the room, the amount of time finding the right tile would certainly be an advantage.

The girl who asked him earlier and the guy with glasses followed him in the center. The people who went to the center are wise people who think the same as Noh Jin Suk. The others think that the center will be crowded and they might bump into each other when the selected color is revealed. They decided to stay at the sides of the room. Ten seconds left, each one of them is holding their breaths and trying to stay calm as possible. The time of death’s visit is now on sight.

[Level 1]

‘GREEN’, the voice revealed the first level color, ‘Lighting up the board in three, two one’, the tiles lightened up and glowed different colors. There was a timer of sixty seconds, they must find an unoccupied green tile fast. Everyone had enough time to occupy an empty tile, the first level is just a small wave.

The guy with glasses was still at the center, he felt so scared that his leg was shaking, he was checking out every tile as if he couldn't choose one. The color was green and there were a lot of green tiles left, he just stood still looking for something. “Hey, you! What’s wrong? Pick a tile now, you only have forty seconds left!”, apparently the girl who talked to Noh Jin Suk earlier was by his side, the opposite tile beside Noh Jin Suk is also green and the girl was the one who occupied it. “Hey!”, the girl shouted. “Dude! Choose a color or you will be eliminated!”, the dude earlier yelled from the side of the room.

Twenty seconds left, the guy looked at the time and was about to cry, he gulped and looked at us, “Please help me!", he closed his eyes and shouted once again, I’m colorblind!, the guy shouted desperately for help. “What!? You’ve got to be kidding me!”, the girl didn’t hesitate to help him out. The girl ran to get him, “Come on, follow me, hurry!”, the girl dragged the guy into an empty green tile and there’s only eight seconds left. The girl looked around for empty tiles but she couldn't find anything. She saw Noh Jin Suk and decided to go back to the tile she was in earlier. She ran as fast as she could, she was racing against the running time. Everyone held out their toes as they watched the girl running for her life.

‘Three, two,’ she was almost out of time, she jumped as high as she could, ‘One’, as the timer hit zero, the whole room went pitch black, leaving the wishers caught in surprise. The sound of something like a mechanical machine could be heard all over the room, it was loud and the platform was shaking. No one can see anything and no one knows what is happening with their surroundings. No one knows if the girl was okay or not, they didn’t see the moment she entered the safe tile.

‘Lights on’, the lights came back and it seemed everyone was safe, except for the girl who saved the guy with a colorblind disability. She was nowhere to be found, then a picture of hers and her name appeared beside the timer and it turned light red, her picture has an ‘X’ marked on her mouth. The wishers already know what the picture meant, the girl was eliminated, the girl is dead.

The guy dropped his knees on the floor seeing that the girl died in order to save him, he broke down badly. He thinks that if it wasn’t for him, the girl would have survived and not him. Everyone was looking at the guy with contempt and its a common trait of a human to hate someone.

[Level 2]

The next level is here and the wishers started to prepare. Noh Jin Suk went back to the center of the room . The colorblind guy was still on his knees, he wasn't moving.

'BLUE', the voice selected a color, everyone was grasping their breaths, 'Lighting up the board in three, two, one'. It was the same at the last level, the tiles glowed different colors and all they have to do is enter an empty safe tile. It was easy and the time was still sixty seconds.

Noh Jin Suk occupied a safe tile, he look at the guys who the girl saved and it seems he gave up on life. No one cared for him, they didn't bother to help him. They might end up at the same end with the girl who helped him. "Don't even think to try and help him, he is a dead weight", said by one of the wishers and the others agreed by nodding their heads.

Noh Jin Suk couldn't ignore the poor guy. He decided to help him, "Move your dead beat asx and let's go to a safe tile, her death will go in vain if you die here", Noh Jin Suk helps him get back on his knees. He was the kind of guy who didn't care about other people's business, but he just denied his character. He was still in daze, Noh Jin Suk slapped him in the cheek that it reddens.

The guy snapped back in. He stood up with all his strength as his knees grew weak. Noh Jin Suk guided him and put him in the safe tile. He then finds a safe tile for himself.

Everybody was safe and the timer ran out. Again, the room turned pitch black and they heard a loud screeching sound of metal, the platform was shaking again. The light turned back on and everyone survived in the second level.

[Level 3]

'ORANGE', the third color is shown and everyone keeps their guards up. 'Lighting up the board in three, two, one', the tiles lit up and it was still the same, however they had only forty seconds to find a safe tile.

Noh Jin Suk prioritized the colorblind guy and guided him first to a safe tile. Noh Jin Suk is a quick thinker and has quick reflexes so he can manage to find a safe tile on his own after helping him.

At this level, chaos has finally shown up. Three wishers were fighting over a single safe tile, they don't have much time left so they can't afford finding another safe tile. Ten second left and the three won't stop fighting over the tile. 'Three, two, one', hearing the last seconds, they stick themselves together on a single tile. The lights vanished, the platform was shaking and the mechanical sound was present again, but this time it was accompanied by screams. The screams faded out slowly until it was gone. There was no doubt, it was the three wishers who were fighting earlier.

'Lights on', everyone looked at each other and the three disappeared without a trace. The faces of the three were shown beside the timer one by one. They were eliminated from the game and probably dead.

[Level 4]

Noh Jin Suk finally realizes the game's difficulty has been changed, last level the time was reduced twenty seconds. He knows that the current level will be much more difficult.

'YELLOW', lighting up the board in three, two, one', Noh Jin Suk looks at the time first before finding a safe tile. It was still forty seconds, he knows that something is wrong, the difficulty must have changed, but he doesn't know what it is. Noh Jin Suk checked the glowing tiles and finally knew what it was. The safe tiles were reduced! It is inevitable to lose some wishers.

He looked at the colorblind guy, hesitating to help him. He might lose his life if he tried to help him,but his conscience was stronger. He dragged him on a safe tile first again. He used all of his instincts to find another safe tile.

He finally found one but it was too far away, leaving aside everything, he sprinted to the safe tile. The other wishers finally realized that the safe tiles were numbered, the empty tiles were running out fast. The wishers who were unable to obtain a safe tile, decided to push others off to replace them.

There were several fights for the safe tiles. Violence has taken over them, some beat others to death and some passed out on the floor after getting a hit. It was a complete disaster. Chaos have finally reign over them.

Noh Jin Suk was running for his life, he ran as fast as he could. He was meeting the same destiny with the girl who got eliminated first,'Three, two', Noh Jin Suk jumped for the safe tile, 'One'. The lights died and the screams of several wishers can be heard along with the sound of a screeching metal. The floor shakes until the scream fades out. The colorblind guy was feeling agitated again, not knowing what happened to Noh Jin Suk.

'Lights on', the lights went back and Noh Jin Suk was safe and sound, he made it. He was laying on his chest. Noh Jin Suk stood up and immediately went back to the center to meet up with the colorblind guy. "Ahjussi, you okay?", the guy asked. Noh Jin Suk nods to respond and gulps. He was panting.

Noh Jin Suk also knew where the noise that sounded like a mechanical machine was coming from. "The tiles, they are dropping deep", he said. "What?", the guy asked. "If you don't get to a safe tile before the timer ends, the tiles with the wrong color will instantly drop, leaving the others who failed, fall unto their deaths", he explained. The guy gulps out of agitation.

[Level 5]

'Increasing difficulty level', a different line was given and the remaining wishers were puzzled. The floor began to shake and move making the sound of a screeching of metal appearing again. Everyone was holding on tight, as the tiles separated to each other with a certain distance. The deep hole below the tiles is finally revealed. The wishers who were eliminated fell to their deaths.

"Ahjussi, what now?", the colorblind guys, he became more terrified. Noh Jin Suk gulps and was hesitating to help the guys again. He never backs down on his decision, he still decided to help him.

'PURPLE', the fifth color was announced. Each of the remaining wishers was terrified. "This is ridiculous!", shouted by the woman who can't stand up, terrified to move, the woman has a fear of heights. Noh Jin Suk cannot do anything about it, he already had enough problems on his hands.

'Lighting up the board in three, two, one', this time the timer was reduced by ten seconds. Noh Jin Suk didn't waste a single time, as he was about to bring him along, a voice of a little boy shouted to them, "Here!", it was the boy who followed him in the gate. He threw his shoe and safely landed on another safe tile, three tiles away from him. Noh Jin Suk knows that the boy wanted to help, "Go". The colorblind guy nods his head and hops on the tiles carefully avoiding to fall off. Noh Jin Suk already found a safe tile so he went there to claim it.

Both of them claimed a safe tile, their suffocation in their chest has softened a little bit. "Please help me!", begged by the woman who was still in her tile, scared to move. They can't do anything, the time is almost out. All they can do is watch her shouting for her life.

The timer went out and the lights didn't go out and the unsafe tiles were pulled down as fast as a speeding bullet, leaving the wishers who failed in the air. They watched them fall to their deaths. Their eyes were stained by guilt and despair. No one can do anything about it.

[Final Level]

[Remaining Wishers : 72]

Seventy two wishers were able to make it to the final level, but it's not the time to rejoice yet. This level is the highest difficulty ever and Noh Jin Suk knows about it. The remaining wishers will be reduced greatly in this level.

The platforms began to shake again, the tiles were reduced and the tiles are getting farther to each other. This is the highest difficulty level and Noh Jin Suk didn't expect that it would be this hard. The timer shows up and they only have twenty seconds to catch.

This time Noh Jin Suk knows that the colorblind guy is clearly beyond help. If he helps him, he will surely die. "Ahjussi", the guy called out to him. "Why are you helping me?", he asked. Noh Jin Suk looked at the far distance and gulped, "The game is unfair for you because of your disability, it isn't right", Noh Jin Suk answered directly to the point. "Also, I don't want that girl's death go in vain, that's it", he added. The guy snickered, "I see".

He want to ask one more thing but he was hesitant, "Can I ask for your name?", the guy asked him in the end. Noh Jin Suk didn't respond. Answering one of his questions was enough. "If you're not uncomfortable with it, I won't force you", the guy smiled. "My name is Kang Sok Jun by the way", he smiled again and all that Noh Jin Suk could do was nod back.

'Red', the final color is now on sight. The remaining wishers wanted to get out of this hell right away and the only way out is to survive and finish the game. 'Lighting up the board in three, two', Noh Jin Suk finally decided what to do, 'One'. He decided to save him.

He grabbed his wrist and told him to jump together to proceed to the next tile one after another. The chaos was inevitable, wishers began to push others off from the tiles The screams of them falling was making an echo below. In those few seconds , several scenes were mortifying, Noh Jin Suk ignored it and both of them continued to hop off.

The tile where Noh Jin Suk was empty was occupied by another wisher. Desperate to take the tile, he jumped off. The wisher who got there first tried to fend off Noh Jin Suk. He fought back but he was bigger than him. He was unable to push back the big guy out of the tile. Kang Sok Jun jumped in and wrapped his hands around behind the big guy.

Kang Sok Jun smiled at him, and his lips was saying 'Thank You'. Kang Sok Jun used his weight to pull down the big guy along with him, leaving Noh Jin Suk alone in the safe tile. Noh Jin Suk was willing to risk his life for him and Kang Sok Jun also wanted to risk his life but in the end, Kang Sok Jun was the one who grabbed the decision.

The time ends and those who was chosen by fate, fall to their deaths. Noh Jin Suk made it to the final level along with the forty seven remaining wishers who managed to survive.

[Round 1 Ends]

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[End of Act II - Round 1, Colors]

[Next - Devastated]