Countdown
After Dohyung left the Basement, the four of them did nothing but stare blankly at the door. No one spoke. In truth, this was the first time they had met since graduating high school. While Jia, Jiseon, and Eunji in the other room had kept in touch over the years, these four had scattered to different regions, naturally letting their memories of one another fade. They had lived their lives completely forgetting what had happened in high school, forgetting that they had ever tormented someone. But today, after being kidnapped by Dohyung, those buried memories were beginning to resurface, vivid and raw.
"...Well, it's been a while. Though I never imagined we'd reunite in a shithole like this."
The silence in the Basement was broken by Sujin's voice. However, her tone carried a tremor of tension and a faint, underlying dread of the iron plate.
"What do we do now...?"
"We need to get the hell out of here, fast! My life was finally starting to come together!"
In contrast to Dongeun, who was deep in thought trying to find an escape route, Ara shrieked in a voice thick with irritation.
"Shut up! We need to put our heads together and figure out a way to escape!"
Stepping up as the leader of the pack just as she had in high school, Sujin barked at them.
"There has to be at least some small crack we can slip through in this room. Spread out and look."
"O-okay."
Following Sujin's lead, the four of them thoroughly searched every nook and cranny of the Basement room they were confined in. But of course, Dohyung was not the type of man to leave an escape route.
Thud!
"Dammit..."
When things didn't go her way, Sujin slammed her fist against the wall in frustration. The other three felt the exact same helplessness.
"Do we really... have to press our foreheads against that thing?"
As anxiety mounted over their failure to find an escape, Dongeun spoke up quietly.
"What? Are you insane? How could you even think of burning your flesh on that? You saw how fast that meat cooked earlier! Besides, if we get burned here and can't get proper medical treatment, we're screwed."
"But it's not like we have any other brilliant ideas! I'm just saying!"
Perhaps because she was a nurse by profession, Ara reacted with sheer horror to Dongeun's suggestion. She, more than anyone else in the room, knew exactly how dangerous and agonizing it would be to press bare skin against a red-hot iron plate.
"I won't do it... My face, my beautiful face... I'm not burning it on that. Absolutely not."
Naturally, no one wanted to press their face against a scorching iron plate. They desperately searched for any other way out, but their efforts yielded nothing. Eventually, exhausted and defeated, they slumped against the wall.
"But what about food? There's no water here either."
"There isn't even a toilet..."
The four of them despaired as the reality of their barren surroundings sank in. Trapped in a room with no windows, no adjoining doors, and only a single locked exit, they felt as though they were in a deep, inescapable dungeon. It was hard to believe this nightmare was actually real.
Sujin couldn't comprehend why she was being subjected to this. Kidnapped by some unknown man, all because of Min-a—a girl whose face she could barely even remember. And so, the four of them remained trapped in the Basement, unable to do anything. But their endurance didn't last long. As their stomachs clamored for food and a burning thirst parched their throats, staying still became an agonizing torment.
As their mouths grew dry and sticky, the door suddenly swung open, and Dohyung stepped inside. He scanned the four of them.
"What? Still nothing? I thought at least one of you would have done it by now. How disappointing."
The four girls glared at him with eyes full of resentment.
Ignoring their glares, Dohyung popped open the lid of a lunchbox he brought with him and began to eat with relish. He did this right in front of the four starving girls.
Growl!
At the savory aroma wafting from the lunchbox, their empty stomachs churned violently.
"Mmm... Just so you know, if you apologize properly, I'll share this food with you immediately. If you can't even apologize, you're no better than beasts, and I have no reason to feed beasts."
Dohyung's offer of food momentarily tempted them. Yet, it wasn't enough to overcome their deep-seated horror of the hot iron plate.
Almost everyone has burned themselves on something hot at least once in their lives. Recalling that sharp, searing pain made them vividly imagine the sheer agony of pressing their foreheads against a glowing iron plate. It was not a choice anyone could make lightly.
Dohyung didn't care whether they pressed their foreheads against the iron plate to apologize or chose to starve to death. The moment these four were dragged down here, their fates were sealed. The only difference was how long they would suffer, or if they would simply waste away from hunger. Unlike the three girls in the other room, whom he intended to keep alive in a perpetual hell of torment, he had no intention of dragging out the suffering of these four indefinitely.
Having finished his meal, Dohyung let out a smirk at their continued inaction and left the room. Left behind with the lingering aroma of food that only intensified their hunger, the four girls could do nothing but curse him in their hearts.
Leaving the room containing Sujin and the other three, Dohyung entered the other Basement room.
"Welcome back, Master!"
Eunji greeted him with a bright, cheerful smile the moment he stepped inside. Dohyung looked around. Jia and Jiseon were sprawled on the floor, likely having been beaten by Eunji again today. Startled by his sudden entrance, they scrambled to their feet, swaying unsteadily.
"I was just giving them their daily discipline!"
Eunji chirped, justifying her abuse of Jia and Jiseon under the guise of "discipline." She was inflicting on them exactly what they had done to her—no, far worse. Dohyung didn't mind. In fact, his goal was to have them torment one another, trapping them in a self-sustaining hell.
If Eunji kept building up their resentment like this, the moment the Game Box spat out another Informal Talk lot, the power dynamic would instantly flip. On that day, Eunji would be as good as dead. Thinking of Min-a, he knew they deserved far worse, but Dohyung felt now was not the time. Eunji was already firmly within his grasp anyway. There was no need to rush her destruction. With that thought, Dohyung looked up at the electronic display board he had recently installed. On it, four large number 10s were displayed. This board had been set up in Eunji's room on the very day he brought the four new girls to the other room, and it was currently being used for their active game.
"Um... Master? When do those tens start going down?"
"Who knows? I don't even know myself. But they'll drop eventually, so don't worry."
"Yes, Master!"
The game currently being played by Jia, Jiseon, and Eunji was Game No. 15: Countdown ★★. Originally, No. 15 had been a different game, but Dohyung had used magic to alter it. It was an incredibly simple game that required almost no effort from the three girls.
The rules were straightforward: out of the four 10s displayed on the electronic board, each of the three girls would choose one. The person whose chosen number was the last to reach 0 would receive a punishment.
However, if the unchosen number reached 0 first, all three of them would be punished by the Master.
"It's a bit frustrating because the numbers aren't showing any sign of changing, Master."
"Well, for now, yes. But they'll start changing soon enough."
Dohyung chuckled in amusement as he stared at the display board. Jia, Jiseon, and Eunji watched him, completely unable to comprehend why he was smiling.
But to Dohyung, it was an incredibly entertaining game. The decrease of those tens was not random. Each number was linked directly to one of the girls in the other room: Sujin, Hyemin, Dongeun, and Ara. Whenever one of them pressed her forehead against the hot iron plate to apologize, the corresponding number on the display board would tick down. Of course, the three girls in this room had absolutely no idea that the countdown was tied to such a brutal mechanism.
[1] Kang Sujin — Chosen by: Eunji
[2] Park Hyemin — Chosen by: Jia
[3] Na Dongeun — Unchosen (Dohyung's default)
[4] Do Ara — Chosen by: Jiseon
Since Dohyung had declared that he wouldn't start the next game until this one finished, the three girls could only pray that their chosen numbers would drop first. However, because those numbers would only decrease when the girls in the other room mutilated themselves, the countdown progressed at an agonizingly slow pace.
A full day passed like that...
"Oh! The number went down!"
Eunji squealed. The number 10 under slot 1, which she had chosen, had finally begun to tick down. Hearing her cry, Jia and Jiseon quickly looked up at the display board. They checked to see if their own numbers had changed, but unfortunately, the other numbers remained stubbornly static.
On the other hand, Eunji was ecstatic to see her chosen number dropping first. The worst-case scenario was the unchosen number 3 reaching zero first, but if her number reached zero first, she would be completely safe from punishment.
"Come on, faster! Hurry up and hit zero!"
Eunji cheered loudly, staring at the display board. She had absolutely no idea that in the other room, Sujin was screaming in agony, pressing her forehead against the searing iron plate.