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A study of lies. A test of morality. You're watching, but are you really innocent? Secrets, alliances, and deception blur the lines between right and wrong. Who can you trust when no one is telling the truth-and someone is always watching ?
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Besides," he added gently, "I won't be without advantage." Taehyun watched him-- slowly understanding something: Soobin wasn't surrendering. Neutral didn't mean powerless. It meant free.
After a long moment, Taehyun exhaled-- and for the first time since arriving, relief softened his shoulders.
"...Thank you," he murmured.
"For not making this harder."
Soobin shook his head. He nudged Taehyun playfully. "That means you're playing."
Taehyun allowed himself a small smile. "So where does that leave you ?" Soobin looked past him-- eyes scanning over the others casually. "Does it matter ? It is all part of the game..."
Not isolated. Not vulnerable. A wildcard.
Taehyun nodded once, seemingly prepared to go speak to Beomgyu-- but paused. "Soobin ?"
"If the game turns... if alliances collapse..."
Taehyun said this despite knowing this was showing a lot of vulnerability on his part. "... We find each other again. Yeah ?"
Soobin's expression softened slightly-- not fond or emotional. "Yes," he said simply. "We will."
Taehyun walked back first. Soobin remained for a moment longer, sighing calmly.
Soobin looked directly into one of the cameras. He smiled like someone who already knew what was going to happen next.
Taehyun spoke quietly as he took a seat beside Beomgyu: "You're alliance is broken. Mine just dissolved. We need stability at this time."
Beomgyu blinked-- processing, guarded. "... And you think that's with me ?"
Taehyun didn't hesitate to answer him. "Yes. I do." Beomgyu studied him for a moment-- searching for trickery, motive, weakness.
Across the room, Yeonjun's posture stiffened where he sat on his bed. His jaw clenched-- eyes fixed anywhere else but them.
The screen flickered on once more.
ALLIANCE: TAEHYUN + BEOMGYU
SOOBIN, KAI, AND YEONJUN ARE NEUTRAL.
Yeonjun's shoulders tightened as the silence in the room felt deafening.
Soobin took a seat next to Kai. Close enough their conversation wouldn't be heard by Beomgyu or Taehyun. That it couldn't be classified as secretive.
His voice was soft-- almost sympathetic. "Neutrality suits you," he murmured. "It keeps you untouchable." Kai's gaze was curious-- cautious even.
Soobin continued: "But neutrals rarely stay unnoticed. In our case our neutrality is a open fact. Someone will need a target... soon."
Kai's expression shifted-- brief confusion, then calculation. "So you're saying I should prepare ?"
Soobin' reply was gentle. "No. I'm saying... someone's already preparing for you."
Then the softest dagger: "You already know."
Kai didn't need any further explanation. His gaze slid-- slow, deliberate-- toward Yeonjun. Then back to Soobin. "... Interesting."
Soobin nodded. "That's all."
Soobin winked before taking a more casual position in another seat. Kai now newly armed from his conversation with Soobin.
The room now felt colder. Sharper. Like glass on the verge of shattering...
But everyone understood: The real game has just begun.
Everyone sort of minded their business or talked potential strategy in hushed tones.
Something cold and theatrical gleamed in Yeonjun's eyes, the way someone might stare into a mirror to rehearse the role they'd just embraced.
If they wanted a villain, Yeonjun would be one.
"Alright," Taehyun announced, voice steady but wary. "Remember why we're here..."
He wasn't wrong. They were here for one reason only. Find the Director among them. A harsh task given the main rule from the start.
The screen cut on with a series of white text on a black background:
YOU EACH WILL DRAW ONE RANDOMIZED CARD. BLACK OR WHITE. STATUS WILL PRESENT ITSELF ON THE CARD ONCE FLIPPED.
PARTICIPANT YEONJUN HAS BEEN PENALIZED FROM THE ACCUSATION CIRCLE GAME. HIS PENALTY: NO SPEECH WHATSOEVER.
Beomgyu muttered under his breath. "... That's so messed up."
Kai acted as if he was nervous. However, with the bit of information Soobin granted him he knew how to play this despite the cards being randomized.
Under the 70" screen a dispenser shot out cards on the table for each of them.
With the severity of his penalty, Yeonjun couldn't defend himself at all. Couldn't charm his way out...
He flipped his black card over. It reading: Innocent. He let out a sigh of relief.
Now the reverse was in the open. Black cards meant innocence instead of guilt. White meant guilt...
Yeonjun's head snapped in Beomgyu's direction-- eyes sharp, furious-- yet he remained silent.
Kai went next. With bated breath, he flipped his card over. Innocent. His whole body relaxed as his black card revealed he was seen as innocent once more.
Taehyun was next. Innocent. His eyes immediately darted from Soobin to Yeonjun, a smirk forming on his face.
Soobin flipped his card over. He winked at Yeonjun with a manical smirk. Innocent.
This left Yeonjun to flip his card. He silently flipped his white card. Finding the text: Guilty.
Yeonjun's jaw clenched so hard a muscle twitched in his cheek. His eyes screamed--
Let me speak. Let me defend myself. Let me explain-- this is wrong. I'm innocent.
Yet, he couldn't make a sound. He looked like he was about to snap.
The screen flickered again.
YEONJUN IS TO REMAIN SILENT UNTIL SAID OTHERWISE.
BREAK COMMENCES NOW. THIS IS YOUR REST PERIOD.
Yeonjun exhaled sharply through his nose. He still couldn't speak. The penalty hung around him like a collar...
He paced, fists balling and unballing, jaw working as though chewing the words he wasn't allowed to spit out.
Beomgyu watched him with wounded caution, the way someone watches a fire that flared again.
Taehyun watched Yeonjun as well-- calculated. Then his eyes would drift to Beomgyu. Almost like he was offering Beomgyu some silent sympathy.
Soobin sat at the table . Calm. Unnerving. His eyes occasionally glanced up toward the cameras, not long enough to be suspicious, just long enough to make it clear he wasn't afraid of being observed.
Kai was off in the corner, getting some food. He looked almost... bored ? Beneath his lashes, his eyes darted subtly to Yeonjun to Beomgyu to Taehyun. Watching.
Yeonjun turned to Kai as they both rejoined at the table, his expression contorted into something between accusation and despair.
He jabbed a finger at Kai's chest, trying to force out a sound that failed in his throat-- only a dry rasp emerged.
Kai raised a brow, feigning sympathy.
"Still mad at me ?" He asked softly. "I'd tell you to use your words, but... well."
Yeonjun's nostrils flared.
Beomgyu stepped forward instinctively, ready to defend Yeonjun-- only to halt when Kai tilted his head, eyes narrowing in a way that suggested if you want to make yourself a target too, be my guest.
The screen flicked on, immediately cutting the tension. It read:
Kai didn't have time to prepare himself. Barely had time to understand what this meant.
The door that had been locked since the moment the study began-- clicked. Signalling it was open.
This wasn't food. This wasn't a hint. It was limited granted privacy.
Kai took a deep breath, walking through the door.
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The door that had been locked since the moment the study began-- clicked. Signalling it was open.
This wasn't food. This wasn't a hint. It was limited granted privacy.
Kai took a deep breath, walking through the door.
He walked a few steps into the hallway when a women gestured him into a cozy library-- even offering him tea. The woman's nametag read: #00239.
"You perfomed well." She said calmly, a distortion device masking her true voice.
Kai blinked. "What do you mean ?"
Her head tilted slightly, as though completely amused.
"The Director has been watching your choices with... considerable interest." A shiver ran down Kai's spine. Interest ? Or evaluation ?
"You shifted suspicion masterfully. You redirected tension. You planted discord with minimal effort. And you masked your involvment with impressive subtlety."
"You played your part well."
#00239 handed Kai a tablet. Kai was shocked. Just what was he about to see ?
"Now, you may view the forms each participant filled out before entering the study. They answered honestly, unaware these answers might ever be used."
Kai's pulse quickened. This is not a reward. It is a weapon.
One tap. Four names appear clearly. Kai's own name being greyed out. He clicked on Yeonjun first.
YEONJUN'S MORALITY SELF-ASSESSMENT:
"I don't think I am a good person. I think I'm trying to be... but I fail more often than I admit."
Kai's breathe catches. The irony was sharp-- painful. Yeonjun, the one who threw himself into the villain role... thinks he's already losing at being good.
He moves on. #00249 watched him silently. It was clear this information was heavily worthwhile to the Director despite letting him have limited access.
BEOMGYU'S MORALITY SELF-ASSESSMENT:
"I don't believe morality is black or white. I do what I must to survive."
Kai nods. That fits. He moves on once again. Keeping note of everything he was seeing.
TAEHYUN'S MORALITY SELF-ASSESSMENT:
"I think I am a good person, but not a gentle one."
This one was predictable. Powerful.
He then clicked on Soobin's name. A chill ran down his spine as he read what Soobin had put.
SOOBIN'S MORALITY SLEF-ASSESSMENT:
"Morality is belief and perception. Not the truth."
#00239 gently takes the tablet back as Kai handed it over. The question slips out before he could stop it: "Why... me ? Why give this to me ?"
Her eyes soften, though her voice stays cold. "Because the Director believes in strategic chaos."
She leans in close. "And because you-- unlike the others-- understand how to hold a truth without immediately swinging it like a blade."
She gestured to the door for Kai to exit. #00239 called out to him as he was leaving, "The Director hopes you will play your part... as beautifully as you have so far."
Kai simply nods and makes his way back down the hallway to the room that will otherwise be locked when he steps inside again.
The click of the lock signalled the door was locked once more as Kai re-entered the room.
Kai's expression was neutral-- but performatively neutral, like someone who practiced in the hallway before entering again.
The screen had just flickered on, showing a message:
YEONJUN IS NOW PERMITTED TO SPEAK AGAIN
Yeonjun immediately exhales in frustration, rubbing his jaw.
Beomgyu eyes Kai carefully. "Dude... what happened ? You look like you just got recruited into a secret agency."
Kai gives a small shrug. "Close enough."
Taehyun's brows pulled together. "What did they tell you ?"
Kai scans the room. He lingers on Yeonjun for a fraction of a second too long. "They didn't tell me anything," he said quietly. "They showed me things."
The entire room shifts. Yeonjun even sat up straighter.
Beomgyu's voice drops. "Showed you... like what ?"
He thought back to the last thing #00239 had said to him for a brief second. "The forms we filled out before entering."
"Evaluations. Baselines. They asked us to judge ourselves before the study even began."
Yeonjun scoffs, though it lacks confidence. "So what ? Everyone lies on those things."
Kai shakes his head. "No. You didn't."
Yeonjun freezes. Beomgyu looks between them, sudden energy spiking. "Wait-- wait, they showed you ours ?"
"They called it a reward," he says. "For how well I handled the last test."
Yeonjun snorts, but the sound cracks slightly. "A reward ? Knowing our private shit ?"
Kai stares at Yeonjun. "They gave me selective access," he says. "Only the truths they felt would benefit the group dynamic."
Taehyun and Beomgyu questioned at the same time, "What does that even mean ?"
"It means..." Kai says slowly, "I know how each of you saw yourselves before any of this started. If you believed you were good. Or bad. Or something impossible to judge."
Yeonjun swallows, jaw tight. "And why the hell would they give you that ?"
Kai doesn't blink. "Because they think I'll use it."
Taehyun's eyes narrow. "Use it-- how ?"
Kai lets the question hang in the air, heavy enough to press down on all of them. "That's up to me," he says softly.
Soobin pointed at Kai with a calm smile. The briefest hint of silent approval behind his eyes.
"Well," Soobin says with a quiet, impressed exhale, "seems the game's getting interesting."
Kai felt it before Yeonjun even opened his mouth.
The way Beomgyu kept glancing nervously between them.
The way Taehyun pretended not to watch.
The way Soobin's posture tightened just slightly-- as if anticipating a storm.
Kai crossed his arms. "Are you all done staring at me like I committed a murder ?"
Yeonjun could speak now. No longer limited to silence...
"You know," Yeonjun said, voice low and wrecked from holding back, "I've been waiting to really fucking talk for hours."
Kai raised a brow. "Trust me, we all noticed."
Yeonjun ignored the jab. His eyes locked on Kai with a kind of intensity that made the air feel thinner. "You walked out of here," Yeonjun said. "You got a reward. You came back like nothing happened. And now you're acting like you're... better."
Kai's lips twitched. "Maybe I am."
Beomgyu whispered, "Oh, we're screwed."
Soobin looked like he was calculating possible outcomes-- and none of them were good.
Yeonjun's laugh was humorless, sharp, and exhausted. "Do you know what it was like watching you leave ? Wondering what you were doing ? What you were being told ?" His jaw clenched. "And I couldn't say one fucking word. Nothing. I had to sit there like a goddamn idiot while you played along."
"I didn't 'play along'," Kai replied. "I followed the rules. You broke them."
"That wasn't a rule," Yeonjun snapped. "That was a penalty."
"No. It's not." Yeonjun stepped closer-- too close, too fast. "You want to talk about the game ? Fine. Let's talk about how every time we've been in danger, you've barely blinked. How you smirked during the interrogation. How you act like you're on the Director's team."
Kai's smile sharpened. "Jealous ?"
"Of you ?" Yeonjun asked. "Fuck no."
"You sure ?" Kai tilted his head. "Because ever since I got back, you've been staring at me like a dog waiting for someone to drop the leash."
Yeonjun's jaw twitched again-- that barely controlled fury that had been building since the silence punishment first hit him.
And Kai-- unfortunately-- kept going.
"And the worst part ?" Kai added. "You can finally speak, and the first thing you do is complain about me. Not the situation. Not the Director. Not the games. Me."
Yeonjun's voice came out quiet and deadly. "Because you're the only one acting like you know something we don't."
Kai didn't respond. He didn't deny it. He didn't reassure anyone.
And that was all Yeonjun needed.
"There it is," Yeonjun snapped. "That fucking secretive, smug bullshit. Acting like you're above us. Like you're smarter. Like you're more important."
Kai smirked. "Maybe the Director thinks so."
Yeonjun's entire body like a rubber band, stretched to its breaking point.
"You are such a fucking snake," Yeonjun snarled, finally letting the words he'd been forced to swallow spill out. "You think every look you give us is clever ? You think every time you manipulate shit, we don't see it ? You're not mysterious-- you're not subtle-- you're just a fucking coward who hides behind games and sarcasm because you don't have the guts to say anything real."
Kai took a step forward, not backing down. "Funny coming from the guy who crumbled the moment he couldn't talk."
Yeonjun's eyes went wide-- like he'd just been punched.
Kai kept going. "Maybe being silent was the first time you were actually useful."
"Say that again," Yeonjun whispered, voice shaking with fury.
Kai leaned in until their faces were inches apart.
"Being silent," he hissed, "was the only time you weren't annoying."
Beomgyu whispered, "Oh fuck--"
Yeonjun exploded. No warning. No hesitation.
Just pure, pent up rage finally given permission.
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The fluorescent lights within the room had cut off abruptly.
Blinding light floods back into the room a second after Yeonjun lunged, freezing everyone in place like insects caught under a spotlight. Kai stumbles backward, breath punched out of him, while Soobin's hand hangs in mid air-- half a second away from grabbing Yeonjun.
Everything stands still except Yeonjun himself, chest rising and falling in furious, jerking breathes. His pupils blown wide, frenzy still crackling under his skin, looking for somewhere-- someone-- to aim at now that the moment to strike has been ripped away.
Only then does his head turn, slow and deliberate, until his stare lands on Beomgyu. The shift is sharp it feels rehearsed, like his mind spent the brief blackout choosing a new target to tear into.
Muttering under his breath, Yeonjun steps forward, voice trembling with rage. "You. It's always you. Acting fucking weird. Dodging questions. Abandoning alliances... Saying shit that doesn't add up." Beomgyu's confusion flickers into panic, and Yeonjun sees it-- feeds on it.
Glaring like he is seconds away from snapping, Yeonjun keeps going, venom dripping from every word. "You think we don't notice ? You think we're stupid ? You're hiding something. I can fucking feel it." Beomgyu's lips part, but nothing comes out.
Yanking his attention toward the silence, Yeonjun twists it into proof. "See that ? That right there ? That's guilt." Beomgyu flinches-- and that's when Taehyun steps in.
Unbothered by Yeonjun's rage, Taehyun plants himself between them, expression iced over. "Back the fuck up," he orders, tone flat and lethal. Yeonjun scoffs. "Don't start with me--"
"No," Taehyun bites out. "Shut the fuck up. You don't get to scream at him just because you're having a meltdown."
The spell breaks; now they're nose to nose.
Yeonjun snarls, "Say that again." Taehyun smiles without warmth. "Gladly. You're acting like an unhinged psycho, and Beomgyu's not gonna be your punching bag just because your ego's cracked."
Beomgyu tries to speak-- "Taehyun, stop--" But Taehyun snaps, without looking at him, "No. He doesn't get to bully you because his head's up his ass."
Yeonjun's fists clench so tightly his knuckles threaten to split. "Last chance," he growls.
Taehyun smirks. "Make me."
The tension coils, ready to explode-- Kai frozen, Soobin tense-- while Yeonjun looks seconds away from throwing himself at someone again.
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