#thefrontman

There you were. Laying on the soft king size bed, in the front man’s ‘office’. The silky black blankets were covering your body and keeping you warm. Having always liked the way the rooms had been put together. The black walls looked lovely with the chandeliers' yellowish lights. It made everything look sharp and expensive. 

While deep in your thoughts, you hadn’t felt the mattress under you shift. You suddenly heard your partner speak up. “Are you ever afraid of being here?”  the voice asked, the words coming out somewhat carefully. You didn’t dare turn around to face him. So with your gaze on the ceiling, you thought for a moment.

Of course you knew how dangerous the whole game and everything orchestrated around it were, but not once had you felt scared while staying in In-ho’s good graces. No one was allowed to do harm to you, as far as you knew. “No, never.” You decided to finally reply. 

In-ho felt so distant when you two were out of his office. He was never mean to you or treated you badly, but he acted differently. He would often ignore you and try to make it seem like you weren’t even there. But when you made it back to his office at the end of each day, he started to talk to you and share his thoughts like he normally would. This made it often hard to tell if he even truly loved you. He had so many servants and staff members, that there was a high chance he only saw you as one of them. But even though this, you wanted to keep believing that he liked you in the same way you loved him, and that was why he kept you around and safe.

There was a long moment of silence from the both of you. During this time you turned around, facing the man. For once he didn’t have his mask on, and you could see his face fully. His eyes looked a little tired, but his face was relaxed. You couldn’t read how he was feeling even now, but this was nothing new. Most nights like this, you had no idea how he was feeling. If not only for the subtle changes you were able to pick up on in his speech and expressions.

His eyes were clearly scanning your face, unclear what was going on behind his eyes. “In-ho, do you still love me?” You asked quietly, an attempt to break the overpowering silence. While trying to get an answer to the all plaguing question, always at the back of your mind. Knowing full well this island wasn’t exactly a place of love. This thought  had been going around your head for too long, and you just wanted to hear him say it. Even if he lied, he had still said it, and even that made you feel better. You weren’t scared of him at all, so the silence he gave you didn’t shock you at all. “I do.” was all that he gave as a reply, but it was enough. It was a yes, and that’s all that you wanted to hear. You’d found yourself to be the more caring and openly loving one of the two of you, but since being here for so long you had learned to suppress those emotions.

“I would take a bullet for you, just to prove my love.”

You placed your head near his neck and breathed in his scent. A familiar cologne infiltrating your senses. He didn’t react to this, merely allowing you the action. You had begun to get tired, after all it was really late already.  In-ho usually had extremely long days, even if he had hundreds of workers, working around the clock. Even though the exhaustion, you wanted to keep talking with him. You had to tell him you cared about him as well, you wanted to let him know. “I would take a bullet for you.” You whispered with a fragile voice. And again, like always, In-ho didn’t give you anything for this. He took a deep breath and with that, his arm went around your waist. You did hear him open his mouth as if he had wanted to say something in reply, but then decided to not continue the conversation.

Even after not hearing a response, you stayed awake. Maybe even hoping that In-ho would say something, to show that he actually cared. But when nothing happened, you fell asleep next to him. Without you knowing it, In-ho had stayed awake as well. Only waiting for you to fall asleep.

After he was able to feel that your breathing had calmed down, he was sure that you had fallen asleep. Normally after he would come back to his office, you two wouldn’t talk almost at all. And even if you did, it wouldn’t be one of the topics you had just discussed together. It’d felt odd, especially now.

He knew that he was going to be the fall of this relationship from the start, but back then he had wanted to gain at least one person to trust. Not in the sense of complete locality that a soldier would have. But something else amidst the chaos. And you were that person, you were the only one he had left. But now he had started to realise that this was even worse than being alone. You were in danger the whole time you were with him, or away from him. It didn’t matter, the end result seemed to be the same no matter what. And if you got hurt, he would be in danger for breaking character, for faltering. He wouldn’t be able to hold the game, if he knew that you had gotten hurt or that you had died because of him and the game. But at this point he wouldn’t be able to let you go. Because of his emotions and because it would put the game in danger, if he just let you go to live the rest of your life. Knowing what you knew. 

He was now running in circles. Day after day, he would think about this, but he didn’t dare to bring it up with you. It was his problem, since he had allowed this to happen. He had a plan in the back of his head, but that was his last resort. Until he was sure of the next steps, he had to keep holding up the exterior he had started to offer you. Even if it seemed to affect your view of him. Thinking about this had been enough for him, tomorrow was time for a new game, and he had to sleep. After a deep breath, he closed his eyes and let himself fall asleep.

Waking up, he carefully got out of bed to prepare for the day. He left the covers on you so that you wouldn’t get cold, like he always did. After this he disappeared into the bathroom. While looking at himself from the mirror, he buttoned up his jacket, made sure it was straight and clean. And with one last look at himself, he pulled the black mask over his face and closed the straps that went behind his head. As he started to exit his office, he pulled the hood on to cover his face fully. 

This was what he did every single morning, and you had gotten used to it. Soon after you woke up and without even checking, knew that In-ho wasn’t next to you anymore. He had left a while ago, and would be back at the end of the day. Your only role for today was to stay in the office, and most likely watch today's game. The deaths didn’t really even make you feel anything anymore. Over the years you had seen so many people die, that now the individual humans were just numbers to you.

You watched half of the marble game, sometimes wondering which one of the pairs would win. But before you knew it, the game was over. The staff started to bring out the black coffins, and put the new bodies in there. From the corner of your eye, you saw In-ho in his front man uniform, talking to someone through a walkie talkie. Your first thought was that he was talking about the VIP’s, since they were supposed to arrive soon. Normally In-ho would invite you with him to watch the last game with the VIPs. You hoped that he would do that this time as well. You raised you brows a little, before laying down on the couch. ‘Fly me to the moon’ was playing in the background, likely left on by the man himself. In-ho would play it often.

The front man raised the walkie talkie up to his ear. The intruder that had disguised himself as one of the staff was still roaming around somewhere, and had to be caught before the guests would arrive. “What about the intruder?” He asked the person on the other side. “We haven't found him yet.” Was the reply he got, not what he wanted to hear. He looked down a little, trying to recollect his thoughts. He couldn’t risk the VIP’s safety. “Make sure you catch him.” He decided to reply, a firm order. “The VIPs will arrive soon.” In-ho added, before ending the call. He put down the walkie talkie, and sighed. This was what he had been afraid of. Now the whole game and you were in danger. He had no idea what the intruder wanted, but he wasn’t going to allow them to get it.

While deep in your thoughts, you suddenly sprang up. This was because the only phone that was in the office started to ring. You knew that you weren’t supposed to answer it, so you’d have to find your walkie talkie and tell In-ho to come and pick it up. But before you were able to do that, you heard it being picked up.

You slowly got up from the couch and wandered off to where the phone was located. To your relief it was In-ho. You sighed and took a step closer. Knowing that you weren’t allowed to talk when he was using this phone, so you’d just have to wait. The call wasn’t long, but these calls seemed to be very important.

“Who was it?” You asked quietly after he had let go of the phone. “No one you should be concerned about.” He murmured in a rather angry tone from under the mask. This took you back a little, so you didn’t dare to reply with more questions. “Get in the bedroom, and stay there.” He ordered you, before quickly walking to the hallway that led out of the office. An odd aura of something mixed with worry alongside anger coming off of him. Something he didn’t usually present in private. You did as he had requested, and went to sit on the bed you shared. 

To you this was odd. He was being cold towards you again, but why did he command you to come here. It was the middle of the day, surely he didn’t mean to...No, you need to get your mind out of the gutter.

In-ho stopped before exiting his office. He loaded his gun and turned around. He had noticed how the receiver had been put down in a different way than he would do it, and he also knew that you wouldn’t touch the phone. This meant that the intruder must still be in the office. “Are you in here right now?” He asked, with the gun in hand. “You made one mistake.” He grinned under the mask. “I always put down the receiver the other way.” He added before opening the door that was on his right. No one was there so he went to the other door that was on the left. No one seemed to be there either so he kept talking, hoping that the intruder would hear him. “Your bullet was shot from a Smith and Wesson M60 revolver. The Korean police uses that model.” He explained, still remembering the bullet he had dug out of his staff’s body. After this he opened another door from the right, still he didn’t find anyone. “What’s a cop doing here..” He continued. “Alone, without a partner.” In-ho kept talking and opening the doors one by one. 

He and you were now in danger. If he took too much time by checking the doors, the intruder could potentially get to you, but this had to be done.  “You must have a lot of questions.” In-ho hummed. “Come out now, and let’s talk.” He requested before ripping open another door, and walking in while pointing his gun forward. “I don’t know how you got in, but you can’t leave this place without my permission.” 

Somehow he hadn’t noticed that you were in the room as well. His gun was searching the room, and was pointing at you a couple of times. “In-ho, put down the gun.” Your tender voice said, hiding your head a little with your hand. He quickly looked down and pointed the gun at your head, before he realized that it was you. In-ho then pointed it down and his shoulder relaxed a little. Keeping a firm hold of the gun, not letting down his guard. 

“In-ho dear, what’s going on. I heard you talk with someone in the hallway.” You asked with a sweet tone, trying to please him. “You follow me now. There’s an intruder here.” He murmured from under his mask, and turned around swiftly. He walked to the other side of the room, and ripped the door open. The door led to a hallway with tile walls, and not a lot of light. 

You slowly got up, and followed him. You had found the way he was talking in the hallway and in the room with you intimidating. The situation since the morning had taken a turn, something was badly off. 

In-ho walked down the stairs, with a small blue light in the ceiling giving you both light. With  slower movements than before, In-ho opened the heavier door that was placed at the end of the stairs. The room was completely dark before In-ho flicked the lights on. 

The dark and gloomy tile walls just continued after the heavy metal door. There were shelfs with a lot of folders on them. It scared you how slowly In-ho was suddenly walking, and it made you want to stay even closer to him. Soon enough the room came to an end, and there seemingly wasn’t anyone else with you. But your gaze saw how In-ho had spotted one of the drawers being open. He closed it slowly and turned around. Without another word you let him take the lead, and went back behind him. 

There was a buzz that came from In-ho’s pocket, and he picked up the walkie talkie. “We found a body.” Said the voice on the other side. There was a moment of silence from him, eyes squinting behind the mask. “Where?” He asked, tone unreadable. “The northern coast of the island.” The voice replied again. You heard In-ho sigh as he put down the walkie talkie. You took a step back when he turned to take a look at the box that had been in the drawer he had closed. After that he took a few quicker steps and ran out of the room, with you behind him. 

“Put on your mask and go to the room where the VIPs will arrive. We have to take care of them first. I’ll meet you there.” In-ho’s cold voice said, before he left you alone. You swallowed hard and turned to look at the room you two had just been in. With that you took a few quicker steps to go and grab your mask. 

You placed the black animal mask over your face, and clicked the lock in the back so it closed. Your outfit also had a hood that you pulled on. With a quick look at yourself in the mirror you exited the office as soon as possible. There was a huge chance that the police was in one of the rooms, and you did not want to stay there and get caught. The usually safe space had started to cause a cold sweat to creep up on you.

You and In-ho were standing in a formal manner together at the end of the hallway. Neither of you said anything. The doors of the elevator opened and the VIPs stepped out of it. All of the masks were covered in small crystals, and were far more fancier than yours or In-ho’s. In front there was the man wearing a lion mask, behind him were two men wearing a bull and some sort of a tiger mask. Behind these men were two other men that had a bird and a bear mask. Behind all of them was a man wearing a deer mask. All just as fancy as the ones before them.

In-ho greeted the VIPs and you stayed quiet next to him, just as he had told you to do. After the greeting, you and In-ho led the guests to the room they were going to watch the game in. The whole time you were being quiet, and just following along. Eyeing the new guests from time to time. 

One of the VIPs seemed to have picked a favorite from the servants, and requested for him to stay by him. You saw how In-ho looked at them. You had no clue what was going on in his head, but for once in your time while staying here, you didn’t feel safe. You felt like the intruder could be around any corner, and this made you want to stay close to the man you knew best.

You didn’t hear what the VIP and the servant were talking about, but you heard that they were going somewhere. They thought of what the servant would have to go through, made you gag internally. 

The game just went on, and one by one the players would step on the normal glass and then fall to their death. In-ho had noticed how long one of the VIP’s had been gone for, and he had started to suspect something had happened. But he didn’t seem to be taking any actions yet.

“According to his file, he once had a job at a glass manufacturer.” In-ho explained to the guests, while reading the file of one of the players. His tone had a hint of whatever you’d pick up on earlier mixed in his usual tone. Making you uneasy. They turned off the lights in the room that the players were in, an attempt to make the game harder.

While this was going on, In-ho sent a square guard to go and check up on the VIP. You saw the pink suited person leave. You could sense something was off, badly. Soon the same guard called In-ho and informed him that the VIP had collapsed. You heard In-ho ask if the guest was alive. “He’s fine.” The square guard replied. “What about the intruder?” In-ho asked, with slight concern in his voice. “We’re searching for him.” The guard replied before the call ended. He stayed still for a moment, mind ticking while actively trying to save time. He didn’t turn around to face you, but he did give you orders. “Go to my office and stay there. If anyone comes in, you call me.” His monotone voice commanded you and without letting you speak, he walked away. There was no time for further questions or complaints. 

You wanted to go with him, but you were aware that he would never allow that. It was a sweet thought to think that he wanted to keep you safe, but you wanted to know what was going on. And in general it felt safer to be near him, rather than being alone. With this thought in your head, you entered the office once again. You almost wanted to stay with the VIP guests, but there was no stepping out of line when the whole game was in danger. 

You settled on the couch, and began to watch the game from there. You didn’t know how long you had to wait until In-ho would be back, making the time spent there alone feel longer. The feeling of not being sure what was going to happen next was not a new one. It was always In-ho that knew what was going on but he never told you fully. All you knew was what he told you, and only that.

While you were thinking this, In-ho was after the Intruder. The next island's shore indicated that the intruder was there, since he had left the air tank he had stolen there. In-ho ordered the guards that were with him to bring the intruder to him alive. With that the guards left, the tension rising.

With no time wasted, the guards had tracked down the intruder. He was now standing on a cliff, with nowhere to go. In-ho’s eyes were scanning Jun-ho under his mask. Why was he here? In-ho took steps closer to him, asking him to give the gun and his phone to In-ho, and he’d let Jun-ho live. He tried to talk Jun-ho from getting himself hurt, but it was no use. He had already loaded his gun as well.

Nothing seemed to work, and Jun-ho shot In-ho to his shoulder. He didn’t collapse, but firmly grinded his teeth under his mask. Even through the pain he got up, and commanded the guards to hold fire. Even though he was shot, In-ho asked for Jun-ho to come with him. Jun-ho was family, and he didn’t want to end his life like this. Jun-ho lowered his gun, and asked who the front man was. Without much hesitation, In-ho pulled down the hood and took off his mask. 

Jun-ho was clearly shocked by seeing In-ho be the front man. Yet again, In-ho asked for him to come with him, but it was no use. Jun-ho was shaking his head in denial. In-ho was now assured that he had to use the last resort. This meant that he had to shoot Jun-ho, as much as he had tried to avoid this option. He lifted his slightly shaking hand, and listened to Jun-ho question him why he was doing this. With eyes filled with sorrow, he shot Jun-ho to his shoulder. Making sure that he wasn’t the reason why Jun-ho died if he did. 

You awoke from your nap, as In-ho rushed into his office. When your eyes started to focus more, you saw some blood droplets on the black floor. This made you furrow your brows. “In-ho?” You called out for him. When you didn’t receive a response, you decided to go and check. Normally you would give him some space, but the blood concerned you too much. 

You saw how he was shaking and staring at the mirror, like he was seeing something else rather than his own reflection. The sight of him like this saddened you thoroughly. You wanted to comfort him, but he seemed like he wasn’t in the right state of mind. “In-ho?” Your voice asked for him again. This time he did react to this, but his gaze only fell to the ground. You could see a bullet in the sink when you took steps closer to him. You bit your lip slightly, and placed your hands on his shoulders. You were able to feel how tense he was. Something bad must have happened while he was out. But it warmed your heart to feel him relax a little at your touch. A small smile spread across your face as you led him to sit on the toilet. “Hold that cloth on the wound, it’ll stop bleeding soon.”  You hummed, as you kneeled down a little to see his face. In-ho’s eyes didn’t seem like they were focusing on you. “I’ll go and get you a drink to numb the pain.” You told him in a calm voice, and gave his forehead a small kiss. 

In-ho’s mind started to wander again. He had realised today how he can’t have anyone important to him relate to this game in any way. Jun-ho was now gone as well, and he could still hear his voice in his head. Begging to know why he was doing this. You were now supposedly the only thing that he had left. The only one that cared about him. It had been what he had wanted, but it could also be the reason for his death, the downfall of the whole game. In-ho had to use his last resort on Jun-ho and he was afraid he'd have to do that to you as well. That was the plan he had thought about last night. That was the plan that he hadn’t wanted to put in action. But at this point it would be the only fair option for everyone. This had to end.

“Only to find out, you are the one holding the gun.”

With a groan In-ho got up, and quietly walked up to where you were preparing him a drink. With a shaking hand he lifted up the same gun that had gotten Jun-ho. A click rang silently when he loaded it and pressed it against the back of your head. You froze and dropped the glass on the table, the glass shattering into pieces while the liquid inside spread across the table. “I’m sorry, my love.” In-ho’s deep voice said to you before he pulled the trigger. 

Your form fell against the table, blood mixing with the drink you had been making. He watched as your body went limp on the floor, allowing a longer breath to escape himself. The black walls were covered in blood splatter, silence filling the air. The stinging smell of gunpowder still briefly in the air, the sound from the shot ringing in his ears silently. In-ho’s empty eyes scanned your body. That day, he had lost everything.

Before he had been able to call a couple of square guards to come and pick you up, he had had a rageful fit. Having broken a few things in the office and cried through the anger, not letting the guards see any of this. Before they had arrived, he had put on his mask again, no trace of what’d truly happened left behind.

His eyes followed as the guards lifted your body in the coffin and started to take you away. He would order more guards to come and clean up the floor and the walls later. And as his emotions were draining out, he started to walk towards the room the VIPs were in.