It was 7 PM, the time I usually finished my shift at Samwung. The job was boring, but with only a high school diploma, I couldn't land anything better. I worked all day every weekday for the last 5 years only to make pennies.
I shoved my bag over my shoulder and walked to the subway to take the train back home. During the 45-minute ride, as usual, I took out my phone and started playing games.
The train swayed beneath me as I thumbed through my games—puzzles, RPGs, sim games—anything to avoid thinking about how my life was stuck in a loop. It was a game, after all. Press the right buttons, win, move on. That's all it took, right? Maybe I could do the same with my life—figure out the right moves to make, escape this lame cycle of waking up, going to work, and going to bed. But I wasn't sure where the exit door was.
As I tapped the screen, I felt someone's gaze. Looking up, I saw a young boy sitting next to his mother, staring at me with curiosity.
Without thinking much about it, I went back to my screen. Not long after, I felt something tug my shirt; looking up, it was the young boy.
- Come back here, Hyuk! his mother said
I didn't want to be a nuisance, so without thinking, I told her it was fine.
-What are you playing? the young boy asked, looking at my phone with sparkly eyes.
-Oh! It's a game where you get stuck in a room and you have to find clues on how to escape.
So like an escape room?
The simplicity of his answer was funny for me; why did I try to complicate what an escape room is?
-Yeah, that's right.
The boy continued to watch me play and would often try to help me with puzzles.
"Arriving at Yongsan Station in 4 minutes.Â
When the mother heard the announcement, she came to pick the boy.
We're getting out on the next stop. Thank you for spending some time with him.
As they both waited at the door, Hyuk turned around to wave at me before walking out of the train.
The doors were closing…
[1 person has completed the tutorial, advancing to the main game.]
I saw a message appear in my vision, it looked like some hologram. From the look of it, i wasn't the only one, in fact it seem like everyone on the train was able to see this floating hologram.
some where trying to touch it, others where asking around trying to know what it was but something was clear to me nobody knew what it was.
«Criiiick» the train came to a sudden halt not even a 20 seconds after we left the station.
The sudden change of speed made me lose my balance, and I fell on the floor.
-What's happening!
Are you alright?
Why did we stop?
-Mommy I'm scared!
everyone looked confused, people where trying to make calls but we had no signal.
I tried to think about what this all meant; I had a strong feeling that the hologram we saw and the sudden stop of the train were linked, but I didn't know how.
"Crash!" the car in front of us suddenly burst into flame and a metallic sound echoed, people where screaming and a slash of blood spew onto the door.
The blood dripping down the door made it clear: this wasn't anything ordinary. My palm began getting sweaty; I tried to calm myself, thinking about this like a game.
-It's just a game. It's just a game. I kept repeating to myself, What would I do if this was an escape room? That was my first t thought. "EXIT"—the" glowing red sign was so evident that in a moment of panic I almost forgot about its existence.
The whole train was shaking. I went to the emergency exit and tried to open the door, but no matter how hard I pushed, the door wouldn't budge even a centimeter.
A deafening sound came from the front; I turned around, and I couldn't believe what I saw. Something was clawing its way into the car, ripping through the metal as if it were paper. It was so big that the roof of the train was too low for it to move freely.
It was a giant black lion-like creature with a white belly, but that wasn't what caught my attention. No—what really made my blood run cold were the horns on its head, curling like the branches of a dead tree. Its tail, long and scaled like that of a serpent, whipped against the walls of the train, leaving deep gouges in the metal and sending sparks flying in all directions.
People were screaming even louder; it was total panic. As I was trying to open the door, the beast made its way across the car, clawing people as it made its way. People were getting split in half, and the car started getting a new paint job.
I turn around to see a young girl on the floor crying, asking for help; her mother went between the monster and her, trying to protect her child.
"Crash!" The sound of her body slamming the wall of the car echoed; the young girl wasn't crying anymore; she couldn't understand what was happening.
I felt sick. This wasn't a game. It couldn't be. I watch with horror as the young girl was giving the same treatment as her mother. My heart was trying to escape my chest…
-Come on, open the door! Someone screamed at me, bringing me back to reality.
People were starting to gather behind me.
Move! Someone pushed me and took my place trying to open the emergency exit.
He let out a huge grunt as he pushed the door.
A breeze of air coming from outside hit us, but I had no time to appreciate the cold air.
- Go, go, move! someone hurled as people began rushing out of the car.
As I ran toward the station, I remembered the young boy that I had talked to not even 10 minutes ago, before all was normal, but now I'm just hoping he is alright.
"growl" The beast let out a roar; I could feel the pressure of its presence crushing me, and my ears were ringing from the sheer strength of its scream.
As we all run toward the station, running between the train and the wall of the tunnel, the dim light of the tunnel made the ambiance even more eerie.
How far is the station? someone asks, exhausted from the constant running.
Nobody responded, not even me; everyone was only focused on getting to safety.
-I see the light from the station! someone screamed
Hearing that safety might be close, I felt a bit of relief.
Arriving at the stations, we all hoped that it would be our safe place, a place where we could finally breathe and try to understand what was happening, but nothing is ever this easy.
Corpses scattered around the station, light was flashing, and the smell of blood covered the whole station.
Hyuk! was my first thought. What if something happened to him?
I started walking around the station trying to see if one of the corpses was him. To my relief, I did not.
The guy who opened the emergency door came to me and took me by the collar.
-Did you want all of us to die in there? He screamed at me.
-What do you mean?
We all saw you pretend to open the door, making us wait in there with that beast!
I was choked; did he not see the mother and child getting thrown around?
-You…
Before I could start my sentence, an older man from the car walked right between us, attempting to calm the situation.
-I know we're all under shock, but fighting among ourselves is not something we should do.
The man holding me by the collar let go; he turned around and walked away.
Are you okay, young man? he asked.
-Yeah, I'm fine.
The older man turned around, looking at the one who had his hand on my collar.
-What is your name?
-Why do you care what my name is?
The old man started clenching his hand but rapidly unclenched it.
-I'm Min-Soo. He said, walking away.
Now that the situation had calmed down, people started wondering what the hologram we saw was, as well as the monster. Most people were still in shock; seeing people get shredded to pieces was not something I would wish for anyone.
From the almost 40-ish people in the car, we were down to 7.
The older man from before climbed on a bench trying to get everyone's attention.
Everyone, My name is Kim. I know what we lived was shocking, but we should focus on getting out of the subway and going to a police station. He said, trying really hard not to show his uneasiness.
Looking at him, I saw hope; after what we had endured, we would go outside and be safe with the police. Everyone agreed with him and made our way out of the stations.