CLICK.
The entire hotel room plunged into darkness as all the lights suddenly shut off, leaving everyone in complete and eerie darkness.
"A blackout?" one of them remarked.
"Don't worry, this place has a backup generator. The power will be back soon," Guk Kwan reassured everyone.
However, the wait stretched beyond a few minutes. It had already been 10 minutes, and there was no sign of the power returning.
"What the hell, bro?" Dong cursed out loud.
"Where on earth are the hotel staff?" one of the girls inquired. They tried to use their phones to create some light in the bar area, but the staff who had been present just moments ago were now nowhere to be found.
"Why are the staff missing?" she questioned.
Her inquiry prompted everyone to check other parts of the dining room, and it was true. The waiters, the cooks, the clerks – none of them were present. It was as if they had vanished into thin air.
"Hey, Kwan? Where's your cousin? He owns this place, right?" Dong asked, his expression growing more annoyed. The drugs in his system were affecting his senses, making him feel more agitated than usual.
"I'll try to look for him," Guk Kwan replied. He used the flashlight on his phone to illuminate his way. He would have used it to call someone, but there was no signal on this remote island they had come to.
"We will come with you," Cheong Ae spoke up, behind her was Mizy.
"Alright," Guk Kwan nodded, and the three of them separated from the group.
Only eight people remained in the dining room. Most of their friends had gone to sleep after enjoying the beach.
"So, what should we do now, Babe? " Dong's girlfriend asked.
"Nothing let's just continue drinking," he replied and picked up the glass filled with beer. However, the moment it reached his tongue, he immediately spat it out.
"Hey, dude, get out of here! It's moving! It's moving!" Dong shouted after seeing the corpse jerking. The jerking became more erratic, and then, with a sudden snap, its lifeless body slowly stood up in an awkward, eerie manner.
"Fuck!" The guy who had been on the ground frantically tried to stand up as well, fearing that he might be attacked by what appeared to be a zombie.
CLICK ... CLICK...CLICK...
A clicking sound echoed in the air as Jaji's jaw kept locking in and out. His eyes were devoid of any pupils, just pure white. The sight of him, illuminated only by their flashlight, made the whole scene even more terrifying.
"Is this some kind of prank?" Dong yelled out. He found it hard to believe that Jaji was a real zombie; he thought it might be an elaborate makeup job, like something from a Hollywood movie. There was no way a zombie could actually exist in this place.
But Jaji didn't react; he just continued to click his jaw.
"Hey, Jaji, cut it out or I'll kick your ass!" Dong screamed, flexing his muscles. He was the strongest in the group, and the others huddled behind him for protection.
"He... he... he." Suddenly, Jaji started chuckling and raised his arms as if to hug Dong. His zombie-like face even formed a twisted smile.
"I knew it, this was just a prank. I bet those things back then were optical illusions. Rich people do have a different way of doing courage tests!" Dong chuckled, convinced that this was all an elaborate prank.
"Man, that makeup must have been expensive. So, where are the others?" He asked as he walked closer to Jaji, trying to show everyone that it was all just makeup and optical illusions.
"D...De..." Jaji's corpse answer.
"De? So, you don't even want to break character, huh? How much did Mr. Zyn pay you to play that part?" He patted Jaji's shoulder.
"Dead!" Jaji exclaimed, and then he attacked, tearing into Dong's hands with his teeth.
Dong screamed in agony as he felt his hands being ripped apart.
"Fuck you!" He reacted by kicking Jaji and breaking free, but he lost three fingers in the exchange.
Now he finally realized that this was not a prank at all. "I got bitten! Fuck!"