Holiday special collection

🎃 Halloween special : The night trapped in the vampire's castle

"We’ve only got 60 seconds left!" Jiseok shouted as he frantically flipped through the pages of the fake spellbook, eyes wide open. "If we can’t crack this last safe, the vampire will wake up, and we’ll lose first place on the Hall of Fame leaderboard!"

I burst out laughing at how completely absorbed Jiseok was. We were trapped right now in an escape room called 'Vampire’s Tomb,' all gloomy and gothic. It was supposed to have a romantic, thrilling vibe, with eerie fog and bizarre pipe organ music, but Jiseok was acting like he was in the Olympics or something. He rummaged behind the stone gargoyle statue, and every time he found a hidden key, he’d let out some excited, hilarious exclamation and dart all over the room.

"Look here," I called, tapping the side of the stone sarcophagus. "There’s a crescent-shaped groove. Didn’t we find a silver emblem earlier?"

Jiseok blinked and stopped moving. He quickly took the metal prop out of his jacket pocket and ran over to me. He lined the emblem up with the groove and pushed it in firmly.

A heavy, deeply satisfying rumble echoed through the room. The stone lid opened automatically, revealing the crimson jewel inside. Right at that moment, the countdown clock on the wall froze at 00:03, and cheerful victory music rang out.

"We did it!" Jiseok shouted, his face lit up with immense joy.

Before I could even process what was happening, Jiseok stepped closer and pulled me into a tight hug. It was a completely unexpected ambush hug. He held me so firmly my body lifted slightly off the floor, then leaned against my shoulder and smiled happily. The pure energy pouring off Jiseok felt so vivid that my heart thudded hard. It was a thrill that had nothing to do with the escape room.

A few seconds later, it seemed Jiseok realized he was hugging me too. He set me back down, but didn’t step away completely.

As the grand, dramatic background music slowly faded out, complete silence settled over the room. The tomb room’s faint, flickering candles cast soft shadows over Jiseok’s face, making his deep dimples stand out. The playful, lively energy from just moments ago vanished in an instant, replaced by a serious, strangely charged atmosphere.

Jiseok’s hand slid down from my shoulder, brushed gently along my arm, and came to rest lightly on my wrist. His gaze, looking down at me, lingered on my lips for a brief moment before meeting my eyes straight on.

"Wow," Jiseok murmured softly. The sudden low, whispery shift in his voice sent a tingle down my spine. "My heart’s really racing."

"It’s probably because you’ve been running around trying to clear it before the time limit," I whispered, barely managing to steady my own trembling voice.

"No, it’s not because of that," Jiseok’s tone changed to something incredibly gentle and serious. "The timer stopped, but my heart hasn’t stopped at all. I think... it’s just because I’m finally looking at you properly."

Jiseok tightened his grip on my wrist. That earnest, unguarded look in his eyes made it feel like my breath caught in my throat.

"I was so busy focusing on winning the game," Jiseok whispered with a pleasantly flushed face and a lovely smile. "But the best moment tonight is right now. Being trapped here with you."

The exit door behind us clicked open, and the bright light from the lobby spilled into the room. But Jiseok didn’t move. Instead, he let his hand slide down and threaded his fingers through mine. Holding my hand warm and firmly, Jiseok finally led me back into the real world as we walked out together.