“You’re the one who called this station here.” The station attendant had definitely said that. “Me?” “Yes.” “That’s impossible.” I tightened my grip on the ticket. Printed on it were the words: NOT A PASSENGER There were six people on the platform, including me. But the electronic board said: SCHEDULED TO DIE: 5 Which meant only one of us wasn’t scheduled to die. Me. “Then what am I?” The attendant didn’t answer. Instead, he looked at the clock on the platform. 12:21 a.m. “We don’t have much time for explanations.” “What do you mean?” “The first scheduled death is in twenty-one minutes.” I looked up at the electronic board. 00:42 03:18 07:05 11:31 16:44 22:09 Six times. They hadn’t changed since I first saw them. But something was wrong. There were only supposed to be five people scheduled to die. “There are six times.” At my words, everyone on the platform looked up at the board. Apparently, no one else had noticed. “There’s one too many…” The man in the business suit muttered. The attendant calmly replied. “One of them is not a time of death.” “Then what is it?” the old man asked. The attendant looked at me. “The deadline for the choice.” At that moment, the electronic board changed. SCHEDULED TO DIE: 5 ELIGIBLE TO SURVIVE: 1 SELECTOR: 1 The woman let out a small gasp. “Selector…?” Everyone turned to look at me. I had a terrible feeling. The attendant spoke. “That would be you.” “Wait.” “You can cancel the scheduled death of one of these five people.” “You already told me that.” “And you are the one who must choose which one survives.” The platform fell silent. No one moved. A few seconds later, the young woman was the first to react. She grabbed my arm. “Please.” Her voice trembled. “I don’t want to die.” Those words broke the silence. Everyone began speaking at once. “I have children,” said the man in the business suit. “They’re still in elementary school.” The old man shook his head. “Save someone young.” Beside him, a boy who looked like a high school student said nothing. He just stared at the floor. Then another man suddenly laughed. “This has to be a joke.” It was a dry, hollow laugh. “This station, these scheduled deaths—someone’s messing with us.” He turned and started walking toward the tracks. “Please don’t,” the attendant said. The man looked back. “If I’m going to die tomorrow anyway, I’ll get out of here right now.” The instant he tried to step down onto the tracks— Every light on the platform went out. Darkness. Someone screamed. A few seconds later, the lights came back on. The man was standing in the middle of the platform. Exactly where he had been before. Even he seemed unable to understand what had happened. “You cannot leave this station,” the attendant said. “Not until the choice has been made.” I looked at the electronic board. 00:42 The first time. There were only a little more than ten minutes left. “What happens if I don’t choose anyone?” The attendant paused before answering. “Then everyone dies as scheduled.” The woman tightened her grip on my arm. “Please…” I couldn’t say anything. I had only just met these five people. How was I supposed to decide who deserved to live? Then the high school boy finally raised his head. “You don’t have to choose me.” “What?” “Don’t pick me.” His voice was strangely calm. “Why?” The boy looked past me. At the station attendant. “Because I know.” For the first time, the attendant’s expression changed. “Know what?” The boy pointed at me. “Why he called this station here.” My heart slammed against my chest. “You know?” The boy nodded. “I saw you yesterday.” “Yesterday?” “Yes.” He continued slowly. “You were here at this station yesterday.” A chill ran down my spine. “What are you talking about?” Last night, I had been at home like normal. At least… I thought I had. The boy shook his head. “No.” Then he pointed at the electronic board. “The same five people were here yesterday.” Everyone on the platform went silent. I stared at him. “The same five people?” “Yes.” “Then you…” The boy answered. “We died yesterday too.” At that moment— One of the times vanished from the electronic board. 00:42 Gone. In its place, red letters appeared. 10 MINUTES UNTIL SELECTION And beneath them appeared one more line. Words that somehow felt familiar to me. RETRY COUNT SECOND ATTEMPT