Locked Room: 30 Days

Seven strangers are sealed in a locked room for 30 days. Money rewards every elimination, and no one, including you, has an obvious motive.

Start this story in Teasa

Roommates & Living Together Mystery

Story facts

Quests: 19
Quest completions: 6
Milestones earned: 10
Turns played: 751
Cast: 6
Languages: English, Japanese, Korean, Simplified Chinese, Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, and French
Rating: Teen

About this story

The government has run out of ways to control a crime-ridden, distrustful society, so it launches a new kind of experiment: seven randomly chosen people locked in one large room for thirty days while officials record what they do to each other. The prize for lasting the full month is 100 million won, and every time someone is eliminated, everyone still standing gets 50 million more. Anyone can leave voluntarily. How someone else gets eliminated depends entirely on what the group decides.

Cha Ye-eun applied when her debts from expensive taste outpaced what she could pay and gravitates toward whoever seems strong enough to protect her. Kwon Mi-sook joined with her husband Shim Jae-hyuk after he was scammed, and she's the one trying to hold the group together with food and calm. Jang Byung-ho, an ex-convict with a short fuse, solves problems with force before anyone can talk him out of it. Oh Min-kyu complains constantly and throws things when stressed. Yoo Da-som would rather lean on someone else than do the hard thing herself, though she turns surprisingly clear-headed in a real crisis.

You are the seventh participant, and unlike the others, no one has explained why you're here. Thirty days, six strangers with six different agendas, and a room with no way out until the experiment decides otherwise.

Who you play

You are one of seven participants locked in a government social experiment for thirty days, the only one whose motive nobody has explained, not even to you. Prize money grows with every elimination, and the six people around you each have their own reasons to cooperate, manipulate, or turn on someone else first. Every conversation you have shapes who trusts you and who decides you're worth eliminating.

The cast

Ye-eun Cha

the guest who gravitates toward whoever's strongest

Cha Ye-eun is twenty-eight, glamorous and used to spending more than she has, and she applied to the experiment when her debts from bar work and lavish habits became unmanageable.

More about Ye-eun Cha

Mi-sook Kwon

the steady one holding her marriage together here

Kwon Mi-sook is thirty-four, calm, and entered the experiment alongside her husband Shim Jae-hyuk after he was scammed into serious debt.

More about Mi-sook Kwon

Da-som Yoo

the participant looking for the easier way out

Yoo Da-som is twenty-six, long unemployed, and joined the experiment because rent and debt finally caught up with her.

More about Da-som Yoo

Byung-ho Jang

the ex-convict who solves things with force

Jang Byung-ho is forty-one, a former gang member and ex-convict, built large with tattoos covering most of his body.

More about Byung-ho Jang

Jae-hyuk Shim

Mi-sook's husband, gentle and easily led

Shim Jae-hyuk is thirty-five, thin, gentle, and trusting almost to a fault, the kind of person who takes others at their word instead of questioning them.

More about Jae-hyuk Shim

Min-kyu Oh

the loudest complainer when stress hits

Oh Min-kyu is thirty, has limited work experience, and prefers being alone to dealing with people, which the locked room makes impossible.

More about Min-kyu Oh

What to expect

A true locked-room premise: thirty days, no exit, and prize money that grows every time someone is eliminated.
Six co-participants each carry their own debts and desperation, from an ex-convict's temper to a couple protecting each other.
You're the only participant with no stated motive, which makes you as hard to read as anyone else in the room.

Introduction

Narrator: An era of sharply rising crime and social distrust. Concluding that existing laws and punishments alone can no longer control human behavior, the government plans a new social experiment. Its purpose is not simply punishment, but to observe the choices people make in extreme circumstances. The government confines seven randomly selected participants in a vast sealed enclosure and records their behavior, the relationships they form, their conflicts, and whether they cooperate over thirty days.

Narrator: ■Experiment Rules Seven participants in total Thirty days in confinement Participants who remain until the end receive a base prize of 100 million won Each time a participant is eliminated, each survivor's individual prize increases by 50 million won Participants may voluntarily leave whenever they wish How eliminations occur depends on the participants' choices.

Narrator: ■Enclosure Layout A spacious communal area in the center Private rooms along either side ■Shared Facilities: Central kitchen, communal showers, communal toilets, lounge area Food and daily necessities are provided at scheduled times, but the participants must cook and manage the supplies themselves.

Narrator: ■Private Rooms: A bed and basic living space are provided

Narrator: Ye-eun Cha (28) She applied for the experiment when her taste for luxury and her spending habits left her with more debt than she could handle. She saw the 100 million won she could earn by lasting just thirty days as her last chance.

Narrator: Mi-sook Kwon (34) She joined with her husband, Jae-hyuk Shim, after a scam left him deeply in debt. They needed the money, but she also made the choice so she could stand by her husband through their hardships.

Narrator: Da-som Yoo (26) She joined after prolonged unemployment left her behind on rent and living expenses, and eventually in debt. She hated hard work, but believed money was her only way out of this place.

Narrator: Byung-ho Jang (41) A former gangster with a criminal record. He struggled to adjust to society even after his release from prison and joined for money and a fresh chance.

Narrator: Jae-hyuk Shim (35) A scam left him in debt, and guilt toward his wife led him to join with her. This time, he wanted to protect her.

Narrator: Min-kyu Oh (30) He joined because of financial hardship and difficulty navigating society. At first, he thought it was a chance to make easy money.

Narrator: You A participant whose particular reasons remain unknown. Must survive thirty days alongside six people, each with their own purpose.

Try one of these first lines

I look around the room at the other six faces. "If we're stuck here thirty days, I'd rather know who I'm dealing with now."
I keep my voice low and steady. "Nobody has to be enemies yet. Let's figure out how this actually works first."