akirasarchives

[akirasarchives]

working on having a few updates up soon! thank you guys for your patience while i try to juggle university work with my writings 🫶🥲

[akirasarchives]

[02] | Valuable Addition.

Summary: Tension grows between you and Hyunju after the split vote to leave. However, you finally find Junhee and discover something dire.

— usual squid game stuff, bold is [day, date, time], italics is internal monologue and bold+italics is flashback

[ DAY ONE, ???, AFTERNOON ]

After the initial adrenaline wore off and the lights began to dim inside the bed hall, a devastating silence blanketed the room. Both you and Hyunju had long fallen into the silence, finding solace in each other's equal trauma. You fiddled, twisted and turned as you tried to fight the flashes of blood and body matter that printed itself into your orbs. The lifeless gazes you met as you stepped over and trampled on the bodies that were dead too early.

That could’ve been me.

However, you can’t shake the thought of player 456. He knew, he knew how the doll worked in such a short time and it was almost as if he had encountered it before. Played it before. You’re dying to ask Hyunju but a part of you is terrified to break the silence.

Suddenly, a loud whirring noise causes you to shake. You gasp, using your arms to prop you up as the lights in the room flash on. The doors had opened and the armed guards filter in.

Everyone who has previously sat on the floors scramble for safety causing the frames of the bedding to shake due to the intensity. You glance at Hyunju who grasps her mattress for support.

“Congratulations for making it through the first game. Here are the results for the first game.” The guard announces, staring straight as the screen above him begins to move. The player count falls from 456 to to 365 as he explains that 91 players had died in the first game. Your stomach drops at the figure and how that could’ve easily been you if Hyunju didn’t help you in your state of panic.

“Sir! Please don’t kill us!” An elderly woman pleads as she steps forward. What you assume is her son is attached to her arm and looks equally as horrified as the woman. She falls to her knees as she begs once more.

The sight is horrifying.

She pleads about her sons debt, explaining that she will do whatever it takes as long as they don’t hurt her son. Together, the two start pleading. Your stomach is churning at the scene as anxiety bubbles dangerously high within your body. You want to run, to hide.

“There seems to be a misunderstanding.” The guard explains but more people begin pleading, crawling and crying. They’re rubbing their hands together desperately and bowing with the deepest respect.

“We are not trying to harm you. We are presenting you with an opportunity—“

“Clause three of the consent form!”

Player 456?

“The games may be terminated upon a majority vote. Correct?” He retaliates as he walks to the centre of the room, demanding authority. The tension in the air is thick as 456 has a silence standoff with the guards leader.

You swallow nervously, cringing at the loud sound.

“That is correct.” The guard nods slightly.

“Then let’s take a vote right now.” 456 replies with the upmost confidence. You glance between the two, thankful for your higher view.

“Of course.”

The room fills with relieved sighs. Your heart hammers heavily. Surely it cannot be this easy to leave?

I still haven’t found Junhee.

“But first, let me announce the prize amount that has been accumulated.”

Gasps fill the room as the lights dim, followed by the familiar arcade sound of a winning play. A large pig, beaming with a golden ray begins to fill with stacks of money. The sight is eerily dystopian as people’s faces begin to fill with curiosity and amazement instead of dread and disgust.

“The number of players eliminated in the first game is 91. Therefore a total of 9.1 billion won has been accumulated.”

Horror spikes through your body, pricking you like pins and needles. The money presented is the worth of these individuals. Instead of cash, you see visions of the crumpled corpses lying inside the pig.

I’m getting out of here.

[DAY ONE, ???, EVENING ]

Things had gone south quickly. Once the vote to leave was announced and the guards had the players vote one by one, by number, you watched as the one person you connected with voted to stay. You felt so… betrayed? Hyunju didn’t even look at you once she voted, joining the O side without any thought towards you. You watched from the X side as the people around her didn’t even glance at her yet celebrated others joining the side as they are too absorbed by their transphobic ideologies. A part of you wanted to scream as you watched the O side increase by one. How can she join the O side especially when the purple haired lunatic was screaming and running around proudly?

On the plus side, you found Junhee. She was player 222 and had a look of absolute distraught that you had never seen before. Despite the turbulent emotions of fear, anger and distress, you greeted your friend with a relieved smile and tight hug.

“I’ve been looking for you!” You both whispered, holding back your laughs as you took in each other's faces. You both share a defeated look, though the light in your eyes had brightened since finding Junhee alive.

Now, you followed Junhee to her bed. She was situated on the other side of the room which explained why you had struggle locating the small woman in the spacious cell.

You think back to earlier, how it felt Hyunju turned her back on you. Despite finding your friend, you felt you lost another.

“You chose to stay?” You ask Hyunju with slouched shoulders. The woman, who had previously started walking back to the beds, pauses. It’s almost as if she was trying to run away from the conversation as she must’ve realised you would be pissed at her actions.

‘We were talking about getting out of here less than two hours ago!’ The thought rattles in your head.

A frown presents itself on your face. It feels like the only thing you’ve done since you’ve been here is frown or become overrun by existential fear. Slowly, she turns on her heel.

Her pupils shake as her face contorts through her emotions. A pang of empathy hits your heart at the sight of her glossy eyes.

“I need the money, [y/n].” Her voice is shaky and despite the usual compassion you would feel, her words just irritate you. You both watched people die. You comforted her because she couldn’t save someone. You rubbed the bloody fucking sand off of both of your shoes.

You can’t help but scoff, “Hyunju. People died. That money is only there because people fucking died.”

“You don’t understand.” Hyunju replies. Her voice is still ever so soft and it only serves to annoy you more. How can she be so calm?

“I don’t? You want to keep playing — more people are probably going to die! Then what? You might get to live?” You can’t help it as you begin to raise your tone at her. Hyunju furrows her brows as her patience wears thin.

“I need this money to live. To be me.” She places a hand on her chest sincerely, but her tone is sharp, “To be beautiful.”

A palpable silence bestows you both. Like earlier, a silent standoff begins. You can’t find the words as your mind is reeling.

‘Why do I care so much about this random person?’

Hyunju turns on her heel once more, walking back to her bed. You step forward, speaking loud enough for her to hear.

“You’re beautiful already, unnie.”

A hand is placed on your shoulder. You jump, following the arm to the perpetrators face.

“You scared me.” You whisper, glancing back at your shoes. They’re still beaten, bloodied and still have sand stuck in the crevasses. The sight puts you off the food in your dish despite how your stomach tells out in hunger.

Junhee examines your face, “The person… 120. Are you okay?” She asks. Of course she witnessed your fight with Hyunju as she had been by your side, nervously pulling at your sleeve to get you to walk away. Junhee had never seen you in such a state and to be frank, it scared her quite a bit. She watched the clip of you on the screen too, how afraid and little you looked. It was nothing close to your usual self.

You sigh, “Yeah. I guess.” Pushing yourself from the bed frame, you glance around. Due to everyone circulating in groups it was now easier to spot individual people. It wasn’t hard to find Hyunju sitting by the elderly woman and her son who had previously begged for their lives.

Junhee opens her mouth to speak but you reply swiftly, “We should be in 456’s team.”

She blinks, “Huh?”

“He’s been here before. He won. We should be close to him. We could have a better chance of winning if we don’t get a majority vote out.” You point over at the distraught man. His friend, player 390 seems to be comforting him as he wallows in pity.

“Have this too.” Again, you jump. This time Junhee does too. An extra egg is placed onto her dish by the elderly woman from earlier.

How is she this fast?

She leans in, glancing at you and Junhee. She seems almost nervous or hesitant to speak, causing you to raise a brow.

“You should eat it for your baby, eggs are good for pregnant women.”

Baby!? Junhee is actually pregnant? Also how does this woman know??

“Junhee… You’re actually pregnant?” You ask in a low whisper. Junhee looks like a deer in headlights. Not only had this woman just known about her pregnancy, now you do. After all, she told you she thinks she might be pregnant.

Her pale lips quiver. She’s at a loss for words, staring at you with soulless eyes. You want to cry for her, seeing her in such a state. The usual bubbly girl who helps you make coffees is reduced to a mute state.

The elderly lady tries to crack a smile “I’ve helped more than a dozen women in my neighbourhood deliver their babies. I can tell just by looking at your body shape and the way you walk.”

It’s your turn to blink.

Am I really that stupid that I didn’t notice? Or is she some kind of walking ultrasound machine?

Junhee glances at her food dish. A part of you want to reach out and hold her, tell her she’ll be fine. But it’s not right.

“It looks like your due date is getting close. If you compress your belly to hide it, it’ll be dangerous for both you and your baby.” The elderly woman expresses sincerely. It’s the same pleading face she used when begging the guards to spare her life. Junhee’s situation is dire.

“That’s why you were in pain earlier!”

… She was?

Junhee shakes her head, “It’s not what you think.”

The lady sighs once more. Junhee sounds so dejected and you’re sure she’s thought about this a lot in the past few hours. Would it be safe for her to reveal her pregnancy?

Within seconds the lady is quickly rushed away by her son, pulling her before she can fully say what she wanted to Junhee.

“Junhee… You didn’t tell me?” You ask, looking at hee slumped posture. She stares at the egg placed over her partially eaten rice, toying with it with her spoon.

“I… I didn’t know how. It’s so complicated.” She replies, glancing at you through her bangs. You sigh, placing your food tin in front of you. The elderly woman’s words ring through your mind.

Her belly… She must be in so much pain.

You motion towards her stomach, “How long have you been compressing your belly?” The thought sickens you. How far along had Junhee been when she told you if she has to press it down? Was she testing the waters to your reaction?

“A while…” She whispers as she gathers a bit of rice on her spoon. Slowly, she brings the spoon to her mouth. Your eyes sting with the threat of tears as she shows her vulnerability to you.

You scoot forward, swinging your legs over the bed so you’re sat comfortably beside her. She doesn’t bother to move her head as you place your arm around her. Almost instinctively she leans towards your touch.

You rub her shoulder comfortingly in an attempt to soothe her.

“I’ll take care of you.”

masterlist

[akirasarchives]

working on chapter two and some requests! hopefully upload a few in the next couple days :) thank you guys for sm support you’re the best 💞

[akirasarchives]

Hii! For the gong yoo requests, its just the salesman or it can be really gong yoo? 🥺

it can be either! :)

[akirasarchives]

[01] Valuable Addition.

Summary: Time is not on your side.

— warnings: usual squid game shit, platonic! x reader

[ ???, ???, ??? ]

Flurries of green and white cloud your vision. Something loud is blaring, a cheerful tune but your hearing is still impaired from your deep sleep. Your head is spinning, your throat is dry, your vision is blurry and there’s so much motion and flashes of lights happening around you.

A whine passes through your dry lips. You’ve never felt so…sore? Your body feels as if it’s being held down by sandbags and your limbs flop around as if they’re not within your control.

Finally, your eyes focus a bit more and you can make out a draped white sheet above you. Well, about 30 feet above you. It resembles a circus tent, which doesn’t help your confusion. As you flip your head to the right and left, you catch eyes equally as discombobulated people.

It takes a while but you’re eventually able to pull yourself up to a sitting position. The familiar tingle of pins and needles dancing throughout your legs alerts you to how long you must’ve been passed out. The last thing you remember is going to the address the card said in an attempt to knock some sense into Junhee, but you must’ve been knocked out instead.

Junhee! Please tell me that stupid woman isn’t here…

“What the fuck…” The words fall from your lips effortlessly. There has to easily be over 200 people stacked into this room, scrambling, yelling, shoving and crying. Everyone including yourself has been changed into green and white uniforms with numbers visually printed onto the breast area and back.

You tug your shirt, noticing the blocky 183 written across the top.

Who changed me? Did I change me? I feel sick.

To your left, the person beside you attempts to pull themselves from their bed, but swears as they bump their shin against the railing of the bed under them.

“Where are we?” The voice beside you asks, prompting you to turn. You meet the wide eyes of a taller woman with a short bob cut. Despite the deep voice that emerges from the body, her feminine appearance and mannerisms aid you in recognising her as a transgender woman. It’s quite a rare sight to see in South Korea.

She looks so…fearful, but more so of your reaction. The way she looks at you with wide eyes and a timorous expression sends a pang of empathy to your heart.

“Um,” You pause to clear your dry throat, “I’m not sure…” You look back to the centre of the room. She follows your gaze, gasping in awe at the crowd of people below. There’s still a number of people situated in the beds.

How many people are here? Are we all here by force?

Suddenly, the walls catch your gaze. Is this meant to look like a nursery? The pale blue walls, sanded floors, tent like roof and children’s song blaring over the speakers finally pull together in your mind. What sort of sick joke is this? Did the businessman really send you here or was this another kidnapping ring?

The figure beside you seems to mull over whether she wants to join the crowd or not. You look back to your left, watching her curiously. Usually, you’re not to socialable but the situation you’re in isn’t usual itself.

I need to make a friend here. Maybe she could help me figure out what’s going on. She needs someone on her side too…

“I’m [y/n].” You shift, holding your hand out. She blinks, looking between your hand and your face. Maybe she’s looking for sincerity, you don’t imagine she comes across much.

Slowly, her hand slots into yours. You shake, smiling softly as you take in the feeling of calluses on the palm of her hand. She worked a hard job.

“Hyunju.” She smiles back, “Cho Hyunju.”

You nod, taking your hand back. She fiddles with her hair nervously, tucking it behind her ear and smoothing it down.

“Let's go see what’s happening.”

[ TUESDAY, 3RD, 11:31 ]

”One small jjajangmyeon and an iced coffee, please.” You smile at the older lady behind the counter. Today, you’re planning on reporting the suited freak and finding Junhee before she goes to the location stated on the card given by the businessman. However, you decided to stop by one of the corner restaurants before going to the police as you imagine you’ll be there for a while.

A loud table of men dressed in all black take up the corner of the shop. They all seem to be on a team lunch as they spot similar wear. Your eyes drift to the table as you examine the multiple plates of side dishes and stacks of beer cans. Internally, you roll your eyes. The usual.

“Of course! Is that all…” The lady buzzes, trailing off mid sentence as she notices the bruise splattered across your right cheek. You fidget, glancing downward as you know she’s spotted the print painted on your face. He had slapped you so damn hard you could make out where his palm stopped and his fingers started.

You pass her the money, thanking her with a tight lipped smile. You don’t quite fancy answering her questions seeing as you don’t even know where to start. She seems a bit flustered, ringing in your money and handing you your change back with a frantic expression. She fumbles with her words, croaking silently as you walk towards the table furthest from the group.

What do I even say to the police? I agreed to play ddakji with this man and I agreed to let him slap me? Will that throw the whole case away?

Suddenly, a golden bowl is set in front of you. The familiar sight of the deep brown and black paste covering succulent noodles brings a watering sensation to your mouth. You haven’t eaten since midday yesterday, too rattled by the altercation from last night to even stomach the thought of food.

“Thank you, ma’am.” You smile, taking the chopsticks from her hand. She nods, casting you a look of worry.

“Are you okay, Dear?” She queries as a worried line takes place between her brow. It looks so natural and you could almost laugh as it seems the expression is one she does often. However, you nod, assuring her.

“I’m fine.”

“Really, Miss, the mark on you—“

“It was an accident, really—“

“Did your boyfriend do this to you?”

“No! God no—“

“These men here are detectives! Tell them!” She waves her hand towards the table. You glance over her shoulder, meeting the eyes of one of the men. His taller frame allows him to see over the heads of the other men there, but his striking complexion makes you waver. It’s almost as if he had watched the interaction between you and the elderly owner.

“No, ma’am, thank you. I really just want to eat.” You plead, pulling her sleeve. She snaps back to you and examines your face.

Is she crazy? God… why did I have to eat at this place? What was a few more hours without food!

You don’t know how long you stare at her, but it’s long enough for a figure to emerge over her short body. You peer, meeting the same gaze.

Fuck sake.

“Are you okay Miss?” He asks, nodding his head at your face. You’re at a loss for words. All you wanted was some lunch…

“Yes! Do you see the hand mark on her cheek? Oh the poor thing, please tell him what happened!” The lady worries, glancing between you and the detective “Oh! Please let me give you a refund, this must be so scary for you.”

You splutter “No!” Cringing at how loudly you exclaim as the heads from the table behind you turn simultaneously. You wish you could melt into the ground at that moment.

If the ground could open up and swallow you — it better happen now.

“Please I just… I was going to the police anyway…” You mumble, looking at the elderly woman. She cooes, placing a hand on your shoulder. You look back at the man, blinking slowly.

“I… I played ddakji with some businessman last night. He told me if I lose, I’d pay with my body. So, he slapped me.” You admit, looking at the stranger completely defeated. The lady beside you hums, allowing you to continue “I only played because he gave me one hundred thousand won each round… He played my friend too.”

Though, instead of meeting the reaction you expected — something like, “Too bad, you agreed.” Or “Can’t do much kid, sorry.” He almost sighs with relief. You quick a brow, changing your defeated look for a confused frown.

“Miss, I know who you’re talking about.”

[ DAY ONE, ???, DAY ]

Play games to win cash? Maybe the psycho who slapped you wasn’t lying, though the sight of a massive fucking doll and two men standing in pink suits by her wasn’t so comforting. You glance at Hyunju who you had quickly taken a liking to. She was equally as terrified as you but put on a brave face, courageously asking questions when you were back in the bedded room. You both agreed that you needed someone here you could rely on, promising that you would watch each others backs despite barely knowing one another.

“They have guns!” You whisper, pointing at the pink guards. You notice how the circular guards are unarmed, whereas the triangular ones are. Hyunju nods, casting you a perturbed glance. You watch as she wrings her hands, the same thing she did as she shouted out to them moments earlier.

“[y/n]… What are they going to make us do?” She asks and although it’s mostly rhetoric, you mumble a faint ‘I don’t know’. They’re playing a montage of the people here all being slapped after a game of ddakji with the same asshole who gave you a shiner. It tingles as you watch it.

“Player 183, [l/n] [y/n].” The video of you being cornered against the brick wall plays. You look absolutely horrified, blinking erratically as a hand comes into frame and strokes your cheek. Suddenly, it cuts to you struggling within the painful hold on your chin, then, it plays.

He slaps you so damn hard the camera cuts most of your face out due to the sheer force behind it. The squeal you let out feels like it ricochets off of the walls around you and you watch as you crumple before your own eyes. You look so… pathetic.

“Oh.” Hyunju gasps, using a hand to cover her mouth. Each clip before your own was short and often played the slap before moving on. Why did yours last so long? The curious gaze of those around you burns holes into your skull as you look down in shame. Your bruise feels like it’s on fire, similar to how your blistered hand felt. You’re absolutely horrified.

“Stay close.” Hyunju mumbles as she gets shoved around by those passing by her. You nod, though you keep your eyes peeled. Junhee was on the big screen but you haven’t been able to spot her in the crowd of people. It doesn’t help that she’s small and has a basic hair colour, if only she stood out the way the idiot with purple hair did. At least you have a visual warning to keep away from him.

Even the most toxic plants have the brightest colours.

“Game is Red Light, Green Light. Pass to the other side within the time limit.” A masculine voice breaks through the buzzing chatter of the crowd. A unanimous sound of confusion emits while people whip their heads around to look at each other as if to ask, 'did I hear that right?’

Slowly, you fall behind the two rows of people in front of you. As you looked around you could make out square boxes along the walls of the enclosure. It was painted with the same pale blue paint, alongside whispers of clouds. You gaze up, catching the sight of a bird flying past. A seagull.

Are we near the sea?

The doll begins to sing the song you heard many times in your childhood. You watch as the people in front of you stutter to move, unsure of what to do. You shuffle behind the other players, glancing as Hyunju. She looks just as baffled as you are.

As the song comes to a close, you stop.

Are we seriously playing this?

As silly as you want to think this whole ordeal is, you don’t dare to move your head. The dolls eyes spin, darting between the players. It looks demonic and as if she’s possessed. A player number is called, followed by eliminated.

A sharp bang makes your shoulders shake. It’s followed by a few more shrill screams and other shots as people attempt to run back to the green doors you had just entered from. You couldn’t see at first, but the bodies of the past players flop on the ground around you as they attempted to break through the crowd.

“mugunghwa…”

The crowd begins moving again as the doll begins her song, but you’re stuck in place. Your mind screams at you — “Don’t look!” — but you can’t help as you whip your head around.

Blood seeps into the yellow sand, creating a halo around the head of the crumpled bodies. You gasp, an undeniable feeling of dread creeping throughout your body. Your feet twitch as adrenaline pumps throughout your veins. You don’t know what to do, whether to run or freeze.

“C’mon!” A hand grabs your wrist, pulling you across the sandy field. A shaky exhale passes your lips as you turn around, comforted by the sight of Hyunju’s hair.

“..:kkochi pioet sumnida!”

Hyunju’s hand remains firmly on your wrist. You pause, trying to control your breathing. A sole man stands before the crowd with an arm behind his back.

“The doll is a motion sensor! It can only detect movements physical to it!” He yells, proving his point by moving his hand that was placed behind his back. Despite his yelling, his voice sounds like it’s muffled by water as your blood pumps anxiously throughout your body.

He continues “Do not move when she stops singing!”

Eventually, the clock ticks down to two minutes. The finish line is only a few steps away from you and your heart pounds in anticipation. So many bodies had fell before you and your shoes were stained with the blood of the victims. The sight makes you feel ill as it serves as a sickly reminder for the consequences of not listening to the game rules.

I can see that sick bastards smug face right now.

“Mugunghwa…”

Hyunju practically catapults you across the line, ensuring you’ve passed it in front of her. Your knees almost buckle beneath you as you’ve visually made it to the safe zone. You splutter as you quick up a bit of sand from your heavy steps, heaving as you push the sand away from your nose and mouth.

A relieved sigh escapes through your dry lips. Hyunju had really saved you back there. If the situation wasn’t so fucked you’d pat yourself on the back for taking the initiative to befriend her in the first room.

“Hyunju?” You whisper, not seeing the woman. Almost everyone had passed the finish line, bar a few people.

Is that…

“Hyunju!” You exclaim, not caring about the agitated looks from the survivors. She’s helping the yelling man from earlier pull an injured contestant across the sand.

You turn to the clock. 40 seconds and she’s quite far from the line. Your feet twitch as you mull over your options. The trio isn’t too far from the line and anyone with full mobility would make it in less than 10, but the sight of Hyunju lugging a man who was definitely twice her body weight. The sweaty man on the other side of the dead-weight didn’t seem to help.

Do I help? Fuck, what if I don’t make it back on time? What if Hyunju doesn’t make it back in time? Do I want to re-enter the game? Why am I such a pussy…

You glance back at the clock as you anxiously pick at your lip. The familiar copper taste tingles at the tip of your tongue, grounding you in your reality.

10 seconds.

You move to step forward, but Hyunju shoots you a daggered glare. Pausing, you look at the other players. People are toppled over, some crying with relief or fear and others look empty.

Not a single one of these assholes is going to help?

“Quick Hyunju!” You reach your hands over the line, motioning her to take your hand. An evident bead of sweat soaks through her fringe, causing it to stick against her forehead uncomfortably. She groans, pushing the injured man over the red line as she flops down on the ground before you.

You glance to the clock.

00:01…00:00

[ DAY ONE, ???, AFTERNOON ]

The sounds of shoes clapping together fills the silent void between you and Hyunju. You cringe, staring at the thick clobs of blood stained sand that refuse to budge from your new shoes. The liquid acted as a cement, requiring you to rub the shoes together to get rid of the evidence.

“Let me do your shoes.” You motion to Hyunju’s feet as you set your shoes to the side. For the past thirty minutes she has been sitting with a vacant expression on her face. If you hadn’t witnessed the same sights as her you would be quite freaked out by her perfect posture and empty face.

“Hey. Hyunju you helped—“

“He died.” She states. You pause, leaning back up from your position. You exhale. You’re not the best at comparing people, everyone knows that. You’re the type to plaster a smile on your face, have a cry at home then stick your best happy face on again.

“He was eliminated before you helped him over the finish line, Hyunju.” You try to reason. Her wet orbs flicked over to you as she examines your face.

Probably could’ve worded that better.

You wince, “What I’m trying to say… You tried, Hyunju. You saved that man, Gihun. He’s alive and if you didn’t go out and help him he would’ve died too. It’s bad to say but the other guy was a lost cause as soon as he was eliminated.”

I should just stop talking.

Hyunju remains still, mulling over your words. Her silence in unbearable to stand so you turn your attention to the centre of the room. Despite the deaths of those in the game, there is still a large number of people gathered in the centre.

You sigh, trying to shake the images of the dead bodies. The cuffs of your joggers are freckled with brown splatters of blood and the sight makes you feel ill. With a deep swallow, you try to calm the anxiousness that builds in your stomach.

Suddenly, a soft giggle breaks the silence. You glance over, scanning Hyunju’s face. Her previously void face is now branded with a soft smile. Her eyes glimmer with a sort of fondness which quells the anxiety brewing in your stomach.

“You’re so bad at comforting people, [y/n].”

masterlist

[akirasarchives]

Valuable Addition. | squid game series

Summary: Platonic! reader finds herself in the games after trying to warn her pregnant and tiny coworker to not blindly follow some random suited man.

— chapter 00 | the businessman.

— chapter 01 | time.

— chapter 02 | split decision 

more tba …

[akirasarchives]

[00] Valuable Addition.

Summary: You wouldn’t say you’re in debt, but the dwindling money in your bank account is looking that way. Oh yeah, and a man in a suit won’t stop bothering you about playing a stupid child’s game.

— warnings: usual squid game behaviour, female reader

platonic squid game x reader, side romantic moments but it’s for the plot

[ 12TH, MONDAY, 08:47 ]

The subway station is busy. Businessmen, students and elderly passer-bys push past and shove into you as you stand clueless next to one of the big subway posters. Despite living in Seoul for so long, you barely know your way around and you’re at mercy to the beehive system. And it takes no prisoners.

You’ve been trying for the last 10 minutes to get the attention of anyone, but each person either ignores you or runs on to grab their train, but with each train passing your anxiety grows. It feels as if time has stopped around you as the vibrant chatter of people around you turns into mumbles and whispers as you attempt to understand the subway line. Even as you trace what you think is the blue line, it eventually turns into purple and now you’re on the other side of town!

With a heavy sigh, you turn to face the crowd once more. The crowd had thinned out in the last 10 minutes of your lone confusion and with a quick glance at your phone you see that it’s quickly approaching 9am.

It’s now or never.

“Excuse me, sir!” You tap the shoulder of the nearest well-dressed businessman. The man, seemingly in his 30s or early 40s turns and flashes you a charming smile. He dons a freshly pressed, steel grey suit made of soft, rich fabric. From a quick glance, you can tell the suit is made of expensive material as you spot tiny workings of the logo within the fabric itself. You feel as if you're staining the suit by touching it.

I just had to ask the good-looking one.

“May I help you?” He asks, using his free hand to smooth down his already wrinkle-free suit. His smile drops over time, yet he makes an effort to make it appear that it meets his eyes. Though, working in hospitality makes it easy to spot a false smile.

“I am sorry to bother you, but can you tell me which train takes me to Hannam-Dong?” You glance down at your phone. Foolishly, you forgot to check which train took you in the direction of the job interview you had scheduled today for a big company which would pretty much pay off the majority of your tuition fees in one wage. You practically burst into tears when the conductor told you that you purchased a ticket for the wrong line. The image of the money decreasing from your bank account due to a stupid purchase made you want to scream.

“Are there no ticket inspectors?” He hums, looking around. He looks around and almost comically turns in a circle before sighing. As if you couldn’t feel stupid enough for thinking you had to use a different line, the man in front of you had to make a theatrical out of it.

“I think it is this line.” He motions at the platform on the other side with the hand holding his expensive looking briefcase. You watch as it swings, seemingly empty.

“Thank you, sir!” You bow your head and smile, taking off before you finish the sentence. Soon enough you’re lost in the crowd again and hopefully not too late for the train.

[ 13TH, TUESDAY, 08:29 ]

Stupid nepotism. Yesterday, you arrived at the interview 10 minutes early despite the subway fiasco but you were informed that the role was filled that morning by an “experienced candidate who met the needs of the role”. Do you want to know who the candidate is? The CEOs nephew who just left high school and took a business class.

Now what? You’re at the same subway station waiting on the train to take you to your part-time cafe job 10 minutes away. Usually, you would walk it seeing as you don’t really like throwing away ₩1500 on a ticket that takes you 6 stops away but the torrential rain outside and your cheap umbrella were blocking you from walking 15 minutes.

The ticket crumbles in your hand as you fiddle with the flimsy paper. Maybe this was God’s sick way of telling you that you’re too ahead of yourself or that you’re destined to continue spending money that you don’t have. You trace over the price stamp, thinking over what you could’ve spent the money on.

Maybe a shitty cup of ramen?

“May I sit here?” A smooth voice breaks you from your trance. You glance up, straightening your posture. It’s the man from yesterday, gleaming down at you with the same formal smile. Again, it doesn’t reach his eyes yet you nod, shuffling to the right to allow him space on the bench.

“How was your interview?” He asks casually as he sets his briefcase beside him. He turns his back to you as he traces the cool metal edges of the case, popping it open with ease.

You gape, “How did you know I was going to an interview?”

“Well, you were dressed well and now you are in an apron. I assume you don’t go everywhere in a formal blazer.” He cracks open the briefcase as he casually explains. He’s weirdly observant, but his comment on the apron makes you glance down. Each wrinkle and subtle stain becomes more noticeable, but reminds you of each gruelling hour you put into the place. Each penny earned.

You can’t help but get lost in thought, barely processing as thick blue and red folded paper is passed into your eye-line.

“I am assuming you’re a café worker… That can’t pay much, no?” He motions at the cafe’s coffee bean logo on your black shirt. You nod, still dumbfounded by the paper squares.

His stare is so intense it leaves you a bit flustered so you naturally let out a nervous laugh, swapping your attention to the time on your phone. 10 minutes until your train...

“Um, no, I suppose not.” You reply, albeit awkwardly. He hums, satisfied with your late and short answer. Oddly, this is not one of the weirder conversations you’ve had at the subway station.

He shifts so that he’s facing you, “Let’s play a game, you know Ddakji, right?”

You glance between the paper and his face. He looks so sincere, but you can’t read his eyes. They’re deep, black almost and oddly… mischevious for a middle aged man. Honestly it’s quite disturbing.

“Each round you win, you’ll get ₩100,000. How about that?” The expression on your face coaxed him to continue. Perhaps you looked just as perplexed as you feel.

“Who are—“

“If I win, you pay with your body.”

… Is this man fucking crazy? You want to just leave the station but at the same time you’re so intrigued by what the fuck this man wants. Surely he has better things to do? Was he carrying the ddakji with him yesterday too?

The way he sits still as if he’s a mannequin is also quite disturbing. It’s as if he’s giving you time to process the question but you’re not debating the game, you’re debating just running out in the pouring rain.

“Well?”

“Railway line through Cheongpa-Dong is now boarding. Please board.”

You stand quickly, jolting the businessman with your speed.

“My train is here. Bye.”

[ 13TH, TUESDAY, 22:09 ]

The whole day the scenario played through your head. You were so caught up in thought that you burned yourself with the steamer and spent 10 minutes in the office running your hand until cool water. Even then, your mind wandered back.

It’s just so odd. You’ve never seen him before but now twice you’ve spoken to him. Has he always been there and it’s just more obvious now? Does he offer everyone this game? Is he following you? Does he know where you work?

You barely knew the time. Each drink passed by in seconds and each customer morphed into each other. Every time a man entered the shop in a suit, your heart pumped ferociously.

You can’t tell if you’re terrified of him or excited for the interaction. Maybe he’s just a fucking weirdo who walks around with ddakji in hopes of getting to slap people.

Plus, you could do with the money. Even if you win just one round, it could pay for your phone bill or electric meter.

The walk home isn’t exactly easy either. It’s dark and each corner turned, you’re expecting to see him waiting under a streetlight for you holding those red and blue squares.

“If I win, you pay with your body.”

Unbothered, he extends the squares towards you. It feels as if you’re sucked out of your body as you stare at him. Time slows and no one else is there. Did he just ask you to sleep with him? What in the world could that mean? Is this man a trafficker and he has his eyes set on you? The questions flurry through your brain in a span of mere seconds, yet you still feel the cool air pass over your skin as the train rails in beside you. Your hair falls into your eyesight as you gape at him.

“Well?” He motions towards the cards.

What in the fucking world.

[ 16TH, FRIDAY, 22:35 ]

The pile of unread emails grows in your inbox. Failure to attend lectures, the price increasing of your off campus housing, monthly payments that leave you with just under ₩145,000 to survive for a month. It’s unbearable. You’ve gotten used to the growl in your stomach and the lightheadedness that comes with the fatigue of hunger. Missing night outs with your friends, walking long distances until your feet ached and slaving away at work for nasty people while your eyes threatened to close. It’s all becoming a bit much, especially as your final year in University comes to a close.

The burn on your hand doesn’t help either. It’s right between the juncture of your thumb and index finger on your right hand and it aches when any sort of warmth meets it. You can’t afford to throw away money on soothing gels at the moment, so you bear with the pain. It’s already been a few days, so hopefully it disappears soon. You hope anyway.

Walking home in the dark used to scare you but as needs be, you’ve gotten used to it. Work looms over your head as your feet trudge through fallen leaves and debris kicked up by bikes and feet. The walk from work to home isn’t too bad, the area can be sketchy at times but you’ve learned to keep your head straight, don’t make eye contact and keep a hand on the box cutter you keep in your right side coat pocket.

Luckily, you’ve come across most of the same people. An older man always passes by, seemingly walking home from work and always flashes you a smile. A few students usually run by too and the occasional office worker. Most times however, it’s quiet.

Unlike tonight.

Faint sounds of slapping, cheering and grunting bounce off the walls of the buildings surrounding the dark streets. You can’t tell where it’s coming from, who it’s coming from or why but you prefer to keep it that way, but as you grow closer to a dimly lit side street, the noises become louder.

You sigh, hand grasping the box cutter. Your thumb presses onto the button, holding it steady in case you need to use it.

Keep your head straight, [y/n]. This doesn’t involve you.

You can’t help but flicker your eyes to your left as you walk past. A man lies cowering on the ground as he grasps his face with his hands. He’s whimpering, blabbing something to the taller, well-dressed man that hovers above him.

Is that the man from the subway station?

You quicken your pace. Your feet fall over each other as you attempt to walk away as naturally as possible, but you accidentally kick up some rocks as you scatter past. The suited man turns, casting his eyes on you. The pit in your stomach grows as you continue walking with urgency, daring not to look anyway but forward.

I am so fucked!

[ 22ND, THURSDAY, 12:09 ]

“Long-time, no see.” A shadow casts over your figure, effectively blocking your view of your phone screen. You glance up at the man that is effectively disturbing one of the only peaceful moments you’ve had lately.

He’s dressed in a black variant of the steel grey suit you saw the past couple times of meeting him, but he still carried the same stupid suitcase. You sigh, swiping your music app closed and locking your phone with a click as you use a hand to cover your eyes.

Always with the same fake smile.

“I don’t want to play your game, sir.” You try to reject as kindly as possible, but you’re kind of freaked out that he found you once more. He looks slightly disheveled, as if he’s been toying with his hair or the heat today had worn him down. Weirdly, he looks more human, though little emotion lingers behind his eyes.

“That’s unfortunate. I brought it with me.” He lifts his suitcase higher into view. You frown, glancing around at other patrons. You take the time to unplug your earphones from your ears as he seems to ground his feet into the pavement before you.

He’s hard to get rid of.

“You bring it everywhere with you.” You reply, a bit more harsh than you’d want to but he seems amused by it. Suddenly, the image of him hovering over the cowering man flashes in your head.

Don’t piss him off.

You grasp your iced coffee, ignoring how the condensation soaks your hand. The subtle clinking of the ice works to calm you down as your heart begins to race at the thought of being in the position of the cowering man.

“How did you—“

“Bread or lottery?”

You blink.

“What?”

He shakes his hands, “Bread or lottery?”

“I don’t want to choose.” He seems to hold back something as he sighs.

“No matter what you choose, nothing will happen.” He assures you.

He is determined.

“I won’t have to ‘pay with my body’?” You reiterate what he said at the station. He cocks a brow, but nods nonetheless. It’s odd, it’s the most emotion he’s ever shown and it’s because you threw his words back at him.

You don’t quite fancy the idea of taking food off of him, despite its packaging being intact, so you motion for the lottery ticket silently. He hands you it quickly, fetching a spare penny from his blazer pocket. His hand lingers on your own as he passes you the coin, causing you to stare at him. His lips curl at the corners and you feel as if you just fell into a trap.

“Go ahead.” He almost sings, shuffling to stand over you.

The weight of the coin in your hand is replaced by a ton of bricks. Since when do scratch cards look so intimidating?

The lapels of the salesman’s blazer graze against your back as he stares at the blue sheet with you. You’re effectively caged against the bench that you're sitting at as he extends over your left shoulder and rests against the table.

A shaky exhale passes your lips as you stare at the sheet. The coin shakes in your hold as you begin to scratch, revealing a seven.

“Just three sevens, easy, right?” He chimes in, leaning closer to your face. The smell of his clean, fresh and most likely expensive fragrance wafts past your nose, reminding you just how close he is.

Each scratch feels like it’s taking a lifetime to reveal, but you eventually reach a second seven. You dare to glance to your left, marvelling at how close he is. You can see each fine detail across this enigma of a man’s face. In the short few seconds, you notice his asymmetrical eyes, the whisper of facial hair around his mouth and the dark excitement lingering within his eyes.

Eventually, you scratch away the last box.

“Congratulations, Miss.” The salesman hums, as he stands back straight. The hand he used to rest against the table slips up your arm to press firmly against your shoulder.

You’re astonished. I won? Seriously?

“No way.” You whisper, staring at the sheet. ₩500,000! It’s not the largest amount offered in the lottery but it’s a damn good amount for you. You can pay off a bit more of your loans and maybe afford a half-decent meal tonight.

You barely take notice as the suited man lifts his briefcase once more, and turns to look back at the park. The homeless people he once targeted are still filing through the bread he stomped on and destroyed, bar the one he left over for you. He grasps it in his hands, mulling over his options.

“Excuse me!” He yells out, tossing the bread in the air and catching it. The small crowd of people scattered around the pile of bread and some passer-by’s stop.

You gape, staring at his back.

“You can thank this young lady here for the bread!” He tosses the bread into the pile of people with a sharp throw. You watch as the homeless crowd revenge against each other, shouting and yelling their demands for the food.

You stand from the table, slipping the winning sheet in your handbag and grasping your mostly melted coffee.

I should cash in and go home.

“Hey, did she win?” A gruff voice yells out. You freeze, staring at the businessman. Anyone with any sort of wit would say no, right?

“Of course.” He smiles, standing to the side so the crowd peeps a better view at you.

He’s just fed you to a pack of very hungry wolves.

You want to say something, but the sight of about 10 people suddenly rushing towards you causes the words to die in your throat. You clutch your bag strap and almost drop your coffee as you scramble over the bench you were sitting on.

However, a barrier is formed before you. The crowd stops, staring at the swinging briefcase that blocks their path to you.

“Hey! We deserve that money!”

“You deserve nothing.” The salesman spits back. The disheveled man looks astonished, glancing between you and your new bodyguard.

“You got your card and she got hers. Play fair, weren’t you taught that in school?”

The homeless man is visibly rattled, mumbling and spewing out insults.

“I am not the one who made that decision. You are the one who threw it away!” He shouts. Suddenly, he steps forward and swings his case out, causing the crowd to fall back. Some fall over themselves and create a domino for the ones at the front.

As he revels in the chaos he creates, he misses how you slip away into the crowd.

[ 25TH, SUNDAY, 10:57 ]

“Miss, I understand you are a student but I am also a landlord, I can only wait so long without payment.” Your landlady frowns as she stands outside your door. You scramble around, picking up the last remaining notes you earned from the lottery ticket.

“I am sorry, Mrs. Kwon! Please, take this ₩300,000 I have. I promise I will get you the rest on Friday! I get paid then!” You plead, passing the money into the woman’s hands. She’s quite frazzled, pulling back her hands as you grab them to slot the notes into. Usually, the money would come out of your bank account but you locked your card as you can’t afford for her to take the last of your money.

She splutters, backing up as the money falls to her feet. You scramble to pick up the notes.

“Miss, your rent is ₩900,000 a month. You missed out a part of last month too! Where did you get this money from?” She quizzes, watching as you recount your notes. She wasn’t wrong, you were short about ₩250,000 last month and you were damn lucky she let you off on it.

“I understand, please take this to cover some of the money I missed out on.” She takes the money, sighing as she flicks the notes between her fingers and passes you back ₩150,000. You try to refuse but she uses your previous tactic on yourself.

“Take this. Listen, my granddaughter is in a place like you so I understand, but you cannot keep living like this. What happened to your last job interview? You told me you would never be short on money again!”

Your gaze drops to the floor at this point. Again, you’re forced to remember how the opportunity was practically ripped from your hands before you had a chance to even try.

“He gave it to his nephew.” You reply.

Mrs. Kwon sighs, glancing at the other tenants' doors. None of the neighbours ever cause her as much trouble as you do, yet she finds it hard to evict you. Even now, you look like her granddaughter, defeated and at the mercy of the world.

“Just pay me what you can on Friday. I will give you until your graduation to sort this out, okay?” You nod, thanking her profusely.

Maybe I should play that game of ddakji…

[ 1ST, SATURDAY, 14:26 ]

“Are you crazy? Some man keeps asking you to play ddakji and you’re going to say yes?” Your coworker pales as he finishes mixing up some drinks. You nod, glancing back out at the glass doors. The café is quiet today despite the few regulars, so you find yourself able to fall into conversation with him quite easily.

“Ddakji?” Your other coworker, Junhee, pops her head out from the kitchen. You nod, expecting the same reaction from her but it never comes.

“I’m good at that. Try to hit it with the folded part down.” She smiles, popping back in.

“Hey! Why would you tell her to do that?” Yunho scolds, passing the drinks to the collection station. You can’t help but laugh as you round the corner to pass the cups to the customers. They are used to the usual bickering behind the counter so they pay no mind as the two talk back and forth. Most of your customers are students anyway, so they don’t care much as long as the drinks and food taste nice.

The fight continues into the night, even as Yunho is locking up and watching the shutters fall.

“Are you sure you don’t want a ride home?” He offers, but both you and Junhee decline. Yunho is nice, almost a bit too nice so you don’t want to feel like you’re taking advantage of him.

“Me and [y/n] will walk home together. Thank you, though.” Junhee answers. Truthfully, she doesn’t live far from you but she is closer to the café than you are. You know she’s struggling a bit with rent too and you’ve both discussed the possibility of moving in together, but she is having trouble with her boyfriend so you don’t want to pry and become the main reason she leaves him. She hasn’t told you much but it is financial and she fears she may be pregnant.

As you fall into pace together, Junhee begins to wring her hands nervously. You know she’s holding out on telling you something as it’s the same thing she did before she told you what Myunggi did.

“What’s wrong?” You ask, glancing at her shorter fame. Despite her hair hanging over her eyes, you can see the worry spread across her face,

“Listen, [y/n], I played ddakji with the same man.” Junhee stops in her path. You pause. He had played with her?

“The businessman?” You ask, to which she eagerly nods.

You step closer, looking around nervously. “Did you pay with your body?”

“Yes. He slapped me.”

“He what?”

Junhee throws her head back, “I won every time, but the last round I missed. He slaps you if you fail to flip the ddakji!”

As concerned as you should be, it feels as if a lightbulb blinks above your head.

“So what you’re saying is that I just have to be good at ddakji?”

“What I’m saying is to be careful! He gave me this card too…” She fumbles in her bag, pulling out a cream card with a circle, square and triangle printed onto it. She flips it, displaying an address.

“He said to go there in 3 days. He didn’t really explain it much but he said there were still some spots open.”

[ 3RD, MONDAY, 23:07 ]

“I can’t believe my eyes.” He muses, “I almost think you’ve been looking for me.”

“And what if I was?” Defiantly, you meet his dark gaze. As long as Junhee was telling the truth and he was only going to slap you, it would be easy. It’s not like he’s going to knock your tooth out.

Hopefully.

“Give me the blue one.” You hold your right hand out, requesting the brightly coloured square. He fumbles with his suitcase as he attempts to not look as excited as he is.

He sets the red square face down onto the pavement. Yes, pavement. You caught the fucker as he was stalking down the back alleys near your house as he was probably on his way to find another player.

“You know, you’re one of the first to ask me to play.” He hums, watching as you steady your two feet. Truthfully, you never played ddakji but the guise of the game was nothing too hard to grasp. Plus, you practised a little in your house.

“Try to hit with the folded part down.”

Junhee’s word echo throughout your head as you fling the card down with a bit of force. As told, the red square flips round.

“You’re good. Here you go.” The businessman passes you ₩100,000., the first of the night.

[ 3RD, MONDAY, 23:18 ]

“Alright, last round. You have almost emptied me out.” He motions to his discarded case. The last ₩100,000 sits pretty, almost beaconing you to take it straight from its place. But, you must play fair right? Even the businessman thinks so as you remember back at the park when he fed you to the crowd and saved you at the same time.

“I’m starting to think you’re a lucky charm for me.” You laugh, taking the blue square from his hand. Since he showed up, you’ve started to notice a stronger cash flow and hopefully the card he’s bound to give you continues the lucky streak.

But, instead of laughing or seeming amused, he flashes you a sinister smirk. You stare as he fixes himself. He had long abandoned his blazer, instead opting to roll his sleeves up and really give the game his all seeing as you had won 5 rounds. You have to admit, his disheveled state wasn’t the worst sight to look at.

“I think I’m quite the opposite.” He replies, hands smoothing down his waistcoat. You try to shake off his reply as he’s most likely trying to throw you off your game.

Maybe I shouldn’t be playing ddakji in a dark alleyway with him. Alone. At 11pm.

Tearing your gaze away, you return to the form that has won you five rounds. Steady feet, steady arms and steady breathing aided you in your last rounds and it’s almost as if it’s become second nature to you.

The square leaves your hands in a flash and you don’t bother to look as you stand proudly. A large thwack jumps off of the brick walls surrounding you both as you stare at him with nothing but pride on your face.

But…

Why is he coming at me?

Within a flash, the man’s left arm swings into your peripheral and you squawk as you jump back, throwing your arms out to push him away. Your eyes clench closed as your heartbeat thumps so loudly, it sounds as if there’s drums in your ears.

“You dodged me. That’s not fair.” You stare incredulously. The speed at which he swung at you would’ve landed you on your ass in a second flat. Junhee never told you that. With a dumbfounded expression, you look to the ground.

I missed.

“You tried to punch me. What the fuck?” You scatter, grasping your bag from the ground. You don’t need that damn card, what the fuck was Junhee on about? Is she crazy? Why is she going to that place tomorrow?

“I told you. If you lose, you pay with your body.” He explains casually, as if he didn’t just try to send you to the e.r. “Plus, I was going to slap you.”

“You would’ve knocked my fucking tooth out!”

“It was your choice to play, now stand still for me.”

You step back as he steps forward. Like Hell you’re letting him lay his hands on you.

“I don’t like people who don’t play fair. Please don’t make me hate you after we had so much fun.” He stresses, caging you against the brick wall. Your eyes flicker around, attempting to find a way to slip out. But, he’s read your mind, kicking a nearby bin over on its side.

“I never agreed to you hurting me.” You retaliate, flinching as he brings his right hand to your left cheek. Your eyes clench once again, but the delicate touch of his hand makes you gasp.

What is he doing? Is he seriously caressing my cheek?

The dim light from the nearby street lamps cast a soft light across his features, softening his appearance. If you weren’t so goddamn scared for your life and it was a man 20 years younger, maybe you wouldn’t mind this.

This is a textbook murder. What the fuck have I done?

He sighs, his fingerprints tracing a light pattern across your cheek. Each touch tingles, reminding you of where he’s touched. It’s similar to how your ex boyfriends would hold and touch you. It’s wrong, so wrong.

How can I think of Haejo right now!?

But, that’s until he gets rougher. Soon, he’s manhandling your face, using his thumb and fingers to hold your face in place by your chin. You spew complaints, twisting your body and using your hands to attempt to push him away.

“Didn’t anyone tell you to not talk to strange men on the street?” He sneers, disliking how you’re gradually dislodging yourself from his grasp. You ignore him, focusing on punching, shoving and kicking. You’re so distracted you don’t notice how his hand drops from your chin until it hits you.

He hits you.

You’re yelping, falling and scraping against the brick wall as tears cloud your vision. You’re crumbling, falling into yourself as you cry fat tears. Your ears are ringing and your face feels hot to the touch.

I’m reporting this fucker to the police.

“Fuck you!” You shout, looking up at his figure. Suddenly, you are the man you saw a few weeks ago. He stands unwavering, almost enjoying your crouched form. You can barely see between your tears and clumped lashes and you’re almost one hundred percent sure your mascara has streaked across your eyes, but you don’t care. You’re so fucking angry and scared, you’re shaking as you look at him.

“You agreed to play.” He’s right, but so obnoxious about it. He crouches to meet your form, staring at you as if you’re nothing but a scrawny child or animal. You might as well be.

Suddenly, he flicks a card between his index and middle finger, dropping it into your lap. It clatters and lands on the dirty ground, but you recognise the shapes Junhee told you about.

“Go to the address tomorrow. You’ll be the most valuable addition yet.”

With that, he leaves.

masterlist

[akirasarchives]

[ ♡ ] Player Catalogue

i only write for the recruiter, junho and daeho at the moment! i am working on a platonic series and a recruiter series

— recruiter !

n/a

— kang daeho !

n/a

— hwang junho !

n/a

— series !

Valuable Addition | Platonic!Reader

[akirasarchives]

are you guys okay if i open squid game requests?

[akirasarchives]

hi! i think the aib masterlist is not working :(( i kept clicking on it but it just redirects mo to the tumblr website

tysm for telling me!! i’ll try to fix it now <3

[akirasarchives]

[ᴄ.s] | 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗰𝗮𝗻𝗼𝗻𝘀

sᴜᴍᴍᴀʀʏ: how you relationship formed, came to be & every-day life

￫ pre-borderlands ver | post-borderlands ver

𝗠𝗘𝗘𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗚 —

Ironically enough, you work in the hospital cafe which doctors and nurses flood to and their breaks

It’s a pretty easy job seeing as you’re mostly handing doctors their pre-orders, handling coffee and shuffling little pastries into bags

Most are generous tippers too (i.e. the very full glass jar beside the register)

So you mostly enjoy your job, especially seeing as you get to make your own food for free too and most of the hospital staff are down to have a good laugh on their lunches

But one particular doctor is pretty hard for you to read

He has shaggy, blonde hair and a set of growing eye bags beneath his dark irises

He always orders the same thing, so often times you’ll have the meal ready and all you have to do is pour him his coffee but he often goes between wanting to have a small chat and staying completely silent

“[l/n]” Chishiya hums as he walks to the polished, marble counter. His hands rest idly in the deep pockets of his white lab coat as he watches you with a soft gaze.

“Dr. Chishiya” You shoot him a smile “Sorry I’m a bit behind today” Bashfully motioning at the stacked styrofoam containers which are yet to be labelled, you anxiously watch his expression. Some doctors today were a bit grumpy when their food wasn’t ready on time and maybe you lost a couple tips but all in all you can’t really blame them.

“That’s okay” He nods “Where is Nakamoto?” He questions, referencing the other young man who you often work with. Usually, Yuta was behind the counter and slinging out orders like there was no tomorrow. His voice usually replaced the soft radio which was playing now in his absence (mostly singing any thelastrockstars or larcenciel song).

“He called in sick… I didn’t realise how much he actually helped” An airy laugh passes through your lips as you get started on Chishiya’s order. In your defence, the doctor was earlier than usual and you were busy preparing the orders for the doctors that often came before him.

“Is he a troublemaker?” He asks, watching how you precisely create a nutritious bento box for him. It’s impressive that you’re able to remember the order of over 50 staff members without breaking a sweat, though, Chishiya supposes he remembers things that are quite a bit more important than the correct lunch order.

“Oh no! Yuta is funny… He just talks a lot” You smile as you continue putting together his lunch “And he lies a lot too, but it’s funny” You bite your tongue as you foolishly repeat yourself. In all honestly, this is the longest conversation you’ve had with Chishiya outside of ‘are you busy today?’. It’s uncharted territory for yourself to blabber with the cat-like man.

“Oh, you’re on first name basis?” The questions flusters you as you scramble to close the lid of the styrofoam box. You know what he’s hinting at as other nurses and doctors have teased you about it before (mostly the older women) but being stuck behind a counter for many days of your week has caused both you and Yuta to drop the formalities.

“Um - it’s nothing like that” You slide the box across the counter and peel the sanitary gloves from your fingers “Working together so often kind of made it awkward to continue to act so formal, you know?” You laugh is jittery as you swipe a cardboard cup from the stack beside the coffee machine. You don’t bother to glance at Chishiya as you’re sure the sight would make your hands tremble.

You’re not sure why the man has such a hold over you. Maybe it’s your people-pleaser jumping out or the fact that he’s undeniably handsome and is staring a hole straight into your head as he presses on about Yuta and yourself.

A few awkward seconds pass by as you prepare the coffee. Chishiya begins rustling with his wallet as he presumably clinks a few extra coins into the filling jar as your back in turned. Funnily enough, Chishiya prefers a concerning amount of sugar in his coffee which in all honestly makes you feel a bit ill as you prepare it.

“Sorry, again, Dr. Chishiya” You repeat as you carefully slide the sleeve onto the cup so the doctor doesn’t burn his fingers while holding his drink.

“Don’t worry” He replies with a ghost of an appreciative smile tugging at the corners of his lips.

“I promise to have everything prepare tomorrow!”

He scoffs, lightheartedly, as he grasps his items “Just call me Chishiya, okay?”

That whole scenario plays in your head the next few days as he comes to collect his orders

Yuta obviously notices you’ve dropped the “Dr.” when referring to him as almost every doctor here prefers to be called Dr. [Name]

Not to mention, he gossips with the other staff so word spreads around that you and Chishiya have gotten closer

Which to yourself is just odd as enough drama happens on a daily basis in a hospital so why is you dropping his title in Chishiya’s name such big news?

Does everyone know that Chishiya is unsociable??

Not to mention that the older women have gotten 10x worse with their prodding

𝗔𝗦𝗞𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗬𝗢𝗨 𝗢𝗨𝗧 —

Chishiya decides that if he ever wants to make a move with you he’s just going to have to suck it up and do it at the cafe

For months he’s tried to catch you when you’re leaving or even hoping that you’re alone for another day - because to his luck Yuta was working alone one day and wouldn’t drop the subject

“You know, Dr. Chishiya” Yuta prods as he slides the coffee across the counter. Chishiya raises a brow as he watches the flamboyant man smile cheshire-ly.

“If you like [y/n], you better tell her soon because she’s going on a date with my friend next week” Yuta very obviously takes his time sliding Chishiya’s meal across the counter, gaging the annoyance that causes Chishiya’s eyebrow to twitch.

“Cause Niragi really, really like her!”

Yeah, Chishiya’s not surprised you have dates lined up

But the exchange was like a slap of reality hitting his face

So, the next morning you’re setting up the cafe when Chishiya comes rushing in (walking the tiniest bit faster than usual)

“You’re early!” You greet as you set aside the broom you were using to brush up the crumbs that weren’t caught yesterday. Very rarely doctors would visit the cafe in the very opening hours, more so visitors and interns doing coffee runs.

“Sorry… Is this a bad time for you?” He asks as he slows his pace. You shake your head as you grasp the broom firmly between your fingers to ease any apparent anxiousness.

“No, did you want a coffee or something? We got new pastries if you want on-“

“No” Chishiya states as he ends your small blabbering “No, I came to ask you something”

Oh. Odd. You can’t help but widen your eyes as you stare curiously at the doctor. You can’t help but notice his usually neat ponytail was sagging and strands of hair were messily framing his face. He had practically jogged (shocking, really) from his car before Yuta could disrupt your peaceful moment, so strong gusts of wind had caused his usually neat hairstyle to look unkempt.

“I’m free on Saturday, please meet me at the hospital entrance after your shift” He asks awkwardly, grasping at a piece of paper that was crumpled in his lab coat pocket. He hastily hands you the paper, very much less suave than he hoped to come across.

“Um… Okay” You we’re dying to ask if it was a date, but you couldn’t allow yourself the embarrassment.

“This is my number” He explains as you grasp the paper “I want to take you on a date”

That was pretty much it

Chishiya took his leave after , mostly to avoid any embarrassment

Saturday wasn’t for another three days and the anticipation as well as the fact that you’ll have to see him later today, the next day and the day after that caused a wire of nerves to bundles in your stomach

Never mind the fact that all you wanted to do was to text your friend Kuina but knowing her she’d blab about it and Yuta was definitely out the question

So you bite your tongue for the next few days until Saturday

The day is nerve wrecking when it comes

You’re dressed a bit nicer, wearing a nice pair of shoes that you hope doesn’t get drenched in coffee and an extra shirt stuffed in your bag to change into before leaving

Thankfully, Yuta served Chishiya so you didn’t have to look at him until now

Through the massive glass wall encasing the cafe, you can see Chishiya standing outside the cafe doors in his normal clothes. He’s wearing a pair of baggy cargos and has a black jacket shrugged on - presumably a black top too

Yuta allows you to get away a bit quicker, probably because he can see the way you’re staring straight at Chishiya through the glass windows. For once you’re happy he keeps his mouth shut as you’re able to swiftly change shirts and walk out without him saying something

“Sorry you had to wait on me” It’s a bit awkward as you slowly close the door behind you, attempting to diffuse any awkwardness by lingering around the closing door. Chishiya takes note of your nerves as he slides his phone into his back pocket.

“it’s okay, you’re actually a little bit early” He nods as he begins to walk away. You quickly fall in pace, watching his face as he continues to speak.

“I hope you don’t mind riding in my car” He motions to the keys he had fished from one of the many deep pockets of his trousers. You dismiss his worry with a shake of your head, watching as a particularly nice car flashes as he clicks his keys.

You knew Chishiya had some money, especially because his mother and father were very high-ranking individuals but it never really visualised until the silver, clean and very expensive car came into view.

DATE —

Maybe Chishiya’s game is a bit rusty

as he second guesses himself the minute he pulls up to the local museum

his friend Kuina told him that the new botanic section was a TOTAL game changer because when she took Ann, they both thought it was so romantic

“I hope you liked museums… We can go somewhere else if you want?” Chishiya’s fingers drum against the steering wheel nervously. However, a wave of relief washes over him as you smile.

“I love the museum!” You reassure him with a cheesy smile. Chishiya’s nods, unbuckling his seatbelt as he practically races out of the car.

the date goes by smoothly

and lucky for Chishiya the new addition was a total surprise for you

“Let’s go to the botanic room” Chishiya announces as he walks away from a particularly detailed painting. You can’t help but gasp, raising your brows as you stare at Chishiya dumbfounded.

“There’s a botanic room?” You ask, surprised that you had no clue of the new addition. The museum was your go-to for a destresser and the thought of walking through a room of beautiful, delicate flowers after a particularly stressful day excited you to no end (life of an adult).

“Yeah, you didn’t know?” Chishiya asks with a slight laugh. You nod as you quickly follow behind him, ignoring how your arm grazes against his. He walks leisurely beside you with his hands stuffed deep into his pockets.

“I thought you loved the museum though?” He teases, leading you towards a glass door. A long corridor follows as it leads to the specialised building. The sound of running water, chirps of artificial wildlife and a growing humidity spikes your excitement.

Pure astonishment flushes over your features as the doors swing open. Beautiful, vibrant flowers and long branches decorated with the most beautiful shade of green greets you as you walk in. It’s almost as if an amazing tropical holiday was condensed into one room.

“Oh my God..” You speak to yourself, arms grasping out to grab Chishiya’s. He hums, ignoring how he almost trips over himself as you point at an extravagant plant. He watches how your face contorts as you take in the scenery.

Maybe Kuina was right.

𝗥𝗘𝗟𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡𝗦𝗛𝗜𝗣 —

Speaking of, how you and Chishiya didn’t realise you both had a mutual friend

and it being Kuina no less!!!???

She finds it hilarious

anyway!!

chishiya… surprisingly romantic

flowers, gifts, holidays, dates

you name it, he’s done it

maybe it’s his romance books (which he will NEVER admit to reading) rubbing off on him… but he’s a darn good boyfriend

despite working long shifts he ALWAYS makes time for you

whether it be dropping by on his breaks, ordering delivery for you when he can’t be home for dinner, taking holiday hours just to spend a few days with you

he’ll do it

his field of work is pretty emotional and at times he struggles to flicker between switching off his emotions and turning them back on

and on days like that where he feels pretty robotic, coming home to you and having a cuddle eases his mind just a little

sometimes he feels that he’s not expressive enough for you and sue to that he can either come a bit too closed off or weirdly clingy

like a cat that wants you to pet them but also runs away when you actually try to

he tries to work on it though

lavish gifts and holidays can only do so much, you know?

speaking of gifts

his love language is defo gift giving

he struggles with words and displays of affection at times (mostly due to his parents) and he finds it easier to materially show his love to you

the tiffany bracelet you looked at once? done. A perfume that you tried and said it smelt nice? 100ml and no size smaller. Fancy a specific dish? Table booked at the nearest specialised restaurant.

it can be a little exhausting trying to match his gift giving (pay-grade difference is astonishing)

all he wants in return is a kiss or hug 😭 please give him something

he adores silent reading

just chilling on a sofa with a nice cup of tea, cuddled up with a blanket thrown over his lap and complete silence as you both read (i.e. he reads and you sleep)

favourite dates: cafe, museum, picnic, movie nights

when you go out you’re practically dripping in designer labels

and that cheap car you had? your next birthday it was gone

yuta almost had a heart attack when he saw you coming into work with a dior sweatshirt on

“It’s gonna get stained! Are you actually insane?” He cries as he grips at the baggy material. The soft cream colour complimented your skin so beautifully, you couldn’t bare the thought of not wearing it.

“I don’t know why you even work here anymore, can’t Chishiya just buy you whatever you want?”

your friends are so jealous but so happy for you

esp when they find out that after you last fight with chishiya you came home to a gift card, cartier ring, bouquet of flowers and a particularly expensive bag on the bed

with a sorry note lol

you also discovered how chishiya secretly lives for reality tv

every time you watch something he groans and complains that you’re watching trashy tv again

but trust that he will be keeping notes on who everyone is

he’s so sneaky about wanting to watch it too!

“[y/n], that show you like is coming on” He points towards the tv with the remote, shrugging ever so casually at the tv menu.

yeah, as if he purposely didn’t check the time and saw it was coming on in 5 mins

anyways chishiya is a dork and needs help expressing himself

[akirasarchives]

[03] | 𝗪𝗜𝗧𝗛𝗜𝗡 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗕𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗘𝗥

sᴜᴍᴍᴀʀʏ: Chishiya wants to recruit your small group into a risky plan. He seems to have something up his sleeve when you refuse.

🃅 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗧𝗘𝗥 03: Rejection

“Thank you for shopping with us!” A painfully tight smile strains across your features as you hand the particularly well-dressed woman her shopping bag. The woman thanks you, taking her items swiftly and exiting the store with her bored husband in tow.

Each day has started to feel the same as each interaction blends together. Working part-time in a clothing outlet has provided you with a range of opportunities, much noted as: having fun sucked from daily life. With a strict manager who rotates shifts depending on whether the coworkers get along, you often find yourself stuck behind the cash register having to listen to your narcissistic coworker ramble about their love life.

The only excitement that gets you through your shift is watching the numbers change on the til, signifying that you’re legally free from your shift in less than two minutes. Thank God, as you’re sure that spending even five minutes longer in the brightly-lit, overstimulating hellhole with a broken AC would cause you to have a public freakout. Even so, you enviously watch the customers walk around your store. The people who actually enjoy being in it’s confinements.

“Shifts over!” You call, not caring for an answer. With your bag and coat being strung up in the small cloak-closet - and a sorry excuse for a cloak room - it’s easy to grab your items swiftly and leave. You’re pretty sure the coworker that was jabbering at you for the better part of five hours is complaining that you can’t leave yet as the girl who is due to come in after you isn’t here yet but you don’t pay her much mind.

Almost comically, a gust of cool air douses over you after standing in what felt like a fire pit. The relief flushed over you like an ice bath on a hot day which would be welcome at the moment as the sweltering heat of summer still manages to heat up the rest of the air conditioned shopping centre.

“Hey [l/n]!” Kuina calls from her shop opposite yours. A smile graces your face as you walk over to the woman. She’s smiling at you despite very obviously struggling to pull a tight fitted top over the mannequins' weirdly large shoulders.

“Did you just get off?” She asks, to which you nod.

“I told you to call me [y/n]” She tutts, rolling her eyes at you. You can tell she’s thinking about giving you her usual ‘just because you spent time overseas and feel like the last name culture thing is weird now doesn’t make her look any less rude for calling you your first name!’ But she doesn’t. With one last pull, the shirt finally rests on the mannequin. She stands proudly, dusting her hands off and places them on her hips.

“Lucky for you, my break just started!” She explains, kicking over the rest of the clothes that she was most likely meant to put on the mannequin too, but she rounds the display case and follows you outside the store.

It’s nice, thinking back on your time spent with Kuina. Though, all good things must come to an end as Usagi and Arisu basically barge into your room. Despite the short knock in your door, the two don’t exactly wait for a reply before walking in.

“You’re up” Usagi notes, smiling at the sight of you already propped up at the vanity area.

“Yeah” You confirm “Just thinking”

Arisu walks forward, careful to not trip on anything that could be scattered around the room.

“Did you find out any information?” He asks. Usagi follows behind Arisu, perching on the edge of your bed.

“No, not really” You shrug, standing from the rickety chair. Arisu exhales “You were talking to Kuina… and the blonde guy” He mentions. You suppose the two probably saw you chatting to the duo in the lobby area.

“Ah, Kuina pulled me for a drink” You remember “Though they asked me what I specialise in”

“What do you mean?” Usagi asked, suddenly intrigued by the minuscule conversation.

“As in, what game I’m best at” The two glance between each other “Kuina is good at spades and Chishiya is an expert in diamonds”

“You’re great at spades too, Usagi” The woman smiles, nodding her head at the compliment.

“Arisu, you’re great at almost everything so I can’t really pinpoint you” An airy laugh breaks from your mouth as Arisu ducks his head shyly.

“What are you good at?” Usagi asks. The question stumps you, as your previous conversation with the other duo had ended up without a clear answer too. Your silence is met with two curious looks.

“Honestly, I’m not sure” Sighing, you begin to walk towards the doorway of the hotel room “I just get by…”

“Hatter said you had six or seven cards, right?” Usagi recalls “Surely in those games you could see what you did better in!”

“They were mostly clubs and low-level spades games”

Arisu’s head snaps, as if something astonishing had clicked in his head “Maybe you’re good at hearts!”

The conversation was redundant. The same outcome as your one with the other duo.

Only time will tell.

Getting information from others was anything but easy. Most people were too drunk, high or simply spewed out weird conspiracies which did nothing but make your head hurt. Regrouping with Arisu and Usagi showed that the three of you all concluded that no one exactly knew what was going on.

“I’ll head to the annex basement for supplies” Usagi explains, not giving either you or Arisu a chance to join as she briskly walks away. You suppose she could keep a lower profile that way, but leaving her alone isn’t comforting either.

Gunshots ring out, causing both you and Arisu to share a confused look. Weaponry was banned from the Beach and those who were allowed were militants. That only meant that whatever was around the corner would cause trouble.

“Arisu” Hissing, you follow behind the man with a scowl on your face. Only he would follow the sound of gunshots and impending danger yet you suppose you're not any better as you follow behind.

Three men walk away from a blue bin with a tarp thrown over it. All three have guns meaning that they are part of the militant group in the Beach, but they’re quick to flee the scene. Arisu is quick to make his way over to the mysterious bin, yet he throws the tarp back over the top of the bin almost as quickly as he unveils it. He coughs, backing away from whatever is inside the bin.

From the corner of your eye, you spot the two familiar beings from yesterday. Chishiya and Kuina soundlessly walk down the steps which the militants had just walked on minutes before.

“That is the true nature of this utopia” Chishiya announces with his hands once again stuffed in his hoodie pockets. Kuina shoots you a smile once she sees you, despite the grim situation.

“This is part of the Beaches rule” He explains, finally making it to the bottom step.

“Death to traitors”

Surprisingly, finding out that dead bodies are inside the container doesn’t surprise you. In fact, judging from Arisu’s repulsed reaction the idea floated in the back of your mind.

Arisu heaves slightly, disturbed by the sight of decaying bodies and by the information. All in all, the grotesque and violent nature of the Beach does not surprise you as the fact the Hatter said you can’t leave makes you think that you will be forced to stay. Especially with the militants and their arsenal of weapons.

“Follow us” Chishiya commands, turning on his heel to walk up the steps again.

In a split second, you and Arisu share a look. Both of you are unsure where the blonde will lead you to; you comply and slowly follow after the mysterious man with Arisu in tow.

They lead you to one of the back entrances of the Beach. It’s not well kept as it’s obvious that militants probably only use this exit of the Beach to bring dead bodies or those facing their fate to this side. The carpet is covered in splotches of mould, splatters of blood and what is probably vomit. Each of your steps are calculated as you aim for pieces of the red carpet which appears decently clean.

“Watch” Arisu hisses, pushing you away from a pile of… something. The patch is neither wet nor dry, yet there’s a clump of black goo just centimetres away from your flip-flop clad feet. A disgusted yelp leaves your mouth as you flinch away from the mass, allowing Arisu’s hand on your shoulder to guide you away from it.

When you look up, Chishiya is looking at you over his shoulder. You can’t read what he’s thinking but the sight of him staring so intensely at you when caught off guard causes a flush of embarrassment to wash over your body. Your eyes snap back to the carpet only seconds later.

The ding of the elevator breaks you from the thoughts. Your small group of four easily filter into the roomy yet rickety box. It’s almost like deja vú - being in the lift. Your first proper conversation with Chishiya happened in one.

“Where are we going?” Arisu asks to break the silence. Kuina’s arms uncross as she gestures at the top floor button which is highlighted by a ring of light.

“Rooftop” She nods.

“Are you guys gonna throw us off of it or something?” You joke, fingers strumming against the cool, metal railing. Kuina laughs breathily as she fiddles with the familiar chewing stick.

“You never know.” She jokes, giggling softly to herself. Despite both of your efforts to cut the tense atmosphere, the sight of the two glowering men in the corner reduced your efforts. Kuina glances at you after noticing the two men’s guarded postures but stays silent as the elevator continues to fly past the floors and to the rooftop.

Cold air slaps your face when you finally arrive at the roof. It seeps through the opening doors and twirls around your scantily clad figure. You hold back the urge to chatter your teeth as you step out with your arms automatically clasping onto each other to seek some sort of warmth.

Kuina and Chishiya walk towards the sunnier part of the rooftop, about 5 feet apart between the two. For being a duo, the obvious difference in personal space between the two can be jarring at times.

Arisu cautiously walks forward, taking in his surroundings. Obviously there’s no one else on the rooftop - that you hope - and there’s little to no chances of people hearing the conversation, yet he very obviously snaps his head around to look for others. You suppose his time in the executive room would explain his caution as from the little detail he’s spared, the executives are not to be messed with.

“What’s this about?” Arisu asks, staring at Chishiya under a glare.

The blonde stares back amused, finding it funny how easily he’s seemingly gotten under Arisu’s skin.

“Your group seems to have collected a vast amount of information” He begins, nodding towards your figure. Your hands rest on your hips as you stare back, looking between both him and Kuina. She fiddles with her chewing stick, staring off into the clouds.

“What are you planning?” He asks. You look at Arisu, who looks greatly offended.

“Doing the same as you two” You shrug, stepping further out of the shade to join in on the conversation.

“You want to know why you’re here and want to get out too, right?” Chishiya nods with a subtle smirk ghosting his lips. Arisu glances at you, unsure if you’re answer was right or not.

“I’ll cut to the chase, then” Chishiya sighs, rolling his neck. His behaviour is odd to you. Despite lurking in the shadows his confidence seems to exude almost obnoxiously from his smaller stature.

“How will you live in a world full of despair?”

Huh?

The question throws a spanner into the works. He’s not really cutting to the chase, in your opinion, more so trying to prompt more information from you and Arisu.

“How?” Arisu echoes, staring at Chishiya with a cocked brow.

The two have a stand-off. The gentle breeze tousles with Chishiya’s longer strands, allowing them to graze over his features in an almost movie-like manner. Arisu stills, mulling over his answer,

“I just want to know the answer to my questions” He states, looking back at your supportingly, You reply with a soft nod.

“… Who killed Karube and Chota” He adds solomley. Luckily, being thrown into this vast world on your own meant you didn’t have to worry about your close friends dying, though with your newfound friendships, fate might come to bite you as well.

“I thought I’d be able to survive… and return to the original world with everyone” He continues. A stabbing pain of guilt twists in your chest as you listen to him speak.

“Arisu…” You call, silently telling him he doesn’t need to share. He sighs.

“If that is not possible, I want Usagi and [y/n] to return to the real world, at the very least” He nods.

You weren’t too sure you meant that much to the taller man, but his words cause a sad smile to prick at the corners of your lips. It’s nice to know that the two really have your back, besides their secretive pining for each other.

“What a tearjerker” Chishiya observes. Arisu glares.

“Your dream… it’s cool, but it’s not practical at all” Chishiya begins to walk, pacing closer to you as he rounds Arisu. In your head, you know it’s just an intimidation technique but his cruel words cause a spike of anger to flare within you.

“Seriously?” You scoff, arms crossing over your chest. Chishiya stops, mere inches from your form. His lack of empathy is somewhat shocking, especially for a world filled with death.

However, you’re almost 100 percent certain he finds it amusing how you’re so blatantly showing your emotions, but it’s exactly what he was going for.

“You’ll have to win all the games and become the next Number One, but that’s impossible” Kuina attempts to cool the mood by mentioning your earlier explanation of wanting to leave the borderlands.

“It has nothing to do with you guys.” Arisu spits, scuffing his sandal against the hot concrete.

“We think that you have potential,” Chishiya interjects.

“Huh?”

“That’s why we came to meet you”

“What do you mean?”

At this point, you’re feeling invisible. Whatever intellectual dick-swinging contest is going between the two is beyond your thought process.

“What if I said there’s a way to change the status quo all at once?”

“This is so stupid Arisu, don’t get involved with their plan.” You scold the messy haired man from your standing position. Usagi was briefly informed of the strange interaction you had on the roof with the duo but she had kept her opinions to herself as she processed the whole ordeal.

“We could get out of here” He explains.

“You think what… Four people against the executives and the Hatter can change the whole way this place runs?”

“Five” Usagi interjects, standing from the bed. You stare at her, shocked by her answer. As liberating as the whole plan sounds, it’s most likely going to blow back in your faces. The militants are literally armed to the teeth and you all have no idea what power or weapons the other executives hold. Chishiya may be one, but the eleven others and their minions outnumber your small vigilante group by too much.

“Usagi! You can’t be serious” Baffled by the duo, you can’t help but throw your arms out.

“You don’t have to get involved, [y/n]” Usagi explains, trying to ease the tension.

“I’m not, but you two are. You’re both going to get hurt and never mind the fact that you both don’t know either Chishiya or Kuina - or their intentions.”

“We’re aware of that, and it’s a risk we’ll take,” Arisu explains.

The conversation begins to seriously piss you off. You’re sure that the two can see your frustration written all over your face and body language.

“Like I said on the roof, I’ll make sure to get both you and Usagi back to the real world” Arisu repeats, attempting to ease your mood. But it doesn’t. The only thing you can think of is how selfish he sounds.

“Get us back to the real world by endangering yourself for something that you don’t even know will work? You two are the only people I have here and you’re throwing yourself headfirst into danger for no reason.” With that, you leave. Ignoring their pleas for your return and to reconsider your stance, it falls on deaf ears as you slam Arisu’s hotel room door shut, not caring for how the few people scattered around the hallways stare at your huffing figure. Maybe Arisu’s speech on the rooftop had secretly rooted a fear that you’d experience losing them.

Navigating through the hallways is tough, especially when you’re power walking and holding back every fiber of your being that encourages you to shout at the nosey onlookers. Having the two only people you consider friends endanger themselves outside of a game environment weighs heavily on your conscience. What are you meant to do if it backfires? Luckily, most people have headed to game venues after the Hatter announced he would be going to one himself, so the sight of people slowly disappears from your vision as you travel towards your room on the floor above.

As you're rounding the corner to your room, something stops you in your tracks. The door to your room is slightly adjacent. Either someone is in your room at this exact moment or someone has trifled through your belongings.

Quietly, you creep forwards, keeping an eye on the stream of light pouring from the doorway to watch for any movement. Nothing seems to have moved, so you hesitantly creek the door open.

Fear is replaced by curiosity, to which you fully enter the room once a wave of confidence hits you. Because in actuality, this person is in your room so why should you feel to be the awkward one?

“What the fuck are you doing in my room?” A frown rests on your lips as you stare at the blonde resting on your bed. The same smug, condescending look rests on his face as he stares at your standoffish body language. Your arms immediately cross over your chest as you stare down at the man who ruins your perfectly made bedding.

“Your door was open” He sighs, looking towards the ceiling.

“They’re all open, smartass” Rebuting, you walk around to sit at the wooden vanity table. He pays no mind as he continues gazing off.

“If this is some sort of plan to recruit me, don’t even bother” You bring your right arm up so that you can lean against your palm. Chishiya shakes his head, adjusting his position so that he can get a better look at you.

“No. Kuina doesn’t want to involve you anyway” He states. Your brow quirks automatically. Kuina doesn’t want you involved? and for what reason?

“So why are you here then?” As much as you want to know the answer you’re realistically not going to get it from Chishiya.

He pauses, turning his head slowly to stare blankly at the wardrobe in front him.

What a weird guy. The thought has crossed your head more than you would like to admit. During your last game with him, specifically.

“It seems I misunderstood you” He admits. The statements all but perplexes you.

“I thought you would follow your friends…” He stands from your bed, turning once again to face you. His deep brown orbs seem to have darkened as he stares down at you. The usual condescending look has shifted to something more serious.

“Maybe I was stupid to think that?” He questions with his tone almost teasingly heightening at the end.

“What are you even on about?” You manage to splitter through your confusion. The dim lighting of your room casts a shadow behind him. The sight of his shadow reflecting onto your ceiling and creating an almost sinister halo which makes him seem almost taller causes a spike in anxiety.

In your short time of knowing this man, all you know is that he’s shifty.

“You’re a liability.” He declares as he steps forward once more. From your seated position, he hovers above you with only a ruler's space between your bodies. The proximity and general uneasiness caused by the sudden atmosphere shift causes your breath to get stuck in your throat.

The small hitch of breath causes a light to shimmer in his eyes. Perhaps the sight of slight fear causes Chishiya to thrive.

“You know what we want to do… When we’re going to do it and I can’t have you get in my way” His left hand plays with something stuffed in the pocket of his usual white jacket. With a quick flicker on your eyes, you assume his fiddling with what could be the taser he had in the first game.

Is he insinuating he’s going to taze me?

“But I’m sure we can work something out” He finishes with a soft smile, enjoying how you try to hold back how utterly confused and petrified you are by his attitude shift.

Your lip quivers as you try to think of something to say. The blonde is so unpredictable. At first he was just something of a mystery to you, then he ends up being an executive, then he watches over you in a game and now he’s threatening you because you won’t cooperate with his plan to endanger yourself? Had you just experienced all stages of any potential friendship and animosity with this man?

“I wasn’t going to tattle” The sentence comes out slightly hushed. His face remains uncomfortably close to yours, but you can’t tear your eyes away from him. It’s as if you’re in a trance. Every detail of his face slowly engraves into your brain. Each imperfection. Each freckle and crevice.

“There’s no need to threaten me.” You spit with a furrowed brow. His own brows turn upwards, showing surprise for a few seconds. Maybe Chishiya thought you’d sit silently and take his threats with no more than a frown on your face.

“Maybe so.” He muses, standing back. It’s as if you can finally breathe as your shoulders finally drop. Your body had closed up as he grew closer.

“But I can’t just take your word for it” He shrugs.

Seriously?

“You think I’m gonna run to the militants about this?” You ask. He simply stares back, as if your question was idiotic.

“I’m not.” You state “Risking getting Arisu and Usagi hurt - even Kuina - is the last thing I want to do”

He snorts “You would let me, though?”

“You haven’t given me a reason to care whether you’re hurt or not.”

“Your friends agreed to my plan anyway,” He switches the subject. A part of you wishes it’s because your reply pissed him off but it’s unlikely. The man has left you with the impression that insults roll off his back like water off a duck's back.

“If you get my friends hurt I won’t hesitate to tell the militants you’re nothing but the puppet master”

“A bit contradictory, no?”

You stand from the chair, ignoring how it screeches against the wooden floor. He simply leans back as you begin to invade his personal space, even without physically stepping towards him.

“Will you just get out of my room?”

He smiles once more as an airy chuckle passes through his lips.

“I hope you’re not serious about telling the militants” He spares you a pitiful glance “I wouldn’t want to do anything too strenuous”

prev | next

taglist: @itzz-me-duh @annieray @yanfei-kisser @huachengsbestie01

[akirasarchives]

[ʜᴄ] 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐫𝐚 𝐤𝐮𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐮

sʏɴᴏᴘsɪs: what having akira as your boyfriend is like!

⤷ ᴀ/ɴ: gn reader // this is old like pre-royal old..

— RELATIONSHIP OVERVIEW

listen..max charm akira? you’re gone. poof. so smooth

akira is so thoughtful and i mean it! he spends a lot of his money on you instead of buying things from the clinic to go the palaces and such

pls he was gonna give you the luck stone from the fortune teller then he got scammed

hopeless romantic! morgana can’t help but poke fun at him for it

BONUS! sojiro adores you! he’s constantly giving you things on the house

he will literally heal you / throw himself in front of you if you’re about to get hit with a critical attack he does NOT care

(morgana then proceeds to throw himself in front of akira)

— BEFORE THE RELATIONSHIP

LISTENNN!!! he buys so much gifts for you but when he gets the guts to actually give them to you..you’re getting gifts all of the time

like..akira?? we’re still friends here!!

tbh when the guys (yusuke, ryuji and akira) were in the bathhouse he mentioned how he liked you and they’ve forever been teasing him since

mostly ryuji

with the odd comment from yusuke

especially if you’re in the monabus and he sits next to you!!

you didn’t even know he liked you! since akira is so quiet himself it just seemed normal for him to be quiet around you,, and when he did speak you just figured it was how he naturally spoke to you

when you text him to hangout..he’s dropping everything. like finding the treasure? it can wait a day! (if it can)

— ASKING YOU OUT

definitely read a lot of things to increase his charm before he asked you out! you only deserve the most romantic “courting” (as morgana and yusuke would describe it as)

he definitely splashes out on gifts from the underground mall! chocolates, bracelets, lipsticks, perfumes, cd’s etc.!

he read some books too! although it was a literal embarrassing to purchase a book called “asking out the person of your dreams 101!”...it helped him a little even if he had to cover the name on the train

but even so he was sweating buckets when he invited you to a popular date spot for couples he’s read about in a magazine

he set up such an adorable picnic (with what he could afford) and although morgana was shoved into the basket he made the best of what he could

of course you said yes! not only was the weird mixture of his nervousness and charm prompting you to say yes but you’ve already pined after the messy haired boy for a few months now

— IN THE RELATIONSHIP

he can fluctuate between super-attentive, nerdy bf to charming, go with the flow kinda bf

esp with morgana whispering ideas into his ear .5 seconds of the day

akira deffo is such a sucker for video games/manga’s so i’d imagine a lot of arcade and cafe dates where you two are chilling reading manga’s or doing hw

the rest of the group adore your relationship esp the girls

they love asking the two of you about your dates!! ann esp loves capturing candids of the two of you to send to the gc and fawn over

ann: look at these cuties!!

futaba: shame ryuji’s face ruins the photo

haru: wah… true love ❤️

ryuji… he’s asking akira some unhinged shit ngl

yusuke deffo asks to follow you and akira on a date so he can capture the feeling of love irl… turns out it’s kinda weird to have someone follow you and ur bf around

like… he doesn’t even speak to yous… just a shadow

n e way!!!

sojiro… he gives akira some pocket money sometimes 😭😭 (like £10 but shhh)

“go buy [y/n] something nice, kid” BROO

free coffee is normal for you, esp when you’re waiting for akira to get his bag together at the cafe

wins arcade plushies for you when he’s busy with shinya! if it weren’t for shinya helping his phantom thievery then he’d solely be there to win plushies

when he learns how to make curry and coffee, that’s all your eating when you’re over

and honestly…

now you’re a curry and coffee connoisseur

[akirasarchives]

[ᴄ.s] | 𝗶 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗺𝗲

sᴜᴍᴍᴀʀʏ: Basking in the moonlight of the Beach with your lover.

ᴀ/ɴ: gn reader

Chishiya isn’t cold. He isn’t emotionless, he isn’t vicious and he surely isn’t evil. But, he puts on a façade, an act he plays in order to survive the Borderlands. Borderland Chishiya is calculating and knows how to play his pawns, yet he’ll never make you one of them. Your Chishiya, the one in the real world and the one you see behind closed doors is much more than that.

He’s tentative, soft, caring and loving even if the job he occupies causes him to close off that soft part of his heart. He likes to spoil you with small gestures. He likes waking up next to you in the morning and placing a soft kiss on your shoulder, he likes pretending to hate the music that you love, he loves having coffee dates with you in the stupidly overpriced Starbucks down the street from the apartment that he shares with you.

You can’t stand to watch as the man you love has to act like he doesn’t love you, that he doesn’t have anything more of an acquaintance level relationship with you all the while he hangs around Kuina as if they’re two peas in a pod when it should be you and him. You don’t hate Kuina, quite the contrary, as the tall woman knows about your real relationship with him even if Chishiya scolded you for telling her.

You can’t stand to watch as the man you love has to act like he doesn’t love you, that he doesn’t have anything more of an acquaintance level relationship with you all the while he hangs around Kuina as if they’re two peas in a pod when it should be you and him. You don’t hate Kuina, quite the contrary, as the tall woman knows about your real relationship with him even if Chishiya scolded you for telling her.

You like it when it’s just the two of you, secretly holding hands and giggling nervously like two teenagers once again.

“‘Taro” A soft whisper breaks the silence enveloping your two figures but Chishiya doesn’t mind. He hums, allowing his soft gaze to replace a verbal reply.

He looks so beautiful. With the curtains cracked open ever so lightly, the soft moonlight hue shines a gentle light onto his already soft features, creating an angelic hue around his face.

The sight engraves in your brain, a mental image you never want to forget. It’s like your Chishiya is back, almost as if you two are back in the normal world.

“When we go back…” You start, staring into his soft eyes “Do you think we can expand the invitations?”

Chishiya smiles, a real genuine smile as he remembers the night before the Borderlands. Maybe his romantic manga had really gotten to him but he couldn’t help but do a cheesy proposal in his own Chishiya-like way. An impromptu picnic date on your shared balcony matched with your favourite foods and a bottle of bubbles gave him the courage to propose. You're glad you fought back your urge to ask him what he was fiddling with in his pocket that night as in hindsight you would’ve ruined the best night of your life.

“Do you want to invite more people?” He asks softly as he moves to grasp your hand with a firmer hold. You nod, thinking about your friends.

“Kuina… She could be one of my entourage” Chishiya shakes his head teasingly as your idea. You can’t help but laugh airily “Maybe she could be your bestwoman?”

“I think Kuina would like to organise the wedding” Chishiya tutts, thinking about the woman’s flamboyant style. He can only imagine the scene, with bright streamers and expensive decorations littering the small space. A crowded room with barely any space for the guests to sit around her own furnishings. Though he smiles, because he knows you would probably adore the stupid thought.

Silence falls over you two once more but it’s okay, because Chishiya is there next to you. Realistically, anyone could barge into his room whenever they liked but for some reason it’s as if a barrier exists. No disruptions have ever passed his doorstep, to which you’re thankful. Silently, you take the time of peace to shuffle up the bed to curl into his side. Looking out the window and silently holding hands can only satisfy your need for affection for so long.

Cuddling up to Chishiya seemed like it would be nothing but a passing thought when you two first entered the Beach, acting as if you two were just game-partners who stuck together.

“I love you, you know?” You whisper, glancing up at Chishiya. A soft rumble in his chest proves that he finds your sudden confession amusing, but he nods anyway. His left arm curls around your form as he uses his left hand to rub at your side lovingly. It causes a soft sigh to emit from deep in your throat as you finally feel your body untensing for the first time in days.

“I love you too” He mumbles, looking towards the ceiling. A part of him holds hatred for people who can easily express themselves, those who don’t have a nagging voice spewing unnecessary feelings of doubt at himself as he struggles to reply. He’s built himself up to a point where he can express himself, though he often finds himself biting his tongue at times.

Chishiya is thankful for you. Thankful that you’re the one person he can truly express himself to and understand that it’s hard for him to express his emotions like others. At times like these, he hates those who are easily kind-hearted.

Someone like Arisu. The man who easily expresses himself to everyone, even him. To wear his heart on his sleeve; he’s somewhat envious even if vulnerability is no more than a death sentence within this world.

[akirasarchives]

love, love, love!!! chishiya is so well-written i could honestly see this 🫶🤍 i think everyone forgets that tv-version chishiya isn’t as quiet as we can make him out to be lol

White Day

Yes, I know it’s no longer Valentine’s Day, but even still, please take this “last-minute boyfriend Chishiya” x Female Reader oneshot from me. 

I hope you like it :)

_________________________________________

There was something different in the air. The news stand in the hospital lobby had been giving out heart shaped balloons in a spectrum of colours; the cafeteria had introduced a limited time only “dine for two, for the price of one” deal; over the last few weeks, pink and red cards had mysteriously appeared on his colleagues’ desks. It could only mean one thing. It was that time of the year. 

White Day. 

‘Chishiya-sensei, I have something for you.’ 

Chishiya had been sitting at his desk when a nurse popped into the office. On the neighbouring desk, his colleague Haru looked up with unusual interest. The nurse sashayed over, holding out a white envelope with the words, “Dear Chishiya-sensei, from your SA”, written on the front in cursive handwriting.

The nurse blushed and waved a hand. ‘It’s not from me, just so you know. They wanted to give it to you on Valentine’s Day instead, but they didn’t want to come forward. I’m just the messenger.’ 

He took the envelope and thanked her as politely as he could. She left the room with a blush and an excited smile, whilst Haru wandered over, looking at the envelope over Chishiya’s shoulder. 

‘A secret admirer, huh?’ He remarked, as Chishiya opened it up and pulled out a gaudy red card with a glittery pink heart on the front. 

‘Unfortunately.’ 

Keep reading

[akirasarchives]

[02] | 𝗪𝗜𝗧𝗛𝗜𝗡 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗕𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗘𝗥

sᴜᴍᴍᴀʀʏ: Chishiya tests you in a diamond game. Later, a somewhat fight breaks out at the Beach where someone’s face looks familiar.

🃅 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗧𝗘𝗥 02: Diamonds are a girl’s best friend

“What’s the matter?” Kuina asks as she chews on a plastic anti-smoking stick. Hatter’s second-old speech hyped up the large majority of people who enjoy their time at the Beach, so in hindsight she chooses to stand close to the wall Chishiya leans against to avoid getting swept into the fumbling crowd. She made the mistake of standing in the way of the crowd before and having to actively hold yourself up against the crowd of overly hyped game-players is not an activity she wishes to partake in again.

“I played a game with them” Chishiya exhales, staring at the trio including: Arisu, Usagi and you. The three of you are an odd trio, yet Chishiya can’t seem to put his finger on the direct issue. However, he knows it’s you - the way you stand out amongst the two. You don’t share the same anxious aura as the duo, it’s as if you just roll with whatever is thrown your way.

It seems useful.

“Oh [y/n]!” Kuina nods, looking back at Chishiya who copies her action. He raises an inquisitive brow, tilting his head to look back at the taller woman.

“You’re acquainted?” He hums. Kuina nods curtly, looking back at your trio. Despite the earlier interaction, Chishiya suspected the interaction was a one-off. Not that you and Kuina were actually friends.

Arisu anxiously bounces his weight between the balls of his feet as he discusses something with both you and Usagi. He supposes that your small trio got split for the games. He holds back a chuckle, finding it quite interesting how people who barely know anything about each other can become so attached in a short-time.

“They might be useful” Breaking from his thoughts, Chishiya twists his right hand in his pockets as he grasps at the metallic device hidden within. He notices Kuina’s puzzled expression, so he hums.

“To our plan, that is” He purses his lips. Kuina tosses him a weary look as she looks back at your retreating figure. If you’re anything like back in the original world, she doesn’t want you getting caught up in the mess Chishiya will create.

A shiver trails down your spine as you walk towards the game arena. Maybe it’s the sheer happiness exuding off of those you shared a vehicle with that is making you feel uneasy, or perhaps the looming factor of death but the latter doesn’t seem to bother the few participants that practically skip into the venue.

It bewilders you.

“A primary school?” A frown stretched across your lips as you stare at the game venue. A desolate children’s school towers over your frame, easily shadowing your figure. A sense of deja vú washes over your being as you swallow back the nervous lump in your throat.

You can’t help but see visions of the apartment block venue from the five of spades game, imagining scenarios where you’re forced to run around the school from another Tagger. You can still feel the exhaustion in your feet though your game involving the highway didn’t do much help to ease the pain too. The dull ache from being slammed into the wall by your current game partner had only eased a few days ago.

Not to mention the watercolour painting on bruises decorating your left shoulder.

“Not threatening enough?” Chishiya chimes in teasingly as he stops by your side. The frown drops from your features, now replaced with a raised brow as you stare at Chishiya’s blank face. Somehow with no visible expression he still exudes a level of smugness that causes a spark of annoyance to flare within you.

Anyhow, you let out a sigh, rolling back your shoulders - ignoring the pain exuding from your left - and stretching your neck as you look back at the crumbling venue.

“No” You begin walking towards the building, throwing Chishiya a look over your shoulder “The building falling apart adds to the atmosphere”

Chishiya silently snorts, casually strolling towards you with his hands tucked into the pockets of his unusually clean hoodie. He takes the opportunity to overtake your stride, carefully strolling towards the cracked doors of the building.

“I thought an executive was meant to watch over me” You raise a brow, looking back at the obvious crowd of people with no status. Chishiya shrugs, staring at you sceptically.

“Don’t tell me you’re really that dull” He quips as he turns on his heel, relishing in the flicker of annoyance that crosses your face.

The collar around your neck itches uncomfortably causing you to tug at it irritably.

“Game: Charades. Difficulty: 5 of Diamonds”

A game of intelligence. An inkling of dread creeps into your mind as you’re not quite that confident in your ability to think around the bush when it comes to game rules.

The little experience you have partaking in the suit makes you a little nervous, seeing as a kind woman from one of your first games explained that a diamond game is a game of intelligence. The factoid makes you nervous as you’re not particularly confident in your overall intelligence.

“Diamonds” A man dressed in a Hawaiian shirt cusses under his breath as he glares down at the mobile device in his hands. If looks could kill, the phone would be split in two.

“Clear Condition: Clear the game without breaking any rules and within the time limit. Each selected duo must communicate the code”

A game of charades centred around a code. You can only guess what the code will lead to or rather get you out of, knowing the inhumanity of the games.

“Rules: The player with a collar displaying a green light will play out a charade, whereas the player with a collar displaying a blue light will enter the code. The player communicating the code is prohibited from speaking or showing the code to the other player. Failure to communicate the code within the time limit or breaking the rules will result in the elimination of both players.”

Your eyes shoot to Chishiya. The man seems anything but stressed as he kicks at invisible dirt on the floor, scuffing lightly as he waits for the game to commence. A glance in a nearby reflective surface confirms that you have a blue collar and are therefore in charge of entering the code and much to your luck, Chishiya bares a green light.

“Chishiya, please let us work together!” A girl cries, begging the man known for his intelligence to pair with her. Nerves flutter in your stomach as you make eye-contact with the nonchalant man who spares the woman a small smile. Your heart drops as you expect him to nod or take her side.

Its unexpected, though. Chishiya is the last person that you would expect to be fought over as a game partner.

Maybe he’s good at diamonds?

“Sorry, I am in charge of [y/n] today” He gestures to you, almost mockingly as he stifles a laugh as the woman shoots you a look as if she would tear your head off given the chance. You can’t help but stare at the two with wide eyes, bearing a striking resemblance to a deer caught in headlights.

“But that doesn’t mean you have to pair with her!” She whines, grovelling for the man to help. Honestly, you feel bad for her. Every other participant in the game venue looks equally as upset or disheveled as the woman as their spirits are broken before the game even starts. The man in the Hawaiian shirt from earlier looks close to fainting as he realises his predicament.

“Sorry, Hatter’s commands.”

“15 minutes…” Mumbling, you enter a classroom with Chishiya trailing shortly after. The man doesn’t speak much anyway so his role as the person acting out the charade makes you think it won’t bother him much. Though, almost darkly, you had to hold back a laugh as he would probably struggle with holding back a comment or two.

The room is practically mirrored on both sides which adds to the eerieness of the abandoned classroom. Clinical lighting shines down onto the room, brightly reflecting off of the perfectly polished surfaces.

A divider separates the sides of the rooms, whereas a singular metal box sits on the side of the room with a green placard inside. Chishiya finds his place on the other side of the divider, swiftly unlocking the box.

You’re still examining your surroundings, though. One large desk is in the middle of the room, no chairs, no signs of life besides untouched posters and paintings of rainbows, numbers, the English alphabet mixed with Kanji and butterflies. In a physical sense, it’s just an empty room with classroom-esque designs plastered on the walls.

On your side of the table, instead of a box it’s a small keypad with four boxes ready for you to select your answers. As you stare at it, you realise you can only choose colours. Colours. How the fuck will Chishiya act out colours is beyond you.

Meeting his gaze, Chishiya narrows his eyes. A silent ‘ready’ to which you purse your lips.

He doesn’t move though. He doesn’t change his expression or bother to signal any kind of clue.

Maybe he’s just thinking. The thought aids you in holding back any nerves that could stop you from solving the puzzle.

“9 minutes remaining”

A sweat breaks out on your skin. No matter how much you ask Chishiya to attempt to tell you the code in any way he can, he stills.

Is this his way of testing me? Panic soars through your mind, causing any logical thinking to stall.

“Fuck” An exasperated sigh falls from your mouth for the nth time as your hands fly to your head. Frustration bubbles within your body as there’s practically no way to get Chishiya to participate.

“Why the fuck is it colours?” Spinning on your heel, you glare at the colourful splashes decorating the walls. Mockingly, it feels like they stare back, laughing at your predicament.

Maybe it was in order of the rainbow? It would be stupid to put in just any order as it would result in your immediate death. Speaking of which, your hand flies to your neck to tug at the collar which has since begun irritating your skin once again.

“You can’t speak or show me it…” Repeating the rules to yourself, you look between the keypad and the door which you had previously entered through. The metal door clicked closed once you entered.

He can’t say it or show me his keycard… But how would he act out colours? But… I could ask him, right? There’s no rules against him nodding, right?

An idea sparks.

“Oh my God” You mumble excitedly, looking between Chishiya, the keypad and rainbows on the walls. Chishiya raises a brow, watching your now perked figure look around the room.

“I’m going to point at the colours on the wall and you can nod or shake your head, okay?” Chishiya nods slowly.

Green, orange, yellow, blue. A colour scheme that you have forever burned into your mind just saved your life. Fucking colours.

“I know you knew how to tell me the colours from the start” You spit, wrestling the collar off of your neck and throwing it to the floor. The device clatters noisily as it bounces against the scattered debris, but you ignore it to glower at the long haired man.

“You figured it out, didn’t you?” He asks, ignoring how you’re currently fuming at him.

“You couldn’t help me just a little?” You ask, to which he shoots you an infamous brow raise.

“You know, that game should’ve been a two the highest” He holds the card between his index and middle finger, allowing the moonlight to bounce off of the cards waxy surface. The sight of the playing card causes resentment to twist angrily in your stomach. A reminder that you almost lost your life all for a stupid playing card.

“Count your luck” He adds, walking towards the Beaches cars.

“There’s nothing particularly amazing about her” Chishiya sighs as he leans into the soft cushioning of the booth he’s sat in. Kuina raises a brow - a habit caused by Chishiya - as she sips at whatever beverage the man behind the bar gave her.

“[y/n]” He adds context as he thinks back to the game. You’re not the quickest, you were easily stunned and he had to prompt you to think of a solution. But you got them out and relatively quickly, even if he thought of the solution while the robot was still talking.

In actuality, he’s not sure why he feels that you can help him. Maybe it’s your innocent look or the fact you seem unassuming, but he’s drawn to you.

“That’s a bit rude” Kuina mumbles around her straw. Chishiya chooses not to comment on the way she’s practically disintegrating her straw with all the chewing she’s doing in favour of staring outside the lobby.

“You guys survived!” A cheerful smile plasters across your face as you jog over to Arisu and Usagi’s relieved faces. They both nod, spewing out their own thankful replies that you had survived too.

Usagi had changed from her earlier outfit, seemingly matching your own idea. You ditched your previous sheer beach coverup for a zip-up hoodie, yet unlike Usagi, left it unzipped to allow the cool air to lick at your warm skin. A laugh stifles in your throat as Arisu glances away after noticing that you’re still sporting a bathing top.

The two doddle forward, finding a place for your small trio to rest beside the pool. Usagi and Arisu speak between themselves, clearly occupied in their own interests as you scan the surrounding area.

It’s odd, to you, how these people can party and get along with life as if they hadn’t just risked their lives. But you suppose that’s another reason for their partying.

Different individuals catch your eye as you walk behind the duo. Specifically an energetic blonde girl jumps ecstatically, swaying to the heavy bass in the music playing as she raves to her friends about whatever’s on her mind. Through the steady movement of the people around her, she beams a bright smile in your direction once your eyes meet, to which you politely copy.

“[y/n]” Usagi calls, breaking you from your trance. Comically, your feet pivot as you all but gracefully plant yourself on the deckchair. The couple laugh lightly, bathing in the sights of the Beach.

A flash of blue catches your eyes as Kuina confidently plops beside Arisu. She looks between your group, brows raising as she meets your eyes yet she looks to Arisu before speaking.

“Your girlfriend?” She questions, using the yellow stick she usually chews on to motion at Usagi.

Arisu’s cheeks redden as he coughs bashfully “No!”

“You’re wrong” Usagi corrects, preferring to look at Kuina and not Arisu.

Kuina smiles teasingly

“You guys get along, so why not date each other?” She asks, looking between the two with her same smile.

“You never know when you’re going to die.” She adds grimly.

A silence falls between the duo, and awkwardly you break the silence.

“You’re still the same, Kuina” She nods.

“Y-You two know each other?” Arisu stutters, eyes wide. The faces he pulls never ceases to amaze you.

She hums, plopping the chewing stick back between her pearly teeth “Worked in the same mall”

Arisu looks to the ground, scuffing his flip-flops before looking back to Kuina.

“What did you mean before that? About dying?”

“There are things you should do while you’re still alive!” She replies without missing a beat. A part of you wonders if her speech had been practiced.

Usagi looks to you wearily. You shrug quietly.

“My mum is sick in the hospital. She can’t even relieve herself without my help, and yet I had to be separated from her.” You vaguely remember Kuina telling you about her mother in the real world, yet those talks were short and sweet, much more along the lines of ‘I didn’t see you yesterday!’ To which she’d say ‘I was visiting my mum in the hospital.’ It’s not a subject you would prod at.

She notices how you wear an empathetic expression, to which she nods. Maybe she remembered telling you, too.

“So I want to return alive. That’s why I quit smoking.” She shows your trio the small plastic stick “I haven’t been able to quit before this. I’ll need some stamina in order to survive, right?”

You smile softly, nodding encouragingly.

“I’ll definitely survive and return to the original world.” She speaks determinately, rolling the stick between her manicured fingers.

Rattling breaks the comfortable silence that settled over your small group. You’re all quick to look up, noticing a group of weirdly clothed men holding weapons.

“Hey, stop playing that tacky music!” A voice commands, effectively stopping the sounds of people laughing and shouting.

Water awkwardly splashes and drains around the pool as people refrain from moving, training their sights onto the men. Your stomach twists nervously, unsure of the sudden change in atmosphere.

Who are these men?

The men steadily make their way around the pool, walking with their heads held high. A buff, bald man leading with a man with an unbuttoned tacky giraffe-print dress shirt, pierced face and a rifle resting on his shoulder falling close behind. His tongue darts from his mouth, licking at his lips as he leers at the women nearby.

His face is familiar, yet you can’t put a finger on it. Perhaps you’ve seen him in passing in the real world.

“It’s the militants at the Beach” Kuina speaks suddenly, causing your shoulders to tense. You don’t dare crane your neck back to look at her, afraid that the sudden movement would attract the wrong kind of attention.

“If you want to live peacefully at the Beach, avoid getting involved with them” Her hand tugs at your jacket, meaning her words were moreso directed at you.

As they grow closer, you now see another man covered head to toe in tattoos wielding a katana. Your eyes dart back and forth, unsure of where to look or who to look at.

If I make eye contact, won’t they just come over anyway?

“What happened to your pal?” He asks, looking at Arisu. You freeze, looking between the two. It dawns on you that he had been at the five of spades game as you had spotted him after exiting the match (and after following Chishiya).

Arisu pauses, unsure of how to answer the man. You don’t blame him, as you’re sure your words are stuck in your throat too.

“I see. He died.” Aguni answers for Arisu, staring at him emotionlessly.

“What a shame. So only the small fish survived.” He adds, scanning both you and Usagi now. A part of you hopes he doesn’t remember you - or even noticed you for the matter - as the way his lackies stare piercingly into both your face and body has you recoiling slowly into yourself.

“Do you know each other?” Kuina asks slowly, keeping her eyes on the militants. Arisu nods, daring to take his eyes from the authoritative group.

“You,” Aguni nods his head to pierced man “Bring that woman over”

A jolt of shock runs through you as you look at Aguni. He’s staring at Usagi.

Your hand automatically darts out to grasp at her wrist as you stare unwaveringly at the gun-wielder. His hand still darts out, only to be slapped away by Arisu.

“Hey!” He stands.

“Stop. Don’t get involved!” She scolds.

His lips curl into an evil smile, one which displays pure degeneracy. There’s a fog glazing his eyes, as if he’s possessed by the thought of violence.

“Our boss says he wants to have a taste of you” He stares deeply into Usagi’s eyes. The sight makes your skin crawl.

“Come” He commands, bringing his arm out to curl around her shoulder.

Instinctively, your own arm comes out to wrap around her shoulder, pulling her further back from his touch. Your heart pounds as you do so, trying your best to keep a straight face in the eye of danger.

His attention flickers to you now, and something dangerous swirls in his eyes. The twisted smile that he gave Usagi is now presented to you, yet now his tongue darts out to lick his lips. The light catches on the piercing nestled on his tongue.

His dark, glossy eyes bare into your own. Hypnotically, you find yourself unable to look away as you’re too caught up in the crazed look hiding behind his pupils.

The sight makes your stomach churn.

Arisu walks forward again, shoving the man back ever so slightly.

“What should we do about this kid?” The man stands back, looking at Aguni. He’s nothing more than a dog on a leash.

“Break his legs so that he’ll die in the next game” Aguni orders coldly. Any form of familiarity of potential kindness wipes clean from his face.

He nods “Yes. You guys, bring the woman to him.”

Swiftly, Arisu’s wrist is grasped “You come with me”

Arisu slaps the man’s arm as he swerves on his heel, only to be stopped by more militants.

“Is this a fight?” Someone asks curiously, causing the militants to pause.

Hatter walks forward, allowing the crowds to part for him as if he’s some Messiah. You glare, staring between the militants and Hatter.

“Back off Hatter. This doesn’t concern you” Aguni speaks.

“I can’t do that, as Number One, I’m expected to keep order at the Beach” Hatter explains matter-of-factly. His arms extend, gesturing at the frightened crowd surrounding the pool area. Aguni stills, seemingly mulling over the situation. He sighs, dropping his head lightly.

Hatter paces forward, looking around at the terrified crowd.

“Could you let off the newcomers on my account, Aguni?”

The two come head-to-head with little to no room between their bodies. The intimidation tactic on behalf of both of them causes a stand still, one of which no one dares to break.

Hatter turns to the pierced man “Niragi”

Niragi. The name flies around your mind. You can’t quite pinpoint it or where in fact you know him from, but something tells you it’s nothing but trouble.

“I only take orders from the boss” His head tilts away, with a pose almost identical to a stubborn child. If the situation wasn’t so serious you would probably laugh.

“Then let me ask your boss,” Hatter hums, returning his attention to Aguni. Aguni stares forward, ignoring the gaze of Hatter as he zones him out.

“Who is your boss, Aguni?” Hatter asks spitefully, knowing that Aguni has lost any type of battle against him.

The patriarchy on the Beach is nothing to be messed with, especially between Hatter and Aguni. Even militants who wave weaponry around are below Hatter whose overall vibe is one of a hippie.

The two continue the staring contest. Aguni seemingly swallows back his pride.

“It’s you, right?” He asks rhetorically. Hatter doesn’t respond, letting the stiff silence answer for him.

“Go take a shower” Hatter mutters, turning away from Aguni. As if a switch had been flicked, his previous happy-go-lucky aura returns.

“All executive members are to gather in the meeting room!”

People begin to wander again as the militants evacuate the area. Your eyes finally break from the scene, allowing yourself to breathe. You’re not even sure that you blinked during the whole ordeal.

“Arisu, you’re coming too” Hatter commands, not sparing a glance at the shocked man. You’re bewildered too as Arisu has a chance at becoming an executive straight off the bat.

“I’ve heard about your potential from Ann” He explains.

“Follow me.”

“Cheers!”

Two glass cups clink together noisily, signifying the connection between the two people. Liquid sloshes dangerously close to the brim, almost spilling inconveniently over the fingers of the hand holding it.

Grimacing, you knock back the brown liquid with little complaint. Kuina smiles brightly as she downs her drink effortlessly, laughing lightly as she does so.

After the scene at the pool she dragged you away to a bar in one of the hotel's common areas after saying that you needed a drink. She explained the dynamics of the militants and that you were putting yourself in danger by even wrapping a protective arm around Usagi when dealing with Niragi.

You find yourself zoning out. With information being thrown at you left and right with little to no time to actually process it, zoning out those around you works to calm your nerves and avoid any impending breakdowns.

“Didn’t take you for a drinker.” The motion of a white jacket shifting in your peripheral breaks you from the mind fog. It takes a few seconds, but you finally notice that Chishiya had pulled himself up on the stool beside Kuina. Said woman looks at you worryingly, but chooses to hold her words.

You look down at the glass, tracing the droplets of condensation wordlessly.

“Usually not” You shrug, staring at the melting cubes of ice. You can tell that the two are looking at each other, wordlessly communicating or even talking about your sudden change in mood. It doesn’t bother you though, as the toll of being tossed into different environments finally hits you.

“Is there something bothering you?” Kuina asks softly. You meet her gaze, ignoring how uncomfortable it is to have the two staring at you like you’re a wounded animal.

“Just a lot of info at one time” You attempt to play it off by downing what’s leftover of your drink, allowing the slippery glass to clunk noisily against the polished surface of the bar.

“I’m fine, though” Kuina doesn’t seem too impressed by your answer but she allows it to slide.

Chishiya though, he examines you. As usual, the blonde quietly takes in every factor of information he can get.

You ponder for a moment, allowing your mind to drift back to whatever thought is most present in your mind.

“I thought an executive was meant to watch over me” You raise a brow, looking back at the obvious crowd of people with no status. Chishiya shrugs, staring at you sceptically.

“Don’t tell me you’re really that dull” He quips as he turns on his heel, relishing in the flicker of annoyance that crosses your face.

“Chishiya” You call, twisting the stool with your body to face the faux-blonde. Habitually, the blonde raises his brow.

“What did you tell Hatter about me?” You ask. He seems taken aback, blinking slowly as he processes what you’ve asked. If you’re correct, he was watching over you to tell Hatter what he thinks of you as a game player.

He smirks.

“Not impressive” His head tilts, as if challenging you to some sort of verbal altercation. His answer is obvious that he wants to gauge a negative reaction from you.

“Not impressive?” You echo, shocked by his answer. You saved him and he’s not impressed?

“Hey…” Kuina attempts to softly ease the tensing atmosphere.

“You thought of an answer, but it took you a long time” He explains “You got freaked out too easily”

“Freaked out?” Again, you echo “Sorry that death freaks me out” The reply is childish, yet you can’t help but feel attacked. The fact that he effortlessly thinks of anything nice to say about you is more than infuriating.

“You focus on the wrong thing” He replies “Death is always going to be a factor of every game you play, though you chose to distract yourself with the thought of death rather than focusing on a strategy” He explains.

Annoyingly, he is right. Your mind always jumps to the possibility of dying as soon as a game starts, yet it is only human of you to remember your mortality.

“That mindset will get you killed” He adds.

“How do I not think about that?” You ask.

Chishiya shrugs “What are you good at?”

His reply stuns you, so he starts again.

“What are you good at? Kuina specialises in Spades and I specialise in Diamonds” He explains once more. Each time he explains himself, he speaks as if he’s talking to a child. With drawn out words and a demeaning smile on his face, the heat that rises to your face only grows.

Pushing it aside, you’re unsure. The two can tell by your hesitance that you haven’t found your speciality - or if you have one at all.

“There has to be something that you’re good at!” Kuina tries to perk the mood “Maybe you haven’t played it yet!”

“The only suit I haven’t played is hearts” You mumble, looking between the two. They both remain silent.

Apprehensively, Kuina plasters a smile on her face “Maybe that’s what you’re good at!”

You can tell that the idea that you’re good at hearts is something unbecoming to them. Kuina simply believes you’re too soft to be someone like Mira.

“Maybe” With a shrug, you slide from the stool, leaving the two with the word hanging heavily in the air

prev | next

sorry if it seems rushed!! i had a thorough chapter planned out but life hit and i’ve been super busy and depressed 😀 character building for me ig lol

i feel i could've done better but i've had such mind fog lately lol. hopefully my plotline/ thought process for the reader come across clearly. [y/n] will find out what she's good at in an upcoming chapter. tysm for reading &lt;3

taglist: @itzz-me-duh @annieray @yanfei-kisser @huachengsbestie01

[akirasarchives]

[01] | 𝗪𝗜𝗧𝗛𝗜𝗡 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗕𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗘𝗥

sᴜᴍᴍᴀʀʏ: Joining forces wirh Arisu and Usagi leads you to joining a hotel which seems to be anything other than a ‘utopia’.

🂥 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝟬1: Four of Clubs

An over lit highway catches your attention from only a few blocks away. The overly exaggerated yellow lighting cancels out almost any other colour present to which it does nothing but make you feel more unease about entering a bus with three men present inside of it.

They’re rugged and disheveled looking, all with calculating glares and defensive demeanours. The hairs on your arms rise as an anxious pit begins to twist in your stomach.

Apprehensively, you chose to ignore the men in favour of picking up one of the cellphones, brushing aside how their stares bare into the side of your head. The nervous twist in your stomach begins to tug painfully on your insides, so you chose to bite your lip to avoid making any obvious moves regarding your anxiousness.

Silently, you move towards one of the front seats. The silence in unbearable, the kind that you could hear a pin drop in.

“You aren’t new to this” One of them utters softly. Your lips press together tightly as you spare him a glance over your shoulder. He stares at you with what could only be a mixture of nerves, sadness and what seems to be pity. Slowly, you answer with a soft shake of the head.

Should I really be answering them?

“The three of us cleared four games together. We happened to be together in our first game and we stuck together after that” The man sitting in the middle seat at the back of the bus explains quietly, looking between his two new friends. They glance away from you, focusing on the sticky flooring of the rickety bus.

“Having friends makes the difference between winning and losing” His friend adds. A frown etches your features as you look away. You can’t help but wonder if it was an invite to join his trio, a general statement or a threat.

Feeling slightly cornered, you take note of the man’s bandaged leg.

“Your leg. Are you injured?” You gesture with the small device.

“Oh. I guess I sprained it” He moves the limb from your view. You nod solemnly as you look back at the table. He’ll only hold his friends back.

Soft padding of footsteps become louder within seconds. The general emptiness of the underground passage amplifies the steps and hushed breaths of what seems to be a duo approaching the bus.

Eventually, a familiar duo climb the metal steps into the mobile.

“Oh. It’s you” Arisu comments, slightly surprised by your appearance. A lazy smile rests on your lips momentarily as you look between the two politely. The short-haired woman nods her head at you curtly, picking up the last of the mobile devices.

“Arisu, right?” You ask to which he nods.

“I didn't get your name”

“Usagi.”

“Usagi” You repeat “Good to see you alive” You joke rather darkly, throwing her an awkward smile when she doesn’t respond.

“Where is your friend?” Arisu asks as he slips into the seat across from you. You watch as Usagi chooses to stand, keeping an eye on the trio in the back.

“My friend?” You question, quirking a brow at the dishelved looking man.

“The guy” He states “With the blonde hair?”

You pause “He isn’t my friend” Arisu nods “Just… Got along in the game”

The phones are quick to ding, signalling that registration is closed and the game is about to commence.

“Difficulty, Four of Clubs”

“Game: Distance.”

“Distance” Arisu whispers wearily, his grip on the phone tightening.

“Rule. Endure the trial and reach the goal within the time limit. Clear Condition. Reach the goal safely”

“What is this?” The injured man asks, throwing a concerned look to his friends. They chose to keep their heads down yet nerves were practically bouncing off of them.

“It’s too simple” A quiet hum rests in your throat as you get to thinking about where the goal is. You’re not sure how long the passageway will go on for though you know it won’t be as easy as just finding a simple goal.

“Game start. One Hundred and Twenty minutes remaining”

“Are they asking us to run?” The injured man asks, glancing down at his bandages ankle. His friends stare at their phones with unphazed expressions.

“What do you think, Seizan?” The man asks, glancing down at the meter on his phone.

“If it’s zero are we not already at the goal?” You ask, biting down anxiously on your bottom lip. Due to the stress of past games, your lips have become swollen and sore due to repeated picking. It’s a nasty habit, one you planned to leave behind in high school but it seems to have followed you through to the games.

“Are we supposed to run on a highway or something?” The one in the green shirt asks. Sighing, you turn back to Arisu and Usagi. The duo are already looking at you, giving you hope that they have listened to you.

Fumbling happens behind you, to which you see the injured man - now named Takuma - is bent over. You presume he tried to stand but his ankle gave out.

One of his friends attempt to start the bus, though the tank is empty.

“Go without me” Takuma mumbles after propping himself up on the seats of the bus.

“Takuma!” He friend shouts.

The whole ordeal makes you feel a bit uncomfortable. It’s as if there’s no one but them in the bus and by the way Usagi glances at you, she feels the same.

“My legs are going to give out” You pant, stalling in the race that Usagi and Arisu convinced you to run with them. Your original theory still sits in your head, why would the distance counter rise rather than lower when running to the target?

“C’mon [y/n]!” Arisu pants too, yet his pace has slowed to more of a brisk jog rather than a sprint. You didn’t expect any games to involve running a certain distance, so you bite back your remark ‘that it’s not your fault you can’t run as far since you weren’t exactly training to do so.’

“I don’t trust these cars” Panting, you gesture at the random cluster of cars that you have found yourself emerged in. A range of different vehicles are all deserted, yet something about their placement feels eerily malicious.

“Somethings there” Usagi flicks her head back to look at you and Arisu. Squinting, you attempt to adjust your eyes to peer into the dark, shadowed corner of the vehicles about 20 feet away from your stance. A slight glimmer of the overhead lighting catches in a small reflection just in front of you. The shapes resemble eyes that bob with every approaching step and you find yourself anxiously stepping away from the approaching threat.

“Is that a panther?” You ask, slowly creeping behind one of the cars. A nervous sweat breaks out on your palms as you realise that it is definitely a predator inching towards your small group.

Within seconds the big cat breaks into a sprint, causing everyone to break apart and run in random directions. Arisu unceremoniously crashes into your side, sending you flying into the back of the car. You curse, reaching out to grab his wrist to pull him further to the side. You can only imagine if there isn’t a bruise forming on your thigh that the indent of the license plate is probably making its home on your thigh too.

Throwing your head back, you notice that the big cat is distracted by clawing under one of the vehicles, so you motion to pull one of the car doors open to block that big cat's pathway.

Usagi catches up, aiding you in flinging open car doors, yet her timing is almost ironic as the cat pounces at the door as it’s opened.

Anxiety courses through you as you run between vehicles erratically, hoping that your unpredictable movements would cause the cat to chase someone else. There’s no way in Hell you’re simply outrunning a panther, especially when you don’t exactly run on a daily basis.

Especially when it’s hungry.

As you follow Arisu and Usagi to duck behind a jeep it becomes apparent that your hearing is slightly altered by the sound of your blood bumping throughout your body. Your chest heaves as you look above the car in hopes that the panther hadn’t silently jumped upon the rooftop like it had before.

The panther is quick to pounce on top of the car, letting out a vicious roar as it jumps back down. Usagi lets out a scream, ducking as she runs away.

“Arisu!” You shout, watching as the panther beats against the car door he struggles to hold open. His face scrunches together as he musters up his strength to keep his arms from giving in. Eventually, the cat becomes more entranced with Usagi who runs in the opposite direction. You make quick work to open the opposite door, shouting at Arisu to quickly slide out the other side. The panther backs away as Arisu slams the door against it’s neck, allowing him to block the other entrance to the car.

Usagi jumps from the next car, prompting the three of you into a race towards the bus.

A pained yet gargled scream rings out as Seizan is caught by the panther, which although sad, gives you an advantage to run away. You prefer to keep looking forward in an attempt to use the few seconds the big cat is preoccupied to gain further distance.

Eventually, you pass a truck with a motorcycle resting on the trunk. Arisu and Takuma’s friend seemingly nerd over it, causing both you and Usagi to roll your eyes. Don’t they know time is off the essence here?

“Can we siphon the fuel for the bus?” You ask, barely grasping what their conversation about batteries and whatnot is about. Arisu nods determinately.

“Are you saying that you’ll save Takuma?” The friend’s eyes light up hopefully.

“But if you go,” Usagi interrupts “You can’t clear the game!”

“There’s still time” Arisu glances down at the mobile device. “We still have half the time left” He adds.

“Having a bus would quicken the journey too” You add, looking between the three.

“Usagi, you head to the goal with him” Arisu orders, glancing back at you. You almost want to laugh at the fact he doesn’t tell you to go, but he must know you’re probably as athletic as himself.

“I’ll be right behind. Me and [y/n] will get the bus started” He smiles reassuringly. Usagi looks dejected, but she nods anyway.

“Letting someone die so I can live? I’ll never do that again”

The horn echoes loudly, though Arisu doesn’t look anything but determined. With his head shoved out of the propped open doorway, you would laugh at his resemblance to a dog if you had less than twenty minutes to live.

“Usagi!” He screams, body hanging onto the bus by the inside railing.

A tsunami style wave crashes noisily behind Usagi who just barely runs faster than the approaching waves. You can only guess that the water just barely licks at her legs, though she keeps a straight face as she pushes herself to run faster.

Arisu hold his hand out as the bus swerves to face the waves. You don’t see much before the bus topples over by the force of the waves, hurling you into the side of the bus.

“Shit” You can faintly hear, the sound of your hearing is muffled, but the presence of dripping water causes your face to scrunch up.

The cool liquid seeps between your eyelids, prompting you to raise your arm to wipe at the intrusion.

“[y/n]! You’re alive, aren’t you?” Someone shakes at your shoulders. You try to groan, yet it comes out as more of a pained whimper.

A sharp shooting pain wrecks through your head as you become aware of the apparent pains. Your shoulder hurts the most as it feels as if it has been dislocated or shattered.

“She’s awake” A feminine voice announces, wiping at the rest of the water that spilled on your face.

Somehow, your eyes crack open. It takes you a few tries, yet you blink heavily as light aggressively pours into your vision. Usagi and Arisu are crouched around you, though Usagi has her arms propped beneath your head.

“The game” You whisper, trying your best to sit up. Usagi and Arisu help, propping you against what would’ve been the ceiling of the bus. Inhaling sharply, you can’t help but look down at your body. Luckily, no bones were sticking out and there’s no visible lacerations or blood loss but the agony pulsing through your left shoulder and neck makes you think otherwise.

“You were right” Arisu mumbles, bringing your attention back to him “The goal was at the start”

You can’t help but smile. Pure relief washes over you as you realise that a laser won’t penetrate your head, better yet, your own theory worked out.

“Are you two okay?” Usagi nods, yet she glances down at your arm.

“Your arm is already bruised” She motions as your shoulder. A wince is prominent on your face as you catch sight of the yellowed skin. Small doses of blue, purple and yellow stare back at you but you don’t dare move your arm.

“Must’ve landed on it” You sigh, using your good arm to pull yourself up into a standing position despite the way your body cries out for a break. The bus is still leaking, yet you’re surprised to see water droplets on the front window rather than waves of seawater.

Usagi and the unnamed man prop you out of the bus, whereas Arisu pulls you up by your good arm. The entire highway was soaked and the ugly yellow lights from before blink as water damage soaks through into their circuits.

“Game Cleared. Congratulations.”

“You really have no friends?” Arisu asks as the three of you travel through abandoned Shibuya. You scoff, raising a brow at the man as if he made an outlandish claim.

“You’re making me sound like a loser” You laugh lightly “But no, I’m here on my own”

Arisu frowns “You have us now” He waves an arm at Usagi who nods with a soft smile.

You mirror the expression “I guess our five of spades game fated us” The two laugh lightly, almost in tune together. It’s nice, seeing two people who pair together like pieces of a puzzle.

It feels more like more of a courtesy ask and although you know you’re going to be a permanent third-wheel, having company from anyone who doesn’t have any malicious intent towards you is more than welcome.

“Where are you guys heading? Do you have a base?” Arisu shakes his head “We want to find the Beach”

Puzzled, you gape at him “The beach?”

Usagi shakes her head lightly “It’s not a real beach… Arisu heard someone talking about it on a radio at the spades game”

“Maybe it’s a shelter”

“I don’t know” Arisu sighs, looking out at the upcoming bridge. The sight of water makes you feel a little uneasy after the game, so you prefer to look down at the graveled concrete.

“There’s bikes” Usagi points at a bike rack. You could almost cry at the sight.

The ache in your feet has been present for days, yet you’ve pushed it aside to focus on survival. Being stepped on and thrown around for the past week has really put a downer on the health of your feet so any type of rest is welcome, even if your legs and calves will surely be crying out after two minutes.

“Yes!” You practically cry.

“Spying on a game” You sigh “It feels… wrong” Usagi nods, looking back at the apartment complex.

The walkie talkie crinkles as Arisu chimes in “There’s 10 participants… Three people are wearing the keycards” He describes.

A revving of an engine causes your head to whip around. The car from earlier is now full of passengers and it doesn’t stick around for long.

Arisu chimes in once more, stating that the cars he’s watching are moving too.

“C’mon” Usagi prompts, jogging behind the car. You can’t help but sigh, following behind at a slower pace. Usagi practically sprints after the car, yet it ends up splitting off into the darkness.

The pain of being thrashed around an excuse of a bus still remains present in certain parts of your body, so you bite back any whimpers of agony as you chastise yourself to attempt to keep up. Your right arm raises to hold on your left shoulder which cries at any sort of movement.

The car swerves into the darkness, with only a sliver of moonlight reflecting off of the black paint. You watch as it disappears behind foliage, drawing towards a bright opening.

“The bridge!” You point at the upcoming clearing. It gives you a full view of the surrounding pathways. Usagi nods, changing her direction to run towards the bridge.

“Arisu” She presses on the talkie “Head towards the bridge”

“How did we ever miss that?” You sigh, resting against the railing. A brightly lit hotel villa is practically a beacon in the night, yet it leaves you wondering how there is electricity there.

Arisu drops his binoculars “It’s says Beach”

Usagi nods.

“How do they have electricity?” Arisu asks with a smile gracing his face. After spending a day with the two, you realise how determined Arisu is to find the Beach in wake of his dead friend Karube. You briefly remember him from the game, yet you don’t remember seeing either him or Arisu after.

“Will we find the answer to our questions there?” Usagi asks hopefully.

You sigh, flicking your hair back from where it sticks annoyingly to the back of your neck. As you do so, your hand grazes something hard. Something metal.

“Usa-“ You begin, noticing the extending hand behind her head. A gun cocks behind you and before you know it, you’re submerged in darkness once more.

The bag is ripped from your head swiftly. Your eyes close as light seeps into your sight, causing you to duck your head away from the annoyance. The ache in your shoulder is cancelled out by a full throbbing sensation towards the nape of your neck, to which you clench your teeth as you look back up.

“Good morning” A woman greets with an unsettlingly large smile. She’s clad in summer wear, with her torso exposed and strappy sandals adorning her feet. The man beside her is dressed in a button down and Hawaiian beach shorts.

“I’m sorry that we were so rough” He apologises curtly. You glance to see Usagi and Arisu looking equally as disheveled as you feel.

“We heard that there were some people sneaking around the place” He explains, crossing his arms.

“What are your motives?” A woman with sunglasses walks towards your trio, staring down at you with upmost authority. She has a truly authoritative aura.

“We heard that’s we’ll know the answer…” Arisu starts “If we come here”

“What this game is about” He adds wearily.

The door to your left opens dramatically. A man wearing nothing but beach shorts and a flamboyant beach cover walks in casually, brushing back his longer locks of raven hair.

“Exactly” The man states states “We know the answers to the questions you all have” He waves an arm, making his way behind your chairs. His hands rest on the back of Arisu and Usagi’s chairs as he uses the leverage to peer into Arisu’s eyes patronisingly.

“Welcome” His greeting is tough, unwelcome even, yet he pushes back to stand one more.

“To the Beach, a Utopia” He gestures towards the wooden wall in front of your chairs.

“This” The walls begin to move “Is the answer!”

A well deco of cards are revealed. Almost every card is crossed out, sparing about 16 - including the face cards.

“There’s only one way to end this hellish nightmare” He moves to stand in front of the wall, both of his arms extended to fully emphasise the picture.

“We clear the games and collect all the playing cards” He turns proudly.

“So if we collect all of them, the original world will return?” Usagi questions, staring straight at the flamboyant man.

“The original world will not return” He states solemnly “Only one person can return to the original world” He gestures.

You purse your lips. So you have to collect these cards in order for someone else to go home? What if the Beach no longer exists by the time you’re next to go home?

“Only one person?” Arisu repeats.

“What is the point then?” You ask, staring holes into the marked sheet.

“The point?” The man echoes “It’s impossible for a single person to collect all of the cards” He explains.

His arms fall to his sides “You can’t leave this country by working alone”

“That’s why everyone unites as one, in order to let that one person leave the country”

He paces forward “That is the Beach’s objective”

“I’ve heard that you posses good cards” He motions at your small group.

“My men have seen you in many games” His gaze locks on you “You should have what… six or seven cards?” He smiles.

You stay silent, watching him anxiously.

“You cleared two club games by yourself, a game that relies on teamwork” He smiles once more “That is a skill we could use”

By pure luck.

He looks back at Arisu and Usagi “I’ll have the three of you play your part and help us gather remaining cards”

Arisu pauses “And if we reject?”

The man moves to sit on the table next to you “You can’t reject me” He states humourlessly, lifting a piece of paper from the table.

“Your visa is expiring today” He taunts Arisu, repeatedly tapping the crinkled paper. Your gaze flickers, silently cursing him for writing his days down.

“You have no choice but to participate in a game, don’t you?”

The interrogation and introduction felt like it lasted a lifetime. Each time you felt you could leave he would start another tangent about how the Beach is amazing and how by his circumstances you cannot leave.

After being shoved into a two piece, having your cards stripped away from your being and been given a beach cover-up to ease your complaints of having to wear such clothes you were sent to explore the hotel yourself. Arisu and Usagi left to play games with the executives so they can measure their usefulness to the Beach and they made sure to drill into you that you would be attending one tomorrow.

Dicks. If I had impressed them so much, why do I have to be measured on my usefulness if I apparently can’t leave anyway?

Finally having a mirror doesn’t help either. To see how worn down you look and how the light that used to be present in your eyes has been dimmed by the cruel sights you’ve been forced to see knocked you for ten.

You can finally see the extent of your injury. Your shoulder is slightly swollen, with an array of colours painting the skin mockingly. With a little rest and whatever TLC you can get, it seems that it will go away in due time. Luckily, the sheer beach cover hides some of the discolouration.

Dwelling in your room would do you no favours, especially when food and water is available a few floors down. Speaking of which, your stomach feels as if it will cave in on itself.

With a heavy exhale, you push open the door to your hotel room. Luckily, most people preferred to hang around on the lower floors of the hotel so facing many people head-on wasn’t a worry. In fact, the loud chatter emitting from the central pool area was basically the only sound you could hear, signifying that most people were outside bathing in the sun.

Still, questions wreck through your mind. How can these people party, drink and have sex without the prevenlant feeling of death looming in their heads. Yes, coping mechanisms exist but not a single part of you believes you could just let loose like that. It’s foolish, even if in the normal world you would indulge in those sorts.

You pass by a couple people who stand idle, chatting between themselves or just generally chilling in said area. Most people linger in small groups, which you find odd, but you pass by a couple people who seem to enjoy their own presence.

“Hey!” A chirpy voice calls, bringing you out of your thoughts. You hadn’t noticed you had practically cleared two lengthy stairways while lost in your thoughts.

A woman with a braided updo smiles brightly at you as she fiddles with a plastic yellow stick. Her appearance is one you vaguely recognise yet you can’t put a finger on it.

“Hi?” Your reply sounds more like a question, yet you find yourself walking towards her anyway. She pulls the stick away from her mouth, offering you a clearer smile.

“You used to work in the mall, right?” She asks “Opposite the boutique!”

You blink. It’s almost as if your memory resets in that second. She’s the girl from the boutique who would always wave her hand at you and speak to you when you bumped into her on your break.

“Oh my God” An airily laugh escapes your lips “It’s…Kuina?” You almost mumble her name, embarrassment clouding your thoughts at the entire premise of getting her name wrong.

“Yep! [y/n], right?” She asks, to which you nod.

“It’s so weird, bumping into you here” You gesture at the rest of the building. She nods sympathetically, bringing the plastic stick back to her teeth. She chews on it slowly, glancing around the hotel.

“Are you new here?” You nod at her question “Been here about… 20 minutes?” You try to laugh yet nothing but an awkward exhale crossed with a snort passes through your mouth. Kuina frowns, letting her posture relax.

“Jeez…” She trails off “At least you got me now!” She beams “I mean, if you’re on your own”

Nodding, you step closer to her “I know the two I got dragged here with but I think they’re more of a dynamic duo” Kuina hums, thinking about seeing any other newbies.

“Ah, Chishiya did say something about a couple that passed us” She speaks to herself, looking back at the halls.

Comically, your eyes widen. If you had dog ears, you’d imagine they would’ve perked up too. Chishiya. The guy from the apartment, the guy who only told you his name after you had almost been shot by a rain of bullets.

“Chishiya?” You repeat. Kuina seems almost shocked at your repetition as her eyebrows raise “You know Chishiya?” She says almost outlandishly. You shrug, unsure of why she is acting so surprised. Though you can’t be too unsure as the man did almost refuse to give you his name.

“Uh… We met in a game?” You explain hesitantly, eyeing her tensed posture. She deflates, almost pouting as she leans back against the wall.

You pause, eyeing her posture.

“Did I disappoint you?” Kuina sighs, opening her mouth to begin her explanation.

“Kuina just wants to be nosey” A masculine voice chimes in from your right. Swiftly, your head snaps round to meet Chishiya’s cat-like features. He almost looks smug, as if he caught Kuina doing something shameful.

“You found us” Chishiya observes as he openly stares at your clothing choice. In an attempt to shake off his gaze, you shift your weight between the balls of your feet.

“More like I got knocked out because I saw the lights from across the water” You chuckle, offering him a smile. Chishiya only shrugs “You followed our cars”

Your face drops. Had he been in the car Usagi made you run after? A flush of heat rises to your face in mere seconds.

“Not like I planned to follow cars” You shrug, trying to deflect your embarrassment.

Chishiya nods “Just following those two, then?” His question seems more like an insult. His gaze is unwavering too and you’re unsure if he’s purposely trying to make you feel small under his gaze. The statement makes you feel defensive, thanks to the condescending smile slapped onto his face.

“Are you calling me a sheep?” You fire back, not really expecting what his reaction could be. Chishiya is a mysterious man and nothing about him was easily guessable. Almost every time you tried to gage what he was feeling or thinking in the five of spades game, he just surprised you.

“You said it” A cocky smile graces his lips. The barely visible expression causes a small spark of anger to rise in you, yet Kuina is quick to fizzle it out.

“Don’t take anything he says to heart” She interjects “I think he’s mean just for the sake of it” Chishiya tilts his head back slightly, turning his nose to the taller woman. She rolls her eyes, moving to allow him room to lean against the wall too.

“You put up with that?” You ask, eyeing Chishiya who closes his eyes.

Kuina all but shrugs, crossing her arms over her toned midsection. Your shoulders deflate too, not that you noticed they had risen when Chishiya joined the conversation. Maybe the world had already caused you to subconsciously put a barrier up when someone unexpected approached you.

As you turn to walk away, Kuina calls out for you once more.

“[y/n]!” she calls.

“Yeah?”

“Be careful. Hold your tongue around the militants”

prev | next

chishiya & [y/n] interaction galore in the next chapter!