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damn-stark · 3 months ago

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Chapter 4 A silly phase

Chapter 4 of Sinnerwoman

A/N- Getting a lot of people shipping Inho with mc what’s that about 🤭

Warning- ANGST!! Some fluff. Weapons, talks of pregnancy, swearing, blood, violence, and death. Spoilers for the show!

Pairing- Hwang Jun-ho x fem!reader

Episode- 2x04 and 2x05

(Let me know if you want to be tagged)

——

In the depths of your mind where your dreams form, lives your sister. Every second, minute, hour, and every day that you lived with her is still clear there. It’s why you look forward to being able to sleep because that’s where you can find her.

Most of the childhood you lived before you got adopted no longer lives in your mind. No matter how much you try to recall your early years of life, only a vast emptiness unfurls in your mind with the exception being your sister. And you can say being able to let go of your past is an advantage because you’re able to forget most of the bad parts of the life you lived before your adoption, but not being able to conjure up your past also has its disadvantages, mostly when you think or dream about the day you lost your sister; the day you escaped a cruel place because you know someone helped you but all your focus was on your sister.

You clung onto her with your hands and with your eyes to not be far apart or lose sight of her.

“Shh. It’s okay. We’ll be okay, just be. Quiet.”

A hand keeps your mouth tightly covered while in the distance the sound of motors roars louder than the waves hitting at the boat.

Yet through the fear of being caught, all you let yourself care about is your sister. She keeps you from sobbing with fear as the threat gets close to uncovering you. Even though she’s far from being an adult, she brings your mind ease and keeps your heart calm like the sun breaking through stormy clouds, like flowers blooming in the spring, and beautifully formed snowflakes falling on your palm.

Even though she’s scared, she makes sure to keep her eyes and her face from showing that fear in order to help you. And it really does help because you think you can make it out.

However, then the sound of rapid bullets goes off seconds before they hit the boat and one scrapes your shoulder, making you kick back so hard the hand falls from your mouth and you scream, proving the threat that their suspicions are right; people are hiding in the boat.

Albeit rather than climbing on your boat, more bullets hit the boat, causing water to start quickly leaking through the holes and weighing the boat down second by second.

“It’s okay!” Your sister exclaims to capture your attention from the cold touch of the water reaching your legs. “When we get out I need you to swim to the surface just like we practiced, okay?”

You nod nervously as you try to hold her gaze in the darkness. “Okay. Okay, and you’ll surface with me?”

She offers you a shaky smile but it helps you feel reassured for a little while, at least, until the water blankets your body, leaving only your head untouched.

“Come on! Come on!” You hear someone scream seconds before water rushes through and you’re completely covered.

From one second to the next, you’re being grabbed by your wrist and yanked out of the completely sunken hideout. You try to look for your sister, that's the first instinct you have when you’re out surrounded by nothing but an endless blue abyss hiding death in the deep depths, but the salt in the water burns your eyes as the water itself quickly fills your lungs, making every instinct only think about panic and fear. It paralyzes you and makes your heart and your mind race until finally you're out and hit with fresh air.

Alas, after you wipe the water off your eyes and open them you're far from relieved when you don’t see your sister. You see the violence made by bullets flying past you and getting thrown from your side, but not her.

You call out to her and throw yourself from side to side, but you can’t catch even a sight of her. Water keeps hitting your face and the waves keep trying to shove you down and sink you until once again a hand grabs you after bullets no longer fly through the air.

“Come on there’ll be more on the way. We have to go!”

“No,” you shriek and yank their hand off your wrist to turn back around, catching sight of your sister floating in the water at long last—

“Hey…”

A sharp breath hits your lungs as you’re startled awake.

“Hey! Stop moving before I strap you to that bed.”

You follow the soft scolding voice and see Player 380 looking at you above her thin blanket before she closes her eyes and puts the blanket over her head.

“Sorry,” you whisper and look at your other side, noticing In-ho still sleeping on his back since it’s not time to wake up yet.

“This room is eerie enough already, making it hard to sleep in, I don’t need you thrashing around and scaring me too,” she keeps throwing at you but this time she sounds muffled.

“I’m sorry. It was a…nightmare. Kinda,” you explain in hopes she would understand you’re not doing it on purpose.

“Okay,” she deadpans and you quietly turn your head to look at her again. Or rather the lump that she now is since she has the blanket covering her.

“Stop. Staring. It’s creepy,” she mutters, making you jump and immediately look up instead since you won’t be able to go to sleep. You know that for certain.

“Sorry,” you mumble and seconds later you hear her hands hit her torso as she uncovers herself.

“Well. I'm awake,” she grumbles. “Thanks.”

You press your lips together and nod gently as you keep your eyes focused above.

“I’m going to pester you now in return,” she adds, drifting your gaze to the corner of your eyes to try and catch a glimpse of her—“what had you flinging yourself around?”

You hesitate and swallow thickly before you give her a short response. “My past.”

She hums. “Yeah, I can see why that would have someone scared.”

“If I make it out of here I’m never going to be able to go to sleep without thinking about this place,” you mutter and she scoffs.

“Or that song they play every morning. Or the voice behind the PA. Or the guards.”

You chuckle breathlessly and slowly tilt your head to the side to look at her without hesitation or guilt.

“Do they think kids just go around listening to that kind of music or something?” She asks expecting no clear response.

“It’s all just for the aesthetic,” you tell her, earning her unwavering gaze and a quirked brow.

“Really?”

You nod stiffly and quickly try to mask that confident answer. “I assume anyway.”

Her face eases and she averts her gaze again before she continues speaking to you. Either keeping her word about pestering you or…well…she genuinely wants to talk—“what do you think we’ll play next? Something easy I hope.”

You shrug. “I don’t know. I just know if it’s not involving water I'm fine.”

She snickers. “Can’t swim?”

You shake your head. “No. I can. I'm more so scared—Of deep bodies of water,” you add so she doesn’t make fun of you for something that she might think is a childish fear.

“Have you ever watched those movies where the girl has to fight in an arena with other players from different parts of her country?” She suddenly changes the subject.

“Uh,” you voice with confusion before you grasp what she’s referring to. “Yes?”

She nods. “We’re those players. Only instead of being pitted against each other, we play child games together.”

You laugh nervously. “I don’t think it’s exactly—”

“But it is,” she cuts you off and looks at you with no hint of amusement. “Only we might be the monsters too for continuing to play after we learned the truth.”

Like being slapped in the face you stare at her with disbelief until the music begins to blare through the speakers and the lights slowly turn on, telling everyone it's morning now and another day has started.

“It would suck if it was a water game,” she adds as she sits up. “If we have to work in teams, maybe we can work together. Okay?”

You nod and watch her climb out of her bed before you turn to your side to look at In-ho and see if he’s still asleep, but you catch him sitting up already.

“Where did you go last night?” You ask out of curiosity, making him peer over his shoulder.

“You were supposed to be asleep,” he says.

You scoff as you sit up. “Yeah, but I woke up and saw your bed empty.”

He sighs and looks away. “Well,” he mutters. “If you must know, I went to talk to Player 456. It seems I have gotten his trust.”

You hum and start to make your bed. “Well, it doesn’t seem like it’s hard to gain. He seems like…a good man. Genuine.”

In-ho stiffens and slowly turns around to look at you with a gaze that slowly hardens as if he’s off put by your comment that was just a mere observation. Nothing else.

“Don’t forget why we’re here,” he says without raising his voice, but you do catch the warning, the threat in his calm voice which is more unsettling than him sneering or exclaiming.

“I,” you part your lips and drag out a small breath. “I’m just saying he seems like the trusting type.”

He holds your gaze as he tries to dig in to try and uncover any hidden meaning, but you are telling the truth.

“Okay,” he mouths before he points his head to the floor. “It’s almost time to gather around. Come on.”

You nod slowly and watch him climb out of bed. Before you can finish making your bed a squadron of pink guards walk in followed by the generic voice speaking through the PA system right on time. “Attention, please. The second game will begin momentarily. Please follow the instructions from our staff. Let me repeat…”

You tune her out and finish making your bed before you climb out and reach In-ho past the bed line waiting to simply head to the second game because unlike everyone else, suspense to know the second game doesn’t cling on to either of you because you know what follows. Of course, you pretend to be clueless to those who ask your thoughts on what the next game might be.

Nevertheless, it’s a good thing no one asked for your thoughts. None of the men you had talked to yesterday talked at all while you were formed in front of the Pink guards so you didn’t have to lie.

It’s not until you’re ascending that maze of stairs that leads you to the next game that someone finally breaks through the silence to speak to you. “You know I knew I recognized you from somewhere,” Dae-ho steals your attention from the thoughts you were lost in. “Yesterday when that lady called you out I finally remembered where I recognized you from. You’re that missing detective. You were all over the news.”

You sigh and nod. “Yeah. That’s me. I was just giving you a hard time when you asked.” You say and offer him a soft smile, making him scoff softly before his face contorts with concern.

“Are you okay? Were you kidnapped or something?” He queries, making Player 390 peek back over his shoulder.

“No.” You scoff nervously. “Not at all. I chose to disappear. It was a choice.”

He hums and nods slowly in comprehension. He proceeds to look ahead for a second before he grabs the collar of his sweater and looks back at you again in an attempt to say something, but Player 390 beats him to it. “You should go back to your family after you get out. They must be worried. You shouldn’t put this stress on them.”

You laugh dryly at the ground and then shake your head. “No, you got it all wrong sir. No one is waiting for me to return.”

You hear someone suck in air between their teeth most likely out of embarrassment.

“That can’t be true,” Dae-ho tries to rebuttal you. “I mean you must have someone. A boyfriend. Someone.”

You shake your head but stay quiet for a second before you respond. “Nope, but it’s okay.” You nod and then lift your head, meeting Dae-ho’s curious gaze and seeing player 390 scratch the back of his head as he looks ahead—“That won’t take away from my victory. Because I do plan on winning. What is it you Marines say?” You smile and Dae-ho mirrors that gesture before he blurts.

“Victory at all costs!”

You laugh and nod. “Exactly.”

Dae-ho flashes you a charming toothy grin. “Well I like that spirit…” he trails off and then asks for your name so you give it to him and that smile doesn’t fade, it only grows wider. “What a pretty name.”

“Tsk.” You click your tongue shyly. “Thank you.”

Not so much longer after that conversation ends you finally reach your destination, a room with clouds painted on the walls, a school painted on another, and two large rainbow circles painted on two ends of the ground, leaving every Player but In-ho and you flabbergasted by what they’re walking into.

“Welcome to your second game,” the woman on the PA announces. “The game will be played in teams. Please divide into teams of five in the next ten minutes. Let me repeat. This game will be played in teams, please divide into teams of five in the next ten minutes.”

“Is Dalgona a team game?” Player 390 asks his friend, but his friend doesn’t answer, instead Player 100 butts in.

“Aren’t we playing the Dalgona game?”

“No.” Player 456 shakes his head. “It doesn’t look like it.”

“What’s the game then?” Player 100 follows up by asking.

“I’m not sure,” Player 456 responds kindly and honestly, but Player 100 proceeds with viciousness.

“What? You said you’d done this before. That triangle was the easiest. Was that all bullshit?”

Player 456 bows his head softly as he apologizes. “I’m sorry.”

“Sorry won’t cut it! You talked like you knew everything. All these people believed your bullshit. What are you going to do? Will you take responsibility?” He exclaims and after he does In-ho moves swiftly in front of him to pass him a threatening look that makes the old man go from angry to unsettled.

“That’s enough,” In-ho warns the old man, making him step back and be left speechless. Even if he could think of something to respond with, the lady from the PA system speaks over the crowd again.

“Please divide into teams now.”

The doors begin to close and the timer finally starts and counts down from ten.

“Yeah, just drop it,” Player 226 tells the old man. “Don’t waste your time talking to this nutjob. We shouldn’t have fallen for his nonsense. Jesus. Come on, let’s form a team first.”

“Previous winner?” Player 100 grumbles as he walks past with a group following right behind him. “Damn lunatic!”

“Dalgona? Triangle? Screw you.” Player 226 walks off saying.

Once the team of stupid men is gone Player 456 turns to address your group with the same softness he used before. “I’m sorry.”

“I still trust you,” In-ho assures him first. “I’d like to play the game with you if that’s okay?”

Before In-ho can get a response to his question, Player 390 interjects. “All right. Let’s be real men and give it a shot.”

You slowly look at him with a questioning look and he clears his throat and corrects himself. “You too.”

You huff with amusement and let him continue.

“It's a children’s game, right? We used to play games all the time.”

“That’s right, sirs and miss,” Dae-ho chimes in. “I’ll join you. I feel like I can do anything with you.”

“That’s the Marine spirit,” Player 390 praises Dae-ho with a pat on the back. “It’s embarrassing for brave Marines to be carving Dalgona anyway. If we’re playing a game, it should be worth risking our lives for.”

You snicker with amusement.

“Like Buck Buck or the Squid Game, right?” He adds.

“Yes!” Dae-ho agrees. “I will certainly risk my life to win, sir.”

“I will too for all of you,” you finally voice. “If you all will have me of course.”

“Why wouldn’t we?” Dae-ho is the first one to welcome you without protest or hesitation.

“Right,” Player 390 agrees. “I mean having an ex-detective in our team will boost our chances, won’t it men?”

You giggle and then turn to look at Player 456. “If it’s any consolation, sir. I still trust you too. It’s not your fault they changed the game. You tried to help and that was the best thing to do. I hope you don’t stop trying. Who knows who you can save.”

Player 456 holds your gaze and the corner of his lips lifts up before he bows his head. “Thank you. That was very kind.”

You offer him a smile and one last thing. “I have faith in you.”

He draws in a deep breath and you catch In-ho’s gaze and hold it for a second before he looks away.

“What do you think it will be?” Dae-ho asks, making you walk over to his side and follow his line of gaze to the rainbow circles on the ground.

“Maybe…a relay race?” You pretend to act clueless, making him chuckle.

“Okay, when did you ever play that as a kid?” He teases.

You face him with a serious deadpanned face. “Well, I was homeschooled so I wouldn’t know what happens at a playground.”

Dae-ho’s face falls and he starts to look apologetic, so you cut in.

“I’m messing with you again.” You snicker and he laughs nervously—“but really I was just offering an idea going off the circles.”

He hums as he nods.

“Excuse me,” a timid voice cuts in and focuses your attention on them, Player 222. “Can I join you?” She asks without having a clue that you’re already a team. Or maybe she doesn't care.

“Sorry,” Player 390 responds for the group. “We’ve already got five people.

“Please help me,” Player 222 interjects and then touches her belly. “I'm pregnant.”

All eyes fall on her belly but yours goes to In-ho before they go to Dae-ho as he comments on the matter. “Oh, your belly.”

“It’s okay,” you interject as you look at Player 222. “I can go find a different team. There’s still 30 seconds left.”

Immediately In-ho counters. “Are you sure?”

You meet his gaze and nod with a small assuring smile. “Positive. I don’t mind.”

You then look to Player 222 and look at her kindly. “You’ll be protected with them.”

She bows her head right away. “Thank you so much.”

“No problem.” You assure her before you step away to face the entirety of the group. “Good luck. I’ll see you when we win.”

“Be careful,” Dae-ho tells you first.

“I will. You be careful too so we can see each other at the end of this.”

He grins. “Oh, we will!”

“Hey,” In-ho steals your attention but hesitates before he shares what he wants to say. “Be careful.”

You blink with surprise before you nod as a warmth unfurls over your cheeks. “You too,” you redirect before you offer them all a thumbs up and then leave the group in search of one person. You are positive that she already has a group, but like Player 222 you plan to invade and conquer.

Luckily when you spot her you find that purple-haired weirdo gathered around her too, so hopefully you’re right when you assume he’s like a lot of the guys you’ve dealt with when you worked.

“Hey, Player 380,” you greet with a small smile so you don’t come on too strong and out of character. “Got room for one more?” You ask while also ignoring the others on purpose.

“Uh—”

“We already—”

“<Of course>” Player 230 speaks over the other two in English, proving your assessment about him exactly right. “I will always help a lady in need.”

You slowly look away from Player 380 to face him, catching him nodding dramatically before he turns and waves away Player 256.

“Gyeong-su out!” He exclaims and shoves him away before he gets in front of him to block his way and face you. “Welcome, my lady to the Thanos world.” He greets you as he makes little horns on his head with his fingers, making your lips twitch.

“Thanos?” You ask as you fight hard not to snicker. “Like the purple alien from the hero movies?”

He nods. “Exactly.”

You nod stiffly and whisper. “Okay. Got it.”

The timer beeps as it announces the end of team selection, leaving no time to make more small talk.

“Time for team selection is up,” the woman from the PA announces before the pink guards march over, rounding up all the players to direct half of the teams to sit inside one circle while the other half sits inside another. Unfortunately, you and In-ho got placed on two separate sides so you can’t converse with that group, but it also gives you a chance to spread your secret agenda without him lurking.

“The game you will be playing is Six-Legged Pentathlon,” the PA lady shares what you know but what is news to the others. “You will start with your legs tied together. Each member will take turns playing a mini-game at every ten-meter mark, and if you win, the team can move on to the next one. Here are the mini-games. Number one, the Ddakji.”

You pretend to be reassured by the first game as it’s announced.

“Number two, Flying Stone. Number three, Gong-gi. Number four, Spinning Top! Number five, Jegi,” the woman finishes announcing before adding more information. “Your goal is to win all the mini-games and cross the finish line in five minutes. Please decide players for each mini-game.”

“You guys pick,” Thanos throws at the group before turning away.

“Well,” Player 124 interjects as he leans forward to look at everyone in the group. “We have two girls who’s gonna play Gong-gi?”

You and Player 380 share an annoyed look before you lean forward to look back at him and counter. “Don’t count on me. I don’t know how to play that.”

“Me neither,” Player 380 echoes.

“Don’t—tsk,” he hisses and turns away in annoyance. “Why did we let you be in the team then?” He retorts as he looks back at you.

“You didn’t,” you remark. “Thanos did, so anyway. I’m good at Ddakji,” you share. “I'll take that.”

“I’ll take flying stone,” Player 380 claims her game, leaving only three games to choose from.

“I can play Gong-gi if that’s okay with the rest of you?” Player 125 offers next.

“Sure, sure,” Thanos assures him mindlessly while Player 124 sighs before he chooses between the last two.

“I guess I’ll do Spinning Top, leaving Thanos with Jegi. Okay, Thanos?” He makes sure to ask him but said man doesn’t catch what’s said to him, so player 124 nudges him to gain his attention.

“What?” He exclaims as he looks over. “Did you all pick?”

Player 124 nods. “Yes. You ended up with Jegi.”

Thanos nods without uncertainty. “Okay. Cool. I like that.”

“Not like you had much of a choice,” Player 380 mutters and turns away. “Anyway. Player 002 you better be a good detective and win the first round.”

You laugh softly. “Yeah because Ddakji was totally a skill needed to be a detective.”

She messes with her lip ring and scoffs. “Oh, I know it wasn’t, but don’t lose the first round.”

“Impossible to do so. I’m a class act,” you talk yourself up with a teasing smile. “And I’m defiant. I won’t let these fuckers watch me die and laugh at my face. And you shouldn’t either. Neither one of you,” you say and look at Player 125 who’s paying attention, and then look at Player 124 who's eavesdropping.

Player 380 nods slowly in comprehension. “Okay.”

You drift your eyes to Player 125 and query. “What’s your name?”

He stammers before he offers you a response. “Park Min-su.”

You offer him a faint smile and then offer him your name in return before you let your teammates know too, earning a rapid response from Thanos. “Choi Su-bong.”

You hum and comment, “That works a lot better than Thanos.”

He turns his head and quips. “Thanos is my stage name baby.”

You crinkle your nose in disgust and roll your eyes. “Anyway. You,” you point to Player 124.

“Nam-gyu,” he answers curtly, but it’s not like you expect much from him anyway. He didn’t seem welcoming when Thanos traded the other player for you and he still doesn’t look like he’s a fan of you.

“Se-mi,” Player 380 finally reveals.

You offer your teammates a warm look and a friendly smile that lets them know you’re someone to rely on.

“Great, good. Now. We won’t let them see us die. Got it?”

Nam-gyu scoffs and averts his gaze, but in return, Thanos grins at you. “Oh yeah, I like that!” He exclaims. “Let’s go, team!”

You giggle. Not to gain their trust, not to let them mindlessly know you’re someone to trust amongst a sea of strangers, but because you’re genuinely amused by his excitement.

No one else on the team seems to be amused by his antics, just you, but you can’t really blame them, you’re waiting your turn to either live another day or die today with no way to escape. When the first team starts that reality welcomes a tension that grows thicker and thicker. Not only amongst your team but every team watching and waiting their turn. More so on your side because the first team can’t seem to get past the Flying Stone.

“Fuss up now,” Nam-gyu spats at a nervous Min-su. “Can you throw or not? I will not be stuck in that station, do you hear me?”

“Calm down,” you mutter as you watch the man playing fail again. “You won’t get anything from stressing him out. I’m sure he’s got it.”

Nam-gyu mutters something under his breath but you don’t care to know what he said. You keep watching the players playing at your side and as time ticks you start to lose hope for their success.

Eventually, twenty seconds are left on the timer and finally, the team can pass to the other game, but it’s way too late. They won’t make it. So knowing what follows you slowly tilt your head down to avoid the violent scene that’s coming, but even if you expect to hear the sound of flying bullets after the timer goes off, you still nervously rub at your thighs when bullets fly through the air.

“We should have left!” A player blurts while the lady in the PA system announces the losers. “We’re all going to die now! We’re all going to die because of those who voted to continue!”

You look up and notice that almost every player is crouched with their heads in their hands out of fear. All those except for Thanos; he’s crouched, fidgety, but unbothered by all the violent commotion. Which can be good to get your team to win, or it could be really bad.

You’ll see when it’s your turn.

“Can you…” Nam-gyu’s shaky voice catches your attention and when you look over you see him talking to Thanos—“Can you please give me one of those?”

“Those?” Thanos rebuttals cluelessly.

“The thing you took. You’re keeping them inside your cross,” Nam-guy insists and you know what has Thanos so unbothered and fidgety; drugs.

Not a surprise.

“<I don’t know what the fuck you are talking about>,” Thanos spats in English as he just keeps fidgeting.

“If I get nervous and lose the game, we’ll all die,” Nam-gyu uses desperation as his plea. “My hands are shaking like crazy.”

Thanos scoffs. “Nam-su.”

“Attention please,” the PA breaks through the room.

“Nam-gyu,” said man corrects Thanos without bothering to listen to the announcement.

“Right. Nam-gyu,” Thanos corrects himself as he reaches into his sweater to pull out a chunky cross.

“Please wait while we tidy up the venue,” the lady from the PA shares.

“Do you know what this is?” Thanos asks as he shows off his cross. Or rather what it contains inside.

“Ecstasy? Ketamine?” Nam-gyu guesses.

“It’s a new kind,” Thanos says. “It’s fucking crazy, man. You can’t handle it.”

“Hey,” Nam-gyu whispers whilst Se-mi leans towards you.

“Okay, detective, would you have busted them?”

You watch as Nam-gyu rolls his sleeve up to show something to Thanos.

“I did all kinds of stuff when I was working at the club,” Nam-gyu tries to continue persuading Thanos. “I even brought you some when you came to the club.

“Oh, yeah,” you tell Se-mi smugly. “Big time. My partner and I would catch a lot of people like them in our early years.”

“You junkie,” Thanos mutters as he hands Nam-gyu a pill.

Seconds later while Nam-gyu is consuming his pill, he slowly looks over and catches Min-su staring so he immediately quips. “What?”

You roll your eyes and look at the walls.

“Nothing,” Min-su tries to dismiss him nervously, but Nam-gyu takes that as an invitation to continue the conversation. You’re stuck waiting so you listen in.

“What’s your name again?”

“It’s Min-su.”

“Min-su,” Nam-gyu repeats. “Min-su what’s that famous quote by Admiral Yi Sun-sin?”

Without letting the young man answer Nam-gyu blurts the quote. “Those seeking life shall croak. Those seeking death shall live.”

You scoff and just continue looking ahead.

“So don’t be scared,” Nam-gyu continues. “Just tell yourself that you don’t care if you die. Then we’ll survive, win the money, and get the fuck out.”

“Hey,” Se-mi interjects nonchalantly. “Mind your business.”

“Me?”

“Yes, you. Mr. Shaky Hands,” Se-mi remarks sassily, making you smile.

“What’s with the attitude?” Nam-gyu snaps before he looks at Thanos. “We shouldn't have picked girls. She’s got attitude.”

You snicker and you then feel his piercing stare.

“What are you laughing at Miss Detective?” Nam-gyu now ropes you into the conversation.

You smile wider and before you can answer, Se-mi responds back. “You’re a prick. You had to pop a pill for your nerves.”

“Fucking bitch,” Nam-gyu mutters, making you finally snap your head toward him and causing Se-mi to glare at him.

Nothing can be exchanged between the two because the sound of doors opening and forklifts rolling in steal everyone’s attention, so all you’re left with is just tension.

“Players, please wait while we tidy up the venue,” the PA goes off again so you just look out again to wait.

Eventually, the next players go. On one side Player 120, the old lady, and that shaman lady are playing, but they’re hard to watch over the sea of players in the way, so without much of a choice you watch the players on your side play their games.

The one Player playing Ddakji misses once so that earns an immediate comment from Nam-gyu. “You better be right and know how to play. Class act,” he mocks.

You roll your eyes his way and quip unbothered. “Why don’t you focus on your own game.”

He scoffs. “Girls.”

You ignore him and continue watching the players. As time comes closer to the end and they make it further than the last team, you stand up to watch closer and more intently. Once they finally finish the last game with only a few seconds left you find your heart racing with anxiety, so you dig your nails in your palms and wait, counting each step until they, like, the other team cross the finish line, making everyone in the room burst with excitement.

And with all the excitement swirling in the room as different players win it’s easy to forget that these are life-or-death games. And even if your life along with In-ho’s would be spared, nobody else’s would be so you carry that guilt on your shoulders, making every win feel like your own and every loss feel like a slap to the face.

The same can’t be said for your team when it’s finally time to go up next because those negative emotions are heightened to a high breaking level. You don’t show it, but you feel it with every pound of your heart.

“Go Player 002!” You hear from across the room before you hear them repeat themself. Only this time instead of your number they shout your name, and when you look over you see that it was Dae-ho. He’s at the other side but he and the rest of his team have their eyes on you.

“You got this!” Player 390 encourages you after Dae-ho, making you beam at them like never before and feel your heart skip a beat.

“Good luck!” Dae-ho adds one last thing, so you follow up by throwing them a thumbs up that’s accompanied by the same beaming smile. Before you can turn away your eyes fall on In-ho and he offers you an encouraging nod, so you shoot him a sweeter smile before you look at your team.

“They won’t see us die,” you try to offer encouraging words that only Thanos finds encouragement in. The others are either too shy, headstrong, or unbothered so you move on to locking arms and starting when the timer starts

“One. Two. One. Two,” you all chant your steps as you approach the first game. Your game. “One. Two. One. Two…” You all trail off as you come to a stop and right away get the two different colored Ddakji.

“No pressure or anything,” Se-mi says by your ear as you take the blue Ddakji while the red one is thrown on the ground.

“Ok,” you whisper. “I got this.”

You’ve only played this hundreds of times. Not when other lives depend on you to win, but you have played under pressure so there's no difference.

Thus you draw out a deep breath before you reel your hand back, and then slam the Ddakji hard on the piece on the ground, making the red piece successfully flip over on the first try.

“Pass,” The PA announces as the pink guard makes a circle with their hands.

With that first victory in your belt, your teammates praise you as they jump, scream, and push you with joy, making you feel flustered but also proud. When you hear the commotion from the other players, and when you catch your friends watching from across the room you can’t help but giggle with excitement, unknown to the fact that the act you had put on is coming apart in the best way possible because even if you had worked with teams. Even if there were times when you were celebrated, the amount of praise you're receiving now from everyone watching and from your team warms your heart in ways it’s always looking to be comforted.

Nevertheless, your turn is over so you move on. You count every step with a higher sense of excitement until you reach the next game.

“You got this,” you encourage Se-mi as she’s next for Flying Stone.

She nods as she grabs the stone the Pink guard offers her. “Yes. Now be quiet,” she mutters.

You press your lips together and hold your breath as she pulls her hand back seconds before she flicks her wrist and lets the stone fly.

It seems like it’s going to miss as it skids on the ground, but thankfully Se-mi is able to knock the other stone off the ground, making you unable to contain yourself and get drunk off the excitement and relief expressed by all of you.

Once the excitement passes you lock arms again and continue stepping toward the next game, shouting each step with more ease and more bliss. Yet how long that bliss lasts falls to Min-su, and he fails to contain it when he drops one of the stones.

“You motherfucker!” Nam-gyu implodes as he shakes Min-su violently.

“Hey!” You bark. “Leave him be or else we will die.”

Nam-gyu passes you a glare but leaves Min-su be, letting him try again.

This time around he’s able to pass all stages without dropping a single stone, making you and Se-mi praise him with screams before you move on.

Now the Spinning Top is Nam-gyu’s turn, so you decide to pay him back for being such a prick. “You know how to do this right? You won’t wrap the string wrong?”

“No,” he hisses. “Now shut up.”

You snicker and Se-mi joins you.

Much like Min-su nevertheless, Nam-gyu fails his first attempt, causing Se-mi to shove you to the side to be able to grab Nam-gyu by the collar and shake him as she snaps at him. “You fucking prick!”

Instead of being worried, you chuckle and only tick Nam-gyu off more before he wraps the string again and gets ready to try again.

“You better pass! Pass! Pass!” Thanos barks at him, causing him to swat Thanos away before he hurls the Spinning Top on the ground and finally makes it spin successfully.

“Pass!” The PA announces as the guard also marks it with his arms, making you all burst with joy.

Lastly, the last game relies on Thanos, and you’d be lying if you said you weren’t worried. “You better pass this, tweaker,” you give into the stress once you reach the last station.

He shakes his head like a dog and then throws the Jegi. When it comes close to his foot, he kicks up and manages to keep in the air for the first, second, third, fourth, and fifth time, securing your victory. Only it didn’t mean you got to make it out alive, so after a hasty celebration you lock arms for one last time.

“One. Two. One. Two. One. Two!” You all chant over and over again until finally you cross the line, causing every last one of you, and every single member of the audience to celebrate with screams and hops.

Once again you can’t contain yourself, so you hug your team and get drunk off the victory and the praise, feeding off that short-lived joy. And before it could die down you turn to your friends and catch them all celebrating along with you with smiles of their own. Yet one smile impresses you more than the others and even takes you back, and that's In-ho’s. Real or fake you take that to heart and cherish it.

Maybe it blinds you too, but you don’t care at that moment. You don't even think of it any other way but out of sincerity.

“Good luck!” You shout at your friends whilst you throw them a thumbs up before you can leave.

However, before you can walk out the doors to return to the hall, one of the Pink guards with a triangle mask blocks your path. Not to get you in trouble or say anything at all at that matter, they just stand in front of you and watch you.

You find it uneasy, more so because you can’t look inside their mask to look at them in the face, but you are also their boss so you lift your chin and deadpan. “Excuse me.”

You shove past them to catch up with your team and continue riding off that win. “Good job everyone! That was truly an epic win! And you!” You slap Min-su’s back. “You saved us with that Gong-gi!”

He laughs nervously and shakes his head. “Not really I failed once.”

“And almost cost us our lives.” Nam-gyu retorts, but you don’t let that comment go unnoticed.

“And you failed once too. And that was with the pills.”

Nam-gyu slowly glares at you over his shoulder before he rebuttals trying to sass you. “You’re a detective. Why are you here with the slum?”

You scoff and let Min-su go. “It doesn’t matter if I’m a detective or not, I go through the same shit as everyone else. You'd be surprised.”

“Really? Tell us something then?”

You roll your eyes. “No,” you counter. “Why do I need to prove myself to you? I’m here, that’s proof enough. Anyway, Thanos, that was some nice skills. Have you thought of soccer? Considering this rapping thing didn’t work.”

“Oh, I thought you didn’t know me?” He immediately remarks as he sneaks a quick glance at you.

You snicker. “I never said I didn’t. I judged your name, that's it.”

“I would never change my profession. Rapping is my call.” He says as he does weird hand gestures.

You and Se-mi share an amused look before you add one more thing. “If only we had something to drink. This calls for it.” You groan. “And some really good food.”

“You said it,” Se-mi mutters as she groans dramatically.

Eventually after a long descension of stairs, you make it to the player hall where you wait in silence as you all wind down, and you’re smacked with anxiety as you now have to wait on your friends without a clue as to how they’re doing or when they’ll return. And after a while of waiting and watching teams coming back and lowering the prize money, Nam-gyu sighs loudly before he inputs a stupid comment.

“Fuck, way too many people made it.”

You roll your eyes but continue resting against the metal steps.

“Hey. How many do you think are left?” You hear Nam-gyu ask and when you peek over you see him picking at Min-su.

“Sorry?” Min-su probes.

“How many roaches do you think we have left in here?” Nam-gyu clarifies, and this time Min-su examines the room rather quickly before giving Nam-gyu a rough estimate.

“About 200.”

You smile with awe but immediately frown at Nam-gyu’s following comment. “How do you know? What are you, an AI bot? Go count them.”

“Now?”

You look over and see Nam-gyu nod at Min-su’s question, so said young man begins to stand up to do as he was told without any hesitation, which makes him appear weak, but nevertheless, you put your hand out to stop him and sit him back down.

“Stop. You’re not going to do that. Don’t listen to this idiot. Why don’t you go count them yourself?” You then direct at Nam-gyu. “Or have all the drugs you shot up fried your brain that you can’t do simple math?”

“Excuse me?” He challenges you, but you don’t fall victim to his intimidation like Min-su. You sit up and glower at him, making him push himself down.

“The masked men will come and tell us soon,” you add.

“You little pig,” he sneers under his breath, so you slowly stand up to glare at him even harder.

“<Stop it,>” Thanos cuts in. “What’s your name again?” He points at Min-su.

“It’s Min-su,” said man shares, whilst you sit back down and look back at the iron door.

“How old are you?” Thanos continues to question him.

“I’m 27.”

“So you were born in 1997,” Thanos quickly makes the math before he remarks. “Why do you treat him like he’s your boss? He’s the same age as you. Nam-su, isn’t that right?”

You snicker.

“It’s Nam-gyu.”

Thanos nods. “Yes, Nam-gyu. Isn’t that right?”

“Yes,” he answers without that arrogance he directs toward Min-su and Se-mi.

“You’re the same age. Treat him like a friend,” Thanos tries to ease the tension. “We’ll work better as a team that way. Okay?” He says before he then snaps his head to look at you. “How old are you?”

“30,” you share, so he moves on to ask Se-mi.

“Born in 1996,” she says.

“It’s settled,” Thanos adds. “You two are the same age,” he refers to Nam-gyu and Min-su and then points to you and Se-mi. “You detective are the oldest, along with Se-mi. Hey,” he directs at Nam-gyu. “Call them Noona since they’re older.”

Nam-gyu laughs and Thanos insists.

“I’m okay. Please don’t,” you assure them.

“Hey, hey, detective,” Thanos stammers. “What is it about you being stabbed in the uterus? Was it at work?”

That was a crazy change of subject.

“Well,” you sigh and lean forward to prop your elbows on your knees and rest your chin on your hands. “I wish, but no. Some…” you pause and draw in a deep breath before you share a very short summary of the events. “I got jumped by a group of men.”

“Okay, impressive.”

Se-mi snorts and mutters. “Idiot. Why would being jumped be impressive?”

“She survived,” he states as if it wasn’t obvious that it was what he was referring to, making you giggle breathlessly.

Before more can be added or asked the iron door opens, making everyone in the room fall silent. When you look over, a relieved breath escapes your lips before you jump to your feet and become the only person to be glad by the return of In-ho and his team. Everyone else looks rather disappointed that their share of the prize money is going down.

“Young-il!” You exclaim and forget to thank your team, you bolt down the stairs and immediately meet In-ho halfway with a proud grin painted on your face. “You made it!” You muse as you grab his arm and shake him very gently.

“We all did,” he speaks softly with a faint smile tugging at his lips and his eyes locked on yours. “You made it too.”

You shrug and smile smugly. “I wasn’t going to let them watch me die.” You say and offer him a genuine smile and rub his arm, causing his eyes to glance at your hands before you let go and move down the line.

“Good job, guys,” you praise Player 456 with a more restricted excitement. After that when you reach Dae-ho you don’t hold back, you squeal and grab his arm to shake him. “You all made it! I was so worried! But I’m so happy now!”

“And you’re the only one,” he says with a grin of his own that he can’t hold back. “But you! You made it too! Just like you said you would!”

You grin brightly. “I told you we’d see each other again!” You muse as you keep a hold of his arm before you turn your head to glance over at Player 222 since Player 390 is waving over at a different team. “I’m happy to see you too! Besides being proud, how do you feel?”

Player 222 touches her belly and nods gently. “Good. I’m good. Thank you for asking.”

You pass her a faint smile before you finally see Player 390’s attention is available—“That sweet old lady. I miss my mom,” he says to the ceiling before you take his attention.

“Good job sir. I was rooting for all of you.”

“Oh? Thank you,” he says as he looks down at you. “I was rooting for you too, detective! Amazing win!”

It’s been a while since you’ve smiled so much. You haven’t had a reason to, but right now you smile again. “If only I could have watched you all play!” You muse.

“We swept it,” he says as he puts his hands on his hips. “I mean there was a little bump, but besides that, we completely swept it.”

You laugh. “I’m glad. You’ll have to retell me every move. I want to know.”

“Okay, okay,” Dae-ho interjects excitedly. “But first let’s sit down,” he says as he pulls his arm up to grab your hand and pull you with him and the rest of the team to sit in a corner.

“And then,” he continues. “Tell me first how you made the Ddakji jump that high. We saw it from our side it was impressive”

You let his hand go and shrug before you go timidly. “Practice. I would play it with friends. And perhaps I was imagining a few douchebag’s faces.”

He and Player 390 chuckle at that and your face only grows warm before you giggle and note all the excitement that you have displayed at this moment. It’s not that you can’t express such high excitement, it’s more so that there were points in your life that you had nothing to be so excited about. Your life has been filled with a lot of ups and downs, you’ve had to suppress so many emotions, and or grief has robbed you of that delight, so the times you can express your excitement have been few, and when you do it surprises you.

“I’m sorry about earlier, everyone,” In-ho interjects, causing your grin to fade as you grow confused.

“No,” Dae-ho assures him. “It’s okay.”

“Don’t be,” Player 456 also interjects. “If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have made the last kick.”

In-ho chuckles softly at the ground, leaving you impressed but still confused as to what went on while they were playing.

“Player 222,” he calls for her attention as he looks over at her. “Are you feeling alright?”

She nods. “Yes. Thank you all for including me on your team.” She bows her head before she looks up and meets your gaze. “And you for letting me take your place. Thank you.”

“Of course. It was nothing,” you assure her with a kind smile. “Please don’t worry about it. I wouldn’t have trusted you with anyone else but my good friend Young-il.”

She bows her head and you smile at her even though she doesn’t catch it that moment.

“She smashed that Ddakji and flipped it on her first try,” Player 390 retells what happened. “That was impressive. She did great, even while carrying a baby.”

You smile wider in awe whilst Dae-ho claps lightly.

“We were lucky she joined our team,” Player 390 adds before Dae-ho cuts in and nudges his arm.

“What about your Flying Stone play?” He muses before he looks over at you. “You should’ve seen him. He hit it with one shot. With an underhand pitch at that. Bam!” He exclaims as he makes the hand gesture before standing up and mimicking it again. “You were like Kim Byung-hyun,” he says and sits down, making Player 390 laugh, and In-ho grin, which is much more impressive than any game.

“And you?” Player 390 redirects the excitement at Dae-ho. “Was Gong-gi the only game you ever played?” He asks before doing quick hand movements. “We could barely see his hand,” he tells you. “It was like a martial arts movie.”

“Really?” You probe with happy curiosity. “A Marine excellent at Gong-gi? That’s news to me.” You tease Dae-ho, which he laughs at before he shares next.

“I’m the only son for two generations. My mom only let me play at home with my sisters.” He chuckles, and you smile with admiration at that.

“And yet they let their precious son join the Marines?” Player 390 wonders out loud, and that’s when you catch the glee behind Dae-ho’s grin falter, and his body stiffen. He doesn’t express his discouragement. He’s good at hiding it.

“My father’s idea,” he shares with that same falter in his voice. “He wanted me to be more of a man. He fought in the Vietnam War, you see.”

Your excitement dwindles at the loss of his.

“Wow,” Player 390 muses. “He sounds like a great man.”

Dae-ho nods softly almost like he doesn’t want to. “Yeah.” He agrees and immediately looks down.

“Was he a Marine too?” Player 390 asks as he scoots himself closer to Dae-ho.

“Yeah, well…would you excuse me for a moment?” He avoids the question to get up and step down to face all of you. “Listen. Perhaps we should learn each other's names. I still don’t know your names, gentlemen. Or yours, miss,” he directs at Player 222. “I’ll start.” He raises his fist as his joy sparks again. “I’m Kang Dae-ho. Dae means big, ho means tiger.”

“Wow,” Player 390 chuckles. “Big tiger. Cool name.”

You nod along in agreement.

“My name is Park Jung-bae. Righteous and twice,” Player 390 shares. “My parents wanted me to be twice as righteous.”

“My name is Kim Jun-hee,” Player 222 shares next in a quieter voice. “I don’t know what it means though.”

��Jun-hee,” In-ho calls out. “When you get out of here, go see a doctor right away,” he suggests. “You’ve been under a lot of stress. You need to get yourself checked out.”

You all nod along, and she does too before she reassures him. “Okay.”

“I’m Oh Young-il,” In-ho gives his fake name.

“Young-il?” Jung-bae asks.

“Yes.” He nods before looking down at his number. “Young-il sounds like zero one, and that’s my number. Easy to remember.”

You snort at the convenience of it all.

“Oh!” Dae-ho exclaims and points to In-ho. “That’s true! Your name is your number.”

Dae-ho, Jung-bae and you laugh at him, whilst In-ho probes Player 456.

“Oh, Gi-hun. What's your last name?”

“My name is Seong Gi-hun,” he shares and looks around at each one of you.

“I see,” In-ho comments whilst Dae-ho repeats his name.

“Seong, literally means last name,” In-ho points out and laughs at his own joke. You don't even laugh. As surprised as you are that he’s making a joke you simply sigh at the silliness of it.

“And you,” Jun-hee brushes past the awkwardness to now get your name. “What’s your name?”

You sigh and sit up straight before you share your last name and your first name.

“Oh, you and Dae-ho share the same last name!” Jung-bae points out and you both look at each other and smile before he presses deeper.

“What does your name mean?”

You shrug. “I don’t know. I wish I did.”

“You and uh, Young-il seem to know each other,” Gi-hun points out, making you and said man share a look. “Is that right?”

You don’t hesitate to nod and share the story you told each other you would share if someone asked. “Yeah. We're uh, family friends.” You smile faintly as he nods in agreement. “We just both coincidentally ended up here. Like that mom and son.” You laugh softly.

Thankfully before anyone can ask more, the doors open and the squadron of guards steals all the attention as well as every ounce of ease anyone might’ve felt after beating another game.

“Congratulations to all of you for making it through the second game,” the masked manager proclaims. “Here are the results of the second game.” He says before the lights go off, the ceiling opens, and a tube drops money in the piggy bank, causing people to slowly draw toward the center to watch the dollars fall into the plastic pig. They don’t all gather in the middle, but they’re all still so in awe about the money going up.

“In the second game,” the masked manager speaks over the sound effect echoing through the room as the money goes up. “110 players were eliminated. The prize money accumulated up to this point is 20.1 billion won. Since there are 255 Players remaining, each person's share is 78, 823, 530 won.”

“Wait, what?” One man remarks. “It’s still under 100 million? It’s not even above 80 million!”

“Only 110 people died?” One lady questions. “Is that all? Did you count them right?”

You scoff and shake your head.

“That’s all?” A different man speaks up. “But you shot all those people!”

More and more people complain and doubt the numbers out of greed and disappointment, but nothing assures you more of how today's voting will go than a man near you commenting quietly to himself. “Fuck. I almost died twice, and that’s all I get? I’d get more money than that if it let someone beat me up!”

You were ready to continue the games. You were going to press O even if your friends voted the opposite of it, but now you know there’s nothing to worry about because you know without a doubt that you will be forced to stay another day. So to gain more of your friends' trust you will pretend to sway towards leaving.

“I completely understand your disappointment,” the masked manager speaks over the commotion. “However, we always keep the door open for you to pursue new opportunities. You will now take a vote to decide whether to continue the games or not.” He finishes reminding everyone before the doors open and two guards now roll in the machine to cast your votes.

“Whether to continue the games for a bigger prize or to stop here is entirely your choice,” the masked manager reminds everyone. “Please feel free to exercise your right to choose in a democratic manner.”

You touch the blue patch on your chest and then look up to pretend to contemplate your choice.

“Don’t worry,” you hear In-ho say. “I want to stop here too. I should go and be with my wife at the hospital.”

“I’m telling you,” Dae-ho adds so you look down at him. “We’ll get out this time. Damn it.” He tugs at his own patch. “A marine should think strategically and know when to retreat. Isn’t that right, brother?” He asks Jung-bae as he grabs his shoulder and shakes him playfully.

“Yeah,” Jung-bae rolls out and you catch his hesitation right away. You and In-ho both do, so you share that slight tell with a shared glance—“Yeah, you’re right. Marines aren’t invincible. We should get out.”

“We have to end the games here,” Gi-hun echoes his friend. “I will help you guys out when we get out.”

You offer him a kind smile as he looks at each one of you.

“Please trust me and support this vote,” he adds.

“Guys,” Dae-ho calls for the attention of everyone in the group. “All huddle up again. You too,” he waves you over.

You blink in confusion but you huddle up with all of them, catching Dae-ho put his hand out in the middle of the group.

The others proceed to stack their hands over the other while you look confused.

“Come on,” he urges you. “You too. You’re part of our team even if we didn’t get to play together.”

You look at him with surprise before you break into a happy smile and stack your hand over In-ho’s.

“In one, two, three. Victory at all costs!” Dae-ho exclaims.

You grin and exclaim what you were told to say along with the others. “Victory at all costs!”

“Hmph!” Dae-ho expresses before he massages Jung-bae’s shoulders.

Not so much later after that you’re told to gather up to commence the voting process for today.

“This time, the vote will begin with Player 001,” the masked manager lets everyone know. “Player 001, please cast your vote.”

You and your friends all glance over at In-ho before he walks down, breaking through the crowd to reach the machine at the end of the room.

This time with no need to feign contemplation, he casts his vote to leave, exchanging his blue patch for the red one.

“Player 002,” the masked manager now calls you down, so you offer your friends a reassuring smile before you pass the crowd and walk down the room to cast your vote to leave. You don’t want to, once again you would vote to stay to continue your plan, but you know, based on everyone else’s thoughts that you will stay another day, so you choose to leave to gain the trust of your friends.

And slowly you’re proved right. Everyone’s greed takes over their reason to the point that Gi-hun feels frustrated and has to say something. “Everyone!” He shouts.

Yet before he can share his thoughts you’re surprised to hear In-ho stand up for Gi-hun. “Are you all out of your minds? You still want to keep going after watching all those people die?” He asks as he walks out of formation to be in the center. “Who’s to say you won’t die in the game? We have to stop,” he says as he walks down the line. “We’ll all die if we keep going! Come to your senses, and leave with that money. You’ve got to survive first, or there won’t be a next step.”

“What do you think we can do with a mere 70 million?” One player voices his thoughts and when they walk to the middle you see that it's Player 100. “I don’t know how much you owe, but for most people here, that doesn’t even cover 10% of their debt. Am I right? There’s no next step for us! That money won’t change anything!”

“Yes, he’s right!” A different player backs him up. “With that amount of money, I won’t last long.”

“It was 25 million after the first game,” Player 100 continues to try and convince the remaining crowd. “And now it’s 78 million! After one game, the amount more than tripled! If we play one more game, the prize will be at least 240 million!”

People murmur in agreement, but one player who already voted emotionally shares her fear. “But I can’t do this anymore. Please,” she sobs. “Please let me out of here. I really…I really want to go home. I don’t want to die.” She cries harder but a man walks to the center to argue.

“Young lady,” he tries to share his pity. “You’re young, so you’ll probably have another chance. But I don’t.”

“Please.” The previous girl begs between sobs.

“My family and I have no future,” the man continues. “My business failed, and now I owe over 500 million. I’ve got to make at least half of that here if I want a real shot at a fresh start.”

“And if you die?!” You now join in the debate and slowly walk to the center. “If you die, who knows if your family will even get your body. Then what? What about them? A life in the street, because you were selfish and chose to wager your life to watch a few more people die instead of taking what you can? Maybe this money doesn’t guarantee a fresh start.” you point at the money above. “Maybe it does, I don’t know, but for those with someone out there waiting for them, are you really willing to risk your family living in ruin all because you choose to bet it all? Don’t you see? You cannot let those fuckers watch you die!” You shout and point at the pink guards. “They don’t get to have their entertainment and watch another pair of fools come and die. We have to leave now and show them that we aren’t idiots chasing after money like rats chase their cheese. We are smart, we are people whose lives matter, and they will not take advantage of our vulnerability. Be smart. Wise. And take advantage of what we get. Maybe then we get to come back so we can watch them suffer like we have.” You grimace smugly as you look over at the guards with no ounce of deceit.

It’s all true from your beating heart.

“Don’t get discouraged!” Player 226 protests. “Ddakji, Red Light, Green light, Spinning Top! It’s not like the games are that difficult. Look.” He points at the money. “There are still 255. Way more than half of us survived! We’ve made it this far, so let’s do this one more time!” He pumps his fist.

“You make such a good point, young man,” Player 100 praises him. “That’s right! We’ve all played the games well and survived until now! Now let’s play one more game! Just one more, and that’s it. Let’s play just one more game!”

“Yeah, let’s play one more!” They start a chant that a lot of players echo. You know it’s not what sways people to vote to stay, it helps, but mostly everyone who already chose to stay had their mind made. This just gave them a reason not to be ashamed of it. Those who were undecided told themself that if it’s what people want, how could they choose otherwise, so they chose to stay. Jung-bae wasn’t either but he did prove your assumption right when he chose to stay.

——

*LATER*

“I would kill for some spicy tofu stew right now,” you grumble as you look at the bread and the boxed milk you got for dinner.

“Oh please don’t remind me,” Dae-ho groans. “Why can’t they give us something good if they want us to keep going on?”

“I got it. Drinks and Stew. After we win we have to make that happen,” you suggest.

“Oh? You know a good place?” He asks, making you chuckle.

“My place. We can go to my place.”

“She really makes excellent tofu stew,” In-ho catches you off guard by backing you up, making you slowly smile, and feel your heart flutter.

“Oh! Well if that’s so then sign me up!” Dae-ho exclaims. “You Jun-hee? I’m sure you’ve been craving more than just bread, and it will be good for the baby and you.”

Said girl looks down and hesitates before she answers timidly. “Yeah, I would like that.”

“Sadly you can’t drink, but maybe after you have the baby we can all gather for a drink and karaoke,” you suggest. “I’ve mastered Total Eclipse of the Heart if I do say so myself.” You giggle. “Isn’t that right Young-il?” You ask as you look at him over your shoulder. “Am I good? Perhaps not, but I’ve mastered it.”

“You’ve mastered pestering me every Friday night with that song, that’s true.” He counters, making you feign a laugh and making Dae-ho and Gi-hun chuckle at you.

“Whatever,” you grumble as you take a seat next to Jun-hee. “You have fun. Watching me.”

“I have fun watching you pass out after that, yes.”

You brush him off and then turn to Jun-hee to hand her your packaged bread. “Save it, or eat it now. Just take it, okay? You’ll need it.”

Jun-hee glances at what you offer her and shakes her head. “No, no, I can’t. We all haven’t eaten anything all day. I can’t take the only meal you’ll have.”

You grab her arm and pull her hand toward you to place the bread on her palm and close her fingers around it. “Please. Take it.” You insist, making her exhale deeply before she nods gently and gives in. “Good. Besides, I have my milk….can I ask,” you add as you open the milk carton. “Does your baby move a lot?”

Jun-hee opens her bread package and then glances down at her belly. “Mostly at night as of late, but for the past couple of days the baby hasn’t moved a lot. Just here and there.”

You smile at her belly with admiration before you offer her the same smile. “Have you picked out a name?”

She shakes her head. “No. Not yet. It’s just been a hectic couple of months.”

You hum. “Well, do you have someone looking out for you? Do you have someone waiting for you when you get out?” You ask and perhaps you’re being overbearing, but you can’t help it.

“Uh, no. To both questions.”

Your breath gets caught in your throat as you’re hit with pity and a more eager need to help her. Yet before you can offer her a thing, someone nudges your shoulder, interrupting your moment.

When you look back you see In-ho offering you half of his bread. “Take my half,” he offers. “I don’t want to hear your stomach growling at night.”

“Oh!” You gasp and take the half-piece before offering him a smile. “Thank you.”

“Brother!” Dae-ho shouts. “Jung-bae, brother!”

You look over and find said man just across from the group sitting by himself and ignoring Dae-ho, so Dae-ho puts his bread down and gets up to go over to Jung-bae.

“Hey, just come back here,” you hear him say.

“No, I'm good here,” Jung-bae argues.

“Oh, come on,” Dae-ho insists as he grabs Jung-bae and stands him up against his will—“you should’ve gone farther away then. It bugs me seeing you sitting all pathetic.”

When Dae-ho brings Jung-bae over he lets him go and Jung-bae looks at the group awkwardly before he addresses all of you. “I’m sorry. Jun-hee, Young-il. I’m sorry.” He offers before he looks down at you and offers you the same genuine apology. “I'm sorry.”

You offer him a faint assuring smile. “It’s okay,”

Lastly, he leans toward Gi-hun to offer his last apology. “Gi-hun, I’m sorry. I borrowed some emergency cash, and the creditors are harassing my ex-wife and kid. If I play one more game, I think I’ll be able to settle my debt. So—”

“Jung-bae,” In-ho cuts him off in that deep and scary voice he uses when he’s upset. Only this time he really isn’t but he knows how to turn it on. “You of all people shouldn’t have done it. It’s not twice as righteous.”

You snort as you take a bite from your bread.

“But,” In-ho sighs. “Looking at the results, even if you had voted against, we would still have been outvoted.”

“Right?” Jung-bae exclaims as he leans toward In-ho. “It's not entirely my fault,” he says to try and not feel guilty.

“All right,” Dae-ho interjects as he approaches Jung-bae from behind. “To be honest, I understand why you did it. The money isn’t enough for me either, so when I went up to vote, I did think about playing one more game.”

Jung-bae suddenly grabs Dae-ho and presses. “You did?”

“I said I get it,” Dae-ho says as he pushes him away and turns him to face the group.

“Thank you for understanding,” he shares as he sits down. “But I voted in favor partly because I feel confident. We did so well as a team, didn’t we? If we stick together one more time, I’m sure we’ll be fine. Jun-hee. I’ll make sure we survive the next game—”

“The next game?” Gi-hun quotes Jung-bae as he cuts him off. “In the next game, we might have to kill each other.”

You look down at your piece of bread to avoid looking at anyone even though the next game is nothing like that.

“Gi-hun,” In-ho inputs. “That’s a bit much. There’s nothing we can do now, so let’s try to stay positive. We should eat, pull ourselves together, and try our best again. Here, Jun-hee. You can have my milk. Hang in there until the next game.”

You look over and see Jun-hee offer In-ho a sweet look as she tries to also decline his offer. “No, it’s okay.”

“Take it,” In-ho insists. “I don’t drink plain milk.”

Jun-hee takes the milk and thanks him just as sweetly. “Thank you.”

“Have my bread too,” Jung-bae now tries to offer her out of guilt. “I don’t deserve to eat.”

You sit up and take the bread from him instead of letting her take it. “Actually,” you explain. “I already gave her my bread, so I’ll take it.”

“Oh?”

You offer him a beaming smile and he watches you immediately open the package. Before you can take a bite you do split it in half and hand him a half. “Don’t want you to go to bed hungry.”

He chuckles nervously. “Oh thank you.”

You hum and turn away.

“Can I have your milk then?” You hear Dae-ho ask Jung-bae, but he gets no response.

“Hey,” Jun-hee calls for your attention which you don’t hesitate to give her. “Can I ask if you have any stories from when you were a detective? If you don’t mind.”

“Oh, yeah! I would like to hear one too!” Dae-ho echoes.

You smile shyly before you get up and step down to be able to face the entire group as you give them what they want to hear. “Okay, well I have many, but there was one time where I found a man who was planning to bomb a New Year’s Eve celebration a couple of days before he did it.”

“Really?” Jung-bae queries.

You nod smugly. “Yep! I was even recognized by the mayor and I was on the news.” You shrug. “When I caught the man he wanted to take us both down, but then my partner and a squadron rushed in, stopping him before we could be exploded to pieces.”

Jung-bae gasps in awe and you bow your head playfully.

“Does that scar have a story?” You hear Jung-bae follow up with a question and when you look at him you see him pointing at the scar above your ear, and immediately your smile falls, and that excited gleam goes out from eyes like a dying star fading from the night sky.

“Uh, no,” you answer nervously and slowly return to your seat. “Not at all.”

“The speech you gave earlier,” Gi-hun says before the silence could grow awkward. “It was good. Thank you for being brave enough to speak your mind to try and stop the games.”

You nod softly and then look back at him with a gentle look. “I tried my best. I’m not so good at inspiring people with speeches like those. My brother was more of the free spirit and the political head who could summon all of his emotions to what he wanted the people to hear.” You scoff. “So I tried to take a page from his book. I’ve been trying since I saw that choosing to stay was wrong…” you pause and shift around to face him with regret. “I am sorry. I chose to stay the first day and I argued against you. I'm sorry.”

He shakes his head and assures you. “It’s okay. You saw that you were wrong and have tried to fix that error. We can’t do anything about it now.”

You hum and turn to Jun-hee. “I’m going to the bathroom. Do you want to come with me?”

She perks up and nods, so you go off. Fortunately, there’s nothing that makes the trip to the bathroom harder or longer than it needs to be. The woman from the first day who called you a pig was in the bathroom when you got there, she looked at you with a glare, but she didn’t share anything else but dirty looks. Thus you’re able to return to your group and not so much later, after break and dinner is over it’s time for bed, and rather than splitting off from the group for the night, Gi-hun invites you to stay near him.

Albeit you don’t climb up to any beds, you all gather on the ground and make a small fort for the six of you.

“Lights out in ten minutes,” the woman on the PA announces as you help Jun-hee with the pillows and the blankets since the men insisted on setting up the mattresses—“please prepare for bedtime.”

“Is this really necessary?” Jung-bae questions Gi-hun. “I don’t like sleeping under there.”

“Once the lights go out, somebody might attack us,” Gi-hun throws out with no explanation, worrying everyone but In-ho and you.

“What?” Dae-ho queries. “Who?”

“The prize money still goes up if we kill each other,” Gi-hun shares. “It's part of the game they designed.”

You feign a stressed sigh before you turn and help Jun-hee to the ground from the bed frame she was balancing on.

“Gi-hun,” In-ho interjects with doubt. “I think you’re overreacting here. Even if that were true, people wouldn’t do that.”

“In the previous games, dozens of people killed each other at night,” Gi-hun counters with his evidence as he slowly walks to In-ho in hopes it gets across to him. “Right here. You have no idea how people can change…in this place.”

In-ho holds his gaze for a second before he nods and gives him the benefit of the doubt. “All right, I guess I didn’t know what I was talking about. I'm sorry.”

Gi-hun turns away, letting go of the tension that had begun to build, but not without adding something else. “Once its lights are out, we need to take turns keeping watch. I’ll take the first watch. You should decide the order for the rest.”

“I can go after you Gi-hun,” you quickly offer without discussion.

“I’ll keep her company. It’ll be late. It's better to have two pairs of eyes in case one of us nods off.” Dae-ho adds his own offer and when you look over at him he’s already looking at you—“if that’s okay with you, anyway.”

You smile at him and nod without protest. “Of course it’s okay.”

He mirrors your smile and you in response hold his gaze for a second longer. Once you turn away you catch In-ho’s wandering gaze, but he doesn’t let it linger. He averts his gaze just as quickly as you caught him.

Thereafter, due to Gi-hun’s display of intensity to the situation, you all find your mattress; Dae-ho sleeps at one of Jun-hee’s side while you sleep at the other to keep her secured from any lurkers who might target her because she’s pregnant.

And maybe it was because you knew you were huddled up with a group of people you trusted, or you were simply exhausted, but you were able to find sleep. And tonight no dreams or nightmares woke you up. You could have slept through the night, but you were woken up by Dae-ho when your turn to keep watch came around.

“So,” Dae-ho breaks the silence without letting it sit for a moment. “Why are you here? What made you accept being here? If that’s okay to ask.”

You wrap your arms around your knees and nod gently. “That’s okay.” You draw out a deep breath and hesitate for a moment before you start off slow. “You see, I was adopted. My mother wanted a sibling for her son and since she couldn’t have any more after him, they went and chose me. She loved me as much as she loved her son. And my brother never took long to get used to me. He loved me too.” You smile faintly at the mention as if recalling a sweet memory. “But my father…” you pause and sigh, feeling your smile and your face fall. “My father was colder. Distant. I didn’t feel like he loved me as much as the others did, so I sought it. I sought his approval for so long until I opened my eyes. He didn’t like that so he banished me.”

“Just for that?” Dae-ho cuts in abruptly but still quiet enough so as to not disturb the others.

You swallow thickly and hook your fingers together tightly. “It’s more complicated than that,” you muster a strained laugh. “But it doesn’t matter anymore. He's dead now…and he’s still tormenting me from hell by making me come here to prove a point.”

“Oh.” Dae-ho laughs nervously. “So it’s not about the money?”

You rest your chin on your knees and mutter. “Proving my point is more important, but I do need the money.”

“Well,” he sighs. “I can’t judge you for prioritizing your father. My father isn’t as great as I boasted him to be. He’s really shitty.”

You turn your head to look at him with a sense of relief as you both find common ground.

“But I’m here to hopefully pay my debts and maybe just maybe help my sisters out,” Dae-ho shares, making you smile softly with admiration.

“How many sisters do you have?” You ask.

He chuckles. “Four. They’re all older.”

You grin wider. “Four? Wow? I get it now.”

“What?” He queries.

“Why you’re so sweet,” you muse and nudge his arm gently.

Dae-ho smiles timidly at his hands before he leans towards you with his lips and his eyes drooped. “You have a brother. Are you sure he won’t be waiting for you?”

You shake your head stiffly. “No,” you whisper and avert your gaze to examine the surrounding area. “My brother is gone. He…was a lot like Gi-hun. He stood up for what he believed in, but he had teeth and never learned to bite…” you trail off and slowly drop your head. “I had a sister too. Older, but I lost her a long time ago.”

“What was her name?” Dae-ho asks and you can’t help but smile fondly as you think about her.

“Her name was No-eul,” you reveal. “And my brother's name was Tae-woong.”

——

*A FEW YEARS AGO*

“No-eul!” You shout loudly in hopes she will hear your cries and wake up. “No-uel!”

“Come on!” You’re urged and grabbed by the arm to be pulled back, but you fight back with all your strength and manage to slip from their grasp and swim desperately toward your sister.

“No-eul,” you mewl and cradle her, thanking the body water for helping you keep her afloat in your arms. “Wake up. Come on, you have to wake up.” You plead, but it’s no use she doesn’t open her eyes or move.

You don’t check her pulse or catch if she’s drawing out small and labored breaths. You’re too scared and panicked to think straight.

“No-eul,” you whimper and nudge her face. “We have to go,” you remind her and wait for a response, for a small twitch or something, but she’s lifeless, and before you can push harder with more desperation, you’re suddenly grabbed with a force that hurts.

“They’ll be back with more people, let’s go!” They yell and yank you away, causing you to let go of your sister. “She’s gone!”

“No!” You argue and try to push their hand off you, but they won’t budge this time. “We can’t leave her here! No-eul! She has to go back with us! She’s still alive!”

“No!” They bellow. “She’s dead and we will be dead soon if we don’t leave. Now come on!”

You shake your head and keep fighting, even if it’s tiring and water keeps getting in your mouth you keep fighting until you’re forced on a boat and driven away with your sister's body no longer in sight.

——

*NOW*

You sigh deeply and with tears in your eyes, you stare out at the beds occupied by sleeping people as you relive the day you lost your beloved sister over and over again.

Dae-ho must have seen the tears welled in your eyes, or maybe he was just caring in that way, but he presses himself against you to let you rest your head on his shoulder. And for a moment. For a fraction of a stolen moment, things are simple.

There’s no blood bath. There’s no hoping you won’t get attacked by some crazy player, and there’s no fear you won’t live to see another day. There in the middle of the night as you have your head on Dae-ho’s shoulder you get a taste of simplicity. A taste of how things were and how things can be if you choose not to be so lonely again.

However, before an hour can pass, or even ten minutes can pass, the moment is interrupted by In-ho. “You can go to sleep. I’ll take over,” he offers.

You pull your head off Dae-ho’s shoulder as you both stand up on your feet.

“But our shift is not over yet,” Dae-ho argues. “You should go back to sleep and get as much sleep as you can.”

In-ho shakes his head and counters. “No,” he deadpans. “It's okay. I can’t sleep anymore anyway. Go. The both of you.”

Dae-ho glances at you before he looks down and can’t find the strength to fight against In-ho, so he gives in. “Okay. Thank you, Young-il.” He bows his head and you offer him a smile before you follow Dae-ho back to your beds.

However, before you can reach your mattress you come to a stop and glance back, catching In-ho sitting down in the darkness of the hall all alone.

You know there’s no need to go and keep him company. He’s the one person you trust the most to stay awake and keep your surroundings safe, but you know that you won’t be able to sleep with the guilt of knowing that he’s here sacrificing hours of sleep to watch over you and the group. Thus you turn on your heels and make your way back to your previous spot that is next to In-ho this time.

“Got room for one more?” You ask playfully while he’s looking up at you to meet your gaze.

“Go to sleep,” he tries to push you away, but you muster the strength to fight back and win.

“I have too much stuff in my mind, so I won’t be able to even get a wink of sleep now,” you tell him part of the truth as you take your seat beside him. “So I’ll keep you company.”

In-ho blinks before his eyes find their way back to you. He doesn’t say anything. He doesn’t argue. He just holds your gaze before his eyes wander to the scar above your ear and then gets his gaze lost ahead.

You scoff before you laugh softly, and then without a nudge, you rest your head on his shoulder.

A/N- next chapter more inho!!!

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