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Chapter Text

The last thing Nam-gyu remembered was he got picked up by a mysterious car and some kind of gas filled the car.

He realized his clothes had changed into a green tracksuit. It has the number ‘124’ patch on it. Then he sees hundreds of people who wear the same clothes as him. He walks to the sea of people.

Some pink soldiers or guards, he honestly doesn’t know about them, are welcoming them as players to play the games. They explain that they have six days to play six games. The winner will get the prize. He heard someone ask about them being kidnapped only for playing the games and how could they trust them? But he couldn’t see the person clearly because that person is in the back

Then the guard shows them the recordings of them playing ddakji and they get slapped by that ddakji man if they fail. He hopes they don’t show him getting slapped. He’s not good at playing that game. He didn’t even count how many times he got slapped.

“Player 333, Lee Myung-gi. Age 30, former owner of the YouTube channel, MG Coin. Promoted dalmatian, a new cryptocurrency, leading his subscribers to lose a combined 15.2 billion won. He then shut down his channel and disappeared. Currently wanted for fraud and violating multiple communication and investment laws. Total debt : 1.8 billion won.”

‘That fucking asshole who scammed me is here?! He’s gotta pay for it!’

“196, Kang Mi-na, Total debt : 45 million.

120, Cho Hyun-ju, Total debt : 330 million”

‘Cho Hyun-ju? The name sounds similar. Why do I feel like I know that name?” Nam-gyu thought. Probably they just have similar names.

But Nam-gyu can’t shake this weird feeling. The fact is his older brother also has similar name, Cho Hyun-joon. And he still isn’t home. And her face looks familiar to him somehow.

“230, Choi Su-bong, 1.19 billion.”

Wait! Nam-gyu knows that person. It’s Thanos! He often went to the club he works at. Nam-gyu gave free drinks and other stuff to Thanos. He can see that purple-haired man was like a few inches in front of him. 

“198, Jang Do-yeong, 1.4 billion.

226, Kim Yeong-sam, 1.9 billion.

444, Kim Nam-du, 2.02 billion.

343, Sim Jae-seok, 2.89 billion.

006, Park Mi-hwa, 3.1 billion.

283, Lee Eun-ju, 4.02 billion.

100, Im Jeong-dae, total debt : 10 billion.”

‘How the the fuck that old man has so much debt?! Let alone 10 billion!” Nam-gyu thought.

Everyone is looking at the Player 100. 

“What are you looking at?” Player 100 shouts angrily.

“Think it’s easy to get loans that large? They don’t give out ten billion to just anyone! You have to work to the big leagues for that!”

The guards shows them a piggy bank. All prize money is going to be stored in that place.

Another player asks how much money they get if they win. The guards answered they will get 45.6 billion won if they win the games. That’s when an old lady went through the players and found out that her son (at least that’s what Nam-gyu thought) is also one of the players. Nam-gyu finds the bickering scene between the mother and her son is funny. 

Makes him wonder, how’s his mother doing now? It’s been a long time since the last time he contacted his parents.

The guards then give them some contracts to be signed by players.

“If you wish to participate in the games, then please sign the player consent form. If you do not wish to participate, then please let us know at this time. We will provide further opportunities to leave the games, should you change your mind.”

Nam-gyu is still curious about that woman, Player 120. He will ask her later. But first, he will deal with that scammer, MG Coin. He and Thanos walked to him as soon as he signed the contract.

“MG Coin? The Amazing Myung-gi? That you?” Nam-gyu asked.

“And you are?” Myung-gi asked back.

“You don’t know me, but I sure know you, G. MG Coin. I was subscribed to your channel. I lost hundreds of millions because of your shit advice.” Thanos said.

“So do I.” Nam-gyu joined.

“I think you’ve got the wrong guy.” Myung-gi wants to walk off but he’s stopped by Thanos.

“I used to watch your videos every day, you know? Now my dreams are full of your ugly fucking face.”

Thanos put his arm over Nam-gyu’s shoulder.

“Your name’s Nam-su?”

“Gyu. Nam-gyu. Promoter at Pentagon Club.”

“Oh, right, yeah.”

‘This guy has a goldfish memory! It’s not like my name is hard to pronounce! How can he always get my name wrong?’

“Anyways, thanks to you, Nam-gyu and I really bonded with each other. Through our shared trauma.”

“Didn’t those fuckers who made that shit-coin go to the Philippines with all the cash they took? What are you doing here? Did they ditch you too?” 

“And what exactly do you want?” Myung-gi asked.

Suddenly Thanos grabbed Myung-gi by his mane. Then he wants to beat up Myung-gi.

But before the fights got heated, Nam-gyu tried to separate them both.

“Whoa, chill, hyung. Time out, time out, time out! Take it easy! Think about your album.”

“Too many people. You don’t wanna end up on the news.” Nam-gyu tried to calm Thanos down.

After that, he walked away from Myung-gi with Thanos.

Then, Nam-gyu feels someone tapping on his shoulder. He looked at that person.

He gasped. Lucky, Thanos isn’t close to him for now.

“Are you Nam-gyu?”

It was Player 120, Cho Hyun-ju.

“Yes, I am. Wait! How do you know my name?” He asked.

“Can we talk in private?” Hyun-ju asked.

He looked around. Thanos didn’t even notice he wasn’t with Nam-gyu.

“...Sure.”

⚝⚝⚝

Hyun-ju woke up with her clothes changed into her tracksuit. The number ‘120’ was patched on her clothes.

She got up from her bunk. The guards explained that they have six days to play six games. The winner will get the prize if they play all six games. 

“Excuse me.” She tried to ask the guards. 

Everyone looked at her. Many of them looked at her weirdly. She’s already got used to their stares and judgement over her being a transwoman.

“If we’re just playing games here, then why you’d basically kidnap us? How can we trust you now?” Hyun-ju asked. It doesn’t make sense to her with the idea of them being kidnapped only for playing the games.

“My apologies. Please understand it was a necessary step taken to maintain the strict confidentiality of these games.”

Many players asked many questions. The purple-haired player complained about his limited shoes (That’s what Hyun-ju heard).

The guards showed them recordings of them playing ddakji with the man in the suit. She’s one of the players that showed on the screen.

The guard explained the prize money will be stored in that piggy bank. They gave them some contracts to be signed by them.

After she signed the contracts, she saw the commotion between that purple-haired man, Player 230, with Player 333. And there is someone else too, Player 124. He was with Player 230.

‘He looks familiar.’

She caught the conversation between them both, “Your name’s Nam-su?” “Gyu. Nam-gyu.”

She looks surprised, ‘Nam-gyu? What is he doing here?’

Nam-gyu, her brother who she hasn’t seen in 10 years. The last time she saw him was when he was still a teenage boy. No wonder he looks familiar. Even with his jellyfish haircut, she can still recognize him.

Hyun-Ju saw Nam-gyu walk away from Player 333. That Player 230 isn’t close to Nam-gyu. This is her chance to talk to him.

She tapped his shoulder. He turned his head on her. He gasped in surprise.

“Are you Nam-gyu?” Hyun-ju asked

“Yes, I am. Wait! How do you know my name?” He asked.

Yep, that’s him. She can recognize his voice.

“Can we talk in private? I need to talk to you.” Hyun-ju asked.

He looked around. ‘Maybe he doesn’t want his friend to know?’

“...Sure.”

She dragged him to a spot in the corner.

“Nam-gyu, do you still remember me? Hyun-joon?” 

She cringed at her dead name.

“Hyun-joon? As in Cho Hyun-joon?”

She nodded.

“But isn’t your name Cho Hyun-ju?”

The connection finally hits him and his curiosity.

“Wait! hold on hold on! Cho Hyun-joon is my brother’s name and if your name is Cho Hyun-ju, that means…”

He gasped, “It’s you! It is you. I knew your face looked peculiarly familiar when your face was shown on screen.”

“Yes, Nam-gyu. It’s me. It’s been a while, little brother.”

“Yeah. It’s been 10 years. So Cho Hyun-ju. Is that your new name?” Nam-gyu asked.

“Yes, that’s my new name. I’m living as a woman now, Nam-gyu. I should’ve told this to you sooner.”

Nam-gyu frowned. He feels disappointed, but not at her. Rather, he feels disappointed at his parents,  “But how come I never know that you’re a woman now? They never told me about you become a woman.” 

Nam-gyu feels betrayed by his parents.

“When I told them that I want to live as a woman, you weren’t at home. And I guess they didn’t tell you that because they don’t want you to know. They…disapprove of me. Father cut all of my contacts and mother cried a lot.”

She looked down. She will face the fact Nam-gyu will hate her, just like their parents. At least she already told him the truth.

“It’s okay if you will hate me for this, Nam-gyu. I know it’s very wrong of me to not tell you this sooner. I should try to find a way to tell you this. I just want to let you know that I’m still alive. After this talk, we can be separated again and never meet each other again after getting out of this place. Just like 10 years ago.”

But before she walked off, he grabbed her arm.

“I don’t hate you for that, Hyun-ju. I mean, I’ve seen few people like you in my work place. I just feel upset because our parents never told me about you come out as a woman. If they tell me the truth, I will try to find you. I don’t care what they’ll say. All I know is that I can meet you again after 10 years being alone.”

‘Please, don’t leave me alone again.’ 

Hyun-ju looked at him shockingly. 

“You…don’t hate me?”

“Of course not! Why would I hate you? It’s your choice, noona. Wait, since you’re my sister now, is it okay I call you noona now?”

“Well if you want, yes.” She smiled. Nam-gyu smiled back.

Hyun-ju looked at him. Her brother is a grown up man now. She didn’t remember that his hair is that long. With long hair, he looks just like their mother. Well, he got his eyes from their mother though. 

“10 years ago, you were still a teenage boy. Now, well you’re still the same Nam-gyu to me.”

Nam-gyu blushed, “You’re so cheesy, noona.”

Hyun-ju laughed.

Just when Nam-gyu opened his mouth, he heard Thanos calling for him.

“YO NAM-SU! WHERE ARE YOU, MAN?”

‘I swear to god! That fucking bastard Thanos. Can’t he just try to remember my name?!’ He sighed annoyingly.

Hyun-ju looked at the purple-haired player, “Is that your friend?”

“Yes. I swear he’s fucking loud. I should go, noona. I’ll… talk to you again after the first game.” Nam-gyu said then walked away.

“I’ll see you again, brother.”

⚝⚝⚝

The guards lead them to some kind of photo shoot room. Nam-gyu is behind Thanos. Player 256, Gyeong-su, reveals that he’s the biggest Thanos fan. He wants to take a photo with him. And so do Thaons’s fans! Turns out, many Thanos’s fans join the game. Nam-gyu calms everyone down and tells them to take it easy. 

But when they try to take a photo with Thanos, the guard stops them. They said only one person takes a picture at a time. Taking photos together apparently is prohibited. They feel disappointed. But they obey the rules anyway.

⚝⚝⚝

After the players take photos of them, the guards lead them to the game arena which is located upstairs. Thanos runs past Nam-gyu. He remembers Thanos wanted to take a photo with that girl, Player 196. Thanos still wants to go to that girl.

“Attention, players. Welcome to the first game. After you enter the arena, please stand near the entrances and await further instructions. Once again,  all players please stand near the entrances and await further instructions.”

They reach the arena. Nam-gyu sees Thanos flirting with the girl. He decides to walk away from him and see if he can find Hyun-ju. He squints his eyes (curse his bad eyesight!), trying to find the number 120.

There she is! She’s a few inches in front of him. 

He taps her shoulder. She turned to him.

“Oh hello again, Nam-gyu. I thought you said you’ll see me again after this. Where’s your friend?”

“He’s over there, trying to flirt with the girl he found.”

He honestly wants to meet Hyun-ju again. “This might sound awkward but, can…I be with you? Just for this time?” 

“Of course you can, Nam-gyu. I’m only by myself anyway.”

Then he sees a giant girl doll. 

“What is that?” He asked.

Hyun-ju shrugged, “I don’t know.”

The giant doors shut down.

“Welcome to the first game. You will be playing Red Light, Green Light.”

“‘Red Light, Green Light’? The same game we played when we’re kids right, Hyun-ju?” Nam-gyu asked.

“Yes.” Hyun-ju answered.

‘They really kidnapped us only for playing kid games?’

Somehow, she kind of has strange feelings.

“Players who cross the finish line within the five-minute time limit without being eliminated will win this game.”

‘Eliminated?’ Hyun-ju thought.

A player shouts to everyone that if they move after “red light,” they’re going to be shot. He said they’re gonna shoot them and there’s guns in the walls.

All players laugh at him. 

“Is he crazy or something?” Nam-gyu muttered.

“No matter what, do not panic! You can’t afford to! Remember everything I told you! Stay as still as you can! Don’t try and run away!”

“With that, let the game begin.”

“Green light, red light.”

“Freeze!” That crazy player shouted.

And so the game goes on. Until…

A gunshot sound was heard. And it was loud.

“Player 196, eliminated.”

‘Serve her right!’ Nam-gyu was glad that girl is dead now. But now he can feel his body shaking due to that gunshot sound.

Many players are trying to escape the place. But they got shot. Hyun-ju grabbed his hand, preventing him from running away. He can feel her hand shaking too. 

After a few minutes, the shooting stopped for now.

“I will repeat the rules again. You are allowed to move forward when it says, “Green light.” When it says “Red light,” you must stop. If your movement is detected afterwards, you will be eliminated.” 

“Green light, red light.”

All the remaining players aren’t moving. Only two players are moving to the front of them. 

“If you don’t cross the line in time, they’ll still kill you! Look at the doll’s eyes! They’re cameras that scan the field for motion! But it’s not able to detect you if you’re behind something!” Player 456 shouted. He’s in front of them now.

He advises everyone to get behind someone taller. And make a line like conga line.

“Time’s running out! Go at the next green light!” He shouted again.

“Green light, 

Everyone is making the lines now. The shorter one gets behind the taller one.

“Get behind me, Nam-gyu.” Hyun-ju said while grabbing his hand.

“If you feel scared, just get close to me.” Hyun-ju whispered to him

He nodded shakily.

“Red light.”

Everyone is already making conga lines. Just like what Player 456 said.

Nam-gyu keeps grabbing Hyun-ju’s jacket during the ‘Red light’ part. He’s trying to stop his shaking.

“N-Noona?” He said shakily.

“Green light,”

“Shhh…it’s okay. Just get close to me.”

“Red light.”

⚝⚝⚝

The game continues. They both finally reach the finish line. They catch their breaths. It was so tiring.

Then Hyun-ju sees Player 456 trying to save the injured player. She looks at the timer. It’s less than 30 seconds.

‘He can’t do it on his own. I gotta help.’

“I’ll be right back.” She muttered to Nam-gyu. She runs back to the field to help Player 456.

“Hey hey! What are you doing, Hyun-ju?!” Nam-gyu said anxiously. He looks at the timer. It’s 00:25.

‘Noona, please. I don’t want to lose you again.’ Nam-gyu fidgeting with his sleeve. A habit when he feels anxious.

Nam-gyu sees Hyun-ju and that crazy Player 456, make it to the finish line a second before time is up. He sighed in relief. 

Then,

“BANG!”

A loud gunshot was heard. The player who Player 456 and Hyun-ju rescued, was killed.

“Player 444, eliminated.”

Nam-gyu can see his sister is shaken up now. He can’t blame her. A player got shot right in front of her.

The roof is closing. The first game is over.

Hyun-ju walks towards Nam-gyu. Her face is a little bit bloody. The blood also stained her clothes a bit. Her hair is a bit messy.

She takes him to a spot where there’s not many people.

“Are you okay, Hyun-ju?” Nam-gyu asked.

“Yes, I’ll be fine. Don’t worry.”

Hyun-ju grabs both of his hands, “Nam-gyu, look at me.”

Nam-gyu looks up at her. His eyes are a bit watery. Either because he was scared of the game or he was scared Hyun-ju won’t survive when she tried to save Player 444. Probably both.

“I’ll protect you from now on. I’ll try to survive for you. I promise we will never be separated anymore. Can you do the same too?”

Nam-gyu nodded, “...Yes.”

Hyun-ju smiled, “Come on. We should get back now.” 

⚝⚝⚝

Nam-gyu sees Thanos is already in the dorm. He looks at Hyun-ju.

“I should go now, noona. I’ll see you later.” Nam-gyu said.

Hyun-ju nodded, “Okay. I’ll see you later too.”

They are separated in two different ways now. 

Nam-gyu sits beside Thanos. He notices Thanos looks scared. There’s some blood stains on his face.

“You okay, Hyung?” Nam-gyu asked.

“Don’t worry. I’m okay.” Thanos answered in English.

The giant metal door opens, revealing a few guards. Most of the players look scared. They think the guards will kill them.

“You have successfully made it through the first game. Congratulations to you all. Now, if I may have your attention, I will announce the results so far.”

The guard announces the number of players.

“Out of 456 players, 91 players have been eliminated. Which means 365 players have completed the first game. Once again, congratulations to all of you for making it through the first game.”

Some players are begging the guards to not kill them and let them go. 

“Consent form clause three! If the majority of players agree to stop playing, the games will be terminated. Isn’t that correct?” Player 456 said.

“That is correct.” 

“Then we’ll do that. We’ll put it to a vote.”

‘Wait!, there will be a vote?’

“If that’s what you’d like. During these games, we will always respect your right to freedom of choice.”

They feel relieved. They can go home.

Nam-gyu isn’t sure he can go home empty handed. The loan sharks will surely beat him up if he gets out of here now. But he’s also scared from the first game. Though he will never admit it if he's scared.

“But before we vote, we will reveal how much prize money has accumulated after the first game.”

The money is put in the piggy bank now. The guard said 9.1 billion won has accumulated so far. If they decide to stop playing and quit the games now, the remaining 365 players will split the 9.1 billion amongst themselves. That means they’ll leave the place with only 24.9 million.

‘They can’t be serious? Only 24 million?’

“Are you serious? Man, come on, we like almost died. 24 million, that’s all? Are you fucking kidding me?” Nam-gyu muttered.

There is no way Nam-gyu can leave this place now. The shared money barely covers his debt

⚝⚝⚝

It’s voting time. The voting in reverse order of their number. Some players vote to continue, some players vote to leave. The first game was already scared out of him. He’s not sure if he wants to continue to play. But the shared money isn’t enough for covering his debt. Let alone Thanos’s debt! 

That fucking bastard MG Coin voted O. ‘He better be! He owed me and Thanos.’

Thanos also voted O and so did Gyeong-su.

Then that crazy man, Player 456, is trying to persuade them to leave this deadly game. It causes arguments between two sides. Player 456 shouts at them that he’s played these games before.

‘Wait! So he’s the winner? If he’s already won, why would he play the games again?’

A guard stops him before he goes further. The voting continues. More players vote to continue the games. 

Nam-gyu’s already made up his mind. He’ll vote O. He won’t leave this place with only 24 million.

“Player 124.”

He walks to the buttons. He pressed the blue button and he walked to the O side.

Hyun-ju’s number is called. He can barely see her. Then a high pitch beep sound was heard. She votes to continue.He understands her choice, knowing the shared money also barely covers her debt.

All players had been voted. 182 for X, 182 for O. 

Except for Player 001.

“And finally, Player 001”

Everyone looks at Player 001

“Now everybody say “O!”” Thanos shouts.

The X side does the same like O does. 

The silence fills the room. Then,

Player 001 pressed the O button. All players from the O side are cheering! While players from X side sigh disappointedly as they know they can’t leave this place.

The game will continue.

⚝⚝⚝

Chapter Text

The guards are giving them dinner. The dinner is some kind of bento. It has rice, a sunny side-up egg, some kimchi and green vegetables. They also got a bottle of water.

Nam-gyu looks at the food. The food looks okay, but he lost appetite because people died. He is with Thanos now on Thanos’s bed because his bed is in upper part.

“Aren’t you eating the food now, Nam-su?”

“It’s Nam-gyu. And no, I don’t think I can eat now.”

“If you don’t want to eat, just give them to me.” Thanos tries to take Nam-gyu’s bento.

“Fuck no!” Nam-gyu said while pulling his bento away from Thanos.

“You’re no fun! Hey look, Nam-su. MG Coin is alone now. Wanna come visit him?”

“It’s Nam-gyu. And no. You just go there by yourself. I have to go somewhere.” Nam-gyu gets up and he takes his dinner.

“Where are you going, Nam-su? You can’t just leave me to visit MG Coin alone!”

Nam-gyu doesn’t answer him and walks off.

The truth is, he wants to meet Hyun-ju.

⚝⚝⚝

Hyun-ju feels guilty for voting to continue. But she needs more money. Her surgeries aren’t finished yet. She only did top surgery. That’s the reason she got into debt.

Hyun-ju is eating her dinner now. The dinner is honestly not that bad. It’s just the rice feels a bit dry to her. But she eats it anyway. She better have energy for the game tomorrow.

She hears someone calls her name,

“Hyun-ju.”

It’s Nam-gyu. He’s beside her now.

“May I…sit with you?” Nam-gyu asked awkwardly. He still feels awkward around her.

“Sure. Sit here.” She answered.

“Thanks.” He answered.

Hyun-ju sees his dinner isn’t touched yet.

“You haven’t eaten dinner yet?” Hyun-ju asked.

Nam-gyu asked, “After witnessing people die, I lost my appetite.”

“But you have to eat, Nam-gyu. You better have some energy for tomorrow. Just try to eat a bit.”

He nodded, “...Okay noona.” He sighed.

The egg is fine. But the rice, well he can’t say it’s bad. The rice feels dry to him.

“Not bad.” Nam-gyu muttered. 

“So, how’s your doing when I’m gone?” Hyun-ju asked.

“Eh, nothing special. Just boring school life. I went to art college but I dropped out.”

“Why?”

“I…”

Then he hears the commotions between Thanos and Myung-gi.

“Wow, he really went by himself.” Nam-gyu mumbled.

He sees Player 001 confronting Thanos. Myung-gi is on the ground. ‘Serve him right!’

Player 001 easily beats up Thanos.

⚝⚝⚝

The next game needs a team of five. The players were given 10 minutes to form a team. Nam-gyu already has Thanos and Gyeong-su. They need two more.

It takes them five minutes to search for 2 people. There were actually two men who asked Nam-gyu if they need more people. Nam-gyu wanted to answer, but Thanos was already away. He and Gyeong-su decided to follow Thanos.

Thanos finds a girl with short hair. She looks like she’s talking with someone.

“Señorita, excuse me?” Thanos asked the girl. She turned her head.

The girl has pierces on her lips and her nose.

“You need to join my team.” Thanos said.

“I don’t know. Why should I?” She asked.

“You don’t know Thanos? The rapper?” Gyeong-su imitates Thanos’s rapping.

“So Thanos? You have infinity stones?” She asked.

“Of course! I’ll kill every human that gets in my way! Don’t worry, you’ll save. Okay?”

“The problem is I already have someone with me.” She said hesitantly.

“No problem. Who is it?”

She looks nervous but she moves away a bit, revealing a chubby boy with a bowlcut.

“What’s your name?” Thanos asked the boy.

“It’s…Min-su.” The boy introduced himself.

“He looks like a dork. We should—” Nam-gyu is trying to say something to Thanos, but Thanos cuts him off.

“What’s up? Nice to meet you, my brother. Welcome to Thanos world.” Thanos said to Min-su.

“You’re cute. Come on.”

⚝⚝⚝

Hyun-ju feels nervous now. She doesn’t know if they’ll accept her as a team. She wished her brother with her.

She then found a group of men. Looks like they need one more person. She decides to join them.

“If you need one more person, I—” She said nervously.

The four men look at her weirdly. She knows what it means.

“No, we’re good.” One of them said. She nodded.

Then she sees a short girl with messy hair staring at her. She thought the girl would judge her so she walked away from the short girl.

“Excuse me?” The girl asked shyly.

“Would you…team up with me?” She sounded scared.

Hyun-ju was stunned. She didn’t expect this girl would team up with her.

“Sure. Follow me. We need three more people.”

The girl nodded.

⚝⚝⚝

They stumble upon an old lady, Player 149 and her son (Hyun-ju thinks?), Player 007. It seems they don’t have their team yet.

“Would you…” “Can we…” Hyun-ju and Player 149 said at one time.

They finally found two people. They need one more person.

“You insolent fools!” 

Everyone looks at the woman’s voice. It’s Player 044.

“You made me come to you, when you should have come to me.” Player 044 said to them four. The timer shows 00:13. 

‘Oh this woman is annoying.’

“I should just slay you with my knife.” 

The four of them look at each other. Yep, they don’t have other choice but to take this woman as their member.

⚝⚝⚝

The second game is Six-legged Pentathlon. They have to play five mini games and reach the finish game within 5 minutes. The first mini game is Ddakji. The second is Flying Stone. The third is Gong-gi. The fourth is Spinning Top. The last one is Jegi.

They were given time for choosing the mini game they’ll play later.

“You guys choose.” Thanos ordered.

“I’m gonna play ddakji.” Gyeong-su said.

Nam-gyu looks at Se-mi, “You girls are good at playing gong-gi. You sure play that game right?” He said to Se-mi.

“No, I barely played gong-gi when I was kid. I’m choosing the flying stone. I have good aim.” Se-mi said.

‘Crap!’ “You better be, girl! What about you?” Nam-gyu said to Min-su.

“Uhh… I think I’ll choose gong-gi. I’m not good at spinning top and jegi.” Min-su said shyly.

Shit. He’s kinda good at spinning top. But his hands are starting to shake again now. 

“What are you good at, Nam-su?” Thanos asked.

“Nam-gyu. I’ll choose spinning top. Everyone is already choosing their games, Thanos. Only jegichagi because none of us are good at that game.”

“Okay then I’ll play that game.”

⚝⚝⚝

“What are you good at?” Hyun-ju asked the girl who sits next to her.

“I think I’ll choose ddakji.”

Hyun-ju nodded.

The old lady chooses gong-gi and her son chooses the flying stone. Hyun-ju isn’t good at spinning top. If Nam-gyu and her are in the same team now, he’ll choose spinning top because she knows her brother is good at playing that game.

So she chooses jegi.

That Player 044 hasn’t chosen anything.

⚝⚝⚝

The first two teams were eliminated because they failed at crossing the finish line.

Nam-gyu is even scared now. His hands are shaking badly. He saw Thanos pop a pill earlier before the second game.

He tried to get Thanos’s attention to him.

“What?” Thanos asked.

“Can you… Can you give me one of those? You know, the one that you popped this morning.” Nam-gyu asked. He saw Thanos take the pills this morning before they went to the arena for the second game.

“I don’t what the fuck you’re talking about.” Thanos said in English.

“If I get nervous and lose the game, we’ll all die. My hands are shaking like crazy now.”

Thanos took the cross out of his jacket and opened it.

“Do you know what this is?” Thanos asked.

“Ecstasy? Ketamine?” Nam-gyu asked.

“This is the new kind. It’s fucking crazy, man. You can’t handle it.” Thanos said.

“Hyung.” Nam-gyu lifts up his left sleeve, showing his track marks from injection.

Thanos looks at him with concern.

“I did all kinds of stuff when I was working at the club. I even brought you some when you came to the club.”

Thanos looks around. He can’t let anyone see it. Then he gives a pill to Nam-gyu.

“You little junkie.” 

Nam-gyu hurriedly pops a pill Thanos gave him.

⚝⚝⚝

It’s her team’s turn now. Hyun-ju feels nervous. But she’ll try to be brave for them. She tied her hair up. She looks at the short girl. The girl looks scared.

“Look at me.” Hyun-ju said. The girl looks at her.

“My name is Hyun-ju, Cho Hyun-ju. What’s your name?”

“Young-mi. Kim Young-mi.”

Hyun-ju holds Young-mi’s hands, “Young-mi, when you spoke to me earlier, I could tell right away. I could tell how brave you are. So you’ve got to believe in yourself. Can you do that?”

Young-mi nodded, “I’ll try.”

Hyun-ju smiled.

“That’s right. I, Jang Geum-ja, survived the Korean War. I will not die playing some kids’ games. Everyone, let’s pull ourselves together and do this.” 

“I’m the son of Ms. Jang Geum-ja, who survived the Korean War. I’m Park Yong-sik.”

Yong-sik turned to Player 044, “Ma’am, what’s your name?”

“I’m Seon-nyeo. Shaman of the sea.” Seon-nyeo answered shakily.

The team is nervous now. Hyun-ju needs to encourage her team.

“I believe we can do this. Let’s show everyone else here that these games are no big deal.”

⚝⚝⚝

Teams three and four are playing the games now. Hyun-ju is one of them. Nam-gyu is a bit scared for her. What if her team doesn’t make it? He really hopes her team will survive.

Thanos notices Nam-gyu is staring at someone.

“Who are you staring at, Nam-su?”

“It’s Nam-gyu and no, I wasn’t staring at anyone.”

“You sure? You keep staring at that tall señorita over there. Not gonna lie, she’s hot.”

“Thanos was right. I saw you were staring at that tall woman.” Se-mi commented.

“Shut up, bitch.” Nam-gyu muttered.

⚝⚝⚝

Young-mi failed at her game a few times. Hyun-ju suggested her to flip the other side and try to throw from that side.

Young-mi did what Hyun-ju said. 

She succeeded! 

“Pass.”

The team moved on to the second game.

Yong-sik also failed at throwing the stone. 

“I’m sorry, everyone.” Yong-sik apologized.

“It’s okay. We’ll go pick it up.” Hyun-ju said.

The team marches together forward so Yong-sik can pick up the stone he threw. Then they march together backwards.

Geum-ja said something to her son. Hyun-ju barely catches what they said.

“That asshole ruined my fucking life!” Yong-sik shouts, then throws the stone.

He did it!

“Pass.”

All players are cheering for them.

They finally moved to the third game. It’s Geum-ja’s turn.

Geum-ja keeps failing. Seon-nyeo begins losing her patience.

“Old hag! What are you doing—”

Hyun-ju shuts her mouth before saying anything further.

After a few tries, Geum-ja finally made it to the final round. She needs to throw all five stones on the back of her hand and catch all of them without the stones falling.

Yong-sik also says something to her mother to encourage her.

“Rotten bitch!” Geum-ja shouts, then throws all of the stones and catches them.

She caught all of them!

“Pass.”

Everyone cheers!

They now move to the fourth game.

Now it’s Seon-nyeo’s turn.

She begins to wrap the top with the lace.

“You have to wrap it around the axle first.” Hyun-ju said. 

This makes her feel nostalgic when she and Nam-gyu played the spinning top when they’re still young. He’s really good at playing that game.

“I know.” Seon-nyeo said.

She accidentally drops the top. She picks it up and looks at the timer.

“Don’t look at the timer. We’ve got time.”

She keeps failing at wrapping the top.

“The gods of heaven and earth have abandoned us. They’ve abandoned us. Am I going to die here?”

“Get yourself together!” Yong-sik said in distress.

“We’re all going to die—”

SMACK! SMACK!

Hyun-ju slapped the shaman twice, with the second slap being harder than the first one. It made her nose bleed. She really loses her patience.

Hyun-ju picks up the top and holds the top in front of her face.

“If you give up, I will kill you before your gods do.” She hissed angrily.

The shaman nodded and wiped the blood off her nose.

“Hurry up! Hurry!”

She looks at the timer. It shows 00:35 now.

Finally, the shaman made it! She won the game!

“Pass.”

They hurriedly moved to the final game. It’s Hyun-ju’s game now.

The rule is she needs to kick the jegi five times.

“Please, look away. Please.” Hyun-ju pleaded. 

She doesn’t want everyone seeing her play the game. Her transition is still half complete.

“Yeah, all right.” Geum-ja said and everyone in her team looked away.

“You guys too.” Hyun-ju said.

“Don’t look! Turn around, guys!” Player 313 ordered all players.

Hyun-ju can feel nervous. She begins to kick the jegi.

She did it!

“Pass.”

All the players are cheering now. 

The timer shows 00:08 now. The team quickly moved to the finish line. 

Just when the timer hits 00:01, they finally cross the finish line.

Everyone cheered!! Teams three and four are the first teams that made it to the finish line!

⚝⚝⚝

Hyun-ju’s team won!! Nam-gyu can feel he’s smiling now. 

If her team can do it, so can they!

His team is next! 

Gyeong-su only failed on the first try. Se-mi wasn’t lying when she said she has good aim. She did it on her first try. Min-su keeps failing when he’s playing gong-gi.

“You motherfucker!” Nam-gyu shouted at Min-su while shaking his shoulder.

After a few tries, Min-su won the game!

Now it’s Nam-gyu’s turn. Despite he’s already popped the pills, his hands are still shaking.

He failed at first try. Se-mi grabbed his jacket and scolded him.

He did it on the second try.

They moved on to the last game. Thanos can easily play the game.

Thanos team crossed the finish line at 00:24

⚝⚝⚝

Hyun-ju wonders if Nam-gyu will make it. She now sits with Young-mi, Geum-ja, and Yong-sik.

“Eonni.” Young-mi called her.

Hyun-ju looks up at Young-mi.

“Can I ask something?” 

“Yeah, sure.”

“How do you know it’ll be easier to play if you flipped the ddakji?” 

The other two look at her now.

“Oh, I used to play ddakji with my friends. It was my secret trick.”

“Oh.”

“Hyun-ju, can I also ask something?” Geum-ja asked.

“Sure.”

“When you were playing the jegi, why did you ask everyone to look away? Are you shy?” She asked.

Hyun-ju feels embarrassed. The question has something to do with her body. Her surgeries aren't finished yet.

“It wasn’t that. I’m just…not completely done.”

Geum-ja still doesn’t get it, “What do you mean?”

“Mom, just stop asking questions. You’re being nosy.” Yong-sik said.

“That’s okay. I still have some procedures left. I just didn’t want people to stare at me.”

“What procedure?” Geum-ja is still confused. Then she quickly understood what Hyun-ju meant.

“Oh, so that’s where you get those? I know those are big.” Geum-ja said while pointing at Hyun-ju’s breast.

“Mom, that’s enough.” Yong-sik tried to stop his mom.

Hyun-ju saw Nam-gyu enter the dorm a while ago. She decided to talk to him.

“Excuse me for a moment. I need to do something.” Hyun-ju said politely.

“Oh sure, dear.” Geum-ja said.

⚝⚝⚝

Thanos team is sitting now. 

“So many players survived.” Nam-gyu muttered. He looks at Min-su who puts his head on his knees.

“Hey, you.” Nam-gyu calls Min-su. The chubby boy lifted his head. 

“What’s your name again?” “It’s Min-su.”

“Min-su, how many people survive now?”

“Uhh… About 200 or more?” Min-su answered unsurely.

“What are you? An AI? Go count them head by head now.”

“Like, right now?” Min-su asked. Nam-gyu nods.

Min-su gets up from sitting, but he is stopped by Se-mi.

“Why would you do that? The guard would tell us the number of players later.”

“Shut the fuck up, bitch!”

“Stop it!” Thanos told them to stop the fighting.

“What’s your name again?” Thanos asked Min-su.

“Min-su.”

“How old are you?” “27.”

“That means you’re born in 1997. Hey, why did you treat him like a boss? You two are the same age. Treat him like a friend. Hey Nam-su ya, isn’t that right?”

“It’s Nam-gyu.”

“Right Nam-gyu. Isn’t that right?”

“Yes.”

“How about you?” Thanos pointed at Gyeong-su.

“I was born in 1998.”

“You?” “1996.” Se-mi answered.

“That settles it. Gyeong-su is the youngest, you two are the same age, and Se-mi is the older one.”

“Hey Nam-su. Call her noona, since she is older than you.”

Nam-gyu only laughs. “Come on!” Thanos said.

Nam-gyu sees Hyun-ju walk towards the spot when they first meet before they play Green Light Red Light. He decides to talk to her.

“Where are you going, Nam-su?” Thanos asked.

“I need to do something.” Nam-gyu answered, then walked off from his group.

⚝⚝⚝

“Hello Hyun-ju.” Nam-gyu calls her.

“Oh, hello Nam-gyu. So how are you?”

“I’m okay. I’m glad you made it.”

“Me too. I’m also glad you made it.”

They still feel awkward to each other.

“So… Do you want to meet me? I assumed you wanted to meet me because you went to this spot.”

She nodded, “I just want to have a little chat with you. You know, as siblings. So, do you still vote to continue?”

He nodded, “Of course. The money probably is still not enough for me to pay the debts. How about you, noona?”

“I honestly don’t know. I will be selfish if I vote to continue again. But if I vote to leave, the money won’t be enough for paying my debts.”

“I won’t force you, Hyun-ju. If you still need more money, it’s okay to vote to continue. I mean, it’s not like you’re greedy like that old man Player 100, are you?”

“Yeah.”

What they don’t realize is both of their group were staring at them both. Especially Thanos.

⚝⚝⚝

The guard congratulates them for making it through the second game. The guard announces to them that the prize money accumulated is 20.1 billion and each person’s share is 78.8 million.

Yes, Nam-gyu will vote O again. The shared money is still less than a hundred million. Which means it won’t cover half of his debt.

The voting will begin from early numbers, which begins from Player 001. That means, he doesn’t have to wait long to vote. 

Many players changed their vote from X to O. 

“Don’t betray us.” Nam-gyu said to Min-su.

“What?” 

Nam-gyu holds Min-su’s red patch, “We all agreed to play one more game, right?”

“Player 120.” 

Nam-gyu perks up at the number. The guard is already calling Hyun-ju’s number. That means, it will be his turn to vote soon. He tried to see what’s her voting for this time. She did say she needs more money.

Beep! The counts of O add one. Hyun-ju voted O.

“Player 124.”

Nam-gyu pressed the blue button. After his number, it’s Min-su’s. His turn is right after Nam-gyu.

“Player 125.”

Min-su walks to the front. He seems hesitant. He turns to his right. Nam-gyu makes an O shape with both of his hands.

Beep!

He rips his X patch and changes it to O patch. 

“I know you won’t betray us.” Nam-gyu said and walked to the O side.

⚝⚝⚝

They have bread and a carton of milk for dinner. The bread looks good. At least it’s better than the bento yesterday. 

Nam-gyu sees Hyun-ju is sitting on her bed. She seems a bit down. He looks at Thanos. Thanos is talking with Gyeong-su. Min-su is also with him and that bitch Se-mi. This is his chance! He walks to her bed.

“Hyun-ju.” 

Hyun-ju flinches a bit. She wipes her eyes quickly.

“Hi Nam-gyu. I thought you were with your friends.”

Nam-gyu sits beside her, “You seem…kinda down. It’s unusual for you to look down.” He bites his bread.

She sighs, “I just feel selfish. I made my friends feel disappointed at me.”

“Selfish? For voting O?” He asked.

She nodded.

“Let me tell you, noona. Even if you voted X, it won’t be changed. The O is still winning! You saw how that Player 100 encouraged everyone to play one more game right? I’m gonna be honest, even though I voted O, I hate his ass. He did that so he can pay his 10 billion debt. I mean, how the fuck he got in so much debt?” He said softly.

“You also need more money right? Your debt and mine aren’t much different. My debt is also around 300 million. The shared money isn’t enough to cover our debt. Sometimes, you need to be selfish for once, Hyun-ju. For my whole life, I’ve never seen you’re being selfish for once. You’re always a selfless person. Always put others first than yourself.”

“But if you want to vote to leave for the next vote, it’s okay. It’s your choice to make, not mine.”

“Thanks Nam-gyu. Never thought you can be an advisor.”

“Don’t get used to it. I only said what’s in my head.”

He looks at the bread that she hasn’t eaten, “Do you want to eat that bread?”

She shook her head, “I can barely eat at the time like this.”

“If you don’t want it, can I take your bread? Let’s trade with my milk. You know I’m kinda lactose intolerant.”

She nods and gives him her bread, “Okay, I’ll take your milk then. But aren’t you gonna feel thirsty later?”

“Nah… I’ll be fine.” He gives her his milk.

Nam-gyu feels a few pairs of eyes staring at them.

“Hyun-ju, I think your friends are staring at us. Do you think they will hate you for being near me?”

“If they hate me for that, I don’t care. You are my brother, of course. But you’re also a player, just like me. Just like all of us here. I don’t care if they will hate me for being near you. After I started my transition, I faced a lot of judgement for being a transgender and I already got used to it.” She said.

“And your friend is here, Nam-gyu.”

Nam-gyu’s jaw drops. Thanos is near her bunk now. He’s with Gyeong-su.

“NAM-SU, COME GET HERE, BRO!” Thanos shouted.

Nam-gyu groans, “It’s Nam-gyu. How many times I fucking tell him that my name is Nam-gyu?! I’ll see you again, Hyun-ju.”

“Okay. I also want to go to my friends. See you later.”

Nam-gyu goes towards Thanos and Gyeong-su.

⚝⚝⚝

Hyun-ju feels even more regret for voting O when she found out that Player 222 is pregnant and Geum-ja said she’s almost due. They went to the bathroom together minutes ago. She saw the pregnant girl was crying because she’s scared. 

When Hyun-ju walked to her bed, she saw Young-mi is still awake.

“You’re not sleeping, Young-mi?”

Young-mi shakes her head, “I just can’t sleep, eonni. I can’t stop thinking about tomorrow. I’m scared.”

Hyun-ju sits on her bed, “Young-mi, look at me. I’ll protect you, no matter what. We will get out of here soon. I’ll vote X tomorrow.”

Young-mi nods, “O-Okay eonni.” She tries to smile at Hyun-ju.

“Oh by the way, eonni. Can I ask you something again?” Young-mi asked.

“Sure, go ahead.”

“We three saw you’re talking with a player. I can’t catch his number. But he has similar haircut like yours, eonni. Is he your friend you’ve met before the game?”

So Nam-gyu was right. Young-mi, Geum-ja, and Yong-sik did see her talking with Nam-gyu.

“Oh, you mean Player 124? He’s not my friend. He’s actually my brother.”

Young-mi gasps, “Your brother?”

Hyun-ju nods.

“Wow. I see. But why he didn’t join our team, eonni? We could have him instead of the shaman. The shaman looks scary to me.”

Hyun-ju was thinking of make Nam-gyu join her. But she knows he wants to be with his friend. He seems close to that purple-haired player.

“He already has a friend. I don’t wanna bother him.”

Young-mi nods.

“What’s his name?” Young-mi asked.

“His name is Nam-gyu.” Hyun-ju answered.

Hyun-ju stands up from the bed, “You should try to get some sleep, Young-mi.” Hyun-ju said.

“Okay. See you tomorrow, eonni.”

“See you tomorrow, Young-mi.”

Hyun-ju didn’t realize someone was watching her when she was talking with Young-mi.

⚝⚝⚝

Chapter Text

The next game is mingle.

“All players, please step onto the center platform. When the game starts, the platform will begin to rotate and you will hear a number. You must form groups of that size, go into the rooms, and close the door within 30 seconds.”

“I know this game.” Geum-ja said.

“How should we play this? Is there a strategy?” Yong-sik asked.

“If the number is four, we can stay together. If it’s two, you and me pair up.” Young-mi said.

“We’ll figure it out as we go. Let’s trust each other.” Hyun-ju said.

⚝⚝⚝

“Ten players.”

Everyone tries to form a group of ten. 

Hyun-ju feels someone tapping her back. She looks behind her.

“How many are with you?” Gi-hun asked.

“Four.”

“So, that would get us to nine!” Jung-bae said.

“We need one more!” Hyun-ju shouted. She sees the shaman was alone. She grabs the shaman.

“Now we have ten!” Hyun-ju shouted at her group.

“Room 44! The light green room!” Gi-hun shouted.

They run to room 44.

⚝⚝⚝

The second round will begin. All remaining players step onto the platform. The song is playing again.

Both Thanos and Nam-gyu are dancing happily.

Then, 

The platform stops rotating. 

“Four players.”

Thanos looks at Min-su and Gyeong-su. Which one should he take?

“Hyung.” Gyeong-su pleaded, hoping Thanos will pick him.

“Gyeong-su, YOU OUT! LET’S GOO!!! WHOOO!!!” Thanos shouted.

Nam-gyu runs behind Thanos. They four run to the red room.

The door finally locked after 12 seconds. Nam-gyu peeks through the small window. He wonders if Hyun-ju made it.

“Nam-gyu, can you see what happened to Gyeong-su?” Min-su asked.

Nam-gyu hits Min-su. Fuck Thanos, make Min-su talk to him like a friend. Does he even know Nam-gyu hates Min-su?

“Fuck Min-su! Talk to me like a friend again, I will get rid of you instantly! Got it?” Nam-gyu said.

“Hold on, wait! Where do you guys leave my boy Gyeong-su?” Thanos asked.

The sound of gunshots were heard. Thanos immediately try to peek through the window.

“GYEONG-SUUUU!!!!” Thanos shouted.

Gyeong-su didn’t make it to the room. Nam-gyu didn’t mind Gyeong-su's presence. Oh how he wished both that bitch Se-mi and that coward Min-su died.

⚝⚝⚝

The remaining players now are 168 players. Nam-gyu hopes Hyun-ju is one of the survivors.

Nam-gyu can see Hyun-ju from the distance. Her eyes meet his. 

He nods his head at her, signing to her that he’s okay. Hyun-ju nods her head back then talks to her friends again.

“Attention, all players. Please step onto the platform in the center of the arena.”

“Come on Nam-su my boy! We gotta mingling together!” Thanos shouted.

⚝⚝⚝

“Three players.”

“What do we do?” Young-mi said in panic.

“Let’s split up and each find a third person.” Hyun-ju said and pulled Young-mi’s hand.

“We need one more person! Just one!” Hyun-ju shouted.

“You two! Follow me! I found a room!” A male player called them.

Hyun-ju and Young-mi follow a man to a red room.

Hyun-ju hopes both Geum-ja and Yong-sik will make it.

Click!

The door is locked now.

Now both of them can see the player who saved their lives. It was Player 246.

“Thank you for saving us, Mr. 246. Thank you so much!” Young-mi said.

“Oh it’s nothing. It’s actually you two who saved me. I’m Gyeong-seok. Park Gyeong-seok.” 

“I’m Hyun-ju, Cho Hyun-ju. And this is my friend, Kim Young-mi.”

They three wait until the door unlocked

⚝⚝⚝

The next round is starting. The platform is rotating and the song is playing.

♪ Round and round ♪

♪ Let’s go around in circles and dance ♪

The platform stops. This round they have to form a group of six players.

“Four women and two men, go!” Gi-hun ordered.

“Wait, which two?” Jung-bae asked.

“My mom and I stay together.” Yong-sik said. She knew about Yong-sik was separated from his mom.

“I’ll go!” Dae-ho is going with them.

They run to the orange room. But the room is already full. Hyun-ju tries to look for another room.

Bingo! She found an empty room.

“Here! Quick! This one is empty! Come on!” Hyun-ju shouted. She looks at the timer. They only have 10 seconds.

Everyone already went into the room. Except for one. Hyun-ju quickly realizes Young-mi isn’t with them.

“Where’s Young-mi?” Hyun-ju asked.

“Eonni!” She hears Young-mi called for her.

Hyun-ju sees Young-mi is on the ground. When she tried to save Young-mi, she was being shoved by a player and that player closed the door.

Click!

The door is locked! And Young-mi is still outside. 

“Eonni.” Young-mi calls Hyun-ju shakily.

“Young-mi ya!” Hyun-ju calls her back.

Hyun-ju tried to open the door. But the door is already locked.

Then,

BANG!

Young-mi got shot. Hyun-ju was shocked. Her friend who sees her for what she is. The very first person who called her ‘eonni’.

Young-mi died in front of her!

“NO! YOUNG-MI! YOUNG-MI!!!!” Hyun-ju screamed.

Geum-ja cries hard. She can’t believe Young-mi just died in front of them. In front of Hyun-ju.

“You! It’s your fault!” Hyun-ju screamed angrily at Player 333, Myung-gi.

“Are you kidding me? If I hadn’t come in, you would all have died.” Myung-gi said.

“It’s your fault! I still have time! I could’ve saved her!” 

“That’s not true! The door was gonna lock! The second you went out, they would’ve shot you like they shot her! Then we’d be down one and the rest of your team would’ve died too!”

Myung-gi swats Hyun-ju’s grab, “I saved your lives! Don’t you understand that?! All of you, tell your friend it’s true! Just admit she was gonna die!”

“It’s true. You wouldn’t make it back in here.” Jun-hee said.

“Yeah. There wasn’t enough time.” Dae-ho said.

They’re right. But Hyun-ju is still in denial. 

She begins to sob.

⚝⚝⚝

The fourth round is over. Once again, Nam-gyu feels glad he’s still alive. But then he saw Hyun-ju from the corner of his vision. She seems down. It’s unusual to see her in such a state. Before the game started, she looked calm and positive. But now, she seems upset and sad.

‘That’s strange. It’s rare to see her when she’s down. Did something happen?’

Nam-gyu checks around to see if Thanos notices him being far away from him or not. Nam-gyu can see Thanos is talking to Min-su now.

He’s been thinking, should he go to her or not? 

‘I’m gonna go with her. It’s not like he’ll notice if I’m missing.’

He secretly walks to her group, trying to get close to her without her friends noticing him.

The final round has started now. The platform starts to spin and the child song starts to play. The effect of drugs is starting to warn off. Now he realized how sickly this song sounds. 

Nam-gyu sees that asshole Myung-gi is near them. Well, he saw Myung-gi was with Hyun-ju’s group when they walked out from the room. 

He accidentally eavesdropped on the conversation between Player 001 and Player 390. Player 001 said that the last round will be 2 people. There are 50 rooms and 126 players survived from the last round. If all rooms are filled with each 2 players, then the other 26 players won’t get room and will get killed. Nam-gyu looks at Hyun-ju who is still looking at the ground, barely paying attention to her surroundings.

The platform and the music stop all of sudden. 

“Two players.”

‘Player 001 was right!’ Everyone now is panicking, trying to search for their partner or friend so they can pass this round. They began to pick their partner to go with them. He sees Myung-gi grab Player 222’s hand and drag her to one of the rooms. That old lady was with her son. 

Nam-gyu looks at his sister. She still doesn’t move from her spot. It’s like she’s already accepted her death. 

“I’ll protect you from now on. I’ll try to survive for you. I promise we will never be separated anymore. Can you do the same too?”

He remembers what she said earlier after she failed to rescue Player 444. There’s no way he will let her die. Without thinking, Nam-gyu grabs Hyun-ju’s arm firmly and pulls her.

“Come on, Hyun-ju!” He shouts at her while dragging her from the platform.

‘You protected me a lot in the past, noona. Now, allow me to protect you. I know I’m not as strong as you. But I also want to protect you. I won’t let you die!’

⚝⚝⚝

Hyun-ju barely paid attention to her surroundings as the group walked out from the green room. She doesn’t want to think that one of the bloods is from Young-mi’s. She walks to the platform by auto-pilot. 

Then, the platform stops. She can feel the platform stop, but she still stays at her place. She can hear the number being called two. 

“If it’s two, you and me pair up.” She remembers what Young-mi said they will pair up if the number is two. Now Young-mi is gone. No one will pick her. She will die right here and right now.

As she starts to accept her death, someone pulls her by her right arm.

“Come on, Hyun-ju!” A player shouts.

She let herself being pulled by that player.

⚝⚝⚝

Nam-gyu found an empty room. A player tried to enter the room, but he kicked him away from the door and shoved Hyun-ju to the room.

He quickly closed the door. He tried to lock the door, but the lock didn’t bulge. So he tried to close the door with his back pressed against the door so no one can enter this room.

“10… 9… 8… 7… 6… 5… 4… 3… 2… 1.”

Click!

The door is finally locked now. He pants. He stares at Hyun-ju. She still sits on the ground while looking down.

“Why did you do it?” She asked suddenly.

“Did what?"

“Why did you save me? You should leave me to die.”

Her shoulder is trembling a bit.

“You almost died! There is no way I will let you die, Hyun-ju!”

Hyun-ju looks up at him, “I don’t deserve to be saved. I should be the one who died now. It’s my fault.”

‘Her fault? What’s going on? Did she lose someone in the game?’

Nam-gyu can’t let her blame herself for the things she didn’t even do.

SMACK!

Nam-gyu slapped Hyun-ju’s face. Both of them are shocked now. For his entire life until now, Nam-gyu never slapped nor hit Hyun-ju. Hyun-ju looked shocked, but she knew she deserved it.

“Stop fucking blaming yourself, noona! Stop blaming for something you didn’t even fucking do!” He shouts.

Hyun-ju doesn’t say anything.

He sighs. 

“‘I’ll protect you from now on. I’ll try to survive for you.’

‘I promise we will never be separated anymore. Can you do the same too?’”

“That’s what you said earlier after the first game, right Hyun-ju? I’m trying to do the same thing you did. You protected me in the first game. You still survived until now and so am I.” His voice breaks a little. His voice is hoarse a bit after screaming at her.

Nam-gyu sits beside Hyun-ju and hugs his knees. “There is something that I never and will never admit. I’m not good at fighting. And that is something from me that father despised. I’m not strong like you and I will never be like you. Despite that, I want to protect you too. So please, allow me to protect you from now on, noona.”

‘Please noona, I don’t want to be alone anymore. For 10 years, I had to endure the pain of loneliness. I won’t let anyone or anything separate us again!’

He’s not a fan of hugging someone. Let alone comforting someone. But he hugs Hyun-ju anyway. That’s when her dam broke. She sobs loudly in his arms.

Nam-gyu rubs her back with his right hand and caresses her head with his left one. They sit like that for minutes. 

“Please don’t leave me alone again, noona. I don’t want to lose you.” He whispered.

Click!

The door is unlocked now. The game is over. Her sobbing has ceased now. Nam-gyu gets up from his spot and tries to peek from the window. See if Thanos is already out now.

He hopes Thanos survived. If he survived, probably he’s with Min-su since Nam-gyu wasn’t around him.

He can see a purple blob walking out of the arena. He survives.

He offers his hand to her, “Come on, noona. Let’s get out of here.”

Hyun-ju accepts his offer. He helps her to get up.

“Will you be okay now, noona?” He asked.

She nodded.

⚝⚝⚝

They finally reach their dorm. Hyun-ju grabs Nam-gyu’s hand.

“You can go now, Nam-gyu. I’ll be okay.” She sniffled a bit. Her voice is hoarse after crying a lot earlier.

“Are you sure, Hyun-ju?” He asked anxiously.

“Yes, I’m sure. I’m pretty sure your friend is worried for you. Now go.”

He nods, then he walks to the O side.

Before he reaches his bed, suddenly someone’s hugging him.

“MY BOY NAM-SU!!!! I’m so happy to see you again, bro. I thought you died. Where were you, Nam-su?”

Nam-gyu doesn’t know if he wants to tell Thanos about Hyun-ju is his sister.

“I… was zoning out. And accidentally separated from you.” Nam-gyu lied.

“Oh okay. You better not zoning out this time, Nam-su.”

“It’s Nam-gyu. How many fucking times I told you? My name is Nam-gyu, not Nam-su!”

“Yeah, that’s what I said.”

⚝⚝⚝

It’s the voting time. The money is enough for Nam-gyu to pay his debt. But for Thanos, it’s not even cover half of his debt! He will vote to continue again.

That player 456 and his friends voted to leave, just as expected. Now it’s Se-mi’s turn now.

She fucking pressed the red button! What a traitor.

“Fucking bitch.” Nam-gyu muttered.

The votes continue. That fucking MG Coin still voted X. There’s no way he thinks he can leave that place.

‘Perhaps it has something to do with that short girl he talked to after mingle!’

Thanos voted O of course.

“O TEAM! LET’S GO!!!!!!!” Thanos shouted.

After a hundred numbers, it’s finally Min-su’s turn. After that, it’s Nam-gyu’s.

“Player 125.”

Nam-gyu grabs Min-su’s shoulder, “Come on, come on, come on! Go press the O. Don’t betray us.” He lets go of Min-su’s shoulders.

Then he sees Se-mi flipping off her middle finger to him.

Beep…

A low pitch beep sound was heard.

‘Fucking traitor! Min-su fucking pressed the X button!’

“Player 124.”

Nam-gyu immediately presses the blue button. Then walks to the O side.

“Player 120.”

He wonders if she still votes to continue after seeing her blamed herself. He knows she lost one of her friends in mingle. He won’t be surprised if she presses X. If she votes to leave, he’ll be fine. It’s her choice. 

Red light brightened up her face. Hyun-ju voted to leave.

“Hey Nam-su, isn’t that señorita who was with you yesterday? I saw you guys talking. You never told me you have a girlfriend here.” Thanos said.

“It’s Nam-gyu. And no, she is not my girlfriend! She’s my sister.” Nam-gyu answered.

“Your sister?!” Thanos almost shouts.

Hyun-ju is on the X side now. What will people say about their relationship?

‘What if…The X side hate her? Will they notice if she’s going to the O side only to meet me?’

He doesn’t care if the O side will hate him if he meets her after this.

⚝⚝⚝

The result is tied for now. They have to do a revote tomorrow morning. 

Today’s dinner is kimbab and a bottle of soda. He likes kimbap. Though this kimbap didn’t taste that good. But he ate it because he likes it.

“Yo Nam-su! You never told me you have a sister! This is so crazy, man!”

“Even if I told you that, I don’t think you’ll remember it. You can’t even remember my name for fuck sake!”

Nam-gyu keeps eating his kimbap.

“Say Nam-su. I saw Min-su was heading to the bathroom. How about convincing him so he will vote O tomorrow?”

“It’s Nam-gyu.”

⚝⚝⚝

“Min-su ya… I know you’re mad at me. I’m sorry, boy! You still shouldn’t have betrayed us. This shit really hurts my fucking feelings.”

Nam-gyu tried to climb the wall, “Hey, Min-su. You said you got scammed out of your place, right? You have nowhere to go, bro.”

“Open the door!” Thanos shouted in English from outside.

“So come on. Just one more game, Min-su. We’re gonna keep you safe. I promise you man. Tomorrow morning you gotta vote O, okay?” 

Min-su tried to escape from them but Thanos managed to stop him.

“Whoa boy, sit the fuck down.”

Nam-gyu heard Thanos telling Min-su the story of himself trying to jump from the bridge. Before he met the man in the suit, the ddakji man.

Until, their moment was stopped by…

“Leave him alone.”

Nam-gyu knows who it is. It’s MG Coin.

‘What is he doing here? It’s none of his business!’

Myung-gi tried to defend Min-su. Tried to tell the Xs that the Os tried to make one of X voters to switch their vote. 

Thanos shouted to the Os that Xs are trying to attack them so they can win the vote.

Thanos sees Min-su trying to get out of the bathroom. He wanted to stop Min-su for escaping, but Myung-gi was in his way.

Nam-gyu mentioned about the girl who talked to Myung-gi earlier. He suspected Myung-gi probably has things with that girl.

Myung-gi felt offended. That was proof of Nam-gyu’s suspicions. 

Thanos said something to Myung-gi and it seems to make Myung-gi angry. He tried to hit Thanos, but Thanos can easily dodge it.

Nam-gyu knows that the fights will heated if there’s no one who will stop both Thanos and Myung-gi. And he’s no good at fighting.

And as he thought, the fight breaks. He tried to fight one of Xs.

When he was busy fighting, Thanos was fighting over Myung-gi.

Then…

He felt a sharp pang on his neck. MG Coin fucking stabbing him! With a fork!

⚝⚝⚝

Nam-gyu fell to the ground. That’s when he saw Thanos was lying on the ground. Blood flowed from his wounded neck. He took the cross and the fork that was on Thanos’s neck. He stabbed the X voter multiple times. He panted hard.

He feels so angry now.

At Thanos who left him. At Myung-gi for killing Thanos.

At himself.

The guards stopped their fights and they led them out of the bathroom.

⚝⚝⚝

Hyun-ju wasn’t in the mood to eat. She completely lost appetite. Losing Young-mi really hit her hard. If it wasn’t for Nam-gyu saving her in the last round, she wouldn't be here now. 

Her brother will be left alone again.

Hyun-ju now sits beside Gyeong-seok. She barely paid attention to the arguments between two sides earlier.

Then minutes later, some of male players who were in the bathroom, came to the dormitory.

She hears someone shouting something. Hyun-ju recognized his voice.

“O TEAM!! Listen to me!” Nam-gyu shouted to Os.

Everyone looked at the one who was shouting.

“We…were in the bathroom. But those bastards Xs tried to attack us. They…killed a few of us, including my friend.” 

She tried to look at him. Nam-gyu lost his friend, the purple-haired one, in that fight. He was hyperventilating now. He was covered by blood on his face and his clothes. There's also wounds on his forehead and near his mouth.

Then Player 100 asked, which side lost people more. Both O and X teams counted their people. 

Turns out, the X side only lost two people. While the O side lost three people. That means, the X side won the vote by one.

⚝⚝⚝

The Os wants to attack the Xs so they can win the vote. Some players from the X side want to attack the Os. Hyun-ju agrees with that idea. But Gi-hun despised the idea. His plan is sacrificing a few players from the X side. The group will hide below the bunk beds once the Os attack the Xs. The guards will stop the attack because they don’t want to lose many players. Once the guards check on the dead players, they will attack the guards and take their guns. 

Despite learning Gi-hun’s plans, Hyun-ju still wants to warn her brother if some of X players could attack him. So she secretly went to his bed once the group disbanded from their spot.

⚝⚝⚝

Nam-gyu was on Thanos’s bed now. He is still shaken up after witnessing Thanos’s death.

“Thanos, that fucking idiot.” He said while looking at the cross.

“That bastard, treated me like a fucking idiot. Can't even say my name right. He left me alone here.”

He opened the cross with his shaky hand. And popped two pills. One for him and one for Thanos. He didn’t realize someone walked towards him.

“Hey Nam-gyu.”

He looked surprised. He hurriedly hid the cross before Hyun-ju saw it.

“You have no idea what you’re doing, noona. They’re gonna kill you if you come here.”

“I know.” She said while sitting on the bed.

“You don’t have to hide it from me, Nam-gyu. I saw it.”

Nam-gyu widened his eyes.

“It’s okay, Nam-gyu. I don’t hate you just because you took them.”

Nam-gyu keeps silent.

“I’m here just want to tell you something but I couldn’t say it out loud. Come here.”

Nam-gyu leaned on Hyun-ju.

“I know you guys are planning to attack us, the Xs. But some of Xs can still try to attack you. Please stay away from it while you can.” She whispered.

He looked down. He really wants to join the attack. He wants to kill Min-su and Se-mi. He also wants to kill MG Coin. He didn’t answer her.

“I will hide so don’t worry about me. Okay? And don’t say anything about this. I’m only telling you this because I don’t want you to die.” She said quietly.

He nodded, “Please stay safe, noona. I also don’t want you to die.” He whispered.

She nodded. Then she walked away from him.

⚝⚝⚝

Chapter Text

“Lights out in 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.”

The room is completely dark now. Only the O and X signs are on.

Hyun-ju hides with Gyeong-seok under the bed. She hopes Nam-gyu will be okay.

Then, the screaming and stabbing sounds were heard.

Hyun-ju really hopes she can save some of her X voter friends. 

After about 5 minutes, the light is on and the guard is shooting in the air. Time for her to do the plan! She lays down beside Gyeong-seok on the ground and plays dead. When a guard is fighting with Gyeong-seok, she pulls a pistol from the guard and shoots them.

She shoots a few guards with a pistol. When the guard was already down, she takes the gun and continue shooting the guards.

The guards began to retreat. But only one guard who couldn’t escape.

Hyun-ju ordered Gyeong-seok to collect all guns from the dead guards. Then she shoots some cameras that are placed in their dorm.

⚝⚝⚝

The lights are off now. It’s time for the Os to do their plan. They began to walk slowly to the X side. When they reach the X side, they run to some players and kill them.

Nam-gyu tries to look for that bitch Se-mi. He needs to get rid of her. It’s her fault for voting X. It’s her fault for making Min-su for voting X!

He found her! She’s trying to escape from Os. He tries to attack her but she can dodge easily.

“Se-mi noona. You fucking bitch!”

Someone drops a bottle at him. Nam-gyu tries to see who threw a bottle at him. But due to flickering lights, he can barely see. Or maybe that person hides from him so fast?  He got distracted, he didn’t realize Se-mi tries to attack him with a shard of glasses.

“Fuck!” Se-mi screamed. She kicks Nam-gyu.

“You goddamn bastard!” Se-mi shouted.

She tries to fight him. But he quickly overpowers her. Nam-gyu begins to stab her with a shard glass.

“You fucking bitch! You think you’re better than me?” Nam-gyu said while stabbing her continuously. She stops fighting him as she dies. Her eyes started to lose the gleam.

Nam-gyu walks away from her. He wants to look for Min-su. He wants to kill him too.

But then, the lights are on. He quickly walks to Thanos’s bed.

Not a minute later, he sees some of Xs are attacking the guards. Some of them take the gun and shoot the guards. That’s when he sees Hyun-ju is one of them. She shoots the guards smoothly like a second nature.

‘Is this what she's doing in the military?’

He sees Hyun-ju shooting the cameras. Of course the creator of this game placed the cameras in their dorm.

“We will now head up to the masked men’s headquarters. We’ll capture the one who captured us, put an end in this game, and make them pay. Anyone who knows how to use a gun and wishes to join us, please step forward.” Player 456 said.

‘Wow, he really wants to end this game.’ 

As he expected, none of the players from the O side joins those X voters. He knows most of Os don’t want the game to end. Nam-gyu sees she’s giving instructions on how to load the ammo. From how she gives the instruction, he can see she’s naturally a leader.

Deep down, Nam-gyu doesn’t want Hyun-ju to join them. He almost lost her in mingle. He doesn’t want to lose her. She’s at the back of the line now. As the group begins to walk out from the dorm, he runs to Hyun-ju and grabs her hand. She turns to see him.

“Can’t you not go with them, Hyun-ju?”

She shakes her head, “I have to do this, Nam-gyu.”

“What if you die? You almost died in mingle. I don’t want to lose you again. Please.” His voice almost breaks a bit. He can’t cry here. Not in front of them!

“I won’t die, I promise. Just meet me in the usual spot after this. Okay?”

He nods. 

“Please stay safe, noona.” He whispered.

“I will.”

Hyun-ju runs to follow her group. Nam-gyu walks back to Thanos’s bed. He can feel many eyes staring at him. But he doesn’t care.

‘Please stay alive, noona. Don’t leave me alone.’

⚝⚝⚝

“I thought you wouldn’t join us, Hyun-ju when I saw you weren’t behind me.” Gyeong-seok whispered.

“Someone wanted to talk to me.” She said.

“I saw his number briefly. Player 124 right? Is he your friend you know before the games?” He asked.

“No. He’s my brother.” 

“You have a brother here? How come I never see him with you?” 

“He’s on the O side. He’s also hanging out with his friend a lot.”

Gyeong-seok nods in understanding.

The group walks up the staircases. Gi-hun puts the pistol on the square guard’s head. 

“All players, it is bedtime now. Please return to your quarters immediately. Otherwise, you will be eliminated from the game. Let me repeat. All players, it is bedtime now. Please return to your quarters immediately. Otherwise, you will be eliminated from the game.”

Gi-hun shoots the speaker box. Then, the guards are starting to shoot the group.

“Get down!” Gi-hun shouted.

⚝⚝⚝

The sounds of gunshots were heard. Nam-gyu is sitting on Thanos’s bed. He’s fidgeting the cross now. He can feel the anxious feelings starting to creep in his brain. His hands begin to shake. He keeps flinching at the loud sound.

“All players, it is bedtime now. Please return to your quarters immediately. Otherwise, you will be eliminated from the game.”

His chest tightened hearing the announcement from PA.

‘Eliminated? What if they kill her? I should’ve keep persuading her to not join them. I shouldn’t let her go.’

Nam-gyu can feel his eyes begin to watery. He hides his hands in his sleeves, hugs his knees and hides his face in his arms. He doesn’t want the others seeing him cry.

‘Please noona. Stay alive. Don’t leave me alone again. Please.’ He pleaded.

⚝⚝⚝

“One o’clock!” Gi-hun shouted.

“Cover me!” Hyun-ju shouted at her group.

“Cover!” Jung-bae shouted.

Hyun-ju runs to the other side and hides behind the corner. She shoots many guards. 

A guard nearly shoots her but she can quickly dodge. When that guard begins to shoot her, she shoots them before they shoot her.

“Hold fire!” Gi-hun shouted.

The group continues their journey. They walk up the staircases. Hyun-ju shoots some cameras.

After minutes of walking, the line suddenly stops. She sees Gi-hun is talking to the guard who he holds him as hostage. She didn’t catch their conversations. 

Suddenly a gunshot sound was heard. The group is attacking the guards again. 

⚝⚝⚝

Hyun-ju is running out of her ammo, “Everyone! Check your magazines!” Hyun-ju yelled.

“I’m down to half.” Gyeong-seok said.

“I’ve got less than half.”

“Same!” Player 145 said.

“I’ve got two-thirds left.” Player 015 said.

“I’m almost out.” Player 047 said.

“Mine is empty.” Dae-ho said shakily.

“I’m almost out too.” Young-il said.

They’re all running out their ammo. Gi-hun told them that the guard has spare ammo in their pocket. Gi-hun was with Jung-bae. They went to look for the management area and they also need more ammo and some backups. Young-il volunteered to be their backup. Player 047 and Player 015 joined him. 

“I’ll go get the magazines. I’ll come back as soon as I can. Just hold on until then!” Hyun-ju volunteers to get the magazines from the dorm. Perhaps she can meet with her brother again. 

“Hyun-ju ssi!! I’ll go!” Dae-ho shouted. 

“I… I’m out of ammo.” Dae-ho said shakily.

“Do you know the way?” Gyeong-seok asked.

“Y-yes.” 

“We destroyed the cameras on the way. Follow them.” Hyun-ju said. 

She gives her gun to Dae-ho. She has a spare gun. “Take this. You might run into the masked men on the way.” 

“T-Thank you, Hyun-ju.”

“I’ll cover you! GO!” Hyun-ju shouted.

“Cover him!” 

She continues to shoot the guard. She hopes this mission will be over and they can get out of here. She promised Nam-gyu to stay alive.

⚝⚝⚝

Nam-gyu hears someone runs into the dorm. It was that marine guy with a ponytail, Player 388. He looks anxious as he’s searching for something. The marine guy tries to look for something from the guards. The old lady and her son help him.

Nam-gyu wonders if Hyun-ju is still alive or not. The gunshot sound is still there. 

That Player 388 walked out of the dorm. But not minutes later, he went back to the dorm and hid on the bed.

Minutes later, he can hear another person running into the dorm and shouting someone’s name. He tries to see that person.

Nam-gyu widened his eyes in shock. But he also feels relieved. Hyun-ju is still alive!

He slowly walks towards the X side to see her clearly. He doesn’t care if the Xs will notice him. He can see her hurriedly run back to the outside. But the guards are already entering the dorm and order them to get down on the ground. She hides behind the bed and loads the gun.

‘Oh no! What is she doing?! There’s no way she can defeat the guards only by herself!’

Nam-gyu sees the old lady try to stop Hyun-ju from shooting the guards. Luckily, Hyun-ju didn’t do it.

‘I’m gonna give her some talks.’ He walks back to the O side.

⚝⚝⚝

Dae-ho isn’t back until now. Hyun-ju begins to feel anxious. They were outnumbered now. 

“Damn it. What’s taking him so long?” Player 145 said.

“Do you think he got lost?” Gyeong-seok asked.

Hyun-ju keeps calling Dae-ho through the walkie talkie, “Dae-ho, can you hear me? Where are you? Can you hear me?”

She didn’t receive the answer, “Did you find the magazines? Are you on your way?”

No answer, “Dae-ho, answer me!” Are you there?”

Dae-ho isn’t answering her. That’s it! She will be the one who brings the magazines.

“We can’t hold out much longer! We need those magazines now!”

“Something must have happened. I’ll go down and check!” Hyun-ju yelled.

“Thank you.” Gyeong-seok said.

Hyun-ju nods, “Cover me!”

All remaining members shoot the guards. She shoots them before running back to the dorm. Luckily, there are no guards on her way. 

She sees a walkie talkie is on the ground. Did something happen to Dae-ho?!

“Dae-ho! Dae-ho, where are you? Dae-ho!” Hyun-ju yelled as she entered the dorm.

Yong-sik pointed at Dae-ho. He was cowering on the bed. Hyun-ju runs to Dae-ho. 

Dae-ho.” Hyun-ju calls Dae-ho. He flinched hard.

“What happened?”

“I-I’m sorry.” 

“The magazines.”

But Dae-ho keeps muttering “I’m sorry”. Hyun-ju sees the magazines are near the bed. Dae-ho did collect the ammos. She doesn’t know why he didn’t bring the ammos. But it doesn’t matter now. All she thinks is she needs to bring these ammos back to her comrades.

She hurriedly runs with the ammos. But not seconds later, the giant metal door is opened and the guard shots in the air. She quickly hides behind the bunk

“Get down on the floor!” The guard yelled at the players.

Hyun-ju loads the gun with the magazines. She wants to attack the guard by herself. It’s not that hard right? When she begins to get up from her spot, someone taps her shoulder. It was Geum-ja

“Hyun-ju. You can’t die like this.” Geum-ja said.

Hyun-ju begins thinking. If she doesn’t come back with the ammos, her group will die because they’re already running out of ammos. But if she runs back to them and brings the ammos now, she’ll end up to die. She will break her own promise to her brother to stay alive.

“Player 145, eliminated.”

“Player 246, eliminated.”

Hyun-ju is shocked. Gyeong-seok is dead?! Hyun-ju feels regret deeply because she couldn’t bring them the ammos. Tears fell from her eyes. She couldn’t believe she lost her two friends in such a close time.

“It’s okay, Hyun-ju. You still have us.” Geum-ja comforted her.

She’s right. Hyun-ju still has friends here. She still has Nam-gyu too.

The guard walks to her, “Hands over the weapon. And all of the magazines.”

Hyun-ju hands over the gun and the magazines to the guard. Two guards take them all. 

“All of you, hand over the weapon. All weapons. Now!” The guard ordered other players

The weapons they meant were forks and some glass bottles that they used for killing players. The guards take all of the weapons. They also take the beds that belong to dead players.

⚝⚝⚝

The rebellion has failed. Hyun-Ju and Dae-Ho were the only survivors. Part of her felt glad Geum-Ja stopped her for attacking the guards on her own. The guards outnumbered her. 

Besides, she has someone to take care of. 

The gun and all magazines were confiscated. Hours later, the metal door opened, revealing four guards brought a coffin and they left it in the middle of the dormitory. All players started to approach the coffin. Hyun-Ju opened the coffin. She gasped.

⚝⚝⚝