Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

MAYBE IT WAS a dream. Or perhaps, it was her desperate anticipation to get her hands on the money the man offered in front of that strange shop. She didn't know what it was, why she was here, and where exactly she was taken to.

All she knew was how much of a fool she had turned out, to be lured and kidnapped like this just for money.

Her eyes fell on her wrist where an unfamiliar sleeve went down above her hand. She looked at the jacket.

134.

The girl quickly turned her gaze up and watched as everyone else stirred awake from their beds. They looked like students in P.E class, all wearing the same colour but with different numbers. Even a preppy music was being played. Where are they? A kindergarten school?

She turned to her side to see a man staring with confusion pasted on his face, "Do you know where we are?" He asked.

She looked at his number - 133, and shook her head, "No."

"I don't think anyone does."

One by one, they got up and down from their beds, wherever they were placed. Each one in the room had numbers and it slightly made sense to her the moment she saw a huge monitor with the numbers 4, 5, and 6.

"Must be the number of people here," a woman mumbled and continued to walk forward to examine the place.

She closed her eyes to remember the last moments when she was aware of her whereabouts.

"Do you wish to participate in the game?" The voice in the other line questioned. Her shaky hands gripped the stolen phone tight as she ran down the segregated streets of Myeongdong. The girl's sharp exhales answered a breathless 'yes'.

"If you wish to play, please state your full name and birthdate."

"Park Seon Mi," she stated and hid behind an alley she guessed no one would find. The loan sharks and creditors were chasing her, getting her to sign a contract she didn't even get the chance to read. "May 5, 1994."

And that was that. All she knew was that she followed the place and time given to her until she saw a van, asked where they were headed and lost consciousness after the smoke.

Her train of thoughts were interrupted as soon as she heard the sound of a skin striking another, "You bitch!"

Seon Mi abruptly turned around to see a fight at the center of a crowd. Though, the tall people in front of her couldn't get her to see. So, she climbed up the second bunk bed and watched. There, her eyes laid upon a young woman and a man in his - 50's? That's what he looked like.

At first glance, he already looked like someone from jail. Judging a book by its cover is a common mistake she does all the time. There was no other reason to lie about it. Why not come clean?

"Hey!" The man exclaimed as he watched the girl on the floor stand with a sharp glare, "Wow. I can't believe I've ran into you here. Small world, huh?"

"Look at your eyes. Your temper hasn't changed a bit." He continued. Seon Mi examined him more; Enough to know he's Player 101. He then, started walking closer to the short-haired woman. 67. "Then again, you're not the type to back down after a few blows."

'So, 101 is Buff guy. 67 is . . .'

"I fed you, put a roof over your head, even taught you my skills, but you backstab me?" 101 mumbled.

"Ooh," Seon Mi muttered under her breath as she bit her nails, watching the entertainment before her unfold.

"You already took more than what I owe you," 67 answered, making her eyes widen and mouth open in surprise. Everything was getting more and more exciting to the point that she almost forgot she was in an unknown place.

"If that's true, why did you run away?"

' . . . runaway girl.'

"I didn't. I just went independent." Buff guy laughed at that, repeated the last word, and looked away to contemplate what he was going to do. Just as expected, he raised his hand curled into a fist and swung it.

Maybe by instinct or just pure luck, 67 took a step back and avoided the violent move. This made Seon Mi raise her eyebrows.

Maybe there was something more to the story. Conclusions started to cloud her mind until she had one where she knew this isn't entertaining and little as everyone thought it was.

The girl saw the woman as young as her age get dragged around like a rag doll. She inhaled a sharp breath upon seeing how the man kicked her like she was just another dirt on his shoe.

"Is no one going to stop them?" She whispered to herself.

Then, before everyone knew it, a man in his 40's came grabbing her by the collar asking for his money. 456 - Player 456.

Park rolled her eyes and clicked her tongue in annoyance. There was no one going to stop this. They all looked too entertained, or much worse, scared. She's got to admit, the buff guy did intimidate her, but they were all kidnapped there. The worse already happened.

Climbing down, the fight continued. "Who the hell are you?" 101 questioned.

"Me? Well . . . " He started pointing his finger behind him. "I'm Seong Gi-hun from Ssangmun-dong."

"Hey, Mr. Ssangmun-dong."

"Yes?" He swiftly responded.

"I'm not done with this wench." While the two conversed, Seon Mi pushed through the crowd gathering around them.

"I'm sorry, but I also have something urgent to discuss with this sister over here." 456 pointed to the girl on the floor.

"You bastard. What's your relation with her?"

He awkwardly looked away from him to the crowd, and cringed. "My God. I'm not like that. What's your relation with her? You obviously look like the type to prey on girls like her! Did you tell her to steal my money?"

Triggered by this, 101 revealed his fist to the crowd again and cursed, "You son of a bitch."

"Help! This guy is trying to kill me! Someone get over here. We need help!"

Despite his loud shouts, an exclaim louder enough was heard from the crowd. They all turned to a long-haired girl eyeing them with her round unreadable eyes. "God, you act like children when Mommy's not around in the playground."

"And your business is?" 101 asked.

She didn't answer and switched her gaze towards 67. Without hesitation nor anything at all, Seon Mi walked over to her and looked at the man who stood a few feet away.

"Nothing," she simply stated and turned to the girl, sticking her hand out as an offer to help her up. "You should've kicked his groin. It would have been more entertaining."

Before 67 could take her hand, 134 felt someone grab the collar of her jacket and push her away while his hands still gripped the fabric. She closed her eyes shut, preparing for the moment his fist hits her face.

"You think you're so brave going up to me like that?"

"Let me go," she firmly ordered and grabbed his hands to pull them away.

"Next time you interrupt, I'll turn your head the other way."

"Let me go!" As soon as those words came out of her mouth, a sound of a buzzer reached their ears and people in red uniforms and shapes came forward. 101 harshly pushed her to the side causing her to fall on the floor, back first. Seon Mi groaned in pain and bit her lip.

"I would like to extend a hearty welcome to you all. Everyone here will participate in six different games for over six days. Those who win all challenges will get a handsome cash prize."

"How are we supposed to believe you?" A guy questioned.

Seon Mi sat up and much to her surprise, the girl she tried to help earlier had her hand held out. Her face remained still, but she knew at some point, 67 was doing her the same favour out of genuine generosity.

"You should've kicked his groin. It would've been more entertaining." She repeated.

She didn't really know how to react to that. So instead, she took her hand and helped herself up with a sigh, "Thank you."

There was no reply from player 67. She just stood there glaring at her or maybe, that's just how her face is at rest.

"Are you okay? You look like you're about to slap me with a metal pole," Seon Mi joked. Though, none of them laughed.

"You should stay away from that guy and let me defend myself next time."

"He was already kicking you. It would've been a matter of minutes before he did something much worse if I or that guy who you stole from didn't step in," Park said.

"I didn't ask for an appeal to my warning," without any other word, the young woman turned around and listened to the higher-up of the red clothed men.

"I was just trying to do something good for once. A 'thank you' would've been nice."

67 ignored her and listened to the queries and answers of the people in the room. It was all suspicious. They were promised money and there were so many of them.

Is it even real? Should they trust them?

Without a doubt, all questions were taken care of by the guy with a square on his mask. Until, a certain player spoke up and made the crowd think twice again.

This resulted into the squared-mask guy to hold out a remote and present a footage of the man.

"Player 218. Cho Sang-woo. Former team leader of Team Two at Joy Investments. Siphoned money from his clients then invested in derivatives and futures options with it and failed. Current loss, 650 million won." Everyone turned to him as he looked down in shame.

"Player 107, Kim Mi-ok. Player 118, Oh Yeong-uk. Player 322, Jung Min-tae. Player 11, No Sang-hun. Player 369, Park Ju-un; All of you in this room are living on the edge with debts you just can't pay off. When we first went to see you, none of you trusted us, but as you know, we played a game and gave you money as promised. So, everyone here trusted us and volunteered to participate in this game on your own free will. I'll give you one last chance to choose." He continued.

Everyone looked at each other, contemplating as the speaker carried on laying out the options. "Will you go back to living your lousy life being chased by your creditors? Or, will you grab the last opportunity we're offering here?"

Seon-Mi's breath started to tremble as her hands gripped the hem of her jacket tight. Her eyes slowly shifted from the men in front, to the girl next to her who look at her back.

"I guess we have one thing in common after all, Player 67," she mumbled.

The odd numbered player looked away in pure disdain. How could Player 134 say such a thing in a situation like this? As if this isn't a big deal?

"You're acting too comfortable," 67 said without even turning to her. 134 did the same and remained focused on the men in front of the crowd.

"Well, what am I supposed to do? Weep?" She answered. "They know we're in debt. We're desperate. What's the point of dwelling on it? I know . . . everyone here has never been able to smile genuinely for so long."

"You deceive yourself that everything's fine?" 67 arched an eyebrow and leisurely fixed her glance on the long haired girl.

The smile on her face faltered, realising the essence of the question. Before she could answer, another query was thrown, but it was not from her nor the person she was talking to.

It was 456.

"How much is the prize money?"

In a shorter outcome, a yellow light shone above every player as an empty transparent piggy bank slowly descended with four strings holding it in place. Everyone looked up in awe. The mesmerising measure of the container gave them a hopeful impression that the awaiting award would be more than one creative head could imagine.

"Your prize money will be accumulated in the piggy bank after every game. We will disclose the amount to everyone after the first game is over. If you do not wish to participate, please let us know now."

Seon Mi looked down to process her thoughts. Maybe this isn't so bad at all. Maybe, the worst case scenario she believed to be, was a blessing after all this time.

This was a chance for her to start over.

A chance for her to find herself as she achieve the goal and have fun.

Seon Mi had nothing left to lose. What's the worse that could happen with these six games they speak of?

They're just games.

Chapter Text

"WHAT ARE YOU staring at?" Player 67 suddenly asked as she proceeded to sign the paper of terms and clauses presented before her. 134 raised an eyebrow as a response and turned to her own contract waiting for a point of an ink.

"Are you really going to sign it? Are you sure you want to participate?" Park replied.

"Why do you care so much about my decisions so suddenly? You're a stranger I barely know," 67 spoke without breaking her focus on the paper.

"I'm skeptical." Seon Mi said while writing her name on the page. The short-haired girl next to her looked at her as if waiting for another missive, "Don't you think it's a little too easy for us to be participating?"

134 put the pen down and pivoted towards her. She only planned to give her a glance and nothing else, but as soon as she started to walk away, a hand briskly grabbed her wrist.

67 wanted to say something, but the second she turned to her, she was voiceless. What was there to be said to a stupid person she met not even a half an hour ago? She knew this girl wouldn't even understand. She looked like she didn't have enough mental capacity to do so.

All they did there was stare at each other for seconds, processing what 134 just said, and feeling the heat of their eyeing rivalry until they heard someone clear their throat.

"Will you two move? There's a lot of people here waiting for their turn!"

Seon Mi diverted her gaze and walked off with 67 following closely behind. Deep inside, she knew what the even numbered player meant and she was right. But, that was not the only fact that left her mouth. The other one was how desperate they were inside that warehouse.

"Why are you following me?" Park stopped.

The young woman copied her action and looked down, shoving a hand in her pocket.

In all honesty, Player 67 herself doesn't even know why she was behind her trail like a dog after a bait.

"I wasn't following you. I have the same path to go. Move aside." The odd numbered player lied, and waited for her to get out of the way. But, Seon Mi only crossed her arms and stayed put.

"I said move."

Park eyed the open space next to her, "If you really wanted to walk away from me, you would've just went there."

"What do you want?"

"What do you want? You were the one tailing me."

67 immediately walked to the space beside her as 134 watched her leave. "Nice meeting you!" She yelled after.

"The game is about to begin. All players, follow the staff's instructions and proceed to the game hall."

Everyone was pacing back and forth but the minute the announcement was out, all impatient feelings turned into an insettling series of horror and anxiety.

The halls outside led them to a chamber full of stairs painted with yellow, pink, and blue. Everything looked pretty youthful and childish; As if they were being kept in a nursery room this time. With all those pastel combinations? Who wouldn't think so?

Seon Mi looked around. People were everywhere and all the routes were puzzling her. Whoever designed the place was probably listening to a nursery rhyme by that time. Or maybe, it symbolises childhood. They did look like children in the outfit they wore.

'Wait - how exactly did they get us to wear these?' She thought. Jumping to a hypothesis, her eyes widened. She clutched her jacket and looked at the men in red uniforms. 'They saw my body? God, that's embarrassing!'

"Hey, can you walk any faster?"

"Sorry."

When they got to the destination, pink machines with cameras attached to it awaited their presence. Everyone took their time or just didn't care with taking photos.

Seon Mi walked over and in front of the contraption and stared blankly. "Please look at the camera."

She raised her head and stared directly into its lens. "Smile!" She sighed and tried to smile only ending up with her lips twitching to one side.

A shutter was heard and just like that, in a room where any of the players didn't know about, their photos were displayed along with their assigned numbers, just below the heels of a man that remained a mere mystery to the world outside.

When the photos were taken, and the preparations were done, the gates opened. No one knew what was going to happen. All they had was a faint idea that everything's going to be just fun and games. They talked and formed bonds within a short amount of time that their white shoes stepped on the yellow sand.

The day was awake and the sunlight came like rain in lightning speed. The birds flew freely up above, soaring with the wave-like clouds that swam in the deep blue sky.

On the other side of the room was a girl perfectly made out of metal and as tall as the tree next to her. It's huge peering eyes felt like it scanned the room, knew exactly their backgrounds, and read their thoughts.

Seon Mi would be lying if she said she didn't feel anything from that. The place was too huge and everyone was just too many. Somehow, the massive number felt wrong.

She turned to her right. There was no one she knew; Unlike 456 who yelled an old friend's name from a distance. Some people reunited and had smiles on their faces. How satisfying.

"134." Park heard. The girl turned her head to see the same person she didn't really had much liking to. She thought her presence was like any other. Just neutral.

But, 67 drove her thoughts in more than two different ways. It was either that she believed 67 was a burden, a stranger, nothing, or a source of clowning entertainment.

Little did she know, that's exactly how the girl thought of her, too.

"What?"

"Good luck." Player 67 said and walked away, leaving Seon Mi baffled once again.

"What?" She mumbled. 'God, that woman. Was that even necessary or did she just want attention?'

"Welcome to the first game. All players, please wait a moment on the field." The speaker announced.

Seon Mi licked her lip and put her hands in her jacket's pockets while skipping cheekily towards Player 67. She had a smug grin plastered on her face. Since they're in a children's place, why not become a child and go back to when the times were good?

"Hey!" Park called.

67 cocked an eyebrow as a response and turned to her as if she had no other choice, "What?"

"Let's make a deal."

"Did you forget? We're broke. I have nothing to place on the table."

"But I can offer friendship," 134 bargained. "It doesn't sound convincing but I'll make it more detailed. As a friend, I can help you win the games . . . if you want."

"I don't have time for this."

"You don't believe me?" Seon Mi asked with an exasperated tone of a betrayal sensation.

"I repeat. All players, please wait a moment on the field."

"See? The announcement is giving us more time," 134 added. She looked down to her hand and slowly lifted it up with her pinky raised.

"I'll swear my life on it," Seon Mi said. 67 looked at her as if she was delusional, but nothing else was there except for a childish innocent smile.

"Your life?" 67 repeated and smirked, "That's a bold swear."

"Take it or leave it," she shrugged. "I have nothing left to lose anyway."

Done with her shenanigans, 67 no longer responded. She was so close to thinking that this girl is mentally unstable. She was not taking things seriously. 'Swear on my life my foot.'

Suddenly, the tall girl in pigtails and yellow-orange dress turned around. Every parts and springs of the machine was heard but the voice of the speaker was louder.

"The first game is Red Light, Green Light. You can move forward while it shouts out, 'Green Light' but, you must stop once it's 'Red Light.' If your movement is detected afterwards, you will be eliminated. Those who cross the finish line without getting caught within five minutes, pass this round."

Seon Mi took a deep breath and looked at the red line below the giant doll. 'That must be the finish line.'

" . . . then, let the game begin."

The machine started chanting the title words of the game and the first one to lead was a blond young man that stepped a few feet foward.

As soon as it turned silent, the doll turned its head around to check the players. The first one from the crowd swayed side by side, struggling to maintain his balance.

"Player 324. Eliminated."

His friend only a yard and a half away smirked. "That idiot got caught." That only faded once a familiar noise reached his ears - almost a sound of a gunshot. He flinched.

A man from the crowd at the back next to 456 flinched along with him. "What . . . was that sound?"

Seon Mi couldn't understand what was going on nor could she get the glimpse of what happened at the front but she did hear the gunshot.

"무궁화 꼬찌 피엇 소리다!" ( Green light, red light. 1, 2, 3! )

250 plucked up the courage to move forward just like his friend to check on him and as soon as it was red light, he looked down to the young man on the floor, seizing the hopeless chance to survive.

"Hey, you got eliminated, you idiot. Stop putting on a show and get up." He mumbled.

134 worriedly scanned her eyes around as if searching for someone but eventually stopped and locked eyes with the machine for a split second.

Player 324 coughed out blood making 250's knees tremble in fear. His mind made the impulsive choice of moving to run away. Soon enough, it was him that locked eyes with the doll.

He knew the game now, but it was far too late, even if he ran.

A firearm shot a bullet straight into his chest resulting for him to fall with his blood splattered all over another player who screamed which alarmed the participants in on the sandy field. A bullet hit her skull, making a big impact to cause her to plummet to the ground.

The screams travelled from in front, to the middle, and the back as well as the non-stop fires.

Her breathing seemed to stop for a good second upon seeing the blood scattered all over the ground that used to be pure yellow. The guns on the walls didn't waste any time to 'eliminate' the players who broke the rules of the game.

Out from the corner of her eyes was 67 about to be hit by a panicking woman. She observed the people on the field. Most of the safe players were behind someone else. What if . . . ?

134 being behind player 403, spoke. "Player 67, look out!"

It suddenly went quiet. Then, another shot.

A body fell not too far away and as she attempted to examine it much clearer, it was the panicking woman she noticed from before.

67 remained still despite the uncomfortable state. She swallowed her spit and shut her eyes closed.

"Let me repeat. You can move forward while it shouts out, 'Green Light' but, you must stop once it's 'Red Light.' If your movement is detected afterwards, you will be eliminated." It turned around once again, "Let the game begin."

"무궁화 꼬찌 피엇 소리다!"

No one moved. They were too paralysed to take a step forward. The image of the dead crowd was intact in their heads that only one of them took the chance to try again.

Player 001.

Seon Mi's eyebrows furrowed as she witnessed this. He looked too familiar to her. "What's he doing here?"

Out of curiosity, Park followed suit and stuck her eyes out to watch him.

Then, she stopped. The doll scanned the players again. No one moved.

67 squinted her eyes at 134 and frowned. "What is she doing?"

"무궁화 꼬찌 피엇 소리다!"

It all went like that for a couple of tries and turns until 67 found herself behind 101; The man she despised the most out of the world. In front of him was the one and only 134 who swore her life to help her out of this place.

The doll turned. "무궁화 꼬찌 피엇 소리다!"

While she progressed behind 101, she heard him curse under his breath, "This bitch is walking too slow."

67 knew he was referring to 134. There's no hiding it anymore. Stupidity and oblivion aren't perfect matches for a place like this. She flinched at the few more sounds of guns going off.

"무궁화 꼬찌 피엇 소리다!"

Seon Mi felt like something was slowly making its way towards her hair but she couldn't care less. All she wanted now is to know who exactly is Player 001.

She stopped. Her focus was disrupted by two familiar voices behind her.

"Who's been behind me all along?" 101 asked in a shaky voice.

"The one who backstabbed you." He could feel her sharp eyes boring a hole into his skull.

"You bitch."

"Want me to stab you in the back again?" 67 held her hand out and gripped the back of his head harsh enough to threaten him.

"Let me go. Please." 101 begged, beads of sweat on his forehead.

"Stop trembling, moron. You'll die if you get caught," she smiled smugly, amused that she got to have her little while of mockery on him. 'Look at him cower like a dog in front of a gun.'

"Take a step closer to her, I'll push you." 67 added.

"You think I'm scared of you?"

"No, but you should think about the guns all over the field."

"무궁화 꼬찌 피엇 소리다!"

The young woman pushed him to the ground as she proceeded to catch up to Seon Mi.

The place was filled with three sounds of new dying people.

"무궁화 꼬찌 피엇 소리다!"

67 took big steps and finally took a hold of the girl who seemed out of herself at the moment, staring at someone from a distance.

"134," she called and stopped.

"무궁화 꼬찌 피엇 소리다!"

"Huh?" Seon Mi hummed. She was about to let another word slip from her mouth, but she was pulled out of place and dragged away by the only odd numbered player she was ever acquainted to.

The time seemed to tick slowly this time as the striking realisation of 67 holding her hand firmly in hers was addressed by her own thoughts.

Park looked at the girl's folded sleeves going up to her elbow. Her hair was flying behind her. Seon Mi thought it was as beautiful as the morning breeze of Daegu's spring season.

"Where'd you get your hair done?" She asked out of the blue in the most absent-minded tone in history.

"What?"

And halt.

They both looked forward, sweat covering their skins. They were just a few feet away from the finish line. Could they make it?

"무궁화 꼬찌 피엇 소리다!"

How could her hair look this pretty? Should she cut hers short, too? Maybe turn them as wavy as hers?

'67 is a walking hair commercial.'

"Snap out of it, 134. We're about to die if we don't make it to the finish line."

Seon Mi bobbed her head and together, the girls ran with their lives literally depending on their speed, balance, and at the same time, momentum.

"This is crazy!" Park exclaimed, having the gut feeling that the doll is going to turn its head any decimal point of seconds now.

"Jump!" 67 ordered.

"If we die, you're screwed!"

"Do you trust me?!"

"How could I trust you? I don't even know you!" She replied.

"Just do it. That doll's going to kill us all if we don't make it to that red line."

"You think?!"

"134!"

"Fine!" She bent her knees and used all her strength to jump with the player to the other side of the court.

Both girls successfully landed on top of each other causing them to groan loudly in pain. 67 bit her lip and closed her eyes tightly, carrying all 134's weight on top of her.

Seon Mi's eyes and mouth gaped as she scrambled to sit up but she was pushed by another player desperately trying to make it by tossing himself.

The girl once again fell onto her.

"It isn't my fault this time!"

"Just get off!"

"Why are you being rude? This is your idea."

"Better than having yourself dead, isn't it?"

"I'd rather die."

"You could've danced in the middle of the field if you did want to end it," 67 stated.

They both glared at each other and finally, four hands and two people - them, pushed each other away at the same time in the most perfect timing.

Seon Mi coughed up the dirt she accidentally inhaled from the action done by the player.

"I'll take your deal since we both won." 67 mumbled, laying down on the dirty sand.

"Too late. My deal's already off the table." She said and stood up.

Their exchanged stares weren't the same as before. Seon Mi's eyes looked different now. It was filled with regret and annoyance of the player who returned the gesture.

It was 134 that broke the eye contact first as she watched all the unresponsive bodies under the hot sunny day.

Not long after, the game was finished and the roof was closed. There was no way out.

Unless, of course, if someone remembered what was written on the contract they signed.

Now, about Player 001.

Who is he, exactly?

Chapter Text

IT GOT DARKER inside the gloomy space. The room once filled with four hundred fifty-six people was now eerie silent with everyone's head hung low. Seon Mi quietly sat beside 67. She hugged her knees and laid her head on it to rest.

Her right index finger touched the cold hard floor and wrote series of letters and numbers along with shapes until she stopped at the number one.

She inaudibly gasped and raised her head as she turned to every direction she could. It wasn't doing enough job.

"What are you trying to find?" 67 asked.

Seon Mi failed to answer her question. She quickly stood up and finally found who exactly it was she was looking for. Player 001.

"Sir!" Park called and frantically waved her hand in the air to get his attention as she walked over.

The old man followed the direction of the sound and immediately noticed the girl. His aloof expression was replaced by a kind bright smile, "It's you!"

"Sir!" Seon Mi happily placed herself before him with her eyes crinkling in the dark. "I'm so glad I found you here!"

Her smile instantaneously faltered the moment she realised what she just said and bowed her head repeatedly, "I'm so sorry! That's not what I meant. This is a horrible place ㅡ you don't deserve to be in here like this!"

He chuckled, "It's fine."

"You know each other?" They both heard a stranger ask. Neither of them answered as they continued to talk to each other.

"How did you end up here?" Player 001 asked.

Seon Mi only smiled at that, "It's a long story I'd rather keep to myself."

The buzzer sound filled the room and once again, the platform gate slid up as the men in red uniform appeared.

"All of you made it through the first challenge. Congratulations. Let me announce the results of Red Light, Green Light." Each heads raised slightly upward in a turtle-like pace. "Out of 456 players, only 201 accomplished the beginning task."

Everyone gasped in shock and diverted their gazes in disgust. A woman given the number of 212 cried out loud then pushed through the participants to beg for mercy and elaborate her sob story. Seon Mi sighed and turned her attention towards Player 001 who seemed lost in thought.

"Mister," she called, only to get nothing in response. Soon enough, everyone started crying to spare their lives.

"There seems to be a misunderstanding. We're not trying to hurt you or collect your debts. Let me remind you that we're here to give you a chance."

"A chance? You call this that term when you kill us while making us play a kid's game. How is this 'a chance'?" 119 interjected.

"We may be in debt, but that doesn't mean we deserve to die." 271 yelled.

"This is just a game," the leader replied.

"You killed all those people, yet you call this a game?!"

"They were simply eliminated for breaking the rules. If you just follow the instructions, you can leave this place safely with the prize money we promised."

"I don't need that stupid prize money. Please just let me leave!"

The players followed the remarks as they complained and whined.

This pushed the squared mask guy to fire a bullet to keep everyone in order. Seon Mi covered her ears as fast as she could and turned her face away from the platform's direction while keeping herself low to the ground to avoid any more taste of a firearm's shot.

"Consent form clause number two : A player who refuses to play will be eliminated."

"Consent form clause number three : Games may be terminated if the majority agrees," the man introduced as Cho Sang-woo before said. "Isn't that right?"

Silence.

Seon Mi got up to her feet upon realising what the rule meant. She swallowed hard despite her trembling breath and sweaty palms. There, she spoke with livid confidence, "You're hesitating." She tilted her head in amusement. "That must mean he's right."

The leader nodded, "That is correct."

"Then let us take a vote. If the majority of us wish to leave this place, you must let us go," Sang-woo demanded.

"As you wish," Square guy - as Seon Mi would like to refer him as, nodded and continued. "We will take a vote to decide on the termination of the game. But, before we proceed, I would like to show you the prize money accumulated from the first game."

He raised his hand, holding the same remote as earlier and pressed a button that made the ceiling create a sound. The yellow light flashed before their eyes and the next thing they knew, stacks of moneys fell like Heaven just open its hand and gave them blessings they thought they could never get a glimpse of.

"A total of two hundred fifty-five players were eliminated during the first task. A hundred million won is at stake for each player. Therefore, 25.5 billion won of prize money has been piled up so far in the piggy bank. If you wish to give up now, the prize will be sent to the bereaved families of the eliminated participants ㅡ one hundred million won each. However, all of you will return home empty-handed."

212 stared at the cash in awe and swivelled to raise her hand, "Excuse me?" She blinked, "If we win all six games, how much do we get?"

"Since there were 456 players, the total prize is 45.6 billion won."

Without another word from the room, he carried on. "With that settled, we will now start voting."

The staff behind him and a few more from outside came into action, painting a temporary white line in the middle of the floor. A big cuboid with two circles was placed right where the line started.

The workers went back to their stations and closed the entrance. "As you can see, there are two buttons in front of you. If you wish to continue playing, press the green button with the 'O'. If you wish to stop playing, press the red button with the 'X'. And, once you finish your decision, please move to the other side of the white line. The voting will be done in reverse order of the numbers on your chest." The square guy looked at 456. "Player 456, please cast your vote."

Needless to say, Seong Gi-hun 'from Ssangmun-dong' chose to leave. Cho Sang-woo went for the other option, as well as Player 212. 199, who saved 456 from his death, chose to give up, along with Seon Mi and Player 101. The girl was surprised to see 67 choose green.

It was maybe the fact that she made a mistake and got confused, or she had such strong alibi to still want to join the game.

Park almost bit her thumb off her hand during Player 001's turn. The votes were tied and he was the only chance. She crossed her fingers and closed her eyes in annoyance of the suspense.

Red. The colour of blood was the one the old man pressed.

Long story turned short, the game was successfully terminated.

THE MOONLIGHT shone behind the night sky clouds with small little trinkets of stars sparkling like burning cinders. Of course, the silence had to be broken by three bodies being kicked out of a vehicle.

"Help! Is there anyone there? There's a person here! Help!" Gi-hun yelled.

"Will you shut up?" He heard.

"What?" The person helped remove his blindfold. "Who are you?" 456 tried to take a look at who it was but he only saw faint clues. "Pickpocket? Is that you, pickpocket?"

Seon Mi silently pulled her hands free from the loose rope and gained a few scratches around her wrist. The girl took a sharp exhale to endure her pain.

"Unless you want to lie here all night, untie me." She heard 67 answer the man. Gi-hun bit the only thing that kept her hands tied together and removed it.

The young woman immediately sat up, took her blindfold and untied the knot around her feet the same time as 134.

"Hey, you're here, too?" Gi-hun questioned upon noticing the quiet 134's presence.

"Pointless question," Seon Mi said. 67 frowned and turned to her before dressing up. How did she not know she was there?

"Hey. Oh, yeah. Right. Dress up first. It's freezing out here. I'm cold, too." The man mumbled.

'How did she untie herself so easily and be this quiet?' 67 questioned herself. She watched Seon Mi from a near distance and continued to ponder. 'Maybe the rope tied to her was loosened without them noticing?'

Once Park was done putting her clothes on, without a doubt, she started walking away with disappointment written across her face.

"Wait."

She stopped and turned to the young woman her age with droopy eyes and an exhausted shrug, "What?"

67 only scanned her up and down before shaking her head, "Nevermind."

'I know the jeans are too big. I just stole them, nevertheless she didn't have to look at me like some kind of fashionista.'

"Don't worry. Maybe next time, I can afford the trendy mom jeans."

"That's not what I was - "

"Are you two really going keep talking and not help me? I'm ice cold!" Gi-hun interrupted.

Seon Mi flashed a sardonic smile, "Say the magic wor - "

"Why should we?" 67 inquired.

"Because I untied you!"

Park chuckled and looked at her phone for the time. It was too late at night. She didn't even know where they were.

"Aren't you too old to be that naive and stupid? Once I let you go, you'll hassle me and demand your money back."

Seon Mi didn't care anymore. She looked around to search for a sign as to where they stood. Far from her but a little close was a tower she swore she's seen before.

'Namsan?' She thought to herself. 'Aren't hotels here expensive?'

The girl turned to her acquaintances only to find Gi-hun untied, chasing 67, and, throwing a rope effortlessly like that was going to do something. She scoffed and put her phone back in her pocket.

"God, you're pathetic," she stated and watched the former odd-numbered player leave.

"Me? Pathetic? Look at you! Oversized jeans that look like you stole from your dad."

"Bold of you to assume these jeans fit my father. Don't mention him again or I'll put that bag of clothes somewhere you won't see and you'll have to walk home half naked."

"Please don't."

"Right." She mumbled and spun towards the path of Namsan Tower. "May we never cross paths again, 'Seong Gi-hun of Ssangmun-dong'. You're too much to put up with."

"Hey! Help me! Come back here!"

"I'm not hearing anything!" Seon Mi shouted and resumed her journey. Her lips curled into a small smile.

She remembered how she used to say the same thing to her younger siblings whenever she wanted to mess around with them. It was all back when everything was fine.

IT'S PROBABLY BEEN an hour since 67 started walking to her destination. She's never been a stranger to Namsan. She always thought the place was bright and loud especially when you're at the center. But now, she didn't know where her feet led her to.

Four lampposts stood an equally well distance from one another in a street she didn't recognise. The young woman sighed and turned to another path, and another, and another, then again until she's completely lost herself.

'Maybe I shouldn't have saved the money and took a bus there,' she thought. Her palm made its way towards her forehead and cursed under her breath.

Suddenly, she heard the voice of a girl probably another turn away singing a song she recognised to be 'The Three Bears'.

67 was bewildered. Who would sing like that at 1 AM? The hairs of her body stood. Maybe it's a kidnapper trying to lure her. Or, maybe it's someone playing something from their speaker because they couldn't sleep.

Whatever it was, she wanted to find out. Even if she wanted to run away and not be dumb, she couldn't help but to feel the need the check.

"곰 세 마리가 한집에 있어."

She pulled out her pocket knife and slowly took the path to the right.

"아빠곰 엄마곰 아기곰."

A few walks closer.

"아빠곰은 뚱뚱해."

Another.

"엄마곰은 날씬해."

Another. 'Come on, Sae-byeok. It's probably just someone pulling a hoax on you.'

"아기곰은 너무 귀여워."

Peeking from a corner, she saw the same long-haired girl she swore to her ancestors she was going to sue. Sae-byeok sighed in relief and hid behind a corner, putting her knife back to her pocket.

'What's she doing here?'

"으쓱 으쓱 잘한다."

Her forehead was shiny from the sweat that covered her nervous face. She took a deep breath and stepped out of the dark to cross the street and ignore the girl who's probably gone mad.

"Oh! Player 67!" She heard.

Sae-byeok stopped and exhaled her frustration, turning to her as if she was being forced to even have eye contact.

She saw Seon Mi laugh in awe as she laid on her back in the middle of the road with shiny streaks looking like tears on the side of her face. "Hey! I never thought I'd see you again!"

Seon Mi sounded merrier than usual. Come to think of it, Sae-byeok did see the half-empty bottle of cheap alcohol in her hand and the plastic bags next to her.

"What are you doing in the middle of the street?" The short-haired girl asked.

"Just . . . hanging out."

"I know you're sober. It's impossible for a person to get drunk with only half a bottle unless it's vodka."

"You're right," Seon Mi answered. "But, I am getting a little light-headed. I've never actually drank for almost a year now so I'm not immune to the effect."

"You'll get ran over if you stay there."

"Who cares? Besides, cars rarely come. This part of Namsan is always almost empty."

Sae-byeok sighed and planned to leave but she couldn't. Even if she looked like she didn't give a damn about everything, she wanted to do something good.

"Give me your phone. I'll dial your family." She held her hand out to receive what she was asking for but Seon Mi only laughed.

"You'll be dialing no one, then."

"What?"

"My mom's in America with my younger siblings. My dad's lying in a hospital bed in Myeong-dong. Who are you going to call? The janitor?" She sat up and fixed her gaze towards Sae-byeok. "Besides, this isn't my phone and I don't remember their phone numbers."

"So you stole it?"

"Don't be rude. I just . . . borrowed," she said and stared at it in defeat.

"Nevermind, then. I'll get going," the short-haired woman breathed out.

"I found an affordable hotel with a nice view," Seon Mi suddenly stated. "It's just that I used my money to buy all of these."

They both looked at the plastic bags full of bottles, meat, and noodles. "I wish I saved them up. I was going to invite someone to eat with me, even if they're a stranger with bad intentions, but I remembered there isn't a stove in the streets. I guess I was too exhausted to think right."

Feeling bad, Sae-byeok snaked her hand in her pocket to feel a thin stack of money she saved from earlier.

"Where are you headed anyways, 'Player 67'?"

"Don't call me that."

"Then what should I call you?"

"Nothing. Don't call me at all." She stuck her hand out with the money making Seon Mi furrow her eyebrows and give her a questioning look. "What's this for?"

"For your affordable Namsan hotel with a nice view," she sarcastically replied.

"But - "

"Shut up and take the money. I can walk."

"Aren't you tired?"

"Sleeping is wasting time," Sae-byeok mumbled. "Take it or I'm withdrawing it back to me."

Seon Mi gently grabbed the money and bowed her head to show her gratitude, "Thank you."

The woman quickly swivelled back to her own route and started walking away. Seon Mi bit her lip and looked at the building next to her. The hotel she's been talking about.

What if?

She put the bottle down, stood up and ran to catch up to her companion. "Hey!" She ended up in front of her, waving her hand like crazy.

"You want to have a sleep-over?"

Sae-byeok rolled her eyes, "Move aside."

"You're tired, I know. And, I really can't finish all of those alone."

"You shouldn't have bought so many, then."

"Come on, it's going to be fun!"

"Leave me alone, 134."

"I'm getting so embarrassed here, 67. I don't know how to pay you back. You had to give up your money to me just because I was carelessly buying stuff as if I'm a billionaire in a Jeju yacht," Seon Mi rambled and continued to walk backwards as Sae-byeok took more steps forwards. "This is the only way I could repay you and I really feel bad. Come on!"

"Did you feel bad when you stole that phone?"

"I told you, I'm just borrowing it."

"Right," she nodded. "Get out of my way."

"Fine," Seon Mi gave up, but before anything else, her foot didn't feel the ground from behind, just three steps of stairs that made her and Sae-byeok's eyes widen.

The woman grabbed the girl by the shoulder but the weight and added pressure was too much for the both of them to end up falling.

Soon enough, groans escaped Seon Mi's lips. Just like the first game of Red Light, Green Light, they both ended up on top of each other but this time, it was her below Sae-byeok's weight.

They were both breathing deeply, glaring at each other as if competing as to who shoots daggers the most.

Sae-byeok wasn't sure as to what just happened, but the view she had of Seon Mi made her feel some type of way.

The ventured moment was cut short when their ears heard each other's stomach let out monstrous growls.

"Do you know how to cook?" Sae-byeok asked.

Chapter Text

"WELL, AS EXPECTED," Seon Mi announced and looked at the space. "There's only one bed. No TV. No fridge. Just a stove and a bathroom."

"Whatever. I'll leave after I finish the food," Sae-byeok told her. She scratched her eyebrow and looked around at the almost empty room. The woman took her jacket off to reveal her shirt underneath.

"What?" Seon Mi asked in a faint exasperation. "How the fuck are we supposed to have a sleep-over with you out in the streets after the food?"

"This is childish. We're adults who recently got kidnapped and witnessed over 200 deaths. Doesn't any of that sync inside your head?" Sae-byeok asked as she jabbed her index finger to her forehead.

"That's why I wanted to do this so we can consult each other. Sleep-over is called a sleep-over for a reason." Seon Mi returned the gesture by pointing her finger to her chest.

"I don't care. Give me the meat. I can cook it myself."

"Have everything! Geez!" The long-haired girl yelled as the former 67 took the bag of goods, washed her hands, and prepared it with the seasonings in the kitchen.

Maybe the room wasn't that bad and rickety. Seon Mi smiled at the open curtain next to a huge bathtub. She walked over and got in while watching the peaceful night view, "I knew it was the right room."

"HEY, I'VE BEEN calling your name for the past five minutes. The food is ready. We can start this sleep-over that you're talking about." Sae-byeok knocked on the door. Once she didn't hear a response, the woman opened it only to find Seon Mi in the bathtub, looking out the window, half-asleep.

"Hey, Dora! Did you hear me?" she asked.

"I heard you. The view's just distracting," Park answered and turned to her with a smile. "There's a table over there and I also brought the drinks here. We can have our dinner in the bathtub. I told you it's a nice hotel."

"The bathroom looks dirty."

"The bathtub isn't," Seon Mi said. "Aren't we too poor and mature to complain?" She added to mock the energy she's had of Sae-byeok.

The woman sighed in defeat and walked out of the bathroom only to come back with a plastic tray full of meat and two bowls of ramyeon noodles.

After that, she joined the girl who eyed her movements with a jovial smile. "We could open the small window up there for the wind to come in."

"I'm too tired to stand up again, 134."

Sae-byeok's mood seemed to have calmed down. Perhaps it was because she was tired. Whatever it was, Seon Mi felt more comfortable in this light state.

"Turn around," 67 demanded.

"What? Why?"

"Your hair is annoying me. Turn around." She ordered again. Park hummed in response and turned to the wall, her back facing her companion.

Sae-byeok took out a rubber hair-tie and grabbed her hair, twisting it into a low bun. Afterwards, she tied it in place and grabbed one of the bottles on the floor.

"I feel like we should talk," Seon Mi mumbled.

"Isn't that the whole point of this?" 67 chugged the bottle down and gave it right to 134 after, "You could use some of this if you're willing to tell me stuff."

She took it and drank until her throat felt hot, "We should talk about what we'd call each other first."

"I'm not telling you my name."

"Then tell me your favourite artist and we'll call each other that. We can only spill our real ones once we realise both of us can be trusted."

"This is stupid."

"You know, 67, I can't keep calling you like a number."

"It's better than letting a stranger know a personal information of mine."

"The game knows - even your background, your family, everything. Plus, I'm not a stranger. Here we are drinking alcohol together, sharing a bathtub in front of a city view. Doesn't that at least make us acquaintances?"

"Fine, I'll give you my favourite artist, but that doesn't mean we're friends."

"Deal."

Sae-byeok snatched the bottle she gripped and drank it all to the last drop, letting out a sharp exhale, "Jennie."

Seon Mi turned around and looked at her in awe. "Jennie?" She questioned. "Blackpink?"

She nodded, "Who's yours?"

"Baek A Yeon."

"I don't know her."

"Of course you don't. It's for people with great taste," she said. Sae-byeok clicked her tongue in annoyance but couldn't help but find the little insult . . . entertaining.

"So, Jennie, how did you end up being in debt?"

"I'll talk about that some other time. Seoul is just . . . an expensive whole and a jackass made me pay for something he wasn't even obligated to do in the first place," the short-haired girl mumbled and grabbed another bottle.

There was a comfortable silence after that. They stared at the lights in the streets so far away while the time continued to chase the day.

Seon Mi grabbed a bottle of her own, opened it and took a sip before looking down on her knees, "I've mentioned it before. I haven't drank in a while."

The woman in front of her raised her eyebrows, "Why is that?"

"My dad didn't like it very much. He said it was bad for my health which is right. I just - " she took another chug, " - wanted to feel something else rather than the constant worry I have for him. Other than that, I just couldn't cry about it anymore."

"You said your father's in Myeongdong."

"He is."

"Why not visit him?"

Seon Mi laughed and shook her head, "I can't go back to see him without money. I promised him the next time he'll see my face, I'd be smiling brightly with my mom and siblings, looking like a fresh million bucks."

"Why would you make that promise anyway?"

"I was confident I'd get the job as a CEO's secretary. I didn't. So here I am."

"Wait a moment. That didn't answer how you became poor."

"I trusted two people," she said. "Choi Pyon-yu, and my childhood bestfriend I'd rather call Yeon."

"What's up with them?"

Seon Mi smiled as she recalled, "Pyon-yu was my high school sweetheart. He's really smart and caring. He would do anything to get what he wanted. When I was sleepy in a class, he encouraged me to act sick and covered for me. He was the best thing and I couldn't look away because he just had to be so pretty. You know when guys have thick eyebrows? I find them attractive."

Sae-byeok stared at the bottle in her hand and continued to listen.

"When we got to college, Yeon and I reunited. They met each other and we'd all hang out in a room. Us three would sneak out of our dorms to get street foods and share gossips.

That time, my father collapsed and had to be taken to the hospital without my knowledge. A week after, I found out he was diagnosed with severe anemia. My mom went to America and later took all her children but me.

She said she couldn't take me and my father because of financial issues, and that I have to study here. I had to guard him while doing my academic responsibilities. I guess you know how that went.

I had to pay for the hospital bills and every time I visited, my father only got weaker. It turns out, it was not just anemia that's sucking all the life out of him. I had to drop out and start working as a call center agent. The pay wasn't high but it was enough to afford all the demands weighing down on my shoulders.

While draining myself, I gave my dad, my best friend, and my boyfriend everything I had. The split second I looked away, I didn't know they were betraying me.

The times I worked double shifts from day to night, Yeon and Pyon-yu were going out and sharing drinks. While I was paying bills, they were out there using all my money to buy the things they wanted. They even bought a car and signed it under my name so they'd be able to use it without any trace of being suspicious.

I knew it all. The bank informed me multiple times but because I was so naive and gullible, I never failed to say 'it's fine'.

Eventually, I got fired and had to borrow money multiple times. Then, they took it to the next level. They thought I wouldn't find out? I did. But, it was all too late when the next thing I knew, I was being hunted by the people I loaned from."

A tear escaped her emotionless face as Sae-byeok licked her lip and leaned towards her to pat her shoulder.

"I was positive I'd get out of that situation but what hurt me the most was the thought that my mother or anyone at all didn't call me to ask how many times I ate in a day or how I was in a hospital room next to my weak father.

The man who I've left behind for nine months now because I couldn't fulfill my promise. All that's left in his company was the duck we rescued not so long ago. It was a random moment but I remember being happy.

He doesn't even know I'm in debt. He thinks I'm in a cozy home in a peaceful neighbourhood in Myeongdong enjoying a plate of spicy rice cakes with Pyon-yu. He has no idea until now that my mother cannot be contacted any longer or that she's started dating an American guy and forgot about the people she left here in Korea.

His kids also never even asked how he is and what he's doing lying on a bed he has 50-50 chance on getting up from.

He was hoping that by the time he wins his battle, his wife would show up with three of his children all grown."

Seon Mi sobbed and gripped Sae-byeok's knee for support as she broke down in tears, "He's always wished to see the eiffel tower in Paris because that's where my mother wanted to get married. He loved her so much I couldn't bear to contain myself when I found out she was happy with another man I don't even know the name of."

Sae-byeok didn't know what else to do other than pat the girl and watch how unfair the world was. "And I couldn't tell him," her voice faltered, "It was unbearable to stand by and watch myself fall apart. I can't do that to him. All those times I lied weren't to cover for my mother but to keep him happy and rooting.

The old man never even let the doctors take off his wedding ring because he said it was the only thing keeping him alive. He'd always listen to the song my mom and him listened to, the night they met from the broken 2004 Nokia keypad. He always looked at our album and smiled whenever he saw the first moments I had."

At this point, her hands were shivering around the green bottle. But then, she remembered. 67 might be willing to listen, but that didn't mean it was logically right to trust her with everything. So, Seon Mi raised her head and wiped her tears with the sleeves of her sweater.

"It's all my fault. Me and my father wouldn't be stuck in this country if I have never trusted those goblin-looking two-faced pieces of shit. But anyways, my stomach is being a bitch," she mumbled.

67 smiled at that which made 134 look at her, mirroring the sight of her face, "I've never seen you smile before."

"I didn't really have a companion as talkative and pushy as you. People easily give up on my attitude which was better than dealing with theirs," the young woman replied.

"Good luck putting up with mine."

"You don't know how much I needed that since I saw you in that crowd."

Seon Mi let out a breath and nodded, "Now I'm hungry after all that ranting. You sure you don't wanna talk about anything?"

"You talk. I'm just here to listen. I'm not really much of a therapist and I'm slowly getting drunk so I don't think I'll remember anything by tomorrow anyway."

"No. I want to get to know you, 67."

"I don't."

"Come on!" Park whined and laughed. She nudged Sae-byeok's knee with hers to get her to talk. "Do you still have your family with you?"

Sae-byeok leaned back and rested her head on the wall, "I have a brother. His name is Cheol."

"Parents?"

She looked down and drank the contents of her bottle before turning silent once again. "My brother . . . lives in an orphanage."

Picking up on the hint that she didn't wish to talk about her parents, she nodded silently as 67 proceeded.

"I'm trying to get cash to afford a life we could enjoy. He always waits for me to visit him. Just like your father, Cheol is also waiting for his mother but the difference is that yours are siblings, mine is a dad," she elaborated and watched her fingers tap on her knees. "I made a promise to him that if he only waited a month, I'd bring him them but you see, our father's dead. Our mom was captured in China."

Seon Mi tilted her head and looked at her solemnly.

"Cheol . . . is desperately waiting," she mumbled and resumed to look out the window. "Life for us is unfair. Especially when we're from the North."

"I heard," the girl replied. "But it doesn't excuse the never-ending discrimination."

The woman nodded. Park smiled, "You wanna do something fun?"

"I thought we're just going to talk?"

"Sleep-overs aren't just sitting in a bathtub and sharing drinks, talking. It has a lot of activities."

"Like?"

The somehow cheery girl scanned the room and let out a small gasp as she took the chopsticks on the tray and split them in half. She then, handed it over to her acquaintance and spoke, "Whoever finishes the ramyeon noodles first gets to boss the loser around tomorrow."

Sae-byeok gave her a look, "How come you still come up with these unnecessary games despite chaos?"

"Are you really going to ruin the fun?"

"Can you be more serious?"

"Look here, Jennie. I'm not the type to mope around with my problems on the floor. I don't like lingering on the sad feeling. Whatever I've gone through, it's done. Crying won't get me anywhere. Besides, I function better when I'm munching on something. I haven't eaten this much for days."

Sae-byeok blinked and leaned towards her without breaking eye contact. Seon Mi slightly put her face away once she noticed how their positions looked like.

"What are you doing?" She whispered and gulped.

"You're taking too much advantage of my drunken state, 134." She slurred and took the bowl before going back to her normal posture. "But whatever, I've never had this much fun. Go ahead. Count."

It took Park a while before regaining her composure and give the woman a competitive stare.

"On three. One . . . two . . . th - " Sae-byeok started eating, "Hey, that's unfair! Vomit the noodles back, you cheater!"

"You're acting like a loser already."

She groaned and started slurping the noodles. For a few minutes, the bathroom's atmosphere became something lighter as if both of them forgot about their problems while competing with each other as to who could finish eating first.

Their cheeks turned red as the insides of their mouth burned with the spice of the thing they called 'dinner'.

Her bowl hit the tray with a bang. Seon Mi looked at her opponent with pride, "I win!"

"You cheated."

"You did. Don't put the situation the other way around. That's not right," she stuck her tongue out and laughed out of her intoxicated state.

"Fine. I'll go visit Cheol tomorrow anyway and we'll have to split ways."

"That's no problem," Park said and rested her chin on her arms that also laid on her knees. "I'll follow you."

"Are you crazy?"

"You can bring me to your brother. You said he's having a rough time in the orphanage," Seon Mi took two bottles from the floor and offered Sae-byeok the other one. "I was once a tutor for kids. I'm pretty confident I did a great job and they had a fun time with me."

"Are you hearing yourself?"

"Yeah. Do I look like I'm deaf to you?"

"That question was purely rhetoric. You say such things as if I trust you already. You act too soft, speak too confidently, and think ahead of process and logic. Don't you think that's how those people easily betray you?"

134 scoffed. Her words stabbed her directly into her chest, "Do you want me to convince you? I can play tag all day long."

67 looked at the alcohol. She checked if there were anything in them because it seems, her perception of the girl who replaced catastrophe into something fun was starting to warm up. She didn't know if it was herself or the soju, but even if she wanted to resist, she felt helpless like a misguided moth drawn to light.

It was the first time she ever heard someone talk about her brother in such a way.

" . . . I can bake cookies, make dalgona, run fast, pretend to lose - " Seon Mi continued to ramble until her companion had enough.

"Fine. Follow me all you want but only until tomorrow," she said and got up from the bathtub.

Park grinned, "Wait, really?!"

"Yeah, unless you want me to take it back with that stupid look on your face."

She giggled and hiccuped out of the blue making Sae-byeok frown, "What's up now, freak?"

"Can't you see I'm having the hiccups? Did you really need to ask that?"

"Go drink more soju. Maybe that will solve it," 67 slurred in a sardonic manner.

"Please, you talk like I'm drunk or something."

"You are."

"I'm not the one slurring," Seon Mi laughed and recklessly put the soju down somewhere in the air thinking the table was there to clap her hands.

Both of them looked at the mess she made on the floor and slowly looked up towards each other's faces.

Instead of having the same reaction as Seon Mi who continued laughing and grabbing the faucet of the bathtub which got the water running, Sae-byeok's eyes widened and rushed to the kitchen to grab the broom she saw earlier.

As soon as she got back with a glass of water and a red broom, 67 saw nothing else but the tub of water and the wet floor.

"134!" She shouted out and put the things in her hands aside. The young woman was fast to move to her side and skipped the harmful pieces of glass beneath by jumping in the tub and closing the faucet.

There laid Park under the water. She quickly grabbed her by the shoulders and pulled her up, "A Yeon!"

"What?! Is there fire in the building? What?" She asked, alarmed.

Upon realising she was fine, the short-haired girl's grip on her loosened. "No. I thought you were done."

"I just wanted to take a bath," she replied and yawned.

"With your clothes on?"

Seon Mi rolled her eyes and took a deep breath, "I was going to get out right before you grabbed me, you lunatic." The flat line on her face turned to an arc as she took a handful of water and poured it over the unamused former player 67.

"I wish we had more time, Jennie. We would be great friends." She proceeded to pour water on the woman who stared at her soul intently.

"Why are you saying that?"

"Tomorrow's our last day together. I wish I could enjoy your company more. No one's really pushed me away and pulled me back like you did. I feel like we'd be one heck of a force if we became more than the level of acquaintances."

"I don't want a friend like you."

She nodded and kept quiet for a while before realising, "Do you want me to pour water on you further or . . . "

"I'm already soaked, 134." Sae-byeok said in a monotonous tone.

In all honesty, 67 just really wanted to stay like that. She wanted to feel the fuzzy sensation, look at A Yeon with bleary eyes, think with a slowly fading sanity, feel the water touch her skin, and forget.

"You're smiling again, 67."

"Just forget it, 134. We'll forget about this the moment we wake up anyway."

"I don't think we're drunk enough for that to happen."

Too focused on soaking Sae-byeok's hair, Seon Mi didn't realise the way she knelt and lightly brushed her fingers against her glass skin to tuck her loose hair behind her ears.

But 67 noticed. As soon as 134 heard the pace of her breath break, she stopped.

They made yet another eye contact.

It was not long after that the former odd player decided to ruin the atmosphere, "Let me guess. You have a knife just below the tub and are about to stab me on the chest."

"You just gave me an idea."

Sae-byeok got out from the porcelain material and grabbed the towel nearby, unbothered by the moment they had earlier.

"Should I scream?"

It was 3 AM. Jennie and A Yeon laid quietly on the bed with a pillow between them, facing the opposite sides.

"You better not kill me," Seon Mi warned.

Sae-byeok took a while before answering, "You hid the only hope I had for a peaceful night."

"Why should I trust that?"

She didn't respond any longer and closed her eyes to sleep. Park took the hunch that she didn't wanna talk any longer so, she turned the lights off and hid under the clean duvet.

Suddenly, she felt a tug. The girl furrowed her eyebrows and tugged the blanket back.

The opposing side took it again. She pulled it towards her . . . again.

Then again, again, again, again, and again.

Out of irritation, she turned to face Sae-byeok only to find that she did exactly the same.

The awkwardness brought the two parties to lay on their backs and stare at the ceiling.

Silence.

"Will you stop tugging the blanket?" 67 spoke.

"It's cold. What did you expect?"

"You not to be selfish in a situation like this."

"The blanket is too small and the pillow is taking up too much space."

"Whose idea was the pillow again, 134?"

"What do you want to do?"

"I don't know. Remove it?"

"I put that there in case you feel uncomfortable sleeping next to me and you want to waste my effort?"

"Why would I feel uncomfortable?"

"So what do you suggest?"

"Removing it," Sae-byeok repeated. "It's a burden."

Seon Mi sighed and grabbed the soft material made out of cotton and feathers. She then went back to her position, awkwardly sinking inside the sheets.

She felt like her company wanted to say something but couldn't. So, she just went on to fall asleep.

Sae-byeok stayed up for as long as she could, pondering over millions of thoughts she believed she wouldn't be able to set aside.

She looked at the girl next to her and smiled. Perhaps staying in a cheap Namsan hotel with a girl completely opposite of her was one of the best chapters life could ever offer. She just didn't want to stop adding fuel to the fire.

As both of the girls dozed off for the night, a small card slipped underneath their room door with the same three shapes they thought they would never see again.

Chapter Text

'FUCK.' THAT WAS all that Sae-byeok could think of. A repetitive curse inside her head followed by the reminders of last night's occurrences. Her eyelids twitched and snapped open to witness the most unbearable sight she's ever seen.

The blinding bright pour of the fiery sun through the long cream curtains filled every inch of the small room. The darkness of the night must have hid the dullness of the place for everything was almost as bare as a blank canvas.

There was nothing else but black, cream, white, and a tint of faint pink that caught her filmy eyes. She laid her head back on the pillow to rest and took a second glance before furrowing her eyebrows. 'What's that?'

She focused and processed the image in her fuzzy head only to find it being a pair of heart shaped lips slightly parted letting out soft snores in between. That's when she felt the light sensation on her forehead.

Sae-byeok slowly looked up and mentally groaned as she grabbed Seon Mi's hand and threw it aside making her stir in her sleep, hurting her chest. "Hey! Get up!"

The girl groaned, "Five more minutes."

"You're laying on top of me. Get up."

She didn't reply and resumed to snore, this time, louder than what 67 heard earlier. "This is why I didn't want to sleep overnight. Get up, 134. I'm warning you, I'm sitting up. You're going to fall over."

No response.

She sighed and sat up resulting for 134 to topple over her legs. She whined and stretched, "Can you, like, give me more time to sleep? It's literally so early!"

Sae-byeok watched her open her eyes and adjust to the sight of her emotionlessly looking down at her. 67's hair was all over the place but it never failed to give 134 the feeling of what she imagined was the morning Parisian breeze.

Her face was articulated; As if the heavens took their time to create an art set in stones. The gloss of Sae-byeok's skin made her want to hold her carefully like fragile glass. Her eyes held the world for the first short moment it shone an earthly colour of striking brown. Their lips were parted and they couldn't help but examine the way they looked under the light.

Seon Mi didn't know how or what it was, but the longer she gazed, the more her eyes gave her an unwavering feeling and a series of memories that felt new and young.

"Wow, how do you not have a double chin?"

67 clicked her tongue, livid by the sudden question and the situation they were at. She put her hand at the back of her head and swiftly moved her away from her lap. As soon as she stood up, her head pounded as if her skull was bashed on a wall overnight.

She hissed in pain and brought her hand up to her forehead, looking back at the girl who suffered the same as her.

They both groaned and glared at each other for a while, "What are you looking at? You could've told me to move and not grab my head harshly!"

Sae-byeok didn't listen to her further rambles, resumed to wash her face and gargled the mouth wash in the bathroom cabinet. After that, she grabbed her jacket and hung her wet clothes.

"The hotel has a lost and found storage down this floor next to the elevator. You can grab clothes there so you won't have to suffer with soggy ones. And, one thing about this cheap hotel is that they give out women necessities for free. On the bottom right shelf of the wooden closet, you'll see a bunch of towels and under them are undergarments," Seon Mi said from the other side of the door.

The bathroom was silent as 67 contemplated how she knew the place very well, then proceeded to follow her instructions carefully. She slid the wooden closet door and found the exact materials her company mentioned.

"I'll get some aspirins on the way to your brother. We'll both need it. Does he have a favourite?"

Sae-byeok didn't answer. She went from the closet to the sink and continued to wash her face to wake her senses.

"I'll go grab clothes for you."

Her hands were shaky on the porcelain edges. What else was there to do to cheer her brother up? She knew far too well that her arrival without her promise would paint a whole work of disappointment on his face fit for the era of Great Depression.

A few more minutes of coming up with colourful lies, a knock was heard on the door. "I have them. Not really sure if they're your style but I took what I could get."

Seon Mi sighed and leaned on the door frame with the clothes she stole for Sae-byeok and her. She tapped her index finger on the fabric as she waited.

67 was a difficult character. She's tough and cold. She barely talks unless you give her something tough like - 'God, the soju bottles!'

The door opened but the former odd numbered player was nowhere in the view, "Jennie?"

"Drop the clothes to the floor," she heard Sae-byeok softly instruct. The girl did as she was told but before she could turn to leave, 67 mumbled something from the other side.

"Cheol has attachment issues. Don't do anything stupid that could hurt him." The door closed.

"THIS PLACE IS huge. How does your brother not get lost in a place like this?" Seon Mi asked. As she admired the place, Sae-byeok started to roam free, heading towards the woman in charge of the place.

"Your brother probably wants ice-cream. I'll go buy him one - uh, I think I need to buy the cheapest because obviously, I have not much cash left."

She turned her heels and found her companion talking to a woman about as tall as her and Sae-byeok. Five feet and nine inches.

"Okay, I'll catch you later, then," she mumbled and went to a nearby store.

A few more minutes went by. Cheol slowly walked up to her sister with small band aids all over his face and a glum expression.

"You didn't sit on the spot like you used to," Sae-byeok said.

The little boy didn't answer. Not a word escaped from his lips nor a single sound. He sat down just as his sister did so. She took something out from the bag Seon Mi had stubbornly fought her into using.

"Kids! Come here and have some ice-cream!"

Loud cheers and laughter from jovial children surrounded the playground area as Sae-byeok turned to her sibling with the ice-cream in her hand.

She shifted and offered the cool desert only for it to get silently rejected.

"What's wrong? I thought you wanted ice-cream," she sighed and turned forward again, looking at the container in her hands.

She knew exactly why he was like that. She knew him. She just wasn't satisfied by the quiet thinking. 67 wanted an answer.

"What happened to your face? Did you fight with your friends?"

No response.

"If you keep being silent like that, I'm leaving."

He still had no reply other than the same blank expression facing the ground. She was bluffing, but the only way to get him to speak was to make him think that she wasn't. So, she instantly stood up was a bout to take a step away when Cheol finally plucked the courage to say what's been stuck in his mind.

"I don't want to stay here. You said you'd bring mom and we'd all be living together if I just waited a month."

She was well aware, but to see that it's her brother who barely turned ten, she couldn't help but feel her heart break into pieces. The young woman sat back next to him, "Cheol. It's - "

"All the kids say you lied. They said I'll never leave this place and you'd abandon me here!"

Upon this sudden spillage of truth, Sae-byeok was quick to throw her arms around her own flesh and blood, giving comfort to the crying child.

"No. Mom and dad are going to come. I'll make sure they do. We'll all get to live together under the same roof next year," she ran her thumb below his eye and wiped his tears as she continued, "You know me, right? I always keep my promises."

He nodded and from that moment on, he had his hope shining bright again. Cheol accepted the warm embrace his sister offered.

As they stayed like that for a while, approaching steps began to fill their ears. Both of them pulled away and turned their heads towards the direction of the noise and saw a girl as young as Sae-byeok's age, audibly gasping for air as she rested her hands on her bent knees, tongue sticking out like a dog.

Sweat covered her forehead. Her brown knitted vest made it hotter and harder for her to breathe. Luckily, her plaid skirt of the same colour going down above her knees gave her a little comfort and was able to let her feel the breeze to cool down. Her beige converse shoes that looked old and thrifted somehow fit the aesthetic of what look she was going for.

Normally, she wouldn't even describe how she'd look, but since she had the moment to raid the lost and found, maybe it was time to be stared at. Her half-tied hair wasn't really all that effective with cooling down the back of her neck.

Having long hair really is a bothersome thing.

In her hand was a medium-sized grocery bag made of fabric containing a bottle of water, a bag of chips / crisps, and a few sweets.

"Jennie, I was looking everywhere for you," she said breathlessly, almost choking on her spit from all the deep breaths she's been trying to catch up on.

The girl held her hand out towards Sae-byeok whereas Cheol furrowed her eyebrows and looked between 134 and 67 with the painted blues of incredulity.

"Jennie?"

Sae-byeok mentally froaned as he turned towards his brother, "My other name."

He nodded even though he was badly curious as to why his sister had another name to go by unlike all of the people he knew his entire life.

"Who are you?" 67 suddenly asked 134.

Seon Mi scrunched her nose and stood up in a leisure pace, "What?"

"I asked who you are."

She started laughing, "Stop pretending you don't know me. I literally ran to the store which is, to inform you, a lot of blocks away to buy all of these with all the money I have left. I sacrificed my capability to breathe at the right pace, right time, this is my payment?"

Cheol raised his eyebrows. 67 looked at her brother in defeat, "Uh, this is A-Yeon."

"Is she your colleague?" The boy asked.

They both laughed and nodded, "Actually, I'm her - " she looked at 67 for a hint.

She shrugged and at that time, her mind was blank. 'I assume Sae-byeok hangs out with guys a lot. I guess that's an assumption slightly accurate. Let's it give it a try.'

"Girl - " she was cut off by Sae-byeok's wide eyes and immediate interjection.

" - friend."

Cheol scratched his head, bewildered by the games he thought they were playing. What was this to them? A hard word game? It's easy for him. Somehow, the girl that newly joined their company made the atmosphere feel lighter yet he was still cautious and puzzled as to who she was to his sister.

"You're her girlfriend?" Cheol asked with innocent sparkling eyes making both of the young women cough and swallow their spit. "You like each other and hold hands?"

"N - "

"I don't know. Your sister's kind of rude."

Chapter Text

"SO, YOU'RE REALLY dating?" The boy's eyes were no longer dull. In fact, if Seon Mi checked again, they'd almost look as if he was intrigued by the sudden . . . false revelation to which he didn't know.

"Are we?" 134 answered, fixing her gaze on Sae-byeok who only sighed and looked away. Park laughed at that and turned her head towards Cheol again, "No, we're just best friends."

"You're probably so close. This is the first time I saw her bring a friend"

'And this is probably the first time you talked this much,' Sae-byeok thought to herself. She quickly stood up and dusted her coat, "Cheol, we have to leave early. We have many errands to run."

"You only visit sometimes. Can't we spend more time together?" His straight face turned into a more pitiful demeanour. "You always leave me behind like this. I know you're trying to find mom, but can't we at least play a round of - game with kids kicking a ball?"

Silence.

Seon Mi took a deep breath as she shifted her glance from her companion to the little boy with a sympathetic smile on her face, "We can stay for a moment longer."

"Really?" Cheol asked, his expression unchanged but with a more hopeful twinkle in his eyes.

"Yeah. Let's go! Let's play football -or soccer, whichever term you may prefer." Park shook her head, "Ah, that's not the point. Let's go play! Whoever gets to score three on the net gets the snacks I bought."

This motivated Cheol as he nodded with a smile and stood up from his seat, leaving Sae-byeok astounded with the scene that just unfolded. She was not pleased by this. She simply found it . . . concerning.

The young woman watched both of them play for minutes until the ball touched her foot. She slowly looked down before noticing two figures approaching.

"Play with us, Jennie!" Seon Mi encouraged.

Her brother scrunched his nose and looked at the girl next to him, "Jennie?"

"Ah. She doesn't like being called by her name, that's why I call her Jennie instead. But, the main reason why, is that it's something to make her mad," 134 lied.

This caused Sae-byeok to arch an eyebrow and leisurely lift her head up to her. How could Seon Mi lie so smoothly without stuttering? This raised her cautiousness around the girl. No matter how nice she was to her brother, her ability to lie like a spoon full of butter was enough of a reason for Sae-byeok to keep an eye out.

"What's your name?" Cheol questioned.

"A Yeon. A Yeonie," she enthusiastically replied.

Both of them turned to the quiet former player. "Play with us," the little boy stated.

"You know I don't play, Cheol."

"Just this once."

Seon Mi nudged the kid's shoulder lightly and blinked numerously at the girl who sat and watched them play. Picking up the signal, he did the same until all the young woman could see were two sets of eyelids fluttering like wings.

She fiddled with the material of her jeans before sighing, "Fine, but just one round. One."

A victorious Cheshire grin was plastered on his face as he picked the ball from the ground and handed it towards his sister who took it as if she had no other choice. It was hard to say no to Cheol, no matter how hard she tried to do so.

And for the rest of the free time given, they played. Sae-byeok watched how her brother would smile and be cheerful around Seon Mi. He would tug her sleeves whenever he needed something and laugh at the jokes she didn't even find funny.

She's got to admit; The woman was a natural with kids that a little girl even joined the game and became friends with the boy so innocent and little. What used to be the quiet kid - and still is, was now very competitive in the game.

What hurt Sae-byeok the most was he was having fun, believing Seon Mi's web of lies, and calling her 'Noona'. ( 누나 )

She knew she had to confront her somehow. She hated how her brother was slowly getting used to her company in the span of an hour's half. Cheol shouldn't trust this easily. He shouldn't make the same mistake as most people.

Seon Mi was a walking red flag in her perspective, but there was something alluring about her that she couldn't quite put her finger on. She has a way of making people feel comfortable around her. So much so, that they would even be tempted to be her friend.

- that even Sae-byeok forgot about the blood shed in the tainted game they previously played the moment they shared the things only meant for one's self to hear. Heavy breaths escaped their lips as they sat on the side of the playground, beads of sweat on their foreheads. "That was fun!" Park exclaimed.

"I want to play again but I'm tired," Cheol said. "It was great playing with you, Noona! Even though you're bad at it."

Noona. Seon Mi's lips twitched to the side. Sae-byeok rolled her eyes, "We have to go, Cheol. I'll visit you again soon."

She stood up and gave the plastic bag full of snacks to her own flesh and blood.

"You? Without A Yeon?" He asked.

She glanced at the girl who had the same questioning look as Cheol.

"She won't be visiting next time."

"But why?"

Sae-byeok only stared at him, contemplating what to answer. Park stayed quiet as she pursed her lips and forced a smile, tapping the boy's shoulder, "Ah, yeah. I almost forgot to tell you. I'm busy all of the time. Today is my free day, but I'll visit you, too, whenever I can. Okay?"

She stood up, the boy mirroring her actions.

"Pinky promise?"

"Pinky promise."

67 watched their pinky fingers interlock with a heartwarming pair of smiles. Park ruffled his hair and pulled her hands back to her side. "I'll see you soon, Cheol."

"Yes, Noona," he nodded and turned to his sister, "I hope we spend more time together again soon. Because of you, I have a friend now."

Sae-byeok slightly smiled from the corner of her mouth, "I'll see you."

They took a step closer and pulled each other in a warm embrace as Seon Mi looked around awkwardly trying not to ruin the sibling moment.

BOTH GIRLS WALKED side by side with Sae-byeok's significant silence filling the atmosphere between them. Seon Mi fiddled with the stolen phone she now possessed. She stopped to talk about it, but so it seems that 67 didn't want to acknowledge her.

She skipped next to her, "Your brother was a joy."

Silence.

"Yeah, Seon Mi, he definitely is," 134 sarcastically replied to herself.

Again, silence.

"No, seriously, Jennie. Aren't you even saying a word?"

No response.

"You've been like this since we visited Cheol."

Sae-byeok remained quiet as Seon Mi furrowed her eyebrows, "Come on! I thought we worked it out. We even visited your brother-"

"And you're never going to do it again," 67 finally spoke as she stopped and turned to the girl with a burning stare. "What do you want?"

"What?" Park inquired in bewilderment.

"What do you want from me? You've followed me from the start. What is it that you really want?"

Seon Mi scoffed, "You think I want something because I said I wanted to visit your brother?"

"I know you're just trying to stay with me so what is it? What's your motive? Do I have something that you own? Maybe you're connected to that mister who kept demanding me for his money back. Are you here to return it?" Sae-byeok looked away and hummed, "Hm, or maybe you want to steal it from me."

"I don't know if you're joking."

"I'm not."

"What's the reason for this?" Seon Mi asked. "You think I'd steal from someone as broke as I am? You must be kidding," she continued. "I have nothing against you nor do I wish to have something you have."

"Did I say you have something against me? You're being weird, 134. You're putting words in my mouth."

134 raised her hands in exasperation and took a deep breath, "You know, I don't understand you. One second, you're warming up, the next, you're - this. Is this what you think about people? What did I even do wrong? Nothing. You're just being complicated again."

"Then we should stop," Sae-byeok stated coldly. "Whether you met my brother or not, you're no one I would dare to find in a room full of strangers. Don't you understand that I don't want to be near you?"

Seon Mi's incredulity turned into a leisurely building resentment towards the words that slipped her fading companion's lips. Each letter from every word was a shard from a broken mirror she thought she had successfully created in this bond. It turns out at the end, the vanity set up by her own slender fingers of delicate touch was nothing but a wasteful prop for show. She thought they already had an image of one another.

But, a thought came stumbling by; They never knew each other's names to begin with. She arched an eyebrow as her eyes pierced the same facade that mirrored the windows of her soul. Her lips parted for a response but she was speechless.

"I know there's something wrong about you," Sae-byeok added, resulting in Seon Mi's pounding chest to tighten.

'Does she?' She questioned herself, the jittery feeling covering her whole body.

"But I don't want to find out."

"First, I want something, and now this. You accuse me of too much, don't you?" Park let out a sardonic laugh, "Tell me why you think of me this way."

"I don't need to explain myself."

She rolled her eyes and sneered, "You said a lot and can't give me a reason?"

Sae-byeok only stood there, trying to contain her anger. Seon Mi nodded in agreement and looked away, "Is it because I invited you over? I'm sorry if you felt forced. I'm sorry if I ever pressured you into that sleepover. I thought I was doing a good thing by helping out-"

"You weren't," 67 interjected. "That isn't the reason."

"Yeah? Then you need to speak up."

Sae-byeok took a deep breath and shoved her hands in her pockets, "You want to know why?"

"Is that a question, 67?"

"You lead people into thinking they can trust you. You know why that's what I believe to be the case about you? You act all nice as a cover for your lies. You let people get attached to you and promise things you won't keep."

"Are you talking about me promising your brother that I'd visit him again?" She asked.

Nothing.

It was a yes. Seon Mi exhaustedly closed her eyes shut, "You're mad about something so little? For your information, I'd keep that promise if it isn't for you saying I won't visit again." She opened them and looked at her again, "I'm not a liar."

"It's little to you?! That's a child. My brother."

"Don't you think I know that?! Don't pretend like you don't have a role in this because you're the one who kept me from seeing that poor child."

"Because I know you'll leave sooner or later! Do you think I'd let Cheol wait for nothing?!"

"You already are!" Seon Mi fired back. It was a denser fuel to the burning blaze of their argument. Sae-byeok's straight-face couldn't be kept any longer. "I still remember the way you promised to bring your mom to him if he's patient enough to wait. I remember how you told me she was-"

"I'm making it work, that's why I was in that game," 67 said in defeat. "That's why I was trying to keep anyone away. I don't want someone to break his heart. He has so much faith in promises, I couldn't give up."

"You wouldn't let anyone see him? How boring must that be?"

"Enough to keep him safe."

"That's a boy! He has so much to experience!" Seon-Mi threw her hands low to gesture her reasoning.

"I keep him company. There are kids in that orphanage he can interact with."

"Oh, come on, 67. We both know those bandages were caused by his so-called 'friends', and if we're being honest here, you don't keep him company. You feed him promises and disappointment. He doesn't even know what to call 'soccer'."

"You would say this because you're gullible, 134! You trust so much and give everything you have to please people. What has that done to you?" Sae-byeok questioned.

Without an answer, she resumed, "Right. I don't want him to make the same mistakes as we did in that bloodshed game. The reason I don't want him to be attached is I know you're planning to return, too."

"What?" Park breathed out.

"I saw the card."

"What card?" She muttered under her breath.

"There you go, acting like you don't know," 67 sarcastically smiled.

"The game?" Seon Mi asked.

Done with her ridiculous play-pretend, Sae-byeok turned to leave. She continued to take fast and long steps until her figure was no longer in Seon Mi's sight, fading.

And now was the moment they started trudging separate ways without bearing in mind they'd see each other again in the childish game full of blood and death to reach their utmost desire.

A better life.

Chapter Text

THE PHONE ONLY beeped for the fifth time as the girl hopelessly set it aside on the table, sliding her back exhaustedly against the cold wall of the hotel room she spent the night with 67.

Jennie. She chuckled sardonically at her stupidity. She was right. Who could trust a stranger who laid on the street as she had nothing else better to do? The fact that she even made her a name was laughable.

She understood the woman. She got why she was cautious and overly protective of her brother. Family is indeed important.

Another sarcastic laugh. Family.

Seon Mi stared at the floor. The flushed colours of her face faded. Her lips quirked slightly to form an ironic smile.

Does she still have that? Her mother and siblings ignored her existence hence the dead beeping phone. She continued to lie to her father in his probable death bed.

She took a deep breath, sniffling. Once the girl turned to her side, there she saw the card with the three shapes she never thought she'd see again.

Her eyebrows furrowed before she crawled on the floor to reach her hand out and take it. Her fingers shook as she turned the card around to find the words she hesitantly read.

Seon Mi sat up, shut her eyes tightly and ran her fingers through her hair in frustration. She never wanted to end up like this.

But she needed the money. She needed to be a good family to her father.

She didn't want to die just to get to her goal, but what's the point of living with the usual shit everyday?

At least when she's buried deep, there's nothing else to worry about. If she won, her problems would be solved.

It was a win-win situation.

There's nothing else to live for.

Everyone dies at the end anyway. If she didn't win and someone else did, good for them.

She laughed and shook her head,clutching the card with hope, "You decide if I live or die."

The girl opened her eyes and quickly stood up from where she sat. She grabbed the phone, the hair tie just lying around the floor, and a ring on a dog tag necklace.

Before she opened the door, she kissed the accessory on her neck and placed it under her shirt, "I'll give you the best things in the world."

"I promise." With that, the door opened to a dimly lit hall. She was ready to play a game.

It's to win or lose. To succeed or die.

SAE-BYEOK SQUINTED HER EYES.

'Is that ㅡ ?' A girl walked past her with the same hair length as Seon Mi and a slightly similar outfit she wore the last time she saw the mind-boggling excuse of a person.

It wasn't her.

The young woman watched as the random girl's figure disappeared into an alley nearby. She sighed and inserted her hands in her pocket, waiting for the same car that picked her up that night.

She glared at her shoes. How could she think it was 'A-Yeon'? She laughed and looked away with a sarcastic smirk quirked with anger.

'Ah, that girl's madness seems contagious.'

She shook her head and slapped her forehead thinking that would help her already helpless situation. She didn't want to admit it, but that twat seemed to have filled in a small space in her company.

Her chest felt aloof. Her head was absent, and she felt the need to listen to something distracting. Somehow the girl's senseless talks not only made her want to jump off a cliff but still want to listen.

She was entertaining somehow ㅡ No, she was not. Who would want to listen to someone's kindergarten experience? Sae-byeok wouldn't. She just knew that girl tested her patience.

She was a walking nonsense.

The short-haired girl raised her wrist to look at the time not knowing everyone else did the same, including Seon Mi.

That's when the car appeared a few seconds away. She stood upright and waited a little longer before it stopped in front of her, waiting a moment before the door slid open.

The next events were blurry ㅡ somehow, misty. Ah, of course they were. There's smoke.

THERE IT WAS.

That sickening smell of the warehouse obviously bleached while they were gone. Seon-Mi quickly sat up only to cause a ringing inside her head. For a moment, her surroundings turned black, but when seconds passed, she regained her clearer vision of the place. Her head swivelled from side to side to spot familiar faces, one of them in particular that made her heart skip a beat.

There she was in all her grace: Player 67. What an unpleasant surprise?

As people passed by, her eyes trained on the short-haired girl was returned with a pair of narrowed ones. 67's emotionless face was just across the room, and Seon-Mi couldn't take her eyes off it.

The eye contact was cut short when 134 looked away and got up from her bed. Everyone was making teams, she better find one for herself or consider being alone.

67 took a deep breath and swallowed her spit. She knew Seon-Mi was going to return eventually but seeing her again was a surprise to her. She had hoped the girl would prove her wrong by not showing up, but 134 seemed to be testing her. Her blood was boiling to see her move around so carelessly as if the door outside didn't lead to death.

She scoffed to herself. Why was she concerned for her anyway? 'God, Sae-Byeok, what a shame - pull it together.'

"Hey," She heard. She turned to see the same old guy who put shame in her name the very first time she met him. 'This low-life bastard.'

Seon-Mi made her way to her own bed after trying to make a team for the past few minutes. She sighed in defeat and collapsed on the bed with a groan.

She wanted to join Player OO1's little team but it seemed as though the one with sharp eyes she recalled was named Cho Sang-Woo didn't leave hers as she approached them.

"Miss?" Seon-Mi's attention quickly averted to a man who looked as young as her with a couple elders and a girl who didn't bother to talk. "Would you like to join our team?"

Player 300, 351, 94, and 140.

She stood up and smiled, quickly taking his held out hand to shake it, "I'm in!"

Chapter Text

THE WOMAN WAS NOISY.

Seon-Mi covered her ears with her pillows, but to no avail, the woman kept screaming her lungs out to the circle guard outside the door, watching her as she kicked and pounded on the metal barrier between the warehouse and the hall.

"God, I want to pee too, but can you shut up?" The young woman exclaimed silently as she sat up in defeat. However, just as she turned her head and stood up from her bed, the door opened with a square guard, staring blankly at the eoman who still wouldn't stop making such complaints.

Just then, the familiar figure of the only person she was truly familiar with, blocked the view of the blinding white hallway. Sae-byeok.

"Don't tell me you're going to make use of my hard-earned bathroom break too, wench." The woman mumbled once she noticed the new presence of Seon-Mi behind Player 67. She only looked at her in response before plastering a sardonic smile.

"You were too loud. Let's make it even with the inconvenience."

That earned an eyeroll from the odd numbered player, 67. She slipped out of the warehouse in between the guard and the loud woman, ignoring Seon Mi's remark and mere inches physical closeness to her.

Nevertheless, she could feel her. Her warmth, her childish energy. She could smell her scent and hear the cautious steps she took behind Sae-byeok.

Park wasn't sure if she should call her, or even talk to her. Sae-byeok was getting farther even with how close she was. She wanted to make an excuse to touch her, just merely tap her shoulder and have her look at her the way she looked at her the night in the bathtub.

Seon-Mi cleared her throat, trying her best to dissipate the tense atmosphere as they walked into the long hallway to the restroom.

She did not get a reaction from the short-haired girl other than an audible hitch of her breath.

SAE-BYEOK was just a few feet away. Seon-Mi tried her best not to look at her, but she was distracting. Everything she did was. 134 washed her hands and splashed water on her face to wake herself up from the trance.

Somehow the coldness of the water made her feel as though she was drowning. It didn't seem possible, but it was when she saw the faces of those she loved. She quickly ran her hands on her face and breathed heavily, shaking as she recovered from it.

Her hands found themselves gripping the porcelain sink, her eyes staring at the hauntung reflection of herself in the mirror. Fuck, she hated this God forsaken country. Why was everything all about money?

As soon as seconds passed and she felt herself again, Seon-Mi looked at where Sae-Byeok was standing earlier. She was still there, present in front of the same mirror that was plastered on the wall.

She was staring at her.

Park stared back ignoring the water that cascaded down her face as she flashed a gentle smile. One that Sae-Byeok has always known her for. This time, she questioned something 67 would never find genuine out of her, "How's your brother?"

The odd-numbered player rolled her eyes and turned to leave before Seon-Mi asked it again, "How's Cheol in that orphanage, hm? Does he know you're in here witha possibility of never coming back? How did hanging out with him aimlessly go?"

That was her breaking point, Sae-byeok turned back again and got a hold of Seon-Mi's jacket collar, pushing her to the nearest wall next to the mirror. Her back hit the cold tiles pressing against her skin underneath the fabrics of her clothes.

A groan escaped her lips as she closed her eyes from the impact made. Her infamous sardonic laughter came after as she fluttered her eyes open slowly, muttering under her breath, "You should have told him."

She knew what she was saying had sense, but how could a child possibly understand the situation she was in? Cheol wouldn't understand! "He's just a child," Sae-byeok replied after all the moments of silence.

"A child who should know if his sister would see him again or not. A child who deserves to know that it isn't his fault he'd be alone in the future."

"Just stop it. Stop talking." 67 mumbled between gritted teeth, slamming her slightly on the wall twice, "I know what I'm doing. Mind your own business."

Her gaze was intense, enough to ignite a flame inside Seon-Mi who continued to take in air rapidly as her chest heaved up and down, neck sculpted with definition as she raised her chin to avoid contact with Sae-byeok's hands that remained on her collar.

"Or what?" Player 134 taunted.

Sae-byeok's eyes never left hers, not until they switched from them to her lips, glancing down for a few seconds before returning her gaze to her to catch herself, making it almost seem as though Seon-Mi was just hallucinating when she saw her line of sight shift, nit just in terms of direction, but also in terms of the meaning behind the windows of her soul.

Player 67 wanted to snap out of it. Seon-Mi's heavy breathing, her breath lightly touching her face and this view — God, it made her feel in control of her, and it felt satisfying as it was. Pleasant and extremely empowering. How could she get over it? Her cheeks flushed crimson red, the temper in her eyes unwavering as her finger slowly made its way up, pressed against her neck.

"We have company," Seon-Mi teased, shoving Sae-Byeok back with the palm of her hand, and a sly smirk on her face. "You're not the only one who's determined to make it out here alive. You already fucked up. Don't keep fucking up again and again. Do your brother a favour, will you?" With that, Park walked to the door, ignoring the glinting switch blade that Sae-Byeok revealed to have in her possession before she completely closed the door.

"They're still not finished," Player 134 informed the circle guard as she waited outside with him, pretending not to hear the commotion the loud woman from earlier kept making.

The silence between the walls of the hall drove her crazy from driving herself to such assumptions about what she had seen earlier from the new side of Player 67. Did she truly look at her like that? Did she really touch her like that?

The thought has made the jacket do its work of keeping her warm during the night, but it wasn't a good sign.