Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

"Player 196, eliminated."

Someone moved despite his warning.

"Do not move!" Gi-hun reminds everyone.

As that blasted doll continues to scan the players for movement, he glares at it and what it represents. He was in this location 4 years prior when he entered the games. He was near the same spot he held Sang-woo after he died, leaving Gi-hun the winner and the sole survivor.

His time since then has been spent trying to stop the monsters that made the squid games. He'll be damned if he fails to make a difference.

Then he hears a scream. It's a repeat from before. He sees multiple people running away as shots ring out.

"No! Don't move!" He pleads as he could only watch. "Stay still!"

But they continue to run. He's unsure if anyone could hear him over the gunshots, but he continues to yell out orders. The more people who survive, the better.

"You will all die if you move!"

More gunshots. When will it stop? When will they stop trying to escape?

It's an excruciatingly painful wait, but it does end. Just like before, that automated voice repeats the instructions for "Red Light, Green Light." He wishes he could shut that voice forever.

When the doll turns around, no one moves out of shock. Almost no one. Gi-hun sees a woman crumble to her knees, shaking. She thankfully stops when the doll turns around to check for movement. Finding nothing, it turns again, so he rushes forward.

"Get up!"

He grabs the woman by her upper arm and pulls her to her feet. She stumbles, but she gains her balance before the doll turns. Gi-hun holds still, looking between the machine and the woman he still holds onto. She shakes slightly, but her expression is grateful. When they get another chance to move, he lets go and runs ahead. She follows closely. He stands in front of the remaining players, covering his mouth with his arm. From the corner of his eye, he sees her by his side, copying his stance.

"Thank you," she quietly says.

"You're welcome," he replies, wanting to quell her fears.

After seeing that her number is 231, he looks back at the doll.

"You will also die if you don't make it there in time!" He calls out. "That doll is a motion detector! But it can't detect motion that's not visible to it!"

He opens and closes his hand behind his back. Before he could continue, Player 231 beats him to it.

"Get behind someone bigger than you like it's Follow The Leader!" She advises.

They look at the time. 2 minutes and 20 seconds left.

"Please, we have to keep playing if we want to live!" She adds. "When the doll turns around, move!"

When the doll turns, the other players finally listen. They follow his lead in forming lines and holding still when needed. Gunshots still ring out due to people moving or, in one case, being pushed. He looks back once and sees that so many players are still alive. It's better than before.

"Let's go!"

He turns around for a moment when they are near the finish line. 231 grabs his wrist and makes him face forward as they run to pass the finish line with Jung-bae and several others.

"You can do this!" Gi-hun calls out encouragingly.

"Don't be scared!" 231 adds while jumping. "You can make it!"

Then he sees 444, on the floor with a bullet hole through his thigh.

"Please help me..."

Gi-hun looks at the timer then at the injured player. 231's eyes widen and she shakes her head.

"Wait..."

He runs back onto the field. He hears Jung-bae and 231 call out to him, but he ignores them. He can't let more people die. Thankfully, someone does come to help him carry 444 to the finish line. He glances at the player who's helping him, another woman.

Good people like her don't deserve to die here. No one deserves to die here.

In the last second, they make it. However, after saying thanks, 444 is shot through the head. Even though most of the players survived, he still feels a sense of failure weighing on him as he stares at the body next to him and the blood settles on his face.

"I have played these games before!"

Silence falls over the players from Gi-hun's shout. They don't understand. None of them could. 

"I have done this before! I knew about the first game because I had played it before! I played the games here four years ago!"

He looks at everyone in front of him with a pleading gaze.

"And everyone who was with me died here!"

The players murmur to each other in disbelief.

"You too...?"

231 steps towards him with her eyes wide. When he meets her gaze, he takes in the joy and relief on her young face. Despite the energy, he could see the exhaustion that matches his own.

"I've played these games before too! I was here two years ago!" She turns around to face the other players, pleading. "He's telling the truth! Just like him, everyone who came with me died! Just like him, I was the sole survivor because I was the final winner of my game!"

Everyone else murmurs.

"If we continue the games," Gi-hun adds. "Every single person here, just like all the people back then, will die in the end."

Player 100 scoffs at this, catching 231's attention.

"Bullshit," he calls out. "If you two were the sole winners, it means you won 45.6 billion won. If you really did, why would you come back here?"

"Do you think it's easy to use that money??" 231 asks. "Yes, I came out of here as a billionaire, but the money came from 455 people dying! Being murdered in these games! I can't bear the thought of using blood money!"

The old man shakes his head and retorts, "Now you're really spewing bull-"

She raises her voice, "Did you think I came out of the games happy that I was rich?? Fuck no! I was horrified because I ended up with blood on my hands!"

She points to the scar resting on her upper cheek and turns so the people who haven't voted yet could see.

"I didn't get this scar from falling off a bicycle! I got it from another player trying to kill me, so I had to kill her to protect myself! Are you really going to accept becoming a murderer for blood money?!"

The fury in her gaze causes a few people to step back.

"Then explain your necklace!"

Dangling from her neck was an old but shiny necklace with a small pendant with a pearl embedded.

Tears sting her eyes as she screams, "I didn't buy this necklace, you idiot! It's the last thing I own from my family!"

She glares at 100 while clutching her necklace tightly. A player with dyed purple hair and the number 230 on his jacket suddenly approaches.

"So since you two did win, it works better for us." He points at Gi-hun and 231 with a small smile. "You can give us some tips on how to beat these games."

They stare in disbelief as 230 crosses his arms confidently.

"That's right!" 100 shakes off his fear then chimes in again. "We have not one but two previous winners with us, so what do we have to worry about? Come on, let's do this!"

He and other players begin to cheer. Gi-hun looks back at the players who haven't voted. He takes a step towards them, only for 231 to grab his wrist.

"Mister, there's no point to it now."

He looks down at her, seeing her meek expression. A pang of familiarity rises in him.

"We did our best."

He looks at the other players before letting her drag him back to the X players.

"From now on, we will not tolerate actions that disrupt the voting process," the manager's voice cuts through the cheers, prompting silence. "Now let's resume the vote."

He watches a player step forward, silently hoping that what he and the woman next to him have said would sway opinions.

"Mi-kyung," she quietly says with a sniffle. "My name is Gwon Mi-kyung, Mister...?"

He looks at her again.

"Seong Gi-hun. Why did...?"

She wipes away her tears.

"When I saw the recruiter again days ago, I don't know what came over me. I came and demanded to be let back in the games. I just..."

She looks around as her hand slightly trails down to his.

"I don't want someone else to end up like me..."

Gi-hun blinks a few times, feeling somewhat lighter that there's someone who shares his beliefs. He pulls his hand away to place it on her shoulder. They say nothing else as they watch the votes continue with bated breaths. After several votes, one player, 114, approaches them.

"Thank you for telling everyone about what you saw," the glasses-wearing man who was close to Gi-hun's age said. "I was going to vote to stay, but you two changed my minds."

Mi-kyung smiles at the man while Gi-hun gives no reaction. His eyes remain on the votes count.

Eventually, it was a tie.

"Lastly, Player 001."

They all turn to see the final player. Both sides chant "O" or "X" as the man goes to make his choice. Gi-hun doesn't blink, neither does Mi-kyung. The chants cease. Everyone stares with bated breath. A vote is made.

182 - 183

Gi-hun's mind blanks. The pleas didn't work. He ignores the collective cheers and groans near him as he looks down, now dejected. When his hand falls from Mi-kyung's shoulder, 114 asks her something. When 001 turns around to face them, Mi-kyung glares at him before she nudges Jung-bae. As they break Gi-hun out of his shock, In-ho smirks. He walks away from the voting site, keeping his gaze on those who caught it.

Jung-bae gestures to a spot and walks ahead. Mi-kyung nudges Gi-hun to follow, quietly giving words of encouragement. In-ho turns away when 114 notices his stare.

"It's time for our parts," In-ho thinks to himself as he sits adjacent to other O voters.

His gaze returns to the four, faintly overhearing 114 introduce himself as Jang Su-jin to the other three before Mi-kyung and Jung-bae do the same.

"Don't mess up."

Chapter Text

Dinner is served.

"Come on, you should eat."

Sitting to Gi-hun's left were Mi-kyung and Su-jin. She has a worried gaze focused on Gi-hun while Su-jin was trying to swallow the big bite of food in his mouth. She turns to the other man and raises an eyebrow.

"What?" The dark blond coughs and drinks water before painfully swallowing his bite and saying, "I haven't eaten in a while. This is gourmet to me."

"You'll get sick if you eat too fast."

His gaze brightens and he coos, "Aww, thank you, sweet lady."

Mi-kyung rolls her eyes as Su-jin adjusts his glasses.

"Gi-hun, right?" He looks at the other man. "I know you're upset about the vote, but they all said one more game. After the second game, more people will vote to leave."

Mi-kyung muses, "Are you really going to take their word for it? It's like gambling at a slots machine. You say you'd only do one more game, and next thing you know, you lose everything."

She nudges Su-jin with a chuckle.

"Come on, if you ended up here, that means you likely gambled."

He laughs and shakes his head as Jung-bae returns.

"Eh? He hasn't eaten?"

Mi-kyung and Su-jin shake their heads. He sits to Gi-hun's right and opens the container.

"Oh, just like my mom used to make."

"I wish it was warmer," Su-jin comments. "If only they had a few microwaves here."

Jung-bae picks up a spoonful of rice and holds it close to Gi-hun's mouth. Mi-kyung and Su-jin do the same, breaking Gi-hun out of his desolate stare.

"Come on, you've got to eat. You know what they say: eat up, even on your deathbed," Jung-bae insists.

Gi-hun glances at the food.

"Just do your thinking while you eat or afterwards. Come on," he insists.

"Yeah, what he said," she agrees.

When Gi-hun still didn't budge, two spoons pull away. Su-jin keeps his out.

"I'll keep it there until you eat it."

He slowly moves the spoon closer until the rice was grazing his lips. Gi-hun glances at the spoon before slowly opening his mouth and letting the food in.

"There you go!"

Su-jin smiles proudly as Gi-hun slowly chews. Mi-kyung eyes Su-jin with respect while Jung-bae sighs.

"You wouldn't accept a spoonful from your best friend? Come on!"

Mi-kyung and Su-jin look at each other and stifle their laughter. Jung-bae looks up at and gestures to where the prize money is.

"This might be for the best. I don't know about you, but that 20 million wouldn't even cover my interest," Jung-bae comments.

Su-jin makes a noise of agreement, only to avoid Mi-kyung's judging stare.

"We all need the money," Jung-bae continues. "If we just play one more game-"

"Last time I was here, someone said the exact same thing," Gi-hun interrupts.

"The same happened in my time," Mi-kyung adds solemnly. "They ended up dead. All of them did..."

Gi-hun and Mi-kyung momentarily look down at the floor with haunted expressions.

"Help us then."

The four look to see a large group of O players with 001 in front.

"You said you played these games before," he states. "I pressed the O button because of you two."

Gi-hun stares at the man while Mi-kyung hums.

She mumbles, "No wonder it backfired..."

"I was scared. I wanted to quit and leave," 001 continues.

"Why didn't you?" Su-jin asks gently.

001 replies, "They made me think maybe I could play just one more game..."

Some players behind him agree, making Gi-hun sigh and look down again.

"Sir." 001 gets his attention, "You know which game's next, don't you?"

The players lean in.

"Wait, you want to know the next game?" Mi-kyung questions.

"You've said you're previous winners, so you should know," Jung-bae explains while setting his container aside.

Su-jin does the same and asks, "So what's the next game then?"

Mi-kyung looks up at Gi-hun, letting him take the lead.

"The second game..."

He begins to taste sugar on his tongue at the memory.

"...was Dalgona."

Mi-kyung opens her mouth to speak, only to jump in surprise at the shudder of the bed frame near her.

"Dalgona? The sugar candy with a shape you can carve out?" Player 388 asks.

"That's right," Gi-hun confirms.

001 looks at Mi-kyung, who shakes her head.

"I didn't play Dalgona in mine," she confesses.

Everyone looks at her in surprise. She clears her throat and looks at Gi-hun to avoid the stares.

"Mister, what games did you play when you were here other than Red Light, Green Light?"

"Dalgona, Tug of War, Marbles, Glass Stepping Stones, and Squid Game."

"I played Yutnori, Neolttwigi, Ring Around The Rosie, Hopscotch, and Squid Game."

"What??" Jeong-dae looks between them and questions, "Why did you play different games??"

"How are we supposed to know?!" Mi-kyung retorts. "We don't run these games!"

Gi-hun sees disappointment rise to everyone else's faces. As the floor calls his attention once more, Mi-kyung gasps.

"Wait, did any of your games require teams? If so, how many members??"

He thinks back for a moment.

"Tug of War made us have a team of 10, and Marbles were teams of 2."

She quickly adds, "Yutnori had teams of 4 while Ring Around The Rosie were teams of 6!"

001 raises his eyebrows and wonders, "What are you proposing??"

"Make teams," she suggests. "Teams ranging from two to ten people. It's likely that one or two games will have teams, so you all should make some allies and save some time in the future."

The players nod and murmur in approval. She notices one of them scurrying away.

"We should keep this to ourselves," Jeong-dae suggests. "If all 365 of us survive-"

She interrupts him with a loud groan.

"Nope, not happening. The only "we" is you and anyone else who's that desperate that you'd rather let people die over having morals."

He scoffs and walks away with most of the group, who murmur about rudeness. 001 stays put with mild amusement.

"You didn't let him speak," a chuckling Su-jin comments.

"His face is very punchable."

"You can't punch your elders," he scolds playfully.

With a grin, she retorts, "I've punched a couple of old farts before. It's nothing new."

"You're a fiery lady!" Jung-bae laughs. "Your parents must've had trouble with you!"

Her grin wavers as she replies, "They likely did."

His laugh fades before he questions, "Oh right, you said you lost your family, right?"

"Yeah..." She forces her grin and reassures, "It's ok. I don't mind it being brought up."

Gi-hun remains expressionless as if lacking the energy to bother hearing what they were saying.

"May I ask you something?"

Once more, 001 catches his attention by sitting nearby.

"She said that she didn't use the money from her winnings because she considers it blood money. What about you? Did you spend it?"

"That money doesn't belong to me. It is blood money for the people who died here," Gi-hun insists. "The same goes for the money there."

He points to the plastic piggy bank by the ceiling.

"Both of you don't have to think about it in that way," 001 rationalizes. "It's not like you killed those people-"

Mi-kyung clears her throat while pointing at her scar.

"It's not like he killed those people," he corrects, "and saving that money won't bring them back to life."

Gi-hun leans towards him and points out, "If you had pressed the X, everyone here would've made it out alive."

"...You're right. I was the last to press the O button. But there were 182 more people who wanted to stay."

He gestures to the O players, not noticing many of them moving about.

"And there were also 182 people who wanted to leave."

Su-jin's brows furrow at their disagreement and the movement around them. He looks at Mi-kyung, who was staring intensely at the floor.

"Are you ok?"

She nods slowly.

"Disagreements of any kind make me nervous."

She looks at Jung-bae, who was listening in.

"All right. There's no point in placing blame now," he breaks up the disagreement between the two.

"He's right. We should focus on tomorrow's game, ok?" Su-jin agrees. "Besides, you're making her nervous."

"Oh. I'm sorry, Miss Mi-kyung," 001 politely states.

Gi-hun looks at her silently, and she nods in understanding at the regret in his gaze.

"I'm ok. Thank you." She turns to Su-jin and says, "You know, you should stay with us. The nice ones tend to die brutally."

The older man shudders but puts on a smile and replies, "Thank you. I was hoping to stay."

"Can I join your team?"

They turn to Player 388, who jumps off the bed to stand in front of them. 

"We should stick together. I'll be with you all the way."

"Who are you?" Jung-bae asks.

"My good sir, I'm Dae-ho. Kang Dae-ho."

He offers his hands. Jung-bae stares awkwardly for a moment before Su-jin offers his.

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Dae-ho!" As they shake hands, he introduces, "I'm Jang Su-jin, and these are Gwon Mi-kyung, Seong Gi-hun, Park Jung-bae, and..."

They all turn to 001.

"I'm Oh Young-il. It's nice to meet you all."

Dae-ho smiles, pulls his hands away, and says, "When Mister Gi-hun was like "Freeze!" while Miss Mi-kyung was like "Please, we have to keep playing!" earlier, I became a fan! I'd like to get to know you all! Please give me a chance!"

"Aww!" Now blushing, Mi-kyung states, "You're a refreshing guy in this kind of place, Dae-ho. Of course you can stay with us."

As Jung-bae stares at the now proud Dae-ho's upper arm, someone else approaches them.

"Excuse me, can I join you?" Player 222 asks. "I heard people saying that you gave advice to form teams." She puts her hand on her belly and adds, "I'm pregnant."

The group immediately looks at where her hand rests.

Su-jin gets on his feet and accepts, "Yes, of course you can join! What's your name?"

"Kim Jun-hee."

He helps Jun-hee sit next to Mi-kyung before sitting behind them. Gi-hun looks over Jun-hee with that pang of familiarity returning.

"Welcome to the group, Jun-hee!" She greets.

"Yeah, welcome!"

As Dae-ho shakes Jun-hee's hand, Jung-bae stands and gets closer to him. He rolls up Dae-ho's sleeve, revealing a tattoo.

"Hang on, you were in the marines?"

"Yes, why?"

"Class number?"

As Dae-ho laughs, Mi-kyung hears a stomach growl.

"Are you still hungry, Jun-hee?"

She looks away and claims, "I'm ok."

Mi-kyung looks to her right and asks, "Gi-hun, are you-"

Gi-hun interrupts her by offering his unopened container to Jun-hee.

"I'm not hungry," he excuses, not bothering to hide the exhaustion in his voice.

Mi-kyung stares at Gi-hun with sympathy, hearing the faint warmth in his tone. Su-jin looks away from Jung-bae and Dae-ho's bonding to shake his head at Gi-hun.

"You should eat more than the bite I gave you..."

He still holds out the container.

Jun-hee takes it and silently says, "Thank you, Mister."

"I heard eggs are good for pregnant women to eat," Young-il suddenly says.

"It's true," Gi-hun mumbles. "You must eat well for yourself and your baby."

Su-jin moves to sit next to Gi-hun while Mi-kyung nods slowly. Before Jun-hee could take a bite, they all hear someone hitting the ground. They all turn to see three men in a scuffle with two men ganging up on one.

"I lost all that money because of you, fucker."

"Hey, aren't you marine boys going to do anything about that?" Mi-kyung questions after seeing the man get kicked.

Jung-bae blurts out in surprise and blurts out, "Eh? Us?"

"Yeah, someone should stop them," Dae-ho agrees.

Jung-bae looks at him expectantly. Before anything else is said, Young-il steps forward.

"Boys, what are you doing in the middle of mealtime? No fights during mealtime."

Mi-kyung sighs fondly.

"What a sweet man." She turns to Jun-hee, notices her expression, and asks, "Do you know one of the guys?"

She nods. Mi-kyung looks back in time to see Thanos walk up to Young-il.

"You're lecturing me when you ended up in this shithole too? Dude, stop running your mouth and take care of your own damn kids."

Mi-kyung gasps.

"Oh, he's so dead."

Her teammates look at her.

"What do you mean?" Dae-ho wonders.

"Based on what he said earlier, Young-il is either someone who wants to be a father or is a father. I'm good at reading people, so I bet that Young-il is going to teach those two some manners."

Right as she finishes, Young-il grabs Thanos by the side of his throat. When Nam-gyu steps closer, he gets kicked.

She hums, "Told you."

They all stand and watch Young-il lay it on the rapper before having him pinned to the ground by the throat. When he raises his fist, Mi-kyung squeaks.

"I think he's had enough!"

Young-il looks at her then at Thanos, who was weakly apologizing and pleading.

"Please... Let me go." 

The soft anger on the older man's face retreats as he lets go and stands up. Almost everyone else in the dormitory claps. Mi-kyung sits with the others and giggles at the compliments thrown at Young-il's way.

"Wow, he's amazing!" Su-jin marvels.

"What is he?" Jung-bae questions.

"Is he an ex-Marine too?" Dae-ho wonders.

They roll down their sleeves to cover their marine tattoos before continuing to clap.

"Maybe he was in the army," Su-jin suggests while placing his food container on Gi-hun's lap. "I was in it decades ago, but I can tell he's got the reflexes needed for the job."

When Young-il returns to the group, he, Jung-bae, and Dae-ho sit down.

"Or he has family in law enforcement," Mi-kyung proposes. "You have a family member or two you're close to that taught you some skills."

Young-il's eyes widen and nods.

"That's exactly it."

Gi-hun tries to hand the container back to Su-jin, who nudges it back to him while shaking his head.

"Wow, you're good at this. What else can you guess?" He asks excitedly before Gi-hun could say anything.

Mi-kyung looks at Jun-hee, who was looking at the battered man as she chews her food.

"She knows the man who was beaten up. I'm thinking... the baby daddy?"

Jun-hee looks at everyone's expectant faces and nods before swallowing and letting out a sigh.

"His name is Myung-gi. He's my ex and... He told me to abort the baby before vanishing for six months. I thought he was dead-"

"What?!"

She sees a mix of shock and disgust on her teammates' faces.

"Perhaps I should've let him get beaten up more," Young-il mumbles.

"Do you have any family?" Jung-bae asks. "Did you have any support?"

When she shakes her head, they stare in sympathy.

"You poor girl..." Dae-ho says. "My mom mentioned to me that pregnancy isn't an easy process. I can't imagine what you've experienced."

She shrugs and replies, "I managed."

"Still..." He shakes his head then suggests, "Hey, when we all get out of here, we're going to help you take care of your baby, ok?"

She nods in agreement.

"Thank you."

Gi-hun looks between them before he finally picks up the spoon and begins to eat. Su-jin sighs in relief at the sight.

Mi-kyung turns to Jun-hee and asks, "Hey, how old are you?"

"25. I was born in July."

She grins and replies, "I'm also 25, but I was born in June."

"Ah..." Jun-hee blinks and notes, "That makes you my unnie."

"Unnie??" Mi-kyung laughs. "Come on, I'm not that much older than you."

"Still..."

Mi-kyung smiles and squeezes Jun-hee's hand.

"I don't mind it."

Jun-hee smiles back before she continues to eat, visibly relaxing.

The lights in the dormitory were now dim. Su-jin turns to his side, struggling to sleep. He faintly overhears Young-il talking to Gi-hun. After a few moments, he sits up and looks at them. Concern washes his features when he notices Young-il tearing up. He gets off of his bed and quietly goes to them.

"Are you ok?"

Young-il wipes away his tears and nods.

"I'm fine. Thank you." He looks at him and asks, "Why are you here?"

"I had trouble sleeping. May I...?"

He looks at Gi-hun while gesturing to his bed. Gi-hun nods, allowing Su-jin to sit on his bed.

"What's on your mind, Gi-hun?"

He looks around and murmurs, "Everything."

Su-jin looks around too then reassures, "It's gonna be ok. People will vote to leave after the next game." When he was given looks of disbelief, he smiles and argues, "If more people end up dead, more people will want to leave."

Gi-hun blinks, prompting Su-jin to panic.

"Ah, I don't mean to imply that I want people to die! I don't! It's just... sadly inevitable in this kind of place." He looks at the O players and concludes, "So I was thinking that if they see more deaths, they'll wake up from their desperation and vote to leave."

"I don't think it's possible. People like Player 100 are so desperate for more money that more deaths is what they want anyways," Young-il counters.

"They wouldn't do that. They'll change their minds."

Young-il sighs and shakes his head.

"We'll see..."

He gets up and walks away from the two, surprising Su-jin.

"Did I say something wrong?"

"Why are you certain that people will change their mind?" Gi-hun questions.

With a smile, Su-jin explains, "I like to see everything in a positive light. Yeah, my landlord raises my rent because he thinks I'm gay and a gang wants to break my bones for the money I owe them, but I do my job with a smile."

"...A gang wants to break your bones, and you're not afraid?"

"I am, but there's no point in dwelling on it! Besides, they told me that I have until Christmas to pay back my debt. I'll have to leave my apartment, but I can find another one once I pay them off with my savings." He clears his throat and sheepishly adds, "Well, my savings aren't nearly enough, but I can live with broken bones!"

Gi-hun couldn't help but let out a faint chuckle. He couldn't remember when he last did so. He looks to his right, seeing Mi-kyung and Young-il having a quiet conversation a few beds away.

"I don't see it..." He admits with a sigh.

She smirks and says, "Give it time. Once it happens, it'll be really cute."

She notices Gi-hun looking in their direction and waves with a smile. Young-il looks back, gives him a nod, and looks at her.

"See you tomorrow."

"See ya!"

When he walks away, Mi-kyung looks around the dorm. She pauses when she notices another player awake. Nam-gyu was leaning over the edge of his bed, eyeing someone else. She follows his gaze's direction, and her eyebrows widen when she notices it was Thanos.

"Interesting..."

She looks at Gi-hun and Su-jin, noting the way Su-jin was looking at Gi-hun with awe in his gaze as they spoke.

"Very interesting..."

With a grin, she lays down and closes her eyes while fiddling with the pearl of her necklace.

Gi-hun sits up and looks around, seeing that the dormitory was devoid of beds. 

"Mister..."

To his right, Mi-kyung sits on another bed, hugging her knees close to her chest and looking away from him. There were now beds around him, having the sleeping figures of their teammates.

"Do you think we'll be able to do it? Stop the games?"

He's quick to respond: "Yes, we will."

She slowly turns to face him. He gasps when he sees that her throat is slashed and blood was flowing from the wound.

"I don't want to die, Mister... I want to go home."

Their teammates sit up with their own fatal wounds. Gi-hun's breath quickens at the sight of the seemingly endless blood. It doesn't stop flowing, spilling over the beds.

"Mister..."

He looks back at Mi-kyung, whose face was shifting to look like Sae-byeok. She stands from the bed and walks closer to him. He couldn't move. He couldn't look away from the young woman's tears.

"Mister, please, I don't want to die here!"

Their teammates groan and approach him too. Their faces shift. Sang-woo and Ali.

"Gi-hun..."

He couldn't say anything. He couldn't scream. He couldn't cry. There was nothing he could do as their blood begins to flood the room.

"Why?"

Dae-ho gets on the bed. His form shifts. By the time he was close to Gi-hun's face, he was staring into his own eyes. It was himself from four years ago before the games broke him, wounded from slashes and bullet holes.

So many close calls.

"Why were you the lucky one?"

Gi-hun looks past himself, seeing Young-il shift into Il-nam.

"Will there be anyone left who will care?"

The blood rises up to Gi-hun's level. His younger self hugs him tightly as Il-nam smiles.

"I haven't lost yet."

Gi-hun closes his eyes as the blood rises to his nose and...

"Wake up!"

When he opens them, he sees a worried Su-jin and Jung-bae and hears classical music blaring through the dormitory.

"We heard you crying in your sleep!" Jung-bae explains. "What were you dreaming about??"

Su-jin makes Gi-hun sit up.

"I'm ok. I'm used to having nightmares," he excuses.

A few beds away, Mi-kyung gets off of her bed and stretches away the aches of her body.

"You slept well."

She smiles when Young-il walks up to her. She turns to face him while slowly rolling her neck around to stretch it.

"I'm terrified of death, but I'm surprised I managed to sleep like a baby despite yesterday."

"You were likely exhausted." Concern rises in his gaze as he points out, "You didn't finish your meal either."

She chuckles and says, "I was too worried over other things. I'll try to finish all future meals."

"That's good."

She shakes when an alarm blares and the doors open.

"Attention, please. The second game will begin momentarily. Please follow the instructions from our staff," the automated voice announces.

"Don't be afraid," Young-il advises with a slightly teasing tone.

She blushes before laughing and shaking her head at him. She turns around, takes a step, and pauses.

"Wait, where's..?"

She sighs in relief when she sees Jun-hee approaching. She walks down the steps with Young-il following.

"Where were you?"

"I went to see Myung-gi's beaten up face."

Young-il hums and notes, "You look so innocent, yet you're fine with seeing your ex battered."

Both women look at him.

"It's perfectly ok to do so," he quickly adds.

Mi-kyung grins then offers her hand to Jun-hee. As she slowly takes it, Mi-kyung notices Thanos. After he gets on his feet and puts on his jacket, he catches her gaze and smiles. It wavers when he notices Young-il staring at him.

"Come, let's walk with the others."

With his stare remaining on Thanos, Young-il places his hand on Mi-kyung's back and nudges her to walk. He shields her and Jun-hee from Thanos's gaze as they head to meet with their teammates.

The players are led out of the dormitory and lead to the second game. After a minute, they enter an arena resembling a school playground.

"Yep, this isn't Yutnori..." Mi-kyung comments. "Mister Gi-hun, did you play Dalgona here?"

He shakes his head.

"Welcome to your second game," the automated voice says. "This game will be played in teams. Please divide into teams of five in the next ten minutes. Let me repeat. This game will be played in teams."

Gi-hun sighs in relief then looks at Mi-kyung.

"You were right about forming teams."

"Look, many players already have their own teams already," she points out with a proud expression.

Every player wanders into the arena, and the doors close.

"Please divide into teams now."

As the timer starts, Dae-ho does a head count.

"We're seven people. It's asking for teams of five."

"I can find another team," Su-jin volunteers. "I'll see you all again real soon!"

"Don't jinx it, Su-jin," Mi-kyung warns. "Who else is going to feed Mister Gi-hun without you around?"

Su-jin laughs loudly as a faint blush rises to his cheeks.

"I'll be fine, don't worry!"

With a smile, he turns and walks away.

"Now there's six of us," Jung-bae states.

"Five," Mi-kyung corrects. "I'll find my own team."

"Huh?"

Jun-hee's eyes widen, prompting Mi-kyung to squeeze her hand.

"Relax, you'll be fine. Look, you have two Marines, a past winner, and a strong gentleman right here. You'll be safe with them. It's why you joined us in the first place, right?"

She smiles knowingly.

"Best of luck!" Dae-ho says with a salute.

She returns the salute before letting go of Jun-hee's hand and walking away.

While walking by players, Su-jin accidentally bumps into someone.

"I'm so sorry!"

He sees that it's Myung-gi, whose battered face washes with recognition.

"My team needs one more person," he quickly says. "Will you-?"

"Sure!"

Myung-gi looks past Su-jin, who looks back and realizes that he was looking at Jun-hee.

"What you did was not cool, by the way," Su-jin says while facing forward.

"She told you that...?" Myung-gi sighs. "You don't understand. I was trying to protect her."

"You could've at least given her a call."

Myung-gi shakes his head.

"Forget it."

As time passes, teams are formed. In the last minute, two duos run into each other.

"Would you..."

"Can we..."

"Would you like to form a team? Can we join you?" Mi-kyung, who seemingly came out of nowhere, says. "The answer is yes!"

She smiles sweetly at players 007, 149, 120, and 095.

"Oh, you gave me a fright!" 149 says with a hearty laugh.

"I'm really sorry, Miss...?"

"Jang Geum-ja," she introduces herself before patting her son's arm.

"I'm Park Yong-sik," he says. "It's nice to meet you."

Mi-kyung nods then looks at the other duo.

"Cho Hyun-ju. I'm relieved that we have one of the past winners with us," she admits.

The girl next to her nods before quietly saying, "Kim Young-mi..."

"I'm Gwon Mi-kyung, and I hope we get along well for this and future games. It's good to make allies, right?"

The others nod in agreement, sharing relief to have found a team in the literal last minute. Mi-kyung notices Player 044 a short distance away, glaring at her. She glares back as the timer reaches zero.

"Time for team selection is up."

The teams are guided to sit on the ground in the track circles. Mi-kyung looks around until she sees her team sitting a few feet behind her. She relaxes at the sight before noticing Thanos sitting nearby. He was jittering in place then stops when, once again, he catches her gaze. This time, she smiles and waves. He waves back with a wink.

Her smile widens when she notices Nam-gyu rolling his eyes in annoyance. When she faces forward, she could feel two sets of eyes on her back.

"Now I know who to talk to later once my team and I win this game."

When the first teams step onto the tracks, everyone watches with anticipation. Mi-kyung is more focused on the imaginary scenario playing her mind.

"What do I talk about with them?"

She stares ahead with a blank stare, focusing entirely on the scenario. It breaks when her shoulder is shaken.

"Mi-kyung, which game can you specialize in?" Yong-sik asks.

She blinks a few times and sees that not only were the first teams already playing, everyone else had stood up to watch them play. She gets up, takes a quick look around, and looks at her team.

"I can do any of them. Which are you missing?"

"Spinning top."

"Then I'll do that one. Don't worry."

They all watch the team on their side return to their feet after fumbling with the spinning top.

She looks at her team and advises, "We can't afford to mess up in these minigames. We focus and we do them quickly. Five minutes go by quickly."

She then looks at the timer and hums.

"Avert your eyes. They won't make it."

Young-mi squeaks from shock. Sure enough; by the time the team succeeded in spinning top, there were only a few seconds left.

"No time can be wasted," Mi-kyung repeats.

She covers her ears and crouches before the timer runs out and bullets fire. She glances at her teammates doing the same.

"I can't space out again."

Chapter Text

Mi-kyung calmly watches the soldiers pick up the dead bodies. When one of them shoots a body in a coffin, another one looks around. She raises an eyebrow.

"They're doing something wrong."

"Hm?"

Geum-ja turns to her. The others do the same.

"The soldiers typically focus on their tasks and are good with their shots. They're doing something wrong if they don't kill with the first shots and look around."

They look back at the soldiers, who return to their task of picking up the bodies.

"Ah, I see..." Geum-ja nods then looks at Mi-kyung with concern. "Did you figure that out the first time you were a player?"

Mi-kyung nods and explains, "I was pretty shy, so initially, I would just pay attention to the soldiers and what they were doing. Some behaviors never change, it seems."

The older woman puts her hand on Mi-kyung's shoulder.

"You're so young... I can't believe you went through these games before."

Mi-kyung blinks away her shock then smiles slightly.

"I did my best to make the most of what happened..."

"You're very strong, Mi-kyung."

"Thank you, Ms. Jang."

"The next teams, please get ready," the automated voice announces.

The five stand up with nervous expressions. Mi-kyung watches Hyun-ju tie back her hair, revealing her earrings.

"Pretty..." Mi-kyung quietly says.

She watches Hyun-ju encourage Young-mi to believe in herself while Geum-ja hypes herself up.

"Everyone, let's pull ourselves together and do this," she proclaims.

"We'll pass. Remember, we focus and do our games quickly," Mi-kyung reminds them.

Her teammates nod in agreement.

"Let's show everyone else here that these games are no big deal," Hyun-ju states.

They all take a deep breath and step onto the tracks in the order they'll play the minigames.

"Teams three and four, get ready."

Their legs are tied. Mi-kyung notices her first team giving a thumbs up and encouraging looks. She links her arms with Hyun-ju and Geum-ja. When the gun fires, the teams move.

"One, two! One, two! One, two!"

After a few tries and advice from Hyun-ju, Young-mi succeeds in ddakji. Using their past as motivation, Yong-sik and Geum-ja pass their games. By the time it was Mi-kyung's turn, adrenaline runs high and other players were watching with intense focus.

"You can do this," Hyun-ju encourages.

Mi-kyung quickly rolls the fiber string around the top. When she goes to pull the string, she ends up dropping both onto the pool of blood in front of them, making her team wince.

"Ah, my hands are sweaty!"

Hyun-ju picks it up before she does.

"It's ok, we still have time. Take a deep breath and focus! You can do this!"

Mi-kyung's eyes seem to sparkle at Hyun-ju's words. She takes the top back and wraps the fiber string again. She takes a deep breath then pulls the string. The top spins.

"Pass!"

They and the other players cheer. Mi-kyung sees Thanos was screaming the loudest to the annoyance of Nam-gyu. They move forward to the final minigame with over a minute left on the timer.

"You must kick the jegi five times," the automated voice explains.

"You can do it, Hyun-ju!" Mi-kyung encourages.

"I can!" Hyun-ju takes a deep breath then says, "Please look away."

"What?" Geum-ja asks while Mi-kyung nods.

"Everyone, look away!" She orders. "Let her do her thing! Turn around!"

To her delight, the other players turn away. The team does the same and hold their breaths. They hear a thud for every kick Hyun-ju does, counting anxiously in their minds. They turn to look at her after hearing the fifth kick.

"Pass!"

The other players turn around as they all cheer in exhilaration. There were 30 seconds left on the timer.

"One, two! One, two!"

Tears sting Mi-kyung's eyes as her body feels like it was floating. She was smiling so widely, it hurt.

"Everyone is cheering... Even the bloodthirsty... We're united."

It felt like they were moving in slow motion. She looks at the other players, seeing their happy faces. She sees her friends among them, cheering her and her team on.

"It's so beautiful. I hope it lasts longer..."

They pass through the finish line. An explosion of happiness occurs as the players cheer and the team hugs in relief.

"We did it! Oh, Mi-kyung, why are you crying??"

Her tears are wiped away by Geum-ja.

She laughs, "I'm just so happy!"

They watch the other team pass the finish line as well, leading to more cheers. The teams hold still when a soldier unlocks them from their binds.

"Please return to the dormitory," the voice orders over the cheers.

"Best of luck, everyone!" Mi-kyung calls out.

She waves at her friends, even throwing one at Su-jin on the other side, before following a soldier out of the arena with the other winners.

"Thank you so much, unnie, I don't think I would've gotten a hold of myself without you," she says.

"Y-Yeah, thank you, unnie," Young-mi adds.

Hyun-ju blinks in surprise before nodding.

"We did amazing. We're a great team," Geum-ja says.

"Mi-kyung, do you think there'll be another team game?" Yong-sik questions.

She hums in thought.

"Most likely. If there's still a need for a team of five, we should stay together. If there's a need for more people, we can ask my other friends to join us," she advises. "Don't worry, they're really nice people."

They return to the dorms and find a place to sit. It takes some time before other players enter the dorms. Mi-kyung eyes them and sighs.

Geum-ja hums as well before asking, "Are you friends with the tiny lady?"

"Hm? You mean Jun-hee? The one with highlights?"

"Ah, what a lovely name! Yes, her."

"Yeah, I'm her friend. We know about..."

She pauses to gauge a reaction. Geum-ja gives a knowing expression while the others get confused.

"...so we'll take good care of her."

"Thank you, dear. Yong-sik told me how you advised people to make teams, so I asked her to team up with us, but she said no. I was worried."

"I don't think it's personal," Mi-kyung guesses. "She asked my team if she could join, but I think it's because Gi-hun and I are past winners."

She looks at her team carefully.

"I've only used my winnings to pay off my debts," she admits. "I continue to live in the streets even though I can afford a good home. Even when things got rough, I never used it."

"You can't punish yourself for what you did forever," Hyun-ju states. "You said you killed someone to protect yourself."

"Still... That person was desperate just like everyone else here and everyone else who died in my games..."

She looks down with an upset expression.

"How many do you think will survive, Nam-su?"

She turns to see Thanos and his team walking into the dorms.

"Nam-gyu," his second-in-command corrects. "I hope not a lot."

Thanos sees Mi-kyung, and they wave at each other. Nam-gyu glares at Mi-kyung before he and his teammates find a place to sit.

"Are you... friends with that guy?" Yong-sik questions with concern. "I think he's crazy."

"I... I saw him push other people during Red Light, Green Light," Young-mi says. "He is c-crazy..."

"We're not friends," Mi-kyung replies. "But we're about to be."

Hyun-ju starts, "Wait, maybe you shouldn't..."

Ignoring the protests of her teammates, she gets up and walks away from them.

"Oh shit, isn't that..."

256 and 125's eyes widen. Thanos smirks and sits up when Mi-kyung got close.

"Hi!" She greets. "I'm Gwon Mi-kyung. You are..?"

Thanos gestures to his crew and introduces, "These are Nam-su-"

"Nam-gyu."

"Aaand... What are your names?"

"Gyeong-su, Min-su, and Se-mi," Se-mi answers while pointing to each recipient's name.

Thanos nods proudly before he points to himself and proudly proclaims, "And I, señorita, am Thanos the Great."

"Nice to meet you all."

She leans back slightly when Thanos leans towards her with a flirtatious expression.

"So what brings you to me? Got bored of your old team?"

"Uh... Actually, I was hoping to talk to you and Nam-gyu in private."

Gyeong-su gasps while Thanos and Nam-gyu look at each other in surprise.

"For what?" He questions.

"Just a chat," she claims.

Se-mi eyes her for a moment and says, "Hey, you're a past winner. You don't have to do this."

"It's ok. It's just a quick chat."

Thanos and Nam-gyu grin at each other before they follow Mi-kyung to a corner of the dorms. Se-mi looks across the room and sees Mi-kyung's team watching with concern. She and Hyun-ju make eye contact in silent understanding before she also looks at where the trio went.

"And before you say or do anything; no, this isn't for romance or sex or anything of the sort," Mi-kyung quickly says with a faint blush. "I just wanna give you two advice."

Nam-gyu scoffs, "Come on, you look at Thanos like he's hot shit."

She rolls her eyes and says, "It's called being friendly."

"So what's the advice, señorita?"

She clears her throat before advising, "Make smarter decisions. Don't get into fights you can't win."

This makes the men laugh.

"Are you calling us stupid?" Nam-gyu questions.

"I'm calling you impulsive."

He mutters, "This bitch..."

"Hey, apologize." Thanos orders. "She's a past winner, so she knows what she's talking about."

Nam-gyu laughs before mumbling out an apology. Thanos smooths out his hair before smiling down at her.

"Anything else?"

"You two have beef with 333, right?"

"Yeah, MG Coin, he's the reason why we're in debt," Thanos explains.

"Well, I know that in my past game, a meal was given with forks and glass bottles, and some players kept them to hurt other players. MG Coin could get you two back for beating him up, so if anything sharp is given in the future, keep them just in case."

The two nod before sharing a glance.

"Thank you, truly," Thanos says.

"You're wel-"

She squeaks when Nam-gyu suddenly squeezes her cheek.

"For a know-it-all, you're kinda cute," he comments.

"How'd you win the games anyways?" Thanos wonders as he pokes her other cheek. "Did they like your cuteness so much they let you win?"

She leans away, only for her back up against the wall.

"That's not what happened-"

"You're kinda like a cat," Thanos says absentmindedly while twirling a strand of her hair. "You're so small I didn't notice you at first."

"Where the heck is this coming from??"

Nam-gyu smirks and states, "We're bored."

More teams enter the dorms. Su-jin is among them, and he notices the three. Mi-kyung catches his eye and rapidly shakes her head, making Thanos and Nam-gyu look back.

"Beat it, we're busy here," Nam-gyu snarks.

Relucantly, Su-jin walks away and approaches Hyun-ju, who was walking over. As they speak, the men look back at Mi-kyung.

Thanos cups her face and asks, "Now that I'm seeing it, you kinda remind me of my little sister. Shit, now I feel gross for finding you attractive. I'm so sorry."

"Wait, you have a sister???" A surprised Nam-gyu blurts out.

"Yeah, man. I haven't seen her in years though-"

Mi-kyung slaps their hands away and puts her hands on her hips.

"Will you two stop it?!"

They laugh at her glare.

"Ok, ok!" Thanos says in-between his laughs. "We'll keep your advice in mind, Mi-kyung, we promise."

She shakes her head at them with a sigh. When they turn to walk away, she recalls something.

"Wait, I have more advice but for Nam-gyu only."

"Huh? Alright..."

Thanos walks away a couple steps away, but he keeps his eye on the two. Behind him, Su-jin and Hyun-ju stare at Mi-kyung worryingly.

"So what's your advice for me?"

Nam-gyu crosses his arms, eyeing the younger woman with contempt.

She crosses her arms in return and questions, "What do you think about Thanos? What's your relationship with him?"

"Why the hell do you wanna know?" He looks at Thanos, who was now in his own world, before answering, "He's my friend."

She hums and comments, "He doesn't seem to know your name though."

He groans then complains, "I have to correct him every damn time. We somewhat knew each other before the games, so I don't know why the hell he'd call me Nam-su. That fucking dumbass."

"Have you considered that he's flirting with you?"

This catches him off-guard.

"Eh? Since when was calling someone the wrong name flirting??"

"I know that Nam-su means "Southern beauty," so he's been calling you a southern beauty this whole time."

His jaw drops for a moment before he scoffs.

"No fucking way. He's just being a dumbass."

She raises an eyebrow when she notices the faintest blush rising to his cheeks.

"Do you enjoy that fact?"

"Hell no. That's gay as hell."

"I don't think you're mad. You enjoy that he finds you beautiful-"

He grabs her by the collar and glares at her.

"What the fuck are you saying, you little shit?"

She calmly stares at him then glances at Thanos. Nam-gyu does the same and sees that he was no longer in his own world. In fact, he had a look of disappointment, which prompts Nam-gyu to let go of her. She pats his shoulder, making him flinch.

"It's 2024, Nam-gyu. It's perfectly ok to gay. You should talk about it with him. He'll understand."

He pushes her hand away.

"We're only friends. Whatever fantasy you have, you can shove it up your ass."

"You sure you don't want him to shove something up yours?"

He opens his mouth to make a response, only for his blush to become noticeable. Sensing it, he moves Mi-kyung so that he could hide it from Thanos.

"You're so damn annoying."

"Well, you're only hurting yourself by keeping your feelings in. Talk to him eventually." After a moment, she adds, "Also, I don't like Thanos in that regard, Nam-gyu. I was really only being friendly."

He stares at her carefully, trying to see a sign of deceit in her expression.

"...You better not be fucking with me."

"I am not. I'm just helping you get him to fuck you someday."

His jaw drops for a moment. He can't help but laugh at the audacity of her words. She grins at this.

"I walked into that one."

"You sure did."

He scoffs, "Don't take it seriously. It doesn't mean we'll be friends, you damn freak."

"I'm fine with that," she replies with a shrug. "It takes a freak to know a freak."

"Tch, damn bitch."

"Ooh, that's so hurtful of you, asshole."

He glares at her for this. When she returns it, he squeezes her cheek again. He gets amused by her squeak.

"I'll think about it, you little shit."

He rolls his eyes at her smug smile before he walks back to Thanos.

"About time. What were you talking about, Nam-su?"

He blinks and replies, "None of your business."

Mi-kyung hurries to Su-jin and Hyun-ju.

"Oh my gosh, I was so nervous watching that!" He admits as he pulls her into a hug. "Are you ok??"

"I'm fine, I swear."

Hyun-ju places her hand on her shoulder and says, "Listen, if they hurt you, you tell us, ok?"

"I will, don't worry!"

She looks back at Thanos and his team, overhearing their conversation.

"Does she technically count as part of our team?" Gyeong-su wonders.

"She is," Thanos confirms. "She's a friend to all of us."

Se-mi watches Mi-kyung sit with her team and Su-jin greeting them. She eyes Hyun-ju with a small smile.

"Who are you lookin' at?"

She scoffs at Nam-gyu's question.

"None of your business."

More teams return to the dorms. Su-jin watches while clenching and unclenching his pants.

"Unnie, can I ask you something?" Young-mi suddenly says. When Hyun-ju agrees to hear it, she asks, "How did you know it'd be easier to flip the ddakji with the other side?"

"Oh, I was wondering that too! I noticed it, and I did it when it was my turn to play Ddakji," Su-jin says.

Hyun-ju smiles and explains, "I used to play Ddakji with my friends when I was a kid. And that was my secret trick."

"I see."

Su-jin and Mi-kyung nod with an impressed look.

"Listen, can I ask you something too?" Geum-ja chimes in. "When you were playing Jegi, how come you didn't want us to look?"

"Oh." Hyun-ju looks away abashedly. "Well, I..."

"Are you shy?"

"It's not that. I'm just not completely done."

Su-jin furrows his eyes. He wasn't the only one confused.

"What do you mean?" Geum-ja further questions.

An embarrassed Yong-sik quickly says, "Mom, stop asking questions. You're being nosy."

"Hey, it's better that she asks questions and get answers instead of making her own conclusions with whatever pre-conceived notions she could have," Mi-kyung chides.

Su-jin mumbles, "I am so confused..."

Hyun-ju then answers, "I still have some procedures left. I just... didn't want people to stare at me."

"What procedures?"

It takes a second for Geum-ja to realize what Hyun-ju meant, which she does with a gasp.

"Oh, so that's how you got yourself those too? Of course, I knew they were too big-"

"Mom, please! I'm so sorry."

Mi-kyung shrugs and says, "They're not bad, honestly."

Young-mi nods in agreement while Su-jin does his own gasp of realization.

"I couldn't even tell! You pass so well!"

She chuckles as her face turns slightly red, "Thank you."

Hyun-ju looks past Su-jin for a moment and notices Se-mi staring at her. Se-mi's expression can be interpreted as bored, but there was a sense of appreciation in her gaze.

"Were you in the ROK?" Su-in suddenly asks.

"Hm?" She returns her attention to him. "Yes, why?"

Su-jin smiles and exclaims, "No wonder you looked so familiar! I was a sergeant!"

Her eyes widen for a moment in apprehension. Noticing this, he places his hand on her shoulder.

"I went against the higher-ups when they were discussing letting you go. It was one of my listed reasons for why I was discharged. I-I did try to look for you, but I couldn't find you anywhere and I thought you were..." He trails off as his smile turns sad.

She slowly smiles back.

"Thank you. I wished we talked more back then. It would've been nice to have a friend in all these years, y'know?"

As he nods in agreement, Geum-ja notices the final team entering.

"Look, it's your friends!"

Mi-kyung and Su-jin turn to see Gi-hun, Young-il, Jung-bae, Dae-ho, and Jun-hee.

"They made it!" Mi-kyung exclaims while rising to her feet.

After doing the same, Su-jin tells the others, "I hope we can speak again another time."

She nods in agreement before they rush to their team.

"They don't look happy to see us," Young-il comments in regards to Jeong-dae and his team

"But they do! Brother Su-jin!" Dae-ho greets.

Young-il stops at Su-jin and Dae-ho doing a quick embrace before he does the same with Jung-bae and Jun-hee. When Mi-kyung hugs Gi-hun, Young-il gasps.

"I'm hurt. You skipped me."

"Hehe, sorry!"

Gi-hun awkwardly pats her back before she hugs Young-il.

"How did it go??" She asks with a wide smile.

"There were a few close calls, but we made it," Young-il reassures while patting her head.

"I miss my mom," Jung-bae comments.

They look at Geum-ja and Yong-sik waving and giving a thumbs up at Jun-hee's direction. After she gives a bow, she follows her team back to their usual spot.

"Have you two met before the games?" Gi-hun asks as he looks at Mi-kyung clinging to Young-il's side.

"No, I just like being clingy," she answers. "Do you want me to cling to you instead, Mister Gi-hun?"

She bats her eyelashes with a goofy grin, making Young-il laugh and Gi-hun smile slightly. When they all sit, Mi-kyung hugs Gi-hun's arm with a smug smile.

"I'm sorry about earlier, everyone," Young-il says. He turns to Mi-kyung and Su-jin to explain: "Spinning top took me a few tries."

"It's ok. People always crack under pressure," Su-jin reassures. "What matters is that you and the others made it out."

"And if it weren't for you, I wouldn't have made the last kick," Gi-hun adds.

"Ooh, clever man we have here, ey?"

Mi-kyung pats Young-il's shoulder before she lets go of Gi-hun's arm and sits up straight. She looks at Jun-hee and narrows her eyes.

"Jun-hee, are you feeling alright?" Young-il asks.

Mi-kyung moves to sit next to her and questions, "Is it your belly hurting? Is that normal??"

She nods, making Mi-kyung's curious expression grow.

"I forgot to say it, but thank you for including me on your team," she says.

"We're lucky you joined us," Jung-bae comments. "She smashed that ddakji and flipped it on her first try! She did great, even while carrying a baby."

Jun-hee smiles and looks away shyly.

Dae-ho adds, "What about your Flying Stone play? You hit it with one shoot! With an underhand pitch at that!" He stands to mimic the move. "Bam!"

Su-jin groans and complains, "Why did you guys have to go last? I would've loved to see you all play."

"Same. It's no fair," Mi-kyung agrees. She then looks at Dae-ho and asks, "So what game did you play?"

"Gong-gi." He smiles sheepishly and adds, "I played it often with my four older sisters."

"Aww," Mi-kyung and Su-jin coo, making Dae-ho laugh.

"I could barely see his hand. It was like a martial arts movie," Jung-bae describes. "Was Gong-gi the only game you ever played?"

After another laugh, Dae-ho explains, "I'm the only son for two generations. My mom only let me play at home with my sisters."

Mi-kyung hums and wonders, "Who knew that would someday come in handy in a death game?"

A laugh is shared.

"And yet they let their precious son join the Marines?" Jung-bae questions.

"...My father's idea, he wanted me to be more of a man. He fought in the Vietnam War, you see."

"Hey, just because you're an expert at Gong-gi, it doesn't make you any less of a man. It makes you more rounded," Su-jin states.

Mi-kyung nods in agreement and adds, "Plus, you'd be good at treating a woman right. Lord knows many poor women who dealt with a man who didn't know how periods worked."

She raises an eyebrow at the men in her sight. Dae-ho nods while the older men shift uncomfortably.

Jung-bae chimes in, "Ah, I don't think this is the right space to discuss-"

"Your wife has it or had it," Mi-kyung interrupts. "If you have a daughter, she'd get it after puberty starts. You have to know how to take care of a girl at a time like that no matter who it is."

"If she has a difficult period, having support works well," Jun-hee adds. "You can't let them suffer alone."

Both turn to Su-jin, who stares like a deer in headlights.

"Don't look at me. I did my research and asked my ex-girlfriend everything to know about it back when we were together."

Mi-kyung points at him, looks at the others, and says, "See?? He's not uncomfortable with the topic. It's just blood."

She then looks around and frowns.

"Wait, I don't see any menstrual aid in here..."

The others look around too.

"No pain killers either..." Dae-ho shakes his head with a sigh. "The poor women who have to deal with their periods during the games..."

"I am so glad mine ended last week. I think I actually would've died in the last game if it kept going," Mi-kyung says.

Young-il looks at Jun-hee and questions, "Did your ex support you on your periods?"

"...Sometimes."

"Jun-hee, you deserved much better than a man like that," Jung-bae states.

"He's right. You're a sweet and beautiful woman, and you deserve to be treated as a princess," Dae-ho adds.

"Date Dae-ho since he's already being a better boyfriend," Young-il jokes.

Dae-ho chokes on air and gets into a coughing fit while the team laughs at what Young-il said. Even Gi-hun was chuckling at the absurdity of the joke.

After Jung-bae pats his back, Dae-ho retracts, "I'm just saying! Also, I'm too old for her."

Mi-kyung raises an eyebrow and asks, "How old are you?"

"I'm 37."

"And she's 25 sooo... I don't see anything wrong with that."

The men look at her with wide eyes.

"What?? I like older men. Jun-hee, what about you?"

"Uhm... I don't know. I'd want him to treat me and my baby well." She glances at her ex before adding, "If it counts, Myung-gi is 5 years older than me."

"He doesn't count because he's a bitch," Mi-kyung snarks.

"Ok, I think I can speak for the guys: we have our reasons to not want to date a younger woman," Su-jin says.

As the others nod, Mi-kyung stares at them blankly.

"Just because I said I like older men, it doesn't mean I'm attracted to any of you."

Jung-bae sighs and blurts out, "What a relief."

She gasps and puts her hand on her chest dramatically, making the others chuckle. Finally, the alarm buzzes and the doors open, letting the manager and soldiers enter the dorms.

"Oh, Jun-hee?" Mi-kyung whispers. "Can you tell me what pregnancy is like eventually?"

"How come?"

"I really want to be a mom someday. Maybe when we get out of here, we can be mom buddies."

Jun-hee smiles a bit and nods.

"Here are the results of the second game."

Every player looks up at the piggy bank to see the money pile up to a chipper tune. Gi-hun and Mi-kyung rise to their feet and look at each other with similar expressions.

The manager proclaims, "In the second game, 110 players were eliminated. The prize money accumulated up to this point is 20.1 billion won. Since there are 255 players remaining, each person's share is 78,823,530 won."

"Wait, what?" A man says. "It's still under 100 million? It's not even 80 million?"

"Only 110 people died? Is that all?" A woman questions. "Did you count them right?"

"That many people died...?" Su-jin mumbles. "Why isn't she more horrified at the death count?"

"That's all? But you shot all those people!" Another man says.

"Aaand there it is. The end of the teamwork," Mi-kyung grumbles.

As more complain, Mi-kyung holds Gi-hun's hand.

"Are you surprised?"

He sighs and shakes his head, making her frown.

She then turns to Su-jin and mentions, "This is what I meant by gambling. Once they go all in, they won't stop."

Su-jin looks away with his own frown.

"You will now take a vote to decide whether to continue the games or not."

After the team vows to leave, they all head away from their seats to the back of the room. While waiting for the other players, Geum-ja walks up to Mi-kyung and Su-jin.

"Hey, if we go home, I plan on making kimchi stew with lots of pork. Want to come?"

Su-jin blinks in surprise. "Wait, really??"

"Of course! I live in a small place, but I think it'll be enough for the six of us to eat. Young-mi and Hyun-ju already agreed to come."

Jung-bae leans over and chimes in, "Ma'am, is it ok if I come too?"

Geum-ja gasps at Mi-kyung's team look at her expectantly.

"We can make the food outside," Dae-ho suggests. "I can grill the pork."

"I'll help with the kimchi stew," Gi-hun offers. "I've watched my mom make it a few times."

"I can help in however way I can," Young-il adds.

"Thank you, Ms. Jang," Mi-kyung says.

Jun-hee nods along, making Geum-ja smile.

"You're all so sweet. We'll make it work."

They face forward as the votes commence. Many choose the same options they chose the first time. However, many also switch sides. No matter what Young-il or others told the other players, the O's ended up winning with their "one more game" chant. Mi-kyung stays silent as she stares judgingly.

A guilty-looking Yong-sik, Hyun-ju, and Jung-bae avoid the disappointment of their allies. They avoid seeing Mi-kyung's tears.

"Is she seriously crying?" Nam-gyu whispers. "She doesn't even know most of these people."

"It's sweet. She gives a shit even when she shouldn't," Thanos replies.

Mi-kyung looks in their direction. While Thanos gives a questioning look, Nam-gyu pouts and makes a gesture that mocks her tears. Se-mi rolls her eyes in disgust at the notion. Mi-kyung glares at the two before leaning against Young-il and walking back to her team's spot.

When dinner came around, moods were still sour.

"Unnie, are you sure you don't want to eat?"

Mi-kyung shakes her head and replies, "I'm not hungry."

Jun-hee looks down at the extra sweet bread and milk she got. After a moment, Dae-ho returns with Jung-bae.

"It bugs me seeing you sitting there all pathetic!"

Jung-bae stands there like a confused bug as the team doesn't meet his gaze.

"I'm sorry... Everyone, I'm sorry," he says. "I borrowed some emergency cash, and the creditors are harassing my ex-wife and kid. If I play one more game-"

"It's alright," Su-jin interrupts him with a sad smile. "You're desperate. Everyone is. I... guess that's why more people voted O this time around."

"Still..." Young-il finally looks at him. "You of all people shouldn't have done it. Doesn't your name mean twice as righteous?"

Silence is given as a response, making Young-il sigh and Su-jin hum.

"Even so, if Jung-bae had voted X, we still would've lost," he states thoughtfully. "We would've kept playing anyways."

"Right? It's not entirely my fault," Jung-bae replies.

"All right. To be honest, I understand why you did it," Dae-ho cuts in. "The money isn't enough for me either, so when I went up to vote, I did think about playing one more game."

"Did you never consider the X voters who also can't pay off their debt with that money, but they voted to leave because they value the lives of others and/or themselves over their debts?" Mi-kyung challenges. "Did you consider that people like Young-mi, who cried about wanting to go home, could've had debt that can't be paid off with 78 million, but they still chose X?"

After a moment, she scoffs and stands up.

"I'm going to my other team."

She hurries away, not fully paying attention to where she was walking.

"Oof!"

She bumps into someone and almost falls. She blinks then sees that it was Se-mi.

"I'm so sorry! I wasn't paying attention!"

"It's fine. We're all a bit distracted."

Mi-kyung raises an eyebrow, and Se-mi gestures to her team, who were sitting in silence. Mi-kyung glances at the rest of the Thanos crew, who were looking at Se-mi with mixed expressions, before she heads up the stairs with Se-mi close behind. They nod at the others before sitting on one of the beds.

"Hyun-ju, why did you do it?" Geum-ja asks with a disappointed tone. "We said we were all going to get together at my house. Mi-kyung's friends were going to join us. Why did you change your mind??"

Se-mi looks at Hyun-ju curiously.

"I wouldn't think you'd have gambling debts like my son," Geum-ja continues. "Is it because of the surgery? Does it cost that much?"

"From what I heard, it does."

Su-jin walks up to the team and stands next to Yong-sik.

"But is there another reason?"

"I..."

Hyun-ju looks down before opening up about her experience after coming out as trans. The group listens in silence, letting her bare her heart. Se-mi's breath hitches at her final words.

"Although I felt liberated, my life... became so much harder."

"Oh, dear..." Geum-ja looks at her with sympathy. "If you make money here, then what? Do you have a plan?"

"I think I'm going to move to Thailand."

"Thailand??"

"Ohh, it's a very good place for procedures," Mi-kyung says.

Hyun-ju nods, sniffles, and continues, "If I win the money, I'll finish my transition there and buy a small house. I'll start a new life there."

"Wow..." Se-mi whispers. When Hyun-ju puts her attention on her, Se-mi clears her throat and asks, "Will it be a small house or a cottage?"

"Mmm..." Hyun-ju stares thoughtfully. "Maybe a cottage."

Se-mi nods in approval while Mi-kyung eyes her with interest.

"I've been to Thailand before," Yong-sik says. "There are a lot of people like Hyun-ju over there. They're hotter and more beautiful than most women, and you see them everywhere. Isn't that right?"

Hyun-ju muses, "Yeah, I hear a lot of them are really beautiful."

"You're beautiful too, unnie," Young-mi quietly says.

Hyun-ju goes quiet at the compliment.

"She's right. You're beautiful," Mi-kyung agrees.

"Hey, listen," Su-jin begins. "Back in the army, we didn't talk much, but I could tell you weren't fully happy. You looked pretty miserable. But..." He smiles warmly and continues, "I've noticed that you look much happier now. You're..."

"Glowing."

They turn to Se-mi, who was staring at the now crying Hyun-ju.

"I don't know if I could say "beautiful," but I've spent some time with you now, and I think you look fine," Geum-ja states.

She laughs a little while wiping away Hyun-ju's tears.

"Thank you... Thank you so much."

"You called her unsightly," Yong-sik reminds.

Geum-ja promptly smacks his milk carton, making him choke. The others snicker at the sight.

"What's your name?" Hyun-ju asks.

"It's Se-mi." She looks at Mi-kyung's expectant face and continues, "Yoon Se-mi."

"What a pretty name," Hyun-ju says. "What brings you here?"

Se-mi shrugs and replies, "I don't know. You guys looked interesting."

She looks at Mi-kyung, who was a wide knowing smile.

"Don't think about it too much..."

Meanwhile, back with the other team, Jun-hee sets her empty milk carton aside and opens the one Mi-kyung left for her.

"That girl... She said that she'd try to finish all future meals but didn't bother with this one."

She looks up to see Young-il sitting next to her. 

"Are you in any pain at the moment?"

She shakes her head, and he smiles in relief.

"I have a pregnant wife at home," he explains, "So if you want tips, you can ask me."

"Oh, thank you."

She looks at where Mi-kyung has gone before she looks at him and sees where he was looking. She looks down at her pregnant belly then at him.

"Sorry... I'm feeling sentimental," he admits. "I really hope we can leave. That way, I can see my wife, and you can have your baby in a safe location."

She nods in agreement.

"Are you nervous?" He questions.

"...Yeah. I heard childbirth is a really difficult process."

"Drinking red raspberry tea helps make it go smoother. I've had my wife drink it so that she wouldn't be in so much pain."

She smiles slightly and says, "Your wife is very lucky."

He nods with a sad smile.

"Mister? Are you ok?"

"Yes... I'm just worried about her."

He looks at where Su-jin and Mi-kyung are, seeing them laugh.

"Hey, Brother Young-il, Jung-bae and I are going to the restroom. Wanna come?" Dae-ho offers.

Young-il looks at Jun-hee and advises, "Make sure you see a doctor after the games, ok?"

After she nods, he stands and walks away with the marines.

"I should be heading back. I don't want my friend to think I abandoned him," Se-mi suddenly says.

"I'll go with you," Mi-kyung offers with a smile.

They walk from the group towards Min-su, who was looking around like a sad puppy.

"Seriously, what made you want to give advice to those jerks?" Se-mi asks.

Mi-kyung shrugs. "I felt like it."

Min-su sighs in relief when Se-mi returns, and his eyes widen at Mi-kyung sitting next to him.

"Don't be nervous. I don't bite," she teases. She then eyes his patch and asks, "How come you voted for O?"

He looks away and mumbles, "They told me to..."

"Thanos and Nam-gyu," Se-mi says. She sighs and adds, "Meanwhile, that Gyeong-su does whatever Thanos says since he's a fan or something. Still, it's bullshit of them to force Min-su to vote O."

Mi-kyung tilts her head to the side and asks, "So how come you voted O?"

Se-mi smiles. "I wasn't forced, I just had to since that money isn't enough to cover my debt."

She nods in understanding.

After a moment, Min-su asks, "Why did you give advice to them?"

"Yeah, why did you??"

Gyeong-su sits by Mi-kyung. Thanos and Nam-gyu sit as well with curious expressions.

"I did it because I felt like it," she repeats.

"Or are you a fan of Thanos?" Gyeong-su questions.

"I..." She smiles sheepishly. "I have never heard any of his songs."

"What?!" Gyeong-su and Thanos exclaim at the same time.

"Geez, it's not the end of the world if she doesn't know his music," Se-mi mumbles.

'What'd you say? We couldn't hear you under your attitude," Nam-gyu snarks.

"Hey, what did I tell you? Respect your elders," Thanos chastises. He then looks at Mi-kyung and asks, "How old are you?"

"25. I was born in 1999."

"Aw, the baby of the bunch," Nam-gyu teases.

He reaches over and squishes her cheek, making her squeak.

"Why do you keep doing that??" She asks while nudging his hand away.

"Because I want to."

She rubs her cheek and snarks, "Well, you must've been a blast to talk to in the playground."

He scoffs and remarks, "While you must've been a blast to bully for the kids there."

"Nah, I would've been doing the bullying. I used to be rich."

While Nam-gyu rolls his eyes in disbelief, Gyeong-su leans over to look at her necklace. He narrows his eyes to read the barely legible engraving on the pendant.

"Gwon... Wait, were you related to the same Gwons who died in 2016?"

Mi-kyung freezes.

He quickly says, "My dad used to be their gardener. He told me that the surviving daughter ran away from the uncle and hasn't been seen since. Is that you?"

She slowly nods.

"Oh shit. You weren't just rich, you were a billionaire," Se-mi points out. "Well... Until you won the games before. But you haven't used their winnings, right?"

She shakes her head. She sees the interest on everyone's faces and looks away to avoid their gazes.

Thanos leans forward and asks, "What was it like? Living in the fancy life??"

"It was... nice. Boring. It was really comfortable. I had everything done for me."

Nam-gyu asks, "So how'd you lose your comfortable life?"

When she freezes up again, Thanos smacks Nam-gyu's arm while Se-mi shakes her head.

"You don't ask a question like that!" She turns to Mi-kyung and reassures, "Hey, if you don't want to say it, don't say it."

Min-su nods along to her words. Mi-kyung looks at Gyeong-su with a pleading gaze.

"Are you sure? Ok, uh..." He turns to the others and explains, "It was in June when a fire started in her family mansion one night. She was the only survivor because she woke up from the smoke and managed to escape. Her parents and younger brother... didn't make it."

The group is silent. Mi-kyung looks at her necklace and fiddles with the pearl on the pendant with a solemn expression.

"...I ran away from my uncle because he accused me of starting the fire," she explains in a monotone way. "The police couldn't figure out what started it, but the general consensus was that it was faulty wiring. However, many people also accused me of starting it. I didn't want to stay in that kind of environment before I could turn 18, so I packed up some shit, and left..."

She tightens her fist around the pendant.

"I've been homeless since then, having to learn how to take care of myself in a harsh environment. I wandered far so that I couldn't be found, and eventually, people stopped recognizing me as the Gwon heiress. I've sold so many of my belongings to survive. This necklace is the last family item I have."

She looks up at the prize money then looks at the floor.

"I was happy to be in the games at first. I wanted my wealth back so badly, I would wish for it every night. I... I got my wealth, but it cost the lives of hundreds of people who were desperate like me... I can live anywhere I want now, but I don't want to use money that was given to me because I had to kill someone."

She shuts her eyes tightly.

"I've been alone ever since the fire. I made friends in the games, but I watched them die one by one. There was no one who could understand what I went through, so I had to stay alone. I came back because... I don't want to be as alone as I am."

When she opens them, the group's eyes are wide. She unclenches her fist to see the indent her pendant left on her palm. She then turns to Min-su, who had tears in his eyes.

"Oh... Oh, I'm really sorry. I didn't want to make you all sad."

She wipes away Min-su's tears, making everyone finally blink.

"But... why do you want to leave if you'll be returning to being alone?" Gyeong-su questions.

She looks past him and points to the other side of the room. There was her team, walking along the bunk beds and picking up mattresses. Gi-hun was telling them something.

"I made friends. More importantly, I met someone who understands what I've been through. So if I leave, I'd have people to hang out with on the outside."

She then turns to Thanos and points to the blue patch on his jacket.

"But my voice and tears don't matter to people like you, right?"

He sighs. "Mi-kyung..."

"No no, it's fine, I get it. You're in desperate need to be rid of your debt, and you want to live comfortably. It's what everyone wants. Everyone who votes O accepts that they have to see some bloodshed for that to happen."

Min-su and Se-mi look at each other with a guilty expression.

"Do you want to sleep by our group tonight?"

She looks at Thanos with wide eyes. Even Nam-gyu was surprised.

"For what reason?"

"You're our friend, aren't you? You should sleep comfortably by knowing that we've got your back."

Se-mi points out, "Did you forget when she said-?"

Nam-gyu shushes her then adds, "Yeah, don't be afraid to ask if you need someone to hold you to sleep."

Mi-kyung laughs at this.

"Ok, ok, I'll sleep by you all. In exchange, you two better promise me to never forget about what I told you."

"No problem," Thanos replies in English.

She smirks at Nam-gyu, making him look away.

"You too. What I told you to tell Thanos should be done sooner or later in a place like this."

He promptly threatens, "Shut your mouth before I make you."

"Did you know that nails can make good knives against the eyes?" She calmly replies with a smile.

Gyeong-su stares at her in horror.

"Did you... have to stab someone in the eye with your nails?"

Her smile widens, making him shudder.

"What does she mean?" Thanos quietly asks Nam-gyu.

"Don't worry about it," Nam-gyu replies in a strangely quick manner.

A lullaby begins to play on the speakers.

"Lights out in ten minutes. Please prepare for bedtime."

Jun-hee looks past the mattress barrier to where Mi-kyung was. Mi-kyung stands up with the Thanos crew and follows them to the beds. She sees Jun-hee and waves before gesturing to the team. Jun-hee furrows her eyebrows but nods in understanding.

"Gi-hun, I think you're overreacting here."

She turns and crouches to her team.

"Even if that were true, people wouldn't do that," Young-il claims.

Gi-hun gives Young-il an incredulous expression.

"Are you trying to joke?"

Dae-ho and Jun-hee flinch at Su-jin appearing behind them.

"Sorry, let me just-"

He hops onto the floor and approaches Gi-hun and Young-il.

"Gi-hun is a past winner. Any advice he gives us about the games is because he's lived through it. If Mi-kyung was here, she'd likely give the same advice."

"In the previous games, dozens of people killed each other at night. Right here," Gi-hun explains. "You have no idea how people can change in this place."

Jung-bae, Dae-ho, and Jun-hee stare in silence.

"All right, I didn't know what I was talking about. I'm sorry," Young-il apologizes. He looks around and asks, "Where is Mi-kyung, anyways?"

"Oh, is she still with...?"

Su-jin turns around as Jun-hee points behind her. They all see Mi-kyung, walking by Min-su's side and patting his back. After she seems to tell him to sleep well, she hops up the steps to speak with Thanos, who points to the empty bed next to him.

"Huh, she's making friends..."

Gi-hun shakes his head and frets, "If anything happens, she won't be safe."

"I think she will be safe," Su-jin reassures.

They watch Thanos help Mi-kyung onto the bed and say something that makes her laugh. A nearby Nam-gyu watches with a mixed expression.

"Wait, when did they become friendly??" Dae-ho questions.

"It happened while you all were still in the game. She went up to them and they talked about something," Su-jin explains.

Young-il narrows his eyes when Thanos squishes her cheek.

"Are you sure she'll be safe with them?" He asks.

Su-jin shrugs. "Seems that way."

Eventually, the lights go out in the dorms. As most people sleep in their beds, Thanos remains awake. He stares at piggy bank, lost in thought for what felt like hours but was really for a couple of minutes.

"Hey!"

He looks to his side and sees Nam-gyu's upside down head.

"Can we talk??"

"Yeah, sure."

He watches Nam-gyu get off of the bed above him to sit with him on his. They sit facing each other with their legs crossed as if they were school children.

"I can't stand her."

"Who?"

Nam-gyu tilts his head to the side, gesturing to the sleeping Mi-kyung.

"I thought that Se-mi was annoying, but this girl..." He huffs. "She acts so damn uptight, it's pissing me off. Like the advice she gave us. She basically called us stupid!"

Thanos glances at her then says, "But hey, she's a past winner. Even if she thinks we're stupid, we'd be able to win with her help. She's the reason why we got Se-mi and Min-su with us before the second game, remember?"

"Yeah, but..."

Nam-gyu grumbles something, making Thanos lean closer.

"What's on your mind, Nam-su?"

The raven-haired man glares at the rapper.

"It's what she told me about that. You calling me the wrong name was apparently flirting." Nam-gyu chuckles and explains, "She told me that it meant "Southern Beauty" or whatever, so you were actually flirting with me. Isn't that stupid?"

His chuckles fade when he gets silence in return.

"You didn't know that it meant "Southern Beauty," Nam-gyu?"

Nam-gyu stares like a deer in headlights.

"...No. Did you?"

"Yes. This whole time."

They stare at one another with wide eyes as the realization dawns on them.

"Wait so you weren't just being a forgetful shitbird??" Nam-gyu questions.

Thanos laughs quietly and looks away.

"Uh... At first, I only did it because you're pathetic."

"Wow, really?"

"Yeah! You're always so clingy and such a bitch, even in Club Pentagon."

Nam-gyu looks even more surprised.

"I thought you didn't pay too much attention to me."

"No, I always remember anyone who would suck me off if I told them to." Thanos smirks at Nam-gyu's expression before he continues, "I already knew your name because of your name tag, dumbass. I only called you Nam-su because I liked how annoyed you were."

"Wow, you're such a comedian," he replies sarcastically.

Ignoring it, Thanos adds, "Then at some point, I noticed that you never stopped clinging to me even though I'd call you by the wrong name. You'd do whatever I say, and I realized that I enjoyed it in a trashy bitch sorta way."

Nam-gyu opens his mouth to say something, only to shut it.

This prompts Thanos to say more: "I like your name and how you do what I say. I like how you look in your uniform, even with those glasses you hate, and in your tracksuit."

He grabs Nam-gyu's hands and caresses his thumbs over the sleeves.

"Even your cute sweater paws. These drive me crazy."

Nam-gyu pulls them away and sputters, "You're definitely being crazy. We're both guys, dude! We're also straight!"

"Wait, when was I straight??" Thanos questions. "If there is a hole, there is a goal."

"Oh my gosh, will you shut up??"

Thanos struggles to hold back his laughter as Nam-gyu smacks him. He grabs Nam-gyu's wrists and smiles widely.

"Hey, nothing wrong with two dudes loving each other."

"I'm straight!"

"Are you??"

It takes a while for Nam-gyu to stop trying to smack Thanos. When he stops, he avoids looking at Thanos's smug expression.

"Yes..."

"Come on, Nam-gyu, it's just us. Be honest with me."

Nam-gyu looks around to make sure no one was awake before sighing.

"Maybe... not?" When Thanos squeezes his hands, he slowly continues, "You make me feel things."

"Good things?"

"Good things."

A small smile rises to Nam-gyu's face with relief in his gaze. When he looks away, Thanos grabs his chin.

"Don't look away from me again, Nam-gyu. I like having your eyes on me."

"Tch, you're such an attention whore."

"Damn right, baby."

They share a chuckle while leaning closer to each other. They see the detail in the other's eyes before...

"It's about time."

They turn to see Mi-kyung sitting up and smiling at them. Nam-gyu promptly pushes Thanos away, making Mi-kyung snicker.

"You ruined the moment," Thanos scolds while sitting up.

"Sorry, I just had to go to the restroom. You two look cute though!"

She looks over and smiles at the sight of Geum-ja and Jun-hee by the door. She gets off of her bed then pauses when she sees Gi-hun in the makeshift protective space. He looks at her then at the men next to her. She takes a deep breath before turning to face the duo.

"Hey, can we make a pinky promise?"

"Pinky promise? We're not five," Nam-gyu snarks.

"I'm aware. But I haven't done one in a long time. Been lonely, remember?"

As he nods, Thanos asks, "What is it?"

"I know how you two are. You want the money to grow, and you want to get rid of the debt that MG Coin gave, right?" After they nod, she asks, "So if anything comes up, can you two please not go after my friends? Can you protect them, if necessary?"

They stare at her incredulously.

Nam-gyu glances at the other side of the room, seeing Hyun-ju leave her bed, before saying, "You're friends with a lot of people, Mi-kyung. That's a lot of money per person."

"Please?? I can't lose my family again."

She puts her hands together and gives them puppy dog eyes.

"Seriously??" Nam-gyu cringes at the sight. "We're not going to do your bidding just because you act cute."

He looks at Thanos and frowns to see him fawning over the expression.

"Come on, dude, we owe her for making us boyfriends."

"Wait, boyfriends?? We're dating now???"

"Are you two going to promise me or not? I have to piss!"

They look at her again, seeing her offer her pinkies.

"Promise!" Thanos says while linking his pinky with hers.

They look expectantly at Nam-gyu, who rolls his eyes dramatically then does the same.

"Fine, promise. But if we can't pay off our debts because your friends are alive, it's your fault."

"Did you forget that I haven't used my winnings? If we make it out and your debts aren't paid off, I'll cover the rest."

"Oh."

Both men's eyes widen.

Nam-gyu grins and clarifies, "Promise?"

"I promise."

Thanos fist bumps the air with a wide smile while Nam-gyu nods approvingly.

"Alright then. We'll keep your promise in mind as long as you keep yours."

"It's a deal!"

Thanos ruffles her hair and Nam-gyu squishes her cheek again before she's able to go. She gives a thumbs up to Gi-hun then hurries to her friends.

"She's a woman. Her name is Hyun-ju. It's fine," she hears Geum-ja tell the soldiers.

"Hey, can I come as well?"

Jun-hee, Geum-ja, and Hyun-ju look back in surprise. Geum-ja laughs off her shock and nods.

"Of course. Let's go."

Mi-kyung takes a moment to smile at the soldier by the door. She and the others follow the other soldier to the restroom.

"I'm so relieved that they agreed to my promise. I wonder if they'll actually follow through with it," she thinks to herself. "Wait. Shit, they probably won't. I don't know. Maybe once sharp things are given, I'll know for sure."

The four enter the restroom. Mi-kyung watches Jun-hee act cold towards Geum-ja and frowns.

"Don't take it personal, Ms. Jang," she says as Jun-hee enters a stall. "She's quiet with me and my team."

It doesn't quell Geum-ja's nervous expression.

"Excuse me, is she sick or something?" Hyun-ju asks quietly.

Mi-kyung and Geum-ja look at each other before Geum-ja gets closer to Hyun-ju and whispers the answer.

"I wish Jun-hee would open up to us more. She calls me unnie, but it doesn't feel genuine like with Young-mi..."

She looks at the stall Jun-hee went into before entering the one next to it.

Back in the dorm rooms, Su-jin opens his eyes and hears two people talking. He puts on his glasses and sees that it was Gi-hun and Jung-bae.

"No, I swear on your mom," he hears Jung-bae say.

"Why on my mom? Swear on your own." Gi-hun retorts.

"Whoever's mom it is, it's true. I got fired and ended up like this because I stayed."

"You always blame me for every bad thing that happens, losing money on the horses and for your failed chicken shop. What else? Getting married?"

His eyes widen, so he turns to his side to get a better look at the situation.

"No, I got married because I wanted to. I got divorced because of you."

Su-jin looks around and sees Young-il.

"Hey, I got divorced because of you. Because you'd always invite me out for drinks, and you're the one who got me into horse racing."

"Uh... Do I ask him for help or..?"

He's surprised to hear Jung-bae laughing.

"All right, quiet down. You're finally acting like the Seong Gi-hun I know."

"Wait, what?" Su-jin looks at the two to focus on Gi-hun. "Was that how he was before the games?? He sounds like a fun person to be around."

"You've been acting like a different person," Jung-bae says. After a moment, he adds, "Gi-hun. After the next game, let's get out of here, okay? Let's go drink soju like old times."

"You're buying," Gi-hun retorts.

Su-jin watches the two joke around and feels an ache in his chest. When he sees Gi-hun chuckle, his heart skips a beat.

"What. I'm 48. Is this my time??"

He checks his pulse then feels his cheeks. They were incredibly warm.

"Why am I blushing??"

Back in the ladies' room, Mi-kyung steps out of her stall. She goes to knock on Jun-hee's stall when she sees Hyun-ju by the sinks. She approaches the sink next to her and washes her hands.

"You really are beautiful, unnie..."

Hyun-ju takes in a deep breath before looking at her.

"Do you mean it?"

"Of course I do. You're beautiful inside and out."

Geum-ja steps out of her stall and approaches the two.

"Is she still in there?"

She points to the stall Jun-hee was in, and the women nod. Mi-kyung follows Geum-ja and knocks on the door before she does.

"Hello? Are you alright?" Geum-ja asks.

"Is something wrong, Jun-hee?" Mi-kyung adds.

That's when they hear her crying. Mi-kyung's eyes widen, and she opens the door. They see Jun-hee's tears, and they're quick to get closer despite the cramped space.

"Oh, dear. What's wrong?" Geum-ja questions. "Are you in pain? Is your belly hurting?"

"Tell us what's wrong. Is it your baby??" Mi-kyung inquires.

"I'm scared," Jun-hee admits.

Mi-kyung is quick to wrap her arms around her. As she hears Hyun-ju slowly approach the stall, Geum-ja hugs Jun-hee as well. Jun-hee sobs profusely on Mi-kyung's shoulder.

Geum-ja quietly reassures, "It's okay. Everything is going to be okay."

As she continues to whisper comfort, Mi-kyung looks back at Hyun-ju with tears in her eyes. She looks down at the blue patch on Hyun-ju's jacket then notices the guilt on Hyun-ju's face. She looks back at Jun-hee and nuzzles against her head.

"We'll help you and your baby once we leave. We promise."

This makes Jun-hee sob harder. By the time she could calm down and leave the stall with her sources of comfort, Mi-kyung's shoulder was wet with tears and snot.

"I'm sorry," Hyun-ju says. "If I hadn't voted to continue..."

"It's not your fault," Mi-kyung quickly reassures. "Even if you had voted to leave, we would've still kept playing."

"You have your reasons for wanting more money. We understand," Geum-ja adds.

Hyun-ju sighs before promising, "Next time, I'll vote to leave. Hopefully, more people do the same."

"I doubt it," Mi-kyung thinks while smiling as if she was agreeing.

She turns to Jun-hee and puts her arm around her.

"Hey, once we get out of here, we should go shopping for baby clothes. Hell, we should do some general shopping. We should prepare for your baby, right?"

Jun-hee smiles and nods. "Yeah. Thank you, unnie."

"Oh?" Geum-ja raises an eyebrow. "Are you pregnant too?"

"No, but I hope to be someday."

"Then don't get baby clothes until after the baby is born. You can't predict their exact weight at birth, and it can change rapidly. Focus on building a nursery," Geum-ja advises.

"Ohh, that makes sense," Mi-kyung replies as Jun-hee nods along.

She looks at Hyun-ju, smiles, and pats her arm.

"Come on, you should go shopping with us before you go to Thailand."

"Really?"

"Of course, you can! You look like you have a good fashion sense, anyways."

Hyun-ju goes red at the compliment while Geum-ja laughs.

"Your excitement reminds me of my youth. I remember when I went shopping with my friends."

By the time the four leave the restroom, the mood was much brighter.

"Jun-hee, do you know what you'll name your baby?" Mi-kyung asks. When Jun-hee shakes her head, she advises, "Take your time in figuring it out. You could choose a name you saw somewhere or you could name your baby after someone important to you."

Jun-hee hums and replies, "I could... But I don't know the gender of the baby. I... I didn't want to find out without Myung-gi."

"Seriously, forget him."

Back in the dorms, Su-jin rolls out from where he was laying and gets on his feet. He checks to see if his face is still warm before he clears his throat to grab Jung-bae and Gi-hun's attention.

"I'm going to the restroom. Gi-hun, would you like to come with me?"

"You should go. Maybe some walking will get you tired," Jung-bae chides.

Gi-hun nods and gets on his feet. They head towards the door, but Su-jin stops when something grabs his attention. Instinctively, he taps Gi-hun's back.

"What?"

"Why did I grab his attention?? I should've kept walking," Su-jin scolds himself.

They look at the other side of the dorms, focusing on Thanos and Nam-gyu-

"Are they... kissing?" Gi-hun quietly asks.

Feeling his face get warm, Su-jin nods rapidly and pushes Gi-hun to keep walking.

"Let's not stare. Young love requires privacy."

"It does look really sweet... In an observation sense."

The door opens, courtesy of the four women returning.

"I knew someone named Seo-yoon. It's a good name option," Mi-kyung suggests.

This catches Gi-hun's attention. Su-jin approaches the guard while Geum-ja and Hyun-ju bid the women goodnight before heading back to their beds.

"Were you two talking about what to name the baby?" Gi-hun asks.

The two nod.

A hint of joy appears on his face as he advises, "Take your time in choosing. It took my ex-wife and I a month to figure out what to name our daughter."

"Oh, how is your daughter anyways?" Mi-kyung suddenly asks.

Gi-hun stares blankly before slowly admitting, "I... don't know. It's been years since I've seen her ever since she went to America with my ex-wife."

The women stare back while Su-jin looks back at Gi-hun with wide eyes.

"I haven't been a good father," he adds.

"Oh..."

He clears his throat when he notices surprise and disappointment on their faces.

"Excuse me..."

He steps past them as Mi-kyung's face shifts.

"Clearly. You didn't bother to visit her after you won," she points out.

He stops and looks back at Mi-kyung, who turns around to face him with a glare. Jun-hee and Su-jin watch, unsure of what to say.

"I was going to visit her," he excuses. "But I-"

"But you what? Focused on stopping the games?"

He looks down, making her sigh.

"Did she know you were going to visit?"

With shame on his face, he nods.

"...You have the capacity of being a good father, Gi-hun. However, you certainly broke her heart and any hope she has that you'd put in the effort when you chose the games over any sense of family."

She takes Jun-hee's hand and leads her away in silence while Gi-hun watches with wide eyes. Su-jin puts his hand on his shoulder and gently nudges him to walk through the door. They follow the soldier to the restroom with the only sounds being their footsteps and breaths.

When they enter the restroom, Gi-hun approaches a mirror and stares at his reflection. Su-jin looks at him then goes to a urinal to do his business.

"Who would've guessed that he was a bad father? He always acts so nice towards Mi-kyung and Jun-hee..." 

He looks at Gi-hun with concern then stares ahead at the wall to process.

Back in the dorms, after dropping Jun-hee with her group and saying hi to Jung-bae, Mi-kyung heads up to her bed. She stops when she sees Thanos and Nam-gyu aggressively making out. She blinks a few times as the sight of Nam-gyu on top of Thanos with their hands gripping each other's jackets and sheets bunched up around them. When she clears her throat, Thanos pushes Nam-gyu off.

"Hey!"

Thanos sits up with a wide grin and pats the spot next to him while Nam-gyu huffs.

"You two literally could've just kept doing what you were doing," Mi-kyung points out.

"Yeah, but I wanna talk to you because the kissing got me thinking," Thanos explains quickly.

"Wow, that's a first."

She sits on Thanos's right while Nam-gyu chuckles. Thanos puts his arms around their shoulders and looks at the piggy bank.

"Once we win, we'll be having lots of fun. Just the three of us."

"Us three??" She questions.

Nam-gyu looks over and explains, "He and I agreed that Gyeong-su and Min-su won't be leaving the games alive. We can't agree with the other chick though."

"Se-mi? I want her to live."

He looks away and mutters, "Fuck, I'm outvoted."

Thanos chuckles and turns to Mi-kyung.

"You're not lonely anymore in the Thanos world. I can guarantee that."

Her expression brightens up. "Yeah! Once we get out of here, we can meet up for a hangout! You, me, and Nam-gyu."

Nam-gyu pulls Thanos closer to him and says, "You better not mind being the third wheel."

She shrugs, "I'm fine with that."

"Good. We'll be doing plenty of exploring with each other."

She blinks and states, "Not while I'm in the same room, please."

"Pussy."

She flips Nam-gyu off, making him and Thanos laugh.

"He's kidding," Thanos claims. "We'll be having our fun in another room while you act as our source of sobriety."

"What, are you two going to get high and have sword fights while I'm in charge of bringing the water and painkillers?"

"Yes."

She looks away with a faint blush when the image pops into her head.

"You two truly know how to show a girl a good time."

Thanos turns her head around to face him again. She gives an expression that shows that she wasn't in the mood for anymore sexual innuendos, which makes him smile.

"Relax, girl. We ain't forcing you into anything. The worst we'll do is invite you to try out some nice drinks. You don't look like you drink."

"I don't drink for a reason. Plus, I'd rather not get into alcohol since I want to have a kid someday."

Nam-gyu gets a wide grin, making her eyes widen.

"Aww, the kitty wants her own litter!"

She leans away before he can squish her cheek. Unfortunately, Thanos pulls her closer again so that he could do it.

"Little meow meow wants her own litter someday, how cute!"

She sputters, "L-Little meow meow???"

While Mi-kyung promptly starts to swat at the men to the amusement of an observing Jung-bae, Su-jin finishes his business.

"Do I talk to him about his daughter? Or do I distract him?"

After walking up to the sink next to Gi-hun, he chooses the latter.

"Want to hear a funny story?" Taking Gi-hun's slight shift in expression as an ok, he exposits, "Back when I wasn't an orphan, I tried making chocolate chip cookies for my parents. Emphasis on tried because I didn't bother to use a recipe."

He smiles at the memory while washing his hands. Gi-hun slowly turns to face him.

"I don't know why I didn't get a recipe, but I did my hardest based on the memories of watching this cooking show with my mom. Did I successfully make those cookies?"

Su-jin dries his hands on his tracksuit before facing Gi-hun with a smile.

"Nope! I burnt my kitchen, I had to work hard to get extra money, and I was spanked to high heaven. My butt has never been the same since!"

His smile widens when Gi-hun lets out a faint chuckle.

"Thank you."

At the genuine joy in his gaze, Su-jin looks away when he feels his heart race again.

"Do I want to be his friend that badly that I act like I have a crush?? Friend crushes exist, right? I should ask Jung-bae for advice in the morning..."

"Su-jin?"

"Yes?"

"Can I tell you something personal?"

Su-jin holds back his excitement by nodding slowly. Gi-hun takes a moment to look at his reflection before taking a deep breath.

"I..."

"Is he going to open up about his family? I don't have to ask??"

"...think I'm ok with the idea of being romantically involved with a man."

They stare at each other blankly.

"What."

Su-jin blinks and repeats it out loud: "What."

"Ah..." Gi-hun looks away with his ears becoming a light shade of red. "Forget I said anything. Let's go."

"No no no, wait!" Su-jin gets in front of Gi-hun and asks, "What prompted you to tell me this?? Actually, why me and not Jung-bae??"

They stare at each other for another moment as one sees the gears churning in the other's gaze.

"You don't look like you would tease me for it," Gi-hun admits. "I was thinking about it after seeing those two men kissing, and... I didn't know if there'd be a chance to tell you about it tomorrow."

Su-jin couldn't help but smile widely and lightly scratch the side of his neck.

"That means a lot to me, Gi-hun. I appreciate you being comfortable enough to tell me."

They stare into each other's eyes then look away.

"I like how he trusts me with this information. He's a good friend."

His heart has a strange ache at the thought of them being friends.

Meanwhile in the dorms, after having swatted the two enough, Mi-kyung leans back against the wall with her eyes closed. She opens one of them, seeing Thanos and Nam-gyu still whispering rapidly.

"...then I can make a whole album about this and we'll get even more rich!" Thanos exclaims before switching to English, "It'll be perfect!"

Nam-gyu nods along with excitement in his gaze.

"What house are we going to live in, though?"

They both turn to Mi-kyung.

"Hey, kitty, what was your mansion like??"

"Don't call me kitty." She sits up and explains, "It had three floors with the usual shit you'd have in a house: a living room, kitchen, laundry room, what have you. There was also a party room dedicated for gatherings. I think there were 6 or 7 bedrooms along with where the servants slept."

She stops when she sees the awe in Thanos's eyes.

"I'll get a mansion just like that. The three of us can live there," he offers.

"Huh?" She and Nam-gyu say in unison.

"You said you didn't use your money even though you could live anywhere, right?" Thanos brings up. "You can live with us. Make the mansion more lively and teach us how to live rich."

"I didn't agree to her living with us," Nam-gyu protests.

"He's right, I didn't agree to live with you all."

Thanos pouts, "Not even for a little bit?"

Mi-kyung and Nam-gyu look at each other then he makes a gagging motion, making her giggle.

"Ok ok, maybe for a little bit... If you want any piano on your tracks, I know how to play it."

"Yes!"

Nam-gyu covers Thanos's mouth and quietly yells, "Shut up or you'll wake someone up!"

Thanos pushes his hand away and continues, "So now we have a plan. Once we get out, I'll take him to meet my mom and make her proud. Then we'll look for a mansion to live in before making the greatest album ever!"

"And you two will get into rehab, right?"

Both men look at her as if she grew an extra eye.

"Why would we go into rehab??" Nam-gyu questions.

She reaches out and grabs Thanos's cross necklace.

"Aren't these pills really strong? Won't you get into awful withdrawal once you run out??"

"Yeah, but I can always get more," Thanos excuses.

"While in pain from withdrawal?? I don't think so."

Nam-gyu rolls his eyes and scolds, "Look, we can handle it, princess. We'll be getting all the drugs we want after we win so mind your damn business."

She lets go of the necklace and looks away.

"Sorry..."

Thanos immediately hits Nam-gyu's arm.

"Dude!"

"What?? She can't get into our business!"

"Yeah, but you made her upset! I said she reminded me of my sister, remember??"

"I thought you were lying about it!"

"Why the fuck would I lie about having a sister?? I just haven't seen her since my parents divorced, dumbass!"

Their argument stops when she giggles.

"I'm sorry... again. You two are just very entertaining. You make a great couple."

This surprisingly stuns the two as she continues to giggle. She stops when one of the doors open.

"It sucks that you couldn't tell Sang-woo," Su-jin says. "You'll find someone better eventually if you're searching for new love."

"Thank you. You seem to know a lot about..." Gi-hun trails off.

Su-jin immediately stammers, "I just know a lot about the topic. I don't swing that way, though."

At hearing that, Mi-kyung punches a pillow.

"What happened?" Thanos asks.

"They happened!"

She gestures to the older men, walking back to their group with a satisfied and an embarrassed expression respectively.

"Is the dorky looking one in love with the other guy or something?" Nam-gyu wonders.

"Oohhh, maybe they got inspired!" Thanos concludes excitedly. "Nam-gyu, quick, let's get naked and inspire them more!"

"Ew! Get naked in the restrooms and not in the bed next to mine!" Mi-kyung chastises. "Goodnight!"

She hops off the bed, only to get her hair ruffled by Thanos.

"Good idea! Goodnight!"

Her jaw drops, but she doesn't stop them from heading to the restrooms while holding hands. She watches Su-jin and Gi-hun walk past Jung-bae before getting on her bed and laying down.

"Gosh, after this, I need a drink..."

Chapter Text

The next morning, Mi-kyung stirs at the familiar lullaby playing through the dorms. When she tries to sit up, she hits her head against something.

"Ow!"

"Unnie?"

As she rubs her head, she looks to the side and sees Jun-hee. She furrows her eyes then crawls out from under the bunk bed while ignoring the automated voice.

"Oh hey! Sister Mi-kyung back!" Dae-ho says.

He helps her get up as she rubs her eyes with a chuckle.

"Sister Mi-kyung, that's really sweet." She stands on her toes to ruffle Dae-ho's hair before asking, "Did someone bring me here?"

"I did." Young-il admits as he approaches. "When it was my turn to be on watch, I carried you here because I don't trust those two boys with you."

Mi-kyung's face turns red.

"What a gentleman," Jung-bae comments.

"They were kissing last night though," Su-jin brings up.

Mi-kyung clears her throat and mumbles, "They were doing a lot more than kissing in the restrooms."

Her group stares at her in shock.

"Still, what if they choked you in your sleep?" Young-il questions.

"The worst they've done to me is squish my cheeks, don't worry."

They walk out of their protective place to line up with the other players. Jun-hee stands by her side and squeezes her hand.

"Thank you."

Mi-kyung smiles but still questions, "For what?"

"For being a lot like an unnie."

"Heh, I do my best."

She looks to her side to see Thanos and Nam-gyu taking pills before heading down the steps. Nam-gyu nudges Thanos and gestures to her direction. The two grew wide smiles.

"They're creepy," Jun-hee whispers.

"They're quite funny once you get to know them," Mi-kyung replies.

When she waves, the two wave back, though Thanos is much more enthusiastic.

"See? Friendly!"

Jun-hee makes a noise of reluctant agreement before the players are ordered to follow the soldiers. As they walk up the stairs to the third game, Mi-kyung taps Gi-hun's back to grab his attention.

"Was this song playing in your time too?"

He takes a moment to listen to the song playing then nods.

"Yes... I can't listen to this song normally anymore." He admits. "I once heard it while passing by a restaurant, and I froze for a few minutes."

She gently takes his hand, which makes him stop in place.

"Mister Gi-hun?"

He turns around, glancing at the smaller woman's hand in his grasp.

"I'm incredibly relieved that neither of us have to be alone with what we've been through anymore."

"Me too," he confesses. "Stay alive, ok?"

"Yeah, you too. Maybe you can take me to see your daughter if you want some support for the reunion."

"I..." He smiles a little. "Thank you, Mi-kyung."

"Anytime!"

They let go of each other's hands and continue to walk. Eventually, they all make it a brightly lit arena reminiscent of a circus. Mi-kyung looks around and sees the various colored doors along the walls.

"Welcome to your third game. The game you will be playing is Mingle. Let me repeat. The game you will be playing is Mingle," the automated voice announces.

"Hey, we'll be mingling together." She hears Thanos on the other side of the room, who excitedly asks his group, "Doesn't that sound like so much fun?"

"All players, please step onto the center platform..."

"Mingle... This will be a game that makes and breaks trust," Mi-kyung thinks to herself while ignoring the explanation.

Meanwhile, Su-jin is paying very close attention.

"Ugh, I don't think I've played this game as a kid," he says.

"Gi-hun and I have played it on school trips," Jung-bae replies. "We formed groups by hugging."

"But instead of hugging, we go into those rooms," Dae-ho points out. He smiles at Mi-kyung and says, "Hey, your advice comes in handy for this!"

"Huh? Oh yeah, it has. If we need more people then..."

She clears her throat, prompting the friends she made in the second game to turn around.

"But what if it's smaller than five?" Dae-ho wonders.

"We'll figure it out as we go," Hyun-ju says. "We all have someone to go to no matter how many people it asks for."

"No matter what happens, don't panic. Let's stay calm," Young-il advises.

"Exactly! We'll all make it out of here!" Mi-kyung encourages.

She holds out her hand, and the others place their hands on top of hers.

She counts, "One, two, three!"

"Victory at all costs!" "Let's go!"

They all head onto the platform as per orders, now feeling encouraged by who they're associated with. 

"Let the game begin."

The platform begins to turn. Mi-kyung and Jun-hee hold hands tightly, feeling how sweaty each other's hand has gotten.

"Round and round. Let's go around in circles and dance."

Mi-kyung breathes in and out over and over. Her heart pounds in her chest at the strobing lights around her. The doors pass her line of sight, occasionally broken by where the players came in. The cheerful song was almost mocking the fear growing within her.

Then the platform stops.

"Ten."

She turns to look at her friends as the lights turn red and other players panic.

"We're eleven!" She yells over the noise.

Gi-hun looks at everyone with wide eyes.

"Then who will-"

Mi-kyung lets go of Jun-hee's hand and hurries away with her hand raised.

"Who needs one more person?!"

Jun-hee watches with wide eyes and yells, "Unnie!"

"This way!"

Dae-ho puts his arm around Jun-hee's shoulders and urges her to move. The team rushes into a room, and Young-il closes the door, making them all sigh in relief. He looks out through the gap, watching other players enter rooms or panic in gathering people.

"Do you see her?" Jun-hee asks.

"No," he admits. He faces her and reassures, "She's a smart girl. She'll be ok."

He pats her shoulder as the timer gets to zero and the door locks. Gi-hun looks out the gap, seeing the soldiers shoot down players who were unable to enter a room. When a player gets shot in front of his room, he gasps. Young-il watches his reaction carefully as Su-jin puts his hand on Gi-hun's back.

"It's not your fault," he reassures when he notices the guilt.

He turns to Su-jin and visibly relaxes slightly.

"Mister?" Jun-hee catches their attention. "Did you see her?"

"No. She must've gotten into one of the rooms in time," Gi-hun concludes.

She sighs in relief, relaxing immensely.

"She ran away almost as soon as the number was called," Yong-sik brings up.

"She didn't want us to debate on who would be left out," Hyun-ju adds. "I can see how she won in her game."

"Don't winners tend to be selfish?" Young-il questions while looking at Gi-hun.

"He isn't selfish in the slightest," Dae-ho defends. "Mi-kyung isn't either."

The group looks at each other in silence while Young-il has a knowing glint in his eyes.

"The following players have been eliminated..."

They listen to the voice listing out the numbers. When they don't hear 231, smiles grow. After the doors unlock, they step out of the room and see the splatters of blood around the arena.

"Hey, guys!"

To their left, Mi-kyung runs up to them with a wide smile. She accidentally bumps into someone exiting a room.

"Sor-"

She stops when she sees the glare on the other player's face. 044, Seon-nyeo, looks her over.

"You're never meant to be here. You were lucky when you came here before, but your luck will run out."

"...Right. Pardon me, lady."

She walks past Seon-nyeo, who keeps her judging gaze.

"Your love won't save you," Seon-nyeo declares.

Mi-kyung stops in place. As Jun-hee approaches her, she looks back at Seon-nyeo.

"You don't know what you're talking about."

She looks ahead and walks up to her friend.

"Are you ok??" Jun-hee asks. "What was she telling you?"

"Crazy stuff. Don't worry about it," Mi-kyung brushes off. "I'm just really glad you and the others are ok."

Holding hands once more, they step onto the platform with their group. The song plays, and the platform spins. Su-jin hums along to the tune.

"This song is quite catchy, to be honest," he tells Gi-hun.

"It's cruel in a place like this," he replies, prompting Su-jin to stop humming. 

The platform stops.

"Four."

The group looks at each other in panic. Hyun-ju, Young-mi, Geum-ja, and Yong-sik look at each other in silent agreement before they head towards a room.

"Su-jin, Mi-kyung, and I will find someone! You four go!" Young-il orders.

Su-jin and Gi-hun look at each other before he follows Mi-kyung and Young-il.

"We need an extra person!" Young-il calls out.

Mi-kyung looks around and faintly hears Thanos's hollering. That's when she sees-

"Gyeong-su! I know him!"

She rushes over with Su-jin and helps the shaken Gyeong-su onto his feet.

"This way!"

With Young-il leading, the four make it to a room and shut the door. Mi-kyung and Su-jin let go of Gyeong-su, who stares at them with wide eyes.

"Are you ok?" She asks tentatively.

"I... Thanos kicked me."

"What?? Aren't you teammates??" Su-jin questions.

When the door locks, Young-il turns to Mi-kyung.

"Do you see what I mean now??"

She shakes her head and wonders, "Maybe it was because of the drugs?"

The men look at her incredulously.

"What?? He was really nice to me last night, and I know he was sober!"

"Are you hearing yourself?? If we weren't there, this man could've died!" Su-jin points out.

Before the argument could continue, they hear a familiar, muffled voice in the next room.

"Gyeong-su! Where's Gyeong-su?!"

Mi-kyung smiles and proudly states, "I knew it! It was the drugs!"

Young-il sighs and shakes his head while Su-jin facepalms.

After putting his hand down, he places his hands on Gyeong-su's shoulders and says, "Hey, if you want a group to stay with, you can stay with us. Got it? Take some deep breaths."

Gyeong-su nods and begins to breathe in and out slowly. After some time, the doors unlock. When they exit the room, they hear a squeal to their right.

"My boy, Gyeong-su!" Thanos calls out in English.

Thanos rushes over and almost tackles Gyeong-su in a hug. To the trio's surprise, Gyeong-su hugs back in relief.

"I missed you so much!" Thanos pulls away with his hands on Gyeong-su's shoulders. "Don't scare me like that again!"

Su-jin leans closer to Mi-kyung and quietly asks, "Is he pretending that he didn't kick that guy to save face or is he stupid?"

She shakes her head with wide eyes and answers, "He's so stupid."

"My girl, Mi-kyung!" 

Thanos nudges Gyeong-su towards the rest of his group and hugs Mi-kyung tightly. He then promptly holds her up and swings her around, making her yelp.

"Thank you for saving my boy's life!" He laughs and holds her up with a wide smile. "I owe you!"

"Put her down," Young-il orders.

Thanos winces, immediately sets her down, and hurries back to his group.

"Is this what they call scary guard dog privileges?" Su-jin wonders while eyeing Young-il's glare.

Young-il grabs Mi-kyung's hand then leads her away. Su-jin glances at Gyeong-su as he follows.

"You're staying with us from now on. No more sleeping near them. In fact, no more hanging around them," Young-il states.

Mi-kyung's jaw drops before she pulls her hand away and huffs, "Who are you to tell me what to do??"

He turns to her, and his expression softens.

"I'm only looking out for you. If Gi-hun was here, he'd say the same thing." He looks ahead and adds, "Furthermore, I don't like how he looks at you."

"He said I remind him of his younger sister, Young-il," she explains. "He's not going to be a creep to me."

"Still, he could hurt you. He's unpredictable with those drugs he takes."

She huffs and looks away with a pout. Their expressions lighten up when they see their friends.

"Jun-hee!"

Mi-kyung runs up and hugs Jun-hee tightly.

"Oh, thank God!" Jung-bae says before he hugs Young-il.

Su-jin walks up to Gi-hun and hugs him as well.

"I was worried. I'm glad you made it," Gi-hun says while hugging back. When he pulls away, he asks, "Are you ok? You look surprised."

"Hm?"

He looks at Mi-kyung and Young-il, who give him a stare that silently says: "Don't bring it up."

He clears his throat and lies, "I was worried about you too."

Mi-kyung hugs Dae-ho while Young-il looks at Jun-hee.

"Are you feeling all right?"

She smiles and replies, "Yeah. I'm glad you're back."

After a moment, he says, "Wait a minute. If the next number is six, you guys won't need anyone else."

Dae-ho pulls away from Mi-kyung and asks, "Why not?"

"Oh!" Su-jin snaps his fingers and points at Jun-hee's belly. "The sixth is right there!"

Mi-kyung is the first to laugh at the joke. As the others continue to speak, Mi-kyung looks over and notices Myung-gi staring at Jun-hee.

"Excuse me for a moment..."

She steps towards him, only for Jun-hee to grab her hand and shake her head. When the others turn to look, Myung-gi looks away.

"It's not worth the trouble," Jun-hee explains.

Then it was back on the platform. Mi-kyung looks to her side and sees Thanos and Nam-gyu dancing to the song. She smiles then looks at their teammates. Se-mi and Min-su stand next to each other while Gyeong-su follows the dance with his eyes. Se-mi looks at Mi-kyung and frowns.

"Three."

A silent understanding passes.

"I'll have to go again," Mi-kyung tells Jun-hee before letting go of her hand.

Meanwhile, Thanos and Nam-gyu look at their options.

"Who do we choose?" Thanos wonders.

"Rock, paper, scissors!" Nam-gyu immediately suggest.

"Don't bother," Se-mi says while not hiding her disgust. "Min-su, let's go to Mi-kyung."

Nam-gyu notices the attitude, so he glares at her. Thanos simply hollers.

"Woo! Let's go, Gyeong-su!"

As the men link arms with Gyeong-su and hurry away, Se-mi takes Min-su's hand and leads him towards Mi-kyung, who gestures to a door. As they rush to it, she feels herself being picked up.

"Hey!"

She struggles in the man's grasp while looking at Se-mi and Min-su helplessly. She relaxes when someone rushes up and joins them. As soon as she was in a room, she's set down and sees that it was Young-il.

"Are you ok?" He asks while Gi-hun shuts the door.

"No!" She pushes him. "What the hell?? My friends could've died!"

"But they associate with those... ruffians," Young-il explains.

"They're not as kick-happy as Thanos and Nam-gyu, for fuck's sake! They're only teammates for teammates sake! Those friends are not friends with my other friends!"

"I'm trying to protect you!"

"You're not protecting me from shit!"

As soon as the door locks, Gi-hun steps between them.

"That's enough! You can't-"

"Mind your business!"

Gi-hun's eyes widen at Young-il's sudden anger. Mi-kyung has a similar expression. After a moment, Young-il sighs and covers his face.

"Ugh... I'm so sorry," he says while moving his hands away and looking genuinely apologetic. "I don't know what got over me."

Gi-hun starts, "It's ok-"

"No, it isn't," Young-il interrupts. "I shouldn't have raised my voice, and I shouldn't be so protective over her."

"Why are you?" Mi-kyung questions.

He looks her over and admits, "You remind me of my wife when she was younger. She was always stubborn about her choices, which includes the friends she'd make. She was also very trusting to the point where it was eventually hurting her..."

Gi-hun's eyes widen even more while Mi-kyung looks away to hide her face.

"I'm really sorry, Mi-kyung," Young-il continues. "You're your own person, and you've won the games for a reason. I can't treat you as if you're... fragile."

She lets out a whimper. After a moment, she dryly chuckles.

"Fragile, huh?"

She looks up, making the two see the tears running down her cheeks.

"It's fine. I don't mind it." She sniffles and forces a smile. "I really don't. I don't mind being treated as if I'm doing something wrong for making friends."

She begins to laugh when she sees concern rising to their face.

"I don't mind being treated as fragile because I clearly don't know anything after losing my family. Nothing at all! I don't MIND because I make these friends so that there's a chance I'll live with someone instead of being on the streets!"

She raises her voice.

"I don't mind being alone again! Fuck me for not wanting to be alone again, clearly! I don't-"

She stop when Gi-hun pulls her into a firm hug. Her breath shudders. She looks at Young-il, who silently watches.

"We understand," Gi-hun whispers. "I understand you, Mi-kyung."

Her face scrunches up.

"When did you win the games?" He suddenly asks.

"In... In 2022..."

"2020..." His breath shakes before he replies, "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry for not finding you sooner."

The dam breaks.

Mi-kyung wraps her arms tightly around Gi-hun and weeps profusely against his chest. He closes his eyes and lightly scratches her scalp, which only makes her sob harder.

"It's ok. You're ok. I'm here," he reassures.

"Dad!" She cries out. "I want my daddy! I-I want my mommy! I want... I want my little brother! I want... I want..."

"Sshh... I know, I know..."

Young-il watches with an unreadable expression. The lock opens, but none of them head to leave. Instead, Young-il steps closer and places his hand on her back. She looks at him before putting her arm around him to hug him as well.

She presses against them, her barrier against the games that left her broken two years prior. She cries out the pain she's held against the blankets that shield her from the pains of reality.

Unfortunately, they can't stay like that.

"Young-il? Gi-hun? Mi-kyung?? Where are you guys??"

Their friends call out to them in worry.

"Look at me," Young-il orders. When she does, he asks, "Are you ready to continue playing?"

She nods and wipes away her tears with her sleeve. They continue to run.

"I think so. Thank you."

After opening his eyes, Gi-hun gently cups her face to make her look at him.

"You won't be alone anymore. I promise, Mi-kyung. Do you believe that?"

"Y-Yes..."

She smiles when she feels him brush away her tears with his thumbs.

"Please don't die, dad..."

She hugs Gi-hun again as he flinches at the nickname. He sighs and hugs back.

"I won't."

Young-il pulls away and steps towards the door, only for her to grab his hand. She then grabs Gi-hun's hand and nods. The three walk out of the room.

"There they are!" Dae-ho calls out.

The trio head towards the platform where their friends await. Along the way, Mi-kyung looks at where her other friends are. Thanos and his allies see her and give a mix of questioning expressions. She smiles as reassurance and looks ahead. When they get on the platform, many faces shift into worry.

"Oh my gosh, are you ok??" Geum-ja immediately asks while cupping Mi-kyung's face. "What happened??"

"It's a long story," Mi-kyung says with a laugh.

The platform begins to move. She smiles at the others then pauses at the sight of 246.

"Who's he?"

"He saved unnie and I," Young-mi explains with a smile.

"Oh, what's your-?"

The platform stops early.

"Six."

"Four women and two men, go!" Gi-hun immediately says.

"Which two men??" Jung-bae asks.

"I'm going with my mom!" Yong-sik declares.

Dae-ho raises his hand and offers, "I'll... I'll go!"

"That's six! Hurry!" Mi-kyung urges.

The team splits into two. Gi-hun and Young-il hold Mi-kyung's hands as they, Jung-bae, Su-jin, and 246 rush to a room. They thankfully make it just in time.

"What's your name?" She finishes her question.

"Hm? Oh, I'm Gyeong-seok. It's nice to meet you."

The doors lock.

"Thank you for saving my friends. You should stick with us if you don't have a group," Mi-kyung suggests.

"Really?" He looks at the others and asks, "Are you sure?"

"Of course we don't mind. There's support in numbers, right?" Su-jin says with a smile.

As they take the moment to catch their breaths, the automated voice lists the eliminated players.

"095."

Mi-kyung and Su-jin gasp.

"What's wrong?" Gyeong-seok asks.

Su-jin takes in a shuddering breath while Mi-kyung begins to shake.

"Young-mi..." Su-jin says. "One of the girls you saved is..."

Mi-kyung looks down and silently cries.

"She... She didn't get to go home..."

Gi-hun pulls her close, letting her lean against him. Meanwhile, Su-jin takes off his glasses and wipes away his tears with his sleeve. When the door unlocks, he puts on his glasses and silently opens it. They walk out of the room and head straight to the platform. The other half of their group are silent too.

"What... What happened?" Mi-kyung asks.

Hyun-ju, whose face was stricken the most with grief, numbly explains, "She fell while we were on our way to the room... I wanted to save her, but... There was no time to get to her."

Dae-ho adds, "He saved us from not having enough people but still..."

Noticing the shock on his face, she hugs him tightly. She tilts her head to the side, seeing who he was. Myung-gi meets her tearful eyes and watches them narrow into a glare.

"Young-mi..."

The platform begins to move, prompting Mi-kyung to pull away from Dae-ho but still cling to his arm.

Jung-bae questions, "How many do you think it'll be this time?"

"Two," Young-il answers.

Mi-kyung takes a quick look around.

"There are 50 rooms with 126 players. There isn't enough for all of us," she voices his thought process.

She and Jun-hee look at each other as the platform stops.

"Two."

Mi-kyung reaches for Jun-hee, only for Myung-gi to pull her away first. Dae-ho pulls Mi-kyung with him while Su-jin grabs Gi-hun's hand and runs with him. In another area of the arena, Thanos & Nam-gyu and Se-mi & Min-su split off. Gyeong-su thankfully finds someone almost immediately before heading to a room.

It was chaos. People frantically push and pull to be in a room before the timer runs out. Someone almost pulls Mi-kyung away from Dae-ho.

He notices and raises his voice, "Hey, let-!"

She punches the person's face.

"Sorry!"

She pushes someone out of the way. At the last second, they enter a room and the door locks. She and Dae-ho hug each other tightly.

"Game over."

They let out huge sighs of relief as he leans against a wall.

"Are you ok?" He asks while brushing a strand of hair away from her face.

"Mhm." She nods. "Thank you for being a good brother figure."

He laughs and looks away, "Don't make me blush..."

"You're still a man even if you do."

She nuzzles against his chest while he pauses and thinks about her words. A few rooms down, Su-jin looks out the gap and flinches away from the door when shots begin to fire. He looks at Gi-hun with concern.

"Are you ok?"

"Yes. Are you?"

"Mostly..."

When they make eye contact, they look away from each other as if touching a flame.

"I wish I met Mi-kyung sooner."

Su-jin looks at Gi-hun in surprise.

"Why? What happened?"

"She told me that she won the games in 2022. She said before that she hasn't used her prize money, and she brought up living on the streets, so..." He sighs. "I can't help but wonder. If I weren't so focused on stopping the games... Maybe if I had walked around or something, we could've met and... She wouldn't have been alone."

Su-jin steps closer and reassures, "Gi-hun, you couldn't have known she was out there. It's not your fault."

"But she's suffered alone because of the games..." He looks away with a mixed expression. "We both have..."

His hand is taken by the dark blond's.

"Now that you've met, you won't suffer alone. You have each other. We all have each other's backs now."

They look into each other's eyes.

"We're no longer alone."

Neither look way. Neither seem to want to. 

But the lock clicks. The game is over.

"We should go," Gi-hun suggests.

They don't let go of each other's hands until they were out of the room. Su-jin looks away from him to hide the frown immediately forming on his face.

"This again... Oh right, I have to ask Jung-bae for advice."

They look around for their friends.

"Jun-hee!"

Mi-kyung runs away from Dae-ho towards Jun-hee, who she hugs tightly. She also immediately gives Myung-gi a death glare.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" He asks.

Mi-kyung says nothing as she leads Jun-hee away, maintaining her glare.

"Do you hate him?" Jun-hee questions.

"I already hated him for abandoning you, but I hate him even more for what happened to Young-mi. She was supposed to still be here."

Jun-hee opens her mouth to explain the situation, only for someone to call out to Mi-kyung. They turn around in confusion before Thanos and Nam-gyu get close.

"I missed you so much!" Thanos states while hugging her tightly. "I'm so glad you're alive!"

"You really are like a cat!" Nam-gyu adds while hugging her from behind. "We look away for a second and you were gone!"

Mi-kyung squirms in their grasp while laughing.

"You're squishing me, guys!"

Nam-gyu pulls away to look around while Thanos swings Mi-kyung around.

Jun-hee stares thougthfully before mumbling, "You're so confusing, Mi-kyung..."

"Ah..." Thanos pulls away, only to keep an arm around her. "Nothing is going to get in our way thanks to you, Mi-kyung."

Seeing no Young-il in sight, Nam-gyu squishes her cheek and playfully scolds, "Don't sneak away from us again! You may be a past winner, but you need someone to look after you!"

"Guys, stop it! My cheek!" She leans away from Nam-gyu while wincing. She then laughs, "I can look after myself."

"No no no." Thanos shakes his head. "We saw someone pulling you while you were running."

She gasps, "You did??"

"Yeah! We would've gotten over there if there was enough time, but we did get to see you punch that asshole!" Nam-gyu explains. "If that bastard didn't die, we would've killed him ourselves!"

She blinks.

Thanos cups her face with one hand, tilts her head up, and reminds, "You saved Gyeong-su's life. As I've said, we owe you."

She looks to where Jun-hee was, seeing Myung-gi leading her to her group.

"Can I ask you two to do something for me? Just a favor."

Thanos lets go of her face and nods immediately. She gestures them to lean down so that no one else could hear what she tells them.

"Kill Myung-gi."

Their eyes widen in surprise.

"He's the cause for my friend's death. If you don't get rid of him, preferably in a place where no one will stop you, I'll kill him myself."

She walks away from them with guilt etched onto her face. After staring, the men follow the other players out of the arena.

"I didn't expect her to get so serious..." Thanos admits.

"I didn't expect her to ask for someone to die. Wasn't she the one crying when the games kept going? And she said she wanted everyone to live?" Nam-gyu brings up.

Thanos shrugs before a wide smile grows on his face.

"Whatever the case, we should kill that son of a bitch since he said he wasn't gonna pay us back."

Nam-gyu smiles widely too.

"More money for us, and we'll no longer be in kitty's debt."

"Yeah, that's so smart!"

Thanos boldly kisses Nam-gyu's cheek, leading to some nearby players to express disgust. They respond by flipping them off.

Ahead of them, Mi-kyung walks between Jun-hee and Dae-ho. After glaring at the back of Myung-gi's head, she looks back at Dae-ho with a smile.

"Hey, Dae-ho, what region do you live in? I was remembering that when they drop off players, they usually drop them off in the region they're from."

He answers, "I live in Busan."

Her expression brightens.

"I live 15 minutes away from there! If we get dropped off in the same area, we can hang out together!"

He blinks in surprise, and his shoulders tense up slightly.

"Really? You want to spend time with me?"

"Yeah!" She stops, turns around, and continues with a smile, "I mean, we should stick together from now on too. We make a great team, don't we?"

He looks her over as if seeing her for the first time. In his mind, it was as if she was glowing. She's like Gi-hun: a strong, capable, and caring person. They're the perfect people to stick with in the games. He finally understands why even people like Thanos and Nam-gyu get along with her.

"Yeah, we are..."

Her smile widens, and she continues to walk. Jun-hee was a foot away, watching her with worry. They hold each other's hand, making Dae-ho's face scrunch as his thoughts drift to his sisters.

The players return to their dorms. Mi-kyung reluctantly lets go of Jun-hee's hand when Myung-gi leads her away for a private conversation. She looks at her second team of friends and approaches them, seeing them sit in silence. Her eyes sting at the thought of Young-mi being placed in a coffin.

"It's not your fault, Hyun-ju."

Hyun-ju looks away from the floor to force a smile at Mi-kyung.

"Thank you."

They turn to Gyeong-seok, who gives a gentle smile. She sits down and looks over at her other friends with worry.

"That Se-mi is looking over here," Geum-ja suddenly mentions.

Sure enough, she was. Yong-sik looks at Hyun-ju then at Se-mi.

"Do you two like each other?"

"Ah, we don't even know each other that much," Hyun-ju replies shyly.

"She seems to like looking at you, though," Gyeong-seok comments.

Meanwhile, Gyeong-su nudges Se-mi with his elbow.

"Do you have a crush, noona?"

Min-su stares silently while Se-mi nudges Gyeong-su.

"Nah. I just think she's cool."

"It's 2024, Se-mi. You can like the same gender nowadays," Nam-gyu states in a condescending way.

She scoffs at him.

"Wait..." Thanos stops bobbing his head and stares at Se-mi with wide eyes. "Lesbian???"

"If you say some sexualizing bullshit, I'm leaving the team," she threatens.

Thanos and Nam-gyu look at each other then at her with an unreadable expression.

"We... don't see you differently, Se-mi," Min-su says tentatively.

"Of course we don't," Gyeong-su quickly adds.

Se-mi eyes the expressions of the other two before looking at the other group. Geum-ja and Yong-sik gesture for her to come over while Hyun-ju covers her blushing face with her hand. Gyeong-seok and Mi-kyung excitedly wave Se-mi over as well.

"See you later," Se-mi says as she rises to her feet.

"Woo! Go get her!" Thanos encourages while patting Se-mi's back.

He and Gyeong-su clap to Se-mi's chagrin. She walks up to the group, and Gyeong-seok moves aside to let her sit next to Hyun-ju.

"Welcome, welcome!" Geum-ja says. "Go on, become best friends already!"

"That'll be what historians will call them," Mi-kyung jokes.

"What does that mean?" Gyeong-seok questions.

She looks at Se-mi and Hyun-ju's amused expressions before replying, "Don't worry about it."

"Ah, I'm so glad she's getting some action," Thanos says.

Gyeong-su nods in agreement while Nam-gyu look at Min-su.

"Are you upset? Did you crush on her?"

Min-su shakes his head, which Nam-gyu grins at. He then looks around and notices something.

"Hey, looks like MG Coin also has been getting game."

The four turn to see Jun-hee pull her arm away from Myung-gi before she returns to her group.

"That's the girl Mi-kyung holds hands with, right?" Gyeong-su brings up.

"She doesn't seem so happy about him talking to her," Thanos points out while looking at Mi-kyung.

Myung-gi catches Mi-kyung's glare and walks away. She looks past him to see Young-il and Dae-ho greeting Jun-hee and Gi-hun looking elsewhere. She raises an eyebrow when she sees Su-jin and Jung-bae having a private conversation.

"Don't look so happy."

The group turns to see Seon-nyeo and two newly converted followers.

"Your friend is in the underworld. You'll be joining her soon."

"Shut up."

Mi-kyung rises up and approaches the older woman.

"Don't you dare talk to my friends like that!"

Seon-nyeo eyes Mi-kyung as if peering into her soul.

"I would've cursed them, but I've cursed you. The gods of heaven and earth have shown me that you're an angel of darkness."

She steps closer to Mi-kyung and looks over her team.

"If not you..." She looks at Mi-kyung and declares, "Your so-called friends will die instead."

"No, they won't," Mi-kyung insists.

Seon-nyeo smiles and replies, "Your friend in the underworld thinks otherwise since she blames you-"

She's cut off by Mi-kyung punching her across the face, knocking her to the floor.

"Shut the FUCK up!" She yells. "The only woman who's going to die is YOU, you crazy bitch!"

Her followers pick her up, and they hurry away.

"Woo! Go, Mi-kyung!" Thanos cheers.

He and Nam-gyu clap and smile in contrast to the shock on everyone else's faces. Their excitement fades when Mi-kyung walks up to them with her face twisted with emotion. When she gets close, she grabs them by the front of their jackets and grips the fabric tightly.

"You know what I said about Myung-gi? That applies to that wretched bitch."

Min-su and Gyeong-su lean away from fear while Thanos and Nam-gyu nod rapidly.

"Yes, ma'am!"

She lets go and hurries to her main team. She finds Gi-hun, Young-il, Jun-hee, and Dae-ho hiding between the bunk beds. They're taken aback by the look on her face, only to relax when she hugs Young-il.

"We saw the punch," he says while hugging back. "What did that woman tell you?"

Mi-kyung shakes her head. She lets out a whimper.

"It's my fault Young-mi died..."

"It's not, sis," Dae-ho reassures. "You couldn't have done anything to prevent it."

"He's right. You and Mister Seong have done all you can to stop the games," Jun-hee adds.

Mi-kyung looks at Gi-hun, who switches his attention to something else, then looks up at Young-il's unreadable expression.

"You've cried enough today," he says. "I don't know if they'll give anything with water for dinner. You can't be dehydrated."

She chuckles and asks, "Did you forget that tap water exists? I can just go to the restroom later."

She sighs and nuzzles against Young-il's chest. As he pats her hair, she relaxes with a small smile.

"What's on his mind?" She asks while looking at Gi-hun.

"Jung-bae and Su-jin are counting the amount of O voters," Jun-hee explains.

Dae-ho looks past the railing to where Jung-bae and Su-jin are.

"Are you sure?" Su-jin asks.

"Yes. I've counted them twice already."

Su-jin glances at Gi-hun and reiterates, "No, I mean, are you sure Gi-hun considers me as a friend?"

Jung-bae pats Su-jin's back and reassures, "Of course he does! Just continue being yourself, and you'll be best friends someday."

"That's reassuring..."

As Su-jin does another set of counting, Jun-hee pulls Mi-kyung aside.

"He asked me to get back together again."

"No." Mi-kyung immediately says.

"I told him no. He was saying that we'd combine our money for more investing."

"More money instead of focusing on you and your baby?? Man, fuck that guy!"

Jun-hee smiles a little.

"Thank you. I was having second thoughts. I know you and the others offered to help me, but I can't help but wonder about letting my baby's dad be involved..."

Mi-kyung pats her shoulder and reassures, "Your baby is getting the BEST father figures ever, don't you worry!"

She looks away to see where Jung-bae and Su-jin are. Jun-hee reaches out and squeezes her hand.

"I don't want to be alone..."

She turns to Jun-hee with interest.

"That's why... I kept the baby even though he told me to abort it," she admits. "I thought if I had my baby, I'd have someone who'd be with me forever. I could be happier."

Mi-kyung's face shifts slightly. She wraps her arms around Jun-hee and hugs her tightly. Jun-hee hugs back and whimpers against her shoulder.

"Thank you, unnie..."

"Of course..." She looks away and says, "They're coming back. Come. Let's return to our family."

She caresses Jun-hee's hair before they return to their group.

"Gi-hun, there are 56 people who voted in favor of continuing," Jung-bae informs.

"57," Su-jin corrects. "He forgot himself."

The others sigh.

"We have 45 people on our side, so we're outnumbered by 12," Dae-ho explains.

Mi-kyung hums and points out, "If six of them change their minds, we'll be tied. Jung-bae, you're changing your vote, right?"

"Of course."

"Meanwhile, I know two of my friends who voted O will change their minds too, so we have to hope three do the same. If there's a fourth, we'll win."

Dae-ho points out, "But people who pressed X might change their minds as well."

"They probably won't change their minds easily," Young-il concludes. "They wanted to quit even when the prize was smaller. Now they can leave with even more money. They wouldn't want to risk their lives playing another game."

Gi-hun looks over and sees Se-mi returning to her group. When she sits next to Min-su, they whisper to each other.

"Mi-kyung, will your friends switch their votes?"

She glances at the five and admits, "I think Se-mi and Min-su would switch their votes eventually. Well, I know for sure Se-mi will. Min-su was pressured into voting O by Thanos and Nam-gyu. I think Gyeong-su is only doing what Thanos does. So we have one or two people who could switch."

"Do you think you could convince the other three??"

When she looks at them again, Thanos and Nam-gyu notice. Thanos gestures to the patch while Nam-gyu mouths a question: "What will you vote?" Mi-kyung makes an X with her arms. The two and Gyeong-su make circles with their hands. Thanos looks back and gestures Se-mi and Min-su to do the same. However, when he turns around, Se-mi immediately changes it to X. After a moment, Min-su does the same.

"I don't think so," she concludes while looking back at Gi-hun. "They're stubborn."

"Then we can convince other people," he suggests.

"No, that's too risky," Young-il replies. "Most of them will want to continue the games. If we make a move, they won't just sit back and watch. Mi-kyung's friends could easily turn their backs on her."

She glances at her other friends, mainly at Nam-gyu. He was leaning against Thanos, who was dancing to the song in his mind. The two make eye contact.

"Are we cool?" She mouths while holding up a thumbs up.

He merely smiles, making her look away with her lips thinning.

"So you think we should just stand here and pray they change their minds??" Gi-hun responds with irritation seeping into his voice. "What if we lose again? We march down, hand in hand, to play another game?"

"Gi-hun..." Su-jin steps up. "I know you're worried. We all are. None of us here want to keep playing, but we can't do much. As Young-il said, they won't sit back and watch. They'll likely get aggressive if we try to talk to them. As sad as it is, we do have to just pray they'll change their minds."

"You said something similar before the second game, but we ended up continuing anyways and your friend died!" Gi-hun snaps.

The irritation fades at the whimper Mi-kyung lets out and the hurt on Su-jin's face. Neverthelesss, he takes a deep breath and step closer to Gi-hun, now with a glare.

"You have every right to be mad. I get it. We all do. But don't take it out on us, Gi-hun. We're not the ones voting to continue the games. We're only trying to make the most out of what we have." He gestures to the group and continues, "We all make the most of what we have outside of the games despite our debts. Excuse us for doing the same here!"

Su-jin steps away with a sigh. He turns to Mi-kyung, who leans against Young-il and hides her face against his shoulder.

"Gi-hun..." He looks back at the other man and gently suggests, "Let's stay calm, ok?"

They fall silent for a few moments.

Jung-bae steps forward and says, "Look, I'm too scared to play another game. I'm sure there are more people like me."

"That's right. That's what I think too," Dae-ho adds. He looks at Mi-kyung and continues, "Plus, many of us have already lost a friend or two. I'm sure many wouldn't want to lose who remains."

Jun-hee looks at the prize money and states, "Someone told me that there will be 200 or 300 million divided among the players. Maybe that would be enough to sway some people."

After Young-il whispers something into her ear, Mi-kyung turns away from him and nods along. The familiar alarm then blares.

It was time to vote. No more disruptions are allowed.

At first, voters choose the same option until Jung-bae switches his vote as promised.

"Now that that's happened, other people may feel encouraged to switch too," Mi-kyung whispers to her group.

She's correct. Partially. The next person to switch is Se-mi, making the X voters a little happier. When Se-mi goes to join the others, Mi-kyung smiles at her direction with a thumbs up, making her smile back. She looks over at her other allies and frown at how upset most of them look. Her frown deepens at the fear on Min-su's face.

"Player 231."

Mi-kyung walks forward and looks back at her friends on the O team. While Thanos and Gyeong-su give smiles, Nam-gyu smirks deviously. She looks ahead before making to the stand and pressing X.

"Will he keep the promise...?"

"Player 230."

She walks to her friends while Thanos skips forward. She shakes her head at him, making him stumble on his final skip. Nevertheless, he kisses the O button.

He then proudly shouts, "O team! Let's go!"

"See what I mean?" Mi-kyung quietly tells Gi-hun.

The votes continue. When it was eventually Min-su's turn, she and Se-mi look over to see Nam-gyu telling him to vote to continue. He turns to them, prompting Se-mi to flip him off. While an observing Hyun-ju smiles amusingly at the sight, Mi-kyung quickly pushes Se-mi's hand down and shakes her head rapidly. After Se-mi pulls her hand away with a huff, Mi-kyung turns to Nam-gyu and waves with a sheepish smile.

He raises his hand to wave back, only for Min-su to vote X.

"With three more people, we win," Dae-ho whispers excitedly.

Mi-kyung's heart drops to her stomach from hearing Nam-gyu's bitter mumble. He doesn't look at her again as he steps forward to make his vote. Meanwhile, Min-su stands next to Se-mi and nods at Mi-kyung in greeting.

"You made the right choice," Se-mi states.

As the votes move forward, the groups noticeably get more antsy. They know now about the amount of people needed to leave the games. There were a couple of players left to vote, and every bit counts.

Then Yong-sik switches his vote.

"Let's go home!"

The X players cheer. There was hope and dread in the air as they look back at who was left to vote. Aside from Young-il, there was 006: Mi-hwa. Mi-kyung shakes her head as she glances at a certain woman on the beds.

"No... We're not going home..." She states ominously.

Dae-ho chuckles and replies, "Ah, sis, you're joking-"

"That woman is a follower of the lunatic I punched earlier. She won't want to go home thanks to that bitch's influence."

Sure enough, Mi-hwa switches her vote from X to O to the elation of the O voters. However, when Young-il makes his vote, it was a tie. The X players express relief, and Young-il receives a tight hug from Mi-kyung when he got close enough.

"The vote has ended," the square manager announces.

With the tie in place, another vote will be held tomorrow to give the players time to think. Su-jin takes Gi-hun's hand and pulls him out of his daze.

"We have tomorrow. It's ok."

When dinner comes around, Mi-kyung lingers close to Gi-hun as they grab dinner with Jung-bae. As they slowly walk back to their group, Jung-bae gasps.

"Oh right! Gi-hun, about Young-il..."

"What about him?"

"Back during Mingle..." Jung-bae's forehead begins to sweat. "When I was in the room alone with him-"

"This place makes everyone crazy," Mi-kyung interrupts as she looks over at Mi-hwa sitting with Seon-nyeo. "Let's not end up like those two by sticking with our pals, right? No matter what we do, we do it for our group."

She smiles sweetly and walks ahead. Two friend groups have now merged. Her smile fades when she fails to see Se-mi and Min-su. She turns to her head, sees the two on a bed, and waves. Min-su shyly waves back while Se-mi stares.

"Ah, must be mad about me pushing down her finger... Woops."

They return to their groups. Mi-kyung unwraps her meal and freezes. Aside from the gimbap, there was a fork. She looks at the glass bottle.

"...Shit."

She immediately looks at the other side of the dorms and frantically searches with her gaze. She couldn't find Thanos, Nam-gyu, or Gyeong-su anywhere. She switches her focus to other players and their use of the fork.

"After a tie like that... It's a bomb waiting for a fuse."

"Don't agonize over your decision while eating this dry gimbap!"

Her thoughts are broken by Yong-sik's words, and she turns to see him standing up and looking at the O team.

"I just want one of you to come over to our side. If we get out of here tomorrow morning, we could get Korean beef!" He continues.

After Geum-ja and Dae-ho add their say, Jeong-dae stands up, making waves of irritation wash over Mi-kyung.

"Once you all die in the next game, we can all leave with 800 million each!"

"People like him are the reason why Young-mi died..."

Jeong-dae proclaims, "With 800 million, we could buy a freaking cattle ranch!"

With an eye roll, she stands up and yells, "Oh my gosh, will you shut the fuck up, old man?? You can't buy anything when you're 10 billion in debt! You're a dumbass for suggesting that you'd be able to get a ranch, and you're an even bigger one if you think your fellow O voters will let you into theirs!"

A couple of X players can't hold back their chuckles.

"Hey, pay respect to your elders, you brat!" Yeong-sam scolds.

She flips him off and retorts, "Suck a cock!"

That was the wrong thing to say.

In the span of less than a minute, a screaming match begins between the groups. Su-jin had pulled Mi-kyung back into sitting down as she stares at the yelling.

"Shit. I'm so sorry," she says.

"It's ok. I think it was bound to happen, anyways..." Su-jin rationalizes.

Gi-hun unwraps his meal and stares at the fork. Mi-kyung grabs and squeezes his hand.

"It really is bound to happen..."

Jun-hee slowly wraps her fork in the foil, only for Mi-kyung to grab her wrist.

"Keep the fork. All of you."

"Why??" Geum-ja asks. "Are we allowed to??"

"Yes," she and Gi-hun reply in unison.

As Jun-hee pockets her foiled fork, Mi-kyung and Gi-hun turn to their fellow sitting allies.

"Players are allowed to be killed outside of the games. The prize money goes up no matter what," Gi-hun explains. "I've seen this happen in my games. A player was killed in a fight then his killer and his friends killed other players in their sleep."

"The same happened in my game too!" Mi-kyung continues. "Well, it happened because someone fell off their bed, and their neck got broken on the way down, but the end result was the same. Boom, players killing other players in their sleep!"

Geum-ja gasps in fear, making Yong-sik put his arm around her.

"Are you serious??" Young-il asks.

"Would we be making a big deal about these forks if we weren't??" She argues. "Plus, with all the tension here, I wouldn't be surprised if it happens tonight!"

It takes a while for the argument to end. Not cool off. It was put on pause.

When their other teammates return, Mi-kyung and Gi-hun explain the situation. By the time they finish, their team were understandably close to shitting themselves.

"Fuck..." Dae-ho mumbles. He clears his throat and apologizes, "I'm so sorry for escalating the argument."

"No one is blaming you, Dae-ho. As I said earlier to Mi-kyung, it was bound to happen," Su-jin reassures.

"But what do we do??" Hyun-ju asks.

"You all join us in making a safe spot. Two of us will keep watch. If they do come towards us, we'll wake you up," Gi-hun plans.

"Vulnerable people in the back. Strong fighters in the front using fists and forks to fend off attackers from all sides," Mi-kyung concludes. "We'll also move if necessary. We just have to remain close, ok?"

Her friends nod, reassured but understandably afraid.

"The following players were eliminated."

They all freeze at the automated voice. Mi-kyung and Gi-hun look at each other, sharing each other's shock.

"...Did something happen in the restrooms?" Su-jin wonders.

As more money drops into the piggy bank, he looks at Jun-hee. She was pale.

"What's wrong??"

"I..."

He puts his arm around her and comforts, "Don't worry. We're going to protect you."

She shakes her head. Before she could say anything else to her concerned allies, the doors at the end of the dorms open.

"Wait, who died??"

Mi-kyung's gaze doesn't move far. She gasps, looks over at Jun-hee, and looks back at the man who was holding a bloodied fork.

"Woo! It feels so good to be alive!"

Thanos's tracksuit was stained with red. The wide smile on his face was unlike anything Mi-kyung saw before. When the smile gets aimed at her, she stares. All she can do is stare as Jun-hee bursts into tears.

"Myung-gi is dead."

Chapter Text

Mi-kyung felt like throwing up.

"Listen Team O!" A bloodied Nam-gyu calls out with his arms raising up. "When we were in the bathroom, those fucking X bastards tried to kill all of us!"

"It's true! I had to defend myself from a man who almost killed me with his fork!" Thanos adds. "But then they killed some of us in return!"

"Bullshit!" 047 retorts. "You're the ones who started it!"

"Yeah, you were threatening my friend!"

They all look over to see Se-mi on one of the beds. Behind her is a shaking Min-su. Mi-kyung shakes her head, but Se-mi doesn't notice.

"Exactly! They attacked us to win the second vote," 047 continues.

"You killed one of us first!" Thanos accuses.

"That was you and your friend! You two stabbed a man over and over!" 047 replies.

Jun-hee gasps. "M-Myung-gi..."

Mi-kyung hunches over and gags. She takes a few deep breaths, feeling her throat burn.

"He's dead... He's actually dead..."

She looks at Jun-hee, who leans against Su-jin and cries against his shoulder.

"Sis... I didn't... I wouldn't have told them to do that if I knew this would be your reaction..."

She hurries away from her group, goes under some bunkers, and vomits onto the floor. She grips a support beam to stop herself from falling over. She gulps in air and sobs from the pain.

"Mi-kyung..."

She wipes away the saliva on her chin and turns to see Young-il.

"I... I..."

He puts his arm around her and leads her away from the mess.

"Shh, it's ok. Come, they want to count who's left."

She leans against him and falls silent. She looks up at him with a glare, which he notices.

"Don't give me that look. This isn't the time."

She looks away with a sniffle. When she sits down, she switches her attention to comforting Jun-hee. She focuses on the counting. She doesn't want to focus on how Myung-gi's body looks after Thanos and Nam-gyu left him.

"..46, 47, 48. Two people died on our side. Four players died which means it's still a tie," 047 concludes.

"After something like that, we may have a shot at winning tomorrow," Se-mi suggests. "If dying in the games won't do it, dying outside of them could sway someone's opinion."

"You're right!" Su-jin agrees. "All we need is one person, and we can all go home! As long as none of us changes our minds!"

Mi-kyung stares in doubt, but she holds back her words at the excitement growing on everyone else's faces. A chime echoes through the dorms.

"Attention, please. Lights out in 30 minutes. All players, please return to your beds."

She spaces out while staring at Thanos and Nam-gyu. They were making stabbing motions with their forks and laughing. Gyeong-su laughs along but looks away in horror when they don't notice.

"They won't let us leave... Even if someone switches sides."

She lets herself be dragged along. Trash from dinner is given to the guards, but many forks weren't returned. By the time she returns to herself, she sees that she was sitting between Dae-ho and Gi-hun along with her group and a few others. They're under some bunkers for a more private discussion.

"Those bastards are acting suspicious," Dae-ho tells the others. "Gi-hun and Mi-kyung were right. They're likely planning on attacking us in our sleep to win the vote."

"We should attack them first," Young-il suggests. "They're probably thinking that we'll just wait for the second vote. We can use it to our advantage. We'll attack them first once the lights go out."

Mi-kyung clears her throat and brings up, "But many X voters are women and elderly while the O voters consist of mostly men. I don't think it'd be worth it since our side will take the most loss anyways."

"But if we attack first, we'll have a better chance at winning," 047 counters.

Gi-hun opens his mouth to speak up, only for 047 to gasp.

"Oh, kittyyyy!"

The others turn and scoot away at the sight of Thanos and Nam-gyu peeking through some gaps with wide smiles. Mi-kyung gulps before standing up and getting close to them.

She greets, "Hey, guys-"

"Team O is going to kill a lot of X people when the lights go out," Thanos interrupts.

She looks past them to see a couple of O voters looking at the two questioningly.

"Thank you, but... Why are you telling me this?" She questions.

"Why??" Nam-gyu scoffs. "Mi-kyung, MG Coin almost killed Thanos during the restroom fight. If it wasn't for what you said about the forks, we wouldn't have fulfilled your favor."

She winces as if they stabbed her. She doesn't need to look back to know how certain people are looking at her right now.

"So now we're asking for a favor from you, kitty," Thanos states. "When the lights go out, you and your friends better hide. Nam-gyu and I want to keep playing, same as a lot of folks back there. However, we don't want to hurt you in any way. You're our best friend."

They squish her cheeks with a shared laugh. She could only muster a faint smile.

"So stay safe, kay? Love ya, kitty," Thanos says.

"Bye bye!" Nam-gyu waves.

They walk away while holding hands. She holds her breath and slowly turns around, seeing the shock on everyone's faces.

"...Sis, what did they mean by favor?" Dae-ho questions.

"Did you ask them to kill that guy??" Su-jin adds.

She looks down as shame rises to her face.

"Why did you do that??" Jun-hee asks in disbelief. "Why did you ask them to kill Myung-gi??"

Mi-kyung's face contorts in pain as she replies, "I-It's his fault Young-mi died!"

"It wasn't! She fell, and he saved us by entering the room at the last moment!" Jun-hee explains with faint anger. "Dae-ho, Mrs. Jang, Yong-sik, Hyun-ju, and I would've died if it wasn't for him!"

"He's still the bastard that abandoned you, Jun-hee! I did you a favor!"

"I didn't ask for him to die!"

"I'm sorry, Jun-hee!"

Mi-kyung tears up while staring at her desperately. Jun-hee looks down and closes her eyes. With a whimper, Mi-kyung sits down and looks at who's next to her. They avoid her gaze.

"I'm disappointed in you," Gi-hun quietly says. "Everyone was supposed to get out of the games alive. We agreed on that."

He turns to her, making her flinch under his gaze.

"You likely exasperated the tension by asking for that man to be killed, Mi-kyung. Three other people died. You played into their hands."

She looks down and wipes away her tears. She scoots back and hugs her knees.

"I'm sorry. I really am..."

As she hides her face, Su-jin tears his eyes away from her and sigh.

"Their hands?"

"The people who created this game. Those who watch us play," Gi-hun explains. "If we're going to fight someone, it should be them."

After a beat, Dae-ho asks, "Where are they?"

"Upstairs."

They turn to Mi-kyung, who wipes away her tears with her sleeve and scoots forward. Despite her blotchy face, she puts on a serious expression.

"Back in my game, I was... I was taken upstairs from time to time. The top floor is where they are. The ones in charge."

Gi-hun's eyebrows raise slightly.

"You've faced the man in the black mask??"

She nods and continues, "There's another one. A slightly shorter person with a white mask. They're the leaders."

Gi-hun looks down and mumbles, "Of course someone else becomes a second leader after..." He stops himself and asks, "What did they do to you? Did they-?"

"I-I wasn't hurt in any way, don't worry!" She quickly states. "They were... trying to make me like them. I-I don't know if it was because I used to be a billionaire or something, but they were insistent. They would also take me around to see where they control games and took me to meet the..."

She looks around for a camera and frowns when she sees one nearby. She gestures everyone to lean in closer, which they do.

"The VIPs," she whispers. "They're the people who fund the games and watch us for their entertainment."

This makes everyone's eyes widen except for Gi-hun's, whose expression hardens.

"How many?" Gi-hun questions.

"Five. They all have golden masks. They're very wealthy people, but they're also major assholes."

Young-il lets out a cough, seemingly to cover up a chuckle.

"It's settled. We capture the leaders and speak with these VIPs," Gi-hun decides.

Everyone turns to him in surprise.

"How will you fight them? They have guns," Young-il brings up.

"We'll fight them with guns too," Gi-hun replies.

"But we don't have any," Jung-bae points out.

"We'll take their guns," Gi-hun reiterates.

"Oh, wait, I get it!" Mi-kyung says. "After the fight, the soldiers will come into the dorms to stop it and check on the bodies. We can pretend to be dead then grab their guns as they're checking us."

"It's too dangerous," Young-il points out. "Even if we manage to take their guns, we'll still be outnumbered."

"What then? Are you going to kill each other all night and hope you survive?" Gi-hun asks. "Is that what you want, Young-il?"

After some silence, Hyun-ju tentatively asks, "Do we... stand a chance?"

"It's a classic battle strategy. We take the lead by catching them by surprise," Su-jin states. "They wouldn't expect us to attack first."

Gi-hun and Mi-kyung nod in agreement.

"This is our last chance to end these games once and for all. We have to do this," Gi-hun encourages.

Su-jin takes a deep breath then asks, "What exactly is the plan, boss?"

"Once the lights go out, get under the bottom beds quietly. You must not get caught by those planning to attack us," Gi-hun states. "We have to hide until the fight ends. Don't get caught up in the fight."

Mi-kyung's eyes widen.

"Wait but... That means we have to watch other players die," she points out. "They're going to be outnumbered too since we'll be hiding."

"I know. But if we fight with them and some of us end up dead or injured, it will ruin our entire plan," he counters.

"Your plan," she retorts. "You're suggesting we should have a small sacrifice for the greater good."

"If we miss this opportunity, the sacrifice will be even greater."

"So it's ok for you to make the call on who should live or die while Mi-kyung is in the wrong for asking for a man to be killed?" Young-il points out.

Gi-hun stares at him.

"It's not the same," he rationalizes. "This plan is to stop the games. What she did only worsened the tension."

"It would've happened anyways. Those two hated Myung-gi from the start," she excuses.

"You still did wrong," Gi-hun insists.

She and Young-il glance at each other.

"So much for wanting everyone to leave the games alive, huh?"

He doesn't give a noticeable reaction, but Su-jin sees the slight frown creasing his lips.

"Back to your plan..." She faces forward. "The fight won't last long. If everyone is injured or dead, there won't be any more games for the VIPs to bet on. Once the lights come on, as I've said before, the soldiers will stop the fight and check on the bodies."

"They'll try to break up the fight first. They won't pay attention to the dead," Gi-hun adds. "They will scan our trackers to identify us. That'll be our window."

"Lights out in ten minutes," the automated voice announces.

Mi-kyung takes a deep breath.

"If you're going to fight with us, be ready to get out of hiding once the lights turn on," she advises. "Until then, all of us must keep our forks close."

They look at each other carefully as if it was the last time they'd see each other. Jun-hee stands and is the first to walk away. Mi-kyung follows.

"Jun-hee-"

"Don't."

Mi-kyung gets in front of Jun-hee.

"Jun-hee, please, I'm really sorry. I just wanted you to be safe."

She avoids Mi-kyung's gaze.

"...Are you mad?"

"Yes... No..." Jun-hee shakes her head and sighs. "I don't know. I just can't believe you would do something like that."

They stare at each other for a moment before Jun-hee walks away to her bed. Mi-kyung sighs and looks at the other side, seeing Thanos and Nam-gyu speak to each other. Gyeong-su sits a short distance away, eyeing them warily. She turns to where Se-mi and Min-su then hurries up the stairs.

"Hey."

Se-mi and Min-su look at her.

"Are you ok, Min-su?" She asks.

While he nods, Se-mi questions, "What do you want?"

"The O team is planning on attacking the X team tonight," Mi-kyung warns. "I'm pretty sure Thanos and Nam-gyu would be especially after you two since you kind of betrayed them."

Min-su gasps while Se-mi raises an eyebrow.

"How do we know you're not working with them? I saw them talking to you earlier."

"Look, I'm sorry I pushed down your hand, but we can see how bloody they are! They killed Myung-gi brutally!" Mi-kyung reminds.

"Se-mi..." Min-su starts.

"Min-su, she keeps taking their side even though they're assholes."

Mi-kyung looks at the timer then groans in frustration.

"Just get under a bottom bed or stay on a top bunk, ok?" She steps away then returns and adds, "Actually, be ready to jump if you go to the top. Someone could topple over the beds."

She hurries away.

Se-mi looks at Hyun-ju, who gives her a worried gaze, before saying, "Let's go to a top bunk. Don't go to sleep in case they do actually attack when the lights go out."

Min-su nods and follows Se-mi in climbing to a top bed. Meanwhile, Thanos and Nam-gyu get closer to Gyeong-su.

"Hey, why the long face? We're gonna get more money this way," Nam-gyu says.

Gyeong-su eyes the blood on them before forcing a smile and asking, "Will I have to participate?"

"We got this, my brother," Thanos reassures. "You don't have to do anything if you don't want to."

The others look at him in surprise.

Gyeong-su lets out a sigh of relief and replies, "Thank you so much."

"Cool, cool..." Nam-gyu pulls Thanos aside and questions, "Did you hit your head? Why'd you tell him that it was ok for him to not do anything?"

"Come on, have you seen him? He's scared from the fight. Plus, he hasn't betrayed us like Se-mi and Min-su, so he gets a pass."

"Tch, I guess..."

They look at the other side of the dorms, eyeing the way most of the X team relax in their beds, unaware of what was to come. Nam-gyu smirks knowingly when he looks at Se-mi and Min-su before his eyes wander to Mi-kyung.

"Hey... You love her like a sister, right?" He suddenly asks.

Thanos laughs and smacks Nam-gyu's back.

"Sheesh, of course I do! You're the only one for me, baby."

Nam-gyu smacks the back of Thanos's head.

"Ew, don't say shit like that!"

While Thanos acts fake hurt, Nam-gyu looks at Mi-kyung with faint disgust. She looks at him and gives a friendly wave. He glares at her but still waves back.

"She's too much of a goody-two-shoes," Nam-gyu points out while setting his hand down. "She tells us to kill MG Coin and that crazy bitch, but then she acts so sweet with her friends."

Thanos shrugs and excuses, "Eh, different personalities for different people. I'm like that with my fans. I gotta act like I'm top shit."

After thinking for a moment, Nam-gyu sighs and asks, "Are you gonna introduce me to your mom once we get out of here?"

"Fuck yeah, I will!" Thanos replies while putting his arm around Nam-gyu. "She'll be happy to see that I have someone to love."

Before Nam-gyu could reply, Thanos pulls him close and starts kissing his face.

"Ah! What the fuck??"

As Nam-gyu struggles to pull away and hide his fluster, Mi-kyung giggles at the sight.

"Mi-kyung?"

She turns to see Gi-hun next to her.

"Do you consider them your friends?"

He gestures to Thanos and Nam-gyu, who were now wrestling on one of the beds. Or making out. They can't tell.

"Yeah." Before he says anything else, she states, "I trust that they'll keep their word."

Noticing his expression, she grabs his hand and squeezes it.

"We're going to be fine, dad. We'll win, and we'll all get out here together."

She smiles at him despite his surprised expression.

"And you'll see your daughter again, right?" She adds.

"...Yes," he nods. "Yes, I will."

Her smile widens, and she hugs him tightly. He slowly does the same and sighs.

"Are you still disappointed in me?" She suddenly asks with her voice muffled against his chest.

"No." He stops for a moment to think. "Are you?"

She tightens her hold around him.

"Not really," she lies.

She pulls away and gives him a sweet smile.

"Stay alive for me. Promise?"

She offers her pinky, making him chuckle.

"Do you really see me as a dad?"

"I'm taking what I can get."

He links his pinky with hers. After a moment, they separate.

"Let's survive. For the friends we lost along the way."

He nods in agreement before watching her as she walks away. He then heads towards his bed, failing to notice Young-il looking at him. When he sits on his bed, Su-jin sits next to him.

"Are you ok?" Su-jin asks. "Nervous?"

"I'm fine."

"I'm terrified," Su-jin admits. "I want to help in the fight, but I don't enjoy fights."

"If you don't want to come, you can stay here," Gi-hun reassures. "We'll come back once we win."

"Are you sure? Wouldn't you want more people to help?? I was in the ROK, so I can be of huge help-"

He stops when Gi-hun puts a hand on his thigh.

"It's alright. We'll win."

Su-jin looks down at Gi-hun's hand and feels goosebumps rise to his skin. As he blushes, Gi-hun looks at the timer.

"Lights out in 20 seconds. We should- Are you ok?" He asks when seeing how red Su-jin is.

Su-jin immediately stands up and nods.

"Y-Yes!" He clears his throat. "I mean, yes! Uuhh, stay safe!"

He hurries away, fiddling with his glasses while heading to a bed.

"What the hell is wrong with me?? I can't act like a total idiot around the guy I want to be my best friend," he thinks to himself. "Ugh, me and my dumb heart..."

He lays down and takes a few deep breaths, trying to steer his mind back to what was at stake.

"Avoid the fight... Get the guns... Stay alive... Oh please, please succeed..."

Meanwhile, Mi-kyung stares blankly at the bunk above her as the automated voice begins to count down from ten.

"Will the game really end?"

She looks to her side and stares at Jun-hee. Then the countdown ends and the dorms become almost completely shrouded in darkness. With her heart racing, she slowly gets out of bed. She reaches for and grabs Jun-hee's hand. Reassured by the squeeze, they make their way to a bottom bed and get underneath.

"You ok?" Mi-kyung whispers.

"Yes."

Mi-kyung feels Jun-hee's heart rate through her wrist. They pull out their forks and stare ahead as the O voters quietly head towards their side. Thanos and Nam-gyu are in front with their looks of excitement bathed in the red of Myung-gi's blood and the X below them.

Then they let out a roar and charge ahead. The players with them do the same. The dorm lights begin to flash, and they hear a woman scream. Jun-hee flinches, prompting Mi-kyung to put his arm around her.

A few feet away from them, Se-mi and Min-su watch in horror at the sight of the O voters killing other players.

"Min-su! Se-mi!"

They gasp when they see Thanos heading towards them with Nam-gyu close behind.

"We just want to talk!" He claims while waving his fork around.

"GO!" Se-mi yells.

She and Min-su hop off the top bed and fall to the stairs. They grunt loudly before Se-mi pulls Min-su onto his feet.

"Come on!"

They grab each other's hands and run down the steps as Thanos and Nam-gyu get off the beds. They laugh, high from drugs and the thrill of the chase.

Mi-kyung looks around at the fight rapidly. The world seems to move in slow motion when she sees Se-mi and Min-su running from Thanos and Nam-gyu. Her heart sinks.

"Give me your fork. Stay below."

"What??"

"Now!"

With reluctance, Jun-hee hands her fork to Mi-kyung. Then Mi-kyung leaves her hiding spot and runs after them. She narrows her eyes and manages to find Se-mi and Min-su backed against a corner.

"Look, I know we scared you earlier, Min-su," Thanos says with feign innocence. "But you can't run away from your friends! That's so hurtful!"

"We're not your friends!" Se-mi replies.

"Shut up, you annoying bitch!" Nam-gyu yells. "You asked for this!"

"Don't!"

Mi-kyung pushes past them before standing in front of Se-mi and Min-su. She hands a fork to Se-mi before she aims Jun-hee's at the men. Nam-gyu laughs at the gesture while Thanos gasps and puts his hand on his chest dramatically.

"Kitty! How could you??"

"You're not hurting my friends!" Mi-kyung declares.

"Come off your high horse, stupid! They betrayed us by switching their vote!" Nam-gyu states.

"Killing someone for switching their vote is fucking crazy!"

Thanos sighs and gestures for her to move. Mi-kyung glares at him in return.

"You two promised!" Mi-kyung reminds them. "You promised me that you wouldn't go after my friends! Se-mi and Min-su may not be your friends, but they're mine!"

She can't help but shudder when they laugh. Mi-kyung looks back at Se-mi and Min-su then quickly looks ahead when the men take a step towards them. She begins to shake as she keeps her fork aimed at them.

"Y-You have to get through me first!"

The men eye the way she shakes then look at each other with wide smiles.

Before anything else is said, someone from behind them calls out, "Hey, why are you standing there??"

056 approaches. Mi-kyung shakes even more at the excited look on 056's face.

"Three more kills for the-"

His sentence is cut off by two forks being lodged into his throat. As his blood spurts out, his wide eyes stare at Thanos and Nam-gyu. Mi-kyung's jaw drops in shock.

"What the fuck are you doing, you idiot?!" Nam-gyu yells while looking back at her. "Hide!"

Mi-kyung nods before she turns around and pushes the equally shocked Se-mi and Min-su to move. She takes a moment to look back and see Thanos and Nam-gyu stabbing 056 over and over.

"You! Don't! Fucking! Threaten! My! Friend! Fucking! Bitch!" Thanos yells, putting emphasis on each word with each stab he does.

She, Se-mi, and Min-su manage to maneuver through the fight and hurry under a bed together.

"Are you two ok??" Mi-kyung immediately asks.

After catching their breaths, the duo nod vigorously.

"You... You saved us! Thank you!" Min-su stammers out.

"Yeah, seriously, we owe you one," Se-mi adds. After taking a few more breaths, she says, "Mi-kyung, I'm sorry for not believing you. I underestimated them, and you were trying to help me."

"It's ok. I wouldn't have believed me either, to be honest," Mi-kyung replies.

She looks around then suddenly leaves the hiding spot.

"What the- What are you doing??" Se-mi questions.

"You'll see!"

She hurries away. After a moment, the lights turn on and soldiers enter the dorms. Warning shots are fired, and the fighting stops. Bodies litter the ground, many cold and some warm. Then the rebels strike.

Gi-hun is the first to subdue a soldier, causing a chain reaction for his allies. When the soldier pushes him off, they were immediately tackled by Mi-kyung, who quickly takes their handgun and shoots them in the head.

"Take cover!" She calls out.

She grabs the soldier's sub-machine gun and hands it to Gi-hun. They then hide behind the bed supports as the shootout commences. At some point, her revolver runs out of ammo, so she grabs a nearby sub-machine gun and uses it.

When he glances at her in surprise, she quickly explains, "My dad had a collection. Billionaires break the law often."

She looks back for a moment and narrows her eyes at Dae-ho cowering from the gunshots. Eventually, they hear the automated voice order the soldiers to retreat. The remaining few manage to escape except for the square manager.

"Stop! Hold fire!" Gi-hun orders.

Mi-kyung watches the square manager be taken hostage then turns to see 047 aiming his gun at the O team.

He cries out, "You goddamn bastards!"

Gi-hun runs in and yells, "No!"

"Move! Do you not see this?" 047 replies while glancing at the dead bodies. "They are not human. They're like goddamn vermin blinded by money!"

She takes a moment to glance at Gyeong-su, who was looking down at the dead body of Jeong-dae. He had a bullet hole through his neck.

"This is not what we took these guns for," Gi-hun replies. "If we do this, we'll be no different from those masked men."

She bites on her tongue to hold back what she wishes to say. However, she doesn't stop herself from rolling her eyes at Gi-hun, which he notices. She then looks at Gyeong-su again, who looks at her knowingly. She gives him a smile before zipping her mouth. He nods in response.

"Woah, holy shit!" Thanos calls out in English while he looks at the dead soldiers with wide eyes. "What are you planning on doing, old man??"

As she giggles, Gi-hun walks forward.

"Everyone! Don't be scared. Gather round please!"

"It's okay to come out!" Jung-bae adds.

"Yeah, come on out! This is interesting!" Thanos continues while clapping.

Nam-gyu turns to look at Se-mi and Min-su, who leave their hiding spot. He gives them a small smile, which makes them wince. He rolls his eyes and looks ahead.

"Seriously, what are they planning?"

"Get the guns and ammo from the dead," Hyun-ju tells Gyeong-seok and Su-jin.

As the two walk away, Hyun-ju shoots at one of the cameras. Mi-kyung does the same, prompting Thanos to clap.

"Yeah, that's my girl!"

She laughs and says, "You know, we're about to do something pretty scary, but you make it funny."

The two ladies finish shooting out the cameras. Afterward, Thanos and Nam-gyu head towards Gyeong-su while Se-mi and Min-su linger by the beds.

"You look really badass with a gun, Hyun-ju," Se-mi calls out.

Hyun-ju smiles and shyly replies, "Thank you."

After the allies finish gathering the guns and ammo, they place them on a blanket. The other players get out of hiding, looking at Gi-hun and his team standing at the front. Mi-kyung glances around and bites her cheek at how she stands out among her taller peers.

"Everyone!" Gi-hun takes a step forward and announces, "We will now head up to the masked men's headquarters. We'll capture the ones who captured us, put an end to the games, and make them pay. Anyone who knows how to use a gun and wishes to join us, please step forward!"

Su-jin, who's standing by Jun-hee, looks around expectantly. Thanos and Nam-gyu promptly push Gyeong-su forward.

"Do you know how to use a gun?" Nam-gyu asks.

"Uh, yeah-"

"Then help out. You owe your life to Mi-kyung, remember?" Thanos reminds. "Repay your debt, man."

Su-jin frowns in concern then relaxes when Gyeong-su nods and approaches the team. Mi-kyung approaches him, picks up a gun, and hands it to him.

"Welcome to the team."

"Thank you."

She pats his back when he walks past her and asks, "Anyone else??"

A few moments pass of the other players looking away or staring at her and her friends.

"Hey, I know you're scared," Jung-bae states while taking a few steps to stand next to her. "I'm scared too. But this may be our last chance to make it out of this place alive. Fight with us so that we can go home together. All together!"

It doesn't take long for 015 to step forward and raise his hand.

"I'll fight with you," he declares.

"I'll join you too," 072 says.

After a deep breath, 206 raises his hand and heads towards them. 324 does the same. When no one else steps up, Jung-bae and Mi-kyung turn and shake their heads at Gi-hun.

"Please check your guns and ammo," he tells the team.

"Let's take one radio each!" Jung-bae suggests. "We'll use channel seven, the lucky number."

After Mi-kyung stands next to Young-il, Gi-hun approaches the two.

"Thank you for earlier."

"When we leave, dad, wanna get soju?" She asks.

"I'll come. You're buying, though," Young-il adds.

Gi-hun gives a nod before walking away. She looks at the kneeling manager before looking at Jun-hee. After a moment, she walks forward to her friends. When she gets close, Geum-ja hugs her tightly.

"You should stay," she urges while the younger woman hugs back. "A young woman like you shouldn't do this."

"I have to help. I came here to stop the games, so I'm doing what I can."

Geum-ja pulls away and brushes back Mi-kyung's hair, making her smile.

"You did well while shooting," Yong-sik compliments. "Be very careful out there."

"All of you better be careful," Su-jin states.

Jun-hee opens her mouth to say something but closes it. Mi-kyung sighs and places her hand on Jun-hee's shoulder.

"Hey, if I die, name the baby after me if it's a girl."

She grins when Jun-hee smiles.

"Don't say that, unnie. You're not going to die."

"You BETTER not die!"

Mi-kyung turns around to see Thanos and Nam-gyu approach.

"If you die, who's gonna play the piano??" Thanos asks.

"I don't know. Music software that shit?" She suggests with a shrug.

"But I don't want toooo!" He whines.

Nam-gyu pats his chest and chastises, "Relax, you big baby. Kitty will be just fine."

They quickly squish her cheeks, making her laugh.

"Seriously, you better not die or else I'll kill you," Nam-gyu threatens.

"I promise not to!"

She smiles at her friends before walking back to her allies. Thanos then immediately turns to Jun-hee.

"Hello, señorita. Since you're a friend of Mi-kyung, I just wanna say I'm really sorry for killing your boyfriend."

"...He's my ex."

He blinks.

"Oh. Then, I'm really sorry for killing your ex."

"Did he still have a thing for you?" Nam-gyu questions while thinking back to what he saw earlier.

While Jun-hee nods and Thanos looks her over, Nam-gyu looks at Se-mi, who was looking at Hyun-ju.

"I really hope they win this," she mumbles.

Nam-gyu looks away when Thanos lets out a gasp.

"Oh my gosh, wait, did he...?"

They stare at her baby bump with wide eyes.

Su-jin clears his throat and says, "She had to deal with that all on her own."

Thanos's jaw drops while Nam-gyu lets out a low whistle.

"Sheesh," Nam-gyu comments.

"Oh, my poor poor señorita!"

Thanos hugs the now surprised Jun-hee and caresses her hair.

"I'm afraid to ask but... Why is he like this?" Yong-sik questions.

"Eh?" Nam-gyu eyes him and replies, "I don't fucking know. Probably because he has a little sister."

"Ah, is that why he's kind towards Mi-kyung?" Geum-ja asks. "Also please watch your swearing."

Nam-gyu scrunches his face and looks away as to not make a snarky remark.

Meanwhile, after Hyun-ju explains how to use the MP5 to the team, Gi-hun aims a revolver at the manager.

"Take it off."

When the manager removes his mask and balaclava, Jung-bae gasps and comments, "Good God. Do your parents know what you're doing here?"

The faintest bit of pity appears in Gi-hun's gaze before he cocks his revolver.

"Take us to your captain."

After forcing a door open, Gi-hun walks the manager forward while his allies follow him in a line.

"Stay alive! You owe me a party!" Thanos calls out.

"Like I said, I promise to!" Mi-kyung replies. "I won't do any drugs though!"

"Boooo!" He and Nam-gyu cry out.

She smiles widely before hurrying forward to catch up to her allies.

"Please win..." Su-jin whispers to himself, frowning when he loses sight of Gi-hun.

In the corridor, Mi-kyung rushes past people with Gyeong-su sticking to her side.

"Excuse me, excuse me, pardon me," she mumbles. "Hey, Dae-ho!"

She walks by his side and narrows her eyes at his tense demeanor.

"Deep breaths. I know you're probably scared of dying but so am I. Focus on the good that will happen after this is over, ok?"

"Y-Yes. Yes, I should. Thank you, sis."

"Stay focused too. I can't have my big bro dying on me, right?"

She winks at him before hanging back to walk behind him.

"No wonder he likes you," Gyeong-su comments.

As they walk through the corridors, a lullaby begins to play.

As the automated voice speaks, Mi-kyung suddenly says, "The woman who recorded this died in 2012."

Gyeong-su makes a noise of interest. Dae-ho looks back at her for a moment as they continue to walk.

"She recorded all of these lines back when the games were made. She made new lines over the years as everything modernized until her death. Still, it's fascinating to note that she purposefully made herself sound robotic because-"

"Is this really the best time for a history lesson?? How do you even know this??" 047 interrupts.

She chuckles nervously and explains, "I did my own research with an information vault they have. As for the lesson, I'm trying to ease myself from the fact that we could die at any mo-"

She squeaks at two gunshots, courtesy of Gi-hun shooting a speaker to stop the voice.

"Get down!" He suddenly yells.

The rebels duck as soldiers begin to shoot at them.

Back in the dorms, the other players could hear it. Jun-hee and Geum-ja hold each other's hands tightly while Yong-sik hugs himself. Su-jin whispers to himself, clasping his hands together so hard that they were white.

"Please please please please..."

Sitting behind them, Min-su shakes, making Se-mi put her arm around him. She bites her bottom lip and lightly grinds it between her teeth as she stares blankly at the ceiling. Besides them, Thanos and Nam-gyu stare at the ceiling while holding each other's hands tightly. With the drugs now out of their system, they were uncharacteristically quiet at the reality of what was happening.

Upstairs, the shootout commences. Hyun-ju hurries up the stairs while given cover. As the rebels shoot back, Mi-kyung looks at Dae-ho and sees him cowering.

"Dae-ho!" She shakes him. "Dae-ho, look at me!"

When he does, she holds his hands tightly. They were incredibly sweaty.

"We're going to be ok! Focus on what's in front of you right now!"

"Hey, is he ok??" Jung-bae calls out.

"I'm trying to keep him grounded! Focus on the soldiers!" She yells over the noise.

Seeing Dae-ho continue to panic, she pulls him close and covers his ears. He hugs her tightly and breathes heavily against her chest. After what felt like forever, the final soldier is killed.

"Hold fire!" Gi-hun yells.

"Dae-ho..."

As the others look around for more soldiers, Mi-kyung pulls away slightly and cups Dae-ho's face. He was still shaking a bit.

"You're ok, we're ok..." She sighs. "If you want to go back to the dorms-"

"No, no." He shakes his head while glancing at Jung-bae. "I'll be fine. I have to stay."

They stand up and hold their guns.

"Is everyone okay??" Gi-hun asks.

"We're good!" Mi-kyung replies while looking at Dae-ho with concern.

She takes a moment to wipe away a stray tear, making a nearby Young-il thin his lips.

"All right, then. Let's go up!" Gi-hun orders.

After he pulls the manager back onto his feet, they continue to walk. Dae-ho reaches back a hand, which Mi-kyung grabs and squeezes.

"Is he going to be ok?" Gyeong-su whispers.

"Yes," Mi-kyung immediately answers.

Dae-ho flinches when Hyun-ju shoots at a camera.

"It's ok, you're ok," Mi-kyung reassures.

The rebels continue to walk. At some point, they stop.

"How much farther?" Gi-hun questions.

Mi-kyung lets go of Dae-ho's hand and walks ahead to stand in front of him.

"When you panic, don't focus on the danger. Focus on your sisters, ok? You have to see them again."

After he nods, she turns and sees the manager pointing to the right direction.

"What are you doing??"

"Wait."

When the manager reaches for his pocket, Gi-hun grabs his wrist. Mi-kyung looks at Jung-bae returning to his spot, and they share an equal amount of concern.

"What are you doing?" Gi-hun asks.

"I need my mask to pass security," the manager explains.

"Oh right!" She steps forward and tells Gi-hun, "Masks work like access cards in this place. The leaders, as well as the officer who foresees the managers, have the highest level of clearance. Managers themselves have the second highest."

The manager stares at her, making her smile sweetly.

"Go on."

He pulls his mask out from his pocket. He then stares at Young-il, who eyes him down like a predator. Then a bullet flies through his head. Soldiers from the other side of the corridor begin to shoot at the rebels, who quickly hide. 072 gets shot multiple times and is killed.

"Dae-ho, focus!" Mi-kyung calls out when she sees him shake.

The rebels and soldiers have a shootout, aiming shots before ducking for cover. A few soldiers fall dead.

"I'll go look for the management area!" Gi-hun calls out.

"Will you be able to find it? Should I come?" Young-il asks.

"I'll go with Jung-bae," Gi-hun decides. "I need you to buy us some time!"

Young-il gives a nod, and Mi-kyung notices the faint disappointment.

"Jung-bae, let's go," Gi-hun urges.

"Be careful!" She calls out.

After the two hurry away, not without grabbing the mask, the rebels remain.

"Look out!"

Gyeong-su pulls Mi-kyung behind cover as a bullet whizzes past her. He and Young-il take aim and kill a soldier.

"Thanks!"

"Are we even?"

"Yeah, definitely!"

She gives Young-il a quick smile before they return their attention to the soldiers. After a while, she looks to the side and sees Dae-ho fumbling to reload his MP5.

"Stick close to the wall if you're afraid of getting shot!" She advises. "But you have to see where you're shooting! We can't waste ammo! You'll focus more if you hold your breath!"

The shootout continues. When the radio beeps, Young-il pulls his out and Mi-kyung hurries to his side.

"We're in the management area. We'll make our way up," Gi-hun says.

He and Mi-kyung look at each other knowingly. They take a moment to reload their ammo before continuing to shoot.

At some point, 047 yells, "This isn't getting us anywhere! Let's follow them to the upper level!"

"We might get surrounded if we move together without a plan!" Young-il replies.

"We should wait until they find the control room! It's too risky to do anything else!" Mi-kyung advises.

At the end of the hallway, she watches Hyun-ju and Gyeong-seok shoot down the way they came.

"Are there guards there?"

"There were two!" She replies.

"206 is down!" He adds.

Mi-kyung winces at the news.

"Everyone! Check your magazines!" Hyun-ju calls out.

Most of them check, announcing how many they have left.

Young-il doesn't yet he claims, "I'm almost out too!"

"Me three!" Mi-kyung claims.

"Pull yourself together, man!" Gyeong-su yells at Dae-ho. "We'll get more ammo!"

"Where can we get more ammo?!" Dae-ho yells back.

As if the universe heard them, Jung-bae's voice appears on radio.

"Young-il, Dae-ho, Mi-kyung! Can you hear me?"

She pulls her out and replies, "Loud and clear!"

"I think we're right below the control room! But we need backup and more ammo!"

"Bad timing to ask that! We're almost out too!"

Gi-hun comes on and explains, "There should be spare magazines in the soldiers' pockets in our quarters! Go get them!"

"Got it!" She pockets her radio and facepalms. "Shit, I forgot they had spares in there! We wouldn't be in this mess if I had remembered!"

"Pull yourself together!" Young-il scolds before looking past her and yelling, "Did you hear that? They need backup! Three of us will go and the rest will stay! Join us once you get the magazines!"

"I'll go with you!" Mi-kyung immediately volunteers.

"Me too! Friends stick together!" Gyeong-su adds.

"Let's go!"

The three hurry down the corridor to follow Gi-hun's and Jung-bae's path. The bright mix of colors switch to daunting violet after they walk past the doorway.

"This is reminding me of Metal Gear Solid," Gyeong-su says. "We're like spies infiltrating the enemy to get information."

Mi-kyung laughs, "That's one way to see it. How lovely."

"Focus, you two. This isn't a video game," Young-il chastises.

She and Gyeong-su look at each other then chuckle. They stop when Young-il looks back at them. They continue to move, carefully checking their surroundings. Young-il gestures for the two to move ahead before looking up at a camera. He then follows with a look of acceptance.

Meanwhile, Dae-ho rushes back towards the dorms, mumbling to himself about the magazines. Despite his shaking, he also mumbles about his sisters.

"I have to see them again... Like sis said... I have to see them again..."

When he returns to the dorms, his mumbles return to the magazines. As Dae-ho begins to grab the spare magazines, Su-jin, Yong-sik, Thanos, and Nam-gyu approach him.

"Dae-ho, what happened?" Yong-sik asks.

"Where's my girl Mi-kyung?" Thanos asks. "My boy Gyeong-su??"

Dae-ho stands up and tells them, "Th-They're fine but... Magazines."

Su-jin understands right away and orders, "Gather the magazines from their pockets! Our friends need ammo!"

The four spread out to the soldiers. Se-mi gets up and rushes to help them with Min-su, Geum-ja, and Jun-hee following suit.

Back in the violet corridors, the backup find their friends.

"Dad!"

Mi-kyung immediately hugs Gi-hun out of relief, which he returns.

"Did you find the control room?" Young-il asks.

"I think it's right up there, but we can't go this way," Gi-hun explains. "I want you to find another way."

"There's definitely a way to go around them!" Mi-kyung states while pulling away.

"Keep their focus on you while we go around and hit them from behind," Young-il plans.

Gi-hun nods in agreement.

"Wait!" He stops them and pulls out his spare magazine. "Here, take this. You're going to need it."

Mi-kyung gasps at the gesture.

"Are you sure?" Young-il questions.

Gi-hun nods and replies, "Dae-ho will be back with more."

"I don't know, he looked very shaky," Gyeong-su comments.

Mi-kyung promptly punches his arm and scolds, "Shut up! Dae-ho will pull through since he's our friend!"

Young-il takes the spare magazine and pockets it. Mi-kyung hugs Gi-hun again, much tighter than before.

"Be safe," she says.

The shared warmth departs.

"You too."

He and Jung-bae resume shooting at the soldiers while Young-il, Mi-kyung, and Gyeong-su hurry away.

In the dorms, the spare magazines were placed on a jacket gotten from one of the dead players.

"This was all we could find," Yong-sik says.

"Are you sure that was everything??" Thanos asks.

"I double-checked all of them already. There's no more," Nam-gyu replies.

Dae-ho nods, zips up the jacket, and picks up the magazines.

"Best of luck," Se-mi says.

Dae-ho heads towards the door while the others watch. However, when he steps out, he freezes at the sound of gunfire. He begins to shake as the gunfire becomes distant to him. The blood on his face pricks at his skin. He barely breaks out of it when he hears Hyun-ju's voice through the radio, which he grabs.

"Did you find the magazines? Are you on your way?"

He stares at it blankly.

"Dae-ho, answer me."

He drops it. He couldn't do it anymore. Blocking out her questions, he backs away and hurries into the dorms again. To the others' shock, he hurries to his bed.

"What is he..?" Nam-gyu asks. "Hey! What the hell are you doing?!"

He and Thanos quickly approach Dae-ho as he gets on his bed and curls up. Su-jin quickly follows.

"I can't do this... I can't do this..."

"Hey! Marine boy!" Thanos yells. "What the fuck? Don't the others need more ammo??"

"Did none of you ever hear about PTSD?!" Su-jin scolds. "Back away!"

They do, allowing Su-jin to sit next to him.

"Dae-ho, can you hear me?? Dae-ho!"

In the corridors, the backup trio head up some stairs. Young-il gestures for Gyeong-su and Mi-kyung to move forward.

"Gi-hun, we found it," Young-il whispers into his radio. "Start attacking and draw their attention. Then we'll hit them from behind."

"Okay, got it!"

Mi-kyung takes a few deep breaths as they wait. When they hear Gi-hun and Jung-bae shooting, she and Gyeong-su move forward. They hide behind corners and look back at Young-il for a signal. He gives a nod, and they slowly move out to shoot.

Then Gyeong-su's back spurts with blood. Mi-kyung gasps at the gunshots and immediately aims her gun at the man who did it.

"M-Mi-kyung..."

She looks at Gyeong-su then whimpers and lets go of her weapon when the gun is pressed against her chest.

"Get him on the radio," In-ho orders. "Say goodbye."

She nods rapidly. With a shaking hand, she grabs her radio.

"What's going on? Are you attacking?" Gi-hun asks.

She looks at In-ho, who calmly reloads his gun and makes her press her back against a wall. His weapon aims at her heart.

She begins to cry as she turns on her radio and whimpers, "D-Dad... Mister Gi-hun... They got us..."

"Mi-kyung?? What happened? Are you all right??" His worried voice rings out.

"Please..." She says while shaking her head. "I don't want to die... Help me... I don't want to die!"

In-ho cocks his gun.

"Mi-kyung! Answer me! Mi-kyung!"

The last sound Gi-hun hears of her is a scream of terror before a gunshot echoes through the radio. The line goes dead.

Downstairs, Hyun-ju runs to the dorms. She stops momentarily at the sight of the radio on the floor before she enters the dorms.

"Dae-ho! Where are you?!" She calls out.

"Over here!" Se-mi replies while pointing to where he is. "He's having some kind of episode! Su-jin can't get him to move!"

Hyun-ju rushes to where they were. Thanos and Nam-gyu were tugging at his arms, trying to pull him off of the bed. Su-jin was trying to pull them off of the whimpering man.

"Move already!" Nam-gyu yells.

"Stop it!" Su-jin orders. "You're hurting him!"

"Dae-ho..."

They stop and turn to Hyun-ju. Dae-ho flinches at the sight of her.

"What happened?"

"I'm sorry... I'm sorry..." is all he could whisper.

Nam-gyu grabs the jacket full of magazines and pushes it into Hyun-ju's arms.

"Go!"

Hyun-ju begins to head to the door, only for the door to buzz. A large group of soldiers enter the dorms and a manager. By the manager's side, it was someone with a white mask in an all-white outfit. They shoot the ceiling two times, frightening everyone.

The manager yells, "Get down on the floor!"

Hyun-ju hides behind a bed and reloads her gun. As she eyes the soldiers, Se-mi grabs her wrist.

"Don't." She pleads. "There's too many. It's over."

"You can't die like this," Geum-ja adds.

Hyun-ju sighs, crestfallen. Footsteps approach, and the person in white appears in view with two soldiers aiming at them.

"Put down your weapon."

She looks at her friends, who have their hands raised, before she sets the MP5 down and raises her hands in surrender. As the soldiers approach to take it and the magazines, she looks over the person in white. She notices that they were wearing heels.

"The time for playing a hero is over," they say while the automated voice begins to call out which player died. "And..."

They look at Dae-ho, making him whimper.

"The time to consider your failure has begun."

They turn around and look at the soldiers scanning the dead players.

"Make sure everything is-"

"Player 390, eliminated."

They tense up and go silent.

"Ma'am? You were saying?" The manager asks.

"Don't speak to your superior without being spoken to first," The masked woman chastises. "Make sure everything is cleaned up before the next game."

She walks away and heads to the elevator. After entering it, she looks up and lets the system scan her mask.

"Access granted."

She presses the button for the top floor. When she arrives, she robotically walks forward. Her heels clicking against the floor is the only sound her mind focuses on. It stops when she sits on the couch. It was too soft on her body. The long, white coat felt like a prison. The mask is suffocating. In her haste to remove her mask and hood, she fails to hear the elevator dinging. Her breath grows heavy as footsteps approach. She looks back and sees the Frontman, who stops at her gaze.

He stares at the woman in white. Her hair is pulled back into a neat, lower bun, and her bangs are pinned to her sides. Her beautiful face is twisted in anguish, deforming the scar on her cheek.

"Did you kill him?"

He understands who she meant.

"Yes, I did."

"What the fuck?!"

Getting on her feet, Mi-kyung walks around the couch and approaches him with a fierce glare.

"Take this off!"

He allows her to tug down his hood and pull away his mask. At the sight of his blank expression, she lets out a frustrated yell and tosses his mask aside.

"I never agreed to this! I never agreed to either of us killing someone we befriended!"

"What difference does it make?"

She screams in frustration and grabs the front of his coat.

"Tell me he didn't... Please tell me Gi-hun didn't see it happen..."

"He did."

Her expressions crumples. She lets him go and turns away. She heads to the bar, grabbing a bottle of whiskey and a glass cup. As he approaches her from behind, she fills the cup to the brim and gulps it down. He gently places his hands on her shoulders.

"Mi-kyung, I only did it to make sure that 456 wouldn't make any further attempts against the games."

She sets the glass aside, shrugs off his hands, and turns around.

"456 now? As if you weren't happily calling him Gi-hun-ssi for the past few days?!"

She stumbles over her words.

"You're such an asshole, you know?! The rebellion failing would've been enough to break his spirit, but you went too far!"

"Do you truly believe that or are you only saying that because you got attached?"

Her glare weakens.

He hums and points out, "I remember very clearly that we wouldn't get too attached to him and anyone else. But no, you went out of your way to make friends. You allowed that woman to call you unnie, that man to call you sis, and referred to 456 as your dad."

Her chin quivers as she clenches her fists tightly.

"Don't change the subject. You're the fucking bastard who murdered Jung-bae in front of Gi-hun! I know him enough to say that the rebellion simply failing would've done the trick!"

His expression immediately becomes stern.

"Know him enough... You've only studied his file the past year before being around him for 4 days at most." He backs her against the bar and states, "And don't swear at me. You're more mature than that."

She rolls her eyes and scoffs.

"Fuck you! You shove your whiskey right up your-"

She's cut off when his lips presses against hers. One hand cups the back of her neck while the other rests on her hip. She wraps her arms around his neck and lets him place her on the bar. Her legs part, allowing their bodies to press together.

Longing and desperation fuel the kiss as their tongues begin to glide. When she lets out a whine, he gives his own and nudges her to lean back. It makes them part, letting her see his possessive gaze.

"You're too nice for your own good, Mi-kyung... It took everything in my power to not go against my cover story."

He cups her face and leans in for another kiss, only for her to move her head away.

"In-ho... Now is not the time."

He sighs and nods in agreement. She sits up and gives him her own stern expression.

"Do you even regret it? Killing him?"

"I do."

Her eyebrows raise.

He continues, "I was shaking, Mi-kyung. I didn't want to, but I had to break 456's spirit. I didn't want him to cause more problems for us."

This makes her scoff.

"More problems for you. You're going to get after me for being attached as if you didn't?"

He stares at her in silence. She shakes her head and nudges him back so that she can get off the bar.

"I'm going to take a shower." She looks up at him with a glare. "Alone."

He nods. As he pours himself a drink, she walks to the other side of the room and enters the bathroom.

She undoes her hair tie and pulls out her hair pins. She methodically undresses and carefully folds her clothing. After setting her heels aside, she looks at herself in the mirror. Her black hair drapes around her face, stopping below her shoulders. The scar resting on her upper cheek aches from memory.

She undoes the clasp of her necklace and looks at it carefully. The pearl shines in the bathroom light. She sets it aside, placing it next to two rings, one silver and one gold. She picks up the gold one and lightly grazes the beautiful diamond embedded on it.

With a sigh, she then places it back in its spot and heads to the shower space. She turns on the water and stands still as it washes over her small form. She stares at the caddy shelf perched in front of her. The water grows warmer. She slowly reads the label of the expensive shower products. Steam rises around her.

She blinks a few times, barely noticing the ache of her skin as the water scalds her skin. Her scalp felt like it was on fire. Slowly, she twists the knob and makes the water cold. Her mind wanders to earlier.

Mi-kyung screams when In-ho puts his finger on the trigger. After he fires, she drops her radio, covers her face, and sobs.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry-"

He pulls her hands away from her face and hugs her tightly. As she nuzzles against his chest, her eyes widen at the sight of Gyeong-su's bullet-riddled corpse.

"I would never kill you, Mi-kyung," In-ho soothingly states. "I wasn't sure if you would go through with the act because of how attached you are."

He cups her face, making her look up at him.

"But I would never kill you, darling. You know that."

When she just stares at him, he sighs and presses a firm kiss to her forehead.

"Come. We must return to our work."

When he pulls away slightly, she shakes her head and holds onto him. He caresses her hair and a faint smile grazes his face.

"You're so cute..."

His expression turns blank.

As she stares at Gyeong-su's corpse, terror etched on his face and his hands on his gun, In-ho adjusts his radio and orders, "Start wrapping things up."

She returns to reality when the scalds on her skin ache from the cold. She turns the knob one last time, turning the water warm. She looks down at her hands and gasps at the sight of blood. She didn't notice it because of the rebellion.

Now that she has, she quickly washes it off. But there was more blood on her body. She rubs her skin, wanting it gone. She scratches, wanting it gone.

She did the same back in 2022. Her games. The aftermath. She had no choice. She had to kill multiple players. The cut on her cheek was fresh. It stings under the running water as she washed the blood off of her.

She crumples to her knees and screams loudly. She wails at the sight of the red water.

"Why won't it come off?!"

She remembers the bodies. They now look like the people from the rebellion. She sobs harder when she remembers Gyeong-su's corpse.

"I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry!"

There was blood on her hands. She can't get it off. It won't come off.

"Mi-kyung!"

She turns and sees In-ho pulling open the curtains.

"Help me! It won't come off!"

He pulls her out of the shower space and wraps a towel around her. He pulls her close, allowing her to sob onto his shoulder. Her scalded arms, now having a few, lightly bleeding scratches, wrap around him in turn.

She then pleads, "In-ho... In-ho, please... Make it stop... I want it to stop..."

He tangles his fingers in her wet hair and lightly massages her scalp.

"I'm here, Mi-kyung... I'm here..."

After one hour, In-ho walks out of the bathroom with Mi-kyung in his arms as if she were his bride. Both of their hairs are freshly dried, and they were dressed in their pajamas. Her arms are wrapped in gauze.

He carries her to the bedroom and lays her on the bed. She stares at the ceiling with a blank expression.

"Do you want anything to eat?"

She shakes her head then blinks.

"Kimchi stew... Lots of pork..."

She begins to cry again. When he reaches out, she turns to her side to face away from him.

"Mi-kyung..."

"Go away. Please."

"...I'll be on the couch if you need me."

He kisses the side of her head before reluctantly heading to the door. He looks back at her with an unreadable expression.

"Are you going to leave?"

His question makes her chuckle dryly.

"I have nowhere else to go. I have no one else to turn to, no thanks to you."

He tenses up.

"Mi-kyung, answer the question."

She scoffs and pulls the blanket over herself.

She deflects, "Thank you for taking care of me."

He sighs and answers, "You're welcome. Goodnight."

He opens the door and takes a step forward. He looks back at her again, now expectantly.

"Night," she mumbles.

He takes a deep breath then asks, "Is 456's survival not enou-?"

She quickly sits up, glares at him, and yells, "His name is Seong Gi-hun, and no, it's not enough! My friends are dead because of you!"

They stare at each other in silence for a few moments. Afterward, In-ho walks out and closes the door without another word. She lays down and punches the pillow.

"I can't..." Mi-kyung lets out a shaky breath and vows, "I won't let anyone else die..."

Chapter Text

The bodies were gone. The remaining players sit in silence, and both sides eye each other warily. Neither side felt comfortable enough to fall back asleep. They don't know how long it's been since the night attack. They don't know how long it's been since Gi-hun walked away with 14 people and only 2 came back.

Su-jin was pacing back and forth, lightly biting the nail of his thumb. Near him, his allies stare at the ground silently.

"...Dammit!"

Su-jin places his face onto his hands and groans.

"What could they be doing to him??" He turns to the others and asks, "You all swear that none of you heard his number??"

"For the sixth time, yes," Se-mi replies in an exasperated manner. "We didn't hear that he was eliminated."

Nam-gyu tugs at his hair and wonders, "Are they torturing him?"

"No," Su-jin immediately says. "They better fucking not be."

He resumes his pace, only for Geum-ja to stop him.

"Please, sit down. All we can do for now is wait."

He takes a deep breath, and they sit down. Jun-hee looks at him then looks at Dae-ho, who was far from the group.

"How about..." Thanos starts. "...they escaped through the vents?"

"That's stupider than them disguising themselves as guards," Nam-gyu replies. He shakes his head and replies, "Face it, man, they're dead."

"No, they're not!" Thanos insists. "Look, any minute now, they're going to come back in here and tell us they're fine!"

"For fuck's sake, accept it already!" Nam-gyu yells. "Gyeong-su is dead because we pushed him to join! Mi-kyung..." He shakes his head. "She got herself killed. Fucking idiot."

Thanos stares at him with wide eyes while Min-su eyes him warily.

After a gulp, he asks, "...Why is she an idiot, Nam-gyu?"

Nam-gyu eyes him for a moment.

"Tch, it's not hard to think about it. She and... and everyone else who decided to join the rebellion got themselves killed. It was a stupid plan from the start!"

Hyun-ju takes in a sharp breath before turning to face him and retorting, "We were very close to succeeding!"

"Oh? How close were you??"

"Gi-hun and Jung-bae were close to the control room. Young-il, Mi-kyung, and your friend were sent as backup because they were stopped by soldiers." She mulls it over before continuing, "It doesn't make any sense. They should've been able to get to the control room."

"It's because Dae-ho didn't come back with the ammo," Yong-sik concludes. "If you had more ammo, the plan could've worked."

She furrows her eyebrows and slowly shakes her head.

"No no, they could've gotten more ammo from the pockets of the soldiers. Gi-hun told us all about that after he got there. The backup team still had some ammo, so if they were sneaky, they could've gotten an extra magazine..."

Thanos leans in closer and whispers, "Do you think someone could've betrayed us??"

"Ok, enough with your crazy ideas," Nam-gyu dismisses while tugging him back by the back of his collar.

"No no, wait, that makes sense," Su-jin insists. "Depending on the layout of their location, the backup team couldn't have been noticed by the soldiers."

"Or they were immediately spotted and shot dead," Nam-gyu snarks.

Thanos and Geum-ja wince at the scenario.

"Either that happened or one of them shot the other two in the back," Su-jin concludes. After a moment, he shakes his head and resigns, "No, that can't be possible. None of them would have any reason to betray us if that possibility ever happened."

After a few moments, they hear the familiar buzz. They turn to see four circle guards enter the dorms while carrying a coffin. They carefully place the coffin down in the middle of the dorms before walking away. Everyone stands and warily approach the coffin. Su-jin is quick to go to it and push the lid aside.

"Gi-hun?!"

He pushes the lid completely to the side. He presses his fingers against Gi-hun's neck while looking him over and sighs in relief.

"He's alive..." He looks at his friends with a wide smile. "He's not that hurt..."

"We should get him on a bed," Hyun-ju suggests.

Su-jin nods in agreement before they pick him up and carry him to a nearby bed. The allies follow except for Thanos and Nam-gyu. They stare at the empty coffin with mixed expressions as the other players return to their spots.

"...They're all gone," Thanos quietly says.

"That's what I've been trying to tell you," his lover replies.

Thanos pulls out his cross necklace while letting out a shaky breath. He opens it and places two pills in his mouth. He looks at Nam-gyu, whose surprise doesn't last long before he does the same. While Thanos stretches his neck, Nam-gyu looks back at Dae-ho, who flinches and turns away. His attention switches back to his boyfriend when he grabs his hand.

"Hey... You're not gonna die on me, right?" Thanos quietly asks.

Nam-gyu scoffs and replies, "Don't say shit like that. You better not die on me either."

They walk over and sit on the bed next to Gi-hun's. They stare at Su-jin, who has his eyes on Gi-hun's face while he holds his hand tightly. The couple gives each other knowing glances before they lean against one another and relax in their high.

After 20 minutes slowly passed by, Su-jin blinks when he sees him stirring.

"Gi-hun..."

The others quickly crowd around him. When his eyes open, Su-jin immediately hugs him.

"Gi-hun!"

"He's alive!" Geum-ja says in relief.

Gi-hun blinks a few times as he feels Su-jin cry into his neck. He instinctively pats his back in comfort, but his mind was still reeling.

"Are you all right?" Yong-sik asks.

He slowly looks around at who remains. Su-jin pulls away so that he and Geum-ja could help him get up. Gi-hun silently looks around the dorms before turning to Hyun-ju.

"What about the others?"

She looks down while slowly shaking her head.

"And Mi-kyung?"

He turns to Thanos, who looked extremely worried. Beside him, Nam-gyu was giving Gi-hun a hateful expression. He only turns away when Su-jin glares at him. Gi-hun's mind replays what he heard.

"Help me... I don't want to die!"

"Scared," was all he says.

Jun-hee's breath shudders while Thanos lightly groans.

"No..."

He hurries away to the other side of the dorms with Nam-gyu close behind. Jun-hee again looks at Dae-ho, now in worry. A nearby Min-su begins to cry, prompting Se-mi to put his arm around him. Her lips are twisted from grief, but her eyes are full of concern as she stares at Hyun-ju.

"And Jung-bae?" Hyun-ju asks.

Gi-hun's stare is her answer. As she looks down, he remembers what the Frontman told him before...

"Look closely at the consequences of your little hero game."

He sits down, barely giving attention to the squeeze Su-jin gives to his hand. The alarm buzzes, and a manager enters the room with a large group of soldiers. The manager presses a button on his remote, bringing attention to the piggy bank.

"A total of 36 players were eliminated last night, and 60 players remain in the game."

While almost everyone looks at the piggy bank, Thanos and Nam-gyu stare at the floor. They silently stare at a pool of blood then Thanos looks down at the dried blood on his hands.

"Dammit," he whispers.

"You will now take a vote to decide whether to continue the games or not," the manager announces.

Gi-hun pulls away from Su-jin's grasp and walks to the middle. He stares at the soldiers in disbelief as he approaches them.

"Why did you keep me alive? Why didn't you kill me? Answer me! Tell me why!"

Two soldiers quickly approach him. One pushes their gun against his chest.

"Why did you let me live? Why?!"

To Su-jin's horror, Gi-hun forces the gun to be aimed at his forehead.

"Shoot me, you bastards!"

"Gi-hun, stop!" Su-jin pleads. 

He ignores him and yells, "Shoot me! Kill me too!"

More soldiers come to apprehend him. Su-jin rushes towards him, only to stop when one soldier aims his gun at him. He can only watch in anguish.

"You won!" Gi-hun wails. "So go ahead and kill me!"

On the top floor, the hosts observe this. Their eyes are on the screen in front of them as both finish their glasses of whiskey in one gulp. They sit on the opposite ends of the couch, the distance making them silent. Mi-kyung doesn't look at In-ho when he goes to answer the phone.

"We're back at the port for now."

She looks back when she recognizes Captain Park's voice. She listens in on the conversation carefully. Her expression doesn't change until...

"What should I do if things go south?" Captain Park asks.

In-ho is silent for a few moments.

He then replies, "Kill them all. Including the detective."

He places the phone down and looks back at Mi-kyung, who was glaring at him.

"You keep Gi-hun alive when he plays the hero, but you want Jun-ho dead when he does the same?" She points out.

He sighs and states, "It's different. You wouldn't understand."

She groans and gets on her feet to face him entirely.

"No, I understand," she corrects while getting closer to him. "You like Gi-hun more than your own brother at this point. You got Yeong-gil to save Jun-ho after you shot him, but as soon as he comes back to stop the games again, you want him dead."

"Only as a last resort," he corrects.

"Fine, as a last resort, whatever," she brushes off. "But Gi-hun almost succeeded in stopping the games! Our cover would've been blown if you didn't foil his plan! Yet almost every other rebel is dead except for the leader?! What for?!"

He looks away to avoid his gaze. She steps away, mumbling to herself. She looks at the screen, seeing the guards handcuff Gi-hun to a bed post.

"We could've had Jun-ho as your best man," she suddenly says.

He sighs and dismisses, "He wouldn't agree. He would never agree."

"Maybe he would if you had let me contact him in the past few years," she snarks.

"Do you want us to get arrested?" He challenges. "You'd be risking our livelihoods. We'd either get the entire blame for the games because the VIPs can easily deny their involvement or we'd have to leave the country and restart our lives elsewhere."

"Or he could let it slide because he just wants his brother back. He'd be likely to stay if you had just told him why his big brother is running the games!"

"He wouldn't bother to listen and demand that we turn ourselves in!"

She swiftly counters, "He would listen because he wants his brother back!"

He puts his hands on her shoulders and says, "Detective Hwang would not want me as his brother after I shot him. There's no chance of a perfect reunion. Accept that."

She pulls away and returns to the couch with a huff. She stares at the screen, seeing the players gathered for a vote. She frowns when seeing Gi-hun slumped over.

"You're a cruel man," she mumbles. 

He sits on the other edge of the couch with no reply. They both watch as the manager calls out for Gi-hun to make his vote. He doesn't move. He couldn't even if he wanted to due to the handcuff.

"This is cruel," Su-jin mumbles while staring at Gi-hun.

"Next, Player 448. Please cast your vote."

448, an X voter, approaches the stand. Before, she would've pressed X. This time, she stares at the buttons in hesitation.

"We're not going to hurt you so vote freely," a O voter calls out.

"Yeah, do whatever you want."

"Don't mind us, feel free to vote however you want."

Jun-hee eyes the O voters with a frown. She looks at Thanos and Nam-gyu, who were staring at their fellow voters with frowns too. When 448 votes O, Thanos and Nam-gyu didn't show satisfaction. In contrast, they seemed deeply ashamed.

Meanwhile, now with their masks on, In-ho and Mi-kyung step into the control room.

They look at the Masked Officer, who informs them: "The casualties have been identified: eight managers and twenty-seven soldiers."

"Replace the dead soldiers with workers and repair the damaged facility as soon as possible. The VIPs will be arriving soon," In-ho orders.

"I trust that the workers have kept up with their training regiment," Mi-kyung brings up.

"Of course they have. Your reform proved useful," the Masked Officer replies.

"Thank you," she says.

In-ho walks away to watch the votes while Mi-kyung stays behind with the Officer.

"Han..." She starts quietly.

Hearing his last name, he steps closer to ensure that no one could overhear them.

"Is everything going well with the soldiers?" She questions. "I noticed them acting oddly during the second game when they were disposing of players."

"Everything is going fine," he claims. "You should focus, Mi-kyung."

She eyes him carefully under her mask.

"I'm doing my job. Are you?"

"You should too, Hyun-soo."

She turns away and goes to In-ho's side. He looks at her, but she maintains her attention on the screen focused on the dorms.

"Next, Player 230. Please cast your vote."

Thanos slowly approaches the stand. His hands were shaking despite taking two pills earlier. He instinctively goes to press O.

"Once we get out of here, we can meet up for a hangout! You, me, and Nam-gyu."

He stops himself. Slowly looking to his right, Mi-kyung stands there with a wide smile.

"You two truly know how to show a girl a good time."

He forces himself to stare at the buttons again as his mind replays his time with Mi-kyung. Guilt weighs on his back when he thinks about their last interaction.

"Stay alive! You owe me a party!" He had called out.

"Like I said, I promise to! I won't do any drugs though!"

She was smiling the last time they saw her. She was smiling on her way to her death. He thinks further back...

"But... why do you want to leave if you'll be returning to being alone?" Gyeong-su questioned.

"I made friends," she replied. "More importantly, I met someone who understands what I've been through. So if I leave, I'd have people to hang out with on the outside."

When she pointed at the blue patch on Thanos's jacket, there was resignation on her face.

"But my voice and tears don't matter to people like you, right?" 

It was the second time in the games that he felt guilt. His face scrunches up, and he presses a button. A few gasps fill the room. He blinks a few times in disbelief.

He pressed X.

After switching his patch, he joins the other X voters and stands next to a very surprised Se-mi.

"Wow, you do have a heart," she comments quietly.

He doesn't reply. Instead, he looks at Jun-hee as she makes her vote. When he got close enough, he suddenly pulls her into a hug.

"She made me promise that I would protect her friends when possible," he quietly admits. "That's easier to do when on the same team, right?"

She doesn't return the hug, but she does nod.

"Yeah... That sounds like something unnie would say."

"Unnie..." He pulls away, stares at her with wide eyes, and asks, "You saw her a sister?"

She nods again, making him sigh and place his hands on her shoulders.

"We have to stay alive..."

She looks at Se-mi, who gestures for her to go along with it. Thanos keeps his hand on Jun-hee's shoulder for the rest of the votes. When it was Nam-gyu's turn, he's quick to switch votes as well. He flips off the O players who glare at him before he goes to Thanos's side. His hands were more shaky than Thanos's.

"Tch, you can't leave me behind, asshole," he mutters.

Thanos holds Nam-gyu's hand, allowing them to be still.

"Aw, you two are very good friends," Geum-ja says warmly.

"Mom," Yong-sik whispers loudly. "They're more than that."

Geum-ja makes a small noise of surprise.

"Well..." She shrugs. "You two are good."

Thanos smiles and replies, "Thank you. Mi-kyung was the one who..."

He trails off. In the end, there were 20 X voters and 39 O voters. Now with red patches on their jackets, the couple slowly goes to the opposite of their usual spot as the lights come on. Se-mi and Min-su don't get near them, but the others do. Su-jin eyes the two curiously and opens his mouth to ask something.

"Hey, 456."

He closes it and looks back to see a large group of O voters looking at the still shell-shocked Gi-hun.

"Was this all just a part of your plan?" Yeong-sam asks. "I figured it out. You staged a rebellion to lure people out and had them all killed at once!"

"Shut up!" Su-jin immediately yells. "That's not what happened!"

Yeong-sam and a few other O voters laugh.

"Face the truth! He was all like "kill me," but I bet that was an act," he adds.

Su-jin takes a few steps towards them, only to be held back by Hyun-ju and Geum-ja.

"Shut the hell up! You don't know what it's like since you all stayed here instead of risking your lives to get us all out of here!" He yells out. "It's not an act!"

Seung-won gestures to Gi-hun and questions, "If it wasn't an act, why was he brought back here and not killed like the others?"

Thanos and Nam-gyu look at each other while Yeong-sam looks at his fellow voters and begins to clap.

"Thank you for taking out the reds and getting them killed so that we won by a landslide!"

Su-jin begins to breathe heavily and tears up at the clapping. He looks at Gi-hun, who stares blankly at the floor.

"Don't bother. Let's sit," Geum-ja pleads.

They drag Su-jin to sit down, where he wipes away his tears.

"That asshole made a good point, you know," Nam-gyu brings up.

Hyun-ju glares at him, making him scoff.

"I'm just saying. Maybe Thanos had a point when he said there could've been a traitor," he insists.

Yong-sik nods along, only to stop when Geum-ja hits his arm.

"If there is one, it isn't Gi-hun," Su-jin states.

"Uh..." Yong-sik clears his throat and agrees, "He's right. Gi-hun may have always been weird but-"

"But he's always wanted to help us. Same with Mi-kyung," Geum-ja adds.

"Maybe it's that Young-il. There's something weird with him," Se-mi suggests.

Before the conversation could continue, Min-su mumbles, "Uh, guys..."

He gestures to the side. They turn to see Seon-nyeo, Mi-hwa, and 306 in front of Gi-hun. Mi-hwa and 306 were praying as Seon-nyeo taunts the man, who slowly looks at her.

"You will be hearing their screams until the moment you die," she provokes. After laughing, she adds, "The girl who wasn't meant to be here calls for you to join her."

Gi-hun immediately begins to choke her with his free hand. Mi-hwa and 306 begin trying to pull Seon-nyeo away as his allies watch in shock. Thanos and Nam-gyu rush forward and grab the followers. They pull them away, giving Gi-hun an easier time in choking the shaman.

"Kill her!" Thanos encourages.

"No!" Su-jin screams.

He and Hyun-ju rush towards them. Seon-nyeo's face was turning blue by the time they could pull Gi-hun's hand away.

"Boo," Nam-gyu says at the sight.

He and Thanos let go of the followers, who quickly drag the almost unconscious Seon-nyeo away. Meanwhile, Gi-hun struggles against his handcuff and reaches towards her. He stops when Su-jin grabs his hand, making them look at each other. Gi-hun slumps once more as Hyun-ju stares at Thanos and Nam-gyu.

"Why did you do that??"

"Mi-kyung wanted her dead," Thanos explains. "The least we could do is help fulfill that favor."

Hyun-ju shakes her head and asserts, "There's no point in more bloodshed."

"Did you forget that the bitch was taunting him??" Nam-gyu brings up while gesturing behind him. "Hell, those other assholes were taunting him earlier. They're assholes who deserve to get killed."

"As if you didn't also attack us last night?" She points out. "As if you two weren't the biggest O voters and started the bathroom fight because you were threatening your own teammate??"

Min-su looks down while Se-mi smiles slightly at Hyun-ju. Thanos steps up and starts, "Listen, señorita, you make a fair point, but..."

He trails off, unsure of what to say as a rebuttal. Hyun-ju walks away from them.

"There's no point in more bloodshed," Su-jin repeats. "Gi-hun did what he could to save us. It wasn't his fault."

Nam-gyu rolls his eyes in disagreement. His gaze softens ever-so-slightly at Su-jin sitting next to Gi-hun and hugging him. His eyes flutter, and he rests his head on Su-jin's shoulder. Thanos and Nam-gyu share a knowing glance before stepping away and their expressions turning serious.

"It still is his fault, isn't it?" Nam-gyu whispers. "He started the rebellion."

"Eehh... He had good motives. We could've gotten out early and paid off our debts," Thanos replies. He hums in thought and mentions, "Isn't it the other guy's fault? What was his name? The guy who was supposed to bring the magazines?"

"Dae-ho, I think."

They look at the frightened man, who hasn't noticed them yet. The others have.

"Are you two alright?" Geum-ja asks.

Thanos points at Dae-ho and questions, "Wasn't he the one who was supposed to bring the extra ammo?"

When he's given a nod, anger rises to his expression.

"How was he like before the rebellion?" He further questions.

The team looks at each other before Jun-hee explains, "He's kind. He was also very loyal to us-"

"Loyal?" Nam-gyu scoffs and looks at Dae-ho. "Hey, dickhead! What happened to being loyal?!"

Dae-ho flinches when he sees them.

Se-mi stands in front of their view and pleads, "You two need to calm down-"

"No! We're not going to calm down!" Thanos proclaims.

They move past her. Hyun-ju immediately grabs Nam-gyu's arm.

"So much for loyalty!" He yells.

"Stop it! This isn't the time!" Hyun-ju pleads.

Yong-sik steps in front of Thanos, who promptly pushes him aside.

"You're someone who values loyalty, but why didn't you go back when they needed you?!"

He approaches Dae-ho, who presses back against the headboard and looks around frantically. When Thanos got close, he grabs Dae-ho by the front of his jacket.

"You hid like a coward! They trusted you, and you betrayed them!"

"That's..." Dae-ho stammers. "That's not true.. I didn't... I didn't mean to..."

Thanos ignores him and continues to yell, "Why weren't you at least loyal to the woman who saw you cowering yet still trusted to go with you?!"

He remembers the shootout in the dorms. He saw the way Dae-ho was shaking during it. He saw that Mi-kyung noticed.

Rage-filled grief fills Thanos's gaze as he tightens his grip and yells, "She's supposed to still be here with us, but she isn't because of you! Where is she?!"

Nam-gyu frees himself and hurries to his side. He grabs Dae-ho's shoulder and raises his fist.

"Stop it!"

They turn to see Jun-hee shaking her head.

"There's no point... She wouldn't have wanted this..."

Thanos immediately lets go of Dae-ho and pulls Nam-gyu's hand away.

"Hey-"

"She saw Mi-kyung as a sister," Thanos interrupts.

He looks at Jun-hee before he and Nam-gyu walk away. The others relax except for Min-su, who watches Jun-hee sit by Dae-ho.

"Are you ok?"

Dae-ho stares at Jun-hee unsure. Min-su slowly approaches and stops when Dae-ho flinches. Jun-hee looks over and gestures for him to sit as well. He does so.

"Why didn't you go back with the magazines?" She gently asks.

They stare expectantly at the shaking Dae-ho.

After a deep breath, Dae-ho quietly says, "I was... I got scared..."

Min-su glances at the others and replies, "I get it... You... You didn't want to die..."

Jun-hee reaches over, only to pull away when Dae-ho flinches.

Min-su clears his throat and continues, "I don't think it was your fault, Dae-ho... Su-jin said you were having a PTSD attack. That's not your fault."

"It's because of your time in the marines, right?" Jun-hee questions.

Dae-ho doesn't say anything, though he shuts his eyes tightly. Jun-hee nods slowly in understanding. When the workers enter with trays of food ready, she stands up, and Min-su follows suit.

"You shouldn't blame yourself too much," she says. "Like he said, it's not your fault you were having a PTSD attack."

Dae-ho remains silent. Jun-hee and Min-su return to their allies. Jun-hee walks next to Thanos and looks over at Gi-hun while Min-su walks next to Se-mi.

"What did you two talk to him about?" Se-mi asks.

"Uh..." He glances at a certain rapper and whispers, "I don't think it's Dae-ho's fault..."

Se-mi stops walking and replies, "I think it was his and Gi-hun's fault. Plus, if there was a traitor, it was definitely their fault too."

"Mmm... Do you believe that theory?"

"Think about it. It's what Hyun-ju said. They were close to the control room. The rebellion should've succeeded..."

Se-mi goes quiet, and her eyebrows furrow in deep thought. The players get their dinner in an orderly fashion. Su-jin is quick to rush back to Gi-hun's side.

"Look, they gave us kimchi fried rice. You need to eat."

He glances at Dae-ho rushing by before the others join them.

"Please, sir, you should eat, even if it's just a little," Geum-ja pleads.

Thanos stares at Gi-hun. After a second, he begins to beatbox. Geum-ja sits next to Gi-hun and looks at Thanos confused. It prompts him to stop.

"Sorry, I thought it'd help," he excuses.

Geum-ja returns her attention to Gi-hun and says, "I know you were trying to save us all. You were trying to punish the bad guys and put an end to all this."

Thanos looks away in heavy thought.

"I'm sorry," Hyun-ju suddenly says. "I should've found a way to bring back the magazines."

"Don't blame yourself," Se-mi immediately says. "You did all that you could."

"It's my fault," Su-jin cuts in. With shame on his face, he admits, "I didn't want to join the fight because I don't enjoy it. However, I have army experience, so... so if you all had an extra person then maybe-"

"You have nothing to apologize for. Neither of you do," Yong-sik interrupts. "It's all Dae-ho's fault. I saw it, my mom saw it, and everyone else saw it."

"Yeah, we saw him step out of the dorms with the magazines then run back in," Nam-gyu explains. "He was on the bed, and Thanos and I tried to get him to move, but he wouldn't budge like a pussy!"

Min-su stares at him disapprovingly, making Nam-gyu glare at him.

"This won't bring anyone back," Geum-ja continues. "Those of us who are still alive have to keep going, don't you think?"

"Except Dae-ho. I think he should die for letting the rebellion die," Thanos snarks.

"No more bloodshed," Hyun-ju reminds them.

Gi-hun continues to stare blankly. The others watch when he slowly turns to look at Dae-ho. Jun-hee carefully sits next to Gi-hun, partially blocking his view.

"You all can go. I want to stay with them," she says.

Geum-ja nods and replies, "Make sure he eats, ok?"

With some reluctance, the others walk away. Gi-hun looks back at the floor while Su-jin gets closer to him. He holds up a spoonful of his meal, but Gi-hun doesn't budge.

"Mister Seong..."

Jun-hee looks at him, but his expression doesn't move. Su-jin sets down his spoon and looks at her curiously. Jun-hee stares back before she looks down at her tray.

She takes a deep breath and carefully admits, "I kept my baby because I was afraid of being on my own again. I was 19 when my parents died suddenly."

She looks over and sees Su-jin's eyes widen in shock.

She continues, "I was alone for a couple of years until I met Myung-gi. He wasn't the greatest person, but I did everything I could for him since I didn't want him to leave. I got into debt because of him. I... I was heartbroken when he left so suddenly."

Gi-hun slowly looks at her as tears sting her eyes.

"I wanted to say this to Mi-kyung but..." She wipes her eyes and continues, "She was always so supportive. She was always insistent on helping me with the baby once we left. Sh-She got Myung-gi killed, but she did it for my sake..."

She whimpers.

"It's my fault she's dead. I wanted to tell her to stay. Ms. Jang was right; someone like her shouldn't have done it."

Su-jin reaches over and wipes away her tears with his thumb.

"It's not your fault, Jun-hee. Mi-kyung made her choice to fight. She would've wanted us to keep going. She would've wanted you especially to keep going for your baby."

She nods slowly in understanding. After his hand pulls away, she looks at Gi-hun with a pleading gaze.

"Mister Seong, she would've wanted you to keep going too."

Gi-hun looks at Su-jin then at his tray. Using his free hand, he begins to eat, making Su-jin and Jun-hee sigh in relief.

"You should eat too," Su-jin tells her while setting his tray on Gi-hun's lap.

"What about you?"

"Don't worry about me."

Su-jin adjusts his glasses and gives a warm smile.

When nighttime came, most of the players were asleep. Su-jin had his head on Gi-hun's shoulder while Jun-hee was laying on the floor and had her head on Gi-hun's lap. Gi-hun was wide awake, staring directly at Dae-ho's direction. Se-mi rises to her feet and notices this. Her gaze narrows in suspicion.

She looks to her right, seeing Hyun-ju sitting up. Silently, she walks up to her. She sits close to Hyun-ju, and they stare at the large piggy bank full of cash.

"...What happened, Hyun-ju?" Se-mi asks. "Why do you think the rebellion failed?"

She's silent for a few moments before admitting, "I don't know. I keep thinking about it. I can't stop thinking about it. Some things don't make sense to me."

Se-mi nods in understanding.

"I still think it was my fault," Hyun-ju confesses. "If I had returned with the ammo, we could've-"

"Stop," Se-mi interrupts. "It wasn't your fault. You did what you could, and you were also the best shot in the team. It's not your fault."

She smiles shyly and replies, "Thank you..."

They look at each other, and Se-mi smiles slightly as well. They then look away.

After a few moments, Hyun-ju asks, "How did you end up here?"

"I was slapped by the ddakji guy and kidnapped."

She laughs slightly, shakes her head, and clarifies, "No, I mean... How'd you end up here in your life?"

Se-mi's smile falls. She stares at the piggy bank and lets out a sigh.

"When I was a kid, 8 or 9 I think, I was abandoned by my parents at an amusement park. I was adopted by my aunt, but I mainly took care of myself because of what happened." Se-mi stares off into nothing as she explains, "It led me to being with the wrong people once I left my aunt as an adult. I took out loans just to get a fix."

She glances at a nearby sleeping Thanos and Nam-gyu.

"But the people I was with were awful. I broke out of that lifestyle, and I've been trying to rebuild my life ever since."

She pulls out a fork, which still had pieces of foil attached to it.

"I don't like being in debt to someone. But... this is the first time I'm indebted to someone dead." Se-mi looks at Hyun-ju and explains, "I thought Mi-kyung's friendship with Thanos and Nam-gyu made her as bad as them. However, she came to protect Min-su and I from them. Whatever promise she made with them saved our lives."

Determination rises to her expression as she grips the fork tightly.

"I owe it to her to stay alive for the rest of the games. If I die now, everything I've been through and her sacrifice would've been for nothing..."

Her eyes widen when Hyun-ju gently grabs her hand.

"You will stay alive. I'll make sure of it. I promise."

Se-mi carefully pockets the fork, and she doesn't let go of Hyun-ju's hand. Both of their faces have grown pink. They silently lay close to each other.

"I don't want to be alone for tonight," Hyun-ju says.

"Me neither," Se-mi replies. She chuckles and adds, "This feels stupid."

Hyun-ju chuckles too and corrects, "It's cheesy. I like it."

"I guess I like it too..."

They continue to stare at each other before sleep overtakes them. The only one who remained awake was Gi-hun. He barely looked away from where Dae-ho was, never getting a wink of sleep. When the morning came, he was exhausted yet full of silent rage. So when Dae-ho woke up, he was greeted by the sight of Gi-hun glaring at him.

"Mmm..."

He barely moves as Su-jin stirs away. Due to his position, Su-jin was leaning against his neck. The other man pulls away quickly as his face turns red. He stares at Gi-hun in shock.

"Why didn't he push me away? He didn't look like he slept..."

Su-jin puts on his glasses and looks around. He sees Hyun-ju and Se-mi sitting up with their hands linked together. He also sees Thanos and Nam-gyu sitting up, holding each other close with a soft smile on Thanos's face. Su-jin's heart skips a beat as he looks at Gi-hun.

"It makes sense now..."

He gently pats Gi-hun's chest, making him look away from Dae-ho.

"Good morning. Did you sleep?"

As Gi-hun only stares at him, Jun-hee slowly sits up and rubs her eyes.

"Jun-hee!" Su-jin exclaims in worry. "You should've slept on a bed!"

She rubs her eyes while replying, "I didn't want to move."

"The fourth game will begin momentarily. Please follow the instructions from our staff," the automated voice calls out.

As the players get up to head to the next game, In-ho and Mi-kyung stand in the control room. Mi-kyung begins to nod off, only to stand at attention when she hears someone walk up to them.

"Captains, the VIPs have arrived," Han informs.

They walk to the elevator as Han stays behind. In the elevator, Mi-kyung yawns.

"You should've drank coffee," In-ho states.

"Ugh, I did. I couldn't sleep because I kept thinking about Thanos and Nam-gyu switching their votes. I think it was because of me."

She smiles under her mask. She then groans.

"I should've had some whiskey too. I hate the VIPs. They're so frustrating."

He hums in sympathy and brings up, "The VIPs of your game are the reason why you're still alive."

She scoffs and corrects, "I'm only still alive because you liked me enough to give me a knife."

"Which you initially struggled to use."

Irritated, she snarks, "It's not my fault Min-seo put up a fight."

"I never said it was. Now be quiet."

She scowls under her mask, but her anger is now keeping her exhaustion away.

Meanwhile, the players enter the corridor to head to the next game. They're greeted by a horrific sight: the human chandelier. The corpses of the rebels were held up by their wrists, a sick display of those who tried to play the hero.

"You are witnessing the fate of those who refused the democratic process of voting and instead attempt to stop the game using violent means," the automated voice announces.

Su-jin lets out a shaky gasp and almost crumbles to his knees while Jun-hee covers her mouth to hold back a scream. What stands out in the chandelier was Mi-kyung. Her hair covered her face, but there was blood on her chest. Multiple gunshot wounds.

She was the smallest person there. The only woman.

"Mi-kyung... No..." Jun-hee whispers.

"Turn around," Gi-hun suddenly says. "Don't look anymore."

He puts his hand on her back. She turns around and hides her face against his shoulder, beginning to cry.

"I'm so sorry, unnie... Forgive me," she quietly pleads.

As he hugs her, Gi-hun looks past the chandelier to glare at his source of rage. Dae-ho coughs and looks back. His eyes widen at the glare Gi-hun gives. He looks back at the chandelier with regret rising to his face.

"Mi-kyung..."

Dae-ho looks elsewhere and begins to shake due to who else was glaring at him. Thanos and Nam-gyu, still stained with the blood of those they killed, were glaring with hatred.

The two barely look away from Dae-ho as the players continue to walk. Jun-hee pulls away from Gi-hun and walks with her eyes on the floor. Su-jin wipes away his tears and looks at the human chandelier. His eyes narrow when looking at Young-il's body, but it causes him to bump into Gi-hun.

"I'm sorry," he immediately says.

Gi-hun doesn't reply, making Su-jin wince. The players make their way into a large room with a gumball machine filled with red and blue balls.

"This game will be played in two teams. Before we start the game, you will divide into teams. Please take turns drawing a ball from the gumball machine in front of you," the voice explains.

One by one, the players are divided. Nam-gyu, Jun-hee, Min-su, Geum-ja, and Gi-hun receive red balls while Thanos, Hyun-ju, Se-mi, Yong-sik, and Su-jin receive blue balls. Su-jin looks at Dae-ho, who also got a blue ball, and gives him a kind smile. Dae-ho looks away immediately, making Su-jin frown.

"Has anyone talked to him about the rebellion?" He thinks to himself.

The players are given red and blue vests for the teams they're in.

"The game you will be playing is Hide and Seek," the manager informs. "The Blue Team must either find the exit and escape within 30 minutes or stay hidden from the Red Team until the time is up. The Red Team, the taggers, must find the members of the Blue Team and kill them within 30 minutes."

It takes some time for the players to understand and take in the rules. Fear was set in, but it was somewhat quelled by the chance to trade spots.

"Min-su, let's switch."

The unsure Min-su looks up at Se-mi.

"You don't look like you have the guts to kill anyone," she points out.

He nods in confirmation and stands up.

"Have you ever killed anyone before?"

She shakes her head but replies, "I've fought before. I think I can handle it."

As they trade vests, Jun-hee is approached by Thanos and Nam-gyu.

"Hey, you don't look like you'd be able to kill someone," Nam-gyu points out. He gestures to Thanos and suggests, "Switch with him. I want us to be on the same team."

She looks up at their blood-covered faces with an unsure expression. Noticing this, Thanos puts his hands on her shoulders.

"You are under Thanos's protection." He gives a smile and promises, "Once we kill someone, we'll look for you and protect you for the rest of the game."

She glances at Nam-gyu, who nods vigorously with his own smile.

"How do I know you won't go after me?"

"Ouch, that really hurts me," Thanos pouts while putting his hand on his chest.

"Ask Se-mi and Min-su. They're only still alive because we made a promise to Mi-kyung," Nam-gyu admits. He then mutters, "I don't know why I bother going through with it..."

"I told you before, she made me promise to protect her friends," Thanos reminds her. "And you called her unnie. And you're also pregnant. That makes you, like, extra extra important in my eyes. Come on, pretty please??"

Thanos puts his hands together and pouts at her, which Nam-gyu repeats. The sight makes Jun-hee crack a smile for a moment due to how silly they look before she slowly hands Thanos her knife. Both men make noises of joy before the trade is made. As they switch, Nam-gyu takes the moment to walk over to Se-mi and Min-su.

"Aw man, you traded. I was hoping to kill you during the game," Nam-gyu taunts.

Se-mi turns around and questions, "Did you forget about the promise already?"

"No. I still want to kill you for being such a bitch," he admits. He sighs and adds, "Mi-kyung was also a bitch."

She scoffs and points out, "We just saw her dead body, and you have the audacity to call her that."

"She stole kills from Thanos and I. We could've had more money if she hadn't protected you little shits."

"I may not kill you in this game, but I'll kill you in the next one if you keep talking," she threatens while stepping forward.

Min-su holds his breath nervously. Nam-gyu grins and begins to laugh.

"Best of luck. Seriously," he suddenly says. "You two owe her big time. I owe her for making me see the bigger picture, and I hate being in debt. I gotta stay alive to make sure it's repaid."

She blinks in surprise. She can't help but chuckle.

"I can't believe it. You're actually wanting to repay your debt to someone? You of all people?"

His eyes narrow and he asks, "What's that supposed to mean?"

"You're an asshole. You've really gotten soft because of your boyfriend."

He scoffs, "Fuck you!"

"Fuck you too!"

"You seriously better stay alive or else I'll stab your corpse," he urges while aiming his knife at her.

She repeats the notion and replies, "I'll stab your dick if I find yours!"

They stare each other down, and many have stopped to look at them. Thanos stands a few inches away, silently wondering if he should step in or let them go at it. After a few tense moments, both suddenly begin to laugh.

"Dammit, I'm going insane," she says. "Best of luck to you too."

"You gotta be insane to survive in a place like this!" He proudly states. "See you on the other side!"

They part to go back to their respective buddy. Everyone else returns to what they were doing, including a mother and son's conversation.

"Give me the knife," Yong-sik says.

Geum-ja looks down at it and replies, "I'll switch teams with someone else instead. We can stay together and-"

Before Yong-sik could interrupt, Su-jin approaches them.

"Switch with me."

She sighs in relief.

"Thank you, mister," Geum-ja says.

"But... mom, you have bad knees," Yong-sik brings up. "If they see us hand-in-hand-"

"Please," Su-jin interrupts. "You two shouldn't be away from each other, and I don't think either of you could kill anyone. Plus I need to keep an eye on Gi-hun."

He points, and they look over at Gi-hun, who was sitting by himself at a corner.

"He hasn't slept last night," he brings up. "I also saw him glaring at Dae-ho. I think he could be planning to do something stupid."

Geum-ja is quick to remove her vest. To Yong-sik's dismay, the trade is made.

Su-jin looks at the younger man and suggests, "Stay with Hyun-ju if you're worried about your safety. I know she's strong enough to fight off anyone."

"Ok..." Yong-sik takes a deep breath and nods. "You're right. She was really good with the gun, so she can fight well."

"Please talk Gi-hun out of whatever he's planning," Geum-ja pleads. "We don't need to fight among ourselves."

Su-jin nods in agreement. The duo goes to Hyun-ju while he goes to Gi-hun and sits next to him.

"Gi-hun?"

He was staring past Su-jin at Dae-ho trying to trade with someone. Su-jin sighs and cups his cheek to move his head.

"Gi-hun, you-"

He tightly grabs Su-jin's wrist and pulls it away. His grip loosens when he sees the shock and hurt on the other man's face.

"I'm sorry," Gi-hun quietly says.

Su-jin pulls his hand back, shakes his head, and replies, "No, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that."

He looks down, letting Gi-hun continue to glare daggers into Dae-ho's back. When Dae-ho notices, his expression hardens and he approaches.

He stands in front of Gi-hun and asks, "What? What's your problem with me? Why do you keep looking at me like that?"

"Dae-ho..." Su-jin grabs his attention and divulges, "Almost everyone blames you for the rebellion failing..."

"What did I do so wrong? We wouldn't have won anyway," he replies.

He looks at Gi-hun, who was still giving him a judging stare. In response, the now frustrated Dae-ho grabs the front of Gi-hun's vest.

"Fuck, stop looking at me like that! It's not my fault!"

"Don't grab him!"

Su-jin pushes Dae-ho away and gets in-between them.

"It is your fault!" He yells, surprising Dae-ho and Gi-hun. "They could've had a chance if you had returned with the ammo like you said you would!"

"No! If we had fought the other damn side instead, we could've won the fight and then the vote!" Dae-ho deflects. "It's his fault-"

Su-jin grabs the front of Dae-ho's vest and seethes, "Take that back. He tried to save us, but you failed the rest of us!"

Despite his shaking, Dae-ho counters, "You weren't there! You didn't know what it was like! We were outnumbered! We failed because of his ridiculous plan!"

"It's both of your faults!"

To Dae-ho's right, Se-mi approaches them with an exasperated look.

"Just accept that both of you are at fault! It's Dae-ho's for not doing an important task, and it's Gi-hun's for going through with the plan in the first place! Maybe you could've had a chance to win, but we will never fucking know because the rebellion failed!" She takes a deep breath then continues, "It was doomed from the start for all we know! You all tried, and you failed, so deal with the responsibility instead of blaming each other!"

Su-jin lets go of Dae-ho and sits down in shock. Dae-ho and Gi-hun look at each other before Dae-ho walks away. The automated voice calls out for the hiders to enter the game arena, but Su-jin's thoughts begin to wander.

"Gi-hun... Have you taken responsibility for the rebellion? You haven't taken responsibility for your daughter since you chose to focus on the games..." Su-jin's eyes narrow at the floor as his thoughts race. "Instead of family, you chose the risky move of trying to stop the games. Instead of killing the people who killed many X voters, you chose to spare them and went straight for those in control, which failed."

The hiders head to the arena as the seekers watch. Gi-hun was still staring at the floor while Su-jin gasps softly.

"You gambled... You likely first entered the games because you were a gambler." He slowly looks at Gi-hun. "You haven't stopped gambling..."

His heart weighs heavy, and he scrunches his face in despair.

"You're at fault too for the deaths of our friends..."

The hiders enter the arena and are told that the seekers enter in two minutes. Most run off in a panic, including Dae-ho. Min-su looks at the group of four before running off on his own. Jun-hee winces and holds her pregnant belly.

"Are you ok?" Geum-ja asks.

Yong-sik winces too and mumbles, "Oh, why now?"

"We have to keep moving," Hyun-ju states.

Jun-hee leans against Hyun-ju before the group makes their way up the stairs. Back in the lobby, Thanos and Nam-gyu approach Gi-hun and Su-jin.

"We were talking, and we have a great plan we wanna tell you guys about," Thanos grins. "We were debating on whether or not the promise we made to Mi-kyung about protecting her friends would count when it comes to Dae-ho."

"We came to an agreement: it no longer counts," Nam-gyu answers with a chuckle. "That coward betrayed Mi-kyung by not returning with the ammo, so we're gonna find him and kill him. We have to repay our debt to her."

Su-jin stares at them in shock, but he doesn't stays silent since Gi-hun also doesn't say anything.

"We should also go after that shaman lady," Thanos suggests. "She wanted her dead, right?"

"Yeah! More for the count, fuck yeah!"

They share a high five with wide smiles. The timer then beeps, and they're told to enter the game.

"Let's get it!" Thanos yells in English.

The couple follow the other seekers. Su-jin rises to his feet and looks at Gi-hun expectantly. Gi-hun slowly stands up and stares ahead.

"Gi-hun?"

"It's his fault," he whispers.

Realizing what he means, Su-jin gets in front of him and grabs his biceps.

"Gi-hun, please, you can't. You're not a murderer. You shouldn't-"

"Su-jin," he gently interrupts. "Focus on killing a hider so that you'd pass."

"What? No!" He shakes his head and asserts, "I'm staying by your side. I don't want you to-"

Gi-hun puts his hand on Su-jin's shoulder and insists, "Please, focus. I don't want you to be eliminated. I don't want to lose someone else I care about."

Su-jin's eyes widen in surprise and affection. With reluctance, he slowly nods. They let go of each other and head to the arena with one determined to find someone and the other worrying over the future.

A knowing Mi-kyung watches this from the cameras with a smile.

"Gotcha."

Chapter Text

On a cloudless evening in Incheon, Su-jin hums along to a song playing in his head. Dressed in a suit, he carries a grocery bag while walking down a sidewalk. Unbeknownst to him, he was being watched.

"Jang Su-jin, 48, born on October 25, 1976," says a man in a suit, who sits in the front passenger seat. "He spent his childhood in the Kyodo neighrborhood before moving to Kaju-dong in his 20s. He's an orphan and works in an office job in-"

The man sighs and turns to the woman in the driver's seat.

"Don't you already know this man like I do?"

"Shh, there's a puppy."

Su-jin stops when a stray puppy approaches.

"Hey buddy!" He greets with a wide smile.

He reaches into his bag and pulls out a piece of sausage.

"Here you go."

He kneels down and lets the puppy eat out of his hand. The woman stares at it in awe.

"That's so adorable! He should be brought in. I think he'll be a good match for Gi-hun."

"Mi-kyung, you said the same thing about the last man we watched, and he had his hands chopped off by the loan sharks he owed money to."

"Why are you saying it like I sent them?"

Su-jin picks up the puppy and laughs when it licks his face.

"Aw, I can't take care of you, buddy. Maybe I can give you to my coworker. He was saying that he wanted a pet," he suggests.

Mi-kyung gushes at the sight before glancing at the man next to her.

"Don't give me that look, Seok-woo."

"I could've been preparing for tomorrow's recruitment..." He shakes his head and complains, "We've avoided that piece of trash's people for years, but now In-ho told me that he wants me to be followed. Meanwhile, you force me to help you play matchmaker all because you think that Gi-hun deserves love."

"He does. From what I've heard and seen, he's so lonely..."

She frowns at the thought while he scoffs.

"Did he give you a reason?" He asks. "He hasn't given me or Hyun-soo any."

She avoids his gaze as she admits, "He hasn't told me anything either..."

"Aw, you're not getting any special treatment?" He teases.

"Shut up," she chuckles. "I don't really know, maybe he's in love with Gi-hun?"

Seok-woo raises an eyebrow and looks at the engagement ring on her finger.

"Or is it because he managed to beat Il-nam's game before he died? I'm not sure," she concludes.

They watch Su-jin walk away with the puppy in his grasp. Mi-kyung starts the car as Seok-woo begins to chuckle.

"You're very cruel."

"What do you mean?"

"You could've set up events to make them meet in a nicer, more romantic way. Instead, you want them to be in the games and hope they'd fall for each other," he points out.

She blinks a few times and shakes her head.

"What's more romantic than falling in love through trauma? That's how it was for In-ho and I."

"Ah yes. You being brought to his office every night to get clues for the next game. You even started to stay there after the special one. How very romantic," he sarcastically says.

"As if you're not the cruel one for what you did to your ex-wife's new husband."

She grips the steering wheel while looking at her arms, seeing faint scars from scratches.

After some silence, he says, "I said I was sorry for getting blood on you."

"And I forgave you. It doesn't mean I forgot how much of an asshole you are."

They look at each other and chuckle.

"Come on, let's get some dinner. I'm starving," she offers while beginning to drive.

"You're paying," he replies.

"Boo. I'm getting married in a couple of months, you know."

"I don't care. You're paying."

They share a brief laugh before going silent. As he looks at his phone, she glances at him in disgust.

In the control room, Mi-kyung stares blankly at the floor of player's pictures as the seekers head to the game area. She smiles faintly at the memory.

"I'm back."

It fades at hearing In-ho's voice. She stands up straight as he walks closer and stands next to her.

"I told the VIPs they can help with the clean-up," he says quietly. "What were you thinking about?"

"...Seok-woo. We still have to tell his ex-wife and daughter that he's dead."

"They wouldn't want anything to do with him."

"His daughter would want to know what happened to her father. We'd do the same for Gi-hun's daughter if he were to die, right?" When In-ho doesn't reply, she asks, "Do you keep him alive because Il-nam liked him?"

He still doesn't answer, making her scoff.

"I think I get it now: you like the challenge. You liked forcing yourself to believe you didn't love me. You liked making me understand you completely after I became curious of you. You like wanting Gi-hun to lose his trust in humanity like you did with me."

She hums and eyes the screens.

"He didn't kill Seok-woo, so he sure as hell won't kill Dae-ho."

He does the same with his eyes on Gi-hun.

"And if he does?"

"He won't. Watch."

The seekers separate when the timer begins. Gi-hun walks ahead of Su-jin with a purpose. Thanos and Nam-gyu stay back to put two pills into their mouths.

"Ah shit, those were the last four," Thanos says.

"What? That's bullshit!"

Thanos puts his cross necklace under his shirt then grins at Nam-gyu.

"It's alright. Let's make the most out of it by finding that coward, right?"

"And that shaman bitch," he replies with his own grin.

"Woo, you hear that?!" Thanos calls out. "We're gonna get yooouuuuu!"

They scream in unison before hurrying down one of the halls. A distance away, Su-jin winces from hearing them.

"Those two..."

He looks at Gi-hun and sighs.

"I... I'll find someone."

He walks away from Gi-hun, who doesn't acknowledge it. He looks around the extremely blue hallway.

"Well, at least the ceiling is pretty..."

He looks down at his knife with a frown. After a few steps, he almost bumps into-

"Dae-ho?"

The younger man backs away in a panic, prompting Su-jin to hold up his hands.

"Hey, it's ok, I'm not going to hurt you! I-"

He looks back and notices Gi-hun down the hallway. He quickly pulls Dae-ho around a corner and covers his mouth. After a few tense moments, Gi-hun walks away without noticing them. Su-jin sighs in relief and looks at Dae-ho, who was shaking.

"I'm sorry for yelling at you earlier," Su-jin apologizes. "But I just wanted to warn you that Thanos and Nam-gyu are also going to hunt you down. They blame you for what happened to..."

Dae-ho looks away.

"I'm sorry... Su-jin, I'm really sorry..." He mumbles.

The other man sighs then advises, "Hide. I'll try to convince Gi-hun to not go after you after I kill someone. If I manage to, we can come find you and protect you, ok?"

After being given a nod, Su-jin pats Dae-ho's shoulder to gesture him to move. They go their separate ways.

In another part of the arena, Hyun-ju looks at the keys she and her team have.

"We each have every one of those shapes!"

Yong-sik looks down at his square key and sighs in relief.

"I'm so glad I switched with Su-jin. I wouldn't have made it as a seeker," he admits.

"He's right when he told us to stick together," Geum-ja brings up. "We make a great team."

As Geum-ja hands her key to Hyun-ju to hold onto, Yong-sik looks at Jun-hee.

"Do you trust Thanos and Nam-gyu?"

Hyun-ju unlocks the door, and they continue to walk.

"I do. Thanos said I was under his protection since Mi-kyung saw me as a sister."

"Is he really that trustworthy?" He further questions.

Geum-ja looks at him and brings up, "The poor man was heartbroken when we heard Mi-kyung died. I think he and his boyfriend were being honest with you, Jun-hee."

"If they try to hurt us, though, I'll stop them," Hyun-ju promises.

Jun-hee winces before mentioning, "They promised they'd protect me after they pass..."

"Hopefully they do," Yong-sik prays.

In another part of the arena, Gi-hun chases after the hider who he believes to be his target. His mind was filled with images of Jung-bae, the Frontman, Mi-kyung, and everyone who joined the rebellion. With a tight grip on his knife, he charges at the hider.

The hider opens a door and nearly falls to the pit below. Before he could turn around, Gi-hun sinks his blade into his back multiple times. The hider falls forward, letting him see a horrified Dae-ho looking at him from another door.

"Player 197, eliminated. Player 456, pass."

He looks down to see 197 laying in a pool of blood. He looks again at Dae-ho, who runs away. He lets out a shaky breath and takes a step back.

"Gi-hun?"

He turns around to see Su-jin staring at him with wide eyes.

"What did you do?"

A watching Mi-kyung and In-ho stare without blinking.

"I... I thought that was..." Gi-hun trails off.

Su-jin rushes towards him. Su-jin hugs him tightly while Gi-hun's blood-stained hands rest on his back.

"I knew it..." She whispers. "Still a sense of humanity in him despite his anger..."

In-ho replies with only a grunt of reluctant acceptance. Back in the games, Su-jin pulls away from Gi-hun and rests his hands on his shoulders.

"Please... You just stabbed someone who you thought was Dae-ho multiple times."

"I didn't..." Gi-hun shakes his head. "Su-jin, I'm-"

"If we run into Dae-ho,  you're apologizing to him." Su-jin states. "You don't have to apologize to me when I can already see that you regret it. You're not the kind of man who would kill ruthlessly..."

He looks at the doorway behind Gi-hun and smiles weakly.

"At least you passed. I don't think I would've kept going in the games if you didn't make it, Gi-hun..." He brushes his hair away from his face while looking away and admitting, "I've only known you for less than a week, but you make playing the games worth it. I almost can't believe I even love y-"

He stops himself and looks at Gi-hun with wide eyes.

"I... I mean..." Su-jin pulls away and stammers, "L-Look, I didn't mean it like-"

"Can I kiss you?"

His gasp is caught in his throat as Gi-hun drops his knife and steps closer. Su-jin's heart races at the longing in the other man's gaze.

"Yes please."

When their lips met, it was like an explosion of euphoria. A pleased moan escapes Su-jin's mouth as their arms wrap around each other.

Mi-kyung gasps loudly, only to be silenced by In-ho grabbing and squeezing her wrist. A few managers look back at her, only to turn away when he notices. She gets a hold of herself but smiles widely under her mask, watching the men kiss as if their lives depended on it. They pull away to catch their breaths, and Su-jin lets out a laugh.

"Wow... You're a good kisser, Gi-hun..."

He smiles, which isn't returned.

He looks down at the knife and says, "We have a lot to talk about..."

Gi-hun nods silently before letting Su-jin guide him to a wall. They sit on the floor, side by side. Gi-hun stares ahead while Su-jin holds his hand tightly. Slowly, he leans closer and rests his head on the other man's shoulder.

"Take your time..."

With 24 minutes left on the timer, 235 runs for his life.

"Come ooonnn!" Thanos yells out. "Make this easier on yourself and die!"

He and Nam-gyu split up during the chase. When 235 finds himself cornered, he yells off his nerves and faces the rapper head on.

"Bring it on!" He challenges.

Thanos laughs loudly, smacks his chest, and replies, "Yeah, that's the spirit!"

When they charge at each other, 235 manages to push Thanos aside, but he still receives a blade to his side. Nam-gyu enters the room, immediately stabbing 235 too.

"W-wait..." He attempts.

Both of his attackers don't wait for him to speak as they proceed to stab him to death.

"Look at that..." Nam-gyu whispers. "That gleam of life leaving his eyes... It's kind of pretty."

"Not at pretty as you, Nam-su," Thanos coos.

"Player 235, eliminated."

"Hey, how come we didn't pass?" Thanos wonders.

"I don't know... This counts as half a kill, I guess?"

After pulling out their knives, Thanos pulls Nam-gyu into a kiss. During their sloppy exchange of saliva, they hear a whimper. They break apart to see Min-su, staring at the body with wide eyes.

"Heeyyy, it's my boy!" Thanos greets with a wide, almost psychotic grin. "How are you doing so far, you cute little shit?"

"Cute, huh?"

Nam-gyu eyes Min-su like prey while Thanos gets a knowing look.

"You know what to do, cutie," Thanos whispers. "Run~"

Min-su wastes no time in doing so. After a few seconds, both men chase after him. The chase makes them pass by the group of four.

"Was that...?" Jun-hee wonders.

"There's no time. Come on," Hyun-ju urges.

Another hider passes by them, courtesy of being chased by Yeong-sam.

"Dammit!" Yong-sik blurts out.

"This way!"

Hyun-ju points down a hallway, and they begin to flee. Mi-kyung holds her breath and clenches her fists. In-ho continues to squeeze her wrist. The four begin to hurry up a flight of stairs. Unfortunately, Jun-hee loses her footing with a loud crack and falls down it. As Geum-ja and Yong-sik check on her, Hyun-ju stands between them and Yeong-sam, who was readying his blade.

"Prepare the visitor," the Frontwoman orders loudly.

The Frontman watches a manager leave their station and exit the control room.

"Visitor? What did you do??" He whispers.

She glares at him through their masks and replies, "Making sure my friends make it."

In-ho huffs from anger, but they know he can't say much. She tries to break free from his grip, but he doesn't loosen his hold. They watch Hyun-ju and Yeong-sam fight, almost forgetting Gi-hun and Su-jin on another screen.

"Gi-hun..." Su-jin looks at him and asks, "What happened between you and your daughter?"

[Unfinished; rest of the chapter and story is outlined in next chapter]

Chapter Text

Rest of Chapter 7

• After a long silent break, Su-jin gently coaxes Gi-hun to talk about his daughter because he overheard what he told Mi-kyung. Gi-hun discusses how he wasn't there for the birth due to the traumatizing strike, the divorce, and the move to America. He says that he was going to visit her 3 years ago, but he changed his mind when he saw Moon. Su-jin calls him out for basically abandoning his daughter to stop the games, expressing disappointment. This breaks Gi-hun and he sobs about all the time he spent on the games when he should've been spending it with his daughter. Su-jin comforts him, making him promise to see his daughter at some point after the games.
• After some time, they get up and Su-jin admits to have not killed anyone yet because he was too worried about Gi-hun. They find 232 after a while and Su-jin uses his army training to good use. After apologizing profusely to 232 while taking his key, the old man yaoi walk down the hall to find ThanGyu and stop them from killing Dae-ho.
• ThanGyu loses track of Min-su but they find 411 and kill him. When hearing it, the four allies realize that their allies have passed except for Se-mi. Hyun-ju expresses hope that she'll pass. Meanwhile with ThanGyu, they agree to focus on finding Dae-ho, Seon-nyeo, and her followers, adding that Min-su is optional. They also express hope for Se-mi to pass.
• Cut to Se-mi, who's wandering around, having not killed anyone yet. She looks at the timer and mumbles about Hyun-ju. She also complains about everyone else having passed, only to find Min-su, who's scared yet relieved to find her. As he walks with her, Se-mi's expression becomes conflicted.
• Dae-ho runs away from and still gets partially injured by 359. While in this state, he's found by Su-jin, who quickly tells him that Gi-hun has calmed down and won't hurt him. He then angrily tells the two to stop blaming each other and talk it out because Mi-kyung wanted allyship. They find a room to chat in, and Su-jin keeps watch outside. After a quiet moment of awkwardness, Dae-ho breaks down and confesses to Gi-hun about his lying and his past. Gi-hun, now remorseful, hugs him tightly and reassures him that the rebellion failing wasn't his fault and accepts it as his own.
• The four allies eventually find a room to hide in while the couple goes to their quarters and unmasks. He sits close to her, but she scoots away. He tells her that if Gi-hun and Dae-ho can talk out their problems, so can they. Mi-kyung sighs and expresses that she stopped being mad at him a while ago, but she's still incredibly dissapointed in him. She calls out how he expresses care for her, even when she was a player, so why can't he show care for the friends they made in the games as well as his brother? Right as she calls out how he clearly likes Jun-hee due to who she reminds him of, they see her water breaking. They go silent from worry.
• Meanwhile, Se-mi and Min-su are walking when they stop in a room with an exit. She looks at the timer before she tells Min-su to look at the drawings and how pretty they look. As he does so, she closes her eyes and stabs him two times in the back. Afterward, she makes his body look away before she sits by the wall and cries.
• Gi-hun, Su-jin, and Dae-ho find Se-mi a while after. She stops crying immediately, but she does express regret at killing her friend. Gi-hun shares her pain due to his fight with Sang-woo, and he encourages her to find their allies with them. After she apologizes to Min-su, she snarks about Gi-hun and Dae-ho finally making up, making the men chuckle.
• Yong-sik keeps watch while Hyun-ju holds Jun-hee's hand and Geum-ja helps her push. Meanwhile, In-ho and Mi-kyung are watching the scene without blinking. She brings up that she hasn't been this scared since the murders of her game then asks if In-ho felt the same. He hesitates, prompting her to open up about how afraid and guilty she felt, especially when she had to wash off the blood herself. He apologizes for not helping her wash the blood years ago, citing that the soldiers washed it off of him in his game. She's surprised at the apology and quietly accepts it by holding his hand.
• Seon-nyeo still leads her group to an ambush. This time, ThanGyu gets the jump on her for Mi-kyung's sake while her followers escape. They run into Dae-ho and the bois, where ThanGyu congratulates them for passing even if it led to Min-su dying. They go to attack Dae-ho, only to be blocked. Su-jin tells them that Dae-ho apologized, and Gi-hun demands no more bloodshed. Nam-gyu snarks about it, but he and Thanos get a hallucination of Mi-kyung telling them to forgive. They say they forgive Dae-ho, but they make him promise to not be a coward again. They all team up to find the others.
• After some painful minutes of waiting, Jun-hee successfully gives birth. Mi-kyung celebrates while In-ho tears up at the sight, silently proving her right. They share a kiss in celebration as Jun-hee holds her baby. She then asks when they'll try for a baby to which he offers now. She pushes that away when they see 202 find them.
• 202 still injures Hyun-ju's leg. However, ThanGyu rushes in and tackles him off while Se-mi checks on her. He reminds them that seekers can't kill other seekers, only for them to say that they know and Nam-gyu hands his knife to Hyun-ju. The others arrive as the two hold 202, Thanos stabs his stomach, and Hyun-ju finishes him off. Dae-ho finds the exit and happily tells them that. 039 backs away from killing Dae-ho after seeing Gi-hun, Se-mi, and Su-jin aim their knives at him, and Thanos tells him to fuck off.
• Hyun-ju leads them to the girls + Yong-sik, and they all gather around to see the baby. Thanos welcomes the baby to the Thanos world and asks if they could name her Gamora. Jun-hee instead suggests to name her Hyun-ju since Mi-kyung once suggested that she can name her baby after someone important. Hyun-ju finds joy in it before suggesting the nickname Yun as to avoid confusion. After some check ups and relief, the hiders are led to the exit. Mi-kyung takes a moment to use her radio, directing someone to Exit 48. She looks back at In-ho, who doesn't stop her.
• After the hiders leave, Thanos loudly thanks Mi-kyung, who tears up and expresses relief that her friends are ok. In-ho wonders if she's some sort of guardian angel before they end up having to go to the VIPs. There, Mi-kyung pretends not to understand English while In-ho suggests that they join the games to clean up the stragglers. After some talking, the two leave and Mi-kyung again expresses annoyance. In-ho tells her to not let them know the rule she broke.
• The rule being broken is shown when the hiders are walking through a brightly lit hallway with "Congratulations" playing. At the end of it, they see soldiers and a doctor. The doctor patches up injuries and states that they should keep this a secret. They're confused but relieved at being patched up, even if not much can be done about Jun-hee's ankle.
• The seekers sit back in the room, waiting for time to run out. They then discuss what they'll do with their earnings. ThanGyu discuss getting drugs and partying, only for Su-jin to gently suggest they go to rehab. They surprisingly agree as they sober up, saying they're going to be screwed over by withdrawal. Se-mi teases them for it before she discusses putting her life back together and asking a girl out. Su-jin wants to quit his office job to focus on his hobby of pottery and painting. Gi-hun doesn't want his earnings still and says that he'll see his daughter to make up for the lost time. They then make a promise to help each other and their allies survive the games, solidifying the admittedly odd friendship.
• In-ho scolds Mi-kyung for playing favorites, only for her to remind him of his favortism towards her. She then asks him about letting Jun-ho meet their eventual kids, only for him to shut down the notion. She walks away in disgust, showing there's a lingering issue.

3 - 3 (Ch 8 - Odd)

• Back in the dorms, the former hiders quietly discuss why they got a doctor when they notice that other players didn't get patched up. When the former seekers come, they tell the others about the promise to survive, which is agreed to. The team sits together, and the others are told about the doctor + no one else getting patch work. Gi-hun agrees that it's unusual and wonders if there's someone higher up who's breaking the rules for them after bringing up how no one in his time got a doctor. That's when Hyun-ju asks about the Frontwoman, who Gi-hun doesn't know about. They all debate on whether or not this Frontwoman has anything to do with the doctor. Also Gi-hun isn't handcuffed lol + 30 players remain
• During the VIP meeting, Mi-kyung holds back her anger towards the VIP as they act annoying. When one praises In-ho for letting them be part of the game, he gives the credit to Mi-kyung (its true) who said she got inspired when they infiltrated the games. She notices Han leaving and gets suspicious.
• When the votes come up, they discuss how 13/30 players want to leave. The VIPs point out the large group of friends and give crap to Mi-kyung for bringing them together, prompting In-ho to defend her and say that she brought them together so that their losses would feel greater just like how her "loss" affected them all the most. Mi-kyung shudders at this and tries to justify herself, only for the VIPs to give praise to her for playing their feelings. Under the table, she holds In-ho's hand for comfort as she holds back her tears.
• In the end, one player sways to O, leading to 12 X's and 17 O's. The VIPs discuss and make fun of ThanGyu for switching sides all because they smooch each other even tho they're greedy. Mi-kyung asks In-ho if she could leave the room. Once she does go somewhere else, she screams in frustration and punches the wall. Afterward, she goes to Han and asks him what the hell is going on. When he claims that everything is fine, she tells him off for not being honest. He tells her that even though he respects her, he's been on the job for longer so he knows more than her. She snarks back that even if they're friends, she doesn't like liars. He comments about how she lied to the players, only for her to say that she never lied about her identity unlike In-ho and admits that she cares for the players. He tells her off for playing favorites and that she can't repeat what happened to her since she's special. As he walks away, she silently vows to break more rules if needed.
• During dinner, the ten questions Gi-hun on what he knows about the Frontman. He talks about how the Frontman compares the games to betting on horses. As for the Frontwoman, she has a fierce presence in contrast to the Frontman being more calm.
• After a moment, Su-jin brings up how at the time, he didn't think too much of it, but he discusses how the body dressed as Young-il in the human chandelier didn't look like him. He initially thought it was because he was crying so he couldn't see well, only to now realize that it wasn't him, it was the manager they unmasked. After some thinking, others quickly agree and they all find it weird.
• They make theories: ranging from him having somehow escaped and is in hiding or left the island to get help, he was captured and is being held prisoner, or his dead body was kept for something. Gi-hun then suggests that he's the Frontman and quickly brings up how they never saw him in that one round of Mingle. When Hyun-ju wonders if he was simply on the other end of the room, Thanos chimes in to say that he's kept his eyes peeled for Young-il ever since he beat him, and he never saw him on the other end. Dae-ho then brings up how Young-il would always make dumb jokes, and how his name literally meant 001. They all then talk about how they never saw him in Red Light, Green Light and that he seemed to appear out of nowhere.
• Gi-hun states that a man as cruel as the host of the games would lie to them about everything. Jun-hee, who hands Yun to Thanos, brings up how Young-il told her about his sick wife and unborn baby, and how genuine it felt. Gi-hun says that he was told the same story, but he wouldn't be surprised if he was good at acting. The upset team gets distracted at Yun crying then get amused at Thanos's attempt to calm her down.
• That night, Se-mi goes to Hyun-ju and cries, expressing guilt about killing Min-su. As she's comforted, Hyun-ju asks why Se-mi went to her, and Se-mi explains that it's because she knew Hyun-ju would know the right things to say. They make a promise to hang out once they leave and go to Jeju Island to sip martinis. Se-mi also asks to go to Thailand with Hyun-ju and live with her since she doesn’t think South Korea is the right place for her. Hyun-ju agrees, relieved to not be alone. They end up cuddling.
• Meanwhile, Gi-hun lays by Jun-hee and Yun's side, watching them sleep. Su-jin asks him why he's still awake. Gi-hun quietly explains that even when he hasn't seen his daughter in years, he sees her in a lot of people. He talks about how protective he feels over some younger women, and he recently realizes that it's because he misses Ga-yeong. He's unsure if he's ready to face her again, only to be told by Su-jin that he'll go with him to America and be by his side the whole time. Now comforted, they lay down together. Gi-hun expresses that he misses Mi-kyung then vows to make "Young-il"/Frontman and the Frontwoman pay.
• The next morning, after Han is informed that No-eul is helping 246, he's surprised by Mi-kyung who he notes woke up early. She says the same about him then questions him again on what he's doing. He tells her that she's being annoying and that they'll talk once the games are over.
• Meanwhile, Jun-hee wonders about leaving Yun behind but she hesitates to. Geum-ja says that it should be fine plus its good for newborns to be close to their mothers since thats how she was with Yong-sik. While heading to the next game, Jun-hee leans against Hyun-ju while Gi-hun holds Yun. She briefly mentions her reasoning to the others, and Gi-hun gives her supportive words, making Su-jin say that Ga-yeong would like this new version of him.
• Meanwhile, Thanos, and Nam-gyu are tweaking from withdrawals. While Nam-gyu is more anxious, Thanos is more emotional. They lean onto Geum-ja to the annoyance of Yong-sik, who tells them to give her space. She tells him off then encourages the two to go into rehab before coming to her house for kimchi. She invites the others as well, and they're happy at the offer.
• Back with the fuck ahh VIPs, one of them complains due to 222's not being able to pass jump rope. When they suggest Yun being counted as a player, Mi-kyung is noticably tense. After the VIPs cheer at the players arriving, one of them notices Mi-kyung's tenseness and asks In-ho if she got too attached to the players. Mi-kyung has In-ho tell them that she always gets nervous when watching the games, but it's more this time due to her betting him that at least a certain few would win.
• When they get to jump rope, the team are horrified due to Jun-hee's fractured ankle, even with the bandage around it. They're extra horrified at Yun being counted as a player, making Geum-ja apologize profusely for not telling Jun-hee to leave Yun behind. Her begging to the soldiers goes nowhere other than amuse the VIPs.
• Jun-hee asks Gi-hun to carry Yun across for her, and he agrees. As he prepares, Hyun-ju proclaims that she'll carry Jun-hee, only for Se-mi to remind her of her injured leg and that even with it patched up, they won't make it. Thanos cries at this before suddenly wiping away his tears and reminding everyone of the promise they agreed to.
• Thanos then says that he'll carry Jun-hee. The anxious Nam-gyu discourages it, worried that he'll fall. Thanos hesitates, only for Yong-sik to say that he knows he won't be able to carry her. Dae-ho is also asked to, but he refuses due to self-doubt.
• They were going to also ask Su-jin, only to see him follow Gi-hun and Yun. Gi-hun and Su-jin cross the bridge with Yun with Su-jin making sure Gi-hun keeps his balance. Mi-kyung and In-ho hold each other's hands so tightly at the sight, they could feel each other's racing heartbeats. They relax when they see the three pass, and Gi-hun calls out that he'll come back for Jun-hee, only for Thanos to tell him to not bother and asks Jun-hee to get on his back. 

3 - 4 (Ch 9 - Savior)

• Thanos asks Nam-gyu to help put Jun-hee on his back, saying that he's given his younger sister plenty of piggyback rides back in the day so this won't be any different. He tells players to move out of the way, but some still get on the bridge.
• 096 still gets to the other end then still eliminates 312 and 276. Su-jin, worried for Jun-hee above all else, pushes 096 off the ledge. He slips and almost falls, but Gi-hun pulls him back. The players manage to get across, including Thanos and Jun-hee. Nam-gyu gets momentarily halted by Mi-hwa, who wants to avenge Seon-nyeo, but Nam-gyu easily pushes her off and jumps across into Thanos's arms while Mi-hwa dies.
• At some point, Geum-ja falls off due to her weak knees. In despair, Yong-sik falls too. Mi-kyung gasps, concerning the VIPs. In-ho excuses it as her having betted on them. They laugh it off and continue watching while Mi-kyung rushes off to the restroom. There, she sobs profusely at the loss of her friends and for guilt over lying to them. In-ho takes a moment to check on her, only to hear her screaming. The VIPs call him back and he chooses their needs over hers, leaving her to wail on her own.
• In the end, the remaining survivors are the X Team (Gi-hun, Su-jin, Thanos, Nam-gyu, Hyun-ju, Se-mi, Dae-ho, Jun-hee, and Yun) and the O Team (353, 336, 203, 306, 039, 009, 447, 402, and 024). However, while they headed back to the dorms, Jun-hee gets yoinked by soldiers. The X Team wonders where she went and are upset when the guards won't tell them anything while the O Team celebrate and say that it's an elimination. Gi-hun suspects that something is up.
• When the VIPs question it, In-ho silently knows it was Mi-kyung, who hasn't returned, then claims it was to make things more interesting. Baby debate happens, but Yun is spared bc again, games shall be interesting.
• 336 and 353 complain about there being too many people still alive. When the guards come in and say that 17 players are present, everyone is shocked to hear that Yun counts as Jun-hee's earnings. The O Team complain and when 306 calls her a slut, Thanos calls him a bitch and tells him to shut his mouth.
• When the O Team goes to get rid of Yun, the X Team surrounds Dae-ho who's holding the baby and hurl insults/scoldings. The manager stops the confrontation and declares that physical violence is no longer allowed before giving them the gifts. After Dae-ho gives the baby to Se-mi, ThanGyu plans that in the next game, if possible, they kill the O Team because of what they tried to do. They must create bloodshed if they want to keep their promise and avenge Jun-hee too, which the others silently agree to, even Gi-hun.
• Meanwhile, Jun-hee's blindfold is removed. She's gagged and handcuffed to a hospital bed and is attached to machines. After looking at the soldiers in fear, the Frontwoman comes in and shushes her. She wipes away her tears and reassures her that her team will keep her baby safe. When ungagged, Jun-hee pleads to be let go, only for the Frontwoman to tell her that she's in no condition to compete in the games and that rules were broken to give her the medical attention she needs.
• When Jun-hee asks why the Frontwoman is doing this, her hand is squeezed. She realizes. Mi-kyung slowly unmasks herself, still in tears and having been crying for a while. She apologizes to Jun-hee profusely for not being completely honest with her and that she wishes that she took Geum-ja away from the games so that she and Yong-sik could live. Jun-hee smacks Mi-kyung, who allows it, and screams at her for scaring her and for lying.
• Jun-hee asks if they were really friends, and Mi-kyung promises that they are. She admits that she wasn't meant to get attached to any of them, but she did. She got attached to Jun-hee the most because they're the same age and Mi-kyung wants to be a mother someday. She also admits to wanting friends outside of the games, and it's been difficult due to her fiance being overprotective. She then admits to being the one who brought Jun-hee to the room and who got them medical attention, emphasizing that she wasn't supposed to make things unfair. Jun-hee's anger lessens when Mi-kyung emphasizes that she broke the rules to save her friends due to her attachment, and she accepts if Jun-hee doesn't forgive her.
• Jun-hee says that she'll only forgive if she answers a few questions, starting with: is Young-il the Frontman? Mi-kyung is quick to tell her that he is + Young-il wasn't his real name. Jun-hee quickly concludes that he's her fiance then questions if he was honest about his backstory. When Mi-kyung confirms it, she also brings up how In-ho was a past winner like her and Gi-hun, but he was broken by the games + the loss of his wife and unborn baby. It horrified Jun-hee.
• Jun-hee asks how she really won, to which Mi-kyung explains that she was favored by the VIPs due to her former wealth. In-ho went against the idea, but he went along with it due to it being a rule to accommodate the VIPs. She would be brought to him every night to be told what the next game would be, and she fell in love due to finding him attractive + how he slowly grew attached to her. She explains that after she won, she had to be persistent in getting him to like her since his heart was closed off. It took her months to get him to admit to loving her back, and he's obsessed with her. She admits that it's thanks to her stubbornness that he's allowing her to break the rules even if he acts like he doesn't want her to. She then insists that he cares for Jun-hee, and that he stopped the VIPs from eliminating Yun.
• Jun-hee then asks the final question: can Mi-kyung stop the games? Mi-kyung pauses but she makes it a promise, even if In-ho is stubborn. With that, Jun-hee hugs Mi-kyung and forgives her unnie. Relieved, Mi-kyung allows the doctor to check on her and reassures Jun-hee that the soldiers are the least sociopathic + are parents themselves. After threatening to kill them if they hurt Jun-hee, Mi-kyung leaves.
• After changing into suits, Hyun-ju is iffy about it until Se-mi tells her that she looks incredibly hot. The two hold hands while going back to the dorms. There are multiple tables that form an equal sign for both teams. Yun is given to a guard, who's placed in a bassinet by the X Team. While the O Team digs in, the X Team don't take a bite until Yun is fed, even if Thanos salivates at the fancy food.
• After they eat, they're given the hint about the final game. As the O Team questions it, the X Team look at each other knowingly, accepting what they'll have to do for the sake of Yun. Se-mi can't help but groan at the O's not understanding what the manager tells them before making it simple. The O Team tells her off for implying that they're stupid, only for Nam-gyu to agree and they are stupid. He and Thanos make cruel smiles, scaring the O's.
• Back to the fuck ahh VIPs, they're pleased at what they see. They change their minds about the X Team, saying that it's like an underdog story between protectors and monsters with the baby as a princess. They question Mi-kyung's whereabouts, mockingly asking if she got attached to the old hag and her son. In-ho says that he'll look for her before calling it a night. He first checks his office, where he's told from Captain Ko that Park is dead. He's silent when he hangs up then sighs before hurrying away.
• Jun-hee is almost done with a nutritious meal. As she eats, the Frontman enters the room. He sits next to her and apologizes for what happened to Geum-ja and Yong-sik. Jun-hee tells him that she knows who he is since Mi-kyung told her. After some silence, she asks if he can stop the games. He says that he can't, but they're about to end tomorrow anyways. He reassures that Yun will be safe since her team is very protective before he encourages her to eat. She finishes her meal, and the containers are taken away by the soldiers. She then asks him if he truly loves Mi-kyung. He says that he does and that he'd do anything for her. Jun-hee asks him to stop the games then, making him chuckle. He brushes hair out of her face and says that he'll see what he can do before telling her to rest.
• Back in the dorms, the teams meet up in whisper, both agreeing to get rid of everyone in the other team in the next game. Later on, Gi-hun is the only one awake, being watchful of the other players. A manager then tells him that "they" want to see him. He's taken to the top floor where the Frontman and Frontwoman are.
• The Frontman offers a proposition for Gi-hun. Frontwoman is silent as they have a similar convo to canon. When giving the knife, Frontman justifes it by saying that Gi-hun's allies want the O's dead anyways. When Gi-hun asks why, In-ho unmasks himself. Gi-hun stands and grabs the knife, making the Frontwoman finally speak: he won't kill them. Even if he did, they'll be replaced and the games will continue anyway.
• Gi-hun tears up and asks the Frontwoman to reveal herself. Slowly, she unmasks, showing a conflicted Mi-kyung. When he gasps, she frowns and tells him that she's really sorry.
• After some painful silence, In-ho goes on to tell Gi-hun that once he kills the O Team, he and Mi-kyung will break a rule and let the games end to ensure that their friends would survive. Gi-hun laughs dryly and expresses doubt that they were friends, especially after Jung-bae. She quickly tells him how she never agreed to Jung-bae being killed and that she's been a wreck about everything since then. She pleads with Gi-hun that if he can't do it, he could ask Thanos or Nam-gyu to do it. However, In-ho discourages it and wants Gi-hun to do it himself. Gi-hun doesn't say anything and walks away.
• To In-ho's dismay, she chases after him and blurts out that he's not the only winner of the games who came back. Gi-hun slowly turns to look at her then at In-ho, whose expression is conflicted.

3 - 5 (Ch 10 - I'm Sorry)

• Mi-kyung stands there, unsure of what to say, but he hugs her, prompting In-ho to stand. When she sobs on his shoulder and apologizes for lying, Gi-hun aims the knife at In-ho and demands an explanation. After In-ho admits to being a past winner and that his backstory was true, Gi-hun asks if he forced Mi-kyung into this. Mi-kyung is quick to say that she wasn't forced into anything, and that it was her choice to infiltrate the games with In-ho.
• In-ho reveals that they're engaged, which stuns Gi-hun. Mi-kyung leads Gi-hun back to his chair before she heads to the restroom to wash up. It's then that Gi-hun asks why he and Mi-kyung are engaged, saying that she's different from him and he doubts its genuine. After insisting that it is, In-ho talks about how Mi-kyung was annoyingly persistent in being with him. She was stubborn and stayed by his side until he relented into what he felt. She makes him happy, and he doesn't want to lose her to anything. In fact, he didn't want her to infiltrate the games with him because he expected her to get attached. That's when In-ho tells Gi-hun that she got attached to him after learning about him and is the reason why Su-jin was brought to the games: she wanted Gi-hun to be happy in the same way she is with In-ho.
• Mi-kyung leaves the restroom and chastises In-ho for telling Gi-hun about Su-jin, only for him to chastise back about revealing his secret. When Gi-hun questions about him being a winner, In-ho has to hold Mi-kyung's hand to do so. He only initially says that he entered the games for his family but he lost them, but after some pushing from his fiance, he also confesses to the offer Il-nam gave him. Mi-kyung then admits that she was given the same offer, though hers went wrong due to her victims waking up.
• Gi-hun sees the guilt in In-ho's face and is surprised. After a moment, he asks why In-ho is the Frontman. He cracks and confesses that he went home to his wife who died in her sleep, along with their unborn baby. He admits to blaming his stepmother and brother for not checking in on her more often, but he blames himself more for not being there. He also blames society for failing to help and for people in the games whose greed kept him from going home sooner. He's breaking down when he finally admits that he doesn't understand how Gi-hun still has faith in humanity after everything he went through.
• When Gi-hun calls him by Young-il, Mi-kyung corrects it while revealing that she knew that Jun-ho would speak to him at some point. After a moment, Gi-hun tells In-ho that what happened to his family wasn't his fault and that he can't punish others for what the people in his time did. In-ho argues that it was people who voted to stay that caused the end of Gi-hun's friends, reminding him of season 1 and the recent loss of Geum-ja and Yong-sik. When Mi-kyung whimpers, In-ho adds that the only reason he and his friends were alive were because rules were bent to keep them that way, relaying the irony that it took people in power who gave a shit for them to live when out in the real world, it wouldn't have happened.
• When In-ho reiterates how Geum-ja, Yong-sik, and other players died due to them failing to act, Gi-hun tells him that their blood is on their hands. He reiterates that they're the ones who brought them to the death game and makes people who wouldn't have become murderers into murderers. It makes Mi-kyung sob, which both men notice though In-ho is quick to wipe her tears.
• In-ho then orders again that Gi-hun, and Gi-hun alone, must kill the O Team if he wants himself, his team, and Yun to live while they handle the ones above them. Mi-kyung says that it's risky since they could lose their lives, but they'll do it if it means Gi-hun and the others could escape with theirs. After some silence, Gi-hun expresses that they're not doing enough by stopping the games now so that the O Team could live too. This stuns In-ho while Mi-kyung laughs. She calls him weird but strangely admirable and says that it's why she likes him so much. However, she does remind him that the O Team wanted to kill Yun. When In-ho doesn't say anything else, Gi-hun leaves.
• Afterward, In-ho expresses disbelief, only for Mi-kyung to remind him how despite them being murderers, he still lets Thanos and Nam-gyu stay with the team. She also reminds him of how he wanted the O's spared before the rebellion started, even if his argument doesn't make sense. In-ho says nothing else before he sits in where Gi-hun was. She turns on the TV and sits on his lap so that they can watch what Gi-hun does.
• Gi-hun goes to slash 306's throat, but he stops when he has a memory of Sae-byeok. Like in his nightmare, Sae-byeok shifts into Mi-kyung, the innocent-acting Mi-kyung he's come to know. Su-jin silently grabs his wrist, breaking him out of it. The two quietly walk away with Su-jin making Gi-hun rest his head against him. In-ho has tears in his eyes while Mi-kyung is relieved and expresses that she's so proud of Gi-hun for doing what they couldn't. After a moment, In-ho cries, wondering why it's so easy for him. Mi-kyung pulls him close right as Su-jin does the same, the lovers kissing foreheads and caressing hairs to soothe their men.
• The next morning, Frontman calls Jun-ho on the boat, telling him to give up his search. When Jun-ho says that Frontman will have to kill him, Frontwoman takes the phone. She instead encourages Jun-ho to come south to the island, where he'll get his answers. After hanging up, she tells In-ho that after the final game, they're done with the job and they're going to put themselves back together. He gets mad at her for risking themselves, only for her to demand that he finally speaks with his brother instead of running away.
• Back in the dorms, Su-jin asks Gi-hun where he got the knife. When the others gather around, Gi-hun tells them that there IS someone bending the rules for them. After reminding themselves of the plan, they head to the next game.
• On the top floor, the fight between Han and No-eul continues. During it, Mi-kyung comes out of her bedroom and asks whats happening. He tells her that the soldier was causing problems and goes to kill No-eul, only for Mi-kyung to pull him away. She then brings up Seok-woo and how he tended to be worse than Hyun-soo in many ways. However, she notes that Seok-woo has usually been honest with her unlike Hyun-soo. She promptly shoots him dead, mumbling that she was glad to be rid of another negative influence on In-ho before she helps No-eul up.
• Mi-kyung questions No-eul on what trouble she caused, to which she admits to helping Player 246 escape. After giving praise, Mi-kyung asks for an important favor from No-eul as a reward for being a pain to Hyun-soo. No-eul agrees to it.
• Back in the games, the players finish listening to the explanation. Both teams stare each other down as Yun is given to Dae-ho. Thanos and Nam-gyu express excitement at the games, feeling high off of being near the end. Se-mi, who hangs back with Dae-ho while rolling up her sleeves, tells them off and reminds them to not be impulsive. Su-jin also rolls up his sleeves as he looks at Gi-hun and tells him that they owe each other soju after this. After Hyun-ju puts her hair up, Gi-hun gives her the knife. She takes it before Gi-hun stands with Se-mi in the back, Thanos and Nam-gyu are in the middle while Hyun-ju and Su-jin are in the front.
• After the round starts, the remaining followers for Seon-nyeo charge to get revenge. ThanGyu easily pick up and toss 009. Hyun-ju is tackled by 306, but she holds her ground, stabs his back a few times, and pushes him off. Su-jin and 447 hit each other while getting close to the edge, where Su-jin picks him up and throws him. The VIPs watch in glee at the gladiator-like fight while Mi-kyung and In-ho watch silently. In her room, Jun-hee watches the game from a TV perched in front of her bed, where she hugs her legs and is relieved at her friends winning.
• Jun-ho climbs up the escape tunnel to the Frontman's office. As soon as he was up, he's held up by a masked No-eul, who demands for him to stand down. He looks at the screen and sees the remaining players, relieved to see Gi-hun. He then asks where the Frontman is, only for her to demand again for him to stand down and wait there for the Frontwoman. She also reassures him that the Frontwoman wants to stop the games too, but Jun-ho should stay out of the way. Reluctantly, Jun-ho agrees and sits down to watch the games.
• Su-jin picks up the metal pole before they move to the triangle, where 024 picks up the pole there. After the button is pressed, ThanGyu dodges his pole and yells that they should've killed him in Hide & Seek. They take the pole and push him off, leaving only 353, 336, 203, 306, and 039. 039 attempts democracy, only for Thanos to tell him to shut up and push him off with the pole. As the VIPs cheer, Su-jin tells Thanos off for being pushy, only for 336 to steal his pole.
• He moves out of the way, causing Se-mi to fall off but not before grabbing the ledge. Dae-ho kicks 336 before Hyun-ju pulls him back to a choke hold. Dae-ho takes the pole and throws it aside, where it's unfortunately picked up by 306. He and Gi-hun pull Se-mi up right as Hyun-ju pushes 336 off the ledge and the round ends. 353 and 203 head to the last tower while 306 keeps the X Team away with the pole while he stands on the bridge.
• 306 declares the other team crazy and laughs at their audacity to not share the money. Dae-ho yells that they weren't going to share with cruel people as he tries to calm the crying Yun. When 306 gets startled by the bridge moving, Se-mi grabs the knife and hurls it at 306, hitting him in the abdomen. This gives Hyun-ju and Nam-gyu the chance to grab the pole and push him back onto the last platform as the others run and jump across. The VIPs cheer in entertainment while Jun-hee holds her breath.
• As Dae-ho is the last to make it across and he looks at the baby, he looks up at his friends fighting and sees the button not there. Right as 353, 203, and 306 are taken care of, he weakly yells that the button wasn't pressed. The team stares at the button in shock as Dae-ho holds the sobbing Yun. As the VIPs get more excited, In-ho holds Mi-kyung's wrist and feels her rapid heartbeat.

3 - 6 (Ch 11 - They're Only Human)

• Back on the top floor, Jun-ho gets up and pleads for the game to stop. However, No-eul demands him to sit, saying that they had to do what the Frontwoman said. He questions why she trusts her judgement and brings up how the Frontman is his brother. After getting over her shock, she tells him that the Frontwoman isn't all bad. She killed her own friend to save No-eul + seemed very insistent on wanting the games to end. He then brings up how she wanted him to come to the island and asks who she is to his brother. No-eul tells him that the Frontwoman will tell him soon and looks at the screen.
• The X Team stands there in stunned silence. After pressing the button, Hyun-ju immediately blames herself for not pressing it, only for Su-jin to apply the blame to all of them then Thanos puts it on the O's for attacking first. Se-mi brings up how there's no point in putting blame since now one of them has to die for them to win. As the VIPs wonder what they'll do, Gi-hun looks at the shadowed window.
• He brings up how this is something that entertains the people watching, though he doesn't mention the Frontman and Frontwoman. Thanos yells at the window, telling them off for treating them like shit, before he breaks into tears. He expresses wanting to see his mother again and to find his sister, who his father took in the divorce. Nam-gyu clings to him, bringing up how he never knew his mom and his pushover of a dad didn't care for him. Now in a panic, Nam-gyu asks if they're all going to die. Hyun-ju slaps him to make him get a hold of himself and that they'll have to talk about it.
• Se-mi notices Dae-ho setting Yun down and immediately tells him not to do anything stupid. He expresses guilt for not bringing back the magazines, causing their allies to die. Gi-hun reminds him that they were outnumbered, so it was bound to fail even if he did return with the magazines. Dae-ho looks at the edge then looks at Se-mi offering her hand. He takes it and moves away from the ledge into a comforting hug, making him cry.
• Hyun-ju picks up Yun and says that since Jun-hee wasn't here, who would take care of the baby outside? Su-jin suggests that he and Gi-hun could take care of her, especially since Gi-hun has experience. He talks about getting a nice house to raise her in and retire together. Se-mi brings up what she and Hyun-ju plans: moving to Thailand and start a new life. ThanGyu discuss wanting to enter rehab and start a new life too. Dae-ho says that he doesn't want to return to his father, but he's unsure of what he'll do. Se-mi suggests that he can use his winnings to travel and figure out what he wants to do along the way. Dae-ho is comforted when Se-mi says that he should do it to make his older sisters happy. They all begin to discuss where they could hang out, only to go silent when remembering where they are.
• At this point, Jun-hee is crying and asking the soldiers there to be let go so that she could stop them. When they refuse, she begs for Mi-kyung and In-ho to do something. Back in the deck, Mi-kyung and In-ho whisper on what they should do. She says that they should stop the game while he argues that they gave Gi-hun a chance to end it early but he didn't take it. When In-ho states that if any of them dies, it's Gi-hun's doing, Mi-kyung yells at him to stop seeing Gi-hun as a conduit for his guilt and to do something for her friends. In-ho excuses the yell as a lover's spat to the VIPs before they see Gi-hun going to the edge.
• Seeing this, Jun-ho grabs his gun and demands to be taken to the Frontpeople so that Gi-hun won't die. She agrees with him since neither have done anything yet. She parts the TV and leads him out of the office.
• Gi-hun tells his allies that they all, especially Yun, have something to live for, and that he wants them to pursue it. Su-jin begs him not to, only for Gi-hun to say that he's doing this because he loves him immensely. He thinks Su-jin could do better than him, reassures that he'll be a good father to Yun, and that Ga-yeong will be fine without him. After they kiss, Su-jin is too distraught to say anything else.
• Gi-hun looks at the window before saying that he and his friends aren't horses, they're human. As his friends stare in disbelief and he says "humans are...," time seems to move in slow motion. Mi-kyung pulls out her gun and shoots the window, Su-jin reaches out and grabs Gi-hun by the shirt before he falls, and the observation room is invaded. As the window breaks, Su-jin pulls Gi-hun back onto the platform and into his arms, holding him tightly. The soldiers in the room are shot down by No-eul and Jun-ho, who came to stop the games.
• After telling incoming soldiers + the duo to hold their fire, the Frontwoman declares everyone to be winners. When a VIP yells at her for that, she shoots him in the head. Another asks why she's doing this even though they fund the games. She simply replies that she and her fiancé are earning their freedom from annoying assholes. The Frontman looks at Jun-ho before ordering the soldiers to kill the VIPs.
• They all watch as the VIPs are mowed down. Yun cries loudly at the noise while the other players stare in shock. After they were thoroughly dead, the Frontwoman hugs the Frontman tightly and admits to being afraid he wouldn't side with her. He replies that he'll always be at her side. Meanwhile, Jun-ho approaches the broken window and calls out to Gi-hun. Both men express relief. Just as Jun-ho admits to calling the coast guard, a manager enters to say that they were coming.
• The Frontman orders for the island to be evacuated while Frontwoman uses her radio to ask for the cards to be ready + to include Gyeong-seok. She then tells No-eul to take Jun-ho to the boat, where he and his brother will have their long awaited conversation. As they leave, both tell the players that they'll get an explanation later on before leaving. The team are confused but incredibly relieved, prompting Hyun-ju and Se-mi to have their first kiss. Jun-hee is taken out of her bed and guided out of the room while being incredibly teary and happy.
• When they activate the self-destruct countdown, Mi-kyung asks In-ho if he's ready to start over. In-ho admits to being terrified, which she agrees with. She wonders if the others will ever forgive them. He doubts it, but he won't hold it against them as long as he can stay by her side. She asks him if she can finally have friends outside of his own, to which he agrees.
• They arrive on the yacht, where the winners and the duo wait. Jun-ho is apologizing to Gi-hun for failing to find the island sooner, bringing up Captain Park. The Frontman expresses disappointment that he was gone before asking where Han was. The Frontwoman admitted to killing him for being a liar and is relieved he won't be in their wedding. Su-jin asks for them to reveal themselves, to which she tells them to brace themselves.
• As the Frontman unmasks, Jun-ho refers to him as his hyung. Everyone is shocked to see Young-il before Su-jin says that he was right about the body not being right. When Frontwoman unmasks, they're even more shocked. Thanos slaps himself and asks if she's real, making Dae-ho wonder if they all went crazy. She reassures that it's real before she apologizes profusely for not being honest. She says how she wasn't supposed to get attached, but she did so she broke some rules.
• That's when the couple parts, revealing Jun-hee with a medical boot for her ankle. After Nam-gyu almost faints, Mi-kyung explains that she took Jun-hee out of the games to give her medical attention, taking credit for the doctor in Hide & Seek. The team immediately rush to Jun-hee and hug her tightly. She cries from relief that they're all ok and happily kisses Yun. Jun-ho takes the chance to ask Mi-kyung how she ended up engaged to In-ho, to which she sighs and says its a long story but that he treats her well, albeit with hesitance.
• She gets surprised when ThanGyu hugs her, saying they're relieved that she's ok. Hyun-ju says that Jun-hee told them about how well she was treated and thanks her, but she's still mad that she and In-ho lied to them. Mi-kyung understands their anger before timidly asking if they'll come to her wedding. ThanGyu and Jun-hee say that they will come while the others say that they'll think about it. Gi-hun is silent before saying that he'll come since she saved them. They then realize that the brothers were missing.
• In a room, In-ho says that he has too much to say, only for Jun-ho to drop his gun and hug him tightly. Jun-ho jokingly questions why he didn't get a wedding invite. In-ho returns the hug silently and tears up before asking why Jun-ho hasn't hurt him even when he deserves it. Jun-ho replies that he wasn't going to hurt his brother, he only wants answers for his absence.
• When they pull away, the island explodes, so they exit the room to watch with the others. Gi-hun asks Mi-kyung if she and In-ho will turn themselves in. Mi-kyung expresses fear of prison before saying that it'd be hard to get convicted without evidence and brings up how the cops will find it hard to believe, which Jun-ho and Gi-hun agree with. In-ho then says that the immense guilt they feel weighs on them enough as punishment.
• After some silence, Su-jin says that unlike before where Gi-hun won alone, they all have each other and they won't have to suffer alone. No-eul comes and delivers the debit cards with their winnings. After they each get theirs, Su-jin asks why Gi-hun didn't get any. Mi-kyung says that she remembers Gi-hun saying that he didn't want his earnings during the rebellion, so it'll go to the player No-eul helped escape: 246 aka Gyeong-seok. Hyun-ju expresses relief that he's alive before Thanos groans and asks if there's anyone else still alive that they don't know about. This makes everyone share a laugh due to how ridiculous it sounds, lightening the mood slightly.
• Jun-ho then immediately remembers Mr. Kim and Gyeong-seok on his own boat and asks for a radio to contact them. No-eul leads him away while Mi-kyung and In-ho walk away from the others. She asks if they can set up a memorial in their home for his first wife, Geum-ja, and Yong-sik. He agrees, not wanting either of them to forget the sins they'll never be able to take back.

3 - 6 still lol (Ch 12 - Hope [Epilogue])

• In the Pink Motel, Jun-ho finishes catching Gi-hun up on what happened while he was away. Su-jin enters the room and sits next to the silent Gi-hun, prompting Jun-ho to ask if the games brought them together. Su-jin reiterates what he said on the yacht: they won't suffer alone with what the games have done to them. He then tells Gi-hun that he has something important to do and hands him his phone. Jun-ho wishes him luck then leaves.
• After a moment, Gi-hun dials his daughter's number. When she picks up, Su-jin leans against him as he greets her and asks how she is. Ga-yeong is quiet before responding. She then asks why he decided to call, and he immediately apologizes for not coming to see her years prior. He admits that he got wrapped up in trouble, and it took him a long time to remember that he had something more important to focus on. He then adds that no excuses he'll say will heal her pain before he apologizes again. With quiet encouragement from Su-jin, Gi-hun asks if she wants to see him again anytime soon.
• He's surprised to hear Ga-yeong is in tears, so he quickly tells her that it'll all be ok, which only makes her cry more. She then tells him about how heartbroken she felt when he didn't leave the plane 3 years ago, making him cry too. He apologizes over and over then says that he never stopped loving her. She admits that despite how mad she is at him, she still loves him too. She then tells him that she'll have to talk to her mom, but she wants him to visit her in LA so they could start over. After agreeing, Gi-hun hangs up and collapses into Su-jin's arms.
• Outside, Jun-ho is about to call someone, only for a limousine to show up, courtesy of In-ho. Mi-kyung isn't there cus she's dealing with the severance pay at home. There, In-ho admits to Jun-ho that Mi-kyung was the one to convince him to see his ex-wife's grave again. Jun-ho would then admit that seeing the flowers there gave him hope because he thought In-ho had died. In-ho is still in disbelief that Jun-ho would still want to have a relationship with him despite everything, only for Jun-ho to say that all he wanted was his family back.
• After a moment, In-ho brings up how Mi-kyung is giving the biggest severance pay to the human furniture and waiters since they suffered the most from the VIPs. Jun-ho stiffens at the topic, making In-ho apologize for letting the VIP take him to another room years prior and that he would've stopped it somehow if he knew it was Jun-ho. Jun-ho rightfully calls In-ho out that he allowed SO MUCH shit to happen on the island, which In-ho doesn't deny. In-ho opens up about what Il-nam taught him over the years, even before the games started, and that he's still affected by it. Jun-ho reassures that he'll be there to help him, but that severance pay isn't enough to fix whatever trauma the workers went through. In-ho agrees and promises to repent. Jun-ho then apologizes for not being there and noticing any signs, only for In-ho to insist that none of it was his fault
• The two go to the graveyard and visit Seo-yoon's grave. The brothers tell her that now that they're reunited, they're going to catch up on lost time even if its awkward. They leave flowers and wipe dust off of the photos. It's there that In-ho asks Jun-ho if he wants to be his best man again, to which Jun-ho agrees.
• They return to the limousine, where Jun-ho asks In-ho if he's ready for something. In-ho is silent, which is taken as acceptance. The something ends up being them going to see their mother. In-ho stands by the car as Jun-ho enters the house and asks his mom to come out. When she does, she's shocked to see In-ho slowly approaching. In-ho goes to say something, only for her to hug him tightly in relief that he was ok.
• Six month timeskip occurs. It's a wedding in the back of a mansion between In-ho and Mi-kyung. She's noticably a few months pregnant. It's established that Thanos and Nam-gyu are proudly sober, despite a few mishaps, and remain close to Mi-kyung. They've also made up with Se-mi, who helps produce their music.
• Se-mi and Hyun-ju haven't fully forgiven Mi-kyung and In-ho, but they traveled from Thailand since they're grateful for them saving their lives. They're also there for Jun-hee who's a bridesmaid and is happy to be a good mom to Yun. The lesbians bring up Gyeong-seok, who sent a gift bc he kept in touch with them and Jun-hee. He's dating No-eul, who also sent a gift as an apology, and they're traveling to China to find her daughter and bring her back.
• Dae-ho shows up late courtesy of a late plane. He's welcomed with open arms, and they ask him about his travels. He brings up how he's traveled through South Korea, Thailand, the Philippines, and Japan. He plans on going to China next, but he didn't want to miss the wedding. He's iffy towards In-ho, but he's sweet with Mi-kyung.
• Jun-ho and In-ho stand to the side as the others dance. They reminisce about their childhood before Jun-ho tells In-ho that he's very proud of him. He then asks about the ones who weren't there, and In-ho informs him that they're in America.
• Cut to LA where Gi-hun and Su-jin are walking with Ga-yeong down a sidewalk. The couple wonders if Mi-kyung and In-ho would enjoy their wedding gift, noting that they're used to extravagant items. Ga-yeong asks them how they met their friends, to which they falsely claim to be because of a job they took.
• Ga-yeong tells her father that she's happy to see him thriving and that she didn't expect him to be fruity. Su-jin brings up Mi-kyung playing matchmaker and jokes that many knew before either of them realized it. Gi-hun is embarrassed, but he laughs along.
• Gi-hun stops when he hears a slap. He sees Blanchett recruiter playing ddakji with someone and is horrifed at the sight. He takes a step towards them, only for Ga-yeong to ask him what's wrong. Su-jin sees what he sees and takes his hand with a pleading gaze. It takes a few moments for Gi-hun to walk away and squeeze Su-jin's hand. 
• When she asks them about it, Su-jin makes the excuse of being curious. Once she was out of earshot, Su-jin quietly asks Gi-hun if he'll do something foolish. Gi-hun looks at his daughter and denies it, making Su-jin sigh in relief and lean against him. Ga-yeong points out a street vendor, and they head to it with small smiles, finally choosing the simple joys in life over revenge against society.