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"Min-su!"
The voice of the pacing Player 230, who proclaimed himself as Thanos, boomed across the massive room in a furious growl. Many players looked because of his shout, but they stared because of what was on his face. Bloodied and crazed, he marched to Player 125, who very few knew as Min-su.
Min-su was sitting on his bed. His lips parted and grew apart further in fear of Thanos' approach. The angry and deranged gaze of the purple-haired man stayed on Min-su.
When he reached Min-su, his face contorted into one of sadness. "Shit!" He swore as his hand stressfully swept across his face; it was colored in regret. His torso bent slightly as if he was hit with a rough wave of grief.
The moment he was in Thanos' reach, Min-su was pulled up by his collar. "Why did you kill Nam-gyu?! What did he do? We never hurt you. We just tried to protect you from the X's." Thanos acted betrayed, but it was hard to tell whether or not he was pretending or purely deluded at this point. Min-su looked away because he couldn't bear to look into Thanos' bloodied expression.
Other players who voted X came to Min-su's aid when Thanos and other players who voted O tried to coerce him into changing his vote in the men's restroom. It escalated into a fight, and it seemed like players died based on the stains on Thanos and the others who came out with him. Min-su didn't know what brutality had occurred in there because he had slipped out before it happened.
Min-su was aware of the other man's constant lack of sobriety, and that just one of the reasons he was scared right now. "What did I do?!" Min-su's tried to pry off Thanos' grip, wincing about the sensation of impending trouble.
"The bathroom! You killed everyone there!" Thanos pointed, his voice now hoarse. "If you just said you'd vote for O, the-!"
"Hey." Player 380, Se-mi, stood close by. Thanos turned to look at her. "Let him go." She ordered, casual yet threatening. Thanos let go of Minsu and turned to her like he had a grudge. He took a few lanky steps towards the woman.
"Missy. Don't interfere. Okay? It's between us." He shook his head randomly like a bobblehead. as he changed language at the last sentence. His words were slurred like a hand dragged across writings on a chalkboard.
She tilted her head. "Do you wanna get beat up?" She asked with no intention to be patient.
Thanos let the threat register for a second. He looked back at Min-su, then back at Se-mi. "I'll avenge my bro Nam-gyu!"He declared with shaky hand signs as he walked away. He continued yelling more honoring words for the late Nam-gyu as he left.
There was an increasing commotion. The players of the game had become polarized; they were divided between X and O. Those who wanted to continue the games were waging a war of blames and profanities against those wanted to cease the games. Se-mi had no interest to partake in it. She planned to speak to the anxious Min-su. The meek man was sitting on the bed, processing what had just happened between Thanos and himself and what it could entail.
Se-mi's gaze loomed over Thanos until he was far enough - he was easy to detect with his hair color. Surprisingly, he didn't even join the huge altercation that was happening at the center of the huge room. She figured whatever had happened in bathroom must have actually affected Thanos. Once she knew the coast was clear, she spoke. "Don't let that idiot get into your head."
"Why are you talking to me again?"
"What do you mean?"
"I betrayed you," their gazes met for split second. "when we played Mingle."
Semi's lips tongue clicked after a moment of contemplation. "You did. It really sucked when you did that."
The words were raring to leave Min-su's mouth. "I'm sorry!" He couldn't even look her in the eye with his guilt-ridden ones.
Se-mi was silent. Then she smiled.
"Geez." She tapped his shoulder. "Don't worry about it. Don't expect to me trust you again immediately, though." He only nodded.
"What do I do about Thanos?" He could almost shake from how unsafe he felt. Nam-gyu was dead, which eradicated one threat, but Thanos was enough to instill fear given his unstable and unpredictable nature.
"Worry about him later. I got a feeling something's about to go down soon." Se-mi peered down at the two tumultuous groups, still going at it. She had a bad feeling. Because of that fight in the men's bathroom, it was proven to everybody that a player's death could increase the cash prize, even if the death was caused by another player and outside of the games.
After a head count, it was confirmed that Team X had one extra member over Team O. Min-su began to realize what Se-mi was talking about. Those on Team X were satisfied with what they had and wanted to go home, while those on Team O were greedy or required more. Given that, Min-su figured that those who craved for money were dangerous for those who stood in their way.
It would be 20 minutes before the lights went out. The air was different tonight.
Min-su wanted to be alone, but not far from his fellow X-men. He sat on a bed situated on the ground that was planted against the wall. It likely belonged to no one now.
"Min-su."
Min-su turned to his side to find Thanos sitting on the ground, against the wall.
"Take one."
Without looking, Thanos offered his cross which served as a case for his colorful assortment of drugs. No hand reached for it.
"Why are you here?" Min-su was cautious and tense, but he also didn't sense any danger from Thanos for now. Still, Min-su positioned his body to be ready to bolt.
"Nam-gyu. Do you think he was only after this?" He shook his cross. He took in a sharp breath and continued to look bleakly ahead. "That motherfucker."
Min-su looked at the direction of Team X, then back at Thanos'.
Thanos' head turned and they finally made eye contact. "Hey. Don't tell them I'm here." He spoke unusually properly.
Min-su nodded, his eyes still wide from the tension of having Thanos nearby.
Thanos slowly retracted his offered cross of drugs, then immediately brought it up again. "You sure?" He asked only to be answered by Min-su's silence. Thanos officially rescinded the offer and dug his fingers in to take a pill for himself.
"Wait." Min-su soft exclamation caught an impatient glare from Thanos.
"What?" Thanos asked, annoyed that Min-su was keeping him occupied from the pill between his fingers. Maybe Thanos' impatience stemmed from his grudge against Min-su, believing that the latter was responsible for the death of Nam-gyu. In that case, it made sense that someone with a more-often-than-not foggy head like Thanos would hate Min-su.
"You don't need to take that. It's going to be Lights Out soon." Min-su sheepishly recommended. Min-su didn't fully understand why he cared whether or not Thanos got infinitely stoned again, but he knew that he had caught Thanos in a moment of sobriety. He preferred to see this Thanks rather than the mindless, frolicking baboon he was during the games.
Thanos was still, then a grin graced him. "My boy, you don't understand." He looked up at Min-su. "It's gonna be a shitstorm of absolute shitstorms! My team's definitely planning to kill your guys later. And If I'm joining the fight, I need to be ready to wa-poosh! Wa-pah! Aaand... hyuh!" He simulated exaggerated different fighting gesture with each grunt while sitting. Even sober, he still had this side to himself, Min-su noted.
"You'll need this pill later. So how about it?" Thanos continued to talk. It seemed that Thanos really wanted Min-su to be his new Nam-gyu. To amp it up further, Thanos put on a high-pitched voice and pretended that the pill was alive. "I'll make all your worries go away! Just put me in your fucking mouth, Min-su!"
Min-su declined as he remained still on the bed. "I don't want it. I don't know what kind of person I'll become."
"Less of a pussy, for sure." Thanos bluntly criticized. His gaze settled somberly on the pill in his palm. A single motion and it would pop into his mouth, but he wanted to know something first while he was still sober. "Hey. Why were you tryna stop me from getting high, huh?" He asked and looked neither happy nor smug.
"Well," Min-su looked down in contemplation. "you seem much better this way. I'd rather have you this way." He admitted with no exaggeration.
Thanos nodded as he took the other man's words into consideration. "That's kinda bold coming from you. I respect that." He raised his arm and angled it upwards to Min-su, who was still on the bed. Thanos was expecting a fist bump. His steady knuckles were weakly met by Min-su's.
He continued. "Actually, that lowkey hits, brother." Thanos' hand was against the right side if his chest as his expression appeared painfully touched. "Nobody has ever told me that they liked me sober."
"Yeah, 'cause you're a jackass either way." Min-su regret his words as they gently spewed out, but he knew what he was talking about. His hands remained rested on his knees as they were kept close to his chest.
Thanos stared at Min-su in shock. He didn't think the timid man's mellow voice could emit such harshly blunt statements. The rapper's eyes became downcast instead of retorting. "Yeah. I know." He admitted. "You probably wish I died with Nam-gyu, right? I get it. Honestly, It wouldn't so bad if I did." He shrugged with a pursed lip.
Min-su's gaze moved to Thanos upon hearing that. He was suddenly reminded of something. "Is what you said at the bathroom true then?"
"Which part?"
"The part where you said you wanted to kill yourself and these games are your second chance at life."
"Yeah. That's true." Thanos' voice wasn't gloomy; it was the most sincere that Min-su had ever heard from him. "Right now, I don't wanna die. Hell no! But, if I got, say, mortally wounded, I wouldn't really try that hard to get back up. You know what I mean?"
"Yeah. I get it." He responded, feeling more relaxed. He had come up with a proposition now. He looked into the other man's eyes with a mix of pleading and resolve. "Will you please vote X tomorrow?" His tone held conviction - that alone caught Thanos' attention.
Sincerity drained from Thanos' face. "You trying to piss me off, boy? While we're having this heart-to-heart?" He gestured to the two themselves. "Fuck this, man." He got up to return to his side; with those who voted O. He seemed disappointed and even saddened.
Min-su shuffled on the bed to get up. "Wait!" Thanos turned to see Min-su reaching out to him while still barely rooted to the bed. "If a second chance at life is what you want, then stop playing these games."
"Just get to the point already. What are you saying, Min-su? Be glad I haven't thrown this fucking pill at your face."
Min-su felt vulnerable confronting Thanos like that. Mentally, it felt like he was naked in a breeze. In fear of Thanos' potential of sudden wrath, Min-su pointed up at the large, glass piggy bank illuminated in a golden light. "With that money, you could have a new life!"
"That?" Thanos also pointed. "If we split it, how much do you think each of us'll get?"
"I think... more than two-hundred million won."
Thanos thought about it. With less than a hundred of them left, there was about thirty billion won to be split amongst them.
The money he could have right now would well exceed the minimum needed to start his life up again. He had a debt of one-hundred million won.
"Holy shit." Thanos swore in English.
That let Min-su know that he was actually thinking about it.
"See? Your new life is already guaranteed. If we play another game, you're gonna lose that life!"
Thanos was the one looking at Min-su in fear this time. It seemed that Thanos was already believing in that new life. "You really think so?"
Min-su debated whether or not to double down. It felt like he was abusing Thanos' vulnerability, but he couldn't take any more chances. "Mhm!" He nodded eagerly, his lips pursed in worry.
After giving himself time to think, the tension on Thanos body dropped. He analyzed Min-su's gestures and expression. "You're doing a lot just for one vote. Why's that? You suddenly care about me or something?" His defined eyebrows furrowed.
Min-su had nothing to hide from him. To gain Thanos' trust, Min-su had to stay real with him. "For a second, while we were talking, you weren't as much of a jackass. It's like... I wanted to befriend you, in a way."
Even Thanos' head couldn't bullshit a way to twist those words into something malicious.
Min-su was startled and he jolted as Thanos' arms wrapped around him like a tortilla would to make a burrito. The purple-haired player had clung to him so suddenly. Although, that was a gesture that the former was used to receiving by the latter at that point. "You hit me right in my feels, dude." He pat Min-su's back emotionally and brutally multiple times.
He pulled away, rubbing Min-su's shoulders while holding them. He held a strong, passionate gaze. The last time he did something like that, he wasn't as clear-headed as he was right now. His eccentricity was still there in sobriety, even if just slightly. "If we survive the night, I'll consider it. But if you die, then I'm choosing O. So you better not fucking die." He eagerly poked Min-su's chest upon the enunciation of each word of his last sentence. His face drew nearer, supposedly in a way of warning Min-su.
He watched as Thanos walked back to his group with his usual swagger that he viewed much softer now. Min-su went his own way towards Team X. He didn't expect Thanos to be so close, so he wasn't going to risk any more interactions with the people on Team O.
While he walked with his thoughts occupied on his conversation with Thanos, his path was blocked by her.
"Never seen him talk like that." Se-mi commented with her arms crossed. She appeared to still be stern when it came to the topic of the rapper.
Min-su's eyes shot open. She had known of him and Thanos' interaction the entire time when Min-su thought that none of Team X was aware of it. Min-su accepted that truth immediately and looked down.
He wanted to be more honest and asserive now. He was glad to be like that with Thanos first.
In Min-su's mind, there was truly a person in Player 230 behind the drugs in that god-forsaken cross.
"I know, right?"