Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

-

"Park Jisu." the man asked sternly, who was sitting directly in front of them.

"Do you know why I called you here?" The man asked while raising his brow.

Jisu took a long hard guess. They took a breath in as they scanned the room.

Maybe it was the sobbing that they could hear in the room over?

Were they late this morning?

Did they forget to fix their tie?

Jisu looked down to check.

Only just noticing the fresh drops of blood on their shoes, that was already drying. They pouted out their lips in amusement.

Nope. what was it then?

Oh!

Was it the fact that Jisu was currently sitting in the headmaster’s office, because they beat up a student? That was the right answer right.

It wasn’t the first time, nor would it be the last-

"I asked you a question! You ignorant child!
Do you want to call your father? Bring him down here to see the mistake of child he raised!" The headmaster yelled, slamming his hands down on the desk.

Jisu didn’t react. They squinted their eyes at the man instead. Their father didn’t raise them, no one really did, there would be no one to blame.

Their father wouldn’t have picked up anyways, it was late afternoon perfect time to pass out from drinking soju all day.

It’s a miracle that he’s still alive from just having a diet of pure alcohol.

Jisu just stared at the man with dead eyes. Is he serious? Jisu rolled their eyes.

They didn’t feel anything right now.

They promised to protect their Minji and they did.

Why would they regret it? Or even feel bad?

Jisu took in their surroundings instead, the room smelt like cheap coffee, they moved their gaze to mug on the desk.

"Treat every kid like your own!"
It was written in Hangul.

Ironic huh ? The man clearly didn’t have kids. Does he not remember anything from his childhood? Anyone would hate to be told what to do, especially how to feel.

"ah jinjja! You should be ashamed of yourself! This is the second time is week, that you’ve been sent here! It’s Tuesday! Picking a fight with a classmate? Do you know that their parents donate to the school!" The headmaster yelled at Jisu. His face turning red with anger and frustration.

Ahh right.

The girl that was being a bitch. Jisu scoffed at remembering the situation.

That rich bitch picking a fight with Minji for no absolute reason.

Jisu stared at their bloody knuckles. They ached and stung softly but it wasn’t anything they haven’t felt before.

They had opened their mouth slightly to speak before they were cut off.

The office door slammed open.

Out came Jihoon.

To the rescue once again.

Jisu felt an ounce of relief escape them and a smirk creep upon their face. Jisu turned their chair to face him.

"SIR! I was there let me explain what happened!" Jihoon blurted out urgently. Jihoon was clearly out of breath from running from the cafeteria to the office. He was holding onto the doorway, trying to catch his breath.

"Mr. Cho? Why are you defending this delinquent! You have a bright future ahead of you! Don’t ruin it. I am warning you." The headmaster warned. The older man pointed a finger at Jihoon.

"Delinquent? I’m a delinquent! Not the girl who cut another student’s hair?" Jisu barked sarcastically back to the headmaster.

"Quiet! Don’t make your punishment worse!" The headmaster grumbled at Jisu.

"Eun-ae has started it! She was chopping off Minji’s hair when she was asleep!" The boy insisted. Jihoon had made a motion with his fingers in a shape of a scissor cutting into something.

…

The room went silent for a couple seconds before the headmaster finally snapped.

"Well she shouldn’t have been sleeping in class! That doesn’t give you a reason to BREAK someone’s nose! All of you get out of my sight now! Jisu you’re suspended!" The headmaster
shouted, pointing towards to the door.

He didn’t need to tell them twice. All of them ran out of the small office. Including Minji, who was there the whole time. Just silent as a mouse. She hated arguments and preferred to stay out of it.

When the trio were finally free of the prison, they were all laughing while running towards to subway to head home.

"Tteok-bokki on me!" Jihoon yelled, while holding onto a light post to catch his breath.

"Pfttt! With what money?" Jisu laughed in
between trying to catch their breath as well.

Minji giggled under her sweater paw.

-

People would describe Jisu as rude,
inconsiderate and greedy.

Jisu’s friends would describe them as caring, genuine and stubborn.

Everyone has their flaws and that’s okay. As long as you know you have flaws.

Jisu’s mom had died during childbirth and ever since they were born their father, if they can even call him that. their father has been extremely depressed and suicidal.

Which Jisu can’t really blame him, can you imagine losing your love of your life? gone.
because a baby that only reminds you of the love of your life, that your trying to mourn.

Jisu hates their father. He would often beat them while going into graphic detail about childbirth. Explaining how he saw the life drain from her face. Her blood curdling screams. How pale she looked and most importantly blaming them for her death. Calling a child a murder.

That had led to Jisu not wanting children and avoiding romantic relationships. That was off the table anyways. But they are afraid that they’ll repeat the cycle of abuse since it’s the only thing they know.

He stopped after they reached high school and was able to defend themselves. Defending themselves by not going home till he passed out. It’s not efficient but it never fails so it’s a win.

He uses alcohol as an escape from reality but it never works. He can’t hold down a job for shit, I mean it’s not like anyone would hire him. By some miracle, he managed to get a wife. To replace that void in his heart that can’t be filled but he doesn’t know that. Not yet at least. Jisu has been trying to show him that for years.

Jisu often (very often) sleeps over at one of their best friends house. by sleeping over means that they sneak over the gate, climb into the window and fall asleep under the bed.

not very comfortable or practical.
but it’s quieter than hearing yelling from their "father" and step mom argue then go at it like animals. It’s comforting to sleep next to people who you love, Jisu has no complaints.

Jisu often has depressive episodes, where they would binge eat, sleep for what felt like days, and just feel empty. They wouldn’t tell their friends what happened. because they would already know. It was the only time their father would be somewhat concerned? Jisu thinks it because they remind him of their mother.

Jisu is an underground boxer in Korea. Illegal gambling. They were interested in it, first just from hearing it around. To have something to do while they clear their mind for once. Have one thing to focus on, beating their opponents.

When the money was mentioned, of course they had to start. Plus they already knew how to fight by getting practice from protecting themselves at school and home.

They also enjoyed the money their were getting to clear the debts left by their father so they finally move on and hopefully save enough money to move out with their friends that they love.

-

Cho Jihoon is a seventeen year old student in high school.

He’s a nerd. A nickname that Minji and Jisu gave him. It’s very fitting, he agrees as well.

He’s very charming, logical and kind.

Jihoon is very smart and talented. He’s an amazing musician and mathematician. He always thinks there is a way to better yourself. People tell him everyday to be proud. Which he is, he doesn't want to get cocky.

Jihoon has to do well in life. There is no other option. He loves his parents but they’re in a lot of debt from his dad’s gambling addiction and getting involved with people that Jihoon never should’ve met.

He’s been beat multiple times by he’s parents debtors. He tries his best to hide his limp and the bruises he gets. His parents seem to never notice but I guess that’s what he wanted, for them to not notice.

Jihoon has black short messy hair, which he pairs with his square glasses. He often smokes cigarettes that he steals from his dad. He’s pretty sure his dad knows but doesn’t care.

Jihoon doesn’t even know why he loves his friends so much. People tell him everyday to leave them and focus on himself but he can’t do that. Not when he tries to go home and gets jumped. His friends all what he has.

No one knows that he has a crush on Minji. He can’t ever tell her. He can’t ruin what they all have. Jisu knows though. They can tell it’s so obvious.

He works a part time job a cashier at a convenience store. That he steals from but no one knows that, expect his friends of course.

Jihoon gives "all of his paychecks" to parents but keeps some to hide behind his desk to save up for college. He’s aiming for SNU.

-

Jung Minji is sixteen years old and is a student at her local high school.

She had long black hair (that is now in a bob with long uneven parts.)

She has soft brown eyes and usually has bandages on her face. She prefers to keep her bangs long to cover her eyes.

She's gentle, honest and supportive.

She’s quiet. Pays attention in class. Teachers should love her so should her classmates right?

She often gets bullied for being "too pretty" and everyone is jealous of her beauty. For reasons she will never understand.

( Everyone but her friends of course, They don’t care.)

So much so that her classmates make up lies to teachers and spread rumors about her which lead to her teachers treating her differently.

Minji often gets catcalled when she’s walking home, which had led to Jihoon and Jisu to change their schedule just to walk with her, when they had found out about it.

When inside she has really bad anxiety and it’s been getting worse with people bullying her everyday. She walks with her head down to keep from people from noticing her.

She lives with her grandma, who is too old to take care of her anymore. Her grandmother is from Japan and taught her Japanese. Minji is the one taking care of grandma. She doesn’t hate it, but she wants someone to be there for her. Which she does Jisu and Jihoon. She’ll be forever grateful for them.

-

The trio sits on the bench in the quiet subway.
The slight breeze cools them down. It’s relaxing after a stressful day.

Jisu being in the middle while Minji rests her head on Jisu’s shoulder. Jihoon being on the opposite side of Minji.

"So no Tteokbokki then?" Jihoon whined and dropped his head down to the floor.

"I lost my appetite from running." Minji mumbled, while swinging her legs back and forth.

"You and your fuckass Tteokbokki. I’m blaming my suspension on you." Jisu jokingly spat.

Jihoon rolled his eyes and looked at Minji who had her hood up.

"Minji! take off your hood so we can see how your bob looks, Please? " Jihoon begged, putting his hands together in begging motion.

"Hell no." Minji goaned, closing her eyes.

"Shut up Jihoon. You already know it looks… good." Jisu laughed softly, while covering their mouth.

Minji pushed them lightly with her shoulder at the comment about her hair.

When suddenly a shadow appeared in front of them.

They all looked up, they was no space on the bench anymore. So what was this dude doing.

"Excuse me. Could I talk you?" Asked the tall man in the suit, he flashed them a smile.

Damn they cannot catch a break huh?

It was fake. Jihoon could tell. They had been lied to for years, do you think that they’re that dumb?

Minji had shifted uncomfortably, closer to Jisu, who had moved themselves closer to the strange man so Minji could get behind them. Jihoon had moved closer to Jisu aswell, he already got a beating yesterday. He doesn’t need another one.

"God doesn’t exist. We’re not looking for a religion to save us." Jisu said in a low tone.

It wasn’t the first time someone had come up to them to hit on Minji with strange introductions. As if they were gonna let that happen. Multiple grown men, this isn’t new.

The man let out a slight chuckle.

"Not that, I wanna let you guys into great opportunity-" the man kept going with a friendly manner but none of them were falling for it.

Jisu put their hand up to stop the man from continuing. "Look, ajeossi get lost." Jisu snapped.

The man didn’t let his smile drop, not yet at least.

"Would all of you like to play a game with me?" The man asked like it normal to go up to teenagers and ask to "play a game" ok dude that’s how people get kidnapped.

"Oh my god, let’s just walk." Jihoon told them, he stood up, grabbed Jisu hand to pull them both away.

The man bent down and opened his briefcase which showed multiple stacks of bills of won. Including a set red and blue ddakji.

They froze.

"Your kids, so I'm guessing you all played ddakji before?" The man added while keeping his composure, showing off the paper to the students.

"Each time one of you wins, I’ll pay you 100,000₩" he explained, like the money was nothing.

"What happens if we lose?" Jihoon asked, while he eyed the briefcase. Debating if he should just steal it. The man was like six feet tall, he would easily catch up with Jihoon if he ran.

"You’ll pay with your body, of course." The man replied, with the biggest smile they had seen yet.

-

Chapter Text

-

"You’ll pay with your body, of course." The man replied, with the biggest smile they seen yet.

Oh hell no, the trio collectively thought.

"You fucking weird! Let’s go. We’re gonna call the cops, freak!" Jihoon grabbed on to Jisu’s wrist.

Who was gripping Minji so tightly, it hurt but Minji didn’t care. Her eyes had started watering from being overwhelmed from the situation.

The man slapped Jihoon on the left side of his face.

…

"Like that." The man in the suit smiled at him after.

…

Everyone froze in shock. Everyone but the man and Jihoon of course.

"Fine, I’ll play."

"What the FUCK is wrong with you!"

"Jihoon! Are you insane?"

"Probably. But we need the money." Jihoon whispered towards his friends.

Jisu and Minji stared at their friend in disbelief.

"Which color would you like?" The man held out a blue and red paper.

Jihoon didn’t say anything when he took the blue paper. But he had a determined look on his face.

Minji thought the man probably hurt his ego, of course. She sighed disappoint at Jihoon’s decision.

Jihoon slammed the paper onto the dirty subway floor and…

It didn’t flip.

The man tried and it flipped.

*SMACK*

The slap echoed through the strangely empty station.

Jisu couldn’t help but laugh at the stupidity of the situation.

"Oh yeah you wanna try it?" Jihoon asked sarcastically with attitude, pointing at the paper on the dirty floor. He was very much pissed that he lost.

Uh no?

"You should to give your friend a break." the man offered a smile, offering the blue paper to Jisu.

The teen eyed the man before slowly grabbing the paper.

Jisu grabbed the blue paper and flipped the paper over and slammed it on the floor and…

It flipped.

Not like Jisu had any doubt about it.

"HA" Jisu bragged in Jihoon’s face who just did slow clap with a straight face.

Minji on the other hand was trying not to laugh.

The man handed over a 100,000₩ to Jisu.
Who gladly accepted it and shoved it into their book bag.

"Would you like to try miss?" The man in the suit offered the blue paper to Minji, that he had picked up.

Jisu heard a small 'sure' from Minji but they doubt that the had man heard it.

Minji took a deep breath and brought the paper to her lips and kissed it for good luck as she slammed the paper down and…

It flipped.

Minji squealed in excitement as she suddenly gripped onto Jisu’s arm, squeezing it gently.

"Would you like to try again sir?" The man asked Jihoon.

-

After an hour of playing, they all left with more 100,000₩ and a brown card with shapes on the back, and only one person ending up with a sore cheek. The teens had missed the last train but just ultimately decided just to walk home.

For once the man didn’t say much, only giving them the beige card and told them to call for a chance to win more games for money.

The trio all agreed and promised to not call the number since it sounded extremely sketchy. 

All the teens obviously had the idea to throw away the card, but no one could bring themselves to say it out loud.

-

The first thing Jisu noticed when they got home was how eerily quiet it was. To quiet. Not even the tv was left on. Not the cheap fan that was 'not broken'.

Jisu face tensed up, mentally preparing themselves for whatever they could possibly experience.

The teen slowly lifted their hand off of the handle of the door, not wanting to make an unnecessary noise. Jisu brought their fists up ready to defend themselves if they needed to.

'Robbery?' was the first thing that popped into Jisu’s thoughts, they literally had nothing valuable in the house. Like at all. If they did their so called father would’ve already pawned it off.

The teenagers mind raced with reasons as they slowly crept around the house. Checking for intruders themself, instead of doing the correct thing to do in this situation.

Calling the cops!

That would’ve been their last resort though. Jisu hated the police. Their thoughts were interrupted.

"Please! I can get the money! I swear on my eomma!" Jisu knew that voice from anywhere. Their sad excuse of a father. The teen rolled their eyes for what felt like the 100th time today.

They slowly creeped to the bedroom, where the muffled voices were coming from. Not wanting to whoever was in the room to notice them.

The door was wide open, Jisu stayed behind the wall but peeked inside the room.

"You said that last time! Do you think we’re joking? We already took your wife! You know we’ll take the kid next !" Yelled the thug with the metal bat.

Welp. Guess that’s where she went. That woman won’t be missed by Jisu. Not by anyone actually.

The thug was threatening Jisu's father with the bat, the man who was begging was already beaten shown by the blood dripping from his nose. Jisu held back a snort at seeing their father like that.

"What’s the kids name again? Ji-woo? Jinu? Ahh Jisu, right?"

"Take the kid!" Jisu father pleaded like he had found the answer to every problem in the world. Well his world at least.

Wowwww. Give it up for the father of the year everyone. Jisu could’ve pretended like that didn’t hurt. But it did, more than they expected.

Hearing that from someone who’s supposed to love you. Who had immediately gave them up to a stranger.   It wouldn’t be the first time but Jisu mistakenly thought that their father wouldn’t make the decision again.

"What?"

"Take the kid! That’ll clear my debt off right? Sell them off!" The father begged with his hands while rubbing them together to continue pleading with the man.

"Damn, you really are that pathetic?" the thug laughed and swung at Jisu father’s stomach.

I can agree on that.

"Where’s your kid at then! I don’t have all day."

The man on the floor looked up and made eye contact with his child.

Shit.

"Right there!" He groaned while pointing towards the hallway, right where Jisu was standing.

Jisu ran out the front door and didn’t look back, they didn’t even realize that their sweat had turned into tears running down their face.

-

Jihoon sighed as he threw his bag onto his bed. "Why did he have to slap so to hard, shit" Jihoon whispered , he was being quiet since he thought his parents were sleeping.

He winced as he took off the frozen meat off, of his face that he was using as ice pack. He took out the money and started to move his desk to hide it.

He had a hole in his wall right behind his desk, don’t ask, he doesn’t know how it got there.

He reached back to stick his hand in the entry in the wall.

Nothing.

Normally Jihoon would feel his money randomly stacked up but this time was different.

It was empty.

What?

"the fuck?"

He couldn’t have just lost 300,000₩

Jihoon started to tremble, he dropped to the hard faux wood floors in disbelief.

He looked around on the floor,
hoping to find that it had fallen under by the desk or something.

It wasn’t here.

Jihoon screamed out of frustration, forgetting to be quiet. He felt the tears starting prickle at his waterline already. He rested his left hand on his chest trying to calm himself. With his right hand, he rushed to reach his phone from his hoodie pocket.

Wanting to call his friends, it wasn’t usually Jihoon calling if he needed help, like this. Minji was the one calling the most, but none of them never got at angry at her for it. All of them were always there for each other. 

Just as Jihoon was mistyping his password in, he heard cheerful laughter from downstairs.

The teenager froze.

"what the fuck did they do."

-

Minji hurriedly put in her keys into the apartment door lock.

Once she got in, she took off her shoes and she called out "halmeoni, I’m back! I know you don’t like it, when I stay out late! Sorry! I’ll warm up your food okay!" She placed the money she had earned onto a change plate.

Silence.

"halmeoni?" Minji called out. It wasn’t that late, maybe she was napping? No. She would wait for her to come home first.

Then maybe-

No. Minji couldn’t let her mind go there.

Minji felt the pit in her stomach getting heavier and reminded herself to take a deep breath since her grandmother would always tell her to.

As the teenager turned on the light. She started to walk slowly towards her grandmothers bedroom. She scratched at her arm under her sweater, anxiously. The door was slightly opened, she pushed the wooden door gently. Giving her a clear view of her grandmother.

Minji screamed with terror. 

She started to back up away from the bedroom, falling backwards in the process. Just like her halmeoni. Minji’s eyes were watering, she hurriedly reached into her pocket to get her phone to dial 112.

-

Jisu panted as they slammed their back into a dumpster, their lungs were burning. Their back ached immediately from the impact. They had never ran that fast with someone chasing them.

Jisu still heard the debtor calling out for them. While they still had time, they reached into their pocket to get their phone. They didn’t even know what they were gonna do with it.

Since their hands were sweaty, it flew out of their palm flying with the card.

Onto the pavement below them.

Jisu quickly grabbed them and got up back onto their feet. They scanned their surroundings to check where they were.  

Right next a 24/7 convenience store. There were other stores near them obviously but they were closed.

Jisu knew it wasn’t Jihoon’s store but they turned on their phone.

Well tried to at least.

The red logo with the battery popped up.
"Shit." Jisu whispered as they spotted a raggedy pay phone next to store.

Jisu crouched down to get the rusting change off of the pavement.

Once they collected what seemed like  enough, they ran across rhe street, towards the phone. They grabbed the pay phone but hesitated. They stared at the dead phone then to the card.

back at the phone then the card.

Jisu sighed and dialed the number on the back of the cheap card. They already felt bad for not doing what they had promised.

It rang for couple seconds before a monotone voice answered. "who’s calling?"

"I- um I got a card from your guy?"

"Do you wish to participate in the games?"

"I guess."

"Please stat your name a birthdate."

"Uh- Park Jisu and it’s xx/xx/08"

"We will pick you up in 30 minutes, please
wait at -xxxxxx-, the password is squid game."

Then caller hung up.

"Rude." Jisu scoffed with annoyance. Time to start walking again. Great.

-

Jihoon walked downstairs just in time to see his parents dancing under the cheap lighting of their living room.

The first thing he noticed was engagement ring. That was placed on his mother’s ring finger. The gem just glimmered in the lighting. It felt as if the ring was only there just to mock him.

"Son! Come here!" Jihoon's father exclaimed with excitement, pulling his new fiancée hand up to Jihoon face.

Jihoon wasn’t stupid. He knew what they had done. There was no use in arguing.

Jihoon dropped his money, that he had received while playing ddakji onto the floor. "Keep it. You two clearly need it for your Wedding. Fuck."Jihoon spat, as he ran his hands through his hair.

Jihoon scoffed at his parents and ignored them as he walked out the door. He was fuming, he couldn’t wrap his head around the fact, that they chose to buy a ring with his money. With all the things they could’ve bought. They choose a ring!

Jihoon walked towards his job. Ignore the busy street noises around him. He walked in the store, ignoring his coworker that was behind the counter speaking to him.

Probably asking why Jihoon was here on his day off. Jihoon was out of breath but he didn’t care.

His phone was blowing up because of his parents. He just stared at it. Then threw it in the trash.

(He was already regretting it)
That was problem for later though.

He walked to the phone in the back of the store that they had kept for emergencies. 'Well I’d consider this an emergency!' Jihoon didn’t think twice before dialing the number on the card.

"Who is this?"

"I got a card to call here."

"Would you like to participate in the games?"

"Yes."

"Please stat your name and birthdate."

"Cho Jihoon and September 13 of 2007." Jihoon replied as if he didn’t feel the weird vibe through the phone.

"We will pick you up in 30 minutes, please wait behind 7/11, the password is hide and seek." then caller hung up.

"The fuck?" They knew where he was? He had no choice but to shrug it off but kept it in mind. Jihoon pushed open the back door leading to the alley.

-

Minji was wrapped in blanket in the hospital’s waiting room. She couldn’t move. Multiple nurses had checked on her but she had went nonverbal. She would try to speak when no one was around but she couldn’t make a noise.

Minji often goes nonverbal, when she goes through an emotional / intense situation. It felt like the setting around her was in 2x speed and she was stuck in time.

A new nurse had lead her to a private room to speak with her or at least try to."hello! I’m nurse Lee, can you hear me?" Nurse Lee was speaking a soft tone unlike the other nurses that got frustrated and yelled at Minji for not understanding. Which Minji couldn’t blame them.

"Can you nod if you can understand me?" Nurse Lee asked gently.

Minji nodded her head slightly, which was enough for nurse Lee. Nurse Lee smiled in response.

"I’m going to tell you what happened with your grandma, is that okay?" Nurse Lee asked while using a smoothing tone to not push away minji. Minji quickly nodded, she needed to know.

"Well your grandma had lost her balance and fell on her back and she wasn’t able to get up. But she’s doing better now! Please don’t blame yourself. You did more than most people would." Nurse Lee explained.

Minji let out a sigh of relief. "We can send her home in couple days.But unfortunately, we have made a call to child protection services, since you are sixteen and no one will be able to take care of you." Nurse Lee gave a reassuring smile.

That did not give any sort of comfort to Minji AT all.

Minji froze, that’s what this was?

Minji turned her head towards the door that was blocked by 2 security guards.

Minjin yanked nurse Lee’s phone off of her lap and pushed past the guards. To run out of the main entrance of the hospital into the darkness.

Once Minji had gotten into a somewhat safe place. a small alleyway. She used the nurse Lee’s phone to call the number on the card. The teen felt guilty for stealing it but she didn’t know what else to do.

"Who is it?"

…

"hello?"

…

Minji made a noise by kicking a can. Hoping that was enough for the person to continue.

"Ah would you like to join the game?"

Minji took a deep breath.

"yes."

"Please stat your full name and birthdate."

"Jung Minji and October 7th of 2008."

There was a silence after she spoke but then the voice continued. 
"Please move to xxxxx, we will pick you up there. The password is mingle."

-

The van slowly pulled up in front of them.
The passenger’s window rolled down, revealing a the driver in pink costume with a black mask that had a circle on it. It matched the card so they all guessed that this was it.

-

"Password?"

"Squid game."

"Hide and seek."

"Mingle?"

The vans side door opened and the they all got in, taking a seat in whatever seat was open. noticing that all the people in the van were sleeping in their seats. That was weird. It’s not even that late?

They all heard the gas escaping, spreading throughout the van to knock them out. That’s just peachy isn’t it? Jisu thought before passing out.

-

Chapter Text

-

Trumpet concerto.

He’d know that music from anywhere, he even knew how to play it on trumpet. That was the first thing Jihoon heard when was awoken by a different alarm that he had set.

He opened his eyes, adjusting to the bright lighting. Taking in his surroundings, Jihoon noticed he was sitting on what seemed to be a bunk bed. He looked closer around him then saw his own bunk bed; him being on top. Great day to be scared of heights!

He noticed that there were more people on the beds currently waking up, just like him. Jihoon laid a hand to his chest to calm himself, but instead he felt cheap fabric that didn't belong to him. The change in his preferred clothing. Someone had changed him.

Jihoon instantly felt violated but shoved it deep down to keep focusing on what was happening. He had the number '220' on the left side of his chest. The clothing was an ugly greenish track suit; being paired with off-brand white slip-on vans. Great. They were being numbered like cattle.

The room he woke up in was very unfamiliar to him and he guessed at the other people as well, since they looked just as confused as him.

They were all in the same boat. He stared at the screen in the very front of the room that read '456'. Jihoon didn’t have good eyesight, so he wasn’t able to read the rest of it.

Jihoon looked for a way to get down, wanting to join the people gathering on the lowest level of the room.

-

"Hey."

Jisu felt someone tap their shoulder in an attempt to wake them. Jisu groaned; this was the only time they had gotten sleep. The one time they wanted to sleep, someone just had to wake them. Jisu was gonna try to savor every minute of it, with the person interrupting or not.

"Hello?"

Jisu tugged on the blanket they were using and moved onto their opposite side facing away from the voice trying to wake them.

"oh my god…"

"WAKE UP!"

Jisu had enough.
"WHAT!" Jisu sat up and finally faced the person who woke them from their sweet slumber.

"Jeez chill out…" A woman with piercings muttered, she was standing over the seventeen year old. Jisu instantly felt jealous of not having her piercings, along with the fact they looked really good on her too.

"Just trying to wake you up. Look where you are." The woman replied, nodding towards them. Then she walked away, Jisu noticed the number on the back of her jacket. '380'

Jisu muttered the number under their breath,confused with the strange choice of clothing. Then they finally got it. Jisu, slowly but nervously, looked down to check themselves. Hoping that what they thought was wrong.

Someone had changed them out of their clothes. Into an ugly tracksuit. It was the number that Jisu had placed on their chest that had made them feel disturbed. Jisu had '123' and they had gotten their own number. Jisu shivered as they looked around, as they weren’t alone.

They couldn’t decide if they felt relieved or mortified.

Jisu noticed that people were seemingly asking questions to each other trying to figure out where they were. They all seemed like they didn't know what was happening at all; no one had answers.
Majority of the people started gathering in the middle floor of the room. Jisu scooted off their cheap bed and moved in front of the metal bed frame to get a clear view of what was happening.

-

The whistle.

It was faint but still there.

It sounded like a bird's song.

Jisu would always pay attention to that sound when they were younger. It was the only thing they could hear when they were locked in a basement for hours as a cruel "punishment"

It was a dumb thing they made up like when they were fifteen or so. Since then Jisu would always sing it absentmindedly.

It was like Batman's bat signal, except it was a tune that they had made up instead of a light. Jihoon had changed the tune slightly so it was all their own song, that no one else could understand.

They used it whenever they couldn’t find each other in the mall when they went shoplifting. Don’t ask.

The whistle the group would all do when they needed to calm down.

Not that they would ever know that about each other though. All of them are taking that to the grave.

Now more earlier than they had all expected.

-

Minji woke up panting. She didn’t know where she was. Her clothes had been changed, so many things could’ve happened to her when she was out and she would never know.

The clothes felt tacky, it scratched against her skin. It made her uncomfortable. She wasn't able to hide herself in the track suit; there was no hood.

No way to protect herself. She already knew no one else would, her mind raced with unwanted thoughts. She gripped at her hair as she silently cried, wanting no one to see her vulnerable.

She especially hated the number placed on her chest. '077' She never liked the number seven anyways; she was always taught it was bad luck. It was the only thing she had on her and that couldn’t change. The music should’ve stopped. She hated it. Why wouldn’t it stop…?

There were people whispering and it only felt like they were talking about her. The people around her were mere adults. Adult men. There were no women, and the ones that were actually there, none were near her age.

She had forgotten to breathe, who was going to remind her now? She covered her ears and sunk into herself and started whistling to herself in a desperate attempt to comfort herself. Yet deep down, she knew it wasn't going to work.

-

Jihoon froze as he walked. He paid no attention to the person behind him scoffing at the sudden stop. The whistle?

"What the actual fuck?" He felt relief wash over him since one of his friends was here; he wasn’t alone anymore! But he was disappointed that his friends were here in the first place.

To see them here even though they told each other they wouldn’t. Jihoon started to follow where the sound was coming from.

Once he found the source of their tune, tucked into the lowest of the bunks in the back corner. Jihoon found Minji, he let out a sigh of relief and immediately climbed on her bed and sat on his knees as he hugged her.

-

Minji immediately returned it back after she recognized the scent of her best friend. Jihoon pulled away to wipe away her tears and smiled at her. "It’s gonna be okay." Jihoon whispered, trying to reassure Minji with a soft tone.

Then he pulled her back in the hug. This time Minji did feel like it was actually going to be okay. She gripped him tightly as she quietly sobbed into his jacket.

-

Ah shit.

Jisu closed their eyes for a couple of seconds then followed where the sound of the whistle came from. The more they walked, the more they noticed it came from the lower bunks on the floor.

Once Jisu had reached the bottom of the stairs, they immediately knew it was Minji and Jihoon hugging each other, due to their love that just radiated off of them.

Actually maybe it was Jihoon’s hair and the fact that they knew what Minji sounded like when she was crying but whatever.

Jisu squeezed themselves onto the tiny mattress as they wrapped their arms around them, making them jump with the sudden movement but ending up relaxing into each other's arms after realizing it was their friend.

Jisu noticed that Minji was crying and it looked like Jihoon was going to start as well. Jisu cleared their throat before speaking. "You guys are sooo dramatic." Jisu dragged out the 'so' as if their eyes weren’t watering as well from relief that they weren't alone.

Minji let out a small laugh into Jisu’s shoulder. Jihoon smiled and put a hand on top of Jisu’s head. All of them felt a surge of happiness from just being back together.

Our trio was interrupted by the sound of an alarm going off then the doors below the screen opening up to reveal more of the pink masked people.

Jihoon was the first to pull away to see what was happening, jumping off of the bed, then speed walking towards the sound.

Jisu pulled Minji off of the bed and onto her feet on the floor so Minji could stand next to them. "Thank you." Minji whispered towards Jisu, who just nodded and fixed her hair.

There were about 8 masked people with circles on their masks, only one of them having a square, Jihoon immediately knew that was ranks between them, seeing that there was one square and that one was the one who was doing the talking.

"We would like to extend a hearty welcome to all of you." The squared masked man had a slight masculine voice that was hidden under the monotone voice. Jihoon somehow guessed the mask probably had a built-in voice changer.

"Everyone here will participate in six different games over six days. Those who win all six games, will receive a handsome cash prize."

"Excuse me?" A woman in the back of the crowd had spoken up to the squared mask man. She had raised a hand to get the squared masked man's attention.

The crowd had instantly turned their heads towards the woman, including the trio.

"You said I’d be playing games, but you practically kidnapped me. So how can I possibly believe that?"

The crowd seemed to agree as well, nodding along and then turning towards the front again.

"I apologize. Please understand that it was necessary to maintain the game’s security." The pink square guard apologized but it didn’t seem sincere, reacting like a tired little manger when asked to speak to a customer who had a
complaint.

"What’s with the mask then? Is your face also a secret?" As another woman had asked, she was a bit closer to the masked men. She had a nasty attitude, which wouldn't help in this situation. They all had just got (willingly) kidnapped. Jihoon silently agreed with her; that was already a red flag. Knocking people out, changing them, hiding their faces feels just like what a criminal organization does.

"Yeah! Why are you hiding your face? Is this some kind of illegal gambling house?" A man asked.

"Even the dealers don’t cover their faces in those places." The crowd nodded to that as well. The trio didn’t know what those places looked like and they weren’t planning to. They were minors.

It seemed that only the trio thought it was almost funny that the majority of the crowd knew what it was like to be in an illegal gambling house.

"To ensure fair game play and confidentiality, it is our policy to not reveal the faces and identities of staff. Please understand." The masked square explained.

"Did you take off my clothes and put this on me?" A young woman asked, holding up the jacket they had put on her instantly reminding all of them that they had been changed without their permission. Minji cringed and held tighter onto Jisu. Jisu returned the gesture as they rested their arm around Minji's waist.

"What’s with these shoes? My shoes are limited fucking edition. They’re hard to find! Are you going to replace them if they get ruined?" A man with purple hair complained while holding up the shoes in question.

"These don’t fit and the color sucks. Can I just have what you're wearing instead? I like pink." The woman asked, showing off her pink nails to prove it. 'That's kinda iconic' Minji thought.

"I'm sorry, but that is not possible. You must be in your uniforms for the games." The square man stated in a tired tone.

"What about my phone? Why did you take my phone and wallet? Please give them back." Another man asked with a hint of anger in his voice for getting his stuff stolen. As if they would just hand it over, because he asked so politely, Jisu thought.

If this was normal, they would've brought them here normally and took their stuff by explaining that it is a way to prevent cheating or something.

"We're keeping your belongings safe. We’ll return them once the games are over." The squared masked man replied once again in the monotone voice.

"At least give me my phone. I need to check the crypto market. If I lose money, will you compensate me?" The man kept going on about his stuff. Jisu rolled their eyes, they hated crypto bros. Why invest in something so risky when you could just save it.

"We will return it to you once the games are over." The squared masked man repeated himself once more as a warning.

"I need to monitor the real-time prices! Do you know how much I've invested?" The man was angry for pretty valid reasons.

Minji wasn’t really paying attention anymore, just looking around the room till they spotted a young woman with black hair with dyed blonde ends. Minji just barely saw her number. It was '222'. She didn’t have a reason to notice her but she looked kind so she kept her in mind for later.

"Player 333, Lee Myung-gi. Age 30, used to run a YouTube channel called MG Coin." The masked man continued as he turned on the screen above to show the clip of player 333 getting slapped. Player 333 stared at the screen, watching himself.

"After convincing subscribers to invest in a new crypto coin called Dalmatian, causing losses of approximately 15.2 billion won, you shut down and disappeared. You’re wanted for fraud and for violating telecom and financial investment laws. Current debt levels, 1.8 billion won." Player 333 had looked down clearly embarrassed by getting shown being bitch-slapped to over 400 people.

The clips kept going, showing people getting slapped after playing and some just standing there.

"Player 196, Kang Mi-na, 45 million won in debt." It was the woman from earlier, she looked embarrassed of being shown getting slapped. Who wouldn't be?

"Player 120, Cho Hyun-ju, 330 million won in debt." The woman who was brave enough to ask questions.

Jihoon immediately caught onto the meaning of why they were all here. The debt levels. They were all in desperate need of money.

"Player 230, Choi Su-bong, 1.19 billion won in debt." The purple haired guy who complained about his shoes.

"Player 198, Jang Do-yeong, 1.4 billion won in debt."

"Player 226, Kim Yeoung-Sam, 1.9 billion won in debt."

"Player 444, Kim Nam-du, 2.02 billion won in debt."

"Player 343, Sim Jae-seok, 2.89 billion won in debt."

"Player 006, Park Mi-hwa, 3.1 billion won in debt."

"Player 283, Eun-ju, 4.02 billion won in debt."

"Player 100, Im Jeong-dae, ten billion won in debt."

The crowd gasped at the amount of debt, as if theirs were any better.

Player 100 had been shown getting slapped, the man’s face had been turning red due to the slap. "One more game!" The man yelled after presumably failing the game of ddakji.

Jisu snorted and laughed under their hand. That was insane, how do you even manage to fuck it up that bad? Minji pushed Jisu with their shoulder to shut up.

Minji was already freaking out if they were going to be shown playing the dumb game with the man who is the reason that they’re all there.

Jihoon scanned the crowd to spot anyone who looked near their age range. Nope. He could tell the crowd was mostly older men and women. Jihoon closed his eyes while he took a deep breath. It was just them. Jihoon knew he had to protect them, that wasn’t even a choice. He had to.

Minji could just barely see someone jumping in the crowd; scanning the room to find the person with the most debt in the room.

"What are you looking at?" Player 100 shouted at the people staring at him. It had made the people next to him jump and gasp. They moved away from him because of the sudden outburst. It had even scared Minji and she wasn't even close to him.

"Do you think it's easy to get a ten-billion-won loan? Only to those who are capable of paying it back." The man continued in a way to defend himself. Jihoon thought if he was capable of paying it back then why was he here then? The crowd seemed to agree, nodding along probably because they did the same thing.

"All of you in this room have crippling debts. And are now on the edge of bankruptcy."
The clips kept going, showing people playing. Minji’s fear had become unfortunately true.

It showed Jisu laughing as they passed their cigarette to Minji who put the cigarette in between her lips, dragging in the smoke. Jisu got a stack of won from the man. Jihoon could be seen in the corner rolling his eyes at the fact that he had lost.

The crowd gasped on the clip since it clearly showed teenagers, if you couldn't tell by their baby faces. The trio was still wearing their school uniform. Which implied that the teens are in a huge amount of debt at their age.

It was only for a couple seconds. Jihoon was thankful that he wasn't shown being slapped. The clip finally changed to another person.

"When we first came to you, you did not trust us either. But as you know, we played a game and gave you money as promised. And so you trusted us. Proceeding to volunteer in participation according to your own free will."

"You have one last chance to decide."

"Do you want to live like a piece of trash, running from creditors? Or will you seize the last opportunity we are offering?"

The room was silent as the masked man clicked his remote towards the ceiling. Opening an entrance to lower down a giant golden piggy bank While a chirpy tune played while it was being revealed.

"What you see now is the piggy bank where your valuable prize money will be stored."

The crowd stared up at golden light shining down on them like it was the sun.

"After each of the six games you will play, the prize money will accumulate in this piggy bank."

"How much is the prize money?" A man had asked.

"The prize money for the games is 45.6 billion won in total." The masked man had answered like the money was nothing.

Players gasped and murmured with each other, shocked by the amount of won that they had a chance to win. That amount would be way more than enough for the trio to finally start over. They didn’t even need that much. They just wanted to be together.

"And one of us will get it?" Player 007 asked nervously.

"We will give you the details about the distribution of the prize money after the first game."

It seemed like everyone in the room was blindsided by the amount of money that they didn't notice they would be getting details about the game after they were done playing.

Jihoon thought that was an extremely weird thing to do, to only share the details after they play the game.

"For these games, you will be given a special new advantage."

"New" implies that they had done this before, obviously since the scale of the situation. The uniforms, the beds, the masked men, the piggy bank. How the masked man felt like he had said his lines for years.

"What is it?" Player 100 asked, everyone turning towards him once again.

"After each game, you will be given a chance to vote on whether to continue the games or not. If the majority votes to stop the games you can leave with the prize money accumulated up to that point."

…

"Are you saying we'll receive the money, even if we leave after the first game?" A man with a husky voice spoke up as he asked a question.

The masked man seemed to hesitate before answering. "That is correct."

Jihoon turned back to his friends, to wave them over to come closer to him, which Jisu and Minji did. "What do we do?" Minji asked them, as her eyes flicked to Jihoon and back to Jisu. "Let’s just stay-" Jihoon was cut off by a son and mother arguing.

"Good heavens. Excuse me" the older woman with gray hair pushed herself through the crowd to get near the front where her son was.

"You idiot!" Player 149 slapped her son on the back.

"Eomma! What…! What are you doing here?" Player 007, the son, stuttered nervously as he was caught by his mother. He reached out to check if it was actually her. Which it was.

"That’s what I wanted to ask you! What are you doing here?" The mother scolded her son for being in a place like this.

The son looked around at the people staring at them and tried to pretend like he didn’t know her but it wasn’t going to work. He attempted to shush her.

The trio slowly blinked. They went silent as they watched, feeling jealousy and envy for not being able to have that type of relationship with their mothers .  Minji felt her eyes tearing up again as that reminded her of her halmeoni, who she now missed more than ever.

She quickly wiped her eyes before they could fall. Her best friends didn’t notice, they were too focused on the mother and son. Minji didn’t want them to notice anyways, she had already had a breakdown. She didn’t need to cry in front of them for the hundredth time.

"You’re embarrassing me…" Player 007 whispered in an attempt to get his mother to stop scolding him in front of everyone.

"Embarrassing! If you knew what was embarrassing, you wouldn't be here!" Player 149, the mother, yelled.

"Stop it! We'll talk about this later." Player 007 grabbed his mother’s jacket to pull her closer to himself to calm her. That didn’t work obviously, so he pulled up his jackets collar to cover his face from the embarrassment.

"No, we won't. Come on, you're leaving. You're leaving now, okay?" The mother yelled at her son while pulling him closer to the bunks.

"Eomma, why did you come here? Do you realize where you are? This is no place for an old lady. The son let go of her grasp and tried to scold her.

"Why did I come here? To pay off your debt, of course! Do you even have to ask?" She slapped his arm as she continued to yell like that was a dumb question. Which it probably was if their dynamic was like that. The crowd didn’t say anything as they watched the situation play out in front of them like it was a movie.

"You fool." Player 149 exclaimed.

Player 007 ran from his mother continuously slapping him to the front to ask the masked men a question. Not without his mother trailing behind him.

"Why would you bring a naive old woman here? Will you take responsibility if my mom collapses?" Player 007 yelled at masked men. He acted a bit like Jihoon, he just wanted someone to place the blame. Rightfully so.

Some people in the crowd smiled in amusement while others looked away in second hand embarrassment.

"Yong-sik, I’ll stay and do this. You go home." The mother's voice changed from anger and disappointment to sadness. That said a lot, she preferred if her son left if she couldn’t.

"Stop it! I’m already here. I can’t just leave." Yong-sik yelled in frustration; his mother wasn’t backing down.

"But you promised me." Player 149 voice trembled.

Ouch. That even made Jisu feel bad for a stranger. They were usually not very empathetic. Jisu looked down at the floor not wanting to watch anymore.

"You promised never to gamble again!" That seemed to knock some sense into Player 007. He immediately tried to reassure her.

He placed his hands on her shoulders and spoke in a quiet voice, "No, this isn't gambling. We're just playing games here. I'll just play one game and go." He tried convincing her as if that was going to work. She could see right through him.

Jihoon knew that wasn’t true. His father says the exact same thing. He never just does one game. No one ever does.

"You idiot, it's the same thing." She slapped him again but her words broke as she spoke.

"Be quiet! That's enough!" Player 007 yelled at her. "Don’t you dare." The mother continued to slap him on his shoulder.

The confrontation faded out for the trio as they just stared at each other. They all sighed and shrugged as Jihoon led them back to the cheap mattress to sit down again.

-

"If you wish to participate in the games, please sign the player consent form. Those who do not wish to participate, please speak up now. We will always give you a chance to leave the games."

The trio waited in line, Jihoon being the leader, Minji, then Jisu. They could still hear the mother and son duo still bickering in a couple lines over. Jisu reached over and tapped Jihoon on his back.

Jihoon and Minji looked at Jisu with concern as they furrowed their brows. "We’re not signing it with our real signatures right?" Jisu whispered towards them.

…

"Of course not." Jihoon gave a side eye to the people around him before whispering back then facing forward. Minji hummed in response.

Jihoon was behind Player 333. The man in front of him signed the paper quickly without hesitation. The man walked away not before someone had stopped him. The teens gave them a side eye. Jihoon walked to the podium and read the paper.

1. A PLAYER IS NOT ALLOWED TO VOLUNTARILY QUIT

2. A PLAYER WHO REFUSES TO PLAY WILL BE ELIMINATED

3. THE GAMES MAY BE TERMINATED UPON A MAJORITY VOTE. IN CASE OF A TIE, PLAYERS WILL VOTE AGAIN

4. IF THE GAMES ARE TERMINATED, PLAYERS WILL DIVIDE THE PRIZE EQUALLY

SIGNATURE _______

In no way was Jihoon going to write his real name. What were they going to do? Kick them out? They probably won’t even be supposed to be here based on the age ranges they picked for players.

Jihoon looked up at the person with a circle mask. He scoffed and grabbed the pen to scribble down a fake name. Just as he was walking away to wait for his friends to be done, he heard a small commotion.

"The amazing Myung-gi from MG coin? Is that you?" Player 124 asked sarcastically as he stepped in to block player 333 from leaving.

Player 230 had also stepped out from nowhere to join in.

"Who are you?" Player 333 asked, staring at both of them.

"You may not know me, but I know you. MG Coin." Player 230 mocked him. It was a stupid name. "I subscribed to your channel. And lost a shitload of money, asshole."

"So did I." Player 124 added. 'Did he just want to feel included or something?' Jisu thought as they nudged Minji to sign the paper. Minji quickly grabbed the pen and signed it with a random name. "You've got the wrong person." Player 333 as he attempted to walk away. Player 230 placed his hand onto player 333's chest and pushed him back.

"I watched your content all day, every day. Now I even see you in my dreams, motherfucker." Player 230 argued, as he rested his arm on the man next to his shoulder.

Jisu rolled their eyes as they stepped forward, grabbed the pen and wrote a fake name.

They quickly grabbed Jihoon and Minji's hand to pull them away. Jisu really didn’t care about the drama right now.

-

After a couple of minutes of waiting for the rest of the players to finish signing away their souls, the pink masked men had led them to get their picture taken before heading to where the game would be played.

The blue danube was playing throughout the speakers in the background of the prerecorded voice instructing them.

"The first game will begin momentarily after having your picture taken. Follow the staff's instructions and proceed to the game site." The voice chirped happily.

"Once again, we’re back in line." Jisu complained with a huff. Poor Jihoon and Minji had to listen to Jisu complain about how they don’t want to climb all the staircases.

"What do you guys think it is? Uhm, the game I mean." Minji asked softly, not wanting anyone else to overhear. She was playing with the sleeves of her sweater.

"Based on the ddakji we played, probably something similar?" Jihoon suggested.

"Like a kids game then? With all these adults? I doubt they even remember anything from their childhoods."Jisu laughed under their hand. Minji lightly shoved them with her shoulder. "Hey.." Minji retorted.

They had overheard people fangirling over a rapper that was here. Thanos? He clearly wouldn’t be a good rapper if he was here.

"Hey kids! Let’s take a picture, come on." The so-called 'thanos' had offered them a picture heartily. Jisu rolled their eyes. Jihoon did offer him some amount of respect to an extent.

As much as he didn’t want to; it was better to have people like you then hate you, especially in a place like this.

"Looks like it’s already cramped in there, haha! W- we’re good." Jihoon responded with a small bow as he kept walking. Jisu and Minji laughed under their hands trying not to let "The Legend Thanos" see them.

Jihoon quickly stepped up to get his picture taken. He stood in front of a green screen telling him to smile.

"Smile!”

Jihoon didn’t, he kept his face as normal as he possibly could. He didn’t really care.

The flash went off, showing that the picture got taken. Jihoon walked out of the way and waited for his friends.

Minji was next.

She quickly fixed her short wavy bob. Not that she needed to. She took a deep breath to relax herself.

"Smile!”

Minji didn’t, she cared about how she looked, (especially if it makes her look dumb) but they didn’t show her photo so she just walked away.

She held onto Jihoon’s hand as she nervously waited for Jisu to be done. The other players were whispering about them. As if they're any better.

Maybe Minji was overthinking it, but the masked men also seemed to stare at them for longer than necessary. Minji turned their gaze to the floor hoping that no one stared at her any longer.

It was finally Jisu’s turn. They sighed as they gave a tired smile cause why not?

"Smile!"

Jisu quickly walked away and grabbed Minji’s hand and together the trio started the climb all the way up the stairs to where the game area was.

-

When they finally made it to the top, there were large green gates that opened to let them out. Just like cattle. The area was a huge field.

The ground was sand, there was no roof and you could see the blue sky with seagulls flying overhead.

Which tells Jihoon that they are near water. But most importantly there was a giant doll facing them. On each side of it were two pink masked men staring into the distance.

"Welcome to the first game. All players, please wait a moment on the field." The voice from the speaker gave instructions.

"What the hell is that?" Jisu asked no one specifically, pointing at the doll.

"I have no idea." Jihoon replied just as clueless as everyone else was.

The gates slammed closed which scared everyone with the sudden noise. "The first game is Red Light, Green Light. Cross the finish line without getting caught in five minutes. If you do, you pass."

"Oh we’re so winning. Wanna Race?" Jisu asked while raising an eyebrow. Minji scoffed in response but nodded.

"Jihoonnn?" Minji asked in a teasing tone. Jisu peeked over and made a begging gesture.

…

"Fine." Jihoon reluctantly agreed.

"If I win, you guys buy me tteokbokki." Jihoon muttered.

"And If you lose?" Minji asked while smiling at him.

"I’ll rent out a karaoke room for you guys." Jihoon laughed.

Minji and Jisu would count as one of one to get there earlier. They all agreed on the deal and got ready. They all played red light green light of course. They always beat their classmates so this was no different-

Suddenly, a man ran in front of everyone and started yelling. The man seemed distraught, he looked about the early fifties? Jisu was being nice though.

"Everyone, listen up! Pay attention! Listen carefully! This is not just a game! If you lose the game, you die!" Player 456 yelled at them. He seemed desperate.

…

The trio looked at each other and immediately knew the man was unfortunately right. Minji put her head in her hands, terrified. Jihoon closed his eyes and tilted his head down to the floor, spacing out.

"Yeah, we’re fucked."

-