Chapter Text
Hyunju POV:
"No point. What's the point now. This is my fault. I voted O. I could've saved her"
Those were the thoughts running inside my head as the platform spun. The force of it was quite strong so I felt like I could've fell over any minute, but frankly, I wouldn't even care if I did.
I didn't care for anything at this point.
"Two!"
I suddenly hear from the loud speaker. People all are frantically running around finding people to go with and running to get to their rooms.
I barely heard the number that was being called until I felt someone grab me.
"Let's go!"
I only had a second to look at who it was before he grabbed me.
246.
The man who has saved me and Youngmi the previous round.
Youngmi..
It happened so fast I didn't even realize I was running until we both went into a nearby bright orange room. 246 slammed the door behind us.
We both were out of breath, both from fear and exhaustion.
"Are you okay?" 246 asks.
I look up to him to see he's still holding the door shut.
I nod slightly. "Is the door not locking?" I ask
"No I just don't trust anything in this place. Even the locks."
I laugh. But it's only for a moment until my laughter is interrupted by gunshots and screaming. I panic and look back at the door expecting Youngmi, but she wasn't there.
246, still holding the door, tilts his head a little bit and squints his eyes. I know he knows. His expression says it all. That he could tell something's wrong, since I didn't flinch an inch last round with the gunshots and screams.
I realize tears are suddenly running down my face. I didn't even feel them at first. I gasp and turn around, awkwardly laughing.
"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry." I mutter "I just...."
He slowly lets go of the door and gives me a hug. I wasn't expecting it, but I hug back. It was a kind gesture from someone didn't even know that well.
"You two must've been close huh?" He asks gently.
"It felt like it. I don't know why. I've only known her for a few days.." I say trying to get the words out.
He pulls back and smiles, eyebrows coming together.
"She seemed like the type of person who someone would think of her that way."
I wipe my tears and sigh, leaning against the wall. I nod.
"Before coming here, I haven't met anyone who saw me like she did."
"How did she see you?"
I stay silent for a moment.
"She said I was…beautiful."
His face softens as he tilts his head.
"I think you're beautiful."
I sigh and shake my head, "I'm really not." I say quietly
He furrows his brows, making sort of a concentrating face.
"I'm serious." He says smiling, "That's the first thing I thought when I first looked at you."
I smile a little while letting out a little air from my nose. I look up and get a real glimpse of this man for the first time.
He was a beautiful man himself. Tall, with kind round eyes. A pretty smile, and clean looking hair. He really did look like a prince. I only felt worse after realizing that.
"Thank you." I say
"I meant it." He says while looking out the window again
Even if he didn't mean it, his words made me feel better. A lot better. It was rare when I didn't get weird looks in the grocery store, or even just walking down the street. It was even rarer when someone went out of their way to call me something I don't deserve to be called.
He turns back around.
"They're still cleaning" he says leaning back on the door.
I nod.
"I'm sorry." I say, thinking he wants to leave. "I feel like I'm just dumping my emotions on you."
He shakes his head right away.
"Never."
He sighs
"You know, I'm the same way. I know how you feel. I had actually talked a while in the main room with a man before the second game took place. Did you know player 183?"
I shake my head. He nods again.
"Kim Hanbin was his name. He needed the money because he got evicted and had a kid on the way."
I look down. He stays silent for a moment before shaking his head ever so slightly.
"I couldn't find him when we paired up for teams before the six legged game, but we found each other right before his team went. He was looking for me and wanted to wish me luck before we started.. and just 5 minutes later, he died. He died because none of his teammates knew how to play gonggi." He said softly.
I feel his stare at me even though I refused to look at him back, because I know I was going to start crying again if I did.
"I still miss him, even if I only knew him for a day." He says
I nod. I slowly look up at him and we lock eyes.
His eyes.
Something about them made me trust him right away.
I was about to ask for his name until it's been announced this game is over. He nods and unlocks the door as we walk out. I frantically look around to see if everyone had made it. I couldn't deal with another loss.
I did a sigh of relief before realizing they did.
-
Gyeongseok POV:
We walked out of the rooms after the intercom said we could.
I see the woman look around and reunite with her teammates. The grandma practically hugs her until she couldn't breathe anymore.
I walk over to them once again.
The grandma smiles at me and pulls me in for a hard hug too. I laugh as she pats my back.
"Aigoo, I was worried about you two." She said. She finally lets go and I laugh.
"Im glad both of you are safe." I say looking at the woman.
We start walking back down the stairs. Those awful stairs. We needed to get out of here. I made sure to stick to the people I knew since, they were all I had in here.
After a few minutes, we got back into the main room.
I stay put for a second looking at my bed, not wanting to go back to hanging out alone. I was about to see where the woman and the grandma were until I feel a tug on my left sleeve.
It was the grandma.
"Come join us", she says smiling brightly.
I smile too, "I"d love to, if that's alright with you."
"Nonsense!"
She starts dragging me over to the area of where her son and the woman are
I greet them and sit next to the woman.
"Introduce yourself" said the grandma.
I smile and look at her son and the woman "I'm Park Gyeongseok. I'm 36 years old." I say
The son smiles, "Not far off from me, I'm 32. I'm Yong-sik." He says
I nod "You can just call me hyung then."
"But we're not even close- OW!"
The grandma slapped her son on the back of his head.
"Accept the man's kind offer!" She said, crossing her arms.
The grandma introduces herself as Geum-ja, but of course I couldn't call her that.
The woman looks down, still clearly upset by the death of her friend. But she looks up a bit and manages to smile kindly.
"I'm..Cho Hyunju. 33." She says that in a soft voice. I love her voice. It's the deepest voice from a woman I've ever heard, but that's what I love about it.
I nod, "That's pretty. It suits you well."
I'm still looking at Hyunju, but in the corner of my eye, I see the grandma and Yong-sik give each other a quick glance. Did I say something weird? Am I staring at her too much?
I peel my eyes off of Hyunju for a moment and smile, "It's nice to meet you all."
For the next hour or so, we just all talked about each other. Well, mostly the grandma and Yong-sik. Hyunju was mostly just listening, but I didn't mind her company, even if she was just silent. We even had a little interaction from the shaman lady and her minions too. We ignored it.
I learned about their jobs, their family, their friends, and I told them about mine. It was nice just talking to someone in here again rather than fearing for your life in a game...
"Wah...." said the grandma after I had told her I was here for money for my kid.
"You're such an honorable man, it's a shame you wound up in here." she said sighing and shaking her head, "If I had a daughter, I'd want her to marry someone like you. How could your wife leave you?"
Her son then groans and shakes her arm, "Umma! You can't say stuff like that!" He says
"Why?! I'm saying he deserves better aren't I?"
"Yeah but still!"
I laugh, suddenly feeling at home. Yeah it was kinda of a weird thing to say, but she reminded me of my mother, and Yong-sik acted similarly to my brother.
Thinking about my family makes me miss my daughter. I sigh.
Hyunju gives a small smile whilst finally looking up and in my direction.
"You'll get used to this after a few hours."
I'm caught off by her beauty for a moment. The way the light hits her eyes make it looks like they're sparkling. Her bangs got obviously messed up from running from the last game, so they looked messy but that just made her look more charming. And her smile. Gosh her smile.
"Yeah..." I say, as it's all that manages to come out of my mouth.
My eyes are still glued to her even when she looks back down. I'm debating whether to talk to her again, or to leave her alone. But she probably doesn't want to talk this moment...ah poor Hyunju.
I suddenly snap out of it as I feel Yong-Sik's eyes burning into my face. I slowly turn my head to see him giving me a funny look.
He ever so slightly gestured his head towards Hyunju while raising an eyebrow.
In response, I rolled my eyes and shook my head. I think I had a dumb smile on my face though.
Before I could even think anything else, a few people walk out of the bathroom, covered in blood.
Everyone's head is turned towards them. The room is silent. And suddenly, the number of people on the screen goes down, and the amount of money goes up.
5 people died? What the heck happened in the bathroom? And now I know what everybody is thinking, "People who die even without the games still count for money.."
"I can't die. I need to get back to my daughter." I think to myself.
I look at Yong-sik, the grandma, and Hyunju. The only people I have in here.
"And I can't let these people die either."