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Chapter Text

After the bathroom riot, players X and O became even more hostile, and that led to the killing spree during lights-out. However, before that, Nam-gyu thought Thanos had been killed by Myung-gi because he clearly saw him lying on the floor bleeding, and in his desperation, Nam-gyu had no choice but to take the necklace from him and get out of there.

But what Nam-gyu didn't know was that Thanos hadn't died; in fact, he managed to stop the bleeding and crawled into one of the bathroom stalls. When the guards got all the players out, strangely, they helped him. The fork stab didn't hit his important arteries, so he was lucky, and also fortunate enough to have been noticed by one of the first VIPs to arrive on the island to watch the games.

He paid to be kept alive because he knew that with Thanos, the aggression without the pills would come later, along with the plots, the humiliation, and probably murder. The drug addict was entertaining to watch; he was the only one who didn't take anything seriously and enjoyed hovering between life and death, so it would be good if he were still alive. Anyway, Nam-gyu had a fit of blind rage and resentment over Thanos's "death" and sought out Se-mi to get even, killing her with the same fork that "killed" "his friend."

After Gi-hun's failed rebellion, the Pink Guards announced the next game: hide-and-seek. Nam-gyu, believing himself to be completely alone, first sought out Min-su, who was on the same team, the Red Team, but the boy obviously didn't want to be near him and showed it to him.

So Nam-gyu had to figure things out and saw an opportunity in player 333, the same one who killed Thanos. He'd switched places with Jun-hee and was now part of the red team.

Of course, Nam-gyu was completely drugged up from the pills and couldn't think of a better idea than practically begging Myung-gi to let him be his teammate. He even tried to feed his ego by telling him he was the best for killing Thanos. Of course, Nam-gyu spoke badly of player 230, calling him an asshole.

Without even looking at him, Myung-gi "agreed" to join him, even though he clearly didn't trust him, much less like him, especially given his apparent "confession." It was unusual for a man to offer himself to another like that. In fact, it was unpleasant for him. Nam-gyu, as a whole, was disgusting to Myung-gi. But since he didn't have many options and the man seemed willing to cooperate, he pretended to be somewhat understanding and even "nice," but when the next game came around, he'd figure out how to eliminate him.

"Stupid drug addict," was what Myung-gi thought to himself.

Anyway, the pink guards led them into a maze with blue walls and strange drawings. There they had to find the blue team members and kill them. Well, in reality, they had to kill only one if they found him, since that's why they'd been given knives. So Myung-gi and Nam-gyu entered the room and began looking for victims.

They killed several members of the blue team along the way. The more they died, the more they would benefit because each death meant more prize money.

Killing wasn't complicated, but Nam-gyu's strange, clingy attitude was already getting to Myung-gi. He didn't want Nam-gyu to touch him; he had to keep him under control and as sane as possible.

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Meanwhile, in one of the hallways, Hyun-ju from the blue team was beating up one of the red team members to prevent him from killing her. Of course, she also made sure to protect Geum-ja and Jun-hee, who were safe behind one of the doors. They just hoped no one would discover them because player 222 was about to give birth.

Luckily, Hyun-ju took out the man from the red team and went to where Jun-hee and Geum-ja were. There, she found the girl in labor, covered by her tracksuit jacket while the older woman assisted her. Hyun-ju quickly approached her and took her hand to support her through the pain she was going through while encouraging her to push. It was dangerous to be in this situation. They tried to make as little noise as possible so no one from the red team would find them.

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On the other side of one of the hallways, a tall figure with purple hair was stabbing a guy to death.

Hiding had been very easy; he was alone, and all he had to do was keep his mouth shut and wait quietly for one of the idiots from the red team to find him, since none of them would have expected that they would actually be the victim and not the guy from the blue team.

When the man from the red team entered the door of the hideout, he didn't have time to react because Thanos surprised him, partially paralyzing him with fear. The guy thought player 230 was dead. Thanos scoffed at this because it was a very stupid thought; no one could defeat him easily.

Finally, he pinned the guy down. They struggled, but Thanos managed to knock the knife out of his hands. Then he hit him hard in the face about five times until he was stunned. Finally, he put his hands around his neck and squeezed, cutting off his air until he was sure the guy had stopped breathing.

Thanos got up from the corpse and grabbed the knife that was on the floor.

Then he left the room and stealthily walked, his senses on alert in case a Red appeared out of nowhere. He didn't have his necklace or his pills, so he had to stay cold and calculating. However, his adrenaline was high, and he loved it, it fascinated him greatly. It gave him the necessary drive to be stronger than he already was, and it had an added bonus: it didn't distort his mind, just what he needed to avoid doing things foolishly.

This time he should have been serious and played differently, but maybe he didn't want to be so serious, so he played hide-and-seek like when he was a kid. With all the confidence in the world, he saw that there were two reds lurking around. Then Thanos made a noise by shouting and calling them in a funny, mocking voice. "Hey, fuckers, I'm here! Catch me!" He said, raising his arms.

When the two men started chasing him, Thanos ran down the hallway, jumping high and feeling the serotonin and dopamine activate in his brain. He felt strangely happy. He wasn't scared. Drugs could help him, but the rest of his personality had always been like that. Besides, it's not like he was worried about dying. Just a few days ago, he almost jumped headfirst into the Hangang River and some idiot last night almost killed him.

His heart was beating hard and he felt agile. He needed excitement. He shouldn't wonder why he was still alive, he should just feel it. Thanos stopped and with such force that he didn't even know where he got it, he grabbed one of the guys from the red team. Apparently, the other had given up and swerved, so they were one on one. They fought, cornered each other, and crashed into the walls, but player 230 ultimately proved to be stronger.

He knocked down the other player, who was already scared, knowing he didn't have much of a chance to continue. Thanos managed to disarm him and break his nose. While holding the knife, he toyed with it as he moved it between his fingers. "Bro, die in peace knowing you lost to the legend." He grabbed the weapon and lunged at the red player and began stabbing him, one, two, three, four times... and well, he was dead. He tried to be as merciful as possible by killing him quickly.

The fun of the games wasn't actually killing them, but scaring them, catching them, escaping, hiding, and dominating them.

Because Thanos' ego was fueled by being chased like a celebrity and then of course showing them that he was the best and that he could mistreat them however he wanted. That's how things were with him, and if he didn't like that person, he'd push them aside once and for all. His only mistake was with Gyeong-su; he regretted not choosing him during the Mingle; he was more loyal than the other idiot.

Anyway, on his way through the hallways, Thanos could hear people screaming in agony in one of them. It was probably the blues being killed by the reds. At least by the sound, he knew where not to go.

The purple-haired boy turned into another hallway in the labyrinth and cautiously advanced, wielding his knife. As he got closer, he could hear strange noises coming from one of the doors. It sounded like...like...the crying of...a baby?

From across the room, the three women heard the sound of footsteps and went on alert. Jun-hee tried to calm the newborn.

"Is it one of them?" Geum-ja asked in a low, worried voice, referring to the reds.

"I don't know," Hyun-ju replied, her eyes fixed on the door. "But we have to be prepared," she said, getting up to guard the entrance.

"Be careful," said Geum-ja.

With his inevitable silly curiosity, he approached the room and cautiously opened the door, and... surprise, thanks to his reflexes, he was able to dodge a blow that could have easily smashed his face.

"Hey, calm down, señorita," said Thanos, without losing his typical tone, raising his hands as if he were in front of the police. "I'm not your enemy," he said this time, pointing with the knife at the blue patch on his tracksuit. He was surprisingly polite. Well, he was only like that when he was in front of women, and usually it was to flirt.

Hyun-ju noticed he was wearing the blue vest, so she let go of her guard and, suspiciously, she let him in and then closed the door, but she didn't move. Someone had to be on guard.

Thanos returned to his typical relaxed and carefree demeanor, and, still curious, he fixed his eyes on the girl sitting on the ground, somewhat bloodied and tired, holding a small baby wrapped in her tracksuit jacket in her arms.

"So that son of a bitch had been fucking after all," Thanos said in his mind. Soon the older woman's voice brought him out of his thoughts.

"Young man, weren't you... dead?"

Thanos smiled stupidly and sneered. "It would take more than that faggot's stab to kill me, ajumma."

"So it was him," Jun-hee said. "Why am I not surprised?" She lowered her gaze with... not even disappointment anymore.

The girl was surprised when she saw the purple-haired boy approach her and crouch down beside her. She remained calm, seeing that he had no bad intentions, of course, only because they were on the same team.

"If you just had that baby, then where is its father, huh?" Thanos asked, sounding unconcerned. "I'm sure he'll want to see this, señorita."

"I don't know where he is," Jun-hee replied. "We switched teams, and he's not interested in this anymore. I don't care what he does anymore."

"Did he leave you like that? Poor girl," he seemed strangely "compassionate." Geum-ja could only watch the interaction in confusion.

"Forget it, he and I have nothing in common, and don't pretend. I know this doesn't interest you in any way."

"Yeah, anyway, you're right. However, did you know that he switched teams with you just to kill people alongside that idiot Nam-su?" Thanos said this with the intention of stirring up anger and adding fuel to the fire.

"It doesn't matter anymore. I knew I couldn't trust him."

"Hey, I think we can let our guard down now," Hyun-ju said quietly from the doorway.

Jun-hee then tried to get up with Geum-ja's help, but she was still very weak. Her body ached, her legs trembled, and her ankle was injured. Suddenly, Thanos had an idea. He stood up and approached the girl.

"Give me the baby, señorita."

"H-how?" Jun-hee was surprised to hear that, as was Hyun-ju, who was still guarding the entrance.

"Give me your baby," he said shamelessly. "You just gave birth, so let her help you." He pointed at Geum-ja, who was holding the girl by the arm. "And I'll carry it, don't worry." Thanos showed her the bloody knife. "Anyone who dares to attack me will die."

"That didn't sound very sane, dude," Hyun-ju said, looking at him out of the corner of his eye.

"You'll think I'm sane when you run into the two bastards lurking outside." Thanos looked at her seriously.

"Why do you want to help me? I don't trust you. It's not like you're any better than Myung-gi. You don't give me a good feeling. What are you up to?" She stared into his eyes.

"I want to help you because we have a problem, and yes, I'm talking about your damn ex or whatever. Besides, after this game we can be allies, because Nam-su is a fucking traitor, and I'm not going back to him."

"You have a point there..." Jun-hee said, understanding the situation. It was true. She didn't want Myung-gi near her or her baby, and him being allied with Thanos's demented ex-friend meant he was a potential threat to her. It was best to group up with strong people around her. She had Hyun-ju, so it wouldn't hurt to have another one, especially someone who could give Myung-gi what he deserved. He wasn't going to be disloyal as long as it was convenient for him.

"So what do you say, girl? You'll be safe with me."

Jun-hee hesitated a bit, but analyzing the whole situation and the fact that there were several players who didn't hesitate to kill, it was in her best interest too.

"Fine, I-I'll do it."

"Are you sure?" Geum-ja asked. She'd seen Thanos's behavior, and he wasn't exactly a cautious person, but now he seemed quite calm for what he was.

"Yes, I will," Jun-hee said, carefully transferring her baby into Thanos's arms. Thanos surprised her and Geum-ja by showing that he knew how to carry the newborn.

Thanos hadn't felt genuine happiness in a long time. Drugs were an escape from his suicidal thoughts, and these games helped him avoid problems and see himself as a crazy person in the eyes of others. Maybe he was, but after watching Nam-su from his hiding place, he noticed that he walked through the hallways literally imitating his gestures, shouting and saying the same damn phrases. Worse, he believed himself to be the owner of his necklace, his pills, his image and style, and, even worse, being Myung-gi's ally.

He knew that Nam-gyu killed Se-mi and then in the distance he saw him bullying Min-su, he was a wretch and he even dared to insult him, he would make him pay, him and MG Coin.

He already had an agreement with the girl, and he knew that deep down she also felt used and betrayed, so Thanos would fuel that hatred and sow discord. He didn't need the pills to be crazy and dangerous. He wasn't an insecure idiot like Nam-gyu. He was fully in possession of his faculties now, and he would make the most of them.

Returning to the happiness part, seeing the little baby's face caused him a certain tenderness and softened him a little. The child was an innocent being who had the misfortune of being born here, after all. He was mesmerized by the sight of the baby, but snapped out of it when he felt Jun-hee and Geum-ja staring at him.

"What?" he said.

"It's just... I didn't expect this from you specifically," the girl said. "Y-you don't look like that kind of person."

"Girl, I have a sister, and she had a child. Obviously, I know how to do this. I'm no rookie." At that moment, Thanos used Player 222's jacket to make a sling that fit snugly around his body to keep the baby from falling out.

"Oh," Geum-ja said, approaching him. "It's good that you're helping her. I-it's a relief to have you on our side."

"Trust me, ajumma. If anyone comes near us, I'll annihilate them."

"So you promise me this alliance will last?" Jun-hee asked.

"Of course, girl. That trash poses a danger to you and me, and therefore must be eliminated."

"I understand."

"Listen," Hyun-ju chimed in. "I'll go find one of the exits. We don't have much time."

Thanos then noticed the stab wound on her foot. "Relax, I'll go, señorita," he said, heading for the door.

"Not you, you have the baby. Stay and take care of them. It's your responsibility." She saw that he had one of the keys. "Give me that, I'll find the door, and we'll all leave."

"You're at a disadvantage," he said.

"I know how to take care of myself." Hyun-ju extended her arm and opened her palm, waiting for Thanos to hand her the key.

"Fine, if that's what you want," he took the not-so-hidden key out of his pocket and handed it to her.

"Be careful, Hyun-ju," Geum-ja said.

"I'll be back." Player 120 left the room and closed the door. You could hear her walking away in the hallway.

"Hey, señorita, is it a boy or a girl?" Thanos asked curiously as he looked at the baby.

"It's a girl."

"Oh, well, she's beautiful, and does she have a name?"

"I haven't had time to think about that yet."

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From the other side, Hyun-ju struggled to walk, holding onto the walls, hoping to find the door that would lead them to the final exit from this horrible game.

She walked through the bloody hallways, finding several corpses lying on the sides, most of them from the blue team. She carefully checked the doors until she came across one at the end of the hall.

Then she inserted two of the keys into the locks and turned them to unlock the door. When she managed to open it, a bright yellowish light hit her face, and she joyfully saw that she had indeed found the exit. Hyun-ju was about to step outside, but her concern for the two women and the baby overcame her individualism. So, with difficulty, she decided to go back down the hallway to the room where players 222 and 149 were.

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Meanwhile, in the room, Thanos was growing impatient and pacing. He'd seen that these women were close, so he was sure player 120 wouldn't abandon them. However, she was already taking too long, and he remembered that those two sons of bitches were pacing around outside, so maybe they could have grabbed her? She was injured, so even if she was very strong, she wouldn't be able to take those two on alone.

At the risk of putting himself and the baby in danger, Thanos decided he would have to go out and look for her.

They had also given the reds a time limit to kill them, and it was up to them to get to one of those doors or they would die. He approached the entrance, about to turn the handle, and as he was about to open it, Jun-hee stopped him.

"Hey, what are you going to do?" Jun-hee asked, upset.

"Well, i going out. Time's running out. She hasn't come back yet," Thanos said, sounding very rational and lucid.

"But you have my daughter, you'd put her in danger."

"I thought you trusted me. So far, nothing's been able to kill me. Do you think any of those idiots can?"

"I don't know. You should be less impulsive," she said, nervously grabbing her hair.

"I'll go find the other señorita and then I'll come back."

"Aren't you afraid the red team will find you?"

"I killed two, and besides, there's always someone crazier."

"She still hasn't come back..." Jun-hee said, stressed out by the thought that something might have happened to Hyun-ju. She couldn't do everything alone, and someone would have to look for her. But Thanos had her baby, and not only that, if he left, she and Geum-ja would be defenseless. But the minutes on that clock were also ticking, and if they didn't reach the exit, they would die because the Reds would find them. Then Jun-hee thought, "You can't die without trying first."

She spoke. "Fine, go ahead, go out and look for her, but... if you and her reach the exit and see that time is running out, don't come back here, and... I can't believe I'm asking you to do this, but..." Jun-hee said, her voice shaking and her eyes glazed over. "Please take care of my baby."

Thanos looked at her in surprise seeing her emotions and ended up softening even more, now without the pills he was able to gain some awareness of what the hell he had gotten himself into, he had suicidal tendencies and considering how he was it wasn't like he had anything worthwhile to go on but now he himself had chosen to hold the baby of a woman he barely knew and he had done it more out of convenience but he knew that the girl really had no one else other than a group of strangers to entrust her baby to because the damn father would never show up.

He decided to take courage and do something "good" for once in his entire depressing and miserable life. "Señorita, don't cry and don't give up yet," Thanos said, his optimistic attitude showing this time without the drugs. He opened the door to leave, and before walking down the hallway, he said to her, "You'll see, we'll get through this." He gave her a thumbs-up and left.

"Do you think he'll comply, Jun-hee?" Geum-ja asked, a little doubtful.

"It's not like I have any other options, but he didn't seem to be lying to me."

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Meanwhile, lurking in the hallways looking for more victims of the blue team were Myung-gi and Nam-gyu, who was completely out of his mind and swaying back and forth with false happiness and euphoria while singing the lyrics of a stupid song. This attitude had player 333 tired, but he had to tolerate it because thanks to their alliance, they had managed to kill so many blues that this would raise more prize money. They would also have a bonus with the deaths of their own team members, since if they didn't find a blue, the pink guards would shoot them.

For Myung-gi, this was an excellent plan. Using Thanos's idiot, drug-addicted, bootlicking fool was brilliant. He had never thought of teaming up with him, but seeing how things were now, this brought him many benefits that would increase the prize. Then he would have to figure out how to get rid of him too, of course, because this idiot was dangerous with those pills that, by the way, seemed to have messed with his head.

Myung-gi, hiding behind a calm and cold face, stopped to listen to Nam-gyu's ramblings and complaints about the air. He had previously heard him talking to that Thanos necklace, which he actually treated as if it were the real Thanos. The whole thing was mentioning Thanos, Thanos' phrases, Thanos' gestures, memories he had with Thanos, and Nam-gyu's pure complaints about Thanos for such a huge idiocy as not knowing how to pronounce his fucking name correctly.

This only made Myung-gi want to stab him as many times as possible or smash his head against the wall. But he reminded himself that this pathetic junkie was being useful to him in this game of hide-and-seek. When this was over, he wouldn't have to hang out with him anymore, much less listen to him.

The two of them walked through the hallways without finding any more blue ones. They stopped at one point, and Myung-gi, seeking some peace of mind, suggested that Nam-gyu split up for a moment to search different areas for any remaining blue ones.

Nam-gyu smiled and agreed. "Okay, amazing, Myung-gi," he said, and went off in another direction, skipping clumsily and happily while holding the knife high in the air.

"Finally, alone," Myung-gi thought, and continued walking.

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On his way down the hallway, Thanos managed to dodge several members of the red team, whom he heard desperate and furious because they apparently couldn't find the blue team. He remained vigilant and alert while making sure the baby didn't cry, and with his free hand, he brandished the knife, ready to kill and defend himself.

When he turned a corner, he suddenly bumped into player 120.

"W-what are you doing here?" Hyun-ju asked in a low voice.

"I came to find you, señorita," Thanos replied in a low voice. "Did you find the exit?"

"Yes...it's over there," she pointed to a specific area, "At the end of the hallway."

"Cool girl, they're still in the other room. We have to go back."

"No, I'll go get them. You go to the exit and wait for us. The baby will be out of danger," Hyun-ju said, trusting that he would comply.

"But you'll be at risk. It's a stupid decision."

"There's not much time left, and if we move the baby from one place to another, she might cry and attract the Reds. Go on, stay there and wait," Hyun-ju ordered authoritatively.

"Okay, sweetheart," Thanos said. He wouldn't change her mind anyway. He watched as the girl struggled to move forward, moving further down the halls.

Thanos then continued in the direction she indicated. It wasn't that far, but he wasn't out of danger yet. He moved cautiously, his steps as silent as a ghost's. It had been a while since he'd heard the screams of the other players. Had they already killed most of them? Or had several of them managed to get out and get to safety?

He knows full well he could have threatened someone and switched teams, but he didn't want to be in the same place as that damn Myung-gi, and he didn't want to see Nam-gyu's face again, so he foolishly stayed on the blue team, even though he knew the rules were unfair since they had nothing to protect themselves.

Thanos moved forward and forward until, a few meters away, he found the damn door that led to the exit. He smiled half-heartedly and walked over.

But someone undesirable was coming down the other corridor. Nam-gyu hummed a song, smiling and jumping in his psychedelic world until that world stopped for him, making him see everything in slow motion.

Was what he was seeing a mirage? A hallucination? His dilated black eyes opened wide when he spotted that purple-haired figure a few meters away, looking sideways as if trying not to be found. Nam-gyu couldn't believe it; he had to be dreaming. That boy over there was him, his hyung. It was him, in the flesh, with no visible wounds.

Nam-gyu, still in shock, hurried toward him and, unable to contain himself, spoke.

"Hyung!" he shouted, and Thanos flinched at the sound of that voice and turned around to see him approaching. "Hyung!"

Thanos saw Nam-gyu's decayed appearance, his disheveled sweatpants covered in blood, his hair a mess, his dark circles, the blood on his distorted face, since he no longer looked like the same boy he'd seen at the beginning, and his black eyes with a blank stare that was slowly changing to one of enlightenment.

For some reason, it repulsed Thanos, and he also remembered why he didn't want to see him anymore. In his hand, the purple-haired boy gripped the handle of the knife, ready for whatever was coming.

"Hyung," Nam-gyu said in surprise as he stood in front of him and saw that Thanos was indeed physically present. "Ah...h-hyung, I-is that really you?" He asked, his voice trembling. He had been holding back his tears for hours, but now he felt like he couldn't hold them back. "Y-you're alive? Hyung?"

Player 230 almost felt the same empathy he had for him in the previous games, as his current appearance was that of a true loser. However, he remembered all the evil and treacherous actions Nam-gyu had taken against his team members, the words he'd said against him, and his alliance with Myung-gi. Thanos decided it wasn't a good idea to create tension with someone who was so high on drugs, so he used his "gentle" side and gently caressed Nam-gyu's bloody face. Nam-gyu relaxed at his touch and shed a few pitiful tears.

"H-hyung...ah...I thought...that you were dead," Nam-gyu said, breaking down. "I-I thought I'd never see you again...and that I'd be alone." He sobbed and tried to lean on him, but Thanos wouldn't let him.

Thanos, observing, focused on Nam-gyu's hand, which held the knife, and feigning gentleness and understanding, comforted him, sounding as "kind" as possible.

"Don't cry, boy...I'm here." If Nam-gyu had been manipulative with him the whole time, and worse, believed himself worthy of his affection, then Thanos would take advantage of it and make himself more miserable than ever with him. Anyone could play that game, and he would make sure he was the worst. "Don't be afraid...no one's going to hurt you, drop the knife," Thanos said.

Nam-gyu, in his moment of vulnerability, confusion, hysteria, and tranquility knowing that Thanos had been alive the whole time, dropped the knife, letting it fall to the ground. Then he approached the purple-haired boy he had been missing so much, feeling safe with him.

"H-hyung," he burst into tears.

"Relax, I'll take care of you." Thanos continued caressing his face, and when he realized that Nam-gyu was already defenseless, his expression changed to one of cold, furious, and spiteful demeanor.

Suddenly, the black-haired boy felt that warm affection disappear when his cheek received a hard slap, sending Nam-gyu to the ground on impact, once again going into shock from the sudden attack. Thanos quickly kicked the other knife away and brandished his own in case Nam-gyu wanted to attack him.

Coming out of his daze and massaging his cheekbone, now reddish and marked by Thanos, Nam-gyu sat up, brushed a few strands of hair from his face, and with wide eyes asked in his soft, trembling voice, "Why, hyung? What have I done?"

"And you're still asking? Huh, you're a fucking lying, hypocritical piece of shit, Nam-gyu," Thanos said with all the contempt he could muster in his voice, and of course, remembering his name correctly.

"What?" Nam-gyu was surprised to hear that. Was he hearing it right? Was the boy he loved, cried for, and wailed for saying that to him? "Ow..." he moaned in pain; it almost felt like being punched. "W-why are you saying that, hyung?"

"Don't play the victim or pretend to be innocent." At that, the baby stirred in player 222's tracksuit. Thanos slowly rocked the girl and pointed the knife at Nam-gyu accusingly. "You know what? I thought you were different, but... look at you. What a disgusting, poor junkie you are. You're a fucking snake. Get up and go back to your nest with that disgusting bitch MG Coin and never speak to me again."

"Hyung? What are you saying? Why are you telling me this?" Nam-gyu asked, already upset by what he was hearing and by Thanos's attitude toward him. "What did I do wrong? What's wrong?" He stood up heavily and tried to approach the purple-haired boy, but he moved further and further back. It couldn't be. Was he losing his hyung? "Hyung, what are you doing? Wait."

"Get away from me. I don't want you around. There's nothing else to talk about. Your presence disgusts me, you traitorous rat. Go away and find solace elsewhere, you disloyal whore."

"What? Wait, you can't do this to me. You can't leave me. H-hyung, please...ah...Hyung!" His emotional pain was so great at knowing he was being rejected in every way possible that Nam-gyu could only freeze and begin to shed tears while, heartbroken, he covered his face and sobbed. The effect of the two pills didn't help him cope either. He had a tangle of distorted thoughts in his head.
At first, he thought that Thanos, whom he had cared for since they met at the Pentagon, had died. Then, he began to miss him, to long for him, to mourn him, to remember him. And now that he was alive and in front of him, he was being attacked and rejected by him outright. Or maybe he wasn't real, and seeing him was because he felt remorse.

Thanos saw him in a nervous wreck. He looked inhuman and even terrifying, not even looking like himself anymore. Nam-gyu then began to scream uncontrollably as he dropped to his knees and tossed his hair, saying "hyung." He was quite drugged, but hey, he warned him about the powerful effects of the pills. He took advantage of his state of trance, shock, and emotional breakdown, and even on guard, Thanos hurried down the hallway, ready to wait for the women. This struck him as odd; they hadn't appeared yet either.

The baby woke up when she heard Nam-gyu's wails sounding from the other hallway; he was crying as if he were at a funeral. Thanos began to rock and cradle the baby so he wouldn't cry or make any noise, or the Reds would find him.

"Shhh, your mom is coming, wait... little one... little one..." Thanos's few neurons connected and something occurred to him. "Little Gamora," he said, calling her by the first name that came to mind. It could have been Nebula, but what the hell.

For his part, Nam-gyu had a sudden change of mood due to the pills. Now he felt "happy" again. He didn't know why, but it was as if his emotions came and went. He hadn't suffered any memory loss, but that strange image of Thanos was more like a mirage created in his mind, as he was still in denial. He had seen him die. Reality hit him hard again. He got up, straightened his tracksuit a bit, grabbed his knife, which was a bit far away, and ran out in search of Myung-gi.

"That idiot Thanos isn't alive, it's not possible," he said to himself with melancholy, knowing full well that the purple-haired boy would never have attacked or insulted him, so the one he saw couldn't be him. He had protected him the whole time, but this one did the exact opposite. "That's not my hyung. My hyung was good to me."

________________

After painfully walking down the long corridor with her injured foot, Hyun-ju had the misfortune of encountering a player from the red team who obviously attacked her with the intention of killing her. However, she was able to defend herself, even though she was injured, and she was able to immobilize the man until she took the knife from him and stabbed him to death. She intimidated another member of the red team, who was too cowardly to try to kill her. Then, without wasting any time, Hyun-ju rushed to find the two women.

Finally, she managed to return to the room where Geum-ja and Jun-hee were. She opened the door and stood in the doorway. She was relieved to see them safe and sound, both leaning against the wall.

"I found the exit," she said, smiling and breathing heavily from exhaustion. "We'll get out of here. Come on, get up."

The two women looked at her hopefully until Hyun-ju's expression changed to one that slowly became empty. She moaned a couple of times and finally collapsed face first onto the floor, her eyes open and lifeless.

Then Jun-hee, with teary eyes, looked toward the door again, and with all the helplessness and sadness in the world, she and Geum-ja saw Hyun-ju's killer. It was none other than Myung-gi, who held the bloody knife in his hand. Once again, Jun-hee's eyes saw how he playing the victim, looking at her with supposed "regret," which she knew didn't exist in him.

Not far away, she could hear another voice approaching. She heard the tone and the poor attempt to imitate Player 230. That had to be the crazy guy that Thanos said Myung-gi allied himself with. To no one's surprise, Myung-gi didn't even apologize, didn't try to comfort her, didn't say anything to her, he just closed the door and left with that other bastard.

Then Jun-hee knew Thanos was right. They were both traitors and deserved to pay, but she wasn't going to stoop to his level. If the purple-haired boy was trying to incite her to do evil, she wouldn't do it because that meant becoming trash like them.

Now she just wanted to take care of her baby and make sure Myung-gi never touches her. So now, aware of what he just did before her eyes, she understands that the poor Hyun-ju, who fought so hard for her, is gone forever. She only has Geum-ja left, but she too is defenseless. She has no choice but to seek support from Thanos because she knows that with him around, Myung-gi won't come near, but seeing how cold he is, he would also think of a way to kill him, since he's tried that before.

She no longer has a group to support her; she doesn't know what happened to Gi-hun or Dae-ho.

She began to sob when she saw Hyun-ju's corpse, and Geum-ja, with all the pain in the world, crawled over to the body and gently stroked her head until her hand moved to her face and closed her eyes. Time was running out. Both of them, their spirits low, got up and left the hiding place to head for the exit.

They moved quickly, and to Jun-hee's relief, she could see that her baby was safe. Waiting there, she saw the unmistakable tall figure with purple hair still looking sideways. Well, it seemed she could trust him after all; he hadn't lied to her.

They arrived quickly, and Thanos saw that both women had their faces covered in tears and their heads bowed.

"What happened, señorita?" he asked when he saw that only the two of them were there. "Where is she...?"

None of them answered, and that was enough for him to know that she had died. It had most likely been one of the red team. "I told her I was going to accompany her," he thought. "Maybe the outcome would have been different."

"G-give me my...baby," Jun-hee asked, seeking comfort.

Thanos obeyed, unwrapping the sling and handing her his little daughter. Now they just had to open the door and leave, but unfortunately for the three from the blue team, one from the red team found them and was planning to kill them.

That man raised the knife, ready to enter the room. The two women faced the wall, and Jun-hee, fearfully, held her baby tightly. Thanos then brandished the knife and, in a frenzy, managed to push the man out of the room. The two began to fight.

The purple-haired man, accustomed to getting into fights, had little trouble hitting him and dodging the cuts his opponent wanted to inflict. The priority was to get him out of the room. After all, he didn't plan on dying here, and he had an agreement with the girl.

The two of them walked down the hallway because Thanos wanted it that way, and he managed to force the guy back.

Meanwhile, in the room leading to the exit, they just had to turn the keys in the lock and they could leave, but they were still waiting for him because, after all, he had protected them.

But the unexpected happened. They were found by Yong-sik, who was on the red team. He seemed out of his mind and desperate. If he didn't kill someone on the blue team, he would die. So he turned his gaze to Jun-hee and began to advance slowly, intending to kill her. However, Geum-ja intervened and tried to stop him, begging him not to.

His mother talked to him, trying to make him see reason and even offered to be his victim so he could live, but Player 007 didn't have the heart to kill her.

"I can't kill you, Mother."

So he set his sights on Jun-hee and walked toward her. He cornered her and tried to kill her, even though he was scared. Yong-sik raised the knife, pointing it at her, and then the incredible happened. Geum-ja ended up stabbing him in the back with her hair clip. With tears in her eyes, she hugged him tightly until they heard the footsteps of the pink guards who entered the room and shot Yong-sik. He hadn't managed to kill anyone from the blue team, so he had to die.

Not far from there, Thanos finished off another guy from the red team who tried to ambush him when he stayed in one of the hiding places. Soon he heard the gunshots. They were killing the reds, but they didn't find any victims. Time was running out for them. He pulled the knife from the guy's neck and waited patiently for the guards to search the room to make sure they saw him and knew he had followed the rules of the game.

When that happened, he went straight to the room where the two women were. There, he found them crying. Jun-hee was silently hugging her daughter, and Geum-ja was heartbroken and in shock at the sight of her son's riddled body.

The purple-haired boy felt again that horrible sensation he had the first time when he saw player 196 die. The adrenaline had already worn off, and now, with his mind sane and without his pills, he fell back into a depressive reality. He recognized the dead member of the red team immediately; it was the older woman's son.

Soon, he saw the pink guards bringing a coffin for him. He knew that trying to calm them down would be useless; in fact, it would be in the way of talking, so Thanos was the one who turned the keys in the lock and opened the door leading to the exit.

Geum-ja, devastated, watching her son's body being taken away in a black coffin, stood up, wiped her tears and asked the grieving Jun-hee to let her hold the baby. The three of them immediately left and now Thanos was mentally preparing himself to deal with that stupid Nam-gyu, if the bastard had the face to dare to talk to him, and of course with Myung-gi because he was the one he wanted to trample, humiliate and drag down in every way possible.

Chapter Text

The game of hide-and-seek, or "keys and knives," had already ended, and a large number of deaths had been recorded on both the blue and red teams.

Well, with that, Myung-gi knew he was getting closer to winning the prize; the fewer players there were, the better for him.

Who would have thought that idea of the weird Nam-gyu would have paid off?

Player 333 had to thank him because although he initially had a plan to kill the blue team, it never occurred to him that massacring them would also eliminate the red team. Perhaps the junkie wasn't so stupid after all; he was quite ingenious in suggesting that.

Although their motivations were actually very different, Myung-gi did this for the money, while Nam-gyu did it because he's a sick sadist, or so he saw.

Of course, they're not the same. In fact, Myung-gi is glad to have a cool head; otherwise, he would never have deduced that Nam-gyu was the one trying to manipulate him. Although he saw the long-haired boy's action as senseless, since he was aware that Thanos's bootlicker might have something against him, since he was the one who helped the rapper attack him several times and also harassed him.

This left Myung-gi a little thoughtful. What motive did this idiot have for seeking him out in the first place? Well, it doesn't matter now, since their alliance is over. Nothing lasts forever. What Nam-gyu does now is none of his business.

They both returned to the large room and walked toward the bunk beds. Myung-gi noticed something curious about Nam-gyu's appearance. The pill seemed to have worn off. He was lucid, so he decided to ask him.

"What happened to your face?" Myung-gi asked, seeing the large red finger mark on the boy's cheek. It was turning into a bruise. His eyes were also watery, but he guessed it was from being drugged. "You were attacked, right? I'm guessing it was a woman," he stated.

The long-haired boy took a while to answer, still feeling a little dizzy and confused from the whole ordeal he'd endured in the labyrinth. Because of that hallucination, it made him feel very uneasy.

"Um...probably," Nam-gyu said softly, looking down at the floor, his head bowed. He still seemed a little out of it. "No...I'm not really sure."

"That blow looks painful."

"Mm, yeah," Nam-gyu managed to say with little interest, then sat down on one of the bunk beds.

While Myung-gi stood beside him in an inert position, staring at the entrance door, his gaze fixed there, hoping that among all the returning players, there was someone in particular.

For his part, Nam-gyu was still thinking about what had happened with that hallucination. Damn, it had felt so real: his voice, his presence... his... his anger, the way he treated him, the horrible things he said, those hurtful insults, the contempt, and the fact that Thanos looked more serious than ever and determined to... to... what? Finish him off? Shit, he couldn't even say they had been anything because that fool never noticed everything he had done for him, never allowed his to occupy a place at his side other than just that of a friend or companion.

Besides, Thanos had been insensitive to him, inattentive, very abrupt, even rude for mispronouncing his name, and that's why Nam-gyu hated him. He detested him for having lured him with false promises that they would go out together with the prize money, for having left him alone in this place, for having died. Hell, he even went ahead with that. He left without waiting for him. Like all the other times, Thanos simply...left... He wasn't capable of waiting for him or turning around to see him to know he was following him.

Thanos only left and returned whenever he felt like it. He could disappear for days on end and no one would know where he was, and then he'd return to the Pentagon as if nothing had happened.

How he hated him, but also loved him, because in that damn club, out of all the customers, he was the only person who was kind to Nam-gyu and treated him with respect. He treated him like what he was, like a human being. He even defended him from the harassment he was receiving. He intervened on his behalf in a fight where someone tried to beat him up, and he comforted him when he was scared and hurt. But then he hurt him too, because he wasted no time in going around and surrounding himself with women, trying to flirt and get...a one-night stand.

He hated him and loved him at the same time. His feelings were so great that Nam-gyu now felt insecure without him in these games. He felt incapable, he felt alone. And in these moments, all he had left was the memory of him, the necklace with the cross, when they shared pills together and could fly, run hand in hand, and be happy like in mingle.

Nam-gyu sighed nostalgically and reached into his tracksuit jacket pocket to grab the cross, but at that moment, he realized he didn't have the object with him. He panicked and quickly took off his jacket to check it everywhere. It couldn't be, the necklace... he couldn't find it... no... it's nowhere to be found. He then checked his pants pockets without finding anything. He began to despair. It wasn't possible. Nam-gyu didn't know where else to look. He stood up and approached Myung-gi.

"Myung-gi, have you seen my necklace? You know the one with the cross?" he asked worriedly while holding his jacket.

Lee didn't even look at him; he was focused on something else and simply replied, "No, I haven't seen it."

"Ngh, where's the necklace?!" He yelled and tried to reach into Myung-gi's jacket, because maybe he had it, what an irrational thought, but the other boy roughly pushed him aside.

"Don't touch me! What the hell is wrong with you?!" Myung-gi said, looking at him with a look of disgust, having felt invaded. The drug-addicted boy already made him feel averse.

"II...I just..."

Nam-gyu began to breathe heavily and clutched his hair from the stress, nerves, and withdrawal he was dealing with. It was too much, too much for his mind and body. He even felt chills and sweating. Maybe he shouldn't have overdone it by taking more than one pill.

He needed that necklace, so Nam-gyu decided he should ask the pink guards. The game was already over, but the players were still arriving, so perhaps these guards would allow him to return to the labyrinth for a moment to look for that damned cross.

Without hesitation, Nam-gyu hurriedly ran to one of the guards guarding the entrance. He was completely unaware that Min-su, who had just entered and passed him by, was now holding Thanos's cross in his hands. Of course, he had no intention of letting himself be discovered. He was definitely already lost.

Nam-gyu gathered his courage and boldly spoke to the pink guard.

"Um, I... Could you let me go back there? You see, I lost my necklace and I need it. It's very valuable to me and..."

"You're not allowed to leave," the guard replied coldly. "Go back to your place."

"Oh, I really need that necklace..." Nam-gyu said impatiently, nervously touching his hair.

"Go back to your place, that's an order."

"I really... I really need that necklace!" he shouted hysterically, and without thinking, he lunged at the guard to try to move him from the door. He even dared to grab his gun and try to struggle. "I need the necklace. I have to go get it. Without it, I can't do anything, please!" he begged and demanded. "I have to go in there, because otherwise... Ah!"

The guard was more agile and pushed him hard to the ground, causing him to fall on his back. Then he pointed a gun at his head, threatening to shoot him for his insolence.

Out of instinct, fear, and the horrific trauma of what he had to go through at the club, Nam-gyu covered his face in fear and shrank back. He began to tremble, his heart pounding, and then the situation calmed down when he heard a baby's cries. His gaze, blank with shock, turned toward the sound, and what he saw there, now completely sober, made him realize that he had never hallucinated or imagined things. Now the shock wasn't due to fear, but to the enormous shock he had just endured. He even forgot that a gun was pointed at him.

First, player 149 entered, trembling, her face still dripping with tears streaming down her face. Her arms, wrapped in her tracksuit jacket, held a baby. But that wasn't what impressed Nam-gyu, nor Myung-gi, who was still watching from a distance. What left them both frozen was the fact that behind the older woman came the girl, barely walking on her injured ankle, but she was holding onto someone else for support.

The unmistakable figure with unruly purple hair was the one accompanying her, allowing her to cling to his arm as a way to help make her walk less painful.

Then a horrible feeling ran through Myung-gi's body. Based on what he had just witnessed, this was impossible. What the hell was he watching? It had to be a fucking joke. Someone had to be messing with him because he swore he'd killed that guy in the bathroom. He'd stabbed him with a fork until he bled to death, and he saw that he could barely move. "What is this?" A ghost? A copycat? A clone? Someone who looks like him? Thanos is dead. He was a mortal like any other. That guy over there can't really be him.

And as for her, what the hell was she doing with him? Wasn't she ashamed? Why was she doing it? Was she doing it to spite him about the baby? She knows full well he asked her to have an abortion, damn it. He accepted that she could hang around with all those guys she'd teamed up with before, but not with that specific guy. This had to be discussed between the two of them, no matter what.

On the other hand, the pink guard stopped aiming at Nam-gyu and continued guarding the entrance, so the long-haired boy got up from the ground and, also with his own inner demons for what he had just seen, went to where Myung-gi was and stood next to him, although he was restless due to the withdrawal symptoms, the scare he had suffered, and now because his mind reasoned, tied up loose ends, and that let him know that Thanos was indeed alive and that he had encountered him in the labyrinth, just as the purple-haired boy had attacked him, insulted him, and told him that he never wanted to have anything to do with him again.

So many things at once hit Nam-gyu like a bucket of cold water. Thanos had truly sent him packing in every way possible, and all for what? To go off with a woman, and not just any woman, with that one, Myung-gi's girlfriend.

That's why he was carrying that baby in the game of hide-and-seek.

But Nam-gyu was smart enough to know that Thanos's intentions weren't purely good or selfless. If he didn't die, then he was looking to do harm with this and perhaps make good on the threat he made to Myung-gi that night in the bathroom.

"If you press X again, I'll cut off your finger and take it to your girlfriend, and you know what? Maybe I'll ask her out," Thanos's voice echoed in his head.

Damn, this was so heart-wrenching, Nam-gyu knew that Thanos had a weakness for women, he was always looking to flirt with someone to get in touch with them and he also knew that he could be very unhappy with people if things didn't go his way because the bastard had an ego that he fed by dominating others.

And with this, he knew Thanos was looking to discard him. He didn't need him anymore, didn't want him anymore, because he'd surely seen him when he went to seek help from Myung-gi. But that was a mistake. Nam-gyu was alone... he didn't know what else to do or who to trust. Now, he just wanted things to go back to the way they were between them. He had to explain everything and set things straight, and to do that, he needed Myung-gi to help him, because that way, Thanos would know that he would never...

He and Myung-gi watched from the bunk bed ladder. At the other end, to the side of the almost empty room, were the older woman, the girl with her baby, and Thanos, who stood at the side of the bed where the two women were. He had his gaze on the floor, his hands in the pockets of his tracksuit jacket. He seemed quite calm for his boisterous personality.

"You're as surprised as I am, aren't you?" Myung-gi asked Nam-gyu, who was still reeling from his shock.

"Ah... yeah, t-these guys have to be playing a joke on us, right?" he said, now looking into his eyes, finding the same expression of disbelief in what was happening. "Have I gone completely crazy?"

"No... if that were the case, I wouldn't be seeing the same thing you're seeing."

"A-and... what's going to happen now?" Nam-gyu said, massaging his temples from the stress and pain caused by his lack of drug use.

"I don't know, but this... I, for one, will have to talk to her and ask her, because this can't be happening. Do you understand?" Myung-gi felt indignant, although it really wasn't his place to be upset.

"Yes," Nam-gyu replied in a barely audible voice.

Meanwhile, in that bed, Geum-ja tried to console herself for the loss of her son, whom she believed she had murdered. Now she carried the weight of his death, of his image when he was shot, and of the fact that she was the one who allowed it to happen. She didn't want to see her son become a murderer, because he wasn't a bad person. If only she could have found someone else to switch sides with, but they don't exist anymore, because this is what happened, and it can't be changed. Her son is gone, and she didn't even enter this game out of greed; she only wanted to help Yong-sik pay off his debts. She tried to leave several times but failed. She became a murderer, not just of anyone, but of her only son.

She watched Jun-hee, who was sitting beside her, holding her baby and breastfeeding her while trying to calm down so as not to stress the little girl out.

Geum-ja was once in that same situation many years ago, alone with a child and a husband who didn't respect her, she didn't know exactly who the baby's father was because Jun-hee had never mentioned it but that boy with addiction problems did seem to know who he was... she would like to help her with that matter but right now she has no one, she has no reason to continue playing these games and much less the strength to continue living.

On the other hand, Thanos settled into one of the empty beds not far from the girl and sat there watching how the large room now looked almost empty. Many people had died. He didn't have his pills to escape reality, his reality. Now, with a clear mind, he thought of only two people who might have cared about him: his mother and his sister. The last time he spoke to them, he pretended to be happy and relaxed, but deep down, he was dying. He still feels like he's dying.

It was time to take the blame and admit that he's trapped in this place because of his own stupidity. The YouTuber is guilty, and he's also the reason he got here, but that doesn't excuse him from never taking responsibility for his own problems. He still has the "winning" mentality, but he almost died. Two of his team mates are dead, the other isolated himself, and one has betrayed him.

Only one can win it all, and for the first time, he doubts himself. He won't be able to. Now he understands the desperation of player 456, who is also left alone. No one will get out of here, and if anyone does, their hands will be stained with blood.

His idea of ​​jumping off a bridge so nothing can bother him still persists, but now he's committed to the alliance he has with the girl, and with her like this, she doesn't have much of a chance either. Shit, his empathy is getting the better of him. He's supposed to do this to crush and humiliate Myung-gi, knowing that everyone here is a creep and a liar, just as he himself has been with Gyeong-su and Min-su. He must look out for himself and no one else. But this girl and he share a similar pain, and the same person has caused it, and that's why he will retaliate and teach him the consequences of his actions no matter what, not because he wants to be good, but out of revenge.

The Pink Guards immediately showed the total amount of money collected so far, based on the number of dead. All the players looked up and saw the piggy bank filling with bills, totaling about 1,724,000,000.

Too much money meant several players would change their minds.

Then the guards called everyone together for the vote. On one side of the room sat the remaining O's, and on the other, the few remaining X's. They began calling out the players by number, and while everyone was deciding their fate, Jun-hee quietly called out to Thanos.

"Pss, hey."

He got off his bed and approached hers, paying attention. "What do you want, señorita?"

"When they call your name, you'll vote for X, right?" Jun-hee asked, somewhat doubtful at his unpredictable attitude.

"...I will. That amount of money isn't enough, even though your ex still owes me, but my vote won't make a difference, you know that." Thanos was quite surprising her; no one would have thought he could be so... sane.

"No...but who knows, right? People might change their minds; they wouldn't risk continuing to die," she said, trying to be "positive."

"We'll see."

After a couple of X's and O's passed, the guard called out to player 124. Nam-gyu, shivering and in pain from withdrawal and strong emotions, got up from Thanos's bed and walked with difficulty through the center until he reached the panel with the red and blue buttons. He hugged himself, feeling a little cold, and analyzed his possibilities. The accumulated money exceeded what he had to pay in debts. He no longer had the cross to serve as an impulse, and sadly, he knew that maybe he no longer had Thanos because he made a small mistake.

He hesitated a bit but finally pressed the red button with the X on it. He removed the blue O patch from the chest of his tracksuit jacket and handed it to the guard, who then handed him another patch with the X on it. Nam-gyu took it and hurriedly placed it on the chest of his clothes. He staggered to the X side and stood there hunched over in pain.

The guard called out to player 125, then Min-su appeared, walking down the center. When he reached the panel, he turned to look at Nam-gyu, who quickly avoided meeting his gaze. For a moment, Min-su felt powerful. He had made him shrink back. Now, he would do something a little more humiliating. Without hesitation, he pressed the blue button and switched teams to join the O. He took off his patch, which had previously had the X, and put on the blue one. He walked to the other side to be with the O.

Thanos, who was watching his "little boy Min-su" from afar, quickly deduced that he was plotting something against Nam-gyu. With a keen critical eye, knowing what betrayal and revenge felt like, he realized that Min-su wanted the same thing, and it was surely because of all the bad things the other idiot had done to him. It was obvious that at some point the boy would have had enough. He is an adult, not a child who can be mistreated.

"You've made enemies here... Nam-su," Thanos said mentally, as if the long-haired boy could hear him.

Soon a couple more numbers were called for voting, the circle was in the majority, then it was player 149's turn to go through, Geum-ja answered the call and walked until she was in front of the buttons, she obviously chose to press X and moved to that side, then she saw how the next player voted for O.

Then, in a last-ditch attempt, Geum-ja begged the players who hadn't yet voted to think about their own lives, that greed would kill them, that they had a high probability of dying in the next game. But, surprise, most of them ignored her. She knelt down and practically begged one of the players who was about to vote to think about it. She even mentioned Jun-hee and her baby.

The pink guard told her to be quiet, not to interrupt again, and to let the voting continue. With that, she knew her mind was made up. She stood on side X, a little distance from the rest, and hugged herself, trying to console herself.

The guard continued calling the rest of the players until he named player 230. Nam-gyu and Myung-gi looked in the same direction Thanos appeared, walking with serious faces. He had no reason to be as cheerful as he had been the previous times. He stood in the center in front of the bellhop and turned to see Jun-hee looking at him expectantly, waiting for him to do his part.

Myung-gi noticed this and his blood boiled. Nam-gyu, on the other hand, didn't know what to think. He didn't have the courage to look at him at all. He wasn't sure how things were between them now. He hoped everything he'd said to him in the labyrinth was just a moment of anger because if it wasn't, he wouldn't know what else to do.

Thanos turned his gaze to the panel and pressed the red button, he took off his blue eyepatch and received the red one from the X, then he moved to the side where there were few players and passed by Nam-gyu, he didn't even look at him, he just walked and stood next to another X player, he didn't say a word, he stood there serious and contrary to his character he didn't look at Myung-gi to mock him, he looked up in a haughty and conceited way, sometimes those were better weapons, obviously he was still thinking about how to screw him over obviously.

They continued calling the remaining players, until the next one was player 222, Jun-hee, who somehow got out of bed holding her baby who was awake and walked to the panel and pressed the red button like every other time. Then she went to the X side and stood next to Thanos, something that annoyed Myung-gi and deep down hurt Nam-gyu, knowing that he already had another partner.

After a few more players passed, it was player 333's turn. Myung-gi walked very determinedly and without hiding his annoyance, he stood in front of the panel and pressed O. He was very close to the prize money, he wasn't going to waste any more opportunities. He went to the O side and looked sideways at Jun-hee and Thanos without hiding his annoyance. The girl ignored him and focused on her baby. Thanos, on the other hand, chose to play it cruel this time. He stared at him, smiled cynically, and gave him a thumbs-down sign, a "loser."

Myung-gi tried to calm down and tried to keep his expression expressionless and serene, but it was clear he could no longer hide his feelings.

As for the votes, there were so few players left compared to the start, but that didn't change their mindset at all. The results were 18 on the O side, only 9 on the X side, and one vote was spoiled for player 456. Tomorrow, everyone would have to play another game.

The guards ended the voting and the players dispersed.

Gi-hun, who was handcuffed to the pole of one of the bunks, couldn't feel more lost, empty, and miserable. There was nothing he could do, nothing he could change, and honestly, he'd already given up. It's not like he had much of a choice. He was trapped, his friend was dead, and he'd murdered someone out of anger. He even felt responsible for the deaths of the players who had accompanied him in his attempt at rebellion. Gi-hun looked down in sadness until a figure approached him and sat down in front of him. It was Geum-ja, who began talking to him in an attempt to encourage him to continue. She even told him that he should let go of all feelings of guilt, because the only ones responsible were these people who had them locked up.

Jun-hee returned to her bed with her baby and sat on the edge. She signaled Thanos to join her, so he obeyed, standing next to her, leaning against the wall, and crossing his arms.

"If we're going to be allies... at least tell me something about yourself, okay? That way I won't feel so weird about this," Jun-hee said.

"Okay, what do you want to know about me, girl?" He seemed willing to talk.

"Well... I entrusted my baby to you, and you showed me you know how to treat her, so... ahm, you said you have a sister, and..."

"About that, I was a babysitter for money. I needed it to pay for college, so I did some odd jobs, and my sister let me babysit her son and paid me.," Thanos explained casually.

"Were you... a college student?"

"Yeah, I graduated, by the way, but academics aren't my thing, so I never wanted to work in that field. It was boring."

"Ah," Jun-hee just nodded. "At least... you're not a slacker like someone I know."

"Señorita, if you want to vent about that jerk, go ahead. You have the right to do so, after all."

"How do you know he and I are related? I never told anyone."

"About that... it was Nam-gyu. He saw you both and told me. I wanted to check it out, and when he reacted, I knew it was true. But I'm surprised he hasn't approached you to see how you're doing. He seems to care a lot about you," Thanos stated, looking at his nails.

"Well, he lied to you. He only cares about money... and I need you to do me a favor."

"Which one, girl?"

"Don't let him near me or my baby," Jun-hee said with complete seriousness. "It's not safe to be around him." Then she asked Thanos to come closer to her. He did, and she whispered something in his ear, something very personal. Perhaps she also wanted to rekindle the flames a little. After all, she witnessed Myung-gi kill Hyun-ju in cold blood, one of the people who protected her the most and who accompanied her during childbirth. While he continued to pretend he wasn't bad, maybe he needed to be taught a lesson.

"You didn't need to tell me that, señorita. I know what he's like. He's a son of a bitch, it's no secret to anyone who's ever met him. I pity you. I know what it feels like when someone you trusted leaves you stranded when you're in trouble." Thanos then unzipped his tracksuit jacket a little and showed Jun-hee the slightly reddish bandage covering the wounds on his neck. "Betrayal hurts; you and I both know that."

Jun-hee said nothing more and busied herself breastfeeding her baby while Thanos shifted his gaze toward the bunks where the O team members were and noticed Min-su holding something "shiny" in his hands. That had to be it... his necklace, his pills, damn it, would Min-su dare take one? Because if he does, he's a fool. If he doesn't get used to it, he'll get food poisoning or have a bad trip. Either way, he'll figure out how to get his cross back. That belongs to him, it's his and no one else's.

Suddenly, something unexpected happened. The guards called all the players. They would give them some food and water, since they needed to have "energy" for tomorrow's game. Then everyone lined up to collect their allotted food. Geum-ja took two of the small containers of food, one for herself and the other to give to Gi-hun.

Thanos then decided to do the same. He didn't know if it was because he wanted to pretend to be good or because he certainly ended up sympathizing with the girl's situation. So he took food for himself and another for Jun-hee and walked with both things to the bed where she was.

From a distance, Myung-gi watched this with indignation. Who did he think he was, approaching her like that?

Nam-gyu, on the other hand, tried to think a little more calmly. It's okay, he and Thanos don't have a relationship as such. He knew he was upset, but he couldn't erase what they did: how he looked after him in the previous games, how he allowed him to sleep with him in his bed, how he encouraged him to continue, how he always chose him first in the mingle. And there, amid the gunshots, Nam-gyu became scared and broke down, so he couldn't help but cling to Thanos and tremble. In return, even though he was drugged, he hugged him for a long time until the gunshots stopped.

After a long time of knowing each other abroad, I had finally been able to be with him and receive his affection and attention, and now he had to get that back.

The purple-haired boy handed the food container and water bottle to Jun-hee. The baby still hadn't fallen asleep and was a little restless, so he offered to hold her, and she let him. He began to rock her gently and paced back and forth a bit.

Jun-hee saw this, and well, at first, she was surprised again because she would have expected something like that, but not exactly from Thanos. She thought he was just a guy who got into trouble and was usually a bad influence. But he showed her that, first, he's not someone you can read that easily, so he can be manipulative and unpredictable, as she knows very well. Second, he showed her that appearances can be deceiving. He's done bad things, yes, but they're not even half of what the other players in the room have done. Nor is he a fugitive from justice with theft charges like Myung-gi.

Anyway, for Jun-hee, seeing him in this completely different light than usual made her wish she'd never dialed that number. Now she could be safely outside with her daughter, and she wished she could have had her with a man who actually cared about taking responsibility. She wanted a family, but her biggest mistake was trusting someone so horrible and deceitful.

Thanos walked a few meters away from Jun-hee, holding the baby. Taking care of a child that wasn't his was a good idea to provoke Myung-gi and rub it in his face that even at this, he was much better. He walked where he knew MG Coin was perfectly visible and got a plus; he managed to calm the baby by speaking softly to her and saying stupid, meaningless things.

He felt satisfied when he stared at Myung-gi and noticed the contempt on his face, not just his own, but Nam-gyu's, although his was more of an expression of anguish. This was fun, it was pissing them both off in an incredible way. Thanos was clear that Myung-gi, while he didn't care about his daughter, what infuriated him was another man being near Jun-hee. He knew that shitty character in a person and what it meant. As for Nam-gyu, this was his way of telling him, "Obviously, i'd do anything for a girl."

"That's it," Thanos said, now looking at the baby. "Sleep, little Gamora." Then he whispered, as if she could hear him, "That'll be your secret name."

From a distance, Myung-gi finally lost his patience and quickly got out of bed.

"Myung-gi, what are you going to do?" Nam-gyu asked worriedly.

"What do you think? I'm tired of his arrogance."

"Wait a minute," he said, standing up as well and standing in front of Myung-gi. "Think carefully, you'll get into trouble, you know he..."

"I know, but remember I almost killed him. Maybe I should try again and not fail this time," MG Coin said, grabbing the fork they gave him to eat with and putting it in his pocket. He quickly started walking toward Thanos.

Nam-gyu followed him, frightened, and tried to stop him. "Wait, I'll talk to him. I have to work things out with him too."

Lee ignored him and continued walking.

"Please, Myung-gi," Nam-gyu pleaded, agitated.

Then the boy stopped abruptly and thought about it. It's true, he doesn't have to be impeccable about this. He's going to kill him, but if Thanos wants to play dirty, then he will too, and he already knows how. He has the resources right at his side.

At that, the purple-haired boy, seeing that he already had what he wanted, handed the baby to Jun-hee, who was now standing with Geum-ja.

She saw Myung-gi coming toward them and got upset.
"Hey, he's coming this way. I told you I don't want him near us."

"Calm down, señorita, I'll take care of it," Thanos said, smiling. He walked a few meters to prevent Myung-gi from approaching Jun-hee and faced him. He also kept something like a weapon in his pocket, as a precaution.

He looked mockingly at the crypto boy, who also looked back at him, albeit with hatred. Then Thanos saw Nam-gyu standing behind Myung-gi, looking at him with a sad and worried expression. He looked terrible and neglected.

"What do you want here, MG Coin?"

"That's none of your business. I'm here to see Jun-hee, so step aside."

"Hmm, I think that ship has sailed. She doesn't want anything to do with you, dude."

"And who are you to decide that, huh?"

"Um," Thanos looked around, playing dumb, and then smiled maliciously. "She's the one who asked me for this."

"Stop lying, damn it," Myung-gi said angrily. "Step aside. What are you waiting for? Quickly, or else I'll..."

"Or else what, huh?" He stood up to him threateningly. "What are you going to do, faggot? Are you going to stab me? Why don't you act like a man for once and fight me fair, okay?"

"You weren't hurt by what I did to you, were you?" Myung-gi said coldly.

"Mm, I think that wound has more emotional weight than physical. You know, a few stab wounds hurt, but that's nothing compared to abandonment," Thanos replied in a calm voice. "Just like you did to her, right?" He looked at Myung-gi accusingly.

"I did it for her own good, because people like you were following me and wouldn't leave me alone."

"Really?" Thanos raised an eyebrow in disbelief. "That's not what she told me."

"What are you talking about? What do you mean?"

"Don't play dumb, dude. She's here because you stole her money in crypto like you did to me. You're a son of a bitch and a piece of shit just like him," Thanos said, pointing his finger at Nam-gyu.

"Hyung... Why are you saying that?" He tried to approach the purple-haired boy, but Myung-gi stopped him by grabbing his wrist. "Ah, w-what...?"

"You're doing this to piss me off, right, Su-bong?" the crypto boy asked with hostility.

"Mm, yep," Thanos said simply. "Anyway, I told you I'd approach your girl, and I did."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah."

"Well, you'll be pleased to know that Nam-gyu came up to me before the game of hide-and-seek and offered me a one-night stand."

Myung-gi smiled as he saw Thanos's mocking expression change to an angry one.

"What are you saying, Myung-gi?" Nam-gyu said worriedly and broke away from his grasp. "N-no..."

"And you know what? I said yes. You should have seen how he begged me and congratulated me for 'killing' you," Myung-gi said, happy to have touched a nerve with the rapper.

"So that's how it was, huh?" Thanos chose not to get angry. He had already accepted that Player 124 had betrayed him, so he could expect a lot from him.

"No, hyung, it's not what you think." Nam-gyu pushed the YouTuber aside and stood in front of the purple-haired boy, looking at him in anguish while trying not to hide his nerves. "I can explain. This is a misunderstanding."

"I thought I told you I didn't want anything else with you. Go away and don't talk to me," Thanos said, almost shouting with harshness and authority in his voice.

"No, I won't, because...ah," Nam-gyu rubbed his temples in annoyance and grabbed his hair. "Y-yes...yes, I said all that, but hyung, I did it because I didn't know what else to do. I was scared, I felt alone, and I thought if I looked for someone like you...I..."

"Oh, how nice," the purple-haired boy spoke sarcastically. "And out of all of them, you went with the guy who almost killed me. Wow, you're a GREAT friend, you're the BEST. You know, you're the best at backstabbing!"

"Hyung, I thought you were dead. I know I was wrong, but please understand me!" Nam-gyu raised his voice. "It hurt to think you weren't with me. I thought you were gone forever." His eyes slowly began to shed a few tears. "That's why I took your necklace and wore it to feel like you were with me."

"Liar, damn liar, traitor! I was on the blue team. You and him would have surely killed me!"

"No, hyung! I'm telling you the truth! Believe me!" In desperation, Nam-gyu looked to his side and spoke to Myung-gi. "Tell him... tell him that the whole time I was with you, I only thought about him. Myung-gi, tell him," he said, grabbing his arm and shaking him.

"You know, Su-bong, he said he wasn't looking for a relationship, just a one-night stand with me..."

"Myung-gi!" Nam-gyu cried in anguish. This guy wasn't helping him at all.

"Because you were an idiot and deserved to die."

"Myung-gi, that's enough!"

"Oh, well, don't think that hurts me, MG Coin," Thanos said, holding back. "You know, whether you fucked him or not doesn't matter to me. I like women. They're beautiful, and that's why I'm staying with your ex-girlfriend and your daughter."

At that moment, the crypto guy felt like hitting him.

"You know? I even named the girl. It's a shame she's the daughter of a piece of shit like you. How did such a beautiful woman choose you? Well, Nam-gyu should know that, since he ate garbage for one night." Thanos smirked. He wasn't going to let himself be defeated this time.

"Hyung... What are you saying? You're just imagining things. None of that happened. He and I didn't do any of that." Nam-gyu stared at him with pleading eyes.

"I considered you my friend, Nam-su. You were my bro," Thanos said, his expression somewhat sad. "I loved you. I offered you my friendship, I helped you, I gave you my fucking pills, and in return, you abandoned me when I needed you most. That's why I can't believe in you."

Those words hurt Nam-gyu. He felt like his heart was about to break. He complained the whole time that Thanos didn't value or respect him, but now he realized he was always wrong. It was only now, in this tense moment, that he was able to see the truth. His own insecurities made him believe that the rapper saw him as less than him, but that was never the case.

"H-hyung..." His black eyes spilled tears like waterfalls. "He never touched me, nothing happened between us... I made a mistake looking for him... b-but I never thought of betraying you, I-I saw you die..."

"I thought we were friends."

"Ah..." Nam-gyu sighed and tried to wipe his tears. "W-we still are, hyung."

"No, we never were... leave me alone," he said, turning around to go to where Jun-hee was, who had been watching the three of them arguing for a long time.

Then she quickly shouted to Thanos, "Watch out!"

The purple-haired boy quickly turned around and easily parried a futile punch attempt from Myung-gi himself. Then Thanos let his anger and frustration out and almost effortlessly landed a powerful punch to the man's face.

"What were you trying to do, huh?!"

Myung-gi stepped back and tried to get back up, only to receive another blow, and another, and another. He tried uselessly to dodge or block Thanos's blows, but it was impossible; he was physically superior.

Nam-gyu, who watched, all scared, tried to stop him.

"Hyung, stop!" he said, approaching him and trying to remove him from Myung-gi, who was receiving a beating. "Hyung, please! You'll get into trouble! Don't continue!"

The three of them's screams and complaints had already caught the attention of the other players, who were watching expectantly. Now, with all the noise, they woke up Jun-hee's baby, who watched worriedly along with Geum-ja.

"You son of a bitch! You'll pay for everything you've done to me!" Thanos shouted angrily as he hit him again and again, while Myung-gi tried to protect himself by covering himself with both arms. "I won't let you get rid of me, you fucking coward!" I won't allow it!"

"Hyung, calm down and leave him, please!" Nam-gyu pleaded, feeling his heart pounding from all the pent-up emotions and tension he was carrying.

"Fucking bastard!" Myung-gi insulted Thanos.

The pink guards could have intervened, but they had already been clearly informed through the headsets that whenever Player 230 caused a scene, they weren't to stop him. The VIP had paid a good sum of money just to keep him alive and use him as entertainment, which, by the way, also pleased the other VIPs who had recently arrived on the island. They were now in that huge, elegant room, drinking, laughing, and enjoying the drama between the players. They watched with great interest through a large screen provided by the security cameras as these men fought.

"See? I told you it would be nice to have that boy alive. Someone has to spice things up here," the male VIP said. "It's a great fight."

"Fight?" said the female VIP. "The crypto thief is getting his ass handed to him. The addict is wiping the floor with him."

"But that's the interesting part. Maybe he'll beat him to death, I don't know," another male VIP said, shrugging.

"Kill? No, it's still too early for that." The VIP then asked the game leader to give the order to the pink guards to stop the fight.

The guards obeyed, so they approached the area where Thanos was still viciously beating Myung-gi and pointed their guns at the three of them.

"Aaaah! Hyung!" Nam-gyu cried, frightened, seeing they were being threatened. He hid behind Thanos, who quickly stood up and raised his hands in surrender. He sighed, agitated and, deep down, also terrified.

"The three of you, return to your respective places. No one is allowed to riot here. Don't let it happen again, or you'll die!" one of the guards said in an authoritative voice.

Thanos looked down and saw Myung-gi with a bruised face. He smiled half-heartedly. Next time, he'll be sure to hit him harder with his knuckle rings.

Now it's time to go to sleep for the next game. The problem is that not everyone is fit to win this one.

On the other hand, In-ho is unaware that his attempts to hinder his brother and even want to kill him have failed and that the policeman with a small, armed group has already managed to infiltrate the island. They just need to find a way to get in and get the players who are still alive out before it's too late.

Chapter Text

"The three of you, return to your respective places. No one is allowed to riot here. If it happens again, you'll die!" said one of the guards in an authoritative voice.

Thanos looked down and saw Myung-gi with a bruised face. He smiled half-heartedly. Next time, he'll be sure to hit him harder with his knuckle rings.

Nam-gyu, who was still standing behind him, terrified, calmed down a little, sighed deeply, and nervously tucked his hair behind his ears. He felt safe with Thanos; he'd always felt safe with him.

Although he was now experiencing withdrawal symptoms, he was agitated, restless, and after his argument with Thanos and the fight with Myung-gi, he only felt worse. Damn, he felt like he was about to throw up after everything that had happened in such a short time. He couldn't tolerate the thought of rejection or a "breakup" with Thanos, although of course they weren't a couple as such, but they were. There was even the slightest chance it could have come true, but Nam-gyu knows he ruined it.

Right now, he just wanted to talk peacefully with Thanos without Myung-gi getting in the way, spewing jealousy at his ex-girlfriend.

The pink guards stopped pointing their weapons at the three of them and left when they saw that there was no longer a confrontation between them. Anyway, the order they had was not to allow Thanos to kill anyone yet. If they wanted to fight again, then they could, but things shouldn't go too far.

Nam-gyu then decided not to waste any time and gently touched Thanos's shoulder. He was still breathing heavily and staring menacingly at Myung-gi, who was on the ground, stunned by the number of blows he had received.

When he felt the touch of that unmistakable hand, the purple-haired boy turned around, and this almost devastated Nam-gyu, because he had a very clear expression on his face; it was obvious that he was upset, disappointed, and sad.

"Hyung," Nam-gyu decided to speak first, using a low voice. "I..."

"I told you not to talk to me," Thanos replied without even looking at him, his gaze on the ground. "Don't come near me again, and don't touch me." His voice sounded muffled and disappointed.

"Hyung...please," the black-haired boy felt like he was about to break down, his eyes still wanting to shed tears of regret and pain. "L-listen to me...I-I can explain it to you. Nothing you heard was true...hyung...at least look at my face."

Thanos heard him but didn't want to give him a chance, but a part of himself told him that he should listen to what Nam-gyu had to say. A part of him perhaps wanted to believe him... Believe his lies? Why? What for? To look foolish?

He wasn't the kind of person who let others use him like a floor rag that they could later discard, no, and that's why even though it hurt him to get rid of Nam-gyu, it was what he had to do because no one, absolutely no one was going to take him for a fool.

While he was aware that Myung-gi said all that to anger him, just as he himself did using Jun-hee, however, Nam-gyu didn't deny that the events had happened; he admitted it, so he couldn't believe anything he said, nor could he trust him anymore. Thanos saw what those two did during the game of hide-and-seek and concluded that they were perfect match: Myung-gi and Nam-gyu were a pair of cruel liars, and that's why they didn't deserve even the slightest chance; they had to pay for what they'd done.

Thanos knew that he didn't partner with Jun-hee to exact justice, but rather revenge, and that's why he had set out to carry it out. But now, seeing Nam-gyu's deplorable state, it's obvious that he was carrying out his own karma. What a pathetic boy.

"Hyung, please look at me...ugh..." the long-haired boy pleaded, complaining of the pain that was affecting his body.

"It's a shame you did all this."

"I-it's not what you think, let me explain..." Nam-gyu said. "You have to hear me...hyung...ah..." The pain in his stomach was unbearable; it was getting worse.

"Come on, lie to me, convince me... What can I blame you for?"

For the first time, Thanos showed another side of his personality, one of absolute seriousness and stoicism. He didn't want the long-haired boy to see his emotions of pain over his betrayal.

However, he also felt another kind of emotional pain, and it was from seeing Nam-gyu like this, so neglected, so disheveled, sick, and withdrawn. He didn't want to leave him; he wanted to take care of him as he had been doing since the beginning of the games, but he came first, then others. He had pride and today it had been damaged and trampled by Nam-gyu, according to what he thought.

With those cold words Thanos spoke, Nam-gyu felt exhausted and defeated. It no longer mattered what he said because his hyung would hear him but not believe him. This finally broke his heart. If before he thought Thanos was dead and that he had lost him, now that fear had become reality. The moment he decided to trust Myung-gi, he knew he had lost Thanos in every possible way. That's what his insecurity was telling him.

Nam-gyu's dark eyes began to shed tears, and heartbroken, he covered his face with both hands, trying to hide his anguish, his pain, and the shame he felt at being watched by the other players in the room. He couldn't help but sob audibly.

"I-it was...a mistake," Nam-gyu said, his voice breaking.

"Nam-su..." Thanos almost gave in when he saw the boy like that. He felt the urge to hug him, comfort him, and protect him.

"I've told you a thousand times I'm Nam-gyu! Nam-Gyu!" the man yelled angrily, giving the purple-haired boy the impression that he was a tantrum-thrower who didn't understand that calling him that was a special nickname.

Thanos quickly turned his back on him to face Myung-gi, who had stood up and was staring at him with hatred.

Finding no solace, Nam-gyu simply started walking away, hugging himself because of the coldness in his body, and went to lie down on the bed that had originally belonged to Thanos.

At that moment, Jun-hee, who had been sitting on her bed and observing the situation for a while, spoke to Thanos. She had to keep her ally away from Myung-gi. It wasn't safe for him, even if he was stronger. Never knew what MG Coin might be up to.

"Hey, come here. Stop arguing. It won't do you any good," she said, attracting the purple-haired boy's attention and waving her hand at him. She hoped he would listen and stay away from Myung-gi, since he wasn't trustworthy and had already tried to kill Thanos before.

Thanos obeyed and walked toward the beds where the two women and the baby were. As he walked away, he could hear Myung-gi complaining to the girl.

"Are you serious, Jun-hee?! You're with him to piss me off!" Myung-gi let out his anger and spoke as if what he said was a true statement. "Isn't that so? How were you able to?!" the YouTuber shouted angrily as he pointed his finger at her accusingly, as if she had tricked him. "Open your eyes, he's lying, he's no good! He wanted to kill me! Out of all these men you could have hooked up with, you chose him?!"

Those last words out of his mouth made Thanos chuckle slightly. Damn, karma was beautiful.

Hearing all this, Jun-hee couldn't believe Myung-gi was saying all those things to her, and even worse, in front of so many strangers. Thanos's problems with that boy who had been his closest partner were one thing, but in her case, the situation between her and her ex-boyfriend was something she had been discussing with him privately, alone, and without anyone else knowing because it was personal.

The fact that Myung-gi was doing this and everyone was hearing it had made her fed up.

This, plus all the things he did to her, had finally worn her out, which she had plenty of, but he somehow managed to cross the line.

She handed her baby to Geum-ja and got out of bed with difficulty, walking toward Myung-gi, still in pain from her injured ankle.

Jun-hee walked past Thanos and he did nothing to stop her, because although he promised to be her ally, he knew when it was time to not interfere in other people's business, this was not his concern at all.

The girl approached Myung-gi and confronted him angrily.

"How can you be so cynical?" she questioned in a calm, almost whispering voice. She wasn't going to be the one to cause a scene, she wouldn't give him the pleasure.

Her approaching him like that surprised him, and his eyes widened. "J-jun-hee..."

"You come to me and tell me all this. What right do you have?" she said, her eyes glazed with helplessness. Myung-gi's audacity was too much, as was his nerve. "Wasn't everything you did enough? And what you didn't do too?" Jun-hee asked angrily.

Out of anger, the girl raised her hand as if she were going to hit Myung-gi in the face, but stopped and decided against it. It wasn't worth it. She had to maintain her composure.

Doing that wouldn't be like her. Besides, if she thought about it, not even the beating Thanos gave Myung-gi the first few times had made him learn a lesson or reflect on his own actions.

So, what made her think this would change him?

"You have to listen to me, Jun-hee."

"Why?" she asked peacefully. Maybe he could give her an explanation for why he did everything he did, even if it was just a justification for having done so much harm, since he insisted so much on wanting to talk to her.

"Because..." The truth is, Myung-gi had no words to say to her. This time, he really had nothing, because he only wanted to see her because he was upset that she was with Thanos.

Then, not getting any response, she was about to turn around and leave.

"Jun-hee." At that moment, Myung-gi tried to grab her wrist as he had previously done with Nam-gyu, but she immediately broke away and went back to her bed where her little daughter was waiting for her.

Jun-hee didn't need answers because this was so simple: he did everything for money just like everyone else, but with her, he overdid it with his treatment and contempt.

Myung-gi looked at this with indignation, and his hatred increased when he saw that a short distance away, next to Jun-hee, Thanos was looking at him with a satisfied smile, once again displaying his arrogance.

The crypto boy had no choice but to walk away. It was clear that Thanos was using Jun-hee and turning her against him, or so he thought, since he wasn't capable of self-criticism about his own mistakes.

So if Thanos was doing this to him, then he would make him feel pain through Nam-gyu, and he already knew how to do it.

He walked toward the bed where the long-haired boy was lying, covered with the blanket. Myung-gi approached him silently and could hear his moans of pain. He ruthlessly pulled the blanket off him, upsetting the boy, who was trembling and sweating from withdrawal.

"Ah... W-what do you want... M-myung-gi?" Nam-gyu asked, his gaze lost in thought. He tried to concentrate on anything he could see to avoid thinking about the physical pain he was suffering. "Y-you came here to keep hurting me?"

"What are you talking about?"

Nam-gyu sat down on the mattress with difficulty and then stared at the boy.

"Ah..." He sighed agitatedly and tried to speak normally. "You were supposed to help me, but because of you, he thinks...I cheated on him," he said, trying not to cry again. "And now hyung doesn't want me around, he didn't even look at me."

"Oh, that's enough," Myung-gi said, fed up with his attitude. "Don't be a hypocrite, Nam-gyu. You decided to approach me and begged me to join forces. What part of what I told him is a lie?" He questioned, crossing his arms.

"You made him believe I slept with you. How dare you? I... I..." Nam-gyu interlaced his fingers, nervous about what he was going to say. "I love my hyung very much. It's always been that way. Myung-gi. I thought you wanted to be my friend and that you would support me in this."

At that moment, the crypto boy couldn't help but let out a small, ironic laugh, something unusual for him considering his more serious and focused personality.

"Are you an idiot?"

"What?"

"I don't know what the hell is going on in your head, but..." He suddenly grabbed Nam-gyu by the face. Someone had to make him realize that he wasn't exactly a person anyone would want to be with. Hurting him was a good way to get back at Thanos. "But you offered me a one-night stand. You came on to me, but I know that 'fling' also means that our alliance was temporary and is over and that's why it was no longer my responsibility to help you."

"Myung-gi, but..."

"Also, look at you," he interrupted. "You're a disgusting drug addict, falling apart, and worse, you're a freak who killed people for fun. Obviously, no one would want to be with you, not even Su-bong, and look, he's not a better person. What were you thinking?"

Saying this was strange for Myung-gi, since he rarely told people the truth, but he was still angry at the long-haired boy for his strange behavior during the game of "keys and knives." He hated that he tried to touch him. Well, he hated his presence in general. He also needed to get some of his frustration out.

Nam-gyu's feelings were already hurt and broken, but now with what he had just heard about him, he ended up feeling more miserable. In the end, Myung-gi was no different from the people he met at the club. He hated him, detested him, insulted him, used him, criticized him for his addiction, and dehumanized him.

God, just like it's happened to him all his life and on top of that Myung-gi had taken it upon himself to alienate the only person who really cared about him and of course, he almost forgot his real reason for ending up here, he stole his money in cryptocurrency.

"M-myung-gi..." Nam-gyu started sobbing again. "You... I hate you!" he exclaimed furiously. "You made me look like a promiscuous person!" He wanted to jump on Myung-gi and attack him, but he was faster and grabbed him by both wrists, throwing him violently to the ground. "Ow!"

He knew Nam-gyu could also be very violent, so he took advantage of the fact that he was still on the ground and could barely move. He immediately grabbed him by the hair and pulled it hard, making him cry out in pain. This wasn't typical of him, but he was so resentful that Thanos was with Jun-hee that the best thing he could think of was to attack the long-haired boy. He wasn't stupid, and he knew that deep down, Thanos still cared about him.

"Aah!" Nam-gyu complained. "Let me go!" He screamed, trying to break free, but to no avail. He felt too weak to defend himself. "Let me go, stop it!" He writhed on the ground and then struggled as Myung-gi held his wrists tightly. "Stop it, you're hurting me!"

"Are you sane now?! Didn't you say you wanted to play?!" Myung-gi asked sarcastically, referring to what the long-haired boy had said during the game of hide-and-seek. "I'll teach you!" The crypto boy said, slapping Nam-gyu across the face. It wasn't worth it to punch him and get his knuckles dirty, either. He was physically weak and incapable.

The atmosphere of the games was really breaking Myung-gi's mentality, and both Thanos and Nam-gyu had been burying his patience since the beginning of the damn games.

If Nam-gyu thought he wouldn't face consequences for helping his stupid love interest beat up Myung-gi, he was sorely mistaken. He hadn't forgotten that he was one of his attackers; he had to pay for the things Thanos did.

There were still a few minutes left before the lights went out and everyone was forced to go to sleep, so several of the players who were still sitting on the steps of their bunks eating the food the guards had given them a while ago turned their gaze back to the latest argument between two of the men involved in the earlier incident.

Thanos, who was in his bed eating his food, looked in the direction from which the screams and complaints were coming and could clearly see the long-haired boy lying on the floor trying to defend himself from his attacker.

He looked sadly at the scene and the miserable treatment Nam-gyu was receiving. His blood boiled, but what could he do? Nam-gyu had chosen Myung-gi, and therefore he wasn't going to intervene. If the two of them had problems, they should solve them alone. Besides, he was an ungrateful liar, unworthy of his help.

And now he would use this to provoke more hatred in Jun-hee.

"Your ex is a total jerk," he said to the girl who was sitting on the bed next to him and also watching what MG Coin was doing. However, she didn't respond to Thanos; she knew what he was up to.

"Why did I ever like that man?" Jun-hee mentally asked herself.

Myung-gi immediately let go of Nam-gyu and simply left him lying there on the floor. He walked to the far side of the room to settle down on one of the empty bunk beds there.

Nam-gyu, sore and tired, sat down on the floor with difficulty, took a deep breath, and touched his burning stomach. He didn't know what was worse, but he felt like he was on the verge of collapse.

The comedown after the pills left him very tired. He massaged his cheekbone, which was burning from the blow, and finally stood up, although he was trembling. Nam-gyu climbed back into bed, slowly took off his shoes, left them at the foot of the bed, and then settled onto the mattress and covered himself again with the blanket.

He felt cold, hunched over, still wanting to continue crying over everything that had happened to him, but his tear ducts seemed so dry. He felt like his head was spinning and that he might faint at any moment. He didn't even feel like eating. He had left the small bowl on the side of the bed; he needed to sleep.

Min-su, who had been one of those who saw everything from afar, knew from this that Nam-gyu was finished in every way. He had no allies or friends, so he had a chance to finish him off.

Others who watched everything through surveillance cameras were the VIPs who delighted in the multiple fights. It was a real soap opera what they witnessed, it even seemed scripted, but tomorrow is where the good stuff would happen. For now, they were going to drink until they got drunk and then they could enjoy the real spectacle.

In-ho was also present, but to his disappointment, Gi-hun, despite being handcuffed, didn't even try to mediate the shouting matches. This meant he was winning the ideological battle over who was right about the humans.

So far, In-ho was easily taking the lead, as none of the players except Geum-ja tried to make any noticeable changes. None of them cared about player 222 and her baby, none of them cared about the older woman's pleas, none of them tried to break up the fight that had just ended with player 333 getting beaten up, and then none of them tried to go to the aid of player 124, who was attacked by that same boy.

All these greedy and unsympathetic people were definitely proving In-ho right, and for that, they would all have to die, all except one.

Meanwhile, at another location in the island's facilities, Pink Guard 011 had already taken charge of hiding and rescuing player 246, Gyeong-seok, who had participated in Gi-hun's rebellion. Her reason for saving him was because the man had only agreed to enter this for his sick daughter, but he had a high probability of dying, and if that had happened, his little daughter would have been left alone.

So No-eul took pity on him and showed him consideration because she understood him. Therefore, she had to be clever and managed to get him out of the place, even though he was injured and weak from the gunshots.

As for the other players, the minutes had already passed. It was nighttime, 12:00 a.m., and now it was time to sleep. The lights went out and the room went dark. Everyone ended up falling asleep.

Well, except for two people, the hour passed until it was 3:15 a.m.

On one side was Nam-gyu, who was experiencing severe withdrawal symptoms. He was shivering, nauseous, had night sweats, and his limbs ached. It was like having a fever. He tossed and turned restlessly in bed, unable to sleep because every time he closed his eyes, it felt like nightmares. He'd wrecked his mind on those pills. He needed them to ease the pain. He also hated being alone. It was like being in hell.

On the other side was Geum-ja, who was sitting on her bed, staring blankly. She knew she wouldn't be able to leave the games because everyone would still vote for O no matter what. And even if she did manage to leave, she had nothing valuable out there. She had no debts to pay. She had only entered for her son, and now Yong-sik was dead... because of her. The image of his corpse in the black coffin had stayed in her head and was tormenting her.

Anyway, she had already made a decision and stood firm on it. Maybe she could have some peace, even though she thought she would go to hell for what she had done.

She took one last look at Jun-hee, who was sleeping peacefully in the bed next to her baby. Geum-ja convinced herself that the girl no longer needed her. She was out of danger as long as her ally would protect her. Besides, the older woman was already feeling very physically and mentally exhausted. She had been willing to die for her son in the game of hide-and-seek, so she wasn't afraid.

Geum-ja silently got out of bed, took the blanket off the mattress, and walked to another of the bunk beds, which was completely empty. She climbed the stairs, and there, on the post, tied the blanket in a tight knot. She tied the other part of the fabric tightly around her neck.

After a few long minutes, the white lights in the room came on, waking the remaining players. They sat up and cleared their vision to see three pink guards enter, holding a black coffin.

Gi-hun, who had had no choice but to sleep sitting up because he was handcuffed, woke up and when he saw who the coffin was for, he watched sadly and with glassy eyes as the guards stood on the front steps to carry out Geum-ja's hanging body; the woman had committed suicide.

Standing there was Jun-hee holding her baby, watching as the guard untangled the knot from Geum-ja's neck.

"Halmeoni..." was all she could say. First she sobbed, then she sighed, and finally she broke down and began to cry uncontrollably. She hugged her baby, who woke up at the noise and cried too.

Up on the ceiling, a couple of bills fell into the piggy bank. On the screen, it showed how the prize had increased slightly due to that death, and then a robotic female voice could be heard saying, "Player 149 eliminated."

Gi-hun watched as the older woman's body was placed in the coffin by the guards, who then carried the object out of the room. Now there was one less player. With this, he thought maybe it was too much. But what could he do? He was defeated and tired. This was another death he couldn't prevent. In the next game, even more would die.

Meanwhile, Jun-hee cried inconsolably and tried to calm herself just for the sake of her baby. She sat down on her bed again and let her feelings of sadness flow. Another of the few people who genuinely cared for her was gone forever. Now, she was truly alone, or at least that's what she thought.

Thanos, who also watched everything from the same distance as Jun-hee, couldn't help but have mixed feelings about the older woman's death, as he too was still harboring suicidal thoughts.

He reflected on what he had just witnessed: the woman took her own life because her son died, and because she surely had no other family waiting for her outside. That was the difference between her and him.

With this, he realized that, even though he was deeply in debt, if he had any reason to continue living, he had his mother and his sister.

Shit, coming in here and having been on the brink of death even served as therapy; it made him think more about the things he still had.

He couldn't hide his emotions for long, as he felt touched by this specific death because it was a suicide. Here, only Jun-hee, player 456, and a little bit of him genuinely felt sorry for her. He never thought he could feel sorry for a stranger.

With that, Thanos thought, "If I had jumped off the bridge, my family wouldn't find me now, or if they had, they would be very sad... not my old man, he can go fuck himself, damn drunk."

After all, it wasn't that they hated him, but they couldn't help him if he had gotten himself into such a terrible mess that even they weren't entirely aware of.

Then Thanos decided. He had almost died a little while ago. The wound on his neck still hurt, but now he couldn't let himself die like this. He had to get out alive, and he would. For now, here in the games, he had a motivation, even if it wasn't the best, and that was to harm Myung-gi. But he also opened his eyes and realized he had someone, a person he had been truly worried about throughout the games.

But first, he had to look out for his ally. He approached her slowly, and well, he didn't know how to express himself in cases like this.

"...I-I'm...I'm sorry," the purple-haired boy said with difficulty. "Th-this shouldn't...shouldn't have happened."

Jun-hee didn't respond. She was overwhelmed by her loss. That woman was the closest thing she had to a mother, since she didn't even have any family. At least now she was sure that Thanos wasn't going to abandon her or break the alliance, otherwise he wouldn't have tried to offer his condolences.

"Do you mind if I step away for a moment?" he asked gently and waited for a sign from her.

The girl nodded in a "Do what you want" gesture.

"Fine."

Myung-gi also saw what happened with Geum-ja, and although he felt bad for Jun-hee and what had just happened, he ended up wasting the opportunity to go and try to calm her down, talk to her, and be empathetic to show her that he still had the will to partially "fix" things.

He simply didn't approach her.

The lights went out as the coffin had been carried out of the room, and in the darkness, Thanos walked quietly to his "old bed" and peered down at the person lying on it.

Nam-gyu tried to go back to sleep after seeing that woman hanging, his mind still trying to process all the deaths he'd seen...and those he'd caused.

He groaned in pain. He looked sickly, his face reflected it: his distressed expression, his labored breathing, his faint moans, and the trembling of his body. His hand gripped the fabric of the blanket tightly.

The purple-haired boy then knelt down by the bed and, a little afraid and hesitant, not knowing if this was the right thing to do, gently stroked Nam-gyu's forehead and head. The touch made his eyes widen, but he immediately relaxed when he could make out the purple-haired silhouette in the darkness.

"Ah hyung..." he said, his voice barely audible.

"Nam-su," Thanos spoke in his deep voice. He smoothed back the strands of hair that had fallen over Nam-gyu's face and gently caressed his slightly reddish cheekbones, which bore the marks of blows he and Myung-gi had given him. He immediately felt bad about it and showed it to him. "Forgive me, I did wrong... I was upset, furious, and I said some really mean things to you, and I hurt you. Besides, it's my fault you're like this. I should never have given you my pills. Forgive me for everything, Nam-su," he said, resting his face on the black-haired boy's chest.

Nam-gyu, his eyes now accustomed to the darkness, clearly saw Thanos, repentant. Had he returned to him? Really? Could they be like they were before? Could they be at peace now?

"Hyung...ugh..." He wanted to sit up, but the pain persisted, and he had no choice but to stay lying down. This was the perfect opportunity to fix things. "Hyung, I'm sorry too..." He felt sad. "I made a mistake... Please listen to me and look at me, okay?" He said, trying to look at him. "Please."

Thanos turned his light blue eyes to Nam-gyu's black ones and stared at him, waiting for him to speak. He knew he would find honesty in him. He had only refused to see the truth out of anger at having seen him with Myung-gi. But the truth was that Nam-gyu wasn't the one who stabbed him with a fork. It wasn't him, and yet he made some of the blame fall on him.

"Ah I-I never betrayed you. I got together with Myung-gi because I thought if I was good to him, maybe he'd consider returning my money," Nam-gyu explained. "I was a fool and...and I took two...two pills because I missed you," he choked back, a lump in his throat. "Also I was too high...I didn't think straight, hyung...ngh..." His breathing became more labored, and he gasped for air.

"Nam-su," Thanos immediately became concerned about his condition.

"C-calm down, I'm fine," Nam-gyu managed to breathe normally. "You're not going to leave, are you?" he asked, gripping the sleeve of Thanos's tracksuit jacket tightly. "Stay with me, hyung. We still need to talk. Don't leave me alone."

"I'm not going anywhere, man," the purple-haired boy said.

Nam-gyu made room for him on the bed, signaling for him to lie down beside him. Without hesitation, he did so and settled next to the boy on the mattress. He gently hugged his waist, and Nam-gyu pressed himself against him, feeling a little relieved. Thanos's body emanated the warmth he needed to soothe the strange cold he felt. He could also feel safe with him again, but this time in a more intimate and personal way.

"Forgive me for hitting you. I got carried away by my anger. I have no excuse for what I did, and I didn't protect you from Myung-gi either. I failed you and the rest of the team."

Thanos buried his face in Nam-gyu's hair and shed a few tears, a mixture of sadness for having seen the image of a suicide and frustration at the fact that he felt so screwed up for being in this hellish place. Now he just wanted to go home and forget about everything.

"Hyung," Nam-gyu gently caressed Thanos's cheek. It felt so comforting to receive his warmth and affection. "I want you to know that I've never been with Myung-gi like that. He said that to provoke you."

"I know, and I hate myself for falling for that idiocy."

Nam-gyu blushed at what he was about to say. After all, this was just trying his luck, and he had to stop being so stubborn and dare to express what he felt, or it would be in vain.

"You know I love you. I like you. I would never allow anyone else to touch me. I'm not like that. I suffered so much because I thought you were dead." Suddenly, he couldn't contain himself any longer and began to sob. "H-hyung, I thought I'd never see you again. Ugh... don't scare me like that again, you idiot."

"D-don't be sad," Thanos ran his hand through Nam-gyu's dark hair. "I already knew how you felt, but I didn't know if I should be the one to take the first step or you. I was very confused."

Who would have thought that in sobriety, without the pills, and being more open about their feelings, they could end this stupid, pointless argument? They were both the problem, and they realized it in the worst place, at the worst time. They were both terrible idiots.

"I understand," said Nam-gyu. "I was afraid to express what I felt too. I was embarrassed, ah." He groaned in pain and snuggled up to Thanos. "Tell me...ugh...Is there any way out of here? Y-you told me we would leave here together...ah."

"Calm down, don't think about that now, Nam-su."

"Oh, it's Gyu. I already told you," he corrected, somewhat frustrated.

"Yeah, sure. Okay, calm down, relax. In the morning we'll find out what the game is about, and I guarantee we'll beat it and we will get out of here. For now, try to sleep, or you'll be too weak to play."

"Ow" he moaned in pain. "Okay."

Thanos stroked Nam-gyu's back for a long moment until he was sure he was finally asleep. He didn't know what tomorrow would bring, but he would do everything in his power to take care of him.

________________

Finally, dawn broke. A robotic female voice echoed in the room, waking the players to prepare for the next game. They didn't have much time; they had to get up and start walking toward the door leading to the pink stairs.

Jun-hee got out of bed and grabbed her baby, wrapped in her tracksuit jacket. She wondered where her last teammate was, and upon closer inspection, she saw him standing on the other bunk, helping the boy get up.

She assumed the two had apparently settled their differences, as she noticed Thanos was worried about Player 124's health.

Well, he promised her they would remain allies, but that depended on the type of game they were playing next. She couldn't trust him too much because Thanos was back with the boy he'd called "crazy," and honestly, she didn't know how Nam-gyu would behave, as he looked bad enough.

Jun-hee then began to walk slowly toward the exit; she was limping, and her ankle was hurting.

Gi-hun was released from the handcuffs by one of the guards, so he stood up and also began to move toward the door of the room, with an idea in mind driven by something he dreamed about last night. Just when he couldn't help but give up, something gave him one last glimmer of hope that he could accomplish his goal.

Ever since he came out alive from the game he originally participated in, his mind had been tormented by constant nightmares and the like, in which he saw his old teammates dead.

But this time it was different. It wasn't a nightmare he had, but a dream, one in which the vivid image of Sae-byeok, player 067, appeared to him. She didn't say anything. Then came his childhood friend Sang-woo, player 218, and finally his other friend Jung-bae, player 390.

That death was the one that hurt him the most because it was so recent, and he was also murdered by the man responsible for the games, and in his mind, also one of those responsible for the deaths of all the others who had been here before and now.

Jung-bae was dehumanized and displayed... as had happened to others in the past. This was a cruel place.

Those three people were in his mind to remind Gi-hun that he had to continue with what he had set out to do. If he couldn't stop the games, he should at least save those who wanted to leave. Because if they all died, then he'd never be able to expose what all these powerful people were doing to entertain themselves at the expense of the suffering of poor, indebted devils like him and the others.

He had to do something to make sure this wasn't in vain. After all, Gi-hun himself had decided to return of his own free will, so he had to make it worthwhile.

He told himself that this wasn't his fault. He wanted to help them all get out. What was happening wasn't his fault. He wanted to leave, just like a few others. Those who were still blinded would fall because of their own mistake and for the amusement of someone more sinister.

What Geum-ja said to him did have an effect after all.

Before joining the rest of the players, Nam-gyu hydrated himself with the bottle he left next to the bed last night. His stomach was upset, which was why he hadn't eaten anything. Besides, a part of him still craved the pills, but he also tried not to despair because Thanos was alive and with him. He only had to go a few days without trying any medication, and he'd be back to where he was before.

The purple-haired boy held him by the waist and made Nam-gyu lean on him. He helped him walk, even though he was dragging his feet. He looked sick, pale, tired, and with dark circles under his eyes. Thanos was inwardly shocked because it was incredible how Nam-gyu's condition deteriorated so quickly in just a few days.

It could have been the pills, or perhaps Thanos was a little crazy because he didn't feel that way. Although he had stab wounds in his neck and had lost blood, he did notice his own somewhat pale appearance, but he liked to look "strong," so his conscience ignored the symptoms because his mind told him he had to be that way or the other players would eat him alive.

It's a good thing he thought that, or he would have died in hide-and-seek.

He compared Nam-gyu's appearance to Jun-hee's, who had recently given birth. She looked physically better than him, although she must have been in pain, but she endured it.

Maybe Nam-gyu had been sick since before he entered the games, but he didn't tell him anything.

That was a little worrying for Thanos, but he couldn't blame him. Because he also hid from him the fact that he had tried to commit suicide; they would surely have to talk about it later.

Both boys left the room and started up the pink stairs, followed by more players.

Nam-gyu suddenly stopped walking and doubled over in pain, clutching his stomach with trembling hands.

"Ow..ngh."

"Nam-su, what's wrong?" Thanos asked distressedly.

"Ah...it's nothing, hyung...ah..."

Since they had both stopped halfway, the other players became annoyed, wanting to move forward.

"Hey, what the hell are you waiting for? Walk," one of them said.

"Yeah, we want to move forward," another said.

"Hey, shut up, men, or I'll break your fucking noses," Thanos threatened, showing his fist.

"Oh yeah? What's wrong with you, asshole? Do you want to fight?" another player said, facing him.

"Yeah, I want to. In fact, I'll kick your ass, dude, come on" Thanos said haughtily.

"Whatever you want, son of a bitch," said the player, preparing to fight.

"Okay."

"Yeah."

"Let's go."

"Well, here I go."

"Okay, I'm waiting," Thanos said.

This place already had most of the players stressed out, but for the VIPs it was fun, the more trouble they were, the better. Of course, they found this situation funny because neither man dared to throw the first punch; they were just selling smoke.

"Hyung...ah...not now, please," Nam-gyu said, pained, almost begging the boy not to get into unnecessary fights.

"Hey," another player chimed in. "Are you guys going to fight or not?"

Thanos and the player looked at the man at the same time, and... well, something would have happened, but Nam-gyu's pain caught the purple-haired boy's attention.

"Ow!" Nam-gyu cried, almost falling to his knees in pain. A pang burned in his stomach, and Thanos rushed to help him and held him.

"Nam-su, what's wrong with you now?"

"Ah... it's because of... withdrawal... I-it hurts, hyung," he replied, clinging to the purple-haired boy.

"Look at that," said one of the players who voted for O. "That guy is a drug addict," player 100 pointed out tactlessly, and the other men looked at the long-haired boy in disgust.

Then Thanos, who had already helped Nam-gyu stand, glared at the man.

"Hey, old man, you'd better shut up. Don't you dare talk about him, or..."

"Hyung, that's enough!" Nam-gyu raised his voice, wanting to become hysterical. The truth is, he was feeling irritable today. "Please forget this... no continue," he said with pleading eyes.

The purple-haired boy obeyed and glanced at the other players.

No one said anything else because the guards were watching them, and it was best not to make a fuss, maybe they would shoot them, so they waited "patiently" for the purple-haired boy to grab the other boy and make him move. Fighting wasn't necessary now; they should save their energy for the game.

Jun-hee, who watched them from a little further ahead, could see and understand that Nam-gyu was indeed lucky because that crazy boy was never going to leave him alone, and even seemed worried about him and his "illness," or whatever he had.

Just when she was starting to remember that she was almost alone, a new help magically arrived.

Gi-hun, who was following behind the girl, offered to help her and asked her to let him hold the baby. Jun-hee again showed little confidence. It's true that she had handed her daughter over to Thanos, a person who wasn't so trustworthy, but that was very different from this, since it was in the middle of a game and they were part of the same team.

She also understood that Gi-hun had already been through a lot; he had tried everything to help others. He also looked quite tired, and she didn't want to seem like she was taking advantage of his kindness; she didn't want to be a burden to him like she was to the two women.

However, he insisted, and Jun-hee eventually gave in. He was more trustworthy than Thanos anyway, and that boy was already busy with someone else, so she didn't want to upset him either.

"It's my fault," Jun-hee said, hanging her head.

"What?" Gi-hun asked, holding the baby in his arms.

"That they died, it's my fault," her voice sounded muffled, and her reddish eyes wanted to shed tears of pain. "No... I didn't do anything to help them, I couldn't do anything."

Gi-hun understood her immediately. He understood her feelings and encouraged her to keep Jun-hee from thinking about it. He promised to protect her and her baby, telling her he would find a way to get her out of this before time ran out.

Soon, all the players walked until the staircase led them down a hallway. When they crossed it, they arrived at the next game, one that left everyone surprised.

There in front of them were two giant figures. One was the same girl who used motion sensors to detect the players during the first game. She was at one end and the boy at the other, both holding a huge, heavy rope. In between, like a path, was a thin bridge with a gap in the middle.

Gi-hun had flashbacks to when he participated in the games the first time. Yes, that specific memory, the glass bridge, designed so only a few could pass and the rest would die. That was the second-to-last game before reaching the end. Damn, now everything would be repeated again, the difference was that this bridge was at a much higher altitude.

Meanwhile, on the outskirts of the games, No-eul and the injured Gyeong-seok managed to get away, and when they were about to flee by sea, they ran into a group of armed men who pointed guns at them both because they were wearing pink guard outfits.

The woman raised her hands as a way of letting them know that she wasn't a threat.

Jun-ho revealed himself to be a police officer who was here to find the men who had trapped those people. No-eul explained that she had managed to get one of the players out of there, and that it was the man who was with her.

"They'll find a way to follow us," No-eul said. "They'll kill you."

"Well, even so, we are not going to leave," Jun-ho replied. He still had to see his brother and confront him about the things he'd done, and he had to find Gi-hun.

Then the woman proposed something: that one of them take Gyeong-seok away from the island, and she would help them find a way in. After all, they had all his personal data there, and she had to delete it or they wouldn't leave her alone. She also intended to erase the information of the players who participated in the games.

No-eul knew the facilities, so together they could get in. She would even tell them how to evade the guards.

It would take them a couple of hours to get there, but they could do it. Jun-ho decided to trust her. He did his part by having two of the men take the injured man, and the rest of the group joined forces with the ex pink guard, and they quickly made their way into the island.

Chapter Text

The VIPs were now in the elegant lounge, observing everything after getting drunk during the night.

They analyzed the situation the remaining players were in. For them, it was "How willing are they to risk themselves for money?" Well, that's what desperation and ambition lead to...to not thinking about anything else. However, they aimed to spend money on the most capable players, the most insane, or the most murderous because it was fun and exciting to see how low they would fall, and now several would fall into the abyss.

They watched them climb the pink staircase and noticed that player 222 was barely walking up the steps; she was clearly at a disadvantage.

"Tell us what game is it?" asked one of the VIPs.

"I'll show you," In-ho replied, then made the large screen where everyone was watching the players move upwards to reveal a huge window overlooking the game in real time. From where they were, they could see the two giant figures of the two children holding the enormous rope, with the bridge in between.

The VIPs were surprised, and then one of them questioned whether the baby counted as another player, since it was born in the middle of the game. Another suggested that the baby become a single participant, rather than occupying the same number as its mother, since it was her daughter.

In-ho didn't refuse; in fact, he found it interesting and a good proposal because it would allow him to continue testing Gi-hun, who was already looking tired and desolate.

With this, In-ho could see how willing Gi-hun was to continue fighting him.

He would see how "compassionate and humane" Gi-hun could be, if he still had the will to be, given that he'd already murdered one of his teammates in cold blood and blamed him for things he'd actually caused. In-ho would see how capable he was of showing that he was still different from the other players there with him, to see if he had the guts to play the hero with that complex of his.

"Anyway, did anyone bet on her for this game?" asked the female VIP, looking through the large window at Player 222 walking next to Player 456.

"Who in their right mind would do that?" questioned the male VIP, who was also watching what was happening with the players.

"Well, me," said another VIP who was on the couch and continued to get drunk.

"Really?"

"I was really drunk, shit, I bet her a large sum of money and I'm going to lose. It wasn't even for her, it was for another player," he lamented.

"That's what you get for being an idiot," mocked the female VIP.

"It's the same. This will be interesting because they have old people, drug addicts, and a woman with a baby. Let's see who will be the lucky one who makes it through," another VIP said intrigued.

Back at the game area, the pink guards closed the doors behind the players. Upon entering, they stared in astonishment at the type of game they would be playing.

The robotic female voice spoke and dictated the rules they had to follow. The game was called "jump rope," and it was very simple: they had to cross the bridge by jumping rope before time ran out, or else they would be eliminated by gunfire. They only had 20 minutes.

"Let the game begin."

The mechanics activated, and the iron rope began to move, making a noise indicating that it was very heavy. It moved very slowly at first, but it was obvious that it would then begin to accelerate, and it would be worse.

It seemed simple, but the problem was that with the slightest mistake, the players would fall and die. Furthermore, the bridge was quite a long way to go to reach the other side.

This frightened most of the players, as they hadn't expected this kind of game. As for Gi-hun, who had already crossed the glass bridge before, this didn't worry him too much. His real concern was for Jun-hee and her baby. Since she was injured, she went and sat on the bench next to the entrance door.

Gi-hun then fearlessly dared to confront one of the guards about the baby, and the response he got was a gun pointed at him by another guard. It was clear that the baby was also a participant and as such was forced to cross the bridge or he would also be eliminated.

"It's not fair to make an innocent baby participate!" he yelled at the guards, but was ignored again. He then approached the girl. "I'll help you, Jun-hee, I promise," Gi-hun said, looking into her eyes. He would think of a way. There had to be a way, there always was, he had to find a way.

A children's song could be heard accompanying the game. It was similar to "mingle," with simple lyrics for a "simple" game.

The minutes continued to tick by. All the players were undecided. Some stood a little close to the bridge, just watching the rope move, others looked at each other doubtfully.

Player 100 was one of the first to dare to say, "One of you must go first."

"Oh really? Then you do it," said one player.

"Are you crazy?" questioned Player 100.

"Well, if you're suggesting that, you go first because I wouldn't cross there for a second," chimed in another.

"We should choose who to send to the front," said another.

"Yes, whoever is most capable."

"No, the most useless. If they cross and die, it wouldn't be a big loss anyway," another player spoke up.

These discussions among that small group alerted Gi-hun. Were they really willing to throw someone out just like that?

Meanwhile, Thanos stared, surprised and mesmerized, at the jump rope that was constantly moving up and down. While Nam-gyu tried to endure the physical pain caused by being abstinent from any substance, he sat down on the floor, weakened, and began to breathe heavily. He was very tired and now even more scared because he had hit reality so hard.

The game wasn't what he expected; it looked very difficult for him. He glanced at the edge and noticed the floor covered in yellow flowers and the height at which they were standing. Then Nam-gyu felt a new fear: vertigo. He began to tremble, but this time not only because he felt sick but also because of the terrible fear that seeing this caused him.

Nam-gyu began to sweat because of how anxious he felt.

The purple-haired boy standing next to him saw his discomfort and decided to ask something to clear his doubts.

"Nam-su, how many pills did you take?"

Nam-gyu ignored the fact that Thanos mispronounced his name and looked into his eyes in distress.

"T-there were...ah...let me remember...uhm...I-I think it was about...t-three or...four. Maybe?"

"Damn, boy, couldn't you hold it back?" Thanos knelt on the ground to get to his height. "I told you you couldn't handle them, and now look at you."

"Ah... I-it's just... I didn't know how to handle my pain... ow." Nam-gyu cringed, touching his stomach. Just being at such a high altitude made his nausea worse. "H-hyung... I don't think I can... I-it's too difficult, I won't be able to... ugh."

Hearing that, Thanos took the long-haired boy's pale face in his hands and caressed it gently and delicately.

"Calm down, Nam-su, don't be like that. You'll make it through, you'll see, we'll make it," he said, trying to be optimistic and cheer him up. "There's always a way." He smiled, giving him a thumbs-up.

"H-hyung... no... I won't be able to. D-don't you see what that's like?"

"Don't shut down, bro. We're very close to the end. After this, we'll go home. Don't give up now. We'll get out of here with the prize money and we'll be fine."

"Hyung, that's enough!" Nam-gyu shouted, pushing Thanos's hands aside. He was hysterical and nervous. "It's impossible! Stop acting like this is all a game and face reality! Get serious for once, dammit! There's no way! Can't you see they want us all dead?!... Ow!" He groaned as he felt another sudden pang in his stomach. Without exaggerating, he believed his aorta was hurting.

Nam-gyu's protests briefly caught the attention of the other players, but it was only for a moment, as they were focused on seeing who would be the "brave" one who would risk going first.

"We can't! We'll die here, hyung! We won't get out of here," Nam-gyu said between sobs, his voice breaking. "I-I'm tired of this. I don't want to be here." He looked down, hiding his tears.

Thanos was going to yell back at him, but he remembered that Nam-gyu was in pretty bad shape and that it was normal for him to be irritating in times like these when their lives hung in the balance. It was common sense for him to be scared. Besides, he wasn't in good health; yelling at him would only stress him out more, and he didn't want to do that to him. He didn't like seeing him so subdued.

That's how Thanos's rational side kicked in, making him think logically. He couldn't cross either. He wasn't at 100 percent. He'd lost a good amount of blood from the stab wounds in his neck and part of his jaw. The wounds were painful and had stitches and a bandage.

Plus, those guards had just released him into the games. He knew that someone with those kinds of injuries took at least a few weeks to recover, so he wasn't as well as he'd tried to pretend.

He didn't have the same energy level as at the beginning, and he was also experiencing mild withdrawal symptoms, which is why he had trouble falling asleep last night.

He felt weak, and like Nam-gyu, he was also scared because he realized too late that he wasn't ready to commit suicide yet. He still had things to do, things to fix, people to see, and of course, right now, he had someone he wanted to protect.

The purple-haired boy looked toward the bench where Jun-hee was sitting. He noticed her ankle injury. It was swollen, with red and purple bruises. That area was broken, so it must have hurt like hell. The only person there with her was player 456, who was now holding the baby wrapped in Jun-hee's tracksuit jacket.

Thanos remembered he had a deal with her, an alliance. He'd promised to be on her side. Shit, he hated feeling useless. These past few months, people had been calling him "useless," especially after going into debt with cryptocurrencies. That was another reason he almost killed himself. He looked at Jun-hee, who looked defeated, and then looked back at Nam-gyu, who was already showing signs of resignation.

Neither of them believed they were capable of crossing the bridge. If neither of them could be strong, then Thanos thought he was rightfully the one who had to be the "strong" and positive one, as he had been all his life. That's how he had been with his mother and sister, to act as a shield between them and his alcoholic father, even though he ultimately failed them.

Well, now he had to take on that role again and show it off. He promised to take care of the members of his group and he failed, but there were still two of that group left and on the other side was Jun-hee whom he helped only to hurt Myung-gi. Thanos played with her but he wasn't going to leave her like that.

He was determined, he would get them across the bridge at all costs. This wasn't the time to be the coward he had been at the beginning of the games. If he showed terror now, it would ultimately lower his team's morale. It was his turn to be the responsible one here and pretend he wasn't worried.

Min-su was not far from Nam-gyu. He'd been watching him since yesterday, so now that he was vulnerable, he had a chance to get even with him for everything he'd done to him and Se-mi. He had the necklace in his hands, and guess what? He was tired of waiting so long. He didn't care that Thanos was there because between him and Nam-gyu, they'd intimidated him the entire time.

So, Min-su gathered his courage and walked toward Nam-gyu.

But Thanos knew what he was up to, so as soon as he saw him approaching them, he stepped forward and intervened, not with the intention of intimidating or attacking him, but rather to fix things, although he himself knew that what Nam-gyu did to the girl was not right.

"Min-su, my boy, you're okay. I knew you'd make it out safely from the previous game," Thanos said, using his typical relaxed tone, trying to sound friendly, though of course, he was trying to mask how nervous he was.

"Move aside, will you? I don't want to talk to you," he replied coldly.

"Hey, don't be like that, lil' bro. This isn't the time to stir things up. Did you see what this is?" Thanos softened his gestures and expressions with Min-su.

"Yes, I saw him, but that doesn't matter now. I'll deal with it. Now move and let me pass."

"I won't. I know what you're up to."

"And if you know, why are you butting in? He left you for that 333 boy and killed Se-mi."

"I know, but..."

"Then why?" Min-su interrupted. "Nam-gyu is shit, he's a fucking loser. And you forgive him for what he did?"

"I've never forgiven him, Min-su. I'm not that easy either, but think about this."

"You're telling me to think?" he said mockingly.

"Yes, I know I'm not the brightest. Look, these games are close to ending. What good will killing him do you? You'll regret it when you're out. Believe me, he's already screwed up enough, just like the rest of us. Besides, you're not like that, my boy. You're cute and sweet." Thanos looked for a way to reason with him, so he resorted to flattery, even though that's certainly how he saw Min-su.

Min-su still looked at him incredulously. Was this Thanos without the pills? He never thought he'd seen that side of him. He thought he was quite stupid and brainless, and also a violent bully. It was strange to see him "free" from drugs and seeing him say those things so genuinely. He always thought he said it to manipulate him, but now it sounded very convincing. It would be best not to mention to Thanos that he killed the crazy shaman in the game of hide-and-seek if he saw him as harmless.

"Nam-su isn't doing well at all. He can't hurt you anymore. Besides, I'll take care of you, bro," the purple-haired boy assured.

"That's what you said the first time, and look at the state of us. You couldn't even take care of yourself," Min-su said, reminding Thanos of his neck wound.

"Okay, boy, if you retaliate now, you'll regret it later, like what happened to player 456. You don't want to end up like that, right? I know you have my cross with my pills, give it to me." Thanos extended his arm and opened his palm, hoping to have his necklace back. "Come on, Min-su, time's running out. I'm not going to screw you, I promise. My problem isn't with you."

The shy boy seemed hesitant because, to him, Thanos wasn't trustworthy. He knew perfectly well that Thanos always tried to pretend to be kind to manipulate him.

"You're not lying?"

"Believe me, if I were lying, I would have beaten you up by now," the purple-haired boy said with seriousness in his voice. "In fact, that night I would have dragged you out of the cubicle to beat you up, you know?"

Well, that was definitely threatening to Min-su, but in a way, Thanos was sincere. If he had bad intentions, he would have attacked him to take the necklace.

Min-su thought about his situation. He'd taken a pill in the game of hide-and-seek, and he had to admit that the effect had caused him to hallucinate terribly. He remembered that Se-mi had told him a few days earlier not to be like those two idiots and to stay away from drugs because she'd seen him snooping around in the cross.

Then Min-su leaned over a little so he could observe Nam-gyu from a short distance. He looked disgusting and pathetic, he looked sick. So the boy reasoned, if he killed him, he'd be no better than him. Nam-gyu was, in a way, paying for everything he'd done right now, since Se-mi wasn't the only person he'd murdered.

If he tried another pill, he could turn into Nam-gyu, and he didn't want that. If he took the drug again, he'd be betraying the girl for a third time. Hadn't he disappointed her enough already? He was a coward, filled with guilt and remorse.

Well, Min-su, still hesitant, reached into his tracksuit jacket pocket, took out the small pill, and then revealed the crucifix. He opened it and placed the pill inside. Then, slowly, he handed the necklace to Thanos, who quickly placed it around his neck.

"This is the last time I trust you. You better not try anything, otherwise... Nam-gyu... Nam-gyu will pay the consequences for whatever you do, and you can't imagine what I'll do to him," Min-su said, trying to sound threatening.

"I won't do any of that, as for Nam-gyu...ah you guys sort your things out" Thanos replied and then stared at the cross, held it in his hands and opened it to find... "Are you serious?" He opened his light blue eyes in surprise "T-there's only ONE left?!" he asked almost shouting, drawing the attention of Nam-gyu who had been watching him for a while chatting with Min-su.

"Hey, it's not my fault. Nam-gyu swallowed most of it. Besides, didn't you just see me take it out of my pocket?"

"Oh yeah, I wasn't paying much attention," Thanos scratched his head stupidly.

"You have the memory of a duck."

"Yeah, I've heard," Thanos replied, not knowing what that meant.

"What's your plan?" Min-su asked, staring at the timer ticking down. They had to hurry, but so far no player had dared to cross.

"The idea was to boost us with the pills, but you two swallowed everything. What the hell?" Thanos was amazed. "You two are the worst. How is it possible you consumed everything? That's why I never share my things." He showed his behavior of being "the oldest" in the group, leaving Min-su a little surprised. It seemed incredibly strange to see him trying to be "mature" and also scolding him.

"Don't scold me, I had only eaten one," Min-su explained in a low voice so the other players wouldn't hear, and he looked down, feeling like a child.

"Why did you do that, my boy?" Thanos asked in a tone of genuine concern. "You must have burned out your brain cells doing that now."

"No more than you," Min-su told him mentally. "I-it's just... I didn't know what else to do. I-I was scared." He shrugged shyly.

"I understand, okay," the purple-haired boy grabbed Min-su by the shoulders, pulling him closer, and spoke almost in a whisper. "I'll explain what we're going to do."

The stopwatch read 17:29, and still no one dared to cross that bridge.

The VIPs watching everything were starting to get bored. They would have preferred a shorter time so all the players would be pressed and rushed to cross.

Seeing that no one was crossing, Gi-hun decided to stop hesitating. He had promised Jun-hee he would help her, but she couldn't cross with the baby in her arms.

No one would cross? Well, Gi-hun would have to be the first. Suddenly, the memory of the glass bridge came to him. That time, he was about to choose the vest with the number 1 on it, but he ended up switching with another player, so he was left at the bottom of the line. If he had been the first, he would have died there. Anyway, now it was his turn to be the first, and he had to gather his courage to cross and not die.

He adjusted the scarf made from his tracksuit jacket to make sure the baby would be okay and determinedly made his way through the other players, who only looked at him with "This guy is crazy" expressions. Gi-hun walked calmly and slowly with a determined look on his face. He stood near the edge at the entrance to the bridge and watched the movement of the rope very carefully, analyzing its movement and speed to calculate when to jump.

He ignored the metallic sound of the heavy rope that threatened to break his bones if he made a wrong move. Once he was clear on how to jump, Gi-hun picked up his pace, holding the baby in his arms, holding her head so that the sudden jump wouldn't cause any damage.

Gi-hun finally entered the game to the astonished gaze of the rest of the players, including Thanos, Min-su, and, a little further away, Myung-gi. They were standing almost in front of him, watching player 456 to get a rough idea of how they should jump. The other person watching everything, albeit with concern, was Jun-hee, who prayed that Gi-hun could cross and bring her little daughter to safety. She didn't want to think about what would happen if he failed; her nerves were on edge.

On the other hand, the VIP who had mistakenly bet on player 222 was sending encouragement to player 456, although of course he couldn't hear it. He had bet a lot on 222, so as long as the man managed to cross with the baby, it was enough for the VIP.

Gi-hun continued jumping and moving forward without failing, he almost lost his balance several times because the crossing was narrow, however he managed to reach the center of the bridge, there where the gap that separated the middle was, that's where things got complicated for him but he refused to fall and die, he had to continue. He stayed there jumping for a while, one, two, three, four, five... damn, he must have stayed jumping up to 16 times, until he managed to find a way to cross and was able to get over the gap and continue.

The baby was crying, and it was a bit stressful for Gi-hun; he felt a lot of tension in his body and mind. He moved forward, taking a few steps and jumping rope. Meanwhile, from that elegant room, In-ho watched him through binoculars. This time, he felt less bored and internally encouraged him to continue, because Gi-hun was finally showing signs that he still planned to keep fighting to prove who was right. He had to see how strong his human side was.

Player 456 continued forward despite being very tired, malnourished, and dehydrated from the treatment he had received. Then, with one last jump, he managed to reach the end and get to safety with the baby.

Gi-hun had also been scared, but now he felt less weight, more relieved. He sighed agitatedly and heard the players on the other side shouting happily at his successful crossing.

The man unwrapped the sling and wrapped the baby tightly, who was crying less now. He carefully placed her in an area that simulated flowers. Then he moved a little closer to the edge next to the giant animatronic child and looked at the other end.

"Jun-hee, stay there, I'll come find you! I'll find a way! I'm coming!" Gi-hun shouted, but just as he was about to cross back, the other players quickly began to line up and, one by one, began to jump across the bridge.

Gi-hun looked at the stopwatch. Time was running out, and on the other side were all the players, each advancing at a different pace. What was he supposed to do now? The girl was on that side.

On the other hand, Thanos listened to what player 456 said to Jun-hee. So, if there was a way to help her get through there, he thought, if that man could do it while holding a baby, then he could do the same, even if he had to carry extra weight.

It would be impossible, right? Besides, it wasn't just one person he had to help, it was two, because Nam-gyu was truly screwed and exhausted in every way.

Thanos looked at the crucifix in his hands. It was just a pill, and the plan was to have the three of them, including the girl, cross the bridge. But looking at them, neither Jun-hee nor Nam-gyu were in any condition to jump, especially the girl, her ankle looked like it was going to burst.

"Fucking hell," Thanos thought, protesting the situation. "He needs me, and... well, she's my ally, and I hate Myung-gi. How the fuck am I going to get those two across?"

There was only one pill left. If only he had three, he'd give one to Nam-gyu and the other to Min-su since he had already eaten.

But he had one pill. It seemed fate was laughing in his face. He'd have to take a chance and try. Thanos wasn't so worried about crossing the bridge because that cold night he walked along the edge of the Hangang before deciding whether or not to jump.

Well, he had no other choice. Without hesitation, he took the pill from the cross and swallowed it. He was confident he could maintain his sanity while drugged. This stuff was so potent it could bring out the best and worst in him, but now he needed to bring out the best. Hopefully, the drug could help increase his heart rate and physical capacity, since with that, he had survived the first game. He definitely needed that kind of increased strength.

"Min-su," Thanos said, already moving a little uneasily, sensing that the pill would soon take effect.

"What?" The shy boy replied, not looking at him because he was focused on watching a few players cross the bridge and fail.

"Did you see that only a few...mm 6s are crossing?"

"Yeah, so?"

"It's our turn, boy."

"W-well, if they... got the courage, so will we, right?" Min-su asked, looking at Thanos with droopy, scared eyes.

The purple-haired boy nodded. "But I have to do something first. I'll be right back."

He walked over to the corner where Nam-gyu was sitting, hunched over in pain, his self-esteem and body defenses at rock bottom and his deep insecurity preoccupied with the thought that it was impossible for him to cross.

"Hey Nam-su," Thanos said, bending down to get a good look at the long-haired boy.

"W-what's wrong, h-hyung? ngh," he groaned.

"Are you ready? We have to cross."

"A-are you crazy?" Nam-gyu's eyes widened.

"Hmm, yes, a little, but Player 456 was able to get through carrying the baby, so we can too." At that moment, Thanos abruptly made Nam-gyu stand up by grabbing him by the wrist and began dragging him to the entrance to the bridge.

The black-haired boy panicked and tried to break free from Thanos's grasp. "Ah! What are you doing?! No! Do you want to kill us?! Hyung!"

Thanos barely paid attention to him because the effects of the pill were coursing through his body and brain. Although he tried not to get lost in the psychedelic effect, he had to make a huge mental effort not to be so stupid.

"Hyung, stop, you're hurting me!" Nam-gyu complained, feeling a burning sensation on his wrist from the boy's strong grip. He couldn't break free; he didn't have the strength.

"Calm down, Nam-su. This wouldn't have happened if you hadn't swallowed all my fucking gems, and now for that reason Min-su's going first."

"W-what?" The aforementioned man's eyes widened and he began to tremble and get nervous.

"Yeah, you'll go ahead and I'll follow," the purple-haired boy ordered, ignoring Nam-gyu, who was trying to get him to let go.

"You're not going to push me, are you?"

"Nah, Min-su, but if you don't move...uhm...I'll consider it," Thanos said, smiling crookedly.

"He's the same old idiot," Min-su thought to himself. "I don't trust you. I'll go behind you and him," he spoke firmly and challenged Thanos, who didn't refuse the proposal.

"...Okay, Nam-su and I will go first."

"What?! Hyung, please, n-no!" Nam-gyu cried, stressed, as he watched Thanos slowly drag him onto the bridge and Min-su stand behind them both preparing to cross. "Oh, hyung, no, let me go!" he sobbed.

"Don't panic, just follow me, dude."

"N-no! No, no, hyung!" the long-haired boy pleaded, terrified, as he was inevitably forced to walk across the thin bridge. His heart pounded with fear, his limbs trembling. He was sweating cold because he made the mistake of looking down, which only made him feel dizzy. "Stop it, no! W-wait! Hyung! I can't!"

Thanos, drugged but still with some reasoning, finally entered the game, and for him it seemed simple; he just had to jump and jump and move forward without stopping. But the problem was Nam-gyu, who remained trapped in his circle of denial and fear, believing himself incapable of crossing.

The purple-haired boy took this into account and firmly took his hand and urged him to play the game, just as he had done all the times before. Nam-gyu didn't even have time to complain further or shout and insult him for his audacity because he had to concentrate on not making a false step.

"Come on, boy, it's easy to jump, come on! Jump! Up!" Thanos encouraged Nam-gyu and, in part, Min-su, who was following behind and listening to him, he managed to concentrate. "Don't look down or you'll crash!" he warned, not seriously, smiling like an asshole, just like he had in the first game and the others. He was absorbed in playing, in finding the fun side of it, so that feeling of fear had disappeared from his mind. He was the positive one.

Every time the purple-haired boy shouted "Walk!" or "Jump!" the other two obeyed because he said it when he saw the rope approaching, which meant he managed to calculate the time it took for the rope to lower so he could evade it and continue moving forward.

Nam-gyu had to manage to push aside the vertigo and dizziness he felt and focused on Thanos's optimistic idiocy. If they managed to beat this game, he was going to shower him with insults for being so rough and ungentle with him. He held the boy's hand tightly, and although it was still trembling, he followed him, keeping his balance or else he would fall

Again the pattern was repeated, Thanos led and the other two followed. Nam-gyu, in his inferiority complex, continued believing that he could never be like him and take the initiative, but at least he could go after him and knew that he would not betray him, otherwise he would have abandoned him because he deserved it for being an idiot. Nam-gyu still felt guilty about what happened with Myung-gi, he almost allowed that idiot to screw them both and their "relationship" again.

The three of them jumped about 10 times in the same place before they were able to cross the gap that separated the bridge in half. When they did, they continued moving faster, as time was running out and the rope's speed increased.

They felt their calves burning from the excessive jumping, and they were even sweating.

Nam-gyu trembled because he felt his hand slipping from Thanos's, so he gripped it tightly and swallowed his urge to scream in fear. It was like standing on the edge of a building, but so far they were managing to avoid dying.

Other players weren't as lucky, and when they lost their balance or miscalculated their jump, they were hit by the enormous iron rope and flew through the air, landing and breaking all their bones on the ground of yellow flowers.

However, another problem arose when the three of them were almost there. Another player, 096, who reached the end after Gi-hun, was standing on the shore and had been throwing a couple of players who had managed to reach the end of the bridge into the void for a while. The others in line stayed in place, jumping, not daring to move for fear that the guy would throw them off the bridge.

Gi-hun had simply yelled at that player to stop pushing the newcomers, but he obviously didn't listen, and his patience was wearing thin.

Some players got so scared in the middle of the game that they turned around on the bridge to return to the beginning, but Thanos, in the midst of an adrenaline rush from the pill, was impatient, and he still had to help Jun-hee because he still had the stupid idea in his head that he had to hurt Myung-gi at all costs; he had his priorities, after all.

So without hesitation, Thanos began pushing the players and kicking them so they would fall into the abyss.

This scared Jun-hee, who was watching from afar. Nam-gyu and Min-su looked at him in surprise, just praying that the boy wouldn't get too loose. This action annoyed Gi-hun, who was fighting with player 096 precisely to help the other players cross, but there on the bridge, Thanos was pushing them to their deaths.

"Get out of the way, you motherfucker, you're in my way!" the purple-haired boy shouted and kicked the player hard in the back, causing him to fall and the rope to push him. "Come on, old man, you too, move!" Thanos threatened Player 100, who was in front of him, scaring him and almost going to kick him if it weren't for Gi-hun causing the rope to hit Player 096 and eliminate him, leaving the passage clear for the others to cross. With that, the three of them finally managed to cross, getting to safety.

Min-su moved away from the other two because he still held a grudge, not so much towards Thanos but towards the long-haired boy. He hated him. He crossed his arms and sat in a corner of the area to rest.

Nam-gyu, agitated, his body aching from the physical exhaustion mixed with the internal pain of withdrawal, sank to his knees on the floor, gasping for air. He gasped for air, brushed back his wet hair, and wiped the sweat from his face.

"H-hyung...ah...I think...sometimes...I h-hate you...ngh...uff," Nam-gyu gasped. He waited for Thanos to respond with one of his stupid remarks. But, surprisingly, when he didn't hear him, he looked up and watched in amazement as the purple-haired boy returned across the bridge, jumping the rope and pushing past the players who were in his way.

The VIPs were happy about this, especially the guy who paid to keep the rapper alive and get him back into the games. He was doing a great job of entertaining them, getting rid of the useless ones, making others hesitate to cross and increasing the prize money in the process. They knew that this drug addict wouldn't let them down.

"Hyung!" Nam-gyu struggled to his feet and stared in anguish at the stupidity the purple-haired boy was doing. "What the hell do you think you're doing?!...ah...Come back here now!" he shouted, upset and hysterical. "Su-bong, come back! Don't do that! Come here!"

"He's...he's going after her...isn't he?" asked Gi-hun, turning to look at Nam-gyu. It was the first time he'd spoken to one of the "problem boys." "I saw him yesterday with the baby and Jun-hee."

"Ash, I can't believe he's doing this for that bitch and that asshole!" the long-haired boy protested, angry and worried. He grabbed his hair, extremely nervous, and then decided to answer Gi-hun, who was still looking at him. "He...ah...he's doing it to annoy that idiot!" He pointed into the distance as if the man could see clearly.

"What idiot? Who are you talking about?"

"Him, Myung-gi, because...ugh...because he stole his crypto money," Nam-gyu said anxiously.

"What does that have to do with Jun-hee?"

"She... s-she's... ah... Myung-gi's ex-girlfriend... he's player 333, that's why Thanos is doing this," Nam-gyu explained, pained, surprising Gi-hun because the girl never mentioned the father of her baby, nor did she even think he was also in the games.

Gi-hun believed the argument he heard last night was because Thanos was picking fights. Besides, he didn't pay much attention to the matter because it wasn't his business and he was also focused on his own problems.

Both Nam-gyu and Gi-hun saw that in the distance Myung-gi had approached Jun-hee, who was still sitting on the bench, staring at the floor.

__________

"Hey, Jun-hee, let's cross," Myung-gi said, taking her hand and trying to get her to stand up, but to no avail, as she abruptly broke free from his grasp. "Why aren't you moving?" He practically shouted at her. "What are you going to do? Are you going to sit and wait for your death?"

The girl didn't look at him, nor did she respond.

"What are you doing?" Myung-gi looked at her with concern. "We have to survive, Jun-hee. We have to get out of here so we can be with our daughter."

Jun-hee then had a glimmer of hope about the way Myung-gi was behaving toward her. He seemed genuinely interested in helping her, so she carefully rolled up her pantsleeve and showed him her broken and swollen ankle.

"Are you going to carry me and help me cross?"

Myung-gi saw her hurt, then turned to look at the other players, then back at her and began to doubt everything. What she was asking for wasn't possible. Besides, he was very close to the end. What awaited him there was money, a lot of money, and Jun-hee knew it immediately. What a fool she had been to have even the slightest hope for him. It was obvious he wouldn't help her because he had more important things to worry about.

"I knew it," Jun-hee said, looking at him with her tired, dark-circled, and angry eyes. "You haven't changed. Don't come near me again, and never come near my daughter, you idiot," she said, rejecting him again.

And her words had an effect on him. Myung-gi loved her, but he was caught between a rock and a hard place, between her and money. He wanted to cry with anger at being rejected by her.

The girl who had once been his girlfriend no longer had feelings for him, and to top it all off, behind them, listening to everything, was him, that wretch smiling victoriously at Myung-gi. Yes, Thanos was standing there in front of them.

"Yes, I understand everything that's happening, Jun-hee," Myung-gi said indignantly, imagining things that weren't there. "You're never going to leave me alone, are you?" He spoke to Thanos, looking at him out of the corner of his eye, feeling helpless.

The purple-haired boy laughed mockingly and reveled in Myung-gi's shortcomings toward his ex.

"I told you I'd make you pay."

"And this is how you do it? You and her have something?" Myung-gi asked in an almost accusatory tone.

Thanos decided to ignore him and walked past him and approached the girl. "Señorita, stand up, you have to cross."

"What?" Jun-hee looked at him with wide eyes.

"Time's running out, and I'm fighting with my mind not to kill this idiot," he pointed at Myung-gi, who was staring at the situation in disbelief. "So let's go," he said with a rude tone, even though it wasn't directed at her.

"But that's crazy."

"I heard you ask him if he could carry you. This weakling can't, but I can. Come on."

Jun-hee definitely didn't trust Thanos, especially with what he did there on the bridge. She saw his dilated pupils with those exaggerated expressions he had.

She sighed deeply. Well, what else could she do? It was obvious he came back for her, though not because he's an angel or anything like that; rather, he was the devil for throwing people off the bridge. Besides, no one else would help her on this side.

"Ok...okay." She would risk it only because her baby was on the other side. She strangely took Thanos's hand as he offered it to her and stood up from the bench with difficulty.

Then Jun-hee allowed Thanos to carry her on his back. To him, she felt light; he knew he could trust the pill's effect; it always made him feel better.

The purple-haired boy walked determinedly toward the entrance to the bridge and stood in front of Myung-gi, who was still processing the situation but was already standing on the edge, ready to cross first.

For Myung-gi, it was no longer worth trying to talk to Jun-hee, because once again she had chosen someone else over him. That's what he thought, and honestly, he felt jealous and annoyed that it was Thanos or... even player 456.

Thanos smiled at him, haughty and arrogant, and before Myung-gi left across the bridge, he said to him.

"I'll see you there, faggot, don't die, you still owe me my money," he greeted him mockingly, and MG Coin rolled his eyes, fed up, and began to move quickly through the game, leaving the girl behind. "Are you ready, señorita?"

"No," Jun-hee replied, thinking, "I already regretted my decision." She began to sweat nervously when she saw that it was now their turn to cross the bridge. "Are you sure what you're doing, aren't you?" she said, looking at him doubtfully.

"Of course, girl, hold on tight."

At that moment, Thanos placed both feet on the bridge and counted 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 again. He warmed up a bit before making a decision, as his calves were burning from the "exercise," but the pill offset the pain by altering his nervous system and changing his perception of things and his mood.

The purple-haired boy waited for a couple of players to go ahead to make sure they wouldn't push them both. When he saw the path clear, he moved forward quickly with the girl on his back.

The iron rope lowered, and then he drew strength from where he didn't even know he could reach. He took a run-up and jumped, dodging the rope. Jun-hee held on tightly to him and closed her eyes in fear; now she was dizzy.

When his feet touched the floor of the bridge Thanos groaned from the pain of the weight on him, almost losing his balance, so he had to use more force than normal.

"Hey, b-be careful," Jun-hee warned fearfully as she looked down and saw the corpses of those who had fallen.

"I know, I know," Thanos said, somewhat sanely. "Damn, I thought this would be easier," he thought in those few seconds.

He counted his steps and jumped again. Shit, he felt light at times, but then his body reminded him how weak he really was. But hey, he wasn't going to give up; the pill was his driving force. Thanos jumped again, continuing to do so, focusing his gaze on the movement of the rope. After all, he'd done the same thing even in the "Red Light, Green Light" game.

The other remaining players stared in shock as that crazy boy risked himself for a girl he barely knew. They swore he was just as crazy as player 456, who crossed with a baby.

Gi-hun, who was now holding Jun-hee's baby in his arms, nervously watched what was happening; she had to live.

But he wasn't the only one watching everything. There was also Myung-gi, who had recently finished crossing. He didn't know how to feel about it.

Then there was Nam-gyu, who looked at the scene and then at the stopwatch and the little time left. God, he was nervous and stressed by that fool and his stupid ideas, damn crazy suicidal boy.

"Hyung, come on, you can do it!" encouraged the long-haired boy, unashamed of the others seeing him stand up in front and shout like they did when they played "Six-Legs Pentathlon." Nam-gyu's whole body still ached, but his affection and concern for Thanos was stronger than ever, and he didn't take his eyes off him for even a second.

The VIPs who had been following the game for a while had this other surprise, aside from what happened with player 456. Now it was player 230 who took things to the next level and also carried the other half of player 222. The VIP who had bet on both players 222 once again supported the player who crossed the bridge.

For his part, In-ho realized that perhaps Gi-hun, with these actions, was standing up to continue fighting him, as this other addicted and ambitious player was one of the few who still retained his "human side" and was willing to help, but that was minimal because he killed more people than he could save.

One positive thing to come out of all this was that In-ho wanted to see if there was any other player willing to be "human" and "good." He would have to continue testing them.

Thanos, tired and carrying Jun-hee, felt like he was going to collapse, but luckily he was already at the final stretch, and with about three more jumps he dodged the iron rope and managed to get to safety with the girl.

The female robotic voice spoke: Player 230 passes, player 222 passes.

The VIPs in the room applauded happily at the entertainment; that boy over there didn't disappoint them. The VIP who had chosen to save him was satisfied because he had made a good choice, as was In-ho, who did everything to keep Gi-hun alive and prevent him from committing suicide. After all, the man was special, very special and interesting.

The purple-haired boy collapsed tiredly onto the ground, breathing heavily. Gi-hun rushed over to help Jun-hee get up from the boy. He extended his hand, and she took it, struggling to stand.

"T-thank you... aah... really," the girl said to Thanos. She was also agitated, but from the fright she'd had the entire walk, her heart nearly jumped out. She thought she was going to have a heart attack because the boy nearly fell several times.

"It's nothing," Thanos replied, still on the ground. He was stiff from exhaustion; he had overexerted himself.

At that, Nam-gyu approached him and sat down next to him on the floor so he could see him. "Hyung, hyung ah...How are you? Are you okay?" he asked worriedly.

"I...feel fucking great, Nam-su" Thanos replied and only managed to give him a thumbs up "Everything hurts, damn it."

"That...ah...it's because you're an idiot, hyung," Nam-gyu said, somewhat annoyed by his nonsense. "Ouch!" he complained, having received a gentle punch on the shoulder from Thanos, he still feeling very sensitive about everything.

"Don't complain, I helped you cross," Thanos said, still face down on the ground.

"Yeah, and...uh...you were very rude with me." Nam-gyu crossed his arms, annoyed, ignoring his physical pain for a few seconds.

___________

The game ended since there were no more players left, so the pink guards opened the doors and escorted the players back to the large room.

Nam-gyu and Thanos leaned against each other, barely walking. They were tired, sweaty, sore, and filthy from never having a shower in all their time at the games. The smell in all of them was terrible.

Min-su followed behind them, and Gi-hun carried Jun-hee's baby while the girl limped along.

"Damn," Thanos said, sniffing his armpit after taking off his jacket. "I stink like hell. They should have at least given us some deodorant."

"N-no...don't tell me," Nam-gyu said sarcastically. "I smell like dried blood, it's all over my tracksuit. I tried to clean it off...several times, ugh."

"I didn't know you were on your period, boy," Thanos mocked.

"Ah y-you're an idiot, hyung, oh why do you tell me those things?" Nam-gyu replied, embarrassed to have heard that, and covered his face with one of his hands.

"It's just that you're very irritable today, Nam-su."

"Gyu, it's Nam-gyu. How many times should I repeat that?...ngh.." he corrected, annoyed, while touching his stomach due to the slight pain.

"Oh yeah, of course," Thanos said with little interest, causing Nam-gyu to sigh in frustration.

Soon, the two of them were sitting on the same bed they'd slept in together last night. They were now chatting after sneaking into the men's bathroom to splash water on each other's faces. It's worth noting that they made a mess there because they tried to bathe, soaking the entire place in the process.

Nam-gyu desperately drank water from the bottle he'd left on the side of the bunk. "Hyung, uhm I want to... know something."

"What something?"

"Ah...would you have carried me so I could across the bridge?" the black-haired boy asked a little shyly. Finally, he felt less sore; he'd managed to go a day without using drugs, partly because he didn't know Thanos had hidden the cross in his tracksuit pocket and because he didn't tell him about the pills to prevent him from relapsing.

Thanos thought about the answer for a moment and decided to be honest.

"The señorita is a girl, and she's lighter and smaller, and you, well... How do I tell you?"

"Tell me what?" Nam-gyu asked curiously.

"It's just... bro, your ass is really fat, and that's really heavy, you understand?" he explained as if it were obvious.

"W-what?" The black-haired boy couldn't help but blush at hearing that because it meant Thanos had been staring at him frequently and hadn't missed a single detail of his physical appearance. Was what he heard an insult or a compliment?

"Your ass is fat, Nam-su. If I carried you, that thing would have broken my back. Don't be offended. I like big asses, and yours is like a full moon," Thanos clarified, looking at his colorful nails with some disinterest.

He had treated Nam-gyu very badly yesterday, so he had to make it up to him somehow and lighten the mood because today they almost dead.

"Uh hyung, oh..I don't know what to say" Nam-gyu covered his mouth with both hands, sometimes Thanos could say nonsense, more than usual, but this, it went beyond calling a girl "señorita" and flirting with her with silly raps, was this a way of telling him he was cute? "Huh, y-you're rude, h-hyung" He looked away and smiled discreetly.

Both were unaware that their "conversation" was being overheard by the VIPs and In-ho through the surveillance cameras.

"What kind of compliment is that?" said the male VIP.

"I don't know, but it's the stupidest thing I've ever heard. It's the worst thing you could say to a girl," said the female VIP.

"Yeah, but the guy over there isn't a girl."

"Oh, that's true. What an idiot I am," said the female VIP.

In-ho, who was watching everything from another room, just rolled his eyes at all the idiocy he heard and saw, although this was less ugly than what happened a few years ago when those two players locked themselves in the bathroom and he was traumatized by seeing them naked. He shook his head, trying to dispel that memory and instead focused on keeping an eye on Gi-hun.