Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Se-mi remains sat on one of the beds, having just recovered from the chaos of the night. The rebellion has been underway for ages, but the guards storming into the dormitory signified that it was nearly over.

Now it's just silent, the rebellion failed. Player 456 has made no return, so it's highly likely that he's been killed.

But that's not on the top of her mind. The thing that's on her mind is Min-su's death. How she witnessed Nam-gyu brutally stab him to death, all because he was a pathetic bully who saw Min-su as inferior.

She tried to help, she really did, but she was in the wrong place at the right time - on top of the bunks, and only armed with a glass bottle.

She'd tossed it down, but she missed Nam-gyu, and despite the fact that Min-su briefly had the advantage...

He'd failed. Nam-gyu ended up stabbing him to death, and Se-mi was unable to do anything.

And she couldn't jump down. She was too high up to do that. Falling from that height would've gotten her injured, or even killed.

She knew he wanted to make amends somehow, but he wasn't able to, and now he's dead.

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A buzzing is heard, and then the masked men come in holding a coffin. All of the dead players have already been removed, so what could this possibly mean?

As they place the coffin down on the ground and them leave, most people - including Se-mi - get up and approach it. Again, she can't help but wonder what on earth this means.

They all stop around it, with some of them closer than the rest.

One of them opens it, and it's.... Player 456, the man who led the rebellion! He appears to be either unconscious, or dead.

"Is he dead?" Geum-ja asks in worry, unsure on what to make of the situation.

Hyun-ju checks for a pulse.

"He's alive." She says. This fact comes as a relief to the closest players.

"Help me get him on the bed, quickly."

"Okay."

Se-mi says nothing as she watches in complete confusion. Why was he the only one who was brought back? And how is he alive when the rest appear to have been killed? To her, that's definitely strange and a little bit suspicious. Is there something going on behind the scenes in regards to him?

She doesn't know what the answers to any of these questions. No matter how many questions show up in her mind, no answers are coming.

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After a while, the masked men return. This is definitely going to be an update on the number of players left, the prize money, and how much each individual person would get.

This time, nothing is said as the masked manager raises a small device, and then the lights dim.

On the board, the player number decreases. At the same time, more money drops into the piggy bank.

"A total of 35 players were eliminated last night, and 60 players remain in the game. The prize money accumulated up to this point is 39.6 billion won, and each person's share is 660 million won."

That's a lot of money, but Se-mi fears that they're not leaving now, not after the ruckus last night, including the failed rebellion in which more players were killed.

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

All of a sudden, Gi-hun appears, walking from where he was sat.

"Why did you keep me alive? Why didn't you kill me?"

The masked soldiers begin to approach.

"Answer me! Tell me why!"

"Why did you let me live?! Why?!"

"Shoot me, you bastards! Yes, shoot me! Kill me too!"

The soldiers drag him away, and to the ground.

All anyone can do is watch as this goes down, with absolutely nothing to say.

As the man continues to shout, question why he is still alive, and why he wasn't killed, the room remains in absolute silence aside from his shouting.

Se-mi doesn't know what to think of this, any of it. Her mind is a mess of thoughts at the moment, and she's honestly overwhelmed by it all.

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"The vote will again be held in reverse order of your player numbers. Player 456, please cast your vote."

Nothing. A few people glance in the man's direction, and he just looks... So out of it, like his mind is separate from his body.

"If you don't show an intent to vote by the count of three, your vote will be considered an abstention."

Still, nothing.

"One."

"Two."

"Three."

And for the third time... Nothing. Again.

"Player 456 has forfeited his vote, so it will be considered as an abstention."

Well, this voting session is off to a bad start, isn't it?

"Next, Player 448. Please cast your vote."

Player 448 begins to walk down the middle of the room. The energy in the room is intense, and it makes everyone unsettled. Well, to those who have voted X, that is.

When 448 comes to a stop, she stares down at the two buttons, X and O.

"We're not going to hurt you, so vote freely."

"Yeah, do whatever you want."

"Don't mind us, feel free to vote however you want."

She ends up pressing O.

That's a bad start. Up until now, the first vote was always X, so if the number of players left after the midnight riot wasn't a big enough indicator that the games were going to continue, then this most definitely is.

The games have an extremely low chance of ending here and now.

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18 X, 41 O.

Even though the votes played heavily against team X this time, Se-mi still decided to vote X. She doesn't know why, though a tiny chance of the games ending sounded better than no chance at all.

Hopefully after the next game - whatever it may turn out to be - everyone will come to their senses and want to leave. The chances of that are basically zero, since greed has took rational thinking's place on the podium in the span of one night.

As Se-mi sits down and eats what little food the players have been given - which is just two sweet potatoes - she stares at one person in particular: Nam-gyu. He's just sitting there, acting like he didn't kill anyone that night, when he did.

There was certainly a few other deaths he caused in the fight, but one that sticks out the most in her mind is Min-su.

He's dead, all because Nam-gyu wanted to feel superior by killing someone who he saw as weaker. He wanted to feel strong.

But he isn't. He only gets that confidence of his from those drugs. He needed them for the second game because he was scared as hell.

And he still is now. That's why he killed Min-su. He won't get away with it forever, though.

Sooner or later, he's going to face the consequences, and Se-mi will make sure it's by her own hand.

Chapter Text

The players enter a strange hall, with a gumball machine with blue and red balls in the centre of the room. Nobody knows what to expect from this next game.

"Welcome to your fourth game. This game will be played in two teams."

Well that explains it, then...

"Before we start the game, you will divide into teams. Please take turns drawing a ball from the gumball machine in front of you."

That makes sense. Though Se-mi wonders what the game will be, and what each colour might mean for each person.

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Now it's Se-mi's turn to draw a coloured ball, and she gets... A red ball. It's fine, as she still doesn't know what this means for her.

She walks over to the designated side where all of the others with red balls are. Nam-gyu also appears to be on the red team too, so whatever this next game is... She may not be able to give what's coming to him. Maybe the fifth game will give her that chance.

If not, then the final game may give her one final chance. There's no way he will win the games alone. Not after what he's done in this place. He doesn't deserve all of that money, and Se-mi will make sure he doesn't win it.

And she's sticking to that. Hell, even if they're the last two players alive she's going to make sure he dies, even if she does as well.

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"The game you will be playing is Hide and Seek. The Blue Team must either find the exit and escape within thirty minutes, or stay hidden from the Red Team until the time is up."

"What about the taggers?" 203 asks, before continuing.

"Just like when we played this as kids, all we need to do is find the ones hiding?"

"The Red Team, the taggers, must find members of the Blue Team, and kill them within thirty minutes."

Se-mi very slightly recoils in shock. The Red Team has to kill the hiders? That's... A very extreme requirement, but it's not like the majority of the players are that opposed to murdering other players.

Others have also began to talk amongst themselves. How are they supposed to do that?

"Kill them..?" One of them asks.

"That is correct. The Red Team must find the Blue Team and kill them. If you fail to kill any opposing players, you will be eliminated."

"Those people are going to kill us?" Someone else, from the Blue Team this time, asks.

"That is correct."

Those on the Red Team... They're being expected to do a lot, here. Kill someone within thirty minutes, or they are also eliminated.

This game is easily going to be the most intense one. This isn't a game anymore, it's just kill, hide, or be killed.

One player on the Blue Team opens the small blue box they've been presented with. It's a key.

They hold it up.

"What is this?"

A few others also check what they have, and they've all got similar keys.

"You have been given keys to doors in the arena. You can use that key to go through the doors, but once a door is unlocked, it cannot be locked again."

"So they can hide somewhere and use their keys to escape. They have it so much easier!"

The tension between the taggers and the hiders is already high, and the game hasn't even started yet. How... Fun.

"On top of that, we have to kill those people. And with our bare hands."

"That's right. This isn't fair. It's not like they will just roll over and ask us to kill them. How do you expect us to kill someone with our bare hands?"

"We understand your concerns. That's why we've prepared a small gift for the Red Team as well."

And surely enough, the Red Team are being handed small boxes, like the ones the hiders have, but red.

"Please open the box and check."

Nam-gyu gets his, and then opens it. It's a knife.

He slowly uses it, and slices his own finger with it. This instantly draws blood, indicating that the knives are very sharp.

Nam-gyu then begins chuckling and waving the knife teasingly at the Blue Team - Myung-gi, to be more specific.

"The Red Team can use their knives to attack the Blue Team. However, members of the Red Team are not allowed to attack each other."

"Shouldn't you give us a shield, or something? You give them knives and expect us to just run around unarmed?"

"He's right. You've got to give us something, too."

"Yes, all we have is a key. That's not fair!"

The Red Team argues against these protests, Player 203 to be more specific.

"But you can use the key to open a door and escape."

"That's right!"

"Just hide somewhere. It should be a piece of cake!"

"Brother." Yeong-sam says, speaking directly to Jeong-dae.

"That's what you're good at. Hiding like a little rat."

That's most definitely a threat on his end.

"Before we start the game, we will give you one last chance to change your fate. If any of you are not happy with your role, you may switch roles with someone on the opposing team before the game starts."

"What? We can switch roles?"

"That is correct. You can swap your items and vests upon mutual agreement. But once the game starts, removing or trading your vests will be strictly prohibited. Please make your choice carefully."

Se-mi stares down at the knife in her own hand. There's a chance for her to change to Blue and prevent herself from having to kill someone... But if she does, then Nam-gyu will almost certainly be on her tail, and that's not what she wants.

If she switches now, then Nam-gyu is definitely going to come for her, and try to kill her.

That's the opposite of what she wants now. She's already made up her mind - she's staying on the Red Team, even if it means she has to kill someone in order to advance in the games. It's less risky than switching to Blue and increasing the chances of being killed, courtesy of that drugged-up, pathetic man.

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Now is the time period in which people are talking amongst themselves, attempting to switch with another player, and stuff like that.

Se-mi hears footsteps coming towards her, and she expects to see a member of the Blue Team hoping to switch with her...

But she turns around and sees none other than Nam-gyu, her #1 enemy in the games right now. It's just her and him left, out of the five that they were originally a part of. It's quite ironic that it's these two left, the ones that hate eachother the most.

"Hey, Se-mi noona." He greets, in an almost condescending way.

"What do you want? There's clearly something you want to say, so say it." She says, not in the mood for any of his shit right now.

"I'm just saying... You're definitely not gonna get very far if you're on the Red Team. You won't be able to kill anyone."

"Why are you worrying about me? Worry about yourself, I'm going to make sure I find someone. You're lucky it can't be you."

Nam-gyu lets out a very loud laugh at that.

"You've got some nerve, bitch." He retorts, before stepping closer.

"I'd suggest switching to Blue. You'll have a shot at surviving if you do."

"I know you'd just hunt me down and kill me if I swapped, so I'm not going to. I'm not that stupid, you pathetic, drug-dependent wimp."

This earns a physical reaction from him, in the form of him leaning back slightly. It's obvious that he wasn't expecting such a harsh reaction to his words.

"Worry about yourself, and I'll worry about myself and who I have to kill."

These final words from her make him laugh a tiny bit, even though he's just been brutally assaulted via words.

That's when he turns around, and walks away. He's admittedly disappointed that Se-mi isn't on the Blue Team (and refuses to swap with someone to be on that team), but all he can do is sulk in silence and deal with it.

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"The game will begin momentarily. Blue Team, please get ready to enter the arena."

"Let me repeat: the game will begin momentarily."

All of the members of the Blue Team begin to get into a line, and then enter the keyhole-shaped gap in the wall to the game area.

It somehow makes things more tense watching them go in. Really hammers it home that half of the players are about to go in there in a few minutes, and try to kill them all.

Se-mi is trying to cope with the fact she's going to have to kill someone, but it might just be a tad easier if she goes for someone easy to kill, presumably one of the weaker O voters. That's the best choice in her mind to make sure she doesn't feel too guilty about killing someone.

A two-minute timer appears on the clock above the entrance to the game area. Two minutes to hide? That doesn't seem like a lot of time, but it'll give the Blue Team a chance to get as far away as possible to ensure that they aren't spotted and killed. Distant music - presumably from the starting area in the arena - can be heard.

The Red Team have a lot of pressure on them to kill one person to pass, but Se-mi doesn't think that'll bother most of them. The O team were perfectly happy with killing everyone a few nights ago, and now they've got a second shot at killing people. After all, they make up the majority, so it'll be easy for them. There's 41 of them, and only 18 on team X. In the game, surely more O voters will die right? They make up the majority, and so more of them will be killed. Plus, the remaining X voters will be desperate to leave, so they might try to kill those who wanted to continue.

There's a very real chance that someone on the Blue Team will be able to kill someone on the Red Team, so there's also that Se-mi has to worry about now. The rules didn't specify that this was against the rules in any way, so that risk is very real.

The chance that team X can win the vote and leave this place alive is still extremely low, as the majority are pressing O either out of greed, or out of fear.

Se-mi has a plan in mind: kill someone she knows has voted O, so she can increase the chances of them losing the next vote, even if by a small amount only.

All she needed was 200 or so million won, and now she's here, with the one of sixty who have a chance to win 45.6 billion.

396 are dead, and still... The games go on. The question is: how much longer can they possibly go on for? Surely, greed can't overtake self-preservation instincts, right?

Eventually, the two minutes end with a high-pitched beep to indicate this.

"Red Team, please enter the arena."

Finally... There it is.

The members of the Red Team begin to enter the same place that the Blues did. Se-mi is amongst this crowd of armed people, most of whom are very ready to kill.

Se-mi is armed with a knife, and a plan to kill whichever O voter she comes across. All X voters are off the cards for her.

This game is going to be a bloodbath.

That's if it can even be called a game anymore, with the way things are going right now.

Chapter Text

The Red Team enters the arena, and it's decidedly ominous. The ceiling is a night sky of stars, and there are brick walls.

So this is what it looks like. It's not entirely surprising, given the childlike nature of each game which directly clashes with how brutal, unforgiving and violent said games turned out to be. 155 people were killed in Mingle, which is the largest amount of players eliminated in one game in this series of games. Not even the first game took out that many.

As soon as all of the players have entered the arena, the doors behind them swing shut.

Then, a voice rings out through the area.

"Ready or not, here I come!"

And then the thirty minute timer begins. Players begin to disperse into the maze.

Se-mi does the same as them, but she stops when she notices Nam-gyu, and his unlikely ally, Myung-gi.

She just has to stop, and hide behind a corner to listen in to their interaction.

"What are you doing?"

"It's... Just a little something to boost my confidence and strength."

That's definitely drugs. She can't see it, but she knows that's it.

"Thanos, that fucking asshole. After all those free drinks I got him at the club, that bastard treated me like a fucking idiot. He kept calling me 'Nam-su,' for fuck's sake."

"Hey Nam-su. It's Nam-gyu."

"Nam-su. It's Nam-gyu."

"Nam-gyu. Nam-gyu. Nam-gyu, Nam-gyu, Nam-gyu. I told that motherfucker so many times, his ears must have bled. Fucking asshole."

"The Amazing Myung-gi. You want one?"

"No."

"I'm being generous because you bumped off Thanos."

"I said no."

"Don't beg me for one later. Follow me. Let's go and kill half of humanity!" And then he screams like a madman who is definitely not okay in the head.

That's the... Average conversation between Nam-gyu and someone else, where that "someone else" only barely tolerates Nam-gyu.

Se-mi stops listening into their conversation, and then begins to walk further into the maze. Right now, she has more to worry about than what Nam-gyu is doing. For this game, she just has to stop plotting Nam-gyu's demise, and focus on finding someone to kill. Preferably an O voter.

But she can't help but wonder why Nam-gyu decided to team up with, who she thinks, is the person who indirectly got him and Thanos into this place.

Some days ago, she overheard Nam-gyu talking to either himself, or somebody else, about Myung-gi being that "shitty scammer that ruined my life" or something like that after Lights Out. It was after the second game, since her and the other four from the Six Legged Pentathlon were all alive.

And that leads her back to the question in her mind: why is Nam-gyu teaming up with that guy, when he claims that's the guy who somehow landed him in this place?

Surely he can't be that desperate, can he?

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A few minutes of the game have already passed, and still Se-mi has found nobody at all. This place is massive, so the hiders definitely have a lot of places in which they can hide and run to.

She instinctively stops and flinches as she hears distant screaming.

"Player 310, eliminated. Player 260, pass."

She didn't need to see it, she just knows. That was brutal as hell.

Now that she's actually in the game, she's thinking... Does she really have it in her to kill someone, and not just in self-defense?

She has to kill someone for her own survival. If Nam-gyu was on the Blue Team, she would've had an easier target, but... No. He just had to stay on the team where he gets to kill someone.

And he partnered up with someone else. That cannot be good at all, can it?

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Player 235 finds himself running through the halls of the maze, because he's being chased down by not one, but two men.

It's an intense chase. He hasn't had time to look back and see who his opponents are. All he knows is that they're on the Red Team, and they both absolutely want to kill him.

He briefly looks back, but then his eyes are on the maze in front of him as he keeps on running. He's never had to run so fast in his life, not that he can remember at the very least.

He runs down a hallway, and sees a door. He quickly inserts his key into the keyhole, and tries to unlock the door as fast as he can.

As he does, one of the taggers chasing him notices, and runs down that same hallway, before entering the room.

235 tries to open the door before him in this room... And it doesn't work. He yelps as he realises, turning around to face the red-vested man before him.

"Fucking come at me!" He yells, trying to find an opening where he can attack.

Both of them stand there in intense silence, both of them waiting for the other to make a move. 235 is more than ready to attack should the man before him try anything. He's made it this far, he refuses to die now.

Eventually, Myung-gi decides to go in for the attack. He yells as he runs closer.

235, however, manages to grab him and push him into the wall, before he makes a mad dash to the door he entered the room from.

Before he can leave, another red-vested man comes running in, and thrusts the knife towards him.

"You fucking bastard!"

235 grabs the man's wrist, preventing the other man from stabbing him. He tries desperately to fight the man off, and they both eventually end up falling to the ground, with the knife clattering as it falls out of the tagger's hand.

He tackles the red-vested man on the ground, all while attempting to reach for the dropped knife.

"Help me, stab him!"

Myung-gi hesitates.

"I said stab him!"

Myung-gi finally makes up his mind, and decides to go in for the attack.

He stabs the man in the thigh, which causes a scream of pain to erupt from him, and he rolls off of the fallen man, who crawls over and stabs him in the other leg, with blood spraying out of the wound when the knife is pulled out.

Before he can be injured any further, he kicks Nam-gyu away.

"Please spare me. I have a wife and kid. I beg you!"

"I hear you." Nam-gyu responds, before stepping towards the man in hopes for an easy kill.

Myung-gi interrupts and grabs him by the wrist, pulling him away.

"Hang on!"

"What?"

"If you kill him, you'll pass and I won't."

"We'll kill another one." Nam-gyu replies, not quite sure why Myung-gi is being so pissy about this.

"How can I be so sure you'll help me with the next one? You'll be done already."

Nam-gyu yanks his wrist out of Myung-gi's grip. The man makes a solid point.

"What do we do then?" He asks, hoping Myung-gi has some sort of bright idea here.

"We'll do it at the same time."

A few awkward seconds of silence pass.

"What, stab him at the same time?"

They're discussing this like the man they're planning to kill isn't literally right there... Which he still is, of course.

Myung-gi gives a single nod. Nam-gyu begins to chuckle, all while waving the knife in the general direction of Myung-gi.

"Wow, what a sensible shit you are."

Both of their gazes then fall upon the injured Player 235 on the floor once again.

"One, two, three!"

Both of them plunge their knives into the man's body at the exact same time. The life quickly drains from him, and he's dead within seconds.

"Player 235, eliminated."

Myung-gi stares at the bloody knife in his hands in a daze. He really just killed a man. Again. And it wasn't in self-defense this time. He wasn't the one being attacked, no. This time, he was the one doing the attacking.

"Myung-gi, did you see the look in his eyes as he died?"

And then he makes a "Ssssssss" sound.

"Slowly losing that gleam. Turning into doll eyes. It was the same with that little pussy Min-su."

Myung-gi approaches the dead man, and starts to crouch down.

"Fucking fascinating, isn't it?" Nam-gyu continues, having the psyche of a man that's scarily okay with murder.

Myung-gi takes the key from around Player 235's neck.

"What are you doing?"

"We can open the doors with this." Myung-gi explains, putting the key around his own neck.

Nam-gyu then begins to laugh like he just remembered a really funny joke, but no - he's just a maniac on drugs.

"Get up. We've only killed half a person each."

Nam-gyu slowly gets onto his feet as the other man starts to walk away.

"You're so fucking sensible." He remarks, before leaving the room and jogging after Myung-gi.

"Wait for me."

Shortly after, Se-mi opens a door, and discovers a corpse on the ground halfway out of the doorway at the door right next to her.

She walks closer, all out of curiosity. She's never seen a corpse before. Well, she has, but not this close up.

"Player 105, eliminated. Player 096, pass."

But... She notices something underneath the dead man's leg - it looks suspiciously like the cross that once belonged to Thanos, that Nam-gyu took for himself.

She reaches down and picks the object up. Yep, it's the cross.

As she opens it and sees two pills inside, Nam-gyu's voice echoes in her mind. What he said to her earlier coming back to tell her a second time.

"I'm just saying... You're definitely not gonna get very far if you're on the Red Team. You won't be able to kill anyone."

Maybe he was right. Se-mi made a plan in her mind to kill anyone she knows voted O, but planning something out is always much easier than carrying out the plan.

Can she really take another person's life, just to save her own ass?

Then her earlier words to Min-su pop up in her mind, the ones that go along the lines of:

"Don't take those drugs. If you do, you'll never be the same person again."

And she's right. Whatever those drugs are, they're definitely strong, and their effects kick in very, very fast from what she's seen.

And she knows this not just from seeing, but from feeling. From past experiences before the games.

She shouldn't. She can't.

Some time ago, she swore to herself that she'd never do this again. That her involvement in the world of drugs (in more ways than one) was over.

She swore to herself that she wouldn't even entertain the idea of doing them ever again.

And yet... The idea sounds appealing this time. The guilt, the deaths, the brutal murder of Min-su... They all come flaring up in her mind, and it's overwhelming.

This is an old feeling. Being overwhelmed with her life. And there was only one way she could deal with it. The solution to her problems is yet again in her hands, this time, so much time later.

But she - again - swore to herself that she was done. That she wouldn't ever again, no matter the circumstance.

Even if she felt this again, she made a promise. To nobody other than herself, that she would refrain.

Then another voice echoes in her mind.

"You're no different from your goddamn reckless junkie of a father. You're no better than that bastard."

This voice, this harsh reminder, makes her angry. It makes her want to ditch this cross and never touch it again. It makes her want to throw it across the room and curse out whichever cruel deity decided to thrust her into this cursed existence at the top of her lungs, until they give out and she physically can't scream any more.

The voice reminds her of another thing - that she's better than that man she called a father. They were wrong.

... But if she does this, then she'll be no different.

And then that would prove them right.

But her mind is too loud. Overlapping thoughts and voices fill her mind.

She can't take it anymore. If she doesn't do anything about them now, she won't be able to cope.

In one action that might spell disaster in full capital letters on a neon sign, she takes one of the pills, and puts it into her mouth.

The rush is felt almost immediately, only five seconds later. All of a sudden, those overlapping thoughts and voices disappear, like they were never there to begin with.

This is another familiar feeling. The calmness that follows the storm. The wave of relief that comes after the chaos.

And by god, is it a satisfying feeling.

She knew she swore to never do this again, to never give in no matter what, but the past few days in the games have been far too overwhelming.

Now they can't come back, the thoughts, the guilt.

Even if only for a short moment in time, she can rid herself of the stress once more.

And maybe, just maybe... She can muster the strength to end someone's life. Stab them in the heart and watch as the life slowly, slowly drains from their eyes until it's completely gone...

All of a sudden, she feels much more comfortable with killing someone, and she has no idea why anymore.

A voice is heard from somewhere in the maze.

"Player 080, eliminated. Player 226, pass."

This is a reminder - she must end someone's life to save her own, and she's more comfortable than ever with doing exactly this.

She closes the cross, shoves it into her pocket, and crouches down to pick her knife up off of the ground, which was left next to the corpse she found the cross under.

"Player 232, eliminated. Player 349, pass."

One last reminder that: yes, Se-mi absolutely has it within her to kill someone now.

She grips the knife tighter, and then gets onto her feet.

With a newfound determination, she presses on forwards, determined to make it out of this goddamned maze alive.

Chapter Text

"Player 411, eliminated. Players 124, and 333, pass."

Se-mi briefly turns her gaze upwards when she hears this. Nam-gyu has passed the game already. Good, that means he's done here.

But also bad. That also means he won't be killed.

But... Who killed Player 235? There was no announcement of who passed the game due to killing him.

Oh, whatever. Se-mi isn't bothered. All she's bothered about is finding a blue vest to kill, which she feels she can actually do now that her mind is clearer than it's ever been in her whole life.

Seriously. She's never been on a drug this insanely potent. Not only did it work fast, the effects are also much more amplified than they would usually be if they were normal drugs.

Whatever Thanos was on... No wonder he was able to get through the games so easily. He just popped a pill and then went about his life like he was hallucinating that he was in Candyland... Which could've actually been the case.

Se-mi is seeing things in much more contrast than before. Everything is all colourful.

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"The Amazing Myung-gi. Where are you going?" Nam-gyu asks, following a short distance behind Myung-gi.

"I've got to find someone." Myung-gi replies, checking the key he has for the door he stops at. Nope. He moves on.

"That bitch you have a thing with? Huh? What are you going to do if you find her? Protect her? I'll protect that bitch with you." He then mimicks a pregnant belly by putting his hands under his red vest.

All of a sudden, Myung-gi grabs the man and forcefully pushes him into the wall with his left hand, holding his knife towards Nam-gyu with the other.

"If you lay a finger on her, I'll kill you."

In response, Nam-gyu grabs Myung-gi's knife-hand... You could call it, pulling it down slightly.

"You've been so sensible, but now you're being a total drama queen."

As Myung-gi pulls his hand free and points the knife at Nam-gyu again, who reaches a finger out to get some blood on it, and then he licks said blood off of his finger like a literal psycho.

"It's not just a fling. You're in love. Ah, you little shit! You're in love with her. You do fucking love her."

As they begin walking again, Myung-gi lightly shoves Nam-gyu away as he lets go.

And then Nam-gyu begins singing.

♫"We were in love, we met, and became an unforgettable memory, like sad romantic dramas..."♫

Nam-gyu half-jumps onto Myung-gi's back, tossing his arms around the latter's shoulders. He - predictably enough - is shoved off.

"I'll help you find her."

"I don't need your help." Myung-gi harshly retorts, already sick of this idiot. This alliance is only for Hide and Seek, so after this... He doesn't have to deal with Nam-gyu again.

He hopes.

He opens a door and checks inside. Nothing. He backs out of the room and continues down the hall.

"What if you run into a Blue while you're trying to find her? What are you gonna do?"

Myung-gi uses his key to open a door, and then they walk through, continuing through the dark, vast maze.

"Who cares? I've already passed."

"No, you're too damn soft!" Nam-gyu yells, annoyed with how... Straightforward Myung-gi is being. He doesn't want to stop just because they've passed.

Nowhere in the rules did it say they COULDN'T keep killing after they'd already passed.

"The Amazing Myung-gi of MG Coin, this is why you went bust."

All of a sudden, they hear a woman screaming, followed by the distinct sounds of stabbing. Myung-gi instantly runs down the hall in a panic.

"Jun-hee! Jun-hee..."

When he arrives at the scene, he discovers that it's not Jun-hee being stabbed. Thank god.

"Player 400, eliminated. Player 276, pass."

Eventually, Myung-gi turns around, walking away.

"The Amazing Myung-gi, we've got to kill every member of the Blue Team we see. Think about it." Nam-gyu suggests, as they continue through the arena.

"The rule is we kill one person to pass. They didn't say we couldn't kill more than one. So if we kill more of those assholes, there won't be enough for all the red ones to kill. That means, for every blue one we kill, we're eliminating a red one, too. And that will increase the prize by two people's shares." Nam-gyu explains, as they walk through a doorway, finding themselves walking past, and away from, the room where they killed Player 235.

At the mention of the prize amount going up by 200 million won for each Blue they kill - and Red, indirectly - Myung-gi comes to a stop.

They can kill more people, and then some Reds get eliminated too since they can't find anyone to kill.

"Got it? What do you fucking think? Pretty fucking sensible, right?"

This is a very tempting offer - and Myung-gi is seriously considering this. More money.

______________________________________________________________

"Player 394, eliminated. Player 336, pass."

Se-mi still finds herself roaming through the maze. Still, nobody has shown up. Nobody that she can kill, at the very least.

As she turns a corner, she bumps into someone, and they both come to a stop.

It's Player 456.

He doesn't say anything. He stares at her for a few moments, before shoving past her when he determines she's not worth his time at the moment.

That was... Rude, but then again, killing people is also rude, so him shoving past her is the least of her worries right now. Not that she's fully... Y'know, there. Mentally, that is.

He definitely also wasn't fully there, but that's for another reason entirely.

"Player 172, eliminated. Player 203, pass."

That's another one down, but it's not her kill, which means it doesn't affect her that much.

"Player 197, eliminated. Player 443, pass."

"Player 442, eliminated. Player 192, pass."

And that's another two down.

The game is just under halfway over.

Several more seconds pass as she wanders the maze, still finding absolutely zero blue vests. Seriously, why is she finding nobody?

"Player 006, eliminated. Player 447, eliminated."

... And no announcement for who passed the game that time.

Who's killing these people after they've passed, and why are they doing it?

A few more seconds pass before the voice is heard once more.

"Player 044, eliminated. Player 456... Pass."

At this point, Se-mi is ignoring the announcements entirely this time. It doesn't concern her if a red vest has passed.

But what concerns her is the players being eliminated, with nobody passing the game as a result.

Who the hell could possibly be killing them? They've clearly already passed, so they're just going around killing people for whatever mysterious reason.

But then it clicks in her very scrambled, clear mind - it must be Nam-gyu and Player 333. Nobody passed when 235's elimination was announced, and when 411 was eliminated, both of them passed at the same time.

That dickhead Nam-gyu. He's going around killing players for the sake of it - very likely for the money. And he's with that 333 guy.

She subconsciously picks up speed, determined to find a blue vest before the dwindling time runs out.

______________________________________________________________

Much more time has passed, and now there's under four minutes left of the game, and Se-mi has still found a grand total of... Zero fucking hiders. How fantastic.

But as she turns a corner, she sees a door at the end of the hall closing. It seems like there was just someone here.

Bingo. She presses on down the hallway, hoping for the easy kill here.

As she opens the door, she finds a blue vest in the room. Player 100. And he appears to be trying to open a door using his one key, but it has three locks. The exit door, obviously.

Before Se-mi can press on forwards, she blinks... And the man in the tracksuit is no longer the elderly Player 100, but her father. Her face falls.

"Se-mi. You wouldn't kill me, you're too much of a goddamn failure to do that." His harsh voice echoes through the room - or Se-mi's mind, actually.

Her grip on the knife tightens.

"Fuck off. You were never my daughter, I never wanted you."

Anger flares up in ever fibre of her being.

And then the final blow is when the man in the tracksuit before her turns into Nam-gyu.

"He's right, y'know. You won't do it. You can't." Nam-gyu's voice echoes teasingly, seemingly aware of the "presence" of Se-mi's father.

This is what tips her over the edge.

She lunges at the man before her, screaming in anger.

"No, wait! Please!-" Player 100 shouts, but his plea goes unheard as Se-mi plunges the knife into his body, with such an anger that is unusual for someone she doesn't know - but little does he know she's seeing someone else entirely.

She pulls the knife out, and then stabs again, grabbing onto the front of his blue vest.

And as she does... The face is no longer her dad's, not Nam-gyu's...

It's now Min-su's.

"Se-mi-yah... Why..?

His voice is sad, and disappointed.

All of a sudden, Se-mi is horrified. She pulls back, and the man collapses to the ground, staring up at her.

Min-su's face stares up at her.

"Player 100, eliminated. Player 380, pass."

But that's not what she hears.

She hears it as:

"Player 125, eliminated. Player 380, pass."

"Min-su, no... No. No!"

The knife clatters to the ground, and she stumbles backwards and hits the wall.

"MIN-SU!!!"

She tries to claw the guilt out of her, to get rid of it.

But it doesn't go away.

And now she's an incoherent screaming and crying mess. She saw her father, Nam-gyu, and then Min-su at the worst time possible.

Right when the man she was stabbing was already done for.

Chapter Text

Se-mi enters the dormitory, cross tightly in hand.

The fourth game is over. That's a relief.

As she walks further in, a seemingly distressed Nam-gyu runs past her, and towards one of the masked men standing by the door that she - and a few others - just emerged from.

"I left something in the arena. I have to find it. I... I'd like to look for it real quick," Nam-gyu pleads, not caring about anything else other than his oh-so-precious drugs.

Little does he know there's one pill left - and that Se-mi has his only source of easing his own mind.

He tries to walk past, but the masked man pushes him back.

"No, you can't go back in there," the masked solider replies, voice monotone behind that freaky mask.

"Come on! Just..."

Se-mi stares down at the cross in her hand, the very thing she knows Nam-gyu is so desperate for.

Then, it properly strikes her now that her mind has mostly cleared from the rush felt by the drug - she can absolutely use this against him in the next game.

He's a total junkie, so he won't be able to function properly without his drugs.

It's a long fall from grace. Once a murderous psychopath, now nothing more than a man who wants nothing more than to take one pill.

Nam-gyu grabs onto the masked man's gun, really desperate now.

"Fuck! I have to go find it!"

He doesn't care that he's causing a scene. All he wants is to find that cross, and feel the sweet release of drugs.

The masked soldier shoves him to the ground, and aims the gun directly at the murder-happy, withdrawing man.

Everything goes silent for a second - and then the distant sound of a baby crying is heard.

Wait, a baby crying?

That doesn't exactly... Fit, in a place like this, not one bit.

Both of the masked men turn around to the door. It seems that even they can be caught off guard by something.

Se-mi stops, having barely heard the sound, and she also turns to face the door, mind still recovering (barely) from that bloodbath of a game.

Soon after, two people come walking in.

Player 149, holding a mass bundled up in a teal jacket.

And then Player 222, who looks like she has definitely seen better days.

The baby's sounds echo through the dormitory, and everyone stares in stunned silence.

Nobody even knows what to say. Is there even anything to say right now?

______________________________________________________________

The masked men come in after that familiar buzzing echoes through the dormitory.

Everyone, exhausted and overwhelmed after that game, looks up.

"Congratulations to all of you for making it through the fourth game. Here are the results of the fourth game."

The lights dim, and everyone stares up at the piggy bank in the sky as money begins to drop into it.

"In the fourth game, 35 players were eliminated. We now have 25 players remaining. The prize money accumulated up to this point is 43.1 billion won, and each person's share is 1.724 billion won. You will now take a vote to decide whether to continue the games or not."

______________________________________________________________

For what is possibly the first ever time, Nam-gyu decided to vote X this round, and even if Se-mi found herself surprised, she knew the very reason he decided to do it.

Because he's missing his drugs. He wanted out.

The amount of money is a lot, and it looks like there's more O voters left than X voters. At this point, she knows there's no shot that team X wins the vote.

What she's almost 100% sure of, is that these games will keep on going right to the very end. Another thing on her mind is - what the hell could the last two games be?

Considering they're two-thirds of the way through, she assumes the next game, and then the one afterwards, will require physical activity just like the rest.

"Player 380."

As she approaches, and then comes to a stop, she stares down at the two buttons. Is there any point in voting X anymore, when she knows they're not leaving now? Many players have already pressed O, and being in the minority might just be dangerous.

And then she looks back at Nam-gyu, standing there on the X side.

Then she remembers: if he leaves now, he gets away with everything he's done here.

But she runs the risk of dying. She can't do that.

But Nam-gyu is right there...

Oh, screw it.

She presses X. It's not like they're getting out anyways, so her vote means absolutely nothing.

"Player 388."

Now it's Dae-ho's turn to vote.

As he stops before the two buttons, he stares back at Gi-hun, handcuffed to the metal bar of the bed. He knew the man looked for him for most of Hide and Seek, but he ended up killing someone else.

There's a chance to apologise. Gi-hun is still at his lowest point, but he can be brought back.

All he needs to do is talk to the man.

He presses X, though he knows his vote won't matter anymore.

"Player 443."

Another member of team O. It's pretty clear what he's about to vote.

And then a high-pitched beep is heard as the man presses O.

"Player 456, please cast your vote."

And the remaining players turn to him. He's still doing absolutely nothing. He hasn't said a single world in quite a while now.

And after a few seconds...

"Player 456 has forfeited his vote." Of the 25 voters, fourteen votes for O, ten votes for X, and one abstention. In accordance with your democratic vote, the next game will take place tomorrow. I hope you have a pleasant night. Good work."

Damnit. Se-mi still had a small, tiny hope that everyone would come to their senses and want to leave the games. 1.7 billion is a lot of money, but it doesn't seem to be satisfying the majority at all.

It would be more than enough for Se-mi to pay off her debt and then... What? She can't move on, can she? That's an extremely difficult thing for her to do right now.

She stares down at her hands. They're shaky as hell, and they feel cold. Her entire body feels colder than usual. Colder than it should be.

That must be one of the drug's side effects. It makes you more relaxed, and therefore lowered her body temperature.

But even then, her mind was a mess, just a much more organised mess. Just how she likes it.

Also... Not, at the same time. These particular drugs are stronger than any she's ever seen, or consumed. She can't help but wonder where that idiot Thanos got them from.

As she walks over to a bed and sits down, she takes the cross out of her pocket, and opens it up. One pill remains.

Five days, and not only is there one left, Se-mi is now the one in control of it. Not Thanos, not Nam-gyu, but her.

It almost seems ironic, like the universe deliberately set things up this way. Se-mi disapproved of the two men using drugs to get through the games... But then she ended up doing the exact same thing to get through the fourth game. And now Nam-gyu is just a shaky, stuttery, and stressed mess.

Her mind is loud again, but she can't take the last drug, not now. It evidently doesn't last for long at all, and they clearly calm you down.

That's good enough for the next game.

She won't have anything to take for the sixth game - if she even makes it to that point - but she will just have to deal with it, and power through.

It's not like there's much else she can do at this point.

______________________________________________________________

Dae-ho has gotten some food and a drink. It's just a few sweet potatoes and a bottle of water.

Oh well, at least it's something. Something is always better than nothing.

But as he walks to the bunks, he sees Gi-hun sitting there, still handcuffed to the bed, and staring at the ground.

This time... Dae-ho musters up the courage. The courage to go over there and talk, to apologise, and to tell the truth about himself.

He feels no ounce of hesitation as he walks towards the man, determined to make things right.

Once he gets there, he sits down, and places down the food and the bottle next to the man. He hasn't eaten and drank since after Mingle, after the tied vote.

It's been two days. The starvation and dehydration can't be doing well on his mind right now.

"Gi-hun..."

No response. The man is completely catatonic. But this doesn't deter Dae-ho, he's determined to talk to the man, whether he responds or not. All Dae-ho wants to do is explain himself.

That's literally it. He's not expecting a single word. Hell, he isn't even expecting the man to look at him. The bare minimum Dae-ho needs is for the man to listen.

"I'm sorry about before. I just wanted you to understand."

Dae-ho wraps his arms around his legs, before he keeps talking.

"I'm also sorry for not bringing the ammo. I want to be honest with you, I... Was never a marine. I've never even helf a gun."

Gi-hun looks up. He stares at Dae-ho with a blank expression on his face. That's the first time he's acknowledged anyone's existence... Well, he did acknowledge Player 044. Before he killed her, that is.

Dae-ho finds himself surprised by this, but he continues. Finally, Gi-hun is finally acknowledging his words.

"I was actually Social Service Personnel," he finally admits. He's felt bad about lying about his occupation, so he might as well come clean. Nothing can be fixed anymore, it's already all too far gone to be repaired now.

431 are dead, and Jung-bae is one of those. Both of them have lost a close friend in this place.

"When I was with you guys, though... I felt like I could do anything. I felt safe, and that I would get far in the games."

Gi-hun isn't in much of a proper state to say anything, but he's at least listening.

That's more than Dae-ho could've asked for. Even just lending an ear is good enough.

But then Dae-ho remembers - Jun-hee. She's not exactly in a good state right now, and there's still two games.

"Jun-hee's not looking so good... We might need to help her," Dae-ho suggests, glancing around the room, trying to find her.

And then he gets up. That concludes this little one-sided conversation they've been having.

Gi-hun takes this all into consideration. Maybe he should forgive Dae-ho. Maybe help him through the remaining games.

It's the least he can do.

______________________________________________________________

The lights come on, and then a loud buzzing echoes through the room once more several seconds later. The remaining players begin to wake up.

But something catches everyone's attention. The masked men in pink have came in... But are carrying in a coffin.

What? Why? What happened? Did someone kill someone else in their sleep while it was dark? That seems like the only logical explanation.

Then... They see it. Someone hanged themselves in the sight, it seems. And that someone is Player 149.

Se-mi freezes in place. She didn't know the woman, and there's been hundreds of deaths, but... The sight of this is jarring. Someone ending their own life here.

She has no idea what to even THINK right now.

Was there any way this could've been stopped? What if they had ended the games earlier?

Se-mi didn't know her at all, but she was always accompanied by her son. Not after she returned from the fourth game, though. He was gone.

Maybe this is why this happened. She struggled to cope with his death, and then did this. That makes sense.

Not that it makes it any less sad... Because it still is.

"Player 149, eliminated."

And there's the reminder that in this place, human lives amount to nothing more than money.

100 million more won drops into the piggy bank. This morning has not had a very good start, has it?

"Attention, please. The fifth game will begin momentarily. Please follow the instructions from our staff."

And as the voice continues to speak, Se-mi gets up from her bed, but then stops momentarily when she sees Nam-gyu emerging from the bunks, very clearly in a bad position.

______________________________________________________________

The doors to the arena of the fifth game open, and the players begin to enter. The air is filled with intensity, dread, and a determination to survive.

It's... A long bridge, with two giant robotic dolls holding a rope of some sort.

What the hell is this? That's the question on everyone's mind right now.

The answer is quick to come, in the form of that same voice that's spoken over the speaker for six days now.

"Welcome to the fifth game. The game you will be playing is Jump Rope. You must cross the bridge as you jump over the rotating rope, and get to the other side within twenty minutes. You may decide on the order amongst yourselves."

Dae-ho examines the bridge in which they have to cross for several seconds, before he turns around and sees Gi-hun and Jun-hee, where the latter is sitting down on a bench.

"Now, let the game begin."

Then the rope begins to slowly rotate, and the twenty minute timer starts.

Dae-ho glances at the swinging rope in extreme worry. He quickly jogs over to where Jun-hee and Gi-hun are.

"Come on, I'll help you get across the bridge," he offers, holding out a hand towards Jun-hee.

She stares at his outstretched hand for a moment, but then shakes her head.

"Please, don't do that. Worry about yourself, not me."

"Are you... Certain? I really can help you if you-"

"Don't, please. Worry about yourself."

This isn't the answer he wanted... But he's just going to have to accept it.

Besides, he's not exactly the strongest person in this place. Gi-hun is definitely stronger than him.

At the same time, Nam-gyu peeks over the edge of the ledge they're on. That's a long, long way down if he falls.

Instant regret ensues.

From nearby, Se-mi takes the cross out of her pocket, and opens it.

One pill left. She must use this wisely.

But... An idea strikes her. She takes the pill out, shoves it into her pocket safely, and the closes the cross, which she holds tightly in her hand.

She's in the best position right now. Nam-gyu is in dire need of drugs, and she has the very item he so desperately wants. She can pull off one tiny trick.

______________________________________________________________

The time continues to tick down. There's roughly seventeen minutes left, give or take a few seconds.

And nobody has stepped onto the bridge yet. At all.

"Nam-gyu. Are you feeling okay?" Se-mi asks, but she's not really that concerned for him and his wellbeing, because that's about to become completely worthless in just a few moments.

The man crawls closer, making a weak attempt to push her away.

"Hey, piss off."

Nothing. She doesn't budge.

"Piss off, you goddamn bitch."

Great, he's still the same. That'll just make this all the more satisfying for Se-mi.

She leans over, the cross dangling from her fingers.

"Hey, is it because of this?"

Nam-gyu stares up at her in shock and anger. How the hell did she get that?!

He reaches out to snatch it from her, but she pulls her hand back, now going back to holding it tightly in-between her fingers.

Nam-gyu desperately grabs at her, trying to snatch it back from her. How dare she have it?!

"Fuck, give it back! I need it!"

Se-mi manages to shove Nam-gyu off of her, holding her hand up in the air.

"Fuck off, Nam-gyu! Touch me again and I'll throw it over the edge!"

The man screams in genuine despair and desperation. He's in a bad position right now, and he knows it. Finally.

Finally. He knows that he's now beneath her, that he's no longer the one in control.

A few people are watching the scene unfold before them, but Se-mi doesn't care.

... And neither does Nam-gyu to be fair. He's just desperate for his drugs.

"Look, Se-mi noona... Se-mi..."

In the background, the rope continues to swing, and nobody steps onto it. Most of them are busy trying to make a plan, and the rest are watching the peculiar scene of Se-mi finally gaining the upper hand on this junkie of a man.

"I'm sorry, okay?! I'm sorry, I'm sorry for everything! I'm sorry. I really... Really can't do this without it."

Now he apologises, huh? Right when he's the powerless one, he's the one who begs the one he almost constantly tormented... Aside from Min-su, of course.

It's almost sad to watch, and Se-mi nearly feels bad for him.

Emphasis on nearly. The memories of everything he's done come rushing back, and what little pity Se-mi had for him momentarily is gone.

"Please... I need... I need it. I mean it, I really need it."

Se-mi turns around, walking towards the bridge. This causes alarm bells to ring out in Nam-gyu's mind, and he finally gets onto his feet.

"Fuck!"

All he can do is watch as Se-mi tosses the cross. It lands on the bridge, just a few inches away from the large gap in the middle.

"If you want it so fucking bad, then go get it," Se-mi tells him, turning around to face him. He looks like a man who's having very intense war flashbacks.

He grabs onto Se-mi, anger rising up quickly within him, and Se-mi steps back towards the bridge. Many people gasp in shock at the sight.

At this point, Se-mi doesn't care what happens next. Without his drugs, Nam-gyu is sure to fail this game and die.

If she dies now, then she can die knowing that she finally got the upper hand on this idiot.

"What? You wanna kill me? Then fucking do it," she demands, sounding completely serious in her words.

Nam-gyu falters for a moment, having not expected this at all. Se-mi is completely okay with dying right here, right now.

"You can kill me all you want, but it won't stop you from being a fucking coward who can't do anything on his own."

That was supposed to fatally wound his ego, and it seems to work quite effectively.

Finally, Nam-gyu lets go. He turns to face the bridge, inhaling and exhaling heavily.

Damnit...

He really needs those drugs.

Se-mi stands there as he tries to make up his mind on what to do. He's really taking his time here.

And then he finally does it. He gets onto the bridge.

As he starts jumping, people begin to gasp in surprise, fear, and anticipation.

What's going to happen?

As the seconds pass, things only get more and more tense as Nam-gyu slowly crosses the bridge, jumping on his hands and knees.

It feels like several hours, when it's only under thirty seconds in reality.

He reaches the centre of the bridge, and picks up the cross that he so desperately needs.

Ironically enough, getting his hands on the cross feels like a divine gift.

Jump.

Jump.

And then he opens the cross...

But there's absolutely nothing inside.

He looks up, and before he gets to think "I'm fucked..."

The rope hits him. He's knocked off his feet in an instant, and then he falls down, screaming on the way down.

Everyone gasps again as they witness this.

"Player 124, eliminated."

God, is that satisfying for Se-mi to hear. That, in itself, is almost like a drug.

She peeks over the edge of the ledge, seeing Nam-gyu's dead body far down below.

That, too, feels like a drug.

But there's still something she needs to do: cross this goddamned bridge.

"Excuse me," a tired, deep voice can be heard saying. The players turn around to see Player 456 - Gi-hun - with the baby, which is slung around his shoulder with his tracksuit.

They step out of the way as the man approaches the bridge.

He's not seriously going to attempt to cross the bridge with a baby, is he? That's literally insane.

This man must be crazy. He's risking his own life doing this.

He stands there, bracing himself to step onto the bridge, and waiting for the perfect time to do so.

And then he finally steps onto the bridge!

Almost immediately, he jumps, and nearly falls over. He manages to regain his balance, however.

And he keeps on jumping as he slowly approaches the centre of the bridge.

Once he reaches the centre, he... Stops moving?

But what could possibly be the reason for this?

Then the answer becomes clear, there's a gap in the centre of the bridge.

As the seconds pass without him advancing, things get more and more tense.

Eventually, they can't take it. Or at least one can't.

"Just jump!" Yeong-sam shouts, and this proves to be the needed motivation to keep this insane man going.

Gi-hun finally jumps over the gap, and he nearly falls over again, but he manages to regain his balance and jump one more before the rope comes swinging down again.

He's nearly there. He's nearly crossed the bridge. Things have never been more tense than they are right now.

This man is actually crossing the bridge with a baby, and he's actually doing it.

He slowly advances further, and he's getting increasingly closer to the end of the bridge.

And then it happens - the moment he jumps again and runs onto the opposite ledge, everyone cheers loudly. Regardless of what they think of him, they're just glad that he made it, proving that the game is passable.

Things settle down after several seconds, as people begin to muster up the confidence to step onto the bridge.

"Jun-hee-ah! I'll come get you right away!"

Jun-hee nods, and somewhere nearby, Dae-ho sees this. He had the confidence in him that Gi-hun can do this.

As Gi-hun walks elsewhere to put the baby in a safer position, a few people step forwards towards the bridge.

As the man places the baby down and turns around, someone's already on the bridge.

Twelve minutes left, roughly.

"Jun-hee-ah! It's okay, just wait!"

A few more people are already on the bridge, two being 226 and Dae-ho, who is behind 226. Screw it, he might as well. It's not like anyone's going to wait at the moment.

Player 096 jumps over the gap, and begins to advance further, nearly passing the game.

Se-mi grabs the pill from her pocket, and shoves it into her mouth.

Okay, that's the last one. Better make it count.

And then she finally steps onto the bridge, jumping in time before the rope hits her.

And then Player 096 finally fully crosses the bridge.

"Player 096, pass."

"You got this! Come on, one more jump! That's it, get in!"

And as Player 312 makes the final jump and runs onto the platform...

Player 096 shoves him off.

And the man behind 312 is 226, Yeong-sam.

"Fuck!"

"Player 312, eliminated."

Gi-hun is in shock.

"What are you doing?"

Player 096 turns to him.

"What do you think I'm doing? I'm playing the game."

Then a very menacing grin appears on his face.

The players on the bridge, as of right now, are ten different types of fucked.

Chapter Text

"Think about it. If no one else gets across, it'll just be the two of us left. We'll both press X and get out of here with the money."

The man then turns to Gi-hun.

"With 22.7 billion each!"

And then he begins laughing like an actual maniac.

The next player, Player 276, runs for the finish, but 096 grabs him and pushes him down.

"You motherfucker!"

"Player 276, eliminated."

"No one can cross the bridge now! It's game over, shitheads!"

Well, this is bad. And that's the understatement of the century.

Someone is hit by the rope, and they fall.

"Player 270, eliminated."

"Stop," Gi-hun pleads, but this short word is completely ineffective against this new threat - Player 096.

"Stop what? Come help me keep them off! Bring it!"

"Player 084, eliminated."

"Come over here if you want to die! Come over here, you fuckers!"

Another person is hit by the rope.

"Player 209, eliminated."

Someone else jumps over the gap.

And someone else screams as they are hit, and fall into the abyss below them.

"Player 163, eliminated."

"Player 377, eliminated."

"Just push him out of the fucking way!" 192 shouts from his position on the bridge, directing his words at the man at the front of the bridge, Yeong-sam.

"Try me!" 096 yells, more than ready to punt 226 into the void without a moment of hesitation.

"Just let me through! I'll help you keep the rest off, and I'll give you half of my share when we leave!" Yeong-sam yells, desperately hoping to be let through.

Player 096, however, seems to be adamant on keeping everyone on the bridge to fall to their dooms.

"Player 203, eliminated."

Time passes, and still... 096 doesn't move. His presence at the end of the bridge renders this game unpassable until he moves... Which doesn't seem likely anymore.

"Come on, you better move! I can't jump anymore!" Yeong-sam shouts, feeling his legs burning like he's standing knee-deep in fire.

"Just die, then!"

All of a sudden, a voice from behind is heard.

"Move out of the way, now."

096 turns to face Gi-hun.

"Don't you fucking get it? You and I would get all the money!"

Gi-hun couldn't give two fucks about the money right now. He steps closer.

"But if I pushed you from behind, I wouldn't even have to share it."

The marine falters for once, realising that he's in the perfect position for 456 to be able to push him, and therefore win the full prize alone.

"Move."

Finally, Player 096 falls back. He steps aside, letting Gi-hun have his way.

"You're running out of time! Hurry up!"

Yeong-sam jumps two more times, and then he runs for the ledge.

"Player 226, pass."

Dae-ho is next. He jumps one more time, before booking it, as well as the person behind him.

"Player 388, 192, pass."

Several more seconds pass as the rope continues to swing.

"Player 443, eliminated."

______________________________________________________________

Myung-gi looks back at Jun-hee, sitting on the bench. Why has she stayed there the whole time?

And after mustering up the necessary courage, he approaches, determined to help her.

"Jun-hee-ah."

All she does is look up at him. No words, just a stare.

"Let's go. We've got to move before it's too late," he explains, grabbing her by the wrist.

But she yanks her wrist from his grip, refusing to go with him.

"What are you going to do, then? Just sit here and die?"

Silence.

"I know you're angry with me."

"Why did you do it? For the money?" she finally asks.

He glances around momentarily, feeling very awkward now. His gaze quickly falls back onto Jun-hee, though.

"That person saved me and the baby. And you killed her with the knife I gave you," she explains, her stare betraying some of the resentment she feels.

And Myung-gi hates it. He still loves her, and he wants to get out of here alive with her.

But that hope is quickly becoming worthless, as she's refusing to come with him.

"I didn't know, okay?! I didn't know that you were there with her!"

They both know that this is a horrible excuse. It doesn't absolve him of the fact that he killed someone who was protecting Jun-hee.

"Jun-hee-ah. I was trying to find you. I wanted to protect you and the baby, I wasn't just thinking about myself! I did it so we could get out of here and start a new life together. A happier life, that's why I did it. So let's just go."

Myung-gi glances back at the clock. They're running out of time, and he knows it.

"Player 380, pass."

"We have to get out and live, Jun-hee-ah! We have to get out of here with the baby."

They both stare at eachother for a few moments. The air is extremely tense between them.

"I'll help you."

And then she diverts his attention to her ankle. It's still heavily bruised, revealing the severity of her injury.

It's safe to say that Myung-gi is shocked to his very core. He was not expecting that at all.

"What will you do, carry me? Can you do that?"

The answer is already obvious to the both of them.

That's a big fat no. If Gi-hun struggled to cross the bridge with a baby, then how can Myung-gi be expected to successfully carry a fully grown woman across? They both realise that it's impossible.

Or, at least, extremely difficult.

"That baby is mine. She has nothing to do with trash like you. We never want to see you again, not even in our dreams."

And it's now that Myung-gi realises that trying to help her is completely off the table. It's not a thought he likes, but it's the reality he now has to face.

______________________________________________________________

"Hurry up!" Gi-hun shouts, encouraging the remaining players to come across and pass the game.

Mere seconds later, Player 096 screams in anger, charging Gi-hun.

The man turns around just in time for Player 096 to take him down.

And this effectively prevents the players from passing the bridge, again.

Player 096 crawls on top of him, and then punches Gi-hun right in the face.

He goes in for another, but the man blocks his swing. 096 shoves his arm away, and delivers another hard punch to Gi-hun's cheek, before wrapping his hands around the man's neck.

"You goddamn idiot, we could've ended it here!

"I can't jump anymore. Get out of the way, please!" 353 begs.

One of the players still on the bridge loses his balance for a moment too long, and the rope hits him.

"Player 435, eliminated."

Player 448 then also loses her balance for a moment too long.

"Player 448, eliminated."

Gi-hun decides to fight dirty. He grabs the man's head, and shoves his thumb into his eye.

096 screams in pain as blood drips down onto Gi-hun.

"Player 260, eliminated."

The previous winner then kicks 096 off of him, flinging him back onto the bridge.

And mere seconds, he's hit by the rope.

"Player 096, eliminated."

Gi-hun quickly gets up.

"Come on!"

A few more players pass.

"Player 353, 039, pass."

"Player 349, pass."

Now there's only one person on the bridge right now: 306. Though Myung-gi is still alive, he hasn't stepped foot onto the bridge yet.

After he glances in Jun-hee's direction for a moment, he turns to the bridge, and runs onto it.

Jun-hee stands up from the bench, and slowly begins to walk.

"Jun-hee-ah, stay there! I'll be right there!"

Gi-hun's attention is then back on 306, who is still near the centre of the bridge, having not jumped the gap yet.

"Don't be scared, jump! You've got this!"

Myung-gi jumps, and budges forwards."

"Go, move it."

He jumps two more times, and then advances further, now being directly behind 306.

"I said go."

"I'm going," 306 says, preparing himself for the jump.

Jun-hee leans against the leg of the giant doll at the beginning.

306 jumps, but he slips and falls down.

But he's not falling into the abyss, as he's managed to grab onto the bridge.

"Help me... Help me!"

There's no hope that he's going to make it, though. There isn't the time for Myung-gi to help.

"Please!"

Myung-gi finally jumps the gap.

"Help me, please! Please help..."

He loses his grip, and then falls.

"Player 306, eliminated."

Myung-gi jumps one final time, and then bolts for the ledge.

"Player 333, pass."

"Jun-hee-ah, stay there! I'm coming for you!"

Gi-hun then braces himself, but before he can go back onto the bridge again-

"Mr. Seong, no!"

Dae-ho gets up from his position, where he's been resting since he passed the game, and he stares on in shock.

"Don't come back!"

"No, Jun-hee-ah. I'm coming now! Don't give up!"

"Please stay where you are, Mr. Seong! If you don't make it, my daughter won't survive, either!"

Myung-gi also stares on in stunned silence.

He knew it was going to happe, but he can't quite believe his eyes, and he doesn't know how to react to any of it.

"You told me... To protect my baby no matter what. That's what I'm trying to do right now. Please help me..."

"Jun-hee-ah."

She then steps towards the edge.

Thirteen seconds remain, and there's no shot that she's making it anymore.

She steps off the bridge, and then...

"Player 222, eliminated."

A high-pitched beep is then heard once the clock runs to zero.

"The game is over."

Chapter Text

The game is over. Not many players remain now, as many died in Jump Rope thanks to Player 096.

Luckily, he was eliminated. Nobody has to deal with that threat anymore.

It's been a while, but that familiar buzz is heard as the masked men enter the room once more, though there's only three of them this time. The sight of them has become a familiar one to the nine players still remaining in the game.

Se-mi barely manages to push away her rampant thoughts, some of which include Min-su.

Nine players left. That means the prize should be at 44.7 billion, and each player would get 4.96 billion won each should they vote to leave now.

Somehow, that still doesn't feel likely.

But 4.96 billion would still be enough for Se-mi. After she pays off her debt, the amount would be 4.76 billion. And that's still a lot.

She truly wants out now. She's got what she wanted with Nam-gyu's elimination from the game. It's over.

But the guilt still runs heavily in her mind.

"Congratulations to you all for making it through the fifth game. Here are the results of the fifth game."

Money begins to drop into the piggy bank once more, and that is another familiar sight in this place.

"In the fifth game, 15 players were eliminated. We now have ten players remaining. The prize money accumulated to this point is 44.6 billion won, and each person's share is 4.46 billion."

"Why are there nine players left? It's ten," a voice calls out. It turns out to be Yeong-sam's voice.

Player 039 speaks up, also.

"He's right. There are definitely nine of us."

"Players 039, 192, 222..."

What?

"... 226, 333, 349, 353, 380, 388, and 456. Ten players have survived."

"Hold on. Player 222? That bitch died earlier, she jumped off the ledge!" Yeong-sam shouts, clearly unhappy with this revelation.

"Player 222... Is right over there," the masked manager explains, pointing over at 456 - or specifically the baby in his arms.

Everyone's attention is quickly on him. The man himself looks at the baby in his arms.

"What? Are you saying the baby is Player 222?" Player 192 asks, pointing at Gi-hun.

"That is correct."

"Wait. That doesn't make sense. That newborn baby is a player, all of a sudden?"

This time, the voice belongs to Player 353.

"That is correct. The baby is Player 222."

"So. That baby inherits its dead mother's number and her money?" Yeong-sam asks, his voice trembling with anger.

"That is correct."

"Fuck this! What kind of bullshit is this? That girl is dead! If she's dead, the money should be ours!" 192 shouts, also clearly unsatisfied with the way things have turned out.

"That's right!" Yeong-sam yells.

Dae-ho is already sat up in his bed, concerned at the scene unfolding.

"We've earned that money by risking our lives in the games! That damn baby shows up out of nowhere, becomes a player, and gets to share the prize money with us? Are you kidding me?!" 353 asks loudly, agreeing with the others.

This doesn't bode well for what the results of the vote will be. People will want to stay, and earn more money, that's a guarantee at this point.

"This is bullshit!" Yeong-sam yells.

Yup, they're definitely going to want to stay and earn more money.

"It's unacceptable!" 353 shouts.

Se-mi remains sat in her bed, trembling violently, both due to the shouting, the thoughts racing in her mind, and the fact that she feels cold.

"That's right! Since the mother is dead, the baby should also be eliminated!" Yeong-sam declares, turning to the others.

A few agree.

"That's right. We have to kill it!" 192 shouts, beginning to walk with the others.

Now is when Dae-ho gets up out of his bed.

The players begin shouting one after the other.

Eventually, Player 039 gets up, agreeing with the others as he follows them.

Yeong-sam raises his hand, holding it out.

"456, hand over the kid. Give me that damn kid."

As the men approach, Myung-gi also stands up.

"Hand it over or I'll kill you too!" Yeong-sam shouts, before a loud gunshot pierces through the air. The men come to a stop, and the baby's crying fills the air.

"Physical violence between players will no longer be allowed. It is our intention to give every player a fair chance. Please cooperate."

The men decide to fall back, but they know what they're going to do in the next vote.

A few seconds later, more masked men enter the room, holding black boxes with pink ribbons - just like the coffins. There's nine of them.

"To congratulate you for reaching the final game, we have prepared a special gift."

Se-mi glances up. Curious.

She wonders what that "special gift" is.

______________________________________________________________

She's in the bathroom, just hoping to take a small break. She feels cold, but she's also sweating.

Right now, she's stood in front of the mirror, staring at herself.

Her tracksuit jacket is off, and then she takes her shirt off, before turning on the water in the sink in front of her, and soaking the shirt in it.

Afterwards, she turns the water off and wipes her face with the damp shirt, wiping off the sweat, and the blood that's still on her face from when she killed Player 100 a few days back.

That's better. She feels... Slightly cleaner. That's a win to her, even if a small one.

Player 349 is also somewhere in this bathroom, in one of the stalls. Se-mi isn't bothering with her, as she's got her own issues to deal with.

She closes her eyes, and then hears a voice. That goddamned voice.

"Hey, Señorita! Didn't think you'd make it this far, honestly."

Thanos, that little fucker.

He's back, and just as annoying as ever.

"You have some balls, killing Nam-su like that."

He leans in, visible in the mirror. It seems as though Se-mi's mind has perfectly recreated the appearance of the deceased rapper. Though there's one detail that you'd miss if it wasn't brought up: the cross necklace is missing.

"I've gotta say, I respect you for standing up to that little shit in the way you did. Seriously."

"Get out of my head, you idiot. Just... Get out," she mutters, not in the mental state to deal with his crap right now.

Though this is still a figment of her imagination, so this is technically still her fault...

It's her brain's fault, let's go with that.

That, or the ghost of Thanos has came back to torment her, which could also very well be true.

"Don't be like that. Please!"

"Go. Away," she demands, before closing her eyes and rubbing her face with both hands.

After she does this, the hallucination - or ghost - of Thanos vanishes. He's gone.

Player 349 definitely heard Se-mi talking to herself, but she won't comment on it.

Se-mi finally turns her attention to the box, the "special gift" it was dubbed.

She wonders what it could possibly be.

But she doesn't make herself wait, she pulls the top off, opening the box.

It's a... Tuxedo shirt, with the number "380" pasted on it.

New clothes. That's... definitely an improvement from the tracksuits that are definitely dirty from blood, sweat and... Other things, from over the six days of death gaming.

______________________________________________________________

The dormitory is dimly-lit, save for a few lights, some of which being the glows of the giant X and O shapes on the floor, and the nearby candles.

"Everyone, please take your seats.

Everyone slowly pulls out their chairs, before sitting down. There's a whole buffet on each table, and it's the most they've ever been given in this place. It's quite impressive, actually.

Smells nice, too.

The baby has also been given a small bed. Seems fair, given how she was dubbed a player...

But then again, it was kinda unfair to make the baby a player, so maybe not.

"We have prepared as much food and drink as you need. If you need more, please don't hesitate to ask."

Many of the players, including Se-mi, begin to eat right away.

She really needed this. Maybe a warm dinner will help ease her mind just slightly, and make her sleepier.

She struggled to sleep last night, though maybe she kind of did that to herself, what with taking that drug.

Speaking of which... There's no pills left.

Se-mi briefly stops eating, before taking a few gulps of the drink in the glass near her. Then she goes back to eating.

With her financial situation on the outside, this is the best meal she's had in... Well, ever.

Suddenly, her mind goes back, to when she was just a young kid, when her mother was still around.

When her mother was still alive, she made the best meals ever, and since then, she's never had anything that good, mainly due to the financial situation that her father was in after his wife's death. He quit his job and turned to drugs, but he never told her that.

In fact, the words have never came out of his mouth.

And after Se-mi's mother's death... He became worse. Not only was he neglecting his health, he was also neglecting Se-mi.

This massive dinner she's gotten reminds her of her mother's cooking.

It's a pleasant memory in this hellhole. Possibly the only thing that can bring her any semblance of comfort right now.

Soon enough, Se-mi witnesses one of the masked men with a circle on their mask, with a baby bottle, feeding baby 222.

That's... Okay, whatever.

After seeing this, Gi-hun finally starts to eat the food he's been provided.

And then the masked man at the front begins speaking, the words already familiar by now.

"You will now take a vote to decide whether to continue the games or not. But before we begin, you will be given a hint about the final game."

That's new.

Se-mi slows down her chewing, and then stops. Did she just hear that right?

According to the reactions of the other players, she did, in fact, hear that right.

"In the final game you will get to choose which players to eliminate."

Okay... That's not exactly ideal.

"What? We get to decide who will be eliminated?" Yeong-sam asks, still with a mouthful of food.

"That is correct. If you can all agree on which three players should be eliminated, everyone else will make it through the game."

"So... What you're saying is that we'll get to decide which three to eliminate?" 349 asks nervously, trying to make herself look smaller.

"That is correct. In the final game, you only need to eliminate a minimum of three players."

"You said 'a minimum of three players,' doesn't that mean more than three can be eliminated?" 353 asks.

"That is correct. However, the choice will be yours."

"So we can also decide how many will be eliminated?" 039 asks.

"That is correct."

"So, what you're saying is that all we need to do is eliminate at least three people, and we get to decide who they will be?" 192 asks from his seat, trying to make sense of the hint given to them.

"That is correct. It's entirely up to you who will be eliminated in the final game. If you eliminate three players, the rest will be able to leave this place as the final winners. Now, let's begin the vote. The vote will be held in reverse order of your numbers."

Alright, now it's time for the vote... Except the hint has shaken things up a bit.

The knowledge that specific players can be chosen for elimination means that the majority will get to decide who dies. The majority, in this case, seems to be the Os. And they're definitely gonna want the remaining members of Team X out of the picture.

They may not hold the majority right now... But they'll find a way to screw things up without moving.

That means they could possibly be intimidated into voting O just to survive and make it the hell out of here with the money.

"Player 456, please cast your vote."

The man gets up from his seat, and approaches the voting station. He knows his vote might not matter... But he's doing it regardless.

He presses X, and walks back to his seat. He's already getting a few looks from the O voters, that definitely aren't positive looks.

"Player 388."

Dae-ho stands up from his seat, and approaches the centre, where the giant piggy bank full of cash sits. The money is tempting, sure, but he'd rather leave.

But what are the chances of that? That small hint about the next game is screwing his mind a bit. He doesn't know who might vote O now that the games are nearly over.

It's the prime chance to eliminate a few more players, and earn a little extra cash.

He glances around the room, at the O voters who are watching intently while eating their food.

He can't let those bastards live.

And the only person he can trust in here is Gi-hun.

But he refuses to be on the same side as those idiots.

With a newfound bravery, he slams his hand down onto the X button, and walks back to his seat, no longer caring about what the O voters may think of him.

He's not going to let weakness show. 226 managed to catch onto his lie of being a marine sometime around three days ago, so that's definitely not going to help, but he'll try regardless.

Even in this situation, he's going to make sure to protect Gi-hun and the baby no matter what.

"Player 380."

Se-mi stands up, slowly walking towards the centre of the room. Her mind isn't exactly in a good place right now, but she's managing rational thought... Barely.

The knowledge that the next game will allow players to choose who to eliminate definitely doesn't sit well with her at all. Maybe it's best to go with the majority.

Plus, if she votes X now and she ends up in the minority... They'd definitely be coming for her first. She's not exactly doing well, and so they'd absolutely take this opportunity and eliminate her first.

She hesitantly presses O. It may be a bad idea, but if it increases her chances of survival then so be it.

She tears off the X patch, and quickly grabs an O one. She places it onto the right side of her tuxedo jacket as she walks back to her seat.

Dae-ho noticed that. He's going to keep this in mind, but not for any negative reason at all.

She doesn't look too well, which is why she must've pressed O.

"Player 353."

353 gets up from his seat, having already made up his mind. How is it fair that a baby gets to share the money with them? He won't let that happen.

He presses O, and moves back to his seat. That's the second O vote.

"Player 349."

The woman gets up. She's determined to make it out of this place alive. Even after the chaos in Lights Out, she stuck to X, and she's not about to change that now.

Hesitantly, she presses X. That makes the third X vote, and she moves back to her seat.

That's definitely going to put a target on her back, and Gi-hun is very aware of this. He wishes he could come up with a plan on what to do, but he'd need to know what the game is to do that.

And, unfortunately... He doesn't know that. And he has no idea how the eliminations will be carried out.

"Player 333."

Myung-gi stands up, not quite sure what to vote now. He should be getting out now, but he's not sure they might.

He stares at the two buttons, and then the piggy bank. That's the whole reason they've continued the games, because of that money. But there's something he's got in mind for the next game.

Maybe he can manipulate team O without them realising until it's too late. Then he'll kill them and make it out with whatever the prize is afterwards. Hopefully.

He's just hoping it won't go wrong for him. He presses O, and quickly replaces his X patch with an O one, before walking back to his seat. This may or may not have been a mistake, but it's too late to change his choice now. That's the third O vote.

"Player 226."

Yeong-sam stands up and walks with a bravado that will definitely end up with him killed by the next game.

He doesn't even give himself the time to think carefully, before pressing O, making him the fourth one to do so.

"Player 222."

The circle guard stops feeding the baby for a moment. The baby lets out a small cry.

"Player 222 will be considered to have abstained due to their inability to make decisions. Does anyone have any objections?"

192 stands up from his seat, swallowing his food before speaking.

"No objections here!"

As he walks, Player 226 speaks up.

"Do we all agree, then?" he asks, getting up from his seat.

He gets a few confirmations from some of the others.

"Let's finish the vote quickly and enjoy the food," Yeong-sam declared, before sitting down once more.

Player 192 slams his hand onto the O button. That's five. These guys seem to be very sure of themselves, and that might just be the first step to their downfall.

"Player 039."

The nervous man gets up, knowing what he'll have to vote to ensure his survival. He voted O after the midnight riots out of fear, and he's going to do it again to make sure he lives.

And he presses O, making him the final one to vote.

The Os were victorious once more. They got six votes, while team X had only three.

They had a shot at leaving, but fear of being ganged up on and greed made sure that the games would continue.

The games were designed this way deliberately, to make sure the games would continue no matter what. This doesn't matter anymore, though.

What matters is surviving the next game. Each one of the players in here is going to make sure that they survive, but not all of them will walk out alive.

______________________________________________________________

The evening has come, and team O have already discussed their plan for the next game.

Their plan was to kill 349, 222 and 388, and that's the minimum of three they'll need to win the final game. They also discussed eliminating 456 for good measure, since that would give each one of them some extra money to work with.

Se-mi has secured her own survival, though something about it feels horribly wrong, and she doesn't fully agree with the plan. Why should they have to kill a baby just so they can get extra money?

All of this is wrong. Why do innocent people who want out have to die? Are team O really that greedy?

Se-mi voted O just so she could make 200 million won and get the hell out, she never intended on staying after the amount exceeded the money she owes. It seems as though these people have gone crazy with greed, and are willing to kill innocent people (plus a baby) to ensure only they survive and win the money.

But what can she do? She wants to make it out, but going against the majority might just get her killed.

But not all of them are bad. She noticed how Player 039 seemed like he didn't want to vote O, but only did because he wouldn't have done himself any favours voting X.

She and him might not be so different. They both pressed O to ensure they'd stick with the majority and therefore survive. Maybe talking to him would make them both feel less lonely in here, even if only for a few moments.

After a moment of consideration, she stands up and approaches the man's bed, which isn't actually that far away. When she stops, it takes a few moments to notice she's standing there. He turns his attention to her, his expression visibly exhausted.

"... Do you want to say something?" he asks, confused and slightly nervous about what she could possibly want from him.

"What's your name?"

It's safe to say he wasn't expecting this question.

"... Byung-chul. Kim Byung-chul. What's yours?"

"Han Se-mi," she answers, staring down at her feet. Her hands are still shaking.

Player 039 - now known as Byung-chul - glances to his side, before his voice is heard again.

"What got you in here?"

This is making Se-mi feel slightly better. She gets to share her feelings and backstory with someone, even if she doesn't actually know that someone any more than knowing his name.

"Well, I... My childhood was fine, at least for a few years. One day, my mother was diagnosed with a heart disease. I don't remember the details, but all I remember is that we couldn't afford treatment. After she died, my father changed for the worse. He quit his job and became a drug dealer. He constantly borrowed money to fund his drug addiction, but then came a time where he couldn't pay them back. This put us in an even worse situation. This was all about... Ten or fifteen years after mom died. He ended up fleeing the country, and the people he owed money to came to me, instead."

She finally stops talking, and takes a moment to catch her breath. Byung-chul watches her in silence.

"They've been bothering me about it for years, but it's been getting worse. Ages ago they were willing to let me off the hook if I gave them less than what they wanted that months, but... They started getting worse around the beginning of last year. Threatened to kill me and sell my organs to make all the money they needed, which was about 200 million. I ended up getting hooked on drugs as well to cope with the stress of my everyday life. I managed to stop in early October, though, just before that Ddakji man gave me a card. I decided to accept it since I was desperate."

Now that she's shared the details of her life with someone else, she feels much better. Her mind is still racing, and she still feels cold, but she feels... Slightly better aside from all of that.

"What did... You do to get in here?" she finally asks, turning to Byung-chul.

"I had a very unstable home life for years on end, my family was chaotic and financially unstable. I worked for ages to make money for them, but it wasn't enough, and I ended up here."

Se-mi nods once. His reasons for coming here are similar to hers: they both had something out of their own individual control, and ended up in this shithole.

She gets up, and walks back to her own bed. Even if the circumstances aren't the best... Both of them are just glad that they had someone to talk to.

______________________________________________________________

Gi-hun remains sat in his bed with baby 222 next to him. Everyone is asleep by now, so it's just him and the kid who are awake now.

All he can think about is what the next game could possibly be.

He stares at all the players on the other side. There's no doubt that they're going to gang up on him and the baby in the next game. That's if they don't go for 349 or Dae-ho first.

All he can hope for is that they somehow end up turning against one another.

All of a sudden, he hears the voice of a masked man.

"Player 456. He wants to see you."

He stares up at the manager in confusion. Who's this "he" that wants to talk to him? Well, he's about to find out very soon.