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EIGHTEEN | MISSION ALMOST
NOT POSSIBLE

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IT WAS DAMN suffocating.

Soo-Jin was very certain that if they don't get out of the vents soon, their brains would fry like an egg on the pavement from the scorching heat.

Rivulets of sweat poured off of her, her shirt and jacket soaked and clinging to her form. She was so going to get a cold shower when they return to the bathroom even if she has to beg and kneel to the guards. She and Minjun continued to crawl through the vents quietly, twisting to many lefts and rights. She remembered every turn they made since they needed to return immediately after a few minutes.

She was slightly confused why there wasn't any guard outside the bathroom door earlier, but then she remembered that when she dragged Sang-Woo inside to berate him for his actions, the circle masked guard backed away and left them.

"Are we there yet, Minjun? Found any opening?" She whispered to the young boy in front of her who was leading her through the suffocating vents.

"No, I haven't."

"Why are you here in this games, Minjun?"

"Oh, uh... well, I'm sick, and I need the money for my treatment."

"What's your -- "

"Over there!" He exclaimed then crawled faster towards it. This behavior of his perplexed Soo-Jin, but she let it go, deciding to ask him about it later once they're out of the vents. "Bingo! We don't need any screwdriver to open it!"

The brunette crossed her eyebrows. Well, that was too easy. She thought, but then followed closely behind Minjun as he opened it and jumped down. The woman observed the floor below her and instantly recognized it as the maze-like corridor.

"Come on, miss! We're in luck! There are no cameras around in this area."

Curiouser and curiouser.

With a grunt, the brunette jumped down from the vents and looked around. There was only minimal light and just like what the boy told her, there were no cameras attached to the varicolored walls. While one might be relieved about that, Soo-Jin was not. She found it strange. Part of her being skeptical of almost everything.

"Ya, Minjun, let's just get back to the room." expressed Soo-Jin, huffing. "I don't think we'll find the doctor -- "

Her attention was soon caught, however, when she caught sight of a teal blur to her right.

"Wait, wasn't that 111?" questioned Minjun as he ran off to follow the rushing figure.

"Minjun, wait!"

The two of them sprinted to follow the frantic doctor, but they couldn't see him very well through the almost never-ending corridors.

It was player 111. The one that Mi-Nyeo said was a doctor.

Why was he running? Better yet, who was he running from?

What were you doing, 111? The woman thought to herself.

Minjun was about to turn to a corridor when Soo-Jin stopped him by grabbing his wrist and hiding behind a wall. She pointed to the camera ahead of them and put her finger on her lips as a sign to be silent.

"Why did you run off like that, huh?" the woman berated her companion who only hung his head low.

"Sorry. I didn't want to lose sight of him. What are we now going to -- oh, my god." he uttered, looking down at the pool of blood that was on the floor. There was no doubt it came from the person they were following.

"Oh, shit."

Minjun then glanced to his right. "Let's try going over there, miss."

Soo-Jin nodded and cautiously moved, careful not to be caught in the cameras. Again, there wasn't any camera around because this time, they came across a pink door. Minjun twisted its doorknob and to both of their surprises, it clicked open. It was pitch-dark inside, but the woman noticed a glimpse of light across from them. There was another door.

Gulping, she made her way and carefully patted the door, easily finding another door handle. She was really feeling something strange about everythingt that was happening. It was all too easy. They found an area with no cameras and now, they discovered this door.

"Something's wrong, Minjun."

"What is it?"

"I don't know, but I can feel it."

That's when they heard two people
talking from the other side of the door. Curious about it, Soo-Jin leant her ear against the entrance to figure out what they were saying.

"... All right. You just need to go back quietly."

Minjun did the same thing and both of them intently listened to the conversation.

"Then, what do I have to do?"

"Listen, doctor..." There was a pause and Soo-Jin decided to open the door. It was the game hall for the second game and standing in the middle was player 111 and an unmasked red-clad watcher. The doctor was all soaked in blood, his face, his arms, his entire clothes... he looked like a serial killer.

He was heaving and Soo-Jin could see the fatigue in his eyes. She could tell he just wanted to stay alive. A soft gasp escaped her lips and Minjun grabned her shoulder when they saw the guard pulling out a pocket knife, probably to stab it to 111. "Let’s get you washed up before anything else."

He raised the knife in the air, but then he was shot by someone. The woman's breath hitched in her throat when she caught sight of the guards and another masked figure. His mask and clothes was different from the rest. He wore a dark cloak and his mask had some sort of geometric pattern. Was he the boss? The creator of the games?

The cloaked individual approached the groaning guard who was holding his bleeding hand. "Whether you sell the dead bodies’ organs or eat them or whatever, I don’t give a damn." he expressed, toneless. "However, you ruined the most important aspect of this place."

The two spectators opened the door wider to see more.

"Equality." emphasized he, kneeling down on the ground. "Everyone is equal while they play this game. Here, every player gets to play a fair game under the same conditions. These people suffered from inequality and discrimination out in the world, and we’re giving them one last chance to fight fair and win." Then, he growled. "But, you broke that principle."

The guard then begged, "Sir, I’m sorry."

But, his pleas were proven unsuccessful since the masked figure mercilessly shot him, the bullet piercing the guard's head.

She gripped onto Minjun's wrist, shocked but not surprised by what she witnessed. Tugging, she slowly backed away as gunshots sliced through the air and the doctor's body crumpled to the ground.

They needed to get back now.

Player 111 was the cheater.

And he was dead.

That's what she could only register in her mind as she and Minjun weaved their way across the colorful corridor. Heart thumping against her chest, the young boy led her back to the vents. She was already feeling regretful of her decision, but then her mind easily justified her action, silencing it.

But, then, suddenly, the red uniformed men entered the area they were about to go in and the two were forced to retreat to avoid being caught.

They both hid themselves behind a wall again and that's when they heard the cock of a gun just at their right. Soo-Jin suddenly lost the ability of speech when she felt the barrel of a gun pressed against her temple.

Hell never stops chasing you.

The achiever's breathing grew faster, and she became pale, seemingly like a statue. Her heart raced and she could feel her cheeks getting red. All her senses were on alert. She became aware that Minjun was beside her and everything to her became about protecting him from harm. She raised her arms in surrender.

"Just let the boy go -- "

"Soo-Jin..."

The woman blinked twice just as the guard removed his circle painted mask, revealing Jun-Ho beneath it. Soo-Jin bent forward in relief, almost crying because they were still safe. She then looked up to check any cameras around, but there were none. She relaxed, pushing herself against the yellow wall to breathe. She could not still believe what they just witnessed. True, she already foresaw that the watchers will execute the  cheater, but then she was still shocked it really happened.

The doctor earlier was running while bleeding profusely. It was like he was evading the guards. So, if he was getting his information from the inside, then why was he running away? Because he was caught by another watcher? Soo-Jin massaged her temples, sensing a headache.

"What the fuck are you doing here?" hushed Jun-Ho when the uniformed guards finally left the area.

"I-I was... We were..." Soo-Jin tried to get a grip of herself, but then her mind was all over the place. Finally, she clenched her fist and inhaled, then exhaled. "We were trying to see what player 111 was doing. I theorized that he was receiving information about the games before they are revealed to us so I -- well, me and Minjun decided to see if he really was getting one."

"Who's Minjun?"

"Hello." mumbled the young boy, half-cheerfully waving his hand.

"Minjun, meet Hwang Jun-Ho. Jun-Ho, this is Minjun." introduced Soo-Jin. "Now, going back to what I said -- "

"Player 111..." the police officer breathed. "The doctor."

"Yes."

"I saw him operating on the dead bodies. The staffers have another dirty business in here. They remove organs from the deceased players and ship them to the mainland."

Minjun almost retched, "Oh, god."

Soo-Jin shut her eyes and winced. "Organ harvesting, of course. The bodies and organs are still fresh. It's very valuable in the black market." She uttered, reminded of the time she almost sold her own kidney for her sister.

She was very horrified that the guards decided to make a business out of it. Those bodies already couldn't make it back to their families without being questioned. The families they left behind will forever wonder what happened to their loved ones. They wouldn't even be able to properly bury or cremate them. It was sickening.

"I discovered just earlier that they feed player 111 information about the upcoming games in exchange for his help in the operation."

"Well, we just witnessed him being executed earlier along with one of those staffers." She sighed. "There was a cloaked individual who came though. His mask isn't the same with yours."

Jun-Ho nodded. "Yes, he's the leader."

"Leader? Is he the creator of the games?"

"I'm not sure, but let's assume he is. I'm planning to get inside his room in a few minutes."

"Okay, did you find your brother in here?"

"No, not yet. I'm not sure if they have operated on him already or if he's still here, alive. But, there’s a list of all the players in the leader's room with all their information as well... even medical records."

She pinched her nose. "Okay, do you have any picture of him? Your brother? I might be able to recognize him or maybe Minjun here."

"Yes," he then pulled out his phone and scrolled to find a photo of his brother. "Here."

Soo-Jin took his phone and viewed the photo further, trying to remember if there was any player that looked like him. She shook her head. "I haven't seen any player that looks like him, but then I'm not sure if he was one of the players that died in the first game. What about you, Minjun? Have you seen him here?"

He shook his head as well.

"Okay, he must be in here somewhere. I'll look for him myself, but you need to get back to your room now. Everyone is in high alert." he paused, glancing at his watch.

"Thank you, Jun-Ho."

"Be careful, Soo-Jin. Please. Make it out of here alive, okay? Hana is waiting for you outside of this shit hole."

"You too. Be careful."

"Of course, I still promised Hana a date when we see each other again." he winked, and it made Soo-Jin chuckle and give him a thumbs-up.

"You better take her out on that date, Hwang Jun-Ho."

And with that, the three dispersed and Minjun and Soo-Jin climbed back inside the vents, crawling as fast as they could.

The emergency alarms blared.

"Shit! Go, go!" she pushed Minjun further and both of them descended to the bathroom, closing the ceiling vents. The bathroom door was still closed. Jun-Ho was right. The facility was in high alert. She guessed they might have learned that they have been infiltrated and are hunting them down. Soo-Jin deeply hoped her friend was okay. Hwang Jun-Ho was altruistic and good-natured. He just wanted to look for his missing brother and take this horrible games down.

As they left the bathroom, Soo-Jin tried to piece everything the puzzle together. There was a leader, now that she was sure of. What was their purpose for creating this sick and twisted games? How long has this been going on? Was this an annual occurrence? Monthly? She had so many questions she wanted to be answered, but unfortunately, she could rely on Jun-Ho's information about the facility.

She felt guilty for not being able to help him in searching for his brother, but then she also had her life she had to prioritize first.

Several clicks of rifles were heard and Soo-Jin and Minjun paused in their tracks in shock. The guards suddenly surrounded them left and right, their guns aimed at them, ready to be fired. The woman immediately reacted by putting the boy behind her.

"Player 321, player 004."

A loud, deep voice resonated from the room and she turned around to see the guards moving aside to give way to the cloaked individual. Their leader.

His mask terrified her honestly, but what scared her more was how he just pulled out a gun and pointed it directly at her head with no hesitation.

Soo-Jin's muscles tightened and she put her arms behind her head in surrender. The hallway's temperature seemed to have rose for beads of sweat rolled down the side of her face. Minjun had a rifle pressed against his side and the two of them knelt on the ground, The woman's teeth chattered in fear, but she controlled herself to stay calm and focus on how to get out of the situation, alive.

"The cameras caught you sneaking around the corridors earlier. Are you co-conspirators with 111?"

"No."

"Then, what were you doing out there, 321?" The leader cocked the revolver and firmly pressed it at the back of her head. "Answer and you will be spared. You and the boy."

Soo-Jin had an idea that they wanted to find out if they knew about Jun-Ho. But, there was no way in hell would she snitch about her friend. "I had a theory that player 111 was being fed with information about the games. I wanted to see if it was true so I may report them. I couldn't let anyone have an advantage against me. It was unfair. We struggle to keep ourselves alive in every game and then there's someone who just does that. Weren't we promised fairness and..." She swallowed. "Equality?"

Reveal half of the truth and they will believe it. She said internally.

A few, tense seconds later, she heard a gunshot and Soo-Jin dropped to the floor along with Minjun. She almost screamed in fright, but she kept her mouth shut.

It was then she realized that she wasn't shot. Worried, she looked at the boy and sighed in relief when he was okay. They weren't shot.

"What was that for?" roared the woman, vexed and nervous. The geometric masked man inserted his gun inside his holster.

"A warning, 321. You are right. You are all given a one last chance to fight fair. You are all equal while you play this games. I appreciate your effort in trying to uphold that, but do not attempt to do it again. Understood?"

She nodded.

"I will spare you both this once. Bring them back to the room and initiate a roll call, then find me the infiltrator."

Soo-Jin knew that infiltrator they were referring to was Jun-Ho and she could only pray that they don't catch him.

Jun-Ho, you better take my baby sister out on that date you promised her or I'll push you off a building when I get out of here.