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THIRTY | NOT EVERYTHING IS WHAT IT SEEMS

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THE STARK SMELL of hospital disinfectant was overwhelming. It invaded her nostrils when she blinked her eyes open. Soo-Jin scrunched her eyes in an attempt to sharpen the blurred images before her. Where am I? She thought. She glanced around and took in the empty white and brown colour schemed bedroom.

Chang Soo-Jin was undoubtedly in a hospital.

The room was pristine clean and bright. The walls were painted white and there were several wooden decorations. Everything once again screamed extravagance and it didn't take her much to realize she was inside a VIP ward. An IV drip was attached to her arm, transporting necessary liquid that will replenish her lost strength. She had another clean set of bandages wrapped around her wounded hand. All her other injuries were tended as well, although there was dull ache in her lower back.

The ward she was in was silent apart from her heavy breathing and the beep beep sound one often heard in hospitals that indicate they're alive.

Soo-Jin felt powerless and heavy. She could not move her hand, her head or her body. How long have I been here? She said to herself. What exactly happened again?

She shut her eyes, trying to remember what had exactly occurred. Then, it all hit her with a bang. The memory of it all started to occupy her thoughts.

Right, she almost died.

"Well, this is unexpected. I'm not yet dead?" remarked the woman. Out of impulse, her hand travelled to her face, pressing the throbbing area on her right temple.

"Yes, and thank fuck for that!"

Soo-Jin winced at the familiar tone of her sister's voice. Hana wheeled inside the ward with her arms crossed. There was an IV drip as well attached to her wheelchair and arm. Her sister looked healthier for color finally returned to her previously pale skin.

But, why was that? Hana was supposed to have her kidney transplant this day, she remembered. What day was it already? She internally spoke.

"How are you feeling, unnie?"

She hummed. "Physically? Mentally? Spiritually? Socioeconomically? Financially? I'm not sure how to answer your question, Hana. Your question is so broad, you need to be -- "

Hana flicked her forehead.

"Ow!" The woman yelped, hissing. "Can you not? I just almost died!"

"I know!" exasperated Hana, her eyes emitting tears of despondency that slowly cascaded down her cheeks. "You almost died again! Do you know how worried I was for you? I couldn't contact you, Soo-Jin, for days! Days!" She emphasized.

Soo-Jin felt her chest grow heavy with guilt.

"Then, I was called to go here! And-and I saw the paramedics rush you in! You were bleeding profusely when you were brought here! You even arrived in here through an emergency helicopter like some VIP! Can you imagine how-how scared I was?"

The older sister could only imagine.

Hana slowly stood up from her wheelchair and hugged her gently. "I missed you, Soo-Jin. I-I thought you were never coming back!"

"I'm sorry, Hana." Soo-Jin sobbed, attempting to reach her sister's hand, but she was still too weak. "But, I promise you, we won't be apart anymore."

"I know everything. I know what you did to get that money, Soo-Jin. I know."

She furrowed her eyebrows. "Wait, you know? Who told you? Gi-Hun?" Upon mentioning his name, she began to search for him in the ward they were in. There was no sign of him anywhere. "Where is he by the way? Have you seen him?"

"He's outside, just getting his bandages changed."

Soo-Jin froze.

She became aware of her own heartbeat amd her eyes widened. She knew that voice. She will always recognize his voice anywhere.

"Sang-Woo?"

Streams of tears flowed out of her eyes faster than her heartbeat, fogging her vision. Her breathing shallowed at the sight of her beloved still alive. He was wearing casual clothes, something she rarely saw him do. He had a band-aid on his cheek, and he looked very well. "Sang-Woo!"

Her lover's lips pressed into a small smile and he moved closer to her, placing his warm hand on her cheek. Soo-Jin felt alive again like she had been sparked back to life. He was okay, Gi-Hun was okay. They were alive.

"I'm going to check on Gi-Hun." voiced out Hana, wheeling herself out of the ward, giving them time to talk privately.

The brunette tried to get up, but her body, engulfed in pain, objected her decision to sit up so she laid there, waiting for the pain to wash away. "I'm so relieved you're okay!" She cried. "How... 244 said he-he killed you -- "

"He almost did." verbalized Sang-Woo. "He stabbed my shoulder, and was about to finish me off, but the guards stopped him."

Soo-Jin watched him retract his hand back to his side, silently wishing he'd touch her again because that's what she needed after all she had gone through. Reassurance.

"I was whisked away after that. In a fit of rage, he stabbed one of the guards to death."

The woman only tilted her head to the side just as Sang-Woo wiped the tears in her eyes. "I'm okay, Soo-Jin. I'm here."

"You scared me..." Her lips trembled. "I thought I lost you and..."

He soothed her, running his thumb on her cheek. "Soo-Jin..."

The door opened and Gi-Hun entered, his head hung low. The wound on his lips was healing together with his bruises, and his hair was slightly disheveled. She could tell something was wrong. He nodded to Sang-Woo who stiffened and reached out to hold her hand.

"Listen, Soo-Jin, I don't have much time."

"What are you saying?"

"The police are waiting outside for me."

Her chest began to rise and fall quickly, and her eyes bugged out of their sockets. "I just fucking woke up, Sang-Woo! We just fucking survived hell. Can't they understand that? You're still healing from your wounds! You've got to tell them what happened to us all!"

"Soo-Jin..."

"No! I just saw you!" She panicked, not wanting him to be taken away from her so suddenly. She had just survived. They had just escaped that nightmare. Soo-Jin, of course, was aware that he was going to jail for the crimes he committed and it would be some time before they see each other again. Couldn't they just give them some more time to be together?

"I know, I know, my love." Sang-Woo shut his eyes, and she knew he was controlling his emotions again. He was forcing himself to be as nonchalant as possible. "Look, it's only going to be a year, okay?"

"A year?"

The woman knew he should be sentenced of years of imprisonment for embezzlement and forgery of documents, but why only one? Oh, what the hell, why are you even complaining, you idiot? She berated herself.

"My clients... they're not going to file a case anymore. They've all been... paid two days before we won." expounded Sang-Woo. "Even the company I previously worked in will not sue me, but I still have this forgery of public documents..."

She blinked, zooming out of her beloved's explanation. While she was grateful that he wasn't going to jail for a very long time, she wondered who paid back his clients.

"Soo-Jin, I promise, we will see you again after a year." talked Sang-Woo, kissing her hand. "Can you wait for me until then?"

"Of course!"

That's when two police officers set foot inside the ward and she started to grip her beloved's hand. "No, no, no." She whimpered, her teeth chattering. She struggled to sit up despite the pain and drowsiness she was feeling. "Please, I just need him with me. Give us some more time!"

"Hyung," Her beloved called their bestfriend forth. Gi-Hun strolled forward, embracing Sang-Woo. "You take care of her while I'm gone, okay?"

"Of course. You take care of yourself, Sang-Woo."

"No, no. I need you here with me!" pleaded Soo-Jin, desperately.

Her words, however, were ignored as they brought Sang-Woo outside of the ward. This was when Gi-Hun stopped her from injuring herself further by putting his hand on her shoulder, preventing her from getting up.

"Sang-Woo!"

"It's okay, it's okay, Soo-Jin. You'll see him again."

And yes, she will. She could still visit him from time to time. She was going to make sure of that. Life already separated them once, she wasn't going to let it part them again. Soo-Jin only laid still on her hospital bed, still sniffing, but she knew she had her bestfriend with her. She was not alone.

She will not be alone.

SOO-JIN JOLTED AWAKE.

She shot up from her bed, panting. Her body was drenched with cold sweat. Her heart was pounding wildly against her chest, threatening to burst out of her ribcage. Her hands were trembling madly and she looked around the hospital, room suspicious and paranoid that the horror may have followed her here.

It was just a dream.

Well, not really for it was a memory. She saw herself drenched in the blood of the person she murdered. Her hands were soaked in crimson and she was haunted by the pastor's death. It was forever going to be etched in her mind. That she killed someone. She clenched her fist and let her hot tears fall again.

Gi-Hun and Hana were just meters away from her. Her bestfriend was in the couch, sleeping soundly while her sister was resting in the bed that was available in the VIP ward. It was already morning, but she didn't want to wake them yet.

It had been three weeks ever since the games and Soo-Jin and Gi-Hun held onto each other to recover from the hell they've been through. They were each other's strength in this weakest time of their life. Thankfully, Sang-Woo was allowed to call her once a week to check up on her and she had been trying to forget everything, but it was difficult.

She witnessed so many deaths. Minjun, Ali, her grandfather, Mi-Nyeo, Sae-Byeok... Her chest tightened. She couldn't help think that she should've done more to save them. Oh, what she would give to keep them safe and alive.

Standing up cautiously, she stumbled to the bathroom, looking in the mirror slowly, as if afraid of what she'll see. She was slowly and surely physically healing, that was all she could say.

The sun glared through the window, washing away the vestiges of the horror she recalled, leaving her relieved to return to her mundane existence. Opening the faucet, she washed her face, and talked to herself.

"You're going to be okay... you're going to be okay. You're going to get through -- " She choked, feeling a lump sit in her throat. "You're alive, they're alive, that's what matters."

Soo-Jin stared at her bandaged hand. Actually, it was the reason why she was asked to stay in the hospital. The doctors recommended her to undergo a hand therapy to make sure it recuperates well. She even privately requested to get her and Gi-Hun a therapist as well since they really needed that.

It really made her ponder so much. Hana mentioned when she woke up that she arrived in an emergency helicopter and right now, she was in a VIP ward. The last time she had this kind of treatment was when she was abducted before the sixth game. The guards offered her to watch the games with the other VIPs. The tone they used to speak with her was formal as if she was one of the higher-ups. She wondered why she was receiving such lavish treatment. Was she even paying her stay in the hospital with the money she won?

Sighing, she stepped out of the comfort room, and noticed Gi-Hun squiming uncomfortably in the couch. Worried, she tapped his shoulder. "Gi-Hun!"

He jumped awake and all of his senses were on high alert. "Soo-Jin!" he embraced her tightly.

"It's okay, shhh..." she rubbed his back. "It's just a dream. We're no longer in there."

It wasn't long that Gi-Hun pulled around and stood up to visit his mother. Actually, his mother was also a patient of the hospital for her leg was recently amputated to stop the infection from spreading. Her diabetes was now being treated.

The brunette then noticed Hana tapping rapidly in her phone, and clenched her fist before standing up. Her health finally improved and she no longer needed a wheelchair to take her anywhere. The doctors said that she won't need anymore dialysis since she had a new kidney.

"Why do you look so agitated, Hana?"

"I just... still can't contact Jun-Ho." complained Hana, dropping her phone to her lap. "It's been weeks! I'm worried about him. The day you left was also the last time I saw him."

Soo-Jin screwed her eyes shut. Jun-Ho... how could she forget him? She sighed. "He was with me in the games," confessed the woman. "but he was undercover."

"He was looking for his brother, wasn't he?"

"You know?"

"He mentioned it to me. His brother was a former police officer who was involved in some bribery." Hana licked her bottom lip. "Did you see his brother during the games?"

"No, I didn't."

"Do you..." Hana fidgeted her hands, a habit Soo-Jin knew her sister did when she was nervous. "think he's..."

Soo-Jin shook her head. "No, no. He promised he'll return. He told me he'll come back to you."

"He promised me a date. He better keep that."

Exactly at this, Gi-Hun set foot inside the ward, his arms holding a tray full of food. The delicious aroma filling her nostrils, and her stomach rumbled, alerting her that it needed to be fed. "Breakfast, everyone." he announced, laying them atop the table.

At that, Soo-Jin walked over to the table, and helped set up their breakfast. As she started to ingest her edibles, she then remembered the list she wrote days prior. She and Sang-Woo discussed about it. They wanted to honor every family the players they played with by giving them a portion of the money they both won.

"Soo-Jin," vocalized her bestfriend, glancing down. "You know, I've been thinking... like we should fulfill what Minjun, Ali, your grandfather, and Sae-Byeok wanted to do with the prize." he expressed. "I think it would help me or us..."

"Feel less guilty for surviving?" suggested Soo-Jin, laying down her spoon. "Gi-Hun, that's what Sang-Woo and I was also thinking. We should fulfill what they wanted to do with that money."

There was a lot to be done, actually. Soo-Jin had to find Sae-Byeok's brother and mother and reunite them, search for Ali's family, perhaps find her living relatives now that she knows who she really is.

Oh Se-Ri, granddaughter of Oh Il-Nam.

Ah, if only she knew how much of a burden that name would be later.

"Oh," Gi-Hun chewed on his food and swallowed. "Someone gave this to you."

"Someone?"

"Yeah, they just gave it to me. The person who gave it actually looked familiar." He fished out a piece of paper from his pocket. "Here."

Soo-Jin suspiciously eyed the paper her bestfriend slid across her, but her curiosity got the best of her. She gingerly picked it up and opened it. Her eyes widening slightly when she read the words:

Was everyone's elimination really announced?