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TWENTY FIVE | SAINTS AND SINNERS

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THE GEARS INSIDE Soo-Jin's mind were whirring again, trying to come up with a plan that will ensure their survival. Sang-Woo stood beside her, his face devoid of any emotion. His eyes flickered over to her back as another player screamed before falling to their death. The woman knew he was trying to look strong, but deep inside, he was terrified.

Just like the previous game, this was an elimination round. The game managers really wanted to reduce the number of players for the sixth game and also to increase the price pool.

"Sang-Woo, do you think we can step on the metal beams to -- " The brunette was cut off when someone stumbled on her, causing to crash against her lover's chest. Blinking furiously, she spun around and came face to face with player 244, the pastor. He was no longer wearing the vest he chose earlier, but instead the twelfth.

"Wait," she tilted her head, arching an eyebrow. "Didn't you pick the sixth vest?"

"I encountered a divine intervention. God saved me from death." he proudly declared, closing his eyes and looking up. "One of the players approached me earlier before we lined ourselves up, asking me to switch with him. God made a way for me to live."

Soo-Jin breathed unsteadily, wincing when she heard another glass panel shatter and a player died again.

At that point, the first and middle players were like sacrificing themselves to pave the way for those who we were last.

"Excuse me, ma’am." She heard someone ask from the front. "Do you think that you could help me? You happen to remember what he chose next? I can’t seem to recall which one now."

The player was asking the old lady who seemed nervous. "Oh, I don’t know, uh, it happened too quickly." She replied, uncertain.

"Think hard please. Since both of our lives depend on getting this next one."

"Okay, the left one, I think."

"Wait, no." One of the men behind them objected. "He went right and then he went left."

"Uh, he didn’t do that."

"He went left right away."

"No, it was right from there."

Player 21 shuddered, once again glancing at the old lady. "You, are you sure… he went left first?"

She hummed.

It was a mistake, however, since once player 21 leapt to the left glass panel, it bursted into shards and crashed to the ground, dead.

"Soo-Jin, Sang-Woo," stepped up Gi-Hun. "There are ten tiles left, and people still playing. If they manage to step on one or two each, the four of us can get across to the end."

Sang-Woo shook his head. "That might not be the case. If one of those players get scared and starts to run down the time, we are in danger at the back of the line."

And Soo-Jin knew he was right. If one of those players in the front decided to delay, then their lives will be in danger. She paced forward, staring at the two glass panels attached to the suspended bridge in fear.

She was scared, that was for sure. Who wouldn't be? They were at least a hundred feet above the ground and one wrong jump will lead to their immediate demise. She clenched her fist and removed her shoes, releasing a shaky breath.

She then felt the presence of Sang-Woo behind her, his warmth calming her. "It’s the left, my love. Focus." he whispered in her ear.

She nodded and closing her eyes, she jumped to the left and released a sigh of relief. She then took another jump to the second and third panel and Sang-Woo and the rest followed her lead.

Gi-Hun had his moment of confusion as well, but Sae-Byeok managed to remind him which panel to choose.

Her bestfriend gasped when he leapt to the left panel. He was trembling badly and Soo-Jin knew why. Gi-Hun wasn't fond of heights. He hated them.

"Thanks so much."

It wasn't long before Sang-Woo's previous statement was proven correct because Deok-Su began screaming that he wouldn't move to the next panel, hindering their progress. "Ya, everybody, listen! Anyone wanna get across? Well, you better go first then."

"Ah, shit." Sang-Woo cursed under his breath.

Soo-Jin hissed. "Ya, you motherfucker! What are you doing?"

"You deaf or what, bitch? I’m not going until you do."

"Are you crazy, man? But the rule is we go in order!" A player in front of her yelled.

Deok-Su guffawed, "You can just kiss my ass. We’re in Hell here. There’s no rules in Hell. You wanna go so bad? Go ahead."

"You scumbag!" retaliated the man. "If you don’t move up, I’ll push you then."

"Okay." 101 pounded his chest once. "Well then, come on. Then, do it!"

"We’ll all die here together!"

"Ya, listen, everybody! I’m not dying here for anyone. So come on, let’s do this!" Deok-Su huffed, gesticulating his arms wildly. His face growing red. "Get up here and go ahead! If you don’t, we all die. Your choice, dickhead."

Soo-Jin bellowed, "Stop this bullshit, you asshole! The clock is ticking. You have to go now!"

To be honest, she was half-panicking already. There was only little time left for them and if they don't cross by then, they'll all be executed for not following the rules. "You’ll be waiting here till we’re all dead." cackled Deok-Su like a madman.

Glancing back to the clock, the brunette let out a curse when she saw it was already down to the last four minutes. She knew what the asshole was doing. He wanted to the players behind him to go around and test the five remaining steps for him to advance. His strategy was to refuse to move forward, which will kill them all if the clock runs out.

"Damn it, you better go! Please just go on!"

By then, Mi-Nyeo shoved the man forward. "Just go!"

Soo-Jin's breath hitched in her throat as Deok-Su caught the player and pushed him aside, letting him fall off the bridge. The man shrieked and made a loud thud on the ground. It was all getting crazy.

The woman watched as Deok-Su and Mi-Nyeo stared at one another like in some sort of showdown. Player 212 scoffed, "My God, you’re all such idiots. Man, you used to act like such a tough guy."

Deok-Su gritted his teeth.

"Babe, what happened to you? Are you really pulling the shit? Oh, man, you’re pathetic." exasperated she.

"You’re just an ugly old bitch, okay. Look, I’m not moving forward. Not at all." Deok-su laughed. He was determined not to die and he will use his brute strength to accomplish that.

"All of these people dead but the worst thing is… I let you fuck me in the bathroom that day."

"Why don’t you go first to die?"

Casually and boldly, Mi-Nyeo shrugged. "Fine. Sure."

101 chuckled. "You mean... Meaning you’ll go?"

"Yeah. It’s Han Mi-nyeo here." confidently proclaimed the curly-haired woman. "You don’t think that I’d be able to do something quite as cowardly as... waiting here till I die."

At that moment, Soo-Jin knew she was going to die. Not because she was going to sacrifice herself, but because she'll make sure she'll go down with Deok-Su. This was their final standoff.

"Come on then. Go ahead." He then taunted. "Good luck."

That was when Mi-Nyeo suddenly wrapped her arms around Deok-Su's waist tightly, a move Soo-Jin easily recognized as it was what she taught 212 first in the bathroom.

"What are you doing?" panicked Deok-Su as squirmed, trying to break free from Mi-Nyeo's tight grasp.

"You’re such an idiot." smirked the woman. "Did you believe I’d really die so you could go on?"

"Let me go."

"Remember? We said we’d stick together right to the end."

Mi-Nyeo intended to keep her promise that they stick together until the end, Soo-Jin knew this. She was aware of everything already since 212 admitted everything to her while they were training.

"Crazy bitch, let me go! Damn it! Get your fucking hands off me right now!" Deok-Su screamed in dread. Goddamn it!"

"You betrayed me. Now, you’re going to die."

"No, please. I’ll go first, okay? Huh? Let me go, please. Please!" begged the muscular thug. The strongest player was literally losing his marbles because of the woman in front of him.

"You coward." tsked 212, sweeping her gaze from bottom to top. "Deok-su. I need you to know… you’ve got such a tiny dick."

"You goddamn bitch!"

"Ya, bold woman!" called Mi-Nyeo. "Thanks for the lesson!" She winked.

"Mi-Nyeo! Don't!" Soo-Jin tried to change her mind, but the woman in front of her was determined to keep her promise.

And with that, she leant back, and both she and Deok-Su crashed through the glass step, plummeting to their deaths.

Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.

She hissed and stomped her foot lightly on the glass panel, internally regretting she taught Mi-Nyeo that waist hold move. She had lost a friend again. She firmly pressed her lips, choosing to set aside her emotions. Her survival was her priority. She had think logically.

By this, the pastor ahead of her urged the player in front of him. "Move. Quick! You can’t just stop."

There were only six of them left and there were still seven panels left. "Hold on. Wait, one second. I can tell the panels apart." pleaded the man who had 017 etched on his teal jacket.

"Wait, you can tell?" Soo-Jin asked, surprised and relieved there was someone knowledgeable about glasses. Although, she wished he had been the first so he could've led them all earlier.

"I used to make glass for over thirty years." expounded he before kneeling down to examine the next glass step. "You can’t normally tell, but... when you look at tempered glass when it’s lit from the side, then you can see faint stain marks."

Exhaling, he sprung to the glass panel, correctly guessing which one was the tempered glass. Astounded by his choice, she took another jump. "Another hint, the sound. Tempered glass is made at a heat over seven hundred degrees. Pound on it with a hammer and it rings clearer than normal glass."

By this, Gi-Hun raised a question she had earlier until her own mind answered it. "Why wasn’t all this brought up earlier? If you had led everybody from..."

"Why would I?" retaliated player 017. "The players up here tried to kill us at every chance."

And he was right. Soo-Jin will give him that.

Through the glass maker's guidance, they got across the steps, safe and unharmed.

Well, that was until the lights went out.

It was as if the game managers knew the glass maker could tell the panels apart and Soo-Jin cursed under her breath.

"What’s wrong? What’s the problem?" queried the pastor to player 017 who shuddered. They were already on the last two glass steps. 017 then spun around, fright clear in his eyes.

"I can’t tell them apart in the dark." he swallowed. "I need to listen to the sound. You got anything to throw?"

"Do you have anything, 321?"

Soo-Jin suddenly remembered the marble she kept in her pocket. Her grandfather's gift to her. He gave up his life for her to get where she was now. She fished it out from her pocket and stared at it for a moment. With a heavy heart, she let it go, knowing it will be used for the greater good.

The glass maker bounced it on one of the panels, causing it to make a clinking sound. A nervous breath was then heard as he faced them all, "I need another. I need to hear the right one, so I can be -- "

He wasn't able to finish his sentence though for player 244 shoved him off to one of the glass step, causing it to crack and shatter. Player 017 shrieked as he plunged down to the ground.

The pastor smirked and jumped over to the tempered glass step. He may have realized soon that there was one more step for them to get across. One more life to sacrifice.

With that, the pastor dropped to his knees, praying, "Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name..."

"Ya!" exasperated Soo-Jin, alarmed by this since there were only two minutes left. "Get up. What are you doing? You’re praying right now?

"... As it is in Heaven."

"Seriously?"

"Come on! Just go!" This time, Sang-Woo urdged him, but to no avail. "Ya, just get up and stop praying, okay?"

"You idiot, it’s your turn!" The woman bursted. "You gotta go! Everybody will die, you know!"

At this, the pastor stood up from his praying position, his visage menacing and threatening. "No number can determine when the Lord calls for somebody. Judgment is called down to us here. It’s our time to face the Lord."

Soo-Jin rolled her eyes. "Well, I don't want to face the Lord right now, so can you move your ass or I will push you." threatened she.

The woman was indeed going to do it for she wasn't afraid anymore of murder. Besides, the games were requiring her to really commit the crime.

"We’re all going to Hell, anyway. We are no longer saints, we are all now sinners here."

Soo-Jin gave him a death glare, her anger rising once again. This time, it was already building up in her chest and ready to explode.

This didn't deter the religious man and he prayed once again. "... God bless me today."

Glancing once again on the timer, her eyes widened in panic when there were only two minutes left. She had to do something. She knew what it was, but her morals were holding her back.

There are no rules in hell.

Gritting her teeth, she sprang forward, the tempered glass holding them both steady.

Eyes and visage void of any emotion, and hands pressed on his shoulders, she uttered, "You are wasting too much time. I'll choose for you, okay?"