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THE days bled into weeks after Nari woke up on an unfamiliar bed in a home she had never seen before. Her routine had been shifted and her bank account carried enough funds to pay her debts however, the information that Ha Wi-joon had paid them off already allowed her to use that money for other means like paying off Mina's debt so that her little brother wouldn't have to carry it with him into adulthood. She got herself a job working for her aunt Nariko and despite the fact she desired no contact with Wi-joon after learning the truth of her bloodline, she couldn't bring herself to do it completely and so, she gave him the condition that he had to pay off the debts of those lives lost in the games; and so he did.

During these weeks, Nari had spent time trying to bump into Su-bong but they had yet to see each other. To most, it would've been the smarter choice to give each other an address or a meeting point but their exhausted brains didn't think of that. But truthfully, the chase was enticing to Su-bong who had quickly reached out to his old friend, Ji-yong, taking up a job with his company teaching Trainees to save up completely. Su-bong had an agreement with Jiyong that he would pay the debt and then Su-bong would pay him back; though Jiyong told him not to worry about paying him back as he was just glad to have his best friend back but Su-bong was adamant about paying him back, not wishing to owe anymore debts.

As for the others, Hyun-ju had immediately used her connections to locate Young-Mi and the two reunited within the first week of being out of the games; the two settled into an agreement to move to Thailand together however, they wished to find the others first so they could have contact. Hana and Semi hadn't lived too far from one another so for them to reunite was as simple as bumping into each other in a cafe they both happened to adore; they then began their search for Min-su as they had promised. Nam-gyu had been the one to search for Nari instantly, he had closest contact with Thanos and so, he witnessed firsthand how lost the man was without by his side.

Dae-ho had been the one to decide on leaving all of it in the past, he held no desire to find the others and rather, he paid off his debts and disappeared; only the memories of the man remained for the others. As for Jun-hee and her baby, she had gone straight to a hospital where she and the baby got full treatment and Myung-gi had paid off his major debts before searching for Jun-hee; once he found her, he promised to not leave her again. An agreement struck between them to try as friends first, co-parenting the child; an option that came easy when Nam-gyu had shown up with his teasing smirk and shared contacts. And the hunt for Nari continued for all of them.

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Seong Gi-hun was the one to find Nari, the man was walking down the street in a comfortable suit and an envelope in his hand as he spotted the young woman sitting at a bench in the park looking out at the environment. "Ha Nari?" Gi-hun spoke softly as to not startle her, she turned to him and gasped at the sight of his familiar face no longer holding that stern and broken expression. "Seong Gi-hun," Nari whispered before she stood up, she didn't hesitate to step forward and wrap her arms tight around him, "It's good to see you." Gi-hun's lip twitched subtly into a small ghost of a smile as he rested his own arms around her shoulders, the comfort of a hug foreign to him but her presence familiar.

The two of them sat down together on the bench, silence had taken over as they enjoyed the peaceful environment of the park with random people walking together going about their mundane lives unaware of the demons lurking on the shoulders of Gi-hun and Nari. "The island blew up..." Gi-hun broke the silence with the information he had been told by Jun-ho, "One of the players escaped with the help of a guard... the coast guard was contacted and... I guess the Frontman didn't want the Island found and so, it blew sky high leaving nothing behind." Nari turned to look at Gi-hun, she thought maybe he would be relieved by that but he seemed more troubled than anything.

"You don't seem as happy about that as I thought you'd be..." Nari voiced carefully, watching him cautiously. "I don't know... it doesn't feel like the games were stopped, if anything... it feels like they got away with it all," Gi-hun replied with a tired sigh, his shoulders sagged with weight that seemed endless. "I get that... no one really suffered except for us, huh?" Nari said as she turned to look back out at the scenery. "Have you seen any of the others?" Gi-hun asked, he didn't want Nari dwelling on the Island; that was his own weight to carry. "Uh, no. I've kept my eyes open hoping but... none. It's, uh, not home without them," Nari answered with a frown, she felt hollow without the others.

"Well, I'm sure they'll pop up somewhere... until then, keep your head high," Gi-hun assured her before standing up, Nari took notice of the envelope. "What's that?" Nari asked with furrowed brows. "Uh, I'm leaving Korea to Los Angeles to try and be in my daughters life... but this... its my last job here," Gi-hun explained before rubbing the back of his neck, "It's money for... Jung-bae's wife and child. To pay off his debt and give them a good life like he wanted." Nari softened at his words, she stood up and pulled him into another embrace. "Don't be a stranger, Gi-hun. You'll find a new purpose... you saved us, after all," Nari whispered before pulling back, they shared another subtle smile before he went on his way.

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It was officially an entire two months since leaving the Games that Nari finally came in contact with Jun-hee purely due to the both of them attending the same hospital for separate check ups. The two women had walked out of their appointments into the waiting room, Jun-hee pushing a stroller with her baby girl asleep inside when she spotted the familiar face of Ha Nari wearing a cute babydoll dress that allowed her almost seven month along bump to show clear as day. However, her face seemed drained and exhausted, lost even and Jun-hee could only assume that it was due to her being apart from Thanos who had reached out to Myung-gi to see if he had seen Nari; the man was lost without her.

"Nari!" Jun-hee called out catching Nari's attention, she watched in fond awe as Nari's eyes lit up with a smile of pure joy. "Jun-hee!" Nari rushed over to the smaller woman and embraced her in a tight hug which Jun-hee happily accepted, embracing her back. "How are you?" Nari asked as she pulled back to look at Jun-hee, her face was no longer pale and drained but rather, she looked healthier and happy despite all they suffered through. "I'm doing well... uh, thanks to you and Hana's advice, Myung-gi and I have been seeing where things go. Friends to something more," Jun-hee expressed shyly, she felt like it was back to those days before she and Myung-gi had dated the first time.

"That's really good to hear," Nari replied though her smile faltered slightly, her heart sinking at the reminder that she hadn't found Thanos yet and he hadn't found her; maybe he wasn't looking for her, she thought to herself. A soft gurgle of joy pulled Nari from her thoughts, she turned to look down at Jun-hee's daughter, brushed her fingers across the baby girl's arm. "What did you name her?" Nari asked Jun-hee, turning to look up at her. "Myung-gi and I named her Hee-won meaning 'happiness' and 'hope' as she is both for us," Jun-hee answered softly, brushing her own fingers across her daughters cheek prompting a giggle to escape Heewon's lips.

"That's a beautiful name, Jun-hee," Nari complimented before resting her hand on her stomach saying, "I found out I'm having a son." Jun-hee lit up at that, she gave her hand a squeeze, "Look at us, surviving and now living." Nari laughed before reaching for her phone, "Let's trade numbers and stay in touch, I have to get to work." Jun-hee furrowed her brows, she hadn't expected Nari to be working being seven months along but that was Nari, she was as resilient as ever. "Where are you working?" Jun-hee asked as they traded phones to type in their numbers. "Oh, my aunt Nariko gave me a hostess job at one of her restaurants," Nari answered with a sweet smile.

"Well, we have to make time to do a dinner or something... I, uh... added Hana's number to your phone so be sure to reach out cause I know that Semi and Min-su are missing you," Jun-hee added with a small grin, the mention of the three made Nari's heart lift with happiness. "Oh, definitely! I have a day off tomorrow so we can all meet up if everyone is available," Nari told her with a grin, her body already felt light knowing that their reunion just out of reach. They shared another embrace before sharing their farewells, Nari rushing off to her car and driving to work with a smile on her face that seemed permanent as she worked her shift.

Jun-hee had returned back to her apartment she shared with Myung-gi, though they had separate rooms currently, and noticed he was sitting on the couch with the remote in his hand. "How was the check up?" Myung-gi asked as he turned his head to Jun-hee, he smiled at the sight of her and their daughter. "Heewon is doing good and developing nicely so I think we are out of the danger zone of concern," Jun-hee answered as she sat down next to Myung-gi letting him take their daughter into his arms carefully cradling her close. "And you won't believe who I ran into at the hospital," Jun-hee added causing Myung-gi to turn back to her with a look of confusion.

"Who did you run into?" Myung-gi asked intrigued, they had already reunited with Hana, Semi, Young-Mi, Hyun-ju, Min-su, Nam-gyu and for a moment, they even spoke with Gi-hun who had visited to see how Heewon was doing but hadn't seen Thanos, Dae-ho or Nari nor any of the other players that survived the game. He had spoken with Thanos through social media so that left him thinking until he noticed the smile on Jun-hee's face prompting him to ask, "You saw Nari?" Jun-hee nodded with a grin, "Message Thanos. We are meeting up with her tomorrow and he needs to be there." Myung-gi smirked at Jun-hee before snatching up his phone eager to reunite the lovers.

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—͟͞͞ ✮❭❱ ROSE IS SPEAKING .ᐟ.ᐟ.ᐟ

So, first and foremost, I know some will be unhappy about this but Nari will not have any connections or contact with In-ho for many reasons. She also won't have contact with Wi-joon either so you don't have to compare the dads, both were bad in their own way.

Secondly, I know this chapter potentially sucked. More wifi complications resulted in me almost crashing out as I lost the original chapter and had to spend time writing something else cause I couldn't remember all of the original... anyway, apologies for that.

Third, The ending may be a little rushed. We have one more chapter and then the epilogue left. I have ideas for bonus chapters eventually but for now, if I drag it out any longer, I may actually ruin the book lol

Finally, don't stress, they will reunite. Also, wanna point out that the conversation between Nari and Gi-hun was meant to be short and a little awkward cause that's what I'd be like with someone outside the games.

And I choose the name 'Heewon' for the baby as I feel the name 'won-young' is funny but doesn't fit in my book cause she didn't become an official player as the games ended.

See you in the last chapter!

Unedited
Written via phone