an unfamiliar alarm blared through the speakers, jolting her awake. her heart raced as her eyes darted around the room, the sudden flood of light forcing her to squint. the guards came in through their barricade, guns pointed at them as they demanding everyone form a line. her confusion evaporated in an instant as adrenaline surged through her body. she hurried to comply, falling into place with the others.

a guard moved methodically down the line, looking at each person for a moment in silence before moving to the next. when he stopped in front of her, his gaze bore into her. she glanced sideways at him, her lip curling slightly in disgust, her expression a faint grimace. after a moment, he moved on without a word.

"attention. the fourth game is about to begin. please follow
the staff's instructions and proceed swiftly to the game hall. "

the classical music echoed once again through the speakers as they walked in formation. walking up the staircase, she glanced up before doing a double-take and froze. her breath hitched as her eyes locked on five dead bodies hung limply above them by their arms.

two guards wearing triangle masks, one with a circle, another with a square, and one player. player 111, a member of deok-su's team.

"players," the square-masked manager announced. "what you witness before you is what remains of those who broke the rules for their own benefit. they tainted the pure and fair ideology everything here has been built upon. each and every one of you is considered an equal within the walls of this facility. you must be guaranteed the same opportunities without being disadvantaged or facing any kind of discrimination. we truly apologize for allowing such an unacceptable incident to occur."

they all filed into the familiar white room, the same room they had entered before to form teams for a previous game. cecelia stood next to ali, waiting for the announcement.

" players, welcome to the fourth game. for this game, you
will be playing in teams of two. lease look around and find
someone you wish to play with. when two people agree to
play together, shake hands to show you have become partners. "

cecelia perched tiredly on the stairs, her cheek resting against her palm as she half-listened to mi-nyeo pleading with gi-hun and sang-woo to be her partner. the two men shifted uncomfortably, avoiding her eyes and obviously declining through silence. when it became clear no one would volunteer to be her partner, mi-nyeo glanced around at the rest of the group. "is that it? can't decide? should I just pick for you?"

cecelia managed to tune out everyone's conversation, her annoyance growing as she overheard some of the men loudly arguing against partnering with any of the women or the old man. their tone grated on her nerves. her attention being caught when her gaze settling on ali as he shifted beside her.

"do you want to play to—" ali began, turning to cecelia with a big smile. she smiled back at him. before she could answer, sang-woo interrupted, stepping forward with his hand extended.

"ali, let's join forces," sang-woo started, "most of the games here, you need to be strong or smart to win. and i think if we're a team, we'll...we'll beat a lot of the others out there."

both ali and cecelia looked up at him, their smiles fading as they exchanged uncertain glances. the moment hung awkwardly in the air, sang-woo's intrusion deliberate.

"sorry, i—" ali started, his voice faltering with hesitation. he wanted to be cecelia's partner, but he sang-woo was right. winning was the priority. before he could fully decline, cecelia placed a hand on his shoulder, cutting him off.

"it's okay," she said softly, forcing a small, upside-down smile. "you two should team up. i'll find someone else."

ali's eyes widened. "a-are you sure?"

she nodded, patting his shoulder before standing up and stepping away. "don't worry about me. just win, okay?"

cecelia didn't need to search long. a man approached her almost immediately—player 062, an almost scrawny man in his thirties. crossing her arms, she listened as he began his pitch.

"i've noticed you since day one," he said, a confident grin tugging at his lips. "the way you stepped in during that fight with the thug? unbelievable. you're tough, smart, and a survivor. if we team up, we'll be unstoppable."

cecelia raised an eyebrow. "yeah?"

"yeah" he replied, his tone bordering on flirtation. "what do you say? let's do this. together." he extended his hand toward her.

she glanced at his hand, screwing up her mouth as she looked around at the rest of the players in the room. most had already paired off. unless she wanted to wander around looking desperate, she didn't have much choice. letting out a sigh, she shook his hand, his grip firm on hers and his smile widening.

once all the teams were formed, the group was led into another room. this one was dimly lit, golden hues of a fake sunset. the space was beautiful, designed to resemble a nostalgic neighborhood of old brick homes. for a second, it felt so real that cecelia almost forgot that it wasn't.

jun-ho stood with the other triangle-masked guards, his eyes fixed on cecelia. after infiltrating the frontman's quarters and discovering his brother had won the games in 2015, he had taken out one of the triangle guards and switched clothing once more to keep close to her. his gaze narrowed as he noted her new partner—a man who couldn't seem to stop looking at her.

" attention. all players, please follow the staff to your
designated positions for the game. "

jun-ho was quick to move, him standing in front of cecelia and player 062, him taking charge of being with her. the two trailed behind the guard as they were guided to their designated spot for their game. she shook her marble pouch, the soft clinking sound drowning out 062's incessant talking about their odds of winning at a certain game. then the guard stopped, cecelia stopping in her tracks, almost running into his wall-like body.

" in this game, using your set of ten marbles, you will play
   the game of your choice with your partner. the player who
   manages to take all ten marbles from their partner wins. "

cecelia and 062 exchanged uneasy looks, them both knowing exactly what that meant. only one of them would leave this game alive.

062 exhaled deeply, humming thoughtfully as he thought of any game.

"in school i used to play a lot of—"

"let's play odds or evens. quick and easy." she interrupted as she shook the marbles in her hand.

he paused for a moment, nodding nervously, he agreed. they both sat down on the concrete that lined the area. cecelia exhaled, ready to get the game over with.

jun-ho stood nearby, watching intently from under his guard's mask. every round they played made his pulse quicken, every opening of their hands to reveal the number of marbles made him anxious. he silently prayed that the odds would stay in cecelia's favor.

even. odd. odd. even.

in the third round, cecelia lost, giving up four of her marbles. beneath his mask, jun-ho jaw clenched as he released a shaky breath. his gaze set on her, searching for any sign of panic. but she stayed unfazed, unbothered, not showing an ounce of emotion to her partner.

which couldn't be said the same about 062. cecelia won again and again. with each loss, he grew visibly angrier, his frustration bubbling over. giving up two of some of his remaining marbles, he snapped, slamming his fist into the sandy, rocky ground and let out a guttural yell.

cecelia didn't flinch, merely blinking at him with disinterest as she tucked the two marbles into her pouch.

suddenly, he lunged. his hand grabbed both sides of her jacket, yanking her roughly to her feet. cecelia's body tensed as she grimaced, turning her head away from his furious yelling. the man's knuckles pressed roughly into her collarbones.

the guard—unbeknownst to cecelia, jun-ho— reacted instantly. drawing his pistol. too quick. the barrel of the gun aimed at 062's head, jun-ho fighting the urge to the pull the trigger right then and there. one, to just give cecelia her win. two, for daring to lay his hands on her. his tone calm and laced with authority.

"let her go, or i'll kill you now."

cecelia's eyes flicked to the guard. the familiarity of his voice was like a heavy weight being pulled off her chest. a faint smirk tugged at her lips as she turned her gaze back to 062.

the man didn't let up immediately. only when the sound of jun-ho cocking the gun was when he swallowed hard, finally loosening his grip and taking a step back. his body slumped in defeat as he looked down at his light pouch.

"are we going to finish the game? you could still win," she said calmly.

he glared at her, his hands trembling as they both held their fists out, him staring at cecelia's closed fist, almost like he was trying to see through her hand to find the correct answer. "odd." he muttered.

cecelia stared at him for a moment, her lips pressed in a thin line as she slowly opened her hand, revealing her marbles. four. even.

she didn't gloat or rush him, simply waiting in silence as he processed his loss. with a shaking hand, he dropped his final marble in her palm. her now having all twenty.

jun-ho sighed beneath his mask. did he want to do this? absolutely not. he was a cop — he was meant to protect. but he was undercover. reluctantly, he raised his gun up to the man's head. he glanced over at cecelia. he was protecting. he was protecting her.

stepping up to her, jun-ho discreetly grabbed her arm, turning her body away. his arm wrapped around her torso, keeping her from seeing what he was about to do.

the gunshot rang out. her flinching slightly at the noise. she heard the dull thud of 062's body hitting the ground, but kept her eyes averted as she sat back down.

jun-ho stood still and straight, making sure that the chest camera he had to strap to his chest wasn't seeing him communicate with her.

"are you okay?" jun-ho asked, concern heavy in his voice.

cecelia nodded quickly, "yeah, i'm fine. are you? what—what are you doing here?" she was hushed but filled with worry, her eyes scanning the mask that obscured his face.

"i had to see you," he said softly. his gaze lingered on her as his fingers fidgeted at his sides, betraying his restraint for her. it wasn't his fault. since he had a taste of her, he fought to stop himself.

"i want to kiss you. so bad," he admitted with a groan, his voice quieter this time.

she let out a quiet scoff, her lips pulling into a shy grin as she turned her face away to hide her reaction. "you can't say shit like that here," she laughed softly, though her cheeks were visibly warm.

jun-ho's heart swelled at the sight of her smile, under the mask, his expression softened, his focus entirely on her.

the brief levity faded as cecelia looked back at him, her smile dimming. "have you found anything about your brother?" she asked, steering the conversation.

jun-ho's jaw tightened, he swallowed. "he...won the games back in 2015."

"what?" cecelia's face fell, her eyes widened in shock. that was not something she expected to hear.

"yeah," jun-ho muttered. "his name's in the records. it's all there—he was the winner that year. but I can't find him, i-i don't know what it means. maybe he's hiding, maybe he's... i don't know." He paused. "i need evidence—enough to take this entire operation down."

cecelia said nothing, her mind reeling, but jun-ho wasn't done. "it's not just the games, celia. the guards—they're cutting organs out of the dead players and selling them on the black market." his voice filled with a mixture of anger and disgust. "it's fucking sick. these people aren't just playing with lives—they're profiting off of them even after they're dead."

cecelia stared at him in horror. she didn't know what to say to that. there was nothing to say to that.

finally, she managed, "please...just, be careful." her voice was barely a whisper, her eyes pleading. "don't get yourself killed."

jun-ho nodded, opening his mouth, about to say something else when he was interrupted.

ali appeared out of nowhere, his eyes darting around frantically as he counted the players left in her game area. his gaze finally landed on her, then shifted to the lifeless body of 062 a few feet away. "ali?" she called softly, rising to her feet and walking toward him.

her attention fell to the makeshift necklace around his neck. a strip of torn fabric holding a bag of marbles. her brows furrowed in confusion. from a distance, jun-ho watched the two. recognizing him as the man cecelia was mostly with majority of the time.

"what are you doing?" cecelia asked.

ali came up to her, his hands trembling. "i have nineteen marbles," he stammered, his words tumbling over one another. "sang-woo only has one left. i—i don't want him to die. he said... he said we could both win if i just count—"

"ali," cecelia interrupted, steadying him with a firm grip on his arms. "you need to go back. finish this game. don't worry about sang-woo. you need to win this."

"but sang-woo..." ali's voice cracked.

"don't worry about sang-woo," she repeated, her gaze locking onto his. "you have a family, ali. you need to worry about yourself."

her eyes glanced over to the timer—six minutes left. her jaw tightened as she turned her focus back to him and his teary eyes.

"go back. now," she spoke firmly to him, "don't let sang-woo trick you. only one person can win, and it has to be you. do you understand me?" she cupped his face.

ali hesitated for a moment, before nodding quickly. cecelia offered him a faint, encouraging smile and let her hands fall away. she watched as he turned and hurried back toward his game. slowly, she returned to her seat.

she knew how it sounded—urging ali to finish the game, to let sang-woo die. but she didn't care about sang-woo. she cared about ali, his life, and the family waiting for him. even through his mask, she could feel jun-ho's eyes on her, silently observing, judging, or maybe even understanding.

"i-i'm not proud of what i've done...or what i do," cecelia spoke through the silence, as her fingers picked anxiously at her cuticles, nearly breaking the skin. her gaze dropped, remembering the desperate acts she committed back in america.

she pressed her lips together, then ran her tongue over them, wetting her dry lips. a sharp exhale escaped her as her eyes drifted downward, fixing on the sandy ground and the once-white shoes she wore, now caked in yellowish dust and splotches of red from the blood of strangers.

"in america...i took out too many loans, way more than i could ever pay back," she began, for some reason, she decided that now was the moment to let jun-ho know who she truly was. so he would know before they both got too caught up with each other. "insurance wouldn't cover my grandmother's medications. bills kept piling up. my nephew—he's in high school—he had school fees, he needed clothes, shoes...he's growing every minute." a faint, humorless chuckle escaped her lips, but it faded immediately, her lips turned into a frown.

"i met this guy," she admitted, hesitating as her throat tightened. "he promised me a job. and for over three years, i worked for him. he gave me names—businessmen, CEOs. i threatened them. their lives, to expose their dirty little secrets, their reputations. and sometimes, i'd have to hurt them enough to get my point across. whatever it took, for money."

jun-ho listened intently, his expression unreadable. he had seen briefly on her page in that binder that she was involved in criminal activity, and now he knew: extortion.

"i got a little more than a quarter of the money from each job," cecelia continued, her voice growing quieter. "the rest went to him and his crew. but it was enough. enough to pay the bills, to get my grandmother her medicine, to stop worrying about how I'd make it to the next month. but then...the police raided them. i panicked. i grabbed as much cash as i could and ran...for months, i was scared they'd come after me. or find my family. a few days i go, i heard that they were arrested. all of them. so now..." she let out a shaky sigh. "now i'm just waiting. waiting for someone to sell me out so they can cut a deal."

her head hung low, her shame palpable for the first time with anyone that wasn't her grandmother. afraid that she had just lost this guy she unfortunately felt herself falling for.

"cecelia," jun-ho called her name. her head lifted, revealing her pitiful eyes that met his. he hesitated for a moment. but his next words spilled out, him not being able to contain how he felt.

"i think i'm in love with you."

the words struck her like a jolt of electricity, her lips parting slightly. her heart seemed to plummet into her stomach as she tried to process what he just confessed.

"and i promise, you'll never have to worry about money," he pressed on, his tone firmer now, "or anyone trying to hurt you ever again. i know you don't need me, and when we get out of here..." he exhaled sharply, his gaze through the mask lowering briefly as though he couldn't bear to see her reaction. "you probably won't want nothing to do with me. but i need you to know — you have me, celia. completely. whether you like it or not."

she swallowed hard, looking up at jun-ho, her mouth opening, but before she could respond, a frantic yell echoed, cutting through the tension between them like a blade.

"SANG-WOO! WHERE ARE YOU?"

the familiar voice made cecelia snap her head toward the sound, her body stiffening.

"SANG-WOO!"

cecelia abruptly jumped from her seat, ignoring jun-ho's calls for her, she bolted towards the desperate calls from her friend, her feet moving instinctively through the maze-like room until she found him.

he stood several feet ahead, panic written on his face. his eyes wide, his eyebrows drawn inwards as they lock eyes. the bag of marbles in his hand, relief flickered briefly in her chest, thinking he won against sang-woo — until he tilted the pouch, letting its contents spill into his palm.

stones.

cecelia's breath hitches, her chest tightening. "ali," she let out a shaky breath, her voice cracking as tears flooded her vision.

ali stared back at her, his expression crushed. tears mingled with the sweat on his face as he swallowed hard, his throat bobbing with emotion. for a brief moment, his eyes softened. not with anger, but with profound betrayal. he had trusted sang-woo with his life. and now he stood before cecelia, his best friend, the woman he trusted the most in the minimum days he's known her. someone who wouldn't have betrayed him in this very moment.

she watched as a triangle guard came up behind him, drawing a pistol to the back of his head.

"sang-woo," ali whispered hoarsely. his partner. his teammate. she knew who he played with. it wasn't an explanation — it was a warning.

cecelia's lips parted in a shaky exhale, her body frozen. her tears slipped into the cracks of her dry lips. before she could react, the unmistakable click of a pistol being cocked filled the air. her heart stopped.

the shot rang out.

cecelia flinched violently, her eyes snapping shut. a warm, sickening streak of his blood hit her face, going from her nose through her left eyebrow.

     player 199, eliminated.

the female announcer's words sank into her like a knife, twisting painfully in her chest. slowly, she opened her eyes, her gaze falling to his crumpled figure on the ground.

"ali..." she choked, his name leaving her lips in a broken sob. her knees buckled beneath her, and she collapsed in front of him, her hands trembling as they went to cover her mouth.

her sobs filled the room, a stark contrast to the eerie stillness that followed after the gunshot and drop of his body. jun-ho, standing a short distance behind her, felt his heart shatter. he had never seen her so utterly broken, her grief pouring out that seemed to suffocate the air around them.

the guard stepped forward, his boots crunching on the ground as he started approaching cecelia. jun-ho moved quickly, his jaw tightening as he intercepted before the guard could get to her, pulling cecelia to her feet.

"no," she whimpered, resisting his grip as she cried, reaching for ali's body. her fingers brushed against one of the stones that spilled on the ground, and in an almost subconscious motion, she grabbed the stone, slipping it into her pocket.

her cries tore him. cecelia struggling weakly against him, her body shaking with sobs, but he held her close, but still trying to make it look like he was just a guard pulling away a distraught player.

jun-ho guided cecelia to the door, pulling her into an the shadows of the empty corridor, where it was just the two of them. her sobs were ragged and unrelenting, her body trembling beneath his touch. after he looked around, seeing there was no cameras, he removed his mask, sliding it to the top of his head, revealing his face.

"celia, baby, look at me," he urged softly, his hands gently cupping her tear-streaked face.

but cecelia's crying eyes were cast downward. her lips trembled as she hiccuped through her sobs, her cheeks flushed and wet with tears and blood.

"cecelia." he leaned closer, brushing his thumb across her cheek in an desperate attempt to ground her. "please, look at me,"

slowly, her tear-filled eyes lifted to meet his. the pain in her face hurt him deeply. seeing her friends blood splattered on her face, her quivering lips.

jun-ho gloved hands brushed tenderly over her cheeks, wiping away her stray tears. his jaw tightening as he tried to clean the blood from her face.

her lips trembled again as she tried to speak, but the words caught in her throat. jun-ho bent his head toward her, his forehead resting against hers as he took a steady breath.

"i don't just think i love you," he murmured. "i love you, celia. and i need you," he continued, his tone urgent with her but gentle. "i need you to be strong. please."

her sobs quieted. her hands clung to his jumpsuit, as if she was holding on to him would somehow keep her from collapsing under the weight of grief. jun-ho pressed a kiss to her forehead, lingering there as he whispered, "i know it hurts. i know. but i need you to pull it together for me. get through this, please, for him."

cecelia leaned into his touch. though the ache in her chest still burned, what jun-ho said grounded her. she had to get it together. she had to make sure she won now. she needed that money not just for her and her family, but for the family ali was forced to leave behind.

she nodded faintly. jun-ho nodded with her, cupping her face, he planted a small kiss on her lips before stepping back, sliding his mask back down to cover his face.

he led her forward, his hand gripping hers tightly for the small moment they were together. it killed her inside to leave ali behind. blinking, the remainder of tears fell on her cheeks. she felt a piece of herself die in that moment.

A/N:
...i'm sorry. 😔. rest in peace cecelia and ali's beautiful friendship. you'll be forever missed. but we had a jun-ho love confession, so, this chapter has mixed emotions.
the last few chapters of season one will be INTENSE between sang-woo and cecelia, bare warning. i feel like those two would've been friends if he didn't betray ali. but we love a good enemies storyline.
love you all so much! please don't be a silent reader!

with love,
chayla