C H A M P I O N O F D E A T H

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    THE WORLD CAME BACK TO SAE-BOM IN FRAGMENTS. FIRST, THERE WAS THE COLD, NOT OF THE WIND OR RAIN, BUT A STERILE CHILL THAT SEEPED through the thin mattress beneath her. The faint smell of detergent and rust lingered in the air, familiar in a way that made her gut twist. She stirred, a soft groan escaping her as her body reminded her of the blow to her head, and of the weight that dragged at her limbs.

    The second thing was the silence, an oppressive quiet broken only by distant footsteps echoing along steel floors, or the low hum of the classical music. Her lashes fluttered, vision blurring into a wash of gray and white before her eyes finally focused on the ceiling.

    Her heart sank at what she saw once again, the place being so familiar to her. Concrete, iron beams, harsh fluorescent lights overhead.

      She knew this place.

    Slowly, she pushed herself upright, her muscles weak but her mind sharpening with every second. Her hand instinctively touched her temple, fingertips brushing the bandage that had been wrapped neatly over her wound. Whoever had put it there had been precise, almost careful. It didn't matter. None of that mattered compared to the dread crawling through her chest.

    She looked down, ignoring the bodies around her waking up also in their selected beds. The green fabric was unmistakable, the familiar tracksuit covered her figure.

    No. Her throat tightened as she shakily pulled the zipper down to glance at the white patch sewn over the chest. Her breath caught, and her stomach dropped. 67.

    "No..." Her voice cracked into the silence. She pressed her palm flat against the number as if she could tear it off, as if by doing so she could undo what it meant. But it stayed there, sewn firmly in place, heavy as a chain around her neck.

      Her sister's number, her sister's place.

    It was like the games themselves had ripped open the wound she'd been trying so hard to keep closed, forcing her to wear Sae-byeok's memory on her chest like some sick trophy.

    Her lips wobbled as she bit down hard on them, her eyes glassing over. She blinked rapidly, refusing to let the tears fall. Not here, not now when they had a mission to do. She couldn't afford weakness.

    The sound of movement startled her. She turned sharply, her vision narrowing on the sight of other shapes in the room, more beds, more figures in green suits stirring just as she had. For one sickening moment, she thought she was alone among strangers again.

    Then a voice cut through the static in her ears, "Sae-bom?"

   Her head whipped around, eyes landing on the familiar face across the rows of bunks. Soo-min was already scrambling to his feet, his expression pale with disbelief before relief crashed through him, "Sae-bom!"

   Her chest caved in at the sight of him, alive, here. She shot off the mattress, ignoring the dizzy spell that followed, and practically staggered into him. His arms caught her instantly, wrapping around her tight as if he never intended to let go again.

   "I thought I lost you." He breathed against her hair, his voice shaking with raw panic and relief, "I saw them take you, I ran after the car—I saw the blood and I thought—"

   "I'm here," She whispered hoarsely, her fingers clutching at the back of his jacket like a lifeline, "I'm here, Soo-min. They didn't—" Her voice cracked, "I'm okay."

    He pulled back just enough to cup her face, his thumb brushing over the faint dried trail of blood at her temple. His brows pinched, his throat bobbing, "They hurt you." He said tightly, "They hurt you."

   "It's nothing," She lied quickly, shaking her head, as she didn't want him to worry anymore than she knows he has, "It doesn't matter. What matters is—"

    "Sae-bom! Soo-min!" Another familiar voice called out, interrupting her speech mid way.

    She turned slowly, her chest heaving as her eyes landed on the figure leaning against a bunk a few feet away. Gi-hun. His hair was messier than usual, his expression weathered and grim, but the way he was staring at her gave it away how relieved he was to see them.

     For a moment, no one spoke. Then she exclaimed in relief, "Gi-hun!"

    He stepped forward, the disbelief on his face breaking into something softer, something like how a parent looked after seeing their kid after so long. And then she was in his arms too, crushed against him in an embrace that nearly knocked the air out of her.

    "Thank god." He whispered into her shoulder, his body trembling with the force of it, "Thank god you're alive. I knew they would take you in here before us, luckily we had a plan for that."

    She closed her eyes, inhaling the familiar scent of him, the way his embrace felt more like family than anything else left in this nightmare. Her throat burned, tears finally slipping free as she buried her face against him.

    Gi-hun pulled back, his gaze flicking down. His breath caught, his face falling, "...067." He whispered, eyes locked on the number stitched across her chest, "Those bastards—"

   Soo-min stiffened, his eyes following the line of Gi-hun's stare. When he saw it, his jaw clenched, his expression darkening with fury and sorrow.

    Sae-bom stepped back quickly, her hands gripping at the fabric of the jumpsuit, "I didn't ask for this." She rasped, shaking her head violently, "I woke up and it was already on me—I didn't choose this."

    Gi-hun's eyes softened instantly, regret flashing across his face, "No, no, Sae-bom, I know. I know you didn't." He reached for her again, his hands gripping her shoulders gently, "It's them, it's always them, twisting the knife, making us bleed where it hurts the most."

    Her bottom lip trembled. She looked between them both, her pulse pounding as the weight of her sister's number threatened to crush her, "It feels like they're doing it to me on purpose." She whispered, her voice breaking, "Like they're saying she'll never be gone, because now she's me. They made me into her—"

    "No," Soo-min cut in fiercely, his voice low and unshakable. He stepped close again, standing solid at her side, his eyes burning as he glared at the number, "You're not her replacement, you're Sae-bom. And they don't get to decide who you are."

    His words cracked something open inside her. Her throat tightened until she thought she couldn't breathe, and she had to bite down on a sob as she leaned into him again. Soo-min wrapped his arm around her shoulders, holding her against him as if he could shield her from the number itself.

   Gi-hun's voice was quieter now, but just as steady, "She'd want you to live," He murmured, his palm coming up to rub the side of her arm, "She fought too hard for you to do anything else."

    Sae-bom's chest shook, her tears spilling freely now as she pressed her forehead against Soo-min's chest, "I'm so tired." She admitted in a broken whisper, "I don't know how much more I can fight."

    Soo-min's hand rubbed over her back, grounding her, "Then let us fight with you," He said firmly, knowing how much of a burden she carried on her shoulders, "You're not alone anymore, okay? We'll get out of here again, after we destroy the games."

   The three of them stood there in the dormitory, a fragile bubble of unity amid the cold, sterile walls. Around them, the other players stirred and murmured, but none intruded. For that moment, Sae-bom let herself believe that maybe, just maybe, she wasn't carrying the weight of the number alone.

    But even as she clung to them, her eyes flicked once more to the patch sewn into her chest. 067. Her sister's shadow, her sister's fight now hers to bear. She silently swore, with her fists clenched against her sides, that she would carry it until the end, even if it broke her.

    More players began to surround where they stood off to the side, the ground floor of the room no longer clear as it had a pool of figures wearing green tracksuits. From the looks of things, Sae-bom saw that the two males beside her had their hold numbers, unlike her for some reason.

    She had a feeling she knew why though, the VIP's for some reason had drawn a liking to her, and obviously wanted to see how she would do with carrying her sisters' number on her shoulders also. Sick fucks, she thought to herself scowling.

   "Player 67." A sudden eerier voice came from her side, making Sae-bom turn her head slightly and spotted a woman standing near them, her hair placed up by a ribbon, "I sense you're holding on to many things. So much burden and trouble follows you. You can't leave or stay."

    The trio shared a weird glance between each other, as Soo-min pulled Sae-bom close to his side for protection, and gave the woman a scowl, all of them wondering what she was talking about.

    "You can't fight it. It's your destiny." Player 44 came closer to them, leaning against the pole attached to the bunkbeds, and eyed Sae-bom up and down, "You have souls hovering over your head who are lingering in this world. You're not here of your own will. Those vengeful souls brought you. If we get out of here, let me perform a ritual."

     Sae-bom just gave a bitter smirk to the weirdo lady, hands being thrown into her jackets pocket, and she felt Soo-min's grip getting tighter in fear she would lash out. That made her bite the inside of her cheek, "Yeah, we shall see." She muttered, shrugging off her friends hold and turned to walk down the small set of stairs.

   The alarm buzzes, a familiar sound to the trio, and everyone's attention is drawn to the metal rooms that slide open. Gi-hun and Soo-min give Player 44 a side eye, before joining where Sae-bom stood at the back of the crowd, watching over what was happening.

    All of the players gathered in the middle of the room, either looking at the pink guards in fear or curiosity, as the murmurers in the crowd come to a complete stop. This gave the masked manager a chance to speak.

    "I would like to extend a hearty welcome to all of you. Everyone here will participate in six different games over six days. Those who win all six games will receive a handsome cash prize." The square guard began to explain, the crowd not interrupting him once.

    "Excuse me?" A voice broke through the once silence of the players, and Sae-bom's, along with most others found their eyes drifting to where the voice came from. The woman was tall, stepping out from behind some of the players and had liner around her eyes, something that Sae-bom wished she did before leaving, "You said I'd be playing games, but you practically kidnapped me. So how can I believe that?"

    Many other players nodded their heads in agreement, before turning back away from the woman to the guards, and waited for a response from them. Sae-bom understood why the statement was said, as she did feel the same way when she first entered the games, but now she knew better. It was to protect the games, not them.

    "I apologise. Please understand that is was necessary to maintain the game's security."

    "What's with the mask then?" Another woman called out from the crowd, her being a bit closer to the front compared to the first, "Is your face also a secret?" She finished, and Sae-bom heard the challenging tone laced in the question.

    Player 444 who was beside the woman instantly agreed, "Yeah! Why are you hiding your face?" He yelled, as he eyed the guards closely, "Is this some kind of illegal gambling house?"

    Soo-min and Sae-bom shared a deadpanning expression between each other, as they heard Gi-hun sigh annoyed from her other side. The players were asking the wrong questions, and they knew none of them would be getting answers regardless, the guards would find a way around it.

     "Even the dealers don't cover their faces in those places!"

     Now the players began to break out in murmurs, the once tense silence being broken by the questions and it provoked the crowd to start speaking among each other. Sae-bom had a feeling most of the people inside the room were only in the games because of their lost money from gambling.

    "To ensure fair gameplay, and confidentiality, it is our policy not to reveal the faces and identities of staff." The square masked tried to tell the crowd, the voices getting louder by the second, "Please understand."

    More questions flowed from the crowd despite what the guard said, the questions mostly being about clothing and shoes, which were all irrelevant concerns considering what the players were about to go through and play to survive. Not that any of them knew that yet, expect for the trio.

    Sae-bom's dark eyes scanned the crowd of people, landing on a male who had purple dye hair, painted finger nails and piercings in both ears, who was currently asking about his limited edition shoes. She shakes her head with a scoff, but still found it amusing where is priority laid.

    "What about my phone?" A new voice questioning broke her out of her thoughts, eyes finding a smaller male pushing is way through the crowd, wanting to reach the front, "Why did you take my phone and wallet? Give them back, please?"

    The masked one in charge didn't flinch or move from his position, but only turned his head to direct his voice at the male, "We're keeping your belongings safe. We'll return them once the games are over."

    "Surely when you guys first arrived in here, it wasn't this bad." Sae-bom half whispered, half grumbled to her friends beside her, the woman tired of hearing all the naive questions and promises that the guards wouldn't keep, "Bunch of idiots this time it seems."

    Soo-min and Gi-hun shared a glance behind her back, before they both shook their heads, and the younger one spoke to her instead, "No, it wasn't this bad. Guess this group is different from the one we experienced." He answered, brows furrowing together, "Hopefully that's a good thing this time."

    Sae-bom just hummed lowly in thought, their attention being brought back to the same male from before, "At least give me my phone. I need to check the crypto market." He continued to argue with the guard, "If I lose money, will you compensate me?"

    "We will return it to you once the games are over." The square guard repeated, which didn't ease the annoyed male's concerns whatsoever. Sae-bom wondered how they stayed so calm, because if she was doing that, she would have lashed out already and cursed at the player for being so dumb.

    She rolled her eyes as he still continued to argue, and she knew it wasn't going anywhere now that they were all stuck inside the games, "I need to monitor the real-time prices! Do you know how much I've invested!"

    This caused the crowd to get loud again, but the guard waited till the voices calmed a bit before addressing the issue at hand, "Player 333, Lee Myung-gi." He announced in that distorted tone, and with a click of a button on the remote, the screen displaying the number of people in the room began to play a clip of the man playing ddakji, "Age 30, used to run a Youtube channel called MG Coin. After convincing subscribers to invest in a new crypto coin called Dalmatian, causing losses of approximately 15.2 billion won, you shut down and disappeared."

    That's embarrassing, Sae-bom thought to herself with a cringe, feeling somewhat sorry for the male who's now had his issue being podcasted to the entire group. But then again, if he scammed people, he should be ashamed and be publicly told off.

    She also noticed how some of the players twitched at bit in place at the sudden information, and she figured they were effected from what he did also. The same purple haired guy from before was one of them, and a girl sat on a bed bunk who she spotted, player 222 seemed to be awfully paying attention now.

    "You're wanted for fraud and for violating telecom and financial investment laws." The masked male's sharp voice cut through the low mumbles, and the tense atmosphere of the room, "Current debt levels, 1.8 billion won."

    Everyone stared up at the screen, on edge waiting for their clip of being hit to present itself. One by one, each player's video was show, along with their names, player number and how much debt they owed. People hung their head low when it was their video being shown, either ashamed or glaring up at the screen that showed one of their weakest moments to gain money.

    "Lucky we didn't have to go through that." Soo-min mumbled close to her ear, his eyes glancing up at the small bandaged on her temple that made his jaw twitch, but put on an amused smirk for her sake, "Would of been embarrassed like the rest of them."

    Sae-bom snorted softly, a crooked smile covering her mouth as she crossed her arms over her chest, thinking the same thing. She was grateful both times she didn't have to go through that, but was also laughing knowing that they took down the salesman who was in charge of all those ddakji games.

    "All of you in this room have crippling debts and are now on a cliff-edge. When we first came to you, you did not trust us either," The masked guard began to speak again, as the videos played on the screen still behind him, "But as you know, we played a game and gave you money as promised. And so you trusted us and volunteered to participate according to your own free will. You have one last chance to decide. Do you want to live like a piece of trash, running from creditors? Or will you seize the last opportunity we are offering?"

    The trio shared a look as the masked male finished his speech, them all knowing they weren't inside for the money, but to safe people and destroy the games once and for all. However, Sae-bom couldn't help but feel like the words about living like a piece of trash fell onto her perfectly, she wasn't exactly living anymore without her sister. Nor was she coping very well either, she just acted like she was.

    The ceiling rumbling, and the lights turning a warm golden glow made her head snap up, knowing what was about to appear from above. A chiptune began to echo through the room, as the massive piggy bank was lowered from inside the ceiling, and it made her glare hateful up at the blood money bank.

    "What you see now is the piggy bank where your valuable prize money will be stored." The guard states, everyone in the room curiously staring at the glowing object above them, "After each of six games you will play, the prize money will accumulate in this piggy bank."

     As the music came to a sharp stop, the trio moved a step down from standing on the platforms between the bed bunks, but still was a few meters away from the crowd. And because it was silent now, this gave a chance for more questions, "How much is the prize money?" A male asked, glasses covering his eyes.

    "The prize money for the games is 45.6 billion won in total." The masked guard revealed, causing all the players, minus the trio, to gasp in shock and began to murmur, "We will give you the details about the distribution of the prize money after the first game. For these games, you will be given a special new advantage."

    "What is it?" The older man among the crowd now asked, player 100 who had the highest debt in the room. Sae-bom rolled her eyes at his voice, already feeling like he was going to test her patience a lot, along with a few others.

    "After each game, you will be given a chance to vote on whether to continue the games or not." The guard revealed, and hearing that felt like a punch to Sae-bom's stomach. If that rule was added when she played with her sister, then maybe she could have lived, could still be beside her everyday unlike how she is now haunted by the memory of Sae-byeok. Bile raised to the back of her throat, and she clenched Soo-min's arm, who glanced down at her worriedly, noticing her pale face.

    The guard continued, aware of the effect his words were having on her, "If majority votes to stop the games, you can leave with the prize money accumulated up to that point."

    Gi-hun knew why she was acting like that, and clenched his jaw in rage, as he squeezed her arm in comfort, "Are you saying..." He trailed off, stepping forward to block Sae-bom's figure from all the eyes now on them, "we'll still receive the money, even if we leave after the first game?"

   The guard seemed to stand up straighter at his sudden voice, his eyes behind the mask trailing over the trio in the corner, "That's correct."

    Upon hearing that, she placed her arm up to her mouth and blinked back the stinging sensation building up in her eyes. She exhaled shakily, turning her head behind her to the camera that was watching her from the moment she woke up. Despite feeling like she was going to be sick, she still scowled at the red lens, hoping to show how upset she was.

    She hoped however was behind the camera, watching, observing her was the Frontman. The one who was causing half of her problems, if not all. She ignored the commotion behind her, a mother and son finding each other in the crowd of players, as she still glared hateful at the beeping camera.

    With a gentle touch from Soo-min on the arm, she glanced away from the camera and looked back to the crowd. Her heart clenched watching the son and mother interact, neither of them knowing things were going to be harder for them compared to most players.

    The warm lights produced from the piggy bank soon was replaced with the normal harsh lightning, something that always reminded Sae-bom of a hospital. They were ordered to form straight lines behind a table, the trio all in the same line wondering what exactly was on the paper they were getting them to sign.

    "If you wish to participate in the games, please sign the player consent form." The guard informs the group, and Sae-bom's eyebrows raised up in surprise, as this wasn't included last time she played inside the games, "Those who do not wish to participate, please speak up now. We always give you a chance to leave the games."

    Players moved one by one down the lines, each of them getting shorter by the minute as they basically signed their life away to the games, which the trio were doing again. She knew that none of them would actually read it, and only sign their names for the sake of the money that no one knew they wouldn't get if they were dead.

    Commotion was coming from somewhere across the room, and she glanced through the crowd of people to see the purple haired male roughing up player 333. Her feet moved before she could think, but before she moved out of the line, Soo-min was quick to grab her arm, and pull her back.

    "Don't. Don't rush in, Sae-bom." He snapped quietly to her, seeing the dumbfounded expression on her face as Gi-hun nodded behind him, "I know not helping is against your motto, but not every fight is yours to handle. Don't get involved, not this time."

    She just huffed out some air through her nose, and shrugged his hold off, just as the person in front of her in the line was finished. She turned back around, and moved forward to the table, feeling the watchful eyes of the guards on her. Right, back to being watch like last time, she thought to herself.

    A few of her fingers tapped against the white desk she leant on, and her dark eyes scanned over the player consent form. She knew she was signing her life away, but the others didn't. She chewed on her bottom lip nervously, reading the rules on the paper still she got to the last one.

4. IF THE GAMES ARE TERMINATED, PLAYERS WILL DIVIDE THE PRIZE EQUALLY

    If there was a way to get everyone out safely, than that had to be it. But Sae-bom was fearful knowing how desperate some of the players were inside about money, and it would be hard to get them all to agree on leaving. Yet, she wasn't about to give up.

    Her fingers found the metal pen placed beside the paper, fiddling with it for a few seconds as she glanced up, and met the mask of the guard who was watching her. She flashed a crooked smile, maintaining eye contact and then began to sign her name on the paper.

    After she was finished, she slammed the pen back down on the desk, and plucked up the paper. Her hand grazed the masked guards glove, as she passed the paper to him, and she felt the beaming stare of the camera on her side, but choose to ignore it.

    She slipped her hands into her pockets, necklace hidden under her collar feeling heavier as she nodded at Soo-min and Gi-hun, signaling that she was done. She watched from the side as the males now sign their names. No going back now, she thought.

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❪ ✏️ ❫ 𝚆𝙾𝚁𝙳𝚂 : 4349
─►☆ AUTHOR'S NOTE :
IM BACKKK GUYSSS AND WITH ANOTHER UPDATEE!!! im tryna rush these chapters now because we are so so close to when in-ho comes in and i NEEEDDDD to write them together already ugh im so excited to write the reunion scene and other scenes with them together and i know yall will eat it up 🤭

this chapter is boring my bad but i need to get this outta the way so we can move forward and onto the more juicier parts of this fic, but i will say it's gonna get pretty angsty soon with how sae-bom is feeling because i want to show you all how badly she's not coping and how her survivors guilt is eating her alive 💔

and yeah it's pretty obvious what players will be important in sae-bom's story and who will be involved in it, hence why i did include a part where she lingered on thanos and jun-hee

anywaysss you all know the drill, vote,
comment, ect mwah <33🫶