𝗧 𝗜 𝗠 𝗘 𝗜 𝗡 𝗔 𝗕 𝗢 𝗧 𝗧 𝗟 𝗘

      THE CONTRAST OF THE DORMITORY ROOM COMPARED TO THE BLOODIED MASSACRE WAS FRIGHTENING. All players were gathered among the beds they had originally woken up in through a confused haze, and now their confusion had turned into an over-consuming fear for their lives. Their silence was still so loud, telling of the events they had barely survived. The only thing that filled the eeriness of the room was the scuffing of shoes against the smooth surface of the floor mixed with the heavy breathing.

Hyon Yu-na hadn't looked up from the teal tracksuit jacket resting in her shaking palms. Blood stained the material, slowly drying dark from how long they had been left in the room to their thoughts. She had none — disassociating from the overwhelming feeling of barely escaping the grasp death had on her life. Her teeth picked at the dry skin of her cracked lips, grazing over and over again until she had pierced through and bled.

Sitting beside her on one of the beds, Kim Jun-hee's hands were shaking against the roundness of her stomach as her blank stare fell against the white sheets. To think that she was touching the area where she was growing new life whilst her own was on the line... it almost made Yu-na sick at the thought.

Lifting the slightly bloodied jacket in her gasp, Yu-na brought it to her face and wiped away the small drops of blood that she could feel had begun to crust. As she dragged the jacket over the length of her face, her eyes remained still on her legs draped over the edge of the bed. Then, she tossed the jacket to her side.

The metal zip hitting the pole had brought people back onto the field, flinching at the haunting sound as though a shot had been fired. She, however, remained still — comforting herself as she brought her yellow-stained index and middle to her lips, pulling them away as she mimicked the actions of smoking a cigarette. It didn't help much. She needed the real deal.

Her mind began to drift off to her last interaction with Eun-soo. She, too, had been given a similar card to her own only a few years prior. And as for Eun-soo's competition in the market, the man who had a lingering debt that had suddenly disappeared. She couldn't imagine the amount of lives that had been lost through the course of such a scheme. She was sure that man had been a victim, too.

It was much more than what Eun-soo had believed to be a scam... it was a slaughterhouse of the poor. All of them rounded up for sport. A test of how far they would go to be brought back from their debt.

      The familiar and loud buzz from the first time they saw the men dressed in pink hit every corner of the room as the metal doors slid wide to reveal them again. The sound alone had sent the players scrambling away from their seated places on the floor, forcing them to hide behind the beds in fear.

      Yu-na sat upright, moving herself partially in front of Jun-hee, her outstretched hand remaining close to the girl's leg as it firmly pressed against the sheets. The masked men stepped forward and into the silent room in their uncanny formation with the square mask being in front of the others that hung behind yet close by with a triangle on their mask.

      "Congratulations on making it through the first game," he was met with silence, "here are the results of the first game." The number on the screen above their heads began to count down. Just when Yu-na had thought it would stop, it continued to go down at a rapid pace until the number had gone from 456 to 365. "Out of 456 players, 91 players have been eliminated. Three hundred and sixty-five players have completed the first game. Congratulations again for making it through the first game."

      The congratulations felt like a slap to Yu-na's face, her eyes widened and her eyebrows furrowed together. Congratulations on keeping their lives? It was nothing more than a sick joke. Her head shook in disgust. Did the people behind these masks have no sense of morality for those who had died?

The older woman and her son, who had been previously arguing before the first game, were the first players to break the silence, stepping out in front of the fearful crowd as the woman fell to her knees.

      The older woman's voice was riddled with fear, her voice strained as she began to plead with the masked man, "Sir! Please don't kill us! Please don't kill us! I beg you!" Yu-na flinched at the desperation in the woman's voice. "As for my son's debt, I will do whatever it takes to pay you back! Please forgive us!"

      Her son joined her on the ground after a hard tug, pressing his hands together as he cried for forgiveness alongside his mother. The scene was hard to watch, forcing Yu-na to look away. The older woman, player 149, reminded her so much of Eun-soo, and it broke her to see such a delicate and vulnerable individual in the situation they were all in.

      "There seems to be a misunderstanding." The masked man said, but, people that hid from beneath the beds crawled out from their hiding space and began to plead alongside the mother and her son. "We are not trying to harm you. We are presenting you with an opportunity."

      Yu-na scoffed at the words that rang through her ears in chime with the gunshots that remained as a reminder of her survival, her head shaking as her lips turned into a sneer.

      "Clause three of the consent form!" The room fell into silence as everyone searched for where the voice had come from. Yu-na's eyes found the man — the one who had wished for the survival of them all with his desperate instructions on the field. Player 456. He stepped out from the shadows cast by the excessively tall bed frames, his face a mix of distress and sternness as he recited the rules of the form they signed, "the games may be terminated upon a majority vote. Correct?"

      The masked man stilled for a moment before nodding once, "that is correct."

      "Then let us take a vote right now." The man said, standing firm in his place. Yu-na almost admired him, and his dedication to protecting the lives of all the individuals that remained fearful behind him. A voice among the people who could not stand on their own feet.

      "Of course. We respect your right to freedom of choice." Sighs of relief filled the air, including Yu-na's. Her hand pressed even more firmly against the mattress as she looked over her shoulder. Her eyes met with Jun-hee's dark and fearful ones, but, they each shared a firm nod. They were going to get out of there. "But first, let me announce the prize amount that's been accumulated."

      Yu-na shook her head, eyes parting ways with Jun-hee's as she began to observe the people in the room who looked up in anticipation of the golden pig. A manipulation tactic of sorts, to keep them in the game. The falsehood of one of them winning that money at the stake of other people's lives.

      The enticing music sounded over the room, keeping all players hooked as stacks of won began to fill the glass of the pig. The money continued to flow from its shute, filling the bottom section of the pig until it could no longer be seen through. Players had begun crawling out of their hiding spots to inspect the large amount they had never laid eyes on. Even Yu-na had to admit that it was an amount that was hard to resist.

When the money came to a halt, the players in the room remained entranced by the golden light that illuminated the stacks. "The amount of players eliminated in the first game is 91. Therefore, a total of 9.1 billion won has been accumulated."

Yu-na's jaw fell wide as the amount was said aloud. A life-changing amount of money.

"If you quit the games now, the 365 of you can equally divide the 9.1 billion won and leave with your share." The masked man announced, "each person's share would be 24,931,500 won." Almost 25 million won each. Certainly not enough to compensate for the near-death experiences they had all faced.

"Twenty million? You said 45.6 billion!"

"The rule is that a hundred million won will be accumulated for each eliminated player," The square-masked man clarified, "If you choose to play the next game and more players get eliminated, the prize amount will increase accordingly. The total amount of prize money for all 456 players is 45.6 billion."

Yu-na caught notice of the way people's fear had now turned to greed as players looked around the room to see the faces of the people around them — almost as if they were observing the people that they could eliminate to get the total. A sickening thought crossed her mind. Their greed would keep them all in the game, leaving the people who no longer want to play to become nothing more than just a hundred million added to the pile.

"Those who make it through all six games will equally divide the 45.6 billion won. But, as promised in the consent form, you can take a vote after each game and decide to leave with the prize money accumulated up to that point," the masked man said over the silence that was accompanied by the golden light, "we always prioritise your voluntary participation. Now, let's begin the vote."

Yu-na peered through the frames of the beds, looking closely at the voting setup in the distance. On one side was a red button marked with an X, and on the other was a blue button marked with an O. Her eyes ventured back up the money. She needed it. And 25 million was nowhere near enough to cover her debt — or anyone's in the room. But, her eyes fell back to the girl beside her that had her hand placed gently over her stomach. She was conflicted about the choice she would be presented with.

"If you wish to continue the games, press the O button. If you wish to end them, press the X button. The vote will be held in reverse order of your player numbers. Player 456."

      Red and blue light had settled over the room through the symbols on the floor as people looked toward the gaunt man. Yu-na's eyes followed him as he pushed through the crowd that had moved to get a better look at the prize money. She already knew what his choice would be given the performance he had put on. And her prediction was proven correct as Player 456 hit the red button without a second thought.

      He placed the red patch marked with 'X' on the right side of his tracksuit and moved off to stand in the center of the red X that glowed brightly on the smooth surface of the floor. The number called after him was an older woman, who pressed the blue button with only a moment of hesitation.

      "We should probably join the others," Yu-na turned to Jun-hee as she pushed off of the bed and stood tall. She extended a hand toward the heavily pregnant girl. "Need a hand?"

      Jun-hee's nod was small but noticeable as she placed her hand delicately in Yu-na's, using that support to help her carefully off of the bed. She bowed her head in thanks before the pair made their way through the maze of beds, joining the crowd of survivors on the floor.

      One by one, players that were called down made their decision. Yu-na held her breath as she looked up at the screen. So far, the majority of the vote had swung toward continuing the games. But only by a few people.

      "Wait a minute, everyone!"

      Player 456 stepped out between the separate crowds that had voted to continue and the ones that had voted to go home. The man's face in the split light was telling of his desperation. His cheeks were sunken in as much as his eyes. Yu-na almost felt bad for him. He had tried so hard to save the lives of everyone in front of him, and here they were... throwing that away.

      "You can't do this! Come to your senses! Don't you see?" He moved through the split of the crowd, now directly talking to the people who had yet to cast their vote. "These aren't just any games. We will all die if we keep playing! We have to get out of here now. With a majority vote, we can! We must stop here!"

      "Who do you think you are? Why do you keep egging people on like that?" An older man shouted from the group of people who hadn't voted yet. Yu-na sighed and rolled her eyes while shoving her hands in the pockets of her tracksuit. Player 100. She was sick of this old man. If they didn't get out now, maybe she'd be happy for him to die in the next game. "You scared us by saying they'd shoot us before the game even began!"

      "That's right! He was going on about how we'd die, and I almost did because I got so nervous!"

      "How did you know they were going to shoot us? Are you one of them?"

      "Are you conning us all by pretending to be a player?" Player 100 yelled before grabbing Player 456 by the shoulder, pointing a finger toward the guards in pink. "Who is this guy? Did you plant him to mess with our heads?"

      Yu-na fidgeted with the metal rings in her lips as she drifted into thought. There was no chance that he was some kind of plant. The opportunity brought upon them by the men in pink was for them to die in exchange for money. And if he was with them, why would he bother trying to save the lives of them all?

It was getting messy as Player 390 stepped forward from the crowd that had voted no, getting in the face of the older man as he put himself between his friend. "That's uncalled for! We wouldn't have won the game and survived if it weren't for him!" The people who had voted 'X' nodded their heads in agreement. He then stepped forward to the crowd who had yet to vote, pointing his finger. "And you! I saw how scared you were. Your legs were shaking! You should thank him, not treat him like a fraud!"

Yu-na snorted a laugh, watching the man who had been called for how shit-scared he suddenly crawled back into a nervous shell. Then he gained his confidence back as he stepped in Player 390's face, "and who the hell are you? Are you conspiring with him?"

"Rude. How old are you?" Player 390 questioned, looking the man up and down.

"Older than you. What are you going to do?"

The older woman who had been pleading with the guards not long ago presented them all with her words. They stuck with Yu-na. "Let's put our lives first and get out of this place" rang in her ears as she looked up at the voting board. Players from each side began to erupt with one side saying to stop the games, and the other insistent on continuing. Yu-na closed her eyes, attempting to block them out. Jun-hee lightly grabbed onto Yu-na's white shirt at the sudden outrage playing out.

"I have played these games before!"

Player 456 finally dropped the answer to everyone's questions, leaving them all in silence. His voice was filled with an indescribable emotion. His desperation was different from the one he had given on the field. Yu-na's eyes slowly opened as she clicked her tongue. No wonder he knew they were being watched. Or how the events of the first game would play out. It made sense.

"I have done this before! I knew about the first game because I had played it before!" He continued to shout, his eyes shut tight and his lips quivered, only opening again to look over everyone in the room. "I played the games here three years ago! And everyone who was with me... died here!"

"They all died?"

"Really? No way."

"Hold on." A voice cut through the murmurs, "If they all died, how did you survive alone? Are you saying you were the sole winner?"

If he was, that meant he had the prize money. Yu-na pulled her hands from her pockets and crossed them over her chest as her eyes wandered over the man. He had no reason to be back for the money unless he got the thrill and somehow needed more since he must know all of the games.

"That's right." Player 456 looked the man in front of him dead in the eyes. "I was the final winner. If we continue the games... every single person here, just like all the people back then, will die in the end!"

Gasps sounded from the group, and it was safe to say Yu-na hadn't been shocked by anything the man said at all. Perhaps everyone around her was an idiot, but it wasn't hard to piece it all together — even through the broken and misleading dialogue from the guards.

"Bullshit! If you were the sole winner, it means you won 45.6 billion won. If you really did, why would you come back here?"

"That's right! He's lying! Cut the crap!"

Then, the people who had voted to continue the games spun it around, eager to use Player 456 to get further into the games. If he knew what the first game was, then he would know what the others were, right?

      Player 456 hung his head in defeat, closing his eyes at the realisation. Clearly, he had hoped his words would push the people to vote to stop the games, not encourage them further by using his traumatic experiences. The people had begun to cheer in unison, from both the side that had voted to stay, and the people who had yet to vote.

      Yu-na cast her gaze toward the short girl beside her, watching the way her hand grazed the bump beneath her tracksuit. They both knew what all of this meant.

      As the man continued to plead with the people who hadn't voted, a guard marked with a triangle on his mask raised his gun and pressed it firmly against Player 456's back. The man marked with a square who was still standing by the door spoke firmly, "from now on, we will not tolerate actions that disrupt the voting process. Now let's resume the vote. Player 228."

      The man who was called up next walked forward, looking between the buttons. All that Player 456 had said went to waste as the man pressed to continue — taking the blue patch marked with an 'O' before swiftly moving to his spot that glowed blue.

      When it was Jun-hee's turn, she looked up at Yu-na with a small smile and a nod. Her dark and rounded eyes were enough to make Yu-na's breath catch in her throat. But, Yu-na nodded back, sure that whatever choice the girl made would be the right one for her and the life she carried.

      The small girl stood at the voting bench, and Yu-na listened to the deep beep as the red light illuminated Jun-hee's face. She took the patch that the guard gave her and she awkwardly moved along.

      One by one, and without disruption, people cast their votes. Yu-na couldn't look up at the board that was counting them. "Player 128." With so few people left to vote, she felt everybody's eyes cast down on her.

      She sighed and unfolded her arms from her chest, giving people the chance to analyse her character. A snake on each arm was tattooed into the skin, with red spider lilies filling in the gaps. She rested them at her side as she walked through the split of the crowd until she reached the voting area. Her eyes flickered between her choices.

      Her hand made the decision before her brain could register her vote, a red light casting upon her face as the number of people who voted to leave increased by one. The guard offered her the red patch and she moved along with a heavy heart. She wished it hadn't been a hard decision, but she knew her heart would feel even more heavy had she voted to stay.

      Jun-hee's smile was small and sweet when Yu-na joined her side among the red glow. "You look like you struggled with your decision..."

      Yu-na's looked forward, her jaw tightening as she gulped. "If we're being honest..." She cast her gaze down on the girl, "I probably would have voted to stay if you weren't here and... y'know."

      The answer took Jun-hee by surprise. Her eyes widened as her hand caressed against her stomach. "You did the right thing."

     I hope so, Yu-na thought.

      As the numbers went up and people cast their votes, Yu-na's arm slung around Jun-hee's shoulders, pulling her closer in comfort. Everyone who had voted to leave had now grown a sense of hope as the numbers evened. Three people remained who had yet to cast their votes. There was still a chance.

      The woman who was called next casted her vote, and the people who had voted to leave cheered along. Yu-na broke into a smile, looking down at Jun-hee as they shared the same hopeful expression. Her thumb rubbed in a circular motion against the fabric on Jun-hee's shoulder as they both looked back up toward the board.

      The next man was illuminated in blue as he cast his vote, taking the blue patch from the guard without a second thought.

      "Lastly, player 001."

      Everyone turned toward the final voter, a man in his 50s. Both sides began to cheer, shouting either 'X' or 'O'. His walk was firm and confident through the sea of people. Yu-na held her breath, and against her, she could feel that Jun-hee was, too. Her shoulders no longer rose and fell as she stood on the tips of her toes. Yu-na couldn't help but close her eyes. One vote was all it took to break the tie — to either continue the games or leave them.

      Yu-na's heart dropped, and her arm fell from Jun-hee's shoulder. The beep was high-pitched, and the crowd to her right cheered. She felt sick as she looked up at the board. O had one more vote.

      The harsh reality was that the games would continue...

──★ ˙ ̟. A U T H O R S   N O T E

╰┈➤ again, sorry for the wait! with the combination of wattpad notifications not working and the mobile app (where i edit and do all the layout) being barely useable i decided against posting bc what's the point if none of y'all get a notif 😭

╰┈➤ also this chapter is a bit shorter as i am splitting each episode into three chapters (depending on how long sections are). regardless, i hope you all enjoyed anyway <3 next chapter will be filled with some sweet yu-an and jun-hee content i promise!

╰┈➤ as always, ignore any mistakes 🫶🏻

★ vote 💬 comment — etc. <3