EGOIST (Sang Woo x Fem!OC) [COMPLETED]

9

Strauss now heralded a different meaning. No longer calming as it should have been, her awakening in the bright florescent room was familiar as well as terrifying, though it was a decision she had already settled on the moment she left her apartment. Disguised, treacherous, it is the very sound that woke them up to their deaths. The room, which looked more like a warehouse of green-clad players, had become a lot more spacious than she remembers. Perhaps it was the lack of players, or perhaps it was just the room itself. Either way, no sense of warmth and welcome greeted her the moment she woke up in that hell hole.

Both beds on each of her sides still remain empty, and on the one after 100, 101 and her exchange glances. He sneered at her, Hae Young merely looked away.

It was a little naive of her to think that the moment she'd wake up back in that place, she'd see Cho Sang-Woo sitting by one of the beds, anticipating her as well. But it was so hard to tell in the bustling green figures that went around and about that room, some forming alliances, and some preferring to be left alone.

"Hae Young, Hae Young!" She turns to a spot in the room. By the center of the bed fortress, she spots a familiar 456 waving at her. She gets out of her bunk and walks over to him. She wasn't sure if she should feel at all relieved to see the same faces in this place.

"I did not expect you to come back here either." He says in surprise.

"Neither did I." She tells him honestly.

"We didn't get to talk after, though." Gi-hun smiles at her. "How have you been?"

She stops herself briefly from replying 'good', or anything of the sorts that's affirmative. Instead she bites the inside of her cheek. She doesn't really know what to say. Gi-hun just nods empathetically, patting his friend on the shoulder.

"Well, you're not the only one who's in the dumps." He reassures her. She just gives him a tight smile.

"See, sir. This woman here is my good friend." He tells the older 001 who still lies on his bed. "We go way back."

"Nice to meet you." Hae Young bows to the elderly, who only gave her an aloof smile.

"Gi-hun."

Both Hae Young and Gi-hun turn back, Sang-woo walks toward them with hesitation in his wake. Though this did not surprise Hae Young, it definitely did surprise Sang-Woo to see her in the same place he wished he didn't. He averts her gaze.

"Sang-woo." Gi-hun says in surprise.

"You're here." Sang-woo says in surprise. "I didn't think you'd come."

"Me neither." Gi-Hun sighs. "What about you? Did you see your mom?"

Briefly, Hae Young had caught Sang-woo's gaze, but only for a split second before turning back to Gi-hun. It's almost as if he knows that she knows. Sang-Woo doesn't answer, though someone calls for the two men, running towards their general direction. 199 greets everyone with an optimistic smile.

"Good sirs! And... ma'am!" He bows.

"You're here!" Gi-Hun says in surprise.

"I'm very glad to see all of you again." He says. "And ma'am, thank you for the bus fare."

Gi-Hun turns to look at her. "You gave him a bus fare?"

Hae Young sighs. "He said he'd walk from Yeouido to Ansan."

"That's heart-warming." Gi-Hun laughs. "It's like we're all comrades from boot camp."

199 didn't seem to understand his joke.

"Like a team--soldiers in an army." Gi-Hun explained. "Wait, now that we're on the subject, how about we form a team? Like we're in the army?"

Hae Young was about to contest, but Sang-woo beat her.

"You're right." He says. "We have no idea what we're going to play next."

Hae Young takes a step back in surprise, once again trying to meet Sang-Woo's gaze, but this time he does not return it.

"It's better to form a group to be prepared for anything."

"Listen, why won't you join?" Gi-Hun turns to 199. "You're amazingly strong. The way he picked me up from falling in red light, green light." He laughs in delight.

199 just smiles at him, accepting the offer as Hae Young stands in discomfort. Somehow she did not like this. Or maybe it was the idea of being in close company with Sang-woo again. It felt like old scars reopening, like they haven't been sewn shut properly. Yet, in this mass of mostly men that she knew and trusted, she's never felt so small and so alone.

"Hey." 001 rises from his bed. "Is it alright if I join you guys as well?"

"Of course." Gi-Hun smiles. "My goodness, we've formed a pretty nifty team, huh? We've got two brains," He points to Hae Young and Sang-woo who only shifted uncomfortably from his spot. "And then the brawns." He points at 199. "The veteran and..." Gi-hun points to himself. "The morale." He grins, wildly optimistic of the situation that he is in. Had he forgotten about his chances of dying?

There is a lot to unpack in this odd reunion of theirs, and Hae Young and Sang-woo seem to be the only two who were aware of what situation they were in. It only took one look, then a dreaded face, and then they both knew that this alliance would probably not last long.

Lunch was golden lunchboxes and bottled water, huddled up by Gi-hun's bed. The rice was cold, and the water was warm, though it was better than nothing at all.

"Oh this brings back memories." 001 sighs.

"Did you used to have lunch boxes like these back then?" Gi-hun turns to the old man.

"My wife was always busy every morning, so she used to make these for me and our children." He smiles.

"The rice is cold, geez." Gi-hun sneered as he took a bite. "We could've warmed it up if we had a stove in the middle. Do you remember?" He turns to Sang-woo, who only shifts awkwardly.

Gi-hun presses him about that time in their elementary days when they used to have a briquette stove in their classroom, heating up lunch boxes when they got cold. He laughed at the memory of burnt rice and the time they nearly burnt the place down.

"Gi-hun." Sang-woo says coldly. "If you have time to reminisce, then you also have time to figure out what the next game will be."

"Hey, that's not something I can guess." Gi-hun retorts. "We'll find out when it begins."

"Guessing from all the games we've played, it's probably some child's game." 001 suggested.

"Yeah, but there's too many to think of. There's Ddakji, hopscotch, Don Katsu, Freeze Tag... And for the girls... There's Gonggi, Elastics, and Cat's Cradle."

Gi-Hun turns to Hae Young.

"Well, if it's either one of those, at least we've got you in the team to help us win."

She knots her brows.

"I can play other games besides those, you know that, right?"

"Oh." He says. "Right, of course."

"And you also can't limit yourselves to certain games." She tells each one of the men. "Eventually when we get out there, no one gets to pick and choose what to play, so we have to be prepared for anything. We each have different strengths."

199 beside her nods in agreement, and she gives him a thankful smile. She doesn't, however, see the way Sang-Woo gazes at her.

"But, I don't know how to play any of those." 199 adds.

"You didn't play any of those games as a child from where you're from?"

He shakes his head.

"Don't worry." Hae Young tells him. "These games have simple rules. We'll help you if you don't know."

He smiles even wider. "Thank you."