After the game had ended, the suriving players were escorted back into the main room, and from the tension, you could tell some felt guilty, some felt tired, some felt relieved and some just felt like ending it all.
Ji-ah on the other hand was walking slowly with her head down, her eyes felt heavy from crying and she just felt fed up. But she then bumped into a player who had stopped and looked up.
Mi-nyeo was sat up in bed smirking as everyone thought she was dead. She mockingly waved and stated.
"Deok-su, honey, so glad you won."
Deok-su asked in disbelief.
"How? How the hell?"
Mi-nyeo responded back.
"You're looking at me like you've seen a ghost, are you okay?"
She then scoffed and stated.
"The masked guys all called me the weakest link. Like when nobody chooses you as a partner for things when you were a kid. Hey, this guy knows about it."
She points to Deok-su and carries on.
"The weakest link! And after that, they gently escorted me back to this dorm because they said that it's all a part of a rule that in the old days, not to let a kid turn into some kind of outcast, I guess. Goddamn it! It's amazing, isn't it?"
She then starts cackling and the other players just continue walking. And as Ji-ah was walking to her bed, she was suddenly spun around and pulled into a hug. The person who hugged her, wrapped their arms around her waist and ranted.
"I'm sorry for being a bitch to you by ignoring you and such, my feelings were all over the place and this game made me realise that we could die any day and I don't want to be without you. I'm sorry, Ji-ah. I really am."
Ji-ah hugged Sae-byeok back and rubbed her back as she was shaking slightly. She replied.
"It's okay, Sae-byeok. I forgive you. And I have feelings for you too, ever since we met in school. I don't want to be without you either."
Sae-byeok lets out a sigh of relief and the two let go of each other, but just as they were slowly leaning in, the PA announced that it was dinner time.
Ji-ah and Sae-byeok sat on their now shared bed and quietly nibbled on a potato. The two were still quite traumatised from the marble game and occasionally let out a sniffle. Ji-ah overheard Sang-woo talking to Gi-hun.
"Don't worry about it, he was an old man you only knew for a few days. See that man over there?"
Ji-ah looked and saw a man sitting alone, he looked absolutely miserable. Sang-woo announced.
"His partner was his wife."
Ji-ah then looked down and felt sorry for the man, but she continued eating her potato and watched as he stumbled his way to the middle of the room. He cried as he talked.
"Let.. Let's just stop all this, I can't keep doing this. I can't. The majority must agree. Well, come on, let's get out. Half of us, that's all we need to end this right now. Don't any of you want to leave this horrible place? Anyone who wants to go, stand up. Let's get out of here."
He looked around the room and whimpered when no-one stood up, he sobbed and then exclaimed.
"How can you call yourselves human? How many of you can continue with this insanity just for the money? You just had to kill the ones you were the closest to at this place, and you're okay with that? Just to get the money?"
He continues to cry and Sang-woo asks as he walks towards the man.
"So what if we stop now? You think your wife will stop being dead if we all go now? And she'll forgive you for letting her get murdered? If you can't keep going, then why are you alive right now?"
He grabs the man's jacket and pulls him close before continuing on taunting him.
"You should've been the one who died in there instead."
He points to the piggy bank and states.
"See that? That's the price of being in here. And your wife and the others paid it with their lives, and you wanna go and leave? You wanna start from the beginning again? You ready to do all that, huh? Starting over again from nothing with that guilt."
The man drops to the floor and sobs hysterically. Sang-woo asks everyone else.
"And is everybody here ready to do that as well? Go ahead, stand up! Let's see who thinks they are. Get up and get out of here!"
The man continued to whimper and cry and Sang-woo soon sat back down on his bed. Sae-byeok then grabbed Ji-ah's hand and led her to the bathroom.
Ji-ah sat on the sink as Sae-byeok instructed and stared emotionless as Sae-byeok stood in between her legs and used wet tissues to wipe the blood of Moon's off Ji-ah's face. Ji-ah muttered lightly.
"Moon was winning the game, but she suddenly apologized twice before using a guards gun to shoot herself in the head. She seemed totally fine before, I don't know what went wrong."
Sae-byeok smiled sadly before stating softly.
"This game has took its toll on everyone, it's made people go through things they never thought they would and of course that'd have an impact on someone. Maybe she just couldn't take it anymore. If she seemed fine before, maybe she was just hiding all the pain and suffering she has gone through. Sometimes, it's easier to hide behind a smile than to voice what's troubling you. Everyone has different ways of hiding certain things. It's just life."
Ji-ah nodded and fiddled with her fingers sadly. Sae-byeok finished wiping her face and it was now blood free, but she then held Ji-ah's hands and added.
"We have a couple of games left, let's get through them and I promise we will get out of here together, we will win that money and we will get out of here alive."
Sae-byeok didn't sound too sure with her statement, but Ji-ah was too much in a trance to notice. She stared at Sae-byeok and leant forward, softly pushing a strand of hair behind her ear and asking.
"Promise?"
Sae-byeok was silent for a moment before nodding and repeating.
"Promise."
Ji-ah smiled gratefully and placed her hands on Sae-byeok's cheeks, the girl's eye contact darted repeatedly from each others eyes and lips.
This happened a few times before they finally leaned in and closed the gap between them. Ji-ah pulled Sae-byeok closer and wrapped her legs around her waist, Ji-ah's arms rested on Sae-byeok's shoulders and the two developed butterflies as they did what they've been wanting to do for years.
The two kissed deeply and it was slowly getting more passionate until a hard knock on the door made them jump. A voice spoke.
"Time to go back, it's almost lights out."
The two stopped kissing and rested their foreheads together, they both sighed before lightly laughing. Sae-byeok pulled Ji-ah off the sink and the two held hands as they were led back to the main room.
Once they got there, the lights were off. So they quickly went over to their shared bed and got comfy, ignoring the man who was praying. But his praying got too loud and Ji-ah snapped.
"Dude, will you shut the fuck up?! I know you're trying to pray and shit, but people actually want to sleep believe it or not."
The guy ignored her and continued to loudly pray, causing Ji-ah to sigh heavily. But her mood shifted when Sae-byeok caressed her cheek with her thumb and spoke as they layed facing each other.
"Calm down, you're getting agitated."
Ji-ah responded.
"I know, but can you blame me? Our next game is tomorrow and I just want to get some sleep to gather up energy."
Sae-byeok smiled, chuckled and gazed at Ji-ah, she loved when she gets sassy or when she gets protective. It makes her flustered, especially thinking about earlier in the bathroom.
As Ji-ah got more comfy under the thick blanket and closed her eyes, Sae-byeok wrapped an arm around her waist. Ji-ah snuggled closer and rested her head in Sae-byeok's neck. The latter hummed at the soft moment and the two lovers fell asleep to the sound of each other's calm breathing. Not quite aware of what they'd wake up to.
YOU ARE READING
Always? Always ▪︎ {Squid Game} Sae-byeok x OC
Fanfiction(COMPLETED UNTIL THERE'S CONFIRMATION OF A SEASON 2) Lee Ji-ah, or, her English name, Lily, has always been in debt. When she turned 16, she had to move from Korea to England to take care of her ill mum. But when her mum dies, it's too painful to st...
