drunk dazed | squid game

iv. red light

SEOHYUN COULDN'T SLEEP that night. A million thoughts ran through her head, causing her to be awake at ungodly hours of the night. She couldn't get her mind off the stranger man who somehow knew everything about her when she didn't even know his first name.

She kept the card he gave her. She sat cross legged on the bed, her body draped in an oversized shirt with just a pair of underwear underneath, staring at the card in her hands. On one side was a cellphone number, the other side just three shapes with no writing. She remembered the promise he made, a promise of riches way more than what he had given her.

She reached over for her cellphone, and began dialing the number on the back. After all, she had nothing else to lose. The line rang for a minute before a mans voice answered, "Hello? Who's calling?"

"Hi, I was given a business card with this number earlier and –" She began, not even knowing what to say of how to begin. What if it was a prank and she was talking to a random man?

"Do you wish to participate in the game? If you wish to participate please state your name and birthdate."

"Lee Seohyun, October Eighth, Nineteen Eighty-Nine."

The man gave her instructions and then hung up the call. She hurriedly put on a pair of proper pants and slipped on a pair of shoes. She left a simple note on the counter saying she was going to be gone for a couple days and walked out to the street corner like the man said.

In the distance she saw a set of headlights and a mysterious van pulled up in front of her. In the drivers seat was a man wearing a pink suit with a shield on his face with a white square printed on. "Mrs. Lee Seohyun?" It asked to which she nodded. "What's the password?"

"Red light, green light," she answered, suddenly unsure of what she was getting herself into. The lock of the van door clicked and slid open, revealing a bunch of other people already inside, slumped over in their seats.

She climbed in, taking a seat next to some woman. She dared not to say a word, her body on alert in case something reached out at her. A smoky gas began to fill the van, and she started to reach for the door handle to escape, but the dizziness feeling from the gas hit her and it wasn't ling before she slipped into unconsciousness.

She didn't know how long she was out for, but when she woke up she didn't know where she was. Her clothes were replaced with a green tracksuit with the number 397 above her left breast. She was in bunk beds that were stacked to the ceiling, each bed made the exact same.

Everyone began waking up, each person looking scared and confused about what the hell was even going on and where they were. Seohyun pushed herself out of the bed and began walking down, the sound of classical music airing throughout the area.

"What's going on?" A voice behind her piped up. She turned around and was greeted by the face of a young man, no older then twenty four. He looked around with widened eyes, the number 173 displayed on his chest.

"I have no idea," Seohyun breathed, trying to take in all the surroundings.

"I thought it was just a prank and this would all be a joke," he admitted, the stopping by the bottom of the stairs. "I didn't expect them to drug me and shit, plus I got online classes tomorrow! What am I gonna tell the teacher?"

Seohyun listened to the boy panic while she observed everyone else around them. She saw some old and some young, some who looked lost and bright-eyed and some who looked as if they'd been long crushed by the weight of the world.

It wasn't long before a fight broke out, a man and a woman who cleared seemed to have some history together. She was pretty with almost doll like features while he looked rough though he had long black hair and tattoos littered across his neck and body.

The fight was broken up by the noise of a loud alarm buzzing and the door in front of them opening to reveal the same hot pink guards from before. A gun was armed by their side, loaded and ready if someone were to make a move. The one in the middle, Seohyun assumed he was the leader, began by addressing the crowd, "I would like to extend a heartfelt welcome to you all. Everyone here will participate in six different games over six days. Those who win all six games will win a handsome cash prize."

"And why should we believe that?" A man from the crowd spoke up. "Y-You took all our stuff and put us to sleep coming here, and then you brought us to this strange warehouse. Now you're saying you'll pay us if we go and play a few games? You really expect us to buy that?"

A few murmurs rose from the crowd before the masked man spoke again. "We reluctantly took all of those measures to maintain confidentiality as we brought you here. We will return everything once the games are over."

"You all have masks. Why are you wearing those things?" This time a woman spoke up.

"We do not disclose the faces and personal information of our staff to any of the participants. It's a measure we take to ensure fair games and confidentiality. Please understand," he replied to the woman and someone else began to shout.

The man was handsome with a pair of thin, round glasses resting atop his nose. "Well, I don't believe you one bit. You got that?" He shouted from the crowd. "You tricked us. We were kidnapped. You can make as many excuses as you want to make sure nobody knows you broke the law in here. If you're going to make up for that, then we're gonna need something more."

"Player 218, Cho Sangwoo." Click. "Age Fourty-six. Former team leader of Team Two at Joy Investments. Siphoned money off from his clients' balances, then invested it in derivatives and futures options and failed. Current loss, 650 million won." The masked man listed and the man quickly shut his mouth, listening as he listed random contestants and each of their debt in an almost humiliating show. "Every person standing here in this room is living on the brink of financial ruin. You all have debts that you can't pay off. When we first went to see each of you, not a single one of you trusted us. But as you all know, we played a game, and as we promised, gave you money when you won. And suddenly, everyone here trusted us. You called and volunteered to participate in this game of your own free will. So this is it. I'll give you one last chance to choose. Will you go back to living your old and depressing lives getting chased by your creditors? Or will you act and seize this last opportunity we're offering here?

The crowd erupted in low, terrified murmurs. The next one to speak up was a middle aged man, "Hey! Which games are we playing?"

"In order to play fair, we cannot disclose any information about the games ahead of time."

The same man spoke up again. "If we win, how much do we win?"

The top of the ceiling opened and lowered was a yellow container in the shape of a fat pig. "Your prize money will be accumulated in there after every game. We will disclose the amount to everyone after the first game is over. If you do not wish to participate, then please let us know at this time."

The crowd was split into four lines, each person being made to sign a form. Seohyun read over the rules quickly for there only three. "Is this it?" She asked but received no reply from the masked man. With a sigh she scribbled her signature on the bottom line before handing the paper back.

"Attention all players," the announcement rang out loudly over the speakers. "The first game is about to begin. Please follow the staff's instructions. Please make your way to the game hall."