but she survived | sae-byeok x ji-yeong

embarrassing is an understatement

Only four beds were left in the sleeping area. Two on each side of the room and two standing against the wall in front of them but with a fair amount of space between. It was so scary to think about. That only a couple of days ago hundreds of beds were stacked on top of each other, all filled with people. People that thought they were just there to gain some more money and get out of their shitty lifestyles. Not to get mercilessly killed. Now, the room that had once been filled with whispering and talking from every corner was deadly silent. But at the same time, it was so incredibly loud, because everyone had something to say, waiting for the right moment.

As Ji-yeong sat down on one of the beds, Gi-hun turned Sang-woo around and started confronting him about the man he had pushed. "Why'd you do that?" he asked him.

"What the hell did you expect, huh?" Sang-woo's voice was completely serious and cold.

Gi-hun chose to ignore the question. "Why go up and push that guy?"

Sang-woo scoffed before he answered. "You were lucky waiting in the back of the line. Must have forgotten how things are here. What if that guy ended up wasting our time on that one step like that criminal? Would you have done nothing?"

Ji-yeong was sitting on the bed, hands fidgeting in her lap as she was observing their conversation. "Would you have done it?" she heard a low voice ask beside her.

Her head turned slowly, already aware of who it was. "I don't know," she honestly responded, glancing up at Sae-byeok, who was leaning against the wall. "Would you look at me differently if I said yes?"

Sae-byeok had her eyes on the two arguing men, thinking of an answer to Ji-yeong's question. "No."

Ji-yeong leaned her head against the headboard, a weak smile on her face. She then shifted to one side of her bed, patting the empty side with her hand. "Care to join me?"

Sae-byeok aimed her sight at the hand, holding her eyes on it as she considered the offer. She chose to not answer her and just carefully sit down, back turned against the already sitting girl. She then felt a small hand graze her arm from the elbow, all the way down her forearm, and finally land on the inside of her hand, where it intertwined her shaking one with itself. "You can sit over here with me, you know? You don't have to sit all the way over there."

Again, Sae-byeok chose to yet again keep quiet and with a simple nod, she let the girl pull her up to sit beside herself. Ji-yeong rested her head on the taller girl's shoulder, pulling their conjoined hands onto her lap. "Do you think we will have to kill each other?" she asked in such a calm tone that it sent shivers down the taller girl's spine. She said like it was nothing. Like she was asking about how Sae-byeok's day had been or if there was more milk in the fridge. So horrifyingly calm.

 Sae-byeok sighed deeply, avoiding Ji-yeong's eyes that were burning into the side of her head. "Probably, yes."

Ji-yeong was about to say something again but got interrupted by the doors opening and guards coming in, small boxes in their hands. Black boxes with a bow on them. Just by the sight of the similar design, a terrible feeling hit everyone in the room right in the stomach.

There were five guards in total. Four of them, the ones with the circle on their masks, were standing with a box each, and the one standing in front of them, with a triangle on his mask, started speaking.

"Players, we sincerely congratulate and commend you all for successfully making it through the first five games. The four of you are now the finalists and as such, we have prepared a special gift for each of you. Before we reveal the gift, please take a moment to change into the outfits we have brought." So that's what was in the boxes.