Squid Games (NOT COMPLETED)

CHAPTER 6. [Ddakji.]

Gi-huns ears rang as he quickly ran towards the train, the doors slammed shut in-front of his tired face, soon zooming off to it's next stop. "Hey, wait a minute! Open the door-" it was already too late. Gi-hun pouted, clenching his fists in anger.

He walked over to a empty bench, looking pissed than ever. He quickly sat down, panting, as earlier he rushed to get to the train.

Footsteps approached Gi-hun. A fine salesman stopped by, placing his heavy, black briefcase between him and Gi-hun. The salesman had a charming look, a fine body and lush deep-brown hair. He had an unsoiled suit, along with an extensive black tie. The salesman looked carefully at Gi-hun with the same smirk he brought with him everywhere. "Hello, sir." the man spoke, "Can I talk to you?"

"I don't believe in Jesus." Gi-hun sighed before he budged to the side.

"It's not that." the man added, "Listen, I wanna let you in on a great opportunity to..-" Gi-hun pulled out his lighter-gun, aiming it at the man. The salesman brought his hands upright, looking down upon the gun.

Gi-hun soon pulled the trigger, revealing the same flame from before. The man sighed, looking strictly at Gi-hun.

"I come from a very long line of Buddhists, so find another guy to preach to." Gi-hun fumed. "Mister. Would you like to play a game with me."

Gi-hun looked pissed, "Who are you? Salesman, huh? You people have all kinds of tactics. And I only know you're doing your job, but I really don't have the time to sit here..-"

The man had opened his heavy briefcase, revealing two red and blue Ddakji cards, and 3 piles of cold cash. Each pile of cash shone in Gi-huns eyes, tempting him to grab it and run. The salesman grabbed the two Ddakji cards, "I'm sure you've, played Ddakji before, right?"

"Play a few rounds of Ddakji with me, and each time you win, I'll pay you 100,000 won."

Gi-hun scoffed, soon looking down at the 3 piles of cash. "Wait, so if I hit your Ddakjii, and it flips over, I get a 100,000 won?" Gi-hun exclaimed. "And if I can flips yours, you will give me the exact same amount of money." the salesman added, holding up the 2 cards with a slick smile. Gi-hun looked at the two Ddakji cards carefully before looking back at the man. "You can also be the first to play." the man appealed. "Hey, look, I had a bad day today. You pull a scam or you rip me off, well, then, I'll.. I'll kill you." Gi-hun warned, "So then it's my turn, huh?" 

The man smoothly nodded, "So which color do you wanna play as?" he invited, nudging the two Ddakji cards.

---

The red card laid flat on the marble floor, Gi-hun clutched tightly onto his blue card before weakly throwing it onto the red card. The opposing card flipped two times, meaning it hadn't flipped to the correct side. Gi-hun grunted, firmly clenching his teeth as he quickly fixed his head up to the salesman. The man smirked, peering into Gi-huns blunt eyes. He bent over to pick up his card, briskly nudging Gi-hun to the side by a portion.

The man slammed the red Ddakji onto Gi-huns Ddakji, causing a thunderous sound to echo throughout the modern station. 

Gi-huns card had flipped over.

Gi-hun uneasily peered at the blue Ddakji, soon looking at the man with a small frown forming on his face. "Well, what's wrong?" the man questioned, raising a eyebrow as he smiled. "So.. The thing is.."

"How about you use your body to pay." "A what?- AUG-"

The man had vehemently slapped Gi-huns face.

"What the hell man!?" Gi-hun stammered. "I'll take 100 grand off per slap." the salesman grinned. Gi-hun let out a frustrated sigh, quickly picking up his Ddakji card in shame. 

"One more round!"

---

Gi-hun kept losing each round, making him more frustrated by the second. His face grew red from all the harsh slaps he had gotten. Quickly, it was the 40th turn. Gi-huns cheek lit pure red, he looked strictly at the fine salesman, putting prayers onto his next shot. Finally, he slammed the blue Ddakji card onto the red one, making the red card flip the correct way. Gi-hun cheered in advance, letting out an ear-splitting scream. He pumped his fists in the air for his celebration, looking at the man with pure exhilaration. "DID YOU SEE THAT?! I beat you, man!" Gi-hun screamed. 

The salesman grinned, leisurely clapping his hands together. 

"Get over here. It's my turn to do this." Gi-hun bossed, quickly rolling up his suits sleeves. Just before Gi-hun had the chance to slap the salesman, the man firmly grabbed onto his wrist. "What are you doing?- Jerk!" Gi-hun grunted.

The salesman smiled, holding up cash notes, "Your 100 grand." he soothed, rustling the money into Gi-huns fist. "You're welcome, sir."

"Oh yeah." Gi-hun said in disappointment, "The money." slowly pulling the 2 notes from eachother.

---

Gi-hun excitedly smiled, holding more than a nick of cash. He carefully counted the notes individually with a deep smile slated onto his face.

"You know, sir." the salesman gushed, "There are other games like this where you can make even more." Gi-hun looked at the man.

"Come on, it must sound tempting." the salesman added. Gi-hun scoffed, "Hey, dude. Is this some new pyramid scheme or what? Look I'm desperate, okay. Still, not that desperate yet."

The salesman quickly got up from the metal bench, looking at Gi-hun.

"Mr Gi-hun."

Gi-hun fearfully looked up the man, widening his eyes with confuse.

"Earlier, you signed away your physical rights. Your name, Seong Gi-hun. 47 years old. You attended Daehan Technical High School. Worked at Dragon Motors, Assembly Team one. The company laid you off ten years ago. Opened a chicken shop, and then a small snack bar. Both of them failed, you're working as a chauffeur right now. You've been divorced for about three years, and your daughter is ten years old. A hundred and sixty million owed just to loan sharks, and you owe 250 more to the bank."

Gi-hun apprehensively stood up, looking at the man with his fearful eyes, "Who are you?' he shuddered, "What business is yours of all that..?"

The man reached into his delicate pocket, crabbing out a card and holding it towards Gi-hun.

3 shapes displayed on the front.

A triangle, a circle and a square.

At the back, there was a number.

"We don't have many spots left." The man smiled. Gi-hun snatched the card, glaring at it carefully. Sweat unfolded down his face.

"Just think about it." the man said, soon grabbing his leather briefcase and heading off for the train that had stopped by. The salesman mouthed, 'good luck' before the train doors shut tightly. Gi-hun stood still, staring at the card with the cash secured in his pocket.