Squid Game ~ "one more game"

3 - The consent form

The first thing Yeon-a registered after a long time of senselessness, was a high-pitched music sound. It sounded cheerful, like something joyful was about to happen. Yeon-a didn't feel anything yet though, as her senses just started to awaken again. She noticed she was lying on a bed, covered by a thin blanket. Her eyes immediately fell shut again when she opened them, as the artificial lights felt too bright to her yet. Still she slowly took up another chance to see what was all around her.

When she sat up straight, Yeon-a noticed there was another bed above her, as well as beside her on both sides. There were a lot of bunk beds. From the corner of her eye she noticed she was wearing a green tracksuit with white stripes on the side. She couldn't remember ever changing into them, as she was wearing a simple pair of jeans and a blouse when she stepped in the car. Her eyes fell on the left side of the tracksuit, close to her chest. There was a number knitted on. She grabbed the piece of fabric and turned it towards her, so she could see it more clearly.

"404"

What would that number mean?

As other people had already started coming off the beds and moved to the centre of the large room, Yeon-a ran her eyes through them in order to search for her friends. She started to doubt her memory, but it had to be Jong-woo and Mi-Young. But where were they?

Yeon-a got off her bed and followed the others to the centre. It looked like every person each had their own number. There were only a few drawings on the walls, a door and a small podium with large automatic doors that were shut completely. Other than that, the only thing decorating the plain room was a large screen that indicated there were 456 players.

She ran her eyes through the room again, in search of her friends, but the first thing that caught her attention was the back head of a young man, as his hair was purple. She continued her search and found many people still sitting on their beds, looking confused. Maybe she would do better to be finding some high ground, too, as there were so many people she couldn't recognise, but at last she found her.

'Mi-Young,' Yeon-a stated as she made her way through the people and approached her friend. 'Lee Mi-Young,' she remarked relieved, thankful to be seeing a familiar face in this all. She would've thought her friend would feel the same way, but when she turned around and recognised Yeon-a, Mi-Youngs face shifted to a hesitant and embarrassed look. 'Yeon-a,' she mumbled, surprised to have found her here. 'So it was you,' Yeon-a stated, still relieved. 'When I got picked up I thought I recognised you. Jong-woo as well.'

'So it really was Kang Jong-woo I saw in the car.' Her friend sounded even more surprised. Yeon-a nodded. 'What would he be doing here?' Mi-Young mumbled uncomprehendingly. Yeon-a could've asked her the same thing, but she decided on a different approach. 'I'm so glad to be seeing a familiar face here,' she stated relieved. 'I was a bit sceptical about signing up for this. I was afraid it would be a scam. I feel a bit reassured now that you're here.' Her friend acted like the same thing applied to her, but Yeon-a could still sense her embarrassment. Why was she so awkward with her? Was it because they hadn't seen each other in a few months?

'Excuse me,' a woman with number 355 asked, joining in on their conversation. 'Do any of you know what's going on here? Why did they drug us to sleep? And why are we wearing these tracksuits?' She held a piece of the fabric. 'I don't know,' Mi-Young replied. She looked relieved that somebody else had joined in, so she wouldn't have to look at Yeon-a anymore. Mi-Young secretly felt caught and ashamed by her friend's appearance, afraid she would find out why she was here; because her family was in a big dept.

They all got startled by a short warning sound, after which the large automatic doors opened and almost a dozen people wearing the same pink-red suits as the driver appeared. Just like them, they each were wearing a mask underneath their hoods. All their masks were painted by a white circle, except for the last person who stepped inside. They had a square. Yeon-a immediately thought back to the card she received from the well-dressed man.