No Way Out (Squidgame s2 x child reader)

|14|

🌃🌃🌃

We stepped onto the platform, and my pulse skyrocketed. The weight of it all pressed down on me—thirty seconds to find someone, latch onto them, sprint for a door, and pray we made it inside before time ran out. If we didn't? I didn't want to think about that.

"With that, let the game begin," the robotic female voice announced.

The platform shuddered beneath us. I barely caught my balance as a sickeningly cheerful tune started playing, its melody light and bouncy, completely at odds with the panic creeping up my spine.

"Circular, circular, let's go 'round in circles and dance.
We clap our hands and sing la-la-lala, let's have fun dancing."

I almost wanted to hum along. Almost. But I couldn't let my guard down. Not now.

Then, just as suddenly as it had started, the platform jerked to a halt.

No frantic alarms. No flashing lights. Just an unnatural stillness.

Then—

"Ten players."

Shit. I jinxed it.

Darkness swallowed the room. Stuttering flashes of purple light burst across the space, warping reality into a disorienting nightmare. Shadows stretched and twisted. I couldn't make out faces—just blurred silhouettes moving frantically in the chaos.

"How many are with you?" Gi-hun's voice cut through the panic, sharp and steady.

"Four," 120 responded.

Four. Six plus four. Ten.

Gi-hun's grip found my wrist, and before I could process what was happening, we were running. Sprinting. I crashed into someone, barely registering who it was as we hurtled toward one of the doors.

Lime green. An ugly color, but I didn't care.

Young-il was the last one in, slamming the door just as the countdown hit 03.

02.

01.

Click.

The locks engaged. The door sealed itself automatically.

I exhaled sharply. We made it. We made it.

But outside—others weren't so lucky.

Gunshots shattered the silence. Desperate screams, voices pleading. Then—nothing.

Gi-hun was already at the peephole. His expression was unreadable, his knuckles white against the frame.

My stomach twisted. I stepped forward, bending slightly to look—

His hand shot out, gripping my shoulder.

He shoved me lower, blocking my view.

I didn't fight it. I didn't want to see. Well I did, but him pulling me down made it very clear that I didn't. 

I was back on the platform. But now, the floor was slick with blood—dark, smeared streaks and fresh crimson pools that hadn't even begun to dry. My stomach twisted at the sight. Someone was going to slip, crack their skull open, and then what? Would they be executed for an accident? Would they even get the chance to stand up again?

I couldn't think about that.

The platform lurched beneath my feet. I barely caught my balance before that sickly sweet melody filled the air again. The childish, upbeat notes rang through the space, making my skin crawl.