Waking groggily from your slumber, you gradually fluttered your tired eyes open. You instantly became blinded by the bright, artificial lighting that violated your perception and you instinctively brought your hands to cover her eyes. It took you a moment to become accustomed to your new surroundings before it ultimately dawned upon you that you weren't in your own bed.
You quickly uncovered your face and jolted into an upright position, your widened eyes rapidly scanning the massive area before your. Numerous beds the exact same as the one you're sitting on were stacked in the room, the back ones near the wall almost reached the ceiling with how highly they were placed upon one another.
Many people were waking up as well, all wearing the same uniform as you; green track suits. You furrowed your eyebrows together as your face contorts into one of utter bewilderment before you flung the thin blanket off of your body.
What..? Who the fuck dressed me?!
You were astonished that the fact that someone had presumably unclothed you and put new attire on you, and at not only that but they also saw you in your most vulnerable state. You shivered, but pushed the thoughts back to your mind since so many other people had seemed to suffer the same fate as you, anyways.
It didn't take too long for you to realize that the bed you were situated on was a middle one, putting you above the ground, but not too high up, either. You pursed her lips and slowly began climbing down the stairs that connected the metal frames to one another, seemingly following in the footsteps of others as they all made their way to the middle of the room.
As you slowly descended down the stairs and to the floor, you nervously and curiously glanced around at all of the other people who appeared just as confused as you. While analyzing a few individuals, you didn't fail to take notice of the numbers stitched onto the sweaters of the track suits— each number being different than the next.
Skeptically, you glanced down the number on yours and knitted your eyebrows together when you saw the one you'd been given.
214? What are these meant to indicate?
"—Over there. There are 456 people here."
Your eyes followed to where the man speaking to an elder was pointing and you immediately took notice of the board with a total amount of players. Well, you'd question was now answered. When you glanced back at the man, a look of familiarity crossed your expression.
Why do I feel like I saw him before?
You brushed off the feeling and quickly stalked past the two speaking men, ignoring the rest of their conversation, and continued your way down to the floor. A large crowd was gradually starting to form as people began to surround and converse amongst themselves, presumably trying to find a reason why they all had woken up there while some people stayed on their beds.
"You bitch!" a male voice suddenly shouted, taking everyone by surprise and they instantly formed a circle around where the commotion is.
You began to push your way to the front of the crowd and paused at the occurrence unfolding before you. A girl had fallen on the ground while an older man, most likely the one who shouted the obscenity, tauntingly laughed as he walked towards her with a smug grin. He wore the number 101.
"Hey," he called as the girl, wearing the number 067, regained her bearings and stood to her feet. The same feeling of familiarity struck you again once you observed the girl. "Geez, I can't believe I've run into you here. Look at those eyes. Your temper hasn't changed."
He slowly walked towards her, an expression of disdain on his features as the girl glared daggers back at him. "Then again, you're not the type to back down after a few blows. I fed you, put a roof over your head, even taught you my skills, but you backstab me?" he rambled on.
"You already took more from me than what I owe you," the girl instantly quipped back.
"If that's true, then why did you run away?"
"I didn't run away," she replied. "I just went independent."
He dryly laughed. "'Independent'?" he reiterated with a scoff and glanced away for a split second before raising his fist and swinging it towards the girl. She was quick to dodge the blow and took a few steps back. The man then reached his hand out and grabbed the collar of her shirt before swiping his foot underneath her legs and toppling her onto her back.
The girl glowered at him again as she attempted to get back onto her feet, only for him to grab a handful of her hair with one hand and the back of her sweater with the other. She let out a grunt as he harshly shoved her forward and forced her to stagger back onto the ground.
You frowned at the scene, obviously disgusted by the actions of the man, but made no move to break up the fight and opted to watch from the sidelines. Once again, the girl attempted to stand up, but her assailant kicked her roughly in the stomach and she fell onto her side in turmoil, clutching her abdomen.
Number 101 squatted down and grasped another fistful of her hair, forcing her to look at him. "You went independent?" he repeated. "Are you Yu Gwan-sun or what? Go out and wave a flag, then. Oh right," he jeered, "you're from North Korea, so wave a North Korean flag."
He switched hands he was holding her hair with and made a move to strike her face, only to get pushed to the ground by the other man that you had priorly saw, who wore the number 456. Though, it was quickly seen that he didn't push number 101 out of the way to save her, but instead to hassle her himself as he quickly grabbed onto her sweater and pulled her upwards.
"Come here," he brushed her hair away from her neck and analyzed something. "That scar on your neck," he inspected. "Yes, it's you! The pickpocket!"
Seeing both of them together put it into perspective for you. It dawned you her they were the two who crashed into each other at the bank and she pocketed his money. You raised your eyebrows after you had managed to connect the dots.
Small world.
Number 456 began shaking the girl furiously, demanding her to return him his stolen money as she only stared at him with an annoyed look sprawled across her face. "Give me my money back. Where's my money?! Give it back!" he shouted, frustrated.
Then, he got kicked to the ground by number 101, a few members of the crowd gasping. Number 456 quickly scrambled to his feet and whipped around to glare at his assailant. "What the hell?"
The two men held a stare down with one another before number 101 sneered. "Who are you?" Number 456 brushed his hair out of his face as the other man repeated his question with a threatening tone. "Who the hell are you?!"
"Me? Well, I'm Seong Gi-hun from Ssangmun-dong," he introduced himself.
"Hey, Mr. Ssangmun-dong."
"Yeah?"
Number 101 took a few intimidating steps forward, with Gi-hun instinctively backing up as the other man spoke. "I'm not done with this wench," he spat.
"I'm sorry," Gi-hun replied, "but I also have something urgent to discuss with this sister over here."
Number 067 stayed on the ground, flickering her gaze between the two men. "You bastard," 101 scowled, "what's your relation with her?"
"My gosh," Gi-hun laughed, eyeing the man before him. "What's your relation with her?" he pointed accusingly at him. "You obviously look like a thug who preys on girls like her."
101 looked around with an insulted expression. "Did you tell her to steal my money?" Gi-hun then accused, which seemed to set the thug off.
"You little son of a bitch!"
"Wait!" Gi-hun shouted as 101 attempted to deliver a blow, walking backwards and shouting for help. "This thug is trying to kill me! Someone get over here! We need help!" he frantically looked around and you couldn't help but crack a smirk at how idiotic he looked, since he was the one who had provoked the other man.
A loud buzzer instantly captured everyone's attention and Gi-hun pointed in the direction of large doors. "There they are! Over here," he then pointed at the man and the girl. "We got a thug and a pickpocket. Watch out, they'll pick all our pockets!"
The doors slid open, revealing numerous men dressed in the same outfits that the person who picked you up was in, causing you to stare questioningly. The black masks they wore all had white circles stitches on them, except for the person in the middle of them, whose mask had a white square stitched on it instead.
They all marched into the room, the ones with circles moved to the side and stood there as the square centered himself in the middle and slightly ahead of them, giving you the idea that they must be some kind of superior. Everyone's attention was fixated solely on them, but no one dared to speak a word as square took a few steps forward and looked down on them.
"I would like to extend a hearty welcome to you all," the Square greeted in a male voice. "Everyone here will participate in six different games over six day. Those who win all six games will get a handsome cash prize."
"How are we supposed to believe you?"
You turned you gaze over to the person who spoke out, as did most of the others. "You suddenly put us to sleep, took our phones and wallets away, then bring us to this mysterious place. Now you're saying you'll pay us handsomely for paying a few games? Do you really expect us to believe that?"
She shrugged. He's got a point, I guess.
"We reluctantly took those measures to maintain our confidentiality bringing you here," Square replied. "We'll return everything once the games are over."
A woman hesitantly raised her hand. "How come you are wearing those masks?" she questioned.
"We do not disclose the faces and personal information of our staff to the participants. It's a measure we take to ensure fair games and confidentiality. Please understand."
"I don't trust a word you just said," said a man wearing glasses and you eyed him curiously. "You lured, kidnapped, and locked us all up. You make all kinds of excuses to keep yourself hidden after all those illegal actions. Give us one good reason why we should trust you."
"Player 218, Cho Sang-woo," Square stated, pressing a button on a remote control and the screen stating the amount of players switches to a video of the male getting repeatedly slapped by —assumingely— the 'salesman' and everyone turned their eyes to the screen. "Age, 46. Former team leader of Team Two at Joy Investments. Siphoned money from his clients, then invested in derivatives and futures options with it and failed. Current loss, 650 million won."
Sang-woo slowly looked down towards his feet shamefully as Square began announcing a variety of other players and their reasons for debt. You crossed your fingers and silently hoped that your video wouldn't appear on screen.
"All of you in this room are living on the brink of financial ruin with debts you can't pay off. When we first went to see you, none of you trusted us, but as you all know, we played a game and gave you money as promised. So, everyone here then trusted us and volunteered to participate in this game of your own free will. I'll give you one last chance to choose," he urged. "Will you go back to your lousy life of being chased by your creditors? Or will you grab the last opportunity we're offering here?"
Everyone stayed silent for a moment, glancing around the room and waiting for someone else to talk. Eventually, a different man voiced his question. "What kind of games are we playing?"
"In order to play fair, we cannot disclose any information about the games ahead of time."
"Excuse me," Gi-hun raised his hand, "just how much is the prize money?"
Square clicked a button on his remote and an orange glow shadowed above the middle of the room, casting everyone's gazes up towards the ceiling. A large, glass piggy bank was being descended down as music resounded throughout the walls of the area. You pursed her lips, astonished at how giant the glass pig was, marveling alongside everyone else.
"Your prize money will be accumulated in the piggy bank after every game. We will disclose the mount to everyone after the first game is over. If you do not wish to participate, please let us know now."
———————————
Everyone stood in an array of lines, waiting for their turns to sign a disclosure form in order to participate in the games. You read over the paper as you hovered your hand over it, clutching the writing utensil in your grasp.
PLAYER CONSENT FORM
Clause One: A player is not allowed to stop playing.
Clause Two: A player who refuses to play will be eliminated.
Clause Three: Games may be terminated if the majority agrees.
This is.. it?
Hesitantly, you pressed the ink onto the paper and maneuvered your pen around, your name beginning to appear on the paper. You pressed her lips tightly together once you had finished and handed the writing utensil and paper to the uniformed person in front of you before sending them one last wary glance and walking away.