NOT YA'LL ASSUMING [NAME] IS GONNA HAVE A CHOKING KINK- I'M DONE LMAFOA.
I ALSO WANNA THANK yunghungawoga & -TR0UV4ILLE FOR HELPING ME COME UP WITH TITLES BECAUSE I'M OUT AT THE MOMENT. LYLYLYLY
Music played loudly, echoing off of the walls throughout the room, followed by when bright lights turning on, springing awake all of the contestants who've fallen asleep. [Name] groggily opened her eyes, her limbs stiff and sore from an uncomfortable night of sleep. She rolled her neck to the side until she heard the satisfying pop, relieving the tension in her joints as she brought her hand to gently rub her throat.
There's a bruise there, isn't there?
She shuddered at the previous night's events as her droopy eyes then hazily glossed around her group, awaiting for her drowsy perception to clear up. "Sir," she heard Gi-hun speak, causing her to cast him a glance in curiosity. She noticed him send a worried gaze to the elderly male while she huddled further into her blanket. "Did you stay up all night?"
"I was afraid they might attack again," he answered honestly as the music slowly faded out.
"You must be so tired."
"I'm fine," he reassured. "You don't sleep much once you get old. I wasn't much help, so the least I can do is stand guard." Gi-hun huffed before the music began blaring again.
"The third game will begin momentarily. Follow the staff's instructions and process to the game hall."
Four guards made their way to the center of the room, positioning themselves next to each other so the participants can line themselves up in front of them. [Name] pursed her lips in habit before slowly getting to her feet, alongside her group.
"Welcome to your third game." The remaining participants entered into a large, blinding white room. They were led down the stairs and onto the ground level. [Name], who stalked behind Ali, examined the area with bewilderment. "This game will be played as a team. All players, please divide into teams of ten. You have ten minutes, ten minutes. Let me repeat. This game will be played as a team. All players, please divide into teams of ten. You have ten minutes, ten minutes."
The timer began counting down as everyone scattered to assemble their teams. [Name] chewed her bottom lip, glancing back and forth between her group of 6 as she stood beside Sae-byeok, their backs leaned against the nearest wall.
"If the game is played by teams of ten," Gi-hun begins pondering out loud, looking at Sang-woo, "maybe it's Tail Tag or Why Did You Come to My House. If it's Tail Tag, we need to be fast. If it's Why Did You Come to My House, it's just Rock Paper Scussors. What should we do?" he asked Sang-woo.
"We already have an elderly man and two women," Sang-woo says, "so the rest needs to be all men."
"What if they make us play Elastics or Gonggi? Women are better at those," Gi-hun argues as Sae-byeok and [Name] cast questionable glances towards one another.
"That's true, but probability-wise, men are better at most games," Sang-woo snaps. "We're betting our lives right now. Which side will it be?" The group stays silent. "We just need four more people. We should split up in pairs and try to find at least one guy each.. you two could look together," he glances at the two women, who each send him back stoic stares.
Sae-byeok instantly begins walking away without another word. [Name] tilts her head in a questioning manner before quickly following in pursuit, not bothering to look back at the group of males. "Hey, wait up," she calls and the other woman slows her fast-paced walking, allowing [Name] to catch up with her. "Thanks," she sends a grateful smile once she stood at the other's side. "You're quite fast."
Sae-byeok didn't respond to her as she continues walking around aimlessly, making [Name] question whether she was actually looking for someone or not. The [hair color] haired woman glosses around the room while also trying to match Sae-byeok's pace in order to keep up, which proved to be a difficult feat due to Sae-byeok being a fast-walker.
[Name] huffs, irritated at the fact Sae-byeok seemed to be disregarding her presence as a whole, not to mention how she wasn't even searching for another addition to the team and instead kept her eyes fixated on her shoes with her hands deep in the pockets of her sweater.
"We don't need to look."
[Name] blinked owlishly, stunned at the sudden comment spoken by her silent companion. Sae-byeok sent a mere gander at her partner before returning her gaze back in front of her. "It's obvious that sexist back there had already planned to gather the male additions himself, so there's no need for us to lethargically search in vain. Why do you think he sent the two of us together first? He knew there was no possibility that a man would wish to join a team prevalent of women. These men here have bruised egos, my evidence to this claim is Sang-woo and his fragile masculinity."
"Oh," [Name] nodded, processing the rant and not knowing how to respond, "I see."
The two of them continued walking in silence, neither of them bothering to say another word. [Name] merely gazed around the room, until her eyes landed on a lone woman sitting on top of the stairs, fidgeting around with something in her hands. "Hang on," she reached her hand out and grabbed onto Sae-byeok's arm. The other woman paused her movements and sent a curious glance to her holder. "What about her?" she suggested, pointing over to the girl who sat atop the steps.
Sae-byeok followed [Name]'s finger and her eyes landed on the woman as well, taking it into consideration. Though, before she was able to respond, the two woman heard commotion coming from Number 212 and Number 101, causing them to curiously look over at the scene. Albeit, couldn't see much due to the crowd, but able to hear the begging coming from the woman.
"Let's team up next time," Number 101 suggests as he attempts to walk away, only to get yanked back by the woman.
"Babe!" she shouts, tugging him back towards her and she grabs onto both of his wrists. "No way. You're joking right?" she forces a smile.
[Name] furrowed her brows. Since when did they start dating?
"My team is already full," 101's expression showed no emotion of playfulness. "Can't you see? We have exactly ten people."
Number 212's smile instantly dropped, letting out a shaky breath. "Babe, don't be like that," she whimpers, getting on her knees and beginning to grovel. The man lifted his chin up as his face contorted into an annoyed expression. "I'm sorry! I'm do better! Babe, I'll do anything you ask! I'm good at everything, you know that babe."
"So," 101 sighs as she gets back to her feet, "let's split up just for this game. Then meet up for the next one, all right?"
Number 212 latches her arms around him, squeezing him tightly as if he'll disappear if she lets go. He hesitantly wraps his arms around her, though not as tight as she. "Babe," she pleads. "Why should we split up? You said we'd stick together to the end! Babe!" she moves her hands and plants them on each side of his face, using her thumbs to stroke his cheeks. "Can you really do without me? I can't do this without you, babe."
She brings his face closer to her, pressing her lips desperately against his. Number 101 scowled and shoved her to the ground. "Get off!" he snarled as she collided with the floor. "God damn it! You're so damn clingy. Stop calling me babe. Call me babe one more time and I'll rip your tongue out of your mouth."
Everyone stayed silent as Number 212 slowly gathered her bearings and rose to her feet. [Name] took pity on the girl. Despite how annoying she might be, no one deserves to get humiliated like that- albeit, she made a fool of herself by begging, but he was the one who attempted to manipulate her.
"Son of a bitch," 212 scowled.
Number 101 took an intimidating step forward, glaring daggers into her eyes. "Finally showing your true colors."
The woman took another step towards him, almost closing the gap between them. "Jang Deok-su," she said, exposing his real name, "you scumbag!" her tone dripped with venom, only earning a taunting smirk from the man. "I told you that I'll kill you if you betray me."
"Wow, I'm so scared," Deok-su mocked, "Ms Han Mi-nyeo. Good luck with your game today, okay?" he patted her face with a snicker before walking away with his team, leaving her with a humiliated and saddened expression.
After the crowd dispersed and the commotion ended, [Name] and Sae-byeok made their way up the stairs and stood in front of the woman, who lifted her head up with an unsurprised look sprawled across her face. "What?"
"We want you to join our team," [Name] reached her hand out, intending for the woman to grab.
The woman stared blankly at outstretched hand, pondering over the offer for a few seconds before grabbing onto it. [Name] helped pull her up into a standing position before looking at Sae-byeok, who nodded and began walking back down the steps. [Name] beckoned for the newcomer to follow them and they made their way back to the group.
All of the participants settled into their groups, sitting in a circle. [Name] sat in between the newcomer and Sae-byeok, looking around at the three additions; 2 men and 1 women, which only puts the team at 9 members.
"One.. two.. three.. four.. five.. six.. seven.. eight.. nine.." Gi-hun counted, taking obvious notice of the lack of numbers. "Wait, why are there only 9 of us?"
Sang-woo sighed. "We thought you and the old man would be able to find a second person."
"We were barely even able to find one," Gi-hun argued.
"I'm sorry," the old man lowered his head.
Sang-woo pointed at the female newcomer. "Who brought you here?"
She used her head to nod to the left, where [Name] and Sae-byeok sat. "Them."
Sang-woo sent glares their way. "I told you two we were only getting men."
"Well, this is pretty awkward," the woman commented. "Did I join the wrong team? Then I'll see myself out."
"No," [Name] assured, reaching her arm out to halt the woman from moving further, causing her pause after she attempted to push herself up. "It's fine."
"Yeah," Gi-hun agreed with a nod of his head. "Just sit there." He looked over at Sang-woo, who was sending him a disapproving look. "We don't even know what we're going to play next. We don't have much time, either. Let's just find one more person to get to ten."
"We already look pathetic. Who would volunteer?" Sang-woo spat with a huff. "Once everyone finds a team, we'll end up with the person left over."
"I am not a leftover," Mi-nyeo waltzes into their group, squeezing inbetween the woman and Gi-hun. "Boys, I'll grace you with my presence. Consider yourselves lucky, my gosh!" she boasts, scoffing as she looks at the three girls. "I bet I'm way more useful than these scrawny girls. On top of that, I'm good at everything except for the things I'm not," she chuckles.
"Tearing other woman down to boost yourself up just screams blatant insecurity," [Name] deadpans, all of her previous sympathy for her dissipating after realizing how much of a jerk this woman truly is. "I'd also hold my tongue if I were you.. If you're so useful, why did your old team throw you away?"
Mi-nyeo whipped her head and glared daggers at the [hair color] haired female, opening her mouth to respond, but got interrupted by the dinging of the timer. "Time for team selection is over. All teams line up at the entrance of the game hall."
"This isn't over," Mi-nyeo mouths threateningly to [Name], only to be responded with a shrug.
Gi-hun brushed aside the hostility between the two girls. "Wait, we aren't playing here?" he asks before Sang-woo takes a deep breath.
The eight teams stand in lines in front of large, yellow doors that slid open to reveal an enormous room with a black and yellow aesthetic. Painted on the ground were yellow lines, indicators for each group to stand in between. The players examine the room, taking in the large structures at the center of it- platforms towering over the ground that are being supported by metal. The teams walk forward, noticing the numbers in front of the line to show which number they are and the doors slid closed behind them.
The manager stood in the center, staring straight ahead with arms at his side and his posture straightened- this pose mimicked by the other workers. "Welcome to the third game. This game is Tug-of-War. You will pull on a rope on that tower. Make your opponents fall and you win."
"Fuck," [Name] sighs, bringing her hand to her forehead as she already envisions her possible death. Number 240, who stood behind her, places a comforting hand upon her shoulder.
"Now, I will draw to decide which teams go first. Everyone, please sit down." The teams do as told and sit. "I will draw for the team on the left tower." A worker reaches his hand into the black box and pulls out a ball with the number 1 on it.
"Team 1, please stand up."
Deok-su's team rises to their feet. "Next, I will draw for the team on the right tower." Another worker digs his hand in the yellow box and pulls out a ball with the number 7."
"Team 7, please stand up."
The called team reluctantly stands to their feet, nervously glancing at Deok-su's team, the leader of their opponents sending a smug smirk their way.
"Teams 1 and 7 will play first. Teams 1 and 7, please enter the towers."
[Name] watched anxiously as the two teams were led to their desired destinations, dreading the time for when her team is up. She gazes as they get shackled and locked to each other and the rope is placed in their palms, noticing team 7's fearful expressions while team 1 exudes confidence- almost as if they're embracing they're concrete victory.
The red flag was placed in a hole in the center of the platforms, the workers waving their own flags to signal to the manager the set up was completed. The manager then holds his gun in the air, aiming it towards the ceiling and preparing to pull the trigger to start the game. [Name] holds her breath, waiting for the bullet to rip through the air as the 2 teams await the command.
The silence was sliced through by the trigger being pulled, the sharp and stinging sound of the gun rang throughout the room and instantly, the 2 teams began pulling the rope in desperate tugs. It was obvious Deok-su's team had this in the bag from the beginning, but now it seemed as if the other was putting up quite the fight. The red flag was continuously dragged back and forth, determining the winner.
"Kill them!" Deok-su shouted and his team forcefully pulled the red flag towards them, dragging team 7 towards them as well. The panicked and frightened expressions of the losing party was evident after they realized they're losing immensely, despite having even footing in the beginning of it.
They screamed and cried as they desperately tried pulling the rope back their way, but continued getting dragged forward by their opponents.
"Die!"
The leader of team 7 lost his footing, causing him to fall onto the ground and take his teammates down with him. They were dragging off of the platform, their agonized screams echoed off of the walls as they dangled off of the platform, all of them clinging onto the rope with pained bellows. A blade whirs through the air, slicing the rope in half and sending the losing team plummeting to the cement floor as the winners fall onto the ground safely after the dead weight was dropped.
[Name] let out a small gasp as they quickly descended to their deaths. Everyone else shocked at what had just occurred as well. Team 1 panted and huffed, gaining their bearings slowly as they hoisted themselves up. Deok-su let out strained chuckles, almost as if he couldn't believe the scene that unfolded before him was reality while the rest of his team sighed in relief.
"Eliminated players are numbers 245, 120, 36, 408, 27, 273, 58, 243, 327, 241."
[Name] gazed down at her hands, fiddling around with her fingers in an anxious manner.
I've already escaped death twice.. third time's a charm?
The workers began placing the deceased players into coffins while others fixed the stage, readjusting the rope.
"I will draw the teams for the next round. Team 4."
Shit.
[Name] swallows thickly, slowly hoisting herself to her feet as players watch their team rise while giving them nervous looks.
"Team 5."
The other team stands to their feet quite quickly, a team dominated with men. [Name] could sense the confidence Team 5 had after looking at her group, making her frown.
"Damnit. It's a sausage fest," Mi-nyeo mutters shakily.
"I think I'm starting to hate men," [Name] whispers to herself.
"Team 4 and team 5, please enter the towers."