"I would like to extend a heartfelt welcome to you all. Everyone here will participate in six different games over six days. Those who win all six games will receive a handsome cash prize." The square worker said, earning everyone's attention.
Even Sae-byeok who was still on the floor a while ago is now standing and looking at the red workers, You're doing the same of course but you're low-key disappointed that you didn't get to help her stand up but you reminded yourself that patience is a virtue and that she would've ignored or rejected your offer anyway if you tried to help her stand up.
'Right, right, Sae-byeok is a reserved person, so If I want to get close to her, I need to be patient.' You nodded at your own thoughts.
"And why should we believe that? You took all our stuff and put us to sleep coming here and then you brought us to this strange warehouse. Now you're saying you'll pay us if we go and play a few games? You really expect us to buy that?" Someone in the crowd asked.
'It feels so suffocating here. It looked cool in the show but actually being in this room with 455 other people is suffocating. I know there will be a mass massacre later but I just want to get out of here, please-'
"We reluctantly took all of those measures to maintain confidentiality as we brought you here. We'll return everything once the games are over." You stopped yourself from snorting at what the square worker said. 'Ya'll literally just yeeted them out of the van with their belongings after the voting scene.'
"You all... You all have masks. Why are you wearing those things?" A woman asked. 'Why would they show their faces after kidnapping 456 people?'
"We do not disclose the faces and any personal information of our staff to any of the participants. It's a measure we take to ensure fair games and confidentiality. Please understand."
'I hate this crowded room.'
"Well, I don't believe you one bit. You got that? You tricked us, we were kidnapped. You can make as many excuses as you want to make sure nobody knows you broke the law here. If you're going to make up for that, then we're gonna need something more." Sang-woo said.
'Wait, Sang-woo?' Your eyes widened in realization before you looked around to find him and your expression immediately turned sour after finally spotting him in the crowd. 'Oh, that %#!$&*#!!' You can't help but mentally curse. 'I almost forgot that he's here too- That piece of sht was the reason Ali and Sae-byeok died! Please, I really really hated him in the show. I mean, I know that his character is realistic and that he just wanted to win for his mother but I still hate him.'
'I'll make sure to save Ali and Sae-byeok from him this time.'
You flinched when someone suddenly tapped your shoulder and quickly turned to that person just to realize that it's Sae-byeok. "What are you thinking?" She asked with a stoic expression while you struggled to keep a straight face on.
'Oh, I'm so blessed.' "Why are you asking?"
"You keep staring at that guy." She answered, referring to Sang-woo. 'I can't believe she's actually talking to me ASDFGHJKL' You mentally panicked.
"Ah, It's nothing. I thought he was someone I know." You lied and she nodded before looking away. 'She's standing beside me AAAA' You bit your lip as hard as you can to stop yourself from smiling because you didn't want to look like a weirdo in front of everyone.
The lights turned off and the large TV turned on, showing a video of 218 getting slapped by the Salesman. 'I should thank that guy if I ever see him again.' You thought, referring to the handsome salesman from yesterday- Seeing Sang-woo getting slapped felt very satisfying.
"Player 218, Cho Sang-woo. Age, 46 years. Former team leader of Team two at Joy investments, Siphoned money off from his client's balances then invested it in derivatives and future options and failed. Current loss, 650 million won."
'That's way more than $500,000 right?'
"107, Kim Mi-ok, 540 million in debt. 118, Oh Yeong-uk, 1.02 billion in debt. 322, Jung Min-tae, 880 million in debt. 119, No Sang-hun, 1.39 billion in debt. 369, Park Ju-un, 900 million in debt. Every person standing here in this room is living on the brink of financial ruin." The people who were called AKA exposed lowered their heads in shame, but the Square worker didn't mind this and just continued. "You all have debts that you can't pay off. When we first went to see each of you, not a single one of you trusted us. But as you all know, we played a game, and as we promised, gave you money when you won. And suddenly, everyone here trusted us. You called and volunteered to participate in this game of your own free will. I'll give you one last time to choose. Will you go back to living your old and depressing lives getting chased by your creditors? Or will you act and seize this last opportunity we're offering here?"
"What kind of games are we playing?" 'ALIIIII'
Things played out just like the original as usual- The square worker said that they can't give information ahead of time in order to play fair, Gi-hun raised his hand and asked how much is the prize money, Square worker presses a remote, The ceiling opens and A large golden piggy bank descends, The Square guy explains more and finally, the signing of player consent forms starts.
There were seven lines, and of course- You instantly took the spot behind Sae-byeok before someone else could. Well, you could've gone in front of her but you thought that the queen should go first.
You were mentally simping as usual until it was finally your turn. You quickly signed the player consent form and followed Sae-byeok.
"Why are you following me?"
"You're the only one I've met before coming here." You lied, referring to the time she helped you. 'Of course, that's a lie, I just want to stick with you, hehe.' She didn't answer which disappointed you a bit before mentally throwing a party after you realized that she didn't tell you to go away or leave her alone.
"The game is about to begin. All players, follow the staff's instructions and proceed to the game hall."
***
"Welcome to the first game. All players, please wait a moment on the field. Let me repeat, All players, please wait a moment on the field."
'How many people will die here again? Was it 255?' You thought as you watched the gates close.
"Hey." "What?" You turned to where the 2 voices came from and saw the familiar blonde-haired guy 324 and his friend 250. 'Wait, He was the first blood right?' You thought as you stared at the blonde guy.
"Look over there, What is that? It looks really freaky." "Damn that thing has a freaking huge head." They said, referring to the giant doll in front of all of you. 'I'm sure you'll both know later.'
"The first game is Red light, Green light." The speaker started explaining the rules of the game while others started underestimating it because it's a kid's game. You sighed, 'Did they all really think they'll get a huge amount of money by just playing a normal kid's game? Sure, It's normal to not expect a mass massacre a few minutes from now, but they should at least expect something unexpected to happen.'
You heard the two guys betting so you quickly approached them, "I don't think that's a good idea." They both turned to you, "Why?" The Blonde haired guy asked.
"The cash prize is big so I doubt that this game will be as easy as it sounds, Maybe there will be a twist or something." The two of them thought about your words for a while and the blonde-haired guy's friend nodded in agreement.
"Yeah, that's possible." He said but the blonde-haired guy only laughed.
"Even if there's a twist, I'm sure I can still win because I'm just that awesome." He said proudly, causing you to cringe before sighing while his friend smacked him on the back of his head. 'This dumbass- I'm trying to help you.' You thought as you stared at the both of them teasing each other.
"I'm more awesome than you, I'll prove it." His friend says and they both started talking about which of them will reach the finish line first. 'He agreed with me earlier but now he completely forgot about it.'
"Those who cross the line without getting caught in five minutes pass this round. Then, let the game begin."
The timer started ticking and before you could say anything to the both of them again, The blonde-haired guy pushes his friend and sprints, and his friend follows him too. 'He's so dead.'
"Hey, stop moving!" You screamed to them, knowing that the doll is about to turn around. His friend listened to you but he continued, and just like in the show, He struggled to keep his balance when the doll finally turned around.
"Player 324, Eliminated."
"That idiot got caught." His friend smirked but flinched when a gunshot was heard.
The next events were all familiar to you- His friend moves closer to check on him, 324 coughs up blood, His friend runs away in fear, His friend gets shot, Blood splatters on a woman's face, The woman screams and everyone panics.
You shut your eyes and force yourself to stay still as several gunshots were heard. 'Seeing all of this happen right in front of me couldn't be more different than just seeing it on screen. This is just....' You clenched your teeth when you felt someone's blood splatter on your arm.
'Holy sht, This is free trauma.'
The speaker repeated the rules after the gunshots died down and the doll finally turned its head away. "Green light...."
'Don't look back, don't look back, don't look back.' You forced yourself to move while constantly reminding yourself to not look back, not wanting to see the hundreds of corpses behind you.
"Red light." You and the Old man stopped.
"Green light...." You and the Old man walked forward again.
"Red light." You both stopped again. 'I might be moving right now but my insides are fcking shaking. I mean, I saw this on screen too but... actually being here and personally witnessing all of this is spine-chilling.'
"Green light..." The other players started moving with the both of you this time, but two of them were shot behind you due to not being able to stop in time.
'Wait, I can hide behind other people! but me and this old man are ahead of everyone else right now... Should I go back or something?'
You took a few steps back and went behind one of the players when it was green light once again.
"You..." Your eyes widened and you turned towards Sae-byeok who you didn't know was beside you. "What are you doing?" She quietly asked with her usual stoic expression.
"That doll is a motion sensor, so you won't get caught if you hide behind someone." You quietly replied. 'It's nice that we're talking but It's not the time to simp. I don't want to have a bullet in my head. I mean, I won't die but Imagine these people seeing me still moving after getting shot in the head.'
Believing your words, she went behind Deok-su who's not so far away from the both of you when it was green light and you decided to follow her and hid behind a person near Deok-su.
"Green light...." "Red light." The cycle continued.
"Who is that behind me all along?" Deok-su asked. 'Oh, It's finally this scene!'
"The one who backstabbed you."
"You btch..."
"Want me to stab you in the back again?" Sae-byeok asked as she reached for his hair.
"No, don't. Please."
"Stop trembling, Moron. You'll die if you get caught." Sae-byeok said with a smirk. 'I know it's not the right time to simp but OH MY GOD THAT WAS SO HOT-' You lowered your head to hide your smile and mentally screamed. 'Please- I can't keep a straight face on anymore-'
"Green light..." You mentally cheered when Sae-byeok grabbed Deok-su's hair and flung him to the ground before running forward. 'That was so cool GKJHFASDKF'
"Red light." 'Oh sht, I forgot to move.'
"Green light..." Deok-su stood up but you quickly grabbed his hair and also flung him to the ground like what Sae-byeok did earlier before running forward.
"Red light." You stopped beside her.
'I just remembered, Frontman is listening to Fly me to the moon and chilling right now'
'And the Old man is having the time of his life.'
You shook your head to get rid of your thoughts and focused on winning just like Sae-byeok beside you. 'Hold up, Deok-su is behind us right now isn't he?' You turned your head and quickly looked away when you saw him with gritted teeth behind the both of you, 'Oh, He is!'
You and Sae-byeok successfully crossed the finish line when there were 30 seconds left and you both collapsed to the ground due to exhaustion just like everyone else. You watched the Old man cross the finish line with a huge smile on his face. 'Bruh, I really liked him in the show, but turns out he was the mastermind- My disappointment was immeasurable.'
Just like in the show, Gi-hun trips over a dead body's arm and Ali grabs the back of his jacket to stop him from falling, causing you to mentally cheer for him but you flinched when someone near them got shot.
'Okay okay, Calm down.' You thought as you took deep breaths to calm yourself.
The Doll finally turned its head away and Gi-hun and Ali crossed the finish line just in time. You knew that the players who haven't crossed yet are going to get killed, so you lowered your head in advance to avoid yourself from seeing it and sighed in relief when the gunshots finally died down.
'Finally...' You thought as you watched the ceiling close.
'The first game is finally over.'