A/N: I'm sorry. I'm really sorry. I swear I'm sorry :')
Quiindom
_XxNeonxX_
kaoesthetic
Causers
POV 남준
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"In this game, by using your ten marbles, you are going to compete against your partner. The player which takes all ten marbles from their partner, wins."
Namjoon felt like the whole world stopped. Then he looked at his partner. He was the only person he was the closest to in this place. Or so Namjoon thought he was. How would Namjoon be able to play against him?
The latter looked at him with an unreadable expression, but then smiled. What's going on inside your head? Namjoon questioned him, but in his mind.
Both of them didn't speak, just sat down on the stairs of one of the fake houses. They had thirty minutes to play the game and decide a winner.
"This is the biggest tragedy since the Korean war. Won't you agree?" The ravenette joked.
"What are we going to play?" Namjoon replied with a question. At this the ravenette pouted a bit, playfully.
"You're so cold. As cold as ice." Namjoon didn't speak, or better worded, ignored him.
"Are you really a spy from the North?"
"Stop talking nonsense." Namjoon snapped. "Tell me what game do we play."
The latter only smiled and looked down. "I have no idea either."
It was silent for a bit. But then the ravenette spoke again. "This is what those boomers used to play as kids." Then he giggled a bit and looked at Namjoon, no signs of a smile anymore. Just a nonchalant expression.
"They said we're free to create our own rules. I'll give it some thought." Namjoon remained silent at that. As if agreeing but ignoring him.
"Let's," Namjoon looked at him when the boy started speaking after a while. "end the game in one round." He remained silent and just looking at him, urging him to go on.
"Let's bet everything and just play one round." Namjoon agreed but remained silent.
"Do you want to do that for the entire remaining time?" He asked. Namjoon knew what he was talking about. Namjoon's silent treatment.
Then they looked at the players near them. The sound had brought their attention to them.
"Fine, what are we playing?" Namjoon asked, expression still neutral.
"Why are you in such a hurry?" Namjoon just looked at him. "Are you dying to kill me?" He joked.
"We're playing just one round, we have some time left." The ravenette continued as Namjoon remained silent, not even looking his way. "Let's do it last minute."
"Then what are we going to do until then?" Namjoon asked, expression still neutral.
The boy-or-so-Namjoon-assumed smiled and spoke, "Let's talk."
"Talk about what?"
"Things we couldn't tell other people." He looked at his lap, smile still prominent on his face.
"One of us is going to die here anyway. No matter what we tell each other. There's no reason to feel embarrassed" Then he looked up at Namjoon. "Don't you think?"
It was silent for a long time.
"I thought it'd be better here." Namjoon spoke, making the boy look down at him.
They were currently sitting on the steps of a fake house. Namjoon was four stairs lower than him. "So, is it better?" The boy asked.
Namjoon was silent. "What about your family? Are they here with you?"
"Just my younger brother." Namjoon replied.
"What about your parents?"
"My dad was shot while crossing the river. Then drifted down. My mom... was caught by the public security officers in China, then sent back."
"Where's your brother?"
"At a children's home."
It was silent again.
"If you leave here with that money, what will you do with it?" The boy asked.
"I will buy a house to live with my brother, then bring my mom back from the North."
"Hey, you can do much more with 40 billion won." Namjoon looked at him now. "Anything else? Is there anywhere you want to go?"
"Jeju island."
"Jeju island?" Namjoon nodded.
"I never got to visit it. Only saw it on TV. It looked exotic and nothing like Korea. My brother wants to go there, so I want to fulfill this for him."
"Hey," The boy giggled a bit. "you have a heart of gold, even if you don't show it. But you gotta dream big, don't you think?"
"You should at least go to Hawaii- no, the Maldives." The ravenette continued. "You know what, let's go together."
At this Namjoon looked back down again and the boy realized what he said. "Right, we can't get out of here together." The ravenette giggled a bit again. But this time, it didn't sound humorous at all.
There was this feeling in Namjoon's chest. It wasn't nice, but Namjoon couldn't quite put his finger on it.
Quite a lot of time passed as both of them just sat there. "Player 002, eliminated."
"Have you ever seen a dead person before you came here?" The boy asked.
"A plague broke out in my town when I was a kid. There were dead bodies everywhere, everyday. Soldiers piled up the bodies and burned them. That's when my grandma, grandpa, and older brother- all burned up." Namjoon finished.
"I've got to say, your stories are way too dark."
"You?" Namjoon caught him off-guard. "What about you?"
The boy looked like he was contemplating something. "Player 130, eliminated."
"The first one I saw," He started. "was my mom's dead body." Then he continued.
"One day, coming back from school, I found her dead on the floor at home. And next to her, was my so-called dad with a knife in his hand. The next dead person I saw... was my dad. And the one standing next to him with a knife, was me." He finished.
"He was a pastor. Whenever he beat my mom, and did the unthinkable to me, he always prayed," Namjoon was about to tell him that he didn't need to tell him if he didn't want to, but the ravenette continued.
"that our sins be forgiven. But he didn't pray the day he killed my mom." He stopped for a bit. "Maybe he knew his sins couldn't be forgiven." Namjoon was silent and speechless.
The clock showed that they had only six more minutes to go.
How could he be so nonchalant and unfazed after everything that has happened to him? Well Namjoon was the one to talk. He was no different.
"What will you do? If you leave here with the money?" Namjoon was the one who asked.
"I haven't thought about it." He looked like he just figured something out. But Namjoon couldn't quite read him. "Someone was waiting for me. When I was released from prison."
"I thought he was a creditor who came to me to collect dad's debt." He continued. "But he gave me a business card." Namjoon looked at him. "That weird card."
"I just came because I had nowhere else to go. So I haven't thought about what would I do if I get out." He looked down from the sky.
"Should we go to Jeju together?" He joked, but then realized what he said. "Sorry. My mistake again."
"Player 229, eliminated."
There were only two minutes left as Namjoon stood up. "Player 158, eliminated." "Let's do it." He spoke to the boy and the ravenette nodded, standing up.
"Whoever throws a marble closer to that wall, wins." The ravenette suggested. "What do you think?"
"It's Namjoon." The ravenette looked confused.
"What is?"
"My name." Then he was hit with a sense of Deja Vu.
"What's your name?"
"Why do you ask?"
"I just want to know."
"Well, I don't find it necessary."
"Kim Namjoon." Namjoon continued.
"Namjoon." The ravenette repeated. Then smiled. "Nice name." Namjoon turned to look at him.
"What about you?"
"Seokjin." Seokjin smiled and responded.
Seokjin. Such a beautiful name. Suits him. Namjoon thought, but didn't word out.
"Family name?"
Seokjin kept smiling. "Don't have one." And Namjoon got the hint.
"Who should go first?"
"You can go first." Seokjin replied. "Your number is before mine too."
Namjoon got ready to throw the marble and then threw it. It was quite close to the wall. "Your turn."
Seokjin looked like he contemplated something, but then nodded.
Then he moved forward to throw the marble, but dropped it. It was intentional. Namjoon saw, and it snapped something inside him.
"What are you doing?!" Namjoon grabbed his arm.
"I lost." Seokjin replied with a smile.
"What do you think you're doing?!"
"The marble just slipped."
"Team up with me."
"Why should I?"
"You don't have a partner, neither do I."
"So?"
"Are you gonna ask these scums to be your partner? How embarrassing."
"To win, I'm willing to do anything."
"Then team up with me. I'll make sure you win."
"Is this what you meant? When you told me you'll make sure I win?" Namjoon wasn't even yelling anymore. He was crying. He couldn't help it. Nor could he stop his tears.
"Do you think I'll be thankful?! Throw it again!"
"Even if I did, I wouldn't be able to win any way." Namjoon looked at him incredulously. What was he on about?
"Just let me lose in style." Seokjin was bullshitting, and Namjoon? He knew that really well.
"Stop acting cool and just fucking throw it again!" He tried to yell, but as he was crying, it came out weak.
"I don't have anything." Now tears were streaming down Seokjin's face too.
"What?"
"I don't have anything to go back to." He smiled, yet the tears falling down his face indicated something else. "You do. You have a reason to go back. I have nothing." Stop smiling... Please...
Somehow, Seokjin's smiles hurt Namjoon more than it had hurt him when his father died. "Daseot, net, set..." The robotic voice spoke from the speakers.
Namjoon had his back turned towards Seokjin as one of the guards started to guide him towards the exit. The other one was ready to kill Seokjin as soon as the clock struck 0.
"Hey, Kim Namjoon." Namjoon's steps halted. He could hear the smile in his voice.
"Thanks," What was he thanking him for? Namjoon had never done anything for him. "for p-playing with me." He completed, his voice coming out shaky. Bang.
"Player 092, eliminated."
Namjoon heard both the sounds. The sound of a rifle going off and the sound of a corpse falling. Seokjin's corpse.
As Namjoon was led towards the exit, the huge gape at his heart was making it harder for him to breathe. And he knew, that gape couldn't be ever filled again.
Because the largest piece of the gape was with the only person Namjoon realized he had loved beside his brother. Seokjin...
Even though he wanted to, Namjoon couldn't scream. His expression hardened again. As hard and expressionless as a rock. In order to survive, he couldn't let anyone see him weak.
He looked unbreakable from the outside. But inside, were broken down walls and a tempest ready to be let out...
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Hey guys- well I have no rights to say hey guys after this lmfao-
So yeah. This part with Sae-byeok and Ji-yeong fucking broke my heart and I cried. And also, I was inspired by this fanart:
If you look at Namjoon and Seokjin's panel, you'll see that Seokjin was throwing the marble towards the wall, with his fake smile, while Namjoon was waiting behind him with his usual neutral expression.
But look closely, he's... crying.
I didn't know if I was heartbroken, wanted to cry or squeal when I saw this fanart. Whoever who made this, I hate you, but I love you.
So yeah, that concluded that Seokjin and Namjoon were Ji-yeong and Sae-byeok.
Im not saying who is who because I don't wanna spoil for someone who hasn't watched squid game yet. Unlike someone over here *cough* Quiindom *cough*
I hope y'all cried :)
No need to thank me, ik im great
I love you tooooooooo (个_个) 💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜
also, if you're wondering about the title of the oneshot,,
(플레이어 구십-이, 탈락
Rom: peulleieo gusib-i tallag
Eng: Player 092, eliminated)