CHAPTER SIXTEEN: bathroom
While the group of nineteen people were heading back to the warehouse, Hayoon didn't pay much attention to others. She was walking with her head down, face hid behind blue hair. She forgot about her others teammates, and didn't care to checked who survived and who didn't. The girl still saw the 312's face smiling to her, and she couldn't get rid of this picture.
But as they walked in the big room again, much to surprise, 212 was sitting on the bed with a big smile on her face. She started to talking to 101 who looked confused, but Hayoon didn't care what she was talking about. Gihun was next to her, so he nodded her head to him with a weak smile to tell him that it is great that he is alive.
In this moment, she saw Saebyeok standing a few steps away. Blue haired remembered about others, and felt big relief, seeing her alive. People walk away, each in their one direction.
"Saebyeok,"
Hayoon didn't want to yell her name for others, but she needed her to turn around and notice her. Brunette stopped and looked at the girl. She breathed a sigh of relief.
Hayoon ran to her, and without asking for any permission, she hugged her tightly. She expected 067 to push her away, but she didn't. She embraced her, by putting hands around the body. They both had puffy eyes from crying. Hayoon felt how her heart beat faster.
"You made it" she whispered, closing her eyes
They stood up in each other's arms for an almost two minutes. For those two minutes, Hayoon felt calmed and forget about everything happening around her. People were dying, but all she was thinking at this moment was this warm hug she shared with Saebyeok.
And Saebyeok felt this same way. Her whole body was still shaking after the game played with Jiyeong, but as she was held by Hayoon she felt...safe. The girl's hand was stroking her back, what made her remember her mother, who also did that.
When they finally let go of each other, they both had red cheeks from awkwardness they felt.
"I'm really happy you are alive," said again Hayoon
"Me too"
Hayoon smiled slightly. The girls turned together and walked, to find their teammates that survived, so 456 and someone else.
Hayoon felt weak in her legs as she saw Sangwoo and Gihun sat down on the stairs, big space between them, without talking. Tears came up to her eyes again and her face dropped.
"Oh no...Oh no, no, no..." she sat down on the stairs, hiding her face in her knees which she put up to the chest, "Oh no, poor Ali" she cried
Sangwoo was looking at the sobbing girl, with clenched jaw. He looked away, nervously tapping on the floor with a foot.
Hayoon was thinking about the man and his family, which was waiting for him to come back. About his one year old son. He really expected him to come back. But he didn't.
Sweet, harmless Ali was dead.
｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆ ｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆
Soldiers brought food, so basically just boiled potato. One boiled potato. After a long time of sitting in dead silence, players stood up to walk to the soldiers.
Hayoon didn't move. She was sitting in the same position for nearly twenty minutes. Her face was all swollen and red.
Saebyeok stood up and looked down at the girl. She walked away from her to one of the lines that formed earlier.
Brunette took one potato and water from the soldier, and then put it in her pocket. Then she went to the other line and stood up behind someone, who looked at her and grimaced. Saebyeok give her a gaze, that made woman turn her head back.
067 was a bit nervous when it was her turn to take food. Again. But no one said anything, so she didn't have any troubles.
She went back to the girl, and held her a cold potato. Hayoon looked up and smiled slightly.
"Thank you"
She took food from Saebyeok, who sat down next to her and put two bottles of water between them.
Hayoon ate her portion in silence, while brunette didn't even eat anything. She just stared at the floor, holding a potato in one hand.
"You have to eat," said blue haired
"I feel like I'm gonna throw up," murmured Saebyeok
"Me too. My stomach hurts all the time," Hayoon patted her belly, "Eat this god damn potato and then we gonna figure out what to do next"
067 nodded her head, and took a small bite of food. Hayoon herself didn't want to eat that, she didn't have appetite at all, but it can be only food they're gonna be given in next hours.
"Don't worry about it," she heard Sangwoo trying to comfort Gihun. Player number 001 didn't come back, "He was just an old man you only knew for a few days..."
"Why you have to be so cold-hearted?" scoffed Hayoon, "Show some empathy"
Sangwoo exhaled air loudly, "You see that man over there?"
He pointed with his head at some man which was sitting on the stairs with head down, and food laying next to him. His number was 69.
"His partner was his wife"
Hayoon made a sad face, feeling very sorry for this man. Damn. Loosing your wife in a game like this must be awful.
The man, like as he heard them, stood up on wobbling legs. He walked to the center of the room, getting all the attention.
"Let's just stop all this," he cried, "I can't keep doing this. I can't..." he put his head down
Is he dumb?
Even tho, Hayoon felt extremely bad for him, is he really that stupid, that he want to stop the games when so many players are already dead.
"The majority must agree," continued 69, his face was one big grimace, "Come on, let's get out. Don't any of you want to leave this horrible place? Anyone who wants to go, stand up. Come on"
No one moved.
The man whimpered, "How can you call yourselves human?!" he yelled, "How many of you can continue with this insanity just for the money?!"
Sangwoo stood up from the bed. Hayoon looked at him surprised.
"And what if we stop now?" he asked crying man, "You think your wife will stop being dead if we all go now? And she'll forgive you for letting her get murdered?"
Hayoon furrowed. Even tho he was right, there's no reason to blame this man for his wife's death.
"If you can't keep going, then why are you alive right now?" Sangwoo grabbed 69 by the collar of his jumper, looking at him furious, "You should've been the one who died, not her"
He shook him, and then Hayoon thought that it was going too far. She should just shut up and stay in one place, but no.
As Sangwoo was yelling at the man, who was crying all this time, the girl rushed to him.
"Let him go, you idiot. He just lost his wife, let him mourn," she scoffed
"The majority must agree," continued 69, his face was one big grimace, "Come on, let's get out. Don't any of you want to leave this horrible place? Anyone who wants to go, stand up. Come on"
No one moved.
The man whimpered, "How can you call yourselves human?!" he yelled, "How many of you can continue with this insanity just for the money?!"
Sangwoo stood and Hayoon looked at him surprised.
"And what if we stop now?" he asked crying man, "You think your wife will stop being dead if we all go now? And she'll forgive you for letting her get murdered?"
Hayoon furrowed. Even tho he was right, there's no reason to blame this man for his wife's death.
"If you can't keep going, then why are you alive right now?" Sangwoo grabbed 69 by the collar of his jumper, looking at him furious, "You should've been the one who died, not her"
He shook him, and then Hayoon thought that it was going too far. She should just shut up and stay in one place, but no.
As Sangwoo was yelling at the man, who was crying all this time, the girl rushed to him.
"Let him go, you idiot. He just lost his wife, let him mourn," she scoffed
"What? You want to leave too, huh?" Sangwoo let go 69, and turned to the blue haired girl. She saw in his eyes a kind of insanity
"No, I'm just acting like a human being, and I still have sensitivity in this sick place, comparing to you," she said, "You're frustrated like everyone in here, but you're the one screaming like some psycho on others"
Sangwoo clenched his teeth, looking at the girl who stood up with her arms crossed on the chest. Half of the players were watching them and other half was avoiding eye contact, scared that they are gonna be next target of Sangwoo who looked around them to see if anyone has something to say.
Hayoon turned around on one leg, and came back to Saebyeok, who didn't even looked up. She sat down and noticed how her friend is very pale on the face.
"Are you okay?" she asked worried
"I feel sick," murmured Saebyeok
"Come on. We can go to the bathroom, splash some water on face or something"
Hayoon stood up again, and took the other girl by her arm. They went to the smaller doors that were in the corner of the warehouse, and after asking a soldier to take them to the bathroom, he opened the door.
Way to the bathroom was different from this, which they were going for next games. It was a smaller corridor, where you couldn't see others stairs or something.
The girls were let to the room. The doors behind them closed, and it was the only moment they were given any privacy.
"I'm going to toilet," said Saebyeok
Hayoon nodded her head, but she was very concerned about brunette's health at this moment.
As the door closed behind her, Saebyeok tilted her head to the toilet bowl. The food that she ate earlier, left her stomach through her mouth.
Hayoon hearing these sounds, didn't even have time to wash her hands or anything, she opened the doors of toilet without a question. 164 made a sad face and rushed to help the girl. She grabbed her hair, and held them behind, so they wouldn't fell on her face.
Saebyeok started coughing, feeling a gross taste in her throat and mouth. Hayoon patted her on her back, for that long as she didn't stop. She really tried not to grimace from the foul odor, which also make her want to throw up.
"I feel like I'm again in some nightclub in the city with a random girl that got totally wasted"
Hayoon giggled, but she noticed that Saebyeok was sobbing, "You're alright?"
Hayoon tuck brunettes hair behind her ears. 067 sat down on the dirty floor, leaning on the wall and breathing heavily
"She sacrificed herself. She sacrificed herself for me to live," said brunette, closing her eyes
"Who? 240?"
Saebyeok nodded head, "Her name was Jiyoung," both girls were sitting, facing each other. In one cabin there wasn't much space, so they had to put their legs up, "She said that she didn't have anyone outside, so I'm the one that should live"
Hayoon wasn't sure what to say. This situation was very familiar to this that she had to go through with 312.
Hayoon bit her cheek, looking down at her hand, "The woman I played with, was winning almost every time. When I had two marbles left, she had fourteen. Funny, because I picked the game we played, and I picked the one that I suck in. But later she scattered her marbles that she already won, and let me score the ones left"
The girls sat in dead silence, before someone knocked on the doors of the bathroom loudly.
"Give us a second!" yelled Hayoon to the soldier
Saebyeok smirked a little, and with her sleeve of jumper she rubbed her cheeks and chin.
The blue haired girl stood up, feeling her legs go numb. She tapped 067 on the arm.
"Come on, you look like death"
The girls walked out from the cabin, and both stood up in front of the sinks. Saebyeok took off her jumper and started to washing her face and mouth as Hayoon was untucking her own hand, where she had wrapped a piece of shirt to hide her cut. It looked better, the blood stopped flowing a long time ago, and it didn't burn or anything. Blue haired dropped the dirty cloth on the ground along with her jumper, and started to wash hands, along with face and neck and every piece of skin that was visible.
"You know..." started blue haired, while rubbing her arm, "Maybe if we both can make it to the finale... We can split the money between us? Then we could both win and still have around 20 billion won. That's enough for me, I don't know about you but..."
"You think they would let us? Lets assume that both of us would be in the finale, so like the most interesting part of these games. They wouldn't let us do that, it would be boring for them"
Hayoon clenched her lips in a straight line. The girl was right, but she didn't really want to think that way then. She really thought that they could both survive and get back to their families.
"But we can try to do that... Just try to survive to the finale and then we gonna figure out what to do"
Saebyeok nodded her head, even tho this idea was too optimistic for her.
Hayoon put on her jumper, ignoring the fact that her arms were still wet. When she was a kid, she hated the feeling of clothes sticking to her body after taking a bath. But now it didn't annoy her that much.
"You asked me about the father of my son," she said, brushing her hair with fingers. Saebyeok turned her head to her
"If you don't want to talk about..."
"No, it's fine," she murmured. Soldier banged on the doors again, "Five minutes!"
Hayoon sat on the ground. Saebyeok put on her jumper and sat next to the girl.
"I was in a relationship with a boy who was three years older than me. I was sixteen, he was nineteen," she started, playing with her fingers, "I'm not sure if I ever loved him, it was very confusing for me. Maybe at the beginning of our relation. We date for almost seven months, when he started to be very...possessive. I'm not sure if it's the right word to describe him. But he always wanted to know what I'm doing, and I was supposed to be always there for him, even if he wasn't this way for me"
Saebyeok was listening to the girl with concerned face, seeing that it isn't so easy for her to talk about this.
"And it was a time in my life, when I started...let's say, experiment with my feelings and other people. Something like that," chuckled Hayoon, scratching her neck nervously, "So when, I lost all my feeling for Jongwook, my boyfriend, and I was tired of the way he treated me, I decided to confess him, that..." she took a deep breath, "That I find girls attractive too, he...well, he was angry. Like really angry. He screamed at me some slurs, and he said that he will make me change my mind. To make his point he...we...well more he..." Her lower lip trembled a little. "Nine months later, I had a baby. Either I wanted that or not"
One tear rolled down from the corner of the eye.
"But it was a long time ago, so I'm okay now," she smiled slightly
Saebyeok moved a bit closer to Hayoon, and put her arm on girl's arms.
"I'm really sorry that you had to go through this," she said
Blue haired tilted her head and put it on Saebyeok's arm, "Thank you"
"You asked me about my favorite book from childhood..." said 067, making Hayoon look at her, "On my thirteen birthday, my father wanted to give me a present, that no one else had. So in a secret, he got with suspicious guys, who sold him a book. Typical book for kids, with moral story and sweet pictures. But it was forbidden in North. I'm not sure if he knew that, or if he didn't. But because of this book, he was killed"
Hayoon looked at the girl, which gaze was directed in the floor, "I am so sorry"
Saebyeok nodded her head, and 164 hugged her tighter. That poor girl.
They sit like that for a while, when 164 stood up, and brunette followed her move.
"Do you need a bandage?" asked 067, pointing at Hayoon's hand
"Oh, no, I don't think so..." she raised her palm to look at it again
"I think you should hide it," Hayoon furrowed at the girl, "Just so you don't seem weak"
"It is literally just a cut, and you act like I have lost my hand," she laughed, and Saebyeok gets amazed by her laugh for a second
Even tho the girl said she doesn't need any type of cover, 067 started to ripping off her shirt on the bottom, what already was ripped a bit. While she was doing it, Hayoon have a thought that it looked very hot.
"Give me your hand," she said calmly
164 did what she asked her for. Brunette hold her hand on hers, and started to wrapping a piece of shirt around her palm. She did that very slowly and carefully. Saebyeok was focused on the girl's hand, while Hayoon was focused on her face.
067 took both ends of the tshirt, and tied this in a small bow. Hayoon smiled to her, but she didn't smile back, she didn't even look at the girl.
"What about you?" asked 164, tucking hair behind ears
She turned her head to look in a mirror. Her reflection made her grimace. She looked like death.
"What about me?" repeated Saebyeok confused
"Any ex boyfriend?" Hayoon tried to hold her tongue to not ask about girlfriend, but she did it anyway, "Or girlfriend"
"No. I always had others things on my mind"
Hayoon took a step forward, and started to fixing brunette's fringe, looking at her forehead.
"Is there something on your mind right now?"
It could be a dumb question, considering the fact where they are with what people, but it wasn't exactly what she meant.
Their faces were very close to each other. Hayoon stopped fixing girl's fringe, and just stared in her eyes.
Saebyeok, even tho she looked calm on the outside, was panicked on the inside. 067 felt these typical butterflies in stomach, what she never felt before.
Everything was happening so fast.
In one moment they were crying over others players, seconds later they are talking about one of them probably dying in next hours, bad memories from life outside, and now they are standing from each other about the centimeters. How the hell one thing led to another.
"I like you Saebyeok," whispered Hayoon as she put delicately her hands of girl's cheeks. She didn't plan on confessing her fucked up feeling to this girl that she knew only for a few days, but words came out from her mouth just like that, "I'm not sure if it's love or anything, the only thing I know is that I like you better than everyone else. But I'm not gonna do anything without your consent"
067 knew what she meant. And she knew what would happen if she's gonna say yes. And with that awareness, she nodded her head.
Hayoon moved her face even closer, their noses touched. Even tho, Saebyeok agreed, she felt guilty when she put her lips on hers, slowly kissing them. Feeling of guilt, disappeared right after brunette kissed her back. 067 placed her arms on Hayoon's lower back, holding them together.
This kiss wouldn't be described as soft, with a taste of peach and much passionate. But for Hayoon all of these things weren't important. The important thing was that, that she shared this kiss with Saebyeok. She moved one hand from her cheek to put this in the brown hair, were a bit wet from water that she splashed earlier on her face. Saebyeok's hands were moving on Hayoon's back, giving her goosebumps.
This moment could last longer, if it wasn't soldier who walked to the bathroom.
The girls stopped kissing, at the same moment, twisting their heads to look at the pink soldier who just stood up there frozen. All three people blushed, even tho the girls couldn't see it under the soldier's mask.
Hayoon let go Saebyeok, and the girl did the same, putting her hands in pockets.
"Fine, we're coming," said 164, rolling her eyes
Blue haired couldn't stop the smile that appeared on her face, as she walked from the bathroom, passing by the soldier, Saebyeok right behind her.
And as they were walking in the tight corridor back to the warehouse, 164 could feel a hand reaching out for her. The girls hold together, holding by pinky fingers.
Hayoon's smile became even bigger.
a/n
To be honest, I don't really know what to say😭 This was the biggest emotion rollercoaster, comparing to others and literally everything happened here. I didn't even plan on things took turn this way, but it happened, so what can I do now....
Hope you guys liked this, and you are looking forward for next chapter.