Months went by and it was finally (Y/N) graduation, she wore her black cap and gown as she walked down the auditorium, receiving her diploma. Around applause would be heard but none of them would be from her grandfather or Jun-ho. Once the ceremony was over, she watched all of her acquaintances being congratulated by their loved one, some being hugged, getting pat on the back, or being given flowers. A tug of jealousy played with her heart just seeing her classmates hugging their own family members or even speaking to them. A few teachers congratulated (Y/N), yet none of their words actually felt genuine to her. If Wang was alive, she knew that he'd be sincere to her. If he was alive. (Y/N) reminded herself. She exited out of the auditorium, with her diploma in her hand and straight to the parking lot where Jeong-suk was already waiting for her in the black SUV he was in.
Opening the passenger door, (Y/N) got inside already waiting to head home and to head straight to sleep. Considering what's the point of a celebration if there no one to celebrate with? Sure there were her goons, however they would only engage in a celebration in fear of (Y/N), not out of their good heart. Then there was her father, who she had no way to contacting him. Of course she can hired someone to track him down, but knowing the games, that was out of the question. Especially, when he killed Jun-ho. Why am I even judging? I am no different from him. And (Y/N) would be correct, she killed people, even if she had ordered it, or it was by her hands. The woman that had murder her two relatives, did eventaully ratted out the people who had order, the kill. Once she revealed all the information she knew, there was no reason to keep her alive. (Y/N) would have to judge her fate.
Jeong-suk informed (Y/N), telling her the next best action would be to order the men to execute her. As her grand-uncle would have done same. The piece of advice from Jeong-suk, made (Y/N) agreeing with him. She ordered the execution, and her men took care of it. Each order that she had commanded, made her head just drain as if someone was drinking the life out of her. It resulted in her hardly being 'happy.' I should have died back in games. It's all because of that goddamn money. The money she had won back in the games, she didn't even need it. Nor did she even touch it. (Y/N) was given all of her grand-uncle fortunate of money. Which covered her debt, including her grandfather, that had passed onto her.
The sun was slowly setting down, and (Y/N) head laid against the window, being zoned not caring if Jeong-suk was judging her or not. She was aware that he wasn't much of a talker unless it involved helping her to become a respected and feared leader. Jeong-suk glanced back at the rear-view mirror, seeing how (Y/N) looked depressed. Though he didn't have a good grasp of words, he tried to congratulate her since her grand-uncle would have wanted him to do so. Even if it is willingly or forcibly.
"Your grand-uncle and grandfather would be proud of you. You know?" Jeong-suk told her, trying to sound authentic.
"Don't pretend to sound..... genuine." (Y/N) muttered out.
"Understood." Jeong-suk responded by not trying to pretend anymore.
The rest of the car ride was silent until arrived at her new home, which was an apartment but more luxurious. They had sold her grandfather's place but (Y/N) continued paying for her uncle's place, since she couldn't dare to get rid of it. Academy will be starting soon and she will have to continue on with life. Originally she was supposed to be going to university but somehow, she was accepted into the police academy.
A year would go by, and now (Y/N) had escaped away from Jeong-suk sight, and was now walking past a couple of skyscrapers. Rarely would she be able to go out by herself, especially in the middle of night since everyone feared she'd be killed if she did. Regardless of Jeong-suk worries, (Y/N) just needed fresh of breath air. When strolling around, an older woman walked towards her direction holding a blue bucket of red roses, which grabbed (Y/N) attention.
"Excuse me, would you buy some flowers?" She asked kindly.
"Of course." (Y/N) said, pulling her wallet out.
She handed the woman the cash where she thanked her gransousily, as she gave (Y/N) the rose before walking away. She looked down at the rose she had bought, to see a small envelope with a pink ribbon attached to it. Her eyes widened. She opened the envelope, to see it was a card similar to the one that the salesman guy had given her a year prior. On the card it had given her time and location where to go.
December 24, 11:30 P.M.
Sky building 6TH Floor
Frontman
What does he want? (Y/N) wondered. Abruptly, her phone started to ring and it showed Jeong-suk was calling her. Where then it followed with many messages demanding her of where she was at. That's when she switched her phone off knowing that Jeong-suk had probably begun to track her down. So hurriedly, she headed straight to the location where the card had stated, not wanting to waste a single second. Entering the building, she went to the elevator, and once inside, the doors were beginning to close until a hand prevented it from being shut. As the doors reopened, to reveal the hand belonged to Gi-hun once he came into view.
Both of them stayed still like a monument, looking at each other, unsure what to say next. (Y/N) was much taller then Gi-hun last recalled, and at first he assumed she must be wearing heels but she was not. She was wearing a black trench coat, along with boots that surprisingly weren't from an expensive brand. He would have guessed (Y/N) would have bought one of the top brands since most of the young people near her age usually did. That's when he remembered something. Did she even get anything for winning? He had thought about that for a while since receiving that money. He wondered if (Y/N) was given anything? Regardless, he was glad that she was doing well, especially still being alive. (Y/N) on the other hand, looked at Gi-hun in concern, his hair grew much longer, including growing a mustache within a year. Growing your hair was absolutely fine, but it was clear that he hadn't been brushing it in a while. There were even small particles of dust on his clothes that almost smelled like... alcohol?
Snapping out the trance she was in, she moved aside for Gi-hun to step in, which he did. Gi-hun pressed the floor he was heading to and so did (Y/N) as well. It surprised both of them that they were heading to different floors, given that the two assumed that they were meeting the same person, yet they were not. With the elevator closing, the blundering silence consumed them both just like if they were outside of the restroom, back at the games. Except this time, they weren't against each other. In the midst of not wanting to repeat another silence cycle like last time, Gi-hun finally spoke.
"How's school?"
(Y/N) would be lying if she said that she didn't want to chuckle at that question. Out of all of the things he could say, it was about school? She would expect that from Sang-woo or Wang. The more (Y/N) thought about it, Gi-hun could have said something worse considering they had not spoken nor seen each other for a year. Then she pondered, did Gi-hun blame her for what happened?
"It's going well I suppose. Academy isn't fun nor boring." She replied.
Gi-hun quickly turned in (Y/N) direction. "Academy? Impressive. Don't you need a degree to get in?" He questioned.
"You do. But I got accepted, due to recommendation ." (Y/N) told him before looking at him. "You didn't spend a dime, did you?"
"No. Did you?" He questions back looking at her.
"No." (Y/N) admitted.
Gi-hun heavily sighed. "You don't have to lie. I understand if you did."
"I'm not actually. I needed the money for my family member's treatment but unfortunately they passed away the day I came back. That's when I inherited the money that they had left." (Y/N) told Gi-hun, while lying to him to some degree.
It's true she did inherit money but that was from her grand-uncle not from her Grandfather. Since his debt was added onto (Y/N) until she paid it fully off from her grand-uncle's money, which she only used. A sorrowful expression came over Gi-hun, who realized she also suffered another loss just like him. Gi-hun didn't have time to reply back to (Y/N), with the elevator doors opening to the sixth floor.
"It was good seeing you again, Gi-hun." (Y/N) told him before walking out of the elevator.
She walked further to the almost empty floor as she heard the doors close right behind her. (Y/N) looked around the floor to see her father looking out of the window with his back turned away from her. When she stood right next to him, that's when his head turned towards her.
"I'm glad you came." He said with a smile.
"Of course Frontman. Why did you ask for me?"
"Please don't call me that here." In-ho said being displeased. "Congratulations on getting into the academy."
"Thanks...."
(Y/N) was uncertain to respond next, even feeling nervous being around him. Needless to say, she wasn't going to openly show how anxious she was.
"Due to the last time we spoke was very uneventful, I thought it would be a good idea if we talked about what had happened-" (Y/N) interrupted. "I don't need theapertical talk if that's what you're suggesting."
"Very well." In-ho backed off. "But I do have to ask, why haven't you spent a single penny from the money that you've earned."
"No point in needing it." (Y/N) said truthfully. "My grandfather died and my debt is paid off."
"Then how is your debt-" (Y/N) interrupted. "Why am I here again? Since I'm sure you brought me here for another purpose than just having a normal conversation that is slowly going unpleasant the more you speak." She snapped.
(Y/N) was not willing to inform him of the position that she held, considering nothing good would come from it. And if she did, she was not ready to explain how she was in control of the second feared gang in South korea. So she made sure to make it known to her father to get straight to the point of the reason why she was even here in the first place. Reluctantly In-ho did, even if he tried to talk to his daughter about anything else, it was evident, she wasn't interested in having a 'normal' conversation with him.
"Alright then. My boss, that you are aware of being player one, is offering you a position to join us." In-ho revealed to her.
A position? All the things (Y/N) expected him to say, it certainly wasn't that. Why would the elderyman offer her a position? Were they offering Gi-hun a position as well? Or was it just her? If it was just her, then it's most likely they're only offering her this position due to her being the daughter of the Frontman. If that was the case, it was clear player one favored her father. How the odds were in her favor. She could easily accept his proposal but how could she? She'd be betraying every one of her friends if she joined the individuals that had gotten them all killed. That's when she thought of Gi-hun. How would he react to her joining them? She was still unsure if Gi-hun hated for not ending the game. Most importantly why was she even considering being involved with them any further then she already had.
She was already a leader of a gang that was very much a gamble on a daily basis. It's also difficult enough being in Academy, in which many of her fellow comrades question how she got in the first place. Especially being a young female in that matter.
In-ho noticed her uncertainty to join or not, so he waited patiently while hoping she'd say yes to the idea. He really wanted to have a relationship with his daughter, even if he wasn't there for the last couple of years. The more he waited, doubt was settling his head, causing him to bite his lips.
"No." (Y/N) finally told him
"May I ask why?"
"Well if I joined, what's stopping you from killing me? If you can kill your own brother?"
"I can assure that I'll never harm you."
"Unless you were ordered to, correct?"
"It's Highly unlikely I'd be put in that situation. Is that the only thing you're afraid of?"
"It's not that I'm afraid of, it's why should I even join? My life is already going well and I don't want to continue digging my grave any further."
"Your grave was already dug when you joined the game. You can hardly go even deeper."In-ho told her.
"Why are you still trying to convince me to join you? Isn't me saying no, enough?"(Y/N) said, crossing her arms.
"You'd be safer if you joined."
"Safe?" (Y/N) scoffed. "I was hardly even safe when I was there."
"But then you came back, when you had a chance to not participate in the games."
"That's because at the time I didn't have a choice."(Y/N) raised her voice. "I needed to pay for my grandfather's treatment."
In-ho briskly inattentively replied "Yet in the end, he didn't make it."
As quickly as In-ho had said that, immediately he regretted it, realizing what he had done. Why did he snap at his daughter like that? The small attempt he had made trying to convince her to join, was gone in a blink of an eye because of his impatience. However he wasn't incorrect in his statement, but it did cross the line for (Y/N).
"I didn' mean it like that." He tried to clarify.
"I'm sure you didn't."
"(Y/N) listen to me."
"Why the hell should I?" She exclaimed as she began to walk away.
"Because I'm your father and-" At an instant (Y/N) smacked him across his face resulting in him staying silent.
"I DON'T GIVE A DAMN if you're my father." She burst out. "Should I even call you that? Since a real father wouldn't abandon his daughter."
For once (Y/N) words jeer into In-ho core while the pain from cheek burned like lava. He watched as his daughter stepped inside the elevator, with the doors sealing shut right behind, preventing him to say anything back to her. Once (Y/N) was back on the ground-level, she exited out from the complex to see it was still snowing. She activated her phone back on to see all of the wonderful messages Jeong-suk had left for her. She tried to laugh the messages off like she usually would, but after from yelling at In-ho, her mind rapidly begun to be overwhelmed. She shove her phone back in her pocket and started to head the to the nearby river. The hatred that she held a year ago was still stronger than ever, as if she hadn't fully coped with it. Where in fact, she had not. (Y/N) couldn't exactly express her emotions when all eyes were on her on a daily basis. If she even dare to whimper, people would consider her weak. If she laughed too much, she was considered to be easily exploited.
She had lived up to a high expectation because of her grand-uncle ruthless, and she did not want their image to be damaged due to her being fragile. On account of that, she tried to forget about events that occurred in the games, pushing those memories away from her head in hopes they would delete themselves. If only that was possible for (Y/N) sake. As she stood before the gloomy river, she knelt down onto her knees and gazed at calm waves in front of her. Her right eye began watering up and when trying to prevent a tear to leak down to her cheek, a familiar voice spoke.
"(Y/N)?"Gi-hun said as he walked closer. "Are you alright?'
"I'm fine." She mumbled in an attempt to hide her shudder voice.
Unlikely for her, Gi-hun noticed. He went ahead and sat right next to her, who continued on not looking at him. Since (Y/N) was still fighting the tear off.
"I know we weren't exactly left on good terms but, I'm concerned you're not fine as you make it seem like."
"I say the same thing to you. No offense." She muttered.
"None taken." He paused. "Whoever you met, I assume it also reminded you of the games."
(Y/N) nodded her head knowing if she spoke again, her voice was surely going to crack.
"It's not your fault. It's none of our fault."
Gi-hun put his arm over (Y/N) shoulder, and in return she sobbed into his chest. The relief she had finally being able to cry without fearing to be judged was all (Y/N) needed. This was the only opportunity that she'll ever get to shed a tear, so she might as well take it all out right now. Gi-hun hugged her, making sure she knew it was all alright for her to weep. They stayed in that position for a long while, until all the tears from (Y/N) vision had vanished. Resulting (Y/N) to return to her normal self once again finally letting go of the hug that Gi-hun embraced. She thanked Gi-hun for being considerate and he replied by handing her glasses. A smile appeared on (Y/N) lips, finally being reunited with her beloved glass for the second time.
After that day, (Y/N) mental stability became slightly better. Gi-hun had called her a few hours earlier that he'd be visiting his daughter who lived in the United States. Which made (Y/N) pleased that he was going to visit his daughter. When She finished all the paperwork back at the academy, she decided to take a stroll in a nearby park since it was in the direction where Jeong-suk was waiting for her. With many people passing by her every minute, she stopped turning her head around to see who was creeping up on her. Out of her misfortunate, A handsome familiar person stood right beside her, keeping up the same paste as (Y/N).
"I assume you won." The Salesman said.
"What do you want?" (Y/N) retored.
"Oh nothing, I'm just here to deliver a gift." He handed (Y/N) a small black box with a pink ribbon attached to it. A wide smirk was plastered on his face. "If you change your mind."
And with that the salesman continued on his way leaving (Y/N) to stay still holding the small box in her hand. Now wondering what was in there? That's when she realized, the games will be starting soon. And that the new players fates, will be judged.
Published: 4/3/2022
THANK YOU GUYS FOR 7K VIEWS. I fully appreciate that your somehow still reading this story, And also Waiting patiently for my slow writing.