ＣＨＡＮＣＥ
❛ ━━━━━━━━･ ❪ ❁ ❫ ･━━━━━━━━ ❜
𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒐𝒄𝒄𝒖𝒓𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒅𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒍𝒐𝒑𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒂𝒃𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒂𝒏𝒚 𝒐𝒃𝒗𝒊𝒐𝒖𝒔 𝒅𝒆𝒔𝒊𝒈𝒏
TAKING THE GOLDEN CONTAINER AND water bottle from Circle 001, (Y/n) smiled warmly at him, watching as he flinched from the look, knowing quite instantly that she had somehow been able to recognize him once again.
"What?" She laughed, being the last one in line so therefore loitering to speak with him more. "Surprised that I knew it was you?"
He didn't say anything, instead only staring at her blankly while the other circle-masked guards around him turned their heads in curiosity at the exchange between the two. The girl could tell he was nervous clear as day from the small, almost undetectable, tremor to his hands that he quickly tried to close off by curling his fingers into fists. She merely shrugged, about to move away but stopping when her eyes flicked upward to the four triangle guards stationed in front of the double doors, guns in their hands, smirking when also recognizing one.
"My, my..." she chuckled, fingers running down her jaw and along her scar as she stared at Triangle 001, her smile hinting that she was entertained by his presence.
I see them so often...
I wonder if this is as interesting for them as it is for me?
"Triangle 001, is that you up there?" She hummed in thought as she moved her hand up to shade her eyes in a faux sense of surprise, ignoring how a hushed murmur had started to spread throughout the other players as they watched her interact with the guards. "I'm quite shocked to see you here... do you come here often?"
It was so silent, one almost could have heard a pin drop.
There was an obvious answer in the air, but she wanted to ask the obvious question to make them lower their guard, to make them assume that she was crazy, to have them only think of her as a person who would be sure to meet an early death. Even though (Y/n) acted as if she didn't give two shits most of the time, as if she enjoyed stringing people along and the gory deaths of those around her, as if she viewed those same people as worthless, she was actually working them in a way that they wouldn't notice.
She would get inside their mind.
She would toy with them and receive the information she wanted.
And then they were of no use to her anymore.
Her training as a soldier had taught her that much, and she wasn't going to abandon that principle now that she was thrown into a space practically embroiled with secrets and treachery.
And she absolutely loved it.
"I'm sure you want to say that you work here, correct?" (Y/n) laughed at her own question even though most everyone was looking at her as if she were crazy. "But isn't it normal to joke around with your friends? Come on, don't be so stiff!"
It seemed as if no one knew what to do with her.
The circle-masked guards looked up to their superiors, but even the triangle-masked guards didn't know how to address her claims.
So they just stayed silent.
However, the one thing that they did do was point their guns at her—even the ones posted at the two side doors doing the same—watching as she did nothing at the action, not even holding her hands up in surrender at the threat. The players behind her flinched though, cowering into their beds even as if the cotton mattresses and blankets could protect them from leaden bullets. It was only then did the square-masked supervisor walk through the doors, his head turning in a way that made it look like he was surveying the scene before his sense of direction eventually landed on a still grinning (Y/n).
"Hello, Square 001," she gave a pleasant wave. "When can you bring Square 002 here? I've already told you that I prefer him over you."
"Player 457," he instead said in his usual monotone voice as he faced her, approaching her and stopping until he was only a mere few feet away from her.
"Yes, Square 001?" She answered sweetly.
"Please refrain from speaking so casually with our staff," he said as he gestured with his hand to those behind him who still had their eyes and guns on her. "It interferes with their work and also hinders the equality of the games."
"Does it, though?" She tilted her head with a scoff as she tapped her water bottle against his chest. "Does it really bother them so much when I am talking to them?"
"Yes."
"How do I know that, though? You answered for them."
"H-Hey!" Someone shouted from behind her, she turning to see that it was player 322, his finger now pointing at her rather shakily. "Can't you just shut up!? If your behavior keeps up, you crazy woman, you might ruin our chance of being able to compete! After everything I've been through, I'm not going home without that cash!"
"Yeah!" Player 212 agreed with him, running her hand through her wild and curly hair. "To think that someone like you amused with a person's death is still here... just stay out of everyone else's way and maybe you won't end up dead with us laughing at you instead."
"They can't kill me," (Y/n) laughed at the prospect. "And neither can you..."
"How about we bet on that?" Sang-woo stared hard into the girl's eyes as he stood up from his seated position where he had been eating lunch with Ali, player 001, and player 456.
"To see who lasts longer...?" (Y/n) hummed, amused by the thought.
"Yeah... why not?"
The two approached each other and met in the middle of the room, (Y/n) with a haughty smirk that lit her entire features while Sang-woo's face was a hard mask that didn't showcase any of his emotions, a tense and almost pliable energy now crackling through the room.
"I bet... all of the prize money that you die first," she said as she held out her hand.
He merely stared at it.
"What?" She scoffed at his hesitance. "You scared?"
"No..." he finally looked up and met her eyes while at the same time clasping her hand and giving it a firm shake, ignoring the jolt that ran through him at the contact. "Deal."