Chapter Text
"Are they serious?" Dae-Hyun wondered aloud. He looked at the blond boy beside him as if he would know the answer, brows raised curiously.
Player 342, or, Ri Jung-Nam, grinned back at him, and while ignoring Dae-Hyun's question, asked something else. "Want to bet who finishes first?" He tilted his head toward the finish line as the lady over the intercom continued in the background.
Dae-Hyun looked away from him and scoffed through his nose, unable to hide the forming of a smile. He turned back to Jung-Nam, who was now looking at him expectantly.
"A million won." Dae-Hyun couldn't turn down a bet, even while in debt. He knew that this was something Jung-Nam knew, of course, considering their past together. Years and years of growing up in the same neighborhood and going to the same school would do that. They didn't know each other well, only sharing one class together in high school, but since they were both here and talking together again, Dae-Hyun figured that there was no harm in trying to reconnect with someone he hadn't seen in over a year. Something in Jung-Nam's expression changed, his eyebrows rising and his eyes shining in amusement. "Deal?" Dae-Hyun asked, shifting closer to the other.
"Man, damn it." He laughed, "Deal."
"Those who cross the finish line without getting caught in five minutes, pass this round," The voice explained, Jung-Nam and Dae-Hyun both preparing to run. In the corner of his eye, Dae-Hyun could see that everyone else was getting in a jogging position. Good. Dae-Hyun didn't want any competition in this race between himself and Jung-Nam.
"Then let the game begin."
He lay covered in blood that did not belong to him, chest rising and falling rapidly and eyes watering. His clothes were filthy and his ears were ringing. If it weren't for Jung-Nam gripping tightly onto his hands while crouching next to him, he would be curled into a shaking ball. The sun was too bright- it made Jung-Nam's ridiculously colored hair too bright. The other boy was just as shaken up as he was, undoubtedly, but Dae-Hyun couldn't find it in himself to care. With a shudder, he closed his eyes and squeezed his companion's hands.
"Are they dead?" The blond asked seconds after, as if only then remembering that someone was with him. Keeping his eyes closed, Dae-Hyun clenched his jaw. "They are, aren't they?" His voice was quieter now and Dae-Hyun didn't need to see his face to know that tears were dripping down his chin.
Seemingly not satisfied with the lack of response, he let go of his hands and moved to get up, "Maybe if-" He was cut off by a sound from above. Finally, Dae-Hyun's eyes fluttered open and he watched with Jung-Nam and the other survivors as a ceiling closed in, leaving them all in a room that smelled of blood and an uncomfortable silence hung in the air.
"They're dead," Jung-Nam confirmed in almost a whisper, his voice cracking at the end. Dae-Hyung wanted to snap at him. He wanted to get up and punch something- or someone. He wanted to bang on the walls and plead with whoever was behind this to let them go, and that he promised to pay off all of his debts soon. Instead, he swallowed thickly and looked up at Jung-Nam, and with a broken voice, uttered, "When'll I see that a million won?"
Everyone was quickly escorted back into the room with bunk beds by the masked men in pink. As they all left the vicinity, they remained in complete, terrified silence. Even Jung-Nam, who was someone who almost always had something to say, or have some snarky joke to crack, said nothing while walking behind Dae-Hyun.
The pink men left without an explanation of any kind, the doors sliding closed. "I was almost eliminated," Jung-Nam said suddenly, Dae-Hyun's gaze quickly moving toward the blond. Their gazes met and the other boy continued, "I almost fell, you saw it. I caught myself just as the doll was turning." Unnerved by the eye contact, Jung-Nam looked away as he finished, "Do you remember who died first?"
"I don't know. I don't remember the number that was announced," Dae-Hyun confessed. Jung-Nam nodded in acknowledgment and the two continued walking toward the back of the room. They sat down together at the end of a bed, on the cold ground. Dae-Hyun hadn't noticed it before, but this room did not have windows. He supposed that he couldn't be all that surprised. This building was different from what he initially expected it to be. With the realization that this place was lacking in windows, he confirmed that they were definitely underground. If the ceiling above them in the last room closing in like that wasn't enough evidence, this observation surely was. They were underground in some sort of facility and people were dying.
"Player 306. Eliminated," Dae-Hyun almost smiled at that, letting out a small scoff under his breath.
"Damn it. I thought for a second she was going to say your number, idiot," He said, raising his voice a little so that the blond could hear him. Jung-Nam chuckled ahead of him, almost moving to turn his head to throw him a smile.
"Awww, you remember my number?" Jung-Nam cooed. Dae-Hyun scoffed again and was about to respond, when a deafening bang rang out, speeding past him and hitting someone behind him. He froze, his eyes widening slightly. "Was- Hey, Dae-Hyun, what was that? Did you hear that?" A few voices behind him were asking the same question.
"Miss? Are you alright?" Someone said. He kept his gaze locked on the back of Jung-Nam's head, urging himself to not turn to check on what he assumed to be a woman who was eliminated. "Miss?" The person repeated, the sound of shuffling behind him. Whoever was talking must have moved to check on her, just as the doll sang, "Green Light,"
Dae-Hyun finally turned his head to look at the commotion behind him, watching as a young man who was probably only a few years older than him, kneel down beside a woman who was lying on the ground. She was on her back in the man's arms, her head tilted to the side and a large red stain on the center of her chest. Jung-Nam must have turned, too, because he was shouting, "Hey, what's her issue? She's eliminated, she can go!"
"Yeah, she can stop it with the act," Dae-Hyun added in agreement, successfully managing to hide the confusion in his voice. The man holding onto the woman had his fingers pressed to her pulse, and Dae-Hyun held his breath.
"Red Light!" The voice finished singing out playfully. The man lifted his head, fear in his eyes. Even with the distance, Dae-Hyun could see the way that he changed. From confusion and concern straight to terror. He got up in an instant and started to run toward one of the sets of doors, pushing past other contestants.
Another loud bang, a gunshot. Someone screamed and what sounded to Dae-Hyun like a thousand footsteps ran toward the doors as well. People were screaming and he couldn't even hear his own thoughts.
"Dae-Hyun!" Jung-Nam was yelling out over the chaos. In his voice alone, Dae-Hyun could tell that the other boy was tempted to follow the crowd. Maybe it was the waver in his tone as if he were asking a question. Asking 'should we go, too?'.
"Stay put!" Dae-Hyun couldn't even be sure if the other heard him or not, watching as bodies fell and gunshots continuously whizzed past him. With one final gunshot, it ended.
"You can move forward while 'it' shouts out, 'Green Light, Red Light'. If your movement is detected afterward, you will be eliminated."
Silence. The doors and walls were covered in bloodied handprints. Lifeless bodies lay all over the playing field. Dae-Hyun felt hot, suddenly, in the dark green jacket that he had been dressed in.
"Let me repeat. You can move forward while 'it' shouts out, 'Green Light, Red Light.' If your movement is detected afterward, you will be eliminated."
He knew the rules- everyone knew the rules. This was a game they were all used to playing as children. Dae-Hyun didn't remember kids being brutally murdered when they played this game, though. What the fuck was this?"
"Green Light, Red Light!" The voice sang, and Dae-Hyun realized that the voice sounded like that of a young girl. This was creepy. This was... this was bad. He wanted to ask if Jung-Nam was okay, but his lips stayed shut. The only movement he could see belonged to an old man, who was gleefully walking forwards. When she stopped singing, the old man stopped, his scarily large grin never fading.
"Green Light, Red Light!" The old man was advancing, getting closer and closer to where he and Jung-Nam were. He stopped, watching the doll carefully as it likely turned its head to face them all.
It was a wordless agreement amongst them all when the doll shouted "Green Light, Red Light!" again, for everyone to continue the game. Dae-Hyun turned swiftly back to face forwards, running toward a clearly shaken-up Jung-Nam.
"Come on, idiot!" He grabbed the boy's shoulder and forcefully turned him away from the bloody scene, pushing him on a little. They both stopped when the doll stopped singing.
"Are you okay?" Jung-Nam asked.
"Yes, I'm fine. Can't say the same for everyone back there, though," It took everything in his power to not gesture behind him. Two gunshots went off, causing them both to flinch. "Maybe we should ask these questions when we get to the end. We're on a timer, here."
Jung-Nam grunted in agreement.
"Red Light, Green Light!"
Dae-Hyun sprinted for his life, Jung-Nam following closely behind.
A loud buzzing sounded, and the front doors slid open. The lights came on and a group of the pink suited men marched out. Last time, they were unarmed. This time, they had guns. The only one who did not have a weapon wore a square on their mask. Although they all stood tall and with a sense of authority, something told Dae-Hyun that this one, in particular, was not someone to be messed with. At first, he shrunk back and against the metal of the bunk bed's leg, glancing at Jung-Nam and eyeing his movements carefully.
The blond was staring directly at them and when they stopped at the doorway, he looked back at Dae-Hyun curiously, like he was asking if he knew what was going on. Other people were getting to their feet, so within seconds, the two boys were standing next to each other and shifting nervously in place.
"All of you have made it through the first game. Congratulations." Spoke the robotic voice. Dae-Hyun wanted to just rip that mask right off of him and punch the square fucker across the face, because what kind of game was that? It didn't feel like a game at all. "Let me announce the results of the first game." The tv above flickered and his gaze flicked upwards to watch as the big, bold '456' decreased and became '203'.
"Out of 456 players, 253 players were eliminated," The masked man continued, "And 203 players completed the first game." Gasps of surprised players filled the room. Dae-Hyun let out a breath of his own, looking down at his dirty green jacket. It felt hot all of a sudden. Far too hot. When he unzipped his jacket, though, the air changed and he felt cold. Unable to decide on whether or not to keep it zipped, he ended up fidgetting with the zipper with uncertainty.
"Sir!" A woman with long, curly hair emerged from the crowd, her voice broken. "I'm so sorry." She put her hands together and began to rub them together. "I'll make sure I pay off my debts! I'll pay them off at all costs," The woman cried and fell to her knees. "I have a child. I haven't even registered my baby's birth because I haven't named my baby yet!" She whined.
It hurt a little to watch this. This poor woman was at risk of never seeing her child again. Dae-Hyun wasn't a father or anything like that, nor did he ever plan on being one, but he couldn't imagine leaving a baby motherless like that. His gaze moved toward the men in pink and his lips pursed. They must listen to her, yes? She needed to go home.
"Please let me leave," She begged.
"Sir, I'm so sorry," Another woman said, getting in the same position as the last woman. "Please. Please spare my life! I'll find a way to pay off the debts!"
"Please spare me!"
"I want to stop here, please let me go!"
"Please spare my life!"
More and more people joined in, both men and women, pleading for their lives. Dae-Hyun looked away from them and didn't reach out for Jung-Nam when he went to join them.
Before Jung-Nam could even kneel down, the square masked man spoke up. Jung-Nam blinked twice and then stepped back beside Dae-Hyun. "There seems to be a misunderstanding," The masked man claimed. "We are not trying to hurt you or collect your debts. Let me remind you that we're here to give you a chance."
"A chance? You call this a chance?" Someone asked. Dae-Hyun turned his head toward the voice. "You kill us while making us play a kids' game. How is this a chance?"
"We may be in debt," Someone else added, "But that doesn't mean we deserve to die!"
"This is just a game." Square mask said calmly.
"You killed all those people!" The first man said accusingly, "Yet you call this a game?"
"They were simply eliminated for breaking the rules of the game. If you just follow the rules, you can leave this place safely with the prize money we promised." Square mask explained.
"The rules," Jung-Nam whispered, everything quickly becoming background noise to Dae-Hyun. "They make it sound so easy, Dae-Hyun. When your life's at stake, how are you supposed to follow some stupid rules? I can bet that if those pink assholes were in that game, they'd take back what they just said."
"Consent form clause 1: A player is not allowed to stop playing."
"Bullshit!" Jung-Nam shouted with the other outraged players. "You won't get away with this! You're outnumbered!"
Suddenly, the square masked man pulled out a gun and shot upwards, causing the voices to die down instantly and everyone to curl up in a protective ball. Dae-Hyun and Jung-Nam covered their ears with the palms of their hands, yelping at the gunshot. Guns turned toward the crowd, prepared to shoot.
"Consent form clause 2: A player who refuses to play will be eliminated."
Dae-Hyun looked at Jung-Nam, who was still covering his ears with his hands. So much for refusing to play. They were going to die, either way, it seemed.
"Consent form clause 3:," Someone from the players spoke up. Dae-Hyun turned to that voice to find a man with short hair and a pair of glasses, player 218. "Games may be terminated if the majority agrees. Is that correct?" The man had walked forwards almost confidently, or as confidently as one could be in a situation like this.
For a few seconds, player 218 did not get a response.
"I don't remember seeing that in the consent form," Jung-Nam said to Dae-Hyun. Even now, at a time like this, Jung-Nam was an idiot.
"You never read what you sign," Dae-Hyun muttered. "Shut up, now, will you?"
"That is correct," Square mask replied and Dae-Hyun let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding.
"Then let us take a vote," 218 said. "If the majority wish to leave this place, then you must let us go." For the first time since they left the game, Dae-Hyun smiled.
"As you wish, we will take a vote to decide on the termination of the game." Relief flooded the room and people started getting to their feet. "Before we vote, let me announce the prize money accumulated from the first game." Reaching into his pocket, the square masked man pulled out a remote and pressed a button.
The lights shut off instantly and both boys flinched. The piggy bank, which had been empty the first time they saw it, lit up the room with a golden light. Music blared as a long tube entered the piggy bank, and cash began dropping to the bottom of the bank. Everyone watched in interest, lips parting in awe at the sight. It finally ended, the music dying down after the last stacks of cash fell in.
"A total of 255 players were eliminated during the first game. A hundred million won is at the stake for each player. Therefore, 25.5 billion won of prize money has been accumulated so far into the piggy bank. If you wish to give up now, the 25.5 billion won will be sent to the bereaved families of the eliminated players, 100 million won each. However, all of you will return home empty-handed." It was confusing at first, to Dae-Hyun. It took him a moment to take in all of that information. 25.5 billion won... and it could be all his.
"Excuse me."
Dae-Hyun looked away from the golden glow, snapping out of his trance-like state and watching the curly-haired woman from before, the one who had an unnamed baby, raises her hand. "If we make it through all six games," She lowered her hand, "how much do we get?"
"Since there were 456 players," Square mask began answering quickly as if he was waiting for this question, "The total prize money is 45.6 billion won."
Now, Dae-Hyun was gaping. His mouth fell open and his eyes were practically bulging out of his skull. "45.6 billion won?!" Jung-Nam gasped out beside him. "Man, that- wow!" He shook his head and grinned wildly.
"Wow is right," Dae-Hyun agreed. "I could do a lot with that prize money."
"We will now start voting."
The front door to the apartment swung open and Dae-Hyun stepped in silently. His face was terribly bruised and his shirt was wrinkled, but he was smiling. After he locked the door, he let his bag slide off of him and down his arms and onto the floor by his discarded shoes. He crept through the messy apartment with a wobble in his step.
"Dal," Dae-Hyun breathed out when a fluffy white dog came up to him. The small Maltese, Dal, wagged his tail excitedly and reached up to paw at Dae-Hyun's pant leg. The young man smiled down at the animal and reached down to pet the top of his head. "I missed you, I'm happy to see you." The dog circled his legs before trotting back to the doggy bed that he had been resting in.
Typically, dogs were not allowed here. But Dal was a quiet little guy who could easily go unnoticed, even while home alone.
"Something amazing happened today," Dae-Hyun announced. "I was given an opportunity today. An opportunity to fix things," He poked painfully at his cheek, which had been slapped multiple times. "With a cost, of course. But sometimes you need to do things like this to get what you want, yes?"
Clearing his throat, Dae-Hyun collapsed onto the couch and looked at the business card he had received. He flipped it over to look at the number, flipped it again to look at the shapes. "Maybe I could pay rent on time for once. And pay dad back. Maybe go to college, too? The guy said I'd get more money if I played some games. Do you think they could be video games? I'm pretty good at those.
"Maybe it's like a game show. I could go on TV. Imagine everyone's faces from back in high school, hah! Ran Dae-Hyun, on live television! I'll be a star!" He cheered. Dal lifted his head from the bed and watched his human with interest, tail thumping on the edge of the doggy bed. "They would be so proud of me!" Getting his phone out, Dae-Hyun unlocked the device and flipped the business card back to the side that told him the number to call.
It rang only twice before someone on the other end picked up.