drunk dazed | squid game

iii. ddakji

THE SEOUL STREETS WERE unusually quiet that night. Seohyun shivered as she counted the money in her hand before putting it away. The drunk man she had just given a handjob was already on his way down the street, stumbling down the crumbling sidewalk. She knew she would eventually get more business as the hours dragged on, especially as people were out partying and needed a quick release to keep them going.

She hoped she would get more people. She had bills due any day, and her landlord didn't let her forget that they were behind on rent as it was. Her mom offered money to help but Seohyun turned her down for she knew she could handle it herself. Her mom could see it on her face that she was exhausted, but Seohyun denied it was a strained smile on her face as she always did.

The streets stayed silent for the next hour, so Seohyun took to wandering up and down the street.  Occasionally a car passed, casting her a dirty look before moving on. She was eventually about to give up and return home for the night, when she saw a man in a suit approaching her from the sidewalk.

He wore a freshly ironed suit and tie, his hair was neatly combed and swept back. He held a briefcase by his side, and he gave off the essence of a successful businessman. He approached her with a smile, resting his briefcase on the sidewalk. Depending on what he wanted from her, she knew she could make some easy money.

"Hi," she smiled, her eyes admiring the way the suit hugged his body, shielding his obvious muscles from the crisp night air. He was very attractive, which only increased her excitement. "What can I do for you?" She offered.

"Actually, I was wanting to see if I could talk to you," he responded to which Seohyun got very confused. The only time someone wanted to talk to her was if they wanted to fuck her in the back of their dirty car, but this mans intentions were different.

"About what?" She questioned, casting a glance at the mans briefcase. "If you're trying to sell me something or this is some religious shit them I'm not interested."

"Actually," he began, reaching for his briefcase. "I want to let you in on a great opportunity." Great. She rolled her eyes.

"I told you, if you're just gonna try and sell some shit to me then I'm not interested," she repeated, but he didn't acknowledge a word she said. Instead he opened his briefcase to reveal a game of some sorts.

"Have you ever played ddakji before?" He asked to which she slowly nodded. "Play a fee rounds of ddakji with me, and each time you win I'll pay you a hundred thousand won."

Seohyun's eyes widened. She hadn't played the game in years, and she wasn't particularly the best at it, but he was offering more money than she had made any day this last week.

"And what if I lose?" Seohyun asked.

"If I can flip yours, you will give me the same amount of money," he replied, messing with the stuff in his briefcase. "You can also be the first one to play, and if you don't have the money, you can use your body to pay. So, which color do you want to play as?"

Warily, she took the blue card from his hand. She had no idea if she was being scammed or not, but the idea seemed too simple and too good to pass up. He placed his red card on the ground and gestured for her to go ahead. She threw the ddakji at the ground, but it didn't flip.

"Okay, I lost," she shrugged after he managed to beat her. "So, what do you want? Handjob? A blowjob behind some dumpster?" Instead, she was surprised when he promptly smacked her across the face. "What the fuck?" she shouted.

"There. Would you like to play again?" He asked, completely calm like he hadn't just smacked her.

Seohyun almost said no, but the idea of the money lingered in her mind. So she kept playing, every time she lost the man would smack her in the face. They went on for round after round until Seohyun had a stroke of luck and managed to flip his over.

"I did it!" she cheered.

"Your one hundred thousand won." He held the money to her which she quickly took and stuffed in her pocket. "You're welcome. You know, there are other games like this where you can make even more."

"There it is," Seohyun sighed. "Is this some type of scheme or whatever, because I'll never become that desperate."

"Seohyun, just now you signed over you physical rights," he began, and she got the chills. She never once mentioned her name. "Your name is Lee Seohyun and you're twenty-three years old. You attended school in Busan and majored in dance and we're going to own your own dance company before that fell through. You're married to an alcoholic, and you have a daughter who is six years old. He has caused you to have a debt of over a hundred million won, and he won't do anything to help you. You're parents have tried to help, but you're too stubborn to say yes."

"H-How did you know all that? What kind of bullshit game is this?" She shouted, a sense kf fear rising within her.

He handed her a card.

"We don't have many spots left. Think about it." With that, he took his briefcase and left, leaving Seohyun alone and confused on the sidewalk.