Killer Addiction - (Squid Game)

Chapter 1- Ddakji

Song Dae-eun stepped off the train as she arrived at the intermittent stop between the shop she had just come from and the one her grandfather owned.
The girl walked around and took a seat on on a bench to wait for the next train, her eyes caramel-coloured in the pooling flood lights overhead.
She turned her stare up to the board displaying times.

23 minutes...

Light footsteps appeared on her left and the bench took on the weight of a second person.
A man, dressed in a smart tailored business suit and carrying a pitch black briefcase.
Dae-eun's jaggedly-cut black hair slightly obscured her vision, thus, she took out a hair-tie and began twisting the band around her locks, save for the one strand which had been dyed hot pink.

Just as she finished, she noticed the man in the suit was looking directly at her, slightly startling her.
"Uh- hello?" She questioned, her gaze lost in his pitch-black eyes.

"Ma'am?"
"Yes?"
"Would you like to play a game with me?" His voice was eerily calm, and the young woman felt unnerved by him, narrowing her eyes as she beheld him.

"What kind of game?" She queried.
The man placed his briefcase on his lap and unclipped the clasps, flipping it open carefully.

He twisted the case towards Dae-eun, revealing its contents.
Two different-coloured folded paper cards, and three stacks of won with ascending value.
Dae-eun's brow knitted together as the man took the folded cards and held them up towards her.

"Are you familiar with the game Ddakji?"
She nodded, earning a smile from him.
Her suspicion only grew, along with the sense of unease bubbling in her stomach.

This is so sketchy...
"If you can flip over my card, I'll pay you 100,000 won."
The distrust in the woman only grew.

"And if you flip my card?"
"You will pay me the same."
Dae-eun looked between both cards, then to the briefcase still on the man's lap.

She turned her gaze to the platform they were on, finding it almost empty.
No witnesses.
She finally turned back to the man's eyes, still seeing nothing in the void of his pupils.

She sighed, giving into her old habit yet again, nodding her head. "Fine, I have nothing to lose."
"Choose your card." He stated, holding out both towards her.
She drew the blue card, standing up and leaving the ingredients by the bench as the man in the suit followed her.

He placed his card down on the floor, gesturing for her to go first.
The young woman held her card up and slammed it down, making the card bounce, but not flip.
She failed.

She grimaced, silently cursing herself as her opponent picked up the red card.
He glanced up at her briefly before throwing it down without hesitation, her card flipped with ease.
She lost.

The man in the suit glanced up towards Dae-eun and she quickly realised that he was expecting pay.
"Ah- about that..."
He only smiled. "That's alright. How about you use your body to pay?"

"My what?"
The man immediately slapped Dae-eun directly across the face, leaving her stunned and stumbling, reaching up to touch her now-stinging cheek.
"Hey- what the hell?!"

She watched as the man merely smirked.
"I'll take 100 grand off per slap."
Her brow furrowed at his statement.

What exactly is he trying to do?
"Really?" She asked, rubbing her cheek still.
She had realised trying to read him was fruitless, instead only searching his features for an answer.

He gave her a simple nod.
She huffed and bent back down, picking up her blue card.
"One more round?"

Dae-eun played the man several more times, winning some and losing some.
She ended up with a total winning of 400,000 Won, though with a noticeable red mark on the side of her face.
She wasn't sure whether to feel happy or suspicious as to why the man seemed determined to let her walk away with some money.

She settled for adopting a small smile as she double-checked her winnings before folding them away into her pocket.
"You know, miss. There are other games like this that could earn you even more." The man stated, his briefcase now folded away beside him as he sat beside her on the platform.
Dae-eun made no response, instead deciding to check on how the ingredients were doing, making sure the salts the fishmonger had given her were helping preserve the meats.

"Come on, it must sound tempting." He pressed.
The girl exhaled with a small smile, turning towards him.
"Hey. I don't know what you're trying to do, here. But, look, you can tell I'm desperate. Just... not that desperate yet." She stated, turning back to the bag.

The man stood up, drawing his hands in front of him to interlock, his figure casting a shadow.
"Miss Song Dae-eun."
That caused a pause.

The woman turned to look up at him, she knew for a fact she had never given him her name.
And once again, she found it futile to try and read his straight-laced expression.
"Earlier today. You borrowed money from your grandfather to run his errands for him." He stated, leaning down slightly.

Dae-eun's expression darkened, though her body never so much as twitched.
The man in the suit stood tall as he gazed down at her from his full height.
"Your name is Song Dae-eun, age 23 years old. You graduated Justice Girls' High School and dropped out of Duksung Women's University after your debts caught up with you. Both of your parents disowned you as a result and you're currently living with your grandfather who owns a sushi restaurant. 60 million won is owed to the University, and you also stand in debt to various casinos to the total of 150 million won."

Dae-eun stood slowly, as if on edge, with her knuckles turning white as she clenched her fists.
She flicked between both of his eyes as she stood at her true height, though slightly below his own.
"Who are you?" She prompted. "What business of yours is my background?"

He made no verbal response and instead reached to his front pocket, drawing out a small golden card and held it up towards her.
"I represent an opportunity for you." He stated, no longer with a smile.
Dae-eun took the card and gazed down at it, seeing a black square, triangle and circle on one side and a phone number on the other.

"Give me a call." He stated, retrieving his briefcase and walking off.
Dae-eun watched him go until he turned the corner, then turned back to the card in her hand.
What is this then? An invitation?

She pocketed the card and took out the wad of cash she had earned, unfolding it with a smile.
It wasn't much, but to her it felt like gold.
She looked up to see her train approaching, taking the ingredients and putting away the money, she stepped up to the platform.

She boarded the train.