Fun and Games

Red Light

Sang-Woo makes sure he stays close to Opal as they follow the group of other players out of the warehouse like room. The halls to the 'Game Hall' are just as strange as the rest of their experience so far, the walls, ceilings and floors are all a bright and vibrant color. Not only are the colors enough to give anyone a headache, but the stairs seem to go on forever. As they move through the line they are shown to a room with four different lines, players stepping between the partial walls, before a females voice instructs them to simile. They are then shown out into a large field. As she looks around Opal notices it looks like some the rural areas she visited as a kid. Areas like this are common in many countries once you get out of the city and into more of the farming communities.

As Sang-Woo and Opal walk out into the large open area, a man calls out, "hey, Sang-Woo!" They pair turns and sees player 456 running up to them, weaving between other players as he does. When he gets to them he chuckles, "oh, Sang-Woo, my man!" Sang-Woo looks the man up and down and becomes even more uncomfortable with having two people he knows in here with him. "What the hell are you doing here?" Sang-Woo shifts a bit, putting his hands in his pockets while Opal looks around, not wanting to leave the only person she knows, but net wanting to eavesdrop on their conversation. "Uh, your mother and I were talking the other day. She told me you were out of the country on a business trip. What was that guy talking about, huh? You can't be in debt? The same Sang-Woo who attended SNU, right?"

Sang-Woo turns back to 456 and nods, "we'll talk about it later."

As Sang-Woo and Opal walk away from the man, the female voice begins giving them instructions, "attention all players. After you enter the game hall please stand behind the white line drawn in the field and await further instructions."

Opal crosses her arms as they walks to the white line, still being behind a large portion of people, "so what was that about?"

"Just an old friend," Sang-Woo shakes his head.

"Ahh, so just someone else who knows your dark secret."

"Yeah..."

"Hey, no one in here has any right to judge, we're all here for the same reason."

"Yeah, why are you here?"

"Debts. Just like you."

"No, I know, but from what?"

"That's not really something we need to talk about now." Opal looks around and see the large group in front of them, "come on, we should move over, we'll never make it through this group." Sang-Woo and Opal move to the side of the field, there are still a handful of people in front of them, but it's much less than before. Soon they hear the creaking of the three sets of doors closing, "well," Opal looks over to Sang-Woo, "no backing out now."

Opal looks up to the sky and see a few birds flying overhead. Nothing ominous about being in a box with no roof. As she looks down the field she see a large doll, that leaves a very unsettling feeling in her stomach. "Here is the first game," the woman on the overheard begins to explain, "you will be playing Red Light, Green Light." The doll turns around, facing the large tree behind her. "You are allowed to move forward when 'it' shouts out, 'Green Light,' stop when 'it' shouts, 'Red Light.' If your movement is detected afterward, you will be eliminated."

"Red Light, Green Light?"

"The game we played as kids?" Sang-Woo shifts a bit.

"So they're gonna have us play a bunch of kids games?"

"Let me repeat the rules," the woman begins again, "you are allowed to move forward when 'it' shouts out, 'Green Light,' stop when 'it' shouts, 'Red Light.' If your movement is detected afterward, you will be eliminated. Those players who cross the finish line without being eliminated within the five-minute playtime will pass this round. With that, let the game begin."