LET THE GAMES BEGIN • squid game

( 11 ) fever

N  A  R  I

haha guess what here's another chapter cuz I'm too excited to wait

When Nari left the game room, all the other players were waiting. They all looked broken, and tired. Nari moved to walk behind Sae-byeok as they walked back to the bedroom.

When they entered the room, they were met with 212's annoying voice. With a quick glance around, Nari could see that both Ali and player 240 were gone.

She turned away before anyone could see the tears spilling down her cheeks, and sat down beside Sae-byeok's bed.

Sae-byeok climbed into her bunk and patted the spot next to her, moving to give Nari space. The girl moved and sat beside her, bottom lip trembling.

Sae-byeok watched the girl worriedly. Nari reminded her of her little brother, always so wary. She could see that her injury was still messing her up, too. It was unlike her, but Nari didn't protest when Sae-byeok reached out her arms and wrapped her up in a hug.

Nari let out a shuddering sigh into her shoulder and just stayed there.

Later on, they were handed a uncooked potato each. Nari felt like she was gonna vomit anyway, so she just put it beside her and didn't touch it.

Sae-byeok took small bites of hers, one arm still wrapped around Nari's shoulders to comfort her.

" Don't worry about it." The voice of Sangwoo made her ears ring.

" He was an old man you only knew for a couple of days." Nari sighed. That was unfair.

" See that man there? His partner was his wife." Nari's breath hitched. The poor, poor man. He looked absolutely empty.

The man then moved to stand, and he took slow steps down the platforms.

" Please...let's just stop all this. I can't keep doing this. I can't." His voice turned into sobs at the end of his sentence, and Nari kept her face hidden in Sae-byeoks shoulder so she wouldn't have to face it.

" The majority must agree. Well, come on. Let's get out. Half of us, that's all we need to end this right now. Don't any of you want to leave this horrible place? Anyone who wants to go, stand up. Let's get out of here." Nari would have stood, but she felt as if she was doing a disservice to Jennie if she didn't keep going.

The man started to cry, and then yelled.

" How can you call yourselves human? How many of you can continue with this insanity just for the money? You just had to kill the ones you were the closest to in this place, and you're okay with that just to get the money?" He sobbed, and Sae-byeok felt drips of tears fall onto her shoulder.

" So what if we stop now?" Sangwoo asked in his cold voice, walking towards the man.

" You think your wife will stop being dead if we all go now? And she'll forgive you for letting her get murdered?" Nari gasped. The man was grieving for the one he loved most, and Sangwoo was just throwing salt in the wound.

" If you can't keep going, then why are you alive right now? You should've been the one who died in there instead." She heard a shuffle, and looked up to see that Sangwoo was holding the poor man by his collar.

Sangwoo pointed at the prize money. " See that? That's the price of being in here. Your wife and the others paid it with their lives, and you want to leave?" Sangwoo was getting angrier and angrier by the minute, and Nari was admittedly frightened.

" You wanna start from the beginning again? You ready to do all that, huh?" Nari looked away and just put her head on Sae-byeoks shoulder as the man started to cry again.