LET THE GAMES BEGIN • squid game

( 13 ) kiss of death

N  A  R  I

It is now the morning
I slept for like four hours😭
But I'm stalling on getting ready for school so have this
This ones rough put your seatbelts on

The walk back from the game hall was dreary, and uncomfortable. While Gi-hun, Sangwoo and Nari walked at a normal pace, Sae-byeok lugged behind, arms wrapped around herself. Nari kept glancing back, brows furrowed in worry and suspicion.

When they arrived at the bedroom, it seemed so much bigger. Only 4 beds sat in the room now, two on one side, one at the far end, and one on the other side of the room.

Nari breathed shakily as she stepped into the room,
lugging herself over to her bed to lay down. She sat down with a huff, wrapping her blanket around herself, ignoring Gi-hun and Sangwoo arguing.

Sae-byeok came and sat on the bed next to her, and Nari watched her as she sat down slowly. Very slowly.

The teen pursed her lips, glancing down at her lap as Sangwoo's shouting stopped.

The doors buzzed not long after that, and 5 guards walked in, four of them holding black boxes with hot pink ribbons.

" Players, we sincerely congratulate and commend you all for successfully making it through the first five games. The four of you are now the finalists and as such, we have prepared a special gift for each of you. Before we reveal the gifts, please take a moment to change into the outfits we have brought." Nari glared at the guards, not convinced that any sort of 'gift' they had for them would be pleasant.

In the bathroom, Nari headed into a stall to change, as music started to play from the speakers, blocking out any other noise.

A grimace appeared on her face as she pulled the clothes out of the box. She didn't particularly like the tux, but anything was better than the grimy, bloody clothes she already had on. The shirt was stiff as she put it on, and she didn't actually know how to tie a bow tie.

" Shit." She muttered, realising she'd have to ask for help. With a roll of her eyes and a serious sense of anxiety, she stepped out of the stall, stopping for a moment to tie her shoelaces before leaving the bathroom, forgetting to acknowledge the fact that Sae-byeok had already left.

As she shut the bathroom door behind her, the sound of another door opening caught her attention, and she looked over to her left, seeing Gi-hun leave the men's bathroom, fixing his bow tie. He gave her a tired, half-hearted smile.

" Um...can you help me with this, sir?" She asks, wanting the ground to swallow her up. He gives her a nod, stepping towards her and reaching for the bow, her arms falling to her sides.

" At least these clothes don't smell." He jokes, and Nari cracks a smile, letting out a snicker

||

Nari didn't listen to a word the guards said. Her head was throbbing from the sheer amount of blood she'd lost, and the food in front of her no longer seemed appealing.

When she glanced down, a red patch stuck out on her otherwise white shirt.

But, she didn't want the others to know. So, she forced herself to pick up her fork and her knife, cutting into the meat maybe twice before giving up and just eating those two pieces.

She could feel eyes on her, and she looked over to see Sae-byeok quickly look away, as if she wasn't looking.

The silence was oh so loud, and she was thankful when the guards came to collect their plates, providing at least a small amount of noise.