LET THE GAMES BEGIN • squid game

( 16 ) where do we go from here

N A R I

HAHA HERE YOU GO I MIGHT JUST FINISH PUBLISHING TODAY

They all felt lost. They'd won. They each had 15 billion won each. But they didn't feel like winners.

In-ho hadn't bothered blindfolding them in the vehicle, as they had all seen his face. But, he tied their arms and feet to be safe.

" You all should celebrate." He declared, pouring himself a glass of champagne. " You played quite the game."

" Why?" Gi-hun questioned, as the two girls stayed silent in the car. Nari couldn't even look at her brothers face without feeling a huge amount of disgust.

" Why did you do it? How could you?"

" You bet on horses. It's the same here, but...we bet on humans." A justified answer? No. It's sickening.

" You're our horses. I did not expect you to finish your race."

" You three should be thankful. I never let 3 people go with the money. But, this years games were already considerably different. It was a dream, think of it that way. And it wasn't a bad one for any of you." He pressed a button, and the sound of steam hissing spilled through the walls.

They didn't fight it, and just let themselves be put to sleep by the gas.

||

Nari grunted as the familiar feeling of being thrown out of a vehicle shocked her senses, and she laid her head on the wet ground as the other two were thrown out.

3 cards hit the ground, before the vehicle drove off. Nari struggled to sit up, and when she did, she pulled the cards towards her and studied them.

" Believe in Jesus or burn in Hell! You fool who deny the lords existence, repent now! The day of judgement is upon us!" Nari blocked out the noise of the annoying evangelist as she stared at the bank cards.

The two adults beside her began to stand up, and Sae-byeok reached a hand out to the girl, helping her stand carefully.

They all looked worn, and tired. The two girls trudged after Gi-hun, who seemed to be heading to the bank.

It was thankfully empty as they entered, and Nari leaned against the wall as Gi-hun took money out of his bank.

The silence was no longer comforting. It burned and scratched at her eardrums, and she was thankful when Gi-hun made his way to the entrance.

It was quite sad, the way the 3 of them walked slowly down the streets of Ssangmun-dong, rain pouring down on them.

They walked down a marker street, full of stalls that were beginning to close.

" Gi-hun!" A voice stopped them, and Nari glanced behind them to see a elderly woman walking over to them.

She asked about Gi-hun's injuries, but got no answer. She didn't bother asking about the girls with him as she rushed back to her stall to grab him a bag of fish, before talking about his mother.

As she made her way back to her stall, she stopped.

" You haven't...heard from Sangwoo by any chance?" She asked, and Nari froze. This woman was Sangwoo's mother.

Tears filled her eyes. Sangwoo may have not been the best person in the end, but he had family. Family who don't know what's happened to him.

They walked off before she could ask any questions, and Nari took a deep breath as they went.

Turns out, her mother's apartment was a few minutes away from Gi-huns. Sae-byeok had rushed off to see her brother, so she was left to enter the apartment for the first time in a long time.

She opened the always loose gate and entered the building, walking up two flights of stairs before reaching the familiar door.

It wasn't locked, as usual, and she opened the door to see all of the lights off and the room rather empty.

Confused, she turned the lights on and trudged through the room, jumping when the door opened behind her.

A man looked surprised by her presence, and he apologised.

" Sorry, miss, are you alright? We're just here to continue moving Miss Hwang's stuff out." Nari's expression turned wary. Moving?

" Sorry, moving? What do you mean?" The mans face was soft.

" Are you related to Miss Hwang?" She nodded.

" I'm sorry, it seems that you aren't aware. Miss Hwang passed away 3 days ago." Nari gulped. What?

She shoved past the man and rushed out of the building. Her life had fallen apart.

She cried silently to herself as she walked down the old alleyway, no destination in mind. She had nowhere to go.

||

Later on, Nari was sat by the beach. All she'd done was cry, and the sun was starting to come up.

The games had ruined her. Ruined her life, ruined her family. She was 15 million won richer, but it didn't make her feel any better.

Nari didn't look up at the presence that suddenly appeared beside her, before sitting down the same way she was.

" I've been looking for you." The familiar voice of Sae-byeok told her.

" Why?" Nari questioned, voice devoid of any emotion.

" What, did you think I'd ditch you as soon as I got out of the car?" Nari only shrugged, and Sae-byeok sighed.

" Your brother told me your mom was gone. I thought he was lying." Sae-byeok confessed, tucking her knees to her chest.

" It's not your fault. He can be quite the deceiver." Nari replied, quietly. Someone else sat on the other side of her, and she didn't even have to look. She knew it was Gi-hun.

" My mom is dead." He deadpanned, and Nari sighed. She reached over and put a hand on his knee.

All three of them stared at the rising sun, quiet, wondering how the hell they're supposed to carry on after the hell they'd been through.

||

:(

THE ENDING IS HAPPY I SWEAR