Always? Always ▪︎ {Squid Game} Sae-byeok x OC

S1 E8 - Front Man {Part 1}

After that whole fiasco, the final four were being led back to the main room. And as they were walking through the colourful room with all the stairs and shapes, Ji-ah felt weird as she had flashbacks as to when all the stairs were full of players. But now, there was only 4 of them.

And as they were being led, Ji-ah kept gritting her teeth in pain as she walked behind Sae-byeok and ignored the droplets of blood that was landing on the floor from both her and Sae-byeok.

She could also feel the stare at the back of her head by one of the guards as he too noticed the amount of blood that was dripping.

However, soon, they were back in the main room and there were only 3 beds as Ji-ah and Sae-byeok shared one. And now that all of the other bunk beds had gone, the final four could fully see the drawings on the walls. But Ji-ah ignored them as the stabbing pain in her abdomen got worse.

As the two girls made their way to the bed, they noticed that they were walking like a zombie would, slow and unsteady. They both ignored the argument between Sang-woo and Gi-hun. But when a loud beep was heard and the doors opened, they all looked to see five guards. 4 circle guards and a square one.

The square one announced.

"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 gift, please take a moment to change into the outfits we have brought."

Ji-ah and Sae-byeok glanced at each other before wincing as they got off the bed. They stumbled towards a guard and each took a box off them, they then turned around and slowly made their way to the bathroom. The other two doing the same, but to the men's one.

When the girls got to the bathroom, they immediately took off their jacket and shirt and turned the taps on. As they breathed heavily, they both looked down and saw the large piece of glass that was embedded in their abdomen and sticking out.

With blood already on their hands, they both took a deep breath before at the same time, pulling out the glass. Groaning and hissing as blood spilled to the floor, they then held a massive clump of tissue to their wound and pressed on it. Wincing again.

The two were sweating like mad and couldn't help but look at each other worriedly, they knew that they wouldn't get out of this alive, but they were glad to have each other.

Using one hand and their teeth, they teared their shirt and helped wrap it around each others abdomen, hoping it would act like a makeshift bandage. They knew it wouldn't last for long, but it was all they could do for now.

And after they had secured it so it wouldn't fall off, they then began to wash the blood off their hands. After also putting water on their faces to cool down, they both looked in the mirrors in front of them. Ji-ah mumbled out shakily.

"We're fucked, Sae-byeok. We're going to die."

Sae-byeok swallowed deeply before nodding and continuing to breathe heavily. But after standing there questioning their whole existence, they got it together and finally opened the black box with three shapes in red.

When they did open the said box, a white shirt with their number sewn on it, black trousers and a black suit jacket was neatly folded. As Sae-byeok had a black bow-tie, Ji-ah noticed that she had a black tie instead.

But nonetheless, they began getting changed into their new attire.

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Once they were done, they both looked at each other and Sae-byeok asked.

"Ready?"

Ji-ah blew out a breath, regretting it as she winced immediately after and nodded her head before repeating.

"Ready."

The two then held hands and left the bathroom, still in pain. But luckily, their suit jacket covered the side of which their now covered wound is.

A guard led them and the guys into the main room again, but this time, it was quite dark. But there was a large square table in the middle of the room, the large and lit piggy bank was hung high over the middle of the square and the said square table was equipped with lit candles, four plates covered with a cloche hat, some more plates and bowls with food on/in them, some glasses that were currently getting filled with wine and several pairs of utensils. The square table was also covered in a white table cloth, some lit lamps, bowls of fruit and bottles of wine. Four chairs were seated at every side of the square.

Sae-byeok and Ji-ah sat opposite each other whilst a glaring Gi-hun was sat opposite Sang-woo. And when their glasses were filled with wine, a guard each lifted the cloche hats to reveal a big steak with some garnishes.

Classical music was going on in the background and all four finalists looked at each other. Well, Gi-hun was full on glaring at Sang-woo and Sae-byeok and Ji-ah had their head hung as they shook in pain and had ragged breathing.

The masked manager then announced as everyone was quiet.

"Tonight's feast is prepared as a token of gratitude for the sacrifice and effort you finalists have made and to encourage you all to perform even more splendidly in the final game."

Sae-byeok and Ji-ah lifted their head and looked at each other, grimacing as they both looked extremely pale and exhausted. The masked manager ended off.

"Now, please relax and enjoy your feast."

The four were sat still for a few seconds before the men started eating. But as Ji-ah and Sae-byeok tried to cut their steak, more pain was endured and they didn't know how long they would last before their body began shutting down due to excessive blood loss.