Wicked | Kang Sae Byeok | Squid Games

| Chapter Ten |

| Wicked |

| I See You |

WARNING: gentle fluff lol

The aftermath of the fighting was gruesome. But not as gruesome as the thoughts running through Hana's mind. She sat with the team she and Sae Byeok had been recruited into but couldn't focus on a single thing they were saying.

Hana thought about her mother, wondering if what Deukso said was true.
How did he know anything about Hana's personal life?
Did Chin-Hae recruit Deukso?

She thought about the people she had just killed, even though she didn't know anything about them, they plagued her mind. More and more faces kept popping into her mind as she thought about everyone she had killed.
She just didn't know why.

Hana also thought about Sae Byeok and how she couldn't bring herself to look at the short haired girl. She was scared Sae would see what she was suddenly seeing in herself.

She felt the tears wanting to slip from her eyes as she held her breathe to try and relieve the tension in her chest.
It only got tighter.
She suddenly stood up and made her way to the side door.
"Miss?" She heard 199 call to her but she kept marching, banging on the door as she reached it.

"Please. Please let me out of here for just a few minutes." Her voice strained at the man who peaked in at her.
It felt like forever as he stared at her, but eventually opened the door and as soon as she could fit, she squeezed through the opening and made a beeline for the bathroom.

Hana bursted through the bathroom door and let out a sob that had been scratching at her throat. The pain in the wound on her thigh kept intensifying.

She held the stall door for stability as she inhaled and exhaled rapidly and tears blurred her vision.
Hana locked herself in the stall before sitting on the closed toilet, pulling her pants down and looking at the damage. She sighed as it didn't seem to be too deep, it just stung like hell, and she placed her head in her hands, crying.

All she wanted was to see her mother happy and healthy in a house Hana bought for them.
A dream house filled with books for her mother to read to her. Filled with paintings, all the food they could eat, love, laughter, and genuine happiness.
There would be a pool and a beautiful kitchen so they could cook together...

But the dream was ripped away from her with one sentence and not a second thought.

She sat up, gasping and trying to calm her breathing as she heard the door open.
"Hana?" Sae Byeok called.

Hana shook her head in frustration. "I'm just using the bathroom." She quickly replied.

Sae didn't say anything. She just walked to Hana's stall and sat down outside the door. "I'll wait on you."
"No Sae-" Hana sighed and sniffled. "Just go back, okay?"

"...you're crying." It wasn't a question but Hana felt like she needed to answer.
"Please just...go away." Her voice whispered, too strained to speak louder.

Sae Byeok stayed where she was before standing up and walking away. Hana heard the door open and close again and she let out a breathe she didn't realize she was holding.
She stayed in the stall and cried for a few more minutes before pulling herself together and walking out.

Hana was instantly enveloped in a hug. Sae Byeok's arms wrapped around her neck as she pulled Hana into her warm embrace. She wanted to know what was making Hana cry and she wasn't leaving until she figured out what.
"Sae-"
"Hug me back."

As Hana predicted, as soon as she wrapped her arms around Sae Byeok's waist and rested her head on her shoulder, she started crying all over again.
"Why are you doing this?" Hana mumbled.

In confusion, Sae Byeok let the girl go to look at her tear stained face but still held her close. "Doing what?"
"Comforting me...I'm a monster."

Sae had no clue where this was coming from but that part wasn't important.
"Don't say that."
"It's true!" Hana chuckled sarcastically as she pushed Sae Byeok away.
"Did you not see what I did out there? Do yourself a favor and stay away from me...you should be scared of me."

"Why are you saying this?" Sae Byeok asked, watching the girl's breakdown, feeling useless.
"I'm a fucking assassin!" Hana shouted. "Do you not realize how many people I've killed? I..." she breathed harshly. "I deserve to die in here and my mother is dead! My mother is dead and it's all my fault." She held the sides of her head.

Sae Byeok walked forward and pulled her hands away, forcing Hana to look into her eyes.
"You are not a monster, you're a survivor...and let's not forget who told you about your mom. Deukso may know about her, somehow, but I'll bet everything in that giant piggy bank that he was lying."

Hana nodded and began controlling her breathing.
'She's right. She's right.' She told herself. She then noticed how Sae Byeok now held her hands.
"This is your fault, you know?" Hana looked at their hands.

"What is?" Sae asked.
"I tried not to think about the people I've killed until..." Hana paused and gazed at Sae Byeok, who curiously gazed back. "until I realized how I feel about you. How scared I am to lose you. If someone were to hurt you I don't know what I'd do with myself. I took that from a lot people."

Sae's face didn't hold confusion or angst or even a blank stare.
Her face held understanding. Relief.
"I know I'm not...the most affectionate or tender person and-" Sae hesitated, feeling butterflies in her stomach.

"And I've been scared to admit it but I know how I feel about you. I'm not scared of you, I'm scared of losing you too." She grabbed Hana's face. "I don't know how it happened so fast or why it had to be in this hell hole, maybe it's because you've been protecting me and my brother before I even knew you but I see you, Hana...and there's nothing you could ever do to make me look away."

Hana was breathless because of Sae Byeok as she felt her own butterflies fluttering. She quickly wrapped her arms around the girl's neck and pulled her into another hug. "I'll never stop protecting you, Sae Byeok."

"I'm so scared." Sae Byeok admitted into Hana's shoulder as she hugged her tighter.
"I know. I'm scared too." Hana gently held the back of her head. "But we're gonna get out of here and we're gonna do it together, okay?"

When Sae Byeok didn't say anything, Hana pulled them apart to hold Sae's face delicately in her hands.
"Okay?" She almost whispered.

Sae Byeok's breathe was caught in her throat and her palms were getting sweaty as she finally nodded in response. "Okay."

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Sorry no kiss yet ;)
I'm a sucker for a good slow burn and I want to make this as accurate to Sae Byeok's character as possible.
Gotta get that good build up yunno <3
Also, are the pics and gifs loading for y'all?