𝗦𝗖𝗔𝗥𝗟𝗘𝗧 𝗥𝗘𝗗• 𝗦. 𝗞𝗔𝗡𝗚

𝑛 𝑖 𝑛 𝑒 𝑡 𝑒 𝑒 𝑛

-I like your tattoo

[Y u n  R y u n g]

Is it normal to always be alone? Is it normal to only want things done your way? Maybe, maybe not. Regardless I still did it my way and nothing else. Because then the only things that came out of my mouth was right. I knew how to live, I knew how to survive yet it was never enough to provide for anyone other than myself.

But now. Even as I sit on a staircase surrounded by men that might as well be my grandfarthers, I feel the guilt. I feel that cutting edge feeling. It's like my fingers are slipping of an edge of a cliff, each finger progressively loosing strength as the minutes pass.

"Come on, the next game is starting."

Sae-byeok pulls me by her side. Letting go of the cuff of my hand as we near the centre of the room. I can hear her breaths, her heartbeat. The cold sound of her veins as they circulate in her body. Everything seems so hightened, a little to suffocating it nearly makes me uncomfortable.

"The third game will begin momentarily. Follow the staff's instructions and proceed to the game hall. Let me repeat..."

My fingers scratch the scalp of my head as I run them through my hair. The light getting caight within the loosened gaps as I pull it to th eback of my head. "I can't tell what the next game is. Before is seemed so clear but those stupid stick figures are giving me a headache." I feel her, I feel her voice whisking the back of my neck. The skin rises along her words. Her breath warm against my own. "Just leave it for now, we'll just have to see."

:::::::::::::::::::

"The room is hurting my eyes." Squinting through the harshly lit lights I roughly walk down the staircase. The canvas material of my shoes etch my skin in freshly cut scars. Players line down into groups, taking seat onto the ground as the robotic voice takes the speakers once more.

"Welcome to your third game. this game will be played as a team. All player, please divide into teams of ten. You have ten minutes, ten minutes." Bending down into a leant position as I hold onto the wall next to me. The men in front of me whisper between themselves, watching as others gather into small circles. Talking to one another in low voices, covering the palm of their hands over thair mouths. As if it did anything to prevent the words they are saying.

"If the game is played by teams of ten, maybe it's tail tag or Why Did You Come To My House. If it's tail tag we need to be fast. If it's Why Did You Come To My House, it's just rock paper scissors. What should we do?" Gi-hun looked openly, the glint in his brown eyes shone as he looked back and fourth between Sang-woo and I.

My shoulder pushes against Sae-byeoks. Threads tide around my fingers as I twirl the loose thread of my jacket around the tip of my pointer. "Is it just me who doesn't know a single thing they are talking about?" Ali shrugs happily. Strongly invested in the conversation, his pupils widen as their sentences prolonged.

"We already have an elderly man and two women, so the rest needs to be all men." I could already feel the cool touch of the blade in my hands. My fingers switch it back anf fourth as my eyes dawn Sang-woo's. His throat bobs for a moments. His paled skin somehow turns paler as I point it towards his ribcage. "Don't worry, I won't kill you. After all, I'm only just a woman?" His chest drops further. His stomach sinks further against his lungs. The knife in my hands compresses further against his skin, almost strong enough to cut him like butter. But no mattter how amusing that could be I pull away, turning my body to the centre of the room.

"But - what if they make us play Elastics or Gonggi? Women are better at those." Gi-hun moves his arms rapidly. "That's true, but probabitlity-wise. Men are better at most games. We are betting our live right now. Which side will it be?" Throughout his long speech he took small proportions to look straight at me, with a frown zipped tightly onto his ips.