Squid Game // 𝐉𝐄𝐉𝐔 𝐈𝐒𝐋𝐀𝐍𝐃

five

This storyline is pretty aimless atm 👆
Let me know what you wanna see for future chapters!

***

Sae-Byeok did not have much experience being on planes, nor did she enjoy them. Though she would never admit it, great heights like this terrified her.

Nevertheless, she still found herself slowly gravitating closer to the small, box window that would only end up making her feel sick. But oh how beautiful the clouds looked from up here. Sae-Byeok thought that if this were a cartoon, she could reach out her one long, elastic arm and whisk through the fluffy whiteness looming around the radiant blue canvas of sky.

As this fantasy faded to an end, Sae-Byeok's stomach lurched with fear and she quickly whipped her head back around to feel safe again, tucked away inside this quiet space next to Ji-yeong. Lucky for all the passengers, the screaming toddler had at last finished crying after around fifty minutes of incoherent babbling and wailing. This was another reason Sae-Byeok liked to avoid compact transport.

Ji-yeong was flicking through a magazine when suddenly she stabbed a finger at one of the pages to show Sae-Byeok something. It was an article titled with bold, outstanding letters.

'Anonymous Man Donates 3 Million Won to Wholesome Charity'

"That's nice of him," Sae-Byeok said quietly.

Ji-yeong looked at her as if she had just said something highly controversial. "Are you kidding me?" She shook the magazine in front of Sae-Byeok's confusion struck face. "This happened in Daejeon."

"So? I'm not seeing your point."

"Sooo, the players who stayed behind all lived in that city. Surely it was the winner who donated all that money!" Ji-yeong seemed utterly wrapped up in her own idea, though all Sae-Byeok could think about was Gi-Hun—the man she viewed as a father figure, even now that they were assumedly miles apart.

Her biggest regret had nothing to do with what she did do, but rather what she didn't.

Sae-Byeok had failed at getting him to escape with her and Ji-yeong that day, even if she put in her best efforts to convince him to do so. But it still ate her up inside that he may not be alive. Or, if he was, it bothered her that she would never be able to track him down and finally voice how much she appreciated the loving, fatherly nurture he had shown her back at the games.

Sae-Byeok gripped the sides of her seat and closed her eyes as the plane became increasingly unsteady in the air. Nobody else seemed to mind, perhaps because it wasn't uncommon for planes to do this sort of thing, but the sickening swerving motions still unnerved Sae-Byeok to the point of feeling queasy.

It was only when she heard Ji-yeong snickering beside her that Sae-Byeok regretfully found it in herself to open her nervous eyes.

"What?" she asked the entertained girl defensively, stirring.

"Nothing," replied Ji-yeong innocently. "I just find it amusing how such a fearless person like you could be scared of a little turbulence."

Sae-Byeok felt heat rise up into her cheeks. "Oh, right. Do you know when we land?"

Ji-yeong shook her head indefinitely. "No idea. I assume it's soon though." She grabbed a random magazine from the stack she had compiled before they left the Island and passed it over to Sae-Byeok. "Read this, it'll distract you for a bit."

But reading was probably the last thing to appeal to Sae-Byeok right now. Instead, she just stared at the smooth interior of the plane's cream coloured ceiling. Why did everything have to make her feel so nauseous? And why were the smallest things reminding her of a past that she'd been doing so well to forget?

Sae-Byeok just hoped that her brother was safe. He was a smart boy who wouldn't have run away for nothing—unless that "nothing" had something to do with her decision to leave him behind until they had found a better place to live on Jeju.

Breaking through the lingering silence, a polite and feminine voice came over the plane's main speaker.

'—To all the passengers who have boarded our flight today, we hope our service has satisfied you to the fullest intent. The plane should be landing at the main airport in approximately fifteen minutes. Thank you.'

Sae-Byeok closed her eyes once again, slowly drifting away from the eerie calmness that made her thoughts seem so loud.