Fun and Games

069

Sang-Woo barely walks back into the waiting are before he starts looking of Opal and it doesn't take long before the two notice the other and run toward the other. Opal practically jumping into Sang-Woo's arms when she gets to him. His arms around her waist and her arms around his neck as the two hold each other tightly, afraid to let the other go. When they finally do, Opal places a hand on Sang-Woo's cheek, knowing the lose of Ali must be weighing on him greatly. The next few people to walk into the room is Gi-Hun and Sae-Byoek, who looks just as broken as everyone else.

The bunk area had been cleaned out while they were playing the last game. Now only having a few bunks on the floor, since there is only a handful of them left. When they walk into the bunk area everyone is surprised to see Mi-Neyo, sitting on a bunk waiting for them. Deok-Su stares at her as if he color drains from his face and Mi-Neyo offers him a simple wave, "Deok-Su, honey, so glad you won."

"How?" Deok-Su stammers, "how the hell?"

"What? You're looking at me like you've seen a ghost. Are you okay?" Mi-Neyo scoffs, "the masked guys all called me this, 'the weakest link.' Like when nobody chooses you as a partner for things when you were a kid." She points to one of the remaining players, "hey, Thai guy knows about it. The weakest link!" She cackles, "and after that, they gently escorted me back to this dorm. Because... they said that it's all a part of a rule they had... in the old days. Not to let a kid turn into some kind of outcast, I guess. Goddamn it. It's amazing, isn't it?" She cackles some more as the remaining players go to their bunks.

When Opal climbs into the bunk she is going to stay in, she looks up to the board and sees there are 17 players left, the price money now up to 43.9 billion won. As she looks up to the board Sang-Woo walks up to her bunk, "mind if I join you?"

"Huh?" Opal looks down to Sang-Woo since she hasn't been paying attention, "uh, sure. If you want to."

Sang-Woo climbs into the bunk with Opal and the two lay back. Not exactly cuddling but leaning against the other. For dinner they are given a potato and water even though most are too saddened by the outcome of the last game, they know they have to keep their strength up. Gi-Hun is the only one who isn't even trying to nibble on his dinner. Sang-Woo notices but he can't bring himself to loom directly at this friend, "don't worry about it. He was an old man you only knew for a few days."

"Hey," Opal speaks softly to Sang-Woo, "cut him some slack. It's been a rough day."

Sang-Woo exhales looking across the room to another man, "see that man there. His partner was his wife."

Player 069, who was the player Sang-Woo was referring to, stands up before walking toward the center of the room, "let's, let's just stop all this. I can't keep doing this. I can't." He begins to cry, "the majority must agree. Well, come on, let's get out. Half of us, that's all we need to end this right now. Don't any of you want to leave this horrible place? Anyone who wants to go, stand up. Let's get out of here." 069 looks around to see if anyone would join him, but everyone stays out, "how can you call yourselves human?!" He throws himself toward the floor, "how many of you can continue with this insanity just for the money?! You just had to kill the ones you were closest to at this place and you're good with that just to get the money?!"

069 cries and whimpers more as Sang-Woo feels a rage wash over him. He isn't sure if it's because he had to kill someone he genuinely considered a friend to make sure he stayed alive or because he's realizing the likelihood of him and zoos escaping this place together with the money is slim to none, but he gets out of the bunk and calls out to the man, "so what if we stop now?" He starts toward 069, "you think your wife will stop being dead if we all go now? And she'll forgive you for letting her get murdered? If you can't keep going then why are you alive right now?" Sang-Woo grabs 069 by the collar, "you should've been the one who died in there instead." He points up to the piggy bank above them, "see that? That's the price of being in here. And your wife and the others paid it with their lives. And you wanna go and leave? You wanna start from the beginning again? You ready to do all that, huh? Starting over again from nothing with that guilt?" When Sang-Woo let's go of him 069 falls to the floor, "and is everyone here ready to do that as well?" He looks around the room and shouts to the remaining players, "go ahead, stand up! Let's see who thinks they are. Get up and get out of here!"

Whether it's because she is seeing the man she has formed such a great bond with over the course of these games in pain, or because she, like the others, have too much grief to process without these two adding onto it, Opal calls out to Sang-Woo, "that's enough!"

Sang-Woo looks to Opal and realizes that his words aren't only hurting 069 but her as well. He take a deep breath and looks down to 069, "if we leave now, they all died for nothing."