𝙄 𝙒𝙄𝙇𝙇 𝙉𝙊𝙏 𝙆𝙄𝙎𝙎 𝙔𝙊𝙐 ♡ 𝙖𝙡𝙞 𝙖𝙗𝙙𝙪𝙡

015

BREAKING POINT

With trembling hands, you with all the precision you could muster, brought the tip of the needle to the delicate sweet before you, break uneven and sweat pricking your temples. Your (h/c) hair was drenched in sweat. Mostly due to the lack of ventilation in the room, of course. Sangwoo, the girl, and Ali were already gone. It was just you, Gihun, and the old man. You were nearly finished. You just needed to-

Snap.

"... Shit..."

Footsteps.
It was one of the supervising red soldiers. The masked staff.

"Uncover your hands."
He ordered.

Shaky breaths.
"Please.. Give me one more chance... I didn't mean to.. Spare me! SPARE ME!!!-"

A shrill cry, then a gunshot. Nothing but silence after that.

Doing their best to ignore the corpse in which blood pooled beneath, the other players shakily went on with their carvings. Gihun was downright traumatized. Eyes wide, shaking so hard he could barely keep his needle steady, the man's heart pounded with fear. The body had splattered its blood right before his eyes.

The many years of having to sew your worn out clothes had paid off. Grinning with relief as you held up your star, your chest heaved. You wiped the sweat off your face, presenting the product to the armed man, who nodded.

"Player 274. Pass."

With a lightened heart, you were escorted back to the warehouse full of beds, immediately collapsing on the floor as soon as you walked in. You were too relieved to stand, or cheer. You simply wanted some rest. It was hot, stressful, exhausting. Strong.. Kind of... Cute?...

Eyes snapping open, you looked around your surroundings. You were in your bed. Swiftly turning to your side, a familiar face greeted you.
"Wh- Ali?!"
You'd gawk. Did he carry you here? The man turned from the wall to face you. He seemed rather delighted to see you.
"I was worried! You suddenly walked in and fainted near the door. Also... You started mumbling some nonsense when you were out. You told me I smell nice."
He'd chuckle sheepishly, playing with a lock of his curly, dark hair as he twirled it in between his fingers. Blinking in shock and embarrassment, you felt your cheeks go hot. You didn't really say that, did you?
"Shit, I said that?"
You'd scrunch your nose, Ali, who not having paid attention, quickly snapped back to reality and turned to you.
"Hm? O-oh, yeah. You said something like that. Don't worry, Y/N. I think you smell nice too."
Ali would reply, mumbling the last sentence. He seemed unbothered by his own statement until he'd realized how awful that sounded. You, on the other hand, were utterly speechless. Thrown off by his additional comment, you had to check your hands to see if you weren't dreaming.
"Wait, what?"
He'd blink clearly, eyes slightly wide as he stared at you, not knowing what to do.
"Huh?"
"Did you say I smell good?"
"Did I?"
"Why would you say that?"
"What? Sorry, no speak Korean."
Ali would quickly say in a mix of English, Korean, and Urdu, turning around awkwardly after your brief exchange of confused questions.

The minute the two of you no longer faced one another, both of you immediately went to smelling yourselves, whether it be hair or clothes. Sitting in silence, the two of you felt an awkward tension in the air. Suddenly, you let out a laugh, covering your mouth in an attempt to stifle your sudden laughter.
Ali, feeling his heart simply flutter at the sweet sound of your laugh. Well. Almost. Your laugh wasn't exactly the prettiest to the typical ear. However, Ali didn't seem to mind. He found it very lovely, if anything. Turning around to get a glimpse of your face, Ali met your eyes as you attempted to calm yourself.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. It's so funny... How we're risking our lives here just to talk about how we smell..."
You'd snort, Ali's smile breaking into a laugh. His laugh was very sweet, and warm. It was genuine. Much opposed to your almost childish, pig-like laughter. Both laughters clashed terribly.
Sangwoo, having been woken by your laughter, made his way towards you and Ali with a light scoff.
"So, you two made up?"
He'd ask, raising a brow. His glasses were missing. Maybe they'd broken, gotten lost or something. Ceasing your laughter, you and Ali glanced at each other. Your first instinct was to shove him off your bed, surprising him as he rolled off and landed on the steel platform. You were very stubborn about making up, feeling it would ruin your pride.
"No, we didn't."
You'd reply, Ali rubbing his lower back as he looked up at you.
"What? I thought you weren't mad at me anymore."
He'd reply, a mix of bewilderment and mocking in his tone.
"Nope. I still won't forgive you for coming here."
You'd retort, Sangwoo lightly chuckling. Suddenly, the door had opened again, several people, including Gihun and the old man entering. Gihun was sweating. Hard. So was the old man. The two approached you, Gihun giving the three of you a grin and two thumbs up.
Scoffing as you patted his shoulder, the only region on his back that wasn't drenched in sweat, mind you, you sighed.
"Gosaeng, my dear Gihun. Gosaeng."
You'd click your tongue, Ali sitting up and propping his arm on your mattress.
"What about me? What about 'Gosaeng, my dear Ali.' ?"
Ali would grin, half joking. Rolling your eyes with a light scoff, you placed your hand on Ali's curly, dark hair, meeting him at eye level.
"Gosaeng, my dear Ali. Now ggeojeo."
You'd grin, laughing through your nose, Ali gaping slightly, not knowing whether he should be offended or happy.

Clamoring of voices now filled the room, everyone's eyes fixed on the screen, the number of players now much lower. The room went dim, the only source of light the brilliant gold yellow illuminating from the piggy bank full on money, more stacks piling over each other. All that reflected your eyes was that money. Flashes of what could be collecting in your head. A new house. Warm food. Clothes. Furniture. Your debt. You'd still have enough by then. Maybe a vacation. Buy your mom some nice things. She always wanted one of those beautiful modern kitchens. You could finally pay off the overdue expenses of your father's resting place.
As you slowly lost yourself in the oblivion of what could be, the doors opened, alarming you. The red soldiers entered with lunch. You were starving. All you had was some bread and milk. Walking in line, you stood with Ali, Sangwoo, Gihun, the elderly man, and last of all.
"Hey, come and stand in line with us. I don't want you waiting back here all by yourself."
You'd say to the girl that had approached you this very morning. Hesitant, she walked up the line with you, several people staring. Clearly their hunger had them getting aggressive.
"Ignore them. You're young, and you'll need to eat if you wanna live past 20."
You'd lightly joke, finally arriving to your spot. Your group was almost at the front, to your luck. Allowing the girl to stand in front of you, one by one, each person grabbed what you finally perceived to be a boiled egg and some cider. It was not much compared to the very first meal you received upon arriving.

Joining the girl you had accompanied this morning, the two of you walked up to the platformed beds, sitting on her bed as the two of you made small chat, cracking your eggs and eating them. She didn't seem to enjoy the yolks very much, so you gladly gave her the whites, taking the yolks for yourself. A fair exchange. Sipping your cider, you watched down below as the men conversed, grins and laughter escaping every now and then. You had discovered where she came from and learned about her family. You had told her about your job, which you had most certainly lost and how you and Ali had met back in Pakistan, causing the girl to look at him for a split second.
The two of you had even exchanged names. Her name was beautiful. Saebyeok. If you ever had a daughter, you'd want to name her Saebyeok. Ali had been watching you for the most of lunch. You had occasionally noticed Gihun glance in your direction, trying to catch Ali's line of sight. Suddenly, a loud shattering had alarmed everyone in the room. Peeking from the edge of the bed, you watched as Player 101 kicked and beat a frail looking man, a puddle of blood staining the smooth floor. Shocked, you considered going down to help, but found yourself too afraid to move. Instead, Sangwoo had approached the man, Gihun following close behind. Examining the man's body, Sangwoo gently pressed his fingers against his body, face going pale. All that could be heard next in the silent, hollow room was a faint

"He's dead."

Index

Gosaeng - You did well/Good work

My dear Gihun, is not in any way romantic :) it's the closest I could get to 'oori Gihun', which means 'my Gihun'. It's kind of a Korean slang. In a sense as to how mothers address their children affectionately

Ggeojeo - Fuck off

For reference, cider is what Koreans call soda, or pop.

Saebyeok - dawn