Chapter 21 - Black Truth, White Lie

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They four of them sat stiffly as the workers cleared away their plates and utensils.
Gi-hun's steak still had bits of meat and gristle on the bone.
Sae-byeok had only eaten a few bite of hers.

But Dae-eun and Sang-woo?
They'd devoured theirs.
Only the bone was left, and most, if not all of the accompanying dishes had been cleared as well.

The workers only left them each with their serrated steak knives.
The four of them exchanged looks across the table, whether looks of determination or fear was subjective.
The white-haired girl looked down at her knife, taking it and giving it a single wipe with her sleeve.

She watched as the other Players copied her action, though Gi-hun and Sae-byeok took theirs with a more gingerly pace.
Dae-eun stashed her knife in her tux's pocket, the blade facing down, just in case.

...

The four of them spent lights out in complete silence in their beds, none of them asleep over fear or paranoia.
Dae-eun caught Gi-hun and Sang-woo glaring at each other every so often, both of them with their knives out threateningly.
She, on the other hand, was staring over at Sae-byeok.

She sat with her knees drawn up against her, with one hand still firmly on the packed stab wound.
The girl looked to be half-asleep, her head drooping.
Dae-eun turned to Gi-hun, then got out of bed, making her way over to Sae-byeok.

"Sae-byeok?" She asked.
The girl sat up quickly with fear gleaming in her eyes, holding her knife at arm's length towards the white-haired girl.
"Sorry for scaring you. I just wanted to check on you." She said.

Dae-eun whirled around, flicking out her knife towards the man standing a few feet behind her.
Gi-hun.
"Whoa, hold on. It's alright. I'm not going to kill you." He said, turning to Sae-byeok. "Either of you."

Dae-eun looked down at his hand. "What's the knife for, then?"
"Because of Sang-woo. Protection, y'know?" He said.
Dae-eun flicked her gaze across to Sang-woo, who's face was cast in shadow.

She lowered the knife tentatively.
"What do you want, then?" Dae-eun asked.
"I wanted to talk to Sae-byeok. She's not holding up to well, is she?" He asked.

"No, it's ok. I feel fine." Sae-byeok urged.
Dae-eun sighed. "No, you're not." She said.
She turned back to Gi-hun, lowering her voice slightly. "She's hurt, I'm fairly sure she's severed an artery."

"What?" Gi-hun asked, almost disbelievingly.
"Glass shard from the last game." Sae-byeok said. "White-hair helped me get it out and pack the wound."
"Is that why she didn't touch her food?" Gi-hun said.

Dae-eun nodded slowly as she slumped down beside Sae-byeok's bed.
"If it nicked any part of her digestive system, her appetite would be gone." She said.
"You both need to think of yourselves instead of fussing over me. I'll be okay. Just leave me." Sae-byeok tried to assure them.

"We should stick together." Gi-hun suggested as he sat on the opposite side of the bed.
Dae-eun turned towards him. "Why?" She asked.
"So we can beat him. Whatever the game, we can help each other as teammates." He said.

Dae-eun looked over at the wall. "Ah, about that." She said.
The two turned to her.
"Have you two not noticed the drawings on the walls? How they correspond to the games we've played?" She asked.

The two looked up at the walls, realisation in their eyes.
Dae-eun began pointing them "Red Light, Green Light, Honeycomb, all the way up to Marbles. But! There's one that doesn't line up." She said.
She pointed the unknown game depicted.

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