~Y/n pov~

The van stopped in front of me.

My parents always told me not to talk to strangers or get into suspicious vans but here we are.

I stepped closer to the passenger window and peered in.

There was someone in a hot pink suit (I thought they were red when I first watched).

The hood covered his face so I couldn't see what he looked like.

"L/n Y/n?"

My voice caught in my throat for a second before I swallowed and managed to reply, "Yeah, that's me."

"Password?"

"Red light, green light."

The door automatically slid open so I took that as my queue to get in.

The door closed and before I could say anything the man had pressed a button and gas started to fill the van.

My eyes widened in panic but it was too late to do anything because my body was already loosing consciousness.

The man had turned to look at me and that's when I realised he was wearing a gas mask.

My vision faded into black as the vehicle started to move.

~*~

My eyes shot open and I looked up with a startled expression, observing my surroundings.

Where the hell was I?

There was classical music players and hundreds of other people appeared to also be waking up and getting out of the beds.

I looked down and noticed I was wearing a green jumpsuit.

It had a number tag.

My number was 372.

I looked around and noticed hundreds of other bunk beds.

There were two more beds above mine.

You would die if you fell from that height.

I shivered at the thought.

Bunk beds this high make me feel uneasy.

I'd feel better if I was at the bottom but I'm on the second one.

Hurriedly, I climbed down the ladder and watched as people walked down the steps into the centre of the room.

That's when I spotted him.

Seong Gi-hun.

What the hell was he doing here?

He started talking to this old man.

I approached them.

"Gi-hun?"

He whirled around with a scared expression and then relaxed when he saw me.

Gi-hun tensed up again, "What are you doing here?"

I raised an eyebrow at him, "I could say the same to you."

The old man was ignoring us and counting.

Gi-hun frowned and pulled me closer.

"Are you counting the number of people here?" Gi-hun asked the man, "It says up there."

He pointed to a screen above the door that showed the number of players.

I had noticed that earlier in my panic.

456 players... So Gi-hun was the last.

"Could you stop talking to me for a while?" The man sighed in annoyance.

Gi-hun stared at him in confusion.

The old man realised we weren't going away anytime soon so he stopped counting, "I'm counting the numbers because my doctor said counting is good so I don't get dementia or anything."

It made sense since he looked pretty old.

"Why exactly are you here?" I asked him.

"Why shouldn't I be?"

"Shouldn't you be.. I don't know, sat at home while your daughter-in-law cooks you a nice meal. I think." Gi-hun added.

"You think so?" The old man asked with a smile.

Gi-hun nodded in response.

"I don't have much time left now. I have a lump on my head." The old man explained.

"A lump?" I furrowed my eyebrows in thought, "You mean a brain tumour?"

The old man nodded, "It's growing everyday."

I heard a yell and when I turned I saw there was a crowd gathered around.

A fight?

I sent a nervous look to Gi-hun before cautiously walking over.

Stood at the back, I could barely see over people's head.

I wasn't exactly short. In fact, I was slightly over average.

Though that didn't stop the fact that I couldn't see from where I was.

There were a bunch of men who were tall so I somehow managed to push my way through the crowd to get nearer to the front.

It seemed like Gi-hun had the same idea as a few seconds later he was beside me.

"It really is a small world, huh?" The man with the snake tattoo smirked at the girl, "Look at those eyes. You still have that temper, huh? Then again... nobody broke your spirit, you could always take a hit."

I didn't like the way this was turning.

A bad feeling rose into the pit of my stomach but I tried to ignore it.

"I took care of you. I fed you. I taught you when you had nowhere else. This is what I get?" The snake tattoo man glared at her.

The girl stood her ground, "You took more from me than whatever I might possibly owe."

"If all of that's true, how come you ran then?"

"Well, I didn't. I went independent."

The man started laughing as if she had just told him a funny joke.

My hand started trembling slightly as the man swung to hit the girl.

Flashes off a man swinging his fist at me haunted my vision.

I blinked rapidly.

It's not real. It's not real.

My hands were trembling.

I snapped out of it when I felt larger warm hands holding mine.

My vision cleared and I saw that the girl had dodged the hit.

I turned beside me and saw Gi-hun giving me a reassuring smile.

It said 'it's okay. I'm here'.

The snake tattoo man grabbed her by the collar and threw her to the ground.

I squeezed Gi-hun's hand for reassurance.

He squeezed back, sending me a comforting smile and pulling me closer so our arms were pressed against each other.

The girl tried to stand up but he pushed her away.

And then he kicked her and grabbed her hair, pulling her face up so he could look at her.

"Independent, huh? Are you some kind of activist? Come on then, get up. Oh, that's right. You've from North Korea, huh? Then wave theirs, huh?" The man smirked as if he had just accomplished something.

My eyes widened as Gi-hun's hand detached from mine and he ran over to them, pushing the guy away.

He grabbed the girl by the collar, "Hey, you come here. You're the damn pickpocket! You loser. My money, where is it? Give it back."

Gi-him was getting more worked up by the minute as he shook her back and forth.

An angry look on his face.

The snake tattoo man had stood up and he kicked Gi-hun away from the girl.

"Who are you?"

Gi-hun hurriedly stood up and swept the hair away from his face awkwardly, "Uh..."

"What do you think you're doing?"

"Me? Uh, well... look. The name's Seong Gi-hun. I live in Ssangmun-dong."

"Hey, Ssangmun-dong shit." The tattoo man smirked as he insulted him.

"Yeah?" Gi-hun responded nervously, his voice breathy as he stared at the man with slight fear in his eyes.

"The little birch and I were done talking." The snake tattoo man spat.

"Yeah, I understand that it's just there's something that me and this.." he hesitated for a second, "woman should talk about urgently."

"You bastard!"

The girl was still sat on the floor, just staring up at both of them.

"What scheme are you two pulling?" The man narrowed his eyes at Gi-hun.

Gi-hun laughed nervously, "What's your problem with this girl, 101?! Yeah, I'll bet that... that you're a thug who prays on girls and takes advantage of them. Did you tell her to rob me like that?"

"You little son of a bitch." The man threw a punch at Gi-hun but luckily Gi-hun managed to step away and avoid be hit.

"Hey, he wants to hit me." Gi-hung yelled, causing even more of a scene, "This thug is trying to hit me! Hey, somebody get over here! We need help!"

There was a buzzing noise as the door opened.

"Oh, there! She'll pickpocket us all." Gi-hun waved his arms around rapidly.

I quickly scurried over to the girl who was still on the floor.

"Are you okay?" I offered my hand to her.

She looked at me with a weary expression for a moment before taking my hand and pulling herself up.

She was a few centimetres shorter than me.

"Yeah, thanks." She stated bluntly before disappearing into the crowd.

I shuffled over to Gi-hun and watched as people in hot pink suits walked into the room.

They were all wearing black masks.

The one in the middle had a white square on the mask and the rest of them had a white circle.

"That was dangerous." I frowned at Gi-hun.

He turned to looked at me and noticed my worried look, "Yeah.. I know."

I wrapped my arms around his waist and rested my head on his shoulder.

My fear has lessened.

I was so scared for him. He's so reckless.

One of Gi-hun's arms wrapped around my waist and the other went up to my hair.

His hand brushed through my hair in a soothing manner.

I turned my body sideways so I could see the people who had just walked in.

"I would like to extend a heartfelt welcome to you all." The man in the square mask spoke to us.

His voice seemed like it was being disguised by the mask.

"Everyone here will participate in six different games over six days. Those who win all six games will receive a handsome cash prize."

"And why should we believe that?" Someone asked.

Gi-hun moved to rest his head on mine.

"You took all our stuff and out us to sleep coming here and then you brought us to this strange warehouse. Now you're saying you'll pay us if we go and play a few games? You really expect us to buy that?"

"We reluctantly took all of those measures to maintain confidentiality as we brought you here." The square masked man responded nonchalantly, "We'll return everything once the games are over."

"You all... you all have masks. Why are you wearing those things?"

"We do not disclose the faces and personal information of our staff to any of the participants. It's a measure we take to ensure fair games and confidentiality. Please understand." The square man replied bluntly.

"Well. I don't believe you one bit. You got that?"

Was that Sang-woo? What the hell is he doing here?

"You tricked us." Sang-woo continued, "We were kidnapped. You can make as many excuses as you want to make sure nobody knows you broke the law in here. If you're gonna make up for that, then we're gonna need something more."

"Player 218. Cho Sang-woo." He clicked a button on a remote and the screen above their heads displayed something else.

It was a video of Sang-woo being slapped while playing Ddakji. Just like I had and probably everyone else in the room.

"Former team leader of Team Two at Joy Investments. Siphoned money off from his clients' balances then invested it in derivatives and future options and failed. Current lose, six hundred million won." The man in the square mask stated.

Gi-hun was staring at the screen in shock.

The screen starting showing several different people being slapped.

"Every person standing here in Thai room is living on the brink of financial ruin. You all have debts you can't pay off." The square masked man concluded, "When we first went to see each of you, not a single one of you trusted us. But as you all know, we played a game. And as we promised, gave you money when you won. And suddenly, everyone here trusted us. You called and volunteered to participate in this game of your own free will. So this is it. I'll give you one last chance to choose. Will you go back to living your old and depressing lives getting chased by your creditors?"

He's right. I can't continue living like this.

"Or will you act and seize the last opportunity we're offering here?"

"Hey! Which games are we playing here?" Player 199 asked.

"In order to play fair, we cannot disclose any information about the games ahead of time."

Gi-hun raised his hand to get their attention, "One question. If we win, just how much do we get?"

The square masked man pressed a button and a bright light appeared above me.

I looked up and saw this massive piggy bank. It had a golden glow to it.

"Your prize money will be accumulated in there after every game. We will disclose the amount to everyone after the first game is over. If you do not wish to participate, then please let us know at this time."

No one said anything.

~*~

We all got into lines to sign consent form.

I had a bad feeling about this but I ignored it.

"So then.. is this it or.." Gi-hun asked when he saw the form.

The man in the suit didn't answer and stayed silent.

Gi-hun awkwardly looked down and glanced to the side.

I did the same and saw people signing it will almost no hesitance.

Gi-hun quickly signed and form and moved out of the way.

I stepped to the front of the queue and signed the form, glancing cautiously at the man in the mask as I did so.

Then, I went in the direction Gi-hun went in to meet up with him.

"What do you think the first game will be?" I asked Gi-hun.

He thought for a few seconds before laughing slightly, "I don't know. I hope it's something easy."

"Yeah... I'm starting to feel a bit nervous." I sighed.

Gi-hun smiled and ruffled my hair, "Don't worry too much. You'll be fine."

"Attention, all players, the first game will begin shortly. Please follow the staff's instructions."

Everyone had signed the consent forms now.

We were led out of the room and into a seemingly never ending room.

It looked like a children's play area.

It had vibrant blues, pinks and green.

There were lots of staircases twisting and going in all sorts of directions.

It reminded me of that one scene in The Labyrinth.

Everyone had to take a photo before proceeding.

I stood in front of the camera as it told me to smile.

There was a small click as it took a photo and I moved out of the way.

A few seconds later, Gi-hun caught up with me.

We were lead up some staircases.

Anywhere I looked, I could see people.

There were some many of us on all the different stairs.

I had no idea where it began and ended.

After walking for a short while, we exited these doors.

I looked back and saw the doors were made to look like they were attached to houses.

We were standing in a room but it was painted to look like outside.

The floor was dirt and the walls were painted to look like fields of crops.

I noticed Sang-woo stood near us.

Gi-hun grabbed my hand and pulled me over with him.

If he didn't do that I would've just awkwardly stayed where I was... he probably knew that.

"Oh, Sang-woo, my man!" Gi-hun let go off my hand and placed his hand on Sang-woo's arm.

Sang-woo turned to look at him with a blank look as Gi-hun continued to talk.

His eyes flickered over to me briefly before going back to looking at Gi-hun.

"What happened? What the hell are you doing here?" Gi-hun asked question after question.

It almost seemed like an interrogation.

Almost...

Gi-hun had this kind and friendly nature so I could see he was just concerned.

Sang-woo turned away while Gi-hun continued to talk.

He was ignoring him.

I frowned but didn't say anything.

I placed a hand on Gi-hun's arm which made him stop rambling.

He looked at me with a confused expression.

Sang-woo finally spoke, "We'll talk about it later."

"Please stand behind the white line drawn on the field."

Gi-hun stared after Sang-woo as he talked away.

"Come on." I grabbed his hand and tugged on it gently to try and pull him along.

He blinked and snapped out of his trance, nodding at me.

We walked over the stood behind the white line.

It was then I noticed the big tree at the other side and the creepy looking girl stood in front of it.

I pointed towards it, "What the hell is that?"

Gi-hun squinted his eyes to try and see it clearer, "I don't know. It's creepy."

Everyone turned as the doors behind us shut.

The uneasy feeling I felt earlier started to come back as I turned back around.

"This is the first game. You will be playing red light, green light."

The doll's body turned to face the tree and one of her hands was placed on it.

"You are allowed to move forward when it shouts out green light and stop when it shouts red light."

This seemed too easy.

"If your movement is detected afterward, you will be eliminated."

"Red light, green light?" Player 118 asked from beside me as he turned to look at me for confirmation.

"Yes. I'm guessing we have to make it past that line." I gestured towards the red line on the other side of the field.

I hear everyone else murmuring about it.

A five minute timer appeared on one of the walls.

The doll started singing.

The blonde and the guy next to him both ran forward quickly.

I took big steps forward, bring careful not to trip.

The doll's head turned and her eyes seemed to scan the field.

The blonde who was in the lead was wobbling around.

There was a loud bang as he fell to the ground.

My eyes widened in horror.

He was unmoving and wasn't getting up.

"Player 324 eliminated."

The doll turned back around.

The man the blonde made a bet with quickly ran up to the blonde and nudged him with his foot.

I moved forward cautiously.

He was dead, right?

The doll turned to look at us again.

"Hey, you got eliminated, idiot. You can stop with the act."

The blonde suddenly coughed up blood.

The man shuffled away from the blonde in shock.

He was the next to be shot as he tried to run.

The blood splattered on a woman's face and she let out a scream before being shot too.

My legs were frozen in placed and my heart felt like it was going to leap out of my chest.

My breathing was panicked.

What the hell?

~*~

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3195 words

A/n there's not that many of these so you're welcome. I thought this story would be a fun one to write.