~Y/n pov~

The next person jumped and fell to their death.

Then it was down to five people.

The person in front of Sang-woo bent down and seemed to be observing the glass.

Sang-woo glanced up at the time, "Move, quick. The time is running out."

"Hold on. Wait, one second. I can tell the panels apart."

I felt nervous.

We were so close to the end now.

"You can tell?"

"I used to make glass for over thirty years. You can't normally tell, but when you look at tempered glass when it's lit from the side, then you can see faint stain marks."

The man stood up and jumped safely to the next tile.

We all jumped to the next tile.

Gi-hun was still beside me but he had calmed down now and gained his composure.

"Another hint, the sound. Tempered glass is made at a heat over seven hundred degrees. Pound on it with a hammer and it rings clear than normal glass."

"Why wasn't all this brought up earlier?"
Gi-hun talked for the first time in a while.

"Why would I? Those other players tried to kill us at every chance."

He had a point.

He stood back up and jumped to the next one.

There was only one more left now.

The lights at our side of the bridge suddenly turned off.

The glass maker seemed panicked.

I glanced up at the time.

Less than a minute.

"It's too dark to see. Does anyone have an object to throw?"

Gi-hun put his hand in his pocket and handed me a marble.

I nodded and passed it forward.

The man threw it at the glass, "Anything else? I need to hear both of them."

No one else had anything.

Only twenty seconds now.

Sang-woo silently jumped onto the same tile as the man, "Then just go."

He pushed the man forward and he screamed as he smashed through the glass.

Gi-hun had a look of horror on his face, not believing what had just happened.

There was almost no time left.

"We need to go."

I told him as I jumped hurriedly to the end.

Gi-hun made it just in time.

The timer hit zero and the lights came back on.

We turned when there was a strange noise.

The glass was exploding.

I quickly turned away and shielded Gi-hun's body with mine.

A few light scratches appeared on both of our cheeks but nothing serious.

I silently gasped as a piece of glass cut into my leg.

It didn't get stuck in my leg but I knew that thI cut was pretty deep.

If it wasn't treated I could die. Especially if we had to run.

The last game was squid game, so I'll probably die.

I glanced around at the others and no one else seemed badly hurt.

At least that's what I thought.

The guards led us back to the room.

There were only four beds now.

The room looked so empty compared to when we had first arrived.

Gi-hun was clutching his arm slightly, it must've gotten hurt but he didn't seem to be bleeding that much.

I could feel blood trickling down my leg as I forced myself not to limp so no one would notice.

"Why did you do it?" Gi-hun asked Sang-woo seriously.

"What are you trying to say?"

"Why did you push him?"

Sang-woo scoffed, "You chose the last number out of luck. That makes you feel generous, huh? What if that man ended up holding out like that thug? What would you have done?"

Gi-hun stood his ground, "It was the last tile. He was clearly going to move."

"How could you be so sure?" Sang-woo shouted, "He knew how to tell which was tempered glass, but just watched people fall and die."

"In the end, both you and I crossed that bridge alive thanks to him."

"Fucking bullshit. I don't know about you, but I'm not alive because of him. I'm alive because I worked my fucking ass off to stay alive."

Fuck.. I should do something.

I grabbed Gi-hun's arm and gave Sang-woo a fake smile while pulling him away.

"Y/n, why'd you do that?" Gi-hun whispered yelled.

"Don't bother with him." I sighed exhaustedly and leant my body against his.

"Y/n?" Gi-hun's brows furrowed as he stared down at me with a worried expression.

His eyes widened when he noticed the bloody pants.

"Shit. Let's go to the toilet." He helped me to walk.

We made it to the bathroom and Gi-hun sat me down on the bench.

"Shit. What do we do?" He was clearly panicking.

"Gi-hun. Calm down." I told him sternly.

He nodded, "Right."

I lifted the leg of my pants to look at the injury.

The cut was pretty deep but I probably wouldn't need stitches.

It's not as bad as I thought but we should stop the bleeding.

I'd probably have trouble walking too.

I ripped a part of my shirt off and was about to try and bandage it up when Gi-hun grabbed my hand to stop me.

"I'll do it."

He wet a rag and gently wiped the blood away.

I winced slightly which made him pause.

"I'm sorry." He frowned as he looked up at me.

"I'm fine."

Gi-hun nodded and carefully wrapped the piece of fabric around my leg, tying the knot tightly.

"Too tight?"

I shook my head, "No, it's fine."

He offered his hand to me and helped me stand up.

Gi-hun was patient and let me lean on him as we slowly walked back to the room.

Soon after we had entered the room, a bunch of guards entered too.

"We sincerely congratulate and commend you for successfully making it through the five games. You've now become the finalists, and we've prepared a special gift for you." The square masked dude announced, "Before we reveal the gift, please change into the outfit we've prepared."

The circle guard approached us and handed us all a black box.

Gi-hun once again helped me to the bathroom but this time he didn't come in.

Sae-byeok looked nervous and eyed me.

Was she uncomfortable changing in front of someone else?

"I'll get changed and then leave if that makes you more comfortable." I offered.

Sae-byeok nodded gratefully, "Thanks."

I opened the box to see a suit.

Luckily, it wasn't too hard to change.

I easily changed my top half and then sat down and somehow pull the pants on.

I winced as I stood up and pain shot through my leg.

"Are you injured?" Sae-byeok asked in concern.

"It won't kill me." I muttered before limping my way to the door.

When I opened it, Gi-hun was stood there.

He had changed into the suit.

He smiled once he saw me and helped me back to the room.

We were led to a table where they set up this really nice looking meal.

This may be my last meal.

It looked very nice.

The table was in the shape of a square.

We all sat on our own side.

No one ate at first.

We all just stared at the food.

Everyone glanced at each other.

The silence was tense.

"We have prepared this meal as a token of gratitude for the sacrifice and effort you finalists have made." The square masked man stated, "We're certain you'll give us a splendid performance in the final game. Please enjoy the feast without any concerns."

Sang-woo was the first to take a bite.

I glanced at him quickly and decided the food was safe to eat when he didn't drop dead.

Slowly, I cut up and ate the food.

Not eating a full meal for so long really exhausted me.

Somehow, I managed to eat it all.

I noticed Sae-byeok had barely eaten her food.

Somethings up.

The guards came and cleared everything away.

They started clearing away the cutlery and then placed the knife in front of us and left it.

Are they expecting us to try and kill each other tonight?

I cautious eyed Sang-woo and watched as he immediately grabbed the knife.

I wouldn't be surprised if he tried something.

Grabbing the knife, I convinced myself it was for protection.

Gi-hun and Sae-Byeok also grabbed their knives and slipped them into their pockets.

Eventually, they cleared the whole table away and we were left by yourselves.

The light went out.

I waited for a few moments before getting up and going over to Sae-byeok.

"Hey."

She jumped up and pointed her knife at me.

"Woah. It's just me." I put my hands up in surrender.

"Sorry." She placed her knife down.

I sat against the wall beside her bed.

"What's up?"

"Nothing really."

I narrowed my eyes at her, "Don't lie. Something seems off and you barely touched your food earlier."

She bit her lip and hesitated, "The food wasn't very nice. I'm fine."

Sae-byeok jumped and reached for her knife before realising it was just Gi-hun.

"Sae-byeok. She's right. I'm worried." Gi-hun sat down beside me, "And besides, if I wanted to kill you I'd have already done it. You kept dozing off."

I jumped in surprise not expecting him to appear next to me.

Sang-woo was sat on his bed clutching the knife.

We spoke in whispers in hopes that he would go to sleep and nothing would happen.

Sang-woo had fallen asleep.

Gi-hun noticed this and stood up.

He shushed us so we wouldn't talk and then pulled his knife out of his pocket.

"Stop. This isn't you." Sae-byeok stated, making him stop in his tracks.

"She's right. Don't do it." I added.

Gi-hun turned and stared at us for a few seconds before placing the knife back in his pocket.

He came back over and sat beside me.

"Hey.. Y/n." Sae-byeok spoke.

I hummed in response.

"Remember that promise you made?"

Why was she bringing that up now?

"Yeah. What about it?" I asked her.

"You better look after my brother okay..."

"Why are you talking like that?" Gi-hun frowned.

Wait... I noticed the bedsheets started to look red.

I gasped and pushed back the covers to see blood was gushing from her side.

"Sae-byeok.... Oh my God!"

I quickly placed my hands on the wounds, trying to stop the bleeding.

Gi-hun's eyes widened in disbelief, "Shit. We can get help. We can get a doctor."

"No..." Sae-byeok frowned, "I'm not going to make it."

"Don't say that!" Gi-hun ran over to the doors.

Tears ran down my cheeks.

Sae-byeok smiled and cupped my cheek with her hand, wiping the tears away.

"Don't cry... thank you for everything you've done. I know my brother will be in good hands. I already know... I'm not going to make it." Sae-byeok smiled sadly.

She smiled.

Gi-hun was banging on the doors and shouting, "Hey, hey! We need help. She's lost a lot of blood! Somebody get in here! There's a badly injured girl!"

Sae-byeok's eyes started to close, "I want to go home..."

"Is anybody out there? Get in here, you assholes!" Gi-hun continued to yell desperately and smack his hands against the doors.

Sae-byeok's eyes widened as she looked behind me.

A hand grabbed my shoulder and roughly shoved me out of the way.

I noticed Sang-woo staring down at me with a knife in his hand.

I tried to get up but he scoffed and kicked me hard in the side making me slide further away.

My lungs wheezed as I coughed.

Sang-woo turned back to Sae-byeok.

She smiled sadly and mouthed something to me.

Sang-woo swung the knife down and stabbed her in the neck.

I watched in horror as blood spurted out of her neck and she faded away.

She was dead....

"Sae-byeok!" I yelled tears streaming down my cheeks.

The doors burst open and guards walked in.

Gi-hun turned around with a relieved look which immediately twisted into a horrified expression.

Sang-woo started advancing towards me as the guards placed the coffin down.

Gi-hun let out a scream of rage and raced towards Sang-woo with a knife.

Sang-woo turned and glared at him.

The guards quickly separated them, pointing guns to their heads.

I watched as Gi-hun desperately cried and struggled.

Sae-byeok's body was placed in the coffin.

She was smiling... when she died.

She was smiling.. at me.

The coffin was closed and the guards walked out.

Sobs racked my body as I recalled what she had mouthed to me.

I love you. Goodbye, sister.

I felt a sharp pain in my throat and it felt like it was closing up.

It was hard to breathe.

Tears ran down my cheeks as I panted and gasped for air.

"Shit. Hey, Y/n!"

Warm hands appeared on my shoulders making me jump.

"Sorry!"

I squeezed my eyes shut and tried to focus on my breathing.

There was a ringing noise in my ears.

The hands on my shoulder slowly moved until warm arms were wrapped around my body.

Someone pulled me into their lap and my head flopped onto their chest.

"Listen to me, okay. It's me, Gi-hun. You're safe. I won't let him hurt you. You're safe okay. Copy my breathing."

I heard him take a deep breath in.

I copied though my breath was shaking.

"And out." Gi-hun exhaled, "and in again."

My vision started to clear as my breathing returned to normal and the tight feeling in my throat disappeared.

I looked up at Gi-hun.

He was already looking at me with a worried expression.

"It's okay. I'm here. You're safe." He whispered to me, wiping the tears from my face.

Gi-hun leaned forward and rested his forehead against mine, "I've got you."

His arms were wrapped around me tightly which reassured me and told me he was telling the truth.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry." I sobbed as my voice cracked, "It's my fault."

"No. It's not. Don't even say that." Gi-hun told me sternly.

I realised we were on the floor next to Sae-byeok's bed.

More tears sprung to my eyes.

Sang-woo had fallen asleep somehow.

He seemed unbothered.

The blood splattered on his clothes and face were proof of what just happened.

Gi-hun noticed I started crying again and looked at where I was looking.

Sae-byeok's bed.

He held me closer, one arm going under my butt as he stood up and carried me.

I rested my head against his shoulder weakly as he carried me over to another bed that was still far away from Sang-woo.

He sat against the headboard and sat me in his lap.

Tears continued to fall as I sobbed for my friend.

Ali was my friend too.

The realisation he was dead hit me too at this moment and I started to cry harder.

He was partnered with Sang-woo.

It didn't occur to me until now that he was dead since I never saw him die or his body.

Gi-hun cradled me to his chest and rocked me back and forth, crying to comfort me.

~*~

~Gi-hun pov~

My heart broke as I stared down at the crying girl.

She was broken... it's all Sang-woo's fault.

Sae-byeok could've made it.

I remember what he had told me.

'It was a mercy kill. She was going to die anyway.'

I noticed Y/n's breathing get faster again as she started to panic.

She was staring at her hands that were covered in blood.

Sae-byeok's blood.

I quickly rushed her to the bathroom and washed her hands for her.

She was like a mindless robot and just let me carry her and wash her hands before taking her back.

I glanced over at Sang-woo and to my relief he was still sleeping.

Y/n continued to cry softly to myself.

I laid down in the bed and held her close to me.

She sniffled and snuggled into my side.

I absentmindedly drew patterns on her back as I held her.

This seemed to calm her down.

She was still crying.

It brought me back to last night where I had been doing the same.

This time it's my turn to comfort her.

I need to be here for her.

I don't want to see the girl I love in pain.

Her eyes closed and she seemed to fall asleep.

I watched her for a few minutes to make sure she was asleep.

She was beautiful despite her red and tear stained cheeks.

I gazed down at her lovingly before holding her tighter.

I can't lose her.

I won't lose to that bastard.

Shuffling, I rest my head on Y/n's and tried to got to sleep despite the uneasy feeling I felt.

I'll protect her.. even if it's the last thing I do.

~*~

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2926 words

A/n has anyone cried reading this book yet? I hope the panic attack was realistic. I just tried to describe what it's like when I have panic attacks. A lot of books don't describe them accurately so I hope mine was okay.