· 。ﾟ☆: *.☽
▎A F T E R D A R K ▎

· 。ﾟ୧ ⋆. 𝗧𝗥𝗨𝗘 𝗙𝗥𝗜𝗘𝗡𝗗𝗦𝗛𝗜𝗣. ₊˚.༄
ACT ONE ━━━ CHAPTER SEVEN,
❝ i think so too, kang sae-byeok ❞

𝓦hen Ji-Yoo saw her cousin enter through the door, a wave of relief hit her. Sure, she might be mad at him, but she was happy to know that he wasn't dead.

"Sang-woo!" She called, gaining his attention. Sang-woo looked around briefly before he reluctantly walked towards her. Ji-Yoo laughed at the look on his face, "Oh, come on. Cheer up, will you? I know you're relieved—happy, even—that I'm alive."

His face stayed neutral, "Who said I was happy to see you alive?"

"Oh, please. You can't fool me, Sang-woo. I saw the look you had in your eyes for a split second, you couldn't find me when you left so you either assumed that I was one of the dead bodies or that I passed."

He stared at her, narrowing his eyes down at her in suspicion.

"I never understood how you were able to read me so well when everyone else couldn't," He said, an amused smile beginning to show.

Ji-Yoo shrugged carelessly with a smug smirk on her lips, "I guess I'm just better than everyone else."

"I missed you, Ji," He admitted which got a huge smile from Ji-Yoo. "More than I'd like to admit."

Their heartwarming conversation was cut short when the rest of his team, which included Gi-hun, entered the room, alive and well. It seems that everyone in their team passed the second game, even the old man.

Sang-woo glanced at his childhood friend, surprised that Gi-hun passed when he had the umbrella as his shape.

"I'll see you later, Sang-woo," Ji-Yoo told him before walking away.

Sang-woo watched as his cousin advanced away from him and to Sae-byeok. He noticed how the two of them became fast friends, bestfriends even at this point. The two of them seemed to always be together, they were always huddled up, talking about God knows what, and they would always give eachother glanced whenever one of them talked to another player.

It was like they were soulmates that could read each other's minds. They immediately clicked, just like that.

Sang-woo was always envious of how likeable his cousin was, she could be friends with anyone in a second. Even if he hated to admit it as a grown adult, he was still jealous of her ability to make fast friends.

"Hey. Sang-woo?" Gi-hun's voice snapped him back to reality.

He blinked, "Huh?"

Gi-hun chuckled, "Did you hear what I said?"

"Uh, yes," He lied.

"So it's true that you and Ji-Yoo are on good terms again?" Gi-hun wondered, believing Sang-woo's lie.

Sang-woo stayed silent for a brief moment since he didn't actually hear what Gi-hun had said. He played along, "Ah, that. I suppose so, I'm not entirely sure. Ji-Yoo tends to change her mind all the time, she could be yelling at me again later."

"Well, let's hope she makes her mind up this time, yeah?" Gi-hun laughed, Sang-woo just let out an awkward chuckle in response.

"Attention, players," Ji-Yoo's conversation with Sae-byeok was interrupted by the woman on the PA. "I will now announce the results of the second game."

Everyone watched as the number of players decreased. Looking up when a tube lowered and filled the piggy bank with more cash.

"Out of the 187 players who participated, 79 players were eliminated."

The more the large piggy bank filled up with the money, the more the players looked satisfied with the amount they might win.

"The prize money accumulated this round is 7.9 billion won. The total prize money accumulated so far is now 34.8 billion won."

"𝓐ttention. Your mealtime begins now. All players, please form a line in the center of the room."

This time, they only gave them a single bottle of soda and one boiled egg.

It seemed that a few players weren't satisfied with their small amount of food since five people didn't get anything, meaning that five players ate twice.

"Excuse me," a woman stood up and pointed at a group of players, "It was them. They skipped the line and got seconds. I saw it."

The group the player was accusing just happened to be 101's team.

Deok-su threw the egg in his mouth as all eyes landed on the five of them, "Hey, what's the matter, everybody? Jeez. You never see a guy eat before, is that it? Shit," He chuckled.

Player 271, one of the people who didn't receive any food, angrily walked over to the group. "Who do you think you are?! That's my food you just ate."

Deok-su lifted the half-finished bottle of soda, "Ah. So, uh, is this yours? Is your name on it? 'Cause I sure don't see anything." Everyone in the group laughed. "I'm sorry," he scoffed and went to take a sip.

271 leaped forward and tried to take the bottle, which only resulted in the glass object to fall on the ground and shatter into pieces.

"You little shit, goddamn it!" Deok-su grabbed 271, fury blazing in his eyes. "Why did you break it, you jerk? How was this, huh?" He threw a punch at the guy, leading him to fall to the ground.

At the violent movement, the players exclaimed and some quickly stood up. Ji-Yoo and Sae-byeok, however, stayed in their place and watched as Deok-su beat up 271 like he was nothing.

"How come a scrawny guy like you is so greedy about food? You piece of shit!" He kicked 271, making him grunt. "Hey, listen up. You should learn to share," Deok-su told him through kicks. "Is it too hard, you dumbass? You bastard! What the hell? You shithead."

Ji-Yoo looked over at Sae-byeok, seeing how she watched the scene with a straight face. She assumed that it was probably a normal thing with Deok-su, seeing as he apparently took her in before she betrayed him.

She saw how her friend would flinch slightly whenever Deok-su kicked 271, which also made Ji-Yoo realize that he might've done the same thing to her.

The masked guards did nothing to stop Deok-su the whole time, they just stood there like mannequins.

After a shit ton of beating, Deok-su had enough and walked away. Sang-woo walked forward and bent beside 271, only to realize that he was dead.

"He's gone."

At the announcement of another player's death, the rest began to murmur, shocked that someone died when it wasn't even a game.

Gi-hun tried to get the guards' attention, begging for them to do something about it but as always, they didn't do anything.

Ji-Yoo looked at the screen above and saw how the number of players went from 108 to 107. Right after that, the piggy bank lit up again and more cash was added.

The door beeped and two masked guards came in with a coffin. Everyone watched as the two of them placed 271's dead body inside the coffin before closing it and walking out.

Ji-Yoo felt a pit in her stomach and she knew that something was going to happen when the lights turn off and it's pitch black.

𝓖i-hun and the team were discussing how none of them should sleep that night in case something bad happens when they saw how Deok-su and his team were eyeing both Ji-Yoo and Sae-byeok.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Ji-Yoo asked for the tenth time, noticing how the girl was shaking.

Sae-byeok nodded, "Yes, I'm fine. Don't worry about me."

"I don't believe you," Ji-Yoo confessed, looking at her friend with a concerned look. "Ever since what happened earlier, you've been shaking. I don't think that's normal, Sae."

"I said I'm fine, Ji-Yoo!" She snapped, "You're not my mother, stop acting like you are."

"But I'm your friend," The brunette girl retorted. "And as your friend, I care for you."

Sae-byeok scoffed a chuckle, "Sure. You 'care' for me."

Ji-Yoo looked at her friend in slight disbelief, "Are you saying that you think I don't care about you, Sae-byeok? Of course, I do. Why else would I still stick around with you?"

The short-haired girl looked up with her usual stone-cold expression.

Ji-Yoo was waiting for Sae-byeok to scold her or snap at her again but Sae-byeok didn't say anything, not a word. She just stared at Ji-Yoo with a look in her eye. Ji-Yoo could even swear she could see Sae-byeok's eyes tear up a bit.

"Hey." At the sudden call, the two of them snapped back to reality. They both looked up to see Gi-hun, who sighed at the sight of the two of them.

"Are you okay?" He asked Sae-byeok, "It looked like you and that thug really had it out for eachother."

"So what?"

"Tonight, if anything happens, we'll all meet in my bed right there," Gi-hun directed his arm to the direction of where he and his team were going to stay. He gave the two girls a nervous smile, "Are you two in?"

Sae-byeok sharply looked away from him, "I don't trust people... only one," she whispered the last part but Ji-Yoo heard it since she was right beside the girl but Gi-hun didn't, though.

"And that's twice as true for anyone who'd end up in here. Got it?"

"You think that's how it works, huh?" Gi-hun questioned. "Listen, you don't trust people here because you can. You do it because you don't have anybody else," He briefly glanced at Ji-Yoo when he said that.

Gi-hun sighed again when neither of them said anything and walked away.

When he left, the two girls fell into silence. It wasn't an awkward silence, it was a comfortable one.

Sae-byeok was the first one to break the never-ending silence between them, "You're the only one I trust."

Ji-Yoo looked down at her with a shocked look. "Am I really?"

"You are," Sae-byeok didn't lift her head up or look at her, she set her eyes on the ground as she spoke. "You're the only player that I told my name to... and you're the only one I care for."

Ji-Yoo almost dropped from shock at Sae-byeok's confession. She already thought of Sae-byeok as a friend but learning that she was the only one that the older girl trusted was absolutely mind-breaking.

And the fact that Sae-byeok also said that she cared for Ji-Yoo just made the whole moment much better.

A smile made its way on Ji-Yoo's lips, "I feel the same way, Sae."

Sae-byeok finally looked up at Ji-Yoo with a smile, a genuine one.

"I think we're going to be great friends, Park Ji-Yoo."

Ji-Yoo's smile only grew wider when Sae-byeok quoted what she once said to her when the two of them passed the first game.

"I think so too, Kang Sae-byeok."

Oh, what great friends they were . . . If only Ji-Yoo didn't screw up everything and end up killing Sae-byeok then maybe they would've left the game together.

Alive.

𝓘t was now 30 seconds until the lights went out and the duo was ready for whatever would happen tonight.

They had already planned what they would do after the wholesome conversation they had earlier. Sae-byeok was going to stay in her bed until the lights went out, then she would head down to Ji-Yoo and the two of them would stay up all night.

And if something does happen, then they would fight while protecting eachother.

Ever since Sae-byeok's confession, the two have been closer than ever. Sae-byeok finally opened up to Ji-Yoo and she did the same.

The two of them trusted eachother.

And besides, what's a true friendship without trust?

"Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one."

In a second, all the lights went out and the room was pitch black.

It wasn't long until Ji-Yoo felt the bed dip and three taps on her shoulder. She immediately knew it was Sae-byeok, the two of them made up a secret code so that the other would know that it was them.

Three taps on the shoulder was their secret code.

Ji-Yoo scooted to the side, giving Sae-byeok enough space to lay beside her. The bed was rather small to fit two people but both of them were skinny and small so it was perfect for the two of them.

As expected, the sound of a woman shrieking echoed around the room, making everyone sit up. Soon after that, the lights then began to flicker, making the whole experience more dramatic and thriller-y.

Ji-Yoo saw how beds were falling down which made her panic, she quickly took Sae-byeok's hand and pulled the two of them out of bed just as it was knocked down.

"Sae-byeok?" The only thing she heard in response was the sound of a pocket knife extending from beside her.

"I'm here."

Right when she said that, a man wrapped a piece of cloth around Ji-Yoo's neck, choking her. Ji-Yoo gasped, trying to pry him off her.

Deok-su spotted them and went to strike at Ji-Yoo's front but Sae-byeok kicked him in the check before he could, sending him back. Just as Sae-byeok did that, Ji-Yoo took her elbow and hit the man choking her, making him grunt and stumble back from the impact.

He groaned as his back hit the metal structure, Ji-Yoo immediately turned around when he released her from his hold and kicked him in his area, making him groan in pain and fall on the ground.

The two girls tried to make an escape for it but Deok-su grabbed Sae-byeok's hair before she could make a run for it. The young woman let out a cry when Deok-su dragged her by the hair, she took her knife and stabbed him in the leg.

She tried to fight him but it only ended up with her being pressed again the wall, his hands wrapped around her throat.

Sae-byeok did her best to pry him off her but to no avail, seeing as Deok-su was most likely the strongest out of everyone.

Deok-su yelled in pain when he felt a piercing pain on his shoulder, he let go of Sae-byeok and clutched his bleeding left shoulder that had a pocket knife plunged into it.

He looked back and saw Ji-Yoo standing behind him, making him shout at her.

Sae-byeok quickly took ahold of the handle of the knife and ripped it off of his skin, making Deok-su double up in pain. Once she took it, Sae-byeok took Ji-Yoo's wrist and ran away.

"How did you get the knife?" Sae-byeok asked her as they were running.

"You dropped it, and I picked it up," Ji-Yoo replied through her heavy panting. "We need to find Gi-hun!"

Ji-Yoo saw Sae-byeok nod right when the lights flickered on and they began to look for the man.

"Ji-Yoo!" A familiar male voice shouted. "JI-YOO, WHERE ARE YOU?!"

She instantly recognized it, "Sang-woo..."

"JI-YOO! JI-YOO!"

"SANG-WOO!"

The brunette pulled Sae-byeok to where she heard her cousin's voice. Although, instead of finding Sang-woo first, they stumbled upon Gi-hun.

"You're here, the both of you," He said once the two girls appeared infront of him.

"Like you said."

Gi-hun looked at something, or someone, behind the two of them and he quickly pushed the two girls behind him right when Deok-su went to strike them.

The two boys then began to fight, Sae-byeok joined in while Ji-Yoo sat on the ground, hissing in pain as Deok-su seemed to have hit her in the arm with the knife she used to stab him when he charged for them.

From the corner of her eye, she saw Sang-woo hitting one of the men with a metal pole, she also witnessed as another man from Deok-su's team kicked him down to the ground beside her.

He turned his head to her direction, "Ji-Yoo! Ji-Yoo is that you?!"

"Sang-woo!" She exclaimed and wrapped her arms around him, embracing him in a tight hug.

He returned the hug, equally as tight, before he helped her stand up.

199 came in as well and waved a large pole at them, daring for them to come near him.

All five of them stood together, facing Deok-su's team. The two teams were covered in blood and most of them had weapons in their possession, ready to hit the opposing team with them.

199 stood in the front with Gi-hun and Sang-woo by his side, both having a metal pole in their hands, while the two girls stood behind the three males, no weapon in hand.

"Hey, Ssangmun-dong, what are you doing? We're just helping cull the herd," He laughed.

Gi-hun pushed Sae-byeok behind him, out of Deok-su's sight. "She's our teammate, you got that?"

Deok-su and his team averted their eyes to Ji-Yoo which made Sang-woo push her back as well, giving the enemy team a deadly glare. "She's in our team, too."

Ji-Yoo stared at the back of her cousin's head, a little bit shocked at how protective he was of her.

Sang-woo had always been protective of his younger cousin, he would glare at any male who set their eyes on her and he would beat up every guy who broke her heart or bullied her when they were young. Ji-Yoo was just shocked that the 'protective older cousin' act was still present.

"Teammate?" Deok-su questioned in disbelief.

Just then, an elderly voice yelled out from above. "All of you, stop this!" All of them looked up to see the old man standing at the very top of one of the bed stacks that hadn't been knocked down during all the chaos and killing.

How the hell did he get up there?

"I'm... I-I'm scared. We are all gonna die in here! Everyone, every single one of us is going to die! Please. I'm so scared. Stop this madness! If you keep this going, then we're all going to die in here!"

Right then, all of the lights switched on and the doors opened. A group of masked men came running in, one of them fired gunshots which made everyone stop whatever they were doing and cover themselves.

As all of the triangle masked guards went to check all of the dead players, the one guard with the square mask was walking rather calmy.

The masked guards aimed their guns at the players, making them raise their arms in defense and turn around.

"Drop your weapon," One of the guards told the two teams. All of them dropped their weapons and raised their hands up in the air, turning around as the guards checked them for any more hidden weapons.

The woman on the PA began to announce the players that died as the masked guards scanned the part under their ear.

The superior guard, the one with the square mask, stood behind Gi-hun. "Player 456." Gi-hun's eyes widened in panic when he realized that the guard was talking to him. "Is there a man named Hwang In-ho here?"

At the mention of the familiar name, Ji-Yoo turned her head to the side but kept her eyes glued to the ground.

"We don't use our names in this place," Gi-hun replied simply.

He stood there for a moment before he turned his head to Ji-Yoo, who let out a groan as the guard patted her arm, right where her wound was.

Sang-woo and Sae-byeok turned their heads to Ji-Yoo when they heard the sound that came out of her mouth. "Ji-Yoo?" Sang-woo called when she dropped her arms and placed her hand on the wound, which was bleeding badly.

Square stepped by Gi-hun and stood before Ji-Yoo, who was grunting in pain from her wound.

"What happened to you?" The masked guard asked way too softly, gaining a look of curiosity and confusion from Sang-woo, Sae-byeok, and Gi-hun.

Ji-Yoo took a deep breath, "He stabbed me." She nodded to Deok-su. Sang-woo turned his head and glared daggers at the man with the snake tattoo, as did Sae-byeok.

Square took Ji-Yoo unharmed arm gently, looking to the nearest triangle guard there was. "She's injured. I'll take this one to the medic, you finish this off."

The triangle masked person just nodded in response before walking away. Square began to head towards the exit, pulling Ji-Yoo with him.

"Hey! Where do you think you're going with her?!" Sang-woo yelled, making the two of them stop.

Square turned around stiffly, "It would be wise if you didn't make any attempt of trying to take her back. Your teammate seems to be injured, if she doesn't get help then she will die," was all he said before he turned around and dragged Ji-Yoo out of the room that reeked of death.

Ji-Yoo noticed how the guard was leading them towards the bathroom rather than where the 'medic' was. "H-Hey, where are you taking me?"

He didn't answer and continued to head in the direction of the girls' bathroom. He opened the door and went in, Ji-Yoo couldn't do anything but allow him to push her in.

She watched as he peeked his head outside and then closed the door, locking it. Ji-Yoo's eyebrows furrowed in confusion when he locked the door, "Why'd you lock the door?"

Just like before, he didn't answer. Instead, he lifted his hand and took his mask, slowly taking it off. Once he did that, Ji-Yoo was met with a rather familiar pair of eyes. He removed the rest of the mask, revealing no other than Joon-ho.

Ji-Yoo's eyes widened and her mouth fell open in shock at the sight of the man she hasn't seen or heard from this entire time.

Even while he wore a mask all day which led him to sweat, Joon-ho still looked insanely attractive, as always.

Joon-ho thought that she would break into a huge smile and hug him after a few days of not seeing him, but what he didn't expect was when Ji-Yoo stepped forward and slapped him in the face.

"You asshole!" She scowled at Joon-ho whose head was facing the side, his cheek a little bit red from her slap.

He ran his tongue against the side of his mouth, which was very hot, and slowly turned his head to face her, giving her an unreadable look.

"I thought you would've been more happy to see me," Joon-ho chuckled which made Ji-Yoo scoff, shaking her head at him before walking past the man and standing infront of one of the sinks.

Joon-ho turned around swiftly, crossing his arms as he watched her take off her jacket, placing it on the sink beside the one she was standing infront of, and turning on the sink, letting the water flow out.

"So you're just not going to talk to me?"

No response.

"What if I told you that I had a much better plan?"

Ji-Yoo froze, making eye contact with Joon-ho through the mirror.

". . . I'm listening."

word count: 4033

kara speaking . . .
seventh chapter, done! the reason why i made ji-yoo & sae-byeok so close? because jennie & hoyeon are bestfriends irl so i just had to, yk.

i absolutely love placing those foreshadowing shit, it actually makes me excited for some reason. not much of my husband in this chapter but they'll finally discuss the plan in the next chapter, though!

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© -𝙶𝙾𝙳𝙳𝙴𝚂𝚂𝙾𝙵𝙻𝙾𝚅𝙴, 𝟸𝟶𝟸𝟷