CHAPTER TWO ━━━━ RED LIGHT, GREEN LIGHT

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KIM HA-EUN THOUGHT SHE WAS IN A DREAM. When the soft melody of a faint, classical music stirred her eyes open, the revelation that she was not in her own bed sprung on her almost immediately. As the girl hoisted herself up on her elbows, the unfamiliarity of the environment she was in stroke her consciousness. The transparent verity that she was not alone either dawned on her mind. Her perplexed gaze scanned her surroundings, catching the mystified glances of hundreds of people as they roamed around the spacious room. Ha-eun peered down at her replaced attire ── a turquoise jump-suit and the number 129 engraved in the fabric.

"Fancy seeing you here, Ha-eun." a voice surfaced from the adjacent bed.

Ha-eun quickly pivoted her head, her breath coming short. She blinked at the person leaned towards her. "Lee Do-yun?" She gasped.

As the girl had fallen deep into accumulated debt and sorrow ── her entourage had shifted. She couldn't bear the obnoxious presence of her past SNU friends, that now resided at the top of the pyramid ── where she was supposed to reign. So, she preferred dwelling with people that couldn't boast about their luxurious accomplishments. That was where she was acquainted with Lee Do-yun. Part of an underground fighting club, he had also lost everything. His family, his money, his title. Ha-eun and Do-yun had had a few adventures together, before Ha-eun broke it off ── overwhelmed with unease as her mother's condition worsened with each passing day.

"The one and only." He smirked, extending his open palm to the girl. She pretended to not notice the invitation, not particularly keen on reviving her past situationships. They only triggered wretched memories, where misery routed each of them. He had been a nice distraction ── but that was the extent of it.

Kim Ha-eun sighed, jumping to her feet. "Guess we both need those depts paid, huh?" She huffed, trudging to the centre of the room where a commotion seemed to arise. The girl peeked between shoulders, eyebrows knitting as she stared at a venomous altercation between a young girl and an imposing man.

The woman winced as he assaulted the young girl, blood dotting her upper-lip. Before the brawl could follow its course, a man leaped in the middle, grabbing the girl by the collar. How many enemies did she have?

"That scar! You're the pickpocket! Where's my money?!" He pressed, catching the attention of her previous assaulter as well.

"Who are you?"

The man's composure slightly wavered under the man's towering stance. "Me? Well ── I'm Gi-hun, from Ssangmung-dong," he stuttered.

"Yeah? Well, me and this bitch weren't done talking." He spat, eyes glazed with threat. Those type of gang-leaders weren't uncommon to Kim Ha-eun as she explored the details of the desperate world ── they were good at one thing: scaring the herd. It was pitiful to watch, really.

Before she could stop herself, she pushed through the bustling crowd, coming between the two sides of the scrap. "How about you stop preying on smaller people than you and stop wasting our time," she rolled her eyes, shielding the two. "We're here to get money, not to watch your pathetic fuss."

"Get out of my way before I ruin your face." 101 cautioned. At she stayed rooted in her spot, he swung his arm towards her cheek. Ha-eun leaned back, biting back a satisfied grin as he missed his attempted punch.

"Missed." She taunted, witnessing his expression turn sour. Before the trouble could escalate, everyone's attention shifted to the doors as they slid open, revealing a dozen guards, draped with a red suit and a mask concealing their identity.

"We woud like to extend a hearty welcome to all of you." One of them spoke up, a square printed on his obsidian mask. "Everyone here will participate in six different games over six days. Those who will win all six games will receive a handsome cash prize."

"How are we supposed to believe you?!" A man exclaimed, a frown pasted on his lips as he advanced towards the line-up. "You put us to sleep, took our phones and wallets, then dragged us here to this place. Now you show up and expect us to play a few games for money? Do you expect us to believe that?"

"We had to enforce these measures to ensure security bringing you all in here. We will return everything once the games are over."

"Then, why are you guys wearing masks and not us?" Someone else enquired.

"We do not disclose the faces or identities of our staff to any of the participants. For the sake of fairness and safety."

Even through their given explanation was coherent, it was also discernible that the games they were about to join weren't legal. I mean, had anyone ever heard of drugging then secluding indebted people to make them play games, money as the reward. The guards did not want to face the consequences of partaking such measures.

"I don't believe you. You tricked us, kidnapped us. You expect us to believe you?!" Someone spoke up, the voice ringing a bell of familiarity in Ha-eun's mind.

"Player 218. Cho Sang-woo." Kim Ha-eun's heart stopped. "Thirty-seven years old. Former team, leader of Team Two at Joy Investments. Syphoned money from his clients, then invested in derivatives and future options with it ── and failed. Current loss at 650 million won."

Everything around Ha-eun became a blur, and she had trouble staying stable at her feet. It had been ten years since she had last seen the man. Ten years since her world came crumbling down. The screen began to flit through other cases, but Ha-eun kept her mind focused on Cho Sang-woo. How many exes of her's had they rounded up in this place, anyways?

The difference was, Sang-woo hadn't been a mere distraction to her tumultuous life. He had been the love of her life. She believed she never truly got over him. After her mother fell ill and her life had taken a dark turn, she couldn't bear to stay with him. She ended their romance, too frightened to continue vowing herself to him ── painfully aware that their destinies had vacillated beyond repair. One thing Kim Ha-eun despised was being prey of pity. She wanted to sort herself out, not to fall victim of the compassionate glances and pretend words of comfort. She preferred to opt out. Though, clearly, Sang-woo wasn't all innocent either.

"Everyone here is on the brink of financial ruin, with debts you cannot pay. When we first went to see you, none of you trusted us. But, as you all know, we played a game, and, as we promised, gave you money when you won. Suddenly, every one of you 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? Or will you act and seize this opportunity?"

Murmurs rose between the contestants, debating on the spoken words. Kim Ha-eun didn't need to converse ── her decision had been made the second she dialled that number. She didn't have a choice but to accept.

"What kind of games are we playing exactly?" A man investigated.

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

"Okay, then, how much money do we get?" Ha-eun demanded, that concept being her main motivation.

As soon as those words dropped off her tongue, the ceiling seemed to slide open, revealing the descent of an enormous glass pig, illuminating the dim room. "Your prize money will be accumulating 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." So much mystery. Kim Ha-eun did not like the deviation of each question.

Everyone complied into separate lines. Do-yun crept behind Ha-eun, huddling next to her ear. "So, you doing this thing?" He quizzed

"Yeah," she nodded. "I need that money more than anything."

"Agreed." Do-yun sighed. "By the way, was that ── that was Sang-woo, right? The one you told me about ── "

"Yes, yes it was. Don't remind me, please." Ha-eun would have never envisioned the two men in the same room, and she refused to as long as possible.

Before he could reply, Ha-eun rushed to the front of the room, plucking the ink pencil between the guard's fingers. She examined the contract, perusing what those games entailed. It contained three distinct sentences.

CLAUSE 1 ── a player is not allowed to stop playing

CLAUSE 2 ── a player that refuses to play will be eliminated

CLAUSE 3 ── games may be terminated if the majority agrees

The conditions seemed almost too simple, and Ha-eun wondered what trick they had up their sleeve, what detail they were concealing. It was too good to be true. As she delicately signed the paper, she suspected they'd all discover the game's purpose shortly, anyways.

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THE COLOURFUL PATTERN SURROUNDING HER MADE HER NAUSEOUS. As Ha-eun mounted the stairwell, she pondered on who could have decorated this cruel Disney-lookalike building. It was disgustingly bright, and she narrowed her eyes as they inspected the place. They reached their destination, a designated machine for each queue. Kim Ha-eun paced forward, staring at a pixel screen. "Please look into the camera ... Smile!"

Arranging her strands of hair, she grinned softly into the camera. Then, she followed the instructions as they guided her further until she reached an enormous arena. Surprise flashed over her expression as she halted, peering at what surrounded her. It was warm, eagles croaking above her. Were they on an island? A giant doll faced them from the opposite side of the arena and sand piled at their feet. It was nothing like Ha-eun had ever seen before. This place kept getting curiouser and curiouser.

Before she could walk any further, a hand tapped her shoulder. The woman whirled around, peering curiously at the middle-aged man, that she recognised as the one that had confronted the pickpocket. "Hey, thanks for what you did out there! I thought he was about to kill me." He genuinely smiled, gripping the girl's hand. He shook it with enthusiasm. "I'm Gi-hun."

"I know, I heard. From Ssangmund-dong." She nodded.

"Aha! Yes, that's right," his lips rose even further at the comment.

"I'm Kim Ha-eun. It's nice to meet you." The woman introduced, mirroring his expression. "You shouldn't mess with that guy ── seems like a real piece of shit," she advised, referring to 101.

"Thank god you were there," he repeated, before his gaze flickered to a distant figure. "Hey, I've got to introduce you to someone."

Before she could protest, he lead her forward. Her eyebrows furrowed, wondering how this joyful man could have landed here, with deranged dealers and gang members. She practically lost her balance as he urged her forward. "Sang-woo!"

Oh no. Ha-eun wanted the ground to swallow her whole. "Sang-woo, what are you doing here?!" Gi-hun pressed, catching his friend. By the way in which Sang-woo's eyes widened as they set on the pair, it was clear he hadn't noticed her presence either. Gi-hun wheeled back to Ha-eun. "This was my childhood best-friend, we grew up together! I taught him how to get into SNU ── he was Ssangmund-dong's pride and honour!" At the lack of reaction from her part, Gi-hun's eyebrows rose even further. "Wait! Don't tell me you two know each other as well!" He laughed, waiving his index dinger between the two.

"I also attended SNU, Gi-hun." Ha-eun spoke, avoiding Sang-woo's stare.

"OH! I've got two geniuses with me! How lucky." Gi hun clapped, not catching on the palpable awkwardness that floated among the trio.

Thankfully, their focus all shifted to the doll as a voice was emitted from the speakers. "Attention, all players. After you enter the game hall, please stand behind the white line on await further instructions."

Ha-eun slowly detached herself from the pair, choosing a spot amongst the rest of the players while the speakers recited the same instructions. "Here is the first game. You will be playing Red Light, Green Light." The doll specified, circling back to the tree. "You are allowed to move forward when it shouts Green Light, stop when it shouts Red Light. If your movement is detected, you will be eliminated."

They were playing a kid's game? Ha-eun remembered engaging in it when she was a child, in the school playground. It was appeared much too easy ── and that bothered Ha-eun more than anything else. A group of adults were going to pay their debts after six rounds of Red Light, Green Light?

"The players who cross the finish line without being eliminated within the five-minute playtime will pass this round. With that, let the games begin."

A beep rung through the air, announcing the start. "Green Light."

Ha-eun took a few, cautious steps forward, camouflaging herself with the rest of the players.

"Red Light."

The woman stopped, staying planted on her feet. She witnessed one of the participants ahead of her stumble.

"Player 324 ── eliminated."

A BANG echoed in the air, and the player collapsed to the ground. Ha-eun stilled, a sense of uneasiness emerging in the pit of her stomach. Had that been a gunshot? She shook the thought away, blaming it on her imagination. There was no way.

At the following "Green Light", the woman took one single step forward, a trace of suspicion lingering in her steps. The player next in lead loomed curiously over his friend. When blood suddenly poured out of his mouth, the man was taken by fright, swivelling around in shock. The next thing people heard was another gunshot, piercing him right through the heart. He crashed to the ground.

"Player 250 ── eliminated."

They had killed him.

All hell broke loose from that moment on. Alarmed by the blood that stained the grains of sand, a large number of players tried to escape from this deadly game. Chaos escalated as they ran across the game hall and towards the door. Gunshots perforated each of their skin, piles of human bodies slumping to the ground. Shrieks of horror punctured the air around them, and Ha-eun remained frozen on the spot.

Disbelief was scribbled over her face, and her heart hammered against her chest. Suddenly, she felt her body being jerked backward as the man in front of her lost his demeanour. Ha-eun couldn't help but scream as he thumped down on her, his lifeless eyes gaped at her, a hole rammed by a bullet in the middle of his forehead. She could feel his blood drool on her clothes as she shook, stuck to the ground.

The doll repeated the previous instructions as the frenzy died down, at least half the players killed. Ha-eun sucked air through her teeth, unable to tear her eyes away from the deceased man's look. His weight crushed her down as she trembled softly.

"Green Light."

Ha-eun, even if she wanted to, couldn't budge.

"Red Light."

"Ha-eun. Listen to me." A near voice called out to her. Sang-woo. "At the next Green Light, I'll stand in front of you. The doll has motion detectors, so it won't be able to see you move if I'm hiding you." He explained, referring to the man preventing her from advancing.

At the next signal, Sang-woo covered her from the doll's sensors and she hurried to push the man off her body, rushing to her feet. "Thank you," she breathed, trying to think past the blood dripping on her shirt.

As the game progressed, the two progressively diverged paths, and Ha-eun's gaze stayed glued to the timer. One minute left. As the doll's body twisted back to the tree, she realised that if she wanted to pass the game, it'd be better to make a run for it. Inhaling a puff of air, she readied her stance to leap forward.

"Green Light."

This was her chance. With all the speed she could possible gather, she sprinted forward, aiming for the finish line. As the crimson paint came to view, she jumped, toppling to the ground and burying her hands in the sand.

"Player 129 ── passed."

She had made it, but at what cost?