Everyone stepped on the platform, their footsteps carefully walking over the puddle of blood. Daeho let Myunggi and Eden alone, going to help Jun-hee.

"I'm really sorry, Eden." He spoke up.

Eden turned to him and shrugged, "I already told you it was fine." She gave him a  soft smile.

"Yeah, I know," he paused, shaking his head. "If I had known you weren't inside, I wouldn't have entered the room." He told her, "I swear."

Eden let out a small smile and chuckle, "actually, I'm glad you did." Everyone turned to her in confusion, making her sigh. "Let's just say that the person that dragged me into a room would've definitely push you further from the room instead of helping." She gave him an awkward smile.

"Thanos saved you?" He asked, his eyes widening.

She nodded, her eyes shifting to the ground.

"Thanos!?" Daeho froze as his voice slightly cracked, "the grape?" He added in question, making Eden snort.

"Yeah, I know..." she trailed off then turned to Myunggi, "this doesn't mean I like him, trust me, he's still the asshole that he is." She reassured.

Myunggi shrugged, "I can't even be mad at him." He muttered.  "The thought of being in a room with him still makes me want to puke, though."

"I second that." Daeho added, making the pair turn to him.

Eden rolled her eyes as she reached the other members of the team with a smile, "I'm so glad you guys made it." She smiled sincerely.

"Us too," young-il told her.

The team reunited in the platform as it suddenly began to shift, spinning slowly as the hum of the music began.

Jung-bae swallowed nervously, turning to the others. "What number do you think it'll be this time?" He asked, breaking the silence.

"Two."

Everyone turned to young-il who responded with no hesitation, his voiced full of confidence. With curiosity, Eden stared at him, "why two?"

The man's gaze was fixed on the doors, nodding to them. "There are around 126 people left, and there are only 50 rooms. That means there won't be enough rooms for everyone— only 100 people can survive this round. The rest will be killed."

The others nodded whilst Eden held her stare longer before speaking up, "let's hope more people from the 'O' side die then." She muttered.

Jung-bae turned to her with guilt, making Eden shake her head at him. "Not..including you, of course." She added in reassurance.

"Right," he chuckled nervously, fidgeting with his fingers.

Daeho turned to Eden, nudging her shoulder.

"Stick with me, yeah?"

She smiled and nodded.

The platform suddenly stopped, the screeching making everyone cringe. The music stopped and everyone held their breath as they waited for the woman to announce the next number.

"Two."

All their head snapped to Young-il, Eden's eyes widening with admire. "You were right!" She exclaimed.

A hand suddenly grabbed Eden's, "let's go!"

The two didn't even react as they both ran to go to a room, hand holding as their feet pounded against the ground and puddles of blood. Suddenly, someone's big body slammed against Daeho, separating him from Eden. She looked at her empty hand and turned around to see him lying on the floor.

Just like the dream.

Daeho tried to stand up but someone pushed him again, his body falling back.

Eden tried to go back to him but the same big body slammed against her, pushing her into the nearest room.

The door closed and Eden's screaming body tried to open the door, hitting it as she tried to open it. She pressed her body on to it and peeped through the whole. Daeho was still there, looking around worriedly for someone.

Eden went back to try to open the door, her body growing tired as she fell to the floor with a sob.

"There's no point in trying, girl."

Eden's jaw clenched at the sound of the irritating voice that spoke. Her saddened and broken eyes looked up and became angered as she saw the old man with crossed arms and a smug.

"What? You're sad your boyfriend couldn't get in before me?" He asked with sarcasm.

His body was slammed onto the wall with a hard force, yanking by the collar. "You killed him!" She shouted to his face, spatting angrily.

"I saved you." He countered.

Eden let him go and when he thought it was over, she threw a hard punch directly to his jaw, making him fly backwards towards the wall.

"What the fuck—"

Eden's fist connected with the old man's jaw for a second time like a thunderclap, the impact echoing through her entire body. She didn't even feel the sting in her knuckles—only the rage boiling in her chest, relentless and sharp. His smug smirk disappeared in an instant, replaced by a look of shock as he stumbled backward, crashing into the dusty floor with a grunt.

"Remember when I told you to back off?" She spat, looking down angrily at the man. "Well, I meant it."

Eden didn't hesitate. Her fist came down like a hammer, colliding with the old man's face with a sickening crack. He barely had time to recover before her knee drove into his ribs, sending him sprawling to the ground with a guttural groan. But she didn't stop—couldn't stop. All of the snarky comment he made, fury surged through her veins, turning her into a force of vengeance.

"You are one, sick, motherfucker." she snarled, her voice shaking with fury as she landed another kick, harder this time. He coughed, trying to crawl away, but she grabbed him by the collar and hauled him back.

"And you don't deserve to live." Eden cried, eyes blazing with both rage and sadness. Her fist struck again, the sound of bone meeting bone echoing in the air. He gasped, blood trickling from his lip, but she didn't flinch. She had waited too long, suffered too much to let him off easy.

Just when she was about to throw another punch, he raised his arms in surrender, coughing out blood.

"If you kill me then we'll both lose!"

Eden then came back to conscious, staring at the blood on his face and the spatted blood on hers.

The doors unlocked and player 100 stumbled away, leaving the room as quick as possible.

Like the coward he is.

Eden dropped to her knees and looked down to her knuckles with her heavy breathing and shaking hands, she let out a cry.

I was going to kill him. If the doors had open a second later, I would've.

$$$

Daeho's hand found Eden's as soon as "two" was announced. His only priority was her, if it only came to one person, he'd save her.

"Let's go!"

He didnt even let the girl react as he pulled her away from the group to find a room, hand holding as their feet pounded against the ground and puddles of blood. Suddenly, someone's big body slammed against Daeho, and as if it were a slow motion, he felt his hand letting go of Eden's.

Daeho wasted no time in trying to stand up but just when he did, that same body pushed him again, his body completely falling back.

He watched as Eden tried to go back to him then simply disappear from his sight.

"Eden!"

His body screamed, heartbroken.

Suddenly, he was yanked onto his feet and dragged into the nearest empty room. The other peros and Daeho fell to the floor as the door locked.

Daeho's breathing fastened as he looked back to the hole on the door, trying to look for Eden. When he didn't, he closed his eyes and fell to the ground.

"Where is she?"

The man in the bun opened his eyes and saw the heartbroken sight of Gi-hun, staring at him like he had lost a part of himself.

"Sir..."

Gi-hun looked away, shaking his head. "You were supposed to stick together." He said, "why wasn't she with you?" He asked.

Daeho kept his gaze away from him, not wanting to meet with his, because if he did, he was afraid he'd just break down into tears.

"We were..." he paused, clenching his jaw in desperation. "Someone fucking pushed me and dragged her to a room." He confessed, "I'm sorry, sir, I promised I'd get her out of here and I'm just messing everything up." He told him as he held his head anxiously.

Gi-hun looked at him with sympathy. Then he looked down.

He remembered what Eden had told him not too long ago, how she watched someone stealing her from him and leaving him outside. How after the round, she saw his lifeless body on the floor in a puddle of blood. Gi-hun couldn't begin to think of what she was thinking right now, how guilty she must feel for not saving him.

"She had a dream." He told Daeho, making him looked up with saddened and teary eyes. "In a way, it came true to her."

He furrowed his eyebrows in confusion, "what are you talking about?" He wondered.

"She watched you die, in this game, she watched as your lifeless body left her." He said, "it didn't become completely true but... she thinks so."

Daeho fidgeted anxiously with his fingers, "I'm not—I'm not following." He shook his head.

"She cares for you, she cares so much for you that she had a nightmare where you died because she couldn't be there for you." He said, "I know you care for her too—"

"—of course I do." He countered.

Gi-hun smiled softly, "point is, tell her how you feel before something stops you from doing so." He advised.

Daeho licked his lips, looking down as he played with the end of his shirt.

Seung-Hyun Eden. He could visibly remember when he first saw her in the games, he remembers when she defended Gi-hun from the crazy woman. She remembered every moment, of when she defended Myunggi and how she defended everyone on her team from player 100. He remembered her smile and how her eyes disappeared when she laughed at something, or how good she was at comebacks. He remembered how she dissociated from the conversation because she felt like not talking. And mostly, he remembered how though full and selfless she was when it came to others, how she'd put the others before her, even in this scenario they were in.

But he hated how much he enjoyed talking to her because it meant that he was getting closer to her.

"You love her."

Daeho looked up in shock, "what?"

Gi-hun raised his eyebrows, not repeating himself.

"I love her..." he whispered to himself.

The doors unlocked and Daeho quickly stood up, hugged Gi-hun then stepped out of the room to go to the room Eden and him were supposed to be. With wide eyes, he watched as player 100 came out with a limp, bruised and bloodied face.

His eyes became worried as he stepped in front of the opened room, seeing the brunette on her knees as she held her face whilst crying. He looked back at the limping asshole guy and then looked back to his girl.

"Bangs?"

He managed to say, his frozen body not allowing him to move towards her. But not because he was scared, because he was afraid she'd be mad at him for leaving.

Slowly, the girl's crying and tired body, seemed to tense as the nickname was called. She stayed there.

Within a second, Daeho stepped forward and dropped to his knees, gently wrapping his arms protectively around the girl. His touch quickly made her body relax into him, her limp body falling into his.

"I'm sorry." She chocked out, her voice trembling on his chest.

Daeho rubbed his hand on her head, "it's alright..I'm okay." He whispered in reassurance.

"I'm sorry I didn't help you," she cried. "I thought—I thought I lost you."

Eden clung to Daeho as they sat on the cold, bloodied floor, her body trembling with guilt and exhaustion. Her head pressed against his chest, trying to stop the crying. Tears streamed down her face as her voice broke in a desperate apology.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, her words choked and raw. "I'm so sorry, Daeho. I tried—I swear I tried—. I couldn't..."

Daeho shook his head weakly, his arms wrapping around her with a tenderness that broke her even more. His hands, calloused but steady, cradled her back, holding her close as if he could shield her from the weight of her own guilt. He pressed his cheek against the top of her head, his breath shallow but steady, whispering softly.

"It's okay, Eden," he murmured, his voice quiet but full of warmth. "It's not your fault. None of this is."

She shook her head, refusing to meet his eyes, but he tightened his hold, his arms anchoring her like she was the only thing keeping him grounded. His thumb brushed over her shoulder in soothing circles, and he leaned his forehead against hers, forcing her to look at him.

"Eden," he said firmly, his dark eyes full of something that looked like forgiveness. "This is not your fault, okay? I'm here, that's what matters. We're both here."

Her sobs grew louder, muffled against his chest as she buried herself in his embrace. And despite the pain, despite everything, Daeho held her like she was the only thing that mattered, his strength unwavering even as his body grew weaker.

Martina speaks:   Lowkey ate this chapter ayeeew🤪🤪🤪 I wanted to kill off player 100 but I still need him to say shit about Eden so Daeho fights him🙄🙄🙄

Thought it was weird for him to admit he loves her but cmon now, if I were either of them, I'd be too in love LOL, let's pretend it's a soulmate shit and it's like meant to be or whatevs.

Did we like this chapter? I did bc I kind of acted it out and was too in character that I cried (I'm sentimental btw)

I HOPE YOU ENJOED.