The time to sleep came in no time. Eden had been tired the whole day, she thought it was maybe the stress she'd been dealing with for the past days, she had been staying up for hours to just think. Think of what she could be doing outside, right now, in that moment. But she was stuck here, in this games of life or death, and oh, did she hope this next game wouldn't be as bad as the other two.

She was just hoping it wouldn't be the game she dreamt about.

"Bangs?"

Daeho peaked his head from behind the beds to the girl who was looking up blankly. "Eden?" She hummed, "you okay there?" He asked quietly.

She stayed silent, looking towards Jun-hee who was sleeping whilst holding her belly. She sighed and shook her head.

Daeho bit his lip before sliding out from below the bed, nodding her to follow him.

Gi-hun had told them and insisted them to sleep all together, that way it would be easier to protect each other if anybody were to attack at night. He had told them that in the games he played, many of the players died at night because of attacks from the opposing side. That didn't scare Eden, but it did make her think.

They had taken turns to do watch, so everyone could rest.

Daeho tapped the ground beaneth him for the young woman to take, she dragged her blanket with her and sat harshly on the floor. Daeho had chosen to do night watch with her, he wanted to get to know her, talk to her. He didn't know if it'd be the last time they would be doing this, he was hoping it wasn't.

"What are we thinking?" He asked.

He knew not to ask if she was okay for a second time, no one was.

Eden hugged herself with the blanket and sighed, "I'm thinking that...there's a possibility that I'll never make it out of these games." She confessed quietly.

Daeho stared at her with an unreadable expression, "we'll make it out, Eden." He whispered comfortably. "I'll get us out of here, I promise." He told her.

"You can't promise things like that, Dae." She whispered to him, "you can't pretend like these games aren't going to kill us." She said, "maybe not now, but..we could just die here." She added.

The man shook his head, "it's a promise I plan on keeping, yeah?" He promised, taking her hand in his, "Eden, I'll get us out of here, with or without the money." He nodded to himself when he saw her unsure expression, "and when we get out, we'll go somewhere nice with everyone and eat and drink, and do the stuff people usually do." He told her.

"Don't say that." Eden stared at him, making him furrow his eyebrows. "Don't make plans yet." She whispered.

"Why not?" He asked, his eyebrows raising.

Eden sighed, letting go of his hand unconsciously. "In movies, when people make plans whilst they're at war or someplace bad, they are the first ones to die." She explained, causing him to nod. "And I don't want you to die."

"I won't." He told her.

Eden nodded quietly, sniffling as she hugged herself even tighter to keep her from getting cold. Her puffy and tired eyes kept looking straight ahead, and Daeho not wanting her to think about death, decided to change the subject.

"I have four sisters," he blurted out. "I'm the middle child."

Eden turned to him and chuckled, "I can see that." She responded.

"You can see that?" He repeated, "why's that? Huh?" He teased, "am I the annoying middle child?"

The girl shook her head with a soft chuckle, "not at all. You're...you're protective over people and...you try include everyone." She explained, "and you can be a little bit talkative sometimes." She added in a mumble, making his jaw drop.

"I'm talkative?" He asked with raised eyebrows, "you're one to talk." He scoffed.

Eden furrowed her eyebrows, "I don't talk that much."

"Yeah, you do."

"I don't!" She whispered.

Daeho gave her a teasing smile and rolled his eyes jokingly. "Let's just say, you're a much bigger talker than I am, and I talk a lot."

Eden hit his arm which made him laugh, "and you're very aggressive with me." He added, "though, I'll take it as a compliment because I know I'm the only one being hit on."

"Well, that's because I like you." She confessed.

Daeho's eyes widened as he then looked at her, "you do?" He asked.

"Yeah...," she responded, "you're an okay guy." She shrugged, making him laugh.

"An okay guy?!" He whispered shouted, making her chuckle. "If I'm an okay guy then who's—who's a... cool guy? Hmm?" He asked. "Let me guess, Thanos?"

Eden bit her lip form laughing and looked around, spotting Gi-hun whose lips were parted as he snored quietly, she snorted.

"The old man's pretty cool."

Daeho looked at the sleeping guy and rolled his eyes, "he is so not cool—okay, I'm lying, he so is." He agreed, "but he can't be that much cooler than me." He shook his head.

"Meh, that's debatable." Eden teased.

He rolled his eyes at her and filled his mouth with air before sighing, "well I think player 149 is better than you." He shrugged.

Eden gasped, "that old lady is such a sweetheart!" She said, not getting at all offended which made Daeho turn to her with a smile. "She reminds me a lot of my mom." She said out loud.

"Really? What is she like?" He asked, wanting to get to know her more.

The brunette smiled unknowingly, looking at the distance, "Very protective and energetic," she started saying with a small laugh, earning one form Daeho as well. "There was this sport's rally at school one time, and I had to bring my dad but he couldn't make it so my mom did." She explained, "and...some kids were laughing at me because of that, saying how my dad abandoned me and stuff like that—my mother got mad and then there was this one game of throwing water ballons," her lips twitched into a smile, "and let's just say those kids ended up crying." She told him.

Daeho snorted then smiled sincerely, "She sounds like a very good mom."

"Yeah..she was."

Her eyes sparkled, making Daeho lick his lips, noticing the clear past tense in her mention. Not wanting to touch that subject in case she didn't want to, he changed the subject.

"Do you want me to tell you a story?" He asked, nudging his shoulder with hers.

Eden gave him a soft smile, "please tell me this story will include your dorky phase? Where you wore glasses and read comic books?" She joked.

"Huh—wait, how did you know I used glasses!?" He asked in full shock, making Eden snort.

"I knew you had a dorky phase!" She exclaimed quietly. "You give off such a vibe."

Daeho rolled his eyes, "excuse me, but reading comic books and using glasses doesn't make a dork, Eden Seung-Hyun. It makes me a...reader, perchance." He said.

"You can't just say perchance, Daeho." She grinned.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Is there a law for that?" He sassily responded, making Eden's jaw drop.

"You are so sassy!" She laughed, "I can't believe I'm friends with a sassy person." She said.

Daeho shrugged and sighed, "well, believe it. I'm your only friend in here, the rest are just people who you...are playing against." He trailed off with a smile.

"What? You're not my only friend." She raised her eyebrows at him.

"Yes, I am." He responded.

She shook her head, "I have other friends that aren't you, Daeho."

"Mhm, tell me who they are?" He said, reaching his finger to his ear to pretend he's listening. But before she could say anything, he cut her off, "and don't say Jun-hee or the old man!" He warned, making her scoff.

"Ugh, okay!" She rolled her eyes, "what about Young-Il? I like him." She shrugged.

"How can you like someone you're suspicious of?" Daeho raised his eyebrows.

Eden rolled her eyes, "I hate you."

He winked, "what about Myunggi?" He asked, mentioning the man's name, making Eden smile and nod.

"Oh, Myunggi! Yeah, he's my friend. Well, we make a good team." She nodded to herself, causing Daeho to roll his eyes.

"Is we make a good team the new way of flirting now-a-days?" He asked.

Eden snorted, "Oh, my God. Are you kidding?" He shrugged, playing it cool. "Okay first of all, you can be friends with someone and not flirt with them. Second, I'm pretty sure he's Jun-hee's ex boyfriend that got her pregnant." She told him in a hushed whispered as she looked back to the sleeping pregnant girl.

Daeho's eyes widened as he scooted closer to her, "are you serious?" He whispered, making her nod.

"Yeah, I mean, he didn't exactly tell me that he got her pregnant but I'm a hundred percent sure that they were together." She nodded, making him cover his mouth in shock. "Did you not sense the tension between them? It's like Jung-bae and Gi-hun's." She said, comparing.

Daeho snorted then aligned his lips, "so you and him are not flirting at all?" He asked curiously.

Eden scrunched her face and furrowed her eyebrows, "if anyone is flirting with me, it would Thanos. Who is doing a terrible job at it." She mention.

"This Thanos guy...do you find him attractive?"

The girl side eyed him in disgust then raised her eyebrows, "He's not ugly." She shrugged, making Daeho snap to her, "Taking out the part where he's killed people...I could see myself being attracted to him." She said to herself, letting out an exhale.

"Really?"

"No, you idiot!" She turned to him in shock. "I mean, yeah, he's attractive but the fact that he's like totally crazy and like—a total asshole, makes me  want to—hmm, I don't know, kill him." She rambled. "But in this case scenario, that would be really not a good thing to say in front of someone because they might actually believe it." She trailed off, "I actually thought of saying something to player 100 like, "kill yourself" or something but then I re thought about it and I was like, Eden that's kind of mean, but then you think of how annoying player 100 and its like the sensitive in me disappears...."

Daeho sat quietly, his gaze resting on Eden as she rambled on, her hands gesturing with every other word. He wasn't entirely following what she was saying, but there was something captivating in the way her eyes lit up and her voice shifted with disgust and emotion. He nodded occasionally, a small smile playing on his lips, as if her presence alone was enough to keep him content.

"Meh, I get it." He shrugged in response, "I do feel like you have a perosnal vendetta against him, though."

Eden scoffed, "i just think he's annoying, that's all."

"Sure, Eden. Sure."

He nodded with a slight grin, making her roll her eyes with a smile. They sat in a comfortable silence, Eden resting her chin on  her knees as she hugged them. 

Eden picked at the edge of the blanket around her, her restless energy needing somewhere to go. "You ever think about... what you'd be doing if you weren't here? Like, back home, normal—depressing life?"

"I would be doing depressing things, that's for sure." He joked.

Eden smiled and sighed, "Can I ask you something?" She asked him. He nodded, giving her his complete attention. "How old are you?" Daeho snorted.

"That's your question?" He said.

Eden nodded repeatedly, "I don't know how old anyone is, except for Myunggi," he rolled his eyes. "—whose name and age and literally whole life was mentioned in front to everyone." She added.

She shrugged, fiddling with a loose thread on her shirt. "And of course you.. you look young. Like, way too young to be all mature and stuff. I'm guessing... twenty-five?"

He snorted, the corner of his mouth lifting slightly. "I'm thirty-three." Eden's jaw dropped completely to the floor then began to check him up and down.

"You're thirty—three!?" She shouted.

Daeho was quick to cover the girl's mouth from shouting any louder, looking around awkwardly. "I'm not sure if I should be offended or flattered right now." He joked.

"So you're telling me you've been thirty—three this whole time?" She asked him, slapping his hand away, making him wince.

"No, Eden. Im lying, I'm actually nineteen." He joked.

Eden stared at him, "really?"

"No!" He laughed, "I'm thirty—three."

Eden froze mid-gesture, her eyes narrowing as she studied his face. "No, you're not."

"I am," he replied simply, his tone so casual it only fueled her disbelief.

She leaned forward, squinting like she could somehow uncover the truth if she stared hard enough. "There's no way. Thirty-three? You've got, like, zero wrinkles. And your hair—do you moisturize or something?"

Daeho chuckled quietly, shaking his head. "What does my hair have to do with anything?"

"Everything!" she shot back, gesturing wildly. "Guys in their thirties are supposed to look, I don't know, weathered. You look like you're still in college!"

He laughed then, a low, genuine sound that echoed softly in the quiet space. "So you're calling me old?" he said, the amusement clear in his voice.

"You said it. Not me." She shrugged.

"Thirty isn't old, bangs." Daeho told her.

Eden crossed her arms, glaring at him in mock frustration. "Whatever, but you're definitely lying. Twenty-seven. Tops."

Daeho didn't bother correcting her this time. He just smirked, the look in his eyes teasing but unbothered. "Sure. Twenty-seven. If it makes you feel better."

"Are you not going to ask how old I am?" She asked with a teasing smile. She then saw Daeho close space between them to look at her features.

"Twenty—three."

Eden's jaw dropped open, "how did you guess that fast?" She asked in wonder.

"I'm just that good at guessing, baby."

Eden's smile drop, "did you just call me "baby"?"

"Yup."

"Was it an accident?"

He nodded, "yeah."

Eden gave him thumbs up which made him chuckle as she sat closer to him, placing her hand on his tight unconsciously. "Let's talk hobbies." She smiled, "what do you like to do in your free time? Write? Read?"

"Mm..I like to play the guitar." He confessed, making Eden smile.

"Really?"

He nodded, "yeah, my sisters and I used to have like a mini band, they used to sing whilst I played the guitar." Daeho told her, making her give him a grin.

"Do you know how to sing?" She asked with curiosity.

Daeho stared at her, hesitating for a second before giving her a shrug. "I'm not saying I'm good, but I like to." He said.

"Oh, you have to sing me something." She grinned, making him shake his head instantly. "You know what? There's this karaoke bar near my parent's house, we should totally go there sometime." She suggested.

"Didn't you say we shouldn't make plans yet?" He asked, raising his eyebrows. Eden frowned.

"This is depressing," she groaned. "I can't say anything without thinking that there's a big possibility that we're not going to be able to do it." She whispered sadly.

Daeho stared at her, "I didn't say that."

"But it's the truth." Eden said, covering her face with her hands. "Ugh, I hate this." She mumbled.

He stared at her then chuckled, wrapping his arm around her and pulling her close. "Don't worry, bangs. We'll get out of here tomorrow and when we do, we'll go sing some songs at the karaoke bar, deal?" He asked, trying to cheer her up.

"You don't even know where it is." She mumbled on his chest.

He nodded to himself, "How about you tell me?" He whispered.

"How do I know you're not going to kidnap me when we get out of here?" She asked, uncovering her face to look up at him. He looked down knowingly and stared, making her snort. "I'm kidding, Kang Dae-ho. If you were a kidnapper, you wouldn't stand a chance. I took defense classes when I was younger."

He furrowed his eyebrows and let go of her, making her grin proudly. "Is that why you hit so hard?" he asked.

She shrugged, making him nod.

"That's badass."

"I know!" She exclaimed. "The reason why I got into that was because I was slightly bullied in school when I was young—don't ask— so my dad insisted and then he was so proud when I punched that little kid on the face," she paused to snort. "If you had seen his face, oh my God, if I had to relive a moment it would definitely be that. Or when I went to the karaoke bar down Bambit-Gil street with my parents and they got so drunk I had to carry one each home!" She chuckled, "I miss them so much." She mumbled.

Daeho stared at her lovingly, watching her talk about her parents made his heart ache, he didn't know the feeling, but it still made him feel sad.

"Yeah, I can definitely see you punching someone." He told to himself, making her smile. "Remind me to never get on your bad side." He joked, Eden rolled her eyes playfully and hit him in the arm, cashing him to chuckle. "Or any side at all!"

Martina speaks: lowkey wanted this chapter to be longer bc I wanted them to have a veeeeery long talk, but I just got tired 🤪 do we like them? Also, all the flirty things Eden does are unconsciously, like she literally doesn't notice when she does anything at all. Got a comment telling me that Korean names are backwards and now I'm kind of embarrassed, let's pretend Eden is her first name pls and thank you ( Seung-hyun Eden) it doesn't look bad, (pls forgive me, i shouldn't done some research before but I was so excited)

What did we think of the CHAPTERR??