I LOVE YOU SO
Chapter Six
❛ What's even innocent anymore? ❜

COOL CORAL SKIES. Low tides hugged and crashed against the mossy rocks. Large, sturdy boats toured the pure blue seas, creating white, mini, fluffy waves along the surface of the ocean. Flocks of jolly birds squawked through the canvas of pink from above. The mushy sands blanketed Aera's tanned legs, the scintillating rays highlighted her balmy cheeks.

From beside her, someone chuckled, though, she couldn't make out who it was. The soft laughter echoed through her ears, it was strangely familiar, almost identical to the one she heard recently. Deciding to let it be, Aera let the Jeju breeze flitter through her wavy and light hair- blowing away all her concerns.

Overlapping the peaceful atmosphere, a piercing voice began to tear Aera's dream apart. Groaning in aggravation, she threw her hands onto her ears, in hopes that it'd block the unwanted sound out.

Placing the golden bread between her teeth, Mi-nyeo began to shake Aera's tranquil shoulders, ". . . I swear I will get that square head guy- wake up you brat," tossing the thick blanket aside with such a force, it made no success in waking Aera up, tutting, "so infuriating," she placed both her hands on her hips.

"Why," snuggling her tired face into her crossed arms, ones that were acting as a pillow for the short wearisome night, a whine left Aera's yawning lips.

"Because-"

"Why!"

"Why, why, why," mimicking Aera's child like tantrum, Mi-nyeo began to drag her out of bed, "you promised a big repayment, now tell me, what was it that you saw last night?"

Getting up abruptly, having enough of Mi-nyeo prodding and pestering her, the top of her scalp collided with the bottom of someone's bunk, it shuddered as Aera clutched her head, "ow! Mi-nyeo-"

"Excuse me!" player who was trying to munch on their lunch serenely, whipped their head around to face the bottom bunk and briefly gave Aera a scowl.

"How's this my fault?" Ungracefully, Mi-nyeo flopped beside Aera, with a plastic milk bottle in between her fingers, she chugged down half the bottle, wiping the corners of her mouth with the back of her thumb, "so what did you-"

"Seriously?" Pouting over the fact that she was not on an exquisite island with an unlimited supply of matcha ice cream, "I just woke up, give me a break-"

"Actually you woke up at six already. You were walking around the room like a maniac."

Oh. Hwang Aera thought as a surge of dismal emotions flooded throughout her senses, she thought she had been discreet about the previous night. During the middle of the disquieting night, Aera left her bunk to search her side of the room. To find Hwang In-ho. But nothing met her expectations, her hope in shambles the moment she was faced with silence and darkness when she couldn't find him. Aera grumbled a sigh as she listened to Han Mi-nyeo's complaints.

"-I thought you were sleep walking. But, I was kind enough to leave you be. Because I'm like that. After that, you started to nap again, which isn't my fault, so no. I cannot 'give you a break'," using her fingers to create quotation marks, she rolled her eyes when Aera huffed, "what did you see?"

"Why not ask the girl I was with?" Appearing more distant at the mention of her, Aera scanned the blindingly bright room. Rubbing at her dreary eyes did not appreciate the sudden change in lighting.

Letting her eyes drift from player to player, Aera noticed that they all grouped together, muttering silently about what they thought the next game would be. Stopping short on a particular player, her flushed cheeks grew piping hot. Squeezing her palms shut, digging her nails deep into the surface of her hand, Aera bit on both sides of her inner cheeks.

The events of last night tumbled back into her mind, making Aera frown even more.

We're not friends, so stop acting like we are, got it? 067's words circled Aera's mind, never leaving. It stayed there, drilling into every fibre of her head, causing her other thoughts to crumble away.

Aera took in the faraway girl's tousled hair and the loosely thrown on jacket with the sleeves rolled up halfway, evidently, it seemed that 067 didn't sleep well. With a blank stare, 067's dismal eyes fixated on Aera's widened ones.

"Hello?" Snapping her fingers in front of Aera's dazed eyes, the curly haired woman continued, "she told me to ask you, that's why I'm here-"

Turning around roughly, almost slapping her hair against Mi-nyeo's cheek, the sides of Aera's face reddened even more as her pulse thumped against her rib cage. She could feel 067's fiery gaze drill into the back of her neck, "dalgona biscuits, they were making dalgona biscuits okay? Satisfied?"

"Right, okay, okay I am," throwing her palms up, "how has no one taught you any manners- have you been living under a rock all these years," eyeing Aera's vexed expression, Mi-nyeo threw her head back and chuckled unnervingly. In return, Mi-nyeo received an irked, pointed look.

"Attention. The second game will begin shortly. Please follow the staff's instructions and swiftly make your way towards the game hall. I will now repeat the instructions . . ."

Sticking her bottom lip out, Aera craned neck up, trying to locate the speakers, a quiet groan left Aera's lips as she hid her head underneath her soft duvet. Still imagining that she was at the tranquil island from her dream, she sighed as a wide smile morphed on to her face-

"You might want to get up, they'll kill you if you stay here."

"Go away Mi-nye-" Taking her face away from the mattress, Aera peeked through her wispy hair that curtained her weary face. Letting go of her duvet, she released the tension from her shoulders when she realised it wasn't Mi-nyeo beside her. The sides of her lips altered into a more bright grin, "wait I recognise you. . ." tidying up her unkempt hair, gingerly, Aera's eyes flickered over towards the number 240 that was embroidered on the shorter girl's jacket. "I saw you yesterday. Was that you, the one who stepped in front of me, in the dinner line?"

"It was," 240 chirped with a compassionate grin, she ambled next to Aera and took short steps, not being in a hurry at all. Taking the shiny packet, that contained a soft golden bread within it, from her right pocket, "here, I saw that you missed your share of breakfast, another person was about to take yours but, I quickly got it before they had the chance to get to it," she extended her arm and friendlily offered it. There was a genuinely, yet suave aura about the girl, one that Hwang Aera was grateful for.

Smiling bashfully, Aera took the kind offer into her hands. "That's so sweet of you, thank you," finding an appreciative smile etch its way across her lips, the colour from Aera's cheeks faded into a softer pink, "I'll repay you-"

"You don't need to," shrugging, with a sideways smile displayed on 240's kind face, she let her eyes wonder towards the way they were heading.

"Ah okay!"

The interaction was friendly, and almost for a second, Hwang Aera felt as though she were in New York again, where she was surrounded with familiar and gentle faces of her friends. Where her mind was at peace, with no anxieties over her missing sibling. But as soon as her eyes landed on the green uniform they were wearing, a deepened frown loomed over her lips.

The entirety of Hwang Aera's body ached, perhaps from the hard rubber surface of the mattress. An uneven exhale left her lips as she stretched out her tired limbs and began to catch up with player 240, who briefly told her the location of where her on bunk bed was.

"Mines over there," the brunette pointed with her index finger towards the east. Aera nodded slowly as if she were trying to wrap her head around the whereabout 240's bed was, and un-narrowed her eyes again when player 240 continued, "they're proper comfy, aren't they?"

Hwang Aera almost scrunched up her nose at this, but decided against it. The mattress probably seemed like luxury to most people in the room, considering the fact that they arrived at the facility to earn an amount that could buy them a better life. "Yeah, I can agree."

They were now entering the sweetly painted corridors, countless stairs greeted them as they filed in.

Falling into a comfortable silence, a notion crossed Aera's mind as she fiddled with the hem of her sleeve, "also uh did you say . . ."

"Hm?" Putting a pause on marvelling over the number of players and the infinite amount of stairs, 240 tilted her head at the sound of Aera's question, her eyebrows furrowed at the sight of Aera's pale face and shaky inhales.

"Did you say they'd . . . kill me?"

"Yeah that's why they have those large weapons strapped to their torso. The last time a player refused to play, they shot him in the head," she raised her eyebrows at Aera's query, "weren't you there?" Opening her lips partially, at the sight of Aera shaking her head slowly, 240 leaned towards the side, "well," she paused, "I'll tell you about the other rules they have after this game." Halting, she wrinkled her nose, the piercing on her nose glimmered under the bright lights, "if . . . you survive of course."

"If- if I survive?" Stammering, a great deal of horror filled Aera's veins, she sucked in a breath as she mindlessly searched for an exit.

Fuck. There's no way out.

Not sure on how to calm Aera's alarmed state, an emphatic sigh fell out of 240's lips, "I'm Ji-yeong."

Chewing on the hem of her sleeve, Aera tried to recompose herself, "your name suits you a lot," She blinked frequently, a sign of her fear, but she quickly swallowed her throat and braved a smile. Aera didn't think that this place was that dangerous, she thought that the guns were props, ones to use when they needed to threaten an innocent person.

She arrived at the facility believing everyone was somewhat human, but from the information she gathered from the last few hours, she was definitely wrong.

Trying to maintain a calm composure as she introduced herself, "I'm Hwang Aera," she stuffed her trembling hands into her pocket and tried her best to send Ji-yeong her greatest smile.

━━━

BEWILDERED AT THE colossal frames and ginormous structures. Aera felt belittled at the sight of it all, even Ji-yeong was baffled she heard her mutter incoherently from beside her. Standing right under a green, enormous slide, it almost mocked her size, if one was to fall off of it, accidentally, they could dislocate at least a billion or so bones. Aera shuddered at the sight.

"Players, welcome to the second game. We will begin shortly."

There were some muddled gasps around her, it made Aera grow timid as she played with the silver locket that was around her neck. Trying to make bring her level of nerves down, by making her realise she wasn't alone. She surveyed the room, there was at least a hundred or more people around her. They all had determined faces on- making her feel assured.

Forcing herself to smile, Aera got ready to turn back around, but just as she did so her eyes caught on to 067's piercing ones. Stiffly, 067 stared indefinitely at the heart shaped locked that sat between Aera's fingers, it glinted under the lights. When Aera let go of the locket it seemed to have snapped 067 back into reality, though there was still some sort of reminiscent stare on 067's flushed face.

Returning her gaze on to the front, puzzled, the hairs on Aera's back began to raise as the robotic woman spoke once more. "Players, before the second game begins, choose one of the four available shapes you see on the wall. Once you've chosen your shape, please stand in front of it."

"Don't choose the umbrella," Aera tucked the locket back under her shirt, a fearless smile forced its way across her face as she still felt a pair of eyes on the back of her head.

"Why not?" Stopping short, Ji-yeong peered over her shoulder.

Looking around, Aera placed a palm under her chin, trying to appear relaxed whilst hiding the side of her face, "it's too risky. Trust me. The easiest bet is to go for the triangle, you can join me if you'd like?"

Taking in the genuine tone in Aera's voice, she thought of all the possible games this one could be, tapping her foot as she did so, Ji-yeong thought that maybe it would be best to pair up, "alright then," slowing down, thinking deeply, "do you think it'd be easier to be partners, if this requires it?"

"Wait . . . that's a great idea, I don't think we need to, but it's a good idea," brightening, a small grin plastered on Aera's face as she linked her arm through Ji-yeong's right one, dragging her towards the line eagerly. This took Ji-yeong aback, still, a chuckle flew out of her lips. Noticing the hesitation in Ji-yeong's stance, "let's go," Aera nodded her head in encouragement.

"Yes, yes I'm right beside you."

Halting in their tracks once they nominated the shape they wanted, they awaited at the back of the extensive line, standing on their tippy toes to see the opening at the front. Along the tall, light blue walls was a line, it looked like it was vertically carved against it.

"The time to select your shape has ended, I will now explain the rules of the next game," the speakers droned.

A second after, the line split open, creating double doors, and behind it, was another supervisor, ready, to hand out a series of dalgona cookies.

Quite eagerly, the line sped up in a hurry, everyone dispersed from the line once they received their cookie. Trudging over to the front, eventually, Aera unthreaded her arm from Ji-yeong's. A gloved hand placed the silvery, round container within her palm. Inclining her head as a small thank you, she made her way over towards the corner.

". . .The time limit is ten minutes."

"Ten minutes?" Throwing the lid open, a sigh of defeat escaped from Aera's lips as she slouched forwards, "I can't do this in ten minutes- for God's-"

Flopping down, "we're going to die, aren't we? Or at least I am." Ji-yeong also thrusted her lid aside, the caramel coloured biscuit stared gloomily back at her, sighing emphatically, she clutches the sides of the tin tightly. Carefully, she removed the needle and biscuit.

The roughly textured cookie almost crumbled within Aera's fingers, "at least you won't be alone when you do," she referred to herself.

"That's true," keeping her eyes on her own tin, Ji-yeong replied in a mumble, being too engrossed in trying to get the shape out.

Chuckling all too much, they almost turned into a silent cry due to her built up nerves. Aera obtained the sharp needle within her hand, she scooped the dalgona biscuit up and pressed the tip of the needle against the surface.

Tick, tick, tick.

After moments and moments of pulling a brave face, her hands began to tremble, making lid she placed under, rattle repeatedly. Her pulse banged against her ear drums, being the only loud noise in the room, well to Aera of course. To everyone else, it'd be their own rhythmic hearts, pulsating rapidly against their chest.

The digital clock that was drilled on to the wall, ominously increased its noise. Tick, tick, tick. It drilled and drilled into Aera's ears, making her shoulders quiver in uneasily-

Bang!- A gunshot cried out, masking the sound of the fallen player's skull, crushing, at the impact of the weapon. Letting out a deafening scream, one that nearly ripped at her vocal chords, Aera's eyes nearly bulged out of her skull. With a cold palm flying to her pale face, her pulse began to hammer at her skull as her throat ran drier than sand.

Ji-yeong definitely was not fooling around when she said people died by the supervisor's guns.

The corpse clanged against the brutally tall slide. Following it with her eyes, bile threatened to arise from Aera's throat at the sight of the limp player, his eyes were still twitching, and were widely open. Collapsing against the wall, Aera stopped etching, but instead she hugged her knees tightly, trying to get rid of the graphic memory.

Still, it stained her mind. Surely scarring her forever.

"You have to keep going," whimpering at each ear-splitting sound of a gunshot, Ji-yeong never left her eyes away from her hands, knowing that if she looked up, she'd loose her focus, "try to face the wall, so you won't have to see the people-"

Bang!-

From Aera's peripheral vision, a player that was about three feet away, slumped on to the dusty ground. Their cries cut off. Bringing both her palms to the sides of her head, she rocked herself backwards and forwards, she tried with all her strength to keep herself grounded, though it was almost impossible.

"I don't like this, I don't like this, I don't like this," reiterating her words. Aera shook head profusely, it was difficult to pick up the dalgona biscuit, not when her muscles stayed frozen, almost paralysed.

"Player 067, pass."

Hearing Aera's desperate cries from behind her, it caught on to 067's attention. Spinning on her heel, slowly, her mouth fell agape, such sorrow filled her chest at the sight of Aera quivering helplessly beside the wall. 067 wanted with every fibre in her arms to wrap them warmly around Aera's shoulders. Despite, the bitter emotions that overwhelmed her whenever she looked at Aera, she still couldn't tear her eyes away.

A large foot stepped in front of Aera, making her snap her neck upwards, "no- please," she watched as the supervisor leaned forwards to check on her cookie.

Instead of blowing her brains out, they strode away, leaving their footprints on the grainy grounds. Leaning forwards in puzzlement, Aera found a note by her ankle, with a quivering hand, she sniffled as she hid it within her palm. With a misty vision, she unfolded it messily, thus revealing words written in morse code: think outside of the box.

Almost choking on her own tears, a joyous grin began to morph onto her lips. This meant that Jun-ho was- that supervisor? With the dalgona cookie now balanced on one palm, she watched as the guard that dropped the note, converse with the head supervisor. Sucking in a breath, Aera hoped that, if it was him, that he'd be free from trouble, and that he wasn't talking to the head supervisor because he'd dropped her a note.

Returning her teary eyes on to the cookie before her, sweat mixed heavily with it as it streamed down her red cheeks.

"Player 240, pass."

"Ji-yeong?" Being majorly elated, Aera flickered her eyes away from her biscuit and on to her new companion's face who held a triumphant grin.

Snacking on the triangle, that was free from being confined within the round cookie, "I owe you one Hwang Aera," winking whilst twiddling her fingers as a farewell, Ji-yeong made her way towards the exit.

You have to keep going. Think outside of the box. You have to keep going. Think outside of the . . .

The words of encouragement twirled within Aera's mind as she etched away. Looking briefly at the clock, it read three minutes. Her muscles ached, her back numb. Still, her needle scored away all of the crumbs and-

Click. A suppressed cry plummeted from her mouth. The toffee coloured cookie crumbled away, the triangle split away from the round biscuit.

Thus, a roughly edged triangle sat in the middle of Aera's palm.

Slapping a palm onto her mouth, trying to contain her elation, a half wail and half laugh left her mouth. She refused to believe she did it. In such grotesque conditions, it swayed her away from concentration, yet she managed to cut her triangle out. Still, she didn't believe she passed.

With weak knees, she hauled herself up and staggered over towards a supervisor. "I did it," with her eyes glistening, Aera managed to force a celebratory grin across her reddened face. "I really did it," cupping her hands and lifting them up, revealing the triangle to the supervisor with a square painted on his mask, "I did it sir, please don't kill me."

"Player 036, pass," Aera never loved the robotic woman's voice so much.

When Hwang Aera first stepped into the room. She saw innocent soft clouds painted along the baby blue walls. She saw innocent, overly large playground structures. She saw innocent colourful fences that lined up against the walls. She saw innocent people lining up to get their innocent dalgona cookies.

God, what's even innocent anymore?

( 3681 words )

DEAR ALL,

Omg look at Ji-yeong and Hwang Aera being besties already🤞🏻😩

The next few chapters there will be a lot of angst, I've tried my best to write it, and listened to that adele song billions of times whilst writing it, so I hope you enjoy guys🤓

Also I really want to try a dalgona cookie like the rest of the world, but I don't know when‼️‼️

WITH LOVE, SYLVIA