─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───
CHAPTER ELEVEN:
no one's gonna save you.
─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Mei had three minutes to pick a final teammate. Ji-ho had found them two people—two tall and muscular men who stared at her a little more than she would have liked. She'd denied them at first, but when Ji-ho had told her that they were ex-military she had paused and thought about it. Given the arena, she'd come to the conclusion that whatever game they'd be playing would be physical—and they needed strength and speed. So two large and fit men was exactly what they had needed, but still, she wasn't a fan of their company.

Mei stood on the spot, nervously chewing on her fingernails as she scanned the crowd. Most of the teams had already been formed, some having teams before they even stepped foot into the arena—like 456 and his team. There were only a few people left to choose from and they were the elderly and females, those that no one seemed to want. Even when Ji-ho had brought the two men over they'd tried to convince him to 'ditch the female' but Ji-ho had defended her, insisting that she was more muscle than he was and they'd left it at that.

One more person, she thought to herself, honey coloured eyes flickering through the crowd. She felt for those that hadn't been picked for a team and felt sick that she herself was leaving them instead of bringing them into her group—but she had to be smart, she could afford to allow an elderly person to join them in case the game was based on physical skill. It would only slow them down.

Behind the crowd, something caught Mei's eye, making her raise herself up onto her tip-toes to get a better look. Behind the crowd lay a girl on the floor, using her jacket as a pillow beneath her head and her face tipped upwards towards the roof. Mei furrowed her brows as she watched her. She was completely alone—not a team in sight, and yet, she was just lying there, completely unphased with her eyes shut.

Slowly, Mei began to approach, pushing her way through the crowd and towards the girl. She stood in front of her, casting her shadow over the top of her. The girl peaked one eye open to look at her, "Can I help you?" She asked her in a tired and bored tone—far too nonchalant for the situation they were in.

Mei screwed up her face, "Can I help you?" She sassed back. "There's two minutes left on that timer and you're just lying here doing nothing—it seems like you're the one who needs help." She pointed out, settling her hands on her hips.

The girl yawned, swatting her hand in the air, "No one wants to pair up with me so why should I bother doing anything else? I'm not gonna embarrass myself and have a mental breakdown or something." She said with a laugh to her voice, closing her eyes once more.

Mei gawked at her, "What do you think happens when you don't get a team? You think they just let you go?" She inquired, feeling a sudden level of distress. The girl seemed to not have a single care in the world even though her life was at stake.

The girl groaned as if Mei was doing nothing but pestering her. She finally sat up, opening her eyes, "My guess is they kill you," She told her with a shrug. "But that's not gonna be the case. I've already done the numbers—there's the perfect number for this game, no one will be left out. They'll just put us leftover losers together and then we'll die." She chirped, a pleased smile crossing her face.

Mei stared at her. She'd been smart enough to do the math—knowing that she'd eventually be with a team. But she knew she'd be out with those that no one else wanted—the weak links, and that she wouldn't stand a chance in hell. And yet, it still didn't seem to bother her.

Mei narrowed her eyes, "What age are you, kid?" She asked her, noticing how young the girls features were.

"Nineteen."

Mei blinked, wondering how a girl her age had managed to get herself into such a place. Almost everyone else had debts or something they had to pay and she wondered what someone her age could possibly have needed to vote to stay—given the 'O' attached to her jacket.

Mei heaved out a sigh, "Look, if you just wait around doing nothing you're gonna be put with people who don't stand a chance and—"

"And what?" The girl spoke over her, blinking slowly. "I don't care—neither should you."

Mei watched her carefully, her teeth gritted together before she crouched down in front of her, grabbing the girl by the collar of her top, "Look, kid. I don't know what kind of fucking death wish you have but this isn't just some game, alright? You fuck around in here then you're going to die," She hissed at her as the girl stared at her through blank eyes. "You voted to stay, right? Don't you at least want to win? You think if you sit around like this you're going to find yourself a winning team?" She demanded, tugging on the girls collar.

The girl scoffed, "Why do you care so much, huh? You don't even know me."

Mei moved her face closer to hers, "Because I've been you, alright? I see that look in your eyes and I know exactly what it is," She whispered, making the girl blink, finally a flicker of emotion showing behind her eyes. "No one's going to save you and you're certainly not going to save yourself if you just sit around waiting to die. So get the fuck up." She demanded, giving a forceful tug on her top, hauling her upwards.

The girl smacked her off of her, "God, you're overbearing," She mumbled, reaching down to pick up her jacket. "You always this uptight or is it just the stress of inevitable death?" She asked her curiously, tilting her head as she put her jacket back on.

"Shut up and come with me." Mei grumbled, grabbing onto the sleeve of the girls jacket and pulling her towards her team.

She approached them, shoving the girl in their direction, "Meet your new teammate, player 273." She announced as the girl shoved her hands deep into the pockets of her trousers, a glare on her face sent in the direction of the three men—even though Ji-ho was smiling at her.

           025 turned, looking the girl up and down before heaving out a sigh, "Another fucking girl?" He growled in annoyance. "She's like what, fucking five foot? The hell is she gonna do?" He demanded, a sneer on his stubbled face.

          "I'm five foot two and I have a fucking name too, you know—it's Ha-rin. Lee Ha-rin." The girl, Ha-rin hissed in annoyance.

           025 looked down at her, far taller than her height, "We've already got one girl. We don't need another." He insisted.

          Mei stepped in front of Ha-rin, rolling her shoulders back and looking up at the man with defiance, "Well, unless you want one of those old fuckers out there then she's the best you've got." She said, her tone hard, eyes glaring up at him as she tipped her head back in the direction of the older folk who hadn't been chosen for teams.

          025 looked straight by her, analysing who exactly was left, realising it was only the elderly. Ji-ho stepped in line with Mei, "She's the best we've got, alright? Plus, girls are fast. If this is a race then she's better than those old guys out there." He insisted.

        Ha-rin put her hand over her heart, "My hero." She gasped theatrically, her face flat.

        Mei rose a brow, "Is it settled then?" She asked, looking between player 025 and player 099 who hesitated for a moment longer.

         099 let out a breath, stepping closer to them, "If either of you slow us down I'll kill you myself, understood?" He threatened, trying to tower over Mei to intimidate her—but he was nothing to her, he didn't scare her in the slightest.

         She took a step towards him, "If either of you slow us down out there I'll be the one to kill you. Got it?" She tested, showing them that she wasn't going to back down and run off and cry just because they were bigger and stronger than her. She'd proven plenty of times how stubborn she could be and she hadn't backed down to scarier men.

          025 laughed, "We'll see." He sang as he and 009 turned their backs away from them, standing on their own to devise a game plan.

          Mei turned to face Ha-rin and Ji-ho. She tilted her head, a bitter smile on her face, "What lovely gentlemen you chose for us, Ji-ho." She sarcastically told him.

        The man winced, "Sorry—they were more than nice when they were talking to just me." He apologised, reaching up to scratch at the back of his head.

         Ha-rin scoffed, "Yeah, because they're sexist pigs." She growled before turning to face Mei, looking up at her taller form.

          "Look, I don't think I like you—you're a little too bossy for my liking," She began saying, earning an amused look on Mei's behalf. "But let's just get through this game, alright? Prove to those assholes that we're more than capable with or without them. Deal?" She suggested, extending her hand towards Mei.

         It was in that moment that Mei noticed it.

         The sleeves of Ha-rin's jacket had rose up a little, her wrists being too skinny and Mei could see the exposed skin. Littered across her wrists were feint scars all in different shapes and sizes—and suddenly, everything made sense to Mei.

          She took a step closer to Ha-rin, taking her hand in hers and giving it a firm shake. "Let's fucking do it."

       Everyone had been led to the centre of the game hall, sitting down in rows as they waited for the game to begin. Mei sat between Ji-ho and Ha-rin, fiddling with her knife from inside her pocket, "The team selection process is now over," The woman on the PA began saying, making everyone's heads perk up. "The game you will participate in today is a Six Legged Pentathlon. Team members will start with their legs tied together. At each ten-meter interval on the track, one member of the team will play a mini-game."

           "If that player wins, the team can move on to the next challenge," The woman continued, making Mei and Ji-ho exchange glances. "The mini-games are as follows: game one, Ddakji. Game two, Flying Stone. Game three, Gong-gi. Game four, Spinning top. And finally, game five, Jegi."

          "You will have five minutes. To win, you must complete all mini-games and cross the finish line before the time runs out. Now please decide which player will be assigned to each mini-game." The PA voice finished, her explanation of the games concluding.

          Everyone turned to look at each other, "You know Gong-gi, right? It's a girls game." 025 asked Mei, looking at her with a risen eyebrow.

         Mei licked her lips, her mouth dry, "I've played it but I'm terrible at it." She told them honestly.

          "Shit," 099 hissed through his teeth. Swivelling to face Ha-rin, he asked. "You at least know how to play, right?"

          Ha-rin shrugged, "I guess so." 

          025 eyes narrowed, "You guess so? Do you know how to play or not?" He demanded.

         Ha-rin turned, looking at him, "You're not gonna let me play any other game anyway are you? So I guess we'll just find out." She concluded, giving a closed smile.

          "Fucking women," 025 muttered under his breath, earning a glare from Mei and Ji-ho, meanwhile Ha-rin completely ignored his existence. "I'll do Jegi—I played it all the time as a kid." He decided, his tone not leaving room for argument.

           "And I'll do Flying Stone." 099 piped in.

         Ji-ho looked to Mei, "What do you want, Mei? Ddakji or Spinning Top?" He asked her, allowing her to choose between the final options.

          "Ddakji," She said without skipping a beat. "I bet that subway guy first try." She added just to reassure her team—or rather, Ji-ho and Ha-rin. She didn't particularly care for the other too, planning on if they completed the game, to never speak a word to either of them ever again.

         009 scoffed, "Sure you did." He laughed in disbelief.

          Mei turned her head, staring at him with a flat look, "Hey, come to think of it—I recognise you now," She drawled out, making him look at her in confusion. "Your face was being plastered on that screen yesterday when you were getting slapped by that subway guy for losing—looked to me like he hit you a good couple of times." She snarked, making Ji-ho choke from beside her, trying to stifle his laugh whilst Ha-rin smiled to herself.

         099 glared at her but Ji-ho was quick to speak, "Then that leaves Spinning Top for me—I used to play it with my grandfather all the time so I should still be pretty decent." He concluded, nodding his head in agreement with himself.

         "That's good," Mei said, more to herself than him. She looked between them. "Between us all, this should be easy, right?" She asked hopefully, glancing between her teammates. Thought she didn't particularly like the other two, they seemed pretty confident in their choices and she chose to believe they would succeed in their tasks.

         Ji-ho nodded, giving her a small nudge, "Easy peasy," He assured her, giving a smile. "And then we can all get the fuck out of here."

Mei nodded, "Senorita," A voice called out, making Mei turn around, seeing Thanos approaching her with his hands stuffed deep into his pockets. "It's not too late to change team—you could join us." He suggested, wiggling his brows at her.

Mei glanced at her team, looking between them before turning back towards the purple haired man, "No thanks," She rejected, giving a firm nod. "I've already got my team."

( authors note )

       not to be funny but i would DIE for mei and ha-rin's frenemies relationship, they're so cute <3

        — taylor x