─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───
CHAPTER FIVE:
i'm just a concerned citizen.
─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Against her better judgement, Mei had signed the form with her signature and handed it over to the guard in front of her without giving it a second glance, deciding that she had made up her mind and wasn't going to think anymore on the subject.

She'd wandered around for a while, people watching and listening in on conversations. She was sitting on the stairs of a bunk bed, picking at the chipped polish on nails as she mumbled to herself, "You'd think they'd at least give us a TV to watch—or our phones." She said under her breath, glancing up to look at the people around her who'd already taken to mingling. But Mei had no intentions of mingling—despite being a pretty pleasant person to talk to, she didn't have any reason to want to speak with a single person in that room.

They were all like her father—gamblers, money addicts. Almost every single person in that room was there to pay off their own debts and those were people Mei didn't have any time for. She couldn't sympathise with people who brought themselves their own agony and then cried about it.

"The fuck do we have here?" A voice drawled out in front of her. "If it isn't the People's Princess—what a small fucking world." The voice sent an immediate shiver down Mei's spine that only worsened when the man approaching her began howling with laughter.

Slowly, Mei stood to her feet, staring the man down. He was perhaps a little older than her, in his late to mid thirties—though he already had a grey streak of hair at the front of his hairline. His hair was tied back into a short ponytail and he wore the lengthy scar on his face with pride, knowing how intimidating it made him appear. The man in front of her was no stranger—in fact, Mei knew him pretty well, though she wished she didn't know him at all.

Mei went to take a step back but the man took a quick two steps towards her, "Don't you even fucking think about running," He warned her, making her go rigid on the spot, standing like a cornered stag with a wolf on its tail. "You think I forgot what happened that day? I got the fucking scar on my face, bitch! I can't forget!" He yelled at her, his face turning red, suddenly catching the attention of the entire room.

Mei felt a little bit of ease with everyone staring—perhaps it would catch the attention of the masked men and they'd put a stop to the mans aggressions before they could get worse. Mei swallowed, "You gave yourself that scar the moment you put your filthy scum hands on me, Do-yun." She reminded him, making his nostrils flare with rage.

Suddenly, he was bounding towards her and grabbing her by the scruff of her tracksuit. A small gasp escaped her lips but she was quick to think, "You think just because all these people are here that I won't kill you? I'd miss out on whatever fucking prize money we get if it meant you were dead," He seethed at her, his face inches from her own. "I had to get half my face patched up because of you. I should kill you right on the spot." He whispered as people watched on—no one daring to intervene.

Mei couldn't help it, a laugh escaped her lips, "You look better that way."

His face reddened as he raised his fist, "Why you—" just before he could hit her, he came to a quick halt, his lips parting in realisation as he slowly glanced downwards.

Mei's eye twitched as she smiled at him, holding her pocketknife a few inches from his groin, "You wanna get that sewn back on too?" She tempted, rising her face to his, her eyes shining mischievously.

Do-yun's teeth gritted as he stared at her, his eyes bulging, "You better watch your back in here you Chinese bitch." The words had barely left his lips before Mei was throwing her head forward, cracking her skull against his, sending him flying backwards down the stairs.

         Gasps echoed throughout the room, the commotion drawing a crowd. Do-yun was back on his feet in an instant, lunging at her with desperate hands. Mei took a swipe at him with the knife but he knocked it out of her hand, sending it skidding across the floor. She barely had enough time to duck before he was swinging his fist at her, missing her by an inch.

          When he got closer to her, she kicked her foot out, landing it against his ribcage but he was quick to grab onto her leg, using it to pull her into him. Losing her footing allowed Do-yun to pull her into him, his large hands immediately going for her throat. She gagged beneath his grip, her hands tugging on his as he slammed her against the wall.

        Her face turned red as he squeezed, sucking the oxygen from her lungs. Her feet barely touched the floor, her tiptoes grazing the ground beneath her. In a desperate attempt, Mei brought her knee up, slamming it into his groin with brute force. He let out a cry, stumbling off of her to grab at where she had injured him, his eyes bulging out of the sockets in pain.

           Mei gulped in air, gripping at her throat as she found her footing, preparing herself as Do-yun readied himself to lunge at her once again. But before he could, he was suddenly being grabbed and pushed backwards, "Back the fuck off," the man that had previously introduced himself as Ji-ho threatened, now holding Mei's knife out at the man. "What makes you think you can go around putting your hands on women like that, huh?" He asked him, the knife glinting underneath the bright overhead lights above as the room was knocked into a silence.

          Do-yun breathed out, a sneer on his face, "What, is she your little girlfriend or something, huh? You wanna fucking die protecting her is that it?" He growled, but he didn't dare take a step forward, intimidated by the knife.

         Ji-ho scoffed, "I'm just a concerned citizen," He told him, sarcasm dripping from his voice. "Now are you finally gonna back off? Or are you gonna make me use this?" He dared, his hand un-shaking as it gripped the knife.

          Do-yun stared at his unwavering grip before letting out a tut, backing away, "The bitch ain't even worth my time." He muttered under his breath as he turned his back, waving his hand dismissively, disappearing into the crowd.

        Mei let out a breath of relief, reaching up to brush her hair from her face. Ji-ho turned to face her, lowering the knife, "Are you alright?" He asked her in concern, reaching out to rest a gentle hand on her shoulder.

        Mei gave a nod of her head, "I'm fine. I can handle that asshole." She assured him, brushing by him to sit on the bottom of the stairs, bringing her knees to her chest and wrapping her arms around her legs.

         Ji-ho stepped in line beside her, offering her knife back to her which he had folded, making it more concealed, "Your knife," He said, offering it to her. Mei snatched it without a word, shoving it into her pocket. Ji-ho sat down beside her, resting his elbow against his knee. "What does that guy want from you anyway? I heard something about money but—"

          "It's nothing," Mei spoke over him, turning to face him. She tilted her head, realising her tone had been a little sharp. She breathed out, offering him a small smile. "Thanks for that—you know, helping me out. And giving me my knife back. I appreciate it." She thanked for the sake of not being rude. Typically she'd hate when someone would try to defend her, but it had been intimidating being in a room with so many people and not a single one of them doing anything to help her. She appreciated what the man had done by getting involved.

"Nah don't thank me," Ji-ho said, reaching up to brush his hair out of his face. "I just can't stand assholes like that. Nothing but bullies." He said with a bitter taste in his mouth, his face screwed up in disgust.

Mei scoffed, "Yeah. Tell me about it." She agreed with him, nodding her head.

"So, how'd you get in here, huh? You don't look like someone who'd gamble or be stupid enough to get yourself in debt like the rest of us losers." He asked curiously, sitting down beside her, turning to look at her.

Mei laughed a little, "Nosey, aren't you?" She said with amusement, earning a smile on Ji-ho's behalf. She inhaled then blew it out. "I'm not in any debt—at least not my own. It's my father's. Apparently even in death, debt goes on. If I win these games then I can finally pay it back and get assholes like Do-yun off my back." She informed him, finding it particularly easy to open up to the man. She wasn't a shameful person anyway. The debt didn't belong to her, she had nothing to be ashamed of.

She turned, facing him, "And you?" She prompted.

Ji-ho let out a shaky breath, "My little boy. He's really sick and I can't afford his treatment otherwise," Mei felt sympathy for him. Like her, he was participating for someone other than himself. "If I could get the money then I could pay for his treatment and our family could be happy again." He said with a soft smile on his lips, thinking of his family.

Mei thought about it for a second, deciding that she liked this Ji-ho. He seemed like he was a good man. She gave him a small nudge with her shoulder, "Well, if we both play well and it's down to us we could split the money. I only need a couple mil anyways." She suggested, giving him a bright smile.

Ji-ho's jaw dropped, "You'd do that?" He asked in surprise.

Mei shrugged, "Like I said, I don't even need it all—just enough. I'll probably even vote to leave after the game, but if I don't and we both stay... I wouldn't mind splitting the money with you," She told him honestly before smiling at him. "But don't tell anyone else I said that, alright? The offer isn't going out to anyone." She playfully said, giving him another nudge.

Ji-ho nodded frantically, "This stays between us. Got it." He said, making a show of sealing his lips, making Mei's smile grow fonder.

Before they could talk further, the guards called for everyone's attention at the front of the room, stating that the first game was going to begin. Mei and Ji-ho exchanged smiles before joining everyone else in the line that was made. They followed like sheep, walking behind everyone else who followed the guards who knew exactly where they were going.

Stepping out of the room, Mei's brows furrowed as she looked around. They were in a massive corridor with the walls painted in pastel colours all around her. The stairways zigzagged, looking like they led to nowhere—reminding her almost of the staircases from the Harry Potter movies her mother had made her watch back when she was trying to teach her some English.

What Mei could only describe as elevator music was playing throughout the room as she stood in line behind Ji-ho, waiting for her turn of having her onto taken—but only six could go at a time, so it was taking longer than she would have liked.

Eventually, it was Mei's turn. She stepped up to the booth, tucking her hair behind her ears and then immediately untucking them, "Please look into the camera. Smile!" The AI voice behind the camera said, making Mei give a quick smile that didn't quite meet her eyes. With a flash, her picture had been taken and she was allowed to join the others lining up to be taken to the games hall.

Heading up the stairs, someone barged by her, knocking her into the edge, "Watch out, bitch," Do-yun said in passing. "If I have the chance to sabotage you in this game I will." He promised, making her come to a halt, watching him push his way past others up the stairs, not giving a shit that they had been in front of them.

An elder woman paused, seeing her standing there. She reached out, touching her shoulder, "You alright, sweetheart?" The woman asked in a kind voice, looking at her in concern. Mei realised it was the woman who had come with her son, player 149.

Mei inhaled shakily, nodding her head before straightening herself out. "I'm fine."

( authors note )

       i'm ji-ho's no.1 fan!!!

       also, mei, you would've LOVED sae-byeok🥹 the way she's gonna remind gi-hun of her sm already upsets me🧍‍♀️

        — taylor x