─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE:
you're married.
─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

   Mei stood over the bathroom sink, the water running down the drain in a pinkish-red. She held her hand under the water, flushing the blood from her skin as she stared ahead into the mirror, her eyes locked onto her own reflection. Two previous games she'd played—and yet, Mingle had been the one that had almost truly had her killed. It had been her closest brush with death yet—and had Young-il not intervened, she was sure she would have been dead and her mother would never have even seen her body.

She looked down, watching the bloodied water swirl around the sink. The skin from the open wound on her palm was throbbing, making her head spin ever so slightly. She'd almost completely forgot about the wound on her hand from that very first day—but it was far worse than it had been before, the skin on her palm hanging open, the blood flow endless.

        She's collected herself in that room before stepping out, Young-il guiding her with his hand on the small of her back. Everyone had gawked at them as they approached, realising the blood that drenched both of them—but still, no one questioned it. They had been alive, and that was all that mattered to them despite their curiosities.

        The moment they had stepped food in the dorm again, Mei had slipped out to the bathroom—since the guess allowed it during those hours. She'd gone so that she could be alone and attempt to treat the wound she hadn't told anyone about—not wanting them to worry. There had been a pool of blood in the pocket of her jacket from where she'd been hiding her hand.

   She let out a shaky breath, eyes fixated on the blood dripping into the sink. There was a light knock at the door, "Mei?" A voice called into her, making her head perk up. She immediately recognised the voice as Young-il's. "Are you alright? You've been in there a pretty long time." He asked her, standing on the opposite side of the door.

Mei turned the tap off, grabbing the handful of toilet proper she'd left on the side of the sink. She pushed it against the wound on her hand, wincing at the contact before stepping towards the door. She cracked it open slightly, "I'm alright," She reassured him as he watched her through the crack. "I'll be out in a minute and—"

"Mei, are you injured?" Young-il spoke over her, noticing the blood-stained toilet paper that she had bunched in her right hand. Before she could reply, he snapped his head towards the guard that was standing on duty by the bathroom door. "She's injured—let me in." He demanded, staring the guard down who continued to look straight ahead.

Mei shook her head, "Young-il, it's alright." She tried assuring him, her voice tired, but he was having none of it.

He grabbed the guard by the sleeve of his jumpsuit, "Let me in." He ordered, his eyes holding that same dangerous gaze they'd had when they'd been inside of that room. Though, just like during the game, it didn't fear Mei in the slightest.

The guard's gaze slowly trailed towards Young-il, staring at him for the longest of moments. He then stepped out of the way, making Mei's lips part in surprise. Young-il gave him a nod before pushing his way into the bathroom despite Mei's protests, "Mei, why didn't you tell anyone you were hurt?" He demanded as he grabbed onto her arms, his eyes searching hers.

Mei stared back at him, still clutching her hand as blood mixed with water trickled down her wrist, "It's not that bad," She lied, not wanting him to worry. "It's the same wound from before—it just opened up again. Young-il, I'm fine, alright? You don't have to—" before she could finish her sentence, he grabbed onto her tighter and dragged her back towards the sink.

He flicked the tap back on again before shrugging his arms out of his jacket as Mei stood there, feeling helpless, "Keep your hand under the water," He ordered, his hand taking ahold of her wrist, making her drop the bloodied toilet paper to the floor. He stuck her hand under the water, making her wince at the pressure. "Just keep it under there. You need to make sure it's clean." He told her, still holding onto her hand as his thumb rubbed at the blood around the wound, wiping it off underneath the water as he realised it was worse than the first time it had happened.

Mei stood there, knowing there was no arguing with the man. Instead, she watched him was he cared for her wound, trying to get rid of the blood as much as possible—but more and more kept coming, "Those bastards." Young-il whispered under his breath, his eyes narrowed, looking spacey.

He took her hand out of the water, wrapping it up with his jacket, applying pressure to the wound as she stared at him, "Young-il," Mei spoke his name softly, making his heated gaze snap into more of a softer one as he looked at her. "It's okay—really. They're gone now. They can't hurt me again." She assured him, her voice a whisper.

Young-il watched her carefully, his eyes locked onto hers, searching for some kind of hostility in her eyes—but there wasn't any. He had been the reason the men that attacked her were dead. He'd brutally killed them both and she'd witnessed it all. But still, there wasn't an ounce of resentment in her eyes, even though she now knew that he was a killer—and that he would kill without a single thought, especially if it kept her safe.

"I'm sorry, Mei," Young-il apologised, bowing his head. Her lips parted as she watched him. "If I'd been quicker—"

"Hey," Mei urgently said, reaching out to grab onto his T-shirt with her un-injured hand. She looked up at him, eyes searching his as he stared at the ground. "You got there at the right time, okay? If you hadn't—I would've been dead." She reminded him.

She'd managed to hold off the men on her own for a while—but it hadn't mattered. Had the clock counted down and the three of them had been in the room instead of two, she would have been dead. Had Young-il not stepped in, she wouldn't be breathing and a wound to her hand would have been the least worst thing that could have happened.

"I just..." Young-il trailed off, staring down at his feet. He shifted his gaze, looking at her as he scanned her features. "I panicked... I don't know why, but the thought of losing you it..." He trailed off, not needing to finish his sentence for Mei to know what he had meant.

They had both stuck with each other throughout the majority of the game, hardly ever leaving each other's sides. When they wouldn't be together, they'd be the first people they'd search for when they stepped out of the rooms. Mei knew what he was getting at. For her, ever since that moment their hands had connected, she'd felt closer to him than anyone else—she couldn't explain it, not even if she tried. Perhaps it was the hellhole they were stuck in, making it easier to grow attached to the people she was spending 24 hours a day with—or perhaps it was just that they simply did care for each other.

Mei took a step closer to him, her hand tightening around the fistful of his shirt, "Well, you didn't lose me, alright? I'm still here," She said in a small voice, giving a nod of her head. Young-il diverted his gaze, a shaky breath leaving his lips. "Hey, look at me." Mei whispered, tilting her head to the side, trying to pull his gaze towards her once again, feeling the comfort in it.

Young-il's eyes flickered down to her, staring at her with a hard intensity—like if he'd look away for a second she'd disappear. Mei worked up a small smile, "I'm here, Young-il. I'm right here." She reassured him, her voice small, just above a whisper.

Young-il watched her, his eyes flickering back and forth between hers. And then they momentarily looked downwards—landing on her lips. Mei noticed it, letting out a small breath as she never once looked away from his eyes. The moment his stare had moved to her mouth, her heart had skipped a beat—beginning to speed up its pace as her cheeks grew hot.

Before she had a second to think about what she was doing, she had moved her face upwards, capturing his lips with hers. She felt him breath out against her mouth as she kissed him slowly, her hand flat against his chest, feeling his quickened heartbeat from beneath her palm.

A shudder suddenly ran through her body when she realised exactly what she was doing. She was kissing a married man she'd only known for a few days and it was wrong—no matter how right it felt to her.

As if she'd been shocked by electricity, she quickly pulled away, taking a step back from him, "Oh my god," She breathed out, bringing her hand to her mouth. She shook her head, squeezing her eyes shut. "Young-il, I'm so sorry. That was out of line—I don't know what came over me. It's these games—this place, it's all messing with my head. I should never have done that. I'm so—" before she could finish her embarrassed and nervous ramblings, Young-il had dropped his jacket and reached out, taking ahold of her face with both of his hands before pulling her closer to him.

Their lips met in the middle, a gasp escaping Mei's mouth. She felt herself immediately crumble against him, her body completely giving into him as he kissed her back—just when she had thought her feelings had been one-sided.

His hands moved from her face, finding a way to her hair as he gripped onto the tendrils tightly, as if he were afraid that if he let her go then she would vanish from his grip. Mei's hand found the back of his hair, her fingers curling around the longer part as she pushed herself onto her tiptoes, finally finding the strength in her to kiss him back.

It lasted a few moments with her back to the sink, her body pushed against his as they kissed—until Mei remembered that she had still been wrong in the first place. It didn't matter if he had kissed her back—if he felt the same way she did. He had a sick wife and a child on the way. What they were doing was wrong.

Mei quickly pulled back, turning away from him. She gripped onto the sink, hanging her head in shame as she breathed out shakily. Young-il stood behind her, his eyes focused on the ground and his hands bunched by his side, his jacket long forgotten on the floor. Mei swallowed hard, still feeling the tingling sensation on her lips from their kiss. She gripped the sink tighter, smearing the left over blood on her palm onto the white ceramic.

"You're married." She breathed out.

Young-il nodded slowly, "I am." He agreed, as if reminding himself.

Mei shook her head, her eyes burning, "God, I am such a fucking idiot," She hissed, scorning herself. She gripped the sink tighter, her knuckles turning white, keeping her head hanging low in shame. "You have a wife and a child on the way and—"

"We're getting a divorce." Young-il quickly said, the words spilling from his mouth.

Mei's body froze, her eyes shifting back and forth, "What?" She croaked, blinking slowly.

Young-il tipped his head back, sucking in a deep breath, "We've been estranged since after the baby was conceived," He began saying, his voice shaky, never once looking up from the ground. "The divorce isn't finalised—legally I'm still married but... we're separated." He finished, his voice low.

Mei sat up a little straighter, hesitantly turning to face him. She swallowed down the lump in her throat, "But you said you were here for your wife—to get the money to pay for her treatment. You said—"

"I didn't lie," Young-il spoke over her, finally looking at her. She blinked back under his gaze. "I did come here for that reason—because even though we're not together anymore, I care for my wife and I want my child to be born. I never lied to you, Mei—not about that." He insisted, his watery eyes holding onto hers.

Mei breathed out, "Do you still love her?" She dared to ask, wanting to know just how much of a line she had crossed.

Young-il thought about it. He nodded slowly, "I do," He replied. "But we haven't been in love for a very long time." He added, his voice hoarse.

Mei stared at him, not knowing what to say. She shook her head, turning away from him once more. She looked down at her hand, the wound no longer bleeding, choosing to focus on that as she thought about what she could possibly say.

Young-il stepped closer to her from behind, "Mei," He said her name softly, making her let out a breath. Slowly, he reached out, his hand catching onto her wrist as her hand dangled by her side. "Look at me. Please." He pleaded, making her shake her head in refusal, her eyes pooling with tears, feeling like such a fool.

"Mei." He said more sternly, his hand finding her waist. He gave her a small tug, making her finally turn to look at him. She was surprised by how softly he was looking at her as he stepped closer to her.

"I should have told you we were separated from the start—I should have told everyone, but I was embarrassed," He admitted. "And I never thought this would happen—we're only here for under a week. I never would've imagined that I could possibly have developed feelings for anyone in such a short time. But I have. And I'm not going to lie about it—I'm not going to lie about how I feel about you." He confessed, his voice coming out shaky as he spoke.

"I don't know what's going to happen in here. Fuck, I don't even know if we'll both make it out," He continued. "But I don't want to run from how I feel about you, alright? I've ran from a lot of things in my life—but I won't run from this. All I'm asking is that you don't run either." Mei watched him as she spoke, her eyes fixated on him, hanging onto every single word.

She felt conflicted. Even if he was separated from his wife with a divorce in the works, it didn't change the fact that he was still married—and with a kid on the way. But at the same time, those things didn't exist in the games—nothing on the outside world felt real anymore, the hellhole becoming their reality. And the truth was, he had become a part of her reality—despite her not wanting to admit it. She didn't know what else the games held for them, or what the outside world did. But she wanted to stop being afraid of such uncertainties.

( authors note )

        mei: you're married!

        in-ho: wErE gEtTiNg A dIvOrCe🤺!!!

        he was so quick with it, but i would be too if it was mei💅🏻! also updates might be a bit slower bc i don't have netflix (poor people things) and i only have one more chapter left that's pre-written so bare with me!!

         hope y'all enjoyed this chapter!!

       — taylor x