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Back in 2020...

PEOPLE SAY THAT playing children's games gives you nostalgia. They say that it makes you feel warm, and as if you're a child again.

For San Min, she couldn't bear being sat in a room filled with kids, where not only music blared in the background, but the sounds of young people enjoying a game of tug of war.

She never hated kids. They were adorable, and perhaps the only people that couldn't do you wrong in a way that would affect you for the rest of your life. Though, hearing them play a game that she also played in her childhood, which was not exactly the best time in her life, made her feel extremely uncomfortable.

This was a birthday party that San Min had set up herself, because she cared. She even took a day off work for it. Yet, her sister could not care less. Her sister was the mother of the birthday boy, by the way. Six years, and the woman had still not properly processed she was a mother of an actual human being, not a bottle of vodka.

To say Ara was a terrible mum, would be slightly harsh. She looked after her son; fed him, kept him clean, and even sent him to school. However, most the time, she would give up whilst trying to keep him happy, and call her sister to help out.

This party was an example of that. San Min watched children enjoying themselves, whilst she sat back, not even drinking because she couldn't bare the thought of her nephew thinking that drinking was a normal activity.

"Auntie, where's mum?" a young, infant boy's voice she instantly recognised, interrupted her from her trance.

San Min swallowed, trying her best to put on a smile, "She's just — speaking to a friend, honey. She'll be back soon, I'm sure." the words felt bitter on her tongue. She didn't want to say something that most likely wouldn't happen, but she didn't want to hurt a little boy either.

Saeroi. That was his name. Ara wanted it to be short and sweet, just like him. Back then, she wasn't as bad a drinker, and forgetting his name sometimes wouldn't even cross her mind.

Now, well —  it was a frequent part of his life. The poor thing probably saw it as normal.

He gave a toothy grin back, nodding, before heading back towards his friends. San Min took this as her queue to go into the kitchen, starting her search for her truly amazing, totally healthy sister.

No sign of her.

The woman huffed under her breath, snatching up an already open juice box to prepare herself for whatever was about to come next. Oh, she knew full well where Ara was. If she wasn't in the kitchen, gulping down alcohol, she was in bed, and most of the time, not alone.

"Help me." San Min whispered to herself, inhaling some of the cheap apple juice and letting her feet drag her up the stairs. Each step meant she was closer, yet she felt she was getting further away. Finding her sister in that state was never nice, even if she was the cause. 

At the top of the stairs, she made sure to speed walk to the door of the bedroom, reassuring herself that she wasn't going to back out now. With a shaky hand, San Min turned the door knob, silently praying to herself, and when it fell open, she wasn't shocked.

Ara and a male she had never seen before, were laying together in the bed, back to back to each other. Of course.

"At your kid's birthday party, really?" the younger one of the two sisters scoffed, "You're a disaster." she added, despite getting no response, just a sight of her sleeping sister.

Rolling her eyes, San Min made her way to the bedside table, taking a days old, empty beer bottle in her grip with a grimace on her face. To her surprise, that was the only one. Although, it didn't take away the fact the bins had been filled with them the past few days.

As San Min was about to turn around, walk away and act like nothing happened to her nephew, her eyes caught on a brown piece of card. It was hiding behind a frame which held a picture of their parents. Their late parents.

Circle, triangle, square.

Circle, triangle, square.

Circle, triangle, square.

San Min repeated the sequence of words in her head multiple times, wondering what kind of design it was, and why her sister would have a piece of card with shapes on anyway.

She flipped the card over, revealing six numbers. Jesus, Ara must've asked to sleep with the guy beside her by using his business card. San Min couldn't understand why she'd rather sleep with a random man than interact with her son who just turned six, and needed his mother more than anything.

But that was her. She was different.

Ripping the card in half, the dark haired girl chucked it into the bin. She knew she had to make an abrubt exit in order to wake them up, so she practically stomped out of the room, the heels of her boots clinking against the floor.

By the sound of the unknown man's groan, she knew she had at least woken one of them up. She would've done worse, but what was the point in wasting time when you have your nephew to celebrate for?

Whilsr San Min headed back down the stairs, she felt her phone vibrating in her pocket a couple times, signalling she had been messaged by someone. God, she hoped it wasn't her boss for lecturing her again.

Luckily, instead of annoyance, she felt relief. It was a co worker, but not her boss. Actually, screw the co worker label, he was probably the only friend she had ever had.

Jun-ho!

• another day off work? really?
• boss really ISN'T gonna let this slide...

• its my nephew's birthday, you know that.

• oh shit.
• it slipped my mind I'm so sorry.
• is it okay so far?

• well so far one of the other mothers and I are the only ones keeping this party on its toes
• mum of the year is in her natural habitat -_-

• hey just think at least you have a polite nephew!

• I love him a lot!
• its just hard you know.

• you aren't his mum, San Min.
• he's not your responsibility

Just as she was about to respond, her phone screen went blank, signalling it had lost all its battery. To be honest, she was glad it did. She had no idea how to respond to that last message from her friend, and now she had an excuse as to why she didn't message back.

Spontaneously, the lack of energy in her phone made her thirsty for some reason, and all of a sudden, the apple juice she was suffocating with her grip by accident, seemed rather appealing at this moment. With one last step down the stairscase, she gulped down the last bit.

"San Min!" Saeroi exclaimed with a shaky voice, surprising his aunt by wrapping his arms around her frantically. She instantly returned the action, rubbing his back with a look of concern on her face.

"What happened?!"

The young boy sniffled, turning his body slightly to point to the middle aged woman behind him. The other mother who was helping out. Or so San Min thought. "She said my mum doesn't love me!"

Her heart dropped. Ara was many things, but she had always loved her son, at least a little bit, Either way, you don't say that to a child at his birthday party, especially when you hardly know him and his family life.

Raising her eyes to the older women, San Min furrowed her brows, "Did you?" she hoped the answer would be no. Prayed, even. Saeroi didn't deserve to hear that. No kid did.

"I—I didn't exactly say that. I just said that if she cared more, like me, he would be a lot happier, and maybe be nicer to the other kids..." there was hesitance in her voice, and evident fear in her eyes. She knew San Min was working in the police department, and acted like this was a matter to be arrested for.

Said worker from the police department held onto her tearful nephew, in a gentle, but also in a tight way, to show that she would protect him with her life. "He's six. Just turned six, actually!" she shook her head, letting out a sigh, "Please leave."

"W—what?"

"Please."

And that was all it took.

San Min got onto her knees in front of Saeroi, using her thumb to wipe away the tears falling down his cheeks, "Your mum loves you so much, okay? I promise you." she told him, breaking the silence, and due to her luck, it didn't seem to cheer him up whatsoever.

He just kept on crying, and crying. The other kids, who San Min had forgotten were there, just watched with wide eyes. They were so innocent, so confused. It's crazy how a person can say one thing, and ruin the mood just like that.

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After a long day, all San Min needed was some fresh air. She sat on a bench in the street, watching cars go by as she snacked on some home made bread she found from the stall.

Being alone was nice. Yeah — maybe calm company would be better, but she didn't have any, so this would have to do.

She couldn't stop thinking about what Jun-ho had messaged her earlier. He's not your responsibility. The guy wasn't wrong. Trusting Ara to give her son what he needed was just extremely hard, especially when she kept bringing men home that San Min had to prevent Saeroi from taking notice of.

Letting the wind hit her face, she shut her eyes, forgetting about the world for a moment.

Nothing but peace.

Until the sound of shuffling hit the female's ears, and she could feel the presence of someone sitting beside her. Had Jun-ho decided to come join her? Had ara? What about Sae —

"Excuse me?" a male voice spoke through her thoughts, causing her eyes to open and direct towards him slowly. He was sat next to her, body enveloped in a suit, his raven coloured hair perfectly pushed out of his face. Not to mention that his dark eyes were practically burning into her soul, paired with the grin he had across his face.

"Yeah?"

"I was supposed to have a conversation with your sister. She had some serious money to pay back and well, accepted my help." he paused for a moment, "She played a game with me, to which I offered her money every time she won. It seems she —"

"Is this some kind of joke?" San Min cut him off, observing the briefcase he was holding. If he was being truthful, her sister had chosen to play a game for money. There was no way she could be that stupid, especially towards a stranger.

The unknown man's eyes filled with sympathy, and San Min hated it. There was nothing more she hated than sympathy when she never truly believed she deserved it.

"Not a joke." he spoke up, turning his body slightly to lift the briefcase, and place it between them. If it was heavy, he sure didn't act like it.

Huffing, San Min glared at the object, "I'm a police officer, you know that right? Showing me this is extremely stupid and —"

She choked over her own words when the case was opened, and tons and tons of money was revealed in front of her eyes. She sat there, jaw dropped, and yet the man who seemingly owned it, had no reaction whatsoever.

"So my sister saw this and — decided to play a game with you?" San Min asked, staring back at him with her eyebrows raised.

He nodded, "Yes."

"How much of this did she take?" she felt like she was in an interrogation room, asking so many questions, but she didn't care. This was her sister, and she was practically babysitting her, despite being the younger one of the two.

The business man's smile widened even more, "Now that is a good question."

San Min tilted her head, rolling her eyes when a thought came to her, "Really? I know what you're doing. You slept with my sister by inviting her with your creepy little business card, and now she's rejected you so you're asking me."

A chuckle escaped the man's lips, and he straightened his posture, "Good guess, but you're wrong. Whilst playing the game, your sister was so sure she wanted to leave, and promised that she would never step foot into the place again." he waited for a moment, seeing if San Min wanted to add anything, but she didn't, she was listening closely with her eyes fixed on him.

"It is why I came here, to invite you instead. You're not doing too good at your job, are you? Days off, coming in late...your boss practically despises you." now this was when she had to say something, because how on earth would he know about that? Had her sister spilled the beans on not just her own life, but San Min's too?

"How do you know that?!"

He reached into his pocket, grabbing something, before slipping his hand in hers, "You have to do this. For your family. For your nephew." and then he let go of her hand, only he had left her a little gift within her grip.

She stared at the piece of card, grasped with her shaking fingers. Circle. Triangle. Square. The three words she had repeated earlier, the business card on her sister's bedside table. He really was the one who gave it to her.

"Why?" she lifted her head to question him again, but there was no sight of anyone. Just the man in the distance closing his shop.

She had to investigate this. She had to find out what kind of game Ara had set herself up for. There was finally a reason as to why the woman came home drunk a couple days ago after being gone for god knows how long. San Min thought it was just her being her usual self, but perhaps it wasn't. Perhaps she was playing a game. For money.

The man never answered her question when she asked how much money her sister would earn if she won. San Min knew what she had to do. She got her phone from her pocket, snapping a picture of both sides of the card, before sending it to her friend, her co worker, Jun-ho.

Who else could she really speak to about it?

He replied instantly with a three word response. "Come to me."

And so she did. As she trudged into his apartment, she held her hands behind her back, picking the skin on her fingers. It didn't take long for him to show his face.

He stepped out of his kitchen, reaching into his back jean pocket whilst he made his way closer to her. She was nervous, for sure. The way she was abusing her fingers showed that, which was why she hid them behind her back.

"I found this in my brother's apartment." Jun-ho spoke up, stopping in his tracks to hand over whatever he had gotten from his pocket. "Some man at the station also said he got one, and that it lead him to some strange game."

There it was again. Circle. Triangle. Square.

This couldn't be real. San Min scanned over the card again, making sure she wasn't insane, and that this was in fact something being given to other people, not just her sister.

She lifted her head to meet his eyes, gleaming with curiosity. Working in the police station meant you learned to read other people's faces. It came naturally, unless you were unlucky. In this case, San Min wasn't, and neither was Jun-ho.

"Personally, I think you should let me do this. It's about time I witness a game that's not a child's one." she requested, "Plus, it could be fun to win something for a change." 

He scoffed, tilting his head, "What if it's dangerous? I'm supposed to let you suffer?"

"I'll call you. Message you. Anything. It's a game, do you really think they'd take your phones the whole time? I bet they'd offer to add more credit to your phone if you won." she tapped his shoulder, "And — quick question, do you really think your brother, out of all people, would want to play a game?" she asked politely.

Jun-ho scrunched his nose in thought before adding, "Do you think my brother would've willingly left us?" now it was his turn to ask the questions, and she froze.

From what he had told her in the past, his brother was smart, but also distant. Of course, San Min felt for him, he had lost his pregnant wife and all. She didn't know what she would do if she lost the love of her life.

San Min shook her head, "Hey, I don't think he would've left you all without reason." she let out a sigh, "If I do this, I will try my best to find your brother. On one condition..."

"Elaborate."

"Promise me, that if it looks dangerous, you won't follow me." he parted his lips, clearly wanting to say something, but she cut him off, "Promise me that you'll keep an eye on my family, okay? Most definitely my nephew."

Jun-ho furrowed his eyebrows, "But —"

"Its a game." she emphasised the g word, as if he hadn't already got the point. The detective team had done many investigations where people decided playing games was a fun way of earning money, but really it was a scam, and the hosts were drugging them.

He didn't look totally convinced, his face covered by a mask of concern. Yet, he still said, "I promise."