It took a bit of time for a triangle guard to approach the doors of numbers 030 and 029.

In the deserted hallway the supervisor muttered a quiet "What is it?"

Jun-ho was the first to respond. "Bathroom"

"You cannot leave at this time" responded the supervisor swiftly.

"You can't control natural bodily functions," said Y/n, deepening her voice. "If you didn't want emergencies then you should've provided us with toilets"

The triangle masked guard hesitated. "Fine, I will take you."

Y/n and Jun-ho opened their doors in sync and the trio of guards made their way to the bathroom.

"Fifteen minutes" said the guard outside the door. He gave the Y/n and Jun-ho a stern look.

Their responses were immediate. Scanning the walls of the bathroom for cameras, Y/n made her way into a stall. Jun-ho awkwardly followed her.

"Do you have scissors?" asked Y/n taking off her hood and mask.

"Why would I casually carry scissors?" asked Jun-ho taking off his mask and shaking his hair out of his eyes.

"Turn around" muttered Y/n who was about to pull off her shirt.

Without complaint, Jun-ho turned around. He could hear her rustling behind him. Y/n was extremely quick.

"Tie it as tight as possible" muttered Y/n. Jun-ho turned around to face Y/n's bare back. She was trying to hand him part of her blanket strip so that he could tie it somewhat like a corset.

Jun-ho had been in many tough situations. He had taken on three large men with guns once and yet this encounter with Y/n seemed so much more difficult.

Gulping slightly, he grasped the two ends of the sheet softly and pulled gently. Y/n, who had been expecting the impact, barely budged.

"We haven't got time" reminded Y/n.

Jun-ho pulled considerably harder so that Y/n was tugged backwards into him.

"Okay now tie it as tight as possible."

Jun-ho twisted the fabric and his knuckles brushed Y/n's skin. He didn't know if she was cold or if he had imagined it but he thought he saw a shiver run down her spine.

Jun-ho yanked the fabric so that it was long enough to knot but Y/n was not satisfied.

"Tighter", she muttered.

"It'll suffocate you" whispered Jun-ho. "Or crush your ribcage."

"It's only going to get looser over time. Might as well start out tighter."

"Y/n, it's digging into your skin. You're going to have bruises"

"Jun, I honestly couldn't care less. Just tie the strip tighter."

Jun-ho pulled harder until Y/n seemed satisfied and tied a knot. She pulled on her shirt and her suit and turned around to face the young man.

The man was finally starting to understand her difficulty. Before, without the homemade corset, there was a slight curve in the suit, but now it was completely flat.

"What about a knife?" muttered Y/n who had not been paying attention to Jun-ho's wandering eyes. She pulled the hair tie out of her hair so that her wavy locks cascaded down her back.

"I have one but why–"

"Just give me the knife" said Y/n stretching her palm. Jun-ho fished out the knife from his pant pocket and handed it to the girl.

"How much time do we have left?" asked Y/n glancing up at her partner.

"Five"

Y/n bent over so that all her hair was hanging in front.

"What are you doing?" asked Jun-ho a slight panic in his voice. He had a general idea but he hoped she wouldn't.

"Cutting off my hair?"

"But you can't! You love your hair."

"I love my life more than my hair" and with small and controlled cuts Y/n cut off a chunk of her hair.

She flipped herself back upright and Jun-ho noticed a considerable difference. Y/n hair no longer reached the middle of her back but barely her shoulders. The cut was highly uneven and yet Jun-ho couldn't find a single flaw in her.

A determined glint in her eyes, Y/n had a confident air about her that Jun-ho just couldn't stop admiring.

Y/n flushed the chunk of hair down the toilet and tied her considerably shorter hair into a small bun. She placed the mask back on her face as Jun-ho did the same. Right before they pushed open the stall door, Jun-ho grasped her hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze.

"You've sacrificed a lot for me. If I'd never brought you in the first place, you would have never–"

Y/n cut him off. "You would've done the same for me. And if you think you could've just disappeared one day and I wouldn't have searched the ends of the earth for you then you are highly mistaken"

Jun-ho did not know what to say. So he wrapped his arms around the girl and brought her into a warm hug. Y/n chuckled slightly but melted into him nonetheless.

"Let's get going before time runs out," whispered Y/n as they pulled away.

The two of them exited the stall considerably happier, and Y/n took one look in the mirror. She doubted anyone could tell her identity now. She looked like a relatively small man. Perfect.

....

Y/n's night duty had started only about fifteen minutes after she had Jun-ho had returned from the bathroom. She was now standing with a group of five guards around the door that separated the players from the rest of the building.

Y/n was thinking of Ha-kun and her father when a loud knock shook her out of her thoughts.

"Hey, hey, hey! Open the door, you jerks! I have to pee really bad, right now!" The circle guard who had been standing next to Y/n answered the demand of player 212. By answer, he merely shook his head at the curly-haired woman.

"Don't you jerks ever take a leak? Let me use the restroom! I gotta go now!" The circle guard continued to shake his head. The triangle guard replaced the circle guard to stare at the player.

"Hey, just let me use the bathroom for one second. Jeez, come on!" Now it was the triangle guard's turn to shake his head emotionlessly.

"Look, it's mostly men in here, okay? Want a puddle here?" no one responded. "Damn it! Damn you, scumbags!"

"I hope you're ashamed. Treat us like humans, damn it! Who do you think you are?"

The woman got incredibly close to the door. "Hey, Triangle.I don't need you. Get me your superior. Just get me that some square head guy!"

The square supervisor now showed the player his face. "You may not leave this room past your given curfew."

"Damn it. You masked guys think you control when I'm supposed to pee, huh?"

The guard slammed the little screen shut.

"Oh, what the... You freaking bastards!" yelled the player banging her fists on the door. "You don't think I'll go pee right here and now? Here I go" she shrieked and the rustling of her suit was apparent.

Just then the square guard seemed to make up his mind. He opened the door and gestured to Y/n.

"Follow guard 030" Y/n stood up straighter and gave the square guard a slight nod of understanding.

"Damn, Koreans won't listen to someone until they start screaming at you" muttered player 212.

"I gotta go" came another voice. Player 067 was standing in the doorway.

"Oh, yeah?" scoffed the curly-haired woman. "I beg to get the damn toilet, and you're gonna sit right on top of it like that?"

Y/n walked the two women to the bathroom and she stood outside. "Ten minutes" grumbled Y/n in her deepest voice. Y/n could feel player 067's eyes on her before she entered the bathroom.

After about ten minutes ,Y/n knocked on the door harshly.

"It's time to go back" she declared her voice deep again.

"Just give me a second, okay?" came Player 212's voice. Y/n knew that they were up to something. No one went into the bathroom with such a fuss just to pee.

"You need to go back," said Y/n, knocking on the door again. "Come out now."

"Wait! Stop! No! Wait! They're gone. All of the toilet paper is gone!"

Y/n laughed inwardly. This woman was trying so hard.

Y/n heard water running.

"I'll use the sink. Don't come in. You just stay out there. Did you hear that? Don't come in here. I'm not wearing pants, okay?"

"Okay" muttered Y/n. She needed a way in. These two might have some information about In-ho or at least the games that were about to come. Y/n was sure that the women were probably sneaking around trying to find clues to the next game. Little did they know that Y/n had the same motive.

"You have to come out" said Y/n one last time. Before the women had a chance to reply Y/n opened the door and found their stall.

"You bastard, what the hell?" came Player 212's shriek as she saw Y/n's figure outside the stall. "I can't believe this."

"You little bastard! You...Hey, jerkface. You, I said don't come in, didn't I? You harassed us–"

"Shut up", said Y/n, glancing at the two females.

"Ill sue you–" Y/n cut of player 212 by slamming a gloved hand against her mouth. In an instant Y/n had a knife pointed to her neck. Y/n's eyes traced the knife's owner back to player 067.

"Let's just all take a step back shall we?" asked Y/n her other hand reaching to her gun. In everything that was going on, Y/n forgot to deepen her voice.

"Wait a minute" said Player 212 something clicking in her mind. "That's not a male voice"

"Yes, this one's a woman," said 067, giving Y/n a slight nod.

"Shouldn't you help us out then? All women should stick together!"

"I don't know anything that could help you" said Y/n sincerely. "But you might know things that could help me"

"Why should we trust you?" asked Player 067. "You have a mask. For all we know you could kill us as part of a test"

Y/n was quick to react. She yanked off her mask in one swift motion.

Player 212 gasped. "You're young"

"And I'm also a detective for the Seoul Police. The name is Shin A-Yeong," said Y/n. "I've revealed myself. I'm not going to kill anyone. I'm here to save lives. If you could give me information I could try to take down this institution and even get you a reward for your cooperation in a police investigation."

Both of the females seemed to be intrigued now. "Do either of you know of a man named Hwang In-ho?"

They both shook their heads genuinely. Y/n could see the truth in their eyes.

"How did you guys get to know of this place?"

"I met a man on the train station. He seemed kind and friendly. He invited me to play a round of ddakji for money. I needed the money so I played. I lost so many times but I finally won and then he gave me the little card" said player 212.

As the woman spoke about the ddakji rounds, Y/n couldn't help but remember her father teaching her the game during hot summer days. He always had a strategy in which he would perfect the angle. It didn't matter if the opponent was stronger, wiser, or older. All you had to do was remember the angle. 

Y/n could almost feel her father's presence next to her. It was like she was 8 again. In her front yard. Ha-kun was laughing at her for losing, but her father was guiding her hand and almost her entire body into the game. Y/n smiled at the memory slightly before turning back to the present moment. 

Y/n looked at player 067 for confirmation of the scenario and she nodded as well. "I needed the money for my little brother" she whispered.

"Do you remember what the man looked like?"

"He was quite handsome" said player 212 smirking slightly. "Tall, dark eyes, a chiseled face"

"A name tag or anything that might identify him?" tried Y/n.

"He was wearing a business suit and he carried a suitcase of money."

"That narrows our suspects down to about a fourth of Korea" muttered Y/n sighing slightly. 

{2029}