#i wanted to tag all the spoilers too so I hope the people who need them have them blogged-

[damn-stark]

Chapter 6 That’s life

Chapter 6 of Sinnerwoman

A/N- “I'm on my way to save Elena!”—“I'm on my way to kill Elena!”

Warning- ANGST!! Some fragments of fluff. Talks of pregnancy. Weapons, swearing, blood, violence, and death. Spoilers for the show!

Pairing- Hwang Jun-ho x fem!reader

Episode- 2x07

(Let me know if you want to be tagged)

——

Just as you were going to try and stop everyone in order to share your intricate plan, the solemn voice of Gi-hun travels out first. “Wait.”

Your curiosity piques and before everyone can go to bed you stop first.

“Before we go to our beds I need to talk to you all first,” he shares, making everyone share confused yet curious looks before he guides everyone to a secluded corner.

“Those bastards are acting suspicious,” Dae-ho points out as he’s the last one to join the group. “It looks like they’re up to something.”

Everyone tries to steal a peek at the opposing side, but you keep your eyes on Gi-hun to wait for what he wants to say. However, he looks almost like he’s trying to figure out a way to share what he has in mind.

“Whatever those idiots do, once we win the vote tomorrow, it’ll all be over,” Jung-bae shares with a hint of cockiness.

“You think we’ll be okay?” Dae-ho asks the group. “They say things were really crazy in the bathroom earlier.”

You sigh and Gi-hun finally breaks his silence. “Once the lights go out, people on the other side will attack us.”

Fear and tension spread through the gathered group, meanwhile, Player 007 is the first one to probe. “Really?”

Gi-hun nods stiffly. “Because if they kill us, they’ll be able to win the vote and increase the prize,” he adds, making Player 007 stammer.

“So what do we do?” He asks now.

“Let’s attack them first,” In-ho suggests before Gi-hun can respond. “They’re probably thinking we’ll just wait for the second vote. We can use it to our advantage. We’ll attack them first once the lights go out.”

You blink and look at your hands whilst Player 047 speaks up. “That’s right. It’d be better to attack them first. We have more women and elderly on our side.”

Your eyebrows furrow in response to his comment.

“If we get attacked, we’ll be at a disadvantage,” he adds. “Attacking them first would give us a better chance of winning.”

“I agree,” Player 145 says shakily just before Gi-hun cuts in.

“We can’t do that,” he states, making you lift your eyes off the ground and narrow your gaze on him.

“But we have to get out of here,” In-ho argues to press him. “You said it yourself. Staying calm won’t get us anywhere now.”

You shake your head. “But we’re not here to kill each other,” you counter, gaining In-ho’s immediate attention. “Some of them may have lost their minds due to that money, but we can’t play into their trap.”

“Their?” Jung-bae asks as he leans forward.

“Those who created this game,” Gi-hun answers for you. “Those who watch us play. If we’re going to fight someone, it should be them.”

“Where are they?” Dae-ho asks.

“Up there,” Gi-hun says and looks up and everyone around slowly follows his line of gaze, but you and In-ho. You both look at each other and he doesn’t miss the chance to pass you a questioning look that you pretend to act clueless about and instead look back at Gi-hun to not miss a single thing.

“On the upper levels are the rooms they control the games from,” Gi-hun continues as he now points up with his finger. “The man in the black mask is their leader.”

You stay still to avoid giving even a small reaction.

“Once we capture him, we’ll be able to win.”

Jung-bae sighs after Gi-Hun’s comment and In-ho proceeds to add a question to the matter. “How are you going to fight them? They have guns.”

You want to give Gi-hun an idea taken from your plan, but now that he saved your hind by sharing his plan first, you wait to avoid looking suspicious to In-ho or anyone watching behind those cameras.

“We’ll fight them with guns too,” Gi-hun shares what you hoped he’d say.

“But we don’t have any,” Jung-bae points out the obvious.

“We’ll take their guns,” Gi-hun deadpans.

“From those masked men?” A Player asks.

Gi-hun nods stiffly, making Jung-bae sigh and lean his head back.

“That’s too dangerous,” In-ho pretends to be concerned. “Even if we manage to take a few guns, we’ll still be outnumbered.”

“What then?” Gi-hun interjects swiftly. “Are you going to kill each other all night and hope you survive? Is that what you want, Young-il?”

“But we also can’t just shoot aimlessly,” you finally chime in with a doubt that has yet to be answered. “What do we do after we get the guns? We’ll be sitting ducks in here. They have all the control from out there.”

Gi-hun finds your gaze and as much as he seems to have thought his plan through, you see that he can’t give you an answer to your question. Thus a silence falls that Player 120 fills with a question.

“Do we…stand a chance?” She expresses worry.

“We do if we catch them off guard,” Gi-hun tries to assure the group. “Out of everyone, they’re the ones who would least expect us to attack first. This is our last chance to end these games once and for all.”

“And we will,” you try to add more consolation to try and boast everyone’s confidence.

“How are you going to take their guns?” In-ho asks.

“Once the fight begins tonight, we’ll have our chance,” Gi-hun shares what you had in mind. “Once the lights go out, get under the beds quietly. You must not get caught by those planning to attack us.”

With all that said you realize you’re more interlinked than you thought. It’s true there’s only limited options to survive the attack and then get guns, but he’s more tactical than you thought.

“We have to hide until the fight ends,” Gi-hun continues. “Don’t get caught up in the fight.”

“But that would put people on our side at quite a disadvantage,” Jung-bae shares. “Without us in the fight, they’ll be outnumbered.”

Gi-hun nods. “I know. But if we fight with them and some of us end up dead or injured, it’ll ruin our entire plan. We can't beat those bastards with a lower headcount.”

He’s also more selfish than you thought, considering he’s all about not killing each other.

“Are you suggesting that we make a small sacrifice for the greater good?” In-ho asks as he also finally gets to see Gi-hun be selfish and show that he’s just like him and everyone else in charge.

“If we miss this opportunity,” Gi-hun says after a moment of silence. “The sacrifice will be even greater. Even if it takes a sacrifice…we must put an end to this game now.” He states, causing you to slowly glance over at In-ho as his point is proven right at that moment.

“In that case, I’m with you,” he says, further gaining Gi-hun’s uttermost trust.

“As am I,” you say but you’re not deceitful like In-ho. You’re sincere.

“Thank you,” Gi-hun whispers and then addresses the whole group. “The fight won’t last long. Because if all of us end up hurt or dead, there can’t be a next game, and they wouldn’t want that. So once the lights come on, the soldiers will come to settle the situation. They’ll try to break up the fight first. They won’t pay attention to the dead. They’ll scan our trackers to identify us. That’ll be our window.”

You nod slowly to show you understand and a second later the PA turns on and an announcement is given. “Lights out in five minutes.”

You all glance up at the speakers before you all stand up.

“Remember,” Gi-hun adds. “Go under your beds once the lights go off. Be careful everyone.”

“Shout if anyone ends up in any trouble,” you offer the group. “I’ll be there as quickly as I can.”

“Thank you,” Player 149 offers you, causing you to offer her a smile before you follow everyone to bed to pretend to follow along cluelessly.

However, before you can climb onto a bed you catch Jun-hee walking further away, so you call out to her. “Hey, Jun-hee, where are you going?”

Said girl stops in her tracks and turns on her heels to face you. “I’m going to talk to someone,” she says. “I’ll be right back.”

Your eyes dart behind her to try and find if someone is nearby, but you don’t catch anyone in particular so you just offer her a comprehensive nod. “How about when you come back you take the bunk under mine, hm?”

Jun-hee nods, letting you smile with relief before you turn away to let her do what she needs to do. However, when you are climbing to your bed, you hear your name being called from under you, so you stop and look down, catching In-ho with a hand on a bed frame and his eyes attentively on you.

“I just want to tell you that this is our last stretch,” he says in that fake friendly voice he’s been using for the past couple of days. “Just a little longer until we get to go home.”

You hold his gaze and find yourself having trouble offering him a smile. Not because of your own hidden agenda, but because you can’t tell if it’s a warning or a threat.

He’s seen how close you’ve gotten to everyone. You’ve broken that barrier you isolated yourself behind and he sees that, so you can’t tell if he’s threatening you to remember why he thinks you’re here.

Or maybe he’s figured you out and is threatening you about that.

Then again he could also be discreetly warning you that he intends to foil Gi-hun’s plan before he can reach the control room.

You don’t know, you can’t figure it out, so after your lashes flutter you offer him a strained smile and a soft nod.

In-ho takes what he gets with a nod before he turns away. You stay where you are and watch him walk off to his bed with concern. Once he’s climbing in you peel your eyes away from him and finish ascending to your bed, making sure to do every step to make it look like you’ll be going to sleep once the lights go off.

You remain there like some frozen statue forever staring off in the distance, and wait, feeling your pulse skip a beat before it starts to rise with every second that passes and gets closer to lights out.

“Lights out in ten seconds,” the PA echoes, making you turn towards the ladders. “Ten,”

Ba-dum.

“Nine,”

Ba-dum.

“Eight.”

Ba-dum.

“Seven.”

Ba-dum.

“Six.”

Ba-dum.

“Five.”

Ba-dum

“Four.”

Ba-dum.

“Three.”

Ba-dum.

“Two.”

Ba-dum.

“One.”

Your breath hitches and you’re unable to exhale, so you hold your breath and watch the bright lights go off and a yellow-orange light remain.

After a couple of seconds, those dim lights also go off, so you relieve your body by breathing, and then with the adrenaline kicking in you throw your blanket off your body and fling yourself to the stairs to climb down discreetly but quickly, making sure to glance at the other side so no one in particular is watching you.

Once you’re on the ground you see Jun-hee, and you let out a sigh of relief before you help her get on her knees so she can drag herself under the bed. The moment she’s made it halfway across you’re much swifter since you don’t have a swollen belly in the way, and quickly slide under the bed with her.

“Don’t worry,” you whisper and proceed to pull out the fork you got for dinner. “I’ll look out for you and your little one.”

Jun-hee turns her head and through the dim red and blue lights shining from the floor, you catch the fear brimming in her eyes. “Okay,” she whispers without a quiver, but the fear is still clear in her eyes.

“We’ll be okay,” you add in a sweeter voice.

Jun-hee lets out a shaky breath, and for a second relief flickers in her eyes before her fear returns to take over. Thus you drape your arm around her to keep her as close as possible and keep her comforted as the other players finally start to make their way to your side, making sure to be as quiet as possible.

And much to your surprise their plan worked without a hitch. No one cluelessly in bed was aware of what threat was lurking their way until the first victim let out an agonizing cry that alerted everyone of the attack and started the chaos.

Lights were also flashing from above, escalating everything around you, and making every dying cry and every sound of attack sound that much more horrifying and intense.

You would say work has prepared you for such horrors, but nothing can prepare you for not being able to do anything but hear people die. You know what you have to do though and you don’t feel an itch to step out of line to help.

Perhaps that is what leaves you an easy target or perhaps your acceptance to do nothing makes karma strike, but before you know it, cold hands slap around your ankles and drag you out of hiding.

Jun-hee yells out for you as you’re suddenly robbed from her side and you’re unable to hear, but through your confusion and panic, you yell back. “Stay! Don’t you dare try to help!”

From one second to the next, you’re flipped over, facing the woman who attacked you on the first day; the woman who’s been trying to figure out ways to curse you with her glares, and the woman who attacked you during mingle.

“You,” you snarl and quickly throw your hands out to try and claw her face to try and gain the upper hand, but she hits you with a right hook that leaves you disoriented and feeling a dull burning pain on your lip.

She hits you again, making you groan and feel streams of thick and warm blood run out of your nose and mouth. You feel the pain heighten and turn sharp now too, but through that pain and through your disorientation you swing your fist and jab your knuckles in her throat, causing her to choke and falter.

“I didn’t want to hurt you,” you growl and pull your fork out of hiding. “But you’re leaving me no choice,” you say and snap up to quickly scramble to your feet.

The woman sees you’re up now and tries to tackle you, but you use your body strength to slam into her so hard that she hits the wall.

You then try to bring your hand forward to impale her with the fork, but she doesn't take the time to collect herself. She manages to capture your wrist before she quickly grabs your throat with her other hand, going straight for the attack and managing to hurl you on the ground and disarm you.

“I learned how to fight in prison to try and kill the monster that locked me away,” she seethes, making the corner of your lips curl to a scowl.

However, you don’t waste a breath trying to respond. You throw your hands up to wrap them around her throat too, so she responds by picking your head up and slamming it on the floor.

You cry out and feel your world spin and a darkness blur your vision.

The woman then reels her hand back and swings her fist across your face for a third time. She then doesn’t give you time to try and recover, she grabs your head and picks it off the ground. Albeit before she can slam it down a second time, suddenly her body weight is lifted off you and through your blurry vision, you notice In-ho grab her by the collar and pull her to her feet before he slams her against the bed frame.

He doesn’t make another move after that. He lets her go and she collapses on the floor, letting you flip your body around to push yourself to your knees through all the confusion. When your eyes fall on her you notice her lifeless eyes, and the blood spilling from the back of her head.

He killed her for you. And it shouldn’t be as shocking as it currently is, or maybe it’s because your mind is still fuzzy and your vision is still blurry, but you’re left speechless and staring completely dumbfounded at the woman’s limp body.

It’s not until In-ho towers over you that you snap out of your stupor moments before he grabs you by your arms and pulls you to your feet.

“You weren’t supposed to come out of hiding,” you scold him softly whilst he squints through the flashing lights to try and see the cuts on your lips and the marks on your face.

“But I did,” he snaps with no real venom.

“But you did,” you whisper back and finally lock eyes, feeling at the heat of the moment as your vision finally clears and your head stops spinning; your heart skip a beat, and a warmth start to unfurl in your stomach that makes you hold his gaze in between the chaos for a second too long.

You also feel the urge to close the gap, so you do. You move in and wrap your arms around his neck to pull him in for an embrace. “Thank you,” you whisper sweetly, feeling the gentle touch of his hand on your back moments before the flashing lights come to an end and the bright lights come on again.

Now there’s a choice In-ho can make. He can either continue playing along with Gi-hun or expose himself as the Front Man.

Will he do the latter? You wonder as you watch him and prepare yourself to turn against him so the plan can go on.

Nevertheless, he pulls back and makes sure to grab your hand before he pulls you with him past the beds to throw yourselves on the floor and play dead.

“I’ll pass a gun to you,” he whispers as he closes his eyes. “Just cover us. Don’t strain yourself right now. Wait until after.”

You would argue, but your head still hurts, and by the time you try to storm to the control room you want to be stable enough to help them, so you give in and close your eyes.

In the following seconds, the alarm buzzes before the doors open, and pink soldiers storm in shooting their guns to make everyone stop fighting. They waste no time after that. Some men go around searching for anyone hiding, some point their guns at people they caught fighting, and others approach the dead to check the IDs.

However, since they know In-ho and you, the guard walking over simply crouches down and pretends, and it’s at that moment that In-ho jumps up and grabs the guard by the head to throw them on the floor. You then push yourself off the floor and watch In-ho yank the guard's gun off them to shoot them before he throws it at you to catch it.

After that with no time to examine the scene unfolding around you, you turn on your heels and shoot a guard straight through their mask, letting In-ho run over to the dead guard to rip their gun off their body. Much like you, with little time to breathe, he turns and ends up saving Gi-hun’s life by shooting the guard who was about to shoot him.

After that, since In-ho has a gun you turn and proceed to shoot a guard on the opposite side, while the other one is taken down by a different player. However, more guards are hidden between the beds trying to find their way out, so you find somewhere to hide and try to take them down while the other players try and take down the ones in the front.

You only manage to shoot down two before a bullet flies past you. When you look back you see a guard falling on the floor, so it means someone thought they were saving your life. Who? You ask yourself before you come out of hiding and see that it was Player 120.

Thus you offer them a thankful nod before you turn your aim ahead and take a guard down before the PA comes on to make an announcement. “Retreat.”

The guards gather up and start to walk backward towards the doors. Neither of you stops trying to shoot them though, you keep shooting with more ferocity as they all try running out of the closing doors, becoming an easy target.

Albeit you only manage to shoot one guard because they all manage to escape before the doors close. All except for one.

“Stop! Hold fire!” Gi-hun orders once the commotion has come to a halt and he spots the trapped masked manager. “Everyone, hold fire!”

Jung-bae and another player run up to the masked manager whilst you scan the room so there aren't any other masked guards hiding inside.

“Hands above your head! On your knees!” Jung-bae orders the masked manager.

“You goddamn bastards!” You catch someone shout and when you look over you notice Player 047 pointing a gun at the other players, so you quickly run over and yank his gun down.

“Drop it!” You bark without worrying about what plans the others have for the masked manager because no matter what, they're not allowed to expose who In-ho or you are unless you do it first.

“Drop it?!” The man remarks shakily. “Do you not see this? They are not human. They’re like goddamn vermin blinded by money!” He cries and brings his gun up again, causing the others behind you to yelp in fear.

However, you quickly counteract by pulling his gun down again and trying to get him to calm down. “Perhaps,” you agree about one thing. “But that’s not why we took these guns. If you shoot them now what do you gain from it? Satisfaction? For a little while maybe, but at the end of the day, you would have just repeated that cycle. You would be just like the people behind those masks.”

The man’s breath trembles and he keeps looking at you for a moment before he drops his aim and drops his head to cry quietly.

“We’re all tired,” you whisper as you start to walk past him. “But we won’t get out of here if we don’t keep pushing. Just for a little while longer.”

You pat his shoulder and then run over to Jun-hee as you notice her crawling out from under the bed.

“Everyone!” Gi-hun talks in the background. “Don’t be scared. Gather round, please!”

“It’s okay to come out,” Jung-bae echoes Gi-hun.

“We’re not trying to hurt you!” Gi-hun adds. “Come on! I have something to say!”

Before you can reach Jun-hee you come to a skidding stop as you catch Se-mi’s lifeless body bleeding out on the floor. The defiance once so lively in her eyes has now been swallowed by death.

What a tragic affair…

Yet you can’t stand there and feel guilty because if you blame yourself for not warning her then you’ll blame yourself for every dead player here, so, no you can’t feel guilty. You pull yourself away and finally reach Jun-hee.

“Are you okay?” She beats you to the question, so you respond to her first with reassurance.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Just a little banged up but I’m fine. Besides, with all the adrenaline pumping through me I don’t feel a thing. You, are you okay?”

Jun-hee grabs her belly and smiles gently as she nods. “Yes, I’m okay,” she assures you, making you sigh with relief before you grab her shoulder and give it a gentle squeeze.

“It’s a good thing Young-il went to go help you,” she says with a sweeter smile as if she’s prouder than you are that he did what he did. “He’s a really good man. He seems to really care about you.”

Your smile falters but you don’t give anything away. You just nod softly. “Well, it’s a good thing he does because I probably would have come out worse than I look.”

“You held your own though,” she praises you. “That’s very impressive.”

You scoff and smile shyly at the ground. “Shucks.”

You proceed to roll your head up and meet her gaze with your lips slowly losing that smile. “Jun-hee, as you know, we’re going to leave soon to continue with this plan. And as you know it’s a risky plan. I just want you to know that…I will try what I can. Even if I don’t come back,” you add, sounding a little morbid.

“What does that mean?” She asks quietly as she looks at you with concern.

“Just,” you breathe out. “Know I will try everything I can,” you say with a smile before you pat her shoulder one more time and then turn away to walk to the front of the room with Gi-hun and the others as they also gather in front with collected guns, ammo, and radios.

“Everyone,” Gi-hun addresses the entire room. “We will now head up to the masked men’s headquarters. We’ll capture the ones who captured us, put an end to this game, and make them pay. Anyone who knows how to use a gun and wishes to join us, please step forward.”

You watch the ground as you wipe the blood off your face, but don’t see anyone coming forward. There’s not even a moment of hesitation.

Thus it’s probably why Jung-bae steps forward to address the crowd too. “Hey. I know you’re scared. I’m scared too. But this may be our last chance to make it out of this place alive. Ride with us so we can go home together. All together.”

You scan the crowd again and four people volunteer. Four out of all that remains after the bloodshed, after everything you, Gi-hun, and even Jung-bae have said, which actually gives your mind clarity since now you don’t have to debate whether adding a speech of your own or not because no matter what you have to say, nothing will change their minds.

At least some people chose to fight.

“Please check your guns and ammo,” Gi-hun orders after no one else decides to join.

“Let's take one radio each,” Jung-bae adds as he shows the radio in his hand. “We’ll use channel 7, the lucky number.”

You take a few steps forward and pick up two radios, one for you and one for Dae-ho who seems to be nervous.

“Are you doing okay?” You ask and he gives you a delayed answer.

“Yeah. Yeah,” his voice quivers. “You? You took quite a beating by the looks of it.”

You shrug whilst you check your ammo. “I’ll be okay. But you…are you sure you’re okay?” You ask as you notice how shaky his hands are.

“Yes, yeah I am, don’t worry about me,” he throws out at you.

“Attention!” A loud voice calls from a few paces ahead, and when you look over you see Player 120 facing the group with her gun pointed up. “This is the MP5, a submachine,” she says. “First, if you press this lever in the middle and pull the magazine, it comes off like this,” she says as she demonstrates how it’s done, making it seem rather easy. “If the selector switch is down, it’s set to full auto mode. Up is single-fire mode. We don’t have many magazines, so set it to single-fire mode. Lastly, insert the magazine, pull the handle, and then release it. That’s how you load it. Are we clear?”

“Yes,” you all agree in unison, and even if you already knew, it still still felt nice to hear it over again.

Soon thereafter, Gi-hun and Jung-bae approach the masked manager with a revolver.

“Take it off,” you hear Gi-hun order and when you look over you see the masked manager break the rule and expose himself to the masses.

“Good god,” Jung-bae gasps as he sees how young the manager looks. “Do your parents know what you’re doing here?”

With no space to answer Gi-hun cocks his gun and steps closer to the manager to sound more threatening. “Take us to your captain.”

Without the control room, exposing In-ho now would be stupid.

You keep telling yourself that as you leave the room and make your way to the control room following behind Jung-bae.

“All Players,” the PA cuts off the lullaby to give an alert. “It is bedtime now. Please return to your quarters immediately. Otherwise, you will be eliminated from the game. Let me repeat. All players, it is bedtime…”

The voice behind the PA tunes out as Jung-bae interjects. “I think I’ll be hearing this voice in my dreams. Don’t you?” He asks and looks back, making you sigh and agree.

“Every night.”

You then peer back at Dae-ho and he spares a glance at you and Jung-bae and agrees awkwardly before his eyes continue to dart the hall.

“…otherwise…”

Once again before the announcement on the PA can be finished, it’s interrupted. This time by Gi-hun shooting a speaker in the distance.

Nevertheless, it’s while you’ve taken that stop and waiting for Gi-hun to continue pushing forward that you spot three guards with the high ground across the hall, so you quickly react with panic. “Duck!”

A lousy interjection is given by the guards shooting their guns at you in hopes of hitting anyone that came with you, but luckily everyone ducks in time, leaving you stuck in the corner.

“One o’clock!” Gi-hun lets everyone know where the gunfire is raining from.

“Cover me!” You hear Player 120 shout from the back, which is why it’s not aimed at you, but you glance over and catch Player 047 standing up to shoot, so you quickly push yourself up and turn around to aim at the guard in the middle while they’re all distracted, managing to hit them right in the center of their mask.

There’s two guards left after that, but you crouch down again, catching Player 120 already ahead taking cover behind a corner before immediately going up and shooting ahead, managing to shoot one. There’s one left after that and they get taken down, but more guards pop up, so wait until there’s a second of silence and then peek out.

Guards come out of hiding, so you quickly aim your gun and shoot one before they start to shoot again, causing you to take cover and let the others pop out to try. After a few rounds are shot, Player 120 cuts in. “Hold fire!”

“Hold fire!” Gi-hun repeats so the others can be heard and no one can hit their triggers.

After that, when no fire rains down from above you all slowly stand up and scan the area to make sure the ghost is clear.

“Is everyone okay?” Gi-hun asks after he doesn’t catch anyone, but you keep looking so there aren’t any guards sneaking over.

“Yes,” people reassure him.

“Yes, I’m okay!”

“All right,” Gi-hun says with some hint of relief. “Let’s go up!”

He proceeds to turn around to pull up the manager so he can continue to lead the way.

“Good shot,” you praise player 120 as you pass by her.

“Thank you.” She nods. “You too.”

You flash her a quick smile and then realize that she lingered behind to shoot singular shots at something you aren’t able to see, but given the fact that they were singular bullets, she probably shot at the cameras like she did before.

Not like it does any good given the fact that you’re already passing that section and she can't shoot out any cameras that you’ll come across. If you could turn the cameras off from anywhere else but the restricted levels, that would be great, but alas, you can’t so they know every step you take.

They know when Jung-bae finds ammo in the pocket of a dead guard hanging over the wall, and they see when you all come to a stop in front of a protected door.

“How much farther?” Gi-hun asks the manager after he brings him and everyone else to a stop. “Is this the right way?” He asks as he turns him around.

The manager turns to point at the protected door. “The entrance to the management area is around that corner. The control room is right above it,” he says with a shaky voice.

“Move it then,” Gi-hun urges.

“Wait,” the manager says and proceeds to try and pull out his mask, but since Gi-hun doesn’t know that’s what he needs, he stops the manager.

“What are you doing?”

“I need my mask to pass security,” the manager assures him, so Gi-hun lets him go and the manager takes out the mask.

However, as the manager is lifting his head up to look away from what he’s doing, you see his eyes lock on In-ho seconds before his eyes drift behind his shoulder to also spot you and look at you with the same disbelief.

He recognizes the both of you, but nothing brings him more fear than In-ho, because he knows that there’s no escaping the fate that awaits those who break the rules.

Moreover, as if spotting In-ho is some bad omen, the sound of a bullet breaks the silence seconds before it rips right through the manager and steals his life. Neither one of you hesitate to take cover after that to avoid succumbing to the same fate.

Well, all but one player avoids getting hit in the surprise attack. He was trying to be brave and stood out in the open. The rest of you stay hidden for a few seconds. After that, a couple of players pop out and shoot at the guards.

When they take cover again after a few rounds are shot, other players take their turn shooting. You wait albeit until the tail end of the group takes their turn to shoot to catch the guards off guard. There's no real need to do so since bullets hit below or above you and never at you, but you’re no longer playing a part. Killing them is you dropping your act, but they don’t know that, so it’s easy to bring them down and play it off like you’re an excellent shot.

“I’ll go look for the management area!” Gi-hun tries to shout over the gunfire so he can be heard by the group.

“Will you be able to find it?” In-ho asks as he keeps pretending. “Should I come?”

Much to your surprise Gi-hun declines his offer. “I’ll go with Jung-bae. I need you to buy us some time!”

“Gi-hun!” You exclaim and inch forward to be seen by him. “I’ll go with you.”

Right away In-ho looks over and turns you down before Gi-hun can try and answer. “No, I need you here with me, covering for me.”

Gi-hun’s eyes shift to you and you see him debate that decision before he nods stiffly. “Young-il is right. I’ll see you again soon.”

You clench your hands around the gun and nod softly. “Alright. Good luck over there. Let me know if you need backup.”

He hums and then looks at his friend. “Jung-bae, let's go.”

He proceeds to swipe the mask off the floor before he goes off and disappears around the corner with Jung-bae, leaving you to instead try and take down as many guards as you can.

Yet just as you’re about to turn around you notice how recklessly Dae-ho is shooting. He’s not even looking over at his targets. He’s just shooting blindly as if he’s scared or never actually shot a gun before. It’s why he runs out of bullets.

“Here,” you exclaim and then quickly scurry over to the wall he’s hiding behind to hand him the extra ammo you had in your pocket. “And stop shooting like that. You’ll waste all your bullets, or worse, shoot one of us.”

He nods frantically and then grabs the ammo to insert it shakily.

“Dae-ho,” you call out softer, and he clicks in his ammo first before he gives you his attention. “Breathe, okay?” You try to comfort him the best way you can. A way you would like to be comforted. A way…you’ve been comforted before. “You’ll be okay.”

He looks into your eyes, so you make sure to soften them so he can find ease in your comfort before he exhales deeply and offers you a comprehensive nod before looking away.

After you turn the other way to try and come out of hiding to continue shooting, you catch In-ho’s wandering gaze that hardens slightly as he furrows his eyebrows.

You don’t know what he can possibly mean by it so you just look away and pop out of hiding to shoot.

Yet no matter how many guards you or the others take down more and more guards come out in groves. Which is expected by you, but it doesn’t make it any less annoying because you know there’s no way the Players will survive this if Gi-hun doesn’t reach that room, or if you don’t go ahead to help him.

“We’re in the management area,” you hear Gi-hun come in through the radio, making you pick it up to bring it to your ear—“We’ll make our way up.”

If only you could warn him, but there’s too many reasons you can’t right now and one is next to you, growing angrier and angrier the closer Gi-hun gets to that room. The best thing to do is keep trying to pick off the number of these guards. How long can you keep this up with the limited ammo you all have and the small group you came with? You don't know, all you know is that if you don���t move forward you’ll be picked off or trapped.

Player 046 notices the predicament and comments on it. “This isn’t getting us anywhere! Let’s follow them to the upper level!”

“We might get surrounded if we move together without a plan!” In-ho responds with the actual harsh truth. “Let’s wait until they find the control room!”

“Young-il is right!” You add as consolation. “We’ll only get killed if we move ahead now.”

Player 047 groans but doesn’t push. He keeps trying to fight and so do you.

“Everyone! Check your magazines!” Player 120 yells not so much later, but first, you come out of hiding and try to shoot a guard, but you miss as they duck in time.

“I’m down to half,” you hear someone say before other players proceed to announce their current status.

“I’ve got less than half.”

“Same!”

“I’ve got two-thirds left.”

“I’m almost out!”

“Mine is empty!” Dae-ho announces.

“I’m almost out!” You say but only guess because you don’t actually check even if you take cover again.

“I’m almost out too!” In-ho says last.

“Young-il, Dae-ho!” Jung-bae comes through the radio at long last. And after he says your name too he proceeds with what he needs to say. “Can you hear me?”

“Go ahead!” In-ho responds for the group.

“I think we’re right below the control room! But we need backup and more ammo,” Jung-bae shares.

“We’re running out of ammo too!” In-ho shares loudly.

“There should be spare magazines in the soldiers' pockets in our quarters,” Gi-hun says this time. “Go get them!”

“Got it!” In-ho assures them before he turns to the group. “Did you hear that? They need backup! Four of us will go, and the rest will stay! Join us once you get the magazines! Besides, Player 002, who wants to go with me?”

“I’ll go!” Player 047 volunteers before Player 015 does the same.

“Let’s go!” In-ho commands and is quick to lead the way. Before you follow them though you turn to Dae-ho.

“You’ll be okay,” you add one last piece of comfort. “Just remember to breathe.”

He nods quickly and then speaks shakily. “Be careful.”

You offer him a gentle smile. “I will,” you assure him before you turn away and follow the others, finding it easy to reach the management area since no guards pop out and scare you, and Gi-hun and Jung-bae propped the door open with a gun—Which is smart on their behalf. And that's not all, they also seemed to use the mask they took as a decoy to distract the guards they faced.

“Dae-ho,” you hear Jung-bae speak through the radio. “Can you hear me? Where are those magazines?”

“Yes?” You hear Dae-ho’s shaky voice. “I’m on my way to get them.”

“All right, Dae-ho! We’re counting on you!”

“Yes, you can count on me, brother!” Dae-ho assures him. “I’ll be there soon!”

Hopefully, he stays true to his word. He looked rather terrified when you left him. It’s a long way from there to here.

“Was that boy even in the Marines?” Player 047 wonders out loud. “He was shaking like a leaf and shooting like a madman.”

You shrug as you keep your gun up and your eyes peeled. “Who knows, but we need to trust he’ll stay true to his word. People are relying on him,” you say as you move along.

After you ascend a few stairs and walk a few paces, you finally come across the first violent scene that marks that Gi-hun and Jung-bae are going the right way. You also hear bullets, but with the way this section is built the sounds echo, so there’s no way to pinpoint where the noise comes from. It’s a good thing you’re not going into this blindly.

Albeit In-ho still walks slowly and pretends to be clueless so as to not give anything away, and with no other choice, you pretend too.

Once you find Gi-hun and Jung-bae you keep up your act because of the number of guards there is ahead of you. In-ho surely would end up turning them against you if you expose yourself now.

You need to wait. Just a little longer.

“Gi-hun!” In-ho announces your presence as you round the corner. “Did you find the control room?”

Gi-hun points his head toward the guards as he responds. “I think it’s right up there, but we can't go this way. I want you to find another way.”

“I did a quick scan of the layout here. I’m sure there’s a way to go around them,” In-ho says. “I want you guys to keep their focus on you. We’ll hit them from behind.”

Gi-hun nods. “Okay.”

And before In-ho and the rest of you go, Gi-hun stops him. “Wait. Here take this,” he says and offers him his spare ammo. “You’re going to need it.”

You clench your jaw and turn away to avoid giving anything away.

“Are you sure?” In-ho asks as he makes sure to pretend to be hesitant. And without a damn fault, Gi-hun shows that he is a good and reliable man.

“Dae-ho will be back with more.”

He’s the humanity In-ho seems to lack…

But you also can’t be sure. Not at this moment. Not here because no matter what way you view this current situation, the truth is you are stuck and need to find a way out.

Maybe you shouldn’t rely on those running thoughts. You can’t find an excuse for him because you know him more than you care to admit. Yet wouldn’t it be foolish to not hold out hope?

He leads the way so confidently, like if he’s not hiding a secret, like if he is just another desperate player. Every step he takes to carefully lead the group drives you further into the belief that his heart has softened and that he wants more than just this island.

“Gi-hun,” he says after you find your way around the guards and wait with the other Players taking cover across from you while In-ho and you hide next to each other—“we found it. Start attacking and draw their attention. Then we’ll hit them from behind.”

“Okay, got it!” Gi-hun responds and ends the conversation. Not long after that, he’s not hesitant to do what he’s supposed to do.

Thus once the guards are distracted, In-ho gives the other two the okay to sneak out and stalk toward the guards from behind. You wait until they’ve rounded the corner before you try to follow after them, but In-ho then puts his hand out, telling you to wait before he walks out.

You don’t listen to him however and carefully follow after him.

The moment you round the corner you’re startled by him killing the Players.

You don’t know why you let such a violent act scare you. It’s what he does. He’s cold and quick to act, but…you still wanted to hold out hope. Desperately. Because maybe just maybe he would turn out to be different. He would have had a change of heart. He would have learned from Gi-Hun’s heroism and his bravery and remembered that there’s a point to life. There’s so much more than this island and this frigid life of games and death.

You thought that maybe, just maybe you had changed his mind too. Not with what you have said, but with your kindness toward him and the reminder that there are people who love him. Not just Jun-ho, but you too, but…he just killed those Players only trying to escape this hell, so what can you hold onto now? A flickering glimmer of hope?

How stupid, but…you hold on like a fool. You don’t show him kindness. That’s a mercy you don’t grant him.

First, you spin around and shoot out the cameras with haste. In-ho had grabbed his radio and was going to talk through it, but as he hears the sounds of your gun, he pauses and wants to turn, but you don’t let him face you so he doesn’t have the chance the point his gun at you. You press the head of your gun against his head and snatch the back of his collar before you tug.

Without commotion or alerting the guards, In-ho walks back with you so you can hide behind the wall so the guards don’t come to help him.

“I’m going to give you one chance, In-ho,” you break your silence and start to answer his confusion. “Do the right thing.”

He scoffs. “What’s the right thing?” He retorts. “Don't tell me you’ve believed what you said and the bullshit Gi-hun has spat.”

You swallow thickly and with that, he has his answer, so he strains a chuckle and steps forward, slipping from your grasp and attempting to turn. Albeit you press the head of your gun harder against his head, making him stop and mutter. “I should’ve known…”

“You should’ve known,” you continue for him in his brief silence. “I was nothing like my father. I was nothing like everyone here. You should’ve known that I would fight against the monsters.”

In-ho takes a deep breath and stays quiet for a moment before he responds. “Is that what you believe? That you’re different? You may try to fight for the right thing, but you are just like your father.”

Your breath hitches and when he hears that he drops his gun and turns around, locking eyes with you above the gun still pointing at him.

“You let all these people die for your plan. You played them in their faces to try and achieve your own goals,” he continues, making your bottom lip tremble as the truth hurts. “No matter how many times you turned away from the violence you still let the blood shed. At least Tae-woong didn’t turn a blind eye.”

You inhale sharply and reaffirm your aim.

“So no you’re not different,” he remarks. “That’s why your place is here. Don’t be stupid. Put the gun down. There’s nothing waiting for you out there. No one. What life can you have out there when you’re so dependent on wanting a family?”

Your breath trembles and tears break out of your eyes and run down your cheeks whilst the hold on your gun falters.

In-ho is quick to use that slight mistake and moves forward, but no matter how much hurt you’re hit with at the sound of him using your vulnerability against you, you still step back.

“Prove your father wrong by doing better than he did here,” he adds and steps forward, but you take a step to the side and he follows your lead.

“So,” your voice quivers and you begin to walk around him slowly, but he never lets you get behind him. In-ho follows your every step without letting go of your gaze as if you’re in an intimate dance—“That’s your answer then? You don’t even want to try? Jun-ho will take you back.”

He finally gulps at what you said and sighs as that coldness he looks at you with falters. “No,” he deadpans. “There’s no option to retreat. Not here.”

Like a candle against a breeze. That hope is snuffed out and you’re left standing there cold and swallowed by the dark.

“Okay,” you mutter and stop dancing around him, instead, you tighten the hold around your gun as you accept the harsh truth that he picked this damn island.

Just like your father, In-ho also picked the Island…

It hurts. It angers you to accept, but even so, you still don’t raise the gun to point it at anything past his shoulders. You keep the head of your gun slightly lowered to try and catch him off guard.

Albeit In-ho is smarter than that, he sees your thoughts forming behind your eyes and instead, catches you by surprise when he grabs the head of your gun with both hands and pushes the gun back harshly to hit you with the butt of your own gun.

You groan and stumble back, but refuse to let the gun go, so he pushes back again, making you hit the wall this time.

With the gun still attached, you try to press the trigger, but he catches that attempt and throws his leg out to kick you hard on your belly, causing you to groan and your hold to falter as you’re riddled with pain.

Thus, In-ho snatches the gun from your hand and swiftly turns it around to point it at you now. Yet before he can hit the trigger, you ignore your pain and lunge forward to tackle him to the ground.

In-ho drops the gun, but he doesn’t let you gain an opening. He grabs your shoulders as you try to slide your hands to his throat, and then wraps his legs around your waist before he flips you over, unaware of the fact that you were on the ledge of a top step so you both tumble down the stairs.

Thankfully, the flight of stairs is short so you hit the ground soon and manage to land on top of him. He does quickly try to push you off him, but you slap his hands away and pin his arms down before you bring your head down to headbutt him.

In-ho groans and becomes dazed, whilst your head throbs too. Yet you don’t let your pain overwhelm you, you slide your hands up his arm to wrap your fingers around his throat.

Without hesitation and with anger that he decided to choose the Island over leaving with you, you squeeze forcefully.

In-ho doesn’t give up, of course. He drags his hands up and also wraps his hands around your own throat with a firm squeeze. And rather than competing in a challenge of who can run out of air first, he manages to fold his leg and jab his knee in your stomach, making you let him go as every muscle in your body is overcome with pain.

In-ho then shoves you aside and pushes himself on his feet to run away. You watch him run and you assume he’s going to grab a gun, so once again you shove the pain aside and pull yourself up shakily. When you’re on your feet you break into a sprint and manage to catch up to him so you throw yourself at him to shove him against the wall using your body. You then grab a ball of his hair and yank him back a few inches before you slam his face against the wall with vigor.

“Ah!” He yelps and you do it again and again, but when you’re going to do it a fourth time he jabs his elbow on your side, making you stumble and letting him turn around to grab your throat with both hands and throw you against the other wall.

When your body hits the wall your radio slips out of your pocket, so you purposely fall to the ground and reach out for the radio, managing to swipe it off the ground. In-ho is busy grabbing a gun so you press the button to talk. “Gi-hun!” You shout through the radio. “Jung-bae! Young-il is—”

Before you can finish warning them about the truth of how In-ho is, he kicks the radio out of your hand and then proceeds to reel his arms back to slam the butt of his gun against your head. Albeit you manage to catch his attempts and quickly react by snapping your head away, resulting in him hitting the ground.

Instead of proceeding to attack him, you flip around as you hear Gi-hun calling you through the radio, but In-ho drags you back and then flips you over.

“Do it,” you grimace as he points the gun at you. “Kill me…but then,” you say with tears running down your cheeks. “I want you to look your brother in the eye and tell him you killed the woman he loved. Kill me and make me a martyr you fucking monster!” You cry out.

In-ho lets out a deep breath through his nose and clenches his jaw as he points his gun at you, making you tilt your chin up to hold his gaze with defiance and rage. He then proceeds to hover his finger over the trigger, but before he can shoot you in the head, he lowers his aim and shoots your shoulder, causing you to cry out in pain seconds before he turns the gun around and once again reels his arms back.

This time instead of missing he manages to hit you with the butt of the gun and knocks you out.

——

*A LITTLE BIT LATER*

“How many?”

“Three on both sides.”

Your eyes flutter open, but before you can focus your eyes you’re blinded by a natural brightness you haven’t seen in days, so you immediately shield your eyes and keep hearing distorted voices.

“That’s enough. Close it and push it into the water.”

“Yes sir!”

Between the throbbing pain completely radiating from every muscle of your body, you hear the sound of footsteps hitting against rocks, so you quickly bring your arm down and see where you are now that the panic lets your eyes focus. You’re outside.

Your eyes quickly take in your surroundings and you notice that you’re lying in a black box. You’re in one of the boxes they put dead Players.

Pink guards proceed to appear above you and they look down with their masks.

“Where is he?” You blurt. “Where is the Front Man?!” You demand to know, but neither guard responds, instead they disappear for a second, making you heave with panic.

“In-ho?” You call out in hopes he’s nearby. “In-ho?!”

The pink guards appear again but this time they appear with a black lid that they don’t hesitate to bring down, meaning one thing; they’re trapping you inside. They’re going to send you out to sea.

“Wait!” You cry out and try to throw your hands out but you can only throw out one hand because the other pierces you with sharp pain. “WAIT!” You bellow and try to push the lid away, but they’re stronger between all four of them. They slam the lid down, pushing your hand down and enveloping you in darkness.

“No,” your voice quivers as you’re overwhelmed with terror. “No, please! Wait! In-ho, please! PLEASE!”

You hear the sound of drills before you hear the sound of nails securing the lid on the box to make sure you can’t escape.

“The Crane has been eliminated,” a distorted voice announces before you feel the box getting pushed and then proceed to hear the sound of their footsteps as they move forward on the sand with your box.

“Please don’t do this!” You cry with absolute horror. “Please take me out! Please! Please!” You beg and begin slamming your fist against the box. “Get me out of here!”

The box stops moving but only because you feel it hit the water. You see the water splashing in through the holes on the box and you completely panic.

“PLEASE! PLEASE! DON'T DO THIS! IN-HO! IN-HO!”

Yet no one responds. No one pulls you back on land. They push you further away so you can drift away with the waves and eventually drown or starve to death. Either or this is punishment because you’ll die in the sea…

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A/N- OH MY GOODNESS! WILL WE BE SAVED?! And if so, by who?!!!