In the large room were all the remaining players from the 3 games that had been played so far. These were placed in the center of the room, at gunpoint by the guards who had come in to control the entire situation, which almost got out of hand.
These players were still scared, some because of the recent riotous night (In addition to seeing the bodies of those people who died in the pitched battle that took place), and others because of the attack and rebellion that player 456, Gi-Hun, had decided start that same night.
The fact of that rebellion had raised many doubts in some. Well, many believed that perhaps player 456 was being too impulsive in starting an attack with a few other players. When the noise of the bullets stopped, none of those left in the large room knew what had happened, but they could guess. The fact that those people who accompanied Gi-Hun, some perhaps inexperienced in the use of weapons, faced an entire highly dangerous organization, was a clear death sentence. And perhaps the entire group that went out to fight had really died.
Of the only ones who until then were known to have "survived" this event, were 2 players: 120 (Hyun-ju) and 388 (Dae-ho).
The first being saved by player 149 (Geum-Ja), preventing her from getting involved in a fight where she clearly had everything to lose.
And the second had returned for ammunition to continue with the rebellion, but due to possible post-traumatic stress he could not continue. Even up to that moment he was still trembling in the center of the room, covering his ears even though there were no longer sounds of gunshots in the air.
The horrible silence that accompanied the great room was interrupted by the beeping of the main door opening. Everyone focused their attention on seeing what or who was entering: They were 2 guards with square masks, dragging what appeared to be a player.
This player was none other than 456, who seemed slightly beaten, but psychologically dejected by recent events. The guards stepped forward and addressed the other participants
GUARD 1: "We do not want any other type of incident of this nature that interrupts the course of the games" – I dictate with a firm voice.
GUARD 2: "Next time, more severe measures will be applied to those who defy the rules of the competition" – The second guard followed, also with a firm voice.
GUARD 1: "It can even lead to suspending the games. So don't try to do anything stupid again"
Everyone was quiet for fear that something would get out of control again, and everyone would end up dying there.
GUARD 1: "We suggest that you go back to bed to sleep. Luckily the games will continue tomorrow, despite this unfortunate mishap."
Guard 2 knelt in front of Gi-Hun, looking at him with many questions, but whispering:
GUARD 2: "I don't know why the leader let you live, but I hope you suffer the consequences of your little 'Heroic Act'"
Gi-Hun didn't even look at him. He just stared at the ground, staring blankly and clearly broken. Guard 2 stood up from the spot and approached Guard 1, whispering something to him. Finally, they both gave the order to the guards with triangle masks to leave the place, leaving Gi-Hun lying in front of the door.
When the door closed, the following silence was deafening. No one made a sound, making the tension in the atmosphere palpable for all the players.
Finally, it was a player who dared to break the silence, addressing Gi-Hun
YONG-SIK (007): "H-hey Gi-Hun… What… happened out there?"
JEONG-DAE (100): "What happened is that this idiot put each of us in danger!"
Player 100 stormed in, approaching with a small group of other players supporting him.
JEONG-DAE (100): "How many died because of your stupid rebellion, huh?" He snapped, pointing an accusing finger at him.
"You thought you could 'save' us when no one asked you to, and you've only made things worse for those of us who want to stay here!"
Other players joined the whirlwind of shouts and insults that began to erupt towards Gi-Hun, who was still lying on the floor.
"You're a complete idiot."
"On top of that, he takes advantage by putting fear in us about what happened before, causing us all to be in danger now."
"The only good thing about your stupid plan is that there are fewer people competing for the prize."
Gi-Hun listened to every word that came from players clearly upset by the impulsive plan that this attempt was made to carry out. But he couldn't react. The Frontman's words continued in his head "456… Do you have fun playing the hero? Now suffer the consequences of your act." He can still remember the look his friend Jung-Bae (390) gave him before he was shot. He couldn't forgive himself, he couldn't…
JEONG-DAE (100): "Do you have something to say, idiot? Or will you just lie there like a coward?"
Gi-Hun briefly looked up at the tumult of people who were near him reproaching him. He tried to speak, but his lips trembled, so he couldn't make a sound.
He noticed how that Shaman girl, 044, looked at him with a smile from the top of one of the bunks that was still standing after the fight that arose last night started by those who wanted to stay (The O).
He felt even more miserable. In addition to losing people who helped him in his failed attempt at rebellion, there were also people who had been sacrificed.
He thought about what Young-Il said before bedtime came. "A small sacrifice for a greater good." But the issue was that that greater good… never came. It wasn't even close, and that broke him.
How much blood did he have on his hands now that he tried something so ridiculous? Many of them trusted him, and he simply failed them all.
Given the continuation of the screams, Gi-Hun decided to stand up slowly, with some difficulty. They had given him a small beating before taking him, by direct order of the Frontman, back to the room. He didn't understand why it wasn't him who was shot… why did it have to be Jung-Bae…? Why did I always have to fail at everything?
Everyone fell silent again as he saw him get up and walk towards one of the doors that led to the bathroom. The triangle guard stood staring at him, gun in hand.
GI-HUN (456): "I want… to go to the… bathroom" He said exhausted.
The guard nodded, and let him pass, while following him behind. It seemed like there was a little more freedom when it came to going to the bathroom now.
Although Gi-Hun was surprised that they let him go to the bathroom so calmly after what he had caused…what an idiot he felt.
Already in the bathroom, he only managed to look at himself in the mirror while he turned on the faucet. He was completely emaciated and it showed. Even much more emaciated than he was after finishing those games 3 years ago…
3 years have passed since he went through the games the first time. And clearly he could never forget everything that happened there.
He still remembered Sang-Woo. How could she forget about him? They were like brothers from another mother. They always played together since they were children, until he had the opportunity to go to study at university. Gi-Hun wanted to do the same, but his situation was a little more precarious. But he didn't care, he admired him.
Unfortunately those games broke the great person he was. They corrupted it. Just as these people who were in current games were corrupted. Maybe he couldn't really change the world, and as long as people continue like this… The games will continue. He shivered slightly at the thought.
Sang-Woo was unrecognizable towards the end of those games. He had pushed the man in that game of the glass bridge, crossing a line of no return. But he finished corrupting the moment he killed…
Sae-Byeok. That poor girl who seemed to be living her own hell, and who hid it under that cold girl facade. The appreciation that Gi-Hun had for her in the end was huge. He would never forget that she stole his money the first time they crossed paths. JA.
Gi-Hun wanted to laugh at the memory, but his face was totally destroyed, but not physically.
He had kept the promise he made to Sae-Byeok about his brother, believing well that Sang-Woo's mother would be ideal in taking care of him. It would be a new beginning for both of them who lost a loved one without ever knowing it (But surely they knew it, after 3 years). But his mother was still missing, and he had to continue… but now he felt too miserable to do it.
His thoughts were interrupted when he noticed a group of players enter the bathroom. Everyone in the circle.
When were more than 1 or 2 people allowed in the bathroom at a time? Now it seemed clear.
Gi-Hun knew what was coming, especially when he saw one of the boys take a run and hit him directly in the stomach.
Gi-Hun fell to his knees, almost out of breath.
PLAYER: "Idiot. Now we are all under observation…" While he hit a pineapple on 456's head "BECAUSE OF YOUR FAULT"
When Gi-Hun fell to the ground, he quickly wanted to get up to at least try to defend himself. But he felt weak. His legs didn't respond, and his brain didn't respond even less.
The memory of Young-Il speaking with him for the last time on the radio before dying, or of Jung-Bae being shot in the chest by the leader of the organization…
He lost everything… Did he really have something to fight for?
The group of young people approached and started kicking Gi-Hun in all parts of his body. He was just trying to cover himself, but there was no point. They were 5 against 1. And he was just destroyed, there was no way.
And so they beat him, for what seemed like hours to him, shouting insults for his failed attempt at being a hero. A kick to the head even caused him to cough up blood.
His body hurt, that's for sure, but it hurt much more that he had failed everyone… that he had lost his friends in his failed attempt at being a hero. They just wanted to get it over with.
But it didn't happen. The soldier who was outside the bathroom came in just as one of the boys was about to use the fork to end 456. He said that bathroom time was over for everyone.
'How cruel fate is' thought Gi-Hun.
They all left, but not before saying a few more words to Gi-Hun, and one of them spitting on him as he left. Gi-Hun slowly stood up, while the guard waited with gun in hand.
He went to the sink and washed the blood off his face. Most of it was his, due to the recent situation, but he also knew that above him he not only had his own blood.
GUARD: "Hurry up 456. It's time to sleep"
Gi-Hun nodded as best he could, and left the bathroom, with the guard accompanying him behind. He wondered why the guard didn't just shoot him in the back, in revenge for what he did to many of the other guards.
He thought it was surely a direct order from the leader. Despite the hell that the place was, at least it was governed by rules. Curious.
Gi-Hun arrived at the room, and took a general look at the place. Most of the O participants were on the other side, but they could not sleep after the incident. Everyone looked at him badly. Even there were those who had just hit him in the bathroom. It was obvious that they were murmuring things about him, and pointing at him.
Shaman 044 focused her gaze on him again, this time with curiosity and something else that Gi-Hun could not understand.
Then I look next to the X's. I notice that mother and son, both hugging. They looked terrified, but didn't look in his direction. They try to calm each other down.
I also notice Dae-Ho; He seemed calmer, but tense. He wondered how he would react after finding out that Jung-Bae was dead.
I couldn't take it anymore. He decided to go to one of the beds that were nearby, away from everyone. I didn't want to see anyone. I didn't want anyone to get close. He didn't deserve it at all. There he sat on the bed, looking at the wall, and got lost in his mind again. All the pain was still building up, but I couldn't cry.
It was final. He had given up. I had nothing else to fight for…
Jun-Hee (222), on the other hand, was sitting on her bunk, silently observing how the atmosphere in the dormitory was still filled with tension after the failed rebellion.
She really hoped that something could be achieved, but deep down, she also believed that this rebellion was an impulsive act on Gi-Hun's part.
Maybe he was right that it was one of their few opportunities to do something and be free, but he couldn't help but realice that some losses could have been avoided.
She knew that everyone who went out to fight alongside Gi-Hun had died. She had spoken little to Jung-Bae, but he seemed like a nice guy all in all. But he knew that that man was one of Gi-Hun's best friends, he would probably be one of those who would be suffering the most from his loss.
Although he tried to focus on his own grief over the loss of Jung-Bae, his mind constantly returned to Gi-Hun. He couldn't help but wonder how he was doing after the insults and boos he had received when he returned. But it was the least of it, also in the pain he must feel of having lost close people, perhaps because of him.
Then, she saw it. Gi-Hun appeared at the entrance to the bedroom, walking slowly, as if each step was a punishment. His face was beaten, with visible cuts and a swollen eye. Her green outfit, disheveled and stained with blood, spoke of something bad having happened in the bathroom. She heard a group of O players laughing as they returned from the bathroom, and lamenting for being interrupted at the best moment.
They had beaten him, among those 5 idiots, almost to death. But something else caught Jun-Hee's attention: He didn't seem to be suffering from the physical damage, but rather his look showed something else… It was an empty look, devoid of any spark of life, as if he had stopped fighting.
She felt something in her chest break seeing him like that. This was not the man I had met in the first game of "Green Light and Red Light." She wouldn't deny that the way he screamed, desperate for no one to move during Red Light, scared her, but the conviction with which he said it made her believe in him from that moment on. And when the first shot came, he believed more than ever, but still wondering how he knew what would happen.
This was not the man who admitted that he had participated in these games before. The very idea terrified her. He had outlived 455 other players, and every one of those people had died. From the way he expressed himself, she understood that among those 455 there were people that this man cared about.
This was not the man who seemed confident and with the attitude of a leader, when he and the group decided to accept her during the "Six-Legged Pentathlon." Maybe it had been out of pity, but she could see that in his eyes he had really accepted her.
This was not the man who during "Mingle" knew how to quickly distribute people, or at least those they knew and considered a group, so that they could survive. He cared about everyone equally.
And he was definitely not that man she had internally admired from the moment he talked about stopping the games. This was not the Gi-Hun who risked everything for an ideal, who had the courage to stand up to the system. He was a shadow of that man, someone completely broken inside.
Jun-Hee felt a lump in his throat, and his hands instinctively went to his belly. She thought about her baby, about the future she so wanted for him or her, a future outside of that hell that some crazy people considered fun. But how could they have a future without someone willing to fight for them? Someone like him. That I return to those games with the goal of stopping them, without really knowing anyone, except for Jung-Bae of course.
"I wouldn't have been alive if it weren't for him," she thought. Without his attempt to help, she surely would have lost in the first game. When he gave the order to get in line, so as not to be detected by the doll, she was saved by being behind Geum-Ja. The mere thought of having died without her baby having seen the light of day completely terrified her. I felt like crying.
But he remembered that not everything had been bad. Luckily Hyun-ju (120) and Dae-Ho (388) had managed to survive that rebellion. Maybe Dae-Ho would be the most affected after that rebellion. She noticed how scared he was when he went back to get the bullets. And when he saw him come back in again, almost desperate, without looking at anyone, he went straight to hide in the back bunks. Poor guy.
But Gi-Hun had thought and did what he did thinking of everyone, including her. Even in his son…
That's why seeing him go towards the farthest bunk, not wanting to look at anyone and completely isolated from everyone, made an impulse arise in her. She wanted to stop him, to say something, but the words stuck in her throat. "What can I tell you? What can I do to ease that pain?"
Instead of speaking, she followed him with her eyes as he crawled to his bunk and sat down, burying his face in his hands. Jun-Hee felt her eyes fill with tears seeing him like that. It wasn't just grief; It was something deeper, a mixture of admiration and affection that I hadn't felt in a long time. Really during those 6 months that Myung-gi ignored her calls, believing he had been dead, she had been completely destroyed.
she forget what it felt like to be loved by someone. Hugged The mere fact of being heard. No. She was alone those 6 months, trying to survive on the streets of Korea. She had already survived before; she and the baby were always in danger. Only now she was in danger playing some children's games.
Myung-gi… he had disappointed her so much. She wanted to have been there for him even when the crypto incident happened, but he walked away…
But that didn't matter to her now, not even if he were there, having survived the games and the recent night. Now she had something more… important, she might say, on her mind. And that was Gi-Hun. He had shown more in just those 3 days, now almost 4, that had passed in those games, even if he was now defeated.
"He doesn't deserve this…he doesn't deserve to be this alone," she thought, as her heart beat faster. Jun-Hee knew that she had to reach out, that she had to find a way to comfort him, even if it was with simple words. For some reason, she felt like it was her duty, not just out of gratitude for everything, but because something in her was pulling her towards him.
"Why can't I stop looking at him? Why do I feel this? It's not just admiration… It's something more," she admitted to herself, tears rolling down her cheeks.
Finally, she wiped his eyes, took a breath, and decided to take action. She couldn't stand there, watching from a distance. Gi-Hun needed someone. And although she didn't know if she could do much for him, she was willing to try. Thus, with a motivation that came from the depths of his heart, which was beating strongly, almost as if it were screaming to move, to do something, he decided to get up. A mixture of nerves and sadness invaded her, but she had to do it.
Hyun-Ju, who had been nearby the entire time watching Dae-Ho, worried about how unwell he was, noticed when Jun-Hee suddenly stood up, looking in Gi-Hun's direction.
When Hyun-ju turned his eyes to where Jun-Hee was looking, she saw Gi-Hun, which made her also feel a slight pity for that man who a couple of hours ago seemed one of the bravest in the place. So, she decided to speak to the girl:
HYUN-JU (120): "Jun-Hee?" she asked softly, leaning towards her a little.
Jun-Hee blinked, looking away from Gi-Hun and towards Hyun-Ju.
HYUN-JU (120): "What's wrong?" she insisted, looking at her curiously.
JUN-HEE (222): "Nothing… I…" He hesitated, but he knew that Hyun-Ju was not someone easy to fool. Besides, she was part of the group, he couldn't help but trust her. "It's Gi-Hun. Look at him… He's broken."
Hyun-Ju looked back at Gi-Hun sitting on his bunk. Although they hadn't exchanged many words between them, she felt admiration for this man. She knew that he didn't hesitate to do whatever it took to try and save them. And she, of course, agreed with the plan to ambush the guards. Seeing him so destroyed made something in her stir.
JUN-HEE (222): "He did all this to give us a chance," she said in a whisper. "And now they treat him like he's the enemy. Like he's worthless."
Hyun-Ju nodded slowly, understanding what Jun-Hee meant. She had watched Gi-Hun fire furiously at the guards as the rebellion unfolded. The two of them fought side by side. And while she could tell he wasn't as experienced with weapons as she was, his passion to fight for something, like freedom, made his determination move earth and water.
She had seen up close how Gi-Hun had risked himself, how he had given everything for a plan that, though it failed, was an act of bravery.
HYUN-JU (120): "What are you thinking?" she asked, looking at Jun-Hee's tense face.
JUN-HEE (222): "I want to talk to him. I want to… help him." "I don't know how, but I can't just stand here doing nothing," she said as she clenched her hands in her lap.
Hyun-Ju watched Jun-Hee in silence for a moment. She knew Jun-Hee was right. And although Hyun-Ju was more reserved when it came to expressing her emotions, this time she felt the need to act as well.
HYUN-JU (120): "You're not alone in this," she finally said. "He needs support right now."
JUN-JEE (222): "Will you go too?" she said in surprise.
HYUN-JU (120): "Yes. I was with him in that fight, Jun-Hee. I saw what he intended to do with his determination. It wasn't perfect, of course, but… you should know that you're not alone."
Jun-Hee was relieved to hear it. Knowing that she wasn't alone in her intention to get closer to Gi-Hun gave her the courage she needed.
JUN-HEE (222): "Thank you, Hyun-Ju."
Hyun-Ju nodded and looked at Gi-Hun.
HYUN-JU (120): "Let's go together. He needs to hear that there are still people who believe in him."
Jun-Hee took a deep breath and, with Hyun-Ju at her side, stood up from the bunk. They exchanged a determined look before heading towards Gi-Hun, ready to try and comfort him and remind him that he wasn't completely alone despite everything that happened that night.
TO BE CONTINUED…