Chapter Text
He had lost. Kneeling in front of the corpse of his friend, he realized what a stupid idea it was. The hero who had come to save these people had become their executioner.
Tears streamed down his face, his fingers twisted in the fabric of the dead player.
–Jung-bae!
Cries of grief echoed through the corridors. Soldiers restrained Gi-hun, but even at gunpoint, the only thing he cared about was his dead friend.
After those fateful seconds, his eyes darted to the black, emotionless face.
«You... You...!»
Gi-hun wasn't thinking when he lunged at the Frontman. His mind was filled with grief, despair, and hatred. Unfortunately, this fight was predictable, the soldiers twisted him in a split second.
«Knock him out and take him to my room»
Gi-hun was still resisting before being rolled by the pink soldiers. A dull pain pierced the back of his head. The frontman turned around and headed in the opposite direction, the ringing clatter of his shoes being the last thing Gi-hun heard, before his consciousness left him completely.
∆О□
The pain in his body was the first sensation when he started to wake up. It took at least a minute for vision to become clear again.
The second thing Gi-hun realized was that he was tied. The arms and legs are tight in cuffs, and the forearm is tied with a rope behind the back. Gathering all his strength and capabilities, he tried to get up from his stomach to one side.
After several attempts, he still succeeded. The body was buzzing from being in one position for a long time, but Gi-hun was not up to it now. He strained his vision to understand where he was.
"Knock him out and take him to my room" quickly flashed through his memory.
«So is this the Frontman's room?» He looked around. There was a wall behind him, his head resting on a pedestal, and to his left was an armchair and a small table.
It didn't do much, even if there was at least something within reach that would help him get out, he would not physically be able to get it.
«I’m fucked» In which during these days it flashed through his head. The dimly lit room and silence only contributed to Gi-hun's greater immersion in the embrace of apathy and self-blame.
He closed his eyes, tears gathered in the corners of his eyes. A new wave of understanding that all his friends he met along the way died because of him.
«It was probably better to get on that plane...»
The rightness of the Frontman's words stabbed him like a knife. This is the last thing Gi-hun wanted to admit, but he couldn't help but face the truth.
He was brought out of his state of self-flagellation by the sounds of footsteps. Gi-hun tensed. The only thing that crossed his mind was to pretend that he was still unconscious.
The sound of automatic doors quickly gave way to dull footsteps. An unknown person stopped in front of him. Gi-hun already wanted to open his eyes to look at the Frontman, as he thought.
As he pondered this decision, a sharp burning pain ran down his neck. A stifled scream escaped from his chest, the cut was deep enough for blood to flow out of the wound quickly. Tilting his head to his shoulder, Gi-hun tried his best to give the wound when the receding figure in black came into his field of vision.
It didn't take long when, for the second time in a row, Gi-hun's vision began to become cloudy and dark. Gradually, his forehead collided with the tiled floor. He lay in a gradually increasing pool of his own blood.
∆О□
It took a little longer to establish the work of the soldiers, in the destruction of which he himself was involved. The games had to be postponed until the next day. Of course, it was necessary to report this to the VIPs, this is now the last thing In-ho wanted.
Back in his room and turning on the lights, he took off his mask and placed it on the table, pouring whiskey into a glass next to him. After swallowing all the liquid in one gulp, In-ho was ready to call VIPs when a silent flu caught his attention.
«Ah, Gi-hun. How could I forget» Нe thought to himself.
Placing the empty glass on the table, he took the mask. Walking towards Gi-hun, he was putting it on his face at the same time when he noticed blood.
«Gi-hun?»
The footsteps quickened, the poorly secured mask flew off, and fell loudly to the floor.
– Gi-hun!
Without worry, he fell to his knees in a pool of blood, trying to stop the bleeding, but unfortunately it was already too late.
–GI-HUN!
The lifeless body could no longer answer anything...
∆О□
That damn kids music.
Gi-hun jumped up. Quickly straightening up, he sat down on the bed, breathing heavily. Looking around, he realized that he was in the dormitory, the number of players on the screen was 456..
«This is my personal hell?..» He shook his head, driving away the thought. No, there was something wrong here, everything looked too real.
He began to get out of bed. Going down the stairs, he was stopped by a shaman.
«Ho! Player 456, I feel like you don't let go of a lot. Souls stuck in this world are like mountains on your shoulders. Fate has given you a second chance. Hmm, but I feel like you shouldn't be here. If we get out, let me have a ritual, I'll cleanse you of bad karma»
It was strange. Gi-hun didn't remember that conversation so well, but it definitely didn't say anything about second chances and his presence or not in games.
The pink soldiers who entered the dormitory did not allow him to think about this situation for a long time. People began to gather around them, but Gi-hun continued to stand on the stairs. He had already heard it.
Now he was looking for familiar numbers and faces. He was all in his mind until a purple spot caught his eye. Thanos, if he wasn't mistaken.
«Gotta be more careful with him, If the shaman's monologue has changed, then what prevents him»
People under drugs are dangerous to both themselves and others. Gi-hun understood this from his own, bitter experience. Thanos pushed, fought, and threatened other players. Probably, now this is the only period of time when he sees him not under drugs.
«Sorry!»
A familiar voice pulled him out of his thoughts. Hyun-ju, she went down the stairs and kept talking.
Gi-hun could only keep thinking about how to prevent Young-mi from dying. These were naïve ideas and assumptions. The realization of how helpless he was came over him with a new wave.
After swallowing a lump in his throat, he continued to search. It took a while but he found Jung-bae, he was standing in the middle of the crowd, but Gi-hun was able to see his number.
In the dormitory, the noise began. The players weren't happy with having their belongings taken from them, when Gi-hun heard a familiar voice again.
Player 333. He frowned. Crypto currency was even worse from a regular casino. Gi-hun was still angry that he got at least 3 people into these games, but that doesn't compare to what he did to Jun-hee.
The dispute between the player and the soldier continued until the soldier began to list the players and their debts.
Gi-hun already knew that they had pulled the tracker out of his tooth, so there was nowhere to retreat. Only the blind hope that Jun-ho will find the island sooner.
The room flooded with golden light. Gi-hun looked away. He has already found player 007 and his mother through his eyes. He still had no idea where Jun-hee, Dae-ho and.. Young-il.
"I'm sorry Gi-hun, it's over"
He shuddered. No, not this time. He'll survive, Jung-bae too. Taking a deep breath, he again began to examine the numbers of the players in the dormitory.
«..If most of you want to stop, the games will end. You will be able to pick up the prize money that will accumulate at that time and leave this place»
Gi-hun raised his head at the bodyguard. He already knew this, but the memories of his first games did not let go. The scene of Yong-sik and Geum-ja arguing didn't help him.
∆О□
The signing of the consent form and take a photo went like in a fog. It was no different from his first time in these games before he died. Instead, he was still looking with his eyes for the trio that he had never been able to find in the dormitory.
Already on the stairs, Jung-bae caught up with him.
«Gi-hun! Gi-hun!»
If the first time he was surprised, this time he wanted to cry. Seeing your friend alive after being shot probably wasn't the best option for his mental health.
«It's really you! What happened to you?? You disappeared for 3 years, and your mother died. I found out about it from my wife! And after that, you call me your friend! You stopped communicating because I didn't borr..! Hay!»
Jung-bae didn't have time to finish when Gi-hun began to drag him further up the stairs.
«Why are you here?»
The answer to a question that Gi-hun already knew, but he couldn't act suspicious.
«I got divorced.. Listen, this is not a topic of conversation here. As soon as we get out, we'll talk about it over a gla..»
Casting a sharp glance at the shorter man, Gi-hun continued to speak.
«Whatever happens, take these games seriously. From now on, hold on to my back. Jung-bae, I beg you, it's not a child's play at all »
« You didn't dramatize before. Even..»
With a firm grip, he threw him to the wall.
— Just do as I say! Always hold on to mine!
A hard, suppressed half-scream escaped from Gi-hun. He already knew that Jung-bae would survive 3 games, but he wasn't sure if anything had changed in this timeline.
Jung-bae looked tense, but couldn't think of anything nicer than just joking.
∆О□
Let him be considered crazy, but that's what saved most of the players in the first game. Coming out in front of the crowd, he began to shout that the game should be taken seriously, because it is actually a deadly game.
He did not pay attention to the comments of others, the survival of these players was a priority for him.
.
.
.
The first game was unchanged. He didn't expect to survive more than the first time.
The tense silence in the dormitory was broken from time to time by whispers and soft sobs.
«Gi-hun, what was it? That damn doll was shooting bullets out of it eyes..»
«It's not a doll, other people were shooting at us»
«How do you know all this? You've been here before?»
Before Gi-hun had time to answer, a squeak of opening the door and turning on the lights swept through the dormitory. Pink soldiers appeared on the horizon, this time triangles. The players began to panic and huddle in the far corner of the room.
«Congratulations, you've made it through the first game. I will now announce the results of the first round»
The scoreboard showed 365, as Gi-hung expected.
The monologue of the square was interrupted by Geum-ja, who begged to get out of these games with her son. Then, the other players also started begging to be released.
— Consent form item 3. The games will be suspended if the majority agrees to this.
«Exactly, but before than you starting voting, let me name the amount of the prize that has accumulated during the first game»
The room was flooded with this damn golden light again. All the players, as if under hypnosis, began to crawl out of their hiding places, their eyes bulging.
«During the first game, 91 players were eliminated.9.1 billion won have been accumulated so far. If you leave the game now, you will split the prize money equally»
«How much is it per person?»
Player 100. Probably the biggest splinter in these games. He sees nothing but money, and presents himself as superior, boasting of his debt at the same time.
« Damn old pie...»
Gi-hun froze. He didn't like his line of thought. He pressed his hand to the bottom of his face.
Of course, there are both good and bad people. Maybe he had reasons for...
Gi-hun spiraled. The more he thought, the more he realized that he was just justifying him. He knew that the 100 player was fighting in the same ways as Sang-woo.
No. He will not think so. He may be a bad person, but he is still a person who has the right to live.
«24 million and 931.5 thousand won»
People in the dormitory began to scream, it was unfairly scarce. Gi-hun couldn't listen to their shouts and dialogue with the guardsman. He won't lose to Il-nam, he won't back down from his principles.
«This place affects my mind so much» He kept thinking.
«So, we start voting. If you want to continue participating, click the blue button, if you want to exit, click the red button. The last number will be the first to vote»
«Player 456»
Gi-hun walked through the crowd in the direction of the buttons, his position unchanged.
« It's pointless! Just like you didn't know when you were born, you can't choose when to leave...»
Gi-hun didn't care. He didn't even pay attention to her, purposefully leaving to vote for the exit.
Taking the patch with the X, he stood on the side of the dormitory with X on the floor.
∆О□
«Player 230»
Unfortunately, like the previous time, Thanos voted with O. Raising his head, Gi-hun look at the scoreboard. 87 X vs. 93 O. He recalled how he tried to convince people to vote to leave, and how he was bombarded with accusations.
The knowledge of other players that he had played these games before came out sideways for him. Of course, now he could easily tell people what the next 2 games will be, but will it help him?
Gi-hun hesitated whether to repeat his actions from a previous life to him. Having figured out his options, he realized that he would be able to ensure the safety of players only until game 3, and then.. And then everything will repeat itself.
He clenched his fists, his short-cut nails digging into his palms. He stared at his blood-stained moccasins. The only thing he realized during these games was that you can't save everyone. Therefore, Gi-hun will focus on saving 8 people, if he is lucky, there will be more of them.
«Player 001»
Gi-hun raised his head. A faint hope was beating in his heart that maybe in this timeline, Yung-il would vote to leave right away.
The blue light flooded the space around the voting counter for a few seconds. Weakly raising his head, Gi-hun realized that only 145 players voted to leave, 220 decided to stay.
This was not news to him, he understood from the beginning that if he did not convince people to vote to leave, X would be a minority.
From the scoreboard, he shifted his gaze to Young-il, who was still standing at the voting counter, then their eyes met. The corners of his lips rose into a faint smile, just then he turned around and walked to the opposite side of the room, leaving Gi-hun with a dumb question.
« What did that smile have to do with it..?»