It was almost bittersweet.

Waking up in the morning; a blaring, thundering headache pounding against her head with no one around. Her first time getting drunk and 'rebelling' against what her parents wanted for her, and having no one around to witness.

Flashbacks from the night before suddenly flooded through her sleep-riddled mind. Walking out of that stuffy room, disoriented, looking for him. Red cup loosely held by her shaking fingers. Base reverberating throughout her entire body. Vibrating with the music. Alcohol stinging the back of her throat. The burn becoming addicting. Craving more until she blacked out, ending the violent thoughts that overtook her.

God, if her parents saw her like this. Mascara drooping from her lashes, pooling into a dark puddle under her eye bags. If they saw what she did, or where she was instead of staying in her little dorm, studying away, she just knows they would lose their shit.

Yoonah never thought she could wish for something more than that.

Despite the hangover, Yoonah found that that wasn't what hurt the most.

What hurt the most was wishing for something that would never be.

Wishing for something she simply took for granted.

Wishing for something that she will never get back.

━

"Seo fucking Yoonah!"

The brunette paused, feet coming to a halt in the middle of the busy hallway as she covered her ears. God, it's so loud here. She can't even be bothered to apologize for getting in others ways, doesn't notice their poisoned glares and bladed fists. The ringing in her head only becomes more insufferable when the sound of her name comes closer, sharper.

"Yoonah-"

"Sookie, I swear to God, if you say my name one more time I will throttle you until you can no longer speak."

The girl pauses, holding a finger up in protest before it nimbly falls back into her crumbled fist in defeat. "Damn," she blinks. "What's wrong?"

Yoonah rubbed her hand across her face. "Hangover."

Her brow quirks up in confusion. "But I didn't even see you drink that much-" she pauses before wiggling her brows. "Oh, you mean after."

The brunette's head whips up, ignoring the much too bright lights. "After what?"

Sookie pauses, her face coming up blank. As if she was shocked. She glances around, eyeing anybody who looks in their direction before suddenly grabbing her hand, rushing down the hall.

"Sookie! Wait a damn minute, I will literally
barf-"

She brings the two towards a janitor's closet,
swinging the door open and slamming it shut before yanking down on a small string. The small space dimly lights up, revealing Sookie's
all too serious face.

"Seriously Yoonah, did you do it or what?" She asks hurriedly.

Yoonah shakes her head. "What the hell are you going on about?"

"You haven't heard the rumors?"

"Get to the point, Sookie."

"Yikes, you're grouchy when you're hungover."

"Sookie!"

The girl raises her hands up innocently, backing up as much as she can in the small space. When her hands finally come down after she's sure Yoonah isn't about to rip her fingers off, she says, "Did you sleep with Na Jaemin last night?"

Yoonah makes a startled noise, her face contorting into something akin to disgust, disbelief and horror. Her mouth gapes, eyes widening almost comically. "No-I - No I didn't sleep with him!" She nearly shrieks. "Where did this even come from?"

Sookie raises a suspicious brow. "So," she pauses. "You didn't go up in a room with him?"

"No-" Yoonah groans, running a hand through her hair. "Yes I did, but not to sleep with him!"

The other gasped, slapping her shoulder. "Why not?" She had the audacity to sound surprised.

Yoonah stared at her in silence for a while, possibly contemplating murder. "Sookie." She draws a long, tired breath. "Why would I sleep with him?"

"Look, everyone's going to be on your back now with the rumors spreading. They won't believe you no matter what you say. You might as well have actually done it so that you can be on Jaemin's good side. You need that sort of protection in this school."

Her eyes narrow at that particular statement. She crosses her arms as she examines the girl before her. Why is it that the person who told her about the truths of this school was Jaemin? Why wasn't it Sookie?

Yoonah had thought about that long and hard the night before, up until the moment she dozed off. Sookie became her first friend in this God forsaken academy — one meant to take the lives of innocent students to improve other's futures. Was that truly a fair trade?

Everything about Yongsan was incredibly messed up. Unspeakable. To think that she doesn't even know the full of it—that she still has more to learn.

There was still so much that she doesn't know; is unaware of. With the little knowledge she does have, Yoonah knows that she doesn't want to make Sookie an enemy yet.

Looking away, Yoonah mumbles, "I don't want to be the girl who needs protecting."

Sookie scoffs. "Trust me, you will want Jaemin's protection. It's basically a holy grail; guaranteeing an in with Lee Jeno."

Yoonah holds back a scoff. It always comes back to Lee Jeno.

"Whatever," she looks out the small, rectangular window from the janitor's closet, watching as students stand in groups beside their lockers, whispering into each other's ears with amused smiles. "What am I supposed to do about this?" She groans.

"Use it to your advantage. There's only one way out."

Yoonah is really starting to despise this fucking school and all of it's rats.

━

Finding the so called Snake Pit proved to be more difficult than initially thought out to be.

Yongsan was like it's own little town; a society, if it may. The inhabitants are either current enrolled students, or their parents of said students who also attended Yongsan. The school itself was huge, placed in the center of town.

Initially, Yoonah thought the Snake Pit would be associated with the school, but after scouring the entire campus to find nothing, she veered out into the town after school. She didn't bother to change out of her uniform, heavy backpack resting on her shoulders.

She never really found the time to properly explore the rural town that surrounded Yongsan before—not like she was ever interested. But now as she walks through the narrow sidewalks, she finds herself thinking of her father.

Did he walk these same roads? Did he visit the old ice cream parlor on the corner? What was his favorite store; perhaps the cozy record shop on 2nd street, or maybe the bookstore on 3rd?

It brought a sense of comfort to her, at least. She wasn't sure what or why her father attended this school, but at least she was here—where he wanted her. She was doing this for him.

When the moon finally glittered in the sky, outshining all the stars, and the vintage, yellow street lamps flickered on, Yoonah finally stumbled across a narrow alleyway. A line of people flowed all the way from the alley and up the sidewalk. They all wore school uniforms, muddled together in a makeshift, messy line. Feral grins adored their faces, their feet stomping in a rhythm as they waited to get further into the dark alleyway.

Yoonah furrowed her brows, cutting the line to get a look inside the alleyway. At the very back of the alleyway, a small, red brick building sat in the middle. Ivy vines covered the walls, and the roof looked almost ready to collapse. In blinking neon purple letters read, 'THE SNAKE PIT.'

What the hell is this place? She wonders worriedly as she looks at line she had (regrettably) cut. Familiar faces shot hard glares at her, an expression she was quickly getting tired of. Ignoring their sharp eyes, she walks past the line up to the front. A large man with a bald, shining head stands at the door, arms crossed as he raises a brow.

"Can I come in?" Yoonah asks impatiently.

"You just cut a whole line of people."

"What's it to you? Just let me in." She attempts to step past the guard only to get pushed back in return. "Don't touch me!"

"Get back in line!"

Suddenly, the door creaks open. Blaring rock music spills from the inside, and a head of ash brown hair peeks out. He frowns at the sight before him.

He opens the door wider before lifting his wrist, tapping his watch. "You're late."

Yoonah is sure she has steam coming from her head now. It almost looks like Jaemin sees it too, because he has this stupid, mocking half-smile that is so far from his normal, empty expression.

The girl can't decide if she likes it or hates it.

He looks up to the guard. "Let her through."

The bald man hesitates, looking at the growing increasingly impatient before sighing and stepping through. Jaemin presses himself flat against the door, allowing Yoonah to walk in first. The music only grows louder the further she walks in, the rough riff of the guitar and throttle of the drums. Grunts and groans along with the sounds of fists colliding.

The girl's eyes widen as she takes in the tall, white walls. A large boxing ring takes place in the middle of the building. Bright lights hanging from the ceiling point down towards the center, pointing out two students who circle around each other like Ravens picking for scraps. They're two males—ones she recognizes from her classes; Hyunjin and Jeongin. Their fists are held up to their faces, feet swooping in fake hits to spook the other out. A crowd chants their names and surrounds the ring, their screams almost threatening the music.

Yoonah watches from afar. The two spar for an impressively long time, feigning left hits before striking with their right. Blood falls from their mouths, teeth strained red as they grin viscously. They enjoy this.

A shiver goes through her body before she forces herself to turn away. Jaemin is behind her, towering over her. He's got about four inches on her.

"Why did you bring me here?" She asks.

Jaemin turns to look down at her, an amused glint in his eye. "You came here by yourself."

She huffs. "You asked me to come."

"So why did you?" He raises a brow.

Yoonah turns her head to hide her blush. "When did you start becoming so talkative? Not even a day ago you would barely speak a word to me."

"Sorry, does that bother you?"

The girl turns to see the most genuine look on the boy's face. He has a wrinkle in between his brows, as if her insignificant comment actually had an affect on him. Somehow, she manages to blush harder. She stutters before grumbling,
"No, it doesn't bother me. Don't take things so seriously."

"I have to." Jaemin responds, so sincerely that it irks the girl.

Has he seriously never lived a life outside of Yongsan?

Deciding to ignore his comment, she points to their surroundings. "So, what is this? Some secret fight club?"

Jaemin shrugs. "We practice here."

"For what?"

The ash haired doesn't respond right away. His attention is directed to the new pair being introduced to the ring. A girl with three tight braids on each side of her head and a boy with blonde hair and thick brows step up and bow to each other. Yoonah recognizes them, but can't place a name on either of them. The girl looks fierce, like she has no fear in the world. The blonde looks pretty confident as well, but there's something in his eyes that give away his facade.

Another boy, who she recognizes as the student council president, Huang Renjun, steps between them. He holds a microphone to his lips as he looks out into the raging crowd, ready to see whose blood will shed next.

"Hwang Yeji, fourth year against Park Sunghoon, second year. All weapons except fire arms are permitted for use," Renjun glances at them before nodding. "Fight!"

The two are at each other's necks in seconds, growls spilling from their mouths. Despite the obvious height difference, Yeji has much more experience and skill, it seems. She uses her small body to her advantage, allowing Sunghoon to think he's succeeded in overpowering her as he nearly pushes her into the ground. With quick precision, Yeji slips from under him and tumbles out of his grasps. He falls face first into the mat and without a second to spare, the girl is on top of him, holding his hands behind his back with one arm while the other holds a sparkling dagger to his throat.

She leans down to his ear, and Renjun is quick to kneel beside them both and shove the microphone closer to her lips. As if this is some kind of show, a form of entertainment.

Her knife shines under the stage lights as she pierces it shallowly into his neck. Blood draws and drips onto the already stained mat.

"Just something to remember me by," Yeji's voice is laced in confidence. "Since I won't get to finish you off in the finals, second year." She nearly giggles before Sunghoon taps out, face red.

Renjun helps her to her feet and raises her fist in the air. The crowd chants her name.

"Hwang Yeji wins the second match! She will be moving onto the third match against Son Dongju, fourth year. Stats: class rank: 15. Combat agility: 9. Physical strength: 11–"

Yoonah tunes them out, turning to Jaemin.

"Jaemin, what do you practice here?" She repeats, a growing dread pushing down on her chest.

The boy looks down at her again. She can't exactly read his expression; he's so closed off. Knows when to perfectly turn off this imaginary switch, one that turns him into this perfect, all knowing robot.

"We practice to fight. To kill. It's the criteria for the finals, and it's how we graduate; how we're guaranteed a future."

Yoonah wants to cry in frustration. "A future of what? Of murderers?" She nearly screams, bringing the attention of passerby's and some from the ends of the crowd.

Jaemin curses and pulls her by her arm, bringing them into an empty corner of the gym. "Are you fucking crazy?"

"It's the truth!" She yells.

The boy presses her against the corner and harshly covers her mouth with his hand, looking around the crowded arena. He blinks in frustration at the prolonged stares and
curious glances—no glares, though, because no one would dare anger Na Jaemin, Jeno's
second hand man and only second in rank to him.

He leans in close to the girl, minty breath causes her to shiver. "Truth holds no value. Your rank and skill is the only thing these people will listen to. You want to know what this school is about? I'll tell you," he nearly spits. "This school is a cruel fucking game, targeting impressionable teenagers and forcing them to play an adults gamble. We're raised here, and this is the only way to make it out alive. To kill and become the #1 rank." He sighs, and slowly releases his hand from the girl's shaking mouth. "You good now?"

Yoonah wipes her mouth with the back of her hand. She glares at him with all the anger she can muster but it quickly falls into defeat. How can she be mad at the boy who is simply
trying to help her?

"Listen," Jaemin places his hand next to her head, now leaning against the wall. "You don't belong here."

A dry laugh escapes her lips. "Thanks." She says humorlessly.

Jaemin tilts her chin, forcing her to look into his eyes before letting go. "No, seriously. The only ones who attend Yongsan have grown up in the town—no one from the outside is allowed to attend. I really have no idea how you're here, or why." He shrugs.

Yoonah tugs on the ruby ring sitting on her finger. "My father went here. He has something to do with it. I-I'm just doing as he wishes."

The boy eyes the ring on her finger, a perk of curiosity resting on his brow. If he has anything to say, he keeps it to himself. In the silence, Yoonah glances over Jaemin's shoulder and noticed the stares. God it's
exhausting. Constantly being watched. Observed. Judged. Sized up.

Oh God.

"Everyone's going to be on your back now that the rumor's spreading."

Sookie's words pierce her mind. If they were sizing her up before she ever got involved with Jaemin, what were they thinking now?"

She glances back towards the boy's observant eyes. He must already know what I'm thinking.

"Did you hear about the rumors?" She asks quietly, bringing her finger up to play with her lip anxiously.

Jaemin's expression never changes. "Yes."

"What did you say?"

Slick tongue ran across his lips. "I said it was true."

Brown eyes widen. "You did what?"

"Do you have hearing problems? I said it was true."

Yoonah attempts to back away, yet only corners herself further into the wall. "Why would you say that?"

She attempts to push the boy away from her, shoving harshly at his chest. He allows her to thrash at him, only to simply grab her forearm and pull her closer.

"You know nothing about the way this school works, Seo Yoonah," he looks her up and down. "Trust me, it's better if they think you slept with me. You'll pass the ranks in no time with me."

Yoonah nearly snarls at him before yanking her hand away and spits in his face, straight onto his cheeks.

"Bite me."

Then she walks away.

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