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tw: mentions of addiction/alcoholism & shootings and blood

I walk into the eerie, familiar field, that's supposed to resemble a playground. I can see the dominating, mechanical doll in the vast field, the emotionless and lifeless doll staring deep into everyone's eyes gives the place an unsettling vibe.

It reminds me of when I sniper shot people from afar in this field, I giggled as I watched those sheep frantically run, thinking they would get away and escape.

"All players, please wait a moment on the field." The woman on the PA utters.

I lean against the wall nonchalantly, watching all of these inbreds. I then notice Su-bong jogging, Su-bong then catches up to 196, I then squint my eyes, "Hey, señorita."

Señorita? Ew. Although, I really wish I was one he was calling señorita. I don't mean that. Yeah, I'm just joking. I'm here for Dae, my beloved dead husband whom I love very much.

She states, trying to convince herself that. Sure, she loves Dae, but she can't love Dae more than she loves him. Your first love helps shape your sense of identity and you never truly forget them.

"Don't you know who I am?" He asks, placing his hands on his chest.

"Do I have to?" She replies.

"No, you don't. We can get to know each other. Tell me about yourself." He states, after this I subtly walk behind them, but he then does some weird turn to moonwalk, but luckily doesn't notice me, although I'm mad he didn't; that means his attention's on that asshole.

"Are you hitting on me?" Just wait til I kill this bitch.

He then begins to rap a series of verses, then utters, "I like you!" and winks. To which she scoffs and points, "What's that?", referring to the massive doll hovering.

"The first game is Red Light, Green Light. Cross the finish line without getting caught in five minutes."

Then, Gihun rushes to the front in front of everyone, "Everyone!"

"Everyone, listen up! Pay attention! Listen carefully! This is not just a game, if you lose the game, you die!"

"Stop bluffing drunkard! We're seriously gonna die playing red light green light?" A random girl yells, which causes a few giggles.

"Yes, that's right!" His eyes dart to her, "If they catch you moving, they will kill you! They will shoot you from somewhere!"

"That guy must be drunk. He says they'll shoot us if we lose." Player 196 whispers to Su-bong, I clench my fists, resisting the urge to beat the shit out of her.

"He sounds like my old man when he gets home drunk and starts talking crazy. Say's theres a freaking bug in his head." I stifle a laugh, knowing that is indeed true, as I have met his dad several times when we dated as teenagers.

FLASHBACK:

We had been dating for 8 months and I had been insistent to meet Su-bong's parents, although he wasn't as keen and was quite reluctant, quickly changing the topic whenever it was brought up.

Eventually, with several "please"s and hours of nagging, he hesitantly agreed to let me meet his parents. He brought up to me beforehand that his mother often had high hopes and expectations for him, contrastingly, his dad didn't really care and was drunk a lot and would probably not be home.

Su-bong wanted to smoke beforehand but I refused, stating I would not meet his parents while I was high. When he met my brother when he was high, it didn't go so well.

As I walked in the door, I saw a small lady with black hair tied back into a neat bun with a stern look on her face and her arms crossed, her glasses barely hanging off her nose, she had a few barely noticeable wrinkles on her forehead and her face.

She pushed back her glasses, "So, you must be Su-bong's girlfriend. I've heard a lot about you, come in." She gestures for me to come in and she then takes a seat onto a single sofa chair which faces the sofa, me and Su-bong sit next to each other on the sofa.

After a gruelling 45 minutes of chatting with his mother, whom kept sneaking in snarky comments, someone suddenly bursts in through the door and immediately starts to stumble. Su-bong then goes towards them and helps them towards the sofa and gets them to sit down.

I then get a closer look at this person, he is a spitting image of Su-bong with scary resemblance, so I'm assuming it's his dad, he has greasy messy light brown hair, his brown eyes are drooping while staring at me, attempting to figure out who I am. He is holding a bottle of whiskey that Su-bong swiftly takes out his hand to which his father grumbles.

"Who are the fuck are you?" He blurts.

"Dad." Su-bong death stares his father.

"It's his girlfriend he told us about." His mother states, glancing at his father with the same cold stare Su-bong is giving.

He resembles both of his parents so perfectly, how is that even possible?

"The chick he's fucking?" His father replies, seemingly confused.

What the hell? Who does he think he is?

"I'm Hwang Soo-ho." I glare at him.

"That's an ugly name." He bursts out into a fit of laughter.

I immediately clench my jaw, knowing my parents intentionally ended me and my sibling's names with "Ho", for a drunken bastard to just mock it is quite annoying. Su-bong notices my exasperation and takes my hand and begins to brush his thumb against my palm.

————————————

"That doll's eyes are motion detectors!"

"See, talking about devices."

"Stay on your toes!"

"I think he's trying to scare us so he can win the prize money!" The contestants murmured in agreement. Dumb fucks.

"Don't pull any tricks asshole!"

"You have to believe me!"

The doll then whirs, turning her back towards us, with her electronic palm on the tree.

"Do not be alarmed or panic! No matter what happens, do not panic and start running!" Does he think he's the main character or what?

"Let the game begin."

"Green light." I walk steadily. "Red light." "Freeze!" Does he like being the centre of attention? The doll's eyes then trill and scan the contestants.

"Well done! You just need to stay calm like this!" Why should I let a man tell me what to do?

"We just have to move and stop at the right time. Then we can all win!"

"Green light." I pick up my pace a bit, doing a slow jog. "Red light."

"Freeze! Don't move and stay still!" Shut up already. "Just relax!"

"Green light. Red light."

"Freeze!"

———————————

"Is he high or what?" 196 states to Su-bong.

"Nope. No one is like that when they're high."

"You've been high?" More times than you would ever think of. I remember the first time I saw him high.

FLASHBACK:

It was the middle of 9th grade, me and Su-bong were frenemies, although I had secretly developed a soft spot for him and I unconsciously had feelings for him.

I was quietly sitting in class, as normal, Su-bong wasn't in, which was somewhat normal to me, he was either not in or late, as always. He then burst into class, also as normal, disoriented with his pupils widen and they then continue to widen even more than they already are when we lock eyes.

Our teacher, used to this occurrence by now, just scoffs and Su-bong goes to sit down next to me.

"Hey Susu, you know you're really pretty." He grins, leaning onto the desk, not breaking eye contact with me while placing his hand on his cheek, he then attempts to stroke my cheek with his hand and I slap his hand, although I wouldn't of usually declined, he's acting unusually off.

"What are you saying? Are you drunk?" I inquire, vividly confused and taken aback by his sudden compliment and his effort to brush his hand against my cheek, attempting to ignore the butterflies in my stomach.

"High, actually!" He corrects me, as if it's something to be proud of, I then have no choice but to let out a sigh.

Drunk and high were basically the only states I'd ever seen him in ever since he started drugs after the start of 9th grade, seeing him sober was miraculous.

"Have my water." I hand him my water bottle, giving him no choice but to drink it.

"I thought you hate sharing your water? I asked you once and you told me to-" He utters after taking a sip of my water.

"Yeah, I do. But when I see you in such a state, I can't help but feel pity." I sarcastically reply and interrupt, attempting to brush it off.

————————————

I then notice a bee buzzing around 196, it then lands on her neck, "You interested?" He whispers flirtatiously, giving me nostalgia of when I would reject his flirting, although deep down, I knew I loved his flirting.

But she wouldn't and didn't love it, she wouldn't appreciate it like I do. Remembering this sudden feeling of nostalgia only enraged me more; I have had enough.

Before Su-bong can tell 196 the bee landed on her, I push her, causing her to stumble and fall over, but she quickly got shot, not giving her time to react. Her blood splatters onto my jacket and Su-bong's face, it's nothing new to me, but Su-bong looks traumatised.

Her death then causes a chain reaction of panic and terror, in their desperation not to die, they sprint and attempt to run, but then die. I let out a smirk at the chaos and deaths. Their yelps and gunshots echo throughout the place.

"No, don't move, stay still!"

"If you run, you'll die!" His desperate pleading is overshadowed by the gunfire.

"Let me repeat, you can move forward when the tagger says red light, green light. If your movement is detected afterward, you will be eliminated."

"Green light."

"Why did you-"

I interrupt Su-bong and immediately push him to go in front of him, "Stay behind me, for this whole game."

We both walk in sync, "Why?" He inquires, I cover my mouth with my elbow, "Just do it." I mumble. "Red light."

"Green light." I hear Su-bong fidgeting with his necklace and I immediately turn around like muscle memory, knowing that's where he stores his drugs, "Give me one." He hands quickly hands me one and then pops one into his mouth, I almost immediately swallow it. "Red light."

I honestly don't know why I took it, I don't feel much fear. I'm assuming that's why Su-bong took it. I guess to actually feel something. I don't feel much of anything, really.

"You'll be fine as long as you're behind me." I state, not caring about speaking as my back is turned to the doll.

"Green light." He immediately goes in front of me, "I'm the man, I should be in front of you." I respond with a snicker and a simple eye roll, as almost always in our puppy love relationship, I was basically the man, as many incidents proved. "Red light."

"You will also die if you don't make it in time!" Gihun yells. "That doll is a motion detector! But it can't detect motion that isn't visible to it!"

"Get behind someone bigger than you! Like you're doing follow the leader! We're running out of time, we've got to move!" This guy thinks he is the leader. He is so irritating.

"Green light." Su-bong then goes in front of me and behind a group of people, attempting to protect me in some way, as if I have no idea how to play this. "You must still like me if you were trying to protect me, huh?" He teases. "No, I'm just not merciless." The biggest lie I ever said.

"Red light." "Didn't you try to kill Hana from high school because you thought she was flirting with me but I was just giving her my notes?" He lets out a chuckle, like me trying to murder someone is funny. "I was high from the drugs you gave me. And she was flirting with you, you were just disoriented from those drugs." I reply, which silences him.

"Green light." He sprints, so I then quicken my pace. "So what, you go by Kim Seo-yeong now? I'm still calling you Susu."

"Okay, I'll just call you Su-bong."

"Fair play, Seuseu."

"You don't ever stop with these nicknames, do you?"

"Red light." We both freeze in sync.

"Green light."

In-Ho's perspective:

I'm sipping my whisky while sitting alone in an exclusive lounge watching the players play red light, green light, Gihun is disrupting the game's progress, causing less people to die which is quite frustrating.

I skin and scan the screen, analysing at all of the players. I then spot an extremely familiar face, I squint my eyes to get a proper look to clarify, Soo-ho? I then look at the person standing in front of her, like he's her bodyguard, and spot her ex-boyfriend? What is he doing here? Don't tell me they're back together, he was a horrible influence on her. I remember seeing him very briefly, I hated him.

I hated him more for the way he broke my little sister's heart and soul after he left her randomly and suddenly. After he left, she didn't get with anyone, he put her off love. I despise him, I'll make sure he dies.

FLASHBACK:

It was around 10 years ago, Soo-ho was around 15 years old and she had mentioned her boyfriend, Choi Su-bong, several several times, as any teen girl would with her first boyfriend, I was quite particularly happy for her as I knew it was difficult for her anti-social self to gain friends, let alone a boyfriend, it was the only reason I was convinced she was a sane human with normal regulating emotions, and I was curious to meet him and see if he was a suitable boyfriend for my little sister with pure intentions.

Due to my parents absence in Soo-ho's life, I was more of a father figure to her than an older brother, so meeting him was very dear to me, as if it would be my daughter's suitor. Although, I still refer to her as my sister and she still refers to me as her brother, but we both don't view each other as either.

Our parents were out for a few days, so me and Soo-ho planned a day for me to meet him. I was sitting at our wooden table, then Soo-ho came in the apartment with a boy with brown, messy hair. I immediately noticed his bloodshot eyes and his dazed look, his grin was unsettling. He stumbled on his way inside, with Soo-ho and myself having to assist him onto the sofa, did she seriously bring a junkie home? All this talk about her boyfriend for him to be a drug addict. Then, Soo-ho eventually excuses herself to the bathroom in this awkward silence, so I'm left with this boy, alone.

"Hey dude, nice to meet you." He slurs his words horribly, but the thing that catches me the most is he uses a pathetic nickname? Pardon?

"It's Mr Hwang to you. What makes you think you're good enough for my little sister?"

"Well, she's really cool and all."

"Is that it?"

—————————

The moment he left the house, I ridiculed Soo-ho for bringing home a druggie whom can't even speak to me respectfully, but of course, she defended him, as a classic teenager girl would. I chose not to forbid it, knowing as a teenager would, she would continue the relationship in secret, I just decided to forbid him from ever coming to our house again.

BACK TO IN-HO'S PERSPECTIVE:

What the hell is she doing here? She's risking her safety, when the next game starts I need to join to protect her and make sure she doesn't get killed, and I need to make sure she stays away from him, he definitely won't help her survive. Why is she here? What could possibly be her reason behind this?

Back to Soo-ho's perspective:

"Red light."

"Do not move! Freeze!"

Then, suddenly, Su-bong pushes all of the people in front of him, causing them to all collapse onto the grounds like dominoes and then quickly get shot.

"Are you fucking crazy?" I exclaim.

"You pushed and killed 196 because you were jealous of her and I'm crazy?" He replies, to which I gulp and choose to say nothing, as I can't when think of a response to that.

"I'm not complaining, y'know? It's cute when you're jealous." He smirks smugly, clearly entertained by this. I make a "tsk" sound and then pursue my lips.

"Green light." As she says green light, he begins to start skipping and jumping enthusiastically, which doesn't entirely confuse me as number one, he's high, number two, he's Su-bong.

But what really confuses me, is when he takes my hand and interlocks our hands, giving me no choice but to skip along with him.

As I'm about to let go of his hand, I hear the doll's familiar voice state, "Red light."

"Green light." We both skip along, "I hate you." I express.

"You still haven't let go of my hand." He smirks, after that, I try to let go of his grip, but he doesn't let me, to which we just stare at each other, he stares with that smirk while I glare at him. "Red light."

"Green light." I then manage to let go of his hand, and he then begins to bounce energetically, I choose not to spring like a mechanical pencil and make it obvious I'm high and just cautiously walk beside him. "Red light."

"Green light."

"Let's go!" Gihun gestures towards the finish line. He's being quite dramatic, it's extremely annoying.

"Red light."

Su-bong then cheers as we make it to the finish line, Gihun is gesturing us to come in and I suggestively wink at Gihun, causing him to choke on his throat. Unbeknown to me, Su-bong is gritting his teeth, a surge of jealousy bubbled inside him. But he then wraps his arms around me tightly, bold much, but I don't reciprocate his hug.

"Why so cold?"

"Maybe because you coldly left and ran away, leaving me for 10 years without explanation and now you wanna act like everything's fine?"

"I'm sorry, but we might actually die in here, do you really wanna hold a grudge?" He questions me, glancing at me warmly.

Well, I won't die. He most likely will, but I'll make sure that doesn't happen, but he honestly has a good point. I've been praying for this moment for the past 10 years, why should I turn it down now? I'm here for Dae, although I can avenge Dae and forgive Su-bong, that doesn't mean I necessarily have to get with him, right?

Anyway, even if I did, it's not like Dae was loyal anyway, he was horribly unloyal.

"Okay, I'll try to forgive you, but you leaving really fucked me up in the head. I literally thought I was gonna marry you."

"I'm sorry." He grabs both of my hands and stares at me with that same look I fell in love with, my mind is screaming at me to let go of his hands, reminding me I'm here to avenge Dae, but my heart can't help but feel warmth by his affection that I've been craving for so long.