C H A M P I O N O F D E A T H

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THE HUM OF THE HOSPITAL ROOM BUZZED SOFTLY IN THE BACKGROUND, A QUIET CONSTRAST TO THE HEAVY STORM BREWING INSIDE SAE-BOM'S CHEST. She made it out, somehow, was taken to the hospital by someone, whom she would never find out who did so. The steady beep of the heart monitor beside her bed was the only proof that time was still moving—that she was still alive. But barely.

For the past few months, her body had laid still beneath clean white sheets, bruised and broken but breathing. Her mind had been trapped somewhere between this world and the next. Yet every night, like clockwork, there was the warmth.

A whisper of fingers combing gently through her hair, the ghost of a kiss to her forehead, and the soft hum of a voice—real or imagined, she could never tell. She prayed, desperately, that it was In-ho.

That somehow, the man who owned every hidden piece of her heart was still out there, watching over her like he always used to. But she never saw him in the Games. Never felt his presence when it mattered most. And now, reality returned like a cruel wind.

Her fingers twitched first, a few of them moving beside her figure as she lays still on the bed. Then her eyes cracked open slowly, eyelashes fluttering. White, blinding was what she was met with.

The hospital lights overhead pierced through her haze like shards of glass, and her throat burned like fire had taken root there. She winced, instinctively trying to sit up, but her limbs were heavy—so, so heavy.

Muffled voices surrounded her, like they were underwater, and she couldn't hear anything expect for a distant hum coming from somewhere. Hands touched her arms—gentle, firm and panic began to rise not understanding what was happening.

Then she saw a face coming into hew view, leaning down to her figure trapped on the bed. A blur of dark hair and kind eyes. Her heart thumped, as she thought desperately, In-ho...?

But her vision cleared, cruelly real. It wasn't him. It was Jun-ho, a face she could understand how she got mixed with her beloved. They were brothers afterall.

And standing beside him were Soo-min and Gi-hun, all safe and alive, their faces twisted in a mixture of shock, relief, and something close to guilt. She couldn't see very well, but could tell they were in a heated conversation about something.

But a weak, hoarse groan left her lips, and the sound instantly snapped all three men's attention toward her. Whatever they were arguing about came to a stop, and the men all acted. Gi-hun ran out to get a nurse, while the other two helped her.

"Sae-bom?!" Soo-min was the first to rush forward. He carefully helped her lean upright, his arms bracing her shoulders like she'd crumble without him, "Are you okay? Hey, talk to me—can you hear me?"

She coughed lightly, her throat scraping raw, "I... I feel like I got hit by a bus." She rasped, leaning her head against his shoulder as her eyelids were lowered from the bright light.

Jun-ho laughed quietly, coming to sit on the other edge of the bed, brushing the sweat-matted hair away from her forehead, "That sounds about right. You've been out for a while."

"A while?" She repeated in shock, her brow furrowing as her fingers instinctively went to her neck. The first thing she thought of. Her heart plummeted. The necklace, her sister's necklace—gone.

Panic gripped her like a vice. Her breathing spiked, shallow gasps bursting from her lungs. Her eyes filled with tears that spilled freely, without restraint, "Where is it—where—" She stammered, choking back sobs, "S-sae-byeok's necklace... I-I can't find it..."

"Hey, hey, hey—look at me," Soo-min said quickly, cupping her face with both hands. He gently turned her teary gaze toward the small table beside her bed, "It's right there. You're okay. It's safe."

There it was. The silver chain glinting under the warm light, untouched and waiting. It looked to be clean and new, which she was thankful for. But remembering what happened, still had her heart twisting.

Sae-bom crumbled at the sight of it, her body slumping slightly in relief as more tears poured down her cheeks, and small sobs left her that had Soo-min gently wiping her tears away with his thumbs.

Jun-ho stepped back off the bed, arms crossed over his chest as he sighed deeply, "You've been out for a few months." He told her gently, his hair grown out that she noticed and facial hair above his top lip, "Don't panic, it wasn't a bad comma. The doctors weren't worried, they just said it was from... trauma."

"A few months?!" She shot back with wide eyes, voice cracking, her breathing picking up again which made the heart monitor beep more rapid, "I need to go. I have to find my brother—he's probably—!"

"It's okay," Soo-min interrupted softly, placing a hand over hers, and squeezed gently with a small smile, "Gi-hun visited him. He's safe, he's living with Sang-woo's mother now."

More tears welled, but this time, they were laced with gratitude. She nodded faintly, biting down on her trembling bottom lip as emotion swelled in her chest like a tidal wave. Still, she tried to stand.

Her legs shook beneath the thin hospital gown, her body covered in faded bruises, healing cuts, and bandages. But halfway through rising, she paused—one hand moving to the side of her torso. Her fingers brushed over the tender flesh where the wound had once been deep and bleeding.

Her thoughts spiraled back to the island, to the trees. To him, the Frontman.

She remembered the way he held her like she was glass, how his distorted voice softened into something almost human. And the kiss. The one on her forehead unmasked, whispered through warmth.

"Jun-ho..." She croaked, not meeting his eyes, as she was helped back down to the bed by Soo-min's rough but soft hands, "How did Soo-min get out of the Games? Did I... imagine it?"

Both men shared a quiet look over her head, one that didn't go unnoticed. They knew how each other escaped and found Sae-bom, but they didn't know how she ended up where she was inside the hospital. Someone put her in there, but it was unknown to them.

Soo-min chuckled breathily and took her injured, bandaged hand in his, "Gi-hun saved me. And, well... the Gamekeepers did something different this time. Two winners, somehow. Me and Gi-hun."

Her brows drew together, confusion and disbelief clouding her thoughts. Two winners? That never happened, she thought to herself as she knew about being helped inside the games. Though she didn't expect anyone else to receive the same thing.

  Before she could speak again, the door burst open, "She's awake!" Gi-hun exclaimed breathlessly as he entered with a nurse in tow. He had changed also, hair short now and his grief had stolen his once soft features.

  The nurse trailing behind him wore a calm smile, clipboard in hand and dressed in the soft pastel blue scrubs of the hospital. But that calm shattered the moment Sae-bom's eyes landed on her.

Her entire body went rigid. The nurse's face—round cheeks, soft features, almond eyes beneath a neat fringe—it was her. Her.

Sae-byeok. Or so her grief-riddled mind insisted. Her heart couldn't tell the difference. In that instant, her mind twisted the image in front of her. She didn't see the nurse. She saw her sister.

In her vision, the her sister's skin wasn't warm and flushed with life—it was pale, sickly. Her eyes were dull, glossed over with death. Blood stained the front of her uniform in thick, dark pools, like a wound had bloomed open on her chest.

Her sister—no, this nurse, this imposter—stood there, smiling like a ghost. Like death itself had returned to mock her. And something in Sae-bom snapped.

A sound tore from her throat—a scream so loud, so guttural, it ripped the air like a jagged blade. Her body convulsed violently in the bed as she scrambled backward, only to be caught by the tubes and wires tethering her to the machines.

Her sobs came next—violent, choked, suffocating sobs as her lungs fought to pull in air that her panic wouldn't allow.

"NO! No—NO! SAE-BYEOK!" She cried, the sound raw and soul-breaking. She thrashed in the bed, kicking and crying out, struggling to breathe as the world collapsed around her again.

She screamed until her voice cracked, her nails clawing at the sheets, at the bandages wrapped around her arms. She couldn't breathe. The walls were closing in. Her sister was dead—but standing right in front of her like they were back in the games.

She couldn't understand, couldn't rationalize—her brain couldn't piece together the difference between reality and memory. All she could feel was pain. And all she could see was her blood-soaked, lifeless, and gone.

"Hold her down—now!" The nurse yelled, her real voice sounding distant and warped through Sae-bom's distorted perception.

Jun-ho rushed to one side of the bed instantly, Soo-min to the other. Gi-hun stood at the foot, desperately trying to speak, to get through to her as they each grabbed hold of a limb.

She thrashed like a trapped animal, muscles taut with adrenaline and hysteria, tears pouring freely from her eyes in rivers that soaked her hospital gown and pillow.

"SAE-BYEOK, DON'T GO! PLEASE! Please—I'll take your place, just come back—!" Her voice cracked and splintered, every word like shattered glass in her throat as she wailed louder. All she could see was her. Her sister covered in blood.

"She's gone, Sae-bom." Jun-ho whispered with tears in his own eyes, trying to keep her arm pinned without hurting her, "Please—you're safe now. You're not in the Games anymore. You're safe."

But that word—safe—was meaningless to someone who'd watched the one person she loved most be stolen away. Meaningless to someone who'd been dragged from the battlefield of grief only to wake up in a world without the one soul she had fought to protect.

She couldn't escape the sound of her sister's last gasp. Couldn't shake the feeling of her cold skin in her arms. Couldn't forget the image of Sang-woo standing over her with blood on his hands.

Sae-bom didn't want to be safe. She wanted her sister.

"Please—PLEASE, don't take her again!" She wailed, hands clawing the air as if she could still reach her sister, "Please I'm sorry, just bring her back—bring her back—!" Tears streamed like rivers, her face soaked in grief, her body exhausted and heartbreak.

The door burst open again, this time with more doctors flooding in. One of them carried a syringe filled with a clear liquid—a sedative. He moved in quickly, murmuring instructions as another restrained her flailing legs.

The needle slid into her arm, gentle but final. The effect was fast, and everything slowed for her.

Her screams faded into hoarse cries. Her strength drained from her limbs, muscles going slack under the weight of despair and medication. Her body sagged against the bed as if every ounce of life had been drained, but her tears didn't stop.

"Sae-byeok..." She whispered one final time, broken beyond repair as she fell limp into Soo-min's arms against his chest.

"Shh... shh, it's okay," He whispered into her hair with a choked noise, even though nothing about this was okay, "You're safe. I've got you."

She didn't answer. The last sound that escaped her was a sob, barely a breath—and a single tear that traced down her cheek, landing silently on his chest.

The monitors steadied, the tension faded, and Sae-bom slipped back into unconsciousness. But the grief clung to her still, a weight that would never leave her again.

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WEEKS HAD PASSED SINCE SAE-BOM WAS RELEASED FROM THE HOSPITAL, BUT THE WOMAN WHO HAD WALKED OUT OF THOSE sterile white walls was not the same girl who once clung to hope like a lifeline inside the Games. Grief clung to her like a second skin.

  Gone was the long dark hair that used to hang down her back—her silent signature. She had cut it off herself, sitting in front of the cracked mirror in the small bathroom of the run-down hotel room, scissors trembling in her fingers.

The strands had fallen to the floor in uneven clumps, soft thuds punctuating her gasps for breath. She hadn't cried, not that time. Instead, she'd watched herself transform, cutting away the version of herself who had once believed she could protect everyone she loved.

Now her hair sat just above her shoulders in messy waves. Some of the strands were dyed a dull blonde—haphazardly bleached with whatever she'd found at a nearby convenience store.

It wasn't about vanity, the highlights were an act of rebellion. A symbol. That she was still here, that the Games hadn't fully taken everything from her.

But in many ways, they had.

She still woke every night around three, soaked in sweat, heart racing, the sound of her sister's final breath echoing in her ears. Her fingers would search frantically around the bed for her sisters figure that no longer existed, and every time she remembered Sae-byeok was gone, something in her chest cracked further apart.

She rarely screamed anymore—just sat there, curled on the thin mattress in the corner of her room, holding the necklace tight, pressing the heel of her palm against her ribs like she could physically hold her grief in place before it swallowed her whole.

She couldn't go back to her brother. Not yet.

She visited him from time to time, always bringing small things he liked—strawberry milk, chips, comic books worn at the edges. He'd rush into her arms every time, babbling about his day, how school was, how grandma had started letting him water the plants outside.

  But she saw the confusion in his eyes. The way he glanced over her shoulder, waiting for their sister to appear behind her like she always used to. Sae-bom could never bring herself to say it. Not yet.

She'd hug him tighter than she probably should, whispering that she loved him, and promise she'd see him again soon. But each time she left, she felt like she was walking away with a hole in her chest.

Jun-ho stayed in contact with her, like always.

  He called every couple of days, his voice calm and steady through the line, like a tether that kept her from drifting off completely. He never pushed her to talk about the Games unless she brought it up first, and that made her trust him more than anyone else.

She never told him how much she missed his brother, her beloved In-ho. She couldn't. That pain was too sacred, too buried. But she did briefly speak about the mission, about ending it all.

Gi-hun and Soo-min were her anchors. The three of them had scraped together the money they had won and purchased a run-down, forgotten hotel on the outskirts of Seoul.

It wasn't much. Half the light bulbs didn't work, the heating rattled, and the walls were thin—but it had a roof, a bed, and for the first time since the Games, a sense of purpose.

  It was their base now. Their war room.

Gi-hun had already made a few connections—people he once owed money to now worked for him. He was working tirelessly to track down the recruiter—the man with the sly smile and the red-blue ddakji in the subway station.

The trail was cold most days, but every once in a while, a new lead would surface. None of them gave up, they couldn't.

Because if they stopped, it meant the Games had won. And Sae-bom refused to let that happen. But even with all this—this fragile makeshift family, this growing resistance, Sae-bom was not okay.

She hadn't smiled since the Games. Not really.

Her grief was a quiet thing. Not loud or theatrical, not anymore. It was in the small moments—the way she lingered by her sister's old coat hanging in the closet, still refusing to throw it out. She had visited her old apartment to move everything to where she lived now.

The way she sometimes sat in the hallway, tracing her fingers over the cracks in the wall like she was counting seconds in a world where her sister still existed. The way she paused at the sound of a woman's voice in the hallway, hoping—just for a heartbeat that it might be her.

Her eyes held a distant gaze most days. A look of someone always somewhere else. Staring past conversations, past meals, past comfort.

Some nights, Soo-min would find her on the rooftop, just standing there in the dark, hair tousled by the wind, her arms wrapped tightly around her middle like she was trying to hold herself together.

"Do you ever feel like you're just...waiting?" She had whispered once, not turning to him.

"Waiting for what?" He'd asked gently, coming up to stand next to her and stared at her side profile worriedly.

  She had paused, her voice hollow, "For the guilt to stop killing me too."

Sae-bom survived the Games. But some part of her had died on that floor with Sae-byeok.

She hadn't been able to bury her sister. No proper grave, no tombstone, at least not yet. Just a memory burned behind her eyes, bleeding in her dreams. Still, she kept moving forward. Step by step.

Because there was still a war to fight, still a promise to keep. And still, somewhere out there, the faint hope that In-ho was alive. That maybe, one day, she'd see him again. That maybe the person she loved wasn't lost in the same way.

So she carried her grief in silence. Let it shape her, not destroy her. Because if the Games thought they broke her—they were wrong. Sae-bom was still standing. And now, she would make sure the Games never stood again.

Currently, Sae-bom's boots creaked softly against the warped wood floor as she made her way down the upper hallway of the old hotel, her hand brushing the peeling paint along the wall.

The dusky golden light of late afternoon filtered through the cracked windows, casting long shadows behind her. Her shoulders were loose, posture relaxed, and a soft hum escaped her lips—tuneless, nostalgic, the kind of melody someone might hum when they were pretending, just for a moment, that life was normal again.

She had just gotten back from visiting her brother.

He had smiled wider than usual today, proudly showing her the ribbon he won in a school race. She'd kissed his temple, promised she'd visit again next week, and for the first time in months, she had let herself breathe a little easier.

Her fingers played with the necklace around her neck, the one that used to belong to her sister. She held it between her thumb and index finger, absently twisting it—her quiet anchor to the past, and a vow to never forget.

Then the sound shattered everything. A single gunshot echoed through the hallway. Her body froze mid-step, and her blood turned to ice.

The hum in her throat died instantly, replaced by the deafening silence of dread as her eyes darted around the hallway. Her fingers dropped the necklace and instead reached behind her back, retrieving the handgun tucked tightly beneath her baggy jacket.

From her waistband, she also drew her switchblade. Her breaths slowed as instinct took over. No panic, just focus.

She crept along the hallway with a predator's grace, muscles honed and tightened from months of training. Her mind ran over the facts—Soo-min had left to see Jun-ho, and that left Gi-hun alone. And someone had fired a weapon inside their supposed safe haven.

Her jaw clenched, grip tightening on the shotgun as she turned the corner, hearing faint voices. Two male voices. One was Gi-hun's. The other familiar and grating like a nightmare reborn. She didn't hesitate.

Her boots thundered against the floor as she charged down the corridor, and with a swift shove, she slammed the door to the far room open with her shoulder. The rusted hinges screamed, and the door cracked against the wall as she raised her shotgun and aimed.

The sight that met her eyes made her gut churn. Gi-hun sat at the metal table in the center of the room, his knuckles scrunched up, eyes sharp and locked onto the man across from him. The recruiter.

The same smooth-faced devil who had first drawn people into the games with a smile and a red-blue ddakji tile. He was seated casually across the table, one leg crossed over the other, gun in his hand pointed not at Gi-hun, but at his own chin.

Sae-bom barked, "Yah!" as the door slammed shut behind her. She clicked the gun's trigger, finger near the ready, aiming squarely at his head. Her presence changed the atmosphere instantly—Gi-hun's tension loosened just slightly while the recruiter chuckled.

"Fancy seeing you here," The man drawled smoothly, dragging his eyes across her form with a disgusting familiarity. His suit was rumpled with blood, face still smug, as if this entire situation was one big joke to him.

Her glare sharpened like a blade, "What the hell do you think you're doing?" She snapped, stepping forward protectively in front of Gi-hun. She kept her stance tight, ready to pull the trigger.

He smirked, tapping the barrel of his own gun lightly against his cheek. "Relax. We were only playing a game, and I lost it seems. I was going to pull the trigger, but looks like I won't yet."

Gi-hun said nothing. His silence was heavy—measured. It it let Sae-bom take the lead now, as she spared a small worried glance his way.

The recruiter's smirk widened as he looked at her again, tilting his head, "You've become quite the legend, you know. Among the organizers. The VIPs? They're obsessed with you."

She narrowed her eyes in disgust, "Don't talk like you know me."

"Oh, but they do. All of us do," He spoke slyly, waving his hand as if it were obvious, "You're the girl who nearly killed Sang-woo before the guards dragged you away. The girl who tackled a Frontman's soldier and bit him. The girl who screamed like the world was ending when her sister bled out in her arms. God, they loved that—so much tragedy, so much drama."

Her body tensed hearing the mention of her sibling, and gripped the gun tighter with gritted teeth, "Shut. Up." Sae-bom growled shakily, taking a threatening step forward.

But the recruiter only grinned wider, eyes glittering, "You haven't played in the Games since, sure. But the footage? It's currency now. Your image is being passed around like a collector's item. You're famous, you're a symbol."

She felt her stomach twist, bile rising, and her bottom lip trembles, not in fear but in rage, "Your people are sick."

He shrugged, sliding the gun off his chin and running it lazily along his arm, "Call them what you want. But your name rings bells now. You've stirred attention. Especially from someone very... specific."

She furrowed her brows, and her grip tightened around the gun's handle as she breathed out hesitantly, "Who?"

His smile turned razor-sharp, "A certain someone from inside the Games. Someone who helped you. Protected you."

Images flashed before her eyes—black gloves. A smooth mask. A familiar voice distorted behind the Frontman's mechanical filter. Her wounded body being lifted from the earth with care. A whisper, a kiss on her forehead.

She flinched once more, and the recruiter chuckled noticing that, "He's why they know your name. Why the higher-ups want you back. And trust me..." His eyes ran over her slowly. "You'd be very pleased to see him too."

"Enough riddles," She hissed, her voice cracking with raw emotion, "If you know something—say it."

But he leaned back in the chair casually, still smiling like everything was far more simple than it seemed, "Now where's the fun in that?"

Gi-hun finally spoke, voice dark and laced with fury, "He came in here with that gun and said he wanted to play a game to gain the game card. That's all. But he's playing with us, like they always do."

Sae-bom shifted her aim, grey eyes glinting in the dull light above them, "Then maybe I'll shoot his leg. See if that makes him talk faster."

The recruiter's grin didn't falter, but a flicker of fear glinted in his eyes, "Violence won't get you answers, regardless of last time you joined." He added seeing the deadpan on her face, "But you keep digging, and you'll find him eventually. The one you're looking for."

"In-ho?" She whispered before she could stop herself, her voice barely audible.

The recruiter paused for just a moment. And then, like the cruel bastard he was, he winked, "You'll find out soon enough."

And before either of them could react, he slammed the gun up to under his chin and pulled the trigger before Sae-bom could race over to stop him. The echo of the shot rang out around the building, as Gi-hun was quick to pull the younger woman away from the now dead body of the recruiter laying there.

The two share a wide eyed look, Gi-hun's hands rubbing up and down along her arms to relax her tensed figure. She appearicated the touch, slipping her weapons back where they belonged, and moved to where the dead body was.

"Check his jackets pocket." Gi-hun spoke in his deep voice watching her, remembering what the male said prior to her arriving, "There should be a key in there that we want."

She nodded her head, not even bothered by the body as she's seen more messed up things in and out of the games. The recruiters blood was all over the wall, his lifeless eyes staring up at the ceiling as she bent down to reach for his jacket.

With a grimace at the blood, her fingers trailed over the material and felt for the small card. They stop when she felt something in the pocket, and moved it aside to grab the black envople that had a pink ribbon tied around it.

"Gi-hun, look--" She gasped, standing up quickly to show him the object she had in her left hand, before the sound of the door slamming opening again had the two inside startled, and turning to see who it was.

There stood Jun-ho with his gun raised up, and her stomach dropped realising he was currently on duty and had caught them at the scene of the crime with the dead body beside them.

"Police. Put your hands above your head!" Jun-ho ordered the other male, gun only trained on him causing Sae-bom to sigh under her breath, stepping aside to intervene when she needed to.

Gi-hun did what was asked once she gave him a look of assurance, and he turned around to place his palms on the glass shower door behind him. Jun-ho went to reach for his handcuffs, before he searched the male's body for any weapon.

And when he did find the weapon he had, Sae-bom stepped in between the raised gun and her friend, "Jun-ho, you know there's no need to do that." She chuckled nervously, and gulped seeing the unamused expression on his face, "Gi-hun didn't kill him, I promise you--"

Her words turned into a startled scream as suddenly someone had came up behind Jun-ho, and used the fire extinguisher in the room to slam it across his head, now knocking him out clean.

Standing there with an unbothered Soo-min, the one who had used the object to hit him, and dropped it with a casual shoulder shrug thrown at her, "What? He's too uptight sometimes. You know that. He had it coming."

Her and Gi-hun stared at him in disbelief, as Sae-bom shakes her head with a groan. She checks on Jun-hon on the floor, making sure his neck wasn't in a bad position, and the male's attention move to Woo-seok, who was half naked and tied up behind Soo-min.

Gi-hun was quick to grab the gun that was thrown to the floor, and protected his friends by aiming it at Woo-seok who was gasp in panic, trying to raise his chained up hands in the air.

  "Who are you?"

Woo-seok glances to Soo-min for help, who turned away like he hadn't noticed what was happening, "I've been helping Mr. Kim look for the man with the ddakji!" The man stressed after getting no support, body shaking from nerves, "My name is Choi Woo-seok. We've been sending you guys pictures from the subway stations every day! Don't you remember?"

Sae-bom's head snapped up from checking on Jun-ho, and she stood up to her full height. She sent Soo-min a scolding look for ignoring Woo-seok, and gently pushed down the gun Gi-hun had aimed at him, "Yes, we do remember. Put the weapon away, Gi-hun. He's no threat."

He listened to what she said, slipping the gun back into his pocket as Soo-min joined where they stood. All three of them glanced at Jun-ho knocked out on the floor, while Woo-seok was throwing air fists at the recruiter who killed his boss.

"We're probably going to have to chain him up for now." She muttered with a wince, nodding at her friend on the ground and gained mumbles of agreement from the other two beside her.

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❪ ✏️ ❫ 𝚆𝙾𝚁𝙳𝚂 : 4912
─►☆ AUTHOR'S NOTE :
HELLO GANGGG IM BACKK and now we enter the angst season but also the best season because what the fuck was s3??? that was literally BULL and i cannot believe they killed off deadass all the characters but im so thankful that in-ho lived like if he died.... im going with him idc 💔💔

this chapter was kinda just like a intro in a way to show you all how much sae-bom WILL be suffering through this season and the next fr. she does see her sister in every young girl in her life and that will be her downfall i fear, especially in the upcoming chapters with the new characters🥲

my bad this is so long gang but im back and so excited to write for this. anywaysss you all know the drill, vote, comment, ect mwah <33🫶