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

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     THE NEXT ROOM THEY WALKED INTO WAS ONE OF THE CRAZIEST SHE'S EVER SEEN. IT LOOKED LIKE A CIRCUS INSIDE WITH THE TENT AND ALL THE LIGHTS AROUND THE PLACE, plus the massive bridge that lead to one platform to another across the room. It was really giving circus in her eyes at least with all the colorful lights being hang on every available spot.

     Guards were placed on either side of the platforms on each end, at least three on each one. The pink guards near the entrance door opened it, well one of them did, and let in the players to walk through one by one in a straight line, all wondering what was next for them.

     Sae-bom was near the back of the line with her sister and Soo-min, feeling his hand touching her shoulder blade for comfort, that had her smiling lopsided to herself. But even so, the touch couldn't compare to what she felt before when getting to see the Frontman.

     She squinted her eyes a bit from the bright spot light above them, and pressed her forearm to her forehead to block it out. She walked through the open purple doors, and felt the guards staring at her like usual, but ignored it like she usually did.

    "Hello, players, let me welcome you all to the fifth game." The woman over the PA announced in her high pitched voice, and began to explain what they were playing next "The fifth game is Glass Stepping Stones. The stepping stones before you are made from one of two types of glasses, one will be tempered glass and the other will be normal glass. The tempered glass stepping stone as strong enough to hold the weight of two people. However, the normal glass will break even if just one person steps on it. For this game, you will guess which one of next two tiles is the tile made of strong tempered glass, and only step on those across the 18 pairs of tiles. You may then across over to the other side safely and pass this game."

     Every player was quiet hearing what was said, and the tense silence just got worse when they glanced at the numbers on their pink vests. Sae-bom swallowed hard realising she did pick the right number thanks to Soo-min, and she shared a look with him, who looked to calm for the situation they were about to be in.

     Sang-woo and Gi-hun were beside her also, along with her sister. The five of them were in a line together, the only remaining group that actually trusted each other enough to make it through. Sae-bom was still iffy about Sang-woo, but she knew him like the back of her hand, and he wouldn't do anything to betray her.

     "That means the numbers on us...." The player who picked the number 1 vest from Gi-hun trailed off nervously, and glanced to the guard who was watching them from the side near the start of the bridge's ledge.

     "--Are the order in which you will cross the bridge." His muffled voice finished off, that blunt tone louder then ever so the rest of the players could hear the answer. It made some happy with their choice of number, but others.... not so much.

     The same player whimpered in fear knowing he had picked first, and had to figure out what glass to step on so he could survive, and the others behind him also could too. He turned to Gi-hun with wide eyes, but the male looked down with a shaky breath, leaving Player 96 to shudder.

     "But then, how do I tell which is the tempered one?" He asked the guard again breathing heavily, his words coming out shaky which made Sae-bom frown guilty knowing how scared he must be. Player 96 gained no answer from the guard, making his fears worse then they were before.

     All of them were unaware of the watchful eyes of the VIP's on them from inside the special room, but Sae-bom could feel the camera's on her from somewhere in the shadows, causing her to scowl at random spots to hope she aimed it at the camera for those sick bastards who were watching for entertainment.

     "For this game, you will have 16 minutes. Players must across the bridge within those 16 minutes." The woman over the PA was back again, and continued her explaining to the players, "And now, with that, let the game begin. Each player, take off your shoes, then go up to the tiles in order."

     Sae-bom made a face at the shoes part, and clicked her tonuge with a scowl, "Seriously? Do we have to take our shoes off?" She half whined, half grumbled to herself but Soo-min heard it and laughed amused at her attuide.

     The timer began ticking on the wall now, counting down from the 16 minute mark, and it filled the tense silence inside the large room, that they could only see half of since the lights didn't do it justice in some parts. The bridge was lit up, that's all that mattered however.

     Player 96 slipped his shoes off first, and placed them off to the side. He then took a deep breath of air to level himself, and stood up on the edge of the bridge, debating which step he could pick. One would break, and the other would not, he just needed to pick one and fast.

     His shaky breathing gets worse when players behind him started to shout out their complaints, saying he was taking too long and wasting time.

Sae-bom rolled her eyes hearing it, understanding both parties in the matter as she wanted to get her sister and herself across also, but knew the pressure would be hard to pick which step.

    Her eyes narrowed down on Player 101, who seemed to be talking to Player 96, and she knew he was either threatening him or not talking nice. Both sounded about right in her mind knowing what the disgusting male was like from what she's seen so far.

     "Yah! Would you leave him alone, asshole?" She called out from her spot near the back, arms crossed over her chest to glare at Player 101 as poor Soo-min went pale next to her in fear, "Let him pick on his own time. We're on a time crunch, I get that, but the pressure from you won't help."

     Player 101 sneered back at her, before licking his bottom lip while eyeing her body off. Before he could move forward, Mi-nyeo causally stepped in his line of view in front of her with a snarky smile, blocking him from Sae-bom and Player 96 spoke before another fight could break out.

    "I'll go. I'll go, okay? I'll go right now--" He stumbled his words out in one breath, swallowing the lump in his throat as he goes to jump and lands on the left tile, that didn't seem to break. Some of the players began to cheer for him, and only now began to be encouraging.

     One of the remaining female players was talking to him, and trying to reassure but also encourage him to keep picking correctly, "Oh, yes! That's it. Keep doing that one after the other. You got this." She was wearing the number 2 vest, so it made sense she was trying to get him to do more, along with the rest who cheered.

     He jumped to the next one in front, and Sae-bom's eyes went wide watching how the glass breaks underneath him with a loud crash. She grabbed Sae-byeok's hand to squeeze tight, as the players scream around them, and Player 96's terrified screams faded out as soon as he landed on the floor below them dead.

     Soo-min kept his arms wrapped the two sisters closely to console them, and made eye contact with Sang-woo, who was looking at Sae-bom. A knowing look passed between both males, one that not a lot of people would understand unless they really got to know the older Kang sister.

     Up at the front, Player 308 shudder seeing the dead body of the player below in his own blood. She was next, and it would either be her turn to die like he did, or survive like he couldn't. Tears were in her eyes standing on the last step Player 96 was on, and now she had to pick which one to step onto.

     Sae-bom had a feeling a lot of the players would die before they got to the other side of the bridge, and she was right when Player 308 tried to jump onto another step, only for the glass to break and for her to fall to her death. It made her feel sick to her stomach knowing her sister and group had to do this, but selflessly, she hoped the steps were figured out before they stepped onto them.

     She watched with wide eyes as the next player was feeling brave enough to try and run the full thing. He managed to jump across a few of the steps, as the players all exclaim around her, before he met his death to when the glass finally shattered below his feet. Another down, more to go, she thought nervously.

    Player 21, who was out front this time leading the players, turned to the older lady behind him for help, "Excuse me, ma'am. Do you think that you could help me?" He asked hesitantly, voice shaky as he points to the steps ahead, "You happen to remember what he chose next? I can't seem to recall which one now."

    "Oh, I don't know, uh, it happened too quickly." She stuttered out, glasses slipping to the bridge of her nose that she pushed back up to frame her face. Her answer wasn't what the male wanted, and he was getting desperate now.

     "Think about it harder please. Since both our lives depend on getting this next one."

     She nodded her head rapidly, and swallowed to ease her dry throat, "Okay. The left one I think." She tells him not even trusting her own words, but more players on the bridge start speaking their answers to, confusing the male even more with which one to pick next.

     Player 21 only stared at the old lady, as he seemed to trust her word over the male's behind them yelling, "Y-you... are you sure--" He stuttered out also, fear in his eyes mirroring hers, "he went left first?" He finished, gaining a strong head nod back that made him ease up a bit.

     Sae-bom bit her bottom lip nervously, and fiddled with her sister's necklace hidden under her jacket as she watched this. Her stomach sunk more when Player 21 jumped onto the one said, but it ended up breaking and down he went to fall to his death like the other players before him.

     She realised she needed to be paying attention a lot more now, as her group was getting close to jumping onto the bridge steps. She took a peek up at Soo-min, to see him heavily glaring at the game and focused on what was happening. She hadn't seen that expression on him before, and it both scared and excited her.

     More player just kept dying and falling off the bridge, only creating less tiles and more of a graveyard below them. The timing was getting closer to the finish, so the players needed to hurry and get to the other side proto without anyone else dying. But the dying part was inveable for some.

    "There are tiles 12 left, and 13 people still playing." Gi-hun's deep voice began to talk to the five that were left standing on the platform, gaining their attention from the game, "If they manage to step on one or three each, the five of us can get across to the end."

     "That might not be the case." Sang-woo spoke up next from Sae-bom's other side, who flinched a bit surprised at him being so close suddenly, "If one of those players get scared and starts to run down the time, we are in danger in the back of the line."

     She hummed lowly in agreement, and tilted her head to gaze up at the timer where it had 9 minutes left on the clock, "Well, let's hope none of them get scared then." She shrugged her shoulders to loosen her muscles, and flashed them all a lopsided smirk, "If they do, I'll just yell at them from where we are now. That should do it--"

     "--Sae-bom, you might wanna follow through what that comment." Soo-min interrupted her speech suddenly, causing the young woman to raise her brows and followed to where he was pointing, "That idiot Player 244 just sat down on the tile he's on up the front.

      Her eyes widen in disbelief at what she was seeing, and could hear the faint prayers coming from the player who decided now it was the best time to contact his God, "You got to be kidding me." She grumbled to her group, before raising her voice to be heard, "Yah! What are you doing?! Get up! Now's not the time to be doing that shit!"

     Her words made the rest of the players yell at him also, but Player 244 only continued praying until something that was said made his eyes fly open and face to look expressionless.

"No number can determine when the Lord calls for somebody." He looked up the sky, or well ceiling inside the room, "Judgement is called down to us here. It's our time to face the Lord. Anyway, we're all going to Hell."

      Nothing was being done, nor would be move, until one of the players behind him jumped onto the tile with him. They began to restle with each other, before Player 244 had pushed the other male off of him, and he smashed right through a step that broke, sending another person to their death.

     Sae-bom felt her stomach churn at the victory smirk on Player 244's face, and knew he would thank his God for that kill. She leant into the nearest side, which happened to be Sang-woo's, but never of them bothered to move nor tell the other off, as their shared past didn't matter in that moment when it came to life and death.

      She glanced to her sister, who was standing next to Soo-min like usual, and sent her a reassuring smile, one that didn't reach her eyes like it normally did. But it did help Sae-byeok's fears a little, which was the very reason why she sent it.

     Player 244 had jumped to the next step when he knew it was safe, before he was pushed off the tile by another player. His shrieks echo through the room, as the glass shatters, telling the players which one to pick and to not pick again.

     The line was moving now, and Sang-woo was the first to jump onto the bridge. Soo-min was next, who gave the sisters a comforting grin that looked more dorky then anything and it made them share a soft smile, before he joined the other male onto the bridge, now getting serious.

     Next was Sae-byeok, which made Sae-bom feel sick to her stomach watching her sister jump onto the steps, but knew she was safe for the time being in the back, "We'll get through this, okay? Be strong." She whispered to her with a hand squeeze, and gained a tighter one back, before their hands slowly let go of each others.

      Now it was Sae-bom's turn. She slipped her shoes off with ease, and felt the soft carpet beneath her feet. She then took a step onto the yellow edge of the bridge, feeling the guards eyes on her now more then ever before. Her heart was racing badly, but her face didn't show how fearful she was.

      She turned to look back at Gi-hun, him being last in the group and he gave her a strong head nod, to reassure her everything was going to be alright. With a shaky exhale, she took the very leap onto the left glass, trying not to look down at the dead bodies.

      Gi-hun was behind her when she jumped to the next one, and they didn't move for a while for some reason. Sae-bom glanced around her sister's figure, keeping herself steady on the step and heard it before she saw it. Another player had broken the glass and fell through, hitting the ground floor.

      She sucked in air through her teeth, grimacing before jumping onto another step carefully. She saw the timer only had 6 minutes left, and they were still further away from the end, which made her both stressed and anxious for her sister and friends.

     Her dark eyes landed on Player 101 up at the front, making the colour drain from her face knowing him at the front wasn't going to end well at all. And she was right, as he in fact stopped where he was and turned around to shout at all of them behind him.

     "Hey, everybody, listen!" His voice was loud and aggressive, gaining a scowl from Sae-bom who once again hated when she was right about things she thought of, "Anyone wanna get across? Well, you better go first then!"

     She cursed him out inside her mind, and glanced to Soo-min, who had the same annoyed expression as her. If given the chance, the both of them would kick Player 101's ass off the steps, but they couldn't get to him as the other players were all in front.

      Min-tae, one of the players near him tried to talk some tense into the idiot, but Player 101 wasn't having it, and refused to move from his spot blocking them all off from getting across the bridge.

     He just guffaws in his face like he usual did to someone, before yelling another threat out to everyone else, "I'm not dying here for anyone. So come on, let's do this!" He aims this next bit at Min-tae, who cursed him out once more, "Get up here and go ahead. If you don't, we all die. Your choice, dickhead."

     Sae-bom was going to say something, but held her tongue seeing her sister's fearful look. It made her face soften and release a heavy exhale to control her rage. Her eyes flickered back to the timer, and how they had 4 minutes left on the clock until they were all dead like the others.

      She was thankful when Mi-nyeo had pushed Min-tae forward from her spot behind the two male's, making him stumble forward into Player 101. He acted fast by shoving him off the glass, and his shrieks were heard until the loud thump of his body hitting the floor followed.

     Now, Player 101 was more fearful then ever seeing who was behind him. Mi-nyeo was there, and Sae-bom couldn't hear what was being said, but by from the furious look on his face, she knew the older woman was killing him with her words.

     Mi-nyeo had jumped forward onto the step he was placed on, and it caused Sae-bom to gasp in shock as the woman locked her arms around the male's waist, "Mi-nyeo! What are you doing?!" She called out loudly, her face holding fright and worry for the lady even though she still couldn't stand her guts.

      Player 101 tried to fight against the hold she had on him, but she wasn't budging nor moving for anything. That's when he got pathetic and started to beg for his life, but Mi-nyeo didn't care nor would ever care about some male again, even in death.

    "Yah, Sae-bom! You better win this thing and get out of here, you hear me!" It surprised her even more when Mi-nyeo began to shout at her, a wide gleelful smirk over her face as she got closer and closer to the edge with a whimpering Player 101, "You're the only decent person in this shit hole. Don't let my death be in vain!"

     The older Kang sisters stomach dropped, as her mouth opened up in a silent scream watching just as Mi-nyeo falls backwards off the platform, and takes the screaming Deok-su with her, both of them dying together like Mi-nyeo wanted if it gave Sae-bom a fighting chance.

      She didn't even get to say thankyou or anything. Sae-bom stifled the cry that wanted to escape with her forearm, and stumbled back onto the step she was on, trying to calm her heavy breathing down. Another person just died, and this time it actually meant something to her.

      "Unnie," Sae-byeok called out softly, watching her older sister panic and at her voice it gained Sae-bom's attention, "It's alright, calm down. We're almost there." She added onto her reassuring, her turn to be the sibling back to the older one.

     Wiping her sweaty palms on her pants, the Kang woman nodded her head rapidly in understanding. She inhaled deeply to ground herself, before her eyes flew open and leapt onto the next step, all the way down to where the group had stopped.

      There was only her group left, plus one more player that managed to survive this far along the bridge. The player up front apparently could tell the difference between the glass, and they were trusting him to get across the rest of the steps remaining till the finished platform.

     He jumped to the one directly in front of him, which was correct and the five behind him released a breath of air in relief, knowing that had a larger chance of winning now. The group moved one by one on each step, until the player stopped again to see the difference between the glass.

     "Why wasn't all this brought up earlier?" Gi-hun exclaimed from the back of the pack, as the player explained to them the glass could be determined with sound also, "If you had led everybody from--"

     "Why would I?" Player 17 interrupted the male mid sentence, turning his head to glance at them all as he spoke, "The players up here tried to kill us at every chance." He snapped which was fair with what he was saying, and went back to figuring out which glass is the good one.

      They were getting closer and closer to the end, and it got Sae-bom's hopes up. The timer she ignored, as they didn't need more pressure on them. The feeling of being watched was back for her once more, and she had a feeling it was the guards or the hidden camera's somewhere in the room that she wished she could shot already.

      But all hope was mostly lost when the lights were suddenly dimmed down, giving the male a loss of his vision to see the difference between the glass. And it was only at their end also, making Sae-bom curse them out inside her mind knowing it was the one in charge move to do that.

      "I can't tell them apart in the dark." Player 17 told them, the panic now rising even more them before as the clock had 1 minute left on it, "I need to listen to the sound. You got anything to throw?"

     The group began to check their pockets for something to throw, and Sae-bom's fingers grazed the necklace around her neck, but pretended she had nothing on her. She'd rather die then give up her sister's necklace, and she was sure Gi-hun had something in his pocket from the last game.

     Gi-hun pulled out the marble the old man gave him, and held it in his roughed up palm. He quickly passed it to Sae-bom who gave him a soft look, and then she turned to pass it to her sister, until the marble was given the Player 17 to use at the front.

      He chucked the marble to the left glass first, and didn't hear anything different yet, so he asked without looking back, "I need another. I need to hear the right one, so I can be sure." He stated, missing how Sang-woo was getting ready to push him off the step.

     "The just try one." Sang-woo didn't think twice as he shoved the male off, and the right glass step shattered instantly. Player 17 screamed, falling through the air and smashed into the ground to his death, leaving the main group to be the only survives.

     Sae-bom flinched watching the scene from behind her sister, her eyes wide in the dark staring at the back of Sang-woo's figure. She understood why he did what he just did, but she also had a human heart unlike him. She heard Soo-min exclaim at the male, but there wasn't time to fight as the timer was near it's end.

     "Go, go, go, go!" Her voice was frantic, knocking the others out of their frozen stances as one by one they jumped across the remining steps, until they reached the end platform. She was caught by Soo-min once she got to the end, prior to the male helping her sister.

     Just as Gi-hun touched down to the platform, the timer went off and a beeping sound was heard. The lights switched on with a low hum, before a loud crash sounded behind them. What followed was something none of them expected.

     It sounded like gunfire going off. Sae-bom's jaw dropped as she watched all the steps explode into many shards of glass up into the air, and felt her body being pulled into a protective hold by none other then Soo-min, her sister on his other side.

     He protected them the best he could from the explosion of glass smashing all over them, leaving cuts, marks and blood in it's path on their skin in result. They won, but at the cost of getting hurt from the very shattered glass they tried to avoid.

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❪ ✏️ ❫ 𝚆𝙾𝚁𝙳𝚂 : 4449
─►☆ AUTHOR'S NOTE :
sorry gang this chap is a bit boring and not really long compared to normal but i had to push through this game so we can move onto the next season asap because now we are closer then ever for the reunion between sae-bom and in-ho (my babies) 🙏🏻🙏🏻

this timeline for the next few chapters will be a bit confusing but trust me you will all like what i have planned (well only some of it) but remember jun-ho is still inside the building where sae-bom is so he won't leave with her... hint hint  👹

anywaysss you all know the drill, vote,
comment, ect mwah <33