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

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IF SOMEONE TOLD SAE-BOM THAT SHE WOULD BE TYING HER BEST FRIEND UP, WHO WAS A DETECTIVE WORKING FOR THE POLICE, SHE WOULD OF LAUGHED IN THEIR FACE. But currently, right now, inside one of the hotel's bathrooms, was Jun-ho, chained up to the bath tap with handcuffs. They used the cuffs he had on his belt, but the only one who felt bad for doing so was her.

Outside the bathroom, through the large glass window was Woo-seok, cleaning the blood off the pink chair and walls from the Salesman. He offered to do so, even though she told him it was fine, but he kept pushing until he was given the job.

Sae-bom was leant against the tiled room inside the bath area, beside her being Soo-min, both having their arms crossed over their chests glancing at Jun-ho.

Her dark eyes flickered to the male outside, a smile tugging at her lips upon him flinching startled when he realised she was looking at him, and got back to scrubbing the blood off with the sponge.

Gi-hun was sat in a chair in front of the grump Jun-ho, as he was holding his ID budge in his hands, and read off what he saw, "Detective Hwang Jun-ho," He spoke calmly, and flips the object shut, "You came to see me at my house once before with Sae-bom."

At the sound of her name being called, she pushed herself off her leaning position on the wall, and walked up beside Gi-hun, "You've met him twice, haven't you?" She asked Jun-ho, head nudging at the male sitting in the chair, "Once at his house, and again..."

She paused suddenly, breath hitching as a vision of the games flashed in her mind, and how her sister's face stared back at her. Soo-min noticed the change instantly, and came up to grasp her hand in his, squeezing it firmly which brought her back to reality.

All three males watched her with their own worried expressions, but she sent them a crooked smile that didn't reach her eyes to reassure them, "You were the one in the guards suit, weren't you?" She said this to Jun-ho, "The night of the ruckus in the dorm, you came up behind us and asked that question."

Gi-hun, hearing what she just explained, lifted the gun he had in his grasp up at Jun-ho, a threatening look on his face. She was quick to push it down gently, and lean against the side of the tub, "Don't, he's not a threat to us. Right, Jun-ho?"

Her closest friend nodded his head once, adjusting his uncomfortable sitting position in the bath which made the cuffs clink loudly, "I snuck in there in disguise to find my brother and help Sae-bom. I know she told you bits and pieces, but it's the truth."

Sae-bom shifts in her spot hearing the motion of his brother, her heart feeling like it was being tugged out of her chest the more she thought about her missing beloved. A shaky sigh escaped her, and felt Soo-min rub a gentle hand on her back for comfort, something she was thankful for.

"Hwang In-ho is my brother," As Jun-ho reveled that, her stomach twisted even more with a sickening feeling, and tried to blink back the burning sensation in her eyes, as she focused on his words instead, "that guard was me asking if you knew him or not."

He sent Sae-bom a sorrowful look, knowing how she felt in that moment when she brought her missing beloved up. Jun-ho then shuffled forward the best he could, dark eyes glancing between the trio, "Who's the man you killed?"

Soo-min shared a look with her, before nodding at Gi-hun who leant back into the chair with the gun lowered now, "Gi-hun didn't kill him," Soo-min retorted in that normal calm tone of his, eyes narrowed on Jun-ho, "That man was a recruiter who finds players for the game. He seemed awfully interested in our girl, Sae-bom, for some reason."

She groaned tiredly at the statement, and elbows Soo-min in the side, not gently but not harsh either, "Yah! Did you really need to add that part?" She scowled at the male, who huffed out in pain from the hit, "Anyway, that's not important. What is important, is that we're trying to put an end to the games."

"Sae-bom, that is important. If he knows stuff about you, that could put you in more danger than the rest of us." Gi-hun suddenly voiced out loud, a protective frown on his face turning to the younger woman, gaining two nods of agreement from the other males, "And that's why we're going to find that guy first. The overseer of the game, the one who worked for Oh II-nam. Do you know who he is?"

All eyes glanced to Jun-ho now, who sat up stiffer against the tiled wall behind him, and cleared his throat to talk, "The masked men call him Captain." He tells them, which made their gazes widen with hope for new information, "I didn't get to see his face. He was wearing a black mask. How do you plan on finding him?"

While he spoke to them, she instantly noticed the nervous undertone in Jun-ho's voice. She could tell something was up with him, whether it was he couldn't remember or he wasn't telling the full truth. Either way, she hoped it wouldn't cause any issues later in the end.

Her attention was drawn back to Soo-min, who held up the beige card in between his fingers to show Jun-ho, "This is the invitation he sent." He announced, handing the paper back to Gi-hun, "Our plan isn't to kill him, killing him will not put an end to the game. It wouldn't even effect them, he's just a small piece in the issue."

"That's right. There are people they call the VIPs." Jun-ho was quick to add on, gaining their attention, "I saw one of them." He pulls on the handcuffs, "Let me go. I'll help you find them." He told them firmly, eyes landing on her last with a knowing glint in his gaze.

A sudden bang came from the glass window, and they all turned to see Woo-soek hitting his palms on the thing sperating them, "Guys! You can't trust cops." His tone was a frantic exclaim, "I've never seen cops helping people like us!"

Gi-hun and Soo-min both looked to Sae-bom hearing what the male said, knowing she would make the final call since she knew Jun-ho the best. A small snort left her, as she shakes her head chuckling, "Yeah, well, it's different when the police officer is your best friend."

She said that while moving up to where he was chained up, and bent down beside him with a lopsided grin, "I know you'll help us, I don't doubt you at all." She softly speaks, grabbing the key from Soo-min to unlock the cuffs and freed him from that uncomfortable spot he was in, "Welcome to the team, Jun-ho."

He stepped out of the bathtub with some help from her, as he twisted his sore wrist around and rubbed the red spot on his skin from the cuffs, "So, what's next now?" He asked curiously, looking between the four of them gathered around him.

She shared another look, but with Gi-hun this time, a silent understanding passing through them. She nodded her head, tugging on Soo-min's arm, who followed without question, "Let's go, we have stuff to show you."

The four of them made their way through the hotel's hallways, walking in step with each other, as Woo-seok was trying to convince them to not let Jun-ho join them and see their operation in case he snitched on them. Which was valid, but he didn't know her best friend like she did.

"I once got scammed and lost all my money." He began to go on a nervous rant, gaining a side eye from Soo-min who wasn't impressed, "I was furious, so I roughed him up a little. It wasn't even that bad, but the cops only arrested me and told me to settle with him. But what what money? That asshole took everything--"

He was still going on his rant when they arrived at a hotel door, it being painted black, as Gi-hun uses their shared keys to unlock the door. He pushed it open, letting Sae-bom trail in first and the three males followed in after her.

Woo-seok only stopped his talking when they all stood before the bed, and his jaw dropped at what he saw in front. She chuckled a little to herself seeing his reaction, which was understandable considering millions of dollars stared back at him.

"Mrs. Kang, so it's true that you won the games with those two?" Woo-seok spoke up in a stuttering question, his eyes wide and curious as he looked at her and then back to the money sat on the wood.

A shadowy expression took place over her once calm face, her head tilted down to hide her glossy gaze. She tucked her hands into her jacket's pocket, and stepped forward to stand with her back facing them, "It's true, but it's not my money." Her voice was suddenly dropping, sounding hallower then before, "It's blood money for all those people who died there. We're going to use it to fight those fuckers."

Soo-min and Gi-hun shared a nervous glance, both worried for the girl knowing how much she lost in the games, and how hard it's been for her to even talk about it. Working in sync, Soo-min moves to wrap his arm around her waist to bring her aside, and comforted her, as Gi-hun took over the conversation.

"If you help us, I'll give you as much as you want." He told them in a promise, hand motioning to the rows of cash stacked up behind him. His eyes flickered to Sae-bom, and she met his stare with a firm nod, him not missing the sadness that lingered in her gaze.

Jun-ho stepped forward, hands tucked in his pockets also, "I'm not doing this for money."

"Me either," Woo-seok followed his lead, and nodded his head rapidly, but his eyes kept moving to the cash as he couldn't believe what he was witnessing, "That bastard killed my boss right in front of me. He was like a brother to me. He even officiated my wedding." He sniffled and teared up just thinking about it, making her face soften in guilt.

Both Soo-min and Jun-ho raised their eyebrows up at the male, before the latter was the one to turn and actually speak to Woo-seok, "They have armed forces on that island." He stated the obvious, watching his face grow pale, "We can't fight them with a few pistols."

This time it was Sae-bom who lead the way instead of Gi-hun. She trailed up to the bathroom door, and looked over her shoulder at the three, "Weapons aren't the issue here, Jun-ho." She drawled out smirking lopsided, "Come, follow me."

She nodded at the now opened door of the bathroom, where it was lit up in a blue colour and walked on in first, the others following instantly. She stood off near the side with Gi-hun and Soo-min, as the new incomers take in their collection of guns.

"These are what we've collected so far," Gi-hun motioned to the tiled wall of trapped weapons, and the many that were placed around the room. Some were hanging from the shower poles, while others were laying inside the actual bath tube, "Sae-bom's been doing the most and finding these for us."

The younger woman only kept quiet at his comment, her fingers fiddling with the necklace around her neck in thought. In front of her, Woo-seok gasped in amazement at the various of guns, "Are they real? Where did you get all these?"

Ignoring the question, Gi-hun retorted back in a statement instead, "I want you to gather people we can join forces with." He demanded of Woo-seok, who gave his nod of acknowledgement to show he understood.

Woo-seok begun to mumble to himself about the guns, while Jun-ho observed the situation closely, causing Sae-bom to chuckle quietly to herself. She then watched him pick up a gun, twisting it around to get a better feel of it.

"I'm guessing they're black market." He said this to his best friend, who raised an eyebrow up at him curiously from leaning against the wall, and he met her stare with a incredulous one, "Do they even work? Or did your kindness get the better of you, Sae?"

Her once calm expression shifted into something lethal, causing Soo-min to let out a low whistle and moved away from the woman, chucking nervously. She then snatched the gun from Jun-ho's hand, who blinked surprised, and she span around to the pink curtain covering up the wall.

With a low mutter, she used her free hand to drag the curtain open, revealing the massive hole inside the tiled wall, and made her way inside the hidden area where they trained with their weapons. She flips on the light switch, the rooms becoming less dark.

Normally where there were meant to be walls, they were all destroyed so it made an open area for them to train in. Objects were laying around the place, some broken or some having empty bullet shells dropped on them. Gun shot marks also were seen in the very back of the hall, where targets were set up.

Sae-bom didn't think twice, nor alerted any of them as she loaded the ammo part of the gun, it making a clicking sound, before she aimed the weapon up with a target. With precise aim, she managed to gun down all the targets in one go, and just heard Soo-weok yelling behind her.

Once she was finished, and her chest was heaving, she handed the gun back to Gi-hun. Soo-min was smirking proudly, as she turned to her best friend, a coy smile spreading across her face, "That work well enough for you, Jun-ho?"

He rolled his eyes amused, sending an side eye to Soo-min began to laugh a bit louder than intended. He met her gaze with a growing smile of his own, and nodded his head once, repeating, "Works well for me."

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THE LATE AFTERNOON SUN BLED GOLD OVER THE QUIET NEIGHBORHOOD, THE BREEZE LIGHT AND COOLING AGAINST SAE-BOM'S SKIN, AS SHE STOOD NEAR THE BUS STOP ACROSS THE ROAD. Her figure blended seamlessly into the shadows of the old street awnings, her hood pulled low over her forehead and a baseball cap hiding most of her face. Large sunglasses masked her tired eyes, but beneath the disguise, her expression trembled with grief and quiet longing.

The air smelled faintly of steamed fishcakes and tteokbokki from the cart nearby, a scent that once reminded her of walking home with her sister and brother after they went out for dinner. When life was simpler, when the word 'games' meant hopscotch, not survival.

She kept her hands stuffed into the pockets of her oversized hoodie, her fingers fidgeting with the frayed corner of the pink thread looped around her wrist.

A piece of her sister's favorite hoodie she'd kept after her death as well as her necklace. Her gaze remained locked across the road, on the modest corner supermarket with a faded sign in chipped red paint.

Sang-woo's mother stood behind the counter like always, placing neatly stacked fruits into their plastic bins. She looked older now, tired but kind. She was humming softly to herself, probably a trot song from the radio and wiped her hands on her apron just as a small figure came into view from the street's end.

Sae-bom's breath caught in her chest. Cheol.

Her little brother, no longer so little. He was tall now, wearing his school uniform with his backpack half open, one shoelace untied, and a notebook poking out like it always used to. His hair had grown a bit messy and long, flopping into his eyes as he walked. And his face--

God, he looked so much like their mother. Her lips quivered.

He was laughing, not just smiling, laughing as he jogged up to Sang-woo's mother, shouting, "Halmeoni!" as he always had. The older woman welcomed him with a warm smile, ruffling his hair fondly before guiding him inside. Sae-bom stood motionless, watching the moment like a ghost.

Her vision blurred as her eyes welled. She hadn't seen him in a little while, not since she stood at the edge of his schoolyard just after her last hospital visit. She had walked away then too, just like now because she wasn't ready.

She wanted to be, desperately. But every time she saw him, she saw her sister's eyes. Her smile, her voice echoing through her memories whispering her name in the games, bleeding out on the cold floor while Sae-bom had screamed herself hoarse for help that never came.

She swallowed hard, pulling the brim of her cap lower as a few tears broke free, slipping down her cheeks. The guilt clawed at her chest, dull and constant, like it always did. Her sister was dead, her brother was alive, and she was stuck in between.

"I'm sorry," She whispered, barely audible over the passing cars, "I'm trying."

Cheol was safe, that was the most important thing. Sang-woo's mother had taken him in without hesitation, no blame, no judgment. She treated him like family, like blood. And though she should have resented the woman, Sae-bom didn't, couldn't. That woman had kept her brother whole while she herself was in pieces.

She wiped her face with the inside of her sleeve, sniffing quietly. She couldn't go to him yet, not until she could look him in the eye without breaking, not until she could say, "I'll never leave again," and mean it.

Her time in the games had changed her, hardened her. But it had also broken her in places she was still trying to rebuild. Since waking from the coma, she hadn't been the same, suffering from night terrors, memories too vivid, guilt too heavy. Sometimes she'd wake up thinking her sister was still alive, sometimes she wished she hadn't woken up at all.

But then she thought of Cheol. And In-ho. And the promise she'd made, to take the games down for good.

Gi-hun and Soo-min were doing their part. Jun-ho was still on the inside, feeding what he could. Their broken little family was trying, despite the pain, despite the scars. They'd turned an abandoned hotel into their war room, a place with peeling wallpaper and cracked ceilings, but a place that felt like home.

But this... this was different. This was her kid, her baby brother. And all she could do was stand across the street like a stranger.

Cheol had vanished into the shop with Sang-woo's mother, and the door shut gently behind them. Sae-bom stared at it, biting her lip, willing herself not to go closer, but not yet.

A wind rustled the strands of her hair beneath the cap, short now, streaked with blonde. A new look for a woman trying to forget the old one. She exhaled slowly, turning her back to the store, and began to walk away, hands back in her pockets, heart a little heavier than it had been minutes ago.

But as she disappeared down the street, she held her chin a little higher, because even though she wasn't ready to go inside that store today, she knew one day... she would. One day soon.

Sae-bom now approached the cemetery gates, clutching a modest bouquet of lilies and white chrysanthemums in her hand. The wind was soft but cold, enough to make her wish she hadn't taken her hoodie off, but the moment she stepped through the gates, something inside her felt too heavy to hide beneath a hood.

Her eyes scanned the carefully arranged rows of headstones, the silence pressing in around her like a blanket of snow, muffled and thick with memory. She had only found out by accident. Sae-byeok had a grave.

She hadn't buried her. She hadn't even known where her sister's body had gone after the games. She'd asked about it once, weeks after waking up in the hospital, when she had strength enough to sit up in bed and scream at the world for taking her sister. It had felt like screaming underwater.

She never imagined someone would've laid her sister to rest.

It had shocked her when she asked the funeral registry worker about finding a place to memorialize Sae-byeok, and they'd gently replied that her sister was already here. Someone had arranged it all quietly, behind the scenes.

Jun-ho had promised to look into who was behind it. But so far, there were no answers. Still... it was done. And in the strange silence of grief, she was grateful.

Sae-bom found the gravestone near the far end of the cemetery, slightly removed from the more maintained areas. There were other photos resting against the stone, faded, laminated pictures of families, of loved ones lost.

Among them was a small framed image of the three of them, Sae-bom, Sae-byeok, and Cheol. She remembered that day. They'd been at the beach, it was one of the few pictures where Sae-byeok was actually smiling.

Tears pricked at the corners of her eyes before she could stop them.

She crouched down in front of the grave and gently removed the older flowers, placing her new bouquet with a reverent touch. Her fingers brushed against the cold stone, tracing her sister's name, her lips trembling as she whispered softly, "Hey... I'm sorry I'm late."

Her bottom lip wobbled, and she bit down hard on it. She couldn't cry here, not with strangers around, not with eyes that might be watching.

She blinked through the hot sting of tears, staring at the photos until they blurred and bled into each other. You'd hate this place, she thought with a hollow, bitter smile. Too peaceful. Too still. You were always chasing something, weren't you?

She was so caught in her thoughts, in the way the wind stirred the flowers and carried the scent of distant incense, that she didn't notice the figure approaching until she heard the soft crunch of gravel to her right.

Sae-bom flinched, eyes widening as she turned her head halfway, catching only the outline of someone standing beside her. A man, tall enough, wearing a dark cap and equally dark clothes that blended him in with the shadows cast by the trees above them. She tensed immediately, hand twitching toward the small blade she kept tucked into the pocket of her jeans.

But then... he chuckled. Quiet, low, and strange... almost fond, "Don't worry." The man said gently, his voice rough like gravel but oddly soothing, "I mean you no harm."

Her fingers still wrapped tightly around the hilt of the knife, but she didn't pull it out. Her breath caught in her throat as she slowly stood up, keeping her gaze ahead, "Why are you here?" She asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

"To pay my respects... to the fallen." He replied, simple. But something about his tone, gentle, pained sent a sharp chill down her spine.

She clenched her teeth, fighting the urge to glance at him. Making a scene here wouldn't do anyone any good, there were too many people, too many watching eyes.

She could only see his profile from the edge of her vision. Dark hair just visible under the cap. His shoulders were tense, his hands curled slightly by his sides, trembling in a way that made her breath hitch. Like it physically hurt him to stand there, like he was holding something back.

She didn't speak again, didn't trust her voice.

And then he moved. Stepping forward slowly, the man reached out and gently placed a single flower beside her own bouquet. A purple carnation.

Sae-bom blinked. Purple carnations, her favorite. No one knew that, not even Cheol. Only one person had ever remembered that fact.

No... it couldn't be...

Before she could stop herself, her lips parted, her heart clambering into her throat, "Wait—"

But he turned away, lifting his head just slightly to tip his cap in a parting gesture. And just like that, he was walking off, disappearing between the maze of graves and headstones, lost to the sea of grey and green.

She took one shaky step forward to follow, but stopped when she noticed something on the ground. He had dropped something, a single purple flower. Another one.

Her knees bent on instinct, and she picked it up, the petals soft and cool against her skin. Her pulse thundered in her ears as her mind reeled.

It couldn't be.

It couldn't.

But... A part of her, some fragile, broken part of her heart ached to believe otherwise.

Tears gathered again in her eyes, and this time, she didn't fight them. Not as the wind brushed against her short, blonde-highlighted hair, not as she stood beside her sister's grave clutching a flower she hadn't brought.

She looked up toward the path the man had vanished down. Nothing, gone. She stared down at the purple carnation in her hand, and her voice shook as she whispered, "...In-ho?"

The name slipped out before she could stop it, but no answer came. Only silence, and the sound of her heart breaking again.

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❪ ✏️ ❫ 𝚆𝙾𝚁𝙳𝚂 : 4369
─►☆ AUTHOR'S NOTE :
IM BACK GUYSSS HI HI HIII im so sorry for the lack of updates, i know you all have missed this fic as much as i did so i managed to finish off this chapter before my life gets chaotic again. this chapter hopefully made up for my lack of updates and the little scene at the end eheheh... yes that IS important and will most likely be brought up again when my babies reunite 🥲🥲

i think the next chapter will be the last one before they are in the games for the rest of the acts and chapters but don't hold me to my word because i might write more to drag it on but we shall see

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