(POV In-ho/Young-il)

Our team happened to be the last – well surprise. In case we'd fail the guards obviously wouldn't shoot me and I couldn't have any witnesses. But still I didn't even think about endangering the others by playing a bad performance. I wanted them to live. Even in my cold heart I knew that these seemed to be good people and didn't deserve to die.

Our feet were cuffed together and as my and 456's arms interlocked I looked up to him and gave him a reassuring smile.

"We're a good team. And we've got the winner among us, so nothing can happen to us.", I said in a convincing voice and Gi-hun almost smiled back at me. I realized how close we were one to another and it suddenly made me nervous. He was so close I could even focus on finding some dark-brown spots in his almost black eyes.

The BANG brought me back to reality: the game's last round had just begun.

The team spirit was incredible, we mastered Ddakji, throwing the rock and Gonggi at the first try until it came to my task: spinning the top. I was motivated, convinced that we all had already won. Without even focusing I threw the top – and failed. 'Shame on you, In-ho', I thought embarrassed and we went to get the top back.

I don't know why but of course I failed another two times and we were losing much time. Fear caught me as I thought of the other's lives, all lying in my hands. I saw players 388 and 390 begin to panic and couldn't help but feel it as well. Pure panic that Gi-hun could die for nothing in a stupid game. In my game.

I began to shout and beating my own cheeks, unable to calm down.

"STOP! NO ONE'S ACCUSING YOU, DO YOU UNDERSTAND!?" Gi-hun's voice brought me back to reality; he stared at me intensely with the top in his hand. I managed to calm down and took the top out of his hand – our fingers touched and I felt like a lightning had just struck me. It was the second I knew I wouldn't fail this time.

I threw the top and succeeded and after screaming out in success we moved on to the last task: Gi-hun's. We had 13 seconds left – he had to pass at the first try or we'd all be dead. I saw the jegichagi ball hitting his foot 1... 2... 3... 4... and being kicked out of Gi-hun's reach. In a heartbeat I intervened, I moved forward with our feet chained together, so the ball could hit both our feet.

"Pass.", I heard the masked guard say and we continued to the finish line with only a second left.

"WE DID IT, WE DID IT", Player 388 kept screaming and we all pulled each other in a group-hug – when we heard the guns firing. I saw Gi-hun staring at the other group who had been playing at the same time – and who didn't pass. Gi-hun's desperation was obvious even though he got out of the game alive.

'This man is a masochist', I thought. 'Never thinking about himself, always putting others first. I admit that I admire him, but he surely is a masochist.'