The eerie carnival music filled my ears as we spun on the platform. I clung to the numbers repeating in my mind: 6, 8, 4, 2. Those four numbers were the key to survival, though no other player besides myself and 001 knew them. I repeated them as a mantra to ease my anxiety. I knew that in a few short moments the spinning would stop and chaos would begin. Everyone would turn on each other, their innate drive to survive would push them to live, no matter what.

Back when I was a circle masked worker, mingle was my least favorite game. The music seemed never ending and so many players died. People tended to panic when faced with death. Disposing the bodies was the easy part; watching as they were gunned down mere inches from the door was anything but.

To say I was dreading it would be an understatement. Like the pentathlon, I'm sure it would be different playing it— but would it be better or worse? I somehow doubted it could get any better.

I knew that In-ho was able to sense my discomfort as he held out his hand, and I took it without hesitation. We had a mutual understanding that we would stick together. It would make the most sense—we were supposed to be married, after all.

We stood near the back of the group and 456, 390, and 380 stood in front of us.

I started scouting the room for a sixth player to join us, the last thing I needed was for us not to find another player. If we couldn't find another teammate, they would all die. That wasn't something I wanted to carry the burden and guilt of.

The music stopped and the bright lights went out for a moment before the voice announced the number: 6.

We all huddled up, our frantic breaths mingling with each other as we all searched for one more player. Gi-hun and In-ho separated from us, calling out the number one to get someones—anyones— attention.

Their voices mixed with the rest of the hysterical players who were shouting numbers. I turned and searched the players, most people were frenzied as they grouped up. Some people stayed on the podium looking for more members, but others ran towards the doors and locked themselves in.

In-ho sprinted across the podium, my gaze following him as he reached a girl who stood alone, frozen in fear. She looked lost, but the moment she saw In-ho she looked like she had found her north star. Without hesitation, In-ho led her towards us. We all bolted towards the closest door, entering it and locking it with only five seconds left on the clock.

Collective sighs and breaths of relief were heard as the timer buzzed. The door clicked: separating those from the safety of the room from those outside awaiting their demise. Our relief was only short lived as the cracking of gunshots was heard just outside our door. The girl—player 222—held herself together well, but I could tell she was nervous by the way her hands were shaking.

Bowing, she whispered, "Thank you for saving me." She said this directed at In-ho and he nodded in response. I noticed that she was standing weirdly, the way she shifted her weight and held her stomach over her hand...

Oh, she was pregnant!

I figured there was no harm in asking, as she might be dead within minutes. "Player 222, are you pregnant?"

It almost was comical— the way the boys shifted their gazes down to her stomach with varying expressions of confusion and curiosity. Perhaps, in any other situation, it would have been. But right here with death surrounding us nothing was funny.

She looked up at me with the most perfect doe eyes and nodded, and my heart just about shattered.

Why would she have joined the game this late in her pregnancy? I noticed the X on her chest, and I felt my heart drop to my stomach. She didn't want to be here, she wanted to leave, but yet she couldn't because of the people who voted to stay.

She turned her gaze down towards the blue patch on my chest and glanced around at everyone else in the room. Each person she looked at made her eyebrows furrow until they were locked in a deep crease of disappointment. Finally, she landed on Gi-hun. The silence in the room stretched on endlessly, save for the gunshots, as they looked at each other. Finally they smiled at each other, coming to the conclusion that they had a new ally.

The doors opened with a loud bang, making all of us flinch. Everyone hesitantly made their way out of the safety of their rooms. The amount of blood would have been nauseating if I had not been used to it

Some unfortunate players stepped right in it, making the bottom of their shoes sticky—not good when we would be running for our lives in a moment.

Once we all reached the podium, In-ho took my hand in his and it started spinning with a lurch. Gi-hun and player 222 stood right next to each other, and Jung-bae and Dae-ho stood at the front of the group. The music blared in my ears and it was almost unbearable, but I had no choice but to endure.

I scanned the players who had survived but my gaze landed on the purple haired player who was... dancing? I couldn't believe my eyes. Who would be dancing at a time like this? He was either mentally ill or high as a kite.

In-ho followed my gaze and his face darkened when he saw him. He shared the same shock I felt. He shot me a sharp, knowing glance and—one that spoke volumes without a single word spoken.

The spinning and music stopped simultaneously. The lights dimmed and the voice called out the number eight.

Everyone went into panic mode as they searched for their remaining members. Thankfully, there was a group of two next to us who joined us without a second thought. We all ran through the scrambling players to the nearest door and slammed it shut. We still had 14 seconds to spare.

I let out a heavy sigh and leaned against the wall. The room was relatively cramped with all the people, but that was among the least of my worries. Frantic screams were heard outside as people rushed to get into a group, but they were not fast enough. Gunshots rang out and screams were heard.

The gunshots seemed to last forever, at least 20 people had to have died that round.

Gi-hun stepped in front of the slit in the door, blocking all of our views. "Don't look, it's easier not to."

We all took his advice and looked around the room. My eyes landed on the duo that we had picked up—007 and 149. She seemed to be much older than him, he was around my age and she was at least 10 years older than In-ho. Definitely not dating, perhaps mother and son? I didn't recall reading that in anyone's file, but I just skimmed them and that's a detail I would have easily overlooked.

Jung-bae broke the silence, "What do you guys think the next number will be?"

We exchanged shrugged shoulders and confused looks. I decided to speak up, "Three? I feel like they would want to separate us after we got into groups of 8. Even If we got into groups of three, two people would still be left out."

Of course, I knew that it wasn't going to be three, but keeping up my alias is good to avoid suspicion.

They all agreed with me and the doors opened again revealing a bloody mess. We stepped onto the podium, all of us sticking together except for 007 and 149, who thanked us for saving them and moved on.

The process repeated itself for a third time: the music, the spinning, and the suspense. The next number was called out: 4.

Unfortunately, since 007 and 149 had gone, we were left with six people. I knew what we had to do. As if reaching a silent understanding, we pushed the four of them together towards a door and ran before they could question us.

10 seconds left on the clock.

My heart pounded in my chest, each second felt like an eternity as it passed. We didn't waste time looking for another duo to join us, we knew that we wouldn't make it. Instead, we ran— hand in hand— towards the end of the arena where we both knew there was a secret opening. This secret area was built for just this purpose: for a vip or worker to play the game without a fear of dying. It was never used much but it was there as a security blanket, hidden between the entrance and door number 1.

There was a singular flaw in our plan that I realized as we were running. This space was built for one person. One. I didn't know if In-ho realized this or if he just didn't care.

Before I could question him he shoved me in the opening. My back slammed against the wall, forcing the air out of my lungs. My head hit the wall and my vision blurred.

Right as the clock hit zero In-ho ducked in behind me, his body pressed tightly against mine in the cramped space. The door sealed shut behind us, plunging us into complete darkness. Only the echo of gunfire and the steady sound of our breaths were heard—well— his breaths. I was too nervous to even breathe. My chest felt locked, trapped between him and the cold wall behind me.

And then, as if he could hear my frantic thoughts, he spoke—low, strong and all too dangerously close.

"Breathe."

His words sent a wave of heat through me and before I could stop myself I sucked in a sharp breath. The darkness felt even heavier as we waited for the round to be over. He shifted slightly trying to put some space in between us, but it was futile— our faces remained inches apart.

I let my thoughts wander, though they didn't go far as the feeling of his body pressed against mine occupied most of them.

Why did he think it was okay for us to go into this room? His entire philosophy was making the game fair. Ever since he publicly hung the workers and player involved in a secret organ harvesting operation, I have been haunted by the memory. He made his point perfectly clear: we were to remain anonymous and the game must be fair.

His power was scary, but yet— I couldn't help but be intrigued. Why did he think us doing this was okay? It went against everything he stood for. It wasn't fair in the slightest that we knew of a secret room and we were not actually playing with the fear of death.

I would have to ask him later, I feel like the explanation would take more explaining than the few seconds we had left in the room. "Remind me to ask you something tonight."

He nodded in response but said nothing. The silence was deafening as the gunshots and the screaming had ceased. Now, in the dead quiet and with my body so close to him, I could have sworn I heard his heart beating—or was it mine? It was beating far too fast to be his...wasn't it? But how could I have heard my own heart?

Before I could dwell on it a guard knocked on the door, signaling that it was okay for us to come out. The guard was no doubt laughing behind their mask. Knowing that their boss and supervisor were crammed in an uncomfortably tiny room would make anyone chuckle.

In-ho pushed into me as he reached behind his back to unlock the door.. After a few seconds of frantic fumbling, he wasn't getting it— he wasn't even close. It's not like he could turn around, so I did the only thing I could think of.

My hand reached behind him, slipping past the limited space between us. My fingers accidentally brushed against his hip, sending a jolt through my fingers and radiating throughout my body. I wasn't sure if he felt it too, but his breath hitched ever so slightly and I figured he did.

Ignoring the obvious tension between us and the way my face burned. I swallowed and forced my shaking hands to focus on the lock. My fingers felt around behind his back and —finally— brushed against the cool metal.

Unlocking with a click, we both practically fell out of the room. As I looked around, the guards were just leaving the room with the coffins. My stomach twisted into knots as I looked around. Blood covered so much of the floor that barely any of the white surface was visible. But something was off... what was it?

I scanned the room waiting for the rooms to unlock, but then I noticed it: The peepholes were all covered. Of course, they had thought of everything to protect us from being seen leaving the room. Leave it to the front man to have every possibility thought of and every mishap accounted for.

The doors unlocked and swung open. Me and In-ho walked slowly, just like we were an average player. I held my breath as I waited for someone to expose us, but no one did. They were all too focused on themselves and the blood covering the floor.

I saw Gi-hun and the others across the room, looking equal parts worried and anxious. Me and In-ho made our way over to them with our hands interlocked.

In-ho called out to them as we approached, "Gi-hun!" He sounded so enthusiastic and happy, a stark contrast from his mood moments ago.

The reunion lasted shorter than any of us wanted— but alas, that was the price of the game. The voice announced that this would be the final round and the podium started spinning. As we were moving, I caught sight of the purple haired man who was dancing, again. How did he still have so much hope? Probably because he was high— I decided that was the only plausible explanation.

Shoulder to shoulder, we all stood in a line facing the doors that would decide our fate.

Jung-bae decided to break the silence between us. I didn't know whether he wanted to ease the tension or if he was just genuinely curious.

"What number do you think is going to be next?"

Besides me, In-ho did not wait a beat before answering, "Two."

I gave him a side eye, though I don't think he saw. Honestly, the last thing I was expecting was for him to answer—and to tell the truth? Talk about suspicious. If anyone was distrusting of us already, this would have confirmed it for them.

"There are 50 rooms, so only 100 of us would survive." He explained, which gave a bit more credibility to his answer.

Sure enough, the spinning stopped and the announcer called out the next number: 2.

Me and In-ho ran towards a door, but not before I looked to make sure everyone was safe. Gi-hun and Jung-bae ran together, and player 222 stuck with Dae-ho.

My heart pounded in my head as we ran, the space between the podium and the doors seemed to stretch on endlessly. Each step felt like my foot was being weighed down with a brick.

Finally, we reached a door with 18 seconds left. My hand connected with the cold door knob, but right as I went to open it someone pushed me, sending me crashing into In-ho. He flew into action: holding the man back while I ran into the room. With shaking hands and trembling knees, I pushed the door open and ran into the room. I held the door for In-ho to enter and he gave the man one final push and entered, shutting and locking it behind him.

Sighing in relief, we both leaned against the wall. I couldn't help but laugh. Whether it was the excitement, adrenaline, or fear, I didn't know, but I couldn't stop the giggles that left my mouth.

In-ho looked at me like a deer in headlights, but we both whipped our heads around when a gasp was heard in the opposite corner of the room. Ten seconds left. I glanced at In-ho but he was already moving.

He got the man in a headlock within moments and his choked gasps were heard as he strangled him. Right before the time was about to be up, he wrapped his hands around the man's face and snapped his neck right in half.

The crack was the only thing I heard—not the gunshots echoing outside nor our shallow breaths—just the crack repeating over and over again.

"W-Why?" I whispered, only managing to get out one word. I knew that one word wasn't enough to express what I really felt, but I hoped In-ho would be able to decipher it.

"Did you want to die instead?" His voice came out cold and calculating, nothing like how he was before.

I stared at him in shock, not uttering a word. He had an almost manic look in his eyes, one that I suppose was normally covered by his black mask.

"There has to be no more than 100 people alive, if he survived, it would've been suspicious. We didn't have enough time to do anything else, you know that. I know you do."

I did know that he was right. In the end, he would always be right. Everyone would do whatever they needed to survive, the front man included.

I averted his gaze. I knew he was ruthless, unpredictable, and perhaps a bit unhinged. I knew that he had killed countless people before, but witnessing someone die right in front of me by a man I was beginning to trust was a different kind of horror—one that I wasn't prepared for.