I was back in my bed by the time the lights were on, my encounter with the guard just a fleeting memory. Yet, in that brief moment, she had helped me more than she ever imagined. It was refreshing getting an outside perspective. Even though she didn't know the whole story, she was able to remind me to stop to fix my greatest flaw: overthinking.

As I lay there, the events from last night and this morning swirled in my head. Heeding her advice, I tried not to think about it too much, though it was hard to think of anything but In-ho as his soft snores echoed in my ear.

I turned my head so that I was looking at him. He hasn't moved an inch from earlier. He still was laying towards me with his frayed hair spread across his face. For a moment, I just watched him. The light of the piggy bank hit his skin just right, accentuating the sharp curve of his jaw and his lips. I found myself utterly captivated by him and before I knew it, my hand was brushing stray hairs from his forehead.

What was I doing?

Breaking me from my trance, the speakers started blasting the third movement of Trumpet Concerto in E-Flat Major . I jumped at the sudden noise and I knew many other players did the same as annoyed murmurs filled the room. The lights flickered on, illuminating the room and the players' annoyed and groggy faces. Though, In-ho slept through everything.

The guards entered the room with heavy steps and started distributing breakfast. By this point, everyone knew the drill: we all lined up, got our food, and went back towards our beds.

I decided that since I was already awake and closest to the food I would just get food for all six of us. After all, It's not like the guards would stop me.

By the time I returned everyone was conversing at the top of the bunks—well— everyone but In-ho. I stole a glance towards our beds and he was still out cold. I guess the games have taken a toll on him as well. I decided not to wake him, he needed as much sleep as he could get.

With my hands balancing six meals, I climbed the steps towards where everyone was gathered. Once they saw me approaching, Dae-ho and Jung-bae wasted no time rushing over and took the meals from my arms. They both said something about how a civilian shouldnt be carrying this much, a woman especially, and I thanked them. Their enthusiasm about the marines was a bit annoying, but I supposed I couldn't blame them— I would do the same in their position.

I sat down next to player 222 as the marines distributed the food. Gi-hun, sitting directly across from me, looked like death manifest. His cheekbones protruded and his eyebags made him look like he had two massive black eyes. As Jung-bae handed him his food he said nothing, but continued staring forward, looking at nothing in particular. I didn't even want to imagine what he was going through right now. The guilt must be eating him alive.

Finally, Jung-bae and Dae-ho sat on either side of Gi-hun and started talking about what they thought the next game was going to be. They did have some good guesses— yutnori, juldarigi, seokjeon— but they never even thought that it could be dongdaemun. Throughout the conversation, me and player 222 listened and shared an opinion occasionally, but Gi-hun didn't say a word.

It got to a point that we all started talking about him and to him, but he didn't acknowledge us at all. It was almost as if he was asleep, conscious in a completely other world. Eventually, Jung-bae tapped his shoulder and told him to eat. That seemed to pull him out of his trance. He was more responsive as we talked, though he never said anything if there wasn't a question directed at him.

At some point we all grew quiet, savoring our unappetizing food. Gi-hun decided this was an ample opportunity to say what had been on his mind. "What if we have to kill each other?"

I made eye contact with Gi-hun first, then looked around the group. None of us knew what to say. What could we say? Everyone wanted to comfort and reassure him, but what if we did have to kill each other?

I played into the part, looking equal parts scared and anxious, though I knew we wouldnt have to kill each other this round.

Gi-hun took our hesitation as a chance to explain the game he played. "The fourth game I played was marbles. They had us get into groups of two..." He stopped here for a second, as if remembering who he played with. He clenched his jaw and continued, "and we had to play against each other, only one person could survive."

I remember watching this particular game a few years ago. Gi-hun had teamed up with player 001, who— unbeknownst to him at the time— was the host of the game. Gi-hun had tricked him so that he was able to survive. Honestly, I couldn't judge him. It was the obvious choice, killing an older man with a brain tumor so that you could survive.

I glanced towards Gi-hun again, his eyes a mixture of pain and vengeance. I watched as his eyes met mine and then glanced upwards, past my eyes, past my hair, and up over my head. Before I could turn and see what it was, I heard and felt it.

"You guys are eating without me?" In-ho said, his voice dripping with faux sadness. He put his hand on my shoulder and I stiffened, involuntarily. I still wasn't used to his touch, even after all this time. The others, trying to gauge my reaction, tensed at his presence. It was almost comical the way their eyes shifted from my face, to his, and back to mine. Last they knew we were fighting- they had absolutely no idea what happened last night between us.

He sat right next to me and I handed over his meal. "Well, I didn't want to wake you. You need your beauty sleep."

A brief silence followed my words— no one knew whether to laugh or stay quiet.

In-ho just responded with a laugh. "You know me so well."

I smiled and went back to eating my food. I could feel their eyes on us as I ate and— finally— Jung-bae broke the silence, asking what they all wanted to know, but no one wanted to ask.

"So, looks like the two of you made up, huh?"

I answered before In-ho could—who knew what he would say?

"Yeah, the old woman was right. We just had to sleep on it."

They all looked at me with eyes full of disbelief and flickers of doubt, but turned back towards their food and left it at that. They seemed to be waiting for me to explain more about what had happened, but I had no intention to. What could I say? We snuck off in the middle of the night and talked it out?

Well— that actually didn't seem like too bad of an idea. Just as the words were about to escape my lips, In-ho started talking.

"We have gotten into our fair share of fights throughout our relationship." He scoffed and continued, "We know how to work through them rather quickly."

He turned his head and looked at me the way a husband might, as if he was waiting for his wife's approval. It was still unusual, seeing him like this. Seeing him so... open and expressive, even though it was a ploy.

His gaze bore into mine and I tried to stop a blush from spreading on my face. I nodded— a bit too enthusiastically— but that seemed to satisfy their curiosity.

Everyone went back to their food though none of us were too eager to eat. We just picked at it until our stomachs begged loud enough that we couldn't ignore them.

The awkward tension from earlier hadn't entirely faded, but it was manageable. Thankfully, I don't think anyone caught the blush on my face nor the way In-ho looked at me. The last thing I needed right now was for them to be getting suspicious, I would probably die of embarrassment if I had to act any more affectionate towards In-ho.

With that thought, the guard's words resurfaced in my mind: ' you make him nervous.'

Against my will, my heart hammered in my chest.

Did I really make him nervous?

I let out a soft sigh. As much as I wanted to believe her words, it just wasn't possible. How could someone like him— someone so collected and reserved— be affected by someone like me?

I snuck a glance at In-ho. He was talking with the group as if it was the most normal thing in the world. I didn't know what they were talking about and I didnt care. All I could focus on was him—the way his lips moved when he talked, the subtle shift of his jaw as he nodded along, the bobbing of his throat as he swallowed. I watched him, I watched it all.

But then, just for a moment, his gaze flickered towards mine. It was quick—so quick that if I hadn't been watching him so closely I would have missed it— but something in his eyes shifted. The cold, fake look he held with the group softened, morphing to something else when he looked at me. Something unreadable yet undeniably different.

He stared at me with something so intense that it sent a shiver down my spine. It was almost too much, the urge to look away gnawed at me. Every cell in my body begged me to avert my gaze.

And, right as I was about to give in and look away, he winked. My heart stopped. It was so, so subtle, but it was there without a doubt. And then he looked away, turning back towards the group like nothing had ever happened.

A slow realization crept over me. This was all just a game to him. He knew what he was doing to me, he knew exactly the effect he had on me.

And yet, as much as he wanted to deny it, he was playing the game too. He must have wanted this as much as I did.

God , this man was about to drive me insane.

I shoved a piece of my breakfast into my mouth. The food was a welcome distraction, it was at least something to take my mind off of—well— everything . I could only hope they didn't read too much into our fight and how we looked at each other this morning.

I continued picking at my food and eating small pieces when my stomach threatened to growl. When we were out of here and back running the game, the first thing I'm going to fix is the food. How could anyone be expected to put on a show if they were hungry? Using that approach, I could definitely convince In-ho to give better food. He always wanted to appease the VIPS, after all.

Surprisingly, Gi-hun was the first to finish eating. He placed his tray on the bed beside him and looked at each of us. Assessing us. He had a grim and distant look in his eyes, and I could only wonder what he was thinking about.

I could tell he was a bit hesitant, but he spoke nevertheless.

"So, I think I've come up with a plan."

We all looked at him, faces displaying varying emotions. Me and Dae-ho looked at him eagerly, knowing exactly what he was referring to. Jung-bae and player 222 were completely lost. They had no idea what he could be referring to, looking at him with wide eyes. In-ho looked like his usually unreadable self, yet, there was something else in his gaze. Was it curiosity? Amusement?

"I know how to destroy these games for good."

We all leaned forward towards him, waiting to see what his proposition was.

"Tonight, after the game and after the vote, there might be a special game during lights out. This happened last time I was here. They let the players kill each other and only intervened before things got too bad."

He took a deep breath and continued.

"We need to pretend to be dead and steal the guards' guns. Then, we can sneak into the control center and kill the frontman."

Gi-hun watched us intently, trying to read our thoughts. His gaze swept over the group before finally looking down at his fidgeting hands. It seems that he, too, knew his plan was spotty.

The silence stretched between all of us, heavy with unspoken tension.

His plan was destined to fail. There were several things he did not account for. One— the other players. How many of them would help him fight? It's just as In-ho said to me days ago, he needed practically every player to help if he was to win. Second- the guards. There were so many more guards than players. There were at least 300 triangle guards in proximity to the main hall, and another several hundred spread around the compound. 20 players could never take down the game, and he is naive to even think so.

And the biggest flaw in his plan—the frontman, who was right beside him, listening to his every word. His plan would never work because the frontman himself was listening to it and helping create it.

And yet, we had to humor him.

In-ho was the first to respond with a plain and simple question, "How is it going to work?"

Suddenly, everything clicked—this was In-hos plan. He wanted Gi-hun to realize the flaws of his heroism himself. He wanted Gi-hun to understand that he couldn't save everyone.

His question was merely the beginning. He had planted seeds of doubt inside Gi-hun, we just had to wait for them to grow and blossom before completely taking over him. I turned my gaze towards In-ho and caught the side of his mouth turned upwards in a subtle smirk. He knew that Gi-hun would begin to doubt himself, it was only a matter of time before he was begging for his answers.

I looked at Gi-hun. He sat there head in his hands, mulling over his plan. You could practically see the gears turning in his head as he tried working out the kinks. Once he came up with a solution for one problem another one would arise. Everything was futile.

When he answered it came out quietly, so quiet that if you weren't listening for it you would have missed it entirely, "I dont know."

A ding sounded from the speaker and a voice rang throughout the room, interrupting our conversation.

"Attention players, the next game will begin momentarily. Please make your way to the front of the room."

This announcement was either a breath of relief or a slap in the face depending on where you stood. For the players who voted X, they were slapped—the next game would be starting soon and they had a high possibility of dying. But for those who voted O, they all lept off their beds and eagerly made their way towards the door, excited to have the opportunity to earn more money.

For Gi-hun, it was a mixture of both. A slap because he wanted to survive and keep as many people alive as he could, and also a sigh of relief—he obviously needed more time to work out his plan before being questioned.

This game would give him the perfect chance to think. It's not like he had to really focus on anything besides walking... and praying he wasn't caught in the middle. This was one of the few games where worrying wouldn't make a difference. The odds were completely out of the players' control.

After forcing down our food, we sulked down to the floor. In-ho walked down the steps with a certain grace— almost like a cat climbing down from his perch after sunbathing.

We all got into five parallel lines, each with twenty players. I was at the very end of the first line, right behind In-ho. My gaze lingered on his broad shoulders and his jacket with 001 plastered on the back.

As we stood in line, tensions were high between all of the players. Everyone was worried about what the game was, some were even speculating about it. A voice a couple rows down from me suggested it had something to do with the lines we were in. I heard In-ho scoff beneath his breath and I couldn't agree more. How stupid these people were. We had to line up every day like this, why would the lines matter today?

They were on the right track... in a sense. We would be in a line, but not these lines.

The walk to the game room was quick, almost too quick for my liking. The colorful walls quickly gave way to darker ones that just screamed death. The playful illusion of this place was gone the instant the guard pushed open the door and led us into the room.

The air felt heavy and I felt myself becoming anxious. I knew that I would survive, but still, the eeriness of the area made my hair on the back of my neck stand up.

As we all trickled into the room, surprised gasps echoed within the walls.

"What is this?"

"Who are they?"

Everyone's gaze caught the two massive dolls on either side of the room, facing each other. Though the room was dim, I knew that one was the girl from red light green light, and the other was a boy. They were holding hands, their arms formed an unmistakable arch that was clearly intended to walk under. The dull light in the room cast long shadows across the floor, increasing the uneasiness in my gut.

Curious murmurs filled the room and a sort of nervous energy filled the room. Finally, once all 100 players were in the room, the doors slammed shut and the lights were turned on, illuminating the dolls' uncanny faces.

Now that we could see clearly, the shocked gasps in the room increased. No one had any idea what we would be playing—no one but In-ho and I.

This room was a carefully created illusion. On the side of the girl doll, the room was decorated to represent a bright, cheerful day. Lush grass and a bright blue sky were painted, giving the impression she was happy. There was a bright sun just behind her head, a stark contrast to the side facing her.

On the side with the boy doll, the wall was dark and unmistakably grim. It was clear that he was supposed to represent night—small shimmering stars were painted and there was a crescent moon opposite of the sun. He stared at the girl doll with a smile so wide it sent a shiver down my spine.

My gaze shifted towards the back wall which was another illusion. There was a wooden bridge painted across the whole wall connecting the day and night scene. Though, there was a sunset painted behind it as if to show that it was the best of both worlds.

Just like the players, I had never been in this room before. The size and sheer aura of it made my jaw drop. I almost wanted to take a moment to appreciate the details and intricate designs on the walls, but now isn't the time. How did they manage to make it so unnervingly eerie?

I looked at our group. Gi-hun seemed to be assessing what game it was, muttering something to himself. Jung-bae, Dae-ho, and player 222 flicked their gazes from each other and to the two dolls in the room. Everyone in the room was anxious, that much was clear.

Me and In-ho stood in the middle of the group, hands interlocked.

"Attention players, the next game is Dongdaemun. While the music plays, you will walk in a single file line around the room. When the music stops, those within the arms of the dolls will be eliminated. If you stop walking while the music is playing, you will be eliminated."

The voice was interrupted by a chilling creak, followed by the thunderous crash of the dolls' arms slamming down, demonstrating the game. A cloud of dirt and dust was formed where they crashed into the ground.

Everyone flinched at the sudden noise, me included, and the silence that followed was unsettling. No one wanted to speak. Everyone prayed they wouldn't be caught in between the arms. I couldn't decide what fate was worse—being crushed to death or being shot. The thought seemed to cross every player's mind.

"Please form a single file line. Your time starts now."

A five minute timer flashed on the wall and steadily counted down. The room exploded with anxious yelling and pushing—where you were in this line could easily determine your fate.

Those that were not blinded by panic were strategizing. Was it better to be in the beginning where you were leading the line? Or was it better to be near the back of the line so that you could watch everyone and potentially devise a plan? Should you stick with people you knew or should you split up to have a greater chance of survival?

We all turned towards each other, trying to hide our inner panic. In-ho was the first to speak, "We will be okay! We have a previous winner with us, after all. They wouldn't kill off someone as important as him."

We all nodded and Jung-bae gave him a thumbs up.

You could practically hear Gi-hun cracking under pressure. This was one of the first steps in In-hos plan—make him doubt himself. Put so much pressure on him so that he would have no choice but to buckle under the pressure.

Gi-hun ignored his comment as he was too worried about the game. "We should split into three groups. We will have a better chance of survival in groups of two instead of six."

We all nodded, accepting his plan without a second thought.

"Ill go with Min-ji." In-ho squeezed my hand and I nodded.

"I'll go with 222!" Dae-ho exclaimed and took her hand in his.

"And I'll stick with Gi-hun." They looked at each other with determination. Almost like they knew they would survive this, no matter what.

3:00 left on the clock

"Victory on three?" Dae-ho suggested, and we all put our hands together in the middle of our circle.

"One, two, three..." A deep breath was heard as we shouted in unison "Victory!" For that fleeting moment, we were invincible, ready to take on whatever this game would throw at us.