EGOIST (Sang Woo x Fem!OC) [COMPLETED]

15

Everyone woke up with a sudden jolt, Gi-hun nearly falling off Sang-Woo's lap, as the music began to play the same sickening tempo of The Blue Danube, and the sight of 001 up and awake with seemingly no sleep surprised the rest of them.

"Did you stay up the whole night?" Hae Young asks him. The older man just turns to her and nods softly.

"I was afraid they might attack us again." He says timidly. "So I decided to sit and stand guard."

"You must be tired then." Gi-hun turns to him. He looked tired, but more worried than anything else.

The day begins with no mercy, from waking up with aching lower backs, and the sudden buzzer as pink guards fill in the room once again. No breakfast, this time, just the announcement of the next game. It was all too vague and sudden, but neither of the players questioned anything as they followed the lead of soldiers out into the winding corridors into a new room. All-white room, fluorescent and stark. The space was wide, and the walls curved up from the floors. It was another strange piece of art in this morbid place that invoked this strange feeling from Hae Young. Descending down the stairs, Gi-hun turns and asks her, "What do you think we're playing next?"

"I don't know." She tells him. "Tag? Elastics?"

This room was stark-white, empty, with little to obstacles for a game of hide and seek, or anything else she could think of.

All the players spread throughout the room.

"This game will be played as a team. All players, please divide into teams of ten."

The speaker repeats the instructions as the digital timer overhead begins. All players had ten minutes to form their groups. Hae Young looks around to see 101 already forming his.

"If the game is played by teams of ten, maybe it's Tag Tail, or Why Did You Come To My House. If it's the former, then we have to be fast. If it's the latter, it's just Rock, Paper Scissors." Gi-Hun turns to everyone. "What should we do?"

"We already have an elderly man, a girl, and... Well..." He reluctantly refers to Hae Young.

"My hand is fine." She seethes. "It doesn't make me any weaker, you know. Besides, it's shallow. The blood's already clotted up."

"Look, just look for a few more people. If possible, recruit those who look strong. After the timer, we'll all meet back here." Sang-Woo says, and with his instructions, they all spread out. Hae Young, however, stayed with him.

"Do you know what the game will be this time?" She asks him.

"No." He says rather honestly. There was an air of fear laced with his voice. "There's nothing to help me figure it out."

"Tag, maybe." She suggests.

"Not even close." He looks around. "This place is too small for tag."

He glances down at her cut hand.

"Is your hand really okay?"

"For the last time, yes." Hae Young huffs. "And no, it won't hinder us from the game, alright?"

"That's not what I..." Sang-Woo looks away. "Never mind."

*********

101 yells something incoherent, 212 is thrown to the ground. All forms of discussion were interrupted by the scene that unfolded before them. Already, Hae Young feels the second-hand embarrassment as 101 spat on 212. Everyone stops for a moment to watch. All eyes are on both of them.

"God damn it you're so damn clingy." He hisses at 212. "And don't call me oppa. Call me that one more time and I rip that fucking mouth off!"

Everyone watches as 212 rises from the ground, her demeanor changing drastically in the split second. Though it was not at all shocking, 101 scoffs at her.

"Son of a bitch." She finally seethes.

"Finally showing your true colors." He laughs.

The two stand together face to face, menacing and seething in their stances. 101 looks her up and down pathetically.

"Jang Deok-Su." She spat his name like it was venom. "You scumbag."

"I told you that I'm going to kill you if you betray me." she taunted.

"Well, I'm so scared Miss Han Mi-nyeo." He smiles cockily. "Good luck with your game today, okay?" He says, patting her cheek before leaving.

Down to three minutes, everyone returns to the spot with three new recruits. Sae-byeok returned with 240, Ali returned with 276, Gi-Hun with 244, and 001 returned empty handed.

"We're one person short." Sang-Woo says, looking around, everyone already had their teams. "Are you sure you asked everyone?"

"I'm sure. Some of them didn't want to join." Gi-Hun tells them.

"Are you serious?" 244 curses. "There are three women and an old man in this team. No wonder no one would choose to join us!"

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Hae Young turns to him.

"Do you really think we're going to win against the rest of those teams?" He gestures to everyone else; teams that were mainly male-dominated. Hae Young scoffs.

"You don't even know what we're going to play yet."

"Does it matter? Men clearly are the ones in advantage here. What if we end up having to race, or use our strengths--"

"--We can try and race right now and I'm sure your slow, fat ass would lose the first round--"

"--Alright, that's enough." Sang-Woo stops both of them. 240 stifles a laugh at the two. "It doesn't matter now. Everyone has already got their teams. What we need to do is find one more member before we're left with the leftovers."

"Hey, I am not a leftover!" 212 yells, approaching the group. Hae Young curses under her breath.

"Boys, I'll grace you with my presence." She announces proudly, taking the space between Hae Young and Sang-Woo. "I bet I'm way more useful than these scrawny girls." She points to the two kids. "On top of that, I'm good at everything except for the things I'm not."

The digital timer rings.

"The time for selecting a team is now over. All teams line up at the front of the game hall."

She let out a conniving smile.

"I guess you are stuck with me."

"Wait," Gi-hun quips. "We're not playing here?"

Sang-woo sighs, a curse leaving his breath.

From their spots, everyone stood, following instructions of pink soldiers as they formed lines for their teams behind the yellow doors that would take them to their next doom. Hae Young takes a quick glance around everyone, nervous stares and subtle fidgets. She notices the unnerving confidence 101 had with his cronies, almost as if he knew he was going to win.

She turns behind her, Sae-byeok looking equally nervous. They briefly exchange glances before Sae-byeok follows Hae Young's gaze back to 101. "Something's not right." Hae Young whispers to the kid.

"He already knew what team to choose, and which one to throw out almost as if..."

"Like he knows." Sae-byeok finishes her sentences.

But then, the yellow doors open before them, each team brought into the new play room. Two towers presented themselves on each side, tall and towering them by hundreds of feet. Hae Young did not have to calculate it, she already knew it was going to be a deathly drop. There was a guillotine at the center, a rope that extended on each side. It didn't take her long to realize what that next game was. Her heart sinks to the pit of her stomach. Their next game was Tug of War.