but she survived | sae-byeok x ji-yeong

such a lovely kiss shouldn't be the last

"Now that we have four people in the finals this year, we have decided to put you in teams of two. Player 67 and 240 will be playing together against players 218 and 456," a masked guard informed them.

They were standing in a kind of underground hallway, the walls rough and only a couple of lamps were lighting up the long room. Ji-yeong wrinkled her nose at the muggy smell. She tried not to show, how insane an amount of weight was dropped off of her shoulders when her name was mentioned with Sae-byeok's. 

"Player 67, player 218, player 240, and player 456, welcome to the final game." The guard held out his hand, a small and shiny object placed in the middle of his palm. "Before we begin, we'll flip a coin to decide who plays offense or defense. Please choose a shape. Triangle or square."

"Triangle," Sae-byeok answered extremely quickly. Ji-yeong looked at her a bit baffled. She hadn't even had the time to think the question through yet. 

The coin clanged as it got thrown into the air, flipping multiple times before he caught it in between his palms. Still holding out his arms, he revealed the shape. A triangle. They won and now had the advantage of choosing first. Sae-byeok leaned down to the shorter girl, whispering in her ear. "What should we pick?" 

"I think we're playing squid game? That's not that old-school, I also played it a couple of times when I was a kid." Ji-yeong put a hand to her chin, tapping it lightly while thinking. "I think I won the most while playing offense."

"So, offense is our answer?" Sae-byeok whispered back, receiving a nod as an answer. "Offense," she stated out loud, a shaky breath escaping her lips as she locked eyes with Gi-hun. One of them would have to kill the other. Or be the cause that they would get shot. And the look in his eyes was the worst. He looked so sad and shocked. But also anger was shown in his emotional eyes. She didn't know if it was at her or because he had to team up with Sang-woo, but his stare made her feel so vulnerable. Like a small child that was getting scolded. She didn't want him to die. But she had to win. For her family and for Ji-yeong. 

"Player 67 and player 240 will be playing offense. Player 218 and player 456 will defend." The masked guards all turned around, opening what appeared to be a door behind them. 

Sae-byeok was about to follow the rest, but Ji-yeong was quick to grab her wrist and turn her around. "Sae-byeok," she started out. Her eyes were fixed on the taller girl's full lips, soon returning to her eyes that were staring down at her with confusion. Ji-yeong's head tilted to the side, her cheeks starting to heat up. "Can I kiss you?" 

Sae-byeok looked at her with wide eyes and her mouth hanging slightly open. "Why?" 

"Well, we might die now, you know?" Ji-yeong answered, shrugging her shoulders. "And I just thought, why wait and hope we survive? It's okay if you're not, like, attracted to girls or just don't want to-" 

"I want to." 

Ji-yeong exhaled deeply, a relieved smile appearing on her face. She carefully lifted her hand to caress the girl's freckled cheek, before splaying her fingers out, her little finger holding underneath her jaw. Sae-byeok could, as well, feel her face start to burn, but it was not embarrassment. When Ji-yeong was about to place those rosy, plump lips onto hers, she totally forgot that emotion existed. That basically anything existed other than her. 

And then it finally happened. Ji-yeong had started to slowly lean in, having to guide Sae-byeok's head with her because of the height difference, but it seemed like she might have gotten too impatient with herself when she suddenly changed the pace and captured the girl's lips in such an emotional kiss that Sae-byeok didn't know anything but words could contain that many feelings. Fear. Need. Love. Everything they had felt for each other, they now shared.