ANOTHER afternoon wasted of Hyun-Jung sleeping until two, bundled under her blanket and waking up to the sound of her mom cooking away. She must be preparing supper already. The dark brown haired girl figures she should get up and do her usual as she does, drink some tea and then go out for a little walk around the neighborhood.
It doesn't go as planned however when her mom drags her into helping the elder woman cook. She listened, of course, because it was her mother, after all. "Mom... about that money I owe you and dad, I'll do my best to find a way to pay you guys all back. I know that we don't exactly have the best financial stability anymore and--" "Just marry rich at this point. You won't be able to come up with it on your own." Her mom waved her off, avoiding the topic.
The topic had really strained the relationship between her and her parents. So she ignored the whole thing too, continuing on to just cook with her mom and even taste test the food. "I-I need to go." Hyun-Jung suddenly says and her mom looks at her. "Go? Go where? You always leave and don't come back until late at night... You're not doing shady business to get money, are you?" Mother sounds worried and Hyun-Jung didn't want her overthinking.
"No." She says quickly, shaking her head and her mom lets out a soft sigh. "Okay. But come home early this time? Your father was upset how late you got home last time..." The woman says and the teenage girl just nods, grabbing her shoes and her jacket before leaving. She took a stroll just like she planned and came across her old friends. They were all together.
Having fun. Laughing. Smiling. Talking.
She stopped where she was standing and took a deep breath. It's fine. It's whatever. This was my doing. She chanted over and over in her head like a mantra, because just like with her parents, her always asking for money had also strained her relationships with her friends. She always claims she doesn't need anyone. Sometimes she believes it.
Sometimes she sits alone in public places filled with many people, and still feels alone. She sits with earbuds in, music blasting and a heavy heart. Her favourite places were always the train station, the coffee shop near her house or the market near her house.
Today, it's the train station. She made her way down the steps and changed the song, before sitting down. And just like that, sits for hours upon hours on a bench, staring at nothing as trains pass by, stop, people rush out, then speed off. But she never goes on.
She just sits there. Listening to music. Today wasn't one of the usual days as a man sat next to her, looking at her. She ignored him, assuming it was a business man waiting for the next metro. Until he tapped her shoulder and she paused her music, looking at him.
He's dressed in a nice suit, his hair is styled neatly and sat between them is a suitcase, it's closed. The man smiled at her kindly and she just blankly stared at him, not sure how to react or if she should say anything. "Hi. I wanna let you in on a great opportunity to..." He began but Hyun-Jung quickly cut him off, "I don't care." She said, about to insert her earbud back into her ear. "Miss. Would you like to play a game with me?" The man asked him.
She looked back, slightly curious as she looked at the man. He actually looked genuine so she gave him a suspicious look. "What kind of game are you talking about?" She asked, not of just curiosity but genuinely wanting to know.
He's a stranger, but she basically had nothing to lose at this point in her life. It's 8:37 p.m., it's getting a bit dark outside already and here was Chae Hyun-Jung, sitting and talking with a strange salesman man. He opens up the suitcase, turning it around so Hyun-Jung can see inside, "play a few rounds of ddakji with me." He raised two folded paper tiles, one that is blue and the other one is red.
She looked down, seeing the money in the suitcase with the other tiles that were also in the suitcase, neatly tucked away. "Have you played it before?" He asked suddenly and she glanced up. "Ddakji." He added on, explaining what he meant and she simply nodded her head before glancing down at the money once more.
"Each time you win, I'll pay you a 100,000 won."
She didn't wanna believe it at first, staring at the money before looking up. "You're just... gonna give me a 100,000 won for flipping your ddakji?" She asked, raising a brow. "And if I can flip yours, you will give me the exact same amount of money." The man says and she glanced at the folded papers in his hand.
She doesn't have money at all. But the game sounds pretty simple and she has played it before. But still, it's risky, having to pay him 100,000 won if he flips her ddakji over. "You can be the first to play." He said, interrupting her thoughts as she glanced to his eyes.
He seems genuine.
"Listen, I... I'm not saying you're lying, but I-I don't wanna get caught up in some sort of scam. I don't wanna-- uh, nevermind, I'll play." She suddenly changed her mind, deciding not to be hesitant. 100,000 won will be worth it. "So which color do you wanna play as?"
She glanced between the two colors and felt more drawn to the blue one, pointing to it so the man held it out to her. She took it gingerly from his grip and stood up. She waits as the man set down the red tile onto the floor and turned to her. "Go on," he gestured. What the hell did I just agree to? She thought as she looked down at the tile, playing with the blue folded paper in her hand as she took a deep breath.
AUTHORS NOTE
gong yoo in this is so hawt.
anyways here's chapter one <3 i finished writing for my jj fic so i'm gonna finally focus on this fic completely & also update :)
YOU ARE READING
𝟐𝟔𝟎
Fanfiction✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* kang sae-byeok chae hyun-jung had no idea what she was getting herself into when she agreed to participate in the games, but all she knew was she had debts to pay. ❝ money is the reason we exist. ❞ [ fem oc x 067 ] [ squid game ]
