Lucky Number 444

Game Over

The two contestants who passed the games were then blindfolded, tied up and stowed on a limousine on a boat back to mainland.

The money was theirs.

But at what cost?

"You should celebrate," said the Front Man in his normal voice. "That was quite the game there."

"Why? Why did you do it? How can you?" Gi-Hun asked dryly.

"You bet on horses. It's the same here, but... we bet on humans. You're our horses. I did not expect you to finish your race. Her, yes. But you? Not so much."

Shortly after, the car was filled with gas, rendering both Gi-Hun and Sae-Byeok unconscious. Hours passed until they reached the city, in which they were stowed on the sidewalk where a preacher untied the blindfold and unbound the rope from their wrists and ankles.

At that same moment, they regained consciousness and helped themselves up where they both spat out their credit cards from their mouths. From there, they made their way to an ATM and uncovered their bank accounts which had accumulated enough money to pay off debts and rescue Sae-Byeok's mother and brother.

"Come on. Let's get a drink." Gi-Hun suggested as he extracted a money note to purchase themselves drinks.

She might not have wanted one, but she sure as hell needed one. The nearest bar was a few blocks away and added to the fact that it was raining again, the two pulled their heads up, Gi-Hun for another reason entirely when they walked through a market.

A woman called his name, stopping them in their tracks. Approaching them was a woman well into her seventies, clearly with time to waste judging the time of night that it was and yet she was still working.

She began to ask about her son, Sang-Woo and why her son's best friend looked so terrible. The older woman kindly gifted him some food to deliver to his mother. But upon being reminded of his mother, Gi-Hun felt even more dead inside, fearing the worst.

When they arrived at Gi-Hun's favourite pub, the two settled down at a table and drank in silence, mourning those who'd died in the games.

"What will you do now?" Gi-Hun asked.

Sae-Byeok shot her eyes up then back down at her drink. "Get my brother, find a home, get my mother down here in the South."

"You have somewhere to stay?"

Sae-Byeok answered quickly, knowing that she had to go back to the place where her love life was tainted because of her foolishness. Neither stayed at the bar long before they decided to part ways. Gi-hun was understanding as they both needed some time alone.

When Sae-Byeok arrived at (Y/n)'s old apartment, she stood outside the front door and reached into her pocket to retrieve her pocket knife. But she remembered that she lost it in the huge fight back in the dormitory.

What was weird was the smell of food sneaking from underneath the door. Sae-Byeok knelt down on her hands and knees and got a stronger scent of food. She then gave an attempt at checking to see if the door was unlocked.

To her surprise, it was.

No sound was made when Sae-Byeok entered the apartment. Further ahead down the hall, the shower was running and the television was on - a children's station by the sound of how cringe the voices of the hosts sounded to appeal to the younger audience.

Sae-Byeok found nothing handy to use as a weapon, so she relied on her wits to keep herself alive and with the upper hand as she peeked from around a corner and noticed a child sitting in front of a couch watching the television while a baby resided in its crib.

The lack of running water made Sae-Byeok's concerns heighten as she crept past the living room and rotated her body to turn the corner when the bathroom door opened. Without a second's thought, Sae-Byeok lashed out at the resident when she was kicked away, causing her to stumble over.

The resident then acted in self-defence and rushed back into the bathroom and retrieved a small weapon before acting defensively, one hand holding the towel to keep their body covered and the other holding a knife.

"HEY! Hide yourselves! Get your brother and hide!" The person yelled, revealing a feminine voice.

Sae-Byeok paused to register the voice when the person failed to regard just who broke into their home when they lunged their knife hand at her. Sae-Byeok jumped back, barely dodging the knife from puncturing her chest before she grabbed that arm and pushed them against a closed door where their hair half-hid their faces.

"Oh my God... Sae?!" The person exclaimed, ceasing their struggles.

The skinnier woman froze, now realising that her (Y/n) was alive. (Y/n) was alive! Sae-Byeok clapped her hands on the woman's cheeks, fingers moving hair away from obscuring the woman's features she got a clear view of her face.

Their lips slammed together to fully register the fact that both lovers were finally reunited. What sounds of struggles became sounds of passion and happiness, the child exited the room and peeked around the corner to see two women kissing passionately.

"Hey, (Y/n), is it safe to come out now? I want to go back to my show now," said the young boy. "Sae? Is that really you?"

"Cheol!" The black-haired woman exclaimed and ran to hug her brother.

(Y/n) made her way over to the closet and retrieved an infant, cradling them in her arms, right against her chest so that her towel did not fall off. But then, Sae-Byeok's smile turned upside-down when she stood inches away from her (Y/n) and grabbed tightly the nook of her neck.

"Hey, what's wrong? Let go of me, Sae, you're hurting me!" (Y/n) cried and held onto the child with one arm while the other tried to pry her hand from her neck.

It was there that (Y/n) looked into her lover's eyes and saw that her eyes were glistening tears. She then thought back to the last time they were in that position and her frown became heavier after remembering the suffering she put her through.

"I-I thought I lost you. I thought you were dead. And you were faking it this whole time?!" Sae-Byeok cried as she broke down in front of her girlfriend and her brother. 

"Hey, I-I didn't know what they would do. I thought I was going to die, but... they had different plans. They let me live. They saw mercy. So they helped me fake my death and I just disappeared. You gotta believe me, Sae." (Y/n) whimpered, fearing that she would be rejected just like last time they had a big fight. 

"You expect me to believe that?" She questioned coldly. 

"Don't... don't do what I think you're going to do." 

Sae-Byeok paused, considering her next course of actions. Was she going to throw (Y/n) out for breaking her heart again, or will she decide to let it all go?