Killer Addiction - (Squid Game)

Chapter 9 - Partial Mask

Her nerves were shot.
Her head was screaming.
And her heart was choking in the grip of panic.

She turned to see a soldier glancing over his shoulder at her, they seemingly made eye contact.
He must've noticed the sweat beginning to form on her face because he walked over.
The soldier stood towering over her, casting a shadow.

Dae-eun's lungs had forgotten how to function, her breath was ragged and short.
She dug her nails into her palms, drawing droplets of blood as she watched the man dig into his pocket for his pistol.
The girl watched him with undivided attention before he pulled out the object.

The girl lowered her head, hoping death wouldn't be as painful as she thought.
I will see you momentarily, grandma..
She waited and waited, but no ending bullet passed through her skull.

Instead, a gloved hand scooped up the destroyed star and placed down another, unopened case.
Dae-eun was utterly baffled and shaken with shock.
She looked up to see the soldier stuffing the original case into his pocket while turned to the side, so his body camera couldn't see anything.

His masked head darted around, likely looking for any other members of staff to see if they had noticed him.
Dae-eun's eyes were focused on him, confusion and bewilderment still sounding off in her head.
And only one sentence appeared in her head.

Why am I not dead?
Why am I not dead?
Why. Am. I. Not. Dead?!

The soldier walked off without a word, not an explanation, not a 'your welcome,' nothing.
He left the girl to ponder why she was alive, and instead to leave her to check the contents of the case he had replaced the original with.
She crouched beneath the slide's steps so as to avoid the guards and popped off the lid.

Inside was another star shape, no cracks, with three edges trimmed out.
It was half finished, almost like the guard had followed her progress during the game, ready to give it to her should she screw up.
She turned towards the clock.

5 minutes remaining.

Right, I still have to finish in time.
Dae-eun picked up the needle and quickly began trimming out the remaining two edges.
People were beginning to finish now, so she had to be quick.

"Player 111, Pass."
"Player 67, Pass."

The pickpocket finished? What shape did she have?
Dae-eun tried to forget her curiosity and concentrated more on her shape, edging her way along with the needle.
Sweat continued to form and drip down her face, reminding her of her near-death experience just now.

"Player 218, Pass."

Dae-eun recognised the number instantly, turning to look across the field at Sang-woo, where he stood before a guard.
He locked eyes with Gi-hun, looked regretful for a moment, before turning to return to the dormitory.
She noticed the businessman lock eyes with her as he went, possibly looking down at her honeycomb to see her progress.

He offered her one nod before she lost sight of him through the exit.
Another loud bang ended a Player near the slide.
Looking up, she saw a guard practically right next to her, with a smoking gun clutched in his hand.

His stance was different from the one who had spared her and replaced her honeycomb.
Where had he gone?
And who was he?