When All That's Left Is Us

Sae-byeok

Kang Sae-byeok was many things, but she was not stupid. So when a man in a business suit bet her one hundred-thousand won to play a game of Ddakji with him and win she jumped at the chance. While she had never actually played the game before, she knew that a child's game should be an easy win.

"What's the catch?" She asked him suspiciously. While she both wanted and needed the money desperately she was still quite slow to trust people.

"If you lose, then you give me the one hundred-thousand won." She thought hard about it. She didn't have that kind of money. She was lucky if she could buy herself a proper meal once a day but in the end her need for the cash pushed past all insecurity. He asked her to choose either the red or blue folded paper. She quickly chose the blue.

"You can try first." He told her politely as he placed his red piece on the ground. "All you need to do is flip it and the money is yours." She stood over it, holding her folded paper, trying to figure out the best angle to throw it. Any hope she felt was dashed when his paper barley even shuttered as hers hit the top of it.

He picked his paper up off the ground and expertly threw it down towards hers, immediately causing hers to flip over. She looked up to see him smirking at her.

"It seems you owe me one hundred-thousand won." She was getting ready to run when all of a sudden the man's hand crashed across her face with startling force.

"What the..." She began, only for him to cut her off.

"You were either going to run or tell me you didn't have the won." She looked down sheepishly. "So here is the new deal. Each time you lose, you pay me with your body." As soon as the words were out of his mouth she was already walking away from him. "Not in that way miss. If you allow me to slap you when you lose, that will still give you a chance of winning the won. Does this sound doable to you?" He asked.

Her prideful nature was screaming at her to leave. That this man was only trying to make a fool of her. But she saw the cash when he opened his briefcase. She knew it was real. Unless she started to make sacrifices she would never be able to get where she wants to be in life. After a moments pause she finally nodded.

"I thought you would find that agreeable." And so the game began. If anybody asked her in the future she would refuse to admit that she had allowed herself to be slapped over fifteen times before she finally won the game herself. She would take that secret to her grave because Kang Sae-byeok would never show any weakness. She would also never admit how gleeful she felt when she took the money from the stranger's hand.

"You know, there are even more games you could play to win a much larger cash prize." He pulled out a business card and handed it to her. A Circle, Triangle and Square were printed neatly on the front. She flipped it over and saw a phone number. "Call that number if you would like to participate. The slots are filling up quickly so try to make a decision quickly. The cash prize can help you with many of your problems Miss. Saebyeok."

Her head whipped around to him, eyes glaring accusingly only to find he was no longer there. Even more cautious then before she quickly pocketed the card and headed inside the building she had been in front of to get out of the cold.

_

After walking around for about an hour and warming up she decided to buy herself an iced coffee. She hadn't had one for ages she had the money for once. She had only managed a few sips from the heaven in a cup before the sound of yelling caught her attention. The second she looked up she felt someone collide with her, sending both her and her beloved coffee to the ground. The frantic man picked up her coffee and shoved the straw back into it. He got close enough to hand it to her.

"I'm sorry, you okay kid?" He didn't wait for a response however as a group of angry men began running towards them and he took off in the opposite direction. She just sat there for a moment, sad about her coffee but still smirking. Thankfully she had learned how to snatch the contents of people's pockets even under duress. She held up an envelope and looked inside. There was at least four million won inside. She quickly threw away her mangled coffee and left as quickly as possible, not wanting to run into the man again. She headed to her small, hole in the wall apartment in the bad part of town and put the won and card down on the coffee table in front of her. It had been a long day. She would decide her course of action first thing in the morning.

~

Inevitably she tossed and turned all night, thinking about what she could do with all the money she could possibly win. She would finally be able to keep her promise to Cheol. Free her brother from that awful orphanage and get her mother back from the North. With that thought at the top of her mind she picked up the card and quickly called the number.

"Hello?" Asked a voice on the other end of the line.

"Hello." She responded. "You gave me your card yesterday." She could hear him typing at a computer.

"Do you wish to participate in the games?" He asked.

"I do." More typing. He must be taking down her information virtually.

"Wonderful. Name and Date of Birth please."

"Kang Sae-byeok, October 10th, 1997." She sat in silence while he continued to type away.

"Alright Miss. Saebyeok. You are all registered. A car will pick you up at the end of Myeongdong by no later than midnight. We look forward to seeing you. The password is, Red light, Green Light." She hung up the phone and went into the bathroom to wash up.

"Red Light, Green Light." She murmured to herself while looking in the mirror and absentmindedly tracing the scar on her neck with her finger. There was something inside telling her that this was a horrible idea, but she needed to do this. If not for herself then for her little brother. She had promised him time and time again that she would bring their family back together and it was time for her to finally keep her word.

By this time tomorrow, Kang Sae-byeok would be fighting tooth and nail for that cash prize.