HOMEGIRL | Squid Game

III

"Sae-byeok" the girl whispers into the dark room.

Jin-ae is on her bed, half asleep and recounting the events from the day. "What?"

"You wanted to know my name, it's Kang Sae-byeok."

"Oh, well, goodnight Sae-byeok," Jin-ae replies.

"Goodnight."

———

Morning light flows through sheer curtains half-covering a small window. The sun beams right into Sae-byeok's face, making her squint. Jin-ae is still dead asleep, her hand flung over the side of the bed and soft snores escaping her mouth. Sae-byeok quietly laughs at the sleeping girl before standing up and going down the narrow hall to the kitchen.

She searches the light pink cabinets for anything that could be considered breakfast food. She finds some almost-expired bread and eggs, so she turns the stovetop on.

———

Jin-ae wakes up in her bed and almost forgets about what happened until she sits up and it all comes rushing back to her. But, she also smells eggs.

"You made breakfast?" She says tiredly as she enters her small kitchen.

"Yeah, and toast." Sae-byeok says. She is wearing a white sports bra and Jin-ae's black sweats which are hanging low off her hips.

Jin-ae blushes and says, "Thanks," before sitting down at her small rickety dining table. Sae-byeok sets two mismatched plates on the table and they start to eat in silence. "How'd you sleep?" Jin-ae says in between bites.

"Fine."

Sae-byeok finishes her toast quickly, then she starts walking towards the door.

"If you're gonna leave at least take a coat, it's cold out." Jin-ae pushes.

"I'm fine."

"You're not gonna be fine walking around in your bra, Sae-byeok."

In that moment, two brown cards with a circle, triangle, and square printed on them slip under the front door. "What the fuck," Sae-byeok whispers and opens the door. She closes the door and mutters, "I'll take the coat." She picks up the card as Jin-ae takes a coat out of her closet. She hands Sae-byeok the coat, she zips it up, and practically runs out the door, slamming it behind her.

Sae-byeok runs through the unfamiliar neighborhood, trying to look for the person who slipped the note under Jin-ae's door. How did they know she was there? Worried thoughts run through her mind about her mother, her brother, and herself. She runs herself into a wall and falls next to an old green dumpster. She groans and stands herself up. I'll have a few bruises from that, she thinks. Sae-byeok walks towards the nearest street deciding she needs to go see her brother.

After more than a few wrong turns Sae-byeok sees a mob of children playing in the backyard, and her brother all alone on the stone wall. She walks through a gate in the fence and sits down next to him. "How did you get your face like that, did you get into a fight?" She asks. He ignores her and stares silently at the ground. "If you're not gonna talk to me, I guess i'll just go," She says a little harsher. After he stays silent, she stands up to leave.

"Wait."

Sae-byeok looks back at her brother.

"I don't wanna stay here, okay? Where's mom? You said she would come soon, you told me we'd be together, that I just had to wait a month!"

She sits down next to him, and softly says, "Cheol, listen—"

"All the kids told me you lied. They said I'll never leave and...they said I'd get abandoned here." Cheol says with tears brimming his eyes.

Sae-byeok holds him tight and responds, "They're wrong, and mom and dad will be here soon. I swear, okay? I'll make sure that they do. Don't worry. Listen, we'll all live under the same roof next year. I'm your big sis, I always keep my word, don't I?" Her little brother nods as she wipes his tears away. She pulls him in for one last hug before she has to leave. She knows where she needs to go.

A few hours later, Jin-ae is standing by a payphone outside her neighborhood convenience store, twirling the brown business sized card in her hand. She thinks about her mom, and her nieces and nephews stuck in the North. She needs the money for them. But she could die, her conscience tells her. She dials the number on the card.

Mere minutes later, she's walking towards the park she and Sae-byeok walked by when they left the game. She sees a silhouette that looks much like Sae-byeok standing a distance away under a street lamp.

"Hey," Jin-ae says, cutting through the silence, as she walked closer to Sae-byeok.

"You came back, too?"

"Yeah, I realized that I really need the money, as much as I don't want to do this to get it." Jin-ae pauses, then adds: "Where did you go? If you don't mind me asking."

"Nowhere, Jin-ae."

Her name rolls off of Sae-byeok's tongue like leaves dancing in the crisp fall air.

"Ok," Jin-ae blushes. She sighs, her breath is visible in the chilled winter air. "Were you visiting your brother?"

"Yes," she admits.

"How is he?"

"Fine."

"Good."

A silver van pulls to the sidewalk. Jin-ae sees Sae-byeok check that her switchblade is tucked in her sleeve. They climb silently in the back and as the white gas lulls Jin-ae's mind, the last thing she notices is her head hitting Sae-byeok's shoulder.