pretty flower | 강새벽

025

( 𝗞𝗔𝗡𝗚 𝗦𝗔𝗘-𝗕𝗬𝗘𝗢𝗞 )

"Where's my partner? Bring my partner back here! You motherfuckers!" a voice yelled from the other side of the door we had just come in through. I look behind me, looking for Sun-Hi and the lady, Mi-nyeo. The voice that screamed sounded awfully like Mi-nyeo and I began to panic when I couldn't see Sun-Hi either. 

"Where are the other two?" I ask a guard, who stood there not saying anything. 

"What dreadful bitches. I won't have to see either of their faces anymore." Deok-su chuckled and my blood boils. I turn to face him, everything about me pissed the fuck off. 

"What the fuck did you do, Deok-su?" I snarl, getting into his face.

"I didn't do anything. That crazy bitch, Mi-nyeo decided to jump us. We just got her off of us." 

"What about Sun-Hi, you asshole." 

"A guard was holding her, I think."

"You think? Thinking isn't enough. You need to be fucking sure!"

"I wasn't paying attention to her. But if the bitch is dead, she got what she deserved."

I punch Deok-su across the face and pulled my arm back up so I could do it again, but a hand grabbed my arm. I turn to see the girl who partnered with me. 

"Leave him," she says.

"How the fuck am I supposed to leave him?" I yell and the girl just covers my mouth, pulling me away from Deok-su. 

"You will be better off if you make it out of this alive. There is no guarantee that anything is going on. The guards might have realized there weren't enough materials for the game and the guards could have taken her back to the bedroom." 

I nod my head, trying to treasure myself that nothing was wrong. But I couldn't help but worry. If something had happened to Su-Hi, it would be my fault for not protecting her like I had promised to do. 

All the players, follow the instructions from staff and go to your positions.

The girl lets go of my arm and we stand side by side as the guards begin walking towards different people, nodding and then turning away again, telling them to follow. A man with a triangle mask came up to us and did as the rest of the guards had been doing. 

We follow the guard in silence until we stopped next to a door-like structure. 

Please take one pouch each. 

The guard handed each of us a small grey pouch. We took them and I noticed some people starting to open them.

There are ten marbles in each pouch. Please check how many there are. 

I roll my eyes and open the pouch slowly. Once open, I poured the marbles into my hand, counting them silently. 

In this game, use your ten marbles to compete with the partner next to you. The player who takes all ten marbles from their partner wins. Let me repeat...

The girl looks up at me and I say nothing. I do nothing. I don't blink, move, or even swallow the saliva that sat in the back of my throat. 

You have 30 minutes. Let the games begin. 

The clock starts counting down. I begin walking away from the original spot we had been brought to, leaning up against a wall not too far from the spot. I lean against it, tilting my head back and allowing the air to hit my sweaty neck. 

"This is the biggest tragedy since the Korean War." the girl says as she sits on a set of steps near me. "Right?" 

"What should we play?" I ask, ignoring her questions altogether.