𝟐𝟔𝟎

006: Green Light.

    

     AFTER the many gunshots going off, Hyun-Jung knew a lot of people were dead. And she couldn't bare to look behind her. All the screaming. Gunshots. Cries for help. It played in her song like a broken record.

"I will now repeat the rules. You are allowed to move forward when it shouts out Green Light, stop when it shouts Red Light. If your movement is detected afterward, you will be eliminated." The woman said over the PA. "I will repeat the rules again. You can move forward when it shouts Green Light, stop when it shouts Red Light. If your movement is detected afterward, you will be eliminated. With that, let the game resume." The doll's head spings back around. "Green Light." It calls out.

No one moved. Out of fear, but Hyun-Jung can hear the faintest of foot steps. "Red Light." They stop pretty quickly. "Green Light." It turns back around and there goes the foot steps again. Hyun-Jung looked over and saw the old man, 001, she smiles softly when he stopped as the doll said Red Light. When it says Green Light, everyone moved along with the man, including 250 and Hyun-Jung, the girl was still holding onto the boy's arm as they walked.

Each time they heard Red Light, they immediately stopped and a few gunshots went off. "Green Light." They walk and then red light again. Gunshots go off again and Hyun-Jung's grip tightened slightly. "Green Light." 250 reached up to Hyun-Jung's hand on his arm, walking towards the doll again. Not long after, it calls out Red Light again so they quickly stop. Another couple gunshots.

"There's a timer... you think we'll all get shot when it's over and we don't get there in time?" Hyun-Jung whispered to 250. "I would assume so..." He whispers back. "Green Light." They run again. "Red Light." Not long after and everyone quickly stopped but not in time. Some of them got shot. After some time, they got closer and closer to the front.

When they got past the Red Light, Hyun-Jung faced his back towards the rest as she hugged her arms around herself. 250 stood beside her, watching the others with furrowed brows. Once everyone was past the red line and the timer was all done, gunshots fire at the last remaining people as the girl flinched.

Once it was all over, they were taken back to the room they had woken up in where everyone was sitting down, processing what had happened. "250? Are... you okay?" Hyun-Jung whispered quietly to him and he kept a blank stare at the bed behind where she's sitting.

"Yeah... yeah." He quickly nodded and glanced at her. "Are you?" He asked and she glanced around where they're seated. Her eyes meet a girl's. 067. From earlier. She quickly looked back at player 250, nodding her head.

"Sort of..."

The alarm blares as the doors open up and the lights turn on. Everyone got up as the staff members walked in, the eight with the triangles are holding guns but the one with the square isn't. "You have all made it through the first game. Congratulations. You're moving on. I will now announce the results of the first game." The square guy announced.

The screen above displays the number of players flicking down, all the way to 201. "Out of 456 players, 255 were eliminated and 201 players successfully completed the first game." He said as everyone gasped and muttered to one another. Hyun-Jung looked at 250 right away who's staring at the number of players displayed above the nine masked men.

"Mister, please." A woman walked forward before the others, sobbing. "Listen. I'm so sorry." She put her hands together as Hyun-Jung furrows her brows slightly. "I swear I will pay what I owe. I'll do it, I'll pay it all." The woman got down to her knees, begging.

"Please, sir." She sobs. "I have a child." She holds her hand to her chest, "oh! So young, I need to register, and I still need to name my child, sir." She pleaded and cried. "Please, sit, let me leave." She begs and then another woman joined her. "Sir, I'm begging you. Let me leave and I swear I'll find a way to pay it all." That one said as another joins them.

"Let me go home."

"Me too. I can't keep going. Sir, please, I can't go on." She joins their begging, a lot of them so as they clamor over one another, pleading to go home and be let go by the men. "There seems to be a misunderstanding. We are not trying to hurt you or collect your debts. Let me remind you that we're here to give you a chance." The one with the square mask tells them.

"A chance? We play some kids games. And you shoot us. You want us to choose that? That's some chance." A man from the crowd calls out. "We may be in debt, sir..." Another says, bringing his hands together as he sobs. "But that doesn't justify killing us all."

"This is just a game."

"Killing everyone out there was a... game to you, huh?" The first man exclaimed at them. "They were simply eliminated for breaking the rules of the game. If you just follow the rules, you can leave this place safely with the prize money we promised." The square mask guy says as Hyun-Jung glanced around the room.

"Just keep your damn money. I don't care! Let me just go home. That's all I want." A man shouted and Hyun-Jung really understood how they felt. She didn't want anything more than to go home, to the comforts of her home and just go to sleep. "Let us leave. Let us go."

"Consent form clause 1. A player is not allowed to stop playing." Square guy says to them. "Come on! You think you'll get away with this, huh? The police will come. They'll busy in here any minute now. They'll be here since we all disappeared." 119 exclaims, gesturing around. "Yeah." 066 agrees quickly. "And I bet they have everybody's phones tracked here already. Look at all your hostages. You're doomed if you don't let us go!" He shouted.

"We're all dead!"

The masked man raised a gun and shot to the side making everyone scream and duck. 250 pulled Hyun-Jung down with him, covering her as the other men to each side of the leader point their guns towards everyone.

"Consent form clause 2. A player who refuses to play will be eliminated." The masked man simply tells them, threatening them when a man in the crowd stood up. "Consent form clause 3. If the majority agrees to stop playing, the games are allowed to end. Or am I wrong?" Player 218 asked. "You are correct." The masked man answered him shortly.

"So let's vote on ending this. If the majority wishes to leave this place, then, everyone gets to go home, right?" Sangwoo asked and Hyun-Jung glanced to the front. "We will take a vote to decide on the termination of the game." The square masked guy says as all of the players mutter together in relief.

"Before we vote, let me announce the prize money for the game as previously promised." He said and reached into his pocket, pressing a button as the lights turn off. The big piggy lights up as arcade game music plays, and the money comes falling into the piggy.

Everyone watched as the money filled up and the music becomes louder before it stopped. "A total of 255 players were eliminated during the first game. A hundred million won is at stake per person. Therefore, 25.5 billion won of prize money has been accumulated so far." The man said as Hyun-Jung watched the money with wide eyes and ideas fill her mind.

First, pay off every single member of her family and friends, buy a new house for her parents, buy a plane ticket out of Korea. To anywhere tropical where she can go swimming. "If you wish to give up on playing, the 25.5 billion won will be sent to the bereaved families of the late players, 100 million won each. However, you will return home empty-handed." The man said as the woman with the child from earlier raised her hand. "Uh, sir... So then, if we can complete all six games, how much do we get?" She asked and Hyun-Jung wondered the same.

"Since there were 456 players, the total prize money is 45.6 billion won." At that, Hyun-Jung looked at player 250 at her side who immediately looked back at her. "And with that, we will now begin the voting."

AUTHORS NOTE
so basically player 250 is my boy now. i claim him and he is the lesbian protector because he loves hyun-jung despite just meeting her and not knowing her 😭