Squid Games: The Rematch

Blind Man's Buff

Gi-hun was laying in his bed, waiting for the next headcount. There was a daily routine of doing it twice a day. Once before a game, and once before all soldiers and players are ordered to bed. Gi-hun sat up immediately once he heard something scratching in the vent above him. Then, without warning, the panel flew off, flying toward Gi-hun's face. He quickly caught it and was prepared to hit whoever was inside the vent.

"Seong...I got you message," a voice said.

Gi-hun slowly lowered the panel to see the face of Hwang. He wore his 78 player shirt, which looked dirty and had some blood splatter.

"Hwang! How'd you sneak in here?" he asked, quickly helping Hwang onto his bed.

"I waited until everyone was asleep before climbing into the vents. It took a while to find the soldiers' area, but I finally did..." Hwang said, sitting on Gi-hun's bed.

Gi-hun noticed that Hwang looked a bit tired. And he seemed to be sweating.

"You don't look too good. Are you feeling okay?" Gi-hun asked.

Hwang looked at him and sighed.
"I'll be honest, I haven't felt much energy since coming here. I'm not sure what's going on. Maybe it's the stress of the games. Or I'm not sleeping enough."

Gi-hun nodded, but his mind went back to that kitchen... Something didn't seem quite right. He made a mental note to go exploring later.

"Do you have any idea of how we'll take down this organization?" Hwang asked.

"We'll need you to win first," Gi-hun said. "Maybe I can come up with a way to give you a hint about the next game if I can talk with one of the soldiers."

Hwang nodded. "Sounds like a plan. I should probably head back before I get caught missing. Keep in touch."

"Wait!" Gi-hun said.

"Yes?"

"Do you know how many players are left?"

Hwang though for a moment. "I think around 200 or less. But I'm not sure. I'll update you once we can meet again."

Gi-hun watched as Hwang crawled back into the vent and into the darkness. He slowly put the vent back into place and closed his eyes.

"Attention all soldiers, it is time for you all to head outside your rooms for headcount."

Gi-hun groaned and opened his eyes. The next games would be starting soon. And he needed to warn Hwang. Or at least give him a hint...

Gi-hun quickly put on his gear and headed outside his room. He leaned slightly towards the soldier who was left of him.

"Do you know what game the players are going to be playing next?" he asked.

The soldier looked at him and shrugged. "Something called Blind Man's Buff. Never heard of it. This should be interesting."

Gi-hun nodded and stood still as the headcount was completed. Shortly after, the intercom came on again.

"Will second rank soldiers bring the players their meals before the next game? It is set to start in six hours."

The soldier who was next to Gi-hun turned toward me. They had a square mask.

"Looks like you have a job to do," they said.

Gi-hun nodded and followed the others towards the room the players were in. There was trays of food lined up outside for the soldiers to take to the players. Gi-hun quickly grabbed the tiny piece of paper and pen and quickly wrote down 'blind man's buff' before discreetly putting it in player 78's tray under the rice. Hopefully Hwang would notice and be a bit more prepared for the game.

Gi-hun entered the room and headed towards Hwang slowly, offering the tray, he watch as Hwang took it and started eating at the rice, which seemed to have an odd white power on them... Hwang suddenly stopped chewing and spat out the bit of paper Gi-hun had written on. He looked up in acknowledgment and nodded. Gi-hun left the area and went back to his room for a few hours until the next game was announced.

"Attention all players, the next game is set to begin in a few minutes, please make your way outside."

Gi-hun got up from his bed and followed the other soldiers outside. It was the same area that they had played tag.

The players slowly walked outside. There were only about two hundred at most. And many of them looked exhausted and were sweating...

"Good afternoon all players. Today's game is called Blind Man's Buff. The rules are similar to that of tag, except the one who is "it" is blindfolded and spun around to get disoriented. Afterwards, the other players call out to them and dodge their tag if they can. If the person who is "it" cannot tag someone within 20 seconds, they will be eliminated. I shall repeat the instructions..."

Gi-hun sighed as the introductions were repeated and then the drawing for the person to be "it" came.

"Player 34. You are "it". Please stand in the middle of the courtyard so one of the soldiers can blindfold you."

The middle-aged looking man slowly walked towards the middle of the area where a soldier wearing a square mask was waiting. Gi-hun watched as he was blindfolded slowly and spun around several times. Afterwards, the intercom came on again.

"You may all begin the game."

The players started to call out to the man, taunting him. As much as he tried to reach, he just couldn't tag anyone. And before Gi-hun could blink, the intercom came on.

"I'm sorry player 34. You have failed to tag a player. You've been eliminated."

Gi-hun didn't want to watch, but before he could look down, he saw that the man had been shot. And from a long distance. He looked behind him, but saw no one.

"The next player to be "it" is player 78. Please come to the center of the courtyard."

Gi-hun watched in anticipation as Hwang was blindfolded and spun around several times. Once he was free to tag someone, everyone started screaming at him and dodging every time he'd try to grab at anyone. Hwang seemed to be out of it, and it somehow worked in his favor because he managed to grab onto a girl that was nearby not paying attention.

"Congratulations, player 78. You may now take a seat at the bench," the voice on the intercom said.

Gi-hun watched as Hwang slowly sat on the bench, looking especially tired. The game went on and Gi-hun heard gunshots. A lot of them. But he distracted himself by staring at Hwang, who was looking down in his hands. After what seemed like a lifetime, the game was pronounced over.

Gi-hun looked over the courtyard and saw several bodies covering it. There was so much blood that Gi-hun could nearly smell the metallic properties. The players themselves were covered in blood too. Gi-hun and the other second ranked soldiers were tasked with collecting the bodies and taking them to the doctor if they weren't too damaged.

Gi-hun found this process to be the hardest to do, but he quickly placed each body that looked to be in decent shape in a clear bag and placed it into a black box and put a lid with a pink bow on it. He pushed the box along with a few other soldiers and took it to the doctor, who took a scalpel to cut open one of the bodies. Gi-hun dashed out of the room before he could get sick.

As soon as he was back in his own room, he removed his mask in relief and laid down onto his bed, staring at the vent.

I wonder what they're serving for dinner? he thought, as he removed the panel to climb up and into the vent.