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They never found out what the old man's name was because he was too shaken to tell them, but it didn't matter because it seemed like only a few minutes passed before Mari and the rest of the group were woken up by the lights turning on, she gulped as she leaned against Sae-byeok and resisted the urge to grab her hand and intertwine their pinkies together. "The third game will begin momentarily." The electronic voice said surprising Mari.
"Follow the staff's instructions and proceed to the game hall." The voice says before repeating it back to them, Mari raises her eyebrow but stands up and holds her hand for Sae-byeok to take which she does but let's go once she's standing.
As she walks down the stairs she raises herself on her feet trying to look for Ji-yeong but her face drops when she still can't find her, but she didn't hear her number be called last night which meant that she was still alive so that was hope that Mari was going to cling to. "Who are you looking for?" Gi-hun asks from behind Mari who was standing behind Sang-woo. Mari sucks her teeth and gulps as she wrestles with the idea if she should tell him or not but she figures that she could sense the probability of him dying are the same chance as hers. "My friend, she's number 240. I haven't seen her in a little bit and I just want to make sure she's okay." Ali who was behind Gi-hun pipes up. "Oh! I saw her the night before last, she seemed to be in alright condition." Mari's shoulders sagged in relief at hearing that her friend was alright.
"Thank you." Mari didn't let on how concerned, the contestants were led into this white room and gestured to go up the stairs. "Welcome to your third game, this game will be played as a team. All players, please divide into teams of ten." The electronic voice said as they were led into the lower part of the white room, Mari pushed her hair behind her ear as she looked around for Ji-yeong but couldn't find her still.
She was pulled out of her thoughts by Gi-hun starting to talk, Mari had to resist the urge to roll her eyes. She didn't know who died and made him leader but he was beginning to get on her nerves. "If the game is played by teams of ten, maybe it's Tail Tag or Why Did You Come To My House. If it's Tail Tag, we need to be fast. If it's Why Did You Come To My House, it's just Rock Paper Scissors. What should we do?" Gi-hun asks looking at Sang-woo who was against the wall.
"We already have an elderly man and two women, so the rest needs to be all men." Mari sighed loudly making sure Sang-woo heard her and bumped her shoulder against Sae-byeok's slightly. "What if they make us play Elastics or Gonggi? Women are better at those." Gi-hun adds making Mari roll her eyes. "That's true, but probability-wise, men are better at most games. We're betting our lives right now. Which side will it be? We just need four more people. Let's split up and bring one each so we can pick." Sang-woo said, Sae-byeok didn't even look at Mari as she pushed past her and started to blend in with the crowd, she looked at the men before walking off to where Sae-byeok went.
Mari sighed as she lost Sae-byeok, she thought about finding someone but decided against it and started to move towards the crowd until she saw Gi-hun starting a circle. Mari held in a gasp of shock when she saw Ji-yeong sitting next to Sae-byeok, Ji-yeong gave her a half wave before scooting over slightly so Mari could sit down. It turned out they ended up being one person short, not only did Mari not bring anyone but the old man didn't bring anyone either. "Who brought you here?" Sang-woo asks Ji-yeong who tilts her head towards Sae-byeok who was sitting next to her. "This one."
"I told you that we're only getting men," Sang-woo spoke in a calm voice which made Mari push her nails into her palm. "Well, this is pretty awkward. Did I join the wrong team? Then I'll see myself out." Ji-yeong scooted back to stand up and Mari started to do the same when Gi-hun stopped the two of them. "Wait, just sit there. We don't know what we're going to play next. We don't have much time either." Gi-hun explains to Sang-woo as he points to the time which is quickly going down. "Well, we still need one more person," Mari says unclenching her hand slightly. "We already look pathetic, who would volunteer? Once everyone finds a team, we'll end up with the person left over."
Before anyone could say anything a voice appears. "I am not a leftover. Boys, I'll grace you with my presence. Consider yourselves lucky. My gosh." Number 212 pushes Mari and Gi-hun over as she squeezes into the spot in between them. "I bet I'm way more useful than these scrawny girls." She looks at the three girls wITH a sneer. "On top of that, I'm good at everything except for the things I'm not." Mari opened her mouth to decline when the electronic voice interrupted her. "Time for team selection is over. All teams, line up at the entrance of the game hall." Mari sighed as she eyed their new teammate. "Wait, we aren't playing here?" Gi-hun asks looking at the team concerned.
Mari rubs her hand over her face before she stands up and Ji-yeong does the same, she gives her a slight smile before giving her an encouraging nod letting her know that whatever happens, Mari isn't alone, not anymore.
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