Killer Addiction - (Squid Game)

Chapter 37 - Paving The Road

(A/N: Shoutout to @GojoIsADiva22 for their consistent badgering for me to update lmfao - please leave me alone, I write as fast as I can - enjoy!)

Jung-bae had taken Flying Stone.
That left 001 with Spinning Top.
And Gi-hun with Jegi.

"Team 1 and Team 2, get ready to play."
The pink soldiers had been fixing the first players together at the ankles with black leather bindings, held together by silver padlocks that gleamed under the artificial light.
They were essentially forced to become a super-organism, five brains, five hearts, one goal.

Survive.

"...what order do you think they'll call us up in?" Dae-eun asked. "Player number, or-?"
"We'll go last."
001's matter-of-fact answer made her pause.

How would you know?
"What makes you so sure?" She asked, earning herself a look.
"...well, we've got both the first and last players here numerically... and since they already called the first players up... we must be last."

Dae-eun stared at him.
001 stared back.
The questioning gaze he was giving her wasn't easing her nerves, in fact, it felt like he was plucking them like harp strings, playing with her.

She was the first to look away as they prepared to set the first teams off.
If I watch how they perform, then maybe I'll see some strategies that'll save us time.
Unlike the last games, each team is timed individually, we'll all get a chance to play, and if 001's right about going last, that gives me the most time to work out how to do this fast.

"With that, let the game begin."
BANG.
And they were off at the gun's discharge.

The two teams forged ahead, counting their steps with "One, two! One, two!"
Best to walk with a wide gait, counting every footfall so we don't get confused.
They advanced to the first mini-game, Ddakji, where the worker handed over one folded tile and dropped the other.

All you have to do is flip it.
She watched as the player assigned to the game gave his tile a good-luck kiss before slamming it straight down.
A loud smack echoed in the room as Dae-eun saw it collide, the red tile spinning on its point before flipping over.

She squinted, peering at the method used, after all, this would be her game.
Needs to be a sharp, powerful throw, preferably face-side down rather than a corner to maximise the transfer of kinetic energy.
The more energy, the more the tile will flip.

The team briefly celebrated before moving on, however, the first team wasn't having such luck.
Their Ddakji player had already failed twice, having to bend down to pick it up.
He kept missing.

Dae-eun felt a nudge to her shoulder, turning to see Dae-ho.
"When you're throwing the tile, maybe try focusing on the tile on the floor, it'll help your aim." He suggested.
She perked up at the idea, that could work.

"They're at Flying Stone."
She looked up as Jung-bae's voice reminded her to pay attention, good thing he was paying attention, this was his game.
"Do not step over the line."

She spotted the short white line on the track, squinting as she estimated the distance between the player and the stone set up.
Simple throwing to knock over a stone from a couple meters... shouldn't be too hard, right?
The player assigned bent down slightly before giving his stone a toss.

He missed.
A cacophony of angry and mournful yells filled the room as the team lamented their failure.
"Give me another stone, hurry! C'mon!" He begged.

The worker only pointed forward.
Wait.
...they have to move and get the stone every time they fuck up?

Despite their efforts, the team tripped and collapsed trying to get the stone, revealing the dirt and dust that had stuck to their tracksuits.
"Flying Stone's hard..." 001 muttered, glancing at Jung-bae, "You miss one, and it'll be difficult to recover."
She didn't miss the accusatory tone in 001's voice, not to mention the 'you fuck up and I'll kill you' look in his eye.