PAWNS [squid game]

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"If I plug my nose and close my eyes, I can pretend this is soju," Jiah decides.

"I don't think being drunk would help you win the games," Saebyeok reminds.

"It's only in my head," Jiah assures.

A man screams in the middle of the room. Jiah lowers her head from where she had it thrown back and scans the room.

"Who do you think you are?" Number 271 asks Deoksoo and his group.

"Yah," Jiah calls to Saebyeok. "Isn't that the girl that you went to the bathroom with? What was all that about?"

As Deoksoo and the man argue, Saebyeok looks at Jiah.

"What?" Jiah asks.

"I was trying to see if I could figure this place out," Saebyeok answers.

"Find anything?"

Saebyeok shakes her head. "No."

Jiah squints at the other girl, though Saebyeok only turns her head away.

Jiah wonders if she should bring up her weird interaction with the guard.. But, if Saebyeok was hiding things then two could play at that game. Literally.

Deoksoo and 271 begin throwing punches to each other. But, the other man was a lot smaller and weaker than Deoksoo. He was overpowered with ease.

Jiah takes a step forward. She was always ready to fight Deoksoo. She still had suspicions that he and his piss ant crew messed up her place- even if he said that he didn't. Saebyeok grabs her arm before she could go.

"Yah," Jiah scolds.

Saebyeok pulls Jiah to sit down on the steps together.

"You're already on his bad side. Don't make it worse."

"I'm not scared of him," Jiah reminds her.

"He has a team now. You'd get jumped from all sides. It isn't worth it. Some random guy isn't worth it- you don't even know him."

Jiah huffs and Saebyeok releases Jiah's arm. They watch on in silence as Deoksoo beats the man in the middle of the room.

218 steps up to the man once Deoksoo leaves him alone. He wasn't moving.

"Hey, are you okay?" 218 asks the man. "Wake u-"

He pauses and lowers his hand from the man's neck.

"He's dead," 218 tells 456.

"Hey, guard!" 456 shouts. "Someone needs to do something!"

Jiah and Saebyeok glance to each other.

"Isn't that the man that called you a pickpocket?" Jiah whispers.

Saebyeok slowly nods, shoving away the initial shock. "And got into a fight with Deoksoo."

456 storms over to where the guards were still standing by their empty carts. "A person died! That man was killed.. That bastard killed him!"

Jiah takes a slow drink of her soda.

"Player 271.. eliminated."

Jiah nearly chokes on her drink as the announcement floods the speaker.

The sign changes to show a lesser number.. Then, more money drops into the piggy bank.

--

456 approached Jiah and Saebyeok after the fight. He told them that they were welcome to join up with him and his friends in case anything happened through the night. The poor man was confused beyond belief went the girls expressed they didn't trust people- even each other.