When the door slammed shut behind us, silence followed. It was the kind that made your bones ache — the kind that told you someone outside didn’t make it in time.
Jaemin’s chest rose and fell beside me. I could feel the heat of his breath near my shoulder.
“Round one,” a voice echoed overhead. “Completed.”
We weren’t told how many didn’t make it. We didn’t need to be.
Round Two: Three.
The second platform spun even faster, metal grinding beneath our feet as it stopped with a brutal jolt.
“Form groups of three.”
Everything exploded again.
People screamed, pushed, scrambled. I spotted Jun-hee and ran toward her instinctively, but Thanos snatched her by the arm before I could reach her.
“Three, babe. You, me, and Nam-gyu — power trio.” He smirked. Nam-gyu just rolled his eyes but didn’t resist.
Jun-hee looked at me apologetically.
I turned — and Jaemin was there. Always, just there.
Before I could even speak, he nodded. “You and me.”
Then, unexpectedly, Min-su joined us. Face pale, eyes wide. Silent.
I hesitated — and Jaemin gently tugged my wrist. “He needs this.”
We ran. Together.
Between Rounds
Later, in the holding chamber between games, tension hummed in the air like static.
Jaemin sat against the wall, staring straight ahead.
I finally asked, “Why did you help me? In Red Light, Green Light?”
He didn’t look at me. “Because if I didn’t, you’d be dead.”
“I know that. But why me?”
A pause.
“I don't know,” he said, voice low. “Maybe I saw someone who didn’t deserve to die yet.”
His eyes finally met mine. They were sharp, observant — but behind them was something else. Worn-down sadness. Maybe even guilt.
Before I could press further, the loudspeaker cut through the room again.
“Round three: Group of two.”
Round Three: Two
I barely blinked before players exploded into chaos. Fists flew. Betrayals unfolded in seconds. One girl shoved her best friend to the floor to grab someone else’s hand.
Jaemin didn’t move. He just held his hand out to me. No words.
I took it.
We ran. Side by side.
And as the doors slammed shut behind us, something changed. There was a beat of silence — like the air between us had shifted.
Something unspoken. Something dangerous.
Round Four: Solo.
We didn’t need the voice to say it.
When the lights flickered and the final round lit up in blood-red letters — “SOLO” — the room froze.
No partners. No teams. No protection.
Everyone was on their own.
The rotating platform whirred again, slower this time, like it was savoring our fear.
And then — it stopped.
“Run. Only one person per room.”
The stampede was instant.
I darted, breath slicing through my chest like knives. Bodies collided. Someone screamed behind me. Another shoved me hard into a wall, and I staggered—
But Jaemin appeared from the corner of my vision. He wasn’t running toward me… but he was following, just far enough to not be obvious.
I found an open door, nearly tripping as I hurled myself inside.
It slammed behind me.
Dark.
Alone.
Silent.
27 Minutes Later...
We survived.
Not all of us.
They didn’t announce how many were gone. They didn’t need to.
When the remaining players returned to the bunk room, the beds were fewer. The silence heavier. Even Thanos wasn’t rapping anymore.
Jun-hee sat against the metal wall, one hand on her stomach, the other clutching Nam-gyu’s sleeve. The boy didn’t speak. He just stayed there, quiet, keeping her grounded.
Min-su? Eyes red. He didn’t say what happened in his round. He didn’t need to.
Thanos? “That was a bitch of a game,” he muttered, collapsing on a mattress like nothing happened. “Shoutout to my man up there, though. Still high. Still alive.”
He raised an invisible glass to the ceiling. Nam-gyu mimicked it with a soft smirk.
The Air Between Them
Jaemin sat by himself on the top bunk, legs dangling.
I looked up at him. He looked down at me.
Neither of us spoke.
But something was loud between us. Something that hadn't been there before… or maybe had always been there, just now starting to burn.
“Thanks,” I finally whispered.
“For?”
“Not letting me die. Again.”
He shrugged, but his eyes didn't leave mine. “Don't get used to it.”
I let out a quiet breath. “Too late.”
A Note from Red
That night, something strange happened.
As the lights dimmed for lights out, I turned to grab the blanket from my bed — and found a small folded piece of paper tucked under it.
“The next game isn't physical. Watch who you trust.”
No name.
But I knew.
Red.
He was still watching.
Still helping me.
But why?
Later that night, when the lights flickered back on and dinner was handed out, everyone moved slowly — quieter now. You could feel the exhaustion humming under our skin.
The trays were lined up at the front. We stood in line, some limping, some dazed, all silently praying the food wasn’t another test.
When I got mine, something caught my eye. A small note folded beneath the spoon, barely visible.
I unfolded it under the table.
Recommended Partner: Player 456 – Seong Gi-hun9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEvaOP3mEDe
Additional Compatible: Player 222 – Kim Jun-hee9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5rR5Ke614n
Side Observation: Players 218, 087, 333, 999 – stable unit. Avoid dividing.
I blinked. "218" — that was Jaemin. Cho Jaemin.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyppoeJ9PSo
And 230, 125, 124… that was Thanos, Min-su, and Nam-gyu.
I glanced across the room.
Thanos was joking again, tossing a pebble at Nam-gyu’s forehead. “Ow, that actually hurt!” Nam-gyu whined.
“Good, build up your pain tolerance. We're probably dying next.”
Min-su just flinched at the word “dying,” holding his tray too close to his chest.
And next to them… Jaemin. Silent. Watching everything, calculating.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvTInM6IEod
But then his eyes met mine again.
That unreadable gaze. That fragile stillness beneath his armor.
He knew something. I could feel it.
Forming the New Group
Gi-hun slid next to me without warning, biting into the tasteless bread. “You gonna ask what the note said, or are we playing dumb?”
I froze. “You—how’d you—”
“Red’s handwriting. He always adds a little curl to his 5s.”
I blinked. “You’ve seen his handwriting before?”
Gi-hun gave me a crooked smile. “Let’s just say we go way back.”
Jun-hee joined us without a word, setting her tray down and sitting beside me. Her hand went to her stomach again.
“She’s smart,” Gi-hun said quietly, nodding at her. “If anyone deserves to make it out, it’s her.”
I nodded.
So we sat there, the three of us.
Gi-hun.
Jun-hee.
Me.
And across the room, Jaemin still watched.
Still alone.
Final Lines of the Chapter
Later that night, as I lay in bed staring at the flickering lights above, I thought about the note. The whisper of Red’s warning. The way Jaemin hadn’t joined us. The way his eyes always looked like they were keeping something trapped inside.
And then, without thinking, I whispered into the dark:
“Why do I trust you?”
I wasn’t sure who I meant.
Maybe Gi-hun.
Maybe Red.
Or maybe… it was Jaemin.
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