12 | mingle

Of course as predicted, once he got to the stairs, he was already complaining.

"What's so funny about this? This a serious issue, I'm gonna die from walking up these stupid stairs just to a game. What if I had asthma? Would they invent elevators?" She only kept laughing.

"You're so dramatic, it's not that bad. Don't you walk up the stairs at school?" Seun-jin rolled his eyes, "Okay but like, that's different. Those stairs have an end these feel like never ending."

"Fair enough." She shrugged.

Once Seun-jin walked up the last step it felt like running into the stupid ribbon when you win first place in a race and dramatically sighed, "I can already hear the music thank goodness."

Jun-Hee, behind him sighed. "You're so annoying and dramatic, it's not that serious." She rolled her eyes, "What's that?"

It was a round platform large enough for all players. Seun-jin eyes sparkled at the scene and turned to Jun-Hee, "It reminds me of those things in like those parks... it was a uh.." He looked down and in thought.

"A carousel?" He instantly looked up, "Exactly! I used to love those things like a lot a lot. Every time I got on one and they had little horses too. I really do miss my childhood, a shame I grew up too fast to really enjoy it."

Now she knew why he was so excited when he saw the scene, sometimes he always acted childish because he just wants to heal his inner child, another part that it's always what he got told from other people, he never cared until it was his own blood telling him.

—

"Why do you act like this?" His mom yelled at him, he never knew what he did so wrong.

"Like what mom?" He tilted his head in confusion, "Like a fucking child that's what! Always crying over nothing! You're...."

"But mom, I am a child." He was only Six at the time, what could he do?

"Don't call me mom anymore, I don't wanna be associated with you. Your dad left because it was all your fault, I was pregnant with you, and he left me and ruined me, it's all your fault."

"But—"

"I hate you." She shut the door and left, the last time he ever saw his mom. She hated him but he still loved her no matter what, he always had such a big heart but no one cared for it.

"So then why would you ever raise me, name me?" His back against the door with his stuffed animal, from now on he was alone.

"Stupid nerd, did your parents disown you or something? No wonder all your time is always placed into learning useless things like these."

"That's not the reason, shut up. What would you know? You're the reason food has prices."

"He learned how to talk back! Did you do that with your mom too? Or do you not have one?"

"You wanna know I cheated? Because you don't act your age, you're immature."

—

Jun-Hee waved her hands in front of Seun-jin to snap him back to reality, "Hey, hello, are you there? Wake up you, we have a game to play." But it didn't work so she pinched his hand hard, really hard. "That shit hurts you know!"

"You zoned out, is something wrong? I almost saw a tear run down your face." She looked at him with a raised brow, "Huh? Oh, it's nothing. Don't worry, just really happy is all.."

"Welcome to the third game players. The game you will now be playing is Mingle, once the platform stops spinning a random number will be called, you have 30 seconds to gather those number of people and enter a room."

Seun-jin overheard Jung-bae talking, but the thing is he was talking so loud, well that's what I means when you have a friend to talk to about. "Oh this game? We played something similar like this on school trips." Dae-ho nodded, "But instead of hugging we go into the rooms."

He leaned out of the conversation focusing on something else as Gi-Hun turned to him and Jun-Hee who had a hand on her stomach, "Both of you, stick with us alright?" Both of them nodded and looked at each other.

But Seun-jin noticed that Myung-gi was next to him too, and he spoke. "So, you're the one she chose? And you're dating again?" He started his bullshit again, ragebait.

"Does it really matter? I could literally die here, I don't think it does. But i think you do love staring at my face for some reason, mind your business will you? Start holding yourself accountable for being a bad boyfriend and father, not anyone else that can treat her better. And at the end of the day, it was still me, so shut your mouth."

Before he could reply the music played and the platform started spinning, Jun-hee held his hand as he was still glaring down Myung-gi like a fly on the wall he was plotting to kill. Then suddenly it stopped along with the music the Pa speaker called out the first round of people.

"Ten." Everyone stormed off the platform, pushing each other and panicking. Seun-jin listened to Gi-Hun, if he was gonna trust someone else too it might as well be someone who knows what they're doing.

"How many are you?" Gi-Hun asked another group, "Four, you're five we need one more." Gi-Hun quickly ran and came back with 044 who was terrified for her life standing alone.

"We have ten let's go!" 001 yelled as Jun-Hee squeezed his hand tighter, at the final second Seun-jin locked the door and moved back to where Jun-Hee was.

"You're all alive thanks to me!" 044 yelled out, Seun-jin jumped a little and whispered to Jun-Hee, "Did he not just save her? Oh gosh this lady is crazy too, absolutely not."

She then turns to Gi-Hun with a haunted smile on her face, "So there's a reason you lived longer than you were destined to, there's a reason why you were brought here." She then looked at Jun-hee who was next to Seun-jin, hiding behind him, 044 smiled, then looked at him.

"Seeing something that you like here? I get it I'm good looking, but don't look at her, it makes her uncomfortable, I don't like witches, especially ugly ones, so please do look away." She smiled and nodded looking away, "Ew."

The doors opened and the platform that was once clean was dirty with blood. Obviously he wasn't expecting anything different from Red Light Green Light and Six legs but it reminded him of something he enjoyed a lot in his childhood.

He stood next to Jun-Hee again, as Jung-bae, came up, "Hey, Team! Sorry, I got taken away unfortunately, but I'm back here." Seun-jin patted his shoulder. "Nice to see you again." The platform started to spin once again, then stopped. "Four."

Being a group of five, one had to go. "I'll go." Gi-Hun volunteered, but Seun-jin stopped him from continuing on, "Don't worry, I'll go."

He found Myung-gi standing like an idiot in the middle and decided to take his hand and run to an open room with 2 other people inside and locked the door at the last 15.

"Thank—Why'd you help me? Where did you leave her you fucking asshole?" Myung-gi slammed Seun-jin against the wall. Seun-jin punched him in the nose making him stumble back. "Shit that fucking hurt.."

"What do you think you're doing? I don't think anyone else would've chose you, and I have a team she's completely safe with. But I can't say the same about you, be grateful yeah? I saved you, I didn't need to." He held out his fist for a fist bump.

"You gonna bump me back or what? Don't leave me hanging or I'll be the only one hanging." Eventually they both shook on it to leave everything behind them and just be casual friends, well only one of them. "Thanks for helping me, I guess you're not as terrible." He said as the door opened again.

"Stupid."

Seun-jin walked right behind him as he spotted Jun-Hee looking around anxiously, he smiled mischievously before he had walked up behind her before tapping her shoulder.

He expected her to be kind, you know maybe a hug or something, but got the complete opposite, a horrible punch to the stomach, he coughed. "You fucking dumbass, why would you do that? You're stupid. Listen if you die, I'm not visiting your grave."

"I'm sorry ma'am." Eventually, he did get a hug from her, but the punch did hurt. "Sorry, I just had to help someone out. I'm a lifesaver, if i hadn't found someone else then they would've died."

"You think too highly of yourself, don't die for strangers you don't know."

"Three."

He made sure Jun-Hee got to a room first before looking for Myung-gi who was standing around clueless before taking him to the same room with Jun-Hee closing the door and locking it. "Saved your ass again, will I have to do it again?"

"No one told you to." He sighed, "But you needed it, just say I saved your life twice bro, are you just shy? It's okay man, I used to be like that." He put his arm on his shoulder.

"No dude, stop. You're so weird." Seun-jin rolled his eyes, "Okay then, if you can't do it now just thank me later my good friend, it's bromance, unless you're gay, I'll find you a boyfriend." He patted his back before going on the platform again. "Where did that come from?"

"You guys are cool now?" Jun-hee elbowed him, "Um, I guess you could say that. But he probably still dislikes me, who cares? Not me. And still, to be honest I don't like him, I want my money back that was supposed to be for retirement!"

"You can't retire now, maybe when you're sixty years old you can." Seun-jin scoffed, "Listen, I'll find a way, no one hates work more than I do."

"Two."

Before Seun-jin could get to Jun-hee Myung-gi had got her first, he looked around the room for someone else, at first he thought he was just seeing things, there's no way that could be Aera, right? The last 10 seconds he ran over to her grabbing her hand. "Hey, leave me alone!"

The both of them entered the room, Seun-jin closed the door, it had accidentally landed a hard hit on his hand which caused him 10x more pain than his twisted arm. He sighed in frustration.

"Shit, not even the left hand?" He cursed underneath his breath as he turned around to Aera to look at her surprised expression panicking, "Get the fuck out now."

"But you took—"

"Not you, him." Aera turned behind her to see the man panicking, Aera almost screamed at the top of her lungs, "Yah, Park fucking Seun-jin do something or we're going to die!" Seun-jin walked up towards the man, his hand around his throat, but that wouldn't be able to kill him in a max time limit of 10 seconds.

Seun-jin punched the guy in the stomach and kicked his leg so that he would fall, once he was on the floor Seun-jin wrapped him in a headlock Aera watched him as the timer went down to zero, and his head finally snapped.

Aera sighed of relief and looked at Seun-jin. "Seun-jin? Are you okay?" She saw as no expression remained on his face, watching the man lose the spark in his eyes, for once she had actually felt bad, she went over and hugged him, his head resting gently on her chest as he was still looking at the man's lifeless body from the side of his eye, "Well, we're alive now aren't we? Thanks to you, nice seeing you again Seun-jin."

Seun-jin and Aera walked out together, on the other side of the room he saw Myung-gi try to attempt another conversation with Jun-hee who was ignoring his existence, then Jun-hee looked at Seun-jin with a puzzled look, looking at the girl behind him who was smiling and touching his hair before she turned to her, smiling.

"Aera...?"

"Who is that? Hey you're looking at him again?" Jun-hee didn't pay him any mind, Jun-hee continued to stare at Aera before walking off to the dormitory, Seun-jin followed behind her.

"Aera." Jun-hee turned around to him only to see him crying looking down, she figured that she'd just ask the question later.