TWO Crack Baby
YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU WANT
MINSEO WISHED she could have stayed talking to her uncle forever. For the past three years she had been praying of seeing him, even if it was just a mere glance, but now she had him in-front of her, safe in the warmth of his tight hug. Nevertheless, Minseo's prayers went deaf in the ears of God as Gi-hun slowly pulled away, the sound of a game-like, almost Pac-Man themed music began thrilling through the dimly lit room.
Minseo turned to the noise, eyes widening as they followed up towards the ceiling. Above her glowed a glorious piggy bank, illuminated by a yellow hue that emphasised a sacred shine. Minseo blinked, "What is that?"
A voice from the crowd cut off Gi-hun before he could answer. "What's the total prize money at the end?"
Minseo logically put the pieces together. Clearly, the piggy bank was to hold the contents of the reward post winning the games. Easy enough, she thought mindlessly. From behind her, Gi-hun anxiously gazed between the piggy bank and Minseo's hopeful face.
The masked guard's voice was dominant as it echoed over the many players, with his words their excitement growing uncontrollably. "The total prize money is 45.6 billion won."
"Did you hear that?" Minseo whispered eagerly, lightly hitting her uncle on the shoulder as excitement coursed through her jittery body. "45.6 billion won. That's absurd! We can buy pay off our debt, get Ga-yeong into the best college, and buy a mansion together! It sounds surreal, impossible even."
Gi-hun's eyes clouded with a cryptic emotion that Minseo could not take notice of due to her mad elation. Pity? Guilt? Disappointment? In all honesty, Gi-hun didn't know either. As Minseo listed all the possibilities of what they could do with the prize money, a slight flicker of hope skimmed through Gi-hun's rotting heart, alighting a brief glimpse of joy for what could come from the next six days. But ultimately, his thoughts would lead back to all the what ifs ━ What if she didn't make it out alive? Or neither did he? Though Gi-hun wasn't entirely focused on himself anymore, his main concern was Minseo, her girlish joy that made him smile and the bitterness which had grown over the past few years. He would make everything good again, he told himself surely, he had no other option.
As the mask guard continued explaining the division of the money and briefly mentioned the first game the contestants would endure, Minseo grinned eagerly towards Gi-hun.
"This is so thrilling. I've never felt this on edge about something, but in a good way!" Minseo laughed youthfully, her face radiating with anticipation. "The voting factor threw me off a little ━ if we're only here to make money, why would we want the games to end?"
Gi-hun swallowed raggedly, his faux grin faltering at Minseo rhetorical question.
Gi-hun would never say Minseo harboured any flaw or imperfection. In his opinion, Hyeon Minseo was one of the utmost perfect people on this planet. Others, such as his beloved daughter and mother, also came into this statistic━Sure, they're all family, but he's just being truthful! One of Minseo's most admirable factors would be her intelligence. Her creativity exceeded her intelligence, also aiding it in coming to impossible conclusions and solving ridiculous equations.
However, in this moment, Gi-hun cursed every inch of intelligence that flowed through the bright bright of his niece as he watched, devastatingly, her face fall with realisation. It was so sudden━the change of her expression simply couldn't be put into words, even the most prestigious of poets wouldn't be able to describe the unmitigated fear which washed over Hyeon Minseo's face like a bath of ice water.
"These━These aren't just games, are they?" Minseo's teeth gnawed at the skin of her lips addictively, a nervous habit she had since young. "We're not here to just play Yutnori or Juldarigi. It would make no sense, not for that amount of money. . . Oh my God━"
Minseo gaze filtered around the oblivious contestants, her eyes filtering from each hopeful face to another. Suddenly, Gi-hun spoke from beside her, stepping down the stairs to stand in-front of her.
"After game one, if we vote to go, then the prize money gets divided among us?"
Minseo gulped as the guard confirmed. Gi-hun looked back at Minseo, who stared with an emotionless face. His watch drifted from her face to something above her, and as she turned too, Minseo found herself staring into a security camera. She felt watched, as if this was purposeful, as if the controllers of her destiny had driven her to this exact spot so she could finally come to the conclusion that she had totally, entirely, most certainly fucked. And whoever was behind them cameras knew, from the parting of her lips and the narrow of her eyes, Hyeon Minseo knew what was to happen and she would not fall victim to their vendettas.
"If you wish to participate in these games," the guard announced. "Please sign this consent form."
Unconsciously, Minseo found herself standing in a line, ready to sign her life away. In the line beside her stood her uncle, whose eyes nervously jerked from her to the line as it lessened by the people every other minute.
Minseo was just about to speak when a voice interrupted. "Yo, Miss! I'm liking your hair━We're twinning. Pink and purple, brother and sister."
Minseo turned around, brows furrowed as she faced a boy a little older than herself. Sure, he was right. His hair was boyishly spiky and painted a cool purple, his ears decorated with silver rings and nails coloured all different bright hues of red, blue and green. Tattoos traced his skin, from his wrists to his neck, exuding a naturally cool aura from his smug figure as he stood before Minseo with crossed arms and a puerile smirk.
Minseo blinked, his face eerily similar to late of her brother. The visions of her brother's face faded in and out, placing itself upon the unnamed man's body before dissolving and leaving the purple haired man standing. Minseo cleared her throat.
"Thank you," Minseo smiled girlishly. "We are matching, aren't we? I've always wanted purple hair. I think that's what I'm going with next."
"And I've always wanted pink. It would really bring out my complexion, would it not?" He grinned, messing with his hair. "I'm sure there are some doctors in here. Let's see if we can schedule a hair transplant."
Minseo laughed, shaking her head. She eyed the players around her, her eyes settling on one a few lines over. "Him, right there. He's a doctor."
He followed her stare, confused to her certainty. "And you know that how?" He questioned. "Don't tell me that's your ex. . . Or your dad."
"Neither, thankfully," Minseo nudged him, eyebrows raised. "I can tell from a few things. First, look at him. He's dressed in the same clothes as the rest of us, but somehow looks more put together, clean, as if the clothes were made for him specifically. Earlier, I heard him talk to Player 100 when he was complaining about his posture. He said that he's putting pressure on his spine and it's causing too much strain."
Her newfound friend looked at her with wide eyes, dumbfounded. "Let's see if your right," He straightened himself up, cupping his hands over his mouth as it mindlessly shouted across the room. "Sir! Excuse me! Who's a doctor in here?"
Her nameless friend could only laugh breathlessly as the assumed suspect raised his hands hesitantly. "Cool," He responded. "Thanks!"
"That's sick!" He nudged her. "How'd you do that?"
Minseo shrugged. "I'm good at reading people," Minseo replied truthfully. "Too good, almost. Ruins the fun of getting to know someone because I can kind of expect everything they're going to say."
"Okay━Okay, so what am I?" He asked slyly, grinning as he posed.
Minseo gave him a one over. "You're as easy as they come. Rapper."
His grin fell, as did his crossed over arms. "Come on. What gave it away?"
"The way you speak. It's almost always in a flow of some sorts, like you're trying not to rap or rhyme what you're saying. Your ego and confidence exceeds any other possible career, every rapper has too much self-confidence."
"Well, I'll take that as a compliment," he said smugly. "I'm Choi Su-bong, though most commonly known as Thanos."
Minseo laughed, eyeing him. "Commonly known?" She mocked playfully. "Sorry to say I've heard neither of your names before."
Su-bong, or Thanos, faked offence, placing his hand on the right side of his body. "My heart!" He exaggerated. "Wait━" his hand quickly swapped to the left side of his chest. "━My heart! You'll be forgiven if you tell me your name."
"Minseo," Minseo smiled softly. "Hyeon Minseo."
"Calm and clever," Su-bong hummed. "That's what your name means. Yeah, I can see that━fits quite well."
"Well, thank you," Minseo was to continue before the guard before her spoke. "Next, please."
Su-bong gave her a gentle push, encouraging her to step forward as he took note of her hesitation. Minseo looked to the line next to her, realising Gi-hun was no longer there. She looked around quickly, only to find him standing not too far away, staring with sad eyes. Minseo was stuck in place, unable to move her feet. Though with the subtle, soft nod given by Gi-hun, Minseo took the pen in hand and signed her name to the paper.
Her heart heavy and mind racing, Minseo was oblivious to everything around her. So far she had been struggling enough without her glasses, and now with the hundreds of thoughts clouding her vision, Minseo was struggling to see where she was going━both metaphorically and quite literally.
Minseo would soon be given a harsh wake up call as she collided into a significantly larger figure at full force. She almost fell to the floor with the sheer strength of the collision, however she was soon caught by the unknown force.
"I'm so sorry!" The force, who had been identified as a man, apologised profusely. A sense of genuine worry and concern etched his voice, his words rushed as the tumbled from his lips. "I wasn't looking where I was going, and there's so many people in here, and you're really short━but it was my fault! I am really sorry."
Minseo blinked away the blurriness, steadying herself as her hands held steadily on his lower arm. Her eyes closed in on the number sewed on his shirt: 388.
"It's okay," Minseo replied softly. Player 388 seemed to unconsciously relax at the gentleness in her voice, obviously fearing for a worse reaction. "It was my fault, as well. I haven't got my glasses in here so I can barely see a thing."
Minseo could see his face, however, and despite the series of unfortunate events which followed her since birth, the reveal of her collider's face could never be counted as one.
He had features chiseled by ancient architects themselves, the delicate trace of his cheekbones adorning his face as it matched harmonically with the straight bridge of his nose and subtle turn of his lips. Despite the sharper notes that carved the outline of his face, noticeably the edged cut of his jaw, his dark eyes held a softness to them that immediately welcomed Minseo to settle comfortably in his hands. His hair, dark as night sky, was longer than the average man's, and was partly skilfully tied back into a smaller ponytail.
"Again," Minseo cleared her throat, meeting his eyes. "I am sorry."
However, 388 did not respond immediately. His eyes were trained on her face, tracing every detail. From the minor scar above her eyebrow to the fullness of her dark eyelashes, briefly skimming the unmistaken blush that coated her plump cheeks and gazing over the flesh of her pink lips. Eventually, they lingered back up to meet her eyes, and Minseo was sure the wind was knocked straight out of her stomach.
His eyes met hers and still then he didn't respond. A small smile tugged at his lips, little dimples forming in his cheeks as they raised. "It was all my fault," he said sincerely. "It was━It was nice meeting you."
"Yeah," Minseo nodded slowly, failing to suppress the smile on her face. "You too, 388."
"Dae-ho," Dae-ho corrected kindly. "What do you prefer? 004 or Cotton Candy?"
"Really? Because of the pink hair?" Minseo laughed softly. "Well, Minseo fits just fine."
"Minseo," Dae-ho repeated quietly, as if he was testing the taste of her name in his tongue. He smiled, satisfied, "I agree. Minseo does fit you perfectly."
From behind Dae-ho, Minseo caught glimpse of her uncle, who waited for her. He was eyeing Dae-ho with narrowed, unforgiving eyes, and Minseo felt a shot of cold run through her blood.
"I'll see you around," Minseo said. "It'll be impossible not to."
Dae-ho nodded. He seemed to just remember his hands were still holding her upper arms, and they fell almost immediately in lightning speed.
Minseo stepped around him, sparing him a final smile with longing look before retreating to her uncle.
She approached Gi-hun quietly, and the second she was in voice reach, the questions came rolling in. "Who's that?" Gi-hun asked, still staring at Dae-ho's retreating figure. "You know him? You met before?"
Minseo laughed, her shoulders shaking with the roll of her giggles as Gi-hun's overprotective nature took over. "Just somebody I bumped into," Minseo replied. "It was an accidental meeting."
Gi-hun glanced over at her, only briefly, before settling his narrowed eyes back on Dae-ho. As if he could feel Gi-hun's piercing stare, Dae-ho looked back ever so quickly. Even in that split second, Minseo caught eyes with him, and the smile which grew on his face was unmistakable.
"No meeting is ever accidental," Gi-hun said. "Everybody you meet, however it may be, is for a reason."
No truer words have ever been spoken by Minseo's uncle. For colliding into Kang Dae-ho was not an accident, but a change in fate written by the stars above. The constellations covered by the rooftop could never see the story they had created, where the queen of constellations, Cassiopeia, had finally decided to take the destiny of Hyeon Minseo into her own hands, carefully crafting the beautiful tale of Kang Dae-ho and the young Hyeon girl to teach a lesson to all━because although their meeting may not be accidental, the disasters which were to follow certainly could be questioned as such.
━author's note
FIRST MEETING YAA!!
i proofread this with eyes
half closed so SORRY for
any errors...
im watching bloodhounds rn
and seriously debating whether
on writing a geonwoo fic..........