Ji-ya had drifted off on the couch again, the TV casting flickering shadows across the room.
Everything was still-until there was a knock at the door. A familiar voice called from outside, muffled but unmistakable.
"Ji-ya, open the door. It's Dad."
She wasn't surprised. He often came home late, always with that tired, drunken voice.
Half-asleep, Ji-ya pushed herself up and padded to the front door. Peeking through the peephole, she saw him. Her father. Same coat. Same slouch. But... something was wrong.
He wasn't facing the door. He stood the other way, frozen, like he was staring at someone else.
"Please... don't hurt my daughter. Not my Ji-ya..." he whispered. A plea. Quiet. Desperate.
Her breath caught.
"Dad?" she called, her voice trembling.
She twisted the doorknob, but it wouldn't move. He was holding it from the other side, unmoving.
"Let me open the door, what are you-"
BANG!
The sound shattered the silence. Ji-ya stumbled back, her hands frozen, a scream caught in her throat. Her heart thundered in her chest, vision tunneling, darkness creeping at the edges. Her ears began to ring.
Loud.
And louder.
Then softly, there was... classical music?
A gentle piano, like it was drifting from a faraway memory.
...
She gasped awake, lungs hungry for air, drenched in cold sweat. Around her, the dorm stirred with other players beginning to wake.
It was just a dream.
But not just a dream.
A memory.
Her father had died that night. The nightmare was warped, surreal-but rooted in something real.
She hadn't dreamed of that night in months. So why now?
Why did it feel like her past was clawing its way back to her?
Ji-ya sat up, rubbing her face. Her mood was shot. She didn't want to remember that. She wanted to bury it. But the nightmare wouldn't let her.
⋆｡‧˚ʚ ☆ ɞ˚‧｡⋆
The next room looked like a playground. The walls were painted sky blue with white, puffy clouds, rainbow-colored rings scattered across soft, sandy ground.
Players shuffled in, glancing around. Some smiled nervously. Most stayed silent.
A woman's monotone voice echoed overhead:
"Welcome to your second game. This game will be played in teams. Please divide into groups of five within the next ten minutes."
Ji-ya scanned the crowd.
She remembered some of the players who'd spoken to her yesterday, like Geum-ja and Yong-sik, maybe even Player 001.
She wandered through the room, trying to spot them.
Time ticked away fast.
Then she saw them: Geum-ja and Yong-sik standing off to the side, mid-argument. It looked tense, so Ji-ya approached carefully.
"Excuse me," she said gently.
Both turned at once, the tension breaking.
"Can I join you guys?"
They exchanged a look, then nodded.
"Sure," Geum-ja said.
"Let's find two more," Yong-sik added, already scanning the crowd.
After a few minutes, they came across two more players. One was Player 120-a tall trans woman Ji-ya had noticed on the first day, confident and quiet.
Beside her stood Player 095. Much shorter, withdrawn, with a shy expression and darting eyes.
An awkward silence hovered.
Geum-ja and Player 120 both opened their mouths at the same time:
"Can we-"
They stopped, blinking at each other.
Ji-ya shifted uncomfortably. Oh, this is awkward.
"...Guess we're a team now?" Yong-sik offered with a shrug.
"...Right," 120 replied. She held her hands close to her chest like a meerkat.
The five of them gathered together, uncertain but united for now.
Ji-ya watched the last seconds of the timer tick down. Once the time was up, the woman on the PA spoke again.
"Team selection is over!"
Everyone finally sat down in the rainbow circles. Ji-ya's team took turns getting to know each other. She learned that the trans woman's name was Hyun-ju, and the other player's name was Young-mi.
"The game you'll be participating in today is called 'Six-Legged Pentathlon'. Team members will start off with their legs tied together. At each ten-meter interval on the track, one member of the team will play a mini-game. If they pass, the team can move on to the next one." The woman's monotone voice echoed again.
"The mini-games are as follows: Game One: Ddakji. Game Two: Flying Stone. Game Three: Gong-gi. Game Four: Spinning Top. And last is Jegi."
This seems tricky, Ji-ya thought, slightly panicked.
"You'll have five minutes to complete all the mini-games and make it to the finish line before the timer runs out. So now, please decide which player will be assigned to each game."
Ji-ya glanced at her teammates, tension buzzing beneath her skin. "Let's start choosing," she said, trying to keep her voice steady.
"I'll try Jegi," said Hyun-ju. The team glanced at her for her quick response. "I'm skilled with Jegi, better than with any of the other games. I'll stick with that," she added, hugging her knees.
Geum-ja gave her a surprised look, then nodded. "Good. We'll trust you with Jegi."
"I'll take Gong-gi," Geum-ja volunteered immediately after. "I used to play it when I was younger."
Ji-ya faded into focus. "I'll do Spinning Top."
Yong-sik raised an eyebrow. "That one takes a lot of time to recover from if you fail. You sure?"
Ji-ya nodded. "Yeah. I liked playing it not long ago. I'll handle it."
"Alright," said Yong-sik. "I guess I'll take Flying Stone. Seems pretty simple."
"Is someone doing Ddakji?" Ji-ya asked.
Everyone turned to Young-mi.
She blinked, wide-eyed, like she hadn't expected it to be her turn so soon.
"Ddakji," Geum-ja said, glancing at her. "That okay?"
Young-mi hesitated. "I... I'm not great at any of these."
Ji-ya gave her a gentle look. "You don't have to be perfect. Just try."
The girl nodded slowly, almost to herself. "Then... I'll do Ddakji."
The decision settled over them like the air before a storm. No more choices.
This could either be a disaster... or a win by sheer luck.
A/N: Her backstory was inspired by 'My Name'