Katsumi awoke to the loud and annoying sound of a trumpet song. She blinked awake and was met with the blinding lights from the ceiling above her. she looked away and rubbed her eyes, letting out a curse as she sat up.

"What the hell?" Katsumi muttered, looking around in a mix of confusion and surprise at where she was.

She was one of many within a large, but cramped room that was filled to the brim with bunk beds. Each bunk bed had been occupied by people who were waking up as well and she was glad that she was placed on one of the top bunks to see all of this clearly. She heard shuffling from beneath her and saw that the two people who were sleeping in the beds under hers were waking up.

She saw that everyone was wearing the same type of clothing and looked down at herself that she too had been wearing a turquoise tracksuit with a white shirt and white sneakers. The most prominent thing about the outfit however, was the number on the jacket that had been assigned to her.

"120, huh?" Katsumi asked herself, looking down at the number.

She moved the blanket aside and jumped off the bed, startling some of the people around her. She started walking down the steps towards the center of the room, looking up to see a large T.V. with the number 456 displayed on it and below it was two iron double doors with double steps leading up to them.

Katsumi narrowed her eye at the screen and let out a hum, now knowing she was in a room not with strangers, but her competition.

"You bitch!" A male voice shouted and Katsumi looked away from the screen and down to see that a crowd had formed around some kind of commotion that was happening in the middle of the room.

She continued to walk down the stairs and joined the crowd, pushing past people to get to the front and see what was actually happening.

She stopped and watched as a girl got up from seemingly being struck by the man that was circling and laughing at her. Katsumi didn't know who they were, so she just associated them with their assigned numbers to not dwell on it.

The man was tall, stout and muscular with a gruff air to him. He had long black hair that was cut into a mullet, black eyes and a snake tattoo on the left side of his chin that ran down his left shoulder. He wore the tracksuit with the number 101 etched onto his jacket.

"I can't believe I've run into you here." The man, number 101, stated "Look at those eyes. Your temper hasn't changed. Then again, you're not the type to back down after a few blows. I fed you, put a roof over your head, even taught you my skills, but you backstab me?"

"You already took more from me than what I owe you." The girl, number 067, responded.

101 smiled in amusement "If that's true, why did you run away?"

"I didn't run away. I just went independent." 067 responded and Katsumi raised an eyebrow, the girl was certainly bold, she'd give her that.

101 laughed mockingly "Independent?"

He stopped laughing and swung at her, but she narrowly dodged it by stepping back. He grew frustrated and lunged at her, grabbing her collar and tripping her, causing her to fall to the ground. She tried to get up, but he grabbed her by her jacket and hair and shoved her to the ground once again.

The girl was about to try and get up again, but 101 kicked her in the stomach and she slumped down, clutching her stomach in pain.

He grabbed her by the hair to look at him as he spoke "You went independent? Are you Yu Gwan-sun or what? Go out and wave a flag then. Oh, right. You're from the North, so wave the North Korean flag."

He was about to punch her, but his fist was stopped and the crowd gasped, surprised that someone would stop him. He tried to move his fist, but the person that had grabbed onto his arm had a tight grip. 101 looked up and saw that the person that had grabbed onto his arm was Katsumi.

"Oi," Katsumi stated with a serious gaze "She's down. It's over."

101 laughed in amusement, roughly pulling his hand back and standing up, towering over Katsumi by a few inches "Over? Nothing's over, until I say it's over."

"So you still want to fight then?" Katsumi asked, not intimidated by his size in the slightest "Then stop kicking someone while they're down and fight someone worthwhile, or are you too scared?"

The crowd started to whisper amongst themselves, some were commenting on her unique appearance and some were afraid for Katsumi's life. 101 looked around and laughed mockingly, looking back at Katsumi in amusement.

"You got a death wish," 101 asked as he looked down at her number then back at her "120?"

Katsumi grabbed onto his collar with a glare and clenched her free hand into a fist "Do you?"

A man came barreling in from the crowd and kneeled down by the girl, grabbing onto her and tilting her head to the side, seeing a scar on her neck.

The man was very tall with a normal build, not too lanky, but not too muscular. He had wavy dark brown-black hair, black eyes and the stubble of a mustache above his lip. He wore the tracksuit with the number 456 etched onto his jacket.

"That scar on your neck! Yes, it's you! The pickpocket!" The man, number 456, shouted as he started shaking her "Give me my money back! Where's my money!? Give it back!"

He was suddenly kicked away by Katsumi, but he quickly recovered and stood up.

"What the hell—" 456 stopped his angry charge at Katsumi upon seeing her intimidating glare.

"You want to fight too?" Katsumi asked and 456 looked nervous.

"Uh, well...no...uh..." 456 said nervously.

"Why do you even care? What's your relation to this whore anyway?" 101 asked.

"None, really." Katsumi responded, turning to him with the same glare she gave 456 "I just hate seeing unfair fights."

She started circling the girl while looking at 101 and 456 "Two men ganging up on one girl, just how pathetic can you be?"

"If you want to do that then try me on for size." Katsumi stated, stopping in front of the girl and smirking at 101 and 456 "I'll kick your asses right here, right now."

101 glared at Katsumi, feeling the urge to charge at her and slap that smirk from her face. 456 was as nervous as can be, he didn't want to fight anyone, he just wanted his money back. 067 was looking up at Katsumi in shock, recognizing her from when they bumped into each other and wondering why she was protecting her.

A buzzer rang and the doors opened up. Everyone looked to see who had arrived and they were shocked to see people in pink full body tracksuits with black boots, black gloves and black masks with square, circle and triangle symbols designed onto them.

They all stepped into the room in a uniform march and the only man with the square mask stepped forward to address everyone.

Katsumi turns around and holds her hand out to 067. She takes it and Katsumi helps her up, Katsumi raising her brow upon closer inspection of the girl's face.

She was a beautiful young woman with a slender build, short yet wavy black hair, tired black eyes, full lips and barely visible freckles under her eyes. She wore the tracksuit with the number 067 etched onto the jacket.

"Do I know you from somewhere?" Katsumi asked, wondering where she had seen her before.

"No, you don't..." 067 lied with a shake of her head and Katsumi slowly nodded. 067 felt a surprising sense of nervousness around Katsumi and she looked away from her eye with a light blush "C-Can I have my hand back now?"

Katsumi looked down to see that she was still holding onto 067's soft and slender hand, quickly letting it go and feeling slightly embarrassed.

"Sorry about that." Katsumi apologized.

"It's fine, don't worry about it." 067 responded, still feeling a strange sense of nervousness around Katsumi.

"I would like to extend a hearty welcome to you all." The man with the square masked man stated "Everyone here will participate in six different games over six days. Those who win all six games will get a handsome cash prize."

"How are we supposed to believe you?" A man from within the crowd asked "You suddenly put us to sleep, take our phones and wallets away, then bring us to this mysterious place. Now you show up saying you'll pay us handsomely for playing a few games? Do you expect us to believe that?"

"We reluctantly took those measures to maintain our confidentiality bringing you here. We'll return everything once the games are over." The man with the square mask stated.

"How come you are wearing those masks?" A woman in the crowd asked.

"We do not disclose the faces and personal information of our staff to the participants. It's a measure we take for the fairness of the games and privacy. Please understand." The man with the square mask responded.

"I don't trust a word you just said." Another man in the crowd stated "You lured, kidnapped, and locked us up. You make all kinds of excuses to keep yourself hidden after all those illegal actions. Give us one good reason why we should trust you."

He was a man of average height with well-cut black hair, black eyes and a shaven chin. He wore a pair of glasses, the tracksuit with the number 218 etched onto the jacket.

"Player 218, Cho Sang-woo." The man with the square mask stated, raising a remote in his hand and pressing a button that switched off the lights and changed the T.V. to show footage of 218 playing ddakji and getting slapped over and over again "Age, 46. Former team leader of Team Two at Joy Investments. Siphoned money from his client then invested in derivatives and futures options with it and failed. Current loss, 650 million won."

218 was shocked by the sight and looked down with a sense of shame as the square mask pressed a button and changed the footage to another person.

"Player 107, Kim Mi-ok, 540 million won in debts. Player 118, Oh Yeong-uk, 1,02 billion won in debt. Player 322, Jung Min-tae, 880 million won in debt. Player 119, No Sang-hun, 1,39 billion won in debt. Player 369, Park Ju-un, 900 million won in debt." The man with the square mask listed, showing multiple pieces of footage of the players in the room "All of you in this room are living on the edge, with debts you just can't pay off. When we first went to see you, none of you trusted us. But as you know, we played a game and gave you money as promised. So everyone here trusted us and volunteered to participate in this game of your own free will. I'll give you one last chance to choose. Will you go back to living your lousy life being chased by your creditors? Or will you grab the last opportunity we're offering here?"

Katsumi already knew the answer to that question. She was desperate, and it seems like everyone else around her was too. Passing up this offer was stupid. She made the decision to play and she was going to go through with it, no matter the consequences.

"What kind of games are we playing?" A man, Player 199, in the crowd asked.

He was a well-built man with a wider frame, brown skin, black eyes and short, wavy black hair. He wore the tracksuit with the number 199 etched onto his jacket.

"In order to play fair, we cannot disclose any information on the games ahead of time." The man with the square mask responded.

"Excuse me," 456 asked, raising his hand and getting everyone's attention "Just how much is the prize money?"

The square masked pressed a button and the ceiling above them opened up and shined with golden lights as a slot machine sound started playing. A giant plastic piggy bank was lowered down and stopped right above them, clear enough to show how empty it was.

"Your prize money will be accumulated in the piggy bank after every game." The man with the square mask stated "We will disclose the amount to everyone after the first game is over."

Katsumi narrowed her eye at that 'Why then? What are they planning to do?'

"If you do not wish to participate, please let us know now." The man with the square mask stated.

With no one refusing to participate, they were all tasked to line up into 5 rows and one by one, they would sign a legal contract of consent presented by the guards.

The person in front of Katsumi finished signing and she stepped up, reading through the consent form.

CLAUSE 1: A PLAYER IS NOT ALLOWED TO STOP PLAYING

CLAUSE 2: A PLAYER WHO REFUSES TO PLAY WILL BE ELIMINATED

CLAUSE 3: GAMES MAY BE TERMINATED IF THE MAJORITY AGREES

Katsumi finished reading and looked up at the guard in front of her with a serious gaze "Are we going to die?"

The guard didn't respond and Katsumi scoffed, picking up the pen and signing the consent form. She walked away from the platform and 067 was next up from behind her, slightly concerned from Katsumi's question.

She read through the form and quickly signed it, walking towards Katsumi in an effort to catch up with her.

"Hey, what did you mean back there?" 067 asked, having caught up and walking with Katsumi.

"What?" Katsumi asked.

"When you were signing, why did you ask him that?" 067 asked.

"Well, we were drugged and taken to an unknown location, have no contact to the outside world and we have to sign a consent form just to play games. Take it from me, shady things like this usually mean one thing." Katsumi said.

"What?" 067 asked and Katsumi stopped, causing 067 to stop.

Katsumi turned around and leaned in close to the side 067's face, whispering in her ear "People are going to die today."

067 shivered and let out a shaky breath as Katsumi walked away from her. She wasn't sure if she got chills running down her spine from what Katsumi had said or Katsumi herself.

After a while, everyone was done signing and classical music started to play as a female voice on the intercom started speaking.

"The game is about to begin. All players, follow the staff's instructions and proceed to the game hall." The announcer's voice instructed.

They were all formed into a line and led out of the room, through the colorful halls of the building and the artistically childish design of the staircase. They reached a line of pink panels that had been divided into four and people were to split off to the panels and smile for a picture.

Katsumi stepped up to one of the panels and looked up at the camera.

"Please look into the camera." An automated voice instructed "Smile!"

Katsumi did the opposite and glared at the camera as the picture was taken. After that, she moved to join back up with the line.

They soon reach their destination and everyone enters through doors designed to resemble gates. Katsumi looks around in shock of the large room painted to resemble a field, but then she was unnerved to see a large statue-like doll at the other end of the room with two guards standing by it.

"Welcome to the first game. All players, please wait a moment on the field. Let me repeat. All players, please wait a moment on the field." The announcer's voice instructed.

Suddenly the doors behind them were shut and this confirmed Katsumi's suspicions even more, and she narrowed her eye, looking around to see what kind of game this was.

"The first game is Red Light, Green Light." The announcer stated as the doll turned around to face the tree and raised its arm to cover its "eyes" "You can move forward while "it" shouts out, "Green Light, Red Light". If your movement is detected afterward, you will be eliminated."

"We're playing a children's game?" Katsumi asked, unimpressed, having expected more from all of this.

"Why go through all this trouble for something so simple?" 067 asked, standing beside her.

"There must be a catch." Katsumi stated and 067 nodded in agreement.

"Those who cross the finish line without getting caught in five minutes pass this round." The announcer stated "Then let the game begin."

The timer started as the doll sang "Green Light, Red Light."

While it sang, everyone rushed forward, most if not all, stopping just as the singing stopped and the doll turned its head to face them.

"Player 324. Eliminated." The announcer announced.

A gunshot could be heard reverberating through the air and 324 dropped to the ground immediately after. Katsumi widened her eye, quickly putting the pieces together and realizing what had happened. Without moving her head, she looked up around to see where the shot had come from and she sees that there were holes above along the walls.

'Are they shooting from there!?' Katsumi asked herself.

The doll turned around and everyone moved forward, stopping as it turned around once again. The person at the front was right above the player that had been shot and he was shocked to see the player spurting out blood.

He started to freak out and ran away from the body, back to the group of players behind him. That was until he was shot, and his blood sprayed over a woman he had died in front of.

The woman was stunned and she rubbed her face, seeing the blood in her hands. She screamed bloody murder and was shot in the head, leading to a massive amount of people to start running in fear and panic.

Katsumi stood her ground and clenched her fists to stop herself from shaking. She looked to her right and saw that even though 067 was standing still, she was panicking from the massacre that was happening around her.

"Oi, 067." Katsumi said, gaining her attention "You got someone out there?"

"W-What?" 067 asked.

"Do you have someone that you care about outside of this place?" Katsumi repeated clearer this time.

"Y-Yeah, I do." 067 said.

"Then calm down and focus on living through this to see them again, alright?" Katsumi asked and 067 steadied her breathing.

"Yeah..." 067 responded.

"Alright, I'll see you on the other side then." Katsumi stated.

The massacre ends and a surprisingly a lot of contestants were left standing, although a lot had died today.

"Let me repeat. You can move forward while "it" shouts, "Green Light, Red Light". If your movement is detected afterward, you will be eliminated." The announcer repeated "Let the game begin."

The doll turns and started to sing, letting everyone move, but they were all too frightened to do so, all except the old man, player 001, who moved as fast as he could and stood still once the doll turned around.

The old man was short and thin with a frail frame. He had short, messy grey hair with remnants of brown hair, a short stubble and moustache that was also grey and black eyes. He wore the tracksuit with the number 001 etched onto his jacket.

The doll saw that no one had moved so it turned back around to start singing. 001 started moving once again, but this time Katsumi joined him with 067 following behind her. They stopped once the doll turned around, and once it turned back, almost everyone started to move.

The game went on with a few people getting shot every round along with the doll's singing getting faster. Katsumi noticed 067 was no longer next to her and she wondered if she had fallen behind or, hopefully not, gotten shot.

"Who is that behind me all along?" Katsumi heard from not too far off behind her, recognizing it to be 101's voice.

"The one who backstabbed you." Katsumi surprisingly heard 067 respond.

"You bitch." 101 said angrily.

"Want me to stab you in the back again?" 067 asked, grabbing onto the back of 101's head.

"No, don't. Please." 101 begged and Katsumi rolled her eyes at how quick his tough façade dropped.

"Stop trembling, moron. You'll die if you get caught." 067 warned, quickly shoving him back, dropping him to the ground, and running forward just as the doll started singing.

Katsumi had taken a quick glance back and saw what 067 had done, but then she moved a few steps forward just as the doll turned back to face them again.

"You behind me?" Katsumi asked.

"What do you think?" 067 asked.

"You gonna do the same to me?" Katsumi asked.

"I would, but I don't see you dying today." 067 stated.

Katsumi smirked "You're a piece of work, y'know that?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" 067 asked.

"Nothing really, I just like girls like you." Katsumi stated and she started moving as the doll sang, not knowing of the blush she had left on 067.

Katsumi saw that she was close to the finish line, so on the next time the doll turned around, she made a run for it and rolled through the finish line, just as it turned back around.

She looked up at the clock to see that time was running out and 067 was not too far away from her, so she held her arm out to her with a reassuring nod.

067 looked down at her hand then at the clock, then back to Katsumi. She made a run for it once the doll turned around, diving towards Katsumi, who caught her and pulled her through the finish line.

The both of them held onto each other, bodies pressed up against each other and little to no space between their faces and staring into one another's eyes. A foreign feeling ran through the both of them, one they had never felt before, one they couldn't explain, but it felt different, it felt good.

The game ended and the sounds of gunshots snapped them out of their trance, the both of them pulling away from each other with tinted cheeks and some embarrassment of doing such things out in the open, especially with someone they just met.

The players that hadn't made it were gunned down and the field was silent and desolate with bloody corpses surrounding, forming a morbid work of art for them to behold.

They heard a sound above them and looked up in shock to see the blue sky being covered up by a large roof.