Chapter Text
Blood glistened under the dim light, pooling between the bodies that littered the floor. Namgyu almost tripped over an arm, blinking hard as the hallway seemed to tilt beneath him. He trailed behind Myunggi, neither of them speaking. The silence was broken only by a sudden thud followed by the sharp clatter of a knife echoing through the hall.
“Yo, you heard that?” Namgyu faltered mid-step. Myunggi turned, irritation flickering across his blood-smeared face. “C’mon, dude. Stop getting distracted.”Myunggi glanced at the timer, “we didn't have much time left.”
“Pretty sure your pregnant chick’s doing just fine,” Namgyu said, giving Myunggi’s tense shoulder a pat. “Let’s have some fun here, yeah?” A crooked grin spread across his face as he spun around, laughter echoing off the blood-stained walls.
Namgyu didn’t really wait for Myunggi’s agreement before strutting toward the sound.
Myunggi pinched his nose bridge and let out a heavy sigh. “Whatever, i’m not coming.” he muttered.
Namgyu was too high to realize Myunggi had already walked off. He pushed the door open, revealing another empty space that led upstairs. Though his vision was blurred, he could still catch sight of the blood trailing along the steps. He really couldn’t mind his own business, so he followed the trail up the stairs, only to find it ended before reaching the top. Looking down, he saw the bloodstains leading instead toward a door—which could only mean one thing.
Namgyu approached it warily. He paused when the sound of quiet, choked sobs filling his ears. His lips curled into a twisted smile, the dark streaks of blood in his face turning his expression into something almost inhuman.
Finally, he pressed the door until it clicked shut, revealing the breath behind it.
A large figure came into view, both hands clamped over his mouth in a failed attempt to stifle any sound. All that muscle, yet shaking and curling on himself like a child who’d been caught doing something wrong. His bloodshot eyes met Namgyu’s with pure terror.
Player 388 staggered to his feet, stumbling backward toward the wall as if there were still space left to retreat. “Stay back,” Player 388 stuttered, hands clumsily reaching his pocket.
Namgyu let out a low, shaky laugh, eyes gleaming with something unhinged. “Why should I?” he murmured as he spun the crimson blade between his fingers.
Player 388 lunged forward, shoving the stolen red team knife toward Namgyu, his breaths came out broken, words caught in his throat. Namgyu’s grin didn’t fade, if anything, it stretched wider. “Easy there, tough guy,” he cooed, voice dripping with mock tenderness as he stepped closer.
“Fuck off,” Player 388 spat, slashing his arm in one swift motion. Namgyu let out a guttural groan, clutching the wound as blood seeped through his fingers.
Without looking, Player 388 bolted for the stairs. But his wounded leg betrayed him. Halfway up, he crumpled, the knife slipping from his grasp, a strangled groan breaking out as pain tore through his body.
Namgyu didn’t hesitate, despite his injured arm. His footsteps thundered behind him, and in seconds he was on Player 388 again, caging him against the rough surface. "Where the fuck do you think you're going?" His breath was hot and wild against his ear as he crushed him in place, ignoring his frantic struggle.
As Namgyu lifted the knife in his hand, Player 388 squeezed his eyes shut, his head jerked away in reflex. Instinct tore the words from his throat before he could stop them. "N-no.. I'm s-sorry," he whimpered, voice breaking.
Player 388 opened his eyes, meeting the gaze of the man above, like a deer staring up at its hunter. "Spare me, please… you've already killed enough to pass." The plea tumbled out raw and trembling, each words laced with desperation, his tears streaking down as though they alone could soften him.
And somehow, they truly did.
For the first time, Namgyu moved slow. There was no hurry to kill, not when the fear in the other man’s eyes was far too beautiful to waste. He wanted to savor it, the intoxicating power of knowing the other man’s life hung on his whim.
“Shit..” Namgyu laughed, breathless, “You beg so pretty,” he said, voice thick with something disturbingly close to admiration. He lowered his bloodied knife, gliding it along the man’s cheek, painting his flushed skin a deeper crimson.
Player 388 hissed at the touch, the cold steel sent shivers through his body, or maybe it was the man’s gaze, he didn’t know anymore.
Though his whole body felt weak, he took Namgyu’s faltering moment as his chance to escape. With the last of his strength, he shoved Namgyu’s wrist, knocking the knife away, and reversed their positions.
Namgyu was too busy relishing how sweet control felt in his hands to see it coming. He tried to reach for his knife, but Player 388 had already pinned both his wrists.
“Damn. Almost forgot you’re the big guy here, princess,” he let out a nervous laugh, eyes flicking up to the man above him— his damp, raven locks spilling from a loose ponytail that framed his exquisite features. His glistened eyes burned with anger, and his quivering lips were swollen and red from biting too hard.
Player 388’s face hardened at the name, brows drawn tight as his jaw clenched, "Don’t fucking call me that,” he hissed, his fingers snapping up to Namgyu’s throat, pressing hard as though he might crush the air from him. “Fuck—okay, okay—” Namgyu rasped, his hands clawing at his in desperate to loosen his grip. His face reddened, voice breaking as he forced the words past the chokehold. “Let me… give you an offer.”
Player 388’s grip wavered, hesitation flickering in his eyes as he stilled just enough to hear him out. Namgyu hacked the words out, a cough rattling through him, “I’ll lead you to the exit,” he murmured, "and protect you from the others."
Player 388 laughed as if Namgyu had just told a joke, yet his face still cracked with fragility beneath the grin, "Save it. I don’t need your help. I’ll do it alone, after I finish you."
A knowing smile tugged at Namgyu’s lips, dark and twisted, as if he could sense the cracks beneath the surface. His fingers moved to brush Player 388’s hip gently, “You won’t have enough time to find the exit, not to mention the possible distractions from those who might attack you." He raised his other hand, anchoring his hips with both palms, dominance carved into the gesture. "Let me walk beside you. Two makes it easier… and far more interesting.”
Player 388 seemed to have dozed off for what felt like a decade, each second stretching thin, before he finally let his guard slip away. His grip on Namgyu’s neck loosening. The flicker of vulnerability returned to his face.
“That’s it,” Namgyu breathed, his voice low, as he wrapped Player 388’s hand around his. The contrast of Player 388’s trembling knuckles against Namgyu steady grip made Player 388 freeze for a beat before he shifted his weight off him.
Namgyu dragged in a breath and rolled onto his elbows, muscles straining as he pushed himself upright. A faint rasp left his throat where Player 388’s grip had been, but he masked it with a crooked half-smile. “C’mon,” he said, brushing dust off his shoulder as if the fight meant nothing. “We don’t wanna waste your time here, yeah?”
Player 388 wiped at his face with the helplessness of a child, the motion only made him smaller, more fragile, before he finally pushed himself to his feet.
“This way, prin—” Namgyu cut himself off the moment Player 388 shot him a glare. “Uhh, what’s your name?” he added, grinning awkwardly.
“Daeho, Kang Daeho.” he replied quietly, following behind Namgyu as he started to walk.
“Daeho? As in.. big tiger?”
Daeho stopped short, startled by Namgyu’s question. Namgyu turned his back, “You good?”
Daeho’s lips parted as if to speak, but he bit it back and fell into step behind Namgyu.
“You know, talking about tigers—I actually got one tattooed on my arm,” Namgyu said out of nowhere. Daeho stared at him in silence.
Namgyu turned fully to face Daeho, pointing his knife at him. “I guess it’s our destiny to meet after all, don’t you think? Kinda like that red string theory or whatever people call it,” he said giddily.
“Lead the way already,” Daeho snapped, pretending not to care about a single word Namgyu had said.
“Ooh.. bossy, aren’t we?” Namgyu chuckled and reached out to Daeho, only to lift his hand in mock surrender when Daeho flinched back. He went on walking, careless as ever, the quiet filled only by the echo of their steps and the soft clinking of his cross and three key pendants tangling around his neck.
It wasn’t until he caught himself smiling that he realized why. Daeho had become his new amusement.