Okay...

The team honestly didnt look too bad, tough sang-woo didnt seem to entirely agree on that...

I felt like i appreciated the crazy lady a lot more than the others, even if she insulted me, i somehow found it pretty amusing...

"All players, please line up at the entrance of the game hall"

"Wait, we arent playing here?" Gi-hun asked.

I gave him a bit of a woried look but quickly lined up with the others.

Slowly the gate opened...

I glanced around the room... it was quite dark, there were two high up plattforms and in front of our lines were numbers.

"Welcome to the third game"

I flinched a bit as the front guard started speaking.

"This game is Tug-of-War"

'Oh no...' i tought to myself

I played it a few times when i was a kid... i hated that game with a passion

"You will pull on a rope on that tower"

"Make your opponents fall and you win"

"Now i will hold a draw to decide which teams go first"

"Everyone, please sit down"

I took a seat on the floor, it was a bit hard to see since there were about four people in front of me but i managed.

"I will draw for the team on the left tower"

One of the circle-guards behind him reached into a box and pulled out a sphere with a number on it.

"Team one, please stand up"

"Next, i will draw for the team on the right tower"

I crossed my fingers in my lap, hoping it wont be us...

...

"Team seven, please stand up"

'Thank god... that wouldve ended badly...'

I glanced at how far the fall was... no there was no way anyone could survive that...

"Teams one and seven will play first"

"Teams one and seven, please enter the towers"

Both teams went up the towers and a rope was held up with a red mark on it.

After a while, two guards waved a flag, most likely signaling that the game was gonna begin...

The square-guard in front of us held up a weapon, pressing the trigger as both if the teams prepared for the live and death game...

My heart skipped a beat when i heard the loud bang, meaning the game had begun...

They started tugging on the rope with all their strength, desperate to get away with their life...

"Kill them!"

I realized team one was in a clear advantage, they were all strong men, the other team was just a few mediocre players...

They yanked on the rope trying to survive with everything they had... but it wasnt enough.

The front man of their team slipped on the ground and the whole team started falling off the edge...

They held onto the rope for dear life, probably praying for a mirical to happen.

But it was good for nothing... the guillotine-like blade swung down, chopping the rope in half as i watched all those people fall to their death...

My breath stopped as i could barely move, i wouldnt get used to the sight of people dying...

"The following players have been eliminated: player 245, player 120, player 37, player 408, player 27, player 273, player 58, player 243, player 327, player 241"

I stared at the ground, i knew that can be me soon... the idea of going up there was terrifying... my heart was beating out of my chest as i breathed heavily...

The guards adjusted the rope again, as i got nervous over who might play in the next round...

"I will now draw for the next round"

"Team four"

I sweatdropped as i stood up with the others...

"Team five"

I glanced at the people we were going to play against... they looked stronger...

I grit my teeth nervously...

"Team four and team five, plase enter the towers"

I nodded hesitantly as i started walking behind the others towards our assigned tower..

"What a shame. I wanted to kill you guys myself" 101 said as his team walked by.

I frowned angrily...

We stepped into the elevator, i leaned up against one of the walls trying to clear my head...

I gulped seeing the height of the fall once again... even from this level it terrified me...

"Dont be discouraged" grandpa blurted out to us.

"Tug-of-War isnt about strength..."

"Well if not strength... what is it about?" I asked.

"With tug-of-war, you can win with just strategy and teamwork"

"Youre barely standing, old man"

"Stop talking nonsense and save your strength"

"Lets heat him out at least" gi-hun broke off one of the other players

"Ive done my share of Tug-of-War in my hometown when I was young, and i rarely ever lost. Even if there was a ssireum athlete on the other team, putting the odds very much against us"

"Listen closely, and ill tell you how i beat them back in the day"

I nibbled on my fingernails as we approached the cliff-like, seperation.

"First off, the leader is very important"

"The person gets close to the face of the oppositions leader,"

One of the guards locked a pair of shackles onto my wrists that were attached to the rope.

"Too tight?" He suddendly asked me quietly.

I quickly shook my head a bit, he just nodded in response.

"and the rest of the team looks at the leaders back, if the leader seems weak or dispirited, then the game is already over"

I was sure gi-hun could do it... he was determined, i looked up to him honestly...

"Then at the end of the rope, youll need someone dependable to act like the anchor of the ship"

"How you place people is also important"

"One left, one right. Alternate with the rope in the middle."

I gulped, gripping the road as firmly as i could...

"Place both feet parallel to each other, and hold the rope in your armpit"

"That way, you can put in all of your strength"

"And lastly the most important thing."

"When the game starts,"

The guards waved the flags in the air as the one on the below us held up the gun again...

I heard the loud bang and started to pull on the rope as hard as i could...

"For the first ten seconds, you just have to hold out"

"You should practically lie down"

"Its almost impossible to get pulled in then"

I arched my back as the rope burned my hands...

"Hold out for just ten seconds like that."

I tried thinking of something besides the game... so my body would see the movement as natural...

I tought about my family... and how my dad was doing, and just like that it became easier to hold the rope...

"Then the opposition will get frustrated thinking, 'why wont they even budge?'"

I clamped my jaw together as hard as i could...

"They probably believed that were much stronger"

"If you hold out for that lont, there will come a moment when the opponents' rhytm slips"

I could see the front guys foot budge a bit on the floor... he slipped...

"Pull!"

I started clamping and yanking at the rope with all my might...

They slowly slipped towards the front.

But suddendly they managed to catch up, pulling us back...

"Get yourself together and listen!" Sang-woo shouted.

"When i give the sign, just take three steps forward!"

I didnt even care, all my survival instincts were kicking in at once... sang-woo was smart, he would know!

"Go forward?! Are you crazy?!"

"We have to make them trip!"

"Thats bullshit!"

"Lets give it a shot!" Gi-hun yelled at us.

"No, i cant do it!" The woman still screeched.

"If you cant, youll die!"

"One the count of three! One! Two! Three!"

As i was told i took three steps towards the edge just like the others.

The entire team on the other side fell as gi-hun almost fell off the edge.

"Pull!" Sang-woo shouted out.

I pulled at the rope witha ll my might, not even caring for my hands...

And just like that... like a line of dominos... they fell of the edge...

The rope pulled us forward again i held onto it for dear life... finally the blade cut it in half, making me fall backwards...

My back hurt like hell but i was just glad it was finally over...

I glanced at my hands... they were completely bloody from the rope... and as the adrenalin settled down.. it slowly started to sting...

As we went back down in the elevator it was pretty quiet.

"Sang-woo... thank you... and thanks to you too grandpa... without you guys we would have died there, i didnt think we would make it..."

"We dont have time for giving out 'thank you's' , they fought for their lifes too" the other girl looked at me.

I paused for a bit... "yeah... i suppose your right. We killed those guys..."

Slowly, the elevator arrived as the door opened...

We were finally led back to the dormitory, none of us daring to say a word...

The first team that made it just glared at us...

I looked up at the screen... 40... werent there more than 400 at first..?

I quietly ate my food, glancing at my bloody hands every once in a while.

"You know what? I really tought we were going to die out there. But once i laid back, i really felt so much stronger" the crazy lady said.

"Sir, how did you come up with that?"

"When i was young, i just-"

"You copied that from a movie, right? Whats that movie?" She cut him off.

"The guy, that dodges bullets like this-"

"The matrix" ali answered her question.

"So, you slacked off at work and just watched movies in korea?" She asked him.

He just glared a bit as i instantly lost a bit of sympathy for her...

"And you, babe."

"'Just take three steps forward!'" She mocked him

"I mean, that was way to cool"

"How did you come up with it under all that pressure?"

"You said that was bullshit" ali added.

"I did?"

"What are you bullshitting about?"

"You were crying, 'are you crazy? Thats bullshit!'" He mimicked her in response.

"That what you said"

"Hey! Which country are you from?"

"Do you ever have a visa? Your an illegal alien, right?"

"Gosh. Look boys"

"Should we really let this strange foreign guy stay on our team?"

"I should take this chance to sort this team out"

I tapped alis shoulder, "dont listen to her, kay?"

He nodded silently.

"Whos the leader here?"

"Cool guy, are you the leader?" She asked sang-woo

"We dont have a leader. Were all equal on this team" he replied.

"Even better"

"An egalitarian society!"

"Shit, its totally different to some damn thug who thinks hes the king and does whatever he wants"

"But why did you get kicked out, missus?" Gi-hun asked her.

"Babe"

"Im not a missus"

"My name is Han Mi-nyeo"

"And i wasnt kicked out. I chose to leave the team"

"Those thugs and i were on completely different levels"

"They only abandone you and them picked big guys" sang-woo stated.

"Right before the game at that"

"Its as if they knew what game was next"

I suddendly heard a bell as the female voice started speaking again.

"Players, your bedtime will begin in thirty minutes. Please get ready to sleep"

"Another fight might break out like last night. Lets prepare ourselves"

"How so?" One of the guys asked.

"We have these women and an old man"

"Were the weakest team here"

"Offense is the best form of defense. Lets attack first"

"During the fight last night, do you know how the man in front of me died?" Sae-byeok asked him

"Someone he tought was on his side broke his neck"

"Do you trust me?"

"I dont trust any of you"

Gi-hun suddendly stood up

"All right"

"I think we should focus on protecting ourselves first"

"Lets set up a barricade before the lights go out"

"Itll help to have some kind of cover"

"Your right! Lets do that!" I agreed