TS Squid Game – CH 10

[Thwack!]

[Whoosh-]

“I won!!”

“You’re buying me a MapleStory card, like you promised!?”

“Ugh… Fine.”

[Thud, thud…]

I won more easily than I thought.

Today is July 11th, 2006.

My friend Yoohwan is my best buddy.

Yoohwan and I often bet on ttakji (Korean card game).

But Yoohwan wasn’t very good at ttakji, so I usually won.

Even so, Yoohwan often challenges me to ttakji bets.

I guess he wanted to win at least once.

And every time he loses, he casually buys me limited edition cards.

Sometimes I worried about Yoohwan’s money, but he said he was okay thanks to his older brother.

Today, Yoohwan lost the bet again and walked towards the store, disappearing from sight in no time.

“Hmm… What should I do…?”

I was pretty bored.

It usually took Yoohwan about 15 minutes to come back from the store.

I wish he’d come back a little faster…

‘Aren’t you being too shameless…?’

“Wh-Who’s there!?”

I turned my head at the sudden voice coming from somewhere.

But there was no one around.

It was quite a delicate voice.

“S-Surely… a ghost…?”

Yeah. It might be a ghost. Maybe it’s Red Mask.

‘It can’t be Red Mask… What should I say…?’

‘Look down.’

I didn’t understand what it meant at all.

Look down…?

[Swoosh-]

“Wh-What the…!? This…”

When I turned my head down, the ground was far away.

After walking around a bit, I realized that my height had increased.

Putting aside the fact that I’d gotten taller… there was something squishy attached to my chest, like my mom’s.

“Th-This… are these boobs…?”

Mom told me that only girls have boobs…

[Swoosh-]

I was stunned for a moment, admiring them, then turned my head back up.

“Wh-What is this…”

Before I knew it, the surroundings were completely black.

…

[Rustle!]

“Haa… Haa…”

I woke up in bed and saw a familiar window.

I was relieved as soon as I realized it was my house.

[Beep-]

“Phew…”

I turned on my phone and it said ‘March 18th’.

It’s been about two days since the ‘TS Game’ was suspended.

And I still haven’t been able to sleep properly.

‘I shouldn’t have gone to a place like that…’

I was relatively lucky to have come back unscathed, but the mental impact was too great.

Is this what they call trauma…?

I haven’t been able to eat properly these days.

Well, I couldn’t eat ramen even before because I was so sick of it…

[Thud, thud…]

My house is a 4-pyeong (approx. 132 sq. ft.) general basement.

It’s said to be 4-pyeong, but it had quite a few basic things.

A sink… a refrigerator… a bed… a wardrobe.

Of course, the bed is on the floor and the refrigerator is small, but it doesn’t matter.

I can just go to the laundromat to do laundry…

The toilet and shower room were communal, a little further up.

First, I put a cup under the sink and turned on the water to calm myself down.

…

[Tap, tap]

While I was drinking water, I heard a knock on the door.

“Who is it~?”

[It’s the landlord~]

“Ah~ Mr. Yoonseong? Come on in.”

[Creak-]

“Jiyoon-ssi… It’s been a long time…!”

Mr. Yoonseong is the landlord of this basement building.

He’s especially kind-hearted.

“What on earth happened to you for the past few days?”

“Ah… You already knew…”

“I just went on a business trip… Haha…”

It was still too much to reveal.

I thought about ‘reporting it’, but the chances of them believing me were slim.

Since I’m not going there anymore anyway, I decided to erase it from my mind quickly.

“You should have come back yesterday…”

“I could tell you looked very exhausted…”

“Anyway, cheer up… So, is it impossible to pay the monthly rent again today…”

“Ah… I’m really sorry.”

“Haha… It’s okay. I’ll take care of it later, so take care of yourself~”

[Bang]

How can a basement landlord be so kind?

I’m already four months behind on rent, but he’s still cheering me on.

Seeing Mr. Yoonseong, I renewed my determination.

I’m going to get a decent job this time.

No matter how much I’m drowning in debt, I’ll never do something like the TS Game again.

[Thud, thud…]

I must have been quite exhausted yesterday.

Without washing or eating…

I had to eat something and wash up to get a job.

“It’s been a while since I’ve showered~”

Standing in front of the communal shower room, a familiar scent captivated me.

It felt like I was getting drunk just from the scent of showering at home after a long time.

Of course, it’s not like I couldn’t shower during the game…

But the ‘women’ also came in, so I couldn’t find the right timing to go in.

“Alright~ Let’s go in.”

‘What are you doing? Aren’t you going to the women’s shower room?’

[Thud]

“Seriously…”

It’s been like this since yesterday.

There’s no way I’d be having hallucinations or auditory hallucinations from not sleeping for a day or two.

It was definitely the work of those ‘masks’.

‘You’re a woman. Cute… and sexy…’

‘Shut up… What woman… I’m a full-fledged man…’

…

[Shuffle, shuffle…]

Fortunately, I managed to finish showering somehow.

I’m standing in front of a bank ATM right now.

If I become a woman, I won’t be able to get my identity verified…

‘Haa… What is it…?’

What was I even thinking?

[Tap, tap]

“Hey… Aren’t you Jiyoon? It’s been a while.”

I turned my head and saw the neighbor lady.

“Ah…! Hello, ma’am!”

[Bow]

“I haven’t heard from you lately, are you okay? You don’t look well…”

“Ah… It’s nothing… Haha…”

“Okay, okay. Take care of your health.”

The neighbor lady is as kind as Seongho-ssi and Yoonseong-ssi.

From what I heard, she runs a church.

She’s the one who’s been paying for my mother’s medical bills.

Thinking about it again, I’m surrounded by such good people.

But I… I feel bad that I can’t help them at all.

[Slide-]

Then I saw the lady taking something out of her bag.

“Ah…! What is this…?”

“Here, here… I prepared some money and fruit because you seem to be having a hard time these days.”

To be honest, I felt so sorry.

“It’s okay! It’s really okay!”

“Pay me back at least half of it when you get a job~”

She put a stack of 50,000 won bills and a fruit basket with apples and tangerines in my hands.

Looking at the 50,000 won bills, I started to remember the days of the TS Game.

[Trickle…]

As the sensation of money touched my hand, the events of that time came to mind, and tears flowed involuntarily.

“Thank you so much… Thank you…”

[Bow…]

“Aigoo… There, there. Tell me if you’re having a hard time later…”

The neighbor lady, who received my greetings, walked away into the distance, and I was finally able to stop crying.

“Haa…”

I thought about checking my balance at the ATM…

But since I’ve been in debt for a long time anyway, it would only be bad for my mental health.

Besides, I didn’t really want to see it today.

First of all, I had to find a job to repay the lady, Mr. Yoonseong… and my mother.

‘Should I at least get a part-time job…?’

Just a decent convenience store part-time job would be fine.

‘Come to think of it, there was a convenience store where I knew the owner…’

The place where I ate cup ramen the day before yesterday…

I was quite friendly with the owner of that place.

I heard they were looking for a part-timer, so I thought I should give it a try.

[Click- Click-]

Fortunately, the convenience store owner’s phone number was still saved.

“Ah~ Hello? Ah… Hello!”

“I’m sorry to bother you, but… are you looking for a part-timer…?”

…

[Thud, thud…]

Isn’t there a saying, “A blessing in disguise”?

Today seems to be a lucky day.

I haven’t had any luck since participating in the TS Game…

But finally, an opportunity has come!

If I just pass the interview…!

[Tap-]

[Crash-!]

“Ah…! I’m sorry! Are you okay?”

“-… Yes… Uh…? Aren’t you Senior Jiyoon…?”

“What. Aren’t you Yujin? You used to live in this neighborhood?”

“Senior Jiyoon too…”

“More than that… You’re still a woman even after you were released…”

“Yes…”

She lowered her head as if she was feeling down.

I don’t know what happened, but Yujin must have had a lot of twists and turns too.

There was a cafe next to us.

“Should I buy you a cup of coffee at that cafe over there?”

Of course, it was the lady’s money, but even she would allow this much.

“Ah…! It’s okay…”

“It’s okay. You helped me out before.”

“Ah… Thank you so much…”

…

“More than that, where were you trying to go?”

“Ah… I had something to do… Haha…”

Yujin was stammering and feeling shy.

It must have been hard for her since her identity wouldn’t be protected.

“Anyway, Yujin. Cheer up.”

“If you don’t give up until the end, something good will happen someday.”

“Ah… Hehe… Thank you…”

[Splash-]

“Ah…! Hot…!”

She hurriedly tried to pick up the coffee and dropped it.

“Aigoo… Are you okay…? Drink carefully.”

“I’m sorry…!”

[Slide…]

“I’ll give you my coffee.”

“Ah… It’s okay… I’m so sorry…”

“I have an appointment soon anyway, so I have to go.”

Anyway, she must have her own circumstances.

I had to go too because I had an interview scheduled soon.

“Then I’ll be going now.”

“Ah… Thank you so much…! Senior…”

[Thud, thud…]

Still, she didn’t use the title ‘Oppa’ like last time, so it seemed like she was properly back to her senses.

I was secretly pleased that Yujin was in the same neighborhood as me.

…

[Creak-]

“Ah… Hello…? I came for the interview…”

“Oh~ Jiyoon’s here? Call me comfortably like usual.”

I started to become friends with the convenience store owner about 3 years ago.

As I continued my unemployed life, I frequented the convenience store often, so we naturally chatted often.

“Haha. I knew this would happen someday, so you’re trying to get a part-time job?”

“Yes… I can’t seem to find a proper job. I should start with a part-time job.”

Even if I hadn’t participated in the TS Game, I was planning to work part-time here anyway.

I couldn’t find a proper job… and I looked around at ‘part-time job hell’, but this place seemed the best.

[Slide-]

“Okay. Sign here on the employment contract and identity verification form… Let’s skip the self-introduction.”

“Ah… I understand!”

It seemed like he was distinguishing between public and private matters to some extent.

Still, the interview went smoothly.

…

[Rustle… Rustle…]

“Employment contract… Identity verification…”

“Name… Seong Jiyoon… Gender is… Female… Age is 26…”

The contract was being written smoothly.

Surely, I’ll be able to start a part-time job with this.

Especially since I’m friendly with the owner…

‘Look at the window’

“Ugh…”

“Are you okay? Is something wrong?”

My head started to hurt again.

A hallucination-like sound was ringing in my head.

‘Look at the window…? Why…?’

When I looked at the window next to me, my reflection was there.

‘No… Is this even my reflection in the first place…?’

My reflection wasn’t my reflection.

I should be a woman originally… Why is a man reflected…?

[Creak-!]