Work Text:
Gihun watched helplessly, his sight fixed on Young-Il on the other end of the bridge. Junhee was, too, latched to Young-Il, her arms around his shoulders as he hooked his own arms under her legs.
Anyone could have come up from behind and shoved Gihun off the ledge, he wouldn’t have noticed until it was too late. All that mattered now was Young-Il, carrying Junhee, waiting for the perfect moment to step foot onto that damned bridge.
Synchronously, the three turned their attention to the timer.
2 minutes.
He could do it. They all believed it.
Young-Il leapt onto the bridge before Gihun was ready for it, earning a cry of panic from 456 that was drowned out by the sounds of awe and fear from the other players.
There was a certain grace to 001 as he took 2 long strides, then steadied himself quickly to make a steady jump, and land without so much as a wobble, before repeating. Gihun huffed a laugh of relief when he realised Young-Il was fast. Fast and steady.
Those were two good qualities to have in this game.
Then he reached the middle.
Young-Il and Junhee exchanged a few words between jumps, until finally, Young-Il jumped, landed, and immediately slipped Jun-Hee off his back. He spun on his heel, holding Junhee’s hands to keep her balanced as he jumped and she hopped over the jump rope.
The two leapt in sync, until Junhee landed without so much a wobble. Satisfied, and wasting no time, Young-Il spun and leapt across the gap in the bridge. He steadied himself as Junhee hopped over the rope, and turned back to her.
“Come on!” Gihun could hear him now, closer up. “You’re almost there!”
Junhee shook her head, her eyes seeking out the timer before another well-timed hop.
30 seconds.
“Junhee!” Gihun cried, though he knew it was futile. Young-Il reached out his hand.
“Jump!” Young-Il barked, holding out his hand. Another jump, another hop. “Think of your daughter!”
Junhee simply smiled.
“I am.”
The rope fell.
Young-Il jumped.
Junhee didn’t.
The rope swept her feet from under her, sending her straight over the edge before Young-Il could even scream. Gihun froze, his breath shakey as the baby started to wail anew, as though it knew what had just happened.
The rope began to fall again.
“Young-Il!” Gihun screamed, snapping Young-Il out of it just in time for the player to shakily leap over the rope. He faltered, the rope knocking his ankle as he hadn’t quite jumped high enough, and sending him crashing to the floor. Gasps echoed through the hall and the baby cried harder.
Young-Il pulled himself up, leaping with barely any time to recover.
The landing was flawless, as were the 3 rounds of long strides and jumps he’d displayed during the first half.
“Young-Il!” 001 looked up to see Gihun holding out his hand. “Run!”
Young-Il didn’t fall for the trap of checking how much time he had, because he was certain there wasn’t enough. Instead, he jumped over the rope once more, before bolting towards 456.
Gihun grabbed him and hauled him back, just as the final swing of the rope came down in its final attempt to wipe Young-Il off the board.
Gihun faltered, his footing slipping as ‘game over’ the saxon blared. His hand still gripped Young-Il’s, pulling him down on top of him.
“Player 001. Pass.”
While Young-Il longed to take advantage of the moment, to stare down at the pretty face of his favourite player, he found his eyes returning to the bridge.
He stood, not a single shake nor shiver in his bones, and strode to the ledge to observe the smattering of bloodied bodies.
To see Junhee.
Gihun came up behind him, and from the sound of it, he was carrying the baby responsible for this mess.
No, that wasn’t right, was it?
“I promised to look after the child.” 456 whispered. “…Would you help?”
Young-Il didn’t look up.
I’m responsible for this mess…
“Alright.”