It's late at night. The only sound that could be heard in the streets is the crunch of No-eul's shoes on the ground, a sound she focused on instead of everything going on in her head.

The walk to the store was long, but it was better at night. Less people, less noise. Kang No-eul had bought some food at the nearest convenience store, and to be fair, it wasn't bad, but it wasn't filling, either. She barely had any money to buy proper food, and if she did, she wouldn't have anywhere to cook it. So convenience store food worked for now.

The year's Squid Games were starting again, and Kang No-eul wasn't exactly thrilled. Sure, the pay was okay, but it wasn't enough to sustain her, even with all the part-time jobs she had to manage in between the games. Not to mention the other guards that got on her nerves. Still, she endured it. Not for herself, but for her baby. If anything, she try to could scrape together enough money so her child could-

"Stop...!"

A noise snaps her out of her thoughts. It's close, just down the alleyway. A woman screaming.

Before she knew it, No-eul's feet were moving faster, towards the sound. What is she doing? She didn't normally do this. She wasn't the savior type, not by a mile. Hell, she killed people. But just then, she saw it. Two men, their faces obscured by the shadows, cornering a woman, you, in the alleyway. The men are persistent, getting closer to her and pinning her wrists.

"Are you gonna be difficult?" A man snarls.

There's something about the situation that makes No-eul's blood boil. It isn't her place to step in, so why is she so worked up? Then again, why do those assholes think they have the right to do that? Her steps are calculated, silent, as she goes behind one man and sends him to the ground in one blow.

The other man turns to face No-eul, as well as you, who looks terrified. It's not long before the man's sent to the ground, hard enough to lose consciousness. Not hard enough to kill him, she made sure of that. Even if she wanted to.

"You okay?"