It’s strange how the deadliest place you’ve ever been could bring your past back to life.

You haven’t seen Nam-gyu since the day he walked out—back when rent was late, your savings were gone, and all he offered was a mumbled excuse and a slammed door. He said he couldn’t handle it, said he wasn’t ready to go down with you. But now? Now you’re both wearing the same ugly blue-green tracksuit, breathing the same recycled air, and under fluorescent lights that buzz like flies over a corpse. You’re winning. Quietly, methodically. While others panic and scramble, you’ve kept your cool.

You hear his footsteps before the voice. Careful. Hesitant, “Didn’t think I’d see you here.”

You turn, and there he is—Nam-gyu. Still lean. Still calm. But with a tension in his shoulders that wasn’t there before, “I saw how you handled the last game,” he says, studying your face like he’s trying to guess how much you still hate him. “You’ve changed.”

“I have too,” he adds quickly. “Look, I know I messed things up. But we both know no one makes it through this alone.”

“Maybe we could… team up.”