"Hi, my neighboring cellmate."
Si Hon’s eyes widened the mont he recognized her.
"Y-you?! Oh my god— my neighboring cellmate!!!"
Without thinking, he imdiately moved, stepping forward and practically lunging toward her with open arms like he was about to hug her right then and there.
But before he could even get close—
Flick.
"Ouch."
Si Hon froze mid-motion, one hand going to his forehead as he winced slightly. The woman stood there, completely unfazed, lowering her hand after casually flicking him like it was the most natural thing in the world.
She let out a small sigh, then glanced at him with mild annoyance.
"Dude," she said flatly, "you’re the leader right now. Act like one."
Her eyes narrowed slightly as she crossed her arms.
"And don’t get the wrong idea. I only joined because this lineup looks weird enough to be interesting."
There was a short pause before she tilted her head slightly.
"Oh. Na’s Seong-su. Just call Seong... actually—Su is fine."
Si Hon blinked once, then nodded slowly, still rubbing his forehead.
"Got it."
For a brief mont, things settled.
Then—
(Wait...)
His expression shifted slightly.
(Now that I think about it... who were the other two?)
Si Hon turned his head, looking past her— And spotted them.
Two figures standing close together.
Too close.
They were holding each other’s hands tightly, almost as if letting go wasn’t an option.
And—
"A Kid?"
A boy and a girl.
Twins.
Both with soft yellow hair, their appearance almost identical except for their clothes— the girl wearing a simple dress, the boy in a plain white shirt. Small details stood out without him even trying to notice. First was the ring resting on the girl’s pinky finger, and a necklace hanging from the boy’s neck.
For a second, Si Hon just stared.
(Why are there kids here?)
Sothing about that didn’t sit right.
At all.
He exhaled quietly, pushing the thought aside for now as he slowly approached them. The closer he got, the clearer it beca— the way their shoulders trembled, how tightly they clung to each other, their heads slightly lowered like they were trying to make themselves smaller.
They weren’t just nervous.
They were scared.
No—
terrified.
Si Hon stopped right in front of them, then slowly crouched down to their level. He hesitated for a brief second before gently placing a hand on the boy’s shoulder.
"Hey... kid," he said, his voice noticeably softer than before. "What are you doing here?"
A pause.
"And wait— how did you even—"
He stopped himself.
"Never mind. We’ll talk about that later."
The boy flinched slightly at the touch, his body stiffening as his eyes darted around, unsure where to look. His grip on his sister tightened instinctively.
"I... I..." he stuttered, his voice trembling. " and Suha... we were caught..."
His words ca out uneven, like he was forcing himself to speak through fear.
"They... put us here..."
His voice cracked.
"It’s... our third day... and this is our first ti in the... arena..."
Beside him, the girl— Suha, let out a small, quiet sob, her fingers tightening around his hand as her shoulders shook.
"They said we have to fight."
Silence.
For a mont—
Si Hon didn’t say anything.
He just looked at them.
And sothing in his expression... changed.
He gritted his teeth.
Slowly, Si Hon lifted his head, his gaze drifting past the trembling twins—back toward the towering pillars where the selection was still ongoing, voices echoing, lights flashing as more teams were ford.
Then—
His eyes shifted higher.
Toward the VIP lounge.
His expression hardened.
For a brief mont, he just stared... then he spotted her.
"Sarah."
Without hesitation, he raised his hand and pointed straight down at the two kids in front of him, his expression clearly demanding an explanation.
Up in the VIP section, Sarah froze the mont she noticed him.
Then— she panicked.
Her hands imdiately started moving, waving frantically as she shook her head.
Sarah; "No, no, no!"
She quickly switched, forming clear, exaggerated gestures— sign language.
I don’t know how they got here.
I. Am. Not. The. One. Assign for the prisoners.
I’m just acting as a king so the Munches wouldn’t go wild.
Si Hon stared at her in silence.
"ಠ_ಠ..."
A pause.
"That’s... nice. At least she knows sign language."
He exhaled quietly, dragging his gaze away from her, clearly deciding not to deal with that right now.
Instead, he looked back down.
At the two small figures still trembling in front of him.
For a second, he didn’t move.
Then—
He crouched down and gently scooped both of them up at once.
The twins flinched slightly at the sudden motion, their bodies tensing out of instinct— but they didn’t resist. Instead, almost imdiately, they leaned into him, as if clinging to the first sense of safety they’d felt in a while.
The girl settled against his left shoulder.
The boy against his right.
Si Hon adjusted his hold slightly, making sure they were secure before turning and walking toward the edge of the arena. The noise of the crowd continued behind him, but it felt... distant now.
He reached the wall and slowly sat down, leaning his back against the cold stone as he let the twins rest on his lap.
Only then did he really notice it.
The ground beneath them—
Was sand.
Soft, golden-yellow sand, stretching across the arena floor.
A real coliseum.
"...huh."
For a mont, he just stared at it.
Then his gaze lowered.
Back to the twins.
They were quieter now, still clinging to him, their small hands gripping his clothes like they were afraid he might disappear if they let go.
Si Hon let out a slow breath.
"Looks like the picking’s gonna take a while."
His voice was calr now. Softer.
He shifted slightly, making sure they were comfortable before speaking again.
"So... mind if I ask you two sothing?"
The twins looked up at him at the sa ti, their movents almost perfectly in sync.
"...Okay, mister," the boy said quietly. "Ask anything."
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