Bad influence
A/N: Requested by SOMEBODY at SOME POINT but for the life of me I can NOT remember!! Anyway! This is my first ever time writing for Jun-hee so I hope I did her justice ahh! I really love her dynamic with Dae-ho too, so I tried to lean into their relationship more! Big brother Dae-ho awhh...
Summary: Jun-hee is sick of her ghosting ex, Myung-gi, trying to get back with her. The last thing a pregnant woman trapped in death games needs is a clingy ex-boyfriend, so when her new teammate Dae-ho suggests a plan to get him off her back, she takes it. Even if it's a bit...unconventional.
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Myung-gi was hardly what you could call a good boyfriend.
He was an even worse father-to-be.
The excuse of Dalmatian was his favourite get out of jail card. Within days of the coin revealing itself as a scam, Myung-gi was immediately clearing his phone of all contacts and passwords and any connection at all- including to that of his ex-girlfriend, Jun-hee. His pregnant ex-girlfriend Jun-hee.
Left alone, no family or friends, the only social interaction Jun-hee would get was from store clerks or the monthly doctor check-ups. Myung-gi’s betrayal had hurt- especially because they had mutually agreed a child wasn’t compatible for them and an abortion had been settled on. Deep down she didn’t want to- the idea of growing her own family with the man she loved was an idealistic dream and it hurt that he didn’t seem to feel the same way…but she agreed anyway in hopes that one day, that dream would come true. But even the fact she was prepared to make such a sacrifice wasn’t enough to keep him around, clearly.
Not only that, but she had listened to his ranting and raving over how Dalmatian would make them both rich, succumbed to the pressure and invested herself… and look where that got her. Broke, alone, invisible.
But she was still strong.
With Myung-gi out of the picture, Jun-hee decided she wasn’t going to give up the only family she had- her unborn child. Whatever it took, she’d scrape by and create a wonderful life for the two of them. It didn’t matter if there was no father in the picture- she was resilient, smart- she’d find a way regardless of the cost.
It was hard, at first. No direction, no focus other than her scheduled appointments and shitty part-time job. Saving and saving, every Won beyond precious, using only the bare minimum on herself as to try and rebuild all that she had lost from Dalmatian. If she could make even a fraction of what the scam took from her before the baby arrived, she’d be comfortable, and that was enough.
Months stretched on. Each one got slightly easier but were by no means easy. After month four, the sting of Myung-gi having vanished off the face of the Earth was nothing but a dull ache. The tears for him stopped. The sleepless nights wondering how he could’ve abandoned her became few and far between. Nothing mattered except her and her baby, and she filled her days pondering her future family- Myung-gi or not, things were going to be okay.
That was until Month 9 of her pregnancy…when the dream of building a family was quickly becoming a reality, the due date barrelling toward her at breakneck speed. She was nowhere near prepared enough, what little Won she had left running out before she could refill the pot. In desperation she tried contacting Myung-gi, setting her pride aside for the sake of her child. She began thinking he had died, because how could someone be so heartless as to ignore the mother of their unborn baby?
Salvation came in the form of a small card, beige with a phone number inscribed on the back and promises of enough Won to not only be comfortable, but rich. Abundantly so.
As she sat on the edge of her bed, looking around at her shitty apartment, trying to ignore the hunger pangs- she knew she had to join. This was a ticket to a better life and a fresh start.
She became used to the thought of never seeing Lee Myung-gi ever again.
Until the games themselves.
456 players, presumably recruited from all over Korea, and one of them just had to be her deadbeat ex. The shock and surprise of seeing his face on that screen (and just a tad bit of satisfaction from watching him be slapped, not that she’d ever admit that…) was almost enough to make her forget the bizarreness of it all- waking up in this huge room full of so many people and no knowledge of how she got here, the coordinated tracksuits they were all wearing, the weird guards who wouldn’t show their faces for some reason.
After the first game, seeing him being beaten by those two manic crackhead players, Jun-hee decided to make herself known. To rub in his face that she was still with child and going to raise it all by herself, that he missed his chance and she didn’t need him. And, also, to get a better look at the nasty bruise spreading across his face- serves him right.
Safe to say, that was a mistake.
Now? She could hardly get an hour alone without him pestering her, trying to convince her they should get out and start fresh. Cornering her when she was alone, trying to explain how he didn’t ghost her out of malice, it was just to ‘keep her safe’. Yeah, right. She wasn’t going to fall for that.
After the second and third game it eased up a little. He didn’t try to talk to her when she was sitting with her new team- but that didn’t stop him from trying when she’d be walking alone to the bathroom, or the odd moments she just wanted to sit on her bunk and think.
If anything it had doubled down during these quieter moments, like he knew that he only had a limited window to try and persuade her before she was sitting back with her teammates.
‘Please, Jun-hee, be reasonable’
‘Please, Jun-hee, let’s start again’
‘Please, Jun-hee, we’ll merge our winnings and I’ll never touch a Coin again’ (She almost laughed in his face at this one).
She sat down wearily after another one of his pitiful attempts, watching from her spot on the steps as he trudged back to his bunk. She sighed and rubbed her stomach, trying to distract herself with the little one. Behind her, her new-found friends were talking amongst themselves. Not ignoring her, no, but just deep in discussion. She looked back out across the dorm and sighed.
So it was only natural that a voice from beside her made her jump.
‘Woah, sorry, sorry! I didn’t mean to scare you’
Dae-ho had shuffled down from the step above and seated himself next to her, holding his hands up and smiling embarrassedly.
Jun-hee smiled softly back.
‘It’s okay, I just wasn’t expecting you’
There was a stretch of silence that was admittedly a little awkward. Jun-hee could tell the men had a soft spot for her, given she was so heavily pregnant and also a young woman stuck in this place, but Dae-ho especially. He had worried about her throughout the pentathlon, making sure to stand close by and stop any players jostling her whenever they celebrated a team winning. Glancing down at her every now and then like he was worried she’d hurt herself, even if just sitting quietly.
Dae-ho fiddled with his hands, looking around the dorm and trying to think of something to say. He nodded his head toward her stomach.
‘How are you? How’s the baby?’
Jun-hee felt a warmth bloom in her chest that he was asking. It seemed already she’d gotten more care from him within a day than Myung-gi had ever shown. It was kind, genuine. Her smile grew a little.
‘I’m okay, thank you. And so are they’ she rubbed a hand over the bump, looking down at the little miracle growing inside her.
Dae-ho leant forward with something akin to a bow, hands resting on his knees. ‘Ah, I’m so glad! It must be so stressful being in a place like this when you’re that pregnant’ His face went red immediately as he realised how blunt his wording was and he straightened up, putting his hands on his chest and bowing properly this time.
‘O-oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to be so rude!’
Jun-hee flushed slightly and let out a small giggle. ‘It’s okay, Dae-ho. I know what you meant’
‘Sometimes my mouth moves faster than my brain and I just say things!’
‘It’s okay, really! You don’t need to apologise’
The silence between them was slightly less awkward now, Dae-ho resting on his knees, both of them just enjoying the rare moment of peace. Behind them, the others were still lost in their own conversation. Having one on one time felt…nice. Like she was less alone- sure, it was reassuring to sit within the group, but she often felt she couldn’t really relate to them much.
Gi-hun, Jung-bae and In-ho were all around the same age. They had things in common, shared similar goals, had experience under their belt. She had never once felt unwanted- they treated her like their own- but the age difference certainly showed.
Dae-ho choosing to pull away from the trio and sit with her made the fear and uncertainty of the games lift a little. He had a few more years on her, sure, but he was more ‘boyish’, and she felt less like a kid at the dinner table trying to fit in with the adults.
‘…so, how are you?’ She asked, turning to face him.
‘Ah, you know…scared for my life. Other than that, just peachy’ Dae-ho huffed a small laugh at his own half-joke. He seemed different now from the usual extroverted marine front he put on, eager to please, loud; like he felt comfortable enough to be vulnerable with Jun-hee, away from the others. Especially Jung-bae, who he’d seemed to bond particularly hard with and wanted nothing more than his praise.
‘I know how you feel’ she murmured. ‘I just wanted a good life for my baby, but…what if I don’t even get to meet them?’ She felt herself tear up and quickly wiped her eyes. She wasn’t looking for pity…it was her own choice to be here after all.
Dae-ho put a large hand tentatively on the young woman’s shoulder and squeezed. ‘Hey, hey- it’s okay! We’re gonna get outta here, yeah?’ he looked back at the older men and raised his eyebrows. ‘Mr Seong there will help you on the outside. In fact, I’d bet every Won in that piggybank that they all will’
Before Jun-hee could express her gratitude, Dae-ho began shadow-boxing the air playfully.
‘Especially me- gotta teach the little guy how to fight, right?’ He gave a few more ‘punches’, laughing breathily. ‘Me and Jung-bae can take him out, show him the ropes!’
Jun-hee laughed. ‘It could also be a girl, Dae-ho’
‘Even better! Who needs self-defence more than women, huh?’ He leant back on the upper step with his elbows. ‘Trust me, my four older sisters were tough as nails- hey! They’d love to be aunties!’
Dae-ho was clearly getting ahead of himself, rambling on about how he’d be the ‘fun uncle’ and take the kid on mountain retreats and teach it how to hold its breath for over a minute and even how one day Jun-hee’s baby would be friends with his baby and-
‘Dae-ho, Dae-ho!’ Jun-hee held his big hand in both her small ones, smiling broadly now, fear of the games temporarily at the back of her mind.
Dae-ho went red and brushed a loose hair from his face, smiling sheepishly. ‘Sorry, I got ahead of myself again’
‘…no, no it’s…it’s sweet’. The woman lowered his hand. ‘I really hope you’re right’ she tapered off quietly.
Player 388’s face became serious as he leant in and said ‘I know I am’.
Jun-hee’s heart felt full and she felt tears pricking at her eyes again, when Dae-ho straightened up and pointed a finger across the dorm.
‘Anyway, what’s up with you and him?’
Jun-hee’s eyes went wide. He was clearly referencing Myung-gi…of course he was. It was obvious something was going on between them what with 333 constantly badgering her any chance he could. She hadn’t wanted her new friends to pick up on it, to acknowledge him at all, so she played dumb.
‘I…I don’t know who you mean. There’s nobody else here that I know apart from you guys and Mrs Jang’ she shook her head and looked down, highlights falling round her cheeks.
‘Really? But I see him talking to you all the time- that guy there’ he jerked his wrist. ‘The one being harassed by those two nasty bullies. Y’know, we tried to help him out in the bathroom earlier’
Jun-hee bristled with a mixture of emotions. She didn’t like that Myung-gi was being bullied- two against one wasn’t fair. But also she hated that one of her team had unknowingly offered to help the reason she had joined the games in the first place.
Dae-ho noticed her shoulders stiffening.
‘Ah, you do know him, don’t you?’ he broke into a playful grin and nudged her with an arm. ‘So, who is he? Failed talking stage? Disgraced family member?’
Jun-hee sighed. There was no getting out of this. She wasn’t going to get into the whole dirty detail of it all- she wanted a semblance of privacy at least, and not only that- it was humiliating. Ghosted by an ex-crypto trader, pregnant with his child and now being haunted by him when he was still alive.
‘He’s…my ex’
Dae-ho gasped theatrically, clearly trying to keep things lighthearted. He leant in closer.
‘An ex?’
‘Yeah’
‘If you don’t mind me asking, is he…’ he looked pointedly down at Jun-hee’s bump.
She gave a tiny nod.
‘I thought he was…was gone. I’d prepared to do everything on my own, raise our-I mean, my- baby myself. And now he’s here. And I’m stuck with him trying to get back with me’
Dae-ho pondered. He had to tread carefully, even he knew that.
‘Well, do you want to get back with him? Make amends?’
Jun-hee crossed her arms over her belly protectively.
‘No. I did, at first. But not anymore. I tried reaching out to him so many times- I started to believe he was dead. He keeps telling me he cut contact for my own safety, but if he cared about me at all, he’d never have done it in the first place’
The older man nodded. Thought for a second, and then grinned.
‘You want him off your back?’
Another tiny nod.
‘I know just what to do’
Jun-hee looked up at him and frowned.
‘What?’ and then a hasty ‘You won’t hurt him, will you?’. She couldn’t tell if it was because she didn’t want to see Dae-ho as violent, or…something deeper.
Dae-ho recoiled. ‘No, no! Nothing like that’
He scooted closer to her so that their arms were pressed together and then lowered his head like he was about to tell her a juicy secret. She instinctively lowered her head too, eyebrows raised, and they both looked like two kids planning mischief.
‘We…tickle him!’ He whispered, voice strained like speaking quietly was some great effortful feat. His hands formed into claws and flexed at the air. His eyes sparkled and his boyish grin grew so wide it showed all his teeth.
Jun-hee stared at him for a second, heads so close they were almost brushing ears, and then burst into giggles.
‘Hehehe- what??’
Dae-ho’s grin somehow got wider. Both from the playful absurdity of it, and also the relief of knowing Jun-hee was comfortable enough with the whole topic that she was actually laughing. He felt like he was with his sisters again, plotting silly pranks. Almost nostalgic.
‘I’m serious! Look-’ he shifted and took a breath like he was about to spiel off into some grand scheme. His hands gestured sharply in front of him. ‘My sisters used to do it to me when I was annoying. It’d be funny at first but after a while? I was promising anything to get them to stop. I left them alone for days afterwards!’
Jun-hee covered her bright smile with a hand. Tickling…she’d expected anything but that!
She thought back to when things were still good between her and Myung-gi- they’d do the usual couple-y things, dates on the beach and flowers at valentines. But also…tickle fights. Despite her small stature she’d usually end up winning because Myung-gi was so ridiculously ticklish.
‘Well…I guess it could work’ She sounded unsure but the smile was still plastered on her face. It was, in truth, a very funny sounding plan. Not only that, but a very effective plan too, because going off how ticklish Myung-gi was? He probably would leave her alone.
Dae-ho clasped his hands together.
‘Great! Okay, we’ll set a trap’ He had long since given up trying to whisper, the opportunity to be a harmless menace making him giddy- Jun-hee thought it was honestly pretty sweet how much he was throwing himself into helping her, but with how excitable he was being, it might as well have been simply for himself! She chuckled at the thought of him just…going around, tickling annoying people for fun.
He continued on, almost vibrating with hardly contained energy. ‘So, Jun-hee, all you have to do is walk yourself to the bathroom- or even just hang around on your own for a while- and he’ll come running. That’s how it’s been so far, right?’
‘Yes’ she replied fondly.
‘Right, so he’ll come up to you with his ‘My beautiful princess, please run away into the sunset with me’’ he mimicked Myung-gi in a silly higher pitched tone- not cruel, just…committing to the bit. He pretended not to notice how good it felt when Jun-hee hid her face and giggled at the impersonation. ‘And I’ll be waiting nearby, keeping an eye out- so when he tries something, I’ll sneak up behind him, and BAM!’ He clapped his hands once, making Jun-hee jump and collapse into more soft giggles. ‘We get him! Good plan, right?’
‘Dae-ho, you are such a bad influence!’
They both continued chatting, discussing ‘techniques’ and what tickle spots Myung-gi would fold at the most. For a while, it felt like they were just two friends swapping stories and laughing together.
‘His ribs were always a pretty bad spot. He hated when I’d pretend to count them’
‘What, like this?’
Dae-ho gave her the most gentle of tickles, rubbing his fingerpads over two upper ribs, delighting in how her eyes went wide and she twisted around into his shoulder, trying to push his wrist away.
‘AHAhaha! Ye-yehehes!’
He withdrew his hand, chuckling warmly. Behind them, the others had stilled and were watching- they knew they were up to something by the way they were huddled into each other, whispering and giggling.
‘Hey, what do you think those two are up to?’ Jung-bae spoke lowly so that they couldn’t hear, gesturing toward them. ‘Plotting something? Should we be worried?’ he said light-heartedly.
Gi-hun, Jung-bae and In-ho watched as their two younger teammates leant in closer to each other, hunched, shoulders shaking with mirth- it was obvious they were coming up with something, but the trio would never have guessed what in a million years.
‘From what I know of Dae-ho, probably plotting a raid on the kitchen or something’ Replied Young-il.
‘Ha, yeah! If we escaped this place, he’d go back for more bean buns before getting on the boat’.
Gi-hun didn’t say anything, thoughts of real escape taking up space in his brain, but he couldn’t deny it was somewhat sweet seeing Dae-ho and Jun-hee bond. Stress was particularly bad for pregnant ladies, so it was nice seeing the younger woman relaxed enough to laugh.
Below, Jun-hee and Dae-ho tittered away together like a couple of schoolkids, eagerly awaiting the moment they’d put the ‘plan’ into action.
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‘Jun-hee, Jun-hee!’
Jun-hee came to a stop inches away from the bathroom door. She’d walked purposefully slowly across the dorm, making sure Myung-gi had seen her. Alone, away from her team, perfect for another ‘we’ll start over!’ speech.
And, just like clockwork, Myung-gi had come running. Jun-hee turned to face him, and where there’d be usual annoyance boiling in her gut, there was…excitement. She couldn’t stop herself from smiling at the thought of what was to come, and Myung-gi, not knowing about the plan- thought it was directed at him.
He felt pleasantly surprised at the fact she seemed happy to see him for once- maybe he’d won her over?
‘Jun-hee’ he returned the smile. ‘Look, please don’t walk away this time- we really need to discuss us’
Jun-hee felt a pang of revulsion that he thought there was still an ‘us’ between them- but it quickly faded away into giddy anticipation as behind Myung-gi crept Dae-ho, biting his lip like he was trying hard not to laugh. Getting closer and closer…
‘I promise, once we get out, I’ll be better- we’ll start again, everything will be different and-’
‘GOTCHA!’
‘HEY!’
In a flash, Dae-ho wrapped his arms around Myung-gi and had picked him clean off the floor. He carried the squirming man to a nearby bunk just a few feet away, not even breaking a sweat, Jun-hee giggling alongside them.
‘Wh-?! PUT ME DOWN!’ Myung-gi swung his head to the side and looked down at Jun-hee. ‘JUN-HEE! Help!’
Before he was given an answer he was thrown onto the bunk (thankfully empty, it would’ve been awkward having to explain the following events to a disgruntled player) and his wrists were hoisted above his head.
‘What are you doing? What the fuck is going on?!’ He tried kicking out, tried pulling at his wrists, but Dae-ho was a lot stronger.
Player 388 grinned down at him, then up at Jun-hee. ‘Go on Jun-hee! Get him!!’
Jun-hee sat on the edge of the bed by Myung-gi’s waist, still not quite believing something as silly as this was happening amidst literal death games, grinning widely.
Myung-gi was in bits, clearly thinking he was about to be killed or beaten (again). ‘Get the fuck off! Seriously, what are you doing?!’ he snarled at Dae-ho, trying his wrists one more time.
‘Relax, Myung-gi’ purred Jun-hee. ‘This won’t hurt’
Myung-gi was about to snap something again when the older man gave his wrists a playful jostle.
‘Yeah dude! Won’t hurt a bit! It’ll just really…really…tickle!’
‘It’ll whahahAHAHAHA!? AH! HEY!’ The scammer broke into surprised giggles when he felt long nails skitter under his shirt and on his sides, light as anything but infuriatingly ticklish. Yeah, Dae-ho was kinda making sense now.
‘JUHUHUN-HEE!’
Jun-hee was thrilled (and, evidently, so was Dae-ho from the way he was smirking). The plan was going better than expected and it’d only been about fifteen seconds.
‘I thought you wanted my attention, huh?’ Jun-hee teased in a voice that surprised even her. The teasing came naturally, so of course, she carried on. ‘What, is this not enough for you?’ Her nails moved to the centre of his stomach, gliding around his bellybutton in swoops and arcs. ‘How about now?’
‘AhahahahahaAHAHA! STAHAhaaHAP IHIT!’ He wanted to kick, wanted to flail, but…he was terrified of accidentally catching Jun-hee in the madness. He wouldn’t exactly increase his chances of winning her back if he hurt her.
But those thoughts went through the window when Jun-hee kneaded into his stomach with her fingertips, massaging into the muscle in tiny ticklish vibrating bursts, and he had to angle his lower half away from her as his legs cycled uselessly off the opposite side of the bed.
‘NOHOhohOHOHO!! NOHOHOT THAHAHAHAT!’
Jun-hee’s nose crinkled with how hard she was smiling, eyes narrow with focus when she looked up at Dae-ho. ‘He always hated this’
‘Yeah, I bet. Look at him go!’ Dae-ho remarked, cocking his head. ‘Where else is he ticklish?’
‘Oh, everywhere’
‘STAAHHAHAHAP!’
‘What, even here?’ The ex-marine took both Myung-gi’s wrists in one large hand and scribbled into their victim’s underarms, giving each an equal amount of torment.
Myung-gi squealed and his laughter went silent for just a second before breaking out into high-pitched giggles, thrashing his head side to side.
‘Oh, especially there’ 222 said whilst Myung-gi lost his mind below her, clear evidence that yes, he was very ticklish there.
‘WHYYY!!’ He wailed, hardly eligible through his cackling. Dae-ho’s hand reached down to his upper ribs and scribbled rapidly, making the younger man screech. ‘WHY- WAHAHAHA!’
‘Why?’ Jun-hee echoed. ‘Because you won’t leave me alone!’
‘Yeah man, this is your own fault!’ came the deeper voice from above. ‘Poor guy…tickled into solitary confinement!’
Both ticklers laughed at this. Myung-gi laughed too, but not exactly for the same reason.
‘BUHUhuhut- heheHEH- I WAHAHAHAS JUHU-JUST- AGH! STOHOHOP IHIHIT!!’ Myung-gi’s laughter cracked as his frustration grew, the electric sensations from his stomach and ribs robbing his ability to talk properly. He hated it. Not even the tickling (although that was pretty awful), but not being able to hold himself together. His usual cool and collected attitude, his rational way of thinking- all this completely dissolved under Jun-hee and Dae-ho’s fingers.
‘Awhh, Jun-hee! Listen to him! He’s so sorry that he can’t even talk!’ The fingers at his ribs switched sides, digging inbetween the bones and making him howl. ‘This is a real bad spot. Think I should just stay right here?’
‘NOHOHOHO! PLEAHAHahaha-PLEASEEHEHEHE!’
‘Oh yeah, definitely staying here’
Jun-hee started to walk her fingers up Myung-gi’s waist, intentionally slowly so he knew what was coming.
‘JUN-HEEHEHE NO! NOHOhohOHO!’
‘Promise you’ll leave me alone’ she purred, fingers stopping just beneath the dip of his ribcage ‘and I’ll leave your ribs alone’. At this, Dae-ho snorted with a ‘I won’t’.
Myung-gi thought about it as best he could- he didn’t think he could handle both ticklers assaulting his ribs…if he promised to lay off, maybe Jun-hee would go easier on him? But…was he really going to give up on a possible future with her because of this? Tickling??
‘WAIHIHIHIT! I- IHIHIHI!’
‘Oohhh he’s still trying! Get him, Jun-hee!’
Jun-hee chuckled delightedly and her hands suddenly dove upwards, burying themselves in his lower ribs and scrunching, going up until they met Dae-ho’s hand on his upper ribs and then back down again. ‘Honestly, you deserve this. If only you hadn’t ghosted me right? I wouldn’t have to be doing this!’
The double assault sent Myung-gi into hysterics, twisting this way and that as he tried to get the hell away from the tickles. His brain turned to nothing but static white noise and it was a wonder he hadn’t somehow thrown himself off the bunk. The sheets tangled around his ankles, trapping him further, taking away even the simple relief of flailing properly.
‘FUHUHUHUCK! FUCKFUCKFUCK!!’ He arched off the bunk which just forced his ribs further into their fingers.
Dae-ho’s eyes went wide. ‘Pffff oh my god! Listen to him! What’s wrong, champ? That tickle or something?’
‘MOHOHOHOVE! MOHOHOHOVE SPO-SPOhohohHOTS! PLEASE!’
‘Why should I listen to you, Myung-gi? You don’t listen to me when I tell you to go away’ 222 tapped her fingers rapidly against his ribs, giggling at how such gentle tickles made him squeak and twist.
‘Dae-ho, use your other hand too!’
‘You sure? I don’t want him to hit you or anything. Doesn’t look like he has too much self-control right now’
‘Oh, he wouldn’t hurt me! Would you, Myung-gi?’ To which the only reply was incoherent garbled nonsense.
Dae-ho shrugged. ‘That sounded like a ‘no’ to me!’ and suddenly there were four hands on his ribs, not a single inch left un-tickled. His wrists were free now, sure, but his mind was so scrambled and body so hijacked with laughter all Myung-gi could manage was pathetic little slaps. He tried to aim them primarily at Dae-ho’s wrists opposed to Jun-hee’s, though- even now, he was still terrified of striking her.
‘AGGHHAHAHAHAHA!!’ His voice was wrecked, nothing but broken laughter and failed attempts of pleading as he tried to curl up.
‘Ah ah, none of that! Come on, open uuup~’ Sang Jun-hee and scritched at his neck, fluttering up the sides and around the shell of his ears, making him snap flat onto his back to get away- and those hands went right back to his ribs. His feet kicked uselessly within the sheets.
‘Dae-ho, curl your fingers more- like this’ 222 nodded down at her hands, flexing and clawing into the muscles between the bones, like she was giving a presentation. ‘This really gets him’
‘Got it!’ came the cheerful reply. He followed suit, and then-
‘Hey, y’know what my sisters would do that got me real bad?’
‘Hm?’
‘Okay, go down to his hips, where it dips- yeah, there. Now pinch, but lightly- don’t wanna hurt him!’
More hysterics, tapering into silent laughter every now and then, Myung-gi’s arms shooting down to try and push Jun-hee’s away from pinching the sides of his hip divots and then filing her nails into the dips themselves. His slender fingers wrapped around her wrists but he could hardly focus enough to use any real strength- and of course, there was still the instinctual urge not to be too rough with her.
Player 333 had no idea how it had even gotten to this. Being used as some kind of fucked up class project on ‘how to tickle’ by his ex and her weird new friend. He wouldn’t have even known the guys name if it weren’t for Jun-hee saying it. The whole thing was surreal, reduced to hysterics by the hands of them both- especially because he didn’t even know Dae-ho. This was their first time interacting and it didn’t start off with a ‘Hey, my name is’ like any normal person would- it was just strong arms round his middle, being dumped on a bunk, and then fingers in his ribs and pits. What the hell was his life right now?!
To make matters worse- he knew how loud he was being. He couldn’t exactly help it, but that didn’t make it any less mortifying. He could only imagine how many other players were watching, laughing, maybe wondering who smuggled a dog toy into the dorm.
And then there were them.
Not Jun-hee or…or…Dae-hun? Dae-won?? Something like that- he couldn’t quite remember the name of the man through the effort of not going insane- but those two junkies he supposedly ruined the lives of.
He knew they were watching, smirking in disbelief that ‘The amazing Myung-gi of MG coin’ was deathly ticklish, howling and crying with laughter. Just what he needed. Handing them more ammunition.
He couldn’t think too much about it though- not when he felt Jun-hee’s fingers scribble patterns on his thighs and the tops of his knees. The skin was thinner there, more sensitive, and it didn’t help that she kept randomly throwing in squeezes too.
‘C’mon man! Just say you’ll leave her alone and we’ll stop!’
Myung-gi wanted to fight it- he really did- but the squeezes to his knees and inner thighs had become more frequent, relentless, and he still had those damn fingers shaking into his ribs and-
‘OKAY! OKAHAHAHAY! SHIHIHIT!’
‘Okay what?’ Jun-hee squeezed harder, eliciting an unmanly squeak.
‘ALONE! I’LL LEAHAHAHAVE YOU ALOOHOHONE!’
And finally, the tickling stopped. He was left half on his side, feet still caught up in blanket, huffing and panting like his life depended on it. Dae-ho gave his cheek a friendly pat.
‘There ya go! Got there in the end!’ he smiled broadly and stood up straight, shaking himself out and brushing the loose strands of hair out his face with both hands. ‘Whew. What a workout huh, Jun-hee?’
Jun-hee had straightened out Myung-gi’s shirt and was trying to stand up herself now, one hand braced on her bump. Myung-gi, despite being completely annihilated, used one shaky hand to support her lower back to help her up. Jun-hee let him.
Dae-ho walked round the edge of the bunk and asked a ‘Are you okay?’. She nodded and then looked down at Myung-gi, who was rubbing tears from his eyes and letting out tiny aftershock giggles.
‘Myung-gi’
He blinked and looked up.
‘If you really need- you can talk to me. But just stop with all the promises. Stop trying to force a future with me. It’s exhausting’
Myung-gi looked away. He felt the shame in the pit of his stomach, the embarrassment coiling in his chest…maybe he had been too pushy.
‘Yeah man, ladies don’t find desperation attractive’ Dae-ho chimed in very unhelpfully.
‘…Sorry. Everything is just uncertain right now, Jun-hee. I’m just worried’
‘I’m worried too, but you have to stop. Or we’ll just do this over again and this time I’ll invite the rest of my team to help’. It was only a half-threat because Jun-hee was sure Jung-bae at the very least would love to get in on this, but the main point was: she wanted it to just stop.
‘Yeah, okay. I’ll uh- I’ll give you some space’
‘Thank you’ Jun-hee nodded her head gratefully, relieved. ‘See you around’.
Dae-ho gave another playful wiggle of his fingers toward Myung-gi, making him flinch and glare. And then? The two were off, walking back to their team.
‘That went well, huh?’ Player 388 gave Jun-hee a light nudge. Despite it all, she returned the nudge with a cheerful smile, feeling lighter that ‘amends’ had been made without the use of violence or arguing. ‘Yeah, as well as it could’ve, I suppose’
Just as they got to the steps, the older men staring at them dumbfounded but amused, Dae-ho stretched out and said-
‘…Was fun though, right?’
‘Ha, definitley’
‘Should we come up with another plan?’
