born in 2001 to a less then fortunate family, isaac had a rocky childhood. his parents splitting at a young age and not providing him with the proper attention and care needed for a growing child, all came together to form his unstable mental health that stuck with him into adulthood.
cutting off his parents after moving out, his living situation was no better. he tried to get help now that he was capable of it, he began seeing a therapist in seoul every so often, but he still found life difficult as he could never properly open up to her. unable to get a proper job due to being forced out of school in his youth, he found employment in a small and failing family owned restaurant in incheon. he worked there for 3 years, barely making enough money to live on his own. eventually, he was unable to provide enough to cover the cost of rent in the apartment he stayed in, forcing him to look for cheaper housing. in the process of this, he found himself in the middle of a jeonse rental scam. too embarrassed to ask for help, to tell anyone about his situation — he began discreetly spending the night at the restaurant as he had nowhere else to go. the owner of the restaurant became frustrated with him upon finding out what he'd been doing, and promptly fired him a few days later without notice.
his mental health spiraled further after being evicted, scammed, and fired from his job all within the span of a month. he'd never been the most stable individual, and he found himself sending out farewell texts to those he knew personally the night before he planned to end his life: this was the last time anyone heard from him.
he planned to kill himself by jumping in front of the train tracks at seouls shinbundang line on the trip back from seeing his therapist. he figured it'd be fast, he'd never have to look back. on that day, he dangled his foot over the edge, wondering if he'd really be able to do it. if he could really take that leap. he felt a hand on his shoulder suddenly, making him terrifyingly aware of the situation he was in, he spun around and saw a man in a suit before him. the man pulled him away from the edge, and towards the center of the platform.
the recruiter explained the premise of why he was interacting with him, seeing isaac had lost his will to live, the recruiter invited him to the games directly. isaac, despite his suspicions, took the business card from the suited man. flipping it over in his hand he saw the number on the back, and decided to give it some more thought. he called the number later that night, crouched against the wall outside a motel he couldn't afford — he decided he'd had nothing else to do. maybe this could be what he was looking for this whole time, a way out of the draining hole he'd dug for himself.
2 hours later he found himself stood by a road he'd been directed to by whoever he'd phoned, it was cold, his jacket pressed against his skin, and he knew he'd never forget that night. he silently got into the van that pulled up in front of him, and in a blink he was out.
he woke up to a bright room, classical music serenaded his ears and as he sat up dazed he noticed the hundreds of other people within the giant hall. he saw some people interact with each other, how they'd already began to form into groups despite having just awoken, but he kept to himself. even in a room full of unfamiliar faces, people he'd never met before, he still felt out of place. he paid attention to those he saw around him, trying to keep record of people he should stay clear from.
masked men in pink suits came out and explained what was going to take place over the next week, and isaac listened as an older man spoke up, informing the other players of their rights and ability to vote to end the games if they wished. he signed the form the guards provided him with, listening as he heard people begin to argue. there was a man he kept note not to interact with, a tall man with purple hair who seemed to hold himself like he owned the air he breathed. perhaps his eyes lingered for a little too long as he watched the man get into a verbal altercation with someone he didn't recognize, something about a scam.
the pink guards began to round everyone up, taking them out into the stairway for each contestant to take their picture — before they made their way to the first game; red light green light. he tried paying attention as the same older man from before began, saying something about getting shot. isaac's paranoia was deep rooted in his mind, so even as other people mocked him, he listened. even as other people ignored the man's words, isaac trusted his word, staying behind someone bigger then him as the doll began it's game.
things went slow, everyone moving forward at the right time, until a girl let out a scream followed by a loud gunshot. everyone in the room freaked out, screams and gunshots echoed throughout the room disguised as a playground and everyone scrambled to escape. everyone ran, falling over as gunshots struck them down. another contestant collapsed dead on top of him, pulling isaac down to the ground. without thinking, isaac kicked the man off of him, his chest pounding as he realized he'd done the one thing warned not to do; move.
a scream tore from his throat as he felt a gunshot go through his right leg, tearing through his thigh and causing his heart to race. tears welled up in his eyes as his head screamed that this was it, he was going to die here, he was going to die meaningless, amongst a sea of other debt ridden people who had the same foolish fantasy that some stupid game could fix their troubles.
he sat still for 10 seconds, what seemed like his entire life rushing through his head, until it all hit him so fast. everything he'd done, everything he'd tried his hardest to accomplish in his life despite all the struggle he'd gone through. he couldn't just let it be for nothing. he couldn't bring himself to just give up, he'd tried so hard to build something for himself just for it to die like this. as his leg bled out, dripping onto the sand covered ground of the makeshift pen, he stood up. he stood up with a wince, ignoring the sharp pain running through his entire body that caused him to tremble and shake. he felt sick to his stomach, like he could throw up at any moment, but the adrenaline pulled him through. as the doll yelled "green light", he started walking. he kept walking, and walking, and walking even as his body screamed at him to give up.
he found himself just before the finish line, the end was so close to his reach, but his leg couldn't handle it anymore. the adrenaline was beginning to wear off, he could feel himself slowly becoming more lightheaded every second due to the amount of blood he was losing. just as the doll turned back around, he felt himself lose it. he couldn't feel most of his body anymore, and his vision grew darker by the moment — his body was seconds from falling to the ground. as he was about to lose consciousness, he felt someone come up to his side. their arm wrapped around his shoulders, keeping him upright. isaac tried his best to look at who was helping him, tried his best to wake himself up as his vision grew splotchy, but he couldn't. as the man assisting him began helping him walk towards the finish line, he could barely keep his eyes open. through hazy vision, isaac watched the ground as he saw himself cross the red line on the floor. the mysterious man by his side helped him to the ground gently, obviously noticing the state he was in. before isaac's vision went dark, he saw the numbers on his savior's jacket: 333.