Prologue
Kang Mi-Na opened her eyes to the soft hum of the wind. The last thing she remembered was standing in a blindingly white room, a masked figure shoving a thick envelope of money into her hands before everything faded to black. Now, she lay on a hard wooden bench in what looked like a deserted bus stop. The morning sun glared down at her, making her groan as she sat up.
"Mi-Na?"
She turned to see Soo-Young, her best friend, blinking at her with sleepy eyes, her short frame curled up on the other end of the bench. Relief flooded through her—at least she wasn’t alone.
"Are we alive?" Soo-Young mumbled.
"Looks like it," Mi-Na said, stretching. Her body ached, her mind felt foggy, but her fingers tightened around the thick envelope in her lap. She peeked inside. Stacks of crisp bills. Enough to clear their debts. Enough to start over.
For a moment, they sat in silence, letting the reality of their survival sink in. They had won. They had survived the 36th annual Squid Games.
Soo-Young rubbed her face. "So… what now?"
Mi-Na grinned, already unlocking her phone. "Now? We make a group chat."
Soo-Young raised a brow. "What?"
"A survivors' group chat. You know, to check in, share trauma, maybe plan a trip to the Bahamas with our blood money."
Soo-Young snorted. "Of course you would."
Mi-Na scrolled through her contacts. She had only exchanged numbers with her small but elite team—Jeon-Yeong (the emotional yet perpetually bored psychiatrist), Yun-Hee (Jeon-Yeong’s bestie and partner in crime), and Soo-Ha (who survived alongside her equally lucky brother, Do-Yoon). They were all divas, but Mi-Na lived for drama. Besides, the others had numbers to different survivors. They could make this work.
She created the chat, typing out a name: "Squid Survivors: 36th Gen"
First message: "Good morning, traumatized besties. We’re alive, rich, and in desperate need of therapy. Who’s in?"
Within seconds, the typing bubbles appeared.
And just like that, the survivors' club was born.