#han mi nyeo x reader

[celestiamour]

‧₊˚✧ ❛[ squid game ]❜

╰₊✧ contains: seong gi-hun, kang sae-byeok, cho sang-woo, ji-yeong, abdul ali, han mi-nyeo, the salesman, hwang jun-ho, hwang in-ho, pink guards

━━━ .°˖✧ season 2 (coming soon) ˚₊ ⊹

━━━ .°˖✧ seong gi-hun ˚₊ ⊹

nothing here yet...

━━━ .°˖✧ kang se-byeok ˚₊ ⊹

nothing here yet...

━━━ .°˖✧ cho sang-woo ˚₊ ⊹

nothing here yet...

━━━ .°˖✧ ji-yeong ˚₊ ⊹

nothing here yet...

━━━ .°˖✧ abdul ali ˚₊ ⊹

nothing here yet...

━━━ .°˖✧ han mi-nyeo ˚₊ ⊹

nothing here yet...

━━━ .°˖✧ the salesman ˚₊ ⊹

me & my husband - you don’t need your husband to be perfect, you just want him to be honest┊3.3k words

━━━ .°˖✧ hwang jun-ho ˚₊ ⊹

nothing here yet...

━━━ .°˖✧ hwang in-ho ˚₊ ⊹

nothing here yet...

━━━ .°˖✧ the pink guards ˚₊ ⊹

nothing here yet...

[downins]

Squid Game Characters during online class [ headcanons ]

Characters included: Seong Gi Hun, Kang Sae Byeok, Jang Deok Su, Han Mi Nyeo, Ali Abdul, Hwang Jun Ho, Ji Yeong & Cho Sang Woo 

-Seong Gi Hun-

◦Gi Hun’s grades are average, but he is a good student who joins classes. 

◦He is the helpful student, just text him and he’ll try his best to lend a hand. He won’t give you all the answers right away but he will explain to you how to solve the problem. 

◦He always joins class early, greets and thanks the teachers in every class. Constantly answering the teacher’s questions. 

◦He’s the one who created the groupchat to discuss about school and he reminds all of you to join class. 

◦When you’re absent, he will text you after class and send you all of the homework that needs to be done. 

◦He will videocall you to teach you how to do them and explain to you about today’s topic. 

◦He gives you motivation to join classes or do assignments, and after that he will say things like “I’m proud of you :D” 

-Kang Sae Byeok- 

◦Sae Byeok is the quiet student, the cold one that no one dares to mess with. But you being her significant other, she rings your phone to wake your lazy ass up. 

◦You don’t know how she does it but she somehow gets good grades in class even though she doesn’t engage that much in class. Eh she’s Sae Byeok she can do anything perfectly. 

◦She doesn’t really talk to the teachers that much, the only time you ever see her talking to teachers is when they ask her questions. 

◦Joins class early, submits assignments before the deadline, the perfect student but also the fierce and scary one. 

◦When she doesn’t join classes, she’s either chilling with her brother or just doing some of her stuff. 

◦She only allows you and Ji Yeong to ask her about homeworks, she does help Gi Hun sometimes but others.. not really. 

◦When you’re absent, she’ll definitely leave the class because she wants to check up on you and just spend time with you. 

◦But yes, you care about your education so she’ll ask Ji Yeong or Gi Hun for help. And after that the two of you will try to study together. 

-Jang Deok Su-

◦Barely gives a single fuck about class, but because you always try to persuade him to do so, he will do it for you. 

◦He join class after 30 minutes and just stays quiet for the whole time. He doesn’t care about the teachers a lot. 

◦Your attendance rate is literally 100% because you help him take notes and write down the assignments. And after that you will try to teach him everything you learnt. 

◦He feels bad because he feels like he’s using you to pass school, but you just explained to him how you don’t want him to drop out and graduate together. 

◦He tells you to take breaks and pamper yourself, make sure you’re not sacrificing your mental health for the sake of helping him pass every class. 

◦He spams the groupchat that Gi Hun created with memes and stupid stickers, random stupid videos. You do find it entertaining but at the same time you feel bad for others who are in the groupchat. 

-Han Mi Nyeo-

◦First of all, she joins classes but sometimes she forgets to turn off her camera and yall would catch her eating or just laughing at random stuff. 

◦50% focusing in class, 50% eating or playing games. Yes that’s our beloved Mi Nyeo. 

◦She texts you during class and just say that she’s bored and lonely. She just wants to go to your house and cuddle you. 

◦She only pays attention during her favourite class, and the other boring ones, she’ll either just skip them or join the class and mind her own business. 

◦Her grades aren’t really good, but not that bad but also not average. I mean she loves certain subjects and she will definitely get an A on her favourite subjects. 

◦When she doesn’t attend any class, you’ll help her take down small notes and surprisingly she understands them really quick and she promised to buy you meals after the lockdown is over. 

◦She just comes to you when she doesn’t know how to do any assignment. She only does her assignments at the eleventh hour. 

-Ali Abdul-

◦ALI ABDUL SUPREMACY <3333333

◦He’s the same as Gi Hun, he attends class early, is polite to the teachers and classmates. He’s a really sweet student. Everyone loves him. 

◦When he greets the teacher in the meeting, he will add emojis. He loves helping the teachers when they’re having technical difficulties. And he’s very very patient with everyone. 

◦Is really focused on maintaining his good grades, if you don’t understand anything, you can always count on Ali for help. 

◦He will slowly explain to you about everything one by one and makes sure that you’re crystal clear about it. Don’t worry, he can repeat himself over and over again for you because he loves you that much. 

◦Sleeps early so that he will have enough energy to attend classes the next day. Texts you good night and good morning everyday. 

◦Ali would definitely check if you’re in class or not, when he notices that you’re absent, he will send a message to you and study with you after class. 

◦If you’re not feeling well, he will help you do your assignments and hand them in. He will inform the teacher about your condition and after that he will tell you to just rest. 

◦In the groupchat, he sends really sweet messages to everyone and tells them to have a great day. Deok Su tried making fun of him for this once, and things didn’t really turn out well for him after that. 

-Hwang Jun Ho-

◦Jun Ho is like Ali too, but he isn’t very nice to everyone. He doesn’t really like Deok Su and Mi Nyeo because you know how they can be like sometimes. 

◦Yes, you can depend on him to help you with school. But will he give you a whole ass lecture if you’re not taking school seriously? Yes, yes he will. 

◦He does love talking to you but just odn’t distract him during class, he wants to succeed in school and he also wants you to pass with flying colours. 

◦He communicates with the teachers 85% percent of the time. He will ask questions about stuff he doesn’t understand. 

◦If you’re sick, he will videocall you while joining class to check on your condition. He wants to make sure that you’re not in a critical situation and also focus in class. Yeah he can do two things at once because he’s Hwang Jun Ho. 

◦He pays attention to you and his school priorities, he manages to settle a lot of stuff at once. 

-Ji Yeong-

◦Ji Yeong is a pretty good student too, she looks like she doesn’t care about school but she actually does. 

◦She wants to excel in school because she actually wants to live a good life with you in the future.

◦When all of you needs to turn on your cameras in class, you will catch her staring at you but sometimes its the other way around. She’s madly in love with you. 

◦The two of you do a lot of stuff together, she spends most of her time doing art projects with you, studying together, doing homework together. But 90% of the time is her saying how pretty/handsome you are and admiring you while you’re doing your stuff. 

◦She does socialise with the other students, but mostly with you and Sae Byeok. She loves the both of you so much and Sae Byeok likes spending time with the both of you. 

◦When you’re sick, she’s like Jun Ho, she will videocall you while joining her classes. She wants to make sure she won’t fall behind but also wants to make sure you’re doing fine. 

◦She insists on helping you do your homework, she wants you to just rest and take a break from school. 

◦When there’s a group project, she definitely wants to partner up with you. Actually she wants to see you more even though it’s through the screen. 

-Cho Sang Woo-

◦Sang Woo is also an intelligent student, he manages to handle a lot of stuff. So online classes aren’t really a huge problem for him. I think that he deals with technology pretty easily. 

◦He’s good at maths and after every maths class, he’ll text you to make sure that you’re able to understand the formulas and the methods. 

◦His notes are somehow really neat and understandable so you always ask him for advice on how to arrange yours.

◦He’s polite to everyone. But when it comes to Deok Su and Mi Nyeo, he barely talks to them. He only texts them when they need answers. 

◦If you’re sick, just inform him and he will pay extra attention in class. He desn’t want you to stare at your device for a long period of time so he just sends you notes and important parts of the topic. 

◦He won’t do your assignments for you but if you do have any problem understanding the questions, he will teach you. 

◦Sang Woo loves you so that’s why he makes sure that you’re not procrastinating any homework. He wants you to do well in school. <3

[parkvcrs]

Guardian Angel

SUMMARY: s/n y/n accidentally catches the eye of one of the guards.

PAIRING: guard! x player!fem!reader.

WARNING(S): death, blood, that sort of stuff.

NOTES: i guess minor spoilers for the third episode of squid game if you haven’t seen it.

Player 018 fiddled with the end of her uniform as she grabbed her breakfast from one of the guards, “Thank you.” She nodded her head towards him. A circle is drawn on his mask. It stands for being below the triangle and the square. This is a simple rule. However, the player seemed to be genuine in showing her appreciation of the meal — as if feeding her is not their responsibility, but a generous gesture.

The guard, in particular, was well-costumed to the rules that he must obey. He was not a manager nor a soldier, but a worker. A worker who is the "civilian" staff in the sense that they are given menial tasks — body disposal, preparing games, cleaning maintenance, and food distribution. Their role in the Games does not require them to speak or possess weapons. But most importantly:

1. ALWAYS WEAR YOUR MASK OUTSIDE OF YOUR ROOM

2. DO NOT CONVERSE WITHOUT PERMISSION

3. DO NOT LEAVE YOUR ROOM WITHOUT PERMISSION

He knew he wasn’t supposed to converse on his jurisdiction, but found himself compelled to respond to Player 018. He opened his mouth to engage in a conversation, but stopped himself, reminding himself of the rules and what would happen if he disobeyed. “S/n Y/n!” A voice called for the young woman, prompting her to tense. Turning around, the contestant retreated to her group with her breakfast in hand.

As the guard continued passing out the meal to the remaining players, he couldn’t help but glance occasionally in Player 018’s, or rather, S/n’s, general direction. Before the two knew it, it was time for the second game.

All players were herded to a spacious room that was made up to mimic a giant-sized playground, with a towering jungle jim and an adult-sized slide and so on. Despite the circumstances, Player 018 couldn’t help but get distracted by the scenery until the intercom rang loudly throughout the room: “Players, welcome to the second game. We will begin shortly.” At this, she frowned — reminding herself that she could spare no expense. She could not let herself daydream at a time like this, for it could jeopardize her chances of advancing to the next round. With a small sigh, she tilted her head back as she listened carefully to the instructions. “Players, before the game begins, choose one of the four available shapes you see on the wall. Once you’ve chosen your shape, please stand in front of it. Choose a shape and stand in front of it immediately.”

At this, S/n’s eyebrows furrowed together with subtle confusion as she tried her best to look past the shoulders of everyone in front of her. She looked at her options: a circle, a triangle, a star, and an umbrella. Player 018 stood there for a moment whilst trying to make up her mind for making her final decision before the intercom prompted that everyone should move faster, “Choose a shape and stand in front of it immediately.” It repeated.

Feeling as if she was being rushed, Player 018 began to pace in front of the various lines but ultimately decided to pick the star. Even though she was compelled to pick the umbrella from the beginning, her gut authorized against it.

“The time to select your shape has ended. I will now explain the rules of the next game. All players, please take one case each from the table at the front of your line.” With that, the lines started to move as guards handed out small tins. Eventually, it got to S/n’s turn and she was met face-to-face with another guard with a circle pattern imprinted onto his mask. Unbeknownst to her, it was the same guard from this morning. Player 018’s gaze shifted between the tin and the guard’s mask. “All players, please take one case each from the table at the front of your line.” The voice recited.

Realizing that she was holding up the line, she let out an embarrassed chuckle as she went to reach out for her tin but accidentally grazed over the guard’s hand. “Oh, my apologies…” She whispered before nodding her head to show her gratitude once more. “Thank you.” She turned her heel to find a place to sit down. The guard, however, temporarily stopped his duties as he recalled how small and gentle her hands were compared to his.

“Please take a moment to open the case and check the contents.” The voice continued and S/n, sitting against the slide, did as she was told and opened the lid to reveal a dalgona with a pattern of a star engraved onto it. “The second game is sugar honeycombs. The shape you have chosen is the shape you must remove from the honeycomb,” S/n’s heard felt as if it was going to burst as this was revealed to her, but she tried to calm herself with the fact that it could have been worse. “The time limit is ten minutes. You will pass if you trim out the shape without breaking or cracking within the time limit. With that, let the game begin.”

Hesitantly, Player 018 picked up the needle and looked back at the wafer in front of her. “You have got to be joking…” She let out a shaky sigh and carefully began to scrap it. It wasn’t long before a shot erupted in the once quiet area. S/n jumped at the sudden noise but made sure to not have her needle close to the wafer as this happened. She looked up for a moment and watched as blood trailed down the slide immediately after the first eliminated player is executed. She did not move for a few seconds as she watched numerous people get eliminated after this death since they accidentally destroyed their dalgona. 

After a few seconds, S/n slowly looked back down at the wafer and resumed her work but maintained wary of her surroundings. She was so engrossed in carving out the perfect shape that she did not notice the sound of the sand crunching under the boots of the guard approaching. His silhouette fell over her small figure as he unintentionally kicked up sand onto her. Player 018 bit the inside of her cheek, agitated as this happened before wiping the sand off of her. “I’m not finished yet.” She mumbled under her breath. She side-eyed the boots beside her leg and watched as they did not leave when she mentioned this. Frowning, S/n halted and showed the guard her almost finished carved star.

Looking up, she found it was not one of the men with the triangle staring down at her but rather a circle. She looked around at the other guard’s mask and found the individual in front of her was the odd man out. “I don’t think you should be here,” she said vaguely. “You’ll get into trouble, won’t you?” She tilted her head to the side and then began to finish up carving out her piece.

The guard, however, as to not draw suspicion, remained quiet and simply stared down at the participant. She shifted in her spot, showing obvious signs of discomfort. “I don’t mean to be rude, but I cannot focus if you are hovering over my shoulder…” S/n tried to remain as polite as possible. She could hear a slight scoff emit from the guard as he crouched down beside her before placing a lighter near her leg. Player 018 opened her mouth to reply but the guard gently grabbed her arm to get her attention as he raised his index finger to his mask to gesture to her to be quiet. She nodded, understanding but found herself looking at the lighter as he scurried away.

‘Did he confiscate this from another player? Did he bring it here? How did the others not find this?’ She chewed on her lip as she picked up the lighter, moving under the slide so she won’t be easily spotted by the other competitors or the guards. She huffed as she heated the needle which gave her an easy advantage in the game. She smirked at the sight of how easily she cut through the treat.

Within a few minutes, S/n Y/n was able to successfully cut through the shape of the star. Looking up, she quickly discarded the lighter into her pants as she went up to the nearest guard and showed him that she completed the challenge.

“Player 018, pass.” The intercom rang out which caused her to sigh in contempt and then was directed outside of the room to regroup in the main area.

Much to her credit, she did acknowledge that she wouldn’t have passed if it wasn’t for the worker — she fiddled with the lighter in her pocket as she walked down the corridor, frowning. S/n knew that she had to return it to him. She had to thank him in some sort of way for she was in his debt.

The very thought of the sworn enemy being her protector or knight in shining armor made Player 018 giggle at the irony which prompted the guard in front of her to look over his shoulder, as to stare at her inquisitively. “Oh… my apologies. My head was in the clouds.” She partially lied and almost immediately returned to her thoughts.

‘Looks like I have a little guardian angel on my side…’

//////

author’s note: ah! i am sorry if this came off as corny, cliché, or anticlimactic in any way! i just wanted to focus on the tension between you, the player, and the guard— plus, i am nooooo good when it comes to writing ends for stuff. 0-o

[ayoitspatricia]

Being the younger sister of Han Mi-nyeo would include :

Joining the games together

Cause sisters support eachother

You came back the second time much to your sisters dismay

Not being as crazy as her but still sharing similarities

Her making it her priority to protect you

Threatening anyone who tries to attack you

Getting given her extra food if you’re still hungry

Her somehow persuading Deok-su to not go near you

Instead he protected you during the riot that happened after lights out

Both of you joining Gi-hun’s team for Tug of war

Well more like Mi-nyeo dragging you with her

You scolding her when she is too rude

Her comforting you after all the near death experiences

Your new team asking if you are actually related to her

It gets you everytime

Sang-woo telling you to control your sister

But you’re just like ????

“How am i supposed to do that you di-“

Your sister always making sure someone is keeping an eye on you at night

Because she’s not just going to order you not to sleep is she?

You eventually dying on the glass bridge whilst trying to go after your sister when she falls

[hotofficejunho]

Squid Game characters coming home to f!reader cooking dinner

I always wanted to write my own characters x reader headcanons, so here I go!! Feel free to send submissions, I’d love to write more if you like it! 

Also, sorry for the heteronormativity in some, I was in a cooking mood yesterday and felt these vibes, I don’t mean to encourage some ultimate gender roles, it doesn’t mean reader a housewife if they don’t wish to be so :D (This is aimed at fem reader but it may work just fine as gender neutral)

(other) warnings: some NSFW implications

Seong Gi-Hun

- Gi-Hun had a really shitty day and felt pretty down when going home, but the moment he saw you in the apron, cooking in the messy kitchen with music on and humming/dancing, his mood immediately skyrocketed

- he’d tune in with the atmosphere instantly, sing or dance with you, hug you from behind and ask what he can do

- he’s not good at cooking or baking and you know it, so you give him tasks he can’t really mess up, he tries his best but he’s mostly a moral support and makes you laugh

- he might rant about his day but more light-heartedly now, because you make him feel like everything is going to be just fine

- then he asks you about your day extensively, with lots of questions, he likes to listen to you and to mutually share everything about your lives

-you’ll probably end up in a dim light on a sofa, slowly nibbling on desserts or sipping wine, chatting, eventually making out... Everything was going to be just fine

Cho Sang-woo

- Sang-woo can occasionally seem unappreciative of what you do for him as he’s under a lot of stress

- he LOVES when you cook for him, and this love language works so well for him, but sometimes he forgets to thank you and generally struggles to find ways to let you know how much he values you

- some days he’s so stressed he downright refuses to eat and retreats to private, he might need this alone time sometimes

- that can cause friction between you - you leave him alone and wait for him to eat on his own, or you listen to his problems the entire time when he actually sits down and eats with you

- only later does he realize how terrible insensitive he is - sometimes it takes a shouting match or even tears

- then he works really hard to fix it, he holds you and kisses you lovingly, he caresses your hair and apologizes. He actually realizes repeatedly he could lose you and that secretely makes him panic.. he tries to be better

- maybe you have intense make-up sex afterwards, he’s thorough with both foreplay and aftercare

- next time you come home, he is the one cooking. he thanks you for looking out for him and swears to do the same for you

Kang Sae-Byeok 

- sometimes the sight of you cooking makes her smile widely, sometimes she just quietly comes to you and gives you a slow kiss on the cheek or on the mouth

- she has a bit of trouble to receive acts of kindness like this, she gets flustered and humble but she’s quietly appreciative

- when the circumstances are just right, she joins you and you have a lot of fun - Sae-Byeok has an undiscovered talent for cooking/baking and she gets absorbed in the task when she’s focusing...you often silently admire her

- sometimes you get distracted in the middle and don’t finish cooking - you may  happen to tease her in one way or another and she presses you against the table with the serious look that turns you on... or when you sit on the counter, she gets between your legs, presses you against herself and kisses you

- usually you eat on the sofa and maybe watch a film while you eat, and afterwards cuddle or hold hands

Hwang Jun-Ho

- honestly, he’s usually the one to cook. even if he comes from work exhausted, he cooks - he loves to see you enjoy what he makes and cooking also relieves his stress

- he prefers to have his own space when he does it himself, but when you beat him to it, he offers to help. you often decline so sometimes he takes a shower meanwhile or he makes cups of coffee/tea and chats with you

- he also “secretely” watches you when you cook. he’s really good at being discreet of course, but he mostly he knows you know he’s looking.. which is why you are dressed the way you’re dressed while he’s waiting for the meal so he can get a preview of his dessert...

- furthermore, he eyes you over dinner. he has these intense gazes which make you blush.. he frequently has this serious look that’s supposed to hide he wants you, but the eyes give it away

- sometimes, during of after dinner, this makes you come over there and sit on his lap.. sometimes that makes him take you in his arms and carry you straight to bedroom

The Salesman

- you know it: he gives you one of those wide grins of his...like you’re some obedient girl who’s exactly where he wants you to be. You don’t get offended, you know he respects you deeply, it’s just a game you play, and he’s smug like that

- he slowly sets down his briefcase, washes his hands and then watches you for a while

- maybe he pours himself a drink. he likes to observe what you’re doing. He’s often the one doing the shopping, or at least pays for it when you do it together, that’s on the nights he doesn’t treat you to a fancy dinner

- occassionaly he helps you, if you let him (he knows he’s good at cooking but he wouldn’t insult you by interfering if he thought you wouldn’t appreciate it) and he’s very focused when he does help

- let’s be honest...sometimes you have a quickie while you wait for something to cook, right there in the kitchen, and then get right back to it like nothing happened...

Jang Deok-su

- he loves when you cook for him, it’s one thing he doesn’t like doing himself but he does plenty other things for you instead

- he usually doesn’t comment on you cooking and sits down as you chat about your respective days, or he waits in silence

- when he comes home angry, which happens, you know the best thing to do is to let him cool down, have a shower or rant.. 

- he feels so much better after he eats, he’s so much easier to talk to. the thing is, he forgets to eat during the day and you know it’s what can make him so irritable

- afterwards, he’s like a different person. he smiles at you and admires you.. he can’t get enough of the food either, often going for seconds, and he asks about specifics about the meal sometimes

- he tends to have a drink and/or a cigarette after dinner, and he might take some time to relax after a busy day, watches TV or reads something... he likes when you come to him first, he likes the attention, so when you join him, most of the time he stops what he’s doing and makes it worth your time

Han Mi-nyeo

- when she comes home, usually she’s pretty loud. she talks about the latest thing that upset or enthused her. she raids all the cupboards and makes a noise, puts the TV on, gets changed into something baggy and comfortable and tries to eat snacks, which you sternly take away from her, pointing out you’re cooking

- she pouts, opting for a couple of cigarettes instead, sitting with her legs crossed and continues chatting or ranting

- she gets pretty excited about food she likes or when she happens to be in mood for the particular one and she thanks you, also often going for seconds

- when she isn’t in the mood, she might thank you but take her meal to privacy or refuse it. Eventually, though, she humbly comes back for it and is snappy when you point this out

- she often expresses her gratitude later, on random ocassions and in different ways. nearly always she washes up and tidies the place

- often when you leave after dinner, she comes over and crawls to the bed with you or joins you in the shower, she tells you you’re the best and she’s a bit obsessive about you, and if she’s feeling frisky (perhaps from alcohol she drank with dinner) she won’t keep her hands off you for the evening, you know she won’t

- sometimes she promises she’ll cook next time, but rarely does, she finds it boring and doesn’t have the patience.. but you appreciate the effort when she fixes up something mediocre because the proud look on her face is worth it

[darkdevasofdestruction]

Chapter 1 - Lost It All

This is a Cho Sangwoo x OC story ( Squid Game ) and will be part of a multiple chapter series. I posted this on AO3 and Quotev as well, and if anyone decides to read it, I hope you’ll like it <3

It's so easy to ruin everything you've ever worked on. A broken vase cannot be mended, no matter how you try to glue it back together. Flowers wilt so fast if left unattended. That's how feeble and wavering the human predisposition is.

Some get so caught up in their lust for money that they completely disregard their failures and dig themselves a hole, deeper and deeper, buried under millions of won in debts, while others work away their health and sanity, greedily, yet cautiously hoarding their money for darker days, only to have it all stolen away. When there's nothing left in life worth living for and all that's awaiting you as soon you open your eyes to see the bleak world, do you continue going on with your numbered days on the planet, or do you take the last thread of hope, despite having to throw away your humanity, and perhaps, even your existence?

"Is it worth it?" Min Ji asked herself as she opened her eyes, glancing out of the window in her bedroom. "Is it really worth getting out of the bed today as well?" she continued her thoughts lethargically, a scowl of disgust as she groaned and pushed herself up, her sight not leaving the peeking light coming from the rays of sun raising up to announce the beginning of the morning activities for all humans.

It was always the same thing every day... And for what? 

Why should she work in vain, only to get everything taken away from her all the same? Ever since she was a small child, she was diligent and conscientious with her studies, even if it meant writing the same symbol or number repeatedly because that was the assigned homework. She always prioritized her work above all else because, ever since she's known herself, she knew what she wanted from life.  She wanted to save animals! Therefor, that meant she was going to become a doctor and heal them. That means a ton of years torn away from her youth, hundreds of thousands of compromises, ruined or missed opportunities of hanging out and having fun - All for her goal of becoming the dream self she wanted.

~ Veterinary Doctor Yi Min Ji ~

She knew being a doctor meant you'll be able to make a lot of money, and while it wasn't a priority for her, it was still something very important in her life - After all, how else could she travel the world or afford to pursue her hobbies, right? She never had many friends, she blamed the fact that she was an introvert, but it didn't bother Min Ji much, although, the lonely New Year's nights and birthdays were the rare few occasions when she realized she wished she was more obnoxious and dramatic like the rest of her extroverted colleagues that made her cringe whenever they'd gather up and squack and shriek so annoyingly loud and high pitched -  Yeah, never mind that, much better to just stay at home and abuse the pirated movie-streaming sites and the torrents from where she'd get whatever game she wanted for free.

Bless the illegal pirates.

A bottle of red wine, a nice, warm blanket and her big plasma TV in her huge, comfy bed were all she ever needed. Well, a dog and a boyfriend would have been nice, but she doesn't have the time to properly look after a pet due to being all day at the clinic, and she was stuck most of her like with an arranged marriage that her parents forced upon her after annoying her that she'll end up all alone if she doesn't get out of her house - And more - It would help their business if they were to pair up with another, bigger business. Yeah, see how well that ended up...Both her parents died in a freak car crash, her husband ended up being some wannabee mafia green boy who, with the help of many forgeries, divorced her and ended up getting his hands on all her money, all her savings - Literally everything, and more - Including her paying for all the attorney fees, the tribunal appeals, the court employees and whatever many other else things that were listed on that huge list that was thrusted in her face.

So that's how she ended up with almost 1 million dollars in debt to her ex-husband. Honestly, he's not even worth 1 single penny.

"Well, here goes yet another day that goes the same." Min Ji stretched a bit as she dragged herself to to kitchen to hug her only love - The coffee machine. That caramel double espresso with milk, half a liter, is absolutely heavenly, and so much cheaper than Starbucks. And she has much cuter straws too. They are lavender.

Okay, bag ready, second coffee is ready, water bottles ready, the cute butterfly medical costume is ready, trainers are ready, extra hair ties there, keys, spare phone battery, headphones, yeah, all check, lessssgo. Double checking that she locked the door, she played the Metallica playlist as she walked at a relatively fast pace, as she always does, towards the subway, hoping there wouldn't be too many people because that's always annoying. 

Surprisingly, it was rather empty down there, albeit, maybe it was mostly due to the fact that she just missed the stupid subway. Just her luck. Sighing and rolling her eyes in annoyance, she made her way towards the bench and took out the book she took with her so she wouldn't get bored - It was "The Idiot" by Fyodor Dostoevsky, an author that she quite liked, she had to admit, and so she continued her lecture for what seemed like 3 to 4 rapid pages, until suddenly, without her paying attention, a man sat down next to her, smiling.  He was sure she'd at least sense his presence and spare him a glance, but no, she was much too absorbed in the book... And a bit too socially awkward to dare raise her head. All for the best, anyway. "Miss?" he tried, but as there was no response, not even the sketch of one, he smiled, a bit annoyed, and tapped her shoulder, making her jump a little in her skin, surprised at the man's oh so sudden and magical appearance by her side. "Pardon me for startling you, Miss." he smiled apologetically at her, seeing her uncomfortable expression and the frightened doe eyes. "Do you have a minute?" "Please don't tell me you're a Jehova follower or something." she looked horrified at him, only for the man to chuckle, amused, and shake his head, reassuring her. "No, nothing of the sort, I apologize for giving off the wrong impression." he then stopped for a few seconds, creating momentum. "I'd like to offer you a great opportunity. You seemed rather miserable, so I thought.. If you had the time... " and thus, the man put the suitcase in between them, opening it and revealing 2 envelopes of two different colours and quite a large amount of banknotes. "U-Uhmm... I... I have to go to work, s-sorry... I, uhm... Uh... Yeah, bye." she quickly shut off her book and shot up to her feet, ready to leave the stranger in a suit offering her this enigmatic opportunity. "Please, miss, don't misunderstand. I just want to play a game. A child's play, that's all. Maybe it would put a smile on your face if you win?" he bargained, making her timidly look back at him. "Listen, I... People don't offer you money for nothing. I don't know in what kind of shady thing you're invested, but I don't want my organs to end up in the black market, okay?" she mumbled, only to make him chuckle again. "There are several CCTV cameras here, and guards right there. There's no way anyone would kidnap you anyway. Please, just listen to what I have to say. What could go wrong?" he asked, a charming, reassuring and convincing smile on his face, making the girl sigh and shift uncomfortably from one leg to another. "Everything. What is it that you want?" she asked, stepping towards him. "Miss, you've played ddakji before, haven't you?" he asked, very convinced. "Oh, uhm... N-No, actually, not really. You see... I wasn't brought up in Korea for the most of my childhood, and even so, I was more of an introvert anyway, not many friends, so... I have no idea what this game is, I'm sorry." she informed the man, a bit embarrassed at not being familiar with the children's games from her own home country. "That's alright, it's quite a simple game. Each time you win, I will give you 100k won." he tried to tempt her only to see her shake her head, surprisingly. "What's the catch? If I lose, I give you money, yes? Sorry, but I'm on a tight budget and I've never been good at such games anyway. I'll end up with even worse finances. I'm sorry, I really can't play with you, but, uh... Thanks for the offer. I'm sure someone else is going to need the money more than I do." she grumbled, turning back, ready to get on the arriving subway. "You don't have to give away money, should you lose. If it makes you uncomfortable, or should you not have the means to pay back, we may as well just play with no stakes, especially seeing as you've never played it before. Would that be alright with you, Miss?" he asked again, insisting to play that silly game.

It was already getting shady and a bit intimidating, so Min Ji could only sigh and nod, defeated, and walk towards the man who charmingly grinned at her, as he explained the game to her, and thus, they began playing that game. Once, twice, thrice, 10 times - Every time, she'd lose and just look in awe at the man's skill at flipping her blue envelope around. As the game finally ended, she could only sigh, ruffling her already untamed crimson hair and dug into her bag to search for her wallet and handed the money to him.

"I believe we agreed to play without any stakes?" he looked curiously at her, as she looked away, embarrassed. "I know, but I can't figure out the real reason behind you trying to pressure me to play this game with you, even without the stakes of money, so I want to be safe and not find myself swatted or something." Min Ji reasoned, trying to push the money into his hands. Instead, he merely chuckled and took some banknotes, handing them to her, making her even more frightened. The man's smile widened, almost wickedly, as she resembled a frightened fawn, and it only fueled his perverse desire to scare her into temptation. "Please accept it. I know you have a rather pitiful debt of 1,2 billion won due to your fraud of an ex-husband." oh, the petrified expression of the woman truly amused the salesman. "Name, Yi Min Ji, age 37, Veterinary doctor, specialty in Emergency Medicine, with a PhD in Oncology, studied at Seoul National University and even received a scholarship for your top grades every year. Have been working at the Sangam Animal Hospital for the past 11 years." he seemed so formal now, all of a sudden, as he ran a background check on her, and she could only look at him, silent for a few seconds before bursting into fits of laughter. "Yeah, as expected. I should have known it was going to be something like this. So, what do you want? Money, too? Are you working with that dead-beat ex-husband of mine or what? I don't have money and I don't think my organs are doing too well either considering how much coffee I drink daily." she scoffed at him, crossing her arms to her chest, only to see the man extend what looked like a business card towards her. "Should you wish to get a quick method of earning many, many times the amount you wrongly owe, then by all means, call us, play a few games, and should you win all 6 of them... Then you are a free woman. Doesn't that sound tempting?" he smirked slightly at her, seeing her take the card, not breaking eye contact with him - A sudden change in behaviour that seemed to peak his interest. "And if I lose a game, I'm dead, right? There's no way such a huge amount of money would be thrown around without it being the hand of some gross old men with too much money in their pockets who like to watch the common folk kill each other for sport as if they are a Caesar watching the gladiators fight at the colosseum - No armor, no weapons - Against several lions. Only one wins - Eternal glory, the favour of the Caesar and freedom, all that while everyone else around him is dead at his feet. That's it, isn't it?" her disgusted, yet somehow amused smirk seemed to mimic his own, at this point. "Do you have anything to lose?" he asked, looking into her beautiful eyes. "Sign me up." with one last scoff, the girl lazily bid her goodbye in a military fashion as hopped on the subway to go to work, examining the card given to her by that man.

A circle, a triangle and a square on one side, while the other had what looked like a phone number. Wonderful.

010 - 034

"Hello?" the voice of a man - Not that salesman, though - called out. "Sign me up." Min Ji spoke in a dead cold voice. "If you wish to participate, please state your name and birthdate." the voice explained the procedure. "Yi Min Ji, January 3rd 1985."

And that was it.

For the remaining part of the day, she went of by her daily routine of taking care of the animals at the hospital and then she filed a paper for a leave of absence for about two weeks - She deserved that, after all, considering she barely ever took days off or vacations - And thus, she hurried back home, took a bath, dressed nicely and was ready to leave.

Min Ji walked to the designated area where a van pulled over and, as soon as she sat down and it started driving off, she was knocked out by some sleeping gasses. Totally not gonna steal her organs, right...

Shady bastards.

When she came to, it was due to a loud noise - Actually, no, it was classical music played way too loudly and annoyingly echoing in the large room -

Large room...Huh.

Looking down, she realised she was in the bottom bed of a bunk bed, covered by a basic blanket and was dressed in a green tracksuit that had a number on it.

139

What a nice number. Not bad. Not bad at all.

But still, she couldn't help but feel confused at what was going on and why there were countless of people. Surely, no matter how rich those old bastards are, they couldn't possibly - And seriously, why would they, in the first place - Throw away millions upon millions of won for countless game winners?

No, that can't be it, it just means that... Many will have to drop out or die, otherwise it doesn't make sense. Rich people are all greedy fucks and they want entertainment. Isn't this some cruel, real-life Hunger Games scenario? One last man standing, that one taking it all?

What was that movie trope called... Battle Royale? Or that manga, Kaiji, with the same idea in the middle. How cruel, but how expected. Looking left and right, she noticed that people were beginning to get out of the bed, and of course, the sense of curiosity took over her and she followed the flock of green sheep walking in line, only to witness a man being aggressive with a woman, arguing with her then punching her, throwing her around, kicking her and many others, derogatively cursing her for being from the North.

"That's enough." Min Ji stepped in front of the girl, helping her up. "Who the hell do you think you are, bitch?" the man growled at the new comer, but she didn't bother answering.  Instead, another man came by their side, helping the girl as well, only to notice a scar on her neck and start accusing her of pickpocketing him and now asking for the money back. "Will you all just calm down already? You're acting like a bunch of unruly children." Min Ji groaned, being reminded of her hatred for children. "Come on, let's get out of here." as she said that, the more aggressive guy jump kicked the scrawnier one and they started quarreling while the red haired girl was trying to shield the victim out of view.

This whole clown fiesta ended as soon as the door opened and a bunch of people garbed in red-pink suits, with masks with geometrical shapes like those on the business card, marched into the room. It felt like they were being swatted or something... But at least they stopped the fight. For now.

The square guard welcomed them and told them that in the next 6 days, they will participate in 6 games and only the winners of all 6 games will receive the cash prize.  Of course, the guard was met with tons of doubtful questions, and rightfully so, maybe, although they all should have expected some shady shit to be in the middle of all this, so why is everyone acting so saintly? This was done with their consent, after all. 

Respectful organ harvesting.  

And thus, the guard turned on a huge plasma TV to show filming of the contestants who kept questioning the validity of this 'contest' and... Seeing them get hit for money was hilarious. The desperation on their red, puffy, teary faces, only for one more, and more more 100k won banknote... Ah, this was really fun.   Not to mention, the stupid reasons why they ended up in debt. How amusing. That's what happens when you get greedy or forget to act responsible. Go ahead, burn all your money in a pile, might as well make a bonfire with it if it matters so little to you that you throw it away on worthless or uncertain things. Well, the man made a lot of sense and, despite everyone's uncertainty, they didn't have much choice did they?  

Run away from life, from reality, from creditors?  The games, apparently, will be disclosed at the time of the game setting... And the prize money... A huge piggy bank came down from the ceiling and... Well, the amount is undisclosed so far, but it will grow. Fun. And thus, they all went in line to sign the consent forms for the three and only rules.

1. A player is not allowed to voluntarily quit the games. 2. A player who refuses to play will be eliminated. 3. The game may be terminated upon a majority vote.

Oh.

Oh.

Yes, how obvious.

Disqualified, or eliminated. Not sent home. No, darling no. That's so obvious that it means eliminated from this existence. Min Ji could only scoff in amusement at the consent form, squibbling a lazy signature and smirking, imagining the complete mayhem that will happen once the first person gets killed. Oh, it will be global hysteria. One by one, they were sent out of the room in a straight line through a rather... Labyrinthine looking playhouse, rather gravity defying and a bit of a headache, really, so they could all take registration pictures. Great, another yearbook picture taking. Disgusting. As Min-Ji's turn came, she heard the A.I. telling her to smile, and she was reminded of the many teachers and people who asked her why is she sad all the time, or worse, why does she want to kill everyone, just because she looks done with like all the time. It's really not her fault she was born with such a passive bitch face, so why bother? Yes, the smile offered for this picture was nonexistent, and she even told the A.I. to fuck off.

But, after the picture was taken and she started at the animated smiley face, she low-key felt bad for insulting the A.I. How ridiculous.

Through 3 painted houses, all the 400-500 something people left the huge building on what looked like a school playground court, and in front of them, a huge, huuuge and very ugly doll was creepily looking at them while leaning back on a tree. Looking above, Min Ji realised the light wasn't artificial. It was the real sky. Real birds were flying above their head. Is this supposed to be like a small ray of hope? Because if it is, it may have worked because Min Ji realized soon that she was smiling.

A woman's voice told the participants to wait at the line and await further instructions. 'The first game is Red Light, Green Light. You can move forward while the tagger shouts Green light, red light. If your movement is detected, then you are eliminated from the game.'

Huh...Min Ji hasn't heard of the name of the game, but the concept is very familiar. Yes, in fact, she played it a few times when she was little, in kindergarden. She always won in that one. And whoever crosses the line, wins, of course.

Wonderful, let's go.

But not the first, duh, because these idiots won't take the game seriously, they'll die, mass hysteria will take over and they'll all run over each other like a trampling mess of running elephants. With a quick scan, Min Ji somehow managed to find the girl she shielded before, 067 was her number, and she tugged on her sleeve, discreetly taking her to the far end o all the sea of green sheep, and giving her a reassuring smile.

"What are you doing?" she mumbled, barely audible. "Do you want to die?" Min Ji asked, and seeing the girl hang her head and shake it, she put her hand on her arm and rubbed it comfortingly. "You don't think anyone would give 500 people millions of won, do you? This is a killing game... And you know how people react when someone gets killed in front of them, right?"  she asked, looking at the girl who didn't utter a sound, but she seemed to get the idea anyway.

As expected, the game began and 2 idiots went to run in front of everyone, disregarded the rules and got shot with rifles. People started shrieking and running away for the doors through which they came from, but surprise surprise, they are locked. I'm sure most of the people got killed, she thought, as she awaited the mayhem to stop already, she was growing stiff and her joints were cursing her. Damn it, she's getting old.

After what felt like an eternity, the shooting finally stopped, and the lady repeated the instructions for the game - And then it began once again.

As soon as the tagger turned around to chant the song, Min Ji shouted at the rest of the living people. "You either die from twitching or from the counter, so better get it moving before you end up dead meat on the ground." and thus, she sprinted forward and stopped just in time so she won't get detected, making sure she stays in comfortable enough positions, knowing how she, herself, gets extra twitchy when someone tells her to stay still.

How annoying.

After her, she heard another pair of steps, and then many many more, so it seemed they were finally getting the gist of it. About time they get a reality check. The annoying puppet began chanting faster which each time, and Min Ji was simply happy for getting a head start ahead of others and securing her place in the safe spot and sat down on the ground, watching the rest of the idiots getting killed.

Soon enough, they were beginning to get closer and closer to the finish line. In front of her were the man with glasses, one of the men she saw being slapped on the plasma tv, and behind him, the guy who accused the girl of being a pick pocketer. On the ground, a mass of dead people sprawled on the ground.  067 was able to secure her win pretty fast, thankfully, and Min Ji smiled at her.   The old man had a huge grin as he passed the line too. People were jumping and tumbling to the ground to reach the finishing line already - However, some of them weren't paying attention, or perhaps didn't take into account how slippery blood and cadavers can be, because the man with glasses, so close to the finish line, stumbled on a dead body and his foot went awry.

As if on instinct, Min Ji sprinted towards him, grabbing firmly on the arm that was in the air, so he would keep his balance, while with the other arm she grabbed his torso and shifted all her weight into keeping him straight, despite the awkward position they were both standing in.

"God... Y-You're heavy..." she bit her lip, realising that she was trembling from the effort and the long duration of time standing stiff and still into one single, yet inhumane position. "Th-Thank you..." his voice was barely above a whisper, not daring to speak after the fright he took after the stumbling. 

Thankfully, the tagger turned her head again, so the girl dragged him, offering him a boost of speed and they both finished, crossing the line, panting for air after the insane encounter. On the field, however, things were still very tense as the last seconds were quickly passing and the glasses man was urging the scrawny guy to hurry up - Are they friends, perhaps? - But he, too, stumbled on a corpse. Luckily for him, a foreigner caught him up by the scruff of his jacket, keeping him up so he wouldn't die, and then, together, they both threw themselves at the line, as the glasses man and Min Ji kept their arms out to drag them quickly to safety.

"Pfeww... That was sure intense." Min Ji let out an exhale of relief, stretching her arms up, a satisfied smile on her face. "Miss... Thank you for saving me." the man said, bowing to her. "There's nothing to thank me for, really. Don't worry. It's just good that you're alive." she awkwardly replied, waving her hands at him dismissively. "Miss, you and this guy are truly saviours. You saved me and Sangwoo! You were really cool! Thank you so much, you two!" the scrawny guy who seemed to cry constantly when speaking came to me and the man who is apparently called Sangwoo, along with the foreign man. "Please don't make this into something bigger than it is. Let's just be happy we're alive. We still have 5 more games ahead of us. Let's focus on that." she suggested, scratching the back of her head. "Exactly, it's as the Miss says, it's just good that we're alive." the foreigner spoke with a shy, but sweet smile on his face. "Please, do call me Min Ji. It feels too formal calling me Miss all the time. It's lovely meeting you... Although, I suppose it could have been done under better circumstances." she awkwardly chuckled as she shook hands with the three of them and found out they were called Sangwoo, Ali and Gi Hun respectively.

The ceiling door then began to close, shielding them completely from reality as they knew it, as they were guided back to the dormitory room where the same square guard from earlier congratulated them on their first win and, up on the wall, the huge screen that displayed the number of participants and the cash prize amount changed.

456 participants before the game. 201 after the game.

That's more than half dead.

What a shit show. At this rate, things will get really dangerous for her, Min Ji thought, realising that, most likely, all the games will be Korean children games and that she was pretty much screwed if she didn't find out all possible games and come up with some quick strategies to ensure her survival and, ultimately, the cash prize.

She sure as hell ain't dying here. She has hundreds of countries to visit, after all!And it seems that, somehow, her impulsive spur of the moment decision to save people made them actually talk to her, so maybe she can make friends - alliances - something?

If only it weren't for that annoying thing that happened that came in the shape of people wanting to terminate the game for good!

Next Chapter >

[jangdeok-su]

Han Mi-Nyeo flirt with Deok-Su in front of you (Headcanon)

Deok-Su x Reader

your relationship with Deok-Su is known to other players, you often go to the restroom together (oops)

you are often in games together, but people only thought you were having sex

but when Mi-Nyeo got too close to Deok-Su tonight they understood that it was serious between you two

after the meal she comes to Deok-Su calling him "babe", your eyes are instantly fixed in her direction

the other players coughed loudly and rolled their eyes, she dared to challenge Deok-Su's doll

Deok-Su who knew you well starts to smile, saying "we're going to have fun now"

you get up from your seat and approach her

the other players get out of your way

all eyes are on you, and Deok-Su always has a smile on his face looking at you determined

"I misheard, I think, didn't?" you ask him calmly trying to control you

she looks at you with a provoking look, telling you that you heard right

you clench your fists and lock your jaw by calling her a dirty bitch before telling her to back off if she doesn't want any trouble

she took a step towards you both but Deok-Su tilted her head to say "didn't you hear, bitch?"

she stood there looking at you, you took a step forward and she immediately backed up

you walk towards her whispering "it's me riding him, dirty slut"

you read your arm around Deok-Su's waist to make him understand that it was yours and no one else

if there was one thing in common between you two, it was your hot blood, no one could get in between your anger

the next time she started over you hit her so hard she didn't have to do it again

every time you saw her you insulted her

Deok-Su congratulates you with every insult and whispers to you that it turns him on when you're jealous like that

Deok-Su reminds you of that moment to get angry and laugh

during your next toilet appointment you bit him on the neck saying "you're mine, do you understand?" he will validate your words with a moan

[gihunscumsock]

Hey thouht I'd write a request for Sang-Woo if that's OK😊

How would Sang-Woo react when his pregnant wife takes part at the games? Like, what would he say or do after he realizes that elimination means death and how would he confront her afterwards?

HOLY. FUCKING. SHIT. BROOOO I'M GONNA SOB- This is an amazing idea- I will definitely be doing this hopefully soon!! Thank you for the request! <3

[runawayonryo]

Squidgame chat if all survived (number 3)

old manny: guys

han mii-nyeo: huh

old manny: i think i’ll start another round

sangwooSNUgenius: another round of what?

gi-hun: oh no you won’t!

old manny: hey, 456 you don’t chose :(

old manny:

Gi-hun: i won’t let you do this again!

ji-yeong: you know what a GIF is old man?

Gi-hun: i tell you this, if you acually go forward and do this again.... i’ll

Gi-hun: i’ll...

                                         old manny left the group

gi-hun: shit

ji-yeong: alright guys... calm down

han miii-nyeo: seems like that opld guy got sad :(((((

ji-yeong: why so many brackets?

han miii-nyeo: is that not what the youth is up to?

Ji-yeong: no

deok-su: shut up, please. For just one minute-

han miii-nyeo: i would if you didn’t betray me

                                        deok-su added “old manny,,

deok-su: you deal with this old guy

                                          deok-su left the group

SangwooSNUgenius: guys, act like adults for JUST ONE MINUTE??

Gi-hun: alright SNU genius, how about YOU get out of debt first?

SangwooSNUgenius: you’re not any better

gi-hun: i survived, you killed yourself-why?

sangwooSNUgenius: because the shows-script wanted me too :)

old manny: what is a show-script?

Sae-byeok: oh my lord

Ji-yeong: practically everything that happens on a show, on paper

old manny: i know, but what is it?

                                          Ji-yeong left the group

old manny: :0

sae-byeok: well, shit

sangwooSNUgenius: what the hell-?

player 69: i love my number

gi-hun: dude!

sae-byeok: wtf

han miii-nyeo: same

                        old manny removed “player 69,, from the group

[rbingsquidgame]

I am tempted to do some kind of Head Canons of Squid Game characters as teachers, but I fear I cannot come up with anything on some characters or fit them as teachers

Also yes it would be the classy stereotypical (usa) teachers or something, because those just are the most used types and shit. and maybe I just put few characters I cant fit as teacher to stereotypical students.

[gamblerslove]

As promised, here’s some more spicy Gi-hun content 🧡 I went for a slight canon rewrite to better suit the tone of the fic. Hope you enjoy!

Warning for smut and minor spoilers for squid game eps 7–9!

Summary: With six games behind you and billions of won in your pockets, you and Gi-hun decided it was time to celebrate.

Seong Gi-hun X f!reader: Victory

As soon as you heard the limousine door slide shut and the engine coming to life, your hands fumbled for Gi-hun in the darkness.

He was just as eager to touch you, and your trembling fingers sought each other through the blindfolds that had recently been placed over your eyes. Once his palm successfully cupped your cheek, neither of you wasted time leaning in for a desperate kiss.

The kiss started out sloppy and uncoordinated, and Gi-hun let out a soft chuckle before you repositioned your lips against his for a better angle. Suddenly, the kiss was lighting your veins on fire; it was fueled by both adrenaline and elation, tinged with the sweet taste of victory.

Because not only had you both survived the horrible games you had played for the last few days.

You had won.

•············• ◇ • ♤ • ♧ • ♡ • ♧ • ♤ • ◇ •············•

Only eight of you had managed to successfully cross the glass bridge of the fifth game and were set to compete in the finals. The barracks had looked empty with so few beds but it had also revealed secrets painted on the walls. You had all collectively stared at the familiar shape of the squid game drawn in pure black on stark white, another beloved childhood game twisted into something sinister.

It was obvious what the teams of the final game would be. Deok-su was already rounding up his lackeys, leaving you and Gi-hun together with Sang-woo and Sae-byeok. The threatening looks you received during your fancy dinner made it abundantly clear that you and your friends were not expected to come out on top in this battle. Regardless, Sang-woo insisted he had a plan — because of course he did, even when the odds were stacked against you.

It was a shame that carefully crafted plan flew right out of the window as soon as the game started and Han Mi-nyeo screamed like a woman possessed while launching herself at Sae-byeok.

And just like that, all hell broke loose. For what seemed like an eternity, everything was a blur of dust and blades cutting through the air, accompanied by the sounds of ripping fabric and fists meeting bone. In the middle of it, you could see Sang-woo getting stabbed in the shoulder and Sae-byeok escaping Han Mi-nyeo only to be sucker punched by a man twice her size.

Gi-hun had managed to cross the squid’s neck and get further ahead than any of you. However, he was now facing the consequences of his meager success, getting the living daylights beat out of him by an angry Deok-su.

While you watched the horrifying scene of your lover’s handsome face receiving punch after punch, Han Mi-neyo used your distraction to her advantage, and suddenly she was pulling you by the hair until you screamed and fell backwards. The woman proceeded to press down on your throat while you desperately clawed at her arms to get her to release you. When your vision started going hazy around the edges, you were sure you were going to die there that day.

And then it all stopped when a sharp whistle rang out to notify of the end of the game.

You coughed and sputtered for air as your assailant abruptly let go. Trying to right yourself and get your bearings, you finally looked up and over the battleground to see Gi-hun, battered and bloody and his chest heaving from exertion. His foot was planted firmly on the drawn circle of the squid’s head.

Han Min-yeo had started screaming about cheating and Deok-su had scrambled to his feet with his knife in hand and a murderous intent in his eyes. You only had time to blink before four gunshots rang out and the lifeless bodies of your opponents had hit the ground, silencing their big mouths for good.

•············• ◇ • ♤ • ♧ • ♡ • ♧ • ♤ • ◇ •············•

Gi-hun was still a little worse for wear after the ordeal but none of his injuries seemed to bother him. His mouth tasted of copper and he briefly flinched when your nose pressed against his broken one, but his hands and lips were just as eager against you.

"I love you," he whispered between kisses. "I love you so much."

You responded by kissing him even harder, pouring in all of your affection and desire as you licked into his welcoming mouth. Swallowing his surprised moan against your lips, your hands smoothed over his broad shoulders and hurried to slide the suit jacket off them. He instantly realized what you were going for and helped remove the garment — all the while his lips never left yours.

A limousine ride following a week's worth of deadly games might not have been the ideal setting for a tryst in the dark, but neither of you seemed to care. Your head was swimming with emotions that you couldn't quite place, and the only thing you knew was that you needed to touch Gi-hun, now.

You tried to unbutton his shirt but it was proving difficult in the darkness. As you cursed silently under your breath, his large hands fumbled for your face and eventually settled onto your blindfold.

Right as Gi-hun was about to remove the damned thing, the distinct sound of a cocking gun from the driver's direction made you both freeze.

"No peeking," a monotone voice said, distorted by the mask.

Gi-hun's hands slowly lowered from your head. Not about to give up so easily, you pulled them back and placed them on your hips instead.

"I don't need to see you," you said, blindly placing a kiss onto his face that landed on his chin. "I just need to feel you."

You emphasized your words by sliding your hands down his body to tease over the bulge in his slacks.

"S-shit," Gi-hun groaned, squeezing your hips and pulling you closer. "Are you sure?"

You leaned closer until your cheek was resting on Gi-hun's and your lips brushed against his ear.

"Some masked loser wants us to be kinky? Let's give him a show," you said.

A needy groan sounded into your ear before heated lips claimed yours once more.

•············• ◇ • ♤ • ♧ • ♡ • ♧ • ♤ • ◇ •············•

As soon as you had realized you had won the game, you broke out in an elated cheer, startling Sang-woo and Sae-byeok nearby. Gi-hun had looked up to meet your eyes, and you ran straight into his arms and caused both of you to topple onto the ground.

After a beat, the others had been beside you, Sang-woo offering praise to his childhood friend while shaking Gi-hun by the shoulder. Sae-byeok was smiling for the first time, a laugh bubbling up in her throat even while she bowed her head to hide the relieved tears spilling free.

Whether it was dumb luck or that dormant strength you knew laid inside of him, Gi-hun had won the game for you. His wide smile was bloody but no less brilliant as you kissed him. Not only had he earned you all billions of cash, he had also finally been able to save his friends’ lives.

There was no fanfare from the mysterious organizers to celebrate your victory, only an appearance from the masked stranger who introduced himself as the Frontman. He offered a monotone congratulations before announcing your prize of over 11 billion won per head. Afterwards, a few guards led your group back inside without further ado, and you followed them through the maze until you arrived at a road with two limousines waiting.

Gi-hun had kept looking at you with such genuine joy on his face that you wouldn't have been able to stop smiling even if you had wanted to. Sang-woo only gave you both a cursory glance before asking Sae-byeok to ride with him in one of the limousines. The girl had seemed skeptical but eventually agreed, and before the door closed behind Sang-woo you had seen him give Gi-hun a knowing smirk that made the man beside you sputter and yell after him.

You'd grabbed Gi-hun’s hand and led him inside the limo with a laugh, barely able to sit still through the ordeal of being blindfolded before jumping your lover’s bones.

•············• ◇ • ♤ • ♧ • ♡ • ♧ • ♤ • ◇ •············•

Your heart beat frantically as your mouths and hands explored each other. He was bolder than the last time you did this, unashamed by his wandering hands and the noises he was making.

A surge of arousal shot through you when he grabbed your ass and squeezed, and when you pushed him down to lay on his back, he went willingly. Now effectively pinning Gi-hun against the limo seat, a muffled groan escaped his mouth and into the kiss as you ground your hips down against his hardness.

You pulled away from the kiss and leaned back on your heels, the air filled with the sound of heavy breathing as you caught your breaths. As much as you wished you could see him right now, spread out underneath you and disheveled from arousal, the blindfold actually added an unexpected thrill to the encounter.

Gi-hun let out a sound you could only describe as a whine, a wordless plea as his wandering hands gripped your thighs.

"I've got you, baby," you promised, mindlessly fumbling for the button of his pants.

How could you resist when he was begging for it so beautifully? Your fingers itched to touch him, to wrap around his pretty cock just like last time—

—until his warm hands grasped yours to cut your efforts short.

"Oh—I, uh," you stammered, immediately stopping. "Shit, sorry."

Confusion and shame washed over you; you thought it had been pretty clear where this was going, but apparently you'd misread the situation entirely.

"Ah, no, that's alright," Gi-hun chuckled nervously. "Trust me, I'm not complaining that you want to get your hands on me."

You couldn't see it, but you could vividly imagine the boyish grin on his face. It made you smile in return and your already infatuated heart skipped a beat.

"Yeah?" you asked.

"I swear," he said, and then there was a warmth brushing across your knuckles as he placed a sweet kiss onto your hand. "But I seem to recall promising you a favor, a few days ago."

Blood rushed to your face as you recalled the encounter. A heated makeout and hurried blowjob in the bathroom stall wasn’t exactly the most romantic hook-up you had ever had, but you still recalled it with nothing but fondness.

Especially the part where he had promised to return the favor later.

"Oh,” you said, a grin pulling on your lips. “That favor.”

"That’s the one," Gi-hun said, a teasing edge to his voice. "So? Are you going to let me spoil you this time?"

His fingers toyed with the waistband of your suit pants and heat pooled between your legs just from the innocent gesture. You swallowed and nodded, before realizing he couldn’t see it. Finally, you settled on a breathless "Yes."

Undressing you was a joint effort in the confined space. Soon enough, you were laid on the limo seat and practically naked from the waist down, Gi-hun kneeling between your legs while his hands smoothed along your legs. His hands were warm and rough against your bare skin, callused from a week’s worth of brutal games and needless violence.

He hiked your dress shirt up to kiss your belly, and your hands tangled in his hair and desperately pulled him closer against you.

The last few days didn’t matter anymore. All that mattered was that Gi-hun was here with you, and that you were both safe.

“You took my breath away when I first saw you in the suit,” Gi-hun suddenly spoke, a low murmur between kisses against your midriff. “But I couldn’t stop myself imagining how you would look out of it.”

“Next time,” you promised. “Next time you can look as much as you want.”

He hummed against your skin and you squirmed under his touch. His fingers were toying with the waistband of your panties and his mouth was so close to where you wanted it.

“Please,” you whispered.

Gi-hun’s hands only trembled slightly as he finally pulled your panties down and trailed his lips lower and over your mound.

You let out a moan as soon as his lips dragged over your folds, desperate for any kind of stimulation. You heard a shaky exhale before your panties were quickly yanked the rest of the way down to free your legs.

His hand nudged your thigh and you immediately spread your legs; modesty thrown out the window as you unabashedly spread yourself for him.

"God, I wish I could see you," Gi-hun said, his voice rough with lust.

His hand brushed gently between your legs, a feather-light touch as he mapped out your most intimate parts. It was both sweet and infuriating, and you bit your lip to suppress an impatient groan.

When his explorations finally came across your hole, he let out an audible gasp.

“You’re so wet,” he said, dragging a finger over your soaked pussy.

“It’s because you’re such a tease,” you managed to grit out, pushing your hips against him to try to get some relief.

“I, uhm… I see,” he stammered. “Let me fix that.”

In an instant, his touch was gone and you almost wanted to scream, but after some shuffling it was replaced by his hot breath ghosting against your sensitive skin. You waited in anticipation, not even daring to breathe, until he placed a warm, sloppy kiss right over your core.

“Fuck, yes,” you groaned, hurrying to grab onto his hair.

Your reaction seemed to spur him on, and the next such kiss was even more filthy, with a wet drag of his tongue along your pussy all the way up to your clit. You let out an obscene moan and he echoed it with one of his own, seemingly enjoying himself just as much as you were.

Gi-hun was clearly determined to repay you from last time and then some, if the enthusiasm with which he went at you was anything to go by. He placed hot kisses on your dripping cunt between licking at your aching clit, and you felt your arousal growing with every little noise of approval he made while he ate you out like a man starved.

His breath was heavy and warm against you, coming in pants through his mouth. His nose was still clogged with blood after the game but he made no move to stop or slow down. One of your legs was flung over the backrest of the seat and the other he held up with surprising strength, keeping you spread out for him. It wasn’t the most comfortable position but as long as his heavenly mouth stayed on you, you couldn’t care less.

“You taste incredible,” he said between heavy breaths. “It’s probably a good thing you can’t see how wrecked I am at just the taste of you.”

You could vividly picture him, hair tousled and his chin glistening with spit and your juices, his beautiful eyes even darker behind the blindfold as his erection tented the slacks obscenely.

You moaned at the image and the noise spurred him back into action, dipping his head back down to continue pleasuring you.

He seemed to be done teasing, focusing on lapping at your clit with a speed and precision that you weren’t expecting. It made your toes curl and you no longer had control over your volume, wordless moans mixing with pleas of his name. Gi-hun was loud, too, like your pleasure was his pleasure as went at you with single-minded determination — similar to when he had licked the dalgona.

The sudden memory made you laugh, and Gi-hun’s mouth raised from between your legs, making a wordless sound of inquiry.

"I just started thinking about the dalgona," you said, another snicker escaping your lips. "Should have known you'd be great at this just from the way you worked that sugar."

He chuckled and rested his head against your thigh, the sound reverberating against your skin.

"Well, I do love eating sweet things," he said. He followed it up by placing a kiss on the inside of your leg, as if to prove a point.

“Charmer,” you grinned, fondly petting his hair. “Anyway, sorry for the interruption. Carry on.”

“With pleasure,” he said.

Picking up right where he left off, Gi-hun’s lovely tongue was back to circling and flicking over your clit with a practiced ease. You thought you noticed him briefly alternating to broad swipes of his tongue — not unlike the incident with the honeycomb — but it only added to your excitement and you could only tug on his hair and moan.

“Fuck, just like that,” you praised.

You were so close, already feeling the pleasure between your legs start to crest as your thighs twitched in his grasp.

“Don’t stop,” you said, pulling him closer against you.

Gi-hun seemed happy to oblige, pressing his mouth down harder while never wavering from the exquisite pace of his tongue.

In the end, it was the long, drawn-out moan Gi-hun let out that did you in. In an instant, the building tension inside you snapped and released, leaving you spasming against his skilled tongue as the pleasure crested in waves. Your moan was filthy and loud as you ground your hips against his face to ride out your orgasm.

It felt like your ears were ringing as you finally came down from your high. You barely made out Gi-hun's murmured "God, you're gorgeous" as he placed loving kisses onto your abdomen.

"Get up here," you tried to order but it came out as a breathless plea.

Nonetheless, he complied, sliding up your body until he was hovering over you and nuzzling his face against your neck.

"Was that okay?" he asked, his voice colored with uncertainty.

You giggled from the absurdity of the question. One minute this man had been confidently eating you out with gusto, and the next he was back to his adorable, floundering self. Had he really not realized that he just gave you one of the best orgasms of your life?

"'Okay' is an understatement," you said, wrapping your arms around his neck. "It was incredible. You're incredible."

You pulled him down into a kiss, swallowing his surprised moan and tasting yourself on his lips.

“Is it my turn now?” you asked, a sly grin forming on your face.

“Ahm, I, that’s alright,” Gi-hun stammered. “This was more than enough.”

He shifted to try to hide the very obvious bulge you could feel pressing against you. It made your spent cunt weakly throb in interest; he had been so good for you, and you wanted nothing more than to satisfy him just as he had you.

“Are you sure?” you asked, “accidentally” pressing up against his hardness and causing his breath to hitch. “You don’t want to lay down on this expensive leather seat and let me take care of you?”

“W-well, when you put it like that…” he trailed off, his hips hesitantly pushing down against yours.

You pulled him back into a kiss with a smirk and he was all too happy to reciprocate. Your lips moved sensually against each other as you shuffled closer on the narrow seat, the passion steadily building back up with every passing moment.

Abruptly, the sounds of his quiet moans and the leather seat creaking were accompanied by a strange… hissing, coming from above you. Your brow furrowed in confusion and you both broke away from the liplock.

"What was that?" Gi-hun asked.

"Oh, shit," you cursed, pulling your shirt up over your mouth. “The gas!”

Gi-hun made a noise of realization before his arms gave out from underneath him and his weight crashed heavy against your side. You shifted to make him more comfortable, all the while breathing through the fabric to feebly protect yourself against the substance filling the car.

"I guess this makes us even," Gi-hun slurred happily. “G’night, honey.”

You barely suppressed a laugh at the goofy comment in your pressing situation. Reassured by Gi-hun’s carefree attitude, you gave up your fight against the inevitable effect of the gas in favor of wrapping your arms around him in a loose embrace.

A sloppy press of his lips against your cheek was the last thing you remembered before your consciousness faded and you collapsed onto the seat together with your lover.

[name968]

Having Han Mi-nyeo as your older s!st3r

Tw: S!st3r, s!bl!ng, spoilers, and d3@th

If those are your triggers please just scroll past! Because I won't be censoring them :( sorry

[Platonic] Big s!st3r! Han Mi-nyeo x younger s!bl!ng! Gn! Reader

Contents below

- She would probably tell you about everything (Maybe not 'that' though)

- I'm not sure why but she gives me the vibes of being protective

- When she found out that hiding behind another player (In Red Light, Green Light) she would probably make you stand behind her

- In Gganbu (Marbles) you guys would probably partner up not knowing what's next

- Either you give up your life or she gives it up

• If she were to give up her life her last words would be like "Avenge me" then tell you about player 101 (I keep forgetting his name-) and that's what you do in the glass panel game :)

• If you were the one who gave up their life then she would probably just try to keep her distance from people since she's vulnerable during the mourning period

- If somehow you guys didn't get to pair up in the marbles game, then you guys would be planning about in the glass panel games. If somehow you are before player 101 you would probably kill him yourself, but if she's behind him then she would kill him

- When she dies then Gi-hun would probably try comforting you

- If you had/have a good relationship with player 101 kinda consider Mi-nyeo a little bit softer towards him, but that is IF you still have a (somewhat) good relationship with him

- If you were one of the people in the line when the gang skipped for more lunch (The lunch with one boiled egg due to the game) she would probably give you her egg because yes

- After Thug-Of-Wars she wouldn't be praising herself but rather praising you (Say that one guy that was praying for god wasn't in the team and instead it was you)

Second fanfic! Feeling proud ^^

[squidgamesmut]

The Guardian Angel | Chapter 10 - Standing on the horizon

Seong Gi-hun X Female Reader

Chapter 10/14 : Standing on the horizon

Minors DNI Contains heavy spoilers The Guardian Angel navigation post

The boots were heavy on your feet and a tad oversized, but it was not comfort you were aiming for right now. You zipped up the suit to your chin and pulled the balaclava over your head.

Your heart drummed in your throat not much unlike the moment when the Squid Game had started, mere days ago, yet it seemed like a lifetime. Straightening your back, you turned to In-ho, who was looking at you with a rather unsure expression. “We can get someone else to fetch your grandfather,” said he, but you shook your head.

“I want to do it.” You had made your decision, and even the Front Man could not change your mind in that. “I want to make sure that all goes according to plan. We’ve got enough suspicious eyes around as is, with that rogue soldier.” You fingered the pink fabric of the jumpsuit. It felt uncomfortably warm, but it might just be the nerves that enhanced that sensation. “The less people know, the better.”

“Do you take full responsibility, (Y/n)?”

“What do you mean?” you quizzed, hoisting the rifle over your shoulder. It was heavy, and you hoped that it wouldn’t give you a painful strain.

“If anything were to happen to you,” said In-ho, “Mr Oh Il-nam would never forgive me for it. I need to ensure your--”

“In-ho.” you cut him off, looking him in the eye. “Between these walls, apart from my grandfather, you know me better than anyone else. Then you also realise how much I need my grandfather to get out of there unscathed, see to his well-being.”

He pressed his lips into a tight line and gave you a nod. “As you wish, ma’am.”

There was that professional edge to his voice again, even though nobody was with you in the room. You sighed and slipped the triangle mask over your face, your eyes adjusting to the limited sight it gave you.

“How do I look?” you said with a small smile, even though he was not able to see it.

A ghost of a grin tugged at his lips. “You look good.”

You wrapped a hand around the rifle, holding it a bit tighter. “Good is not what I was aiming for, In-ho.”

His eyes narrowed and he slightly tilted his head. “Then… What were you aiming for, (Y/n)?”

In-ho stepped closer. An unfamiliar glimmer laid in his eyes, but it disappeared as soon as you clarified yourself. “I was hoping that you’d say I look ‘convincing enough’ to pass as an actual soldier.” Your voice was muffled by the mask.

He sighed and reached forward to adjust the strap of the rifle on your shoulder to make it hang somewhat higher. “There, now you look the part.”

You took a deep breath and walked towards the door. “In that case,” you stated, “It is showtime. I will be back before the VIPs are here, you can trust me on that.”

“Good luck, (Y/n).”

Looking over your shoulder, you saw him stand in the middle of the hall, a bit tense at the shoulders. In his hand he held his mask and played with the strap that sat on the back.

“Thank you.” you responded, leaving him be.

~*~*~

There was desperation in Mi-nyeo’s voice when the timer ran out, and something akin to reproach, aimed at the Players who had actively refused her offer to work together, including Gi-hun.

“You guys,” she cried out, loud enough to drown out the voiceover, “You’re all making a big mistake! Do you really think you can win without me on your team?”

The pairs stood and went to the set of doors that had opened at the end of the room. Beyond it laid the new game field, where they were supposed to go.

“I am Han Mi-nyeo! I’ve made suckers out of everyone there is, from Dongducheon to Gangnam!” Her breath hitched in her throat as she frantically looked around, approaching pairs to beg them to change partners.

Nobody, however, listened to her pleas, no matter how bone-chilling her shrieking was. Part of Gi-hun felt awful for her, but in all fairness, he was glad that he had chosen the old man instead, which had been his duty in a sense.

Leaving her distraught cries behind, Gi-hun went into the room with Player 001, but Mi-nyeo was heard far beyond the doors.

The Players gathered in the middle, but her frenzy was still audible even after the room closed off. It disappeared into the distance as she was dragged away, and Gi-hun looked at the guards with triangle masks in front of him. The playing field looked like some sort of old village covered in twilight, and he felt a pang of nostalgia.

“Attention. All Players, please follow the staff to your designated positions for the game.”

One by one, the pairs were led away by individual armed soldiers, and together with the old man, Gi-hun was also escorted.

They walked through a few of the streets, following the soldier in front of them. “You know,” Player 001 piped up, “When I was a kid, I used to live in a neighbourhood just like this.”

Gi-hun chuckled. “So did I. And you know, our alleyway looked very similar.”

“Really?” said the old man with a large grin on his face.

The guard halted in their tracks and turned to them.

“Players, please take one bag each from the staff member before you.” the voiceover instructed, and the soldier held out two small bags towards him and the old man.

Something clinked inside when Gi-hun took it. “There should be a set of ten marbles in each bag. Please check to confirm the number.”

He took them in his palm and counted them quickly. “It’s marbles,” said he, “Old man, we’re going to be playing with this. Are you familiar with it?”

Player 001 hummed and began to smile widely. “Ah, yes, very familiar. Used to have a lot as a kid. Oh, yes, back in the day!” The man beamed with joy and looked at Gi-hun. “And you know, I was pretty good.”

“Not too bad myself!” Gi-hun responded, laughing. “Ah, that is good news! I’m glad it’s not just about our strength.”

The old man began to excitedly move back and forth a little, barely able to contain his joy. “That means you and I are…” he paused, “Gganbu now! Pretty great!”

“Gganbu, huh?” Gi-hun quizzed.

“I thought you said you played this before. Gganbu, come on, you know! It’s a good friend! One who you trust a lot. You share things with them, you see?”

Gi-hun gasped in realisation. “Ah!” he said with a beaming grin.

“Your marbles, everything!” the old man finished his explanation.

Gi-hun pointed at the side of his head, “A gganbu! I remember now! I had one in my town, too. Used to do everything with him!”

Player 001 snickered. “Okay, we are gganbu!” He held out his hand, his little finger outstretched for Gi-hun. “Should we make this official?”

Laughing, Gi-hun accepted the offer of the small but meaningful pact. “Yeah buddy, like this!” He hooked his little finger around the old man’s, and they pressed their thumbs together.

“You and me, sir,” Gi-hun chimed, quickly correcting himself: “Oh, gganbu! We will go around this whole town and take all the marbles.”

They grinned at each other for a second before Gi-hun turned to the guard, awaiting their signal to start playing.

However, the woman on the PA had not yet finished the explanation of the rules.

“In this game, using your set of ten marbles, you will play the game of your choice with your partner. The Player who manages to take all ten marbles from their partner wins.”

A wave of sadness overcame Gi-hun as he attempted to grasp what had just been announced, looking at the old man, who was looking at his marbles with a radiant smile.

One of them would not come out of here alive.

“How pretty!’ the old man mused, holding one of his marbles against the light of the artificial sun, exhaling in awe of the glass sphere.

Gi-hun sighed. “Sir, excuse me.”

“You will have thirty minutes for this game. Let the game begin.”

The old man began wandering off right when the timer began to count down. “Uh, sir, come back!” Gi-hun called after him, breathing heavily whilst beginning to pursue said Player.

You followed them suit, keeping up with them, swallowing the lump of tears that had begun to form in your throat. It had been years since you had seen your grandfather glow like that and were taken aback by how genuine his expression had been, as well as how close he had grown to Seong Gi-hun.

It was almost unfair to make Player 456 believe that the old man would be dead at the end of this game, but then, you knew that it had been coming from the very start. The plan of safely extracting your grandfather from the Squid Game without raising suspicion had been watertight.

If your grandfather had the losing hand, you would pretend to execute him and hand in a coffin weighed down with bags of leftover sugar, which were already laying at the exit, placed there beforehand.

If he happened to get the winning hand, he’d pretend to get lost in a spell of dementia in the hopes that the other Player would take advantage of his vulnerable state. Gi-hun in this case. Even though you did not want him to break the promise that had been sealed by their little fingers, you knew how strong one’s survival instinct would be when it truly came to it, and that Seong Gi-hun would fight for his life.

Had your grandfather not been chosen, he would have been removed from the waiting room, not returning to the playing grounds anymore, thus unsuspectingly making the Players believe that he had been eliminated.

But he was not alone, and he had to make it seem believable that his illness was acting up, wandering off in complete awe of the streets around him.

“We must be close.” your grandfather mumbled whilst you walked three paces behind Gi-hun, “Yes, it was somewhere around here, huh.”

Gi-hun stepped in front of him, desperation upon his features. “Come on, let’s play. Sir, we need to! Come, let’s play this right now.” He held the bag of marbles in the face of the old man.

“This is so strange!” said Player 001, “It should be here. This is the alley!”

Gi-hun turned to you unexpectedly, and you felt your face heat up. His eyes were pleading, but whatever could you do?

“Where… My house, where did it go?” your grandfather questioned.

“Sir, come back!” Gi-hun panicked, going after him. You had no other choice but to go with them, your heart heavy with Gi-huns impending grief. It would be irreversible, and you stood witness to it all.

“Sir, we have to play now! We’ve got to start right now!”

“Play what?”

“With our marbles!” said Gi-hun, “Let’s go!”

Your grandfather stared at him. “Why should I?”

Gi-hun scoffed and pointed around the room, “Look around you! Everybody else is playing, too!” He put his hands on the old man’s shoulders and looked him in the eye. “We have to do this!”

Il-nam roughly shoved off his hands. “No! That game is for little children!” With a grunt, he continued his stalking through the playing grounds, in search of his house.

He played the part well, you thought to yourself. It would have been enough to even convince you if you hadn’t known better, and the idea itself made your shoulders heavy with how realistic it seemed. The problem was that it could be more than just acting.

Gi-hun turned to you in dread, and begged you to listen. “Sir, he’s not in his right mind, sir!” You could not reveal your voice, nor your identity, but the anxiety in his eyes made your heart clench in your chest. “I think he’s got dementia! Does that mean that he’s out, or… He’s not gonna play! So that means he is forfeited, right?”

You had to bite your tongue to keep silent, for you wanted to take away his anguish and take your grandfather back to safety, to tell Gi-hun that he would live to see another day, but if you would speak now, everything would have been for nothing. Gi-hun would have to be executed for the advantage you’d be giving him.

And so you stood your ground. No amount of imploring could sway you now, no matter how badly you wanted to relieve him of his agony.

Your grandfather stood at a metal gate, attempting to open it to peer through the gap, and Gi-hun cursed under his breath before going to him, once again begging him to play. “Just one little game, okay?” Gi-hun said with a feigned smile, “Here, it will be… It will be so much fun, sir!”

“No, I’d better go home now,” said your grandfather. “I know my house is nearby. It’s somewhere down this alley.” He peeked inside, and Gi-hun grunted in desperation. In a wave of panic, he grabbed Player 001 and placed him roughly with his back against the wall. “Will you just pull yourself together, old man?!”

You had to withhold yourself from intervening, and had to witness with mixed feelings how Gi-hun implored your grandfather to play. “They will kill us both if we don’t get started soon!” His bottom lip trembled, and your grandfather leaned away from him. “You got that thing in your head, so I bet you don’t care what happens here, but I won’t just sit here and die, okay?!”

He grabbed your grandfather by the upper arms and shouted in his face, “Listen, I can’t die! I need to get out of here!”

Oh Il-nam whimpered and turned to respond. “Don’t yell at me.” he stated, “All right, I will play, but don’t yell.”

Gi-hun sighed in relief, yet sobbed with unshed adrenaline. Trembling, he released your grandfather and went with him to a more secluded area. Sitting down on the threshold of one of the fake doors, they began to play under your watchful eye.

They decided upon the game where one Player had to guess if the number of marbles in the other’s hand was even or odd.

You observed how their game unfolded, your grandfather’s hands thinner than they had been before. They trembled with the lack of medication he had received over the past days, and it hurt to see. You blinked rapidly to prevent your tears from falling, and saw how Gi-hun lost five of his marbles to your grandfather, who successfully guessed the amount in Gi-hun’s hand to be even.

Shifting the rifle on your shoulder, you made yourself a bit more comfortable. The countdown was already halfway through, and so you grew more anxious with the minute, no matter that you knew the outcome of the game. Regardless of how it would go, Gi-hun would be considered victorious, even if it happened to be the other way around at the very last minute. Fifteen minutes, and you would be able to ensure your grandfather’s safety at last.

The final ten minutes were counting down, and your grandfather narrowed his eyes at Gi-hun’s closed fist. “It might be odd…” he muttered, “On the other hand, it could be even.” He paused. “That must be it.”

“Come on, hurry up and go.” Gi-hun’s patience had certainly left him.

“Odd.”

You saw how life drained from Gi-hun’s eyes, and he opened his palm with a sigh of despair. Your grandfather laughed. “Look at that! I won again!”

“How many are in yours?” Gi-hun whimpered. Your grandfather revealed four.

“Ah, shit…” Gi-hun sighed, breathing heavily. You had noticed that your grandfather did not have a full set of marbles yet, but still stepped in Gi-hun’s direction, rifle in hand.

“I still have one!” Gi-hun breathed in a frightened fashion, even though you had made no implication that you were going to shoot him. He showed you the marble, and you remained in your position. “I still have one more.”

The first gunshot rang through the air and pulled Gi-hun out of the next round. He shakily exhaled and peered at your grandfather’s closed fist, trying his best to guess correctly, even though the game was purely about odds.

“Even.” said Gi-hun. Your grandfather moved his hand to open it, but Gi-hun grabbed it tightly. “No, hold on. That���s not what… Wait a minute… Just give me a second.”

There was no tactic to his change of decision, but he did it nevertheless. “Odd.” He nodded and repeated: “Odd.”

Il-nam opened his fingers.

It revealed an even number of marbles, and Gi-hun trembled with fear at the realisation. He blinked slowly, attempting to comprehend his loss. Of course, it was of no use.

“Which one did you just say?” your grandfather questioned.

Gi-hun looked up at the old man, frowning. “What?”

“Can you repeat what you said just now?”

“Even.” Gi-hun lied. “I said, even.”

Your grandfather looked at his marbles whilst your stomach churned, knowing that you probably would have done the same had it come to a matter of life and death.

“Oh…” muttered your grandfather, “I lost this one.”

He handed a marble to Gi-hun, and they continued the game. Guilt tugged at Gi-hun’s heart, but he had no other choice if he wanted to live. For a moment, you crossed his mind.

Was he really going to take your grandfather away from you? Would he cheat his way out of this game and leave you without a chance of any hopeful future, should your grandfather win?

He thought back on the conversation he had with you a few days prior. He imagined you pacing around your apartment, concerned about the man you cared for so much.

Still, Gi-hun lied his way through the game, unaware of your proximity to it all. With every marble that weighed down onto his hand, his conscience became a little heavier.

If you knew, he wondered, would you forgive him?

The old man once again forgot what he said, and Gi-hun once again deceived him.

Gunshots rang through the air, and you watched with a tight throat how Gi-hun was misleading your grandfather right in front of your very own eyes.

And still, you felt something warm in your gut every time you laid eyes on Gi-hun.

Under gunfire in the distance, your grandfather put an odd number of marbles on his open palm, not even hiding it from Gi-hun’s view. Player 456 squinted with guilt and early onset grief about his betrayal.

“Odd,” he muttered.

“Hold on,” whispered the old man suddenly, “What is today’s date?”

Gi-hun frowned.

“My son has his birthday soon. What day is it? The 24th? I was going to buy him a toy robot for his birthday. This year, I need to get him a gift. I completely forgot last year.” Player 001 smiled, “I better do that soon. I can’t forget again.”

Gi-hun’s chin shivered, and he was close to crying. The old man snapped out of his thoughts, realising they were playing something. “Ah, my hand. What was your guess again?”

“Odd.” Gi-hun breathed with a heavy voice.

Three marbles lay in his palm, and Gi-hun opened his hand with trembling fingers to reveal the exact amount of marbles your grandfather had.

Your grandfather shook his small bag, but nothing fell out. “I’m out of marbles.” he sighed with a grunt of annoyance. “What should I do, huh? I’d love to keep playing. Hey, would you let me borrow one from you? Just for a while.”

Your grandfather smiled, but Gi-hun could not even look at him. Crying, Gi-hun rose from his seat, whispering his last words to the old man in an apology. “Sir, I’m so sorry.”

He approached you slowly, but your grandfather reached for his pocket. “Oh. Look at that! Forgot I had another one here.” He beamed with joy, and Gi-hun turned slowly. “Not out yet!” Il-nam said with a chuckle. “One more to go.”

Gi-hun’s face contorted, and he went to count his marbles on the ground, coming up to nineteen. Your duty to keep silent had you witness your grandfather wander off once again without you being able to say anything about it. It was not without reason that he did so, and you knew that he would not let Gi-hun die like that.

You stared at the numbers 001 on Gi-hun’s back as you followed them, your heartstrings tightening in pain. It was a bittersweet sight, and you wished that there had been more time to see him and your grandfather interact, to see them bond and thrive, but instead, their friendship was crumbling to what remained of it in this very minute.

“Sir, please, let’s just play one more time, huh?” He tried to convince your grandfather. “Come on, one more round.”

“Oh.” your grandfather said in awe upon looking at one of the artificial homes, “It's this one!” Breathing in delight, he approached the door, “Yes, this is the one! My wife and I had this one here! I raised my son right here!” He reached for the doors and pushed them open, reminiscing on the life he had fabricated for himself.

“Yes! I even had a nice little pond, right here in the front yard.”

“Sir, please, you have one marble left!” Gi-hun implored, putting a hand on his shoulder as he followed him inside and roughly spun him around. “We are running out of time sir!”

“And I,” your grandfather continued, undisturbed, “I would come home from work, and see my son, his friends were always here and they would all play, and they wouldn’t even know I was here!”

Gi-hun grabbed onto your grandfather, shaking him back and forth. “You need to get it together!” he exclaimed into his face, “Get it together and play with me again right now, understood?”

Il-nam was unfazed. “I would hide and I’d go just behind the utility pole there and take a peek at all of them playing and just watching. They would always have so much fun.”

The vivid description almost overwhelmed you, for you knew he had your uncle in mind.

“Sir, please! Try to snap out of it, sir!” Gi-hun sobbed. “Sir, I’m begging you.”

Tears leaked down his cheeks and he pressed his head against his chest.

“Why don’t we do one more round and bet it all?” suggested your grandfather.

Gi-hun’s face snapped up. “What?”

“Everything that I still got,” Il-nam clarified, “Against everything that you’ve got.”

Gi-hun released him and shook his head. “You can’t possibly mean that.” he whispered.

“You’re gonna take yours and bet it all, and I’ll do the same with everything that I still got here. Okay? That keeps everything fair.”

You swallowed thickly, knowing what he was aiming at. He was shrewd beyond all.

“I’ll wager all I got just to get your one?” Gi-hun breathed in disbelief, and your grandfather nodded in acknowledgement. “What kind of nonsense is this?!” He exclaimed, genuinely in shock. “There is no sense at all!”

“So then…” stated your grandfather, “That’s what you did this whole time. Does tricking your gganbu like that make sense to you?” Gi-hun’s offence was quickly replaced with deep shame.

He exhaled, tears close to shedding, and he bowed his head in remorse. He could not bear to look Il-nam in the eye, not after what he had done.

Peeking around the corner, you had watched it unfold, and saw how your grandfather took Gi-hun’s hand in his. “Take it.” said Player 001, putting the cold marble against Gi-hun’s hand. “It’s yours anyway.”

Gi-hun’s face trembled, tears now freely flowing down his cheeks. Behind your mask, you couldn’t fight your own sorrow anymore. They gathered in the bottom at your chin, and you let out a hot, shaky breath against the inside of the face covering.

“We are… Gganbu, aren’t we? Don’t you remember? When you and I swore that we were gganbu buddies. Gganbu always share everything with each other no matter what.”

Gi-hun began to cry harder, unable to speak, and Il-nam closed his hand around the marble. “Thank you,” said he, “You made all this... A good experience. What a great way to go.”

You let out a shivering exhale at your grandfather’s joyful expression, a beaming smile breaking out on his face. Your legs felt weak, and you felt like fainting, almost, overcome with sadness.

“What a great way to go,” he promised, “Really.”

Gi-hun squeezed his eyes shut and began to silently wail, allowing your grandfather to pull him into a tight embrace. “It’s okay. Everything is okay.”

Gi-hun whimpered, howling in your grandfather’s arms. You just stood there, unbothered on the outside, but your heart broke in your chest. You did not want to force them asunder, but you had no choice.

They held each other firmly, and Gi-hun felt nauseous at the thought of you, and the way he had deceived your grandfather. And most of all, the way the old man so easily forgave him. He wondered if you would do the same if he so happened to survive these lethal games.

The timer beeped, and gunshots rang through the air. Gi-hun released your grandfather and stepped away slowly, turning around to leave the premises, wanting nothing else but to howl into his pillow until he would fall into a dreamless sleep.

“Hey, I remember my name now.” Gi-hun could barely hear him over how loudly his heart beat in his own ears, but halted in his tracks. He did not have the power to turn to the old man, who in his final moments recalled his name.

“My name is Il-nam. Oh Il-nam.”

You walked past Gi-hun into the small secluded space, and Gi-hun walked off, vision blurred with tears, and guilt screwed his throat shut.

Grabbing your handgun instead of your rifle, you waited a few seconds, aiming it at your grandfather’s head. Then, you moved the barrel down, a bullet embedding itself into the ground in between you.

“Player 001, eliminated.” sounded through the room.

Il-nam looked at you, and you reached for your mask, taking it off.

Your cheeks were damp with tears, and your grandfather wryly smiled at you.

“My dear,” he whispered, opening his arms.

You sniffled, accepting his embrace.

[ayoitspatricia]

I couldn't find any rules for requests so I hope this is okay. If it is could you write headcanons for Han mi-nyeo being your mom? :3

Being the daughter of Han Mi-nyeo would include :

Acting more like her

Being this loud, confident girl influence

Having a good bond with your mom

I can imagine her brushing your hair whilst you both laugh at each other’s bad jokes

Convincing her to let you join the games

Needing the money for your schooling

If anyone wanted to talk to you she would straight up ask for their intentions

Her feeling like she needs to protect you even though your growing up

If there were large crowds she would make sure you were behind her

Not letting you out of her sight after the first game

Shouting at random players for the fun of it

Harassing the guards together

Deok-su tolerating you

Probs because you were actually able to fight

All thanks to Mi-nyeo teaching you

I feel like Gi-hun and his team would feel somewhat threatened by you

Like your attitude just scares them in general

You and your mom just sitting down and singing nursery rhymes to annoy everyone else

You would play games like rock paper scissors if you both were bored

Im not sure when you would die tbh

But you would definitely pass the first 3 games

You and your mom wouldn’t partner up for the marble game tho

She’d want you to go with a ‘big strong man to protect you’

Which is surprising due to her obvious interest in becoming a massive feminist

You just treating the games like a joke

Not being scared to actually die

[darkdevasofdestruction]

Chapter 7 - 281 + 139 =45.6 Billion Won

As soon as all the remaining 5 participants were ready and dressed in the new outfit, they reluctantly followed the pink guards towards what looked like a very fancy dining room with dim lights and exquisite... Everything, really. The table in front of them was shaped like a 5-sided polygon and they each sat very far apart from the other. With a shared look, Min Ji made sure to sit opposite of Sangwoo and next to Sae-byeok, as she felt safer and more at ease that way.

Classical music played as the guards served them their meal, which proved to be a steak and some expensive red wine. Nobody dared even approach the table, despite being already seated and staring down at the appetizing food - Instead, everyone was suspicious of it, if it was poisoned or not, or if anyone was going to somehow kill the other.

The first to take the initiative was Sangwoo, and he started cutting away at the meat and eating it - They have been starved for so long, it was only fair - They deserved it. Min Ji, too, started eating, little by little, as she looked around at how everyone was faring. Sangwoo and Gi Hun seemed to be in some kind of weird competition to eat everything, Gun-seo was sitting back in his seat, already finished and enjoying his wine like a rich mafia kid... And poor Sae-byeok seemed to be unstable, trembling and having some difficulties eating. 

The red head's worries grew as she saw how the girl didn't finish her meal and was even quieter and meeker than usual, and she looked back at the events of earlier that day... Could she have been stabbed by a bigger shard of glass? Was there really nothing any of them could do to help her out? Was she overbleeding and she felt no energy to go on anymore?

As soon as the meal was over, everything on the table was taken away, save for the knife that, obviously, everyone took - And then, they were taken back to their new dormitory, and soon, the lights went out to announce the curfew.

Not wanting to sleep uncomfortably, Min Ji threw the blazer on the mattress next to Sangwoo and went to sit next to Sae-byeok, leaning back on the wall, not uttering a single word. The silence must have been so confusing for the poor girl as, with some mustered strength, she turned her head to look at the crimson girl.

"What?" she croaked out weakly. "I am worried about you." Min Ji spoke, before turning to look at her with a small smile. "Although, you already know that by now." the girl next to her merely sigh and rested her chin on top of her knees. "It was the glass shards, wasn't it?" she merely nodded lethargically. "Is there nothing I can do? Nothing at all? Did you apply pressure?" the girl nodded simply. "I have a little brother. His name is Cheol. He is at a children's home now. Father was shot during our escape and mum was caught in China and sent back in North Korea." Sae-byeok painfully forced herself to speak. "And... You're afraid you won't make it out alive and you want me to take care of your brother and try to get your mum so safety?" Min Ji asked softly, earning a sad nod. "Alright. I will do it. I promise I will. If you want, I will even vow or anything you want."  "I trust you." Sae-byeok confessed quietly, making the girl gasp and let out a happy exhale of disbelief. "Thank you, Sae-byeok. Thank you so much. I'm really happy." her sweet smile made the defector force one on her face too, but it wasn't long lasting. "Here, take this." she muttered, handing two knives in her hands. "...What's with these?" Min Ji asked, confused. "One is mine, the other I stole from that jerk. Win this. No matter what." Sae-byeok had a death grip on the girl's shirt, looking her in the eyes to make sure she is genuine when promising. "I'm going to win. I am. That's for certain." Min Ji promised her in a convincing, confident voice. "Good."  she said, letting go of her and getting comfortable. "Min Ji. Can you sing?" the girl asked her, leaning on her shoulder. "I... Yeah, sort of. A bit. Why, do you want me to sing something for you?" the red head asked, putting her arms around her friend and pulling her in an embrace, leaning her chin on her head. "Yes. Mum used to sing me to sleep." her voice weaker and weaker. "Alright."

Butterfly, butterfly Come fly, fly Yellow butterfly, white butterfly Come here while dancing. Petals dance in the breeze too Smiling, smiling and laughing The sparrows tweet, tweet, tweet, Singing while dancing.

"How was it?" Min Ji's voice vibrated with embarrassment. "Thank you." she muttered lightly, making the girl even happier... Only for Sae-byeok to fall lax into her arms. "Sae-byeok? Sae-byeok?!" Min Ji's voice resounded louder and louder through the dimly lit room, alarming the others. Looking down and uncovering her torso from the blazer, she noticed that more than half of her white shirt was red with blood. "No... No, no, no, not you too! Sae-byeok, don't give up!"  "Min Ji... I want to go home..." the poor girl whined pitifully. "Sae-byeok! Hey, stay with me! Look at me! Hey!! HEYYYY! HEY, YOU FUCKERS, SHE'S DYING BECAUSE OF YOU!" Min Ji shrieked loudly and desperately, holding tightly onto Sae-byeok's body. "SHE PASSED THE GAME BUT YOU HURT HER! IS THIS HOW YOUR EQUALITY WORKS?! YOU FUCKING CHEATERS!!!" she yelled out in distress. "GI HUN! GI HUN, DO SOMETHING!" the girl was so freaked out that she could only watch the man start yelling and loudly banging on the doors. "GET A DOCTOR! HEYYYY! SHE'S LOST A LOT OF BLOOD, SAVE HER! SAVE HER! IS ANYONE OUT THERE?! YOU NEED TO KEEP HER ALIVE IF YOU WANT HER TO PLAY THE DAMN GAME! PLEASE, ANSWER ME!" he kept shouting and shouting, but nothing. Min Ji's fingers were hovering over Sae-byeok's neck, feeling for her pulse, and it was getting weaker and weaker, making her clench her jaw in anger and distress. "Don't... Don't go... Please, Sae-byeok, don't go..." "Is she dead?" suddenly, Sangwoo's calm voice came up as his shadow towered over the embraced, pitiful women and he watched with passive eyes as the one he loved nodded painfully, unable to stop herself from sobbing. "At least she didn't suffer. Let go of her, Min Ji." he crouched to her level and carefully place his hand on her head, hoping to calm her down. It didn't work. "No... No, I can't..." she buried her face in Sae-byeok's neck, her grip going even tighter on her body, unaware that the light opened. "Min Ji, the guards came to collect her body. You have to let her go." the tried to rationalize with her, but his voice just didn't go through. "But she's all alone, I can't let her go! She has to go home and take care of her baby brother and save her mum from the North! She has to!" at this point, the guards already carried the gift-box coffin in front of them. "We will do it for her. Min Ji, she is dead. There is nothing you can do. You, as a doctor, of all people, know that very well. The only thing we can do is fulfill our promises, but we can do that only if we are alive. So let her go. Come here." Sangwoo cupped her face, forcing her to look at him. He hated seeing her crying, being so miserable and hopeless. He genuinely couldn't understand how she managed to get so attached to complete strangers to be able to weep and suffer so much over their deaths, but it didn't matter anymore. If she needed to be brought to reality, he already vowed to himself that he will drag her back to the surface. "...O-Okay..." closing her eyes, the girl nodded slowly and released the grip on her past friend, and got up, helped by the man, and stepped back together. "What the hell did you do to her?!" Gi hun's angry shout echoed through the room. "How could you kill her?! She trusted you! Out of all people, you and you alone -- She trusted you!" his expression was so crestfallen and forlorn that Min Ji could only hide her face in Sangwoo's chest in embarrassment and regret. "Min Ji didn't kill her. Calm down." he put a protective arm around her form. "What do you mean she didn't kill her?! She's covered in blood all over! And so was Sae-byeok! She must have stabbed her with that knife we got!" Gi hun stomped on the spot, almost unable to stop himself from strangling someone. "A big shard of glass stabbed her. She couldn't stop the bleeding no matter how much she tried to apply pressure. She lost too much blood." Min Ji forced herself to explain what happened. "No. No, I don't believe you... No... It's just too perfect. You two... You two... You are a team of hell. Two devils with no remorse or regard for human life. You're both selfish and disgusting. You deserve each other. And, let me tell you at some point, you will betray each other and then you will remember what I said. You will regret it." Gi hun looked at the two with such resentment that Min Ji remembered the bad days of highschool when she was forced to play the villain role and get used to it. But no matter how well it suited that role, and she played it well, she hated it. It wasn't her. She watched the furious man stomp away from them with sadness in her eyes. "I'm not the bad guy... I'm not... Really... I'm... I'm not..."  "You are not. You didn't kill her, the organisation did. You were there for her in her last moments. You were her friend, and I don't think she had many." Sangwoo put his blazer around her shoulder, motioning for her to sit down between his legs so she could lean back on his chest and be held in his arms. "She said she trusted me. And she made me promise I'll take care of her brother and mother. Can we really do that?" Min Ji asked, getting comfortable in his embrace. "Yes. We will. I, too, want to look for Ali's family and give them a donation. Other than that, there's not much else we can do. But, as I told you, to do that, we must win. You have to get a grip. Forget about everyone who died and focus on winning. You can weep all you want after that, but until then, be the villain they said you are. It is for your own survival. I can be strong for you, but if we are separated, I cannot save you anymore. You have to be strong on your own. Just this time. One last time. After this, you won't have to be strong anymore, because you won't be alone ever again. I will make you the happiest woman in the world and you will never have to worry about anything ever again. Just. Survive" he cupped her face, making her look straight into his eyes as he spoke in a quiet, but strong voice, so she will erase all her sorrows and concerns that grieved her heart and clouded her thinking. "Be careful, you said all that, but for that to happen, you have to be alive as well. So... Yeah. Don't forget that you promised you will live" she pulled him into a deep kiss before taking out one of the knives and putting it in his pocket. "Sae-byeok stole Gun-seo's knife, and gave me hers too. That means we have two knives each, the both of us. If something happens, don't hesitate to use both. Nothing, and I mean nothing, is more important than you getting out alive. Okay?" she held up her pinky for him to promise. "Okay."

As the 6th game was announced to begin, Min Ji quickly brided her hair back, just as Ji-yeong did for her, then took a deep breath to ground herself. The four remaining participants were taken just outside the game zone area, and they were given a coin with a circle on one face and a triangle on the other. Min Ji was the first to go, as she was player 139 and was the first number in order. If she bet on the right side, she would be in team 1, if not, in team 2.

Min Ji took the coin from the guard and thinking, she bet on the triangle, reminiscent of the Honeycomb game, and analyzing the coin, she stepped towards Sangwoo, took ahold of his hand and put the coin in his hand. "I want Cho Sangwoo to flip the coin in my stead. I choose Triangle." she spoke loud and clear. The guard nodded, accepting this, and Sangwoo flipped the coin, slapping it on the back of his hand.

It was Triangle.

"Participant 139, step to the left. Next, participant 281, choose a side and flip the coin." the guard spoke as Min Ji went to her assigned spot. "I choose triangle as well and I want Yi Min Ji to flip the coin for me." the guard nodded once again and Sangwoo mimicked her actions, handing her the coin, which she flipped and - Surprise surprise - The face showed a Circle.  "Participant 281, step to the right." the guard signaled for him to step next to Min Ji, who smiled brightly at the man who nodded at her with the ghost of a smile on his face. Who would have thought their silly strategy actually work, betting on their luck like that. "Participant 326, choose a side and flip the coin." Gun-seo stepped forward, snatched the coin away, chose circle, and managed to get it right, therefore, he was in Min Ji's team, while Gi Hun was paired with Sangwoo. "You will be playing the Squid game, two teams, one winner each team, therefor, there can be two winners going home with the cash prize. Should the winners, however, agree to play another game and have a sole prize-winner, that will also be allowed. Participant 139 and 326 will be the first to play the game. Choose a side of the coin and the winner will choose whether they want to play on the offensive or on the defensive." this time, however, the coin was different, having a triangle and a square side, and the guard was the one to throw it. "Square." Gun-seo immediately said, facing the woman and smirking maliciously at her.  "Square. Choose a side."  the man chuckled, knowing his luck at betting. "Offense. Hope you missed my hands on you, Min Ji. I can't wait to see the life leaving your eyes as I strangle you again." he sneered condescendingly at her. "Oh, trust me, Gun-seo. You will pay for everything you've ever done to me. You will beg for mercy. You will cry like a little bitch. I will make you suffer so much that you will regret ever crossing my path." a twisted grin broke her face as she tilted her head to the side as if she was Michael Myers ready to kill again.

On the other side, Gi hun won the coin flip and he, too, chose the offensive - But their team will be playing second - And thus, they were guided into the playing zone.

The winning conditions were the following:

1. The attacker must enter the squid grid, run past the defense and tap the squid's head with his foot to win. 2. The defender must push the attacker out of the grid to win. 3. If, by any chance, one player is unable to proceed with the game, the last one standing wins.

Which means that, if one of them dies, the other one automatically wins.

Perfect.

As Min Ji turned to look at Sangwoo and Gi hun who sat down on the bench, anxiously watching the first game begin, she gave a winning smirk and a wink to Sangwoo as she threw off the blazer and her shoes then rolled up her sleeves, so she could move more comfortably. Those shoes, especially, were so annoying. Then, she went to sit somewhere in the middle of the Squid - Or something - And prepared herself for the attack.

"What is it, Min Jiiii~? You stripped for me? Are you so ready to have me again? Admit it! You missed me, didn't you? Young and handsome and I know how to please a woman! So what if I beat you here and there, at least I made you feel good! What can that old grandpa do for you, huh? HUH? He's gonna jizz his pants as soon as he sees you naked! No, not even naked - Half naked! He's pathetic, look at him!" Gun-seo tried his best to provoke her, but she merely laughed at him patronising. "If you claim to be such a woman pleaser, why then, in 10 years, have you never done that even once? Not even once! You have nothing, Gun-seo. All you can do is brag - But you brag with everything that your parents gave you, because you are nothing more than a useless and pathetic waste of breath in this Universe. It was luck that you managed to fool my parents into making this arrangement and getting me to pay your debts. Yeah, YOUR debts, I already know that since your parents died and you were made the new CEO, everything has been failing you. That's why you're here. That's why you needed my money. How much more pathetic can you get, anyway?" she taunted him so strongly that he started cursing her. 

It started to rain inside the place so heavily that it created such a dramatic effect that it made her feel as if she was in one of those dramas she watches from time to time. She watched the man start hopping on one foot and, as he approached her, he suddenly collapsed, dragging her down with him.

The air was pushed out from her lungs bruskly from the heavy weight suddenly falling on top of her, and not even able to properly take a breath of air, just as he promised, he started strangling her. 

"THAT'S IT, BITCH! Do you still dare talk back to your superiors with that insolent mouth of yours?!" he slapped her roughly, only to see her grin and, as he was frowning, very confused, he felt the painfully sharp sensation of a knife being thrusted into his side. He let out a pitched scream once again as she laughed and twisted the blade inside of his body then taking it out and pushing him off of her. "Well, how did you like that, darling~?" Min Ji shot up to her feet, chuckling at him, a psychopathic look in her eyes that made her completely unrecognizable. "Bitch, I always win. No matter what, no matter through how much hardship I have to go through, I always - ALWAYS - without fail, win. Today, as well. I'm not going to let you snatch away my chance at happiness. But thanks for your luck, I get to have my revenge. And, trust me, I won't just kill you. No, oh, honey, noooo, not at all. It's gonna be 10 years worth of pain you're gonna get." her eyes narrowed is pure ecstasy as she stomped down her foot on his stomach, making him cough out blood. She watched him search around for his knife, only to realise he had none anymore. "Where is it?! WHERE IS IT?! WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY KNIFE?!" he screamed at her from the ground, only for her to kick him in the side, where she stabbed him. Once, twice, thrice, many times. "Stoooopppppp! Min Ji, stop, please! Please!" he wailed, trying to cover his wound and then tried to grab a hold of her, but she quickly jumped back and stomped on his hand. "Are you begging for mercy, Gun-seo? Are you? Do you want me to be gentle with you?" she spoke in a mocking baby voice to him. "Y-Yes, Min Ji, please, stop this, it hurts, really, it hurts so much! Please, stop! You win, you win, so s-stop!" he wailed out like a cat in distress, which made the girl hang her her, only to start laughing harder and kick him on his back even harder. She went above him, sitting on his torso as she held one of his hands and glued it to the ground - Before she impaled it with all her strength onto the ground, making him shriek her eardrums out. "MIN JI! MIN JI! STOP! I BEG OF YOU! MIN JI, STOP!" "Have you ever stopped when I begged you? No. You didn't. You only went worse and worse each time. You loved it when I begged you to stop. You felt powerful. You finally felt strong in front of someone. You felt you had authority. Poor, poor you. You needed to beat a woman to have some strength in you. How disgusting."  she scowled at him as she twisted the blade cruelly into his palm. "Remember what you would do to me when you said you'd be gentle? You remember, don't you?" "N-No... No... Please... Please... Please..." he tried to use his other hand to pry the girl away, but she quickly took out her other knife and stabbed his other hand. "You asked me where your knife was. Here it is. Sae-byeok stole it from you. You're so stupid, you didn't even realize your knife was missing. Dumbass. You say you don't remember how gentle you were with me? Let me remind you, then." she cupped his face gently, approaching his face to whisper, and then she started punching away at his face mercilessly. "This is the mercy you gave me! This is the gentleness you promised me! You abused me for ages, and you really expect me to treat you any differently? What the fuck do you think I am, a robot? Huh? TELL ME?! TELL ME!" "I'M SORRY! I'M SORRYYYYYYY!!! I WAS WEAK! I WANTED POWER! I WAS WEAK! I BEG OF YOU, PLEASE, PLEASE, STOOOOOP!" Min Ji wasn't even sure if he was screaming louder or weaker, she was too caught up in the adrenaline rush and satisfaction she felt at finally being given her revenge with her own two hands, without any consequence or repercussion. "DID YOU EVER THINK OF ME? How can I show myself in front of a man again when my skin looks the way it does because of you?! How can I not flinch away and be scared when someone approaches me because my first reaction is to think they want to beat me up for no reason?! Do you have any idea how much self-control and reassuring it takes to even approach a man and not run away crying? Do you have ANY idea of the irremediable damage you've done to me?!" her breathing became heavier and heavier from getting tired, shrieking in his face and crying out all her frustrations and pent up anger. "S-...So-....Rry..." his face was already a bloody mess and could barely twitch and robotically apologise. "Sorry? You think a sorry's gonna cut away everything you've done to me? The fuck is wrong with you?! There's no way I'm letting you live! If there is a hell, I hope you rot. I hope you reach the 9th circle of hell and have to suffer alone in that frozen wasteland with Lucifer and Judas." she took out both knives from his hands and looked down a him, feeling disgusted. "Min... Ji...." he managed to croak out lightly, only for his face to be impaled by a knife. Repeatedly.

Min Ji let out a pained cry, finally getting her revenge as she continuously stabbed his face again and again and again, each time, getting more and more exhausted. Even when the announcement that Player 139 won was given, she didn't budge. She was glued there, taking out the knife and burying it back into his face, so often that his face was completely unrecognizable and his whole head began to resemble some mushy porridge-like consistence and she had to be dragged away from the corpse by the guards otherwise she'd have continued going like this.

Her eyes were unfocused for the longest time as she held those knives in her hands and walked towards the bench so she'd sit down and watch the two attempt to kill each other.  As she dragged herself in front of Sangwoo, she took his hand and placed both knives there, letting him have a total of 4, as if he actually had what to do with them anyway. "I won. Your turn now. Don't die. I will never forgive you if you do." she muttered quietly, unable to let go of him. "Players 218 and 456, you may begin the game." the woman's voice came out and Gi hun was already on the squid area, after the guards took away the coffin with Gun-seo's body in it. "I won't." despite the nervousness bubbling in his heart, the aggressiveness and raw emotions he witnessed from her managed to stir a certain kind of barbaric hostility that gave him the strength to look into Gi hun's eyes and have no hesitation in killing him.

With a kiss on her forehead, Sangwoo gingerly pried away her hands from him and guided her to the bench to sit down and rest.

And watch him kill his childhood friend.

They exchanged words that Min Ji couldn't hear because of the heavy rain and grunts, and she could only watch attentively as they stabbed and punched each other. It all happened so fast, but so slow at the same time, it was insane. Sangwoo tried to strangle Gi hun with his blazer, but Gi hun managed to struggle away from there. It was all such a mess that she couldn't tell what the hell was going on anymore.

She watched Gi hun struggle to get up after being stabbed in the thigh and abdomen by his friend, and then went above him, striking down the knife... But Gi hun stopped it with his hand? That's insane. To think that such a scrawny man could be able to do something so heroic, but her pussy ex-husband was crying like little bitch from a mere punch.

However, she couldn't tell what the hell happened 'cause suddenly, Sangwoo cried out in pain and fell backwards, with Gi Hun jumping on him and punching his face the same way she did to Gun-seo, only with much less hatred. Then, he took out the knife from his hand and slammed it down.

A feminine shriek of despair echoed through the place as Min Ji jumped to her feet in shock and denial - She couldn't see what happened due to the man's body, but what else could it be? He killed Sangwoo, didn't he?! "If you kill me, you're responsible for Min Ji and my mother." Sangwoo managed to choke up as he laid flat on the ground. Gi Hun got up and started limping fowards as a guard pointed his gun at Sangwoo's head. "You'll be responsible for them yourself." he said, then limped next to the guard. "Upon a majority vote, if two people wish to give up, the game ends here, right?" the guard nodded at him. "MIN JI! TELL ME WHAT DO YOU WANT?! DO YOU WANT TO GET OUT OF HERE WITH THE MONEY OR WITH SANGWOO?! TELL ME SO I KNOW WHAT TO CHOOSE!" he started dragging himself like a zombie, desperately towards her. "MIN JI, TELL ME?! WHAT DO YOU LOVE MORE?! MONEY OR SANGWOO?! TELL ME!" he yelled at her, watching her look at him in sorrow, shock and disbelief. "Sangwoo... Sangwoo... He's... He's not dead? You didn't kill him...?" she managed to chirp, turning her vision to his side and spotting her beloved struggling to get up and go towards his friend, a knife in his hand. "He's not dead. I couldn't do it. Forget the money! Min Ji, the three of us - We can get out! You don't have a debt anymore, and together, if you start working, you can eventually pay off his debts. You don't have to worry about your ex-husband anymore. You and Sangwoo can live together. Don't tell me you treasure the money more than him. You wanted to choose the star, I remember. You chose to go with his choice. You trusted him in the Tug of War. You didn't get upset when he didn't choose you as his partner in the marble game, then you gambled you life away in the glass game for him. You bet everything on the two of you going out of here alive, you made plans, you have dreams. Don't give up on him. And don't make me a murderer too." Gi hun's discourse almost worked. It was so close. SO so close to succeeding. However, Min Ji hung her head, her bottom lip trembling with guilt as he looked at him again. "I'm so sorry, Gi hun." she said as she watched Sangwoo swiftly stab his knife into Gi Hun's neck. "We will take care of your mother and daughter. But I'm sorry, I refuse to let go of my happiness." "I'm sorry, old friend. You've been good to me, but you can't live my life for me. We will be responsible for your mother and daughter. Farewell." Sangwoo held his friend in his last seconds alive and watched as he closed his eyes and merely nodded as the life slipped away from his body. "Player 218 won. The winners of this competition are Players 139 and 218. Do you wish to continue playing or you split the prize?" the guard asked them, and they looked at each other and shook hands. "We split the prize." they both announced in unison and thus, they were allowed to go change into the clothes they came into, then they were bound and tied and put into a limousine, and, as before, they were knocked out and thrown on the side of the road.

Time and Space were completely indefinite as they were struggling to get a grip on their consciousness, and finally, when they came to, they helped each other get off the restraints and went looking for an ATM so they can get money and go home.  In their pockets, they both had a card - Sangwoo was the first to try it and used his player number as the PIN code - And there, he saw the number. A number that he never thought he'd so in his life.

22.8 billion won.

He only dared take out enough money to go home and call for some delivery service food. Then, Min Ji got her own card inside.

22.8 billion won.

He watched as she giddily threw her arms around him in complete bliss and glee, and he could only reciprocate by hugging her back, much too astonished that they... They were alive. Both of them. And they had such money in their possession. 

It was insane.

Neither of them was able to speak at all - Instead, they dragged each other back home - Her home, as it was much more welcoming and comfortable - And there, they could finally exhale in relief.  This time, Sangwoo chose to let her take a shower first, as that limp of his was killing him - Min Ji refused - Instead, she guided him to sit on the toiled and took out the first aid kit to patch it up.

That insane guy actually bit his leg. That's incredible. That's really one thing she wasn't expecting at all. Although the human bite has tons of bacteria and can cause necrosis, the wound wasn't as deep as it looked, thankfully. It the end, maybe the worst they got is that beating, as there are few cuts, scratched and it seems there's no broken bone, therefore, nothing Min Ji couldn't easily treat from home.

"Any better?" she asked as she finished bandaging his leg tightly. "Yeah." the man answered affirmatively, which made the girl finish up, close the kit and open the door. "Okay then. I'll go get some towels, bathrobes and sleeping wear for the shower and then get my laptop so we can order something to eat. I'm starving." she spoke so nonchalantly that it almost made the man blink in shock at how unbothered she was by everything. As she returned, she threw most of the stuff on the ground and the flopped on his lap, showing him a variety of shops and meals they could choose from. They were so starved though that they ended up ordering quite a lot, and a large variety, despite knowing they won't be able to eat everything - But who cared, they were starving! Thus, she ordered everything online and the delivery page said it should arrive in an hour or less. Perfect. She carefully placed the device on the couch then returned in the bath room, putting the towels, robes and change of clothes in their respective place, the went to sit on the edge of the bathtub, setting the water at a warm and nice setting. "Don't just stand there. We have to take a shower, the food will come pretty soon." she said, lazily taking off those cheap socks. "That's... A bit improper." he blinked, looking away quickly. "We killed 454 people, saw each other in our underwear in the middle of the night, outside and then saw each other getting dressed, slept in the same bed more than once and kissed half-naked and covered in glass shards in a bathroom and you're telling me this is improper?" the girl leaned forward, chuckling at him playfully. "Do I need to kiss you to convince you?" "It might work." came his answer, trying to stay serious, but failing. "Oh, you~." she giggled, hopping off the bathtub and stepping in front of him and bending to get to his height, her face dangerously close to his. "Not bothered that you don't think you're pretty enough to kiss me anymore?" he asked, a calm smile on his face. "You said I'm beautiful. Everything else is completely unimportant." she replied, getting even closer. "It is true. You are stunning no matter what you do." he confessed, making the girl smile wider and cup his face, smiling his passionately. "Go on. Tell me more." she grinned in between kisses as he got the courage to get up and pulled her closer to him, his hands roaming up and down her body. "I'm never letting you go, Min Ji." he said, feeling her hands go down from his neck to his chest and begin to unbutton his shirt. "I want to have you in my arms every night and wake up to your smile every morning." he continued, his hands going under her shirt and taking it off easily as it was already larger than normal for her. "I want to make you happy and spoil you with all the money I've got." he shuddered as he felt her slightly colder fingertips trailing from his bare chest down to his abdomen, then going to embrace him shyly. "Min Ji. Don't be afraid. I'm never going to hurt you. I love you." his words rung like the sweetest chime into her ears as she felt fluid in his arms, letting him do as he wanted. "Sangwoo." she muttered in between kisses, feeling pretty breathless. "I love you." The clothes were slowly discarded to the ground and the lukewarm water running down their skin soothed their tensed muscles. The stings coming from the small open wounds went completely unnoticed as they were lost in a completely different world - Their world - And nothing around them mattered anymore.  Neither of them knew what it felt, what is was like, to open their hearts in such a way to another, to allow another to touch them this way, to allow themselves to be so vulnerable in another's embrace, so good, so irresistible, so unsatiable, so addicting.

The fantasy world was disturbed, however, about one hour later when her phone started ringing after being left forgotten on the sink, and she couldn't help but chuckle. "Food's gonna be here in 10. Can you go take it when the doorbell rings?" "Sure. I didn't even realise how hungry I was. Take your time." getting bashful all of a sudden, Sangwoo got up from the bathtub and went to wipe himself with a tower then put the bath robe around him. As soon as the doorbell rang, he went back to Min Ji, seeing her lean her head on her hands, over the edge of the tub, smiling, and he bent a bit to plant a sweet kiss on her forehead before leaving. "Ahhh I'm in love." he heard her sighing happily as he left the bathroom to get the food that she already paid for via the game prize money.

That's a lot of food, he thought as he took everything and carefully arranged it on the large kitchen table as Min Ji was getting dressed in the loose sleeping clothes, her hair still damp as she didn't bother drying it with a hair dryer.

The two sat down together and started eating, Min Ji once again putting some relaxing music on so they could eat in peace, together, for the first time in a while.

Yes, this was it. The kind of serenity that he's been dreaming of for so long, the bliss that calmed down any demon or nightmare he might have been battling at any moment of his disturbed life. They laid down on the bed together, no lights on, just them, cuddled together, in a soothing silence. "Sangwoo... Are we really alive? Is it really over?" he heard her speaking after a while. "Yes. Yes, it is over, Min Ji, and nothing of the sort is ever going to happen again to us. We are free." he pulled her closer to his body, reassuring her. "Then... Tomorrow we have to start sorting our your debts and find a gift for your mum. Then find a way to get Sae-byeok's brother out of the children's home, find Ali's family, Gi Hun's mum and daughter... Damn, we're quite busy actually, how's thaaaat." she chuckled lightly. "Yeah, I guess we are pretty busy, but we'll solve everything soon. We really need a vacation. A long one that is." he smiled, looking up at the ceiling. "Hell yes. And we gotta invest in something, so we won't get complacent with the money with have, but at the same time, we gotta be careful. No more futures, okay? Even if I have no idea what that is... Or any idea about money in general. I just paid taxes and hoarded money. So I trust you with the investing part, you're the businessman." Min Ji chuckled, get comfier in his arms. "I can't believe you bet your life on the intuition of a businessman who got 6 billion won in debt because of the failed investments he did. It was pretty foolish of you." he snorted, teasing her. "Hey, I got lucky, right? It was tooootally worth it." she declared confidently. "So was I. The luckiest I've been in my entire life. And we worked damn hard for this." he agreed, content with this end.

~ 1 Year Later ~

Sangwoo watched, as he was leaning back on a tree, as his beloved danced carefree in the park, cherry blossoms dancing around her with the wind, as she moved as fluid as the river, singing like a nightingale, whatever song she loved from one of her preferred dramas - In fact, he recognised that one, they watched it together, much to her complete glee - And he got to see her going through a myriad of emotions, completely engulfed by the plot and characters. 

Ji-yeong told her she looked like a fairy. She was right. The way her gorgeous hair flies around in the air, how the hanfu flowed around her so naturally, making every move she made look so gracious and natural as if a Goddess came down from above and chose to enchant him. 

She was perfect.

Suddenly, as he was taking pictures of her, his phone rang. It was his mother. He signed to Min Ji to come over and turned on the camera so they could have a video-call with her.

"Hi, my darling! Ohh, my, Min Ji, darling, you look absolutely stunning! Sangwoo, I'm sure you showered her in tons of compliments already, yes? You better have!" his mother was the sweetest woman alive, always making them blush with her kindness. "Yes, he did!" Min Ji laughed, making the man sigh and nod.  "How are you, mum?" he asked, seeing in the background that she was comfortably sitting inside her new and nicely furnished market they had made for her. "Oh, I'm good, I'm good! Ah, little Cheol just came home. Choel, come say hi to Sangwoo and Min Ji!" the mother motioned for the young child to hurry up and wave at them. "Hi." the boy waved shyly, then left the camera view. "Ahh, this one, he still is so shy. But don't mind it, he's a sweet child, he just needs to find his courage. Anyway, how are you? Everything nice in China?" she asked, that wide smile never leaving her face. "Yes. The weather is very good and we haven't encountered any issues so far." he spoke to her. "Wonderful. I'm so happy for you, you two... Oh, sorry, I will call you later, I have a customer. Take care of her, Sangwoo, she's a gem!" the old woman hung up, making the two blush and chuckle at her behaviour.

Everything was perfect and all promises were taken care of. Ali's family was provided for and back home, at her parents, Sae-byeok's baby brother was taken care of my Sangwoo's mum and Sae-byeok's mum who was now working together with Sangwoo's mum in that market, Gi Hun's mother had already passed away from severe diabetes already, but they gave enough money to his daughter, they managed to invest successfully in some stocks and auctions, bought some apartments and had them rented and now they were gaining money at a nice pace, and they had already visited a few countries, taken lots of pictures and bought way too many souvenirs - But hey, his mum loved each and every one of them, so who cares?

Things were going so well for them that every day seemed like it was spent on Cloud 9 from Heaven and bliss.

The next day, the two stepped inside the Forbidden City, and Sangwoo hasn't seen her smile so completely astonished and in awe before, as if she discovered a complete new world and everything she was seeing was unheard of, made in the domain of fantasy.

He helped her walk, as the flowerpot shoes she was wearing were a bit difficult to move into for long distances, but it was so worth it - Or at least, that's what she said, so who was he to deny that?  The Sun was so bright that it made her golden robes shine even brighter and more precious than anything existent in this world.  He wasn't one to dress up, so he chose to go or the usual suit - Especially seeing that Min Ji absolutely loved how he looked in suits. They first walked around, him taking lots of pictures, as she continued pestered him to do as she couldn't, then they took boat trip on the lotus pond, and in the end, they went in front of the Palace where the coronation for the Empress would take place.

It was absolutely wonderful. Not only her face in such glee, but the way she would look in pictures, like an imposing, strong and confident Empress, the Phoenix of the Empire, he thought. She was ethereal and no word in any vocabulary could describe it.

She was glowing.

Quickly, Sangwoo gave his hand to a couple so they could take film what he was going to do - And he skipped up the stairs next to her. She wasn't paying attention to him, but at how beautiful the palace looked from outside. He then went down on one knee, taking out the ring box and, with a deep breath to calm his nerves, he called out her name, making her look for him, then freeze on the spot it shock. 

"Min Ji." he watched as she tried to hide her face as she was smiling and blushing so much, it was unreal, and it gave him such a confidence boost already. "Thank you for believing in me. For choosing me. For staying by my side and from saving me from the darkness. I couldn't have done it without you. I promised I would make you the happiest woman in the world and spoil you with everything that I've got, and I intend on doing so, and even more, from now on. Min Ji, my beautiful Empress, will you marry me?" "Get up and let me hug you already, I can't move in this." she extended her arms towards him, and as soon as he got up, she threw herself in his arms. "Of course I'll marry you. There's no way I'm letting go of you. No matter what. We pinky promised. You can't break a pinky promise. It's forever. Like us." "That was the best promise I've ever done. I'm never letting go of you. Pinky promises are forever. Like us. I love you, Min Ji. More than anything in this world." he put the ring on her finger and cupped her face, wiping away the glimmering tears with his thumb. "I love you so much, Sangwoo. I love you so much." that look in her eyes absolutely melted his heart and he couldn't help but kiss her plump lips - This time, as his fiancee, and next, as his wife - And from then on, as the woman that he treasures most in this world.

Finally, Sangwoo managed to fulfill all his promises, he finally did something good in his life, and he hasn't failed at anything ever since he got out of that blasted game. 

They were alive, they were together, they were happy, they were rich. 

They were everything they freaking wanted.

Why?

Because they Pinky Promised.

And those promises are

Forever.

< Previous Chapter

[darkdevasofdestruction]

Chapter 6 - Trust

Warmth. Safety. Calm. Love. Peace. Ease. Serenity.

Those were all thing that Sangwoo felt as soon as he opened his eyes and noticed the woman that he caught feelings for having her arms wrapped around him, his head pulled to her chest, their legs intertwined so naturally. He could feel her heart beating rhythmically, at a normal pace, no more of that rabbit-heartbeat that she had throughout the day due to the constant fear and anxiety, nor the depressive feeling of losing people you got attached to. 

He, too, hated that he had to kill Ali to save his own skin, however, this is a survival game, and they all knew what they were getting themselves into. Nobody here wants to die -More or Less- And while yes, he had to trick and betray the man he grew fond of, he wanted to live. Who else wouldn't have done the same, anyway? No matter how altruistic and righteous people claim to be, in the face of imminent danger, they wouldn't sacrifice themselves for a complete stranger. No, in fact, they'll use said person as a shield and save themselves.

That's the whole reason they got into this killing game a second time, right?

For now, they have to keep their heart frozen and non-functional, and then, when they get the hell out of here, with the prize money in their hands, they will allow themselves to weep and feel guilty. Until then, they have a set goal and they won't turn back, no matter what.

He wanted to go back home to his mum, pay all his debts and make her small shop flourish. He wants to travel in all the countries existent along with Min Ji, he wants to take tons of pictures together, frame them and put them all over the house. He wants to buy countless souvenirs and personally give them to his mum, so he could see that motherly smile on her face. He wants her to be happy for him for finally finding a lovely woman to spend the rest of his life with, if all things go as well as expected.

There are so many things Sangwoo wants to do, and just 2 more games. 18 more people to go.

He will win it all and drag Min Ji up with him, even if all his strength fails.

He will not fail again.

His thoughts were interrupted by the girl waking up and smiling like a spoiled kitten, cuddling closer to him, her grip tightening just a little bit as she started playing with his hair. "So soft..." she muttered, hugging his head. Maybe she wasn't as awake as he thought.

But they were abruptly woken up by the entrance door opening and the guards walking inside, carrying those gift-coffins. Despite her half-asleep state, she got up to lean on her elbow and followed the guards to where she spotted that husband she quarreled with the previous night, hung from the metal stairs.

Oops.

17 more participants. 44 billion won.

"...Did I do that?" Min Ji muttered, letting herself fall back in Sangwoo's arms. "Why would you say that?" he asked in a soft voice. "I told him to kill himself, didn't I?" she sighed, ruffling her hair a bit. "You also told him to continue his wife's and all the dead people's legacy. He chose the easy way out and solved nothing." he replied. "I wouldn't want the person I love the most in this life to kill themselves just because I'm gone. That would be pretty selfish of me." she grumbled, a bit deflated. "You're not allowed to die, no matter what, got it?" she bruskly flipped to her stomach, leaning on her forearms, her hair falling down on his face rom how close they were. "You get out of here and take care of your mum, capiche? I won't accept no for an answer." she pouted, despite the demanding voice that seemed more like an order than anything. "Don't worry, Min Ji. I have no intention of losing to anyone. I made a promise that I intend to keep. However, since you are so demanding of me, then I cannot but have to reciprocate. I want to get out of here with you and have more of those days together, normal and peaceful. Just the two of us, and you, singing when you have no idea that I'm there." the more he spoke, the more he could see her mischievous eyes widening in shock and embarrassment and she quickly got up looking away with a slight blush on her face, trying hard to keep serious, but failing miserably. "I have no idea what you are talking about and I refuse to acknowledge what you just said." she muttered, crossing her arms to her chest. "It was definitely something from those dramas you like." this however, made her tilt her head in realisation, an upset look taking over. "Oh. Yeah, I remember..." why would this make her upset, Sangwoo thought with a frown as he watched her hands fall on her lap and biting her lip. "I... Before the time was over... Ji-yeong said that she loved dancing and singing the same as I do. And she asked me to perform something for her. I never performed in front of anyone before. I was embarrassed out of my wits... But how could I deny her, when it was our last 5 minutes alive, right? I really... I completely rejected the idea that the both of us won't get out of that place alive... I didn't want to accept that." her eyes began glistering with tears, recalling the events of the previous game. "And you performed that song." Sangwoo came to that conclusion as his hand cupped her face, wiping the stray tears that escaped. Min Ji nodded, putting her hand over his and closing her eyes. "She said I looked like a fairy. Then, she said we will bet everything on one single game. Who threw the marble closest to the wall. I went first, and threw it normally. Then... She just let it fall. I picked it up, putting it back in her hand and urging her to try again. And again. And again. I couldn't accept that she was willing to give up everything so I could go on. She was so young and full of life... And she called me unnie. Nobody ever called me unnie. I feel as if I let my little sister die. It sucks." she confessed, albeit, stumbling a few times to take a few deep breaths and steady herself. "Her sacrifice won't be in vain and she will be remembered."  Sangwoo promised, gently grasping her wrists and pulling her down on his chest. "She thanked me for being her friend... And she made me promise that I'll win this, with you, and be happy and smile for her too.  We have to do that, okay? We have to. I can't let either of you down." she muttered, her fingers clutched to his shirt. "Yes, we will. We will. So many people died already, all we can do is live on for them as well. We can do it, alright, Min Ji?" he raised slightly to her elbow, looking down at the girl who smiled softly and nodded. "Yeah. We will. If someone can, it is us."

Speaking of being able to carry on, the 5th game was announced to begin soon, so the two shared a look and nodded to each other, getting up and putting on their game face. Nobody was allowed to see them weak in any way. Thus, they walked in a line, him in front of her, until they reached yet another white room with 17 mannequins garbing numbers from 1 to 17. And they were told to choose.

Nobody had any clue, whatsoever, what the hell kind of game this could be, so nobody hurried to choose any number - Except for the religious fanatic who choose #6 because of whatever Godly creation day reason. Another went ahead and chose lucky number #7.

"Sangwoo, should we choose as well?" Min Ji muttered carefully in his ear. "I have no idea what game it is, but I'd choose 3. It's my lucky number." she explained her baseless reasoning. "No. Too close to the front." he shook his head immediately, signaling for her to wait a bit. "If you want 3, we'll get 13. Come quickly." just as he said that, they were told the numbers there were those in which order they will participate, therefor, they hurried to get 14 and 15, hoping it wasn't way too much to the back, however, that annoying Gun-seo beat them to that and snatched the 15th number from their hands. Bastard. "You're one step closer to death, losers." he smirked at them, but they refused to get provoked, so Min Ji quickly got the number 14 and Sangwoo got number 13, then went to their place.

Soon, Deok-su and the rest snatched the other numbers, Sae-byeok managed to get number 16, and there was only #1 and #17 left, and Gi hun didn't pick. Poor bastard.

In the end, the man's intuition made him want to choose the 1st number, however, a man went to beg him to switch and he ended up with 17.

Let's see how things go, then.

Now that everyone got their number harness on themselves, they were guided in this order to another room that looked like a glamorous circus tent. In front of them, a straight bridge made of 2 bands of alternative glass tiles went all the way from their point to the very far away other point of the tent.

"The fifth game is Glass Stepping Stone. Each stepping stone is made of one of two types of glass, tempered glass and normal glass. Tempered glass can even withstand the weight of two players, but normal glass will shatter just with one person. Players, you will decide which one of the two tiles is made of tempered glass, and step on those as you pass through 18 pairs of tiles. If you safely cross to the other side, you pass. You have 16 minutes to cross the bridge. You may begin. Take your shoes off and go up on the bridge in order." came the voice of the lady explaining the game.

Min Ji instinctively gripped the back of Sangwoo's jacket, clutching into it tightly and doing the math in her head, realising the odds weren't in their favour at all. "We will win this." she sneered angrily, trying to convince the both of them of this reality.  He nodded in acknowledgement of her encouraging. Thus, Min Ji stepped to the side to observe better the choices of each person. First, it was the unfortunate idiot who unknowingly gave his life for Gi hun. He was so scared, poor man, but it didn't take long for him to choose to jump on the left tile, and it was successful! However, the second one, he chose to go to the left again, and he fell through the glass, dying from the fall.

What a horrible death.

Next, was lady #2 who jumped the first two tiles correctly, and fell through the 3rd. 15 more tiles to go and 15 people. This man was a mathematics professor, and by the way he was stalling, he came up with an equation that helped him advance four consecutive tiles, then miserably fall down.

#4 and three more started jumping on his trail, but the professor jumped so quickly that they couldn't keep up so... #4 chose to go left and fell long before the professor. Idiots. Old lady #5 went right, but fell at the further tile. To make things easier for them, Most of the people went ahead to get on the good tiles so they'd remember the good trail.

10 tiles left and 12 people still alive. 

"If they manage to get about two more tiles right, we should be able to cross safely." Gi hun spoke with positivity. "That might not be the case. If people at the front get scared and waste time, it will put us at the back in danger." this made them look up to see the timer. 10 more minutes left.  "Then you should hurry up and start hopping, don'tcha think? Go ahead and be a nice door mat for me to step on." Gun-seo chuckled disgustingly at the pair. "Careful, this doormat might make you slip and fall to your death." Min Ji glared at him, as she averted her gaze towards the religious freak who was up next, trembling and praying.  He got on his knees and wouldn't move. It was so bad that people started yelling at him desperately.

"There is no order in which God calls us. Judgement day is upon us! All of us... Will end up in Hell anyway." he sneered, not looking back. "Someone go ahead and just push him!" Min Ji put her hands to her mouth to holler louder to the people in the front. "If you don't want to die first, make that praying jerk go forward." Deok-su threatened lucky #7... Who wasn't so lucky because, as he tried to wrestle the freak forward, he, instead, got plummeted through the next tile, therefor, the freak was able to advance another glass. 

How ironic.

Even funnier, as he thanked his Lord for saving him, #8 pushed the freak through the next tile, and it shattered. Honestly, what the hell kind of bad luck is this, that they all fall through and never get the right one correct? It's really scary.

As this happened, Sangwoo discreetly pinched Min Ji's sleeve so she would follow him quietly, but the girl could only frown in fear. She was 14, but Sangwoo was 13, and the person in the front was #8. Not many people to go, and way too many tiles ahead.

#8 jumped ahead, followed by Deok-su, and now, they were far enough that everyone was on the bridge, but the front man ran out of luck soon and... Deok-su had about 5 or 6 tiles left. This is bad, this is really, really bad. Not only he can't be pushed forward, because of his strength, he refuses to lose his life like this.

"Hey, you fucking assholes!" he turned around and yelled at everyone. "I'm not taking another step! If you want to go, you can go first!" his face was scrunched up so ugly that he scared a few of them. "Damn it." Sangwoo cursed under his breath, seeing that his worry became reality. "Quit it, you dirty fucker! The rule is that we go in order!" #10 or whatever cursed him. "Fuck that. This is hell. There are no rules in hell." Deok-su sneered, amused at him. "If you're dying to go first, go first." "If you don't go, I'll push you!" #10 threatened him. "Sure. Sounds great, damn it. Come at me! We'll all die here together!" psycho, Min Ji thought. But a self-preserving psycho who doesn't want to die. She can respect that. Not that it matters, anyway. She won't die here and neither will Sangwoo. "Hey, you fucking assholes, I'm not going to die for you to live! So come at me!" very fair logic, she had to admit that. "Either you go first, or we die here, together. It's either one or the other." "Stop bluffing, you son of a bitch. The time is ticking. You'll have to go." #10 argued quickly. "Then wait around until we all die." Deok-su gave a psycho laugh. Yes, funny situation indeed, but not when you barely have 5 minutes left. "Fuck, hurry up and go!" #10 yelled, until he got pushed forward by curly bitch. "Shut up and go ahead." unfortunately, Deok-su wasn't prepared for this and he pushed #10 out of the bridge, not on the tiles. "Great job, you could have at least thrown him ON the glass, damn it!" Min Ji shouted at him angrily. "Fuck off." Deok-su muttered with a sneer. "Fucking idiots. You acted so tough just because you have balls between your legs, but you can't go? So fucking embarrassing!" she mocked him so painfully satisfying. "Shut up, bitch. I'm not going no matter what you say." Deok-su growled at her. "Deok-su. I'm so fucking ashamed that I ever got it on with a little bitch like you." she taunted him, but he remained unbothered. "Then you can go first and die." as he said that, not many seconds passed that she actually told him to step aside. "Really? You're going to go first?" "Yes." her voice was so confident and serious. "I'm Han Mi-nyeo. I'm not going to die, standing around with a little bitch like you." "Be my guest. Choose carefully." the man laughed, looking at the woman standing on the edge of his tile. However, much to his shock, and everyone else's, she turned around and grasped the man's torso, intertwining her fingers together in a tight, unbreakable grip. "She's making them jump together!" Min Ji gasped in shock. "What are you doing?" Deok-su's voice was low and sorta frightened. "You naive idiot. Did you really think I'd die for you to live? Remember? We promised to stick together to the very end." suddenly, Min Ji's respect for curly bitch skyrocketed. "You crazy bitch! DAMN IT! LET GO OF ME, BITCH!" the man tried to wriggle in her grip and throw her away, but it was to no avail. "GO, Mi-NYEO, GO, GIRL!" Min-Ji hollered encouragingly at the woman to get her revenge "I told you I'd kill you if you betrayed me." her voice was so eerily creepy. "Don't do this. I'll go first, okay? Please, let go of me! LET GO!" he trembled like a leaf from fear, realizing he was unable to get her off him. "You know what, Deok-su? You have a fucking tiny dick." were her last words as she threw them through the tile in front of them and fell down to the ground. Min Ji, from the shock, let out an amused exhale, admiring the view. "Fuck, Mi-nyeo, I'm gonna get shit faced drunk in honour of a curly bitch. Nice." she muttered as she jumped ahead. 

It was now only #12 ahead, who, apparently, worked at a glass factory for 30 years, and there were only 5 tiles left to go and less than 3 minutes. He said he could tell apart the glass tiles, from the way they look at a certain angle under the light, because the tempered glass has some stain marks. The man jumped forward, giving them 4 more tiles left. Sangwoo jumped, helping Min Ji to stay on the same tile as him, then the other three followed close behind. 

The glass-maker pointed out that another difference can be spotted due to the sound they make, because the tempered glass is made at temperatures about 700 degrees and thus, it rings clearer than normal glass... If you hit it with a hammer.

"Okay, but we don't have a hammer. Why don't you get a grip on the metal bars and lean forwards to knock on it? Would that work?" Min Ji asked, crouching down to his level. "I'm too short to reach the tile on the diagonal. It's fine, as long as I have the light I should be able to tell them apart anyway." the man explained as he jumped on the tile from the right, leaving only 3 tiles left. "Why are you only telling us now? If only you had taken the lead--" Gi hun asked. "Why should I have? Those people tried to kill me every chance they had." he grumbled at the man as he tried to analyse the next tile. "He's right, you know?" Min Ji shrugged, jumping ahead. The man managed to guess the next tile, and there were only 2 left.

Unfortunately for them, the lights ahead of them were turned off - It means the higher ups realised their advantage and wanted to punish them... And mock them. How cruel.

"HEY! YOU, OLD, FAT BASTARD OUT THERE, WATCHING US! HOW IS THIS EQUALITY?! I CAN'T EVEN SEE WHERE I'M JUMPING!" the girl shouted angrily in the void, but nothing changed. "Calm down." Sangwoo patted her shoulder lightly, gaining her attention. "Sorry." she hung her head in shame, before crouching to the glass maker. "You said you can tell the glass apart from the sound it makes. What if you have something to throw at it. Would that work?" they had only 1 single minute left. "Here, I have this marble." Gi hun quickly gave it from hand to hand, for the glass maker to throw. However, one wasn't enough, and nobody else had anything on their hands. They were losing time at a rapid pace. "Sangwoo..." Min Ji got up, sharing a look with the man, who nodded, having the same idea. Thus, he jumped on the glass maker's tile. "I can't tell... Damn it, I can't tell..." the man cried out pitifully. "Then just go." Sangwoo said coldly as he pushed him down through the next tile. They all advanced one step forward. 

Only one more left. "Ha! How amusing! The fateful lovers now forced to watch one or the other die! Well, isn't it just fantastic!" Gun-seo mocked them loudly. "Sangwoo. Which would you choose? Left or Right?" Min Ji grabbed the man by his arms, making him look at her. "...Right. You?" he asked, putting his hands over hers. "...How funny. I'd have chosen left." she muttered, looking down with a frown. "Yo, the guy in the front. You really think she loves you? She'll just push you to your death to kill you! That's what she wants. She always uses people! How do you think she got the money for that penthouse of hers, huh? She pretends to be such a sweet, meek, cutesy girl, but in reality, she will ditch you to the side of the road when you get too comfortable. Trust me, I was her husband for many, many years!" Gun-seo loudly laughed at them, taunting Sangwoo who could only clench his jaw, trying to keep himself calm. Min Ji, only the other hand, clenched her grip on Sangwoo's jacket, shaking lightly. "Sangwoo... When we get out of here... Can we please... Get a puppy?" she asked, not daring to look up at him. "Huh?" he let out a confused breath. "Just answer me!" she cried out urgently. "Y-Yes, of course, why--" but before he could answer, he saw the shadow of the girl who was just previously clinging to him, jumping on the tile on the right and then successfully tumbling to the safe ground.  "Ah... Ahh... HAHA.... HAHAHAHA! I'm ALIVE!!!" she was breathless from shock, not believing she made it, but then readily shot up and urged them to hurry up. "FAST, COME, ALL OF YOU!" in the last 3 seconds, everyone was safely standing on the platform.

Then, all of a  sudden, the light were on once again, and all the remaining glass tiles began exploding at a rapid pace. the red head yelped from the shock as she quickly turned with her back to the blizzard of glass shards, feeling the man she almost died for pulling her close to his body to protect her.

And then it stopped.

"Everyone okay?" Min Ji asked, despite her trembling legs. Low voices kept saying affirmative answers, but nobody looked fantastic. Little by little, they were guided back to the dormitory, however, all Min Ji wanted was to get the small shards out of her body and stop feeling of terribly all over her body, and maybe, eventually, stop leaning on Sangwoo.

"Why did you do it?" Gi hun asked Sangwoo accusatory. "What are you trying to say?" the man calmly shot back. "Why did you push him?" ohhh, Gi hun was angry. "You chose the last number out of luck. That makes you feel generous, huh? What if the man ended up holding out like that thug? What would you have done?" Sangwoo asked, putting pressure on him. "It was the last two tiles, he would have moved. He could have gotten that one right and it wouldn't have put either you or Min Ji in that situation." Gi hun tried to refute. "How could you be so sure? He knew how to tell which was the tempered glass, but just watched people fall and die." Sangwoo shot right back. "In the end, both you and I crossed the bridge alive thanks to him." Gi hun frowned at his friend. "Bullshit. I don't know about you, but I'm not alive because of him. I'm alive because Min Ji chose to jump the last tile for me and because I worked my fucking ass off to stay alive." what a frustrating conversation. "No matter how you put it, you just killed an innocent man." Gi hun clenched his teeth at his probably now former friend. "And you would have been dead if that man didn't switch numbers with you. You would have been first to die. Hell, when you were supposed to jump on the tiles, your mind blacked out and you needed Sae-byeok to tell you where to jump because you were so panicked. So what if we killed someone? Everyone did. That's why we're alive. In fact, we are only 5 left. We killed more than 400 people. That's why we're here. That's why we came here for the second time. To win and get that money so we can live a proper life out there. If you can't accept that, that's merely your problem, so stop bothering us." Min Ji condescendingly rasped at the man. "Get a grip already. We have to kill everyone else anyway to leave with that money. Would you have accused me the same if that was anyone else? Of course not. We're all equal here, so why does it matter, in the end? Shouldn't you be grateful that I did the dirty work for you?" Sangwoo agreed with the woman. "...If it were me, would you have still pushed? Or if Min Ji didn't take the initiative, would you have pushed her?" this seemed to really anger the man. "Damn it! Gi hun, do you know why your life is so pathetic? Because you ask the dumbest questions even in this situation, constantly minding other people's business with that pea brain of yours, not knowing your ass from your elbow." came his answer, very aggravated. "Sure. It's all my fault I ended up like this. I'm slow and incompetent. I'm a nosy dimwit who lives off the back of his old mother. But... Why is the pride of Ssangmun-dong, the genius Cho Sangwoo of SNU, here, floundering around in this shithole with a dimwit like me? Is this also my fault?" Gi hun got dangerously close to his face, making the atmosphere so painfully tense and quiet. "Enough." Min Ji barked loudly at them, pushing them apart from each other.

Thankfully, that xiaolin showdown shitshow was interrupted by the door opening and the guards coming in, congratulating them for getting in the finals and offering them a new set of clothes as a gift.

Absolutely perfect, Min ji thought, as she snatched away the gift box and made her way to the bathroom to clean away that blood from her body. She didn't know that, behind her, was Sangwoo, until he called out her name. Simply, she signaled for him to come along and kicked open the bathroom door, sighing loudly and throwing the still unopened box in one of the sinks.

"Ahhh, honestly, that Gi hun. I wanted to sock him in the face so bad." she groaned, taking off the jacket, and then the Tshirt, and threw them to the ground, gripping the sink and leaning forward, examining herself in the mirror and frowning. "God, I look dreadful." "Min Ji..." the man muttered, stepping behind her and looking down at her exposed skin. Bruised, battered, scratched and bloody all over. "These aren't all from the game, are they?" "Ah. Yeah, right. I tend to forget about those." she ushered lightly. "Forget those, I need to get those shards out of my skin." she pointed out, taking back the shirt and ripping it apart, soaking it in the cold, running water and, after carefully extracting the few, little shards from her front, started cleaning her bloody skin. "Why did you do it?" he asked as he couldn't help but look at her reflection in the mirror, wanting to see the truth behind her facial expressions. "Do what?" she nonchalantly answered, as if she had no idea what he was talking about. "Why did you jump in my stead.  And why did you choose the side I picked and not yours." he pressed on, watching her stop in her tracks and sigh, throwing the bloody cloth in the sink, defeated, and then turned to face him. "I once said that I trust a businessman's intuition, didn't I? I chose to gamble with your choice, and I won. Is that bad?" she vaguely answered. "You didn't answer what I asked." his eyes peered right into her soul, almost as if exposing every feeling she's ever felt.  She uncomfortably shifted in place, completely back down against the sink. "I have terrible luck, okay? If it's a 50/50, I somehow always, and I mean it, ALWAYS lose. I don't know why. It's just how it is. I figured that if I were to trust your choice, I'd feel better, no matter the outcome. Are you happy now?" she asked, her head tilting left and right, but never once looking up at him. "No." he said simply, making the girl bite her lip and look down, silence overtaking the atmosphere. "I can stay here all day and I won't move until you tell me why you chose to jump in my stead." Her breath quickened as he got even closer to her then before - She felt such anxiety and pressure now as if she was ready to step at yet another exam. "I was scared." after what felt like an eternity, she managed to croak out. "Time was running out. It was either you or me. Then... That jerk started provoking you. I was scared that... You would doubt me. I wouldn't blame you, anyway, even if you did. After all... The timing is pretty damn fitting. What he said could just as well happen. Look at Mi-nyeo and Deok-su, and that's only what we are aware of. I really... Really... Didn't want you to doubt me... Because to you, I was always genuine. You're the first person to whom I showed my weaknesses and told my darkest or embarrassing secrets. Even if it's fateful, or silly wishing, I... I really want us to get out of here together... And remain together. I've... I've wanted to have a dog ever since I was very, very little, but I was never allowed one. I wanted to fulfill this dream with you. And... And... You said yes. So... That made me happy. So I did it. I took the chance. That's it. That's my reasoning. I'm no hypocrite, if it was anyone else ahead of us, or if it wasn't you on my tile, I'd have pushed them without a second thought. But... That's just how our luck was." she uttered the last part so quietly, that she wasn't sure she even spoke at all - However, Sangwoo sighed and shook his head in disbelief. "What breed?" he put his hands on his hip, looking up as if to calm himself down. "Hell if I know. I would adopt a thousand dogs and wouldn't care. We have time to think." she let out a weak chuckle before digging her hands in her trousers' pockets. "Wanna have a smoke?" she slowly looked up, a vixen-like smirk forming on her face. "I'm not sure if I should ask since when do you smoke, or where did you get cigarettes from." he nodded as the girl took out two scrunched up cigarettes and a really fancy lighter. The two put the cigarettes between their lips and she flicked the lighter open, lighting them up together. "This... Is not a cigarette." Sangwoo frowned, confused, which made the girl grin widely, as if she realised something, then started laughing, running her fingers down her hair. "That little rascal, Ji-yeong..." she shook her head in disbelief. "We promised to go out and party hard, get shitfaced drunk and smoke so much that the London fog would get jealous. Hell, I didn't think she'd be gifting me weed, of all things."  "This is-...?! What?" the man's eyes widened in shock. "If you don't want it, I can have both, I don't mind." she laughed at his face. "I never smoked weed before. I only touched cigarettes when I went partying with whatever friends I had in Uni. It was fun, we always went during school days. We'd go there at around 10-11 PM and we'd leave at around 5 in the morning. We'd go home, take a shower and then leave and go to classes at 8 sharp. Or, later on in the years, when we had to work 24 or 36 hours shifts and we'd have been at the club before. We'd go hide in some corner of the emptiest wards - Usually emergency one, it had the fewest doctors - And we'd try to keep awake or fall asleep. Then, when night came and only few doctors remained, and they'd go sleep, half of us would crash at the reception in those super comfy, rotating chairs, and the other half would hover over the beds. Oh, actually, I feel asleep once or twice on the gurney too. That was fun. I looked about as awful as now." the girl chuckled at the memories from her student years, making the man smile as well. "You were the top of your class but still managed to have some fun. That's nice. I missed most of the fun by studying." he pointed out, a bit disappointed in himself. "We've got enough time for that, y'know? Although... I'd rather you not fall asleep on a gurney." she teased him playfully.

The corners of his mouth went upwards for a while, then looked pensively at the swirling smoke from the joint, and when it was over, he put it out and threw it in trash can, followed by Min Ji, to whom he turned. His mouth was open, wanting to say something, but it was almost as if he couldn't find the right words. "If I ever doubted you, or made you feel as if I doubted your intentions and feelings, I sincerely apologise. At the same time, I'd like to know if you doubt me. I wouldn't blame you if you did. I just want to know, and if yes, to prove that there is no reason for those doubts." her giggly disposition slowly disappeared, as if sobered up instantly. "I... I have intrusive thoughts. A lot. I always did. About everyone. Me as well, most of all, but... I don't know why, it's always been this way. Even though my rational side knows it's not true, and it was proven that way, my stupid brain still comes up with thousands of idiotic scenarios that make me want to bash my skull on a wall so I could stop thinking. If you ask me if I ever doubted you, then yes, possibly, because... Because my brain is stupid. But, in my heart, no, I didn't. I still don't. And I'm being very honest with you." she explained, embarrassed of her truth. "So prove that you don't doubt me." he, his hands going to hers and squeezing them lightly. "Wasn't what I did earlier enough of a proof?" she asked, unsure. "Kiss me." his straightfoward words make her eyes widen in shock as her head snapped up at him, her cheeks reddening before his very eyes. "I-I-I... I can't. I... I stink of cigarettes and sweat- I... I was barely able to wash my teeth a few days ago, my hair in unwashed, I have no make up, I look like I've been ran over by a train, how-... How could I possibly do that, it would be a terrible experience, I---" she rambled on, Sangwoo noticed it was something she'd do a lot when she got nervous and embarrassed. "Is that all?" he asked, for confirmation. "W-Well, yes, of course it is! You know, us, girls, always like to look our best, especially when it comes to being around the man we like, and --" but before she could continue her silly rant, his hands moved to her face, cupping it and pulling her into a deep kiss. Min Ji stiffened from the shock, but couldn't help but smile and reciprocate, her hands holding his, as she kissed him with more and more love, before taking his hands and pulling them around her form as she deepened the kiss, going on her tippy toes and getting one hand in his hair while the other was helping her keep her balance, around his neck. 

"You really couldn't wait until I got prettied up, could you?" she giggled in between kisses. "You're beautiful now." he confessed, making her smile timidly and hide her face in the crook of his shoulder, before stealing a soft and playful kiss on his neck and feeling him inhale a bit.  "Sorry, I like giving neck kisses. I'm sure you could tell I haven't had the opportunity in a hundred years, huh?" she chuckled at him, only to hiss in pain as his hand trailed on her back slightly. "Ahhh, damn I totally forgot about the shards. What a bother." she whined, turning to get that shard out and threw it in the trash. "I'm sorry about that." he cleared his throat before getting behind her and taking the wet cloth, examining her skin, taking out any stray shard remaining and cleaning the blood away. "Thanks for shielding me back there. I'm afraid what could have happened if you hadn't. Then again, your pretty face is scratched. Those bastards." She sighed, stretching a bit, feeling her muscles way too stiff. "Did you get hurt too?"  "I don't know." he answered truthfully, only to see the girl lean back on the sink, her arms crossed to her chest, a mischievous smirk on display. "What?" "Go on, don't be shy. It's not as if I hadn't seen you half-naked before, remember?" she had to bite her lip hard so she wouldn't start laughing from seeing his face after being teased. "Get out." he let out an aggravated exhale of disbelief, turning his back to her. "Awww, come on, honeeeeey, don't be so shy~." she giggled playfully only to stop abruptly once she stepped forward and noticing some small gapes in his jacket. "Sangwoo. Your jacket is perforated, and I'm not joking around now. Let me see." she approached him carefully, her arms coming from behind him and reaching for the zipper, undoing it and allowing him to take his top off completely. "Oh, good. That's good. It's only some minor shards. I got worried for a second there. Stay still, I'll take care of this." taking his shirt and tearing it to shreds, she wet the cloth, took out the shards swiftly, yet attentively so it wouldn't hurt him too much, then carefully patted away the blood from his back, planting a quick kissing between his shoulder blades, before turning him around, facing him and, implicitly, the light. "You sure you're 46 and not 26?" she smirked lightly, only to feel his hand going down on hear head. "Are you done yet?" he grumbled, ruffling her hair roughly. "Ahhh, jerk. I was giving you a compliment, don't act like that." she shook her head at him, cleaning his face then pinching his nose. "Anyway, let's see what our new outfits look like." she made a ball out of that cloth and threw it in the bin as if she was playing basket.

Opening together the gift boxes, they saw inside two black suits with white shirts and a black bowtie. The girl started chuckling in shock as she put on that shirt and realised it must have been a number or two bigger than her size. Cheapskates. Next came the pants, the bowtie and the blazer, then she looked in the mirror and cringed.

"I'm... Not good at being a man." she ran a hand through her hair, realising how weird and awkward the suit looked on her. If only it was tailored for a woman, and her actual size, then maybe it wouldn't have been so... Terrible.  "It's not that bad." she heard the man next to her mumble, fixing his bowtie. "Of course it's not bad! On you! You look great!" she reprimanded him. "Thank you." he nodded at her as he turned arrange the clothes on her body, making the outfit look much more acceptable. "Huh. Guess only a man knows how to properly dress like a man." she grumbled, trying to fix her hair.

This was it. The final. The last obstacle they had to get over. And they will. Together, they will. 

No matter what.

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