#seong gi-hun’s ex-wife

[456-is-the-way]

A/N: Hello everyone it has been a while since I have done any sort of fanfiction. I want to try and get back in the groove for this new year. There are so many fandoms I want to write for. I want to try and get all my drafts and inbox requests cleared out by June but who knows if that will happen. Right now I will focus on them one at a time. But for now I want to focus a bit on Squid Game since the new episode just released. This will be a two part fanfiction.

PART 2 IS UP

Squid Game Masterlist

Triggers: Mention of death, Gore (part 2), smoking, alcohol use, age gap (reader is 25 , Seong is 50,) and SMUT (PART 2)

Seong Gi- Hun x Reader

Game of Hearts pt.1

Seong Gi- Hun had his heart, mind, and soul set on finding the person who currently ran the Squid Game. He needed to find not only their leader but the island he was sent to in hopes of stopping the horrid games once and for all. His first step was to find the salesman who recruited him. Gi- Hun needed a team searching everyday for signs of this recruiter, and with his money he could afford anyone he desires. That is how (Y/n) (L/n) landed an invitation from Gi- Hun to discuss a partnership. Doing his research on possible hires, her name somehow kept finding its way to the top of his list. (Y/n) (L/n) came from an international family who of course aren't exactly on the right side of the law. Gi- Hun normally would not converse with people such as this but he needed someone discreet. It is possible this foreigner may be just the thing he needed to give a different perspective, and if they were caught it wouldn't connect back to him.

Gi- Hun sat patiently waiting for (Y/n) to arrive. His leg bounced nervously as the anticipation continued to grow. He was eager to get his mission started and this was only the first step in his plan. So many doubts ran through his mind. Everything that happened, all the friends lost, and worst of all the betrayals. A gentle knock at the door instantly grabbed his attention. “You may enter.” He spoke in a monotone voice. A cricking sound echoed in the room as (Y/n) entered. Now Gi- Hun had seen many beautiful foreigners in his life but this woman took his breath away. A feeling was rekindling he never thought possible again especially with how things ended with his ex wife whom Gi- Hun used to harbor feelings for. (Y/n) was a decent height, not taller than he was. Her sharp (e/c) eyes had been the first thing that captivated him. A look someone in power gave and it made him almost fall to his knees in front of her. (Y/n) held her head high taking a seat in front of him. She crossed her legs elegantly ready for business. Suddenly his lips were dry he quickly wets them taking a breath in.

“Are you just going to sit there and sweat all over the place or talk business?” Her tone that made him hang off every word spoken.

Gi- Hun nods,” Forgive me. I am looking for someone and I believe your team has the skill set needed to help.”

“Sure, do you have a picture of this suspect? Do you want them dead or alive?” (Y/n) got straight to the point.

“No I don’t have a picture but I can describe him, maybe even draw a reference up, but I do need him alive. This man is very dangerous. I didn't plan to go into detail about him. I do think you need to know what I have been through…” Gi- Hun then goes into details about how the salesman looked and tells her the synopsis of his time in the Squid Games. In honesty he simply needed to vent to some who might listen. Like any normal person of course her facial expressions changed throughout the entire hour he spent rambling on. Just as she was about to call him a lunatic and storm out for wasting her time Gi- Hun pulled out a case of money. The sum only one could achieve if his story was true. He looked like a desperate man needing someone, anyone to believe him.

“I’m in.” Those are the words that sealed their fate.

_1 Year Later_

The first year was rough for Gi- Hun who struggled with no progress. The pressure built on his shoulders as (Y/n)’s team searched. No leads, signs, or any traces of this guy or any others recruiting for their sadistic game. He is currently lighting a cigarette leaning back in his chair. It was time for (Y/n)'s weekly update. She walked into the room. The once stone cold eyes now turn soft seeing Gi- Huns distress. It was easy to notice he was worked up, especially today because it happened to be the ‘anniversary’ of him winning the games.

(Y/n) had also opened up with Gi- Hun the older man constantly turned to her for conversation. Normally she would dismiss clients' interests in becoming more than just professional partners… However this man , using those sad puppy looks made her professional code crumble after the first 3 months. Today Gi- Hun started their normal conversation about who went where and searched what stations including all the evidence of their searches that had been submitted via picture. (Y/n) in the middle of their debriefing took a bold step behind Gi- Hun’s desk gently placing both of her soft hands on his shoulders. At first he tensed up, unsure of her movements. Little by little her hands began to move , rubbing his shoulders.

“What…why are you doing this?” His voice shakes from the amount of relaxation he was drifting into. She chuckled at his response and applied more pressure at the base of his neck earning a moan. “You are trying to kill me aren't you?”

“Gi- Hun if I wanted to kill you and take all of your money I would have done so already. But I wouldn’t ever think of doing that. After meeting you nothing feels the same… I want to meet more than once a week. I can see this is tearing you apart. You have been at this for a year… we may not have much progress… but I know destiny brought us together and it's just begun. I won’t leave your side.” She could not stop as her heart took over.

Gi- Hun is speechless gazing up into her large (e/c) eyes that sparkle in the dim light of this run down hotel. “It's dangerous, I am dangerous. All the people that were killed… I hated that I even got you involved… you are the closest friend I have made in a very long time.”

Friend… just like that her world crumbles this whole time she had only been a friend to Gi- Hun and nothing more? All the late nights thinking of him. How (Y/n) casually would scroll through their texts… Each sweet compliment or kind gesture from Gi- Hun meant nothing but… friendship… (Y/n) refused to let her emotions show now.

“Yeah, what are friends for! I know you would do the same for me if the roles were reversed… or at least I would hope so.” She felt her cheeks warm up as he stood gazing down at her. Gi- Hun pulled her into a hug needing more physical contact. (Y/n) quickly embraces him as well, feeling the need to act as if this was no more than a friendship.

“I don't know what I would do without you.” He whispered. It was breaking Gi- Hun to tell her this was nothing more than a friendship because he craved more. But he didn't need to put a target on her back. If she got caught up in these horrid games… if they killed her… Gi- Hun wouldn't be able to move on.

“I should get going. I have some more paths to lay out with my men. They need to know where to head for next week.” (Y/n) pulled back, turning to leave.

Gi- Hun grabbed the small of her forearm, “Wait! How about we get some drinks tomorrow. It's an off day… I would really like to treat you… Come here and I’ll take you somewhere nice… as professional friends of course!” It took a moment for her to respond properly, she had to make sure her voice did not waver, not in front of him anymore.

“Yeah I would love that. How does around noon sound?” She asked after receiving a confirmation from Gi- Hun (Y/n) left returning to her apartment tossing herself in the bed with a sigh. Why is she putting herself through this? The desire to cancel this meetup was close but she had to see him… She craves Seong Gi- Hun.

-To Be Continued.

[agentcable]

Squid Game Season 1 Ep. 5 "A Fair World"

Gi-hun and his team take turns watching over the place while it's still light out. The masked men have problems with the other people they are working with.

If you want to watch the series for yourself, stop reading! This post contains spoilers to the storyline.

After Cho Sang-woo tells Team 4 to take three steps forward in the Tug of War game, Seong Gi-hun and the others are able to make Team 5 fall over. Team 5 can't get back on their feet. With their second win, Gi-hun and his team easily pull back their opponents and win the game as Team 5 falls to their deaths. However, Gi-hun can't enjoy the victory. He feels guilty for sending ten people to their deaths to ensure his own survival. The 40 remaining contestants must survive the night, even though no one trusts anyone. Gi-hun and his team build a barricade to protect themselves, and Gi-hun tells Jang Deok-su not to trust his underlings too much. Many of them are violent criminals, and Deok-su is an easy target. Deok-su then tells his team to take the night off and spends the rest of the night paranoid.

Sang-woo and Ali become friends as they watch the rest of the team and protect them while they sleep. Ali starts talking about his family. Most of his family lives back in Pakistan, and he brought his wife and son with him to work in Korea before he sent them back to the country. Being a poor immigrant without much money made him want to participate in the games.

The staff gives Byeong-gi information about the upcoming games in exchange for helping remove organs from the eliminated players. However, Byeong-gi is feeling stressed. He is tired and hungry. He doesn't get much sleep. He is also worried about the games.

During this time, Player 456 and Player 001 share some of their backgrounds. Gi-hun used to have a factory job making car parts, but he was laid off because the people in charge were not good with money. He and his coworkers protested to get their jobs back, but the protest turned violent. Gi-hun saw one of his coworkers get shot and killed.

At the same time, his ex-wife was going into labor, but she nearly died from complications, so Gi-hun also ended up missing Ga-yeong's birth. This event left him with PTSD, and he started to spiral downward into a life of poor-paying dead-end jobs and developing a gambling addiction. The old man gets a headache and fever, so Gi-hun takes care of him.

The guards start to suspect Guard 29 (Hwang Jun-ho in disguise) because he's acting strangely and asking questions about his job that he should already know. This is interrupted by Byeong-gi becoming increasingly furious.

After Byeong-gi finishes removing all the organs from the dead contestants he was given, the guards say that they don't know when the next game is. This makes Byeong-gi very angry. He thinks the guards are hiding information from him.

He kills one of the guards. Then another guard chases him. The Front Man and his men find Byeong-gi and the corrupt guards and subsequently execute them for cheating.

At the same time, Jun-ho's opposite number suspects something and forces him to remove his mask. Jun-ho overpowers him and removes his mask. They start talking about a "zombie," a man with one kidney who they beat to death. Jun-ho thinks it could be his brother, who had one kidney because he gave it t Jun-ho to save his life from an illness. However, the other guard says the victim was a woman and shows him the records from the Front Man's room that prove it. Jun-ho then kills him and goes looking for the Front Man's quarters.

All the other players are gathered at gunpoint, including Player 001, who had wet himself that night.

Jun-ho sneaks into the Front Man's office and finds a big room with records of the Squid Game dating back to 1988. There, he finds out that his brother, Hwang In-ho, had won the game back in 2015.

[glowstar826]

Sixty Million Won

He sighed with consternation as he was proven right. Another horse, clearly faster, had taken the lead. He was about to cross his arms and wait for the inevitable loss of money when he spotted the number.

“No…” he breathed, not believing his eyes. Rubbing them, he refocused his sight on the screen to check if his brain wasn’t deceiving him. Indeed, he realized with numb euphoria, it was not.

Number four had been overtaken by none other than nine.

Gi-hun's restaurant is about to become a failure. A wealthy, enigmatic stranger offers to help him out.

Hey guys! This is the first Squid Game fic I'm posting (but not the first I've written). This is supposed to be an exploration of how Gi-hun could've fallen into his gambling addiction.

CHARACTERS: Seong Gi-hun, Kang Eun-ji (ex-wife), Seong Ga-yeong, Park Chan-yeol (OC), the Salesman

WORD COUNT: 4.2k

TAGS: @royalydamned, @cesar-hoe, @break-free-killer-queen, @squidgameincorrect, @fallen0020, and anyone else who follows me that has watched Squid Game!

"You're closing it down?"

Kang Eun-ji's mouth was gaping open as she stared at her husband in shock.

"What choice do I have?" sighed Gi-hun, throwing his hands up in defeat. "There's no business. I can't keep losing money."

"There must be another way."

"If there is, I'll have a hard time finding it."

"What will your mother say?" hissed Eun-ji with worry.

"Who cares what she says?" Gi-hun snapped, immediately looking regretful as he spoke in such an ill tone about his amma. In a softer voice, he muttered, "She'll just berate me, won't she? I'm already a disappointment to her. Probably wishes I ended up like my friend Sang-woo, wherever he is now."

"Don't say that," said Eun-ji, crossing the table to lay a comforting hand on her husband. "She's your mother."

"She probably likes you more than anyone else," Gi-hun joked, to which Eun-ji laughed a little. "She's always making you such nice things to eat whenever we visit, nicer than whatever I had as a child."

"Let's go to bed," Eun-ji suggested with a yawn. "It's too late to talk about all this."

"Good idea," agreed Gi-hun, and without another word, he began making his way to the bathroom he shared with his wife, dragging his feet along as he did so.

Gi-hun and Eun-ji had tucked Ga-yeong in bed around ten minutes before. Just as Eun-ji had been about to go to the bathroom to brush her teeth, Gi-hun had said he needed to talk to her about something urgent. So they had gone back to the dining table where Gi-hun had revealed that his restaurant was a failure and that he'd need to shut it down soon.

Gi-hun was frantic. He had no idea how he'd be able to bring food to the table if he kept on having failure after failure, starting with the loss of his job at the car company. And even though Eun-ji had somewhat forgiven Gi-hun for missing Ga-yeong's birth three years ago, he still felt heart-wrenching guilt that he hadn't been able to support his wife in her time of need. He'd felt so angry with himself after that, always wondering why he'd been stupid enough to even go to that strike, knowing that Eun-ji had been ready to pop at any moment.

As Gi-hun walked past Ga-yeong's room, he heard a tiny voice call, "Appa?"

He stopped. Backtracking a few steps, he cracked the door open a few more inches (Eun-ji always insisted on leaving it a little open in case of an emergency).

There little Ga-yeong sat, fully awake and upright on her bed, her puff of hair sticking out in all directions.

Checking his watch, Gi-hun raised an eyebrow while saying, "It's very late for you to be up."

"I had a nightmare," Ga-yeong explained, and for the first time, Gi-hun could see his daughter's unshed tears.

"Oh, sweetheart," he murmured, fully stepping in the room and gently shutting the door behind him. Then, he sat at the edge of the small bed and held out his arms, making Ga-yeong grin and leap into them.

After making sure Ga-yeong was secure in his arms, he stood up, walking around the room as he cradled his little girl against his shoulder. He then began singing "Arirang," a national folk song that had been sung to him when he was afraid. Though he didn't sing very well, it still worked without fail. He hoped it'd continue to work as she grew older and smarter.

In no time, Ga-yeong's even, rhythmic breaths were all that could be heard in the small room as Gi-hun gently laid her down, fluffing her pillows and draping the pink, white-dotted blanket over her. Then, after brushing her hair back and planting a kiss on her head, he slipped out of the room, taking care to make as little noise as possible as he shut the door behind him. Though it was against the rules Eun-ji had set, Gi-hun thought that perhaps his daughter would feel safer knowing there wouldn't be any unwanted visitors.

He felt slightly desolate as he turned to face the dark hallway, the little light that was there coming through the window at the end. He always felt oddly alone when darkness surrounded him like this. It made him feel as though no one would be there for him if he needed help. In other words, he felt helpless. Sighing, he headed for the bathroom, resolving to not think about any of his problems until the sun shone on him in the morning.

Brushing his hair back, Gi-hun tightened his muffler as he made his way through the snowy streets. As a kid, his amma made him wear a hat when it was cold out. He hated it because the hats he wore always flattened his fluffy hair, making his head look like a misshapen pear by the time he got to school. When he moved out after marrying Eun-ji, he donated all the winter hats he owned to a homeless shelter and resolved to only wear caps when it was especially sunny.

Walking into his restaurant, he greeted his sole employee, a man named Park Chan-yeol, with a bright smile. In the two years his fried chicken business had been running, Gi-hun and Chan-yeol had formed a tentative friendship. They had been the only ones there at the start, and they would be the only ones there at the end. In between, around fifty different people had come and gone, each providing something unique to the small restaurant.

"Good morning, Gi-hun sajangnim," said Chan-yeol with a tiny bow.

"How many times have I told you to simply call me hyung?" was Gi-hun's response as he clapped Chan-yeol's shoulder.

"Not when we're working! What will people say?"

"You talk as if there'll be people coming in, Chan-yeol," laughed Gi-hun. If he was going to close the business, he thought he might as well joke about it.

"You never know," Chan-yeol countered cheerfully. "It's very cold out. By nighttime, there will be people coming in to eat our delicious fried chicken."

Setting his jacket and muffler on the rack in the back room, Gi-hun shrugged. "If you say so."

The men mostly sat behind the cash register chatting about old times, interrupted only by Gi-hun getting up to make his and Chan-yeol's lunch. As per Gi-hun's earlier prediction, no one—not a single person—walked through that dingy door.

Until someone did in the early evening.

The man who walked in was wearing a custom-tailored suit, complete with a tie, dress shoes, and a small handkerchief in his breast pocket. As he approached the counter, Gi-hun's eyes widened as he noted the potential customer's obvious wealth. He got up to head to the kitchen as Chan-yeol jumped up, greeting the man and asking him what he wanted to eat. As Gi-hun was about to step in the kitchen, Chan-yeol whispered, "Told you!"

From the window by the stove, Gi-hun could see the man roving over the menu, scanning it and deciding what he wanted to have. Only a minute passed before Chan-yeol popped in, telling Gi-hun the man's order.

When Gi-hun served their customer his meal, the man unexpectedly spoke to him

"Would you care to sit down?"

Gi–hun cocked his head to the side confusedly. What could this clearly rich man want from a person like him?

"Um…sure. Okay."

He slid into the seat awkwardly, clasping his hands under the table.

"I noticed that your business has fallen on hard times," the man began in a low tone.

Gi-hun's eyebrows instantly furrowed.

"How do you know that?" he hissed.

"I know a great many things," the man responded demurely. "I find businesses who aren't doing as well as they can, and I bring them to where they want to be."

The tone the man used turned a cog in Gi-hun's mind. Someone was offering him help! Perhaps he'd be able to bring food to the table once more. But…

"How do I know you're not lying to me?"

Gi-hun, for all his failures in the academic realm, could at least tell when someone had an agenda courtesy of Sang-woo's distrusting nature. His suspicion of him grew despite how enticing the offer was.

"Here," said the man, slipping him a small piece of paper from his pocket. "Come to this address after you close for the night."

Immediately, Gi-hun started shaking his head.

"I can't, my wife will wonder where I am—"

"You can easily make your excuses to her, no?" countered the stranger smoothly, slowly rising from the booth. "You have the rest of the day to think about it. Consider my offer. It's only valid till midnight."

Then, without as much as waiting for a response, the man waltzed out of the restaurant, leaving Gi-hun in a daze.

He was still in a daze when Chan-yeol came out from the kitchen after washing the dishes.

"Sajangnim? Who was that? What did he tell you?"

Gi-hun looked up at his employee and friend.

"You know we're not doing good business."

Chan-yeol looked down at him with confusion.

"What does that have to do with the customer?"

Sighing, Gi-hun took the slip of paper and held it up for Chan-yeol to see.

"He said he could help the business do well again. Before he left, he gave me this paper."

"I don't trust him," Chan-yeol replied in an instant.

"I don't either, but…his offer…I'm very curious as to what it is," he admitted.

Chan-yeol shook his head quickly.

"Please don't, Gi-hun sajangnim," the younger man pleaded. "Just keep working and trying to get more business. We'll get back soon enough, won't we?"

Gi-hun's eyes watered at the last sentence.

Looking up at him, he said, "I'm going to close this place." Two tears rolled down his cheeks as Chan-yeol's face morphed into shock. "The business is so bad that there's no way we can get back without a miracle. That man is probably our saving grace."

Chan-yeol still wasn't convinced.

"It's probably a scam," he argued. "People make a living from selling information like this."

Gi-hun felt pulled from his temptation, surprised by this new information.

"They do?"

Chan-yeol nodded. "So many scammers call or send mail. How do you think they know where to find me?"

"Damn," Gi-hun muttered. "I must be really dumb if I couldn't even figure this out."

"No, sajangnim, you're not dumb," said Chan-yeol, placing a strong hand on Gi-hun's shoulder. "You just trust very deeply. That's why I'm so proud to call you my friend. You're honest and hardworking and deserve everything you have. Your daughter is very lucky to be able to call you her appa."

Gi-hun's resulting smile was pained as he heard such profound praise directed at him. On the contrary, he didn't feel like he deserved anything. He was a disappointment to his mother, couldn't hold down any source of income, and was where he was because he didn't apply himself in school.

It was the other way around. He was lucky to be able to call someone his daughter.

"Let's continue working," Chan-yeol suggested. "Maybe our luck hasn't run out yet. What do you say, sajangnim?"

Gi-hun nodded, standing up.

"Perhaps it hasn't," he said.

"I'll get back to the kitchen," Chan-yeol informed. Eyeing the paper in Gi-hun's hand, he added, "You should throw that away. Forget about it."

Again, Gi-hun nodded. With a smile, Chan-yeol retreated back into the kitchen, leaving the older man alone in the dining area.

Gi-hun looked down at the paper, which was still unfolded. When he was sure Chan-yeol wouldn't see him, he opened the paper up and saw the address the man had mentioned. He recognized the street straight away, for it was only a block away from his apartment.

Was visiting the address and taking the rich man up on his offer truly worth it? What if Chan-yeol was right about being able to get back without a miracle? What if it truly was a scam?

"Gi-hun sajangnim!" yelled Chan-yeol from the kitchen, harshly pulling Gi-hun from his thoughts. "There's a rat in here—do you know where the broom is?"

"I'll get it, Chan-yeol!" the older man called back, quickly stuffing the paper in his pocket. "You keep an eye on the rat."

"Okay!" Chan-yeol replied.

Quickly shaking his head, Gi-hun returned to reality and began searching for the broom. He'd have to think about the man's offer later.

"How late will you be?" asked Eun-ji from the other end of the line.

"Pretty late," Gi-hun answered, shivering as his breath came out of his mouth in small puffs. "There's no one to work the night shift," he then lied just as the thought popped in his head. In times like these, Eun-ji's ignorance regarding how many people he employed came in handy.

After he'd closed the restaurant, allowing Chan-yeol to go home for the night, he called Eun-ji on his cell, telling her he wouldn't be home on time.

"Okay, Gi-hun. I'll wait for you. Will you bring dinner?"

"Of course, yeobo," said Gi-hun with a small, crinkly smile.

"Thank you."

After Eun-ji bade him goodbye, Gi-hun hung up and pulled out the now-crumpled scrap of paper the rich man had given him earlier that evening.

A few subway stations later, he found himself in front of a large, nondescript building. Neon letters and fluorescent lights shone through the windows brightly, making Gi-hun squint, and from what little he could see, there were many, many people inside. Muffled shouts—cheerful, frustrated, excited—filled his ears, seeping through the small crevice in between the two doors in front of him.

"Well, let's see what this man has to offer," he said to himself before pushing the doors and heading inside.

Gi-hun's hands instantly flew to his ears as soon as he stepped in. Everyone was screaming so loudly that it morphed into a single noise, so passionate and overbearing that he thought it would crush him alive. What was this place?

"You came!" a voice yelled into the mist of other voices, and Gi-hun turned to find the man who'd come into his restaurant earlier. "I knew you would!"

"What the hell is this?" Gi-hun yelled back.

"Horse racing!" the man replied cheerfully, placing a hand on Gi-hun's shoulder and guiding him to a side of the room where it was quieter.

"Horse racing…as in betting?" Gi-hun questioned, dread starting to settle at the pit of his stomach. "Are these people betting?"

Before the rich man could answer, there was a deafening cry as the current horse race came to its conclusion. While some people jumped up in glee, waving around papers Gi-hun assumed to be where they placed their bets, there were angry cries, too, frustrated at how much money they'd lost.

"Why don't you give it a try?" the man asked in a low voice as people started placing their bets again. "Bet a few million won, maybe. Start off small. And if you win, increase the bet."

But Gi-hun was still processing the crazed behavior of the betters around him. It was only when a form was placed into his hands that he realized what the man had asked.

"Personally, I'd choose numbers four and nine for the next race," the man whispered in Gi-hun's ear as though he were passing along a secret conspiracy. "Those horses are always winners."

Shrugging his shoulders, Gi-hun decided to place a bet of ten million won, marking the fourth and ninth bubbles on the betting sheet. It wasn't much, but it was enough to make him jump up and scream if he won the money. Letting out a nervous sigh, he passed the note to the man, who grinned and took it to the desk where he handed the form to one of the people behind it. Then, he made his way to the watch area and focused his eyes on the screen above him.

When the race kicked off, Gi-hun struggled to find the horses he'd betted on. Everything was moving so fast, it was impossible to keep up—

And that's when he locked eyes on number four, who was clearly ahead of the other horses.

Could this really be happening? he thought, not daring to let his thoughts get the better of him. There was no way his luck was about to work in his favor, absolutely no way.

He sighed with consternation as he was proven right. Another horse, clearly faster, had taken the lead. He was about to cross his arms and wait for the inevitable loss of money when he spotted the number.

"No…" he breathed, not believing his eyes. Rubbing them, he refocused his sight on the screen to check if his brain wasn't deceiving him. Indeed, he realized with numb euphoria, it was not.

Number four had been overtaken by none other than nine.

Caught up in the crowd, he started shouting along with the others, chanting for his horses, willing for them to win even though it was unlikely his voice would be heard through the screen. Gi-hun let his shouts become louder to the point of them being screams.

"Come on! Come on! Come on!" he yelled, pumping his fist in the air. At this point, his screams had increased in their aggression, so fierce and passionate that his spittle had started flying through the air. Quickly recognizing this, he calmed down a bit, wiping his mouth with his sleeve. But once clean, he was back to chanting with the rest of the betters.

Gi-hun actually jumped a foot off the ground when numbers four and nine crossed the finish line.

"YEEEEEEEAH!" he thundered, throwing a punch to the air. "THAT'S HOW IT'S FUCKING DONE!"

His celebrations, though loud, weren't unlike the celebrations of the others around him. People were jumping up and down, crying, hugging each other because their horses had won. And then there were people who were snarling, angry that their horses had lost. But none of that was a concern to Gi-hun, who wasn't slow in realizing that he'd actually won money.

He beelined for the counter where the winners were lined up to collect their cash, eagerly anticipating the crisp bills that'd soon be placed into his waiting hands. He couldn't believe it! At this rate, he'd be able to save his restaurant, and he'd have a stable source of income once more.

"Thank you, thank you," he repeated breathlessly as he was handed the precious money. Quickly pocketing it inside his jacket, he made to leave the betting house before being stopped by that same stranger from before.

"Only one?" he questioned, putting a hand on Gi-hun's shoulder. "Come on, now, don't tell me you've given up just yet."

"I haven't!" Gi-hun replied with a wide smile. "I just have to get back home to my wife and celebrate. It's very late, you know." Checking his watch, his eyes widened when he saw it was already nine.

"Then take even more money home with this last race," the man reasoned. "I'll tell you the winning horses again if you'll allow me to."

Feeling conflicted, Gi-hun couldn't decide whether to continue betting or go home with what he had. Ten million won wasn't a small amount of money. It would help pay for many things that needed fixing in his life. But—but!—maybe his luck hadn't run out yet.

Before he knew it, he was back in front of the screen, this time betting on numbers twelve and fifteen with a whopping fifty million won on the line. The rich stranger—who Gi-hun realized he still didn't know the name of—had assured him that twelve and fifteen were sure winners.

Just like before with four and nine, twelve and fifteen took the lead. Gi-hun yelled encouragements to his horses, willing them once more to bring it home. They couldn't let him down, not when he had so much money on the line.

"Yes, yes, yes—YES!" Gi-hun screamed once more as twelve and fifteen crossed the finish line first, a little less excited than the first race but still highly energetic. It didn't take long for him to realize he'd be taking sixty million won home! "Ahhhh, I did it!"

Everything was all right again! Oh, how happy Eun-ji would be once he told her this news! He couldn't believe it. He couldn't process it.

Sixty. Million. Won.

He wanted to find the rich stranger and thank him. Without him, Gi-hun would've never been able to get the money to keep his restaurant running for a few more years. Luckily, he found the man just outside the entrance, and he bowed down so low his hair almost touched the ground.

"Thank you so much, seonsaengnim," Gi-hun said when he stood upright, taking the man's hand and shaking it fervently. "You've done me a great service tonight. Tell me anything you want, and I'll repay you the best I can."

The rich stranger's face remained strangely passive, but he cracked a small smile and patted Gi-hun's shoulder.

"Just spend your money. That is the way you will repay me, Seong Gi-hun ssi."

"Thank you again," Gi-hun made sure to say as he began heading for the subway down the street. "Thank you so much!"

The rich man merely smiled, holding up a hand to indicate he'd heard Gi-hun, before heading back inside the betting house.

"Eun-ji! Eun-ji! You won't believe what happened to me today!" cried Gi-hun as he burst into the apartment with snow-covered hair and many, many bags of Ga-yeong's favorite fried chicken.

"Aigo!" Eun-ji exclaimed as she saw the sheer number of bags her husband was carrying. It was nine thirty-seven. She had been about to put Ga-yeong to bed when Gi-hun had returned.

"Come, Ga-yeong!" he urged excitedly, setting down the bags. "Have some chicken before you go to bed!"

"Appa!" Ga-yeong cheered, jumping up to greet him. She had been sitting on the sofa, watching a silly cartoon about a sponge who lived in a pineapple under the sea.

Quickly taking off his gloves, Gi-hun asked Eun-ji if she could take the boxes of chicken out. "I'll set the table when I've gotten my layers off," he added.

Nodding, Eun-ji began setting out the boxes as Gi-hun took Ga-yeong in his arms. He grinned as she peppered little kisses all over his face.

"Let Appa take his jacket off at least!" Eun-ji chuckled, seeing the father and daughter's exchange. "It must be very hot."

"Ah, I don't mind," Gi-hun brushed off, ruffling Ga-yeong's hair before telling her to wait by the table. "Every kiss I get from my little princess is like winning a billion won."

After taking off his jacket and hanging it on the coat rack, he kicked off his boots and picked Ga-yeong up. Then, he took one of the drumsticks and held it up to his daughter's mouth. Gi-hun burst out laughing when Ga-yeong took an enormous bite, ripping about three fourths of the meat off the bone.

"You must be really hungry, sweetheart," Gi-hun commented, giggling. "You won't even spare your appa half the chicken!"

"Don't be silly!" Ga-yeong said in that tiny, cute voice of hers. "There are so many boxes!"

As the small family of three continued laughing and giggling, Ga-yeong soon grew sleepy, and Eun-ji took her to her room in response. Gi-hun then resumed the role of the responsible husband and began setting the table for himself and his wife.

Not a moment too soon did Eun-ji return, looking at Gi-hun in a way she hadn't looked at him since they'd first met. It was…fond. Adoring, his mind supplied.

"You really are lenient with Ga-yeong," she murmured.

"Is lenient the right word?" asked Gi-hun as he stood from his chair, gently placing his hands on his wife's shoulders, rubbing them affectionately with his thumbs.

Looking up at him, she asked, "What happened today, Gi-hun? You didn't tell me."

As soon as the question passed through her lips, Gi-hun grinned and placed an ardent kiss on them. He was pleased to see the resultant flush creeping up her cheeks as he pulled away.

"I got lucky," he whispered. "Very, very lucky."

"Is that so?"

Gi-hun nodded quickly, smiling again as he pulled Eun-ji into a tight embrace. Placing his chin on her head, he said with a slight waver in his voice, "I won't have to close the restaurant!" With happy tears, he declared, "We were given a miracle from the Buddha himself, nae sarang."

Eun-ji didn't need to know the specifics of his miracle, Gi-hun decided. It was no use worrying her about the fact he'd betted on horses to get the money he needed. Perhaps, he thought with a sly grin, he'd even be able to go back to that place and win some more tomorrow.

Gi-hun had a feeling that his luck hadn't run out just yet.

...

I hope you enjoyed reading it! I think you know who the salesman is in this fic. 😏

As always, reviews and reblogs are greatly appreciated.

Hugs, Glow

[agnes-writes]

A Character Analysis on Seong Gi-Hun (Squid Game)

made at 2 AM running on 1 hour of sleep so I hope it makes sense

A lot of people were baffled by the ending of Squid Game, where Gi-hun actively chose to not get on the plane for his daughter and try to stop the salesman trying to recruit a player for the game.

I think it's actually quite fitting for his character.

Now, I'm not saying that he's not a bad dad for doing this, I'm just saying that all his actions make sense, especially if you analyse it.

Still, I'm going to use the bad father narrative and the common comments that come with it to form a clear picture for his main character trait:

Firstly, the fact that people say his daughter is his main motivation to play the games. Now, at first, you could definitely argue that this is true. He's first approached by a salesman (Gong Yoo, which, holy shit, he's so fucking hot, by the way) right after his daughter's disastrous birthday celebration. He plays, and makes his way home. At home, he finds out from his mother that his daughter will be moving to the US and he can only get her back if he can provide for her. Seeing it as harmless and a way to make quick money, he calls the number.

However, when the first game ends, he votes not to continue, and is sent back home. Here, we find out that his mother is severely diabetic. This leads to an argument where he vows to get the money for her treatment one way or another. Subsequently, he tries to beg both his friends and even his ex-wife for a loan, and almost gets the money from her ex-wife's current husband, who told him to stay away from his family. He's seen walking home in the rain and sees the business card right after that.

I think this episode cements the fact that his main motivation, is not, in fact, his daughter—she's only a small part of it; his main motivation is his desperate need for money for his mother's treatment, and that little jab of the stepfather to him just adds insult to injury, and therefore, just a bonus perk of winning the game. In fact, this is further proven in episode 8, when Saebyeok asks Gi-hun what he'll do with the money if he gets out, and he sees he'll use it for his mother's treatment, and then set-up a proper store for her, because it's actually her dream. Only then, so he says, would he try to be a good father to his daughter. His daughter was not on the top of his priority list for the prize money.

Next, the argument that he knew from the very start that he's playing for blood money, so why doesn't he just use it to provide for his kid?

I don't think that argument's very fair. I genuinely think that he did not, in fact, know what he signed up for, and that's because the game mods had phrased their rules in a very particular way.

The game mods had told them that if they survive all six games, they get to win the money. That is very open to different interpretations but what I think Gi-hun thought is that there isn't one winner—anyone who survives 'til the end will get a portion of that money. So my theory on his thought process is that he only signed up to risk ONLY his personal health and safety, not thinking he'd have to kill anybody else. In fact, in that one scene in Episode 4, when a few players don't get enough food and have a scuffle leading to the death of one player, he is the first one who demanded something be done about it, saying that they're not there to kill each other like animals, before it's revealed that foul play is, in fact, condoned and even rewarded by the game mods.

But now Gi-hun's stuck there and he has to see it through. But he doesn't have to be happy about it.

I think one of the scenes that further cements this is in the Tug of War game—in the moment, he doesn't want to die, but then they show alternating perspectives of his team and the opposing team, and there's a myriad of expressions on his face; one of them, possibly fear and guilt as he sees the faces of the people on the other team struggling to pull back. Then, in the elevator, we have a shot of him staring at the rope burns in his hands with a clearly conflicted and horrified look on his face—which I interpreted as the moment it had sunk in that he'd have to kill people to survive.

Next is the reasoning on why he left the prize money untouched, but gave 2/3 of it Sangwoo's mother and Saebyeok's brother, but not his daughter.

Now, we've established that he probably sees this money as blood money; Gi-hun probably feels incredibly guilty or blames himself for killing his friends and other people, or at least having some kind of hand in them. He's already promised to take care of Saebyeok's brother and Sangwoo's mother, so I'm not particularly surprised. The thing is, I think he gives the money to Saebyeok's brother and Sangwoo's mother and doesn't feel bad about where it came from is because he knows that's the reason why they played the games in the first place. It was their blood that was spilled, so it would have only been fitting for them to get money.

But why not his daughter? Again, this goes back to the guilt argument. Gi-hun thinks this is blood money; and knowing how he'd gotten it, knowing what he had to do to get it (and not being able to fulfill the main motivation on why he joined, treating his mother, who died before he could come back), it would weigh on someone. It would also make sense that he wouldn't want to give his daughter that money and try to explain it, not wanting to relive or come up with a lie for what he had to go through. In his eyes, that money is tainted, and he doesn't want his daughter anywhere near what he experienced in that arena.

Lastly, why he didn't get on the plane. See, this ties in to what I think is his main character trait; he sees a salesman trying to find players for the game, indicating that it is, in fact, still on-going, despite Oh Il-Nam's death, and interrupts them.

The reasoning behind this is that he knows his daughter is already well-provided for: even in the first few episodes, we see that she has a nice house and clothes, attentive parents and is clearly doing okay with her stepfather getting a steady job in the US. In his mind, she'll be just fine.

But he was in these people's shoes before—desperately trying to make ends meet, finding away to survive, only to be taken advantage of and made to sign their own death warrant for entertainment purposes. These people have no idea what's to come for them.

In Gi-hun's head, it's his daughter's life, who is already set and comfortable with her new family, versus the lives of possibly hundreds of people who had no idea what they're getting into, many of whom may not be as lucky as he is.

That would eat at his conscience, or so I think it would. Knowing that the games are still continuing and doing nothing to stop it with the little knowledge he has of them... That screws with your head, especially with his morals intact. So he doesn't get on the plane, and chooses to try and stop the games.

And that is the running vein of his entire character:

We have his mother, who only has him to help her, as his main motivation, and we see him help those who need help as the team builds—particularly Oh Il-Nam, or player 001, whom he perceived as someone who needs to be helped at his old age (but he isn't, honestly, fuck that plot twist), there's Saebyeok's brother and Sangwoo's mother who also lost their only providers in those games, and finally, to cement the on-going theme, there're the hundreds of people, just trying to make ends meet, being swindled into playing these death games for the entertainment of rich assholes.

Seong Gi-hun doesn't take care of everyone except his daughter.

He takes care of everyone who he thinks needs it.

And I think that's a wonderful core trait for a person to have.

[squidgamesmut]

The Guardian Angel | Chapter 2 - Enter, compelled by need

Seong Gi-hun X Female Reader

Chapter 2/14 : Enter, compelled by need

Minors DNI Contains heavy spoilers The Guardian Angel navigation post

Seong Gi-hun considered himself to be the unluckiest man alive. A throbbing headache split his skull whilst his lungs burned with lack of oxygen. His feet could barely carry him anymore and he felt his age creep up on him by his lack of fitness.

The sullen feeling of watching his daughter head home without him - the role of father-figure once again replaced by the step-father that was everything Gi-hun was not - was pushed out of the window by the sudden need to catch the tube and head to his mother’s place, but his sprint was not enough for him to be on time.

Defeated, he watched down the doors closed, and slamming on them did not cause them to slide open again. Deeply annoyed, Gi-hun witnessed how it left without him, a grunt of agony leaving him, just when he thought that today could not get any worse.

He was not in the mood for waiting, his patience wearing thin. He plopped down on a bench, sulking in silence.

Gi-hun’s loneliness however was only brief, and a well-dressed man sat down on his right side and put down a briefcase in between them. At first, Gi-hun ignored the stranger, until he spoke up.

“Sir?” The man broke the silence. “Can I talk to you?”

Gi-hun did not look at him, instead mumbling whilst scooting away: “I do not believe in Jesus.”

“It’s not that,” the stranger promised, “I’d like to offer you a great opportunity--”

The sharply dressed man was cut off by the barrel of a gun aimed in his direction. Gi-hun had held onto the failed present for his daughter at the danger of his ex-wife catching Ga-yeong with said toy weapon.

Holding his hands in the air, the man gawked at Gi-hun in shock. Gi-hun looked at the stranger and pulled the trigger, a flame appearing at the very end of the muzzle. “I come from a Buddhist household, so stop bothering me and get lost.”

The stranger lowered his arms and leaned towards Gi-hun, persistent. “Sir,” he said, “Would you like to play a game with me?”

Gi-hun sighed and looked at the floor. “What are you? Here to sell me something? You people have all sorts of sales tricks these days.” As Gi-hun protested, the salesman went to open his briefcase, ignoring the resistance. “I can see how unfortunate your situation is, but I have no time to…”

Gi-hun’s voice trailed off when he witnessed the contents of the stranger’s briefcase: two coloured tiles of paper and a few fat wads of cash - one stack of green notes worth ten-thousand won and two stacks of yellow notes worth fifty-thousand.

“Sir, you’ve played ddakji before, haven’t you?” quizzed the salesman, holding the two tiles up into the air. “Play ddakji with me. Each time you win, I will give you a hundred-thousand won.”

Gi-hun blinked in confusion, looking at the cards, then letting his gaze fall to the money in the briefcase. “Wait, so if I flip your ddakji over, you’ll give me a hundred-thousand won?”

The salesman clarified, “However, each time I win, you must give me a hundred-thousand won.”

Gi-hun stared at the stranger for a few seconds in disbelief, hesitating whether to participate or not. “I’ll let you go first.” the salesman noted.

“I’m in a really foul mood today,” Gi-hun spoke, “If this is some kind of scam, I’m going to kill you today.”

The threat was considered harmless, the salesman smiling in a friendly manner as if Gi-hun had not just attempted to intimidate him.

“I’m really going to go first.” Gi-hun muttered, causing the man to nod.

“Which colour do you want?”

Gi-hun opted for blue and arose from his seat together with the stranger, preparing for the game. The salesman put his tile onto the floor, Gi-hun rubbing the blue tile between his hands as if it would make a difference.

The salesman stepped back and Gi-hun took a deep breath, hurling the blue paper at the red one, and missed. A bit ashamed, he stepped back to let the stranger pick up the red tile so that he could play, too, and to his horror, the blue piece of paper flipped without any effort.

Gi-hun stared at it for a few seconds until he noticed the salesman stare at him expectantly.

“Do you not have any money?” the well-dressed man quizzed.

“Money…” Gi-hun mumbled, patting his pockets, looking away. The salesman gave him a knowing smile.

“Then you can pay with your body.”

Gi-hun looked at the man in confusion. “My body?”

Without any warning whatsoever, the salesman struck Gi-hun across the cheek, his dark blue baseball cap falling onto the floor in the process. “What the hell?” Gi-hun cried out, holding his cheek in shock.

“I’ll shave off a hundred-thousand won per slap.” the man said. It only took Gi-hun to grab his blue tile again and play a second round.

Miss.

Slap!

Miss.

Slap! Miss. Slap!

Gi-hun’s face felt like it was bleeding after several rounds, but he wouldn’t budge, despite the bruising that was evidently growing on his right cheek.

Perhaps it was really the worst day of his life, Gi-hun thought whilst grabbing the tile one more time, deciding it was his final round. Giving the blue paper a good hurl, he threw it towards the red tile, hitting it.

It flew up into the air and he held his breath, his mouth falling open in anticipation. It flew through the air for a second, and…

Flipped.

Gi-hun cheered loudly, unabashed to display his raw excitement.

“I won! See that? Did you see that? I won!”

He began rolling up the sleeve of his jacket. “Come here,” he called, “Get your face over here.”

He prepared to strike the salesman across the face with a flat hand, but his blow was blocked with practised ease. For a moment, Gi-hun complained. “Let go of this, you jerk.” His whining however, was soon silenced by the salesman waving two notes of fifty-thousand won in his face.

“Here’s your hundred-thousand won,” the stranger said, stuffing it into Gi-hun’s hand and closing his fingers around it. “Congratulations.” Gi-hun looked at the notes, mumbling.

“Right, I get a hundred-thousand won.” he whispered.

Feeling the money between his fingers prompted him to play a few more rounds, until the salesman said it was time to leave. After all, it was getting late.

“Sir, you can make big money playing games like this for a few days.” the stranger told Gi-hun whilst said man sifted through his newfound riches. “Would you like to give it a try?”

“Hey man,” Gi-hun said, “This is some new sort of pyramid scheme, right?” He paused. “But you got the wrong man. I’m not that naive.”

The salesman sighed and slowly rose, standing in front of Gi-hun, folding his hands in front of him. “Mr Seong Gi-hun.” At the mention of his name, he looked up at the man with something akin to confusion and fear filling his eyes.

“You signed a waiver giving up your physical rights today, yes?”

The salesman was met by silence and took it as his cue to elaborate.

“Name, Seong Gi-hun, 47 years old. Highest level of education, Daehan Technical High School. Former employee of Dragon Motors, Assembly Team One. Resigned ten years ago during restructuring. Opened both a chicken restaurant and a snack bar, both failed. Currently working as a chauffeur. Has a ten-year-old girl with an ex-wife, divorced three years ago. As of now, you owe 160 million won to loan sharks and 255 million won to the bank.”

Speechless, Gi-hun stood to look the stranger in the face, eyes widened in shock.

“Who are you?” he questioned, “How dare you run a background check on me?”

Instead of responding, the salesman reached for the front pocket of his suit jacket, pulling out a sand-coloured business card, and Gi-hun took it with a frown on his face. “We don’t have many spots left,” he pressed. “Give me a call.”

The salesman took his briefcase, smiled, and left Gi-hun be as a new train opened its doors in the station. Gi-hun stared at the card and blinked, watching how the man got on the tube and moved his hand to the side of his head as if to sign a phone, mouthing: call me.

The doors shut and the train left, Gi-hun reaching for the money in his pocket. Inspecting it for a second, momentarily looking after the train before a large smile broke out on his face, happy with his cash. “All right. Whatever.”

After a moment, he had all forgotten about the strange salesman and his briefcase, heading out to get some food at one of his favourite stalls.

~*~*~

With his hands stuffed into the pockets of his jacket, Gi-hun was unable to convince the mother of his childhood friend Sang-woo’s that he had not been drinking. His overly happy mood fooled her otherwise, and she watched him with puzzlement on her face whilst cutting up some fish for him.

“I made money today. That’s why!” He held out the stack of won in front of him to give her evidence of his victory.

“Gi-hun,” Sang-woo’s mother said, sighing. “Do you still gamble?”

“I didn’t gamble! I earned this money fair and square.” Gi-hun said with a pout.

“Then what’s with your face?” she countered, referring to the purple marks forming underneath the skin on his cheek. “You’re getting into fights now?”

“Come on. Forget it.” Gi-hun noticed a picture of Sang-woo and decided to change the subject. “What’s Sang-woo up to these days? Is his job going okay?”

“He’s always busy,” Sang-woo’s mother explained, “He’s abroad right now on a business trip.”

Gi-hun scoffed. “That ungrateful punk. Tell him to call me when he comes home. You remember, right? He got into Seoul National University all thanks to me. I used to take him to school when we were kids.” he whinged, shifting on his feet. “He got into college and got a job because of me, but he’s never bought me a drink.”

“Stop talking nonsense. Take this and go home.” Sang-woo’s mother told him firmly, giving him the bag of fish. “Don’t go to a bar. Go straight home.”

Gi-hun grabbed some cash and gave her a note of ten-thousand won, handing it to her proudly. “Here, keep the change.” He smiled and walked off without her having time to protest, not even hearing her over the song he began to sing:

“That’s worth twelve-thousand won, you rascal.”

As Gi-hun strode through the streets with a certain spring in his step, his singing was interrupted by a soft meow coming from next to a pile of bags of rubbish - a cat was attempting go dig out some food, and Gi-hun sighed with a small smile on his face, crouching down next to the feline.

It immediately began sniffing him, agitated by the sudden scent of mackerel. “Are you hungry? Are you?” Gi-hun mused whilst placing one of the fish onto the ground, “Here, have this. Don’t leave any leftovers, okay? I got slapped to earn the money for that.”

He scratched the cat between the ears and laughed a little at how keen it was to eat from the fish, standing and continuing his trip home, the song from his lips resuming.

He was proud to show his mother the money he had made upon arrival, and sat down at the table with in front of him a bowl of rice and the remaining mackerel he had bought from Sang-woo’s mother.

“Here, some money for you. Take it.” A stack of green notes was held out to his mother, who took it gingerly.

“Goodness.” the old woman breathed, looking at her son in disbelief. “Did you gamble again?”

With a mouth stuffed with rice, Gi-hun smirked. “I didn’t.” he told her.

“Then, what happened to your face?”

Instead of responding, Gi-hun scooped some kimchi into his mouth. “Why aren’t you answering?”

“It’s nothing like that!” Gi-hun whined with a full mouth, reaching for his chopsticks.

“Wait, did you steal this from someone?”

Gi-hun’s eyes snapped up to meet his mother’s with indignation evident in his features. “I didn’t gamble or steal.” he promised, raising his voice, “I worked my hands, face, and body off to earn this money!”

His mother fell silent for a moment whilst Gi-hun kept stuffing his mouth with food.

“Did you buy fried chicken for Ga-yeong?”

Gi-hun nodded. “I bought her dinner and a Birthday present before I came home.”

“Did she tell you anything?” Gi-hun’s mother asked softly.

“Tell me what?”

With sadness in her voice, his mother told him. “Ga-yeong, her mother and step-dad are all moving to the United States next year.

Gi-hun halted in his chewing, thinking back on the promise he had made earlier today - a pinky promise to get her a better gift for her Birthday - next year.

“The United States?” he said, blinking rapidly whilst attempting to process the news.

“Yes,” his mother explained. “Her step-dad got a new job in the United States, so the entire family is moving there.”

Gi-hun was quiet for a moment. “I see.” He lifted a bite of fish to his mouth.

“How can you shove anything down your throat right now?” his mother exclaimed. “You need to get your daughter back!”

“How am I supposed to do that?” Gi-hun wondered out loud. “That was settled when we signed the divorce papers.”

Gi-hun’s mother let out a woeful sigh and rapidly thought of something. “There’s a young man upstairs who studied law or something. He says if the father can financially support the child, he can take the child back.”

Gi-hun did not reply, instead looked at the ground in shame.

“Once she moves to the United States, she’ll forget all her Korean, and you two will never understand each other. You will become a complete stranger to her. Are you sure you can live without seeing her?”

Sorrow tugged at Gi-hun’s heart. His mother was right - he had to fight for her. But how was a man like him supposed to provide for his daughter if he couldn’t even provide for himself? He still lived with his mother since the divorce and gambled away every little bit of money he had.

His addiction was crippling, and there was no way that Gi-hun could properly earn money by working as a chauffeur. It was pointless, he thought to himself, to try and get a better paying job. No one would have him, so what could he possibly do?

His mind ran rampant with thoughts as he scrolled through the photographs on his mobile phone that night, laying on the thin and worn-down mattress on the floor. It was killing his back, but he ignored the pain. The pictures were of him and Ga-yeong during better times. He barely recognised the man he was when compared to the way he was right now, but his attention was focused upon the young girl that he loved so much.

He zoomed in on a picture of her smiling and sighed, closing his eyes whilst turning off his phone. Squeezing his eyes shut, he rolled on his side and fought against the tears. After a moment, he decided to reach for the pocket of his jacket, taking out the business card the salesman had handed him earlier.

He sat up and flipped it around to look at the number on the back, punching it into his phone before bringing it to his ear. The other side picked up almost right away.

“Hello.” a male voice greeted him.

“I’m… I’m the guy who got your business card this afternoon.” Gi-hun said.

“Do you wish to participate in the Game?” the man asked Gi-hun. “If you wish to participate, please state your name and birthdate.”

Gi-hun hesitated for a second, but then answered accordingly.

~*~*~

Twelve o’clock at the assigned location. Gi-hun had put on his baseball cap and went without notice. With his hands stuffed into his pockets, he stood in complete darkness, impatiently checking his watch.

As if on cue, a pair of headlights illuminated him, cloaking him in light. He squinted against it and was approached by a van, which halted right in front of him.

“Mr Seong Gi-hun?” a masked man quizzed after the window rolled down. Gi-hun frowned, taken aback by the odd looking mask - Clad in a pinkish red, the stranger wore a black mask with on the surface a white square.

Gi-hun snapped out of it. “Yes.” he replied.

“The password?” the masked stranger queried.

“Red light, green light.” Gi-hun breathed after hesitating for a second.

The door of the van slid open, which prompted Gi-hun inside. He carefully entered, looking around to see others already in the back, though all vast asleep. The door shut behind him and he sat down. “I guess everyone is… Tired.”

He turned to the driver and rubbed his hands together. “How long will it take to get to the gaming place?”

His question was left unanswered as a strange kind of gas filled the car. It took mere seconds to knock Gi-hun out. Quietly, the van drove off, leaving the street as cold and dark as it was.

~*~*~

Nerves ran through your body as you stood upon the threshold of the room, watching how your grandfather zipped himself up in the teal tracksuit that would be this year’s attire assigned to the Players. The numbers 001 were stitched upon all sides of the suit, and it seemed a bit too large for him.

“Well,” your grandfather sighed, inspecting himself in the mirror. Thin, bony hands fiddled with the cotton polyester and straightened it out a bit. “How do I look?”

You tried to not let tears cloud your vision, and you sniffed. “It looks good on you, grandfather.”

It was far from the eloquent and tailored suit that you had imagined him to pass away in. No, perhaps that a teal, ill-fitting tracksuit would be his final outfit before he died.

Il-nam saw your sadness and met your eyes in the reflection of the mirror, turning around to look at you properly. “My dear,” he said, spreading his arms. It was enough for you, and you rushed forward to embrace him.

“Sir, it’s time.” the Front Man announced almost immediately, and you felt your heart shatter.

You couldn’t help but sob into your grandfather’s shoulder for a moment, holding him close. “Grandfather,” you breathed, “I will not forget anything you’ve done for me.”

He patted your back, stroking soft circles over it. “I love you, my dear granddaughter. I love you more than I’ve ever loved anyone else in this world, and you should know that. If I die in there, then you should know that it was on my own terms. You and I both know what I am getting myself into. I have prior knowledge about the games, know how to stay alive for as long as I can, but should I lose my life, then it will be alright.”

You wiped away some tears, make-up running down your face. “Oh, grandfather. You’re so unfathomable at times. I do not understand you.”

He chuckled and cupped your face, rubbing your cheek with his thumb. “My dear,” he once again whispered, “I am endlessly proud of you, and I have complete faith that you are able to do this. Mr Hwang In-ho will help you out when things will get too hard on you, but know that you have to carry on my legacy.”

You nodded tearfully, biting your bottom lip to prevent yourself from full-on wailing.

“Sir.” In-ho pressed again, causing you to squeeze Il-nam’s hand. Your grandfather leaned in and pressed a soft kiss against your forehead, a gesture he had often made when you were a small child.

“It’s time,” he whispered, “Time to make me proud, my dear. Be brave, now.”

You took a deep breath and witnessed how the Front Man led your grandfather to the lift, for they had to slip him in amongst the knocked out Players to prevent suspicion from the guards. He turned to you, looking you straight in the eye as the doors shut slowly.

Your legs felt weak, but you inhaled sharply to calm yourself down.

“Front Man,” you said through your earpiece, referring to him with his formal title in case anyone happened to listen in with the channel you and the Front Man were on together, “Let me know when it is showtime.”

Your heart drummed in your throat whilst you walked over to the large screen in the lounge, watching how the guards brought in the Players one by one. You recognised a few faces from the files you had researched and nervously awaited your signal.

It felt like hours passed, but when you finally saw how your grandfather was rolled into the room and put into a bed, you let out a sharp breath of both relief and agony.

At that same moment, you heard your earpiece crackle. “Ma’am?”

“Yes?” you replied with a voice more high-pitched than you had expected, hoping that your fear wouldn’t be too clear. On the screen, a few Players were already waking up. The final guards rushed out of the room, and the heavy doors shut.

“Awaiting your signal, ma’am.”

You swallowed thickly, straightening your back.

“In that case,” you told the Front Man, “This year’s Squid Game has officially begun.”

~

The Guardian Angel chapter list

[whiskeyandspy]

━━ ◤ ( A HAUNTING REMINDER OF MISTAKES MADE, THE HESITATION OF CROSSING THE LINE OF RIGHT FROM WRONG, FINDING THE COURAGE TO SPEAK HIS MIND AND DO WHAT'S MORALLY CORRECT AND CONTRASTING GREEN ONTO WHITE ) welcome, SEONG GI-HUN, HE/HIM. before you move in, tell us what you remember: MAKING THE DECISION TO TURN AWAY FROM BOARDING THE PLANE. excellent, now we are pleased to accept your offer to live GOLDEN FIELDS APARTMENT COMPLEXES, and your new job as CASHIER at EDLUND CHOCOLATES AND CONFECTIONARY is waiting for you to begin. ( SQUID GAME AND LEE JUNG-JAE )

THE BASICS

NAME: seong gi hun

NICKNAMES: player 456, gganbu, ajusshi

BIRTHDAY: october 31

AGE: 43

PRONOUNS: he/him

LAST KNOWN MEMORY: making the decision to turn away from boarding the plane

ORIGINATION: squid game

FACECLAIM: lee jung-jae

THE DETAILS

FAMILY:  unnamed mother (deceased), unnamed ex-wife, seong ga-yeong (daughter)

THREE FAVORITE THINGS: being friendly and making friends, watching the races on television, not having to worry about being in debt

EDUCATION: graduated high school

SKILLS: charismatic, decent hand-to-hand, resourceful, strategist, leadership.

HEADCANONS: gi hun is an eccentric man who has had troubles in the past with gambling and going into debt. however, as luck struck him - something he still feels questionable and disturbed about - he won the lottery and was able to pay off his debts and attempt to help his ailing mother. unfortunately, she passed - and with his only child, a daughter, moving to the united states with his ex-wife and her husband, gi hun felt he had nothing left for him in south korea and thus picked up and moved to america. witty, funny, and kinda dorky - gi hun somehow managed to find decimation and despite having a decent sum of cash, he’s still chosen to take a job in retail as a cashier for the local chocolate shop. (in which he’s had his fill of chocolates and thinks he can never eat more).

WHAT THEY’RE PLANNING TO DO IN DECIMATION: he’s happy to live his life in decimation, but the nightmares/waking dreams disturb him greatly. he feels a connection to sae byeok because he remembers her from his dreams but he’s too afraid to bring it up in case she finds him weird. occasionally, he sends money and gifts  to new york to support his daughter and for her to remember him.