Protect her; Hwang In-Ho
SEASON 2 AND 3 SPOILERS BELOW THE CUT!!
When the frontman calls Gi-Hun to meet him, he only has one request for him: to protect you. Gi-Hun is determined to keep that promise, no matter what.
Warnings: Character death, violence, canon-divergent, and unedited (for now).
When Young-Il died, it felt like a part of you had died with him, even if you had only known him a few days. The two of you had bonded quickly, becoming fast friends with a hint of… something more.
Young-Il always stuck by you, protecting you both during the games and during the night, watching over you while you slept, even if you weren’t aware of it. Even when he wasn’t there, he watched over you; keeping a close eye on you from his quarters, making sure that the guards gave you extra food, and ensuring that there was no more risk of fights after lights out since he was not there to protect you.
You swallowed, glancing over at Gi-Hun. You knew of what had happened, you had helped during the rebellion, much to Young-Il’s dismay. You had no idea why the guard kept you alive, why the other guard had told your potential shooter to stand down. You watched as they dragged a grief-stricken Gi-Hun into the player’s quarters, tears falling down your cheeks at both the look on his face, and the fact that Young-Il was gone, never to return.
Gi-Hun was someone that you considered a friend and seeing him like this, it hurt. You could feel the guilt inside radiating from him. It wasn’t his fault; you couldn’t blame him. No, you wouldn’t blame him. Gi-Hun had tried, and that was more that could be said for others.
The beep of the doors opening, revealing the guards, pulled your gaze and you watched in confusion as Gi-Hun approached you, handing Jun-Hee’s newborn to you before following the guards away from the room.
What was going on?
Gi-Hun stood in front of the frontman, glaring at him. The weight of the guilt was evident in the way he held himself, but Gi-Hun didn’t notice this, too focused on revenge.
“Take a seat, Mr Seong Gi-Hun. This may take a while.” In-Ho swallowed, doing the best he could to mentally prepare himself.
Gi-Hun nodded hesitantly, taking a seat opposite of his enemy.
Gi-Hun watched as the frontman pulled something from his pocket, placing it on the table between them.
“Take this,” he said, his mask deceiving Gi-Hun of his true identity, hiding his voice, but not for long.
“Why? Why are you helping me? Who are you?”
In-Ho glanced at his former comrade and with shaking hands removed his mask, the guilt weighing even heavier as he noticed the betrayed look on Gi-Hun’s face. No matter how hard Gi-Hun tried to hide his reaction, his eyes betrayed him.
“I am sorry about Jung-Bae, Mr Seong Gi-Hun.”
In-Ho didn’t flinch, didn’t even move as Gi-Hun grabbed the knife, standing and pointing it towards his betrayer.
“You can kill me, there is nobody around to help, but that won’t stop the games. They will just find another frontman and the game will continue tomorrow.” In-Ho said, staring into Gi-Hun’s eyes, rather than the knife pointed towards him. “But that, that can save you. You can go back there, kill those who want to kill you, and win the games.”
“Why?” Came Gi-Hun’s simple response, lowering the knife. “Why would you go to this extent?”
In-Ho paused before speaking.
“I need you to promise me something. If you are to take that knife, there is one thing that I need you to promise me. If not for me, then for her.”
A confused look bloomed over Gi-Hun’s face at his words.
“Her?”
“Keep Y/N safe…” He said, pausing for a moment. “Please…” His plea fell into a whisper, barely audible in the room.
The confused look on his face worsened as Gi-Hun spoke.
“Y/N? Why?” He asked.
In-Ho broke eye contact with the player for a moment, and that was enough to reveal everything.
Gi-Hun’s mouth parted in shock. “You care for her…”
In-Ho swallowed, hesitation evident on his unmasked face before he nodded.
Gi-Hun nodded, a silent promise to In-Ho as he grabbed the blade and turned to leave.
“And, Gi-Hun,” In-Ho called, waiting until he paused. “I am sorry. For everything.”
No response.
Gi-Hun watched over you, the baby clutched tightly to your chest, as you slept. The blade felt heavy between his fingers, the weight of the decision heavy on his mind. It was logical, he should kill them and save the baby, himself, and you, but he didn’t want to. He couldn’t bring himself to do it, even as he held the blade up to Player 100’s neck. No, he wasn’t that type of person.
“Are you okay, Gi-Hun?” You murmured upon Gi-Hun’s return.
Gi-Hun nodded, hands shaking as he hid the blade in the back of his suit. “I’m fine, Y/N. Get some more rest, you’ll need it for tomorrow.”
You agreed, hugging the child tighter to your chest.
“Good night, Gi-hun, get some rest too.”
Gi-Hun already felt guilty for not telling you that you had a guardian angel, and just who that guardian angel was.
You watched in horror as the group of men attempted to push Gi-Hun and the child from the extreme height. You were beside them, doing your best attempt to hold them off, but to no avail.
As the man held Gi-Hun in a tight grasp, both almost falling from the ledge, you spotted it: the glint of a blade. Without hesitation, you grabbed at it, unsheathing it and pushing yourself towards the man, slicing at the jacket that held him in place before using your full body weight to toss the man off the edge, taking a deep breath to compose yourself as you heard the man scream and hit the floor below.
Your foot slipped, body weight preparing to topple over and follow the man to your death, only to be caught last moment by a tight hand: Gi-Hun’s.
You nodded as a thanks as a shaking breath left you. You didn’t have time to thank him properly as the rest of the men were approaching you three. Gi-Hun, who previously stood behind you, was quick to slip the baby into your hands, standing in front of you.
“Gi-Hun?” You asked. “What are you doing? You promised Jun-Hee you would keep her child safe!”
Gi-Hun paused. You were right, but he made another promise, and he intended to keep it; to keep them both.
“I promised him I would keep you safe too.” Were his only words and you weren’t given a chance to ask who exactly him was before player 333 caught your attention, sneaking behind the men, pole in hand.
You couldn’t tell what he was attempting to do, so you held the baby tighter, forcing your heels into the ground as hard as you could. It wasn’t until he hit the remaining guys with the pole, pushing them off the edge that you understood.
One hesitant step towards 333 from Gi-Hun had him spinning towards you both, Gi-Hun immediately pressing you backwards, keeping you away from the man in front of you. He swore he would protect you, and he intended to keep that promise, even if it cost him his life.
“Why did you do that?” Gi-Hun asked, his hand in front of him to let him know that he wasn’t intending to hurt him, not yet, at least; unless he had to.
“I’m the child’s father.”
“Now it’s down to four,” a VIP said, a satisfied smile on his lips.
In-Ho could only hope that Gi-Hun would keep his promise.
You stood back, baby in hand as Gi-Hun fought with player 333, at a clear disadvantage. The knife was still in your hand, and you knew what you had to do.
In-Ho watched as you placed the child on the ground, whispering something to her as you did so.
Your footsteps were silent as you approached the fighting pair. 333 had Gi-Hun pinned down, throwing punches at his face, the pipe having fallen over the edge. You could hear Gi-Hun’s groans as he took them, body weakening from the pain.
A deep breath, that was all it took for you to find the courage to shove the blade into Myung-Gi’s neck, his eyes widening as you did so. Blood immediately began running from his mouth as he fell to the ground.
He was dead.
Your eyes widened, breath laboured and eyes wide as the shock set in. You had just killed two people in less than thirty minutes…
“Y/N…” Gi-Hun panted, sitting up.
His eyes darted between your shaking and bloodied hands and the cooling body on the ground. It was then he noticed something: none of you had pressed the start button.
Your eyes followed his gaze, landing on the button in panic.
Without thinking, you nodded, kneeling beside the baby.
“It’s okay, Gi-Hun will take care of you.” Your breath was shaking as you whispered to her, a soft smile on your lips. You were scared, but you were content.
Gi-Hun watched in shock as you raised yourself to your feet, turning to face him.
“It’s been fun, Gi-Hun.” Your smile remained.
Gi-Hun froze, assuming that you were going to kill him, until you took a step back. Not only did Gi-Hun freeze, so did In-Ho as he watched you.
If he doesn’t keep his promise, I’ll kill him myself, In-Ho swore to himself.
He didn’t have to worry for long, but each second felt like torture as he watched your feet come close to the edge. As you were about to jump, Gi-Hun’s hand caught you. You looked up at him, a confused look on your face as he didn’t move.
“You promised her, Gi-Hun. You promised that you’d keep her child safe. This is the only way.” You whispered, tears welling in your eyes.
Gi-Hun shook his head.
“I promise Young-Il I’d keep you safe too.”
Your eyes widened as you questioned him.
“When?”
Gi-Hun swallowed, glancing at the timer: 12:36 minutes remaining.
“Yesterday…”
“He’s alive!?”
Gi-Hun nodded, glancing towards the window behind you where he knew In-Ho was standing. You followed his gaze, brain putting the pieces together.
“Oh my God,” you whispered, mainly to yourself at the realisation.
Gi-Hun nodded, confirming your fears and suspicion of Young-Il’s true identity. Your hands shook, as you attempted to take a further step back off the ledge, but Gi-Hun gripped you tightly, shaking his head.
“I promised I would keep her child safe, and I trust you enough to do that, Y/N.” Gi-Hun’s rough voice told you, eyes closing as you shook your head in disagreement.
“Gi-Hun, no.”
Gi-Hun held your gaze for a moment, squeezing you tightly.
“I trust you,” were his final words before he rushed off the edge, your eyes wide and filled with tears.
“Player 456 eliminated.”
You couldn’t move, even though you needed to.
You could hear the beeping, see the timer, you knew you needed to move, but you couldn’t.
Gi-Hun…
You almost screamed when you felt someone touch your shoulder, head spinning towards the culprit.
“Young-Il…”
He nodded, helping you to the feet before walking towards the child who seemed peaceful. You watched in shock as he carefully held her, wordlessly placing her in your arms before leading you both down the elevator and away from the island.
You didn’t know where you were going or what the future held for you and the child, but you did know one thing: Young-Il – or In-ho as you soon found him to be called – cared for you, and he wasn’t about to let you leave easily.