a season 3 rewrite where namgyu lives and decides to help junhee protect her baby
content graphic depictions of violence and death, threats, junhee & namgyu bonding, withdrawal, canon divergence, probably ooc, not edited, lowercase
note a little backstory change, namgyu doesn't eat the pill he was offering myunggi
the first thing he notices is the small jacket wrapped up in her arms. staring down at the glowing woman, no wait. her name is... what did mg coin say again? gi- junhee. the pregnant one with that old lady. he doesn't have to turn his head much. the old lady practically on top of the girl. he drops his eyes to take in the pristine dagger. such a clash against his. something thicker, dripping blood and making a dark pool by his feet. this must feel like a horror movie. the killer, tall and frenzied and the victims, small and vulnerable. he takes a small step into the room and glances down at the small dark pool soaking through the girls pants. she's bleeding out. taking another step and that old hag actually shouts at him to stay back. he laughs and waves his knife through the air as he speaks.
"A three for one deal, how exciting."
his grin is rabid, all teeth and gums as he looks down at the wiggling bundle. he pauses far enough away where they were uncomfortable but could stage a way to get out. something he doesn't realize he's doing. giving them a chance. he watches their small movements. the way they cower together, how they both instinctively put their arms around the baby. he wipes the sticky knife against his pants, green fluff sticking to the metal. pointing it at the newborn he stares directly into junhee's eyes.
"Was she supposed to protect you?"
she gives a small nod, her eyes filling with tears at the reminder of her loss.
"Have you seen The Amazing MG Coin? He's supposed to find you, right?"
"No."
it's short and definitive. he frowns and weighs his options. he couldn't leave her here alone, not when she looked so much like her. he could just kill them, get it over with quick. Two, no three, less blue vests for the reds to kill. he pats the knife against his palm. each bounce slices a fresh river in his hand. gripping the bright handle he nods down to the new mother.
"Do you know where an exit is?"
"Why? So you can kill us and guard it?"
"There's barely even five minutes left, what would I get out of that arrangement. No, protecting you gives me a much better future."
she scoffs and bares her teeth as she hunches over her baby.
"I'm not going to touch that thing, don't worry. Let's go, before someone desperate finds you."
it takes a minute but he doesn't push them. if he needed to stand watch by the door he would. anything to keep that baby alive, he needed more allies. needed someone who would get to the end. with shaky hands the old woman rises to her feet, she holds junhee behind her like he'll change his mind, lunge forward and bury the knife deep in her side. he runs his hand down his bloody face and turns his back to the dagger.
guiding them out of the room, the old lady points out the bloodstained dirt. following the smears, they soon enter a room decorated with an exit sign. staying close to the wall he watches as the old woman starts turning each key in its lock. before she can get to the last one the women both turn towards the door. whipping his head to the side, he panics as red fills his vision. he looks up and dread fills his abdomen as that old lady's son comes into focus. while they talk he slowly makes his way towards the door. he manages to squeeze himself between junhee and the old lady. his back pressed against her babbling baby. holding the knife, tight, he raises it to his waist. his stance hunched and knees bent, ready.
"You can't hurt him, you'll be eliminated."
she doesn't want to watch yongsik die, even through his threats to her life. he pauses and look back at her. this moment of reflection interrupted when he's shoved to the side. falling, he slams his head against the colorful wall. his vision blurs as he focuses on junhee attempting to protect her baby. the son is standing, talking, his knife raised like he's about to strike. he's standing when the old lady lets down her hair. he doesn't even blink before the woman is plunging her hairpiece into her son's back. he watches with barely concealed glee at the devastating scene playing out before him.
slinking behind the son with one arm out, the other grips the knife as he presses against junhee again. her soft cries vibrating up his spine as the timer clicks 00:00. the man weakly calls out for his mom as he falls to his knees. she cups his cheeks in a moment he shields junhee from, her gathering him into her arms as she cries out for the son she hasn't even lost yet. he watches, something deep stirring in the recesses of his heart. glances are exchanged between everyone as guards take aim. the old lady yells at them to take pity on her son.
dropping the knife into the dirt he turns and shields junhee fully from the gunfire that fills the room with the smell of burnt metal. cupping her, he makes sure the baby is sandwiched between them so nothing can come between them. looking back he never takes his eyes off the scene playing out behind his back. junhee on the other hand can't help but stare through the junkie, trying her hardest to figure out why exactly he's helping her.
she ends up sandwiched between mrs. jang who stares down at the floor and the junkie who keeps guard behind her back. halfway down the stairs her ankle gives out on her. a pained grunt and she's falling forward. strong hands stop her from hurting herself further. guided to sit, she hands off the baby to mrs. jang as the junkie gently raises her pant leg.
"When did this happen?"
"Before I gave birth."
"It's bad, you have to stay off your feet. Here."
he stands and helps her up. her arms wrapped around his neck while his hold her close to his hip. he slowly guides her down the stairs and through hallways until they reach that familiar green hallway with the ugly submarine door at the end. guiding her through the door he catches mg coin staring with confusion as they all walk through the oversized room with dwindling beds. helping her up and into bed he makes sure her baby is resting comfortably in her arms before feeling off. going for the cross he finds nothing but his own heartbeat resting against his clavicle. frowning he goes through his jacket, pockets and finally pulling off his jacket to, hopefully, shake the necklace into existence.
"She's just hungry."
he doesn't wait to listen to more, moving away from the new mother he walks past mg coin and up to the triangle guards standing by the door. he tries to calmly explain that he simply needs to be let through. he just forgot something, that's all. just a simple request. he shouts at the guard to let him through. his resolve quickly dwindling as the drugs slowly wear off. try to explain how he needs that cross, just give him five minutes he'll find it. lunging forward he grabs at the guards gun, them easily pushing him to the floor as they stand over him. barrel pushed inches from his cowering form. arms raised, defensively, as he refuses to look at the machine.
a few moments tick past before he's forcefully righted and shoved away from the door. stumbling, he beelines straight for that old lady and the new mother, his head kept down. by the time he reaches then pink suited guards are entering the room. taking a defensive seat on the edge of the bed, he watches warily as they congratulate everyone who survived. he listens to the baby who was finally silent as it drinks its fill. he frowns and wrings his hands together as they begin to set up for the voting process. turning back he watches as junhee adjusts herself, the old lady goes on to show her how to properly burp and swaddle her baby without help. with a tender hand he reaches out and runs them over the little ones head. junhee looks over at him, then down at his hand as she allows him these gentle touches.
"What's your name?"
the old lady asks softly as she watches his shaky hands attempt to stay still. he yanks them back and presses his thumb into his palm before closing his fist around it. she tilts her head waiting for an answer.
"Nam-gyu."
"Nam-gyu. I'm Jang Geum-ja, and this is-."
"Jun-hee."
everyone pauses and looks down at him. he keeps his eyes forward, scanning the room. he doesn't want to explain himself, tell them he knew she was pregnant before she even joined a team. he just wanted to get rid of this feeling deep inside of him, needed to remove it. protect that baby and it's mother at all costs even if it meant his death. the guards dim the lights and he lifts his head enough to glance at the piggybank hovering out of reach. he doesn't pay attention to which number is called, simply absorbing information until his body feels the pull to vote.
he's only the fifth person to go and it shows with how little votes for leaving there is. he prays that more people will want to leave, give everyone here a real chance at living. wiping flecks of blood off his clothes he watches as the voting board clicks up as minsu votes to stay. if he wasn't so warm he would have thought about that a little longer. instead he turns around to watch as mrs. jang goes on to cry and beg for junhee and her baby to be let out. the rest of the votes are met with quiet sobbing as mrs. jang kneels on the floor, devastated. once the voting is completed he absentmindedly walks up to junhee, using his dwindling strength he helps her to bed.
he can feel eyes on him but he doesn't care, especially not when mg coin and junhee shared such a intimate stare. he chews on his bottom lip and thinks back to all the information he's gathered about her. he'll sit on the floor closest to junhee and be able to better protect despite the exhaustion settling in his bones. glancing around the room, he blinks rapidly before settling in on minsu. he spends a moment removing some hair from junhees eyes. she furrows her brows at him but doesn't immediately slap him away. when she does finally smack his hand away he's giving her a giddy laugh. moving his hands in the air he points to her chest.
"Is it weird? To feed a baby?"
"Don't ask me that."
"Come on, I'm just trying to make conversation."
"No you're being a freak."
he groans and rolls his eyes, pointing at her he purses his lips.
"You're just all hormonal. That's how my sister was when she gave birth."
"You have a sister?"
"Had."
"It was just you two?"
"My dad probably has more kids but I haven't seen him since... I think I was seven when he left."
he shrugs and chews on the nail of his thumb. she smiles, a soft sadness.
"I was seven when my mom died. Ten when my dad left."
"I could have guessed that. Pregnant at twenty-five in a death game. You had to have come from fucked up beginnings."
she scoffs and slams her fist into his shoulder. the baby coos and she holds it closer to her chest. making small noises to calm it down. mrs. jang interrupts their conversation with boiled potatoes. she hands them off and he weighs one in his hand. taking both he places them into junhees container. instead he sips on the water despite the overwhelming thirst burning at his throat. he was coming down much too quickly.
"I'm sorry, it's all because of me."
he looks over to see tears fall down junhees chubby cheeks. his heart beats loudly in his ears and thinks about getting up and leaving. instead he stays seated and watches the short conversation between junhee and mrs. jang. during their conversation he winds up on the floor, chin resting on his knees as he takes another sip of water. he collects their trash and discards it. taking a moment to think on his own before joining them. settling back on the floor, mrs. jang is gently running her nails through junhees hair. watching them he can feel his sister's fake acrylics running down his scalp. once the lights start going down is when he struggles to stay awake. the dull glow of the bank keeps him relaxed drifting off. he watches through blurry eyes as mrs. jang gets out of bed and pad silently over to that nutjob 456. he doesn't hear much of their conversation before darkness overtakes him and he falls asleep curled into a ball on the floor.
Gonna kms I'm rewatching Squid Game rn and noticed the date on Junho's phone said November 4th. That's my birthday you're telling me my glorious kind dae-ho, my glorious queen hyun ju and geumja all DIED ON MY BIRTHDAY?
”Laws of motion.” Cho Hyun-Ju centric fic˚₊‧꒰ა ☆ ໒꒱ ‧₊˚
Summary: “Her heart, her tired, human heart, was the one part of her body that had not yet failed her.”
A look over one’s shoulder is a simple motion. But what could such a turn mean for the woman doing it? And what could it do to the hellish world around her? Because if Cho Hyun-Ju was anything, it was a force to be reckoned with. Hyun-Ju turns around as Myung-Gi approaches her in hide and seek, what happens then? What ripple effects would such a thing have on the games and the people participating?
Rating: Mature
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
Hi there! I am CheessCharlatan, and I’m here to offer you my humble story. Do you want found family? Do you want Hyun-Ju to get a second chance? Do you want actions with consequences, injuries that actually affect our characters? Do you want ideological struggles, trans acceptance, an active In-Ho and added stakes to the games of season 3? All that, without smut or shipping? Then you’ve come to the right place!
Read the warnings and tags on ao3 to make sure it’s for you, but I hope my fellow Hyun-Ju lovers will enjoy this. This isn’t a fix it nobody dies story, this isn’t a retelling or rewrite for the sake of it. This is changing one action, and seeing what follows. And rest assured, it won’t feel like watching season 3 again. Things will change for everyone — from Hyun-Ju, to In-Ho, to Min-Su.
Here’s the thumbnail for the cover I patched together in procreate 😁 Happy reading!
I LITERALLY GHASPED NOT THAT DARKLINA SCENE ON THE DASH
i actively dislike these books! i am not going to watch the show, but from what i’ve seen, i’m pretty sure i would hate it, too. lbardugo owes actual russians all of her royalties for misrepresenting their culture SO severely. having said that:
