Chapter Text
Walking into the room, Gihun counts through all the hiders, finally realising what it’s like to be on the receiving end of this game. stressing on whether or not he and his family will make it past the full 30 minutes. For once, Gihun is happy to be in danger, and happy Junhee also receives a red ball. Making it one less person he needs to worry about, and right now, he’ll just focus on staying alive. As more and more people walk out into the room, he quickly meets up with Guemja and Hyun-ju, both ladies trying to organise a plan, not yet acknowledging Gihun.
He invites himself into the conversation, rattling off different ideas. Pushing every other thought away, burying the more painful ones, like Daeho and Junhee's outcome. The two would help and protect each other. It’s easier for Gihun to play if he doesn’t think about the ‘what ifs’
“We could hide, find a room, and barricade the door.” With 3 bodies holding a door shut, no one will be able to break through on their own. The two ladies nod, continuing to discuss different plans, until the robotic voice starts explaining the game rules once more. Gihun looks towards the speaker above the entrance, his eyes drift downwards. Watching as the final contestants walk through the door. Limping at the very end of the group is Junhee, cradling her stomach.
“What are you doing, stupid, brave, stupid girl! Go back in, swap for the red bib again, you’re in no condition to run!” Gihun reaches Junhee in 3 large steps, giving her a couple of firm shakes to really project his anger. After he pulls her into a tight hug, of course, she can’t go back in to swap it’s much too late for that.
“You two! Junhee, Gihun, come quick, play this game with us, let’s hide.” Hyunju pulls Junhee away, with Gihun settling at the end of the group. The team moves further and further from the start, other hiders being sparse, and the only sound is the echoing of footsteps. The fatigue hits them quickly, like a load of bricks, as the group becomes more exhausted. Impacting Junhee more so than the others, as her steps seem sloppier and she is wobbling back and forth. The group tries to push forward, ignoring the panic and screams that echo out through the halls of the maze. Junhee stops for a breath, taking a second too long, causing Geumja to roughly grab her arm.
“Come along! We don’t have time to stop; we must keep going. Don’t think about the ache, just imagine the outcome of us going to eat dinner all together in our bunks.”
Geumja smiles lovingly at her as she slowly starts to pull Junhee along. Her feet are rooted on the floor, refusing to move.
“I can’t! I just can’t, leave me behind, my feet hurt so much I’ll surely crumple with one more step, please Geumja.” Junhee cries out, voice shaking as she leans against a wall. Geumja shakes her head and starts to pull Junhee further down the hall, ignoring her pleas. The situation is life or death, and no one is going to leave the pregnant Junhee alone.
Gihun steps forward, planning to stop wasting time. He scoops Junhee up, adjusting his hold as he’s carrying her bridal style. Her body relaxes slightly, and she leans her head against his chest. Gihun catches up to Hyunju, ignoring the questioning looks from Geumja as the lady is left in the dust. Their group continues forward, successfully avoiding anyone wearing a red vest for the first 10 minutes. During which Gihun can feel his breath starting to even, and the group slows to a light jog, feeling safer, more confident.
Gihun begins to lead the team, still with Junhee tucked firmly against himself, his hands supporting her head, which lies on his shoulder. Throughout their walk, the pair starts to talk softly, Junhee complaining about her exhaustion and stress. Again, she’s being weighed down by her fear of the game and its outcome. Gihun happily becomes her legs, her back, and her support, continuing to move further from the dangers of the game. Hyunju is behind them, holding Geumja’s hand as they engage in their own private conversation; it’s comforting.
Just as he turns a corner, Gihun is overwhelmed with 3 different emotions. The first is shock, another hider has shoved Gihun over, trying his hardest to escape a red player. The second emotion is fear, as he’s forced to face the possibility of potentially dying from the seeker. The chance to restart the loop is high, and Gihun would lose all the work he’s made towards building their family. He’d be forced to relive this game once more, forced to repeat his previous actions to build up the trust he has with his teammates. The final emotion he feels is relief. Gihun is happy, not because of the looming threat but because of Hyunju's ability to act swiftly and pull Junhee up off the floor. Hyunju places her to the side and goes to pull Gihun up as well. They start to reorganise themself, but player 226 walks into their hallway. The man is wielding a spotless knife, eyes lighting up as he spots the group. A manic smile plastered on his face, he stalks down the corridor.
Obviously, the man assumes their group is weak because of Junhee and Geumja, but he’ll be proven wrong soon enough. Their team starts running, with 226 quickly gaining on them, the weight of Junhee and Geumja slowing them down. Gihun joins the end of the line, watching as Hyunju slows herself at a fork in the maze, deciding to go left. Gihun looks behind as 226 unrelenting and fueled by bloodlust nearly reaches the group, almost in slashing distance. There’s only one way out, and Gihun prays to God that his plan will work, to buy the group just a bit more time. He flips around and shoves the seeker’s shoulder firmly, 226 wobbles, he doesn’t completely fall, but is momentarily stunned. He doesn’t waste time stopping to see 226 recover; Gihun breaks into a sprint. He approaches the fork and turns right – Anything to protect his girls.
—
Gihun runs fast, faster than he’s ever run before, quicker than in Red Light Green Light, quicker than a school race, and significantly faster than a Squid Game tournament from his childhood. There’s no wind blowing his hair around, only the air reacting with each twist and turn, making his hair spike up in all different ways. He looks like shit, but it doesn’t matter, he's alive.. Gihun’s lungs burn, his feet ache, the muscles in his calves feel painfully tight, but still the agony continues to be worth it. The footsteps stopped echoing minutes ago; instead, Gihun heard a singular scream and the deafening sound of the robotic voice.
Gihun should feel bad, definitely should feel even a little bit guilty. He could have stopped to save the player, or even led 226 towards a different section of the maze. No matter how Gihun played this game, there will always be another player forced to die so Gihun may win. He continues to walk through the halls, hoping he might run back into the others or even meet up with Daeho, the man yet to complete his objective. As it turns out, nothing matters because Gihun soon runs into the girls, or more accurately, player 124, Namgyu, who helped Gihun find them first.
The man is stalking behind the group as the ladies hobble to a door, slowly approaching as Hyunju seems to be supporting more injured Junhee, who flinches with each step. Of course, Gihun knows how this works, having lived through this timeline before, only with a different, arguably more disturbing mission. Player 124 must have killed Hyunjun, snuck up on her and stabbed her in the back as she helped two vulnerable players. Gihun smiles. It’ll be a simple fix with his help. Hyunju will survive game 4 and help protect their makeshift family.
Gihun really doesn’t want to draw attention by yelling or fighting, as it would put the others at risk. Slowing down to silently take off his shoe, Gihun reels his hand back before throwing it forward. The shoe flips around in the air before making contact with the back of Namgyu’s head. The throw is near flawless, as it bounces off his skull.
Namgyu is instantly distracted as his hands fling up to cradle his head. The man flings himself around. In the distance, Gihun sees the girls turn the corner, walking to what will hopefully be safety.
“OW-MOTHER FUCK. ahahh gramps, thinking of saving the ladies!? I want to see their doll eyes, DON’T take my dolls! Let me see… your… eyes.” Namgyu bursts into hysterics. He twirls his knife around, slightly getting himself in the side of his head with the blade, but he still continues to laugh. The speakers then crackle to life, cutting off Namgyu as he continues his fit of laughter. This time, the voice isn’t hideous; it’s music to Gihun’s ears as it announces, “Player 344 eliminated, player 388 pass.“
124 hums as he stalks towards him, slowly shuffling his feet. His hand is holding the cut on his face, blood seeping through the gaps of his fingers. Gihun walks backwards, flinching as Namgyu drops the knife, the blade cluttering against the floor, but still 124 continues flicking his wrist– almost like he hasn’t dropped the knife. Namgyu picks up the pace, not quite jogging but still rushing over to Gihun, stopping his humming, and he licks his lips nervously.
He doesn’t wait to find out what Namgyu wants. Gihun ignores the ache in his bones and spins around. He runs towards an empty part of the maze, hoping to run into a clearing or anything to give him the advantage against the druggie. He will do anything to protect his girls.
Gihun feels the air leave his lungs as Namgyu spear tackles him, all the weight pushing him forward. The rocks and dirt scratch the front of his face, and warm droplets of blood trickle down. It burns, but Gihun can only focus on how Namgyu flips him over, feeling up his face and dusting away some loose stones that have been buried in his flesh.
“Ah, no, I’m sorry, pops. I didn’t mean to hur- dust in your eyes, doll, doll eyes mh. Yeah dusty! Hahh, I will clean your dolly eyes. Lemme just-” Namgyu begins to straddle his hips, reaching up towards his eyes, hands clenched like he’s wielding the knife. Gihuna, for the second time, is stunned as the drugged man brings his arm down almost in a stabbing motion; there's just enough time to move his eye out of the hitting range. Namgyu’s fist collides with the left side of his face, hitting a tiny pit of Gihun's eye, which immediately starts to tear up at the sting.
“Uh huh, uhh ohh I dropped it. Sorry, Grampop, I’ll make it quick to get your eyes!”
Namgyu’s hands inch around his neck, closing and shaking his throat roughly, strangling the life out of Gihun, and he lets it happen. Next time, once he starts the loop again, he’ll find a weapon, killing this fucker before he even catches a glimpse of the others. Gihun starts to see spots, big black ones that cover up Namgyu’s face, his consciousness slipping further and further away from him.
Gihun came to the conclusion that this was what death by strangulation was like. A heavyweight with gurgling followed by the silky release of his life. It was simple to die again, knowing he would come back, he would be better, stronger, smarter, and more determined than before. As Gihun’s eyes close, the weight is lifted off his abdomen.
Gihun is instantly choking for air, the body of Namgyu is lying on the floor next to him, the shove having forced Gihun onto his left side, his face getting more scratched as they rolled over. Crawling over to the closest wall, Gihun rests himself against it, watching as Namgyu gets pinned on the floor. Daeho is straddling his hips, leaning down over his teammate with a look of pure fury hidden behind his eyes.
“Stop Gi- I mean 456 is my kill!” Daeho growls out, shoving against Namgyu’s shoulder, digging him further into the rocks. “Fuck off- please.” A glob of spit lands next to Namgyu's head as he leans to his side, coughing up some blood. Namgyu is smirking, as blood drips into his mouth and trails down his chin.
Namgyu raises his hands in surrender, struggling to work around the man still hovering over his body. “I’m -rry Daeh, didn’t know he was yours. Won’t touch him anymore, you take. Help me find Myungi- nah, no, he’s close, never mind.” Namgyu chuckles as he rambles to himself, ignoring how Daeho was off of him in an instant, walking over to Gihun’s side. Namgyu runs back into the maze, thankfully in the other direction, further away from his girls.
—
Daeho rubs at Gihun’s face nervously, removing caked-up blood and rocks. In return, Gihun finds himself cupping Daeho’s cheek, noticing that bruises are forming on the younger man's neck and around his face. Both men stand against the wall, silently catching their breath. Gihun tucks a strand of hair back behind Daeho’s ear and slings an arm around his shoulder.
“Thank you, Daeho, you saved me, but how did you know I was there?” They both walk closer towards the vague direction he saw the ladies go. Choosing to break the silence and ease the fidgety Daeho. “Hopefully not my very manly smell.” It’s a bad joke, a poor attempt to cut through all the tension, Daeho laughs, probably out of pity, but still Gihun can’t bring himself to care.
“The girls, I mean, they pointed me towards you, after Hyunju totally saved my ass. I was so worried, sir. I remembered you telling me to be strong, but I couldn’t kill him. Then I got jumped pa, player 344, hands around my throat, killing me before I got him, it’s fair- I would have done the same.” Daeho brings his hand out, pointing down towards another hallway, deciding to steer them instead of both men walking aimlessly.
“I would have died, sir, not only from 344 but because I didn’t- couldn’t eliminate anyone, I couldn’t. Hyunju saved me. I was panicking, muttering shit- couldn’t do it, god Hyunju don’t make me, I can’t kill another. She watched it all before letting me catch my breath. She wrapped her hands around mine, bringing down the knife on the unconscious 344. She saved me, Dad. I owe her everything.”
Daeho chuckles wetly, stopping to stare into Gihun's bruised face, a hand tracing the forming black eye. A hand brushes the grazes that frame his eyes, cheek, and mouth; it stings but feels so loving at the same time. Gihun realises then that he’d make sure nothing ever happens to his makeshift family, fucking nothing.
“Junhee, she’s giving birth… They made me leave. I didn’t want to- I don’t regret it- I don’t because it helped you, but Junhee needs help. I had to leave. I left Hyunju my knife; they should be ok, but still. I- I don’t know, let’s just get over there.
Gihun perks up slightly, nodding enthusiastically, tilting his head at the mention of Junhee and her birth. He’s excited to meet the cute bug- obviously, but he wishes they could stop the birth and wait until the end of the game. Babies don’t work like that, but let a man wish for his pseudo-daughter to be in a slightly safer place. In response, Daeho smiles, before taking off, both men start jogging through the maze, inching closer towards their makeshift family.
His heart is racing, but his limp is refusing to cooperate as he follows behind. The injury makes it harder to catch up to the able-bodied Daeho; on top of that, he’s struggling to focus past all the excitement and anxiety. The halls all look the same as Gihun passes by quickly, until he’s forced to stop suddenly, not his own choice, but stopped by Daeho, who is frozen in place. Gihun steps to the side, mentally preparing to fight another player in order to reach his kids. His breath stutters.
About 10 metres down the hall is Namgyu brutally stabbing another player, and 5 metres closer is 333 holding a bloodied knife. There is a pair of feet sticking out from the door, similar in size to Hyunju's. Myungi is heavily breathing, borderline hyperventilating. In the distance, the baby sniffles, and Gihun surges forward. Once more, Gihun is landing on the floor, but this time he is the one with the upper hand; a pink knife clatters to the floor next to them.
Before anyone can stop him, Gihun is wailing on 333, punching him again and again. There's shuffling behind him, but he doesn’t stop. The door closes before instantly being painted with blood. Gihun ignores it, landing another hit on Myungi’s face, smacking into his nose, followed by a sickening crack. He hits him again. The blood, gunk, and a chipped tooth are pooling together on the floor. Geumja is sobbing slightly at the sight, cradling a silent baby closer to her chest, all while Myungi is dying.
A hand presses to his elbow, pulling back in order to prevent one more hit. Gihun almost shoves the interruption away when Junhee’s voice, swollen and broken, cries out.
“Stop, Dad! Please stop, you’ll kill him.”
This voice is ruined, but still it lands in his ears like honey, clogging up his canals until his rage subsides suddenly. His fists refuse to move, and his legs wobble as he looks towards Junhee. The girl is crying, snot leaking past her mouth, and she whimpers at the sight of her ex-lover.
“Of course,- I-I’m sorry, Junhee, please forgive me.” Gihun looks up, imagining how he must look; if he had kept his long hair, it would be knotted together into dread, purely from having run for this entire game. Gihun’s sense of justice is strong, but no matter what, he will respect the wishes of Junhee, who now asks him to spare the killer of a dear friend.
Junhee pulls Gihun away; she’s limping- ‘was she always injured or had something happened?’- and crouches down closer to 333. She picks up his tooth and places it in the battered man’s hands, closing them for him. She lifts up, heaving Myungi into an almost sitting position. The player groans loudly, and the stabbing sounds outside stop.
“The amazing Myungi? Hello?” A knock on the door, Namgyu returns for seconds. Gihun stills, and Daeho burns a slight shade of pink. Myungi lets out one last groan.
“If you care for the baby and me, you will lead him away.” Junhee helps Myungi stand, placing a hand over his mouth to stop him from complaining. The man simply nods and stumbles out the door, Namgyu still clearly high, laughs at the sight, and scoops Myungi into a bridal hold.
“Poor Myungi! I will save you, princie! No need to worry about your pretty face. Fix yah like a dolly.” Namgyu looks into the room, sees Daeho, Gihun, the ladies, and the dead 120, he laughs obnoxiously, loud and long. He closes the door, continuing to laugh. The sound is rude, just like Namgyu's, but at least it provides a way to determine where he is, and from the sound of it, the duo is quite far away.
Gihun drops to the floor, and Junhee follows him, dragging the man into a huge hug, almost trying to crush his bones. Gihun allows it the comfort; he’s bloody, bruised, and probably looks fucked up, but he lets his girl sob into his shoulder. The baby begins to fuss, Geumja rocks her softly, humming the tune that plays every morning in the games.
“The baby is hungry, and she’ll start to cry soon. Hyunju told us she found an exit; we need to leave, for her.” Geumja points out, watching as the sweet bub grumbles at the lack of singing, both of them have tears in their eyes; in fact, everyone has shed at least one tear in this game.
“Of course, the baby.” Gihun putters, looking up at the pair standing strong over the crumpled remains of a once beloved player, friend, and protector. Daeho is leaning against the wall, looking down at the body of Hyunji. He’s shaking, not saying anything, his eyes look glassy, and his fingers tremble at his sides. “Dae? Cmon, can you please help Geumja and the baby?” This seems to snap him out of his stupor, and he agrees, grabbing the baby- he doesn’t stop shaking.
“No, son, like this.” Geumja reaches out and adjusts his hold on the baby, ensuring the head is supported well. “Keep the head supported; the baby has little to no strength in her neck.” Daeho just nods, going deathly silent. He doesn’t move his hands anymore; the trembling seems to stop once Daeho begins to rock the baby softly.
Gihun stands, hauling a sobbing Junhee up with him, keeping her head tucked under his chin, maybe for her own comfort or for his own selfish encouragement. Junhee’s shaking frame serves as a reminder of why his life is important; if Namgyu had killed him, no one would be there to protect either kid. The group shuffles towards the door, Geumja stopping to grab the keys from Hyunju’s corpse, and she places all three over Daeho’s neck. They leave the knife, walking out into the halls, no one wanted to use a blade contaminated with the blood of their friend. They follow the rough direction Hyunju went, praying they find the exit before a hunter finds them.
—
Their group got both lucky and unlucky at the same time, depending on how you viewed it. On one hand, they spent the last 10 minutes avoiding any and all hunters left, but on the other, they hadn’t found anything resembling the exit. In this hallway, the group had one more room that needed to be checked. one room, one minute, and one final goal. Escape.
Daeho leads, humming a tune for the baby as he unlocks the door and uses his shoulder to gently push the door open. He’s careful of the baby resting up against that arm. His eyes begin to water, breath speeding up as he looks towards the glowing room. The party music begins to soothe the baby, and they all file into the room, Daeho immediately reaching for the keys wrapped around his neck.
He works to unlock the door, then enters it with the baby, saving the newest and youngest member. After that, Gihun enters with an injured Junhee. Her ankle swollen beyond belief and bones jutting out awkwardly, Gihun places her down with tender care, pressing a kiss to the crown of her hair.
Afterwards, Gihun exits the safe room, set to help Geumja, who must have fallen behind. Just outside the exit, he sees Yong-sik the worm,with his knife lifted up and eyes squeezed shut, the angle ensuring he’d stab Geumja straight through his shoulder. He looks prepared, ready to kill his mother. Still, he is unable to look his problems in the eye, even as he’s ready to destroy what he loves most in the world.
“I’m sorry, Ma- I-I just don’t want to die!”
His hands shake, Geumja reaches her hand up to stabalise the quivering knife. Yong-sik flinches at the contact; he looks equally ready to drop the knife and prepared to use it.
“Do it, my son, there is no need to worry, I have lived my life.”
Yong-sik cries, and before he starts to act, he’s whispering softly. “I’m sorry, Ma- God I’m sorry.” slowly but surely bringing the dagger down. Gihun tries to act faster, running over to push Guemja away, the frail lady sent tumbling to the floor with a gasp. Young-sik doesn’t react, the knife getting caught on Gihun’s arm, a gash oozing from his shoulder.
Geumja is still lying on the floor, shaking her head as if it’s impossible to comprehend what's just happened. The clock slowly ticks down, from a bolded 00:02 to a flickering 00:01 and finally to a glaring 0, signaling the end of the fourth game. Yong-sik never got his first kill, and in retribution, two guards came in guns pointed at the man wearing a red vest. He is shot, directly in the back of his head, the bullet passes through his skull and shoots out between his eyes. Yongsik dies before his body even hits the floor.
Everything passes in a blur. He had saved the old lady, but in return, he forced another man to die. Would this impact how the time loop plays out? Did Gihun fuck up? Geumja believes so; she doesn’t stop crying, refuses to make eye contact, and stays huddled close to Junhee and her child.
Gihun tries not to let this impact his perspective on her. He understands her pain, which is exactly what he explained at dinner time while they sat together eating.
“You are a strong woman. I wouldn’t be able to keep going without my daughter. I’m sure you don’t want to talk with me. I’m sorry, I couldn’t let you die. Junhee needed you, I need you.” Gihun pushes an extra potato towards her, attempting to make amends. Geumja spat at him, like he was gum beneath her shoe.
“Yong-sik needed me, and you fucking got him killed.” She hits him, nothing too rough, but the intention stings more. Gihun rarely has hate directed at him, but as the elder storms off, he now understands what it is to be resented. Geumja rushes to sit next to Junhee; her presence soothes the new mother, and she eats her dinner away from the men. The group had survived, shattered and empty, but still they survived.