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"They will try to kill you and the baby tomorrow. Kill them first. That is the best choice you can make right now."
Gi-hun stared at the familiar face in front of him.
He was hearing the words, but everything sounded muffled, as though he had dunked his head underwater and asked a friend to whisper a secret to him to see if he would still hear it.
"What the fuck is this," Gi-hun gasped out after a moment, hand trembling violently while still holding onto the knife. "Is this some kind of joke?! You think this absolves you of anything?!"
There'd been a hollow in his chest since he lost Jung-Bae and Young-il, Young-il who stirred something in his chest, who'd made made him feel something for the first time in a long time - since he made so many ill-fated decisions, one after the other - but that hollow was now filling with gut-wrenching rage.
"Is that what you all do?!" Gi-hun continued his tirade, eyes never leaving that fucking face he thought he would never see again. He can feel his pulse jumping erratically but there was nothing that would be able to calm him down at this point. "Is 001 always an infiltrator? Some way for you disgusting people to get off on being part of the games while never being in danger?! Is Young-il even your name?! Was anything you told me even real?!"
"My name," the Frontman interrupted, "is Hwang In-ho. My wife and child... died while I was in the games. And I'm giving you that knife because it was the same choice given to me years ago."
Gi-hun's knees buckled. He held onto the back of the chair in front of him, memories replaying almost clearly in front of his eyes.
Hwang Jun-ho. The man who wanted to find his brother at all costs.
He knew.
"Hwang Jun-ho," he whispered. "He knew. He knew you had become... this."
In-ho nodded solemnly. "I shot him," he said, as if that meant nothing. "I had someone fish him out of the water, patch him up. That same person is keeping him away from here."
Gi-hun didn't think his will could break any further. They were set up from the beginning. They were never going to make a difference here.
He was going to die in this nightmare, and it was all for nothing.
"You were given this choice," Gi-hun looked at the knife clutched tightly between his fingers, "when you were in the games. You took it."
In-ho nodded again.
"And you still decided to become this." There was what seemed to be an endless cycle of rage and despair battling where his heart was meant to be. "You survived this nightmare and you became a monster. How? How could you have lived through this and decided you wanted to inflict the same terror onto other people?!"
"Because humans are trash," In-ho grit out, hands gripping the armrests of his seat. The question had clearly triggered something in him, his calm demeanor slowly evaporating. "This is what these games prove. You've seen it yourself. Humans are trash, they will do anything if they can profit off of it."
"Are you any better?! You hide up here with these rich monsters, you make bets and watch people kill each other for your own amusements. You plan these fucking games and tell yourself you're better, because what? Because you have money?! Because you tell yourself that all humans are trash, but you're above them for admitting it?! Let me tell you something," Gi-hun seethed, knife pointing at In-ho. "Those so-called VIPs, you mean nothing to them. They would just as soon get rid of you the same way they get rid of players the moment they get bored of you. You mean nothing to them."
"I don't need to mean anything to them," In-ho agreed. "You can kill me now, I can easily be replaced -"
"Death would be too kind an end for you," Gi-hun spat out.
"You would do the same in my position - "
"NO!" Gi-hun roared.
"You let all those people die, it was part of your plan -"
"And I will live with that decision for the rest of my short life." Because he knew for certain now. He would never leave this island. "But don't you dare compare what I did to end these games to the torture you inflict on hundreds of people every year for the sake of amusement. You have no fucking right."
Gi-hun's skin was stretched tight around his feelings, he didn't know what to do with himself. He was suffocating, living through a nightmare he would never wake up from and he was never going to leave this island.
"Those VIPs of yours, they're the real trash," Gi-hun felt the fight leave him. Despair had won over. "And so are you. If you had any kind of decency, if you were ever once human, you would rid the world of them and yourself."
Gi-hun sheathed the knife and turned to leave. What else was there to do?
"Player 456," In-ho called out. "Do you still have faith in people?"
Gi-hun let out a broken laugh. "What even is faith?" he mumbled to himself and continued walking.
***
Gi-hun looked at the tip of the knife against the old man's neck.
In-ho was right.
It would be so easy to do it. To kill all of them and save the baby. Save the baby and walk out of here, escape this nightmare and never return.
In-ho was right.
These games were never going to end. He would never be able to stop them.
What was the point.
What was the point.
The point.
Gi-hun withdrew, breath shaky, tears spilling down his face.
The point was this.
He sheathed the knife, placed it in his pocket, and slowly limped back to the bassinet.
He lifted the baby into his arms and climbed onto his bed, leaning his back against the wall.
He looked down at her, her small face and her smaller hands. His daughter had been that small at the beginning too.
He wished he could've seen her one last time.
Taking a deep breath, he started.
"Let me tell you about the world," he whispered, staring down at the bundle in his arms. "It's not always like this," he smiled through tears, broken.
"Outside," he continued, rocking her gently, "there's the sky, way above us. On a nice day, it'll be blue. So blue, you can't tell it apart from the ocean below it."
"In the sky, there's a giant star called the sun. During the day, It gives us life, keeps us warm. Even on darker days, when it's hidden away behind wisps of clouds, it will sometimes shine through, like it's winking at us."
"At night, there are smaller stars that make up a painting so beautiful, you can't look away. Sometimes, you'll see the moon, glowing so bright you would think it was trying to light the way for you, even during the deepest of nights."
"Below the sky, there's the earth. That's where we are, where we live," he continued rocking her, tears still dripping. "It's filled with so much life, from the smallest of creatures like ants, to the biggest you can imagine, elephants and giraffes that tower over you."
"Beyond the earth, there's the ocean. So blue, so cold, but on a warm day, the sand will tickle your feet as you walk along the coast."
And on he continued, until his voice cracked and his throat ached. But he wouldn't stop. Not until he had to.
***
Gi-hun stared at the counter that hadn't started, Myung-gi's body already twisted down below.
He choked down a laugh.
At least he would be keeping this promise.
He sniffled, rubbing his sleeve against his face to catch errant tears, and stepped forward, pressing his foot against the button.
"The final round has begun. You now have ten minutes."
Gi-hun walked over to the baby, and took her in his arms.
He turned away from the window, the one he knew the VIPs stood behind. They didn't deserve his attention, not anymore. Young-il, no In-ho, didn't deserve it either.
He sat down carefully, cradling her to his chest.
"Let me tell you about the world," he started again, voice cracking. "It's not always like this."
"I'm sorry your first sounds were gunshots and screams. You'll be able to hear the song of birds when you leave here, the soothing rustle of wind in the trees."
"I'm sorry the first emotions you felt were fright and terror. Know that you were loved, even during so brief a time. Know that we tried, so many of us, to keep you safe."
"More than anything though," he choked down a sob, "I'm sorry to leave you in this world, alone. It's not always like this, but that's difficult to remember sometimes. This world may be broken right now, and it may not deserve you yet, but I hope you can turn it into something beautiful one day."
He glanced up at the timer.
3 minutes left.
He exhaled shakily. "You were loved," he repeated again, placing a gentle kiss to the baby's forehead. "I promise, you were loved."
Gi-hun gently placed her on the ground, made sure she was safely bundled up, kissed her forehead one last time. "Say hello to the sun for me," he whispered, heart palpitating. Standing up on shaky legs, he looked up at the timer again.
2 minutes left.
It was time. He didn't want to run the risk of endangering her more.
Keeping his eyes on her, he slowly backed up, step by step.
He would forever be here, trapped in a mausoleum of terror. But if he just kept his eyes on her until the end, maybe it wouldn't feel so suffocating.
1 minute, 30 seconds.
The back of his heel reached the edge. That was it.
He braced himself for the impending fall and lifted his foot.
BANG!
Glass shattered.
BANG!
Again.
A searing pain blossomed through the back of his right shoulder. The impact propelled him forward and he dropped to his knees, a sharp gasp escaping him.
"What," he mumbled, feeling blood trickling from the wound.
There was still 1 minute left on the clock.
"I have time," he wheezed. "There's still a minute!" He gasped, the pain spreading slowly, numbing his limbs. "There's still a minute," he tried to cry out again, eyes searching for the baby.
She was still where he left her, unharmed. But would she stay that way?
Should he go towards her, cover her with his body to keep her safe? Or should he jump off, make sure she was the only survivor left?
The timer continued counting down on the wall, and behind him, towards the viewing area, he could hear shouts and screaming, an alarm going off.
A third gunshot made up his mind.
He crawled forward, shielded the baby with his body.
She was crying, though he could barely hear it beyond the noise of all the alarms going off.
He hoped she would be OK.
The world went dark.
***
6 months later - LA
In-ho climbed into the back of the SUV, tinted windows hiding the other passenger from view.
As the car, pulled away, the other passenger spoke hesitantly.
"Was she alright?" Gi-hun asked quietly, looking out the window for another glimpse of his daughter.
"Are you sure this is what you want to do?" In-ho asked instead of giving a pointlessly obvious answer.
"It's better she thinks I'm dead, at least for now," Gi-hun finally looked away once the house was too far to stay in sight. "I can't risk them coming after her because they want me."
In-ho nodded, hesitating for a moment before, "We can still call it off," he stated in a small voice.
Gi-hun shook his head, swallowed. "No. I can't live like this, not when I know what I do." He straightened his shoulders, tried to pull himself together. "Will Seo-hee be safe with Jun-ho?"
"He'll raise her like she was his own," In-ho sighed. "I don't know if he'll agree to give her back when this is over. If we're still alive at that point."
Gi-hun didn't answer, but it was clear his thoughts were running along the same lines.
"When do these games start?" He asked after a moment.
In-ho glanced at his phone. "Recruitment should already be underway. We should move quick if we want to get started before anyone is on the island."
"Won't the VIPs get suspicious if you request they all show up before the games even start?" Gi-hun worried.
"Not if I tell them it's for a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity," In-ho scoffed. "No one knows what really happened to the games back home. As far as they're concerned, the coast guard found out by chance and many died in the evacuation process."
"Five very rich people die and no one bats an eye?" Gi-hun was skeptical.
"There are richer people to replace them," In-ho shrugged, wincing as the movement pulled on his old wound. One of those rich suckers nearly got him right in the heart with a very sharp knife. He was lucky his gun was faster.
"OK," Gi-hun sighed, "let's do it."
"First," In-ho looked around as they stopped at a red light, "we have to stop the recruiter." He nodded towards the alleyway.
Gi-hun leaned over to see.
In-ho held his breath as warmth seeped though his suit at the proximity.
"Hm. Not what I was expecting," Gi-hun mused out loud.
"Just don't get on her bad side before we need to. She has good aim."
"I seem to recall your aim being just as good," Gi-hun rolled his right shoulder.
In-ho looked down, swallowing past a lump in his throat. "You were too close to the edge. Needed to get you away from there fast."
"Right," Gi-hun scoffed, but at least it wasn't as cruel as it was five months ago. In fact, he even reached out and grasped In-ho's hand in his.
A small smile pulled at In-ho's lips.
He may never be fully forgiven, but he could try to do his best in the meantime.
"Right," Gi-hun grinned. "Time to kill some rich fuckers."