Chapter Text
At some point of her life, Gyueun Hye-jin didn't have anything. Actually, she did, but lost all of her money on horse races; then she got into trouble, with a dangerous creditor on her heels. When everything seemed lost, though, she managed to find a job, even if underpaid, and gradually repaid her debt. Then, she managed to join the police and worked hard, paving the way for a great career. She wasn't the only one. She got through it, but many people in the country still have economic issues and live at the edges of the society, with their position getting worse and worse by day. Many of these people got themselves into these circumstances by losing money on horse races or bets, just like happened to her. She's very grateful for her second chance, but can't stop thinking she didn't deserve it.
Her name meant "wise and truth". She was an honest girl, sure, but she didn't think of herself as very wise.
Anyway, she doesn't like to think too much about her past. Now she is okay, and she has to focus on what is happening now, not what happened before. She has a nice apartment. Not too expensive, but neither scruffy: she considers herself thrifty, but if someone ever called her stingy, she wouldn't object. However, this only works when she has to spend money on herself; she is quite generous towards other people. Not to talk about her job: superintendent in the police. When she was just an agent she developed a deep connection to the charge to "serve and protect", and this reflected on her work. But that doesn't mean it was easy. She made quite some friends at the station. Even though she can seem intimidating, she's quite a cheerful and friendly person, even if somewhat pessimistic. In particular, Hye-jin enjoys the company of Hwang Jun-ho, an attentive and calm detective- she admires him very much because of his determination. Sometimes they help each other investigating cases and, in the end, they make a nice duo.
Today Hye-Jin is going to work. Technically, it's her free day, but she usually never takes a day off work and, most importantly, Jun-ho has requested to see her to talk about something. "I just hope that it's not about that story again", she says to herself. Even though she hopes it isn't anything serious, she feels that something is going to happen. Something big. But, hopefully, she is just overthinking. Entering the office, she greets her colleagues and heads to her office, and to her surprise Jun-ho is already sitting on the chair in front of her desk.
"Good morning to you, too." she greets, while taking a seat on her chair. She takes a quick look to him, noticing his nervousness. "You look nervous... what did you want to talk about?" she asks, silently wishing nothing bad happened. A few minutes later, Hye-jin rolls her eyes. "You're really not letting this go, Jun-ho? Even after two years?" she replies.
A couple years before, Jun-ho disappeared, making Hye-jin incredibly worried. Some days later, he was found in the sea by a fisherman, with a bullet wound on his left shoulder. Her friend started repeating that story ever since. He talked about videos and photos he sent to his boss, who recieved none of them. At that point, they just assumed he was delirious, even if something was off. She knew him quite well, and his look was so fiery and sure that it didn't seem typical of a person in that state. And that bullet wound... suspicious. Anyway, she wasn't a doctor and eventually she convinced herself that, with some time, he would have given up on telling that story. Unfortunately, that didn't happen.
Hye-jin looks at her friend's face. His look is even more fiery than the first time- she hadn't seen him so sure of anything in all the time she has known him. "I know this is crazy" Jun-ho explains "but you've got to believe me. Do you think I would give up my job for a messed up tale?" he continues. He was right: he insisted to be transferred as a traffic assistant. When she asked him why, he replied that unlike before, he had all the evidence he needed to issue fines.
Hye-jin sighs. She is starting to think that, maybe, Jun-ho is telling the truth. "Let me get this straight. You're telling me there is a salesman who goes around in train stations playing ddakji with people. Said people always have got serious financial issues. Finished playing, this man gives them a business card with geometrical shapes and invites them to join similar games. These people get an address where they can go to be picked up, in case they want to join them. Most important detail, these games are extreme versions of kid's games, where you get killed if you lose. The winner of this event gains a lot of money. Have I got it?" she resumes, while trying to understand what Jun-ho had reported to her. "More or less" he replies simply. " You'd make a wonderful storyteller, Jun." she adds with a smile. "This is not a joke. I would never ask you to meet urgently just to tell you a messed up story. This is serious. I'm serious." Jun-ho affirmes, seeming annoyed by Hye-jin's assumption. Looking into his eyes again, Hye-jin becomes more convinced.
"Okay, okay. I get it. But I need proofs, have you got some?" she demands. " I don't rely on conjectures, you should know it. I don't have material proofs, but a valuable testimony." he answers confidently, putting on her desk a report and a file. She takes it and examines it. "Organised as always." she comments, flipping through the pages. " As I see, your informer is a man named Seong Gi-hun, 51 years. Who is him?" she requests, suspicious about the man's identity. "He is the winner of the games that took place three years ago. He is working hard to find a way to stop them, and I'm helping him." hearing this, Hye-jin raises an eyebrow "Why are you helping him, Jun? I mean, if this is all true, you're doing a wonderful thing, but why?" she asks, incredulously. At the beginning, Jun-ho doesn't know how to reply, but then he gets by with "I'm helping him because I can't ignore people in need dying ". Actually, he discovered that his disappeared brother became the frontman of said games, but nobody needs to know that. "That's the same reason you should help too." he adds. "That's what I don't get- help you, how?" Hye-Jin questions.
"You see, the games take place on an island, even though I don't know which. So the only solution is checking them all." Jun-ho explains. "It seems like a somewhat imaginative process to me!" Hye-jin comments "But the question is, how do you think to check them all? I mean, I can ask a couple favors and get the smaller islands checked, but how should you investigate on the others? We don't even have the certainty the games take place on a Korean island." Then points out. "Do you remember captain Park, the fisherman who saved me? I've asked him to help me find that island, since he has got thirty years of experience on the sea." the man reveals. Hye-jin is surprised. "How long have you been searching for it?" she curiously asks. "It's been two years." he replies. Hye-jin comes to a conclusion: if Jun-ho has spent two years looking for that island, that story can't be made up.
"Have you been searching for it with captain Park only, or have you got a team?" Hye-jin questions, as she is trying to understand his modus operandi until that moment. "It's been just the two of us until recently, but thanks to Gi-hun we are creating a squad." the man clarifies. "So you've been investigating different islands contemporary?" "No, not exactly. We've only got one drone technician, so we can't check an island before setting foot on it." Jun-ho explains. "Oh, I get your point. You suppose that those people have set traps on some islands, so you want to be careful. But with only one drone technician you're slowed down" Hye-jin points out. She wants to find a solution to the problem, but she can't come up with anything in this moment. "If it were up to me, I already would have formed multiple squads. But you already figured out the problem with the drone" Jun-ho explains. He looks genuinely frustrated, and Hye-jin is even more driven to help him.
"I'm currently still recruiting people, Hye-jin. And this is where you come in." Jun-ho explains again, hoping for her to understand what he means. "As I said, I can ask a few people to check the smaller islands... wait..." she affirms, then falls into deep thought. "No way, Jun-ho. This is a suicide mission!" she then exclaims, getting up from her chair. "If what that man said is true, a fact that I still consider questionable, those people are armed to the teeth." she guesses, waiting for Jun-ho's response. This is getting more unbelievable by the second.
"Look, Hye-Jin, I know this is dangerous. This is why I'm only recruiting reliable and skilled people. You're one of the best cops of the department, and beside your ability in quick thinking, you are also not bad in fighting. I wouldn't be asking you this if I thought you weren't up to par." the detective clarifies. "You're trying to convince me by flattering." the superintendent proclaims, with an hint of hilarity. Clearing his voice, as a silent scold, the man talks again, as Hye-jin sits down. "Hye, those people are dying. They need help, and they join those games because they think is a way for winning money easily, not knowing that the price for it can be death. What I'm asking you is extremely dangerous and I will get it if you're not convinced by it. But those people are desperate, their financial position is in the balance. Anyway, if you need to think about it, to clear up your ideas, or if you just don't want to do it, I respect your decision." Jun-ho concludes, to then bow to Hye-jin and head towards to door.
Hye-jin knows that she could mind her own business and pretend she doesn't know anything about this story. She knows she can go on with her life. She has earned it, she worked hard and got a second chance. But then she thinks about when she was on the sidewalks of Seoul, asking for alms, when no one cared about her. When she was alone in the world, and she wouldn't want to disturb her parents, who lived overseas. When she was struggling, only God was close to her, and through Him she found the strength to help herself- now that she was in the position of helping who is in the same situation she was, she's even considering looking away?
Hye-jin gets up from her chair. "Jun-ho. Wait." she almost pleads, her gaze on the floor. "I'm not saying I'm accepting, but... what do you expect me to do?" she asks quietly. When Jun-ho gets this serious, she's a bit intimidated. Even though she is one of his superiors, it always seems like he's the one in charge. "I thought you should join us on the boat. Your presence could be very useful to us" the man suggets."That wouldn't be effective, Jun. With or without me, the research will remain slow..." the girl mentions. Then, she gets an idea. "Listen, Jun-ho. Probably this won't change the situation that much, but I think I can find an experienced sailor. Also, I have a friend who is a drone technician. We could split your squad in two groups and explore two different zones. In this way we could be a little faster, and with some luck we'll find that island sooner " "Good idea, it could be very helpful. I knew you would come up with a better plan than mine" Jun-ho comments, adding a satisfied smile.
"It's not like that, Jun. You had a problem with your plan and I gave you a solution. It's just that we work better together" Hye-jin denies with a smile. She always thought they made a nice duo, and this is the proof. Jun-ho smiles back and takes word "I think you would be a good leader for the second group. What do you think?" he offers. "If you trust me leading your men, I don't see why I should refuse. I'll do my best to match your expectations. But, let's hypothesize we find that island. I think we should find an alternative to radio waves- they could be easily disturbed" the woman points out.
"I considered the possibility and thought about a microchip or a locator, even if I hoped to develop this part of the plan with you." he says with an half smile, knowing for certain that she decided to help him. Then, a question appears into Hye-jin' mind. "Do we have a plan B, Jun?" "This one is plan B, Hye. We discovered that during an Halloween party, some playground workers will pick up the players for the next games. We plan to block them and get some new informations. We know this thanks to the salesman, who died by playing Russian roulette with Gi-hun. He has installed a microchip in one of his teeth, so we'll get his position and follow him to the island. Anyway, there are some chances that things will be thrown in our way. In that case, the rest of the squad will take action.""We should get to work right now then." Hye-jin proclaims, rolling up the sleeves of her uniform with a grin.
After that encounter, they spent a lot of time organising the hypothetical plan B, exchanging ideas and providing solutions to problems. Hye-jin had to take three weeks of holiday from work in the very first time in her career, surprising the chief and her colleagues. In fact, the police wasn't aware of the plan she and Jun-ho prepared. They knew there would've been lots of problems, and decided to act in secret. Each member of the team was provided with a locator which emitted a signal only when activated.
Hye-jin got along with the squad quite easily, she enjoyed the company of her new companions and their training sessions. Also, she built a nice bond with Gi-hun. Reading his report and hearing his story from him in person were two absolutely different things... she understood that she could trust him. She couldn't even imagine what it felt like seeing hundreds of people, including friends, dying. Only by talking to him she could understand his determination, and in that occasion she acknowledged that his words were true.
The night of the Halloween party the squad tried following the pink guards, but some snipers shot the wheels of their cars, making pursuit impossible. The good news, or bad news, depending on how we look at it, was that Gi-hun managed to get back into the games, in some way. The squad started tracing Gi-hun's signal by sea, thanks to captain Park's cooperation.