Chapter Text
“Round and round, round and round… let’s go around in circles and dance. We will clap our hands and sing, la la la…”
"Two," the woman’s voice echoed through the speakers.
Chaos erupted as everyone scrambled to find a partner. In-ho glanced back at Gi-hun, who stood frozen in thought. Without hesitation, In-ho grabbed his hand and pulled the startled man toward a yellow room.
Amidst the chaos, Gi-hun was shoved aside as two other players lunged toward the same room. In-ho’s eyes darkened with fury. No way in hell was he going to let that happen. Without a second thought, he grabbed one of the players just as they were about to enter the room, yanking them back with a chokehold.
“What the hell?!” the man shouted, struggling against his grip. “Let go of me!”
In-ho yanked the man to the side. “Get in!” he shouted at Gi-hun, shoving the struggling player aside as Gi-hun hurried inside.
In-ho followed close behind, slamming the door to room 33 shut, only to find another person inside, staring at them in shock. They were running out of time!
“Get out,” In-ho muttered darkly, glaring at the man. Gi-hun stood frozen behind him, still processing what was happening.
“W-We were here first!” Player 343 stammered, cowering in the corner as In-ho advanced toward him. Meanwhile, Gi-hun struggled to keep the door shut against the other person trying to force it open.
“Open the door, you bastards!” the man outside shouted, his voice filled with desperation. “I was here first!”
“I-I’m sorry!” Gi-hun yelled back, his voice trembling with guilt as he pushed the door closed, holding back the desperate man outside.
In-ho barely glanced back, his focus fixed on player 343. Without hesitation, he struck the man across the face, then locked him in a chokehold.
In-ho lowered to the ground with his arms around the guy’s neck, watching Gi-hun at the door as he choked player 343 to death. He realized he might not be able to gain back Gi-hun’s trust after this. But nonetheless, he would not let Gi-hun die… he might have to threaten his little friend to keep him quiet.
Less than three seconds remained when Gi-hun turned, panic in his eyes. “We need to get him out—”
He paused mid sentence, his words dying in his throat as he turned to see Young-il choking the man on the floor. Gi-hun’s eyes widened in disbelief, staring in shock when he snapped the man’s neck, killing him.
The lock clicked. “ Game over.”
Once the gunshots stopped firing outside, In-ho stood slowly, pushing the lifeless body off of him, never looking away from Gi-hun. His voice was low as he spoke. “Gi-hun–”
“You killed him,” he breathed, stepping back.
The front man stepped forward, his voice soft and steady. “Yes. I did.”
Gi-hun’s hand instinctively reached for the door handle, but before he could turn it, In-ho grabbed his wrist firmly, stopping him.
“Damn it, let me go, Young-il!” Gi-hun hissed, trying to pull free.
“You still trust me, right?” he spoke in a soft tone.
“I-”
“Gi-hun,” In-ho held his hands in his own, never breaking his stare away from the previous winner. “I had to kill him–”
“No, you didn’t have to!” Gi-hun tried to pull his hands away but In-ho wouldn’t let go. “W-We could have kicked him out!”
“He still would have died anyway, Gi-hun,” In-ho pointed out calmly. “We were running out of time. I panicked.”
Gi-hun stared at him in disbelief. “So you just snap people’s necks on instinct, Young-il? Is that a common occurrence for you?” He yanked at his hands. “Let go!”
“No,” In-ho tightened his grip. “Not until you understand.”
“Well,” he spat. “I guess we’ll be here forever, then.”
In-ho smiled, his expression soft and used his other hand to open the door. He pulled the shocked man out with him.
As they joined the other players, still alive and walking out of the room, In-ho leaned in close to Gi-hun, his voice low and calm, but filled with an unmistakable threat. “Gi-hun, if you even try to abandon me, I will make sure that little friend of yours, Jung-bae, dies.”
He didn’t respond for a minute as he was dragged back down to the dormitory by In-ho. They were at the very back of the line, and it’s not like In-ho’s own staff will reprimand him for stopping so he stopped before they turned a corner, turning to Gi-hun behind him, still holding his hands. “Do you understand, Gi-hun?”
Gi-hun didn’t look at him as a tear rolled down his cheek. “Who are you really?”
Well, he catches on fast. He raised his other hand, gently tilting Gi-hub’s face towards him. “My real name is Hwang In-ho, but that wouldn’t change anything.”
His eyes widened in recognition, confusing In-ho. “Hwang Jun-ho’s b-brother?!”
In-ho raised an eyebrow at the mention of his brother. So, they knew each other.
Sure, he had sent that sailor to rescue his brother after he fell into the water three years ago, but he hadn’t expected them to actually know each other.
“Gi-hun,” he said, grip on the man’s hands tightening as he turned away. “Just remember what I said.”
He started walking again, pulling the other man behind him as they caught up with the line. There was to be another voting on whether to continue the games tonight, and with exactly a hundred players left, there was going to be a tie. It was a shame that 001 and 456 are both the first and last, he couldn’t stay by Gi-hun to make sure he didn’t get any ideas.
As they entered the dormitory, In-ho loosened his grip on Gi-hun but stayed close as they walked over to their group. The pregnant girl was off with someone else, while Dae-ho and Jung-bae were deep in conversation, speculating about which side would win the final vote.
They looked up as the two approached.
“Sirs!” Dae-ho stood up with a smile.
“What should we do before the voting begins?” Jung-bae asked, standing up as he gestured toward the screen displaying the number of players left. In-ho had been right, exactly one hundred. “Should we try to talk more people into joining our side?”
Gi-hun remained silent, frozen next to In-ho, while Dae-ho chimed in. “I think we should count everyone who voted to stay.”
“I’ll do it,” Jung-bae said, already moving away to start counting the players with blue O’s on their chests.
Once again, In-ho was the last to vote, but this time, he wouldn’t be a tiebreaker. Whether he picked O or X, the games would still continue and they’d all have to vote again tomorrow. He feels he already ruined Gi-hun’s trust in him, but he still pressed X. Making the numbers 50 against 50.
“The vote has ended,” the masked manager announced as In-ho pushed through the crowd to stand next to Gi-hun and his group as that same old guy who called Gi-hun a lunatic from the other side asked what would happen because they had tied.
“Clause three of the consent form, ‘In case of a tie, players will vote again.’” he said.
A voice from behind Gi-hun’s group called out, “So when are we going to vote again?”
The manager’s tone remained blank as he answered “To give you some time to think, the vote will be conducted tomorrow. Until then, please think carefully about your future.”
When the manager finished speaking, the players shuffled back to their respective groups. In-ho stayed close to Gi-hun, who remained where he was, staring blankly up at the vote results on the screen. Maybe he’d have to somehow remove the man from the games eventually, since he knows all Gi-hun wants is to stop it, not caring for the money.
Jung-bae tapped Gi-hun’s shoulder to get his attention. In-ho had the sudden urge to cut his finger off. “Gi-hun, we need just one more person on our side.”
“I know, I know,” Gi-hun raised his hand to run it through his wavy hair, pushing his bangs out his face. “Why are people so keen on wanting to die all of the sudden? Those who voted to stay were just panicking an hour ago!”
“Many people are greedy in this world,” In-ho muttered matter-of-factly, making Gi-hun flinch. They were the only people still standing in the middle as In-ho’s staff worked to get food out for the players. “They’d rather kill off some more people than to just leave with what they’ve earned so far.”
Dae-ho and Jung-bae looked at each other before the staff announced dinner time. At the sound, the players began forming lines at the front of the room.
In-ho followed closely behind Gi-hun as they joined one of the lines, Jung-bae and Dae-ho fell in behind In-ho, chattering.
Staring at Gi-hun from behind, Hwang In-ho made up his mind: from now on, he would protect Gi-hun, even if he didn't trust In-ho anymore.