I Have A Theory/headcanon That Gi-hun Felt Protective Towards Sae-byeok Not Because She Reminded Him

I have a theory/headcanon that Gi-hun felt protective towards Sae-byeok not because she reminded him of his daughter, but because she reminded him of his mother.

He saw this little girl all on her own, with a dangerous murderer after her, and yet she still refused to ask for help. She still wanted to manage everything on her own.

Who else in Gi-hun's life acts like this? His mother.

Now, I know a thing or two about diabetes, and I can tell you that to get to the point of needing amputation, the illness has to go untreated or poorly treated for years. Which means his mother had to deal with the illness for several years without telling anyone, not even her son, about it. And I imagine her illness isn't the only thing she ever tried to manage on her own, without asking anyone for help.

So I think that's why he felt naturally protective towards Sae-byeok, because her behaviour reminded him of his mother's. Even when she got hit by the shard of glass, he could tell something was up, but she wouldn't ask for help, and kept denying it until the bitter end,