Lieutenantbatshit - Kept You Waiting, Huh?

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (Dust to Dust) Captain Price taking down the helicopter while the Immigrant Song as the background music.

CHAPTER 11 - once you go in, there's no turning back (hwang in ho x reader)

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——

The tension in the dormitory hung like a thick fog, pressing down on your lungs as the fight between the X and O players seemed to calm down, with each player going back to their side. The air smelled of damp wood and sweat, but something else lingered beneath it — an undercurrent of unease.

Beside you, In-ho finished the last bite of his gimbap and stood up, putting the fork in his pocket and brushed his hands off on his pants. He was about to take on step forward when you reached for his wrist, your fingers wrapping around his pulse. His gaze flickered down to where you touched him.

“Where are you going?”

“Bathroom,” he replied smoothly, but there was something off about the way he said it. It seemed too casual, too detached.

You frowned, tightening your hold. “Wait. Just stay a second.”

In-ho sighed through his nose, seemingly impatient. “Why?”

“You owe me something.”

In-ho turned his gaze to you, his expression calm, but a question was evident in his face. Something gnawed at the back of your mind, an instinct you couldn’t name. You remembered In-ho wanting to tell you something after you vote. In-ho exhaled sharply, a short, amused breath, but he continued to look at you. Your hand was still on his wrist, and though he could have pulled away, he didn’t.

He studied you for a moment before exhaling, and to your surprise, he sat back down. His eyes, usually so guarded, were unreadable as he leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. Then, his next words shifted the air entirely.

“I won the games in 2015.”

You felt your breath hitched.

“I didn’t enter out of curiosity like you. I needed the money. I had nothing.” In-ho’s voice was low, controlled. But underneath it, there was something at it. Something bitter. “It’s for my wife. She was sick… and pregnant. I did everything to try and save her, but they misinterpreted it as a bribe, and so I was out of the force. The hospital bills were growing and growing each day. She...” He paused for a moment but continued. “She was struggling. I was, too. Then, I was handed a card. I accepted it knowing I could win the prize money. I did everything to survive, just so I could go back to her.”

Your chest tightened.

“I won. But when I got home, she was already gone. Already wrapped under a body bag.”

You stayed silent, seeing a tear forming in the corner of his eye. He was holding them back. You almost motioned to touch his face, but then, he continued.

“The moment I walked out of here, I realized what kind of person I became. What I had to do to survive. I saw what these games really are, how people turn when there’s nothing left but desperation.” His lips curled, almost in disgust. “And I realized I was no different. I thought winning would fix everything. But it didn’t.”

Your fingers curled into his palm, gripping it tighter. Then, he held yours back.

“I walked out of here with more money than I could ever spend, and yet… I lost more than I gained,” his jaw tightened. “People think money changes everything. Maybe it does, but it doesn’t bring back what you sacrificed to get it.”

The weight of his words settled over you. For the first time, he was letting you see something raw. It was like you were talking to the In-ho you once knew years ago. And yet, there were still things he wasn’t saying. There were pieces he was deliberately leaving out.

“So why are you here again?” You asked, your voice barely above a whisper.

“Maybe I wanted to see if people ever change,” he murmured. You weren’t sure if he was talking about the players. Or himself.

Or you.

The sound of a distant scream shattered the moment. Your head snapped toward the source — the bathroom. Another noise followed, a sharp crack of panicked shots.

If you hadn’t stopped In-ho, if he had left just a second earlier, he would’ve been in there. His gaze flickered back to you, something unspoken passing between you both.

“That was close,” you muttered.

In-ho’s lips parted slightly as if he wanted to say something. But then he shook his head. “Lucky me, I guess.”

But you both knew luck had nothing to do with it. 

“The following players have been eliminated. Players 230, 268, 299, 331, and 401. End of the list.”

Your posture straightened up upon hearing the announcement. How can these players be eliminated in such a short time? There were no games in play.

Everyone in the dormitory tensed up, clearly shocked by what was announced. You felt the ceiling rumble, the piggy bank showing at the top as more money plopped inside, the TV turning on accounting the accumulated prize money for each player and the total prize. In front of you, Gi-hun stood up, his face focused on the piggy bank at the top.

“What’s going on?” Jung-bae turned to your group and asked. 

You all heard the doors open, seeing players drenched with blood all over their clothes, faces, and bodies. It seemed as they just got out from a massacre - a bloody one, indeed. 

“Listen, Team O!” Player 124 ran in the middle, his face with patches of blood and his tracksuit number with blood as well. “When we were in the bathroom, those fucking X bastards tried to kill all of us!” He yelled. “They killed some of us, including my friend—“

“Bullshit,” Player 047 interrupted. “You’re the ones who started it. They threatened one of the people on our side! They attacked us to win the second vote!”

“Hey!” Player 192 called out. “You killed one of us first. You were trying to win the vote by killing us!”

“Fuck you. You killed some of us too,” Player 145 retorted. “Did you think we would just let you kill the rest of us?”

“So, which side lost more people?” Player 100 asked out loud. In just a few minutes, each X and O players grouped each on their sides, counting themselves.

You and the X players grouped in the staircase in the corner, with Player 047 counting each of you. You continued to study the crowd, seeing the O players doing the same on the other side. The tension was palpable. You found yourself shaking a bit, but In-ho held your hand, trying to make you at ease.

“Two people died on our side,” Player 047 said in a whisper, but enough for the X crowd to hear. 

“Two out of five. That means they lost three people,” you said, remembering the number of players who recently died.

“Then we have a better shot at winning the vote tomorrow,” Player 380 murmured, earning a nod from each X player.

As if a thought snapped in Jung-bae’s mind, he hurriedly whispered loud enough for you and everyone else to hear. “Hey, it’s 48 against 47. As long as we don’t change our minds, we’ll win by one vote!” 

You noticed Gi-hun’s face focused on the O crowd as if he was trying to anticipate their next move. His eyebrows were furrowed together, his eyes almost a glare. 

“Attention, please,” the speaker announced, breaking the thoughts away from your mind. “Lights out in 30 minutes. All players, please return to your beds and prepare for bedtime.”

Player 047 stood up, eyeing each and one of you, the desperation evident in his face. “Listen. You cannot change your minds. We have to win the second vote and get out of here tomorrow. All right?”

Each X player nodded while you only stared at Player 047. At least, in this way, you still saw the goodness in this place. There were still some other people who were desperate to get out of the place and be satisfied with the accumulated prize money. 

You can’t help but feel unease. You were so sure that the O players would attack during lights out, seeing them eyeing the X crowd multiple times and pointing their fingers. As the other X players start to return to their beds, Gi-hun motioned a small wave for you and your group. You and the others followed, though your group wasn’t only limited now to In-ho, Dae-ho, Jung-bae, and Jun-hee. Hyun-ju’s group also tagged along, with Gyeong-seok becoming a part of it. You gave Gyeong-seok a small nod, giving a small, quiet recognition to welcome him in the group. 

Together, you all formed a circle. Dae-ho turned around to look at the O crowd, then turned back to your group. “It looks like they’re up to something.”

Jung-bae scoffed. “Whatever those idiots do, once we win the vote tomorrow, it will all be over.”

“You think we’ll be okay?” Dae-ho asked worriedly. You gave him a small pat on his back to comfort him somehow. He gave you a small smile, but his eyes still had a hint of worry. “They said things were really scary in the bathroom earlier.”

A brief silence filled your group, weighing Dae-ho’s words. But then, Gi-hun’s voice cut out the tension as he stared into space, his eyes determined while his eyebrows were furrowed.  “Once the lights go out, people on the other side will attack us.”

“Really?” Yong-sik’s eyes widened.

“Because if they kill us, they’ll be able to win the vote and increase the prize,” Gi-hun explained.

“So what do we do?”

“Let’s attack them first,” In-ho replied, much too quickly, earning a glance from Gi-hun who seemed to be taken aback by his words. “They’re probably thinking we’ll just wait for the second vote. We can use it to our advantage. We’ll attack them first once the lights go out.”

“That’s right. It would be better to attack them first,” Player 047 agreed, then eyed you, Geum-ja, and Jun-hee. “We have more women and elderly on our side. If we get attacked, we’ll be at a disadvantage. Attacking them first would give us a better chance of winning.”

“We can’t do that,” Gi-hun replied, his voice with diction as the words left his mouth.

“But we have to get out of here,” you retorted, though your voice calm despite the incoming chaos you could predict. “You said it yourself. Staying calm won’t get us anywhere now.”

“That doesn’t mean we should kill each other,” Gi-hun explained, his voice reeking out of desperation. “That’s exactly what they want us to do.”

“They?” Jung-bae asked.

Gi-hun paused for a moment, clearing his throat before continuing. “Those who created the game. Those who watch us play. If we’re going to fight someone, it should be them.”

“Where are they?” Dae-ho asked. 

Gi-hun slowly looked up at the ceiling, as the others followed. You almost did, but then you notice In-ho looking at Gi-hun more than he should, though his expression was unreadable yet… too calm. He sat across from you, one arm draped over his knee, the other resting loosely at his side. His expression was unreadable, but you caught the minute tension in his posture, the way his fingers flexed ever so slightly, like a subconscious tell. His gaze, dark and piercing, remained locked onto Gi-hun.

And suddenly, it all clicked.

Gi-hun kept speaking, laying out his plan, but his words blurred in the background as your mind reeled.

“I have a foresight.”

In-ho’s words echoed to your mind. He anticipated things before they even happened, maneuvering like a man who had already played this game before. You remembered his words, the way he hinted at his understanding of the games — too precise, too calculated. 

“Has anyone ever played before?” You murmured, interrupting Gi-hun, your voice barely above a whisper.

Gi-hun blinked. “What?”

“You survived the last game,” you continued, staring at him. “Did you ever feel like… someone already knew how it would all play out?”

“Yeah, there was this old man,” Gi-hun’s voice was quieter now, more thoughtful. “Oh Il-nam. He was with us from the start. Turns out he was the creator of the games.”

You tilted your head. “What happened to him?”

Gi-hun exhaled as his hands twitched against his knee, as if the memory physically lingered there. “He died three years after I won.”

You swallowed hard. Slowly, you turned to In-ho, your gaze locking onto his. His mask didn’t crack, but his eyes told another story. His expression was still unreadable, but something in his gaze shifted — the slightest trace of amusement, of challenge.

He knew what you were asking. And he was waiting for you to piece it together.

“The man in the black mask is their leader,” Gi-hun continued. “Once we capture him, we’ll be able to win.”

You heard Jung-bae sigh, who was seated beside Gi-hun. But then, In-ho replied, his gaze locked onto Gi-hun, his expression cold as his voice remained low, as if he was calculating something. “How are you going to fight them? They have guns.”

“We’ll fight them with guns too,” Gi-hun answered, the determination in his voice was evident.

“But we don’t have any,” Jung-bae said in defeat.

“We’ll take their guns.”

“From those masked men?” Gyeong-seok asked in surprise. 

Gi-hun nodded, which earned a worried sigh from Jung-bae. 

“That’s too dangerous,” In-ho said. “Even if we manage to take a few guns, we’ll still be outnumbered.” 

“What then?” Gi-hun retorted. “Are you going to kill each other all night and hope you survive?” He eyed each one of you in the group, then eyed In-ho. “Is that what you want, Young-il?”

You almost forgot that they all knew him as Young-il. Silence fell into your group, the uncertainty of surviving in this place crashing on to the air. 

“Do we… stand a chance?” Hyun-ju asked, her voice with a hint of worry. 

“We do if we catch them off guard,” Gi-hun replied. “Out of everyone, they’re the ones who would least expect us to attack first. This is our last chance to end these games once and for all.”

“Don’t you think it’s too… ambitious?” You asked, feeling each eyes of your group turn to you.

“If you don’t want to join the fight, then don’t,” Player 047 said, looking at you in disbelief. 

“All I’m saying is, we’re not sure if we can survive. The stakes are getting higher. Wouldn’t it be more dangerous if we bust our way out there and fight all of them, including this captain with a black mask?” You explained, giving Player 047 a slight glare before turning to the rest of the group. “It’s not about me not wanting to join the fight. It’s about being cautious about whatever danger we may encounter. I’m not opposed to the idea.”

Gi-hun nodded, taking in your words. His lips parted slightly as if to say something, but In-ho quickly spoke. “How are you going to take their guns?”

“Once the fight begins tonight, we’ll have our chance,” Gi-hun said surely. Then his voice became low, but still enough for your group to hear. “Once the lights go out, get under the bottom beds quietly. You must not get caught by those planning to attack us. We have to hide until the fight ends. Don’t get caught up in the fight.”

“But that would put people on our side at quite a disadvantage,” Jung-bae murmured. “Without us in the first, they’ll be outnumbered.”

“I know,” Gi-hun said. “But if we fight with them and some of us end up dead or injured, it will ruin our entire plan. We can’t beat those bastards with a lower headcount.”

“Are you suggesting that we make a small sacrifice for the greater good?” In-ho asked, though his eyes were still unreadable, but his voice was calm yet there was a hint of amusement in it. You could his lips twitch almost to a smirk, but it seemed as though he was holding it back.

Gi-hun paused for a moment, his expression falling upon the realization of the so-called sacrifice. “If we miss this opportunity, the sacrifice will be even greater. Even if it takes a sacrifice, we must put an end to this game now.” 

Your stomach twisted at his words. “A small sacrifice?” You said, your voice sharper than you intended. 

Gi-hun’s expression hardened. “If we don’t do something, we’ll all be wiped out. You know that.”

Your breath came slow, controlled, but the words scraped against something deep inside you. “Victory at the expense of others is no victory at all, Gi-hun.”

Silence gripped the group. The air was thick with unspoken fears, the scent of sweat and tension suffocating. Your fingers curled into a fist as you and Gi-hun stared at each other, waiting for each of you to speak.

Gi-hun sighed, running a hand through his hair. “I get it. I do. But this isn’t about just one person. If we don’t act now, we’ll all end up—“

“Dead?” You challenged. “And you didn’t think sacrificing someone will stop that from happening?”

Gi-hun exhaled sharply. “This isn’t about being selfish. It’s about surviving long enough to end this damn game.”

Your jaw clenched, but before you could respond, in your peripheral vision, you could see In-ho shift.

“She’s right,” he said, finally speaking. His voice was calm, but there was an edge to it. “You talk about sacrifice as if it’s a simple thing. But once you deicde someone else’s life is worth less than yours, you stop being different from the people who put us in here.”

The words sent a chill down your spine as you looked at In-ho, realizing he was already looking at you, locking your gazes.

Gi-hun shook his head. “So what, then? We do nothing?”

“No,” In-ho murmured. “We do it without becoming the monsters they want us to be.”

And though his words aligned with yours, you weren’t sure anymore if they came from the same place. Because as much as you knew him, as much as he was once your childhood best friend —  the one who promised to always protect you — you weren’t sure anymore if he was protecting you.

Or if he was simply playing a different game entirely.

——

Ten.

Nine.

Eight. 

The dormitory was quieter than usual, a deceptive calm settling over the room as the players settled in for the night. The dim lighting flickered against the cold metal walls, casting long shadows over the endless rows of bunk beds. Some players lay with their backs to the world, others murmured in hushed voices, exchanging anxious theories about the next game.

Seven.

Six.

Five.

You sat on the lower bunk, fingers running absentmindedly over the thin blanket draped over your legs. Beside your bed was In-ho’s, who was leaning against the bedframe, his arms crossed in that ever-relaxed posture of his. But you could that his eyes were sharper than usual, tracking the other players’ movement, scanning the room with quiet precision.

“Something’s going to happen,” you muttered under your breath.

He hummed, barely a nod, but you caught the way his fingers flexed against his bicep.

Four.

Three.

Two.

The tension in the room felt like a rubber band stretched too thin. Then, you heard footsteps in the middle, the light shining on Player 124’s face with a fork in hand.

One.

And then, all hell broke loose. 

Someone on the upper bunk near the doors screamed. Metal clanged against metal as a bunk collapsed under struggling bodies. A body slammed into the floor near you with a sickening thud. The room erupted into chaos as players lunged at each other, driven by desperation and paranoia. X and O no longer mattered — everyone was a threat.

“Under the bed. Now.” In-ho’s voice was low, yet urgent.

You didn’t hesitate.

The moment your back hit the cold ground, In-ho followed, pressing close as he pulled the thin mattress down just enough to shield you both from the view. The noise around you grew unbearable — the shouts, the sharp, wet sounds of bodies hitting the ground, and the suffocating smell of sweat and iron.

Your breaths were shallow, your heart hammering against your ribs. The space under the bed felt too small, too suffocating. You could see movement — feet darting past, shadows shifting violently in the flickering light.

Then, you felt warm fingers brushed against your wrist.

You startled, turning to look at In-ho. His face was closer than you expected, his eyes dark but steady. His hand found yours, his thumb tracing soothing circles against your palm. 

“Breathe,” he murmured, so soft you barely heard it over the chaos. “You’re safe.”

Safe. The word felt too foreign here, in a place where safety was nothing more than an illusion. But still, his touch was grounding, his presence a steady force amid the madness.

The chaos outside your hiding spot hadn’t lessened, but for a fleeting moment, it felt like the world had shrunk down to just you and In-ho. His grip on your hand remained firm, grounding you in a reality that should have been terrifying —  but somehow, wasn’t.

Then, before you could fully process what was happening, he moved. His hands slipped from yours only to cup your jaw, tilting your face towards him. And then, his lips found yours.

A kiss in the middle of a massacre. The softness of his lips against yours clashed cruelly with the violent screams and death rattles surrounding you. It was wrong, so reckless. But damn, you enjoyed it.

The heat surged through you, an intoxicating contract to the blood-stained air. His touch was commanding, his fingers pressing just enough to make you feel it — to make you remember this moment even as the world fell apart. And maybe that was the irony of it all. That you could find something so addicting, so devastatingly good, while people were tearing each other apart.

But the moment shattered in an instant as you felt a hand yanked you backward, ripping you away from In-ho’s hand as he screamed, “No!”

Your body slid out from under the bunk, seeing an O player on top of you.

It was Player 192. His grip on you was bruising, his breath reeking of desperation as he sneered down at you. “Didn’t know whores could get into this place,” he snarled, tightening his grip around your throat. “Let’s see how tough you really are without him.”

Your nails clawed at his wrists, panic rising like bile. The edges of your vision blurred as he raised his fork. You closed your eyes, ready for the impact.

Then, you heard a crack. A familiar one, to be exact.

Player 192’s body jerked violently before collapsing lifelessly beside you. Your own breath was ragged as you struggled to push yourself up, barely able to comprehend what just happened. 

In-ho stood over you, his expression softening this time as he looked at you. The sharp rise and fall of his chest betrayed the fury simmering beneath the surface. The bloodied weapon in his hand dripped onto the cold floor, his fingers gripping it so tightly his knuckles had gone white.

He crouched beside you, his hand brushing against your cheek, wiping away a streak of blood that wasn’t yours. “Are you hurt?”

You swallowed hard, shaking your head. 

In-ho exhaled sharply, then leaned in, his lips ghosting against your ear. “No one touches you. Ever. Remember that.”

He didn’t waste another second as he grabbed your wrist and pulled you back toward the shadows, the urgency tightening his grip. Your breath was still uneven, the ghost of the O player’s attack lingering in your bones. The moment your bodies disappeared for everyone to see, his arm wrapped around your shoulders, pulling you close. “I’m never letting you go again, Y/N.”

You could feel the heat of his breath against your temple, his chest rising and falling in steady contrast to your own erratic breathing. His scent, faint traces of sweat, blood, and something unmistakably him, wrapped around as if it were a second skin.

The chaos was still raging. Metal clashed against metal, bodies smalled into beds, and desperate cries filled the air. The dormitory had become a warzone, a battleground fueled by greed and fear.

In-ho’s fingers traced slow, grounding circles against your arm, a silent reassurance that you were still here… and alive. “Stay close,” he murmured, voice barely audible over the madness. “We move once the guards step in.”

You nodded, gripping onto his sleeve like a lifeline. The minutes passed like hours. The sounds of violence started to blur together, each screeam and crash dulling into a single, ceaseless noise. Your body was stiff, adrenaline still coiling tight in your muscles.

Then, a loud, blaring alarm erupted in the air. The lights turned on, hearing more footsteps. The guards had arrived.

In-ho’s fingers tightened around yours. As the guards’ booths thundered into the room, you and In-ho prepared to slip out unnoticed, ready to face whatever came next.

The surviving players scrambled back to their bunks, some collapsing from exhaustion, others from injuries to severe to ignore. The guards moved in, their rifles raised, their heavy boots pounding against the bloodstained floor.

In-ho gave you a look, then in a seamless motion, he pulled you down, pressing your body against the cold floor beside the fallen. His hand slid over yours, smearing the warm blood from the O player he had killed onto your skin. The metallic scent stung your nose, but you didn’t flinch. 

You both lay still, bodies limp among the corpses, eyes fluttering shut as the guards stepped closer. Every breath you took was shallow, controlled, listening for the precise moment.

One guard crouched near In-ho, nudging a lifeless body beside him with the barrel of his rifle. Another did the same near you, muttering something about cleaning up the mess.

The guard turned away, but In-ho struck first. In one swift motion, he rolled up, seizing the rifle from the nearest guard before slamming the butt of it onto his head. The guard crumpled instantly.

You weren’t far behind. With adrenaline firing through your veins, you lunged, grabbing the other guard’s wrist before he could react. His weapon clattered to the floor as you twisted his arm, forcing him down with a brutal precision that left no room for error. A quick, decisive blow to his temple, and he, too, was out cold. 

The room fell into a brief, stunned silence. Then, a shot rang out, cutting through the tension like a blade. 

It wasn’t yours, nor was it In-ho’s.

Players who had been waiting for the right moment, who had seen what you and In-ho had done, began to move. You saw Gi-hun, Gyeong-seok, Hyun-ju, Jung-bae, and Daeo-ho wrestle the weapons from the fallen guards, others tackled those still standing. 

In-ho turned to you, his chest rising and falling with exhilaration, a ghost of a smirk playing at his lips. “Stay close to me,” he murmured, his voice cutting through the madness.

With rifles in hand, you charged into the chaos together.

Another chaos ignited like a match to gasoline. The screams overlapped with gunfire, bodies clashed in frantic desperation, and the metallic scent of blood thickened in the air. From across the room, Gi-hun’s sharp eyes locked onto yours, then flickered to In-ho. There was no time for questions, no time for hesitation. With a decisive nod, he started shooting the other guards.

You lifted your stolen rifle, your pulse steady despite the storm raging around you. In-ho was already ahead, moving like he had done this a thousand times before.  As the guards escaped on the other side of the room, the square-masked guard was left out in the open, trapped inside the dormitory. 

“Stop! Hold fire!” Gi-hun yelled, his rifle pointed to the square-masked guard. You and the others with the rifles motioned in the middle, pointing your guns to the guard. “Everyone, hold fire!”

Jung-bae ran towards the guard, pointing the end of his gun to the guard. “Hands above your head!” The guard followed reluctantly. “On your knees!”

“You goddamn bastards!” You heard someone shout from behind you. You saw Player 047 aiming his gun towards the O players. 

Just as you were about to step in, Gi-hun ran and held Player 047’s rifle down. “No!”

“Move!” Player 047 yelled. “Do you not see this?” He pointed to the dead bodies on the floor. “They are not human. They’re like goddamn vermin blinded by money!” He proceeded to aim his gun again, but Gi-hun held it down once more.

“This is not what we took these guns for,” Gi-hun said, gritting his teeth. “If we do this, we’ll be no different from those masked men.” 

Player 047’s breath trembled, his body shaking as he fought the urge to aim his gun once again to the O players. Gi-hun’s back was turned to the O players behind him, which turned out to be a big mistake for him.

Player 336 tackled him to the ground, wrapping his hands around Gi-hun’s throat, squeezing as Gi-hun’s legs kicked out, his face turning a sickening shade of red. His fingers clawed uselessly at the man’s arms, eyes wild with panic. He tried to reach for his gun as Player 047 stared in horror, startled at the sight.

Your body moved before you could think. Raising your rifle, you took a step forward and pulled the trigger.

The shot rang out loud and final. Player 336’s body went limp, collapsing over Gi-hun before rolling off. He gasped for breath, coughing as he pushed himself up onto his elbows. His eyes darted to you, a mixture of relief and something unspoken flashing across his face.

You offered your hand as he took it, gripping tight as you helped him to his feet. You gave each other a nod, a silent acknowledgment of saving his life. Before Gi-hun could say something, In-ho approached you, stepping into your space, his hand instinctively finding your arm. His touch was firm and grounding. But when you met his gaze, there was something else in his eyes.

“You seem eager to play the hero,” In-ho muttered, his voice just low enough for only you to hear. There was a tightness in it, a rough edge that wasn’t entirely from the chaos around you.

You raised an eyebrow. “Would you rather I let him die?”

His fingers curled slightly against your arm before he let go. “I’d rather you stop putting yourself at risk for someone who wouldn’t do the same for you.”

You exhaled sharply, but before you could snap back, Gi-hun had already moved on, recruiting players who had been too scared to fight before. His voice carried over the dormitory, rallying them with the promise of survival. 

“You don’t get to decide that,” you said, your voice quieter now.

In-ho’s lips pressed into a thin line, but his eyes, dark and intense, never wavered from yours. “No,” he admitted. “But I know you. You’re getting too involved.”

You turned your head slightly, meeting his gaze. “And you’re jealous.”

You noticed a muscle in his jaw tightened, but he said nothing. Instead, his hand brushed against yours, fleeting but deliberate. As if it was a reminder or somewhat a warning.

“Everyone!” Gi-hun called out, as the players continued to place more rifles and ammos in the middle of the room, stealing each from the guard’s uniforms. “We will now head up to the masked men’s headquarters. We’ll capture the ones who captured us, put an end to this game, and make them pay,” he paused for a moment as he lifted the rifle on his hand up in the air. “Anyone who knows how to use a gun and wishes to join us, please step forward.”

You gripped your hand tighter to your rifle, seeing the players hesitate to come forward. But then, Jung-bae moved and stepped forward. “I know you’re scared. I’m scared too. But this may be our last chance to make it out of this place alive,” he said. “Fight with us so we can go home together. All together.”

One by one, players motioned to walk towards you, grabbing rifles from the ground. Most of them came from the X crowd. 

“Let’s take one radio each. We’ll use channel 7, the lucky number.”

You grabbed a radio from a fallen guard, following Jung-bae’s instruction. You proceeded to check your gun, checking its ammo. You grabbed more from the ground, placing it on your pocket. Then, you felt someone’s presence beside you. You looked up and saw Gi-hun, the hesitation evident in his face but looked at you.

“Thank you for earlier,” Gi-hun spoke, his voice low. He gave you a small smile and a nod.

You nodded back, loading your gun with an ammo. “You can but me soju when we get out.” 

Gi-hun chuckled softly, nodding his head. A fleeting moment of recognition passed between you and him, somewhat like an understanding that for now, you were on the same side. But in your peripheral vision, In-ho didn’t seem to look amused. Yet somehow, you enjoyed seeing him this way, the irony of playing a game inside a game.

Hyun-ju proceeded to teach you and the others how to properly operate the rifle, later revealing that she was part of the ROK Special Forces as a sergeant first class. You awed in admiration. You proceeded to set your rifle to single-fire mode.

You heard a gun cock near your side, seeing the guard on his knees with hands over his head as Gi-hun aimed a rifle at him. “Take it off.”

The guard followed reluctantly, taking off his mask — only to reveal a young, teenage boy.

“Good God,” Jung-bae gasped. “Do your parents know what you’re doing here?”

“Take us to your captain,” Gi-hun said coldly, as the young boy nodded. He dragged the young boy down to the door, shooting the glass window as he peered his arm down, unlocking the door. 

You and the others followed as the young boy led the way. You were behind In-ho, his back turned from you though his posture was composed. You gripped your rifle tighter as you exited the dormitory, your heart racing knowing you were about to participate in the rebellion, with no certainty of survival.

You all proceeded to walk towards the labyrinth of stairs, the colorful environment enveloping waiting for chaos to erupt. After a series of turning lefts and rights, Gi-hun grunted, grabbing the young boy’s hood. “How much farther?” He grabbed to face him when he didn’t speak, a gun still pointed to his head. “Is this the right way?”

The young boy’s body was shaking as he pointed his finger behind him. “The entrance to the management area is around that corner. The control room is right above it,” he said, his voice shaking.

“Move it, then,” Gi-hun pressed.

“Wait,” the young boy said as he motioned his hand to his pocket, only for his hand to be grabbed by Gi-hun.

“What are you doing?”

“I need my mask to pass security,” the young boy’s eyes widened as the end of Gi-hun’s gun was already aimed at his forehead between his eyes. Gi-hun relunctantly removes his hand from the boy.

As the young boy glances up, you notice his shoulders stiffened at the sight of someone behind Gi-hun, which was In-ho. It wasn’t the stance of a seasoned enforcer. It was hesitant and uncertain. He was clearly shocked but at the same… terrified.

Something twisted in your gut as you looked at In-ho, expecting confusion, maybe even a demand for answers. But he wasn’t surprised nor alarmed. In fact, he just… stared.

Your grip on your gun tightened as your mind raced, piecing things together, little by little. The foresight. The calculated steps. The way he always seemed to anticipate what was coming. 

Gi-hun’s voice from earlier echoed in your mind. His recollection of a former player who turns out to be a part of the games, Oh Il-nam. And now, this.

The young guard who was too young to be here, and too familiar with In-ho. Your pulse pounded as you turned to In-ho, searching for an explanation, but he wasn’t looking at you. His eyes remained on the boy, and for a split second, you saw something there.

Some kind of recognition. Not surprise nor fear. Just… recognition.

A chill crawled down your spine. Your fingers curled tighter around your gun, your heartbeat roaring in your ears.

But then, the young boy’s body fell from the ground, much to your surprise. Gunfire and chaos echoed through the corridors as the rebellion pushed forward, sweeping through the facility like a storm that couldn’t be contained. In-ho immediately turned to you and pulled you down, pressing you against the wall as you dodged.

There was no time to think. You felt In-ho’s body pressed against yours as he shot the guards out by the corridor. He bent down and hid behind the wall beside you, reloading his ammo. You took it as a signal to shoot as you and In-ho exchange shifts, shooting each guard one by one. 

——

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A/N: I got the next chapter ready already! Hahaha it was supposed to be a really long chapter but I decided to cut it from here instead. I'm so excited about the next chapters as they would rely solely on my imagination on the aftermath of Squid Game. I'm aiming to upload two chapters today so y'all better wait for that 👀 Anyway, feel free to leave out your thoughts here, and I'll gladly interact with each and everyone of you. 🫶

Don't forget to leave a comment in this post to be tagged in the next chapter! ✨

TAGS: @machipyun @love-leez @enzosluvr @amber-content @kandierteveilchen @butterfly-lover @1nterstellarcha0s @squidgame-lover001 @risingwithtriples @fries11 @follows-the-life-ahead @goingmerry69 @plague-cure (p.s. if i forget to you, please let me know)

“this is for soap…" 

CHAPTER 09 - once you go in, there's no turning back (hwang in ho x reader)

>> MASTERLIST

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----

You cupped your hands under the cold stream, letting the water pool on your palms as you brought it up to your face. The coolness sipped into your skin, a brief moment of relief as the tension in your temples eased. Droplets ran down your cheeks as it traced on to your jawline. You looked at yourself in the mirror as you dried yourself up, seeing Jun-hee behind, much to your surprise.

"Jesus, you scared me," your breath hitched as you rubbed the water away from your face using your shirt.

Jun-hee chuckled as you motioned to the side, awaiting her turn as she bowed to you. She moved forward to the sink to check herself in the mirror, then splashed some water on her face. Your skin felt refreshed, though you wished you had your skincare products with you to make you even feel better.

You went behind Jun-hee as both of you walked out of the bathroom, making your way towards the labyrinth of stairs down to the dormitory. You noticed Gi-hun, Jung-bae, Dae-ho, and In-ho already packing the beds, but the mattresses were being placed beneath the bedframes.

"Lights out in ten minutes," the voice said on the speakers. "Please prepare for bedtime."

"Pass it to me," you heard Gi-hun say as you walked near them, seeing them arranging the mattresses like a fort. The mattresses seemed clean, but its dust plumed into the air much to your sneeze as Jung-bae swatted his hand away from the dust.

"Bless you," Jung-bae said to you as you wiped your nose/ You sniffed, feeling the dust still lurking somewhere in your nostrils, only for you to sneeze again.

"God," you complained, turning away from the mattresses. "Please, excuse me."

"Excused," In-ho muttered. His voice was almost low but still audible for you, yeet you chose to ignore it.

"Is this really necessary? I don't like sleeping under there," Jung-bae complained, looking at the mattress being put under the bed with disgust.

"Once the lights go out, somebody might attack us," Gi-hun explained, his eyes fixed on the mattress he was arranging.

"What? Who?" Dae-ho asked, placing a mattress in front as a blockage, while Jun-hee held out the blankets.

"The prize money still goes up if we kill each other," Gi-hun said, his voice dark. "It's part of the game they designed."

"Seems like it," you said, nodding to Gi-hun in agreement. "This wasn't about the games anymore. They clearly want to see us fight up there. Some sort of a test for humanity, something like that."

In-ho scoffed from behind. "I think you're overreacting here. Even if that were true, people wouldn't do that."

As you were about to retort, Gi-hun turned away and faced In-ho, his expression dark but fearful. "In the previous games, dozens of people killed each other at night," Gi-hun pointed to the ground, his words pronounced every detail. "Right here." He sighed deeply as he continued. "You have no idea how people can change in this place."

In-ho looked away, sighing in defeat as he gave a small nod. "All right. I guess I didn't know what I was talking about. I'm sorry."

You raised an eyebrow, sensing his words with no hint of sincerity, as if it was perfectly memorized. Like it was an automatic response. You went back to your senses and listened more to Gi-hun, whose back was turned on In-ho. "Once it's lights out, we need to take turns keeping watch. I'll take the first watch. You should decide the order for the rest."

"I'll take after Gi-hun," Jung-bae raised his hand, then he looked at you and Jun-hee. "Both of you should get a good night's sleep for the rest of the night. It would also be better if you sleep at the bottom for your safety."

"I can handle myself," you assured, waving your hand as if to dismiss the idea. You turned to Jun-hee and gave her a small smile. "You can sleep for the rest of the night, Jun-hee."

Jun-hee nodded as she made her way to the mattress, seemingly wanting to sleep. She needed a lot of rest for her to get ready for the next games, hopefully to make it out in the end.

"I'll take watch after brother Jung-bae," Dae-ho said, giving a salute to Jung-bae, to which he returned. The two marines exchanged handshakes.

"That leaves me then," In-ho said, then he looked at you. "You can take watch after me."

You nodded and proceeded to get your blanket and pillow along with Jun-hee's, deciding to sleep beside her at night to accommodate her needs. You weren't knowledgeable on how to care for a pregnant woman, but you should at least try. You felt a sense of protectiveness for her, tucking her in.

You positioned yourself on the bed, placing a blanket over you. The lights dimmed as the piggy bank's light illuminated around the area. You could feel your eyelids drooping, growing heavier with every passing second. The world around you blurred, the edges of reality softening as your body sank deeper into the mattress. You could feel every muscle in your body ached with fatigue. No matter how hard you tried to stay alert, your body had already decided - there was no fighting it anymore.

----

Sleep had barely settled into your bones before something stirred you awake. Your eyes cracked open sluggishly, your mind swimming through the heavy fog of exhaustion. The world around was still wrapped in darkness, the dim lighting from the piggy bank overhead casting eerie shadows along the bunk beds. Your limbs felt weighted and slow to respond, and cold air stung against your exposed skin, making you shiver.

You slid out of the mattress, careful not to wake Jun-hee up. You rubbed your eyes as you blinked, sluggishly adjusting to reality.

And then, you saw In-ho.

He sat a few feet away, his back straight, his gaze fixed somewhere beyond the sleeping bodies. He barely moved, barely even blinked, his silhouette rigid against the dim glow of the room. The sharp angles of his face were softened by darkness, but there was something unnerving about how still he was.

You moved slowly and quietly as you approached him, only for him not to react much. He didn't even flinch, didn't turn his head, but you knew he was aware of you.

You hesitated before lowering yourself onto the floor beside him, mirroring his posture - leaning back against the bunk, legs stretched out, knees barely grazing. The silence between you was thick, but not suffocating. Not yet, anyway.

"You can sleep," you spoke up as his eyes flicked towards you. "It's my turn to watch."

"The lights will open in a few hours. It's no use to sleep now," In-ho replied as he returned his eyes to the shadows ahead.

You nodded, letting the quiet settle again. You closed your eyes a bit as you could still feel a bit of sense of grogginess, but fixed yourself up when you felt dozing off again.

The room was steeped in silence, save for the occasional rustle of bodies shifting in sleep. The longer you sat there, the more the exhaustion sank into your bones, making your mind wander to places it shouldn't. Your fingers absently traced the fabric of your pants as your thoughts had already slipped somewhere else. Before you could stop it, the memory surfaced - your father.

The same silence. The same kind that used to stretch between you and him, late at night, when you'd wake up and find him sitting alone in the living room, a bottle of beer long gone cold in front of him. He would watch a movie while drinking, enjoying the rest of his night with a cigarette on hand.

You would watch the same movie to help you go back to sleep as he would gesture toward the chair across from him. And you'd sit, just like this, neither of you speaking, both of you staring at the TV in front of you. It was something unspoken, but shared.

You weren't sure why you thought of him now. Maybe it was the stillness. The weight of unspoken things hanging in the air. Or maybe it was In-ho himself - the way he sat there, unreadable, distant in a way that felt too familiar.

The thought made your chest tighten, your throat constricting around something you weren't ready to name.

"Appa used to sit like this," you murmured before you could stop yourself.

You felt In-ho shift beside you - just barely, just enough that you knew he had heard. He didn't turn to face you, didn't press for more, but he was listening.

Your fingers curled slightly against your knee as you exhaled. You didn't mead to say it, but now the words were out, lingering between you both, impossible to take back.

"He'd just sit there at night while watching a movie, thinking about things he never talked about."

In-ho didn't speak, but his breathing was steady, his presence solid beside you. The moment stretched, heavy with something neither of you had the energy to unpack.

"He passed away recently," you swallowed, feeling an ache on your chest. In-ho's faze flickered toward you, seeing his eyes with shock and... worry. "Hemorrhagic stroke. I was getting ready for work when eomma called me and said that they rushed him to the hospital. He suddenly felt dizzy and passed out in the ambulance. The doctors said he was in critical condition," you felt tears forming in your eyes as your voice cracked. "I rushed to the emergency room that day. The doctors said they couldn't do a surgery on him anymore. There was no brain activity anymore and his body was only relying to the machine. We went home and waited for more news. It took a while for us to decide but then..."

Your voice cracked, and before you knew it, the tears came - hot, unstoppable, burning their way down your cheeks. You bit down on your lip as if that would keep the sob from escaping, but it only made your shoulders shake harder, your breath coming in sharp, uneven gasps.

"When we were on the way back to the hospital, the doctors tried to revive him twice. As if he was waiting for us. When we arrived, we decided to take the medicines off and let him pass naturally. And just like that, in just a few hours, he was gone."

It wasn't just the fact that he was gone. The fact that life had ripped him away from you, without warning, without time to prepare. That there had been so many things left unsaid, so many moments you thought you'd have, but never would.

You pressed the heels of your palms against your eyes, trying to smother the sobs, trying to control yourself, but it was useless. You weren't just crying - you were breaking, unraveling right in front of him.

In-ho was still silent. But he hadn't left.

His fingers twitched slightly against his knee, like he had considered doing something - but in the end, he stayed still.

You sucked in a breath, swallowing back another sob. "I don't even know why I'm telling you this," you whispered, your voice raw, shaking.

For a moment, you thought he wouldn't respond. But then, softly, he said, "Because he mattered."

You blinked, fresh tears slipping down your cheeks.

In-ho exhaled, tilting his head slightly, his gaze fixed on the floor. "People like that... they don't really leave us. They just... stop being where we can reach them."

Something about the way he said it made your breath catch. It sounded too familiar, too knowing, like he was speaking from experience.

You wiped your tears away with your sleeve, trying to steady yourself, but the weight in your chest didn't disappear. It wouldn't, not for a long time.

In-ho didn't offer anything else. No empty reassurances. No forced words of sympathy.

But he stayed. And somehow, that was enough.

You could feel his gaze on you, heavy and assessing, but he didn't speak. You turned your face away as if hiding it would somehow take away the humiliation of breaking in front of him.

In-ho's fingers ghosted over your wrist before retreating, hesitant, like even the smallest act of comfort was something foreign to him.

You sniffled, forcing a shaky breath. "You don't have to pretend to care."

In-ho exhaled through his nose, something like amusement, something like frustration. "I'm not pretending."

You turned to him, expecting coldness, indifference. But instead, you found something else. His gaze was unreadable, but there was something softer, something hesitant in the way his lips parted like he wanted to say more but wouldn't.

And then, you felt his lips against yours. It was brief, deliberate. Not desperate, not hurried - but real.

His lips were warm against yours, and for the first time in what felt like forever, you didn't feel cold. His grip on you tightened as he pulled you closer, surrendering to the moment.

But then, the light came on. The bright, harsh, unforgiving light illuminating the room.

You barely had time to register the words before In-ho pulled away, the warmth between you vanishing as quickly as it had come. His expression was unreadable again, as if the moment had never happened.

"The third game will begin momentarily. All players, please get out of bed and get ready."

----

The moment the heavy doors slid open, a stark sterile brightness spilled into the corridor, making you squint against the sudden change. The space beyond was massive, eerily open, the kind of emptiness that felt designed to make you feel small.

In the center of the room stood a series of platforms and narrow walkways, forming an intricate maze-like pattern, interconnected in ways that felt delibrate, calculated. At first glance, there seemed to be no immediate danger - no spikes, no pits, no obvious traps.

"Welcome to your third game. The game you will be playing is Mingle."

You looked around as you saw the doors around the place, each with different colors. If this was Mingle, then you would be grouping yourselves, pairing up, and choosing sides. This game could be to form alliances, or something worse - something to force you into connections you wouldn't want.

"All players, please step onto the center platform. When the game starts, the platform will begin to rotate and you will hear a number. You must form groups of that size, go into the rooms, and close the door within 30 seconds."

"Oh, this game? We used to play something similar on school trips," Jung-bae spoke up. "We formed groups by hugging."

"Yeah, instead of hugging, we go into those rooms," Dae-ho pointed at the doors.

In-ho, Y/N, Gi-hun, Jung-bae, Dae-ho, Jun-hee.

"If the number is six, we can stay together," you said, earning a nod from each of your group. "We can be divided by three and two. So that wouldn't be a problem."

"If it's two, you and me pair up," In-ho stated with no hesitation. Before you could react, he leaned in and wrapped his hand around yours steadily and certain.

Your breath hitched, but you didn't pull away. The words sent a sharp jolt through your chest - not from fear, not from surprise, but from the way he didn't phrase it as a question. He wasn't asking. He was deciding.

His grip was firm, not forceful, but final. Like he had already made the choice for you - like he wouldn't let you end up with anyone else.

Your eyes flicked up just in time to catch the others watching. Gi-hun, Jung-bae, Dae-ho, even Jun-hee noticed. The way In-ho held your hand. The way he had spoken so casualy, so sure as if it was obvious. The way you didn't pull away.

Gi-hun's expression tightened, his brows furrowing just slightly, as if he was trying to understand what he had just seen. You could feel the weight of their silent questions. But In-ho didn't look at them, as if he didn't care. He didn't acknowledge their glances. He just kept his grip on your hand, his thumb resting lightly against your skin.

Gi-hun seemed to shake away his thoughts, focusing on the game ahead instead. "If the number is bigger than six, we'll get the additional people we need."

"Yeah, we have Geum-ja, Hyun-ju, Yong-sik, and Young-mi. These rooms look like it could only fit up to ten people," you replied, earning a nod from Gi-hun.

"No matter what happens, don't panic. Let's stay calm," In-ho said, his hand still not pulling away from yours. "We'll all make it out together here."

One by one, your hands with the others pressed against each other, stacking in a firm, unspoken pact. The weight of each palm settled atop the next, fingers brushing, gripping, grounding. The warmth of skin against skin was a quiet promise - whatever happened next, you were all in this together.

"Victory at all costs!"

"Let the game begin."

The first bell-like chime rang out. The platform moved with the players on it. The gasps echoed from the room as you heard the song, "Round and Round" play on the background.

Dunggeulge dunggeulge Dunggeulge dunggeulge Binggeulbinggeul doragamyeo chumeul chupsida

Beside you, In-ho stood perfectly still, his gaze fixed ahead, his posture unreadable. You glanced down to find his hand was still holding yours, fingers curled loosely but solidly around yours. You hadn't let go, neither of you had.

Sonppyeogeul chimyeonseo Noraereul bureumyeo La-la-la-la, jeulgeoupge chumchuja

You tightened your grip to In-ho as you could feel your insides shaking, terrified of what was next. You could already anticipate the chaos it would entail once the music stops, trying to force your way into those doors.

Ring-a-ring-a, ring-a, ring-a-ring-a, ring Ring-a-ring-a, ring-a, ring-a-ring-a, ring Sone soneul japgo modu da hamkke Jeulgeoupge ttwieo bopsida

Your stomach tightened upon hearing the music stop. Then, the numbers flashed across the screen. The platform clunked, almost sending you to the ground but failed, thanks to In-ho's grip on you.

"Ten."

You barely had time to think as you watched the players around you scramble, hands reaching out to others as they searched for a sense of safety in numbers. Your heart raced. You knew you had to act fast. In this game, alliances would form and be broken in a split second. There was no in between.

In-ho was beside you, his grip on your hand stayed. The pressure was mounting with each passing second. You could see the other players eyeing each other, trying to gauge who would be an asset and who might be a liability.

Without hesitation, you grabbed Jun-hee, Gi-hun, Jung-bae, and Dae-ho as you grouped yourselves together with In-ho. Gi-hun approached Hyun-ju, seeing they were four which was perfect for a group of ten.

"There's no time, Gi-hun," In-ho said as he gripped your hand tighter and ran to a door, the group following you. The green door opened and revealed the green walls around you, panting as you entered.

The timer beeped as the latch clicked, indicating the door has been locked. You peeked through the hole and saw that there were still players outside, sparing for their lives as the guards aimed their guns at them, gunshots echoing through the room.

You froze, seeing the bodies drop to the ground. You felt someone grab you from the side, burying your head over their chest. You sensed it was In-ho as his breath was shallow against your ear as he whispered something you couldn't quite make out, something low and protective.

There was only the sound of bodies hitting the floor, and the quiet safety of being pressed into him, as if you were tucked away from the madness. And in the midst of the chaos, his chest was the only thing you could hold onto, the only thing that could remind you that there was still something human, something warm, in a world that was falling apart.

"The following players have been eliminated: Players 013, 043, 049, 054, 060..."

As the doors unlocked, only the blood remained around the floor. The bodies were no longer there, enough for you to think whether seeing the lives taken away were just a dream. In the span of moments, the tension in the air shifted from uncertainty to something else entirely - a realization that the number didn't just matter for the game; they mattered for your survival.

----

At this point, you weren't sure anymore how you were able to survive the next rounds. It's as if you were just breathing and passing the time, only this time, your life was at stake. At first, it had been difficult to watch. The gunshots, the screams - it had shaken something deep inside you. But now, it was just another sound in the background of this twisted game. A signal that the rules had already been set - only the storng survive.

You had long stopped reacting, long stopped feeling the sting of it. It was as if you had slipped into a place where you could no longer be touched, where nothing mattered but survival.

"There are 126 people left and there are 50 rooms. So there won't be enough rooms for everyone, only for 100 people," you told your group as you scanned the room. "The rest will be killed."

Gi-hun seemed to look at you in horror, as if shocked to hear about your casualty on talking about killing. You kept your gaze in front of you much to his horror. But In-ho, he was more amused.

The platform rumbled, indicating that it was time to pair up.

"Two."

In-ho instinctively grabbed your hand as both of you ran to find empty rooms. The others around were still floundering, unsure of their next move. Your senses were full now, numbed by the constant violence, as if something deep inside you had already switched off. You had seen too much, felt too much, and the pain and fear had begun to fade away, replaced by something darker, colder.

This wasn't about survival anymore. This was about the true unraveling of human nature, something you were finally starting to understand.

As the players slowly paired up, you saw another playing trying to make his way toward a room, a look of uncertainty in his eyes. He was too close to that room that should've belonged to you and In-ho.

In-ho didn't hesitate. Without a warning, he stepped forward and grabbed the man by the collar, dragging him out of the room as he tried to make his way inside.

"What the hell? Let go of me!" Player 285 screamed as In-ho held him back.

"Get in!" In-ho ordered you and rushed inside, only to see another player already inside.

In-ho followed after he threw Player 285 out of the way, seeing Player 343 there.

"Get out," In-ho commanded, his voice deep and low.

"We were here first," Player 343 retorted.

You stepped forward as your hands came into a fist. Player 343's eyes widened in confusion. You didn't give him the chance to fight.

Player 343 was looking at you, their gaze cautious. It wasn't a look of fear - not yet. But it would be soon. He shifted in front of you nervously, eyes daring between you and In-ho, but he didn't know.

He didn't know what you were becoming.

In-ho was just there, just a few steps behind you. It wasn't like he was holding you back, but there was an unspoken understanding between you. He sensed it, didn't he? The change. The shift that was slowly creeping over you, turning your survival instincts into something much darker.

You were no longer just fighting to survive - you were becoming the predator. And Player 343? He was nothing but a prey now.

You didn't hesitate. His neck snapped easily under your fingers, the crack of bones loud in the stillness, his body crumpling at your feet. His body dropped to the ground, lifeless, in a heap of twisted limbs. The silence between you and In-ho felt deafening.

As you turned to look at In-ho, you felt his eyes on you - steady and unblinkingg. He wasn't surprised. He wasn't even acknowledging you. But you could feel the quiet recognition he had of what you were becoming.

"I never taught you how to kill someone for a game," In-ho said, his voice low, his gaze briefly flickering to the body at your feet before he stepped closer.

You blinked, the words settling into the space between you, but you didn't answer. Instead, you felt his fingers gently press against your skin, just above your pulse. His touch was strangely familiar, like it had always been there, like you hadn't notiveed how much you craved it until now.

In-ho cupped your face, his thumb tracing your jawline as if committing the feeling of you to memory. And in that moment, everything else - the game, the players, the chaos - faded away. There was only the quiet intensity between you.

He leaned in, his lips just a whisper away from yours, and for the first time in what felt like forever, you felt something real.

"Do you still have my ring?" He asked, his breath warm against your lips.

His words stung as you stood there with him, realizing that he had remembered it all along. You knew that you were no longer afraid of who you had become.

Without thinking, you closed the space between you, your lips crashing into his with a force that sent shockwaves through your body. It was intense, desperate - a kiss that was as much about claiming as it was about understanding.

His body was pushed against the wall as his hands were on your back now, pulling you closer, his touch burning through the fabric of your clothes as if he was marking you as his own. His lips were demanding, like he couldn't get enough, as if he had been waiting for this moment just as much as you had.

The kiss deepened, a quiet growl of frustration escaping him as you matched his urgency, your hands threading through his hair, pulling him closer still.

In-ho pulled back just enough to breathe, his forehead resting against yours. He was panting, just like you, as if the kiss had taken all the air from both of you. "You're learning fast from all the game."

The moment between you lingered, a ting of happiness on your chest yet the realization of who you had become felt heavy. The realization of the game not just killing the players, but how it could change them. And for the first time, you understood. The brutality, the death, the constant tension - they weren't just part of the game. They were a mirror, reflecting the truth about human nature.

When pushed far enough, we all become what we fear the most.

You had become the villain as the game progressed. It wasn't about power, it was because you had finally accepted the truth. In a world like this, the ones who survive aren't the ones who cling to their humanity - they're the ones who shed it and embrace the darkness inside.

You were already too far gone to turn back.

"Let's finish this together," you whispered, your words a promise, and you knew deep down, that you were both already lost in the game. "No more lies?"

In-ho nodded, cupping your face with his hand, and gave you the softest smile you haven't seen for years. "No more lies."

----

A/N: And so, we're back! The past few days have been hectic. I added a little update of my dad's condition to this chapter as a way of updating you guys on what happened. But yeah, I hope y'all enjoy the rest of the chapter as we progress Y/N and In-ho's relationship in the fic. Feel free to leave out your thoughts here, and I'll gladly interact with each and everyone of you. 🫶

Don't forget to leave a comment in this post to be tagged on the next chapter! ✨

previous chapter | next chapter

>> MASTERLIST

TAGS: @machipyun @love-leez @enzosluvr @amber-content @kandierteveilchen @butterfly-lover@1nterstellarcha0s @squidgame-lover001 @risingwithtriples @fries11 @follows-the-life-ahead @goingmerry69 (p.s. if i forget to tag you, please let me know)

saw this on pinterest but HEAR ME OUT why does this photo just make so 😩

i think i need help but there is something so attractive in this, it stuck in my mind for days

CHAPTER 02 - once you go in, there's no turning back (hwang in ho x reader)

>> MASTERLIST

previous chapter | next chapter

----

The familiar scent of your apartment brought you back to your senses. The reality of being back to Seoul for good kicks you in day by day. Jun-ho placed your suitcase to the floor and looked around. Your studio apartment had a natural sunlight, as the glass door illuminated the light from the outside. Though the apartment still felt empty as you still lacked furnitures, but the memories it held was more than enough to say that you were indeed back home.

"Jun-ho, thank you so much for bringing my stuff back here," you patted his shoulder and smiled.

He smiled back. "No worries, noona. I'm so glad you're back. I wish we could talk more, but I got an errand to catch on."

You nodded, taking off your hand from his shoulder. "I see. Well, good luck and do good, alright?" Jun-ho nodded and grabbed his backpack. As he made his way to the door, you turned around and called out to him again. This time, you noticed how his body froze to your words, "If you ever see In-ho, let him know that I'm back, alright?"

His body stood still, much to your confusion. What was up with him? You understand how it might've been hard how In-ho had been missing for years, but your gut tells you that there was more to the story. As much as you wanted to ask, you knew In-ho preferred to always move and decide on his own. There's so much more in there, you knew it. But you were in no position to pry, at least for now.

Jun-ho looked back at you and only gave you a bow, then left. You turned your attention to the apartment, noting the stuff that you had to buy. A dining table, chairs, sofa, and a bed. Your wooden cabinet was still here, though it had built up dust already. You cleaned a bit inside before placing your clothes and other stuff there.

The sun was still out but it was setting already. You figured with little time you have left, you may as well shop for furnitures. You changed into another set of clothes, this time more casual and comfortable. You wore a black oversized shirt and grey sweatpants, slipping on some white sneakers. Once you felt ready, you grabbed your sling bag and went out, locking the door behind you.

As you walked down the road, you can't help but think of In-ho and how Jun-ho seemed to act strange whenever he was mentioned. You wondered why - did they fall out? Did something happen? Was In-ho gone for good? If yes, why would he leave his brother then? You tried to piece things together, but nothing made sense. It was out of character for In-ho to disappear without a trace, even if his wife passed.

It's impossible that he's gone for good, you thought. If his wife has passed, he would've made an effort to at least visit her in the cemetery. Though you didn't know where his wife was laid to rest, but in that case, maybe In-ho would've visited her at times. Guilt started to creep up to you, regretting every single second that you left here in the first place. As much as you knew it was for the best, you couldn't help but think that maybe you could've been there for In-ho when he was struggling. You could've helped him.

----

You swiped your credit card to the POS, confirming your payment for all the furnitures you bought. It would be deliver later, not later than 7pm at least. You needed a bed to sleep in for the night, and your apartment was more than empty except for the wooden cabinet you left years ago. You were surprised how it was still sturdy as ever. Kind of a blessing in disguise, actually.

You bowed to the cashier and proceeded to exit the store. You sighed as you felt the cold breeze hug you in. You looked for your vape inside your sling bag, inhaled it, and puffed a smoke. You didn't realize how tense your shoulders were as you exhaled. You thought the jetlag was getting on to you, adding up to the fact all the things you knew about the brothers.

You walked towards the subway, waiting for your train to arrive. This time, you didn't try hailing a cab as you missed riding the train. You wanted to savor the feeling of being in Seoul, finally back after long years.

You sat on one of the benches, minding your own business as you stared into space. You scrolled through your phone as you waited for the train, getting updated about your friends' life updates. You noticed an advertisement from a vlogger, MG Coin. It was the first time you stumbled upon this vlogger and read an article about them. Turns out he opened a new coin, Dalmatian, which he advertised to have everyone invest down to their last penny, guaranteeing instant investment. From the looks of it, if you weren't dumb enough, it was a scam for you. No one can get rich from truly investing, what more of getting a return of investment that fast.

"Dumb fucks," you muttered to yourself, shaking your head in disbelief. You continued to scroll more until there was no news that was worth to read. You sighed and kept your phone inside your bag.

The sound of a tile being slammed shot you up, looking at the direction of the sound. There, you see a man in a fine suit, playing what seemed like ddakji. You adjusted your eyesight to see what was happening, and yes, it really was ddakji.

You chuckled, wondering what entered his mind to play such a kid's game in a random subway. He was playing with someone who seemed to be in... distressed? You looked at the man, seeing a hand imprint on his face. You furrowed your eyebrows, confused why he seemed so invested in the game.

You watched them as they played, earning a shock from you when you see the man with a suit slap the guy's face. Then, he started to speak. "Again, I'll give you 100,000 won if you beat me. If I win, you can pay with your body."

"So, he paid by slapping," you shook your head in disbelief, chuckling as you continued to watch them. When the guy finally won, you can see how happy he was but looked up to the man in a suit, seemingly wanting to slap him. As he bolted his hand to slap, the man in a suit grabbed the guy's hand, blocking the slap. It seemed like he gave him something, which the guy glanced at his hand as if he was reading something.

You averted your gaze when you see the man in a suit turn around, facing you. You tried to not meet his gaze, but to your surprise, a briefcase was right next to your seat. You were probably so invested in watching the game that you didn't notice the briefcase. Though it was a crazy idea, you wanted to try and play the game. Would you win the prize? Or would you try to spice things up a bit?

You faced the man in a suit, meeting your gaze. You gave him a smile and a nod, and surprisingly, he also did. He proceeded to place the ddakji papers but he stopped as you spoke, "May I?"

The man smirked, but you can see the confusion forming in his face. You had a feeling he was trying to keep up with a facade which boils your curiosity more. "You want to play ddakji?"

You nodded. "I heard that you can win 100,000 won if you win, right?" He nodded in agreement. You continued, "What if I give you 100,000 won instead if you win, and if you lose...?" You looked up to think, and see the man chuckling. He seemed to be enjoying this.

"If I lose, then you can slap me," the man said as he smirked, taking the papers away from the briefcase. This was it, it seemed that both of you reached to an agreement. You stood up, fixing your clothes as he hands you the red paper.

The blue paper sits on the ground, waiting for you to flip it. You took a deep breath as you motioned your hand up then aimed at the blue paper, flipping it perfectly. It was the man's turn, seeing as he fixed and unbuttoned his blazer before swinging his hand to flip the paper on the ground, only to fail.

You smirked when you see him realize that he lost. He straightened himself up and moved his face near you, a free aim for you to slap. You examined his features first, realizing how fine he looked. He looked like he might in his early 40s, with a strand of hair down his forehead. He seemed to brace to the impact as you motioned your hand for a slap, only to lightly tap his face, barely even a slap.

He looked at you confusingly to which you only chuckled. "Can't slap a pretty face like yours," you said.

He only looked at you coldly, then furrowed his eyebrows as if to examine you. You had a feeling that no one dared to do that to him before, and maybe no one ever gave him 100,000 won if he wins the game. His jaw clenched, but not the angry kind. He seemed to think and squinted his eyes, then proceeded to nod in defeat, chuckling to himself.

"I just wanted to try it anyway, see if I was still good at it," you fixed yourself, straightening your posture. He did the same, now placing the ddakji papers back in the suitcase.

You noticed his hand on your vision, giving you a brown card, like a calling card, with three shapes on it - triangle, square, and circle. You shot him a confused look but this time, he was smirking at you. "If you want to see if you're good at ddakji, then you may as well join more games."

You grabbed the card from him as he closed his briefcase, giving you a nod before turning away, seeing his back as he walked away up to the platform, leaving the subway. Your gaze turned to the card you were holding, its texture seemed... premium. You turned the card on the other side and saw a number, as if ready for you to call.

A rumbling noise of wheels echoed through the subway, indicating that the train has arrived. You tucked the card on your pocket as you waited for the doors to open, entering it and sat near the entrance. You picked the card again from your pocket, intently staring at it. There was something more in this card that you were curious about. What did he mean about having more games? Will there be a prize at the end?

There's no harm in doing so, you think?

----

"Lee Myung-gi ran a Youtube Channel named, 'MG Coin' promoted a new coin called, 'Dalmatian' that turned out to be a scam, losing over 15.2 billion won after promoting it to their subscribers," the salesman reported, a phone pressed on his ear.

In-ho continued working on his papers, a glass of whiskey sitting near his left desk lamp. His phone was placed near it, putting the call on loudspeaker. He went over the potential player's file, seeing more of the details of the scam. He shook his head in disbelief, wondering how did these people get themselves up to situations like this. "Trash. Pure trash."

"He fled to the Philippines to hide from those he scammed," the voice on the other line stated. "I also noticed someone calling his phone. Someone named Kim Jun-hee."

"What about this Jun-hee?"

"She's pregnant, sir," the salesman said. In-ho dropped the paper he was holding for a moment. A pause came in before the salesman continued again, "Not in debt. Just needed funds for her pregnancy."

In-ho sat back on his chair, placing his hand on his chin as if to think. Though he couldn't help but feel his heart drop for a moment, remembering his wife. He shook his head before his emotions take over, proceeding to speak again. "You played with her?"

"Yes," the salesman replied. "I didn't slap her, knowing how fragile she was." In-ho nodded, a sigh of relief escaping from him. He took a sip on his whiskey, but was caught off guard when the salesman started to speak again. "But someone else wanted to play voluntarily."

"That's a first," In-ho muttered. He wondered why someone wanted to play ddakji voluntarily. Then he scoffed, thinking how they probably heard about the prize. "Let them enter the games."

"Sir, with all due respect, are you sure?" The salesman asked, the shock evident in his voice. "She offered to pay 100,000 won if she loses the game."

In-ho nodded as his thoughts start to take him over, trying to decide if they would let this someone enter the games. In entering the games, one had to be in debt. By debt, as in bad debts. A debt that slowly kills you, feeling as though you were alive only to be taunted by your shitty financial decisions. In-ho proceeded to ask, "Do you know anything about this woman?"

"I'm afraid not, sir. My apologies," the salesman replied. "But she seemed to be carefree. I spotted her along a furniture store nearby the station, buying furnitures, like a lot of them. She beat me to playing ddakji, and said she just wanted to see if she was still good at it."

In-ho became more confused, trying to weigh if he was going to let this someone in. If he lets you in, then the games would be more interesting. That is, if you call the number. Maybe there was no harm in letting someone not in debt to play. Or maybe he can offer you something more than playing in a pool of humans drowned in their debts.

"I gave her a card in case she's interested," the salesman reported. "But you should know that someone's got a tail on me. Seong Gi-hun is after us."

In-ho nodded, rolling his eyes with the thought of Gi-hun. In-ho believed that Gi-hun wouldn't be able to take down the whole organization. If ever, he would let Gi-hun be, but it would all just be for show, just to make things interesting.

Make things interesting.

As if a light was shone on In-ho's face, his face brightened up with an idea. He could make Gi-hun come back to the games, and letting someone like you in the games to see the truth and evilness of this place. Will you regret ever being so curious? He smirked, finishing his glass of whiskey as he felt the booze heat his throat. "Let the furniture girl in, and let Gi-hun work on his delusions. This season's going to be far more interesting."

In-ho ended the call, holding his hands together. He stared into space, sinking away from his thoughts. It's time to level up the games, to let someone who isn't entirely in debt to enter the games. Additionally, it's time to let a previous winner back.

If Gi-hun's back, then so is he.

----

A/N: I had so much fun writing this chapter! What did you think about the twist of ddakji? I wanted to at least express how attractive the salesman is, and how the reader couldn't slap his pretty face, catching him off guard. Now, we get a glimpse of In-ho before starting the games. It's also my first time to write a perspective of a villain, I hope I did some justice to it. Feel free to leave out your thoughts here, and I'll gladly interact with each and everyone of you. 🫶

Don't forget to leave a comment in this post to be tagged on the next chapter! ✨

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