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Hwang In Ho - Blog Posts
Quick essay that no one asked for on the ship of Seong Gi-hun and Hwang In-ho. I see this pairing being commonly compared to the likes of Will Graham and Hannibal Lecter, and while I definitely see the similarities, to me, the (oddly enough, heterosexual) couple they remind me the most of is Catherine the Great and Peter III of Russia.
These characters are from the television show The Great, and long story short, Catherine the Great begins as a naive and optimistic young woman who marries Peter III, and her optimism shatters upon realizing how cruel and spiteful her husband is, and she decides to overthrow him. However, despite everything they do to each other over the course of the series, including attempting to kill and overthrow each other and murdering one another's loved ones, they somehow fall in love.
Their love is so powerful and all-consuming that even those around them, closest to them, cannot fathom it after all that they have done to one another and to me that is how Seong Gi-hun and Hwang In-ho are. Often people argue that Gi-hun would never in actuality love In-ho after what he did to countless players and Jung-bae, but that is the point: like Peter and Catherine, their twisted love transcends the violence and betrayal, showing a deeper connection that defies logic and reason.
Specifically, there is one scene played out between Peter and Catherine that I could easily see happening between Gi-hun and In-ho. In a fit of rage, Catherine finally stabs Peter (who is actually a body double of him), and she thinks she has killed him, and upon realizing what she has done, she breaks down in sobs and falls to her knees. Then the real Peter appears, and Catherine, realizing he is alive and how she felt when she thought she had killed him, realizes her feelings, and he holds her while she cries. I can totally see Gi-hun somehow managing to shoot The Frontman (who is actually a double as well, let us say) only to similarly break down in tears and feel utter devastation over what he thought he had done. Then In-ho appears, revealing that the individual in the Frontman outfit was a double, and Gi-hun is overcome with a multitude of feelings like relief, shock, and love, and cries before going to the other man and embracing him.
I need someone to recreate the Gone Girl promotional poster—but with In-ho and Gi-hun! Ugh, especially if it is Gi-hun in one of those black boxes with the pink bows and In-ho holding him! I wish I had artistic ability so I could do it!
The reason I love 457 x 001 or In-ho x Gi-hun so much is because their ship dynamic is literally just:
Squid Game Incorrect Quotes 〇△□
Seong Gi-hun: You've taken my best friend Jung-bae... and my new friend, Young-il! You monster!
Hwang In-ho: On the contrary, Player 456... [slowly removes mask.]
Seong Gi-hun: [gasps, staring.] Young-il! You're alive! I knew it! But where's the Front Man? He could come back any second-quick, we need to get out of here before he finds us!
Hwang In-ho: [stares blankly, then slowly puts the mask back on.]
Seong Gi-hun: [eyes widen, incredulous.] Young-il, no!Where did he go? What did you do to him now, you monster?!
Hwang In-ho: [lets out a frustrated sigh, voice flat.] ...There's no way this is happening.
Squid Game Incorrect Quotes 〇△□
Hwang In-ho: [Praying next to Seong Gi-hun shrine] Oh dear lord, if you see fit to send me my one true love...
[Seong Gi-hun bursts through the ceiling in a cloud of plaster and dust, flailing wildly as he crashes onto the bed with a loud thud.]
Hwang In-ho: [Slowly smirks, barely hiding his amusement] ...Thank you.
this post got a chuckle out of me 😭 also my baby ga yeong 💗💗
close ups
I think we can all agree that when the Hwang In-Ho | Frontman x Seong Gi-hun fics hit 1,000 on AO3, it is officially time to throw a party.
thought this was funny LMAOO
I NEED MORE OF THEM
💚💚💚
gihun can fix him
457 Story Bits with Ruereii #2
See you in my 33rd Life
Genre: Reincarnation, death loop
Gihun didn’t expect his attempt to sway Namgyu’s vote to 'X' to spiral into a conversation about drugs from someone named Thanos. But somehow, there he was, staring at two options: a red edible and a blue one. He recalled the Frontman’s story about The Matrix. Seeking truth, he chose the red edible.
When he woke up, he was back in the dorm, but something was off. The beds were rusted, the sheets scratchy, and the high-tech jumbotron was gone, replaced by a chalkboard hanging on the wall.
None of the players looked familiar. He glanced down. His number: 456.
He was in the first edition of the Games.
It didn’t go well. Without the motion-sensor doll, Red Light, Green Light was enforced manually. Gihun didn’t make it. He died. And that’s when it started.
Reincarnation. Over and over. Sometimes he came back as a young man, sometimes an old woman. Each time with a new number. Each time wearing a new face. Each time meeting a different fate but always dying before the end.
By the 28th loop, he was exhausted. The Games had evolved to become more brutal and intricate. He had the taste of betrayal from his own teammates, being backstabbed (quite literally).
Yet he held onto that sliver of hope that humanity is good. That someone was different.
This time, he met Hwang Inho, who looked like a younger version of Oh Youngil. Amidst the chaos, they formed a bond, a shared sense of justice, and an unlikely friendship born from survival.
Together, they made it to the end. But Gihun, worn and weathered from lifetimes of failure, made a choice. He sacrificed himself, believing Inho could change things for the better.
He didn’t know if he’d come back again. But if he did, maybe he’d finally get it right.
didn't know what was in front of us
x | x | x | x
limbic synchrony: unconsciously mimicking another's body language and facial expressions, fostering a sense of connection and empathy.
"I will show you that the world doesn't always go the way you want to" are the premises which Gi-Hun made a bet with In-Ho.
In-Ho, who is smart, cold, and manipulative, always seeming to be three steps ahead of everyone, is being put to the test if things would "always go his way".
He has the upper hand and will absolutely use all the cards in his favor.
This is a continuation of the post I made regarding his interpersonal manipulation to get Gi-Hun to like him and emotionally attach to him. In-Ho didn't stop there, using his position as a bureaucrat to manipulate both Gi-Hun and everyone else to continue the games, systematically ensuring the results he wants to win the bet.
As Gi-Hun correctly pointed out, the way he got people to comeback to the games was upon preying on their desperation, making it seem like they reached a dead end, with the only and last opportunity they had was to participate "willingly" on the games. Making it virtually impossible for people to want to vote out on later games as they feared something greater outside, and everyone has "come too far" to get out now. This time, it was much more sophisticated.
The addition of clause #4 and the voting system.
Unlike last time, people have the opportunity to get out and share the price money, even after only playing one game. A direct way to fuck Gi-Hun's mind as if those were the conditions of the 33rd Squid Game, at least both Sang-Woo and Sae-Byeok would have made it out alive, In-Ho knew this very well, so, he would need to prove that people will continue the games regardless if they shared the price money.
Him choosing to be player "001" is key into determining the fate of the results. If it came to end a tie or marking a tie, In-Ho would hold that power as he is the last person to vote.
Other factor to consider is that voting is *not anonymous* so the outcomes are corrupted by the expectations other people have on you, specially after they are marked with a patch that exposes if they chose to continue or wanted to get out. Min-Su is the most obvious case of voting for 'O' because he was intimidaded into doing so, however, Jung-Bae, Dae-Ho, Yong-Sik, Myung-gi and "Young-Il" all voted 'X' because there was an expectation from someone else to vote that way.
It is very interesting that the games did this fake illusion of democracy, as it only matters during the votes that people don't get violent, however, you are free to intimidate and even kill people.
Participants
While the players were already recruited, it was certainly convenient for In-ho to have many players that would put Gi-Hun on a very familiar and uncomfortable situation, some to point out:
Jun-Hee and Myung-gi: A pregnant woman and her incompetent baby-daddy, who is constantly trying to prove himself for Jun-Hee to forgive him and allow him to be part of her baby's life, as well as hers. Reminding him of how Gi-Hun (without fault on his own) neglected Eun-Ji and almost lost his daughter by witnessing the death of his friend during the strikes. Marking the resentment she holds against him.
Yong-Sik and Geum-Ja: a pathetic mama's boy who gets in debt and (unwillingly) brings his mother down with him, and while trying to make amends to fix mistakes, he doesn't realize how much he hurts her, as she makes her own sacrifices to help her son. Reminding him of the dynamic he had with his own mother, especially after In-ho maliciously implied that Yong-Sik would abandon her to save his own ass.
'Young-Il': A desperate husband who had his pregnant wife in the hospital, sick to death, with time running out, his "only hope" was to win enough money to pay for her treatment. Even if it comes to the death of others. But he is willing to set aside his selfish interest in favor of Gi-Hun's because he "respects and admires him." This is to both remind Gi-Hun's of his relationship with Eun-Ji and also the fact that he came back for the sake of his mother's health.
Jung-Bae: self-explanatory. Gi-Hun's best friend whom he neglected after being profusely traumatized. Too deep into the hole to see past it, blaming himself for not preventing Jung-Bae from falling victim into the system he swore his life to destroy. The only one who reminded Gi-Hun the person he used to be before entering the games. The weapon In-ho would use to destroy Gi-Hun beyond repair.
The Games
In-Ho certainly organized the games in a way that would be favorable to the outcome he hoped for.
He chose Red Light, Green Light first, besides having a huge death rate because of people panicking. He would make Gi-Hun believe that he'd be playing the exact same games as before, blowing his cover as a former winner and making people distrust him, even though his goal was helping as many people to survive as possible. He'd also use this to taunt him. "You know, if you didn't reveal yourself, I wouldn't have chosen to keep going, right? So it is your fault we are still here, despite your efforts of being a hero and saving everyone."
The six-legged pentathlon was also a deliberate choice, a game that relied on teamwork, having a high survival rate and just the right amount of adrenaline, would make people feel euphoric for surpassing the games, forgetting the unfortunate who didn't made it thru. Making people who were originally scared feel confident that if they keep going, they would be able to reach their goal. Not realizing that it meant that the money would be the cost of the blood of the people who "loose" until it came to bite them in the ass for the next game.
This one made it for the majority to vote 'O' without the need for In-ho to be the one making the final choice for him to get the favorable decision.
Mingle brought people back into reality, either losing or being close to losing someone they loved. It brought it back to 50/50.
And now it was turn for the extra round, where In-ho set it up to make it convenient for people to target one another. Keep in mind, if Gi-Hun accepted the terms of fighting one another, In-Ho would have won the bet, as he'd prove to Gi-Hun that things "always went his way," diverting Gi-Hun's objective in favour of the system In-Ho set up. What he didn't expect was that Gi-Hun didn't fall for it, suggesting to take down the whole system down instead of doing what the executives (In-Ho) wanted them to do.
If Gi-Hun chose to go with Young-Il instead of Jung-Bae, he would have kidnapped him (kinda as a payback for trying to do the same a few days ago) and revealed himself right there, winning the bet.
So it was Plan C, betraying him, and shooting the last trace of sanity Gi-Hun still held, his best friend, Jung-Bae, as well as everyone else who decided to follow him.
In conclusion
(Credits to @cleaveslice for such glorious image)
Hwang In-ho, you are not seeing the gates of heaven when your demise comes, malparido triplehijueputa.
Apparently the Squid Game director made the cast test out the pentathlon game to figure out the right time limit, and now all I can picture is a cursed behind-the-scenes AU where Inho is like:
“Circle guards, we’re playtesting. Mask up. Game time.”
So now you’ve got a bunch of poor exhausted guards, who thought today was just gonna be corpse disposal and trauma, suddenly lined up for Red Light, Green Light like it’s gym class. And then Inho shows up—fully masked, trench coat flapping in the wind like some kind of dystopian PE teacher—and joins the game.
He’s doing everything with them, completely dead serious. They’re crawling through the honeycomb challenge and Inho’s right there, carving his shape with surgeon-level precision, muttering “Inconsistent sugar texture. We need a 12.3% longer boil.” like it’s a bomb diffusal exercise.
anything abt inho. lets talk abt inho. IM INSANE ABT HIMMM.
HI FINLAY 💗💗
okok i have sm thoughts on in-ho. some good and some not
let's start with the good!
he is INSANELY well-written. his backstory is so so intriguing to me, especially the circumstances that factor into his downfall. he was a police detective, who likely saw horrible crimes day to day and therefore likely grew desensitized. this is a factor in his present cynicism and general ignorance.
he genuinely cares for jun-ho, with that being an achilles heel of sorts and one of his final strings of humanity. he likely raised jun-ho in a sense, and the two had a very strong bond that seemed to last, not dissipating until in-ho's disappearance/presumed acceptance of the frontman position. he aims to protect jun-ho, even now, when he's lost his touch and trust in human nature.
i also want to know more about him and il-nam's relationship. i really do. i wonder how they met in the first place - was it similar to how in-ho and gi-hun first interacted? and what were his original thoughts towards il-nam? how did he loop him into working for the games?
also, i want to know how his games were. what happened? how did it get to this? did he have to make any betrayals? i REALLY want to know what his experience was likeeee godddd,,,, that intrigues me so much. i've read multiple fics that write this so well (what remains by @everwhovian is AMAZING!!!! as well as some other various ones on ao3) and it just leaves me so damn interested in MORE.
yet ANOTHER thing i find so interesting is how he willingly pits loved ones against one another. it is stated that jung-bae was possibly thrown into the games for gi-hun, as yet another psychological torture device. this is also seen with the husband 069/wife 070, yong-sik/geum-ja, hell, even one could say jun-hee/myung-gi. agh.
i personally have a headcanon that in-ho was the one to switch the marbles game from being a "you play against your partner" instead of "you play against a team" when he became the frontman. out of pure spite and enjoyment.
now for the bad.
the fucking mischaracterization is INSANE. i see it daily. it's godawful. IN-HO IS A HORRIBLE, SICKENING PERSON. people really need to stop overlooking that for yaoi and pretty privilege purposes.
in-ho is implied to be indifferent to rape as well as the other horrible things that happen in the organ trafficking ring. he did not do anything when it came to protecting his brother from that nasty vip. he is NOT a good person whatsoever, and people who write him like that confuse me quite heavily.
i don't fw 457 at all, but to me as an outsider of the ship, it feels like some people mold in-ho (and gi-hun) to fit their yaoi fantasies. i have no issue with shipping them, but the problem lies when you are unknowingly mischaracterizing and tossing aside a very problematic person for, what, gay sex? there's plenty of that to go around anyway. sometimes it just feels like he's been reduced to 457 content and it's quite saddening to me. he has so much more potential.
anyways. this is a long rant. i have uh. many feelings on this man.
I did an overview on s2, and it's so painfully awkward how 'Young-Il' inserted himself over and over again to Gi-Hun.
All his actions are premeditated to gain his trust, emotionally attaching him and break him from within.
To highlight some of these interactions:
He is completely inappropriate with his comments, laughing it off, "oblivious" to the implications of his comments. Happily telling Gi-Hun "I voted to stay because of you," then taunting him with the trauma he faced when playing Dalgona, asking him why he came back, telling him that they were not responsible for the blood money and how he was "right" for choosing to continue the games.
Then, at night, he gave him a story to make Gi-Hun empathize with him, how he was desperate to save his wife and kid, willing to gain a bigger prize, even when it was at the cost of other people's life. He hit a familiar string as he remembered how desperate Gi-Hun himself and others were. Achieving Gi-Hun to have a nightmare at the thought there were people just like him relying on him, to later reinforce that as he tells him, "I still believe in you," and "we have a winner on our side."
BTW, he took advantage of the fight between Thanos and Myung-gi to have the interaction about his "motives." He needed to have a "morally good" presentation even after being completely cynical to the fact he sentenced more people to die for him to gain more money. So, he patronized Thanos, treating him like if he was a kid, and obviously Thanos is going to reciprocate the energy. Giving him the perfect excuse to "demostrate his vulnerable side" by beating Thanos under the premises that "he offended him."
It also comes to mind how, during mingle, he abandoned the group to cause distress to Gi-Hun. Keep in mind that he would have the same distress if he couldn't ensure the safety of everyone else in the group, and even those who weren't.
You get the gist of it? Making Gi-Hun feel strong emotions; anger, uncertainty, shame, fear, and worry, to then reward him with praise, relief, companionship, reliance.
After all of that, the only thing he achieved was Gi-Hun seeing him the same way he saw the others in the group. He certainly worried and cared about him, but to the same level he did with Dae-Ho, Jun-Hee, Hyun-Ju, Yong-Sik, Geum-Ja, and everyone else there.
At the end, contrary to In-ho's plan, he chose to go alone with Jung-Bae, because he is his friend.
Even after all he did, Gi-Hun didn't see him as his biggest priority. And I'm sure that devastated his ego.
squid game + the onion 1 | 2
HWANG IN-HO & HWANG JUN-HO
— The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky
found this on tiktok and I legit choked on my drink
Two years after his victory in the 33rd Squid Game, Seong Gi-hun is murdered.
A decade later, Seong Ga-yeong returns to South Korea in search of answers. To uncover the truth, she must compete in the deadly game which consumed her father and the lives of countless others.
Her only ally is a young man from the North, driven by his own search for his missing sister.
Player 456 has entered the Game.
AO3 CHAPTER LINKS:
Prologue
I . II . III . IV . V . VI . VII . VIII . IX . X
Epilogue
Pairing: Seong Ga-yeong/Kang Cheol
Tags: AU - Canon Divergence, Major Character Death, Non-Canonical Character Death, Aged-Up Characters, Original Characters, Canon-Typical Violence, Blood and Injury, PTSD, Eventual Romance, Grief. Tags Will Update.
Unfortunately my Squid game brainrot has reawakened 😔 im not ok
I want someone to draw Gi-hun kissing In-hos mask so bad 🙏🙏
OMG WAIT or In-ho putting his mask on Gi-hun and kissing it
No fucking way... The post I made about fucking SQUID GAME got over 1000 notes
I'm killing myself
He lost focus and wanted a consensual workplace relationship
I think In-ho Hannibal Lectered too close to the sun
He lost focus and wanted a consensual workplace relationship
I can never be happy in this fandom can I 💔
"Hyung! Don't you have other songs to listen to?", a 7 year-old Junho asked Inho with his annoyed voice.
"This is a good song, little brother.", Inho answered his younger brother playfully. Then suddenly he lifted Junho into his arms and made a dance move while singing - "Flyyy me to the moon.. and let me play among the stars..." - Inho was singing playfully to Junho, he was singing as if he was in an orchestra concert.
"Hahaha!! Hyung!! You're funny!!", Junho was giggling so much looking at his brother's behavior. Inho was smiling to Junho and continued to sing and dance with little Junho in his arms, nothing made him happier than seeing his little brother laughing with happiness.
-------🥺🥺🥺---------
I always wonder why Inho likes listening to "Fly Me To The Moon" so much. I first thought maybe because the song reminds him of his dead-wife (the song about people who are in love). But I remember that the song was first playing when Inho was trembling to the core while halucinating Junho after he shot Junho on the cliff. So.. I think the song reminds him of his baby brother. Maybe he used to listen to "Fly Me To The Moon" while he was playing some games with Junho when Junho was still a kid 🥺🥺 And now in the island, he listens to the song when he misses Junho, his baby brother.