Curate, connect, and discover
Little AU where it's Sae-byeok that runs into Gi-hun in Seoul in S1E2, instead of Il-nam, and Gi-hun gets to apologize for hassling her about the money and she shares her Ramen with him. He asks her if she's old enough to drink and she scoffs and pours herself some soju. They play the bottle cap game.
They talk about the games.
Sae-byeok says she's going back. She reluctantly sums up her situation, without any real details, and Gi-hun returns the show of trust by telling his story too.
They make their agreement early. If one gets through it and the other doesn't, they'll help each other’s family.
She's even more of a daughter figure to him in the games and her death is that much more devastating.