Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

This was it. There were too many guards to kill, and they would overpower the players who were in the rebellion. Only a few of them were left alive, so it was time to surrender. Player 145 was about to inform Gi-Hun and Jung-Bae that it's best if all of them surrender.

"Advance team, do you copy? I'm out of ammo. I'm surrendering, it's best that you and whoever you are with to surrender, it's futile!" player 145 shouts through Gi-Hun's walkie-talkie.

Gi-Hun is left stunned at the thought of surrendering, he wants to fight more, he was determined, he sees if there are more bullets, and there aren't, he's out of ammo too, his face drops down to one of exhaustion and exasperation, he looks at Jung-Bae, who's out of ammo too and is very exhausted. Jung-Bae looks at Gi-Hun as if he's signaling him to surrender.

Then, both of them stepped forward from wherever they were hiding, with their guns in one hand, and raising the other hand to surrender to the guards.

"We surrender!" Jung-Bae says, a bit of fear lingering in his tone of voice.

They both drop their guns and walkie-talkies while kneeling on the ground, and they put their hands behind their heads. Both of them are now dreading their fate. Would they live, die, or one of them would come out alive and the other dead? All possible scenarios were rushing through their heads. And as soon as they dropped their guns, 2 square guards appeared behind each of them, having guns pointed to their heads, in case they tried something, they'd be immediately shot.

Footsteps were heard, the frontman approached them, with the black square guard right behind him, keeping him company. The frontman turned to Gi-Hun with a serious tone in his voice.

"Player 456," the frontman said.

Gi-Hun, with fear, he slowly raised his head to stare at the frontman. Gi-Hun's breathing was fast, deep, and furious, with a small bit of fear and dread. The frontman pointed a gun at his head and continued talking with seriousness.

"Did you have fun while playing the hero?" The frontman asks a rhetorical question, clearly expecting an answer from Gi-Hun, because of the tone of his voice, it was serious, he wasn't joking around.

"You know that playing the hero has its own consequences?" The frontman asked another rhetorical question, as if he'd get an answer right from Gi-Hun's very own mouth. Then, his head turns to Jung-Bae.

"Player 390, would you like to witness the consequences of your friend playing the hero?" He asked Jung-Bae, he asked it like a yes or no question, thinking he'd receive a yes or no from him.

After the frontman said that, the 2 friends stared at each other, scared, knowing one of them had to die. Then, Jung-Bae asked in a tone that revealed his fear. Knowing very well that he'd witness Gi-Hun being shot in front of him. Jung-Bae's eyes crystallized, filling with unshed tears that would not shed yet until Gi-Hun would be shot.

"Gi-Hun?" Jung-Bae said, afraid.

And Gi-Hun answered, he was scared as well, he stared at Jung-Bae, not wanting to stare at the gun, the very gun that would kill him, he didn't want to witness his own death, he didn't want to leave like that and not in front of Jung-Bae, his best friend... And his last words... Were Jung-Bae's name.

"Jung-Bae..." Gi-Hun answered, soon to be killed.

Then...

*BANG!*

Gi-Hun was fatally shot in the head by the frontman, killed instantly. A body thud is soon heard as Gi-Hun's corpse falls to the ground, a pool of blood beginning to form around his head. Jung-Bae flinched and his eyes widened, hearing the shot. He was scared and panicked when he saw his friend dead.

Jung-Bae's heart begins racing as he panics after seeing Gi-Hun's dead body in front of him. he rushes towards him and tries to shake his body awake. He begins shouting and crying really loudly. His tears fell non-stop like a waterfall, his face painted with full of despair, wanting Gi-Hun to be alive once again.

"NO!" Jung-Bae shouted, crying and wailing.

The frontman turns around and slowly begins walking away. When Jung-Bae hears the steps, his head snaps around, tears freely falling down his cheeks, he saw red, he was enraged, so he gets up, growling and attempting to attack the frontman until 2 square guards act in time and grab Jung-Bae before he can do anything . Now, he was full-on crying, wailing and shrieking, squirming under the grip of the 2 square guards.

And the frontman walked with the black square guard away from the scene where Gi-Hun's death took place. Leaving Jung-Bae to grieve Gi-Hun and cry about the fact that Gi-Hun was gone forever.

The 2 square guards pinning Jung-Bae to the ground and have quite a hard time keeping him stable because he squirms under their grip, wanting to get away from them and attack the frontman as revenge for killing Gi-Hun. And the 2 square guards decided that it'd be a good idea to pin Jung-Bae's head in a rough way and force him to stare at Gi-Hun's corpse.

Jung-Bae could do nothing but stare at Gi-Hun's corpse and sob loudly, he felt his heart aching because he lost his best friend, his sunshine personality that defined Park Jung-Bae as Park Jung-Bae was gone; he was now empty, he was a shell of his former self.

"GI-HUN!!!" Jung-Bae desperately shouted

Gi-Hun's corpse couldn't do anything; the only thing that it did was stay dead and stare lifelessly at Jung-Bae crying for him, begging him to come back, something that couldn't be done because once someone dies, they stay dead for an eternity, they can never come back, no matter how much you cry or plead.

Another square guard approached Gi-Hun's corpse with a device that checks for vitals, and there were none, ultimately and unfortunately confirming Gi-Hun's death in a way that hurts Jung-Bae more, in a way that's like putting salt on the wound.

"Gi-Hun..." Jung-Bae said, but wasn't as loud as he was a few seconds ago, but rather saying it as he was talking on a normal volume. Despite that, he was still crying out loud.

And now, the announcement was about to announce Gi-Hun's elimination, there it was, Gi-Hun's icon, a frowning guy determined to stop the games that ultimately meets his demise.

Player 456....

Eliminated.

As soon as the announcer says the word "eliminated", Gi-Hun's icon fades.

THE END

Chapter Text

A few minutes later... He was still crying; his crying never stopped.

"GI-HUN!!!"

Jung-Bae was clearly struggling under the square guards' grip; they were tired of him squirming, trying to reach Gi-Hun's corpse and hug him ONE LAST TIME. So, the 2 square guards try to find a solution to shut him up.

"I think we should choke him to unconsciousness, you?"

The square guard 2 looks at him angrily. When he speaks, the sternness in his voice is clear.

"NO! That's too risky! We want to knock him out, not kill him!"

The square guard 1 sighs and huffs in anger, clearly disappointed in what he should do to stop Jung-Bae's crying. He mockingly asks the square guard 2, trying to hold Jung-Bae down as much as possible.

"Then what should we do, huh?!"

The square guard 2 facepalmed himself, exasperated, trying to think of a plan while Jung-Bae's cries are heard in the background.

"Well, we should hit him with the butt of the gun!"

The square guard 1 rolls his eyes, thinks about it, and then reluctantly gives his own approval to knock out Jung-Bae this way.

"Fine... Just don't accidentally hit me!"

He positions a distressed and crying Jung-Bae in a way that the square guard 2 can freely strike his head with the butt of the gun. The square guard 2 also positions himself to not hit too hard, but not too soft with the butt of the gun.

"With the count of 3, you'll hit player 390, NOT ME!" The square guard 1 exclaims mockingly, teasing him.

"Shush, idiot! One... Two..." The square guard 1 counts to 3 slowly.

"AAAH! N-NO! NO NO NO! D-D-DON'T HIT ME! PLEASEEE! I-I-I-I JUST WANT GI-HUN! I- HE CAN'T BE DEAD! AAAH!" Jung-Bae just goes insane, cries harder, and squirms under the square guard 1's grip, trying to avoid the potential hit on his head that would knock him out.

"THREE!" The square guard 2 exclaims the number 3 when hits Jung-Bae on the head with the butt of the gun and knocks him out, now Jung-Bae's cries are reduced to sniffs and whimpers when his head began bleeding.

The square guard 2 stares at square guard 3 who confirmed Gi-Hun's elimination and was silent the whole time.

"Hey, square guard 3, we need a 3rd person to carry player 390. I bet his fatass is too heavy for 2 people to carry him..."

"Got it." Square guard 3 answers and the 3 of them decide to carry Jung-Bae's unconscious body to the lobby.

Later, the 3 square guards arrive at the lobby and just toss Jung-Bae to the ground like he was nothing. Everyone approached. The O voters looked weirdly at his unconscious body, and some of the X voters gasped, quickly getting to him.

"IS HE DEAD?!" Geum-Ja gasps.

Hyun-Ju quickly checks Jung-Bae's pulse. Thank god he still has a pulse. Hyun-Ju sighs in relief that he's alive.

"He's alive!!" The others sigh in relief, but Hyun-Ju continues. "Help me get him on the bed, but we'll need 2 more people to carry him due to his extra weight!"

Young-Sik and another X voter come forward, and with Hyun-Ju, they pick Jung-Bae up and carry him to a bed. And a traumatized Dae-Ho was peeking, seeing the 3 people carry the person he looked up to.

Jung-Bae was dreaming of this moment while asleep:

"Why did you bring me instead of Young-Il?" he asked.

"Because you're my best friend, Jung-Bae." Gi-Hun answered and slowly... Words disappeared.

"You're my best friend, Jung-Bae."

"My best friend, Jung-Bae."

"Best friend, Jung-Bae."

"Jung-Bae." Until his name remained.

And then... He woke up. Geum-Ja sighed in relief.

"Sir?" she asked. Hyun-Ju, Jun-Hee, and Young-Sik were surrounding him as well, being by his side.

And Jung-Bae slowly wakes up, and everyone is relieved because he has returned to consciousness.

"Oh, gosh, sir? You're alive! Thank god you're alive!" Geum-Ja exclaims in relief.

"Are you alright?" Young-Sik asks out of concern.

Jung-Bae tries to get up, but he hurts a little, so Geum-Ja supports him by gently pushing his back to get up. He grabs the bed's bar to support himself and pushes himself to the edge of the bed. He rubs his eyes and is confused that everyone was staring at him, both X and O voters. He then turns his head to Hyun-Ju and asks in a voice that has become hoarse from shouting and crying too much for Gi-Hun.

"What about the others?"

Hyun-Ju gets upset, she frowns, she shakes her head, nobody made it. Nobody. Jung-Bae looks numb and stunned. Did anyone survive besides him and her? And since Hyun-Ju herself hasn't seen Gi-Hun, she asks about him.

"And Gi-Hun...?"

Jung-Bae tenses up; he trembles a little, he frowns, his heart races, his eyes shine with unshed tears because Hyun-Ju made him remember his death. The thing is... He couldn't blame her; she didn't know. She tried to blink her unshed tears away because of how Jung-Bae's body was acting physically while mentioning Gi-Hun made it clear that he died, he passed away.

Flashback...

"Player 390, would you like to witness the consequences of your friend playing the hero?"

"Gi-Hun?"

"Jung-Bae..."

*BANG!*

End of flashback...

"Don't tell me..." Hyun-Ju says as she realizes that Gi-Hun...

"Yes... He died, he was shot in front of me on the head..." his voice trembled a little when he had to describe Gi-Hun's death. Hyun-Ju gasps and puts a hand over her mouth in shock as she hears that.

Meanwhile, a few meters away... Dae-Ho was sitting there, curled up on the bed, blinking constantly and tearing up after he realized Gi-Hun died because of him... He was realizing that that was it; he knew there'd be no way that Jung-Bae would ever forgive him. Dae-Ho thinks Jung-Bae lost Gi-Hun because of him.

"I'm sorry, Jung-Bae.. I'm really sorry... I didn't mean it!! Now your best friend is dead because of me!" Dae-Ho was saying this while crying to himself.

Back to Jung-Bae, he wasn't sobbing anymore, he just had tears rolling down his face, as nobody knew how to comfort him after he experienced such loss...

"What did Gi-Hun do? What did he do to die so unjustly? Why him and not me?" Nobody spoke up, nobody because nobody knew how to comfort a grieving friend...

That's when a square guard and some triangle guards come in, the square guard presses a remote and the piggy bank comes out. The count of the players go down to 60.

"A total of 35 players were eliminated last night, and 60 players remain in the game. The prize money accumulated up to this point is 39.6 billion won, and each person's share is 660 million won. You will now take a vote to decide whether to continue the games or not. But before that, I want to announce to you that 3 players will be banned from voting because they joined player 456's rebellion, and there's even camera footage in case they deny the accusations. First player to be banned from voting is... Cho Hyun-Ju, player 120."

The square guard uses the remote to show footage of Hyun-Ju shooting the guards along with some other rebels.

"Following Kang Dae-Ho, player 388..." With the remote, he changes the footage to Dae-Ho shooting, then going to the lobby to equip more magazines for the guns.

"And last but not least, Park Jung-Bae, player 390." Once again, the footage shows Jung-Bae going with Gi-Hun to the purple hallway, near the control room.

"And your poor leader is DEAD." The square guard mocks in a serious tone.

Then, with the remote, he switches to another footage. The video shows footage of Jung-Bae and Gi-Hun captured by the frontman, they had their hands behind their head, kneeling after they dropped their guns and walkie-talkies. It clearly showed the last gaze that the two shared with each other before the frontman fatally shot Gi-Hun in the head, and his corpse fell to the floor, blood pooling around his head. Now, 59 other people just watched a man being shot in front of them. And they saw how pathetically Jung-Bae tried to wake him. This made Jung-Bae's heart start beating fast and aching; he had a headache, a lump forming in his throat, tears welling up in his eyes, and he clutched his head, trying to physically rip Gi-Hun's death from his memory.

Now, Jung-Bae desperately wanted to forget that memory, but the square guard showed the video footage of Gi-Hun being shot. He begins shouting and crying. It was a fresh wound for him.

"STOP! DON'T REMIND ME!!!"

Hyun-Ju just crashes out when she sees the footage of Gi-Hun's death, and its true intent is to mock her, Jung-Bae, and Dae-Ho, with it being the most traumatic for Jung-Bae because he even witnessed it with his eyes.

"TURN THAT SHIT OFF! YOU CAN'T RECORD SOMEONE'S WORST MOMENT IN THEIR LIFE AND SHOW IT TO 59 OTHER PEOPLE! HE'S VULNERABLE, HE JUST LOST HIS BEST FRIEND, AND YOU JUST HAVE TO REMIND HIM?"

"Player 120, not now." The square guard talks sternly, clearly not in the mood to talk with her.

"Not now, huh? Not now-" Hyun-Ju talked with rage in her voice until someone cut her off...

And now, that annoying ass old fart that *almost* everyone in the Squid Game fandom wishes to die, Im Jeong-Dae, player 100, has the AUDACITY to talk AND insult a grieving friend?!?!

"Look at you, fatass! You're a crybaby! Clutching his head like a child about to throw a tantrum because he didn't get a toy. HAHAHA! KEEP CRYING, CRYBABY FATASS!"

The enraged look that Hyun-Ju gave, she looked damn ready to throw her hands at this old fart.

"You say anything about Jung-Bae or his grief, I'll punch you so hard that even your ancestors will feel it!" Hyun-Ju wasn't playing games and Jeong-Dae knew that damn well. And the old fart does well by staying silent.

While Hyun-Ju defends Jung-Bae, he just stands there, his hands clawing his head desperately, crying while trying to forget the memory of Gi-Hun's death.

"Gi-Hun... Gi-Hun... Gi-Hun..." he repeats Gi-Hun's name like a mantra.

And then the crusty ass old geezer DARES to speak again.

"Keep crying! Maybe your best friend will come back if you cry loud enough! CRYBABY FATASS! HAHAHA!"

And this time, Hyun-Ju LOST it, she put her sleeves up, marching towards Jeong-Dae. ready to throw hands at this old fart.

The square guard, who clearly saw that Hyun-Ju was ready to attack Jeong-Dae after she ignored his warning, pointed a gun at her.

"We are serious, player 120. Cut it off or we'll fire at you."

Hyun-Ju shuts up, but she's still really furious about the fact that they broadcast Gi-Hun's death like that and that Jeong-Dae made fun of Jung-Bae's mourning. She turns back to Jung-Bae, who was just wiping his tears right now.

"Are you okay?" Hyun-Ju asks softly and quietly.

"I'm alright... No worries... Really, I'll be alright..." Jung-Bae said timidly while sniffing and wiping his tears with his hands.

"If you say so... But if you need to be comforted, don't hesitate to reach out to me, alright?" Hyun-Ju asks out of concern, but Jung-Bae just gives a silent nod, nothing more.

"As I said, you will now vote to decide whether to continue the games or not. The vote will again be held in reverse order of your player numbers. Player 448, please cast your vote." The square guard exclaims again.

Player 448 comes and casts her vote; she votes O out of fear of being attacked by the O's.

Player 447: O

Player 443: O

Player 442: O

Player 440: O

Player 435: O

Player 418: O

Player 411: O

Player 400: X

Player 394: O

Then the square guard calls out Jung-Bae's number.

"Player 390, please cast your vote." Jung-Bae remains still because he knows he's one of the 3 players to be banned from voting.

"If you don't show an intent to vote by the count of 3, your vote will be considered an abstention." Despite that fact, he stays still, not intending to vote for the obvious reason; he was banned.

"One, two, three. Player 390 forfeited his vote, so it will be counted as an abstention."

Then the square guard calls out Dae-Ho's number.

"Player 388, please cast your vote." Dae-Ho doesn't come forward because he knows he's banned from voting.

"If you don't show an intent to vote by the count of 3, your vote will be considered an abstention." Despite that fact, he doesn't come forward, not voting for the obvious reason: he was banned.

"One, two, three. Player 388 forfeited his vote, so it will be counted as an abstention."

Player 377: X

Player 359: X

Player 353 (Kim Yun-Tae): O

Player 350: X

Player 349: X

Player 344: O

Player 336 (Lee Seung-Won): O

Player 334: O

Player 333 (Lee Myung-Gi): X

Player 312: O

Player 310: O

Player 296: O

Player 276: O

Player 260: O

Player 241: O

Player 235: O

Player 232: O

Player 226 (Kim Yeong-Sam): O

Player 222 (Kim Jun-Hee): X

Player 209: X

Player 203 (Kim Gi-Min): O

Player 202: O

Player 197: X

Player 192: O

Player 191: O

Player 172: O

Player 163: O

Player 154: O

Player 149 (Jang Geum-Ja): X

Player 134: X

Player 125 (Park Min-Su): X

Player 124 (Nam-Gyu): O

"Player 120, please cast your vote." Hyun-Ju just stays there because she's banned from voting, along with Dae-Ho and Jung-Bae.

"If you don't show an intent to vote by the count of 3, your vote will be considered an abstention." Despite that fact, she doesn't come forward, because she's banned from voting, and even if she voted, her vote wouldn't count anyway.

"One, two, three. Player 120 forfeited her vote, so it will be counted as an abstention."

Player 119: O

Player 105: X

Player 100 (Im Jeong-Dae): O

Player 096: O

Player 084: X

Player 080: X

Player 048: O

Player 044 (Seon-Nyeo): O

Player 039: O

Player 028: O

Player 024: O

Player 009: O

Player 007 (Park Young-Sik): X

Player 006 (Park Mi-Hwa): O

The final result showed 16 X's, 41 O's and 3 abstentions. Then, the square guard spoke once again with sternness in his voice

"In accordance with your free and democratic vote, we will proceed with the next game tomorrow. We also got a little surprise for you before the next game. Thank you." The square guard bows a little before leaving with the triangle guards. The O and X players scatter on their respective sides. Then Jeong-Dae's team calls out Jung-Bae, who just sat curled up after the X lost the vote.

"Hey, fatass fucker! Tell me if you know this from your idiot friend... Was this all just part of his plan? He staged a rebellion to lure people out and had them killed all at once, didn't he?" No response from Jung-Bae.

Then Yeong-Sam snaps his fingers, "recalling" something.

"And look at you before the voting, where they showed 456's death, you were clutching your head like a kid and crying like a pussy, being like "StOp! DoN't ReMinD mE!". He chuckles before continuing.

"By the way, real men don't cry. Only girls and pussy-boys cry, like you, for example! How old are you even? Wait, let me guess it... I think you're in your early 50s? Imagine being that old and crying! Can't you grieve your stupid little buddy in another way? Why be an unnecessary pussy-boy? Hahaha," He says as he full-on mocks Jung-Bae for no damn reason.

Then, Jeong-Dae casually disrespects Gi-Hun's death, and he speaks up with sarcasm in his voice.

"Anyways, if you die and meet player 456 up there, tell him that the O's thank him for taking out the X's and getting them all killed, including himself. The money went up, and we won the vote by a landslide. Everyone, let's honor the now-dead player 456 by thanking him with a big round of applause!" Then all the O's begin "applauding" for Gi-Hun in front of Jung-Bae's face, as if that isn't enough for him to witness his death, he also has to hear the O's mock his death. He does nothing because he temporarily feels numb.

"Thank you, player 456!!!" An O mockingly shouts.

"I see he was one of us all along, but refused to vote O! I don't know why!" Another O ironically exclaims.

Then, Seon-Nyeo and her minions approach Jung-Bae.

"You fool. What should I even call you? Seong Gi-Hun's fatass pet? That fits you, because you obeyed him without questioning him."

She crouches down to eye level with Jung-Bae. Her voice is serious as she looks directly into his eyes.

"I knew, you knew, Gi-Hun knew, everyone knew. Everyone knew that the rebellion would fail, but Gi-Hun was stubborn; he wanted to go through with it, even if he knew it would possibly cost his life, which it actually did cost his life. You were his best friend, right? Why didn't you talk to him and tell him that the rebellion would fail? Why couldn't he wait until more people had wanted to get out of the game? I literally warned, I knew something he didn't. And when he didn't listen, I realized both of you were doomed... The "rebellious" guy would die and the "fatass" guy would mourn..."

With every word that Seon-Nyeo was muttering, Jung-Bae was actually getting closer to snapping, his numbness slowly melts away and is replaced with growing fury. Almost everyone keeps making fun of Gi-Hun or his death... But Seon-Nyeo wasn't stopping; she was so close to laughing.

"Admit it, it's partially your fault that Gi-Hun died, Park Jung-Bae... If you even tried even a little bit, he may have still been here... And I tried warning him in your place since you loved him too much to even think about warning him, and when he didn't listen, I realized I could just sit and wait for him to die! You don't know how satisfied I was when I heard "Player 456, eliminated", HAHAHA!" She begins laughing maniacally in front of Jung-Bae's face.

And that was Jung-Bae's breaking point; he gets up and grabs Seon-Nyeo by her neck with both of his hands in an attempt to choke her. She gasps, and her minions rush to help her get out of his grip, but he is too stubborn to let her go. After a little bit of struggle, he let go and was pushed down. Seon-Nyeo, rubbing her neck, she stared at Jung-Bae with a look of hatred and warning, as if her look said, "You dare touch me again and you'll have unpleasant consequences."

"Are you alright, ma'am?!" Mi-Hwa asks Seon-Nyeo out of concern, and she stares at Jung-Bae, scared, while she and Seon-Nyeo's other minions drive the latter away from him.

Now, after both the X's and O's witnessed the attack, they were way more divided in their opinions; the O's label Jung-Bae as a "misogynistic bastard who hates all women and wants them extinct". On the other hand, Geum-Ja, Young-Sik, Hyun-Ju, Jun-Hee, and all the other X's think that Jung-Bae's crash-out was a totally valid reaction, knowing how annoying Seon-Nyeo was.

Later, everyone got their meals, 1 bottle of water, and 2 big sweet potatoes. Once Jung-Bae receives his meal, he goes to the same spot, which is in front of a bed, and he curls himself up, the food and water next to him, refusing to eat (previously he was a foodie), knees against his chest, arms wrapping around his legs, and head lying against his legs. Dae-Ho passes by, with how shaken up Jung-Bae is after Gi-Hun's death, he wants to comfort him but is afraid that he'll begin blaming him, so he leaves.

On the other hand, Hyun-Ju notices him, but when she's about to approach him, she sees the mama-son duo, Geum-Ja and Young-Sik, approach as well.

"But mom, look at how sad he is! We should leave him alone!" Young-Sik shouts at his mom, concerned.

"Shut it, son! He clearly needs comfort!" Geum-Ja retaliates, and the duo ultimately approaches Jung-Bae, along with Hyun-Ju.

"Hey... You should eat, even if it's just a little..." She takes Jung-Bae's lunch and holds it close to him, but he just turns his eyes to the sweet potatoes and keeps his pout, refusing to eat. She crouches down to the same eye level as Jung-Bae, trying to provide some further comfort.

"Look, I know. Your friend's death is a massive and sudden loss for you. I know he was trying to save us all. He tried to punish the bad guys and put an end to all of this. But he died while doing so..." She speaks softly, trying to provide at least a little bit of comfort.

"I'm sorry. I should've found a way to bring back the guns' magazines. If I brought them back, Gi-Hun and all the other rebels would still be alive..." Hyun-Ju says softly, the guilt evident in her voice.

"You have nothing to apologize for, Hyun-Ju." Young-Sik suddenly speaks up, looking at her with a look of "how dare you be angry at yourself". And then, he speaks with an accusatory tone in his voice, pointing his finger at Dae-Ho.

"It's all Dae-Ho's fault. I saw it, my mom saw it and everyone else saw it. Dae-Ho came to pick up the guns' magazines but when he was about to leave..."

Young-Sik crouches and leans closer to whisper.

"He just sank to the floor! When Hyun-Ju came in to get them, the masked men barged in. If my mom hadn't stopped her, she would've died too. Isn't that right, Hyun-Ju?" Hyun-Ju solemnly nods.

Jung-Bae got up to face Young-Sik, his face intense and frowning.

"You say anything negative about Dae-Ho again, I'm gonna break your glasses and shove them up your ass! You don't get to talk! You didn't even join the rebellion!"

Geum-Ja notices the tension and quickly separates the 2. She talks with a calm voice, trying to calm both of them down.

"Calm down! Both of you! This won't bring anyone back!" Then, she turns to Jung-Bae once again, who sank to the floor again, and speaks to him in a soft voice.

"Those of us who are still alive have to keep going, don't you think?" Silence from Jung-Bae.

"Make sure you eat, ok? Don't choke, drink some water too. We'll go, since you deserve some space." Geum-Ja slowly gets up and leaves along with Young-Sik and Hyun-Ju. Into the distance, the former muttered to herself.

"Gosh, I feel so sorry for him..."

Then Jung-Bae turns his head towards Dae-Ho and sees him eat a sweet potato, traumatized by the rebellion. He just stares at him, he says nothing, he goes numb again. The rebellion traumatized them both, just in different ways.

Meanwhile, in a motel, Jun-Ho was still investigating, unable to find the island where the games took place, it's currently the night of November 4th. Woo-Seok knocks on Jun-Ho's door.

"Enter." Jun-Ho says as he lets Woo-Seok in and Woo-Seok sits down, feeling worried.

"Detective Hwang... I have a very bad gut feeling." Woo-Seok says, the worry is clearly heard in his voice.

"What is it now? Previously you said that you have a gut feeling about Captain Park being a bad person or something." Jun-Ho says, clearly bored.

"No, it's something else! And this time, my gut feeling tells me something worse." Woo-Seok responds defensively.

"Well, I'll hear you out." Jun-Ho sighs, leaning back to his chair, ready to hear another bullshit "gut feeling" from Woo-Seok.

"Great! Uhm... I don't know how to say this, but I have a bad gut feeling that something really terrible happened to Mr. Seong! Like, I feel he died! Mr. Seong died!" Woo-Seok says, feeling way to uneasy. But little did he know, Gi-Hun actually died.

Jun-Ho just... Rolls his eyes and face palms as he finds Woo-Seok's gut feeling absolutely ridiculous.

"Woo-Seok... Are you for real right now?! Gi-Hun can't die! That guy is too stubborn to die!"

"Whatever you say, Detective Hwang! But if Mr. Seong is actually dead, don't come crying to me when you find out I'm right!" Woo-Seok says, insisting that Gi-Hun is dead.

"I won't because Gi-Hun is not dead and he's alive! You're getting out of hand with this "gut feeling" bullshit!" Jun-Ho snaps.

"Well...! Whatever!" Woo-Seok says as he sips some soju silently.

Back in the lobby of Squid Game, everyone slept, except Jung-Bae, still shaken by Gi-Hun's death, who no matter how hard he was trying to sleep, he kept having flashbacks of their last ever interaction together.

"Gi-Hun?"

"Jung-Bae..."

*BANG!*

He teared up, he wanted to forget this memory and remember all the good moments he had with Gi-Hun, but that felt impossible. His mind always went there. Now, he wanted to express his emotions but not too loud so he wouldn't wake someone up, he wanted to write a letter, but there wasn't paper or ink. Then, he decided to sit upright on the bed and "write" a verbal letter to Gi-Hun.

"Dear Gi-Hun,

I miss you so much, words can't describe it. Things have been going south ever since you died. I'm drowning in guilt; my will to live is dangerously low, almost zero. I hate everyone from the O's; they're greedy bastards and bitches. They mocked your death, they mocked my grief for you. And when I snap? I'm painted as the villain. Even the staff mocked your death. When our last moments together were supposed to be intimate, it was shown to 59 other people. "Gi-Hun?", "Jung-Bae...", bang. Gi-Hun, I miss you. Gi-Hun, I want you back. Gi-Hun... Gi-Hun... Gi-Hun... I would give everything to switch places. I should have taken that bullet, not you. You did nothing, you died so unjustly, it should've been me. And... We never got the chance to drink soju like the old times... And you said you'd outlive me, but I'm outliving you instead... If we meet each other in heaven, forgive me for living. Gi-Hun, I love you.

With unconditional love,
Jung-Bae."

Jung-Bae's voice was shaking through this, through muttering this verbal letter, he couldn't hold back anymore and burst out crying, just not loud enough for anyone to hear. He clutched his chest because his heart was hurting... No... His whole being was hurting, both physically and mentally.

"Gi-Hun... Oh god, Gi-Hun... Why did you die..."

Then he lies down sobbing, clutching the thin blanket, trying to sleep, which was easier said than done... But eventually, he fell asleep, reducing his tears and sobs to whimpers and sniffles.

*The next day*

The remaining players wake up. Jung-Bae barely slept through the night as he kept having nightmares and remembering Gi-Hun's death. Dae-Ho wakes up and sees Jung-Bae staring at him, but not angrily and accusatory, but rather pity and self-blame, as if his look said "don't blame yourself, damnit." because he knew that he was probably blaming himself. And Dae-Ho probably thought that even his own father-figure was blaming him...

Announcement: The fourth game will begin momentarily. Please follow instructions from our staff.

As the players were walking towards the next game, they were met by a shocking sight, a human chandelier where the dead rebels were hanged, bound by their hands, and of course, in the center had to be Gi-Hun, because he was the leader of the rebellion after all...

Announcement: You are witnessing the fate of those who refused the democratic process of voting and instead attempted to stop the game using violent means. We will not tolerate any irrational behavior which attempts to destroy the fair rules of the game, and such actions will be punished in accordance with our strict standards. We thank you again for your cooperation.

That's when Hyun-Ju, Dae-Ho, and Jung-Bae realized the horrifying truth: No matter if they survived or died in the rebellion, there were still consequences. If you survived? You lost the right to vote. If you died? Skill issue, you get hanged like a fucking chandelier.

That sight was really disturbing for Jung-Bae, so he tried to look away from Gi-Hun's hanged corpse, and he tried closing his eyes because he felt like he'd cry again.

"My god... Gi-Hun... Oh Gi-Hun..." He tries to go forward to the next game.

Then, the players enter a strange room through a knife-shaped entrance, and there was a gumball machine in the middle of the room, containing red and blue balls.

Announcement: Welcome to your fourth game. Before we start the game, you will divide into teams. Please take turns drawing a ball from the gumball machine in front of you.

Which character drew which ball:

Player 044 (Seon-Nyeo): Blue

Player 124 (Nam-Gyu): Red

Player 120 (Cho Hyun-Ju): Blue

Player 222 (Kim Jun-Hee): Red (Switched with player 333, Lee Myung-Gi)

Player 388 (Kang Dae-Ho): Blue

Player 100 (Im Jeong-Dae): Blue

Player 125 (Park Min-Su): Red

Player 333 (Lee Myung-Gi): Blue (Switched with player 222, Kim Jun-Hee)

Player 149 (Jang Geum-Ja): Red (Switched with player 007, Park Young-Sik)

Player 007 (Park Young-Sik): Blue (Switched with player 149, Jang Geum-Ja)

Player 390 (Park Jung-Bae): Red

And after everyone drew a red or a blue ball, the square guard spoke up.

"The game you will be playing is Hide-and-Seek."

The crowd mutters in shock... Hide-and-Seek? And as the circle guards give out a box with a key to the blue-vest-wearing players, the square guard keeps explaining the next game further.

"The Blue Team must either find the exit and escape within 30 minutes or stay hidden from the Red Team until the time is up."

Then, Kim Gi-Min (player 203), a seeker, asks.

"What about the seekers? Just like when we played this as kids, all we need to do is find the ones hiding?"

"The Red Team must find members of the Blue Team and kill them within 30 minutes." The square guard answers.

"K-Kill them?" Player 349 asks.

"That is correct. The Red Team must find the Blue Team and kill them. If you fail to kill any opposing players, you will be eliminated." the square guard answers.

"Those people are going to kill us?!" Mi-Hwa asks, scared.

"That's correct." The square guard answers.

The people from the Blue Team were scared senseless because they knew that the Red Team could just kill them. When the circle guards finished passing a blue box to all the Blue Team's players, Hyun-Ju opens hers and finds a key, she looks confused.

"What is this?"

"You have been given keys to doors in the arena. You can use the key to go through the doors, but once a door is unlocked, it cannot be relocked."

Another seeker, Kim Yeong-Sam (226), speaks up, frustrated.

"So they can hide somewhere and use their keys to escape. They have it so much easier!"

"That's right!" "So much easier." Another 2 seekers speak up.

Player 096, another seeker, speaks up.

"On top of that, we have to kill those people. And with our bare hands."

Lee Seung-Won (336), who's another seeker, speaks up, agreeing with the frustrations of the other seekers.

"That's right. This isn't fair. It's not like they will just roll over and ask us to kill them. How do you expect us to kill someone with our bare hands?!"

"We understand your concerns." The square guard answers before continuing.

"That's why we've prepared a small gift for the Red Team as well. Please open the box and check."

Then, the circle guards give out red boxes with a knife inside for the players of the Red Team.

"The Red Team can use knives to attack the Blue Team. However, members of the Red Team are also allowed to attack each other, but you can pass the game only if you kill someone from the Blue Team."

Then, old fart Im Jeong-Dae, a hider, speaks.

"Shouldn't you give us a shield or something? You give them knives and expect us to just run around unarmed?"

"He's right. You've got to give us something too." Player 377, another hider, speaks up.

"Yes, all we have is a key. That's not fair!" Player 192, another hider, speaks up as well, frustrated.

Gi-Min, a seeker, retorts angrily.

"But you can use the key to open a door to escape."

"Just hide somewhere. It should be a piece of cake!" Yeong-Sam shouts.

"Yeah." "That's right. You have it easier." Another 2 seekers speak up.

"Before we start the game, we will give you one last chance to change your fate. If any of you are not happy with your role, you may switch roles with someone on the opposing team before the game starts."

"What? We can switch roles?" Jeong-Dae asks again.

"That's correct. You can swap items and vests upon mutual agreement. But once the game starts, removing or trading your vests will be strictly prohibited. Please make your choice carefully." The square guard answers.

Back to Jung-Bae, he holds his knife, staring at it intensely, intending to protect Dae-Ho with it and kill anyone who might pose a threat to him because of his vulnerable role as a hider. Then he stares at Dae-Ho and makes a silent vow to himself to protect him.

And Dae-Ho stares at Jung-Bae back for a brief moment before looking away shamefully, he's on the verge of tearing up because he thinks Jung-Bae wants to kill him. He quickly wipes his eyes before his tears even fall and tries to man up.

And until the game starts, teammates chat among each other, unsatisfied people try to change their roles etc... But here we have (mommy 🤤) Seon-Nyeo tryna convince her followers that they'll be safe if they believe in her.

"None of you can get out of here alive." Seon-Nyeo mumbles to her followers

"Then what should I..." One of her followers whispered, scared.

"Only I, shaman of the sea, can guide you into the path of life." Seon-Nyeo suddenly shouts.

"We believe in you, ma'am" "We'll follow you."

"Dear gods of heaven and earth... I can see all the paths in that place from here." She raises her hand as her followers bow before her. And she begins shouting even louder.

"It is not with my eyes I see! The gods of heaven and earth are leading me by the hand!"

Then Jung-Bae approaches behind her and he swings his knife around as if he wants to make a statement.

"Well, pray to your dear gods that I won't find you because if I do... The consequences will be unpleasant, I guarantee you that."

Seon-Nyeo responds by turning her head around and retorting with a smirk.

"I don't need to pray, I know you won't find me, not even in a million years, fatass!"

Jung-Bae eyes her up and down and responds, clearly annoyed by her overconfidence.

"Not in a million years, huh? You're fooling yourself. When I kill you and hear "Player 044, eliminated", I'll be as satisfied as you when you heard "Player 456, eliminated", mark my words."

Then he turns away and leaves. Seon-Nyeo scoffs because she knows Jung-Bae will never find her. He just sits in a corner and waits for the game to start.

"Excuse me, would you like to switch with..." Jeong-Dae asked as he approached Jung-Bae.

Then, Jung-Bae looked up at Jeong-Dae with absolute fury in his eyes as the same old man who mocked him came and asked him to SWITCH?!

"Switch?! I won't switch with someone who mocked my grief and Gi-Hun's death! You even called me a "crybaby fatass". Get the fuck out of my face, you old bastard!"

Jeong-Dae quickly walks away from Jung-Bae and minds his own business as he gets really scared by the look in his eyes.

Meanwhile, Dae-Ho desperately tries to switch with another seeker, player 349

"Listen to me. If you switch teams with me, I'll stay with you and protect you until the end, okay?"

He tries to grab her box, and she, scared, quickly retreats.

"But you'd have to kill someone too."

"WILL YOU JUST-" He shouts before he suddenly gets quieter.

"Just leave that to me. I can still stay with you."

And player 349 gets even more scared, and she tries to step back and get away from Dae-Ho.

"Please trust me. I'll keep my promise. Okay?" Dae-Ho talks desperately as his voice was shaking.

She shakes her head, pushes him away from her, and hugs the box with the knife protectively. He just sighs, gets up to find another seeker to switch with in an attempt to be armed and defend himself in case "Jung-Bae attacked him", and he happened to catch Jung-Bae staring between him and his knife, he got angry and rushed to him, muttering "Fuck..." over and over.

"What? What's your problem with me?! Why are you staring me like that?!" Dae-Ho talks angrily while slightly shaking.

"What? How do I stare at you like what?" Jung-Bae answers, genuinely confused by Dae-Ho's behavior.

"What do you mean "how do you stare at me like what"? Huh? Want to blame me for everything? Do you want to blame me in order to cope with Gi-Hun's death?! What the fuck did I do so wrong?!"

Jung-Bae just sighs deeply after being reminded of Gi-Hun's death, which hit him like a truck. He just tries to keep composed, not wanting to tear up, because he thinks Dae-Ho, the very same man who he wants to protect, thinks he blames him and because he's trying hard to process Gi-Hun's death and the fact that everything is happening in seconds.

"Look, I don't blame you, but please, don't put Gi-Hun's death in your mouth... I'm already shaken from his death...."

"We wouldn't have won... We wouldn't have won anyway! You, me and Hyun-Ju just got lucky and survived. While Gi-Hun and everyone else died!" Dae-Ho shouts desperately while shaking.

Jung-Bae nods slightly, knowing the rebellion was a lost cause from the moment that the number of survivors is 3/12. He just zoned out, losing touch with reality, trying to process all the things that are happening so suddenly: Gi-Hun's death, the fact that his death was shown to 59 other people, being banned from voting solely because he survived the rebellion, him getting bullied by the O's for grieving him, getting called misogynistic by the O's for attacking Seon-Nyeo after she basically made fun of Gi-Hun's death and blaming Jung-Bae himself for it, seeing Gi-Hun and the other dead rebels hanged, suddenly moving to the 4th game a.k.a the first game without Gi-Hun, Dae-Ho having a one-sided confrontation with him thinking that he blames him. And all of that happening in a day, ot rather, less than a day, and all of that can't fit in a person's brain, let alone a generally happy person's brain like Jung-Bae's.

But Dae-Ho wasn't having it at that moment and he snapped, grabbing Jung-Bae by the collar, which made the latter snap back into reality.

"FUCK! STOP LOOKING AT ME LIKE THAT! IT'S NOT MY FAULT!"

Dae-Ho stares intensely at Jung-Bae before continuing. And Jung-Bae? He's not in the mood to interrupt, so he just sits and listens.

"Jung-Bae, listen to me. If we had fought the other damn side instead, we could have won. We could have won the fight and then the vote! It's Gi-Hun's fault... He got everyone killed, including himself because of his ridiculous plan! IT WAS GI-HUN! HE WAS THE ONE WHO FUCKING KILLED EVERYONE AND HIMSELF-"

Dae-Ho's rant was suddenly cut off as a triangle guard pointed a gun at him. Dae-Ho had no choice but to step away from Jung-Bae, while staring at him angrily. On the other hand, Jung-Bae looks at him protectively, but Dae-Ho unfortunately can't see that.

Announcement: The game will begin momentarily. Blue Team, please get ready to enter the arena. Let me repeat. The game will begin momentarily. Blue Team, please get ready to enter the arena.

The hiders line up and enter the arena with uncertainty, knowing they might die. It's a deadly maze with stars on the ceiling, resembling a starry night sky, and they look around in confusion. Suddenly, the doors close and everyone turns around at the doors as the loud noise is suddenly heard.

Announcement: The seekers will enter in two minutes.

The hiders panicked and tried to scramble as the 2 minute countdown began and try hide to get away from the hiders until Jeong-Dae spoke up.

"Listen up, people. Instead of hiding, let's spread out and find the exit! Whoever finds the exist first, they'll shout and let everyone know!"

Everyone agrees and player 177 spoke up with eagerness in his voice.

"Good idea! Let's help each other and get out of here alive!"

Then, everyone scrambles in all directions, hurrying to find the exit and a little song plays.

♪ Hide, hide, it's time to play ♪
♪ Don't let your hair give you away♪

♪ Hide, hid,e it's time to play ♪
♪ Don't let your clothes give you away♪

♪ Hide, hide, it's time to play ♪
♪ Don't let your toe give you away♪

Back in the Hide-and-Seek lobby, Jung-Bae tries to process what just happened, the one-sided confrontation Dae-Ho had with him while waiting out the 2-minute countdown.

"Dae-Ho thinks I blame him? For Gi-Hun's death? For the rebellion's failure? No... The only one who's at fault is that coward tall man, dressed in all-black with the mask, who decided to pull the trigger on Gi-Hun's head instead of MINE! He's a coward because he doesn't show his face, he doesn't dare, he just does everything behind a damn mask. On the other hand, about the rebellion failure... I'm not sure about that, we were supposed to succeed. Me and Gi-Hun were supposed to enter the control room, kill the one who was behind all of this and then get the fuck out! What happened instead?! He died! Gi-Hun died! Why him and not me, huh?! I want answers, if there are any..."

Then, the timer beeped.

Announcement: Red Team, please enter the arena.

Jung-Bae looks at the knife one last time before he gets up and enters the arena along the other seekers, mumbling to himself with a type of determination he hasn't felt in a long time.

"I will protect you, Dae-Ho. Even from afar."

THE END.

Chapter Text

I know someone would be wondering: "Why was Gi-Hun killed off instead of Jung-Bae?" and that's absolutely normal since Gi-Hun is the MC of Squid Game and it wouldn't make sense that he dies and someone else is the main character or something, but in my AU, that's what happens and Jung-Bae is forced into the main character of this whole shit after the death of his buddy! Enough talking and let's cut to the chase. I prepared a little monologue cause why not:

Hwang In-Ho, the Frontman of the games, was standing in the control room, looking at multiple screens through cameras as the 4th game, Hide-and-Seek is played. For a moment, he stared at a screen longer than needed because he noticed a seeker protecting a hider from other seekers and no one can deny it, it's pretty entertaining. But the seeker protecting the hider is none other than Park Jung-Bae protecting Kang Dae-Ho. Unlike the canon universe where Seong Gi-Hun was after Dae-Ho and deliberately suffocated him to death. It was entertaining, way too entertaining to not stare at for hours.

"Well, I don't regret choosing to spare player 390 and driving a bullet trough player 456's skull..." In-Ho's voice trails off.

"I mean, a seeker protecting a hider? But the rules never said a seeker wasn't allowed to protect a hider... So, I'll let it slide..."

"Well, choosing whether to kill player 456 or player 390 was one of the hardest dilemmas I've had in a while... 456 wanted to sabotage the games and end them, and I'd kill 390 to teach him a lesson about the consequences of playing the hero. On the other hand, 390 saw me headlocking and killing another player in mingle while I was 001, he was shocked by my strength, he got the impression that I had an inhumane amount of strength to be able to kill someone and immediately began suspecting that I wasn't a player, that I was more than than and that I was a force to be reckoned with, and then he'd try to tell the others, but he couldn't. I thought death was a free one-way ticket to freedom and that would be a quick consequence, and I thought it would be better to kill 456 to show him that there were consequences when suspecting... 'innocent' people..."

"Nonetheless, when the rebellion failed, player 456 and player 390 surrendered, that's when I had my dilemma, them, their hands behind their heads, weak and vulnerable, were presented to me like a game-changing choice like the ending in Life Is Strange where you choose to sacrifice that girl with the blueberry-colored hair, Chloe Price or that hometown Arcadia Bay, except for me its KILL PLAYER 456 or KILL PLAYER 390, of course, I was struggling to make a choice but time was running out and I abruptly chose to kill player 456! A bullet flew through his skull and immediately fell to the floor as blood flowed around his head, and hearing player 390 cry and scream like an idiot? Pretty funny to admit."