Chapter Text
Loud crying invaded the room. Guards came out of the door and headed toward Gi-hun and the baby.
—“The Frontman wants to see you. Don’t try anything you’ll regret.”
Gi-hun followed them down a dark hallway, where the Frontman himself was waiting, seated in a chair.
—“Why do you want to see me?” —Gi-hun asked. There was a trace of fear in his voice; the events of that night still haunted him. The look in Jung-bae’s eyes before dying was something he’d never forget.
The Frontman looked at him, then at the baby. She had stopped crying the moment they entered the room.
He thought about what kind of person Gi-hun would have become if he had actually killed the baby. He hadn’t had the heart to do it—not after what happened to his wife and the baby they’d lost.
—“I have something for you. You know they’re coming for you and the baby tomorrow, right?”
Gi-hun stared him in the eye, saying nothing. The Frontman took a box from behind the chair and placed it on the table. Gi-hun opened it, revealing a knife inside. He didn’t take it—just looked back up at the Frontman, who began removing his mask.
Gi-hun froze when he saw who was underneath. Young-Il. The man he had believed dead, the one he blamed himself for losing. The man who had earned his trust faster than anyone.
Gi-hun grabbed the knife and stood up, pointing it at In-ho, who remained seated, doing nothing.
“I’m sorry... Gi-hun. About Jung-bae.”
The words from the Frontman’s mouth practically shattered Gi-hun. Hot, salty tears spilled from his eyes immediately. In-ho was starting to blur from Gi-hun’s view, the knife still trembling in his hand.
“You—fucking bastard!” —Gi-hun’s voice cracked. Why couldn’t anything ever go right in his life? Everyone around him always ended up dead. It was like he was cursed.
His throat began to ache, a knot forming painfully. He needed to get rid of it, needed something. Gi-hun moved closer to In-ho, placing the blade to his neck, but not cutting deeply.
—“Kill me. I know you want to. End this once and for all... But even if you kill me, it won’t stop anything. Someone else will run the game tomorrow, and all of this will have been for nothing.”
In-ho wasn’t sure if Gi-hun would actually do it—but he didn’t care. He was truly tired of this life: watching people die, dealing with stupid guards, and worst of all... the loneliness.
Gi-hun stepped back, leaving a thin cut on In-ho’s neck, from which blood began to drip.
—“What do you want me to do with this?” —Gi-hun asked, though he already knew the answer.
“Kill them. Kill them all and keep the prize for you and the baby. Tomorrow’s game can’t be played with just two people—you’d win by default. Right now they’re so drunk and full of food they wouldn’t even notice. Save yourself and the baby.”
“No. I won’t. I won’t kill any innocent people just to win. The only thing I care about is the baby. I’ve lived enough already. I shouldn’t even be alive right now!”
In-ho simply nodded and gave the order for the guards to enter. The first thing they did was knock Gi-hun out and take the baby.
…
Gi-hun woke up in a dimly lit room, the baby’s cries pulling him out of unconsciousness. He was handcuffed to the bed, with a baby crib next to him. His head hurt, and he was hungry. He couldn’t tell whether it was still night or already morning—there were no windows, which didn’t help.
The door opened as Gi-hun was still dizzy. In-ho entered the room holding a tray of gourmet food and a bottle of formula. He walked over to the bed and offered Gi-hun the food, who refused to take it. In-ho set the tray on the bed and went to the baby, picking her up and beginning to feed her.
Gi-hun was about to yell at him to stop, but decided to hold back so as not to upset the baby.
—“Why? Where are we? What are you going to do with us?” —In-ho remained silent, feeding the baby and walking around the room to calm her.
Gi-hun still hadn’t touched the food. He was truly hungry, but couldn’t trust anything In-ho gave him.
—“The bottle! It’s not poisoned, is it?! I swear I’ll kill you if you do anything to her!”
“I’d never hurt a baby.”
That answer clearly wasn’t enough for Gi-hun, but there was no point in yelling anymore. The baby had already drunk quite a lot.
“You should eat too.”
“No.”
Gi-hun kept staring at the food. It didn’t look like yesterday’s, but it still looked good. He stared at it like he could guess the ingredients just by looking. It didn’t smell like poison—though he wasn’t exactly sure what poison smelled like—it smelled like well-seared meat with butter and spices.
In-ho kept rocking the baby until she finally fell asleep—which didn’t last long. He removed the bottle near the end, gave her a soft, subtle kiss, and laid her in the crib.
He walked over to Gi-hun, who was already staring at him. In-ho grabbed the fork and knife, cut a piece of meat, and ate it in front of him, trying to prove it wasn’t poisoned or tampered with.
“It tastes good. I made it myself, you know? It’s been a long time since I cooked.”
Gi-hun kept staring at him, still not willing to try it. So In-ho decided the best option was to force him.
“I just want you to eat…” —In-ho said, raising his hand to Gi-hun’s jaw, trying to open his mouth to feed him a piece of meat. Gi-hun didn’t scream—he was aware the baby had just fallen asleep—but he still tried to resist. In-ho looked like a father trying to feed his stubborn child.
Gi-hun gave up. It was ridiculous. In-ho brought the fork to Gi-hun’s mouth with a cut piece of meat, making him eat it. Gi-hun swallowed with difficulty—his throat still hurt a bit.
“I don’t want to hurt you. I want what’s best for the three of us.”
Three. That word echoed in Gi-hun’s mind once again, and he let out a sigh as he realized what In-ho was planning. He leaned his head back on the bedframe, the plate of food still beside him. That twisted fantasy he had imagined... He didn’t know if he’d be able to go along with it, if he could trick him into letting him escape.
In-ho left the room without saying anything, leaving them alone once more.