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Present time, 2024

When you win a game, you usually feel proud of yourself. You get that overwhelming feeling of excitement, and the urge to laugh in the faces of people who said you couldn't do it.

However, in some instances, like the one in this story, winning doesn't always mean happiness. Yes, the prize is money. Billions of won, if we're being specific, but if you asked the winners how they truly felt, they'd either say its blood money, caused by the death of innocent people. Or, they'd say they spent the money in one go impulsively.

San Min had spent majority of her money, despite the guilt of how she got it, on keeping her sister and nephew under a safe roof, and a nanny. Saeroi was nine. He didn't need the nanny looking after him twenty-four-seven, but the new addition did. New addition?

Ara had given birth last year to a beautiful baby girl, meaning she got the best of both worlds. A son and a daughter. Saeroi was good with her, but so was Ara. The moment her little girl was born, she vowed to change herself.

As per usual, San Min just hoped and prayed it was going to stay that way. The other times it didn't. Though, things change.

She liked to believe that during the past three years, her boss had taken a better liking to her, and that she attended more than most workers in the station.

Jun-ho, on the other hand. Well — he wasn't exactly working as a detective anymore. He was a traffic officer. Yes, that's right. He had been earning a living on preventing people from breaking rules on the road.

San Min couldn't blame him. The man had been through a lot as a detective, and there was no doubt about that. After his coma, she didn't expect him to have any job this fast, yet he proved her wrong.

She was mad at him. Three years ago, they made a promise to each other, and he ended up breaking it immediately. The way she still held a grudge years later probably sounded quite confusing to some people, but she had trust issues, and he could've died. She could've died. That part didn't affect her though, what happened to herself mattered less than what happened to the people she was close to.

Feeling incredibly bored, San Min scrolled through her notifications, cheek resting against her hand as she consumed her noodles. To her surprise, there were a total of forty-six messages from someone. That someone was Jun-ho.

When she was mad at people, San Min pushed them away, because she knew if the same thing happened again, it would hurt her even more than the first time, and her shame would take over her body like a disease, waiting to drain her of all the life she had left.

The messages were filled with words, begging her to speak to him, and to let them talk in person again so he could apologise. Her fingers hovered over the keyboard, pondering if she should reply, or just leave it.

She didn't realise it, but whilst she was living in her thoughts, she had bit her lip so hard, it bled. The metallic taste of the fluid made her grimace, and her noodles were no longer appealing.

What did seem appealing to her though, was replying with a simple answer. All it took was a few taps on her keyboard, and she had ended up replying with "later." Of course, he had to read it instantly. She felt bad, but hey, at least there was a chance they could speak at some point.

With her head falling back against the sofa in the booth, she stared into the distance, through the window. She knew being alone was hurting her, yet she didn't care. She didn't care what happened to her. San Min just wanted the traumatic memories to end.

She must've been really out of it, because when she took her eyes from the window, they were met with her sister's. She had so much joy in her eyes, so much excitement.

"Hey, you." Ara greeted, sliding San Min's noodles towards herself. Forgot to mention, Ara getting back her appetite for food, rather than alcohol, meant that she was always stealing her sister's food. Not that it was unexpected, siblings did stuff like that.

San Min's family meant the world to her.

With a slight smile on her face, she wiped her bloody lip, "Hello. Welcome to my abode." she held her hands out, as if to make a point that she was usually in this restaurant.

"Jesus, who beat you up?" Ara questioned, before reaching over, and spontaneously double tapping the other woman's lips.

San Min shook her head, slapping Ara's hand away, "Wouldn't you like to know?" she snickered, taking a sip of her water. It was no surprise that she left a blood stain on the glass afterward, but nobody would've cared. A lot of drunk, beaten up people would go to this restaurant — San Min would know.

Ara's face became stern, rather than joyful, "I'm being serious. You're my little sister. You can tell me anything, you know?" she really was a changed woman, and San Min could not be more grateful.

"I promise I just bit my lip, Ara." the raven haired girl lifted her shoulders into a shrug, "Anyone would be stupid to beat me up as they would be in the station within seconds." it was true. San Min had learned to fight, meaning defending herself was much easier.

After swallowing some noodles, Ara let out a chuckle, "Saeroi told me he had the top test results in his class today. At least he got the smart gene from you." she sighed contently, staring at the non-picked skin on her fingers, "I'm so proud of him, and you."

God, San Min wished she hadn't have said that. Most of the time, if someone said they were proud of her, she'd burst into tears. Luckily this time she held it together. Kinda.

San Min's grabbed onto her sister's hand, "We're proud of you too, super mum."

Ara scrunched her nose, letting out a groan, "That nickname is so cringe. Please never call me that again." she pleaded, making San Min snort, and apologise. Super mum was probably the worst nickname she had ever given anyone, come to think of it. What a good way to ruin a sentimental moment, right?

"Hey um —" swallowing the last noodle, Ara pointed towards her sibling's badge, "How was work today? Fight any bad guys?"

San Min sat up closer to the table, being careful not the knock the scar on her waist, "Nope. There were a few thefts, but they didn't cause a big fuss about us arresting them. It's shocking really." she nodded her head towards Ara, "You?

The woman with dark brown hair clicked her fingers, and her eyes widened, as if she had remembered something important, "I made a new friend today! His name is —"

"Am I getting a mention?" a male voice interrupted, a male voice that San Min could recognise from a mile away. It couldn't be. It would be too much of a coincidence.

She swallowed, lifting her head to meet the gaze of Ara's new friend, and she was right. They both eyeballed each other with their lips parted. It was Gi-hun. Player 456. Ara was saying something, but her voice was drowned out by San Min's shock.

This guy had practically been in hiding for the whole three years prior to the games, and now he was standing in front of her, as her sister's new, and probably only friend.

"Do you two know each other?" Ara inquired, furrowing her eyebrows whilst her focus fluckered from one person to another.

"No."

"Yes."

She had said no, he had said yes. However, it only took one sharp glare from San Min to make Gi-hun correct himself. Nobody was supposed to know about Squid Game. As much as they'd have liked to expose it, nobody would've believed them. Gi-hun knew that from experience.

Pushing back her chair, San Min stood up, knowing she had to get out of here before her sister got any more suspicious, "I better get home. The — plumber is coming soon." she lied, swiping her tongue across the freshly made cut she had caused herself.

Ara nodded, "Alright, sister. Bye!" she shouted out with a huge grin on her face.

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On the car drive back, all San Min could think about was Gi-hun. He had seemed to disappear from her sights for what felt like an eternity. After everything they went through together, the most obvious thing to do was probably to stick together.

And they didn't.

The moment they left that car in which the front man gave them his pep talk, they went their separate ways, and in a way, it felt like another promise had been broken for San Min. He was like an older brother to her.

However, things don't always turn out the way you want them to. It would've been nice if there was a possible way to leave the games before they got even worse and more innocent people were killed, but after the first time they voted, which San Min wasn't even a part of, the others were rather stubborn, and wanted to stay.

As the rain hammered against the car window, she tried her best to shake off the horrible memories of most likely the worst part of her life, but it was hard. They were engraved into her head, and in this situation, the only thing that distracted her was seeing him.

Jun-ho.

He was wearing a neon green jacket, as a traffic officer would do, with a huge hat on his head. He would've stood out to her, even if she didn't know him.

The car before her was causing loud destruction and blasting his music to a point someone's ears could've exploded. It just wasn't a big deal for her because her nephew enjoyed banging on his drums, and just talking loudly in general.

Trying her best not to make it obvious she was staring, San Min leaned back in her chair. He looked the same, but different. She couldn't tell, it was a lot to process seeing your best friend properly in person for the first time in three years.

Now by properly, I mean she had caught glimpses of him before, but looked away before he returned the favour. This time, though, she promised herself she would at least look at him back, even if it hurt her.

From where she was sat, San Min noticed how Jun-ho rolled his eyes, and rubbed his palm against his forehead. He was evidently annoyed, which she couldn't help but smile at. It reminded her of those times when she'd beat him at the rubbish games he had download on his phone.

All of a sudden, he was gone from his former spot, making San Min lean forward in her seat to observe where he had gone off to. Well, what a great amount of curiosity she had, because it turned out he wasn't anywhere in front.

He was next to her. Beside her car. Standing on his two legs, that were no longer covered beneath a hospital bed duvet.

You can do this. Just look at him, she told herself.

"Is this man in front bothering you with his music, ma'am?" he asked, the nickname immediately making her whip her head around to meet his eyes. God, she was proud of herself.

He clearly hadn't recognised her, due to her shorter hair, so when they made eye contact, his widened, and hers fluttered open and closed. This was her second reunion today, maybe she had finally reached her fate.

"Actually, should I care if this music is bothering you, San Min?" he shocked her with his words, "I thought you were experienced at ignoring things." oh, he was going for it.

She scoffed, letting out a snort, "See, I thought the same about you, except with breaking promises. I guess what goes around, comes around, hm?" San Min instantly regretted her words, she felt bad as per usual. Or, at least she did, before he responded.

"Forty-six messages. I can't believe how much I embarrassed myself..." he took a quick glance at his co workers, before pretending to write stuff down on his notepad, "I wanted to find my brother, and all of a sudden, I'm the villain."

"You could've died!" she snapped, "You could'e died for a brother that clearly doesn't give a shit about you." she gestured to his shoulder, having read his message when he said In-ho had shot him there, and that he was the one behind it all. Behind the trauma of the games.

He rubbed the bridge of his nose, "You could've died too, San Min." he said, softly, and it broke her heart. The tone. The words. Every thing.

With a shaky voice she had been trying to contain, she spoke back, "Look at my life, Jun-ho. My life contained of me looking after my sister more than her own six year old son! I at least needed a distraction —"

"You had me." Jun-ho corrected her, his dark eyes filled with dread, matching with hers.

"Yeah but —" she started stuttering over her own words, "I didn't want you suffering from my problems anymore. You don't deserve that, nobody does. If I helped you for once, I thought it would pay you back."

He did nothing but watch her, his lips slightly parted, readying themself to say something, yet nothing came out. It wasn't the first time San Min had made him speechless, however, it was the first time one of their conversations had gotten this serious.

She moved her head so she was facing the car window to her left, "And no, he isn't bothering me. Let him blast his music." she finally replied to the question from a little while ago.

Jun-ho clicked his tongue, stuffing the notepad into his back jeans pocket. The emotion of the conversation went from anger, to sadness, and finally, absolutely none.

With a nod, he observed her car, squinting his eyes in a confused manner, "Is that a cigarette in the back seat?" the male queried, since it was his job to keep every vehicle on the road safe. San Min didn't smoke. She most likely never would. The scent of smoke made her nauseous.

"My sister does it now and again in my car if she's feeling nervous about my driving." she stared up at him again, and as if she was reading his mind, she added, "I swear to you, I'm still a good driver. She just has bad memories from that crash she had two years ago."

"I wouldn't know." he stated, and it took her quite a minute to remember he was in fact in a coma then. Chances are, if he was awake in 2022, he'd still choose to be a traffic officer, rather than a detective again.

She pursed her lips together, gripping the steering wheel, "And who's fault is that?"

"I know it's mine, San Min. So don't even think about saying that, alright?"

"I was going to say your brother's — but whatever." San Min told him, her sharp focus moving from Jun-ho, to the car in front of her as she had just heard the engine start again. She didn't take the chance to look at him again, but she didn't need to.

Off San Min went again. Driving to her apartment, and overthinking every single word she had said to him. At least, it wasn't all bad. They weren't extremely harsh to each other; there was a line, and they didn't cross it.

Her phone vibrated on the seat next to her, and she hated how fast she glanced down at it. To her surprise, even after they had just conversed with each other, Jun-ho had messaged her. She would've looked away and ignored it, but a word in the sentence caught her eye.

Jun-ho!

• if you really want to see me at some point, meet me at [restaurant name] and we can talk. I'll explain every thing, I promise.

She waited until there was a line of traffic before her, before responding.

•  damn, you chose my favourite restaurant...

• is that a yes?
• and please don't ignore that message san min...I know you like to ghost my questions.

• my answer is maybe

And he left it at that. Perhaps a proper talk was what they both needed. What exactly would they talk about, though? Most of it had been said already, and all that was needed now was an apology to each other.

When she got home, she grabbed her keys from her bag, and accidentally dropped them. With a groan, she crouched down to pick them up, but something had caught her eye.

It appeared to be the shape of a rectangle, and wrapped in brown paper, a crimson bow topping it off. It wasn't that time of year where people got gifts, which confused her. Somebody must've been feeling really nice.

San Min flipped over the label, raising an eyebrow at what was written on it. "Just thought you'd like this — uncle Dae-Jung!"

She just let it sink in for a moment, standing up and bringing the box with her, gripping it underneath her armpit. Despite the fact her hands were trembling from the lack of warmth outside, she was still able to open the door.

It didn't take her long to walk in and start tearing the paper wrapped around the box. She was very curious, and that was very much clear. With how slow time went, it felt like there were so many layers to open to actually get to whatever was inside. Her uncle hadn't communicated to her in what felt like years, so this could be dangerous.

Not that she hadn't faced danger before.

San Min collapsed onto her sofa, making sure she was comfortable, before taking away the lid from the box. Whatever it was, shined in the light. Whatever it was, looked very sharp. Whatever it was, seemed to be a weapon.

A pocket knife.

She bit her lip, squinting her eyes as she took a closer look at it. There was no other note in the box that explained further, which made her feel nauseous. Out all things, her uncle decided to gift her a knife. Giving a pocket knife to someone you barely even know, or to anyone at all, was something you'd never expect.

A/N: hi lovely people!! thank you so much for reading, I hope you enjoy!! I don't know how much I will update this fic because of school, but also writing is a safe place for me so its confusing :p I will try as much as I can, especially before may time (year 11s/past year 11s will know) and maybe I could do shorter but more chapters!!