Frank Woods Requested By Anonymous

WHAT A CUTIE

okaaay in-ho 🔥

Hey, here's a concept... Soap's beautiful remastered face in 4k

IM ALIVE HELLO GUYS

yes he's still dreamy

CHAPTER 05 - once you go in, there's no turning back (hwang in ho x reader)

>> MASTERLIST

previous chapter | next chapter

----

You sat back on the stairs, catching your breath. The first game shook you so much, you felt your legs weak as you walked back to the dormitory. The room was filled by silence, each player's regret and guilt evident on their faces, traumatized with what happened. You stared into space, contemplating your decisions in joining the games.

The alarm buzzed, the doors opening to reveal the masked guards. This time, they were equipped with guns. On instinct, you hid inside the bed frame, not caring if you felt someone's body at your back. Your eyes fixed on their guns, feeling scared as you trembled a bit. There was no way they could be shooting all of you here.

Instead, the same square-masked guard spoke up. "Congratulations for making it through the first game."

Congratulations? You nearly died in there. Were the lives of people so brittle in this place? 

"Here are the results of the first game," the television displayed the remaining number of players, your eyes widened with the results. "Out of 456 players, 91 players have been eliminated."

You gasped, feeling your body drop at the back. But instead of feeling your body to the ground, someone held you enough for you to not fall. You quickly fixed yourself up, facing the man behind you. "Sorry. Didn't mean to."

He only looked at you coldly and gave you a small nod. You turned around to the TV again, seeing the numbers "365" displayed, meaning it was the total remaining players in this place.

"Congratulations again for making it through the first game," the square-masked guard said. But then, some of the players went down to their knees, brushing their hands together as a form of begging, pleading to not kill them, promising to pay their debts.

You almost did so as you tried to move down, only for the man behind you to hold your arm. You looked at him, shooting him a confused look. "Don't," he said, sounding more like a command. 

You eyed his number, stating it was "001". You tilted your head at him, confused with the sudden concern. You removed your arm from his grip, noticing that he kept staring at you. Not just to your face, but to your eyes, as if studying them. You looked back at him, trying to examine his features. You tilted your head, trying to remember if you've seen him somewhere. To you, he looked similar to In-ho, but older at this time. Your eyes darted away when the guard start to speak again.

"There seems to be a misunderstanding," the square-masked guard said. "We are not trying to harm you. We are presenting you with an opportunity."

An opportunity at the expense of other players' lives? This was blood money. You didn't have a problem with money anyway, and you certainly wouldn't take something that would be at the expense of someone's life. You remembered a specific clause from the consent form, as you spoke up and moved your way down.

"Clause three of the consent form!" You shouted, earning silence from the crowd. "The games may be terminated upon a majority vote. Correct?"

The square-masked guard turn to you. "That is correct."

"Then let us take a vote right now," you heard 456 say, looking at you as he gave you a nod, thanking you in a way for bringing it up. 

"Of course," the guard replied. "We respect your right to freedom of choice." You hear the players sigh in relief, only to be interrupted by the guard again. "But first, let me announce the prize amount that's been accumulated." He clicked on the remote and pointed to the piggy bank, seeing stashes of money dropping inside.

You could see the glow of faces from the other players, as if their worries had gone away. You knew this tactic, pulling out for every player to see the prize money to affect their vote. You were a marketing person - you knew how to sway people with your words, given your extensive background in sales. The players were being manipulated, but there was a truth attached to it.

You pieced it together, realizing that the players who were drowned in debts are given a last chance to survive and win the prize. The system only gave them the opportunity to do so, accounting the fact that their lives were nothing but meaningless with their own decisions. This was a test for humanity, its greed, and how humans had the tendency to do anything just to rise to the top, no matter the consequences.

"The number of players eliminated in the first game is 91. Therefore, a total of 9.1 billion won has been accumulated," the guard explained. "If you quit the games now, the 365 of you can equally divide the 9.1 billion won and leave with your share."

"How much is that?" Player 100 asked.

"Each person's share would be 24,931,500 won."

"Twenty million?" Player 230 asked in disbelief. "You said 45.6 billion!"

You were taken aback, your thoughts clearly being proven by the players. "Greed," you muttered. You felt a movement beside you, seeing Player 001 looking at you as if listening to what you were going to say. "The fact that they were more concerned with the prize money than the lives of people taken away indicates how humanity is about to reach its doom."

You looked up to 001, waiting for a response. Instead, you saw his eyes light up, as if he was agreeing to what you said. You couldn't help but feel your eyes lingered to him more, his features oddly familiar to you as if you've seen them before already. 

"If you wish to continue the games, press the O button. If you wish to end them, press the X button," the guard instructed. You and 001 made your way down the stairs, gathering to the crowd. "The vote will be held in reverse order of your player numbers."

Player 456.

It was the man who guided everyone to safety, well not everyone, but most of everyone who survive. You were shot up by the so-called Shaman player, ignoring her remarks as you watched 456 walk towards the buttons.

The red light shone in front, indicating that he has pressed X. You noticed the guard giving him an X patch, placing it to his tracksuit. You say 456 stare at everyone before walking to the X side.

"Once you finish voting, put the patch you are given on the right side of your chest and stand on the side you have chosen," the guard instructed.

Player 454.

Your heart started to beat fast, hoping she would press the X button. You just wanted to leave this place. You didn't work hard all your life just to die playing children's games.

Just as you thought you got what you wanted, a blue light shone on 454's face, indicating that she pressed the O button. You cursed quietly, your thoughts being proven more by 454 about human greed.

At this point, you closed your eyes, not wanting to see the results. You sat down, trying to not tremble but you were shaking heavily. Never did you expect in your life to be terrified of a button clicking, beeping as each result showed in the TV.

You heard 456 shout again, catching everyone's attention. "Wait a minute, everyone! You can't do this. Come to your senses! Don't you see?" He cried out. "These aren't just any games. We will all die if we keep playing! We have to get out of there now. With a majority vote, we can! We must stop here!"

You breathed a sigh of relief, at least there was one person who were able to contradict your thoughts on human greed. 

"Who do you think you are? Why do you keep egging people on like that?" Player 100 shouted back, disappointment plastered all over your face. Just as you were trying to get your hope back to humanity, there's always one person who ruins everything. "You scared us by saying they'd shoot us before the game even began!"

"That's right!" Another player exclaimed. "He was going on about how we'd die, and I almost did because I got so nervous!"

You scoffed, not believing whatever you were hearing. Sure, it was stressful during the games, but putting the blame on someone else who was just trying to save everyone was a harsh blow.

The thing is, how did 456 know that the place was going to shoot the players down? Could he be one of them? Was he pretending to be a player? If anything, you were the one pretending to be in debt, as if it was your last chance in this life to join the games. 

The banters continued as you start to feel overwhelmed, as if you were about to hyperventilate. You work well under pressure all your life, but we're talking about people's lives being taken from her in just a snap, for simply losing a game. These were the kind of stuff you only watch in movies.

You felt a hand on your shoulder, its thumb touching it in circles as if to comfort. Weirdly enough, you calmed down a bit. You remembered how In-ho would do the same before when your parents used to scold you for going home late, all because you kept on hanging out with the brothers. Or when you would scratch your knee as you ran down the neighborhood, with him holding your shoulders for you to stay still as your eomma aided your wounds. 

You looked to your left, seeing 001 who was doing it to you. He only looked to the front, watching the commotion. You studied him more, his jawline clenched enough to form a sharp line. His hair was brushed down, perfectly neat up nearing his eyebrows. If anything, he looked close to In-ho.

Wait, what?

"I played the games here three years ago!" You heard 456 shout, the frustration evident in his face. "And everyone who was with me... died here."

All of them? You asked to yourself. If he played them before, then he was the winner. That makes him win the prize money. If that's the case, then how come he's back here again? Was the 45.6 billion won not enough?

You looked up to 001, seeing as though he was enjoying the commotion. His posture remained calm, his hand still on your shoulder as his thumb continued to rub into yours in circles. You would've swatted his hand away, but there was something in his touch that seemed comforting, and you didn't want to feel yourself tremble once again.

You noticed a guard approaching 456, pointing the end of the gun at him on his back. "Everyone," the square-masked guard's voice echoed through the room. "From here on, we will not tolerate actions that disrupt the voting process." 456 raised both of his hands in surrender, the guard lowering down his gun. "Now, let's resume the vote."

You felt 001's hand away from your shoulder, as he watched intently to the voting process. As the voting progresses, the chants from each other sides echoed through the room, in attempt to influence the players' voting preference. 

At last, it was your turn. You looked directly at the buttons, averting your gaze from everyone who seemed to watch your every move as you walked. You looked at the scoreboard, your heart beating fast as you see the current results. An almost tie, X being 181, O being 182.

You looked at the buttons in front of you, each waiting for your decision. If you voted for O, the games will likely continue. You could feel the stares from behind you, crawling to your insides. But then, you've already made up your mind.

You were more than ready to leave this hellhole. Your hands hovered to the X button, pressing it as the red light shone to your face, earning a cheer from the X team. The guard handed you the X patch as you placed yours on your tracksuit, walking over the X team side.

X - 182, O - 182

You see 001 walking towards the buttons as you held your breath, hoping for him to press the X button. Cheers of O and X echoed through the room, and you couldn't help but join the chant. You see 001's eyes fixed on the platform as if he knew what to press already. It was now up to his hands the fate of the players. Only one way in or out.

The silence fell from your team as you see the blue light shine on 001's face, the O team rejoicing. 

X - 182, O - 183

001 turned around slowly, looking through the crowd coldly, his eyes almost dark and empty. This time, he looked more than similar to the boy you knew years ago before you parted, seeing his eyes stare at yours.

"No," you shook your head in disbelief, almost hyperventilating. This couldn't be.

In-ho.

This couldn't be In-ho. He would never put himself in a position to do so. He always did the right thing, seeing the goodness in others before himself. He would never be so greedy to win blood money, when he decided to serve and protect the people of Seoul. 

Yet his look was more than enough to send shivers down your spine, bringing you back to how he held your shoulders earlier, one that In-ho always did, and only ever did.

----

A/N: I hope you like how I added some of the reader's thoughts. I wanted to bring Sangwoo's personality to the reader, who seemed to analyze their choices first that gives them an advantage throughout this series. ✨ Feel free to leave out your thoughts here, and I'll gladly interact with each and everyone of you. 🫶

Don't forget to leave a comment in this post to be tagged on the next chapter! ✨

previous chapter | next chapter

>> MASTERLIST

TAGS: @machipyun @love-leez @enzosluvr @amber-content @kandierteveilchen @butterfly-lover @1nterstellarcha0s (p.s. if i forgot to tag you, please let me know)

you can feel the disappointment in snakes poorly pixelated face

The man we all want to be.

The M1911

SCREAMING

‼️ NEW OFFICIAL PHOTOS OF SQUID GAME SEASON 3 ‼️

PREMIERING 27 JUNE

the poster

it's 2am in where i live and a video game page decided to post a compilation of the saddest deaths in video game history

one of it consisted of soap mactavish's death yES I AM UGLY CRYING DONT TOUCH ME

CHAPTER 02 - once you go in, there's no turning back (hwang in ho x reader)

>> MASTERLIST

previous chapter | next chapter

----

The familiar scent of your apartment brought you back to your senses. The reality of being back to Seoul for good kicks you in day by day. Jun-ho placed your suitcase to the floor and looked around. Your studio apartment had a natural sunlight, as the glass door illuminated the light from the outside. Though the apartment still felt empty as you still lacked furnitures, but the memories it held was more than enough to say that you were indeed back home.

"Jun-ho, thank you so much for bringing my stuff back here," you patted his shoulder and smiled.

He smiled back. "No worries, noona. I'm so glad you're back. I wish we could talk more, but I got an errand to catch on."

You nodded, taking off your hand from his shoulder. "I see. Well, good luck and do good, alright?" Jun-ho nodded and grabbed his backpack. As he made his way to the door, you turned around and called out to him again. This time, you noticed how his body froze to your words, "If you ever see In-ho, let him know that I'm back, alright?"

His body stood still, much to your confusion. What was up with him? You understand how it might've been hard how In-ho had been missing for years, but your gut tells you that there was more to the story. As much as you wanted to ask, you knew In-ho preferred to always move and decide on his own. There's so much more in there, you knew it. But you were in no position to pry, at least for now.

Jun-ho looked back at you and only gave you a bow, then left. You turned your attention to the apartment, noting the stuff that you had to buy. A dining table, chairs, sofa, and a bed. Your wooden cabinet was still here, though it had built up dust already. You cleaned a bit inside before placing your clothes and other stuff there.

The sun was still out but it was setting already. You figured with little time you have left, you may as well shop for furnitures. You changed into another set of clothes, this time more casual and comfortable. You wore a black oversized shirt and grey sweatpants, slipping on some white sneakers. Once you felt ready, you grabbed your sling bag and went out, locking the door behind you.

As you walked down the road, you can't help but think of In-ho and how Jun-ho seemed to act strange whenever he was mentioned. You wondered why - did they fall out? Did something happen? Was In-ho gone for good? If yes, why would he leave his brother then? You tried to piece things together, but nothing made sense. It was out of character for In-ho to disappear without a trace, even if his wife passed.

It's impossible that he's gone for good, you thought. If his wife has passed, he would've made an effort to at least visit her in the cemetery. Though you didn't know where his wife was laid to rest, but in that case, maybe In-ho would've visited her at times. Guilt started to creep up to you, regretting every single second that you left here in the first place. As much as you knew it was for the best, you couldn't help but think that maybe you could've been there for In-ho when he was struggling. You could've helped him.

----

You swiped your credit card to the POS, confirming your payment for all the furnitures you bought. It would be deliver later, not later than 7pm at least. You needed a bed to sleep in for the night, and your apartment was more than empty except for the wooden cabinet you left years ago. You were surprised how it was still sturdy as ever. Kind of a blessing in disguise, actually.

You bowed to the cashier and proceeded to exit the store. You sighed as you felt the cold breeze hug you in. You looked for your vape inside your sling bag, inhaled it, and puffed a smoke. You didn't realize how tense your shoulders were as you exhaled. You thought the jetlag was getting on to you, adding up to the fact all the things you knew about the brothers.

You walked towards the subway, waiting for your train to arrive. This time, you didn't try hailing a cab as you missed riding the train. You wanted to savor the feeling of being in Seoul, finally back after long years.

You sat on one of the benches, minding your own business as you stared into space. You scrolled through your phone as you waited for the train, getting updated about your friends' life updates. You noticed an advertisement from a vlogger, MG Coin. It was the first time you stumbled upon this vlogger and read an article about them. Turns out he opened a new coin, Dalmatian, which he advertised to have everyone invest down to their last penny, guaranteeing instant investment. From the looks of it, if you weren't dumb enough, it was a scam for you. No one can get rich from truly investing, what more of getting a return of investment that fast.

"Dumb fucks," you muttered to yourself, shaking your head in disbelief. You continued to scroll more until there was no news that was worth to read. You sighed and kept your phone inside your bag.

The sound of a tile being slammed shot you up, looking at the direction of the sound. There, you see a man in a fine suit, playing what seemed like ddakji. You adjusted your eyesight to see what was happening, and yes, it really was ddakji.

You chuckled, wondering what entered his mind to play such a kid's game in a random subway. He was playing with someone who seemed to be in... distressed? You looked at the man, seeing a hand imprint on his face. You furrowed your eyebrows, confused why he seemed so invested in the game.

You watched them as they played, earning a shock from you when you see the man with a suit slap the guy's face. Then, he started to speak. "Again, I'll give you 100,000 won if you beat me. If I win, you can pay with your body."

"So, he paid by slapping," you shook your head in disbelief, chuckling as you continued to watch them. When the guy finally won, you can see how happy he was but looked up to the man in a suit, seemingly wanting to slap him. As he bolted his hand to slap, the man in a suit grabbed the guy's hand, blocking the slap. It seemed like he gave him something, which the guy glanced at his hand as if he was reading something.

You averted your gaze when you see the man in a suit turn around, facing you. You tried to not meet his gaze, but to your surprise, a briefcase was right next to your seat. You were probably so invested in watching the game that you didn't notice the briefcase. Though it was a crazy idea, you wanted to try and play the game. Would you win the prize? Or would you try to spice things up a bit?

You faced the man in a suit, meeting your gaze. You gave him a smile and a nod, and surprisingly, he also did. He proceeded to place the ddakji papers but he stopped as you spoke, "May I?"

The man smirked, but you can see the confusion forming in his face. You had a feeling he was trying to keep up with a facade which boils your curiosity more. "You want to play ddakji?"

You nodded. "I heard that you can win 100,000 won if you win, right?" He nodded in agreement. You continued, "What if I give you 100,000 won instead if you win, and if you lose...?" You looked up to think, and see the man chuckling. He seemed to be enjoying this.

"If I lose, then you can slap me," the man said as he smirked, taking the papers away from the briefcase. This was it, it seemed that both of you reached to an agreement. You stood up, fixing your clothes as he hands you the red paper.

The blue paper sits on the ground, waiting for you to flip it. You took a deep breath as you motioned your hand up then aimed at the blue paper, flipping it perfectly. It was the man's turn, seeing as he fixed and unbuttoned his blazer before swinging his hand to flip the paper on the ground, only to fail.

You smirked when you see him realize that he lost. He straightened himself up and moved his face near you, a free aim for you to slap. You examined his features first, realizing how fine he looked. He looked like he might in his early 40s, with a strand of hair down his forehead. He seemed to brace to the impact as you motioned your hand for a slap, only to lightly tap his face, barely even a slap.

He looked at you confusingly to which you only chuckled. "Can't slap a pretty face like yours," you said.

He only looked at you coldly, then furrowed his eyebrows as if to examine you. You had a feeling that no one dared to do that to him before, and maybe no one ever gave him 100,000 won if he wins the game. His jaw clenched, but not the angry kind. He seemed to think and squinted his eyes, then proceeded to nod in defeat, chuckling to himself.

"I just wanted to try it anyway, see if I was still good at it," you fixed yourself, straightening your posture. He did the same, now placing the ddakji papers back in the suitcase.

You noticed his hand on your vision, giving you a brown card, like a calling card, with three shapes on it - triangle, square, and circle. You shot him a confused look but this time, he was smirking at you. "If you want to see if you're good at ddakji, then you may as well join more games."

You grabbed the card from him as he closed his briefcase, giving you a nod before turning away, seeing his back as he walked away up to the platform, leaving the subway. Your gaze turned to the card you were holding, its texture seemed... premium. You turned the card on the other side and saw a number, as if ready for you to call.

A rumbling noise of wheels echoed through the subway, indicating that the train has arrived. You tucked the card on your pocket as you waited for the doors to open, entering it and sat near the entrance. You picked the card again from your pocket, intently staring at it. There was something more in this card that you were curious about. What did he mean about having more games? Will there be a prize at the end?

There's no harm in doing so, you think?

----

"Lee Myung-gi ran a Youtube Channel named, 'MG Coin' promoted a new coin called, 'Dalmatian' that turned out to be a scam, losing over 15.2 billion won after promoting it to their subscribers," the salesman reported, a phone pressed on his ear.

In-ho continued working on his papers, a glass of whiskey sitting near his left desk lamp. His phone was placed near it, putting the call on loudspeaker. He went over the potential player's file, seeing more of the details of the scam. He shook his head in disbelief, wondering how did these people get themselves up to situations like this. "Trash. Pure trash."

"He fled to the Philippines to hide from those he scammed," the voice on the other line stated. "I also noticed someone calling his phone. Someone named Kim Jun-hee."

"What about this Jun-hee?"

"She's pregnant, sir," the salesman said. In-ho dropped the paper he was holding for a moment. A pause came in before the salesman continued again, "Not in debt. Just needed funds for her pregnancy."

In-ho sat back on his chair, placing his hand on his chin as if to think. Though he couldn't help but feel his heart drop for a moment, remembering his wife. He shook his head before his emotions take over, proceeding to speak again. "You played with her?"

"Yes," the salesman replied. "I didn't slap her, knowing how fragile she was." In-ho nodded, a sigh of relief escaping from him. He took a sip on his whiskey, but was caught off guard when the salesman started to speak again. "But someone else wanted to play voluntarily."

"That's a first," In-ho muttered. He wondered why someone wanted to play ddakji voluntarily. Then he scoffed, thinking how they probably heard about the prize. "Let them enter the games."

"Sir, with all due respect, are you sure?" The salesman asked, the shock evident in his voice. "She offered to pay 100,000 won if she loses the game."

In-ho nodded as his thoughts start to take him over, trying to decide if they would let this someone enter the games. In entering the games, one had to be in debt. By debt, as in bad debts. A debt that slowly kills you, feeling as though you were alive only to be taunted by your shitty financial decisions. In-ho proceeded to ask, "Do you know anything about this woman?"

"I'm afraid not, sir. My apologies," the salesman replied. "But she seemed to be carefree. I spotted her along a furniture store nearby the station, buying furnitures, like a lot of them. She beat me to playing ddakji, and said she just wanted to see if she was still good at it."

In-ho became more confused, trying to weigh if he was going to let this someone in. If he lets you in, then the games would be more interesting. That is, if you call the number. Maybe there was no harm in letting someone not in debt to play. Or maybe he can offer you something more than playing in a pool of humans drowned in their debts.

"I gave her a card in case she's interested," the salesman reported. "But you should know that someone's got a tail on me. Seong Gi-hun is after us."

In-ho nodded, rolling his eyes with the thought of Gi-hun. In-ho believed that Gi-hun wouldn't be able to take down the whole organization. If ever, he would let Gi-hun be, but it would all just be for show, just to make things interesting.

Make things interesting.

As if a light was shone on In-ho's face, his face brightened up with an idea. He could make Gi-hun come back to the games, and letting someone like you in the games to see the truth and evilness of this place. Will you regret ever being so curious? He smirked, finishing his glass of whiskey as he felt the booze heat his throat. "Let the furniture girl in, and let Gi-hun work on his delusions. This season's going to be far more interesting."

In-ho ended the call, holding his hands together. He stared into space, sinking away from his thoughts. It's time to level up the games, to let someone who isn't entirely in debt to enter the games. Additionally, it's time to let a previous winner back.

If Gi-hun's back, then so is he.

----

A/N: I had so much fun writing this chapter! What did you think about the twist of ddakji? I wanted to at least express how attractive the salesman is, and how the reader couldn't slap his pretty face, catching him off guard. Now, we get a glimpse of In-ho before starting the games. It's also my first time to write a perspective of a villain, I hope I did some justice to it. Feel free to leave out your thoughts here, and I'll gladly interact with each and everyone of you. 🫶

Don't forget to leave a comment in this post to be tagged on the next chapter! ✨

previous chapter | next chapter

>> MASTERLIST

TAGS: @machipyun @love-leez