Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The guards knew they shouldn’t gossip during work time, especially about their boss. They knew that if he were to find out, there would be punishments, ones that could lead to them taking their last breaths. They were very much aware of every risk, were cautious of their wording, of their surroundings. It was ridiculous, but they couldn’t resist it - not when their boss was acting differently. Not when he was observing a particular player with such an intrigue, one might assume he was crushing on him. 

 “Player 456 is a lucky guy’’ was what most thought of him from the ones that had access to the monitoring. When going through all players, everyone thought he’d be amongst the firsts to die, and he actually was very close - if only he hadn’t been saved in the last moment. He was a naive guy with a warm presence, definitely not very bright, unnoticeable in the crowd of players. Nothing interesting about him, yet he kept being in the middle of everything, even becoming an ally of the host of the games who had decided to participate in the games before dying. What the boss found so interesting in him was beyond everyone. 

 Two of the triangle guards that were on duty in the monitoring room were looking at the live footage of the camera that had a nice view of player 456. The man was sitting on the stairs in the main room, chatting with a few other players, nothing interesting. It was quiet in the room, all guards enjoying the calm before another storm. There was going to be a game in a few hours, now the players were having their breakfast. 

“I wonder if he’s going to die today,’’ one of the two guards whispered. The other shrugged.

“His chances of dying are increasing, you know. He’s not going to survive until the finale.’’

“The boss will be devastated,’’ the other said and laughed, “that man is protecting the host unlike everyone else. If he dies both won’t like it.’’

“Imagine if he wins.”

The two immediately laughed, unable to imagine it. This man couldn’t hurt a fly, how could he kill anyone? He had no special skills whatsoever, he was a regular boring man nearing his 50’s, the VIPs also did not like him much. Only the boss was fond of him for some bizarre reason that no one understood. He had no chances of winning. 

 The guards continued to laugh quietly in their corner. Meanwhile, another guard entered the room in a hurry, headed towards the main computer where all the files were. 

“What’s up?’’ a circle guard asked him, the guard turned to look at her. 

“The boss wants the footage of the Dalgona game,’’ the guy replied and leaned in to whisper, “he wants the best footage of player 456.’’

 The circle guard raised an eyebrow, then a realization struck her. She had been the one to watch that footage on that day, the man’s positions during that game were… quite sinful in other scenarios. He had been on all fours, licking the dalgona, desperate and… The boss was a sick man, the fuck. 

“No way,’’ she whisper-screamed, holding back from running down a hand through her face. “I don’t want to say this out loud, but the boss definitely wants to fuck him then.’’

“What’s the footage?’’ the guy asked and leaned on the desk. “It can’t be that bad, right?’’

“Let’s just say… it’s not very appropriate and it awakens some desires. I didn’t know the boss was that type of guy.’’

 The other guard coughed, red in the face under the mask. He thought it’s for research purposes, not for the boss to take care of his morning erection.

“Fucking hell, I’d be emberassed to look him in the face after that.’’

“Believe me, it’s only about to get worse if that player stays alive.”

 The two began hoping for player 456’s death in the following game… 

Two square guards were standing on duty outside the male bathroom, extremely bored. It was nearing bed time for the players, meaning barely anyone would come to the bathroom, so they’d just stand there and do nothing (not that they did anything when players were there, but it felt different).

 To break the silence, one of them asked, “Eun-chan, did you hear what the boss wanted this morning?’’ The other guard shook his head and urged his friend to continue. “He wanted the dragona footage of player 456.”

“Oh no God, really?’’

“Yep. He wanted it sent to his TV, the whole thing. Min-hee told me during lunch break, she was in the monitoring today. He wanted every single angle, she and Ha-joon spent nearly half an hour going through the footage.”

 Eun-chan shook his head in surprise, his eyes widened. 

“Has this ever happened before?” he asked. It was his first year working in the games, but he had gotten close with a few coworkers, even knowing their names and having made promises to see them when it was over. 

“No, and that’s the thing. The boss had a wife , you know. Yet here he is, obsessing over this rando that will die soon. I’d be worried for him if he didn’t scare me.’’

 Eun-chan shrugged.

“Imagine if he gives 456 the win.’’

“He would not do that,’’ the other guy said. “He has never done it. Plus, the VIPs don’t like him from what I’ve heard, they wouldn’t be satisfied with that finale.’’

“Just imagine it, Tae-joon. Gun-ha told me how the boss is ogling that man’s ass. He won’t let him go just like that, take my word.’’

“Nah, the boss just wants to sleep with him, don’t go too far. Have you seen him, Mr. Hwang?’’

“No, but I bet he’s secretly blushing under the mask.’’

“Ugh, Eun-chan, stop saying bullshit. He definitely doesn’t blush.’’

“He would, for player 456.’’

 Out of nowhere, the radio beeped, signaling that a couple of players were coming to the bathroom. The two squared guards stopped talking, returning to their threatening appearances, and glared at the incoming players, one amongst them being the player 456. Eun-chan had to refrain himself from coughing when he saw him, that old man with his long hair and sweaty face. 

Eun-chan, straight in his bones, but an ally in his heart, didn’t get how that man captured the Frontman’s attention. 

“Genuinely, what does the boss see in him?” he asked and Tae-joon turned to look at him through the mask.

“I mean, have you seen that man’s ass? If I was gay, I’d want it too, you know.’’

“Really? Now I wanna see it too, see what’s the appeal. That guy has been talked about the whole day.’’

 Soon enough, the men left the bathroom and Eun-chan saw it. 

“Now I get it… I’d risk my job for that ass bro, the boss has never been more relatable.’’

 And with that, their night shift continued…

The other day, a couple of triangle guards were chatting during their break time with Min-hee and Eun-chan in the lunchroom. They were all gathered on a big table, with their masks off, enjoying a nice warm dish, as their chatter echoed in the space. 

“That player is still alive,’’ one guy said, the topic of the conversation being player 456 for the third day in a row. “I’m starting to believe the boss is praying for his survival and the Gods are listening to him.’’

“Don’t be ridiculous,’’ another guy said, scoffing audibly, “the man is just lucky.’’

“Wasn’t he a gambler?’’ Min-hee asked, toying with her food, “his file said he lost most of his money on gambling.’’

“Oh yeah,’’ one of the younger guards added, “he bet on horses. Weird as fuck, that old man.’’

“He has a charm, come on now,’’ another guard opposed. “Y’all can’t tell me he isn’t a sweet guy.’’ 

“Ew, Yoo-gun.’’

“I can’t see him as anything but the boss’ future toy, if he wins.’’

Loud disgusted comments started being thrown at the guard who said that, amongst which was the sentence, “He won’t win!’’ 

“Let’s bet on that!’’ offered Yoo-gun, laughing at his coworkers’ disgust. 

 They all agreed on betting 400 won - 4 people thought player 456 would win, 7 thought he’d lose. The results of today’s game weren’t pleasant for the majority of the guards…

Surprising for most people was player 456’s survival in the 5th game, making him one of the top 3 players for the win. His chances were high, given that player 067 was barely living, but no one actually rooted for him, except for the Frontman and Eun-chan. 

“That man can’t win,’’ Min-hee uttered, observing the footage of the dinner between the three finalists. “I want 067 to win.’’

“Girl, she’s dying,’’ Eun-chan said, spinning in his chair. “I know you rooted for her gay romance with that other girl, but be fucking for real. We all know who’ll win.’’

 Min-hee hit him with her elbow and made a disgusted face. Her long dark hair was in a low ponytail, her mask taken off. She was in her mid 30’s, but didn’t look a day past middle 20’s. Her main job was with the footage, keeping tabs on people and gathering information. “I’m genuinely hoping he loses. I wouldn’t stand having to track him for the boss.’’

“Is that what we do with the winners?’’ Eun-chan asked. His mask was also off, revealing him to be a young man with short brown hair, a couple of faded scars on his face and a mostly goofy face, making him be the clown of the guards (whenever the boss and their boss weren’t around). His duty was simple, killing players during the games and keeping watch during the other time. Right now he didn’t have to do either, since most guards were free to be in the monitoring. 

“Yeah, we put tracking devices in them,’’ the older woman said and wrote a code on her computer. “Even on the boss, since he is a previous winner. He has one right behind his left ear, it’s a very bloody job to remove it.’’

“Huh, interesting. I wonder if we’ll put one there on 456, when he wins.’’

“I don’t know, it’s up to the boss. He has bet on him.’’

“Man is in love,’’ the square guard said and faked a dreamy look.

“Ew, shut the fuck up.’’

“He issss, and he isn’t even hiding it.’’

 Seconds later, the monitoring room’s doors opened and the Frontman entered. Everyone immediately put their masks on and kept doing their job, while the boss headed towards the two square guards. A shiver ran down Eun-chan’s back, he hoped whatever the boss wanted didn’t have to do with what they talked about seconds prior. 

“Square guard 006,’’ the boss said with his deep robotic voice, looking down on the woman that worked on her computer, “Send me the detailed files of the three finalists. Have them printed by tonight, I need 6 copies of each other.’’

“I’ll have it done in a few hours,’’ Min-hee said. Before the boss could leave, she dared to ask, “Are you content with the finalists, sir?’’

 The man stopped in his tracks, taken aback a bit by the question, “You could say so, yes. I hope the odds are in my favor.’’ 

 The woman bit back her tongue, holding back from making a comment about player 456, and answered, “I hope so too. May the best player win.’’

  Realistically , player 218 had the biggest chances to win. He was the smartest amongst the three, was willing to kill to continue to play, had the looks and understood all risks. Plus, as far as the guards were aware, he and player 456 had been childhood best friends, making for an interesting drama. Most guards were rooting for him, knowing he wouldn’t disappoint them.

 The boss nodded and walked away, leaving the two guards alone again. Everyone took their masks off, continued to talk the moment the boss left the room. Eun-chan laughed nervously and cracked his fingers.

“Man, that was so scary,’’ he said.

“You kill people for a living, get your shit together. These are the risks of the job.’’

 The man shrugged and glanced at the screens on the wall, searching for the player he had bet on. 

“Min-hee, what’s his name?’’

“Seong Gi-hun,’’ she answered and looked at him, “We usually don’t care about a player’s name, only if he’s a winner. You must have too much trust in that man, hm?’’

“Well… I feel like we’ll be hearing about this guy in the future.’’

Everyone in the monitoring room was going crazy during the Squid game. The two left players, 218 and 456, the childhood best friends that had to kill each other, were so tragic to watch, yet so interesting. 

  Ha-joon and Tae-joon, the twins, one being the husband of Min-hee, were watching the game unfold, while Eun-chan was at the battlefield alongside two other guards. The battle was bloody, heavy rain was pouring and both men had equal chances of dying. 456 was mad, screaming at his old friend, punching and stabbing, covering his black suit with blood. 218 was pinned to the ground, dirty and bloody, bleeding, yelling. The two were quite the sight. 

“I bet the boss is going to ask your wife for footage of 456,’’ Ha-joon said and elbowed his twin, “At this point she should be making him edits of him.’’

“She’s paying more attention to this guy compared to me, genuinely.’’

“I don’t know how you’re not jealous, it’s insane.’’

 Tae-joon shrugged and looked around the room. Everyone was rooting for player 218, no one wanted to hear anything about player 456 and the boss’ attraction towards him (yet they were all intrigued and kept making theories on what the boss felt). They were done, even if it had been only a week of hearing all about this guy that bet on horses and had a nice ass (but as much as they hated to admit, this made their work days funnier and their chats nicer). 

 As the game progressed, they all began fearing that player 456 would succeed in ending the battle. No one wanted that, everyone knew that the boss would be furious, that the VIPs would be pissed, that all the money would be wasted. Fortunately, on one side, player 218 declined. Unfortunately…

“WHAT IS HE DOING?’’ one triangle guard screamed, as the man grabbed the knife and stabbed himself in the neck.

 Loud screams of frustration echoed in the room. Player 218 died. Player 456 was the winner. The winner of the 33rd Squid game. And now, everyone knew that the boss was kicking his feet in the air from joy. Many people lost their placed bets. 

And on one of the screens, the guards saw Eun-chan jumping from excitement, hidden in the dark, as the man he rooted for won. Min-hee, working from the Frontman’s room, was furious at her fate. Now she’ll really have to do edits of that man’s ass…

 Min-hee sat in the monitoring room again, all alone. She wore a set of pink wireless cat headphones, spinning on her chair, bored, as she was forced to listen to the conversation between the boss and Gi-hun, the winner, in the white limousine. She was also supposed to watch the footage, there was a hidden camera in the car, but she felt like it’d be too much. It looked like a scene straight out of a porn video, with the winner blindfolded and the boss crossing his legs and looking at him like he’s a prey. She would root for them if they were lesbians, but they were two old men and she couldn’t care less about their tension. She was leaving the island in two days with the people closest to the boss, her husband and friends already back in town, that’s what occupied her mind.

 Out of annoyance and want to make someone suffer just like she did at the moment, she snapped a picture of the screen and sent it to the guards’ group chat. Immediately there were dozens of messages that cursed her, some for being lucky to watch that (there were some bastards that genuinely liked that “ship’’ and wanted more of them together, ugh), some for needing to bleach their eyes after that sight. She laughed and typed,  ‘ Should I post this on Only Fans?’ , and everyone thought she should. 

In the end, she didn’t, but kept that picture and sent it occasionally to group chats to remind people of the sinful dynamic between the boss and the winner no one wanted. She kept working for him throughout the year between this and the next game, keeping tabs on player 456 and informing the boss, who had admitted to her that he had a crush on him like it wasn’t obvious. 

One thing that everyone, especially her, missed is that the boss placed the golden card in the mouth of player 456, Gi-hun, back in the limousine. That footage was in the boss’ harddrive, favouried and often rewatched during early mornings and lonely nights… 

Chapter Text

“Boss, you won’t believe who’s on the phone right now!’’ Min-hee exclaimed in a sing-song voice, as she was laying on the sofa that was in the boss’ living room. By her side sat her husband and a couple of other guards, only she being maskless, as they took calls from the new players of the 34th Squid game that was about to start in a few days. She was writing down their personal information in the database on a laptop, while checking Gi-hun’s location on her phone. 

 During the time between games, she always worked by the boss’ side. She was one of the few who did, as the boss trusted her and shared his personal fantasies about the previous winner of the games. She had gotten a paycheck raise, as she was often doing embarrassing things for the boss - making edits of Gi-hun with popular tiktok sounds, making playlists for their future relationship or whatever the boss dreamed of, writing fanfics and all that shit. She saw that man in her dreams at this point and hated it, she was a lesbian at heart (the only reason why she was married to a man being that they were childhood bestfriends and they’d promised each other they’ll marry if both were single by their 30’s)  and wanted to dream of hot women, not of a middle aged homeless looking man that her boss wanted to be desperately fucked by (yeah, the boss was a bottom, it was shocking). At least the money were worth it all. 

 The boss entered the living room, dressed in his casual clothing. He held his mask in one hand, prepared if he needed to make a call, and a cup of coffee in his other, “Who’s it, Min-hee?’’ he asked. 

“Take a lucky guess,’’ she answered and smiled. 

 The boss immediately realised and placed the mask on his face, then grabbed the phone from the square guard 015, an American by the name of Mike, and left the room. Min-hee followed him, knowing the boss will be fangirling too hard afterwards and would need her to tell her all about it. 

“Where is he?’’ the boss asked in a whisper, the two standing in front of the kitchen’s door.

“The Gimpo international airport, heading to a plane, going to visit his daughter in the US.’’

The boss raised his thumbs in gratitude and answered the call, changing his demeanor to a rougher one, although Min-hee could see him resisting the urge to scream in joy. She wished she could take a photo of him, he looked hilarious. 

“Player 456. Don’t get any absurd ideas,’’ the boss said, and a bit of silence followed. The boss turned off his microphone and turned on the speaker.

“...I can’t forgive you…,’’ Gi-hun said and it felt strange to hear the man’s voice again after months of only editing footage of him (a lot of footage at that), “for everything you’re doing.’’

 The boss annoyedly turned on his microphone and pressed the phone against the mask’s lips, “Just get on that plane. It’s for your own good.’’

 Then… Gi-hun hung up. Fucking hung up on the boss! Min-hee could see under the mask that the boss was furious , he didn’t like being hunged up on from his future husband (that would definitely not agree to marry him, but Min-hee was starting to enjoy the angst). 

“He…’’ the boss said, utterly hurt and mad, “he can’t do that to me! He can’t just hang up on me!”

 Min-hee shook her head and looked at her phone, feeling bad for the boss. Poor man was so in love…

“He’s leaving, boss! Call him again!’’ she insisted. 

 The boss hurriedly dialed the number of Gi-hun again, nervously pacing in a circle under the pitiful look of Min-hee, the soon to be his assistant. 

 Meanwhile, the guards’ group chat was going insane over the call by player 456. In the whole year, most guards had returned to their regular jobs (if they weren’t hired as the boss’ personal staff, which Min-hee and her husband were), but they kept the group chat, texting from time to time and sharing gossip of the boss’ love life. Min-hee had become the administrator and was working on a Discord server for the whole gang, as the group chat was not enough for all the guards. 

The guards in the living room continued doing their work, having taken Min-hee’s laptop to write down the personal information of every player. They chatted quietly, their topic of conversation similar to the one in the group chat. 

“Y’all remember when I told you I saw him last month, right?’’ one of the men asked and shook his head. “That player looks fucking homeless, yet the boss still simps.’’

“He’s a mad simp, boys, he’s eternally married to him in his heart,’’ another man said. 

“He’s more loyal than most actually married people are, the fuck.’’

“His gayness is dangerous.’’

 The boss could always have them killed, if he actually knew about this. As far as his actual knowledge went, only Min-hee and the guards’s actual boss were aware of his crush on player 456. The others didn’t. Yet they all did and had so many inside jokes about it, they were like junior students on a long school trip. 

“I heard that that guy hasn’t spent any of the money,’’ Tae-joon said.

“It’s obvious and so sad. I’d have invested all the money in crypto already!’’

“Bruh.’’

“Fuck Crypto, man.’’

“You like Andrew Tate or something?’’

  The Crypto guard immediately shook his head in disgust at the accusation. 

“Guys, no, I swear, don’t send me to the backrooms or something!’’ the man pleaded.

“Nah, man, you should be sent to Ohio.’’

“Insert the judging skeletons meme.’’

 Brainrotted by tiktok memes and trends, the guards continued arguing on the penalty for the Crypto guard. 

 Min-hee, ever the victim of the boss’ simping and fangirling, was making herself coffee in the kitchen, listening to Billie Eilish on her wireless earbuds, as the man that signed her increasing paychecks was overanalyzing his two conversations with Gi-hun that had happened in the span of 5 minutes. 

Suddenly, the lesbian got a notification on her phone, one that had her gasping in shock and bewilderment.

“Fuck, boss…’’ she uttered and turned to him, looking like she had just witnessed a murder (she might as well have had).

“What?’’ the man asked and looked at her with curiosity, raising an eyebrow innocently. 

“Gi-hun, he… has found the tracker…’’

Nothing, literally nothing, could've had prepared for how loud the boss' next word was. 

“WHAT?’’

“He’s disabled it, it’s gone now,'' she explained, turned off her earbuds and ran a hand through her hair. 

“Fuck, fuck, fuck, how am I to know where is he now!?’’ the boss asked, screaming nervously, and grabbed his employee’s phone in a swift motion. “He’s so smart, fuck !”

 Min-hee let out a loud groan, immediately understanding the implications between these words. That guy, that (no longer)  homeless looking winner, was making her job harder and harder! Not only did she have to feed the boss’ sick fantasies with content for that closeted pathetic excuse of a man, but now she also had to work even harder to keep constant tracks on him! He really should’ve lost, just like she had lost 400 won because of his win and her sanity. Fuck gay men and their obsessive behaviour towards their unrequited crushes!

“We had matching trackers, he doesn’t want me, Min-hee!’’ the boss continued with his heartbroken complaints, sobbing. “He has moved on, he even dyed his hair last week…’’

~2 years later~

Over the course of the next two years, things didn’t change a lot regarding Gi-hun’s presence in Min-hee’s work life.

 The man, so stubborn, kept looking for the Salesman (the only man Min-hee found attractive) in order to get to the boss. He had dyed his hair again, lost a lot of weight, changed his whole demeanor, moved to a motel, paid off all his debts. She was keeping tabs on him every now and then, as the boss’ crush kept on going strong even if the games happened 3 years ago. 

 The guards had gotten tired of hearing about the 33rd winner. Most of them had forgotten about him, as Min-hee stopped sharing about her work duties. Some still remembered him and occasionally asked the woman for info on the winner that had caught the boss’ attention. Neither of the two winners in the 34th and 35th games, nor a single other player grabbed the boss’ interest. All that was on his mind was Gi-hun. It had gotten tiresome to most. They had no topics to discuss, as the man was trying to live his empty life after his win and the boss was just paying Min-hee to stalk him. 

Well, Eun-chan, ever the clown of the gang of guards, was still interested in the man he rooted for 3 years ago. 

 The 36th game was to start in a couple of weeks. The guards always kept in touch during the year between games, hanging out sometimes, sending dumb tiktoks to each other in their giant discord server, making memes of the boss and gossiping about dead players. The man in question was promoted, no longer a square guard - now he was a triangle guard, one of the best at killing players, with a perfect aim and the perfect ability to change to a cold attitude when needed. He and Min-hee had gotten even closer, gaming together occasionally. 

 Min-hee, on her part, had gotten a close friend in the face of the boss. She was by his side 6 days a week, sometimes receiving night calls by him to chat. She had resorted to calling him by his first name when alone with him, but she mostly called him “boss” playfully. The man really needed friends and she actually liked his company (and she loved her paycheck, she spoiled herself every month) whenever the boss didn’t talk about his obsession. She still hadn’t found a hot woman to date and her husband already had a side chick he met up with every week. Life wasn’t the best, but it wasn’t the worst either.

  It was an average Saturday morning. The boss was bored, she was playing Genshin on her phone, getting her daily commissions done, the Salesman was in the apartment, taking his sweet time yapping about his new research with the homeless people. It was all tedious, the guards weren’t here and it was just the three of them. 

“And any progress on the winner?’’ the boss asked the Salesman, whose name Min-hee still didn’t know even after she’d been working for the boss for 7 years. “Have you caught him looking for you recently?’’

Min-hee rolled her eyes, glad that she wore her mask, and held back from saying that her boss is a gooner. 

“No, sir,’’ the Salesman answered and smiled. “It seems like he has calmed down for now.’’

“He has put the fries in the bag, I guess,’’ Min-hee said to In-ho. She had taken her time explaining tiktok culture to him, but to no avail. The man refused to learn what she meant whenever she told him to stop mewing. 

 The Salesman and the boss ignored her comment.

“Is that all, then?’’ In-ho asked and tilted his head. The Salesman nodded and ran a hand through his hair. He had too much rizz.

“That’s not very sigma of you, rizzlord,’’ Min-hee shook her head disapprovingly and turned off her phone, then spread her legs. “You see, the boss here needs to know what’s up with his pookie. So you either do your job properly, or get cooked. Understood?’’

 The Salesman nodded, not understanding most of what she said, and got up. 

“She spends too much time on tiktok, don’t mind her language,’’ the boss said and got up too. “But whatever she said is true. Do your job.’’

As the months passed by, Gi-hun began chasing the Salesman. He hired a lot of men who searched for him every single day in numerous subway stations and In-ho began getting happier, talking more about him again. Min-hee desperately needed a vacation. 

 The boss decided to copy his crush and re-hire a couple of guards months before the start of the Squid game, ones to search for Gi-hun, find out his progress, find out about his new habits. He was getting more and more intrigued and everyone was having enough of him.

 Three men, all triangle guards, dressed in casual clothing, appearing completely normal, were in what they knew to be player 456’s usual place. They were leaning on a wall, smoking and observing their surroundings. 

“It’s weird that the boss is still crushing on that guy,’’ one of them said. “It’s been what? 3 years?’’

“Yeah. That man is fucking clueless too.”

“He literally has no way of knowing tho. Plus we all know because Min-hee told us, as far as we were all aware the boss was just getting off on footage of him.’’

“Don’t mention that, it’s disgusting!’’

“But it was true, wasn’t it? I can still remember that Dalgona game footage.’’

“I’m so glad we don’t have this game anymore, I was the one by his side during the whole thing!’’

“Oh, man, that’s worse. The boss was definitely jealous of you.’’

“I don’t know, I don’t care. But I’ve heard rumors that haven’t been commented on by Min-hee that the boss has a whole wall with pictures of the player. Imagine.’’

“Ew, really? Who the fuck started this rumor?’’

“I think it was one of the elite guards, but I’m not sure. They were talking about this on the server last month.’’

“Ohhh, yeah, I now remember it. Eun-chan started it. He was rooting for 456 back then, he was the only one.’’

“Yeah, and now we’re here because that player won.’’

“Oh well, at least we’re getting paid extra.’’

“Right. Also, I heard that Min-hee is trying to teach the boss Tiktok brainrot.’’

“She told me. She is just bullying him this way, she’s not for real.’’

“I’d bully him too, if he had me making edits of that man instead of killing people.’’

“Well, at least she is having fun in another way. The memes she sends are so good.’’

“I kinda miss the memes with the player.’’

“They were golden. Why doesn’t the boss crush on players more?’’

“Nah, don’t want that! He can’t have a spot soft for the players.’’

“Yet he does for that man who hasn’t been a player in years!”

“That’s just the boss’ obsession that started with his ass. We all have that one crush we wanna fuck desperately.’’

“No? I mean, yeah, but no way I’d ever crush on anyone like that. This is insane.’’

“Has the boss ever been sane?’’

“I guess not.’’

“Then? He’s insanely crushing on a man with a fine ass and a lot of billions in his house. Plus, he’s kinda hot now.’’

“Meh, this shit is too gay for me.’’

“You wouldn’t fuck a billionaire for money?’’

“Welllllll, maybe? But if I’m richer than him, no. I’m straight as fuck.’’

“The boss isn’t.’’

“The boss is weird. He’s hotter, richer, and far more dangerous. At this point he just wants a submissive malewife with a couple of billions up his sleeve.’’

“Be fucking for real, the boss would be the submissive malewife. He’s so down bad.’’

 Before the three men knew it, Gi-hun’s car came into view. They quickly snapped a photo of him and sent it to the boss, then quietly continued gossiping about the man that threw them a curious look, surprised to see people at his usual place… 

Chapter Text

The guards knew something was up. 

 The boss was acting even weirder than usual, more into stalking that player 456 than usual, and as far as they all were concerned, this time things were serious and it wasn’t just because the boss wanted to know where his future husband was. Some of them knew the truth, but it was an actual top secret and refused to tell the others. The games were about to start in 2 weeks and the tension in both the group chats and whenever they met in person was escalating. Something was about to happen. Something big. 

 Eun-chan sat in his gaming chair, wearing his blue cat headphones (that he bought to match Min-hee whenever they played together in a discord call), listening to the Brat album, as he read through last night’s messages in the “Player 456 x the Boss’’ chat. Someone had sent an edited picture of what they imagined the boss’ personal bedroom to look like and Min-hee had reacted with a heart to the pic, making everyone think she had confirmed the rumor. If it weren’t for her to feed them with content for this bizarre ship they all have come to actually like, they’d only survive on memories of player 456 and his nice ass. 

He was calling in to drive the boss in the week before the games as he was a very trusted guard. Min-hee had sent him the schedule and he had been surprised to see the boss had to pick up a cake on the last day of the month, the day before the game began. As far as he knew, the man’s birthday wasn’t soon and neither was Min-hee’s. Oh well.

 As he was singing along to “365”, he was interrupted by a discord call. It was Gun-ha, one of the other triangle guards. He groaned, stopped his music and picked up the call.

“What is it, Gun-ha?’’ he asked in annoyance. 

“You won’t believe what I just heard,’’ the woman on the other side replied, smiling mischievously. 

“Yeah? Tell me quickly, I’m busy.’’

“Singing to Charlie xcx? Sure thing buddy.’’

 Eun-chan rolled his eyes and cracked his fingers.

“Come onnnn!’’

“Okay, take a breath first…’’ the guard did as told and she continued, “The cake picking you texted me about, the one on Halloween?’’

“Yeah?’’

“The cake is about Gi-hun, player 456!’’

“What?’’

“I overheard Min-hee and the boss talking on the phone, I was at her place with you know who. It’s his birthday, he’s turning 50 or whatever, and the boss wants to send a cake to his place.’’

“For real?’’

“Well, not he himself, but you know. Min-hee described the cake and it will be like, um… white, with the typical decorations of a wedding cake-’’

“What?!’’

“Wait, wait, you haven’t heard the whole description! On top, instead of the usual bride and groom, will be a Dalgona candy with a little figure of Gi-hun in the player outfit and there will be written ‘happy birthday to the best sloppy toppy giver (next year I’ll be eating your cake).’’

“WHAT?! Are you sure Min-hee wasn’t just pranking you because she sensed you eavesdropping?’’

“No, man, she was for real. The boss was talking about how he doesn’t get what that means and she told him that it’s all that he wants to tell him and he just agreed.’’

“What in the sigma skibidy toilet…’’

The guards’ suspicions were confirmed when Min-hee video called them all in the middle of the night, crying.

“Guys… the news I have to share are devastating.  I just found out and I’m heartbroken.”

“Is Gi-hun dead?’’ a couple of people asked in worry.

“No, the fucker is still alive,’’ she answered and laughed maniacally. She would hate to admit to them she had grown attached to Gi-hun, being at this point like his best friend because she knew EVERYTHING about him, down to the brand of underwear he buys. “It’s even worse. Our husband… we all know our husband.’’

“I wanna take his tip.’’

“No hesitation, RAW, intense eye contact.’’

“Who took my pants?’’

“My ride mentioned!’’

“Give me a hair tie and 5 minutes.’’

“I can get him pregnant.’’

“When I see him coming, I come too.’’

“GUYS!’’ Min-hee interrupted them and sighed. “Please, you’re making it harder to say.’’

“We’re hard,’’ someone said and everyone screamed in agreement. 

 Min-hee began loudly sobbing and everyone went quiet, wondering what was up with the Salesman, the man EVERYONE crushed on. They all wished he was a guard…

“Min-hee, breathe please…’’ Tae-joon pleaded and placed a hand on his wife’s shoulder. The woman took a loud breath and brushed a few tears away.

“He killed himself…’’

 Everyone started tearing up. They all sobbed together for what seemed like forever, heartbroken by the loss of the sex symbol they all had pictures of in their bedrooms. 

“Why did he do it?’’ one guard dared to ask, breaking the echoing of sobbing.

Min-hee sneezed and shook her head, then looked down. 

“He met Gi-hun. Gi-hun was chasing him for the last 2 years… He finally found him with the help of some of his men. Our hubby killed one of the men and went to Gi-hun’s motel to talk with him, they played russian roulette and he just… he died.’’

“No way he died to Gi-hun…’’

“Wait, how do you know this?’’

“Our hubby had a hidden camera in his suit jacket. His death was hot…’’ she answered and sniffed.

They all tried to ignore her last comment. The realisation that this wouldn’t end like that struck them all.

“And what now that Gi-hun has him killed?’’ 

“He will be meeting the boss at the Halloween party on Thursday.’’

 The loss of the sex symbol quickly forgotten, everyone cheered. After 3 years, they’d finally have an actual face to face interaction between the boss and Gi-hun. It was all they wanted to hear, as they all had gotten sick of the lack of gossiping. 

 The most excited about this meeting was Eun-chan, the one who would see it live…

Min-hee laid in bed, scrolling through Tiktok. She was waiting for In-ho to call her for their usual Tuesday night chit-chat. Her husband was out with Gun-ha, leaving her all alone in the giant flat she had bought for them with her increased paycheck. She was enjoying the peace and quiet, as she had to leave for the island tomorrow to get things prepared for the upcoming players. She hoped for a better game this year, the last two having been too boring without the presence of someone to gossip about. 

 A call notification popped up on her screen and she let out a deep breath before picking up the call. 

“Hi, In-ho!’’she exclaimed and then groaned when seeing In-ho had video called her. “ Please , we talked about it, you have to ask me beforehands if I’m okay with video calling!’’

“Sorry,’’ he said and ran a hand through his slicked back hair. He, too, was in bed, dressed in his black pajama set that looked like it belonged to a rich businesswoman, and had a skincare mask applied. “I’m just so excited for Thursday, it’s all I can think about.’’

 He started kicking his feet in the air like a teenage girl and smiled dreamingly. 

The rumors of his bedroom were all true - he had tons of pictures of Gi-hun with hearts drawn all over them on one of his walls. The pictures were all high quality, some from his Game, others from the last months. The wall’s decoration was from 3 months ago, Min-hee helped him decorate it during one of their sleepovers. 

“I figured so. I sent you an edit, I don’t know if you saw it.’’

“I’mma check right now, wait…’’

 Sometimes Min-hee couldn’t believe how close she had gotten to the boss. The man was so interesting, a bit pathetic yet horrifying when at work. He shared some of her interests, such as shopping and gossiping. He knew everything about everyone (except for that everyone knew about his crush on Gi-hun) and always had the juiciest gossip. He was a secret drama queen and Min-hee loved it.

“Do you have any ideas what you’re going to tell him when you see him?’’ she asked.

In-ho exhaled and bit his lower lip.

“Well, obviously the truth, but that wouldn’t matter. He refuses to listen to me, but it doesn’t hurt to try. He should’ve gotten on that plane…’’

“Please, you would’ve hated him if he did it. He would’ve forgotten about you.’’

“Yes, but stilllll… It’s so hot how he’s so stubborn.’’

“In-ho, sweety, you think that everything about him is hot.’’

“Well duh? You won’t get it.’’

“You’re so gayyyyyy about him.’’

“I will have him one day, I promise you.’’

“Manifesting for you, king. Are you going to show yourself to him? He has never seen you, you know?’’

“I’m still thinking. But I’m afraid I wouldn’t resist the urge to start making out with him.’’

“Ooo, hate sex? Now you’re giving me fanfic ideas.’’

“I see him!’’

Loud music was blasting in the big club filled with masked people. The lightning was horrible, the air smelled of alcohol and sweat. Everyone was in their own world. Everyone, except for the guards and their target. 

Seeing anything was hard, but the guards managed perfectly well, noticing Gi-hun quickly, as he was distinguishable in the crowd - and damn it, he had aged like a fine wine in less than 3 years. He looked badass and they understood why the boss was obsessed with him. 

“Get him to the boss, immediately.’’

 They talked through their radios, as they were dressed in their uniforms. They were the last to leave for the island, alongside the boss. They had no idea what the boss was actually going to do to/with Player 456, no one did, not even Min-hee. All they knew is that the winner with the nice ass had backup with him and that they should eliminate it from the picture. 

 One of the guards led Gi-hun to the white limousine. The man was tense, full of rage, and the guard held back himself from telling him to be a chill guy. If he even dared to say a word, he knew he’d be dead on the spot. He had no intention of dying before learning all the drama. 

 Eun-chan was on the edge of his seat. The last couple of days were too intense, with him driving the boss who had only one thing on his mind - Gi-hun. The cake they picked up (and had decided to see how the talk was about to go) was in the back of the car, looking just like Gun-ha told him. He had taken a few pics and sent them to the server. Everyone had gone crazy, including him. Min-hee was so brainrotted… 

 Listening to the conversation between the boss and Gi-hun felt like the start of a porn video. The boss was watching Gi-hun on his phone, the man had his legs spread and Eun-chan wouldn’t be surprised if the boss told him to stop the car and went to the back to fuck. It was hard to keep his attention on the road. 

“...Don’t give me that shit,’’ Gi-hun said, leaning towards the piggie, a camera hidden in it. They argued back and forth like an old married couple. Toxic yaoi Min-hee had described it once… 

 Eun-chan was quick to catch up with the fact they were being followed. He kept driving in the same area, as the boss was getting more and more tense just listening to Gi-hun’s accusations and rage. Then something went down, the two cars that followed them nearly crashed and the boss said something, while… kicking his feet?

“Or were you going to kidnap me?’’

Another proof the boss had sick fantasies, another meme for the gang. 

 And then another car went down, which alarmed Gi-hun and he pulled out a gun. At that, Eun-chan heard the boss licking his lips under the mask. The foreplay in bed was gonna be insane.

It kept getting more and more insane, as the player shot the black glass, the wall between him and them. Nothing happened, of course, but the boss didn’t like that much…

“Put me in the game.’’

 The guards were all listening to the conversation, as Eun-chan had done them a favor by joining the discord server’s voice chat. They were all muted, spamming in the chat, going insane over Gi-hun’s words, his want to join the games again.

‘We’re getting more content again!’

‘They should fuck out the tension’

‘The boss is 100% blushing’

‘Chat, is this pay gorn?’

‘God Bless Eun-chan!’

‘OH MY GOD, THEY’RE SO MARRIED’

‘The boss is rethinking all of his life choices to get that birthday cake’

‘Gi-hun should give him his cake atp’

‘They’re the definition of “arch enemies? What are you arching? Your back?’’’

‘PREACH’

‘Is it casual if they’re each other’s Roman Empire for 3 years?’

 The chat kept going on and on, everyone so happy that Gi-hun was joining the games again. Eun-chan was holding back from squealing in joy, as the boss accepted and turned on the sleeping gas. Afterwards, he told Eun-chan to stop the car, as he wanted to move to the back. The guard had never followed orders as fast as he did at that very moment. 

 He pulled out his phone and immediately opened discord, then typed in the chat:

‘ WE’RE SO BACK, BABYYYYYY’

Chapter Text

Stepping on real ground was nice.

 Min-hee took a loud breath, as the ship to the island finally stopped at its destination. So many guards on the ship, all in a hurry to get to the base and get ready for the upcoming Game. The players were about to come in an hour, the guards had to get ready with the preparations for them. Luckily for her, she didn’t have to bother with that. She just had to get to the monitoring and turn on the cameras and free internet, then go to In-ho’s rooms and find what he had bought her - the morning before she left, he told her he had a special gift for her, waiting there. She was excited to see it and to find out what happened with her bestie’s bigass crush. 

 She had the honor of being the first to enter the place where her whole life changed - where she met so many of her friends, where she had fun gossiping, where she became the best friend of the big baby that In-ho, the boss, was. She loved that place. 

 The petite woman (ugh, she hated her height, she was too short when by In-ho’s side, which happened often) immediately headed towards the monitoring, leaving her tired husband to take her luggage to her room. She had to turn on the internet connection, she had to know all details of the conversation. In-ho had promised to keep her updated, so she had no worries about being unaware of something. 

 The monitoring was mostly ignored, as all she did was press on the button for the Wi-Fi. She ran to the elevator to the boss’ rooms in excitement, looking at her phone. Turning off airplane mode, she got connected to the mobile data and the notifications began popping up on her screen - so many texts by In-ho, a couple of calls by Eun-chan, but no notifications from any social media whatsoever. Fuck, her new phone wasn’t connected to the Wi-Fi, she had to find the password. 

In-ho’s texts were interesting - he had spammed her so much about EVERYTHING - from the way Gi-hun had spread his legs right in front of the camera, how he sounded, how his wording got him feeling hot, to how he looked with such a fire in his eyes. He was fangirling too hard, Min-hee couldn’t help but send him a couple of crying emojis, knowing the man always thought she’s actually crying. But… no message about what happened in the end. The last message was, ‘He’s so hot, Min-hee, but he can’t accept that by killing me, he won’t accomplish anything. He tried shooting me :(‘

‘Tried’ was the key-word that made Min-hee sure In-ho was alive. He couldn’t die like that, he was the most well protected man she ever knew or heard of. The lack of information on what happened afterwards was killing her.

 The elevator FINALLY opened and she headed towards the living room where, on the big sofa, was a beautiful light baby pink guard suit with a black mask with a light pink square in the middle. It was gorgeous. She took a photo of it and grabbed it, then headed to her room to get a shower and get properly dressed. She was going to ask someone for the password. 

 Everyone was going inside. 

The circle guards were sitting on a bench, taking a break from getting the players dressed. After seeing the Discord chat, their chatter was echoing through the whole part of the place. 

“Guys, this has never fucking happened before,’’ one of them said, regarding a winner coming back to the games.

“I mean, we all know Gi-hun and how he is. He’d do anything to get the boss killed, you know?’’

“The boss must have a kink for Gi-hun wanting to kill him, I swear to God.’’

“Oh, he definitely does. He gets off on whatever Gi-hun does.’’

“This is so disgusting.’’

“It’s the boss. He has read too many enemies to lovers fics.’’

“For real. Like what the fuck do you mean you’re letting your mentally broken bae back to the very games that can get him killed? The man wants to fricking kill you for fuck’s sake.’’

“Don’t worry about him, bro. He’s insane, gay and evil. We all know how insane evil gays are.’’

“Yeah… he probably got him back in the games to have more footage of him.’’

“SHUT UP! I don’t want to remember the-

“Don’t mention it, you motherfucker!”

“I shouldn’t suffer alone with these memories!’’

“WE ALL SUFFER IN SILENCE!’’

“...’’

“...’’

“...’’

“Please, I love y’all, my skibidy sigmas-’’

“Kill yourself, man.’’

“-But let’s not think of these dark times before we started to like Gi-hun.’’

“Kinda easy, I guess. Let’s remember his rizz and not his homeless era.’’

“Bruh. Maybe the rizz was the friends we made along the way…’’

“SHUT UP, HE’S ACTUALLY HOT RIGHT NOW.’’

“Be a chill guy, bro. If the boss hears you, you’ll be dead.’’

“Oh well, I support him in wanting Gi-hun.’’

 They all laughed and shook their heads. 

“It’s good that he’s coming back.’’

“Yeah… the legendary time of memes will be back.’’

“Min-hee is gonna devour the content.’’

“Our diva will eat and lick the whole plate.’’

“God bless the mother of lesbians and queen of our fandom,’’ the guards said in unison.

“I wonder how she reacted to the news.’’

“O, she has went mad for sure!’’

“Just like us?’’

“Yeah. We literally giggled from excitement for half an hour.’’

“We’re becoming like the boss…’’

“Nah, never. We would never eyefuck Gi-hun.’’

“Or make him a birthday cake that says he wants his cake.’’

“Hm, what happened to the cake, does anyone know?’’

“No idea, man.’’

Their chatter went on and on…

There was no one down where all the rooms were. Min-hee groaned in frustration upon seeing that Tae-joon was also not in his room, this year they were assigned next to each other - although In-ho offered to make them share a room teasingly, to annoy her for her marriage of conveyance. Oh well, he was a widower who was crushing on a divorcee that lived in a horrifically ugly motel. She had obviously more to bully (or blackmail, for the matter) him with. 

 When she got ready, she went back up, to the monitoring. The new outfit felt nice, made her distinguishable - as she was In-ho’s assistant of some sort, she had so many privileges, such as the ability to talk to the other guards whenever she wanted (that was forbidden for the others, but In-ho didn’t need to know how they actually gossiped during breaks or when there wasn’t any authority around. He knew they were close outside of work, didn’t like it much, but whatever, bruh, not her fault he had only her as a friend) and having access to ALL the footage. She loved her occupation too much.

 The monitoring was empty as well, which was weird as fuck. It was like someone had dropped a bomb and everyone had died, except for the diva . She hated it, she couldn’t connect to the shitty Wi-fi. Eun-chan wasn’t picking up her calls and neither did In-ho. She wanted to scream. 

She sat where her favorite monitor was and turned it on. All the screens immediately turned on as well and the views were of the empty halls and the guards placing the new players on their beds. It was the most boring thing to watch in her opinion, so she decided to just ignore it whatsoever and try and find the password. She was a motherfucking hacker, how could she not find it? She was annoyed. 

The monitoring’s door suddenly opened and a fellow square guard entered. 

“Min-hee, is that you, queen?’’ they asked, the voice familiar. It was Na-joon. 

“Yeah, my dearest brother-in-law,’’ she answered and kicked her feet in the air like a little kid. “Do you like my new suit?’’

“It’s lovely. Slay!’’

 She giggled and blushed under her mask. 

“Uh, so, you’re the actual first person I’ve seen since we arrived,’’ she said to him and stood up. “Do you know the damned Wi-Fi password?’’

“Yeah, sure… wait .’’

“What?’’

 The man took off his mask and came closer to her.

“If you don’t have internet… that means you haven’t checked discord.’’

“Yeah, duh? What’s going on?’’

“You have to sit down for that one.’’

 She did and he came in closer, knelt down in front of her.

“I’m gonna hold your hand when I tell you this…’’ he said softly and she raised an eyebrow in suspicion, but offered him her hand anyways. “So…’’

“So?’’

 The man before her took a deep breath, she began feeling nervous.

“Gi-hun, he’s… coming back to the Game.’’

“WHAT?’’

“ WHY WAS I NOT AWARE OF THIS!?’’ Min-hee yelled at the boss, glancing up at him under her cutesy mask. 

 The guards that trailed behind him were throwing glances at them, as the boss and his assistant were getting in their way. They had just arrived at the island after a long trip and had to get ready quickly, as most players would be waking up soon. 

Gi-hun was in the boss’ arms, now dressed in the player tracksuit, still with the number 456. He was sleeping peacefully and everyone was analyzing the situation - the boss had dressed him himself even before they arrived at the ship. Eun-chan had informed his colleagues of that, but unfortunately, the network connection had been absolute dogshit, so the messages haven’t gotten sent to the server. But his ones about Gi-hun joining the games again had been sent - so why had Min-hee, the one that knew everything, not known about it?

“I can explain,’’ the boss said in a nervous voice, although one had to listen very carefully to hear it that way. The voice changer did wonders to his voice and almost demolished all emotions behind his words. 

“Well, you better do it now, because I’ve never felt more betrayed in my fucking life,’’ the woman said, crossing her arms. “You know how much I’m invested in this!”

She pointed at the sleeping Gi-hun and then something came up on her mind - she pulled out her phone and before the guards knew it, the boss was posing for a picture. She took a few and then she was yelling again.

“Like, pookie, why? I’ve been your biggest supporter and now you’ve stabbed me in the back! Is that what I deserve?’’

 The boss sighed and looked down. 

“I hope you can forgive me, my phone died right as I was texting you,’’ the boss said and Eun-chan immediately entered the conversation.

“It’s true, I was by his side! I tried calling you.’’

 The boss and Min-hee looked at him, but ignored him. 

“I just…’’ Min-hee said quietly and looked down as well. Then she tilted her head and glanced at the guards behind the boss. They were just listening, doing nothing, ready to gossip about it later. “Guys, I love you so much, my rizzlords, but please, don’t you dare tell anyone of how I am the last one to know of this. It’ll ruin my reputation!’’

“Don’t worry, queen, it’s our secret!’’ the guards said and she blew them a kiss. 

“Y’all know you shouldn’t talk, right?’’ the boss asked them. They all felt like they'd get a heart attack. “Nah, kidding. This time I’ll spare you, but only because I don’t want to have to let go of this beautiful… I mean, this idiotic man!’’ 

 The guards looked at each other knowingly and nodded. Then, the giant group headed towards the place itself… 

Chapter Text

It wasn’t a surprise that everyone wanted to be in the monitoring. 

 The gossiping due to the return of who had come to be the most beloved winner (ah, his growth in the guards’ hearts was quite impressive. What started as common ignorance, then switched to common dislike and disgust and in the end coming to be love was so ironic) after the boss was everywhere. At every corner guards would discuss the matter, waiting for those in the monitoring or the common room to keep them updated. They were hungry and desperate for something to make their jobs fun and dumb - and that was Gi-hun and the boss’ m ass ive crush on him. 

The new guards couldn’t understand what the whole deal was - they hadn’t experienced the golden era of the 33th Squid game, never knew what the feeling of creating the nickname Gihussy was, nor why they called him the boss’ Backman . They couldn’t grasp the meaning of every information about the boss’ feelings, couldn’t imagine the horrors of seeing Gi-hun arching his back during the Dalgona game. They could never understand why Min-hee was the queen saviour, the girlboss of the staff and why she was as iconic as everyone said she was. 

 A couple of square guards sat on their monitors, as the other guards in the common room were starting to wake the players with the alarm. They were chatting quietly about their expectations for this year’s game.

“I really hope he wins,’’ one of them said, looking at Gi-hun. The man was slowly waking up. The picture of the boss’ holding him in his arms bridal style had spread through all chats and everyone was eating it up.

“Even if he doesn’t, the boss won’t let him die.’’

“For sure. I heard that he has a whole team of people that are after him, ready to overthrow us.’’

“Oh, yeah. The circles told me that the boss had personally found a tracker in his tooth, so he took it out and threw it on an abandoned island.’’

“Bro is already gatekeeping his future husband.’’

“As he should, that Gihussy is not something to skip.’’

 They laughed loudly, making everyone look at them. Min-hee, kinda close to them, rolled her eyes and kept working. She had been assigned to be on the monitors where the best views of Gi-hun were, storing footage for the boss and sending it to his rooms. Oh, the memes were gonna be legendary . 

“For real. He gyatt to keep him alive.’’

“Like the queen said once, In-ho wants to be in hoe.’’

 Suddenly, the doors opened and the boss walked in. All chatter died down and the square guards went back to their jobs, ignoring the laughter building up inside their throats. The boss headed towards Min-hee. 

“Heya, boss!’’ she exclaimed joyfully and switched the TVs on the wall to show only Gi-hun.

 She had been to his private rooms half an hour ago, having been looking pissed at him while passing by the monitoring on the way there. Now she was better for sure, kicking her short feet in the air, dressed in her new guard suit and humming to a popular tiktok sound she had probably edited the boss’ and his hubby to. 

“How is it going?’’ he asked her calmly and leaned his elbow on the back of her chair. 

“He’s just waking up, nothing interesting so far. You really had to order to have him sleep right under a camera, huh?’’

“Shut up,’’ the boss told her and all she did was chuckle. It was kinda weird to see the boss actually being a pookie to someone, but Min-hee was the best at everything, so it was no wonder she had made the boss’ babygirl side show up. 

 Gi-hun started turning in bed, everyone glanced up to the boss. The man was staring at the screen, not moving, just observing, and then… they saw that player 044, the creepy looking woman. She was staring straight through Gi-rizz-hun's soul.

“I hope she dies soon,’’ the boss leaned in to whisper to Min-hee and she nodded.

“Yeah, she looks creepy as fuck. She’s a shaman or something.’’

“That makeup she has on is horrendous.’’

“Right? She looks like one of those porcelain dolls you’d see in a horror movie.’’

“Even worse, that ugly smile is gonna haunt me forever.’’

 Listening to the boss talking shit about someone was… fun as hell. The man was really just like a teenage girl. If only he wasn’t a bitch most of the time… 

 And then it happened. It had been less than an hour and it ALREADY FUCKING HAPPENED.

 The Gihussy was on display. The man was arching his back again, right in front of the camera, and everyone was TRYING to not look at the boss’ reaction. They were barely keeping themselves from exploding in chatter, this was TOO MUCH to take in. That gyatt to be a curse put on them because of all the players that had been killed before. 

“Dayummmmm’’ the boss said under his breath and Min-hee groaned.

“Go to your fucking room, you disgusting pervert,’’ she told him and punched his elbow softly. “I’mma have this sent to you in a few seconds, don’t ya worry. Get the fuck out.’’

 The boss disappeared as quickly as the display of the cake of Gi-hun. Everyone let out a sigh of relief and began screaming.

“SWEET MOTHER OF NEPTUNE!’’

“THE FUCK WAS THIS?!’’

“WE JUST STARTED, FOR FUCK’S SAKE!”

“HE COULDN’T HAVE ARCHED HIS DAMN BACK MORE, SHIT!’’

“BRO IS READY FOR A HAWK TUAH!’’

“HE’S LIKE AN OMEGA IN HEAT!’’

Min-hee looked around in the room and started singing, “Good googly moogly-’’

“THAT THING IS JUICY!’’ sang back a few others.

 And they all knew it was only about to get worse…. 

or freakier … 

“Did you hear?’’ 

“What?’’

“There was already a display of the cake.’’

“THE FUCK?!’’

 Eun-chan and Tae-joon sat on a small table in the lunchroom, eating their warm meal. The first game was about to start soon and they had to get ready - Eun-chan was on duty to kill players, while Tae-joon had to be in the monitoring this time. The two were waiting for Gun-ha and Ha-joon to join them. Min-hee had told them she’ll have lunch with the boss, as they already had a lot to discuss. 

“I know, right? Someone managed to take a pic from the monitoring, it’s… wild,’’ Tae-joon said and shrugged. “Do you want to-’’

“SHOW ME TO ME, PLEASE! SEND IT TO ME, RACHEL!’’

Tae-joon began snorting and locked down at his phone. His snorting filled the lunch room, making everyone turn to look at him. “Don’t worry guys, I’m just looking at the Gihussy display.’’

Eun-chan grabbed Tae-joon’s phone and upon seeing the photo - the photo from the dark room, with the boss’ being in it, looking GAY at the massive cake Gi-hun possessed - he started snorting too.

“Fuck it, I’m glad we don’t have a Dalgona game this year,’’ he said, still snorting. “I gyatt something in my eye.’’

“EUN-CHAN! Shut the fuck up!’’

“What, I’m just expressing my feelings. Gi-hun’s hot.’’

“I really hope the boss doesn’t hear you.’’

“I’ll die, thinking of that rizz’s ass.’’

“Ew, man, everything’s wrong with you.’’

“Thanks for letting me know, average beta.’’

“Bro, where did that come from?’’

“I spend too much on tiktok…’’

“You’re just like Min-hee…’’

Min-hee was barely keeping her sanity. She was on the verge of breaking down, due to her overwhelm. 

 Glancing at In-ho, she tried appearing calm and collected. The man was appearing stoic, eating a piece of the cake he had ordered for Gi-hun, while looking at the TV in front of him. The players were signing the contracts for participating in the games and Gi-hun was looking tense and angry, unlike his previous self. Min-hee would’ve gotten the appeal if a woman was looking that way. She had a thing for angry hot women, who could blame her?

Right as In-ho and the others had arrived, he had dragged her to his rooms to explain everything - and having to actually keep it a secret was so hard. Yeah, she was good at keeping secrets, she did in fact keep SO MUCH secrets, but one like that? The struggle was fucking slaying her (actually slaying). It was such a delicious secret…

In-ho was going to join the games right after the end of the first one. Try to get close to Gi-hun, become his friend, maybe make him fall in love… And she had to be in command during that time. And she knew everyone would go even crazier over that information and she was anticipating the shock, the drama of it all. Her gang was about to explode. She loved these brainrotted bitches too much. And also the guy who was forcing her to make edits. She had too much of a soft spot for him, her cute middle aged bestie. 

“He's everything…” In-ho said and sighed, hearts in his eyes. If she didn't know any better, she'd say he really was a teenage girl having her first crush. What she knew was that In-ho was bathing in the attention from Gi-hun who kept glaring at cameras he passed by. The fact the older and taller man had been obsessed with him for the past years was feeding In-ho’s delulu thoughts. They actually needed to fuck it out. 

“I'm so excited for what you're gonna do,” she said.

She was the first and only one to know of this as of now. It was kind of his way of getting even with her after she had been the last to know of Gi-hun’s return. She appreciated that he was thoughtful. 

“I totally will try to sleep with him.”

“That much is already obvious. You need to keep me updated on everything, somehow.”

“We'll think of something. I need you to keep tabs on both of us, do what you're best at.”

“As if you need to tell me. You know I'm the best.”

“Of course you are. I heard the others call you “the queen dick ignorer vagina adorer”.”

“As they should.”

  And then Gi-hun glared at another camera. In-ho stared back and the eye-fucking was so intense, Min-hee felt like her bsf was barely holding himself from actually going down to the common room and stealing Gi-hun so that they could have passionate enemies to lovers say gex. They really needed to fuck out their feelings. 

“You're such a simp,” she uttered and averted her gaze. “By the way, look at what I've done!”

She pulled out her phone from her pocket and unlocked it, then went to her gallery app. She had drawn a heart around In-ho and Gi-hun in that one picture where In-ho held him bridal style. 

“Send it to me right now,” In-ho said and blushed. “This will be my new wallpaper.”

“Hehe.”

Kang No-eul did not understand shit. 

 The other guards were weird. Really weird. They talked about “the boss’’ whom she haven’t met and someone named Gi-hun that had returned to the games throughout the whole day. They were fighting and talking nonsense, worshipping someone called Min-hee, arguing and squealing like teenagers. It’s not like she was working at a place where people died like flies, but like she was the new kid at the local highschool. She felt out of place. 

 These people were breaking so many rules, it was insane. They were on their phones a lot, showing photos and laughing loudly, completely ignoring her, which, to be fair, wasn’t personal. She definitely hadn’t expected that when accepting the job offer. She hoped the higher ups weren’t aware of whatever that bullcrap all were obsessed with was the topic of the day. 

 She was walking, making her way to the first game. The place was weird, but the pay was what she needed. She would try staying as far as possible from the weirdos she had to work with, focus only on the job. It sounded easy, she wasn’t the socialising type at all. 

Coming to a corner and turning left, she was suddenly knocked down on the ground, having lost all her balance, as she had bumped into someone. 

“Shit, I’m so sorry!’’ a robotic female voice said and No-eul looked up.

It was another guard, but that one was unlike the others - she was dressed in a baby pink suit and had a square on her mask, making her automatically an important figure. No-eul didn’t know if she should speak up. 

“What’s your name?’’ the other woman asked and rose on her feet, then offered her a hand. No-eul accepted it.

“Kang No-eul. I’m new,’’ the north korean said and the pink guard nodded.

“I’m Jang Min-hee,’’ she introduced herself, then took off her mask, revealing her to be… quite gorgeous. No-eul was in awe. “You can speak around me, don’t worry. I’m the Frontman’s assistant, soon to be the one in command.’’

 That was interesting. The woman looked smart, bold, and then No-eul realised that she was the very Min-hee everyone talked about. It made sense, she was… stunning.  

“Shouldn’t you be up there then?’’ No-eul dared to ask, deciding to take off her mask. When she did, Min-hee smiled even wider. 

“Well… it’s hard to explain. No one should see me,’’ Min-hee said.

“That seems impossible, you’re quite noticeable.’’

 Did she just flirt?

The other woman blushed and looked away.

“I-I gotta get going. But I hope I see you again, gorgeous.’’

 And then she was going down the hall. No-eul shook her head and kept walking to her destination… 

Hours later, the voting was about to start. 

The guards in the monitoring were quite bored. The boss hadn't shown up in a few hours, Min-hee was in his rooms, everyone knew the games would definitely continue. The number of players that had died during the first game was impressive, the number so much less than any other year - and all because of Gi-hun, the entertainer he didn’t know he was. But that was all about it. They currently had no entertainment, so they tried looking for one.

“Oi, Crypto bitch!” one guard yelled across the room.

“Bro, I mentioned Crypto one fucking time three years ago!” the Crypto guy answered. Truth be told, he actually had done it more times. He wasn’t supposed to return to work for the Game this year, but after he had lost all his crypto money, he had no other choice but to come back and had obviously complained about it.

“Look, isn't player 333 the one that made you lose your money?” 

 The Crypto guard looked up at the man on his colleague's monitor. Fuck.

“It's him!” he admitted.

“Oh my God, I knew it!” another guard said. “I won, Sae-ho, give me my 10000 won!” 

“I'm gonna be the one to kill him, that motherfucker!” Crypto guard yelled. 

 The other guards shrugged his comment off, but did laugh for a second, and went back to work

It was all so boring!

The voting started then. One by one, everyone voted. The same boring shit. The results were close to a tie and the guards hoped someone would save the situation and vote with a circle to continue. They needed their tea with Gi-hun and the boss. The players were so boring this year.

Soon enough, there were only two people left to vote. And then someone pointed out a thing.

“Uh, guys?”

“Yeah?”

“There wasn't a 001 when we checked in all players…”

Oh.

Oh.

The realisation that struck anyone made the room go silent for a bit. And then, when the boss showed up to vote… the screams echoed through the halls. The yells of joy, of excitement.  

“BABY, WE’RE TOTALLY BACK IN!”

“THIS WILL BE LEGENDARY!”

“WE’RE GETTING A BATHROOM SEX FOR SURE!”

“THE BOSS IS A GENIUS!”

“HE'S TOTALLY GETTING THAT CAKE!”

“LET HIM COOK!”

“AND THE CROWD…IS DYING FROM EXCITEMENT?!”

This was getting better and better… 

Chapter Text

The silence in the room was suffocatingly painful. 

 All eyes were on her - the light pink diva guard 001, the boss’ assistant and the one in command. Everyone was waiting for her words, as all guards (except the ones that were in the common room) were gathered in a big hall. It was nighttime, the voting of the players had ended an hour ago and at this point most were aware of the boss’ return to the games in order to see his hubby. Some things had to be clarified tho. 

“Alright, gooners,’’ Min-hee said and sat on a regular spinning office chair, then spread her legs and leaned down. She was on a podium of some sort, by her side was their boss (aka the Officer, who was the actual second in command under the boss, but no one gave a shit about him, so they excluded him from everything), who was really trying to say something, but she couldn’t care less, “I know y’all need answers and an explanation. Why are you here? It’s simple - the boss is participating in the games. Why does it concern you? Because we need to keep the boss alive NO MATTER what happens. Why is he back? Because a previous winner, our favorite boy Gi-hun, is back to stop the Game in general. Why can’t we kill that player, some of you are wondering, and it’s definitely the new ones amongst you because you’ve missed the insane lore - short answer, the boss is crushing on that guy who we also need to keep alive, even if he starts pulling shit. The boss is playing under the number 001, Gi-hun is player 456 again. Keep them alive and tell the others who are on duty right now. This is hella important, sweeties!’’

 The guards clapped, pleased with the basic information they were given, and cheered, hoping the boss would finally get his dream guy. Min-hee smiled under her mask at her pookies’ joy and stood up, “With all that being said, I’m replacing the boss. Don’t cause me any troubles please, I already got a shit ton on my plate to edit, I’m currently missing important scenepacks!’’

 The army of reddish pink guards nodded in understatement and Min-hee blew them a kiss. The Officer shook his head in disappointment. 

“Now I’m gonna rush to the monitoring!’’ the woman, loved by all, said and left. That was settled then… 

This time it really wasn’t a surprise everyone wanted to be in the monitoring. Luckily for them, Min-hee was streaming on Discord, so anyone could join the voice chat and watch. And oh boy, there was A LOT to watch. 

 The scene playing out from one of the main cameras was of the boss talking to Gi-hun, looking at him with fascination. Gi-hun’s gaze was studying, interested, surprised by the complete trust a seemingly random stranger put in him - and all guards were eating popcorn, as if they were watching their favorite rom-com reality Friday night TV show. The two were so cute, everyone wished they could make out right now.

“One day we’ll be at their wedding,’’ one guard said.

“We’ll be asked to babysit their kids.’’

“Best enemies to lovers story in the world.’’

“They’re so adorableeeee!”

 Soon enough, dinner would be served, and right as their colleagues started entering the common room with carts with food, Min-hee came into the room. 

“Okay, guys, listen up here,’’ she said and everyone looked at her. “I NEED y’all to pay attention to Gi-hun, got it? I won’t tell you why, but y’all will just know when it happens.’’

“Alright, queen.’’

 She smiled widely and took a seat at her usual spot, leaned on the back of her chair and put her legs on the desk, then asked for a bowl of popcorn and looked at the giant screen. 

Everyone was anticipating something, no one knew what - except Min-hee, of course, who seemed very eager and excited, which made everyone else excited too. The chemistry between the boss and Gi-hun was so intense, they all could bet that the boss was barely keeping himself from starting to blush like a teen virgin. 

 The players began forming lines, waiting for food. Gi-hun and the boss were waiting in the middle line, near the end, talking, but no one could hear what their chit-chat was about. 

Meanwhile, the guards that were on duty to serve food were nervous. They had been given an order from Min-hee and had come to notice the boss in the crowd of players - which got them giddy with excitement as shit, because damn, the boss was eager to see that ass in person. The order they had been given was… quite interesting. They had to give Gi-hun a covered plate with what she described to them as “dessert” and then had told them to… keep their phones nearby and not miss anything from the chat. So there definitely was something interesting going on.

“So, what do yall think this is?” 

“Uh, maybe the cake?” one of them immediately quietly suggested.

“...”

“...”

“...’’

“Oh my God!”

“Hot damn!’’

 Their faces, struck by the realization, were fortunately hidden behind their masks - otherwise, they would've been noticed by the boss, who DID NOT allow chatter during work time. They had to be extra careful when on duty here, even though the boss probably won’t give much shit about them - he was, after all, here to get with his crushass, not to make sure they all did their jobs properly. 

“It makes sense…” one of them said quietly. “ After all , the cake couldn't have been given to him due to circumstances …”

“Yeah… Min-hee is an actual fucking mastermind, I swear to God. Is the boss even aware of this?”

“Meh, probably? He would be pretty pissed off if he wasn't aware of this.”

“He stands for equality and all that bullcrap.”

“Bruh, but he's down bad, ain't he? He joined the games for that rizzlord.”

“Right. We'll just wait and see for the results I guess.”

  And wait, they did - the anticipation in the air was so tense, even the players could sense it. The guards tried appearing collected when Gi-hun’s turn came to pick up his food.

“456,’’ one guard spoke out, holding the covered plate. “A gift from the Frontman.’’

 Gi-hun stared them down in surprise and reluctantly grabbed the plate, placing it under his meal, not daring to ask questions, knowing he wouldn't receive a proper answer, and headed to the bunks. Then the boss’ turn came. 

“Thank you,’’ he uttered and just as the guard before him gave him his box with the meal, the man slipped a piece of paper in his hand, then followed Gi-hun. The guard handed the paper to the others.

“It’s for Min-hee,’’ one of them said quietly. “Should we read it?’’

“It won’t hurt, I think?’’

 But then loud gasps filled the room and everyone tried looking for the direction of the voices - and it was the X’s zone, where Gi-hun and the boss were. 

“NO FUCKING WAY!’’

 All the guards were stunned, as they watched Gi-hun staring down at the top piece of the cake he had been given. It was… fucking insane. 

Min-hee was giggling, as the younger players were trying to explain to Gi-hun what the writing on the cake meant - and the boss was visibly looking embarrassed, having come to realise the actual implications of the cake his assistant designed. Fortunately for her, she won’t see the end of a weapon - the boss loved her too much. She would simply sit and enjoy the chaos. 

‘Min-hee, you brilliant bitch!’

‘We put these bricks, one by one.’

‘Pay gorn 2024 is pay gorning really well.’

‘PLEASE, THE BOSS IS GONNA HAVE A HEART ATTACK.’

‘Pookie is looking like he got war flashbacks.’

‘Gi-hun’s reactions LMFAO.’

The chat went on and on, as Min-hee answered the questions of her fellow colleagues in the monitoring.

“I tried telling him what it means!’’ she said through laughs. “He told me to do whatever I want, as long as Gi-hun would understand, which I knew he won’t.’’

“Brooooo, I love you so much, please don’t EVER die, you hear me?!’’

“I need you to design my wedding cake.’’

“The world will stop spinning without you.’’

 Min-hee smiled and blushed at the compliments, then said “Y’all are so kind.’’

“Please, of course, we’d have the most boring days if it weren’t for you to feed us some hilarious shit.’’

 And as they kept talking about the cake, Gi-hun had decided to try it and share it with none other than the boss’ himself, as the two talked about what Gi-hun’s reasoning to be here again was.

“MIN-HEE, HE LET ME TRY THE CAKE, I’M DYINGGGGGGG!’’ In-ho fangirled, kicking his feet in the air, as he sat on his chair.

 It was past midnight. The two were in his rooms, chatting, In-ho having sneaked out from the common room, his excuse being that he’ll go to the bathroom. Min-hee was drinking a giant glass of a very strong coffee, already sleep deprived. She was sitting on the arm of In-ho’s chair, scrolling through her phone, showing him all of the edits she had made. 

“You two were adorable! I ship you so badddd! The way you’re protecting him is giving alpha mafia husband.’’

“Aaaaaa! He was so cute when I made fun of choosing the umbrella in the Dalgona game. You should’ve seen his face!’’

“I did! His eyebrow raise was everything. And the way he looked at you? He’s catching feelings sooooo fast!’’

“I want to pay taxes with him and brew his coffee in the morning…’’ In-ho said in a dreamful voice and sighed softly. “If only we weren’t enemies…’’

“Y’all are the best enemies to lovers, please. He’s obsessed with killing you and you’re a sick fuck that bathes in his hatred. I’ve already told you, having one bathroom sex is gonna fix it all.’’

“I can only dream of it…’’

“NO! It’ll happen, I bet on it with my life! Just don’t stop observing him like a creep and it’ll work out, pookie. Delulu is the solulu!”

“I’ve no idea what that means, but I trust you… yet I won’t forget about the cake, Min-hee!”

“Oh, please, it was perfect! It perfectly conveyed your attraction to him!’’

“But-but-’’

“You two are just too old for modern shipping terms and tiktok brainrot slangs.’’

“I’m not even 50 yet!’’

“But he is! Middle aged yaoi.’’

“Do I need to know what yaoi means?’’

“You’re hopeless and clueless! Fuck, In-ho, even my mom knows what yaoi means, and she’s in her late 70’s!’’

“Well, I’m sorry, I don’t have time to be on my phone, because I’m busy running these shitty games!’’

“Oh, come on, just admit you’re old and go have sex with your future husband while you still can.’’

“You’re the worst.’’

“The best, dear, the best, otherwise I wouldn’t be sleep deprived already because I had spent all day editing footage of Gi-hun and sending it to your devices!’’

“For which I’ll be eternally grateful to you, but that’s not my point.’’

“Nah, just shut up, think about that fine piece of ass and daydream that you’ll cuddle with him. You gotta go back there soon.’’

 In-ho sighed and shook his head slowly, coming to terms with having to go back to playing with the poor. But that didn’t matter, as long as Gi-hun would be there…

“I’ll try my best keeping you updated on everything,’’ he said softly and she smiled at him. 

“Good. I’ll take care of your paperwork. You know, everyone is talking about you and him.’’

“And you’re giving them gossips, don’t you?’’

“I? Never!’’

“Yeah, as if. I know you too well, Min-hee.’’

“I meannn, do we have anything else to keep us in a good mood?’’

“I suppose not.’’

“So? No problemo in sight, boss. Don’t worry about anything, just enjoy playing the games with that rizzking and perhaps stop him from destroying the games.’’

On the morrow, every guard took its place. 

The second game was awaited. The idea of the boss playing in a team with Gi-hun was discussed in every hall, whispers and possible situations echoing. 

Eun-chan, Tae-joon, Ha-joon and Gun-ha were assigned to be there during the game, leaving behind Min-hee to monitor it all. The group of four was chatting, observing the players that entered the room. 

“Who’s in the boss and Gihussy’s team?’’ Eun-chan asked and everyone held back from laughing after hearing the infamous nickname of player 456. 

“Idiot, stop with the nicknames, we can’t be caught giggling!’’ Gun-ha whisper-yelled and kicked Eun-chan’s foot. “Definitely that 390 guy and the 388. I’m not sure, but I checked 390’s file and it seems like him and 456 were close friends a couple of years ago.’’

“Oh shit, the boss is gonna have him killed.’’

“He’s possessive as fuck, for sure. And that man looks very touchy, Min-hee texted me last night,’’ Tae-joon said, “she and the boss had a little gossip session at 1am. He complained about that guy a lot, she told me she saw from the footage that their proximity was bad-bad for the boss…’’

“Oh well, that sucks.’’

“Yeah… I don’t really care,’’ Ha-joon said and everyone else nodded in agreement. “He’s there to make it angstier.’’

“For real, he’s in for adding the jealousy trope.’’

 The group watched, as the boss and Gi-hun were constantly by each other’s side, chatting and staring at each other in the gayest way possible.

“Y’all, if Gi-hun ain’t at least bi, I’m gonna explode,’’ Eun-chan said. “I really think he has a kink for wanting to kill the boss.’’

“Man, you’re really gross.’’

“Just because I speak up what everyone thinks?’’

“No, because you’re a perverted sick fuck.’’

“That I am…’’

Min-hee kicked her feet in joy, watching her bestie and Gi-hun staring each other down in a gay way. The edits with Chappel Roan songs she had in her head were gonna be epic.

 She was headed to the kitchen, hungry as fuck. She had connected her phone to the live footage and was streaming from her PC to the server, having a couple of guards select the best angles of the boss and his hubby. She was very much content with everything going on. 

 As she was walking, humming to “Casual’’ by Chappel Roan, she was suddenly approached by someone. 

“Hi…’’ a guard said and Min-hee looked at them, but her questioning look was hidden behind her mask.

“Heya. You are?’’

“No-eul, ma’am.’’

“Oh, my wife! Why didn’t you say so?’’

Min-hee took off her mask, revealing her to be smiling. She was so happy to see No-eul, the woman having been on her mind so much, Min-hee had actually told In-ho about her. He had been quite excited to hear about her.

“You’re quite bold,’’ No-eul said and laughed, taking off her mask as well. “This place is weird, isn’t it?’’

“A lot, but you get used to it at some point. I’m quite familiar with it.’’

“I heard so. You’re quite the bossy, huh?’’

“When necessary. My old man needed to participate, I took after him.’’

“I didn’t expect to come to so many drama.’’

“Oh, dear, you really came at the best time. You’ve missed a ton of lore, but you know… I can tell you everything.’’

“Sure, if it means being close to you.’’

 Min-hee blushed softly, just like In-ho who she always made fun of, and averted the other woman’s gaze.

“Where are you going anyway? I thought you’re on your break.’’

“Oh, I am. I was kinda lost, to be honest…’’

“Good for you that you saw me, then. Tell me where you need to go and I’ll take you there.’’

“My room, if possible?’’

“Sure, sure, sweetheart.’’

 And completely forgetting where she was supposed to go to, Min-hee grabbed No-eul’s hand and the two women headed to the triangle guards’ rooms. Min-hee swore that she would sign for divorce soon… 

Chapter Text

The gayness was everywhere in the air.

 All guards’ eyes were on Gi-hun and the boss. They were sitting next to each other, chatting, staring lovingly at each other, and it seemed like the world around them did not exist. The boss seemed to be in such awe, as he observed Gi-hun’s soft features from so close, everyone expected them to kiss right here and there. The softness of the shared moment between the arch enemies was so powerful, everyone was adoring the fluffy interaction. The guards really wanted them to get together. 

 Then the boss made a mistake that had made everyone groan in frustration (well, amongst these that had the privilege to hear what they said to each other, which wasn’t a lot, only the people in the monitoring, as they had access to the boss’ microphone that was currently turned on for Min-hee. Min-hee, who was not at her workseat - who was with No-eul. Nevermind that). The boss had said Gi-hun’s name, although they had never introduced themselves. What an idiot. 

“He can’t be for real,’’ one of the guards in the monitoring uttered. 

“He’s ruining it on his own!’’

“He gotta find a way to fix that.’’

“Bro’s too fucking sus!’’

Thankfully, their head over heels fool of a boss made up a great lie and G-hun, the ever trusting idiot (these two were perfectly idiotic for each other, bruh), immediately believed him and accepted the explanation. Their close proximity was starting to look too much like a moment from a slow burn fic. 

“Bro saved his ass real quick.’’

“Yeah. Aren’t they gonna kiss or-?’’

“They gotta have eye smex first.’’

“I ain’t here for a slow burn, I wanna see action!’’

“The boss is too strong to keep resisting.’’

“Nah, this mothefucker better kiss him by tonight or else I’mma crashout.’’

 The boss got the Spinning Top because of Gi-hun. Everyone found it adorable, as the boss was better at everything. He and Gi-hun’s team were for sure gonna survive. They had two previous winners, there was nothing that could go wrong and everyone knew it. And so, they let themselves enjoy their interactions.

After a couple of hours went by, it was finally their silly favorite team’s turn. The guards found themselves liking the team - well, everyone in it, but not 390, who was the boss’ new enemy. 222 and 388 were quite nice, and Min-hee rooted for them to survive. She was back to the monitoring after spending an hour with No-eul down at the triangles’ rooms. She had a lot to tell In-ho, but she did not know when she’d have the opportunity to see him. 

The boss was shackled to Gi-hun and 390, separating them. Gi-hun was holding on to him, confident, and the boss was very obviously enjoying his crush’s company. Their height difference was adorable. 

“Just look at them, they’re so cute! ’’ she exclaimed to her colleagues. 

“They’re a match made in hell.’’

“There’s a rainbow behind them, look!’’

 And there was really a rainbow - a colorful one, between the two of them, and they were oblivious, as they stared at each. The guards quickly snapped a few photos of them and sent them to the server, giggling like teens at the sign from the Gods. These two were gay as fucking fuck and everyone knew, probably even Gi-hun. 

“The boss’ manifesting works.’’

“Being delulu was the solulu!’’

“He IS getting that cake tonight!’’

 The two last teams started playing. Everyone in the monitoring was cheering for them, the second team completely forgotten, and seeing as the first three players on the team performed flawlessly, the guards sighed in content. There was nothing that could go wrong, especially now that it was the boss’ turn. 

Until…

“DID HE JUST MISS?!’’ 

“WHAT’S BLUD DOING?’’

“He might be doing it on purpose, guys-’’ one guard said and everyone brushed him off.

“Nah, this is him when he’s truly pissed,’’ Min-hee said. “No way he’s actually losing at the game he created!’’

In the game hall…

 Eun-chan and friends stood still, barely holding their laughs back. Seeing the boss fail so miserably time and time again was probably the funniest sight they’ve seen. He, the fearful, badass and simp Front Man, the one that could beat them up all, was unable to spin a fucking top properly. He was so bad , he managed to throw it backwards. 

“That ain’t sigma of him at all,’’ Jun-ha said and Tae-joon took a deep breath, but automatically went into a breathing-laughing mode. 

“I can’t believe that guy is the one paying us.’’

“He’s failing his side mission.’’

“No but fr, bro would get them all killed.’’

“This is pathetic, just look at him!’’

“P-a-t-h-e-t-i-c! He’s embarrassing himself in front of his husband!’’

“He’s literally left handed, what the fuck is he doing?!

“I swear to God, I’mma never leave him alone about this,’’ Min-hee said. “But hey, Gi-hun is not letting go of him! And he’s re-assuring him.’’

“Gi-hun is so ‘husband’ material…’’

“So cute!’’

“KISS, KISS, KISS!’’

“Just letting y’all know, the boss snuck in cigarettes last night,’’ the diva said and suddenly, everyone looked at her. “Gi-hun is a smoker.’’

“CLEVER BASTARD!’’

“HE IS GETTING THAT ASS!’’

“O, guys, look!’’

Finally, the boss succeeded in spinning the fucking top. 

“YES, HE DID IT!!!’’

“THAT’S THE BOSS WE KNOW!’’

“FUCKING FINALLY!’’

“NOW IT’S GI-HUSSY’S TURN.’’

 They all went quiet. There were barely any seconds left, as the boss had taken ages to do his part of the game, even though Min-hee added in 20 seconds while no one from the players was looking. The anticipation in the air was thick as fuck.

 “One’’ the favorite player of everyone counted, focused on his task. The boss kept eyeing him up and down, that bastard. 

“Two,’’ he counted again, breathless.

“Three,’’ the guards in the monitoring began counting as well, excited and nervous. Gi-hun and the boss would not die, but still…

“Four…’’

And then the jeggi was kicked too far. 

 The friend group watched that unfolding, no longer making jokes about the boss - instead, they were quiet, watching it happen, praying that Gi-hun could manage to kick the jeggi, even if the distance was terrible. It was happening so fast, yet it felt like they were watching the game of that team since forever. 

 But the boss saved their asses.

He raised his foot, forcing Gi-hun to raise his as well, as they were shackled together, and the jeggi barely managed to fall on their shoes. If it were anyone else that this happened to, the whole team would’ve been eliminated, but… it was the boss, it was Gi-hun too, after all.

“Pass, ’’ the robotic female voice they all hated said, and the friend group let out a sigh of relief. Their fellow colleagues in the room seemed to relax as well. 

“Now only a bit of a walk…’’ Ha-joon whispered. “They can do it.’’

“They will do it,’’ Eun-chan said. “Even if our guys can’t intervene with the time anymore.’’

“I can’t believe that they would’ve been dead if the rules weren’t broken,’’ Jun-ha said.

“It’s so damn ridiculous…’’

The team did it. Barely, but they did. 

“YAY!’’

“BRAVO GUYS!’’

“WE GOTTA CELEBRATE!’’

 Cheering could be heard even in the halls near the monitoring, as everyone was happy their favorite team had survived. But the happiness of the winners lasted only a few seconds, because the other team that played alongside them lost and died. And Gi-hun was devastated… 

“Just look at the way the boss looks at him.’’

“Bro isn’t just crushing, he’s fascinated!’’

“He’s so down bad the rabbit hole.’’

“The closet NEVER existed.’’

“He’ll eat him up,’’ Min-hee said and clasped her hands. “It was amazing watching with you guys, but I gotta go take care of the footage now. The boss would love to see his interactions with Gi-hun edited with a Chappel Roan song.’’

“IS IT CASUAL NOW?!’’

“Yesssss, lesbians and gays gooooo!’’

 Then the assistant left, leaving her tired colleagues alone. She headed towards In-ho’s rooms where her laptop was. She had a warm meal waiting for her there, which she knew she would need. Ah, the work she had to do because of these old gays…

“Did you watch the live stream?’’ one of the circle guards cooks asked.

They were preparing the dish for the players and for their fellow colleagues. 

“Yeah! It was so gay.’’

“More gayer than porn.’’

“This is my Heartstopper.’’

“Nah, this is my ‘1 pro vs 1 admin vs 454 noobs, slash enemies slash friends to lovers, quick slash slow burn, slash fluff and angst, slash hurt and comfort’ fanfic/youtube video.’’

“Bro, what are you yapping?’’

“You don’t get it, boomer.’’

“You sound like Min-hee after she has spend hours on editing and that’s scary.’’

“Fuck you.’’

“That comparison is cruel, our queen does NOT deserve such disrespect.’’

“But she really sounds insane sometimes.’’

“We all would, if we were forced to edit Gi-hun’s ass almost every day for years.’’

“I would be traumatized. As much as I think he looks hot, it’s sooooo annoying. He’s got a fine gyatt and all that, but come onnnnn.’’

“At this point the boss should start editing on his own.’’

“Oh, Min-hee tried to teach him, don’t you know?’’

“No? TELL ME MORE!’’

“Sooooo, I think it happened two years ago. She told me herself. She was so fed up with it by then, so she offered to teach him how to use Align Motion.”

“Oh, yeah, I remember hearing about it too! The boss couldn’t even make a single transition. He is like a grandpa for fuck’s sake.’’

“So I am the only one who doesn’t know about it?’’

“Seems so. Like pooks said, the boss was so damn bad at it, he raised her paycheck out of embarrassment. He couldn’t even edit with CapCut!’’

“Let’s be fucking for real, he uses an Iphone 6.’’

“Min-hee did buy him an Iphone 15PM for Christmas last year…’’

“Yea, and he doesn’t use it. He asked her to set it up for him.’’

“How do y’all even know these things? You both aren’t that close to her.’’

“But we are close to Tae-joon. Her husband, if you remember?’’

“Yeah… he cheats on her by the way.’’

“No way he could cheat on that diva!’’

“She’s a lesbian though, she definitely does NOT care.’’

“He cheats with Jun-ha.’’

“Ew.’’

“He has no taste.’’

“I would care if my husband cheats on me, even if we’re in an arranged marriage, with such a bop.’’

“Speaking of that… Today I saw Min-hee holding hands with one of the new triangles.’’

“Do you know who was it?’’

“I saw the numbers 01, but nothing else.’’

“It’s probably the North korean. She’s a bit cold, but seems badass.’’

“Min-hee is finally getting the badass girlfriend she deserves.’’

“Preach!’’

“Min-hee! The boss sent a note!’’

  The woman sighed and opened the door to In-ho’s rooms. In front of it stood a fellow square guard, holding a small piece of paper.

“Update on him?’’ she asked and made a gesture with her hand so that her colleague could take their mask off. 

“He was last noticed talking to Gi-hun about going to the bathroom. They were quite close, shoulder to shoulder, chatting with the others,’’ the man explained, a Gen Z brunette with soft eyes.

“Good. Thanks, sweety, I’m heading down.’’

 She brushed past the man and took the elevator to the monitoring, where, on the big screens, were displayed Gi-hun and In-ho, begging the guards to go to the bathroom. Min-hee was not watching them when the square guard notified her of In-ho’s message, she had just returned from smoking on the balcony. She was tired as fuck.

 She glanced at the note and brought it close to her eyes.

“I don’t know if the mics caught my and Gi-hun’s conversation, but I let him know I have cigarettes. He whispered earlier he is interested in me, so we definitely have something going on. Please come to bathroom duty, change into your old uniform. I will probably not come to see you tonight. And, bring me a lighter!

~Love, your favorite boss and friend, In-ho~

A smile appeared on her face and she quickly looked around, then went back up to change clothes in a hurry. 

After 2 minutes, she was running down the stairs to the men’s bathroom, in a rush to be there before the two lovers. She knew what she had been signed up to do - keep watch while they were fucking like teens - but she wasn’t disgusted. She was actually happy In-ho would finally get some action with Gi-hun after 3 years! She was such a supportive friend. 

 Finally, she reached the door. Two guards stood in front of it already, staring her down.

“Guys, leave, please,’’ she uttered, breathless. “I have an order from the boss to keep watch.’’

“Okie, Min-hee,’’ one of them said. “They’re gonna fuck, right?’’

“Yeah.’’

“OH MY GOD!’’ the other gasped. “Fucking finally!’’

“I know! Now, please, leave, they’re gonna be here in seconds!’’

 The two guards nodded and headed to where she came from. She continued gasping for air, but stopped when she saw the two men approaching.

They were holding hands, smiling softly at each other like a disgusting couple from a cheap Walmart Christmas movie she’d see Tae-joon watching on the couch in the living room. They were accompanied by another guard that was staring straight at them. If she was not mistaken, that would be Eun-chan, who had decided to be a circle guard so he could watch them more. Fucking pervert. 

As the two men passed by her, she raised her hand to stop them. Gi-hun raised his eyebrow in confusion and In-ho tilted his head. Min-hee quietly sighed and pulled out the lighter from her pocket.

“A gift, from the Front man ,’’ she said and handed it to Gi-hun. 

 Seeing that man, conscious, after years of editing him and watching most existing footage there was of him, she felt like she was seeing a ghost. The man looked better in person for sure. He was a cutie patootie actually, with that sweet look of his, aimed at her bestie. He was the sunshine to In-ho’s grumpy. 

“Huh…’’ Gi-hun uttered, staring down at the lighter, and opened the bathroom door, In-ho stayed behind for a few seconds to whisper a “thank you’’ to Min-hee. 

 A few minutes passed before the sounds of whimpers echoed from the bathroom. Min-hee sighed, cursing at her sick fate, and decided to just sit down on the ground and think of her beautiful No-eul, as her best friend was getting the time of his life with his arch-enemy/lover… 

Chapter Text

The moans were so damn loud. They were echoing even outside the bathroom, piercing the usual silence in that area of the island. The whimpers that accompanied the moans were even louder, a symphony with the moaning. Min-hee was glad she had earbuds. 

 It had been nearly an hour. She did NOT want to know what round this was, probably fourth or fifth. They were going at it like crazy, she was close to getting worried. Weren’t they too old for that? For fuck’s sake, did Gi-hun find out that In-ho is faking his identity? If that was their sex when they were only players in the game, she did NOT want to imagine how many rounds they would have while being enemies. Even lesbians would get jealous of the many rounds the two went in… 

The woman let out a deep sigh and smashed the back of her head against the wall behind her. It sadly did not hurt much to forget what she had been hearing for the past hour. She took a deep breath and looked at her abandoned in her lap phone. She was nearly laying down on the ground, maskless, praying that she could take revenge on In-ho for having her suffer like that. Fuck life.

In her complete misery, she had decided to make others suffer as well - she opened Discord, went to the server, then to the chat about the boss and Gi-hun that was now re-named to 457. A smirk appeared on her face and she pressed the little microphone on her screen. She would share her misery with those bastards that were lucky to not be besties with the boss. No amount of money would be able to make her forget these smexy bathroom times that were to happen in the following days…

 After recording for 2 minutes, she sent the message to the chat and typed “ I’m so done’’ . Then she took a selfie of herself - and God, did she look horrible. Her ponytail was fucking messy and her eyes were teary because she was listening to Mitski for the better part of the hour. She posted the photo on her private insta story and added a text - “When you’re miserable, but your pookie is getting that cake ✌ ’’, then ignored the dozens of notifications from the server. She hoped this would come to an end soon… 

 Her radio beeped. Sparks shone in her eyes and she pulled the thing out of her pocket, sitting up on the ground. 

“Report,’’ she said into the device.

“Players are getting suspicious about where they are. They need to go to the bathroom, they’ve been pleading for half an hour, but we can’t keep refusing them,’’ the guard on the other line replied and a smile crept up on her face.

“Clear. Give me 5 minutes.’’

“Do your magic, queen.’’

 The line went dead then. Min-hee let out a pleased chuckle and stood up, then put on her mask and left her phone in her pocket. After collecting herself, she knocked on the door, waited for the loud sounds of getting dressed to stop, and opened the door. The sight before her was of the two men, sweaty and messy, leaning on the sinks, staring at each other, taking deep breaths. Fucking gays. 

“ Playtime is over, you’ll be escorted to the showers,’’ she said and waved at them. 

“There are showers?’’ In-ho asked quietly, pretending to not know anything. 

“Yes, but only for the finalists…’’ Gi-hun answered, suspicious. 

“The Frontman’s orders.’’ Min-hee simply said and the two men shrugged. The air smelled of cigarettes and sex. Fucking ew . “Follow me.’’

 The cheers in the monitoring and the lunchroom were even louder than the moans. 

“THEY FINALLY FUCKED!’’ someone yelled in the lunchroom, clapping. 

“The boss finally got that cakeeeee!’’

“We’re sooooo gonna be getting paycheck raises!

“Getting the gyatt means a happy boss.’’

“We’ve been placing these bricks for ages.’’

“Chat, we gotta celebrate.’’

“YESSSSS!’’

“They’re holding hands, awwwwwww!’’

 The monitoring room was no different - except for that they had the joy of seeing Gi-hun and the boss, walking to the bathrooms, following Min-hee, who was tense as fuck. The voice message she had sent them was quite juicy and definitely fitting for PornHub. It was kind of hard to believe the two had been having say gex like rabbits just minutes ago when they were cutely holding hands and smiling softly at each other. 

“We better be invited to their wedding next week.’'

“What do you mean next week, they’re getting married tomorrow!’’

“Min-hee is officiating the wedding.’’

“Noooo, our girl is too traumatized right now.’’

“She’ll untramatize herself. We ain’t having a wedding without her!”

“They should name their kids after her.’’

“Their grandkids too.’’

 They all watched, as the two lovebirds and the traumatized diva reached the actual bathroom for men. The woman opened the door for them, told them they had 5 minutes, and left them there, then went to her post outside. Her misery was visible.

“Not gonna lie, she’s a strong soldier.’’

“Oh, for real, there’s no denying it.’’

“I would not survive listening to my boss, let alone best friend, get fucked for an hour.’’

“I think she’s more miserable because she was listening to Mitski on repeat, I saw her activity on discord.’’

“It’s both in my opinion. Thank lord we have her to handle these crises.’’

“Lord bless the diva Min-hee,’’ all guards said in unison.

No-eul was worried for her dearest friend , Min-hee.

The triangle guard was awaiting her wifey’s reply to one of her texts, pacing in her room. Min-hee had let her know she’ll be off to disgusting duties, aka standing in front of the bathrooms while the boss(???) and player 456 had what she described to be say gex. No-eul had no idea what that meant, did not dare to ask, and just shrugged it off. Her beautiful genius wifey had her quirks - too brainrotted by social media. 

No-eul would lie if she said she is not in love with Min-hee. She was charming, beautiful, so soft, funny, badass, iconic. The definition of a girlboss. She was also super flirty, immediately admitting she likes her, so No-eul had returned her feelings in a heartbeat - how could she not? That woman was everything. 

And now she was not replying. No-eul was on her break, she could easily go and check up on Min-hee, but she didn’t know where she was, as she was still learning all the halls and paths in this weird place. So far she had met a few guards, all cool, but she was not close to any of them. Being new at a place where everyone knew each other kinda sucked, especially for an introvert. 

 She exhaled loudly and decided to just go to the lunchroom. Perhaps she would see someone she knew there and talk to them. She still had no idea why everyone, especially her wifey, was so interested in the boss and that player. She was not one for gossiping or prying in other people’s lives. It was weird as hell to her. But to be fair, that job was boring. Really boring. 

Then she got a notification. A text from Min-hee. She smiled and opened the chat. 

‘My love, save me please, these bastards are going to be the end of me.’

‘What’s up?’ No-eul texted back, standing at her door, contemplating where she should head to. 

‘They’re holding hands like highschool lovers! The boss is going to have me edit this footage, damn it.’

Poor wifey, No-eul would hate being in her place. 

‘Are you sure this is a healthy working environment?

‘Ofc not! I’m currently bringing them back to the common room. They’re so silly, I don’t think they’re even aware they exist.’

‘What does that mean, I’m kinda slow’

‘Girl, download Tiktok asap. I will teach you allllll the tiktok slangs.’

‘Where you at btw?’

‘My room.’

‘Perfect. Did you have dinner?’

‘No, not yet. Why?’

‘Bc I’m taking you for dinner at the boss’ rooms. My love deserves the best food on the island.’

‘Okay…’

‘I’ll come pick you up in 10 mins ;)’

No-eul smiled at her phone and put it in her pocket. Min-hee was so charming…

Back at the common room, it was dark, but that did not stop the cameras from recording every move of the players - especially of the two everyone talked about. The boss and Gi-hun. 

Shamelessly, the two men were spooning in bed (and no, the boss was the big spoon, even if he was shorter), peacefully sleeping. Their team was already calling them ‘the gay dads’, the other players were either judging them or supporting them. Even that weirdo with the purple hair was supporting them, although the boss had beat up his ass yesterday. This year the game was so unserious.

 Night duty was the most boring one - for both the monitoring guards (well, not always) and the ones in the common room. The time passed agonizingly slowly and the need to fall asleep was suffocating. This lead to them forcing themselves to stay awake in a variety of ways - gossiping, playing cards, talking politics, complaining.

“Man, I wanna smoke so badly,’’ one of them said, groaning, staring ahead at the bunks.

“Steal the boss’ cigarettes.’’

“No fucking way!’’

“Are there even any left?’’

“I don’t know. Someone said they found the damn cigarette box in the trashcan in the bathrooms.’’

“I heard that Min-hee snuck another box in his tracksuit’s pocket.’’

“Bro joined the games to smoke and get together with his hubby.’’

“That’s random as fuck, but I totally think he’d have a ‘I love my bf’ profile picture.’’

“Bet. He’d post these longass facebook posts about how much he loves and cherishes him on his birthday.’’

“He so would! He’s facebook mom coded.’’

“I can’t believe we’re so comfortable that we talk about the boss like that.’’

“He’s just… built in a weird way. I fear him, but I wanna squish him because he’s so silly.’’

“Preach!’’

 Meanwhile in the monitoring… 

The two cuddling men were secretly awake, quietly talking. The boss had a microphone hidden and their conversation was echoing in the monitoring room.

“ Sleep, jagiya,’’ the boss whispered softly.

The guards’ favorite romantic reality show was cooking. Their bowls of popcorn were going to disappear soon.

“I can’t…’’ Gi-hun uttered and the boss softly pressed a kiss against his lover’s cheek.

“I am here, nothing will happen to us.’’

“Protective alpha mafia CEO boyfriend ahh boss,’’ Ha-joon said. 

“ I have nightmares…’’ then some words that were so quiet, the microphone did not catch them at all.

“... Please try to sleep, you’ll need your energy,’’ the boss insisted, while caressing Gi-hun’s cheek. 

“Look who’s talking.’’

“I can’t sleep much. I’m lucky if I get 4 hours of sleep.’’

“That makes 2 of us then.’’

“Sleep deprived husbands!’’

“Let’s try, please? The others will wake us if something happens.’’

“I can’t let myself trust the others, Young-il.’’

“But you trust me?’’

“Jagiya, you’re something else!’’

“How come?’’

“You’re the most reliable man I know.’’

“Oh no God, the truth is gonna be painful.’’

“You know other men?’’

“BAHAHAHA!”

“HE DID NOT!’’

“JEALOUS MOTHERFUCKER!”

“Of course I do, what kind of question is that?’’ Gi-hun whisper-yelled and the boss chuckled.

“They’re so disgusting, I love them.’’ 

“A normal one.’’

“You’re so jealous.’’

“And he’s possessive!’’

“A walking red flag!”

“Run while you can, Gi-hussy!’’

 The guards erupted in laughter, not hearing the boss’ answer. They laughed so hard, their stomachs started to hurt. 

“...No one is taking me away from you,’’ Gi-hun whispered softly and pressed his forehead to the boss’. 

“O-ooooh.’’

“GET A ROOM!’’

“I really want to see Min-hee’s edits of them.’’

“Still. Don’t trouble your beautiful head with unnecessary things.’’ the boss answered and closed his eyes.

“You’re such a flirt.’’

“And you’re so irresistible.’’

“Young-il!’’

 Gi-hun softly punched the boss’ shoulder, smiling at him gently. The boss opened his eyes and let out a quiet giggle. 

“Yes, dear?’’

“Fucking sleep!’’

“I will when you do.’’

“Fineeee. Only because of you.’’

The two men closed their eyes and switched positions - now Gi-hun was the big spoon, wrapping his arms around the boss, who was smiling in content. 

“And to only think we hated Gi-hun 3 years ago…’’ one guard said.

“I wanna go back in time and tell myself that Gi-hun and the boss actually fucked.’’

“The boss would be so happy.’’

“He is happy.’’

“The happiest he’s ever been.’’

 A happy boss meant happy guards. 

Hwang In-ho was a happy bastard. 

Chapter Text

“Our favorite love birds are so adorable,’’ Eun-chan said, smiling widely. 

“I’m so happy for In-ho,’’ Min-hee answered and looked away from the multiple screens. 

 What time was it? She couldn’t say. She had lost track of time ever since her duties of keeping watch while her bestie was in heaven with his boyfriend ended. All she knew is that she was going to have a nice dinner with No-eul, who was right by her side, holding her hand, watching the multiple TV screens on the wall in what Min-hee could describe as simple curiosity. That woman was so beautiful…

 The view on the screens was of Gi-hun and In-ho, spooning under the thick blankets the players were given. Gi-hun’s jaw was resting on In-ho’s shoulder, and a slight content smile, barely noticeable, was on the boss’ face. Their hairs were messy and their cheeks were red due to the warmth around them. They were so disgustingly sweet, Min-hee was smiling at their happiness. 

“So that’s our boss?’’ No-eul asked and pointed at In-ho, then proceeded to raise her eyebrow.

“Yep. He looks more terrifying under normal circumstances,’’ Eun-chan answered and put his hands in his pockets. “He’s actually quite scary, especially in his Frontman attire. Right now he looks like a sweetheart. It’s because of his gayness, it makes him human.’’

“Don’t listen to this brainrotted beta,’’ Min-hee said to her wifey and shook her head. “The boss is not your direct superior, but he is the boss of everything. He is the host, he deals with the VIPs, he makes the games, you get it. He’s also pookie material.’’

“And does it often happen for him to fall in love with a player?’’

“God, no!’’ Min-hee answered so loud, everyone in the monitoring turned to stare at her. “I’d kill myself if I had to deal with another ass he simps for.’’

“She means ass literally,’’ Eun-chan whispered to No-eul and she made a disgusted face.

“I do. It’s a long story, sweetheart, but it all started in this very room. I get war flashbacks sometimes…’’

“Don’t we all?’’

“Definitely not! You weren’t fucking forced to spent the last 3 years of your life zooming into that gooner’s ass for edits or checking up on the brands of underwear he buys!’’ Min-hee yelled and Eun-chan snorted, while No-eul looked at her, horrified.

“No way this is what you do,’’ the taller woman said and Min-hee turned to her and looked down.

“It is, honey, it is. But I do more!’’

“Your job description must be wild.’’

“And it is. But heya, the money is good.’’

“You know, you never told anyone exactly how much you’re making,’’ Eun-chan said and crossed his arms in front of his chest. “Spill the paycheck, diva.’’

“Nah, man, this is private information.’’

“Sure thing, just like the boss’ bedroom wall is private information.’’

“Y’all are weird,’’ No-eul said. “Like, really weird.’’

“We’re on our good behaviour right now, you haven’t seen us on our worst.’’

“And I hope you don’t, I don’t want us to divorce before we’ve gotten married!”

 No-eul laughed and brought Min-hee’s hand to her lips and pressed a soft peck on it. The shorter woman blushed like a teen and smiled softly. 

“Come on, you winners!’’ Eun-chan yelled and pushed Min-hee towards the elevator that led to the boss’ room. “Winners love winning, so go grab your win.’’

“It’s wuh luh wuh, you disgusting ligma!’’ Min-hee yelled in reply and accepted her fate by heading towards the elevator, but still kept on shouting back to her friend, as she moonwalked. “And yes, we’re winning, unlike your pathetic hetero ass!’’

“Not my fault you’re stealing all my kitties away!’’

 No-eul rolled her eyes, trying to drag her girlfriend towards the elevator.

“Take the L, bozo!’’ Min-hee finally shouted, as she was pulled into the elevator. Before the doors could close off, she raised her mingle finger and aimed it at Eun-chan, who was busy laughing hysterically. 

“You’re like kids…’’ No-eul sighed and patted Min-hee’s shoulder.

“Have you checked the chat from last night?’’ Ha-joon asked the guard that slept in the room next to his. 

 It was nearly 5am. The night shift was over for the ones that had been on monitoring and for the ones that had been in the common room. They were finally going to get some well earned sleep - and so they were going to be replaced by those who had been sleeping the whole night. The noise in the halls was loud. 

“No,’’ the man replied and turned to look at Ha-joon. “Has something happened?’’

 The man had been in the common room his whole shift, not knowing what’s going on in the world outside the room. He had taken a short nap at some point, as nothing interesting was happening - until the boss had appeared half an hour ago, asking to go to the “bathroom’’. The other guards had decided he should take the boss to his rooms - and so he went with him. And the boss, being in such a great mood, had decided to let him and the other guards go to their rooms, ending their shift. If that was the boss’ mood after cuddling with Gi-hun, the guard did want to know how good it would be under other circumstances. 

“Well, except for the boss and Gi-hun’s late night conversation and Gi-hun spooning the boss, not much,’’ the twin brother replied. “We sent some photos, they’re so sweet.’’

“Wait, they weren’t asleep the whole time?’’

“Nope! They had a ridiculous long fight about going to sleep. They even call each other jagiya .’’

“At this point they’re going to get married next week.’’

“And adopting kids in 2 weeks.’’

“Them gays are quick.’’

“For real. Min-hee got a girlfriend.’’

“Bro, what’s up with these two? First the boss getting with his dreamass, now Min-hee.’’

“I fear they’ve spent too much time manifesting.’’

“I’m jealous, my wife ain’t even sleeping in the same room with me.’’

“You at least have a wife, man. I am single and blue balled.’’

“Womp womp.’’

Min-hee let out a loud sigh, as the familiar knocking on the door kept going. 

 It was fucking 5am! She and No-eul were laying on the bed in the guest room in In-ho’s quarters, not cuddling but pretty close to each other. No-eul was peacefully sleeping, bless her. Min-hee, unfortunately, had been woken up by In-ho’s fucking knocking. 

She left the comfort of the king sized bed and stretched her arms, slid her feet in her slippers and opened the door.

“What do you want?’’ she asked him.

In-ho was looking happy as fucking fuck.

His hair was messy from sleeping, his player tracksuit was wrinkled, his cheeks were a bit red, his lips were looking pretty bad. That was how a happy man who finally got the desired Gi-hussy looked like.

“Who’s that on the bed?’’ In-ho asked in return and Min-hee turned to look at No-eul.

“My girlfriend, you ignorant shit.’’

 In-ho smiled and playfully patted her head, at which she glared at him. That motherfucker who traumatized her!

“I don’t have much time, let’s go talk somewhere else,’’ he offered and before she could argue, he headed towards the main area. 

 She shook her head and followed, closing the door behind her. 

“I don’t need the damn details, In-ho!’’ 

 They were on the terrace, both holding a cigarette between their fingers.

The sun was rising, gorgeously painting the sky in yellow and pink. Min-hee would be in awe from the sight, if it weren’t for In-ho talking about the bathroom say gex with Gi-hun. She wanted to throw up, men disgusted her.

“Okay, okay, sorry,’’ he said and pressed his lips together. “I am really grateful to you, for being there.’’

“Oh yeah? I think we should’ve made the bathroom walls noise canceling. You were lucky I had my damn earbuds with me, otherwise I would’ve ended it right there!’’

“Come on, your husband is sleeping with the bop , you’ve heard worse.’’

“They’ve never lasted more than 15 minutes, but you freaky gays lasted a fucking hour.’’

“We did not! We were smoking for the majority of the time!’’

“Smoking my ass. Why were you whimpering, and I know it was you, don’t deny it, all the damn time?!’’

“I did not! You’re making up things.’’

“Bruh, be fucking for real. I heard you loud and clear. You were fucking like rabbits, I am surprised both of you were able to walk.’’

“Don’t talk about it, my back is killing me.’’

“As it damn should. I don’t even want to imagine it.’’

“Don’t. I didn’t put cameras there for a reason.’’

“Now that would’ve been insane. Putting cameras in the bathroom for what? Having footage of Gi-hun on his knees on the disgusting floor of the empty bathroom while he sucks you off?’’

“Don’t make me regret it, Min-hee.’’

“I would’ve killed you personally if I had to endure watching that.’’

“And that’s why I did not request for cameras there. Butttt, there’s footage of us cuddling on the bed.’’

“I saw it, I added it to my scene packs for editing. You look cute.’’

“Is there audio? I think I forgot to turn off my microphone.’’

“You did forget. I laughed my ass off, listening to your conversation.’’

“Fuck, did anyone else hear it?’’

“Everyone who was monitoring.’’ 

Actually everyone, because this was streaming in the server, but she couldn’t say that.

“Shittttt!”

“They heard you calling him jagiya. ’’

“Because he is my jagiya!”

“He calls you that too.’’

 In-ho smiled, delighted, and blushed softly.

“He amazes me, Min-hee. He is head over heels, I can’t imagine how he’ll react when he finds out I’m the Frontman.’’

“You’re gonna have passionate one-sided hate sex in your room while he’s tied up, here you go.’’

“And you’re telling me I’m freaky!’’

“Because you are, you’ve been dreaming about it.’’

“You know me too well.’’

 Min-hee smiled too and playfully punched In-ho’s arm. This bastard was her best friend through and through. Her silly gay evil bestie who was finally getting his husband.

“You should name one of your kids after me.’’

“Pinky promise, I will.’’

“Young-Il-ah, you took so long!’’ Gi-hun whispered to the boss in a sleepy voice, his eyes barely open. 

The boss sat on the bed he had previously shared with Gi-hun, hovering over him, and leaned to kiss his forehead. 

“Sorry, there was a problem with the bathroom door’s handle and I had to wait until they got it fixed.’’ 

“Bruh, we all know he was smoking with Min-hee,’’Jun-ha said and crossed her arms in annoyance.

 The monitoring room was quiet again, everyone drinking their first cups of coffee and eating pastries, instead of popcorn. It was around 6am and almost everyone was asleep in the common room.

“ It’s okay.’’

Gi-hun took a hold of the boss’ shirt and pulled him even closer to himself, their lips now barely 2 inches apart.

“Damn, they’re like horny teens.’’

“I would say it’s too early for this pay gorn, but we all signed up for it.’’

“It’s so entertaining.’’

 The two men, displayed on the screens in the monitoring, kissed softly, their eyes closing, as they both smiled into the kiss. It was so cheesy to even watch them kiss like shy teens, the reality of them being middle aged was beyond anyone

 They broke apart seconds later, but stayed close - their foreheads pressing against each other, as their held hands and their fingers intertwined in a tight lock on top of the mattress. Gi-hun nuzzled the boss and let out a quiet chuckle, which somehow made the boss’ impression soften even more. 

“I want to stay with you forever,’’ the boss softly said and with his free hand caressed Gi-hun’s cheek. “ Why did we have to meet here?’’

“O-oh…’’

“Someone is getting way too romantic.’’

“And forgetting his role.’’

“Nah, I think he’s genuinely asking that.’’

“He’s regretting it all, lmao.’’

“This is quickly turning into forbidden love.’’

“Fate is a sick thing, ’’ Gi-hun replied and took a hold of the boss’ wrist, gently rubbing his fingers against the smooth skin. “But I promise you, we’ll get out of here, us and everyone else. I’ll make sure of it.’’

The boss tensed, but kept holding Gi-hun as close as possible, looking at him with adoration.

“I believe in you, jagiya.’’

“The betrayal is going to destroy us all,’’ someone said in the silence that followed the words. 

On the screen, Gi-hun pressed his lips against In-ho’s left cheek, seeming to be grateful for the support. 

“You seem to be the only one who does, Young-il. And that… means a lot to me.’’

“That’s adorable, not gonna lie.’’

“Yessss. The boss actually believes in him!’’

“How could he not, he’s head over heels and he actually got that ass!’’

“His dream is coming true.’’

“I would NOT be surprised if the boss stops the games for him.’’

“I bet all my money he would do it.’’

“Bro, no one is disagreeing, that bet is a lost cause.’’

“I’ll always believe in you, as long as I’m alive.’’

“So will I.’’

“Are they exchanging wedding vows or something?’’

“I told y’all they’re gonna be married in no time.’’

“Quick, call Min-hee to go officiate the wedding!’’

 The two lovers/secret enemies/teammates exchanged a slow, passionate kiss, breathing as quietly as possible in order to not wake up their team that was very close to them. Soon enough, the kiss of theirs turned into a french one and the guards had to switch to another camera because they did not want to watch how the boss was pushing his tongue into Gi-hun’s mouth. Horny bastards.

Eun-chan took a sip from his espresso, studying Min-hee’s exhausted face.

“Alright, that is enough!’’ she exclaimed and got up from her seat in the leather black chair. 

 The boss and Gi-hussy were on the big screen in the boss’ room for watching the games, making out while everyone was still sleeping. It was quite early for this, too early for this actually, but oh well, the two did not seem to mind, not even a bit. Eun-chan was enjoying the view.

 Min-hee, having dressed herself in her guard uniform after In-ho left, took her phone from the counter, and dialed a number.

“Time for the third game…’’ she said and Eun-chan gasped at her audacity to order to start a game when it was the Officer’s job to do that. “...Yes, right now!… No, I don’t care! Give them 15 minutes to wake up and alert everyone who is assigned at the game. I’ll deal with it myself.’’

Then she hung up and left her phone on the counter again.

“Woman, are you out of your fucking mind?!’’ Eun-chan yelled. “Do you realise what you’ve done?’’

 She had just interrupted the boss and Gi-hun, ruining their moment. All because of what? She was done with them? The boss was going to be enraged! He was going to kill them all! 

“Yes, no big deal. In-ho will survive being blue-balled for a couple of hours.’’

“I swear to God, you just ordered to have all of us cooked.’’

“No, I did not. I am the one responsible and he won’t dare do anything to me or my position. It was my order, no one else is responsible.’’

“Fuck…’ Eun-chan uttered and ran a hand through his hair. “Min-hee, you lost so much aura right now.’’

“Shut the fuck up, bozo, a queen can never lose aura.’’ 

 But as their attention turned back to the screen, Min-hee saw In-ho, glaring at the camera that was hidden. As Gi-hun was talking with the rest of their team, In-ho took a hold of his microphone.

“Min-hee, dear ,’’ he whispered and she took a deep breath. “There will be consequences.’’

 Eun-chan looked at her with shock in his eyes. All she could do is stare at the screen, horrified.

“I’m so dead.’’

Chapter Text

“Apparently, she had a death wish.’’

 The tension in the air was suffocating. The silence and shared fear of the masked people who were looking at the giant screens on the walls was enough to let anyone know they were going to pay for this. The boss’ glare was deadly. Fucking fuck on a fuckity fucking fuck. 

Min-hee, seemingly in the mood to fuck up everything today, had turned off the boss’ microphone for them, so no one heard whatever he said on the mic, but they all knew it had to do with her. She had done the unthinkable. 

“Girl finally got pussy and decided to ruin our lives casually,’’ Jun-ha said, scoffing. 

“Calm down y’all,’’ another guard said. “Don’t turn back on her! She will fix it, trust me.’’

“Yeah! Just because you sleep with her husband, Jun-ha, you don’t have to be a bitch.’’

“Oh, fuck you, shithead, she sucks.’’

 Everyone turned to glare at Jun-ha, who threw her hands in front of her chest and shrugged, trying to make herself innocent. “What? It’s true.’’

“Get the fuck out!”

“BOP!’’

“L RIZZ.’’

“You can never be on her level.’’

“BROTHA EWWWW!’’

“Bombastic side eye.’’

“Criminal offensive side eye.’’

“They said we’ll have flying cars, instead we got a pick me girl.’’

“Jealous side chick ahh.’’ 

 Jun-ha screamed in frustration, got up from her chair and kicked it, then stormed off the room like a child who had been told to go to its room after it had done the worst things possible. The guards laughed her off and sighed in symphony after a few moments passed, but the tension after the boss’ clear seek for revenge remained and it couldn’t be ignored.

“We gotta be strong,’’ one said. “If we die, we die for the cause.’’

“If it weren’t for Min-hee we would’ve been dead a long time ago.’’

“For real. We owe her so much, we can let that slide.’’

“We have to keep it together for her.’’

“We gotta save her from this.’’

“I happen to have an idea…’’

 The game was starting. All the players were gathering on the platform, wondering what’s going on - everyone, except for the boss, who was holding on to Gi-hun’s arm, refusing to let his babygirl go. He looked grumpy and moody, not a good sign for the gossiping guards near the entrance of the game hall.

“I saw the discord announcement made by Min-hee,’’ one of them, a circle guard, muttered. 

“Shit is looking bad for all, especially for her, but we’re strong fuckers.’’

“Yeah. She had a valid crashout.’’

“That’s for sure! They’re cute and allat, but I for sure won’t handle watching them making out all the time.’’

“No one will.’’

“I’m fucking glad we don’t have cameras in the bathrooms.’’

“This would’ve been insane, bro.’’

“Material for the orange-black website.’’

“Oh no God, for real. I listened to the first 10 seconds of the voice message Min-hee sent-’’

“Do you hate yourself, what the fuck, man, this shit was freaky!’’

“I am traumatized! But, I was saying, this shit is perfect for those weird ass tiktok sounds of men moaning-’’

“Kill yourself.’’

“Freak.’’

“Touch some grass, you stinky fugly gooner.’’

“Leave me alone, it’s not my fault my ‘for you page’ is thinking I’m an corn addict obsessed with hentai!’’

“Bro, just delete social medias at this point.’’

“Your digital footprint has gotta be insane.’’

 The guard sighed audibly and held back from running a hand down his face in annoyance. 

“I hate y’all.’’

“Piss off, hentai addict! We have a more important job than your disgusting ahh feelings.’’

“Yeah! Look at the boss and his hubby!’’

The group of guards all looked at the toxic old men yaoi couple - they were holding hands, surrounded by their teammates, and were in what appeared to be a heated conversation. The boss couldn’t fucking look away from Gi-hun and oh God, he looked pathetic sometimes.

“These two freaks need to get a room…’’

“Nah, they need a whole ass island where they could be as far away as possible from the rest of civilization and be as freaky as they want.’’

“A whole fucking galaxy for just the two of them.’’

“For real. Gays and their love for being enemies and lovers, fucking adorable, not gonna lie.’’

 All of them nodded in agreement with the words of their beloved colleague and continued chatting, as they waited for more orders to come from the higher ups on duty. What they didn’t know though, was that Min-hee had been called in secretly to talk with the boss during one of the rounds where he was supposed to be left out from the team. The information was as private as possible, only known by the guard the boss gave a note to as they were leaving the common room, the guard who had taken the note to Min-hee and, of course, Min-hee herself. The two men with the top knowledge were praying for the queen pussy rider.

Tae-joon was worried sick. 

 He, alongside a giant group of guards, was working on what, at first glance, appeared to be  a very creative school project of a kid that was in its last year of elementary school - a black cardboard board (because no one amongst them had a Microsoft 365 Premium to make a PowerPoint presentation with 15 slides and the usual 6x6 format that was required of every ICT studying highschooler to use), decorated with bold pink glitter, a lot of rainbow tape, so many pictures of Gi-hun and the boss together and a couple pictures of the boss and Min-hee that only Tae-joon had, but now everyone saved in their galleries. Centered in the middle of the top of the board was the giant massive title, written with a glittery white marker - “Why you shouldn’t fire the Goddess Min-hee’’. Underneath it, with a simple white pen, was the subtitle - “Please don’t fire her, boss, we love you!’’. 

They were gathered in the big hall, the materials they were using were everywhere and all of them were covered in glitter and glue. Their desperation was radioactive and the chatter was barely present - they were heavily concentrated on their task at hand, they had to take advantage of the particular round in which everyone knew the boss will be all on his own. They did not have much time, but they were running out of rainbow tape and pink glitter. It had to be perfect!

“Quick, someone has to go to the printer! The picture of the boss holding Gi-hun bridal style is all covered in glitter glue!’’ 

“We need a picture of the boss and Min-hee on a video call, Tae-joon!’’

“The scissor is broken, does anyone have one?’’

“The glitter pink pen is running out of ink, shit!’’

 Tae-joon sighed and rubbed his temples, forgetting that his fingers are coated in glitter, which resulted in having his face shine like a star. He was sweating under his uniform, his feet carrying him through the room. 

“I’ll take care of the pictures and I’ll get some pens from the storage room. Only Min-hee has scissors tho!’’ he said, in a bad attempt to make a joke in the horrifying situation. Ugh, the sacrifices he was making for his lesbian wife. 

“Straighto!’’ a circle guard said and showed him the middle finger.

“At least she is getting some nice kittie!’’

He laughed and left the room in a rush. He had no idea what the time was - only that he had to get his pathetic bop loving ass to the printing room and the storage room as fast as possible and save Min-hee from the wrath of the pathetic gay bottom that she had replaced him for. Oh well, that’s what he got for being with her one-sided enemy. 

Running towards the room, he managed to crash into a wall like the dumb idiot he is. 

“Fuck!’’ he groaned in agony, his head aching. He took a step back, feeling everything too much.

“Man, you’re such a NPC!’’

 He turned around to see his wife approaching. She was giggling, smiling widely at his agony. Her cheeks were red and she was in the regular uniform and not her new light pink one, which was weird. Her hair was a bit messy, she was holding a photo album(?). She had an earbud in one of her ears. 

“Shut the hell up, we’re all worried about you!’’ Tae-joon said and she snorted.

“I’mma be fine, don’t ya worry, pookie,’’ she soothingly uttered and stopped walking, standing close to him. “I’m meeting with In-ho in half an hour, so I decided to make him a gift.’’ she said and handed the photo album to Tae-joon. 

The album was big - it looked straight out of the 90’s, in pure white, with a lot of decorations. If he had to guess, he’d say it was an engagement photo album. The thing was heavy as fuck.

“Bruh, what is this?’’ he asked her and handed her the album back. 

She rolled her eyes and patted his cheek in a teasing/loving way.

“God, you look cooked. You’re giving an Ohio mewing ligma right now. I’ve no idea how you managed to pull Jun-ha.’’

“Min-hee, you’re the cooked one! You’ll be literally biting the curb in half an hour, for fuck’s sake.’’

“Sweet husband of mine,’’ she said and smiled, raising the photo album in her hands. “I’m calling cap on your bullshit. I’ll be locking in right now and I’ll save my own ass before you know it. I’m In-ho’s favorite girlie, he’ll just need a bit convincing.’’

“I’ve no idea what your damn girl math is, but you won’t be slaying this time, you’ll be the one slayed!’’

“Have more faith in me! What happened to glazing me, huh?’’

“I’ve no time for glazing, I need to get to work.’’

“Oh, yeah? Since when does work include being covered in pink glitter and glue?’’

“Since you decided to cockblock your boss-bestie.’’

“Ugh, you’re such a hater! My girlfriend supports me, unlike you!’’

Some time later…

“I think the boss will be adopting player 222,’’ Eun-chan said. 

 It was the first round of Mingle. 10 players had to get into a room - and the boss and Gi-hun’s team had collided with another badass team, the one of the 120 queen that the guards loved and Min-hee adored. The footage of the room the massive group was in was pulled on the big screens for everyone to watch - and what they saw was both tragic and hot. The boss, ever the freak motherfucker, was studying Gi-hun, who was mourning the deaths of the other players. 

“Why’d you think that?’’ another guard asked in return to Eun-chan’s assumption. 

 Then the boss turned his gaze to player 222 and asked her something, making sure she’s okay. By her side stood the Crypto loser, who the guards had found out is her ex boyfriend and the one that got her pregnant. The short young woman smiled at the boss and he smiled a bit too.

“Yeah, I see it.’’

 The door opened and the players got out of the room. Gi-hun immediately grabbed the boss’ hand and leaned in to say something to him, but the microphone of the boss did not catch it. The boss replied in a hushed voice, something amongst the lines of, “we’ll be okay, jagiya, I’m so sorry" . Gi-hun gave him a sweet smile and squeezed his hand. 

“They’re so fluffy and sweet, I’m dying.’’

“Gi-hun is such a pookie, his smile is everything.’’

“May a guy look at me like Gi-hun looks at the boss.’’

“Imagine him with his old haircut smiling at the boss like that.’’

“The boss’ nose is going to start bleeding.’’

Round 2 required only 4 players in the room. The boss’ team was panicking - but all guards knew the boss was going to go and be hidden by the other guards. 

“I’ll go!’’ the boss said to his team and Gi-hun looked at him with such sadness in his eyes, it was heartbreaking. Their intertwined hands separated. 

“Please return, Young-il-ah!’’ Gi-hun pleaded, the worry in his voice thick. 

“I’ll be fine, Gi-hun. Go, don’t worry about me!’’

Gi-hun and the rest of their lovely team reluctantly went into a room. The boss disappeared from the cameras’ sight, leaving the monitoring room with only Gi-hun’s footage. The man was so concerned, unable to stop pacing the room, it was impossible for the guards to not sympathize with the worried future husband of their beloved boss…

All the lights went off. 

 Min-hee was silently staying by the entrance of the game hall, waiting for In-ho to appear, so she could sneak him out to the corridor, where they would talk. They had 10 minutes - 10 minutes for her to save her ass, 10 minutes for Tae-joon and the gang to convince In-ho to not do anything drastic. The silence was painful.

“I’m here,’’ In-ho’s voice sounded near her and before she knew it, he grabbed her hand. She stumbled after him, praying for her survival.

“In-ho, you know I love you so much,’’ she pleaded, as he was dragging her towards the end of the corridor, where two lights worked. “You’re my second most favorite person in the world, my beloved-’’

“Min-hee, shut up.’’

“Sorry, pookie.’’

 In-ho shook his head in disappointment and finally stopped walking when the light started caressing their features. Min-hee let out a deep breath and rubbed her knees, as she pressed herself against the wall. She took off her mask and left it on the ground, by her feet. 

“I can’t believe you did this to me,’’ he said and in return she glanced up. Surprisingly, he… had tears in his eyes?

“I’m so sorry!’’ she almost yelled, immediately after seeing the tears. “I was in a bad mood, I didn’t want to watch you and Gi-hun french kissing-’’

“You could’ve just switched to another camera!’’

“I know, and I’m deeply sorry, In-ho!’’

 The man came closer, but didn’t touch her. He just kept his eyes fixated on her face, thinking of what to say. And, oh God, they were the most pathetic lesbian-bisexual duo ever.

“Your punishment, Min-hee…’’ he started, but she stopped him by raising her hand towards his face.

“I have a gift for you! A beautiful, sentimental gift!’’

 She opened the pocket on the leg of her uniform and In-ho raised his eyebrows, seeing the giant photo album she had managed to put into that pocket. 

“Huh?’’

“It’s a photo album with pictures of you and Gi-hun! Only the best shots! They’re also on your personal laptop, saved into a folder. I wanted to print them out, because I had my fair suspicions that you’ll propose to him at some point.’’

In-ho kept his eyebrows raised, as he opened the photo album. The first photo was of him and Gi-hun back on the first day, when they had just arrived on the island. He had that photo as his phone’s lock screen wallpaper. The second photo was of them, looking at each other during the first night. 

“Woah, I-’’

“There will be more photos after today! The album is mostly empty, you can keep using it after the game is finished, if, you know…’’

 In-ho smiled and looked up at her. 

“You bitch, everything is forgiven,’’ he softly said and before he knew it, she threw herself at him, wrapping her arms around him in a suffocating hug. “But you’ll have your fair share of punishments.’’

“Anything!’’ she yelled and squeezed him even harder. “Just don’t embarrass me in front of the others anymore. And don’t make me think you’ll kill me.’’

“I would never! I was mad, but not that pissed off about it.’’

“Bro, the fuck is happening?’’

“It’s been 5 minutes, what the sigma…’’

 The guards were staring, angered, at the black screen, unable to see what’s happening. Their boss had come for a split second, turned off something, and now every camera of the game hall and game rooms was dark. The boss’ microphone was also turned off, so no one had an idea what was going on. 

“I’ll have it done before you know it!’’ Min-hee said, smiling widely. 

 She memorized what was needed of her to do, as In-ho’s warm hand was resting on her shoulder. Her husband and the gang still haven’t shown up, but it was okay - she was in no rush, now that everything was settled. 

“Also, tell the kitchen to give everyone forks tonight.’’ 

Oh.

“So you’ll do it tonight?’’ she asked and he nodded, the look in his eyes losing its warmth.

“Better get it done with quickly, before the VIPs arrive.’’

 She shrugged and looked down at his bloodied shoes.

“I was watching you two before I had to come here. He’s really in love, damn him.’’

“I fucking hope my plan works out.’’

“I’ll make sure it does, do not worry about it. Just focus on your part of it, everything else is in good hands.’’

“Are you implying that my part is not in good hands?’’ he asked in mock disbelief. She left out a giggle and he teasingly hit her lower arm, as his hand still rested on her shoulder. 

 Then suddenly, he started tickling her. Tickling her! She let out a gasp of shock and her breathing became louder, as the attack went on. He was smiling, the damned bastard, as she was slipping down the wall, gasping for breath and giggling like a maniac, but soon enough, he joined her down on the ground.

“He’s attacking her!’’ Tae-joon yelled.

 The giant group of guards had just arrived at the crime scene - and it genuinely looked like he was trying to kill her. The worried looks on everyone’s faces were hilarious. Tae-joon ran towards the two.

“Boss, let her go!’’ the man pleaded, and the two turned to look at him. From that close, the young man could see the tears in Min-hee’s eyes. Her cheeks were flushed red and she was trying to kick the boss. “You can’t just kill her like that!’’

“Boss, please don’t kill her!’’ a few voices joined in, holding that goddamn cardboard board that they had just finished. The boss stared them up and down, but he was stopped from saying anything, as his gaze landed on the awfully looking board. 

No one gave him a chance to say anything, as they immediately began reading their group project.

“Boss, we all know that Min-hee’s actions were horrible,’’ one triangle guard said. Everyone was wearing their masks. 

“And that they seem unforgivable.’’

“But please, hear us out.’’

The boss opened his mouth, but Tae-joon shushed him. 

“Min-hee is your best friend!’’

“For the past 3 years she has been making every single possible fandom type of art for you and Mr.Gi-hun!’’

“Her Spotify playlists also snap!’’

“She is always by your side and always helps you out with everything.’’

“And she always laughs at your dad jokes.’’

“Even if none of them are funny.’’

“...you shouldn’t have said that, motherfucker.’’

“ANYWAYS! She makes the best edits of Mr.Gi-hun!’’

“And is the only one that could find what he ate two months ago at 3am.’’

“Plus she is very funny.’’

“And is the most brainrotted person we’ve all met.’’

“Are y’all offending or glazing me?’’ Min-hee asked. No one had realised when she had rested her head on the boss’ shoulder, but now that they did, it was quite the sight. She had too much trust in that gay that wanted to kill her!

“It’s been 10 minutes, I’m going insane!’’ Eun-chan screamed and hit his head against the keyboard on his desk. 

Min-hee let out a quiet sigh at some point, as her fellow guards kept talking. In-ho was so amused, he was barely holding back from laughing. She had texted the officer to give them 5 more minutes, so far 11 have passed. The project was ridiculous, but she appreciated the support of everyone so much. She loved these ligmas so much. 

“As a wrap up, we have to conclude that Min-hee is the best employee a boss could have in his staff.’’

“Plus, she just got a girlfriend, so don’t take her away from the badass guard!’’

“Yeah, they’re so adorable together.’’

“Please, boss! You don’t want to be the cause of a doomed yuri couple, do you?’’

 In-ho turned to look at Min-hee. She looked back and to everyone’s shock, they both exploded in laughter, holding on to each other for dear life. Tears started running down her cheeks and she found herself gasping for air again, because this shit had been too hilarious to not laugh at. Oh, Lord! What had her life become?

“Guys…’’ Min-hee managed to say through laughs and gasps for air. “We worked it out before you came!”

“I was just tickling her!’’ In-ho added in, his voice so unfamiliar to everyone, because it sounded so soft and happy.

“Yeah! Everything is fine, I’m not dying anytime soon!’’

“We fucking hope so,’’ Tae-joon said. “We were fucking scared!’’

“Yeah.’’

“Yep!’’

“We couldn’t risk not showing our support for you.’’

“Yeah!!!’’

“But we’re so grateful you worked it out.’’

“Please don’t punish us, boss!’’

“Please!’’

“I won’t,’’ In-ho said and rose from his sitting position on the floor. “I appreciate your concern and effort, although it looks worse than my brother’s school projects in elementary school.’’

“Yeah, guys, maybe just do a PowerPoint slideshow next time,’’ Min-hee said. In-ho offered her a hand and helped her stand up. 

“Now get back to work, everyone! I have to go to my husband, he’s probably so worried…’’

 Before they all left, they pulled Min-hee into a warm group hug. The woman was smiling like an idiot because of it. 

As everyone left, Min-hee texted the Officer and she and In-ho returned to the game, happier than ever… 

“Oh, my fucking God, finally!’’

 The lights came back to life and the doors opened. Gi-hun’s team rushed out of the room, everyone looking around for the boss. Gi-hun was picking at his nails, but then his eyes landed on something and warmth filled his dark eyes. He ran.

Another camera footage caught the boss, approaching the team, smiling warmly. He opened his arms and Gi-hun jumped in, wrapping him in a tight embrace. The older man kissed the boss’ cheek and said something in a hushed voice, to which the boss replied with a soft smile and kissed his lips. 

“My heart is going to explode.’’

“They’re our cuties!’’

“Who knew two middle aged men could be so adorable?’’

Gi-hun buried his face in the boss’ neck, his cheeks red now. The boss placed a kiss on his head and swiftly carried him to the rest of the team, as they waited for the next round to begin.

In the end, the two men were alone in a room, but all they could do was cuddle for the 5 minutes they were in it. Gi-hun had refused to let go of In-ho after these 15 minutes of worrying about what happened to him, so he clung to him like a koala during the time they were hiding in the room. The boss was whispering something to him and the man was smiling widely.

Then, out of the blue, the boss’ microphone got turned on (well, Min-hee had told them that she’ll turn it on for them if something really important was being said) and the words that left Gi-hun’s mouth left everyone in shock.

“I love you, jagi.’’

The words were loud and clear, echoing in the quiet monitoring room. 

“NO WAY!”

“THE THREE WORDS!’’

“THE L WORD ITSELF!’’

“GANG, WE DID IT!!!’’

“OH GOD, THEY’RE SO CANON!’’

“WE GOT THEM CONFESSING BEFORE THE GREAT REVEAL!’’

But that realization left a bittersweet taste in the mouths of everyone. 

Yet it was a problem for another day. Not for the boss and Gi-hun that were cuddling in the empty room during the Mingle game, not for Min-hee and No-eul, who were preparing everything Hwang In-ho had wanted, and certainly, not for the boss himself, who was too in love with the previous winner who was wanting his downfall. It was perfect as it was.

“I love you too, Gi-hun. I love you so much.’’

There was no sweeter sight than the one of the boss kissing every part of Gi-hun’s face with the softness that shouldn’t belong to the Front Man…

Chapter Text

“Alright, y’all, we have a tie! Get ready for a long night!’’ the Officer said and rubbed the back of his neck. 

 Min-hee took a deep breath, as she stared at the screen on her desk. She cracked her fingers, one by one, taking her sweet time, and rolled her neck, getting herself relaxed for what will for sure be a hell of a night. Everything was set in motion for the upcoming fight - and now all they had to do was wait. Even if In-ho hadn’t told her his plan, she had her fair share of suspicions about it, as she happened to know his way of thinking too well  - the outcome had to be one, with Gi-hun accepting In-ho as the Frontman. The paths to this grand finale were not many, making it easier for her to narrow down what actions she could take and where she can help with the accomplishment of the plan. Ah, her job wasn’t an easy one… 

 On her small screen she could see In-ho and Gi-hussy , walking side by side to their beds. In-ho’s arm was wrapped around Gi-hun’s shoulder in a soothing manner and she could hear their conversation through her earbuds, but didn’t care much to listen. After that fluffy gay love confession, In-ho was even clingier, but Gi-hun did not seem to mind one bit - quite the contrary, the bigass motherfucker was reciprocating every single touch and caress, bathing in it like a fucking simp. If anyone told her from 3 years ago that they’d be simping for each other like a stereotypical tiktok editor simps for the ugliest middle aged man possible, she would’ve told them to kill themselves. Sometimes she was unable to believe In-ho’s delulu and manifesting methods had actually worked out. Every girl would be jealous of his main character powers.

Out of nowhere, two warm arms wrapped around her from behind and, gently, a kiss was pressed against her cheekbone. Min-hee leaned into the touch and sighed, as No-eul rested her head on her shoulder.

“You’re so tense,’’ No-eul softly whispered, her voice spreading goosebumps down Min-hee’s back. 

“I’m tired and I won’t be getting any sleep tonight,’’ the shorter woman explained briefly and turned to look into No-eul’s dark eyes.

“We should get some coffee, I have a night shift.’’

Min-hee immediately shook her head - not at the offer, but at No-eul’s work schedule. With her being a triangle guard, aka a soldier, and with the big possibility of a rebellion on Gi-hun’s side, Min-hee could not , not under any circumstances, risk her safety, even if her own plan lowered the possibility of this happening. 

“You’ll stay here. Orders of the one in command,’’ Min-hee said in a cold voice and pushed herself gently away from No-eul’s embrace. 

“What?’’ No-eul asked in shock.

“You heard me. Take my chair. You’re not to leave your post, no matter what commands you get by the Officer or the other squares.’’

“But-’’

“Problems on scissors island, huh?’’ a familiar voice called from somewhere nearby and Min-hee rolled her eyes, recognizing it as the one of her husband’s twin brother. The motherfucking Ha-joon, gays and lesbians!

“Well, we at least have these problems, you blueballed negative aura goofy ahh straighto.’’

“Min-hee, sometimes I feel like you’re speaking another language,’’ No-eul murmured and Min-hee threw her a quick glance.

“You don’t need to insult me so rough, queen saviour,’’ Ha-joon said and stepped closer to the lesbian couple. “I’m here because I did what you asked me to!’’

“Oh, shit, great!’’ the queen dick ignorer vagina adorer said and clapped her hands, standing up from her seat. “Thank you so much, pookie, We have it all set and done then, we just gotta wait.’’

“Bro, what are we doing here?’’a young man asked, taking off his mask. 

 A group of men, pathetic losers in Min-hee’s opinion, was sitting on the floor of the hall, near the common room, waiting for a rebellion to strike. They had been previously busy taking care of the players’ dead bodies, taking out their orders and sending them off to the capital, but the boss’ replacement, one that they didn’t really like, had ordered for them to stop the players’ rebelion, whenever it was going to happen. 

The colorful halls were such a big contrast to the dark actions the men often take. Min-hee was observing them through the camera footage, smiling to herself as she was thinking of their fate. They were all going to die in the riot, for sure, these sick fanum taxers that did not deserve to live. Two of them had hurt her precious No-eul, now they were going to pay.

“I’ve no idea, but I hope we’ll get back down soon,’’ another man said, looking at the weapon he held. 

They were downright disgusting. Abusing the players, taking advantage of their lifeless bodies, Min-hee felt like throwing up just by the thought they worked for her, for In-ho, for the Officer himself. These sick fucks were going to die. Oh, how she wanted that moment to come. 

“Who knows. Do we have any specific orders from the boss?’’

“The same - don’t shoot neither him, nor his playtoy, 456.”

“Got it. I heard that they’re actually involved together now.’’

“Huh? Like, really?’’

“Yeah. They’ve fucked in the bathroom.’’

“Ew.’’

“Fucking disgusting gays.’’

And they were homophobic as well, just perfect. Min-hee rolled her eyes, changed the footage on her screen to show In-ho and Gi-hun, who were waiting in line to get their dinner, and relaxed on the couch in In-ho’s room. If only Gi-hussy knew what the night was going to reveal… 

The chatter in the monitoring room was all about the same topic - the note Gi-hun got alongside his dinner, and the chocolate milk he had been given. The middle aged man was observing the note as if it was a radioactive poison, but all that it was was a simple pink piece of paper in the shape of a heart. The words, written on it with a black inked pen in a gorgeous calligraphy that belonged to the boss himself, were simple, but filled with his adoration and fascination for the previous winner: ‘You’re the best player, my big hero, I love you!’. The boss was observing Gi-hun’s thought process with curiosity, awaiting any verbal reaction. 

“Do you have a plan, jagiya?’’ the boss asked and placed a hand on Gi-hun’s thigh.

“It’s starting!’’

“The beginning of the end.’’

By now most of them were aware of what will happen - of the fight that will start between the players who wanted to stay and who wanted to leave. It was the sole reason why the players had been given forks with their meals, Min-hee had informed them that it was the boss’ command. They were dreading the fight, the possibility of them having to intervene (which was huge). Min-hee had told them to not worry, that she had taken care of everything, but the thoughts of their possible deaths were nagging everyone. 

“I do, partly. They gave us forks, it has to happen tonight,’’ Gi-hun uttered and looked at the boss with determination in his eyes. The boss nodded and took the note from the hero ’s hands, observing it carefully.

“Bro will fake being jealous for sure.’’

“Imagine if he’s actually jealous of himself.’’

“Nah, what the sigma.’’

“I bet he is.’’

“Is that from-’’

“The Frontman, yes.’’

“He seems to be quite obsessed with you.’’

“BRO!’’

“FUCK YOU MEAN?!’’

“YOU FUCKING WROTE IT YOURSELF!’’

“This toxic yaoi is doing its tasks.’’

Gi-hun sighed audibly and shook his head, his eyes landing on the small piece of paper again. 

“I’m running out of popcorn guys, does anyone has some left?’’ 

“Come here, pookie!’’

“I’m afraid the obsession is mutual, ’’ the older and taller man said and everyone gasped.

“WE GOT GI-HUN CONFESSING HIS OBSESSION WITH THE BOSS!’’

“OH GOD, THE IDENTITY PORN WILL BE DELICIOUS.’’

“THEY WILL HAVE HATE SAY GEX IN THE GREAT 2024, LET’S GOOOOOOOOO!’’

“ Oh?’’ the boss said, with sparks in his eyes. “You did mention that you’ve been looking for him for the past 3 years, I remember now…’’

“Y’all should really just get married at this point.’’

“They already exchanged their wedding vows and have an adopted daughter.’’

“Oh, right, player 222.’’

“Yeah! They’re a happy family!’’

“No, no, they’re Hannigram coded!!!’’

“OH MY GOD, YOU’RE A GENIUS!’’

“We’ve been having Hannigram at home this whole time!’’

“I don’t know who said that, but I wanna marry you.’’

“I did, didn’t I? I need to get to him, put an end to this.’’

“GI-HUSSY, HE IS BY YOUR SIDE!’’

“THE RED SIGNS ARE ALL OVER THE PLACE, SWEETIE!’’

“He’s colorblind, don’t mind him.’’

“Imagine falling in love with the very same man that you want to kill, bruh.’’

“TYPICAL GAY SHIT!’’ a few voices said at the same time. They kept watching, as Gi-hun explained his plan to the boss so quietly, to the point where no one heard anything…

In-ho’s couch was always the most comfortable piece of furniture in his rooms. Min-hee felt like she was sitting on a cloud, as she was working on her laptop, editing In-ho and Gi-hun to Honeymoon by Lana Del Rey. Right by her side was a cup of coffee, her second so far, and she occasionally would drink it, while fixing the font of the edit. After that she was going to edit them to Salvatore, another song by the goddess Lana Del Rey. 

 Humming to herself, Min-hee found herself smiling at the footage of the two gays. She was so excited for the reveal, as In-ho’s plan was brilliant. It had to work out, otherwise the man would be so pissed and frustrated. She did not want to see him sad and heartbroken, her freaky simp of a bestie deserved love. 

Unfortunately for her, her peace was over when the front door opened and a triangle guard entered the room. They took off their mask, revealing themselves to be Yoo-gun, one of her pookies.

“What’s up?’’ she asked, raising an eyebrow.

The young man pressed his lips together in a frown.

“5 players have been eliminated in the bathroom,’’ he answered and she groaned.

“Fuck, it’s really starting, isn’t it?’’

He nodded and headed towards the door, but she stopped him, by continuing, “Don’t go down there to stop the players, okay? I’ve made sure to send the right people to their deaths.’’

“The disgusting pigs that are involved with the organs?’’ 

“Yep. They’ve all been ordered to take care of the rebels, but the boss will make sure they’ll die first.’’

“Min-hee, I don’t understand how you can be such a girlboss 24/7.’’

“Oh well, it’s a secret.” she answered and smiled softly, then made a gesture for him to leave. “Let everyone know what I told you.’’

“Your wish is my command, rizzqueen!’’

“OH, FUCK!’’

“FUCKING FUCK!”

The rebellion started . 

Well, not the rebellion itself, but the plan did.

The guards in the monitoring watched, as players with circles on their tracksuits launched at the peacefully resting players that had crosses on their tracksuits. It was bloody and horrifying, the screams of the players piercing the tense air in the monitoring room. It happens every year, but they couldn’t help but feel something they’ve never felt in the previous years - sadness, shock, disbelief and bewilderment. Everything up to this night had been goofy and funny. Now it was coming to an end - a bloody, deadly end. 

Gi-hun and the boss were hiding together, with their hands intertwined. The lights were flickering on and off and they were hiding under the bunks, so it was almost impossible for them to be seen from any of the cameras. 

“I’m nervous,’’ Eun-chan commented. 

They didn’t have popcorns this time - they were simply watching, throwing in a joke to ease the tension every couple of minutes, hoping for this to end soon so that the real stuff can begin. Hoping to see the boss and Gi-hun interact lovingly again. 

“Let’s hope player 100 dies,’’ someone said.

“This motherfucker is a fugly bastard.’’

“What if the boss kills him?’’

“I pray on it.’’

 Then, when it seemed like it had gone too far, their fellow coworkers had decided to intervene - and that’s when Gi-hun, the boss and their gang attacked. The guards watched in horror, as their coworkers were getting killed with their own weapons. 

“Fuck, was that part of the plan?’’

“I’ve no idea…’’

“...’’

“...’’

“I DON’T WANT TO DIE!’’

“IS THIS BECAUSE WE’VE BEEN MAKING MEMES OF HIM?’’

“SINCE WHEN IS KILLING A FIRING METHOD, BOSS?!’’

“WE KNOW THERE ARE INFLATIONS, BUT COME ON BOSS, DON’T KILL US JUST BECAUSE YOU CAN’T PAY US!’’

“FOR FUCK’S SAKE, I HAVE A FAMILY TO GO BACK TO!’’

“BOSS, THIS WASN’T A PART OF THE PLAN!’’

“WE THOUGHT YOU’RE ONE OF US!’’

“THEY’RE ALREADY TRUSTING YOU, STOP TRYING TO PROVE YOU’RE NOT THE IMPOSTER!’’

“FUCKING HELL, GUYS, I DON’T WANNA DIE!’’

“I HAVE A FAMILY TO GO BACK TO, PLEASE, BOSS!’’

“CALM DOWN, NO ONE ELSE IS GOING TO DIE!’’ a voice, loud and clear, yelled, interrupting the screams and the panic. Everyone glanced at the person - No-eul - who was standing up from her seat at Min-hee’s desk, and was waving her hands to gather up their attention. “Those who died are selling the organs to the black markets! The ones who abuse the bodies of the players!’’

“Oh…’’

“...’’

“...damn…’’

The silence that followed was rather awkward, as most people began rubbing the backs of their necks. The bloodshed on their screens was no longer scary. 

“...M’yeah, I couldn’t care less about these sick shits,’’ Eun-chan said and shrugged.

“I mean, who even liked them?’’ someone else pointed out and they all said, “no one.’’

“Let them die,’’ another person commented. 

“They deserve it.’’

“For real, I get chills whenever I pass by them in the halls.’’

“They’re disgusting.’’

“GOOD JOB TO WHOEVER MADE THE PLAN TO KILL THEM!’’

“Min-hee and the boss,’’ No-eul said and suddenly, everyone started clapping. 

“We have the best bosses ever.’’

“All hail queen Min-hee and our favorite gay simp the boss.’’

“The best queer duo in the universe!!!’’

“They ate and left no crumbs with that plan.’’

No-eul smiled at hearing people adoring her girlfriend, and took a glance at her phone - she had a notification from Min-hee herself, hah.

‘THE PLAN IS DEVOURING, MUHAHAHAHA!’

Tae-joon winced at his phone, looking at the messages from the discord server. Things weren’t looking well. 

 He groaned, rolling out of his bed. Jun-ha eyed him with annoyance and ran a hand through her hair. 

“What is it this time?’’ she asked and he pressed his lips together in a line, then looked at her.

“The boss and Gi-hun started a rebellion-’’

“WHAT?!’’

He took a step back, surprised by her outburst, and sighed. 

Jun-ha and him were planning to relax, just lay in bed and talk during their shared break time, as they did not have the opportunity to be alone as often as they wished. But now that he saw what was going on, he couldn’t let himself relax.

“What I gathered from the texts in the server is that Min-hee and the boss had a plan and are currently going along with it,’’ he explained briefly.

“And what that plan might be?’’ 

“Well…. Gi-hun is leading his little rebellion and the fuckers who sell the organs on the black markets are trying to stop it, but they all are getting killed.’’

“Hm, that’s decent. Then what?’’

“Min-hee is typing right now, wait a sec… Okay, she says that once the rebels reach the top parts, the boss will take Gi-hun to his rooms and the rest of the players will be brought back to the others.’’

“Oh damn.’’

“Yeah, apparently no one from them should die, and the weapons that the fuckers were given barely had any ammo, so no one from our side will die.’’

“So it’s all for nothing?’’

“For Gi-hun? Yeah, but for the boss? He will take Gi-hun hostage.’’

“HUH?’’

“I know, freaky as fuck. Min-hee refuses to explain the rest of the plan, she says that’s not the full one, just the stuff we need to know so we could stay calm.’’

“Of course she wouldn’t elaborate, that bitch.’’

“Jun-ha, please don’t do that again…’’

The young guard that was often taking care of the organs of the dead players was horrified.

After he was threatened with a weapon that had 2 bullets in it, he took his mask off in front of the rebels. And of course his fucking boss had to be one of them! He was dead, 100%. 

All of his friends and close coworkers were dead. He knew that it was definitely a punishment from the universe for his actions, but he couldn’t help but need more money! Now his greed and awfulness were leading to his death. He had never expected to die this pathetically. 

His boss was walking by that guy’s, player 456, the previous winner, side, who happened to be the one that threatened his very life. The man was forced to be close to these gays that had a fucking conversation in the middle of their own shitty rebellion! Their audacity was disgusting and insane. 

He was leading them to the “control” room, even though he didn’t know where the fuck it was located. He had lied to stay alive for a bit more, but was currently regretting that decision, as the conversation between the boss and his “boyfriend” (?) was getting lovey-dovey. He felt like throwing up. 

“It’s almost over, we’re getting out of here soon,’’ 456 whispered and for a man that had blood on his clothes and had a weapon in hand, he looked so… happy. The guard would NOT describe him as cute, no way. 

“And you’ll treat me to a glass of soju,’’ the boss replied, a soft look in his eyes. 

Why did they have to be so gay ? Literally, the homosexuality was everywhere in the air and no one, absolutely no one, was minding it? They were even supportive of it, even though it was in the middle of their fucking rebellion? What was wrong with these people?

“I’ll treat you to anything, jagiya,’’ 456 uttered, the words said so gently, it was shocking. Why were they freaky? WHAT WAS WRONG WITH THEM?!

Sure, the boss had shown interest in that pathetic guy even 3 years ago when he won, but the fuck? 

The guard silently started praying for their downfall…

“OKAY GUYS, ALL ATTENTION TO THE SCREENS!’’ Eun-chan shouted. 

  The rebels had found the extra ammo the guard had brought (ugh, that motherfucker was unfortunately smarter than his coworkers) after they killed him once they realised he’s useless. No other guards arrived to stop them, because they were patiently waiting for Min-hee or the boss’ command. The players, however, were about to enter the purple area where the most important parts of the whole island were. 

Gi-hun held the dead guard’s mask, having realized he’ll need it to be let into certain parts of the area. The extra ammo was in player 120’s hands, as she had proven herself to be skilled enough to use it if needed. They were suspecting something was definitely wrong, because no one had shown up for the past 20 minutes. 

“I think it’ll be best if we get separated,’’ Gi-hun offered, once they entered the purple area and saw that there were multiple hallways. 

“YES, YES, YES!’’ someone screamed from the back of the room. 

“Pairs, right?’’ 388 asked.

“Yes. Me and Young-il will turn left.’’

“Young-il is so lucky, you know this place better than all of us,’’ 390 said and Gi-hun threw him a glance of disapproval.

“Even if I’ve played these games before-’’

“HE SAID THE ICONIC LINE!’’

“THAT MEME WILL NEVER NOT BE FUNNY, WHOEVER SEND IT TO THE SERVER SHOULD LIVE FOREVER!’’

“-I’ve never been here before.’’

“We have equal chances of finding the control room,’’ 120 said and everyone agreed. 

After they all agreed on what directions to take, they separated. 

“Oh my God, guys, I’m so nervoussss!”

“My heart is racing, I’m scared.’’

“I don’t want this to end.’’

“But it will…’’

“WE’RE BETTING ON LOSING DOGS!”

“MITSKI REFERENCE, I LOVE YOU!’’

The guards watched in anticipation, as the boss and Gi-hun headed down the hall in silence, so close to the monitoring room. Suddenly, the boss grabbed Gi-hun’s hand and stopped him in his tracks.

“Gi-hun…’’ the boss uttered and made a gesture towards the camera that Gi-hun didn’t see. The officer sighed and pressed a red button, signaling for the guards to go and use gas to make the rebels lose consciousness and then put them back to the game. What was to happen afterwards was something no one knew. 

“What’s wrong?’’ Gi-hun asked and placed one of his hands on the boss’ upper arm, the other he used to move the boss’ hair from his forehead.

“… I want you to know that I love you.’’

“I love you too.’’

And then Min-hee entered the scene. 

Hours later, Min-hee found herself in the company of the just woken up Hwang In-ho. 

 It was sunrise, the first sun rays entering the man’s guest bedroom softly. He had walked in the room casually, still dressed in his player’s tracksuit, with his hair messy and his eyes tired. 

After she had appeared, she had used gas to put both him and Gi-hun to sleep. With the help of her dear coworkers, they had put them both on In-ho’s bed and left them there to get their needed sleep. The rebellion was over. 

She herself had taken advantage of these few quiet hours and had taken a nice 3 hour nap. After such an eventful day, the nap was very needed and appreciated. Now she was peacefully laying in bed, going through her phone, checking her notifications from the night. 

“Morning, sunshine,’’ she greeted her bestie and smiled at him teasingly. 

“I really missed sleeping on my bed,’’ In-ho murmured and sat on her bed. “I woke up cuddled to him, is that any of your doing?’’

“No,’’ Min-hee genuinely answered. She sat and crawled closer to the sleepy In-ho. “Really, no. But I wish I could’ve seen that.’’

Silence followed the words. In-ho didn’t react at all to them, he fell deep in thought. His gaze was aimed at the floor, his tiredness clear in his posture. God, she kind of felt bad for him. 

“...Thank you,’’ he suddenly said and she gave him a doubtful look. “For everything you’ve done for me.’’

“Please, you don’t have to thank me, you fucking pay me 1 billion won every month for this shit.’’

“Yeah, but still, you genuinely care about me and always stick by my side.’’

“Aw, don’t go sentimental on me, boss. The plan isn’t fully achieved, so don’t rush with the gratitude.’’ 

 In-ho hummed and turned to look at her with soft eyes. The smile that appeared on her face has never been gentler. 

“I sometimes can’t fucking believe I found a friend after all these years.’’

“A best friend at that!’’

“Mhm. And it all started because I was being a simp.’’

“Oh my God, you just used a popular slang! In-ho, I’m so proud of youuuuu!!!’’

 The man scoffed and she lightly hit his shoulder. 

“Your brainrot is getting to me.’’

“It had to happen, eventually. Also, did you just say that you were being a simp?’’

“Yes?’’

“You’re still the biggest simp that has ever lived! Fuck you mean you’re going to give up on everything you’ve worked on for that one guy you dated for 2 days?’’

“He’s my way of life, Min-hee.’’

“Ah, you’re so cringey in love, it’s so embarrassingly charming.’’

“Just like him…’’

“We’re really in for a traumatizing experience, aren’t we?’’

“What the fuck did we sign up for…’’

 Two best friends stood on watch in front of the boss’ bedroom. Since he was finally back here, they didn’t have much choice but to do their job - one that they did not do because Min-hee preferred her privacy during making edits, selecting footage and doing the boss’ work. 

Gi-hun, their favorite player, had woken up 5 minutes ago, demanding to speak to the boss, who had been in Min-hee’s room. One of them went to tell him and now he was there, having a conversation with Gi-hun that they couldn’t fully hear. They knew though, they were very much aware, what was going to happen. After years of joking about them having passionate one-sided sate hex, now it had to happen. 

“Lord, please forgive my ears for what they’re about to hear,’’ one of the two women said. 

And just as these words left her mouth, Gi-hun screamed loudly.

“I TRUSTED YOU MORE THAN I TRUSTED MYSELF, YOU BASTARD!’’

The piercing noise of a chain echoed, even out of the door - well, Gi-hun’s hand was chained to the bed frame, so that was normal, given that he had just found out his lover was the very same man he had spent 3 years of his life chasing. 

The sounds that followed the scream were vibrations to the two guards on duty, not a single distinguishable word. Their lucky guess was that was the boss’ reply, loud enough to still be hearable, but not enough to be understood. 

“The tension is so thick, oh no God…’’

“HOW COULD YOU LOOK ME IN THE EYES AND LIE TO ME?! YOU NEVER LOVED ME!’ ’ Gi-hun yelled, his voice cracking. 

“I DID, I DO!’’ the boss yelled back, sounding desperate. “I WOULDN’T HAVE DONE WHAT I DID IF I DIDN’T LOVE YOU, GI-HUN!”

“STOP LYING TO ME! I DON’T WANT TO HEAR YOU, YOU REPEL ME!”

Then the chain again, loud steps were heard - and then something fell. 

“Oh shit…’’ the younger amongst the two women uttered.

“The angst is so heartbreaking…’’ the other replied. “I knew it was going to be painful.’’

“ I’m really sorry for doing this to you, jagiya,’’ the boss said, the words coming from right behind the door. 

“ I AM NOT YOUR JAGIYA, YOU DISGUSTING PIG!”

“The degrading started, fuck…’’

“Fuck you, you’re so pathetic,’’ Gi-hun said and the boss moaned.

The two women were paralyzed, unable to move. It was so traumatizing and humiliating. They finally understood how Min-hee felt 2 days ago, although this time it was worse, since it wasn’t a loving sex - oh no, it was filled with insults and pain, as far as they heard the boss had hickeys and was spanked… 

“I am, Gi-hun, I am, because of you!’’

“I could kill you, disgusting bastard. I could watch how you bleed and I would enjoy it, I’d bathe in seeing your eyes lose their sparks.’’

“I’d love to die by your own hands, jagiya, I love you. I love you, I love you, I LOVE YOU!’’

“I despise you, I HATE YOU! YOU’RE HORRIBLE, YOU’RE SICK, I FUCKING HATE YOU!’’

The boss whimpered and then moaned, panting heavily. This was insane.

“I swear, I’ll sign in my resignation papers after this…’’

“Please, give me more, Gi-hun, I’ll be good for you, I’ll beg on my knees for you, I’ll let you do anything to me, just let me-’’

“SHUT UP, PIECE OF SHIT! I HATE YOU, I HATE YOU, I FUCKING HATE YOU, YOU HEAR ME?!’’

A few seconds passed and then the boss let out the sluttiest moan ever possible. Gi-hun kept on insulting him, yelling with so much rage in his voice, degrading him to the point where the boss moaned just at hearing the insults. They have never taken him for that type of kinky guy…

“I don’t know about the boss, but I wanna die.’’

“Same girlie, same, I’ll have nightmares about this.’’

“YOU’RE A FILTHY ANIMAL! Look at yourself, you’re enjoying this, how could you?!’’

“Because I love you!’’

“If you say this once more-’’

“I LOVE YOU, I ADORE YOU, GI-HUN!”

Another moan, a loud smack, then a long whimper. The younger woman hit her head against the wall. 

After what felt like centuries of torture, the boss finally excited the room - and fucking fuck, he looked horrible ! His whole neck was covered in hickeys and bite marks, all red, his hair was so dishevelled it looked like a bird’s nest and his whole appearance reeked of say gex. The two women did NOT want to imagine how bad the rest of his body looked under his clothes - the Frontman ones.

“I’m so sorry for this,’’ the man said to them and they were left shocked by it. “I’ll repay you as much as you want.’’

“700 million won.’’

“You’ll have it in your bank accounts by the end of the day.’’

 Then he left and entered Min-hee’s room. 

“WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK, ARE YOU OKAY?!’’ Min-hee yelled the moment In-ho entered the room. 

In the span of the years she knew him she NEVER thought he would be such a masochist, but here was the proof, right before her eyes, and it was concerning. She couldn’t and didn’t want to imagine how he would’ve looked like if Gi-hun wasn’t restrained or chained against the bed. This was already insane!

“I’m great,’’ In-ho said with a wishful voice and smiled. “This is the best-’’

“I DON’T WANNA HEAR IT! I heard enough, you were loud as fuck!’’ she interrupted.

“Sorry, I couldn’t hold in.’’

“God, I want holy water, my ears are bleeding after what I heard.’’

“It’s definitely better than what the girls that were on watch heard.’’

“WHAT? You let them stay on watch?! IN-HO!’’

“What, someone might have came in!’’

“Fuck, you just traumatized your own employes, awesome job!’’

In-ho sighed loudly and made a gesture for her to get up. It was time for the last part of the plan. 

“The ring box?’’ he asked and she opened the drawer of her nightstand, where a piece of paper and a red ring box were hidden. 

“Please, fix your appearance, I am not making a video if you’re gonna look like this!’’

 The older man sighed again and grabbed the hairbrush that was left on the desk in the room and quickly combed his hair and slicked it back with a hand. There was a mirror right by the bed Min-hee occupied and he turned to look at his reflection…

“Shit, I look-’’

“Pathetic? Embarrassing? Like a slut?’’

“HAPPY! God, why do you have to be so mean?’’

“I swear to God, I’m so gone with you!’’ 

 She put her hair in a low ponytail in a quick, swift motion, then grabbed her phone from the top of the nightstand and patiently waited for In-ho to stop admiring his hickeys and bite marks as if he was a teenage boy that had his first time with his secret crush. She was getting irritated by this.

“Stop being impatient, Min-hee!’’ In-ho said and she puffed. “I need to get my shit together first!’’

“Okay, fair, you’re going to propose to the man who screamed at you, while fucking you, for 10 minutes gay that he despises your very existence and wishes he could kill you.’’

“He’s very romantic, he’s just into rough sex.’’

“Sure thing, buddy.’’

A few minutes later, they were by the door of In-ho’s room, the two guards having been let out on their break. 

The man was trying to appear confident, but was failing miserably at the task at hand - he was fidgeting, shaking a bit, picking the skin on his fingers, as he stared at the door with visible insecurity. He was holding the piece of paper - its content being a love poem he had written during the time Gi-hun was sleeping. The ring box was in his pocket, waiting to be seen by Gi-hun, to be opened right in front of his eyes. Min-hee was, although very much disgusted by the previous events that happened and annoyed at In-ho for being a damn idiot, quite nervous too. Gi-hun had to accept. She didn’t want In-ho’s heart to be broken. 

“Okay, remember, pookie, breathe through your nose and don’t look desperate,’’ she attempted calming him down a bit, but her method wasn’t the best. 

“But I am desperate!” was In-ho’s reply, which Gi-hun definitely heard.

“DON’T LOOK LIKE YOU ARE!’’

“Fine, shit, whatever,’’ the  man replied and looked up at the ceiling, as if praying to whatever Gods would listen to him after he had committed countless sins (including having a degradation kink and having kinky one sided sate hex with his crush).

 After a bit of hesitation, he let out a deep breath and then opened the door, stepped in nervously and immediately turned to the bed, where Gi-hun layed. 

The older man looked far much better than In-ho - he had changed into different clothes, looking like In-ho’s cotton dark pajama set, didn’t have a single hickey or a bite mark on his neck or collarbone, had his dark hair combed and was, surprisingly… appearing relaxed and calm. Well, that calmness didn’t last for long, because the moment his eyes landed on In-ho, his expression completely changed - and turned into one of irritation and anger. 

“Gi-hun, baby -’’ In-ho started, already sounding desperate, in a gentle and sweet voice. Min-hee almost face-palmed herself. 

Gi-hun ignored him completely, as he turned his gaze to Min-hee, quietly studying her. 

“Who is she?’’ he asked, sitting up at the edge of the bed, looking at Min-hee. He was no longer chained to the bedframe. 

Min-hee was dressed in her typical pink goth outfit - long black jeans with a belt chain with hearts on it, a clean, prince style like black crop top and a pink short cardigan sweater. She also wore her light pink boots that were hidden by the jeans. She looked so out of place, it was completely understandable of Gi-hun to demand an answer or an explanation for her persona. 

“I’m Min-hee, In-ho’s bestie and his second in command!’’ she answered the question that wasn’t directed to her at all and smiled in the friendlist way she could muster at this moment. “Don’t mind me, I’m here for emotional support.’’

“What?’’ Gi-hun asked, shocked, and she shrugged, then moved to a corner of the room where she could have a great angle for filming. The silence that followed her action was a bit awkward. 

“I need you to hear me out, Gi-hun,’’ In-ho suddenly said and Gi-hun turned his attention back to him with a doubtful look. 

 The shorter man was still standing right by the door, appearing nervous. Even if he had tried covering his hickeys with Min-hee’s makeup, there still were hints of ‘love’ making over his neck. Fortunately for Min-hee though, they weren’t visible on her phone’s camera.

“I don’t think there’s anything more to hear, In-ho.’’

Yep, he was definitely mad, Min-hee concluded. She had to step in and help. 

“Just hear him out, for my sake!’’ she pleaded, so out of nowhere, and both men turned to her. “Please, Gi-hun! I spent the last 3 fucking years of my goddamn life listening to him talking about you, in stalking you-’’

“Min-hee!’’ In-ho warned, trying to stop her, but she continued.

‘‘-For fuck’s sake, I even know what brand of underwear you usually buy and what you always have for a midnight snack! I got a secondary eco system just because you exist! My job description literally says ‘finding information about Seong Gi-hun’s life and daily habits’! If not for his sake, then for mine , just listen to whatever he has to tell you, pleaseeeee!’’

…Shit. She wasn’t supposed to say any of that, HE WASN’T SUPPOSED TO KNOW THAT!

…

“Fucking hell…’’ Gi-hun whispered with wide eyes. He looked at In-ho and left out a side of utter defeat. “Fine, I’ll listen to whatever you have to say-’’

“Thank you!’’ In-ho exclaimed and quickly, so damn quickly, Min-hee barely registered how it happened, kneeled in front of Gi-hun on the floor.

“BUT THAT DOESN’T MEAN I’VE FORGIVEN YOU!’’ Gi-hun continued and In-ho nodded with determination in his eyes.

“I know, my sweet jagiya, I know…’’ In-ho said and took Gi-hun’s hands in his. The older man didn’t react. “Oh, dear, this is so hard…’’

“YOU CAN DO IT, POOKIE!’’ Min-hee shouted and both turned to look at her with judgemental looks. “Sorry, sorry, I won’t interrupt you! I’m invisible, don’t mind me!’’

“Come on,’’ Gi-hun whispered and let go of one of In-ho’s hands.

“Ah…’’

In-ho sighed softly and took the piece of paper that he had left on the nightstand by the bed, then placed it right against his eyes, in Gi-hun’s free hand. The man didn’t mind the action. “Gi-hun, I often find myself having a hard time with showing and conveying what I feel. Especially through words, oh God, I suck at it so badly. But, one can’t do what I’m about to do without using at least a couple of words, so, um… I wrote you a short poem.’’

“A poem?’’

“Yes, dear. I’ve never written one before, excuse me if it’s terrible…

Ever since I landed my eyes on you,

my dear hero, dear angel,

I’ve been dreaming of breathing you in,

been praying for your game win.

Your name has been close to my heart,

written on every paperwork file I sign,

your existence as beautiful as art,

I desire to always see you shine.

You’re charming and soft and warm, 

your voice is the best morning alarm. 

Your smile is brighter than the sun,

its lack could kill me better than any gun. 

Although you’re kind of awkward and pitiful,

a bit silly and so predictable.

you have the best soul and body and heart,

and you make my heart race so fast. 

So please, my dear angel, 

accept my bloodied hand,

let me place this wedding band

on your long and beautiful finger.

Marry me, Seong Gi-hun.’’

“I-I-’’ 

 Gi-hun was a crying mess. 

Tears had been running down his wrinkled face for the majority of the time In-ho was reading his absolutely shitty, but still somehow charming, poem out loud. He was almost sobbing, so vulnerable, staring at In-ho with a loving, but angsty, eyes.

In-ho was crying as well, clutching Gi-hun’s hand and the piece of paper for dear life, staring back at Gi-hun’s tear filled eyes with a pleading look.

“You’ll make me the happiest man alive, jagiya,’’ In-ho whispered softly and smiled. 

Gi-hun inhaled loudly and ran his free hand through his short hair, beginning to tremble. He seemed to consider his options carefully. 

“But you run the games, I can’t-’’

“I’LL STOP THE GAMES! I’LL END THEM! Just please, take me, Gi-hun!’’

“P-A-T-H-E-T-I-C!’’ Min-hee exclaimed and In-ho turned to her to show her the middle finger, then turned back to Gi-hun.

“Wait, what?’’ Gi-hun asked In-ho with a shocked voice.

“I’ll stop the games! I told you I’ll do anything for you, please, ba-’’

 Gi-hun interrupted him with a loud kiss and cradled his face with both of his hands. In-ho smiled into the kiss and immediately returned it, eagerly. Min-hee cheered behind the camera, as she still recorded. 

“God, I love you!’’ Gi-hun exclaimed after they separated and pressed a kiss to In-ho’s cheek. “I’ll marry you dozens of times, In-ho!’’

 In-ho let out a sob and pulled out the ring box from his pocket. 

“Thank you, my hero,’’ he softly said and opened the box. “I’m the happiest man alive.’’

“We both are, dear…’’

In-ho sobbed out of happened and slid up the diamant ring on Gi-hun’s ring finger, whispering to him in a trembling from excitement voice, “And we’ll adopt Jun-hee once the games are over, we’ll move to America, we’ll buy a big house with a beautiful yard and grow old together!’’

“I’d love that…’’

“Why do you two have to be so romantic, aaaa!’’ Min-hee suddenly said and the men turned to see her - she was sobbing too, crying at the sight. “I’m so happy for you!’’

In-ho smiled and blew her a kiss, then turned to Gi-hun again and pulled him into a warm embrace.

God, Min-hee loved these two gays!

“CONGRATULATIONS TO THE HAPPY COUPLE!’’

The video Min-hee took was playing on the big screens in the monitoring room. Everyone had rushed in to see it - to see how the boss proposed to his arch enemy/dream guy/FIANCE! 

“WE DID IT, GUYS!’’

“OUR LIVES ARE COMPLETE!’’

“457/IN-HUN MARRIAGE IN 2025!’’

Loud music was playing and everyone was celebrating the happiest occasion in the history of the games. Even if this place was going to be gone soon, they didn’t mind being unemployed if it meant that their boss would be happy with the awkward silly player with the giant ass and the dreams of ending the games. 

“God, do y’all remember how it started?’’ one of the guards asked.

“It feels like another timeline, not gonna lie.’’

“3 years ago we were in the same room, praying that Gi-hun would die.’’

“And here we are now…’’ 

“LET’S RAISE OUR GLASSES TO THE HWANG-SEONG MARRIAGE!’’

Cheers echoed in the room, as the footage on the screen ended. What started as nothing but pure hatred towards the boss’ obsession with player 456 ended as admiration towards the winner that everyone loved. Ah, how the tables turned.

“This wouldn’t have happened without Min-hee,’’ Tae-joon said.

“CHEERS TO MIN-HEE!’’ Ha-joon and Jun-ha exclaimed and raised their glasses.

“ALL HAIL QUEEN MIN-HEE, ALL HAIL QUEEN MIN-HEE!’’

They raised their glasses again, drinking for what seemed to be the tenth time in a row. But it was so worth it!

“Wait, guys!’’ Eun-chan said.

“Yeah?’’

“Are we some type of… Squid game?’’

“WE ARE!’’

“CHEERS TO US!’’

“CHEERS TO US!’’

And that is how the adventures and endless gossipping in the workplace of the guards came to an end…

Chapter Text

“Dinner is ready!’’ the familiar voice of the man she once stalked called out from the kitchen. 

 The year was 2027. The day? February 13. The weather was as usual - cold, but not enough to be snowing. The setting she had found herself in was one of her favorites - in In-ho and Gi-hun’s living room, sitting on the sofa between her wife and her best friend, watching how her and No-eul’s teen daughter was teaching In-ho and Gi-hun’s baby daughter how to walk. The sight was heartwarming. 

 Sometimes it was hard to believe she had started such a simple and joyful life.

After Gi-hun accepted In-ho’s marriage proposal, they killed the VIPs and destroyed the island, with the help of In-ho’s younger brother, Jun-ho. Then, soon after that, they adopted player 222, Jun-hee, and moved to America. Min-hee worked her magic and found No-eul’s daughter, Ha-eun, and the three followed In-ho, Gi-hun, Jun-hee and her infant son to America and even moved in the house right next to theirs. Heaven, right?

But that’s not even all of it, no - Min-hee finally got divorced from Tae-joon, cut all contact with her homophobic family, and married No-eul as soon as they arrived on the land of freedom. 

Now both couples and their kids (and grandkid!) lived happily in the USA, with no problems, leaving their traumatic past behind. Min-hee loved her life and family (of which In-ho, Gi-hun, their daughter Min-hee, Jun-hee and her sweet son that she had named after player 388, Dae-ho, also were considered to be!). She felt at peace. 

 Currently, the big found family was gathered for no particular reason - they simply visited each other some evenings, enjoying spending time together, as now all of them were jobless (well, everyone except for In-ho, who now owned a relatively big business and guess what? All of her guard pookies worked for him again! It was so awesome). Gi-hun was cooking his yummy fried chicken. Today his daughter was visiting too. Things have turned out amazing for him and In-ho too. 

 First, they reached out to Jun-ho immediately after the marriage proposal and he joined them in ending the games. All the remaining players (except that bastard, player 100) and guards were escorted out of the island and the three men, alongside the soldiers Gi-hun hired, killed every single VIP and destroyed the island. The reconciliation between the brothers was something Min-hee was so happy for, as the aftermath of it resulted in them getting close again during the past 2 years. But what else? They married in America (and most of their guests were Min-hee’s lovely coworkers) and bought a house in Ga-yeong’s city. The meeting between Ga-yeong and Gi-hun was one of the most bittersweet ones Min-hee had ever heard of - but now, their relationship was great. Gi-hun’s ex wife wasn’t very happy to hear he had gotten remarried during the time he was gone from their daughter’s life, but In-ho, always defending his husband because he was such a fucking simp, made up a story where he was completely innocent and where he and Gi-hun were both victims of something, she did no longer remember what the bizarre story was. The ex-wife had believed the story and actually praised Gi-hun for his bravery in the situation and had given them her blessing. And then after they had fully settled down in the USA, they looked for surrogates and had a daughter through surrogacy. They were happy, in love and raising their grandson and daughter. Oh, God, how much fluffier could it get?

“Ah, time to eat,’’ No-eul said. The adults stood up from the sofa and rushed to the dining room with their kids. Tonight Jun-hee was helping with serving the dinner. She had gotten close with Ga-yeong and Ha-eun, even though she was older than them by nearly a decade. She was like a cool older sister to both of them (well, she was in fact a sister to one of them) and they adored her. She loved her parents and didn’t have trouble with In-ho’s identity. The two old men cherished her so much and always looked after her, even after her pregnancy. 

“Kids, wash your hands!’’ In-ho said.

“Yeoboo, this is delicious!’’

 Everyone was sitting at their respective seats at the large table - Gi-hun was the head of the table, by his left side was In-ho and by his right was Ga-eyong. Min-hee sat between In-ho and No-eul again, opposite her was Jun-hee. Ha-eun was on No-eul’s right side, the two were in a passionate conversation about something Min-hee was unable to hear, because her attention had been grabbed by the old gays that were no longer a toxic yaoi trope. They were, surprisingly, with quite a healthy relationship and held so much love and respect towards each other. 

“Thank you, dear,’’ Gi-hun answered softly and kissed In-ho’s cheek. 

“Yeah, appa, this is so good!’’ Jun-hee said and the oldest man smiled at her. 

 Suddenly, Min-hee’s phone buzzed from a notification. She wasn’t fond of looking at her phone during dinner time (ah, her age and her motherhood were catching up to her, she was becoming basic), but it wouldn’t hurt her to just check what it was… 

A notification from the discord server. These fuckers…

 After the end of the games, all of them were left unemployed - and even though In-ho paid them extra for everything they’ve done for the games, they still needed jobs. In-ho, on the other hand, didn’t want to do nothing at home all day, even if he was in his 50’s and with a family - plus he wanted to have money that wasn't bloodied, so he started a business and hired everyone who had worked on the games. They didn’t mind having to move to the US, so now they were living in their area too, working for In-ho 5 days a week for 8 hours. Both sides were pretty happy from that arrangement. 

 Min-hee, tho, as much as she loved all of them, didn’t want to go back to work - she had enough money and wanted to live the rest of her life peacefully with her wife and daughter. She would occasionally go to the office to check up on her old coworkers and help In-ho with some stuff, but that was pretty much about it, much to everyone’s disappointment. But well, they were still pretty close and still used their old group chats and their discord server. She just didn’t know some of the new inside jokes and wasn’t 100% in the gossip sessions they had. It was truly uncharacteristic for her, but she was almost 40! She was really getting too millennial coded… 

‘Guys, I heard that the boss asked his secretary to order a big flower bouquet and heart-shaped boxes with the best chocolate in the country.’ was the notification. 

Oh, yeah, it was Valentine’s day tomorrow. Min-hee had prepared a present for No-eul and had made a sweet little gift for Ha-eun. But what was In-ho up to and why hadn’t he told her?

‘Is that all he’s gonna give his hubby?’

‘Idk man, that’s what I heard!’

‘Sounds basic af to me’

‘Same, I’d expect something more romantic from him’

“In-ho?’’ Min-hee whispered and nudged In-ho.

“Yeah?’’ he turned to her and tilted his head. 

“What did you prepare for your man?’’

 The man was taken aback by the question, his eyes widening.

“Why are you asking?’’

“Someone heard you tell Mi-Cha to order a bouquet and a chocolate box,’’ she whispered, pressing close to him so that no one could hear.

“Bruh, these guys never learn to stop eavesdropping on my conversations…’’

“At this point you shouldn’t even be surprised.’’

“I guess?... Okay, that’s not what I’m giving him. This is my gift for Jun-hee,’’ he answered in a quiet voice and she nodded.

 They had the tradition and habit of making gifts not only for their lovers, but also for their close people. After all, it was about love, and love was something you could feel for more people than your romantic partner. Plus, both had the same love languages - one of them being gifting - so they used every potential holiday to act on it. It was so sweet in Min-hee’s opinion.

“Aw, nice. But, um, what about him?’’

“Heya, what are you two being so secretive about?’’ Gi-hun asked and the besties turned to look at him. 

 Gi-hun had taken a liking to Min-hee over the course of the last few years. He loved chatting with her and asking her dozens of questions about anything, really anything, whenever she was around (sometimes he’d even get a ladder and talk to her over the fence between their yards whenever she was in the garden she and No-eul began taking care of), loved coming over just so he could play with her cat, a beautiful grey cat that was so soft and adored him, and often would go out with her to have lunch at the restaurant down the street. He was such a sweet person, although not always the brightest, but that was a part of his charm (oh, and now when charm comes to mind - he had decided to let his hair grow again and now he looked just like he did during his first games! In-ho was the happiest about this), and God, she 100% understood why In-ho loved him so much. He was the definition of a ray of sunshine, the pookiest pookie to ever exist.

“Just some gossip from work,’’ In-ho replied and offered a smile as a way for Gi-hun to believe his brief explanation that was oddly suspicious. 

“Hm, is that so?’’ damn, the man was seeing right through In-ho right now. Min-hee had to step in again, offer some support. 

“Yeah! You know about the group chat I have with the others? They can’t stop texting about some drama at the office, you know how dramatic they can be,’’ she said and Gi-hun hummed, as if believing her. In-ho gave her a look that was supposed to say “He’s my husband, he should believe me and not you!’’

Another notification appeared on her screen before she could regard him with a look that would say “stop being a pathetic simp’’ .

‘Min-hee, pls tell us!’ was the message on her screen. 

She sighed and showed the text to In-ho, who also sighed after reading it.

“Fuck, these guys are so obsessed with my love life even if it’s been 2 damn years…’’ he murmured and she simply shrugged.

“I mean, your love life is straight out of a romcom, except that it didn’t end after the engagement. At least tell me what is it, I’ll drop them a simple hint.’’

“You should stop feeding their gossiping addiction and delusions.’’

“I knowwwww, but I don’t really care. It’s so fun to watch them try to find out why you’ve been in a sore mood during a morning meeting or why you were late for work.’’

“God, you’re such a drama-gossip-rumor loving queen!’’

“Aunt Min-hee!’’ Jun-hee shouted suddenly, interrupting them. 

 The older woman turned to look at her with a raised eyebrow.

“Yes?’’

“You and abeoji are so funny to watch.’’

“Oh, yeah, they’re always fighting for the dumbest things,’’ Ga-yeong said. 

“No, we’re not!’’ In-ho protested and Gi-hun jiggled.

“We’re having adult conversations!’’ Min-hee added in. Everyone laughed at that, much to her annoyance and In-ho’s irritation. 

“No, you’re a typical gay-lesbian duo,’’ Jun-hee said. 

“I’m not even gay!’’

Ga-yeong chuckled and opened her mouth to say, “Denial is a-’’

“Don’t even start, young lady!’’ In-ho interrupted her and everyone at the table, except for him and Min-hee, bursted into laughter. 

 Ah, this family… 

Eun-chan impatiently stood near his desk, waiting for Min-hee to promise a Close friends story with what In-ho gifted Gi-hun for Valentine’s day. The badass woman loved posting things on her CF stories about the couple (as if they both didn’t have Instagram accounts - though they barely used them and posted only when on family vacations, which was every 3 months). And on occasion like this, she would for sure post something, ANYTHING!

“‘sup?’’ Ha-joon appeared behind him, scaring him. 

 Eun-chan let out a gasp after seeing his friend - the older man was dressed in a fancy pink suit and carried bags of roses. His hair was neatly combed, which was a rare sign, and his shoes were so bright, the younger could see his reflection when he looked at them. What.the.fuck.

“WHY DIDN’T YOU TELL ME YOU’RE VALENTINE THIS YEAR?!’’ 

Valentine was what they called the guy that was chosen by the boss to give out roses to everyone in the office, no matter the gender or the sexual preferences. The role was simple, but yet it meant that the boss had a high opinion of the chosen one (aka he was gonna be getting a raise), so everyone wanted to be one. Eun-chan was disappointed.

“I don’t know man, guess it never came up,’’ Ha-joon said and shrugged, then gave him a rose. “You’re my favorite bromance.’’

“You’re not when you hide such things from me, motherfucker!’’

 Meanwhile, two other workers were chatting about Min-hee’s new instagram post.

“This is so adorable, I’m gonna dieeeeee!’’

 The post was with 6 photos and 4 videos - 4 of the photos were of random pictures Min-hee had of No-eul (No-eul sleeping, taking most of the bed; No-eul cooking what seemed to look like onion rings; No-eul watering the flowers in their cute garden and No-eul pressing a gentle kiss against their daughter’s cheek), the 5th was of Min-hee taking a 0,5 selfie with the boss and Gi-hun and the 5th was of a group selfie of their big family. The videos were from today. The first was of No-eul opening Min-hee’s gift, the second was of Min-hee opening No-eul’s gift, the third was of In-ho rambling about how crafty lesbians were and the last was of Gi-hun yelling in joy as he was holding his present - an orange cat. The caption was huge, the coworkers didn’t read it.

“May this love find us some day,’’ one of them said and kicked her feet in the air. 

An hour later, when everyone was finally at work, the boss arrived, alongside his husband, to everyone’s surprise.

It isn’t like it was the first time Gi-hun visited the office - far from it, he was here quite often, sometimes bringing the baby too - but today was a day on which they all thought that not even the boss would come to work. 

“Morning, guys!’’ the boss greeted them. 

Gi-hun was grinning softly at him, seemingly very excited about something. 

“Hey everyone, it’s so good to see you!’’ he exclaimed in a happy voice and they all cheered. He was so adorable. 

The couple then went to the boss’ office and locked the door, much to everyone’s disappointment. Eavesdropping was also not an option, the office was blocking out any sound from leaving the walls. Ugh, that sucked. 

“We should’ve put a hidden microphone there, for fuck’s sake…’’

“Never again!’’

“As if you have forgotten about that one time we did that and then we heard them having roleplay sex!’’

“Shut up, shut up, I don’t want to remember that!’’

“That was wild.’’

“Absolute nightmare material.’’

“I’d never thought they’d be comfortable with that-’’

“With what? Gi-hun being a player and the boss being the Frontman during-?’’

“BRO, DIE!”

“THE MEMORIES OF THIS SMEX SHOULD’VE BEEN GONE!’’

“WE AGREED TO NEVER MENTIONED IT AGAIN!”

“YEAH, JUST LIKE THE DALG-’’

“SHUT THE FUCK UP!’’

Suddenly, the door of the office opened and Gi-hun appeared, grinning even wider. The crowd of workers near the door looked horrified to be found like this, but the previous player didn’t pay them any attention.

“Can two people please come and take pictures and a video of me and In-ho-ssi?’’ he asked. Everyone volunteered, but the chosen ones were the two coworkers that were discussing Min-hee’s insta post earlier. 

The chosen women entered the room and found themselves shocked to see it decorated for the holiday - with red heart balloons and red heart-shaped notes on most surfaces. On the desk was a big, heart-shaped box. The boss was studying it with a thoughtful look. 

“You’re looking at it as if it’s gonna kill you,’’ Gi-hun said to the boss and let out a chuckle. “You can start recording.’’

They did - the shorter one, her name was Ae-cha, decided to take the pics and the other, much taller one, Nari, started shooting a video in 8k. 

The boss sighed and turned to look at his husband with a questioning look regarding the box.

“It seems like a cake to me, Gi-hun,’’ he said, as if saying a matter of fact, and put his hands on the top of the box.

“You won’t know until you don’t open it.’’

And the man’s guess was completely correct - it was a cake, but not a normal cake, no. It had a writing on it, one that brought back war flashbacks from 2 years ago when Gi-hun received a certain cake for his 51st birthday. 

“No way…’’ Nari whispered in shock, just as the boss was starting to blush.

The writing on the top was ‘Happy Valentine’s day to my precious kinky rider, you showed me the best games in the bedroom ;)’ , which was FUCKING DIABOLICAL.

Gi-hun’s expression remained as innocent as possible, as the two women barely kept from choking on their breaths and suppressed laughter. God…

“Remember that one time 6 years ago when we were wondering if he is going to die during the marbles game?’’ Ae-cha whispered and Nari nodded. “I was rooting for him back then, but now…’’

 The 33rd Squid game changed absolutely everyone’s lives, whether it was for the better or for the worse. And now, Ae-cha and Nari, the two with whom our story started, were concerned about how it had affected theirs… 

THE END

Chapter Text

Hi guys! Sorry for deceiving you by posting a new chapter (that is not a chapter lmao) - but since a lot of you are still subscribed to the fic, I felt like I should let you know that there is a sequel of the story! It's in the series I made and it's about In-ho and Gi-hun's engagement. It'll be silly, with their POVs and perhaps with NSFW content sometimes, but dw if you're not into that, I'll be putting warnings when needed. Feel welcomed to check out the first chapter that picks up with them discussing their plans for destruction of the games. Love ya and thank y'all for the support 💜💜💜💜