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Gi-hun clutches onto himself while tears roll down his cheeks. He promised himself that he wouldn't cry, but the reality of this situation is too real. Nothing could have ever prepared him for hearing Ga-yeong's voice. He presses his phone closer to his ear, listening to her say ‘Hello’ over and over.
It has been too long.
He can't believe that he ever allowed it to reach this point.
This shouldn't be how things happened between them.
He should be in America with her, celebrating his birthday today.
Bright flashes of light streak across the CCTV from the mercenaries practicing at the shooting range.
The only thing these people know is that today is the day that the grand plan takes place. The plan to capture the person called the Front Man and put an end to these games.
No one knows that it's also Gihun's birthday.
But that seems to be of such little importance to him. After what happened, all aspects of caring about himself became lost. He set out on a personal mission to put an end to these games. It's the best thing he could possibly do for all those who unjustly lost their lives back in 2020.
The phone goes silent.
Gihun takes a shaky breath, desperately trying to find at least one word to say back. He wants to scream out how badly he misses her and that he's sorry for being such a terrible father.
She deserves to know that he still cares about her.
But why is he struggling to utter even just a sound? The realization of how badly he's messed up is crushing him. It's like his guilt is grasping his throat, strangling him.
Ga-yeong chokes back a sob. Based on the number, she knows deep down who is calling her. With a trembling sigh, she switches from speaking English to Korean.
“Appa?”
Gi-hun's heart drops hearing these words.
It's taking everything in him to not fully break down. He doesn't want to admit to himself, but this could be the last time he ever hears her call him that.
Memories of when Ga-yeong was younger begin to flood his mind.
Bittersweet memories of how they used to celebrate this day together.
He can see it so clearly.
The two of them in the kitchen covered in flour, baking a cake for his birthday. Eun-ji would get so furious over how much they turned the kitchen into a disaster. There would be dirty dishes all over the counters, along with half the cake ingredients, which would be all over the floor and them.
Gi-hun will never forget how he used to sneak and allow Ga-yeong to sample the frosting from the spatula. He flashed her a mischievous smirk while reminding her not to let her mom know.
He closes his eyes, still clutching the phone tightly.
The place where he used to live with his family becomes clear. He can even vividly remember the sweet scent of sugar and chocolate filling his nose after they finished baking.
It feels like an eternity since he last saw that apartment. Despite it not being the largest place to live, it was still perfect for his family.
Another tear rolls down his cheek.
He really did have it all and allowed it to slip right through his fingers.
Swallowing hard, it's almost like he can feel when Ga-yeong pushed and guided him to sit down.
With the help of her mother, she lights the candles on the cake. The darkened room lights up from the soft glow of the candles. He can hear her singing happy birthday, proudly bringing the cake to him. Carefully, she carries the cake over to the table and places it down.
“Blow out the candles!!” She excitedly shouts.
Gi-hun pats his knee, motioning for her to join him and help him.
Holding onto her tightly, both lean forward, blowing out the candles.
Eun-ji claps her hands, cheering them both on. It was one of the few rare moments that she felt happy with Gi-hun.
Mentally, he beats himself up for not properly cherishing moments like that when he had a chance.
If he could, he'd give anything to go back and do things right.
The image of him and Ga-yeong eating the chocolate cake they baked together starts to fade.
Ga-yeong's voice breakthroughs, bringing him right back to this cruel reality.
“Appa, is that you?”
‘Why won't the words come out?!’ He yells out to himself in an anguished cry.
He wants to yell, ‘yes!!’ He wants her to know that it is him.
His voice fails him when he hears Eun-ji start asking Ga-yeong, who she's talking to.
“Who's on the phone?”
“I don't know. They won't say anything.”
Ga-yeong quickly wipes the tears from her face before looking at her mom. There's no way she can let her know that this potentially could be her dad calling. She would never hear her end of it about how he's a horrible father, and she shouldn't waste her time talking to him.
“It's probably just a prank. Hang up and come eat. Your soup is going to get cold.”
Eun-ji gives her a look. Something feels off, but maybe she's overthinking it. She signals with her hand for her to hurry it up.
“Okay.” Ga-yeong quietly responds back.
She hits the end call button.
Was that really her dad calling?
Why wouldn't he say anything if it was?
It's been years since he last bothered to talk to her. Then there is the last memory she has of him punching her step-dad. She wants to absolutely resent him for everything that he has done - for abandoning her, but she knows that she could never truly hate him. Ga-yeong sits her phone down.
The silence of the phone call ringing in her ears.
Maybe later, she'll try to call that number back.
The beep of the phone call ending echoes throughout Gi-hun's head.
That was his only chance, and he blew it.
He absolutely has let her down.
There were multiple occasions during his stay at the motel that he tried to call and couldn't even bring himself to dial the number. Even though he successfully called her today, the crushing defeat of not being able to speak hurts even worse.
He looks over at the present in the dark pink box next to him on the bed. This was supposed to be her gift when he went to America. He had hoped it would have made up for the terrible gift from the crane game he had given her when he last saw her.
Honestly, so many years have passed, and he isn't sure if she's outgrown what he bought for her.
Does she even still like stuffed animals?
Regardless, he knows he has let her down in every way possible. All he wanted to do was keep what he has been doing away from her - to protect her - to keep her safe.
Staring down at his phone, he looks at the picture of the selfie he took of the both of them at the arcade. He lets out a light chuckle at the Pikachu in the background. She wanted that plush so bad. They tried over and over but just couldn't get it. Even though she only ended up with a tiny cat plush toy after all that, it was still such an amazing day with her.
A tear falls down, landing on the image of Ga-yeong.
He knows he needs to pull it together.
Tonight will be the only chance to carry out this plan. It's now or never. This has to be executed perfectly in order to bring an end to these games. He needs to get back focused on what's about to happen.
A light tap on his door startles him.
He looks up with tear stained eyes, quickly trying to wipe them away with his sleeve.
It's Jun-ho standing at the entrance of his room.
“You disappeared from the target range. I wanted to check on you and let you know that we are almost ready. Kim and his guys are finishing loading the vehicles.”
Gi-hun takes a glance over at the CCTV, and the shooting has stopped. All the mercenaries are busy packing up the weapons and working their way downstairs.
He had only intended to step away for a few minutes. He had no idea that this much time had passed.
“I'm sorry. I'll be right there.” Gi-hun mutters out with an unsteady voice.
Jun-ho softens his expression.
Even though he personally doesn't know Gi-hun the best, whatever he had to take care of must have been important. Seong has been emotionless and focused this entire time. To see evidence that he had been crying, then this must have been an attempt of him getting closure with someone. Jun-ho knows this feeling too well.
“Take your time. They pretty much have everything covered.”
Jun-ho gives him a reassuring nod before stepping back out of the room.
Gi-hun wipes his face again.
Standing up, he picks up Ga-yeong's gift.
Should he place it back where he was hiding it or leave it here?
With a heavy sigh, he places it back on the bed. His future is so uncertain at this point. The chances of him coming back don't look good. He knows what these people are capable of doing.
“I'll just leave it here.” Gi-hun painfully states as if he was hoping someone was listening and will know where to look when he's gone.
He gives his reddened cheeks a slap, trying to snap out of it. Reaching over, he finishes packing the bag next to the gift.
Walking towards the door, he turns around, giving the room one final look. The room is being left utterly disheveled except for the care he took to straighten up the bed with only the gift placed on it.
His heart sinks, knowing he'll probably never return.
The plan he has been working towards is finally about to become a reality.
******
Loud music blares around him.
Hundreds of people dressed in costumes surround Gi-hun as he makes his way through Club HDH. His eyes darted from person to person, trying to find the man in the black mask or even one of the pink soldiers.
He knows that the golden card in that envelope with a pink bow wouldn't mislead him.
They have to be here.
He has to be here.
It feels like over these past few years, the one called the Front Man has steadily become his new obsession.
In some weird ironic way, it almost feels like those at the games put this party together for him. One last huge birthday celebration in honor of him.
‘When I locate the Front Man, should I thank him for remembering my birthday?’ Gi-hun scoffs out to himself.
Pushing his way through the crowd, he can feel his stomach sink. A person dressed in a black hood and holding a scythe catches his attention.
Could this be him?
But the outfit looks wrong.
It looks cheap.
A poor imitation of what he remembers.
He knows the man he's chasing after wears a gray hood.
Nervously, he reaches out, grabbing the mysterious man by the shoulder. It's like the music slows in an instant as he waits for him to turn around.
Gi-hun doesn't say a word, staring down at the person in front of him.
The mask isn't right.
It's all wrong.
It's just some guy in a crappy grim reaper costume.
In great annoyance, the man yanks up his mask, asking if Gi-hun knows him before turning right back around to join his friends again.
Gi-hun's heart pounds furiously.
Could that be a sign of things to come?
What are the odds of running into someone dressed as the grim reaper?
Maybe he has sealed his fate thanks to his obsession with stopping the games.
He attempts to shake off this anxiety and begins moving back throughout the sea of people.
Looking around, it's such a blur of young people in various outfits, celebrating this holiday.
It hits him that this holiday is extremely popular in America but celebrated differently. It's geared more towards children going with friends and family to gather candy. He has a moment wondering if Ga-yeong has attempted to celebrate like this, but knowing Eun-ji, that's probably a huge no. Still though, if he had decided to go there to be with her, would he have tried at least taken her once to go get candy? They both loved to sneak sweets together.
Gi-hun inhales deeply, pushing the idea of his head. He can't afford to let his mind wonder about things like that.
The atmosphere suddenly shifts around him. He can feel the presence of a familiar sinister aura lurking behind him. It's enough to make his blood run cold. In absolute horror, he turns around and is staring down a pink guard with a square on their mask.
His body freezes in fear. All the preparation, the planning, the work - nothing could have ever prepared him for being face to face again with the embodiment of all those he hates.
It's one thing to go over it in your mind constantly, but when it becomes a reality, it's like his body has shut down.
All the trauma from when he was in the games slams into him full force. Standing there like a deer in headlights, he screams at his body to move.
The guard abruptly turns and begins to disappear in the horde of people.
Gi-hun knows he has to follow him if he wants to achieve his goal of confronting the Front Man.
Mentally yelling at himself, he forces himself to start walking, swiftly following behind the guard. He can hear Woo-seok yelling like crazy in his earpiece about spotting the pink guard.
Gi-hun momentarily stops, spotting Woo-seok who isn't far behind him. Honestly, with that big green horse mask, he isn't that hard to locate. Giving him a stern look, Gi-hun continues chasing after the pink soldier. The only thing he can hear is the chaos from Woo-seok trying to tell Jun-ho what's happening.
The earpiece unexpectedly goes silent. Seong hesitates for a brief moment concerned about what might be happening. Out of the corner of his eye, he sees that he's losing sight of the guard. He can't afford to let this opportunity go to waste. He'll just have to trust Jun-ho to take care of the problem that Woo-seok ran into.
At a hurried pace, he catches back up and begins following the pink soldier into the employee only area of the club. It's such a relief to finally be out of that crowd of party goers.
Walking up a set of steps, they both exit out a back door. The cool air from outside rushes around him. He turns and sees a white limo in the distance. His heart is about to beat out of his chest. In that car is the man he's been hunting down the past two years.
His mind is absolutely racing.
Taking a deep breath, Gi-hun follows the guard to the car, who opens the door for him.
It's like he's being treated like a VIP guest.
It's clear that the man in the black mask has no qualms about showing off.
If Gi-hun didn't know any better, his suspicions of this being an elaborate ploy all for his birthday are correct.
‘Tch…guess I better remember to thank him for being so thoughtful.’ Gi-hun sarcastically remarks to himself.
But Gi-hun knows that's all bullshit. There's no way these people care about him. They obviously don't care about anyone but themselves. To them, he's just another horse that they are betting on to lose.
Gi-hun gets into the limo, and he is immediately hit with this weird sense of déjà vu.
Is this the same limo that brought him home after he had won?
He can feel his phone start to vibrate in his pocket.
Whoever it is will have to wait.
The moment he has been counting down to is finally here.
The car begins moving, and a certain voice that's being concealed by a voice modulator begins to speak through the small golden piggy bank located in the center.
“Player 456. Do you remember? We once spoke in this car.”
*********
Gi-hun's phone begins vibrating again in his pocket.
He can barely keep his eyes open. The pink mist that has filled the back of the limo is causing him to pass out.
He had to go with a last resort plan.
Everything that he had meticulously planned was ruined due to these assholes being ten steps ahead of him. Returning back to the games is the last thing he ever wanted to do.
His phone continues to persistently vibrate.
‘Who keeps trying to contact me?’
It's no use.
The sleeping gas has fully taken over. He's unable to move so he can check who it is.
The bulletproof partition glass rolls down.
The man in the black prism shaped mask named Hwang In-ho finds himself staring at a slumbering Gi-hun.
He didn't think this moment would happen soon enough of being able to finally see him again in person.
“Player 456. Welcome back to the game.”
He turns back around and pushes a button to raise the glass back up.
“Find a secluded spot to pull over. He has to be thoroughly searched before we take him to the ferry.”
The pink guard nods in agreement. He drives up a few more blocks before finding a vacant parking lot to pull over into.
“I'll conduct the main search. Considering he had a team tailing this limo, he must have a tracking device on him somewhere. Once I'm done, you can finish preparations.” In-ho firmly states to the square guard.
He gets out of the vehicle and carefully opens the door on the side where Gi-hun is sitting.
There he is.
The only person who fully captivated him in several years.
First things first.
He swiftly reaches over Gi-hun, grabbing the gun on the seat next to him.
Gently, he then leans in and begins searching Gi-hun's pockets.
With ease, he finds a half empty pack of cigarettes and a pink lighter in his coat pockets. Next, he finds Gi-hun's phone in his back pants pocket. He goes to place it to the side when a certain notification catches his attention.
*Missed call - Ga-yeong*
That's right, this must be Seong Gi-hun's daughter.
In-ho stares at the phone display.
He should care less about who was contacting this man. There's just a part of him that can't help but feel melancholic seeing this information, especially paired with the notification under it.
It is a text message from Ga-yeong sent only a few moments ago.
‘Did you call me earlier? Why did it take you so long to call me?’
In-ho becomes suddenly startled when the phone vibrates again in his hand.
‘Appa…I know today is your birthday. Please call me back…’
In-ho tightly holds the phone.
“You really should have listened to me when I told you to get on that plane.” In-ho quietly mutters to himself. “You could have had a good life and enjoyed this special day with your daughter.”
He turns the phone off, placing it in a box alongside the gun and cigarettes where Gi-hun's personal belongings will be stored while he participates in the game.
Removing his gloves to better search for the tracker located on Gi-hun, In-ho's bare thumb instinctively caresses across his cheek.
There's no way he could resist.
This man is even more gorgeous in person.
“Happy birthday, Seong Gi-hun.” In-ho delicately whispers next to him. “I'm sorry that it has come down to this. Perhaps in another life, we could have properly celebrated this day together.”