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i'll see you in jeju - squid game!au

genre: angst

member: jungwon (enhypen)

warnings/notes: gn!reader SQUID GAME SPOILERS, squid game!au, mentions and implications of death, relationship between jw and reader could be platonic or romantic, it's up to you

a/n: squid game is all the hype rn and i loved the series so i decided to write something for it! this is based partly on some storylines in the actual tv show. let me know if you want a different squid game story for a different member!

you used to see him around at university. he was part of the taekwondo team, always lugging around a big duffel bag full of his athlete stuff.

he was also in your general history class. being a student-athlete, it was only natural that everyone gravitated towards him. he was, indeed, a popular one. that's why you were so nervous sitting next to him when you were assigned to be partners for a paper.

"let's just list down the different sections of the paper then divide it up," he had suggested with a smile, pointing at the rubric sheet in your hands. he took it from you gently, fingers brushing against yours.

he was cute up close. cuter than when you'd admire him from afar.

"jungwon," you had whispered out of nowhere. he eyed you quizzically, eyebrows raised. your eyes went wide when you realized what you just did.

"th-that's your name, right?" you said, trying to recover from the embarrassment. he chuckled and nodded, handing back the paper to you.

"yep, that's me."

you never got to talk to him again after that. you never worked together for another project, never got to say things to each other other than 'hi' and 'hello' when passing each other by.

you used to see him around at university. perfect, popular, and the last person you'd be seeing in a place like this.

"jungwon."

you were shaking, hands balled into fists as you stood straight as a board. of course, he didn't look back. he didn't even answer.

"green light."

jungwon had turned to you momentarily, eyes widening as his gaze settled on you.

"go, go!" you whisper-shouted, fingers digging into his back as you pushed him forward. the giant doll-like character was still in the midst of her green light phase, the remaining players around rushing past both of you.

"don't hide behind me," jungwon said, tone somewhat threatening as he jogged forward.

"red light."

you squeezed your eyes shut as you froze, gunshots ringing one after the other as more players were eliminated. a loud thud was heard next to you and you frantically opened your eyes, hoping it wasn't jungwon.

you breathed a sigh of relief as his tall figure still towered in front of you, his shoulders were tense and stance wide as he steadied himself in front of the giant character's gaze.

"green light."

jungwon reached back and pulled on your hand, pushing you forward in front of him. you protested, finding yourself completely exposed to the character's motion sensors.

"you'll thank me later once you cross the line first," jungwon said through gritted teeth, nudging you forward even more.

---

"can i get a thank you for what i did earlier?"

you had looked up to see jungwon approaching you, his own dinner in his hands. he settled on the floor beside you as he unpacked his food.

"what should i be thanking you for? you broke my strategy," you quipped, taking a bite out of your sandwich.

"almost all the people behind me died," jungwon said matter-of-factly. "if i hadn't let you go first, you would have been one of them."

you sat in silence to ponder on that for a bit.

"i would have just run faster during green light," you said quietly. jungwon laughed, nudging you with his elbow.

"you're a funny one, aren't you? i kinda wish we could have been friends in university," jungwon wondered out loud.

"we can be friends now," you suggested, reaching your hand out to him. jungwon flashed you a bright smile, dimples on full display.

he took your hand in his, shaking it firmly.

"friends, it is."

---

"please, no, it's just a small break, please-"

you flinched, the gunshot a little too close to you for your liking. despite this, you continued on, breathing heavily as you poked and scraped away at the caramelized sugar in your hands.

you were frantic. there were barely two minutes left and you were only halfway through.

you felt a soft kick on your leg just as a figure was about to pass you by. you looked up to see it was jungwon.

"lighter," jungwon mouthed as he dropped something at your feet. you scrambled to hide it from the guards, grabbing it immediately before encasing it in your fist.

you took a peek and saw that it was, indeed, a lighter. you scanned the area and saw the space under the slide was empty. you hurriedly crawled towards the plaything, making sure the object in your hands was hidden to the red-suited guards.

that day, thanks to jungwon, you made it with only five seconds to spare.

---

"where did you get it?"

"where did i get what?" jungwon asked as the two of you lounged around in the dormitory. the rest of the players were in their own subdued conversations, completely unaware of the way the two of you passed the previous game.

"the lighter," you whispered. the two of you were seated on the floor against some beds, yours and jungwon's shoulders almost touching. he snickered, holding his hand out.

"i'll tell you if you give it back," jungwon said. you gave him a look before eyeing the other players around you. you reached into your pocket and discreetly handed it back to him.

"player 420 brought it and dropped it like a dumbass," jungwon explained, pointing at a player across the room.

your eyes landed on a man conversing with two other male players.

player 420 had chiseled features and dark hair in an undercut. he was talking to player 115 and player 128, both having the same defined features and tall stature as 420.

definitely some of the scarier players you've seen.

"they'd kill you if they found out you stole from them," you said lowly. jungwon just laughed.

"i'd like to see them try," jungwon comments.

"they can't take me away from you just like that."

---

"...legs wide, face forward, and lean back as far as you can. remember, tug-o-war is about intelligence and not just strength."

jungwon's words rang in your ear as you forced all your strength through your body and into the rope in your hands. your teammates' grunts of effort were nearly drowned out by the ringing in your ears. you've never done anything as exhausting as this. but, you were fighting for your life. you had no choice.

just a little more.

"pull, now!" jungwon yelled from the front and the rest of the team complied, syncing all of your movements as you pulled the other team closer to the edge.

cries of despair from the other side reached your ears and you knew you shouldn't have felt anything but remorse, but the twinge of hope in your heart was too strong to ignore. it was every man for himself. there was no time to feel sorry for one another.

that twinge of hope turned into a bigger, warmer feeling of relief as you felt the blade cut the rope in half. your team fell into a tired heap, panting and heaving from the effort.

as your team filed back into the elevator, jungwon took your hand in his and squeezed. all you could do was squeeze back weakly.

"are you okay?" you asked as you reenter the dormitory, hand still held tightly in jungwon's.

"yeah," jungwon replied. "but, for a moment i thought we were gonna die."

you gave jungwon a long, hard look. he looked up from the floor and into your eyes.

"all i could think of was...'i have to keep ______ alive.'"

you felt tears well up in your eyes, but you blinked them away.

"you're real funny, jungwon," you said as you lightly punched his arm.

"you're the only person i know in here," jungwon continued. "i want you to survive."

"what about yourself?" you asked.

jungwon just smiled.

---

"you'll be my partner, right?" jungwon asked as the instructions were dealt. you immediately nod, intertwining your fingers with his.

the game setup brought a wave of nostalgia over you. the village looked exactly like the place you grew up in. it gripped at your heart almost painfully.

however, nothing could compare to the stab of pain that came when you heard the full mechanics of the game.

the ringing in your ears came back. your whole body seemed to have turned into jelly. jungwon had to prop you up to keep you from falling to your knees.

"let's just talk for a bit," jungwon suggested after he had calmed you down. "you can tell me about your family and your hobbies and places you want to go to."

you felt a lump in your throat as you thought about your family.

"i don't wanna talk about my family," you had replied as the two of you settled on the front steps of one of the fake houses.

"hobbies, then?" jungwon asked, gripping at your hand.

"that's boring."

"then, tell me where you wanna go," jungwon insisted. "where would you travel if you won all that money?"

there was a long pause.

"i wanna go to jeju," you had whispered. you turned to jungwon, eyes misty.

"let's go to jeju together."

and once again, jungwon had only smiled.

---

20 minutes had already passed. 20 minutes of talking and pouring your heart out to jungwon and him doing the same to you. it was 20 minutes of just you and him. him and you. two people lost in their own world.

this past week was the most trying week of your life, but all that was made bearable because of jungwon. looking at him now, in the present, you realize just how much you've grown attached to him.

you know it's strange. you barely knew each other before all this, but the bond you build through numerous life and death situations is different. for some reason, time doesn't matter.

you wonder if he feels the same way, too.

"hey," jungwon calls out. he takes his hand out of yours before gently cradling your face against his palms. he turns you so you can face him.

"we don't have much time left," jungwon says quietly. you shake your head, tears springing up in your eyes once again.

"i can't play," you resist, shaking your head and holding onto jungwon's wrists.

"______, if we don't play, both of us will die," jungwon says through gritted teeth. his eyes are wide with fear, mirroring you. you look away as you break down, the tears finally spilling over.

"w-what game are we gonna play?" you say through your tears. jungwon stands up and offers his hand to you. you take it hesitantly, letting him pull you up.

"what if...," jungwon begins, eyes flitting to the side as he thinks of what to play.

"we see who can throw the marble closest to the wall?" jungwon finishes, pointing at the wall next to the steps you were just sitting on.

"oh," is all you can say at this point, too numb to think of anything else.

"come on, you go first," jungwon suggests, nudging the bag of marbles in your hand. "winner gets to take all the other's marbles."

a heavy feeling settles in your chest as you face the wall. you begrudgingly take a marble out of the bag, rolling it between your fingers for a few seconds.

"jungwon," you begin.

"hm?"

"i'll see you in jeju, okay?"

jungwon laughs, reaching up to pinch your cheek.

"okay."

you take a deep breath before throwing the marble towards the wall. you throw a little too hard and it bounces off the concrete and rolls away. your heart sinks as you watch your marble come to a stop a few inches away from your target.

"that's not bad," jungwon encourages. he gives you a big smile before taking out a marble of his own.

a few moments pass with jungwon staring forward at the wall, as if lost in thought. you watch him worriedly, aware of the time that's passing. you're about to say something but then, jungwon throws.

or more appropriately, jungwon drops the marble, barely putting any power in his arm.

you look on, horrified, as jungwon's marble lands near his feet, its shiny exterior taunting you.

"you asshole," you mutter. you shove jungwon away from you, anger and fear bubbling up inside you. he drops his bag of marbles, some of it spilling out and rolling away.

"why did you do that?!" you ask through tears as you hit jungwon on the chest repeatedly. jungwon grabs at your wrists to stop you, but you struggle against his grip.

"throw it again! throw it like you mean it, jungwon!" you yell, fighting against him as he tries to keep you at arms' length.

"i meant it, ______," jungwon says quietly. "i meant it when i said i have to keep you alive."

"you're so full of shit, yang jungwon!" you nearly scream. "take another throw!"

"even if i did, i'd still lose on purpose for you! i'd lose on purpose again and again just to see you live!" jungwon bellows, shaking you violently.

you stop struggling, going limp in jungwon's arms as he pulls you close to him.

"win for the both of us, okay?" jungwon whispers in your ear. you sob against his shoulder as you cling onto him, fingers gripping at his clothes as you try to keep him close.

"i'll see you in jeju," jungwon says.