squid game x reader S2 & S3

S3 part 9

Soon, the guards began handing out foods. The atmosphere was heavy, but quiet. No one had the energy to speak, let alone fight over meals anymore.

Geum-ja collected both you and Jun-hee's food and carefully made her way back. She found you and Jun-hee's sitting together, the baby cradled in your arm as Jun-hee leaned back, eyes barely open.

Without a word, Geum-ja sat down on the bed the food in each of your laps, like a mother serving her own daughters.

"You two should eat," she said softly, brushing a strand of hair from Jun-hee's forehead before sitting down beside you.

You looked down at the food in your lap, two boiled potato's and a water bottle.

Your stomach turned.

You didn't have the appetite. Not after everything that happened. But you will eat, just for Geum-ja and Hyun-jun's sake. You almost cried thinking of your brother but held it and slowly ate the food.

Suddenly Jun-hee stopped eating her food, her voice barely audible. "I'm sorry," she mumbled, her voice slurred with exhaustion and guilt. "Its all because of me..."

you turned to her, already knowing what she meant.

Yong-sik. Geum-ja's son.

Geum-ja didn't hesitate.

"Don't ever think that," she said firmly, her voice cutting through the stillness like thread pulling everything together. "From now on, this baby is your only concern. Don't think of anything else. Just you and your child, okay?"

Jun-hee didn't response right away, tears streaming down her face. She nodded, sniffling and Geum-ja smiled weakly.

You shifted the baby gently in your arm and reached out, resting a hand on her back. A soft, steady pat, no words, just presence.

Eventually, the three of you settled onto your beds. Jun-hee fell asleep quickly, her exhaustion over taking her as she curled protectively around her baby.

But you couldn't sleep.

Your eyes stayed open, staring at the ceiling, at the shadow moving on the wall, at nothing. The hum of the room filled your ears. Soft breathing, distant murmurs, the occasional coughs.

Then you noticed Geum-ja.

She had slipped out of her bed and was now sitting quietly next to Gi-hun, who was still handcuffed to his. He hadn't moved since the last game. His eyes were open but distant. Lost in some place far from this room.

Geum-ja sat beside him without saying anything at first. Just her presence, still and patient.

"Are you still blaming yourself for everything that happened?" Geum-ja asked, her voice quiet but firm.

Gi-hun finally looked at her. Just for a second before he looked back down at the floor.

Geum-ja sighed, not in frustration, but In pain. In understanding.

"No matter how you look at it," she continued, "life's just unfair. Bad people do bad things, but blame others and Still get to sleep at night. Live peaceful, even.

Her voice cracked as she added. Good people... Good people beat themselves up for the smallest things. My yong-sik was just like that."

You felt it. The sadness in her voice. Heavy, raw, honest.

It settled in your chest like a stone, and you  found yourself blinking back tears, even though you weren't the one she was talking to.

Geum-ja continued speaking, her voice a soft thread in the dark.

She began talking about yong-sik again. Her words blurred together, and you turned to your side, facing away, squeezing your eyes shut.

You didn't want to hear anymore.

It hurt to much.

But then, she said something that made your eyes snap open.

"Sir. Please," she whispered, her voice barely audible. "Will you help Y/n, Jun-hee and her baby?"

Your breath caught.

What?

You blinked in the dim light, heart suddenly pounding. What was she saying? Why would she ask that?

You turned your head slightly, just enough to see her shifting closer to Gi-hun, her body turned towards him.

Gi-hun finally looked at her, startled. He blinked slowly, clearly not expecting that. Then he looked down and let out a long, tired sigh.

He didn't answer right away.

"I still believe," geum-ja said softly, her voice steady. "That you came here to save us all."

There was a long pause before Gi-hun finally replied, his voice barely audible.

I...am not that kind of person."

He looked down, shame and weariness pressed deep into every word.

"I don't know if I ended because I lived a wrong life," Geum-ja continued. Or if its because of the awful people you said were upstairs. "But that baby..." She trailed off. "Hasn't done anything wrong. Its not her fault she was born into this hell hole."

You sighed, eyes trailing to Jun-hee and her baby.

Then Geum-ja spoke again, each word cutting deeper than the last.

"Sir, please. Help them survive. Y/n has a sick brother at the hospital."

You froze.

Your eyes widened in the dark. You haven't told anyone about that. Not even Hyun-ju. Only her. It was a passing moment. A quiet conversion days ago. When you thought you were both going to die anyway.

But she remembered.

"They don't have anyone else," Geum-ja continued, her voice trembling now. "And if Y/n dies...her brother dies too."

She turned to Gi-hun, her eyes filled with a quiet, desperate hope.

"Instead of me and my son, help them instead."

He didn't speak, kept his eyes on the floor.

You couldn't hold it anymore.

The tears came fast, hot, sudden, and uncontrollable. A sharp, broken sob slipped from your throats before you could stop. And thankfully they didn't hear.

You turned your head into the pillow, trying to muffle the sounds. Everything has been that had building inside you. Fear, pain, guilt, grief, and now Geum-ja's words crashed over you like a storm to big to outrun.

For once, it wasn't about surviving the game.

It was just about surviving the feeling.