This is a reader insert of the Netflix KDrama Squid Game. I have no ownership to the plot line or characters mentioned in this story— all credit to the rightful creators of the show.
This story will contain triggering topics; mainly gore, blood, murder, death, etc. Read with caution if you're sensitive to the topics mentioned.
This is more of a Reader Insert rather than a Various x Reader, but there are lovely little moments scattered throughout the story that include basically all of the main characters, and you're able to interpret them however you wish!
Key:
[G/N] — Niece's Name (G = Girl)
[B/N] — Nephew's Name (B = Boy)
[F/N] — Friend's Name
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"Don't give me such a bullshit excuse of you forgetting. Even a dumbass broad like you could recall something so practical."
An animalistic snarl was heard from the seething male who had a chunk of your hair firmly grasped within his hand. He then harshly slammed the back of your head into the wall behind you, causing you to groan in pain with your eyes squeezed shut. Your lips quivered as you let out a few pathetic whimpers, just silently wishing for his torture to end.
"Listen here, [Name]," he spat out your name with venom dripping off of his tongue, but you were hardly able to process his words thoroughly due to your head practically spinning from the throbbing pain on your scalp. "I've been patient with you long enough. If you don't have my money in two weeks, I'll kill you. Not only that, but your good-for-nothing nephew will be buried alongside you and your precious, little niece will sell for a good price to help repay some of your debt."
The threat of your niece and nephew had promptly forced you out of your weakened state and you instantly snapped your eyes open, widening them to give the livid male a pleading look. "N-No! Wait, just please extend the deadline! I-I.. I can't possibly conjure up that much money in such a short amount of—!"
A stinging slap resounded through the walls of the restroom, instantly silencing you and making you whimper in agony at the now red and tender mark left on your cheek. The fistful of your hair that was clutched by his hand was released, resulting in you sliding onto the floor in turmoil and defeat.
"Two weeks," the man repeated with a warning tone before he spat some saliva onto the ground beside you with a hateful sneer. He swiftly turned on his heel and stalked away, the sound of his footsteps retreating gradually faded away until you heard the restroom door slam shut behind him.
You brought your hand to gently soothe her aching cheek. Your eyes were now shut again and your mouth was slightly ajar, but hardly any audible sounds were emitted as you quietly sobbed on the disgusting, bathroom floor of your workplace.
I literally asked for this. I'm so pathetic.
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"Auntie?! Is that you?!"
You could feel your heart flutter at the adorable voice you'd come to adore and you smiled softly as you shut the front door of your run-down abode. "Yes, it's me. I'm home, [G/N]."
The little girl instantly sprinted into the living area after your confirmation, her lips stretched into a wide smile before she engulfed you in a rather tight squeeze. You returned the embrace by wrapping your arms around your niece. "Where's [B/N]?"
She shrugged, untangling herself from you. "I think hanging out with his friends."
You simply arched one of your eyebrows. "Why did he leave you here alone? Why didn't you go with them?"
"I don't like his friends. They're bullies."
"I see." You took your shoes and coat off, placing them in their designated areas before turning back to regard your ten-year-old niece. "Well, how was school?"
The girl only shrugged again, walking into the small kitchen area. "It's okay, I guess, but I wish it was better," she quietly muttered. "Everyone's always so mean to me about my clothes and never having any good food for lunch," she pouted, gesturing towards her ragged clothing with holes and stains that had obviously accumulated during her time of playing outside for hours on end.
You frowned, following her into the kitchen and beginning to scavenge around the cabinets for supplies in order to assemble dinner. "I'm sorry, [G/N]. I promise that we'll be living good very soon and no one will ever bother you again," you sent the little girl a reassuring grin. "Has [F/N] stopped over?"
Your niece shook her head. "Uh, not that I know of, but maybe [B/N] heard from her. He got off school earlier than I did."
You placed your hands on her hips while sending an expectant gaze towards your niece. "Don't tell me he's skipped school again." Once more, [G/N] simply shrugged her shoulders, which is definitely her go-to move to indicate her cluelessness. You sighed with slight frustration. "What am I going to do with him?"
About an hour later, the two of you had situated dinner and sat down at the table, making sure to save a plate for your nephew. You noticed that [G/N] was staring curiously at her as you took a bite of your food. You quirked an eyebrow. "Yes?"
"You're in some kind of trouble, aren't you?"
You immediately saw white as you almost choked on your food, letting out a strangled cough. You grabbed a napkin and quickly covered your mouth with it, staring bug-eyed at your niece. When you were positive that you weren't dying from the food being lodged within your throat, you finally spoke with a strained smile. "Of course not! I'm perfectly fine. Where in the world did you get that idea?"
[G/N] frowned, picking at her meal. "That hand print on your cheek," she pointed out, making you instinctively raise your hand to cover the mark on your cheek. "It's okay, Auntie. You can tell me when you're in trouble. Does it involve money?"
For a moment that felt like eternity, you stayed silent and glared down at your lap. The last thing you'd ever wish is for your niece to be worrying about your financial status, but you knew that it was bound to come eventually. After all, [G/N] is a little mature for her age. Having to grow up so quickly was something that you tried helping her avoid and instead opted to encourage her to enjoy her childhood.
"Okay, yes. I'm in a little bit of trouble, but I promise that there's nothing to worry over." You hoped that your smile was believable. "This is the only way I'm going to be able to give us a proper life."
"We're okay, though." [G/N] tilted her head innocently. "We don't need money.. well, not desperately," she mumbled, looking away. "I'm okay with my clothes and we have food on the table. You don't need to do any of that extra stuff."
Before you were able to respond, the front door had swung open and the two of you instantly fixated your attention towards the entrance. Your nephew then slammed the door shut so harshly that the frame rattled. The oldest sibling quickly jumped to her feet and rushed to the battered and bruised boy.
"Oh my God, [B/N]! What happened?! you worriedly gushed, scanning your seventeen-year old nephew and winced everytime you saw a bump, scrape, or bruise on his body. After having analyzed his rough form, you huffed. "Please don't tell me you're fighting again!"
[B/N] silenced your concerned complaints by stuffing some money into your hands, taking you aback. He then lowered his voice, almost into a hushed whisper after he ensured that your niece wasn't listening in. "Buy [G/N] some new clothes with this. I heard she was getting bullied for those ones at school."
"How.. how did you get this?" You wondered out loud, although you already knew how he garnered it. You scanned the money as if it was some extraterrestrial object.
He simply tusked, throwing his coat off and revealing more of his purple and black bruises that decorated his arms. They didn't appear to bother him at all, as if he was wearing them like they were badges of honor. Once he kicked off his shoes, he finally made eye contact you. "I bet I could beat up some wannabe thugs and I did, that's all. [G/N] needs new clothes, so you should get her some. That money is for her clothes only," he glared. "Don't you dare and try any funny shit, [Name]. I'm serious."
[B/N] then walked away without allowing you to respond, sitting next to his younger sibling and immediately digging into his meal. You continued to stare at the money with pure bewilderment, gnawing on her bottom lip. With an internal sigh, you stuffed the cash into your pocket and frowned, returning to the table to finish the rest of your dinner.
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The next day rolled around and you were stressed beyond belief at your job as a waitesss in a crummy and rundown restaurant. Serving snobby and hateful people who leave little to no tips obviously wasn't your cup of tea, but that was the only place that hired you and you didn't wish to lose the only job that you'd managed to acquire during desperate times. Even if the pay barely allowed you to scrape by— it's better than nothing.
When your shift had finally come to an end, you stood outside and lit a cigarette, placing the stick inbetween your lips and inhaling. You watched as people strolled by, giving your looks of judgement and you would only glare back with a scoff in response.
Once you finished smoking your cigarette, your flicked it onto the sidewalk and stepped on it to ensure that it was fully extinguished. Your lips tugged downwards as you dug into your pocket and pulled out the money your nephew had given you the day prior. You stared at it, pondering before coming to a conclusion. "I suppose I can go to the shop, now," you mumbled to yourself, stuffing it back into your pocket with a small sigh. "This won't even cover a small fraction of my debt anyways."
You began your walk towards the subway station with paranoia filling your every nerve as you glanced around your surroundings anxiously, in fear of coming across any of the numerous people you owed tremendous amounts of money to. You scratched the back of her head, letting an irritated exhale escape past your lips.
When you finally made it to the train station, you glared harshly at nothing after you realized you were a second too late and the train had already left the station. "Fuck," she you groaned, annoyed beyond belief as you took a begrudging seat on one of the benches to await for the next one. Folding your arms over your chest, she leaned your head back and shut your eyes, ignoring the feeling of someone sitting down right next to you and invading your personal space.
"Hello, miss-"
"Don't," you instantly cut off the male voice before he was even able to finished his sentence, "talk to me."
"-would you like to play a game with me?"
"Now what the hell did I just say?" You opened your eyes and tilted your head to the side, sending a spiteful glower to the person beside you before you did a double take at his appearance.
Wait- why's he attractive?
Sitting beside you was an older male dressed in a suit, looking very proper and eloquent and it instantly made you feel insecure about your own work attire. You lifted your head up fully and eyed him cautiously, scooting down until there was no bench left to sit and a comfortable distance between the two of you. You also took note of the briefcase situated inbetween the two of you, but refrained from asking about it, simply assuming that he must be some sort of salesperson.
"I don't have any money," you said, quite harshly. "So you don't have to waste your time explaining something that I won't end up buying."
The man only smirked, earning himself another wary look from you. He gestured towards the briefcase before slowly opening it, and you get your curiosity get the better of you as you peeked at its contents.
"I assume you've heard of Ddakji, yes?"
You owlishly blinked, staring at the cash for the longest time before slowly bringing your gaze back to the man seated beside you. You then narrowed her eyes, continuing to keep your guard up. "You want me to play Ddajki with you?" After he nodded, she scoffed, as if it was the single most idiotic thing you'd ever heard. "For?"
"Each time you win, I owe you one-hundred-thousand won." Your eyes widened at the revelation and looked at him in disbelief. "And when I win, you owe me one-hundred-thousand won."
"Oh," you let out a dry chuckle, knowing that the deal seemed too good to genuinely be true. "Yeah, I don't have any money— like I already said. So, no."
"You can pay with your face." You scrunched your eyebrows in a perplexing manner, internally questioning if the words that just left his mouth were real.
"Fuck you," you then spat. "You go pay with your face."
The man chuckled, the corners of his eyes crinkling with amusement. "I mean each time I win, you don't have to give me money and I'll slap your face as payment." He analyzed your cheek, quirking an eyebrow when he noticed the fading red mark. "Seems like you're no stranger to that."
Oh, now he was starting to get on your last nerve.
"Is your job to just bug the shit out of people or what?" You rolled your eyes as you stood to your feet and dusted off your uniform. "Look, I don't car. I don't want to play. I have someplace I need to be. Don't bother me again or I might have to call the police and say you've been stalking me."
"[Surname] [Name]." The man stood up as well, towering over your and giving you a challenging stare. "You're over 275,000,00 won in debt from both loan sharks and the bank. You're currently the guardian of your niece and nephew, [G/N] and [B/N], since their mother died in a tragic accident several years ago, and both of your parents are deceased. You have no relations to either side of your family and you're the sole breadwinner of your family of three, currently working at a small diner downtown."
You gaped and stared wide-eyed at the male, processing everything that he had just said. When you finally understood that the words he'd uttered had been reality, your eyes narrowed sharply. "You really have been stalking me, oh my fuck. You creep!"
His playful smirk returned to his lips and he reached down to pick up the red and blue ddajki tiles, holding them up for your choosing. "You can pick the color and go first," he persuaded.
Your glaring expression didn't falter for the longest time, before you finally exhaled and gave in. You snatched the blue tile from his hand and beckoned for him to lay his paper down. "Let's just fucking get this over with."