Work Text:
Hwang In-ho liked to think he wasn't obsessed. But at the end of the day, the thought passed and he was left staring at the monitors following Seong Gi-hun. Gi-hun wasn't anything special. He was old, kind of plump with long hair that got himself into debt. His wife left him, taking their daughter with her and her new lover that simply did a better job at being a father than he did. Only his mother stayed, who spent days frowning thinking about her son fucking up his life even more. When Seong Gi-hun got into the games, not one vip thought he would win. No one was betting on him, just for him to succeed.
In-ho loved to make himself believe that this fact alone made him interested in him. He knew better.
Seong Gi-hun was a piece of art, and who was Hwang in-ho to not admire him?
At some point of the games, he spent hours watching him, looking into him winning and winning, where everyone around him was dying but he still got that spark in him that hasn't left. It did leave, when he came back after receiving the prize and found his mother dead. Now he was alone, unwanted by anyone else, isolating himself, wishing to stop the games.
He was a fool, spending years watching after him made In-ho understand that. He had the money, no debt left, had the chance to follow his daughter to the United states, and instead decided to stay in Korea, trying to find the recruiter.
He was a good worker, truly a shame he died.
When Gi-hun said he wanted to be in the games, he didn't think twice. In-ho simply let him, knowing it was a ploy.
Going into the games as Young-il and getting to know Gi-hun in first person was better than he thought. But after that long time of finding every piece of information about the man, he knew there was something more to it.
He didn't like how Gi-hun from a normal silhouette became a scrawny, depressed man. It's like he got drained off life. He wanted to just take him out and feed him, let him grow out his hair to the nice length he had before, with those rosy cheeks on his tan face.
When Gi-hun told him about the rebellion, and later got into it, he made sure to let all of the guards know to not let him get hurt. If anything got onto the previously red haired man, he would kill them himself. When Gi-hun chose Jung-bae instead of him at some point of their journey, In-ho... couldn't help but get jealous. He knew, they were best friends since years, he knew everything about him, but deep inside of him, he hoped he might have picked him. He glared at the back of their hands when they ran and got into his own plan. Killing Jung-bae was the easy part, looking into Gi-hun's tearful eyes was harder.
He particularly hated how small and quiet he became later on, he was the reason of course, but...deeply inside, he wished for the old Gi-hun to come back. The bubbly, acting like a teenager, long haired Gi-hun. It was wrong of him, but a man can simply wish.
Then, 222 gave birth. It wasn't surprising that she died later, even though it was because of her broken ankle, but In-ho was shocked that the man just took the baby with him and cared for it. But should he be? Seong Gi-hun was a selfless idiot, and would definitely not leave the baby alone, especially when he felt guilty for it's mother's death after the grandma begged him to take care of them both.
Before the last game, In-ho decided it was enough. He invited him to have a talk. He gave him a dagger and told him to kill the disgusting, greedy pigs that were sleeping in the other room. After revealing himself to be Young-il, he wasn't scared for Gi-hun to stab him. He wouldn't. He was sure of it. He thought, that perhaps for the child, Gi-hun would kill them. They would win and get home safely. But of course he didn't. That was the last straw for his blossomed feelings, and when he went to sleep with the child beside him, he gave the order to take them into one of the bedrooms. He was scared. For the first time since the last games with Gi-hun, when he was forced to shoot his own brother and let him fall into the ocean. He didn't want him to die. And they surely would off him. They had him in their sights to kill, since he was one of the only ones who voted to stop the game.
The child too was definitely the first on their 'to go' list
He looked into the cameras, where the guards were carrying them both in their arms. His cold eyes shined with affection, ignoring the other sleeping contestants.