Blood and Betrayal

---

The silence between them was like glass—fragile, tense, and on the verge of shattering.

The dimly lit hideout, hidden behind a false wall in the game’s underbelly, offered little comfort. Cracked monitors flickered on a desk, casting pale light over the two men who hadn’t spoken since the kiss that had nearly broken them both.

Gi-hun leaned against the wall, arms crossed, eyes narrowed on In-ho. “Start talking.”

In-ho didn’t meet his gaze. Instead, he adjusted the black gloves on his hands—hands that had killed for the VIPs, hands that had touched Gi-hun like he was sacred and sinful all at once.

“They have my brother,” In-ho said finally, his voice low, almost hollow. “That’s why I never left. Why I had to become Front Man.”

Gi-hun stiffened. “The cop? The one who tried to bring the games down?”

In-ho nodded. “He didn’t die. They faked it. Took him. Locked him away. Said if I didn’t run the games… he’d die for real.”

Gi-hun’s stomach twisted. Everything made sense now—the coldness, the silence, the half-truths. The guilt in In-ho’s eyes had never been about Gi-hun alone.

“You let hundreds die because of him?” Gi-hun spat, stepping forward. “And me? What was I to you? Just another pawn?”

“No,” In-ho snapped, finally looking up. His voice cracked like thunder. “You were the only one I didn’t want to lose.”

The weight of the words hit like a punch. Gi-hun's heart faltered—because he believed him.

“You kissed me before you died,” Gi-hun murmured. “Then you came back to life just to break me again.”

“I died that day,” In-ho said, voice soft. “Everything that mattered did. You... you brought it back.”

The tension thickened until the silence screamed.

But the moment shattered as the door behind them exploded open.

BANG!

The wall burst inward, sending debris flying. Black-suited guards stormed the room—guns raised, no hesitation.

Gi-hun reacted on instinct, diving for cover behind the console. In-ho grabbed a hidden weapon from the floor—a sleek pistol, matte black, engraved with the Squid Game triangle.

“I told you they’d track me,” In-ho growled. “They never let deserters go.”

Gi-hun fired blindly, grazing a guard’s leg. “You think I care now? Let them come.”

The room erupted in gunfire and shouts. Sparks flew from shattered monitors. Gi-hun and In-ho fought back to back, breathing hard, moving like a synchronized storm.

But they were outnumbered.

A bullet grazed Gi-hun’s shoulder. He cried out but didn’t fall. In-ho spun, shielding him with his body. “Get to the exit tunnel!”

“We both go,” Gi-hun snapped.

“No,” In-ho said, locking eyes with him. “If I don’t stop them here, they’ll follow us. They’ll never stop. Not until we’re both dead—or worse.”

“In-ho, no—”

But In-ho did the unthinkable. He kissed him. Rough. Desperate. Like goodbye.

“I love you,” he breathed, then shoved Gi-hun through a hidden door behind a collapsed pillar.

It slammed shut, locking from the outside.

Gi-hun screamed and pounded on the steel. “In-ho! OPEN IT!”

Inside, the gunfire crescendoed. A flash of light.

Then silence.

---

Gi-hun stumbled into the underground escape tunnel, half-running, half-falling. His hands trembled, blood soaking his clothes.

He didn’t know if In-ho was alive.

He didn’t know if he could ever forgive him for lying.

All he knew was that something inside him had cracked wide open—something raw, terrifying, and too powerful to contain.

He wanted him back.

Not just alive. Not just safe.

He wanted all of him.

Gi-hun emerged into the cold night air, breathing like he’d just been reborn through fire. The city glittered far in the distance—mocking him.

Somewhere, the VIPs were watching.

Somewhere, In-ho was bleeding, or worse.

Gi-hun clenched his fists, teeth grinding. “I’m coming back. And I’m ending this. All of it.”

His phone buzzed. No number. Just a single text.

"Round Two begins soon. We want our king back."

His blood ran cold.

Was In-ho captured again? Were they forcing him to play? Or had he become something else… something worse?

Gi-hun’s pulse raced. One thing was certain.

This game wasn’t over. Not by a long shot.

---

Author's Note:

Hey loves! Can you feel the chaos brewing? In-ho’s fate is hanging by a thread and Gi-hun’s finally stepping into his power. What do you think happens next? Drop your wildest theories—I’m reading every single one!

***Download NovelToon to enjoy a better reading experience!***