Sacrifice (Junho x Reader) | Squid game

Chapter 9

I hesitantly made my way inside. "Why did you bring me here?" I asked. "Trust me, you don't want to sleep at a homeless shelter" he said. "Speaking from experience?" I asked. "Something like that" he answered. Suddenly my stomach started growling. He raised his eyebrows. "Are you hungry?" he asked. I crossed my arms. "No" I said. My stomach growled again. I let out a sigh. "Ok maybe" I answered. He made his way to the kitchen before starting to cook something.

"You don't have to make me anything" I said. "It's fine, I'm actually hungry too" he answered. I started looking around the room. His interior was very simple. He had a few family pictures on the wall but that was all. "Is this your brother?" I asked as I picked up a framed picture. He looked over at me and examined the picture from afar. "Yeah" he said. "Are you guys close?" I asked. "We used to be" he said.

"Before he disappeared" he added.

"Disappeared?" I asked. He let out a sigh. "One day, my brother went out and didn't come back. His body was never found. He was never determined dead. He just.. disappeared" he said. I tried to let his words sink in. Suddenly my eyes widened. "That's why you joined the game!" I exclaimed.

"You thought your brother would be there didn't you?" I asked. He stayed quiet and turned the stove off. He walked up to me and handed me a plate of food. "Eat up" he said. "Wow you can actually cook" I said amazed as I looked at the food in front of me. "Where did you learn how to cook?" I asked.  He sat across from me and let out sigh. "Look, I would appreciate it if you wouldn't ask so many questions" he said. I took a bite from the food. "Why?" I asked. He ignored my question and proceeded to eat.

"Look.. Junho" I said. "If that's your name" I added. "It is" he said. "I just wanted your help at the police station. I know you were at that game as well. At first I thought you might be Dongyeon's twin brother, but you have the exact same cut on your left cheek" I said. He reached for his face and placed his hand on his cut. He looked away.

"Y/n" he suddenly said. I looked at him surprised. "So you remember me" I said. "You made me feel like I was insane. I told you about my brother and you just acted like none of it ever happened" I said. "I'm sorry" he said. "I'm sorry about your brother" he added, breaking eye contact.

I looked up at him. "Tell me why you acted like you didn't know what I was talking about" I said. "I don't have evidence or proof. Not to mention.. you were right" he said. "Huh?" I asked. "I was there to look for my brother. Statistically speaking, the chances of him still being alive are extremely small" he said. "He wasn't among the players. I figured he might have been killed in an earlier game. Who knows how long this game has been going on" he said.

"I work for the police. I can't attend places to gather information unless I'm ordered to do so. If I admitted to have attended the game, I would have gotten in trouble and I wouldn't get any closer to solving the disappearance of my brother" he said. "I'm sorry for my behavior" he added.

I continued to eat. I didn't respond to him. I was mad. Mad at his selfishness, but at the same time, I understood his perspective. "I'm still upset" I said. "You don't have to forgive me" he said. I remained silent and finished my food.

"So what's your plan now?" I asked. He pulled a card out of his pocket. "I got it today" he said as he placed it on the table. "What is this?" I asked.  "A new invitation to join the game" he said. I looked at him in shock. "You're not going to join that crazy game again are you?" I asked. "I need answers" he said. "Is it that important that you're willing to risk your life for it?" I asked. He stayed quiet. "My brother meant everything to me" he eventually said. "I need to find out who's behind this twisted game" he added.

We stayed quiet for a while, just looking around the room. "I can help you" I eventually said. He gave me a puzzled look. "How?" he asked. "I will rejoin the game with you" I said. "Why would you do that?" he asked surprised. "You're the one who got everyone to stop" he pointed out. "I realised that I was stupid. Stupid to leave the game. I made a promise to my brother and I will keep it" I said. "I will help you gather evidence and proof so we can show it to the police" I added.

"You sound confident that you will make it out alive" he said. "Cause I will" I said. "I will walk away with that prize money and make an end to the game" I said. "You do realise that the police could confiscate the money" he said. "That's where you come in handy" I said. He raised his eyebrows. "And why would I help you?" he asked.

"Cause I will help you gather evidence and proof so we can make an end to the game and find out what happened to your brother" I said.

"You know that in order for you to actually win the prize money, you need to be the last man standing" he said. "So?" I asked. "Oh" I suddenly realised. "One of us will-" he started but I cut him off. "It doesn't have to be that way" I said.

"We can figure it out" I added.