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Obviously inspired by this amazing edit by popmapin.
Set when Ji Hoon was three years old, four years after they first met.
NSFW. 9,400 words.
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As the fourth richest country in the world, Goryeo was really concerned with contributing to art productions and Goryeo art promotion, in a national and international scale.
The previous year, a production house appealed for the royal funding to produce a drama, titled Squid Game.
When Lee Gon was tired reading his ministers' reports and comparing it with his annual progress plan, he happened to see the script of the drama on his desk, and reached to read it.
He loved it very much, and decided to fund the drama through the Art and Culture Ministry.
Lee Gon agreed with the script. Life could feel like the squid game sometimes, with the same cruel games that could result in getting hurt or dying. Probably it's only on a mild level for the people of Goryeo, thanks to the law, but earning a living could be such a cut-throat activity for the people who lived outside of Goryeo.
Tae Eul was very curious with the drama as it's been published as a work funded by the King and was completely aghast to see how violent it was a year later, when the drama aired on Netflix.
"What? Violence sells. As long as it's fiction, it's alright. Besides, can you deny that for some people earning money is that hard? This show will be globally loved, mark my words. People will fall for the cast, therefore for Goryeo. We will get more tourists and income out of one drama."
Tae Eul admitted the show had realistic points, especially the moral dilemma. But she didn't expect it would be such a global hit. And yet, it did.
Lee Gon was so proud with its achievements that he invited all the cast to the palace and had lunch with them.
He was even willing to take a selfie with Lee Jung Jae and let him posted that on his Instagram.
Squid Game became a cultural phenomenon. At that year's LACMA Art + Film Gala in Los Angeles, all the main cast of Squid Game was invited.
Lee Gon had always been invited to the event since the first year it began. Sometimes he attended, yet the Ministers of Art and Culture of Goryeo attended the event more often.
However since that year Squid Game became very famous, he wished to attend it to show off how good the dramas created in his country were. Practically he attended just to feel smug, but he paid for all the Squid Game's cast donations. For him and Tae Eul as well.
The gala was a charity event after all, and he made Secretary Kim understood that they must shock the committee with their donation amount that year.
