squid game oneshots

017 ali

I slowly came to consciousness, letting out a groan. That had to be just a bad dream. Yet here I was, laying on the street late at night. I just wanted to lay there; sleeping for a couple more hours sounded nice.

"Hey," I heard a familiar voice call out to me.

I sat up and looked around, searching around for the voice. My eyes fell upon the Pakistani boy I had met during the "bad dream". Guess it wasn't a dream. As I attempted to stand up, I quickly fell over. I was tied up.

"Geez," I groaned.

"Woah, are you alright," he was now behind me, untying my hands.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I sit back up and brush myself off with a sigh.

"Do you happen to know where we are?"

"Yeah, uhhhh I think we're at Daejeon."

"Oh...we are very far away from my home..."

I turned around to look at him, noticing the slightly panicked look on his face. He looked down and pulled his phone out of his pocket. A few moments went by before he looked back up at me.

"Uhm... it's dead."

"Oh, I have a portable charger in my bag. Let's go to that store over there and I'll give it to you."

He agreed and we headed to the small convenience store. The longer I was awake, the more I remembered about the games. Looking over my shoulder to the other end of the store at Ali, his actions came flooding back to me.

"Miss (L/N)! Where are you," I could barely hear him over the blaring siren.

I sat in the corner, my eyes burning from the flashing lights. I closed them tightly and buried my face in my knees, breathing heavily. This is it. It was all over here.

That's what I thought at least.

"Miss (L/N)!"

I felt a hand shake me gently but full of panic. I looked up to see Ali. His face was covered in sweat.

"I'll protect you, okay?"

My cheeks became hot thinking about it. Just in those few moments, I could tell exactly what kind of person he was. We barely knew each other but he was willing to sacrifice himself for me. I had to pay him back. But how?

He turned towards me and gave me a small smile. My face grew hotter. He continued his phone call, nodding every so often.

"Well, I better start my journey home," he said, handing me back the charger, "thank you so much."

"Why don't you stay with me tonight? I wouldn't feel right letting you walk home in the dark," I quickly blurted out, not thinking about it.

The smile on his face grew, causing butterflies in my stomach.

"If it's not too much trouble, I'd really appreciate that."

"Nah, you're more than welcome to!"

Before we left I decided to buy some snacks and drinks for the night. We then made our way to my apartment, talking the whole way there.

"We aren't so different, are we" I smiled as I unlocked my door.

He was in debt, like me. He told me about his move here and how excited he was. Despite being in a rough spot, he was still bubbly and ready to take on life. Deep down, I felt the desire to protect him. Whether it was his childlike nature or my gigantic crush on him, I don't know. I set my stuff down and took off my shoes.

"Welcome to my glamorous apartment," I said with a small chuckle.

"Wow! It's so homey!"

He looked around, patiently and politely waiting for me to tell him to sit.

"Ali, make yourself at home, please."

He nodded and sat down at the small table in the middle of the room. I studied his features as he looked around. They were so pleasing to me. I could stare at him for hours. As his eyes made their way to me, I suddenly felt an urge. Being unable to control myself, I lifted my arm towards him.

•to be continued...•