Squid Games: The Rematch

Ring Around The Rosie

Gi-hun looked around the area with the boxed and soldiers.

"So...what exactly do I do?" he asked one of the soldiers.

"Here," one of them said, sliding a black box with a pink ribbon towards him. "Some of these bodies need to be incinerated. Just place the box inside the incinerator."

Gi-hun took the box and slid it over to the nearest incinerator. But before he put it inside, morbid curiosity got the better of him. And he soon found himself opening the lid to peer inside...

Inside he saw the same young athletic girl from the first game. Half of her face had been blown off by the gunshot. Gi-hun nearly gagged as he slowly put the lid back on. I quickly shoved the box inside and looked away. Out of the corner of his eye though, he could see some other soldiers moving the same boxes, but it didn't look like they were going to incinerate them...

"Hey," he asked one of the triangle soldiers.

The soldier stopped pushing the box and looked at him. "Do you need something?"

"Where are the other boxes going? They aren't being incinerated."

"That's none of your concern. Perhaps you'll find out when you reach your next rank."

Gi-hun stared at the soldier as they turned around and started pushing the box again.

"Soldier 158!" a voice called behind him. "Your orders are to incinerate the deceased players. I suggest getting to work."

Gi-hun turned around quickly to see another soldier. He sighed and got back to work, pushing boxes filled with the dead and burning them for hours. Finally, he was relieved of his duties and went back to his room.

He stared at the ceiling for a long time. There was a vent near the back that lead to other places around the area. Gi-hun thought for a moment before moving his bed closer to the vent to get a better look. It looked like he could fit through okay. He was careful not to make too much noise and he climbed inside. He crawled and crawled until he heard several voiced below. He peered down through another vent to see the players in their room. Gi-hun watched them for a moment. Until his eyes fell on a specific man. His hair was short, but his face... Gi-hun knew his face.

He was Hwang Jun-ho. The police officer that had been shot. Gi-hun was stunned to see him alive. And yet very relieved.

Maybe if I could get his attention and trust... we can take this horrible Squid Game to an end, Gi-hun thought.

He nearly jumped and banged on the vent when he heard the announcer.

"Attention all players, the next game will begin in just 12 hours. Please take this time to rest and relax. We will have your meals delivered to you as soon as possible."

Gi-hun wasted no time crawling back to his room. He couldn't get caught sneaking around. And he needed to be watching the next game soon. He slowly closed the vent once he made his way back to his room and sat on his bed.

"I wonder what the next game will be?" he wondered. "I just hope Hwang Jun-ho is alive by the end of it..."

The hours went by slowly. At some point, Gi-hun ended up falling asleep. Until he was abruptly woken up by an announcement.

"Attention all soldiers, please head outside your rooms for headcount. The next game is about to begin."

Gi-hun slowly got out of bed and put on his mask. He walked outside his room where all the other soldiers were waiting. After a few minutes, the intercom came on again.

"Headcount is complete. Please head to your next location in the playroom area."

Gi-hun silently followed the other soldiers in a single file line until they reached a huge room that was brightly colored, and had childish themes all around. The tiles even had little animals that seemed to be drawn by children on them. The players were all there, waiting to begin the next game. Gi-gun noticed that Hwang Jun-ho was near the back, avoiding being seen.

"Attention players," the voice from the intercom announced, "this next game is Ring Around the Rosie. The rules of this game are quite simple. All players must form a ring with one another. And then recite the following:

Ring around the rosy,
A pocketful of posies.
Ashes, ashes.
We all fall down!

Once this phrase has been said, each player much sit down on one of the tiles, however of them will collapse without warning, eliminating one player. This game will last approximately 3 minutes. You may begin the game."

Gi-hun watch as the player linked hands and formed a circle. And then the music came on.

"Ring around the rosy, a pocket full of posies. Ashes ashes. We all fall down!"

All at once the players say down on the tiles. Gi-hun watched in anticipation as one of the tiles collapsed under a young boy who appeared to be in his late teens. He screamed as he fell, which was silenced within a few seconds by a cracking sound. This continued as Gi-hun observed. But when it came to the last several seconds, he couldn't bring himself to look.

"Ring around the rosy, a pocket full of posies. Ashes ashes. We all fall down."

The players sounded a lot less enthusiastic. And then there was another sound of someone screaming, which was cut off short.
Gi-hun looked up to see that Hwang Jun-ho was still there. He breathed a sigh of relief and smiled a little.

Gi-hun and the other soldiers escorted the surviving players back to their room. Gi-hun did his usual work on incinerating the bodies and went back to his room quickly. He needed to get in contact with Hwang Jun-ho somehow. And he had an idea how.

Gi-hun looked around the room a bit, and eventually found a notebook and a pen in his desk that was near his bed. He opened the notebook and began to write his note to Hwang Jun-ho:

Hwang Jun-ho,

My name is Seong Gi-hun. You might recognize me as the winner of the last Squid Game. I'm writing this to you because I need your help. I've successfully infiltrated the place as a soldier. I'm hoping to take this horrific organization down. And with your assistance as an officer, I might just have a chance. If you happen to receive this note, please find a way to communicate back with me. I could use your help.

Seong Gi-hun.

He folded the note carefully and placed it on his desk, waiting for the next opportunity to sneak back into the vents and give this note to Hwang Jun-ho...