Squid Game: Hwang In-ho | Front Man x Reader Oneshots

Willow

song inspiration: willow by taylor swift

~~~

You walked out of the subway station, cheeks stinging with pain and your arm sore from throwing the ddakji tiles over and over. Although you were exhausted, you felt lighter than air as you palmed the bundle of money in your coat pocket. You'd just had the strangest experience of your life in the subway, but at least you had some money to tide you over for a bit.

You weren't expecting the well-dressed man to approach you and offer to play a game with you. Any sane person would have brushed him off, but you desperately needed money. You'd never been rich or even middle class by any means in your life, but lately you were in deep financial trouble. The debt you'd started with was starting to accumulate into something bigger than you could handle, something that put your life in danger.

Even though you'd only earned pennies that night compared to what you owed, the man had offered you the chance to earn even more. It all seemed highly suspicious, but you couldn't help but feel inclined to participate. If there was a chance to erase your debt, you had to take it.

But what exactly did they have in store for you?

You were pulled out of your thoughts by a delicious smell, coming from a snack bar across the street, and decided to celebrate your achievements with alcohol and food. You sat at a small table by the front window and awaited your food, wishing for a moment you had a friend to talk to or celebrate with.

You weren't a very social person by any means, but you'd been feeling lonely a lot these days. That's what poverty did to you. There was no time for anything outside of making money and taking care of your basic living needs. And you barely had any family left to talk to. Your parents had passed years before, and your only sibling, your older brother, lived out of the country.

So you sat alone, silently congratulating yourself on having earned some extra money. You took a deep breath and enjoyed your food. Even though you felt lonely, you were used to it, so you tried to make the best of it.

After a while, a man sat at another small table across from you, facing you. He was sitting alone as well. You glanced at him and were immediately struck by his handsome features. You probably stared a moment too long, because he gave you a wary look. You quickly looked away, your face flushing. The alcohol must've really gotten to you.

You tried your best to ignore him, eating and drinking and scrolling on your phone. You usually didn't have the money to eat out like this, so you enjoyed the time away from home, feeling like you could ignore your problems for the time being. As you drank more, you couldn't help but steal a few glances of the man in front of you.

You were mostly discreet, but you caught his eye a couple times, causing you to blush again. You started to become a bit frustrated with yourself. Get it together, y/n, stop embarrassing yourself!

You sighed deeply and grabbed your glass to take a drink, but in your tipsy state you completely missed your mouth. The liquid poured down the front of your shirt and you gasped, reaching for a napkin, but you didn't have one.

You looked around and noticed the man staring at you, laughing. He was laughing at you. You froze, blushing, a mix of embarrassment and annoyance clouding your mind. The man stood up and grabbed a napkin, bringing it to you. As he approached you, you were finally able to get a good look at him. He was dressed in all black, his suit jacket looking more expensive than anything you'd ever owned. Why was a man dressed so nicely somewhere like this?

He held out the napkin towards you, looking you in the eye. Your face was bright red, but somehow he found it endearing and... cute. He'd noticed you glancing at him before, and had to admit he was having a hard time keeping his eyes off of you as well.