Ian Lightfoot had always been a bit different than the other kids his age. That was a given. It wasn't that he was too weird to be liked, there were always kids trying to make friends with him. He was just so awkward around others who he didn't know well, especially as he got older...and learned more about himself.
He knew there was something inside that wasn't typical of a teenager, so he started to search online what his feeling would mean for him. He was happy that there were answers and others that felt the same way as him. But, what the answers were, that's what bothered him the most. As if he needed more reasons to feel awkward and anxious around kids his age. He kept this a secret from everyone, even his older brother, Barley.
A few years passed after his discovery online, never acting on it. It wasn't until the day of his eighteenth birthday that it would all change for him.
"You're different from what I expected," she said softly.
"How so?" he asked, glancing at her.
"I don't know," she replied, searching for the right words. "You just... have this way of making people feel like they matter. Even here, in this... nightmare."
He was quiet for a moment before responding. "You matter, Y/n. Don't forget that."
OR
Y/n wakes up in the deadly Squid Game, surrounded by strangers and fighting to survive. What she doesn't know is that the mysterious Frontman is watching her every move through the cameras- and she's caught his attention.