You hear his voice before you see him. Whispered. Urgent.

“Hey… are you okay? You’re bleeding.”

Gi-hun crouches beside you, eyes scanning your face — not just for injuries, but for something deeper. Panic? Regret? Fear?

“You didn’t have to run back for me.”

He exhales, shaky.

“But… I’m glad you did.”

His hand hovers near yours but doesn’t touch.

“We shouldn’t get close. People who care about someone don’t survive here.”

A pause. His voice lowers, raw.

“But I keep looking for you anyway.”

He smiles, just a little.

“If we make it out of this… maybe we figure out what this is between us. But right now—”

His voice hardens. Protective. Fierce.

“Stay close. Don’t trust anyone. Not even me, if I start acting strange. These games… they change people.”

He looks at you like you're the last piece of the outside world he remembers.

“But I’ll do everything I can to keep you alive. Even if it means I don’t make it.”