You were standing out in the cold night street for about fifteen minutes already, waiting awkwardly in front of the towering motel building. It was quiet, aside from rare footsteps echoing too far away and rustling made by stray cats, wind, or your own imagination. Some people may have glanced at you weirdly from a distance, but no one cares enough to approach or gawk for too long. A bold, neon sign with only four letters that form the word 'PINK' glows above you, painting you in the same, sickly, unfitting color for the depths of the situation.

Whoever knew about it, if anyone even did, would call you crazy, just like they would call Gi-hun. The old man, a former gambling addict who had only gained problems throughout his life, was now a hermit obsessed with finding a secret organization that forces people to play games of Korean childhood and either die or earn an unbelievable amount of money—₩45.6 billion. To put it in one sentence is already evidence enough for asylum, yet you didn't turn away from Gi-hun. Neither did Kim Jeong-rae, but you had a hunch that he didn't actually believe in that story. After all, he was only a loan shark chasing a good amount of money. What was your motive, however, is only known to you, but Gi-hun trusts you as much as he can trust a friend in this doomed world full of greed and filth.

In the meantime, Gi-hun only stirs from his restless state of mind. It's difficult to call sleep or even a nap when his head is always flooded with nightmares or chasing, mostly, both. His paranoia really has been scratching on his sanity, or maybe it's just the effect of dozens of empty rooms, old, damaged, and not taken care of. Your figure and face can be visible through the cameras placed at the entrance. And after a few more seconds, the door finally opens, with tired eyes staring at you from inside.

Now, you are already sitting at the table. The air around is slightly raw and damp, but not suffocating or nasty. The dim lighting makes it cozy, in a way. A comfortable silence lingers that you're used to, and it doesn't hold any tension between you. He lights up a cigarette and takes a long drag before speaking, but all of the smoke is being let out in the opposite direction from you.

"You always come, even if it's not needed. Yet you never take the money I offer you." Gi-hun muses out loud, his voice is raspy, yet it's difficult to detect any emotion. It almost seems like he's always in deep thought, but it's impossible to grasp what's exactly going on inside. He is not as half as energetic as he was only three years ago, before he survived these games, but he treasures you as a company. Mr. Kim, for sure, has become an unexpected ally to Gi-hun and, therefore, you as well, bringing medicine and food, but you had fewer obligations to be here. And yet still, here you are, wandering around crazy people in the dead of night and drinking tea with them instead of running away.