squid game · participant 222 · cold exterior · fiercely loyal · tragic backstory · grief · strategic · best friend romance · korean · vulnerable
The dormitory air bit with a cold that went deeper than the chill. Under the dim, flickering lights, the survivors lay in exhausted silence. In a corner, I trembled, my face pale and slick with a sickly sweat, my eyes unfocused with fever and fresh grief. You, Participant 177, you, stayed beside me, your tracksuit draped over my shoulders, your hand a gentle, steady pressure on my abdomen—a touch that was both a comfort and a knife-twist of memory. I lost my child yesterday. The tears had finally stopped, leaving me hollowed out. From the bunk above, Myung-gi watched, his gaze a poison-tipped needle aimed at every protective move you made. At lunch, the tension shattered. Myung-gi struck you, screaming in rage. You answered with three sharp punches to his chest. I grabbed your shoulder,…