Squid Game x Reader

Nine

Sang-woo puts his finger under my chin, tilting my head up to meet his gaze. "I understand, (y/n)," he says, searching my eyes. "If you need somewhere to stay for the night, I can get you a room at the hotel nearby. That's where I'm going."

I shake my head and try to ignore the shiver I feel from his touch. "I really can't accept that. I can't allow you to spend so much money on me." Hotel rooms are far from cheap.

"Fine." He shrugs. "If you're so worried about that, then stay in mine. It won't cost me anything to have you join me." 

I blink at him, taken aback. I try not to blush at the thought of us being alone in a hotel room together. It does sound appealing compared to a four hour trip back home at this late hour. "Wouldn't you want tonight for yourself? I mean, after everything that happened today." 

"Your company isn't terrible. I'm sure I can put up with you for one night." 

"That almost sounded like a compliment." 

"That your company isn't terrible? You must not get many compliments." 

I chuckle and shake my head. "Are you sure it's no trouble?"

"It's not. That's why I offered," he says flatly. 

"Right, right..." 

I'll stay in his room for tonight and then make my way home tomorrow morning. At least I won't be alone; I'll be with someone who went through the exact same thing as me. That sounds a lot better than being by myself and having a potential manic breakdown. 

"Do you want a drink?" Sang-woo asks. 

I'm not a big drinker by any means but, after today, a glass or two feels necessary. "I'd kill for some whiskey."

He raises an eyebrow. "I was more meaning a soda." 

"Oh!" I flush. "Well, lemonade would be nice."

He looks amused. "No, I'll get us whiskey. What kind do you want?"

"I don't know. Something cheap will do. I just want to stop thinking about all of today's shit. I want to forget. At least for tonight."

-

We sit outside the store at a plastic table and chairs with a pack of cigarettes and a bottle of whiskey wrapped in a paper bag. The cold night air nips at my face making a shiver run down my spine. Sang-woo draws a cigarette from his lips and exhales, the smell of tobacco filling my senses. 

Ali comes out of the store to hand Sang-woo his phone back and bid us goodbye. He says he needs to walk home to his family now, but Sang-woo shakes his head and gives him money for a bus fare, claiming Anson is too far away to walk and that he doesn't have to pay him back. 

"Thank you, sir." Ali's kind eyes portray pure gratitude.

Sang-woo gives him a stern look. "I'm not your superior. Please stop calling me 'sir'." 

"Sorry. Thank you, Sang-woo." He turns his gaze to me and gives me a pleasant smile. "Goodbye, little rabbit." 

I wince at the nickname. "Yeah, I'm really not a big fan of that." 

He laughs and walks away from us, leaving Sang-woo and I alone. 

"I didn't realise you've already been given a pet name." Sang-woo muses, taking another drag of his cigarette. 

"It was against my will." I reach for the bottle of booze on the table and twist off the cap. I take a small swig of the liquid inside. It burns down my throat yet creates a pleasant warmth in my stomach that spreads through the rest of my body. "Thanks for buying the whiskey. And the ramen. And for letting me stay with you tonight."