Seong Gi-hun/Synopsis

The story of Seong Gi-hun from Squid Game.
==Background==
Seong Gi-hun is the son of Oh Mal-soon and is from the Ssangmun-dong neighborhood in the city of Seoul, the capital of South Korea. As a kid, Gi-hun would play children's games with his friends, such as Sugar Honeycombs, Squid Game, and Red Light, Green Light. His childhood best friend is Cho Sang-woo, who is also from Ssangmun-dong. As children, Sang-woo and Gi-hun were classmates in elementary school and developed a very close and brotherly relationship. Gi-hun used to take Sang-woo to school and they would play together until their mothers call them home for dinner. Because Sang-woo is a year younger than him, Gi-hun affectionately refers to him as "Sang-woo-ya", while Sang-woo refers to him as "older brother" ("hyung").
Years later, Gi-hun studied at Daehan Technical High School, and eventually married Kang Eun-ji. Gi-hun also become an employee of Assembly Team One at Dragon Motors. In 2011, Gi-hun had been working for the car company for 16 years when Gi-hun's wife became pregnant of their only child, Seong Ga-yeong. Unfortunately, during this period the company suffered financial trouble and fired its workers, including Gi-hun. With his wife about to give birth and needing the money to sustain his family, Gi-hun decided to join the strike at his company, as the workers felt unfairly displaced of their jobs after their superiors ruined the company and held them responsible. Gi-hun and his colleagues set up a barricade and keep watch in the factory. The police arrived and attacked the workers that took part of the strike, resulting in Gi-hun witnessing a colleague dying in front of him. Gi-hun could not see the birth of his daughter as his wife's labor started and she went to the hospital while he was still in the strike.
Unemployed, Gi-hun attempted to open a chicken restaurant (for 2 years), named Ga-yeong Chicken, but it failed. He also tried to open a snack bar that also failed. Around 2015, Gi-hun started to work as a chauffeur, and continued to do so for the next five years. At some point, Gi-hun started to borrow money from the bank and loan sharks to survive, and he also became an addicted gambler.
3 years prior to joining the game, Gi-hun divorced his wife, which resulted in him living separated from her and their daughter. His former wife later married another man who has a son younger than Ga-yeong. In 2020, he is a 47-year-old down-on-his-luck man who owes ₩255 million to the bank and ₩160 million to the loan sharks. He still works as a chauffeur and lives with his sickly mother. Gi-hun often uses his and his mother's money to bet on horse races.
==Squid Game==
==="Red Light, Green Light"===
Gi-hun is first seen in a flashback as a child in the opening narration of the series. An adult Gi-hun narrates one time he and his friends played Squid Game, which is called by this name because the grid is shaped like a squid. Explaining the rules, Gi-hun says that there are two groups, the offense and defense. A young Gi-hun is shown playing offense against the group of his childhood best friend, Cho Sang-woo, who is playing defense. 
Gi-hun hops in one foot because the offense is only allowed to use both feet after crossing the squid's waist. At the middle of the squid, Gi-hun meets Sang-woo and tricks his friend, pointing that his mother is there. While Sang-woo looks behind him, Gi-hun runs to cross to the other side. Sang-woo realizes the trick and turns back to Gi-hun in an attempt to grab him, but fails.
Now being able to use both feet, Gi-hun looks back at Sang-woo and declares "the secret inspector", which is how they call when the offense crosses the waist of the squid. In a final confrontation, the offense team gathers at the entrance of the squid. Gi-hun then tells his team to run at the defense. The attackers should step in the squid's head in order to win and the defense team should try to stop them. Gi-hun faces Sang-woo again and his friend tries to push him off the grid, which will cause a member of the offense to "die" and lose the game. Sang-woo fails and Gi-hun moves towards the head. Sang-woo grabs his friend's shirt but this also fails, only managing to rip a piece of Gi-hun's shirt. 
Gi-hun runs towards the squid's head and claims victory while Sang-woo stays behind on the ground, holding a piece of the ripped shirt. The whole offense team runs to Gi-hun and they embrace while celebrating victory. Adult Gi-hun says that, in that moment, he felt exhilarated, feeling as if he owned the entire world.
Years later, in 2020, Gi-hun is seen at home with his elderly mother. Despite being old, Gi-hun's mother works a lot. She is seen doing the laundry while her son is eating breakfast. While he is eating, his mother gives him money, reminding him that today is Seong Ga-yeong's birthday. Gi-hun's mother asks him to at least get his daughter something for dinner. Gi-hun complains that the amount of money is not enough because everything is expansive nowadays. His mother tells him that Ga-yeong loves fried chicken, so he could buy her some. Gi-hun insists that Ga-yeong deserves at least a birthday gift and asks for a bit more money. His mother says she is broke, so Gi-hun recalls that he gave her all the money he gained chauffeuring. Gi-hun's mother replies that what he gave her is not even enough to cover his monthly loan interest. Gi-hun says they won't pay the debts off living like this, so they can spend the money they have when they need to. Convinced, his mother gives him some more money and tells him to put the dishes on the water once he is done. Gi-hun complains that his mother works too much, always say that her back hurts, but she hardly makes any money as result.
Once his mother left the kitchen, however, Gi-hun looks for a metal canister and finds her bank card inside. After getting his mother's card, Gi-hun goes out with a friend and tries to get money from her bank account at an ATM. However, the account rejects the PIN Gi-hun taps on the touchscreen. Gi-hun recalls the PIN being his birthday, making him realize that his mother changed it. His friend laughs saying that his mother finally cut him off. Gi-hun ignores him and tries again but fails. His friend suggests Gi-hun to try to tap her birthday, but Gi-hun seems not to remember it. His friend thinks it is funny that Gi-hun cannot recall the birthday of his own mother, but Gi-hun claims that she follows the lunar calendar, so her birthdate changes every year. After failing again, the friend warns Gi-hun to think hard because this is his last chance, as the card will be blocked if he gets it wrong again. Thinking carefully, Gi-hun tries one last time and succeeds. While he and his friend rejoice that it worked, Gi-hun tells him that the PIN is Ga-yeong's birthday which is today's date (June 8). Gi-hun laughs, explaining that his mother cares more about her granddaughter than her own son.
Afterwards, Gi-hun and his friend go to a betting shop to spend the money on horse races. After they both lost their first bet, they become frustrated, but decide to try again in the next race. While placing his next bet, Gi-hun takes so much time making his decision that the man behind him tells him to hurry. Gi-hun is so irritated that he yells at the man that he is still thinking. Gi-hun decides to bet on the horses numbers 6 and 8. In the next race, Gi-hun is lucky and wins. Gi-hun happily embraces his friend, who is upset for not having the same luck. Cheering, Gi-hun tells his friend that he picked numbers 6 and 8 because of his daughter's birthday today. Getting the crash he won, Gi-hun is so happy that he lets the clerk have a won bill. Outside the place, Gi-hun is still with his friend and calls his daughter. Gi-hun tells Ga-yeong that he will pick her after school. When she mentions fried chicken, he laughs and says she can choose something more expensive. He tells her to focus on her class and write down a list with everything she wants to eat during recess. He says he looks forward to meet her tonight, excited while claiming to have a birthday gift for her. However, Gi-hun is then surprised by the appearance of the loan sharks that he owes money to. As the men approach, Gi-hun runs inside the betting shop again, leaving his friend behind. Back inside, Gi-hun is running while being chased by the men, when he accidentally bumps into Kang Sae-byeok, knocking them both down. Gi-hun apologizes to the girl and then starts running again. 
The loan sharks eventually corner Gi-hun inside a bathroom. Gi-hun immediately tells them that he has money. The leader of the loan sharks doubts it, asking why Gi-hun would run if he in fact has money. Gi-hun replies he wanted to pay him all at once and says that he has ₩4 million now. Gi-hun asks him to accept the amount he has now and promises to pay the rest next month. However, searching for the crash inside his pockets, Gi-hun finds nothing. He recalls bumping into Sae-byeok, realizing that the girl pickpocket all the money he won gambling. Not believing Gi-hun had any money, he leader of the loan sharks then smacks Gi-hun's nose. He then licks Gi-hun's blood, saying that it tastes sweet probably because Gi-hun is spending the money he lent him on good food. Becoming desperate, Gi-hun swears he had the money and tells them about winning crash betting on horseraces, but the loan shark threats Gi-hun. 
Holding a knife against Gi-hun's nose, the leader of the loan sharks says he will cut Gi-hun and fill a bowl with his blood to make a soup. Gi-hun cries, begging to be spared and promising to pay him. The loan shark retreats his knife, saying he is a "softie" and Gi-hun is making him feel bad because of how pitiful he is looking now. The man shows Gi-hun a document, a waiver giving up his physical rights, and tells him to sign it by stamping his fingerprint. He explains that if Gi-hun doesn't pay up by next month, he will take one of his kidneys and later one of his eyes. He threats Gi-hun with the knife again, forcing him to agree. Gi-hun tells him that he needs an ink, so the loan shark hits Gi-hun's nose again, saying that he can use his blood. After Gi-hun signed the document, the loan sharks are about to leave when Gi-hun asks to borrow ₩10,000. The loan sharks laugh at how miserable Gi-hun is. On the way out the betting shop, Gi-hun approaches the clerk and asks her to have the won bill he gave her back.
Gi-hun gets the little money he recovered and goes to an arcade. He plays a claw game to try to get a gift for his daughter, but he is terrible at it. After losing several times, Gi-hun is frustrated. A young boy sees Gi-hun struggling and approaches him, saying that Gi-hun needs to stop poking the toys at random or he will never get anything. Gi-hun wonders if the boy is good at this game. The boy shows him a bag filled with the toys he won in the claw game and agrees to help Gi-hun to get a toy. After the boy managed to get a black box from the game, Gi-hun becomes extremely happy. Gi-hun hugs the kid while celebrating that he got his daughter's gift. 
At night, Gi-hun takes Ga-yeong to a fast-food stall. While they eat tteokbokki, Ga-yeong notices the large bruise on her father's face and stares at him. Gi-hun tries to cover the bruise, saying that it is just a mosquito bite, but Ga-yeong knows he is lying. She tells him that he can get into all the fights he wants but asks him just not to be beaten up. Gi-hun apologizes and says he wanted to buy something more delicious for her to eat. Ga-yeong says that it is fine because she went to a steakhouse with her mother and stepdad earlier. Gi-hun seems upset hearing this, so Ga-yeong tries to cheer him up by stating that tteokbokki is way better and that her mother doesn't let her have it for considering it "junk food". Gi-hun laughs and tells her to eat it then. 
Gi-hun shows Ga-yeong the black box he got in the arcade, excited as he gives her the birthday present. However, opening the box, Ga-yeong finds a gun, surprising them both. Gi-hun tries justifying this weird gift, explaining that women also join the military nowadays, and equality in the world is the future, so she needs to get used to these things. Ga-yeong pulls the trigger and they both realize that the gun is actually a lighter. Gi-hun nervously laughs pretending that he knew, telling her that it has a light and even looks like a real gun. Ga-yeong says that her father will be in trouble if her mother sees this, so Gi-hun gets the lighter back and states he will keep it until his daughter becomes older. Ga-yeong asks him not to use the lighter to smoke and Gi-hun replies he quit it. Ga-yeong doubts it and sniffles him, then glares at him for this lie. Gi-hun promises that he will quit smoke for real and also will get her a great present on her next birthday. Hearing this, Ga-yeong sadly looks at her father and hesitates to tell him something before giving up on doing so. 
Gi-hun later carries a sleppy Ga-yeong back home on his back and his ex-wife meets him in front of the building. She becomes angry because they came back late and Ga-yeong isn't dressed appropriately for the cold. Gi-hun recalls he is only ten minutes late and explains that he decided to carry Ga-yeong because she was sleepy. His ex-wife reminds him that she was going to drive to pick Ga-yeong. Gi-hun tries to end the conversation, not wanting to argue with his ex-wife on Ga-yeong's birthday. When she tries to pick Ga-yeong, Gi-hun offers to carry his daughter to the elevator of the building. His ex-wife replies that it will become a bad habit and puts Ga-yeong on the ground, so she can walk herself. While walking towards the building with her mother, a dozy Ga-yeong turns and waves at her father, who waves back with a smile.
Afterwards, Gi-hun is seen in a subway station. After missing the train, Gi-hun sits on a bench and is approached by the salesman. When the man tries to talk to him, Gi-hun thinks it is someone trying to preach religion and immediately attempts to end the conversation saying he doesn't believe in Jesus. The salesman starts talking anyway, so Gi-hun pulls out the gun-shaped lighter and points at him. The man raises his arms in surrender, but then becomes relieved when Gi-hun pulls the trigger and fire comes out from the lighter. Gi-hun explains that he comes from a Buddhist household and tells the salesman to stop bothering him. The man ignores Gi-hun's request and asks if he wants to play a game. Gi-hun identifies that the man is a salesman and will try to convince him to buy something. He explains that he has no time to hear him but then becomes surprised as the salesman opens his briefcase showing a lot of cash inside of it. The salesman asks if Gi-hun has ever played ddakji and says that if they play together, he will give Gi-hun ₩100,000 for each victory. However, for each time the salesman wins, Gi-hun will also have to give him ₩100,000. Gi-hun reluctantly accepts, threating the salesman in case this is a scam. Before they begin, the man tells Gi-hun to pick between two square tiles of folded paper (one blue and one red). Gi-hun chooses the blue one and also demands to go first.
Gi-hun throws his blue tile and fails to flip the red one. Right after, the salesman picks the red tile and easily flips the blue one. Gi-hun becomes unsettled as he has no money to pay the salesman. Noticing this, the salesman proposes Gi-hun to pay with his body. Gi-hun is confused by this, but then the salesman slaps him in the face, explaining that he will shave off ₩100,000 per slap. Hearing this, Gi-hun accepts to play several more rounds with the salesman, but he keeps losing and getting slapped as result. After repeatedly losing, to the point of having his cheek bruised, Gi-hun finally wins one round. He becomes happy and celebrates his victory. He is so excited that he tries to slap the salesman in retaliation for the times he was slapped. But the salesman stops Gi-hun and gives him ₩100,000, congratulating him for the victory. 
While Gi-hun is happily counting the money he won, the salesman states that he can win a great amount of money by playing other games like this for a few days. Gi-hun asks if the man is trying to put him into some sort of pyramid scheme and claims that he is not that naive to fall for it. However, the salesman surprises Gi-hun, revealing that he knows about his background, even details of it. He knows even about Gi-hun signing the waiver giving up his physical rights earlier, besides knowing details about his career and jobs, about his ex-wife and daughter, and the exact amount of money he owes to the bank and the loan sharks. While Gi-hun is baffled by this and wonders who this man really is, the salesman offers him a business card with three symbols (a circle, a square, and a triangle). He says that Gi-hun should think about it and call the number on the card, but he should hurry because there aren't many spots left.
On the way home, Gi-hun stops by the fish store of the mother of his childhood best friend. Sang-woo's mother notices that Gi-hun is too happy and asks if has been drinking. In response, Gi-hun says that he in fact feels tipsy, but he is happy because he made money today. Gi-hun shows her the money he won playing with the salesman and the old lady becomes concerned, asking if he has been gambling. Gi-hun assures her that he earned the money fair and square without gambling. She notices his bruised face and wonders if he got into a fight. 
Ignoring Sang-woo's mother's questions, Gi-hun looks at the photo she keeps on the store, in which her and Sang-woo are seen together during the graduation day of her son at Seoul National University. Gi-hun asks what Sang-woo has been doing and if his job going okay. She replies that Sang-woo is always busy and currently is abroad on a business trip. Gi-hun playfully says that Sang-woo is ungrateful because he recalls taking his friend to school when they were kids, so he thinks that Sang-woo got into college and got a job thanks to him. Despite this, Gi-hun says that Sang-woo has never bought him a drink. Gi-hun asks his friend's mother to tell Sang-woo to call him once he comes home. The old lady tells Gi-hun to stop talking nonsense and gives him some fish for him to take home. In turn, Gi-hun gives her a won bill from the money he won earlier. He says she can keep the change, having paid ₩10,000 for the fish, although the lady states that the fish is actually worth ₩12,000. 
Walking towards his house, Gi-hun stops when he sees a stray cat trying to get food from a trash bag. Gi-hun kneels and pets the cat while giving the animal a tail of the fish he got from Sang-woo's mother. At home, Gi-hun eats dinner with his mother. He is still giggly as he gives part of the money he won to her. His mother becomes worried, asking if he gambled again and about the bruise on his face. Gi-hun says he didn't gamble, so she wonders if he stole the money from someone. Gi-hun assures he didn't gamble or steal, he states he worked his hands, face and body off to earn the money. Changing the subject, his mother questions if he bought Ga-yeong fried chicken, so Gi-hun tells about taking his daughter to have dinner and giving her a birthday present. 
Gi-hun's mother then asks if Ga-yeong told him that her, along with her mother and stepfather, will be moving to the U.S. next year. She explains that the entire family will move because of the new job of Ga-yeong's stepfather. Gi-hun is surprised by this, realizing that this is what Ga-yeong was trying to tell him but gave up on doing it. Gi-hun's mother asks her son to do something to try to keep his daughter. Gi-hun is visibly upset, but reminds his mother that he cannot do anything because it was settled in the divorce papers that his ex-wife would have Ga-yeong's custody. Becoming desperate, Gi-hun's mother says Ga-yeong will even forget how to speak Korean if she goes to the U.S. and the two of them won't be able to understand each other. She says that a neighbor who studied law told her that a father who can financially support the child is able to take the custody of the child back. She wonders if Gi-hun will be able to live without seeing his daughter. 
With what his mother said in mind, Gi-hun is later seen on his bed looking at pictures of his daughter on his phone. Before sleeping, Gi-hun decides to call the number on the business card he got from the salesman. Upon being answered, Gi-hun is requested to give his name and birthdate to join the 33rd Squid Game. At the day and time informed by the staff, Gi-hun waits to be taken to the games when a passenger van being driven by a masked worker appears. The worker asks for the password, so Gi-hun says that it is "red light, green light" and the worker lets him get in the car. Inside, Gi-hun notices that all the other passengers are sleeping but thinks that it is just because everyone must be tired. Gi-hun starts to ask the worker how long it will take to get to the location of the games, when he is suddenly put to sleep by gas. While sleeping, Gi-hun is taken to an unknown location with the other players. After being taken to the Squid Game island, the workers dressed Gi-hun in his player uniform. Later, Gi-hun finally wakes up inside the dormitory, finding himself among many players. 
Gi-hun approaches Oh Il-nam, who seems to be counting and asks what he is doing. The old man says that he is counting how many players are in the room and asks Gi-hun not to talk because it will distract him. Il-nam seems to lose count, so Gi-hun points to a large screen in the dormitory that shows the total number of players to be 456. Gi-hun looks at Il-nam's uniform and sees that it has the number "001", meaning that the old man was the first one to arrive at the games. Looking at his own uniform, Gi-hun sees the number "456", meaning that he was the last player. Il-nam explains that he knows all this, he was just counting the numbers because his doctor said that doing it is good for preventing dementia. Gi-hun wonders why Il-nam decided to join if he is old enough to worry about dementia, thinking that the old man should have stayed at home eating meals cooked by his daughter-in-law and spending time with his grandchildren. Il-nam asks if Gi-hun's parents receive such a nice treatment and then admits that his days are numbered, telling Gi-hun that his doctor said he has a growing brain tumor.
Gi-hun then sees a crowd gathering in the room. In the middle of it, the gangster Jang Deok-su beats Sae-byeok, accusing her of treason and humiliating her for being from North Korea. Joining the crowd to see what is happening, Gi-hun recognizes that the girl is the same one who stole him at the betting shop. Gi-hun gets between Deok-su and Sae-byeok, shoving the gangster away from her. Grabbing Sae-byeok by the collar, Gi-hun sees a scar she has on the neck, confirming that she is in fact the pickpocket who stole his money. Gi-hun shakes Sae-byeok and demands her to give his money back, but then by Deok-su kicks him away. 
Irritated by the interruption, Deok-su wonders who Gi-hun is and what he thinks he is doing. Gi-hun introduces himself, saying he is from Ssangmun-dong. Deok-su mocks him calling him "Mr. Ssangmun-dong" and says that he was not done with Sae-byeok yet, so Gi-hun explains he also has an urgent business with the girl. Deok-su asks how Gi-hun knows Sae-byeok, causing Gi-hun to return the question. Gi-hun says that Deok-su looks like a thug preying on girls like Sae-byeok and wonders if he instructed her to stole his money. Enraged by this, Deok-su tries to hit Gi-hun, but Gi-hun manages to dodged Deok-su's attack and starts to yell for help, because a thug is trying to kill him. They are interrupted, however, as masked men in pink jumpsuits enter the room to welcome them and explain the rules of the competition. As the masked men arrive, Gi-hun keeps pointing to Deok-su and Sae-byeok, repeatedly saying that it is a thug and a pickpocket while expecting the staff to do something about it, but he is ignored.
Gi-hun hears as the masked men explain that they will participate in six games over six days and those who win all games will receive a great amount of prize money. Some players become skeptical and start to question to masked staff, asking the manager why they are hiding their faces and why players were put to sleep before arriving at the location of the games. Suddenly, the one who speaks from the midst of skeptical players is Sang-woo, Gi-hun's childhood best friend. Gi-hun sees the manager showing a footage exhibiting Sang-woo playing ddakji with the salesman and being slapped in the face several times, exactly like himself was. The manager explains that Sang-woo is the former leader in an investing company, but he embezzled money from his clients and then invested it in derivatives and futures, and he failed, resulting in a ₩650 million loss. Looking at Sang-woo from afar, Gi-hun sees his friend lower his head in shame. 
The manager shows more footage exhibiting others playing ddakji with the salesman, explaining that the players who joined the games have similar large debts. He continues by reminding that the players didn't trust the salesman at first, but they were all paid the money that it was promised upon upon winning a round of ddakji. At the end of the explanation, Gi-hun raises his hand and asks the manager how much is the prize money. The manager presses a button on a remote, making an enormous piggy bank lower from the ceiling over their heads. He then says that the prize money will be accumulated in the piggy bank after each game and they will only reveal the amount after the first game.
Gi-hun then is seen signing the consent form of the games and sees that it has three clauses: 1. A player is not allowed to voluntarily quit the games; 2. A player who refuses to play will be eliminated; 3. The games may be terminated upon a majority vote. Gi-hun asks a worker if that is really all, but gets no response. Looking around, Gi-hun sees Il-nam signing the consent form nearby. After signing the consent form, Gi-hun and the other players are instructed to go to the game hall as the first game will begin soon. Along the way, they have to stand in front of a camera while their player photos are taken. Gi-hun steps in front of the camera and gives a wide toothy smile. Gi-hun and the others then go up spiral staircases while going to the location of the first game.
The location of the game is a room constructed to resemble a field. As the players enter the place, Gi-hun calls out to Sang-woo and dashes towards his friend. Happy but also surprised to see Sang-woo, Gi-hun asks why he is in the games. Gi-hun tells his friend about visiting his mother's fish store recently and recalls that she said Sang-woo was abroad on a business trip. Gi-hun wonders if it is really true what the manager said earlier about Sang-woo being in debt, because Sang-woo is the SNU alum, the pride of Ssangmun-dong. Sang-woo becomes uncomfortable by his friend's questions and says they will talk about it later. With no answers, Gi-hun is confused as his friend leaves him behind. 
The first game is revealed to be Red Light, Green Light and the players have 5 minutes to cross the finish line without being caught by a giant motion sensor doll. Upon hearing this, the man next to Gi-hun, Player 118, becomes confused. He asks Gi-hun if "Red Light, Green Light" is the same game that they played as kids, so Gi-hun replies that he thinks so. However, the players soon discover that losing in these games results in their death, as they realize that the participants whose movements are caught by the giant doll are immediately shot by guns placed in many small openings on the high walls of the location. When the first eliminated players are shot, a great number of people panic and try to run towards the exits, which only results in them also being killed. Gi-hun is frozen in place, but a desperate man runs and ends up falling over him upon being shot. With around 3 minutes left, all players who were running were shot and Gi-hun remains on the ground, paralyzed and trembling in fear while the corpse of the man is still fallen over him.
Less than 3 minutes left, Gi-hun on the ground in exactly the same position. He looks around and trembles, but has no courage to move. Gi-hun is approached by Sang-woo, who saw his friend in distress and decided to help him. Gi-hun hears Sang-woo say that he will die if he stays there. Sang-woo explains he thinks that the giant doll is a motion sensor, so he advises Gi-hun to hide behind someone to avoid being caught by it. Gi-hun sees his friend walk past him and stop nearby as the doll says "red light" again. Gi-hun watches Sang-woo hiding behind a player, then turn and look back at his fallen friend. Sang-woo points to the timer showing they have around 2 minutes left, reminding Gi-hun that the time is running out. Motivated by this, Gi-hun decides to hear Sang-woo's advice and move.
With around 1 minute and a half left, Gi-hun is still shaken but advances hiding behind others like Sang-woo suggested. However, Gi-hun is suddenly stopped by Player 118, who grabs his leg from behind. 118 survived being shot but was gravely wounded and is now on the ground begging for Gi-hun's help. As 118's pleads, Gi-hun asks him to let go of his leg. Gi-hun looks at the timer and sees that the time is now close to 1 minute left. Prioritizing his own survival, Gi-hun pulls his leg from 118's grasp the next time the doll says "green light" and moves foward, leaving 118 behind. Gi-hun stops nearby and flinches when he hears 118 being shot, this time fatally. 
With less than 20 seconds left, Gi-hun is finally very close to the finish line. Sang-woo is already behind the line and Gi-hun sees him with his hands on his knees in exhaustion. His friend turns to look back at him and the two stare each other. During the next "green light", Gi-hun runs towards the finish line with his eyes still fixed on Sang-woo. Because of this, Gi-hun doesn't notice a corpse at his feet, so he ends up tripping over it. Gi-hun starts to fall to the ground and is almost seen by the doll during the next "red light", but then is grabbed by Ali Abdul. Ali holds Gi-hun up with one hand and they both manage to stay still to prevent their movements from being detected. Once they are allowed to move again, they run and jump, crossing the finish line together as the timer expires. Sang-woo, who is surprised as he saw everything from behind the line, watches as his friend lands in front of him.
==="Hell"===
After the first game, all players return to the dormitory. Gi-hun sits next to Sang-woo and Ali is seen nearby them. Gi-hun thanks both Sang-woo and Ali for saving his life during the game. Ali replies he is happy that Gi-hun survived. The masked staff arrives and announces that 255 players were eliminated and 201 remain in the competition. Witnessing half of the players die in the Red Light, Green Light, causes most players to become frightened and beg the masked staff to let them go. The manager reminds them that the first clause of the Squid Game consent form says that a player isn't allowed to voluntarily quit the games. The players become agitated, causing the manager to shot into the air and the soldiers to point their guns at the them. Terrified, Gi-hun and all the other players cower on the floor. 
Gi-hun clings to a bunk as the manager proceeds to remind the players that the second clause says that players who refuse to play will be eliminated. However, Gi-hun is then surprised by Sang-woo standing up beside him. His friend reminds the manager that the third clause says that the games can be terminated if the majority agrees. The manager accepts to let the players take a vote to stop the Squid Game, but only after announcing the prize money accumulated from the first game. The staff reveals that 25.5 billion was accumulated and the final prize will be ₩45.6 billion, but if they quit the games, all the money will go to the families of the deceased players, and living players will be left with nothing. Seeing the great amount of money accumulated in the piggy bank, Gi-hun becomes impressed. 
The vote starts right after and players are called from the highest to lowest number, so Gi-hun is the first one to cast his vote. Despite being amazed by the amount of money accumulated, Gi-hun stands before the two available buttons and ponders for a moment about his options, before choosing to vote in favor of the termination of the games. Gi-hun then watches the other players vote and is surprised that many choose to continue the games, to the point that the vote is tied. Gi-hun becomes shocked, however, when he sees Sang-woo vote for the games to continue, causing Gi-hun to stare at his friend in disbelief. The vote still tied when it is the turn of the last voter, Il-nam. Gi-hun recalls what Il-nam told him about having a brain tumor and having his days numbered, so he fears that the old man will vote for the games to continue. To his relief, Il-nam votes for the games to stop, so the majority of votes ends up being in favor of the termination of the games. Gi-hun cheers as he sees this result and the manager announces that the games are terminated, unless the majority later decides to play again.
With the games terminated, the staff drops Gi-hun with Sae-byeok on the street at night. They are both tied, blindfolded and only wearing their underclothes. Not realizing that Sae-byeok is with him, Gi-hun starts to scream for help. Sae-byeok tells him to shut up and takes off his blindfold. As Gi-hun finally recognizes her, she asks to be untied. Gi-hun bites the ties which are holding Sae-byeok's hands, allowing her remove her blindfold, untie her feet and stand up. Gi-hun watches the girl getting dressed and asks her to be untied. He tells her to hurry because the night is cold and he is freezing. However, Sae-byeok starts to walk away, so Gi-hun calls for her, reminding her to untie him first before leaving. Sae-byeok turns and asks him why she would do it. Gi-hun replies that he untied her, so she should help him. Sae-byeok wonders if Gi-hun is stupid or just naive to believe in such thing at his age. She refuses, saying that if she does, Gi-hun will just demand his money again. Gi-hun states he will forget about the money, but as Sae-byeok is still skeptical, he swears on his mother's life that he won't ask for it. Convinced, Sae-byeok uses her switchblade to cut the ties around his hands, but once she does it, Gi-hun reacts exactly like she predicted. He clumsy jumps trying to get her with his tied feet while demanding her to return the money she stole. Sae-byeok laughs at him and says she feels bad for his mother, as her son swore on her in vain. Sae-byeok then leaves a still undressed and tied Gi-hun on the street.
Early in the morning, Gi-hun is seen visiting a police station. He tells two police officers about the mysterious staff that gathered a hundreds of people, made them play Red Light, Green Light in a playing field, and gunned down more than 200 players for losing the game. One of the officers asks Gi-hun where this happened, so Gi-hun says he doesn't know because he was put to sleep before being taken there. When questioned about the identity of the killers, Gi-hun tells them that the mysterious men were all wearing masks. They ask how Gi-hun left, so he explains about the majority vote, but the police thinks it is unbelievable that the murders would let their victims simply go because they didn't want to stay. Gi-hun also reveals that he accepted to join the games because they offered billions of won for those who played. At the end of the explanation, however, the two officers think that the story is too absurd to be real and don't believe Gi-hun. An officer asks for Gi-hun's name and thinks he is just a crazy guy, so he wonders if he has a caretaker or if he needs them to contact a medical institution for him. Gi-hun is extremely offended by this. Frustrated, he shows the Squid Game card and tells them to call the number on it to find out.
As the officer takes the Squid Game card, Gi-hun sees detective Hwang Jun-ho entering the station. Calling the number on the business card, the person who answers is not someone from the Squid Game staff. The woman on the other side of the phone thinks the officer is a pervert for calling so early asking about "playing games" and tells him to go to an internet cafe, before he hangs up. With this, Gi-hun is kicked out of the station and told to go home. Gi-hun wonders if they really dialed the right number and yells that the number he dialed last time is still on his cell phone, so he will just call it and put them on the phone. Upon trying to call the number on his phone, however, Gi-hun is informed that it doesn't exist. Gi-hun decides to go home, but doesn't find his mother when he arrives there. Finding it weird that she is not at home, Gi-hun tries to call his mother's phone, only to be informed that it is turned off. 
Walking through the Ssangmun-dong neighborhood, Gi-hun is surprised to come across Sang-woo. His friend is hiding behind a tent while watching his mother organize her fish store from afar. Gi-hun approaches from behind and calls him, asking what he is doing here. Not wanting to be seen by his mother, Sang-woo is startled by Gi-hun's appearance and doesn't respond. Instead, he turns and looks at Gi-hun nervously before glancing back at his mother. Observing his friend's reaction, Gi-hun sighs and sadly looks at him in understanding.
The two friends talk and Gi-hun buys cups of coffee from a vending machine for himself and Sang-woo. Seeing his friend discouraged, Gi-hun tells him not to worry so much about his debts because he still is the pride of Ssangmun-dong, the genius who was accepted to SNU Business school as valedictorian, so Gi-hun is certain that Sang-woo can just earn the money back. He suggests that Sang-woo tell his mother everything and start over. Not sharing Gi-hun's optimism, Sang-woo reveals he needs to earn back ₩6 billion. Gi-hun is shocked to hear this, recalling that the Squid Game staff said that Sang-woo's debt was ₩650 million. Sang-woo explains that there are things the Squid Game staff doesn't know. Gi-hun asks if he lost the money by playing with stocks while working at a securities firm. Sang-woo replies that stocks weren't much, he lost mostly dealing in futures. Confused by the terminology, Gi-hun asks what kind of future would make Sang-woo bet that much money on and wonders if there was a girl involved. Annoyed by his friend's confusion, Sang-woo says that it is not this kind of "future", but doesn't explain further. Gi-hun advises him to file for personal bankruptcy, as he heard one doesn't need to pay off their debts if they do it. However, Sang-woo sadly admits that it is not just his money, he also used all his mother's properties as financial collateral, including her house and her store.
While talking with Sang-woo, Gi-hun is shocked to receive a call informing him that his mother is at an emergency medical center. Gi-hun goes to the hospital and finds his mother lying unconscious on a bed. Her feet have open sores on her black inch toes. The doctor tells Gi-hun that his mother is sick with severe diabetes and that she left untreated for too long, so she is now suffering from complications of it. The doctor says that she must have been in a lot of pain and asks if Gi-hun knew about it. As he wasn't aware that his mother was sick, Gi-hun is speechless. Gi-hun asks if she can be treated. The doctor explains she may have to amputate her feet in the worst case and says that she can stay in the hospital to be watched during her treatment. 
At night, however, Gi-hun's mother gets out of the bed and walks out of the hospital. Gi-hun calls out to her and follows her to the street, reminding her that the doctor said she needs to be hospitalized. She claims to be fine, but Gi-hun notices that she cannot even walk properly. His mother is annoyed that Gi-hun has been away for days and now he suddenly appears trying to play the good son. Gi-hun insists that she stay in the hospital and get the treatment so her diabetes doesn't get worse. His mother asks who will pay the rent if she stays in the hospital, telling Gi-hun that staying in the hospital as well as the treatment are expensive. Gi-hun says that she has her insurance to cover her medical bills, but she reminds him that he canceled everything and used up all the money. Gi-hun becomes ashamed recalling this while his mother says she is too tired and doesn't want to argue with him anymore. While his mother walks away, Gi-hun yells that he will bring the money she needs.
Gi-hun is later seen with the same friend who went to the betting shop with him. It is raining and they both talk just outside the pub which his friend owns. Gi-hun asks his friend to lend him ₩3 million and promises to pay him back in two months. His friend replies he has no money and that friends shouldn't talk money like this. He reminds Gi-hun that he is also in a bad situation. Gi-hun says he wouldn't ask for money if things weren't so bad and offers to work as a deliveryman at his friend's pub. His friend explains he cannot pay a deliveryman as he can barely afford the rent of the pub. Gi-hun insists that he can work both as a chauffeur and a deliveryman, then pay his friend back in a month. Gi-hun tells him about his mother being sick and needing the surgery right away. They are interrupted by the friend's wife, who demands her husband to get back inside the pub. As his friend goes back inside, Gi-hun greets his wife and she tells him not to smoke outside her pub.
Afterwards, Gi-hun drinks soju outside a convenience shop when he is approached by Il-nam. Claiming to be surprised to meet Gi-hun, Il-nam asks what he is doing in this neighborhood. Gi-hun tells the old man that he lives nearby and wonders if Il-nam lives in Ssangmun-dong too. Il-nam replies he doesn't live in the neighborhood but has a friend that lives nearby. The old man claims he has no place to go at the moment, so he is stay there for a while. Gi-hun offers him a seat, still surprised that they ran into each other. Il-nam says that the two of them were meant to meet. Gi-hun gives Il-nam some of his soju, but recalls about the old man's brain tumor and wonders if he is allowed to drink. Il-nam tells him that it is fine and Gi-hun apologizes for not having food to offer. Hearing this, Il-nam pulls a package of ramyeon from his bag. While the two eat dried ramyeon, Il-nam reveals he is going back to the games. Gi-hun is shocked to hear this, so Il-nam explains that he won't live much longer anyway and he doesn't want just to sit around waiting to die. Il-nam claims that he might even won the entire competition, recalling that he finished the Red Light, Green Light game before Gi-hun did. Il-nam says that once he came back outside, he realized that everything that the Squid Game staff said about the reality outside the games being a worse hell is true.
During another rainy day, Gi-hun tries to ask for money again, this time from his ex-wife. He visits her at her house and asks her to lend him ₩2 million. His ex-wife thinks that Gi-hun has gone too far because he never paid her any alimony or child support, but he is begging for money again. Gi-hun apologizes and explains that it is for his mother's medical bills. His ex-wife asks what is wrong with his mother, so Gi-hun tells her about his mother having severe diabetes and needing the surgery. His ex-wife is saddened to hear this but tells Gi-hun that she has no money and that her family barely has enough for themselves. Gi-hun begs her, recalling that his mother was really good to his ex-wife. He says that he is only asking her because he is truly desperate and promises to pay her back. She once again says that she really is broke and gets her living expenses from her kids' dad. Gi-hun wonders if she could ask her husband for money, but his ex-wife thinks that this idea is absurd and wonders what she would tell her husband the money is for. 
Gi-hun's ex-wife then demands him to leave, saying that the kids' dad will be home soon. Gi-hun is offended by this and reminds her that he is Ga-yeong's father. His ex-wife asks what Gi-hun ever did for Ga-yeong to deserve to be her dad and recalls that he was not even there when she was born. Gi-hun reminds her that he told her that he couldn't go because a co-worker collapsed in front of him. She argues that she also collapsed during labor and was barely able to make it to the hospital in time to avoid losing the baby. Gi-hun states that his co-worker died before his eyes and he couldn't even go to the hospital. They are interrupted by the arrival of the husband, who enters the house along with Ga-yeong and her little stepbrother. The husband is unhappy to see Gi-hun while Ga-yeong sadly greets her father. His ex-wife explains that Gi-hun came to see Ga-yeong, while Gi-hun says that now that he already saw his daughter he has to go and immediately moves to leave the house. Gi-hun excuses himself, claiming he has an important meeting to attend. At the door, he sees his daughter still staring at him and turns to say good-bye, promising to see her soon. 
Leaving his ex-wife's house, Gi-hun goes out into the rain without an umbrella when is the called by his ex-wife's new husband. Gi-hun sees the husband approach and hold out a thick envelope, explaining that it is the money Gi-hun needs. Gi-hun takes the envelope and thanks the man, promising to pay him back. However, the husband says that he doesn't have to pay him back, instead the man wants Gi-hun to stop coming to see his family. The husband states that Ga-yeong is having a tough time and explains that they will be moving to the US soon, but Gi-hun keeps showing up. Before the husband can say any further, Gi-hun punches him in the face, knocking him on the ground. Finding it absurd that he was being paid to stay away from his daughter, Gi-hun yells that money doesn't solve everything and throws down the envelope at him. Then, Gi-hun hears his daughter call him and looks over to see Ga-yeong at the door of the house holding an umbrella to give to her father. Gi-hun has no words as he sees that Ga-yeong witnessed him punch her stepfather. Ga-yeong is saddened by the scene before her, looking at Gi-hun as she is about to cry.
At night, Gi-hun walks back home in the rain without the umbrella. Standing outside Gi-hun's home, detective Hwang Jun-ho waits for him. Jun-ho greets Gi-hun and introduces himself showing his badge, revealing to be an officer of the Dobong Police. Jun-ho reminds Gi-hun about him going to the police station and asks about his recent report, in which people were abducted to play games and then killed. Gi-hun lies saying he was drunk and bored, so he made up the whole story. Jun-ho reveals that his brother is currently missing and he had the same business card Gi-hun showed at the police station. Gi-hun tries to dismiss Jun-ho again, lying about picking up the card on the street. As Gi-hun moves to enter his home, Jun-ho stops him. Jun-ho begs Gi-hun to help him find his brother, but Gi-hun apologizes and says he is not in a position to help anyone at the moment. Gi-hun then walks through the gates of his house, leaving Jun-ho on the street.
In front of his apartment, Gi-hun sees that a new Squid Game card wedged between the door and the frame. Having no other choice, Gi-hun decides to rejoin the games in hopes of winning the prize money, which is more than enough to pay for the surgery for his mother. At night on June 23, Gi-hun waits for the staff to take him back to the games. At 12 p.m. sharp, a passenger van being driven by a masked worker appears. Gi-hun gets in the van and is once again put to sleep by gas. Unknown to him, Jun-ho watches Gi-hun from afar and follows him as he is taken by the masked men to the Squid Game island.
==="The Man with the Umbrella"===
Back in the games, Gi-hun wakes up in the dormitory again. He sees Il-nam asleep on his bed and approaches to wake him. Gi-hun calls Il-nam until he wakes up and the old man becomes happy to see him. Gi-hun becomes relieved after thinking that Il-nam might had passed away as he was taking too long to wake up. Il-nam states he will not die that easily. Gi-hun is pleased to hear this, recalling that he both left the games and now returned because of Il-nam, so he tells the old man not to die first. Look around the room, they notice that the majority of the players rejoined and the large screen in the room shows that the total number of players is 187. Gi-hun thinks that everyone had a tough time outside and decided to return. Gi-hun then spots Han Mi-nyeo and remembers that she was the woman who said she had a baby that she hadn't name yet when the players were begging the masked men to let them go after the first game. While Gi-hun is surprised that even Mi-nyeo returned and Il-nam wonders if she managed to give her baby a name before coming back.
Gi-hun turns as he hears Sang-woo calling him. His friend greets him and says he wasn't expecting Gi-hun to come back. Upset, Gi-hun tells him he wasn't planning to return either. Gi-hun asks if Sang-woo went to see his mother before rejoining. In response, his friend just lowers his head in shame. Then, Ali appears and approaches greeting Gi-hun and Sang-woo. Gi-hun immediately recalls that this man is his savior from the first game and Ali says that he is glad to see him again. Ali then thanks Sang-woo for paying his bus fare in Seoul another day. Hearing this, Gi-hun asks Sang-woo what Ali is talking about. Sang-woo explains to his friend that Ali was going to walk from Yeouido, which is located in the city of Seoul, to his home in the city of Ansan the day they were dropped by the Squid Game staff after the vote. Gi-hun laughs at this and says it is heart-warming, feeling they get along as comrades from boot camp. Ali asks what a boot camp is, so Gi-hun tells him that it is the place where soldiers train and live together in the military.
While talking about the subject, Gi-hun suggests that they form a team for the next games. Sang-woo immediately agrees, saying it will be good to have a group and be prepared for anything they are going to play next. Gi-hun asks Ali to join them, reminding Sang-woo that Ali is amazingly strong as he managed to left him up with one hand during the Red Light, Green Light game. Ali happily accepts to join the two of them. Il-nam, who is still on his bed nearby and heard the entire conversation, asks to join them. Gi-hun accepts the old man in the team and becomes happy that they have all types of people in their group.
The team is later seen together after players received lunch boxes to eat. Il-nam comments that this food brings back memories and Gi-hun wonders if the old man used to eat lunch boxes like that in the past. Il-nam tells him that his wife used to pack lunch boxes for him and his children. Gi-hun notices that the rice is too cold and turns to Sang-woo, reminiscing that when the two of them were children, they had a coal stove to warm their food in their elementary school classroom. Sang-woo says that Gi-hun should try to figure out what the next game will be instead of spending the entire time remembering the past. Gi-hun replies that this not something he can guess, they will only know when the game begins. However, Il-nam says that based on what they played so far, it will probably be another old children's game. Gi-hun agrees and says that there are so many games that could be next, so he starts to mention the names of several of them. An upset Ali tells Gi-hun that he doesn't know any of them. Gi-hun asks if the kids in Ali's country don't play these games. Ali confirms that they don't, but Sang-woo reassures Ali that the rules of children's games are simple and the group will help Ali if he doesn't know. 
In the following morning, the workers give each player a wrapped bun and a bottle of milk. Gi-hun asks the worker for chocolate milk saying he could never disgest regular milk not even as a child, thus he cannot drink it. The worker don't reply, so Gi-hun takes the milk anyway. Il-nam laughs and comments that Gi-hun must have been spanked a lot as a child. Gi-hun wonders how Il-nam would know this and the old man replies that Gi-hun is just like his son. After the team got their breakfast, Sang-woo becomes distracted watching Sae-byeok from afar and Ali asks why he is not eating, so Sang-woo gives his bun to him, saying he doesn't eat breakfast. This causes Gi-hun to jokingly say that geniuses don't eat much and then also gives his own milk to Ali. While eating, they all hear the announcer say that the second game will start soon.
The location of the second game is a playground. Gi-hun looks around the place and tries to guess what the game will be. He asks what Sang-woo thinks and wonders if the players will have to hold out on a roundabout or push people off of the jungle gym. Then, the announcer explains that the players should choose one of the four shapes on the doors (a circle, a triangle, a star, and a umbrella) and stand in front of it. Ali wonders what the shapes are and Il-nam comments that they seem very familiar as Sang-woo stares at the doors while in deep thought. In a memory, young Gi-hun is seen once again, alogside young Sang-woo and other children, as Sang-woo recalls a day of his childhood when they saw a street food vendor making dalgona candies with similar shapes. 
Gi-hun interrupts his friend's thoughts by asking him what the team should do. Keeping his guess to himself, Sang-woo anxiously replies he isn't sure. Gi-hun questions Sang-woo if they should move as a team, but his friend replies that it might be dangerous if all of them pick the same shape. Because they don't know what the game is, Sang-woo suggests the team to split by choosing different shapes, explaining the saying in investments "don't put all your eggs in one basket". Hearing this, Gi-hun becomes very proud of his childhood best friend's intelligence. He turns to Il-nam and brags about his friend, telling the old man that Sang-woo got into SNU as the top of his class and he was a famous prodigy in Ssangmun-dong. Il-nam says that Sang-woo must be a great man and Gi-hun happily agrees. Sang-woo becomes visibly uncomfortable by these praises but it goes unnoticed by Gi-hun.
Having decided to follow Sang-woo's suggestion, each member of the team picks a shape. Sang-woo chooses the triangle, so Gi-hun asks Ali to pick a shape. Ali says "dayira", explaining to a confused Gi-hun that it is the circle, which looks like the moon from his hometown. Gi-hun then turns to Il-nam, but the old man tells him to choose first. Looking between the two remaining shapes, Gi-hun confidently chooses the umbrella. This causes Sang-woo to immediately turn to his friend in alarm and he asks Gi-hun why he would make this choice. Gi-hun tells Sang-woo about a past memory about him always losing his umbrellas as a child, which would make his mother angry, so she ended up leaving him only with the broken ones. Because of this, Gi-hun says that he always wanted to have a decent umbrella like the other kids. Turning to Il-nam, Gi-hun notices he hears this story and nods silently while still looking at the doors. Gi-hun asks if Il-nam really wants the star shape or wants to switch with him. Il-nam replies that the star is great as they rarely see stars nowdays. 
Since all members of the team picked a shape, Gi-hun says that they should move and come up with a plan together once they know what the game is. The members of the team move to stand in front of the doors and Gi-hun walks towards the umbrella door, but he stops when he hears Sang-woo calling him. Gi-hun turns to see that his friend stayed behind instead of walking to his chosen door and is now staring at him with a worried look. Gi-hun looks back at Sang-woo and waits for him to speak. Concerned but also conflicted, Sang-woo hesitates to tell Gi-hun something and ultimately gives up on doing so. With this, Gi-hun smiles at him and gives a shake of his fist, wishing his friend good luck, before continuing to move towards the umbrella door.
After the masked workers gave all the players their dalgona candies with their chosen shapes, Gi-hun realizes he made a terrible mistake. The game is revealed to be Dalgona (Sugar Honeycombs) and the announcer says that players have 10 minutes to cut out their shapes without breaking or cracking it. Gi-hun is stunned to realize that he doomed himself by choosing the umbrella, which is the hardest of the shapes to extract from the candy. From afar, an unsettled Sang-woo watches Gi-hun and sees his friend's distressed reaction. 
Gi-hun nervously uses the needle to scratch the candy, but barely manages to cut it, so he starts to snap pieces off the candy and eat it. Upon looking up, Gi-hun sees a masked soldier looming over him. With less than 8 minutes left, the first player to lose the game breaks his candy and is shot in the head by a soldier. The sound of the shot startles Gi-hun and the other players, causing them to look up in alarm. Subsequently, others crack their candies and are shot, making Gi-hun tremble as he sees the players falling around him. With around 3 minutes before the game is over, Gi-hun is using the needle and licking it while unsuccessfully cutting his candy when he hears the announcer say "Player 218 passed". Recognizing his friend's number, Gi-hun looks to see Sang-woo next to a soldier who just got his triangle-shaped candy. Sang-woo turns and glances back at Gi-hun but then avoids his friend's eyes by lowering his head. Gi-hun stares at Sang-woo as he leaves the playground, but is then startled by another player who is killed nearby. Gi-hun looks at the timer and sees that there is less than 3 minutes left, so he goes back to scratching the candy with the needle.
While still struggling to cut out his umbrella with the needle, sweat drips from Gi-hun's face onto the candy. This causes the candy to melt where the moisture slowly dissolves it. Noticing this, Gi-hun holds the candy to the light and realizes that if he licks the back of it, the outline of the umbrella will melt first because it is thinner. With less than 1 minute and a half left, Gi-hun intently licks the back of his dalgona candy, occasionally holding it up to the light to check if the outline of the umbrella shape is melting. Gi-hun's weird behaviour causes other players to look at him in confusion. Several players eventually start to copy Gi-hun's technique and lick the back of their own candies.
With less than 10 seconds left, Gi-hun still frantically licks the back of his candy while being closely watched by the same masked soldier. Just as the timer expires, Gi-hun grabs the top of the umbrella and pulls away all the surrounding candy, perfectly extracting the shape. Gi-hun cries in relief as the announcer says that he passed this game. He is later seen going down the spiral staircases while returning to the dormitory, along with other players who survived this game. Il-nam comes down the stairs right behind him. Along the way, however, Gi-hun and the others stop and look up as they hear the soldiers shooting the players who are still in the playground because they didn't finish the game in time. 
==="Stick to the Team"===
While going down the spiral staircases, Gi-hun thinks about the moment he was walking to stand in front of the umbrella door. He remembers that Sang-woo called him with a worried look and almost told him something, causing Gi-hun to suspect that his friend knew that the game was Dalgona and was trying to warn him. Gi-hun turns as he hears Il-nam speaking with him. Il-nam happily thanks Gi-hun, saying that he survived the game because he saw Gi-hun licking the dalgona candy and copied him. Gi-hun smiles at the old man and they walk back to the dormitory together. 
Entering the dormitory, Sang-woo and Ali are waiting for them. Ali says that he was worried and is happy that both Il-nam and Gi-hun survived. Gi-hun assures that he won't die so easily and Il-nam tells Ali that he survived thanks to Gi-hun. Sang-woo then nervously apologizes to Gi-hun for suggesting the team to split up. Despite his suspicions, Gi-hun looks at his friend and decides to let it slide. Feigning ignorance, Gi-hun says that Sang-woo doesn't need to apologize because he didn't know. Gi-hun reminds his friend that he chose the umbrella himself, so it is okay. Sang-woo tells Gi-hun that he is glad that all members of their team survived. Right after, they all hear the announcer say that 79 players were eliminated in this round, and witness ₩7.9 billion being added to the piggy bank. With this, 108 players remain in the games. 
During lunch time, the workers serve each player only hard-boiled egg and a glass bottled soda. Gi-hun and his teammates receive their lunch and sit down together to eat, however, a few players don't receive any food after Deok-su and his gang got in line twice to eat more. As result, Player 271 confronts the gangster, and Gi-hun and the others witness Deok-su beat him in front of everyone. As Deok-su leaves an unmoving 271 on the floor, Gi-hun is standing and Sang-woo has his hand raised protectively in front of him (probably having stopped Gi-hun from intervening in the confrontation). As soon as Deok-su moves away from 271, Sang-woo approaches to help the beaten player and Gi-hun immediately follows him. Gi-hun stands next to Sang-woo as his friend tries to wake 271 up but fails. After checking 271's pulse, Sang-woo turns to Gi-hun and tells him that the player is dead. 
Horrified by Player 271's death, Gi-hun walks towards the masked men and begs them to do something about the murder. Gi-hun repeatedly points between 271's corpse and Deok-su, expecting them to punish the gangster for killing another player. However, Gi-hun has no response from the staff in the room as they continue to stand unmoving and in silence, leaving him exasperated. Gi-hun looks around the room and then up. He starts to scream for the cameras, hoping that anyone from the staff that is watching the players will hear his pleas. Gi-hun yells for the ones behind the games to hear that 271 is dead and the players shouldn't be killing each other like this. Despite his efforts, Gi-hun is ignored. Instead, 271's death is simply added to the eliminated players and more money is added to the piggy bank. Then, two masked men enter the dormitory carrying a coffin to take away 271's body. Gi-hun becomes shocked and angered to see that there is no punishment for this murder. This causes Gi-hun and the other players to realize that killing each other in between games is allowed.
Later, 30 minutes before the lights out, Gi-hun is reunited with his team. Sang-woo tells Gi-hun and his other teammates that it is too dangerous to sleep tonight as anything could happen after the lights go out. Gi-hun and Sang-woo look across the room and see Deok-su's gang reunited. Sang-woo says that the gang is definitely up to no good and advises the team to stick together and fight if there is an attack. Hearing this, Gi-hun turns to Il-nam and sees the old man dozing off on his bed. Gi-hun wakes Il-nam up by tapping him on the shoulder and tells him that he can't sleep tonight. Seemly confused and apparently not hearing their conversation, Il-nam questions why. Gi-hun explains that it will be dangerous tonight and they will reunite in this place if something happens, so Il-nam agrees. Looking at Deok-su's gang again, Gi-hun notices Deok-su and Player 278 staring at Sae-byeok, who is now sitting alone on the other side of the dormitory.
Fearing that Deok-su's gang might be planning to attack the girl, Gi-hun approaches the lonely Sae-byeok. Gi-hun asks if she will be okay because she and Deok-su clearly don't get along. He invites Sae-byeok to join his team, explaining that they will be reunited by his bed if anything happens after the lights go out. In response, Sae-byeok states that she doesn't trust anyone, especially the players in this competition. Gi-hun is surprised by the refusal. Before leaving, he tells her that they don't trust people because they are trustworthy, they do it because they have nothing else to lean on. When the lights go out, Gi-hun is seen lying awake on the top of a bunk bed, preparing for what will happen next.
After the lights go out, Gi-hun is startled by the screams of Player 198. She was the one who saw Deok-su's gang getting in the line twice during lunch time and told everyone, so Deok-su killed her first by stabbing her with a broken bottle as the woman screamed in terror. Then, the lights start to flicker on and off as a riot led by Deok-su and his gang ensues. From the top of his bunk, Gi-hun tries to see what is happening in the chaos. However, some of the bunks tilt forward, including Gi-hun's. He ends up jumping from his tilted bunk and falls on the ground, being immediately attacked by Player 413, who is holding a part of the bed as a weapon. Gi-hun tries to escape from 413, but the player chases after him and pins his throat against a bed. Gi-hun manages to evade him and tries to unsuccessfully stop his attacks by grabbing the player by the leg, but 413 kicks Gi-hun off him. As prepares to attack Gi-hun again, Sang-woo and Ali arrive to save him. From the top of a bunk, Ali holds 413's metal bar, then Sang-woo grabs the bar and uses it to attack 413, keeping the attacker away from Gi-hun. Sang-woo is punched and falls back near Gi-hun, but Ali manages to push 413 away. With the attacker gone, Sang-woo immediately turns to his friend and asks if he is injured. Gi-hun replies he is okay, but then looks around and notices that Il-nam is missing.
The trio starts to look for Il-nam. Along the way, Gi-hun is attacked again. Player 113 starts to beat Gi-hun with a metal bar, but Sang-woo immediately defends his friend by attacking 113 and Ali pushes the new attacker away from them. The trio eventually reaches the old man's bed and don't find him there. Gi-hun yells out for Il-nam, but has no answer amidst the chaos. While Gi-hun looks around for Il-nam, he sees Sae-byeok running towards him from across the room. Gi-hun is surprised to see girl and she reminds him that he asked her to come. However, Sae-byeok didn't come alone, she was chased by Deok-su and his gang. Gi-hun sees Deok-su approaching from behind Sae-byeok and holding the girl's own switchblade to stab her. Gi-hun gets the girl out of the way of Deok-su's attack and pushes the gangster away. Deok-su sweeps the blade trying to attack Gi-hun, but he is defended by Sae-byeok, who kicks Deok-su. Sang-woo and Ali join this fight as other members of the gang arrive to attack Sae-byeok. Player 303 knocks down Sae-byeok by breaking a glass bottle on her head, so Sang-woo beats him with a metal bar while Gi-hun helps the girl to stand up. The two teams face each other in a standoff. Seeing Gi-hun and Sang-woo's team defending Sae-byeok, Deok-su asks Gi-hun why he is doing this. The gangster states that fewer players would be good for Gi-hun too. Gi-hun defiantly replies that Sae-byeok is one of his team. Then, they all hear Il-nam pleading the players to stop killing each other from the top of a high bunk. 
Il-nam's pleas are followed by the masked staff entering the dormitory to end the riot. While soldiers and workers inspect both dead and living players, a manager approaches Gi-hun. Unknown to him, this is actually detective Hwang Jun-ho, who managed to infiltrate in the 33rd Squid Game by taking identities of the staff members after following Gi-hun at the night he rejoined the games. Still looking for his missing brother, Jun-ho asks Gi-hun if there is a man named Hwang In-ho among the players. Gi-hun tells him that the players don't know each other's names, so Jun-ho leaves. 
During the riot, 27 were killed, so now 80 players remain in the games. Right after, Gi-hun sits down with his team and they talk. Gi-hun asks if Il-nam is okay and wonders when the old man climb on the top of the high bunk because doing it was not safe. Sang-woo looks at Gi-hun and says that it is a relief that no one in their team was badly injured. Gi-hun says that they should take this chance to indroduce themselves because the members of the team don't even know each other's names. Ali says that he already knows Gi-hun's name, mistaking it for "Ssangmun-dong", which is what Deok-su calls him. Gi-hun laughs and tells Ali his name, explaining that "Ssangmun-dong" is the neighborhood he lives. Sang-woo asks Ali for his name and Gi-hun asks where he is from. Ali indroduces himself and says he is from Pakistan. Gi-hun wonders where Pakistan is and Sang-woo tells him that it is right above India. Ali states that Sang-woo is right, making once again Gi-hun proud of his friend's intelligence. Gi-hun starts to brag about Sang-woo to introduce him to Ali. But as Gi-hun starts to talk about his friend's graduation at SNU, Sang-woo interrupts him by simply telling Ali his name. 
Gi-hun and Sang-woo then turn to Sae-byeok, who is sitting in silence behind them, and Gi-hun nods asking for her to say her name. But Sae-byeok is hesitant as she is not sure if this is really necessary. Gi-hun tells her that they are on the same side now and need to at least know each others' names to build trust among their team. With this, Sae-byeok reveals her name, making Gi-hun state that it is a nice name but it doesn't suit her. Finally, Ali asks for Il-nam's name, but the old man stutters, causing the members of the team to stare at him in confusion. Because Il-nam seems unable to respond as he has apparently forgotten his name, Gi-hun says that the old man must be just really shaken. Gi-hun comforts him by saying that he also forgets his own address and resident registration number when he is stressed out. Gi-hun suggests Il-nam to rest so he will recover and be okay.
In the following morning, when the lights come up, Gi-hun and his teammates wake up and Il-nam is sitting next to them awake. Gi-hun looks at the old man in confusion and wonders if he stayed up all night. Il-nam replies he was afraid there would be another attack. Gi-hun becomes worried because Il-nam must be tired. However, Il-nam tells him that it is fine because old people don't sleep much anyway. The old man adds that he wasn't much help during the riot, so stand guard is the least he can do. As Gi-hun looks at Il-nam in concern for this, they all hear the announcer say that the third game will begin soon.
Later, they enter a white room as the announcer says that the third game will be played as a team and players have 10 minutes to form teams of 10. Gi-hun talks with Sang-woo about what the third game might be and who they should invite to join their team. Gi-hun mentions many team games that could be next and tries to guess if the game will require luck or speed. He asks Sang-woo what should they do. Sang-woo tells him that there is already a woman and an elderly man in their their team, so they their new teammates need to be all men. Gi-hun argues that the next game might be one in which women are better at. Sang-woo agrees with his friend, but explains that probably-wise, men are better at most games. Sang-woo reminds Gi-hun that they are betting their lives in the competition, so they need to increase their odds to make sure their team wins. Sang-woo then tasks the team to split to look for new teammates, with each member of the team being responsible to bring one person. Gi-hun and the others agree with this plan and leave in search of new teammates. While doing it, Gi-hun sees Player 244 by himself and invites him to join his team.
Reunited with the group again around 1 minute before the time is over, Player 244 joins the team along with Ji-yeong, Player 276 and Player 196. Gi-hun counts the number of members in his team and notices that they are still missing one person to complete 10 members. Gi-hun asks who didn't bring anyone. Il-nam apologizes and sadly says that it was him. Then, Sang-woo reprimands Sae-byeok for ignoring his instruction and bringing Ji-yeong to the team, causing Ji-yeong to feel unwelcomed. But as Ji-yeong is about to leave, Gi-hun stops her. Gi-hun tells Sang-woo that Ji-yeong can stay because they don't even know what game they will be playing and they don't have much time to look for someone else either. Gi-hun states that they need to focus on finding their last teammate. Unhappy with the team formation, Sang-woo tells his friend that they look weak and nobody will want to join them, so he thinks they will end up with the person left over. As Sang-woo says this, Mi-nyeo, who was just betrayed and abandoned by Deok-su, approaches claiming she isn't a leftover and will join their team. As Mi-nyeo boasts herself and says she will be better to the team than scrawny girls like Ji-yeong and Sae-byeok, the team stares at her, but she is reluctantly accepted as they are out of time to look for someone else.
Moving to the location of the game, they enter a space where there are two huge towers with platforms forming a bridge-like structure but with the middle missing. The game is revealed to be Tug-of-War and players should pull the rope towards their platform to make their opponents fall. Two teams, including Deok-su's group, are sorted to play first. Gi-hun and others of his team become horrified as they watch Deok-su's gang pulling their adversaries to fall to their deaths. Gi-hun and Sang-woo's team is sorted to play next against team 5, a group with only men. Gi-hun is distressed as he and his team walk towards the elevator to the platform where they will play. Along the way, the team walks past Deok-su's gang, who is leaving the location. Gi-hun hears Deok-su insulting their team, wishing he was the one to kill them.
Inside the elevator, members of the team, especially Gi-hun and Sang-woo, look very discouraged. However, Il-nam tells the team that they should not be upset, because Tug-of-War not just about strength and is a game they can win with strategy and teamwork. Player 196 says that Il-nam should stop talking nonsense and save his strength because he is just an old man who can barely stand, but Gi-hun says that they should at least hear what Il-nam has to say. With this, Il-nam proposes a plan that will allow them to win despite them having a weaker group. Arriving on the platform, both teams play Tug-of-War after being shackled by the workers to the rope. Gi-hun is put at the front of the team acting as the leader, and Sang-woo is put right behind him. The team executes Il-nam's plan and it temporary works well. However, the opponent team eventually manages to pull the rope back, dragging Gi-hun and Sang-woo's team close to the edge. As they are about to fall to their deaths, Sang-woo comes up with a last-second tactic to save his team, telling his teammates to move three steps forward to knock down the opposite team. Mi-nyeo, who screaming in terror, states that Sang-woo is crazy and his plan won't work, but Gi-hun yells that the team should try his friend's idea. So, Gi-hun and his teammates follow Sang-woo's cue and execute this new plan.
==="A Fair World"===
Sang-woo's last-second plan works and saves the team. As they are being dragged and very close to fall on the edge, the team executes the plan by stepping forward. This causes Gi-hun to be dragged off the platform and swing in the air from being shackled to the rope, however, it manages to knock down team 5. Sang-woo tells his teammates to take this chance to pull back the rope, which quickly brings Gi-hun back to the platform. As their adversaries are being dragged close to the edge of the opposite platform, Gi-hun keeps pulling the rope but stares at team 5, who is about to die at his team's hands. With this, Gi-hun and Sang-woo's team wins the game by pulling their opponents to fall to their deaths. After the game, the team is relieved and exhausted for the effort they did to survive. 
Back inside the elevator, Gi-hun stares at his injured and trembling hands, feeling remorseful after having to kill ten people to win the game. This is noticed by Sang-woo, who is in the corner of the elevator and looks at his friend in concern. Entering the dormitory, Deok-su's gang stare at Gi-hun and his team, as Deok-su and his group were not expecting Gi-hun and Sang-woo's team to win. In third game, 40 people were eliminated and now 40 players remain in the games.
Later, the whole team sits together while eating corn for dinner. Mi-nyeo tells the team how she is amazed that they survived the Tug-of-War game and she mentions that her new team is much better than Deok-su's gang, so Gi-hun wonders why she was kicked out from the gang. However, Gi-hun addresses her as "missus", making Mi-nyeo turn and stare at him. She tells Gi-hun not to call her "missus", saying that he should call her by her name. Mi-nyeo then answers Gi-hun's question by claiming she wasn't kicked out, she chose to leave because the gang is in a different level than hers. Sang-woo points out that the gang abandoned Mi-nyeo for strong men right before the game as if they already knew that it was going to be Tug-of-War, making Gi-hun look at his friend and reflect about it.
With 30 minutes left before the lights go out, Sang-woo reminds the team about the riot that happened last night and says they should be prepared in case another fight break out. While the team discusses what they should do, Gi-hun stares Sae-byeok as she tells the team she witnessed a man be killed by his own ally during the riot and admits she doesn't trust any of her teammates. Gi-hun then tells the team that they should focus on their protection and suggests to set up a barricade. So, 10 minutes before the lights go out, the whole team helps to move the metal parts of the beds to form a cover around them. While Gi-hun and his teammates set up their cover, Deok-su calls out to Gi-hun and approaches with a grin. Deok-su laughs and says he can see how Gi-hun and his team are desperate to survive the night, but states that this cover will not be enough to protect them. However, instead of feeling threatened by this, Gi-hun surprises Deok-su by saying that the gangster should worry about himself. Gi-hun wonders if Deok-su really trusts the members of his gang, causing Deok-su's grin to fade as he turns and stares at his teammates across the room. Gi-hun explains that if he was a member of the gang, he would try to kill Deok-su first in case another fight starts, because the gangster is the strongest one. This leaves Deok-su with no response. He reflects about it, then returns to his gang, who is on the other side of the dormitory. 
1 minute before the lights go out, all the members of the team are reunited inside the barricade while Gi-hun and Sang-woo plan how they will survive the night. Gi-hun tells the team that, even though they are protected, they should take turns guarding in case of another attack through the night, to prevent them to be killed in their sleep. Sang-woo agrees and says that they should do it in pairs, as a person might fall asleep or decide to side with another team to betray them. Sang-woo volunteers to go first and Ali offers to join him, so Gi-hun says that he is going next. He asks Sang-woo and Ali to wake him up once they become tired. Il-nam offers to join Gi-hun in his guard duty, and Gi-hun accepts.
Once the first guard duty is over, Gi-hun becomes startled as Sang-woo wakes him up. Sang-woo tells Gi-hun that it is time for them to switch and helps his friend to get up from the bed. Having noticed that Gi-hun woke up distraught, Sang-woo becomes worried and asks if he will be okay. Gi-hun looks at him in confusion, so Sang-woo explains that he is concerned because it looked like Gi-hun was having a nightmare. Gi-hun denies it and reassures his friend. He pats Sang-woo on the back and assures him that he is fine.
However, Sang-woo's concern was not misplaced. During his guard duty, Gi-hun experiences flashbacks of the strike which happened a decade ago at the car company he formerly worked. In his memory, he sees the police beating up the workers and relives the moment when a co-worker was killed in front of him. Realizing Gi-hun is in deep thought, Il-nam calls him. Il-nam asks what he is thinking, noticing that Gi-hun appears to be sleeping with the eyes open. Gi-hun tells him about the strike at the car company, saying that he and his co-workers had to set up a barricade like the one their team did. Gi-hun explains that the workers went on strike because the company was in financial trouble, so they fired them. Gi-hun reveals felt wronged by the company bosses, because he had worked at that company for more than 10 years, but then he and his colleagues were suddenly asked to leave after their bosses ruined the company and held the workers responsible. At that point, Gi-hun's his wife was about to give birth and he needed money to pay his bills and sustain his family. Being unfairly fired made Gi-hun furious, so he decided to join the strike. He adds that when he and his co-workers occupied the factory, they also kept a watch at night as they were terrified that the police would barge in any minute. After Gi-hun told this story, Il-nam says that he heard about this strike as it was big news back then. Il-nam recalls that the news said that someone died during the strike and apologizes when he notices Gi-hun's sad expression.
Suddenly, Il-nam stops speaking as he seems to have a severe headache. Seeing the old man in pain, Gi-hun places a hand on his forehead and notices that he has a fever. Gi-hun helps Il-nam to lay down on his bed, before ripping a cloth and grabbing a water bottle. Gi-hun tries to wet the cloth, but realizes the bottle is empty. Then, Sae-byeok, who is awake, appears offering her water bottle to him. Gi-hun uses Sae-byeok's water and presses the wet cloth to Il-nam's forehead to break his fever. Il-nam thanks Gi-hun for helping him. In response, Gi-hun says that Il-nam needs to get better to play another game with them the next day. As Il-nam seems to fall asleep, Gi-hun goes back to watch. He tells Sae-byeok that she should go back to sleep, saying he can watch alone, but she reminds him they agreed do it in pairs and she is already awake anyway. Gi-hun thanks her for the water bottle. Sae-byeok says that it wasn't for free and he should pay her back in the following day, causing Gi-hun to grin upon hearing this.
Later, Gi-hun is sleeping on his bed when all players are awakened by the lights snapping up and the sound of a siren. Gi-hun and Sang-woo, who have their beds next to each other, wake up and look at each other in alarm. As Gi-hun and his teammates get out of their beds, they see the masked staff entering the dormitory to check on them. Because Il-nam is still lying down while clutching to his blanket, a soldier approaches holding a rifle and orders him to get out of bed. Seeing this, Gi-hun tells the soldier that Il-nam is sick, but this causes another soldier to point his gun at Gi-hun. The soldier yanks the blanket off of Il-nam, revealing that the old man had wet his pants, making Gi-hun look at him pityingly. Everyone finds out the reason for this sudden check on players before the fourth game begins.
==="Gganbu"===
After being awakened, all teams stand in lines while being checked by the staff. Gi-hun stares at Il-nam's wet pants and decides to help him. So, once the staff is done checking the players, Gi-hun takes off his tracksuit jacket and ties it around the old man's waist to hide the wet spot. Il-nam thanks Gi-hun for his kindness. Gi-hun replies that the jacket looks good on him. Then, the announcer says that the fourth game will begin soon. Going up the spiral staircases, Gi-hun stops walking and looks up in horror. He and the other players are surprised at the sight of five corpses hanging from their wrists on a giant mobile: Player 111, two soldiers, a manager and a worker. A manager explains that this is the fate of the people who broke the rules of the games for their own benefit and tainted the ideology of equality of the competition.
Entering the white room again, the announcer says that players have 10 minutes to form pairs for the next game. Once two people agree to play together, they should shake hands to become partners. Right after, Gi-hun and his teammates are gathered when Mi-nyeo approaches and begs him to play with her. To convince Gi-hun, Mi-nyeo says she is better than he expects and stronger than most men. She claims to have committed fraud five times, explaning that she is very smart despite never having studied. Gi-hun silently rejects her, avoiding her eyes and not replying. Mi-nyeo then turns to Sang-woo, who is standing nearby, and Gi-hun watches as she tries to convince his friend in similar way. Likewise, Sang-woo silently rejects Mi-nyeo, looking annoyed and avoiding her gaze. Seeing this, Sae-byeok looks at Gi-hun and Sang-woo, then says that they should just be honest and admit they don't want to play with a woman or the old man. As Sae-byeok stands up to leave, Gi-hun asks where she is going, making her stop and turn to him. She questions why Gi-hun interested to know and if he wants to team up with her. Gi-hun doesn't reply, so Sae-byeok leaves to look for a partner, being followed by Ji-yeong. Rejected, Mi-nyeo turns to Gi-hun and Sang-woo, then says that they both will regret not choosing her as a partner, before also leaving. 
As soon as Mi-nyeo is gone, Gi-hun turns to Sang-woo and starts to ask him to be his partner. However, Gi-hun stops as he surprised to see his friend asking Ali to team up with him. Disappointed, Gi-hun stands nearby just watching as Sang-woo talks and then offers his hand to Ali. Sang-woo seems not to notice Gi-hun watching them, but Ali does. Ali hesitates to take Sang-woo's hand, instead he at looks at Gi-hun. Following Ali's gaze, Sang-woo seems to finally notice Gi-hun standing next to him. Seeing that the two noticed his presence, Gi-hun says that it is okay. Despite his clear disappointment, he forces a smile and encourages Sang-woo and Ali, saying that they will be a great team. Gi-hun tells them that he will find someone else to be his partner, so Ali decides to take Sang-woo's hand. After Sang-woo and Ali teamed up, Gi-hun looks around and sees his teammates, Players 244 and 196, are also shaking hands. With all his teammates leaving to find partners or after having teamed up with someone, the only person sitting where his team once was is Il-nam. The old man stands up and takes off his jacket, then offers it to Gi-hun. Il-nam says that the others will look down on Gi-hun if he is not wearing his jacket. Gi-hun takes the jacket with the number "001" on it and puts it on.
With less than 4 minutes left to find a partner, Player 062 asks Gi-hun to play with him. 062 says that there is no one better than him, explaining he is a math teacher and was also in the local soccer team, so he is fit. 062 adds that he turned down several other offers because he wanted to team up with Gi-hun, feeling that they will be a great duo together. Gi-hun is unsure if he should accept the offer, saying they don't even know what the next game is. 062 insists that Gi-hun agree to play with him, as Gi-hun at this rate might not find anyone else to be his partner. 062 reminds Gi-hun that Player 111 was executed and now there is 39 players, an odd number, meaning that someone will be left with no partner. Realizing this, Gi-hun is surprised and wonders what will happen to this person. 062 confidently says that this player will obviously be eliminated. He then looks at Il-nam and tells Gi-hun that the person with no partner will probably be the old man. Gi-hun looks over and sees Il-nam sitting on a corner alone. Wishing to help the old man, as 062 extends his hand, Gi-hun hesitates and ultimately decides to help Il-nam instead of accepting 062's offer. Gi-hun approaches Il-nam and reaches out to him, asking to be his partner. After Il-nam accepted to play with Gi-hun, the two of them sit together on the corner of the white room until the time to choose partners is over, then they walk together to the place of the next game.
The location of the fourth game is a room constructed to resemble a neighborhood with small houses and alleys. The players gather next to the entrance and are asked to follow the soldiers who will guide each duo to their positions in the place. While Gi-hun and Il-nam walk through an alley and follow the soldier who is leading them to their position, Il-nam comments that he used to live in a neighborhood like this one. Gi-hun tells him that he did too and that he lived in an alley similar to this one when he was a child. Arriving at their position, Gi-hun and Il-nam stop as their soldier escort turns around and gives them each a pouch. The announcer says that each pouch should have 10 marbles and asks them to look at the contents of the pouch and check if the number of marbles is correct.
Checking the content of the pouch, Gi-hun asks Il-nam if he ever played marbles before. The old man happily confirms that he used to play marbles very often as a child and was very good at it. Gi-hun becomes relieved that this is not a game that requires strength and says that he is not so bad playing marbles. Excited, Il-nam proposes that they make a pact and become "gganbu". Gi-hun asks what gganbu is and Il-nam is surprised that his partner doesn't know. Il-nam explains that gganbu is the neighborhood friend with whom the person shares everything, including the marbles. There is no ownership between two friends who are gganbu. Gi-hun then recalls this word and says that he had a "gganbu" in his town too. To seal their pact, Gi-hun and Il-nam link their pinkies and press their thumbs together. Still excited about their pact, Gi-hun says that they will sweep all the marbles in this neighborhood together.
The announcer confirms that the game is Marbles, however, Gi-hun's smile vanishes and he becomes stunned to hear that the players have 30 minutes to win all the 10 marbles of their partner. In other words, the pairs will be playing against each other, not together. Shocked by the news, Gi-hun turns to Il-nam, but the old man seems to be completely oblivious to what is happening. He just holds up a marble and stares at it, saying that it is so pretty. Il-nam then wanders off, being followed by Gi-hun and the soldier who is watching them. The old man walks around, seemingly looking forward to find his house in the neighborhood, as an anxious Gi-hun repeatedly shows him the marble pouch and reminds him that they should play. Il-nam initially ignores Gi-hun but then asks what he is taking about. Gi-hun points to the partners playing nearby and tries to explain to a seemingly confused old man that they should play like everybody else is doing right now. Despite this, Il-nam refuses, saying that he is not a child to play marbles. Gi-hun is surprised by this response and follows the old man as he wanders off again. 
Gi-hun follows his game partner around the place while the other pairs are playing. Desperate, he turns to the soldier and explains that Il-nam has dementia and is currently not in his right mind, so this would basically be the same as if the old man had withdrawn from the match because he can't play. Because the soldier doesn't reply, Gi-hun tries to convince Il-nam again. Gi-hun begs Il-nam to play just once and promises it will be fun. Il-nam refuses, replying that he is certain that his house is in this alley and he wants to go home. Becoming frustrated, Gi-hun grabs Il-nam and pushes him against a wall, then yells that they will both die if this continues. Gi-hun screams that while the old man might not care because of his brain tumor, he has to survive and get out the games. This finally convinces Il-nam, who asks Gi-hun not to scream and says he will play with him.
As players are allowed to create their own rules in this game, Gi-hun and Il-nam try a simple game. During each round, one of them just have to guess if the number of marbles the other is holding is odd or even and bet some marbles on this guess. If the guess is correct, the one who guessed gains from the other the amount of marbles he bet. But if the guess is wrong, the player gives the marbles he bet to the other. To Gi-hun's surprise, Il-nam not only keeps correctly guessing if the number of marbles is even or odd, but also bets a great number of marbles during each round. Il-nam becomes excited because of his wins, while Gi-hun quickly becomes anxious. With less than 10 minutes left before the time is up, Gi-hun already lost 9 of his marbles to the old man after just a couple of rounds. Thinking that Gi-hun is out of marbles, the soldier watching over them looms over Gi-hun and reaches for his pistol. Realizing that he is about to be killed, a fearful Gi-hun immediately shows his last marble to the soldier. 
During another round, Gi-hun is very undecided whether he should guess that the number of marbles Il-nam is holding is odd or even, knowing that he will lose his last marble if the guess is wrong. After saying "even", Gi-hun ends up changing his guess to "odd" before Il-nam opens his hand to show the marbles. To his utter shock, his first guess was correct as Il-nam reveals he is holding two marbles. Gi-hun becomes speechless, horrified for having lost this round, meaning he lost his last marble and the fourth game of the competition. However, he is surprised when hears Il-nam asking him to repeat what he said, seemingly having not heard Gi-hun's guess. Fearing for his life, Gi-hun decides to betray Il-nam to survive. He lies, saying that his guess was "even". Il-nam seems to become disappointed as he realizes he lost the round, giving one of his marbles to Gi-hun. During Il-nam's turn to guess, he seems to forget what his own guess was. Gi-hun lies again, saying his guess was wrong, receiving even more marbles from Il-nam.
The two keep playing while Gi-hun takes advantage of Il-nam's apparent dementia and tricks the old man into giving him his marbles. Il-nam seems crestfallen every time he realizes he lost the round. Gi-hun looks pained while he takes the marbles from Il-nam, but keeps cheating anyway. Il-nam then suddenly wonders what today's date is, saying that 24th of this month is his son's birthday. The old man explains that he was supposed to buy him a toy robot last year, but he forgot and ended up giving him nothing, so he wants to buy his son a birthday gift this year. Gi-hun looks saddened while hearing this story. Eventually, with less than 3 minutes left, Il-nam shakes his empty pouch, seemingly having run out of marbles. The old man tells Gi-hun that he wants to keep playing and asks him to lend just one marble. Not willing to give him the marbles, Gi-hun holds tightly his punch and apologizes to Il-nam. As Gi-hun stands up to leave, he is surprised by Il-nam pulling a marble out of his pocket. The old man becomes happy again, showing Gi-hun his last marble. Gi-hun empties the content of his pouch onto the ground and counts 19 marbles, realizing he is in fact missing one marble to win. However, Gi-hun becomes desperate as he looks up and sees Il-nam wandering off again.
Gi-hun follows Il-nam once again around the neighborhood. He begs the old man to play just one more round with him while the soldier walks after them. Il-nam, however, ignores Gi-hun and seems not to hear him. Il-nam stops in wonder as he seems to have finally found the house where he used to live with his wife and son. Il-nam walks through the gates of the house, saying he had a small pond in the front yard and when he would come home from work, his son would be having so much fun playing with his friends that he would not even realize that his father had came home. Il-nam adds that he would hide behind the telephone pole to spy on his son playing. Gi-hun goes after Il-nam, reminding him that he has one marble left. Frustrated, he grabs the old man by the shoulders, shakes him, and cries, begging Il-nam to play with him again. Gi-hun's pleas are finally heard as Il-nam proposes that they play one more round, but he says that it is only fair that they both should bet everything they have. Gi-hun thinks this idea is absurd and says that it is nonsense for him to bet all his marbles just to get a single one. Il-nam then surprises Gi-hun by asking if fooling him and taking his marbles make sense, revealing he was aware the entire time and actually let Gi-hun trick him. Gi-hun has no response to this, so he just stares Il-nam in shock before lowering his head in shame.
Gi-hun is surprised again when Il-nam takes his hand and gives him his last marble. The old man says the marble belongs to Gi-hun, reminding him about their pinky promise to be each other's gganbu before the game, so there is no ownership between them. Il-nam thanks Gi-hun for everything he did to him, explaining he had a good time during the games because of Gi-hun. Il-nam embraces Gi-hun, who cries for his game partner. Il-nam tries to reassure Gi-hun that everything is going to be alright. As the timer expires, Gi-hun walks out the gates of the house, leaving Il-nam inside. He stops when he hears Il-nam saying that he finally remembers his name and reveals it to Gi-hun. Seeing the soldier entering the gates of the house, Gi-hun starts to walk away, leaving Il-nam behind. He flinches at the sound of a shot inside the house, which is followed by the announcer saying that Il-nam was eliminated. Without looking behind him, Gi-hun leaves the place mourning the loss of his "gganbu", not noticing that there was no sound of his game partner's body falling to the ground.
==="VIPs"===
Only 16 players survived the Marbles game. Along with Il-nam, 4 other teammates of Gi-hun were eliminated during the game: Ji-yeong, Ali, Player 276, and Player 196. Following this game, the players return to the dormitory and find out that Mi-nyeo, who was left without a partner, was allowed simply to skip the fourth game instead of being eliminated. With this, 17 players remain in the games. 
Later, they all sit on their beds eating after being given a potato and a bottle of water. Gi-hun sits on a bed next to Sang-woo. He kept Il-nam's last marble and also wears the jacket with the number "001" on it. Still mourning the old man's death, Gi-hun just stares off instead of eating his potato. His friend notices this and tries to console him. Sang-woo reminds Gi-hun that the old man was someone he only knew in the games and then points out that Player 069 was forced to play against his own wife, so this poor man is going through a much worse situation. Gi-hun follows Sang-woo's gaze and sees a devastated Player 069 sitting on a bed to their left. 069 just stares at his feet while his food and water are untouched beside him.
Eventually, Player 069 does breaks down in front of everyone and begs the other players to vote to terminate the games. But despite 069's pleas, Gi-hun and the other contestants don't repond. Gi-hun then sees his friend getting up from his bed and confronting 069 about his weak will to continue the games. Sang-woo tells 069 that he shouldn't have let his wife die if he couldn't bare to go on without her, so 069 should have died in her place. He reminds 069 that it was not only his wife who died, many other lives were lost in the games, and leaving now would mean not only to face the miserable life outside but also to carry the guilt of all these deaths. Sang-woo turns to the others and challenges them to stand up and leave if they want to live this miserable life outside. None of the players reply, including Gi-hun. He is quiet as he watches his friend's speech and sadly looks at the last marble which Il-nam gave him. 
After the lights go out, Gi-hun and some other players sit on their beds awake for awhile instead of sleeping right away. In the following day, all players are woken up by the masked staff entering the dormitory carrying a coffin. Surprised by this, Gi-hun looks around the room to find out who it is for. He and the other players are shocked and saddened (except for Deok-su) to see that 069 hanged himself using bed sheets during the night. Right after, the announcer says that they all should go to the game hall because the fifth game will begin soon. With this, Gi-hun is seen going up the spiral staircases along with the other 15 remaining players. Gi-hun goes up the stairs right behind Sang-woo and is followed by Sae-byeok.
Entering the white room before the game, they see mannequis wearing pink vests numbered from 1 to 16. The announcer says that players should choose one of the mannequins and wear its corresponding numbered vest. Gi-hun and Sang-woo exchange anxious looks, as neither is sure what to choose at first. They watch other players picking numbers and Gi-hun becomes even more undecided when he sees that all the middle numbers were taken already. The announcer then adds that the numbers are the order in which they will be playing the game. Because of this new information, Gi-hun moves towards of the lower numbers, thinking that the game is likely to have a time limit, so it will be good to get a head start. However, he stops as he thinks that it might be dangerous to go first without knowing what the game is and if he picks a higher number, he might be able to watch others playing and make a plan. While he takes his time thinking, Gi-hun sees more players picking numbers. Sae-byeok chooses number 15. Gi-hun stares at Sang-woo as he sees his friend finally deciding to pick number 14. Sang-woo glances back at him before joining the others who already picked numbers. With this, only 16 is left as a high number, but Gi-hun thinks it is too dangerous to go last.
With Gi-hun taking too long to make a decision, other players run and pick the other lower numbers, so now only the numbers 1 and 16 are left. Seeing he is running out of options, Gi-hun runs towards the number 1. Gi-hun grabs the vest it but doesn't take it, not knowing if he should choose to be the one to start the game, but also not wanting to be the last one either. However, while Gi-hun is still struggling to decide, Player 096 approaches him asks to take the number 1. He tells Gi-hun that he lived his life hiding behind others out of cowardice and even now he ended up choosing last because he was scared. 096 begs Gi-hun to let him have the chance to own his life at least once and the be confident one at the front. Hearing the man's pleas, Gi-hun lets 096 have number 1 and moves to pick the very last number. 096 becomes grateful to Gi-hun, repeatedly thanking him for his kindness. Since Gi-hun ended up with number 16, he will play after Sang-woo and Sae-byeok in the sequence.
Moving to the location of the game, they enter a space constructed to resemble a circus tent, where there is a high bridge with 18 pairs of glass tiles. The game is revealed to be Glass Stepping Stones and the announcer explains that each tile is made of either tempered or normal glass. The tempered glass can withstand two players, but the normal glass will shatter with just one person. Players should guess which tiles are tempered and only step on them to cross the bridge safely. They have 16 minutes get to the other side. Upon hearing this, 096 realizes he has done a terrible mistake in choosing to pick the number 1. Terrified, he turns to Gi-hun, who is standing at very back, behind all the other players. Unfortunately, Gi-hun cannot do anything to help the man now, so he avoids 096's eyes by looking down. 096 after hesitating and being pressured by other players to go ahead, 096 moves to the tiles 2 minutes after the game began. Although he guesses the first tile correctly, the other players watch 096 fall to his death after jumping to the next one.
With around 10 minutes left, Gi-hun, Sang-woo and Sae-byeok are the only ones left on the platform, waiting to move to the glass tiles. Watching the other players, Gi-hun counts that there are 10 tiles left to be figured out and there are 11 people still standing. Because of this, Gi-hun hopefully expects that if the ones in front of them manage to get two or three tiles right, the three of them will be able to cross safely. However, Sang-woo tells him that this might not happen, because if the people at the front become scared and waste time, it could put them, who are at the back, in danger. Realizing that his friend might be correct, Gi-hun anxiously glances at the timer behind him and sees that there is less than 10 minutes left. Shortly after, with around 8 minute and a half left, Gi-hun and Sang-woo are shocked to see Player 151 fighting off and being pushed off the bridge by Player 244, who is at the front and stopped to pray, preventing everyone to go on. 244 is pushed by the person behind him, Player 407, allowing the others to continue. 
Due to the delay of the players in front them, Sae-byeok is only able to move to the first glass tile with less than 8 minutes left. Gi-hun is able to follow her right after, when she hops to the second tile. He removes his shoes and prepares to move to the tile with around 7 minute and a half left. When he about to step on the first tile, however, Gi-hun stops. Having forgotten which of the tiles is normal and which one is tempered glass, Gi-hun just nervously looks between the pair of tiles in front of him. He then looks up upon hearing Sae-byeok telling him the correct tile. The girl tells him to focus. Gi-hun moves to the tile and thanks her for helping him. With 6 minutes left, all the players are prevented to move on by Deok-su, who is in the front refusing to continue out of cowardice and telling the other players to go first (the exact situation Sang-woo was referring to). Deok-su eventually is dragged down to his death by Mi-nyeo, who grabs him before jumping off the bridge, allowing Gi-hun and the others to continue.
Less than 3 minutes before the time is up, the majority of players were eliminated for falling into normal glass, with Gi-hun, Sang-woo, Sae-byeok, and Player 017 being the remaining survivors. There are 4 tiles to be figured out and 017 plays in the front. 017 reveals that he worked at a glass factory for 30 years and he can tell which glass is normal and which is tempered. Gi-hun watches as the man hops to the next correct tile, proving that he is telling the truth. The trio follows the glass worker, moving foward one glass tile as 017 explains how to differentiate the two types of glass. Hearing the information, Gi-hun asks him why he didn't say all of this earlier. Gi-hun thinks that 017 could have led the others, preventing their deaths. But the man replies he had no reason to help the others, because they would try to kill him if they had the chance. Gi-hun, Sang-woo, Sae-byeok move forward more 2 glass tiles being guided by 017 until the overseer of the games, the Front Man, notices the advantage and turns off the lights. There is only one tile left to be figure out, but the absence of light causes the glass worker no longer be able to visually distinguish the types of glass.
With less than 1 minute before the time is over, they make one last attempt to figure out which glass is which through the sound. 017 asks for something to throw on the glass. Sang-woo pats himself down and finds nothing, so he turns to Sae-byeok and Gi-hun, asking if they have anything. While Sae-byeok shakes her head, telling Sang-woo she doesn't, Gi-hun pulls Il-nam's last marble from his pocket and offers it to them. Gi-hun and Sae-byeok pass the marble to Sang-woo, who gives it to Player 017. However, after tossing the marble on the next left glass tile, 017 asks for another marble to throw on the right tile and says he is still not sure what is the correct one to step on. 017, Sang-woo and Sae-byeok all turn and look expectantly at Gi-hun, hoping he has more marbles. Gi-hun shakes his head, informing that he doesn't have anything else with him.
When there is less than 20 seconds left, Player 017 is squatting and looking between the next two tiles, still unsure what is the correct tile to step on. Gi-hun and Sae-byeok are then surprised to witness Sang-woo jump onto 017's tile and push him towards one of the next tiles, having cited repeatedly that the time is running out. This makes 017 break the last normal glass and fall to his death, causing Gi-hun to look at his friend in shock. The glass worker's death, however, reveals the last tempered glass tile. Sang-woo hops to it and then to the platform on the other side, crossing the bridge safely with ten seconds left before the time is up. Sae-byeok quicky decides to follow him, so Gi-hun goes after her. 
Gi-hun and Sae-byeok rush while hopping on the last tiles to get to safety. Gi-hun manages to jump on the platform just as the timer expires. Once the time is over, the three survivors are surprised by the sudden explosion of all the remaining glass tiles. They are all hit by the glass shards, with Gi-hun's left arm being hurt. Sang-woo gains a bleeding wound on his left cheek and upon noticing his own injury, he immediately looks behind him at his friend. Gi-hun looks back at Sang-woo while gripping his injured arm with a bloody hand. The two friends fail to notice that, behind them, Sae-byeok looks down at her own wound in horror. 
==="Front Man"===
Following the Glass Stepping Stones game, the three last players are escorted back to the dormitory by two soldiers. Going down the spiral staircases, Gi-hun holds his injured arm while walking right behind Sang-woo.
Walking into the almost empty dormitory, Gi-hun decides to confront Sang-woo over him killing the glass worker. He approaches his friend and asks why he did that. Sang-woo replies he doesn't know what Gi-hun is talking about. Gi-hun clarifies he is asking about Sang-woo pushing Player 017 during the game. Sang-woo says that Gi-hun is very lucky to have ended up with the last number and this is making him feel generous towards 017. Sang-woo asks what Gi-hun would have done if 017 had held out like Deok-su did. But Gi-hun believes that 017 was obviously going to move because it was the last glass tile. Sang-woo asks how Gi-hun can be so certain of this. Sang-woo reminds Gi-hun that 017 knew how to differentiate between the types of glass, but he chose to keep it to himself and not help anyone, instead he just watched the other players fall and die. Gi-hun argues that they both only crossed the glass bridge safely thanks to 017, but Sang-woo strongly disagrees. He states that he is not sure about Gi-hun, but he only survived this far in the games because he worked very hard to stay alive. Gi-hun thinks Sang-woo's excuses doesn't matter, because they don't justify him killing an innocent man.
An irritated Sang-woo reminds Gi-hun that they have to kill every other player to leave with the money. He thinks that Gi-hun should be grateful that he did the dirty work for him. Gi-hun then wonders if Sang-woo would have pushed him if he was on that glass tile instead of Player 017. This last question disturbs Sang-woo, making him become visibly angry. In an explosive emotional moment, Sang-woo says that Gi-hun's life is pathetic exactly because he asks stupid questions even in this kind of situation, besides being a nosy and dumb person that takes too long to realize when he gets into trouble. Gi-hun, however, is unfazed by Sang-woo's criticism. He simply admits that Sang-woo is right and this is why he ended up in the games, it is his fault, because he is a nosy and slow dimwit that lives off his old mother. But Gi-hun asks why Sang-woo, who is the pride of Ssangmun-dong and genius of SNU, is in the games with someone like him. Gi-hun challenges Sang-woo to answer this question and wonders if he is going to blame him for this too, making Sang-woo even more angry. 
Gi-hun and Sang-woo's argument is interrupted the masked men enter the dormitory carrying gift boxes. The manager congratulates the surviving trio for successfully making it through five games and becoming the finalists of the competition, so the staff prepared a gift for their status. But before it is revealed, the manager asks the trio to change into the outfits prepared for them, then offers them the gift boxes. 
Later, Gi-hun dresses the new tuxedo that was gifted to him and is part of a fine dining in the dormitory, which is the reward that the staff prepared for the finalists. The lights are out and the workers lit candles to illuminate the room. Each of the players sit at three long tables, which are arranged to form a large triangle, while they are served dinner. Gi-hun, Sang-woo and Sae-byeok are each served with a large steak and wine. Gi-hun initially just stares at his food. However, because of their earlier argument, Gi-hun and Sang-woo now feel a sort of rivalry towards each other. So when Gi-hun sees that Sang-woo started to eat, he feels prompted to eat too. Sang-woo begins to eagerly consume his food and drink his wine, so Gi-hun does the same. The two men exchange wary looks while doing so, as if they are competing over who is going to eat the most. Gi-hun then looks at Sae-byeok, noticing that the girl is very pale and is barely eating, cutting small pieces of her meat. Sae-byeok looks back at him but they remain silent. As they are done eating, Gi-hun looks around and sees that Sae-byeok is the only one who left a large portion of her food on the plate. Sang-woo has a clean plate and Gi-hun has an almost clean one as well. Once the dinner is over, the masked staff collects their plates and utensils, but leaves each one of them with a steak knife. Gi-hun stares at his knife and the masked staff walking away. He then exchanges nervous looks with the other two players, before the three of them pick the knives and keep them with themselves.
Afterwards, each of the finalists sits on their own beds clutching their knives instead of sleeping. Gi-hun and Sang-woo sit on opposite sides of the dormitory and still intently stare each other across the candlelit room. Turning to glance at Sae-byeok, Gi-hun sees that the girl is struggling to stay awake. Still concerned for noticing she doesn't look well, Gi-hun gets up from his bed and approaches her to talk. Because she is almost falling asleep, Sae-byeok is startled by Gi-hun's approach, brandishing her knife to defend herself. Gi-hun assures he didn't come to kill her and he would have done already if he wanted to, as she was dozing off. Gi-hun shows his own knife and explains that he only brought it to defend himself from Sang-woo. To prove that he doesn't mean any harm to her, Gi-hun puts his knife in his pocket. Gi-hun sits next to the girl without taking his eyes off the man across the room.
Voicing his concern, Gi-hun tells Sae-byeok that she isn't looking too well. Sae-byeok claims she is fine, so Gi-hun asks why she barely touched her food during the dinner. The girl responds that the food didn't taste good, but Gi-hun knows she is lying and asks for the truth. Sae-byeok says that if she is hurt, he won't be able to treat her. She tells Gi-hun to worry about himself. Gi-hun suggests that the two of them work together against Sang-woo in the next game. He thinks that they both could win together and take each half of the prize money. They converse about family and future matters. Sae-byeok asks what Gi-hun will do if he gets out the games with the money. Gi-hun explains that he will pay off his debts first, then open up a business at the marketplace for his mother, who works at a street stall but always wanted a proper store. He also tells her about wanting to be a good father to his ten-year-old daughter. Sae-byeok reveals to have a young brother with the same age as Ga-yeong. Gi-hun asks where her brother is and she replies that he is at orphanage. Sae-byeok explains that she promised to get her brother out of the orphanage and recover her mother, who is currently stuck in North Korea, once she made enough money to buy a house for her family. Gi-hun notes that half of the prize money is more than enough for Sae-byeok to grant her wish.
Sae-byeok asks him to promise that if either one of them makes out of the games alive, they will use the prize to take care of each other's family. Gi-hun asks her not to say this, he is sure that they will beat Sang-woo and get out of the Squid Game together. Despite this, Sae-byeok pleads him to promise to take care of his little brother. However, Gi-hun stops talking with her when he notices that Sang-woo fell asleep on his bed. Gi-hun stands up and slowly moves towards the other man. When he sees the knife dropping from Sang-woo's hand, Gi-hun decides to take this chance. He takes his own knife out of his pocket and walks towards Sang-woo, intending to kill him. Gi-hun is stopped by Sae-byeok's voice. She tells Gi-hun that he shouldn't do it because he is a good person.
Turning to Sae-byeok again, Gi-hun sees that the girl reclining against her bed frame in pain. He runs back to her and finally discovers the mortal injury she gained from being hit by exploding glass after the fifth game. Gi-hun opens her jacket and finds out she is bleeding profusely under her tuxedo. He wonders when Sae-byeok was hurt and put both hands on her wound in an attempt to stop the bleeding. A dying Sae-byeok whispers that she wants to go home. Seeing she is almost passing out, Gi-hun pleads Sae-byeok to stay awake while he calls for a doctor. Leaving the dying girl on the bed, Gi-hun runs to the doors of the dormitory and starts to scream for help. Gi-hun repeatedly bangs on the doors, yelling that Sae-byeok lost a lot of blood and is dying. Because there is no response, Gi-hun becomes frustrated, screaming that the staff needs to keep Sae-byeok alive if they want her to play the next game. 
Suddenly, when Gi-hun already lost hope that the staff will hear his pleas, the lights come on and the doors open. Gi-hun sees himself in front of a manager and two soldiers. He starts to ask them to help Sae-byeok but stops talking when he notices that they are carrying a coffin. Surprised by this, Gi-hun turns around and sees that Sang-woo is now standing next to Sae-byeok's bed with his face covered in blood. His efforts to call for help had woken up Sang-woo, who saw Gi-hun's desperation and decided to kill the dying girl to prevent the start of a vote. Realizing too late what happened, Gi-hun runs towards Sae-byeok. He kneels on Sae-byeok's bed, which now has the white sheets soaked in blood, and holds the girl's body in his arms. 
Gi-hun is shocked to see that Sae-byeok now has a open wound on her neck, where Sang-woo had stabbed her. In disbelief, Gi-hun repeatedly calls her name as he cries over her body, devastated for losing the girl who had become his close friend. Laying the lifeless Sae-byeok back on the bed, Gi-hun becomes enraged by this murder. He turns and looks at the culprit, who is still standing nearby. Sang-woo is paralyzed, staring at nothing while loosely holding his knife with a shake hand. Infuriated, Gi-hun grabs his own kinfe and attempts to attack Sang-woo. Getting out of his trance, Sang-woo moves his knife to counterattack Gi-hun. However, a soldier stops Gi-hun from attacking Sang-woo. He rams the back of his rifle into Gi-hun's arm, knocking him down. While the soldier rests his knee on Gi-hun's head to pin him to the floor, Gi-hun yells at Sang-woo, who just glares at him. Another soldier uses the muzzle of his weapon to push Sang-woo away, to stop the two last players from killing each other before the final game.
Still pinned to the ground, Gi-hun weeps when he sees two soldiers carry Sae-byeok's corpse and put her inside the coffin, to be taken for cremation.
==="One Lucky Day"=== 
In the following day after Sae-byeok's death, Gi-hun and Sang-woo are still wearing their tuxedos when they are led by the staff to the location of the final game. At the doors of the place, a manager tells them that he will flip a coin to decide who will play offense or defense. Gi-hun and Sang-woo stand facing each other in front of the doors. A completely enraged Gi-hun glares at Sang-woo. The manager asks them to choose square or triangle to flip the coin. Gi-hun picks the triangle and the tossed coin lands on his chosen shape, so the manager asks him to choose offense or defense. Still giving a death stare to Sang-woo, Gi-hun chooses offense, so Sang-woo is left with Sang-woo the defense. The soldiers open the doors while the manager walks with the two players to the field, the same place where it happened the first game of the competition.
The manager reveals that the final game is Squid Game and explains the rules. Coincidentally, Gi-hun and Sang-woo will each play in the same teams in which they were playing as kids in the opening narration of the series. While explaining the rules, the manager says that if one of the players is "unable to proceed" with the game, the last one standing wins. Gi-hun asks what the manager means by this and he replies that it refers to a player's death. Gi-hun and Sang-woo then move to their positions on the grid with the shape of a squid. From his position outside the grid, Gi-hun kneels down to tie his shoe and grabs handful of dirt from the ground before standing up again. He hops on one foot along the outside of the grid and, at the middle of the squid, he meets Sang-woo holding a knife. Gi-hun grimly converses with Sang-woo over their childhood memories. He reminds Sang-woo that the two of them used to play this game very often as kids and asks if he remembers how they used to call when the attacker crosses the squid's waist. Sang-woo starts to tell him to shut up and play, but is surprised by Gi-hun throwing the dirt in his eyes. While Sang-woo is distracted, Gi-hun slowly walks to the other side of the squid and replies his own question, saying that they called it "the secret inspector". At the same time, rain starts to fall on the field.
Gi-hun and Sang-woo face off inside the grid. Sang-woo tells Gi-hun that Sae-byeok was going to die anyway, so he just ended her pain quickly by killing her. Gi-hun, however, doesn't believe this and thinks that Sae-byeok could have been saved. Sang-woo then reveals that Gi-hun is the main reason why he decided to kill Sae-byeok. Knowing how much Gi-hun is kind-hearted, Sang-woo predicted that he would try give everything up to save the girl. Gi-hun is surprised that Sang-woo would go this far because he was afraid that Gi-hun would give up. Sang-woo explains that he feared that both Gi-hun and Sae-byeok would vote to stop the competition, causing him to go home with no money. In response to this, Gi-hun pulls his own knife out of his pocket and reveals that if hadn't been for Sae-byeok, he would have used the knife to kill Sang-woo in his sleep. Determined to win, Gi-hun states that Sang-woo will never leave with the prize money.
The two men engage in a brutal fist fight. Gi-hun initiates the fight, trying to swipe his knife at his opponent, but Sang-woo manages to dodge and block Gi-hun's attacks. Sang-woo grabs Gi-hun in a head lock and turns his knife against him. Gi-hun disarms Sang-woo, then breaks free and slices his face. Sang-woo's knife fell on the mud, so Gi-hun kicks it away from them. With no weapon, Sang-woo takes off his jacket and swings it at his adversary. Gi-hun moves to attack again, only for Sang-woo to grab his hand and disarm him of the knife too. Gi-hun is grabbed by Sang-woo, who tries to push him off the grid. Gi-hun stops him with a headbutt. The two men repeatedly grab and punch each other, and both end up being knocked down on the mud. Sang-woo grabs hold of Gi-hun's jacket, takes it off, and tries to strangle Gi-hun with it. Gi-hun breaks free and Sang-woo attempts to push him off the grid again, but fails. As they both try to stand up after being knocked down, Gi-hun starts to punch Sang-woo, who is grabbing his leg. However, Sang-woo recovers a knife from the mud and stabs Gi-hun in the leg and then in the belly.
Gi-hun falls on the ground holding his wounded leg. Standing above him, Sang-woo gains the upper hand. He reminds Gi-hun that this is the same field in which they played the first game and that there were many players during that day, but they are now dead, except for the two of them. Because of all those deaths, Sang-woo believes that they have already come too far to stop. He kneels down on the mud near Gi-hun and tries to a final stab. Gi-hun stops Sang-woo's knife by grabbing it, getting his hand impaled in the process. Sang-woo still tries to force the knife down, but Gi-hun bites his ankle, causing Sang-woo to recoil. Gi-hun takes the chance to overpower him. He punches and knocks Sang-woo down, before crawling on top of him. Gi-hun then punches Sang-woo in the face repeatedly while blaming him for killing the other players. While Sang-woo lies defeated and motionless on the ground, Gi-hun looks at his injured hand and painfully removes the blade that is impaling it. Holding the knife, Gi-hun then stabs it down to finish his opponent while Sang-woo simply closes his eyes and waits to be killed.
However, instead of stabbing Sang-woo, Gi-hun ends up stabbing the ground near his head. Realizing he is still alive, Sang-woo opens his eyes, blinks and stares at Gi-hun. The two men lock eyes. Gi-hun still holds the knife on the ground with a shake hand and sadly looks down at Sang-woo. Despite his rage, Gi-hun cannot bring himself to murder his dear childhood best friend. Leaving the knife on the ground near Sang-woo, Gi-hun stand up and slowly walks towards the squid's head while the manager approaches the unmoving Sang-woo on the ground and points his gun at him, preparing for when Gi-hun claims victory once he steps on the squid's head. 
After limping and finally seeing himself in front of the squid's head, Gi-hun stops again. He cannot bring himself to step in and let his friend die. Instead, Gi-hun decides to save Sang-woo. Gi-hun announces he wants to quit, then turns and walks back towards the manager. He reminds the manager about the third clause and asks for a vote to terminate the games, saying that if both him and Sang-woo decide to stop, the games will end. Gi-hun wishes to forfeit the prize money for his friend's life to be spared. While the manager contacts the Front Man and the VIPs about this unexpected request, Gi-hun approaches his fallen friend, who is still lying immobile on the ground. Emotional and tearful, Sang-woo reminisces about him and Gi-hun always playing like this as children until their mothers called them for dinner, but this doesn't happen anymore. Gi-hun is also emotional and softly smiles at Sang-woo. He extends his hand to Sang-woo and tells him that it is time for them to go home. Sang-woo slowly reaches up to take Gi-hun's hand.
Suddenly, Sang-woo stops reaching up and apologizes to his friend. Instead of taking Gi-hun's hand, Sang-woo grabs the knife near his head and stabs his own neck. Sang-woo had decided to commit suicide for Gi-hun to win the games and take the prize money, leaving Gi-hun in complete shock. Desperate, Gi-hun kneels on the mud and cradles his dying friend in his arms. He panics and begs Sang-woo not to die. Slightly opening his eyes, Sang-woo uses the last of his strength to plead his friend to take care of his mother. He mutters his last words to Gi-hun, "big brother ("hyung")... my mom... my mom...". The death of his childhood best friend, who is like a brother to him, leaves Gi-hun utterly heartbroken and traumatized. Still holding Sang-woo's lifeless body, Gi-hun breaks down in tears and wails in pain.
With Sang-woo's sacrifice, Gi-hun automatically becomes the winner of the 33rd Squid Game. After being tied and blindfolded by the staff, Gi-hun is seen inside a limousine abroad a ship on the way back home. Beside him sits the Front Man, who congratulates Gi-hun on his the victory. Gi-hun asks why the organizers of the games would make people go through this horrible experience which is the Squid Game. The Front Man reminds Gi-hun of his habit of betting on horses and explains that for the creators of the games it is the same: the players are horses at a racetrack. The Front Man admits he is impressed with Gi-hun, as he didn't expect him to go this far. Gi-hun wonders who the Front Man is. In response, the Front Man says that Gi-hun can think about this experience as a dream and remarks that it wasn't so bad for him. Without answers, Gi-hun repeatedly questions about the Front Man's identity, but is suddenly put to sleep by gas.
During a rainy night, the staff drops Gi-hun still tied and blindfolded on the street, with his injured hand bandaged. A preacher who is nearby approaches and removes Gi-hun's blindfold, then Gi-hun spits out a yellow bank card, which was given to him by the staff. Later, Gi-hun is in front of an ATM using the bank card he received. Gi-hun asks to withdraw ₩10,000 and taps his player number (0456) as the PIN. Gi-hun takes the ₩10,000 and looks at the screen. It shows that his current balance is now ₩45.599.990.000, proving that he gained the prize money of the games. However, because he won this money at the cost of the life of his best friend and the people he bonded with in the games, Gi-hun feels no joy and is completely numb. Gi-hun returns to society, as a quiet, broken man unable to speak of the events that has happened. 
Slowly walking during the night, Gi-hun comes back to the Ssangmun-dong neighborhood. On the way home, Gi-hun walks down the market street and stops when he hears the voice of Sang-woo's mother calling him. She approaches noticing his wounds and bandaged hand. She asks if he drank and got into a fight again. Gi-hun doesn't reply and has his head lowered, avoiding looking at her. She gives him a bag with mackerel that she packed and tells him to share with his mother. She reveals that Gi-hun's mother hasn't come to work for two days and won't pick up the phone, so she thinks Gi-hun's mother must be sick. She says she should have stopped by to check on his mother, but couldn't. Gi-hun offers her the ₩10,000 that he just withdraw from his bank account. Sang-woo's mother refuses and says that he should save the money he has to give to his own mother. She walks back to her stall but then turns to Gi-hun again and reluctantly asks if he has any news about her son. Upon hearing Sang-woo's name, Gi-hun freezes with his eyes filled with tears. Still mourning the recent loss of his best friend, Gi-hun is unable to respond or turn to look at her. Sang-woo's mother simply accepts Gi-hun's silence and sadly tells him to go home.
Gi-hun returns to his apartment. The place is dark and silent. He calls out to his mother but has no answer. Checking a bedroom, Gi-hun finds his mother lying on the floor. Confused, he wonders if she is asleep and tries to wake her up. Gi-hun touches her face and tells her that he is home. As his mother is still unmoving, Gi-hun realizes he is too late, his mother died from her diabetes before he could pay for the treatment that could have saved her life. In denial, Gi-hun pleads her to open her eyes and says that he finally has money. Emotionally drained after witnessing so much death in the games, Gi-hun is unable to cry for his deceased mother. Instead, he lies on the floor beside his lifeless mother and puts an arm around her, mourning silently. 
In 2021, one year after the events of the 33rd Squid Game, Gi-hun is still deeply traumatized by the losses he suffered. So much so that, although rich, he has not even touched his prize money, which is a reminder of all who died in the games. Gi-hun is first seen sitting in a train. He is disheveled and stares ahead with unfocused eyes. His hair has grown and he now also has a beard and mustache. Gi-hun goes to the bank and meets a banker. The man offers him coffe but Gi-hun only wants to know why the banker wanted to see him. The banker explains that it has been a while since Gi-hun deposited his large amount of money at the bank, but they haven't heard from him afterwards. Because the money is in a regular savings account, Gi-hun is getting almost no interest, so the banker offers him a recently launched VIP-only consultation service. He says that he wanted Gi-hun to know that there is such service for VIPs like him. Gi-hun silently refuses, standing up to leave. The banker apologizes, thinking that he somehow offended Gi-hun. However, he is surprised when Gi-hun asks to borrow ₩10,000. Despite being confused by the request, the banker lends Gi-hun the money and watches him leave.
At night, Gi-hun is drinking soju while sitting by a river. An elderly woman holding a bouquet of roses approaches and asks Gi-hun to buy some flowers. The woman pleads, saying that the flowers will wilt if she doesn't sell them today. Gi-hun gives her money and the woman thanks him, giving him a rose in return. But then Gi-hun notices that there is a small envelope attached to the flower. Inside the black envelope with pink ribbon, Gi-hun is stunned to find a golden card with three symbols of the Squid Game (a circle, a square, and a triangle). Gi-hun turns over the card, seeing that it is an invitation. On the other side of the card, it reads: "December 24, 11:30 p.m., Sky Building, 7th floor, from your gganbu". Upon seeing the word "gganbu", Gi-hun stares at the card in complete shock. 
With the information of the card, Gi-hun goes to a dimly lit office on the 7th floor of the Sky Building. Nearby a window, in the farthest corner of the large room, Gi-hun finds Oh Il-nam lying on a hospital bed. While Gi-hun stares in stares upon seeing that the old man is alive, Il-nam simply asks Gi-hun to pass some water for him. Still in shock, Gi-hun grants Il-nam's request and asks who he really is. Before getting an answer, Gi-hun is horrified to realize that the old man's survival means that he is probably behind the death games. He asks if Il-nam is the mastermind behind the Squid Games and the reason for the games itself, that has brought death and loss to his life. Gi-hun asks why the old man would do something so terrible to the players. Instead of replying the questions, Il-nam points down the window, to a man lying on the sidewalk while the falling snow slowly covers him. Il-nam says that the man must be drunk because he has been there for hours and he probably is also homeless. The old man thinks that the man will freeze to death because no one is helping him and wonders if Gi-hun would stop to help a "human piece of trash" like that man. Frustrated, Gi-hun yells, angrily demanding his questions to be answered. He also wants to know why Il-nam let him live.
The old man requests to play one last game with Gi-hun, betting over the life of a homeless man. If the man remains lying on the street until midnight, Il-nam wins. But if someone helps the man before then, Gi-hun wins. Furious, Gi-hun grabs Il-nam by the collar and threats to kill him. The old man convinces him otherwise, saying that if Gi-hun does this, he won't get any answers from him. Il-nam promises to answer Gi-hun's question if they play. Gi-hun accepts and lets go of Il-nam, moving to watch the homeless man from the window. He looks at the grandfather clock in the room, which reads 23:36 p.m. Gi-hun then promises to kill Il-nam with his own hands if he wins the bet. When Il-nam asks what he will wager, Gi-hun replies anything. He says that he doesn't really care if Il-nam takes everything from him if he loses. While watching people passing the homeless man, Gi-hun interrogates the old man again, demanding to know how much of what Il-nam said was a lie. He wonders if Il-nam is even his real name. The old man reveals that he makes money by lending it, as loan shark, and that his name is indeed Oh Il-nam. He says that it is also true that he is dying from brain tumor and that he lived with his wife and son in an alley like the one in the neighborhood constructed for the Marbles game.
Watching the street bellow, Gi-hun sees a person approach and kneel by the homeless man. The person seems to check the man, but Gi-hun is disappointed as the person stands up and simply leaves. Il-nam wonders if Gi-hun still trusts people after everything he went through in the games. Gi-hun asks why Il-nam wanted to see him. The old man explains that he heard about Gi-hun never touching the prize money and that he went back to live his old life after the games. He asks if Gi-hun never used it because of guilt. Gi-hun thinks that it is absurd that Il-nam is talking about guilt, as he doesn't seem to feel any after making the players go through the games. The old man says that the prize money is the reward for Gi-hun's hard work and luck. Il-nam thinks that Gi-hun has the right to use the money and tells him to enjoy it because life is short. Gi-hun asks again the reason behind the games. Il-nam tells him that he thinks that people with a lot of money are in a way similar to the ones with no money, because neither have fun in their lives. He says that him and his wealthy clients eventually were bored, so they got together and pondered how to have fun. As result, Il-nam created the Squid Games with the children games within his fledging memories for the sake of nostalgia and to find joy in life again.
Gi-hun becomes shocked that Il-nam made him, his friends and the other players go through those terrible death games for fun. Il-nam claims he didn't force anyone to play the games and they all came back of their own accord after the Squid Game was terminated. The grandfather clock reads 23:58 p.m., Il-nam looks down and sees that no one helped the homeless man. He comments that Gi-hun is out of luck, wondering if he now still trusts in people. Gi-hun asks why Il-nam joined the games. The old man explains that, when he was a child, he used to have a lot of fun with his friends and he wanted experience the same thing one more time before his death. He thinks that he would never be able to experience the same by simply watching in the audience, so he decided to join as a player. Without taking his eyes off the window, Gi-hun angrily asks if Il-nam had his so called fun in the death games. Il-nam reveals that he did, thanks to Gi-hun. Replying Gi-hun's earlier question, the old man says that he let Gi-hun live because he had so much fun playing with him, to the point the he remembered things from the past that he had long forgotten. 
Just before the grandfather clock strikes midnight, Gi-hun sees a police car arrive and stop nearby the homeless man. The same person who had approached the homeless man earlier gets out the car. This person points to the homeless man and the police move to help him. Gi-hun becomes very satisfied and relieved that people did come to help. As the clock strikes midnight, Gi-hun turns to the old man, but realizes that he had just succumbed to his brain tumor and died. Gi-hun approaches the bed again and stares at the now lifeless Il-nam. He believes that Il-nam saw the homeless man being helped and that he lost. Despite having won the bet, Gi-hun is unable to fulfill his promise to kill Il-nam with the old man already dead, so he just leaves.
During another day, Gi-hun goes to a hair salon to cut his hair. The stylist is impressed that Gi-hun's hair is so long. She asks what Gi-hun would like to do with his hair, if he wants to cut it short or get it permed in case he is growing it out. Gi-hun stares at some photos on the wall, which have several female models with different hairstyles. Gi-hun decides to drastically change his look. A female model with a short hair dyed of vivid cranberry red catches his eye, so he choses this one as his new hairstyle. In addition to cutting and dyeing his hair, Gi-hun also has his beard and mustache completely shaved. After this change of style, Gi-hun seems much more confident. His unfocused eyes and depressed expression are also gone. 
Gi-hun finally decides to use the prize money to fulfill the requests entrusted to him by his late friends. First, he visits Sae-byeok's little brother, Kang Cheol, in the orphanage. While greeting the boy, Gi-hun smiles and comments that Cheol looks a lot like his sister. Cheol is surprised that Gi-hun knows his sister. When Gi-hun says that he is Sae-byeok's friend, Cheol asks if he knows where his sister is now. Upon hearing this, Gi-hun's smiles vanishes. He becomes sad and is unable to respond, then turns to look at framed photo in the bedroom. The photo shows Sae-byeok is smiling beside Cheol.
At night, Gi-hun takes Cheol to Sang-woo's mother at her fish store. Having taken Cheol out of the orphanage, he asks his friend's mother to take care of the boy, fulfilling Sae-byeok's wish. Sang-woo's mother gladly accepts Cheol. Knowing that Gi-hun will soon visit his daughter at the U.S., she tells Gi-hun not to worry about her and Cheol, then wishes him a good trip. Before leaving, however, Gi-hun leaves a suitcase with a fair share of the prize money with them, fulfilling Sang-woo's dying wish. With the money, he also leaves a note which says: "It's the money I owe Sang-woo". After Sang-woo's mother finds the money with the note, she becomes surprised and confused. She calls out to Gi-hun on the street, but he is already gone.
Afterwards, Gi-hun takes a train to the airport, with the intention to go abroad to visit his daughter in Los Angeles. While getting out the train, Gi-hun talks with Ga-yeong on the phone, saying he will be boarding the plane soon. He tells her that he brought her a present, but keeps it as a secret because he wants to show her in person. However, Gi-hun stops upon hearing the sound of someone being slapped. He turns to see the salesman that he met last year on another platform. The salesman slaps a man who is playing ddakji with him, in the same way that Gi-hun and other players of the 33rd Squid Game did last year. Surprised to see the salesman, Gi-hun decides to end the call with his daughter and promises to talk with her again later. While Gi-hun glares at him from afar, the salesman notices his presence and smiles at him. Deciding to confront the salesman, Gi-hun runs to get to the other platform, but when he arrives, the salesman is already inside a train. The salesman waves at Gi-hun while the train pulls away. With the salesman gone, Gi-hun turns to the man who was playing with him, the potential player of the next Squid Game. Gi-hun snaches the Squid Game business card from the man's hand. The man is confused by Gi-hun's actions and asks him to give the card back. Frustrated and knowing this man has no idea what he is getting himself into, Gi-hun presses him against a wall and refuses to give him the card. Instead, Gi-hun keeps the business card with himself. 
Later at the airport, Gi-hun sits holding the card while the final boarding call of his flight is announced. As he is walking in the jetway and is about to board the plane, Gi-hun stops and decides to dial the number of the card. A member of the Squid Game staff answers, requesting his name and birthdate to join the next games. Gi-hun tells the information to staff member, but then moves on to confront the staff of the games. Recalling what the Front Man told him after winning the 33rd Squid Game, Gi-hun states that he is not a horse, he is a person. He demands to know who are the ones behind the games and how they can commit such atrocities against people. Having not forgotten his trauma because of what the organizers did to him and his friends, Gi-hun says he can't forgive them for everything that they are doing. On the other side of the call, the staff member is replaced with the Front Man, who tells Gi-hun not to get any absurd ideas. The Front Man orders Gi-hun to get into the plane for his own good, revealing that they are watching his every move. Wanting to defy the Squid Games and the ones behind it, Gi-hun does the opposite. Gi-hun turns and walks back the jetway. He has a grim and determined expression as he marches away from the plane. Gi-hun returns to Korea, looking determined to confront the Squid Game staff, who caused him so much misery and took the lives of so many, including his friends.
Category:Synopsis