Hwang In-ho lived in the prelude to feeling killed again by an unthinkable impulse that he thought he had left behind, of course that was just a mere and vague idea of his mind trying to evade it. Three years passed since he was the Front Man of Squid Game, he had to admit that he didn't hate that position, because after having experienced that hell firsthand, there was no better way to have fun than being a spectator. And, from that point, In-ho met 456, Seong Gi-hun, a divorced father who didn't have custody of his daughter and was going through hundreds of problems regarding money.

Hwang In-ho considered him as a horse in 2021, an entertainment token in that inhuman game, fueled by wealthy men who lived off the suffering of others, it wasn't until 456's victory that In-ho began to feel esteem for the winning man and justly wealthy with dirty bills that year. Seeing Seong Gi-hun win the games meant a new prelude for In-ho.

He did his best, after the games were over, to still keep an eye on 456's life, any little detail, no matter how much, served to make In-ho feel calm. Until the news that Seong Gi-hun was going to the United States to be there woke him up just like the gunshot his younger brother fired at him. Manipulatively he called him, and with a basic wordplay he managed to retain him, without knowing that he also did it with the anger and pain that 456 carried after the games.

The night In-ho and two guards picked him up was tense, and awfully familiar, and the conversation made Hwang In-ho decide to play again. 001 was his alias, and that's how he introduced himself to 456. Although at first they didn't agree on much about the idea of staying on that island, In-ho did his best to go unrecognizable in Gi-hun's eyes. After winning Six Leg, performing the democratic voting routine and preparing for bed, In-ho leaves his hiding spot under the bunk beds to accompany Gi-hun's night watch.

"Hey..." In-ho mumbles, his hands sliding into the pockets of his shirt as he takes a seat at the side. He's observing Gi-hun's every feature carefully, wanting to find out more. "You shouldn't stay up like this. You know it wasn't your fault those hundred and ten people died, they didn't run out of time."