(POV In-ho/Frontman)

Out of all things that could happen I didn't expect Gi-hun to do such an amazing job. He acted inconspicuously and even managed to conceal how much he hated all of this. I had been worried about his well-being because if the VIPs found out who he was and that he intended to put an end to the games it could be fatal for him. But as he kept drinking he seemed to relax more and more – and waayy more relaxed than I was. As a matter of fact I was furious:

The VIP with the lion mask was the exact same who had tried to rape my brother Jun-ho back then when he intruded this place pretending to be a masked waiter. And now he was continually hitting on Gi-hun and I didn't like it at all. The guy was disgusting and thought he could hit on my... 'No, not yours, In-ho.', the voice in my head said scornfully. Jealousy was raging in my chest like a furious beast and I was doing a hard time to hide it.

"Could they perhaps avoid calling you handsome all the time!?", I hissed through my teeth and winced as I realized that Gi-hun had heard it. Sh!t.

At least my game was a success to the VIPs and they ordered more drinks – I knew that there would be no escaping for us until they had passed out. Annoyed I leaned back and was glad that my mask was covering how I rolled my eyes at them. The more the loud drunken voices of these old men got on my nerves, the more I was surprised when I saw Gi-hun actually took part in the conversations – and the VIPs didn't even seem to dislike his comments at all, quite the contrary. His laughter was contagious and made them laugh as well and again and again I saw them raise their glasses while the lion-masked man moved closer and closer to him. 'Control yourself, In-ho, stay calm. You don't have any right to play the jealous boyfriend since he is not yours.' That same moment Gi-hun excused himself and left to the bathroom so I waited 2 minutes and then followed him to get a moment alone with him as soon as he would leave the bathroom.

"Gi-hun!", I whispered, "Are you alright?"

"Perfectly.", he answered and gave me a contemptuous look. "Why do you care? Do you think I enjoy being your toy? Maybe I'd prefer being the VIPs' toy instead." He wanted to walk past me but I blocked the way. "Don't act like it's bothering you.", he snapped, "Whatever you put into those drinks, I'm finally having a little fun, so why would you cause a scene now?"

"I'm causing a scene because I..." I stopped. ...love you. I could hear the unspoken words in the silence that suddenly fell between us. I bit my lip so hard I tasted blood, in disbelief about what almost slipped out of my mouth.

"And again you say nothing. Just know that you can't keep me quiet, unlike you I won't be silenced forever." With that Gi-hun walked past me and left me completely speechless. I took a moment to sort out my thoughts. I was in shock about myself, I had almost confessed my...love. No, no, no, there had to be some mistake, since my wife's death I was unable to love. I had forgotten what love actually meant and now there was this stubborn guy and I hadn't realized until now that it had already happened. It had happened in a blink, in a flash, it had probably happened in the time I took to focus on being a player in the games... but it had happened and it was undeniable: I was in love.

"Frontman! You should celebrate with us or your accomplice here will beat you at drinking!", one of the VIPs roared, drunk as hell. No emotion broke through my mask as I joined them, seated so I could face Gi-hun. He seemed to have fun but he couldn't fool me. I could see it in his eyes that he hated them but despite of all the drinks he had, he covered it perfectly. I was wondering how long we had to stay when finally the first of them passed out. Finally. Not long after the others decided as well that it was time to go to bed and finally the door closed behind them.

For a heartbeat there was complete silence in the room, there were only Gi-hun and me. I could almost feel the heat spreading from his body and as I smelled his breath sweet from the drinks my pulse accelerated and I had a hard time to breathe. The tension in the room was almost palpable but I gave my all to ignore it and swallowed deeply.

"Guard", I yelled, avoiding to look at Gi-hun, "escort No 456 to his room." The guard nodded while Gi-hun watched me in confusion. "Rude. Your game is already over? Don't you want to spend some more time with me since I am so important for you?" His voice dripped with sarcasm but I could also hear the drugged and alcoholic drinks speaking out of him. I walked towards him until we were only inches apart. "You better go now because if I change my mind there's no way that you'll be walking out of here." Then I turned abruptly and left. I wanted him so much I could have burst but there was no way.

'I am decent enough to not take advantage of him being drugged. He still hates me and he'll probably hate me forever, whatever I do.', I told myself as I sat down on my bed taking my mask off. The same time I knew I was lost; I had realized it now. It was an irrefutable fact that I was in love. A burning, consuming love for a man who saw me as the enemy.

**************************************************

Author's note: The Frontman almost confessed, who would've thought *-* Hope you liked it, feel free to leave comments <3