Kriti Mehrotra
Although Park Gyeong-seok (Player 246) is not a primary cast member in Netflix’s ‘Squid Game’ season 2, he is definitely a fan favorite owing to his loyalty towards his family. The single father of one made it clear from the moment he first came across our screens that he would do anything for those he cares about, especially his young daughter, Park Na-Yeon. This actually included him joining the titular survival competition on a remote island for a chance to walk away with 45.6 million won, only for him to join former winner Seong Gi-hun in his rebellion. SPOILERS AHEAD.
Park Gyeong-seok’s Priority is His Daughter and Her Well-Being
While Gyeong-seo is a street artist who earns a living by making portraits of people in the parks, his devotion is primarily towards his young daughter as a single father. The duo have been dealt a lot of bad cards in life, but they always faced it together with a smile on their face, that is, until health issues struck. However, the worst part of it is that it struck the young five-year-old Na-yeon. She was sadly diagnosed with blood cancer, for which she even needed a mone marrow transplant, but to no avail.
As time passed, Na-yeon’s condition only worsened, and she even fainted in the park one day until a random stranger found her just lying on the ground. Thankfully, an ambulance soon arrived at the scene, and the young girl was rushed to the hospital, where a doctor told Gueong-Seok that while she was on the transplant list, there was a new medication they could try for her, considering her poor prognosis and recurrent cancer. However, since the medication is new, the doctor explained that it is not covered by any form of insurance, but Gyeong-seok promised he’d arrange the money somehow. That’s how he ended up joining Squid Game.
Park Gyeong-seok’s Fate is Unclear Despite Him Having Been Shot
From the moment Gyeong-seok first stepped into the competition arena, he had just one goal – to make as much money as possible so as to afford his daughter’s treatment and give her the best life possible. However, as it became evident that elimination here meant certain death, he changed his mind and began voting not to continue in the game just to return to his daughter as quickly as possible. The idea of this game in itself seemingly bothered him, too, considering every penny won was blood money, which is part of why he didn’t hesitate to join Seong Gi-hun (Player 456) in his rebellion.
Gyeong-Seok knew he had been getting lucky in the games, but the rebellion was based on his own actions itself, so he made sure to take every step carefully and with his team. He essentially proved at every step of the way that he is not only a team player but also a truly kind and loyal man for whom doing the right thing – his integrity is equally as important as his family. Unfortunately, though, the rebellions were outnumbered by a lot, especially once they split up in the hopes of achieving their mission, so he surrendered upon running out of bullets.
However, despite Gyeong-seok’s begging the guard in front of him to not shoot him, they did. Yet, it’s unclear whether he died or not because not only did we not get to see precisely where the bullet hit him, but the guard’s gun was also pointed lower. In other words, it’s possible they missed all major organs, and Player 246 survived despite the bullet wound. It’s also likely it was No-eul (Guard 011) who pulled the trigger on him – considering the guard’s smaller stature – and deliberately missed in the hopes of giving him a chance to return to his daughter. After all, she knew his story and seemed to have a soft spot for him. No matter the case, though, one thing is for certain, the shooting of players like Gyeong-seo and Jung-bae in the end definitely made the season 2 finale emotionally charged because of how it would affect others. If Gyeong-seo does die, it would mean pain, grief, and uncertainty for his daughter for as long as she lives, and Jung-bae was killed as a form of revenge on Seong Gi-hun.
Read More: Does Jung-bae Die in Squid Game? Why Does the Front Man Kill Player 390?
