SaeByeong

"You can do it. Don't die in here, okay? And go... and go meet your mother. Go get your brother too. And go to Jeju Island. [...] Kang Sae-byeok! ...Thank you, for playing with me."

- Ji-yeong's final words to Sae-byeok in "Gganbu"

SaeByeong is the femslash ship between Kang Sae-Byeok and Ji-Yeong from the Squid Game fandom.

Canon
Sae-Byeok and Ji-Yeong meet each other at a remote island while they're both participating in a mysterious survival game. At first, the both of them don't even interact, as they both seem to be "loners". However, they meet for the first time during the 3rd game/challenge. This one requires teams of ten and has a time limit of ten minutes. Sang-woo, the self-proclaimed leader of the group, proposes they each bring in one man, since he claims that men tend to be better at most games. Later, Team Gi-hun is short of one player, as Sae-Byeok is still searching for one. Finally, that's when Sae-Byeok meets Ji-Yeong for the very first time. She spots her sitting by herself at the stairs. Ignoring Sang-woo's claim, she asks Ji-Yeong to join their team.

The game is revealed to be a Tug-of-War, where the losing team will plunge to their deaths. Their team ends up winning, and when they come back from the big tower, Ji-Yeong asks for Sae-Byeok's name since up until then, they haven't even exchanged that. When Sae-Byeok asks her why she wants to know, JiYeon replies that it's because she wants to call her by her name. Since SaeByeok replies then that she shouldn't call her, JiYeon mentions the fact Sae-Byeok seems to be really secretive. Then, Sae-Byeok asks Ji-Yeong to leave her alone, to which she replies that it was Sae-Byeok who approached her first.

The fourth game requires teams of two. This causes even more misogynistic responses from most players, but also a fair amount of discord since nobody wants to team up with anyone they perceive to be weak. Since Sae-Byeok wasn't interested in any of the remaining players, she stayed put, looking around. Ji-Yeong approaches her from behind and asks her to team up with her. Although Sae-Byeok is reluctant at first, she accepts Ji-Yeong's offer since she says that she has to win no matter what. And the two of them make a team. Ji-Yeong seems to be excited about the game until the twist is revealed. The partners have to play against each other, and the first one to remove all of their opponent’s marbles in the game wins. This turns up being a major problem for the two of them, since losing means death.

With the timer ticking down, Sae-byeok and Ji-yeong sit down to mull over what game to play. Neither of them are in any particular hurry to do so, due to the life or death stakes of the game, and also because both are hit hard with revelation that they have to compete against each other. So Ji-yeong then suggests they just "kill time", ending the game in one round, betting it all. She suggests they just talk until the time comes, and Sae-Byeok and her start sharing details of their backstories, opening up to each other. They talk about how they got there, their families, and their dreams. Ji-yeong then asks what Sae-byeok will do with the money if she wins. Sae-byeok replies that she’ll buy a house to live with her brother and then bring her mother from the North. Ji-yeong points out that there has to be something else she wants to do since that won’t take all the money, to which Sae-byeok replies that she wishes to visit Jeju Island. Ji-yeong accepts that but still teases Sae-byeok that she needs to dream bigger like going to Hawaii.

They keep talking until time is close to end, so they decide to determine the winner and loser of their game by seeing who can throw one marble closest to the wall. Sae-Byeok finally reveals her name to Ji-Yeong, as she does the same. And the two of them prepare to play. Finally, Ji-Yeong sacrifices herself for SaeByeok by dropping the marble at her feet. When Sae-Byok desperately asks her why she is doing this, Ji-Yeong reveals that she has no reason to win as she feels she has nothing left in her life for her, whereas SaeByeok still has her family. Ji-Yeong asks SaeByeok to make sure to leave the place alive, to meet her mom and brother again, and to go to JeJu Island. As a guard takes Sae-Byeok away, Ji-Yeong calls her name as she always wanted, and thanks her for playing with her. Then, Ji-Yeong is shot dead.

Afterwards, Sae-Byeok is seen deeply affected by Ji-Yeong's death. When the surviving players return to the room where they sleep, they're handed a boiled potato to eat and feed themselves. Sae-Byeok is so affected that she is seen fumbling with the potato, not wanting to eat at all.

The consequences of Ji-yeong’s sacrifice are in the following episode when Sae-byeok starts to look out for Gi-hun. This is the moment when it stops being a game for Sae-byeok, when she starts to care, not just for herself but for others, like Gi-hun. Real fear sinks in for her because now someone else she’s grown attached to might die.

Fanon
SaebYeong is the most popular ship within the fandom. Not least due to the show's lack of "official" romance and the seemingly incredible chemistry between the two. Many fans online made the ship even more famous by doing edits, TikToks or other fan content, where people expressed their support for the ship and discussed possible homoerotic connotations in their relationship. One of the most iconic scenes that most fans remember of this ship is when Ji-Yeong sacrifices herself so Sae-Byeok can survive. The ship has became so famous, in fact, that it already has, of currently, 500+ works in AO3 while SangHun being the second, despite the fact the series started airing recently.

Quotes
"You've got a reason to get out of this place. And I don't. I thought hard about what I'd do. If I were the one who got out since you asked me earlier. No matter how hard I thought, though, I got nothing. The one who should have a reason to get back out there... that's what's right."

- Ji-yeong telling Sae-byeok she has no reason for leaving in "Gganbu"

"You can do it. Don't die in here, okay? And go... and go meet your mother. Go get your brother too. And go to Jeju Island. [...] Kang Sae-byeok! ...Thank you, for playing with me."

- Ji-yeong's final words to Sae-byeok in "Gganbu"

Fandom
FAN FICTION



TWITTER



Trivia

 * Sae-byeok and Ji-yeong's actresses, Ho-yeon Jung and Lee Yoo-mi, are both good friends. Lee said: "We're the same age and we share similar interests, so we got along really well. When we were filming, we kept sharing Ji-yeong and Sae-byeok's feelings. There was no way we wouldn't grow close. So I guess we were meant to be?"
 * Hoyeon says that Lee was always very considerate when Ho-yeon talked about her concerns in acting. "Since I trust her, we talked about many things. So I think it all wrapped up nicely. I'm still thankful for her." - Ho-yeon said.
 * HoYeon And Lee Yoo-mi couldn’t stop crying while filming the scene of Ji-yeong's sacrifice for Sae-byeok. As soon as the directors called “Cut,” both actors let out their tears. Jung even walked away in order to compose herself again. The makeup artists had to take time in between takes to wipe away the tears off Jung Ho Yeon’s face. Once the scene was succesfully filmed, Ho-yeon couldn’t do anything but rest her forehead on Lee's shoulder while crying.
 * When Ho-yeon was asked who her favorite character was in Squid Game, she replied "Ji-yeong, of course!".
 * Lee Yoo-mi sayd in an interview that she wanted Sae-byeok to live.
 * The director of the show, Hwang Dong-hyuk, during a commentary with Lee Jung-jae, Park Hae-soo, and art director Chae Kyoung-sun said "They’re complete strangers but there’s some kind of friendship between them. A bond formed in a short period of time. Empathy and understanding of each other. I thought they would be the perfect example to portray such feelings." about Sae-byeok and Ji-yeong