So, 001 played games with others. What happens if he loses? Losers were shot dead as soon as they lost the game. What was his back up plan? Did his minions in pink clothes had special orders that shoot at his direction and miss and then he plays dead?
sharein season one they pretended to kill the old man (001) off screen. I'm sure if the writers had intended this seasons 001 to lose a game they would have created some way of "killing" him that seemed real to the contestants. I imagine that the 001 player in every games is a rich guy who the soldiers are instructed not to kill.
shareThe implication is that the only time player 001 ever played was in the first season game, as he wanted to experience the game he'd created in order to "feel something" before the brain tumor killed him. Hwang In-ho is participating for a different reason. He seems genuinely curious about Gi-Hun, and is trying to understand why he came back to the games. He's playing along to win his confidence, and only betrays him at the end, when he has no choice.
As to whether or not the pink-clad soldiers know to protect him or not, it's hard to say. He must have some contingency in place, but my understanding is that he remains masked in the presence of his underlings. However, there is the moment in the final episode of season 2 where the kidnapped soldier sees In-ho, and has registers surprise, as if to say "why is our leader part of the plot to overthrow the games?" I think he must have had some kind of plan in place in the event that he ever lost a game.