Everyone returned to the dormitory.
Jung-hyuk saw the kid from earlier, and he walked up to him and said, "If anything happens, come find us."
Il-hoon said, "It's fine, that's my dad's friend, he'll take care of me. Thank you."
Jung-hyuk patted his shoulder and said, "Anyone who made it here... isn't exactly a good person."
After saying that, he turned and walked away.
Il-hoon looked over at Player 123.
Player 409 clung to Jung-hyuk in fear and said, trembling, "I'm so scared. I want to go home."
Jung-hyuk was about to reply when the door opened. A masked man stepped out and announced:
"Congratulations to everyone who passed the first game. Now we will reveal the results of the first game."
The screen above began counting down: "456… 400… 350… 300…"
The masked man continued, "Out of 456 players, 299 have been eliminated. 157 players passed the first game. Congratulations again."
At that moment, one person walked to the center and knelt down, begging, "Sir, please let me go, I promise I'll pay my debt back, I swear!"
Seeing this, more people stepped forward to beg.
The masked man said, "It seems there's been a misunderstanding. We're not here to hurt you—we're giving you a chance."
Il-hoon stepped forward and said, "Clause three of the agreement says the game can be terminated if more than half of the players agree."
The masked man replied, "Correct. We respect your freedom to choose. But before the vote begins, let me reveal the current prize pool."
He pressed a button on his remote, and the piggy bank above slowly descended. Then, a pile of money began pouring in.
Everyone stared in shock—even Jung-hyuk was no exception.
The masked man continued, "Since 299 players were eliminated in the first round, the total prize pool is now 29.9 billion won. If you give up now, the prize money will be distributed to the families of the eliminated players—1 billion won each. As for you all, you'll walk away with nothing. Now the vote begins. Press the circle button if you want to continue, the X button if you want to terminate. Voting will proceed in descending order. Player 444."
Player 444 pressed the circle button.
"443."
Player 443 pressed X.
The score came to 10:10.
"409."
Player 409 hesitated. He looked back at Jung-hyuk, then at the buttons in front of him. In the end, he pressed the circle button.
Jung-hyuk stared at him in shock.
"369."
Pressed X.
The score between circle and X remained neck-and-neck.
"357."
Jung-hyuk saw the current score was 49:48. He hesitated, then finally pressed X.
"201."
Il-hoon pressed X without hesitation.
"123."
Pressed circle.
Il-hoon looked at him in confusion. Gi-hyun stared at him with a vicious expression.
The score moved to 50:60.
Jung-hyuk couldn't hold it anymore. He rushed to the center and said, "Are you all crazy? You're gambling with your lives for money—is it worth it?"
Player 300 said, "This is a gift from God. God brought us here, and He will protect me. I'll take that 45.6 billion and walk out of here, hahaha!"
Player 332 said, "What, you want to go back to hell? We don't have a choice. At least here, there's some hope."
Il-hoon suddenly shouted, "You bunch of trash. F***ing useless. Instead of earning money with your own effort, you rely on this crap. Idiots."
Player 101 yelled, "You little brat—whose kid are you?"
Il-hoon shouted back, "None of your f***ing business, you bastard."
The players who voted circle couldn't stand it anymore and tried to rush Il-hoon. Jung-hyuk quickly pulled Il-hoon behind him and shouted:
"You're all really f***ing insane. You'd do anything for money. Are you so sure you'll survive the next game? Maybe the next to die will be YOU! You..."
Before he could finish, the masked man held a gun to Jung-hyuk's back.
He said, "From now on, we will not tolerate interference in the voting process. Now, resume the vote. Player 110."
Pressed X.
The score came to 78:78.
The masked man said, "Last vote: Player 10."
Everyone watched as he walked to the front.
A "beep"—78:79.
Circle won.
The circle voters began cheering. Jung-hyuk just stood there in disbelief.
Later, the masked man began distributing food. Everyone lined up for their meals.
Player 409 got his food and sat next to Jung-hyuk, saying, "I'm sorry."
Jung-hyuk looked at him, then went back to eating.
Il-hoon also got his food and sat beside Jung-hyuk.
Jung-hyuk asked, "Why'd you come over?"
Il-hoon replied, "Didn't you tell me to?"
Jung-hyuk smiled at him.
After eating, Il-hoon returned to his bed.
Jung-hyuk pulled Player 409 to a dark corner and said, "Do you know why I voted X?"
409 shook his head.
Jung-hyuk said, "Look at that kid. Sure, I need money, but I don't want to watch such a young life die in front of me."
Player 300, listening from above, shouted, "This is God's will! You can't escape! All of you will die here!"
Jung-hyuk led Player 409 back to the bed.
That night, Jung-hyuk watched Il-hoon sleeping beside him, unable to fall asleep.
Then, Player 409 came over and said, "I'm sorry."
Jung-hyuk looked at him and replied, "It's fine. Don't bring it up again."
409 sat beside him. "I had no choice."
Jung-hyuk asked, "What do you mean?"
409 said, "I can't make a living out there."
Jung-hyuk asked, "Why?"
409 said, "I'm gay. I've been bullied by classmates since I was young. I thought things would get better after I left school, but they only got worse. My boss found out and started targeting me—didn't pay me. I tried reporting it, but the police don't give a sh*t."
He shed a tear.
He continued, "I just want to earn some money in this game so that I can live freely when I get out. Even if I die, I don't care. Sorry for disturbing your sleep."
He turned and returned to his bed.
Jung-hyuk watched him, feeling a deep sense of sorrow.
Meanwhile, outside the game, Il-hoon's mother was frantically searching for him. She shouted at Il-hoon's dad:
"You don't even know where your own son went?!"
Il-hoon's dad said, "How should I know? He said he was hanging out with a friend—he's been out all day."
Il-hoon's mom snapped, "Useless piece of sh*t. I must've been cursed in a past life to marry you."
She slammed the door and stormed out.
Cut to the next morning. Music plays. The broadcast announces:
"Important announcement. The second game will begin shortly. All players, please follow staff instructions."
Jung-hyuk looked at Il-hoon and Player 409 and said, "No matter what, stay behind me."
They both nodded.
They walked the same staircase as the first day. Eventually, a large door opened, leading to a white room. The broadcast said:
"Welcome to the second game. This is a team challenge. Please form groups of three within ten minutes. I repeat: Form groups of three within ten minutes."
Jung-hyuk looked at Il-hoon and Player 409. "Let's form a group."
"Okay," they both said.
Meanwhile, Gi-hyun and Player 94 were already paired and needed one more teammate.
Player 369 approached them and said to Gi-hyun, "Let's team up. We don't know the game yet—if it's something like jacks or hopscotch, I can help."
Gi-hyun looked her up and down. "Alright."
Time ran out. Most had formed teams. But Player 300 and Player 13 were short one person.
The masked man said, "For fairness, you two may not participate."
They were dragged away.
Player 300 yelled, "You can't do this to me! God will punish you all!"
Player 409 looked at 300 being dragged off and said to Jung-hyuk, "Look at that lunatic. Yesterday he said we'd all die. Today it's his turn."
Jung-hyuk said, "You talk too much."
Player 409 lowered his head awkwardly.
The broadcast said, "All teams, follow staff to the game zone."
Inside, the broadcast announced:
"This game is the 'Three Bears Triple Challenge.' There are three tasks: jump rope, basketball, and archery. Two teams will compete. The first team to complete all tasks succeeds. The losing team is eliminated. If both teams fail to finish within three minutes, both will be eliminated. Decide who will perform each task."
Jung-hyuk asked Player 409, "What are you good at?"
409 timidly replied, "I… I'm good at jump rope."
"Ah~ then you do jump rope," said Jung-hyuk.
Il-hoon said, "I'll do archery. I practiced a lot in school."
Jung-hyuk replied, "I'll do basketball then. Done."
Elsewhere, Gi-hyun said to Player 94, "Good thing we picked a girl."
Then he asked 369, "You can jump rope, right?"
369 said, "Yes."
"Perfect."
Broadcast: "Team One and Team Two, get ready."
With the masked man's signal, the teams began. The children's song "Three Bears" played.
Team One reached the first stage. Rules: two players swing the rope, the third jumps—complete 10 jumps to pass.
Player 212 and 96 swung the rope. Player 21 jumped. They were in perfect sync and completed 10 jumps.
Team Two struggled. A minute passed.
Player 444 panicked. He grabbed Player 332's sleeve. "Didn't you say you were good? What the f*** is this?"
Player 101 pulled them apart. "If this keeps up, we're all gonna f***ing die. Jump!"
Back to Team One—they reached the second task: shoot five baskets from the three-point line to pass.
Player 96 started. First shot—missed.
Player 21 said, "It's fine, it's fine. Still got time, take it easy."
96 kept shooting, but his hands were shaking.
Another shot—miss.
Player 212 yelled, "Hurry the f*** up! We're out of time!"
Team Two had just passed jump rope and started basketball. They quickly made five baskets. Just as they moved on, the masked man stepped in front of them.
Beep—time was up. Both teams failed. All members were executed. The watching players were terrified.
Broadcast: "Eliminated players: 212, 96, 21, 444, 332, 101."
Player 409 buried himself in Jung-hyuk's arms. Jung-hyuk didn't push him away.
Broadcast: "Important announcement. Please wait patiently while the field is cleared."
After cleanup: "Team Three and Team Four, get ready."
Jung-hyuk was on Team Three. He said to his teammates, "Let's do our best. We can do this."
A gunshot signaled the start of the game.
They charged forward.