Jung-Hyuk hung up the phone.
He suddenly recalled the scene in the dormitory, where the masked men were scanning the ears of the eliminated players.
He rushed to the cupboard and began rummaging through it. Then, he slowly picked up a razor blade.
He ran into the bathroom, stood in front of the mirror, touched his ear, and endured the pain as he cut it.
Soon, a drop of blood fell onto the bathroom floor.
From his ear, he pulled out a tiny black object—it was a tracker.
He threw the tracker into the toilet and flushed it away.
Three years later.
The year 2020.
Like usual, Ming-Yu's father was on the busy streets asking passersby if they had seen his son.
Suddenly, from a distance, a voice shouted: "Park Ming-Yu!"
(Park Ming-Yu was the name of Il-hoon's father.)
Ming-Yu looked toward the voice in shock and said: "Jiang Zi-Kai! Damn, it's been so long. I thought you were dead."
The scene shifted to them sitting in a café.
Ming-Yu asked Zi-Kai: "Where have you been all these years? Ever since you asked me to lend you money and I couldn't, you just vanished. I'm truly sorry, I really had no money back then."
Zi-Kai replied: "It's okay, it's okay. As for where I went, you probably won't believe it. Not just you, no one would believe it."
Ming-Yu asked: "That exaggerated? What, did you go to space?"
Zi-Kai said: "Back then, I joined a game. The games were children's games, but if you lost, you'd be killed."
Ming-Yu laughed after hearing this: "Are you insane? Playing kids' games and then killing people?"
Zi-Kai responded: "See? I told you you wouldn't believe me."
Ming-Yu asked: "Then how did you get out?"
Zi-Kai said with sorrow: "I… won. I was the only one… who won."
Ming-Yu asked in confusion: "And then what? Was there some kind of reward?"
Zi-Kai answered: "45.6 billion won."
Ming-Yu burst out laughing: "45.6 billion? Ha! You've gone crazy over money."
Zi-Kai replied: "Believe it or not. What about you? What have you been doing these years?"
Ming-Yu sighed: "It hasn't been easy. First my son went missing, then my wife committed suicide."
Zi-Kai looked at him in shock: "Your wife… committed suicide?"
Ming-Yu nodded: "Yes, that's right."
Zi-Kai said: "I'm sorry, brother. I didn't know."
Ming-Yu said: "It's okay."
Then he added: "And not long ago, some strange man came to me and gave me one billion won, saying it was left to me by my son. I thought, how could my son ever have earned a billion won?"
Zi-Kai said nervously: "That… game."
Ming-Yu asked: "What?"
Zi-Kai continued: "Do you have a strange card at home?"
Ming-Yu asked: "How do you know that?"
Zi-Kai said: "That card… it's—"
Before he could finish, Ming-Yu interrupted: "Wait, wait. Let's… talk next time."
He said this and ran off.
Elsewhere, Jung-Hyuk was just about to enter the subway station. Suddenly, Ming-Yu ran up to him.
Ming-Yu shouted: "Tell me where my son is! Why did you give me one billion won? Where did it come from?"
Jung-Hyuk looked at him with a grave expression.
At the same time, a foreigner was secretly observing Jung-Hyuk from a distance.
The scene shifted again. Jung-Hyuk brought Ming-Yu to his home. He spoke a long while to Ming-Yu.
Ming-Yu said: "You're telling me my son joined some children's games, and after losing, he was killed?"
Jung-Hyuk nodded solemnly.
"No… impossible, absolutely impossible," Ming-Yu said, overwhelmed.
Jung-Hyuk replied: "That's why I'm searching for their whereabouts now."
Ming-Yu asked: "They… who are they?"
Jung-Hyuk's eyes grew firm as he answered: "The hosts of the game. If we don't find them now, we'll have to wait another year."
A tear fell from Ming-Yu's eye: "How could this… happen?"
"If you want revenge for your son, then join me."
The next day, as usual, Jung-Hyuk went to the subway station and sat beside a man who looked like he was struggling in life.
Just as Jung-Hyuk thought today would be another wasted effort, the man in a suit appeared. Angrily, Jung-Hyuk walked over.
He grabbed the man's collar: "Stop doing these harmful things. Tell your master to end this game."
Seeing everyone around staring at him, Jung-Hyuk let go.
At that moment, Zi-Kai stepped off the subway.
Zi-Kai looked at the man in the suit: "It's you."
The suited man, noticing the situation, quickly boarded the train.
Jung-Hyuk and Zi-Kai exchanged looks.
From afar, the foreigner was once again spying on Jung-Hyuk.
The scene shifted. Soo-Mi's boss was driving when suddenly the phone rang.
She picked up: "Hello? What is it?"
On the other end, Soo-Mi said: "Uh, hi… I just wanted to ask… when will you be paying my salary?"
Her boss replied: "You know our wedding service business has thin profits. The economy's been bad, and fewer people are holding weddings. We haven't received the payment yet, but as soon as we do, I'll settle your wages."
And with that, he hung up.
Soo-Mi stared at her phone in bitterness. She had no source of income now.
She picked up the card beside her, looked at the number on the back, and dialed it.
Elsewhere, Ming-Yu had just finished buying groceries at the market and was about to take the subway home.
From a distance, he saw a group of people bullying a girl. He ignored it and turned away.
The girl was shoved violently to the ground.
One of the bullies sneered at her: "You fat pig, you don't deserve to live in this world."
They walked away, leaving the girl sitting on the ground in tears.
When Ming-Yu arrived home, he was surprised to find his old friend Zi-Kai already there.
Ming-Yu asked: "Why are you here?"
Jung-Hyuk explained: "He was also a participant in the game."
Just as Zi-Kai was about to speak, the doorbell rang.
Jung-Hyuk told them both to sit down while he went to answer.
At the door, Jung-Hyuk asked: "Who is it?"
No one replied.
Suspicious, Jung-Hyuk was about to open the door when he looked down and saw a familiar card slipped inside. Flipping it over, he saw it read:
"Meet at Gwanghwamun Square at midnight."
Jung-Hyuk turned to the two men: "Now let's convince some police officers to come with us tonight to Gwanghwamun Square."
That night, they arrived at Gwanghwamun Square. There, a large crowd had gathered.
Jung-Hyuk and Zi-Kai walked together, while Ming-Yu followed behind with the police.
Halfway there, Jung-Hyuk noticed a familiar figure in the distance. He chased after him, with Zi-Kai close behind.
Soon, they reached a stretch limousine. A masked man opened the door, and Jung-Hyuk and Zi-Kai stepped inside.
In front of them was a piggy bank speaker.
Meanwhile, Ming-Yu signaled the police to secretly follow the limousine.
"Player 357 and player 109, do you remember? We spoke in this very car."
The two said nothing.
"I truly hope you're living well. I hope you can forget everything in the past and live happily."
Zi-Kai sneered: "Happily? Watching our loved ones die in that game, and you expect us to live happily? What a joke."
Jung-Hyuk added: "If you want us to be happy, then end the game."
"We only created the game. Joining it was your choice."
Jung-Hyuk roared in fury: "I told you to stop the game—did you hear me?!"
"This world will not change, and the game will never end."
Ming-Yu spoke into his earpiece: "Begin the plan. We're ready."
After hearing this, Jung-Hyuk said to the piggy bank speaker: "Then let us rejoin the game."
"What?"
Jung-Hyuk said: "I said, let us rejoin the game."
"You think you can be heroes who change the world?"
Zi-Kai replied: "To change the world, sometimes all it takes is just a few people."
"If that's what you want, then so be it."
Suddenly, smoke filled the car.
At that moment, the clock struck midnight.
From the passenger seat, the host said: "Player 357 and player 109, welcome back to the game. Merry Christmas Eve."