Ming-Yu followed the luxury car ahead with two police officers.
When they arrived at a dock, they saw rows of cars boarding a cruise ship. The three of them got out of their car and followed the line of cars onto the ship.
One officer spoke into his radio:"Captain, we need backup here. Please come immediately."
The radio replied:"You two withdraw immediately. Without my permission, you are not allowed to act on your own. Otherwise, I will revoke your police status."
Choi Jun-Su said into the radio:"Captain, have you forgotten how you trained us? Now that something's really happening, you're asking us to retreat. You are truly cowards."
After saying that, Jun-Su threw the radio off the ship.
The other officer, unwilling to take the risk, jumped off the ship and ran away in shame.
Ming-Yu asked Jun-Su:"What do we do now?"
Jun-Su shook his head, "I don't know either."
At that moment, the masked men got out of their cars.
Just as they were about to return to the cabin, Jun-Su opened fire.
One masked man fell to the ground.
Before the others could react, Jun-Su shouted:"I am a police officer! You are under arrest for kidnapping. You have the right to remain silent!"
The masked men quickly retreated.
Those stationed above drew their guns.
Jun-Su pointed his gun at them and shouted:"Drop your weapons! I repeat, drop your weapons!"
A masked man fired at Jun-Su, but Ming-Yu shoved him behind cover.
The Host told the masked men:"Be careful when you shoot. Do not harm the participants."
He then sat in front of the monitors, sipping red wine.
Meanwhile, Jun-Su, without his radio, was out of options.
Ming-Yu said:"You ruined the plan."
Jun-Su replied:"I'm sorry."
With nowhere left to go, Jun-Su pulled Ming-Yu with him and jumped into the vast ocean.
The scene shifted—Jung-Hyuk woke up, surrounded by familiar music.
He looked at his clothes.
"Player 357."
Zi-Kai found Jung-Hyuk.
The other confused players gathered in the center of the dormitory.
At that moment, the door opened, and masked men walked in.
One of them said:"Welcome, everyone. Over the next six days, you will participate in six different games. Whoever clears all six games will win a massive prize."
Player 85 spoke up:"If people are kidnapped to play these games, how do you expect us to believe you?"
(Player 85 is the overweight girl Ming-Yu once saw being bullied.)
The masked man replied:"Apologies, for the sake of maintaining game security, we had no choice. I hope you understand."
Player 149 asked:"Why are you wearing masks? Are you ashamed to show your faces? Are you doing something illegal?"
The masked man replied:"To ensure fairness and maintain confidentiality, it is our principle never to reveal the staff's faces or identities. We hope you understand."
Player 239 asked:"You took away our phones—how is that reasonable?"
The masked man pressed a button on his remote:
"Player 239, Oh Yoo-Chun. Convicted of a major international fraud case and sentenced to 15 years in prison, involving 12.1 billion won. Escaped prison in March 2023 and has been on the run ever since. Now on Interpol's red notice. Personal debt: 2.7 billion.
Player 149, Song Seung-Ho, debt: 200 million.
Player 85, Kim Yeon-Na, debt: 60 million.
Player 450, Shin Jung-Ah, debt: 1.9 billion.
Player 320, Lim Yoo-Yul, debt: 2.3 billion.
Player 191, Lee Dae-Yong, debt: 9.9 billion.
Everyone here is drowning in debt, unable to repay, living on the edge. When we first approached you, none of you believed us. But as you saw, once you played, we kept our promise and gave you money. Each of you voluntarily chose to participate. No one was forced. Now, we give you another chance: return to your miserable lives, hunted by creditors like garbage, or seize this final opportunity we offer."
Then, a piggy bank appeared above their heads.
The masked man continued:"What you see now is the piggy bank holding your prize money. For each game you clear, more money will be added."
Player 56 asked:"How much is the prize?"
The masked man replied:"The total prize is 45.6 billion won."
Everyone was shocked.
Just then, Player 18 came up behind Player 329. He patted her shoulder."Soo-Mi, why are you here?"
Soo-Mi looked at him in shock."Oppa, why are you here too?"
(The overweight girl is Player 85. Soo-Mi is Player 329. Do not mix them up.)
Before they could say more, the masked man interrupted:"Those who wish to participate, sign at the bottom of the consent form. Those who do not wish to play, please speak now. We always give players the chance to quit."
Soo-Mi asked Player 18:"Are you sure you want to play?"
Player 18 replied:"Let's play. It's no different outside anyway."
Then Soo-Mi and Player 18 signed.
Jung-Hyuk looked at the form. Zi-Kai asked:"Do you think Ming-Yu and the others will come?"
Jung-Hyuk answered:"Let's wait a bit longer. They should be here too."
After saying that, Jung-Hyuk signed, and Zi-Kai followed.
They lined up for photos.
Player 85 fixed her hair in front of the camera. Player 202 whispered to Player 62:"Look at that fat pig, still fixing her hair."
He snickered.
Jung-Hyuk stood before the familiar camera.
"Smile," the lens said.
Jung-Hyuk stared sternly at it as the photo was taken.
On the way, Player 18 asked Soo-Mi:
"Why are you here?"
Soo-Mi said:"I'll tell you once we get out."
Before she could finish, they arrived at a massive field.
Player 62 looked ahead and asked:"What's that thing?"
The doll said:"Welcome to the first game. Please wait on the playground."
Jung-Hyuk stared seriously at the doll, then glanced at the seagulls flying away. A sense of dread filled him.
The doll continued:"You must cross the finish line within five minutes without being detected by the tagger. Anyone who succeeds passes."
Jung-Hyuk told Zi-Kai:"They won't make it."
Zi-Kai looked confused, "What?"
The doll turned away. The game began: "Green light, red light." Everyone stayed still.
Jung-Hyuk shouted:"Don't move! This isn't an ordinary game. If you're detected, you'll die! No matter what, don't panic and don't run!"
Player 202 scoffed:"This guy's crazy."
"Green light, red light."
Jung-Hyuk yelled again:"Do not move!"
Several rounds passed with no eliminations.
Then Player 142's nose itched. He sneezed.
He looked up at the doll.
The broadcast announced:"Player 142, eliminated."
A gunshot rang out.
"Bang."
Player 22 looked at the bloody corpse and tried to run, but was immediately shot down.
Chaos erupted—people began fleeing.
Jung-Hyuk cried helplessly:"Don't move! You'll die if you run!"
After the fleeing players were all shot, the doll explained:"Repeating the rules: you may move only while the tagger says 'Green light, red light.' If detected moving afterwards, you will be eliminated."
Meanwhile, the Host pressed a button. A toy began playing Fly Me to the Moon. He sat back, drinking wine, watching the screens.
Two more rounds passed, and no one dared move. Jung-Hyuk shouted:"If time runs out, you'll die too! As long as we don't move when it's watching, we'll live!"
When the doll turned away, players advanced.
Some were eliminated, but Jung-Hyuk and Zi-Kai crossed safely.
Others followed.
When the time was up, everyone had crossed.
Exhausted, they watched as something above slowly closed.
Meanwhile, Jun-Su stormed into headquarters.
He grabbed the captain's collar and shouted:"Why didn't you send backup? You coward! There were armed men—if you had come, we could've arrested them!"
The captain shoved him back and roared:"A police officer needs evidence! Evidence! If I had gone last night and found nothing, who would take responsibility for the loss?"
Jun-Su sank to the floor, speechless.
Back in the dorm, everyone sat in silence.
Player 85 cried quietly on her bed.
Suddenly, the door opened, and masked men entered.
"Congratulations on clearing the first game. Now, the results."
On the screen, the number began to drop:"456...400...350."
The masked man continued:"Out of 456 players, 135 were eliminated. 321 cleared the first game. Congratulations."
Someone rushed to the center and begged:"Please let us go, sir. I'll work hard to pay back the debt."
Others knelt too.
The masked man said:"You misunderstand. We don't wish to harm you. We're giving you a chance."
Jung-Hyuk was about to stand, but Zi-Kai stood first, "Clause three of the contract: if a majority agrees, the game can be terminated."
The masked man replied:"Correct. We respect your decision. But before the vote, let's reveal the current prize pool."
He pressed his remote, and the piggy bank descended, filling with cash.
Everyone was stunned.
"The 135 eliminated players contributed 13.5 billion won. If you quit now, this money will go to their families, 100 million each. The rest of you will leave with nothing. Now, vote. Press ○ to continue, × to quit. Voting will proceed in reverse order by player number. Player 454."
Player 454 hesitated, then pressed ×.
"Player 453."
He pressed ○.
The process continued.
The score reached 30:29.
"Player 357."
Jung-Hyuk stepped forward and pressed ×.
"Player 329."
Soo-Mi hesitated, then pressed ×.
"Player 239."
He pressed ○.
"Player 202."
Pressed ○.
"Player 149."
Pressed ○.
"Player 109."
Pressed ×.
"Player 85."
Pressed ○.
"Player 62."
Pressed ×.
"Player 56."
Pressed ×.
The score reached 139:130.
Jung-Hyuk grew restless.
Before he could speak, Zi-Kai rushed forward, "Are you all insane? Risking your lives for money—worth it?"
Player 202 shouted back:"Do you think it's different outside? At least here we have a chance!"
Player 56 said:"Let's quit. No money is worth our lives."
Zi-Kai tried to continue, but Jung-Hyuk stopped him, "Forget it. They're already blinded by money. No use convincing them."
The vote continued.
Eventually, the score reached 173:172.
"Player 18."
He pressed ○.
Soo-Mi watched him from afar.
The score was 159:157.
"Player 15."
He pressed ×.
159:158.
"Player 10."
He pressed ○.
160:158.
"Player 9."
Pressed ×.
160:159.
"Player 5."
Pressed ○.
161:159.
Jung-Hyuk watched in despair. He knew it was hopeless.
The masked man announced:
"Finally, Player 1."
With a beep, the screen showed 161:160.
The ○ vote had won.
At that moment, Player 1 turned around—she was the foreign woman.