Seeing her favourite person, her idol, she was stunned, as if she'd forgotten to breathe. For a few seconds, she seemed numb, unable to figure out what was happening. She had met her love in the most unexpected way. Was it a miracle, a curse, or a serendipitousfate?
"The person in front of you is your partner from now on; you both have to survive together in this world".mysterious voice echoed.
"'Are you my fan? Why you, of all people? Do I know you?"Sangwon wondered silently.
'Why Sangwon is my partner? Why him, of all people, and in this strange survival game and world?" Anya pondered to herself.
Both of them whispered their thoughts in silence."
"'Now, let's start our first survival game,' a mysterious voice echoed. 'This game is called "How Well You Know Your Partner."'One partner has to tell something about the other. If they don't provide correct information, both of you will be eliminated. However, there's more at stake than just elimination, which will be revealed later. Since one of you has to play the game, it will be decided by a chit. One partner from each pair must come forward and choose a chit; the chit will have the partner's name written on it, and that partner will play the game. 'Now, let's start the game,' the mysterious voice said.
Anya prayed silently that it would be her turn, knowing she had some knowledge about Sangwon, but Sangwon knew nothing about her since they had never met; he perhaps didn't even know she existed.
As the pairs converged, one partner from each duo stepped forward to claim the chit bearing their counterpart's name.'
Your name is inscribed on this chit,' Emma Gyeon Wo's partner remarked with a hint of wistfulness. 'You must respond with precision, despite our mutual unfamiliarity. Perhaps it would have been more fortuitous if I were the one tasked with this challenge, given my lingering infatuation with you from bygone days. Consequently, I possess some rudimentary knowledge about you.
' Sangwon and Anya stood in awkward silence, struggling to breach the conversational divide. However, Sangwon mustered the courage to pose a hesitant query to Anya: 'Would you prefer to retrieve the chit, or shall I take on this responsibility?' Anya's response was laced with evasion as she averted her gaze, 'You may proceed.' Sangwon acquiesced, advancing to claim the chit. 'Your name is etched on this parchment,' he announced, his voice barely above a whisper. Anya experienced a fleeting sense of solace upon hearing her name,yet her trepidation persisted,fueled by the uncertainty of what lay ahead.
A mysterious voice asked, "What's Emma's dream career?" Gyeon Wo replied nervously, "She wants to be an architect." A green light appeared, confirming his answer was correct. The voice asked another question: "What's Emma's pet's name?" "She has a dog named Choco," Gyeon Wo said, and a green light appeared again. "Has she ever had a boyfriend?" the voice asked. "No, she hasn't dated anyone," Gyeon Wo replied, and a green light appeared once more.
The game continued with one partner from each pair playing. When Anya and Sangwon's turn came, Anya stepped forward. The voice asked, "What's Sangwon's favorite color and dessert?" Anya replied, "Sangwon's favorite color is white, and he loves tiramisu." A green light appeared, and Anya felt relieved. The voice asked another question: "Can Sangwon cook, and what's his favorite cake?" "Sangwon can cook, and his favorite cake is vanilla with strawberry jam," Anya answered. A green light appeared again.
The game continued, and Anya's next question was about Sangwon. "What do you think Sangwon wants from his fans, and what is one of his fears?" she was asked.
Anya replied, "I think Sangwon wants to be appreciated by his fans, and one thing he fears is being left out." A green light appeared, indicating her answer was correct.
After all pairs finished, the consequences were revealed. "Teams 2, 22, and 15 are eliminated," the voice announced. "The remaining teams have passed." The voice reminded them of the stakes: "Not only will eliminated teams be removed from the game, but they will also disappear from their world, and no one will remember them.
A woman from Team 2 panicked, screaming, "I don't want to disappear! This is crazy! Why are you doing this to us?"
Suddenly, Team 2 was shot dead. Everyone was shocked and terrified. A girl from Team 15 ran to Anya, crying and begging, "Please help me! I don't want to die!" But she was killed instantly, and her blood splattered on Anya's clothes. Team 22 suffered the same fate, shot dead without mercy.
The eerie announcement echoed through the room: "Congratulations! The first game is over. You have reached level 2." But the words brought no joy. Instead, they sparked a cacophony of screams as everyone succumbed to extreme fear, paralyzed by uncertainty. Anya's eyes widened in terror, and she collapsed to the ground, fainting from the sheer horror of it all.
Sangwon's frantic eyes locked onto Anya as he rushed to her side, his mind racing with uncertainty.
"There's a medical room nearby," Gyeon Wo whispered, his voice trembling with fear. "Take her there; maybe you can find something to save her."
Without hesitation, Sangwon swept Anya into his arms and sprinted toward the medical room, the darkness closing in around them.
Meanwhile, the tension between Mr. Han Daon and his wife, Mrs. Han Daon, both in their late thirties, was suffocating.
"Why aren't you helping them?" Mr. Han Daon demanded, his voice laced with accusation. "You're a doctor, for goodness' sake!"
Mrs. Han Daon's response was venomous. "You never cared about me when I needed you. Now you're so quick to act, after all we've been through? That's why our marriage was crumbling before we ended up in this twisted nightmare."
Just as the argument escalated, Mrs. Han Daon appeared in the medical room, her presence commanding attention. "Put her on the bed," she ordered Sangwon, her voice firm but detached. As Anya was laid down, Mrs. Han Daon examined her briefly before delivering a reassuring diagnosis: "She's suffered a shock, overwhelmed by fear. She'll recover.
Anya's eyes snapped open to the haunting whisper: "This is your world, the world you desired." The voice was a sinister echo that only she could hear.
"Are you alright?" Sangwon asked, his voice laced with concern as he hovered over her.
Meanwhile, pandemonium erupted outside. The sight of lifeless bodies sent the crowd into a frenzy, their desperation to escape palpable. The air was thick with terror as an unearthly glow enveloped the area, casting an eerie purple and green light over the chaos.
A voice, cold and detached, boomed from the shadows: "Before each of you, a symbol of power will appear. Touch it, and the weapon will be yours to wield. It will be your lifeline in this twisted game." Guns and swords materialized, their designs seared into the participants' hands like dark tattoos.
The voice continued, its tone dripping with malevolence: "You have 30 minutes to select a pair that will become the powerhouse of this world. One pair will reign supreme. Those who fail to be chosen will be consumed by the very darkness that surrounds you." The voice paused, and a maniacal laugh echoed through the air. "Welcome to 'Testing Your Greediness.' May the strongest survive... if they dare."
Again, a wave of fear spread through the whole atmosphere, and everyone started to look at each other with desperation to become that powerhouse, so they could survive. "Now I know why we were given those weapons like powers," said the man who had earlier endured the electric shock, a mischievous glint in his eye. "It sounds fun, I like this world. Don't you think so, my partner?" He pointed towards Malsook with a twisted smile.
In no time, everyone touched their tattoo-like weapons on their wrists, pointing towards each other's teams with a mix of fear and aggression. "Twenty minutes are left," the voice echoed, its tone cold and unforgiving. Except for Sangwon, Anya, Emma, and Gyeon Wo, everyone else had their weapons, their eyes gleaming with a deadly intent.
"Wait, everyone! What are you all doing?" Emma cried out, her voice laced with desperation. "There must be a way to survive together. They won't kill everyone one of us at once."
A woman's voice rose in protest, "How can you be so sure? Did you not see how they killed those people mercilessly earlier?" Her voice was shrill with fear, her words hanging in the air like a challenge.
Anya's voice trembled with a mix of fear and hope as she proposed, "There's a way out. What if we choose each other as our powerhouse? We can all be each other's powerhouse, and no one will have to die. The voice didn't specify any rules, so maybe we can interpret it our way." Her eyes sparkled with desperation as she added, "We need to exchange our powers to make this work. That's probably the purpose of these twisted gifts."
Sangwon's eyes locked onto hers, and he nodded in agreement. "It fits with the theme of this sadistic game – testing your greediness. They're pushing us to the edge, seeing how far we'll go to survive."
A girl with curly hair and a round face shot back, her voice laced with skepticism and fear. "How can you be so sure? What if it's a trap? Will you all take responsibility if we end up dead?" Her words hung in the air like a challenge.
Gyeon Wo's voice was calm, yet resolute. "We need to trust each other if we want to survive in this nightmarish world. It's our only chance." He paused, his eyes scanning the group. "Who's willing to take this chance with us? If you're with us, come to one side, and we'll exchange our powers to become
each other's powerhouse."
The crowd hesitated, then surged to one side, except for a few pairs who stood frozen in defiance. Those pairs pointed their powers at the others, their eyes blazing with a deadly intent. Meanwhile, the rest exchanged powers with a mix of fear and desperation, their hands shaking as they did so. "Onlytwo minutes are left now," the voice echoed, its cold tone sending a chill down their spines. Everyone stared at each other in utter fear, their hearts racing with anticipation.
"Time's over," the voice declared, its words like a death knell. In an instant, the pairs who hadn't exchanged powers were annihilated before they could unleash their deadly attacks on others, their bodies torn apart by an unseen force, flying through the air like lifeless ragdolls. "This is the punishment for greediness," the voice taunted, its tone dripping with sadistic pleasure. "You should have thought beyond your own selfish desires."
Sangwon's eyes locked onto Anya, his concern etched on his face. She seemed shell-shocked, her eyes vacant, as if she was about to faint again. But Sangwon grasped her hand firmly, his touch infusing her with warmth, and holding her steady. It was the first time Anya had held the hand of the person she loved, and for a moment, the chaos around them melted away, leaving only the two of them, suspended in a fragile moment of intimacy.