“Oppa…?”
“O… O-Oppa… Wh… What?”
At that moment, I was speechless.
In a way, it was a ‘punishment,’ so there was no way they’d let her off normally.
She must have been affected by that tentacle somehow.
“-…Yes…? I was just talking normally…”
Was she unaware?
The title ‘Sunbae’ wasn’t great, but ‘Oppa’ was absolutely not okay.
No matter what, Yujin wasn’t someone who would use that kind of term.
“Um… Yujin-ssi… are you aware that you just called Jiyoon-ssi ‘Oppa’?”
When Seongho pointed it out, Yujin’s face turned pale, and she covered her mouth with her hand, silent.
“Yujin, do you know what you were saying just now?”
“Hmph… I don’t really remember…”
Then, Yujin’s gaze turned to the hardened blood on the back of my hand, and her face paled.
“Eek…! Blood!!”
[Thud]
Yujin leaned her body against Seongho’s abdomen.
Originally, Yujin seemed unfazed by blood during the second game…
My memory was a bit hazy too.
[Boing]
“Y… Yujin-ssi… suddenly hugging me like that… ahem…”
When Yujin’s chest touched Seongho’s abdomen, Seongho’s face flushed, and he started clearing his throat a few times.
“Ah…! Was it uncomfortable…? I’m sorry… I was just so scared…”
I hadn’t noticed because it was so natural, but Yujin’s posture had been subtly different since earlier.
She had her knees slightly bent and to the side, as if it had been that way from the start.
Could this be… the content of the second punishment?
“Seongho-ssi… you can guess what the second punishment is too, right…?”
He quietly nodded.
If the first punishment was turning someone into a woman…
This time, it seemed to be ‘correction of behavior and speech.’
Additionally, there seemed to be changes in habits and slight personality shifts.
Since earlier, she had shown a slightly passive side, unlike the Yujin I knew.
Come to think of it, there were also the 3rd and final eliminations.
‘W… Wait a minute… then what are the third and fourth punishments…?’
From this case, I learned that with each elimination, there was also an internal ‘modification.’
The first was physical modification… the second was behavioral modification…
The third and fourth were mental modification…?
If the game continued like this, most of the participants would be 3rd or 4th elimination victims.
There was no guarantee that wouldn’t be me.
‘I’ would no longer be ‘me.’
At that moment, it felt like electricity was running through my whole body.
When I turned my gaze to Seongho, he seemed to have realized it as well.
“Yujin-ssi… we absolutely have to win tomorrow’s vote. You understand, right…?”
Seongho’s words were right.
If we lost this vote, there would be no hope for the next one.
“Oppa’s… what are you guys talking about so seriously…?”
“Yujin, from now on, keep your wits about you.”
“Huh…? Why are you being like th- Ah…”
I realized that even if she was modified, she could still be aware if she concentrated.
However, in the first vote, there were almost 400 votes in favor.
I had serious doubts about whether we could really win the vote.
“Come to think of it, Seongho-ssi… can we win tomorrow’s vote?”
“I can’t guarantee it… but the others must have realized it too…”
“No matter how much the prize money is 3 billion won, they wouldn’t want to lose themselves, right…?”
I wasn’t sure.
I still didn’t know how crazy those people were about money.
But we had to try.
“Then let’s meet tomorrow morning, everyone.”
“Yujin, Seongho and I are going to go to sleep now, so keep your wits about you tomorrow. Got it?”
“Even just the 2nd elimination is like this, so you can imagine what it’ll be like after that, right…?”
Yujin covered her mouth with her hand and quietly nodded.
[Thud, Thud]
At that moment, the lights on the ceiling started to turn off one by one.
[It is now lights out]
[Participants, please return to your beds]
✦✦✦
[Tap…]
“Eight…”
[Tap…]
“Nine…”
Just a little more and I’ll make it…!
It seems like you get used to kicking this kind of shuttlecock if you keep doing it.
[Tap…!]
“Ten!!”
Upon succeeding, a familiar sense of elation seized me.
Thankfully, I was able to pass this game as well.
With uncontainable excitement, I turned my head towards the timer.
[00:00]
“Huh…?”
[Participant 456 Eliminated]
“No way…”
When I looked down, there was something bulging out there.
“Breasts…?”
I reached into my pants, but I couldn’t feel anything.
“It’s gone… it’s gone…!”
Then, I saw green tentacles approaching with smoke around them.
“No… Nooo…”
“Hyaaaang~!”
…
[Thump…!]
“Haa… Haa…”
It was a terrible nightmare.
When I got up from the floor, I saw the familiar floor and ceiling.
I had become accustomed to this place.
It seemed I had fallen out of bed while sleeping.
When I turned my head towards the monitor screen, it said ‘DAY – 4.’
So much had happened, but only 4 days had passed.
I couldn’t bear to stay here any longer.
I felt like I would go crazy before I became a woman.
When I looked towards the stage, the masks were setting up buttons again.
Since yesterday, it’s been tentacles… voting… women…
My head was a mess.
I went to the bathroom as usual.
The bathroom was unnecessarily divided into men’s and women’s bathrooms.
After all, just a week ago, everyone here was a proper man.
“Haa…”
I took out one of the bags from the locker with numbers on it, as usual.
Inside the bag in the locker were shampoo, body wash, toothbrush, toothpaste, and a towel.
The shampoo, body wash, and toothpaste all had no designs or logos.
They were just basic toiletries.
Since I might be leaving today anyway, I took the bag and went to the shower room.
The shower room was also co-ed.
The shower room alone was quite spacious, so it didn’t seem like a budget shortage.
It was a good example of the tastes of the staff here.
…
[Thud… Thud…]
After a quick shower, I walked towards Seongho as promised yesterday.
We had to make this vote a success.
“Seongho-ssi… can you persuade people?”
“I can’t guarantee it… haha…”
Then, I saw Yujin running towards us from afar.
[Thump. Thump.]
“Opp… I mean, Seniors! I’m sorry…! I overslept…”
“It’s okay. We just woke up too.”
“Then, Seongho-ssi… do you have any strategies in mind?”
“Well… I have one…”
“It might require a bit of luck…”
…
[Thoom-]
[Bang!]
“Now, we will begin the 2nd ‘Yes or No’ vote as scheduled.”
“If you wish to continue the game, press O.”
“If you wish to stop the game, press X.”
[Now, let the voting begin]
[0:0]
“Voting will begin in order of number. Number 1, please come forward.”
[Thud. Thud.]
She ran towards the button as if she was excited.
[Click-]
[0:1]
“Then, we will continue. Next, number 2, please come forward.”
…
“Next, number 54, please come forward.”
[Click-]
[21:33]
“The number of votes in favor has definitely decreased.”
“Could this be possible?”
“Yes. Let’s start soon.”
Seongho slowly started walking towards the voting booth.
Then, he started speaking loudly enough to echo throughout the auditorium.
“Everyone!!! Please listen to me for a moment!”
“We can’t do this!”
“We’re being toyed with by those people over there!”
As he spoke, I saw a familiar silhouette approaching.
It was number 63, who had interfered during the first vote as well.
“So, you’re going to leave here without getting any money?”
“You have debts too, don’t you! Shouldn’t we pay off at least some of that debt?”
“That’s right! That’s right!”
“Who are you to stop the game?”
As a ringleader emerged, the entire auditorium gradually became heated.
I wish number 63 had been among the 2nd elimination victims…
“Everyone! Let’s just do ten more rounds and take 3 billion won home!”
“That’s right!”
“Everyone needs to pay off their debts!”
I thought it was almost time.
As the surroundings gradually became heated, Seongho started to speak.
“…”
“I’ve played this game before!!”
At his words, the entire auditorium fell silent for a moment.
Not missing this opportunity, he continued speaking.
“I played this game 6 years ago!”
“The people who played the game with me back then…”
“None of them, except for me, were able to leave!”
The one who broke the silence first was number 63.
“W… Why would someone like you come crawling back here?”
“Everyone! Do you really think they’re going to give us the prize money properly!?”
“In the end, I won, but after taxes and everything, I didn’t actually get a single penny!”
“Kidnapping… confinement… even physical modification… do you really trust the people involved here!?”
Silence continued to linger around us.
Thankfully, those masks were keeping their mouths shut as well.
The setup of being a winner but not receiving the prize money, struggling with debt, and participating in the game again…
Above all, he was the one who had incited the vote first when everyone was afraid, so his alibi was sufficient.
We can definitely win with this…!
❖❖❖
(2 hours ago)
“Well… I have one…”
“It might require a bit of luck…”
I was puzzled by Seongho’s words.
“What exactly is that method?”
“Well… the participants don’t have proper trust in the organizers.”
“They trust the prize money more than the people involved.”
“So, in order to break that trust…”
“How about one of us pretends to be a ‘winner’ who participated in the previous game?”
There was definitely a possibility, but I was a bit doubtful.
There was a possibility that this game was the first game here.
“But isn’t it possible that this is the first game?”
“It’ll be okay as long as the voting is done by the participants, not the staff.”
“The participants will trust us more than the staff, right?”
“But… who will do it…?”
I was lost in thought at Yujin’s words.
I could lie if I had to, but if any variables arose, I wouldn’t be able to react immediately.
And Yujin was in an unstable situation due to the modification.
“Well… how about Seongho-ssi tries it?”
“Huh…? Me? But…”
“Seongho-ssi has an alibi from the previous vote, so wouldn’t it be okay?”
“Yes…! I also believe that Seongho Opp… I mean, Senior, can definitely do it!”
❖❖❖
As the silence continued, Yujin and I stepped forward and continued to persuade them.
“Everyone! Let’s go home!”
“There’s no reason to stay here any longer!”
As the persuasion continued, one person… two people… started nodding.
If we keep this up… we can definitely go home.
That’s what I thought.
[Alpha 12 situation occurring, bring container set – 03.]
The mask turned on the radio and started saying something.
It was a bit suspicious, but we just had to keep going like this.
…
“Next, number 132, please come forward.”
[Click-]
[98:34]
“Everyone! Let’s keep this up!”
“Let’s go home!”
The difference in votes was already more than double.
If we kept this up, it was almost certain that we would win.
That’s how it should have been…
[Rattle… Rattle…]
Carts carrying small containers began to appear from the door at the center of the stage.
And the masks carrying and moving them…
[Clack!]
The masks stopped more than ten loads of cargo on both ends of the auditorium.
“It seems like you all doubt our sincerity, so we have prepared this.”
“This is a product separately prepared by the organizers, so please feel free to enjoy it.”
No sooner had the mask in the center finished speaking than the containers on the carts began to open.