I paused, hearing a small sound from the door.
Well, they could be in the bathroom early in the morning.
I brushed it off and was about to leave the bathroom when I heard:
[“Hnnngh…! Ugh…”]
It felt strange to hear a woman’s voice coming from the men’s restroom.
But until recently, everyone here was male.
It was understandable that she’d enter the men’s room.
But what was that sound?
I kept hearing moaning sounds along with the sound of the door shaking.
Could it be…
Surely it wasn’t what I was imagining.
Everyone here should know that we were all originally men…
I wanted to believe that, but I was uneasy.
Could there be someone with abnormal sexual desires among the participants?
Maybe I’d be subjected to something like that now that I was a woman…
Looking at my left arm, I felt a chill down my spine.
I decided not to overthink it.
I was probably just anxious because of my left arm.
…
“Hey, mister?”
I heard a familiar, delicate voice as I returned to the auditorium.
The lights were still off, and most of the participants were asleep.
Turning my head, I saw a girl with a rather young-looking figure, a cute face, and attractive long white hair.
The white patch read ‘001’.
By the way, “mister?”
“Sorry, but I was born in ’99.”
“What, you are a mister, aren’t you?”
If she was here, she couldn’t be that much older than me, so what was she talking about?
Come to think of it, that was the voice that had been shouting loudly on the bed yesterday.
I hadn’t seen the white patch properly then, but seeing her face and hearing her voice, I was sure.
“About yesterday… thank you…”
“By the way, what’s with that frail arm? Looks like a girl’s?”
Ah.
This girl had touched on my trauma.
Still, if it hadn’t been for her help back then, both Seongho and I would have been taken.
“If it weren’t for you, I would have been taken as is.”
“What, are you saying you’re a scrub who needs my help? Should I call you Scrub instead of Mister?”
“Scrub~♡, Scrub~♡”
…
She covered her mouth with her hand and teased me, and I felt a surge of anger.
More than that, had she been subjected to tentacle torture too?
Her tone and actions seemed familiar from the start.
If a man had acted like that, he would have been beaten up on the street.
Still, the power of appearance was amazing.
Normally, I would have punched her in the face, but since she was cute, I decided to hold back.
“Anyway, why did you come?”
“Just because? I came because I wanted to see our Scrub?”
She kept saying “Scrub, Scrub” from the start.
Where did she learn that kind of language?
“And I can’t stand watching you play games anymore… so, won’t you team up with me?”
What.
In the end, she came to propose a team-up.
But I was someone who had abandoned even Yujin for the sake of winning.
To lead the male party, I had to abandon the female participants for the time being.
“…Sorry, but I can’t form a team for the time being.”
“Whaaat? Do you think you’re so good?”
“How pa.the.tic.~♡”
…
Come to think of it, I’d seen her somewhere before.
I couldn’t remember properly, so it probably wasn’t important.
[Flick… Flick.]
As the lights on the auditorium ceiling gradually turned on, the participants began to wake up one by one.
“Tch… Don’t keep thinking you’re going to win? You trash Scrub~”
She provoked me until the end and left.
What was that all about…
Did she have a crush on me or something?
That couldn’t be.
Anyway, before something like yesterday happened or the next game started, I had to form a male party.
First, I decided to go see Seongho.
…
“So, Seongho, which of the remaining men should we team up with?”
“Given Seongho’s past actions, you could bring in anyone.”
“…”
Seongho was still looking down and seemed to be thinking.
Too few wasn’t good, but too many wasn’t good either.
I had to make a careful decision during this time.
[Step… Step…]
“Excuse me… Numbers 107 and 456…?”
Someone was walking towards us.
Turning my head, I saw a man who looked quite sturdy.
“Please call me Jiyoon, and that person over there is Seongho.”
“Ah… I’ve heard a lot about your performance. You said Seongho is a former winner?”
Ah.
Come to think of it, Seongho had said something like that before.
I couldn’t believe there were still people who believed it.
Still, that could be a plus for now.
“Would you both like to join our team?”
It was good for us.
There were already so few men, and they came to scout us.
It saved us the trouble of worrying.
“Seongho, what do you think?”
“Hmm… Let’s decide after seeing the team members.”
“Could we go see your people?”
“Ah, follow me.”
Things were going smoothly.
But I knew that there were team battles within teams and games that favored women.
I needed to be careful in the next game.
[It’s meal time.]
[Participants, please take one of the cases in front of you.]
Come to think of it, it was meal time.
“Let’s meet while eating.”
…
[Click-]
Opening the case, I saw half stir-fried pork and half rice.
They even gave us meat… they were quite generous.
[Step… Step…]
“Jiyoon. Can I talk to you for a moment?”
“Yes? Yes…”
Like yesterday, he started to take me to a secluded place again.
Was something like what happened last time going to happen again?
Having experienced it once, I felt uneasy.
Arriving in the corner between the beds, he turned to me.
He looked quite serious.
“Is it going to be like last time…?”
He still didn’t open his mouth.
How serious could it be… Still, I needed to know in advance so I could prepare.
“Jiyoon…”
“-…Yes…?”
“I, I don’t think I can go on the team anymore…”
“W-What do you mean…”
“I think I should go to Yujin…”
“If possible, Jiyoon too…”
[Thud-]
I grabbed Seongho’s body.
It seemed like his old habit had been triggered again.
“Seongho… We need to win the prize money…”
“But… we don’t know? There might be events that women are good at…”
“What are you saying now?”
I understood his desire to take care of Yujin…
But we had already betrayed Yujin.
I didn’t want to see Seongho burning himself out over someone he had only known for less than a month.
“…Jiyoon… I think I should go…”
“You don’t have to come, Jiyun… I’ll take care of it.”
[Step… Step…]
[Thud-]
I grabbed Seongho’s arm as a last resort.
Seongho was definitely smart.
But being kind was a separate issue.
That’s why I was trying to help him, or was I trying to use him?
Even I was starting to get confused.
Whatever the reason, I had to be firm this time.
“Seongho…! I’m warning you for the last time, please take care of yourself first…”
“…I’m sorry.”
…
“Hello. My name is Sung Jiyoon.”
“Ah… Let’s just call each other by our numbers.”
“I’m number 281… Kim Sungmin.”
As a result, thanks to Seongho’s good introduction, I was able to join a team of six.
All the men were quite sturdy… it was a win.
But that day, I didn’t see Seongho again.
“I heard from Number 107 that you did a great job during the Ganggangsullae…”
I hadn’t done that much during the Ganggangsullae, but he seemed to have exaggerated a bit.
But to recruit me to the team, a little exaggeration was probably necessary.
“Haha… It wasn’t that much.”
“Why is your left arm like that?”
Ah.
I had covered it with my sleeve, but it was still noticeable.
“Ah… This is just how my body is.”
“The strength itself isn’t that different, so don’t worry.”
If it was a team game that required strength, I might be abandoned first.
I should wrap it in more cloth later.
“…Okay, I understand.”
Fortunately, I thought they would ask me about various things as a colleague of the former winner…
Sungho must have handled it well when he introduced me.
I was grateful for that.
…Should I have gone to Seongho’s team after all?
I had been influenced by Seongho’s personality a lot from being close to him.
It had only been a week.
I had to forget about it to win the prize money.
“By the way, aren’t you going to eat that? It’ll get cold.”
Number 281 pointed to my right arm, where there was a lot of stir-fried pork left in the lunchbox.
“Ah… I was just thinking…”
Let’s eat first and think about it…
…
“By the way, how old are you, Number 456?”
“Ah… I’m 26 this year.”
“Oh~ You look quite young for your age?”
“Haha, thank you.”
After talking for a while, I felt quite relaxed.
I didn’t know I would get attached so quickly.
It was probably because it was a gathering of people driven to the edge of a cliff, so we became close in an instant.
“Jiyoon, are there any games you’re good at?”
Turning my head, I saw Number 72.
Black hair, a muscular body, small eyes, and a big nose…
Number 72 was the most muscular in our team.
Of course, he wasn’t as muscular as that gangster, Number 269, who I had seen in the first game.
Despite his muscular body, he was quite quick-witted.
“Hmm… If I had to say, I’m good at things like spinning tops or playing territory games.”
“I’m probably good at speed-based games.”
I definitely did those things a lot when I was young.
I don’t know how it is now, but I still have some sense of it.
[It’s lights out.]
[Participants, please return to your beds.]
I was chatting and eating, and time passed surprisingly quickly.
More than that, they gave us useless board games and tablets that supported YouTube and Netflix, although they were limited.
If it weren’t for the punishments, I would have definitely lived here for the rest of my life.
“Let’s talk about the rest tomorrow?”
“Okay. Everyone, good work, let’s disperse for today~”
At Number 281’s words, I started to prepare as well.
It felt more like a dormitory than a place where I was kidnapped and my life was on the line.
What was this place that was doing so much for us…
A research lab? Or a playground for the rich?
I was sure there was something at the final elimination.
Anyway, my priorities were food and sleep.
Let’s sleep and think about it.
✦✦✦
[The fourth game is a pairing game.]
[Men and women, please pair up and enter a room.]
A pairing game?
More than that, they said to enter a room… something was suspicious.
[Creak-]
Entering, I saw a dimly lit yellow light and a white bed.
“What is this…”
[Step… Step…]
“Who’s th- Oh? Why is Seongho here…”
Seongho suddenly entered.
What was going on?
Was he mistaken?
“Excuse me… Seongho… It’s supposed to be men and women…”
“…”
Seongho silently pointed to my left arm.
Why my left arm…
“Eek!? Wh-What is this…”
I was shocked for a moment.
Inside the skin of my arm, there were countless pink grains that I had seen before.
More than that… they were slowly rising.
“S-Seongho…! Tie it up like last time…!”
“…It’s already too late.”
“Wh-What do you mean…”
Looking down, I saw those grains had already flowed down my neck and lower body.
“Plea… Please, spare m…”
…
“Haa… Haa…”
I had another bizarre nightmare.
I’ve been having nightmares every day since I was first kidnapped here…
Each nightmare is new, so I can’t get used to them.
Looking around, the auditorium lights were still off.
Did I wake up too early again…?
I thought about my lack of sleep, but…
Come to think of it, I was kidnapped.
I wasn’t in a position to leisurely think about sleep.
[Thud… Thud…]
First, I started walking towards the shower room as usual.
It was easier to shower when I woke up early because there was no one around.
Honestly, they should divide the shower rooms into male and female…
Well, since everyone was originally male, most would probably go to the men’s side.
[Swish-]
I heard the sound of water inside.
…I’m uneasy.
Now that most of the participants have become women, there was a high possibility it was a woman.
…Still, I’ve seen naked women more than once since participating in this game, so I decided to go in.
Just be careful about my reaction.
[Creak-]
“Who’s there…? Oh, it’s you…!”
“What…? Why are you here?”
Innocent and cute beauty, long black hair, large breasts, and a familiar voice…
Number 269… It was that thug.
More than that, seeing her naked in front of me, she had quite a sexy body.
…I shouldn’t be like this.
The longer I stay here, the more I see the female participants not as men, but as women.
The power of appearance and environment is terrifying.
“Umm… How long are you going to keep looking…? Don’t look! Pervert…♡”
For some reason, she was naturally covering her chest and private area.
…Could it be that she failed twice while I wasn’t looking?
Either way, she’s cute.
