“Ugh…”
Thinking about it now, I started to feel embarrassed for no reason.
To even be hugged by someone I’ve only known for two weeks…
“I’m sorry…”
“It’s nothing for me…”
“And what was that sound just now?”
Have they never met anyone for five minutes straight?
If anything, I was quite lucky.
“It’s the sound that comes out when you meet another team…”
“Huh?”
Come to think of it, the lights weren’t coming from our team vests.
It definitely couldn’t be broken.
Looking around, I couldn’t see anyone wearing a black vest.
Is it happening next door…?
“Excuse me, could you please be a little quieter?”
“…Okay.”
The repetitive sound of someone running and bumping into things still weighed heavily on my ears.
[Thud-]
Let’s put my ear against the wall for a moment…
[“Ugh… Just a moment… Haaah…”]
It’s someone’s frail voice.
But… this pattern, it was somehow familiar.
[“Haa… Woo…”]
“…Shall we go?”
Seong-ho grabbed my hand without a word.
[Thump, thump]
Ironically, I felt relieved as soon as I heard that sound.
To be exact, I was feeling a sense of comfort.
It’s definitely not because I’m a pervert.
I was relieved that I wasn’t the only participant being targeted.
If I was the only one being treated like that, I would have felt ashamed after the game.
But that made me feel even more disillusioned.
Feeling relieved by seeing someone else being victimized was not a normal person’s way of thinking.
My identity was a concern, but…
I had to prioritize my and Seong-ho’s survival first.
“Ah…! That place!”
“Do you know where it is?”
The place where I met that bitch…
[Shuffle, shuffle]
I had no choice but to walk in silence.
Fortunately, there were no footsteps to be heard.
Seong-ho asked me several more times, but from here on out, we had to be as quiet as possible.
If that happened again…
Let’s not even think about it.
“Seong-ho, it’s been five minutes just now.”
“Can we talk less and speed up if possible…?”
At the same time as I picked up the pace, I could hear Sung-ho’s footsteps getting faster as well.
Fortunately, the surrounding noise was enough to cover up the sound.
It was five minutes just now… so is it about three minutes now?
Maybe it’s because I’ve played a lot of games, but I was getting used to the sense of time.
And… for the first time, I was able to turn a corner.
“Ugh…”
Maybe it’s because it’s dark, but this time I could only see a corridor leading straight ahead.
Unlike the previous path, there didn’t seem to be any forks in the road.
It was a small hope, but I hoped it was the exit.
[Shuffle, shuffle]
As I continued to walk, the sound gradually became quieter.
And…
“Ji-yoon… it’s blocked?”
The wall there was completely blocked.
I went closer and touched it, but it didn’t even seem to have a door.
Did I take a wrong turn when I didn’t have time…?
“Just a moment…”
Come to think of it, how did that bitch come from the corner?
Did she know this wall was blocked and turn back?
But at the time, I could hear deafening footsteps coming from this direction.
But now, there’s nothing but silence.
Come to think of it, unlike before, the color and the feeling on my hand were slightly different.
It felt like the material of the wall itself had changed.
“Ji-yoon, do you think you know something?”
[Thud-]
“…There’s no time. Let’s go for now.”
I just had a bad thought.
If my hypothesis is true…
The structure of this maze is changing in real time.
And the people involved in this are changing the maze to their liking.
I’ve been seeing something suspicious since the last game.
Did they decide on the dropouts in advance…?
If they were enjoying this process, it was definitely possible.
[Thump! Thump!]
Then there was only one thing we could do.
We had to run at full speed so that their structural changes couldn’t keep up.
But… if we did that, it would be inevitable to encounter other participants.
“Haa…”
I tried to run, but I hesitated for no reason.
There’s no time… if we run, we’ll encounter enemies…
My head started to hurt like when we were stealing flags.
Just as I was bowing my head to think.
“…Are you going to run?”
“If you’re going to run, just run.”
Just run…?
When I turned to Seong-ho, he opened his mouth.
“Either way, the enemies don’t want to meet us either, right?”
“If we run at a moderate speed, we might be able to avoid them.”
Are we deliberately running to reveal our presence?
Come to think of it, after going through several games, most people’s personalities seemed to have become timid.
Especially on the day of the game, they seemed to be wary of something.
It was worth a try.
“Then one… two…!”
[Bang!]
When I pressed my foot down on the floor with all my might, the sound echoed throughout the corridor.
[Thump! Thump!]
Holding Seong-ho’s hand, I turned around again and ran at full speed.
Even if they were predicting our movements and changing the structure…
They wouldn’t be able to perfectly manage the movements of 456 people.
Now it was a matter of time.
“Then where do we go now!?”
“To be honest, I don’t know the way very well… haha.”
I had a rough idea, but I didn’t know he was really bad with directions…
He’s clueless… I guess that’s just how he is, so I can understand.
“Then I’ll just go as I please…!”
As long as I don’t go straight, I won’t be going in circles.
If possible, I had to move unpredictably, mainly to the left and occasionally to the right.
…
Another fork in the road appeared.
It felt like there were more forks in the road than usual.
It was almost certain that the structure of the maze was changing.
“Now to the right…!”
[Thump! Thump!]
As expected, there were no participants in sight when I turned the corner.
Since I was deliberately making loud footsteps… it felt like the surrounding noise had decreased.
It seemed like Seong-ho’s suggestion had worked.
But…
“Haa… haa…!”
I was getting tired quickly from running continuously.
This damn body…
I’ve been somehow enduring it by thinking about the tentacles since earlier…
But it was the limit.
[Thump, thump]
“Haa…”
“Are you okay?”
I didn’t want to be a burden at least…
If the maze transformation started again, I wouldn’t be able to escape in time.
“I’m sorry…”
“I’ll give you a piggyback ride.”
As he slowly approached, I shook my hands as much as possible.
I had vowed to do anything to win…
But I became weak-hearted only at times like this.
“Wouldn’t it be more efficient to split up…?”
“But I can’t abandon Ji-yoon.”
…
I felt a subtle emotion for the first time.
Even in a place where humanity is abandoned, there are people like that.
But I was too burdened to only receive favors.
Sometimes I…
[Shuffle, shuffle]
Oops.
I stayed too long.
I could hear footsteps coming from the corner I just passed.
“Who…”
“Let’s be on guard first.”
The footsteps were getting closer and closer.
But I should have revealed our presence…?
It would be fortunate if it was the same team, but even if it was the same team…
There was no merit in coming to us.
[Beep-]
But as the vest started to make a sound and shine, even that hope disappeared.
When I focused my eyes on the wall, I could see two men.
“Ah, shit… one woman, one man?”
“We’re so unlucky…”
Black vests…
The two looked like high school delinquents you often see on the streets.
“Why did you guys come?”
“You should have left when the vest was shining.”
Did they find my words funny?
I was a little embarrassed when the two suddenly started laughing.
“We came on purpose?”
“By the way, those tits are huge, lol.”
Judging from their voices, they were either high school or college students…
Their unique way of speaking and their flippancy were similar to the bullies I had seen at school.
Haven’t they gotten rid of their habits yet…?
“Think carefully before you regret your life.”
“You can’t go back now anyway, right?”
Seeing that they were still men even in a situation where most of the participants had become women…
Wait a minute.
Could it be that they were aiming for that?
“Ji-yoon…”
Sung-ho’s attitude of trying to protect me, and inferring from the current time, I could be sure.
Those bastards…
They were going to enjoy themselves since they were going to be eliminated anyway.
“Well… anyway, we don’t have much time.”
[Thump! Thump!]
As the two approached at full speed, a strangely chilling feeling spread throughout my body.
And, of course, the direction was towards me.
“Ji-yoon! Stay behind me!”
Even if it’s Seong-ho, if he fights those two…
Even if he subdues them, we both won’t be able to make it on time.
I’d rather…
[Shuffle, shuffle]
“Ji… Ji-yoon…?”
Is this what it feels like to sacrifice yourself?
Maybe it’s because I’m finally repaying Sung-ho’s kindness, but I felt comfortable.
And.
[Thud-]
“Ugh…”
“Hey, didn’t you say he was originally a man?”
“His body is so hot, lol.”
I’ve experienced it several times, but it still feels unpleasant.
Besides, if I’m eliminated here, it’s tentacle torture, right…?
Today was definitely the worst day.
When I looked at Seong-ho, he was still hesitating to move.
“Seong-ho… just think of it as me repaying your kindness and go…”
“Even so…”
Haa…
“Seong-ho!!! Go!!”
It hurt my throat to raise my voice after a long time.
But did my voice reach him…?
Seong-ho had already disappeared into the darkness.
“Oh~ Self-sacrifice. How romantic.”
“I’m not interested in men anyway.”
Damn it… I’m a man too.
Those words almost came up to my throat, but I stopped.
At that time.
[Squish-]
“Ugh…!!”
The man on the right suddenly started touching my chest.
No matter how many times I experience it, it’s not a pleasure I can get used to.
“Wow~ Look at those tits.”
The man on the left slowly started unzipping my top.
And when he stimulated the nipple on my left breast…
“Aah…! Hngh…”
I definitely didn’t want to moan…
I tried to cover my mouth with my hand, but it kept leaking out.
