2022
The famous restaurant at the street corner was filled with people. Lim Sang-hwan, as usual, delivered food one by one to the customers' tables. A customer called out to him and said, "Can I have a glass of water?"
Sang-hwan said, "One glass of water," then nodded. He walked to the kitchen, avoided the staff walking out, then walked to the water dispenser and the cups.
The heat in the kitchen made his whole body feel dizzy. He walked out of the kitchen holding the filled glass of water. The surrounding sounds began to grow louder and softer intentionally or unintentionally. A customer in the distance waved at him. The glass slowly fell from his hand, and then everything went black before his eyes, and he fainted.
When he woke up again, he was already lying in the hospital. The restaurant owner sat beside him and said, "You're awake."
Sang-hwan squinted at him. The owner sighed and said, "The doctor said the cancer is still getting worse. You need to receive treatment as soon as possible."
Sang-hwan sat up and said, "When I save enough money, I'll go for chemotherapy."
The owner took out a briefcase from under the bed and opened it. Sang-hwan looked at the pile of money inside, then closed the briefcase and said, "This has nothing to do with you."
As he spoke, he pulled out the needle from his hand, then got off the bed. The owner asked, "What are you doing?"
Sang-hwan tidied himself and said, "Staying in the hospital costs money too."
After saying that, he walked out of the ward. The owner sat in the ward and helplessly watched him walk away.
Sang-hwan walked out of the hospital, then walked alone on the empty street. Not long after, he arrived outside the subway station. At this moment, a 100,000-won bill floated past his feet, and he chased after it.
The 100,000 won stopped at someone's feet. Sang-hwan picked it up. As soon as he raised his head, he saw a girl. The girl was looking at him. She touched her pocket, then took the 100,000 won from Sang-hwan's hand and said, "Thank you."
Sang-hwan froze for a moment, then smiled awkwardly yet politely. The girl began to walk away. Sang-hwan turned around and walked down into the subway station.
Sang-hwan sat on a chair in the subway station waiting for the train. After an unknown amount of time, a man in a suit sat beside him. Sang-hwan did not pay attention to him.
The man in the suit turned his head and looked at Sang-hwan. Sang-hwan looked at him with confusion. At this moment, the man in the suit spoke, "Sir, may I borrow some of your time?"
Sang-hwan waved his hand and said, "Not interested, no money, sorry."
The man in the suit continued, "Sir, would you like to play a game with me?"
Sang-hwan said impatiently, "Hey, I already said…"
Just as he was about to continue speaking, the man in the suit opened his briefcase. Inside were piles of 5,000-won and 10,000-won bills, along with two ddakji tiles.
Sang-hwan looked at the money in the briefcase, then looked at the man. The man said, "Sir, you've played ddakji before, right? Play ddakji with me. Every time you win, I'll give you 100,000 won."
Sang-hwan lowered his head and thought for a moment, then asked, "Then what if you win?"
The man smiled and said, "If I win, you have to give me 100,000 won."
Sang-hwan shook his head and said, "How is this any different from gambling?"
The man continued to smile and said, "I'll let you attack first."
After hearing that, Sang-hwan began to hesitate. The man picked up a blue tile and a red tile and asked, "Which color do you choose?"
Sang-hwan took the blue tile, then gathered strength and slammed it down. The red tile did not move at all. Sang-hwan looked at the man awkwardly. The man smiled, picked up the red tile, then slammed it hard, flipping the blue tile over.
Sang-hwan scratched his head and stammered, "Um… can I first…"
Before he could finish speaking, the man slapped him across the face. Sang-hwan stared at him in a daze. The man said, "If you don't have 100,000 won, you can use a slap instead."
Sang-hwan picked up the blue tile and slammed it down.
A few minutes later, they had already played dozens of rounds, but Sang-hwan had not won a single time. He gripped the blue tile tightly, then used all his strength to slam it down. The red tile slowly flipped over.
The man stuffed 100,000 won into Sang-hwan's hand, then picked up the tiles on the ground to continue playing. Sang-hwan said, "I'm not playing anymore. This is enough."
The man looked at him in confusion and asked, "Are you serious?"
Sang-hwan nodded seriously. The man began to pack his things, and Sang-hwan sat down.
After packing up, the man looked at Sang-hwan and said, "Sir, if you play for a few days, you can earn a lot of money. Do you want to give it a try?"
Sang-hwan waved his hand and said, "Forget it. I'm unlucky."
The man suddenly became serious and said,
"Name: Lim Sang-hwan, 33 years old. Highest education: Huixi Middle School. Poor family background. Both parents deceased. Currently working at Happy Small Restaurant. Recently diagnosed with cancer."
Sang-hwan looked at him in shock. The man took out a card from his pocket, with a circle, triangle, and square printed on it.
Sang-hwan took it. The man said, "Please contact me."
Sang-hwan flipped the card over and saw a string of phone numbers on the back. When he looked up again, the man had already walked into the subway, and the doors closed. Sang-hwan reacted and rushed forward, shouting, "Wait! Wait! Wait!"
The subway left. Sang-hwan said helplessly, "I was going to take this train."
At dawn, Sang-hwan arrived in front of the Happy Small Restaurant. The owner walked out, then placed that bundle of money into Sang-hwan's hands. The owner pleaded, "Use that money for treatment. Don't come to work anymore."
Sang-hwan looked at the money in his hands, then threw it away and said, "I don't need your money! I don't need your pity. I can earn money myself! I have my own way to earn money."
After saying that, he turned around and walked away. The owner crouched down and picked up the money from the ground.
Sang-hwan woke up groggily and found that the sky outside the window had slowly darkened. He recalled what happened in the morning, then picked up the card given by the man in the suit. After entering the phone number on the card into his phone, he made the call.
After the call connected, the other side said, "Hello."
Sang-hwan said, "Um… the card…"
The other side asked, "Do you want to participate in the game? If you want to participate, please state your name and date of birth."
The scene shifted. Sang-hwan arrived at a place with no one around. He looked around in confusion. The lights in the distance were getting closer and closer. A van stopped in front of Sang-hwan, and he looked at the van.
The window of the van rolled down. Inside sat a person wearing a circular mask. The masked person asked, "Mr. Lim Sang-hwan?"
Sang-hwan froze in confusion, then nodded. The masked person continued to ask, "What's the password?"
Sang-hwan thought for a moment and said, "Red Light, Green Light."
The back door opened. Sang-hwan looked at the unconscious people inside and walked in fearfully. The door closed. Before Sang-hwan could ask any questions, mist sprayed out from all directions. A few seconds later, Sang-hwan fainted.
Music started playing. Sang-hwan slowly opened his eyes, then sat up. He looked at the unfamiliar surroundings. Everyone was wearing the same clothes, and each had a number on them.
He saw others walking to the center of the dormitory, so he stood up and walked down. On the way, he bumped into a girl. Sang-hwan said to the girl, "Sorry."
Just as he was about to continue walking, the girl grabbed him and said, "It's you."
Sang-hwan turned his head to look at her. He looked at the number on her clothes, "237," then looked at her face. After seeing her face, Sang-hwan began to recall…
"The girl touched her pocket, then took the 100,000 won from Sang-hwan's hand and said, 'Thank you.'"
Sang-hwan came back to his senses and smiled, saying, "Oh—it's you."
No. 237 smiled and said, "We're really fated."
Sang-hwan scratched his head and said, "Yeah."
Sang-hwan looked at the number on his own clothes: "No. 258."
At this moment, the main door opened, and a large group of masked people walked out. Everyone looked at them with confusion and a bit of fear.
A masked person said, "A warm welcome to everyone here. Over the next six days, all of you will participate in six different games. Those who pass all six games will receive a huge prize."
No. 432 asked, "Why did you knock us out and bring us here?"
The masked person replied, "Sorry, in order to maintain the safety of the game, we had no choice. We hope you understand."
No. 64 cursed, "Damn it, since I was young, no one has dared to touch me without my permission. You even changed my clothes."
The masked person replied, "For the progress of the game, please wear the uniform."
No. 161 ran out and said, "Do you know this counts as kidnapping? Give me my phone back right now. I'm calling my lawyer, do you hear me?"
The masked person pressed the remote control in his hand and began to speak:
"No. 161, Song Zhengli, 46 years old. Formerly the boss of a rice company in China. After the company went bankrupt, he fled to Korea with employees' money and went into hiding. Current total debt: 1.1 billion won.
No. 64, Choi Jeo-rim, debt: 230 million won.
No. 432, Park Chae-ho, debt: 80 million won.
No. 101, Park Pu-chen, debt: 2.1 billion won.
No. 353, Lee So-i, debt: 110 million won.
No. 410, Zhang Xiu-zhi, debt: 1.2 billion won.
Everyone present is heavily in debt, unable to repay, and standing at the edge of life's cliff. When we first approached you, you didn't believe us. But as you can see, when we play a game, we fulfill our promise and give you money. You all believed us and voluntarily joined this game, with no coercion involved. Now we give you another chance to choose. Will you go back and spend the rest of your life being chased by creditors, living like trash? Or will you seize the final opportunity we provide?"
Everyone fell silent. Sang-hwan looked at No. 237, and No. 237 looked at Sang-hwan and forced a smile.
The masked person pressed the remote. The giant piggy bank began to slowly descend. The masked person said, "What you see now is the piggy bank that stores your valuable prize money. During the process of playing all six games, after each game ends, the prize money in this piggy bank will accumulate."
Golden light shone on everyone's faces. Everyone stared at the piggy bank greedily.
The masked person continued, "Those who wish to participate, please sign below the player agreement. Those who do not wish to participate, please inform us now. We will always give you a chance to withdraw."
Everyone lined up to sign. No. 64, Choi Jeo-rim, glanced at the agreement and signed disdainfully. No. 432 picked up the pen and signed. No. 237 glanced at Sang-hwan beside her and signed without hesitation. Sang-hwan carefully read the agreement, then after thinking for a long time, signed it.
Jeo-rim walked past No. 334. No. 337, an old lady, called out to him, "You look a bit like my grandson."
Jeo-rim smiled and said, "Old lady, you're about to die, and you still came to a place like this, huh."
After saying that, he walked away. The old lady, No. 334, suddenly had a sharp and fierce look in her eyes and said, "You rude little brat!"
After saying that, she spat.
Everyone lined up and walked toward the same place. Sang-hwan saw the people in front lining up and taking photos one by one. When it was his turn, he walked to the camera. The camera said, "Smile!"
Sang-hwan looked at the camera in confusion and asked, "What does that mean?"
With a "click," the camera captured a photo of Sang-hwan looking confused.
Soon, everyone arrived at the gate of the game arena. After the gate opened, everyone walked in.
Sang-hwan and No. 237 walked together. They looked at the scene before them in shock. In the distance of the huge field stood a big tree and a giant doll.
A broadcast sounded, "Welcome to the first game. All players, please wait on the playground."
Everyone whispered among themselves, discussing what the doll in the distance was for. With a "bang," the door behind them closed.
The broadcast sounded again, "The first game is, Red Light, Green Light."
Jeo-rim smiled disdainfully and said, "Red Light, Green Light? Are you kidding me?"
Sang-hwan smiled and said to No. 237, "Is it such an easy game?"
No. 237 also smiled. No. 161, Song Zhengli, walked over to Sang-hwan and said, "My intuition tells me it's not that simple."
Sang-hwan asked in confusion, "Who are you?"
No. 161 raised his hand and said, "Song Zhengli."
Sang-hwan shook his hand and said, "Lim Sang-hwan."
Zhengli nodded. The broadcast sounded, "Within five minutes, avoid the detection of the 'it' and cross the finish line to pass."
After hearing this, No. 237 said to Sang-hwan, "Don't run too fast later."
Sang-hwan nodded and said, "Don't worry."
The doll turned around. The broadcast said, "Game start."
Everyone ran out. "Green light…" Sang-hwan and Zhengli followed the crowd forward, and No. 237 followed behind Sang-hwan.
"…red light."
The doll turned back. Everyone stopped. Zhengli and No. 237 ran ahead of Sang-hwan. The doll's eyes began scanning the people around. No. 321's thigh itched badly due to sensitivity, and he couldn't help but scratch it. The doll's eyes locked onto No. 321. The broadcast said, "No. 321, eliminated."
With a "bang," No. 321 fell to the ground. The doll turned back. Everyone looked at No. 321 in confusion.
"Green light, red light."
The doll turned again. No. 28 saw that No. 321 was coughing up blood and stepped back in fear. No. 28 began to run. With a "bang," No. 28 fell. Blood splashed onto many people's faces. Everyone began to run, and gunshots rang out one after another.
Zhengli and No. 237 looked at all this in fear. Sang-hwan looked at the fleeing crowd, and listening to the surrounding gunshots, his vision began to blur until he fainted.
After an unknown amount of time, Sang-hwan groggily opened his eyes. He looked to his left—the person supporting him was Song Zhengli. Then he looked to his right—the person supporting him was No. 432.
After seeing Sang-hwan wake up, Zhengli said, "Don't move!"
Sang-hwan fixed his head straight ahead. Standing in front of him was No. 237. Gunshots occasionally rang out around them, and from time to time people fell.
The doll turned back. Sang-hwan looked up at the time and realized there were 13 seconds left. The four of them were still 15 meters away from the finish line.
The doll turned away again. Time passed second by second.
"Green light…"
No. 237 jumped across the finish line. "9… 8… 7…"
No. 432, Zhengli, and Sang-hwan were still 5 meters away.
"…red light."
At the moment the doll turned its head, Sang-hwan made a big leap, bringing No. 432 and Zhengli with him across the finish line.
With a "beep," the game ended. The doll stopped operating. A series of gunshots rang out, and everyone who had not crossed the finish line fell.
As everyone lay on the ground, gasping for breath, something above slowly closed, and the sunlight gradually disappeared from their eyes.