I, Lee Ju-seong, realized there were no other players in the game site besides me and Park So-yul.
The threat factors had all disappeared.
Park So-yul fluttered her numbing hands left and right, clearly revealing her weakened state.
"The operation to use the radar against him worked properly."
For someone acting weak, her gaze toward me was filled with venom.
She had continued to cooperate until now, but she judged that I might change my mind now that only the two of us were left.
Showing a weak side was also just an act to test me.
She might be able to fool others' eyes, but she could not fool mine.
I pulled Yu Jin-cheol onto the stepping stones and said as I searched his pockets.
"To doubt also means one has diligently pondered to know the opponent. We won because we were more diligent than Yu Jin-cheol. Isn't that enough."
I purposely turned my back to Park So-yul.
It was behavior I could take because I was certain she trusted me.
Park So-yul's ability was still being maintained in its copied state.
It was possible because Park So-yul recognized me as a comrade.
While she worried I might betray her, a desire to maintain the relationship with me as much as possible coexisted on the other hand.
My ability, my judgment, my composure.
Since there were many reasons why there was no one more reliable as an ally, her true heart was that she did not want to make the self-destructive move of betraying me first.
The effect brought by the action of purposely showing my back was immense.
Park So-yul softened her sharpened eyes and let out a long, quiet breath.
"Even if it's results-oriented, your judgment was right since we won, Ju-seong. Anyway, this is only the first game, but the difficulty is a bit... Many people will probably want to return to society after the first game ends."
"That, we do not know. Human greed is endless."
"Come to think of it, maybe so. Um, the remaining time is 30 minutes. We'll have to move busily to find the gems."
I searched Yu Jin-cheol's clothes and took out three compasses from his pants pocket.
"As expected."
"No matter what you do, your hit rate is no joke. It is not like you are a shaman who received a divine message."
"I just figured Yu Jin-cheol was also a player active in this field, so it wouldn't be strange for him to have found one or two compasses. Since it is worth a shot, there was no reason not to search for him."
We had two compasses, and Yu Jin-cheol left behind three.
Additionally, we held two gems, so the number of compasses needed to find the remaining gems was three.
I handed two of the three compasses to Park So-yul.
"Let's scatter and collect the gems. Don't forget to check if there are any compasses or gems as you move."
Park So-yul placed unnecessary meaning on the fact that I handed over two of the three newly acquired compasses.
"I am grateful that you are being kind to me. However, I feel complicated because it seems there might be a separate reason for being this kind."
"You don't think I am being kind because I have a crush on you, do you?"
"I would actually be relieved if you said it was something like that. It would be easier to accept."
I took off my jacket, which had become heavy from the water, and twisted it like a rag to reduce the moisture.
And using the newly acquired compass, I teased Park So-yul as I headed toward the place the needle pointed to.
It was also a minor trick to avoid a clear answer.
"Since I find compasses and gems well, I am not troubled even if the number is insufficient. Unlike someone who lacks observational skills."
The actual answer was to maintain the copied ability.
However, for Park So-yul, who did not know the prerequisites for my copy ability, she could not help but have many thoughts.
How she would misunderstand was entirely up to her.
Was it effective?
Park So-yul scratched the back of her head even after being openly teased and muttered quietly.
"I really can't tell if the person is good or bad."
In that way, we scattered and searched separately.
10 minutes passed. Two compasses consumed, two gems acquired.
20 minutes passed. One compass acquired, one gem acquired.
With the deadline approaching right in front of us, I added one more gem by using the compass I found additionally.
With this, five gems were gathered in my hands.
When I had taken my full share, I was standing in front of an old container warehouse in the center of the game site.
Just as I was about to check inside the warehouse, I heard a siren sound emitted by a compass from afar.
Waaaaaaing!
The sound gradually grew closer, and soon Park So-yul appeared holding a compass.
Park So-yul looked back and forth between the compass and the container warehouse and pointed her index finger.
"It seems there is a gem inside the warehouse."
"How many have you collected so far?"
"Four."
"I have collected five. If you take the gem inside the warehouse, So-yul, the numbers will match perfectly."
When Park So-yul opened the warehouse door, the siren sound stopped as if it were a lie.
We had arrived at the location of the gem.
Inside the warehouse, tools to manage this game site, which took the form of a park, were equipped, such as buckets, fertilizer bags, and one-wheeled wheelbarrows.
Right behind the warehouse door, a gem was lying next to a toolbox.
The gem and the toolbox were placed side by side.
It looked like Park So-yul was reaching for the gem, but her hand lightly brushed over the toolbox instead of the gem.
As if there was something she valued more than money.
Park So-yul's handprints remained on the dusty toolbox.
I asked in an innocent tone, pretending not to know anything.
"Are you okay?"
Park So-yul blinked her eyes and let out her words.
"Ah, yes. I am okay. Just..."
Her slender fingers passed the toolbox and grabbed the gem lying on the floor.
With this, the 5 to 5 distribution was over.
We each secured 30 million won.
Park So-yul, who was stroking the gem with her dusty hands, looked at me and asked.
"Are you going to return to society once this game ends, Ju-seong?"
I answered immediately as I thought it wasn't even worth considering.
"No way."
"You must have a lot of debt?"
"More than others."
Actually, it was a lie.
In terms of drama, if I survived up to Season 3, I could erase the entire debt of 200 million won and get a hand on an amount that could buy a house in Seoul.
But that was not enough.
I am tired of living in indifference.
I did not want to live forever as an extra for whom indifference was natural.
The current me had the information to dominate this Money Game, and I had the confidence that I could live a life like a protagonist based on it.
I will not stop at winning this Money Game, but go one step further and even exercise influence over the organization that hosted the Money Game.
The big picture to achieve the goal?
Of course, I had drawn it.
I will show the potential of one who is thirsty for attention.
To Park So-yul, who did not know my circumstances, she looked at me with a complex and subtle expression.
"I am going to return once this game ends."
"You must have gathered all the money you need?"
"I gathered enough to put out the urgent fire. Originally, my mother... no, wait. Hearing private stories would only be burdensome for you. I will just try to handle the rest on my own somehow."
I knew Park So-yul's circumstances.
Her father was a car center mechanic, and the income he earned was managed by her mother.
The problem was that Park So-yul's mother had fallen into a cult along the way.
When he found out that the money gathered so far had been offered to the cult, Park So-yul's father fell into deep shock and grew sick before passing away.
And Park So-yul has a younger sister, whom Park So-yul practically raised on her back.
Park So-yul's mother did not come to her senses even after her husband's death, and not only did she secretly touch Park So-yul's savings, but she also committed the atrocity of taking out a loan in Park So-yul's name.
Money to put out the urgent fire.
The detailed details were a loan whose repayment period was imminent.
Handle the rest by her own strength... It was just like Park So-yul, who lived as a self-reliant and reliable older sister.
On the other hand, it wasn't that she didn't have a soft side that missed a reliable person, such as thinking of her father when seeing the toolbox.
'In the drama, she really returned home after the first game ended. However, she returns to the Money Game after finding out there is more debt her mother hid without telling her.'
While Park So-yul is away, the ability copied from her will disappear.
The organization has its circumstances too, so a player cannot leave immediately just because they want to.
While waiting to leave... in other words, during the next game, Park So-yul will not participate in the game directly, but my ability will be maintained.
This means I must secure a new ability during the next game.
I had already chosen a candidate.
I held out my hand to Park So-yul.
"It was an honor to cooperate with you in the first game, So-yul. I hope everything you do goes well."
Park So-yul pouted her lips and wore her own kind of smile.
"That is what I was going to say. I will not forget your help even after I go out, Ju-seong. Please do not die and survive."
The meeting hands overlapped.
In the process of shaking hands, the dust on Park So-yul's hand transferred to mine.
As if someone invisible was passing the baton to me.
The moment we let go of our hands after the handshake, a guidance broadcast flowed through the speakers on the field.
-The Cops and Robbers game has ended. Surviving players, please gather at the elevator entrance in the south of the game site. Before operating the elevator, we will settle the prize money.
As the tension was released, fatigue rushed in.
We led our exhausted bodies to the south of the game site.
In front of the elevator entrance, there was a desk that had not existed when we entered, who knows when it was put there.
A wooden collection box was placed on the desk, and the following words were written on the front of the collection box.
[Gem Collection Box]
-If you put the gems in, we will directly deposit the prize money according to the number of gems into your Money Watch.
As written, I dumped all the gems I had into the collection box.
When I put in five gems, the Money Watch screen brightened and a message appeared.
[The prize money for the Cops and Robbers game has been deposited.]
[The prize money is 30 million won.]
However, the message did not only contain details related to gems.
[It has been confirmed that you achieved the hidden mission 'Kill Cop'.]
[40 million won has been deposited as a hidden mission bonus.]
[Current balance : 70 million won.]
If the gem prize money for me and Park So-yul was combined, it was 60 million won, and with 40 million won added through the hidden mission, the name value of a game with a total prize of 100 million won was achieved.
Since I was the one who delivered the final blow to Yu Jin-cheol, the bonus was deposited only to me.
I did not convey the news that I received the bonus to Park So-yul.
'The fact that I copied Park So-yul's ability in the first place was content that deviated from the existing scenario. There was no guarantee that Park So-yul would necessarily return after leaving the game this time. So I should set up a minimum insurance policy.'
If I suddenly shared half hoping she would come back, it would be troublesome if she didn't return.
Rather than causing trouble by speaking for no reason, it was desirable to move on quietly.
To survive, one also needs to know how to be 'greedy by necessity'.
Right after the settlement ended, the firmly closed elevator door opened.
Beyond the opened crack of the door, July was standing.
July offered a congratulatory greeting while taking a greeting pose that only butlers or waiters would do.
"Congratulations on surviving safely. Since money exists to be spent, I should tell you how to spend money inside this facility. I will guide you to the Shopping Mall."
For a moment, I swallowed dry saliva.
The timeline inside this Money Game could be broadly classified into two types.
Time to earn money.
Time to spend the earned money.
The essence of irrationality and psychological warfare that led to the success of the drama Money Game, 'Shopping Time', had arrived.