After grabbing the Doctor's arm and escaping the gym, I walked for a long time through the corridor of the Management Building connected to the gym.
When we reached the end of the corridor and turned the corner, the Doctor irritably shook her arm and brushed off my hand.
"It hurts! I said it hurts!"
I raised both my arms so that my palms were visible.
"Whoa, whoa, calm down. I didn't mean to hurt you."
A small sound of grumbling, like a huff, flowed from beneath the copper mask the Doctor was wearing.
It wasn't exactly an annoyance, but rather a habitual speech pattern that burst out reflexively.
It might seem rough to a stranger, but I could read the sincerity contained within it.
The Doctor was someone who struggled to appear aggressive in order to protect herself.
She craved money, but that wasn't simple greed; it was an obsession close to a survival instinct.
The fact that she had flowed all the way here to play the role of a doctor must be because she had her own story.
The Doctor glared at me and then roughly thrust both hands into her gown pockets.
"Answer me honestly. Did you buy my time expecting it would turn out like this?"
"To some extent."
"How did you know Yoon Ji-ho would pull a stunt at night?"
A suitable excuse flashed through my mind in an instant.
I couldn't reveal the truth.
I made up a short and plausible answer.
"At the Shopping Mall, I saw a dealer moving bundles of cash to the hotel. And one of the people who passed away at the Hall told me about Yoon Ji-ho's ability. When I put it all together, I reached the conclusion that there was a high possibility he would pull a stunt against the players tonight."
I had framed it plausibly, but it was an adaptation that would be revealed as a lie the moment it reached the ears of July, who had been with me all afternoon.
But it didn't matter.
I had intentionally moved to a location where there were no surveillance cameras of the organization, knowing this would happen.
The Doctor intentionally let out a sigh to express her dissatisfaction.
"Sigh, whether it's the guy who uses blackmail and threats from the start, or the guy who sees through it and uses it to his advantage. There are too many weirdos in this batch."
"This batch?"
"No, just act like you didn't hear what I just said. Hehe, anyway, the side income is quite lucrative. Since I've secured a hefty bonus, I'll let it slide that you pulled my arm. It's only for this once."
The Doctor took her hands out of both gown pockets.
The hands that emerged from the pockets were holding bundles of 50,000 won bills.
Judging by eye, it looked to be roughly 30 bills.
I said with a chuckle.
"Did you manage to pocket 1.5 million won in that short time?"
"Why are you laughing?"
"I'm not laughing at you, I laughed as a sign of praise because I thought it was impressive."
The Doctor tilted her head at a 45-degree angle primarily.
Then, she reached out her hand toward me with her palm facing upward and spoke as if tossing the words.
"Hand it over."
I intentionally played dumb and placed my hand on the Doctor's hand.
"My hand?"
"Not your hand! The money, the money!"
"I believe I already paid the overtime pay?"
"Knock it off. You pocketed the money Yoon Ji-ho scattered inside the gym separately. Did you think you could fool my eyes?"
It was an accurate point.
I hadn't stayed in a spot slightly shifted to the left from the center of the gym without a thought.
In terms of the angle, the place where I had positioned myself was the spot where the most of Yoon Ji-ho's cash fell.
While everyone was in chaos trying to pick up money, I swept the clumped bundles of cash with my foot and pushed them under my mat.
And taking advantage of the moment everyone's gaze was focused on the platform due to Yoon Ji-ho's mad behavior and threats, I had secretly gathered the cash bundles and put them in my clothes.
I pulled a thick bundle of cash out of my inner jacket pocket.
"You have a sharp eye."
"Whatever. Just hand it over quickly."
"A member of the organization shaking down a player."
"Oh, come on! Who's shaking down whom! I'm saying I'll deposit the cash into your Money Watch for you, so why do you keep grumbling!"
If money in the Money Watch could be turned into cash, the opposite was also possible.
Usually, it was common to handle it by asking dealers or organization members.
By now, a dealer would have visited the gym, and players holding cash would be depositing it into their Money Watches to prevent Yoon Ji-ho's retaliation in advance.
"Given the atmosphere, it would be burdensome to hand bundles of cash to the dealer in front of everyone. I'll deposit it for you."
In my case, the perception of being a 'resourceful person who used his own funds to stop Yoon Ji-ho's plan' had just spread.
Since it was an image I had secured, it would be beneficial to maintain it as much as possible.
She was saying she would take on the role of depositing it without attracting others' attention.
I placed the bundle of cash on the Doctor's hand without hesitation.
"I was actually wondering how to handle this, so that's great. Thank you for your cooperation, Doctor."
"Ho~ Aren't you worried that I might have some in the middle? You should know that even if I openly pocket it, there's nothing you can do to me."
"You seem to have a personality that might be petty, but not mean-spirited. If not, then my eyes were wrong, and I'll just consider it a lesson learned at a high price."
"Hmph, you certainly have a way with words."
The Doctor thrust the bundle of cash deep into her gown pocket and then quickly turned her body around.
Her white gown fluttered loudly in the forceful motion.
The wind generated as the floating gown settled down touched the back of my hand.
It was a faint but warm wind.
After turning the corner, the Doctor peeked her head back around and spoke to me as if snapping.
"This is the first and last time I'm helping you. There won't be a second time, so keep that in mind."
I shrugged my shoulders to mean that I understood.
The first and last.
It wasn't the Doctor who decided that.
Because I would approach her whenever a situation requiring the Doctor arrived in the future.
Also, I had to stop by regularly to supply blood bags once Park So-yul returned.
A moment later, a message informing me that the Doctor had faithfully done me the favor appeared on the Money Watch screen.
[7.5 million won in cash has been deposited.]
[Current balance: 75 million won.]
The amount deposited was 7.5 million won.
It was identical to the amount of the cash bundle I had handed to the Doctor.
'Ho~ Aren't you worried that I might pocket some in the middle?'
Pocketing my foot.
If nothing else, I could tell she had a personality where her inside and outside didn't match.
While I had a premonition that my relationship with the Doctor would last for a long time, I returned to the gym with a sense of satisfaction.
***
After an eventful night, players flocked to the Hall in the morning.
The menu was still red bean bread and milk.
Adding to the fact that they had slept well last night and had a sense of fullness, small conversations passed between the players.
"They said the 2nd round would start at ten today, right? I wonder what kind of game is prepared this time."
"I'm more worried about the participation method than the game content. I heard it's not first-come, first-served this time..."
"Everything is fine as long as I don't get caught in the same game as Yoon Ji-ho."
The fact that Yoon Ji-ho was not in the Hall also played a part in being able to converse comfortably.
Had his stress built up quite a bit as the stunt he attempted last night came to naught?
Among the players, Yoon Ji-ho was the only one who chose the restaurant as his breakfast location.
Maybe he was avoiding contact with others because it was burdensome to receive looks mixed with ridicule from people due to his failed operation.
The opinions of the players gathered at the Hall were expressed in different ways, but the conclusion converged into one.
There's no way Yoon Ji-ho, who got hit hard, would stay quiet in the main game!
I thought the same.
He was a character who would never stay still; if anything, he would pull more eccentric stunts.
In particular, there was no way he would leave me alone after I had openly interfered.
'Yoon Ji-ho, that guy must definitely be looking forward to playing the same game as me.'
My role in the drama died in this 2nd round.
Even in a game with no significance, where Bang Su-hyeok or Yoon Ji-ho didn't participate, I died without a sound or rumor.
However, since the original scenario had long since gone off track, it would take a different flow from the original.
And whether I could survive in an unpredictable situation or not was entirely up to me.
While I was quietly chewing on red bean bread sitting on a bench in the corner of the Hall.
January's voice flowed from the speaker installed in the corner of the Hall's ceiling.
[Notifying all players. In 30 minutes, we will begin the 2nd round as scheduled. As announced yesterday, I will convey the changed participation method. In the 2nd round, those with the lowest balance can choose the game they want first.]
It was a participation method with a more strategic nature compared to first-come, first-served.
While there was an advantage of being able to pick the desired game first if the balance was low, there was a disadvantage of not being able to predict who would join as a latecomer.
While there was an advantage of being able to freely choose whom to play the game with if the balance was high, there was a disadvantage that the probability of participating in the desired game was extremely low.
[Among those with the same balance, we will introduce the existing first-come, first-served method as it is. We will have time to select the games during the remaining 30 minutes. The people I call from now on, please assemble in front of the Game Tower.]
Subsequently, January called out five players.
The specific amount of the balance was not revealed, but there was no one who didn't know they were players with a 0 won balance.
After five, it was fifteen, then twenty....
The number of people staying in the Hall decreased rapidly.
I thought as I looked at the people being divided into five lines in front of the Game Tower.
'There are five games prepared for the 2nd round. It seems the capacity per game is 20 to 30 people.'
In less than 20 minutes, 100 people were called out.
When there were 10 remaining players, my name flowed from the speaker.
[Next turn, Mr. Lee Ju-seong. Please come to the front of the Game Tower.]
It was the moment it became certain that I was ranked 10th based on balance.
I thought I would barely make it into the top 30 at best, but it seemed my capability was more than what I had estimated.
What was waiting for me as I exited the Hall and approached the Game Tower was a queue divided into five lines.
People had longing expressions as they looked at me.
"Ah, isn't that man the one who stood up boldly against Yoon Ji-ho in the gym yesterday?"
"Sigh, looking at him yesterday, he seemed to have a formidable spirit. Still, he'd be better than Yoon Ji-ho or other people."
"Please, I hope he participates in our game..."
Everyone seemed to be hoping that I would join their game.
It didn't take long to find out why.
Among the five games, two games with a capacity of 20 and 30 were full, and the remaining three games with a capacity of 20 each had 16 to 17 people standing in them.
'I wondered why they wanted me to stand with them, and there was a reason. Everyone was hoping the game capacity would be full before it was Yoon Ji-ho's turn.'
Who would want to play a game with a madman?
They had to fill even one more person to prevent the situation of playing the same game as Yoon Ji-ho in advance.
I looked around at the remaining games and joined the queue where 17 people were standing.
And I expressed my intention to participate in the dealer while mixing in a humorous joke.
"I guess I can relieve the grudge of never having held a position of authority during my school days here."
At the very front of the queue where I stood, a standing sign was placed at the entrance to the Game Tower.
On the standing sign, the name of the game I was scheduled to play in the 2nd round was written.
[Class President Election Game]