July clapped his hands loudly.
Clap! Clap! Clap!
It was a tribute to me.
He was quite impressed by my proactiveness in unhesitatingly challenging the unknown territory.
Of course, there was no guarantee that July's tribute would be a positive one for me.
The opponent was a person from the organization side who tempted people with money to participate in a game where they killed each other.
In the drama, there were a total of 12 dealers, and July, one of them, was the most unpredictable figure among the dealers.
'Dealer July. Until Season 5, he was a character who moved significantly, sometimes favoring certain players by violating the organization's rules, and sometimes ostracizing certain players. He was an unpredictable character until the end of Season 5. He is a target for caution.'
Initially, the director had created him as a character to be used once and discarded, but it was a case where hidden settings were added as he occupied the top ranks in popularity polls among fans.
Since it was a hidden setting known only to the director, there was no way to know for now what July was truly aiming for.
What was clear was that, as much as he was unpredictable, there was a need to be careful so that all of my hand was not revealed.
I acted as if I knew nothing about the next process.
"Is the test over with this? This must mean I have earned the qualification to participate in the game, right?"
Whether he liked the bold answer, July spread both arms to the left and right and took a welcoming gesture.
"You passed the test. Personally, I would like to evaluate it as passing with top honors. There was not a single person who pressed the button immediately without agonizing like you, Mr. Ju-seong."
"I've lived a life with no connection to 1st place, but I get to take 1st place in this way. So, are you actually going to exchange the lottery prize money?"
"Haha, unfortunately, it was not a real lottery ticket. Instead, you can receive something much better than lottery prize money."
"If it's not real, why do you make a person's heart flutter by saying it's real?"
I spoke bluntly as if I was truly disappointed by the fact that it was not money.
This should make me appear as an idler for whom money is the top priority.
While we were talking, the fishing boat that finished its mission of lowering the drum returned to the pier.
July walked toward the fishing boat with a crisp stride and then called me.
"That fake lottery ticket does not become money immediately. However, depending on the winning rank, you can acquire the merit of earning as much money as you want."
"A seed that will become a tree where money grows. I will understand it that way."
"As I talk with you, Mr. Ju-seong, I feel a familiar feeling."
"A familiar feeling?"
"I feel like I'm talking to someone I've known since before, so to speak."
An unusual gaze flickered inside the mask's eye holes.
It was a sharp and eerie gaze, as if scraping the skin obliquely with a razor blade.
His intuition is truly keen.
But even if I tried to mix in some stupidity now, it would only amplify suspicion.
It would be more effective to stick to consistency right now.
"I guess an educated person like you, Mr. July, used to be close to someone at the bottom of life at one point."
"Please do not be too pessimistic about yourself. At least I am feeling potential from you, Mr. Ju-seong."
"I hope it's not something you're throwing out to get a tip later."
July put me on the fishing boat first, and then he himself jumped lightly and landed easily on the deck.
"From now on, this boat will head toward the island where the Money Game will unfold. Once we arrive, you will hear the progression method of this Money Game together with other participants. Do you have any regrets?"
I wore a sly expression and shrugged my shoulders.
"I think there wouldn't be a more unnecessary question than that."
"My mistake. It was not a question to give to someone like you, Mr. Ju-seong."
"I get it, so let's just depart. I am prepared to go anywhere, whether it's a deserted island or overseas."
Even if the place of arrival is hell.
July put his hand on the back of his head. And he tied the loose mask fixation strap tightly.
He had maintained a relaxed attitude until now, but it was a signal that he would take on a dealer-like attitude in earnest from now on.
"While I'm at it, let me take one more liberty."
"What is it this time... ugh!"
July put his hand into his inner pocket with a swift movement, pulled out a pen-type syringe, and stabbed it into my neck.
It was a situation that the protagonist in the drama had also experienced.
In the drama as well, they put the protagonist to sleep with a pre-prepared syringe to prevent the location where the Money Game would unfold from being leaked.
What I felt was unexpected was that July's physical ability was superior to what I had assumed.
Even though I knew July's action, I could not react at all until the syringe was stuck in my neck.
'It's completely different from the drama where we shoot action scenes with coordinated moves. Let's think positively. It's a harvest in its own way to have gained the information that I need to focus more fiercely.'
I decided to think of it as having received a preventive injection in my own way.
As my vision gradually blurred due to the effect of the medicine, my eyelids fell downward.
While my consciousness sank below the abyss, July's characteristic soft voice was heard faintly.
"A stage that tests human desire. Welcome to participating in the Money Game, Mr. Lee Ju-seong."
***
When I opened my eyes, I was lying down inside a large gymnasium.
Inside the gymnasium, single-person mattresses were placed at regular intervals like Go pieces on a Go board.
The number of mattresses was a total of 200.
Since one person stayed on each mattress, there were a total of 200 people inside this gymnasium.
And I was one of them.
Someone had already gotten up and was looking around, someone had just woken up, and someone was still sleeping, oblivious to the world.
It was similar to the scene of the Money Game waiting room I knew, but there were more than one or two differences.
'In the set, they had only implemented part of the scenery so that the staff could move the cameras. Moreover, there were many false walls or fakes that were just made to look plausible. But this place is all the real deal.'
For example, in the set, the entrance to the gymnasium was wide open, and staff and equipment were spread out.
On the other hand, this place had the entire gymnasium with the exact same structure as a real gymnasium.
Other than that, mold is blooming on the mattresses, the dust on the floor, the dangerously exposed wires, and so on....
In the drama, the directing was created to show that this place was a dangerous location and that the participants who were in a miserable situation were all real here.
'Above all, the air is different. It's completely different from the time of filming when everyone was friendly and only pretended to be on guard when acting. Everyone is truly on edge, with bloodshot eyes, and wary of each other.'
The people here were all those who had passed the organization's test.
Even though it was said to be just a single click of a button, they had the experience of having taken someone's life at least once or more.
They were experienced, so to speak.
If they experienced it once, why couldn't they do it a second time.
Because they knew they weren't the only ones thinking that way, they were keeping their distance and being on guard against each other from the very beginning.
Boys and girls who looked like they were in their mid-to-late teens, a young man with a messy impression, a man with funky piercings, or an old man full of tattoos.
The faces of the people currently awake were not unfamiliar at all.
The characters who appeared in Season 1 of the drama were staying inside the gymnasium just as they were.
As soon as I perceived that there were familiar faces, I looked around broadly.
'Since there are Season 1 participants, Bang Su-hyeok, who was played by Dong-won, will be here too. Where is he?'
According to the existing scenario, Bang Su-hyeok loses his entire family after being scammed by a friend he trusted, and is invited to participate in the Money Game while burdened with a huge debt.
And he sets a goal to return after winning the prize money to take revenge on the friend who dropped him into the abyss.
He was a character who knew how to save people, to bring them in as colleagues when necessary, and to heartlessly abandon colleagues as much as necessary.
I discovered a man who had just woken up at a distance.
A handsome man whose small face and even the haphazardly grown beard were cool, and whose tall proportions stood out.
He looked exactly like the Kim Dong-won I knew.
But I must not overlook the fact that the contents were not Kim Dong-won, but the calculating and heartless Bang Su-hyeok.
To prevent old feelings from reviving due to being captivated by his appearance, I repeated to myself several times the fact that the internal person was a different character.
'The role I played in Season 1 had no direct contact with Bang Su-hyeok. If I approach him rashly, I might be regarded as a target to be checked. It would be better to attempt contact with several figures, including Bang Su-hyeok, after watching the progress.'
The next person I looked for was Park So-yul, who was played by Jung Ah-young.
In the case of Park So-yul, she initially appeared as a character who opposed Bang Su-hyeok, and then from Season 2, she came to cooperate against a third enemy, and their relationship progressed little by little just like that.
'Senior! Senior!'
I thought of Jung Ah-young, who used to treat me as a senior while smiling and being lively toward me, a bottom-tier unknown actor.
I closed my eyes tightly and then opened them, stopping my search for Park So-yul.
'Jung Ah-young is Jung Ah-young, and Park So-yul is Park So-yul. Don't forget that the internal person is someone else. If I don't make that part clear, I will end up as an extra here as well.'
Before long, all 200 participants woke up, and small sounds of murmuring were heard from here and there.
Those who unhesitatingly talked to anyone were those whose perception still remained in the realm of daily life.
They also took the position that they had no fault because they just pressed the button as ordered and didn't do it because they wanted to.
They were trying to dilute their internal pain by talking to people around them to turn away from the fact that they had taken the test.
They were also the type who would not be helpful in increasing the survival rate even if one became close to them.
The murmuring did not last long.
The back door installed behind the gymnasium platform opened, and masked assailants in suits entered the gymnasium.
They were the dealers who had guided us here.
A total of 12 dealers entered.
The dealers stood in a line in the center of the platform.
Among the dealers, a tall man around 2 meters tall stood out in particular.
The tall dealer strode three or four steps forward and pulled out the stand microphone long. And even after pulling it out to the maximum, the height was insufficient, so he leaned his waist forward.
"Hello, players. I am the dealer in charge of this Game Site 5, named January. Welcome to participating in the Money Game."
January's voice was calm yet carried power, so it was like a heavy wave.
I felt as if the voice was pushing the air and colliding with my body.
Other players also felt the same way and were overwhelmed by January's atmosphere, unable to open their mouths carelessly.
January was very satisfied with the fact that there were no rebellious people and turned up the microphone volume.
"There are various pieces of guidance, but first of all, I will inform you of the matter you most want to know as a priority. You only know the fact that you can earn money in the hundreds of millions, but you have not heard the specific amount. So you must be curious about the amount of the prize money by now."
January snapped his fingers to send a signal somewhere.
The one who moved upon receiving the signal was July.
July knelt on one knee and placed both hands on the floor.
"Ability On."
July's Ability On (Ability Awakening).
It was also the first realization of an ability in the drama.
In the drama, it was a scene that could be seen at 20 minutes of Season 1 Episode 1, and it received high evaluations in that it was a symbolic scene announcing that this drama was an ability user battle survival.
When July used his ability, a pitch-black hole opened in the air about 3 meters high.
From inside the hole, a huge bundle of money tied in a cube fell.
The bundle of money made of 50,000 won bills boasted a massive scale that would require mobilizing two 1-ton trucks.
A moment later, the specific amount was revealed through January's mouth.
"Right now, in front of your eyes, there is 100 billion. It will be decided how much of this you can take home with you depending on your choices."
I stared at that astronomical bundle of money quietly.
The price of life and the price of dreams. And from now on, the prize money that only the survivor can touch.
A thick heat surged from deep within my chest.
'Choices, huh....'
On the theater stage, the director gave the script and the audience applauded.
But it's different here.
The stage is the game site, the audience is money, and there is no script.
It's like an improvisational play that I have to create with only my body.
I will make sure to survive and seize it.
I will never end as an extra.