The circular platform was suspended high above the interior of the island. On the screens at headquarters, only two photographs remained: Zhengli smiling at the camera and Sang-hwan looking at the camera with a confused expression.
Zhengli and Sang-hwan entered two different elevators. The two of them stared firmly ahead as the elevator doors slowly closed.
The elevators began to slowly rise.
The broadcast announced:
"No. 161 and No. 258, welcome to the final game. The sixth game is Wrestling. Here are the rules of Wrestling. Before the game begins, both players must stand on the circular platform. After hearing the command 'Start,' both players must remain in a crouching position and test each other. Only after standing up may they use their techniques with full force."
VIP 5 heard what the game was and said, "Well, it's really simple and crude."
The elevators reached the very top, and the doors opened.
Zhengli and Sang-hwan stood at opposite ends, looking at each other. Then they took their first steps forward.
The broadcast continued:
"There are two ways to win. First, the player whose opponent's body touches the ground first wins, except for the opponent's feet. Second, pushing the opponent outside the arena also counts as a victory. The game will be played as a best-of-three."
As they listened to the broadcast, Zhengli and Sang-hwan had already walked onto the circular platform.
They stared directly at each other without saying a word and slowly crouched down.
The masked guard standing in the center of the platform stepped backward and said:
"Start!"
Sang-hwan tightly grabbed Zhengli by the waist. Zhengli tried to push Sang-hwan away.
Zhengli forcefully pulled Sang-hwan upright, then grabbed Sang-hwan and threw him onto the ground.
The masked guard stepped forward and stopped Zhengli.
Sang-hwan painfully turned over and stood back up.
The score on the screen became 1:0.
VIP 3 looked at VIP 2 and said, "Looks like your luck has run out."
VIP 2 smiled and quietly replied, "You will see."
Sang-hwan and Zhengli once again faced each other and crouched down.
The masked guard stepped backward and said:
"Start!"
Zhengli pulled Sang-hwan upright, attempting to use the same move from the previous round to win the match.
Just then, Sang-hwan grabbed Zhengli around the waist and tripped him with his foot.
Sang-hwan stood up straight.
The masked guard rushed over.
Zhengli looked at Sang-hwan with an unwilling expression.
The score on the screen became 1:1.
VIP 4 lowered his binoculars in the audience and said, "Starting to feel bored."
The person in charge looked at all the VIPs and said:
"The main event has just begun."
Sang-hwan and Zhengli were just about to crouch down for the final round when the masked guard directly entered the elevator.
Sang-hwan and Zhengli looked at the masked guard in confusion as he went down.
The broadcast announced:
"The previous rules of the first game are now void. I will now redefine the rules of the game. First, pushing the opponent outside the arena counts as a victory. Second, when either side enters a state in which they can no longer continue the game, the remaining player will be declared the winner."
After hearing the rules, VIP 1 smiled and said:
"I have to say, the Front Man has so many tricks."
The other VIPs laughed after hearing this.
Sang-hwan and Zhengli looked at each other angrily.
A gunshot rang out.
The game began.
Neither of them moved.
Sang-hwan asked Zhengli:
"Why didn't you save her?"
Zhengli looked at Sang-hwan with an annoyed expression and said:
"Why should I save her?"
Sang-hwan let out a cold laugh.
"Right. I almost forgot... You're a cunning Chinese!"
VIP 3 smiled and looked at the person in charge.
"Ah, it turns out they are my compatriots."
Zhengli's expression began to change.
He pulled a small knife from his pocket and pointed it at Sang-hwan.
"Me not saving her was also a benefit to you. Are you saying you wanted to kill her yourself? If I had known you would be stubborn enough to crawl all the way to the final game, I would have chosen not to save you back then!"
Sang-hwan nodded and then pulled the small knife from his own pocket.
"Thank you for saving me and giving me the chance to kill you with my own hands!"
Zhengli squeezed the words out through his throat.
"Damn it!"
The two began confronting each other.
Sang-hwan swung his knife at Zhengli twice.
Zhengli easily dodged both attacks.
Just as Sang-hwan lowered the hand holding the knife, Zhengli rushed forward and pushed Sang-hwan to the ground.
Sang-hwan raised his knife and attempted to stab Zhengli in the waist, but Zhengli desperately blocked him.
Zhengli raised his knife and stabbed toward Sang-hwan.
Sang-hwan grabbed his wrist and forcefully threw him to the side.
Sang-hwan had just gotten onto his knees when Zhengli swung his knife toward him.
Sang-hwan used the knife in his hand to cut Zhengli's hand, then fell backward himself.
The knife fell from Zhengli's hand onto the platform.
Sang-hwan quickly kicked the knife off the platform.
The knife fell into the abyss below.
The VIPs watched the battle with great interest from the viewing area.
The two stood up at the same time.
Zhengli took off the outer shirt of his suit.
Sang-hwan stabbed his knife toward Zhengli's abdomen.
Zhengli used the shirt to block the attack, and the knife became caught in the fabric.
Zhengli kicked Sang-hwan away.
Sang-hwan pulled on the shirt and let go, causing it to fall to the side.
Sang-hwan had just begun to stand when Zhengli kicked him hard in the head.
Sang-hwan collapsed helplessly onto the platform.
Zhengli pinned Sang-hwan down and crawled toward the knife caught in the shirt.
Just as Zhengli pulled the knife out of the shirt, Sang-hwan punched him heavily in the face.
Zhengli fell to the side.
Sang-hwan weakly crawled on top of him.
Taking advantage of the opportunity, Zhengli stabbed Sang-hwan in the left side of his waist.
Sang-hwan cried out in pain.
Zhengli pushed him aside, then stood up and looked at him.
"I killed Taek-gyeol. I killed everyone. We can't go back to how things were at the beginning anymore."
Zhengli raised the knife and stabbed toward Sang-hwan.
Sang-hwan quickly turned and dodged.
Zhengli's knife stabbed into the platform.
Because of the resistance, Zhengli's hand slid across the blade.
Zhengli cried out in pain.
He stood up and backed away several steps.
Sang-hwan quickly got up, pulled the knife embedded nearby out of the platform, and stood up.
The two stared at each other.
Sang-hwan raised the knife and said:
"Stop... Let's leave together."
Zhengli squeezed tears out of his eyes in anger and cursed:
"Fuck you! I don't want to leave with nothing! I want money! I want to win!"
Zhengli charged toward Sang-hwan.
Sang-hwan did not raise the hand holding the knife.
Zhengli tackled Sang-hwan to the ground.
Then, because of his momentum, Zhengli rolled twice and fell off the platform.
Sang-hwan reacted quickly and reached out his hand.
Zhengli hung in midair.
Sang-hwan grabbed one of his hands.
Sang-hwan stretched out his other hand toward Zhengli and said:
"Quick! Grab my hand!"
Zhengli smiled as tears flowed from his eyes.
"I'm sorry... I'm sorry..."
Sang-hwan shook his head while crying.
"No! No... I'll pull you up. We'll leave together."
Zhengli smiled and cried as he said to Sang-hwan:
"Thank you... I haven't been this happy in a long time."
After saying that, Zhengli moved his hand.
Sang-hwan lost his grip.
Zhengli fell.
Sang-hwan screamed:
"No——!"
Sang-hwan watched as the distance between Zhengli and himself grew farther and farther.
He began to sob uncontrollably.
Thud!
Zhengli landed on the ground face-up, blood continuously flowing from behind him.
The entire game arena was filled only with Sang-hwan's cries.
The broadcast announced:
"No. 161, eliminated."
The screen in the dormitory displayed 1 player remaining and 45.6 billion won.
The piggy bank was placed in the center of the dormitory.
On the headquarters screens, only Sang-hwan's photograph remained, showing him looking at the camera with a confused expression.
The VIPs therefore left the venue.
They placed their animal masks in a row.
A luxurious limousine stopped on a busy street.
After the door opened, Sang-hwan was thrown out of the vehicle.
The limousine drove away.
A woman noticed Sang-hwan lying on the ground.
The woman pulled the blindfold away from Sang-hwan's eyes and asked:
"Are you okay? Do you need me to call the police?"
Sang-hwan squinted at her.
Suddenly, he began coughing several times.
Then a bank card was vomited out of his mouth.
Sang-hwan opened the doors of a bank and walked inside.
He inserted the bank card into an ATM and pressed the button to check the balance.
The ATM displayed:
"Please enter your four-digit PIN."
Sang-hwan thought for a while and slowly entered:
0258
The ATM displayed a long number:
45,600,000,000 KRW
Sang-hwan stared blankly at the amount of money.
Sang-hwan's boss was cleaning the restaurant.
He looked toward the entrance.
Sang-hwan approached, looking completely lost.
When the boss saw him, he immediately rushed outside.
The boss hugged Sang-hwan and asked:
"You brat, where have you been these past few days? You haven't answered any of my calls!"
Sang-hwan leaned against his boss's shoulder and began to cry.
The boss gently patted his back and comforted him.
One Day Later
Sang-hwan pleaded with the doctor:
"Why are you giving it to someone else? Please, I beg you. I'll give you however much money you want."
The doctor shook his head.
"I'm sorry. The heart has already been given to someone else. Unless someone is willing to donate a heart to him, there are still eleven people ahead of him on the waiting list."
After saying that, the doctor walked out.
Sang-hwan looked toward Dieok-nyeong's husband lying inside the hospital room.
One Month Later
Sang-hwan's boss and Dieok-nyeong's husband stood in front of Sang-hwan's grave.
The boss smiled and said:
"This kid had a miserable life from the very beginning. His parents died in a car accident, so I adopted him. But in the end, he died because of cancer."
Dieok-nyeong's husband sighed.
"What an unlucky kid."
The boss patted Dieok-nyeong's husband on the shoulder.
——————————— THE END ———————————