Lee Jung-Hyuk was typing on his computer, and in the blink of an eye, he had finished an entire page. He put down the mouse and stretched his body.
He picked up a towel beside him and went into the bathroom to take a shower. After showering, he grabbed his phone and found a message from his creditor.
The message read: "You owe 190 million won. When will you pay it back?"
Jung-Hyuk put down his phone.
The scene shifted, and Jung-Hyuk arrived at a gay bar. He sat down, ordered a drink, and looked around at the men in sexy outfits dancing.
A man came up to flirt with him: "Handsome, want to spend a night together?"
Jung-Hyuk pushed him away and said, "Get away."
The man glared at him angrily.
Not long after, Jung-Hyuk walked outside.
Someone was standing beside him, smoking. The man handed him a cigarette and asked, "Want one?"
Jung-Hyuk waved his hand and said, "No, thanks."
He headed to the subway station and boarded a train. Sitting down, he stared at old photos on his phone—pictures of him with his ex-wife.
He later arrived at a bridge, looking down at the endless river below, thinking to himself: "If I jump, maybe I'll finally be free."
Jung-Hyuk climbed onto the outside of the railing.
Just then, a well-dressed man in a suit walked over, startling him.
The man in the suit said, "Sir, may I borrow a moment of your time?"
Jung-Hyuk gave a helpless smile and said, "Can't you see I'm about to jump? Go away."
The suited man replied, "Sir, would you like to play a game with me?"
Furious, Jung-Hyuk said, "Can't you show me some respect? I'm about to jump here—I'm not in the mood to play your game. Can't you just—"
Before he could finish, the suited man opened his briefcase. Inside was a pile of 5,000 and 10,000 won bills, along with two folded cards.
Jung-Hyuk was shocked by the sight of the money.
The suited man said, "Sir, have you ever played the slap card game? Play with me. Every time you win, I'll give you 100,000 won."
Jung-Hyuk eyed the briefcase suspiciously and asked, "You're not trying to scam me, are you?"
The suited man shook his head: "Not at all. But if I win, you'll have to give me 100,000 won."
Jung-Hyuk hesitated.
The man leaned closer and said, "I'll let you go first."
Jung-Hyuk climbed back over the railing and said, "Fine. I'll make sure you lose miserably."
The suited man held up a blue card and a red card: "Which color do you want?"
Jung-Hyuk took the red card, rubbed it between his palms, blew on it, then slammed it down.
The blue card on the ground flipped over.
Jung-Hyuk stretched out his hand: "One hundred thousand."
The suited man handed him 100,000 won. Jung-Hyuk picked it up and examined it.
The suited man smiled: "Let's continue."
Jung-Hyuk asked, "Do I still go first?"
The suited man nodded.
The scene shifted—Jung-Hyuk was grinning as he counted his money. He had won 900,000 won.
The suited man closed his briefcase and said, "Sir, if you keep playing for a few days, you could make a fortune. Would you like to try?"
Jung-Hyuk looked at him and said, "You seem shady. Forget it."
The suited man stood up and said, "Mr. Lee Jung-Hyuk, today you went to a gay bar, didn't you? Name: Lee Jung-Hyuk, 21 years old. Highest education: Korea Industrial High School. A seasoned writer, though unsuccessful. Cut ties with your parents three years ago. Divorced your wife last year. Current debts: 190 million won in loan shark debt, 230 million won in bank loans."
Hearing this, Jung-Hyuk jumped to his feet, shocked: "Who are you? How do you know all my personal information?"
The man took a card from his pocket. On it were symbols of a circle, triangle, and square.
Jung-Hyuk took it. The man said, "Please contact me."
With that, he walked over to a taxi and left.
Jung-Hyuk watched the taxi drive away, then looked down at the card in his hand. Without thinking too much, he bought a subway ticket and went home.
Back at home, he found a message on his phone: "Meet me at a restaurant tomorrow at 4 p.m." Someone had taken an interest in his writing. Overjoyed, he jumped with excitement.
The next day, he prepared carefully. He was full of anticipation.
At around 3:30, he left for the subway station. Just as he was about to board, a group of men dragged him into the restroom.
Their leader looked at him. Nervously, Jung-Hyuk said, "I have money on me, I have money."
They took the money from him. The leader said, "Only 800,000? Not enough."
Panting, Jung-Hyuk said, "I'll pay you back, I swear."
"I'll give you one last chance. Next time I see you without the money, you're finished," the leader warned.
Then they left.
Jung-Hyuk quickly got up and ran toward the subway, but it had already left. Without hesitation, he ran out of the station, sprinting desperately as if racing against time.
By the time he arrived, he was already 15 minutes late. The man who was supposed to sign the contract with him said:
"Your work is very good, but you're far too unreliable. This time, I'll let you learn a lesson. Don't make the same mistake again."
He turned and left, leaving only an empty cup on the table.
Jung-Hyuk bowed and apologized sincerely, but it was too late.
Brokenhearted, he dragged himself to the subway. Just as he boarded, he spotted someone across from him—the same suited man from yesterday, playing the card game with another stranger.
Later, that stranger returned home with the card the suited man had given him. He tossed it casually onto the table before going to take a shower. Sitting on the couch, Park Il-hoon noticed it, picked it up curiously, and saw a phone number printed on it.
(Park Il-hoon was the man's son.)
Meanwhile, back at home, Jung-Hyuk stared at the card the suited man had given him the day before. He dialed the number.
"Do you want to participate in the game? If so, please state your full name and date of birth," a voice on the phone said.
He replied, "Lee Jung-Hyuk, October 29, 1996."
The caller then gave him an address, telling him to be at a garden the next evening. They would come to pick him up.
The following night, Jung-Hyuk used the last of his money to buy dinner, then went to the appointed location to wait. Before long, a van stopped in front of him. The door opened. Jung-Hyuk peeked inside, then climbed in. For a while it was silent, and just as he was about to ask a question, smoke suddenly filled the vehicle. He passed out.
When he slowly opened his eyes, he realized he was in an unfamiliar place. Around him were many people. He looked down at his clothes—his number was "357."
A child walked past him wearing a uniform labeled "201."
That child was Park Il-hoon.
The crowd gathered in the middle of the dormitory, confused. Just then, the doors opened, and a group of masked men walked in.
Before they could speak, a young man shouted, "Why the hell did you kidnap me and bring me here? This is the game you were talking about?"
"Apologies. For the sake of security, we had no choice. We hope you can understand," one masked man said.
As soon as he finished, the crowd broke into chaos. People shouted and pushed. Park Il-hoon was squeezed uncomfortably in the throng.
At that moment, the masked man pressed a button on his remote.
Then he announced:
"Participant 123: Wu Ji-Xian, 43 years old, former construction company manager. His business collapsed due to contract disputes, debts totaling 4.5 billion won.
Participant 409: Jung Yun-Ho, debts of 3 billion won.
Participant 300: Choi Ji-Ha, debts of 2.1 billion won.
Participant 95: Kim Eun-Hye, debts of 46 million won.
Participant 369: Kim So-Yeon, debts of 1.5 billion won.
Participant 201: Park Ming-Yu, debts of 20 million won.
Everyone here is drowning in debt, unable to repay, standing on the edge of ruin. When we first approached you, none of you believed us. But as you've seen, when you play a game with us, we honor our word and pay you. All of you agreed to participate voluntarily—there is no coercion involved.Now, we give you one more chance: Do you want to return to your lives, forever chased by creditors, living like trash? Or will you seize this final opportunity we offer you?"
The crowd fell silent.
Il-hoon had heard his father's name and couldn't believe he owed 20 million won.
A piggy bank appeared above everyone's heads.
"This is where your prize money will be kept," the masked man explained. "During the six games, after each one, the prize money will be added to this piggy bank."
Someone asked, "How much is the prize?"
"The total prize is 45.6 billion won," he replied.
Hearing the number, everyone looked shocked, including Jung-Hyuk.
The masked man continued, "If you want to participate, sign your name on the agreement in front of you. If you don't, let us know now. We'll always give you the chance to quit."
Jung-Hyuk looked at the form, hesitated for a long time, but finally signed his name.
Il-hoon read the rules carefully, then signed as well.
When Jung-Hyuk was zoning out on his bed, the player in the bed next to him—409—said, "Hello."
Jung-Hyuk politely replied, "Hello."
"Can I chat with you?" 409 asked.
Before Jung-Hyuk could answer, the masked men told them to line up and head somewhere.
They arrived at a place to take photos. Looking at the camera, Jung-Hyuk heard a voice say, "Smile."
In the headquarters, the host saw a photo and asked, "Why is there a minor participating in this game?"
A masked man with a circle on his mask replied, "Sorry, we didn't know he wasn't the actual person."
A masked man with a square mask asked, "What do we do now?"
The host said, "Continue the game."
After the photos, everyone followed the masked men. Along the way, 409 kept trying to talk to Jung-Hyuk.
Il-hoon spotted his father's friend, Wu Ji-Xian, number 123. He ran over, patted his shoulder, and said, "Hello, uncle."
Ji-Xian looked at him, then realized, "Why are you here? Where's your father—"
Before he could finish, they arrived at a huge playground.
A giant doll across from them said, "Welcome to the first game. Please wait on the field."
Jung-Hyuk looked at the giant doll in the distance and said to 409, "Look at that doll—it's so ridiculous."
409 replied, "Yeah, they have 45.6 billion won but made that doll—ridiculous."
As soon as they finished, the gate behind them closed.
The doll announced, "The first game is Green light, red light."
A few young people laughed. "Such an easy game? For 45.6 billion? This must be fake."
The doll continued, "Within five minutes, cross the finish line while avoiding detection by the 'tagger.'"
Ji-Xian said to Il-hoon, "You should be good at this kind of game."
Il-hoon smiled, "Not bad."
The doll turned around, and the game began. "Green light" — people moved slowly. "Red light" — everyone stopped. The doll's eyes began scanning.
Someone complained, "Hey, you stepped on my shoe."
The person behind pulled his foot back and said, "Oh, sorry, sorry."
The doll said, "Player 2, eliminated." Bang! Blood splattered onto another player's face before he could react. Horrified, he wiped it off, screamed, and tried to run—only to be shot mid-run.
After that, people started running one after another, with a few staying still.
Il-hoon said to Ji-Xian, "Don't move."
Nearby, Jung-Hyuk and 409 were shaken by the sudden gunfire and chaos, but Jung-Hyuk held onto 409 tightly, not letting him run in fear.
When all the runners had been shot, the doll repeated, "During 'Green light,' you may move. If detected moving after 'Red light,' you will be eliminated."
In another room, the host pressed a button, and a small toy began playing Fly Me to the Moon. He sat back, sipping wine, watching the players on screen.
Back on the field, the game continued: "Green light, red light. Green light, red light." After two rounds, no one dared move.
Il-hoon walked a few steps forward and said, "If you don't move, you'll be eliminated when time's up."
Only then did people start moving again. Some were eliminated mid-way, but Jung-Hyuk and 409 made it to the finish line. From the finish area, Jung-Hyuk spotted the same kid who had urged everyone to move, still in the crowd, and felt worried.
Finally, Il-hoon and Ji-Xian crossed the line safely.
When time was up, some players still hadn't crossed and were eliminated.
Just as people were catching their breath, something above them slowly began to close.