Anticipating the Game
Seeing the words written on the slip of paper, the three girls felt as if they had been struck over the head with a heavy hammer.
Any ordinary person would have heard of it at least once—that pulling out fingernails was a form of torture used in ancient times to inflict unimaginable agony. The three of them knew the pain would be far worse than anything they could ever conceive. With the appearance of the "Nail Pulling" lot, Dohyung was the only one in the basement who was smiling.
"Let's see... This one is a cooperative mission. To explain the rules: you three will form a team and have sex with me in a one-on-three setup. You start with a base score of thirty. Every time I ejaculate, that number decreases by one. The time limit is one full day."
Listening to Dohyung, a cold dread began to creep over the three girls. As they realized what the number thirty represented and what it meant for that number to tick down by one each time, the terror in their hearts swelled.
"Do you get the picture now? Depending on what number is left when the time limit expires... that's how many of your fingernails will be ripped out. If the number left is five, then five fingernails get pulled."
"No..."
"Hieek... No, please..."
Just imagining their own fingernails being torn away made their skin crawl. As they listened to the explanation, Jiseon hesitantly raised her hand and asked Dohyung a question.
"Um, Master? You said you would... pull out as many nails as the remaining number, but whose nails exactly will be pulled?"
"Oh, that? If we assume five is left, like I just said, then yes, five nails have to be pulled... but I don't care whose they are."
"What? Then that means..."
"In other words, you guys get to decide who takes the hit. One person can have all five of theirs pulled, or you three can split it as evenly as possible—like two, two, and one. I told you, didn't I? This is a 'cooperative' mission."
At Dohyung's words, Jiseon and Eunji realized the true, insidious meaning behind his proposal. This was by no means 'cooperative.' It was painfully obvious that they would never agree to share the burden of having their nails ripped out. Instead, the punishment would inevitably be dumped onto a single target.
In other words, the sacrifice would be determined by their hierarchy, starting from the very bottom. If the remaining number was ten or less, only Eunji's nails would be pulled. If it was twenty or less, only Jiseon and Eunji's nails would suffer. Since neither of them could dare to defy Jia now, they knew all too well the catastrophic consequences they would face if they even suggested touching one of Jia's nails.
Fuck... He calls that a cooperative mission?
This is completely insane...
Reading the room and seeing that everyone understood the implications of Mission 25, Dohyung grinned as he delivered the final blow.
"And obviously, there won't be any anesthesia. Where's the fun in using anesthesia for something as trivial as this? Kekeke!"
Jia and Eunji shuddered yet again at his words.
If he calls nail pulling 'trivial'... does that mean there are even worse things in that box?
Crazy... We have to avoid pulling those and somehow find the Return Home lot...
"I'll put the slip I just showed you back into the box."
Dohyung took back the paper Jia had drawn, dropped it into the container, and shook it thoroughly to mix them up. Watching him handle the box, Jiseon's mind raced with suspicion.
Fuck... What if he secretly took out the Return Home lot and is just playing with us?
With a bit of sleight of hand—the kind of trick magicians used all the time—he could easily pretend to put the Return Home lot inside while keeping it hidden. If he did that, they would be trapped in an endless, agonizing loop forever. Jiseon believed that Dohyung, with his sadistic drive to torment them, was more than capable of such a trick.
"Oh, by the way. I didn't set up any kind of trick here. Let's see... Ah, see this? Here's the Return Home lot."
Dohyung rummaged through the container, pulled out the slip he had placed inside earlier, and held it up for the three of them to see.
"You might be wondering if I'm just pretending to put it in while secretly pocketing it. Am I right?"
"N-No, of course not, Master...!"
Jiseon felt a pang of guilt at Dohyung's words. She couldn't help but be startled by how he had read her mind so effortlessly, voicing her exact thoughts.
"In that case, Butterfly... no, Heavy. Come over here and take this Return Home lot."
"Yes... Master."
At Dohyung's command, Eunji slowly stepped forward and took the slip of paper from his hand.
"If I put it in myself, someone might suspect me of using cheap tricks. So, Heavy, you put the paper back into the box. Show everyone that it really is the Return Home lot before you drop it in."
"Ah, yes, Master."
Just as Dohyung ordered, Eunji held up the paper to show Jia and Jiseon, confirming to everyone that it indeed read "Return Home." Then, under their watchful eyes, she slipped it deep into the pile of papers inside the container. Seeing the paper go in, Dohyung held out the box to Eunji and commanded her to close the lid and lock it herself.
"There. As you all saw, my hands didn't even touch the Return Home lot as it went back into the box. On top of that, you girls will be the ones keeping custody of this box from now on. I won't touch it. Every morning when I come down, you will open the box and draw one slip of paper."
Dohyung demonstrated to the three of them just how fair his game would be. Jiseon, who had been deeply suspicious of his motives only moments ago, let go of some of her doubts seeing how transparently he was acting.
Even if he wanted to, how could he make a paper disappear without even touching it? Not even a magician could pull that off... especially not with the three of us watching so closely.
"Just so we're clear, I trust you know what will happen if you try to sneak a peek inside this box when I'm not around. If you're curious, feel free to try."
"N-No, of course not, Master!"
To the three of them, Dohyung's words were a chilling warning never to touch the box in his absence.
"Well, I'll be off then. Make sure you give Heavy a proper education."
Dohyung waved to the three of them and walked toward the basement door.
"Yes, Master!"
At the news of his departure, Jia and Jiseon immediately dropped to the floor into Position One. Seeing them move, Eunji quickly followed suit and prostrated herself.
Once Dohyung opened the door, stepped outside, and his footsteps faded into the distance, the three girls finally stood up.
"Whew... Thank goodness. What would we have done if we actually drew that today?"
"I know. Pulling out fingernails... Just imagining it makes me shiver."
Jia and Jiseon shuddered, picturing the horrific scenario of nail pulling that they had barely escaped.
"B-But if we're lucky, we can go home soon, right?" Eunji whispered, looking at the two of them with a glimmer of hope.
At her words, Jia immediately marched over, her face contorted with rage as she glared down at her.
"What is that supposed to mean? Are you implying that Master is lying to us?"
"N-No! That's not what I meant at all!"
"Like hell it isn't... It seems you still lack the proper attitude to atone for your sins against Master. Kkami! We need to re-educate Heavy."
At Jia's command, Jiseon slowly approached Eunji. Seeing her come closer, Eunji fell to her knees, rubbing her hands together in a desperate plea for forgiveness, but neither Jia nor Jiseon paid her any mind. Even with Dohyung gone from the basement, it remained an inescapable hell for Eunji.
Dohyung had thoroughly enjoyed watching the girls' expressions shift wildly from moment to moment as he explained the game. Everything that had just transpired was a carefully orchestrated performance, and all three of them had fallen for it hook, line, and sinker.
First, he had shown them the "Return Home" lot, planting a seed of hope that they could actually go back to their normal lives if they drew it. Up until now, they had probably clung to the belief that the police would eventually rescue them. But as more and more time passed, that passive hope would inevitably begin to wither.
Now that he had finally abducted Eunji and brought her down here, he decided it was the perfect time to offer a cruel glimmer of hope to Jia and Jiseon, who had been imprisoned for so long. That was why he started this game. Furthermore, he had deliberately staged the drawing process so that it appeared entirely free of his intervention, making them believe that drawing the "Return Home" lot depended solely on their own luck. This way, they would wake up every single day clinging to the desperate hope that today might be the day they finally drew it.
Even if they failed to draw the "Return Home" lot and ended up physically and mentally broken by whatever horrific mission they pulled instead, they would still have another chance the very next day. And assuming they didn't draw the "Reset" lot, their mathematical odds of drawing the "Return Home" lot would technically increase with each passing day. It was a perfect psychological trap designed to make their hope grow larger and more agonizing over time.
But there was one crucial detail—a subtle spell Dohyung had cast that the three girls could never possibly detect. The moment Eunji dropped the slip marked "Return Home" back into the container, the magic altered the writing on it, transforming it into a "Reset" lot.
In other words, the box that supposedly contained thirty mission lots, one "Reset" lot, and one "Return Home" lot now contained thirty mission lots and two "Reset" lots. The "Return Home" lot, which held all of Jia, Jiseon, and Eunji's hopes, had vanished entirely.
No matter how much time passed or how few slips remained in the box, they would never, ever draw the "Return Home" lot. Their chances of returning home had been reduced to absolute zero.
"As if I'd ever let you go home that easily. Muhahaha! You bitches are going to rot in this basement forever."
In Dohyung's mind, there was no such option as letting his captives return home safely. Returning to his room from the basement, Dohyung pulled out a bottle of wine, poured himself a glass, and took a slow sip. He was already looking forward to seeing what kind of agonizing mission they would draw tomorrow.
Dohyung had no intention of rigging the daily draws from here on out. To truly enjoy the game himself, he wanted the thrill of the random draw, watching how their faces contorted in despair at whatever hand fate dealt them.
"Handpicking every single one would take the fun out of it. Well, though I did rig the 'Nail Pulling' one just now... Kekeke! The look on their faces when they saw 'Nail Pulling' was absolutely priceless!"
The "Nail Pulling" lot Jia had drawn today was not a random occurrence. Dohyung had used his magic to subtly guide her hand to that specific slip without any of them noticing. Even if the draws from tomorrow onward would be completely random and free of magic, he had deliberately chosen this particular lot for today's practice run. He had selected a mission that would instantly trigger the most vivid, agonizing imagery the moment they read it.
His reasoning was simple. He wanted them to feel a crushing sense of dread alongside their hope every time they reached into the box. If they drew slips without knowing what kind of horrors lay inside, they would certainly expect painful missions, but their hope of drawing the "Return Home" lot would still dominate their minds. However, by showing them the "Nail Pulling" lot first and putting it back, they were forced to realize that while they might draw the "Return Home" lot, they were just as likely to draw the terrifying "Nail Pulling" lot instead.
Human beings naturally anticipate the worst-case scenario. Dohyung had successfully planted the ultimate nightmare of "Nail Pulling" deep within their minds.
"Personally, I want you bitches to suffer in agony until the day you die..."
Sipping his wine and savoring the memory of their terror as a side dish, Dohyung drifted off to sleep, eagerly anticipating the game that would unfold tomorrow.
"Ah... I wonder what kind of fun mission they'll pull tomorrow...?"