Russian Roulette
“First off, let's settle on some names. You're Dog, you're Pig, you're Chicken.”
To the masked man's emotionless, mechanical voice—cold as steel—the three lackeys, newly dubbed Dog, Pig, and Chicken, exchanged bewildered glances despite their confusion.
Ignoring their reactions entirely, the masked man turned his head sideways and continued to Jo Pyeong-sin and Lee Han-na.
“You—you're the one with the biggest balls, huh? Fine. You're Rat. And that bitch over there... those slitted eyes scream snake. So, what do you think you are?”
Lee Han-na, who had carved out a decent-sized gang despite being a woman, wasn't lacking in street smarts even before the apocalypse. The moment "snake" slithered from the masked man's lips, she knew exactly what animal she'd been assigned.
“...S-snake... right?”
“Correct. You two—Rat and Snake—get over here and line up with Dog, Pig, and Chicken.”
From the start, his voice carried an unchanging, bottomless terror. Without a hint of resistance, Jo Pyeong-sin and Lee Han-na meekly accepted their fates as Rat and Snake, hurrying to stand in a neat row beside the others.
The masked man scanned the five beasts one by one before fixing his gaze on Rat first.
“Rat. Why do you think you're Rat?”
“...B-because... I...”
Rat Jo Pyeong-sin opened his mouth, face taut with tension, his words trailing off unconsciously. He caught the way those two terrifying eyes—the only visible part behind the expressionless mask—darkened even further.
Lightning-fast, he continued. “Because I had the smartest head here!! Out of us five beasts, Rat—that's me!—arrived first at the banquet hall! First place at the feast hosted by God himself! By smashing Ox in the back of the head!!”
“Oho. You know it well. That's why you're first in the Chinese zodiac. Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit~ Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat~ Monkey, Rooster, Dog, Pig~ Eh, you're all Korean, so you know this stuff.”
Mixing in names from old cartoon characters mid-hum, the masked man's sudden whimsy had all five beasts nodding vigorously in agreement.
Looking down at them anew with intrigued eyes, the masked man beckoned to the woman behind Rat among the five women aiming revolvers at the beasts' napes.
“Former Manager, one more revolver.”
“Yes, Director.”
Still keeping her revolver trained on Rat's head, the woman called Former Manager pulled another identical one from her bosom. Until she handed the new silver revolver to the masked man, she never wavered, marking Rat relentlessly with her free hand's barrel.
Her ironclad precision reminded not just Rat, but the other four beasts as well, of the guns pressing against their own necks.
“At first, I was kinda curious what ballsy idiots you beasts thought you were, waltzing into my hotel to play games... But nah, it doesn't matter. Obvious without asking. You just got greedier by the day for the abundant supplies I provide. Right?”
As the masked man spun the revolver in his hand, his icy interrogation cutting like knife edges, the five beasts sweated bullets, sputtering excuses.
Dog, Pig, and Chicken squawked first, dumping all blame on Rat and Snake just like before. Rat and Snake turned on each other, clawing desperately to shift guilt in a frantic ass-kissing contest.
“Th-that snake-eyed bitch tempted me first with the devil's whisper!! D-Director, she said leaving your great, merciful hotel alone would be boring!!”
“What?! You spewing bullshit? I was just following the rules you allowed to the letter! I suggested rotating only the women from our gangs for the dice rolls! You got greedy from there, you filthy rat!!”
“If you hadn't flicked that wicked tongue first to seduce me, none of this would've happened?! Bible—yeah, the Bible says it! The trash snake that slyly split happy Adam and Eve! Same shit now! That's you, you disgusting slut-snake!!”
“Wh-what'd you say?! You fucking mutt with your loose lips...!!!”
The masked man—Director Lee Hyun—watched the legendary shitshow between Rat and Snake unfold without pause, yawning lazily.
Suddenly, he aimed the revolver skyward and pulled the trigger.
BANG—!
“Alright. That's enough from both of you.”
At Lee Hyun's abrupt gunshot, Rat and Snake snapped their jaws shut in perfect sync, like they'd rehearsed.
“...Y-yes, sir!”
“...”
Not just them—even Dog, Pig, and Chicken, who'd been spectating like extras—went silent as Lee Hyun swept his gaze over all five.
He ejected the remaining five rounds from the now-six-shot revolver.
Tossing them to the sole female among the beasts, Snake, he said, “You're the only bitch here, so pick one.”
“...Wh-what...?”
Lee Han-na, the Snake beast, blankly parroted back before realizing her mistake, clamping her mouth and bowing her head.
“S-sorry!!”
“Hm... fine. Quick on the uptake, so I'll let it slide once.”
At his mechanical tone, Snake groveled with endless thanks, picking one bullet from the five on the floor before her and holding it up.
“L-like this...?”
“Yeah. Now shove the rest forward... Oh, fast learner. Catch.”
As if determined not to screw up twice, Snake swept the remaining bullets away the instant he spoke. She caught the tossed empty revolver reverently with both hands.
“...D-Director?”
“No need to explain—you all get it by now, right?”
Ignoring Snake's trembling call smoothly, Lee Hyun checked the other four—Dog, Pig, Chicken, Rat. Rat, the quick-witted one, and even the dimmer trio's faces drained to shit-brown.
“Russian roulette. Until one survivor. The other four die.”
“““...!!!”””
As the five beasts' guts turned to black tar—just as they'd feared—Lee Hyun's death sentence dropped in that rigid, robotic voice.
Before their desperate pleas could spill, he gestured lightly toward their backs.
Squish—! Prod—! Crunch—!
The five women jammed their revolver barrels firmly against the beasts' napes.
“From now on, you beast shits speak only in beast tongue. If human words slip out...”
Trailing off, Lee Hyun glanced at the women. One, Two, Three, Four, Five Managers—the top five NPCs by his standards—ground their guns harder into their assigned beasts' skulls.
Under that horrific pressure, the five ashen-faced beasts could only nod frantically in submission.
“Before the real game, a quick test? You, Pig. Oink in your proper tongue.”
Pig locked eyes one-on-one with the chilling glare from behind Lee Hyun's mask. He shed his humanity, embracing the pig heart.
“...Oink, oink!! Oink oink oink—!!!”
“As expected, pigs are smarter than they look, huh? No mistakes—good job. You're last in line.”
“Oink...? Oink! Oink oink!! Oink oink oink!!!”
Stunned by the unexpected reward, Pig oinked with genuine joy and fervor. The others followed suit, faithfully playing their roles.
“Woof woof!! Woof woof woof!!!”
“Cock-a-doodle-dooo~~~~! Cluck cluck cluck~~!!!”
“Cheep! Chk chk! Chk chk—! Cheep—!!!”
“...!!”
Even Rat—her partner in scheming—ditched his pride in an instant. Snake stared blankly before belatedly hissing, struggling to channel snake soul...
But Lee Hyun's merciless verdict crushed her desperate efforts.
“First up: Snake, naturally. I'll call the rest as we go.”
“Hiss, sss! Sssshhh...!!”
“What, why you first? I said it already. You're the only bitch.”
“...!!”
Snake's face twisted in ultimate injustice, gaping mutely. The killing blow plummeted her spirit to rock bottom.
It came heavy from the director of this women-only hotel, Lee Hyun.
“Big trouble's always women. Girls can do anything. Prove it and survive. Personally, as director, I'm rooting for Snake.”