Chapter 487
Chapter 487
TeSTAR was trapped in their old dorm.
And… finally, on the front door they reached after opening the inner door, a panel flashed.
[Sacrifice one job to open the front door.]
The moment I read it, I knew.
This is where someone gets eliminated.
‘Is this a survival format?’
Did it mean we had to vote among ourselves to pick one job?
It was provocatively stimulating, enough to make the brain tingle. I nodded, mentally upgrading Ryu Seo-rin’s evaluation once again.
‘Wait, but if we vote while separated like this…’
We didn't know who had which job, and communication with the other side was impossible.
Would they really go straight to a dry vote like this, without the variety show stimulation of directly talking, deceiving, and laughing with each other?
‘There’s no way—’
Ah!
I turned around and shouted.
“Hyung!”
“…! What is it?”
“The walkie-talkie!”
Then I shouted toward the front door as well, so the other side could hear.
“Did you find the walkie-talkie? The walkie-talkie!”
[Walkie… talkie? …Moon-dae?!]
[……Yeah!]
I could faintly hear the sound of frantic, clattering movement from the other side.
“…! Are we using the walkie-talkie now? I just press this and talk, right?!”
“Yes, but you can’t hear the response while it’s pressed, so keep it short!”
“Got it!”
Bae Se-jin grabbed the walkie-talkie and began to shout.
‘If we’re lucky, they might hear the transmission and find the location of their walkie-talkie….’
So, was the plan for us to discuss which job to sacrifice via walkie-talkie from this point on?
Just as that thought crossed my mind.
Suddenly, the panel on the front door updated.
[☜☞]
[Sacrifice Selection Complete!]
What?
“Uh, wait?”
“Moon-dae hyung? D-did you choose something?”
“No way.”
But before I could say another word… the door opened.
Click.
“…!!”
The front door swung wide.
And standing before our eyes, catching their breath as if they had just run over with their walkie-talkie, were the others.
The other four members of TeSTAR.
Their eyes went wide.
“Guys!”
“Moon-dae-Moon-dae! Rae-bin! Hyung-nim!”
“E-everyone, thank goodness…!”
In that moment, everyone forgot about the game or whatever and began to huddle together like a flock of penguins out of sheer joy. It was a chaotic scene, as if they were a family reunited after being stranded.
“Hyung! We came to save you!”
“Right.”
I casually accepted Cha Yu-jin’s hug while doing a head count.
‘All seven are here.’
Yeah. Having the full numbers back definitely brought a sense of stability.
But the thing was.
‘Why did the door open?’
The most likely possibility was this.
“Did your side happen to pick a job to be the sacrifice?”
“Nooope! The door just opened suddenly!”
“…!”
Ryu Cheong-woo also shook his head firmly.
“I thought you guys picked it. Since we were the team trapped inside the dorm, I figured we didn't have the right to choose….”
What?
“W-what are you talking about? We were the ones trapped in the dorm!”
“…? Se-jin, what do you mean…?”
No way.
Only then did I push through the gap between the four of them. With a clear view, I looked past the front door to the other side.
And I was stunned.
‘Holy shit.’
The other side… the other side was also the dorm!
“Wait, outside the front door is…”
“H-here too, the dorm…?”
The members who noticed began to whip their heads back and forth across the threshold in confusion.
“Holy moly! There’s a living room!”
“Whoa~ this is insane, seriously!”
Before I knew it, Cha Yu-jin and Keun Se-jin had run all the way to the living room we had just escaped from, shouting.
I also stepped past the inner door on the opposite side.
“…….”
“It… it really is identical….”
Oh.
‘So, the other side was trying to escape too?’
We had mistaken each other for the "outside team," but in reality, we were Dorm Team A and Dorm Team B.
‘What is this place?’
Is it a set?
No, this would be impossible unless it was a set.
It wasn't just the props that were decorated like our old dorm; the entire house itself had been built this way.
“Heh.”
They really got us. I smirked and scanned the surroundings again.
I knew a way to escape would eventually appear at the end. That’s how you get catharsis.
But to think the entrance itself was a fake, and that it was structured to face each other like a mirror. It was a brilliant double-locked room setup that deepened the immersion of fear and tension.
‘Then where is the exit?’
No, before that.
I turned my head. The members flinched.
“First… so, neither team touched anything on that panel, right?”
“Yeah.”
I reached out and pointed at the panel. Toward the sentence still clearly displayed.
[Sacrifice Selection Complete!]
“Then why does it say ‘Selection Complete’?”
“…….”
Keun Se-jin furrowed his brows as if in deep thought, then crossed his arms.
“Could it be part of someone’s job mission?”
“……!!”
“You know, there might be a role among the jobs that chooses the sacrifice. Hmm~ like in a board game?”
That made sense.
It was a sharp observation.
“Then should we all ask about each other's jobs for now?”
“Ah~ about that…”
Just as Keun Se-jin was about to answer.
[Participants.]
“Gah!”
“What the….”
A distorted, mechanical voice rang out.
The front door panel had started speaking.
‘They really packed a lot of functions into this.’
We immediately ran and stood before the panel.
The screen changed, and a new sentence was transmitted.
[The Sacrificial Job has been determined.]
[The Mark of Fate has now been bestowed.]
On the black screen, white letters flashed ominously.
“It’s… already over?”
“What’s going to happen now?”
The air grew cold with confusion and tension.
However, I was tense for a different reason.
Hey, they said the game time limit was three hours.
‘Then how are we supposed to kill the remaining three hours?’
Isn't the tension going to crumble?
It was then.
Click.
A section of the wall next to the entrance opened. And something spilled out.
“…!”
“Whoa!”
Amidst the fuss from a few of the guys, I checked the items.
‘Cards?’
They looked like poker cards at a glance, seven in total.
And on the back of each one, a name was written.
“What’s this?”
“Is this a QR code?”
“Wait a second.”
I tapped the others.
The text on the panel wasn't finished yet.
[Among the seven cards, there is a card belonging to the participant whose job was selected as the sacrifice.]
An animation of seven cards being flipped over appeared on the screen, and soon one was magnified with a blood-red mark attached to it.
A sheep’s skull.
[That is the Sacrificial Mark.]
“…….”
They’re getting serious.
[You may exchange these ‘Mark Cards’ for three hours.]
[And at the end of the game, the character holding the ‘Sacrifice’ Mark Card will become the final sacrifice.]
On the screen, the cards were shuffled face-down like a shell game, spinning around before being flipped over one by one to show their backs.
And the card with the blood-red sheep skull mark blinked, and then…
[Pop!]
It exploded.
[02:59:59]
All that remained was a black screen. And at the bottom, a white countdown blinking away.
“…….”
I immediately checked my card again.
Similarly, one side had a poker pattern and my name, and the other side had a QR code engraved on it.
I tapped the frozen panel and asked.
“How do we exchange them?”
There was no further narration.
Instead, a new sentence appeared on the black screen.
[Please show the QR code.]
Hmm.
I turned the card over to the QR code side and examined the area next to the front door panel.
‘Do I scan it here?’
“Moon-dae-Moon-dae?”
“Just a second.”
I stopped a few horrified guys from grabbing my shoulders and scanned the card’s QR code.
‘And now?’
The screen changed again.
[Required Currency: 1 Gold]
“…….”
Gold?
“This… it doesn't look like we can just exchange them for free, does it?”
“Yeah.”
It seemed there was a cost.
‘Well, it would be brain-dead if we could just exchange them endlessly without thought.’
At that moment, Cha Yu-jin raised his hand high.
“I know!”
“…!”
“Wait a second!”
Then he dashed off, kicked open the bathroom door on his side, and brought something out in an instant.
“This is Gold!”
It was… a piece of Gold with a QR code attached to it.
“…!!”
“Whoa~ where was it?”
“Under the shelf.”
“Yu-jin, you’re amazing…!”
The members crowded around, marveling at Cha Yu-jin’s keen eyes. Your mouth is going to rip from grinning so hard, kid.
And then, a decisive comment was made.
“Umm~ there must be more of these hidden inside these two dorms, right?”
“Probably?”
In that case.
I immediately pulled the QR card away from the scanner.
“Then let’s start by looking for Gold.”
And so, the treasure hunt began.
“Moon-dae-Moon-dae~ didn't you miss us so much?”
“Yeah, I did.”
Keun Se-jin, who had been making a fuss about being happy to see us, busily chattered about what they had gone through.
Meanwhile, I was silently turning over the living room on the side they had "escaped" from.
“Ah~ but I don't know if there’s any more here. We really practically overturned the place.”
Yeah, seeing how even the bottom of the living room sofa had been ripped up, it was clear they had searched every nook and cranny.
I brushed off my hands and stood up.
Come to think of it, there was something I wanted to say to this guy.
“About what you were going to say earlier.”
“Yeah?”
“Didn't you guys talk about your jobs?”
I was referring to their jobs.
‘It hasn't been mentioned once while he was rambling about what happened.’
Keun Se-jin shrugged his shoulders.
“Umm~ actually, that was what I was going to say earlier. We were so busy searching that we didn't talk about jobs at all.”
“…….”
Hmm, you?
‘Is it that you didn't, or that you intentionally didn't?’
The guy who’s best at variety shows skipped the introduction part that the writers specifically requested?
But as if reading my mind, Keun Se-jin shrugged again.
“I thought it would look better if we did it when everyone was gathered… hmm, looking at you now, you think I’m lying, don't you?”
“Probably.”
Anyone who ended up with a troublesome job would naturally lie. I nodded in agreement.
‘…Then again, this is a very "him" kind of thought process.’
Given the nature of this game, it was hard to fully trust anyone. I just shrugged internally and ended the conversation with him.
I was on my way to the kitchen when…
“…Park Moon-dae.”
Bae Se-jin suddenly approached and spoke in a very low voice.
“You really didn't get a weird job, right? You’re sure?”
“Yes.”
This felt unusual.
But then again.
“But wouldn't someone who got a weird job say the same thing?”
“That’s true, but… you scanned your card right there earlier. I don't think someone trying to hide their job would have done that, even if they were just anxious.”
“…….”
Sharp.
“And since you’re good at this kind of thing, I’m betting on you for now.”
Bae Se-jin gulped and said.
“My job, the ‘Lawyer’…”
Right.
“It has a special ability.”
“……What kind?”
“…‘Can learn the circumstances of other jobs.’”
“…!”
“That’s what it said… so I knew what kind of jobs were out there.”
Bae Se-jin lowered his voice even further.
“Rae-bin said he was a Journalist, right?”
“Yes.”
He swallowed hard.
“There is no Journalist…!”
“…!”
“Among the jobs, there is no such thing as a Journalist!”
It was a betrayal I hadn't imagined.
I immediately reviewed Kim Rae-bin’s behavior up to this point. But I hadn't seen any of the awkwardness typical of someone with a guilty conscience.
‘Is Kim Rae-bin that good at lying?’
No matter how much he’d been trained by past variety shows, was that possible?
‘I’m starting to have some doubts about Bae Se-jin’s side too.’
However, without showing it, I widened my eyes as if surprised and then quickly put on a solemn expression. As if my interest had been piqued.
Bae Se-jin also took on a solemn look.
“Hyung, first, could you tell me the jobs you know? I want to try and narrow down Rae-bin’s real job.”
“Okay. But before that… I want to hear your ability too.”
He knows how to negotiate.
I nodded immediately. While Bae Se-jin gulped, what I revealed was…
“My ability was a question mark.”
“…?”
No, it wasn't a joke.
[Special Ability]
- ?? (To be revealed during progress)
That’s what was written on the profile.
“I think they didn't tell me because it would be a spoiler for the game’s progress.”
“Ah.”
Of course, if I ended it there, I wouldn't gain his trust.
I added my own speculation.
“If this is a type of Mafia game, the Doctor’s role is usually to protect the victim.”
“…!”
“So, I think they’ll let me know when someone is about to become a sacrifice.”
“…That makes sense.”
Right.
Whether I had lost his trust or not, I managed to hear the list of jobs Bae Se-jin explained.
‘Doctor, Sheriff, Detective, Scholar, Undertaker, Lawyer… and Jester?’
They were modern-era job groups.
In any case, it was very plausible and useful information.
‘It’s a gain.’
If it was true, that is. I willingly bowed my head in thanks, and Bae Se-jin looked slightly proud.
“But if we leave it at this, there isn't much meaning in you trusting me and telling me…. Should I try to recruit one more trustworthy person?”
“Eh? Who…?”
I raised my hand and pointed at one person.
The guy who was diligently searching the kitchen of our dorm.
It was Ryu Cheong-woo.
Bae Se-jin became urgent.
“…Wait, isn't this unrelated to his usual personality? The job is what matters. It’s a variety show.”
“True.”
No, that’s exactly why I’m saying this.
I nodded as if in full agreement.
“Think about it, hyung.”
“Uh-huh?”
“In our self-produced content last time, Cheong-woo hyung was the traitor. That zombie.”
“T-that’s true.”
“So, based on the cooldown theory, it won't be Cheong-woo hyung this time.”
“…?!”
“What do you think?”
Wouldn't it be cliché if the same guy was picked again?
No matter how much of a random draw it was, I judged that the production team wouldn't have let that happen, even if they had to rig it.
‘They would have made him redraw, saying there was an error or something.’
And since my theory sounded quite plausible, Bae Se-jin eventually clenched his fist and agreed.
“…Ahem, fine. Let’s try it.”
Exactly.
I immediately sidled up to Ryu Cheong-woo and whispered.
“Hyung.”
“Hmm?”
“Over here for a second.”
And so the three of us began to talk, making it look like we were just searching similar areas so as not to catch the eyes of the others.
“Se-jin hyung wants to form an alliance, but he says it’s only possible if we reveal our jobs.”
“Ah.”
“We’ve already introduced ours to each other.”
It meant that if he just spoke up, we’d form a party right then and there.
However, Ryu Cheong-woo, who was looking under the dining table, gave a small, troubled smile.
“Hmm… I can’t tell you. Sorry.”
“……!”
Bae Se-jin’s expression changed.
“You, don't tell me…”
“Wait a second, hyung.”
I quickly cut in before he could fly off the handle.
“It’s not that you don't want to tell us, it’s that you can’t, right?”
“…….”
Ryu Cheong-woo gave an ambiguous smile.
‘As I thought.’
After nodding, I whispered to Bae Se-jin.
“I think Cheong-woo hyung has a job where he can’t directly state what his job is.”
“…Ah!”
“If he were the Mafia, he’d try to deceive us instead. I don't think he’d answer so honestly like that.”
“Ugh…….”
Bae Se-jin groaned but soon nodded.
“Then… he might be the Detective. Usually, in mystery novels, the Detective plays an active role at the very end.”
Oh. That was a fairly contextually sound deduction for content.
“Then?”
“…Fine! Let’s talk.”
Bae Se-jin nodded. I gave Ryu Cheong-woo a moment to listen to Bae Se-jin’s explanation.
And Ryu Cheong-woo was impressed.
“So there was an ability like that. That’s amazing, Se-jin.”
“Ahem, it’s nothing.”
“If what you say is true, Rae-bin is definitely suspicious… but the urgent thing right now is that someone is about to become a sacrifice. I want to talk more about that point.”
Hmm?
“…Right.”
“Let’s say one of us could directly choose the job to be sacrificed. Then which job do you think it would have been?”
That was easy.
I answered without hesitation.
“The Detective or the Jester.”
At the same time. On the internet.
=====================
[What did everyone pick for the Orbit vote?]
There are 7 options, so there’s a lot of speculation that it’s TeSTAR content with the 7 members. I’m curious lol
=====================
Chatter was rampant across idol communities due to the Orbit voting poll that had suddenly appeared.
First of all, the word ‘Sacrifice’ was provocative, and the fact that they could vote was fun.
And it seemed opinions were surprisingly unified.
The Jester.
Wasn't it a job group that somehow felt like the culprit or the mastermind?
But because of that, there were also strong opinions against picking it.
As the rumors spread, more people clamored for the Detective and the Doctor.
And a short while later.
A new post was uploaded to the Orbit Stars account.
[Voting is complete. -> View Results]
And the moment curious and expectant people clicked to view the results, the link led to a video.
[ The game begins now – TeSTAR coming soon ]
It was the teaser for TeSTAR’s variety show.
Reactions from people enjoying the fact that it was a variety show after a long time.
Meanwhile, a comment from a fan who realized the reality passed by.
Fan sites and communities began to burn with speculation and excitement once again.
And at that moment.
TeSTAR’s strange filming set was burning hot in a different sense.
“U-um, Moon-dae.”
“Yeah?”
“Do you… want to exchange cards with me?”
“…!”
The first trade request had begun.