Chapter 491
Chapter 491
Immediately after the Sheriff, Kim Rae-bin, declared he was shooting Park Moon-dae.
Whirrr!
"Whoa!"
"W-what is that?!"
A burst of light erupted from the coffin like a camera flash.
The light swirled around the members like a flashlight or a spotlight, heightening the tension.
Vrooooom—
Then, like a roulette wheel, it finally stopped on one person.
[The Sheriff shoots participant Park Moon-dae!]
Park Moon-dae.
It pointed directly at the person he had targeted!
"……."
Kim Rae-bin swallowed hard.
Park Moon-dae stared expressionlessly at the light emitting from the coffin.
A suffocating silence filled the room.
And then.
[BANG!]
"Ack!"
A sharp gunshot rang out, making several members flinch.
Then, the speakers crackled.
A mechanical voice delivered the verdict.
[Correct.]
[The culprit is the Undertaker.]
"…!!"
"Waaaaah!!"
The light illuminating Park Moon-dae turned blood-red.
[The Sheriff has shot the culprit.]
Everyone forgot to breathe.
It was a success…!
'So…'
Moon-dae hyung really was the culprit!
"Phew."
Kim Rae-bin’s legs gave out, and he nearly collapsed.
"Kim Rae-bin!"
"Rae-bin, what did you just do? Is that the Sheriff's ability?"
"Yes…."
"T-that’s amazing…!"
In an instant, the atmosphere brightened with excitement.
"Hey! If you had something like that, you should have just shot everyone one by one when the game started!"
'But if I fail, two people die…'
Just as Kim Rae-bin was about to explain that to a flushed Bae Se-jin, Park Moon-dae let out a small chuckle and shrugged.
"Yeah. I lost. Rae-bin, you're impressive."
"…!!"
"It’s true that any of us could have used the trick of taking two cards to the entrance alone. But I was the one who asked Cheong-woo hyung to do it. Your deduction is spot on."
"Gasp!"
"And he’s probably the Scholar."
"Whoa, incredible!"
Good grief.
Kim Rae-bin looked back at Ryu Cheong-woo. Ryu Cheong-woo was wearing a broad grin.
'When on earth did they…?'
It was then.
Park Moon-dae reached out and lightly patted the back of Rae-bin’s head.
"You did well to figure it out even without evidence. Good job."
"T-thank you…."
"Seriously, since there was no evidence, Rae-bin’s role was crucial~ This is crazy."
A few members shook their heads in disbelief as they replayed the events in their minds.
Essentially, Park Moon-dae had used his wits alone—without using any professional abilities—to create a trick that couldn't be proven.
It was also surprising that Seon A-hyun had caught onto it so accurately.
"A-hyun did a great job as the Detective."
"N-no, I didn't…."
Seon A-hyun looked momentarily pleased by the praise, but his expression soon darkened.
"Um, Moon-dae. I'm sorry… for passing the Sacrificial Mark to you."
"You didn't know, so it's fine."
"But… there was a reason…."
"…?"
Seon A-hyun hesitated for a moment before answering.
"The Detective… if they exchange cards, they can find out the other person's occupation."
"…!"
"So, before I told Moon-dae my occupation, I wanted to check what his was……."
'Ah!'
I see! A-hyun hyung had done a preliminary check because he wanted to form an alliance with Moon-dae hyung.
Kim Rae-bin nodded as he realized the truth.
And the person in question, Park Moon-dae, also nodded.
"But then 'Undertaker' suddenly popped up."
"……."
"……Yeah."
That was where everything had turned into a mess.
Park Moon-dae commented briefly.
"Even I would have suspected myself."
"Pwahaha!"
The members burst into laughter.
The atmosphere grew even lighter. Conversations flew back and forth as if the game were already over.
"Hyung, you were so cool!"
"But you guys… when exactly did you exchange cards??"
"Please check that during the broadcast."
"Haha."
Ryu Cheong-woo laughed sheepishly. Bae Se-jin’s face turned red and then pale.
"No, and why on earth did you exchange with Park Moon-dae! He asked you to do it secretly; anyone could see that was a suspicious request!"
"I'll ask you to check that on the broadcast as well."
"Ugh."
"We'll also watch the broadcast to see which of you or Lee Se-jin was actually the Lawyer."
"No, why wait… it’s me!"
"Wow~ Hyung-nim, are you going to hold out until the very end?"
"Hey!"
Bae Se-jin huffed, but he didn't seem truly upset. In the end, he let out a hollow laugh.
"Fine, anyway… since we succeeded!"
"Yes."
Though I wasn't sure if it was okay to say that right in front of the culprit we just caught.
Regardless, it was a moment where the tension eased and the mood softened.
Suddenly, the lights in the room went out.
"…!"
Then, one by one, candles began to flicker back to life.
A dark, reddish light.
And they began to blink relentlessly.
"What is it this time?!"
"Ugh, the atmosphere!"
A sinister voice began to flow from the speakers.
[Offer the culprit, the Black Sheep Undertaker, as a Burnt Offering.]
"……!"
As the dark red LED candlelight created a chilling atmosphere, the low-quality sound of a string ensemble began to play through the speakers.
An orchestral sound reminiscent of a theme song from a haunted theme park.
[Offer the culprit, the Black Sheep Undertaker, as a Burnt Offering.]
[Offer the culprit, the Black Sheep Undertaker, as a Burnt Offering.]
[100 seconds remaining.]
Kim Rae-bin’s heart sank.
Wow, the atmosphere is killer.
'The art team must have suffered.'
I could taste the budget.
I looked around the room, which was doing a great job of setting a horror mood. Everyone’s expressions looked grim.
'Well, I'm clocking out.'
Good luck to everyone else.
"Then, I'll be going now. Everyone, make sure to survive until the end."
"T-that is……."
Ryu Cheong-woo raised his hand.
"Ah, then me too?"
"A-ah, no!"
"…?"
Why not?
"The reason I shot Moon-dae hyung was also to save the person who was the sacrifice!"
Kim Rae-bin began to explain fervently that if the Sheriff correctly identifies the culprit, the sacrifice lives.
'In short, they're throwing the culprit into this cult altar instead of the sacrifice.'
Sheriff was a truly cost-effective occupation.
I thought it might be game-breaking, but listening to the explanation, it seemed Kim Rae-bin would have been in trouble too if he had pointed at the wrong person.
Well, in all honesty, I was glad it didn't turn out that way….
'It would have been fun if he'd failed his deduction and shot someone else, though.'
I mean, for the sake of the variety show.
If they had suddenly found both people dead at the start of the game without knowing why, there would have been no better entertainment.
Of course, then the show would have turned into a chaotic mess of a variety show rather than a deduction one, but there’s a public demand for that too.
'They could have given it to someone more reckless.'
I clicked my tongue at the production team for not rigging it so that Bae Se-jin became the Sheriff.
Well, thanks to that, things ended up like this.
'Hmm.'
I tapped the coffin, which was glowing with an ominous red light, a few times.
Tap, tap!
"So, how do I become the sacrifice?"
"Ugh, that’s creepy."
Then, as if on cue… the coffin opened automatically.
Creeeeeak.
"Ack!"
Inside was….
"Oh my god."
"No… you're telling a person to get in there?"
It was wretched-looking wood, looking as if blood had dried on it.
[60 seconds remaining.]
With that announcement, the BGM became even more bizarre.
Originally, two people were supposed to go in, so they probably would have joked around and not been very scared, but since things turned out this way, I had to go in alone.
Perhaps because of that, the reactions around me were a bit different.
"Ah… this is more realistic than I thought?"
"Yeah, Moon-dae probably has a hard time with scary things…."
"It's fine. It's just this."
It’s not like there’s an actual corpse inside, so why the fuss?
'I'm going to get food coloring all over my body.'
"I'm going in."
I stepped into the coffin. It wasn't as sticky as I expected.
'I see the infrared camera over there, too.'
Well, if it's just this much.
"I think it's going to close now… Moon-dae-Moon-dae, are you really okay?"
"Yeah."
What kind of coward do they take me for?
It’s not like something is going to jump out in this cramped space. I can just stay here with my eyes open.
I nodded with my fists clenched, and soon the coffin lid closed.
Thud—clunk.
The surroundings went dark with a heavy sound.
However, I could hear the sounds from outside perfectly.
'It's actually better that it's not soundproof.'
I assessed the situation outside as if I were just standing there with my eyes closed.
First, that weird mechanical voice from the speakers.
[Place the candles on the altar.]
"What??"
"I think we just need to bring the candles here! Ah!"
Amidst the sounds of confusion, the coffin vibrated slightly. It seemed the members were placing those weird, bright red LED candles on top of the coffin lid.
'They're making them do all sorts of things.'
I crossed my arms.
"What? Do we just put them on?"
"Ah, these circular patterns look exactly like the candle holders!"
"Hmm, then let's put them there."
"OK! We need 7 candles!"
Soon, several vibrations, moving sounds, and footsteps could be heard from outside the coffin.
"Is this how we're supposed to do it?"
And after a short silence.
[Burnt Offering!]
"Eek."
Suddenly, a gloomy shout that sounded like several people speaking at once erupted from the speakers, and the sound of rushing wind began to howl.
The surroundings became even more chaotic.
"Ack!"
"Oh my…! What the!"
'Did the bathroom ghost escape or something?'
It was actually a win to be inside this coffin. Just as I was about to nod to myself.
Whirrr—
"…?"
A small sound accompanied by a vibration echoed nearby.
It sounded like an engine or a device starting up.
…Right by my head.
"……."
What is it?
I turned my head. But I couldn't see anything in the pitch-black darkness.
'In that case.'
I reached out toward where the sound was coming from.
My fingertips felt the sticky dye and the texture of the wood as I fumbled around, and just as I was sliding my hand to the side.
Click.
"…!!"
Wait.
'I think I just pressed a button….'
It was at that moment.
"Aaaaah!"
"What is this!?"
Intense reactions began to be heard from outside again. And I also gritted my teeth.
'Those crazy producers!'
The coffin was shaking!
'What the.'
And, two seconds later.
The floor of the coffin I was lying in began to move downward like an elevator.
"…?!"
Where am I going?
TeSTAR’s Death Survival Game.
As soon as the trailer was released, fans were ecstatic.
An indiscriminate deduction survival variety show!
The horror atmosphere was chilling to anyone who saw it, further fueling people's imaginations.
And as if responding to that reaction, a new video was posted before half a day had even passed.
It was a trailer where the members' shocked expressions, flustered reactions, and all sorts of crazy effects flashed by in short cutscenes.
Thrills and excitement with a clear concept!
[The first Sacrificial Mark you received was determined by the sponsors' votes.]
[Bae Se-jin: Sponsors…?]
[As a result of the votes from the fans who love you,]
Moreover, wasn't the content they had voted on just half a day ago appearing in the trailer!
People who were so immersed were on the edge of their seats, and the short trailer, made in a rush through overtime, ended with a massive caption.
[Coming soon]
Fans screamed again at the caption that appeared along with the announcement of the main broadcast time.
[Authentic Death Survival]
[Just how many TeSTAR members will survive!]
Fans who enjoyed this kind of thing were at a loss with the dopamine stimulation and left comments like crazy.
And a week later.
The teasers, which had been released one by one for each TeSTAR member, finally reached Park Moon-dae’s turn.
Since the teasers so far had introduced the show as a suspenseful genre variety show with a strategic image, Park Moon-dae’s fans also clicked on the video with similar expectations, but….
After only three seconds, the grand BGM of the video suddenly vanished, and the screen changed with a pop.
A person appeared along with a clumsy yet hilarious and soulful solo recorder BGM.
It was Park Moon-dae, opening his profile on a bed.
A narration played.
[Park Moon-dae: Doctor is a good occupation.]
[Park Moon-dae: I think I can save the members.]
People were puzzled!
However, Park Moon-dae, who was reading the profile with a serious face, paused the moment he turned to the next page or so.
[?]
He looked at the back page, then suddenly flipped back to the very first page and hurriedly checked the documents back and forth.
Then he let out a hollow laugh.
[Heh…….]
An enormous exclamation mark appeared over Park Moon-dae, and the profile was shown.
The first page.
[Your occupation is a Doctor.]
And the back page.
[Now, please add a prefix in front.]
[Under-]
[You are an Undertaker.]
It was a sudden pun.
In the video, Park Moon-dae pressed his hand to his forehead.
[Park Moon-dae: I realized it then.]
[Park Moon-dae: I trusted them, but I was deceived again.]
An interview cut was inserted.
Behind Park Moon-dae, who was staring into space, translucent images of him being deceived in previous TeSTAR variety shows passed by….
It was even funnier because he was an intelligent character.
The sorrowful recorder tugged at the heartstrings.
And then.
[Park Moon-dae: I can't believe I got hooked again.]
[Park Moon-dae: I can't let this go; it's unfair.]
[Park Moon-dae: I should do some hooking myself.]
Park Moon-dae chose to go all out.
And the scene of the first introduction.
Park Moon-dae said confidently.
[I am a Doctor.]
[Park Moon-dae: That's how it happened.]
And so, Park Moon-dae’s chaotic Doctor trolling began.
At least, that’s how it looked to the viewers.
There was exactly one week left until Park Moon-dae, who had positioned himself as a definitive gag character, was revealed to be the culprit at the last minute, making viewers scream in betrayal.