Chapter 492
Chapter 492
TeSTAR’s Death Game Survival.
The long-awaited main broadcast.
[The characters, products, and organizations appearing in this program are fictional and have no relation to reality.]
The program began by setting the mood with a very ominous disclaimer.
And then.
[Bae Se-jin: Where on earth… Is this really our dorm?]
One by one, the members opened their eyes in a game center that looked exactly like TeSTAR’s previous dorm.
Naturally, while the set felt eerie, the fact that it was a near-perfect recreation of a top-tier idol group’s living quarters was a major selling point.
Since TeSTAR had already moved to a new location, there was no burden of privacy invasion, allowing the fans' interest to soar without reservation.
Furthermore, this setting served as an excellent device for the viewers to immerse themselves in the members' perspectives.
[Kim Rae-bin: …The lights won’t turn on.]
This was all according to the plan of the head writer, Ryu Seo-rin.
‘A program like this needs to start by making the audience feel exactly what the characters are feeling.’
Since Ryu Seo-rin, who prioritized narrative and character perspective, was the head writer, the editing followed suit.
First, the show explicitly revealed the circumstances of three specific members.
‘This is the signal to immerse yourself here.’
The first was Bae Se-jin, who had drawn the Lawyer card.
[Bae Se-jin: ‘Your occupation is Lawyer.’]
[Bae Se-jin: And the job mission… ‘Make 3 or more people believe in my occupation and ability.’]
Here, Bae Se-jin was presented like a protagonist. Since the Lawyer character was the only one who knew the full list of occupations, the viewers were given the same amount of information as him.
[Bae Se-jin: I’m the Lawyer… and I know what occupations are out there.]
[Seon A-hyun: !!]
The viewers began to trust or suspect the other members from the perspective of Bae Se-jin as he carried out his mission.
In this way, the viewers' suspicions were naturally steered in a specific direction.
Then, just as the focus on Bae Se-jin’s perspective was about to grow stale, the second person’s perspective was introduced.
It was the Doctor, Cha Yu-jin.
[Bae Se-jin: Guys!]
Immediately after the dramatic encounter with the other dorm team at the entrance, the show narrated how the four members in that dorm had progressed, through Cha Yu-jin’s eyes.
And Cha Yu-jin had one more role.
That’s right.
The final member whose occupation the production team revealed to the viewers from the start.
[Park Moon-dae (Undertaker) ← Currently impersonating the Doctor]
…Park Moon-dae, who was running around scamming people as a Doctor despite being the Undertaker.
By openly revealing Cha Yu-jin as the real Doctor, the relationship between the fake and the real was brought into sharp focus.
Of course, it was edited thoroughly for humor.
The way Park Moon-dae threw around the Doctor claim to everyone while miraculously avoiding the real Doctor, Cha Yu-jin, through sheer luck and timing, drew roars of laughter from the audience.
It seemed to serve as a breath of fresh air, breaking up the heavy and persistent atmosphere.
[Park Moon-dae: I’m the Doctor.]
[Ryu Cheong-woo: Hmm, I see.]
[Cha Yu-jin ← Didn’t hear that!]
As Cha Yu-jin strolled past the two having the conversation, the caption ‘← Didn’t hear that!’ floated above him—a streak of comedy in the middle of a high-tension genre variety show.
‘Moon-dae is so cute!’
Here, a graduate student, who had missed the simultaneous release of episodes 1 and 2 and was barely catching up on WeTube, was watching with the same sentiment.
Of course, the reason she missed the live broadcast was that she was busy rotting away in the lab, striving to become a "Master of All" and eventually a PhD…
‘Phew, I have to pass my thesis defense next year and get a job!’
Her goal was to use that money to travel the world following TeSTAR’s world tour.
But for now, just watching TeSTAR’s content on this precious weekend made her happy.
She rolled around on her bed.
‘This kind of genre…? It’s my first time seeing a variety show like this.’
Fortunately, the production team used graphics to clearly mark the occupations and exchanges, making it easier to understand.
…Even if the sight of a bright red sheep skull popping up was a bit scary.
[※ Upon ‘Card Exchange’ at the front door device ※]
[※ Each person’s occupation remains the same; only the Sacrificial Mark moves to the other person ※]
‘Ah, so the person the viewers picked doesn’t get eliminated immediately. They can pass it to someone else through that card exchange.’
She nodded as she grasped the concept. In the end, the sacrifice would keep changing through exchanges, and the person stuck with it at the very end would "die."
Naturally, her main question was this:
‘So, which occupation did the viewers actually pick?’
Surprisingly, as if answering her question, a cut was inserted.
[Wait a moment]
“…??”
[A special pre-reveal just for the viewers!]
[The occupation of the sacrifice you pre-voted for is….]
“Wait, wait, wait?”
Giant letters slammed onto the screen.
[Detective – 20,347 votes]
“Gasp!”
The graduate student was momentarily flustered.
‘Is it okay to tell us this already?’
No, more importantly, who was the Detective?
“Uh, okay, Moon-dae is the Undertaker, Yu-jin is the Doctor, and Bae Se-jin is the Lawyer, so excluding them….”
It was one of the other four members!
[Detective Candidates: Ryu Cheong-woo, Seon A-hyun, Lee Se-jin, Kim Rae-bin]
[Who is the Detective?]
Just as she was nodding at the production team for showing a four-way split-screen of their faces, the screen changed again.
[※ Announcement of the Answer ※]
Huh?
[Ryu Cheong-woo: I see. A-hyun is the Detective.]
[Ryu Cheong-woo: And the viewers picked the Detective.]
“…??”
It was the mid-term evaluation period.
The scene showed Ryu Cheong-woo reading his tablet.
[Detective: Seon A-hyun / ※ Voted #1 ※]
Then, Ryu Cheong-woo’s profile document was shown through cross-cutting.
“…!”
[Scholar]
[The Scholar can learn the information of the first occupation chosen as the sacrifice and the participant holding that occupation.]
[However, the Scholar cannot speak about their own occupation or ability.]
That was it.
The Scholar, Ryu Cheong-woo.
Using his job ability, he had already known during the mid-term evaluation that Seon A-hyun was the Detective and that he had been chosen as the sacrifice.
[Ryu Cheong-woo: Then Moon-dae, who exchanged cards with A-hyun, is the sacrifice now.]
And he even knew that the Sacrificial Mark had been passed to Park Moon-dae!
Ryu Cheong-woo knew everything.
People were thrilled by this exciting development!
People munched on popcorn, excitedly anticipating Ryu Cheong-woo’s hardships and hard carry.
And after the mid-term evaluation ended.
[Park Moon-dae: Yu-jin, did you find more Gold?]
[Cha Yu-jin: Yeap!]
[Park Moon-dae: Hmm… There’s not much time left until the end. I wonder if it disappears if you don’t use it.]
[Cha Yu-jin: Ooh….]
Park Moon-dae appeared, creating another strange comedic atmosphere.
By treating the assumption that ‘Gold will probably disappear if not used now’ as a established fact, he gently coaxed Cha Yu-jin into suggesting a card exchange.
[Cha Yu-jin: Then Hyung, do you want to exchange with me?]
[Park Moon-dae: Hmm… Are you sure it’s not you?]
[Cha Yu-jin: Yes!]
[Park Moon-dae: …Fine. Then I’ll trust you.]
[ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
The fake Doctor hooked the real Doctor!
The bomb pass was a success!
However.
[Exchange Complete]
[Occupation currently holding the Sacrificial Mark]
[※ Scholar ※]
When it was revealed that the Scholar, Ryu Cheong-woo, was the sacrifice, the viewer forums turned into a chaotic mess again.
In the midst of that total confusion, the members entered the full-scale deduction phase, suspecting one another to find the ‘Black Sheep’—the person who had passed the sacrifice last.
The viewers were also busy deducing.
It was then.
[Bae Se-jin: Wait! I have something to say first.]
Among the members who were about to start deducing around the altar, Bae Se-jin revealed his occupation and began to give a long-winded introduction.
Since the viewers had seen this happen several times, they were just beginning to relax their tightened nerves and compose themselves.
Then Lee Se-jin intervened.
[Lee Se-jin: That’s strange. I’m the Lawyer, though?]
Just as everyone was losing it, believing this was Lee Se-jin’s trolling, the screen suddenly zoomed in on Bae Se-jin’s serious face.
And an interview was inserted.
[Bae Se-jin: When Lee Se-jin said he was the Lawyer.]
[Bae Se-jin: That’s when I knew.]
[Bae Se-jin: That I might have been mistaken about my own occupation.]
[Bae Se-jin: I also knew a little bit about the characteristics of each job. But….]
A flashback showed Bae Se-jin carefully reading his profile document.
Then, the document was shown in a close-up.
In the job information section, a spotlight edit hit one specific occupation.
[Bae Se-jin: This is me.]
“…!”
[Bae Se-jin: Thinking about it while listening to Lee Se-jin, my ability seemed… a bit too much for a Lawyer.]
[Bae Se-jin: I think… I’m currently under the illusion that I’m the Lawyer.]
[Bae Se-jin: And since I’m under that illusion, I’m automatically mimicking the Lawyer.]
On the set, a cut of Bae Se-jin getting worked up and arguing with Lee Se-jin, frustrated that ‘he was the Lawyer,’ passed by naturally.
But a narration overlapped it.
[Bae Se-jin: I have no proof, but yes. I did think I was the Jester.]
The viewers were all aghast.
Even in the midst of that, Bae Se-jin was on screen claiming to be an innocent Lawyer as if he were possessed.
It was the true power of an actor.
Amidst that shock, the broadcast gained new momentum and pushed forward. The psychological thrill of ‘Who else might stab us in the back!’ took over.
And after deduction upon deduction, the moment the culprit’s trick was finally revealed hit the viewers the hardest.
Because… it was Park Moon-dae.
[Yes. I lost. Rae-bin is amazing.]
The Undertaker, who had seemed to be trolling for humor the entire time!
The viewers, their energy completely spent, couldn’t even laugh anymore.
And the deeply immersed fans began to pour out long-winded theories like crazy.
It was then.
A narration played.
[Park Moon-dae: I think it turned out well.]
An interview with Park Moon-dae was inserted, and then the scene suddenly froze.
Then, with the effect of a film rewinding, the screen suddenly changed.
[◀◀◀]
[At the start of filming, Park Moon-dae’s room]
In the rewound scene, Park Moon-dae was seen reading his profile.
Park Moon-dae tilted his head.
[Park Moon-dae: Culprit?]
Then, a close-up of the Undertaker’s backstory in the profile—which hadn’t been shown to the viewers—appeared.
[The Undertaker is the ‘Culprit’ of this incident.]
Amidst the viewers' mental breakdown, the cut changed again.
This time, it was during the mid-term evaluation.
[Your card is the ‘Sacrificial Mark’.]
[Current Lamb: Park Moon-dae]
To Park Moon-dae, who had realized he had received the Sacrificial Bomb from Seon A-hyun, the tablet showed an additional explanation.
For a smoother game, it was a warning shown only to the occupation holding the Sacrificial Bomb during the mid-term evaluation.
[Caution]
[The one who makes an innocent person the sacrifice becomes the ‘Black Sheep’.]
[The Black Sheep may have to pay for their sins.]
The interview was spliced in.
[Park Moon-dae: That’s when I realized.]
[Park Moon-dae: That while passing the sacrifice around like a bomb, in the end… it might not be the person who receives it, but the person who gave it who gets ruined.]
[Park Moon-dae: And one more thing.]
Park Moon-dae’s narration from the interview overlapped with the footage of him scrolling through the tablet.
The Park Moon-dae on screen gave a small smile.
[Park Moon-dae: Ah, the Culprit and the Black Sheep are separate roles.]
That was it.
The Culprit, whom the Sheriff had to shoot, and the Black Sheep were originally two different people…!
[Park Moon-dae: But if these two are the same person… then only that person needs to die.]
[Park Moon-dae: It makes the deduction easier, too.]
And so, Park Moon-dae’s operation began.
[Park Moon-dae: I should become the Black Sheep.]
It was a philosophy of insane utilitarianism.
The graduate student covered her mouth with her hands.