Tightrope Showdown and the Clutch Save

The Top Beast Survival civilian team swapped with the YouTuber team and climbed up to the starting point. Jang Seok-gi and Lee Min-ho lined up side by side in ready position.

Beep—

'Lee Min-ho should do well too.' Jang Seok-gi thought as he balanced his body on the wire. From the videos he'd seen, this contestant's movements were anything but ordinary. Honestly, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the way he controlled his body so freely was downright awe-inspiring. But tightrope walking wasn't just about raw physical specs. Sure, you needed enough strength to propel yourself forward on a single wire—and no one here lacked that. To Jang Seok-gi, the real key was technique. He'd even broken the uphill tightrope record—angled upward—in the seven-minute range back in the military. Yeah, 100 meters was a long haul, but he was even more honed now. He was confident he'd win the bet.

'Maybe I should ask him to swing by the gym sometime.'

Swish—swish—His mind was already drifting to post-race plans, but his body moved methodically: arms extending rhythmically, harnessing the wire's rebound to inch forward steadily.

Uwaaa—splash! He heard his teammates plunging into the water, but there was nothing he could do right now. All he could hope for was that the team's overall time beat the YouTubers' as he pressed on.

How far had he gone without a hitch? He'd passed the halfway mark before he knew it. Pausing for a quick breather, he glanced around.

'Wonder how far Lee Min-ho's gotten? No way he fell already...?!'

He turned his head—and there was Lee Min-ho, right in his line of sight. Somehow, the guy had caught up, trailing just a bit behind. Their eyes met as Lee Min-ho faced forward.

"Hey there? Haha, you're fast."

"Ah, yes... you too, Lee Min-ho-ssi."

The casual greeting threw Jang Seok-gi off. Unlike his earlier measured pace to conserve energy, he now thrust his arms out faster, yanking his body forward.

"You're fast."

"Your form's spot-on. Tons of wire time in the military, huh?"

"Yeah, these 3 meters feel sneakily high. Hope the water's deep enough."

Lee Min-ho's voice stayed right in his ear, unfazed even as he ramped up speed. 'Is he actually closing the gap?'

No time for chit-chat—Jang Seok-gi pushed harder, but he couldn't shake him. His own breath grew ragged, sweat dripping from his face, driving him to the brink. It felt like being chased by a ghost in a horror flick.

Still, his hard work paid off—the finish line came into view. Just as he reached out to grab the wire again...

"Uwaaak!"

Thud—splash! It wasn't Lee Min-ho on his right who slipped, but another contestant on the left. The guy tumbled, his foot clipping Jang Seok-gi's wire on the way down. The steady rhythm shattered; the wire bucked wildly side to side.

Balance lost. Tick.'Damn it...!'

He lunged desperately, but his sweat-slick hand slipped clean off, fingers snapping away. Headfirst toward the water...

Chin!

"Uwaa... Huh?"

A vise-like grip clamped his ankle, halting the plunge. He twisted to look up—Lee Min-ho, leg hooked securely on the wire, both hands hauling him back.

"What the..."

"You planning to lounge there? Feeling like a swim?"

"N-no! Pull me up, please."

Ugh—Matching the pull, Jang Seok-gi heaved his upper body and reclaimed the wire. Barely back in position, his eyes landed on Lee Min-ho—perched casually on the wire like it was his living room sofa.

"Hahaha..."

Looked like the bet was a lost cause from the jump. Drenched in sweat and fresh off a near-fatal blunder, while Lee Min-ho stayed bone-dry. He could've blown past anytime if he'd wanted—just held back to match pace. Knowing the outcome was inevitable eased Jang Seok-gi's mind.

"Thank you."

But surrender? No way. If anything, it ignited a fiercer rivalry. Lee Min-ho upgraded from 'one to watch' to 'rival worth going all-out against.' Jang Seok-gi fixed him with blazing eyes.

"Jang Seok-gi-ssi is advancing super fast!"

Crocochi commentated energetically while eyeing the Round 1 set. The chat window beside him overflowed with viewer reactions.

He glanced at the reactions and chimed in.

"The civilian team really seems like a two-man show with Jang Seok-gi-ssi and Lee Min-ho! Lee Min-ho's hot on the heels of the skilled leader up front!"

Catching the last one, Crocochi chuckled.

"All contestants are wearing ○△□ sportswear! Super functional..."

While Crocochi filled airtime, Jang Seok-gi neared the end.

"Looks like the bet between Jang Seok-gi-ssi and Lee Min-ho goes to Jang... What the hell?!"

Sudden troll from a civilian teammate. Jang Seok-gi's crisis. Then Lee Min-ho catching the falling pro and hauling him back up. The unbelievable scene left Crocochi and viewers speechless. A few seconds of dead air later, a staffer signaled him.

Crocochi snapped back, yelling excitedly.

"What in the world?! Lee Min-ho saved Jang Seok-gi-ssi from elimination due to a teammate's blunder!"

He took a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠quick sip of water, then had staff replay in slow-mo.

"Check this out: Spotting Jang Seok-gi losing balance, Lee Min-ho hangs bat-like from the wire and snags his ankle! Insane reaction time!"

"Pure sportsmanship! Saving a potential rival—could've cost him his own run!"

'Phew... shaved off ten years.' Nearly botched the whole program arc built around Jang Seok-gi. If he'd dropped, re-editing would've been a nightmare.

'Gotta hype Lee Min-ho here.' During Round 1 rules, he'd said 'drop the wire into water' means out—but viewers might complain. 'Well, dropping usually means water, but...'

His move: Spotlight Lee Min-ho positively, emphasize 'saved teammate from elimination.' Hype that, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠drown out noise.

"Let's rewatch Lee Min-ho's pre-interview. Dodging scripts like he has superpowers..."

Viewers latched onto the rising dark horse, right on cue.

'What's this? My back's burning.' Only Jang Seok-gi behind me, moving furiously. I'd saved him, he burst out laughing, I brushed off the thanks, kept going.

That was close. Jang Seok-gi was my rivalry foil for screen time—nearly lost him despite my reflexes. Freaked me out for a sec.

'Not bad, though.' Helping a teammate-slash-rival? Peak sportsmanship shot.

Finish line hit. Standing at the end, watching our team squirm, Jang Seok-gi arrived right after.

"Guess... I lost the bet."

"Without that shake, you'd have won, Jang Seok-gi-ssi."

"Nah. You saved me from ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠dropping."

He eyed me, offered a handshake.

"Anything you want. I'll make it happen if I can."

"Might ask for something crazy—brace yourself."

I teased; he grinned.

"Music to my ears."

While we talked, surviving civilians trickled in. More dropouts than expected. Then Crocochi's voice boomed.

I slowly opened my mouth.

"I'll..."