Ashore
Kang Hak-joon heard the smartwatch beep that signaled the end of the game and shook his head.
This is beyond my level.
Facing the man directly, he could feel the gap with absolute clarity. He didn't even feel particularly cheated.
"Damn. I was the rookie."
Resentment only came when you hadn't been able to show everything you had, or when the skill gap was so narrow that bad luck alone decided the match. Neither applied here.
Even if they ran it again and again, he would have made the same call and opened that classroom door. He would have been just as rattled by the booby trap, and the fire coming off the outer wall of the building was something he never would have predicted. No matter how many times they replayed it, he would have been out.
Who the hell is this guy?
Kang Hak-joon stepped to the window and looked down at the opponent who had already descended. The man who had rappelled to the ground pulled off his protective helmet and gave a slight bow of acknowledgment. Kang Hak-joon removed his own helmet and returned the nod, then headed down through the school's central stairwell.
Outside the building, the other man was already walking toward him.
So it really is Min Jun-kyung? He looks a little taller than he did on TV.
Assuming the approaching figure was the former counter-terror unit operator turned singer, Kang Hak-joon peeled off his face shield and goggles.
"Nice to meet you. First time seeing you in person. That last trick was spectacular."
The reply that came back was younger than he expected.
"It is, isn't it? You're Senior Kang Hak-joon, right? Pleasure. We actually crossed paths briefly after the premiere last time, when you were shooting for Entertainment Report."
"Ah…?"
Min Jun-kyung's voice was supposed to be rough and deep. And what business would a singer have running into someone after a premiere for an Entertainment Report segment? This was clearly not the person he had imagined.
"Who…?"
The other man removed the rest of his facial protection and smiled.
"It was an honor to have such a thrilling match with you today, Senior. I'm actor Ryu Yeon-woo."
Watching the polite bow, Kang Hak-joon's eyes went as wide as they could physically go.
"Wha…?"
It had never once crossed his mind. That Player Number 7—the one who had dominated the battlefield with the biggest presence on the island from day one—could be Ryu Yeon-woo.
His mouth hung open so wide that the sand-laced wind sweeping across the abandoned school's athletic field was practically blowing straight into it. The civilian winner of this survival show. The big-name star he had dismissed as nothing more than a pretty face for promotional purposes.
In the distance, the production crew's vehicles came rolling toward the abandoned school.
The high-speed boat sliced through the water, trailing white foam. The remote island where the survival game had played out shrank to a distant speck.
Inside the cabin heading for the mainland, Yeon-woo watched his manager Kim Min-su chatter nonstop at his side and allowed a faint smile.
Min-su hyung isn't usually this talkative.
His victory must have hit harder than expected.
"No, seriously. When I suggested giving you more ammo, those guys all shot it down. Every last one of them."
"I see. Still, I was lucky enough to take out the other players with what I had left."
Kim Min-su shook his head as if he couldn't believe what he was hearing.
"Lucky? No way. If the plays you pulled off were something luck could produce, the Ministry of National Defense would be better off staffing itself with lottery winners."
"Lottery winners at the Ministry…?"
Yeon-woo let out a short laugh at the peculiar idea.
"Anyway, you really used everything to the last drop."
"What do you mean?"
"Rifle rounds, pistol rounds, the rope and entrenching tool I couldn't even imagine a use for, plus every extra item from the missions."
He wasn't wrong. Strictly speaking, Yeon-woo had even reverse-engineered the "player location check" Kang Hak-joon had earned and used it as bait. He had squeezed value out of every single resource he was given. Of course, part of that had been deliberate—for the sake of the show's entertainment value.
When you have no teeth, you use your gums. People naturally root for the one who throws everything he has into the fight.
A loud voice suddenly rose from the other side of the cabin.
"What? For real?"
"Yeah. He's out of his mind."
"Jesus, what kind of idiot… He signed the nondisclosure two days ago. Get him on the line right now."
From the sound of it, someone had leaked details about the shoot.
Yeon-woo pulled out his phone and searched for Survival Island.
Survival Island filming begins. First broadcast scheduled for the 18th. [3 days ago]
With Ryu Yeon-woo joining, can the experimental variety show Survival Island survive? [2 days ago]
Survival Island — is Ryu Yeon-woo's casting a gain or a loss? Critics call it a departure from the show's original intent… [1 day ago]
Han Jin-woo's cryptic SNS post about Survival Island — what does it mean? [18 minutes ago]
Yeon-woo scrolled through the articles and tapped the most recent one.
Cryptic post?
Han Jin-woo, who debuted in a five-member idol group and transitioned to acting after military service, recently delivered a strong performance in the now-concluded MBS morning drama The Three Siblings of Revenge… (abridged)
Han Jin-woo, a participant on Survival Island, recently posted on his SNS: "Something absolutely insane that no one saw coming is happening on the island. When my manager hyung told me that the incredible contestant's identity was that person, even I was shocked haha," tagging the program Survival Island.
Netizens who saw the post have begun speculating that the "absolutely insane thing no one saw coming" and "that person" might mean famous co-contestant actor Ryu Yeon-woo is putting on an unexpectedly strong performance…
Reading the article, Yeon-woo tilted his head.
Hmm. Borderline.
He could understand wanting the attention. Being an entertainer was, at its core, a profession for people who craved other people's eyes. He didn't know the exact clauses in the nondisclosure the mid-eliminated contestants had signed, but since no specific incident or name had been mentioned, calling it a clear breach would be tricky.
Still, anyone reading that post would inevitably think of him.
He just didn't say the name. Honestly, he basically threw it out there. How are the comments? Ah—entertainment section, comments disabled…
He would have to check the major communities himself.
When he pulled up the larger forums on his phone, the reactions were surprisingly consistent. The baseline community response was pure disbelief.
One of the contestants said someone pulled off an insane performance and the identity was someone no one could've imagined.
Who else could it be but RYW?
Cut the noise marketing already lmao no way that happens, "absolutely insane" my ass
This is from Son Jin-uk's interview three years ago.
One-line summary: He went to Hawaii on reward leave, hit a shooting range, and said Ryu Yeon-woo was ridiculously good with a gun.
This level of nonsense takes real dedication. Where do people even dig this stuff up
Hitting a stationary paper target bang-bang means you can fight? Then national shooting team athletes would go solo rampage in a war lmao
And this post will become a holy site.
Yeah go join the army
Is this an intelligent anti or what
Ryu Yeon-woo already has a legendary career, why would he even go on something like this just to get dragged by trash like this? Genuinely don't get it
After reading through the posts and comments, Yeon-woo stroked his chin.
Hmm. Doesn't really matter, does it?
Low expectations were a beautiful thing. Without him laying any groundwork at all, they were already casting him as the underdog. Once the show aired, everything would take care of itself.
Bzzzt—
While he was still searching articles, a call came in from CEO Jeong Hyeok.
"Yes, Representative."
"Oh, Yeon-woo. I heard filming wrapped."
"We're on the boat heading into Wando Harbor right now."
"Well, I figured you'd make it back just fine, but Director Yoon kept pestering me to check in."
Yeon-woo let out a dry laugh at that.
"You and Director Yoon really sound like a dad and a mom."
It was exactly the fretting of parents waiting for a son on his first leave, terrified he might have gotten hurt somewhere.
"Hey now, people will get the wrong idea if you say things like that."
"I'll stop by the company once I'm back in Seoul. I should brief you on the footage to some degree—if we're going to use it for drama promo."
"You're exhausted; are you sure? Of course we'd love that. By the way, I got a report that you put on quite a show. Did you make it all the way to the last day? Did you take anyone out? I'm kind of curious."
Jeong Hyeok had received Kim Min-su's report, but he had only taken it as "he did pretty well" and had no real sense of the actual performance, so he wasn't treating it as anything major.
Yeon-woo wasn't treating it as anything major either, so he simply nodded at the question. Of course, the gap between their two understandings was about to become enormous.
He answered in a completely casual tone.
"Ah, yes. The match ran through day three. Kills were, um, I think eight… Ah, including the player I took out in the final one-on-one, that makes nine."
Hearing Yeon-woo talk about it like it was someone else's business, a brief silence fell on the other end of the line.
"……?"
Then Jeong Hyeok's voice returned.
"…Nine kills? Y-you mean you took out nine people? No, wait—more than that, you took someone out in the finals? Huh? Then doesn't that mean you won?"
"Mm, I suppose so?"
Watching Yeon-woo scratch his cheek as he answered, Kim Min-su sitting beside him shook his head slowly from side to side.
Honestly the win isn't even the problem—they need to see the footage of what he actually did. Representative and the director are going to pass out. Damn…
Knowing he was currently the only person inside the company who knew the full truth made his mouth and hands itch. He was starting to understand why the other contestants and managers who had left the island earlier couldn't resist posting on SNS and sending PD Yoon Chang-joon into a rage.
Of course, even they had left by boat the day before, so they probably didn't know that the final winner—that Player Number 7—was Ryu Yeon-woo.
But on the other end of the line, the mere fact of the victory was already enough of a shock that Jeong Hyeok could only manage a slightly dazed follow-up question.
"…Excuse me?"