Subjugation on Broadcast (4)
Once they descended underground, a vast living complex opened up before them — sixteen rooms, all prepared and waiting.
Dong-hyun and Gyeo-wool's match had been the last to finish, so by the time they arrived, everyone else had already assembled.
Looking around, Dong-hyun noticed the middle-aged man no longer wore a collar. A closer look revealed it hanging around the neck of the innocent-looking young woman beside him. The smile plastered across the man's face made her future all too easy to picture, and Dong-hyun felt a flicker of pity.
Not that any of that applied to Han Gyeo-wool, who had already become Dong-hyun's slave.
The man with the glasses and Cho Yu-min weren't wearing collars either, which marked the two of them as winners. There was also the first man among them to have fallen into slavery — the product of a mixed match the woman had won.
"Now that everyone has assembled, please choose whichever room you like and go inside. The rooms are numbered one through sixteen, so pick freely. If a room already has an owner, the number will light up — in that case, simply choose another."
At Joker's explanation, Dong-hyun called Gyeo-wool over.
"Gyeo-wool. Which room should we take?"
She flinched at the question, then answered with careful composure.
"I believe we'll be matched against the adjacent room. We should pick one next to someone easy to deal with."
It was a reasonably persuasive take. She was sharp, no question — her powers of deduction were nothing to sneeze at.
"Hmm... so who'd be a good target?"
"What about those two girls over there?"
Gyeo-wool pointed toward a pair of young women who still looked barely out of their teens — twenty at most, if that. Tension was written all over their faces. As prey went, they weren't a bad choice at all.
"What about over there?"
Dong-hyun was pointing at none other than Cho Yu-min. If she was going to be a subjugation target anyway, he figured he might as well claim her sooner rather than later.
"If it turns into a physical contest, things would get difficult with me as your partner. They both look strong."
"You know I don't take the easy road, though."
"Haah... do as you please."
I'm a slave anyway... She kept the thought from ever leaving her lips.
Dong-hyun strode toward where Cho Yu-min was standing.
Everyone else was still theorizing about which room would serve them best. Yu-min, apparently not bothering to think it through at all, simply walked into whichever room she wanted.
The room she chose was number seven. Dong-hyun went into number eight.
Inside were two beds and a table, set up so they could take their meals in the room if they wished. It was arranged like a studio apartment, stocked with everything they might need. A bathroom and shower were attached as well, so living there wouldn't pose any real inconvenience.
A wall-mounted monitor hung on one side of the room. The screen displayed a message.
Please touch the monitor to select a room.
Dong-hyun stepped back out for a moment and glanced at the number on room seven. It lit up as he watched. He went back inside and touched the monitor. Gyeo-wool followed him in.
They each picked a bed and were still looking around the room when a voice issued from the monitor.
All participants, please gather in the main hall.
Following the monitor's instructions, the two of them stepped out into the main hall, where Joker was waiting on the stage.
"The first game is over. From this point forward, you have free time. You're free to walk around as you like, but entering another person's room is prohibited. Meals are available in the cafeteria you see to the left — everything has been prepared for you. Violence, theft, and other criminal acts outside of the games will not be tolerated, so please refrain. Lastly, at eight o'clock this evening, all participants must return to their rooms. Leaving will not be permitted until eight the following morning, so take care. Free time begins now."
At Joker's words, the participants looked around, then began catching one another's eyes and striking up conversations. They seemed to be thinking ahead — alliances might prove necessary in the games to come.
Nobody, however, approached the pairs wearing collars. A collar, after all, was a basic signal that you were the aggressive type.
Dong-hyun, on the other hand, walked straight up to Joker.
"I've got a question, if that's all right."
"Oho~ But of course. Ask away. Whether I'll actually answer is another matter. Heh heh heh."
Joker replied with a playful laugh.
"If a team that chose Coexistence beats another team, do they end up with a slave? Or can they still pick Coexistence even after winning?"
"Oho... a sharp question. Naturally, you can still choose Coexistence after a win. But so far, not a single person has ever chosen Coexistence after winning. Before the match, people are terrified of becoming slaves. After they win, there's simply no reason not to take one."
"Hmm. I see. So even though I chose Confrontation, I could still pick Coexistence after winning from here on out?"
"Is that what you intend to do?"
The mask hid Joker's eyes, but Dong-hyun could feel the smile behind it.
"Heh. I'm not obligated to answer every question, am I?"
"Kekekekeh! Well now, you got me this time. You really do live up to being the contestant everyone's watching. I wish you the best of luck."
"Appreciate it."
Finished with Joker, Dong-hyun headed back to Gyeo-wool. She stood there looking tense, not speaking to a soul.
By the time he returned, every pair that had chosen Confrontation seemed to have already gone into their rooms. Since no one was coming over to talk, there was no reason to linger.
"You hungry?"
"Mm... I am getting a little peckish, actually."
It was about time for lunch.
"Wanna grab a bite and check out the cafeteria while we're at it?"
"Sure."
When Dong-hyun and Gyeo-wool walked into the cafeteria, one pair was already there. The young-looking girl who'd placed fourth in the ranking match was sitting with a tall, rather handsome man. His shoulders were broad, and even at a glance he clearly had a well-muscled build.
She placed fourth. She could've picked someone easier. Choosing that guy is unexpected.
On top of that, the two of them looked quite close.
"Hello."
Dong-hyun approached first and offered a greeting. The girl seemed a little frightened. The man stepped in front of her, blocking Dong-hyun's path.
"Hello. Is there something you need?"
He'd seen Dong-hyun's skill in the ranking matches, so he was clearly on guard. The fact that Dong-hyun had chosen Confrontation only made it worse.
"Ah, nothing in particular. Just saying hello. Ahn Jin-woo."
He spoke lightly and held out his hand.
"Lee Su-hyun."
Su-hyun took the offered hand. His grip was solid.
"This is my partner, Han Gyeo-wool. As you can see, things ended up like this."
"Your... partner?"
When Dong-hyun introduced Gyeo-wool, Su-hyun's brow seemed to crease. The look on his face said it plainly enough. That wasn't a partner. That was a slave.
"I chose Confrontation to survive this game. There's no other meaning behind it."
Seeing how wary the man was, Dong-hyun lied.
"The way I see it, surviving means choosing Coexistence with each other. A one-sided relationship makes it hard to last."
He had the look of a hopelessly righteous idealist. If this were a novel or a game, he'd be the frustratingly upright protagonist type.
"So if you won a match in the next game, you wouldn't take the other person as a slave?"
Dong-hyun's pointed question caught Su-hyun slightly off guard.
"I haven't thought about that, but... I suppose it would depend on who I was up against."
"Hmm. I see. You two seem pretty close, though. The fact that she picked you even after placing fourth says a lot."
Dong-hyun casually steered the conversation toward the girl standing behind Su-hyun. He needed to learn every woman's name — that was the only way to figure out who his subjugation targets were.
"Yu-rim and I are childhood friends. We got kidnapped together, which is how we ended up here."
"Ah! So you already knew each other. That must be reassuring."
The name "Yu-rim" had come out of Su-hyun's mouth. One of Dong-hyun's subjugation targets was Lee Yu-rim, and he didn't think there would be two women with the same name among a group of sixteen. That girl had to be her.
So he laid the reaction on a little thick.
"For now, I suppose. But it's a shame we both ended up here together."
"Either way, why don't we help each other out if the chance comes up? Nobody's come over to talk to us — probably because I chose Confrontation."
"If that's how you feel, we'd be glad to have you. With brains like yours and Gyeo-wool's, you're the smartest people here, aren't you?"
Su-hyun brightened at Dong-hyun's words. The guy was more naive than expected.
"Sounds good. Why don't we eat together?"
Dong-hyun and Gyeo-wool grabbed food and joined Su-hyun and Yu-rim at their table. The spread was more lavish than most high-end buffets — going hungry wasn't going to be a problem.
The four of them shared a table and talked over the meal, and they seemed to grow closer than Dong-hyun had expected. Most of the conversation was between him and Su-hyun, but the wariness from earlier was clearly starting to ease.
"Ah — which room did you two pick, Su-hyun?"
"We took room sixteen. We figured the last one would be less of a burden than the first."
"Got it. We picked room eight. If you ever need a hand with anything, feel free to come find us."
"We'll do that."
Through the conversation, Dong-hyun confirmed that "Yu-rim" was indeed Lee Yu-rim. The two were childhood friends. Lee Yu-rim was a law student at Hankuk University, and Lee Su-hyun competed as a martial artist.
Once the conversation had run its course and the meal was finished, Dong-hyun stood.
"This was a pleasure. We're full, so we'll go get some rest."
Gyeo-wool rose with him. She looked like she wanted to stay longer, but once Dong-hyun had decided to leave, remaining behind wasn't an option.
Trailing after him, Gyeo-wool felt like a cow being led to the slaughterhouse. The soundproofing in the rooms was perfect. Whatever happened inside, the rest of the world would never hear a thing.