Subjugation on Broadcast (14)
After confirming the contents of Yoon Jin-ju's note, Dong-hyun dropped it in the toilet and flushed. He left the restroom and headed to the cafeteria with the others.
Yoon Jin-ju and Jeong Min-ju were already eating together. They didn't so much as glance over when he walked in, and he returned the favor, deliberately ignoring Yoon Jin-ju as he sat down to eat with his group.
More people filtered in after that, each settling down to their own meals.
The woman who had originally taken a man as her slave now looked every bit like she belonged to them. She wandered the room in clothes so shredded her breasts hung fully exposed, and not a soul said a word about it.
Thirty-two people had been dragged to this place. At first there had been talk of human rights, of dignity — but with most of them having already made slaves of each other through their matches, everyone had gone conveniently silent on the subject.
Lee Jung-hwan, by contrast — now Jeong Min-ju's slave — looked surprisingly healthy. Lee Seul-bi had put him through hell on the first day, but nobody was tormenting him now. Judging by that, Jeong Min-ju didn't seem like a bad person at heart.
As time wore on, people adapted. Those who had once hesitated to handle their slaves now did so as if it were the most natural thing in the world. More and more of them started showing off, manhandling their slaves in front of a crowd. Some had even begun swapping slaves between teams just for the pleasure of tormenting someone new.
They stripped each other's female slaves and made them compete over who could dance better. Then they shocked the loser and cackled as she writhed on the floor.
Jeong Min-ju and Yoon Jin-ju pretended not to notice. Dong-hyun could tell they were seething. Their fists were clenched white-knuckle tight beneath the table.
"It's disgusting..."
A woman's voice came from behind him. He turned to find Lee Yu-rim. After talking so much, she seemed to think they were close enough now to approach him on her own.
"You're not wrong. Human nature really is ugly, isn't it?"
"If only everyone were like you, Dong-hyun."
Having seen him free Gyeoul — his former partner — Lee Su-hyun and Lee Yu-rim seemed to have taken his earlier claim at face value: that the collar had just been a safety measure.
"If we want to free them, we have to keep winning."
He said it like he meant every word. Lee Yu-rim, who knew nothing of the ugly truth behind him, believed it without a flicker of doubt.
"Yes. Let's give each other a good, clean fight all the way to the end."
Lee Yu-rim smiled and held out her hand. The wariness was gone. Completely.
And it wasn't just Lee Su-hyun and Lee Yu-rim. Freeing Gyeoul's collar had done more than he'd expected. At first, people had seen him as the worst kind of villain — sharp, physically gifted, and the one who'd chosen confrontation over coexistence. But watching Gyeoul walk free had shifted that perception considerably.
That was probably why Yoon Jin-ju had started approaching him more aggressively, too. She'd wanted to talk to him from the start because they were on the same side — but seeing Gyeoul's condition had only made her more determined.
"Alright. Let's do well together."
Dong-hyun took Lee Yu-rim's hand.
Just imagining this soft little hand wrapping around my cock is already getting me hard.
Lee Yu-rim, blissfully unaware of what was going through his mind, just kept smiling.
All participants, please gather in the Main Hall immediately.
The announcement rang out once more, and the participants left their meals and filed into the Main Hall.
"Settling in alright?"
Joker started in a voice that sounded like he was enjoying himself.
"Ah — I haven't mentioned this separately, but there are surveillance cameras and listening devices installed all over this building. Please don't go breaking them, just in case you get any ideas. They're all for the broadcast, you understand? We've been having a real headache lately with someone smashing the equipment."
Jeong Min-ju stepped forward at that.
"Who the hell gave you permission to film us?"
"I'm sorry? Permission? We're filming for the people who so generously sponsored all of you. That's only natural, isn't it?"
Even faced with Jeong Min-ju's protest, Joker kept that slick, oily tone.
"We never even agreed to come here!!"
Jeong Min-ju's voice rose to a shout, her face twisting with fury.
"Bwahahahaha. Don't get so angry. You'll wrinkle that pretty face. Let's be honest here — we could kill all thirty-two of you right now and just move on to the next season, and it wouldn't matter to us. We'd have to pay out hundreds of millions in penalties, sure. So do me a favor and drop the talk about 'consent.'"
The provocation kept coming, and Jeong Min-ju lunged forward.
Joker pulled the pistol from his coat again and leveled it at her forehead.
"I'm getting curious what kind of sexy sounds that pretty face can make. Shall I find out for you?"
He said it with that same greasy smile.
Then Jeong Min-ju's hand moved with startling speed. In a single blur of motion she ripped the gun from his grip and pressed the barrel to his forehead.
Even Joker looked genuinely shocked.
In the next instant the staff drew their weapons as one and trained them on Jeong Min-ju.
"Haha... You said you served in special forces, didn't you? Color me impressed. But is this really how you want the game to reset? Are you trying to get everyone in this room killed?"
Joker had been rattled, but he recovered his composure almost immediately.
Jeong Min-ju could kill him on her own. What she couldn't do was guarantee anyone else's safety.
Joker's hand drifted up and closed around the gun still pressed to his forehead. Even then, Jeong Min-ju couldn't bring herself to move.
He took his weapon back and opened his mouth again.
"Fine. We'll treat this as a little incident and let it go. But there won't be a next time. We don't particularly want to eat a loss of hundreds of millions either. However..."
Crack!
Joker backhanded Jeong Min-ju across the face. The blow was hard enough to stagger her, but she planted her feet and recovered her stance.
"We'll call it even with that. Now! Eyes on me. I'll explain the rules of the game."
Joker clapped his hands, pulling everyone's attention back.
"This game is called Random Dice Combat."
The word combat sent a murmur rippling through the crowd.
"You're currently in teams of four. The leader of each team will set the order, and you'll fight one-on-one. First team to win two bouts takes the match. Once two fighters are selected, each of you will roll the die in front of you, and you'll be issued a weapon matching the number that comes up. The fight continues until one of you surrenders — or dies."
"Until we die?"
People pushed forward at Joker's words.
"That's right. There are a few too many of you, if we're being honest. I'd say it's about time we started thinning the herd."
The complete indifference to their lives set people boiling with rage, but there was nothing they could do about it.
"Now then! Take a look at the screen. I'll show you which weapon corresponds to each roll."
An image filled the massive display.
Roll 1 — Bare Fists
Roll 2 — Jackknife
Roll 3 — Sashimi Knife
Roll 4 — Katana
Roll 5 — Spear and Shield
Roll 6 — Revolver (6 rounds)
The murmuring swelled the moment people saw the screen.
If one person rolled bare fists and the other a revolver, there would be no way to win. The women, at least, looked relieved it wasn't a simple bare-knuckle brawl — they were at a physical disadvantage against the men, and a pure fistfight would have put them at a crushing loss. But the weapons on that list were vicious enough that people really could die, just as Joker had said, and the anxiety in the room only grew.
"If you've all confirmed the screen, please follow the staff to the game venue."
The staff herded everyone along with practiced efficiency.
Jeong Min-ju's team and Dong-hyun's team were directed through the same door. Beyond it, two more doors waited, and the two teams split into their respective rooms.
A staff member was already standing inside when Dong-hyun entered.
"The team leader will decide who fights and in what order, then inform me."
This was where each team would debate and lock in their lineup.
It was a purely physical game. Under normal circumstances Dong-hyun, Won-seon, and Yu-min should have been the ones sent out — but if Yu-min betrayed them, Dong-hyun and Won-seon would have to win both of their bouts no matter what. Yu-min still wasn't fully broken. She could turn on them at any moment, and that made the choice a real problem.
Dong-hyun turned it over for a long time before settling on an order and handing it to the staff member. He would go out first. Won-seon would take the second bout. If the two of them won, there would be no need for a third fight at all.
"Received, thank you. Please wait a moment while the opposing team submits theirs."
They spent the short wait in silence, loosening up their bodies.
"The other side has submitted. We'll move to the arena now."
Following the staff, the group headed to the fighting floor.
The center of the venue was a wide open space like a gymnasium hall, with each team's waiting area set along the left and right sides.
"Those competing first, step forward. Everyone else, please watch from the waiting area."
Dong-hyun walked out first. From Jeong Min-ju's team came a woman named Chu So-yeon — one of the original members, tall and strikingly beautiful.
When Chu So-yeon saw that her opponent was Dong-hyun, a small smile tugged at her lips. As if this was exactly what she'd expected.
The match between the two teams was about to begin.