When Lee Jun-hyuk was a child and didn't want to study, his parents would say, "Then what will you do in the future? In today's society, if you don't study, how will you find a job?"
Jun-hyuk always told his parents, "I don't need to study. I already know what I want to do in the future. I'm good at writing. I'll write novels and make a lot of money."
His parents were already tired of arguing. They said, "Do whatever you want. Be a writer. We won't interfere anymore."
It wasn't until Jun-hyuk grew up that he realized his parents were right — without an education, it really was hard to make money.
One day, as usual, Jun-hyuk was at home writing novels. When he was young, he believed that if he worked hard, he would eventually succeed. But no matter how much effort he put in, no one was interested in his novels. No one wanted to sign a contract with him. His financial support all came from his wife.
At the time, Jun-hyuk told her he was a writer.
She said, "So does that mean you can earn a lot of money?"
Jun-hyuk replied, "Yes, but only if someone signs a contract with me."
She said, "It's okay. I'm willing to wait. Before the big money comes, I'll support you."
Jun-hyuk wrote many works, but still, no one was interested.
He really wanted a child, but because of his financial situation, he didn't dare bring it up to his wife.
One day, they had a big argument, and she left him.
Now, without her support, Jun-hyuk just hoped someone would notice his work.
Left without any financial support, Jun-hyuk began to borrow money. At first, it was just 10 million won , but because he couldn't repay it, the amount eventually accumulated to 100 million won.
He used the last bit of money in his bank account to buy a subway ticket and rode it to a bridge. He looked down at the seemingly endless river and thought, "If I jump, maybe I'll finally be free."
Just as he was about to climb over the railing, a well-dressed man in a suit appeared in front of him.
The man in the suit asked Jun-hyuk, "Do you want to play a game? If you win, I'll give you 100,000 won. If you lose, you give me 100,000 won."
As he spoke, he opened a suitcase. Jun-hyuk was surprised to see it full of cash and some playing cards.
The man said, "Ddakji. You know how to play, right?"
Jun-hyuk responded, "Yes, yes, yes."
The game began. The man let Jun-hyuk go first. Jun-hyuk used all his strength, but the card didn't flip. It was the man's turn. He flipped it on the first try.
Just as Jun-hyuk was about to run away, the man said, "If you have no money, then use your face instead."
He slapped Jun-hyuk across the face, and they continued the game.
In the second round, Jun-hyuk flipped the card successfully. He excitedly held out his hand. The man really gave him 100,000 won. Jun-hyuk was speechless with joy.
They played a few more rounds, and Jun-hyuk won a total of 900,000 won. Holding the cash, he couldn't contain his happiness.
Then the man said, "If you want to earn more, call this number."
He handed Jun-hyuk a card. Jun-hyuk glanced at it and said nothing.
The man added, "Hurry, or there won't be any spots left." Then he walked away.
Jun-hyuk didn't think much of it and bought a subway ticket home.
When he got home, he checked his phone and saw a message saying someone was interested in his work. The message read, "Meet me at a restaurant tomorrow at 4 PM." He danced with joy.
The next day, he got ready early, eagerly anticipating the meeting.
At around 3:30 PM, he left for the subway. Just as he was about to board, a group of men dragged him into a restroom.
Their boss looked at Jun-hyuk. Nervously, Jun-hyuk said, "I have money on me, I have money."
They took the money he had. The boss said, "Only 80,000 won? That's not enough."
Jun-hyuk panted, "I'll pay it back, really."
"I'm giving you one last chance. Next time I see you without it, you're finished," the boss warned.
Then they left.
Jun-hyuk immediately stood up and ran to catch the subway, but it had already left. He didn't hesitate and sprinted out of the station, racing against time. When he arrived, he was already 15 minutes late.
The person who was going to sign the contract said:
"Your writing is great, but you're not punctual. I'm giving you a lesson this time. I hope you don't make the same mistake again."
He turned and left, leaving only an empty cup on the table.
Jun-hyuk sincerely apologized, but it was too late.
He walked, dejected, to the subway station. Just as he got on, he saw a man in a suit across from him — the same man from yesterday. He was playing the same game with someone else.
That person took the card the suited man gave him and went home. He tossed it on the table and went to shower. Park Il-hoon, sitting on the sofa, curiously picked it up. On it was a string of numbers.
(Park Il-hoon was the man's son.)
Driven by teenage curiosity, he called the number. He used his father's name and birthdate to register. The person on the other end told him the meeting place and asked him to wait there the next day.
Meanwhile, Jun-hyuk also looked at the card from yesterday and dialed the number.
"Do you want to participate in the game? If so, please state your name and date of birth," the voice on the phone said.
He answered, "Lee Jun-hyuk, October 29, 1996."
Then the person gave him an address and told him to be there the next evening. They would pick him up.
The next day, Jun-hyuk used his last money to eat dinner, then went to the designated location and waited. Soon, a car stopped in front of him and opened its door. He got in. After a moment of silence, he was about to speak when smoke filled the car. Jun-hyuk passed out.
At the same time, Park Il-hoon lied to his dad, saying he was going out with friends, and went to the meeting point. He also got into a car, and it too filled with smoke.
When Jun-hyuk woke up again, he was in an unfamiliar place. He looked around at the crowd and saw the number "357" on his outfit.
Il-hoon also woke up, saw "201" on his outfit, and felt uneasy in this strange place.
When the crowd gathered in the center, a group of masked individuals appeared.
Before they could speak, a young man shouted, "Why did you kidnap me and bring me here? Is this the game you talked about?"
"Apologies. For the safety of the game, we had to take these measures. Please understand," the masked man said.
When he finished speaking, the crowd started to riot. People began to panic. Park Il-hoon was squeezed uncomfortably in the chaos.
At that moment, the masked man pressed a button on his remote.
Then he said, "Number 123, Woo Ki-hyun, debt: 3 billion won. Number 409, Jung Yoon-ho, debt: 4 billion. Number 300, Choi Ji-ha, debt: 6 billion. Number 95, Kim Eun-hye, debt: 46 million. Number 369, Kim So-yeon, debt: 1.5 billion. Number 201, Park Yong-jun, debt: 20 million. Everyone present is heavily in debt and unable to repay it, standing on the edge of life. When we first approached you, you didn't believe us. But as you've seen, play our game and you will be rewarded. You all chose to participate voluntarily. Nothing was forced. Now, we give you another choice. Do you want to go back, live your life being hunted by debt collectors like trash? Or will you seize this final chance?"
Everyone fell silent.
Il-hoon heard his father's name and couldn't believe it — his father owed 20 million won?
Then a large piggy bank appeared above their heads.
The masked man said, "What you see is the piggy bank that stores your prize money. During the six games, after each round, the prize will increase."
Someone asked, "How much money is in the prize pool?"
The masked man replied, "The total prize money is 45.6 billion won."
Hearing the amount, everyone wore shocked expressions — even Jun-hyuk was stunned.
Then the masked man said, "If you want to join, please sign the agreement. If you don't, now is your chance to speak up. We will always give you the option to leave."
Jun-hyuk looked at the agreement in front of him. After hesitating for a long time, he finally signed his name.
Il-hoon read the rules carefully and signed his name as well.
As Jun-hyuk sat absent-minded on his bed, the person beside him — Number 409 — said, "Hi."
Jun-hyuk politely replied, "Hi."
"Can I talk to you?" 409 asked.
Just as Jun-hyuk was about to reply, the masked men called everyone to line up and go somewhere.
At that place, they had to take photos. Jun-hyuk faced the camera, and the voice behind it said,
"Smile."
Meanwhile, in the game's headquarters, the founder looked at one photo and asked all the masked men, "Why is there a minor participating in this game?"
A masked man with a circle on his mask replied, "Sorry, we didn't know he wasn't the actual applicant."
Then the square-masked man asked, "So what should we do now?"
The founder said, "Continue the game."
After the photos were taken, they followed the masked men elsewhere. On the way, 409 kept chatting with Jun-hyuk.
Il-hoon saw one of his dad's friends — Number 123, Lee Ki-hyun. He quickly ran over, tapped him on the shoulder, and said:
"Hi, uncle."
Ki-hyun looked at him and suddenly realized, "Why are you here? Where's your dad?"
Before he could finish, they arrived at a massive field.
A doll on the opposite side said, "Welcome to the first game. Please wait on the playground."
Jun-hyuk looked at the huge doll and said to 409, "Look at that doll in front. It's so funny."
409 replied, "Yeah, they have 45.6 billion won, but they made that doll. It's hilarious."
Just as they finished speaking, the doors behind them closed.
The doll said, "The first game is green light, red light."
Some young people laughed, "Such a simple game, with 45.6 billion on the line? This must be fake."
The doll continued, "In five minutes, avoid the ghost's detection and cross the finish line to pass."
Ki-hyun said to Il-hoon, "You should be good at this kind of game, right?"
Il-hoon smiled, "Not bad."
Then the doll turned around. The game began. "Green light"—people started moving slowly—"Red light"—everyone froze. The doll turned around and its eyes began scanning.
At that moment, one person said, "Hey, you stepped on my shoe."
The person behind him pulled back and said, "Oh, oh, sorry, sorry."
The doll said, "Player 2, eliminated." Bang. Another player couldn't react in time and was splattered with blood. He wiped the blood from his face in horror and screamed before trying to run. He was shot mid-run.
After that, one by one, people began to run, while a few remained frozen.
Il-hoon told Ki-hyun, "Don't move."
Jun-hyuk and 409 were shaken by the sudden gunfire and chaos, but Jun-hyuk quickly recovered and tightly held 409's hand to keep him from panicking and running.
After all the runners were gunned down, the doll said, "Repeating the rules — during 'green light,' you may advance. If detected moving after 'red light,' you will be eliminated."
Elsewhere, the founder silently pressed a button, and a small toy began playing "Fly Me to the Moon." He sat back, enjoying wine as he watched the game unfold on screen.
Back in the field, the game continued. Green light, red light. Green light, red light. After two rounds, no one dared to move.
Then Il-hoon walked forward a few steps and said to everyone, "If you don't move, you'll be eliminated when time runs out."
Only then did the others begin to move. A few were eliminated along the way, but Jun-hyuk and 409 made it through safely. Standing at the finish line, Jun-hyuk looked at the crowd behind and worried about the kid who had just told everyone to move.
In the end, Il-hoon and Ki-hyun crossed the finish line just in time.
When time was up, the remaining players who hadn't crossed were eliminated.
Just as everyone was catching their breath, something above them slowly closed.