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Mari was beating herself up for not reading the whole paper, she's got in trouble for it in the past but she always forgets, it's not resulting in anything as bad as this though. "Clause three of the consent form: The games may be terminated upon a majority vote. Is that correct?" A brave man in glasses spoke up, Mari tensed as she waited for the guards to reply, she found Ji-yeong's hand once again and grabbed it, the other woman squeezed her hand tightly before rubbing her knuckle. "That is correct." The electronic vote filled the silence of the room.
"Then let us take a vote. If the majority wishes to quit, you will have to let us go." Mari looked at Ji-yeong in hope, she couldn't get her hopes up but she couldn't help it. She could go home and forget this ever happened. "As you wish, we will take a vote on whether or not to terminate the games. But before we vote, we will reveal the prize amount from the first game." Mari watched as the guard grabbed a remote from his pocket and pointed it toward the giant piggy bank that was hanging from the ceiling. The lights dimmed and slot machine music started to play as stacks of money started to drop into the pig.
Mari's breath caught as she watched the money fill up the bank, it was half full and it was already enough to pay off her debts and then some. "The number of players eliminated in the first game, 255. Allocated prize money for each player, 100 million won. Therefore a current total of 25.5 billion won has been accumulated into the piggy bank. If you quit the games now, the 25.5 billion won will be sent to the families of the eliminated players, 100 million won each. However, all of you will return home empty-handed." Doubt began to fill Mari's mind, she didn't look at Ji-yeong's face because she couldn't know what her best friend would choose, it was a lot of money that Mari wanted, it would fix everything.
"Excuse me, if we make it through all six games. How much do we get?" Mari's voice shook as she spoke, she dropped Ji-yeong's hand and started to walk forward slightly so the guard could see her. She didn't look at Ji-yeong, she was scared too. "There are 456 players. So the total is 45.6 billion won." Mari held in a gasp, that was plenty of money to give herself a better life. One that she's always wanted.
"We will begin the vote." Mari watched as the guard nodded and a guard behind him goes to grab a podium with buttons on it. Mari knew her answer but she hoped that Ji-yeong wouldn't be mad at her for her answer. The contestants are shuffled into a group off the side while another guard lays down a white line since Mari asked about how much they would receive she hasn't got a chance to talk to Ji-yeong yet, she hasn't even been able to look at her. "You can see two buttons in front of you. If you wish to continue, press the green button an O. If you wish to cease, press the red button with an X. Once you finish voting, move to the other side of the white line. The vote will be held in reverse of the number on your chests. Player 456, please cast your vote."
Mari watched as the older man who was fighting player 067. She was played 029 so it would be a while until she got to vote, she looked down and twiddled her fingers. "Player 453, please cast your vote." Mari saw the woman look back at the money before she pressed the green button, she wrapped her arms around herself to comfort herself as she watched Ji-yeong walk up to the stand. Tears sprang to her eyes when Ji-yeong pressed the green button, she didn't know if she cried in relief because she didn't have to do this alone or because she was sad that Ji-yeong decided to stay in the game just like Mari wanted to do.
"Have you all gone insane? Do you want this madness to continue? So what happens if we leave?" A guy spoke up near Mari making her flinch from his tone of voice. "Is anything different out there? It's hell out there anyway, fuck." The woman who just pressed green said before walking over to the left side. "She's right! If we stop now, we're only doing the dead ones a favor. They're going to get 100 million won. We're the ones who won! That makes no sense." Someone from the left side said. "Please, don't do this. We should go home." Number 369 tried to plead with the right side.
"I don't have a home to go back to anyway. At least here I have hope, but out there?" As sad as it was he was right, Mari didn't have anything to go back to in the outside world. "I got nothing out there." Mari watched with wide eyes as the guy beside him grabbed him by the collar of his jacket. "Son of a bitch! Go die by yourself if that's what you want. Don't drag us all into this, you fucker." Mari hid her eyes behind her hands as she watched a guard walk up and point the gun at the back of the man, he quickly took his hands off him and raised his hands in surrender.
"We will no longer condone any acts that impede this democratic process. Now, let us resume the voting." Mari listened to the numbers being called until she was next. "Player 029, please cast your vote." Mari's hands shook as she got to the podium, she turned around to try and catch Ji-yeong's eye but she noticed the girl was looking away from her, she sighed and pressed the O button before stepping away and walking towards the left side. She brought her hands up to her mouth and started to chew on her nails as she wondered if she made the right choice.
The last vote was a little old man, it was tied so he would be the deciding factor. "If you wish to continue press O. If you wish to cease, press X." The guard reminded the old man when he noticed he was taking a little bit to decide. Mari saw the red glow as he pressed his hand on the X button, she looked up and saw the vote. Mari was going back to the real world, where she had nothing and had no one.
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