𝐃𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡 𝐈𝐬 𝐍𝐨𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐎𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐏𝐞𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐲 ―𝐝.𝐨.𝐝

Chapter 15

[ Cho Seungmin's POV ]

The first episode aired.

The participants had to sit through two hours of an episode in the stiff uniforms, and then we were released for another break of three days.

I showed up only once during the first half of the show when I did my audition, but that's how it was for basically anyone who made the cut.

But I didn't have time to think about it.

Standing in the abandoned factory in the darkest of the night, I twirled a metal pipe I picked up earlier in my left hand.

"J, they'll be here soon," D notified me. We were all wearing our masks, so his voice was slightly muffled.

"I would rather be looking at the discussion boards than be here," B groaned, shaking her deer mask frustratedly. "I'm worried they might have edited something!"

From beside me, C was watching the live security footage of the area. He clicked his tongue and muttered, "Stay on task, B."

"You're just saying that because you made a mistake last time," B countered. "But J's here now, so what's the issue?"

"Shut up," I murmured quietly, putting a finger where my lip was. I adjusted my rabbit mask and continued, "They came."

I could hear footsteps echoing on one of the floors downstairs. To confirm my remark, C clicked on the camera video of the floor right below us. There were people walking around cautiously. It looked like we didn't see them entering the building until now because they moved through blind spots.

But if they were trying to go through blind spots, I knew where they were going to be next. I gave my pipe to D.

I ambled toward the edge of the floor we were on and found a good footing for my hands on the empty windowsill.

"We'll go down through the stairs," D said, knowing what I meant to do.

With a nod, I waited for a moment and swung down, using the momentum to kick my feet into the person who foolishly stood by the window.

With a shout, he fell back and hit his head.

They definitely weren't expecting me. We had lured them here under the pretext of creating an alliance, but we were the people they were trying to create an alliance against.

As I rolled onto the ground, I got back up on my hands and spun, kicking another person in the face, and a few others, before finally jumping myself onto my feet. I was cut by my ankle because someone held a knife up to me.

Annoyed, I clicked my tongue.

"You bastard, do you really think that's all it takes to hurt us?" the one I knocked down hissed, clutching onto his chest where I hit as he rose from the ground.

Another man charged toward me with a knife. I ran forward too, grabbing his wrist before he could fully swing at me. I clenched hard, causing him to reflexively let go of the knife. Then I picked it up and held it up to my face, pointing toward them.

"Won't spare a word for us again, huh?" he cursed. "You're so fucking full of yourself."

I shrugged my shoulders.

From the stairwell, I saw C and D approaching. D swung the metal pipe with full force onto someone's back, causing him to fall to the floor, gasping for air.

"J!" there was a voice coming through the wireless bud in my ear. It was B's voice.

As I swiveled the knife in my hand and slashed at the chest of another opponent, I answered, "What?"