Chapter 3: Enter the Game 1

Taesan winced as the old man's fist collided with his jaw again before hearing the sound of footsteps looming in.

"We need him alive, old man," Lee Minhyuk said, grabbing the old man's arm and pulling him away from Taesan. "Check this out."

Taesan took the moment to catch his breath and looked around. He watched the three men discussing a matter from where he was tied at. They had a good five minutes to argue in a tone Taesan could barely hear anymore.

His eyes were giving in, and he could barely hear anything with the ringing in his ears.

"...Aye," the old man spoke up.

"I could probably smuggle one. How 'bout that?" Lee Minhyuk boomed.

"...I mean, if we are going to... anyway," Park Joosong's voice trailed off.

"Hell, yeah. That's what I'm saying."

Amidst the muffled conversation, Taesan's mind raced to look for an escape. He struggled to find a weak spot and loosen the ropes that bound him, but there were none. The ropes were tight, tied with expertise.

There was no use scanning his surroundings as his vision was blurry and his hearing impaired from the beating.

Taesan took a deep breath and tried to calm himself. He set his mind focused and clear, as his life depends on it.

"I, I will pay the money I owe you," Taesan said, giving in. Although he knew he didn't owe them any, he realize that reasoning out would not be effective.

"Fucking hell. Of course, you will," Lee Mihyuk said, breaking from the group that was conversing. "You'll pay us whether you're dead or alive."

Taesan learned, that the only answer was to comply with their demands. He nodded, silently agreeing with Lee Mihyuk's statement.

Although the thought of escaping still remained in his mind, for now, he had to play along to stay alive.

...

The following morning, Tesan was still in the same chair. His leg was sore and the blood on his face dried up.

In the span of two days, he had experienced the kindness of the orphanage that had provided him with a new apartment, and the sudden turn of his life for the worse after crossing paths with those dangerous men.

'...Was it one of my co-workers?'

Taesan began to search for the person who had used his information, thinking if it was a co-worker or his supervisor.

The faces of his co-workers played in his mind like frames in a movie theater, trying to remember their names in the process. He became lost in his thoughts as he intended until the sound of approaching footsteps interrupted him.

"Hey," Minhyuk called out, with a basin in hand. "I thought you might need a shower."

Before Taesan could react, he felt cold water being splashed on him, making him jolt.

'These people... and how they treat people inhumanely!'

Minhyuk closed their distance and grabbed the cross rail of Taesan's chair and said, "Follow me."

Taesan was yanked out of the office room by Minhyuk and taken to another room that had a desk, a toilet, and an eye-captivating device.

"Alright." Minhyuk closed the door behind him after dragging Taesan to the center of the room. "You'll stay here until you pay the boss' money back."

The huge man took the other available chair in the room and take a seat.

"We'll bring you food, water, and anything else you need," he said, crossing his arms. "But you won't leave this room until you pay what you owe."

Taesan sighed, realizing that he was in a hopeless situation. "How much do I owe?"

"300 million won," Minhyuk replied.

Taesan's heart dropped. He had no way of coming up with that much money. He started to calculate how to pay the money back, realizing he was trapped and would likely be a slave.

"...But how am I going to pay off my debt if I'm caged here?" Taesan asked, his voice filled with frustration.

Minhyuk's face lit up, and a big smile smeared on his face.

"Yeah, that," he said, excitedly standing on his chair and dragging his feet toward the intriguing device that had been sitting by the room.

"Kids like your age love games, right?" he exclaimed, placing a hand on the device. "You'll be playing with this."

"You won't need a bed, you only need this capsule. If you take a sleep or a nap, I heard it'll automatically transport you into the game," Minhyuk explained.

At the same time, he approached Taesan and loosen the rope that bound him.

"I have never played a game," Taesan admitted.

"...Huh." Minhyuk just shrugged his shoulders. He stepped back after taking out the rope. "Well, there's a first time for everything."

The silence between them got interrupted by a knock on the metal door. "Oh, I had someone to deliver you food. Eat that and use the capsule," Minhyuk said, motioning towards the door.

Taesan watched as Minhyuk left the room, and soon after, another man in a suit entered with a tray of food. After delivering the food, the man also quickly left the room.

Taesan eyed the food skeptically, wondering if it was poisoned. To be honest, this could be his last meal as he knew they would kill him to harvest his organs.

'A kidney's worth is probably 50 million to 100 million won.'

Taesan calculated that two kidneys would lessen the debt by a maximum of 200 won. The loan sharks would probably sell another organ of his to complete the 300 million won debt.

While he was doing the math, he heard his stomach rumbling. "..."

Eventually, hunger got the best of him and he took the chair and ate a small bite. The food was surprisingly decent, but he couldn't help but feel like he was being treated like a prisoner.

He waited for a few minutes to have the poison react in his boy. But nothing happened, so he munched on the food.

As he finished his meal, he noticed a small medicine tablet on the tray. He picked it up and examined it closely, wondering what it was for.

"Drink the tablet, Mr. Yoo." It came from an unfamiliar voice.

Taesan jumped from his seat when he heard a voice. He searched around the room, discovering a speaker at the top of the metal door.

'The food didn't kill me. Maybe this will.'

The faith he had received so far was incredible for an unlucky orphan like him. He wondered if his family would look for him, especially Ms. Seo.

As he sat alone in the room, he began to think of Harang, their big sister at the orphanage, and her wellbeing.

"Drink it, Yoo Taesan." This time, the speaker sounded like Lee Minhyuk.

Taesan took a deep breath, his hands trembling as he held the tablet. He was afraid he might drop it, but eventually, he managed to drink it.

A minute passed again, with him sitting tensed in the chair from anxiety. He waited for the moment when he would cough up blood or any other effects that would kill him drinking the tablet.

But time went on, and nothing happened than a funny feeling in his entire body. "...Okay, I'm still alive?" he said, as he surveyed himself.

"Go ahead, use the capsule," Minhyuk ordered from the speaker.

Taesan stood from the chair and approached the device that Minhyuk called 'the capsule'. He had heard of modern technology that allowed people to end their lives in hospitals by choice.

Maybe this was it.

"Are you going to kill me?" Taesan had the last courage to ask.

"No," Minhyuk replied.

But Taesan heard something different. 'I can hear the smile in your voice, though.'

"Hurry up!" the speaker boomed.

Taesan sighed and forced his quivering knees to work.

Slowly, he took his right leg first inside the capsule device, before finally laying himself down the leathered cushion.

"Great. Now go ahead and close your eyes and sleep," said Minhyuk.

Taesan took another deep breath. He didn't want to admit it but the cushion was surprisingly comfortable and soft.

As Taesan's eyelids slowly shut down, he felt himself drifting off into a deep sleep. The last thing he remembered was Minhyuk's voice fading away into the distance.

Before he knew it, he went to slumber.

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[Loading system...]

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[Analyzing physical body...]

[Collecting information...]

[Encrypting name...]

[Initializing game settings...]

[Loading game world...]

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[Game world loaded!]

[Welcome, Yoo Taesan! You can now begin your adventure in Ganghwa!]