A Death Game in the Name of Entertainment?

Arga chuckled softly, though he couldn't hide his confusion. "Hey, Miss, don't joke around," he said. However, his smile faded, replaced by a serious expression. "Let me ask you straight. What brought you here? Why are you in a place like this? Don't tell me... you were kidnapped too?"

The woman frowned, trying to process the words of the man in front of her. "Ah, let me introduce myself. My name is Sana. I'm a mother of three children and I'm 40 years old," she replied, her tone calm but sounding odd.

Hearing that, Arga tried to hold back his laughter, but ultimately failed. His hearty laughter filled the air, and he had to hold his stomach. "Three kids? A 40-year-old mother? You must be joking, right?!" he said, bursting into laughter.

Sana could only sigh deeply, feeling annoyed by the man's reaction. However, there was something in his laughter that felt comforting, reminding her of something long lost—the joy she once had but hadn't felt in years.

Arga pointed to the clear surface of the lake in front of them. "Look at your face there. Take a good look!"

Sana stood hesitantly, uncertainty clear on her face. Slowly, she stepped closer to the lake's edge. The reflection on the water's surface made her freeze. A youthful face with fresh skin, like a girl in her twenties, stared back at her. "What... What is happening? Is this also the effect of the medicine?" she whispered, almost in disbelief.

Arga, still chuckling behind her, stepped closer. "If I were you, I'd just enjoy it," he said in a teasing tone.

Without warning, he pushed Sana into the lake. Her startled scream echoed, and in her panicked attempt to avoid falling, her hand instinctively grabbed Arga's shirt. The result—they both plunged into the water together.

"Agh! What are you doing?!" Sana shouted as she surfaced, her hair drenched, her face a mix of anger and shock.

However, the water soaking their bodies felt different. Cold, refreshing, and so pure, like a stream from the mountains. Sana's expression slowly shifted from irritation to awe. She looked around, seeing the water so clear that the lake bed was visible.

"This... is amazing. It feels so real," Arga murmured, his breath ragged. He looked around at the beauty that was almost hard to believe. "This air... Where exactly are we? Is this Switzerland? Or... another world?"

Sana fell silent, trying to digest what she was experiencing. A strange thought crossed her mind, and she spoke softly, almost to herself, "Could it be... I'm already dead and now in heaven?"

Arga rolled his eyes with a sarcastic tone. "Hah, don't be ridiculous. Heaven isn't like this."

Sana shot him a sharp look, narrowing her eyes in irritation. "Hey, young man, have you ever been to heaven?" she asked sarcastically, as if challenging him.

Arga fell silent, trapped by the question. Then, he shook his head slowly with a smile returning to his face. "Yeah, you're right. I haven't," he said, chuckling. Their laughter soon filled the air, breaking the strange atmosphere between them. The gentle breeze carried their laughter, blending it with nature.

"Hurry up and get out," Arga finally said, shivering as he tried to tidy his soaking clothes. "It's too cold here. We should share information. I think we're allies now, and we have to help each other in a situation like this."

Sana nodded in agreement. She tried to shake off the cold by wringing out the ends of her dripping clothes. "Alright, I agree," she said, then walked to a large rock by the lake's edge. She sat down slowly, trying to calm herself while occasionally stealing glances at Arga.

As he sat beside Sana and wiped his wet hair, Arga took a deep breath, trying to steady himself. He gazed at Sana for a moment, then began speaking in a calm yet firm tone. "Alright, I'll start. My name is Arga. I... was kidnapped and dumped here. I've been in this place for two days."

He glanced at Sana, giving a subtle signal for her to start sharing her story. "Your turn now," he said, raising an eyebrow slightly.

Sana gave a small smile, trying to maintain her composure despite her chaotic thoughts. She took a deep breath before answering. "My name is Sana. As I said earlier, I'm a housewife, and I'm 40 years old. Even though you might not believe it, that's the truth. So, don't think of me as a weird woman!"

Arga raised an eyebrow but chose not to respond. He simply nodded slowly, waiting for Sana to continue.

With a more serious tone, Sana said, "I also don't know how I ended up here. But I'll be honest... I took some medicine before, and it made me feel like I was floating—as if I was living in a fantasy. So at first, I thought all of this was just the effect of the medicine."

Arga listened attentively, gazing at Sana with full attention. When she finished, he gave a small nod as a sign of understanding. However, Sana suddenly looked at him sharply, as if a pressing question had just come to her mind.

"Wait a minute," she said, her tone filled with curiosity. "You said earlier that you were kidnapped and dumped here?"

Arga's expression turned uncertain. He was silent for a moment, then spoke softly, "I... don't really remember. Back then, I was unconscious. I only remember someone... then I passed out, and when I woke up, I was already here."

Sana gazed at Arga with a thoughtful expression, as if trying to piece together all the information they had. Then, suddenly, her face lit up, her eyes sparkling with excitement. "Hmm... Could it be that we're part of a reality show like those popular survival challenges?" she exclaimed with unexpected enthusiasm.

Hearing this, Arga burst out laughing, his body bending slightly as he couldn't hold back his amusement. He even pointed at Sana while saying between his laughter, "Hey, do you think they'd make us compete in some extreme survival game just to win money? How ridiculous! There's no way it's something like that."