Chapter 49

Chapter 49: The Family’s Condition #5

Tae-hyuk circled around the Death Circus and explained each of the attractions to An Eun-jeong one by one . The rules of the death game, spoken in a calm and cool voice, were imprinted into Eun-jeong’s head .

The next place that they arrived at was a pool filled with water up to the knees .

“There is a cylindrical shaped cushion floating on the water . Perhaps this is an attraction where we have to make it to the other side . ”

“……”

Tae-hyuk approached the sign and said .

“If successful, we will be awarded 30 million won . By the way, the liquid underneath is hydrochloric acid . If a person slips, then their bones will melt . But the worst thing is that the hydrochloric acid isn’t very deep . It isn’t enough to cause instant death . You will have to endure a few minutes where your feet is melting . The name of the attraction is the Bridge of Pain… Doesn’t the name really match?”

It was a method that frequently appeared on TV entertainment programs . The red stain spreading in the hydrochloric acid looked like strawberry syrup . There was also a lump floating in one corner . Tae-hyuk spoke as he pointed to it .

“It seems like one challenger has already failed . Still, I think that this attraction has a better return on time than others . We are wasting money by just looking around . Why don’t you try it?”

“I-I-I can’t! How can I do that?”

Other attractions would only cause a loss of money if they failed . Even it it hurt, there wasn’t a 100% chance of dying . However, the Bridge of Pain would cause death if she didn’t recover instantly . Furthermore, the appearance of the red syrup and lump of flesh turned her off from the attraction .

30 million won could only be obtained from taking such risks . Tae-hyuk was reminded of entertainment programs again . An obstacle was placed on an ordinary pool and the contestant had to cross to the other side . If the contestant fell, then they would only get wet .

Even so, the success rate wasn’t that high . Among them, the most difficult thing to run on was a cylinder . In other forms, they could grab onto the cushion if they lost their balance and fell . However, the cylindrical cushion was different . They would literally turn over and hit the water .

Falling meant death . It was hard to take one step in this situation, even if the person was strong . Moreover, this wasn’t the end .

Tae-hyuk looked at the large fan that was installed in the middle of the pool . It was off now, but it was ready to operate at any time .

‘In the first place, the Bridge of Pain is an attraction that can never be cleared . ’

After seeing one failure, there wouldn’t be anyone who could easily challenge this .

Tae-hyuk knew how Kim Joon-young would take advantage of this . The Death Circus had a closing time . At that time, those who collected close to the amount of escape might rarely come out . If they collected 20~30 million won each time, then they would eventually get 200 million won .

However, there wasn’t enough time to play the games . Then this bridge would become the temptation for them to get enough money for freedom . Of course, it was just like a gun loaded with bullets . The participants inevitably put their feet on the bridge, and once they started crossing…

The result was that more strawberry syrup would be added to the pool .

“Then let’s go to the next attraction . ”

An Eun-jeong grabbed Tae-hyuk’s collar as he walked forward . She couldn’t speak properly after such a great shock .

“I-I-I’m so…rry . T-Take a break for a moment…”

“There is still a lot to see . Time is also money . As you can see, most of the attractions engender conflict between people . It is better to move as much as possible . ”

There was no time to waste . An Eun-jeong replied in a squeamish voice .

“…I can barely move . 10 minutes… no, just five minutes . ”

“Then we will take a break for five minutes and look around again . ”

He saw a place where they could take a break . There were chairs and a table . Next to it was a vending machine .

“I-I’ll get a drink…”

“I would strongly recommend that you don’t drink anything here, despite being thirsty . Devices are prepared . There is a possibility that you might ingest something strange . ”

Eun-jeong bit her lip . She remembered the tea and sweets she ate before coming here .

“Then what I ate…”

“Well . It is possible . But you were the one who made the choice . I guess this is the big price you have to pay . ”

“……”

Eun-jeong couldn’t answer and looked down at the table . A small sob was heard . Tae-hyuk looked at the crying Eun-jeong with cold eyes .

She was the one who would drive Ha-ran to ruin . Of course, it was also due to the bad multilevel company Tiwai International and the Death Circus organized by Producer Kim Joon-young . However, this didn’t mean that An Eun-jeong’s sins had disappeared . She had already pulled several people into the multilevel company .

If he had to say some harsh words… Every person needed to be accountable for their choices . An Eun-jeong had signed up for the Death Circus, and now she was paying for it . But she still had something left . The sin of bringing in innocent people to the multilevel scheme . It was something that couldn’t be easily repaid .

“Noona should know how many people suffered from her mistakes . How many people did you bring into this company? They will all meet ends like this . ”

“…I-I’m sorry . I am really sorry . ”

An Eun-jeong couldn’t raise her head and started to apologize .

He lost his appetite . She was the enemy who drove Seo Ha-ran to ruin . He would rather hate her and act like she was a criminal, but that wasn’t the case .

She was also a victim of the system . He couldn’t forgive her but he decided not to blame her .

Tae-hyuk wanted to confirm one thing with Eun-jeong . It was the reason why she had joined Tiwai International .

“By the way, why did you need so much money?”

An Eun-jeong was lost in thought for a moment and didn’t say anything . Then all of a sudden, she started talking .

“I have a younger sister and there is a distinct gap between us . I prefer to play around without much interest in studying, while she is an example of a perfect student . She always got first place since elementary school . ”

She had a younger sister who was a model student . An Eun-jeong had a huge inferiority complex towards her sister .

“My dad told me to marry quickly since I can’t do anything else . He engaged me to a promising doctor… In the end, I couldn’t bear it, so I ran away . But… But… I found out that my mother had leukemia . I wanted to be recognized . I wanted her to be proud of her daughter at least once before she died . Not the stupid daughter who ran away…”

Eun-jeong’s voice trailed off and she slowly started to cry .

Tae-hyuk said .

“Eun-jeong wanted to be recognized as family?”

“Yes… . ”

“Then I’m sorry . They seem to think a little differently . ”

“……”

Eun-jeong lowered her face with a really pained expression . However, Tae-hyuk’s words didn’t end there .

“In fact, I came here as a favor to someone .

“F-Favour?”

“Yes . Someone asked me to rescue Eun-jeong from here . ”

“W-Who…?”

“To be exact, it was your younger sister . ”

Eun-jeong’s eyes widened as she realized who sent Tae-hyuk to this place .

“The conditions for being a family? Is there such a thing? It doesn’t matter how wrong you were, nor how bad you are now . You are still family . Stop being a fool and come back soon . ”

“Ah…!”

An Eun-jeong sighed . Then she muttered in a low voice .

“Eun-young… I’m sorry…”

‘Is the shock therapy over?’

Tae-hyuk sighed and patted Eun-jeong’s hair . What would she look like if her sister was actually in front of her? He tried to imagine such a ridiculous thing, but it wasn’t over yet . No, rather, it was starting now .

“The melodrama has now ended . Anyway, so far we’ve looked at roughly 70% of the attractions . You must have come to the conclusion that you can’t get out of here . ”

“…Yes . ”

“This is just like human chess . If you lose, then you will lose a corresponding body part . If you are lucky and win consecutively, you’ll only lose an arm or an eye . You don’t want to leave here like that . ”

“Then what can I do?”

“From now on, Eun-jeong will have to entrust me with your money and life . If you don’t like it, then you can move on your own . ”

An Eun-jeong bit her lip . It was a proposal that wasn’t easy to accept .

“But what is your relationship with my younger sister?”

“Well . She was gracious enough to change my fate . That is all I will tell you . ”

He had become a model student because of An Eun-young .

Eun-jeong fell deep into thought . She seemed to be debating on whether she should believe the stranger in front of her or not .

Tae-hyuk waited until she answered . If the proposal was accepted then she would become a chess piece that could be used at will .

“Yes . I accept . I’ll give you everything . So… Please take me to my sister . ”

“Then the contract is established . ”

“But is there a way to get out of here?”

Tae-hyuk laughed and started to slowly explain his plans . An Eun-jeong’s eyes opened wider as she listened to his words .

“T-That isn’t possible!”

It was really ridiculous .

@

Cha Soo-hyun was looking around the Death Circus .

He understood the rules of this place better than any other participant .

A variety of attractions existed . However, there were two major types . Apart from completing some missions with given conditions, there was the PvP format where two people competed to take the opponent’s money . Of course, there was a high percentage of the latter . In particular, the missions were fatal if there was even a small error . Only fools would be deceived by such things .

Cha Soo-hyun was a survivor, despite the survival rate being close to zero . He received a platinum membership card, but he wasn’t satisfied with it . He had realized the pleasure of killing others .

It couldn’t be done outside . However, it was possible here . In addition, he could also get extra income . He could earn more than 200 million overnight .

This was already the third time that Cha Soo-hyun had participated in the Death Circus . Of course, he had to change his face by using a simple cosmetic surgery, because he couldn’t reveal his identity . Only a few in Tiwai were aware of this fact .

He would kill 10 people tonight . Their lives would be worth 500 million .

Cha Soo-hyun had already eaten two people . Now he had to find the next prey .

Then he found some cute rabbits hiding near the Bridge of Pain .

‘A man and a woman . ’

The woman looked like she would be a tasty kill . In addition, they seemed scared to challenge the attractions .

‘Well, the man…’

Was he in his early 20s? He had bushy hair and a leather jacket . He seemed like a neighbourhood bum .

Looking at the nameplate on their chests, he was surprised to see that both of them had stayed above 50 million won .

Cha Soo-hyun licked his lips . Then he approached them with a face that was as innocent as possible .

“This is too much . It really is a crazy game… I don’t think I was in my right mind . ”

“Who are you?”

The woman asked . The man just yawned with a blank face .

“Oh, I am Cha Soo-hyun . Haven’t you tried any of the attractions yet?”

“Yes… So what?”

“I was looking for someone like that . I know a strategy where three people can win more than 50 million won . How about it? Do you want to cooperate and survive this crazy game?”

The woman tilted her head with confusion . Her expression was unsure . Then the yawning man opened his mouth .

“Sheesh . I guess so . ”

It seemed like this man was the one who made the decisions .

“Really? It’s a surefire win . Really appetizing . ”

Cha Soo-hyun laughed .

The opponent was already halfway there . Now all he had to do was eat .