I looked at Seon Ah hyun.
‘He’s asking to trade cards?’
And the one who’d called me to the outer edge of his room pulled something from his pocket.
“...!”
A piece of Gold with a QR code stuck on it.
The currency used for card exchanges.
“Where did you find that?”
“Um... actually...”
Seon Ah hyun whispered quietly, saying that when he’d opened his eyes in his room, he’d read his profile and searched the room at the same time.
“At that time, under the bed... I found it.”
“......”
So he’d found it at the start of the game.
‘And he’s kept quiet until now?’
Seon Ah hyun?
I couldn’t help but admire him.
‘They really know variety-show tactics.’
It was impressive. I couldn’t wait to see how this would be edited according to Ryu Seorin’s scenario.
“But I’m not sure if I should use it now. I might want it at a decisive moment.”
Seon Ah hyun nodded with a determined expression.
“I need information, so it’s okay to use my Gold...!”
“Hm.”
Strategically, it might make sense to wait until someone else uses theirs first...
‘But this is a variety show.’
It was better for the story to make the first move quickly. So I nodded.
“Then let’s share our professions with each other. That seems best.”
“Okay, I’m... a Scholar.”
Oh.
I nodded.
“Mundae hyung?”
“I’m a Doctor.”
“Ah, aha!”
Seon Ah hyun blushed and nodded, pleased with the good profession.
That was the end of the conversation.
“We’ll exchange cards now.”
“Huh?”
“Did you find Gold?”
I gathered the other members and stood before the front door panel.
“Let’s try it once as a test.”
“Okay.”
Big Sejin nodded.
I went over the game rule again.
“If one of us is going to be the sacrifice, this card exchange will change who it is.”
“Right.”
Like passing a Joker in a card game.
‘A bomb pass.’
But this felt more like a Mafia–style survival game with hidden killers.
Still, whether Mafia or civilian, professions like Scholar or Doctor wouldn’t draw as much attention as Detective or Clown.
I recalled what I’d told Ryu Cheong woo earlier.
Which profession was most likely to die?
—Detective or Clown.
If the sacrifice chooser is Mafia, Detective; if civilian, Clown.
‘That’s the standard route.’
Scholar or Doctor aren’t flashy targets.
So before the dark panel, with only its light to guide us, we held up our cards.
“Let’s do it.”
“Okay.”
Seon Ah hyun and I scanned our cards and the Gold’s QR code.
“......”
The panel’s screen silently swirled dark red.
“Woah!”
“This is scarier than I thought.”
We listened to the others’ tense voices and stared at the panel.
The swirl lasted three or four seconds, then vanished.
Only two card backs remained on screen.
[Mark exchange complete]
[Park Mundae ↔ Seon Ah hyun]
“Oh.”
“So that’s how it works.”
We heard small murmurs of awe from the others.
I smoothed my card.
‘No other info stored.’
It seemed only the exchange record was saved.
“Nothing special.”
“Still... that was cool!”
“True.”
With no extras, Seon Ah hyun and I, satisfied with the demo, stepped back from the panel.
After that, the search resumed.
“Mundae hyung~ no way they couldn’t open the bathroom door here? If it’s this hard, there must be Gold in here too...”
“There’s a ghost in here.”
“Ugh.”
And then a skit.
“There’s chicken in the fridge!”
“...!!”
“They really feed us, how touching.”
As another skit loosened the mood, the members, growing accustomed, fanned out to poke around both dorms.
‘Has it already been two hours?’
Shortly after.
Beeeep!
“...!”
An alarm sounded at the front door, followed by a repeated siren-voice announcement.
[Warning, please return to your starting room.]
[Warning, please return to your starting room.]
[Warning, please return to your starting room.]
“What... what is this?”
“Starting room?”
Scattered members rushed back. I shouted over the siren.
“I think they mean each of our own starting rooms!”
“Ah!”
“I’ll see you in a moment!”
Those who had gathered at the door dispersed in perfect coordination. Typical of guys with broadcast experience.
I returned to the room where I’d started.
The room recreated from the previous dorm’s layout.
Click.
I entered and shut the door, muffling the siren.
Ding dong!!
“...!!”
[Midgame announcement time.]
...There was a speaker here too.
‘...Phew.’
Probably to startle us again.
I found myself sitting on the bed in one dark corner—no lights on.
Then that eerie tone played through the speaker again.
[Check the drawer by your bedside.]
All right.
I moved and opened the bedside drawer to find an electronic device inside.
It definitely hadn’t been there before.
‘Someone must’ve snuck it in.’
Working staff are hard at work. I murmured, spotting a black box with a camera peeking out in the corner.
I carefully powered on the device’s screen. It was an Oseong tablet—maybe product placement.
Beep.
The lit display cut through the gloom.
[Reveal profession ability]
[Your profession ability is......]
‘Oh?’
They’d split us up for this reason.
I read the text slowly.
“......”
‘So this is where it goes.’
Quite interesting.
As I rubbed my chin, thinking of possible uses, another alert sounded.
‘Hm?’
The pad’s screen changed again.
[01:00:00]
[※Mark can now be checked※]
The remaining game time and... my card’s mark.
“......”
I raised my hand and tapped the pad.
[Kyahahaha!]
A child’s laughter rang out first.
That innocent sound felt unsettling, sending chills down my spine.
Then, without warning, a huge red circle filled the screen.
A lamb skull emblem.
[Your card is the ‘sacrifice mark’.]
[Current lamb: Park Mundae]
“......”
I averted my eyes from the pad and drew a breath.
I held the sacrifice mark.
If this continues, I’ll be the one who dies.
“Did everyone enjoy the show~!”
“Yeah, bro!”
The siren sounded again and the members emerged from their rooms.
The final hour flew by.
Instead of Gold hunts, they focused on talking and watching.
“Huh? Where are the two hyungs going~ Card exchange?”
“...Heating leftover chicken.”
“...Understood.”
Publicly, the last hour passed smoothly—no incidents or conflicts.
But a strange tension simmered.
‘Soon.’
It’s the end.
I watched the time, awaiting the finale.
Shortly after.
Beeeep!!
“Oh.”
“The time’s up.”
This time, I wasn’t startled.
Everyone looked somewhat tense.
‘The sacrifice has been decided.’
After hours inside, immersion grew and the word “sacrifice” felt a bit terrifying.
Like entering a haunted house.
“It’s here.”
The front-door panel’s countdown had indeed reached zero.
[00:00:00]
Then, covering it, huge letters appeared.
[Exchange closed]
“......”
The speaker emitted a distorted mechanical voice.
[Pre-announcement notice.]
[Your initial sacrifice mark was chosen by sponsors’ votes.]
“S-sponsors...?”
[By the votes of fans who love you,]
‘...Fans?’
A crimson graph climbed endlessly on screen, showing 20,374 votes.
Putting that number and the explanation together...
“Wait... this was a fan vote?”
“When did they vote?”
‘I told you.’
Chaotic as the members were, the panel continued its narration.
[The profession with the most votes—20,374—was...]
Everyone held their breath, staring at the panel.
[And now that time has passed, the profession holding this sacrifice mark is......]
Gulp.
At that ominous moment.
[it’s Scholar.]
“...!!”
“Oh.”
I reflexively glanced at Seon Ah hyun.
His face was pale.
‘.......’
—“Okay, I’m a Scholar.”
He had definitely said that.
The members immediately started scanning the room for the person.
“Scholar?”
“Who is the Scholar? Speak up!”
“......”
But there was silence.
No one stepped forward, and Seon Ah hyun kept his mouth shut.
“Huh?”
“...Why won’t anyone come out?”
Bae Sejin narrowed his eyes and Kim Rae bin looked around in panic.
“Isn’t it impossible to change the result now?”
“Right!”
“But why...?”
As confusion broke out, the panel spoke again.
[The sacrifice’s room has opened.]
Screeeech.
“Gasp.”
The front door opened automatically.
And behind it, another door opened too.
It was the single room in our dorm.
The one that hadn’t opened before.
“That must be the sacrifice’s room?”
“Looks like it.”
Suddenly I remembered the note Kim Rae bin picked up under that door.
—I open at the end.
‘That meant this room opens at game end.’
Or, when someone’s fate is sealed...
I followed the others, deciding this was an interview moment.
At the open room’s threshold.
“I’ll go in!”
Cha Yoo jin stepped forward without hesitation. But...
“Oops!!”
“What, why—”
He frowned and stepped back.
‘What is it?’
We all peered inside, startled.
“...!!”
Inside the room was like a cult’s sacrificial altar.
Torn black wallpaper and flickering red candles swayed eerily.
And in the center stood a giant coffin-shaped altar, bearing a crimson lamb skull emblem.
‘This is insane.’
Boom!
There was even thunder sound effects.
Before the art-team’s work, the members again huddled like penguins.
“Park Mundae, I don’t think I can sleep in here now....”
“Glad we’re moving afterwards.”
“Yeah.”
Still, we entered cautiously.
“...There are nameplates.”
“Ugh.”
We gathered around the coffin altar, lining up according to names, like awaiting guests.
At that moment.
[Participants.]
“I knew this would happen.”
“Me too.”
That strange narration echoed through the speaker.
The camera on the altar rotated, capturing our faces.
[Welcome to the sacrifice’s room.]
“Are we really going to offer up a member as a sacrifice here?!”
“Calm down, Raebin.”
[Here, you must identify the Black Lamb.]
“......”
Black Lamb?
[The participant who passed their sacrifice fate to another via the final exchange.]
[In other words, the one who made ‘Scholar’ the sacrifice in the last exchange is the Black Lamb.]
“No way.”
“This is getting impossible to figure out.”
I organized my thoughts quickly.
‘Hmm.’
So we must find the person who traded with the final sacrifice, Scholar.
They judge that act as Mafia or the culprit.
‘Then if we find who last exchanged with the Scholar, we win.’
Too easy, right?
Another condition followed.
[If you correctly deduce the Black Lamb, the culprit is burned with the sacrifice.]
[But if you fail to find the Black Lamb,]
“...then?”
[Everyone except the Black Lamb and the sacrifice is burned.]
“Ahhh!”
“This is a horror game!”
Screams and over-the-top reactions broke out.
‘Oh.’
So if the sacrifice stays silent, they survive.
‘No one will say who they traded with then.’
I marveled at the production’s cruelty.
[Good luck.]
Luck—luck, lu...
The speaker crackled and went silent.
And the altar’s skull emblem glowed red.
“Oh!”
“It’s time to start.”
Even as I gasped at the incredible room, the group regained focus.
They seemed to be forming talking points based on their thoughts so far.
Obviously, the first priority was:
‘Who the sacrifice Scholar is.’
If we corner that person, we find the final exchanger.
But the first to speak up was Bae Sejin.
“Wait! I have something to say first.”
He spoke calmly.
“I knew everyone’s professions.”
“Huh?”
“I’m a Lawyer.”
Then, as he had told me, he began sharing all the information he’d gathered.
‘Makes sense at the end.’
If you know everyone’s professions, you can use elimination to deduce who is who.
“But there’s one person who named a profession that doesn’t exist! That person is...”
And just as Bae Sejin was about to name Kim Rae bin—
“Uh, hold on.”
‘...?’
Big Sejin suddenly cut in. Bae Sejin froze in surprise, and Big Sejin asked directly,
“Hyung, what’s your profession again?”
“...Lawyer. My ability lets me learn other professions’ details...”
“...? Wait, you said you’re a Lawyer?”
Big Sejin scoffed.
Then dropped a bomb.
“That’s odd. I’m a Lawyer.”
“......!!”
“What?!”
“There can’t be two of the same profession, right?”
“......”
The members, mouths agape, looked between the two namesakes.
Big Sejin rubbed the back of his neck.
“Hm. From the reaction, it seems Sejin hyung has been telling everyone he’s a Lawyer, but that profession can’t be shared in this mission.”
“...!!”
Big Sejin surveyed the group’s reaction, frowned, and forced a bitter smile.
Then he sighed.
“Ahh~ You’ve all been fooled, hyung. Completely fooled.”
“......”
A stunned silence fell.
Then—
“Wait.”
Bae Sejin ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) spoke with a deathly calm resolve.
“You’re the one lying!”
‘My god.’
I swallowed my shock.
‘One of them must be trolling.’
I could already envision viewers crunching popcorn, unable to breathe.
It was literally the start of utter chaos.
