New Orders

Myung-gi slowly opened his eyes as the lights flickered back to life, accompanied by the familiar upbeat music that signaled the start of a new day. He stretched his stiff body, trying to shake off the lingering discomfort of Young-il's unwelcome embrace. As he crawled out from under the bunk, he noticed that Young-il was nowhere to be seen. Myung-gi let out a sigh of relief, thinking that he had finally managed to escape the man's oppressive presence. The other players were slowly getting out of bed, chatting and stretching. When Myung-gi asked where Young-il was, Jungbae shrugged and said, "He probably went to the bathroom." Myung-gi wasn't convinced, but he didn't press the issue. Meanwhile, Young-il had indeed gone to the bathroom, but his first stop was actually the camera room. The room was filled with rows of TVs displaying various angles of the game, and a team of guards in pink outfits monitored the feeds. Young-il spotted the commanding officer, a tall, imposing figure with a square-shaped mask, and approached him. The officer, sensing Young-il's presence, turned to face him. "Ah, sir," he said, "what can I do for you?" Young-il gestured for the officer to follow him, and they stepped aside, out of earshot of the other guards. "Take off your mask," Young-il ordered. The officer hesitated for a moment before complying. "Is there an issue with the game, sir?" he asked. "Is that why you're here?" Young-il didn't respond, instead barking a crisp order at the officer. "I have a new instruction for the guards. Under no circumstances can they harm player 333, whether he loses a game or is attacked by another player." The officer raised an eyebrow, clearly surprised. "If I may ask, sir, is there a reason for this order? You've only ever given this instruction for three other players, including yourself." Young-il's expression remained impassive. "It's none of your business. Make sure to relay this order to every guard. It applies to you as well." With that, Young-il turned and walked out of the camera room, leaving the officer to wonder about the significance of this new order. Back in the main room, the players were starting to stir. The guards arrived with a meager breakfast of buns and cartons of milk. As the players lined up to receive their food, the guards' walkie-talkies crackled to life, and they had to leave the room temporarily. When they returned, everyone had their food, and Gihun immediately offered his to Junhee, who was still recovering from her pregnancy. She politely declined, not wanting to accept food from anyone except Myung-gi, her ex-boyfriend. Myung-gi tried to avoid Young-il, finding a spot on the stairs of the bunks to sit. He squeezed in between Jungbae and the granny, but Young-il appeared beside them, asking the granny if he could take her spot. The granny agreed, wanting to be close to Junhee to keep an eye on her health. Young-il sat down, a pleased smile on his face, and placed his hand on Myung-gi's lower back. Myung-gi's skin crawled at the touch, but he didn't move, not wanting to escalate the situation. The granny, however, shot Young-il a disapproving glance, though she said nothing. As the players ate their breakfast, the atmosphere in the room was tense, with Myung-gi trying to tolerate Young-il's presence and the others chatting nervously among themselves. It was clear that this was just the beginning of a long and treacherous game.