Chapter 173
Perhaps because I had secretly told them that they could do it, the members left the room feeling much more confident than before the game started.
Unfortunately, not everyone has the same excellent stealth and reconnaissance skills as I do.
-Ding, dong, daeng, dong.
"I caught Chae Eun-gyu wandering around the hallway. Eun-gyu, go inside and go to sleep!"
Less than 10 minutes after Chae Eun-gyu had set off, an announcement was made.
Manager Hyung told us the news of Cha Eun-gyu's arrest in a very excited voice.
If I had been caught, I would have been publicly executed like this.
"Hey, no, it's really hard!"
"Why? Why?"
"Why did you come back so sweaty?"
Chae Eun-gyu, who had set off confidently after even getting my advice, came back with a pale face.
He wiped his sweat-soaked forehead and fell to the floor. Then he spoke in an unusually rapid tone.
"No, I told you this is crazy difficult. No matter how hard I try to find Hallabong, it's not there. I searched the entire closet and the bathroom, but it's not there. I have no idea where the hell they hid it. And the teacher is really good at running, okay? I let my guard down because Karis said it was easy to get away from the teacher, and it was really hard for me."
"Um, that's...."
"It's Eun-gyu's fault for believing Karis' words."
"Um, um."
Heo Yu-bin nodded and crossed his arms.
"You shouldn't apply Karis' standards to ordinary people."
"Yubin, I am an ordinary person."
"If you go somewhere and say something like that, you'll be in big trouble, Karis!"
While everyone's attention was focused on Chae Eun-gyu's miserable appearance, Kang Si-yoon, whose mind was working clearly, asked something else.
"Eun-gyu, then you're completely out? You didn't betray?"
"Even if I want to betray, I have to be able to do it. I couldn't find even one Hallabong."
"Oh, it's not that you couldn't find yours; it's that you couldn't find it at all?"
"You really should go and look. I told you, no matter how hard you look, you can't find it."
"Oh, my."
Kang Si-yoon had a strangely satisfied look in his eyes.
I guessed what he was thinking and said sarcastically.
"I guess you're really happy to have eliminated one of your competitors, Siyoon."
"Yeah, if it goes on like this, it's okay to betray―. Ah, ahahaha! No, no, Karis, what are you talking about?"
Kang Si-yoon's true feelings came out of his mouth without being filtered.
As expected, from the beginning to the end, it was clear that the only thing on that guy's mind was surviving alone.
"I'll go and come back first."
"You have to be careful!"
"If you betray me, it's a real disappointment."
The next runner, Song Hyung-bin, started.
I had a feeling that Song Hyung-bin, who is very talented in many ways, might be able to overcome extreme conditions and find his own Hallabong.
Did I try too hard.
-Ding, dong, daeng, dong.
"Even Hyungbin was caught! Guys, why are you acting like this all of a sudden? You guys aren't bad at games, are you?"
Manager Hyung delivered the news of Song Hyung-bin's arrest in a haughty voice.
"No, something feels strange. Karis, are you sure you've never met the teacher before?"
"That's what I said."
"That's ridiculous. It's been 13 minutes since Hyungbin left, and he's already been caught. How come it took you more than 20 minutes?"
Kang Si-yoon grabbed my shoulder as if he couldn't believe it.
I could only shrug my shoulders and say something slightly unlucky.
"Well, I guess it's a difference in class."
"This guy is talking like an otaku again."
Meanwhile, due to the consecutive eliminations of his older brothers, the next runner, Heo Yu-bin, became extremely nervous.
"I think I'll be eliminated in 5 minutes if I keep doing this."
"... you can do it."
It was Ji Yoon-chul who quietly comforted him.
It seems like only yesterday that these two were awkwardly showing off their 'I hope we become friends' content. Now, it seems like Ji Yoon-chul will be the first to pat Heo Yu-bin on the back.
You've grown a lot, youngest.
For some reason, I also hope that Heo Yu-bin and Ji Yoon-chul will succeed.
But perhaps it was because the Hallabong around the 3rd floor was collected too thoroughly.
"Really, there's nothing!"
"Yubin, don't cry―"
"It's so embarrassing."
Heo Yu-bin really did survive for about 5 minutes, just as he said.
After hearing the detailed story, I found out that he mainly looked for Hallabong in dark places because of what the previous runners had said.
Then, because he unintentionally made a loud noise, our manager came running after him.
The terrified Heo Yu-bin was captured, his athletic ability, which was already at a hopeless level, deteriorating even further.
"It's okay, it's okay! I'll go and beat manager hyung on your behalf, Yubin!"
Yoo Minha gave a thumbs up to his friend and set off with great pride.
But as always, Yoo Minha also showed off his silly side and was quickly arrested.
"I'm sorry, Yubin.... I got caught too."
"It's okay, it's better. I'm not the only one who got embarrassed."
"Hey!"
Now it is finally the turn of Kang Si-yoon, who has been a person of interest.
I looked at his smug face and smiled wickedly inwardly.
'I specially collected two of your Hallabong.'
However, Kang Si-yoon was quick-witted and had good physical abilities, so he was not eliminated right away.
Rather, like me, we didn't hear any news for almost 20 minutes.
"Am I the only one feeling uneasy right now?"
"Did he really betray us to survive on his own?"
"If it's Siyoon, then he will do that."
The members, who had now completely adapted to the informal language, chattered and grumbled that they had no faith in Kang Si-yoon in team games like this.
But I was a little worried about something else.
'Surely he was not looking for the Hallabong I hid in the room next door.'
If it was Kang Si-yoon, I had a feeling that it might be possible for him to do that.
Fortunately, I heard the manager's announcement.
"Huh, huh. Siyoon is out."
Kang Si-yoon, who returned to his room, was covered in sweat, just like Chae Eun-gyu.
"I really can't see a single one. That doesn't make sense."
"I told you, it's really hard to find."
"Still, Siyoon survived for a long time."
"Ha...."
Kang Si-yoon sighed deeply, as if he felt very sorry.
"Everyone, please check back later. I will show you how much I tried to keep my promise."
"Why are you like that, you look so anxious."
"Siyoon, you didn't betray me? You thought you could survive this alone?"
"As expected, as expected."
"No, even if I say I kept my promise, why don't you believe me, these people?"
Did Kang Si-yoon really keep his promise, or did he betray like his usual character?
Now, the only one left is Ji Yoon-chul, who is in last place.
"...Can I just leave?"
"Yeah. And from what I can see, it doesn't seem to be on the first floor. Instead, try going upstairs, Yoon-chul. On our floor or on the rooftop."
"There's absolutely no second floor! Don't go there! I literally searched everything."
The members were older brothers who gave the youngest one various advice, but it all turned out to be useless.
"... I found it faster than I thought."
"Huh?"
"Huh?"
"Is it a bug?"
Ji Yoon-chul confidently returned to his room in 10 minutes, holding a Hallabong with his name on it.
Everyone became dumbfounded and could only stare at the Hallabong with their eyes wide open.
"Where on earth did you find it?"
"... The stairs connecting the 3rd floor and the rooftop."
"Oh, I made a mistake. I didn't look there and only looked at the stairs on the first or second floor. Ah. Aaaah!"
As Heo Yu-bin was pulling out his hair, Chae Eun-gyu laughed in vain.
"Yoon-chul is truly a golden hand. It seems like Yoon-chul is more transcendent than Karis."
"Hmm. I couldn't find it that quickly either."
"I can't believe you found your own so early...."
And so the 'Avoid the Teacher' game ended.
First of all, officially, the rest of the members except for me and Ji Yoon-chul were arrested by our manager.
It is still unknown who betrayed.
"Oh my, it's so painful. I think I'll have to play this game only once. I feel like I won't have any more body left."
Manager Hyung, who came back to our room, seemed to have lost weight in the meantime.
With a very gaunt face, he began to announce the results.
"Now, what you're most curious about is whether or not there's a traitor, right?"
"Yes!"
"If you betrayed me to survive alone...."
"Siyoon did it, right, teacher?"
"Hey, sir! Don't kill living people!"
"This is a result that surprised me greatly."
Manager Hyung looked at us with a meaningful expression.
"No one betrayed."
"Eh?"
"No, really? Siyoon didn't do it either?"
"I told you, I kept my promise!"
"Siyoon was amazing."
Everyone was suspicious of Kang Si-yoon, but it turned out that Kang Si-yoon had put a lot of thought into keeping his promise today.
"You found Karis Hallabong before I caught you, right? That's why I asked you if you were going to betray, but you gave up, thinking you wouldn't do it today."
It was a story about a great decision made to keep a promise with the members.
However, perhaps because Kang Si-yoon had accumulated a lot of karma up until now, he reacted strangely.
"Isn't there some kind of deal between you and the teacher?"
"He could have bribed you to say such nice things."
"...That's right."
"Ah, okay, okay. I will betray you from now on without a single moment of hesitation, so everyone should know that. Okay?"
"Hey, what's wrong again! Good job, good job. Siyoon did so well!"
"... It feels really strange to be treated like this by Heo Yu-bin."
While teasing Kang Si-yoon, Yoo Min-ha raised his hand and asked a fundamental question.
"But, teacher. I really can't see the Hallabongs. Where on earth did you hide them?"
"No, I was a little flustered too. Yubin was clearly going to go to the place where we hid the Hallabong before we started the game. But when he came out empty-handed, I was wondering what was going on."
"Huh? Really? There was a Hallabong in the room I went to?"
Even the manager said that he didn't know the members would have such a hard time finding Hallabong.
At that moment, I had a feeling.
This is the moment I've been waiting for.
"Everyone, will you follow me for a moment?"
"Now? Suddenly?"
"Where?"
The members looked at each other, wondering what was going on.
Manager Hyung also sent me a question mark with an expression on his face, as if this wasn't in the script.
I opened the door leisurely and gestured for them to follow me.
"The Hallabongs were easy to find. Even on the third floor alone, there were many Hallabongs hidden here and there."
"Wait a minute, something seems strange about the way he's talking."
"Shh. If someone speaks, just wait, Siyoon."
"Oh, that's unlucky."
I lifted Kang Si-yoon up by putting my index finger to my lips.
"Okay, can someone open this room and take a look?"
"Me, me?"
"Okay, Min-ha, open it."
Yoo Minha opened the door to the room next to ours with a dubious expression.
I went inside and turned on all the lights.
"Oh, there's a blanket. There's a blanket on the floor."
Song Hyung-bin walked straight towards the blanket where I had hidden the Hallabongs.
He carefully lifted the blanket.
"Wow, that's why there was no Hallabong."
"It was all here?"
"That doesn't make sense. Oh, no way."
Kang Si-yoon looked at me with a look of genuine shock.
"It's strange that it took you so long. You found the Hallabongs and hid them all here."
"What?"
"Really? Really?"
At Kang Si-yoon's words, all the members looked at me with bewildered expressions.
You must be thinking, I could never have done such a cruel thing.
In front of those members, I smiled refreshingly.
"I found two Hallabongs in particular for Siyoon."
"Hey, hey hey! You for real!"
As soon as I finished speaking, Kang Si-yoon ran next to Song Hyung-bin and flipped over the Hallabongs.
When he discovered that there were actually two Hallabong with 'Kang Si-yoon' written on the surface, he fell to his knees as if he had lost his country.
"... That's why I couldn't find my Hallabong even though I looked for it so much."
It wasn't just Kang Si-yoon who sat down with a blank expression.
"My, my Karis hyung-nim. There's no way my Karis hyung-nim would do something like this."
Heo Yu-bin, who was faced with the cruel reality, collapsed on the floor in a state of mushy disarray like seaweed.
He must have been so shocked that he forgot to use informal language and started using honorifics towards me.
"I never dreamed that Karis would betray me."
"Oh, Hyungbin. I didn't betray you. I honestly came back to find my Hallabong. This is, um. Yes, I just increased the game's difficulty a little."
"Hey, bro, but why did you take two of mine?"
"Unfortunately, Siyoon's Hallabong caught my eye the most―."
"You bad guy!"
As Kang Si-yoon grabbed my shoulders and shook me back and forth, Yoo Min-ha smiled brightly and sorted out the situation.
"But in the end, none of us betrayed each other, right? That's good enough!"
"That's not good enough. If I had known that Karis would do this, I would have shouted "Teacher! Teacher! Where are you!" as soon as I found Karis's Hallabong and give it to him without any hesitation―."
"Siyoon, let's finish beautifully until the end! Beautifully!"
"Just wait and see! I'll really hit you in the back of the head later."
Kang Si-yoon's rampage was forcibly stopped by the production team, who announced that filming for today would end here.
Perhaps because Kang Si-yoon felt that his grievance would not be resolved like this, he immediately demanded that we have a proper pillow fight later, as soon as we returned to our room.
"Ugh...."
We held back laughter as we watched Kang Si-yoon collapse as soon as he came out of the shower.
Ji Yoon-chul, who came out after brushing his teeth, nodded slowly and drove the wedge in.
"... The person who brought it up fell asleep first."
"Okay. Let's wash up and go to bed. Are you all tired?"
"Yes!"
"Ah, it's so comfortable not having to use informal language. It was really hard having to constantly be mindful of my tone."
"We'll have our pillow fight tomorrow night!"
"You look so excited, Min-ha."
"I'm already excited at the thought of hitting Siyoon hyung!"
The end of a tough schedule was, of course, a hot shower.
We washed up neatly and went to sleep with Kang Si-yoon in the center, who was fighting with his nose.
Tomorrow, little did they know what kind of terrifying event the production team was planning.
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