Siblings Working in Business (172)
The moment Eun-ji saw the mission, “Please save me,” she tilted her head, showing she had no idea what it meant.
Jeong Bae-chan, fully aware of its meaning, pretended ignorance and checked the other slip of paper he received from the staff.
2
Jeong Bae-chan’s number was 2.
Perhaps thanks to being on the same team…
1?
He saw the number on Eun-ji’s slip when she showed it to him.
A glint appeared in Jeong Bae-chan’s eyes.
「“The spy’s vote counts as ‘0 points.’ You win if you have the highest ‘score’ after the voting.”」
So that’s why the fake old man explained it as ‘points’ and not ‘votes’?
Therefore, Eun-ji’s vote was worth 1 point.
The spy’s votes were counted as 0 points.
Since there were five spies, this meant…
He had already won over the siblings at the souvenir shop.
He didn’t know how many points Eun-ho had, but if he got Eun-ho’s vote, he would win.
‘Of course, only if my spy base isn’t discovered.’
Jeong Bae-chan quickly assessed the situation.
“I think it’s this way, Eun-ji.”
“Huh? Really?”
Jeong Bae-chan had the Everland map.
He suppressed a smirk as he led the way.
「“The defensive trap that will protect your base will be applied. Anyone who can’t get past the trap will be eliminated.”」
Recalling the PD’s rule, Jeong Bae-chan formulated a plan to use Eun-ji.
He had a single destination in mind.
「“Sa-rang, where are you going?”」
「“Ah, horr-. No, uh…”」
There was only one place in Everland with the word “horror” in its name.
‘Horror House.’
He didn’t know how Sa-rang, who hated scary things, had managed to place the doll there, but…
‘She probably didn’t put it too deep inside, being so scared.’
They arrived at the Horror House.
“Th-this doesn’t seem right, Sun-, Sunbae!”
Jeong Bae-chan pushed Eun-ji into the Horror House.
At that moment, the light from Eun-ji’s flashlight brushed against the doll.
“Ouch, cold!”
Jeong Bae-chan’s eyes gleamed even in the darkness.
‘Aha, so it works like this…’
Was heaven on his side?
As Jo Sa-rang’s base defense system activated, he understood how the spy base defense system worked.
Just then…
Ding.
[Team C, Lee Eun-ji eliminated.]
A smirk spread across Jeong Bae-chan’s face.
“Sunbae…?”
“Sorry, Eun-ji. Blame it on the fact that you’re worth 1 point.”
“Huh? W-wait, Sunbae, don’t tell me! Sp-… Mmmpph!”
Furious at Jeong Bae-chan’s underhanded move, Eun-ji tried to protest.
But her mouth was suddenly covered by a black-gloved hand that appeared out of nowhere, dealing with the eliminated participant.
“Thanks to you being captured, your brother will come soon.”
“Mmmpph! Mmmph! Hmph!”
Just then…
Buzz.
Another message arrived.
Jeong Bae-chan checked his phone and smiled leisurely.
[Location: Everland Horror House.
Time limit: 30 minutes…]
It was a message notifying them of the ‘grace period.’
In Change Partner, even if you were eliminated, there was a ‘Soul Link’ system where you could be revived if another member rescued you within 30 minutes.
But this was a one-time opportunity, and if the rescuing member was eliminated, both of them would be eliminated.
“Is it starting now?”
As if waiting for this moment, Jeong Bae-chan sent a message to ‘X’ in his contacts.
[Use Item]
[Confirmed use of <Secret Item>. Subsequent messages will be sent to everyone as written.]
[Team C, Jeong Bae-chan eliminated.]
[<Secret Item> has been used.]
The moment X’s last message arrived…
[Team C, Jeong Bae-chan eliminated.]
The message Jeong Bae-chan wanted was sent to everyone.
“Now, let’s take care of this before someone else steals my perfectly cooked rice.”
Jeong Bae-chan searched for the doll to destroy Jo Sa-rang’s base, now that he was done with his part.
Eun-ji was now tied to a chair brought by the black-gloved hands, her hands, feet, and mouth covered with a mask marked with an X.
Eun-ji looked up at Jeong Bae-chan with confused eyes.
She slightly lowered the X-marked mask and asked Jeong Bae-chan,
“What is going on? Are you really the spy, Sunbae?”
Jeong Bae-chan looked down at Eun-ji leisurely and shook his head.
“Saying such hurtful things makes me not want to save you, Eun-ji.”
“What the…”
Eun-ji’s eyes were spewing all sorts of curses, but the person who needed to see them didn’t seem to notice in the darkness.
‘Soul Link’ began by removing the person’s mask.
But Jeong Bae-chan had no intention of rescuing Eun-ji.
If he did, everything would be for naught.
What if Eun-ji was revived by Eun-ho?
Eun-ji would tell Eun-ho everything he had just done.
That’s why…
“Goodbye, Eun-ji.”
“Y-you spy!!!”
“Wow, you have quite the set of lungs.”
Jeong Bae-chan, fleeing the Horror House, was honestly more terrified than surprised.
Eun-ji’s furious scream seemed to shake the building.
He didn’t care how cruel he seemed.
This was his chance to finally win, after years of being on the program!
And even if he did get called out, Eun-ho had already been informed that he himself had been eliminated.
Returning the doll to its ‘location’ would change Jo Sa-rang’s base to a ‘destroyed spy base,’ making it inaccessible to the public.
This meant that even if Eun-ho came looking for Eun-ji, he couldn’t rescue her.
After that, he would approach Eun-ho, pretending to have been revived by Soul Link.
And while the other members, unaware that they were all spies, treated each other well, he would only treat Eun-ho well and get his vote.
The plan would be complete.
‘Jeong Bae-chan’s first victory achieved.’
Everything was perfect.
Jeong Bae-chan’s plan, although despicable, wasn’t bad.
However, there was one major flaw in his plan.
Eun-ho reached Jo Sa-rang’s base earlier than expected.
While Jeong Bae-chan was carrying the doll to the return location, Eun-ho had already taken the paper beneath the doll out of the Horror House, just in case.
“Do I have to take this off for you?”
Eun-ho asked, looking at Eun-ji’s mask, and Eun-ji nodded vigorously.
After Jeong Bae-chan left…
In that short time, Eun-ji had received a brief explanation about ‘Soul Link’ from the black-gloved staff.
Shortly after Eun-ho removed Eun-ji’s mask, a new message arrived.
[Team C, Lee Eun-ji has been revived by Soul Link.]
It was a message announcing Eun-ji’s revival.
The moment Eun-ji’s revival was confirmed through Eun-ho’s phone…
Eun-ho felt a surge of unseen, murderous rage emanate from her.
Eun-ji, her eyes wide with fury, shouted at the top of her lungs,
“Jeong!!! Bae!!! Chan!!!”
Whoa, there.
“Whoa…”
Eun-ho took a step back from the raging Eun-ji and looked at the paper he had taken from the Horror House, thinking,
Should I write “Beware of Dog” on her sturdy back and stick it on her?
He was seriously considering it when…
「“The B-grade hint is ‘light.’”」
Huh?
Could it be?
He was truly skeptical.
When he shone the flashlight on the paper, hidden words appeared.
“What? Wow, this is amazing!”
Even Eun-ji, who had been blinded by revenge until now, regained her composure and marveled at it.
Three short sentences were scattered across the paper.
「Five Lies」「Kidnapped Doll」「Dollhouse」
Below the sentences, written in a chilling red font, was a familiar phrase:
Even if death tears us apart, we were always together. I walk and walk, trusting you who trust me.
Eun-ji murmured as she read the long sentence.
“Wow, creepy.”
Eun-ho looked at her in disbelief.
“Hey.”
“Yeah?”
“Those are our song lyrics.”
“Huh? What? Oh, they are? Huh?”
“Sorry for writing such creepy lyrics.”
“No, that’s not what I meant. I mean! I meant the red writing is creepy. Sorry, I didn’t mean your lyrics were bad!”
When Eun-ho pretended to be offended, Eun-ji, respecting each other’s creative work, panicked and apologized sincerely.
Eun-ho, taken aback by her unexpected reaction, burst out laughing.
“I’m kidding, idiot.”
“One more joke like that and I’m disbanding the team.”
“That would be even harder. If we try to disband, CEO Park will probably force us to go on another trip. With all our phones’ music banned.”
“Oh, shoot. We’ll be playing dragon breath and chopstick games all day again.”
Eun-ho and Eun-ji burst out laughing, remembering the time they went on a fishing trip.
Their gaze returned to the magical paper that revealed words under the light.
“Five lies, does this mean the lies the spies told?”
“No, maybe it’s a hint that there are five spies. And one of them is definitely Jeong Bae-chan!”
Eun-ho looked at Eun-ji with wide eyes.
Five spies…
It wasn’t entirely illogical.
‘Besides, she…’
Lee Eun-ji was the one who figured out his regression after careful deduction.
Eun-ji began to tell Eun-ho about what happened with Jeong Bae-chan. Just then…
Ding.
Another message arrived.
[The spy base located in ‘Everland Horror House’ has collapsed.
Access to ‘Everland Horror House’ is now prohibited.]
Eun-ho, reading the message, noticed something that bothered him.
“It’s been a while since we left, why is it collapsing now?”
“There was a doll there.”
“A doll? I didn’t see one.”
“That’s because Jeong Bae-chan took it after he left. I shone my flashlight on it and got hit with something like a water gun, and then they suddenly covered my mouth and tied me to a chair.”
Shooting a water gun when a light is shone on the doll?
“Light and kidnapped doll…”
Wait, then what happens if you take the kidnapped doll to the ‘dollhouse’ mentioned on the paper?
He realized the answer the moment he saw the message that had just arrived.
The spy’s base collapses.
Then, could the papers we drew initially all be spy bases?
Just as Eun-ho figured this out…
“Come to think of it, what number did you have, Oppa?”
“What?”
“Didn’t you get another piece of paper besides the one asking for help?”
“Ah, that, I had number 3.”
“I had number 1.”
“Number 1?”
“Yeah. Ah, is that why they eliminated me first?”
Eun-ho furrowed his brow in concentration.
Could that really be the order?
“Eun-ji.”
“What.”
“That number, isn’t it a score, not an order?”
“A score? Why?”
“If there are five spies, think about it. Change Partner chooses the winner by voting.”
“Right. Oh, don’t tell me!”
“I think we’re thinking the same thing. The spies’ votes have no points. And the person who gets your or my vote wins, right?”
The cameraman filming them unconsciously gulped at Eun-ho and Eun-ji’s breathtaking deduction.