Twisted Affection || Frontman/001

chapter 17

He smirks, clearly amused by me getting angry, but my focus drifts across the room, where my old group sat in tense silence—except for Gi-hun and Young-il. The two of them were locked in what seemed like an argument, and I couldn't help but be curious about what's going on.

"What's so interesting over there?" Thanos's voice pulls me back to the present.

"Nothing," I say quickly, forcing my eyes away from them. "Just looking around."

He tilts his head, that sly grin playing on his lips again. "Uh-huh. Sure. Looking like that at nothing? You're a terrible liar, you know?"

If only he knew what an exceptional liar I actually am, I think.

"Mind your own business." I mutter, turning away from him.

"Oh but you are my business, pretty," he says smoothly, his tone laced with amusement.

I shoot him a sharp glare. „You've got some nerve, don't you think?"

„Call it charm," he says, shrugging with mock innocence. „Or call it... curiosity. Whatever you want."

Before I can respond, I catch movement out of the corner of my eye. Instinctively, my gaze flickers toward my old group, just to see that Young-il is looking right at us, his jaw tight and tension radiating off him in a way that was impossible to miss.

I glance away quickly, trying to ignore the heat creeping up my neck. But Thanos doesn't miss a beat.

"Interesting." He says, his voice low and smug. "Looks like Lover Boy isn't too happy about this arrangement."

"Oh for fucks sake Thanos." I say, getting up.

Thanos smirks, clearly relishing the reaction. „What? I'm just pointing out the obvious. He's practically boring a hole into my skull with that death glare of his."

Before I get the chance to start looking for Jun-hee and escape Thanos's insufferable presence, the guards suddenly come in.

"Congratulations to all of you for making it through the third game. Now, here are the results of the third game." He says, pressing a button on his remote and displaying the results for all of us.

100 people remaining. 356,000,000 won per person. Prize: 35,600,000,000.

"Woohoo!" Thanos's voice cut through the silence, his hands shooting up like he'd already won the damn thing. "Now that's what I'm talking about!"

I turn to him, incredulous. "Are you serious right now?"

"Hell yeah, I'm serious!" He says, his grin stretching wider as he gestures at the money. "Look at that! It's beautiful. How can anyone not be motivated by that?"

I roll my eyes. He's doing too much. I wonder if it's because of the drugs he keeps taking.

"The vote will once again be conducted in reverse order of your player numbers. Player 456, please cast your vote." the guard in the middle says.

I look at Gi-hun walk up there, a determined look on his face. Yup, no chance this one is changing his mind.

"To ensure fair and democratic voting, we will not tolerate any disruptions from this point onward. Please bear that in mind." he adds.

[THE VOTING TAKES PLACE]

Young-il is last to go, and he chooses to stay, of course. And yet... I couldn't help but notice how he stood there, staring at the buttons before. It was like he was... hesitating. It was barely a second, but I saw it. The way his hand hovered fingers twitching ever so slightly between "O" and "X". He was the last to choose, he could have made the "O"s win. I wonder if for a second, just for a second, he thought about choosing to stay and not make this vote end in a tie...

"The vote has ended." One guard says.

"Wait, it's a tie. What happens now?" Player 100 asks.

"Clause three of the consent form. 'In the case of a tie, players will vote again'."

"So when are we going to vote again?" A curios voice echoes through the crowd.

"To give you some time to think, the vote will be conducted tomorrow. Until then, please think carefully about your future."

So what if everyone keeps their opinion, though? It won't make any difference at the vote tomorrow. Unless...

I suddenly freeze, understanding what they want us to do.

They want us to kill each other.