After an excruciating five-day wait, the final episode of Lucy’s Game was finally live. The show that had taken the country and the internet by storm had reached its climax.
Fans had spent the past week dissecting every clue, clip, and edit, crafting theories and championing their favorites. Some had watched for the challenging games. Others, for the contestants, but all of them stayed for the thrill.
– I’m actually so sad this is the last one.
– When are we ever going to get a masterpiece like this again?
– I’m scared. What if the ending ruins everything?
– I’m a new fan of Zeno’s because of this show. I really want him to win!
– I want Minjae to win.
– You have the worst taste.
The livestream counter had just crossed a million viewers. It was the highest-rated streaming variety finale in the country’s history. The viewership was so intense that comments lagged behind the footage by seconds.
Gene PD watched from the side, officially showing himself to the contestants. Bacon PD saw him and nodded in acknowledgment.
The cameras weren’t hidden this time. Each contestant had a camera focused on them, high quality and showing every pore. Their face cams were displayed on the bottom of the screen in little squares, sometimes moving onto the main screen. It felt like a game livestream, making it appear more legit.
– Is Zeno’s camera different from the rest of them?
– Why is he so… smooth?
– I want to lick him clean.
“The competition is becoming crazier,” Minji muttered as she bit into a chicken leg. “Zeno has so many fans now.”
Maxie barked by her side, munching on her own plain chicken breast. “Do you miss her, Maxie?” Doha asked, fluffing up her fur.
Maxie turned her head away, but her eyes were focused on the screen.
“Well, I do,” Doha muttered.
At the Saliva lounge, the screen was already on. Mr. Kim was here for the second time, and he tuned out the moaning and groaning inside the room to focus on the wide screen. Assistant Byun stood behind him, silent, watching just as intently.
In dorm rooms, PC cafés, break rooms, university lounges, and even on subway platforms, phones were tilted sideways as people watched the loading screen give way to the final episode.
The opening visuals finally flashed.
LUCY’S GAME: THE FINAL QUEST – DECEIT
After a while, Lucy’s voice rang through the Death Area.
“Welcome,” she said. “This is the final quest—one that will test more than your intelligence or your willpower.”
With that, a large velvet-draped pedestal rose from the floor, holding what looked like a deck of massive stone tablets.
“The quest is called Deceit,” she continued. “Each of you will choose four cards from this deck of twenty. The cards are inscribed with symbols, all containing a value. However, these values will be added or subtracted to your current values.”
– Oooh. I see, I see.
– So, they have to choose the right card at the very beginning?
– I’m sure there would be something more.
“However, here’s the catch—all, but one is a negative card. Only one is a positive.”
The camera zoomed in on the symbols that appeared like hieroglyphics. A snake biting its tail. An eye. A cracked moon. A man clutching his chest. A laughing face. Symbols that looked ancient and dreamlike.
“Whoever holds the positive card at the end of this game will receive the final merit. This merit has the power to change the entire game.”
– Right, because if the additional value is high, then all the other quests will be useless. It all comes down to this one.
The camera panned across the five contestants.
Minjae, cocky and relaxed, arms folded.
Billy, smiling innocently. Ari composed, and her brows slightly furrowed. Bacon PD with a determined expression. And Zeno, standing at the end, appears unpredictable once again.
“In the next phase, you will face ten rapid-fire questions. Buzz in first, and you’ll get the chance to swap one of your cards with another contestant.”
– So this is what happens!
– They have the chance to exchange the cards, but even then, the merit isn’t guaranteed.
– Each move can either make or break them.
“Be careful who you trust. Be careful who you watch. Only one card will change everything.”
Tension-filled music filled the Death Area, making it feel like the stakes were higher.
“Shall we begin?”
They stared at the twenty cards laid out on the long stone table in front of them. The first one to buzz in will choose a card first, and they also have the chance to declare the order of the choice of the cards.
The contestants stood in a circle, fingers hovering over large bronze buttons.
“Ready, set, go…” Lucy said.
A loud buzz was heard, and one of the podiums lit up.
It was Minjae who had pressed it first.
“It will follow this circular order,” he said, gesturing to Bacon PD, who was next to him on the left. Of course, at his very right was none other than Zeno, meaning he had to choose last.
Zeno merely pursed his lips. He couldn’t say he was disappointed. He already expected something like this.
With that, Minjae smirked and walked confidently toward the deck. He picked a card decorated with a golden lion’s head, teeth bared in a roar.
“King of the Jungle,” he muttered to himself.
There was a high chance this was the positive card.
However, as he looked at it, he saw the huge (-10) written on it. He kept his emotions to himself and walked back to his podium, placing the card on the ledge in front of him, hidden from the other’s eyes.
The others took turns choosing a card, with the other contestants trying to read their expressions.
However, they were making it impossible to read.
– I don’t know who got the positive card.
– They’re going to keep us in the dark until the end, right?
– Yeah, they always do this.
– But it’s fun. I feel like I’m in the game.
Ari had finished choosing her card, and now, it was Zeno’s turn.
The camera lingered on him longer than usual.
He stepped forward slowly, hands clasped behind his back. He didn’t rush. His eyes scanned every card.
Then, he paused in front of a card with a crude drawing of a man—barely a stick figure—clutching his heart.
There was something pitiful about it, so he grabbed it after much thought.
At that moment, Zeno made the biggest mistake he could—the biggest one he had made since the beginning of the show.
An obvious look of disappointment passed through his eyes as he revealed the card to himself.