Something touched my arm.
A faint noise echoed through the silence. Soft footsteps, a distant hum—like machines breathing around me.
My body ached all over. My head pounded.
"Hey… can you hear me?" a voice said quietly.
I slowly opened my eyes. The light was too bright at first. Then I saw a man—maybe in his late twenties, crouching near me. He looked relieved.
"Oh thank God, you're awake," he said with a half-smile. "Name's Kyungho, Candidate #241."
I blinked a few times, still trying to figure out where I was. "W-Where…?"
"You're in the 19 Show, kid," he said gently. "We all are."
Before I could reply, I heard another groan beside me. I turned—just in time for someone to sit up suddenly.
**CRACK!**
Our heads slammed into each other, and both of us yelled in pain, falling backward again.
"Seriously?" I groaned.
The other guy cursed and rubbed his head. He looked a bit younger than me. "Damn, man. My name's Jihan, Candidate #327."
Kyungho chuckled. "Nice to see you both alive. We thought you were gone for good."
Behind us, a sarcastic voice cut through the air. "Tch. What kind of losers sleep through all this?"
We turned to see a guy standing with his arms crossed, leaning against the wall. He looked about 20.
"I'm Minjae, Candidate #303," he said with a smirk. "And you two snored through a war."
"Easy, man," Kyungho said calmly. "We're all in the same mess now."
I finally sat up and looked around. We were inside a massive room with white walls. No windows. Just one large metal door with a red light above it. Cameras blinked silently from every corner.
I turned and saw Hamin—still unconscious on the floor.
---