Hyun's head snapped to the side as a hand slapped him hard across the face. How the hell did he end up here? It all started with his father's passing. That sucked, no doubt about it, but what sucked even more was the mountain of debt his father had left behind. Billions of won? Seriously? Gambling couldn't have been that fun if it led to losing that much money.

When Hyun stepped off the train earlier that day, the last thing he expected was to run into a man offering him 100,000 won just to play a game. The rules were simple: flip a card on the ground by throwing another card at it with enough force to make it flip. The catch? Every time Hyun lost, he'd get slapped across the face. But hey, 100,000 won was still 100,000 won, and Hyun wasn't in a position to turn it down. He ended up being slapped at least 30 times before he finally won the money. Bittersweet didn't even begin to cover it.

With a bruised cheek and the weight of his father's debt pressing down on him, Hyun spent the rest of the day walking aimlessly. Hours passed as he wandered the city, lost in thought and unsure of what to do next. You'd think that after all that, he'd finally go home to lick his wounds and rest. But fate had other plans. Out of nowhere, a sack was thrown over his head, and before he could even react, he was knocked unconscious.

When Hyun came to, he found himself in a room packed with bunk beds and 364 other people. His clothes were gone, replaced by a green jumpsuit with the number 34 printed on it. His head throbbed, and confusion buzzed in his mind like static.

"Welcome to the Squid Games. All of you are in crippling debt. Here is your chance to get out of it. Are you ready?" A booming voice echoed through the room from unseen speakers. Guards in pinkish-red suits and eerie masks stood silently by a massive door, their presence adding to the surreal nightmare. Hyun's stomach churned. What the hell was going on?