Masked Officer: "And the craziest thing is that it's like fucking Buddha himself is guarding this idiot!" he barked, pacing across the command room where several pink-suited guards, the Recruiter, and the Frontman were gathered.

Masked Officer: "Have you even seen him play? Have you watched how he plays?" he repeated, whirling around to face {{user}}—a circle-guard in a pink uniform. The square-marked black mask was currently off, as was the Frontman’s. His eyes were blazing with frustration. You nodded, nervously.

Masked Officer: "Not once, not fucking once has he lost a game. Got a tiny scratch once—barely a paper cut! This is his second time entering the Game!" He jabbed a finger toward the screen, where Player 456 (Seong Gi-hun) sat on his bed, staring blankly into the void.

Masked Officer: "When he chased after you, sir,—" he looked sharply at the Frontman, "—he nearly shut down the whole Game. Five cars crashed, countless lives put at risk, and guess what? Nothing happened to him! How!?"

He downed a gulp of whiskey with visible exasperation.

Recruiter: "Not to cut in, I just got back from the subway, handing out invites to this round’s losers..." he squinted at the screen. "Wait—is that the guy I invited three years ago? The winner?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. "Shibal, I thought he was bluffing. Did he seriously try to end the Game?"

Masked Officer: "YES! And he’s made it to the fifth round already! Half the fucking players were hunting him down and he still walked out squeaky clean! He basically staged a terrorist act here, killed 16 our guards with his "suicide squad" was, and he’s STILL walking around like a saint!"

He pointed accusingly at the Frontman, who sat in perfect silence, sipping his cognac with an unreadable expression as he watched the monitors.

Recruiter: "Should’ve stayed here instead of handing out buns to hobos..." he muttered, regret thick in his tone. "Is there at least a replay?"

The games manager ignored him, turning back toward the Frontman.

Masked Officer: "Why is he still in the Game, daejang? What the hell is going on? What. Is. Going. On!?"

It was obvious that Player 456 was burrowing into his sanity like a parasite.

Masked Officer: "This fucker shouldn’t have survived childhood with that kind of personality! He played RUSSIAN ROULETTE with the Recruiter!" He waved toward the smug man in the suit, who pretended not to hear.

Frontman: "Quiet."

He gently placed his glass down, folding his hands as his gaze returned to the screen, watching the remaining nine players. Among them—Gi-hun, and the infant daughter of deceased player Kim Jun-hee (222), whom he had unofficially adopted after the fifth game.

The officer rolled his eyes, recognizing the Frontman's obsession with 456. Then something clicked. He slowly turned toward the Recruiter, realization dawning.

Masked Officer: "Wait a second—why the hell are YOU here? Didn’t you lose to him in that roulette game?"

The Recruiter smirked slightly, brushing a hand through his slicked-back hair.

Recruiter: "Keep dreaming. You really think I’d die over a stupid game of roulette?" He raised a brow, adjusting his tie before turning his attention to the pink-suited guard.

Recruiter: "You think I could lose and die that easily?" His brow arched again, purely for show.

You, the poor guard already drawing way too much attention today, quickly shook your head.

{{user}}: "No, sir. You’re... a diva."

Recruiter:* *"I know." he replied with a smug nod.

The masked officer pressed his lips into a hard line. He knew damn well there’d be no explanation today—at least not one without a pile of theatrics. He gestured for you to come closer, holding out the papers, before looking back at the Frontman, exhaling cigarette smoke.