Liar Game

While fretting over five thousand won (five dollars) that’s suddenly gone missing from the cash register, a customer claims to have found it—and Sunhwa looks up to recognize him as her old high school teacher.
He’d once helped her in a similar situation at school, and had used his own money then to help Sunhwa save face when class bullies had wrongly accused her of stealing. She worries that’s what he did again today and hands the bill he claimed to have “found” back over to him.
She and her teacher share stories of their sad family situations and shared debt, only for Sunhwa to be completely blindsided when her teacher’s all, Isn’t it funny that we’re competing against each other in the first round?
He shows her the chart to prove it, and tries to convince her to participate in the game—just think, if she won the prize money, maybe her dad would be able to stop running from debt collectors and finally come home.
When Sunhwa has reservations about competing with him, Teacher Kim claims it’s actually better, because it’ll be like them teaming up against the show. He’ll lose on purpose so she can win, and they’ll split the prize money. Eeek. This guy reeks of skeeze.
Since Liar Game’s network has been teetering on the edge of bankruptcy, Seung hyun and PD Dasom are called to explain how they can host a show promising a ten million dollar payout in a press conference.
Seung-hyun does almost too well fielding questions, and claims that the show was his idea to revitalize the network—not to mention the mystery investors who helped make the prize money a reality.
One reporter isn’t buying it and calls T.O.P out for playing both sides, like he’s not quite as interested to see the network succeed as he claims, and accuses him of trying to raise the network’s ratings by all but buying them.
He agrees, since he doesn’t know who doesn’t like money. To prove his point (without saying that’s what he’s doing, which is devious), he says that to whichever news organization that writes an article on Liar Game and garners the most hits, he’ll give them half a million dollars worth of advertising fees.
Seung-hyun even adds that the articles don’t have to be positive, they just have to be popular—and lo, Liar Game is on every screen, every news stand, and every computer screen by the next day. Seung-hyun just bought himself publicity. And it’s awesome.
While on her commute the next morning, Sunhwa thinks about Teacher Kim’s offer until she thinks she sees her father amongst the crowd… but she was just seeing things.
Daniel’s affection for Sunhwa becomes clear when he defends her lack of payments to his boss, but is silenced when his job is threatened for it. He can’t keep it if he doesn’t make Sunhwa pay, which, aww.
He’s still happy when she makes him another ramyun dinner that night, even though her thoughts are still lingering on all her debts and how she could get rid of them so easily…
During the recording that night for the first round, Seung-hyun announces that even though Sunhwa forfeited and has yet to show up, she ranked fourth in the show’s online popularity poll.
Much to everyone’s delight (especially Teacher Kim’s), Sunhwa makes a dramatic last-minute entrance. Seung-hyun capitalizes on the event by asking what made her change her mind, only for a flashback to reveal that Sunhwa had actually done so earlier—it was PD Dasom who decided to delay the reveal for dramatic effect.
She’d also convinced Sunhwa to talk about her father when she’d displayed reluctance, which Sunhwa does in the present broadcast by addressing her father through the camera: “When I win the prize money, you won’t have to run because of the debt. We can live together. I’ll make sure to win and get the prize money… So come home.”
It’s time for Seung-hyun to explain the rules: Each of the contestants will be given a briefcase filled with a little over ten thousand dollars and seven days to somehow cheat or steal money from the other contestants using any method under the sun EXCEPT physical violence.
He makes it clear that it’s not a matter of just holding onto your own cash, because the only way to win is by having the most cash by the end of the seven day period. Whoever does the most stealing and lying can win up to half a million dollars for the first round. Let the games begin.
Now that Sunhwa’s decided to participate, PD Dasom gives her an enormous contract detailing how she can’t forfeit from here on out without forfeiting her prize money.
And after learning from a robot that replacing or adding to the game funds with personal money is a strict no-no, Sunhwa calls Teacher Kim to find out their game plan. He suggests, at least for now, that they pool their money together. What could possibly go wrong?
Daniel couldn’t be happier that Sunhwa has chosen to play the game, but since he knows she’ll suck at stealing and cheating others out of their money, he suggests she bring in an expert. He just so happens to know a master swindler who’s getting out of prison soon…
Teacher Kim ferrets Sunhwa and her money away that night to take her (dollars) to his “secret safe” in the bank. Granted, his excuse is legitimate, since having catalogued bills prevents them from depositing them normally.
He takes her through the whole process, and even gives her the key to the safe because he trusts her THAT much. Uh huh.
That night, Sunhwa caves into buying an expensive shirt for her father’s upcoming birthday, since she now has hope that he’ll come back to her if she wins and pays his debt. Aw.
The broadcast from the first recording plays on televisions everywhere, even in prison—but when Lee Joon happens to look up at the screen, his eyes narrow the second Teacher Kim pops up.
Seung-hyun tells the nation that only two contestants have had an upset in their totals: Sunhwa, because she now has zero dollars, and Teacher Kim, because he stole it.
Lee Joon’s cellmates wail that poor Sunhwa was just too nice for the game (and they tooootally knew it), but Lee Joon didn’t have to watch more than a second to deduce that she and Teacher Kim were trying to fool people about their relationship.
There’s already footage of Sunhwa finding out she’d been conned, which happened while she was buying her father’s new shirt. They even filmed her collapsing to her knees in the bank after finding out that she couldn’t access Teacher Kim’s safe without him there, and also all the times she thought she and Teacher Kim weren’t being filmed. Lee Joon was, of course, right about them before the show broadcasted it.
Sunhwa’s embarrassment and shame is shown for all the world to see, even as she cries outside Teacher Kim’s house while its scumbag of an occupant happily turns up the music to drown her out. Seung-hyun and the rest of the Liar Game team just bask in the climbing ratings.
Daniel tries to comfort a distraught Sunhwa through her door, genuinely mad at Teacher Kim on her behalf. He won’t let her give up even though she’s ready to, convinced that all she needs is the help of his genius trickster and former cellmate who’s being released tomorrow.
And so, on the next day, Lee Joon finds Sunhwa waiting for him and extends his hand…

Notes

Another chapter came!
I hope you like it!