Kim Donghu’s assigned VJ, Park Seongryeol, was currently on the brink of death.
“What kind of kid is this!?”
To be honest, Park Seongryeol prided himself on his stamina.
Climbing mountains every weekend was a given, and he occasionally joined running clubs to jog as well.
So, whenever he was tasked with filming variety shows like Rushman, he never worried about keeping up.
But—
“I’ve really met my match this time.”
Kim Donghu wasn’t just someone with “good” stamina; he was on a completely different level. To put it bluntly, he seemed like a different species altogether.
When Donghu descended 22 flights of stairs without a single break, Seongryeol had already felt that something was off. In fact, by the time they reached the 10th floor, and he couldn’t keep up anymore, Donghu casually grabbed the camera and carried it himself down to the 2nd floor.
Keeping up with him was exhausting. That was the reality of the person who filled Park Seongryeol’s camera lens: Kim Donghu.
“Up to that point, I thought he was just someone with great stamina.”
But then Donghu started walking on his hands.
“Oh, I see.”
It was only then that Seongryeol realized. Donghu didn’t just have good stamina—he had everything.
As soon as Donghu began chasing them, Kangsu and Kim Sujin bolted for the elevator.
Watching their retreating figures, Donghu immediately sprinted toward the stairs.
“Wait, can I even call that ‘sprinting’?”
Even while filming, Seongryeol felt like something was off.
How could someone running on their hands be just as fast as someone running on their legs? Why was Donghu so good at these things?
Lost in thought,
Click.
Donghu opened the door while still in a handstand.
Did he use his legs to turn the doorknob? While pondering this mystery—
Swoosh!
Donghu spun his body upright and stood.
“How much time is left until the three minutes are up?”
“Uh… about a minute and 30 seconds.”
“Well, then there’s no other choice.”
No other choice for what? Just as that thought crossed his mind—
Smack!
Donghu grabbed the stairwell railing.
To be precise, the inner railing of the staircase.
He gripped it,
Smack! Smack! Smack!
And started climbing it.
What kind of idea was it to climb using the stair railing?
Never mind the idea—this seemed outright dangerous. The inner railing had gaps leading all the way down to the basement.
“But he’s climbing it so safely?”
It was a ridiculous thought, but Donghu never let his body drift toward the gaps.
Climbing the stairs purely with his strength, it was absurd that his speed was nearly on par with the VJ following him.
“So, you’re telling me he’s climbing the stairs using just his arms, at almost the same speed as someone using their legs?”
Had he trained in parkour? Was he Tarzan? Who even was this kid, and how could he do such things?
Reaching the 5th floor in record time,
Because the SKS Broadcasting Station was an older building, the elevator was relatively slow.
“KYAAAAA!”
Thanks to that, Donghu caught the elevator.
“Oh no, how could you run off so fast? I’m hurt!”
“What the hell are you?! How did you even get here? Are you Tarzan or something?!”
While Kangsu voiced exactly what Park Seongryeol was thinking, Kim Sujin, quick to assess the situation, tried to dart past Donghu.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
Just then, exactly as the three minutes expired, Donghu’s legs blocked Sujin’s path.
In this life-or-death moment, where it wouldn’t be strange for two name tags to be ripped off in quick succession—
“Sujin! Sacrifice yourself!”
Kangsu’s betrayal giraffe moment struck without warning.
The massive figure of over 190cm hid behind a girl barely over 160cm, creating a rare spectacle.
“Donghu! Spare me! I have so much to do! I have rabbit-like dependents to take care of!”
“You’re not even married.”
“Future ones!”
“...”
While Donghu stood stunned, Kangsu quickly pressed his advantage.
“Donghu! If you let us go, I’ll tell you where Seoksam-hyung and the 6th-floor tape are!”
“We can’t touch their tape anyway.”
“Even so, I’ll tell you where Seoksam-hyung is! Let’s make a deal! Him for me and Sujin!”
“Why would I let go of you and Sujin when you’re standing right in front of me?”
Logically cornered, Kangsu resorted to flailing.
“S-Sujin! Sujin is cute!”
“What?”
“You think Sujin is cute and pretty, right? Don’t you?!”
“Well… I did say that.”
He was clearly being overpowered—not by strength, but by Kangsu’s experience in variety shows.
“A cute and pretty Sujin being eliminated 10 minutes into the game—can you allow that?!”
“…Should I not?”
Completely sucked into Kangsu’s act, Donghu hesitated.
“Alright, Sujin! Show him yourself!”
“Huh? W-What do you mean?!”
“Show him how cute and pretty you are! Do some aegyo!”
“P-pyoong! Pyoong?!”
Pyoong pyoong.
In a panic, Sujin clasped her hands into a flower pose and gazed up at Donghu with wide, sparkling eyes.
It was textbook seduction. Donghu instinctively realized that he had to play along for the sake of entertainment.
“...Fine. Give me the tape, and I’ll leave it in the corner of the 5th-floor hallway.”
“You’ll let us go then?”
“Only if you tell me where Seoksam-hyung is.”
“Okay! Deal! I’ll call him right now!”
After the brisk negotiation—
Static.
“Seoksam-hyung! Where are you?!”
-Me? I’m on the 6th floor.
“Perfect! Stay there. We’ll bring the 2nd-floor tape and meet you!”
-Oh, okay. We’re almost done too.
“Got it!”
Kangsu sold out his teammate without hesitation. He had no choice.
I need to survive.
“And honestly, if anyone’s going to get eliminated first, it should be Seoksam-hyung.”
Having reached an extremely reasonable conclusion—
“...I’ll let this go just once because of the aegyo.”
“Sujin! Do it one more time!”
“H-Huh?! O-Okay! Pyoong! Pyoong!”
“Ugh…”
With his legs free again, Donghu darted off to the stairwell. Behind him, Park Seongryeol sank into despair, knowing he’d have to run after him once more.
About five minutes after Donghu vanished from Kangsu and Sujin’s sight—
[Ji Seoksam out. Ji Seoksam out.]
The first signal of Donghu’s hunt echoed through the SKS Broadcasting Station building.
“Sujin, let’s just focus on finding the 2nd-floor tape. He said it’s in the 5th-floor hallway.”
“Y-Yes…!”
With relieved expressions, Sujin and Kangsu resumed their mission.
A little while later.
"Ughhh… you traitorous, heartless jerks! How could you sell me out like that!"
Ji Seoksam yelled into the radio, filled with resentment and anger, but—
-…
No response came.
Was it because there was no point in speaking to the dead? Ji Seoksam, wearing an utterly wronged expression, glared at Kim Donghu, who was holding his name tag.
"Donghu, are you some kind of special forces soldier? Huh? How are you even capable of this?"
Ji Seoksam recalled what had happened just a few minutes ago.
Ding-ding-ding!
The sound of bells. The moment he heard it, he realized his mistake and turned around.
Like he was teleporting, Kim Donghu was charging at him.
Even in his panic, Ji Seoksam activated the three-minute no-legs-allowed restriction on Donghu and smugly planned to tease him from just beyond the reach of his arms.
But then—
Whoosh!
"What… what the hell?!"
Donghu, standing on his hands, rushed at him.
Too startled to think, Ji Seoksam instinctively closed his eyes, and by the time he opened them, his name tag was already in Donghu’s hand.
“…Kangsu-sunbae… that…”
"I know, I know! But what really pisses me off is that now they won’t even respond to me on the radio!"
"Haha."
At Ji Seoksam’s indignant outburst, Donghu chuckled awkwardly and immediately began reporting over the radio.
“This is Kim Donghu. I’ve just eliminated Ji Seoksam-sunbae. Current location is the 6th floor. It seems he hid the tape somewhere here.”
Static.
"This is Gukjong. Copy that, over. But hey, Donghu, did you actually go from the 22nd floor to the 6th floor via the stairs?"
“Yes, I first went down to the 2nd floor and now I’m on the 6th.”
“…Wait, so you weren’t hit with the no-legs-allowed penalty?”
“Oh, I was, but since it only prohibits using legs, I solved it by walking on my hands.”
“What? Ah… alright, I’ll get the details later. I’m on the 13th floor, and Giri’s on the 19th. Report if anything unusual comes up.”
“Understood!”
With that, the report concluded. Donghu didn’t want to waste time and was about to start moving again when—
‘Wow, I really pushed him too hard.’
Right on the verge of death, his assigned VJ, Park Seongryeol, came into view. Completely drenched in sweat, his spirit seemed to have almost left his body. Donghu sat down in a chair for a moment.
“Ah… I ran too hard. I think I’ll take a quick break.”
“Thank you… truly, thank you.”
Park Seongryeol collapsed into a chair as well, looking like someone who had been granted a second chance at life.
“…Donghu, are you really an actor?”
With Ji Seoksam’s dry remark, the situation temporarily calmed down.
Meanwhile.
“Hey, did you hear that on the radio? Donghu went down from the 22nd floor to the 2nd, then up to the 6th, and caught Seoksam-hyung?”
“Yeah, I heard. But does that even make sense? What’s this about walking on his hands?”
With only a glass door separating them, Yoo Jiseok and Kim Gukjong faced off. Both of them burst into incredulous laughter at the news of Donghu’s antics.
“They said he’s an actor, but it’s like a special forces soldier showed up instead.”
“Gukjong, if I activated the no-legs penalty on you, would you walk on your hands too?”
“Hyung, I’m not that crazy.”
“Alright, then. No-legs penalty for you.”
"..."
As the three-minute restriction kicked in, Gukjong immediately grabbed his radio.
“Donghu, come to the 13th floor. Seoksam-hyung and Suyeon are here.”
Static.
“Copy that, I’m on my way.”
“Hey, that’s cheating! Wait, is this even Rushman anymore?! It’s more like ‘Survive Kim Donghu,’ isn’t it?!”
As soon as Yoo Jiseok heard that, he scrambled into action, his movements quick and frantic.
‘Why did this turn into a horror show?!’
This wasn’t a variety show anymore—it was a survival thriller.