Substitute-Chapter 28

2. Abstinence Week

Day 1

He drifted in and out of sleep until four in the morning.

Then, at the blaring sound of a siren, he jolted awake.

It was seven a.m.

He would’ve preferred a trumpet wake-up call; for a second, he thought the building was on fire.

The siren blared for over a minute.

It was so loud his ears rang, and he figured only a dead man could sleep through it.

“All Crew, report to the cafeteria by 7:30 a.m.

Repeating: all Crew, report to the cafeteria by 7:30 a.m.”

Jiwon clutched his ears with both hands and climbed out of bed.

He was naked, but since he was alone, he didn’t care.

A new day, a new morning.

For the first time since the accident, he felt a surge of energy.

First thing, he went to the window and pulled back the curtains.

A beautiful garden bathed in fresh morning light unfolded before him.

From the second floor, the garden looked even more three-dimensional, grand like the Palace of Versailles he had seen during his trip to Europe.

“Crazy,” he muttered.

There were plenty of fancier words he could’ve used, but all he managed was a crude exclamation.

He hummed a tune as he showered.

First, he used dental floss, then brushed his teeth, scraped his tongue, and finished with mouthwash.

Oral hygiene was one of the essential rules for Crew, so he didn’t slack off.

After that, he turned on the tablet PC to check for any announcements.

An alert from the Captain had arrived.

[Sailor uniform, T-back underwear, white stocking socks, and dress shoes must be worn.]

That was the entire announcement.

Jiwon went to the wardrobe, pulled out the sailor uniform and T-back underwear, and laid them out on the bed.

It was his first time even seeing a T-back.

He cursed inwardly—

Was this really designed for a person to wear?—

as he slipped his legs through the straps.

He barely managed to stuff his genitals inside, but even the slightest movement made him feel like everything would spill out.

Besides, the size seemed a bit small.

He hadn’t gained weight—if anything, he had lost some—but it still felt unbearably tight.

Did they make a mistake with the size, or was it supposed to fit this way?

He wouldn’t know—he’d never worn one before.

After fiddling with it for a while, Jiwon gave up and put on the sailor uniform.

It fit like it had been tailor-made.

The top was a bit short, so when he raised his arms, his stomach peeked out, but it wasn’t uncomfortable.

Surprisingly, the fabric was high quality.

The way it brushed against his skin was so soft, it startled him.

The tailoring was perfect, as if crafted by a real expert.

The only problem—like the T-back—was that it fit too perfectly, almost clingy.

It was probably intentional.

Thanks to the elasticity of the fabric, it was easy to move in, but it was so thin and tight that his skin tone showed through.

Sometimes he couldn't even tell whether the sailor uniform was white or skin-colored.

Sure enough, without a tank top underneath, his nipples were completely visible.

Not just that—

the black waistband of the T-back underwear °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° and the shape of both buttocks stood out blatantly above his pants.

It even felt like the fabric covering his ass was intentionally thinner, as if designed to show him off.

The idea of going outside dressed like this made him want to crawl into a hole,

but he comforted himself with the thought that everyone else would be dressed the same.

Finally, he tied the scarf-shaped front flap with a ring, pulled on the white stocking socks, slipped on the dress shoes, and closed the wardrobe door.

Apparently, he had taken too long in front of the wardrobe.

It was almost time for assembly.

Jiwon hurriedly grabbed his tablet PC and stepped out of the room.

The moment he exited, he almost collided with another young man emerging from two doors down.

The guy looked uncannily like Han, as if they were twins.

There was embroidery reading "Sailor 5" where his name tag should be.

Sailor 5 smiled shyly and gave Jiwon a slight bow before subtly looking him up and down.

"Good morning!

I'm Lee Woo—uh, I mean Sailor 5.

I'm staying in Room 205."

He pointed toward his room.

"...I'm Sailor 1," Jiwon replied.

He only confirmed that Sailor 5 was wearing the same outfit as him, then quickly averted his eyes.

He didn’t want to look any closer.

"You're garden view too, right, Sailor 1?"

When Jiwon nodded, a bright smile lit up Sailor 5’s face.

"The view’s fucking amazing, isn't it?

I’ve never been to Europe, but it felt like being there.

Although... I was a little disappointed there's no bathtub."

Sailor 5 kept chattering about the garden all the way to the cafeteria, unfazed by Jiwon’s lukewarm responses.

Even the way he talked reminded Jiwon of Han.

If Han had come here, he probably would've loved it even more than this guy.

Thinking that far, Jiwon shook his head.

Worrying about Han—

was he getting soft?

He let out a bitter laugh.

"By the way, how old are you?

I'm twenty-three," Sailor 5 said.

Even the age was the same as Han’s.

The age Han had died.

"Twenty-eight," Jiwon answered.

"Really?

Whoa, you don't look it at all, hyung.

Can I call you hyung?"

Sailor 5 was weirdly friendly.

"I thought you were my age.

Bet you hear that a lot, huh?

That you look young?"

Even if it was just polite flattery, it wasn’t unpleasant to hear.

"So, hyung, what kind of workouts do you do?

You’ve got exactly the kind of body I want.

Lean and muscular?"

Jiwon considered saying it was just muscle built from hard labor but decided not to.

"You’ve got a better body than me," Jiwon said instead.

This time, he returned the polite lie.

"Come on, no way.

I'm more on the chubby side."

Sailor 5 let out a heavy sigh.

"I want to put on more muscle, but it’s just not happening.

Other guys bulk up after three months of working out, but me?

I just get fat.

Worst return on investment ever."

He grumbled nonstop, rambling on about everything despite just having met.

He really did remind Jiwon of Han Seoho.

Even the way he scrunched his nose was similar.

The only difference was their voices—

Sailor 5’s was much softer, almost delicate.

His way of speaking was so full of cuteness that it could have been unbearable, but because of his voice, it wasn’t.

In terms of looks, Han had a slight edge,

but overall, somehow this guy drew the eye more.

Maybe it was the perfect balance of face, voice, and build.

Was that why Sailor 5 had been chosen instead of Han?

Jiwon thought back to the interviewee he had met at the second interview, the one who looked exactly like him.

What was the difference between him and me?

What was my strength that made them choose me, a man with a dick that didn’t even work?

He found himself pointlessly curious.

One by one, other young men dressed the same started walking ahead and behind him.

Unintentionally, his gaze drifted to their pants—

to the way their buttocks showed through the thin fabric,

to the black T-back underwear riding up along the curve of their asses.

Thinking that he must look exactly the same to others made Jiwon dizzy.

But the moment they entered the cafeteria, he realized the sailor uniform was practically conservative.

It wasn’t even in the same league.

He spotted them—

the ones in leather outfits.

The Crew 2 team, called "Wild Dogs," wore things that could barely be called clothes.

They had leather pants designed with heart-shaped cutouts over their asses and crotches,

leaving their genitals and bare butts practically exposed, only barely covered by black T-back underwear.

Meanwhile, their upper bodies were fully clothed.

They wore long-sleeve white shirts with leather harnesses strapped on top, the kind only dogs might wear.

Naturally, they also wore muzzles.

They were literally being treated like dogs.

In his entire ordinary life, Jiwon had never seen outfits this extreme.

And yet, the ones wearing them looked like they were enjoying it.

It felt like they had specifically recruited men with that kind of kink.

"Wow, insane. Right, hyung?" Sailor 5 whispered, pressing close to him with a trembling voice.

Thinking he might be scared, Jiwon turned to look—

but to his surprise, Sailor 5 was delighted.

His eyes sparkled as he stared at the tall, muscular men.

He was already exchanging glances with one of them.

Ah.

He must be into that, too.

Of course, Jiwon also had to appear that way.

Realizing he had forgotten something important, Jiwon deliberately pretended to check out the others.

When one of the muzzled guys grinned at him, Jiwon quickly turned his head away.

He grumbled inwardly—

Just because they're wearing muzzles doesn’t mean they're actual dogs, dumbass.

The cafeteria buzzed with low conversations and occasional self-introductions.

Sailor 5 had already left Jiwon’s side, chatting and laughing with one of the Wild Dogs.

Jiwon tried not to make eye contact with anyone while memorizing as many faces as he could, but it wasn’t easy.

Yesterday, during orientation, he had managed to tell people apart,

but now, dressed identically, everyone started looking the same.

Especially because each group had matching hairstyles now.

Apparently, while Jiwon’s group only had their waxing checked last night,

the others had also gotten haircuts at the barber shop.

Thanks to that, not just his own team but even the other teams now looked like clones.

This is bad.

He grimaced but kept struggling to pick out distinguishing features.

How long had he been doing that?

Just before the cutoff time, the last team entered the cafeteria.

The moment he saw them, Jiwon nearly screamed.

They were wearing police uniforms.

His guilty conscience made his feet freeze.

But after a second look, he realized with immense relief that the uniforms weren’t the same as Korean police uniforms.

They were the kind you’d see in American TV dramas.

If they had been the kind he used to wear at official events, he would’ve been seriously disturbed.

He quickly scanned the police uniforms.

Among all the teams here, they looked the most formal.

There was no skin exposed at all, and the fabric was thick enough to completely block any hint of flesh.

Their hair was cut extremely short, almost shaved.

The uniforms were pressed so sharply that even the creases looked knife-edged.

They even wore police caps that cast shadows down to their mid-noses,

hiding their faces from the nose bridge down.

Even their name tags were different.

Instead of names like Sailor 1 or Wild Dog 1,

they all had the same number, "44ga0826," written across their chests.

Of course, the digits following 0826 varied from person to person, so it wasn’t too hard to tell them apart.

Predictably, the trailing numbers ranged from 1 to 11.

One hurdle after another, but Jiwon reminded himself not to get obsessed.

There were more important things to focus on.

He took it all in with his eyes:

the three types of people—Sailors, Dogs, and Cops.

Whatever kind of play this was for,

an ordinary brain like Jiwon’s couldn’t even begin to predict it.