Substitute-Chapter 34

While walking down the hallway, others began stepping out of their rooms one by one.

"Watching those freaks lose their minds from pleasure gave me the chills."

Park Gunwoo sneered at the muzzled crew walking ahead, shaking his head in disgust.

They definitely reacted differently from the other crews. Sure, they collapsed from the sudden electric shocks just like everyone else, but after that, they enjoyed the pain.

They panted in excitement, eyes rolled back in ecstasy. Instead of crawling on the floor begging for mercy, they begged for more stimulation.

Unlike Park Gunwoo, who had cried from the pain, they had cried out in bliss.

“Fucking perverted freaks.”

Park Gunwoo gritted his teeth.

Jiwon furrowed his brow on purpose, but truthfully, he wasn’t much different from them.

His lower half still tingled.

The intensity control of the electric stimulus was so precise that it felt like the best oral sex of his life. Eventually, it got too strong, tipping over into pain rather than arousal—but still.

Had Park Gunwoo really felt nothing?

He was curious.

“Hello there.”

At that moment, a voice greeted them from behind. Jiwon turned his head and saw a guy grinning brightly—he looked exactly like Lee Woojoo.

“I’m the new Sailor 5, added yesterday. My name is—”

“That’s enough. I don’t care. Don’t force your introduction on us.”

Park Gunwoo cut him off, openly dismissive.

Sailor 5 gave a sheepish smile and bowed slightly toward Jiwon.

There wasn’t really any need for that.

In Park Gunwoo’s cold place, Jiwon took the lead in introducing himself.

“I’m Kim Jiwon. Twenty-eight.”

“I’m Kwak Hyesung. Twenty-four. Can I call you hyung?”

A Kwak, huh.

Jiwon immediately thought of Kwak Jun but quickly shoved it out of his head. Associating every Kwak he met with Kwak Jun was a foolish, lazy reflex. If it were a Kim, half the country would be suspicious.

“Oh god, that damn ‘hyung’ thing again.”

Park Gunwoo muttered with clear distaste, but eventually gave up and shared his name and age, repeating the same things he’d told Lee Woojoo and Jiwon before.

Kwak Hyesung’s story was much like Lee Woojoo’s.

He’d been a trainee idol since age twelve thanks to his looks, but lacking talent, he never got to debut and was eventually kicked out. He went wild for designer goods, racked up debt, sold his body here and there, and ended up in this place.

“Rough start, huh?”

Park Gunwoo offered a half-hearted condolence.

“Well, I was prepared for it, so it’s fine.”

That answer caught Jiwon off guard.

“You were prepared? For what?”

Jiwon jumped in, startled.

Could this be his second time participating? freewēbnoveℓ.com

He couldn’t hold back his curiosity.

“If they start off with torture on the first day, who could handle that? Obviously someone has to give you a heads-up.”

Kwak Hyesung said it like it was no big deal.

Ah. So that’s what he meant?

Jiwon was slightly disappointed but still nodded along—“Right, I guess that was their version of being polite.”

As they headed toward the training room, Jiwon talked with Kwak Hyesung and came to a conclusion: he was definitely less attractive than Lee Woojoo or Han Seoho.

At first, they seemed like twins, but the more he looked, the more differences stood out. He was taller than the others, but his proportions were off, and his skin was worse. Worst of all was his voice. For a man, it was unusually high-pitched, and carried that grating metallic rasp typical of adult men who had a rough puberty. It was a deeply unpleasant sound that grated on his nerves—far from charming. Somehow it reminded him of Kwak Jun, the toad, and that only made him feel more repulsed.

While Jiwon analyzed Kwak Hyesung down to the nanometer, he found himself surprised by his own behavior.

Trying to observe someone’s traits had turned into picking at flaws.

Who was he to judge anyone?

He was the one full of deficiencies.

He felt bad for no reason.

Really, he did feel sorry—but that didn’t mean he liked the guy any more.

How fickle the human heart was.

“Why is he so damn boring?”

Park Gunwoo was clearly unimpressed too, acting more indifferent by the minute.

“Out.”

He said it flat-out.

“He’s not that bad.”

“You don’t like him either, right?”

“...Not sure.”

Jiwon replied noncommittally.

At the entrance to the training room, they ran into Son Gunwoo. Acting like he hadn’t even noticed the new Sailor 5, he casually draped an arm around Jiwon’s shoulders.

“You okay?”

He asked gently.

“Since when were we on such friendly terms?”

Park Gunwoo joked, pretending to push Son Gunwoo away.

At the right moment, Jiwon brushed the arm off and stepped inside.

“You’re so stiff.”

Son Gunwoo said with a laugh in his voice.

The moment they stepped into the training room, they all gasped. Jiwon had expected a basic gym, so his eyes went wide. Park Gunwoo muttered “What the fuck.” Son Gunwoo whistled.

It was huge, but more than that, it was packed with all kinds of state-of-the-art machines. Naturally, there was equipment for strength training, but there were also ten each of treadmills, stationary bikes, stair steppers, and rowing machines. No one had to wait for anything. There were too many machines to hog.

Since it was a gym, there were lockers and showers too—but every wall and door was made of transparent glass. They barely functioned as dividers. The glass was so spotless and clear that everything inside was on full display.

You couldn’t help but think it was designed for voyeurism.

At exactly 7:30, the training room doors shut.

Twenty-nine.

Jiwon counted heads out of habit, and this time he didn’t mess it up. Then he scanned the faces. He started with the smallest group—the ones he was most familiar with: Crew Zero, the Sailors. They should’ve been the easiest, but surprisingly, pinning down their traits was harder than expected. They all looked too alike.

Even if you drew a sketch later, people would probably say, “Isn’t that you?” So Jiwon made a point to focus on voice, habits, body structure, moles, scars—small distinctions. Park Gunwoo wasn’t an exception. Honestly, he was the easiest mark.

Next was Sailor 2, Kim Yunho. He was the same age as Jiwon, and their numbers were right next to each other, so they crossed paths often. From short conversations and observation, Jiwon gathered that Kim Yunho had a personal connection with one of the muzzled guys, which gave him a social edge with the rest of them too.

Just like reviewing for a test, it wasn’t about memorizing everything in one go. He’d be seeing these faces every day anyway. If you stared at just one person too long, others would notice. Jiwon’s goal was to go unnoticed by everyone while quietly doing what he had to do.

After finishing his mental profile of the Sailors, he turned to the muzzled crew, who had their faces fully exposed. Since they were the most revealingly dressed, it was easy to pick out distinguishing traits. Four out of the eleven had tattoos on their thighs, and each design was unique—ridiculously easy to remember.

Now only the police crew remained—the hardest group to memorize. Among the twenty-nine crew members, they were the only ones wearing caps, which made it hard to remember their faces. Even someone like Son Gunwoo, who was strikingly handsome, could blend in if his jawline looked like someone else’s. Those who wore their caps low enough to cover the bridge of their nose were especially frustrating.

No need to rush.

This was going to be a long game anyway.

Just as Jiwon turned his head, embarrassed after mistaking someone for Son Gunwoo, his eyes suddenly widened.

That jawline looked familiar.

Where had he seen him before?

The guy, dressed like the police crew, stood well over 190 cm tall, and had a stunning jawline—sharp, but not rough, more sleek than rugged. His ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) lips were gracefully shaped, like someone had drawn them by hand—full and pleasing. Even with his cap pulled so low that half his nose was hidden, it was obvious he wasn’t average.

Where had he seen him?

Even Jiwon, who was slow to notice things, could tell this guy had every crew’s eyes on him. The Sailors especially were buzzing.

“Was he here yesterday?”

“Of course! He’s been around since orientation. How did you miss that?”

“Hey, hey—dibs! Don’t even think about it.”

When they said he’d been here since orientation, Jiwon raised an eyebrow.

He knew he hadn’t first seen that man here.

Where had it been?

Where?

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Maybe he’d casually ask Son Gunwoo later.

Ah! Now he remembered.