Substitute
Chapter 59

After tanning, everyone moved to lunch, but the Sailors skipped the meal and went off separately. Still, no one complained. It was because this was the much-rumored Developer Class.

Expectations were written all over their faces.

“Is it really that good of a class?”

Jiwon asked dryly.

“I’m starving to death. Why won’t they feed us first?”

As he grumbled—

“Are you seriously whining about food right now?”

Kim Yunho, of all people—the most obsessed with meals—snapped.

“Oh foolish soul. Only through direct experience shall you attain enlightenment.”

Park Geonwoo chuckled and muttered something incomprehensible, just like yesterday.

“Captain, can I go first today?”

For the first ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ time since arriving at the dorm, Kim Yunho asked the captain directly.

The captain looked at him and nodded.

“Expressions of enthusiasm are always welcome.”

With that, the other Sailors all raised their hands, claiming they wanted to go first too. But only Kim Yunho’s request was accepted.

“The first is always the most important. Anyone can follow. I trust you all understand what I mean by that.”

The captain said it gently.

Han Seoho pouted and glared at Kim Yunho.

For the first time, Han Seoho—who usually looked nothing but beautiful—looked ugly.

Jiwon was bothered by Han Seoho, who, despite his stunning looks, always seemed somehow warped.

Especially after what had happened earlier with No. 3, Han Seoho had started acting cold toward him for some reason.

Park Geonwoo, who didn’t get along with Han Seoho to begin with, hadn’t noticed any change. And Kim Yunho never paid much attention to Seoho in the first place. So only Jiwon was left feeling uneasy.

He hadn’t done anything wrong to Han Seoho, yet he felt like he’d committed a major sin.

Why was he feeling guilt in a place designed for sex? Jiwon didn’t know himself.

The place for the Developer Class was decorated exactly like the Clinic. That same white, sanitized smell, the same pristine space.

A man in a white uniform and white mask sitting at the reception desk welcomed them brightly.

“Welcome. This is your second class, right? Please wait in the lounge.”

With practiced kindness, he led them all to the waiting room.

There, a long couch and table could seat more than ten people. On the table were erotic magazines and a vase of ornate flowers.

It was all white, like the Clinic, but somehow felt cozier. Maybe it was the sound of birds chirping and water flowing—unnaturally present indoors—or maybe it was the ridiculously soft couches.

Was the air purer here?

He took a breath through his nose.

Yeah. That smell.

It wasn’t the air. It was a faint, familiar scent.

It reminded him of deep darkness, the cosmos—like the place where he went to masturbate. Similar, but not exactly the same.

It was too faint. So faint that Park Geonwoo, who had rhinitis, said he couldn’t smell a thing.

“Don’t you smell anything?”

He asked Kim Yunho, but Yunho just shook his head.

“My heart’s pounding. Don’t talk to me.”

Kim Yunho was more tense than ever—but not out of fear. He was too excited.

“Could I have a quick word with the professor?”

The captain stepped into the “consultation room” to meet the person who would lead the session—the so-called professor. Next to the consultation room was a door labeled “Recovery Room.”

Consultation room and recovery room.

It was a hospital, no matter how you looked at it.

Was “Developer Class” just a euphemism?

Jiwon tilted his head.

After staying inside for over five minutes, the captain came out with a bright expression. He informed the staff of the session order.

Kim Yunho, praised for his boldness, was up first. Park Geonwoo second. Then Han Seoho. Jiwon was fourth. Lee Jihoon was scheduled last.

The staffer quickly typed the order into a tablet and nodded.

“Sailor 2, please proceed to the consultation room.”

He called out gently.

Only one person was allowed inside at a time. The others had to wait in the lounge.

“How long does it take?”

Jiwon asked.

“Ten? Fifteen minutes? No idea.”

Park Geonwoo answered offhandedly.

It was much shorter than Jiwon had expected.

What kind of lesson could take only ten minutes but leave everyone looking so euphoric? Jiwon was genuinely curious.

No one looked at the magazines. No one chatted. They just sprawled out on the sofa, waiting for their turn.

Jiwon gradually relaxed too. It should’ve been lunchtime, but he didn’t feel hungry at all.

Exactly fifteen minutes later, Park Geonwoo was called. He flashed Jiwon a V-sign and entered the consultation room.

With the consultation and recovery rooms connected, Kim Yunho’s figure couldn’t be seen.

“Hyung. Jiwon-hyung.”

Suddenly, Han Seoho came over and sat flush beside Jiwon on the sofa. He’d been cold all this time—why speak now?

“Don’t get too close to No. 3.”

Seoho said, his face full of concern.

“That fucker’s insane.”

He raised his eyebrows.

“Apparently he killed someone during sex. Choked them.”

No. 3 was a murderer too? Fucking hell.

“I wanted to tell you before you got any closer to that bastard. Just... don’t tell anyone I said this, okay? It’s a secret!”

He whispered, barely audible, into Jiwon’s ear.

Then he walked off like nothing had happened, slipping between Lee Gangjun and Jeong Hajun and playfully leaning on them.

Fuck. Jiwon let out a breath.

So that was why Han Seoho had looked at him with such contempt in the tanning shop.

Who wouldn’t, if they’d seen him messing around with a murderer who’d strangled someone during sex?

They probably thought Jiwon, with a dick like his, just gave it up to any guy.

And wasn’t Son Geonwoo right before No. 3?

Jiwon was grateful to Han Seoho. If he hadn’t warned him, he might’ve died mid-fuck before even getting to his revenge.

One guy killed his father. Another strangled his sex partner to death.

Of all the people to get entangled with...

Jiwon gave a bitter laugh at his terrible judgment in men.

While he was wallowing in self-deprecation, it was suddenly Han Seoho’s turn.

Which meant it had been fifteen minutes since Kim Yunho entered the recovery room. But no matter how long Jiwon lingered near the door, Yunho didn’t come out.

What was happening in there that required more than fifteen minutes of recovery?

More than worry, it sparked his curiosity.

Not long after Seoho went in, Jiwon and the other Sailors practically sank into the couch.

Their bodies grew oddly limp. It had been a while since he felt this kind of satisfying drowsiness.

It was like that post-shift exhaustion—after coming home from a night shift, eating instant noodles, and collapsing into bed. That warm fullness and fatigue wrapped around his entire body.

He might’ve dozed off for a second.

“Sailor 1, Sailor 1!”

The loud voice calling him jolted him awake.

Jiwon barely managed to lift his sluggish body and walk to the consultation room.

The staffer opened the door and asked, “First time?”

“...Yes.”

“No need to be nervous. You’ll enjoy it.”

He smiled sweetly.

The door closed behind Jiwon.

“Sailor 1?”

A man referred to as the professor addressed him.

Wearing a white coat and white mask like the doctor from the Clinic, he had a surprisingly pleasant voice.

“We’ll start with a stethoscope check. Could you take off your top?”

Jiwon fought the urge to smile and quickly shrugged off his shirt.

“Looks like you tanned. That skin color is a work of art.”

The professor complimented him.

“Thank you.”

Jiwon ended up smiling despite himself.

He didn’t know why it made him so happy—but it did.

The professor had him sit and pressed the stethoscope against his bare chest.

Ugh. It was so cold that his body trembled.

“You must be sensitive to cold.”

The professor asked with a laugh in his voice.

“Yeah.”

Jiwon gave another stupid smile.

Every time the stethoscope moved, Jiwon shivered. It was freezing.

The room felt several degrees colder than the lounge. His skin broke out in goosebumps. His nipples hardened instantly.

Was the professor humming? Or was that him?

His head was foggy.

The stethoscope traveled across his chest, sides, and back, growing warmer with each pass.

Without realizing, Jiwon started swaying slightly with the rhythm of the checkup.

“How do you feel?”

“Good.”

“Shall I make it feel even better?”

He didn’t know what that meant, so he looked up—and saw the professor dipping the stethoscope into ice water.

Then he pressed it directly to Jiwon’s nipple.

Hhhgh!

The cold made him moan and jolt at once.

The professor chuckled.

“Our Sailor 1 is in excellent health. Now, let’s begin the actual lesson.”

The professor’s voice felt like it was coming from far away.

Jiwon slowly got up and followed him to the bed.

“Take off your pants and put this on. Call me when you're done changing.”

“What about the underwear?”

He asked something stupid.

“Take those off too.”

The professor replied brightly, handing him white clothing. He even pulled the curtain for him.

The bed was pure white. The lace curtain surrounding it was so white it almost hurt to look at. Even indoors, it billowed as if wind were blowing through.

Each time that delicate lace moved, Jiwon felt a chill.

Outside the curtain, he heard the sound of a cart being rolled forward.

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