Substitute
Chapter 64

Nam Kyuwon, who’d seemed like he might hold out today, ended up ejaculating on the last day too. He racked up five penalty points and was kicked out of the training room.

Ji-won couldn’t focus on his workout because of the rumors he’d heard from Nam Kyuwon. The trainer, who usually only praised Ji-won, nagged him and even shouted at him.

It was justified. His form was sloppy, and the pain in his elbow flared up immediately.

Barely finishing his portion of the workout, Ji-won clutched his aching elbow, went into the locker room, and swallowed a painkiller first. Then, as he was walking toward the shower, someone grabbed his ass.

Naturally, he assumed it was Park Gunwoo or Kim Yoonho messing around and casually muttered, “Cut it out,” without even looking back.

But the person didn’t stop. They squeezed his ass even harder.

Neither of those two were the type to take a joke that far—he got a bad feeling.

And sure enough, when he whipped around, Number 9 was grinning at him.

Number 9. The guy rumored to have beaten someone to death.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

Ji-won snapped.

“Your ass looked fuckable.”

Number 9 swaggered as he answered, then sucked on his inner cheek and popped it loudly with his tongue.

“You fucking piece of shit.”

The curse slipped out before Ji-won could stop himself.

But Number 9 didn’t so much as blink. Instead, he let out a gleeful “Oh~!” like he was enjoying it.

“See you tomorrow, toilet bowl.”

With a smack to Ji-won’s ass, he disappeared.

Ji-won nearly ran after him to bash in the back of his head, but barely held himself back.

Truthfully, he should’ve dealt with Han Seoho, the source of all this, first—but it wasn’t time yet. If he acted prematurely without knowing Han Seoho’s intentions, it could backfire.

What really worried him was that bastard Choi Minjae, who’d been whispering with Han Seoho non-stop. He looked completely smitten.

Had Choi Minjae heard from the detective that Han Seoho was a broker?

Did he even know anything about Han Seoho?

If he was approaching him intentionally, then good. But if not... it was going to be a problem.

Ji-won wanted to avoid dealing with Choi Minjae as much as possible—but he was starting to feel like they needed to have a serious talk.

“Damn, why do you always look like you’re about to punch someone?”

Kim Yoonho, who had gotten to the shower room ahead of him, grumbled as he pushed a finger between Ji-won’s furrowed brows.

“You’re gonna get wrinkles, idiot. Look at me—smooth as a baby’s ass.”

He shoved his face close to Ji-won’s.

“Whatever.”

Ji-won pulled away.

“Wait, your elbow still hurting?”

He noticed Ji-won holding his arm a little too late.

Ji-won flinched involuntarily. He didn’t want his foul mood to ruin Kim Yoonho’s.

“A bit. Probably because I upped the weights recently.”

He played it down.

“You take anything for it?”

“Yeah. It’ll be fine soon.”

“Man, you’re really putting yourself through it.”

Kim Yoonho massaged his shoulder.

“Oh! A spot opened up. Kim Ji-won, want to shower together?”

“Just us?”

“What, you think there’ll be three of us?”

“Nah, you go ahead.”

“C’mon. It’s just us.”

Kim Yoonho shoved him lightly toward the shower.

And so, they ended up showering together. But it wasn’t anything different from being in a sauna with friends or coworkers.

They scrubbed each other’s backs, snickered, and teased each other about how Ji-won’s post-surgery dick and Yoonho’s uncut one were basically the same size.

Kim Yoonho was comfortable in a completely different way from Park Gunwoo.

Thanks to the filth Han Seoho had spread and the things it caused, Ji-won had been feeling terrible—but that started to fade a little.

They waited for Park Gunwoo, who’d showered late after chatting with Gwak Chan, and the three of them left the training room together.

“First one to the cafeteria gets a wish.”

Park Gunwoo proposed.

“What kind of rule is that?”

“Lame.”

“One, two, three!”

He ignored their reactions and took off running.

The other two couldn’t just stand there, so they ran too.

“Hey, that’s cheating!”

Kim Yoonho yelled.

It felt just like being back at the police academy. Back then, the male-to-female ratio was just as skewed, and the atmosphere was similar. They’d make dumb bets—who was stronger, who was faster—and the loser would owe meals, coffee, or booze.

The three of them pushed and blocked each other, arriving at the cafeteria door nearly at the same time.

Even though the mood was light, Ji-won didn’t forget who he was.

Not Yoon Ji-won. Kim Ji-won. The reserved, timid guy who hated standing out.

He deliberately arrived last, panting exaggeratedly.

“Hey, no pushing!”

He grumbled at Park Gunwoo.

“Last place doesn’t get to complain. Maybe you should actually work out sometimes. All you ever do is grow your ass—no wonder your cardio sucks.”

Park Gunwoo scoffed.

“You’ve got no muscle because all you ever do is cardio.”

Ji-won shot back.

“Oho~ Look who’s getting bold.”

“Stop trying to sound old, I told you not to show your age.”

Kim Yoonho joined in and scolded him.

The three of them bickered like elementary schoolers, giggling.

They were starving after a full morning of intense workouts and now a sprint. They wanted to head inside immediately, but entry wasn’t allowed until the team leaders showed up.

Not just Ji-won’s group—other crewmates who’d finished showering were also gathering.

Some of the guys who had already arranged sex for the night exchanged glances or gave knowing smirks. Others were huddled in groups, plotting their first, second, and even third rounds, approaching others or pitching suggestions.

“Hey, did you book Number 3? You two looked like you were talking earlier.”

Kim Yoonho asked, glancing sideways.

“Well, ...not officially.”

So they’d all seen.

Ji-won scratched his cheek awkwardly.

“This guy’s getting cocky. You should’ve locked it in!”

Kim Yoonho reacted like it was his own business.

“Ugh, seriously. What’s wrong with you?”

“Just have a threesome with Son Gunwoo.”

Park Gunwoo blurted out something ridiculous again.

“What, are the three of you really doing it?”

“Hyung, I told you not to joke like that.”

“You really going for a threesome?”

Kim Yoonho looked between Ji-won and Park Gunwoo, eyes wide.

Ji-won frowned at Park Gunwoo, who shrugged as if to say, If it were me, I would’ve.

“Ugh, come on. Buzzkill.”

Kim Yoonho pouted.

Then he turned serious and looked straight at Ji-won.

“Actually though, isn’t that a great idea? Why not? Number 3 said no? Son Gunwoo said no?”

He rattled off questions, clearly curious.

“Son Gunwoo didn’t say anything.”

Ji-won answered honestly.

“For real? That bastard didn’t say anything?”

Park Gunwoo shouted in disbelief.

Was it that shocking?

Ji-won let out a snort.

“I mean, it’s not like I have to, right?”

He kept it casual.

“True, but still. That bastard's outta line. He went around telling everyone he liked you—what’s he playing at now? Guys like that are all bark and no bite.”

Park /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ Gunwoo clicked his tongue.

“Just forget about him. Honestly? Number 3’s way better. First off, he’s got a huge dick.”

He exchanged a knowing look with Kim Yoonho. Both chuckled.

“If you like him that much, why don’t you two take him?”

Ji-won fired back.

“Oh~ Should we go for a foursome then?” they teased.

“Ugh, god.”

He grimaced while they burst out laughing.

“Why not?” they said in unison.

Unstoppable idiots, both of them.

“But hey, what happened to your hand?”

Park Gunwoo asked casually.

“I don’t really...”

“This punk probably bruised it punching the bed, trying to keep his temper in check around here.”

Kim Yoonho cut in, miming a punch through the air.

Ji-won laughed with them, but he still had no clear memory of what really happened to his hand.

It was like someone had sliced away the memory of what happened in the Special Room—a perfect blank.

He’d been anxious at first, but now he was honestly wondering if it had just been from falling over or something.

If anything serious had gone down, Park Gunwoo and Kim Yoonho wouldn’t be joking like this.

Ji-won brushed it off.

Finally, the team leaders arrived.

Everyone rushed into the cafeteria, collecting their assigned trays in order.

The atmosphere inside was warmer than it had been the past seven days. Smiles bloomed on every face. If you didn’t know they were talking about sex, you’d think it was just a bunch of guys in their twenties on a retreat. They all looked healthy and full of life.

Ji-won felt a little sad.

That kid should’ve had a normal twenties too.

No school retreats. No company onboarding trips. None of it.

‘So what do you want to be?’

‘Me? A star PD.’

‘You? You can’t even ask someone out.’

‘I’m not that clueless, okay?’

‘Yeah, sure. Dude, your face is red right now.’

‘It is not!’

He wanted to go back to those times, when teasing that kid was the highlight of his day.

Twenty-three was far too young to die.

“This punk’s spacing out again.”

A tap on the arm brought him back.

“Gunwoo-hyung’s about to say his wish.”

Kim Yoonho motioned with his chin toward Park Gunwoo.

“What wish?”

“Sigh, this guy... I won, remember? I get a wish.”

It was from the race earlier.

Ji-won hadn’t expected him to take it seriously and just smiled.

“I should’ve claimed it. I actually won, but let it slide this time.”

As Yoonho pouted, Park Gunwoo reached over and jokingly shoved his head down.

Then he cleared his throat dramatically.

Putting on a mock-serious face, Park Gunwoo proclaimed:

“Having won the game, I, Park Gunwoo, shall now declare my wish!”

Kim Yoonho frowned like he was embarrassed to be seen with him.

“When we get out of here, let’s all go to Ibiza, Spain. I’ll cover everything.”

It was totally unexpected.

Ji-won and Yoonho didn’t respond right away.

“What the hell, hyung. Weren’t you the one saying not to acknowledge each other outside?”

Yoonho grumbled, but looked genuinely touched.

“No excuses. It’s my wish, so you don’t get a say.”

Park Gunwoo looked at them both, meeting their eyes.

“Bam bam!”

He pounded the table with both fists like a judge.

“Well, I guess I’ve got no choice. I’ll make time in my busy schedule.”

Kim Yoonho acted like a diva as he agreed.

Then both of them looked at Ji-won.

He was stunned. He’d never imagined they’d suggest something like that.

He thought maybe they’d ask to hit a karaoke bar or stay up late drinking.

He hoped it was just a joke—but they were completely serious.

They were asking to meet up outside. Travel together. Not in some far-off future, but in just fourteen days.

It felt strange. And unexpectedly, it made him happy.

Ji-won wasn’t going to make it out of here alive.

But he didn’t need to mourn that right now.

He was Kim Ji-won. All he had to do was give them the answer they wanted. Even if he didn’t make it, he hoped they’d keep that promise anyway.

“Sounds good. You’re covering everything, right? How could I say no?”

Ji-won answered with a bright smile.

Park Gunwoo pumped both fists in the air. Kim Yoonho gave a silent cheer.

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