For the first time in four days, after lights-out, they gathered somewhere other than their own rooms.
Jiwon had just finished showering and was eating the late-night snack provided for him, taking it easy. That was when Park Geonwu and Kim Yunho knocked on his door. He’d hesitated before reluctantly letting them in.
He’d worked out at the crack of dawn, had to keep pissing in front of everyone, and had even gotten a tattoo on his chest. He had no energy left. Even without the late-night snack, it was the kind of hour when drowsiness would normally hit him.
But tonight, his mind was strangely clear. Far from sleepy — he was fully alert. Come to think of it, maybe the past three days of dropping dead asleep were the stranger thing.
Jiwon had worked close to twenty hours a day for over eight months. He’d slept only four or five hours a day, and even that had barely counted as sleep. And yet, grueling as that labor had been, he’d never been this drowsy.
More than anything, he’d been living through the most stimulating days he’d ever experienced. And yet the moment he returned to his room, he didn’t even have the energy left for dirty thoughts, let alone to get himself off.
Is it the painkillers?
In the end, it came back to the one thing that set him apart from the others — the painkillers. That so-called new drug worked far too well. Three pills and he’d be pain-free all day, but like clockwork, twenty-four hours later his arm would go numb to the point of madness. The pain seemed to have gotten worse than before. But if he didn’t take them, it hurt too much — and if he did, he felt suspicious. A lose-lose.
On top of that, there was another reason he was unusually wired tonight. Despite having sworn revenge and ground his teeth over it, Jiwon was sexually aroused.
It was because of the bruise he’d found on his thigh during the last honey-gathering session after dinner. The fingerprint marks Number 3 had left on the inside of his thigh were vivid. The moment he saw them, the memory came rushing back — the way he’d gripped his shoulders and come. Number 3’s smooth, bare body touching him under the water.
He couldn’t tell whether he genuinely wanted him now, or if it was just pent-up frustration. Either way, a heat had been burning through his entire body ever since. That directionless heat kept flooding into his ruined cock.
Even after a cold shower, the heat lingered. Going back to his room and being alone like this didn’t seem like the wisest move.
Maybe Park Geonwu and Kim Yunho had wanted to go somewhere other than their rooms for the same reason. Both of them had also been excessively worked up ever since getting the tattoos on their chests.
Since there were no pajamas or casual clothes provided, all of them, Jiwon included, were in shower robes.
“Can anyone really hold back when it’s like this?”
Kim Yunho looked between Jiwon and Park Geonwu and threw his shower robe wide open.
“My eyes!”
Park Geonwu covered his eyes and shrieked.
Jiwon laughed out loud for the first time in a while. The reluctance he’d felt had unknowingly shifted into relief.
Just as Department Head Kim had said, visiting other crew members’ rooms was prohibited — but moving to other areas of the building was entirely permitted. Except for restricted and off-limits zones.
On the second and third basement floors, there were recreational facilities including a billiards room, an arcade, a bowling alley, and coin karaoke booths, as well as a convenience store, unmanned café, and a bar that served beer and cocktails — non-alcoholic for now. There was also an audiovisual room where you could watch films and read.
The audiovisual room, however, had no ordinary movies or books. Only erotic literature, pornography, and softcore films. For crew members who were forbidden from sex and masturbation, it was open in name only — effectively closed.
The three of them, among the oldest of the crew, said they had no energy to sing and headed to the bar for cocktails. The shop they’d assumed was unmanned turned out to have a bartender. Predictably, the bartender was also wearing a mask, so they avoided the bar seats and sat at a table instead.
In a space big enough to fit all twenty-nine people with room to spare, there were only six of them — including themselves.
CCTVs were mounted everywhere here too. By now they’d grown so used to it that unless they actively thought about it, they forgot the cameras were even there.
“The coin karaoke was packed from the very first day. Bet it’s still full right now.”
Kim Yunho mentioned going to the coin karaoke on the first day of camp.
“You went to karaoke on the first day? I was dying of exhaustion. Impressive.”
Park Geonwu shook his head in disbelief at Kim Yunho’s energy.
“Come on, same here — I was nearly dead on my feet too. But that guy said to meet up there, so I just went. Didn’t even get through three songs before I went back to my room.”
The “guy” Kim Yunho was referring to was one of the muzzle-wearers.
“But how do you know him?”
Park Geonwu asked about a fairly noticeable muzzle-wearer called “Wild Dog 4.” According to Kim Yunho, they’d made plans to meet here, but he hadn’t shown up yet.
Wild Dog 4’s name was Gwak Chan, and he was twenty-six — two years younger than Kim Yunho.
Another Gwak.
First Gwak Hyeseong, now Gwak Chan — ever since meeting Gwak Jun, the man he suspected of orchestrating this project, Jiwon felt like he’d been running into people named Gwak almost as often as Kim.
“He’s my mom’s friend’s son. A real golden boy!”
“What the fuck, his mom’s friend’s son is a total pervert. Does your mom know?”
Park Geonwu snickered.
“Come on. Better than finding out your next-door neighbor is a murderer.”
“Fair enough, I guess.”
Park Geonwu was very interested in Gwak Chan.
Even knowing that the muzzle-wearers were heavily into SM, he openly expressed interest because the guy was his type. He peppered Kim Yunho with questions about Gwak Chan’s personal life. His situation wasn’t all that different from the others, but Park Geonwu responded with unusual enthusiasm.
Jiwon sat there like a bump on a log, quietly knocking back his cocktail on his own. Non-alcoholic as it was, the taste was decent enough, and the music playing in the background was to his liking — a welcome distraction in its own small way.
“Hey Jiwon, so who’ve you got your eye on? Can’t figure out this guy’s taste for the life of me.”
Park Geonwu, mid-conversation with Kim Yunho, turned to Jiwon belatedly.
“Really. He just keeps his head down during honey-gathering time.”
Kim Yunho couldn’t understand why Jiwon passed up such great entertainment.
“…It’s just not really my type. I do have preferences, you know.”
“What are your preferences? Tell me — what’s your type?”
“…….”
“Forget it, forget it. So who’ve you got your eye on? Son Geonwoo?”
Jiwon gave a vague shake of his head. If it weren’t for what happened yesterday, he might have picked Son Geonwoo. But if he had to choose right now, it was Number 3. It was also the safer choice.
“Oh, then who?”
Kim Yunho asked again, visibly impatient.
“…Number 3?”
It felt something like those times when asked about his ideal type — rather than going into detail, he’d just casually name some universally beloved female singer or actress. Here, Number 3 was that universal answer.
That was when it happened.
“Were you looking for me?”
All three looked up at the unexpected voice.
Number 3 had appeared, still in his police uniform. Unlike how he always wore it buttoned all the way to the collar, it was now loosely open down to his chest — effortlessly undone.
Jiwon squeezed his eyes shut, mortified by the timing of his arrival, while Kim Yunho and Park Geonwu greeted Number 3 with a silent uproar.
“Want to join us?”
Kim Yunho twisted in his seat.
Park Geonwu made a playfully pained expression, like he’d just witnessed something he couldn’t unsee.
“What do you like about me?”
Number 3 settled into the seat beside Jiwon without a second thought and asked right back.
This is insane.
“That… well….”
Jiwon fumbled, unable to get a proper word out.
“You’re completely different from yesterday. I got a ten-point penalty because of you.”
Number 3 pulled down the corners of his attractive mouth and made a sulky face.
Catching on belatedly to what Number 3 had meant, Park Geonwu and Kim Yunho clapped their hands over their mouths.
“No way. Don’t tell me — the one who touched you when you came, that was him?”
Kim Yunho made a fuss.
Park Geonwu smacked Jiwon on the back too — why are you only telling us now.
“I figured something was going on since you two knew each other. Wow. This is no joke. Oh, and drop the formalities with me.”
Since Park Geonwu was the oldest at twenty-nine anyway, he said it outright now.
“Of course.”
“I like that your personality is as easygoing as your looks.”
It seemed like Park Geonwu was just working his usual social charm.
“So, on that note — you two did it, right?”
But what he was actually curious about was something else entirely.
“Come on, don’t.”
“You did, didn’t you? That’s why you two were all over each other in the pool. Right?”
Even Jiwon trying to stop him was no use.
Number 3 didn’t deny it either — just smiled ambiguously instead of saying no.
“They did, they totally did. God, you sneaky bastard.”
Kim Yunho cut in. He shot Jiwon a sideways glance with eyes that said he was dying of envy.
“No. We didn’t.”
“I wanted to, though. I did — but what about you? You didn’t?”
Jiwon and Number 3 spoke at the same time.
And because Number 3 happened to say something suggestive, Jiwon’s words got buried entirely.
