Substitute-Chapter 15
Four interviewers sat at a long table directly in front of him, waiting for Jiwon. The Thug Escort, the Monkey-Faced Man, and Horn-Rimmed Glasses were among them. The Thug Escort and Monkey-Faced Man, who had looked unmistakably like low-tier gangsters during the last interview, now looked like average office workers, probably because they were dressed in the same black suits as Jiwon.
And seated between the three of them was a man with a blurred, toad-like face. He looked, at most, in his mid-thirties, but something about him evoked a visceral sense of disgust. He was close to obese and had the most indifferent expression of the group.
Are they really going to make me insert a dildo in front of them?
That thought made his head spin.
“Thank you for coming. Please, have a seat.”
The Thug Escort spoke politely. His previously sleazy tone had done a complete 180.
When Jiwon didn’t move, still caught off guard, the Thug Escort reached out and pointed to a chair. It was only about two meters away from the interviewers. A small side table stood nearby, holding a bottle of water and a cup.
Jiwon adjusted his suit and walked over to sit down.
“We’ll begin the questions right away. Did you do the enema?”
Before he could catch his breath, the Monkey-Faced Man cut straight to the point. Compared to before, his tone was strictly professional and courteous.
Jiwon grew curious about who they really were underneath it all. But now wasn’t the time for that. This was still an interview.
“Yes. I did.”
He answered after a slight delay, trying his best to stay composed.
“And you fully understand what you’re expected to do here?”
“Yes. I do.”
“Do you have experience inserting a penis into your anus?”
This time, it was the Thug Escort who asked. His face was so calm as he asked such a graphic question, it felt like he was just saying, “Did you have breakfast this morning?”
They’re really going to ask questions like that, just like that?
The one who was flustered was Jiwon, not them.
“...Yes. I have.”
He barely squeezed the words out.
“You’re gay?”
The questions kept coming, no matter how shaken Jiwon was.
“...If I had to say, I’d call myself bisexual.”
The more nervous he got, the easier it was to show his true self, so he tried to be as careful as possible.
I am Kim Jiwon.
He chanted the magic spell to himself.
“Ah, bisexual.”
One of the three—excluding the toad-like man—muttered that under his breath.
“How much experience do you have? Please specify in terms of per week or per month. Exclude masturbation—just intercourse.”
Finally, Horn-Rimmed Glasses spoke.
The questions were escalating. Jiwon hadn’t expected it to be like this and felt deeply unsettled. His whole body flushed with heat, not just his face.
Fucking lunatics.
He tried to calm his mind and not get swept up in their bizarre interview method.
“Well... Before the accident, I did it about once or twice a month. After the accident... maybe three times.”
He’d jerked off a lot more, but...
He added that in a way that sounded like an excuse.
The Thug Escort leaned toward the Monkey-Faced Man and whispered, “That’s way too little.” The Monkey-Faced Man nodded slightly, then turned to look at Jiwon.
“Your number of sex encounters seems quite low. Any particular reason?”
It was almost accusatory—like he was saying that for someone your age, especially a bisexual man, you should’ve done it more.
“Well... my father was pretty strict. And I didn’t really have many... friends. I had a girlfriend too...”
He let the end trail off on purpose.
The Thug Escort and the Monkey-Faced Man both wore expressions like they completely understood and expected that kind of excuse.
“So you were closeted, right?”
“...Yes.”
He hung his head like he’d committed a crime.
“Let me rephrase the question then. Kim Jiwon, do you enjoy sex?”
The Monkey-Faced Man asked in a friendlier tone.
Different wording, but still about sex. The fact that it was ten in the morning, and he was having this conversation with men who looked like regular office workers in what looked like a normal office—none of it felt real. Not even dreams played out like this.
Gotta get used to it. What else can I do?
“Yes. ...I enjoy it.”
He firmed his mind and answered with determination.
“How much?”
“...A lot.”
The Monkey-Faced Man smirked.
“Not like that. Be specific. If your father and girlfriend weren’t in the picture, how often do you think you’d be having sex?”
“Every day... I guess.”
“Even now?”
As he asked, he gestured toward Jiwon’s lower body.
He meant, Even with your condition now?
“Yes... My desire’s gotten even stronger than before.”
He shamelessly lied. That made the three men suddenly start scribbling notes.
“What position do you prefer?”
Horn-Rimmed Glasses asked.
“Doggy... style.”
Horn-Rimmed Glasses frowned, clearly dissatisfied with the answer.
The toad-like man let out a loud yawn. His face practically screamed boredom.
“Are you able to be penetrated?”
The Monkey-Faced Man picked up the baton again.
The toad’s gaze fell on Jiwon’s lower body. His eyes crawled over him like slime. Even though Jiwon was fully dressed in a suit, he felt completely exposed.
“I’m not sure. I haven’t tried...”
“Can you get hard at all?”
The Thug Escort asked with a strangely serious look.
“Yes... I can.”
“Good. At least that’s something.”
The Thug Escort smiled.
“Well hey, as long as you can get hard, penetration’s always possible. Whether your partner’s satisfied is a whole other thing though, right?”
The Monkey-Faced Man looked around the room as he said it. He almost seemed like he was trying to push for Jiwon’s acceptance.
“You don’t have any trouble urinating, right?”
The Monkey-Faced Man again.
“No.”
“Ejaculation?”
“I can.”
Buoyed by the Monkey-Faced Man’s encouragement, Jiwon answered quickly.
“Perfect, then. Okay. I think that wraps up the questions about your genitals.”
The Monkey-Faced Man concluded.
His lips were completely parched—what the hell kind of questions were these? He glanced toward the side table, wondering if he should drink some water.
“How did your genitals end up like that?”
Horn-Rimmed Glasses asked with his usual mechanical tone, like it was nothing special.
Of course. Jiwon had been wondering when they’d get to that question.
“Uh, well... it was an accident.”
“Don’t gloss over it. Please describe the details accurately.”
It was practically an interrogation.
The toad-like man, who’d been yawning nonstop, looked at Jiwon with interest for the first time.
Jiwon’s expression twisted. It took effort to open his mouth.
“...It was a motorcycle accident.”
He shook his head as if he didn’t want to ever think about it again. After a brief pause, he continued.
“The bike got crushed and turned sharp like a blade, and I guess I landed on it face-down. Honestly, I passed out from the impact, so I don’t remember anything. When I woke up, I was told my penis had been severed and reattached in emergency surgery.”
Damn. The Thug Escort sighed, and the Monkey-Faced Man winced like it had been his dick that got cut off.
Horn-Rimmed Glasses, the one who’d asked the question, didn’t react at all—he was busy jotting things down.
The toad-like man, who’d shown a spark of interest, scratched his ear, disappointed by the answer. Clearly, he’d been hoping for something more stimulating.
Asshole.
Jiwon cursed him silently.
“Do you have any STDs?”
“...What?”
“AIDS, syphilis, gonorrhea.”
The Thug Escort named them directly.
“No. Nothing like that.”
“So you’ve had other stuff, then. Right?”
The Monkey-Faced Man jumped in.
“...I’ve had something before.”
Jiwon replied in a voice so small it was practically a whisper.
The Monkey-Faced Man nodded and said, “That’s normal for a guy.”
“We’ll find out the specifics with testing anyway. What about contagious diseases?”
“Contagious diseases? If you mean the flu...”
“Not that. Tuberculosis, hepatitis.”
“None.”
That, at least, he could say with certainty.
“Good. Very good.”
The Monkey-Faced Man scribbled something on his tablet, satisfaction spreading across his face. Of the three, he’d been the most favorable toward Jiwon throughout the interview.
“That should just about do it for the questions.”
He looked over to the Thug Escort and Horn-Rimmed Glasses, making eye contact as if seeking their agreement.
Finally—it’s over.
Jiwon felt himself start to breathe again. But just then, the Monkey-Faced Man laced his fingers together on the desk. He looked straight at Jiwon, like he still had something to say.
What the hell was he about to say? Jiwon swallowed dryly.
“Let me ask you this—if you do end up passing the final stage, how far are you willing «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» to go?”
Jiwon raised an eyebrow, unsure what he meant.
“I... don’t even know exactly what the job is yet...”
He let the end trail off, implying, How could I answer something like that when I don’t even know what this interview is for?
The Monkey-Faced Man gave a knowing smile, like he’d expected that answer.
“In other words, Kim Jiwon, you came this far because you’re willing to insert the dildo. Truth is, a lot of applicants turned back right at that steel door. But you came inside. What I want to know is—did you come here planning to stop at dildo insertion just for the money? Or were you open to doing more than that? I’m asking if your goal here today is to pass the final selection.”
More than just dildo insertion. Final selection.
As Jiwon listened to the Monkey-Faced Man, a surge of hope swelled in him. Maybe they’d asked this question to the others too, but they could’ve asked it after the dildo part. Yet they were asking him now, beforehand. That had to mean something.
Was this finally going to be about the party?
He clasped his trembling hands together tightly.
“Are you talking about... prostitution or shooting porn or something like that?”
Jiwon deliberately played dumb, pretending he didn’t understand the full implication.
“If that’s how you interpreted it, we’ve got nothing else to say. But let’s be real—if we were just looking for someone to fuck, we wouldn’t go through all this trouble with interviews, would we?”
The Monkey-Faced Man cut him off mid-sentence.
“If all we wanted was sex, we could walk around Itaewon or Jongno and find someone willing to do it for free. If we cared about looks, we’d just pick some trainee idols or washed-up celebs. It’s cheap. Way cheaper than you’d think.”
There was a faint tone of annoyance in his voice.
And it was true—finding a sex partner had gotten a hell of a lot easier. So-called “date-style” prostitution was everywhere now. All you needed was an app.
It cost maybe 50,000 to 100,000 won. Even if you splurged, it’d cap at around 300,000 won.
Han Seoho had told him that even when he was younger, he’d used apps to find sex partners. That was almost ten years ago.
“Kim Jiwon, there’s a reason we’re spending time and money to find someone.”
The Monkey-Faced Man paused after saying that.
Jiwon licked his dry lips again, waiting for what came next.
“Let’s say, hypothetically, you could make 700 million won in just three weeks working with us. Would you do it? To be exact—it’s two weeks of prep, and one week of actual work. Three weeks total.”
Three weeks? 700 million?
Jiwon was stunned. It was like he was hearing a foreign language. He couldn’t comprehend it.
First off, the amount was absurdly high.
And three weeks? As far as he knew, this kind of thing lasted two days, maybe three at most. But they were talking three whole weeks.
“You don’t have to feel overwhelmed. It’s a kind of sex party. But this time, it’s one that requires a lot of prep. It’s a really important event. I don’t know if this is the right comparison, but... it’s like the Olympics of sex.”
As if reading his mind, the Monkey-Faced Man added a friendly explanation. When he said Olympics, he even looked a little proud. It was ridiculous—talking about the so-called Olympics of gay sex parties—but Jiwon didn’t show it.
