The Gap in the Women's Shower Room
The situation that had swept me away like laundry in the river current finally stabilized.
Our rafting boat teammates, barely regaining their senses, finally matched our steps to head back to the Startup Support Center.
As we climbed the slope toward the stop to catch the mini-bus, the driver approached us with an apologetic smile and informed us of the departure delay.
"Sorry, we have to wait for the next team. You'll have to wait another twenty minutes."
With some time left, we decided to duck into the tiny coffee shop just two minutes away from the stop.
The faint smell of river algae still clung to my body, but the aroma of the American coffee I'd just bought masked the unpleasant scent.
On the slightly shaded terrace, our group sat huddled together, our soaked clothes clinging to our backs and chests.
Beautiful young bodies, wet and glistening, traced the delicate lines of their forms beneath the fabric.
Not just mine— the ends of Minjae's hair, still carrying faint traces of blue from the algae we'd munched on in the water, were damp as well.
The sunlight was still harsh, but the refreshing valley breeze blowing in from the terrace side made the uncomfortable wet clothes dry quickly.
Reposting in the wild was one of the few perks of the activity.
Amidst all that, my eyes kept drifting toward the bodies of the women opposite me, and a smile kept escaping my lips.
More than the fully soaked clothes, the slightly wind-dried fabric clung more revealingly to the women's curvaceous figures.
Whether my body had grown more lustful after time spent with Yebin, or if I had simply become more honest with my own desires, something had shifted within me.
Until moments ago, the near-death experience hadn't felt real at all.
"I really thought I was going to die there."
Minjae, with his boastful charm, swept his hair back and declared.
The cheerful young brother in his early twenties who crafted dog-related products. A friend who had been doing steady strength training. Even after emerging from the water where we'd struggled together, he still looked comforting.
His 70-kilogram frame, toned from exercise, was the kind of slender, athletic build young girls adored.
Of course, like me, he couldn't swim, which made him today's prime target for mockery, but his wet t-shirt clung perfectly to his broad shoulders.
How captivating this must be to men, and to women?
The opposite women showed no expressions, but their gazes had surely landed on his toned shoulders.
Women are no different from men in that regard.
Minjae continued his typical 20-something young man's complaining, insisting nothing was wrong, yet his hands gripping the cup trembled visibly.
Clearly visible to me.
But by masking his manly physique and boastful words, he concealed as much as he could.
I was cold myself, so even with a warm drink in my hand, my fingertips trembled just like his.
The dark fear of zero gravity from underwater still lingered in my body.
Yet, a smile of satisfaction lingered at the corners of my mouth, and my appetite rose along with my lust.
'When I get home, I should beg Mom for curry rice.'
Even before facing death, I was the type who didn't complain about food, and now the choice of my final meal felt strangely clear.
"It was dangerous... but since it ended without any accidents, wasn't it fun?"
Lee Jaehoon representative tossed it out casually as a joke.
I snorted beside him. "Wasn't it fun?"
Song Cheolmin representative caught it with a snort. "The government only scraped together a few million won for promising young people and almost turned our precious future into a ghost?"
The expression with narrowed eyes behind his glasses looked rather displeased.
A 30s man manufacturing camping gear, his speech turned oddly peevish in front of the younger representatives.
While the men grumbled, the women were already chattering away merrily.
Like models, Lee Jaean and Kim Harin representatives, sitting straight on their chairs, had the loudest laughter.
Park Haeun representative, with her dancer's flexibility, stretched her aching body and released pleasant groans, then tied her hair back with a satisfied sigh.
"Uuum~"
The men tried to avoid the gazes.
But our eyes, without realizing it, slid over her bare armpits and her pretty nape.
The rescuer, Jung Minseo officer, wore tight black leggings that clung to her skin.
Daily spinning and cycling had sculpted her thighs. The elasticity was palpable.
With the rescue vest gone, that butt, no longer unnecessarily wrapped, stood prominently upward.
The bounce of that butt kept drawing eyes not just from our male group but from other passersby as well.
Unlike Ji'an's model-like poise, she had a natural, smooth, efficient movement.
Since she was accustomed to using her lower body, she avoided any unnecessary actions.
Even at work, she was rational without complaint.
In this crisis, she remained calm. It was refreshing to see her self-assured side.
As the manager overseeing the companies of mostly younger 20s representatives, she suited that calm perfectly.
"Was it because they only chose two popular men to drag away as the ghost?"
Ji'an threw a joke, and all the women burst into loud laughter.
Kim Minjae and I had been pointed out as the 'popular men' the ghost favored.
Song Cheolmin and Jaehoon's expressions shifted noticeably.
"We're pretty popular too, aren't we?!"
Lee Jaehoon grumbled. The women countered with bitter smiles.
"Our Minjae has a good body because he exercises a lot. Jinwoo oppa is... handsome, sweet, and thoughtful."
At that, my face flushed.
It seemed that even small actions at the center were being quietly evaluated by someone's eyes without words.
From now on, I'd have to be more cautious at the center.
While observing my embarrassed expression, Minseo smiled at me with a particularly warm smile.
A fleeting, subtle smile without revealing it.
"No matter how much tax money is used to support the representatives, there's rarely one like Jinwoo who comes out every Saturday and Sunday to clean and organize the office."
Everyone's eyes turned to me.
"If you're so diligent, you'll succeed in business too."
Officer Jung spoke casually while looking at me, but affection colored her words.
Of course, that effort wasn't exactly what Officer Minseo imagined...
It was merely the Saturday and Sunday cleaning to avoid leaving traces of last Friday's lewdness in the office.
Since I couldn't explain the inner workings to her, I felt secretly embarrassed by her praise.
"Jinwoo oppa even took care of Minjae in the water."
Harin said what she saw.
"When he first got pulled away and the rescue vest was half torn, he pushed Minjae out first?"
Minjae raised his thumb at me and nodded his head up and down like a robot.
"Thanks to oppa pushing me out, I didn't eat much water."
"If not for that, I would have been rolling in the water like Jinwoo oppa too."
At that, I laughed awkwardly. I hadn't realized.
In fact, at the time, there had only been fear and the instinct to survive, so I don't even remember helping them like that.
'Was that right? Maybe I misread other actions.'
Harin said as if concluding the situation.
"Then, Minjae saved Jinwoo oppa, Jinwoo oppa saved Minseo unni, so Minjae saved Minseo unni too?"
Harin, who had been laughing "kyaru~" at her own joke, overdid it and knocked over the coffee cup in front of her.
Coffee splashed across the table, and everyone jumped up at once.
"Yaa~!" "Eek"
Minjae quickly snatched the rolling cup and held it tightly to prevent splashing.
Meanwhile, Minseo had already jumped from her seat and was crossing the table to check the situation.
As she passed between the male and female tables, her body brushed against mine.
When her elastic butt passed between the tables, a deep sensation touched my right index finger.
It was on a finger in a hidden spot that others couldn't see, but my heart felt like it was about to burst.
If it had passed quickly, it would have been a mistake, but it lingered on my finger for almost two seconds, slow as a sweep.
I was thinking of a short hesitation to check if she had noticed my intention, but she passed naturally beside her group as if nothing had happened.
I had felt it deeply, but did she not feel it?
Was it intentional? A mistake?
Perhaps she had noticed the gaze I stole from her crotch.
Swallowing that thought, head bowed, sipping the straw in the coffee cup, my face flushed as I quietly chewed the sensation at my fingertips.
"Minjae oppa, Jinwoo oppa, are you guys okay with your bodies?"
Ji'an asked.
Minjae laughed while wiping water from his hair.
"Haha! It's fine. It was even fun. Not being able to swim makes getting pulled away scary, but once you experience it, strangely, there's a sense of liberation."
Everyone laughed together. Even boastful words, if positive, brightened the surroundings.
Even though it was so dangerous, there was strange empathy in the words.
What remained after the fear of the water passed was trust and laughter among colleagues.
Of course, Song Cheolmin still had a grumpy expression.
"I didn't find it fun at all."
He lifted his pink cup and shrugged.
"I hate dangerous water play. I'd rather do fire play."
The word 'fire play' from an adult mouth caused laughter among the group again. His complaints today sounded strangely cute.
Jaehoon representative added indifferently.
"Then, how about changing to a safer repost next time."
Minseo, after going to the bathroom, returned and handed out water tissues.
Unlike the sensation left on my finger, her handing of water tissue was professional as usual, and her expression was calm.
"Everyone! Now you can board the bus."
From afar, the mini-bus driver opened the door and said loudly.
"And the shower facilities close in 30 minutes."
At that, we all moved like a squad that had received orders.
We quickly cleared the table, discarded the waste, lightly shook the wet clothes and hair, and packed the pouches with valuables.
With laughter and jokes mixed, we walked out of the coffee shop to the bus.
I scanned the back of Minseo one more time.
Her back always attracted gazes even without sending them.
Like a woman who exercises her lower body, her toned lines sparkled in the sunlight.
The short leggings smoothly wrapped around the thigh muscle lines.
A sense of relief and excitement came at the same time.
In a different direction from what I had seen falling in front of me.
I followed the bouncy and toned butt of hers with my eyes from behind.
While ordinary women's pretty butts still swayed down, hers moved uniquely from side to side almost like moving left and right from the center line.
Although the leggings were clothes that held the body, the elasticity looked more prominent.
Her head, shoulders, and walking posture were straight and strong.
Her usual healthy routine, I recalled, saved me in the crisis.
The steps of the one leading suddenly stopped.
Without revealing the gaze following her butt, she looked back at me who was following her.
When I arrived beside her, she smiled and spoke to me.
"Jinwoo, I'm sorry for making you come because you can't swim. Please participate in the center event next time too."
And quietly continued without the others hearing. "It was good being together."
It was a normal thank you. But something else remained in my chest.
I answered with an awkward smile.
"Of course. Even if I can't swim, Minseo unni will save me again."
Minjae was waving in front of the bus we couldn't board.
"The bus is leaving! Run, you two!"
Minseo and I ran together.
A short distance that wasn't even a few steps to the bus. In that time, her clothes fluttered prettily.
And even in the moment when my gaze was fixed on the bus, running with her.
Despite not looking sideways, I felt like I was looking at the side.
The natural concentration of my brain senses to the movement of the elastic breasts up and down under the clothes.
After riding the bus for about 15 minutes and getting off in front of the parking lot, we heard from the facility staff that the shower room was closing soon.
In the 15-seater bus parked, we hurriedly packed clothes to change into and shower supplies and moved.
Women who take longer to wash than men placed their luggage in front of the bus and headed to the shower room one by one.
The men with luggage in the back packed what they needed from their backpacks and moved together to the men's shower room.
While changing clothes, the people who came into the men's changing room were only our group, and two men changed clothes and passed us to go outside.
Familiar with competition, the men changed clothes quickly.
"I'll go in first!"
Minjae, confident in his naked body, grabbed only the shower head and ran into the shower room first, followed by Jaehoon and Song.
And I, having brought way too big shampoo and conditioner, followed into the shower room hugging them to my chest.
Already turning the cold water of the shower and washing my back, Minjae screamed when I entered.
"Jinwoo hyung! Hyung! Wow!"
Due to his scream, the gazes of the other two men with foam all over their heads gathered.
"Hyung's really thick!"
Jaehoon and Cheolmin hyung's gazes landed on my lower body.
"... Jinwoo, what the... is that from surgery?"
I hadn't had surgery, but due to long-term medication in the genitals for treatment, I got the result.
"No, it wasn't from surgery."
"Jinwoo hyung is totally a big man. Behind the innocent face is a prank?"
Minjae waved his hand like before and shook his head up and down like a robot.
"Right. Even some foreign guys can't handle this thickness... every time women cry, right?"
Jaehoon also laughed without reason and teased with envious energy.
Only Song hyung's eyes landed on my thing. He turned off the shower without a word.
Suddenly, with the sound of the door opening behind, some of our female group members' voices were heard very close.
"Unni! Unni, have you showered already?" "U... uh... a... no."
"Since you went in first earlier, I wondered if you had showered." "No... now I'm going to shower..."
Ji'an and Minseo's voices.
And the sound of the shower water turning on beyond the wall, our ears heard as if it was right next to us.
The voices of the women showering in the same shower room were all close.
The men all looked at the space on the side where the women's voices were coming from with their eyes.
The slanted empty triangular gap in the slate ceiling of the temporary building, filled from the bottom by the square wall, was an open structure not completely filled.
It seemed that the lighting position was also a problem, as the women's lines were visible in shadow on the dark roof side.
It didn't seem like the women knew that our voices were so loud towards us.
But when the women's noisy voices came, the men all closed their mouths quietly, turned on the shower water, and did their own things.
The sound of water cascading over women's bodies and the foam of body wash dripping heavily over the body.
While we were washing naked, on the opposite wall, beyond the near area, the bright female bodies of the youths were also taking off their clothes and showering together.
If the wall was torn, four unknown female colleagues' naked bodies would be in the space right in front.
Their actions, whenever we looked secretly with different actions, the pretty lines projected on the ceiling.
The men, focusing on washing without closing mouths to see if we could hear over the wall, thought that perhaps it would be lewd like me.
Because the things clinging to the finished showering men were more swollen than before, as if blood was flowing.
Without regard for time or place, we all became hot-bodied young males if there was any gap.
The problem of not being able to solve alone was not resolved.
In the end, I called Myeonghun hyung on the phone with SOS.
"Hyung! Sorry, can you help me a bit?"
"Why? Jinwoo? What's going on?"
"Hyung, for the stage items for company units. Something better than the harness, design something up to stage level."
Actually, the idea stage was already difficult.
The music broadcast stage heard from the agency had clear limitations.
No matter how adult idol stage, if even a little lewd or lewd was implied, it was immediately regulated.
This was not freedom of expression.
A difficult battle where hands and feet were tied, and somehow had to find a gap to attract attention.
"Hyung, first, I'll send the design sketches I made. Show them to the members and get some opinions."
"Yeah, send them~ I'll ask directly."
Since hyung said he'd ask, I immediately sent several sketches drawn by hand.
Awkward sketches drawn with insufficient skill.
Today was already Thursday.
I wasn't sure if I could finish the work by next Monday, and what to work on was hard to decide.
Even if late, the stage was Tuesday evening. So by Tuesday morning at latest, it had to be finished by Tuesday morning at latest.
When less than 30 minutes had passed since sending the sketches, a call came from hyung.
"... Jinwoo, big trouble happened."
"What did they say?"
"The members say they didn't like your design at all. They say it's not good at all compared to the harness."
My heart dropped. That was the clear limit of my ability.
If I were a person majoring in art or design, one sketch would have caught the eyes.
But I had only completed two short-term training courses of 6 months at a vocational school.
I didn't have the ability to draw something outstanding that attracts attention.
This first stage of the idol had started without expectation.
But since the result was much better than expected, the weight and expectation for the second stage were completely different.
Hyung also knew the limits of my ability. Since hyung was the one who pulled me from the education process to this world, he couldn't not know.
"If it's hard, can I connect a designer for urgent? If you just make a sketch, I can make it."
I knew hyung's intentions well, but it was really difficult.
"Hyung, you know. That I don't have that much ability."
"If you don't consult carefully beside, the quality of production can't match the sketch level-"
"-Even if I hand over the sketch to work according to my ability, time is matched, but quality will never come out as expected."
"Sigh... Jinwoo, wait. I'll call again."
5 minutes later, another call came.
"Jinwoo, then how about sending the member who has the best fashion sense, without schedule, with the leader on a day without schedule? Confirm while sitting and consult?"
"Especially Haeun, who draws pictures well, will help a lot."
We had to do that. At least starting the work with the design that initially caught the customer's heart, there would be less chance of resentment after the work ends.
"... Hyung, let's do that. Thank you. Let's try to break through at least once that way."
"Then, like before, I'll send it by 7pm tomorrow evening."
"Yeah, thank you hyung."
It was again Friday evening. The idol leader and another adult idol member came to the 19th floor work room.
I, after the call, looking back at the wooden plywood wall with a high clamp placed behind the work room with worrying heart, muttered.
"About now... Yebin's smell is... will it be okay."
Tomorrow would be exactly one week from the day the first hot slender customer visited.