SMS | Chapter 4.2

The escape room was… something else. Large, bold signs screamed slogans like “A Lover’s Sanctuary” and “The Nest of Love.”

Not exactly the kind of place two grown men could stride into without some discomfort. Mino tried to avoid eye contact with the words as much as possible.

“Hello! Are you Mr. Ha Mino, who made a reservation for 7:30?”

“Ah, yes…”

The café manager greeted them warmly but seemed to light up when her eyes landed on Dohoon. Mino felt vindicated, knowing his sense of aesthetics was spot on.

Inside, Mino was immediately thrown off by the interior design. The decor was smothered in pink hues and overflowing with hearts, setting off red flags in his mind. It wasn’t all Sungjoon’s fault—this was his first time in an escape room—but still, blindly trusting his friend while indulging in late-night fantasies was a colossal error.

Sensing Mino’s discomfort, the manager adopted a curious expression.

“Ahaha, you’re aware of our concept, right? These days, even friends come together a lot! Also, may I see your IDs?”

IDs? Why? Swallowing hard, Mino pulled out his ID. Dohoon did the same, handing over his driver’s license, though the manager seemed fixated solely on Mino’s.

“Oh my, you look so young, I was shocked!”

“Ah, yes…”

“Well, both of you are cleared! A quick note—photography is prohibited inside, and please don’t share the storyline. If you leave subjective feedback instead, we’ll give you a discount for your next visit! And if you succeed, there’s a prize!”

An ominous feeling crept over Mino. “Even friends come together” sounded like an excuse, and the ID check implied the content wasn’t suitable for minors. But why was this called a café if they didn’t serve coffee? As he pondered, he realized they were now alone.

“Have you done this before, Mino?”

“Not much…”

Not at all, actually. But admitting that would seem insincere, so he lied. They stopped before a door, decorated with a mirror and postcards. Standing side by side, their reflections overlapped in the mirror. Dohoon’s lazy smile met Mino’s gaze, sending a strange shiver down his thighs.

A (left) and B (right) are lovers. After entering, find the clues to escape the room.

Sungjoon, you bastard.

Those slogans about lovers weren’t a mistake. Mino wanted to berate his friend for booking this place but could only stare at the instructions with feigned focus. Was this even a storyline? Glancing awkwardly at Dohoon, Mino tried to gauge his reaction.

“Is this how you confess to someone, Mino?”

“Huh?”

“Well, it says here we’re lovers.”

Dohoon pointed at the sign with a teasing tone, and Mino’s ears flushed red.

“No, I didn’t mean for it to…”

“Let’s go inside. It looks like there’s a time limit. The faster we finish, the sooner we eat. And maybe we’ll win a prize!”

Competitive, wasn’t he? Mino reluctantly nodded, and they pushed open the red door to enter a room cluttered with storage items. The painfully pink interior made Mino think he might need a forest wallpaper just to calm down afterward. A note fell out as they entered:

When did A and B first kiss?

Us? We haven’t yet.

Mino widened his eyes at the note, and Dohoon, peeking over his shoulder, smiled smugly.

“We could just kiss now and call it today.”

“What? What??”

“Just kidding. There might be a hint around here.”

Dohoon began rummaging through drawers skillfully while Mino opened the opposite cupboard and stiffened.

“There’s something… weird here.”

It was a bizarrely cut-off model of lips. Was this a horror theme? Lifting the squishy lips model slightly, Dohoon found a calendar with a picture of lips on June 14th.

“This looks right. The lock needs a four-digit code, so I’ll try entering it.”

Why were those lips there? Mino still felt the odd texture on his fingertips. Shaking, he turned the lock to ‘0614’, and it clicked open. They’d passed the first room’s quest, realizing it was just about finding clues to escape.

“So, shall we move on to the next room?”

Mino pointed awkwardly inside, sighing softly, hoping for no further escalation.

Wiping the sweat off his palms on his thighs, he cautiously opened the door to the next room—a disheveled bedroom. A new message awaited:

This is the home where B stayed while A was on a business trip. What happened here? Find the clues!

A cheeky character at the bottom of the card posed with guns.

“What’s this about?”

“I guess while I was away on a trip, Mino did something alone here.”

Dohoon mused aloud, almost as if role-playing.

“Mino, sit here. I think it’s my turn to step up.”

“Yes…”

As Dohoon scanned the room like a detective at a crime scene, Mino felt an odd tension. He didn’t know why he should feel this way but tried to immerse himself in the role like Dohoon. Meanwhile, Dohoon halted and began speaking.

“There’s only one person supposed to be here, but there are two glasses of wine.”

Indeed, two half-empty wine glasses sat on the table.

“So B invited someone over, to the bedroom no less.”

Mino nodded at the logical deduction. Then thump, thump—Dohoon opened a drawer and slowly approached Mino, who was sitting on the bed. The posture made Mino’s heart race.

“If it was just a friend over for drinks, there’s no need to be in the bedroom. And here, a condom wrapper.”

Dohoon stretched out his hand and picked something from beside the bed, chuckling ominously. Suddenly, his arm brushed Mino’s shoulder, making him gulp dryly. Mino shut his eyes tight as he faced the fluttering condom wrapper right in front of him.

Damn it. Condoms.

Mino inwardly despaired. After a kiss in the first room, it was clear the next rooms would only escalate. Even though he’d hoped otherwise, now he wanted to flee.

If Dohoon’s expression had soured, Mino would’ve apologized and suggested they give up, but Dohoon seemed genuinely intrigued. The condom even appeared to be filled with some slick fluid, giving off a faintly off-putting smell.

“If you’re going to drink with a friend, why do it here? And why use a condom to masturbate unless…?”

It felt like an interrogation, though it was just a game. Mino kept feeling more and more on edge as if they were really role-playing.

“It seems like B cheated.”

“……”

“And managed to prevent an STD in the process. Should I commend you for that, or should I be upset you’ve been eating someone else’s dick?”

Mino’s thin neck twitched. It seemed like Dohoon might reach out and delve between his legs at any moment. The mere gaze was enough to make his back twitch.

“Maybe if we put this in the trash can by the door, the door will open? There’s no clearer evidence of infidelity.”

Before Mino knew it, Dohoon had coolly moved to throw the wrapper in the bin. Mino pressed down on his racing heart and covered his half-aroused lower half as he followed.

As Dohoon said, tossing the condom into the empty trash unlocked the door.

The next room awaited with a male mannequin. A letter ‘C’ was marked on its face. A third party, beyond A and B, had appeared in the story.

“This must be the affair partner.”

Yes, if there was any story to this game, Dohoon was probably right.

“That… seems right.”

“Not denying it, huh?”

Between the mannequin’s legs hung something that shouldn’t be there. Mino was horrified. It was a silicone dildo, similar in size to what he used.

If B satisfies C, the door will open.

Dohoon’s face turned peculiar at the note.

“We’re supposed to be lovers, so why does Mino have to satisfy C in front of me? This story is weird.”

“Let’s just hurry up and leave.”

“How?”

Mino’s mind was blank, unsure how to handle the situation without awkwardness. What would a normal person do in this scenario? He wanted to grab Sungjoon by the collar and shake him. Facing the dangling silicone dildo made his vision go black.

“If you need a hint, wave at the CCTV camera.”

Dohoon’s low, laughter-laced voice made Mino turn away with a grimace. According to the instructions Dohoon noted, they could request a hint this way.

“Let’s just search the room…”

“There are no drawers here.”

“Should we just give up and go eat?”

“Why? We’re almost done, aren’t we? It’d be a waste.”

No. Not a waste. Mino wanted to shake his head vigorously. Desperate, he looked at Dohoon, but he just waved at the CCTV, prompting a voice from an unseen speaker.

― Here’s your hint: ‘Shake it.’

Somehow, the manager’s voice seemed even more excited than before. Mino, still the last customer despite everything, admired their unwavering enthusiasm. Without a moment to spare, she dropped the short hint and turned off the mic.

Mino bit his lip as he recalled the hint. It was clear what ‘it’ referred to.

“What now? B has to do it, but I’m A.”

Just moments ago, Dohoon was uncomfortable with why Mino had to satisfy the mannequin. Now, he seemed to find it amusing.

“Let’s get this over with. Hurry up.”

With arms crossed and a spectator’s stance, Dohoon made it difficult for Mino to refuse. Resigned, Mino approached the mannequin like a man led to slaughter. Then, he grasped the jiggling dildo as if holding a stair rail.

The familiar, ridged texture was oddly comforting, yet he maintained an impassive face as he began to move his hand. Mechanical motions of jerking off a fake dick in front of a potential romantic partner filled him with humiliation and self-loathing. Mino shut his eyes tightly.

“You’re doing well. I didn’t think we’d be seeing this kind of display so soon. An unexpected appeal, huh?”

“No…”

“Just satisfy it quickly so we can go eat.”

Dohoon’s lascivious voice overlaid the obscene scenario, heating Mino’s ears. He kept his head down, moving his arm while the inert mannequin seemed unimpressed no matter how much he shook. His arm felt like it might fall off. From a casual observer’s perspective, it probably looked like he was stabbing the mannequin with a knife.

“Ah, this isn’t working…”

My arm hurts. The strain was breath-taking, literally. Given the awkward posture and energy drain, it might be less embarrassing to just finish quickly.

Mino eventually knelt and started using both hands. When he knelt, he heard a breath drawn from behind, but all he wanted was to get this over with. As he gained a more comfortable posture and shook the dildo vigorously, Dohoon commented,

“It’s new to see my date shaking another man’s dick and making it ejaculate.”

At his words, Mino’s toes curled inside his shoes unknowingly. Without anything inserted, his backside clenched from the provocative statement. Normally, such content would be mortifying, but Mino only felt a tingling thrill. That’s when he put extra force into his hand.

“Ugh…!”

An unknown, sticky liquid condensed inside the dildo splashed across Mino’s face. He squinted reflexively, but some got into his eyes. The lukewarm, slick liquid smelled of citrus, probably lotion.

“…Are you okay?”

“Got some in my eye… ah…”

Dohoon’s rough hand grasped Mino’s chin and turned his face. Squinting and blinking away physiological tears, he saw Dohoon’s unfamiliar face looming over him. The position, with Mino on his knees, was precarious.

“Blink more. Doesn’t look like much got in.”

“I didn’t know something would come out. But it seems like lotion.”

“Should I apply it for you?”

His heart seemed to drop. Mino barely opened his slightly bloodshot eyes to look up at Dohoon standing before him. Perhaps it was better to apply it rather than wipe it off.

“I’ll do it.”

He couldn’t bear to have him apply what looked unmistakably like semen on his face in such a posture. Recalling how he usually applied lotion after washing his face, Mino rubbed his face devoid of any sensuality as Dohoon joked with a smile,

“You’re quite provocative, Mino. Had no idea.”

As his face flushed with shame, he found it increasingly difficult to meet Dohoon’s gaze.

“Let’s, let’s just go now.”

“Wait.”

Dohoon miraculously found some wet wipes and handed a couple to Mino.

“It got some other man’s cum on it.”

His teasing whisper left Mino blushing helplessly. Though he’d said it was lotion, the insistence on calling it cum seemed to amuse him greatly. Any further reaction from Mino would only lead to a disastrous arousal. All he could think about was getting out of there as soon as possible.

And the final obstacle was,

A and B are about to share a kiss of reconciliation. After fitting the puzzle, follow the posture and pop the balloon ♥

The character he had seen earlier now made a heart shape with its hands and blushed obscenely. The phrase “out of the frying pan into the fire” came to mind. Sungjoon, you bastard, I’ll kill you. As Mino fired up momentarily, he realized something odd—the air-filled heart-shaped balloon was present, but there was no puzzle.

“Looking for this?”

Dohoon smiled, holding out four puzzle pieces.

“Where…?”

“From the rooms we passed earlier. Looks like Mino didn’t find any.”

He hadn’t noticed at all.

“They were just lying there on the floor, with ‘clue’ written on the back…”

“I didn’t see them.”

“How did you find the cat, then? I’m amazed.”

“Chaesu…”

“Right, Chaesu.”

It had been a legitimate fluke. But he’d usually been so unobservant that even his discovery of Chaesu had seemed like fate.

So, it was a relief, or rather unfortunate, that Dohoon had found the overlooked puzzle pieces. If he hadn’t noticed them, they could’ve failed to find the clues and avoided this embarrassing scenario as time ran out.

“Since I found the pieces, you put them together.”

“Yes…”

He didn’t want to. But the puzzle was so simple even a child could quickly solve it. Dohoon didn’t rush Mino, merely watching as he reluctantly fitted the pieces together.

“All done. Shall we look together?”

Approaching leisurely, Dohoon made Mino want to scatter the completed puzzle like a mischievous child. The image in the puzzle was crudely drawn. A and B were marked clearly.

The human icon with a ‘B’ on its chest leaned against a wall, while ‘A’ stood behind B, pressing his lower half against B’s behind, with a pathetically squished balloon in between. The instructions were embarrassingly clear: I was to lean against the wall, and Dohoon was to press the heart-shaped balloon against my behind and move his hips to pop it, thereby unlocking the final door and allowing us to escape.

Friends come here? Then they definitely become awkward and stop talking after such an experience. It was clearly a place for couples who’d been together for a while. And here I was, hardly having properly dated, pushed into this situation with my ideal type by Sungjoon.

“Dr., let’s just stop and go to a restaurant…”

“Why? After making another man’s dick ejaculate, you don’t even want to assume the position with me?”

His cold gaze made my legs tingle. Unable to respond promptly, Dohoon furrowed his brow slightly and stepped closer.

“I asked if this bothered you.”

“No, no, no, it’s not that…!”

His large hand encircled my waist, not just my legs but my whole backside beginning to twitch. Mino pushed against Dohoon’s chest and turned his head away. His hot ears felt the hover of his perfectly shaped lips. Overwhelmed by his assertive demeanor, I lost all composure.

“Then, never mind.”

“……”

“It’s time anyway.”

He gently patted my head as he moved away. A buzzer sounded through the speakers, signaling time was up.

“You worried I’d force you to do it?”

“No, no… You’re a good person.”

“‘Good person’… That’s quite the burden.”

Dohoon repeated softly, his expression slightly hardened, but Mino was focused only on escaping the room. The manager, despite nearing the end of her shift, greeted us with clear eyes.

“Did you enjoy your time? Here, this…”

“We didn’t succeed, though.”

She muttered something about it normally not being allowed but insisted on giving us a prize anyway.

“Come again soon! We just opened, so it’s still a bit bare, but the boss plans to make it more fun. Anyway, hang in there!”

What did she mean by ‘hang in there’? But since there was no reason to refuse the gift, I accepted it.

“Thank you.”

“Make sure to come back!”

She must really enjoy her job… Unaware that the manager had watched everything through CCTV, Mino simply nodded as they left the café. It was natural she would boast about today’s spectacle to her friends later.

Mino resolved to focus on successfully finishing the date. As he opened the note app on his phone to check the next itinerary, the selected dinner spot appeared on the screen. Dohoon just walked, strangely cheerful, matching Mino’s pace. Mino, nearly sucked into his phone screen, slowed down noticeably.

“You must be hungry. I haven’t asked what you like. I narrowed down a list…”

“Mino, what did you have for lunch today?”

“Huh?”

Caught off guard by Dohoon’s question, he waited as Dohoon gestured for him to answer.

“Oh, I… had the cafeteria menu. There was braised mackerel with radish, stir-fried seaweed stems… and malva nut soup. Oh, and kimchi.”

“So, excluding Korean food. What’s left that hasn’t closed yet?”

“Pasta and Tom Yum Goong…”

“Have you tried Tom Yum Goong?”

“No.”

He hadn’t tried it. It was just famous as a dating spot in the area, so he’d added it to the list. He didn’t really have any preferences, so it didn’t matter much to him. Dohoon, seemingly unaware, gazed at Mino’s wide-open eyes and asked slowly,

“The spices are pretty strong, are you okay with that?”

“Do you dislike it?”

“It’s not that I dislike it, but kissing after that might be a bit…”

“Oh, I see… Wait, what?”

The conversation flowed too naturally, and Mino found himself nodding along before freezing in place.

“Kiss? Here?”

“I was thinking of doing it while I walk you home.”

Why is he planning a kiss when we aren’t even dating?

Confused, Mino’s eyes widened and his brow furrowed.

Unable to hide his feelings, he stared openly at Dohoon, whose face remained frustratingly impassive.

“Let’s get indigestion. Let’s go eat first.”

All he could do was let himself be led by the hand.