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Jongho ღ Build You Up [M]

ღ Ateez Jongho x fem-bodied!reader ღ feat.: best friend!San, Wooyoung, Hongjoong ღ words: ~23k ღ genre & warnings: fluff (a lot of it, actually), some humor, a bit of angst (unhappy past relationships for both of them and the consequences, why do I like sadness), slowburn, smut (sub!Jongho, dom!reader, detailed warnings under the cut); brief discussion of (over)weight (it’s about a cat tho), alcohol consumption ღ reader: has a vagina, no other descriptions of reader’s anatomy, no pronouns used to refer to reader

Desc.: It hasn’t been long since you and Jongho have started seeing each other, when it begins to look like your originally purely sexual relationship is turning into something much broader. After you initially make it very clear that you aren’t ready for a new relationship after a painful breakup, you can’t help but wonder if Jongho would be the one who can finally help you heal, and at the same time you too are set on helping him with his own troubles, getting him to let go of control around you more and more easily. This is the sequel to my fic Break You Down - it can also be read as a standalone work, but probably makes more sense if you’ve read the original fic too~

ღ smut warnings: off-screen kink-negotiation, a hint of dumbification, subspace, lots of praise, some teasing, some begging, some humiliation, biting, oral & fingering (reader receiving), reader sitting on his face, (kinda) guided masturbation & cum eating (idol), restraints (handcuffs & rope, idol receiving), blindfold (idol), handjobs, edging, orgasm control, overstimulation as a punishment (and also just for fun tbh), traffic light system (only “green” is used), reader has a bit of a dom drop at one point, temperature play, a bit of finger sucking, unprotected sex, anal (fingering & with a strap, idol receiving), dacryphilia, they have pretty sweet and vanilla sex once, multiple orgasms

“Did so well for me…” you breathe the words into his ear as he’s about to collapse on top of you, burying his face in the crook of your neck and you let your lips brush against his earlobe. Your hand is up in his hair, gripping the dark brown locks to guide him into a position where you could comfortably wrap your arms around his broad figure, feeling the way his hot skin presses against yours and how his chest is rising and sinking in tune with your own, both catching your breaths.

You lean your back against the headrest of your bed, with a pillow in between, and you wait for him to come down from the euphoric high you’ve swept him up in. Granted, it wasn’t your effort alone, and you wonder if words would be enough to convey to him what you’re feeling deep in your chest right in this moment.

“Such a good boy, letting me take care of you like that…” you mutter, and you notice a shade of pink dusted onto his cheeks as he looks up at you with big round eyes. He seems so much softer now - his features, his gaze, and the sound of his voice too, when he hums an elongated “mhmmm” at your praise. Eyelids drooping, he sinks down to a lying position eventually, with his head in your lap, and as he closes his eyes fully while you’re still playing with his hair, you think he’s dozing off, until his warm voice fills the room again.

“Say…” Jongho looks up at you, parted lips swollen from how hard you had kissed him just earlier, and you have to resist the urge to lean in and pepper little pecks all over his features.

“What is it?” you ask, unable to stop yourself from grinning like a fool at how cute he looks, all fucked out, laying in your lap like that.

“Mmmm.” Lips pursed, his eyes dart to the side as he’s trying hard to come up with a coherent sentence. You find yourself chuckling, finding it amusing how this usually so eloquent man is struggling to form words now.

“It’s okay,” you speak soothingly, fingertips ghosting over his mouth and grazing his plush lips. “You don’t have to say anything right now if it’s too hard.” However, Jongho frowns at what was supposed to be a comfort to him.

“No, just… been thinking…” he slurs.

“About what?”

“Just… if maybe… we could meet up sometime?” Another short laugh escapes you.

“You mean, outside of having sex?” you guess, and he gives you a nod. “Hmm…” You ponder on the question for a while, and as you do, you feel resistance in your heart. Truth be told, you’ve been afraid one of your partners would bring up something like this sooner or later, though you do your best to keep things lowkey and not make any advances that aren’t of a purely sexual nature on anyone. And yet there is also a spark of curiousity lighting up within you. The little bits of his usual personality you get to see before and during the start of a scene can’t be more than a fraction of what he’s really like during his everyday life, and you can’t say you haven’t caught yourself wondering about who he might be outside of when you have sex with him.

“Don’t want to?” he asks, and you know he is trying his hardest not to sound sad, but the pout that involuntarily appears on his lips does nothing in helping him hide his true feelings.

“It’s not that…” you answer, soothingly caressing his face as you brush a strand of hair away and attempt to tuck it behind his ear, already knowing prior that it’s too short for that anyway. He raises his eyebrows as if prompting you to continue speaking. “Just…” You look around the room, wondering if you should let the doubt on your mind win or not, and eventually you figure that it’d probably be just fine.

“Alright,” you decide, finally, and you find a spark in his eyes upon hearing your answer. “Any plans on what to do?” Jongho makes a noise, opening and closing his mouth like a fish in water, and you smile at the way his mind has gone blank again, stroking his hair a few more times. “Maybe we’ll discuss that later, then?” you propose, and you see the tension leaving his shoulders. “No need to overexert that pretty little head of yours,” you tease, and you earn yourself a pouty frown, reacting immediately by giving him some more scalp scratches meant to appease him.

Thursday afternoon. You’re looking your reflection in the shop window in front of you up and down, adjusting the way the fabric of the simple but elegant blouse wraps itself around your shoulders to look as neat as possible. Its color an antique pink, with flowers cross-stitched onto the ends of the sleeves, you don’t get a whole lot of chances to wear this type of clothing anymore nowadays, so you made sure to pick out your outfit thoughtfully. Maybe a little too thoughtfully, as you’ve tried on all kinds of possible combinations a day prior, in an attempt to choose the most perfect one out of all of them. In the end you settled for something comfortable and in some way nostalgic, remembering the last time you wore this particular top having been at a friend’s graduation party. Paired with some dark grey dress pants and classy shoes with just a tiny heel, you think you match the definition of “elegant, but not over the top” - which is the only thing besides the time and meeting place that Jongho had told you about today. Judging from the fact that it’s almost 6pm you assume his plan is to take you out for dinner, plus the address he had sent you is in the middle of an area known for its fancy restaurants, and when he finally comes into sight as he’s turning a corner a couple of meters away from you, he’s about to confirm your assumptions.

“Hi,” he greets you with a tired but warm smile, and you return the greeting.

“Hi. How have you been?” He looks away as if he had hoped you wouldn’t ask him this very standard question meant to open up a conversation, yet here you are. “Sorry, should I not ask?” you figure, and he shows you a gesture of his hand to wave it off.

“Ah, no, it’s fine,” he says. “Today wasn’t so bad. I had a meeting until…” he checks his wristwatch, and you notice how expensive it looks, “half an hour ago, that’s why I’m a little late. I’m really sorry about that.”

“It’s alright, you let me know on time so it’s fine,” you assure him.

“But aside from that it wasn’t too busy today. Thankfully,” he says. “My father is away on a business trip so… can’t terrorize the whole company for a few days. But let’s get going, shall we?” Stopping himself from rambling, he holds out his hand to you for you to hook your arm through his, and you start walking. “How was your day?” he then asks back, having calmed himself down a little. You wonder for a moment if you’re right in your observation that he seems unusually open today, at least compared to what he was like when you had only just met him, but then again you figure it’s only natural to be comfortable opening up to a person who’s already broken down so many walls within you, no?

“It was good. I had a day off, actually, so I finally got to run some errands I’ve been putting off,” you explain briefly, as he’s taking the lead on the way to your destination. And maybe he’s noticed your dopey smile about it, because upon looking at you, he asks,

“What is it?”

“Nothing,” you lie at first, giving him big, innocent eyes, but the suspicion in his expression tells you he’s probably already figured it out anyway, so you might as well give him the answer yourself. “I was just thinking that this is the first time you’re guiding me.”

“Oh… you’re right,” he says, coming to a halt with you in front of a crossing.

“It feels…”

“Weird?” he laughs.

“Different,” you say with a smile. “Not bad.”

“I see?” he says, visibly intrigued, and as the pedestrian lights switch to green, he walks you across the street.

“Don’t get any ideas,” you then say, and wordlessly, he shows you a toothy smile - you’re sure he knows what you were implying.

You arrive at the restaurant on the 15th floor of a huge building, having one of the servers show you your table right by the window with a vast view of the surrounding city. The sun is slowly beginning to set when you finish choosing your meals, and you’re served some sweet sparkling wine as an aperitif.

“Cheers,” he raises his glass and you do the same.

“Cheers.” You both take a sip, and as you set down your glasses, he says, earnestly,

“You look good by the way.”

“So do you.” You shoot him a smile, reckoning that a well fitted, classic suit really does everything to make him look even more handsome. Even when it’s apparent that work is taking its toll on him, a part of him is glowing in that business attire - almost creating the illusion that a high ranking corporate job must be where he belongs most.

As the courses are served to you one by one, beautifully plated, each accompanied with wines from all over the world, which, according to your waiter, have been carefully chosen to perfectly round up the respective dishes they come with. You find yourself having fun like this, chatting with Jongho while having a fine meal, and the atmosphere of the restaurant only makes the evening feel more special.

“You know,” you say, “it’s been a long time since I’ve gone out for dinner like this. Dressing up and having good wine and all that.” You swirl the drink around in your glass, watching as a layer of deep red slowly drips back down along the walls. “So, thanks for taking me out here,” you conclude, shooting him a smile across the table, and he reciprocates, before looking away with a hint of shyness on his face.

“So you’re enjoying yourself?” he asks after clearing his throat.

“Yes.”

“I’m glad I chose the right thing to do then,” he says, letting out a sigh of relief.

“Why?” you chuckle. “Were you scared I wouldn’t like it here?”

“I just… wasn’t sure if you’re the type for fancy dinners with wine and candle light and all that,” he says, and your eyes flick over to the candle burning at the edge of your table.

“Wouldn’t everyone enjoy this kind of thing every once in a while?” you wonder out loud, and the man in front of you agrees. “I also don’t get to dress up like this a whole lot,” you continue. “So, that was nice for the first time in a while too.”

“You really do look beautiful today,” he says, giving you a soft smile as he tilts his head to the side a little, and you can’t help but find the image in front of you cute.

“Thank you,” you say, reaching for the stem of your wine glass once again to busy your hands. “I also can’t remember when the last time was that I’ve heard that…” you add, keeping your voice low now. “Even though there was a person I would’ve wanted to hear it from more often.” Jongho raises his eyebrows, indicating he wants you to keep going. “Just…” you hesitate. Should you really mention your ex here?

“It’s okay if you don’t want to talk about it,” he says quickly, upon noticing you’re indecisive.

“Right… sorry,” you apologize, taking a quick sip of your beverage.

“It’s alright,” he says, and before the silence between you can get too awkward, he changes the topic. “But… I’ve told you so much about my job since we started talking. I’ve been wondering what you do?”

“Oh. I work with animals,” you explain. “I’m a physiotherapist for animals like… cats, dogs. Mostly those two, but sometimes people also bring in other pets, and we take care of those as well.”

“Oh,” he gasps, surprise written all over his face.

“What did you think I’d be doing?” you ask, grinning.

“Hm… I don’t know. I was expecting some boring office job, like me,” Jongho admits, and now you let out a short laugh.

“Yeah, no thanks,” you say. “I did study business, actually. But after a year I realized it’s not for me. I wanted to do something to help, you know? Something that’s actually fulfilling.”

“What, filling out excel sheets and handing in reports to your superiour all day doesn’t sound fulfilling to you…?” he questions, voice dripping with sarcasm.

“Right, that’s totally the best job in the world…” you say, smiling and rolling your eyes.

“So…” he returns to the original topic, after taking a bite of his food, “you must like animals?”

“Yes,” you answer, smiling to yourself. “I have a cat at the moment too.”

“Right, I did think I heard a meow last time I was with you,” Jongho says.

“Yeah, my Meatball is very shy though, so it wouldn’t be a surprise if you hadn’t noticed he’s there at all.”

“Your meatball?” he repeats, and though you’re sure he understands it’s the cat’s name, he’s still chuckling at the sound of it - and maybe the mental image too.

“Ah, yeah…” Now you laugh as well, having gotten so used to the name that time and time again you forget it might make other people scratch their heads. “He’s a rescue,” you explain. “Was severely overweight when I got him from the shelter, that’s why they called him that. His previous owners must’ve overfed him… thankfully he’s at a healthy weight now.”

“Ahh, now it makes sense.”

“Yeah. But,” you chuckle, “you still gotta be careful and not leave anything edible out on the table or something. He steals everything if given the chance.”

Dessert is finally served, a variation of chocolates accompanied by some fruit parfait, and it’s just as delicious as everything you’ve been served thus far.

“This is so good…” you mumble, completely indulged in the food in front of you.

“Right? I really like that they don’t make their desserts too sweet,” Jongho comments.

“Yeah. Maybe I should let my subs take me out for dinner more often at this rate,” you joke, but the guy sitting opposite you doesn’t give you the expected light-hearted reaction.

“You’re seeing other people as well?” he reckons, trying hard to keep his facial expression neutral, but you can tell he must’ve been thinking he’s the only one.

“Yeah, at the moment,” you explain, and you find yourself monitoring him closely for any signs of upset. “I have two other people I sometimes do scenes with nowadays.”

“Right, that makes sense.”

“But what about you?” you try to divert the conversation elsewhere as you notice some tension leaving his shoulders.

“Me?”

“Are you seeing people? Dating anyone?”

“Ah, no,” he answers, and when a smile returns to his lips you too find yourself relaxing. “Aside from you, anyway. It’s… been a while since my last relationship too.”

“Oh?”

“Well, that was… a bit of a complicated situation.”

“You don’t have to tell me about it if you don’t want to,” you repeat what he had told you earlier, but he shakes his head.

“It’s not that,” Jongho says, “I just don’t want to… kill the mood I suppose?” His gums show as he gives you an apologetic smile.

“Don’t worry about that,” you assure him, and so he leans back in his chair, looking around the room as he mutters,

“Where do I even start?”

“That bad?”

“I mean… I had a girlfriend a while back. A couple of years, no… four? Almost four years. Basically our parents set us up, hoping we would get married. You know, two wealthy families, it was about business to them. And our image of course.”

“Right,” you say.

“It’s not that we didn’t get along at all or anything, or that we weren’t attracted to each other. It’s just… after the honeymoon phase, we didn’t really know what to do with each other.”

“So you didn’t match,” you guess, and he nods.

“Yeah. I tried to make things work, to win her over, you know… rekindle the flame I suppose?” He laughs, and you think you can see a hint of bitterness hiding in the corners of his smile. “So I put in an effort.”

“...and?” you ask, expecting this story to take a bad turn quite soon.

“She was seeing other guys.” Jongho doesn’t look at you as he speaks those words, instead staring off into the distance, head turned towards the general direction of the window to his left.

“You’re still hurt over that, huh?” you dare to say what’s on your mind, and without wavering, he responds,

“Yeah.”

“That sucks…” you look down at your plate, where there’s some remainder of the chocolate cream smeared across the white porcelain, and you drag the tips of your fork across them.

“It’s how it is,” he says, sighing, and returning his gaze to you. “I’ve been focusing on my studies and then on work ever since, so I didn’t really have the time to date anyone else.” He thinks for a moment, before he adds, “Maybe I’ve been busying myself so much because it would mean I wouldn’t have time for that.” You begin to understand a little more why he seemed hesitant to ask for a meeting between you two after you started chatting online, or why he’s struggling so hard to let go of control, even in situations where he desperately wants to. And somehow now your determination to help him with that as best you can is growing some more, and before you can think, you find yourself reaching out across the table, your hand covering his. You don’t say anything, really, a smile that’s supposed to tell him you sympathize is all you can give here. And it’s not like you don’t get him - your last relationship didn’t exactly go great either, and maybe in that pain of being betrayed by someone you trusted, someone you had committed to, there might be a chance for you two to build yet another connection.

You say goodbye outside on the street, in front of the building where you were dining. Jongho had insisted on paying for the both of you, even after you had assured him you didn’t mind splitting the bill. So you make sure to thank him again, to which he shows you that toothy smile you’re starting to find strangely reassuring, and you find your heart warmed.

“We’ll see each other next week?” you say, finding an expression in his eyes that makes you think he doesn’t want you to leave yet. And still, he nods.

“Yes. Until then.” You wave each other goodbye, and when you turn on your heels to walk to the bus station to get home, you too feel a distant pull on your heart, begging you to stay with him for just a while longer.

“You seemed a little out of focus today.” San states the obvious as you undo the rope you had meticulously tied around this wrists. He gives you a smile while he stares up at you, warmth in his gaze, but you also make out some curiousity shining through.

“I’m really sorry…” you say once he’s freed from his restraints, and he lets his hands sink into his lap, sitting up on your bed with his lower back propped up against the headrest. It was a short session - you kept it like that on purpose, having known from the start that your concentration would give up on you sooner rather than later today, and you honestly feel sorry for him. He doesn’t even look as tired out as usually when you’re done with him, and San seems to sense that something’s weighing you down, because next thing you know after putting the rope aside is that he’s pulling you into his embrace, letting you rest your head against his bare chest.

“Shouldn’t this be my job…” you mumble, even though you allow for your eyelids to close and your mind to rest for a while.

“Shh,” San shushes you. “Doms need reassurance too. Plus, I can take care of a friend, can’t I?”

You and San have known each other since forever - high school, to be exact, where you ended up in the same class and somehow formed an alliance to get together for study sessions and to tackle exams together. You’ve stayed in touch ever since, and hooked up a couple of times, until it was him who introduced you to the world of BDSM, and you immediately found yourself in your element. Even now you get together to have sex sometimes, and to satisfy the sub in him from time to time.

“How’s Woo doing?” you ask, letting him cradle you in his embrace for now.

“Don’t try to change the topic,” San scolds you in the softest tone.

“I really want to know!” you insist, and it wouldn’t be San if he could keep up his strict demeanor for more than a hot second when it comes to you.

“He’s doing fine. Bratty as ever.” You both laugh. “But I’ve got him tamed.”

“That’s my boy,” you chuckle, patting his thigh a few times.

“So? What’s on your mind, Y/N?” You let out an existential sigh. Choi Jongho, obviously. The thought pops up in your mind without permission, and you wonder if you should really keep fighting it so hard - and then you ask yourself why you’re fighting it in the first place.

“It’s just…” you talk eventually, but stop to ponder on your words some more. And then you peel yourself out of San’s hold, and you sit cross legged opposite him, with him mirroring your position. His smile dripping with warmth, he gives you the most sympathetic eyes known to mankind, and you curse him for it out loud.

“Why do you have to be so goddamn trustworthy and empathetic all the time?”

“What?” San laughs, the dimples on his cheeks almost as deep as the confusion in his gaze.

“I just… I met someone, I guess…” you admit.

“Oh?” He raises his eyebrows in interest.

“The CEO son… I told you about him.” And now San leans back, arms raised in a stretch before he crosses them behind his head.

“Well this is getting interesting…”

“... Jongho… is his name.”

“Hmm?”

“Stop acting like this!” you yell out of embarrassment.

“Like what? I’m just curious!” San shrugs like he had done nothing wrong.

“Just… I’m not ready for a new relationship yet…” San’s expression becomes serious again as he pieces together the bits of information you give him in an attempt to see the bigger picture, and you continue, “I guess that’s why this feels so conflicting. I like him, don’t get me wrong, but he took me out to dinner this week, and I think he more than just likes me.”

“You went on a date?” Surprise echoes in your friend’s words.

“It wasn’t a date. We just went out together.”

“That sounds like a date to me…”

“It wasn’t-... well maybe it was.” You pause, staring at the bedsheets underneath you. “I wish it wasn’t.”

“Come here,” San spreads his arms, beckoning you to come closer, and you let him engulf you in yet another warm hug. “If you’re not ready for another relationship after what happened, you can simply tell him that, can’t you?” It’s such an obvious piece of advice, and yet it seems to have so much more weight, now, that you’re hearing it from one of your oldest friends, and not just as a constantly recurring thought in your head.

“Right.”

“Do you think he might react badly?” You think about it for a while. It’s not like you know Jongho well enough to have gained a deep understanding of how he works in situations like these, but your gut feeling tells you he’ll at least be reasonable about it.

“Probably not,” you say finally.

“You’ll be fine,” San encourages you, and he lets you rest against his strong figure for a while. “But now I’m curious…” he continues eventually.

“Hm?”

“How is he?” He shoots you a smirk, and immediately several memories from the times you’ve been with Jongho so far flash by your inner eye.

“... haven’t had someone like him in a while. Actually, I haven’t had someone like him at all. A tough nut to crack.” You shoot San a knowing look. “But so worth it.”

“Hmm? Well, I’m glad you’re having your fun with him.”

“Yeah… it’s fun,” you say, and you can’t help but think of all the other things having sex with him is.

“I’m going to miss you,” San then says, without adding too much weight to the words - probably in an attempt not to burden you, but they hit you where it hurts anyway.

“What are you saying?”

“Well, we know you don’t do things like me and Wooyoung. When you’re dating someone, you’re dating just them.”

“Did you listen to any of what I just said?” You turn around to shoot San a look full of offense, and you’re met with a broad, playful smile from his side.

“Well, I feel like it’s only a matter of time with this one…”

“Choi San!” You call out his full name, only adding to his amusement. “Did you listen. To anything. I just said?”

“I did, I did, I’m sorry.” Your friend’s features soften as he falls forward to rest his chin atop your shoulder. You can’t tell if he was joking or not, if he was teasing you or if he really thinks there’s a chance being with Jongho would mend your heart enough for you to be ready to trust again. To fall in love again. And you know there’s currently nobody in your life who knows you better than San does. And yet, you can’t be mad at him.

“It’s okay, Y/N,” your friend speaks up, reaching out to put his hand over yours, thumb rubbing a few soothing circles onto your skin. “Take your time.”

“So that gave me a few sleepless nights, but fortunately we got the deal… oh, is that Meatball?” You turn your head into the general direction of where Jongho is looking, and find your cat’s pitch black fur blending into the shadows at the foot of one of the shelves in your living room.

“Ah, yes,” you say, and you smile at the small creature. “My grumpy old boy.” His yellow eyes are intently watching you and your visitor where you’re sitting across each other at your dinner table, and after a while of observing the both of you, he decides it’s time to venture closer. Stretching his body thoroughly as he gets up, he slowly walks a little closer, and then sits down halfway to watch Jongho with curiousity.

“Do you like cats?” you ask as Meatball proceeds to clean his hind legs.

“They’re quiet,” Jongho responds, not taking his eyes off your pet.

“I see,” you say, chuckling, and then you observe as Meatball comes yet a little closer, and you’re surprised to see him hop up onto Jongho’s lap, who seems flustered by the cat’s action. “I think he likes you,” you comment, and you find it amusing how the guy in front of you doesn’t seem too sure of what to do with Meatball rolling up in his lap, fully intent on taking a nap by the looks of it. However, he relaxes eventually.

“Can I pet him?”

“You can try,” you say. “If he doesn’t like it he’ll get up and leave.”

“Ah… so he doesn’t bite or anything?” Jongho asks, his palm finding the pitch black fur and Meatball doesn’t react as he strokes him from head to tail a few times.

“He does,” you say, pulling up the sleeve on your left arm and showing him the half healed scratches Meatball had given you just last week. “He hates taking his meds.”

“I see,” Jongho chuckles, continuously petting the cat in his lap.

“He’s used to it, so usually he’ll just accept his fate. But sometimes his fighting spirit comes out,” you explain, laughing, and the guy sitting opposite you laughs as well. “But in a situation where he can escape, he’ll rather do that. So no need to worry.”

“I see… oh?” Meatball gets up, and, seemingly having had enough coddling for today, jumps down onto the floor to spread out and continue his nap there. “He’s had enough, huh?”

“Looks like it,” you respond, and for a while you both end up just watching his sleeping figure. However, you eventually tear yourself away from the adorable image, remembering what you had planned to have a conversation about before starting your scene today.

“Uhm…” you clear your throat. “There’s something I wanted to talk to you about.”

“What is it?” Jongho asks, shooting you a smile.

“So… we’ve been getting closer even… outside of the bedroom, right?” you say, unsure how to start the conversation, but you know you’ll have to start somewhere, even if things come out a bit awkwardly.

“Right.”

“And it feels like… you really like me. I mean, I like you too, just…”

“What is it?” Jongho raises his eyebrows, and you find a hint of concern hiding behind his gaze.

“Look…” You place your hands on top of the table in front of you. “Before this can go in any direction where we’re not on the same page anymore… I just felt like I should tell you that I’m currently not looking for a romantic relationship.” Silence falls over the room as soon as the words are out, and if you’re being quite honest, you’re a little scared of his reaction. You’ve been very sure there’s more going on here than just sex for him, and you can’t say you’re not taking a liking to him as well. But with your very recent past experiences, you just can’t see yourself already dating someone new. And he deserves to know that, so you know you’re doing the right thing by telling him that. However, at the same time there’s a part of you that’s scared he’ll want to stop seeing you altogether in that case.

“I see,” he eventually answers.

“It’s not you, it’s…” You pause as Jongho holds his breath, waiting for your explanation. “It just hasn’t been long enough for me to… get over my last relationship.”

“Ah…”

“I mean- get over isn’t the right wording. More like… heal?”

“Can I ask… what happened?” he poses a question. Memories flash by your inner eye, and along with them you feel the pain as if everything had happened just yesterday.

“Well… I had a long-term partner until about… five months ago?” you say, while simultaneously deciding you really don’t want to dive into any details right now. Explaining this out loud even just vaguely still hurts a little too much to handle. “We had a pretty bad breakup where a lot of stuff came up… like, that he’s been lying to me about all kinds of stuff. And looking back he never really was a safe person to be with emotionally, but I only realized it when it became clear we’d split up. So…”

“Right… I get that you need a lot of time to recover from something like that,” Jongho answers.

“Yeah…” You take a deep breath. “I’ve been with him for a long time too…” Your ex’s face appears in your mind, and the memories of the man you had once loved and admired so much now just makes you feel sick inside. A touch against your knuckles - Jongho’s hand grazing yours - brings you back to reality, and a look at his face stirs up conflicting emotions deep within you. However, once you watch his lips part for him to speak, and the soothing sound of his voice wraps itself around your ears, an unexpected wave of reassurance washes over you.

“You’re right, by the way,” he says, pausing as he looks around in search of just the right words. “About me liking you beyond just… someone I sometimes get together to have sex with.” You nod at his words as you listen to him speak. “But I don’t want to do anything that makes you feel uncomfortable, or that triggers anything you’re not ready to face.” And then he hesitates, as if it was difficult for him to get his next words out, and as your hand slips into his in order to encourage him to keep going, you feel the dynamic between you two shifting into what you’re most comfortable with. You feel you have taken back some control over the situation, and that makes you feel safe.

“So, how do you feel about this now? About us.” You ask a question, hoping it would help him speak his mind, and yet it takes him a while before he can reply.

“What I want… is to keep seeing you,” he eventually says, though it seems hard for him to look at you while speaking so honestly, and you give his hand a gentle squeeze to encourage him to keep going. “I understand that dating someone would be difficult for you after something like that. So…” His gaze finds you now, and the sudden determination reflecting in his eyes makes your heart stop for a second. “It’d be fine with me if we kept in touch as just friends for now.”

“Ah…” you sigh, as the remainder of the tension and the anxiety about his response leave your body at once. “I would like that too. As I said, I do like you, and I enjoy spending time with you. It’s just…”

“Not the right time for more,” he finishes your sentence and you nod, relieved that he understands.

“Yeah.”

“That’s okay. Oh, but… Y/N,” he calls out to you, a little hesitant.

“What is it?”

“Does this mean… you want to stop doing scenes with me too?” You raise your eyebrows at him, staring blankly for a second, and he’s quick to add, “I mean, of course I’ll respect that if you don’t want to-” Upon him lifting his hands, waving them in front of his chest and his ears turning a bright shade of red as he’s afraid he might’ve said something wrong, you smile and you get up off your chair, approaching him, and when you’re standing right next to him you capture his chin between your thumb and index finger.

“If you still want to play after this, I’d like to as well,” you assure him, your tone soft, and you brush your thumb along his bottom lip as he glances up at you, need filling his eyes.

“Yes,” he breathes. “I still want to.”

“Then follow me. I wanna try something a bit different today,” you say as you lead him to your bedroom.

He lets you peel off his shirt without resistance, his palms landing on your hips as soon as his bare chest comes into view. And though something inside you wants to escape his touch and swat away his hands so as not to let him have even a fraction of control about the situation, you let it be for now. Instead, you draw closer to him, your fingers finding the buckle of his belt, never once breaking eye contact even when your lips are merely an inch apart. He kisses you back confidently once you close the distance between the two of you, and as his hands attempt to wander up your sides, you’re quick to grab his wrists and tear them away.

“Don’t touch me unless I tell you to,” you mutter dangerously, and though he doesn’t try to escape your grip, in the way he continues kissing you hard you find the desire to overpower you. “That’s enough,” you warn him as you take a few steps back. “Stay right there.” You throw another command at him, and you keep watching him as you rid yourself of your own clothes, revealing the harness you’ve been wearing all this while and no underwear. You’re amused by the way he’s ogling your figure, and a smile creeps onto your lips when you walk over to one of the drawers in your room in order to retrieve a pair of handcuffs from it.

“You remember talking about this, don’t you?” you say on your way back to him, watching him gulp.

“Yes.” His curt answer intrigues you, as well as the sudden uncertainty behind his expression.

“This is what I wanna try today,” you explain. “Would you be okay with that?” Jongho thinks for a while, and as soon as he nods you run your hand up his chest and comb your fingers through his hair. “That’s what I wanna hear. Good boy,” you coo, and as per usual at this point of a scene, he doesn’t react much to the praise. Then your hand finds the hem of his pants, and as you tug at the fabric, you say, “Off with these.” This time he listens without hesitation, and you let your eyes take in his shapes as he rids himself of the remainder of clothes as well.

“Down.” You give him one simple command, and you watch as the struggle of considering whether he should listen to you or not reflects in the way he keeps his gaze fixated on you while you circle him on light steps. “Didn’t hear me?” you pry, raising your eyebrows at him, and you place your free hand below his chin, drawing near. Thumb brushing across his lower lip, you dig your nail into the plush for a moment, while biting your own bottom lip - the need to kiss him stupid arises within you, but you resist. Now is not the time for that, not when he’s disobeying you like this. Your gaze returns from his mouth to his dark brown eyes, and you decide to stay patient. You stop your movement and merely stare at him, and when his resolve finally wavers, he sinks to his knees, keeping his eyes on yours as his features soften. The look he gives you now hides so many things, you have to take a moment to dismantle all that you can read in it. First and foremost, need. Devotion. Hopefulness. Obedience. Submission.

You let the emotions it stirs awake deep within you almost sweep you away, but you manage to collect yourself, and you speak another command, “Hands behind your back, pretty boy.” Your voice is soft, wanting to relay to him that you’re proud of him, and when he complies - though not without hesitation - you cuff his wrists together. Then you walk around him and you sit down at the foot of your bed, right in front of him, and with a gesture of your hand, you beckon him to come closer. Fingers lacing through his hair, you observe how his eyelids flutter shut for a moment, lips parting, and he leans into your gentle touch.

“That’s right…” you speak, and the way he peeks up at you is filled with both need and desire. You spread your legs apart, and you inch a little closer to the edge of the bed. “You know what I think?” you say, and Jongho waits for you to tell him the answer to your question. Your hand travels down from the top of his head to his lips, parting them so you could run your thumb across the bottom row of his teeth. “I was thinking you should put that pretty mouth of yours to use.” You can see his adam’s apple move as he gulps at your words, and on his knees he crawls closer yet. His gaze falls to your core immediately, laid out for him to bury his face right there, but with a tug on his hair you stop him.

“Not so greedy,” you say, and you chuckle. “You really think you can please me when you’re driven by nothing but hunger?” Wide-eyed, he stares up at you, and where you had expected a cheeky comment about how he knows how to give good head, you find only silence. “What?” you mock him. “Don’t tell me you forgot how to eat pussy?” And now you must’ve struck something within him, because you can see his eyebrows knit in dismay.

“I know what I’m doing,” he responds somewhat coldly.

“Then prove it.” Without making you wait, he goes in with a bite to the inside of your thigh that ends up being harsher than it would’ve had to be, and you immediately yank on his hair as a punishment. “Getting cheeky, are we?” You receive a glare from Jongho while he kneels between your legs, and though his anger directed at you like that affects you in all the best ways, you know you’re very close to crossing a line for him. You loosen your grip on his hair, massaging his scalp as you continue, “Gentle, or you’re not getting anything at all.” He glares up at you for a few seconds longer, but then reason wins him over, and he goes in more slowly this time. His expression softens while his lips brush against your skin, and he begins kissing his way to your middle. Reaching the spot he had sunk his teeth into just a moment ago, his tongue darts across the marks his little stunt had left, licking them better.

“That’s right,” you praise him. “That’s a good boy.” He hums at your words very quietly, and him already reacting to your praise satisfies you. Playing with his hair, you let him come closer, and when his hot breath hits your core, you let out a deep sigh. He looks up at you as his lips brush against your folds. Then he extends his tongue to lick up a stripe, and his eyes close upon tasting you. The warmth of his tongue pressing against your pussy has you letting out a breathy moan, and you notice how he’s carefully mapping you out - kissing your clit, dragging the tip of his wet muscle along your folds, dipping it inside of your hole only to come back up. And all the while he watches for your every reaction, set on figuring out how to best please you, while intentionally - or so you think, at least - riling you up by slowly testing out whatever comes to mind.

“Wanna do good for me, hm?” you guess, brushing a few strands of his hair out of his face. He responds by pushing his tongue inside of you, slowly, and as he pulls back out, you see him licking his lips.

“Yes…” he whispers, not daring to look at you now, and you smile at what you can only interpret as shyness.

“Then make me cum,” you say. “And you might just get a reward.” His gaze returns to your face, and eager to please, he wraps his lips around your clit, beginning to gently suck on it. You gasp when his teeth graze the sensitive bud, and you pull away for a moment - you sure as hell aren’t planning on making this easy for him. Allowing him to dive back in, he tries a different approach, this time using his tongue to probe your reaction to him flicking it across the bundle of nerves. With you settling back in against his face he continues, giving it some time now before he starts putting some more pressure behind his movements to make you feel his touch more intensely. The timing being right this time, it makes you moan, and you can slowly feel the pleasure building up in your gut. Again, he keeps doing the same thing while never taking his gaze off of your face, and when he can see you getting slightly underwhelmed by his repeated motions, he lets his tongue wander south, licking into your dripping hole.

“Mmh…” A moan falls from your lips, and you throw your head back for a moment. Jongho takes it as a sign to continue, and when he begins thrusting his muscle in and out of you, you tug at his hair from the heat it sends rushing through your veins. “Feels nice…” you mutter, and when your eyes return to his face buried in your pussy, you find him slowly getting drunk on your taste. And then, just as you’re about to wonder whether you should tell him to switch up what he’s doing, he pulls back out and goes back to drawing figure eights on your clit. You hiss at the feeling - both at how good the sensation of his warm touch against your sensitive bud is, and at how empty him retracting from inside of you is leaving you. For just a moment you curse yourself for deciding to handcuff him, knowing just how good his long fingers would feel inside of you right now, but then you remember you were gonna make this a tedious task for him on purpose, and so you push that thought away.

“Doing really good for me…” you praise him. “But… it’s gonna take you ages to make me cum like that.” The challenging look you send him is met with acceptance, and as he gently bites down on your clit this time, your breath hitches in return, a wave of pleasure shooting right through you like lightning. And he doesn’t miss the opportunity to send you a shit-eating grin upon seeing how he just affected you, but before you can punish him for it, his tongue is already plunging back into your cunt, and you arch your back, pushing your core towards him. He hums at your reactions, pulling back out to draw a few circles onto your clit, and then diving right back in, lapping at your walls. As he repeats that process a few times, you can finally feel your high starting to build up somewhere in the distance, and yet you know this much won’t be enough to throw you over the edge.

“Shit, do more…” you say, and he continues eating you out eagerly, and then finally he angles his face so the tip of his nose brushes against your sensitive bud with each time his tongue fucks into you, and another moan falls from your lips. “Like that…” you say, breathless, and you tighten your grip on his hair. “Keep going just like that…” And he does, eyes closed as he continues licking up into you, nose rubbing up and down on your clit. You spread your legs apart just a little further, wriggling as close to him as you possibly can in order to allow him to reach deeper up into you, and when he moans in response the vibrations shooting up your cunt make you shiver involuntarily. “Fuck, Jongho…” you curse, and hearing his name only serves to make him more eager. A few more strokes of his tongue against that delicious spot right inside of you, and you come undone, your walls contracting around his wet muscle as you let your high overwhelm you.

“Did so well for me…” you praise him as you let go of his hair, and he pulls back. He licks up your juices glistening on his lips, and as you look down on him, you can unmistakably see how much eating you out has turned him on as well. “Get up,” you say, and he does. “And turn around.” You take the handcuffs off him, and as soon as he’s facing you again, you sit back against the headrest of your bed, and you make him come closer, until you have him kneeling right in front of you.

“Get yourself off. I wanna watch,” you command. He doesn’t think twice until his large hand wraps around his hard cock, and the heavy sighs he lets you hear as he jerks himself off tell you how much he must’ve been needing this. He falls forward, his free hand supporting him against the headboard right next to you, and like this, slightly leaned over your body, face distorted in desperation for a release, he ruts into his hand. His eyes wander your figure, fist tightly squeezing around his length, and within mere seconds he cums with a broken moan, spilling his seed all over you. Feeling the sticky white on your stomach and chest, you grant him a few moments to catch his breath, and then you reach out to push him back onto his heels.

“Look at the mess you made…” you growl, and in the way he takes in the image in front of him, you can clearly tell he likes the result of what he’s done. “And you didn’t even last more than a hot minute, huh?” you mock him. Reaching for the handcuffs you had simply tossed aside on the bed, you make him hold out his wrists for you to link them back together, in front of him this time. “Clean up your mess.” You think maybe it’s because making him struggle a bit just earlier that he doesn’t hesitate, but either way you make sure to praise him for getting to work almost immediately. He bends over, tongue lapping at your body to lick off his seed, and he doesn’t frown or complain - he simply does what you’ve asked of him. And the way he so eagerly cleans you up is making you want to force him to please you all over again, and suddenly you remember the question San had asked you when you last saw him.

“How is he?” The words echo in your head as Jongho reaches your core, his position looking somewhat sorry, but that doesn’t stop him from lapping at your still sensitive pussy as soon as you give him the okay.

“Wait,” you say, making him sit up briefly, just long enough so you could take the handcuffs off him. You trust that he wouldn’t do anything stupid at this point, so you fling the restraints to the side, and you lie down flat on your back so he could reach where you want him more comfortably. “Get to work, pretty boy,” you say, and he does, throwing your legs over his shoulders and burying his face in your core.

“Doing so good…” you mutter as you watch him, lips wrapped around your clit and sucking, while he pushes two of his fingers into you, stretching you out, and you throw your head back from the feeling of being filled up like this. You had been right, his fingers inside you combined with his mouth working your bundle of nerves really do feel amazing.

Amazing. That’s what he is. But you don’t say that out loud. Instead, you keep urging him on to continue what he’s doing with all other sorts of praise, bucking your hips into his touch, and making him fuck you from one high to the next for however long you feel like it.

“That’s a good boy… shit… listen so well… such a good toy for me…”

“Sorry I’m late!” One of your friends rushes towards the table as Wooyoung is in the process of pouring everyone their first round of shots.

“You have to drink two for being late!” someone else yells and everyone agrees with laughter. Meanwhile you’re busy grilling some meat for everyone - pork belly, the usual for when all of you manage to make time for you to gather like in the old days. The soju shots are handed out, and you all say cheers, emptying the tiny glasses at once. You continue the conversation you’ve been having before the late comer announced her arrival, and soon enough, Wooyoung decides it’s time for another round of shots.

“What’s with you today?” Hongjoong, who sits right across from him on the round table asks.

“What do you mean, what’s with me?” the younger man answers. “I’m here to have fun. But I can get you a glass of water in case you’re not.” His cynical comment evokes laughter, and Hongjoong fires back,

“Bring it on.” Next to you, San shakes his head.

“These two…”

“Yeah,” you agree, cutting the meat into bite sized pieces for everyone. “I bet by the end of this at least one of them is passed out on the toilet again.” San smiles, yelling over the table at his boyfriend,

“I’m not carrying you home this time, princess!” However, Wooyoung seems to have heard nothing but the last part, because now he’s grinning from ear to ear, blushing, handing out the glasses to everyone.

“Pff,” you snort upon witnessing their interaction, and when you see the display of your phone lighting up on the table, you shift your attention there. Handing San the tongs and the pair of scissors to continue cooking the meat, you unlock your phone to read the full message sent by Jongho.

“I think I’ll buy it, but I’ll wait for it to go on sale. Btw, I’m free on saturday, if you want to meet up?” You type up a quick answer.

“can’t make saturday. meatball has a vet appointment and then i gotta run some errands ㅜㅜ what about next week?”

You put down the device and return your attention to the conversation at the table, but soon enough your phone lights up again.

“Actually, can we call real quick?”

“sure” You get up, not saying a word, expecting you’ll be back soon enough anyway, and then you leave the busy restaurant. Outside, it is definitely a lot quieter, and standing at the side of the road, you give Jongho a call.

“Y/N? Hi.”

“Hi… what is it?”

“Ah… I just thought it’d be quicker this way.”

“Oh,” you let out a laugh. “I thought something happened.”

“No, no, don’t worry. I just… actually prefer calls to texting.”

“Oh. I get that. So?” You pause for a short moment. “Next week?”

“I could do Friday.”

“Works for me. At 5?”

“7? I’m not sure when I’ll be able to leave work…” he says, sounding somewhat apologetic.

“7 it is,” you reply.

“Nice,” you hear him say.

“Where do you want to meet? We could go to this café near me, the one I told you about last time.”

“Actually, I was wondering if you wanted to come to my place? I think I need some peace and quiet after a full week of work.”

“Sure,” you smile even though he can’t see you. “Your place then. You have to send me the address.”

“Will do.”

“Great,” you say, and then the line goes quiet. Yet neither of you hangs up, so eventually you add, “So… how was your day?”

“It was alright. I only had one meeting in the morning. The company had stew for lunch today, so I ate at the cafeteria for the first time in a while.”

“Oh, that’s nice.”

“And you?”

“Ah, I’m out with friends right now. You know, my old high school friends.”

“I hope you have fun, then!”

“Yeah, it’s always fun when we see each other,” you assure him, and somehow the way you’re exchanging trivialities like this makes you feel a little closer to him. “I feel like one of them is trying to get all of us drunk today though. So we see how that ends,” you laugh, and so does Jongho.

“Well, I happen to know a very effective recipe for a hangover soup. So if you need me, just call,” he offers.

“Thanks,” you say. “Not trying to reach that state, but I’ll keep it in mind. Oh, but, I think I should go back in. I’m in charge of the grill today, so they’ll start complaining if I don’t come back to feed them soon.”

“Right,” he answers. “Then go. We’ll talk.”

“Yeah. Hanging up!”

“Bye,” he greets, and for a second you hesitate to press the red button to end the call, and you sigh when he beats you to it. As you’re putting your phone into your pocket, you find a somewhat appalled San approaching you.

“Y/N, is everything alright?” he asks.

“Yeah, why wouldn’t it be?”

“Just… you were suddenly gone, so I thought I’d check on you,” he says, seemingly embarrassed about how gravely he had misjudged the situation. You shoot him a smile.

“It’s okay, no need to worry. I was just talking to Jongho about meeting him.”

“Oh?” Now your friend raises an eyebrow at you suspiciously. “I thought you didn’t want to go on dates with him…?”

“It’s not a date!” you immediately refute. “We’re just seeing each other as friends. Is that so bad?”

“No?” San fails to repress a grin and he teases, “You sure it’s not a date?”

“Very sure,” you say. After all, you and Jongho had agreed to keep things friendly outside of the bedroom for now. “It’s not a date if the two of us meet up either, is it now?” you state, pointing at San and then yourself.

“No,” your friend agrees.

“See? Nothing to giggle about then. Let’s go back in,” you decide, and you put your hand onto his shoulder to push him towards the direction you both came from.

As soon as you enter Jongho’s apartment, you look around in awe. It’s neat, it’s modern, it’s spacious, and the rent is probably in a range you’d never even dream of earning in your lifetime ever. The walls are all white, the furniture is mostly black with some silver metal rods connecting everything elegantly, you find a grey rug underneath the coffee table that has a glass pane as its top, and the windows are tall - you figure they let in a lot of light during the day, but now, in the evening, they grant a magnificent view of the lights and the bustling nightlife in the city underneath.

“Whoa…” you gasp, slipping out of your shoes and walking inside right behind Jongho. “So that’s how rich people live, huh.”

“Ahh, it’s not that impressive,” he waves it off, but you shake your head.

“Uhm, excuse me, you do know what my flat looks like, yeah? This here is more than twice the size!” you refute, and then you add, “I just think you’re lucky to be able to afford to live so comfortably.”

“Right,” Jongho agrees, and he loosens his tie as he walks over to the open kitchen. “Do you want anything? Water? Alcohol?”

“What, wanna get drunk tonight?” you ask with a grin on your lips and you follow him. Catching a glimpse of the contents of one of the cabinets, you can see he doesn’t have a lot of tableware - which makes sense, considering he lives alone.

“Honestly, I need it…” the guy sighs, looking away. The bags under his eyes are apparent, exhaustion carved into his features, and you wonder if it’s from the usual stress or if something additional happened. “Do you like drinking?”

“From time to time, yeah,” you answer, and you watch him walking out into the living room, opening a different cupboard there, to reveal several bottles of assorted alcoholic beverages. “I take it you enjoy it quite a bit?” you guess, and he gives you a tired laugh.

“Yeah… how about this?” He holds up a bottle of whiskey, and you wonder how many hours you’d have to work to be able to afford an expensive looking bottle like this.

“Whatever you can recommend,” you say. “I don’t know that much about what brands are good.”

“Then we’ll go with this,” he decides, and after bringing over two tumblers and pouring each of you a glass, he sits down on the sofa, inviting you to do the same.

“Cheers,” he raises his glass, and you follow suit.

“Cheers.” You end up quite enjoying the rich taste of the beverage, along with the slight burn it leaves as it goes down your throat. You make sure to drink it slowly, savouring the taste, and yet soon enough you both find yourselves having emptied your glasses.

“Seconds?” Jongho offers, and you nod. “Oh, do you want ice in it?”

“Sure,” you say, adding with a grin as you watch him walking over to the kitchen for the ice. “You are trying to get me drunk, aren’t you?”

“No, no,” he denies it with a shy smile on his face, and you both laugh. You use the few moments that it takes him until he comes back to scan your surroundings again. There’s not many decorations on the shelves or the wall, a picture that has not been hung up yet and a candle that looks like it’s been lit maybe once. You also find a guitar in one corner of the room - a classical one, and you wonder if he’s good at playing it.

“There you go.” He returns with an adequate amount of ice, and he pours the both of you another drink. You watch as he brings the glass to his lips, taking a sip, and savouring it for a moment before he lets it glide down his throat.

“Had a rough day?” you too take a sip after posing your question.

“Yeah…” the guy next to you answers, and as he puts down his glass, his gaze finds you. “I need a distraction, I think.”

“A distraction? What are you thinking about?”

“You know… what we always do.”

“Ah…” you sigh and you set your glass down on the coffee table in front of you, before turning to him, leaning your body against the backrest of the sofa and placing your palm on top of his thigh. “I don’t do scenes when I’ve had a drink.” You can see the disappointment reflecting in his gaze, though Jongho tries his best not to show it. It’s enough to make you feel bad for having to turn him down though - even when you know it’s for the best. “I could… offer something else though.”

“What?” he asks, looking directly at you with his head cocked slightly to the side, his gaze taking in your features.

“Well… for starters, you seem like you could use a nice hot bath,” you suggest, your thumb drawing circles onto the fabric of his dress pants. “And then you can tell me all about what made you this stressed and tired. Does that sound good?” He nods, his eyes not leaving your face as your fingertips dance from his leg to his stomach, hand coming to a rest there. “And then maybe I’ll make you feel good too… just nothing too extreme today, yeah?” You reach up into his hair, combing it back with your fingers, and at this point his stare lingers on your lips so very obviously. Still, you don’t give him what he wants just yet. Instead, you get up and you position yourself right in front of him, cupping his chin in your hand.

“What?” you chuckle, while he stares up at you with round eyes. “Want a kiss?” Jongho nods and you reach for your glass that is still half full. “I have a better idea.” You take a sip of the cool liquid, and then you bring the tumbler to his lips, feeding him the remainder of the alcohol inside. You watch as he drinks up, feeling the movements along his throat with each gulp he takes, and he blushes upon hearing you mutter,

“Swallow. That’s a good boy.” With him expectantly staring up at you as soon as the glass is empty, you brush your thumb across his bottom lip, and his eyes flutter shut for a moment upon feeling your touch. You lean in, finally granting him a kiss, and as your tongue licks into his mouth, you can still taste the remainder of the alcohol.

“Let’s go?” you then say, speaking softly, while you part from him slowly. He merely follows you into the bathroom wordlessly, giving you a good idea of just how tired he is, and as you think to yourself that either way this isn’t a state where you’d want to do a scene with him, you also feel the strong urge to take care of him in any way you can bubbling up from deep inside.

And so you take him by the hand after you close the bathroom door behind you, and you scatter a few kisses in his neck at which he lets out a deep sigh, before you undo his tie for him and you toss it to the side. He reaches up to unbutton his white shirt, but you gently push his hands away, whispering,

“Let me do it.” You take off his clothes one by one, filling the tub up with some nice hot water, and you add some bath salt that you find in one of the cabinets. Ridding yourself of your clothes as well, you get into the bathtub first, sitting at one end of it so you could let him comfortably lean his back against your chest, and as soon as he’s all settled in, your arms snake around his waist. His eyes fall shut with a groan almost immediately, and as your lips brush against his temple, you stop yourself from placing a kiss there. You notice your face has heated up from the warm water, the alcohol in your veins, or maybe the way you feel you’ve never quite been as intimate with him as right now, and you reach over to the bottle of shampoo sitting beside the bathtub. You squirt a generous amount of it into your hands, and as your fingers are working the shampoo into his hair, gently massaging his scalp, you can feel his body relax against you, along with him letting out a deep sigh.

“Feels good?” you ask, and he mumbles,

“Myeah…”

“So… you wanna talk about anything? Or just stay like this and have me spoil you a bit?” you ask, and it takes him some time to decide on an answer.

“Mmmm… both?” he says while the corners of his mouth curl up into a weak smile.

“Alright,” you mutter, rinsing his hair, making sure none of the soap gets into his face.

“It’s just…” he sighs, knitting his eyebrows. “Some days I don’t think I can keep doing this anymore.”

“Your job?” you say.

“Yeah… I mean…” he pauses for a while to collect his thoughts. “I’m given more and more responsibilities. I’m not sure when my father is planning on retiring exactly, but it feels like he’s preparing to do it soon? Maybe within the next few years I’ll be able to follow in his footsteps. He hasn’t once asked me whether I really wanted that or not.”

“He just assumes you will do it?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, you are doing it…” you throw in, your fingertips dancing down to his chest.

“What choice do I have?” Jongho responds. And though you decided long ago that you yourself would walk a different path than the one set out for you, it’s not like you don’t understand why he’s doing it.

“You’re loyal to your father,” you conclude.

“Yeah…” A bitter laugh escapes him. “Sometimes I wish I was brave enough to rebel.” Combing your fingers through his wet hair, you hum at his words.

“For somebody who needs to be coerced into following orders when it comes to me, you sure are timid.”

“Whatever…” He pouts at your observation, but soon enough the exhaustion takes back over, and his facial features relax as he leans his head against your shoulder. You let your palms wander down his torso slowly, and when you graze his core, he lets out a soft moan.

“I hope you can do what you really want to do,” you then say, as you wrap your fingers around him, feeling him grow as you slowly move up and down his length. “I don’t know how realistic it is to change professions from one day to the other. But I really hope there’s a way for you to do music.”

“Mhm…” he sighs as his body reacts to your touch.

“If I can help you with this somehow… you know where to find me,” you add, and when your fist reaches his tip, he whines a little.

“I know…” he says, and after a few more strokes of your hand he proceeds, “You’re already helping a lot.” You smile at his words, and at the way he sucks in a breath as the pleasure flows through his body. “But…”

“Hm?”

“No games today?” He raises an eyebrow at you, glancing at you from the corner of his eye, and you have to think for a second to understand what he’s referring to.

“Ah, no… I told you we’re not doing anything crazy while half drunk,” you respond.

“I know, but… this just seems very out of character,” he chuckles, and it’s not like you don’t find yourself agreeing.

“I just wanna make you feel good today,” you say. “You don’t like that?”

“No, no, I do…” he sighs and you know he’s getting closer and closer upon hearing him moaning.

“I just…” you say, and you earn yourself a disappointed gasp when you stop your movements. “I’ve actually… had something on my mind as well.”

“What is it?” he asks, though it takes him a while to swallow the frustration of you ceasing your touch. Wrapping your arms around his torso now, you speak,

“I’ve just been wondering… if it’s really okay for me to do to you what I’m doing…”

“What do you mean?”

“Forcing you into submission.”

“Ahh…” Silence follows, and Jongho puts one hand over yours that’s resting on his stomach.

“It’s just… sometimes I wonder if you really want that. Because it’s often so hard for you to let go and go there.”

“I do…” His answer is merely a whisper, and somehow you’re not convinced.

“You sure?” You feel him squeezing your hand in his, and he turns his head as far as he can so he could look at your face properly.

“It’s hard for me, that’s true,” he says. “But that doesn’t mean I don’t want it. It doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy it… once you do get me to submit…” You repeat his words in your mind, hoping they would wash away your doubts. You can trust him on things like this, you feel that deep inside, but sometimes you just can’t help but wonder. “And besides… you always take really good care of me. Even now you said you wouldn’t do a scene when you had something to drink. I assume not everyone is that responsible.”

“That’s true…” He turns his head back to look straight ahead, and you feel him intertwining his fingers with yours.

“I feel like I’m in safe hands with you. And if you ever do something I don’t enjoy, I will let you know.”

“Right… thank you,” you mutter, burying your face in the crook of his neck and resting your head there for a while. “That’s reassuring to hear.” You stay like this for some time, just holding him close and listening to each other’s breathing as you enjoy the warmth of the water. “You know what I think?” you eventually speak up.

“What?” Jongho answers with a bit of a delay, making you think he might’ve been dozing off a bit.

“We should get ourselves to bed. You’ve had a rough day, and you need the rest.”

“So… you’re staying overnight?” he assumes, sounding a little surprised.

“If it’s okay with you… I think the trains will stop running soon anyway,” you make up an excuse, though you’re not exactly sure what time it is. But either way he doesn’t question it and you both get out of the water, wrapping yourselves into two large towels to dry off. You grab a smaller one to throw over his head, and as you roughly rub it against his wet hair, he sends you a boyish grin that makes your heart beat just a little bit faster.

When you’re about to reach for your clothes, Jongho takes you by the hand instead, and next thing you know your back meets the tiles on his bathroom wall, and his lips connect to yours. After but a moment of hesitation, you do the only thing that comes to mind, and you kiss him back, lips moving against each other in a slow rhythm. Drawing closer, his hands find purchase on your hips, and when he presses his body against yours, you moan quietly into his mouth. None of you speaks a word when you part, and though you had planned to simply slip under the covers together and tuck him in, you don’t feel any kind of objection within yourself against where he’s taking this night instead.

You stumble into the bedroom, your towels scattered somewhere on the floor, and when he gently pushes you down on the sheets, crawling on top of you, you can hear him whisper,

“Is this alright with you?”

“Yeah…” you answer when his lips graze your neck, and your hand finds its way up into his hair as he begins trailing tired kisses down your sternum and belly. At this point you can see just how badly he needs some sleep, but even when you try to convey that to him, he shakes his head.

“Just a bit longer…” he mutters as he lies down beside you, rolling you over onto your side so your back is facing him. “Need you…” You suck in a sharp breath as he mutters those words, and his hot breath hits the back of your neck before you feel his lips connecting to the skin there. He pulls you closer by your hip, until you can feel his length against your behind, and his fingertips wander towards your core while he keeps kissing and nipping at your neck and shoulders.

“Shit…” you breathe, and your body immediately reacts to him running a finger through your folds and then dipping it inside your wet cunt effortlessly. He moans at the sensation and at how ready you are for him, and he snakes his other arm around you from underneath to keep you as close to him as possible. You whine when he slips out of you, lifting your leg up a bit instead for better access, and when you feel his tip grazing your pussy, a shiver full of expectation runs down your spine. You’re so used to long and intense sessions when you’re fucking someone, always staying on top of the situation and keeping control, but every once in a while this is nice too - or maybe your body and mind are reacting to him especially strongly. Either way, you moan when he pushes up into you, and his name escapes you when he begins to roll his hips. His thrusts are sloppy and lack control, purely guided by desperation and the need to be inside of you, but combined with the way his fingers are drawing precise circles against your clit, he’s getting you right where you wants you anyway. And with your back arched just at the right angle, he hits that sweet spot deep inside your cunt with every time he thrusts back in.

“Fuck…” he curses in between letting you hear the prettiest moans, and the sound of his voice only adds to the pleasure rushing through your body.

“Jongho…” you breathe as he ruts into you faster. “Don’t stop… don’t you dare stop…” He whines in response, his dick twitching inside of you, and you know he’s just as close as you are. A few more thrusts and you feel your walls contract around his size, your high washing over you as a broken moan falls from your lips. He fucks you right through it, when mere seconds later, he too comes undone, teeth sinking into the flesh on your shoulder as he spills inside you.

You stay just like this, with his arms wrapped around you, and him still buried deep inside you as you both catch your breaths, coming down from your respective highs. The tip of his nose grazes your neck as he lets out a sleepy groan, and you reach for his hand that’s resting on your chest, bringing it up to your lips. Your mind clouded by the blissful aftermath of your orgasm and probably the whiskey too, you press a kiss to his palm, finding yourself mouthing the words you wouldn’t dare speak out loud.

“I think I’m in love with you.”

Him holding you as close as he possibly can, he drifts off to sleep behind you while his grip loosens a bit, and feeling safe and sound in his embrace, soon enough you too find yourself slipping into dreamland.

You wake up the next morning, a blanket having been pulled over both your and Jongho’s bodies at some point during the night, and as you blink against the light falling into the room through the windows with the curtains still open, you spot his sleeping face right next to you. It’s not the first time you’ve awoken next to him, yet somehow it feels different than it used to now. The little pout on his puffy lips makes you smile, and while the sunlight slowly wakes up your mind, you wonder whether you should stay in bed like this for a while, or see if there’s anything to make breakfast out of in his fridge. You choose the latter eventually, quietly deciding to borrow a t-shirt of his to throw on, and after you’ve managed to find your underpants in the pile of clothes you had left behind in the bathroom, you make your way to the kitchen. Looking through the scarce ingredients that greet you there, you figure Jongho doesn’t cook for himself a whole lot, but some eggs and rice should be enough for a simple breakfast.

Soon enough, he appears behind you in his kitchen, using the opportunity to sleepily hug you from behind as he peeks over your shoulder.

“What you making?” he asks, his voice not yet warmed up, and you shake him off with a giggle to move towards the stove, cracking two eggs into a pan.

“Just this with some rice,” you answer. “It’s not a very fancy breakfast but I thought it’s better than nothing.”

“Hmm,” he makes a noise in return. “We could’ve ordered something, you know?”

“That’s what I was trying to avoid, dumbass,” you laugh.

“Hey!” he exclaims in offense, and you shoot him a cheeky grin.

“Go wash up, it’ll be ready in a few minutes. Oh, also,” you stop him from running off right away. “Coffee?”

“Sure,” he answers, opening a cupboard to get two mugs out of it, and he gets to brewing some on the expensive looking coffee machine on the counter.

“I could’ve made it too,” you say, heating up the rice in his microwave, but Jongho just shakes his head.

You carry the minimalistic breakfast over to the dinner table, sitting down across from each other, and you eat in silence. You find there’s some irony behind you sitting in such a fancy apartment, owned by someone who has more than enough money, and then you’re having such a simple and cheap dish with him. When you’re both done eating and you reach for the dishes to collect them and carry them back to the kitchen, he beats you to it.

“You go brush your teeth first, I’ll take care of this,” Jongho mutters, shaking his head at your attempt to clean up. “There should be a spare toothbrush in the drawer under the sink.” And so you leave him to it, finishing your morning routine in the bathroom, and soon enough he joins you.

“So? How are you planning on spending the day?” you ask, both of you back in the living room, lounging on his sofa.

“I usually don’t do much on the weekends,” he says. “I’ll go work out later, and then probably just catch up on some more sleep.”

“Makes sense,” you retort, and your eyes find the guitar you had already noticed yesterday. Pointing at it with your chin, you ask, “You play?”

“Ah, yeah. It’s been a while though.” He gets up to bring it over, tuning it with the help of some app on his phone, and as he’s getting ready to play, he clears his throat a few times. “I can show you a bit if you want… my voice isn’t warmed up though, so sorry if anything sounds off,” he explains, an embarrassed smile playing on his lips, and then he begins strumming a few chords. You listen in anticipation, and though you knew you liked his voice before, you find yourself taken aback when you actually hear him sing for the first time. He’s playing a song you haven’t heard before, a Korean ballad, so not exactly your go-to genre of music. But you have to say it suits him very well, and so you find yourself enjoying the music he’s playing for you, finding that the song ends much too soon.

“Wow…” You give him an applause, causing him to look away a bit awkwardly.

“I’m not that good,” he says, but you disagree.

“No, that was really good actually,” you say. “I didn’t know you could sing that well!” He hesitates for a while, before taking the compliment.

“Thank you…” As he puts the guitar aside, you wonder whether you should stop him and ask him to play something else, but he ends up being faster in starting to talk.

“You see, I don’t have much time for music these days.”

“That’s a shame…” you say, and he nods in agreement.

“Yeah… but you know how it is.” You sense a bitterness behind his words that hurts to witness, and you wonder if there’s anything you could say that would comfort him. “Things have been decided for me. And the decision wasn’t this.”

“You should’ve been able to choose for yourself.”

“Yeah. My brother got that privilege. Not me.”

“How come?”

“He got to pursue his dream. When he was in middle school my parents had a talk with him to ensure he could do what he wants. Meanwhile they told me that I’m the future of my dad’s company, and I need to study well and do what they want.”

“That’s… really unfair,” you say.

“I guess it’s the burden of the first born,” he reckons, but there’s no sincerity behind his words. Maybe it’s something he’s been telling himself to make things a bit more bearable.

“Still…” You reach out, wanting to comfort him, but you hesitate to put your hand into his. Instead, your palm somewhat awkwardly lands on his shoulder, and he turns his head to look you in the eye. His gaze lingers on your face, taking in your features one by one, and once he can tear himself away, he continues.

“You know, I get that my father doesn’t want to give up the family business. It’s taken him and his parents a long time to build it up and to make it as successful as it is now. But… some days I wish it had been different.”

“I know.”

“Having a choice… must be nice.” You gulp. You are the one who had a choice here. And for a second the fear that maybe he resents you for it takes a hold of you, and you try to push it down with all your might. “Ah…” Jongho sighs, looking up at the ceiling now as he reaches for the hand resting on his shoulder, his warm palm covering it. “I’m jealous of him. To be honest, I’m jealous of you too.” Your breath gets stuck in your throat, but when he turns to give you a look filled with warmth, you find yourself relaxing a bit.

“Who wouldn’t be?” you say.

“Right…” He wraps his hand around yours, peeling it off his shoulder and instead intertwining his fingers with yours. You draw closer, until your faces are mere inches apart. “I’m sorry,” he mutters. “I shouldn’t have said that.”

“No, it’s okay,” you answer, shaking your head ever so slightly, and you find him staring at your lips. “I got a little scared there. But I know you wouldn’t take it out on me.” He closes the distance between you, but instead of kissing you, he buries his head in your neck, and he lets go of your hand to pull you closer and into his lap by your hips instead. You don’t fight it, quite the opposite - you let your lips ghost over his nape, and once you’re comfortably settled on top of him, your mouth searches for his, melting against him in a slow and lazy kiss. You permit him to have his fingertips wandering your figure, soft touches received through the oversized shirt you’re wearing. He nibbles on your lower lip, drawing a breathy moan out of you, and in return you roll your hips against him, taking back control of the kiss in the blink of an eye. You separate eventually, breathless, and you don’t hesitate to move on to his neck, brushing your lips against his mole there. One hand finds the short hair at the back of his head to tug at, and you make him expose his neck to you, giving you access to wherever you want it. Teeth sunk into his skin and your tongue pressing against his pulse makes him push you closer into him with his hand placed on the small of your back, and when you start sucking a mark into his nape, he hums at the feeling. You take your time with it, nibbling on the skin until it begins to change color, and even though you’ve chosen a spot that’s hard to cover up, he doesn’t stop you. Instead, his heavy breaths and the way you can feel him growing against your core tell you he likes what you’re doing, and once you’re done you make sure to soothe the spot with a few gentle kisses. You sit up straight to take a look at your work and then at his face, half lidded eyes watching you attentively.

“Say…” you begin, putting a finger over his lips and then tracing a line down from his chin, over his adam’s apple and towards the base of his neck. “How about a different kind of workout for today?”

“What kind?” Jongho asks, his voice low, and you’re sure he knows exactly what you’re thinking of.

“Well…” you mumble, drawing near until you’re sure he can feel your hot breath on his face. “We’re both sober now, so…”

“I think I’m in trouble.” San stares at you from across the table of the fast food place where you decided to have an emergency meeting during your lunch break. You know you don’t have time to beat around the bush, as you will both have to be back at your work places in less than an hour, so you ended up simply blurting out the first thing that came to mind.

“What do you mean?” Concern is painted all over his face as he picks up his sandwich, stopping himself in the process of biting into it to respond to you.

“Uh…” That’s the only sound that makes it out of your mouth as your gaze drops from your friend’s face to the food on your tray.

“Y/N, did something happen…?”

“...I think I’m in love with him.”

“Ahhh…” Now San is leaning back in his chair, a smug grin appearing on his lips. “I knew it.”

“Shut up.”

“I knew it!”

“Shut the fuck up.”

“Alright, alright.” Still grinning, he takes a big bite of his egg sandwich, and you do the same.

“I just… I’m scared,” you admit once you’ve swallowed the food in your mouth. “I know I’m repeating myself here, just…”

“I know,” San says. “You’re scared of getting hurt again.”

“Yeah… maybe,” you answer. “Actually, I don’t think… he would betray me like that. But… yeah, I guess the fear is still there somewhere.”

“That makes sense,” your friend responds. “But… it’s good to see you heal.” His words make you halt for a moment.

“Right… I suppose that does mean… I’m healing. But…” you let your gaze wander around the restaurant, “have I healed enough?”

“Only you know that.” You lower your head.

“I’m scared I’m not ready yet after all, and that I’ll end up hurting him…” you mutter.

“Y/N,” San says, reaching across the table to put his hand over yours, making you look him right in the eye. “I think you worry too much.” You sigh.

“I know that too…”

“And besides,” he continues, “how else are you going to heal wounds caused by a relationship other than in a relationship?”

“Right,” you find yourself agreeing, and at the same time you wonder if maybe there’s wounds you have helped Jongho heal. You’ve done a lot for him, you know that, so why wouldn’t it be possible that he’s also doing a lot for you?

“You know what I think?” San says.

“What?”

“You’re not gonna like this, but… as much as you’re trying to help that guy let go of his need to be in control… I think that’s something you too would benefit from practicing sometimes.” His words hit you like a speeding truck. You’ve actually never thought of it this way, but now that he’s laid this aspect of you bare, you can’t deny it’s always been there. For a while, you find yourself wondering since when you’ve been like that, and part of the answer is probably always. But you do remember moments where you let go of that control, where you quite willingly put it into somebody else’s hands actually. So where did all that go?

Oh. You hold your breath for a second. It was probably your ex who made you close yourself up to the possibility of letting someone else take care of you, take a bit of control away from you every once in a while. Because you couldn’t trust him.

“You’re right,” you retort dryly. “I didn’t like hearing that. But I think you’re right.” San shoots you a smile, his dimples showing.

“Then go tell him how you feel, and you can figure things out. You don’t have to rush into a relationship and, I don’t know, get married and move country right away,” he reminds you with a lighthearted tone. “You can take things as slow as you need them to be. Though I’m sure now I’m the one repeating himself.” He lures a chuckle out of you, as you manage to push the thoughts of your past relationship aside.

“Yeah… I wonder if I have the courage yet,” you respond. “Thanks for listening, anyway.”

“That’s what friends are for, don’t mention it.”

You stretch your back with your arms thrown above your head while you groan, and you don’t miss the amused gaze Jongho gives you for it.

“What?” you ask with a grin on your lips. “Sitting still for almost three hours is taking its toll on me!” And now he’s laughing at your words, and seeing the expression on his face makes your heart beat a little faster.

“I didn’t say anything,” he refutes, holding out his hand to take your empty popcorn bag from you. “I’ll be right back.” You see him walk over to the trash bins to throw it away for you, when the song played in the lobby of the cinema you came to watch a movie you’ve both been dying to see catches your attention.

If the world was ending, I’d wanna be next to you - you hum along to the melody, and when Jongho is back by your side, you point towards the general direction of where the nearest speaker must be.

“I really like this song,” you comment, and he listens for a short while before his face lights up and he recognizes it.

“Oh, me too actually,” he says. “I tried playing it a few days ago, but I think I already forgot half the chords again.” You make your way out of the building, and when he’s getting ready to say goodbye, you speak up before he can.

“Your place is close to here, right?”

“Yes.”

“Then how about we go together and I drop you off. You didn’t come here by car, did you?”

“Ah, no. I walked,” he says. “I thought some exercise would do me good after today. Though it’s only like ten minutes.”

“Then let’s go!”

You chat some more about the movie and the actors on the way, and somehow you both end up coming to the conclusion that it didn’t quite meet your expectations.

“The actress who played the female lead did a really good job though,” Jongho throws in, and you agree.

“Right, I’ve only seen her in dramas so far, and I liked her acting better here,” you say. “Are you a fan of her?”

“A bit, yeah,” he admits, and the urge to tease him about suddenly getting shy is overwhelming.

“So you like her, huh? You think she’s pretty?”

“Well.. yes,” he says, and you chuckle.

“So she’s your type?”

“I don’t know, actually,” he says as you arrive in front of the apartment complex where he lives, and he fishes the keys out of his pocket. “I maybe wouldn’t go that far.”

“I see.”

“Then…”

“Yeah…” You both hesitate, and as he opens his mouth to say goodbye, you cut him off. “Actually, can I come in for a few minutes?”

“Sure,” he says. “You can stay for longer than that too.” He lets the both of you inside and you take the elevator to his floor. Having arrived in his flat, you both slip out of your shoes and leave them by the door before stepping inside. You know what you came here to say, yet somehow now that you’re supposed to start the conversation, nothing will come out of your mouth. Torn in your mind, you fidget with the sleeves of your shirt, and when you hear Jongho’s voice you snap out of it.

“Did you want to talk about something?” he asks knowingly, and you nod. “Then let’s sit down first of all.”

“I… haven’t been seeing other partners for a while, actually,” you blurt out before he can start walking over to his sofa, and he raises his eyebrows at you, seeming a little perplexed.

“That’s… great I guess?” he answers, before correcting himself, “I mean… is it?”

“I-” The words threaten to get stuck in your throat again, but you take in a deep breath and before the doubts in your mind can set in again, you say, “I’m falling in love with you… is what I’m trying to say.” And now the expression on Jongho’s face changes to genuine surprise, before you find a slowly growing smile appearing on his lips. “But… it still scares me,” you add, and wordlessly the man in front of you takes you by the hands, leading you over to the sofa and sitting down with you. He too seems to need a few moments to find the right words, as you see him looking around the room before he finally speaks up.

“I still… feel the same about you,” he starts, his gaze directed at you now. “I’m in love with you too. And I get that it’s still hard for you. So, we don’t have to go anywhere you’re not ready for.”

“I just… I know you won’t hurt me on purpose… but a part of me…” You struggle to keep going. You don’t want to project your past relationship onto Jongho, and yet you just cannot get that voice at the back of your head that’s constantly screaming danger to shut up.

“I know.” He gives your hands a light squeeze, and the gesture tears you out of your endless worries and brings you back to reality. To him. “And it’s not like my past relationship isn’t still haunting me either, to be quite honest.” Considering how long it’s been for him, you’re a little surprised. “But I think… maybe… we can just keep going at the pace we had so far. And see where it takes us.”

“You’re probably right…” you find yourself agreeing with him. You want anything but to rush into another relationship, because you know you still need time more than anything. But thinking about it now, you’ve actually been going at just the right pace all this time. “No, you’re right,” you repeat, and he shows you a reassuring smile. Hope grows in your chest that maybe, just maybe this might just work out for the two of you. No - that hope has been there for a long time, you’ve just never had the courage to admit it up until now.

“Oh,” he then exclaims, getting up. “Wait.”

“For what?” you ask, but you don’t receive an answer. So you simply watch as he turns on his radio, and then he searches for something on his phone, before you hear a song starting to play, and within the first few beats you recognize it as the song you’ve pointed out to him back at the cinema. Jongho puts his phone on top of one of the half empty shelves and then approaches you, holding a hand out to you.

“Do you like dancing?”

“Dancing?” The horror on your face must be apparent, because he briefly laughs at your reaction when he comes to a halt right in front of you and you hesitantly get up. “I… don’t know how to dance…” you admit, and he grabs you by your hands, pulling you aside to where there’s more space.

“It’s okay,” he mutters, placing his palm onto the small of your back and waiting for you to hold onto him. “I’ll lead you.” He begins moving along to the music, leaving you no choice but to follow as his grip on you remains steady. Your steps feel heavy, and you’re clumsily following along wherever he decides to sway next, but soon enough you recognize a pattern behind his movements, and you find yourself feeling a bit more comfortable in his hold.

“You’re doing well,” he says, and you crack a smile. This is probably the first time you’ve heard those words from him and not vice versa, and for some strange reason pride swells in your chest. You find yourself humming along to the singers on the track as you let go of the fear of embarrassing yourself or stumbling over your own feet, and you find him mouthing a few of the lyrics as well.

I don't even wanna do this anymore Cause you already know what you mean to me And our love's the only war worth fighting for.

You sway from side to side, the distance between your bodies closing almost naturally, until you have your head leaning against his chest, allowing him to just hold you close as you move in tune with the song’s rhythm. You close your eyes, and in that moment it dawns on you that you trust him to show you the right direction, to hold onto you so you won’t fall, no matter what.

Wherever you go, that's where I'll follow Nobody's promised tomorrow So I'ma love you every night like it's the last night.

“You know,” he breathes into your ear.

“Hm?”

“I’ve been wanting to tell you this for a while now… Thanks for becoming someone I can rely on.” His sudden confession makes you smile, and at this point you feel like your body is moving along with his by itself, as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

“Mhm,” you hum. “The same goes for me.” Warmth spreads all throughout you - a kind of warmth you haven’t felt in a while. You realize in that moment that you two have become a pretty good team in more ways than one. Emotionally, you’ve come to understand each other, being able to tell what the other might need from the slightest signs. And physically too, you’re not the only one who’s learned how to read him, how to handle him. He too has learnt how to see right through you, like coming together with you to form a perfect synergy, time and time again.

“Sit down for me,” you say, kneeling in front of him on top of your bed, a piece of cloth in your hands, and you give him a smile filled with both excitement and the need to take care of him. Jongho obeys, peeking up at you expectantly, and you cup his chin in your hand. “Good boy,” you praise him, and you see the way his eyes sparkle at your words. Then you bring the blindfold up to his face, covering his eyes with it.

“You feeling alright?” you ask once you finish tying the ends of the silky fabric together behind his head, and Jongho slowly nods. You have him straddled on top of your bed, sitting comfortably in his lap when you reach for the bowl of ice cubes you had prepared and you pop one of them into your mouth, letting it melt on your tongue for a little bit before you chew on it a few times and you swallow. Your now ice cold lips meet his, and as he gasps at the cool sensation, you slip your tongue inside. With your arms loosely wrapped around his broad shoulders, you share a slow but deep kiss with him as your lips gradually take on a warmer temperature again.

“Wanna be good for me and lie down?” you breathe, giving him a gentle push to his sternum, and he does as told. Then you reach for another ice cube, and holding it between your lips, you lean in. He sucks in a sharp breath as the cold material comes in touch with his skin, and it leaves a thin layer of melted water as you drag it along his collarbone and down his chest. His hands searching for something to hold on to, he finds your hips, but as per usual, you don’t permit him to touch you. Instead, you take a hold of his wrists, placing them to each side of his head, and letting go of the ice cube for a moment, you speak quietly but with an emphasis,

“Stay like this.” You watch as his lips part, though he doesn’t give you an answer. Instead, he merely holds the position you’ve put him in, even when you can see his hands forming fists as soon as you continue to move the ice along the lines on his torso. You let your warm palm glide up the same way you had dragged the ice down his body, and he gasps softly at the sudden temperature change. “‘S that feel good, pretty boy?” You run your nails back down over his well trained chest and the delicate skin on his stomach, and he flinches underneath you.

“Mhm,” he hums in response as the ice cube continues to melt against his skin. You lick up the water around it, flat tongue warming up the area, and you quietly reach for a new one from the bowl on your bedside table. Nipping on his skin while his chest gently rises and sinks beneath you, your lips wander to the left, and when you brush them against his nipple, he lets you hear a tiny whine.

“You like that?” you ask, your voice sultry.

“Yeah,” Jongho breathes.

“And what about this?” You put the ice into your mouth, using it to draw circles around the sensitive bud, and immediately his chest rises as he sharply sucks in a breath of air. You use the tip of your tongue to soothe his skin, but when you begin to lap at his hard nipple, the heat of your mouth mixing with the chilling sensation of the ice, a moan falls from his lips. Your hand finds the other side of his chest, and with one thigh placed between his legs, you press up against his core, feeling him starting to get hard.

“Getting horny for me, huh?” you tease him. “And so pliant today.” Your partner can’t but whine at your words, as you move your thigh against his length for some friction. You pick up the remainder of the ice cube and move back up to his mouth to kiss him, parting his lips so you could let the ice melt between your tongues as you kiss him breathless. “Such a good boy,” you mutter into his mouth, and when you reach down between your bodies to wrap your hand around his cock, he throws his head back, teeth clenched. You hum at all the reactions you seem to be drawing out of him so much more easily today, and with your face buried in his neck to nibble on the skin there, you start slowly jerking him off. Jongho lets you hear a breathy moan when you sink your teeth into his skin with the intention of marking him as yours, and he writhes underneath you when your fist reaches his tip.

“Sensitive today, aren’t we?” you tease him a bit further, and his ears take on a bright shade of red as heat rushes to his face. “You’re so cute like this.” He whines in protest and all you can do is chuckle in return when you move further south, leaving a trail of kisses down his chest, and a few bites here and there too. A pained sigh falls from his lips when you let go of his fully erect length, sitting up on top of him now and gently running your nails down his upper body. “You don’t like it when I call you that?” He doesn’t say anything, but the pout that appears on his plush lips tells you all you need to know. “You can tell me, beautiful,” you mutter, reaching for one of his hands and placing a lingering kiss to his palm. “Or did I already make you forget how to speak?”

“No…” he says. “Don’t like it…” You find his other hand as well, and you pin both his wrists to the bed right above his head with one hand.

“Well I can’t help it,” you coo over him, and for a second there you have to recollect yourself upon taking in the image unfolding underneath you. “You’ll need to be a little less cute then.” And again, he whines in defeat, and you roll your hips on top of him once, your core grazing his hard on and it makes him shiver. “Shit, I didn’t think taking one of your senses away would make you this much more sensitive…” He throws his head to the side, mayhaps in an attempt to escape your looks, but he must know just as well as you do that he can’t hide. “Don’t,” you whisper, capturing his chin between your thumb and index finger of your free hand, and you place a kiss to the corner of his mouth before running your fingertips across his lips. He parts them ever so slightly, and you push your thumb inside eventually, leading him to gently bite down before you find the tip of his tongue. Hot saliva coating your thumb, you praise him to make him continue sucking on it. “I wanna watch you…” you mutter, almost mesmerized by how well he complies, a blush dusted onto his cheeks. “Wanna see everything.” You pull out your thumb and you bring your hand down to wrap it around his cock, distributing his spit along his length and spreading it on his tip. He arches his back underneath you, seemingly desperate for your touch, and maybe if he could see the wicked smile on your lips he wouldn’t get so into it already. However, like this you just can’t help but take advantage of his need, and so you gradually pick up speed, stroking him closer and closer towards his high.

“Doing so well for me today,” you grant him some more words of praise, and you enjoy seeing how his face distorts underneath the blindfold when you add, “And so needy…” He groans as you bring him nearer to the edge, his hips bucking up into your hand, but you immediately shift your weight to hold him down. “Don’t get greedy, pretty boy,” you warn him, and by the broken moan he lets out you can tell he’s about to come undone.

“Not yet,” you mutter when you take your hand away, and as soon as Jongho understands what’s happening, he sucks in a sharp breath.

“Shit…” he curses through gritted teeth, and you chuckle at him, cupping his cheek in your palm.

“You really thought I’d let you cum? Just like that?” you mock him in a tone so sweet it must hurt. “Shouldn’t you know better by now?” He moves his head away from your touch, anger reflecting on his face, and it intrigues you. “What? You really are getting greedy.” Pouring some salt into the wound, you wonder how he would react. You know for a fact that if you had done this same exact thing to him a few weeks ago, he would’ve immediately tried to fight back, to turn the tables around on you. Or maybe he would’ve called out the safe word, unable to stomach all the frustration coursing through his body from how you’re treating him so unfairly - according to him anyway.

But nothing. He merely lies there, his jaw clenched, not starting a single attempt to free his hands from your hold. And it takes him a few moments, but eventually you can feel him relax underneath you, and an overwhelming wave of heat rushes straight to your core as you can hear him speak a single word very quietly.

“Please.” For just a second you want to give him everything, and so you reach for his cock, and when you start pleasuring him, he throws his head back, letting out an almost angelic sound as he moans at your touch.

“That’s right…” you breathe. “Such a good boy…” And he seems to get the hint, because as soon as the praise reaches his ears, he begs some more.

“Please… please let me cum…”

“More, baby boy. Let me hear more…”

“P-please… want it so bad…” You feel him twitching in your hand and he whines at the way you’re moving your fist along his size, a drop of precum forming on his tip and you collect it on your fingers to coat his length with it. “P-please… please…!” The words keep falling from his lips while his body tenses up, and just when you think he must be almost there, you stop again, earning another strained noise from him. He says nothing as you let him catch his breath for a while, waiting until he’s come down from his almost-high, and again you find yourself affected by how he isn’t complaining at all.

“Gonna make you feel so good,” you promise. “Just trust me.” Jongho nods. He does trust you. And so, with a swelling feeling of pride warming your chest, you begin jerking him off again. “Doing so well for me, baby,” you say. “Gonna make you cum so good.” You lean in, your nose grazing the skin on his neck as you scatter little kisses all over, and eventually you wander down to his shoulder. You can feel him writhe in pleasure underneath you, and the stronger he reacts, the faster you move your hand along his cock. “Cum for me, pretty boy,” you mutter, before sinking your teeth into his flesh, and not long after he cries out from the sharp pain, he comes undone with a sweet moan, spilling into your hand and all over his stomach.

You let go of his hands and you reach for the wet towel beside your bed to wipe him clean, enjoying the few whines you draw out of him when touching an area that’s still too sensitive. Then you rub your hands along his thighs in a soothing motion, watching him catch his breath.

“Such a good boy…” you mutter, and you see him gulp at the praise. “You know what I think?”

“Hm?”

“I’d really like to tie you up a bit… how’s that sound?” He nods at your suggestion. “Then sit up.” You get a piece of rope before you position yourself behind him. “Give me your hands.” Jongho does as told, and you place them so his elbows are angled at about 90 degrees, and his forearms are parallel to each other. You put some rope around them, checking if the position feels comfortable to him, and as soon as he gives you the okay, you get to work. It’s almost meditative, tying one knot after the other, watching as a pretty pattern forms along his arms, and he too seems to enjoy the sensations it’s giving him, because it’s apparent how the tension leaves his shoulders bit by bit.

“That should work,” you say when you’re done, and you run your palms up his shoulder blades, all the way to his neck, wrapping your fingers around it. He reacts immediately by leaning his head back, exposing his throat to you, and you go in for a few feathery light kisses against his pulse. “How are you feeling?” Your fingertips wander down his front, grazing his chest and then moving to his sides, following the lines to his hips before you rub your palm along his thighs. You feel the urge to bend him over right then and there, maybe give him a few spanks, but you remember he’s told you before he’s bad with pain - most kinds anyway, so instead you bring your hands back up, and you take them away as you move to his front, and you comb your digits through his brown locks while he says,

“I’m good.”

“There’s so much I want to do to you…” you whisper, watching him biting his lower lip in anticipation, and with one look down his body you find him in the process of getting hard again. You huff at the sight. “Already recovering, huh? Well, I think if you want me to touch you some more you should first earn it, don’t you agree?” Jongho nods, waiting patiently for you to tell him what you want. “Lie down.” Your command is short, and he follows it immediately, lying flat on his back with his arms underneath. “That’s right,” you praise as you crawl on top of him, placing yourself right above his face with your thighs to each side of it. “Show me how much you want it, baby boy.” His mouth falls open as soon as you lower yourself onto his face, lips grazing your folds and his hot breath makes you shiver. You hold on to the bed frame with one hand, and you suck in a breath when you feel the tip of his tongue starting to carefully map out your pussy. And it doesn’t take long for it to become apparent that just as much as you got to know him pretty well over the past few months, he too knows a thing or two about how to push all the right buttons for you. Because even just the way he starts out with light, teasing touches, humming at your taste while he licks up your juices makes your head spin.

“Doing so well for me…” you mewl, and he draws another moan out of you when the tip of his nose bumps against your clit.

“Y/N…” he slurs your name with his mouth buried in your cunt, and you clench around nothing in response. He takes his time outlining your folds with the tip of his tongue, always returning to your sensitive bud in the end. And when his wet muscle travels back down, he lets the tip of his nose rub against it instead. Slowly but steadily he makes you crave more, and in between soft moans and deep breaths, you order,

“More. Want you inside.” And he doesn’t keep you waiting, his tongue darting up into your dripping cunt and when he moans at your taste the vibrations he sends up your core have you mewling some more. “Shit, like that…” you praise, reaching into his hair and pulling on the strands while he begins thrusting his tongue in and out of you. You rock your hips on top of him, grinding down onto his face, and he whines at the way you tear at his locks somewhat ungently while searching for just the right angle. His moans mingling with yours in the air, you feel your heartbeat quicken as you fuck yourself on his face, and when the tip of his tongue hits that perfect spot deep inside of you, you say,

“Right there… don’t stop.” Hungrily lapping up your juices, he’s keeping a steady pace, and even though he can probably barely breathe at this point he lets you use him to get off. “Just a little… longer… shit, you’re doing so well for me…” Praise after praise falls from your lips, and with only a few more strokes of his tongue, you feel yourself clenching around it as your orgasm hits you. “Fuck, Jongho…” you mewl through gritted teeth as your entire body shakes on top of him, and he fucks you right through your high, until he can feel you starting to come down from it.

“Did so well…” you whisper a praise as you crawl off his face to give him some space to breathe. A groan escapes him as soon as his nose and mouth are unobstructed, and you notice the way the lower half of his face is all covered in your slick. “Such a good boy for me…” you add as you lean in, licking your juices off him and then eventually kissing him, tasting yourself in his mouth as you dominate the kiss. “I’ll be right back,” you assure him, running your fingers through his disheveled hair once, before you lift yourself up off the bed to put on the harness and the strap on you had prepared.

“You think you’re ready for your reward now, pretty boy?” you ask him on the way back, and he nods vigorously, letting out a noise in agreement. You chuckle at the image, and you order, “On your knees then.” He takes on the position you asked for - still managing to look good in the process, despite his hands being tied behind his back not being of much use, but you can tell the scene so far has exhausted him. You sit right in front of him, his cock rock hard and waiting to be touched, and when your fingers ghost over the tip he flinches.

“Guess what I got for you,” you whisper, leaning in close to his ear, and you brush your lips against his neck, grazing the mole there when he leans back his head to give you access. You take the invitation, sinking your teeth into his skin gently, before pulling back.

“What…?” he slurs.

“Guess,” you say again, but when his lips part and he doesn’t respond, you decide to give him a hint. “Something you liked a looooot last time.” He gulps, and you’re sure he understands. “Say it, pretty boy,” you mutter as you give his cock another light touch, and he immediately sucks in a sharp breath of air. “Or you won’t get to cum again.” Jongho whines in response - it must feel unfair to him that you’re making him wait for it so long. But at this point you know that with a few praises scattered in between all the teasing and edging and making him work for it, he’ll regain some patience, and you can keep playing with him a little longer.

“S-strap…” he guesses correctly, yet very quietly.

“What was that?” you ask him to repeat himself, and you wrap your fingers around the base of his length.

“Strap on,” he repeats, ears burning red, and you move your hand up and down his size slowly as a reward.

“That’s right,” you say. “Are you embarrassed?”

“A little,” he admits, and it makes you grin.

“A little?” you coo, as you jerk him off way too slowly. And yet his body tenses up under your touch, and he whines each time you graze his sensitive tip. “Don’t cum,” you warn him. “If you do, no strap for my baby boy.” He whines again, very clearly in distress, because all of the pleasure that has built up deep in his stomach is gradually getting too much to handle, and you see his thighs beginning to tremble. “You’re embarrassed… but my cock inside of you makes you feel so good.”

“Ah-!” Another whine falls from his lips, his hips charging forward as he ruts into your hand without control, but he manages to stop himself when you hiss,

“What did I say? No cumming until I allow it.”

“Y-yes…” Seeing his gritted teeth it’s obvious how much willpower it takes him to hold back as his whole body begins to shake, and you reckon with the blindfold on it’s only harder to resist the overwhelming pleasure. But you don’t stop touching him, you don’t stop stroking his twitching cock, even when he begins stringing together all the curse words he knows and then some more.

“Fuck… shit… I’m-...” With a pathetic noise, he spills into your hand, and when he goes down, bowing before you to apologize, he doesn’t stop shaking all over. “I’m sorry… ‘m so sorry…” You remove your hand, watching as the man in front of you crumbles into nothing more than a tiny picture of misery, and when you see the wet stains forming on the fabric of the blindfold, you bring your hand that’s still coated in his seed to his mouth.

“Shh,” you coo. “Open up, beautiful.” And he does, he opens wide for you to put your fingers in his mouth, and without you needing to say anything else, he knows what to do. His tongue snaking around them, he cleans his cum off your hand thoroughly, not leaving a single millimeter of your skin stained when you pull out again. Instead, your hand is now coated in his saliva, and so you tell him to turn around.

“Bend over for me,” you order, and using the spit on your fingers as a substitute for lube, you start teasing his hole. And as soon as you come in contact with his ass, a heavenly moan slips past his lips. “That’s right, relax. Don’t worry, I’m not mad at you for cumming.”

“Mhm…”

“However… I think you do deserve a little bit of a punishment,” you continue, slipping one finger inside him. With the other hand, you reach around his body, and with a firm grip, you find his limp dick. His breath hitches immediately, and you chuckle at his reaction. “Too sensitive, are we?”

“Y-yeah…” he admits with a trembling voice.

“Should’ve listened to me then, hm?” You’re fully aware that he couldn’t have possibly held out any longer - truth be told, it was your goal to make him cum unallowed, just so you could punish him for it in the aftermath. “What’s your color, baby boy?”

“...green…” he whines desperately, and his entire body jolts as you stroke him, while you gradually prep his hole for what’s to come. Some actual lube serves to assist you, and when you find his sweet spot with two fingers buried inside of him, there’s nothing more than a whining, squirming mess left underneath you.

“Sh-shit… f-feels so… g-good…” he stutters, slurring his words as his mind must be filled with nothing but the overwhelming mixture of pleasure and pain from the way you’re overstimulating him.

“You feel good?” you repeat, your voice gentle, and the more you feel him growing again in your hand, the more desperate his whines and whimpers become.

“Mmm… myeah… so good…” You add a third finger, wondering how quickly you’ll have him reaching his next high, and for how much longer he could go after that, but with the state you’ve put him in so far, there’s really only one thing left you desperately want to do.

“I’ll wreck you so good, my pretty boy,” you breathe at the shaking mess that he is. “So, so good.” When you feel he’s ready for the toy strapped to your hips, you finally pull out and you grant him a few seconds to catch his breath - though you’re sure at this point even hours wouldn’t be enough for him to regain his senses - and as you push up into him from behind, he cries out. His desperate noises alone could make you cum again, and as that thought crosses your mind, you reach over for a pillow, placing it underneath his lower stomach so his cock would graze it with every single time you thrust in and out of him. And it makes him moan even when you’re still going slow to make sure you don’t hurt him in the beginning, and when you pick up your pace you catch a glimpse of some drool dripping down his chin and you know he’s really gone too far now. Still, with each of your movements a noise more desperate than the one before escapes him, and when you go harder it doesn’t take long for him to come undone one more time. His moan upon being fucked right to his next high gets stuck in his throat this time, and as tears start streaming down his face, you reach into his hair, tugging at the strands and then pressing him down face first into the blanket.

“Is that all you can take?” you ask mockingly. “So strong, and already down, huh?” Tearing at the dark brown locks, he lets you hear a pathetic noise when his face is lifted up from the soft fabric for a moment. You wait for a response, but no words leave his parted lips. “What? Too fucked out to talk now?”

“Mhmm…” A whimper is all he can give to tell you yes, and the surge of power flowing through you immediately after has you beginning to thrust again. “Ah…!” he hiccups, crying from all the sensations overwhelming his senses, and one more time you halt and say,

“Give me your color.”

“...g-green…!” You can tell how much it took out of him to speak that one word, but the fact that he did, even when he’s this wrecked, even while he’s crying, only makes you feel even prouder of him, and simultaneously serves as your sign to destroy him some more. So, one more time, you begin to fuck into him, pressing him down into the mattress with him writhing in the pain and the pleasure underneath you, sobbing and whining and crying out.

“Shit… you’re so perfect… so perfect for me…” With the strap grazing your clit at just the right angle with each time your hips snap against his, your own greed to cum again mixes with all the other emotions the image unfolding right before your eyes causes, and you pick up the pace relentlessly. “Taking me so well… fuck… my perfect boy…”

“A-ah…!” He cries out one more time before his body convulses, and he cums all over the pillow once more. Just a few more thrusts, and you too feel yourself tumbling over the edge, and finally, you slow down and come to a stop.

“Did so well… come here…” you breathe after pulling out of him and letting him collapse on his stomach right then and there. You lay down behind him, loosening the blindfold to reveal a pair of reddened eyes, and you wrap an arm around his broad figure. With your thumb, you wipe the tear stains off his face, and you scatter a line of kisses from below his ear to his neck and all the way down his upper back as far as you can reach. “You feeling okay?” Jongho nods, albeit seeming very tired.

“Then I’m glad… wouldn’t want to hurt my amazing boy…” With the last remainder of strength left in his body, he turns around so he could face you, and you immediately pull him close to let him rest his head atop your chest. “I’m so proud of you,” you continue to shower him in praises, and then you add some more when you notice the weak smile creeping onto his lips. “You did amazing.”

“You too…” he eventually mumbles, and with one arm loosely placed around your upper body, he draws a few circles onto your side with his thumb. Combing your fingers through his hair and feeling him lean into your touch, you feel your heart swell at the sight.

“I love you.” You whisper the words so quietly, you think he wouldn’t have caught them, but then he places a lingering kiss onto your chest, and he breathes,

“I love you too.” And for a second you can feel all the fears and the anxieties creeping back up to you. However, when he opens his tired eyes and he glances up at you with the most fucked out and at the same time love drunk expression you’ve seen, the doubts wash away.

Right, maybe you did find each other at just the right time, so you both could heal some of the scars in each other’s hearts. And maybe this time, you’ve both found someone who’s right for you.

“That’s a good boy!” you cheer as you pet your last client for the day on his sides. The bulldog wags his butt upon hearing your praise, panting in expectation over the treat he knows you’re hiding in your back pocket. You reach around for the piece of jerky all dogs get after their physiotherapy session is over, and you laugh as he greedily lunges towards it.

“Uh-uh,” you shake your head and lift your index finger in front of the dog’s face. “Sit. That’s a good boy.” The dog listens to the command obediently, and this time when you carefully hold out the treat for him, he takes it from you more gently. Well, a little more gently anyway. Smiling, you shake your head at the energetic pup, and then you get up off the floor and walk towards the door to let the owner inside.

“Thank you,” the young man tells you, before joyfully greeting his pet, his voice rising a few octaves and you find the image endearing. It always makes you the happiest to see how not only the animals, but also their owners seem to feel better after a session, having granted both of them relief from two different kinds of pain. You watch them walk out of the clinic together with a content smile on your face, before dedicating yourself to the last task of today’s shift: cleaning up. It takes you about half an hour to set up your office for a fresh start on Monday, and on your way out you greet your colleagues who are still standing by the reception counter chatting.

“See you next week!”

“Have a nice weekend!”

“You too!” You step outside into the warm air of late spring, and you take in a deep breath and close your eyes. You chose this profession because you knew you could thrive doing a job like this, continuously seeing payback for your efforts, and yet a full work week doesn’t leave you unfazed. Of course not, no matter how much someone likes their job, they’re bound to get exhausted from it from time to time - or that’s what your observations say.

“Y/N, hey.” You open your eyes to see Jongho standing in front of you, a smile full of adoration plastered onto his face, and you can’t help but return that same expression to him.

“Hey,” you greet him, hands in the pockets of the thin jacket you had thrown on in the morning, when it was still a bit colder. You notice you’re feeling a little too warm with layered clothing now, wondering if you should take off the jacket after all. “How was your day?”

“Ah, you know,” he looks to the side. “The usual.”

“Better if I don’t ask?”

“Better if you don’t ask, yeah,” he retorts, and there’s a hint of tiredness behind his smile. Jongho holds out his hand for you to take, and you don’t hesitate. “Let’s go?”

“Let’s. I’ve been starving,” you answer, and you intertwine your fingers with his as you begin to walk down the street.

“What about you? How was your day?”

“Good,” you say. “The grumpy chihuahua I told you about last time almost bit me again. But other than that it was good,” you chuckle, and instinctively Jongho lifts up your hand that he’s holding to check for any nicks or scratches.

“You sure you didn’t get bitten?” he asks upon finding a bandaid on your other hand.

“Ah, that,” you exclaim as you arrive where he parked his car, and he opens the door for you to get in. “That’s from two days ago, actually.” He sits in the driver’s seat, and as soon as he’s shut the door on his side, he turns towards you, gesturing for you to give him your hand.

“It’s fine, really,” you assure, though you hold out the wounded hand to him anyway. “An angry cat scratched me, I’m used to-” Jongho lifts your hand up to his mouth, pressing a soothing kiss to the bandaid, and his eyes flutter shut while his soft lips linger. “Thanks,” you say eventually, watching him pull back and shooting you a serious look. He reaches out to cup your cheek in his palm, thumb brushing against the skin on your face.

“I just don’t want you to get hurt.” He says it with such gravity that it almost seems a little over the top for the situation - it is just a tiny scratch after all, and it’ll be all healed up in a week or so. And still, you know there’s so much more behind his words than just worry over your hand.

And so you do the only thing you can think of in that moment, and you shoot him a sincere smile, saying, “I know. Thank you for looking out for me.” Wordlessly, he returns your expression, before letting go of you and instead putting on his seatbelt and bringing his hand up to the steering wheel. “So?” you switch topic. “Where are you taking me today?”

“Surprise,” Jongho says, starting the engine. “But I packed you some clothes in the backseat that I think would be fitting for the occasion.” He points to the back and you reach behind you to try to get a glimpse of the contents of the bag. You find a pair of dress pants, making you assume he’s planning on taking you somewhere expensive, and upon digging some more, you find yourself holding onto an embroidered sleeve in antique pink. You stop your rummaging, and before you know it, you’re grinning from ear to ear like an idiot as memories of the first time he took you out on a date come back to you.

“Thanks for bringing them,” you say, sitting up straight, and you glance over to him, who’s focused on driving out of his parking space.

“Of course,” he answers, before he enters the road towards your destination. “I think you’ll have to get changed in the car though.”

“That’s fine, don’t worry about it,” you brush it off, staring out of the window as the lights of the bustling city pass you by. Right. You two sure have come a long way.

Taglist:

@aaa-sia @wooyoungisbaby @winklehwa @asianpenguin04

@certifiedmoa @bunnyluvr25

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lyrics appearing in the story are from “Die With A Smile” by Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars

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