Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The room turned completely silent as Seonghwa gasped loudly and promptly stopped breathing while tensing up visibly, and Hongjoong halted the movements of his hand as he gave his sub the opportunity to tap out if he wanted to.

“Do you have anything to say about that?” he asked.

“N…no, Captain.”

“Can you remind me what are you supposed to say or do if you need me to stop?” continued Hongjoong.

“Yes, Captain. I say ‘red’ or snap my fingers if I need you to stop immediately. I say ‘yellow’ or ‘stop’ if I need you to slow down,” replied Seonghwa breathlessly.

“Good boy. Keep those words in mind and use them if you need it, because this” said Hongjoong as he tightened the grip on the sub’s dick once again, “is mine and I’m going to play with it until I decide I’m done. Got it?”

“Yes, Captain,” said the blond with a whine. “I’m yours to do as you please.”

Hongjoong didn’t add anything else before he started to move his hand on Seonghwa’s red dick again, bringing it back to full hardness and smirking softly at the way his sub’s body was trembling from overstimulation already.

He couldn’t help but laugh at the high pitched gasps that were starting to echo inside the room alongside the obscene wet sounds his hand was making as he sped up his movements, using the left one to press on Seonghwa’s abdomen in an attempt to immobilize him even more.

Hongjoong jerked him off until the sobs became pained, dropping the dick with a soft chuckle and massaging the area around it while he listened to his sub gasping for air as he tried to close his legs instinctively, but failing to do so because of the restraints. 

“My poor baby. You must be so overwhelmed right now, so much stimulation after days of teasing and restriction,” he said before looking over at the cart and considering the stuff he had laid out there before settling for the fleshlight. “Tsk, I’ve been such a mean dom, haven’t I? Let me make up for that.”

He grabbed the lube and poured a healthy amount into the opening of the toy, making direct eye contact with Seonghwa when the other man cautiously lifted his head to see what his dom was doing. The sub quickly averted his gaze and put his head back down, but his breath quickened visibly once again when he realized what was about to happen.

“You can come whenever you want, you just have to let me know it’s going to happen first,” said Hongjoong as he hovered the fleshlight over the weeping dick. “No broken words or rushed warnings, I want you to use full sentences with me. Can you do that, baby?”

“Yes, Captain,” whispered Seonghwa.

“Such a good boy.”

Hongjoong grabbed the hard dick in front of him with his left hand and slipped it inside the toy, not giving him any time to adjust to the feeling before he started to jerk him off with it.

Seonghwa screamed and unsuccessfully tried to get away from his hand once again, bench rattling under him from the sudden force of the movements, but the dom didn’t give him the break he was desperately looking for.

If the sub wanted him to stop, he would have to use the right words to make it happen.

It almost felt like Hongjoong had been waiting for this moment all his life, and he wasn’t going to hold back now that he finally had Park Seonghwa completely at his mercy.

He set a brutal and fast pace, pushing the sub’s dick as far as it could go inside the fleshlight before lifting it almost all the way up and roughly bringing it down again to engulf his cock once again.

Hongjoong couldn’t help but moan out loud himself at the way Seonghwa was downright sobbing, tears running down his face as he gasped for air and visibly struggled to process the turmoil of physical sensations.

“My obedient boy, you’re doing so well,” he said breathlessly, briefly touching his own cock through the underwear for a moment before getting up to get a better angle to move his hand even faster.

“AH, Capt…ah…I…plea…” started to say Seonghwa in a rush before whining loudly.

The dom felt his smirk growing even more as he watched him take several deep breaths while he tried to focus, eyes pressed tightly closed as he forced his brain to construct a proper sentence in his overwhelmed desperation.

So fucking hot.

Hongjoong wanted to fuck him so badly.

“I’m…I’m going to come, Sir!” exclaimed Seonghwa, strained words coming out kind of rushed and loud, but still perfectly clear.

“I’m so proud of you, baby. Come for me.”

The dom slipped away the toy just in time, wrapping his own hands around the wet dick as another scream echoed in the room and cum started to shoot off. Hongjoong continued milking him through his orgasm, closing his eyes for a moment to properly take in both the smell of sex and the desperate sounds. 

He let the loud sobs and intelligible words wash over him, heart pumping in his chest as he tried to calm himself down, feeling so aroused and high on power that he was almost shaking with the need to stick his own sore hard dick inside the trembling overstimulated mess that was Seonghwa right now.

“Capt…Capt…”

Hongjoong opened his eyes slowly, dropping the twitching cock in his hands and sitting back on the stool as he allowed Seonghwa a chance to catch his breath.

“God…”

The dom laughed and placed his dirty hands on the sub’s thighs before grabbing his ass, playing with the muscle there before exposing his hole even more.

“Let’s do one more,” said Hongjoong cheerfully.

Seonghwa whined and tried to close his legs. “I…I can’t, it hurts…”

Hongjoong looked at his face, once again giving him the chance to stop the scene if he really wanted to, but deciding to continue when the sub didn’t say anything else.

“What made you think that I was asking for permission, baby?”

The sub swallowed loudly and his body tensed up visibly before replying.

“Nothing, Sir. Sorry, Sir.”

“You’ve been such a good boy. I’m so incredibly pleased with you that I just want to give you all the pleasure I held back from you this week,” explained Hongjoong as he stroked the sensitive red dick in front of him with a single finger, watching it twitch under the light touch. “I want to see if you can take one more. Just one, I promise.”

Seonghwa whined as more tears slid down his cheeks.

“Can you give me a color, baby?” he asked, eyes trained on the sub’s face.

Hongjoong trusted the other man completely and knew he’d speak up if he really wanted to tap out, but it was their first time doing something like this so he decided to give Seonghwa an easy way out right then and there in case he needed it.

The sub inhaled deeply and considered it for a few seconds. “Green, Captain.”

“You’re doing so well. My perfect boy was really made just for me,” he replied, emotion seeping through his voice.

Feeling the sudden overwhelming need to feel Seonghwa close, Hongjoong leaned over to kiss the closest body part he could find, pressing his face against the back of the sub’s thigh as he gave himself a few seconds to recenter and focus.

“Captain.”

Seonghwa sounded just as wrecked and overwhelmed as he felt, and the dom allowed himself a few more moments before sitting straight once again to get back to work.

The sub whined loudly when Hongjoong grabbed his softening cock, hips instinctively moving up to get more pressure before immediately coiling back in overstimulation.

“Poor baby, your body doesn’t know what to do with all these sensations. Does it hurt?” he asked as he continued to gently touch his spent dick.

“Yes, Captain,” Seonghwa said, sounding close to tears once again as he clearly tried to stop his body from reacting too violently. “It hurts so much.”

Hongjoong pumped the half-hard dick a few times, but it didn’t seem like it was going to get back to full size again any time soon, so he trailed his fingers down the shaft and past his balls to rest on the ring of muscle that hid underneath instead, pressing his damp finger against it before dipping two of them in the mix of cum and lube pooled on the other man’s abdomen.

“Let’s try something different then.”

He didn’t give him any other warning before pushing one finger inside, pushing it as far as it could go in a single motion. 

Seonghwa yelped at the sudden intrusion and tensed up, but Hongjoong barely gave him a moment to get used to the pressure before he started fucking him with the finger, successfully coaxing the tightness away before he started to press up against his inner wall as he looked for a specific spot.

It didn’t take him long to find his prostate, which got him another violent jerk from the other man accompanied with another loud whine. With a satisfied hum, Hongjoong pulled his finger out and poured more lube before pushing it back in, a second one joining the first as soon as he felt like the hole was stretched enough.

He didn’t mess around and instead pressed his fingers against that spot straight away, massaging it and watching with amazement as pre-cum started to flow from the small opening on Seonghwa’s half-hard dick again.

Hongjoong was so turned on that he almost felt like he was going to come embarrassingly fast the moment he finally got the chance to touch himself.

“You always get so wet. You’ve come twice already, but you’re still leaking so much. I fucking love it.”

He heard something that almost sounded like a ‘thank you’ among the ragged moans, but the broken words got lost amid the other unintelligible sounds the other man was making.

Seonghwa’s hips had started to move against his hand as hard as they could in his restraintment, desperately riding his fingers to make sure that they were always pressed against the right spot as more slick started to freely drip on his stomach.

“Your body is so greedy. You’re overstimulated and sensitive, but it’s still seeking more pleasure even if it hurts. Take all you need, baby.”

He pressed against his prostate harder, using his other hand to massage behind Seonghwa’s balls too to exert more pressure against it from the outside as well. Another beautiful scream left the sub’s lips, bench shaking under his weight as his movements became more erratic at the double stimulation.

The other man was desperately gasping for air now, and Hongjoong was paying closer attention to every tiny movement and reaction to make sure the sub wouldn’t start actually hyperventilating or showing any other sign of real distress.

He didn’t get the chance to slow down to allow the blond a short break, though, because Seonghwa’s third orgasm caught them both by complete surprise. Hongjoong was still focused on his face, so he was able to witness the moment his sub’s mouth opened up even more in a silent scream as his eyes rolled back and his back arched as much as it could in his current position, body shaking and dick twitching as it spurted a few sad globs of cum.

Hongjoong quickly grabbed it with his left hand and pumped it a few times as he pressed against his prostate once again, milking the remaining semen and noticing with glee that it was mostly a dry orgasm.

“Fuck, my good boy. You did such a fantastic job. I’m so pleased with you, baby.”

He indulged himself and overstimulated him just a bit more before Seonghwa seemed to black out for a moment, body going limp as Hongjoong carefully took his hands back and pushed his soiled hand inside his underwear to grab his own sore hard dick.

“You look so fucking good, you make me so hard,” he added, falling deeper into his own need to come now that he wasn’t hyperfocused on Seonghwa’s pleasure.

He jerked himself off for a moment while he waited for the sub to properly come back to his senses, watching him swallow thickly and lift his head with some effort to look at him with hooded eyes as he tried to catch his breath.

With a groan, Hongjoong pushed the stool back and leaned over him, pulling down his boxers and pressing his dick against Seonghwa’s wet crotch the way he had been wanting to do for what seemed like hours now.

They both moaned at the contact, the slick mix of lube and cum making the slide easy and pleasant. Hongjoong whined, feeling lightheaded as he trapped his cock between their bodies and rutted against the wet and warm skin. He was vaguely aware that he was most likely creating friction against the sub’s sensitive spent dick as it laid soft next to his, but he couldn’t bring himself to care as he desperately seeked his own orgasm.

“My good boy, nobody can compare to you. How can I even look at other men when you’re mine?” rambled Hongjoong between ragged breaths, words getting another loud whine from Seonghwa while he continued to rut against him. “Does that turn you on? Do you get off knowing that you have all my attention?”

The sub moaned and lifted his hips as much as he could to create a better angle for Hongjoong, even though he must be extremely tired and overstimulated by that point.

“I asked you a question, baby,” he pressed, feeling himself dangerously close to the edge already.

“Yes, Captain,” replied Seonghwa between the pained gasps.

“‘Yes, Captain’ what? Full sentences, my good boy,” he pressed.

“Yes, Captain. Knowing that I have your full attention turns me on.”

Hongjoong groaned and closed his eyes, moving back and grabbing Seonghwa’s thighs to find some leverage as he thrusted harder against him. His movements became erratic as he allowed himself to get lost in the sensations, almost feeling like he was actually fucking the sub while he pushed the bound thighs against the other man’s abdomen even more and the sound of skin slapping against skin overpowered their moans.

He could see white spots behind his tightly closed eyelids as his orgasm hit him, legs shaking with the effort to hold his weight as he blindly grabbed his own dick to desperately jerk himself off and add more cum to the mess on the other man’s stomach, letting the relief and the pleasant feeling of finally coming after neglecting himself since the scene started wash over him.

Hongjoong gave himself some undetermined time to recover, dropping his weight on Seonghwa to avoid putting it on his weak legs and kissing the closest patch of skin he could find before burying his face in the other man’s chest. When he felt like his brain wasn’t a foggy pool of nothingness anymore, he took a last deep breath and got up to take his stained pants and underwear off and clean himself quickly before undoing the thigh straps and helping the other man stretch his legs, massaging the muscles when the sub winced softly at the movement.

“My good boy, you did so well. I’m so lucky to have you, you make me so happy,” whispered Hongjoong as he massaged the probably very sore thighs and calves.

He did the same with his arms right after, whispering more praises while he cleaned Seonghwa’s face and the mess they had both made on his belly while the sub simply laid there with his eyes closed. Once he was somewhat satisfied with the level of cleanliness, Hongjoong walked over to kiss his sub on the forehead and then do the same on the lips.

Seonghwa lifted his head with his eyes still closed, mouth following his as he wrapped his weak shaky arms around the dom’s neck to bring him closer. Hongjoong indulged him with a smile and kissed him deeper, tongues brushing each other for a bit before he moved back.

“Sorry…didn’t warn you…” whispered the sub sleepily.

It took Hongjoong a moment to figure out what he was talking about, and he snorted when he remembered his demand of having the other man tell him when he was about to come.

“Don’t worry about it, baby,” he replied. “Come on, let’s get comfortable.”

He helped Seonghwa get off the bench, grabbing him tighter when the sub’s legs gave out the moment got up, both of them giggling as he guided them to the aftercare zone and laid the sub on the bed.

Hongjoong made a mental note to hit the gym in order to build enough muscle mass to be able to fully carry Seonghwa while he fetched the snacks and the water, settling on the bed next to his sub and throwing a blanket over them before handing him the goods.

“Feed me,” said the blond with a pout as he cuddled against him.

He chuckled and opened the water bottle to give him a big sip, doing the same with the cookies after he was done drinking. They stayed in silence for a bit, enjoying each other’s warmth and touch as they came down from their respective highs. Hongjoong felt so peaceful and relaxed that he got startled when he felt something pressed against his lips, opening his eyes to see a cookie in front of his face.

Seonghwa was looking at him with sleepy eyes and a smile on his face, and he maintained eye contact as he ate the whole cookie in a single bite, getting a cute giggle from the sub in the process.

The sound made an overwhelming rush of affection hit Hongjoong in the chest so hard that he almost felt like his heart had stopped beating for a second before picking up a quick pace, and he was immediately grateful about the fact that he had his mouth stuffed full because that prevented the dangerous three words that had popped up in his mind to slip out without his permission.

Way too fucking early for that, Kim Hongjoong. Don’t be a weirdo.

“How are you feeling?” he asked instead. “Was that too much?"

Seonghwa glared at him and snorted before taking a moment to consider his answer.

“I…I'm still trying to process it, I feel like my brain was offline during most of it. I couldn’t even think. I've never felt anything like that before, I had no idea I could even feel those things. The physical sensations were incredibly overwhelming, but knowing that I was completely powerless and at your mercy was just as intense. I could only lay there and take whatever you choose to give me, and I loved every second of it,” the sub explained before stopping again to gather his thoughts. “I was feeling very sensitive because of all the edging, so having your touch on my skin for the first time while every nerve of my body felt exposed was a lot. I don’t even know how to begin to describe the orgasms, I’ve never come that hard in my life. It hurt so much, part of me wanted to desperately get away from that pain, but I couldn’t get enough of it at the same time.”

"I’m so glad to hear that you considered it to be a good experience overall. I really enjoyed it too, you really were perfect from start to finish,” replied Hongjoong before smirking. "I guess that means you're okay with me indulging in my kink again?"

Seonghwa laughed softly. "Yes, I'm definitely okay with that. I honestly didn't know how to feel about it as things escalated throughout the week, all that edging was really hard to deal with. But if holding my orgasms back means I'm going to see literal stars when I finally get to come, then I'm more than willing to endure that torture again."

"Oh my God, don't call it torture!" exclaimed Hongjoong.

"Excuse me, that's basically what it was! It might be mainly focused on pleasure instead of straight up pain, but it’s very much still torture. You're a lot more sadistic than I expected you to be."

The dom felt a sudden pang of nervousness and insecurity the moment he registered what the other man had said, flashbacks of old conversations with former partners popping up in his mind against his will.

"Is that …a problem? I know most subs who want a soft dom aren't looking for one with sadistic tendencies. We don't have to do things like these all the time, I can dial it back whenever you want," he explained quickly.

Seonghwa frowned and stared at him for a moment.

"I didn't mean it in a bad way, I already said I'm very on board with this type of play," said the sub before gently laying his hand on Hongjoong’s cheek to make him look straight into his eyes. "Hey, I love our dynamic and everything we've done so far, you don't need to worry about anything. I'll always tell you if I need you to slow down, you know that, but I can confirm we're very much on the same page here."

He couldn't help but smile, leaning over and kissing him to wordlessly show his gratitude, soft peck becoming more heated as Hongjoong caressed the naked span of skin as he got lost in the pleasant sensations and Seonghwa’s scent.

All while the three dangerous words from earlier kept flaring up in the back of his mind, ready to jump out at any moment.

—

The overwhelming feeling of deep affection (he refused to fully acknowledge it as ‘The L Word’) only got worse over the following days, and Hongjoong was so high on it that he couldn't even bring himself to worry about how fast everything was moving or how it'd potentially affect their lives.

They had fully dived head first into the Honeymoon PhaseTM, meeting basically every other evening to hang out and fall easily into their power exchange dynamic as they moved in sync in the privacy of their homes. They felt so much bliss in their relationship that it had started to subtly seep through the seams of their private lives, texts going back and forth at work as they made occasional eye contact through Seonghwa’s glass walls.

That tension got even worse during their evening meetings with the Organizing Committee of the Seoul Queer Festival, probably aided by the overall feelings of acceptance and freedom they could enjoy in a place where they could truly be themselves away from the prying eyes of their coworkers.

Life was perfect, and Hongjoong couldn't remember the last time he had felt this happy and fulfilled – if ever.

He was doing his dream job at his dream company, surrounded by people he considered friends while he settled into the routine more and more everyday, and, on top of that, he got the privilege of going home with the most perfect partner (the most perfect sub) he'd ever had.

Things were so idyllic that their first argument had caught him completely by surprise a mere week later, even though he rationally knew it was doomed to happen sooner or later.

The day had started just like any other: after waking up, Hongjoong had checked in with his sub via text message to assess the other man's general well-being and choose his outfit before heading to the office in high spirits. 

He had a meeting with the Seonghwa, San and Yeosang that morning to show them the final version of an advertising pack he had been working on, and he was really excited about the prospect of finally having an actual valid excuse to be in the same room as his sub for a somewhat extended period of time at work.

That excitement had vanished soon after the meeting started, though.

Both managers had praised his work the moment he was done with his presentation, but Seonghwa had simply stared at it with his signature thinking-face for a while before breaking the silence.

"I love the design of all the marketing materials and I think you've managed to portray the emotions the client is going for perfectly, but I'm not sure about the color scheme. I don't know what it is exactly, there's something about it that is throwing me off. Can you do a new version with a different palette, please? Try again with less red undertones." 

It was something Hongjoong had heard dozens of times before, something he was very used to after months of working at PROPAGANDA, so he was caught by surprise by the pure heat that flashed inside him the moment the words left Seonghwa’s mouth.

The sudden intense feeling was very reminiscent of what he had felt the very first time he had been on the receiving end of the director’s straightforward feedback, and for a moment he could only stare at Seonghwa while trying to control the overwhelming urge to aggressively push back.

"Maybe you should have thought about that before I spent hours working on this version, seeing as you were the one who approved the original color palette I used," blurted Hongjoong, regretting the words even as he was saying them.

San grimaced straight away and Yeosang lifted his eyebrow in surprise, a sentiment that Seonghwa seemed to share as a light frown showed up on his forehead.

"You're right. I did approve it, and now I'm telling you that it's not working well together. Sometimes something sounds good in theory, but needs to be revised after it's been put onto paper. As you should very well know by now, Hongjoong," replied the director.

He didn't know why, but the assertive tone mixed with the very intentional inflection while saying his name only made his frustration flare up even more. Without warning, a voice erupted into his head – dark and loud as it overpowered every other thought.

How dare he speak to you like that? Who does he think he is? Punish him.

Hongjoong took a quick breath and clenched his jaw, immediately feeling deeply ashamed of himself for even thinking something like that in a moment like this. 

"Understood. I will redo it with less red," he said, voice strained.

"Thank you."

To everyone else, Seonghwa’s face probably looked as neutral and emotionless as ever, but Hongjoong could see right through those eyes as clear as day.

Eyes that were telling him that he definitely wasn't the only one feeling irritated at that very moment.

The rest of the meeting carried on in tense awkwardness, and he basically sprinted outside the moment it was officially over. He dropped his things on his desk and turned around to head towards the restroom to calm himself down, but Yeosang stopped him before he could get too far.

"What the hell was that?" asked the manager.

Hongjoong took a deep breath, feeling the shame take over any other feeling as he stared into the other man's eyes.

"I'm so sorry, I don't know what came over me. I'll apologize to Seonghwa for my behavior straight away," he explained.

"Yeah, no kidding," replied Yeosang. "You need to do that now. "

Hongjoong bowed in response and ran away, locking himself in the first stall he found.

"Shit. What the fuck is wrong with you?" 

He patted his pockets, desperately looking for his phone and cursing out loud when he realized it must be in his bag.

He had fucked up.

He had fucked up badly.

He had behaved like an asshole in front of everyone, with Seonghwa.

He took a deep breath and rushed out of the bathroom, looking for his phone the moment he got to his desk, but being interrupted before he could text his apology.

"Hongjoong."

He turned around, heart beating quickly in his chest as he made eye contact with Seonghwa.

"A word, please," added the director.

Hongjoong nodded and followed the other man into the office, sitting on the chair and waiting for him to close the door and sit on his own seat.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, I don't know why I did that," he explained quickly.

Seonghwa didn't reply straight away, he simply stared at him with a carefully guarded face.

"We had both agreed on the fact that the nature of the relationship we have out there doesn't matter here. Inside these four walls I'm your boss, and you need to treat me as such, especially in front of other people," said the director, tone low but message loud and clear.

"I know, I'm sorry. I promise I didn't mean to do that, it just came out of my mouth without permission," he explained, subtly looking around at their coworkers before looking into Seonghwa’s eyes once again. "I know this is not a valid excuse for my rudeness, but sometimes I just …accidentally slip into a dom mindset and certain things set me off."

The director stared at him in silence. 

"I'm sorry, baby," added Hongjoong in a whisper. "For a brief moment there, it subconsciously felt like my sub was talking back to me in a way I didn't like."

"What the fu—heck, Hongjoong? Yeah, you're right, that's not a valid excuse. You can't just speak to me like that in front of everyone when we're interacting as coworkers! Is this going to become a problem? Is this really how it's going to be from now on?"

"No!" he replied quickly, lowering his voice when he remembered they were basically in plain sight. "I think it just threw me off guard because it's the first time we've butted heads like that since we became an official couple. It's definitely not going to be a problem, I regretted it the moment I said it. I'm really sorry."

Seonghwa inhaled deeply and nodded, looking outside before lowering his gaze and whispering: "We'll talk about this later."

"Baby…"

"Not now, Hongjoong," said his boyfriend.

He sighed and got up, making eye contact with Wooyoung as he walked back to his desk.

"Is everything okay? What happened?" asked his friend.

He nodded, but didn't bother explaining anything.

Hongjoong was well aware of how stupid, emotional, and impulsive he could be sometimes, he didn't need other people telling him any of that right now.

He thought things would be uncomfortable during lunch, but they weren't. Seonghwa behaved like nothing had happened, as expected, and none of the managers mentioned anything either.

From the outside, it probably looked like they had settled things down during their brief talk, but he knew it was only the tip of the iceberg.

They didn't speak during the rest of the day, since Seonghwa rushed out soon after lunch to meet a client with a generic nod and a goodbye.

They were supposed to meet with the Organizing Committee that evening to go over the content they had shot with the volunteers, and Hongjoong resented being involved with the festival for the first time since the whole thing started just because it’d extend the awkwardness between them even longer.

Seonghwa was already there when he arrived at the office, deep in conversation with Seulgi and acknowledging Hongjoong a lot less sweetly than usual.

Their teammates seemed to notice something was off too, judging by the looks they gave them when they sat down to review the material. Even Haru seemed to sense the tension all the way in Busan through the video call.

The air got even thicker as Taeyeob showed up on the screen and everyone but Hongjoong and Seonghwa praised his bright charisma and demeanor. The dom was already on thin ice, so he wasn't going to dig his own grave even deeper by complimenting the model even if it was in a completely platonic way, considering his boyfriend had clenched his jaw at the mere mention of the other man.

"Do you think we should invite Taeyeob to share his story at the parade too? He's a great storyteller and he's pretty popular online. He contacted us via Instagram recently and Seonghwa had already replied to him by the time I saw it, but I still used the opportunity to snoop around and noticed he has a pretty big following. We could really use the free promo he could provide, and he’s been very open about working with us and helping however he can," explained Yoo Youngjae, the organization's Secretary.

Seulgi lifted an eyebrow and took a sip of her coffee. 

"I didn't know he had contacted us again," she said before turning to look at Seonghwa. "What did he say? Anything I should know about?"

Hongjoong stared at him too, trying not to smirk as he took in the tense but carefully guarded expression on the other man's face.

Yeah, I didn’t know that either.

"No. He did mention that we could count on him if we ever needed it, but he mainly just wanted to let us know that we could share his contact details with Hongjoong if he ever asked for them. I took care of it," explained Seonghwa without looking at any of them.

Silence spread through the room and both Seulgi and Youngjae looked between them with amused eyes. 

"Oh, yeah. I'm sure you took care of that," she said before clearing her throat. "Just remember to be civil, please, we could really use his reach."

"I was perfectly civil," replied Seonghwa straight away.

"He was," confirmed Youngjae with a smile.

Hongjoong was still feeling like a proverbial pup with his tail tucked between his legs after his behavior from that morning, but he could still feel the corners of his lips lifting up with amusement as he looked at the scene in front of him.

My naughty boy.

In all honesty, Hongjoong had completely forgotten about Taeyeob and his 'job offer', but looks like his sub very much hadn't.

"Okay then, let's mark him as a potential speaker at the parade and move onto the next testimonial," said Seonghwa as he clicked on the next video.

The rest of the meeting went by without any major issues, choosing the testimonials they wanted to highlight on socials before both the President and Secretary got up with a stretch.

"Choosing to ask for testimonials was a fantastic idea, Seonghwa, we have really powerful material here. Feel free to edit and distribute the content as you see fit, I trust your judgment," said Seulgi as she got up and put her bag over her shoulder.

"Thank you, but the credit goes to the brave people who are willing to put themselves out there to give all of us visibility," replied Seonghwa, the familiar Creative Director persona coming out in full force.

"Speaking of which: I know you said you were still thinking about it, but I want to remind you that you’re very much invited to speak at the parade if you wish to," she added. "Your comfort comes first, obviously, so no pressure whatsoever. I know it'd be a really big deal for you and your career, but I want to mention it once again because you’re incredibly important for this organization and I want people to know who you are if you’re ready for it."

Seonghwa inhaled loudly and nodded. "I know, I appreciate it. I haven't made a decision just yet, but I'll let you know."

Seulgi patted him on the shoulder before her and Youngjae started walking towards the door.

The blond didn't make any attempt to get up or move at all, so Hongjoong stayed seated as well.

"I assume you're both staying behind as usual, remember to lock the door behind you when you leave," she added with a wink as they both left with a laugh.

He stared at the closed door for a moment before turning to look at his boyfriend, who was also facing the same direction.

"Do you have a moment to discuss how we're going to present the testimonials?" asked Seonghwa.

He blinked in confusion, not expecting him to say that out of all the things now that they were finally alone.

"Ehm, sure."

The air around them was tense, but they still fell back into work easily, and Hongjoong could feel himself relaxing as he started to realize that Seonghwa wasn't just going to dump him right then and there.

"I'm sorry," he said when he felt like they had discussed everything they needed to discuss regarding the project at hand. "I know I fucked up and put you in an uncomfortable position. My emotions get the best of me sometimes and I can be quite impulsive, but I’d like to think I've proven to you that I respect you as a boss, a partner, and a sub by now."

Seonghwa finally looked into his eyes and stared at him in silence.

"You have," replied the blond after a moment. "I want to apologize too for not giving you a chance to properly explain yourself. This is precisely what I was worried about when we decided to give this a chance, so I'll admit I freaked out when you randomly and unexpectedly dropped that on me. I’ve had some time to think about it, though, and I know you didn't do it on purpose and it was a simple knee–jerk reaction. I’ve slipped before too, I’m aware it’s out of our control and it happens sometimes even if we don’t want to."

Hongjoong released the breath he had been holding.

"I truly don't deserve you. Don't get me wrong, it was still very disrespectful and uncalled for and I won't even try to deny that, but I just…" he said, trying to find the right words. "I genuinely didn’t mean it. I don't want you to think I'm undermining your position in any way. I don't know if I can promise it'll never happen again, but I'm going to try really hard to not repeat this mistake."

Seonghwa smiled softly. "Thank you, I appreciate the apology and the fact that you have no problem admitting you were wrong. The way you can hold yourself accountable, even though you have a very dominant personality, never ceases to amaze me and it’s one of the things I like the most about you. None of this is 100% your fault, though, I should try to be less straightforward with my feedback too. I’m sure everyone would appreciate it."

Hongjoong laughed and got up to sit right next to him.

"Nah, I love your hot and blunt boss persona."

"Hot, huh?" asked Seonghwa as his smile reached his eyes.

"The hottest," he replied.

They stared at each other for a moment before Seonghwa looked down and pouted.

"Am I going to be punished?" asked the sub.

Hongjoong frowned and laid his hand on top of his on the table.

"What? Of course not, baby. I'm the one who fucked up, you didn't do anything wrong."

"...you looked at me like I was a very Bad Boy during that meeting," explained Seonghwa, pout getting bigger.

Hongjoong chuckled. "I know, I'm sorry, but I swear you're still the best and most obedient boy and you deserve all the rewards and praises for your impeccable behavior."

Seonghwa tried to maintain the pout, but the smile quickly took over.

In relationships based on power exchange, subs couldn’t punish doms in the most traditional meaning of the word, but Hongjoong was almost tempted to suggest some kind of retribution for messing up the way he did anyway.

Much to this surprise though, the other man seemed to have gotten over it way faster than he had anticipated, and he had the familiar glint in his eyes that told Hongjoong that his sub felt like playing.

"Thank you, Captain,” whispered Seonghwa before fixing his hair nervously while trying to gather the courage to say something. “You …called us a couple earlier. When I called you into my office, you…you said we were a couple."

Hongjoong frowned once again, trying to remember exactly what he'd said in his panicked rant.

"I guess I did," he said before awkwardly pausing for a moment. "...are we not?"

"I don't know, we haven't really put a label on our relationship outside the D/s arrangement," replied Seonghwa before quickly adding: "But 'couple' sounds fantastic. I totally approve of that label, I’m very much into that one."

Hongjoong laughed, butterflies taking off in his stomach.

"I'm very happy to hear that. I know this is moving really fast and we're not dating in a conventional way, so I didn't want to have this conversation just yet, but I feel …very strong things for you."

"Me too," said Seonghwa as a really cute blush started to spread all the way from his neck and ears towards his nose. "I…I really like you, Hongjoong, you make me incredibly happy. You’re the best dom I’ve ever had, the best partner I’ve ever had. You make me feel so confident and comfortable with myself, it’s like I'm becoming a better version of me under your patient and nurturing guidance. I love everything we do together, I love having you in my life."

I love you.

Hongjoong had to bite his lip to keep the dangerous words that had been swimming around in his head for days now right where they belonged. He swallowed with some effort, trying to find a way to express the intense emotions he was feeling in a more time-appropriate manner.

He rationally knew it was too early to drop the Big L Bomb. In a weird way, to him it almost felt like this feeling was the culmination of months and months of pining and build-up, like the timer of said bomb had started ticking the moment Hongjoong laid his eyes on both Seonghwa and Good Lil Boy and he had simply been slowly falling in love ever since.

The evolution of their relationship had been very different for the other man, though, so he was going to try to hold back as much as possible to give Seonghwa enough time to catch up to him.

Hongjoong had always been too much of a romantic for his own good, anyway.

"I feel the same way," he said, weirdly breathlessly. "You have no idea what that means to me. I love having you by my side as well, you make me really happy too. I…"

Embarrassingly, Hongjoong choked on the words and Seonghwa cooed before scooting closer and wrapping his arms around him.

“I know, me too,” said the sub, words muffled as he spoke into the fabric on his shoulder. “Me too.”

He didn’t know if the other man actually knew what the unsaid words meant, but Hongjoong had the feeling that his boyfriend would be very close to truly getting it if that wasn’t the case yet, because nobody had ever made him feel so transparent and exposed as him. 

If there was anyone in this world who could have the ability to learn how to read Hongjoong like an open book, it was Seonghwa.

Like a switch had gone off, the intense feeling of love quickly morphed into something very different, but very familiar at the same time.

They hadn’t had sex since that first time last week. They had carried out some scenes and bondage sessions since then, but Hongjoong had been waiting for the freedom their weekend plays offered to do it again and properly enjoy the act the way it deserved.

He found himself completely changing his mind at that very moment, though.

“My baby always knows, I’m so lucky to have you,” he said, tightening the grip of the hug and tone lowering as he started to get lost in the sudden dom mindset and arousal pooled in his abdomen. “You always know how to please your Captain. I have the best sub on this planet, and nobody else gets to have you. You’re mine.”

He wasn’t sure how the sudden change in atmosphere would be received, but as usual Seonghwa simply reacted accordingly and followed his lead. He could feel the sub relaxing in his arms even though his heartbeat had speeded up considerably where it was pressed against his own chest, breathing quickening just as fast as Hongjoong enjoyed the way the rhythmic movements felt.

“Thank you, Captain. I am yours and only yours,” he replied, a whine making its way out at the end of the sentence.

“Yes, you are,” said Hongjoong easily as he moved back to sit properly on the chair again. “Go and close the door, baby. Make sure it’s locked before coming back.”

“Yes, Captain.”

Seonghwa got up immediately, hastily looking for the keys in his pockets before heading towards the door and doing what was asked of him.

“Hop on,” he said while patting on the table.

“Yes, Captain.”

The sub did as he was told, sitting down on the table and looking ahead expectantly as he waited for more orders.

Hongjoong smirked and moved the chair he was sitting on until it was situated right in front of Seonghwa, opening the sub’s legs in the process so he could fit better between them.

“Oh my God…”

The dom chuckled at the breathlessness in the other man’s voice and he caressed the thighs in front of him, taking his time to massage the sensitive inner part over the thin material of the pants as the tent Seonghwa was sporting on his crotch grew visibly bigger.

“I’ve barely even touched you, but you’re already getting hard. My needy baby,” whispered Hongjoong.

He pushed his hands under Seonghwa’s thin blouse, running his hands across the skin aimlessly before lifting the material and pressing the hem against the sub’s lips.

“Hold it there.”

“Yes, Captain,” replied Seonghwa, voice muffled by the material.

Hongjoong put his hands on the warm skin once again as he slowly made his way from the belly to the nipples, taking his time as he pressed in all the points that got a reaction from the sub. The loud breathing that had been breaking the silence of the room turned into a gasp the moment Hongjoong tugged on one of the piercings, and the sound was accompanied by Seonghwa’s hips slightly jumping off the table at the rough touch.

“I want you to stay completely still. No moving until I say so.”

The sub replied the best he could once again, saliva starting to seep through the material of the blouse as a dark blush spread all over his face.

“Yes, Captain.”

“Good boy,” he said.

Hongjoong allowed himself some time to play around with both nipples until goosebumps had showed up around them, whines and slight tremors getting more pronounced the more he abused the nubs.

“Aw, these look sore. Do they hurt, baby?” he asked, not waiting for an answer before leaning closer. “Let me kiss them better.”

Seonghwa’s body made the attempt to twitch the moment his tongue made contact with the nipple, but the sub tensed up and managed to stop himself from moving before it was too late.

“Good boy,” whispered Hongjoong again before covering the closest nipple with his mouth.

He didn’t know how long he spent licking and biting both nipples, going from one to the other when Seonghwa’s body language let him know that his ministrations were clearly becoming too painful, before he moved back to admire his work.

Both nubs were shiny with spit and they looked sensitive and abused, and Hongjoong found himself deeply satisfied with the bright shade of red he had managed to achieve, so he decided to move onto his next target.

He looked up at Seonghwa’s face to find him staring at him with glassy eyes and the damp blouse stuck in his mouth.

“How are you doing, baby? Can you take some more?” asked Hongjoong.

The other man tried to speak, but found it hard to do with the shirt stuffed into his mouth, so he simply nodded enthusiastically.

“Such a good boy.”

He broke eye contact to look down at Seonghwa’s crotch, finding a wet patch where the tip of his erection was pressed against the material.

“So wet,” he added, completely fascinated by it.

Hongjoong leaned over a bit more to press his tongue on that spot while trying to maintain eye contact with the sub even with the weird angle.

He was pretty sure the other man wouldn’t be able to feel much of the gentle touch through two layers of fabric, but he still closed his eyes tightly and tensed his body even more in an attempt to avoid thrusting against Hongjoong’s face.

“Eyes on me,” he said before moving back to undo Seonghwa’s pants and taking both them and the underwear off completely. “I want you to look at me the whole time.”

The sub hummed his confirmation and nodded enthusiastically once again.

Hongjoong moved his chair back to properly stare at the view in front of him, absently undoing his own pants to give his own growing erection some room to breathe.

“Fuck, you’re truly the most beautiful person I’ve ever seen,” he said, meaning every single word. “My needy baby. Here you are, sitting half naked and hard at the office of the Organizing Committee for the Seoul Queer Festival just because I told you to. What do you think our teammates would say if they saw you offering yourself like this? If they knew how much of a good boy you are just for me?”

Seonghwa whined as a drop of precum slided down his shaft.

“So desperate for it,” said the dom as he moved closer once again. “Remember: you don’t move at all and you don’t look away from me.”

The sub nodded and hummed again, and Hongjoong didn’t give him any other warning before grabbing the erection in front of him and licking the head to gather the next drop that was about to leak over.

He groaned at the taste and repeated the motion, looking up to maintain eye contact as he teased Seonghwa with his tongue.

Hongjoong was half-aware that he should probably grab one of the condoms he had stashed in his wallet for moments just like these just to make things easier and cleaner. They had gotten tested right before turning their relationship sexual and had already discussed their boundaries about this issue beforehand, though, so he figured he could indulge himself and finally get the chance to put his mouth on that enticing wet sight.

Plus, the purely ruined look on the other man’s face was too addictive to move away now.

Seonghwa looked completely wrecked, eyes half-closed and hands gripping the edge of the table so tightly that the skin on his knuckles had turned white. The fabric stuffed in his mouth wasn’t enough to silence the little moans that were escaping around it, and Hongjoong gave his shaft one last lick from bottom to top before engulfing his mouth around it.

The sub whined and his hips made an aborted movement, thighs shaking under the dom’s hands with the effort to stay still as Hongjoong sucked him off. He had initially intended to tease him a little bit more, but soon enough he found his own head getting fuzzier with arousal as he got lost in the feeling, the sound, and the taste.

“Fuck,” he whispered as he moved back, jerking Seonghwa off roughly as he gasped for air.

Hongjoong hadn’t even noticed that he had closed his eyes at some point during the blowjob, but Seonghwa had his firmly fixed on him when he looked up. His next breath got stuck in his throat as he took in the look the other man was giving him, hard dick throbbing between his legs and heart picking up even more at the sight of that gaze framed by the tears.

Seonghwa was looking at him like he was a God. Pure devotion and amazement in his shiny big eyes, face full of emotion as he tried to breathe heavily through his nose.

I love you.

“Don’t come. I don’t care how close you are, try to hold it back as long as possible,” he said instead, casually cleaning the spit on his jaw with his free hand while looking straight into the sub’s eyes. “I know it’s hard, but my baby can do anything I ask of him because he’s the best boy, right? I’d be so happy if you did that for me.”

Seonghwa nodded enthusiastically, not even blinking as he continued to stare at the dom with the same adoration in his eyes.

“Such a good boy.”

He jerked him off for a bit longer before angling the sub’s erection towards his mouth again to take as much as he could in a single motion, snorting softly at the way Seonghwa’s whole body pushed forward before stilling once again, loud cry echoing in the room as he continued to push the dick deeper in his throat.

Hongjoong had always loved giving head.

He was aware some dominants considered it an act unfit for people in their position, that it was a show of submission that should be reserved for subs, but Hongjoong couldn’t care less about what they thought about it. Those sad people had clearly never experienced the sheer power that came from being able to turn someone into a whimpering mess with your mouth, they didn’t understand that you could be just as commanding while looking up at your sub’s face instead of looking down.

He moved back to breathe for a moment before taking it in his mouth once again, running his hands over his thighs to his abdomen and up to give a quick rub to the sore nipples once again before focusing on playing with his balls.

Hongjoong was so into the blowjob that it took him a second to register Seonghwa’s panicked warnings and the way his whole body was shaking on the table.

“I can’t…I…ah,” said the sub before mumbling something incoherent into the shirt stuffed in his mouth.

The dom let go of his dick with a smirk, looking up to the sub’s face while he gave the sub a moment to calm down. Soon after, he put it in his mouth once again and had to stop himself from tutting Seonghwa as the other man pressed his thighs against his shoulders for a second before going back to their original position.

It didn’t take long for the sub to panicky warn him once again and Hongjoong simply pushed the dick further down his throat, taking in the beautiful way the sub was struggling to stay still as his orgasm approached fast.

“Please! ”

With a laugh, Hongjoong finally pulled back and dropped the sub’s erection, which twitched a few times in front of his face as if looking for those few strokes it needed to finally come.

“Good job, baby. You were so good,” he said as he cleaned his chin before petting the area around the other man’s dick, enjoying the way the muscles trembled under his hands. 

He waited until Seonghwa’s breath had calmed down before grabbing the wet erection once again.

“You can move your body now, but your hands stay right where they are and your eyes stay on me. You’re still not allowed to come.”

The sub nodded and inhaled deeply through his nose.

Hongjoong couldn’t help but chuckle when the other man wrapped his legs around his shoulders the moment he took the sub’s dick into his mouth one more time, hips moving as Seonghwa found the rhythm that worked better for him - and the dom simply let him. He let his boyfriend fuck his face just to have the pleasure of moving back once again when he thrusts started to get erratic and desperate, hips following his mouth as a loud pained whine left the other man’s throat.

The sub was mumbling something he couldn’t understand, so Hongjoong grabbed the soaked hem of the shirt and pulled it away from his mouth to hear him talk.

“I need…please…”

“No,” replied the dom easily.

He dropped Seonghwa’s blouse and fixed it delicately, trying to make it look decent even though it was completely soaked. The sub sobbed as he pressed his legs together, wet hard cock looking painfully red while he uselessly tried to make the soreness go away without complaining.

“You look so pretty when you're desperate and squirming,” said Hongjoong while he got up and used his own hand to clean the mess of tears and saliva on the other man’s face before kissing him on the lips. “My obedient boy, willing to endure everything I give him just to make me happy. I’m so pleased with you, baby.”

A new tear slipped down the sub’s face, but he smiled softly anyway. “Thank you, Captain.”

The dom smiled back and caught the rogue tear with tongue before kissing him on the lip once more and sitting down. 

“Get on your knees.”

Seonghwa quickly did as he was told, kneeling between Hongjoong’s open legs and looking up at him with eagerness and expectation while the dom undid his own pants and pulled out his hard dick. The sub gasped and moved closer, slightly opening his pink lips in a deliberately enticing way without looking away from the erection in front of his face.

Hongjoong chuckled and leaned back with a smirk. 

“Why don’t you get it wet, baby? No hands.”

“Thank you, Captain,” replied Seonghwa quickly.

The sub immediately wrapped his mouth around his dick and Hongjoong couldn’t help but curse at the feeling, closing his eyes and allowing himself to enjoy the wet and warm softness.

He had only wanted the other man to literally make it wet before pushing him away, and a little voice in his head was telling him to do exactly that, but he found himself too caught up in the pleasure to actually stop him.

“You're doing so well, it feels so good,” he said breathlessly between moans.

His praise only made Seonghwa put even more effort into the blowjob, and Hongjoong couldn’t remember the last time he had gotten such an enthusiastic head. The sub was sucking him off like his life depended on it, like it was the oxygen he needed to survive, and the dom simply closed his eyes and let the other man bring him closer and closer to his orgasm.

Using all the willpower he had in his body, he pushed his hand in Seonghwa’s blond hair, massaging his scalp for a moment before pulling on it to drag him away from his dick. The sub whined at the loss, hooded and unfocused eyes moving up to meet his as he pouted.

“Stay still,” ordered Hongjoong.

He started to jerk himself off immediately, orgasm so close to the surface that he could almost taste it as he stared down at those wet pink lips.

“No…” said Seonghwa.

“No?”

The sub whined again. “I’m sorry, Sir. I…I just…”

Hongjoong laughed softly, trying to focus on the conversation and not get too lost in the pleasure of his own hand.

“What is it, baby? Do you want your reward?” he asked, words getting cut off by a moan as he sped up his pace. “Tell me how bad you want it, my greedy boy.”

“So bad, Captain. I want it so much. Didn’t I do a good job?”

They’d had this conversation through a screen dozens of times in the early days of their former relationship, and Hongjoong had fantasized about this very situation countless times after that too, so the reality of their current positions hit him right in the chest and made him feel even dizzier as he stared at the sub.

He had Park Seonghwa kneeling in front of him, half-naked and begging for his cum like it really was the best reward he could ask for, and that was enough to tip him over the edge as he spilled all over his fist with a choked ‘shit’. 

It took him a moment to come back to himself, panting and looking down at the man in front of him with sleepy eyes.

“Please, Captain,” whispered Seonghwa, staring at his messy crotch like it was an actual feast.

Hongjoong laughed breathlessly and extended his hand. “Lick it clean if you want it that badly.”

The sub didn’t need to be told twice, grabbing his hand and bringing it to his mouth as he pressed his tongue against his palm.

“Fuck, look at you. Aren’t you the prettiest kitty?” said Hongjoong, still high from the orgasm.

Seonghwa whined again as he continued to lick the dom’s fingers, not stopping until he had cleaned every single patch of skin.

“Thank you, Captain.”

“Keep going,” added Hongjoong while pointing at his softening dick.

The sub rushed forward immediately, delicately licking both his sensitive cock and all the cum that had landed around it before giving Hongjoong’s dick a gentle kiss and sitting back on his heels once again to stare at him with big shiny eyes, hard cock bouncing between his thighs as he moved.

Hongjoong couldn’t help but sigh at the pleasant sensations rushing through his body before leaning over to peck his lips and letting the kiss evolve into something deeper, feeling the flames lit up softly in his belly again as he noticed the overpowering taste of cum in the other man’s mouth.

“Such a good boy, I’m so clean now. Thank you, baby.”

Seonghwa smiled brightly at him and Hongjoong gave him one last kiss on the forehead before helping him up and checking on his knees, grabbing some tissues from his bag and cleaning them both as much as he could once he was satisfied with his sub’s general well-being. 

He finished putting his boyfriend’s clothes back on as decently as possible while ignoring the very obvious erection, silently hugging him tightly after and giving them both some time to calm down and recenter themselves.

“Do you really forgive me for being an asshole?” he asked against Seonghwa’s shoulder after a while.

The other man chuckled and tightened his grip around him, burying his face in Hongjoong’s neck and breathing in deeply.

“I’d probably be in a more forgiving mood if I didn’t have a bad case of blue balls right now,” replied Seonghwa playfully. “But yes, you’re in the clear for now.”

Hongjoong laughed and bumped his head against his boyfriend’s. “My naughty boy.”

“I’m not naughty! I’m your Good Boy,” said the sub with a clear smile in his voice.

“You are my good boy,” confirmed Hongjoong.

“...just, please, try to not do anything like that again, okay? I don’t like being mad at you, today sucked,” added Seonghwa in a serious voice, before lightening his tone a bit to continue. “I have to admit it was a nice reminder that you’re an actual human being, though. You’re so perfect that sometimes I do wonder if you’re actually real and those little moments help. It takes some pressure to be as perfect as you off my shoulders too.”

Hongjoong laughed softly again, butterflies flying around in his stomach as he inhaled deeply and let the tensions of the day fade away.

I love you.

“You’re already perfect, baby. You don’t need to feel pressured to be anything else,” he said instead.

–

“How would you feel about me posting pictures of you on my account?”

Hongjoong hadn’t meant to blurt it out at that specific moment: standing butt naked behind Seonghwa in the other man’s walk-in closet while he fastened a black corset tightly around his boyfriend’s torso, but it had been too hard to keep the words in when he had such an enticing sight right in front of him.

He kept his eyes fixed on his sub’s face through the mirror they were standing in front of, carefully studying the micro-expressions to see if he was entering dangerous territory.

They’d both had a really long week between their work at PROPAGANDA and the fast approaching Seoul Queer Festival, and Hongjoong still felt like they were walking on eggshells around each other after their short-lived argument from a couple of days ago.

So, to try to both ease any potential tension and help his sub relax, he had switched some things around and pushed aside Seonghwa’s usual Friday-night chores in order to pamper him.

The dom had ordered some ramen with two boxes of strawberry mochi, because he knew it was his boyfriend’s go-to meal when he felt like indulging himself, and then had drawn a bath for both of them in Seonghwa’s fancy tub. Hongjoong had used the sub’s favorite salts and had set the water at his preferred scalding temperature (even though he didn’t see the appeal of soaking in hot water in the middle of the Summer), and then had taken his time to wash the other man’s hair while they enjoyed the relaxing atmosphere in complete silence.

Feeling encouraged by the way his boyfriend had visibly relaxed throughout the night as he thanked Hongjoong over and over again with stars in his shiny eyes, the dom had dried Seonghwa’s hair and started to dress him up in the matching set of lace lingerie and corset he had chosen among the sub’s extensive collection, which is what he had been doing when he blurted his unprompted question.

The other man looked straight into his eyes through the mirror as Hongjoong stopped working on the corset to focus all his attention on Seonghwa.

“We don’t have to if you don’t want to, of course. I just know that you like to take pictures of yourself when you’re feeling pretty and thought it was something we could do together too, if you’re okay with that. We don’t even have to post them anywhere! I was just talking nonsense,” he explained, trying to keep a steady voice even though he felt stupidly nervous for some reason. “You are so incredibly stunning. My boyfriend is the most beautiful person on this planet and I feel the stupid need to let everyone know he’s mine, but I logically know that we can’t do that because of our delicate situation, so I just …I don’t know. I thought it could be a way to show you off without putting us at risk.”

Seonghwa smiled at him, eyes shining as he turned around to face him directly. His boyfriend simply looked at him for a moment before throwing his arms around him and kissing him.

“Nothing would make me happier than that,” replied the sub softly against his lips. “Knowing that you think that about me, that you want to show me off in front of all of those littl—…your followers, means the world to me, Captain. You have my full permission to post pictures of me.”

Hongjoong chuckled and returned the hug with the same intensity.

“I’d show you off in front of the whole world if I could, baby.”

Seonghwa’s expression shifted immediately, playfulness vanishing as something deeper and made of pure intensity shone in his eyes in a way that made Hongjoong’s heart beat faster in his chest.

I love you.

His boyfriend didn’t say whatever that was going through his mind either, and he could only hope that it was something along the lines of his own scary thoughts. The sudden intensity in the air left as soon as it had arrived when Seonghwa’s gaze turned playful once again.

“Are you going to tag me?”

Hongjoong laughed again and turned him around to finish tying up the corset, trying to push away the pressure in his chest as he focused back on the conversation.

“Do you want me to tag you?” he asked.

Something dark and fiery flashed in Seonghwa’s eyes as a smug half-smile immediately took over his mouth.

“Yes.”

Hongjoong snorted, the self-satisfied expression on his boyfriend’s face telling him everything he needed to know.

He might have been too stupid to figure out Good Lil Boy’s little game before Hwanwoong opened his eyes, but the sub’s antics were painfully obvious now that he knew what to look for.

It seemed like most of his followers hadn’t noticed anything different in their public interactions (which should say a lot about their former conversations), although some people were speculating that there was something else going on between them. Hongjoong hadn’t bothered addressing any of those comments, wanting to run it by Seonghwa before taking such a big step, but he’d had the feeling that his sub probably wouldn’t mind – considering the other man always made sure to like every single one of those tweets.

Seonghwa’s poorly hidden possessiveness shouldn’t be this hot, but Hongjoong couldn’t deny that it turned him on. A lot.

None of them said anything as he finished putting the outfit together, both of them slipping deeper into their dom/sub mindsets as the light vibe they’d had all night so far started to turn heavier around them.

“My pretty boy,” he said, voice going low.

Seonghwa whined. “Thank you, Captain. I do feel very pretty, I love the set you chose for me.”

“You’re always pretty, baby,” replied Hongjoong as he turned him around to look at the masterpiece in front of him.

The corset made Seonghwa’s torso look even more shapely than usual, his small waist looking even smaller under the tightness of the fabric. It had an underbust cut, so it sat right under the other man’s pecs, where his pierced nipples were completely visible and ready to be ruined, and right above the line of the gather belt around his hips that held the stocking on his legs.

He wasn’t the only one excited about the outfit, judging by the bulge that was starting to tent the panties right under Hongjoong’s intense gaze.

“Ah, you’re already getting hard and we haven’t even started yet. You really like having my attention on you that much, don’t you?”

“Yes, Captain. I love when you look at me like that,” replied Seonghwa.

Hongjoong tutted him playfully. “My needy boy. We can’t have people seeing that, though. Your pretty dick is just for me.”

He turned around to look through the other man’s clothes, excitement growing when he spotted the red plaid skirt Seonghwa had been wearing in the very first lewd he had sent Hongjoong as Good Lil Boy.

“Let’s cover it up with this, shall we?”

“Yes, Captain,” said the sub easily.

Hongjoong helped him put it on before taking a step back to admire the view.

“Beautiful.”

Seonghwa smiled sweetly. “Thank you, Captain.”

The dom returned the smile and looked at the drawer once again, eyes going straight to the matching blue plaid skirt that had been resting right next to the other one as he felt the deep need to put it on.

“Can I borrow this?” he asked without looking away from it.

Seonghwa gasped softly. “Yes, Captain. You can take anything you want.”

Hongjoong grabbed the skirt and touched the fabric before putting it on, looking at himself in the mirror and smiling at the sight.

“You look beautiful, Captain.”

“Thank you, baby,” he replied as he turned around and stood next to him to press his hip against his. “We match now.”

The sub giggled and shyly grabbed the hem of his own skirt.

“We do.”

Hongjoong considered borrowing some underwear before deciding against it, choosing to wear only the skirt instead.

“Go and wait for me at the playroom. I’ll be there in a minute,” he ordered.

“Yes, Captain.”

The dom had to stop himself from running in his excitement, taking a deep breath and walking into the living room at a normal pace to dig into his camera bag. He couldn’t help but smirk when he found what he was looking for, lifting his camera and quickly switching the memory card with a new one before grabbing his phone and walking into the dungeon.

He found Seonghwa kneeling in his designated place on the fluffy rug, and Hongjoong was hit with the pure privilege that it was being here with such a perfect human being.

“My obedient boy,” he said before sitting down on the couch and turning the camera on. “I put a brand new memory card in here, this will be our Naughty Card from now on. We will only use it to record play time and it will always stay inside this room, only to be taken out whenever we’re going to use it or view the content. Can you take good care of it while I'm not around, baby?”

“Yes, Captain,” replied Seonghwa quickly.

“Such a good boy,” said Hongjoong with a smirk as he got up and walked towards his sub. “I’ll take a few pictures just for us now and then I’ll take some with my phone to post on Twitter, okay?”

“Yes, Captain.”

It didn’t take long for the photographer in him to temporarily jump out as he focused on finding the best angles to showcase Seonghwa’s beauty in the not-ideal lighting of the room.

Note to self: buy better lighting.

Hongjoong didn’t know how many pictures he took, but he was basically salivating while he ordered Seonghwa to switch positions so he could capture the view, trying to prioritize aesthetics over the overly sexually charged poses that his own arousal was pushing him towards as the room started to get warmer and the sub’s dick started to get harder.

“Beautiful,” he said for what felt like the hundredth time. “I see that someone is getting a bit excited and there’s something we need to do before you get hard, baby.”

“Yes, Captain.”

Hongjoong put the camera down to walk towards the corner of the dungeon and quickly pick up the stuff he was going to need to carry out the scene he had in mind, kneeling next to the sub and putting everything on the rug next to him when he was done. Seonghwa’s curious eyes shifted to the pile of things his dom had gathered for half a second, but quickly looked back at him to wait for the next move.

“Sit and open your legs,” he ordered while grabbing the lube and the cockring.

Seonghwa did as he was told, sitting with his knees drawn up and the fabric of the skirt covering his crotch.

“Lift that up for me,” added Hongjoong as he slicked up the ring.

Once again, the other man followed his orders and grabbed the hem of the skirt to pull it up, showing his half-hard dick trapped inside the black panties.

“You look so pretty, baby.”

“Thank you, Captain,” whispered Seonghwa.

Hongjoong pulled down the underwear and took them off completely, slipping the cockring into place without touching Seonghwa’s dick more than necessary.

“There you go, my good boy,” he said, getting up to grab the camera once again. “Now we can continue our little photoshoot.”

The next pose he had wanted to capture was a reenactment of the very first picture the sub had sent him, so he made him kneel with his legs slightly open while he manhandled Seonghwa’s arms behind his back. 

Hongjoong wondered if the other man even recognized the pose as he moved back to take a bunch of pictures from different angles, smiling at the realization of just how far they’ve come since then.

Sometimes he really felt like the last year had been a fever dream.

It only took a few more shots for his ‘photographer mode’ to quickly morph into ‘horny dom mode’, priorities changing as he switched the professional camera for the phone to take the shots he wanted to post on his Twitter account.

After making sure that Seonghwa’s face was completely out of the frame, he carelessly took a bunch of pictures before throwing his phone on the couch.

“I’m tired of that. I feel like playing with my baby now,” he said as he walked closer. “I’m going to tie your wrists to your ankles, okay? No rope today, I have a different goal in mind.”

“Yes, Captain.”

Hongjoong grabbed the leather cuffs he had grabbed from their box and applied pressure on Seonghwa’s back to make him lean over without moving from his previous kneeling position, carefully folding the sub and pushing his face against the soft shaggy rug while guiding his arms under him and between his open legs.

“Can you breathe properly in this position?” he asked.

“Yes, Captain,” replied Seonghwa straight away.

Hongjoong pushed between the sub’s shoulder blades again to try to make him go lower and bring his wrists closer to his feet, but stopped immediately when the other man released a pained gasp and gave a breathless warning.

“Aah. Yellow, Sir. I’m sorry.”

“That’s okay, baby,” he was quick to say, helping Seonghwa to move back to the previous position. “Never apologize for stopping when you need to. What is it, my good boy?”

“I don’t think I can push my hands that far down with the corset on, Captain.”

Hongjoong looked down at the sub’s body once again, realizing that he had underestimated both the length of his boyfriend’s limbs and the level of bending it’d require to cuff the wrists to the ankles. With a hum, he pondered the pros and cons of switching the position just to keep the corset on, but quickly concluded that he wasn’t willing to sacrifice The Vision he’d had in his mind for days now for the extra aesthetics the garment offered.

“Sit down, I’m going to take it off.”

Seonghwa did as he was told, but seemed hesitant as he added: “Perhaps I can try something else, Sir. I can look for the most comfortable position while keeping the form you wanted…”

“Don’t worry about it, darling,” he said with the gentler tone he could muster while he focused on loosening the strings. “I took so many pretty pictures of you with the corset on, that’s all we needed from it right now. We will bring it out some other time to play around with it again, okay? I have something else in mind for today.”

“Yes, Captain.”

Hongjoong took the corset off the moment it was loose enough to do it, carefully caressing the compression lines it had left behind before gently putting Seonghwa back into the right position. This time he didn’t get any type of resistance when he pushed the sub’s arms further between his open legs, wrists reaching the ankles without any effort.

“Are you comfortable, baby? Can you keep this up for a while?”

Seonghwa shifted a bit as he looked for the best position, right cheek pressed against the rug as he opened his legs a bit to lower his body more.

“Yes, Captain. I can stay like this for as long as you want me to.”

“Thank you, my good boy, that’s perfect,” said Hongjoong. “Let’s cuff you up.”

Hongjoong grabbed the leather cuffs he had set aside on the rug, easily connecting the right wrist to the right ankle and repeating the same action with the left side. Sitting back, he slowly caressed Seonghwa’s thigh up and butt cheek, enjoying the way the skirt had moved out of the way in this position to give a fantastic view of his naked ass as well as the trapped balls and the erection hanging right underneath.

“So pretty,” he whispered.

“Thank you, Captain.”

Excited for what was to come, he grabbed the lube and the prostate massager he had also grabbed from their box of toys. They hadn’t had the chance to use it yet, but Hongjoong had tried other similar models in the past and he knew what they were capable of.

“How many days has it been since the last time you came?” he asked, even though he knew the answer perfectly well.

“Five days, Captain.”

“Mhm, my poor baby. Let’s do something to fix that,” he said, putting the toy next to the other man’s face so he could see it. “I’m going to put this inside you now, but I won’t be touching you anywhere else. You can come anytime you want and as much as you want, but you’re going to have to do it without any other kind of stimulation. Nobody is touching your dick today, so I suggest you do the most out of what I’m giving you.”

The room fell silent the moment he stopped talking, Seonghwa’s breathing being the only noticeable noise.

“Thank you, Captain. I…I don’t know if I’ll be able to do it, but I will gladly take what you give me.”

“You’ve done it before, baby. We both know you can do it,” replied Hongjoong as he slicked up the toy.

Seonghwa didn’t reply, and he knew very well what the other man was thinking at that very moment. It’s true that the sub had managed to have a hands-free orgasm the first time they’d had sex, but he had gone through a very thorough process of edging and overstimulation before getting there.

This time he would go in with a few days of buildup tension, but without any other type of aid to get there. Hongjoong himself wasn’t sure if Seonghwa was going to be able to come without any other stimulation this time around, but he couldn’t wait to find out.

Pushing the toy in was easy, since the design was so perfectly made for its purpose that it slipped into place the moment he had pushed it halfway in. Seonghwa reacted straight away with a moan that echoed in the room when the toy started to move in a thrusting movement without even turning it on, spurred into motion purely by the contraction of the muscles.

Hongjoong couldn’t help but moan as well, immediately imagining how those contractions would feel around his own dick.

“Such a greedy hole, it swallowed the toy before I could even put it all the way in,” he explained, unable to look away from the way the massager was slowly fucking his sub. “How does it feel, baby?”

“Really good, Captain,” replied Seonghwa breathlessly.

“Have fun, my good boy.”

Hongjoong grabbed the remote control, got up and moved to sit down on the couch, where he had a fantastic first row view of Seonghwa’s ass.

“Fuck,” he whispered.

He sneaked a hand under the hem of the skirt, enjoying the view while he brought his dick into full hardness, the leftover lube on his hand making the slide dangerously smooth.

To distract himself, Hongjoong cleaned his hand on the fabric of the skirt and grabbed the control, turning it on and setting the intensity of the vibration to the second level straight away.

Seonghwa yelped loudly, hands twisting in their bounds as he tried to futilely move away from the stimulation.

“Oh God. ”

Hongjoong laughed, staring for a bit longer before taking a deep breath in and looking for his discarded phone between the throw pillows in an attempt to distract himself for a while. After giving his whiny sub one last look, he focused on the screen as he went through the pictures he had taken.

His boyfriend looked insanely good in all of them, even though Hongjoong had other priorities in mind when he had taken them, but he ended up choosing his two favorites: one of the sub kneeling with his arms behind him while pushing his corseted torso forward, enticing view becoming the main focus of the picture as his pierced nipples shone under the lights; and a second one of Seonghwa sitting down with one of his legs lying straight on the rug while the other was drawn up in a way that covered his crotch completely, but still gave away the fact that he wasn’t wearing any underwear underneath, the naked skin of the back of his thigh going all the way from the point his garther started to where the curve of his ass got lost under the fabric of the red skirt.

Part of Hongjoong wanted to protectively keep these pictures for his eyes only, but the other (bigger) part wanted the world to know that his man was his. He was his dom and he wouldn’t let anyone else have him. That part of him also wanted to sit down next to Seonghwa as his sub went through the messages he knew would come, watching him grow more and more turned on as he read how all those strangers felt jealous of both his extreme beauty and his status as the Captain’s official sub.

He absent-mindedly pushed the vibration level up another notch on the remote control before attaching the pictures to the tweet, thinking carefully about what he should write. 

Hongjoong tried to think of something witty and interesting to say, but he was growing more and more distracted by the loud whines and moans in the background, as well as the overwhelming need to look at his sub, so he settled for the only thing that came to his mind.

The Captain @no1likeme
When your good boy lets you take pictures of him so you can show the world how pretty he looks @CaptainsGLB

He looked away the moment he pressed the ‘Tweet’ button, smirking when he noticed that Seonghwa’s desperation had grown exponentially while he had been busy with Twitter. 

The sub was rhythmically moving his hips against the toy, almost as if he was riding a dick. His neglected cock was hanging between his legs, red and dripping precum on his own arms and the shaggy rug underneath.

Hongjoong lazily stroked his own erection with his left hand while he studied the remote control, switching between all three vibration patterns before settling for the one that made Seonghwa squirm the most. 

His phone vibrated next to him, so Hongjoong grabbed it to use it as an opportunity to distract himself once again, laughing out loud when he saw the notifications. He already had dozens of replies under his tweet, but he went straight to the thread a familiar user had written.

Candy @BestSourCandy
UR KIDDING ME

|

Candy @BestSourCandy
YOU CAN’T POST THESE JUST LIKE THAT

|

Candy @BestSourCandy
CHECK YOUR PHONE ASSHOLE

He laughed, clicking on the KakaoTalk notification that was waiting for him at the top of the screen.

sweetlikecandy
YOU BASTARD
WHEN WERE YOU GOING TO TELL ME ABOUT THIS?!

thepirateking 
Hi to you too, Woong
…you already knew??

sweetlikecandy
EXCUSE ME?!
LAST THING I KNEW WAS THAT YOU WERE GOING TO TALK THINGS OUT AND TAKE IT EASY
I DIDN’T KNOW YOU WERE GOING ALL TWITTER OFFICIAL ON MY ASS AFTER A FEW WEEKS OF TAKING IT EASY

thepirateking 
We’re not Twitter official!!
We’re just testing things out for now
…
I guess I forgot to give you an update?
We’re dating now! :D

sweetlikecandy
!!!!
NO SHIT SHERLOCK!
YEAH, I GUESS YOU FORGOT

A loud drawn out moan brought Hongjoong’s attention away, and he looked up just in time to see Seonghwa’s body shaking as a thick string of slick dripped from his dick.

sweetlikecandy
Now that I got that out of my system
Congrats!!!
I’m very happy for you, Captain~
I could tell how much you liked him
He looks hot ngl
I understand why you are this whipped now

thepirateking 
Can’t talk rn
Ttyl

sweetlikecandy
Rude
Don’t think you’re off the hook!!
I will be waiting for all the details!!

“Shit,” said Hongjoong, phone completely forgotten as he watched amazed at the neverending string of precum. “You’re leaking so much, baby. You’re so wet.”

“I’m…ah…fu—”

The dom laughed softly at the other man’s mumbling, but continued to simply stare from the couch, hard dick throbbing between his legs as he forced himself to stay put and simply enjoy the show. 

Today was about endurance, not indulgence. 

He was going to be patient and simply see how much Seonghwa could take before either coming or tapping out.

Hongjoong didn’t know how long he spent staring, hypnotized by the desperate movements and unabashed sounds that came freely out of Seonghwa’s mouth. It was like the other man had completely given up fighting against his own body and he had simply let himself let go to enjoy the sweet torture, laying with his face pressed against the soft rug and his hands firmly attached to his ankles as the massager abused his prostate.

Desperate to get some kind of distraction before he did something stupid, like ruining his own plans, Hongjoong got up and walked towards the door.

“I’ll be right back,” he explained, although he wasn’t sure the other man was even capable of listening to him by that point.

Hongjoong winced as his erection bounced while he headed towards the living room, grabbing his bag and walking just as gracelessly back into the dungeon.

Seonghwa didn’t even acknowledge him as the dom got into the room and grabbed the remote control from the couch before sitting cross-legged right next to him on the rug, erection tenting the skirt as he situated himself far enough to appreciate the whole show properly, but close enough that he was in the sub’s direct line of vision.

He stared straight into the unfocused teary eyes as he increased the intensity of the vibrations once again, loving the way those pretty orbs disappeared behind Seonghwa’s eyelids while he whined at the new sensation.

Hongjoong forced himself to look away and fished his sketchbook out of the bag, struggling to find the right place on his knee to rest the book without his hard dick getting in the way at first, but soon finding that he was so hyper focused on the man in front of him that everything else became background noise.

He felt like he was in a trance, heightened senses fixed on his whiny sub and the paper on his knee as he captured the curves and the lines of Seonghwa’s trembling body. Finding that the soft sound of the pencil brushing against the paper was the perfect addition to the gorgeous soundtrack of whines, gasps and moans that filled the room.

Hongjoong looked into his half-closed eyes again, finding them fixed on his face as he panted.

I love you.

“I don’t know if you’re aware of this, but I always had a major crush on you, Park Seonghwa. I liked you way before I knew you were Good Lil Boy,” he found himself saying as he averted his eyes to focus on drawing the lines of his sub’s limbs. “I looked up the whole Art Department at PROPAGANDA before I even applied for the job, and you always stood out to me in ways I couldn’t fully understand.”

“Cap…” whimpered Seonghwa.

“The first time I actually saw you, standing in that kitchen next to Yeosang, I knew you were going to be a problem. I felt so …charged, I’d never felt this intensely attracted to someone at first sight,” explained Hongjoong before looking for the eraser to fix some of the dimensions in the sketch. “I wanted you so bad, you lured me in like a moth to a flame. Even after you criticized my work, even when you kept acting like an emotionless robot, even when you kept building walls around you to keep me and everyone else away. I wanted you so fucking much.”

Seonghwa said something intelligible as his hips started to desperately ride the toy again, clearly trying to apply more pressure where he needed it the most. 

“I liked Good Lil Boy a lot, too. He was the ideal sub, he knew exactly how to make the dom side of me feel powerful and excited, but there was always something holding me back when it came to him. It took me a while to figure it out, but I ended up realizing that ‘something’ was you,” said Hongjoong before chuckling. “Life is so weird, isn’t it? Back then, I was so torn because I wanted you both so badly even though I knew I’d never have any of you, and yet here we are. Here you are: perfect and real and right in front of me.”

His monologue got interrupted by a high-pitched whine, and he looked up to see Seonghwa with his eyes tightly closed and his mouth opened as a mashup of unintelligible words escaped it. Hongjoong gasped and looked down his body to see a long string of cum dripping out of Seonghwa’s dick, falling down on his boyfriend’s arms and the rug under him as more and more slick continued flowing.

“Shit, are you coming?”

The sub mumbled something he couldn’t understand, body shaking as he desperately tried to push back against the toy once again. In response, Hongjoong dropped the sketchbook and immediately scooted over to hastily grab the lube and pour a healthy amount on his hand before pushing his index finger against the entrance, putting it inside alongside the massager and pressing the toy down to apply even more pressure on his prostate.

“Ah!”

The sub continued to whimper and mumble while tears fell freely down his face, but nothing about his body language made Hongjoong believe there was any real issue, so he started fucking his boyfriend with the finger, toy moving along with it as he massaged that spot over and over again.

Seonghwa’s dick hadn’t stopped leaking profusely, an impressive constant stream of slick that was starting to pool under him.

“Fuck, baby,” he said, sounding almost as wrecked as his sub. “You did it, you came. Such a good boy, my most perfect boy. I’m so happy, you did so well.”

He pulled both his digit and the toy out before immediately replacing them with two fingers, rubbing against that engorged spot again while the other man continued to squirm under him as he gasped for air and more incoherent noises filled the room.

Hongjoong felt high on the scent of sex, the erotic view and the cacophony of pained moans, and his brain completely shut down as the warm and silky tightness of the hole that was gripping his fingers like a vice pushed every coherent thought out from his mind.

“I want to fuck you so badly,” he blurted.

He hadn’t planned on actually going there today, he was simply supposed to edge Seonghwa with the prostate massager long enough to hopefully push him into a hands-free orgasm, but right now the only thing Hongjoong could think of was putting his dick inside his boyfriend. It was like a switch had gone off in his mind while he watched his sub come all over the rug, completely gone and gasping for air as his body squirmed around in its contorted position.

Hongjoong pulled his fingers out carelessly to caress the sub’s back with his dirty hand while Seonghwa continued to tremble. The dom made soft and comforting shushing sounds as he continued to gently pet the other man, suppressing his own overwhelming need to come and giving him some time to recover.

“God…” moaned Seonghwa hoarsely.

“Can I do that, baby?” asked Hongjoong immediately. “Can I fuck you?” 

He lifted the skirt to grab his own dick, feeling almost delirious as he jerked himself off to try to take the edge off and focus on the conversation.

“Yes,” said Seonghwa as he continued to breathe heavily. “Oh God, yes. Please.”

Hongjoong let go of his dick and put two fingers back inside the sub once again to test the resistance, which got him another whine at the sudden intrusion.  

“Are you sure? You must be very sensitive right now. I…I don’t know if I’ll be able to be gentle.”

“Green!” exclaimed the sub loudly. “Please, Sir. I need it.”

The mirroring desperation in his boyfriend’s voice was all the confirmation he needed, and he quickly poured more lube on the point where he was efficiently stretching Seonghwa with his fingers. The sub kept trying to arch his back and push his hips against Hongjoong’s fingers, his forgotten and trapped red dick swinging at the sharp movements as random spurts of precum continued to add more slick to the wet mess under him.

“Please…” begged Seonghwa.

The dom scissored his fingers one last time before lathering his erection with more lube and positioning himself behind Seonghwa, hastily lifting his own skirt out of the way as he pressed his dick against the opening and pushed inside.

They both moaned the moment the head breached in and his brain blacked out as he continued to easily slip the rest of his dick in, aided by the smoothness of the lube and how open and receptive Seonghwa was.

Hongjoong would have wanted to make their first time being connected in this way a bit more meaningful and memorable, but the reality was that his instincts took over his body and the only thing he could do was selfishly and desperately pound into his boyfriend as he chased his own orgasm.

“You feel so fucking good,” he managed to mumble between his ragged breath.

Because he did. 

It felt so mind-blowingly good that Hongjoong almost felt like he was going to combust and explode into tiny pieces at any moment.

He felt so turned on and overwhelmed by the buildup of the whole scene, by the pleasure of that perfect grip on his dick and the knowledge that he was doing this with Seonghwa, that he could feel himself rushing toward the edge embarrassingly fast.

It felt like his brain was completely disconnected from his body and he was vaguely aware of the way his boyfriend was moaning and awkwardly thrusting back against him to match his rough rhythm, of the way his hair was sticking to his forehead and his nape while drops of sweat sliding down his back at the frantic exertion, of the tight grip his hands had on Seonghwa’s skirt as he tried to find some leverage to fuck him harder and the way his own skirt had fallen over and was modestly covering the point where they were joined.

A random little voice in his head momentarily regretted not having pressed ‘Record’ on the camera before doing this, but none of his thoughts managed to stick as everything became mush and static noise while he continued to mercilessly thrust into the tight wet heat.

All he could hear, see and feel was Seonghwa.

His orgasm completely ran him over, tension growing quickly until it snapped and released a wave over his whole body. With a groan, he leaned over and wrapped his arms around Seonghwa in an attempt to ground himself, still rutting against him as his hips continued to fuck into him without his explicit command. He was trembling by the time he came back to his senses, gasping for air like he had run a marathon and still clinging to his boyfriend with an iron grip.

He allowed himself a few seconds of rest before he mustered all the energy he had left in his body and got up with a pained whine, shaky knees barely holding his weight as he carefully slipped his dick out and watched fascinated the way Seonghwa’s hole clenched around nothing as globs of Hongjoong’s own cum slipped down his balls.

“Fuck,” he said, voice ragged.

He took another deep breath as he focused on undoing the leather cuffs with numb fingers, carefully helping Seonghwa stretch his body and massage away any stiffness before gently laying him down on the rug and removing the cockring. Hongjoong grabbed the still hard dick with the intention of jerking him off, but the sub yelped immediately and brought his own hand down to stop him.

“No…”

The dom was too drained to play around more, so he just dropped it and promptly fell down on the rug next to the other man, wrapping his weak arms around him and bringing him closer to him.

“I will fetch everything soon. I just need a moment,” he whispered into Seonghwa’s sweaty blond hair.

The sub didn’t reply out loud, he simply nodded, pressed his face against his collarbone and sighed happily.

Hongjoong closed his eyes and let the pleasant rush of hormones swim in his brain before opening them back up once again. He groaned and cursed out loud when he realized he must have fallen asleep, even though it felt like it had only been a few seconds. The places of his body that weren’t pressed against Seonghwa were cold and sticky with old sweat, and the splashes of cum and lube that had landed on their skin had dried out considerably.

“Shit,” he said as he sat straight.

The sub also seemed to wake up when Hongjoong moved, looking around as confused and sleepy as he felt.

“Oh, did we fall asleep?”

“I’m sorry,” replied Hongjoong, getting up and rushing towards the aftercare area to grab a blanket, water and snacks. “I’m so sorry, I have no excuse. Are you feeling okay? Do you need anything else?”

Seonghwa laughed and laid his hand on top of Hongjoong’s. “I’m fine, don’t worry. Just give me that bottle and lay down with me again.”

Hongjoong was too stunted by his own negligence to stop the sub as he covered them both with a blanket and drank half of the water with a satisfied moan before handing the bottle back to the dom and resting on his chest again, where he opened the box of Pepero and bit a big chunk of one before pressing the rest of the stick against the dom’s lips.

“I’m sorry…I…” started to say Hongjoong.

He could feel the panic bubbling up inside him, feelings of shame and inadequacy overpowering any other thought.  

Not only had he lost control of the situation and let his urges take over so bad that he had ended up selfishly fucking his sub without even making sure he was okay, but he had also fallen asleep before doing any type of aftercare.

“Hey, stop that,” said Seonghwa while grabbing Hongjoong’s face. “Baby, look at me.”

Baby?

The dom looked at him, searching for any sign of distress, but only finding warmth and affection in the other man’s eyes.

“I’m perfectly okay, you don’t need to feel bad about anything. You did a great job as you always did: you made me feel safe and comfortable and appreciated. That was very intense for both of us, you’re allowed to have a break too,” explained Seonghwa.

“You don’t need to do this just to make me feel better, I know I fucked up,” replied Hongjoong. “I put you through a lot and you fulfilled your part of the deal perfectly, I should have done mine and taken better care of you afterwards. You told me how important aftercare is for you during the negotiation process, and I failed you.”

“Okay. I understand that you’re feeling insecure right now, but I need you to listen to me and take my words seriously because I’m being completely honest with you. I’d be open about it if I were upset, but I’m really not,” added Seonghwa. “You made sure to untie me immediately, you helped me stretch and checked for any stiffness, and then you cuddled me and kept me close to you. You fulfilled your part of the deal perfectly well as always, it was an amazing experience from beginning to end.”

Hongjoong stared into his eyes for a bit longer, only seeing sincerity reflected back to him.

“You’re right. Sorry for implying you weren’t being honest, I just…” he said before pushing a hand into his hair. “I don’t know, I lost control of the situation and I consider that a failure. I’m supposed to be in control, that’s the whole point of all of this. I didn’t even check on you at any point, I selfishly took what I wanted from you because I was too focused on my pleasure.”

Hongjoong didn’t know what kind of reaction he’d get after his embarrassed confession, but he certainly wasn’t expecting Seonghwa to smirk widely and avert his eyes shyly before biting his lip.

“You did, and I loved every second of it. You’re always so controlled and disciplined, and I obviously love that because it’s one of the reasons why I want a Dom in the first place, but…” added the sub while staring into his eyes again. “Seeing you get so turned on because of me that your self-control crumbled was really hot. Every time we do a scene or have sex, I feel like my whole body is on fire and I get so overwhelmed by how intense everything feels that I can’t even think straight, but you just sit back and calmly watch me lose my mind every time. It’s not that I think you don’t enjoy what we do, I know you’re into it just as much as I am, but knowing that I did that to you feels amazing and I love it . So, yeah, no need to worry about what just happened because it was really freaking hot and you have my explicit permission to let go and use my body for your own pleasure whenever you want.”

Hongjoong couldn’t help the sudden laugh that escaped his mouth at the passionate rant, and he could feel himself relaxing as he leaned over and kissed Seonghwa on the kiss, letting all the emotions he was feeling flow into it.

“I always want you really badly, even when I’m ‘just sitting back and calmly watching you lose your mind’. Believe me when I say I have to use every bit of discipline in my body to avoid just pouncing on you,” he whispered against his lips. “Thank you for always being so patient with me and for being there to catch me when I slip up. What would I do without you?”

Seonghwa snorted and gave him another peck. “I’m the one who should be telling you that.”

I love you.

Deciding that it was time to change the topic before he ended up blurting those three words, he looked down and pointed with his head at the mess on his boyfriend’s arms.

“We should probably clean you up before that dries up even more.”

“We probably should, yeah,” added Seonghwa without making any attempt to move. “So …you really had a crush on me from the beginning, huh? Wow, I can’t believe you were lusting after your boss while you were texting me 24/7 and calling me ‘baby’.”

Hongjoong laughed and kissed him again, unable to stop himself as his boyfriend continued to tease him, playful words getting lost against his lips.

They really needed to clean the mess they’d made, but they couldn’t bring themselves to care about it as they fell back on the dirty rug, making out and caressing each other's sticky bodies as they talked in whispers about the experience they’d just had.

–

The Captain @no1likeme
When your good boy lets you take pictures of him so you can show the world how pretty he looks @CaptainsGLB

|

Good Lil Boy @CaptainsGLB
Thank you for another amazing evening, Captain. I had so much fun, I love sharing all these moments with you <3

|

Candy @BestSourCandy
Translation: “I’m the Captain’s wife now, hoes (derogatory). I officially own this dick so go find someone else to simp over. He’s mine <3”

|

Candy @BestSourCandy
THE WAY I KNEW HIS TWINKY ASS WAS GOING TO LIKE THE TWEET LMAO

–

Hongjoong was so frustrated with the (stupid) design of this (stupid) logo that he was about to just throw the tablet towards the other side of the room when he received the notification.

Embracing the opportunity to get any kind of distraction before he broke expensive office equipment, he quickly grabbed his phone and smiled when he saw what the notification was.

lifeonmars
Good afternoon, Captain
Sorry for interrupting while you’re working
But I have a request

He subtly turned around to look into Seonghwa’s office, finding the other man sitting lazily in his fancy chair as he stared at his phone.

His boyfriend hadn’t been thrilled with Hongjoong’s decision of skipping the suits when it came to choosing his outfits every morning at first. Seonghwa had tried to sneakily only laid out suits for him to choose for a while, but the dom had made up for it by simply telling him to discard the vests and jackets after making his selection.

The scorching August heat had fallen upon them, and Hongjoong simply refused to allow his sub to get a heat stroke just because he wanted to look elegant and imposing at the office – no matter how much he pouted at him.

He happened to think that Seonghwa still managed to look commanding as he wonderfully pulled off the casual look, though: tight shirts with rolled up sleeves and fitted slacks showing off the gorgeous lines and curves of his body in a very flattering way.

Too bad that they had to use nipple covers to hide the piercings since he felt like they’d only add to the Sexy Boss aura, but whatever was hiding under Seonghwa’s clothes was just for him to know and that had its own appeal as well.

Hongjoong had to stop himself from groaning when he remembered the tiny pair of panties that hid under those slacks on that specific day, so instead he cleared his throat and focused back on his own phone.

thepirateking 
Good afternoon, my good boy
What request do you have?

lifeonmars
I know I’ve already used my allowed caffeine intake for the day
But I was wondering if I could have an extra cup today
It’s really hot inside my office and it’s making me feel sleepy
I’m really craving an iced Americano
Please, Captain :((
I’m pouting even if you can’t see it

Hongjoong had to bite his lip to avoid smiling from ear to ear before he looked up once again, immediately finding Seonghwa staring back at him through the see-through glass walls.

The director looked around and then pouted cutely in his direction for a half a second, before quickly going back to his signature deadpan face and focusing on his phone once again. The dom chuckled and did the same, typing his answer before he could even stop to consider his sub’s demand.

thepirateking 
Do you think you can pout your way into getting everything you want?
Do I need to remind you who makes the decisions here?

lifeonmars
:(((
No, Sir :((((

Hongjoong sighed, but couldn’t stop the smile from growing.

Goddammit.

It was unfair how fucking cute his boyfriend could be sometimes.

thepirateking 
Fine
You can get an extra cup today
But with ONE single espresso shot and that’s it
And only because you were such a good boy during the weekend that you deserve a reward

lifeonmars
:DDDD
Thank you, Captain!
<3333

Hongjoong smiled and forced himself to not look up the moment he heard Seonghwa walking out of his office.

“I’m going out to get some coffee, does anyone else want anything?” asked the director casually.

They exchanged a brief look before Seonghwa got distracted by the immediate response of the whole department.

“Yes, please,” replied Yeosang without even looking away from his computer as he continued typing.

“Me too, please,” added Bora.

“Iced Americano and a muffin for me!” chimed in Wooyoung. “And a cookie.”

The director sighed dramatically, but Hongjoong could clearly see the fondness creeping into his face.

“Don’t push it.”

“I’ll go with you and help you bring everything,” he said while getting up. “I was actually about to take a break and get some coffee for myself, anyway.”

“Thank you, Hongjoong,” said Seonghwa before turning around to look at Wooyoung. “See? Why can’t you be more like him?”

His coworker snorted before rolling his eyes, although he didn’t say anything else.

Hongjoong frowned, but chose not to look too deeply into it.

Wooyoung had been acting weird lately, but his friend had implied it had something to do with his mysterious ‘it’s-complicated’ office affair when he asked about it.

He couldn’t really blame the other man for keeping secrets from him, considering Hongjoong himself was also hiding his own sordid work relationship.

They wrote down everybody’s order and walked outside, heading into the elevator in silence and only relaxing a bit after they had walked out of the building.

The sun was high and hot even though it was cloudy, and it was so humid that Hongjoong could already feel the sweat forming on his back.

“Thank you for allowing me to have an extra cup today, Captain,” whispered Seonghwa. “I’m having a bad day and I really appreciate the treat.”

“Of course, baby. Like I said, you’ve been such a wonderful boy that you deserve the treat,” he replied.

He couldn’t help but stare at the other man’s covered arms with a very pointed look.

They had decided to take things somewhat easy after their intense session on Friday, but Hongjoong had still brought out a bamboo pole to test their new metal frame on Sunday. The dom had taken the time to secure the stick on the structure and then proceeded to tie Seonghwa to it in a very long and intricate session that had left rope marks all over the sub’s body that were still visible two days later.

The blond smiled shyly and caressed his own forearm reverently, clearly understanding what he had been trying to imply.

“Anyway, why are you having a bad day? Did something happen? Why am I only hearing about this now?” said Hongjoong after clearing his throat. 

“Nothing happened,” replied Seonghwa immediately. “I just had a little argument with one of the other directors during my meeting this morning, and I just …I don’t know, I’m so tired of all of them. I’m tired of having to argue every decision I make, I’m tired of having to prioritize money and investors over the message and the art I’m trying to put out there. This is not what I had in mind when I decided I wanted to be a Creative Director.”

Hongjoong sighed.

As an artist, he could only imagine how frustrated that had to be, even if he understood that it was just part of the career they had chosen too.

“So, yeah. No need to worry about anything, I’m just having one of those days,” added Seonghwa with a smile before gently bumping his shoulder against Hongjoong’s. “What about you? You looked pretty frustrated before I sent you the message too.”

He snorted and bumped him back, opening the door of the coffee shop and walking behind Seonghwa before replying.

“It’s just that stupid logo. I hate the changes the client asked for, I still think it looked much better before,” he explained as they got in line.

“Yeah, I also believe it looked much better before, but I’m sure you can find a way to put the client’s very irrational demands onto paper in a creative way,” replied Seonghwa with a wink. “If there’s anyone out there who can do the impossible, it’s you.”

Hongjoong could feel the heat coming off his face, and he couldn’t even pretend it was because of the weather.

I love you.

He was glad to be interrupted by the barista because he could say something stupid, standing quietly next to Seonghwa as the director went through the list of items they had written down. The blond walked over to the pick-up after paying and grabbing the bags with the pastries, frowning when he noticed that his dom had stayed behind at the register instead of walking with him.

“Can I have a slice of that strawberry tart, please?” said Hongjoong, pointing at the pastry in question.

He exchanged a look with his sub as the cashier ringed him up, carefully grabbing the tart and walking over to Seonghwa and handing him the box.

“Here, a strawberry treat for my baby. I hope it can sweeten your day a little bit,” he whispered, face feeling twice as hot as he stared at the barista preparing their drinks to avoid looking directly at his boyfriend.

“You can’t do these things in places where I can’t just kiss you senseless afterwards,” said Seonghwa just as softly. “Thank you, Captain. My day is definitely much, much better now.”

They stared at each other, and Hongjoong found himself unable to look away even though he knew he really should have.

Luckily, they got distracted when the buzzer went off in Seonghwa’s hand, so they grabbed the drinks in silence and walked out the door.

“So,” said the blond as they walked back to the office. “I know it’s only Tuesday, but are you free this evening? There’s something important I’d like to discuss with you in private.”

The words crashed on Hongjoong like a bucket of ice water, and he had to force himself to breath when he noticed that his lungs had started to burn because of the lack of air.

“...sure,” he said, hoping that he didn’t sound as panicked as he felt. “Is…ah…is everything okay?”

Seonghwa turned around, straw still between his lips as he stared at him with a confused look on his face, only to open his eyes widely in realization.

“Oh, no! No, no,” said his boyfriend in a rush. “Nothing like that! Everything is fine, everything is great. Fantastic, even! I just …I mean, I guess I can give you a summary now if it makes you feel bett—”

“Yes, please, it definitely would.”

“Sorry, sorry. I didn’t mean to make you think it was something bad,” added Seonghwa before taking another sip of coffee. “I just …I’ve been thinking about the shibari demonstration you mentioned a while back, the one you wanted to do at your regular dungeon. I’ve grown very comfortable with the rope play we’ve been engaging in, and I have to admit that I enjoyed being featured on your Twitter account way more than I thought I would, so I’ve decided that I wouldn’t mind doing the performance with you. If that’s still a thing, obviously, you haven’t mentioned it recently.”

Hongjoong blinked a few times as his brain tried to recover from the whiplash of the last minute. He took a deep breath, relief flooding through his body so quickly that he felt lightheaded.

“Oh,” he said, stupidly. “Yeah, of course. It’s definitely still a thing, I’d love to do a demonstration with you as my partner. I’ve been ignoring a bunch of messages from the owner over the last couple of weeks too, so I can confirm he’d be ecstatic to hear from us. Are you sure, though?”

“Yes, I’ve thought about it very carefully,” replied Seonghwa.

Hongjoong smiled at him, feeling excited at the prospect of doing a public scene with his sub. 

“Okay, yeah. We can do that. I’ll come over tonight and we can discuss the details,” he explained. “I wanted to do partial suspension, which is something we haven’t done before. That means that you’d only have a single point of contact with the floor and everything else would be, well, suspended in the air. Are you comfortable with that?”

“Yes, that’s fine. I trust you, Captain,” said Seonghwa, way too easily and calmly.

Hongjoong wondered sometimes if those words would ever stop making him feel this tingly and euphoric.

“That’s …thank you,” he replied, stupidly, once again. “I’d like to sit down with you so we can choose a set that you like, and I’d also like to have a spotter with us during our first practice. We won’t do anything dangerous, but it’s been a while since the last time I did any kind of suspension so I’d feel much more relaxed if I had an extra pair of eyes on you just in case.”

Seonghwa stopped walking and looked at him, affection shining in his big boba eyes.

“You’re so…” started the sub before cutting himself off to sigh fondly and continue walking. “Sure, that’s also fine with me. We can have a spotter, many people are going to see me like that soon enough anyway.”

I’m SO WHAT??

Hongjoong looked at his boyfriend’s back before chuckling and running after him.

“Thank you,” he said before thinking about his options for a moment. “I can ask N, my mentor, he’s also a rigger himself and has quite a keen eye for detail. I trust him with my life and he’s the owner of the club too, so you were going to meet him anyway.”

Seonghwa hummed, looking like he was deep in thought as they got closer to PROPAGANDA.

“What is it? You know you can tell me anything, my good boy.”

“Actually…” said the sub, halting his walk once again and turning around to look at him. “Could Candy do it? Would that be okay?”

Hongjoong frowned and tilted his head in confusion.

“...Candy? I mean, yeah? Technically, he could. He’s not a rigger and he’s not even that much into rope play, but I guess he’s knowledgeable enough to help out if there’s an issue considering we’re doing basic stuff,” he replied, still confused. “Why him, though?”

Seonghwa smiled brightly, big eyes shining as he took another sip of his drink before shrugging his shoulders and starting walking towards the building again.

“No specific reason. He’s your friend and I’d like to meet him, that’s all.”

–

“I don’t know how to feel about you adding me to this equation. Are you sure this isn’t a sex thing?”

“Very sure.”

Hwanwoong hummed, still looking at him with suspicion in his eyes.

“Maybe not for you, but I wouldn’t be so sure when it comes to your so-called Good Boy. ”

Hongjoong laughed and double-checked the name of the station when the subway stopped.

“I can assure you it’s also not a sex thing for him,” he whispered. “I already told you that he doesn’t like ‘group activities’.”

“But he does like showing people that he owns you,” replied Hwanwoong.

“Pretty sure it’s the other way around, considering the roles of our dynamic and what they mean.”

His friend laughed loudly at this answer, which attracted the attention of some of the people around them.

“Shh.”

“Aw, dominants are so cute…” said Hwanwoong mockingly. “Sure, big boy, you’re the alpha.”

Hongjoong chuckled and walked towards the door when they were about to reach their destination, stepping out onto the platform and heading towards the stairs as his friend followed close behind.

“I thought we had established that he likes rubbing the fact that he’s ‘The Chosen One’ on everybody's faces, though. He’s been having a field day on Twitter since people started noticing there was something real going on between you.”

“Okay, yeah, that is true,” admitted Hongjoong. “But this is very different.”

“Is it? Because I feel like it’s exactly the same. Why else would he personally choose me out of all people for this? It makes no sense. He simply wants to mark his territory. He’s always seen me as a threat and he wants me to witness that you’re officially off-limits now.”

Hongjoong stayed silent.

He liked to think that he knew Seonghwa pretty well by now, so he had also figured out that this could be the potential real reason behind his boyfriend’s seemingly random decision, but he wasn’t going to say that out loud.

“See? You can’t even deny it, you know I’m right,” said Hwanwoong before groaning. “Oh my God, it is a sex thing. He gets off on this and that turns you on so you just let him. You guys are gross, you’re lucky you’re both hot and I’m into it.”

“Nothing is going to happen, Woong!!” he said, a smirk creeping on his face as they walked outside and were hit with the unpleasant humid heat. “At least not while you’re around.”

Hwanwoong laughed and playfully shoved him away. 

“Rude!! The least you could do is do it while I’m around. I promise I will just watch and keep my hands to myself.”

“You’re disgusting.”

“...look who’s talking,” replied his friend with a chuckle. “Anyway, I’m kidding. He’d probably chop my dick off if I tried to get too close to you in that context. I’m surprised he even let you pick me up without him, to be honest.”

“He did offer to drive us, but I wanted to talk to you in private to lay out the ground rules before we got to his house,” explained Hongjoong. “He’s really not as bad as you think he is, Woong.”

“We’ll see about that,” said the pink-haired man before looking around at the buildings on Seonghwa’s street. “Wow. I assumed he’d have money considering he lives in Gangnam, but he doesn’t just have money, he has money.”

“Yeah, he’s quite successful,” replied Hongjoong, pride shining in his voice. “He deserves it, though. He’s a literal genius and he works incredibly hard.”

“You’re so whipped,” said Hwanwoong with a snort. “But now I understand why he’s letting me into his house, it’s just another flex for him.”

Hongjoong sighed, the proud smile leaving his face straight away as he grabbed his friend’s arm and stopped him so he could face him.

“Woong, what did I say before we left your house? You really need to stop saying shit like that, don’t talk about him like he’s some kind of abusive asshole. This doesn’t feel like your usual light teasing anymore and I really don’t appreciate it. Dial the brattines back, please.”

His friend looked down for a moment, guilt taking over his face. “You’re right, I’m sorry. I’m feeling weirdly insecure for some reason, he and I have been lowkey butting heads for so long that it just comes out instinctively. I apologize for being disrespectful.”

Hongjoong sighed again and let go of his arm in order to give him a comforting shoulder grab.

“You can still walk away if you don’t feel comfortable doing this. I will ask someone else.”

“No, no. I promise I’m fine and I will behave. I’m just being stupid,” said Hwanwoong before pointing to the street. “Let’s go, your boyfriend is waiting for us.”

Hongjoong stared at him for a moment, wondering if this was going to be an actual problem or not, but choosing to trust that everyone involved was going to behave like an adult.

They walked into Seonghwa’s building and said hello to the familiar-looking receptionists, tension lessening as they stepped out of the elevator on the right floor. He held back the need to warn Hwanwoong once again, choosing to ring the bell and laughing when his boyfriend opened the door barely a second later.

The pair had decided that the sub would be in his underwear during the demonstration while negotiating, so Hongjoong had told him to simply wear one of his (many) robes before this session as well, but his boyfriend had still gone far and beyond as usual.

He was wearing the dom’s favorite robe, a red kimono-style silk gown that hugged his figure beautifully while leaving both his long arms and legs exposed. The blond had also applied very subtle pink eyeshadow and gloss, as well as styled his hair so it laid softly over his forehead the way Hongjoong liked.

He couldn’t help but sigh, mind reeling for the nth time with just how insanely beautiful his boyfriend was.

“Hi, baby. You look amazing,” he said before leaning in for a kiss, unable to stop himself.

“Hi, Captain. Thank you,” replied Seonghwa in a sultry tone with a big smile before turning around to look at their guest. “Hi, you must be Candy. Please, come inside.”

“Yep, that’s me,” replied his friend as he walked inside and looked around the entry with curious eyes. “Call me Hwanwoong.”

“Nice to meet you, I’m Seonghwa.”

Hongjoong simply stared as both men gave each other very blatant once-overs while smiling, slowly studying each other up and down as if they were carefully cataloging every detail.

He wondered, once again, if he was going to end up regretting this.

“A pleasure to finally meet you, Seonghwa,” said Hwanwoong.

“Likewise.”

His boyfriend didn’t say anything else before dropping to his knees on the edge of the step to undo Hongjoong’s shoes and put them away before carefully placing the slippers in front of him.

He lifted an eyebrow, surprised that his sub had decided to follow their usual routine even though they had a guest. The dom had made sure to mention that he didn’t have to serve him if he didn’t feel comfortable doing it in front of other people (even if it was someone from the community who knew about their dynamic), but he wasn’t going to stop him if Seonghwa had decided that he wanted to do it.

“Thank you, my good boy.”

The sub looked up at him with his usual pleased expression before getting up.

“Please, come inside,” said Seonghwa. “Would you like me to make some tea?”

They all walked into the living room and Hwanwoong whistled, impressed by the size and the decor.

“Sure, thank you,” replied his friend.

Hongjoong thanked him as well and they both sat down on the couch as Seonghwa headed to the kitchen, the fabric of the robe swirling beautifully around him.

“Everything makes so much sense now,” whispered Hwanwoong. “You have a tall and gorgeous submissive man in a pretty robe servicing you the moment you walk through the door, of course you’re whipped.”

The dom snorted, but couldn’t hide the proud smirk that came to his face at the words.

Seonghwa walked into the living room soon after, kneeling next to the table as usual while he served Hongjoong’s tea and handed it to him.

“Thank you, baby.”

The blond did the same with Hwanwoong’s cup before grabbing his own.

“Sit with us,” said Hongjoong, patting the couch next to him.

“Thank you, Captain.”

They all sipped on their tea in slightly awkward silence, but Hwanwoong spoke up before Hongjoong could break it himself.

“I’m a coffee person, but this tea tastes fantastic.”

“I’m glad you like it,” replied Seonghwa, smiling politely at the compliment. "Thank you for accepting our request too, by the way. It probably feels very random."

"Sure. It did surprise me,to be honest. Hongjoong told me you're very protective over your privacy so I didn’t expect you to choose me out of all the people."

Hongjoong felt relief at the sight of both men talking calmly to each other, and simply had another sip as he watched their interaction from the sidelines.

"I am very protective, I think you can imagine how this information could ruin my life, but I'm starting to see the appeal of being more open and confident about this side of myself," explained Seonghwa.

"Hongjoong is really rubbing off on you, huh? In every sense of the word," said Hwanwoong teasingly.

They all laughed as the tension in the air became a lot less heavy.

"Yes, actually. He's doing an amazing job at helping me become a more comfortable and happier version of myself," said Seonghwa while staring straight into Hongjoong’s eyes.

“You’re doing all the heavy lifting, baby. I’m just there to guide you a little bit when you need it,” he replied.

He didn’t mean to get momentarily lost into those shiny boba eyes, but it’s definitely what happened before Hwanwoong pointedly cleared his throat.

They finished drinking the tea while making small talk before heading towards the dungeon, and Hongjoong couldn’t help but smirk proudly at his friend’s reaction.

It had taken quite a bit of money and weeks of trial and error, but they had finally gotten the playroom perfectly tailored for them.

"Holy shit, this is awesome!” exclaimed Hwanwoong while looking around. “Wow, I have to admit I've always wondered what kind of stuff people who aren't into S&M could even have in a private dungeon, but you're actually fully stocked." 

"What the hell, Woong?! You don't need to be into sadomasochism to have a dungeon!" replied Hongjoong.

"I know that! I'm just a dumb masochist who is too used to seeing rooms full of torture devices to know any better,” said his friend because rushing towards the main bench in the corner of the room. “Oh my God, this looks like so much fun, although very expensive."

"It is,” explained Seonghwa while walking closer to him. “Both.”

“Damn, I want one. Can I lay on it and try it out?”

Hongjoong chuckled. “Sure. I need to prepare the frame for suspension, which means that I need to pay attention to what I’m doing. Can I trust you both to behave while I'm focused on this?”

“Of course, Captain. I’m a Good Boy,” replied Seonghwa immediately.

“Rude! We’ve been nothing but civil this whole time,” added Hwanwoong as he laid down on the bench. “But yes, don't worry. I'll try to not corrupt your boyfriend too much.”

Hongjoong glared at him, but didn’t say anything else before he turned around and went through the bamboo poles and the rope kit to gather the stuff he needed while the subs talked softly in the background about the features on the bench.

They were still going at it when he sat down on the rug to tie the rope around the pole in order to securely hang it from the hard points in the ceiling after he was done, but they were both sitting on the couch and staring at Hongjoong when he looked up after he finished doing the first suspension line. 

He made brief eye contact with both of them before grabbing another piece of rope to work on the second point, slowly falling into rope space as he became hyper focused on properly tying the hemp around the bamboo.

"You're very beautiful,” whispered Hwanwoong out of nowhere, his gentle tone echoing in the silent room. “Sorry, you probably hear that all the time, but I had to say it.”

"Thank you, so are you," replied Seonghwa in the same soft tone.

Hongjoong lifted his gaze for a moment to see them slowly turn towards each other while they continued speaking.

"I mean it, you're really pretty. Have you ever considered becoming a camboy or any other type of NSFW content creator? I bet you’d make a lot of money," added Hwanwoong.

What the fuck?

He looked at them again, surprised by the seemingly random suggestion.

"I have considered it, yeah,” replied Seonghwa, much to Hongjoong’s surprise. “But I don't think I'd be happy doing that, I prefer to make that type of content exclusively for my Dom. No offense, I obviously have nothing against people who choose to do it."

"None taken. I do assume you don't have any issues with it considering we're both here because we share the same favorite online dom after all,” explained Hwanwoong. “Sure, he doesn’t make any money from it and it’s not the traditional type of NSFW content, but he’s still out there doing it."

I’m right here?!?

"I guess we do. I've never understood why he's your favorite, though, he doesn't seem like your type of Dom," said Seonghwa.

"And why would you even know my type?" asked Hwanwoong playfully.

"You know why."

The pink-haired man chuckled. "You're right, he's not, but he doesn't need to be for me to enjoy what he does. He's a great dom and those are kind of hard to find, as you probably know."

"Oh, I most definitely do know that," replied Seonghwa with a smirk.

"Ah, it’s hard out there for real,” added Hwanwoong with a matching smirk. “In all seriousness: you don't need to worry about me, I'm not your competition. I never was, to be honest, not even before you were a solid and real person in his life. In what universe could I ever compete with you?"

Hongjoong lowered the rope as he stared at them, not even pretending he wasn’t listening to their conversation anymore. He knew he should give them some privacy to open up with each other, but it wasn’t his fault that they were talking literally right in front of him.

He watched them both look at each other in charged silence for a moment, as if carefully reading each other’s intentions and emotions.

"It’s funny that you say that, I feel the same way about you," said Seonghwa after a moment.

Hwanwoong gasped loudly before laughing. 

"But …you're so incredibly servile and obedient, the real poster boy for the perfect Good BoyTM,” said his friend incredulously. “I'm just an insufferable brat who feels the intense urge to talk back and push his doms’ patience to the limit. I’m high-maintenance, they need to work really hard to turn me into something that vaguely resembles you."

"And that's what people like in this community!” replied Seonghwa. “Everything is always about the brats, you're everyone's favorite while I'm just the doormat who will take everything without fighting back. You probably keep things interesting and fresh for your doms, while I worry all the time about just …I don’t know, being too boring and bland."

Hongjoong could feel the frown forming on his forehead as he listened to the other man’s worries, storing this specific insecurity away so he could bring it up in the future to discuss it.

He had no idea his boyfriend felt like that, and he couldn’t help but overthink every single thing he had even done to see if he had unknowingly made the situation worse.

"...grass really is greener on the other side,” said Hwanwoong. “I feel like all the doms love subs like you, they are dominants precisely because they want to be in charge and many of them don’t even consider people like me real subs."

"You're a real and valid sub,” said Seonghwa immediately.

“So are you,” replied Hwanwoong just as quickly before snorting and rolling his eyes. “Ew. Look at us, being all insecure and catty over men – no, scratch that, over doms. That’s even worse! You know what? I think all subs need to join forces and unionize against doms.”

Hongjoong shook his head with a smile and focused on the rope once again, letting the sound of Seonghwa’s laugh wash over him as he tied the knot. He finished the second suspension line before testing both of them to make sure that they were secured enough to prevent sliding, and then got up to tie it up to the carabiners hanging from the hard points they had installed in the ceiling recently.

Hongjoong could still hear both subs talking and giggling in the background as he worked, but he felt a lot more comfortable tuning out of their conversation now that he knew they weren’t going to just scratch each other’s eyes out.

“Okay, I’m done here so we can move to the next step,” announced Hongjoong as his companions turned around to look at him. “Or not, you guys seem to be having fun so we can just do this some other time.”

“No, Captain,” said Seonghwa while getting up immediately. “I’m ready for the next step.”

Hwanwoong chuckled and turned around to look at him. “Yeah, no need to postpone, we’re here for a reason. Your boyfriend and I can chat some other time, anyway. I've decided that he’s my new best friend now, so I hope you’re ready for the consequences of that.”

“I’m already regretting introducing you too,” he said jokingly.

The truth was that Hongjoong had been secretly hoping that they would get along.

He knew Seonghwa had never had any friends in the scene, he didn’t have anyone he could relate to and rely on besides Hongjoong himself, so the dom would be ecstatic to know he had someone else he could talk to if he needed it – especially since it was someone he personally knew and trusted.

“Let’s take the robe off and do some stretching first, shall we? We don’t want to risk any injuries.”

It was very easy to fall into their usual rope play dynamic as Hongjoong helped Seonghwa warm up, even if he was still very aware of Hwanwoong’s presence. It had been a while since he had done a scene with someone else present, let alone a scene involving his own sub – his own boyfriend.

They had been preparing for this for days, testing the equipment with random heavy household objects and discussing all the dangers and nuances of suspension at length, but Hongjoong still went through all the preparations and safety checklist all over again both to remind Seonghwa and to show Hwanwoong that he was doing things properly.

“Everything looks and sounds good,” replied the spotter when he was done explaining. “Not that I’d expect anything less from you.”

Hongjoong chuckled and carefully moved the sub so he was standing on the right place under the bamboo pole.

“Thank you,” he replied to Hwanwoong before turning around to face Seonghwa. “Now, I’m going to tie you up using the position we chose together the other day, okay? We’re just testing things out to see how you feel about it, so don’t hesitate to tap out if you realize suspension is not your thing. Woong and I are going to be monitoring both the rope and your behavior the whole time, but remember that you need to speak up if something feels wrong. Can you confirm that you understand and feel comfortable with everything we discussed while going through the safety checklist?”

“Yes, Captain. I can confirm that I understand and feel comfortable with everything we’ve discussed,” replied Seonghwa, clearly excited about what was to come.

“Good, come here,” said Hongjoong as he leaned over to grab another hank of rope. “I’m going to do a chest harness with your hands behind your back first, and then I’ll work on your hips and the leg that will be lifted.”

“Yes, Captain.”

“Such a good boy,” he said with a smile before turning around to look at Hwanwoong. “You know what to do.”

“Yes, Captain,” replied his friend mockingly.

Hongjoong rolled his eyes, but didn’t reply as he positioned Seonghwa’s arms behind his back in order to tie them up.

The dom worked the rope in silence, adrenaline rushing through his body as he double-checked the tightness and the location of every single band. Hongjoong was always hyper aware of the amount of nerve damage he could do if he applied pressure on the wrong place, but that fear was ten times bigger now that he knew this harness was going to support most of Seonghwa’s weight.

“Does it feel okay?” he asked when he had checked it enough times to be confident about the safety of the tie.

“Yes, Captain.”

He grabbed the end of the rope and tied it up around the bamboo pole tightly, calculating the right distance before making sure that it was firmly attached. Seonghwa yelped softly when his center of balance shifted after his body moved forward slightly.

“Sorry, Captain. I’m fine, I just felt like I was going to fall for a moment. Please, continue,” replied the sub after Hongjoong quickly checked in with him again.

“Okay, baby, thanks for letting me know. I’m going to do the same with your hips now, it’s going to throw off your balance even more, but you can rely on the harnesses and just let them support you,” explained Hongjoong as he grabbed the next hank of rope.

“Yes, Captain.”

“Are you going to put the load on his chest and lift the leg from the back? Are you sure?” asked Hwanwoong suddenly, startling both of them.

“Yes,” replied the dom. “I know what you’re thinking, it’d be easier and more comfortable if we do it the other way around, but we discussed each position at length and we wanted to try this one. Don’t worry, I made sure to do a harness suited for suspension and there aren't any bands anywhere near his throat so there’s no risk there. Most of the load is going to be placed on the chest and the foot that will be resting on the floor, but I’ll do another anchor point on his hips to distribute it more evenly. I won’t lift the leg too high either, so his head won't go down at any point. I’m going for a Y-shaped body line.”

“Okay, then,” replied his friend, seemingly satisfied with the answer.

Hongjoong smiled at him before he focused just as carefully on the hip harness, methodically working around the crotch and mentally going through all the anatomy in the area to avoid the extra sensitive zones before attaching the end of the rope to the pole once again.

Seonghwa was more prepared this time and he didn’t even react when his balance shifted once again, he simply took a deep breath and visibly relaxed into the embrace of the rope.

“You’re doing so well, my good boy. How are you feeling? We’re lifting your leg next.”

“I’m good, Captain,” said the sub in a low tone. “Floaty.”

Hongjoong laughed and kissed his boyfriend’s head. “Try not to get too floaty, baby. I need you to stay with me for a bit longer.”

“Yes, Captain.”

The dom wrapped the final hank of rope around the ankle before crossing the end over the pole, tensing it and watching Seonghwa bend his knee as the foot got slowly lifted in the air behind him until Hongjoong felt like they had reached a good height.

“How is that?”

The sub rested more of his weight on the rope that was supporting his chest. 

“You can lift it a bit higher, Captain.”

He pulled on the rope a bit more, stopping when he considered they had reached a position uncomfortable enough to make Seonghwa feel it, but not enough to disrupt the pleasant experience.

Hongjoong tied the new piece of rope to the pole as well, making sure he kept the sub’s ankle at the right height as he tied it up tightly before walking around him to check the tightness of the rest of the rope as well as the temperature and coloration of Seonghwa’s skin.

“How are you feeling? Does anything hurt in a way it shouldn’t?” he asked, swallowing when he noticed that his throat felt way too dry.

“I feel great, Captain. No issues.”

And with that, he inhaled deeply and walked back to stare at the masterpiece in front of him.

One might think he’d be used to seeing Seonghwa wrapped in rope by now, but the sight always managed to steal the breath away from him, especially now.

Hongjoong loved floor work and he was more than happy to stick to it while he built up more experience, but there was something just magically ethereal and powerfully artistic about suspensions. It wasn’t even a full one, just a simple partial tie, but his heart still beat loudly in his chest as he stared at the gorgeous body line and the way his sub was comfortably resting against the rope with his eyes closed.

Seonghwa wasn’t particularly flexible, so he was pleasantly surprised by how high they had managed to lift his ankle, one bent leg raised high in the air behind him as the other stood vertically under him with his foot planted on the floor. The sub had raised his heel a little bit to accommodate the twisted position, but he had two hardnesses firmly attached to his body so Hongjoong wasn’t worried about the lack of support there.

Hongjoong walked a bit closer as he focused on the way the rope was digging into the skin of Seonghwa’s chest, the way his back was beautifully arched to showcase the curved line that went from his raised head to his raised ankle, accentuated by the way his hands were tied up out of the way and resting behind him.

Time flies when you’re in rope space, so he wasn’t sure how long he had been staring at every detail on his boyfriend’s bound body when he finally snapped out of the trance. He exchanged a quick look with Hwanwoong, who had been lazily lying on the couch while staring at them, before walking over to kiss Seonghwa on the forehead.

“How are you doing, baby? You look so beautiful, I can’t get over how pretty my good boy looks wrapped in rope.”

Hongjoong only got a soft hum as a reply, but he was well-versed on his sub’s behavior by now and he knew it was all he was going to get at this point.

“I’m going to untie you now. I’ll do it slowly and you’ll be supported the whole time, okay?” explained Hongjoong before he did another quick skin check to make sure everything looked normal.

He got another belated hum as a reply and he chuckled fondly before he started untying the rope that held the ankle, carefully bringing the leg down before moving onto the hips. Hongjoong worked mostly in comfortable silence, only breaking it to check on Seonghwa and whisper praises while he undid the tie wrapped around his lower body. His boyfriend still seemed quite gone, lost in subspace as his basically limp body was mostly supported by the chest harness, but still responsive enough to reply non-verbally when the dom spoke to him.

Not wanting to break the spell and potentially shock him into a subdrop, Hongjoong decided not to undo the final harness just yet and instead took the time to gently massage his legs and hips, feeling completely fascinated by the deep rope marks that decorated Seonghwa’s skin.

“I’m going to untie you completely now, are you ready for that?” he asked when he noticed that the sub seemed to be a bit more present and alert.

“Yes, Captain,” replied the sub in a sleepy whisper.

He undid the chest harness while giving Seonghwa as much support as he could with his own body, carefully guiding him to the bed in the aftercare area as his boyfriend walked on wobbly legs. The dom went through the usual process in silence as always, giving him water and cuddling with him as he came down from the high. He didn’t feel scared when the sub started crying, sobbing into neck as he wordlessly wrapped himself around Hongjoong.

I love you.

“My good boy, you did so well. You looked so pretty. I’m so lucky to have you, baby, you are the most perfect sub I could ever ask for. Thank you for choosing me and for letting me be there for you,” he whispered into the blond hair, feeling emotionally overwhelmed by just how true his words were.

Seonghwa tightened his grip even more but didn’t reply with words, which is what Hongjoong was expecting, so he just continued to whisper any random praise that came to his mind as he caressed his boyfriend’s back.

He looked over at Hwanwoong when he remembered that he was there, finding him scrolling on his phone while looking the other way, clearly giving them some privacy in such a delicate and intimate moment. Hongjoong smiled softly and focused his attention back on Seonghwa, simply allowing him to come down from the high without worrying about anything else.

When he felt like the sub was in the right state of mind and grounded enough to move to the next step, he handed the sub a snack and grabbed a bunch of plushies from the bottom of the bed.

“I need to step away for a moment to talk to Hwanwoong, baby. I’ll leave you with your plushies for a bit, but I’ll be right back before you notice. Would you be comfortable with that?”

“Yes, Captain,” replied Seonghwa before taking a bite of the cookie and hugging the biggest plushie against his chest.

“Thank you, my good boy. It’ll be quick.”

Hongjoong walked over to where Hwanwoong was sitting, staring at him with a shit-eating grin on his face.

“I have to admit that you’re both really cute,” his friend whispered as soon as he was within earshot. “I ship it.”

He laughed and rolled his eyes. “Thank you so much for everything. Sorry I didn’t check in with you more often, I was really hyper focused on Seonghwa.”

“Don’t worry about it. This wasn’t about me, I was just an extra pair of eyes and hands,” said Hwanwoong while getting up. “Not that you needed me, to be honest. You’re more than experienced enough to be able to do partial suspension without any spotter and he clearly trusts you completely too.”

“I know, this whole thing was more for my own peace of mind than his. It was his first experience with suspension and I felt better knowing that you were around just in case,” he admitted before giving Seonghwa one last look. “You can probably stay, we’re going to order some takeout later.”

“Nah, that’s fine. He’s going through a very intense mix of emotions right now and you should focus on each other for as long as you need without having me in the way. We can meet and hang out together when everyone is in their right state of mind,” replied Hwanwoong before looking behind Hongjoong to address the other sub. “It was nice meeting you, Seonghwa. I’ll get your number from Hongjoong and we can have that coffee we talked about.”

His boyfriend smiled with his mouth full and waved from the bed, but didn’t make any other effort to say goodbye.

“I’m going to walk him to the door, I’ll be right back,” added Hongjoong before they headed towards the door.

“I can’t get over how big this apartment is,” said Hwanwoong when they reached the front door. “When are you moving in?”

“We’ve only been dating for a couple of months, we’re not there yet,” he replied with a laugh. 

“Are you sure?” asked his friend while putting his shoes on. “Because you guys seem very much in love, it’s really cute but also kind of disgusting.”

Hongjoong bit his lip, unsure of how to reply to that without sounding like a simp.

“We haven’t discussed any of that yet. Things are complicated because of our history and our work situation, we’re trying to take things slow.”

“Nothing about this feels slow. You move around each other with the synchronicity of a married couple, but who am I to talk about other people’s relationships?” said Hwanwoong with a smirk. “Anyway, go back to your sub, he really needs you right now. Talk to you later.”

“Yeah, I really should go back there. Thank you again for coming, Woong, I really appreciate it,” he replied as he gave his friend a quick hug.

“Anytime.”

Hongjoong made sure to thank Hwanwoong once again before he left and rushed to the dungeon after closing the door, taking his clothes off on the way there to end up only in his underwear, and finding Seonghwa in the exact same position when he walked into the room.

“Sorry, I’m back,” he said as he settled on the bed next to him.

“It’s okay,” replied his sub as he cuddled against him. “I wanted to invite him to stay for dinner, but I underestimated how weird I’d feel after the scene.”

“Good kind of weird or bad kind of weird?”

“Very good kind of weird, it was an euphoric experience,” explained Seonghwa. “My heart was beating so fast at first, I felt like I was going to fall down at any moment and I could feel the adrenaline rushing through my body because of it. I rationally knew that I was supported and had a foot on the floor the whole time, but my senses were so heightened that I was very aware of my own body and the friction of the rope against my skin. And then that feeling suddenly disappeared and I was left with complete freedom and peace. It was so serene and relaxing that I felt like I was literally flying. Your constant check-ins were the only reason why I didn’t completely float away into subspace, I could feel myself slipping very early on.”

“I’m glad to hear that you liked the experience, I had the feeling you would,” said Hongjoong proudly. “I also enjoyed it a lot, I feel like I did a good job and you looked so incredibly beautiful. I wish I had taken a picture so I could show you.”

“You always do a great job,” added Seonghwa before giving him a kiss.

Hongjoong felt his stomach jump at the compliment and he let himself to get lost in the kiss for a moment, feeling all the emotions of the last hour crash on them like a wave.

“Thank you, baby. You did a great job as well, you really are a natural when it comes to the rope.”

Seonghwa smiled brightly before hiding his face into his neck.

“Thank you, Captain.”

They cuddled in peaceful silence for a while, hands roaming on each other’s bodies as Hongjoong used the opportunity to give the sub another gentle massage in the areas that might still be sore before delicately tracing the rope marks with his fingers.

“Sometime I wish the marks would stay on my skin forever,” whispered Seonghwa as he touched one of the lines softly.

“Me too,” said Hongjoong just as softly, perking up when a sudden idea erupted into his head. “Wait a minute, I’ll be back.”

He rushed into the living room and grabbed his bag, digging through it until he found what he was looking for and running back into the dungeon. His boyfriend stared at Hongjoong with curiosity as he walked back in, eyes widening in realization when he saw what the dom was holding.

“Can I?” he asked, smiling when Seonghwa nodded enthusiastically. “It’s non-toxic and it’ll fade away after a few washes.”

Hongjoong sat on the bed, black marker in hand as he studied the half-naked body in front of him before uncapping it and leaning over. He traced the lines on the other man’s chest first, carefully following the patterns until he reached his side just to do it all over again with a new mark. Seonghwa stayed still under his hands, muscles fluttering softly sometimes when the dom brushed the tip of the pen over particularly sensitive skin.

He moved down after he was done with the chest, taking the sub’s underwear off and spreading his legs to position himself between them for easier access. He ignored the half-hard dick that rested there while he did the same with the lines on his hips, sitting back to admire his handiwork after he was done before bringing the pen down to Seonghwa’s inner thigh and writing something in careful calligraphy.

His boyfriend looked down curiously, giggling when he read what Hongjoong had written.

“Captain’s Good Lil Boy.”

He couldn’t help but smile just as big at the obvious delight in the sub’s voice.

“Now the marks will stay on your skin a bit longer, and you also have a little reminder of how much of a good boy you are all the time.”

Seonghwa’s smile grew even more. “Thank you, Captain.”

“Are you hungry? Do you want to order some food?” he asked as he put the cap back on the pen and put it aside.

“Not yet. I want to stay like this a bit longer if that is okay with you, Captain.”

“Of course, baby,” said Hongjoong as he laid down next to him once again. “You’ve been extra good and obedient tonight even though it was a new experience for you in many ways, so I’d like to give you a special reward for it. Is there anything in particular you’d like?”

Something immediately shifted in Seonghwa’s eyes the moment the words left his mouth, and the sub bit his lip before breaking eye contact.

“Oh, looks like there is something you want. What is it? Tell your Captain and he’ll get it for you,” said Hongjoong with a smirk.

The sub snorted, but continued to look down embarrassingly as he spoke.

“I…I’d like to touch you. If that is okay with you, Sir.”

Hongjoong frowned. “Touch me?”

“Yes, Captain. Having the opportunity to touch you would be the biggest reward,” replied Seonghwa enthusiastically.

“Oh.”

It had never occurred to him before that moment, but he realized then that the sub had been a passive participant in all the intimate interactions they’ve had so far. As a dom who focused mostly on his partner’s pleasure, Hongjoong’s priority was always Seonghwa and the control he held over his sexual gratification, so his own needs were just an afterthought most of the time.

After doing a quick mental review of all the times they’d had sex over the last few weeks, he realized that the only time the sub had actively touched him in any intimate way (aftercare not included) was the quick hands-free blowjob he had given Hongjoong at the office space of the Organizing Committee.

“Oh,” he said before lying down on the bed. “Okay, then. Touch me. I’m all yours, my good boy.”

Seonghwa inhaled loudly at the last phrase, quickly kneeling next to him and looking down at his body like he was a full course meal. With some hesitation, he kissed Hongjoong on the lips, a peck that turned into a light make-out before the sub moved back with a sigh.

“Keep going,” he said as he watched the sub lick his pink lips. “It’s your reward, baby. Touch me the way you’ve been wanting to.”

Seonghwa nodded and pressed his hand against the side of Hongjoong’s neck, letting it rest there for a moment before slowly dragging it over his shoulder and leaning over to put his mouth on the spot where his hand used to be.

The dom moaned softly and let his head fall back, pushing down the part of him that was trying to get out and take control of the situation and closing his eyes as he let the gentle touch spread pleasant sparks up his spine.

Seonghwa continued to softly caress the skin of his shoulder and then forearm, lips following the trail of his hands as he kissed every part he had previously touched. The sub pressed his face against his tattoo, nuzzling it delicately before pressing an open-mouthed but gentle kiss against it.

Hongjoong could feel his chest rising and the tingly sensations spreading while his boyfriend continued his journey down this arm until he reached his hand, gently tracing each finger before giving them all a kiss and trailing his mouth back up his limb again until he reached the dom’s neck, just to repeat the exact same treatment with the other arm. 

He swallowed as the sub made his way down his chest next, reverently touching and kissing each patch of skin like it was something sacred and precious. Hongjoong felt the emotions bubbling inside him at the gentleness and devotion he could feel in the other man’s touch, at the way his sub was basically worshiping his body like he was some kind of deity.

I love you.

“My good boy, my baby,” he said breathlessly, realizing that he had pushed his hand between Seonghwa’s blond locks without even noticing it.

“Captain,” replied the sub, sounding just as emotional.

Hongjoong focused on the sound of their ragged breaths as his boyfriend moved down his abs and then legs, maintaining the same tender and adoring treatment before moving back to stare at the dom’s crotch and the erection that was tending his boxers.

“Go ahead, get your reward,” he said as he looked at the sheer hunger on Seonghwa’s face.

“Thank you, Captain.”

His boyfriend pulled his underwear down with the same reverence, kneeling between his open legs before grabbing his hard dick delicately and stroking it a few times. Hongjoong groaned at the feeling of Seonghwa’s dry hand jerking him off, a sound that left his throat once again when the blond leaned over and put it in his mouth.

The blowjob started slow and deep as the other man closed his eyes and set the same slow but intentional pace he’d kept the whole time, taking his time to run his tongue around the head and down the shaft, but it had quickly picked up pace as Seonghwa started to get lost in it. Soon enough, the sub was sucking him off as enthusiastically as the last time they'd done this, desperately pushing more and more down his throat each time he went down, whining pitifully every time he ended up choking on it just to try again harder the next time.

Hongjoong could feel the sweat gathering on his forehead, hand firmly gripping the blond locks once again as his toes curled and the pleasure that consumed him got him closer to the edge.

“It feels so good, baby,” he managed to say. “You’re doing so well.”

The praise made Seonghwa whine as he moved back up, wrapping his hand around Hongjoong’s erection to jerk him off while he gasped for air.

“Thank you, Captain,” said the sub, voice hoarse. “Can I make you come? Please, I want it so bad. Please.”

In any other circumstance, the dom would have probably teased him by withdrawing this from him, but at that specific moment he had trouble remembering why he’d ever do such a thing when everything felt so incredibly fucking good and his orgasm was so close that he could taste it.

Hongjoong moaned and wordlessly pushed the sub’s head down once again, an obvious sign that Seonghwa read loud and clear. Now that his sub had explicit permission to finish the job, he doubled the efforts and began blowing with a new goal in mind, hands joining his mouth as he worked hard to push the dom over the edge.

Hongjoong allowed every moan and groan to escape his lips, hoping that they’d be a good substitute for his compliments as his need to come took over every other rational thought and he found himself unable to verbally praise the amazing magic Seonghwa was working on his dick.

It took him a while to realize that he had ended up taking control over the rhythm and the pace, leveraging his grip on the blond’s hair to guide his head the way he liked it. He opened his eyes with some effort, only to find that Seonghwa had his own closed and was completely lax while he simply opened his mouth and let the dom fuck his throat however he wanted.

“Shit, I’m coming.”

The warning rushed out of his lips before he even realized what was happening, closing his eyes tightly again with a groan while Seonghwa grabbed his dick and roughly jerked him off until he came, milking every drop of cum out of Hongjoong and into his eager mouth.

He could feel his thighs trembling as pleasure spread all the way from his crotch to the tip of his fingers, and his throat was so dry from all the panting that he had trouble swallowing by the time he pushed his boyfriend away from his sensitive dick.

Hongjoong looked down to make eye contact with Seonghwa, who was staring back at him sweaty and flustered and wrecked, but still looking very much like the cat who got the cream.

“Thank you for the yummy treat, Captain. I love my reward.”

He couldn’t help but laugh, almost hysterically, as he tried to recover from the mind-blowing orgasm he had just experienced.

Perhaps lying down and letting himself get worshiped by his sub every now and then wasn’t a bad idea.

–

The Captain @no1likeme
The dominant urge to spoil good lil boys and give them all the rewards they deserve

|

Good Lil Boy @CaptainsGLB
Thank you, Captain. I love your tasty rewards <3333333333

|

Candy @BestSourCandy
…did you even wait until I was out of your building before you started fucking?!?!

–

“Are you sure you’re okay?”

“I… ugh.”

Hongjoong took another bite of food to hide the smirk he could feel creeping up on his face when he heard the groan that interrupted whatever Seonghwa was going to say.

He’d spent the whole time holding back the laughter because of the confused and panicked looks everyone had been subtly giving the Creative Director since they all sat down to have lunch. Yeosang and San were the only ones who’d had the nerve to actually ask him what was going on, growing visibly more concerned even though Seonghwa had said he was okay several times by now.

“Sorry,” replied the blond, fist pressed against his mouth. “It’s my stomach, I…I’m not feeling too well.”

Hongjoong set the chopsticks down and casually put his hand in his pocket, clicking twice on the remote control he found there before grabbing the water bottle and taking a sip.

Seonghwa sighed, relief evident in the way both his face and his body relaxed immediately. 

His skin was flushed red and sweat had started to gather on his temples, which only made his shiny unfocused eyes and bitten lips pop up even more. It was by far the least composed Hongjoong had ever seen him look at work, so he understood why everybody was acting like Seonghwa was about to collapse at any moment.

“If it’s your stomach, maybe you should stop eating…” added San.

The director stared at the food for a moment before pushing it away gently, clearly deliberating if he should take the opportunity to leave the table and avoid further scrutiny, and Hongjoong had to bite his tongue to avoid visibly reacting to the fact that his boyfriend was even considering skipping a meal when he knew perfectly well that he was not allowed to do that without a valid reason.

Don’t you dare to break my rules right in front of my face.

“No, it’s fine,” said Seonghwa, bringing the container back once again while looking at San. “I think eating will make it better.”

“Okay…”

Nobody else said anything, fully aware that arguing with the director about anything at all was very much pointless, but they continued to occasionally stare at him with caution as they continued eating.

Hongjoong did the same, hiding the smirk when he made not-so-accidental eye contact with Seonghwa across the table and his boyfriend simply blinked at him with a carefully guarded expression on his face. The blond probably looked like he always did to everyone else, but that seemingly calm mask didn’t do much to hide the barely concealed irritation from the dom.

This was the first time he had seen his sub so close to toeing the line of disobedience, and Hongjoong was actually surprised to realize that he found the almost-glare to be more endearing than offensive.

Which wasn’t really a surprise, he found everything his boyfriend terribly endearing.

The dom couldn’t really blame the other man, although Hongjoong thought he had been extremely well-behaved considering all the real mayhem he could potentially create with the small remote control in his pocket if he really felt like it.

He had honestly expected Seonghwa to be hesitant when he brought up the wearable vibrator that morning, but his boyfriend had excitedly agreed to wear it pretty much straight away.

Hongjoong had been feeling playful and mischievous since the moment he got up, egged on by the pleasant sensations of waking up sweaty and entangled with Seonghwa, as well as the blissful knowledge that it was going to be a slow day at work. 

The scorching mid-August days had come with a blast, and the mix of humid heat plus the laid-back vibe of the half-empty office had created an almost lethargic environment that had spread out fast at PROPAGANDA as more and more people took their annual vacation time. Seonghwa had tried to keep the appearance of professionality and productivity at first, but had given up surprisingly quickly and now he simply let the workers that had stayed behind get rowdy every now and then as long as everyone got their job done before the deadlines.

On top of that, today was Monday and the day before the National Liberation Day, which meant that a bunch of their remaining colleagues had taken the opportunity to take the day off to enjoy the long weekend, so the office was even emptier.

Hongjoong had been wanting to introduce some public play at the office for a while now, since he knew it was something Seonghwa would also be on board with, and this one seemed like the perfect day to do a fun trial run.

Which is why he had dug through their toy box before breakfast and showed the vibrating butt plug to his boyfriend with a smile. He had bent him over and slipped it inside after their morning shower, fully charged and ready to test Seonghwa’s limits throughout the day.

The toy was designed to be worn for long periods of time, it barely made any noise, and it was controlled both by a remote control and a mobile app, but Hongjoong had kept his hands to himself during most of the morning. He had turned it on and off a few times on their way to the office, laughing at the way the sub had gripped the steering wheel tightly, but had otherwise kept it safely turned off while Seonghwa was in his weekly Monday morning meeting with the other directors.

Things had changed the moment his boyfriend walked out of that room, though.

Hongjoong had turned the toy on the moment they sat down to have lunch, and it had clearly taken Seonghwa by surprise. He had set the vibration to the lowest level, but the reaction had still been noticeable enough to attract the attention of the other three people at the table.

“At first I thought you were faking it to back out from our dinner plans tonight, but you do actually look kind of sick.”

“Wooyoung!” exclaimed San.

“What? It’s true!” replied their friend.

Seonghwa chuckled and took a sip of water. “You only want me there to pay for the drinks, as usual.”

“That’s not true! I do enjoy hanging out with you outside these four walls, you’re actually a great guy when you’re not too busy being an efficient work-obsessed robot.”

Hongjoong chuckled and slipped his hand into the pocket to turn the vibrator on again, making Seonghwa choke on his water and tense up immediately.

“Who else is coming tonight?” he asked, trying to take the attention away from the sub.

“Most people are not in Seoul either because of their vacation or the long weekend, so I think it’ll be just the usual eight,” replied Yeosang.

Hongjoong hummed in reply and couldn’t help but smile as he kept eating, subtly checking on Seonghwa while everyone else talked about their National Liberation Day plans. The director followed suit and also took another bite of food, fist pressed against his forehead as he chewed with his eyes closed.

He felt like he was enjoying this way too much.

The dom had turned the vibrator on and off a few more times throughout the meal, but Seonghwa managed to keep his composure surprisingly well now that he knew it was coming and was prepared for it. 

Hongjoong would have to try harder, then.

He turned it off as they got up and headed back to the office, waiting until everyone had settled down at their desks and had gone back to work before grabbing his phone.

thepirateking
Hi, baby
Do you have anything important coming soon?

lifeonmars
I have a meeting with Yeosang in 30 minutes, Captain

thepirateking
Good
Go to our spot and wait for me there

lifeonmars
Yes, Captain

Honjoong put the phone away and turned the screen of his computer on, typing his password as Seonghwa walked out of his office and headed towards the restroom. He took a deep breath and replied to all the unread emails he had waiting for him before grabbing his toiletry bag and getting up casually to go all the way to the furthest restroom on the floor.

His boyfriend was resting against the sink when he walked in and Hongjoong gestured to the stalls wordlessly with his hand in question.

“It’s just the two of us here, Captain.”

He walked into the last stall without saying anything else, closing the door behind them when Seonghwa followed him there.

“My baby, you’re doing so well. I’m so proud of you,” whispered Hongjoong.

“Thank you, Captain,” replied Seonghwa as the pout started to form on his lips.

He laughed and held his sub’s face with his hands.

“How are you holding up? Tell me how you feel, I want all the details.”

The blond sighed as the pout got bigger.

“I’m struggling more than I thought I would. The plug keeps pressing a very sensitive spot when I sit down and feeling the vibrations against it is too much sometimes. Doing this at work and interacting with our colleagues while they’re oblivious is…” said Seonghwa, biting his lip and avoiding eye contact. “It really turns me on. A lot. Pretending nothing was going at lunch was so difficult, I got so hard.”

“Aw, poor thing. I’m so proud of you, though, you’re taking everything I give you so well. I will take it out before we go out for drinks tonight, okay? You only have to get through the rest of the day. I promise I’ll give you a very well deserved reward for being such a good boy after.”

Seonghwa smiled, a pretty blush spreading on his face at the praises.

“Thank you, Captain. I’m doing my best.”

“You’re doing amazing, as always,” replied Hongjoong before giving him a kiss. “We should really go back soon, but why don’t you turn around first and show me your little toy, baby?”

“Yes, Captain.”

Seonghwa undid his pants and leaned over as much as he could within the small space, and Hongjoong pulled the underwear down to see the bright pink flat base of the plug peeking between his boyfriend’s cheeks.

“So pretty,” he said, touching the area around it before grabbing it and gently tugging on it, which made the sub hiss immediately.

Hongjoong frowned and gently pulled it out, watching the way his pretty hole clung to it as it came out. Hongjoong dug through his bag to look for the lube, applying a healthy amount to the plug and spreading it around to cover the whole surface.

He couldn’t help but playfully push two slick fingers inside that inviting hole, smirking at the loud gasp that came from Seonghwa.

“So nice and ready for me, it’d be so easy to put my dick inside and fuck you right here where any of our colleagues could walk in at any time.”

His boyfriend moaned. “Yes. Please, Captain.”

Hongjoong chuckled and pulled his fingers out the moment he felt the aforementioned dick starting to fill up dangerously quickly at the idea, pushing the plug back inside and pulling Seonghwa’s underwear and pants up.

“Naughty boy,” he said with a laugh when he noticed that the sub was half-hard. “Get through the rest of the day and you’ll get your reward after, okay? I’m leaving first, get yourself presentable and go back to work.”

“Yes, Captain.”

Hongjoong made a stop at the sink, washing his hand and taking a few deep breaths to try to take care of his own growing problem before walking out and sitting down at his desk again.

“Hey, can you help me out with something?” asked Wooyoung.

“Sure.”

He was focused on his friend’s tablet by the time Seonghwa came back and he was still in the same position when Yeosang got up and walked inside the glass office, closing the door behind him and sitting down.

Hongjoong tried not to look too happy after the conversation with Wooyoung ended after what seemed like an extremely long time, and he went back to his desk to briefly work on the logo he had left unfinished before eagerly grabbing his phone and opening the vibrator’s app.

He added two extra levels to the intensity of the vibration and looked into Seonghwa’s office before hitting the ‘Start’ button in the middle of the screen, holding back the laughter when the director jumped in his seat and dropped the tablet he was holding on the desk, before setting the vibration level to the lowest one once again.

He didn’t know what was funnier, Seonghwa’s startled reaction or the look of sheer confusion on Yeosang’s face.

He tried to concentrate on the logo and not just stare at the way his boyfriend was squirming while he was in a meeting with Hongjoong’s manager, but it was an herculean feat. He was addicted to the way the sub was growing more and more flustered as the meeting went on, twitching and moving around in his seat while trying to hide the hard dick he had managed to see through the glass walls once.

Hongjoong knew he should probably feel bad for the torture he was putting his boyfriend through, but he was too busy loving every second of it for that.

He had turned it on and off twice by the time Wooyoung tapped him on the back, bag hanging from his shoulder.

“You’re not leaving yet?” asked his friend.

Hongjoong looked at the clock with a frown. “I didn’t realize it was time to leave already. I really need to finish this logo before I leave, so I’ll stay behind for a bit. I’ll admit I’ve spent the day spacing out.”

“Dude, I feel you. It’s been such a lazy day for me too,” said Wooyoung while nodding. “See you tonight, then. You better come or I’ll drag you out of your apartment myself.”

“I will!” he replied with a chuckle before focusing back on the logo once again.

He waited until everyone had left the department before staring into Seonghwa’s office again, where he was still deep in conversation with Yeosang while they leaned over the table. As if sensing his gaze, the director looked up and stared back for a moment. He made sure that his manager was distracted looking at whatever he was looking at on the table before grabbing his phone once again, maintaining direct eye contact with the sub as he smirked and turned the vibrator on once again.

Seonghwa was clearly expecting it this time, so he simply closed his eyes for a second before quickly schooling his expression again, giving Hongjoong one last look before focusing on the tablet again.

My good boy.

He kept the vibrator on as he focused on the logo, only looking up again when he heard Yeosang getting out of the office.

“Why are you still here?” asked the manager as he gathered his things.

“I need to finish the logo before Wednesday and I don’t feel like working on my day off,” he said.

Yeosang snorted and turned off this computer. “That’s a very ‘you’ thing to say, but I get it. See you tonight.”

“See you.”

They both stayed exactly where they were for a while after the manager walked into the elevator, and after making sure that everybody had indeed left, Hongjoong grabbed his phone and called Seonghwa. His boyfriend seemed confused as he stared at the screen, but accepted the call anyway.

“Hi, my good boy,” he said with a smirk.

“Hi, Captain,” replied the sub. “Sho…should I come out?”

“No, stay right there. There’s something I’ve always wanted to do,” explained Hongjoong, quickly checking the main door before turning around in his chair to face Seonghwa’s office. “Move your chair to the side so I can see you properly.”

Realization shone in his boyfriend’s face as he did as he was told. 

Without looking away, Hongjoong reached into his pocket and amped up the vibration level in the remote control, getting a reaction from Seonghwa straight away. He simply stared at him for a while, cock growing bigger inside his pants as he watched the other man squirming in his seat while he moaned in his ear.

“You look so good, baby. Sitting in your big fancy office with your fancy outfit, writhing in the same seat where you’ve sat all high and mighty while talking with your subordinates. Moaning out loud while one of said subordinates is making you get off at work, where anyone could see you.”

Seonghwa whimpered and Hongjoong opened the app to change the vibration pattern to the most intense one.

They had discussed the possibility of taking things as far as the dom considered safe at the office if the right opportunity presented itself, and, from Hongjoong’s point of view, said the right opportunity had presented itself loud and clear.

“What if I told you to undo your pants and show me your pretty dick right now? What color would that be?”

Seonghwa inhaled loudly enough to be picked up by the microphone in response. 

“Green, Captain.”

“Go ahead and show me your pretty dick then,” he said, getting more comfortable in his chair.

“Yes, Captain,” replied the sub as he undid his pants without any hesitation, pushing them down just enough to free his hard cock.

“So pretty and pink. Why don’t you play with it for a bit, baby?”

Seonghwa grabbed it immediately, closing his eyes and sighing with relief.

“When was the last time you came?” asked Hongjoong, even though he already knew the answer.

“Three days, Captain.”

He hummed. “Should I let you come today?”

“Only if you want, Captain,” replied Seonghwa, voice strained as his hand sped up on his dick.

“Slow down, baby. You’re getting a bit too excited there,” he ordered before checking both the door and hallway and quickly going back to stare at his sub. “Now unbutton your shirt and use your other hand to play with your nipples too. Do it rough, just the way you like it.”

His boyfriend did as he was told, hard dick falling on his abs while he moved the soft pink fabric out of the way and put his hands back where Hongjoong wanted them.

“Good boy,” he said, opening the app to amp up the vibration to the highest level.

Seonghwa’s surprised yelp echoed inside the office, sound clear and loud even without the need of the speaker on his phone. His movement became more desperate straight away, hands frantic as he started to move his hips to ride the plug inside him. 

Hongjoong was tempted to call him out for doing something that the dom hadn’t ordered him to do, but the sight of a Seonghwa desperately moaning and squirming inside his office with his clothes hastily pushed out of the way, one hand pinching his nipple piercing while the other jerked himself off roughly, was too perfect to not exploit it.

Sadly, they couldn’t keep this going forever.

“Stop,” he said, adjusting his own hard dick inside his pants and taking a deep breath to recenter himself as he watched the other man stop touching himself with a whine. “You did so well, baby. Now I want you to take the pants and underwear off and then to sit on the desk facing me, knees up and legs open. I want to see everything.”

“Yes, Captain,” replied Seonghwa, getting up on shaky legs as he followed instructions.

“Fuck.” 

It felt like the whole office somehow got ten times hotter the moment Hongjoong his sub got on top of the desk. Practically naked as his pink shirt slipped down his shoulders to pool around his elbows, leaning back and spreading his legs to show both his hard dick and the base of the plug neatly pressed against his hole.

“You look so fucking good, baby,” he added, feeling embarrassingly lightheaded as it got harder to breathe normally. “You don’t know how many times I’ve fantasized about seeing you exactly like this. How many times I’ve looked into your office and wished that I could make you do just this in front of everyone, show them how I can turn the uptight and strict boss they’re all used to into a horny mess with just a few words.”

“Captain,” whined Seonghwa. “Please.”

“Touch yourself a little more, baby. I want to see it.”

The sub quickly grabbed his dick again while his other hand came down to press the base of the plug, skin getting redder and moans getting louder as he grew more desperate. Hongjoong tried to hold himself back and stop things before they went further than he had planned to, he really did, but this really was something he had wanted to do since the first time he ever laid eyes on Seonghwa.

And Hongjoong was nothing but a greedy man who had trouble not indulging himself sometimes.

He should have told the other man to stop and put his clothes off so they could get out of the office and continue this at one of their houses, but instead he got up, grabbed the lube from his bag, and walked into Seonghwa’s office. 

The sub perked up when he saw him enter the room, eyes following him as Hongjoong sat down.

“Come here. Same position,” he said as he patted on the desk right in front of him before getting comfortable in the other man’s chair.

“Yes, Captain.”

Seonghwa crawled towards him and sat right in front of him, resting back on his elbows with feet planted on the desk as he exposed himself to Hongjoong. 

“Spread your legs more,” he ordered with a smirk.

His sub did that and the dom sat back with his own legs open, hard dick tenting his pants and arms resting on the armrests while he stared at him. 

From this close, Hongjoong could hear the faint hum of the vibrator going at full speed. He could see the way Seonghwa’s whole body was shaking from the stimulation, the way his chest was rising quickly as he panted, the faint traces of the remnants of the ‘Captain’s Good Lil Boy’ he had written with the pen on his inner thigh.

He could see his own desk and the rest of the department through the glass walls behind the trembling mess that was his boyfriend too.

Hongjoong felt so powerful and turned on that he himself felt like he was going to start shaking at any moment too from the adrenaline.

“Who’s the boss now?” he asked, his smirk growing bigger. “Huh? How many times have you sat in this very chair and told me what to do?”

Seonghwa swallowed visible and whimpered.

“You are the boss, Captain,” replied the sub before moaning. “I…I don’t know the answer to your question, Sir. Many times.”

Hongjoong laughed and stared at him once more, feeling regretful about the fact that he couldn’t just drag this out for hours.

“Come sit on my lap, baby.”

Seonghwa whimpered again as he got off the desk, legs giving out for a second but managing to gently rest on his lap without any other issues.

“My good boy is so obedient. You take everything I give you so easily, you indulge me so much,” continued Hongjoong while pushing the sub’s shirt down his arms to pull it off. “Give me a kiss.”

Hongjoong quickly took control the moment their lips touched and he allowed his hands to touch every piece of skin he could reach, feeling empowered by the fact that he was sitting in his boss’ office with all his clothes on while said Creative Director was squirming on his lap, completely naked and moaning into his mouth.

Life was fucking awesome.

“I need…” whispered Seonghwa against his lips. “Please.”

“What do you need, my good boy?” he asked.

“It’s too much…”

Hongjoong traced his back with his hand until it reached his ass, and he grabbed a handful of it before he moved towards the toy nestled between his cheeks.

“This?” he asked as he pressed against it, getting a high moan from the sub. “Poor baby, should I take it out?”

Seonghwa leaned over to hide his face in his neck and whined again, which got a laugh from the dom.

“Please, Captain,” said his boyfriend.

“You know I can’t say no to you,” replied Hongjoong. “Get up and bend over the table.”

He helped the blond get up and stared at his ass when he assumed the right position, enjoying the view for a minute before gently slapping his ass once.

Neither of them were into spanking, but sometimes he had to see that ass jiggle just a little bit.

“So pretty,” he said before grabbing the base of the plug and tugging carefully, aware that it was probably a bit dry by that point.

Seonghwa yelped when the thickest part of the toy slipped out and Hongjoong was caught by surprise by the sheer power of the vibrations before dropping it on the desk, not even caring about the fact that it was still on.

The sub sighed with relief immediately. “Thank you, Captain.”

Hongjoong grabbed his ass again and spread it apart, watching fascinated as the gapped hole tried to close around nothing when he pressed his thumb against it.

Don’t do it. It’s getting dark outside. Get dressed and leave.

He ignored the voice of reason inside his head, checking the door once again before leaning over and pushing his tongue against the enticing hole. Seonghwa yelped again in surprise, bracing himself on the desk as Hongjoong pushed it as deep as he could.

“Please,” begged the sub.

The taste of lube was overpowering and kind of unpleasant, but he continued to eat him out as he chased the light taste of soap, sweat and pure Seonghwa. He doesn’t know how long he spent with his mouth pressed against the sub’s hole, but drool was dripping down his chin by the time he stopped to take a deep breath.

“Shit,” he whispered, pushing two fingers inside and watching them get easily swallowed by the tight ring of muscle.

Don’t you fucking dare. 

“Can I fuck you, baby? Just like this, bent over your desk in the middle of the office where anyone could walk in at any moment.”

Holy shit, anyone could really walk in at any fucking moment.

“Yes!” exclaimed Seonghwa immediately. “Please, Captain. Do it.”

Hongjoong looked for the lube he had dropped on the desk, checking the door again as he slicked himself and pushed his fingers inside his boyfriend’s hole once again, making sure it was nice and wet before pressing the tip of his dick against it.

He didn’t give Seonghwa any other warning before sliding inside, the drag smooth and tight as he pushed all the way until he had his hips pressed against the sub’s ass.

“You feel so fucking good,” groaned Hongjoong.

“Tha– ah!”

Whatever his boyfriend was going to say got lost as he dragged dick out just to slam it inside once again in a deep thrust, continuing the rough pace as adrenaline and pleasure spread throughout his body.

“Ah, yes. Ugh.”

“I want you to think about this moment every time you set foot in this office from now on,” said Hongjoong, words coming out breathless and strained as he continued to pound into Seonghwa. “I want you to sit here, with your tailored suits and your fancy degree and the authority you hold over all of us, and think about how much you loved it when I fucked you over this desk.”

Seonghwa whined, hips moving back against him to make the thrusts deeper and quicker while still trying to rub his dick against the wooden surface under him.

“That’s it, baby. Fuck your expensive mahogany desk.”

Hongjoong moved one of his hands from the other man’s hips to his shoulder, trying to find better leverage as he tried to maintain the brutal pace, trying to focus on the thrusts as sweat dripped down his back and the harsh sound of his panting joined Seonghwa’s loud moans and whines.

The need to come urged him forward, rhythm rough and steady as his heartbeat went wild inside his chest as his eyes went from the door to the man under him. Seonghwa was trying to frantically hold onto something solid on the desk in order to find some support while Hongjoong fucked into him, but failing to do so as he simply braced himself for impact with his hands pressed against the smooth surface.

“I…I need…”

On a whim, Hongjoong leaned over to put his hand on Seonghwa’s throat, applying light pressure to make him move back and get closer to him. The sub moaned and followed his guidance easily, head thrown back to give him easier access with hands planted on the desk.

The dom tightened the grip gently, not enough to cut blood or airflow, but enough to feel everything: feel the fast heartbeat, the sharp movements every time he swallowed, the vibrations produced by the sound of every moan and whine.

Hongjoong closed his eyes and pressed his chest against Seonghwa’s back, thrusts getting more erratic as his orgasm approached quickly – egged on by the total submissiveness shown by his boyfriend, the adrenaline rushing through his body, the tight heat around his dick, and the fragile neck in his hand.

His brain was conjuring the mental picture before he could even stop it, imagination quickly putting together the image of a familiar-looking collar wrapped around this long neck.

The ultimate show of complete and total submission and devotion.

“Fuck.” 

Hongjoong groaned as his orgasm hit him, hand moving away from the other man’s neck as he continued to rut against Seonghwa’s ass, chasing as much pleasure as he could before he fell bonelessly on the sub’s back. His legs were shaking under him as he tried to get both his heartbeat and breathing back to normal, static playing in his brain as the pleasant tingly sensation spread throughout his body.

“Fuck,” he said again, standing up with some effort and pulling his dick out carefully.

Seonghwa groaned when he did it, a line of cum coming out right after and sliding down his balls.

Hongjoong traced it with his finger to push it back in and sat down on the chair, not even caring about putting his naked ass on the leather.

“Turn around,” he ordered, moving the chair closer as Seonghwa sat on the edge of the desk with a groan.

“I’m so close. Captain, please.”

Hongjoong immediately grabbed the other man’s dick and put it in his mouth, brain still fuzzy as his tongue traced the head before sucking on it, but he barely got the time to find a good pace before Seonghwa was giving him frantic and rushed warnings.

“You’re going to come in my mouth,” replied Hongjoong, jerking him off quickly while he looked up to him. “Just like you wanted last time we found ourselves in this same position.”

He went back to work after, barely getting his mouth around Seonghwa again before he was coming with a loud whine

“Shi—oh God.”

Hongjoong tried not to smile as he continued to blow him, impressed by the fact that the sub was able to remember the rules and censor himself even while orgasming. He swallowed the pool of cum in his mouth and gently dropped his boyfriend’s dick when his legs started to shake under his hands at the overstimulation, pressing his mouth against the faint dark letters written on his inner thigh instead while Seonghwa fell back to the table with a thud as he tried to catch his breath.

He kissed that spot one last time before leaning back on the chair, taking a few minutes to engrave this moment in his brain before getting up.

Hongjoong managed to clean them both as much as he could with a handful of tissues before zipping himself up and carefully putting Seonghwa’s clothes back on as the other man simply lied on his desk without making any effort to help.

“My pretty pillow princess,” he whispered playfully.

His boyfriend groaned in response.

Hongjoong laughed and continued tidying up the space as much as he could, grabbing the now dead plug from where it had fallen off on the floor and doing his best at cleaning it too.

“We really should have cracked a window open before doing anything,” he muttered absently as he shoved the soiled tissues at the very bottom of the garbage can to try to hide the evidence as much as he could, chuckling when he realized that his boyfriend was still immobile in the exact same position. “Are you alive?”

“Barely, that was brutal,” replied Seonghwa. “I need a moment.”

“We need to leave, we’re supposed to meet the guys in a couple of hours.”

The blond groaned. “Do I really have to go?”

“Yes, you do. I want you there,” said Hongjoong as he finished tidying everything up. “And you know you’re going to end up being glad that I made you go, as always.”

The sub groaned again but still got up with some effort, hissing a bit when he sat down and put too much weight on his sore ass.

Seonghwa glared at him when Hongjoong smirked at his pain, but quickly melted into the hug when the dom wrapped his arms around him.

“Look, I promise I’ll draw you a bath and give you a nice massage as a reward for how obedient you’ve been all day. Sounds good, baby?”

Seonghwa nodded against his shoulder and he chuckled. They lingered into the hug for a bit longer before they finished gathering their stuff and double-checking that everything looked good and innocent enough. With one last look behind, they turned off the lights and walked out of the office, heading out at a safe distance from each other and giggling the moment they walked into the elevator.

“I can’t believe we actually did that right there at the office…” whispered Seonghwa.

“Feeling regretful?” he asked.

“Hard to feel regretful when your legs are still shaking from the rough pounding you just got.”

“Fair,” replied Hongjoong with a laugh before giving him a kiss on the cheek. “Well, I really enjoyed it myself too, thank you for indulging me all day even if I made things a bit difficult for you. I’m so lucky to have such a good boy as my sub. You make me so happy, baby.”

Seonghwa smiled and pressed his lips against his cheek as well, so he used the opportunity to turn his head and steal a peck before the elevator door opened again.

I love you.

–

“You’re late!”

“I know, I know,” said Hongjoong as he sat down in the empty space next to Yeosang. “I was engrossed working on the logo and I left PROPAGANDA a bit late.”

Wooyoung rolled his eyes, clearly unsatisfied with his reply.

“You really sound like Seonghwa sometimes. Tomorrow’s a red day! We were supposed to take it easy today!”

“I know,” replied Hongjoong once again. “I’m here now, aren’t I?”

His friend glared at him, but still put a bottle of soju in front of him. 

“Don’t worry about it, Seonghwa and Yeosang just got here too and Yunho hasn’t even arrived yet,” explained San.

Hongjoong held back a relieved sigh, since he had been lowkey afraid that it’d look suspicious if they both arrived late around the same time, and instead grabbed a piece of pajeon and brought it to his mouth to take a bite. He made brief eye contact with Seonghwa as he chewed, and he couldn’t help but smile softly while he suppressed the rush of adrenaline he felt when he thought about the fact that they just had sex at the office and none of the people sitting at this table knew.

His life was so crazy that he couldn’t believe it sometimes.

“Sorry! I know I’m late,” said Yunho as he appeared out of nowhere, quickly scanning the empty seats and sitting down between Wooyoung and Hongjoong. 

“Yes, you are!” 

“In my defense, I’ve been sitting in my car while on the phone for a while now so technically I got here early,” explained the newcomer as he grabbed the closest filled shot glass.

“Hey, that’s mine!” exclaimed Mingi.

“Who were you talking to?” asked Wooyoung at the exact same time.

Yunho stared at him for a moment, clearly as taken aback as Hongjoong felt by the sudden question, before frowning. 

“My mom. We’re meeting for the parade tomorrow so I called to arrange the details and she just wouldn’t stop talking after,” explained Yunho carefully and deliberately.

Hongjoong stared at both of them, sudden realization erupting in his brain as it randomly connected the dots he should have probably connected a long time ago.

…no fucking way.

He watched them look at each other in a way that made him feel like they were having one of those quick conversations without even talking out loud, before Wooyoung simply hummed in response and turned around to address everyone at the table with a smile, acting like nothing weird had even happened.

“Well, now everyone is here and the party can officially begin! Jongho, you can start cooking the meat.”

“Yes, sir,” said the youngest sarcastically, which made everyone laugh.

Hongjoong stared at the pair for a bit longer, feeling stupid for not realizing that Yunho had been the ‘mystery guy’ this whole time when piles of past obvious evidence rushed to flash in front of his eyes.

Wooyoung had always refused to tell him who was the guy he was seeing, though, so he was going to keep playing dumb until his friend decided to tell him himself – if he ever did.

He could completely understand why he’d be afraid to share this information, after all. Hongjoong was in the exact same situation, it’d be hypocritical of him to feel offended over Wooyoung keeping this from him when he was also keeping things from him out of fear.

Dating an HR Manager is just as tricky and sensitive as dating your boss, especially when you’re both men. 

Choosing to put his sudden realization to the side, he grabbed a bottle and filled a shot glass before drinking the whole thing in a single mouthful.

Let’s pretend we never saw that.

Ignoring any potential drama after that was easier than he thought.

It had been a while since they’d had the chance to meet up outside the office, and Hongjoong had forgotten just how much he enjoyed hanging out with these people. Everyone got progressively drunker as the night went by and the atmosphere got more relaxed too, laughter and loud teasing flying around as they played around with each other.

“When were you taking your vacation again?” asked Wooyoung suddenly as things calmed down a bit and he grabbed some of the recently cooked meat.

“Me?” asked Hongjoong. “In less than two weeks.”

Wooyoung whined. “So you, San and Seonghwa really are leaving me at the same time. I can’t take mine until mid-September, I’m going to be left alone and bored! What am I supposed to do during lunch if you guys are not around?!”

“We’re not leaving you, and you’ll still have plenty of people around to talk to and eat with!” he replied. “We don’t take our vacation on the exact same day, and we’ll be back before you even notice anyway.”

His friend sighed dramatically.

“Will you at least be in Seoul? Or are you going back home?” 

“No, I’m staying here. I’ve been working on the Queer Festival, so I’ll be too busy with the last minute preparations while I’m off work. That’s actually why I’m taking my leave now and not earlier.”

Hongjoong didn’t know why he replied the way he did, it was an impulsive decision made in a moment of relaxation and happiness while surrounded by people he trusted, but he couldn’t really bring himself to regret saying it out loud.

It was going to happen sooner or later, anyway

The whole table fell silent as seven pairs of eyes fell on him, and he cleared his throat nervously before drinking another shot.

“Oh, I didn’t know you were working on that,” said Wooyoung, hurt evident in his voice.

“I’m sorry, it’s not that I wanted to hide it, I just …well,” he replied, unsure of how to continue. “It’s not easy to say something like that out loud, even if you trust your friends and you’re proud of who you are.”

And I didn’t want to accidentally put my boyfriend on blast before he was ready for it either, I hope you understand.

“No, yeah, you don’t owe me personal information! I understand that these things are difficult and sensitive. Sorry for being silly,” explained his friend while putting on a smile again. “That’s amazing, though! I’ve been seeing the posters around, and now that you mention it, it does look like your style! Is that your work?”

Hongjoong smirked and nodded, which made Wooyoung screech loudly and give him a bear hug.

“The poster does look really good. I’ve even seen people talking about how smart and symbolic it is online,” added Yeosang with a comforting smile. “Fantastic job, as always.”

“Thank you,” he said, making a gigantic effort to not look at Seonghwa as a turmoil of emotions started to bubble inside him.

“Yeah, good job! I’ve also seen them around, it sends a very powerful message,” chimed in Jongho, pride clear and evident in his voice.

“Huh, yeah. Great job! We…we are very proud of you,” added Mingi, somewhat awkwardly as he leaned over the table to pat his head.

Hongjoong laughed, sound going from happy to embarrassed as his eyes got watery immediately, wayward tears rolling down his cheeks while he tried to wipe them away quickly.

“Damn, guys, you didn’t have to make me cry like an idiot,” he joked half-heartedly. “Thank you. It means a lot, I really can’t express how much.”

“That was really brave of you, Hongjoong,” said Yunho, voice low and restrained. “So incredibly brave, you have no idea. I truly admire you, I know that wasn’t easy.”

“Oh my God, everyone stop or you’ll make me cry,” exclaimed Wooyoung, sounding choked up. “It’s true, though. You…you’re doing very meaningful work that is impacting the lives of thousands of people in this country for the better. I hope you know how important that is and how proud we are.”

Don’t look at him. Don’t do it.

Hongjoong smiled. “Thank you, but I’m just a cog in the machine, I have an amazing team around me. I…I simply follow the orders of our Head of Marketing, to be honest. They’re the one who has put their heart and soul into this project and has elevated it to what it is, all in a completely altruistic and selfless way just because they’re a wonderful person who wants to use their incredible talent to make the world a better place.”

“That’s …oh.”

Whatever Wooyoung was going to say got interrupted by a soft sob and Hongjoong turned his head around so fast that he heard a crack.

Seonghwa was covering his face with his shaky hands, but they couldn’t hide the choked up sounds that occasionally escaped the blond’s mouth. Nobody said anything at first, too stunned to even speak, but San ended up lifting his hand to gently pat the direction on the head in an attempt to comfort him after a while.

Hongjoong felt such an overwhelming need to walk towards him and scoop him in his arms that he could feel himself shaking with the repressed urge to do just anything to comfort his boyfriend.

The heavy silence was broken by a chuckle as Seonghwa uncovered his face and carefully dried his face before putting his hair back in place.

“Sorry about that. I…I wasn’t expecting any of this and I couldn’t stop the emotional reaction,” said the director before clearing his throat and looking straight into Hongjoong’s eyes. “You’re severely underestimating how important your work and input have been in the success behind the Festival. I wouldn’t have been able to pull any of this off without the help of the rest of the team, but I definitely wouldn’t have done it without you.”

I love you.

He laughed again. “Thank you, Seonghwa. I still think most of the credit is yours, but …I’m glad I’ve been able to do my part to bring your vision to live. I guess we just make a great team.”

The blond smiled back at him. Not the subtle tilt of the lips he did sometimes while he was full in his Creative Director person, but the real smile he had showed Hongjoong countless of times before.

Tense silence fell around them once again as their colleagues tried to absorb the obvious gravity of what had just happened, and Hongjoong had to force himself to look away from his boyfriend before he did something stupid – like kiss him in front of everybody.

Now that their friends knew about their sexual orientations, they’d probably have to be even more careful to avoid raising suspicions.

“Is it a bad time to say that I already knew about this?” said San with a shit-eating smirk suddenly.

“I was trying to play it cool, but I also knew about it,” added Yeosang.

The whole table laughed again, tension fading away as everyone made the effort to not make a big deal out of the conversation they just had while they focused back on the food.

“Should we order more meat?” said Seonghwa, calling the waiter over without even waiting for a reply.

There was a slight awkwardness around them for a bit after they dropped such a massive bomb, but things went back to the loud and rowdy normalcy soon enough, and it truly felt like nothing had happened by the time they all stumbled out of the restaurant and waited outside while Seonghwa paid the bill.

Hongjoong had managed to stay tipsy without getting into drunk territory after his confession had sobered him up a bit, and yet he somehow felt drunkenly emotional as he thought about how grateful he felt for having these seven people in his life.

“Hey,” whispered Mingi as they started to say their goodbyes. “So, huh, straight people can attend the parade, right?”

Hongjoong couldn’t help but giggle. “Yes, straight people can attend the parade. We don’t ask for gay cards at the entrance.”

“Right,” replied his friend with a nervous laugh. “I, huh, I’d like to come and show support for you guys. I know things can get a bit heated sometimes with all the …unwanted and unkind protesters, so I want to add to the numbers on your side.”

Hongjoong chuckled fondly before giving him a hug. “That would mean a lot. You really don’t have to, but it’d be much appreciated if you really want to.”

“Of course. I think I speak for everyone when I say that we love you guys no matter what, nothing has changed just because we know. We’re here for you and we will do our best to show it.”

“Thank you, Mingi,” he replied, feeling like he was going to cry again.

“I want in,” he heard San say before the other man wrapped his arms around both of them, immediately followed by a bigger mountain of limbs that surrounded him until he found himself in the middle of a seven-people group hug.

“What is this?” asked Seonghwa suddenly.

The arms disappeared straight away and Hongjoong laughed when he saw everyone turning around to give the director the same treatment, much to his very vocal dismay.

Hongjoong knew that his boyfriend was secretly loving it, though, so he didn’t make any attempt at stopping it.

“Shall we head to the bus stop?” asked Yunho when everyone stopped behaving like sappy drunks.

“My brother lives close by so I told him I’d crash at his to avoid the hassle of getting home late and drunk, you guys go ahead without me,” said Hongjoong, hoping that his well-rehearsed lie was convincing enough.

“Oh, okay. Aw, damn, that sounds nice,” replied Yunho. “Well, see you all on Wednesday then. Have a good Liberation Day, everyone!”

“You too!”

He watched him leave with the rest of the group before turning around and looking at the two other remaining people.

“I’m heading in that direction,” said Hongjoong while pointing to the right.

“Me too, I’m going to get a taxi,” added Seonghwa.

“My house is this way, so time to say goodbye,” explained San while pointing to the left.

Oh, we know.

They gave each other a final hug before heading their separate ways.

None of them said anything at first, but Hongjoong decided to break the silence when he felt like it was safe enough to do so.

“Sorry if I made you feel pressured to lowkey come out during dinner. I really hadn’t planned on coming clean about the Festival, it was a very impulsive decision, otherwise I would have consulted with you first. I tried to do everything to keep you out of the conversation so you didn’t have to say anything about it if you didn’t want to.”

“It’s okay, you didn’t make me feel pressured. I just felt very emotional after seeing how supportive and nice everyone was after your confession, and hearing you talk about ‘the Head of Marketing’ like that was the last drop. You were really brave, and that made me feel brave,” explained Seonghwa. “It felt like the right moment to do it, to be honest. I don’t regret it at all, I actually feel a lot lighter now. It’s a very scary confession, but I trust every single one of them.”

Hongjoong bumped him with his shoulder.

“Me too. It really feels like a weight has been lifted from your chest,” he said before chuckling. “Mingi asked me if straight people could attend the parade.”

Seonghwa laughed loudly as they walked past the first taxi stand they came across, just like they always did.

“That’s such a Mingi thing to say.”

“Right?” he replied just as joyfully.

They walked in comfortable silence for a while before Hongjoong finally let the words he had been holding back all night escape his chest.

“I’m very proud of you. I know going out and bonding with everyone like this doesn’t come easy to you, but you’ve done such an amazing job at showing people how kind and open you can be. And today you even felt comfortable enough to share such an intimate and scary part of yourself with them. Good job, baby. You’ve been so brave, I really mean it.”

The blond blushed and lowered his head shyly as they came to a stop at the empty taxi stand.

“Thank you, Hongjoong. I really mean it when I say it’s all because of you,” said Seonghwa as he turned around to look at him. “I…I accidentally got stuck in my work persona and I didn’t know how to escape from it once I had put that mask on. I was afraid they would take me less seriously if I let my guard down, that I’d look less professional if I didn’t make my job my main priority, but you’ve shown me that I was completely wrong and I can’t thank you enough for that.”

“Nonsense. I’ve told you many times before, but it was all you. I just tried to show you what I thought was the right path for you, you’re the one who put in the effort and the work to get there,” replied Hongjoong.

His boyfriend looked around them before taking a step closer, standing right in front of him – so close that he could smell the other man’s familiar cologne.

“You did a lot more than that,” said Seonghwa, getting even closer. “I was so scared about our relationship and the potential consequences of it at first, but it’s had such a positive impact in my life that I feel kind of silly for having been so afraid. Talking about my thoughts and feelings is very hard for me, my modus operandi has always been to shut down and run away from my problems, so I didn't know if I was going to be able to follow your relationship style. You’re so open and understanding, though, it makes being with you very easy and comfortable. You make me feel comfortable in my skin, and brave and powerful and like I can deal with everything that comes my way. I…”

Hongjoong swallowed, heart beating fast in his chest. 

I love you.

In an attempt to keep the confession from blurting out of his mouth, he rushed forward and pressed it against Seonghwa’s lips, trying to express how much those words had meant to him without making a fool of himself.

He hadn’t expected the other man to return the kiss as enthusiastically, considering they were out in the open, but they stayed like that for a moment before quickly moving back with a shy smile.

They waited for the taxi in comfortable silence, and Hongjoong made his second (third?) impulsive decision of the night right after they got into the car.

“Actually, can we stop by my apartment first? I need to grab something,” he said after Seonghwa had told the driver the address to his own house.

His boyfriend seemed confused for a second, but didn’t question his sudden decision before nodding.

Hongjoong had been so nervous as he ran up the stairs to his apartment that all he could hear was his own blood rushing in his ears while he grabbed the box he had been keeping for weeks now in his underwear drawer, and then he had spent the rest of the journey going from panicked to confident as he hyper focused on the new added weight in his bag. 

He didn’t know if he would even bring out the box that day, he just knew that he needed to have it close by just in case.

The sub had clearly noticed that something had changed in him, and Hongjoong could see that he was slightly nervous because of it, but he still quickly fell to his knees the moment they walked into the apartment to take the dom’s shoes off.

“Thank you, baby,” he said as they talked inside the living room. “Are you tired?”

“No, Captain,” replied Seonghwa quickly.

“Why don’t we take that bath I promised now? I feel like relaxing a bit with my good boy,” added Hongjoong.

“Yes, Captain. I’d love that.”

Hongjoong took his time undressing Seonghwa and preparing the bath at the right temperature, putting some soft background jazz music before getting in the tub himself and settling down with his sub while he focused on shampooing his boyfriend’s hair, gently massaging his scalp and his shoulders before washing everything away.

“That feels really nice,” whispered Seonghwa, breaking the silence. “Thank you, Captain.”

They both sighed happily when the sub sat down against his chest, wet skin pressed against wet skin as they enjoyed the calm atmosphere in peaceful silence.

“There’s something in my mind that I’d like to share with you, Captain,” added Seonghwa after a moment. “It started out as a little whisper in my head, but it’s grown enough to become an important issue.”

Hongjoong perked up, sleepiness disappearing completely when he registered what the sub had said.

“Of course, baby. You know I’m here to help you ease any worry you might have, no matter how big or small.”

His boyfriend stayed quiet for a moment as he played with the bubbles, and Hongjoong simply let him take all the time he needed to gather his thoughts.

“I…I don’t know if my job makes me happy anymore,” explained Seonghwa before chuckling. “I honestly don’t even know if it ever did.”

He hadn’t been expecting his boyfriend to say that out of all the things, but he still hummed in acknowledgement and let him expand his thoughts.

“I’ve always been obsessed with being successful, with being perfect. As a teenager, I only cared about working hard enough to get into a good university so I could graduate with honors, join a good company, and get as high as I could as fast as I could. Becoming a Creative Director before I even turned 30 felt like the culmination of all that hard work, the biggest accomplishment I could ever achieve and something I could proudly show people to prove just how good I was,” continued the sub, words spilling out of his mouth. “But the truth is that the high of being The Best didn’t last long and all I have left now is a lot of unfulling work on my hands and constant arguments with people who care more about appearances than the art itself.” 

Seonghwa sighed, tone getting slightly louder and more emotional the more he talked.

“I have to accept projects that I don’t like and reject projects that I’d love to be part of just because of money and reputation. This is not what I wanted when I chose this career path, I don’t want to sell something that goes against my morals just because they pay a lot. I want to do something meaningful, something that actually makes me feel proud of my work,” explained Seonghwa. “The job I’ve done with the Queer Festival  makes me feel the most fulfilled I’ve been in years and it’s not even official paying work, it’s something I’m doing because I decided to go against the expressed orders of the whole Board of Directors. They’d have a fit if they knew I’m working on it even after they told me that something like this would ruin PROPAGANDA.”

Hongjoong tightened his arms around Seonghwa to offer support and comfort, realizing at that moment that he wasn’t exactly surprised by the sentiment his boyfriend was sharing, considering what he knew about the other man’s daily struggles.

“It’s embarrassing to admit, but I didn’t even notice how unhappy I was until you came into my life,” added Seonghwa as he rested his own arms on top of Hongjoong’s. “I mistook being proud of my work and my success with being happy, and I finally see it for what it is now. I didn’t even know why it felt like something was missing at first. Being with you is pure bliss and excitement, but it felt like one of the pieces of the puzzle simply didn’t fit that perfect picture anymore and I just couldn’t figure which one it was. And then it hit me: it’s my job.”

The sub fell silent, so Hongjoong took it as a sign that he could intervene now.

“Thank you for opening up to me, my good boy. I’m so proud of you for having reached that important conclusion, I can’t imagine the amount of introspection you’ve done to get there.”

“Thank you, Captain. All those hours I’ve spent kneeling for you came in handy, I’ve had a lot of time to think,” replied Seonghwa playfully.

Hongjoong laughed and his boyfriend echoed the sound.

“Do you think you might be burned out? Do you think your upcoming vacation will help you recharge and go back to a healthier mindset?” he asked.

“I don’t know. I…I don’t think it’ll help, but it’s hard to say.”

“What if it turns out that’s not it? What if it’s not burnout and you’re actually unhappy with your job? What would you do about it?”

Seonghwa didn’t reply straight away, the soft sound of the water splashing as he played with it being the only thing that broke the silence.

“I was hoping you’d tell me what to do, Captain,” whispered the sub after a moment.

Hongjoong sighed. “I’m afraid this is not one of those decisions I can make for you, baby. I can’t just tell you what to do with something that has such a huge impact in your life.”

“But what if you could? What would you say?” insisted Seonghwa. “I want to hear your perspective.”

He thought about it for a long time, staring at the way the bubbles popped on the surface of the water.

“I think your happiness comes first, no matter what. If your job is getting in the way of your personal fulfillment, then find a new one. I know the idea of leaving something stable and secure to start from scratch sounds really scary, but the truth is that you’d have a great starting point if you choose to go for something different. I know it might feel like you’re throwing away all the sacrifices you’ve made if you choose to quit, but you’re not. You can still leverage the benefits of all that hard work.”

His boyfriend chuckled. “You make it sound so easy.”

“Because it can be,” said Hongjoong. “Think about it: you’re talented, efficient, resourceful and well-connected. The issue is that you want to have more freedom when it comes to the companies you work with, right? Then become an independent contractor and work with whoever the fuck you want. You’re very well-known and highly acclaimed in the industry, I’m sure you wouldn’t have any issues getting clients if you went for it. Hell, I’m sure you could literally snatch half of PROPAGANDA’s clients if you wanted just because of how loyal they are to you as an individual. You have so much power in your hands, Seonghwa, you can do whatever you set your mind to.”

His boyfriend stayed silent for a moment before turning his head around to give him a kiss on the cheek.

“Thank you,” Seonghwa whispered. “I actually hadn’t thought about it that way, but what you say sounds reasonable and …kind of ideal, to be honest.”

“Then do it,” he replied.

The sub sighed loudly and dramatically.

“Okay, let’s try this. I want you to do something for me, baby. It’s a very difficult order that is going to be hard to follow, but I know you can do it because you’re my good boy,” he added, searching for the right words to express what he wanted to say. “Try not to think about this issue for now. I know it won’t be easy, but make that effort for me. You don’t have to make any kind of decision about your job right now, so there’s no point in getting anxious over it. You have your vacation time lined up soon, so you won’t have to worry about work for a while, and you will still have a bunch of days off left after the Queer Festival ends too. Let’s forget about this for now and we’ll revisit it together again after you get all the stress and pressure off your shoulders.”

Seonghwa turned around and wrapped his arms around him, a gesture that Hongjoong returned straight away.

“Thank you, Captain. Talking to you made me feel a lot better already, but I will also be a Good Boy and try to forget about it for now,” his boyfriend said while tightening the hug.

“That’s my baby,” he replied with a smile.

“I…” continued Seonghwa after some time of consideration. “I want to thank you for everything you always do for me, actually. I don’t know if you’re aware of how much your guidance helps me, but it truly calms my busy thoughts. I’ve only been with a couple of Doms before you so I don’t have a lot of experience to compare it to, but nobody else has ever made me feel this seen and heard. It’s not just about dominance and being in control for you, you actually care about my wellbeing and happiness and you show it in every little thing you do and say. You manage to show that you trust my judgment and value my thoughts, while still maintaining the power exchange that I crave. I guess what I’m trying to say is that: you’re a gift, Kim Hongjoong. How did I even get this lucky?”

He didn’t even care about the fact that he had tears in his eyes by the end of the heartfelt speech, he felt too overwhelmed for that.

Seonghwa very rarely called him by his given name when they were alone, especially when they were engaging as dom and sub, so the message behind what he’d said felt even heavier at the choice of words.

I love you.

“Let’s get out of here,” he said instead.

He didn’t know why he’d felt so nervous after grabbing the box from his house when all he could feel while they got out of the tub was calmness and peace.

Most people might say it was way too soon to take this step, but he was going to do it anyway.

Hongjoong might be way too impulsive and hot-headed for his own good sometimes, but this time he was fully confident and secure in his rushed decision.

Seonghwa was the one. 

He had suspected it since the beginning, but the other man proved it to him over and over again every single day.

“Get on your knees,” said Hongjoong after he had finished dressing Seonghwa with his summer pajamas. 

His boyfriend didn’t even question his random decision of making him kneel right in front of his walk-in closet, he simply did it.

Without another word, Hongjoong went to the living room and grabbed his bag before coming back and standing right in front of him.

“You just said that I was a gift and you didn’t know how you got so lucky,” he explained as he opened his bag and reached inside to grab the box. “But that’s how I feel about you all the time too. So much so that sometimes I feel overwhelmed because of your mere existence, because of how perfect you are and how effortlessly well you fit next to me.”

Seonghwa whined the moment he saw the box, tears pooling in his eyes while he stared at it like it was a sacred artifact. 

“Oh God,” the sub whispered, emotion seeping through the words. “Oh my God.”

“You've gone beyond any and all the expectations I only dared to have in my wildest fantasies, you’re everything I could ever ask for and more. Not only are you the best sub I’ve ever had, you’re also the best boyfriend I’ve ever had. Nobody has ever made me feel this satisfied and happy in all aspects of my life, you make both sides of me feel fulfilled and thrived. I’ve never connected so intensely with anyone before, it’s like you were made just for me, like you were meant to be mine. I promise I won’t ever take your submission for granted and I’ll work hard to earn it every single day.”

Hongjoong opened the box to show him its content, which only made Seonghwa cry harder. 

“I know we haven’t really discussed the topic of collaring because we both agreed that it was something that would come up in a very distant future during the initial negotiation process, but I really feel like I need to do this right now,” explained Hongjoong. “I don’t want to make you feel pressured if you’re not ready for it, you don’t have to wear it just yet if you consider it’s too early for such a big commitment, but I want you to have it because you deserve it. I’ve never felt the need to put a collar on anyone else before you, but you make me feel a desperate urge to claim you in every possible way I can.”

“I accept your collar,” replied Seonghwa immediately, tears running down his face. “I want it. I want it so bad. Please, put it on me.”

Hongjoong grabbed the collar with shaky fingers and walked towards the full-length mirror that stood next to them.

“Come here,” he ordered, kneeling behind the sub when he got there as they both stared at each other through the mirror.

He forced himself to do it slowly, carefully sliding all the pieces into place before focusing his attention on his boyfriend.

Seonghwa was still crying, tears sliding down his jaw and stopping on the collar as he lifted his hand to touch it reverently, like it really was something magical and sacred.

Hongjoong had known seeing the other man in his collar would be an indescribable experience, but he had severely underestimated the intense turmoil of emotions that would hit him in the chest the moment he saw that piece of leather sitting on his pretty neck. 

The half-assed image his brain had conjured while they were having sex at the office didn’t even come close to the real thing. Nothing else could ever come close to this.

“You look so beautiful, even better than I thought you would.”

Hongjoong had fallen in love with it the moment he saw it and he had added it to the cart without even bothering to look at the rest of the collars. It was refined and delicate, half of it made by a black stripe of leather while the other half was a sterling silver chain, both materials coming together in a thin ring at the center.

“I know it’s kind of simple compared to other collars, but I feel this suits your elegant neck better than something bulkier. We can get a different style if you prefer,” he explained.

“It’s perfect, I love it. I don’t want anything else, I want this one,” whispered Seonghwa, teary eyes still fixed on the mirror.

They both stared at their reflection for a while, absorbing the importance and solemness of that moment, before Hongjoong spoke up once again.

“I got you something else,” he said, reaching for the discarded case and grabbing the other piece of jewelry that had been stored inside. “I know you won’t just be able to wear your collar on a daily basis, so I wanted to get you something discreet that you could have on you all the time if you chose to.”

He lifted his hand to show a sterling silver bracelet that had the exact same design as the chained part on the collar.

Seonghwa gasped and immediately lifted his left hand.

“Put it on me too, please.”

Hongjoong laughed and did exactly that, admiring the way the silver complimented his gorgeous skin tone.

“They’re both engraved. The collar has ‘Captain’s Good Lil Boy’ written inside so you can have a physical reminder of how proud I am of you every time you wear it, and the bracelet has a ‘C’ to make it more discreet, but that single letter carries the exact same meaning with it,” he explained.

Seonghwa brought his wrist to his face so he could admire the bracelet up close, inspecting it closely for a moment before turning around and wrapping his arms around Hongjoong’s neck.

“Thank you, Captain. I don’t know how to express how much this means to me. I will continue to cherish your guidance and your dominance every day, and I will proudly wear your collar for as long as you’ll have me,” whispered the sub.

The rest of our lives, then.

“You’re officially mine now, so you better be prepared to wear it for a really long time,” he replied instead, just as softly.

Seonghwa tightened the hug around him, his grip so strong that Hongjoong was starting to have trouble breathing – and yet he couldn’t care less about it.

“I am yours,” echoed the sub into his ear.

I love you.

Hongjoong was fully aware that his rushed impromptu quasi-collaring ceremony wasn’t the glamorous and well-thought out event his sub deserved, but it still felt perfect to him as they sealed the deal with a deep slow kiss while sitting on the floor in front of Seonghwa’s walk-in closet at 2AM on a Tuesday.

–

The Captain @no1likeme
I promise to honor you, cherish you, and guide you, my good boy @CaptainsGLB
[image]

|

Good Lil Boy @CaptainsGLB
I promise to honor you, cherish you, and serve you, Captain.

|

Candy @BestSourCandy
oH MY GOD, ARE YOU FOR REAL?!?! IS THAT A FUCKING COLLAR!??! You’re literally 3 days away from dropping a tweet announcing that you’re getting married and adopting 6 kids atp you’re so embarrassing

@CaptainsGLB bitch check your phone I need to know every single little detail!!! 

–

“I don’t know what I was expecting from a BDSM dungeon exactly, but this does look like any regular club.”

“I told you.”

Seonghwa hummed in response and tilted his head back to rest it on Hongjoong’s knee, playing with the hem of the dom’s half-skirt and making a cute pout with his lips to indicate that he wanted some of the dom’s mocktail.

Hongjoong laughed and lowered the glass so it was on the sub’s level, watching him take a big sip and trying not to get too distracted by the way his mouth looked while he sucked on the straw.

The sub looked particularly gorgeous that night, which really wasn’t anything new, but Hongjoong still found that it was incredibly hard not to just stare at him all the time.

The most distracting part was by far the brand new collar that hugged his pretty long neck, a clear and bold sign that marked him as Hongjoong’s in the eyes of every single person in that dungeon.

But it wasn’t just that, Seonghwa had also styled his blond hair so it looked wavy and soft where it rested on his forehead, and had applied his smokey make-up in a way that framed his big shiny eyes very nicely.

He was wearing a black tank top under an x-shaped matching crop-top and a black pleated skirt, naked long legs neatly folded under him as he sat on a cushion on the floor. Seonghwa would only be wearing his boxer briefs during the demonstration, but he had excitedly asked the dom if he could also wear a skirt to the club when he had seen that Hongjoong was wearing one himself. 

“Thank you, Captain,” said Seonghwa after swallowing the drink, eyes immediately widening in panic when he realized what he’d just said. “Sorry, I mean Sir.”

Hongjoong laughed and took a sip of the drink.

“It’s okay if you slip up, baby. I just prefer to play it safe in case any of my followers are around, but it’s not that much of a big deal if someone does recognize me.”

“Thank you, Sir.”

“Anyway, as I was saying,” added Hongjoong, hand coming down to carefully pet the sub’s hair without messing too much with the styling. “The lobby does look like any regular club, if you take away the fact that there are subs sitting by their dom’s feet just like you are, but the playroom is on the other side of that door and that probably looks a lot more like the stereotypical image you have in mind.”

“I’m excited,” replied Seonghwa as he bumped his head against his hand, like a cat.

Hongjoong giggled at the gesture and scratched his scalp softly. “I’m glad to hear that you’re feeling excited about the experience, kitty. Remember that we can just leave whenever you want, no matter what.”

“I know, Sir. I really appreciate that, but I’m genuinely excited about it and I can’t wait to do the demonstration.”

“I see how it is,” whispered the dom as he leaned over to talk directly into his ear. “My  horny baby can’t wait to have a whole audience watch him get wrapped in rope while he’s half-naked and completely at his Captain’s mercy.”

Seonghwa whined. “Captain.”

“Naughty boy, everyone here already knows you’re mine,” he added before playfully biting his ear and moving back again, taking another sip of his mocktail to try to calm himself down before either of them got too worked up.

“Candy wasn’t kidding when he said that your sub looked like an idol.”

Hongjoong looked up to stare at the newcomer, straw between his lips, before snorting.

“Hello, N. Nice to see you too,” he said, sitting more comfortably in his seat. “And why exactly were you talking about him with Candy?” 

“No particular reason,” the other man said with a smirk. “Do I have your permission to speak to your sub directly?”

“Sure, go ahead. Let me introduce you: this is my partner and sub, you can call him H,” replied Hongjoong before looking down at Seonghwa, who was still kneeling on the cushion. “Baby, this is N, the owner of Shangri-La and my mentor.”

“Hello, H. Nice to finally meet you.”

“The pleasure is all mine, sir,” replied Seonghwa with a bow.

“Ooh, he’s pretty and polite. I like him already,” said Hakyeon, smirk growing even more.

“Careful with what you say. I won’t hesitate to fight you myself and then tell Leo so he can fight you some more,” muttered Hongjoong, half-joking.

Hakyeon laughed. “Who do you take me for? I’m a happily taken man, not a homewrecker. Plus, you wouldn’t have to tell him, he’s currently watching this interaction like a hawk.”

He chuckled and looked behind N to find Leo staring at them from the bar, nodding at Hongjoong the moment they made eye contact.

“Anyway,” said Hakyeon before leaning over to be closer to Seonghwa’s level. “Thank you for accepting to perform at my club, H. I know it’s your first time doing something like this and you’re probably nervous, so don’t hesitate to reach out to me or any other member of the staff if you need anything at all.”

“Thank you, sir. That’s very kind,” replied the sub. “It is my first time and I’m a bit nervous, but I’m also really looking forward to it. I’ve been talking about my fears with both my Sir and Candy so I feel like I’m ready.”

“That’s good, I’m happy to hear that. The offer still stands, though, so just keep it in mind.”

“Actually, I do have a request,” said Hongjoong. “Can we have a private room after the demonstration, please? He falls pretty hard into rope subspace and I don’t want him to be surrounded by strangers while he recovers.”

“Of course, I will arrange that right away,” replied Hakyeon.

“Thank you.”

“The four of us should meet for dinner some other time so we can get to know each other better,” added the tall dom, addressing Seonghwa once again. “Hongjoong is very dear to me and I’d like to meet you properly without having our dynamics get in the way of actual conversation.”

His sub smiled shyly. “I’d like that, sir.”

“Great! It’s a date then,” said Hakyeon before standing straight once again and looking at Hongjoong. “If you’re not busy right now, we should check the gear. I made sure everything looked good earlier, but I’d like to go through it again with you. Your sub can come too, or I can call Leo over so he can keep him company.”

“Yes, that’d be great,” he said before handing Seonghwa the almost empty glass and helping him get up so he could sit in his newly vacant seat. “Stay here and talk to Leo, okay? He’s kind of quiet but really nice, and he’s also a rope bottom so you can ask him any question you might still have. I’ll come fetch you when I’m done checking the equipment.”

The blond nodded. “Yes, Sir. Thank you.”

Hongjoong gave him a kiss on the forehead and followed Hakyeon as they headed into the dungeon.

“Oh my, Hwanwoong was right. You are whipped,” said his mentor before laughing.

Hongjoong chuckled, but couldn’t even try to deny it.

“Yeah, I’m pretty gone for him.”

“I can definitely see that, I’ve never seen you look at anyone the way you look at him. And don’t think I didn’t notice what he’s wearing on his neck. I know you don’t do casual collaring and that it’s a big deal for you, so it looks like he’s really here to stay,” replied Hakyeon before nodding to the security guard as they walked into the playroom. “Also, you better tell me that you didn’t have a ceremony, because I’d be really mad if you did have one and I wasn’t invited.”

Hongjoong laughed and nodded to the monitors that were stationed around the suspension area when they got closer.

“Thank you,” he told the DM who handed him the bags he had stored away when they arrived at Shangri-La earlier that night, before turning to look at Hakyeon once again. “Don’t worry, I didn’t have a collaring ceremony. It was a very impulsive and improvised thing, I didn’t prepare anything. It was just the two of us with very minimal formal ritual: I just showed him the collar, he accepted it, and I put it around his neck.”

Hakyeon stared at him, clearly dumbfounded. 

“Wow, Kim Hongjoong doing an impulsive and improvised collaring ceremony with a sub he’s only been seeing for a few months. He must be really special.”

“He is,” he replied without any hesitation. “I know it sounds rushed, but …I don’t know. It just feels natural and like it’s going the way it’s supposed to be. Plus, we went through a lot together before we started our relationship, I think that created a stronger bond.”

“Hey, no need to explain yourself to me. If it’s The One, then it’s The One,” said Hakyeon while he put a hand on Hongjoong’s shoulder. “My relationship moved quite fast too and here we are 12 years later, still together and very much in love. There’s no blueprint when it comes to these things, just do what feels right for both of you and don’t worry too much about the rest.”

“Thank you, Hakyeon,” replied Hongjoong.

He’d had a few mentors throughout his evolution as a dom, but nobody could ever come close to the impact this man has had in his life.

“Okay, enough emotional chatting. Let’s check this gear.”

Hongjoong laughed. “Yes, sir.”

He got all his equipment out of the bag, double-checking that everything was in perfect condition before focusing on the hard points installed in the ceiling and the suspension lines that hung from it. 

He trusted Hakyeon with his life and knew that he made sure all the gear in the dungeon was high quality and safe, but Hongjoong still had the obligation to make sure he wasn’t taking unnecessary risks.

He was so focused preparing the bamboo pole he had brought with him for the suspension that he didn’t even notice he had company until he looked up.

“Oh, how long have you been standing there?”

“Not too long,” replied Seonghwa with a smile. “I was hanging out with Leo and Candy, but I assumed you’d be almost done by now so I decided to come looking for you, Sir. People are starting to gather around his area, so I wanted to get here early.”

Hongjoong smiled and cinched the rope, testing that it was firmly wrapped around the stick and it wouldn’t budge.

“Did you have fun with them?”

“I did, Sir!” exclaimed Seonghwa as he walked over to one of the suspension lines to tug on it and see the sturdiness of the hard points. “They showed me around and I saw someone getting caned on the Saint Andrew’s Cross. It was interesting to witness, but it definitely solidified it as a hard limit for me.”

Hongjoong chuckled, but otherwise just stared fondly at the way the sub was doing his own tests on the gear.

Sometimes he forgot that Seonghwa had been a complete rope newbie when they started their relationship, he had come really far since then and had learned pretty quickly how to do his own due diligence when it came to their play.

Good boy.

“I had a great conversation with Leo, actually. We have a lot of things in common and it felt nice to speak with someone I could relate to,” continued his boyfriend, grabbing a hank of rope to look at it. “I’ve learned a lot from Candy after we started hanging out, but we’re on the opposite ends of the spectrum as subs so it’s much harder to relate to him sometimes.”

“I’m happy to hear that, baby. I’m glad you’re making friends in the scene.”

“Thanks to you, Sir,” replied his boyfriend before gesturing to the bamboo pole. “I won’t distract you anymore.”

“I’ll be done soon.”

Seonghwa nodded and continued to silently go through Hongjoong’s gear as the dom finished securing the second suspension line on the pole and hanging it from hard points. Once he had everything set in place, he turned around to talk to one of the monitors.

“I have to step out for a second. We’ll be right back and then we can start, I just need to have a moment with my sub in private. Can you keep an eye on the gear for me?” he explained.

The woman nodded and Hongjoong grabbed the extra bag from the floor before gesturing to Seonghwa to follow him to their designated private room for the night, where he closed the door behind him.

“Oh my God, this is so cool,” said the sub as he ran towards the swing hanging from its metal frame to sit on it. “Why don’t we have one of these at home, Captain?”

Hongjoong laughed as he put the bag on the floor to unzip it.

“Do you want one?” he asked.

“Maybe,” replied Seonghwa as he swung in it. “Can we try it later, Captain?”

“Let’s see how you feel about it later and then we’ll talk, okay? Now come here, let’s get you ready for the scene.”

“Yes, Captain,” replied the sub before quickly coming over to where he was.

“Good boy,” said Hongjoong as he started to undress him. “How are you feeling, baby? Are you ready to do this in front of people? Any hesitation? Anything you need to share with me?”

“No, Captain. No hesitation. I’m a bit nervous, but still very excited about it and looking forward to it. I’ve really enjoyed myself every time we’ve practiced for this specific routine, I’m ready for it.”

Hongjoong hummed and crunched over to take Seonghwa’s shoes off. 

“I’m very happy to hear that, baby. I’m also a bit nervous, but excited. It’s been a while since the last time I did anything like this although I’ve always enjoyed it a lot, and the fact that I’m going to do it with you only makes it even more special,” he said before getting up and admiring the view of his boyfriend in nothing but boxer briefs.

“Thank you, Captain.”

“Of course, baby. Let’s warm you up,” explained Hongjoong as they started to go through their stretching routine. “It’ll be a bit different from the other times we’ve done it because I’ll do things a bit more slowly than usual and I’ll stop more often to emphasize all the important things.”

“That’s okay, Captain. I’m prepared for that,” replied Seonghwa.

“Good boy.”

They finished warming up and Hongjoong grabbed the robe they had brought from home to gently wrap it around his sub before giving him a hug.

“I’m very proud of you. You’re going to do great as always. Remember that you can tap out at any moment, don’t feel like you can’t just because there’s people watching. If anything feels wrong physically or emotionally, use your words or your signals and we’ll get you down,” explained Hongjoong before giving him a kiss on the forehead and another one on the lips.

“Yes, Captain. Thank you.”

“Okay, let’s go,” he said, grabbing his hand and walking out of the room.

A decently sized group of people had gathered around the suspension area by the time they came back, and Hongjoong tightened his grip on Seonghwa’s hand to show some support before dropping it altogether.

He put everything he was going to need on the table that they had put at a safe distance from the suspended bamboo stick, and then talked with the monitor that would act as their spotter to share Seonghwa’s safewords and distress signals before he went back to stand at the center of the space.

Here we go.

Hongjoong took a final deep breath and checked in with Seonghwa one last time, making eye contact with Hakyeon where he stood by the side and nodding at him too while he tried to push the sudden nervousness that popped in his stomach down before clearing his throat and addressing the crowd.

“Hello, everyone, and thank you for joining us tonight. My name is C and this is my partner H, and we hope you enjoy the little exhibition we have prepared for you,” he said, feeling proud of himself for sounding way less anxious than he felt. “The first thing that I want to say is that I’m not a qualified instructor. I know I don’t have to, but I will still try my best to explain the most important steps and the right safety guidelines you must follow, but you should never treat these performances as a substitute for an actual class with experienced teachers. If you ever want to become a rigger, especially if you’re planning on doing suspension, formal training is the only valid way you’re going to get the instruction you need. Feel free to come talk to me later if you need recommendations.”

He took another deep breath, feeling the confidence take over the nervousness as he slipped into the right mindset.

You have this, Kim Hongjoong.

“You might think you know what you’re doing because you’ve done floor work before, but suspension is another type of beast altogether, even if it’s ‘just partial’,” he added, using his fingers to emphasize the air quotes. “I know getting to this point is the main goal of many tops out there and everyone always wants to just rush to it, but it requires years of experience with floor work before you even get there. Your partner could get severely traumatized by your reckless behavior, they could get seriously hurt or even die if you don’t know what you’re doing, so it’s not something you can rush to just because you think it looks cool. Get educated, work with experts, and, most importantly, practice a lot with any and every heavy object you can find before you get to actual human beings.”

“I’ll explain some stuff more in detail as we go, but there is a very basic safety checklist that you need to go through before you get anyone fully or partially suspended,” continued Hongjoong as he leaned over to grab the first hank of rope he’d use. “This is just the most essential stuff in normal circumstances, but it will need to be adapted depending on the situation, the individuals’ body types, and the specific needs of the scene.”

He lifted his hand to count with his fingers as he went through the checklist.

“One: Do you and your partner have the adequate skills, knowledge and expertise to perform this specific act? Two: Are you and your partner physically, mentally and emotionally ready for the scene at that specific moment? Three: Is the physical space well-lit, clear of obstacles, and prepared? Four: Have you checked that all the gear and equipment is in perfect condition? Are you sure that you have everything you’re going to need? Five: Do you have all the plans for this scene well thought-out and in place? Do you know the steps you need to take if your partner feels discomfort or something doesn’t go as planned? Are you prepared for a quick reaction in case of an emergency?”

Hongjoong called Seonghwa over and gently undid the robe to push it off completely, turning him around afterwards and putting his arms behind his back to start working on the chest harness. 

“Sounds complicated? Well, it doesn’t end there, you will have to pay attention to many things before, during, and after the scene,” he explained as he wrapped the rope around Seonghwa’s torso. “Always check in with your partner, even if you feel like you’re ruining the mood. Protect the head, the neck, and the main nerve and circulation points at all costs. Make sure you’re using the right type of knot at all times: in some cases you will need them to allow some movement, but in other cases you need them to stay firmly attached.”

He stopped talking for a moment as he focused on pushing his fingers between the rope and Seonghwa’s skin to make sure that it was the right distance for what he needed.

“How does that feel, baby? Any discomfort?” he whispered.

“No, Sir,” replied the sub just as softly.

“Thank you, my good boy.”

Hongjoong double-checked that everything was secured in place the way it should before he started working on the second layer.

“Everything I’ve said so far is extremely important, but what I’m going to say next is probably the most important piece of advice I can give you: work with your partner. A lot of people mistakenly think bottoms are passive actors in bondage, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. You need complete trust and communication to go both ways, you need to work as a team. Both people have to do their due diligence before they do a scene, you need to sit each other down and ask all the questions you feel are important about previous experience or medical, physical and emotional limits.”

He stopped what he was doing to look at the crowd once again, trying to show how important what he was saying was.

“And this is the last thing I’ll say as an intro before we officially get into the performance. This is an important message for the bottoms: your top can’t read your mind, even if you feel like they do sometimes. They might be very in-tune and familiar with you and your body language, but only you can tell when something feels wrong. We can read skin coloration and body temperature to keep track of the most obvious signs of nerve and circulation damage, but some of these injuries are invisible and we need you to check in with yourself and speak up if you have to. Be aware of the risks and communicate your limits, share how you feel when you think it’s necessary and let us know beforehand how sensitive you are to subspace and what type of aftercare you are going to need.”

“Wow, that was a long ass speech. Let’s just get to it, shall we?” added Hongjoong with a chuckle, which prompted him to get a synchronized laughter from the crowd as an answer. “As you might have noticed, I’m currently working on a chest harness. This tie is extremely important because it’s going to hold most of his load, which is the right term for his weight in this context. That means that it needs to be loose enough to give him enough room to move a little, but not enough to slip away and risk having him fall down. Partial suspension is still suspension, most of the bottom’s load is going to be held up by the rope so you need to be very thorough with every single knot.”

The rest of the session went even more smoothly than he could have hoped for.

There hadn’t been any kind of issue, Hongjoong had felt confident and secure in himself, his communication with Seonghwa had been spotless as usual, and the sub had patiently let him move him around without a single complaint. The audience had seemed engaged and interested the whole time too, laughing at his jokes and nodding as the dom explained every detail as he went through the steps.

He had also noticed that Seonghwa had fallen into subspace much slower than usual, but that the sub had still ended up slipping the moment he had his leg lifted high in the air behind him.

Hongjoong had gone through the final remarks with half of his attention fixed on his suspended boyfriend, so he couldn’t help but wrap things up as quickly as possible and immediately start working on undoing the rope wrapped around Seonghwa’s ankle.

“Untying your bottom and bringing them down is as important as putting them up. Do it gradually and gently to avoid an abrupt change that could cause them to drop, in every sense of the word. Most bottoms are really sensitive to ropespace, especially when there’s suspension involved, and they might end up as deep into it as my baby over here,” he said, which got him another laugh from the crowd as he carefully put the sub’s leg down.

He did the same with the hip harness before he lowered him down, keeping the one on his chest in place as Hongjoong massaged his boyfriend for a bit while still talking to the audience.

“I’m going to take him somewhere private so he can come down slowly. Again, thank you for coming, you’ve been a lovely audience. I hope you enjoyed the experience as much as we did, and, who knows, maybe even learned something useful,” he said as he wrapped the robe around Seonghwa before helping the sub lean on him. “I’ll be back in a moment. Feel free to come find me later if you have any questions for me.”

The crowd that had gathered around them clapped and he made an attempt at bowing while still holding Seonghwa against him before carefully guiding him towards their private room and closing the door behind them. Hongjoong quickly threw the blanket he had brought from home on the leather couch and helped the sub lay on it, making the other man drink some water before kneeling next to him to gently massage his legs while whispering praises and compliments.

“You did so well, baby. I’m so proud of you. Everyone was in awe because of your beauty and your obedience, I hope you heard their impressed whispers. I’m so lucky to have such a pretty good boy as my partner, they were all so jealous of me,” he said before moving to the same with his arms.

Seonghwa whined and made grabby hands towards him, which made Hongjoong laugh fondly and lie next to him to wrap himself around the blond.

“I was trying to give you a massage, baby.”

The sub whined and cuddled closer to him, pressing his face against Hongjoong’s neck as the dom continued to gently dig his fingers into the other man’s skin, massaging the muscles on his back and tracing the rope marks as he waited in silence for Seonghwa to go back to the right state of mind again.

“I bet they were more jealous of me,” said the sub after a moment of peaceful silence, where the only thing they could hear were the faint outside noises that managed to seep into the room. “You were so …I don’t know, commanding and in control. I mean, you always are, but you were really in your element out there and everybody could tell. It only confirmed how talented you are as a rigger and how lucky I am to have such a good Dom.”

Hongjoong could almost feel the blush spreading on his face and he tightened his arms around his boyfriend.

“Thank you, baby. That means a lot coming from you, I really appreciate it,” he said, meaning every single word. “How are you feeling? How was the experience of having an audience?”

Seonghwa hummed. “It was a bit intimidating at first, but I couldn’t even focus on them after a while. I really don’t know what it is about rope, but it puts me under so fast and so deep that it feels like I’m just floating in the ether. It’s hard to care about anything at all when I’m in that headspace, I can’t even think sometimes.”

Hongjoong frowned and pushed his face into the sub’s hair.

“Is that …a good thing? When we first started our relationship, you mentioned that sometimes you got really deep into it and that I should stop if you ever got to that point. You get non-verbal and emotional sometimes, but I don’t think you’ve ever been gone enough to be unaware of what’s going on, right?” he asked, suddenly feeling worried about having potentially missed important signs.

The sub stayed silent for a moment so Hongjoong could feel himself starting to panic, but the other man spoke up before he could spiral too much.

“Subspace feels different when I’m with you. I don’t know how to explain it, but it’s not a bad thing. It’s a really good thing, actually,” explained Seonghwa, stopping to gather his thoughts as he drew random patterns on Hongjoong’s t-shirt. “I don’t like being too deep into subspace because it stops feeling relaxing and pleasant to me, it just feels like I’m stuck in the void and won’t ever be able to get out. Any little thing can set me off after I come back from that heightened headspace, I will think I’m a Bad Boy over the smallest stuff and that tiny seed will fester and become a big dark shadow in my mind really quickly – but you're really good at keeping anchored and reassured throughout the whole process. You check in with me often during the scene and that helps me come back to reality to enjoy the experience more, and you’re just as present during the aftercare. I don’t know, you just know how to be very involved without making it feel overwhelming, it makes me feel comfortable and safe.”

Hongjoong tried to reply and show how honored and grateful he felt, but he found himself completely unable to put his current emotions into words.

I love you.

“I…” he started saying, but he managed to stop himself before he could continue. “Thank you, Seonghwa.”

“No, Hongjoong. Thank you. ”

He still felt like those words didn’t properly express what he was trying to say, so he grabbed the sub’s face and gently angled it towards him so he could give him a kiss that he hoped transmitted his feelings in a clearer way.

Seonghwa responded enthusiastically, and what was supposed to be a small gesture quickly turned into a long and deep exchange that only stopped when Hongjoong was forced to stop in order to breathe.

His boyfriend kissed him again the moment they had both caught their breaths, and it quickly turned into a full make-out session. Hongjoong was fully aware of where they were and knew they should probably go outside before things escalated even more, but every rational thought he might have evaporated into thin air when Seonghwa whispered three little words against his lips.

“I need you.”

Hongjoong didn’t even bother replying out loud, he simply pushed his mouth against his again and carefully manhandled him so he was laying under him on the couch and situating himself between the sub’s open legs without breaking the kiss.

Seonghwa wrapped his arms and legs around him, and soon enough Hongjoong found himself rutting against the other man’s without even noticing, hard dicks rubbing together between layers of fabric.

“I need you, please,” said his boyfriend again. “So much.”

Hongjoong pushed the sub’s boxers down and did the same with his own clothes, hastily getting them out of the way before lowering himself again to continue dry-humping him. It didn’t take much for Seonghwa to start leaking pre-cum, making the slide much more pleasurable as he continued to thrust between his boyfriend’s legs.

The blond groaned and tightened his grip around Hongjoong.

“I need you inside, please.”

He haltered his thrusts, brain frozen as he absorbed what the other man had said.

“We should continue like this, baby, this is probably not the best place to do something like that.”

“I don’t care,” replied Seonghwa with a whine. “Please, I need to feel you closer to me. I’m begging you, Captain.”

Hongjoong always wanted to do the right thing first, but he also wasn’t stupid enough to refuse such a sweet demand. 

Without needing to be told again, he got up and grabbed the lube he kept in the bag for moments like these. He stared at the condoms he had there for quick clean-up too, knowing that he should probably wear one to make things easier, but the idea of having Seonghwa walking around the dungeon and talking to people with his cum inside him was too nice to pass on.

He went back to the couch, kneeling between Seonghwa’s open legs again and getting his underwear completely off before gently pushing a lubed finger inside his hole and leaning over to wrap his lips around his nipple. The sub pushed a hand in his hair, gently massaging his scalp as Hongjoong continued to bite and lick his nipple before moving to the other one to give it the same treatment.

He added a second finger as he continued to play with the second nipple, giving them both a kiss before moving up to press his mouth against Seonghwa neck and biting the spot under the collar to suck on it right after, feeling the intense need to leave yet another mark that would show the world that this man was his.

He bit a couple more spots on his neck and collarbones as he scissored his fingers, adding a third finger when he considered the muscle was stretched enough to take it, before continuing his journey down Seonghwa’s chest.

He licked and kissed the skin while he moved south with a hand still firmly attached to his hair, tracing the rope marks on the other man’s chest with his lips and stopping on that sensitive spot over his pubic bone that drove him crazy before taking the tip of his boyfriend’s dick in his mouth. Seonghwa groaned and pulled on his hair, just to immediately caress the area in an attempt to soothe it.

“I’m ready,” groaned the sub while gently pulling on his hair again in an attempt to bring him back up.

Hongjoong chuckled and let himself get guided back to his mouth, sharing another kiss as he blindly grabbed the lube and poured some more on his hand to spread it all over his dick. 

They were still kissing when he manhandled Seonghwa into a comfortable position, knees pressed against Hongjoong’s shoulders as he put his dick inside, both of them groaning into each other's mouths as he pushed it all the way in a single steady thrust. He stayed still for a moment, allowing both of them to get used to the feeling before dragging his dick out a tiny bit just to push it back in again.

Seonghwa was still firmly wrapped around him, arms and legs keeping him closer as his mouth refused to leave his. The position limited Hongjoong’s range of motion quite a bit, making him completely unable to fuck his boyfriend in the fast and rough pace they were used to and forcing him to do slow but deep thrusts instead.

They’d had sex quite a few times by now, all kinds of acts in all kinds of different positions and places, but this felt …different.

Not in a bad way, it was just different.

He couldn’t really put his finger on it, but the air around them felt charged and intense and weirdly emotional. 

Seonghwa was being a lot more proactive and clingy than usual, keeping Hongjoong as close as he could and grabbing every piece of skin or hair he could find with his wandering hands while his hips moved up to meet the dom’s thrusts. He could barely take his mouth away from the sub for a second before he was quickly seeking his lips again to lock him in another kiss.

He didn’t think that the slow pace they had going would do it for him, but the familiar ball of tension in his abdomen kept building up and getting bigger while he fucked into his boyfriend, a similar tightness to the one Hongjoong could feel in his chest as he got completely lost in his sub.

Seonghwa was all he could hear, feel, see and taste – and he never wanted it to stop.

He never wanted this moment to stop.

But, sadly, both the turmoil of emotions and the buildup of pleasure continued to grow and get more intense as they moved against each other in sync.

Hongjoong broke the kiss as he panted, resting as much weight as possible on his elbows and looking down to lock eyes with Seonghwa while he chased his orgasm.

The pressure in his chest got tighter as he stared into those brown boba eyes, emotions flaring up inside him and making the physical sensations get heightened as goosebumps appeared on his skin.

I love you.

I love you so fucking much.

Hongjoong could feel the words coming up his throat so he embarrassingly hid his face in Seonghwa’s neck, cheek pressed against the collar as his heartbeat picked up in his chest and his hips followed suit.

“Harder, please,” begged the sub into his ear.

He was grateful to have an excuse to focus on something that wasn’t the intense feelings that sat on his chest, so he moved back to stand on his knees and grab Seonghwa’s thighs, falling back to a more familiar rhythm as he fucked him harder and faster.

The sub immediately lifted his arms over his head to grip the armrest of the sofa, anchoring himself as Hongjoong’s thrusts became more powerful and maintaining eye contact until the pleasure was too much for him and he ended up closing them to press his face against his own arm.

Hongjoong welcomed the small break, closing his own eyes too as he simply focused on the thrusts for a while, on the orgasm that was approaching quickly and on the cacophony of noises that were echoing inside the soundproofed room – music made up by the sound of skin slapping against skin and two streams of harsh breathing and desperate moans.

Opening his eyes again, he pushed Seonghwa’s knees against his own chest, basically folding him in half as Hongjoong continued to fuck into him while moving down to grab his boyfriend’s weeping dick with his right hand, jerking him off just as roughly.

“I want you to come before me,” he said, surprising both of them.

The sub wasn’t even supposed to come today, based on his pre-established schedule, but Hongjoong felt the sudden intense urge to fuck him through his orgasm.

“I’m close,” muttered Seonghwa, opening his legs even more and grabbing the armrest behind his head harder. “So close, I—.”

Anything else he was going to say got lost in his chest as the words quickly morphed into intelligible sounds, dick leaking more and more pre-cum in Hongjoong’s hand as he continued to both jerk him off and pound into him.

“Fuc—”

Seonghwa’s body thrashed under him, hands going from the armrest to Hongjoong’s own arm as he came all over himself, thick ropes of cum falling on his belly and chest as he continued to meet the dom’s thrusts enthusiastically.

Hongjoong dropped the dick soon after to grab his sub’s thighs once again as his own orgasm lurked under the surface, desperately fucking him while his hole tightened rhythmically around his cock. 

“Yes,” groaned Seonghwa, moving his own hips to help him deepen the thrusts while his own dick continued to drool over his abdomen. “Come on, Captain. Come in me.”

Hongjoong whined and closed his eyes, hips snapping over and over again against Seonghwa’s ass as his pace got erratic and he pushed his dick as far as he could go before coming, white exploding behind his eyelids and arms shaking under his weight as he continued to desperately rut while keeping his cock nested deep inside his sub.

He kept pushing until his arms gave out, falling on top of Seonghwa while he recovered with his eyes still closed, trembling slightly as the last tremors of his orgasm shot through his body.

They both stayed in silence for a while, the sound of their heavy breathing going back to normal being the only thing they could hear over the faint sound of music coming from outside the room.

Hongjoong felt almost like he could start purring at any moment while Seonghwa pushed his fingers through his sweaty red hair, but he ended up laughing instead once his brain was back in order and the reality of the situation hit him.

“Holy shit,” he said.

Seonghwa laughed in response too, but didn’t say anything else as he simply continued to massage his head.

“That was …surprisingly vanilla,” added Hongjoong after a moment, not even attempting to stop the gentle caresses.

His boyfriend snorted, and he could feel the vibrations under his cheek where it was pressed against the other man’s chest.

“We’re literally in a private room at a BDSM dungeon where we just did a shibari demonstration that left me covered in very obvious and noticeable rope marks.”

Hongjoong chuckled. “You have a point.”

None of them said anything for a while after that, simply enjoying the feeling of each other’s warmth and the pleasant sensations left behind by their orgasms, until Seonghwa suddenly broke the silence with a whiny groan.

“Oh no, we were supposed to try the swing!”

Hongjoong laughed again, arms tightening around the other man as pure fondness exploded in his chest.

I love you.

“Don’t worry, I’ll buy you one so we can try it on our own dungeon,” he replied.

–

“You never contacted me.”

Hongjoong looked up from the camera’s viewfinder and turned around, unsure if he had even heard someone talking over the background noise coming from the crowd that stood outside the tent, and forced himself to smile to stop the grimace that had almost come out when he saw who was the person who had talked to him.

Ah, shit. I forgot about you again.

In front of him was Taeyeob, his long white hair styled in waves and his outfit as loud and bright as the last time he had seen him.

The model had come up in conversation several times during the last few weeks since he was going to be speaking during the parade, and Hongjoong had really meant to reach out to him to officially reject his offer, but there was so much going on with the last minute preparations that he kept forgetting about it.

He knew Taeyeob had been working with Haru and Seonghwa on his speech, but his boyfriend had kept him out of those meetings since ‘he wasn’t needed as a designer’.

Hongjoong had been tempted to call him out on his bullshit, but he technically wasn’t lying so he had decided to let it go.

“Ah, yeah. I’m sorry, I’ve been really busy at my day job and things have been downright hectic with the preparations for the festival too, so…” he replied.

“Don’t worry about it, I was just teasing you,” added the model with a smirk. “I can recognize a ‘no, thanks’ when I see it, you know?”

“Ah,” said Hongjoong before laughing awkwardly and scratching the back of his neck with the hand that wasn’t holding the camera, unsure of how to reply.

“Sorry if I made you uncomfortable by trying to flirt with you, but I promise it was also a serious professional offer,” continued Taeyeob.

“No, no, you didn’t make me feel uncomfortable. I’ve really been super busy and haven’t had the time to reach out to you,” explained Hongjoong, feeling even more flustered and awkward. “I think I’ll have to refuse, though. I’m really not a professional, I wouldn’t want to mess up with your portfolio …and I, huh, I already have a boyfriend. Sorry.”

Taeyeob laughed and shrugged his shoulders. 

“No hard feelings, I just had to shoot my shot. Your boyfriend is very lucky.”

“I’m the lucky one,” replied Hongjoong immediately.

“Oh no, you’re cute and romantic too?” asked the model with a fake pained expression.

They both laughed lightly, but were promptly interrupted by Seonghwa and one of the volunteers before any of them could say anything else.

“I apologize, but I need to steal Hongjoong for a moment,” said Seonghwa with a fake smile. “We also need you to head backstage as soon as possible, Taeyeob. The interventions will begin soon and your speech is one of the first ones. This is Kyubin, he’ll guide you there and kindly explain everything you need to know.”

“Ah, yes. Well, it was a pleasure talking with you again, Hongjoong. Thank you for letting me down gently,” said the model before looking at Seonghwa. “He’s all yours.”

He chuckled, unsure if Taeyeob was talking about their current conversation or if he had connected the dots of their relationship.

The model seemed smart, and considering the clear contempt Seonghwa showed towards him every time he was around, he probably had an idea of what was going on.

Hongjoong had other priorities at that specific moment, though.

“Okay, take me wherever I need to go, big boy,” said Taeyeob while looking at Kyubin, who bowed nervously before gently guiding him in the right direction.

“How are you doing, baby?” he asked once their companions had left. “Are you nervous?”

“Very, I can’t remember the last time I was this anxious,” replied Seonghwa, biting his lips. “I’m going to put myself on blast out there, even some of our colleagues are out there somewhere. I don’t know what kind of impact this is going to have in my life, Hongjoong. I’m scared.”

“You can still back out, there’s no shame in that.”

His boyfriend whined and Hongjoong wrapped his arms around him immediately, not even caring that they were in a tent surrounded by a big mass of people where anyone could walk in at any moment.

“Tell me to do it, please,” explained Seonghwa, voice muffled by his t-shirt as he buried his face on Hongjoong’s shoulder. “I need to hear you say the words.”

He chuckled fondly. “I want you to go out there and give the speech you’ve been practicing so diligently, my good boy. I know it’s very scary, but you’ve poured your heart and soul into this event and this is the perfect culmination of all that bravery and effort. You said it yourself when you decided to give a speech: ‘None of this means anything if we don’t speak up to share the powerful message behind this movement’.”

Seonghwa whined again.

“I’m very proud of you, baby. You’re more than capable of doing this and anything else you set your mind to,” he added before grabbing his face and forcing him to face him. “Go out there and drown the screams of those who hate us. Make everyone cry just like you’ve made me cry every time you’ve practiced the speech with me.”

His boyfriend laughed, teary eyes fixed on him for a moment before he nodded and took a deep breath.

I love you.

“I will be right by your side, silently supporting you from beginning to end,” said Hongjoong before grabbing Seonghwa’s wrist and caressing the bracelet with his thumb. “Remember: I’m always there to support you, even if you don’t see me.”

Seonghwa’s pout started trembling as his eyes got even more watery.

“Hongjoong, I lo—”

“Guys, we really—…oops.”

They both turned around to look at Kyubin, who was staring at them with big eyes.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt. Ehm, we need you backstage as soon as possible, but you can …finish talking first,” added the volunteer quickly before bowing nervously and leaving again.

Hongjoong sighed as Seonghwa dried the few tears that had managed to escape.

“Yeah, we should head there,” said the blond with a nervous smile.

He nodded, aware that the interruption had kind of ruined the moment. 

“Let’s go.”

Hongjoong noticed straight away that the crowd that had gathered for the parade was almost twice the size it had been when he walked into the tent, and seeing the amount of people they had managed to mobilize made him feel a weird mix of nervousness and pride.

They came across the hecklers on the way to the outdoor portable stage they had built at the center of the square, and he couldn’t help but laugh at how pathetic they looked in comparison to the size of the crowd.

“Homosexuality is a sin! You’re going to burn in hell!” yelled a woman from the other side of the line of police officers.

“Oh, yes. I definitely am,” yelled Hongjoong back after chuckling. “But you’ll get there way before me, lady!”

Seonghwa laughed loudly next to him and he joined him, showing their badges to the police and walking through the crowd after the officers had let them in.

Everyone else was already gathered behind the stage by the time they got there, and he enthusiastically returned the hug Seulgi gave him the moment she noticed him.

“Did you see the size of that crowd?!? Holy shit, I’m shaking,” she said before hugging Seonghwa. “And it’s thanks to you and the amazing work you’ve done! I don’t know how to thank you for it, we’ve never gotten this much reach before and it’s all because of you.”

The blond returned the hug just as tightly and Hongjoong couldn’t help but feel truly amazed by the way his boyfriend could completely hide all his emotions away sometimes, considering how expressive and transparent his face actually was.

“We did it as a team,” replied Seonghwa.

“That’s true,” said Seulgi while letting him go and turning around to look at the rest of the group. “We made it, team!! It was hard, so hard, but we did it!! We’re truly amazing, a big applause for all of us.”

Hongjoong laughed and joined the rest of the team as he clapped, feeling energized and ready to conquer the world next to these people.

“Okay, let’s go out there and share some words before we get on the truck to start marching,” added Seulgi. “I’ll go first, then Seonghwa, and then the testimonials. Kyubin will tell you when it’s your turn. Are you ready, Hongjoong?”

“Ready,” he replied while raising his camera.

“Let’s do this!” she said, putting her hand in front of her.

Everyone gathered around her and put their hands on top of hers, cheering loudly before everyone assumed their right position and got ready to start the show.

“You can do this,” whispered Hongjoong one last time as he gripped his boyfriend’s arm in a comforting gesture. “I’ll be right there when you come out. Good luck.”

I love you.

Seonghwa nodded and put his hand on top of his.

“Good luck to you too.”

Hongjoong took a deep breath and made eye contact with the other photographer the moment he walked outside, wordlessly confirming that they were both ready to begin as they moved to their right place right in front of the stage.

The crowd had been loud before, but it got even louder after Seulgi came on stage to everyone.

Hongjoong quickly slipped into ‘Photographer Mode’ after that, going back and forth between taking pictures of Seulgi and taking pictures of the crown, always making sure that there wasn’t any recognizable person at the center of the shot.

He only snapped out of his focus when he heard Seulgi mention Seonghwa’s name, heart picking up in his chest as he turned around to stare at the stage again and seeing his boyfriend coming out to pick the microphone the President was handing his way.

They made brief eye contact as Seonghwa brought it towards his lips, and Hongjoong gave him the biggest smile and a nod in an attempt to reassure him from the distance.

You can do this, my good boy.

“Thank you, Seulgi, for the meaningful words you’ve just shared with us and especially for the important work you’ve dedicated your life to on behalf of all of us,” said the blond before taking a second to inhale deeply. “My name is Park Seonghwa and I'm the Head of Marketing at the Seoul Festival Organizing Committee. I’m a fairly recent addition to this team, but at the same time it feels like I’ve been part of it for much longer because of how many times I’ve stood right there, where you are standing now. It feels kind of weird to be on this stage, surrounded by people I’ve always admired, when I’m so used to staring up at them from the crowd.”

Seonghwa opened his mouth to continue talking, but he was interrupted by a loud cheer, and Hongjoong could basically feel his heart growing ten times larger when he saw the shy smile his boyfriend gave in response as a blush spread quickly all over his face.

“Coming to this parade, to this festival, has always been a source of deep joy and pride for me, but also a source of deep fear and worries: ‘What if someone I know sees me here?’ ‘What if those people on the other side of the barricade try to hurt me?’ ‘What if someone exposes me and I lose my job? My friends? My family?’,” continued Seonghwa with a more somber look on his face. “I don’t know if those feelings will ever go away, to be honest. I still have them even as I stand here before you, but I do know one thing for sure: it gets better. It does get better. I know it’s a very cheesy thing to say, and yet it’s the truth.”

Hongjoong forced himself to look at Seonghwa through the lens, almost forgetting where he was and why he was there for a moment as he felt intense pride flare up in his chest at the sheer show of bravery his boyfriend was showing.

“Allow me to get even more personal and cheesy for a moment,” said the blond after the crowd had stopped cheering once again. “I…I have always prided myself in the things I can do, but not in things that make me who I am. I did everything I could to fit in the standardized box that everybody told me was supposed to represent perfection and success. I'm sure all of you know what box I’m talking about, because you’ve also been told the same lies. I dedicated my whole life to that box, shed many tears in the process of twisting and bending myself in the right ways to fit in it, but once I finally managed to get inside it, I quickly realized that all that effort wasn’t worth it. I had the admiration of my peers, success, money, and all the other stuff that was supposed to make me happy, and yet I wasn’t. I was miserable. And the saddest part is that I was so used to the emptiness that I didn’t even realize it was there.”

The crowd didn’t cheer this time, a heavy feeling of deep understanding and solidarity hanging in the air over them, bringing some members of the audience to tears the same way those words had made Hongjoong himself cry several times by now.

“It took the words, the guidance and the patience of someone very special for me to make me learn how to love the things that made me who I was, especially the parts that made me feel ashamed and different. Don’t get me wrong: the acts of this person weren’t a magic fix that solved everything in a snap of their fingers, but it was exactly what I needed to start the process of learning how to love myself,” said Seonghwa, fixing his teary eyes on a shocked Hongjoong for a brief moment before looking into the crowd once again. 

His boyfriend had practiced his speech with him several times over the last few days, but he had never uttered any of those words before. 

Hongjoong didn’t know if he had just made that up on the spot or if the blond had simply decided not to share the bit about him with him before, but he could feel tears pooling in his eyes at the touching addition.

Seonghwa had mentioned how important he had been in his self-discovery journey before, but Hongjoong didn’t know he had made this much of a big impact on the other man.

“I stand here today because, maybe, I can be that person for you. I’m not going to lie, I’m terrified of what kind of impact standing right here will have on my life and my career, but I’m willing to face that if it means that I can use my privilege to help at least one of you. A single person would make it all worth it. Because sometimes you feel undermined and defeated and hurt, but it takes a few words from someone to turn your world upside down and make you realize that you’re not alone,” continued Seonghwa before smiling. “So, just in case that you haven’t heard these words recently: we all deserve to love and be loved without shame. We deserve to exist in this world and be happy and thrive, but we also deserve to mess up and be sad sometimes. We deserve to be ourselves openly and proudly without fear because we’re actually not hurting anyone, no matter what they say.”

The crowd erupted in cheer and a big applause once again, and Hongjoong let the camera hang off his neck to join everyone else.

“I’ll stop talking now so our next guest can share his bravery and his boldness with all of you as well,” said Seonghwa with a light laugh. “But remember: keep fighting and keep changing the world, because we can only make it better if we work together. Thank you.”

I love you.

The cheers and the applause got even louder and Hongjoong continued clapping until his palms went numb and Taeyeob was already standing on the stage. Unable to stop himself, he whistled in an attempt to get the attention of the other photographer, pointing to the backstage while trying to communicate that he was stepping away for a moment.

I love you.

He ran towards the backstage where the rest of the team had gathered around a teary Seonghwa, who immediately got away from the group hug to meet Hongjoong halfway.

I love you.

“You were so brave, baby. I can’t even tell you how incredibly proud of you I am. You did so well, everyone love—”

His heart was beating wildly in his chest as Seonghwa scooped him in his arms and interrupted what he was saying while pushing his lips against Hongjoong’s in an almost painful clash.

He wasn’t even sure if his own cheeks were wet because of his own tears or his boyfriend’s at this point, but he couldn’t even bring himself to care as he stared into those big shiny eyes the moment they broke the kiss.

I love you.

“I love you.”

Hongjoong felt like all the air from his lungs had been punched out of his chest as his whole body froze, heart skipping a beat before picking it up rapidly.

“I love you,” repeated Seonghwa once again, a shadow of nervousness hiding underneath the confidence in his eyes. “I know it’s probably too early to say it, but I just can’t keep it inside any longer. I love you, Hongjoong. I feel like I’ve loved you for a long time, I’ve never felt anything this intense before. You silence the bad words in my head, you help me thrive in my submission, you teach me how to love every part of myself.”

Hongjoong opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out.

“I…I feel like we’re on the same page, but it’s okay if—”

“I love you,” he said, managing to finally push the words out of him. “I love you so much, Seonghwa. You have no idea how much.”

His boyfriend laughed and kissed him again, not even caring that the whole team was probably staring at them.

“Say it again,” said Seonghwa.

Hongjoong chuckled, barely even noticing that his face was starting to hurt because of the sheer size of his smile.

“I love you.”

“I’ve been waiting for you to say it for the longest time. I felt like your eyes were telling me those words, but you just wouldn’t say it so I didn’t know if I was seeing things!” exclaimed Seonghwa.

“I’m sorry,” said Hongjoong. “I really wanted to say it, I was so close to blurting out so many times, but I just …didn’t want to scare you away.”

“It takes a lot more than that to scare me away, Captain, and…” replied Seonghwa, smile faltering for a moment. “I hope that’s how you feel too, because there are lots of scary things coming. I don’t know what’s going to happen now. I don’t know what kind of consequences this is going to have. I don’t know what’s going to happen when we go back to work. I don’t know what’s going to happen if …when I turn my resignation letter in. Being my partner, being my Dom, is probably going to be a lot of work soon, but I promise I will do my best to not rely on you too much.”

“Hey, none of that, okay?” interrupted Hongjoong before he could go any further. “I told you earlier, didn’t I? I love you. I will be right by your side supporting you from beginning to end. I’m your partner, your dom. It’s my pleasure and my honor to be there for you, so please rely on me as much as you need. Whatever happens, we’ll face it together.”

Seonghwa pouted and gave him another quick peck before smirking.

“You need to stop saying stuff like that or I’ll fall even more in love with you.”

“You better get used to it,” replied Hongjoong as he got even closer to him to whisper the next sentence. “Because the bracelet on your wrist says that you’re mine and I’ll keep saying these things as long as you wear it.”

“I hope you’re ready to stick around then, Captain, because I’m planning on keeping you forever.”

“You shouldn’t say something like that so careless—”

“Hey, lovebirds! Sorry to interrupt the disgusting PDA, but we have an event to run! You know, in case you’ve forgotten,” yelled Seulgi.

They both turned around to see the whole time staring at them, teasing smiles on their faces as they cheered loudly for them.

They both laughed shyly, maintaining eye contact while Hongjoong grabbed Seonghwa’s hand.

“Come on, we’ll continue this conversation later,” he said, smiling when his boyfriend returned the tight grip on his hand.

“Yeah, let’s do this.”

Hongjoong could barely believe how much his life had changed in the last year. 

Sometimes he still felt like the last few months had been a fever dream and that he was going to wake up back in a time when Seonghwa didn’t trust him enough to give him and their relationship a chance, a time when they were still walking on eggshells around each other.

But then reality would hit him – it wasn’t a dream, this was literally his life, and he was going to work as hard as he could to always prove to Seonghwa that he’d never take that sacred trust for granted.

Hongjoong didn’t know what the future had in store for them, but he was confident that they’d be able to face it as long as they did it together.

–

The Captain @no1likeme
You shouldn’t say something like that so carelessly, my good boy. I might be tempted to take you up on that offer ;)

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Good Lil Boy @CaptainsGLB
I never speak carelessly, Captain. I mean every single word I say to you :)