Natural Instincts 4/13
Author: kpopforlife
Word Count: 3545
Rating: PG-13 (overall NC-17)
Pairing/Focus: Jongyu
Genre: omega!verse
Warnings: Omega!verse, knotting, dom!jinki
Summary: As soon as Jinki stepped off of the elevator he knew something was off. There was a tension, a faint whiff of something different, something foreign that laced the stagnant air with the most delicious aroma he had ever encountered. He couldn’t quite put his finger on it, but something was amiss. His senses were heightened, body reacting on its own accord, alpha pheromones immediately stirring, but for what he wasn’t quite sure.
lethallycute beta<3
Prev
Things fell into a routine in the next few weeks. Jonghyun had sat down with Kibum and Taemin and talked to them like he had promised Jinki. It was unfair for the younger two to be blaming the whole incident on Jinki and Jonghyun told them as much. They begrudgingly listened; the tense atmosphere in the dorm slowly began to lessen with each passing day.
As tensions ebbed and things slowly dissolved into pattern, Jonghyun still felt stagnated by the whole experience. He was weighed down by guilt every time he saw Jinki. The older boy was clearly not fine. Jinki wore his mask of self-protection all the time now when once it was only served as a defense mechanism for when they were in front of a camera. While his actions didn’t change, still eating with the others and fighting for use of the massage chair, he was inexplicably different. There was a tangible sadness to his disposition, which he was constantly covering up with smiles and laughter that failed to reach his eyes.
He looked broken.
The others seemed not to notice, or, more likely, they knew it was out of their power to fix what was wrong with Jinki hyung and therefore let the eldest believe he was fooling them all. Jonghyun didn’t have that luxury. He knew exactly what was wrong with Jinki and he knew exactly how to fix it. That was why it cut him so deeply that he was both the illness and the medicine that was being withheld from Jinki in this particular situation. He didn’t know what to do. Should he play ignorant? Should he avoid Jinki or let himself get closer? He didn’t want to give Jinki false hope but he also wanted to try and ease some of his pain. Alpha or not, Jinki hyung was simply too fragile for the lifestyle they had been thrown into, and even though he was younger, Jonghyun had always felt a need to protect him. Jonghyun was just at a loss as to what he should do. He tried to push the whole thing to the back of his mind and simply go about his normal life but that proved to be the wrong answer as well.
~~~
Being a beta was difficult because every few months they would have to suffer through their heat. It was a bit more frequent than most animals but with a shorter duration of only a day or two. Whether that was better or worse however, Jonghyun had never been able to decide. Despite it all, he counted himself lucky that he was in a group with other betas as well. The three of them had long ago established a deal of ‘helping’ each other during this difficult time. It wasn’t the most perfect of setups but it worked for them. Their cycles generally didn’t overlap so there were always two perfectly functioning cocks to take turns helping the beta in heat, or at the very least, two sets of hands to take turns work a toy inside the beta. Any awkwardness had worn off years ago because all three of them had seen each other at their best and worst. It wasn’t something that any of them really discussed but simply a practice they continued out of necessity. It was far better than enduring a heat cycle alone.
So, when Kibum’s heat cycle started, Jonghyun and Taemin did what they always did, ushering the two alphas out of the dorm for the night before throwing out a simple rock, paper, scissors to see who would go first.
It was a bit of a burden for both of them because their natural instinct was to be on the receiving end of a cock rather than the giving end, so while it was enjoyable, it was also tiring. Even between the two of them, it was simply too much sex when they didn’t feed off of the hormones like an alpha could. They simply weren’t designed for such activities.
Jonghyun collapsed onto Taemin’s bed after his turn was over, the stench of sex and the sound of skin slapping lulling him into a fitful sleep. Unfortunately his nap didn’t last long. He awoke to the pleasant surprise of Kibum buried between him legs, lapping at his flaccid length as if it were the only thing keeping him grounded. However, in Jonghyun’s sleep-aided state, his brain could only conjuring up images of Jinki sucking him off rather than Kibum and the foggy thought of ‘wouldn’t it be nice if his Jinki were here?’
Wait.
His Jinki?
Had he really just thought that? Jinki was in no way his. If only for the fact that Jonghyun wouldn’t let him be. But now that the fleeting thought had been recognized it wouldn’t go away. His mind flooded with memories and images of their night together. How firm and forceful Jinki had been; the fire in the older man’s eyes as he fucked Jonghyun relentlessly. How amazing it had felt to have that thick alpha cock inside him, to be knotted, his insides stretched, filled beyond their capacity, and yet he only craved for more.
Before he quite realized it, he was rock hard and Kibum was unceremoniously sinking down onto him. He sighed, his fantasy lifting as the reality of the situation set back in. He let Kibum do all the work as his mind slowly slipped off again, back to Jinki, his alpha.
~~~
Things only got worse for Jonghyun because Taemin went into heat merely days after Kibum. Jonghyun hardly had time to recover before he had a horny maknae perched in his lap, grinding his little dancer hips for all he was worth.
It was an exhausting week for Jonghyun, to say the least.
They only had a few weeks of peace, bogged down with busy schedules and long days before it was Jonghyun’s turn. However, there was a problem. A big problem. Key was away for the weekend, visiting his family in Daegu. This left Taemin by himself to deal with Jonghyun, which simply meant that they were both in for a long and stressful night; good thing they kept the dorm stocked with protein snacks because Taemin wasn’t going to be getting any rest.
~~~
Jonghyun groaned a bit as his eyes fluttered open, immediately closing them because the sunlight far too bright this early in the morning. He was still in Kibum’s bed, Taemin fast asleep next to him.
He had never felt so unsatisfied after a heat cycle in his life. Not even when he used to endure them alone. After finally knowing what it was like to have an alpha nothing else seemed to compare. His body craved that forceful power; that suffocating dose of pheromones and the possessive knot that made him hard just to think about. Everything just felt wrong now. While the maknae had tried really hard (and done rather well all things considered), Jonghyun still just felt empty. No matter how hard the younger fucked him, no matter how big of a toy he used, nothing seemed good enough. It was infuriating.
Jonghyun slid off the bed, sending a quick text to the Minho and Jinki to let them know it was safe to come back home, before getting in the shower to make himself look presentable once again. He cleaned up the best he could, putting on fresh clothes, starting a load of laundry and throwing open all the windows to rid the apartment of the smell of sex before he headed off to the kitchen to make some food.
He had just set the rice on to cook when the others walked in, smiling happily at the sight of lunch they didn’t have to help prepare. While Jonghyun was no master chef, they had all learned the basics of cooking to save themselves from the prepackaged diet food that their management team would send over.
“Hey guys, how are the hyungs?” Jonghyun asked without looking up from the stew on the stovetop he was stirring. Whenever the beta’s heat cycles hit, Jinki and Minho usually camped out at Yunho and Changmin’s apartment, which was just around the corner from their dorm. It was close, convenient and since the groups split, the bonded couple had been very welcoming of any and all distractions. This option was far better for Minho and Jinki than spending the night at the SM building anyway.
“Good. As usual,” Minho responded with a shrug, plopping down at the table and waited for the food to be done. Jinki hummed in agreement, pulling open the cupboard and collecting the appropriate dishware to set the table.
“Hyung, can you go yell at Taemin? I think he is still in the shower,” Jonghyun asked Jinki, sending him a stiff smile before turning back to what he was doing.
While things had gotten better between the two of them, Jonghyun still felt awkward when he was around the older. It wasn’t so much that they had fucked, because Jonghyun could deal with that, but it had everything to do with guilt. He could feel Jinki’s stares on him. The longing that exuded from the older was palatable and it made Jonghyun ache inside to know it was because of him. The tension in the air every time they accidentally made eye contact hung heavily around them all and it cut him inside every time Jinki would look down sheepishly, embarrassed to be caught staring yet again.
“Sure,” Jinki murmured quietly, immediately setting off to fulfill the request, causing a tense silence to fall between the Jonghyun and Minho. Minho had made it no secret that he thought Jonghyun was being an ass about the whole situation. Likewise, Jonghyun was fairly vocal about how much this whole situation was not any of Minho’s business. They had arrived at a stalemate of sorts, a silent cold war hidden from the public. They both pretended the other didn’t exist for the most part, only interacting on stage and merely maintaining civility the other members were around.
“Breakfast is ready,” Jonghyun called loudly, setting the hot dish on the table and grabbing the bowls to dish out rice portions but paused at Minho’s sudden glare.
“What?” Jonghyun asked with a raised eyebrow. While the two were still at odds, they both had a tendency to ignore each other rather than picking fights. They didn’t have the luxury of fighting it out properly so it was best to ignore the elephant in the room.
“What the fuck is on your neck?” the younger practically growled, visibly irate.
“What are you talking about?” Jonghyun said, his patience already wearing thin despite their short interaction.
“You have a goddamn hickey on your goddamn neck,” Minho shot back, his hands practically shaking with anger at this point.
“I- what?”
“Why are you two yelling?” Jinki asked as he casually strolled back into the kitchen, Taemin close on his heels.
Jonghyun met his eyes rather guiltily, quickly staring down at the floor instead. An awkward silence fell over the room, tension seeping into the air with each passing second. Jonghyun felt himself shrink down in dread as Jinki’s sharp intake of breath alerted him that they were now all on the same page.
“Explain,” Jinki growled, gripping the back of the chair tightly, his knuckles turning white as he glared at the offensive red mark on the side Jonghyun’s neck.
“I- umm- well,” Jonghyun began to stutter out, confused on how to even begin. Jonghyun was both embarrassed and remorseful. He hadn’t meant for this to happen. Taemin nor Kibum had ever bitten him before so it had never been an issue. It wasn’t in their nature to mark so he was confused as well. He definitely hadn’t meant to flaunt how much he didn’t belong to Jinki either but he understood why this was being interpreted as such. He tried to make things clear that he felt partly responsible for what had happened and did his best to make things as easy as possible for his hyung so why would he show off his single status when he knew it hurt Jinki? However, none of that mattered because the sight of a hickey on Jonghyun that wasn’t from him seemed to muster up every ounce of fire from within the eldest.
Jinki’s hand shot out, grabbing Jonghyun by the collar of his flimsy tee shirt, the fabric audibly tearing as he roughly pulled the younger man closer to examine the bite mark, giving it a quick sniff before releasing him and turning his eyes on the guilty maknae.
“How fucking dare you,” he snarled, lip curled back in anger as he rounded on the youngest, using his forearm to press against Taemin’s chest, pinning him to the wall effortlessly while Jinki’s other hand moved higher, fingers fitting tightly around Taemin’s slim neck. Taemin’s eyes were wide with utter terror as he allowed himself to be manhandled, knowing the consequences of fighting against a pissed of alpha.
“Hyung what are you doing? Oh my god, stop it!” Jonghyun yelled, a vein of terror evident in his tone as the scene unfolded before him. He had absolutely no idea what was happening right now but Jinki was as close to losing himself completely to his alpha side as Jonghyun had ever seen him and that was as scary as it was dangerous. He had absolutely no idea how to deal with an out of control alpha, especially one as strong as Jinki. It was easy to forget since the elder was always in control of himself, gentle words and inviting smiles, but he was in fact one of the strongest alphas in the whole company. His ranking was not something to be taken lightly and for the first time ever Jinki was expressing his full authority and Jonghyun was suddenly terrified. If the look in Jinki’s eyes was anything to go by, he was out for blood. Taemin’s to be more specific.
There was a strained silence, Jonghyun’s words hanging in the air heavily, all three of them frozen, hearts pounded as the youngest gasped for air. Taemin was literally shaking in fear, trying not to struggle, while Minho hovered off to the side, close enough to step in if necessary but not wanting to challenge Jinki’s authority or pride when he was so close to losing it already. Jonghyun took a slow, tentative step in Jinki’s direction, his fingers trembling as he reached out, brushing Jinki’s arm gently, just trying to do something to ease the tense situation they all found themselves in.
“Out. Both of you out,” Jinki finally commanded, his voice deep and authoritative as he released Taemin and shoved him roughly towards the door, sending Minho a pointed glare before rounding on Jonghyun. The youngest quickly exited the room, the door closing with a resounding click, leaving a thick haze of tension over the room as Jonghyun slowly backed away until he was stopped by the opposing wall. The scent of stew that hung in the air was no longer comforting nor was it inviting, it was heavy and suffocating in the small space.
The sight of Jinki so angry was utterly terrifying. Jinki had always been a gentle and loving hyung to them all, never showing off his status or trying to force them to obey him. He was renowned among the company for his amazing control over his dominant side, but right now Jinki looked ready to tear him limb from limb.
“You let Taemin touch you? Mark you?” His tone was dangerously low as he slowly stalked closer to the younger, invading his personal space and making him cower slightly against the wall. “You are mine and you let someone else touch you, and a beta no less? Do you even understand what a mark means? Making me live every fucking day with the pain of not being able to touch my bond-mate isn’t enough for you anymore? You want to humiliate me now too?” Jinki’s words were slow and calculated, heavy with honesty and a burning rage.
Jonghyun squared his shoulders, fighting against his instincts because even if Jinki was an alpha, how fucking dare he? How fucking dare he suggest that Jonghyun had done anything wrong? Just because Jinki had bonded with him didn’t mean that Jonghyun’s world had to change.
“I am not yours. I don’t belong to you or anyone else, who I sleep with is my choice,” Jonghyun shot back, his words holding more confidence than he truly felt.
Jinki’s hollow laugh in reply sent chills down Jonghyun’s spine. “You are mine. You are my bond-mate whether you like it or not and no one else is allowed to touch you. I agreed to give you space because you didn’t want this but I will not sit back and let my bond-mate fuck around with a beta and I won’t let you show off a fucking mark from someone else,” Jinki responded, his words clipped with annoyance.
“You have absolutely no say in what I do. You said it yourself, your bond, your problem,” Jonghyun responded scathingly, his statement designed to cut.
Jinki growled at the defiant words, grabbing Jonghyun’s wrist to drag him into the living room where Taemin and Minho were. Even with the obvious difference in muscle tone, Jonghyun was no match for Jinki’s strength and no amount of protesting would make the older boy loosen his grip.
“Taemin,” Jinki said sharply, “I don’t care what you all used to do; things are different now. No one is allowed to touch Jonghyun and he isn’t to touch you. Got it?”
Taemin nodded quickly in understanding, shrinking into the couch as if he were fearful that Jinki would strike him.
“You can’t just- “ Jonghyun began to interject heatedly.
“I can and I did,” Jinki snapped back, cutting him off before he could even start. “I bonded with you Jonghyun. While that may not mean shit to you, it means everything to me. No one is allowed to touch you.” His words were final as he dropped Jonghyun’s wrist and stormed off into his room, the doorframe rattling from the overuse of force.
The stiff silence finally broken by Minho, “You are such an ass hyung,” the honorific coming out rather sarcastic and accusatory rather than respectful.
“Fuck off Minho,” Jonghyun shot back, his blood still boiling, adrenaline running through his veins.
“No seriously, you don’t even deserve someone like hyung. You have no idea what you have done to him, how much you have hurt him, and you have the audacity to be angry right now? Fuck you. If your alpha had been anyone but Jinki, Taemin would probably be dead right now. You realize that don’t you? Do you even understand why broken bond-mate pairs don’t exist in this world? It’s because every fucking day hyung is in physical pain because he isn’t with you, because any time someone looks at you too long, he has to fight every natural urge inside himself to not rip their eyes out, because you are his. You are slowly killing him when all he wants to do is take care of you. Broken bond-mates don’t exist because it is impossible for an alpha to live without their bond and it’s impossible for you to find anyone who cares about you as much as hyung does. Not because he is bonded with you, but because he is Jinki. God, you are so fucking selfish and yet you somehow think that you have it harder than anyone. Get over yourself.” Minho’s speech was punctuated with a firm punch to the drywall as he made his way to the kitchen, the sound of banging pots and a glass shattering mingled with his incessant curses.
“I’ve never seen Jinki hyung so pissed before,” Taemin finally muttered shakily, breaking the awkward silence between the two of them.
“Yeah, me either,” Jonghyun replied.
“I didn’t even think about the bond- I just-“
“It isn’t your fault Taemin. Hyung is mad at me anyway, not you.”
“Why did you make me do it?”
“Make you do what?”
“Mark you. Last night, you- you lost it for a bit. You kept calling out ‘hyung’ and begging me to knot you; to bite you,” Taemin said quietly.
Jonghyun’s stunned silence seemed to serve as the answer Taemin was looking for.
“Maybe Minho is right,” Taemin finally whispered.
“Right about what exactly?”
“Right about Jinki hyung. We all know he has been really depressed lately and we all know why. Maybe it wouldn’t be such a bad thing… I mean; you could do a lot worse than hyung you know.”
“So what? I should just give up everything because he’s bonded now? I should spend the rest of my life with someone who only loves me out of slavery to their hormones? No thanks,” Jonghyun shot back hotly.
Their conversation was interrupted by Minho, emerging from the kitchen once again with a steaming mug of tea in his hand, sending a glare their way before knocking timidly at Jinki’s door, clearly intent of doing some damage control.
Next~~~
Oh hey look! Jonghyun is still being a douche bag
He does that
A lot
So umm... next update will probably take like 12 years
Warning you now
I gotsta go visit the fam in a few weeks
So family
And jet lag
and and stress
and family
and more stress
and more jet lag
and then school starts again
so yeah...
I'll do my best
But don't hold your breath or anything
unnecessarily long a/n is unnecessarily long
Word Count: 3545
Rating: PG-13 (overall NC-17)
Pairing/Focus: Jongyu
Genre: omega!verse
Warnings: Omega!verse, knotting, dom!jinki
Summary: As soon as Jinki stepped off of the elevator he knew something was off. There was a tension, a faint whiff of something different, something foreign that laced the stagnant air with the most delicious aroma he had ever encountered. He couldn’t quite put his finger on it, but something was amiss. His senses were heightened, body reacting on its own accord, alpha pheromones immediately stirring, but for what he wasn’t quite sure.
lethallycute beta<3
Prev
Things fell into a routine in the next few weeks. Jonghyun had sat down with Kibum and Taemin and talked to them like he had promised Jinki. It was unfair for the younger two to be blaming the whole incident on Jinki and Jonghyun told them as much. They begrudgingly listened; the tense atmosphere in the dorm slowly began to lessen with each passing day.
As tensions ebbed and things slowly dissolved into pattern, Jonghyun still felt stagnated by the whole experience. He was weighed down by guilt every time he saw Jinki. The older boy was clearly not fine. Jinki wore his mask of self-protection all the time now when once it was only served as a defense mechanism for when they were in front of a camera. While his actions didn’t change, still eating with the others and fighting for use of the massage chair, he was inexplicably different. There was a tangible sadness to his disposition, which he was constantly covering up with smiles and laughter that failed to reach his eyes.
He looked broken.
The others seemed not to notice, or, more likely, they knew it was out of their power to fix what was wrong with Jinki hyung and therefore let the eldest believe he was fooling them all. Jonghyun didn’t have that luxury. He knew exactly what was wrong with Jinki and he knew exactly how to fix it. That was why it cut him so deeply that he was both the illness and the medicine that was being withheld from Jinki in this particular situation. He didn’t know what to do. Should he play ignorant? Should he avoid Jinki or let himself get closer? He didn’t want to give Jinki false hope but he also wanted to try and ease some of his pain. Alpha or not, Jinki hyung was simply too fragile for the lifestyle they had been thrown into, and even though he was younger, Jonghyun had always felt a need to protect him. Jonghyun was just at a loss as to what he should do. He tried to push the whole thing to the back of his mind and simply go about his normal life but that proved to be the wrong answer as well.
~~~
Being a beta was difficult because every few months they would have to suffer through their heat. It was a bit more frequent than most animals but with a shorter duration of only a day or two. Whether that was better or worse however, Jonghyun had never been able to decide. Despite it all, he counted himself lucky that he was in a group with other betas as well. The three of them had long ago established a deal of ‘helping’ each other during this difficult time. It wasn’t the most perfect of setups but it worked for them. Their cycles generally didn’t overlap so there were always two perfectly functioning cocks to take turns helping the beta in heat, or at the very least, two sets of hands to take turns work a toy inside the beta. Any awkwardness had worn off years ago because all three of them had seen each other at their best and worst. It wasn’t something that any of them really discussed but simply a practice they continued out of necessity. It was far better than enduring a heat cycle alone.
So, when Kibum’s heat cycle started, Jonghyun and Taemin did what they always did, ushering the two alphas out of the dorm for the night before throwing out a simple rock, paper, scissors to see who would go first.
It was a bit of a burden for both of them because their natural instinct was to be on the receiving end of a cock rather than the giving end, so while it was enjoyable, it was also tiring. Even between the two of them, it was simply too much sex when they didn’t feed off of the hormones like an alpha could. They simply weren’t designed for such activities.
Jonghyun collapsed onto Taemin’s bed after his turn was over, the stench of sex and the sound of skin slapping lulling him into a fitful sleep. Unfortunately his nap didn’t last long. He awoke to the pleasant surprise of Kibum buried between him legs, lapping at his flaccid length as if it were the only thing keeping him grounded. However, in Jonghyun’s sleep-aided state, his brain could only conjuring up images of Jinki sucking him off rather than Kibum and the foggy thought of ‘wouldn’t it be nice if his Jinki were here?’
Wait.
His Jinki?
Had he really just thought that? Jinki was in no way his. If only for the fact that Jonghyun wouldn’t let him be. But now that the fleeting thought had been recognized it wouldn’t go away. His mind flooded with memories and images of their night together. How firm and forceful Jinki had been; the fire in the older man’s eyes as he fucked Jonghyun relentlessly. How amazing it had felt to have that thick alpha cock inside him, to be knotted, his insides stretched, filled beyond their capacity, and yet he only craved for more.
Before he quite realized it, he was rock hard and Kibum was unceremoniously sinking down onto him. He sighed, his fantasy lifting as the reality of the situation set back in. He let Kibum do all the work as his mind slowly slipped off again, back to Jinki, his alpha.
~~~
Things only got worse for Jonghyun because Taemin went into heat merely days after Kibum. Jonghyun hardly had time to recover before he had a horny maknae perched in his lap, grinding his little dancer hips for all he was worth.
It was an exhausting week for Jonghyun, to say the least.
They only had a few weeks of peace, bogged down with busy schedules and long days before it was Jonghyun’s turn. However, there was a problem. A big problem. Key was away for the weekend, visiting his family in Daegu. This left Taemin by himself to deal with Jonghyun, which simply meant that they were both in for a long and stressful night; good thing they kept the dorm stocked with protein snacks because Taemin wasn’t going to be getting any rest.
~~~
Jonghyun groaned a bit as his eyes fluttered open, immediately closing them because the sunlight far too bright this early in the morning. He was still in Kibum’s bed, Taemin fast asleep next to him.
He had never felt so unsatisfied after a heat cycle in his life. Not even when he used to endure them alone. After finally knowing what it was like to have an alpha nothing else seemed to compare. His body craved that forceful power; that suffocating dose of pheromones and the possessive knot that made him hard just to think about. Everything just felt wrong now. While the maknae had tried really hard (and done rather well all things considered), Jonghyun still just felt empty. No matter how hard the younger fucked him, no matter how big of a toy he used, nothing seemed good enough. It was infuriating.
Jonghyun slid off the bed, sending a quick text to the Minho and Jinki to let them know it was safe to come back home, before getting in the shower to make himself look presentable once again. He cleaned up the best he could, putting on fresh clothes, starting a load of laundry and throwing open all the windows to rid the apartment of the smell of sex before he headed off to the kitchen to make some food.
He had just set the rice on to cook when the others walked in, smiling happily at the sight of lunch they didn’t have to help prepare. While Jonghyun was no master chef, they had all learned the basics of cooking to save themselves from the prepackaged diet food that their management team would send over.
“Hey guys, how are the hyungs?” Jonghyun asked without looking up from the stew on the stovetop he was stirring. Whenever the beta’s heat cycles hit, Jinki and Minho usually camped out at Yunho and Changmin’s apartment, which was just around the corner from their dorm. It was close, convenient and since the groups split, the bonded couple had been very welcoming of any and all distractions. This option was far better for Minho and Jinki than spending the night at the SM building anyway.
“Good. As usual,” Minho responded with a shrug, plopping down at the table and waited for the food to be done. Jinki hummed in agreement, pulling open the cupboard and collecting the appropriate dishware to set the table.
“Hyung, can you go yell at Taemin? I think he is still in the shower,” Jonghyun asked Jinki, sending him a stiff smile before turning back to what he was doing.
While things had gotten better between the two of them, Jonghyun still felt awkward when he was around the older. It wasn’t so much that they had fucked, because Jonghyun could deal with that, but it had everything to do with guilt. He could feel Jinki’s stares on him. The longing that exuded from the older was palatable and it made Jonghyun ache inside to know it was because of him. The tension in the air every time they accidentally made eye contact hung heavily around them all and it cut him inside every time Jinki would look down sheepishly, embarrassed to be caught staring yet again.
“Sure,” Jinki murmured quietly, immediately setting off to fulfill the request, causing a tense silence to fall between the Jonghyun and Minho. Minho had made it no secret that he thought Jonghyun was being an ass about the whole situation. Likewise, Jonghyun was fairly vocal about how much this whole situation was not any of Minho’s business. They had arrived at a stalemate of sorts, a silent cold war hidden from the public. They both pretended the other didn’t exist for the most part, only interacting on stage and merely maintaining civility the other members were around.
“Breakfast is ready,” Jonghyun called loudly, setting the hot dish on the table and grabbing the bowls to dish out rice portions but paused at Minho’s sudden glare.
“What?” Jonghyun asked with a raised eyebrow. While the two were still at odds, they both had a tendency to ignore each other rather than picking fights. They didn’t have the luxury of fighting it out properly so it was best to ignore the elephant in the room.
“What the fuck is on your neck?” the younger practically growled, visibly irate.
“What are you talking about?” Jonghyun said, his patience already wearing thin despite their short interaction.
“You have a goddamn hickey on your goddamn neck,” Minho shot back, his hands practically shaking with anger at this point.
“I- what?”
“Why are you two yelling?” Jinki asked as he casually strolled back into the kitchen, Taemin close on his heels.
Jonghyun met his eyes rather guiltily, quickly staring down at the floor instead. An awkward silence fell over the room, tension seeping into the air with each passing second. Jonghyun felt himself shrink down in dread as Jinki’s sharp intake of breath alerted him that they were now all on the same page.
“Explain,” Jinki growled, gripping the back of the chair tightly, his knuckles turning white as he glared at the offensive red mark on the side Jonghyun’s neck.
“I- umm- well,” Jonghyun began to stutter out, confused on how to even begin. Jonghyun was both embarrassed and remorseful. He hadn’t meant for this to happen. Taemin nor Kibum had ever bitten him before so it had never been an issue. It wasn’t in their nature to mark so he was confused as well. He definitely hadn’t meant to flaunt how much he didn’t belong to Jinki either but he understood why this was being interpreted as such. He tried to make things clear that he felt partly responsible for what had happened and did his best to make things as easy as possible for his hyung so why would he show off his single status when he knew it hurt Jinki? However, none of that mattered because the sight of a hickey on Jonghyun that wasn’t from him seemed to muster up every ounce of fire from within the eldest.
Jinki’s hand shot out, grabbing Jonghyun by the collar of his flimsy tee shirt, the fabric audibly tearing as he roughly pulled the younger man closer to examine the bite mark, giving it a quick sniff before releasing him and turning his eyes on the guilty maknae.
“How fucking dare you,” he snarled, lip curled back in anger as he rounded on the youngest, using his forearm to press against Taemin’s chest, pinning him to the wall effortlessly while Jinki’s other hand moved higher, fingers fitting tightly around Taemin’s slim neck. Taemin’s eyes were wide with utter terror as he allowed himself to be manhandled, knowing the consequences of fighting against a pissed of alpha.
“Hyung what are you doing? Oh my god, stop it!” Jonghyun yelled, a vein of terror evident in his tone as the scene unfolded before him. He had absolutely no idea what was happening right now but Jinki was as close to losing himself completely to his alpha side as Jonghyun had ever seen him and that was as scary as it was dangerous. He had absolutely no idea how to deal with an out of control alpha, especially one as strong as Jinki. It was easy to forget since the elder was always in control of himself, gentle words and inviting smiles, but he was in fact one of the strongest alphas in the whole company. His ranking was not something to be taken lightly and for the first time ever Jinki was expressing his full authority and Jonghyun was suddenly terrified. If the look in Jinki’s eyes was anything to go by, he was out for blood. Taemin’s to be more specific.
There was a strained silence, Jonghyun’s words hanging in the air heavily, all three of them frozen, hearts pounded as the youngest gasped for air. Taemin was literally shaking in fear, trying not to struggle, while Minho hovered off to the side, close enough to step in if necessary but not wanting to challenge Jinki’s authority or pride when he was so close to losing it already. Jonghyun took a slow, tentative step in Jinki’s direction, his fingers trembling as he reached out, brushing Jinki’s arm gently, just trying to do something to ease the tense situation they all found themselves in.
“Out. Both of you out,” Jinki finally commanded, his voice deep and authoritative as he released Taemin and shoved him roughly towards the door, sending Minho a pointed glare before rounding on Jonghyun. The youngest quickly exited the room, the door closing with a resounding click, leaving a thick haze of tension over the room as Jonghyun slowly backed away until he was stopped by the opposing wall. The scent of stew that hung in the air was no longer comforting nor was it inviting, it was heavy and suffocating in the small space.
The sight of Jinki so angry was utterly terrifying. Jinki had always been a gentle and loving hyung to them all, never showing off his status or trying to force them to obey him. He was renowned among the company for his amazing control over his dominant side, but right now Jinki looked ready to tear him limb from limb.
“You let Taemin touch you? Mark you?” His tone was dangerously low as he slowly stalked closer to the younger, invading his personal space and making him cower slightly against the wall. “You are mine and you let someone else touch you, and a beta no less? Do you even understand what a mark means? Making me live every fucking day with the pain of not being able to touch my bond-mate isn’t enough for you anymore? You want to humiliate me now too?” Jinki’s words were slow and calculated, heavy with honesty and a burning rage.
Jonghyun squared his shoulders, fighting against his instincts because even if Jinki was an alpha, how fucking dare he? How fucking dare he suggest that Jonghyun had done anything wrong? Just because Jinki had bonded with him didn’t mean that Jonghyun’s world had to change.
“I am not yours. I don’t belong to you or anyone else, who I sleep with is my choice,” Jonghyun shot back, his words holding more confidence than he truly felt.
Jinki’s hollow laugh in reply sent chills down Jonghyun’s spine. “You are mine. You are my bond-mate whether you like it or not and no one else is allowed to touch you. I agreed to give you space because you didn’t want this but I will not sit back and let my bond-mate fuck around with a beta and I won’t let you show off a fucking mark from someone else,” Jinki responded, his words clipped with annoyance.
“You have absolutely no say in what I do. You said it yourself, your bond, your problem,” Jonghyun responded scathingly, his statement designed to cut.
Jinki growled at the defiant words, grabbing Jonghyun’s wrist to drag him into the living room where Taemin and Minho were. Even with the obvious difference in muscle tone, Jonghyun was no match for Jinki’s strength and no amount of protesting would make the older boy loosen his grip.
“Taemin,” Jinki said sharply, “I don’t care what you all used to do; things are different now. No one is allowed to touch Jonghyun and he isn’t to touch you. Got it?”
Taemin nodded quickly in understanding, shrinking into the couch as if he were fearful that Jinki would strike him.
“You can’t just- “ Jonghyun began to interject heatedly.
“I can and I did,” Jinki snapped back, cutting him off before he could even start. “I bonded with you Jonghyun. While that may not mean shit to you, it means everything to me. No one is allowed to touch you.” His words were final as he dropped Jonghyun’s wrist and stormed off into his room, the doorframe rattling from the overuse of force.
The stiff silence finally broken by Minho, “You are such an ass hyung,” the honorific coming out rather sarcastic and accusatory rather than respectful.
“Fuck off Minho,” Jonghyun shot back, his blood still boiling, adrenaline running through his veins.
“No seriously, you don’t even deserve someone like hyung. You have no idea what you have done to him, how much you have hurt him, and you have the audacity to be angry right now? Fuck you. If your alpha had been anyone but Jinki, Taemin would probably be dead right now. You realize that don’t you? Do you even understand why broken bond-mate pairs don’t exist in this world? It’s because every fucking day hyung is in physical pain because he isn’t with you, because any time someone looks at you too long, he has to fight every natural urge inside himself to not rip their eyes out, because you are his. You are slowly killing him when all he wants to do is take care of you. Broken bond-mates don’t exist because it is impossible for an alpha to live without their bond and it’s impossible for you to find anyone who cares about you as much as hyung does. Not because he is bonded with you, but because he is Jinki. God, you are so fucking selfish and yet you somehow think that you have it harder than anyone. Get over yourself.” Minho’s speech was punctuated with a firm punch to the drywall as he made his way to the kitchen, the sound of banging pots and a glass shattering mingled with his incessant curses.
“I’ve never seen Jinki hyung so pissed before,” Taemin finally muttered shakily, breaking the awkward silence between the two of them.
“Yeah, me either,” Jonghyun replied.
“I didn’t even think about the bond- I just-“
“It isn’t your fault Taemin. Hyung is mad at me anyway, not you.”
“Why did you make me do it?”
“Make you do what?”
“Mark you. Last night, you- you lost it for a bit. You kept calling out ‘hyung’ and begging me to knot you; to bite you,” Taemin said quietly.
Jonghyun’s stunned silence seemed to serve as the answer Taemin was looking for.
“Maybe Minho is right,” Taemin finally whispered.
“Right about what exactly?”
“Right about Jinki hyung. We all know he has been really depressed lately and we all know why. Maybe it wouldn’t be such a bad thing… I mean; you could do a lot worse than hyung you know.”
“So what? I should just give up everything because he’s bonded now? I should spend the rest of my life with someone who only loves me out of slavery to their hormones? No thanks,” Jonghyun shot back hotly.
Their conversation was interrupted by Minho, emerging from the kitchen once again with a steaming mug of tea in his hand, sending a glare their way before knocking timidly at Jinki’s door, clearly intent of doing some damage control.
Next~~~
Oh hey look! Jonghyun is still being a douche bag
He does that
A lot
So umm... next update will probably take like 12 years
Warning you now
I gotsta go visit the fam in a few weeks
So family
And jet lag
and and stress
and family
and more stress
and more jet lag
and then school starts again
so yeah...
I'll do my best
But don't hold your breath or anything
unnecessarily long a/n is unnecessarily long