Blue roses in December, for pattitoo (1/2)
Title: Blue roses in December
Recipient: pattitoo
Rating: R
Warnings: language, minor character death, AU,
Summary: When Mino’s brother-in-law dies, Mino ends up buying flowers for his funeral at Seungyoon’s shop. Since that encounter, things change for Mino.
Notes: Thank you for the many nice prompts, dear recipient. I might have diverted a bit from the prompt, but I hope this fic is good enough :)
Some info about the fic: this is set several years ago. Woo Jiseok is Taewoon and Zico/Jiho’s brother. For the plant symbolism, I trusted Wikipedia because every website has different nuances so I just decided to use this one https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plant_symbolism
There was nothing worse than a dead man on Christmas’s Eve. Unless he was not only one of your men, but also part of your family. That was a true nightmare come true.
On other occasions, Song Mino would let his right-hand take care of it, send his condolences in his stead, fatten the purse of the widow and maybe even lend a shoulder to cry on for few minutes. It was all about good politics to maintain their name and be sure there would be no foolish heir thirsty for pointless revenge. And it was fucking Christmas, anyways.
But it was Kim Jinwoo, his brother-in-law. Someone Mino had grown fond of, despite he wasn’t his best man.
“He has always been too soft for this work, fucking Kim Jinwoo”, Mino said, and the usually cunning Lee Seunghoon had to agree with him. Anyone had a soft spot for Jinwoo, no matter how much trouble he could bring when he didn’t act like he should. “He should have outlived his wife, for fuck’s sake. Not that I’m wishing death to my sister, you know”.
At that point his right-hand, his cousin Seunghoon, snickered. “Forgive him, Father, for he doesn’t know what he’s talking about”.
Truth to be told, Mino felt a bit taken aback by Jinwoo’s death. Someone would say he was being emotional and for once they would be right. Sure, Jinwoo wasn’t exactly fitted for this work, he had never been, and he could cause trouble from time to time, his heart too tender for some of their activities, but he was part of the family.
And Mino hated seeing his family wrecked by such a tragedy. Whether he cared or not for Jinwoo, he totally did for his sister.
“Flowers would be nice. Not that Danah could ever replace her husband with few roses, but still”, Seunghoon shrugged his shoulders. “You know, you always bring flowers to the dead”.
“It’s fucking Christmas’s Eve”.
“The shop is open”, Seunghoon retorted, his thumb pointing at the shop across the street. It had been there for half a year already and Mino had never looked at it twice. His men had been there asking for a fine amount of money for their protection and the florist had paid soon enough. But that was it.
It wasn’t good to go against Mino’s clan. That was something everyone knew in the neighbourhood.
“I should go there myself”, Mino muttered. “I can’t let others take care of this business. Not this time”.
“I’ll stay alive till you are away, I swear”, Seunghoon reassured him and Mino couldn’t help the slap he placed on his nape. That cruel bastard.
As Mino crossed the street with his usual slow, assertive walk, he ended up thinking about Jinwoo’s demise one more time.
He was actually upset about it.
Kim Jinwoo was someone of smooth edges and bright smiles, a kind of person who couldn’t exist in their world. And yet, for this he was refreshing. He was the summer breeze that had made his sister fall in love so deeply, to the point she even dared going against her own family. Mino wanted her married to a local upstart, to use him money through her, but she had defied his authority to have Jinwoo instead.
Mino had been against it, but he couldn’t help it: Danah was like him, too stubborn, too hot-headed. She had what she wanted. And that was a man who could dote on her like she was the very sun bringing life to infertile earth.
They had been a cute couple, he had to admit.
The blow is always stronger when you love too much, Mino reasoned.
There was no white lie he could say to Danah. No comfort he could give her. Even those flowers were pointless. But at the same time, they were the only thing Mino could do to her now.
Stick to empty traditions.
“Hello”.
The man of the counter talked while giving his back to Mino, his hands deep in damp soil as he transplanted a small tangerine in a bigger vase.
Mino cleared his throat, expecting obedience at once, but the man kept working on the plant. “Just a minute”.
He cleaned his hands on the apron and turned to face him, his smile faltering just a bit as recognition filled his brown eyes. “Mr. Song”.
Mino wondered how such a good-looking young man could work there, in the worst suburbia of Seoul, when he could easily be a host or a waiter in some fine bar just for his look. Well, maybe he loved flowers more than money.
“Right, Mr…?”
He knew his name, he just wanted him to say it.
“Mr. Kang. Kang Seungyoon”. He smiled again and this time charmingly. There was something heart-warming in the way his plump lips curled upwards and if Mino were a different man, he might have felt something stirring inside him.
Instead, he went back on business. “I need something huge. A basket would be fine. And white, I need white flowers. I think it might be the best colour for occasions like these”.
“A baptism?”
“A funeral”.
Something flashed in Mr. Kang’s eyes, but he nodded without further questions and started picking flowers from the big vases all around the small shop.
Mino studied him as he went back and forth from the vases to the counter, piling up flowers on the table as he mumbled something for himself. His eyes were focused and his slim hands were quick and neat, the way Mino liked. Those were things required in men working for him. Mino appreciated that more than many other qualities.
There was a hint of kindness in the way that man worked that showed how much effort and care he put in it. That earnestness made him think of Jinwoo, somehow. Mino frowned.
Mr. Kang started working on the basket, putting the flowers in a specific pattern at first, then plucking some from the rest to make it look like they had been put there just casually. He added some chrysanthemums here and there.
Mino looked away just in time to not get caught watching.
“It’s on the house”, Mr. Kang said as he handed him the basket.
Like it should be, Mino didn’t say. He just nodded and grinned slightly.
“Merry Christmas, Mr. Song”.
He nodded again and stepped outside.
His sister was a woman like no others.
If their mother had been alive, she would have approved her endless strength and determination. Their mother had been the right example to follow in the family, the pillar of their small world as children. But she had been more, too: a boss when no others could do the same. She had fought to have and keep that spot, when their father died, and she had managed to be needed by the clan more than everyone would admit.
Danah was just like her. And Mino was their male counterpart, or so he tried. He knew that women could be stronger and more heartless that many men, made to bear pain and tragedy like no others.
So he wasn’t really surprised when he found Danah standing in the first row of Jinwoo’s small funeral, not a tear on her cheeks. If he knew well, a Song like her would not cry in front of others. Not when people was watching.
He greeted his men with a nod of his head, squeezed Seunghoon’s shoulder and then stood at Danah’s right.
“You brought flowers. You should have brought soju”, she whispered. “You know I’m no woman for flowers”.
“These are not for you”, Mino replied, keeping his voice down as the vicar started talking. “He would have liked them”.
“I give you that”, she nodded sharply. She was shaken, but she clenched her jaw and stared ahead, trying to not lose it. Mino placed his hand on her back, for comfort.
Later, there would be tears. When even Mino wouldn’t be with her, when weakness would take her and she would reach for the wedding photo she kept on the heart, when the soju in her body would let her be sincere.
Mino knew a Song always sheds many tears. Each one of them had too much heart, along with too much fire within. The former was a weakness to hide in such a cruel world, the latter was the reason they always burned too fast. Too young.
A Song cries when there is no one watching. And never dies quietly.
“He had been killed”.
“Jinwoo? Why would anyone do that?”, Seunghoon said matter-of-factly. He had his point.
Danah shushed him with her hand and filled her glass with soju, gulping down half of it before talking. “Well, you could say he ended face down in the Han River for an accident. That would be bullshit. My hus… he would never do something like that”.
“I checked with the police. I had to stir things up a little bit”, Mino said then, slurring his words as he kept smoking. “You know half of them work with us. Yet they had to be convinced before looking for what I had asked. Now, that’s something fishy”.
Danah nodded and poured another glass of soju for herself. She had been drinking a lot, but Mino wouldn’t stop her today. This is all she had left, for the night.
“Do you mean there is something more to this whole story?”
“Definitely”. Mino pressed the butt of his cigarette in the ashtray. Seunghoon seemed perplexed, mostly because if there was someone among them who probably didn’t have at least an enemy wanting him dead, that was Jinwoo.
Danah was sure, though. Mino saw the fire in her eyes. He knew this would be no good, but he wasn’t the one who could stop her.
That was Jinwoo, and he was gone.
The next day, Mino asked around about Jinwoo. Mino was well aware that sometimes he would take long walks, reaching even the Han River. And sometimes he would drink with few of his men. Slipping in the river with too much alcohol in blood could be a way to read his death.
Mino questioned the family’s tailor: Jinwoo had been there in the last month. The man didn’t tell him anything useful, Jinwoo just wanted a new suit after his favourite got ruined in a fight.
Then he asked the barman of the club where they usually met: Jinwoo hadn’t been there his last night. He went back to their hideout, a house registered to one of his other cousins, Woo Jiho, who was away for military service. There he learnt that Jinwoo occasionally went to the flower shop right in front of their house.
“Hello, may I help you?”
Mino stared at the florist. He smiled like the last time, like every good employee would do to any costumer. But Mino wasn’t a typical one. Mr. Kang didn’t seem afraid of him, at all.
“Yes, actually yes”. He leaned in, setting his elbows on the counter. Mr. Kang held his stare, even if his smile turned in an uncomfortable one. Mino knew how scary he could look. He placed a hand on his shoulder, tugging him closer.
With the counter between them, he had to bow over it.
“Did you know Kim Jinwoo?”
Mr. Kang winced at that name, breaking their eye contact for a moment. “I had no idea those flowers were for him”.
“So you know he died”.
“Everyone does”. He stared back at him, once again. Mino lingered for a while, taking in his handsome features. Even if his red swollen lips were tempting, his eyes were the most remarking. Deep and enchanting. Two pits where one could lose himself.
For once in his life, Mino looked away and drew back a little. He pretended to do so for lighting a cigarette. But as he started smoking, he couldn’t lie to himself: he had felt something.
Mr. Kang started talking, breaking the silence settled between them. “If I had known, I would have added some peonies to the basket. He loved those flowers”.
“So he was one of your clients?”
“He came by once in a while”, he admitted. His skinny arms went to hug his torso, and Mino found it somehow very lonely. He had never tried to comfort himself in that way, he always used other methods to kill the pain: was a fight or a whore.
“You liked him”.
“He was kind. He came here to buy some flowers for his wife, he said, but he loved to spend few more minutes to talk about this or that variety. He was just a nice man, really. You must know”.
He did. That was what had warmed Danah’s heart and made her fall for him. Kim Jinwoo was someone no one could resist.
“Everyone will miss him”, the florist said then, shrugging his shoulders.
Mino just nodded. He finished his cigarette as he looked at him and then tilted his head to greet him goodbye.
“Tell me you called this family meeting because you have some news”. Danah looked pretty bad, Mino had to admit. It wasn’t even just one detail giving in how she felt: her whole figure was crooked and in pain.
“The policemen working for us finally gave me what we’re looking for”.
“Has he been killed?”, Seunghoon asked, curious.
“The bruises and wounds he had on his body aren’t the result of lying down at the bottom of the river for few days. It wasn’t the strong flow of waters or the rocks underneath. Those wounds bled. If Jinwoo died by drowning, like the police officially told us, and then his body got hurt after, he would not lose this amount of blood. It was before his death. He was hit before he was thrown in the river”.
“He was family after all”, Danah talked, a whisper in the dim room. Mino saw tears welling in her eyes, but didn’t say a thing. “A Song never dies quietly”.
Seunghoon deflated and shook his head, sighing. “Then this means the police are trying to cover for someone”.
Mino thinned his lips at that. “Half of the policemen work for us. They always closed their eyes to what we do for the bribes. I don’t think they had a good reason to do this”. Unless they want to shake us and try to get rid of our clan. Mino wouldn’t let them.
“So were they covering for someone else?”
“The Kim brothers”, Danah said. “Kim Jiwon and Kim Hanbin and Kim Jinhwan”.
These names were enough to make them all silent. The Kim brothers were in a never-ending war with the Song family, especially for the control of a very profitable business: selling illegal goods to half Seoul. However, at the moment they were in a truce.
“This is not the right time to attack them”.
Danah looked at him with fire in her eyes. “I won’t let my husband unrevenged”. She was ready to clutch the knife she kept at her calf and fight.
“I mean it”. He sounded definitive and cold. His authority couldn’t be defeat, this time. “We won’t start a war until we’re sure. And we need preparations”.
Danah hissed at him, unsatisfied. She was stubborn and untamed, but Mino had to convince her or she would cause a ruckus.
“I don’t want to let this be forgotten. I just need confirmations before we do anything. We don’t want to lose half of our business and family for a bad impulsive plan, don’t we?”
Danah had to nod at that. “Sure”. She was still raging, ready to burst at the thinnest movement, but Mino knew she wouldn’t let others get hurt for her revenge. He feared she would let herself get hurt, though.
“Keep an eye on her, would you?”, he asked Seunghoon when he was sure Danah wouldn’t hear them. He agreed promptly.
That morning Mino didn’t mean to enter the flower shop.
He had to go to their usual hideout, check that everything was fine and then work on his unfinished business. He didn’t really have to halt in front of the shop, waver and then step inside.
It had snowed the night before, so he took his time cleaning his boots on the doormat. He noticed Mr. Kang greeting him and staring at him, but he kept his eyes to his feet till he was finished.
“Mr. Song, how may I serve you?”
Mino stayed silent as he studied the endearing flush on his cheeks. “Have you been outside?”
“Ah”, he rubbed his nape, smiling. “I had to stock some soil bags in the store. There is a yard in between”.
“I see”. Mino thought that he should wear red more often, it suited him. The stark contrast with his pale skin made him more… tempting.
“So, are you here to buy something? I… I didn’t think you would be the type who likes flowers”. He hesitated, his hands fiddling with a daisy on the counter. Mino found it cute.
“I don’t”. Mr. Kang raised his eyes to look at him, then. Mino held his stare, grinning. He could feel his insides twist as that moment stretched and lasted for a while. For more than it was proper.
Mr. Kang was the first to look away, again. He coughed and dipped his head as he covered his mouth with his hand.
“But I thought I might bring some flowers to my sister. Those Jinwoo used to buy for her”.
“He didn’t have a regular pattern”, the florist was back to his composure, hiding behind his work. “He used to change with his mood. But he liked primroses because of their meaning”. He showed him those flowers. “Eternal love”.
“Give me a bouquet”.
He started working on it, placing neatly each flower next to the previous one. Without looking at him, he asked: “So, why don’t you like them? The flowers, I mean”.
Mino smiled at him, unnoticed. “It’s not like that. I think everyone would say that they’re beautiful. But that beauty withers when you pick it. It’s not made for humans’ touch”.
He knew already that he was poisonous. Nothing would live under his touch. Was it flowers or something else.
Now Mino was sure he wouldn’t go back here. He had been tempted, but there was no reason to taint such beauty with his lustful desires. He would not have it.
“So you prefer letting it be. That’s civil”, Mr. Kang said, his long fingers wrapping the flowers in a white thick paper. “But that’s how life is, don’t you know? Everything has its end. Even beauty”. He paused, thinking. “Maybe you didn’t have someone to share flowers with, that’s why you never liked them”.
Mino tensed, his brow furrowing, and Mr. Kang realized what he had implied as he looked at him. Or mostly, at whom he had talked with. “I… I am sorry, Mr. Song. I didn’t mean to-“
“It’s ok”. He wrapped his hand around the bouquet, touching his one still holding it. At that, Mr. Kang jolted. “Just give me this”.
“It… it’s on the house”, he stuttered.
“Like it should be”.
“What are these?”
“Don’t you see by yourself?”
Danah studied him warily, taking the bouquet in her hand. “You know I never care about these things. I accepted Jinwoo’s only because it was him”.
Mino chuckled hollowly. They were too similar for their own good. “I am sorry I wanted to do something for you”.
“You know what would make me feel better”, she pointed out, spiteful.
“I know. I’ll try to take care of it as soon as I can. I promise you”.
Of course only revenge could calm her down. There was nothing else that could let her sleep comfortably. He knew it too well, because they were just the same. Knowing that Jinwoo had left that world because someone had murdered him was enough to make her blood boil, like it had happened years ago, when their mother had been killed by one of their cousins. The man wanted to take her place in the family business, but Mino and Danah didn’t let that happen.
Mino knew how Danah felt. He could see the burning need of revenge, a curse that could not leave her body alone. He saw the fire in her. She had opened her heart to Jinwoo, let him make know what love and joy were. All those happy memories fed her anger.
Mino was just like her. And Danah was just like Mino.
“What was the thing that made you fall for him? There must be something, right at the beginning”. Mino found himself asking, hoping to understand himself through her.
“You’re acting weird, you know”, Danah glanced at him, then at the flowers in her hand. “This is not like you”.
“I guess you won’t tell me”, he pretended he didn’t care.
“Must it be something? Just one thing?”, she said then. “I just felt it with my whole self: I wanted that man”. She got closer, side-hugging him as she looked at him intently. “He was nothing like me. It couldn’t possibly work between us. But you can’t really fight against it: when a Song wants, a Song gets”.
Mino guessed he was doomed.
*
“I keep staying in position, studying their movements from there. But Mr. Song approached me the other day. I think… he might be interested”.
“You checked his file, didn’t you? He’s not only the worst scum out there, he’s also a faggot”.
“What should I do?”
“Everything needed”.
Seungyoon nodded quietly. “For that other problem…”
“We’ll use it for our own profit”.
Seungyoon’s bedroom was right above the shop. Its window opened to the street and was in front of the Songs’ house. From there he could watch without worrying about being discovered: he hid behind the curtain and observed their movements.
Seungyoon was neat and precise in everything he did, so he wrote down every person who entered or left that house, and if he could he even took note of the time they spent in there. He put that diary under a tile of the floor, in the left corner of the bed.
When it was time to open the shop, Seungyoon would put on the uniform he used for work and go downstairs. There he would take care of the flowers as much as he could, and keep an eye on the house as he kept writing down all their movements on the shop register. He used a code made of numbers, so that it would look like counts to the casual reader.
His life was quiet and not that dangerous, for being a cop undercover.
But it was going to change.
Mr. Song had been there three times.
The first one, Seungyoon had been too agitated to really talk. He knew he should try to hook him somehow, to make a good impression, in order to be a step closer to the enemy. But he barely said what was proper to the etiquette.
Mr. Song had a charisma he had rarely seen in other men. You could easily see how he was ready to snap and eat you in a moment, like a predator, like that was his own nature. Seungyoon had no doubt he was the boss in that clan, the real one. Others were attracted by such a man, even if they feared him.
The second time, Seungyoon had learnt the weight of his stare. He thought he would melt and confess under his eyes, but then Mr. Song had held back, and in that Seungyoon saw he was human just like him. He noticed how troubled he was as he lit a cigarette and started smoking. Even he had weakness.
The last time, Seungyoon had been the troubled one. He could not help the warmth spreading in his body as Mr. Song looked at him, while the tension between them grew in the silence. Seungyoon was sure he would leap and take him right there, but then he retreated like the first time. And now Seungyoon couldn’t stop his own curiosity, as he asked things and talked with him.
He thought Mr. Song was someone ruthless. A man without honour. But all he could see was someone who was just scared to give in to his own desires. He didn’t trust easily. He feared he might ruin even the slightest hint of an interaction.
He couldn’t hide his attraction, his intent stare, but he didn’t want to flail.
It should be that way, Seungyoon thought. If Mr. Song ended up wanting him, he would only break his heart.
The fourth time took Seungyoon by surprise.
He had seen Mr. Song lingering in front of his shop few times, without taking the next step and just looking at him through the glass. He had seemed unsure of what to do, unable to choose. Hence Seungyoon didn’t expect to find him there, that day.
He had been in the backyard, checking if he had enough vases for that week, and when he came back to the shop, Mr. Song stood there.
“Hello… have you been waiting for a long time?”
He shook his head. He looked tired, even though his black eyes were as hard and intense as the other times.
It was late afternoon but, being winter, it was dark like it was already night. Seungyoon glanced outside, to buy him some time. “It’s starting snowing once again”.
“Mr. Kang”.
That was the first time he called his name. There was despair and need in his voice. Seungyoon turned to look at him, unable to not do so.
“They say a Song gets everything he wants. I know this might be rushed. I know it is, but I can’t help it”, he stepped closer and the room seemed even darker as he got closer. Seungyoon felt a cold shiver running down his spine, even though he was pretty sure the heating was still on.
“I want you, Mr. Kang”.
Seungyoon swallowed, trying to fight the lump in his throat. He wasn’t supposed to feel this way.
Mr. Song got even closer, and Seungyoon blessed the counter for being between them. He couldn’t bear his stare, but at the same time he wasn’t able to look away, not this time. “Me?”, he whispered.
“I know it’s absurd, we saw each other few times. I trust this is just a whim, a hunger I can easily satiate”, he stopped, unsure. “I am not used to no as an answer, but I won’t pressure you… I trust this will end as soon as I have you”.
Seungyoon balled his hands in fists, divided by the irrational part of him that was let down by knowing that Mr. Song wanted just to use him and his body, and the most logical part of him that screamed to use that chance to get closer to him. Yet, it could be hard to work like that: what if Mr. Song wouldn’t talk to him anymore? He needed to acquire information and that would not do. But if this worked differently, if Mr. Song would fall for his temptation more than once…
“I always let the others take what is beautiful in this world. I have never dared reach for it. I know I don’t deserve it. It wouldn’t last, I am not made for this. I am a man who always brings destruction”, Mr. Song looked truly conflicted, this time. “I didn’t mean to… offend you with my proposal”.
Seungyoon knew that behind his apparent beauty there was ugliness and lies. He was just a mirror for that man who felt unworthy. He wasn’t better than him, right now.
He might look like an innocent white flower, but he was a red rose ready to thorn him and make him bleed.
Seungyoon wasn’t even sure why he was hesitating this much. He shouldn’t even take in consideration his feelings. This was work. He had promised he would do everything he could.
He bit his lips and tilted his head, faking embarrassment. The tremble of his voice was true, though. “My bedroom is upstairs”.
Seungyoon didn’t know what to expect.
He led Mr. Song to his room, fear taking him all at once. He could feel his guts twisting at the idea of sharing his bed with this man. He wasn’t sure he was ready, no matter if he had promised on his honour of policeman that he would do everything necessary. His boss had been glad to hear that, but he didn’t count: he was a bastard without principles.
Seungyoon could feel the tension in every joint of his body.
He sat on the bed and quaked when the mattress dipped under Mr. Song’s weight. He looked outside, one more time for buying time: the snow was still falling, white tears to cover the greyness of the world. Snow always made everything more silent, quieter.
Seungyoon could hear his own heartbeat in that noiseless storm.
He made himself turn to look at him. The room was dark, the only feeble light coming from outside, and in that obscurity Mr. Song didn’t look as scary as he did usually. Even if great shadows were casted on his body and his face was a living chiaroscuro, all blacks and whites that cut it in sections, Seungyoon found himself wavering at his obvious attractiveness.
His heart thumped harder when Mr. Song slid a hand on his face, slowly. It wasn’t fear. He wanted.
“Mr. Song, I…”
“Mino”. His voice was deep and raw and sent tingles to Seungyoon’s lower parts.
Seungyoon raised a hand and touched his cheek, tentatively. He didn’t know if he could. Mino let him. He stroked his thumb on his brow, rested it near his eye as he stared at him. Seungyoon had never seen such eyes: dark, honest, they had a pull on him that he could not go against.
Seungyoon was surprised by how slowly he was going, but not in an unpleasant way. Being someone like Mr. Song didn’t mean he would be cruel and disrespectful in bed, he realized.
“Mino…”, he whispered. The man grinned at that, predatory. Pleased. “Isn’t this the time you kiss me?”
He chuckled. “I’ve never seen someone this fearless, ordering me around”. Seungyoon was afraid he made a mistake. “Even last time you were without boundaries”, he smiled, white teeth flashing in the dim light, making Seungyoon falter. “I am not sure I like it, but it’s appealing”, he said on his lips.
Seungyoon opened his mouth to welcome his kiss. There was a faint taste of smoke on his tongue, but that didn’t lessen Seungyoon’s pleasure. Mino was soft at first, lazily tasting him as his hands cupped his face. He nibbled his lower lip and smiled against his mouth as Seungyoon found the courage to circle his arms around him and press him closer.
Then, Mino pinned him to the wall behind the bed, his knees dipping in the mattress as he kept Seungyoon in place. He tilted his head and kissed him again, this time hungrily.
Seungyoon was glad he had something he could steady himself with: his hands gripping Mino’s shoulders and his back against the cold wall behind, he moaned in the kiss and enjoyed the burning passion Mino put even in the simplest move. It might be defeating, but Seungyoon found it charming.
He panted hard as they break apart for a moment, trying to store more air he could as he felt dizzy, his head spinning for the long kiss. He looked up, meeting his dark eyes. There was pure want in them. Seungyoon knew he was just the same.
He wanted him.
Mino leaned in, stealing another kiss from him. This time, Seungyoon let his hands roam on his wide back, tracing the curves of his muscles, halting at his hipbones. He squeezed his hands around them, pulling him closer as they kissed heatedly. He gasped when his erection met his one, friction driving him crazy.
Mino bit back a moan, his wet mouth on the skin of his cheek when Seungyoon rolled his hips and sent sparkles of pleasure to both of them. “K-Kang Seungyoon”, he said, nestling his head in the crook of his neck.
Seungyoon moved again and Mino bit his skin along with it. “Can I…?”
Seungyoon found himself wanting it: he didn’t know how he would face himself tomorrow, when the marks would be evident in his reflection, when this would be ended already but guilt would linger for much longer… Seungyoon told himself he was playing a part, and the Kang Seungyoon he was now wanted it.
He nodded.
Mino sucked his skin, on and on, leaving red hickeys on his pale complexion. Seungyoon bucked his hips, demanding he would feel as shaken as him. Mino panted hard, his hands clasping his sides as he kept marking his neck.
When he was satisfied, he started unbuttoning his shirt, tugging it out from his pants. “I think red really suits you”, he looked up, staring at his lips and the flush of his cheeks, then down, to the fresh marks he had left.
Seungyoon tried to not smile, but failed. He wanted to break free from there, digging his feet in the mattress and trying to prop himself up, but Mino kept him in place, his strong legs at his sides holding Seungyoon there.
“If we stay like this I can’t get undressed”, Seungyoon pointed out. Mino chuckled at this.
“Do you want me to rush it?”
Seungyoon reddened at his words. Well, maybe. Maybe he wanted this to end soon, not because it would change the act between them, or lessen his guilt, but because he couldn’t just wait much longer. He wanted to feel him inside.
Seungyoon wasn’t sure honesty was the right choice. But Mino found it appealing, anyway. “I just want you. You’re not the only one with needs here”.
Mino cracked a dazzling smile. For a moment, Seungyoon wished the light was on: like this, he couldn’t see well if his tanned skin had turned darker at that. Not that Mr. Song could probably blush, he reasoned.
Mino drew back just enough to let him move. Seungyoon missed the warmth of his presence against his skin, but thought it was silly. He moved his fingers quickly and neatly, like always. He dropped the shirt on the floor and then undid his belt and let his pants fall next to it.
When he turned to look at Mino, he found him staring at him, a smirk on his lips. Seungyoon questioned him with his look and the man just shrugged his shoulders, apparently mesmerized by what he was seeing. Seungyoon looked at him as he pulled his briefs down and kicked them away.
“May… I serve you, Mr. Song?”, he slid his hands on his suit, tugging the jacket away. This was what he was doing for him: fulfilling his needs for one time. Mino tensed at his joke, like he felt guilty about it, but then Seungyoon covered his mouth with his own, and he relaxed against him.
When the last cloth was finally away and forgotten, Seungyoon looked at him and gasped at the beauty of his muscled body. Even the scars that dotted his torso and bulky thighs were just another decoration on his tanned skin. He gaped at his dark-brown nipples, the prominent veins running on his forearms and on his groin, the expanse of black hair above his erection. He wavered at that and felt himself hardening the more he stared, and when he dared look at him in the eye again, he knew Mino had observed him all along.
Seungyoon saw there was no doubt in him. He found himself small, lost in the need of having him. He was shocked by himself, but he couldn’t fight those feelings.
He laid back and spread his legs before him. Mino took that as a chance to study him one more time, a smile lighting his face as he scanned his body with his hands and stopped at his mouth. He let out a small pleased grunt when he brushed his fingers on his swollen lips and Seungyoon licked them.
Mino invited him to suck them and Seungyoon complied, engulfing the fingers inside his wet mouth. He almost chuckled as he caught Mino staring at him, hypnotized, but didn’t have the strength to make fun of him now. All he could think of was the need coursing inside him, destroying his last lucid thought.
Mino grunted once more, pushing against his ass as Seungyoon coated his fingers carefully. Looking at him to ask if he was ready, Seungyoon just nodded and wrapped his thighs around Mino, pleading.
Mino splayed his hands on his inner thighs, hooking at his ass. He pressed a wet digit inside him, slowly. Seungyoon thought he would never go faster and whined, his hands reaching for him. Mino inserted another finger, curling its tip to make Seungyoon squirm.
He panted hard, the creaking of the bed under them echoing in the room. There was still unnatural silence outside, the snow must be falling like earlier. Seungyoon was sure there was no one besides the two of them, in the world. Not in that moment. Not in that peace.
There were only Mino’s raspy breath and Seungyoon’s whines.
“Closer…”
When he was sure Seungyoon was stretched enough, Mino moved his hand away and rubbed his cock against him, instead. He used his spit to lube his length and pressed the head on his entrance, teasing it. Seungyoon grumbled and at that Mino, gripping his hips, lurched forward and penetrated him.
Seungyoon cried at loud, unsure whether for the pain or the pleasure. He wanted him even closer, so much closer… Mino pushed deeper and hunched his back to kiss his nipple, his neck, his jaw.
When Seungyoon was sure he couldn’t bear to wait an instant more, he moved again. And again. And again. Every time making Seungyoon a little less able to hold back, to suppress the moans and the need he felt inside.
Mino hugged him and pulled him closer, propping himself on his knees as he tried to sit them back on the mattress. Seungyoon followed him, helping him as much as he could in that haze. He pressed Mino on the wall and kissed him voraciously, being sure he would taste every inch of his mouth.
And then Mino moved upward, inviting him to ride him. Seungyoon complied, rolling his hips, pursuing his own pleasure with every thrust.
He arched his back, enjoying Mino’s strong hands wrapped around his hips, assuring he wouldn’t slip away, and dig his nails in his short black hair. As his pace grew erratic, Mino held him close and pounded inside him, being sure his whole length was sheathed within Seungyoon.
That drove him crazy: the pleasure he felt by being filled by him.
He screamed as Mino came inside him, the orgasm shaking his entire body.
*
PART TWO
Recipient: pattitoo
Rating: R
Warnings: language, minor character death, AU,
Summary: When Mino’s brother-in-law dies, Mino ends up buying flowers for his funeral at Seungyoon’s shop. Since that encounter, things change for Mino.
Notes: Thank you for the many nice prompts, dear recipient. I might have diverted a bit from the prompt, but I hope this fic is good enough :)
Some info about the fic: this is set several years ago. Woo Jiseok is Taewoon and Zico/Jiho’s brother. For the plant symbolism, I trusted Wikipedia because every website has different nuances so I just decided to use this one https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plant_symbolism
There was nothing worse than a dead man on Christmas’s Eve. Unless he was not only one of your men, but also part of your family. That was a true nightmare come true.
On other occasions, Song Mino would let his right-hand take care of it, send his condolences in his stead, fatten the purse of the widow and maybe even lend a shoulder to cry on for few minutes. It was all about good politics to maintain their name and be sure there would be no foolish heir thirsty for pointless revenge. And it was fucking Christmas, anyways.
But it was Kim Jinwoo, his brother-in-law. Someone Mino had grown fond of, despite he wasn’t his best man.
“He has always been too soft for this work, fucking Kim Jinwoo”, Mino said, and the usually cunning Lee Seunghoon had to agree with him. Anyone had a soft spot for Jinwoo, no matter how much trouble he could bring when he didn’t act like he should. “He should have outlived his wife, for fuck’s sake. Not that I’m wishing death to my sister, you know”.
At that point his right-hand, his cousin Seunghoon, snickered. “Forgive him, Father, for he doesn’t know what he’s talking about”.
Truth to be told, Mino felt a bit taken aback by Jinwoo’s death. Someone would say he was being emotional and for once they would be right. Sure, Jinwoo wasn’t exactly fitted for this work, he had never been, and he could cause trouble from time to time, his heart too tender for some of their activities, but he was part of the family.
And Mino hated seeing his family wrecked by such a tragedy. Whether he cared or not for Jinwoo, he totally did for his sister.
“Flowers would be nice. Not that Danah could ever replace her husband with few roses, but still”, Seunghoon shrugged his shoulders. “You know, you always bring flowers to the dead”.
“It’s fucking Christmas’s Eve”.
“The shop is open”, Seunghoon retorted, his thumb pointing at the shop across the street. It had been there for half a year already and Mino had never looked at it twice. His men had been there asking for a fine amount of money for their protection and the florist had paid soon enough. But that was it.
It wasn’t good to go against Mino’s clan. That was something everyone knew in the neighbourhood.
“I should go there myself”, Mino muttered. “I can’t let others take care of this business. Not this time”.
“I’ll stay alive till you are away, I swear”, Seunghoon reassured him and Mino couldn’t help the slap he placed on his nape. That cruel bastard.
As Mino crossed the street with his usual slow, assertive walk, he ended up thinking about Jinwoo’s demise one more time.
He was actually upset about it.
Kim Jinwoo was someone of smooth edges and bright smiles, a kind of person who couldn’t exist in their world. And yet, for this he was refreshing. He was the summer breeze that had made his sister fall in love so deeply, to the point she even dared going against her own family. Mino wanted her married to a local upstart, to use him money through her, but she had defied his authority to have Jinwoo instead.
Mino had been against it, but he couldn’t help it: Danah was like him, too stubborn, too hot-headed. She had what she wanted. And that was a man who could dote on her like she was the very sun bringing life to infertile earth.
They had been a cute couple, he had to admit.
The blow is always stronger when you love too much, Mino reasoned.
There was no white lie he could say to Danah. No comfort he could give her. Even those flowers were pointless. But at the same time, they were the only thing Mino could do to her now.
Stick to empty traditions.
“Hello”.
The man of the counter talked while giving his back to Mino, his hands deep in damp soil as he transplanted a small tangerine in a bigger vase.
Mino cleared his throat, expecting obedience at once, but the man kept working on the plant. “Just a minute”.
He cleaned his hands on the apron and turned to face him, his smile faltering just a bit as recognition filled his brown eyes. “Mr. Song”.
Mino wondered how such a good-looking young man could work there, in the worst suburbia of Seoul, when he could easily be a host or a waiter in some fine bar just for his look. Well, maybe he loved flowers more than money.
“Right, Mr…?”
He knew his name, he just wanted him to say it.
“Mr. Kang. Kang Seungyoon”. He smiled again and this time charmingly. There was something heart-warming in the way his plump lips curled upwards and if Mino were a different man, he might have felt something stirring inside him.
Instead, he went back on business. “I need something huge. A basket would be fine. And white, I need white flowers. I think it might be the best colour for occasions like these”.
“A baptism?”
“A funeral”.
Something flashed in Mr. Kang’s eyes, but he nodded without further questions and started picking flowers from the big vases all around the small shop.
Mino studied him as he went back and forth from the vases to the counter, piling up flowers on the table as he mumbled something for himself. His eyes were focused and his slim hands were quick and neat, the way Mino liked. Those were things required in men working for him. Mino appreciated that more than many other qualities.
There was a hint of kindness in the way that man worked that showed how much effort and care he put in it. That earnestness made him think of Jinwoo, somehow. Mino frowned.
Mr. Kang started working on the basket, putting the flowers in a specific pattern at first, then plucking some from the rest to make it look like they had been put there just casually. He added some chrysanthemums here and there.
Mino looked away just in time to not get caught watching.
“It’s on the house”, Mr. Kang said as he handed him the basket.
Like it should be, Mino didn’t say. He just nodded and grinned slightly.
“Merry Christmas, Mr. Song”.
He nodded again and stepped outside.
His sister was a woman like no others.
If their mother had been alive, she would have approved her endless strength and determination. Their mother had been the right example to follow in the family, the pillar of their small world as children. But she had been more, too: a boss when no others could do the same. She had fought to have and keep that spot, when their father died, and she had managed to be needed by the clan more than everyone would admit.
Danah was just like her. And Mino was their male counterpart, or so he tried. He knew that women could be stronger and more heartless that many men, made to bear pain and tragedy like no others.
So he wasn’t really surprised when he found Danah standing in the first row of Jinwoo’s small funeral, not a tear on her cheeks. If he knew well, a Song like her would not cry in front of others. Not when people was watching.
He greeted his men with a nod of his head, squeezed Seunghoon’s shoulder and then stood at Danah’s right.
“You brought flowers. You should have brought soju”, she whispered. “You know I’m no woman for flowers”.
“These are not for you”, Mino replied, keeping his voice down as the vicar started talking. “He would have liked them”.
“I give you that”, she nodded sharply. She was shaken, but she clenched her jaw and stared ahead, trying to not lose it. Mino placed his hand on her back, for comfort.
Later, there would be tears. When even Mino wouldn’t be with her, when weakness would take her and she would reach for the wedding photo she kept on the heart, when the soju in her body would let her be sincere.
Mino knew a Song always sheds many tears. Each one of them had too much heart, along with too much fire within. The former was a weakness to hide in such a cruel world, the latter was the reason they always burned too fast. Too young.
A Song cries when there is no one watching. And never dies quietly.
“He had been killed”.
“Jinwoo? Why would anyone do that?”, Seunghoon said matter-of-factly. He had his point.
Danah shushed him with her hand and filled her glass with soju, gulping down half of it before talking. “Well, you could say he ended face down in the Han River for an accident. That would be bullshit. My hus… he would never do something like that”.
“I checked with the police. I had to stir things up a little bit”, Mino said then, slurring his words as he kept smoking. “You know half of them work with us. Yet they had to be convinced before looking for what I had asked. Now, that’s something fishy”.
Danah nodded and poured another glass of soju for herself. She had been drinking a lot, but Mino wouldn’t stop her today. This is all she had left, for the night.
“Do you mean there is something more to this whole story?”
“Definitely”. Mino pressed the butt of his cigarette in the ashtray. Seunghoon seemed perplexed, mostly because if there was someone among them who probably didn’t have at least an enemy wanting him dead, that was Jinwoo.
Danah was sure, though. Mino saw the fire in her eyes. He knew this would be no good, but he wasn’t the one who could stop her.
That was Jinwoo, and he was gone.
The next day, Mino asked around about Jinwoo. Mino was well aware that sometimes he would take long walks, reaching even the Han River. And sometimes he would drink with few of his men. Slipping in the river with too much alcohol in blood could be a way to read his death.
Mino questioned the family’s tailor: Jinwoo had been there in the last month. The man didn’t tell him anything useful, Jinwoo just wanted a new suit after his favourite got ruined in a fight.
Then he asked the barman of the club where they usually met: Jinwoo hadn’t been there his last night. He went back to their hideout, a house registered to one of his other cousins, Woo Jiho, who was away for military service. There he learnt that Jinwoo occasionally went to the flower shop right in front of their house.
“Hello, may I help you?”
Mino stared at the florist. He smiled like the last time, like every good employee would do to any costumer. But Mino wasn’t a typical one. Mr. Kang didn’t seem afraid of him, at all.
“Yes, actually yes”. He leaned in, setting his elbows on the counter. Mr. Kang held his stare, even if his smile turned in an uncomfortable one. Mino knew how scary he could look. He placed a hand on his shoulder, tugging him closer.
With the counter between them, he had to bow over it.
“Did you know Kim Jinwoo?”
Mr. Kang winced at that name, breaking their eye contact for a moment. “I had no idea those flowers were for him”.
“So you know he died”.
“Everyone does”. He stared back at him, once again. Mino lingered for a while, taking in his handsome features. Even if his red swollen lips were tempting, his eyes were the most remarking. Deep and enchanting. Two pits where one could lose himself.
For once in his life, Mino looked away and drew back a little. He pretended to do so for lighting a cigarette. But as he started smoking, he couldn’t lie to himself: he had felt something.
Mr. Kang started talking, breaking the silence settled between them. “If I had known, I would have added some peonies to the basket. He loved those flowers”.
“So he was one of your clients?”
“He came by once in a while”, he admitted. His skinny arms went to hug his torso, and Mino found it somehow very lonely. He had never tried to comfort himself in that way, he always used other methods to kill the pain: was a fight or a whore.
“You liked him”.
“He was kind. He came here to buy some flowers for his wife, he said, but he loved to spend few more minutes to talk about this or that variety. He was just a nice man, really. You must know”.
He did. That was what had warmed Danah’s heart and made her fall for him. Kim Jinwoo was someone no one could resist.
“Everyone will miss him”, the florist said then, shrugging his shoulders.
Mino just nodded. He finished his cigarette as he looked at him and then tilted his head to greet him goodbye.
“Tell me you called this family meeting because you have some news”. Danah looked pretty bad, Mino had to admit. It wasn’t even just one detail giving in how she felt: her whole figure was crooked and in pain.
“The policemen working for us finally gave me what we’re looking for”.
“Has he been killed?”, Seunghoon asked, curious.
“The bruises and wounds he had on his body aren’t the result of lying down at the bottom of the river for few days. It wasn’t the strong flow of waters or the rocks underneath. Those wounds bled. If Jinwoo died by drowning, like the police officially told us, and then his body got hurt after, he would not lose this amount of blood. It was before his death. He was hit before he was thrown in the river”.
“He was family after all”, Danah talked, a whisper in the dim room. Mino saw tears welling in her eyes, but didn’t say a thing. “A Song never dies quietly”.
Seunghoon deflated and shook his head, sighing. “Then this means the police are trying to cover for someone”.
Mino thinned his lips at that. “Half of the policemen work for us. They always closed their eyes to what we do for the bribes. I don’t think they had a good reason to do this”. Unless they want to shake us and try to get rid of our clan. Mino wouldn’t let them.
“So were they covering for someone else?”
“The Kim brothers”, Danah said. “Kim Jiwon and Kim Hanbin and Kim Jinhwan”.
These names were enough to make them all silent. The Kim brothers were in a never-ending war with the Song family, especially for the control of a very profitable business: selling illegal goods to half Seoul. However, at the moment they were in a truce.
“This is not the right time to attack them”.
Danah looked at him with fire in her eyes. “I won’t let my husband unrevenged”. She was ready to clutch the knife she kept at her calf and fight.
“I mean it”. He sounded definitive and cold. His authority couldn’t be defeat, this time. “We won’t start a war until we’re sure. And we need preparations”.
Danah hissed at him, unsatisfied. She was stubborn and untamed, but Mino had to convince her or she would cause a ruckus.
“I don’t want to let this be forgotten. I just need confirmations before we do anything. We don’t want to lose half of our business and family for a bad impulsive plan, don’t we?”
Danah had to nod at that. “Sure”. She was still raging, ready to burst at the thinnest movement, but Mino knew she wouldn’t let others get hurt for her revenge. He feared she would let herself get hurt, though.
“Keep an eye on her, would you?”, he asked Seunghoon when he was sure Danah wouldn’t hear them. He agreed promptly.
That morning Mino didn’t mean to enter the flower shop.
He had to go to their usual hideout, check that everything was fine and then work on his unfinished business. He didn’t really have to halt in front of the shop, waver and then step inside.
It had snowed the night before, so he took his time cleaning his boots on the doormat. He noticed Mr. Kang greeting him and staring at him, but he kept his eyes to his feet till he was finished.
“Mr. Song, how may I serve you?”
Mino stayed silent as he studied the endearing flush on his cheeks. “Have you been outside?”
“Ah”, he rubbed his nape, smiling. “I had to stock some soil bags in the store. There is a yard in between”.
“I see”. Mino thought that he should wear red more often, it suited him. The stark contrast with his pale skin made him more… tempting.
“So, are you here to buy something? I… I didn’t think you would be the type who likes flowers”. He hesitated, his hands fiddling with a daisy on the counter. Mino found it cute.
“I don’t”. Mr. Kang raised his eyes to look at him, then. Mino held his stare, grinning. He could feel his insides twist as that moment stretched and lasted for a while. For more than it was proper.
Mr. Kang was the first to look away, again. He coughed and dipped his head as he covered his mouth with his hand.
“But I thought I might bring some flowers to my sister. Those Jinwoo used to buy for her”.
“He didn’t have a regular pattern”, the florist was back to his composure, hiding behind his work. “He used to change with his mood. But he liked primroses because of their meaning”. He showed him those flowers. “Eternal love”.
“Give me a bouquet”.
He started working on it, placing neatly each flower next to the previous one. Without looking at him, he asked: “So, why don’t you like them? The flowers, I mean”.
Mino smiled at him, unnoticed. “It’s not like that. I think everyone would say that they’re beautiful. But that beauty withers when you pick it. It’s not made for humans’ touch”.
He knew already that he was poisonous. Nothing would live under his touch. Was it flowers or something else.
Now Mino was sure he wouldn’t go back here. He had been tempted, but there was no reason to taint such beauty with his lustful desires. He would not have it.
“So you prefer letting it be. That’s civil”, Mr. Kang said, his long fingers wrapping the flowers in a white thick paper. “But that’s how life is, don’t you know? Everything has its end. Even beauty”. He paused, thinking. “Maybe you didn’t have someone to share flowers with, that’s why you never liked them”.
Mino tensed, his brow furrowing, and Mr. Kang realized what he had implied as he looked at him. Or mostly, at whom he had talked with. “I… I am sorry, Mr. Song. I didn’t mean to-“
“It’s ok”. He wrapped his hand around the bouquet, touching his one still holding it. At that, Mr. Kang jolted. “Just give me this”.
“It… it’s on the house”, he stuttered.
“Like it should be”.
“What are these?”
“Don’t you see by yourself?”
Danah studied him warily, taking the bouquet in her hand. “You know I never care about these things. I accepted Jinwoo’s only because it was him”.
Mino chuckled hollowly. They were too similar for their own good. “I am sorry I wanted to do something for you”.
“You know what would make me feel better”, she pointed out, spiteful.
“I know. I’ll try to take care of it as soon as I can. I promise you”.
Of course only revenge could calm her down. There was nothing else that could let her sleep comfortably. He knew it too well, because they were just the same. Knowing that Jinwoo had left that world because someone had murdered him was enough to make her blood boil, like it had happened years ago, when their mother had been killed by one of their cousins. The man wanted to take her place in the family business, but Mino and Danah didn’t let that happen.
Mino knew how Danah felt. He could see the burning need of revenge, a curse that could not leave her body alone. He saw the fire in her. She had opened her heart to Jinwoo, let him make know what love and joy were. All those happy memories fed her anger.
Mino was just like her. And Danah was just like Mino.
“What was the thing that made you fall for him? There must be something, right at the beginning”. Mino found himself asking, hoping to understand himself through her.
“You’re acting weird, you know”, Danah glanced at him, then at the flowers in her hand. “This is not like you”.
“I guess you won’t tell me”, he pretended he didn’t care.
“Must it be something? Just one thing?”, she said then. “I just felt it with my whole self: I wanted that man”. She got closer, side-hugging him as she looked at him intently. “He was nothing like me. It couldn’t possibly work between us. But you can’t really fight against it: when a Song wants, a Song gets”.
Mino guessed he was doomed.
*
“I keep staying in position, studying their movements from there. But Mr. Song approached me the other day. I think… he might be interested”.
“You checked his file, didn’t you? He’s not only the worst scum out there, he’s also a faggot”.
“What should I do?”
“Everything needed”.
Seungyoon nodded quietly. “For that other problem…”
“We’ll use it for our own profit”.
Seungyoon’s bedroom was right above the shop. Its window opened to the street and was in front of the Songs’ house. From there he could watch without worrying about being discovered: he hid behind the curtain and observed their movements.
Seungyoon was neat and precise in everything he did, so he wrote down every person who entered or left that house, and if he could he even took note of the time they spent in there. He put that diary under a tile of the floor, in the left corner of the bed.
When it was time to open the shop, Seungyoon would put on the uniform he used for work and go downstairs. There he would take care of the flowers as much as he could, and keep an eye on the house as he kept writing down all their movements on the shop register. He used a code made of numbers, so that it would look like counts to the casual reader.
His life was quiet and not that dangerous, for being a cop undercover.
But it was going to change.
Mr. Song had been there three times.
The first one, Seungyoon had been too agitated to really talk. He knew he should try to hook him somehow, to make a good impression, in order to be a step closer to the enemy. But he barely said what was proper to the etiquette.
Mr. Song had a charisma he had rarely seen in other men. You could easily see how he was ready to snap and eat you in a moment, like a predator, like that was his own nature. Seungyoon had no doubt he was the boss in that clan, the real one. Others were attracted by such a man, even if they feared him.
The second time, Seungyoon had learnt the weight of his stare. He thought he would melt and confess under his eyes, but then Mr. Song had held back, and in that Seungyoon saw he was human just like him. He noticed how troubled he was as he lit a cigarette and started smoking. Even he had weakness.
The last time, Seungyoon had been the troubled one. He could not help the warmth spreading in his body as Mr. Song looked at him, while the tension between them grew in the silence. Seungyoon was sure he would leap and take him right there, but then he retreated like the first time. And now Seungyoon couldn’t stop his own curiosity, as he asked things and talked with him.
He thought Mr. Song was someone ruthless. A man without honour. But all he could see was someone who was just scared to give in to his own desires. He didn’t trust easily. He feared he might ruin even the slightest hint of an interaction.
He couldn’t hide his attraction, his intent stare, but he didn’t want to flail.
It should be that way, Seungyoon thought. If Mr. Song ended up wanting him, he would only break his heart.
The fourth time took Seungyoon by surprise.
He had seen Mr. Song lingering in front of his shop few times, without taking the next step and just looking at him through the glass. He had seemed unsure of what to do, unable to choose. Hence Seungyoon didn’t expect to find him there, that day.
He had been in the backyard, checking if he had enough vases for that week, and when he came back to the shop, Mr. Song stood there.
“Hello… have you been waiting for a long time?”
He shook his head. He looked tired, even though his black eyes were as hard and intense as the other times.
It was late afternoon but, being winter, it was dark like it was already night. Seungyoon glanced outside, to buy him some time. “It’s starting snowing once again”.
“Mr. Kang”.
That was the first time he called his name. There was despair and need in his voice. Seungyoon turned to look at him, unable to not do so.
“They say a Song gets everything he wants. I know this might be rushed. I know it is, but I can’t help it”, he stepped closer and the room seemed even darker as he got closer. Seungyoon felt a cold shiver running down his spine, even though he was pretty sure the heating was still on.
“I want you, Mr. Kang”.
Seungyoon swallowed, trying to fight the lump in his throat. He wasn’t supposed to feel this way.
Mr. Song got even closer, and Seungyoon blessed the counter for being between them. He couldn’t bear his stare, but at the same time he wasn’t able to look away, not this time. “Me?”, he whispered.
“I know it’s absurd, we saw each other few times. I trust this is just a whim, a hunger I can easily satiate”, he stopped, unsure. “I am not used to no as an answer, but I won’t pressure you… I trust this will end as soon as I have you”.
Seungyoon balled his hands in fists, divided by the irrational part of him that was let down by knowing that Mr. Song wanted just to use him and his body, and the most logical part of him that screamed to use that chance to get closer to him. Yet, it could be hard to work like that: what if Mr. Song wouldn’t talk to him anymore? He needed to acquire information and that would not do. But if this worked differently, if Mr. Song would fall for his temptation more than once…
“I always let the others take what is beautiful in this world. I have never dared reach for it. I know I don’t deserve it. It wouldn’t last, I am not made for this. I am a man who always brings destruction”, Mr. Song looked truly conflicted, this time. “I didn’t mean to… offend you with my proposal”.
Seungyoon knew that behind his apparent beauty there was ugliness and lies. He was just a mirror for that man who felt unworthy. He wasn’t better than him, right now.
He might look like an innocent white flower, but he was a red rose ready to thorn him and make him bleed.
Seungyoon wasn’t even sure why he was hesitating this much. He shouldn’t even take in consideration his feelings. This was work. He had promised he would do everything he could.
He bit his lips and tilted his head, faking embarrassment. The tremble of his voice was true, though. “My bedroom is upstairs”.
Seungyoon didn’t know what to expect.
He led Mr. Song to his room, fear taking him all at once. He could feel his guts twisting at the idea of sharing his bed with this man. He wasn’t sure he was ready, no matter if he had promised on his honour of policeman that he would do everything necessary. His boss had been glad to hear that, but he didn’t count: he was a bastard without principles.
Seungyoon could feel the tension in every joint of his body.
He sat on the bed and quaked when the mattress dipped under Mr. Song’s weight. He looked outside, one more time for buying time: the snow was still falling, white tears to cover the greyness of the world. Snow always made everything more silent, quieter.
Seungyoon could hear his own heartbeat in that noiseless storm.
He made himself turn to look at him. The room was dark, the only feeble light coming from outside, and in that obscurity Mr. Song didn’t look as scary as he did usually. Even if great shadows were casted on his body and his face was a living chiaroscuro, all blacks and whites that cut it in sections, Seungyoon found himself wavering at his obvious attractiveness.
His heart thumped harder when Mr. Song slid a hand on his face, slowly. It wasn’t fear. He wanted.
“Mr. Song, I…”
“Mino”. His voice was deep and raw and sent tingles to Seungyoon’s lower parts.
Seungyoon raised a hand and touched his cheek, tentatively. He didn’t know if he could. Mino let him. He stroked his thumb on his brow, rested it near his eye as he stared at him. Seungyoon had never seen such eyes: dark, honest, they had a pull on him that he could not go against.
Seungyoon was surprised by how slowly he was going, but not in an unpleasant way. Being someone like Mr. Song didn’t mean he would be cruel and disrespectful in bed, he realized.
“Mino…”, he whispered. The man grinned at that, predatory. Pleased. “Isn’t this the time you kiss me?”
He chuckled. “I’ve never seen someone this fearless, ordering me around”. Seungyoon was afraid he made a mistake. “Even last time you were without boundaries”, he smiled, white teeth flashing in the dim light, making Seungyoon falter. “I am not sure I like it, but it’s appealing”, he said on his lips.
Seungyoon opened his mouth to welcome his kiss. There was a faint taste of smoke on his tongue, but that didn’t lessen Seungyoon’s pleasure. Mino was soft at first, lazily tasting him as his hands cupped his face. He nibbled his lower lip and smiled against his mouth as Seungyoon found the courage to circle his arms around him and press him closer.
Then, Mino pinned him to the wall behind the bed, his knees dipping in the mattress as he kept Seungyoon in place. He tilted his head and kissed him again, this time hungrily.
Seungyoon was glad he had something he could steady himself with: his hands gripping Mino’s shoulders and his back against the cold wall behind, he moaned in the kiss and enjoyed the burning passion Mino put even in the simplest move. It might be defeating, but Seungyoon found it charming.
He panted hard as they break apart for a moment, trying to store more air he could as he felt dizzy, his head spinning for the long kiss. He looked up, meeting his dark eyes. There was pure want in them. Seungyoon knew he was just the same.
He wanted him.
Mino leaned in, stealing another kiss from him. This time, Seungyoon let his hands roam on his wide back, tracing the curves of his muscles, halting at his hipbones. He squeezed his hands around them, pulling him closer as they kissed heatedly. He gasped when his erection met his one, friction driving him crazy.
Mino bit back a moan, his wet mouth on the skin of his cheek when Seungyoon rolled his hips and sent sparkles of pleasure to both of them. “K-Kang Seungyoon”, he said, nestling his head in the crook of his neck.
Seungyoon moved again and Mino bit his skin along with it. “Can I…?”
Seungyoon found himself wanting it: he didn’t know how he would face himself tomorrow, when the marks would be evident in his reflection, when this would be ended already but guilt would linger for much longer… Seungyoon told himself he was playing a part, and the Kang Seungyoon he was now wanted it.
He nodded.
Mino sucked his skin, on and on, leaving red hickeys on his pale complexion. Seungyoon bucked his hips, demanding he would feel as shaken as him. Mino panted hard, his hands clasping his sides as he kept marking his neck.
When he was satisfied, he started unbuttoning his shirt, tugging it out from his pants. “I think red really suits you”, he looked up, staring at his lips and the flush of his cheeks, then down, to the fresh marks he had left.
Seungyoon tried to not smile, but failed. He wanted to break free from there, digging his feet in the mattress and trying to prop himself up, but Mino kept him in place, his strong legs at his sides holding Seungyoon there.
“If we stay like this I can’t get undressed”, Seungyoon pointed out. Mino chuckled at this.
“Do you want me to rush it?”
Seungyoon reddened at his words. Well, maybe. Maybe he wanted this to end soon, not because it would change the act between them, or lessen his guilt, but because he couldn’t just wait much longer. He wanted to feel him inside.
Seungyoon wasn’t sure honesty was the right choice. But Mino found it appealing, anyway. “I just want you. You’re not the only one with needs here”.
Mino cracked a dazzling smile. For a moment, Seungyoon wished the light was on: like this, he couldn’t see well if his tanned skin had turned darker at that. Not that Mr. Song could probably blush, he reasoned.
Mino drew back just enough to let him move. Seungyoon missed the warmth of his presence against his skin, but thought it was silly. He moved his fingers quickly and neatly, like always. He dropped the shirt on the floor and then undid his belt and let his pants fall next to it.
When he turned to look at Mino, he found him staring at him, a smirk on his lips. Seungyoon questioned him with his look and the man just shrugged his shoulders, apparently mesmerized by what he was seeing. Seungyoon looked at him as he pulled his briefs down and kicked them away.
“May… I serve you, Mr. Song?”, he slid his hands on his suit, tugging the jacket away. This was what he was doing for him: fulfilling his needs for one time. Mino tensed at his joke, like he felt guilty about it, but then Seungyoon covered his mouth with his own, and he relaxed against him.
When the last cloth was finally away and forgotten, Seungyoon looked at him and gasped at the beauty of his muscled body. Even the scars that dotted his torso and bulky thighs were just another decoration on his tanned skin. He gaped at his dark-brown nipples, the prominent veins running on his forearms and on his groin, the expanse of black hair above his erection. He wavered at that and felt himself hardening the more he stared, and when he dared look at him in the eye again, he knew Mino had observed him all along.
Seungyoon saw there was no doubt in him. He found himself small, lost in the need of having him. He was shocked by himself, but he couldn’t fight those feelings.
He laid back and spread his legs before him. Mino took that as a chance to study him one more time, a smile lighting his face as he scanned his body with his hands and stopped at his mouth. He let out a small pleased grunt when he brushed his fingers on his swollen lips and Seungyoon licked them.
Mino invited him to suck them and Seungyoon complied, engulfing the fingers inside his wet mouth. He almost chuckled as he caught Mino staring at him, hypnotized, but didn’t have the strength to make fun of him now. All he could think of was the need coursing inside him, destroying his last lucid thought.
Mino grunted once more, pushing against his ass as Seungyoon coated his fingers carefully. Looking at him to ask if he was ready, Seungyoon just nodded and wrapped his thighs around Mino, pleading.
Mino splayed his hands on his inner thighs, hooking at his ass. He pressed a wet digit inside him, slowly. Seungyoon thought he would never go faster and whined, his hands reaching for him. Mino inserted another finger, curling its tip to make Seungyoon squirm.
He panted hard, the creaking of the bed under them echoing in the room. There was still unnatural silence outside, the snow must be falling like earlier. Seungyoon was sure there was no one besides the two of them, in the world. Not in that moment. Not in that peace.
There were only Mino’s raspy breath and Seungyoon’s whines.
“Closer…”
When he was sure Seungyoon was stretched enough, Mino moved his hand away and rubbed his cock against him, instead. He used his spit to lube his length and pressed the head on his entrance, teasing it. Seungyoon grumbled and at that Mino, gripping his hips, lurched forward and penetrated him.
Seungyoon cried at loud, unsure whether for the pain or the pleasure. He wanted him even closer, so much closer… Mino pushed deeper and hunched his back to kiss his nipple, his neck, his jaw.
When Seungyoon was sure he couldn’t bear to wait an instant more, he moved again. And again. And again. Every time making Seungyoon a little less able to hold back, to suppress the moans and the need he felt inside.
Mino hugged him and pulled him closer, propping himself on his knees as he tried to sit them back on the mattress. Seungyoon followed him, helping him as much as he could in that haze. He pressed Mino on the wall and kissed him voraciously, being sure he would taste every inch of his mouth.
And then Mino moved upward, inviting him to ride him. Seungyoon complied, rolling his hips, pursuing his own pleasure with every thrust.
He arched his back, enjoying Mino’s strong hands wrapped around his hips, assuring he wouldn’t slip away, and dig his nails in his short black hair. As his pace grew erratic, Mino held him close and pounded inside him, being sure his whole length was sheathed within Seungyoon.
That drove him crazy: the pleasure he felt by being filled by him.
He screamed as Mino came inside him, the orgasm shaking his entire body.
*
PART TWO