Tarnished Angels (SMM Universe) Section Se7en
Title: Tarnished Angels
Pairing: Min/Other
(some jaeho and yoosu along the way)
Section Rating: R
Overall Rating: NC-17
Blame: ranalore
Summary: Hot Korean boys. A seduction. An alluring. A temptation. And Min's self-discovery.
Sections: One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six
Related Fics: So Much Mine and Lavender Bunny. Links go to PDFs. Other related fics can be found at my LJ: wedspawn
The phone, Changmin mumbled hotly. The damned phone that kept ringing in the middle of the night. Bleary-eyed, he blinked, trying to focus and find out where he’d left the cursed thing.
Then realized, he was wearing nothing but an oversized plaid-lined leather jacket. And his sweat.
“Shit.” Min swore. “Shit. Shit. Shit. Where is it?”
He found it under his ribs, tucked there for when Se7en called him back. Flipping the phone open, he blinked, wondering where he put his glasses. The feel of the jacket on his body made him hard, his sex awakened to a previously untapped arousal. Min had been dreaming, he was sure of it. The sheets of his bed smelled musky and were slightly damp where they stuck to his skin.
“Hello, Minku.” Se7en sounded as sleepy as Changmin felt. His voice murmured over Min’s senses, satin sheets and candlelight with a chaser of cigarette smoke and charcoal filtered whiskey.
“What time is it?” Changmin turned over, wincing when a sharp pain tore into his back. Hissing, he pulled the jacket away from his torso, his fingers finding deep impressions on his skin. “Ouch.”
“I don’t know what time it is. That’s what I have you for. Every time I call you, you tell me what time it is. I don’t even need to wear a watch.” Se7en’s husky tone poured into Min’s groin. “Are you okay, baby?”
Changmin wondered if he’d ever be used to the electrical charge he felt work down from his shoulders, over his arms and arcing back onto his nipples. It should be easy, he thought. Shouldn’t this be easy? He’d been listening to Se7en’s voice for weeks now, soft little murmurs of nothing in his ears before he slept. They came sometimes in his dreams, fragments of conversations carrying not a bit of substance but just the sound of Se7en’s voice.
So how could hearing the word baby turn him into formless gelatin?
Calm, Min scolded himself. Keep calm and smooth. Match him with each move. Ignore that you’re afraid your stomach is going to ooze out of your body because he sounds so sexy when he says your name. Ignore all of that. Concentrate on giving him the same feelings that he gives you.
Like we could ever make Se7en ooze, a pessimistic gremlin voice snorted from where it squatted in the back of his mind.
“Minku?”
God, that name again. Why did Dong-Wook ever tell him that the end syllable left his mouth ready for a kiss? And what kind of kiss did it leave him ready for? Certainly not the bone-melting one he shared with the older man in the Supra.
“Minku, did you fall asleep on me?” Se7en chuckled. “Kawaii.”
“I hate that word.” Changmin grumbled, rolling his eyes. Great, he thought, now I sound like a petulant child. “And no, I’m awake. Did you get home alright?”
Turn the focus back onto him, Min reminded himself. Make Se7en talk about himself. Then bring him back around to thinking about you. Changmin worried at his lower lip. Or was it the other way? He’d only read partially into the book on how to seduce someone and it seemed as if every time he opened his mouth, what he’d memorized whispered away into intangible mists. He could never remember what that damned book told him to do when he needed it the most.
“I got home fine. Kind of late but it was worth it.” Se7en stretched out onto his bed, flinging one arm over his head. The huskiness in Min’s voice made him throb, imagining all of the delicious ways he could bring about that raspy purr in bed. “It took me a while to return the car to the garage. There was a lot of traffic.”
“And then imagine my surprise when I got a text message on my phone telling me that a certain mink was snuggled down in my leather jacket, just waiting to be stroked and petted to sleep.” The older man ran a hand over his stomach, letting a satisfied murmur sigh from his throat. “It was all I could do not to call you right then and there but I would have gotten into an accident and I have no intention of dying before I find out exactly how hot I can make that delicious body of yours.”
Okay, Changmin’s gremlin whispered, you’re going to match that? We’re doomed. You’re an idiot. Why don’t you just admit that you’re out of your league and go back to mooning over actresses you see on screen?
We can do this, Min scolded. And why is this a we? I’m talking to myself. This is stupid.
Well, tsked the reptilian gremlin, at least we agree on something. Try to at least put him on the defensive, muttered the little lizard voice, and with that, it was silent.
“Whenever we talk, you’re always the one talking about what you’d like to do to me.” Changmin kept his voice low, not wanting any of the others to get curious about his voice coming from behind a closed bedroom door in the wee hours of the morning. “Maybe I want to do a few things to you.”
“I’m always glad to hear anything you might want to do to me.” Se7en replied, delighted at the stumbling catch of Min’s breath. “What did you have in mind, pretty?”
Okay, now what? Changmin thought. Say something.
“I, um, enjoyed your kiss.”
Oh that smooth, he cursed silently. Like Se7en kissed his skinned knee all better because he fell. Where was the seductive drawl he’d been practicing. He might as well send Se7en love letters drawn in colour markers. He sounded more like a little boy crushing on his older brother’s best friend.
“I liked your hands on me.”
Changmin heard Se7en’s purring murmur deepen, more whiskey poured over the rough velvet of the older man’s breathing. That was much better.
“My hands didn’t want to be anywhere else.” Se7en replied. “That’s why I had to take them home. Before they got me into a lot of trouble.”
Don’t let him know that you’re not good at this. He already knows I’m not good at this. Don’t let on that you have no idea what you’re doing, Changmin. He’ll lose interest. He’ll walk off and then, Min didn’t know what came after Se7en walking off. He’d not thought that far.
“I’m not good at this.” He heard himself say.
Why the hell couldn’t his mouth and brain agree on something and stick with it? Changmin thought angrily. How hard can it be? Even Jaejoong seemed able to master the simple act of thinking and talking.
“Good at what, Minku?”
“This. Seduction.” Changmin sighed, snuggling down into his bed. The leather remained wrapped tight around his naked body, its hem brushing over his crotch. The rubbing felt good, as if the lightly rough touch was somehow Se7en’s. “I’m not good at this game. I’m never going to win this battle with you.”
“You think this is a battle?” Se7en sounded surprise. “I thought it was a mutually agreed upon friendship.”
“Is that what this is called? A friendship?”
“Did you think that I was going to chase after you until I had you underneath me and then just kiss you on the forehead and leave you with a small trinket to remember me by?” Se7en’s voice lost some of its smoothness, roughening with emotion. “Do you think so little of yourself, pretty, that you’re only good for a fuck or two and then there’s nothing else for you to offer someone?”
“I like you, Minnie-ah.” Se7en switched to Korean, emphasizing his point. “Neither one of us is looking for someone to spend the rest of their life with but hell, that doesn’t mean we can’t be lovers and friends. Forever doesn’t just mean roses and doves. Hell, no matter what happens between us, I’ll be your friend.”
“You’re just saying that. Don’t all guys say that?” Min’s reply was barely audible. His low-pitched words cracked and he blinked away the sting of tears filling his eyes. “I just don’t want…”
“You don’t want me to seduce you and then walk away boasting about it?” Se7en asked softly. He heard the hurt in Min’s voice. A realization hit Dong-Wook hard and he sat up in his bed, a simmer of anger just below the surface of his thoughts. “Did someone do that to you? Someone I know?”
“Yes. No.” Changmin sighed. Gritting his teeth, the shame from that time in his life made his throat recoil as if he swallowed a cupful of vinegar.
“Which is it, Minku?” Se7en was firm, insistent in Min’s ear. “Yes to which answer.”
“Both.”
Se7en let out a string of swear words in a muffled flow of Japanese and Korean, returning to the basest of phrases in his vocabulary. “Who?”
“I don’t want to tell you who.” Changmin curled around his own stomach. “It wasn’t anything big. Just a kiss backstage but I heard him later tell someone that he was going to have me. And I was so…angry. I wanted to trust him. Because it felt so good and then after I heard him bragging about how he’d taken my kiss, everything inside of me just flattened.”
God, he’d nearly fainted when Rain touched his mouth, a long lingering stroke of warm lips plundering his own. There wasn’t much time for anything other than surrendering to the older man’s hard exploration before he was left standing there with the air turning his bruised lips cold and a whispered hot promise at the party they would all be at later.
Then as Min thought he would sneak up on the older man to surprise him, he’d stopped frozen with revulsion and dismay to hear Rain bragging about how he would deflower the group’s youngest, then pass him along to someone else in his crew.
“I’ll kill whoever made you feel like shit, Minku.” Se7en’s promise glittered with a malevolence. “What a fucking bastard. If it’s one of my friends, I’ll wring his neck.”
“No,” Min thought of the cocky arrogant smile he’d fallen for, so different from the warm smoothness of Se7en’s charm. “It’s not one of your friends. I don’t think you two like each other.”
“Did you tell the others?” Se7en’s sardonic bark echoed between them. “No, because if you had, I would have heard about it. You kept it quiet because you were ashamed because he made you feel desirable then trashed you in front of others.”
In the comfort of Se7en’s scent and the warmth of his leather jacket, Min whispered anguish straight into his seducer’s guts. “I don’t want to feel that way again. I don’t want you to make me feel that way at all.”
“I never want to make you feel that way.” Dong-Wook’s anger fought a battle with his sympathy for Min’s shy nature. “Besides, I’m pretty sure that would push Yunho over the edge and he really would kill me.”
“Yunnie-ah would understand.” Changmin defended his leader. “You don’t have to dislike him.”
“I don’t dislike your leader.” Se7en’s laugh lightened the heaviness in Min’s belly. “He’s the one who hates me.”
“That’s because you kept touching Jaejoong during that show.”
“Jaejoong is very touchable.” Se7en replied casually “Although I’m beginning to think he hates anyone who even looks at Kim Jaejoong. They are horrible at keeping their relationship a secret.”
“It’s important to them. Well, important to Joongie-ah that it’s kept quiet.” Min stopped and corrected himself. “If they even had a relationship to talk about.”
“Well, let me make you a promise, Minku.”
“What?” Changmin braced himself for what was to come.
“I’m going to tell you first that this isn’t a battle.” Se7en warned. “I like you, Shim Changmin. You’re funny and smart…”
“I’m not funny.”
“And quarrelsome.” Se7en interjected. “Do you know how rare it is to find someone challenges me? It’s nice to find someone who’ll speak their mind, even if it’s to tell me the sky isn’t blue or that water isn’t wet.”
“I…” Min bit back his words, choking on his argumentative nature.
“And you are funny.” Se7en continued, thinking of all the things he found attractive in the younger man. “You make me laugh and being with you makes me see the world differently. Sometimes, I forget what it’s like to be amazed at the smallest things and then I see your face light up because of something new you’ve seen.”
“If you could have been in my seat tonight, when you saw the river,” The older man sighed. “Everything is just so new to you. Exciting. Even if it’s something that you’ve done before. You find something different. That just amazes me.”
“I’m not exciting.” Changmin said quietly. “I’m just me.”
“You kidding?” Se7en laughed. “When I kissed you tonight, it was like I was drinking wine for the first time. How could I not want that? How could I not want the person that makes me feel like that in my life? You think I’d turn away from that? It’s not just your body, Minku. I’ve told you that. It’s because of how you make me feel.”
“So, I have a proposal for you.” The older singer didn’t wait to hear Min’s response. “I’m going to let you set the pace. It’s going to test every single damned bit of patience I have but I’m going to let you do the exploring first. You tell me what you want to do and when you want to do it.”
“What’s the catch?”
“No catch.” Se7en promised. “I’ll get to touch. Because it would be too much of a hell to be near you and not even get the smallest of touches but everything else, that’s for you to decide.”
“And if you decide that you trust me enough to give me back the lead, I’ll take it.” Another purr, another velvety whispered promise slithering around Min’s sex.
“I don’t mind… your kisses.” Changmin countered. He didn’t want to lose the heady nirvana he’d glimpsed in Se7en’s car and wasn’t certain enough of his own courage to initiate the affection until he was on steadier ground. “I liked it. A lot. I don’t want them to stop.”
“Okay. I can kiss.” Se7en said. Thank god, Se7en thought to himself. He didn’t think he’d be able to be around Changmin without stealing a kiss or two. “And I won’t molest you in public.”
“God no.” Changmin was horrified at the thought. He certainly didn’t want that kind of attention. “I don’t think I could deal with that.”
“Me neither. My personal life is going to stay personal. I don’t want to drag you through a circus.” The other agreed. “But there’s one thing I do want.”
“What’s that?” Min wrapped his arm around his waist, sniffling at the teary remains of his emotions.
“You don’t see anyone else while we’re doing this.” Se7en said. “It’s bad enough that we’re going to have to work around our two schedules and that I have to share you with the other four, I’m not going to share you with anyone else.”
“Are you going to do that too?”
“Yeah.” The older man replied. “You’re worth the wait, Minku. And I’ve got enough to keep me busy. You’re more than enough of a complication in my life. I’m pretty sure I’m going to be one in yours.”
“Okay. Agreed” Changmin nodded to himself. He needed to step away from his thoughts, mired down in the fraught up and down of his nerves. “What are you doing tomorrow?”
“I have a photo shoot down in one of the subway stations at noon and then a couple of interviews.” Se7en thought on his schedule. “You?”
“I’m off for a couple of days. There’s a break in our schedule.”
Se7en liked that there was no expectation in Changmin’s voice. The younger man wasn’t looking to snag him into any commitment, just curious about what the day held for him.
“You want to do something later tomorrow night?” He thought he heard Min sniff a bit, making Se7en wonder how much pain did the nameless man left in Min’s tender feelings. Keeping back the bite of anger from his voice, Se7en said. “We can go on a date. Maybe a good dinner. Let me show you some of the Tokyo I know. Would you like that?”
“I’ll have to see if I can get away.” Changmin’s thoughts raced. “The others…”
“Ah, that’s right.” Se7en laughed. “Your older brothers. We can meet someplace. So you don’t have to explain me if you’re not ready to. I’ll text you where once I’ve made reservations.”
“I’m not even ready to explain how I got this jacket.” Min sighed. “I should probably return it to you.”
“No, keep it, Minku.” Se7en’s purr returned, shivering hot fingers along the backs of Min’s thighs. The young man sighed again. He would never get used to the desire Dong-Wook seemed to pull out of him. “I like knowing that you’ve got something of mine wrapped around you. It’s one of my favourite jackets. Now it’s on one of my favourite people.”
Dong-Wook murmured sleepily. “I have to wake up in a few hours, baby.”
“I’m sorry I kept you up.” Min replied. That baby got to him again. He’d have to try it out on Se7en to see if he could get the same effect. Later. When he felt braver.
“Minku, I plan on you keeping me up for a long time.” Se7en said. “Even after I hang up. Say goodnight to me. And let my jacket keep you warm until I can get there next to you, okay?”
“Okay.” Changmin licked at the dryness of his mouth. “Good night, Shichi.”
“Good night, Iro.”
Turning over, Min placed his cell phone on the night stand, wondering if he was ever going to fall asleep. As soon as he lay back into the pillows, he caught the scent of anise and honey from the jacket’s lining and sighed, drifting off under the quiet of his murmuring thoughts.
Sniffing at the plaid lining one final time, he murmured into his pillows, hugging himself tightly. “Good night, baby. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Changmin stared at the various members as they hurried around the dining area, each gathering up different things for breakfast. He’d chosen a cold rice cereal, sprinkling on the barest hint of sugar and cinnamon before pouring soy milk into the bowl.
He needed a conspirator. He was certain of it. Se7en might be willing to teach him about being seduced but he wanted to have some practical knowledge of how to seduce in turn. And for that, he would have to turn to one of the other members. But which one?
Yunho was out. The leader practically spat every time Se7en was mentioned. Changmin didn’t think he could go up to Yunho and ask him to put aside his animosity so Min could learn how to behave on a date or what to say to another man without sounding like an idiot.
No, Yunho was definitely out.
Jaejoong. Changmin briefly considered his beloved older brother but Jae would prove problematic. He couldn’t keep a secret. His mouth sometimes was too connected to his brain and Jae’s thoughts poured freely. No, Jaejoong couldn’t be depended on to keep his secrets.
Yoochun. Min glanced at the baritone, his cheeks puffed out from eating too many peaches at one. No, Chunnie-ah had the same problem as Jaejoong. Horrible at keeping secrets. And what Yoochun knew, Jaejoong knew. Changmin might as well sit them all down on the couch and tell everything for all the confidence he had in Yoochun’s mouth remaining shut.
That left Junsu.
Changmin contemplated his decision. The tenor was a good choice, he thought. Good at keeping secrets and if sworn to it, would even not tell Yoochun. The added bonus was, he would more than likely be happy that Changmin found someone to rub off some of the naiveté shining from Min’s personality. Also, Junsu did know how to tease and be sensual.
And unlike Jaejoong’s clueless, enigmatic apathy, Junsu actually was aware he was doing seducing someone. That would be the best part of it. Having someone who, while not as sensual as Se7en, at least understood how to flirt.
Yes, Junsu was definitely Changmin’s choice, the youngest nodded to himself.
“Susu-ah.” Min leaned over to whisper in the older man’s ear. “Do you think I could borrow you later? I have something I need to know how to do. And I think you’re the only one that can help me.”
Apologies for my horribly used Japanese.
man’etsu: rapture
minku: mink (diminutive term)
itachi: mink (animal)
nanatsu: seven
shichi: seven
josai: smooth-tongued and slick [double meaning: deacon; someone who should be pure and good]
iro: lover
kaku: stroke
botan: button
shishou: master [double meaning: stabbing or stimulation]
kawaii: cute
my sincere apologies to Junsu for making him say a very horrid oyagi gag, especially with my bad Japanese. he did infer that Yoochun’s button didn’t mind his stroking
Pairing: Min/Other
(some jaeho and yoosu along the way)
Section Rating: R
Overall Rating: NC-17
Blame: ranalore
Summary: Hot Korean boys. A seduction. An alluring. A temptation. And Min's self-discovery.
Sections: One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six
Related Fics: So Much Mine and Lavender Bunny. Links go to PDFs. Other related fics can be found at my LJ: wedspawn
The phone, Changmin mumbled hotly. The damned phone that kept ringing in the middle of the night. Bleary-eyed, he blinked, trying to focus and find out where he’d left the cursed thing.
Then realized, he was wearing nothing but an oversized plaid-lined leather jacket. And his sweat.
“Shit.” Min swore. “Shit. Shit. Shit. Where is it?”
He found it under his ribs, tucked there for when Se7en called him back. Flipping the phone open, he blinked, wondering where he put his glasses. The feel of the jacket on his body made him hard, his sex awakened to a previously untapped arousal. Min had been dreaming, he was sure of it. The sheets of his bed smelled musky and were slightly damp where they stuck to his skin.
“Hello, Minku.” Se7en sounded as sleepy as Changmin felt. His voice murmured over Min’s senses, satin sheets and candlelight with a chaser of cigarette smoke and charcoal filtered whiskey.
“What time is it?” Changmin turned over, wincing when a sharp pain tore into his back. Hissing, he pulled the jacket away from his torso, his fingers finding deep impressions on his skin. “Ouch.”
“I don’t know what time it is. That’s what I have you for. Every time I call you, you tell me what time it is. I don’t even need to wear a watch.” Se7en’s husky tone poured into Min’s groin. “Are you okay, baby?”
Changmin wondered if he’d ever be used to the electrical charge he felt work down from his shoulders, over his arms and arcing back onto his nipples. It should be easy, he thought. Shouldn’t this be easy? He’d been listening to Se7en’s voice for weeks now, soft little murmurs of nothing in his ears before he slept. They came sometimes in his dreams, fragments of conversations carrying not a bit of substance but just the sound of Se7en’s voice.
So how could hearing the word baby turn him into formless gelatin?
Calm, Min scolded himself. Keep calm and smooth. Match him with each move. Ignore that you’re afraid your stomach is going to ooze out of your body because he sounds so sexy when he says your name. Ignore all of that. Concentrate on giving him the same feelings that he gives you.
Like we could ever make Se7en ooze, a pessimistic gremlin voice snorted from where it squatted in the back of his mind.
“Minku?”
God, that name again. Why did Dong-Wook ever tell him that the end syllable left his mouth ready for a kiss? And what kind of kiss did it leave him ready for? Certainly not the bone-melting one he shared with the older man in the Supra.
“Minku, did you fall asleep on me?” Se7en chuckled. “Kawaii.”
“I hate that word.” Changmin grumbled, rolling his eyes. Great, he thought, now I sound like a petulant child. “And no, I’m awake. Did you get home alright?”
Turn the focus back onto him, Min reminded himself. Make Se7en talk about himself. Then bring him back around to thinking about you. Changmin worried at his lower lip. Or was it the other way? He’d only read partially into the book on how to seduce someone and it seemed as if every time he opened his mouth, what he’d memorized whispered away into intangible mists. He could never remember what that damned book told him to do when he needed it the most.
“I got home fine. Kind of late but it was worth it.” Se7en stretched out onto his bed, flinging one arm over his head. The huskiness in Min’s voice made him throb, imagining all of the delicious ways he could bring about that raspy purr in bed. “It took me a while to return the car to the garage. There was a lot of traffic.”
“And then imagine my surprise when I got a text message on my phone telling me that a certain mink was snuggled down in my leather jacket, just waiting to be stroked and petted to sleep.” The older man ran a hand over his stomach, letting a satisfied murmur sigh from his throat. “It was all I could do not to call you right then and there but I would have gotten into an accident and I have no intention of dying before I find out exactly how hot I can make that delicious body of yours.”
Okay, Changmin’s gremlin whispered, you’re going to match that? We’re doomed. You’re an idiot. Why don’t you just admit that you’re out of your league and go back to mooning over actresses you see on screen?
We can do this, Min scolded. And why is this a we? I’m talking to myself. This is stupid.
Well, tsked the reptilian gremlin, at least we agree on something. Try to at least put him on the defensive, muttered the little lizard voice, and with that, it was silent.
“Whenever we talk, you’re always the one talking about what you’d like to do to me.” Changmin kept his voice low, not wanting any of the others to get curious about his voice coming from behind a closed bedroom door in the wee hours of the morning. “Maybe I want to do a few things to you.”
“I’m always glad to hear anything you might want to do to me.” Se7en replied, delighted at the stumbling catch of Min’s breath. “What did you have in mind, pretty?”
Okay, now what? Changmin thought. Say something.
“I, um, enjoyed your kiss.”
Oh that smooth, he cursed silently. Like Se7en kissed his skinned knee all better because he fell. Where was the seductive drawl he’d been practicing. He might as well send Se7en love letters drawn in colour markers. He sounded more like a little boy crushing on his older brother’s best friend.
“I liked your hands on me.”
Changmin heard Se7en’s purring murmur deepen, more whiskey poured over the rough velvet of the older man’s breathing. That was much better.
“My hands didn’t want to be anywhere else.” Se7en replied. “That’s why I had to take them home. Before they got me into a lot of trouble.”
Don’t let him know that you’re not good at this. He already knows I’m not good at this. Don’t let on that you have no idea what you’re doing, Changmin. He’ll lose interest. He’ll walk off and then, Min didn’t know what came after Se7en walking off. He’d not thought that far.
“I’m not good at this.” He heard himself say.
Why the hell couldn’t his mouth and brain agree on something and stick with it? Changmin thought angrily. How hard can it be? Even Jaejoong seemed able to master the simple act of thinking and talking.
“Good at what, Minku?”
“This. Seduction.” Changmin sighed, snuggling down into his bed. The leather remained wrapped tight around his naked body, its hem brushing over his crotch. The rubbing felt good, as if the lightly rough touch was somehow Se7en’s. “I’m not good at this game. I’m never going to win this battle with you.”
“You think this is a battle?” Se7en sounded surprise. “I thought it was a mutually agreed upon friendship.”
“Is that what this is called? A friendship?”
“Did you think that I was going to chase after you until I had you underneath me and then just kiss you on the forehead and leave you with a small trinket to remember me by?” Se7en’s voice lost some of its smoothness, roughening with emotion. “Do you think so little of yourself, pretty, that you’re only good for a fuck or two and then there’s nothing else for you to offer someone?”
“I like you, Minnie-ah.” Se7en switched to Korean, emphasizing his point. “Neither one of us is looking for someone to spend the rest of their life with but hell, that doesn’t mean we can’t be lovers and friends. Forever doesn’t just mean roses and doves. Hell, no matter what happens between us, I’ll be your friend.”
“You’re just saying that. Don’t all guys say that?” Min’s reply was barely audible. His low-pitched words cracked and he blinked away the sting of tears filling his eyes. “I just don’t want…”
“You don’t want me to seduce you and then walk away boasting about it?” Se7en asked softly. He heard the hurt in Min’s voice. A realization hit Dong-Wook hard and he sat up in his bed, a simmer of anger just below the surface of his thoughts. “Did someone do that to you? Someone I know?”
“Yes. No.” Changmin sighed. Gritting his teeth, the shame from that time in his life made his throat recoil as if he swallowed a cupful of vinegar.
“Which is it, Minku?” Se7en was firm, insistent in Min’s ear. “Yes to which answer.”
“Both.”
Se7en let out a string of swear words in a muffled flow of Japanese and Korean, returning to the basest of phrases in his vocabulary. “Who?”
“I don’t want to tell you who.” Changmin curled around his own stomach. “It wasn’t anything big. Just a kiss backstage but I heard him later tell someone that he was going to have me. And I was so…angry. I wanted to trust him. Because it felt so good and then after I heard him bragging about how he’d taken my kiss, everything inside of me just flattened.”
God, he’d nearly fainted when Rain touched his mouth, a long lingering stroke of warm lips plundering his own. There wasn’t much time for anything other than surrendering to the older man’s hard exploration before he was left standing there with the air turning his bruised lips cold and a whispered hot promise at the party they would all be at later.
Then as Min thought he would sneak up on the older man to surprise him, he’d stopped frozen with revulsion and dismay to hear Rain bragging about how he would deflower the group’s youngest, then pass him along to someone else in his crew.
“I’ll kill whoever made you feel like shit, Minku.” Se7en’s promise glittered with a malevolence. “What a fucking bastard. If it’s one of my friends, I’ll wring his neck.”
“No,” Min thought of the cocky arrogant smile he’d fallen for, so different from the warm smoothness of Se7en’s charm. “It’s not one of your friends. I don’t think you two like each other.”
“Did you tell the others?” Se7en’s sardonic bark echoed between them. “No, because if you had, I would have heard about it. You kept it quiet because you were ashamed because he made you feel desirable then trashed you in front of others.”
In the comfort of Se7en’s scent and the warmth of his leather jacket, Min whispered anguish straight into his seducer’s guts. “I don’t want to feel that way again. I don’t want you to make me feel that way at all.”
“I never want to make you feel that way.” Dong-Wook’s anger fought a battle with his sympathy for Min’s shy nature. “Besides, I’m pretty sure that would push Yunho over the edge and he really would kill me.”
“Yunnie-ah would understand.” Changmin defended his leader. “You don’t have to dislike him.”
“I don’t dislike your leader.” Se7en’s laugh lightened the heaviness in Min’s belly. “He’s the one who hates me.”
“That’s because you kept touching Jaejoong during that show.”
“Jaejoong is very touchable.” Se7en replied casually “Although I’m beginning to think he hates anyone who even looks at Kim Jaejoong. They are horrible at keeping their relationship a secret.”
“It’s important to them. Well, important to Joongie-ah that it’s kept quiet.” Min stopped and corrected himself. “If they even had a relationship to talk about.”
“Well, let me make you a promise, Minku.”
“What?” Changmin braced himself for what was to come.
“I’m going to tell you first that this isn’t a battle.” Se7en warned. “I like you, Shim Changmin. You’re funny and smart…”
“I’m not funny.”
“And quarrelsome.” Se7en interjected. “Do you know how rare it is to find someone challenges me? It’s nice to find someone who’ll speak their mind, even if it’s to tell me the sky isn’t blue or that water isn’t wet.”
“I…” Min bit back his words, choking on his argumentative nature.
“And you are funny.” Se7en continued, thinking of all the things he found attractive in the younger man. “You make me laugh and being with you makes me see the world differently. Sometimes, I forget what it’s like to be amazed at the smallest things and then I see your face light up because of something new you’ve seen.”
“If you could have been in my seat tonight, when you saw the river,” The older man sighed. “Everything is just so new to you. Exciting. Even if it’s something that you’ve done before. You find something different. That just amazes me.”
“I’m not exciting.” Changmin said quietly. “I’m just me.”
“You kidding?” Se7en laughed. “When I kissed you tonight, it was like I was drinking wine for the first time. How could I not want that? How could I not want the person that makes me feel like that in my life? You think I’d turn away from that? It’s not just your body, Minku. I’ve told you that. It’s because of how you make me feel.”
“So, I have a proposal for you.” The older singer didn’t wait to hear Min’s response. “I’m going to let you set the pace. It’s going to test every single damned bit of patience I have but I’m going to let you do the exploring first. You tell me what you want to do and when you want to do it.”
“What’s the catch?”
“No catch.” Se7en promised. “I’ll get to touch. Because it would be too much of a hell to be near you and not even get the smallest of touches but everything else, that’s for you to decide.”
“And if you decide that you trust me enough to give me back the lead, I’ll take it.” Another purr, another velvety whispered promise slithering around Min’s sex.
“I don’t mind… your kisses.” Changmin countered. He didn’t want to lose the heady nirvana he’d glimpsed in Se7en’s car and wasn’t certain enough of his own courage to initiate the affection until he was on steadier ground. “I liked it. A lot. I don’t want them to stop.”
“Okay. I can kiss.” Se7en said. Thank god, Se7en thought to himself. He didn’t think he’d be able to be around Changmin without stealing a kiss or two. “And I won’t molest you in public.”
“God no.” Changmin was horrified at the thought. He certainly didn’t want that kind of attention. “I don’t think I could deal with that.”
“Me neither. My personal life is going to stay personal. I don’t want to drag you through a circus.” The other agreed. “But there’s one thing I do want.”
“What’s that?” Min wrapped his arm around his waist, sniffling at the teary remains of his emotions.
“You don’t see anyone else while we’re doing this.” Se7en said. “It’s bad enough that we’re going to have to work around our two schedules and that I have to share you with the other four, I’m not going to share you with anyone else.”
“Are you going to do that too?”
“Yeah.” The older man replied. “You’re worth the wait, Minku. And I’ve got enough to keep me busy. You’re more than enough of a complication in my life. I’m pretty sure I’m going to be one in yours.”
“Okay. Agreed” Changmin nodded to himself. He needed to step away from his thoughts, mired down in the fraught up and down of his nerves. “What are you doing tomorrow?”
“I have a photo shoot down in one of the subway stations at noon and then a couple of interviews.” Se7en thought on his schedule. “You?”
“I’m off for a couple of days. There’s a break in our schedule.”
Se7en liked that there was no expectation in Changmin’s voice. The younger man wasn’t looking to snag him into any commitment, just curious about what the day held for him.
“You want to do something later tomorrow night?” He thought he heard Min sniff a bit, making Se7en wonder how much pain did the nameless man left in Min’s tender feelings. Keeping back the bite of anger from his voice, Se7en said. “We can go on a date. Maybe a good dinner. Let me show you some of the Tokyo I know. Would you like that?”
“I’ll have to see if I can get away.” Changmin’s thoughts raced. “The others…”
“Ah, that’s right.” Se7en laughed. “Your older brothers. We can meet someplace. So you don’t have to explain me if you’re not ready to. I’ll text you where once I’ve made reservations.”
“I’m not even ready to explain how I got this jacket.” Min sighed. “I should probably return it to you.”
“No, keep it, Minku.” Se7en’s purr returned, shivering hot fingers along the backs of Min’s thighs. The young man sighed again. He would never get used to the desire Dong-Wook seemed to pull out of him. “I like knowing that you’ve got something of mine wrapped around you. It’s one of my favourite jackets. Now it’s on one of my favourite people.”
Dong-Wook murmured sleepily. “I have to wake up in a few hours, baby.”
“I’m sorry I kept you up.” Min replied. That baby got to him again. He’d have to try it out on Se7en to see if he could get the same effect. Later. When he felt braver.
“Minku, I plan on you keeping me up for a long time.” Se7en said. “Even after I hang up. Say goodnight to me. And let my jacket keep you warm until I can get there next to you, okay?”
“Okay.” Changmin licked at the dryness of his mouth. “Good night, Shichi.”
“Good night, Iro.”
Turning over, Min placed his cell phone on the night stand, wondering if he was ever going to fall asleep. As soon as he lay back into the pillows, he caught the scent of anise and honey from the jacket’s lining and sighed, drifting off under the quiet of his murmuring thoughts.
Sniffing at the plaid lining one final time, he murmured into his pillows, hugging himself tightly. “Good night, baby. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Changmin stared at the various members as they hurried around the dining area, each gathering up different things for breakfast. He’d chosen a cold rice cereal, sprinkling on the barest hint of sugar and cinnamon before pouring soy milk into the bowl.
He needed a conspirator. He was certain of it. Se7en might be willing to teach him about being seduced but he wanted to have some practical knowledge of how to seduce in turn. And for that, he would have to turn to one of the other members. But which one?
Yunho was out. The leader practically spat every time Se7en was mentioned. Changmin didn’t think he could go up to Yunho and ask him to put aside his animosity so Min could learn how to behave on a date or what to say to another man without sounding like an idiot.
No, Yunho was definitely out.
Jaejoong. Changmin briefly considered his beloved older brother but Jae would prove problematic. He couldn’t keep a secret. His mouth sometimes was too connected to his brain and Jae’s thoughts poured freely. No, Jaejoong couldn’t be depended on to keep his secrets.
Yoochun. Min glanced at the baritone, his cheeks puffed out from eating too many peaches at one. No, Chunnie-ah had the same problem as Jaejoong. Horrible at keeping secrets. And what Yoochun knew, Jaejoong knew. Changmin might as well sit them all down on the couch and tell everything for all the confidence he had in Yoochun’s mouth remaining shut.
That left Junsu.
Changmin contemplated his decision. The tenor was a good choice, he thought. Good at keeping secrets and if sworn to it, would even not tell Yoochun. The added bonus was, he would more than likely be happy that Changmin found someone to rub off some of the naiveté shining from Min’s personality. Also, Junsu did know how to tease and be sensual.
And unlike Jaejoong’s clueless, enigmatic apathy, Junsu actually was aware he was doing seducing someone. That would be the best part of it. Having someone who, while not as sensual as Se7en, at least understood how to flirt.
Yes, Junsu was definitely Changmin’s choice, the youngest nodded to himself.
“Susu-ah.” Min leaned over to whisper in the older man’s ear. “Do you think I could borrow you later? I have something I need to know how to do. And I think you’re the only one that can help me.”
Apologies for my horribly used Japanese.
man’etsu: rapture
minku: mink (diminutive term)
itachi: mink (animal)
nanatsu: seven
shichi: seven
josai: smooth-tongued and slick [double meaning: deacon; someone who should be pure and good]
iro: lover
kaku: stroke
botan: button
shishou: master [double meaning: stabbing or stimulation]
kawaii: cute
my sincere apologies to Junsu for making him say a very horrid oyagi gag, especially with my bad Japanese. he did infer that Yoochun’s button didn’t mind his stroking