PET

VI

[Han Jihoon]

I think it would've been better if I melted into the floorboards just about now. As any guy would know, the post-nut clarity was hitting me full force after I came down from my release—in front of people, mind you.

I practically buried my face into Guanlin's shoulder and refused to part with it while he laughed.

"What are you so shy for, pup?" He spoke between his laughter that he kept low as the show ended and couples began to trail out of the large sitting area. "You weren't this shy when you were rutting into my hand, begging me to—"

Moving the fastest that I physically could, I pulled back from his shoulder and pressed my hands against his mouth in an attempt to stop his embarrassing recount of my earlier behavior.

"You can't," I whined. My ears and the back of my neck filled with red heat.

He responded with a rise of his eyebrow, questioning my ability to back up what I just said. Feeling somewhat wrong about covering his mouth—and absolutely unswayed by the look he was giving me—I lowered my hands and held them in my lap.

"What's so wrong with talking about it? We aren't kids." His tone was both curious and amused but I knew he was looking for a genuine answer.

"Because..." I whispered, glancing around to make sure no one was too close to hear. "I did it in front of people—and I never act like that. It's embarrassing~"

"Feeling good is embarrassing to you, pup?"

I shook my head, desperate to correct him but hesitant to say it directly. "I was acting all...needy." My voice practically ran silent at the last word of my sentence, and my eyes were desperate to look around the room at anywhere that wasn't directed at him.

"What if I told you I love it when you act needy—love it when you whine and beg for what you want while you wait for me to give you permission because you're just a little pup that listens so well to his master?"

His low words caused the tent in my pants to rise once again. It hadn't even been that long since I had my release but if he kept talking to me like that, I didn't know if I was going to be able to hold it in.

"Answer me, pup."

Shaking my head, I tried to answer without becoming a mumbling mess. "I—I don't know~"

He paused for a moment, silent for a moment, before his hands which gripped my hips squeezed just a little tighter.

"I'm sorry." My eyes shot up, his dark eyes catching me in an unbreakable hold. "You're just a little pup, aren't you? You don't know how to think on your own when I ask you something, right? I have to tell you what to do and I have to give you answer choices so you don't have trouble picking. Is that right, pup?"

Stuck in the trance, dizzy from his condescending words and filled with heat, I nodded my head—dazed.

He smiled at my answer and gently praised me by running his hand up and down my lower back, just slightly above my ass, and pulling me closer to him.

"What a good boy." My breath hitched at his praise.

A small chime rang in the now mostly quiet sitting room and caused the corners of Guanlin's lips to turn downwards. One hand that was gripping my hip left, taking his warmth with it, and instead reached towards his pocket for his phone. Taking a cursory glance at the screen of the phone, he turned his attention back to me.

"It seems some of my workers have made a mistake needing my presence." Guanlin practically scowled at his phone while tossing it on the chair. He pulled me closer as if in retaliation towards his calling obligations. "I didn't want to leave you so early into the night but it's already nearing midnight and I believe you need some sleep."

From my sight, he looked like a pouting child and I couldn't help but laugh. His arms wrapped around my waist, pulling me closer for him to rest his face against my neck and shoulder while pouting like a child whose favorite toy had to be taken away was simply adorable.

"You're so cute," I giggled, patting his head softly with one hand as he tried not to let me go home.

His frown let up and he smiled slightly, leaning forward to press kisses to my neck and face.

"I don't want to let you go."

"You aren't—you're just letting me rest. You'll see me whenever you want—as long as you still want to see me." Although it was meant to sound like reassurance, I worried that it felt more like insecurity.

Reluctantly, he let go of me, and set me on my feet, walking me out of the club and towards a black sedan.

"Let my driver take you back." Guanlin still held onto my waist, leaning into me as he did so. I tried to refuse his offer which felt more like an order than an option to choose. "I want to make sure you get home safely. I'll be picked up by someone else."

I worried about him but with some persuasion and an order or two, I was seated in the car's backseat, telling the driver my address as he entered it into the GPS. Guanlin gave me a wave as I left him and I sat quietly in my seat until I returned back home.

"Thank you for driving me home!" I didn't forget to give my gratitude to the man whose job was to escort Guanlin, a big-time businessman, and was left with the task of driving home his boss's side piece? Acquaintance? Future lover? Friend?

Either way, I was sure he didn't sign up for this when he started working for Guanlin.

Instead of being rude or giving any instance of being agitated or burdened, he sent me a small smile and a nod of his head. He waited until I had entered the house and turned on a couple of lights before I watched his car pull out of the driveway and leave my line of sight.

Perhaps going there had been a good decision.

Now that I was entering my empty house, the lack of his presence seemed to stand out even more. The dusty counters and the lack of light gave away just how much I was home. But before I could fully unwind, shower, and sleep, my phone rang quietly.

She was calling at a strange time.

I picked it up anyway.

"Jihoon?"

"Yeseul. You're calling at a strange hour. What time is it over there?"

"Almost 1PM. I had a break in between meetings and I'm grabbing something to eat now. Just wanted to call and check in—see if you were still alive or not."

I heard front shuffling over the phone as she spoke but ignored it. "Well, I wouldn't be dead if I still answered the phone, now would I?"

"Jihoon..." She sighed as if she were burdened with me. A loud clang followed by strange rattling interrupted her silence. "I have to go. I'll call you later."

Before another breath could be drawn between the both of us, she had already cut the line and the small beeping replaced her.

Tossing my phone onto my bed, I left to shower. She was never around and she was always busy with work so what was the point in sharing a couple of bitter words that would only be interrupted by someone else's problem that clearly took priority over her presence in my life as siblings.

Useless. That's what it was. It would've been better if she had just pretended to not care. It's not that I was entirely ungrateful for what she did—breadwinner and somewhat my guardian from across the globe—but fuck! Was it that hard to have a fucking conversation where she pretended like her calling wasn't a fucking burden on her? It's not like calling or not was any different from how she made me feel already.

Not like she didn't know that from the months long periods of silence between the two of us, the fights that ensued when conversations lasted longer than one question and response, the mutual knowledge that if we weren't blood-related, none of this would've happened because we would've never been involved in the first place.

With my mood successfully soured and the end of an incredibly poor conversation—if it could even be called that—the precious joy of the night had been tainted. Rather than wasting any sort of thought on the matter, sleep fell upon me in a matter of minutes.