“he has never kept a slave as long as he’s kept you.”, eunsook said with a knowing smile.

“he has had others before me?”, taemin was surprised to hear himself ask, embarrassed by the the tinge of sadness in his voice: he had not realized that he held the assumption that he was minho’s first.

“does that upset you?”

“should it?”

“that is not the question.” he swallowed & stared at the floor & willed it to absorb him into its depths. it remained static & intact.

“why did he not keep them long?” she watched him for a moment before leaning back.

“he never has. he takes them into his bed & then sends them to someone who will.”

“that seems cruel.”

“not at all. they become valuable after their time with him. it is an honor to bed a slave who has been had by the king’s right hand.” taemin sat & thought on that. he supposed it was not so dissimilar to the way things were in his own kingdom. it was not something he had ever truly considered as jinki had been the only slave he had ever had & the only one he had ever desired. he would not have traded him for anything but... the thought ran cold & he shivered at what he had done.

“does it truly bother you so?” eunsook asked, mistaking the cause of his sorrow.

“more than it should.”, he whispered, an answer not wholly intended for the topic at hand.

“fondness is rarely a bad thing. there is safety in such.”

“it is bad when it is one-sided & when that which one is fond of can so easily be ripped away.”

“perhaps,” she said, her attention turning back to the embroidery in her hand, “but it is often all we have. besides, i do not think it is as one-sided as you believe it to be.”

“he has never asked my name.”, he said quietly. at that she looked up, confusion on her brow.

“never?”

“no.”

“how does he address you?”

“he...” he suddenly realized that perhaps he ought not to discuss his complaints with a slave who had the ear of his master’s first.

“taem,” eunsook said, reaching over to cover his wrist with her hand. “it is fine if you do not want to tell me. but know that what you say will remain between us.”

“even from lady gwiboon?”, he asked in a small voice. she leaned forward & fixed her gaze on him.

“there are few things that i will not share with my mistress. your secrets are among them.” she laughed at the look of fear on his face. “do not worry. i have permission.”

“he gives commands & i follow them. he says no more & i say nothing at all.”

“but he does not punish you?”

“no. he is not unkind. he is...he is nothing.” eunsook’s eyebrows raised. taemin sputtered on. “i mean that his voice is never happy nor sad, angry or nervous.”

“this sounds so unlike minho.”

“i do not know why i am telling you this.”

“we have so few people to share our secrets with, taem. we share them with each other.”

“i am not certain how much pleasure i actually bring him.”

“how does he look at you?”

“i do not know.” eunsook laughed softly.

“what do you mean?”

“i do not see his face.” she frowned.

“i am not speaking only of , taem. i am-”

“ever. he has never bid me look at his face.”

“oh.” she was watching him now with a mixture of things that included pity & he did not want that.

“i am a good slave.” he glowered, his chest puffed out in indignation

“yes, of course.”

“i know my place.” she seemed taken aback by the sharpness of his tone.

“i did not mean to imply otherwise.” he caught his breath & realized what he was saying, how he was saying it.

“forgive me.”

“it is fine, taem, you have committed no wrong.” now she was studying him & he bore it fitfully, shifting in his seat.

“would you like my advice?” he nodded silently. “i have never been bedded by minho but he has been great friends with my mistress since they joined the guards together nearly ten years ago.”

“ten?”

“they joined quite young.”, she said with a mischievous smile. “minho is his own man & he enjoys things to be a certain way. some would describe that as rigidity, others discipline. but he works from a sense of honor that is unshakable. i do not believe he would be displeased if you were to look upon his face. if anything, he may not have commanded you to because he believed it to be something you would not desire. it is not my place to speak on what happens between you when the chamber doors are shut. but perhaps here, with me in attendance, it would not be so bold a move.”

“perhaps.”

“you may consider it or you may dismiss it, the choice is entirely yours. as to calling you by name, that is a curious aversion for which i have no advice. he must have a reason though i cannot fathom what it might be.”

taemin thought on eunsook’s words as minjung took him back to minho’s chambers. he thought on them as he waited on his knees for his master’s arrival. & he thought on them as he took minho into his mouth. he thought on them as he prepared himself for his master & he thought on them as he braced himself against minho’s s, knees & arms pressing into the cover with the divots. he thought on them as he felt minho’s fill him, closing his eyes against the sensation & catching his own breath. he thought on them as he was led across the marble floor & he thought on them as he heard the click of the door locking him into his tiny space. he thought on them as he lay his head against his pillow & he thought on them as he stared at the moonlight on the wall.

and in the morning he met minho’s gaze as he waited on his knees. he stared long enough to watch minho’s eyebrows begin to raise, long enough to make certain that minho saw, that he noticed what taemin had done, long enough that he was shaking by the time he began to lean forward. he closed his eyes when he felt the familiar hand at the back of his head.

he swallowed until minho was satisfied & then discreetly wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, keeping his eyes to the floor as minho moved away. the door to his room remained open, a sliver of light slicing across his shoulder. he looked up, anxious to determine the cause. minho stood in the doorway looking down at him. he stayed on the floor looking back up at minho. the faintest twitch of a smile pulled at his master’s lip before he turned & disappeared into the main chamber.

minjung arrived soon after.

he told eunsook of what he had done, of how he had shaken. she smiled & pulled his head to her chest, her fingers through his hair & telling him that it was good, that he was brave.

“he still has not said my name.”

“but he has seen your face.” taemin nodded into her shoulder & closed his eyes, willing her confidence to entrust itself to his care.

when minho arrived that night to find taemin in his usual position of submission, on his knees with his hands at his sides, eyes cast down, he paused on the threshold, the door falling closed behind him. taemin waited as the seconds ticked by & his master made no movement. he made to raise his head but minho’s sharp “stop” had his blood running cold & his body locking in place. he listened to the familiar click of minho’s boots, the whirl of his cape being discarded. there was no belt buckle, however.

a change in the routine. minho never wavered in his adherence to the routine.

his breaths were shallow & heavy as he listened to minho’s bare feet patter across the marble floor. there were several reasons he could think of for why the belt stayed fastened around minho’s waist & none of the likely ones were good. he swallowed hard & focused on eunsook’s words, on her certainty in minho’s good character. soon the pale feet he had laid eyes on so many times were before him again. he stared at the toes, long & oddly elegant, & waited.

he felt calloused fingers brush under his chin & gently press against his jaw, lifting up his face. he closed his eyes & tried to keep from shaking, the fingers still at his chin.

“i would see your eyes.” he swallowed & took a deep breath before slowly forcing his eyes open, his lashes fluttering at the effort. when his vision came into focus it was onto minho’s deep brown eyes that it rested. until that morning taemin had only caught glimpses of his captor’s face.

when he had first come he had known the name of the man he sought, but had only a rough sketch of his face memorized. it had hardly done him justice. his nose was straight & his eyes were wide & dark, nearly black with long eyelashes that gave him a soft appearance. his hair was not long but not short, just enough length to be bound back as it had been when he’d arrived that morning. now he wore it loose & taemin could see the little curls crowning his head & peering beneath his ears. his lips were round &, even as he now pressed them together, full. taemin did not let his gaze travel any farther, already having taken liberties by allowing it to fall to his master’s mouth. he watched as those dark eyes observed him in a way that made his skin tingle. he didn’t know minho’s expressions at all & what he saw was only a blank face.

the fingers left his chin & minho took a step back. the sound of a belt being unbuckled brought the sting of tears to taemin’s eyes & he blinked rapidly to bid them away. he kept still & he kept his eyes on minho & he kept reminding himself that eunsook thought this was a good man.

he shivered in relief when the belt was tossed aside, clattering to the floor in an unexpected act of sloth. he closed his eyes for a moment & let out a shaky breath, bringing his gaze back up to his master & keeping it there.

“stand.” shaky legs lifted taemin from the ground & he kept his eyes on minho as he stood.

“prepare yourself.” he nodded & turned away, heading to the cabinet beside the bed where minho kept his oils. he pulled one out & placed it on the table & then paused. this was the moment where he usually undressed with his eyes cast down, unhurried but not enticing. he looked up now, watched minho’s face as he pulled the string of his tunic loose & let it slip off his shoulders onto the floor. his trousers met a similar fate & he stepped out of the puddle of fabric & climbed atop the bed, the jar & a soft cloth in hand.

it was the same action he had performed dozens of times by now, weeks had passed since he arrived of that he was sure, but it was different now that he saw minho watching him. there was a difference in seeing the eyes he already knew rove over his flesh & he felt it intimately. it was enticing & he watched as all the little hints & twitches that had remained hidden from him all this time were finally revealed. the double adam’s apple that bobbed whenever minho swallowed, something he did more & more frequently as taemin’s attentions to himself continued. his arms stayed crossed across his broad chest but his eyes narrowed & darkened as he watched his slave open himself up. it was all so minute & quiet, if he hadn’t been looking for the signs he might not have seen them. he nearly laughed when he noticed the blush at the tips of his master’s ears.

“enough.” taemin pulled his fingers out & wiped them on the cloth beside his knee. then he sat & waited, watching as minho took off his trousers & took the jar in one hand, slicking himself up with the other. he left it on the floor & climbed onto the bed in front of taemin. they sat on their knees facing each other, watching, breathing.

“on your back.” taemin’s mouth opened in surprise, his body slow to respond to the command. he leaned to the side & then rolled onto his back, his knees bent & his legs slightly apart. master & slave were still watching each other as minho reached down & pushed taemin’s legs apart, spreading him wide. he had been on his back before but it was when he was with jinki & there was something distinctly different about watching someone you love press on you & someone you have mixed feelings about press into you. the angle was new but minho was the same, not too rough & not too soft, his hands braced beside taemin’s hips as he moved their bodies in tandem.

watching minho watch him was making everything far more complicated now that they were in bed. & he was having difficulty deciding what to do with his hands. when it had been jinki he’d lain beneath it had been no thought at all to place his hands at his slave’s waist. with minho, however, he was forced to find a way to brace himself without touching his master. so he bent his elbows & clutched at the bedding with white knuckles.

the moans he’d so often kept buried into the mattress now stormed freely through the air & he found it harder & harder to keep his eyes open. he came without warning, hot splattering across his abdomen as he groaned, his fists up by his head grasping uselessly at loose pillows. he recognized the sounds & opened his tired eyes to finally see what minho looked like when he spilled his inside taemin’s body.

he wanted to reach up & brush the sweaty hair from his master’s forehead. he wanted to dab at his nape & neck & kiss the little rivulet that ran down his jaw. he wanted to ask him if he was good.

minho pulled away, stepping onto the floor & marching purposefully towards his trousers & slipping them back on. taemin flinched when he picked up the belt & relaxed again when it was put away with the soldier’s boots. he sat up onto his knees, staying on the bed until he was commanded to move. it was unusual for minho to have him only once. tonight, in many ways, seemed to be the exception.

“gather your garments.” another shift in the paradigm. he stepped onto the cold marble & knelt down to retrieve his clothing, carrying them in his arms as he was led to his small room. he stepped onto the carpet & turned to see minho watching him.

“i will see your eyes from now on.” there was a pause & taemin realized that minho was waiting for a response.

“yes, my lord.”, the first words he had ever spoken to his master. another pause & then minho’s face disappeared behind the closing door. the click of the lock echoing harshly in taemin’s ears.