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// Author POV //

"Hyung, we should go back in now. It's getting late." Jisung tugged on Haechan's baby blue pajama sleeve. 

The vocalist either didn't hear, or was purposefully ignoring him; Jisung wasn't sure which. 

"Isn't it beautiful, Sungie?" Haechan's voice was soft and barely above a whisper, almost like it was drifting away in the breeze. 

The maknae just nodded his head once in agreement; it was a gorgeous night and he couldn't deny that. A thin crescent moon hung above them and the stars looked like specks of glitter layered on the dark blanket of obsidian sky. It wasn't often they got to see something like this. 

"Hyung, we really should go back now. Mark hyung will worry." The maknae quickly became anxious again. Not because they had done anything wrong or were breaking any rules, but...maybe they kind of were?

To be honest, Jisung wasn't even sure if guests were allowed on the roof of the hotel. Being half-asleep and barely conscious at the time, the dancer hadn't really given it much thought when Haechan, who was currently rooming with him, asked if he wanted to go on night stroll. Jisung was reluctant at first; it was a general rule that they shouldn't leave their hotel room after midnight if they didn't need to. But his hyung had promised they'd stay within the vicinity of the hotel, and well, he did keep his promise. The roof was technically still the hotel.

He was pretty sure that Haechan had them take the staff elevator to get up here, but again, at the time he hadn't questioned much. He had been more focused on adjusting his vision to the onslaught of bright lighting that awaited outside of their room. 

Jisung was just about to start nagging his hyung again, but stopped himself. The vocalist looked so relaxed, leaning against the concrete railing with one hand resting under his chin, the stars reflecting in his bright brown eyes. 

It had been a while since Jisung had saw him like this. Of course, they were all busy, but being in so many units took a toll on Haechan, Jisung knew that. His hyung hasn't been as upbeat and cheery recently. Especially with 127's comeback right around the corner.

Back when they had just debuted, Haechan was so full of life. Always risking everything to live life to the very fullest. At times, it seemed he took rules as mere suggestions. He didn't care too much about consequences, he just wanted to experience moments that he could cherish forever. 

It's not that Haechan wasn't like that anymore, he still was. He still had that you-only-live-once mindset. The only difference between Haechan from the past to the present was he was more rational now. Maybe it was just him maturing, or his work weighing him down, but whatever it was, Jisung couldn't help but admit that he missed the way his hyung was before. 

As much as Jisung knew that the safest option was for them to leave right now, he couldn't bring himself to. How could he when his hyung seemed so at peace? Instead, he stood next to Haechan and admired the night sky with him. 

"I thought you were going to start pestering me again, Sungie." Haechan giggled lightly.

Jisung playfully rolled his eyes in return, "Well, I guess you're right. It's pretty."

"Yeah..."

buzz

The maknae quickly fished his phone out of his pocket, eye's widening when he saw it was Mark.

Where are you?

Jisung shook Haechan's shoulder, showing him the text. 

Haechan didn't look phased in the slightest. "Tell him we went to go get ice."

Jisung did exactly that, anxiety bubbling up inside of him as he waited for Mark's reply. 

Ok, well come back soon. It's getting late

The dancer sighed in relief, going back to nag Haechan. 

"Hyungggg, we have to go back right now." This time he wasn't only tugging, but pulling on Haechan's arm. "We'll get in trouble."

"Yeah, yeah," The elder sighed, but complied to satisfy the younger.

Jisung couldn't help but feel bad as the bright glow of pure bliss left Haechan's eyes and was instead replaced with one of exhaustion. 

Maybe they could afford to stay just a bit longer? Surely it wouldn't hurt anyone if they did, I mean, what was a few extra-

"Jisungie, we have a problem." 

The sudden statement snapped Jisung back to reality. "Wha-"

"The door won't open." Haechan demonstrated by attempting to turn the door handle. Just as he had said, it wouldn't budge. 

The younger of the two stood in shock for a few seconds before what his hyung said finally sunk in. He took in a deep breath before stating the obvious, "We're screwed."

Haechan looked at him apologetically, nodding his head in agreement. "I'm sorry, Sungie."

"Don't worry about it, hyung. I was stupid enough to come up here with you." he teased, hoping to lighten the mood. "I'll call Mark hyung."

The first few rings were answered with silence. It was nearly one in the morning now, meaning his hyung was either sleeping, or taking one of his late night showers. Jisung was never going to understand why his hyung liked to shower so late. 

Finally, after the fourth ring, Mark picked up. 

"Hello?" Mark's voice sounded distant and gravelly, meaning he must've just woken up. 

"Hyung...me and Hyuck hyung need your help."

---

The maknae kept his head down while Haechan just stared at the elevator buttons as if they were the most fascinating thing in the world. The number eleven was glowing red; that was the floor they were staying on. 

Jisung knew that his eldest Dream hyung was pissed if there phone call was anything to go by. Mark scolded his and Haechan's ear off for what felt like an eternity before his sleep-deprived mind decided that it would be easier to finish them off after he got his dongsaengs off the roof of the building.  

The rapper had to get one of the hotel staff, who seemed more annoyed than anything else. The man basically let them go with a slap on the wrist, telling the young idols to not let it happen again. He had them pay a fine, but that was it. The three Dreamies couldn't believe their luck. 

Way too soon for Haechan and Jisung's liking, they arrived at their floor. The elevator ride had been silent, which only signaled to the younger two that there hyung was going unleash hell on them as soon as they arrived in the privacy of their room.

Mark was the first to leave the elevator, the other two following quietly behind him. 

"Give me your keycard." Mark stated. The average person would think that he sounded calm, but Haechan and Jisung had been in this particular position enough times to know that he was just displaying a facade. 

Despite knowing this, the vocalist tried protesting anyway, "Hyung, I can open it myself-"

The glare by Mark that followed was enough for him to shut up and comply. 

"Sit." Mark pointed to the first bed nearest to the door while he sat down on the bed closest to the window. The two troublemakers quickly obeyed. 

Mark sighed before starting, "What were you two thinking?! First off, you left your rooms after midnight, then lied to me, and while I was obliviously sleeping you thought it was a good idea to go to the roof of the hotel?! You really don't know how lucky you are that that man was so lenient about this; you could've been arrested for trespassing!" Mark took a pause, letting his words sink in for a few moments before speaking up again, "Who's idea was this?"

It was a rhetorical question, really, as Mark already knew. This whole stunt had 'Haechan' written all over it. He'd known his dongsaeng long enough to be able to decipher if some misdeed was his idea.

"Mine, hyung." Haechan spoke barely above a whisper in a neutral tone. He had remained quiet for the most part, mostly not to irritate his already angered older friend, but this whole situation felt ridiculous to him. He knew that in reality, what he did was stupid. But his fatigued mind was foggy and what might've been obvious to a version of him that wasn't burnt out seemed unreasonable to the one that was. He couldn't help but direct his anger at Mark. 

Mark sighed again, "I just can't believe this. Seriously, you two are adults! I shouldn't have to tell you to not go on the roof of a hotel building! Do you realize how ridiculous that sounds? You'll be lucky if I don't tell Taeyong about this."

Jisung spoke up immediately, "Hyung, please don't! We promise not to do it again!"

Mark was strict, but Taeyong was much worse. Being one of the eldest and the leader, he wouldn't hesitate to straighten out any of s, especially over a stunt this dangerous to their reputation. 

"I'll think about it. Donghyuck-ah, go stand in that corner. Jisung, come over here." The rapper's tone was flat, yet stern. 

Once more, all Haechan could really feel was annoyance. And being sent to the corner like a child really didn't help. Mark took notice of the lack of movement from the younger and shot him a stern glance as if to say 'Are you going to go yourself, or will I need to help you?'. Fortunately, the vocalist obeyed this time, albeit hesitantly. 

The maknae was also reluctant to heed his hyung's words, although for different reasons. While Haechan was acting in vexation, Jisung was acting in mere fear. He just didn't want to be punished. 

"Jisung-ah, come on. We don't have all night. Let's get this over with quickly so we can all get at least three hours of sleep."

Again, Jisung didn't move, just staring at his hyung with pleading eyes. 

Mark was losing patience and his tone spoke more than the following words that left his mouth, "Park Jisung!"

The younger quickly made his way in front of the elder, understanding that his hyung's leniency was fading. 

The rapper swiftly turned the maknae over his lap, giving him no opportunities to try and escape. 

Mark picked up his hand, letting down five rapid smacks. 

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"That's for not listening to me the first time. Tell me Jisung, how do I feel about disobedience?" 

Jisung placed his hands in front of him to try and rebalance himself on his hyung's lap, "Y-you don't like it. Sorry, hyung."

"Good, now we can start."

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Mark was silent, letting his hand do the talking for him. Jisung on the other hand, not so much. 

"AH! Hyung, p-please not so hard...it h-hurts!" The maknae whimpered. This reaction wasn't too uncommon to either Mark nor Haechan. Being the baby of the group, Jisung was used to being coddled and cared for; he wasn't embarrassed about being vulnerable in front of them. 

"It should hurt! What you and Donghyuck did could've landed you in serious trouble!"

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"OW! I know, I know! I just- I wasn't thinking clearly!"

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"I see. So obviously that's something we have to work on, don't we? Thinking before we act?"

"Y-yes," A light stream of tears were running down Jisung's cheeks, and he felt a strange embarrassment from his hyung's scolding. The words Mark used to describe his transgression made it all seem so childish- and maybe he was starting to see that it was just as his hyung had said: it was an unnecessary and stupid stunt that could've lead to much greater consequences than the ones that followed. 

The smacks stopped for a second, and Jisung almost let himself believe it was over. However, that hope quickly died when he felt his pajama pants being pulled to his knees. 

"N-no!" He whimpered, throwing his hand back to try and stop his hyung. 

"Jisung, no. You know I don't allow that." Mark said, slapping the younger's hand with a force just strong enough to get the message across. 

The maknae cried out softly, but obeyed nonetheless, placing his hands back in front on the ground. He focused his eyes at the ground letting himself hope that maybe if he stared enough, a hole would appear and let him escape from this miserable position. Despite this tactic never having worked in the past, Jisung always did it anyway. Perhaps it was the idea of having an escape from this situation that brought him ease.

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"Hyung-hyungie, it h-hurts,"

Mark sighed for what felt like (and probably was) the millionth time tonight. He couldn't pretend like he was mad at his dongsaeng anymore, because he wasn't. He could never stay mad at any of his younger members for too long before melting at the sight of their tears. Even so, he knew that he had to finish the punishment.

"I know, baby. You're almost done, alright?"

Jisung nodded his head in acknowledgement, bracing himself for the hits to start again. 

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The younger dancer continued to sob some more, mumbling 'sorry's between his cries.

Wanting to finish this as quickly as possible, Mark looked around to find the nearest implement. Said weapon happened to be a wooden hairbrush. 

"Last ten with the brush, baby. I'm afraid these are going to have to be on bare." Mark lightly tugged at the maknae's boxers, careful not to irritate the already-sore red skin.

The statement just brought more tears to Jisung's eyes, "M-markie hyungie, please no-not the b-brush..."

Mark caressed the younger's back, drawing figure eights with his finger, "Shhh, shhh. Only ten, and you don't have to count, okay? Hyung knows you can do it." He whispered the last part softly.

Jisung sniffled, "O-okay,"

Mark took a deep breath, raising the brush above his head and letting it fall on the younger's backside.

SMACK

"AH!"

SMACK

SMACK

SMACK

"OW!" 

SMACK

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"H-hyungie, please, I-I won't do i-it again..."

SMACK

SMACK

SMACK

Mark dropped the brush, and carefully picked up Jisung, wrapping his shaking shoulders into a warm embrace. 

"Shhh, baby, it's all over. No more, alright? You did so well." Mark spoke in a honey-like tone, drying Jisung's seemingly endless tears with his thumb.

Usually the brush wouldn't leave such a strong effect on on the maknae, but the tour and promotions had left him feeling weary which in turn had left him in a more sensitive state.

"Hyung, p-please d-don't ever use the-the b-brush again...h-hurts to-too much..."

The elder chuckled a little, "Behave, and I won't have to."

After a few minutes the younger had calmed down enough to wear the only evidence of crying were the tear tracks dried on his face, and the soft sniffling which had started to subside anyway.

"Sungie, you can sleep in hyung's room tonight, okay? I'll be there shortly." Mark said, giving the maknae his keycard. 

Jisung's eyes widened when he realized why he needed to leave, although he didn't protest. The dancer quietly accepted the keycard and walked out the door.

Once Mark heard the door shut, he turned to his other dongsaeng who was still in the corner, "Haechan-ah, come here please."

The vocalist didn't move, still stubbornly standing there. He could feel Mark's intense glare on the back of his head, but he didn't care. You'd think that after having heard Jisung's previous cries, Haechan would've at least been somewhat obedient, but no. He didn't care. He felt too tired to care. All he really wanted to do now was fall asleep. 

"Donghyuck, stop it. Why are you being like this? Why can't you just listen to me?" Mark failed to hide the weariness in his voice. His stern persona was very clearly fading into his true feelings of exhaustion and impatience.

The younger turned around; he was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed in front of his chest, his gaze focused on the carpet. "This isn't fair." He mumbled so quietly that Mark almost didn't hear him.

Mark ran his hand down his face, "What isn't fair?"

It was silent for a few seconds before Haechan finally spoke up, "I don't know."

"Listen, I don't know what's going on with you, but I know that we're both tired. So are you going to listen to me or not?"

Silence.

"Fine. You made your choice. I'm going to call Taeyong." Mark announced, exiting the room.

Haechan immediately spoke up, "Hyung, wait-"

Mark almost let out a sarcastic laugh. Now he starts speaking. "No. I gave you more chances than you deserved, and you didn't take any of them. At least it seems like you still treat Taeyong with respect."

Haechan opened his mouth to say something, but no words came out. His feet stayed planted to the ground as Mark left, and Haechan was left alone. 

"At least it seems like you still treat Taeyong with respect." 

Did Mark really mean that? The words echoed inside his brain, breaking whatever trance he had fallen into previously. Surely, his hyung knew that he respected him, right? I mean, yeah, the younger did mess around with him a lot, but that's because they were close. Mark was one of the people whom he respected the most. 

Haechan didn't realize it, but tears had begun to gather in his eyes. 

---

Haechan laid on the bed, staring emptily at the ceiling. He tried to convince himself that Mark was just tired and didn't mean it. That he would say sorry and make it up to the elder. However, as the hours passed, he started to grow resentful. 

How dare Mark say that? And how dare he just leave him alone like this? Can't the rapper see that he's suffering already?

The tears that had been previously ignored started falling. Whether because of sadness or anger, the vocalist wasn't sure. Probably both. 

Haechan would never admit it to himself, but all he really wanted was for someone to notice how tired he's been. For someone to just hug him, and tell him that everything was alright. Was that too much to ask? He had so many hyungs and dongsaengs, and yet none of them could bother to care? It was all so...frustrating. 

Mark's train of thought had been similar to Haechan's.

Jisung was already asleep by the time he got back to his hotel room. He knew there was a reason Haechan was acting the way he was, but by this point, he was too upset with the younger to care much. Why did the vocalist have to be such a brat? Why couldn't he just listen? Doesn't he realize how tired Mark is?

By 3 a.m, he decided it was best to sleep. He would call Taeyong in the morning. 

---

The lack of interactions between Mark and Haechan hadn't gone unnoticed by the rest of the Dreamies. Especially Jisung. He wasn't fully aware of what had occurred last night, but he knew more than most of his other members. 

"Jisung, do you know what's going on between them?" Jaemin whispered to the maknae. He was rooming with Mark, so he also knew that Jisung and Haechan got in trouble. But something else must have happened last night for the two to be acting so strange.

Jisung just shrugged, he didn't know any more than Jaemin did.

After breakfast, they all went back to their rooms to finish packing. Yesterday had been the last day of their tour, so they were finally returning to Seoul. 

Jaemin sat on his bed, pretending to scroll through his phone. He observed Mark's mannerisms carefully; his hyung was a master at masking his emotions, but Jaemin could see through him easily. Clearly, something was bothering him. 

"Hyung?" 

"Yeah?" Mark spoke absentmindedly, zipping up his suitcase. 

"What's going on?" Jaemin decided there was no point beating around the bush. 

"Sorry?" Mark knew exactly what Jaemin was talking about. He knew that his other members would notice he and Haechan were kind of off, but he was hoping they wouldn't actually confront him about it. 

"Hyung, you know what I'm talking about. What happened between you and Haechan?" 

Mark sighed, "It's none of your concern."

"But-"

"Jaemin, please."

Although the younger wasn't satisfied with the answer, he knew it was best not to pry. If his hyung really didn't want to tell him, then he should respect that. 

---

Mark fidgeted with his fingers, glancing over at Haechan from time to time. The vocalist looked unbothered, playing a game on his phone.

Chenle, Jeno and Jaemin had gone to get food and Jisung and Renjun were asleep.They were currently at their gate, and boarding didn't start for another hour or so. It was now or never.

"Hyuck-ah?" Mark sat down next the younger, "Can I talk to you?"

"About what?" Haechan's cold, neutral tone didn't go unnoticed by Mark. 

"What happened last night." 

Haechan stopped playing his game, but refused to look at Mark in fear he would burst into tears if he did. He wasn't even sure how he felt anymore. He wanted to tell Mark that he was sorry, but at the same time, he wanted to yell at him. Why did everything have to be so confusing? 

"What about it?"

"Donghyuck, don't be like that. I just want to know why you were acting the way you were."

"Why do you care? You already snitched to Taeyong about me. How would any of what I say now make a difference?" Without him realizing it, Haechan's tone was growing more hostile.

"Haechan, please. I'm really trying here." 

"Well, quit trying. I didn't ask you to try. Just- Just leave me alone, okay?"

Mark took notice of the tears glossing over Haechan's eyes, "Hey, what's wro-"

"Just off, will you?!" 

By this point, s had returned from getting food and the others had woken up. Everyone had heard Haechan's outburst. 

Mark avoided eye contact with Haechan, but even so, he could see the tears gathering in the corners of his eyes, "Fine." Mark stood up, walking away from their gate. 

Haechan refused to look at the other Dreamies; he knew that they were all mad at him. Hell, he was mad at himself. It took everything in him to not start bawling right there because 1. that would be embarrassing, and 2. he didn't deserve to cry after all the trouble he'd caused. 

Mark returned a few minutes before boarding started. He avoided Haechan like the plague, sitting in the seat farthest from his as possible. His other members quickly got up to comfort the oldest, while Haechan was left sitting alone. He didn't blame them. He didn't deserve their pity or comfort. 

No one spoke to him on the plane either, let alone spare him a glance. Even Renjun who was sitting next to him. He could feel the anger radiating from his body. Every once in a while, he tried to look up at Renjun, and every time, Renjun would look further in the other direction. 

As soon as they got to the dorm, Haechan rushed to his room, crashing onto his bed. This time he didn't stop himself from crying. All of his pent up emotions just seemed to spill out of him. 

He didn't know how long it had been when he heard a knock on his door. "Haechan?"

"Yes?" The younger did his best to dry his tears and hide any evidence of his sobbing,  but the task proved to be impossible as new tears replaced the previous ones. 

The door opened, and Taeyong walked in. His expression quickly changed from serious to concerned when he saw his maknae crying. The leader ran over to Haechan, wrapping his arms around him. Haechan didn't resist, being as desperate for comfort as he was. 

"Baby, what's the matter?" Taeyong cooed. 

Haechan tried his best to respond, but his uneven breaths made his explanation unintelligible.

The leader grabbed a bottle of water from the nightstand, untwisted the cap, and held it to the younger's lips. "Here, drink this. You need to calm down, yeah? Then tell me what happened."

The younger obeyed, taking small gulps of water until his words could be understood again.

Haechan explained everything that happened since last night to the airport. He knew that his hyung would be mad, but Mark already told him part of the story and he was going to find out about the later incidents anyway.  

Taeyong listened carefully, occasionally calming Haechan down when he got too worked up again.

"And-and I've j-just been really t-tired recently, and I-I took it all out o-on Mark hyung! He probably h-hates me."

"He doesn't hate you. He may be disappointed, but he could never hate you." Taeyong spoke softly, kissing the top of his dongsaeng's head. 

Haechan sniffled a little, leaning his head on the leader's shoulder. Taeyong noticed how his eyes started to flutter shut and his body felt limp.

"Hyukkie, you know I need to punish you, right?"

The vocalist whimpered slightly but didn't protest.

"I'm going to give you a choice. Do you want me to punish you now, or after a nap?"

Haechan didn't like either option, but there was no use arguing. "N-now, I guess."

"Alright. I'm going to spank you for the roof incident. I talked to Mark, and he's going to punish you for disrespecting him." 

"Wh-what?" Haechan wasn't expecting this. 

"What? Don't you think you deserve it?" Taeyong raised an eyebrow, "You were very rude to him, so I think it's only fitting that he deals with that part of your behavior."

Haechan bit his lip; he knew that his hyung was right. He was just dreading the idea of getting two spankings. "I understand, hyung."

"Good. I'm glad we came to an understanding." With that, Taeyong stood the younger up. "I'm going to warn you, Donghyuck. Don't expect me to go easy on you, what you did could've landed you in serious trouble."

Taeyong went to Haechan's jeans, but was stopped.

"H-hyung, please." 

"Lee Donghyuck, no. I already told you, I'm not going easy on you." Taeyong made quick work of ing the younger's jeans and guiding him over his lap. He debated between locking Haechan's legs or not, considering he kicked a lot. But due to his current emotional state, the elder decided to give the Dreamie some freedom.

Without warning, Taeyong let down the first smack. 

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A few more followed, and the elder soon fell into a steady rhythm. 

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Haechan's breath hitched; it had been a while since he's been spanked by Taeyong, he had forgotten just how hard the leader could hit.

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"AH!"

"You've been much more responsible lately, but you just had to break the streak, didn't you?" Taeyong lectured. 

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"I'm s-sorry, hyung." Tears ran down his face. 

"And it's one thing to sneak out alone, but you also dragged Jisung into it. Now I'm not saying that he's blameless in this situation. But you are his hyung. You shouldn't be encouraging him to do stupid things like that." 

"Y-yes, hyung. It w-won't happen again!" 

"It better not."

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"You are an adult now, Donghyuck. Mistakes like these won't be easily forgiven anymore. You need to remember that."

Taeyong slowed his hits down a little, but kept the strength. Not that Haechan could tell the difference. 

He knew he deserved it, and since the beginning of the punishment, he'd done everything not to beg. He wanted his hyung to see that he was truly sorry. But pain was pain, and had a way of making a person change their mind. 

"Hyu-hyungie, please s-stop!" Haechan cried desperately, kicking his legs. 

Taeyong swatted the younger's thighs in warning, but locked Haechan's legs when the kicking increased.

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Haechan wasn't sure how many more tears he had left to cry. He knew that his backside had to be red by now. 

Taeyong paused for a moment, and the vocalist could feel him reaching for something. "Last few with the spoon, alright? Then you won't get any more from me." 

Haechan didn't say anything, he just wanted this to be over. 

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"AH!" 

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It hurt the leader to see his baby brother in so much pain, so he quickly let down the last five in rapid succession before cradling his maknae in his arms.

"I know you're tired, buddy. I understand that our schedules are incredibly demanding, yours even more so. But that isn't a valid reason to act out. You should talk to us, we aren't mind readers, you know? We want to help you, but we can't if you don't tell us what's going on." Taeyong spoke soothingly as he rubbed the younger one's back.

Haechan burst into tears all over again. This is all he had wanted from the beginning, for someone to notice and care. He was happy to get the attention he craved, but felt guilty that he couldn't have just been more clear about how he felt. 

"Promise me you'll talk to us next time, okay? I don't want any of you guys to suffer alone." 

The maknae nodded, feeling safe in his leader's arms.

---

Haechan stood in front of Mark's room, contemplating. He felt anxious, but not because of the next spanking he was about to receive; he was scared to face Mark after all that had happened. He feared the face of disappointment he would surely see. 

He took in a deep breath before finally knocking.

"Come in." 

The vocalist twisted the door knob to find Mark sitting on the bed with a belt in his hand. What scared him the most, however, was the look of hurt in Mark's eyes. 

"Bare yourself and bend over the bed." Was all that Mark said. He didn't yell or say it in a stern tone. In fact, he spoke in the way you would say a regular sentence. 

Haechan was quick to obey, even though he dreaded it all so much. His hands shook slightly as pulled down his jeans, but he tried to ignore it. Maybe if he took his punishment without complaint, Mark could forgive him?

"Lee Donghyuck, why am I punishing you?" The same simple, not-stern tone before. It was starting to make the younger worry, the coldness and formality. Did he hurt him that bad?

"Because...because I disrespected you, hyung." Haechan searched for his words carefully, hoping to make his answers sound as sincere as possible.

The swish of the belt sounded before it landed on Haechan's backside with a resounding crack.

"A-AH!" No matter how many times he'd gotten the belt before, he never got used to the stinging sensation and overwhelming pain. There was a reason the belt was reserved for more severe offenses. 

"Correct. How did you disrespect me?"

"I-I talked back a-and cursed at y-you. I'm so-so sorry, h-hyung!" The maknae sobbed out. 

CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!

"Also correct. And why is that wrong?" 

"Be-because you're m-my hyung. I shouldn't t-treat y-you like that."

CRACK! 

"You shouldn't treat anyone like that. Understood?"

"Y-yes, hyung."

Haechan's shoulder's shook with sobs, and Mark couldn't keep up the act anymore. He sat down next to his dongsaeng, gliding his fingers through the younger one's hair as he hugged him tightly. 

"Are you s-still upset with me, hyung?" Haechan spoke barely above a whisper, almost as if he was scared of the answer he might get. 

"Of course not, Hyukkie." A huge weight felt like it had been lifted from Haechan's shoulders. His hyung had forgiven him, and everything was going to be alright. Mark made sure he knew that. 

The two soon fell asleep, each getting the best rest they had gotten in weeks.

 

——— Word Count : 5494

Hello, my little toadstools! Thank you for reading the first chapter of this book! 

This story wasn't originally supposed to be so angsty, but I kind of changed the entire plot midway through, so I apologize if it's a bit sloppy. Hopefully my future writings will be better! 

🍄❤️🍄