Chapter Text
"have you heard? it seems that no one has ever seen lord choi's face."
"is that true? not a single soul? would any of you happen to know the reason why?"
"he wears a dark veil that covers his face whenever he goes out."
"i've heard that it's because he's ashamed of his atrocious features."
"how cowardly of him to hide behind pieces of fabric!"
"well, i've heard of the opposite. lord choi is so ethereal that he has to hide his lovely appearance."
"i've also heard of that! some say he's been assaulted once because of his beauty."
"now now, ladies and gentlemen. they are all rumours, let's not get swept up by them. there is only one truth, after all."
nimble fingers swept through his hair long enough to nearly cover the back of his neck. it was a soothing feeling and he had to resist the urge to not fall asleep then and there.
"your hair is getting longer, young master." a soft voice eradicated the comforting silence that surrounded them previously. it had sounded from above him, the owner of the voice and the hands busy with his strands. they were tickling the back of his neck, threatening to cover them up if he wasn't to trim them soon. "would you wish for me to cut it shorter?"
beomgyu pondered at the question, eyes opening to stare at the mirror in front of him. it bore the reflection of himself, sitting on a cushioned stool at his vanity table. his eyes avoided his own face out of habit and spite. instead, they chased for eye contact with the presence behind him, using his fingers to comb through his dark hair rather than an actual comb. said tool was laid uselessly on the table and he almost felt pity for it.
his vision returned to the male standing behind him instead of lingering upon the object. many thoughts came to his mind at his sight. the lord was desperate and sought answers about his hair colour. it resembled so much like something– maybe a pen– people in the future would use to emphasize its importance. and maybe they were called highlighters in that era and the most popular colour of it would be the exact same shade of yellow the man in the reflection had on top of his head.
sometimes, he wondered why his mind was built like that.
"young master?"
right. he was asked a question.
"oh– um, no." smooth, beomgyu. smooth. how very noble-like of him. he wanted to bash his head on the wall, although he knew he'd be stopped before a single bruise would appear on his flawless skin. "that would not be necessary."
"you'll grow out your hair?"
"yes. i've always wondered how long hair would look on me."
the fingers who were lightly massaging his scalp ceased their ministrations. he was suddenly lifted from the stool, noticing how warm his body became before realizing that the cause was an arm of yeonjun's encasing his slightly smaller frame. the other limb of the older– his right one– made use of its hand attached at its end to cup his chin, and at the new position he found himself in, beomgyu had rested his own hands on top of the vanity table as to keep balance. his clothed back met with the equally covered chest of his servant and he could feel a slight piercing pain from the pieces of jewelry hanging around the blond's neck. and suddenly, his head was slightly tilted to the right, having invited an intruder who settled snugly into the crook of his neck.
he barely had time to register the noises the small chair had made upon being removed from its usual place.
upon realizing the intimate position he found himself in, blood rushed to his skin, turning him all pink and flushed. his eyes refused to look into the reflecting glass before them, knowing that he'd go insane at the sight of them both. a hand came to undo a button or two of his blouse and he felt the fabric being pushed away from his skin. a pair of lips found its way on a part just above his collarbone, where his neck merged with his torso. it sent tingles over the area and shivers down his spine.
"h-hyung... no marks." his voice came out a little bit breathier than he would've wished for, and only then had he realized how quickly he was inhaling and exhaling air. it was embarrassing, to say the least, and he silently prayed the housekeeper wouldn't notice it. he didn't think he could handle being teased right now.
"in my opinion," yeonjun deliberately ignored that he was speaking, yet stayed true to his role and followed his command. he merely continued to pepper his neck with butterfly kisses, never going further without permission. he would know better than to defy his master. "you'd look gorgeous, my lord, with long hair."
as a response, noises akin to whines met his ears and he couldn't help but chuckle at that. the man he was serving was so full of attractive charms that he discovered every day. he felt pity for those who would not be able to see all his sides, adorable or not, yet at the same time, he felt a darker urge to keep him hidden away from the crowd, much like how his own face was usually separated from the public with a single piece of fabric.
"why?" his lips were closer to those flushed red ears this time, threatening to bite them. "are you unsatisfied with the compliment i sent you?" in their reflection, yeonjun could see how his master's eyes had shut tight. he reveled in the amount of blind trust the younger accorded him. "are you so greedy for more, my lord?"
a knock came, then two more, all separated by an equal timing between them all.
it was like breaking a porcelain plate or letting glass fall from an unsafe height. beomgyu's eyes shot open and distance was immediately made between the two hot bodies. to fight the stifling heat, his hands, thankfully cold, were brought to his blood filled cheeks. and when he glanced out of the corner of his eyes, he noticed the servant merely smirked, as if proud of rendering him into this unsightly state.
with all the rest of his might, he hoped that the glare he mustered up was enough to intimidate the other, but it was only wishful thinking. yeonjun laughed at his attempt, and he swore he heard a soft 'cute' under his breath. could merely be his imagination, though.
"young master, i heard a noise from downstairs." again, he was brought back to reality, his mildly cold hands fell slightly and hung awkwardly at the same level of his neck. "may i come in?"
"y-yes." internally, he cried at the stutter. he knew the older in the room was cooing at him from where he was, but he ignored it. at least the atrociously bright yellow haired man was setting back up the fallen stool. it was sacrificed during their... moment, let's say.
the door opened to reveal his soft looking butler, and maybe he could see the silhouette of two others behind his tall figure. his eyes scrutinized the whole room as to discern what was the cause of the noise he had heard earlier, only to narrow in disappointment. he took in the situation at hand.
yeonjun smiled at him angelically like the smug bastard he was. that was normal. nothing strange about that. on the other hand... his young master was flushed red, albeit less than he previously was before his appearance inside his room. his hair had a few strands looking out of place and the top button of his shirt was undone.
from that, everything seemed to click in place, and he let out a sigh, almost bringing his hand to his temple.
he stayed silent as he walked towards the door of the walk-in closet and took the waistcoat and the suit jacket into his arms, before making his way towards the fidgeting noble. he seemed to be avoiding eye contact as well.
in a swift motion, he buttoned the blouse. without his needing to signalize it, the arms were already moving and he couldn't help the simper etched onto his features. he dressed beomgyu up neatly, picking up the dark ribbon on the vanity table to tie it prettily below the collar of the shirt.
as he was tying it, "seems like you don't need me to help you dress anymore." was whispered into the younger's ear. he couldn't help the shivers that came with it.
"... like it when you take care of me." his heart could burst at the display of cuteness his young master freely gave him. his pouty lips and the blood pooling around his cheeks despite his feeble attempt to cool them down earlier looked absolutely ravishing. but... due to a certain individual, he'd have to restrain from helping himself with him.
turning back towards the door ajar where two could be seen, he addressed the footmen anxiously waiting for his news, despite having seen what just transpired in this room. they could see beomgyu looking at them with a curious look.
"hyunjin, jeongin," he started in a soft voice as to not startle them both. they were already stressed from working and afraid from the unknown cause of the noise earlier. "as you can both see, the young master is safe and void of any physical injuries."
as the butler went to yeonjun, the lord couldn't help the warm fuzzy feeling spreading over him, like a soft comfortable blanket one would never want to leave. he was happy his servants were looking out for him so he walked towards to thank them himself, as well as to ask about their presences still at the mansion despite their work hours being done. he had an inkling as to why, though.
"young master, are you alright?" one started.
"we came with soobin hyung to investigate the noise we heard from downstairs." the other ended.
refined, he calmed both of them, seeing the previous anxious look on their features be replaced with a relieved one instead, small smiles slowly blooming on their faces. then, he inquired.
"why are you both still present? as i am aware of, your working hours should have ended some time ago..." the noble trailed off, suddenly unsure in his words but they reassured him.
"we were worried about you." ah, it seems his hunch from earlier was correct. they bid each other their goodbyes, beomgyu waving at them as they closed the door and bowed at him.
in the meantime, while the lord was casually conversing with the two hired footmen, soobin walked up to the grinning housekeeper with an annoyed look on his face. it was a contrast from his kind one when dealing with who he served under.
"may i have the pleasure to know why you were assaulting the young master?"
"assaulting? i prefer the term 'rapturing'." the butler gave him an exasperated squint of his almond eyes. the blond rolled his own, chartreuse coloured, as a response. "he asked me how he'd look with long hair. i merely answered how i deemed it fit."
"... by kissing his neck minutes before the guest is to arrive?"
"hey, you told me to save my flirting for the young master." yeonjun refuted, tone sassy yet still playful. "or perhaps... were you jealous? are you still jealous?"
"i hope you know that you're an insufferable individual whose presence i can barely tolerate." he let out a sigh. he regretted ever agreeing to engage this man into their mansion work.
the housekeeper ignored his words, a sly foxy grin present on his visage. he seemed to do that often. "was it of me? did you wish that you were the one turning our cute young master into that flustered state? or... was it of him?"
soobin was slightly taken aback by his words, his stare never relenting from the smug bastard in front of him. thankfully, his answer never came out of his mouth and he only had beomgyu to thank for.
("how'd you know i was even kissing his neck?" "your lip tint was all over it. i had to wipe it off.")
their meaningful (that's clearly up for debate, according to someone) discussion was stopped and they all hurried downstairs to reunite with hueningkai, finishing all the small details of welcoming their foreign guest together.
the young gardener noticed that their lord seemed to avoid their housekeeper with pink dust on his cheeks, while the other merely smirked any time their eyes seemed to meet. curiously, he asked their butler about it, but he only told him not to worry about it. determined to know, the youngest told himself to ask one of the two some day.
for currently, they were to greet and host a guest.
"welcome to the choi household."
beomgyu bore an unknown smile beneath the dark veil he wore to hide his appearance, despite knowing that none will see. it mattered not to him. with his new family on his side, the fate of their foreign guest laid in his hands, ready to be played with.