Chapter Text
The air was frigid with winter air.
Christmas lights are strewn across the city, ushering in the festive holiday season. Couples all around walked with their hands held, leaning on each other for support, cozy in their selected winter clothing to shield themselves from the cold.
Meanwhile, all Seo Juntae missed when the season welcomed itself was a certain man in Ganghak who tasted of smoke.
Juntae would soon find out one year and more into dating him that every time he kissed him, the aftertaste of ash and burnt embers would linger. He knew what to expect getting himself into this relationship—dating a man who smoked like six packs of cigarettes in one whole day, but he just wanted to taste something else.
Like the candy cane in the palm of his hand.
Candy canes had been given to high schoolers all around the holiday season to boost their spirits for the upcoming new year and the sheer cold of winter. Juntae watches as the snow glistens outside his school window, delicately falling from deep blue skies. He lets out a breath, trying to savor the moment as much as he could as he slowly unwraps the candy wrapper around the candy cane revealing a sugar swirl of red and white.
Juntae slowly puts it in between his teeth, like all the times he had seen Seongje do when putting his cigarette in between his lips. He holds it gently with his teeth, like a makeshift cigarette, and slowly starts to savor the taste.
It’s sweet. Minty.
He wishes Seongje had tasted like this instead of burnt tobacco at times. Juntae swirls the candy cane around his tongue, plopping it out with a sweetness that only such curated sugar could produce, before letting out a little sigh.
“Jjun-ah,” he hears that familiar voice that rumbled every time his name was uttered. “Can you…”
Juntae’s weary eyes blink up to see Hyuntak holding out two candy canes for him to grab with shiny handsome eyes. Almost like a tempting offer.
“Can you take these off me and Baku?” Hyuntak finally asks when he sees Juntae stare at it for a beat too long and his disheveled condition. Juntae blinks warily before taking the canes of candy, immediately shoving it in the small sockets of his hoodie would allow room for.
“Thank you, Tak-ah,” he mutters as a courtesy, his mind preoccupied with Seongje. He flashes to his protruding hair that went wild after a shower, the feeling of his calloused fingers on his soft skin, the way he’d sweet talk him in bed.
He’d just wished class was over, so he’d hop on the nearest bus. Eunjang was his sanctuary, safe for a lamb to dwell in and find shelter with his friends and found family by his side. But when drawn to the scent of danger and smoke, he wanders to the wolf’s den and abandons home for a little while. They understand.
It had been around a month or so that they had met. Inundated with schoolwork, family obligations and the mundane course of everyday life has halted them from seeing each other, and doing so has drained Juntae much.
Winter was still early. Trudging through snow wasn’t a concern during this period. The buses still ran, and his boyfriend was eagerly waiting after school.
By the time the bell tolls, Juntae was the first one to fling his backpack over his shoulder, shoving his books into his backpack with utmost haste and sets his sights towards the door. He grabs the box of phones and places it on the table nearest to the front of the class, making sure everyone had retrieved their own phones as his duty, and picks his phone up immediately as he beelines towards the door. Bumping past a certain redhead who had just recently dyed his hair back to black, the boy pushes past him with brute strength which surprises even Eunjang's top dog.
“Woah!” Baku dodges Juntae as he rushes past him, bumping into the sides of his shoulder and stumbling back.
“Ah…sorry, Baku-ya! In a rush!” Juntae bows back slightly as courtesy before rushing down the stairs.
Humin furrows his brows and scratches his head, the black dye seeping into the gaps in his finger nails. “Man, what’s up with Juntae these days?”
—
Ganghak.
When Juntae steps off the bus, he’s surrounded by a couple of girls from Buil and Yeo-il, a few kids sporting the Hyeongshin uniform and only him—the sole Eunjang who’s stepping off to meet the man himself. He moves towards to the school entrance, where snow piles up at the sides of the concrete pathway. A cold breeze blows through his layered clothing, and he focuses on keeping warm when he wanders in further, past the freezing trees and dwindling snowflakes.
“Ah, Eunjang! How have you been, hm?"
Juntae takes one solemn glance at the man in orange, still in his maroon trousers from his uniform standing close to the entrance of the school. The discoloration and mismatch doesn’t bother Juntae now, because he rushes over and crashes into Seongje’s slender build from a month of yearning.
“Hey, puppy,” Seongje wraps his gentle arms around Juntae to pull him into a hug. “Miss me?”
“Mhm,” Juntae murmurs, before diving straight into his tiger printed shirt. “It’s been too long, Seongje-ya…”
“Who’s been a needy little puppy, hm?” Seongje says, patting Juntae’s soft hair as the smaller tightens his embrace on Seongje’s windbreaker.
He still reeks of smoke.
Juntae could trace it back at the bright orange windbreaker stained with burnt ashes from the remains of his chainsmoking. Or his dry lips which have crust on them from smoking a pack already. He wouldn’t ask Seongje to change, but this was…
“Please, Seongje-ya,” Juntae pleads, withdrawing one hand from the hug, taking out the two candy canes from his pockets, and holding them out for Seongje to grab.
“Candy cane?” he muses, crooking his neck and grabbing the small pieces of candy off of Juntae’s soft hands. “Ah…they give this out to everybody, don’t they? Why’d you get two, hm?”
“Just eat it,” Juntae murmurs, pulling himself away from the hug and staring up into Seongje’s mischievous gaze. “For me…”
“Why?” Seongje cuts through the pleading with a knife. Juntae sighs, his eyes downcast.
“I love kissing you when…” Juntae pauses, pursing his lips in contemplation. “When you don’t taste like smoke…”
“Oh?” Seongje chuckles, deep and cynical. “Is that why you want to feed me all these candy canes? You want me to taste like peppermint?”
“…Please?”
Seongje hasn’t thought about it. Juntae had doted on him before on his smoking habits, saying it isn’t healthy to chainsmoke and offered multiple vitamins to help his body recover from that. But this…was a new revelation, something that Seongje hadn’t heard of before.
“You know,” Seongje chuckles, finally unwrapping one of them and shoving the other in his pockets. “I could just go brush my teeth if it bothers you that much.”
“No…” Juntae shakes his head, “I just want you to taste like…something else. Like something sweet and minty…not like burnt ash.”
“Hm,” Seongje hums, tearing away the hook of the cane and throwing it into the pile of snow. “It’s cold. Come.”
—
The dorm was just as he remembered. The whiff of arid winter air changes it ever so slightly, and the snow falling outside is nothing short of beautiful. Juntae throws his backpack down on the floor by the bed—his usual spot whenever he comes over. Seongje paces the room, immediately stripping himself of the orange windbreaker to reveal one of his casual tiger-printed outerwear in sleek black.
He’s already halfway through the candy cane when he discards the piece of fabric into the laundry basket. A sharp spike forms after he has sucked away the excess sugar and the colorful stripes, leaving behind a sharp mass of sugar that was sharp enough to pierce soft delicate skin.
“Puppy,” Seongje murmurs, throwing the candy cane—or what’s left of it, in the trash by his desk. “I’ve sucked on this enough. Not trying to get a sugar high here.”
Juntae watches warily, his eyes darting to the bin and back up to Seongje’s smug smile. “Then can I…”
“Kiss?”
Juntae grows red, which is amplified in the shivering weather. “Ye—yeah. It’d be nice if we’d…do that…”
“Why are you so awkward all of a sudden, Eunjang?” Seongje snickers. “Acting like we haven’t done more than kissin—”
Juntae shuts him up, rushing closer to him and pulling him closer. He closes his boastful lips and seals it tight with a kiss. He tries his best to taste the sweetness riddled on Seongje’s tongue but it’s a little different because the aftertaste of the cigarette is there. He immediately pulls away, unsatisfied with his own theory.
“No…” Juntae murmurs, shaking his head in disapproval. “Eat the other one.”
“So picky,” Seongje sneers, but there’s no bite to it. “Is the taste not to your liking, pup?”
“It’s just not sweet enough!” Juntae exclaims. “You still taste like smoke mixed with candy…I don’t want to taste that from you…at least…not today.”
Seongje hums in acknowledgement, reaching for the other candy cane in his pocket and unwrapping it. Once he sticks it into his mouth, he pulls Juntae closer and ushers him towards the dormitory bed—their little sanctuary.
Juntae lets himself get swept away by the storm without a word. Because the time spent with Seongje, feeling his touch and warmth that radiated like the orange embers of his cigarette was enough for this little Eunjang who always came back to Ganghak for a taste of the wolf himself.
Wrapped up in crimson red and race car blankets Seongje had doubled to keep himself warm, scruffled bedsheets and finally tangled in each other’s embrace once again, they huddled for warmth. The weather’s getting colder, crisper by the second, and all Juntae needed was the sound of the candy cane clanking against his teeth and rolling around Seongje’s tongue and his caress on his head.
By the time Seongje finishes sucking on the candy cane, biting away at the sharp excess—he puckers his lips for another kiss. Juntae stares up, nuzzled deep into Seongje’s chest, before he starts to pepper kisses around his forehead, taking in the fresh scent of Juntae’s lavender shampoo.
It always starts off soft and tender. Seongje slowly maneuvers around Juntae, gripping his frame and flipping him over on the small space on the twin-sized bed, shuffling in between the thick race-car blankets. WIthin a flash, Juntae watches as Seongje hovers above him, soft gentle eyes staring up into teasing mischief as hands press on the mattress, sinking down from his sheer strength alone.
Seongje goes slow, but fails to deliver on the promise every single time. He’s a hungry man, ready to suckle on every inch of tender skin. He dives straight into Juntae's neck, and the lamb immediately jolts up, wrapping his arms around Seongje’s broad shoulders in pleasure.
“Seongje…” Juntae whimpers. “I can’t wait to see how you’ll taste…”
“Mm,” he hums into the nook of Juntae’s neck before pulling away. “Patience, puppy. I’ll reward you generously.”
He dives back in for another taste. Juntae’s fingers start to claw on Seongje’s back in pure arousal, letting out a soft moan before he feels Seongje trail up to his chin, giving him a small peck. He litters Juntae’s plump cheeks with candy cane kisses, before pulling away one last time to examine all the work he had done.
“So pretty,” Seongje praises. “All for me.”
“Yes, Seongje-ya,” Juntae breathes, flustered. He ignores the heat pooling around his cheeks, seeing how handsome and charming Seongje is.
“Here’s the moment of truth then,” Seongje says, wetting his lips one last time before sealing them together.
Candy canes.
Sugar.
Juntae grasps at the taste, using his arms to pull Seongje closer to deepen himself into the kids. He pushes through the flavors—the taste of burnt ash is so faint now, overwhelmed by the sugary high and peppermint glaze lingering on his lips.
It’s exhilarating.
Juntae had never tasted Seongje in this manner. He’d always smoked a cigarette or two by the time they got to kissing, so that foul smell had persisted through every single shared kiss. But today was different—Juntae finally feels alive and invigorated, tempted by the newfound flavor on his tongue to take everything Seongje had to offer him.
They stayed in tandem for quite some time, catching up on lost time by fervent kisses and sharing body warmth to make sure they were warm and cozy from the sheer cold raging outside.
By the time the snow had settled outside, Juntae winds down from his high and burrows himself deep into the bedsheets, feeling Seongje’s warmth underneath the covers. Clothed skin on clothed skin as legs intertwine with each other, both men occupied with their phone screens, there's nothing left but the the comfortable silence that sits between them.
“Hm,” Seongje breaks the silence first, locking his phone with a click. “I’m sleepy.”
“Me too…” Juntae murmurs, bringing a hand to rub the sleep away from his eyes. He locks his phone and discards it safely underneath the pillow, before turning over in the leftover space and shrinking himself so Seongje could have ample room to sleep in.
“Then sleep, puppy,” Seongje chuckles. “Who knows? Maybe when you wake up…I’ll taste even sweeter than a candy cane…”
“No,” Juntae shakes his head, his silky hair gliding across the pillowcase. “I don’t believe that for a second. You always smell like shit when you wake up.”
“Oh?” Seongje muses, trailing a hand up his hoodie and dipping into tender skin before Juntae whimpers and immediately surrenders. “You’re cursing now, puppy? I’m really starting to rub off on you, aren’t I?”
“Not in a good way,” Juntae fires back, and Seongje’s relentless assault against the gaps in his ribs begins, eliciting a high pitched laugh and a useless string of pleas.
For Juntae though, being able to snarl back at Ganghak’s mad wolf, and more importantly, his boyfriend...
Was absolutely worth it.