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Jongho had been having a rough few days. It started with him losing one of his airpods, he had bought them nearly two months ago with his own money and he swore to take good care of them, but somehow when he opened the case two days ago, one was missing. He immediately opened the find my app, hoping that it would tell him where he had left it, but the stupid thing only showed him where his current airpod was. No help at all.
The bear then tried going to his hyungs, he usually spent time in each of their rooms, so he might have left it there when they were watching youtube or scrolling on tiktok. Entering each of their rooms, he was left with the same disappointment as before because they were still nowhere to be found.
“You’re sure they aren’t in a pocket or something?” Seonghwa asked as he watched Jongho sift through his desk with a raised brow.
Jongho shook his head, tail flickering in annoyance at the question, “no hyung, I checked my own room 3 times before I came here. I have no idea where else they could be if not in someone’s dorm!” he whined.
Seonghwa sighed, but let Jongho continue as long as he didn’t make a mess in his room.
15 minutes later and no airpod in sight, Jongho gave up and headed to Yunho and Yeosang’s dorm, maybe he’d have more luck there.
“Yunho-hyung?” Jongho called out, peeking his head into the older member’s room curiously but finding it empty. He sighed and decided to go to Yeosang’s first, since he knew he was there.
Knocking on the door, which Yeosang opened for him, he looked at his hyung with a pitiful look. “Hyung, have you seen my airpod anywhere? I can’t find it and the app won’t show me the location of the one, just keeps showing me where the one I have is!” he complains, ears pressed against his head.
Yeosang looks thoughtful, but shakes his head. “I haven’t seen it, but you’re welcome to look in my room if you need. I hope you find it, little bear.” he says kindly, stepping aside to allow Jongho into his room to search.
Another uneventful search later, Jongho was starting to get frustrated, there was no way he had lost the stupid airpod, so where is it? He had searched every member's room and his own, three times, and there had been no sign of the airpod yet. Had he dropped it somewhere when they left the dorms? Or maybe he had left it out and someone had taken one of them? Either way, Jongho didn’t see a point in having just one airpod, it seemed sort of silly.
The next day, it seemed like Jongho just couldn't catch a break. He had vocal lessons alone and their usual producer wasn’t there. Jongho was the second member to have a vocal lesson that day, and when he entered the studio he could already tell that today would be a long and tough vocal practice by the look on the man’s face.
The man sat behind the producer’s desk with a bored expression, like he wasn't being paid to be there right now. He told Jongho that they were recording lines from their title track and polishing up a few that they had recorded from the b-sides earlier that week.
The issue with their usual producer not being there, is that usually when Jongho sang, the man gave excellent advice.
‘You're slightly off pitch there Jongho, we’ll run it again and see how you do.’
‘This note needs to be higher, try again.’
‘For this bridge I want you to sing it this way.’
He always had something in mind that he wanted Jongho to do, or to change once he had sung, and Jongho appreciated that, when they had temporary producers, they tended to make him repeat it without verbalizing what exactly they wanted.
It usually didn’t bother Jongho as much, he was good at his job, he knew what he needed to do when they played the sound back for him, but today, he was a little frustrated and he just wanted the vocal practice to be done.
He sang the line that the producer told him to, and when the song ended the producer looked up from the soundboard in front of him and said, “let’s try it again. That one wasn’t the best.” Jongho felt a growl bubbling in his chest, but remembered what Hongjoong always told him about being polite to others, and especially not growling at them. He settled on rolling his eyes but sang the line again as he was instructed.
A total of 4 times he was asked to sing one line from the title track, and that wasn’t even his only line. Finally, the producer seemed to deem whatever Jongho had done as sufficient and let him off with a wave of his hand. Jongho’s ears were plastered to his head, tail flickering angrily behind him as he tried to take a deep breath and settle down before he blew up.
“I believe it would be a little helpful, and maybe less time consuming if you were more direct in what you wanted from me, Mr. Producer.” Jongho grit out, patience wearing as thin as the hairline of the man before him.
That got a change in the man’s expression, but not for the better. The temporary producer looked annoyed now, staring at Jongho as if he was gum on the bottom of his shoe, “didn’t they ever teach you to respect your elders? Sing the line again now. I decide when it’s good enough. You should be able to tell what I want.” he seethed, obviously riled up by the mere thought of doing his job.
Jongho did let a growl slip out, just in time for San to enter the room and raise a curious brow as to what was happening. Jongho looked at him, ears flat and expression annoyed and San plastered a smile on his face, one that was all too professional, and told the producer to give them a moment.
“He doesn’t need a moment! He was being mouthy earlier, what he needs is-”
San doesn’t let him finish, smile still on his face, “what he needs is for you to shut up and allow us some time. I have absolutely no issue calling the actual producer and telling him how you’ve treated our youngest member if this continues. Do you understand me?” he says, tone a 180 from the smile he gave.
The producer seemed to think better of whatever comment wanted to come out of his mouth, because he just sighed loudly and left the room with a huff of, “whatever.”
Once the man was gone, San entered the studio and gave Jongho a good once over. Hands coming to squeeze the bear’s shoulders comfortingly as he searched his face for a glimpse of hurt or sadness, but all he saw was annoyance. “What happened?” he asked, tone devoid of accusations.
Jongho sighed, letting his annoyance melt out of him as San massaged his shoulders gently, “he was being a dick- ow! Hyung!” Jongho whined when San brought his hand down on the side of his bottom, a scolding swat more so than anything. San raised a brow, “leave the attitude aside and tell hyung what happened baby bear.” he soothed, rubbing the spot he had just smacked gently.
Jongho knew he was tightly wound, he had lost his airpods, he had to deal with this, he was just frustrated and had no way to get it out besides kicking up a fuss. “I came in and he told me that we’d be recording some lines from the title track and rerecording some lines from the b-sides that I recorded the other day, but when I started recording he just told me to ‘go again because it didn’t sound good’” Jongho mocked with a roll of his eyes.
San let it go for now, listening intently to what Jongho told him with growing annoyance of his own. They had an ongoing issue with temporary producers, some of them thought they could replace their main producer, some of them thought they were only there to sit and listen to them sing, never offering any advice and simply giving a thumbs up through the window, then, there were producers like him. The type who never said what they actually wanted, but then faulted the members when they didn’t live up to the standards they set in their head. It was bullshit to San, and to everyone else.
“I did go again, I really tried not to let it get to me hyung,” Jongho continued, breaking San out of his anger filled internal rant, “but then he just kept telling me to re record and after the 4th time I told him that he might find it more helpful and less time consuming if he actually let me know what he was looking for.” Jongho muttered, eyes on the ground.
San barked out a laugh, that was just like their little bear. “Good for you for sticking up for yourself, when I came in though, you were growling, did something else happen?” he asked seriously, wanting the entire story before he told the producer to get lost.
Jongho’s ears twitched in annoyance, and San raised a hand instinctively to smooth out the fluffy mounds on his head with a fond look.
“He told me that I should be able to tell what he wanted, and that he was the one who decided when it was good enough! Can you believe that di-jerk?” Jongho growled, eyes narrowed at the seat where the man used to sit.
San nodded, his own mouth twisting into a frown as he listened to Jongho finish the story. That was it then, they were dealing with a temporary producer who thought not only that he was their main producer, but refused to give feedback and insulted their baby bear. Three strikes and he’s out.
“Don’t worry Jjongie, I’ll take care of it, I think the rest of today’s lessons will be cancelled so let the members know for me, hm?” San said with finite resolution. Jongho felt a little of the frustration and anxiety roll off of his chest knowing that the entitled prick would be dealt with. He nodded and thanked San before gathering his things and heading back to their dorm.
8M1T GC
JH(Baby bear): no more vocal lessons for today!
HJ: ? Did something happen?
SN: Taken care of.
Jongho smiled to himself and closed his phone before remembering his airpods he had lost. The slight annoyance from the day started to bubble beneath his chest once more but he fought it back down, maybe he’d find them somewhere.
Approximately two hours later, Jongho knew he was going to explode. They were having their weekly get together, an outcome of Jongho’s desire to be surrounded by as much of the member’s scents as he could, when he got a text from their manager reminding him of a solo schedule he had completely forgotten about tomorrow.
It wouldn’t have been an issue, but Jongho was looking forward to spending the entire day turning his, Hongjoong and Wooyoung’s dorm upside down to search for his airpod. He needed to find it. He texted back his confirmation to the schedule and sighed, trying one more time to open the find my app and look for the damned airpod he had been trying to find for the past day now when a sudden update made his ears shoot up.
‘L Airpod Location 5 meters away’
Jongho looked around, confused. How was it 5 meters away? They were all gathered in Jongho’s own dorm, shared with his two hyungs, and Jongho had asked both Wooyoung and Hongjoong multiple times to not only help him look for the airpod, but to look in their rooms for it. If it was 5 meters away, that could only mean..
Jongho walked closer, the blue dot on his phone growing closer with every step he took, he was approaching the couch that Yunho, Mingi and Wooyoung were cozied up on and he was certain he had looked under every cushion of. When he finally reached the couch, his phone dinged, indicating that he must be right where his lost airpod is.
That made no sense.
“Hyung, can you stand up? My phone just updated my airpod location and it says it’s right here!” Jongho said excitedly, ready to put all of this annoyance behind him and just have both of his airpods in their case-forever. He had made a mental promise to check for both of them every time he used them, never again would he let one of them go missing for this long.
The three easily agreed, Wooyoung making a comment about how Jongho was worse than Mingi when it came to losing things that Jongho chose to ignore but Mingi did not, judging by the shrieks and smacking sounds behind him. Jongho didn’t care about all of that, if his airpod was under the couch, or in between a cushion, then he would be the happiest bear ever.
He moved everything, even lifting up the couch and putting his hand between the, quite frankly, disgusting middle part of the couch to see if he had dropped it in between there. He leaned back on his heels, confused and feeling the annoyance from today growing in his chest again. How were they not there?! He opened his phone again and..what? The blue dot had moved? He looked over and saw that the blue dot seemed to be almost exactly where Mingi was standing, currently being play throttled by Wooyoung.
Jongho felt his eyebrow twitch, there was no way. He walked over towards the two, “hyung, it says my airpod is with you. Do you have it? Have you had it this whole time?” the irritation seeps into his voice without him trying, he couldn’t help it- not really. How many times had he been in their dorm to ask for help searching? How many times had he asked Mingi to search his room? All that time he was the one who had it?
Mingi stops fighting with Wooyoung to stare at Jongho in confusion, “what are you talking about? Why would I have your airpod, Jongho?” he sounded a little defensive, which was to be expected with how Jongho was almost accusing him at this point.
Wooyoung held up a placating hand between the two, an awkward smile on his face, “Jjongie, Mingi has helped you look for them too, why would he purposely hide them from you?” he tried to reason.
Jongho didn’t want to hear reason right now, he wanted his damn airpod. He wanted his airpod yesterday. His ears flattened against his head, and a rumble threatened to build in his chest that he kept at bay, Seonghwa and Hongjoong watched closely, waiting for the need to intervene and Jongho did not want that. That would be the worst way to end the night.
“How should I know?! That's just what this says! Let me see your airpods, hyung. Please.” he grit out, forcing himself to remain polite even if all he really wanted to do was grab them from the elder man’s hands and check. His tone was verging on straight up disrespect now, out of the corner of his eye, Hongjoong stood up and he forced out a calming breath.
Mingi on the other hand, easily rose to the bait, “No! Why should I? You don’t just come and accuse people of stealing from you Jongho, that isn’t cool. Maybe the app made a mistake. I have both of my airpods in the case, maybe you should try doing the same.”
Oh. Hell. No.
Jongho growled, tail flickering in annoyance as he glared at Mingi who met it with equal challenge.
“I didn’t accuse you of shit! All I said was that the app said they’re with you, you’re the one getting all defensive! You know I’ve been looking for them for the past few days, why the hell are you messing with me like this?” Jongho all but snarled, stepping closer to Mingi only to be stopped by Hongjoong who had decided that he had heard enough.
“Alright, that's quite enough.” he said, eyeing the two of them with a stern look. He made his way towards Jongho and pulled him back from Mingi. “It’d do you well to watch your language as well, little bear. I am not above washing your mouth out for naughty language.” he said after, hand still on Jongho’s upper arm.
The threat (or promise?) made Jongho’s body light up, or maybe just his face. He was too wound up, too angry. He just wanted his airpod and no one was helping him. Yes, they had all helped him look for it, and yes, they had all offered their rooms multiple times when he had asked..but it wasn’t enough because Jongho /still/ didn’t have his airpod.
He glared at the floor, “Mingi’s the one being an asshole. I don’t get why you’re taking it out on me! He has my airpod and he wont give it back. Just give it the fu-”
Hongjoong was never one to go back on his promises, especially when it came to keeping the peace in the dorms. If Jongho needed a reminder of his place, Hongjoong was more than happy to provide. His hand came down with a flurry of swats to the raging bear’s backside, effectively stopping him mid rant. Jongho’s face turned red, eyes filling with tears he refused to let fall as he glared at Mingi.
Hongjoong rested a hand on Jongho’s back, no longer holding him by the upper arm as he directed his next words to everyone in the room, minus Jongho of course.
“I will go take care of our bratty little bear, Mingi, please show your airpods to someone- if they /are/ Jongho’s I’d like an apology for all of this.” he says, and that makes Mingi open his mouth, ready to counter, “Jongho will apologize for his actions as well. Please do as I ask or I will have a conversation with you next.” he finishes, eyes promising punishment.
Mingi wilted, mumbling his affirmation as Jongho was led into Hongjoong’s room by the captain. The second they entered Hongjoong’s room, Jongho’s rant started anew, still too tightly wound up to accept just laying over his hyungs lap- even though he knew he deserved it. And maybe wanted it. Hongjoong was very good at delivering discipline in a way that would make all of the bad feelings in Jongho’s chest just vanish, he didn’t quite accept it at first, but he eventually came around.
“I don’t understand, hyung! He definitely has them. I bought those with my own money, you know. I’ve been searching for them for a few days now and I couldn’t find them anywhere. Then he goes and says that I’m accusing him when I say that he has them? Does that not sound guilty to you?!” Jongho rages, chest heaving with the force of his words when he finally finishes getting them out.
Hongjoong lets him, allows him to pace a hold in the floor as he vents and listens to the little rant with an indifferent expression.
“Yes, little bear, I know they’re your airpods, I know you bought them yourself, but let's just think about this. Mingi has been looking for them with you since you first lost them, is there any reason you may think that he would intentionally hide them from you?”
Jongho opens his mouth,
“Be careful little one, you’re already in trouble for your mouth. I don’t tolerate bad mouthing your members and you know that. Think very wisely before the next sentence leaves those lips” Hongjoong says, eyeing the bear, probably trying to gauge how much of a settling Jongho needed.
Jongho closes his mouth, taking another breath as he really thinks about it. He guesses that Hongjoong is right, Mingi had been helping him since he first texted in the group chat that he lost them, asking him things like where he’d last seen them, or if he had gotten the app to work. There really was no reason for Mingi to intentionally hide them, but..but then..who does Jongho blame? He knows that rationally, but his brain didn’t want to be rational right now.
“Probably to be a dick.” he muttered, regretting it immediately when it came out.
The room grew colder, Hongjoong’s stare grew just a little icy and he nodded, “I see. Why don’t we warm up that bottom of yours and see if some time in the corner doesn’t help to jog your memory as to a real reason.” he decided, standing up and dragging his desk chair over.
Jongho wanted to whine, but he was the one who had gotten himself into this. Him and his big mouth. Jongho also knew that after this, regardless of if he found his airpods or not, he would feel much better, wrapped up in Hongjoong’s arms and cuddled until he stopped crying. Jongho watched with a wary expression as Hongjoong pulled out his desk chair into the middle of the room, he sat down easily, the fabric of his shorts smoothing around him and he stared at Jongho with an expectant look.
“Let’s get started, little bear.” Hongjoong said softly, never one to yell or show his anger at the younger members. Fights like those were reserved between him and Seonghwa, the only member who had ever been on the receiving end of Hongjoong’s visible anger. It hadn’t actually been Seonghwa’s fault though, Hongjoong had been angry because Seonghwa wanted him home earlier from the studio and-
“Little one? What’s going on in that head of yours. Come back down here with hyung.” he said, hand reaching out so Jongho could step forward.
Oh. Jongho had forgotten, he was supposed to go and lie over his hyung’s lap to get a sp-punished. He hated the word. He stepped forward, socked feet shuffling against the carpet as he grabbed onto Hongjoong’s hand and allowed the elder male to pull him in between his now spread legs. He stared at the ground, unable to handle looking at the pure adoration that he didn’t deserve right now on Hongjoong’s face as he stared up at him. No matter who was punishing him, they always reminded him that they loved him all the same, Jongho couldn’t handle it sometimes.
Hongjoong studied his face for a moment and nodded, "Hyung will start over your shorts for now, then you’ll have some corner time and we’ll go from there. Sound good?” he asked, knowing that Jongho wouldn’t say no either way. Much to his dismay, Jongho nodded, allowing Hongjoong to pull him over his lap, his bottom in the perfect position for his hyung to have access to.
It was always humiliating to be in this position, Jongho hated it. Jongho hated it, but he craved the feeling of being forgiven after something like this. Or the relief he felt after the past few days worth of tension had wound up so tightly in his chest that it felt like he was going to explode at any moment. He hated the process, loved the result.
Hongjoong rubbed the upturned bottom before him, giving Jongho just a moment's reprieve before he started the spanking. Hongjoong liked to deliver punishments in a methodical way, he started in the middle, always using the same strength throughout, before moving upwards towards the top of the bottom and then downwards. Hongjoong never focused too much on any of the member’s sit spots, only if they had been particularly naughty, he also knew that Jongho had an early morning schedule to attend and squirming all day would do no one any good.
Jongho yelped as the first swat landed, there was never any surprise when it came to Hongjoong, never any waiting or scolding that came first. Usually, his hyung liked to get the scolding over with prior so the punishment could be done and it’d be straight to aftercare, but today, Jongho had acted out of his depth and Hongjoong needed to spread the punishment out just a bit. Nothing worse than still feeling too wound up after a punishment.
A harsh smack bit into the meat of his thigh, and Jongho let out a cry he didn’t realize he had been holding in. Hongjoong’s hand didn’t stop their assault, but he spoke gently, “There’s my little bear. You keep getting lost in your head little one, stay here with me.” he reminded.
‘Like that was hard’, Jongho thought with a whimper as Hongjoong’s hands started to move upwards, his ears pressed flat against his head and he twisted his legs to try and relieve some of the pain that was steadily growing, of course, to no avail. Hongjoong didn’t stop there, Jongho couldn’t tell exactly how many rounds they had gone through at this point but the burn was building into something that he would soon be unable to handle without tears.
Hongjoong worked his way down Jongho’s bottom again, keeping his strength the same as he did so. He couldn’t help but smile when he noticed the short little tail trying its hardest to reach back and offer some reprieve from the fiery smacks, too short to make much of a difference, but very cute nonetheless. His hand came down with a smack on the middle of Jongho’s bottom, ready to start the last cycle before Jongho’s corner time began when the bear let out a cry.
Jongho had been trying to hold his tears back, he knew they had much more to go after this, and nothing, he means it, nothing was worse than getting spanked after standing in the corner. That brief moment of relief you got made the first smack hurt 100x worse, and always had Jongho crying like a baby within the first few minutes. However, the rising heat on his backside and one more firm swat to the middle had him crying out, tears dripping down his nose and onto the floor below him as he kicked his feet against the floor, the socks muting the sound completely.
Hongjoong smiled at the wiggly bear, never opposed to some wriggling from anyone when a spanking was happening. He understood just how much they could hurt, and he’d never fault them for needing to squirm a little. When Jongho started to cry, he wrapped up the last cycle and slowly started to rub the bear’s warm bottom. When he said warm it up, he meant it. Jongho’s backside didn’t look anywhere near what it usually would after a punishment from Hongjoong, tinted pink and probably stinging at best.
Hongjoong helped the teary bear up and smiled at him, “alright little bear, let’s get you in the corner for a little quiet time. When you’re all done we will finish our conversation from earlier, okay?” Hongjoong said with a smile, wiping at the tears that dripped from Jongho’s eyes.
Jongho nodded, most of his fight effectively removed from him as he shuffled towards the corner, only to be stopped by Hongjoong.
“One more thing, I think it’s best to spend your corner time bare, that’s how we will pick up anyways.” he decided with a nod, and Jongho’s face burned with embarrassment but he knew better than to argue. He watched as Hongjoong pulled down his shorts and the stupid bear print underwear Yunho had gotten him as a joke for his birthday, helping him step out of them before he was finally led to the corner, nose pressed to the wall.
“Just 5 minutes baby bear.” Hongjoong said from behind him, a reminder of his presence.
Being in the corner was always embarrassing, being in the corner bare after getting a spanking? Jongho could die right here. His tummy felt funny, sort of like he was nervous for something but he didn’t quite know what. He also hated being in the corner because it forced him to think about why he was being punished.
He remembers whining about it the first time it happened, Wooyoung’s gentle hands wiping away his tears as he complained about having to stand in the corner.
“I just don’t like it, it's embarrassing hyung.” he whined, closing his eyes as Wooyoung changed targets to the perfect place behind his ears that temporarily made him forget why he was even complaining.
“That’s the point baby bear, and to help you remember why you ended up there to begin with,” Wooyoung supplied, “If you hadn’t talked back, you would only have a warm bottom. You chose to talk back so you got a warm bottom and a trip to the corner.” he said, eyes sparkling as he stared down at Jongho.
Jongho blushed at the memory, but then remembered Mingi outside and how nasty he had been earlier. Suddenly, that feeling in his tummy made sense, it was guilt. He didn’t mean to be so accusatory towards his hyung, and Hongjoong was right, Mingi had actively helped him ever since he found out that he had lost his earbuds. There wasn’t any single reason Jongho could think that he would intentionally hide them, he was just being a brat. He was just angry.
He felt his eyes burn, and a sudden urge to apologize to Mingi that he knew would come later when a timer went off on Hongjoong’s phone.
“All done little bear, come on out to hyung.” he smiled, and when Jongho turned around he was met with the adoring face of his Hongjoong hyung. He rushed into his arms, his tears that had dried while in the corner picking back up as he choked out a weak “sorry hyung, having a bad day.” into his hyung’s neck.
Hongjoong wrapped his arms around the bear, engulfing him as much as he could with their size difference but still making Jongho feel completely safe.
“Hyung knows baby, and it will all go away after this, okay? We’ll finish up this spanking, you'll apologize to your Mingi-hyung and tonight before bed we’ll have a little chat about your language like I promised earlier.” Hongjoong said, giving Jongho a soft smile.
Jongho cringed a little at the reminder of his mouth being washed out, but didn’t say anything otherwise. He simply nodded against the older man, and was given a few more moments in his arms before Hongjoong patted his still sore bottom, “alright, let’s finish now. I’m sure everyone wants to make sure I didn’t kill you.” he joked.
Jongho gave him a small smile, but it faded as the cursed desk chair was rolled back into place and Hongjoong took a seat once more. He stared up at Jongho, still holding his hands, “ready to finish up, baby bear?” his hands trailed down to grab at his bare hips, and Jongho fought not to squirm in the grip, too intimate.
He nodded, even though he would never be ready. They had to get it over with.
“My good bear.” Hongjoong praised, helping him lay over his lap and settle into a comfortable position. It was the same one as before, his legs slightly lifted off the ground, his arms able to touch the ground comfortably, but his bottom lay right atop Hongjoong’s lap. ‘Easy target’, Jongho thought miserably.
Hongjoong gave his bottom a rub, Jongho knew it was because this spanking would hurt much more than the first one he got, but he appreciated it anyways. Soon enough though, the break was over and the first of many swats came down. And god, it hurt so much worse now.
Jongho cried out, hands itching to reach back but he knew better than to elongate his suffering like that. Hongjoong continued with his set method, starting with the middle of Jongho’s bottom and moving upwards. Now that he was bare, he could feel his hyung’s hand with no layers and every smack resounded through the room in such an embarrassing way that he wanted to cover his ears and hide.
Hongjoong settled into an easy pace, and as always, began his scolding as well. “So, while you were in the corner did you have time to think about our conversation earlier?” he asked, moving his hands down towards Jongho’s thighs. The bear let out a small sob, ears flattening against his head as he nodded.
“Yes, I- ow, I don’t think Mingi-hyu-ng would have taken them on purpose.” Jongho whimpered, tears steadily streaming down his cheeks as heat quickly started to build in his bottom. This was horrible. Hongjoong gave an accepting hum, “that’s right, what made you change your mind?” Jongho hated these questions, but he knew his Hongjoong-hyung wasn’t the ‘so why are we here’ type of person. He wanted to hear the thought process, he believed it would help the issue from occurring again. In Jongho’s case? Solid 7/10 chance. It didn't stop his hyung from continuing though.
“He helped me look ow ow! Hyung!” Jongho sobbed as Hongjoong’s hands chartered towards his thighs, lifting his knee slightly to access the sensitive underneath of his bottom as well. “Focus bear, what made you change your mind?” he asked again.
“Hyung helped me l-look for them, asked me wh-where they were last and-uhm.. He..” Jongho trailed off, his last word choking on a sob. He had more reasons but the fire in his bottom was a little too much right now for him to focus on anything else. Hongjoong seemed to see that as well because he stopped, resting a hand on Jongho’s nearly red bottom.
“He did, Mingi has been asking all of us if you’ve found your airpods, you know. I understand you’ve been having a rough few days, little bear, but the way you approached him and accused him was not fair. He did not deserve to be on the other end of your fury for something he could not control.”
Jongho let out a full sob at that, he knew that all too well, Mingi didn’t deserve to be on the receiving end of his anger he just had so much of it built up and nowhere to direct it to so he had taken it out on him.
“The names you called him were unacceptable as well, you know I do not allow for name calling, or any variation of such in this group. Next time you need an outlet for your anger, come to me, I will be more than happy to help you.” Hongjoong finished, lifting his hand to start again.
Jongho nodded, “I’m sorry hyung, I was just frustrated and.. Everything was annoying me and I took it out on Mingi hyung.” he finished miserably.
Hongjoong nodded, “yes, and although you've earned yourself a sore bottom, but there’s nothing you’ve done that can’t be fixed, little one. Let hyung take care of you, okay?” Hongjoong soothed, before his hand started again.
Jongho felt the tears burst from behind his eyelids as Hongjoong’s hand came down on his burning behind, bringing the punishment to a near end. Jongho’s socked feet kicked futilely on the ground, gasping sobs leaving his lips as he sobbed out the last of the negative feelings he had all cooped up in his system. Hongjoong paid a little more attention to the bear’s thighs, wanting the lesson to stick, even if it meant Jongho would be squirming tomorrow during his schedule.
“Almost done baby. We’re gonna wrap up with these last ten. ten because you let three things bother you before you came to us about it, and seven more because that’s how many times you cursed at Mingi.” he chuckled, rubbing the boy’s burning bottom.
Jongho couldn’t match his humor, his face felt disgusting. Tears dripped down his cheeks onto the floor, pooling onto the ground beneath him. He was sure that everyone outside could hear his punishment, and something about that made him want to cry even harder, always embarrassed when the others saw him getting a spanking. He was a little too headstrong sometimes.
“Just count these for me baby, okay? Then you’re all done and everything will be forgiven after you apologize to Mingi.” Hongjoong soothed, hand never stopping its rubbing motion on the reddened skin beneath him. He knew that Jongho must be in pain, but he needed to make sure that the boy knew that if he had any issues in the future, this was /not/ the way to handle it.
“Okay hyung.” Jongho said through sobs.
Hongjoong smiled, an adoring look on his face. “Hyung’s good bear. Lets finish up now, hm?”
The first smack hurt like hell, Jongho hated the brief gap he had. It always made the start much worse than Jongho thought it needed to be.
“O-one.” he keened, wriggling slightly to alleviate the sting despite knowing no matter what he did, it would remain.
Hongjoong brought his hand down again, twice this time.
“Two. Three.” Jongho sobbed, voice cracking as he rubbed his tear filled face against Hongjoong’s pajama clad leg.
Hongjoong smiled, “good boy, those were for waiting so long to come to us, next time you need to be settled, you come to one of us and ask for help, do you understand?”
“Promise hyung.” Jongho mumbled, voice thick with tears.
Hongjoong smiled fondly, still eyeing the puffy little tail that was trying its best to protect Jongho’s backside from any more of his assault. He gave it a fond little stroke before he raised his hand again, “try not to make promises you won’t keep, little bear.” Hongjoong said, voice full of mirth, “these last seven are for your naughty mouth. Ready?” he asked.
Jongho nodded, unable to speak through his sobs, but he was ready for this to be over. To be forgiven, and to leave these past few days behind him.
Hongjoong raised his leg, giving him easier access to the undercurve of Jongho’s bottom. Jongho paled, he knew what that meant.
“Hyung-!” he tried to halt, but Hongjoong brought his hand down three times in rapid succession on the fleshy skin.
Jongho might never sit again (a thought he often has when he’s in this position) but he was certain that his backside was bright red and it sure felt like it. He wasn’t sure how he would be able to sit through tomorrow’s schedule (again, he was being dramatic, but it hurt. Sue him.) Jongho sobbed against Hongjoong’s leg, ears pressing against the fabric as he sobbed through the sting.
“F-four. Five. S-six.” Jongho said after a while, almost forgetting his count. Hongjoong had been patient though, waiting with his hand on the burning flesh, giving Jongho time to regain his composure before continuing.
“My precious bear. You're almost done.” Hongjoong promised. He lifted his hand again, and brought it down twice, one on each of his squishy thighs, something he used to be a little self conscious of but after lots of reassurance from his hyungs he learned to love them.
“Seven. Eight. Ow..” he couldn’t help the whine that escaped, his legs kicking a little frantically at the sting that was growing. It started to verge on slightly unbearable, but they were almost done, Jongho could do this.
Hongjoong gave Jongho a few seconds, then brought his hand down twice more on the middle of the boy's bottom. Jongho burst into tears, even though he had been crying before, these last two smacks sent him over the edge. His face was soaking wet, probably because of the fact that he was nearly head first on the ground, he heaved out sobs as he felt all of the day’s stress leave his body. He felt lighter, but he couldn’t ignore the burning sensation in his bottom as well.
Hongjoong sat Jongho up, sitting him on his lap being mindful of his burning backside. He pushed the bear’s head into the crook of his own neck, getting right to petting the fluffy ears on his head in a soothing manner.
“You did so well baby bear, all done, everything's all forgiven now.” Hongjoong mumbled, voice leaking with adoration as he spoke to the boy. Hongjoong held him tightly, rocking him gently to soothe his tears. He spoke gentle words of praise and love to Jongho for what seemed like forever until his sobs quieted down into crying, and eventually his tears dried completely.
Jongho’s face remained pressed into Hongjoong’s neck, the skin was filled with his own tears and snot, not that Hongjoong would ever mind. He took a shaky breath, not quite ready to move from the safe space of his hyung’s arms yet.
Hongjoong never let his grip loosen, but he did move one of his arms to brush Jongho’s slightly damp bangs out of his face. “How are you feeling, little bear?” he asked, pressing a kiss to the side of his head fondly.
“Better. Sore.” Jongho said, sniffling quietly.
Hongjoong smiled, “I’m sure, when you’re ready, want to go show everyone you’re alive? And say sorry to your Mingi hyung?” he said, hands scratching the base of Jongho’s tail, making him let out a purr of content. There was no use in pushing it off anymore, he knew he needed to go out at some point. He had already made them push back their movie long enough, if they hadn’t started it without them.
He nodded, a little sleepy, but allowed Hongjoong to help him step back into his bear print (thank you Yunho) undies and shorts, pulling a little at the hem when he realized that his reddened thighs were surely visible underneath. Moritfying.
Hongjoong gave him a fond look, hand on his back as he led him out of his room and into the living room where the other members sat around the couch. Jongho’s face burned, he felt their eyes on him as he exited the room. He knows they knew what happened behind the closed doors, but knowing that they probably heard it as well made it much more embarrassing. When he looked up, he saw Mingi staring at him, face devoid of any anger.
Jongho felt his eyes water, he guesses since he let go of all his anger, he was left with only guilt and tears. Mingi cooed sadly, opening his arms for Jongho to come into, which he did, and held him tightly.
“Don’t cry baby bear, you were punished and the slate is wiped clean. I’m not mad, promise.” Mingi hummed, deep voice settling the guilt that still pooled in his tummy. However, Jongho needed to apologize or the day would never truly be over. So he looked at Mingi, eyes still brimming with tears despite the man’s hands wiping them away gently, “I’m sorry hyung, I was having a rough few days and I took it out on you and I called you names that I didn’t mean and accused you of taking my airpods when I know you didn’t..I’m sorry for being so mean.” he said all in one breath. He looked at Mingi, whose expression didn’t change, if anything he just looked more fond.
“As I said, all is forgiven baby. I promise, I'm not mad at you, never was.” He comforted, rubbing gentle circles into the younger's back as he spoke. Jongho didn’t know how Mingi had it in him to forgive him so easily, but he wasn’t going to dwell on it any longer. His tail sped up ever so slightly in happiness, thumping lightly against Mingi’s thigh as he opted to bury his face into the taller’s chest.
They remained there for a few silent moments before Yeosang spoke behind him, “by the way..we found your airpod.” he said gently, his voice radiating sunshine behind Jongho. What? His ears perked up, one of them nearly hitting Mingi in the chin, “what? where?” he said, finally removing his face from Mingi’s chest to look at Yeosang who was indeed holding his other airpod.
“A pocket, the pocket of the couch.” Seonghwa said, eyebrow raised with amusement and the slightest hint of ‘I told you so’ in his eyes. Jongho felt his face flush in embarrassment as he grabbed it, “I swore I looked everywhere.” he pouted, clutching the airpod in his hands.
The others laughed at him, and Jongho couldn’t even pretend to be angry, heart too full of all of the members around him to truly care. Mingi settled Jongho onto his lap, paying attention to his sore bottom, and laid a blanket over them both as the others started to decide what movie they’d watch.
Sure, Jongho was going to dread getting his mouth washed out with soap later, he might even pout because he knows Hongjoong was weak to it, but he was enjoying where he was right now. He could live with that.