Work Text:
When In-ho entered their home, Sang-hee was on the couch with her tablet doing her English lessons. She seemed caught on something, a bit of frustration weighing down her brow. Her lip was jutted out in an adorable little pout that felt familiar on her face- she got most of her looks from In-ho, but every now and then she would make an expression that is so reminiscent of her mother. It’s very cute.
In-ho decided to help her, as any good father would do. He sat next to her on the couch, looking over what she was working on. She was filling out a digital worksheet on idioms.
“Hi, appa,” she said, not looking up from her work.
“Hello, Sang-hee. What are you working on?” He said, speaking in English. It was good for her to get as much practice as possible. When she took over In-ho’s position, she would probably use her English more than her Korean most days.
She rolled her eyes, but responded in English as well. “Homework.” She kept her answers short and simple when she spoke in it, not yet confident enough in her abilities to talk much.
“Would you like some help?” He offered.
She sighed, passing the tablet over for In-ho to look at. “This section just does not make sense! I mean, teeth don’t even have skin!” She whined. “And lying through one’s teeth… I understand the meaning, but aren’t all words spoken through your teeth?” She switched back to Korean mid sentence, as she often did when frustrated.
In-ho chuckled, electing to reply in Korean so she could better understand.. “Well, I can explain the first one at least. It’s a reference to a verse in the bible, Job 19:20…” He paused for a second, debating whether or not to go in depth. He had read the bible to better understand the symbolism in some of the western art and literature he read, but they certainly were not a religious family. “The context isn’t too important, but essentially Job is near death and describes it as ‘My bone clings to my skin and to my flesh, And I have escaped by the skin of my teeth.’ It just means to avoid something bad by a narrow margin, essentially.”
“That’s dumb,” she rolled her eyes. “But at least now I know it’s just something people say because someone said it once. So basically, there is no logic to it.”
In-ho huffed an indulgent laugh. “The same could be said of many languages, but yes.” He kissed her temple, hugging her close. “If that’s settled, then, I’ll be going to see how your mother is doing. Maybe join him for an evening nap before dinner while you finish your schoolwork.”
As he got up, she sent him off with a well wish. “Dream of pigs!”
In-ho opened the door to his bedroom. Inside, he found Gi-hun, snoring the day away as usual. In-ho didn’t mind, though; he couldn’t get into trouble if he slept most of the time, and he only needed Gi-hun awake when he was around to keep him company anyway.
A thought occurred to him as he looked over Gi-hun’s sleeping form, the sheets crumpled up and sitting low enough for his full breasts to be exposed. Sometimes, Gi-hun didn’t even necessarily have to be awake to keep him company.
He closed the door gently behind him, creeping closer. It wouldn’t do to disturb his rest just yet. He gently brushed one of Gi-hun’s long curly locks of hair to the side, smiling down at him. He was a precious, delicate thing. In-ho took what he wanted, obviously, but he generally made a point to be careful. He never wanted to do anything too frightening that would stay in Gi-hun’s memories and leave him with a lingering fear of In-ho. His temper got the better of him at times, but he always cushioned the blows with gentle words so Gi-hun wouldn’t get any silly ideas that he couldn’t trust In-ho to have his best interests in mind.
But sometimes, he did wish he could let loose without consequence. He was only human. And humans could be quite cruel.
He reached for the mask hidden away in the pocket of his coat, strapping it to his face and turning on the vocoder. He pulled down the sheets, further exposing Gi-hun to the cool air. Gi-hun didn’t wake, even as In-ho carefully opened Gi-hun’s legs and slowly wrapped them around his back. He unzipped his fly, finally freeing his hardened cock from his pants- far too tight in times like these. From there, it was easy to grab Gi-hun’s hips and pull him down onto his cock.
That was when Gi-hun began to stir, squeezing his eyes shut tighter in an endearing attempt to stay asleep. But In-ho was tired of being careful. He got rougher, allowing himself to thrust into his lover with brutal force.
“Nngh-” Gi-hun gave the cutest little whine as he started to wake up. He tried to squeeze his thighs together, but Inho’s legs were in the way. Still, In-ho squeezed the skin hard enough to bruise as he yanked them apart to give himself better access.
“Ah! In-ho..?” Gih-hun mumbled, still not fully awake. He blinked a couple times, his hands clumsily coming up to rub the sleep from his eyes. When he finally focused on In-ho’s mask, he froze. “No…”
In-ho didn’t say anything. He let his silence fill the room as Gi-hun’s eyes grew wide with terror.
Gi-hun weakly started to struggle, trying to pull himself away, but In-ho was stronger. That, combined with how uncoordinated Gi-hun was on a good day, made keeping him in place a trivial matter.
Gi-hun got more terrified the more he tried to squirm. His legs kicked down on the bed, and he screamed.
“In-ho! In-hmph!” In-ho covered his mouth with a harsh smack.
“In-ho isn’t coming to save you,” In-ho told him. Gi-hun’s pretty brown eyes filled with tears as his despair sank in.
In-ho frowned behind the mask as he felt a warm wetness spilling over his thighs. A hint of ammonia stench filled the air, and he looked down to see Gi-hun had lost control of his bladder again.
Gi-hun was terrified. He didn’t know what was happening. He didn’t think he would ever have to worry about seeing the frontman again with In-ho around to protect him… But was he wrong?
The thought that In-ho couldn’t help him now made him feel more afraid than he ever remembered feeling, not that he had the best memory. Tears welled up in his eyes, and a low whine escaped his throat as he felt himself lose control of his bladder.
He couldn’t do anything without In-ho. He couldn’t even control his own body. If In-ho were here, he would clean Gi-hun up and take care of him. Gi-hun would apologize, and In-ho would tell him it was all going to be okay.
“You filthy thing,” The frontman hissed above him. “You’ve pissed all over my uniform. Disgusting whore.”
Gi-hun sobbed from behind the glove. For a moment, he hoped he would have grossed the frontman out too much to keep going. But it seemed to have had the opposite effect. The frontman started rutting his hips harder, thrusting into Gi-hun so roughly it made his whole body lift up off the bed from the force of it on every push.
“Agh!” Gi-hun wailed, sobbing even harder from the pain. He never liked being touched down there, but at least when In-ho did it, Gi-hun knew he was more careful than this. In-ho would never hurt him this way.
“Take it,” the frontman hissed. “You think you deserve it to feel good after what you did?”
Gi-hun’s head lulled to the side. The frontman seemed to take it as a response, somehow.
“That’s right, you don’t,” The frontman scolded him. He let go of Gi-hun’s face, and his head started bobbing violently up and down with every thrust.
“In-ho…” Gi-hun mumbled weakly, eyes falling to the door. A quiet plea for help he knew wouldn’t be heeded. He didn’t put his heart into it. He didn’t have the energy, and the frontman had already told him In-ho wasn’t coming. He was afraid if he yelled too much he’d be hurt even worse.
The frontman didn’t seem happy even though Gi-hun had barely whispered, though. He grabbed a handful of Gi-hun’s long hair, pulling his head up to force him to look back into that scary mask.
“You’re a dirty little slut,” the frontman scolded him. “You have the gall to call for your faithful husband’s help even now? With your legs spread open and your pussy being ravaged by another man’s cock?”
“Ah!” Gi-hun gasped in pain as the frontman’s grip on his hip tightened. He was squeezing the fat so hard it tore another sob out of Gi-hun. “I- I-“ he desperately searched for the words to deny him, but he couldn’t find them.
“I suppose there is plenty of you to go around, though,” the frontman hummed. He let go of his hip, only to smack Gi-hun’s thigh and pause to watch the fat jiggle. “You’ve gotten bigger since the last time I saw you. You must be eating well.”
Gi-hun sobbed so hard his vision started to go black. He was gasping for air that wouldn’t come, hyperventilating so much that his nose started to tingle.
He could tell Gi-hun was losing consciousness again. Every hiccuping breath seemed to take him closer to sleep, his stress smoothing over and his face going very still. He looked serene again, going limp as he literally made himself pass out.
In-ho kept fucking him, not stopping for anything. It’s was like fucking a doll, limp and pliant. Gi-hun was always rather pliant though.
Always obedient and sweet and loving, and In-ho had to keep taking from him anyway. He relished in Gi-hun’s admiration, but sometimes he craved to see his fear too.
Like God had done to Job, testing whether or not he would still have Job’s worship even when he cursed him and caused him to lose everything.
Sometimes he wanted to test Gi-hun’s limits, to see how far he could push him until he lost faith. But Gi-hun never did. When In-ho let go of his hair and let his head lull to the side again, Gi-hun’s eyes, barely open, still slid to the door.
He was still waiting for In-ho to come and save him, even now. He was eternally sweet and loyal and good, and In-ho loved that goodness. He loved it so much he wanted to embrace it so tightly that he nearly squeezed the life out of it.
Gi-hun was limp like a fresh corpse before rigor mortis set in, letting himself be jostled around like a toy.
Something stirred in In-ho’s guts. No, he would never want to see Gi-hun like that. While he thought the tears dripping down his cheeks were beautiful, he didn’t want to see him still and lifeless like that. He wound his hand back.
The frontman slapped him across the face, shocking Gi-hun out of the numb sensation that was creeping in. He gasped, struggling for air.
“You can’t even stay awake covered in your own piss, can you?” The frontman said. “You’re like a pig, perfectly happy to roll around in your own filth.”
Gi-hun weakly shook his head. He didn’t like the wet feeling on the covers either. He just couldn’t help it. In-ho usually took care of that for him.
“You’re pathetic,” the frontman told him, the label sinking into his chest like a knife and making his heart ache. It was true. “It’s a wonder he puts up with you, don’t you think?”
Gi-hun didn’t know what the right words were. He was so tired, but he couldn’t go back to sleep, because then the Frontman would hit him again. He had to stay awake while the frontman violated him.
He sniffled, proving the frontman right. He was pathetic. He didn’t deserve In-ho.
“You may not think so right now,” the frontman thrusted in deep, shooting pains through Gi-hun’s body as he hit deep enough to ram the cervix. “But you’re lucky you have such a pretty face. You’re lucky to be pathetic in a way that’s endearing, honestly.”
Gi-hun had nothing to say. He just let out a pained moan as his cervix was hit again, painfully.
He just wanted it to be over.
The frontman’s hands tightened on his hips. Gi-hun was being beaten and bruised inside and out. He cried as every thrust was now accompanied by that agony in the pit of his stomach. Yet the Frontman wouldn’t even grant him the respite of sleep.
He felt on edge. His face was burning hot, and sweat beaded at his brow. Something was rising up inside him.
“He’s done everything for you, yet you can’t even manage to stay loyal to him,” the frontman taunted him. “You’re about to come, aren’t you?”
Gi-hun shook his head. “No, no, no,” he babbled desperately, trying to deny it. He felt tingly from the waist down. It was getting closer. He tried to hold it back, but he couldn’t stop the feeling that spread through his body like water trickling through him. The frontman wasn’t making it easy for him. He couldn’t escape the rhythmic pounding of his hips, or the way the frontman’s cock rubbed against his clit roughly, pulling the skin on the way in and exposing his most sensitive parts to the full onslaught of sensation and pressure. It was too much, every slide making him twitch and shake as that feeling he wanted to go away became more potent.
He cried out as he hit a plateau, squirting even though he thought he was empty. His body pulsed around the frontman’s cock, clenching up with every aftershock as the orgasm wrecked him to pieces. He felt like a failure, to let someone other than In-ho pull that out of him. Let alone the Frontman.
Gi-hun couldn’t entirely remember what happened the first time he met the frontman. He had pieces, visions of that awful place with the bright lights and colors and games, but for the most part their every encounter was a blur of pain and fear and sex that left him wanting to forget. And he did, every detail floating away except for the mask. His heart raced with fear every time he saw it, too deeply ingrained in his being to wash away. Whenever the Frontman came, bad things always followed.
He whined as the frontman kept going. Losing his bladder control hadn't made him stop the first time. He didn’t know why he thought it would be different the second.
Every thrust sent another wave through his body, and every wave made him clench up uncontrollably. He let himself be taken away by the current.
In-ho didn’t feel guilty. After all, if Gi-hun didn’t like it, he wouldn’t come. And seeing him come while he tried so desperately to fight it reminded him of the spark long extinguished by the surgery.
In-ho loved Gi-hun as the obedient wife he had shaped him to be, but sometimes he just wanted to feel a bit of that resistance. Nowadays, Gi-hun seemed to try to come as quickly as possible, as if trying to get it over with. It was already a chore to get him into sex at times, a chore In-ho performed gladly with the rest of his work to attend to Gi-hun’s needs, but sometimes he didn’t feel like putting up a front. Coaxing Gi-hun into agreeing to something In-ho knew he enjoyed with gentle words and a soft touch was tedious at times, and the way Gi-hun went boneless and just accepted everything was a bit monotonous. Getting Gi-hun scared was the only way to get him to move.
He did cherish Gi-hun always, in all ways, both when he was docile and when he was resistant… but he was greedy. Sometimes he wanted both. And with the mask, he could. He could be the villainous frontman Gi-hun needed to get engaged, or the sweet husband Gi-hun needed to feel safe. He loved to explore the vast range of Gi-hun’s reactions, his joys and his fears. He would never grow tired of it.
He wanted to taste them all. Consume every flavor of Gi-hun until he had tried them all, and then keep eating.
He rutted into Gi-hun harder, allowing himself to enjoy the tremors. His body squeezed around In-ho’s dick perfectly. He was made for In-ho, because In-ho was the one who made him.
With that thought, In-ho finally came, thrusting deep inside Gi-hun. And while Gi-hun acted as though he hated it, by the way he clenched up again around In-ho’s dick and moaned, he didn’t mean it. If he meant it, he couldn’t possibly have come twice.
Gi-hun was a drooling mess, covered in his own piss and In-ho’s come. Anyone else would be repulsed, but In-ho was endeared. It was the result of his own hard work, after all.
He looked adorable to In-ho. A helpless, trembling mess. He couldn’t help but tease him. He leaned down, bringing his mask closer to Gi-hun’s lips.
“Kiss me and I might leave you alone for a while,” he said. “Unless you want your dear husband to walk in on us in the midst of another round…”
“No…” Gi-hun muttered weakly, turning his head away. He squeezed his eyes shut, as if In-ho would go away if he couldn’t see him. In-ho chuckled, endeared by the pathetic display.
“Is that what you want? Another round? I shouldn’t be surprised. You did seem to be enjoying yourself.” In-ho teased him. “Do you want me to see how many times I can make you come tonight? Is that it?”
“No!” Gi-hun yelped. He shied further away from In-ho’s touch, pressing his face into the pillows to hide.
“Then I’ll be taking my parting gift.”
In-ho grabbed his chin to jerk his face up and leaned forward to kiss him, pressing the hard edges of his mask into Gi-hun’s lips. Gi-hun finally came alive again, trying to pull his head away with all his strength. In-ho just gripped him harder, though he was careful not to bruise. A black eye was easily explained as a result of Gi-hun’s natural clumsiness, fingerprint shaped bruises would be more suspicious.
When Gi-hun stopped trying to fight, that was when he let go. He pulled out, satisfied by his submission.
“You disgusting slut,” In-ho couldn’t help teasing him on the way out. That way, he’d have more tears to soothe later when he returned without the mask. “Just lay there and wait for your loyal husband to clean you up, since you can’t do anything yourself.”
Gi-hun sobbed, his shoulders shaking so cutely. It made the fat on his body jiggle with the force of it, his perfect round breasts shaking as he cried.
In-ho left him there, grabbing a change of clothes on his way to the adjoining bathroom. Gi-hun didn’t notice.
He changed his clothes, putting them in the laundry basket. He’d have them washed with the sheets. He hid his mask away in the closet to be retrieved later and wiped himself down. The clothes he changed into would have to be washed as well, but In-ho didn’t care. He had people for that.
He looked in the mirror and smiled, falling back into the image of a picture perfect husband, and went back into their bedroom.
Gi-hun didn’t know how long he laid there sobbing. He hated it. Hated himself. The frontman was right- he did betray In-ho! He let himself have sex with another man and just laid there. He was awful. He really didn’t deserve In-ho.
He heard the door open and hid his face in the pillows, sobbing again. He thought the Frontman was back for more, and he wanted to hide from it as long as possible.
“Gi-hun?” Gi-hun’s sobs turned to sniffles at the sound of In-ho’s voice. He smiled a bit, instantly placated by his presence, before he remembered what happened.
He sat up, looking at In-ho through tears. In-ho was looking at him with obvious concern, and guilt churned in Gi-hun’s stomach because he knew he didn’t deserve it.
“I-I-I’m SORRY!” Gi-hun wailed, bursting into tears again.
“Oh, baby, it’s okay,” In-ho comforted him, getting into the disgustingly soaked bed without hesitation to wrap his arms over Gi-hun’s shoulders. “It’s okay that you had an accident. We can clean it up. Don’t worry.”
Gi-hun buried his nose in In-ho’s shoulder and clung to him. He shook his head.
“Not that…” Gi-hun mumbled between sobs. “It’s… I…” he had to tell In-ho the truth. But it was hard to talk around the lump in his throat.
In-ho pulled away and Gi-hun sobbed again. In-ho cupped his face and looked deep into his eyes.
“Gi-hun? What’s wrong?” In-ho asked, sweet and caring as always. It just reminded Gi-hun of how much he didn’t deserve him, and he sobbed again.
“The,” Gi-hun hiccuped, “frontman was here.”
“Oh sweetheart… you must have been so scared,” In-ho cooed. “But what are you apologizing for?”
“He… we…” Gi-hun didn’t know how to put it into words. He sniffled again, fresh tears springing from his eyes. “Had sex…” Gi-hun closed his eyes, waiting for a slap, or maybe to be thrown to the floor, cast out like the dirty whore the frontman told him he was.
“Oh, baby,” In-ho was calm, taking it in stride. Instead of pushing him away, he pulled Gi-hun into a tight embrace. “It’s okay, it’s not your fault.”
Gi-hun sniffled, confused. “It’s not?”
“No,” In-ho stroked his back gently. “I know you couldn’t help spreading your legs for him. You just didn’t know any better. But I forgive you.”
Gi-hun sniffled again. He should be glad In-ho forgave him. But he just felt dirty. The way In-ho worded it, it didn’t feel right.
“I-I was sleeping, and-“ Gi-hun tried to explain himself, but In-ho shushed him.
“It’s okay, you don’t have to make up excuses,” In-ho told him softly. “I already said I forgive you. So let’s get you cleaned up, okay?”
Gi-hun nodded. He wanted to say more, but he also wanted to get that icky feeling off his skin. Plus, the more he spoke, the more sore his throat got. In-ho picked him up and carried him to the bathroom, stopping at the intercom by their bed.
“Send someone up to change the sheets in the master bedroom,” he ordered. Just like that, the mess would be taken care of.
He went into the bathroom with Gi-hun in tow and gently sat him down in the big bathtub. Gi-hun preferred baths to showers. Showers meant sitting on the chair as In-ho cleaned him up as quickly as possible, but baths were more fun because they were warm and In-ho would take his time with it. Sometimes they even made it a bubble bath. Those reminded Gi-hun of when Sang-hee was little and played in the tub. Gi-hun was never much help bathing her, but he liked to play with her.
In-ho stripped his clothes off and put them in the laundry basket, setting it all in their room for the maids to take care of. Gi-hun was really thankful for them, but he didn’t see them much.
In-ho turned on the tub and got in with him. Gi-hun was amazed by how quickly it filled up. In-ho started by lathering a washcloth with soap and cleaning him off, feet first, like a massage.
“Tickles,” Gi-hun giggled as In-ho scrubbed between his toes. In-ho smiled at him and worked his way up, going to his knees. He paused, shutting off the water.
“Turn around for me,” In-ho said, though Gi-hun didn’t know why, because he turned Gi-hun around himself anyway, maneuvering him where he liked with strong hands. Gi-hun giggled again as In-ho whirled him around, and leaned back into In-ho’s chest.
In-ho washed Gi-hun’s front with the cloth, soaping up his chest and under his arms. Gi-hun felt better already, safe and warm with In-ho holding him there. In-ho leaned him forward and lifted his hair up to scrub his back.
He whimpered just a bit when In-ho went down lower with the cloth, under the water.
“I know you hate this part,” In-ho said, “but you want to be clean, don’t you?”
Gi-hun stayed still as In-ho cleaned off his thighs, getting close to that sensitive spot. But he didn’t scrub against it, thankfully. He took the cloth to the other side and scrubbed Gi-hun’s butt, though.
“And now we’re done with that,” In-ho told him, narrating as he set the cloth on the rim of the tub. “Time for your favorite part.”
In-ho dipped Gi-hun’s scalp under the water, then brought him back up to massage shampoo in his scalp. Gi-hun loved the feeling of In-ho working his fingers through his hair. The knots were too much for Gi-hun to handle. He was glad he had In-ho to take care of them for him.
Cleaning Gi-hun’s long hair was a chore. But In-ho never got tired of it, it seemed. Gi-hun was happy to let him work, humming contentedly.
When In-ho got to the ends, he spoke again. “Now it’s time to wash the soap out. Are you ready?”
“Mhm!” Gi-hun hummed.
In-ho dipped him under the water. Gi-hun kept his eyes closed as In-ho worked the soap out of his hair slowly.
Too slow. Longer than usual.
Gi-hun panicked. He couldn’t breathe, and In-ho wasn’t pulling him up. Why wasn’t he pulling him up? He tapped In-ho’s arm, but In-ho didn’t move.
He tried to bring himself up, but he couldn’t get out of In-ho’s hard grasp. His eyes stung when he opened them underwater, trying to see what was happening.. Suddenly, he was dragged above the surface.
“And now you're clean,” In-ho said, smiling. Gi-hun coughed. “Don’t you feel better?”
Gi-hun snorted the water out of his nose. Globs hung over his lips, and he frowned at In-ho, pouting.
“Oh, don’t be like that,” In-ho chuckled as he wiped off Gi-hun’s face and cleaned his hand in the water. “I forgave you. You’ll forgive me, won’t you?”
Gi-hun felt silly for being annoyed. In-ho put up with so much from him. He nodded, smiling, already forgetting the panic from moments ago. He was probably overreacting. In-ho said he did that a lot.
“You're so good for me,” In-ho told him with a smile. He unplugged the tub.
“Why don’t you stay there while I clean myself off?” In-ho told him, getting out of the tub. In-ho preferred showers for himself.
Gi-hun watched the water drain out of his own bath, and then looked up to watch In-ho wash himself off. The water ran over his muscles, emphasizing their definition. Gi-hun never got tired of looking at them. He smiled, watching In-ho finish up.
In-ho dried himself off, then toweled Gi-hun off. Gi-hun smiled. The towel was warm, right off the heated rack. He felt better already.
When they stepped back into their bedroom, everything was cleaned up. Nothing was left behind that even hinted anything happened.
In-ho started to lead him over to the bed on shaking feet, but Gi-hun looked to the door. Fear curled in his gut.
“What about Sang-hee?” Gi-hun slurred. In-ho tilted his head.
“She’s alright. She’s just doing her homework. Don’t worry.” In-ho reassured him. Gi-hun shook his head.
“What if he comes back?”
In-ho frowned. “He won’t come back.”
“But, he could!” Gi-hun’s voice cracked as he took a step towards the door. In-ho held him back and sighed.
“We can check on her, if it’d make you happy, darling,” In-ho told him. “But we’ll have to get you dressed first.”
Gi-hun looked down at himself. “Oh…”
In-ho chuckled and pulled a nightgown over Gi-hun’s head. Gi-hun didn’t like how it clung to his chest, but In-ho was right. He couldn’t go out naked!
He also made Gi-hun put on some underwear and dressed himself, and then they were off to the living room.
Sang-hee was on her tablet for school, smiling at something. She looked so much like In-ho when she smiled like that. Gi-hun loved her so much.
“Are you done with your homework, Sang-hee?” In-ho asked her. She jumped a bit, rushing to put the tablet down.
“Yes…” She said slowly. Her eyes darted to Gi-hun. “Oh! Eomma!” She melted a bit, and smiled more like how Gi-hun smiled. Gi-hun thought it was so cute how he could see both of them in her.
“Your mother wanted you to come spend some time with us,” In-ho told her. Her eyes darted to her tablet, and she pursed her lips.
“I was working on something,” she protested. Gi-hun frowned. He didn’t want her to be alone right now. He wanted her in their room, where he could know In-ho could keep her safe. He walked to the couch to gently hold her hand, tugging on her.
“Come on…” Gi-hun whined a bit, though his voice was rough. He had talked more today than he had in a while. He didn’t want to worry her with grown-up problems, but he couldn’t stand to be away from her right now. “I miss you!”
She sighed, but with a smile. “Alright, alright. Don’t talk too much, I don’t want you to hurt yourself.” She let Gi-hun lead her down the hall to their bedroom.
In-ho settled into his side, and Gi-hun lightly pushed Sang-hee to lay down beside him. She didn’t budge.
“Don’t you want to be next to appa, eomma?” Sang-hee asked. “You lay down first.”
Gi-hun shook his head. He wanted her in the middle. That way, the frontman would have to go through him or In-ho first to get to her.
“Lay down, dear. You should let her take the edge. You’ll smother her,” In-ho told him. Gi-hun shook his head again, this time more insistently.
“No,” Gihun struggled to articulate why it was important, but he stayed firm. His lip wobbled as he pouted, crossing his arms.
Sang-hee was the first to break. “Okay, if you insist.” She did roll her eyes a bit, but climbed into bed. Gi-hun climbed in after her, snuggling up close and holding her tight to keep her safe. With In-ho's arms draped over them both, he knew he had nothing to worry about. In-ho would keep them safe from the frontman.
With his fears abated, Gi-hun let himself relax. He dozed off easily, peaceful and content with his family by his side.