On Track | MINSUNG

72

The woman who owned Thrills and Frills looked up as they entered, vape in hand and a grin splitting her face. 'I remember you!' she exclaimed, letting out a cloud of smoke. It smelt faintly of banana.

'Hi,' Minho said. 'We're here for a collar. Downstairs, I'm assuming?' All the overtly kinky stuff--whips to dildos to rope--was downstairs.

'Yep. Worked your way up, have you? Come on.' The woman got up from behind the till, making her way to the stairwell. Minho and Jisung followed, the woman rambling as she went. 'Not surprised, really. D'you know how many people come in once and then are coming back time after time? Real kinksters find a shop they trust and stick with it.'

They emerged into the downstairs room, the stairs reminding Minho of the basement stairs you saw in American horror films. Only these ones were painted black, with a white strip at the edge of each step, and lit from the neon lights on the walls.

The woman headed straight for the glass counter in the corner, and Minho followed, pulling Jisung along with him. Jisung still hadn't let go of his hand.

'Did you have anything in mind?' the woman asked. 'Something discreet?'

Minho looked at Jisung. In the low, red lighting, Jisung's cheeks looked flushed. Minho could feel him trembling slightly. Jisung squeezed Minho's hand, his eyes glued to the collars displayed in the glass. Jisung shook his head. 'I--I don't know.'

'It's your collar, sweetheart,' Minho said gently. 'You can have whichever one you want.'

Tentively, Jisung took a step forward, not letting go of Minho's hand, to lean over the counter to look at the collars. 'Any one?'

'Any one,' Minho confirmed. He wondered what type of collar Jisung would choose. These collars seemed to be customisable; there were strips of leather and lengths of chains, an assortment of padlocks and pendants. Behind the counter, next to where the woman perched, sat a box of tools. Minho had no doubt that this woman made every collar from scratch.

Jisung stepped back, leaning into Minho. Jisung looked up at him, his other hand grabbing Minho's coat. 'Can I have a padlock?'

Minho swore his heart stopped for a moment. Jisung wanted a padlock. He wanted a collar he physically wouldn't be able to take off without permission. All because he was Minho's, because he wanted others to know he was Minho's.

'Of course you can,' Minho murmured, eyes dropping to Jisung's mouth before flicking back up to his eyes. 'They aren't discreet, though.'

'I know.' Jisung smiled, eyes bright, and turned back to the counter. 'Can I have that one, please?'

The woman slid open the glass counter, taking out the padlock Jisung had pointed at. It was small and gold, and Minho held out his hand, wanting to feel it. Chain collars with padlocks were common in the kink community, but Minho had always worried they were heavy. He didn't want Jisung's collar to hurt his neck, to sit like a heavy reminder of Minho's ownership of him. But as the padlock was dropped into his palm, he found himself pleasantly surprised. It was nowhere near as heavy as he'd thought, either due to the size or the material.

'All the metal is safe and body grade. Lightweight and won't rust. Everything is sold individually,' the woman said.

Jisung glanced at Minho, but Minho only passed Jisung the padlock. 'Not heavy for you?'

Jisung let go of Minho's hand, running his fingers over it, turning it over in his hand. 'No.'

Minho took the padlock back, handing it to the woman. 'Good. Choose your chain, my sweet.'

'Does it have to be a chain?' Jisung asked.

'No,' the woman answered. 'Well, you aren't forced to have a chain because you've chosen a padlock, but it's up to your dom.'