Sorry, this is so late again. I had the majority of it written ages ago, but couldn't find the time to finish it. But here it finally is! And I have already started the next chapter too.
The punishment Hongjoong had given Wooyoung was proving to be quite a challenge. Wooyoung had never realised how much of a talker he was before. He loved talking. And he suddenly had so much to say, but couldn't.
Hongjoong had only given the others a vague reason on why Wooyoung was so silent. The other teezers knew it was a punishment of some sort, but didn't know why or for how long. And so they kept pestering Wooyoung.
"What did you do, Wooyoung?"
"Are you allowed to talk yet?"
"How did you even annoy the captain this much?"
"Did you backchat?"
"Can I have the icecream we brought back for you?"
It was driving Wooyoung insane. He could have resorted to texting the members, but Hongjoong had confiscated his phone as part of being grounded. So, with no phone and no voice, Wooyoung was bored out of his mind. He had spent the whole entire day reading books, as he couldn't really think of anything else to do. He was pretty sure what he had read this first day, was more than he had ever read in his whole lifetime.
Deciding he didn't want to pick up another book or so much as look at one for a good while, Wooyoung picked up a pack of Uno cards and went to bother the rest of the 99' line. After a lot of poking and pinching, he finally convinced his same age members to join him in the game. He told himself Jongho wouldn't want to join, but in truth, simply didn't ask out of spite. He was annoyed at the moment and wanted to make it clear.
The five sat around in a circle and Yunho dealt out the cards. The game went at a fast pace, with all five growing more and more competitive. To Wooyoung's delight, everything was going in his favour. San placed down a blue card which was the majority of Wooyoung's cards. Then just when Wooyoung clapped a signal that he only had one card left, poor Yeosang tried to save the game by placing down a wild and declaring the colour was now yellow, which also happened to be Wooyoung's last card.
Filled with triumph, Wooyoung slammed the card down and poked his tongue out at his fellow members.
Mingi, whose turn was next, and who also happened to only have one yellow card, was not at all pleased. "Yah, you didn't even say Uno. It doesn't count if you don't say Uno."
"It does so," Wooyoung snapped back at him.
A dead silence fell. It slowly hit Wooyoung what he had just done, and he clapped his hands over his mouth in horror. But it was too late, Hongjoong who was in the kitchen unpacking groceries with Seonghwa had already heard.
He shook his head. "You almost made it, Woo. Too bad it is back to seven days again."
Wooyoung stomped his foot. "It is 8 o'clock, hyung. That's not fair." When Hongjoong ignored him, he spun around to face Mingi instead. "You did it on purpose, didn't you? You are just a spiteful sore loser."
Smack!
Wooyoung hadn't even heard Hongjoong come up behind him. He yelped, his hands immediately moving to cover his backside.
Hongjoong crossed his arms and stared at Wooyoung until his dongsaeng squirmed beneath his gaze.
"Do you even remember why you are in this predicament? Because you are doing it again, Wooyoung."
Wooyoung flushed. He glanced at the others and saw they were all suddenly very occupied. Yunho was busy shuffling cards so fast that not even a professional dealer had a chance against him. Mingi was scanning the roof for cobwebs. San was intrigued by the couch cushions, and Yeosang was playing with the ant on the floor.
"Sorry, hyung," he whispered. It was more to make Hongjoong shut and go away, than out of any remorse, and Hongjoong knew it.
He reached out and grabbed Wooyoung's arm, before delivering several more hard swats to his backside.
"Then don't Smack! let me hear Smack! another word Smack! out of your mouth." Smack!
Wooyoung threw himself down on the couch as soon as Hongjoong let go. He curled there, tears of frustration brewing in his eyes. He felt a movement on the couch, as the other members silently slunk away. Wooyoung felt alone and abandoned. He couldn't even follow San or seek out comfort from Seonghwa, because all he wanted to do right now was talk.
A shadow fell across him and he glanced up hopefully. But to his surprise it was the maknae. Jongho stared down at him for a long moment, before sinking onto the couch beside him. He pulled his knees up under his chin and rested his head against them, as he glanced at Wooyoung thoughtfully.
"Hyung," he finally murmured in a low voice. "I...I miss the old us."
Wooyoung frowned questioningly at this. He wasn't sure what he had been expecting Jongho to say, but it hadn't been that.
Jongho gave a small gulp and looked away. "Ever since Manager Ho came, we've all been fighting and getting annoyed at each other. Yeosang wasn't being bad, he was just suffocated. But I disobeyed Hongjoong and that was what started it. It was my fault for being so resentful to Yeosang, and you had every right to be mad at me for treating him the way I did. And you are right, what I said to you was very cruel. I know I stooped real low. I will go talk to Hongjoong-hyung, so can we please go back to normal again after this? I didn't mean for you to get in trouble."
Wooyoung stared at him, seeing the earnest desire in his eyes. It was almost like seeing a puzzle fall into place. Wooyoung began to understand in that moment, just why Hongjoong was so angry. It had been one simple incident. Yeosang had snuck away from the dorm, and unwittingly set off a cycle of misfortunes. And just when it was getting close to being over, Wooyoung had involved himself. Jongho was already in the room about to be punished when Wooyoung had provoked him. And not only that, he had said things that he knew would push Jongho's buttons and get him in further trouble.
It had been his own fault that Jongho had retaliated and spat out those hurtful words. At first they had bothered him. He had been reminded of the past when anti-fans had cruelly tormented him. But after awhile, he remembered how he had gotten through it and how loved he was. And that was when the guilt had awoken. He had heard Jongho being disciplined, and known it should have been him, and so he had hidden and avoided Hongjoong. And when Jongho had come to apologise, Wooyoung had shrugged it off like it was nothing. And yet Jongho was still remorseful for hurting his hyung in a moment of anger.
Wooyoung felt horrible. He shook his head at the waiting maknae.
"It's okay, Jongho," he whispered, hoping Hongjoong would not catch him just yet. "I actually realise now that I deserve it. But I will talk to you soon, okay?"
Jongho nodded. He knew Wooyoung wasn't allowed to talk and didn't want to get him into further trouble. He shot Wooyoung a smile, and darted back up the stairs, leaving Wooyoung to mull over his thoughts. If he thought he had lots to say before, he definitely had a lot to say now. He couldn't afford to wait a week.
He pulled himself reluctantly to his feet, and headed over to the matz hyungs' bedroom and knocked lightly on the door. There was the sound of footsteps then the door opened. It was Seonghwa. But as their eyes met, it was as though Seonghwa understood. He touched Wooyoung lightly on the shoulder, before stepping back to let him past. But as he shut the door, he stepped outside, leaving the two alone.
Hongjoong was already sitting on his bed. He watched Wooyoung slowly approach, before stopping and looking down at his shoes.
"You can speak, Wooyoung," Hongjoong prodded, when the silence grew too long.
"I was wrong, hyung," Wooyoung whispered. "I was a bully to Jongho. I thought I was being protective of Yeosang, but I was just being a bully. And not just that. I was selfish and careless. I knew what I was doing when I said those things to Jongho. I even said them first. And then I stood back and let him get punished instead."
"I am glad you finally realise it, Wooyoung," Hongjoong told him, in the same oddly calm voice as before. "As soon as the week is over, you two can talk it out and you can give him the proper apology he deserves."
"Hyung, I-" Wooyoung broke off as Hongjoong glanced up at him sharply. But he took a deep breath and tried again. "Hyung, I will take the original punishment. I want to apologise to him now."
Hongjoong's shoulders seem to sink, as if his body had been tense this whole time. "I won't go any lighter than I would have before, Wooyoung," he warned. "You will still get what I promised you."
"I know," Wooyoung told him. "I...I also want to confess that I spoke to him now. I know I wasn't supposed to, so I am really sorry."
Hongjoong felt a surge of pride, despite hearing that Wooyoung had just disobeyed him. If he didn't hate skin-ship so much, he might had even got up to kiss his dongsaeng then and there. But knowing he had to take control of the situation and get it over and done with, he nodded gravely instead.
"Alright, Woo. Go to the kitchen and get the spoon."
He was right in knowing Wooyoung wouldn't rush to do this. A look of fleeting panic past over Wooyoung's eyes.
"Hyung, please don't make me," he begged. "The others will know and it will be embarrassing."
Hongjoong rolled his eyes. "And if I go marching out to get it myself, they are going to come to the same conclusion. Besides, Wooyoung, you are usually vocal enough to announce it yourself. I gave you the chance to do this in an empty dorm, and you blew it. So, don't act like I am being cruel now."
Wooyoung pouted at this, but not having any argument against that, he decided to just do as he was told. He headed back towards the kitchen, peeping through the doorway to ensure no one was about. And as fate would have it, Yunho and Mingi were both standing in the kitchen peering into a mug.
"I don't think it is supposed to look like that," Yunho told Mingi.
Mingi shrugged. "Well, you can tell Atiny their idea sucked then."
"Nah, we'll just tell them it worked and we really liked it."
"You know what?" Mingi snickered. "It kind of looks like something Yeosang would make. We should have given him the recipe."
The two chuckled, before going to tip whatever the contents were down the sink. As they turned around again, they caught Wooyoung sneaking passed them. He jumped guiltily, quickly hiding his hands behind his back. Unfortunately, the wooden spoon still stuck out in plain sight.
Mingi frowned. "What the hell are you-" He felt Yunho pinch his arm and glanced at him. Yunho shook his head, having already guessed what was up. "Ohhhh," Mingi murmured, his eyes growing bigger. "You must have really ticked off hyung. Ouch, Yunho, stop pinching me already."
Yunho rolled his eyes. "Don't mind us, Woo. We are just going to watch a movie upstairs."
"With the volume right up," Mingi snickered, as Yunho began dragging him away.
Wooyoung glared after him. But as Mingi and Yunho exited the kitchen, they both stopped in fright. Hongjoong was waiting with arms crossed, leaning against the wall. He stepped out into their path, and frowned up at them.
"You keep up that teasing, Mingi, and you can come to my room as well. Do you understand?"
Despite being the two tallest team members, Yunho and Mingi seemed to shrink beneath his fierce gaze. Mingi nodded meekly.
"Yes, hyung. Sorry, Wooyoung."
"Get going, the both of you," Hongjoong told them, pushing them firmly towards the stairs.
They didn't need to be told twice. They both skedaddled back to their room.
Wooyoung turned to pout sulkily at Hongjoong. "Now look what you did."
Hongjoong barely contained himself from rolling his eyes. "I don't want to be doing this anymore than you want to be experiencing it."
"Then we could shake hands and forget about it," Wooyoung said hopefully, widening his eyes into a puppy-like expression.
This time Hongjoong allowed himself to roll his eyes. He reached forward and took the spoon from Wooyoung. "Come on, let's just get this over and done with. Unless of course you want to wait the week."
For a fleeting moment, Wooyoung almost had second thoughts and his resolution wavered. But beneath the skirmish-ness of what was about to happen, still lay the mature wish of righting things. And as playful as Wooyoung liked to be, he had a good caring heart. So, he only shook his head, and let Hongjoong lead him back to his bedroom.
As they entered, he even couldn't help but feel sorry to Seonghwa. Where had his hyung even gone? Being the soft empathetic soul that he was, it must hurt to be at hearing's length from the room, but Wooyoung also had a vague suspicion that his hyung wouldn't go to far. His lip trembled slightly as he thought of it. Seonghwa had been so angered by hearing what Jongho had said, that he had even laid aside his qualms and disciplined the maknae. Imagine how he must feel now knowing that Wooyoung had started the fight and that Jongho had been hurting too.
The emotions were all too much and Wooyoung started crying before Hongjoong even pulled him over his lap. Hongjoong, to Wooyoung's surprise, didn't lay into him straight away, but instead rubbed his back in circular motions.
"Why are you crying, Wooyoung-ah?" he asked after a moment.
Wooyoung sobbed bitterly. "I am so sorry to Jongho. I am sorry to you. And I am sorry to Seonghwa. I am just sorry to everyone."
"Do you understand what was wrong now, Wooyoung?" he asked quietly, his hands becoming still, although they still lay firmly against his back.
Wooyoung nodded. "Yes, hyung. I said mean things, because I wanted to hurt and provoke Jongho. I wanted to get him into more trouble. And even after when I had calmed down, I should have apologised better. I did sort of apologise, but it wasn't very sincere, hyung."
Hongjoong nodded thoughtfully at his words. Then reaching over, he picked the spoon back off the bed. "I changed my mind, Wooyoung. This time, and this time only, I will be lenient. I can tell that you are sincerely sorry now, and I am actually sorry to you, Wooyoung. I let my anger get the better of me yesterday, and I went overboard. I didn't mean to hit you so many times, Wooyoung. I thought about it a lot yesterday, and I know it was more because I was frustrated with you at the moment, rather than for what had happened. That was wrong of me, and I promise it won't happen again."
He took a deep breath, then brought the spoon down sharply.
Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!
As it rained down, he began lecturing Wooyoung. "If you had both been honest from the start, Woo, this could have all been added into that first punishment you got. But you and Jongho both chose to hide it, and that is what makes me upset. I don't want you to be okay with hiding stuff like this. And I don't want you hurting your team members."
Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!
"You should know better than anyone how much words can hurt. So how dare you try to throw it in his face and pretend like it was okay. You must never use someone's doubts against them, Wooyoung. To you, you may just be trying to hurt them in that moment, but for them you are confirming an irrational thought about themselves that can hurt for a lifetime."
Wooyoung was crying torrents now. "I know, hyung. Jongho's words hurt me, but not as much as knowing what I had done. I just wanted to run from it."
"And was it worth it?" Hongjoong wanted to know.
Wooyoung shook his head, as he began to squirm beneath the blows. It was a different feeling of pain from the belt, perhaps with less of a sting, but very unpleasant to say the least.
Hongjoong continued his scolding. "As leader and hyung, I feel responsible for our team. I feel responsible to KQ, and to all the staff. I feel responsible to your parents. I feel responsible to our fans. But most of all, I feel responsible for you all individually. I want you to grow up to be the best version of yourself. I want you to grow up well, Wooyoung. And so far you have. You've grown really well. It's my responsibility to keep you on that path. And I sure as hell mean to."
Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! THWACK!
Wooyoung hollered at the last blow that Hongjoong had suddenly put what seemed like all his strength into. Hongjoong tossed the wooden spoon out of reach, almost as though it was too hot to hold.
"It's okay, Wooyoung. It is over. It is all done." He scooped Wooyoung up into his arms, letting his dongsaeng cry into his shoulder.
Wooyoung vaguely remembered being threatened with the belt, but didn't have any intention of reminding Hongjoong. Repentant as he was, his butt was already on fire.
In truth, Hongjoong fully remembered the threat. And while he knew it was a mistake on his part to not follow through with his threats, he pretended to have forgotten, so he could ease his guilty conscience of having gotten so angry with Wooyoung the day before.
"I want you to apologise sincerely to Jongho. Okay, Wooyoung?"
Wooyoung nodded, his eyes blinking sleepily as he snuggled deeper into his leader's embrace. It wasn't often that Hongjoong was physically affectionate, so Wooyoung decided to make the utter most of it.
"Now do you understand the importance of words, Wooyoung? We need them to communicate, to ask for help, to hold a conversation. But what we don't need them for is to hurt people. There are already too many people out there in the world doing that. Let's not become like them."
"I love you, hyung," Wooyoung murmured suddenly, startling Hongjoong. "You are all we need. And the very best captain we could ask for."
Hongjoong couldn't help but tear up at these words, but he looked away so Wooyoung would not see it. How much had he doubted himself these past few weeks? How much stress had been laid over his young shoulders, as he had been pressured to punish his team members? How much sleep had he lost, as he worried if his dongsaengs opinion of him would change?
The door opened and Seonghwa cautiously peeked in. He wasn't at all expecting to see a crying Hongjoong holding a sleeping Wooyoung in his arms. But when he did, he did not hesitate to come in and sit by the leader's side.
"Are you okay, Hongjoong?" When Hongjoong shook his head, Seonghwa hugged him tightly. "It must be hard for you. I honestly don't know how you do it."
Hongjoong closed his eyes. "Me neither, Seonghwa. I am just so worried about messing this up."
"We are all new at this, Hongjoong. And it is especially hard for you. We don't expect you to be perfect-"
Seonghwa paused, looking down at the leader with a small smile. Hongjoong had slumped back fast asleep, still holding Wooyoung in his arms.
No matter what happened, Ateez would get through it together. They always did.