Yunho nodded because he was too busy chewing something to speak.

The soft and wet sounds coming from his mouth were loud, obscene to Mingi’s keen ears.

“What are you eating?” he asked.

Yunho plucked something from the bowl to hold it up. In the dim moonlight, he could just about make out the shape of a strawberry. It was small and looked like it would be so delightfully sweet. “Would you like one?”

Mingi shook his head and filled his mouth with more smoke instead.

Yunho considered this, his fingers stroking and teasing the strawberry. Then he cocked his wrist to toss it down into the courtyard.

Seonghwa had such precise reflexes he was a sight to see. He tracked the curved descent of the tossed berry, his feet skipping over the cobblestones until he had gotten into the perfect position. He jumped to catch it right between his teeth, bearing down just enough to dimple the skin without biting clean through the strawberry.

The little act was met with applause and giggles from Yunho. The sound was airy and sweet because it was genuine. After all, Seonghwa was one of the only people on the entire estate whom the Master didn’t mask around. His smiles were never forced, they just sometimes lacked animation because it was something he clearly struggled with.

Seonghwa folded an arm over his stomach and gave the deep bow of a Commedia dell’arte performer. It made his loose hair bounce around his handsome face. As he straightened up, he ****** the strawberry into his mouth. It must have been sweet because his smile grew as he reached up to fix his messy hair.

Yunho plucked another strawberry from the bowl resting on the balcony wall.

He brought it up to his lips, only he didn’t bite it. He pressed a kiss against it and then shifted to lean over the railing. The movement made his robe slip off one of his shoulders to expose even more of his bare skin. “Now, Mingi! You too!” he called out, his wrist cocked and ready to toss the berry down at him.

Mingi felt his heart stop beating in his chest from a mixture of lust and dread.

For a second, it seemed like every single bruise and bite was on display for them all to see. He anticipated the gasp of shock Seonghwa would let out, followed by a string of panicked questions about what had happened to him.

But the light coming through the lace curtains was too dull to fully illuminate his body. It threw him into darkness, nothing more than an aureole of warm orange behind him.

A saintly halo for a devilish boy.

Mingi swallowed down the moan that so desperately wanted to escape his clenched teeth. He dropped his eyes to see that Seonghwa was still smiling up at the boy, his expression one of delight and not horror.

“I’m afraid Mingi isn’t the kind to play such games,” Seonghwa remarked with a soft chuckle. “Try as I might, I just can’t get him to play nice with the other horses.”

Yunho was quick to argue, “It’s because you’re too gentle with him. I think a firm hand would work better.”

For a moment, a fleeting look of uncertainty came over Seonghwa’s expression. Mingi saw the twitch in his strong eyebrows, the falter at the upturned corners of his lips.

Memories of the crop cast on the stable floor, still warm from the Master’s hand. The sound of his wailing echoing through the dusty sunbeams casting through the doorway. The creeping sense of dread floating up towards the old timber beams where the swallows liked to nest.

When Seonghwa spoke, the dazzling smile appeared once more. Like the sun disappearing behind a tiny cloud but for a second, returning more vibrant than before. “No, Mingi needs a gentle hand. Believe me, I know him better than anyone else.”