The next morning : 9th day

Yoongi stirred in his sleep, waking up to the Saturday morning. As he opened his eyes slowly, he felt a presence behind him.

He turned his head back and his gaze met Jin's, who was spooning him, his arms wrapped around the younger's waist. The elder chuckled softly as he watched Yoongi stirring awake.

"Good morning, sleepyhead," he said, his voice deep. "Did you sleep well?"

"Why does it always have to be you I see first thing in the morning?" Yoongi asked, his tone slightly annoyed as he sighed.

Jin's smile only widened. "Well, I suppose that means your day is off to a super nice start then," he teased. "After all, you woke up to the sight of such a handsome face."

Yoongi rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, keep dreaming," he muttered.

Jin chuckled softly, his arms tightening as he pulled him even closer while Yoongi groaned at the action.

"Come on, Yoongi, admit it," Jin started. "You secretly love waking up to me."

Yoongi rolled his eyes again. "Tsk, don't let it get to your head."

Jin laughed and then asked with a teasing tone, "Well, are you still sore though?"

Yoongi blinked, confused by the question before realizing what he meant. He shot him a glare, "Shut up." He then pulled the duvet over himself, his body fully disappearing as if trying to hide from Jin's teasing.

The elder chuckled softly as he saw him retreat under the covers. "Alright, alright," he said. "Take your time waking up. I'll be here whenever you're ready." He said as he followed suit, going under the duvet, their bodies pressing close together.

He snuggled more, wrapping his arms more tightly. Yoongi don't know why his body seem to relax everytime Jin was close to him. He then mumbled under his breath, "Get away from me."

But Jin just chuckled, his breath warm against Yoongi's ears as he whispered, "But I know you love this."

Yoongi didn't say anything in return, his cheeks flushing slightly at the teasing words.

Jin then started with a gentle tone, "Well, I hope you won't make me punish you again, Yoongi. I don't enjoy it either."

He paused for a moment before continuing, "Do you know what the real number for the punishment is in all other dom and sub societies?"

Yoongi shook his head slightly in response. Jin nodded as he replied, "It's 150."

Yoongi immediately looked back at him with wide eyes, "W-What? That..That seems cruel."

Jin nodded as he continued, "Yes. And thankfully, I haven't needed to give you that many. Because in the end, it's the dom's decision to decide his/her sub's punishment and that comes with the total number of strikes too." He said, trying to lighten the mood.

Yoongi let out a soft exhale at thought of the higher number. He knew he needed to be more careful in the future to avoid reaching that point.

"But let's try to keep it that way, okay?" Jin said gently, patting his head. "And I don't want to hurt you again. So, just try to stay out of trouble."

Yoongi just remained silent, his expression unreadable as he processed his words.

Then, a thought occurred in his mind that how nice of a dom Seokjin really was. He was always understanding. In many other societies, punishments could be much more severe, and Yoongi knew all too well the harsh realities faced by some subs under stricter doms.

What he had seen and heard about in other circles was subs were subjected to harsher punishments without the same level of care and consideration the elder was giving him.

He couldn't help but admit that Jin wasn't as much of a jerk as he had first assumed. In fact, he found him to be a quite nice dom, especially considering the circumstances they both were in.

Despite everything that happened between them, Jin had always approached everything with an understanding that Yoongi hadn't expected. Instead of being harsh or uncaring, he was willing to listen and provide comfort.

As Yoongi again turned to face him, he saw the elder's eyes looking at him with full of love. At that moment, he felt his chest tightening as he tried to avoid his gaze.

"Don't look at me with those eyes," he muttered softly, his voice barely above a whisper.

Confusion filled Jin's face as he asked innocently and moved closer to him under the duvet, his lips mere inches away from the younger's. "What eyes?"

Shaking his head, Yoongi turned away, his face bright red at the sudden closeness, "N-Nevermind." he said, still being wrapped by Jin's hand around his waist, both of them lost inside the duvet.

The elder couldn't help but smile and pulled him more closer, making his face to get buried into his chest. He then put Yoongi's hands around his own waist and the younger didn't resist either as he slowly wrapped his hands around Jin's wide back. He then let out a soft exhale, feeling somehow calm and relaxing.

Jin's chin was resting on top of his head and the elder could actually smell the scent he had. It was a sweet yet seductive smell, making him tighten his arms around him.

Meanwhile, Yoongi knew that he shouldn't be doing any of this.

The closeness, the kisses, the comforting hugs - none of it was his real purpose. He was supposed to be focused on solving the case, on getting back his freedom from the role of a sub. Yet, here he was, wrapped in Jin's hug.

But a thought crossed his mind. Maybe, just maybe, he deserved all of this?

Someone who genuinely cared for him, who didn't hesitate to discipline him when he was wrong, who offered comfort in times of need - and those eyes earlier, filled with love.

Did he really deserve these things?

He clenched at the fabric of Jin's shirt on the back, and with a soft exhale, he muttered up the courage to ask the question that he was longing to ask for a long time.

"Can..Can I ask you something?" he started, his gaze fixed on Jin's chest that was infront of him.

Jin tilted his head slightly. "Of course, Yoongi," he replied gently. "What is it?"

"Just why do you love me so much?" Yoongi asked softly.

There was a moment of silence before Jin smiled. "Well, I don't know either, but I love that you're you," he began. "I just love you for who you are, with all your strengths and weaknesses, your character and imperfections. You're always special to me, and I will always love you."

But Yoongi felt like it wasn't enough, not enough to fully answer his question. He still didn't understand what he did for someone like Jin to fall for him. He thought to himself that maybe Jin was just trying to say it all to avoid making Yoongi feel bad.

Jin then asked as he chuckled, "But why the sudden question?"

Yoongi hesitated, his fingers nervously tracing invisible patterns on Jin's back. "I... I just don't know if I deserve to be loved that muc-"

"Yoongi," Jin cut him off with a slight stern tone. "Why would you say that?" he asked. "Why wouldn't you deserve to be loved, hmm?"

As he didn't get any reply, he started to card through Yoongi's hair, his touch gentle. "Of course, there are many people in the world who don't deserve to be loved," he began. "But, you are not one of them. Please do remember that."

Yoongi's grip tightened on his shirt as he felt his words sincere.

"You're a good person, Yoongi. You deserve all the love and care in the world. Don't ever doubt your worth or whether you deserve love. You do. You deserve it more than you know." Jin said as he kissed Yoongi's forehead and continued to pat his head gently.

Yoongi felt a lot of emotions inside him. His feelings for Jin were becoming undeniable, but he wasn't ready to admit them, just not yet.

The clock then suddenly struck 10, it's sound echoing the room. Jin smiled as he pushed off the duvet and sat up on the bed, stretching his arms above his head.

Yoongi followed suit, sitting up and ruffling his disheveled hair. Jin stood up from the bed as he stretched once more. "Time to freshen up," he announced. "Come downstairs when you're ready. Breakfast will be waiting."

Yoongi just nodded as Jin left the room, leaving him to begin his morning routine.

The younger then sighed as he though about Jin's words again. Perhaps,

...just for a while, he could enjoy the comfort and care Jin was giving him.