Chapter Text
After the main problem is out of the way, Joonghyuk feels that their conversation becomes significantly easier.
Kim Dokja proceeds to openly tell him about what really happened to him throughout the years, of how he was fired due to depression after their divorce (which flares up the guilt in Joonghyuk’s heart again), of how his next job was sabotaged by an asshole co-worker, and how long it took before he finally got his things together at the current company. His ex-husband used to never talk to him first about his problems unless interrogated, so Joonghyuk drinks up the man’s words like a thirsty man in a desert.
“I’m really a mess without you, Joonghyuk-ah.” His heart races at Kim Dokja’s sudden body heat as the man leans on his shoulder and clings to him like a squid. “I somehow managed to get through all those years… but it’s just not the same.”
“... You did well. I was the one who was the worst mess. The fool I was caused this divorce in the first place… and yet, my pathetic self still couldn’t bear the thought of never being yours again. I couldn’t separate myself from the weight of this ring, from the years we had together… from the only person I’ve ever wanted as my husband.”
As if to emphasize his words, Joonghyuk takes out the necklace hidden underneath his collar, revealing the ring and pointedly holding it with his left hand that still has the ring imprint. Kim Dokja’s breath hitches at the sight before the man pulls him into a kiss, warm and wet with tears, one that he wholeheartedly returns.
“Me neither. I also still keep my ring in the apartment.” When Kim Dokja pulls away, there’s a smile more beautiful than ever on his face. “Even when I accepted that we might never become what we once were… I still never wanted to forget you.”
Along with the fresh tears falling from his eyes, Joonghyuk finds a… certain something else being heated up from Kim Dokja’s words, for some weird reason - it hasn’t even been that long since the last time they did it with each other. Kim Dokja quickly realizes the situation as well and turns away with flushed ears, further increasing the embarrassment.
But a bigger part of Joonghyuk find himself unable to care - he has just heard outright that Kim Dokja never wants to forget him, still keeps their ring, and essentially still wanting him back. So he reaches out to pull his husband closer, lips nibbling his sensitive neck, while hands reaching out to pinch Kim Dokja’s nipples in a way that makes the man flinch.
“W-Wait.” Kim Dokja’s breathless voice sounds like the best music ever to his ears. “Are you sure? What if this strains your left arm or something? It only just started healing.”
“... You’re right. Then…” Joonghyuk bites his husband’s ear gently, whispering into it and loving how it turns further red. “I’m counting on you to do all the work, Kim Dokja. I’ll just lie there and let you have your way with me.”
One perk of knowing someone for almost a decade is knowing exactly what buttons to press, and his heart races to see Kim Dokja’s eyes darken before the man immediately picks him up and carries him to their once shared bedroom. His husband takes off their clothes in a surprisingly gentle manner, but Joonghyuk suspects it’s only out of consideration for his left arm, otherwise Kim Dokja would be practically tearing them off.
“Be a good boy and just lie there, like you said yourself earlier.” Kim Dokja pats his cheek gently, yet with a dangerous smirk that has Joonghyuk swallow. “Leave everything to me.”
Joonghyuk almost regrets what he said immediately afterwards, because the way his husband is bullying his sensitive nipples while practically swallowing his cock makes him want nothing more than to grip Kim Dokja’s hair to make him go deeper, or even pull him away for more of those kisses that have him desperately taking in his husband’s delicious taste to no end.
On the other hand, he can’t remember the last time he could just be pampered this way, to just obediently let Kim Dokja fuck him like there’s no tomorrow. So, what he can’t do with his hands, Joonghyuk decides to express through his mouth, earnestly moaning and begging his husband to go faster when those sinful lips now remove himself from his dick to fuck deep inside his hole.
“K-Ahh… Kim Dokja… Kim Dokja, please…”
“... Needy.” The man finally pulls away from his hole, chin wet with drool and Joonghyuk’s own pre-cum, the sight made even more lewd with his sly smile. “It’s only been a few months since our last time, yet you’re begging like that?” One of his hand goes back to stroking Joonghyuk’s achingly hard dick while the other plunges two fingers in and out of the sloppily wet hole. “Say it properly, then. You want me to ‘please’ do what?”
Ah, this feels so familiar - the way Kim Dokja, when in a good mood, would sometimes get a little sadistic. His inner masochistic streak shivers at the demanding question, turning his own voice shaky as if about to cry. “Please… Put your dick inside me already. Fuck me… good. I’ve had to wait for too long.”
Never one to hold back once his partner has given the green light, Kim Dokja thrusts into him, breaching his tight insides that has been feeling rather lonely during the past months. Joonghyuk wonders if it’s just him, but somehow Kim Dokja’s dick feels even bigger than usual, because the man is hitting his prostate so easily with each thrust. Or perhaps it’s because he’s raising his ass as high as possible to get his husband deeper?
He doesn’t know.
All he knows and cares is that Kim Dokja is kissing him without reservations, whispering words of love to his ears, and hugging him tightly as though not wanting a chance of Joonghyuk disappearing on him. That they’ve just revealed all of their ugliest thoughts to each other, yet their love for the other still isn’t affected.
It feels too good. He doesn’t want this to end. He wants to be drowned in this love, until death.
As always, his husband understands exactly what he wants, and continues to thrust into him long after Joonghyuk has tired out and can only lie there, gladly receiving the overflowing love he’s been deprived of for years.
When Joonghyuk passes out from tiredness, the last thing he sees is Kim Dokja taking his left hand and placing a kiss on his ring finger.
If it doesn’t look like a proposal, he doesn’t know what is.
= = =
Dokja sits in the Underworld couple’s main office with a somewhat heavy heart, having already tried to calm down by talking to Yoo Joonghyuk in the morning and let Yoo Mia slap him on the back as her own version of ‘pep-talk,’ but he’s still nervous.
The one thing that does calm him down is how Mark and Dionysus have reassured him of how his absence didn’t cause any monetary loss to Underworld whatsoever, so Dokja eventually manages to resign himself into thinking that he’ll just be fired and go back to his 73rd Industrial Co. His hand now has their old ring on, a sign of their mutual promise to register their marriage again once everything passes, and Dokja places a light kiss on it.
The door opens then, prompting him to hurriedly stand up and greet Hades and Persephone, who look more serious than usual as they sit down and tell him to come over.
“How is Yoo Joonghyuk doing?” Persephone starts first, her usual easygoing smile now tinted with an alarming hint.
“... He’s doing well since his discharge. It will still take a few months before he can game again, but he has now resumed his coaching job.” Despite the nervousness, Dokja still can’t help but smile as he thinks of his husband.
“That’s good to hear.” Her expression looks genuinely glad for a moment before it goes back to that dangerous look. “Now, during your absence, even though you did try to do your work well while remote; there were still many opportunities coming to us that we couldn’t accept, because our heir was absent.”
“The ‘Twelve Zodiacs’ and ‘Big Dipper’ were quite disappointed.” Hades speaks with a neutral voice, but it’s enough to make Dokja wince as he realizes the two rising, promising names in the game industry.
“... Yes, I see.”
“Not to mention, our training for you was delayed so long because of this that we might as well start all over again. Which means that you’ve wasted a lot of our time.” Persephone leans her head against her hands. “How are you going to resolve all of this, Kim Dokja?”
Sighing internally, Dokja makes sure his voice is as stable as possible before starting. “First of all, I would like to sincerely apologize for letting my personal matters affect your work. However, after careful consideration during my absence, I concluded that… my family, Yoo Joonghyuk in particular, is still the most important. As such, to prevent an incident like this from happening again, if necessary… I would be happy to resign as your heir.
“I have discussed with Jang Hayoung and Han Donghoon, two of my core team members in 73rd Industrial Co., and they are willing to take my position. Indeed, they still don’t have much experience - as seen by how two of them have to take one position - but they’ve worked with each other long enough to cover the other’s weakness and enhance each other’s strength. Most importantly, they’re, well… not married to anyone, at least for a very long time, so there will be very little chance that they have to leave their spot like I did.
“As for the lost opportunities… Yoo Joonghyuk said that he felt responsible for this - I told him that it wasn’t his fault, but still… - so he has been contacting Breaking the Sky’s partners, eventually securing these proposals for Underworld.” He takes out the few letters inside his bag and puts them on her table.
“These are from the aforementioned ‘Twelve Zodiacs’ and ‘Big Dipper,’ while these are from ‘Gourmet Association,’ ‘N’Gai Forest,’ and also Abyssal Black Flame Dragon’s ‘Black Cloud’. As Breaking the Sky’s representative, Yoo Joonghyuk has invited them all for a large-scale project next year, and they all thought of Underworld due to our establish experience. Hopefully… These satisfy you.”
The silence that ensues is rather long, but Dokja finds himself much calmer now that he’s said his piece and thoroughly prepared for being fired. Also, he can always come back home to Yoo Joonghyuk for comfort, after all.
“That’s enough, Persephone. Let’s stop scaring him.”
“Geez, you’re not fun at all sometimes, darling.”
… Hm?
Dokja blinks in confusion when all tension from their faces suddenly disappear, with Hades now sighing while shaking his head and Persephone pouting at her husband.
Taking pity on his ‘what the hell’ face, Persephone smiles warmly at him. “You’ll still work here as normal, Kim Dokja. There’s no firing you. We were just asking to make sure that you still have proper plans to compensate for our losses if you, indeed, got fired.”
“... O-Oh.” There’s no describing the feeling of relief and betrayal that he feels then. “Uhm… Thank you very much for your generosity, Hades and Persephone…”
“A long time ago, when ‘Underworld’ was still a small company just starting up, the same thing had happened to us.” Hades looks straight at him with a grim yet understanding expression. “Persephone got into an accident while promoting our company in the US, while I was still back in Greece doing the necessary behind-the-scenes works.
“I made the same decision you did, Kim Dokja. I dropped everything behind to go to the US and take care of Persephone. And even though we never regretted it, my decision had still caused Underworld to suffer a long period of losses due to having no one to manage the important matters, in addition to making compensation to the partners who were affected by our absence.”
At Dokja’s saddened face, Persephone’s voice turns similarly somber. “It took quite a few years before we could recover from that loss and got the needed opportunities to become what we are today. That’s why we never had any intention to make things difficult for you, even if the losses had been greater.
“However… we also had to make sure you’re a responsible enough person to have backup plans and good compensation. No matter how sympathetic your personal matters are, the companies who got unintentionally screwed over won’t care.”
“... I understand. Even if you’re gracious enough to keep me as your heir, I still plan to make sure my future absences - if any - won’t affect the company per the plan aforementioned. I will make sure to meet your expectations, Hades and Persephone.”
“Good child.” It’s a bit shocking to hear the normally stern Hades call him like that, enough that Dokja can’t stop his blushing. Of course, Persephone teases him relentlessly for this, and it takes at least half an hour of torture before they finally let him go back to work.
Dokja still hasn’t properly comprehended that the two has let him off (though not that easily), so when Yoo Joonghyuk calls him five minutes later with worried questions, it feels surreal to answer. “... They didn’t fire me.”
After briefly telling Yoo Joonghyuk what they said, it seems his husband is also taken by surprise. [... That’s… That’s… really good to hear. I’m glad that they were… understanding.]
“So am I. To think that they had the same experience before…” Suddenly, thinking that this is a good chance to clear Yoo Joonghyuk’s guilt once and for all, Dokja ensures that his voice is as gentle as possible. “But Breaking the Sky didn’t sympathize with you, and didn’t give you a choice. Your position was also a lot more shaky back then than mine now. You did what had to be done at the time, so don’t feel bad anymore… if you still do.”
He can hear nothing but Yoo Joonghyuk’s hitched breaths that slowly turns into small sobs afterwards. Dokja listens to him patiently, feeling soothed even, that the once stubborn man is now more free in being vulnerable with him.
[... Kim Dokja. When you’re ready… let’s get married once more.] Once he’s calmed down, Yoo Joonghyuk says the best thing he could’ve hoped to hear. [And this time, there’s no breaking up. I will always put you first. I will never make you disappointed again.]
“Joonghyuk-ah. I’m always ready.”
[... Next week? Let’s get our certificate again next week.]
“And then we will both work hard to plan another wedding?”
[We will. If you want, I’ll even buy another pair of rings.]
“There’s no need for that, Joonghyuk-ah.” Dokja laughs in amusement at his husband’s eagerness. “I’m happy even with just our old rings. They really show how we still found our way back together despite everything, don’t they?”
Ah, as expected - after so many years, Yoo Joonghyuk still get embarrassed when faced with sudden affection.
As he keeps talking to his husband even while doing the work, Dokja finds himself believing wholeheartedly in what Yoo Joonghyuk said earlier.
There’ll be no more breaking up this time.
They will stay with each other to death.