Ateez spanking

Maknae line

Hongjoong had always been a firm believer in discipline. He was especially hard on his members because he wanted them to grow up to be good people and learn from their mistakes. So when he suddenly announced that he would not be dealing with their mistakes anymore, everyone was quite alarmed. Seongwha asked him about it and about Hongjoong's reasoning but the leader was adamant that he had done enough to keep the members on the right track and the rest was up to them.

"They don't need me anymore, Seongwha. Jongho is twenty-three. He's old enough to learn from his own mistakes without his hyungs coming in to help him. And the others, their twenty-four. They don't need us cleaning up their messes anymore. It's time they started to realize what it's like to be adults and deal with the consequences of their mistakes themselves. I'm done" Hongjoong stated. Seongwha could see the logic behind that. Their members were old enough to act like adults now but the oldest knew this was not going to end well. Their members weren't ready for that. They still had so much to learn and it was no secret that Seongwha and Hongjoong were heavily depended upon to pave the way to success and help their dongsaengs make good decisions. 

"The others needed us when they were Jongho's age. I needed you when we were their age. Don't abandon them now, Hongjoong" Seongwha argued. 

"I am not abandoning them. I'm just stepping back and letting them figure things out on their own. Everyone has to at some point, don't they? I suggest you do the same" Hongjoong turned and left, considering the conversation to be over. Seongwha didn't know what to say to that. Maybe Hongjoong was right; the members were growing up and they had matured so much over the past five years but Seongwha still had a bad feeling about this. Something was going to go very wrong. 

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"Your what?! Hyung, think about this!" Wooyoung pleaded. Hongjoong had made up his mind though and he was not going to reconsider.

"I thought you didn't like when I punished any of you" Hongjoong pointed out. Yunho wrinkled his nose. The others had to agree with that action. None of them had ever gotten used to it being discussed so openly. 

"Of course we don't but we trusted you. None of us may have liked it, I know we didn't, but it was nice knowing that if we made a mistake, you would be there to catch us when we fall. What are we supposed to rely on to catch us now?" San pointed out.

"We'll still be here to help. If you are ever in a tight situation and you need advice, don't be afraid to come to us. We're still your hyungs. Things are just going to be changing a little bit around here" Seongwha responded. He didn't agree with Hongjoong's decision at all. But Hongjoong was the leader and Seongwha respected him enough to not argue. 

"Yeah. Just because things are changing doesn't mean we won't be here to help. You can come to us for anything and you can do so freely now without worrying about punishment" Hongjoong added, agreeing wtih Seongwha.

"Does this mean that if we do mess up, we'll be reported to the company?" Jongho wondered, voicing his only concern. No one else seemed to have thought of that and they looked alarmed. Seongwha and Hongjoong remained calm. Seongwha was sure that Hongjoong would say no but he was wrong.

"Unfortunately, yes. That is exactly what it means. Your all adults now and its time to take ownership for your actions. I sincerely hope that you will have learned from these past five years and know what is expected of you but if not, unfortunately, yes you will be reported to the company. So watch your actions and how you behave. This is my last warning to you. Seongwha and I are stepping back and letting you be now. Don't make us regret it and certainly do not make yourselves regret it" Hongjoong had said enough and he knew that. He left his members to think and went to work on some producing. 

"I still have so many questions" Mingi admitted. Seongwha smiled sympathetically. 

"I know" Seongwha did know that but there was nothing he could do except answer questions as best he could.

"Why is he doing this now? Why not earlier?" Yeosang wondered. 

"Because...I think Hongjoong is tired and he's right. You guys are growing up. In the past month alone, only two of you have gotten in trouble. That's a pretty good record for you guys" Seongwha pointed out. The younger members got lost in their thoughts upon hearing that. They knew that things had changed but that was the first time they actually looked at themselves over the past year and realized that they were in fact growing up and maturing. Hongjoong knew what he was doing, and they were going to have to trust him on this. Even if none of them felt very confident in their leader's decision or their own ability to make good choices. 

Now it was only a matter of time before things started to go wrong. The only uncertainty there was in the group was if Hongjoong would realize his mistake and change it or if he was serious about leaving the members alone to learn on their own.