This fic was requested by @ryoko-loves-roses who wanted lee Frontman and lee salesman. So I wrote for both of their ticklish asses!
Summary: The Frontman has some time off with his favorite employee. Unfortunately for him, a rather sensitive topic is raised.
Warning - their are discussions of Frontman x 456 in this
Warning - This is a TICKLE FIC
The Recruiter and his boss, Hwang In-Ho, were having a smoke outside a coffee shop. It was late at night and a rather deserted neighborhood, so they could talk shop without the fear of being heard.
They chatted about everything - from which players they thought would stay and leave after the first round, to which were the best at Dakji (the Recruiter had a lot of fun telling those stories), to joking about previous winners.
"Speaking of previous winners", the Salesman said, his usual stoic demeanor at the forefront, "I heard a rumor that you put player 456 back in the games".
In-Ho smirked, "Oh, I did yes. The idiot wanted to go back in. Apparently the guards found a tracker in his tooth - what a juvenile plan".
The Salesman chuckled, his white teeth gleaming, enjoying bonding over Gi-Hun's misfortune.
"I'll enjoy watching him this year", In-Ho continued, "Let's see what he does. Hell, he might even try to stage a coup".
The Salesman's smirk turned cheeky, "Yeah, you'll be keeping a close eye on him alright".
In-Ho growled. "What's that supposed to mean?", he asked, turning around to directly face his employee. Oh, he knew exactly what The Recruiter was alluding to, but he wouldn't admit it to save his life.
"Oh come on", The Recruiter said. He didn't say it in a playful way - he said it in his regular, relaxed tone - which had a hint of mischief at In-Ho's unfortunate expense.
"I'm talking about your obvious....crush on 456", he said slyly. This made the Frontman's face go red with furry, and perhaps a bit of embarassment.
"Okay, shut up right now or your fired", he groaned, trying to look as stern as he could. In his defense, it was hard to look stern when you were being teased about someone you were....interested in.
The Recruiter, knowing it was an empty threat, continued, "Is that why you've also decided to join the games as a player this year? You think you have a shot with the guy?"
Okay, that was it. The Recruiter had gone too far. He grabbed his shoulders, pushing him into the brick wall, his eyes bulging. Of course, the Recruiter maintained his calm demeaner, just smirking despite his situation.
He knew that In-Ho wouldn't actually attack him. They'd been friends before In-Ho had hired him, and there were times when they acted, let's just say, unprofessionally with each other. If their work wasn't so brutal, they could even have been referred to as 'best buddies'.
They stood like that for a few seconds - In-Ho pinning the Recruiter against the wall, breathing heavily, looking like he would strike at any second. The younger man decided to put his hands up in mock surrender, just to aggravate his boss even further.
Suddenly, a dark smile crept onto the Frontman's lips. The Recruiter, a little confused but not not showing it, asked - "What is it?"
"Ohh, nothing", In-Ho said with a sigh. The evil undertone of his voice did make the Recruiter, although he would never admit it, a little worried.
"It's just that, well, you've' lifted up your arms so....you've' pretty much decided my method of retaliation for me".
Before the Recruiter could respond, he felt ten digits digging into his sides, causing him to collapse forward with a whine. In-Ho chuckled as he stabilized the man, keeping him pinned so that he had proper access to that oh-so-sensitive torso.
"Nohohoho!", the man gasped - his normally cocky self completely thrown out the window by his ticklish nature.
"You deserve this", In-Ho continued, scratching at his sides more gently and slowly, before speeding up again - taking delight in the way his victim's laughter got louder and softer, up pitches and down pitches, depending on the exact movements of his attacker's fingers.
"Fuhuhuhuck yohohohou!", he laughed, thrashing to the side, trying to use his chest muscles to knock off the offending hands.
"Hey", In-Ho said innocently, "No need to use that language with me. That's hardly professional".
In-Ho's grin grew wider as he began to poke at his employee's ribs experimentally. The man gasped, before his laughter went squeaky and he began to flail his arms uselessly.
"Ooo, there it is!", In-Ho remarked with an accomplished smile, "There's that spot that always gets you".
The Recruiter was giggling and squealing to much to respond.
"You know", In-Ho added, beginning to have a bit too much fun watching this normally stoic man dissolve under his fingers , "It's quite dangerous to be this ticklish in a job like yours. What if the potential contestants use it against you, hmm?"
The Frontman's victim continued to laugh and thrash, those squeaks being so high pitched that they could have deafened a cat.
"I mean, couldn't they just get really fed up with you when they keep losing. What if they decide to smack you back, only to than realize that..."
In-Ho stopped, pausing his fingers. The Recruiter began to catch his breath, but before he could speak, he was interrupted.
"What if they realized that doing this would be much more effective?"
Before he could protest, In-Ho started squeezing the Recruiter's belly, making him scream.
"Wow, you lucky nobody's around. They'd think I was slaughtering a wild animal."
"NAHAHAHA - HAHHA - NOHOHO!", the Recruiter cried, flailing more desperately.
"Now do you regret that stupid little remark?", the Front man prompted, digging one of his hands around the man's navel, making him squeal before he continued to toss and turn.
"Aww, are you too ticklish to respond?", In-Ho teased, his grin both wicked and sincere, "How adorable little buddy".
This went on for a few more seconds, before In-Ho could see tears streaming down the younger man's cheeks. Satisfied, the Frontman let up, stepping back and giving the Recruiter space to breathe.
The released man smashed his hand to his heart, breathing heavily, giggles still slipping from his lips.
"You deserved that", In-Ho quickly responded.
"Yeheah, well, you deserve this!"
In an instant, the Recruiter had grabbed In-Ho's shoulders, turned him around and pinned him against that brick wall.
"Now", he said evilly, his smug smirk returning as he watched In-Ho's mild panic at realizing he was completely trapped, "Let's see if you can take what you dish out, hmm?"
The Recruiter raised his eyebrows as he started poking his right hand up and down Inho's side, and using his left hand to squeeze at that knee. The man snorted, before letting out a stream of cackles.
"Nohohoho!", he whined, his legs sinking but the Recruiter holding him up in place.
"What was that? No?", the Recruiter teased, taking the hand that was on his side and drilling a finger into the side of In-Ho's belly.
"Nahahaha! Quit ihihihit!"
"Wow", the Recruiter said, "You ticklish bastard. You have the audacity to ask me to stop?"
The assaulting fingers wiggled faster, moving to attack under their victim's arms. In-Ho let out another loud snort before his laughter became louder and his squirms more desperate.
"Okahahy! Okahahahy! Stahahawp!"
The Recruiter smiled to himself. Sure, his boss wasn't as ticklish as he was, but he was still pretty damn sensitive, and it gave him an excessive sense of satisfaction to get this revenge.
"Oooo, what if I told Mr 456 about this little weakness, hmm?", the Recruiter teased, knowing that there was nothing the Frontman could do to fight back.
In-Ho's cheeks went darker, his eyes flashing with a tint of anger that was completely undermined by his laughter "Shuhuhuhuhut uhuhuhuup!"
The recruiter chuckled again, "Your really in no position to be telling me to do anything. Wouldn't it be funny if that guy somehow found out that you can be taken down by a few fingers under your arms? Wouldn't that be cute. He would tickle you all night - you would keep up the other players with your laughter".
In-Ho was too flustered to respond. The Recruiter's idea sounded....nice...but no. He had a job to do.
Finally, the Recruiter ceased his attack, though he kept his victim pinned to the wall.
As the front man huffed and puffed, the Recruiter raised an eyebrow, making that expression he always did when he was challenging someone to a game.
"I'll only let you go if you swear not to get me back. Deal?"
In-Ho, completely resigned, let out a sigh "Okay, deal".
Man, what would Gi-Hun do if he found out?
Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed! We never see these two together in the show so this is just how I'd imagine their dynamic is lol. Feel free to give feedback - my back is starving
