*
"If I cry, it's all your fault!"
"Like I care."
"Remind me again why we're doing this?"
"Because you lost the bet you made with Jungkookie."
"It wasn't supposed to be like this."
"But it is-"
"Tae-"
"Jin hyung-"
"Hey? You two ! You are blocking the way! Either step away from the door or come inside." someone shouted at them.
Jin turned to catch a glimpse of the speaker, with a shock of violet-dyed hair and multiple piercings. But he walked away from the door before Jin could get a good look at his face.
He sighed. "I hate you."
"I love you too, Jin hyung. Now, suck it up and get on with that tattoo design."
"Sometimes I wished you weren't like this." Jin grumbled before pushing against the door in front of him. "Younger brothers are supposed to be cute and adorable. But you turned out to be such a brat."
He stepped inside the tattoo studio and looked around. There were multiple stations setup , and artists focused on the art pieces in front of them.
Some of the customers sat on chairs, arms outstretched and tattooist bend down, inking their skin, while others where lying on their stomach or with a leg held up, discussing design placements with them.
"But you still love you me." Tae let out a soft chuckle and patted his shoulder.
"Now, go and hand over the design." he said, but Jin couldn't bring himself to move.
He was still questioning this sudden, reckless decision.
Yes, he had lost a bet with Jungkookie and had joked about getting a tattoo done. Tae and Jungkook both knew, he wasn't a fan of the ink or needles.
But then again, Jin had never backed down from a challenge, no matter how bad it scared him. And they all knew, if he refused to get the tattoo done now, the maknae would always taunt him about it, later on.
He was doing this because of Jungkook...okay, maybe not entirely because of the youngster.
A small part of him, was definitely curious to step into the world of tattoos and inked tattooist, and discover what all the hype was about.
"Go, talk to him." Tae gave Jin a push in the back, and he took a hesitant step towards the lavender-dyed-hair guy.
"Uh..."
The guy turned to face him, his dark brown eyes taking in Jin's ripped jeans, and long white t-shirt and scowled. Maybe Jin's dressing wasn't upto his taste?
Not like Jin cared what the guy thought, but, he should have smiled at him right? Jin could be a future customer of his right?
"So, have you made up your mind?" the guy asked Jin.
"Uh...I-I don't know." Jin looked down at the slightly crumpled piece of paper in his hand, and the design he had drawn on it.
Staring at it now, Jin somehow felt like it wasn't pretty enough. He thought the design didn't do justice to the image he had had in his mind.
"I-I wanted to get this tattooed on my arm but-"
"Let me see it." the guy took the paper from Jin and his eyes narrowed at the drawing on it.
"Are you sure, you want this design?"
"I-I'm not great when it comes to creating a sketch. C-Could you help me?" Jin was looking everywhere but at the guy in front of him. His ears and neck burned with embarrassment.
What new hell had he gotten himself into?
"Sure."
Jin heard something that sounded like a mixture of a cough and a giggle, and his head snapped up, watching as the guy's lips twitched with concealed humor.
It made him wish he could crawl underground and hide himself from further humiliation.
Another minute passed, where Jin watched a small dimple appeared on the guy's cheek, but he was still trying not to smile as much.
"It's cute, but we'll need to improvise it." the guy said, after letting Jin suffer a little in silence.
"Okay."
The guy bend down, reaching for something under his work station, and pulled out a note pad. "Fill in the form and your contact details." he said.
"Also, please let me know if you have any kind of allergies." he said, leaning into Jin's personal space and pointing to a question on the form.
Jin squirmed at the onslaught of the guy's woodsy cologne and held his breath, waiting for the guy to move away.
"N-No allergies." Jin managed to whisper, before grabbing a pen and stepping away from the tattooist.
He refused to acknowledge how his heart skipped a beat and how he had to blink to get out the image of the dimples from his mind's eyes, and shake his head, before concentrating on the form in hand.
Jin was a fledgling when it came to getting tattoos and piercings done. He had no idea, one had to fill in so many questions and columns, about personal health, care, medication and disclaimer, before getting a tattoo done.
When Jin was done filling the form, he looked up, searching for the guy, only to find him talking to another artist in hush tones. He seemed to be an employee, Jin thought. He wore the same 'Body Tattoo Studio' merch as the purple-haired guy.
"Hyung?" Tae called him. He was leaning against the reception counter, chatting up the girl behind the desk.
Of course he had to find someone to socialize with, while Jin had a mental breakdown about his future tattoo. He should have got Yoongi with him, rather then Tae, Jin thought.
At Yoongi would have stayed calm, and given him some moral support.
"What?"
"Aren't you excited to get your first tattoo?"
"No. Of course not!"
"You know I hate needles, Tae!"
Jin refused to give the younger any hints that he was curious about the procedure.
Maybe by the end of this tattoo session he would regret walking into the place? Or maybe he might enjoy it a little bit, and like the experience? Who knows?
Everything depended on that purple-haired guy.
"You're scared of needles?"
Jin stiffened at the question.
Of course the tattooist had overheard him. In fact, half of the people in the studio must have heard him, the way Jin had whispered-yelled at his brother.
"Uh.."
"It's okay. I was scared of needles too, at one time."
"Huh?" Jin blinked. The guy was trying to make small talk with him, and it somehow comforted Jin, to think that this person had gone through a similar experience.
"Mr. -"
"Namjoon." The guy said. "Just call me, Namjoon."
"Uh...Namjoon, h-how did you get rid of that fear?"
"I knocked down a few shots and went and got my first tattoo done." Namjoon said, showing Jin his wrist, where he could see some scribble-y tattoo etched on the skin.
"It was a bad decision of course, and I hated the tattoo after I woke up, the next morning. But...I was able to get past my fear of needles." he said, and the smile on his face was genuine.
Even if the memory wasn't a great one, Jin could see from his face, that he cherishes those moments.
"That's good to know." Jin mumbled. "Unfortunately, you don't have any alcohol out here."
"Of course, we do!" Namjoon said, winking at him, before cupping his mouth and whispered to Jin. "But I might get kicked out of here, if I give it to you."
Jin couldn't help but laugh at his words. Of course, he knew, Namjoon wouldn't give him alcohol, no matter how freaked out he was. This was his workplace, and there were rules to follow.
"Although...if you're not ready to get the tattoo done, just yet, I know a place that could help you relax." Namjoon said, a smile on his face.
"Oh...you do?"
"Yes." Namjoon nodded. "Follow me."
He stepped back from his work station and moved to the backdoor of the studio.
"Where are we going?" Jin asked, as they got close to the door.
"You'll see." was all that Namjoon said, as he opened the door and stepped inside the dark.
"Wha-" Jin was pulled inside as well, before he could utter another word.
What was going on? Had he been wrong to trust this Namjoon guy?
*