After getting breakfast, Jay and Haneul go to the nearest tattoo parlor. Looks like Jay is really determined to fuck up everything like what he said.
"Are you sure you're gonna get it today? You have an important runaway tomorrow..."
"I'm a hundred percent sure." he responds.
The bell rings as they both push the glass door, receiving a welcome from the workers.
"Welcome!"
The workers there look mature and built, with a bunch of tattoos on their arms and body. Haneul stays behind Jay, feeling a little uncomfortable since she's the only girl in the shop.
"Hello, what are you planning to do here, piercing or tattoos?" a 5'10 guy greeted with a smile on his face. He got piercing on his eyebrows and a full sleeve of tattoos on his right arm.
Haneul's eyes travel to his nametag, Jk.
Nice name.
"Tattoos."
"Here's the book with tattoo designs. Or you can also show us references photos and we can recreate them. Call me if you're done." he shows a warm smile before leaving Haneul and Jay alone.
Jay nodded his head before diverting his attention to Haneul standing awkwardly behind him.
"Why are you standing there? Come here."
Haneul walks closer to him, still busy looking around the shop. It smells like cigarettes and ink, the interior is really nice though.
"What design do you wanna do?" Jay questions.
She finally sits next to her, opening the tattoo design book trying to find something that suits her taste.
"I want a simple and small tattoo."
Jay nods his head, looking at another book trying to find the design he likes too.
"Jay, what do you think about this?" Haneul scoots the book to him, pointing her finger to one of the pictures in it.
He looks at it, examining the design.
It's a bunch of small and minimalist stars.
"Are that stars?" he asks.
"Yup."
"I think it looks quite nice. Where do you want it tattoed?"
Haneul shows him a small grin, before answering him. "The same place as the pictures, but a little bit lower from my collarbone."
"Really? Why?"
"I saw pictures of some girls with a tattoo there, I think it looks sexy."
"It's gonna get hidden by your clothes plus you don't have anyone to impress it to." he teased.
"I know it's not gonna be noticeable when I wear my clothes, but it's fine. I can impress myself looking at the mirror every day." she playfully poses in front of him earning a chuckle.
"I'll get a boyfriend so I can show him my tattoo on my chest, damn that sounds sexy--"
"Cut off your imagination, Haneul. Who would even want you?" he replies teasingly before looking back at the references of the photos on the table.
"Tch, there will be, just see."
Haneul rolled her eyes, her nose crinkled up looking at him in annoyance.
"What about you?"
He flips the pages, still searching for a good design. After a few seconds, one of the designs caught his attention.
"This."
"Half is butterfly wing and the other half is angel's wing." his eyes lit up in excitement when he saw the photo references.
"Wait, why is yours so much prettier than mine?" Haneul pouts her lips sulking while looking at the picture.
"Your loss." he shows her a teasing smile before chuckling looking at her disappointed face.
"But why angel's wing though?"
"Angels from heaven."
"And?"
"I wanna go to heaven." he stated simply before closing the book.
Haneul just let out a small laugh, assuming how weird his thinking is.
"Where do you want it tattoed?"
"On my back."
"Your dad is not gonna be happy when he sees it." Haneul stares into his eyes, trying to warn him.
"He's not gonna see it unless he strips me naked." Jay replies confidently, turning his body to her next to him.
"Yeah, yeah... Let's see how long you will last without being caught."
---
"Are you ready to do it?" the guy sits on a chair, guiding Haneul to the bed.
They decided to do one person each time since the other worker is quite busy at the moment. Jay sits on a sofa near them, waiting for his turn after Haneul.
"Will it hurt?" Haneul asks the guy while laying on the bed getting comfortable.
"From the place you want, it might stings a little. But don't worry, yours is just a little tattoo, you can bear it."
Haneul nods her head, feeling a little nervous since this is her first time but she mustered her courage.
"You can take off your clothes, I'll take something first." the guy stands up walking to one of the room.
Jay's eyes immediately lifted from his phone when the worker asks her to take off her clothes. He stands up, approaching her on the bed near him.
Haneul didn't even bother, she immediately took off her hoodie placing it on the table next to the bed exposing her black inner-wear.
"Yah, Haneul!" Jay shouts in shock.
"What?"
"How low are you gonna do the tattoo that makes you take off your hoodie?" Jay speaks while taking a small glimpse at her. He looks away as he felt his face feeling hot all of a sudden after seeing her half-naked.
"Of course I'd take it off, the head opening is too small--"
"You gonna let him touch you there?"
He didn't show where but she knows what he meant since Haneul wants it right below her collarbone which is near her chest.
"Why? He's a tattooist, I bet he saw a lot of women's--"
Jay didn't say anything, he grabbed her hoodie before placing it on her stomach covering some of her skin.
"At least cover your stomach."
"Dumbass." He cuts her off closing his eyes while walking back to the couch before settling down himself.
Haneul watches his step, looking at him weirdly.
What's wrong with him?
"Alright, you ready?" the tattooer finally comes back with some towels on his hands.
"Yeah."
"Okay sit back and relax, tell me if you can't handle the pain." he shows her a warm smile making her returns the smile immediately.
The guy seems nice, Haneul feels comfortable with him. At first, she's kinda scared since his tattoo is covering almost all of his body, he looks intimidating. That's why there's a word that says do not judge a book by its cover.
"I'm gonna have permission to touch you, okay?"
So gentleman.
She nodded her head showing him a smile.
The tattooist did all of the prepping, and it's finally the time to start to draw.
"Take a deep breath, it might sting a little."
She flinches a little when the needle pokes into her skin, but within seconds she realizes the pain doesn't feel that bad.
Jay stops his track, watching Haneul closely from afar. The tattooist leans to her shoulder, slightly removes her inner wear straps to make it easier for tattooing.
Why does he need to lean that close?
I should've told Haneul to do at less painful places.
Why does she even do it on her collarbone?
She got no one to impress it to anyway.
Wait...
Why do I care so much?
Jay shakes his head, mentally dumbfounded by his thoughts. He tries to resist looking at her, but she seems like she's holding the pain well.
"You're good at handling pain for a beginner." the tattooist let out a small chuckle while needling the ink into her skin.
Haneul shows him a small smile, "Thank you."
Well, it's because I've been holding even worse pain than this my whole life...
Looks like getting a tattoo is not a problem.
Haneul is feeling fine but she could feel someone is intensely watching her from her right. She slowly spins her head to him, but he immediately removes her gaze from her.
Haneul let out a small chuckle, looking at him.
After a few minutes, her tattoo is finally done since it's just a little drawing.
"You can check on the mirror, see how you like it." the tattooist recommends.
Haneul stands up from the bed, walking towards a big mirror in front of her. She examines the tattoo on her lower collarbone, it's pretty.
She smiles until it reaches her ears, feeling pleased by the results. It came out better than she thought. Haneul takes a glance at Jay who is sitting on the sofa, unbothered with his phone.
She approaches before calling him, "Jay, look." Haneul shows the tattoo to him excitedly.
"How is it?"
Jay lifts his gaze, looking at the tattoo before nodding his head.
"Good."
"That's it?"
"Nice."
"Can you compliment nicely?"
Jay closes his phone, standing in front of her towering her head.
"It suits you well. Wear your hoodie, all the guys behind are watching you." Jay talks in low voice, grabbing the hoodie from her hand before helping her put on clothes.
She could feel her heart beating fast when he puts on the hoodie on her head. She spins her head to the back, revealing no one.
"No one is behind me."
"There are male ghosts too."
Haneul punches his chest slightly, looking at him in disbelief.
"Why are you so scared of guys seeing me with my undergarments? Do you like me?" she rolled her eyes.
"You're next, you can come and sit here." the tattooist calls him.
He looks at her with his eyebrows raised, "You wish." he let out a scoff before walking away from her. Haneul's eyes follow his step, staring at the back of his head.
Weird.
---
"All done." the tattooer removes his gloves, looking at his work on Jay's back proudly.
"It's gonna heal in approximately 1-2 weeks, and wear sunscreen every day to avoid discoloration." he advised.
Haneul stares at him in awe, he didn't even flinch when doing the tattoo. His pain tolerance is unbelievably high. She examines the tattoo on his back, right below his neck on his spinal column.
Her head tilts, traveling down his body.
He has a pretty body shape...
It's like an inverted triangle shape, small waist.
Not really a surprise, he's a model.
Wait why do I study his body?
"Alright, thanks." he answers simply before putting on his clothes back. He stands up from his seat, spinning his body to her.
"Let's go." he walks away leaving Haneul on the sofa.
As soon as Haneul starts to follow him, he suddenly stops his track when his phone rings. She walks in front of him, curious who is calling him.
His eyebrows knitted, he looks at his phone screen displeased.
"What's wrong? Who's calling?"
Jay shows her his phone screen to her face, making her eyes widen when she saw the caller id.
Dad.
"Uh oh..."
Jay takes in a deep breath before sliding the answer button.
"Hello."
"Where are you? If you're not resting at your house I'm seriously gonna be pissed--"
"I'm in my house... Why?" he lied before taking a small glimpse to Haneul in front of him.
"Good. You have runaway tomorrow, I need to be fully prepared and not mess up anything."
"I know..."
"I'm gonna come visit with your mom." his dad added.
"What? Visit? No, you don't have to come--" his eyes widened while looking at Haneul panickly.
"Why can't I?"
"I... I'm with my girlfriend. I know you hate seeing her right?" He let out a humorous laugh.
If dad knows that I'm not at home and has been around not resting when I have an important runaway tomorrow, he's gonna kill me anytime.
"I don't care, we're arriving in 10 minutes."
And just like that, his dad ended the call. His expression shows a panicked expression, hurriedly puts his phone in his pocket. Haneul looks at him, waiting for his explanation.
"Why did you mention my name?"
"That's not the problem, my parents are gonna come to my house. If he knows that I'm not home, this might be my last words."
"What--"
"Let's go, we don't have time." he pulls her hand, running outside the tattoo shop immediately.
"Where are we going?"
"My house."
"Wait, with me? Why?"
"You're my girlfriend, I need my dad to leave immediately."
"You're using me for your own sake?" she let out a scoff while running with him to his bike.
"So are you. You're using me for money too, remember that, dumbass." he shows her a teasing smile before putting on his helmet in hurry.
Oh yeah, he's right.
She rolled her eyes, reaching the helmet before wearing it on her head.
---
"Why are you here, miss Haneul?"
Mr. And Mrs. Park are sitting on the sofa, just watching Haneul and Jay sit and cling next to each other. His dad looks disapproved when he saw Haneul is there, probably didn't expect Jay to tell the truth.
"Why not? She's my girlfriend, she can be here whenever she wants, dad." Jay pulls her waist closer to him. Haneul is still not used to this Jay who acts like they're so close in front of their parents when in reality he's not that clingy.
"Have you eaten, Haneul?" Mrs. Park warmly asks Haneul in front of her.
Haneul nods showing him a warm smile, "I did, with Jay earlier."
"We're not gonna discuss whatever they eat, I'm here to tell you something." His dad interrupts the conversation.
Jay looks to his dad, feeling quite uneasy. "What is it?"
"We have decided your wedding date, it's on 25th June."
Her heart drops after hearing that, she wonders how he feels...
Surprisingly, Jay stays quiet. But she could tell that he's probably even shocked himself. Haneul tilts her head to him, studying his expression.
His expression is blank like a canvas, staring into his dad's eyes with nothing but disappointment. Haneul slowly moves her hand wrapping his waist, caressing him from the back.
"You can start looking for a wedding dress for your bride, Miyoung."
No one speaks anything, just the television noise consuming the living room. Even Mrs. Park looks guilty towards Jay and Haneul.
Usually, Jay would be shouting and disagreeing with his dad, but now he looks like he's done enough. He looks tired, speechless to even say any words.
25th of June, a month away...
Am I gonna witness him walking on the aisle?
Why do I feel hurt?
"Anything to say, miss Haneul?" his dad calls out for her.
She looks down at her hand, feeling loss at words too. Although it's not her who is going through, she feels disappointed in his dad who always decides things without Jay's knowing.
"So the girlfriend seems to agree with the wedding--"
"No... I never say that."
Haneul lifts her gaze, staring into his dad's eyes with a burning gaze.
"Don't you want the best for your son?"
His dad looks at her with a smirk, probably taken aback by her unexpected comeback.
"Of course. I want the best for Jongseong, and this is one of them--"
"He doesn't seem to like it though. Is it for your happiness or his?" Haneul questions again, making Jay pull her waist tighter signing her to stop.
"That's it right? So can you leave?" Jay finally speaks after being quiet for quite a long time.
His dad's eyes are still glued to Haneul, but she didn't budge like the first time they met, She looks furious too.
"Mom, can you leave?" Jay diverts his gaze to his mom when his dad ignores his words.
She shows him a guilty smile, nodding her head understanding his demand. "I will, rest well for tomorrow son." she stands up pulling her husband arms to stand up with her.
Within seconds, his parents finally left his house leaving them both silent in the living room.
"I'll send you home. Tomorrow at 12 pm, I'll pick you up." Jay stands up from the sofa, reaching his car key on the coffee table.
Haneul grabs his hand, stopping him from moving further away.
"Are you okay?"
Jay didn't say anything, instead he nodded his head showing her a small smile.
"You sure?"
"I need some time alone."
-----------------