A/N:
I did a double and this is 2000 words (double usual too) in apology for not updating ily
xx
The following day Jin was back at work after his brief holiday. He was back to charming ladies with cute smiled and cuter laughs, working his magic on their nails and ensuring that he made up for the lost time. He already felt bad enough knowing how much harder his colleagues had to help around since they already had little staff as it is, losing one would make a massive difference.
"JIN YOU HAVE RETURNED!" An ecstatic Dil jumped with joy as soon as his eyes met Jin's. "How was your break?!"
Jin giggled. "It was amazing!"
Kei soon appeared too behind Dil with a small smirk, saluting Jin with his right hand. "Good to see you Jin."
Jin nodded. "Hey big one."
"I'm glad you're back now I don't have to listen to this one talk non stop." Kei grinned, ruffling Dil's hair.
Dil frowned, looking up at the giant before him. "You know you love it." He smirked.
Jin smiled fondly at the two before wandering to the backroom and placing his things back into his locker. There he was met by Ryan who was currently on his phone presumably texting somebody with a noticeable blush covering his cheeks.
"Hello Arthur." Jin greeted casually. He had lately development a weird habit to call his friends random names nowhere related to their real names, a trait that he had inherited from Ludus somehow from spending too much time together.
"Good morning Samamtha." Ryan raised an eyebrow in return, playing along.
"Texting your boyfriend I see?" Jin teased, quickly slipping out of his shirt and into his work clothes.
"Maybe I am. I see your boyfriend couldn't resist leaving a few marks on you before you left huh?" Ryan retaliated, trying desperately not to laugh.
Jin felt his cheeks heat up, hand quickly moving to the small purple marking covering his collarbone. He rolled his eyes, smiling as he left the room.
The next few hours flew by and Jin worked at ease with his usual nice clients. They were all young teens since that was his suited demographic, wanting simple yet elegant designs.
At this point Dil continued to endure a course for nail training so he still wasn't fully allowed to do anyone's nails but still watch and clean up. But he didn't mind since it gave him an excuse to watch Kei all day.
Eventually when they only had an hour till closing, the time reaching 7pm, Dil shuffled his chair over to Jin's desk to watch from afar but close enough to observe what he was doing.
He was nearly finished on a young lady's nails painted with maroon matte style. Dil was mentally noting to ask Jin sometime in the future to do his own nails like that since he had fallen in love with it. Once that nice lady paid and left, Jin turned to him with a smile, resting his elbows on the table whilst cupping his cheeks.
"You look tired. Those nails were gorgeous but looked like hard work, maybe take a break?" Dil suggested, smiling at the blonde-haired one who only now noticed had roots darker than the ends.
"I'm perfectly fine little bunny don't you worry." Jin laughed, smiling as a new lady made her way towards him.
The lady smiled as he stood up, shaking her hand respectively as this lady seemed older than his age not younger like the previous girls. This only led him to question why she had approached Jin and not Kei, but nevertheless continued to dhow great respect.
Dil smiled nicely at the lady too.
"Hello, new customer I presume? I don't seem to recognise your face. My name is Jin, this is Dil." Jin gestured to Dil who was sat besides him now. "He's in training currently so I hope you don't mind his observation."
"Of course not." The lady replied with a delightful smile, letting out an amused giggle.
Her high pitched voice hit Jin as he stared at her closely with sudden shock. Jin felt weird. He recognised that laugh.
Why did he recognise that laugh?
Why does she look familiar?
Jin was sure he had an exquisite memory so the fact that he couldn't pinpoint this one lady bugged him.
He began to do her nails, all the while asking simple questions in hopes to ring a bell of some sort. He felt pools of anxiousness somehow sworn in his stomach every time she let out a small giggle after an answer.
Dil had noticed too but luckily the woman hadn't. Jun had clearly tensed up every time this occurred with a fake smile to cover it. He could tell it was fake as it didn't quite reach his nervous eyes.
"Can I ask if you're around here?" Jin asked another question trying to keep the conversation light, looking down at her nails.
"Oh no, I live quite far but a friend of mine recommend this place." She smiled, face crinkling. He could see the wrinkles appear in her smile showing that she seemed at least over 30.
"Oh where abouts?" Jin smiled back.
"I live in East London about twenty minutes away." She replied.
"I use to live there." Jin muttered off-handedly. Dil could practically see the gears twisting and turning in his friend's mind after that offhand comment.
"You wouldn't happen to know...a James Burns would you?" Jin asked quietly, focusing closely on the nails.
"Yes! Of course I do, how do you know him?" The lady said with a bright smile once more letting out a laugh.
Dil watched as Jin let out a bitter laugh. A laugh do fake even Kei turned around to see what had happened.
"Small world. He was just a friend of mine." Jin replied with a wide grin. Soon after, the woman had payed and left, Jin not cracking a single smile.
"Jin." Dil said quietly, voice laced with uncertainty. "Are you okay"
Jin shrugged. "Perfectly fine. "
"How did you know her?" Kei interrupted, his final client for the night also gone.
"There's some faces you just remember." Jin spat, making his way to the empty back room. "Like the face your dad cheats on with."
**
Dil and Kei had decided on giving Jin some time since he seemed upset but was highly unlikely to show it in front of them or talk to them about it. So instead, they sat and talked in the front room, getting ready to lock up in twenty minutes or so as instructed by their boss who has left early.
Jin sat alone in the backroom, knees up to his chest, throat dry with a throbbing sensation as he held back any more tears. His chest felt tight, hurting as the same scene ran over his mind.
A toddler Jin sat on the stairs of his small house watching as one of his dad's finally came home. He was about to run downstairs to hug and kiss him since his other dad was currently away for work leaving him home by himself most of the day, but his dad wasn't alone. The woman who followed had a soft high-pitched laugh. She had a melodic tone and through the dimmed light it was noticeable that her eyes were bright.
They were laughing loudly. Eventually turning to silence. Then other sounds. Sounds that he wished he could carve out of his brain with a knife if he could, causing that toddler Jin to run back up to his room and cry himself to sleep. The image of that putrid woman and man remained in his dreams.
*
"How the fuck could you do this to me?!" Jin watched as his two father's argued, he sat on the sofa in a small ball, the fight occurring the following day once his father had returned from work.
He never really knew how he found out.
"I told you it was an accident!" The other man said angrily.
"How could it be an accident if our own son had to see it with his own eyes?!" The man choked out, tears freely rolling down his cheeks now.
Jin watched through half-shut eyes in horror, not wanting either of them to fight. It was a feeling that made him always regret seeing that. A conclusion his own mind had come to, that they broke up because of him.
*
Jin's mind was racing and his heart was beating fast. His hands were shaking and all he could think about was that.
The time he was sitting on the stairs waiting for his father to return.
The time he was scrunched up on the sofa watching his parents fight.
The time he saw his father walk out of the door for the last time.
The time he saw his father in tears sitting in the kitchen contemplating things under his breath.
The dark times.
The thoughts replayed like a scratched dis unable to get out of Jin's head, the only sounds coming to mind was the sound of his father crying late at night layered by the sound of his other father and that woman's laugh.
He couldn't get it out and before he realised the whimpers escaped his lips followed by screams for help. His hands had made it up to his head tugging on his hair as if every strand was connected to the plug connecting those memories.
The sounds had caused Dil to rush in soon followed by Kei.
"JIN STOP YOU'RE HURTING YOURSELF!" Dil quickly exclaimed as his friend sat cowered in a corner, now crying freely.
Knowing now wasn't the time to question what was happening, Kei quickly rushed besides Jin and pulling hands apart from his hair with a lot of force.
"NO." Jin screamed, causing his voice to break. "LEAVE ME ALONE." He screamed louder.
"IT WASN'T MY FAULT." He repeated over and over again. "I PROMISE."
"Dil call Ludus." Kei said calmly not wanting to scare Dil who was whimpering as he watched. The veins stuck out of Kei's arms and neck as he kept hold of Jin's struggling arms as Jin continued to try to break his grip.
"LET ME GO KEI." He screamed again.
Kei had been through this before a long time ago when Jin first started working at the nail salon, but it wasn't the as bad. He knew about the trichotillomania but it had never been this bad, something bad must of triggered it. He continued to fight with force and keeping Jin's hands back.
Dil called Ludus with shaky hands, half crying through the phone begging him to quickly get to the nail salon.
Meanwhile Kei continued to attempt to calm Jin down. "Jin, breathe with me ok? In and out. One, two. One, two."
Jin shook his head forcefully. "I can still hear it, i-it's not working." His voice cracked quietly. "P-Please let me go."
Suddenly Ludus burst through the door followed by Dil who had let him in. Ludus ran to Jin's side, Kei taking it as his que to finally release his strong grip on Jin's wrist. In return Ludus grabbed them, sitting besides Jin and resting his hands on his own lap.
"I-I need to-"
"No you don't." Ludus replied calmly, eyes laced with worry. He turned to Kei and Dil. "Can you guys give us a moment?"
"Call me if you need us." Kei grabbed Dil's hand pulling him away to another room to calm him down.
Jin looked down at his shaking hands in Ludus' lap. "I-I can only hear that."
Ludus hugged Jin tightly as Jin squirmed trying to push him away only causing Ludus to hug tighter. Ludus placed both of his hands on the shaking boy's head, stroking it and massaging it gently.
"Breathe." He repeated. "In. Out." He repeated, continuing the soothing motion whispering softly into Jin's ear. "Do it with me baby, in, out. Come on Jin."
Jin took a deep breath, eyes blind with tears.
"Focus on my eyes now." Ludus pulled apart from the hug, hands near the other boy's wrist just in case as he rested their foreheads together.
"Look at my eyes and focus on the colour." Ludus said once more. "Still breathe. In. Out."
The two boy's sat so close they were practically intaking the same breath. Ludus read Jin's eyes watching as they eventually relaxed more, loosing the frightened look they had before. Now they were half lidded, still staring into Ludus' brown eyes intensely.
It was hard to tell how long had passed but some time had passed when Jin finally spoke.
"It's gone."
Ludus hugged the blonde one into a tight bone-crushing hug. "I'm glad to hear that cupcake." His voice choked.
Jin nodded with a relieved sigh. "I can't hear it anymore, thank you."
Ludus continued to stroke Jin's hair soothingly. "Are you sleepy baby?"
Jin nodded. "I feel worn out."
"We can go home now if you'd like. But I'm staying by your side before you can say anything."
Jin nodded with a tired smile. He was still stating into his eyes. "Did you know your pupils dilate when you get horny, are you horny?"
Ludus rolled his eyes. "No of course not. You're pupils can expand for various reasons. Like for example they can expand up to a certain percent when looking at somebody you love, silly." He said with no falter in his confidence.
Jin lazily pressed their lips together, not even moving his, just wanting to feel closer to the man before him more than ever.
Ludus let out a small surprised laugh muffled and eventually pulled apart. "Come on cupcake." He said, hopping to his feet and helping the other one up too.
They made their way home, both exhausted. But the entire time, Ludus made sure to keep his hand on Jin's head soothingly massaging his scalp.
xx