To say Eden was surprised was an understatement.
She was dumbfounded. Completely and utterly dumbfounded.
The redheaded man next to her was no help either. Jimin was in hysterics, cackling like someone just told him the most hilarious joke of all time. Behind him, Yoongi had the piercing care package in his hands and his small lips showed the tiniest hint of a smile. Eden gestured wildly to her ear, still too stupefied to say a word.
"What?" the blond challenged.
"Why does the shadow of my earring say your name?"
"Its a watermark," he said plainly. "Just so people know where you got it from."
Jimin finally stopped laughing, wiping a tear from his eye as he took Eden's chin between his thumb and index finger. "It looks good," he said, turning her head to take another look. "You can't even really see it unless there's light on it."
Still, something about having the grumpy piercer's name projected behind her ear constantly made Eden feel weird. Taking another look at the shadow, she sighed.
"Thank you," She muttered. "How much do I owe you?"
"Oh, don't pay me," Yoongi said quickly. He handed her the care package and pointed out the door. "Pay Namjoon. Jimin will take you back to the front."
Eden shrugged her coat back up on her shoulders, nodding silently as she made sure the stack of cash was still in her pocket. She could hear Jimin and Yoongi whispering behind her, and she wondered what they were talking about. She didn't really mean to, but she purposefully took her time zipping up her coat to catch some of the conversation.
"... -Joon made you do it?"
"Yup." There was a sigh. "But it should be fine, right? Did you check her?"
"Clean as a needle. I think you're good."
"Great. The last thing-"
The earring suddenly started to burn red hot in Eden's ear, and she hissed and grabbed at her ear feverishly. The metal itself was still cool, but something about it still made her ear burn.
"Oh, are you alright?"
Jimin's hand gently reached for her shoulder, turning her softly to face him. "Let me take a look," he whispered, pulling her hand away. Her ear was bright red around the silver of the earring, like it would swell any second. Jimin pressed his fingertips to her skin gently. "Are you allergic to silver?"
"Um. I don't know.. I don't think so."
Yoongi threw his hands up in the air. "Of course she doesn't. It's her first piercing."
Jimin frowned slightly, his eyes fixed on her skin. "Keep an eye on it," he said after a second. "If it gets worse you should come back."
"Come back? Shouldn't I go to a doctor?"
Jimin shook his head. "We can fix it. Free of charge. We'll get you a new earring and everything. But you have to come back to us, not another parlor."
Eden nodded, zipping up the last of her coat. "I'm, uh, ready to pay now."
"Great! I'll take you to Joon."
Jimin's cheerful demeanor returned as he made his way to the doorway, holding the door open for Eden with a smile. She smiled back, taking a second to turn to Yoongi before she left. "Thank you," she mumbled awkwardly.
He waved her off and grumbled his reply, turning around to continue working on something else.
Now it was Eden's turn to scowl. She rolled her eyes and turned on her heel to follow Jimin out the door.
Once the two were out of Yoongi's workspace, the air felt lighter. Jimin shot her a playful smile as they walked, seeming to sense her uneasy energy.
"Don't mind Yoongi." He waved his hand. "He's a good guy. He just has a hard time relating to other people, and he's really into his work."
"He sure does a good job," Eden admitted. Absentmindedly, she reached up and rubbed the earring adorning her ear. The shape of a key was unmistakable against her fingers, and she wondered how anyone could see the jewelry as anything else.
Jimin parted the thick black curtain and let her through to the main area. Namjoon leaned against the front counter, his brown eyes focused on something just out of sight. He wasn't smiling, and since that was the only thing Eden saw on his face, his expression seemed weird.
"Ahem."
Breaking from his concentration, Namjoon glared at his fiery headed friend before noticing the girl beside him. The anger in his face quickly dropped, replaced with that goofy smile Eden was beginning to recognize. "Hey! You're all done! How'd it go?"
"Meh," she answered honestly. "Why did no one tell me about his little watermark?"
The brunette tilted his head. "Watermark?"
"Yeah. When light shines on it, the shadow of the key spells his name. It's his way of signing his work."
Namjoon grinned. "Ah, I see." He bent out of sight, rummaging through folders. "Yoongi is a mystery. I can't say I'm surprised. Was everything else fine?"
"Well, I might be allergic to the metal he used, but I'm not sure yet. Jimin told me to come back if it hurt any worse."
The tall man resurfaced, holding the paperwork from earlier in his hands. "I hope he specified here and not another parlor?"
Eden nodded. "So, how much is everything?"
"Well, the custom earring is $40, the piercing is $15.. but you qualify for the bundle, so just $45 for both."
She nodded and pulled out a stack of bills, searching for two twenties and a five to hand over. Jimin whistled at the sight, running his hand through his hair as he chuckled. "Thats a fat stack of cash," he teased. "Running from someone?"
She tensed. "Um. No, just... starting new."
Namjoon gave Jimin a look. "That's okay. Not many fresh 18 year olds have their own debit card. Jimin's just teasing." He took the bills and double checked them, furring his eyebrows at the final count. "There's an extra 5 here."
"Yeah, I wanted to leave Yoongi a tip. He did a really good job, watermark and all."
"Oh..." Namjoon scrunched his nose. "I'm.. sure he'll appreciate it. I'll let him know."
After authorizing the payment and signing the bottom of the paperwork, Eden was finally ready to leave the small parlor. She stuffed the small care package in the pocket of her coat and waved goodbye to Namjoon and Jimin, the latter now seated on the black countertop of the front desk. He blew her a kiss as she walked through the door, punctuating the action with a wink.
Once she was through the doors, Eden felt...
Well. She felt lonely.
She tried to ignore the feeling as she made her way back to her house, but it was too heavy to push to the side completely. Each step closer made the feeling grow more and more, and she tried to capture every memory of the place. The dark work rooms, the whirring of the tattoo guns, Namjoon's dimples, Jimin's laugh-
Yoongi's grumpiness.
She rolled her eyes to herself, almost in disbelief. But something about the short, platinum blond man stood out like an orange in an apple field.
It wasn't long before her heavy feet made their way to her house. She made sure her dark brown coils covered her ears properly to hide her piercing. Once she was sure she looked normal - or as un-suspicious as she could - she pushed her key in the lock and opened the door.
"Eden! Where have you been?"
"Out," she muttered, sighing as she closed the door behind her. A familiar pair of beady brown eyes stared at her, not looking happy at all to see her. She didn't even bother taking her coat off as she trudged toward the kitchen.
"I'm surprised you have time to be out," her mother snapped. "Don't you have other things to be doing?"
Eden bit back a sarcastic remark. "I'm packed already," she said through clenched teeth. "I'll be out of your hair by the end of the hour."
"You should've been out of my hair years ago."
The sarcasm couldn't stay contained. "How pitiful for you," she snorted. "Legally responsible for me for the last 17 years of your life. What a pity."
The woman in front of her put her hands on her hips. "Yes, it was a pity. I shouldn't have fostered you."
Eden's fist shook at her side. How was any of that her fault? She was barely a year old when she was dumped in the hands of a stranger, her entire life flipped upside down onto its head. It was a "temporary placement", the social worker said. Just until her parents came back.
Spoiler alert, they never did.
That's not what bothers her. It's the fact that the one constant in her life hates her. When she was placed in the Kemp household, they were under the impression that she would be gone in a couple months. But once two years passed, Mr.Kemp couldn't take it anymore. He divorced her mother and moved out within two weeks of Eden's third birthday. He said he wanted his own family, not some random kid who was dumped on them unexpectedly.
She's lived a life of working to pay off her "debts" ever since. Now that she was finally 18, it was time to rid the Kemp household goodbye.
Her mother was under the impression that Eden was moving in with a friend. Not that she cared, but that was the story Eden told her. As far as she was concerned, the young girl had no money to her name.
Eden was just very good at keeping her money hidden.
She managed to strike a deal with the owner of a grocery store a few streets down. She could stay in the apartment above the store for a couple months, until she could afford a proper home. She paid him $600 up front for two months rent. It put a dent in her funds, but she'd rather that than to stay in this house any longer.
"You have an hour," the older woman in front of her said flatly. "Preferaby sooner, but I don't want you here a second later. Hurry up and get out."
"Whatever."
Eden's reluctant feet led her to her room at the back of the house, which was void of her personal belongings. The only things in there were her bed and dresser, both completely bare. All her clothes and sentimental items fit into two suitcases and a backpack, which was ideal for travelling by foot.
She checked around the room for anything she might have overlooked. Every drawer was empty, every hiding spot ransacked. If anyone looked into this room they'd have no idea that she had all her firsts there.
Her hand reached up and traced the earring on her ear slowly. The coldness of the metal kept her focused on the present. She was finally leaving, finally getting the reins on her own life.
Whatever lied beyond the door of adulthood was waiting for her, and she finally had the key.
She was ready.
With the backpack on her back and a suitcase in each hand, Eden took one last look at her childhood bedroom before flipping it off and closing the door.
Here's to a new beginning.