Y/N, you can do this.

You've got this in the bag.

It'll be like ripping off a Band-Aid:

fast, and (hopefully) only slightly

painful.

You hover outside the glass doors of the tattoo shop, peering into the gloomy depths beyond. The difference between the bright, sunlit street you're standing on now and the dark space inside is incredible. It's like a whole different world in there.

The walls are dark, covered up in sketches and ideas, sample art and pictures of past clients. The floor is black tile, and the lighting is dim and hazy. Smoke hangs in the air like a cloud. You can see a couple of guys milling around inside aimlessly, taking a break in the lull between customers.

There's one sitting behind the counter, lazily scrolling through his phone. A cigarette is clamped in between his lips, the dull orange light on the end reflecting off of the lip ring encompassing the slight fullness of his bottom lip. His face is young looking, which combines in a shocking manner with all of the ink on his body. Especially the tear-shaped tattoo on the crest of his cheek, right below the corner of his eyes.

He'll be crying for the rest of eternity.

The man glances up, not flinching even a bit when he sees you on the other side of the door. Slowly, one of his eyebrows rises up in a barely-caring, questioning arch.

You comin in or what?

Taking a deep breath, you place a trembling hand on the door and push inside. The interior of thee shop smells different than you expected it too. You anticipated a mixture of cigarettes and sweat, but there's a yummy undertone floating along in the background.

It smells musky and attractive.

It smells like men.

A bell over the door jingles, summoning another guy from the back of the shop. This one's a brunette in a choker, small black gages in his ears.

"Welcome to BB's," he a says with bright smile. "I'm Hoseok. How can I help you?"

You start to smile at him, but his shirt catches your eye and you blink. It's made completely of...mesh? You can see his entire chest clearly, including the big work of art across the right side of his torso that partially flows over his tight abs. The sight of the man's bare chest makes you blush and avert your eyes. Dang it, Y/N, be mature.

Hoseok's head cocks to the side as he observes you, curiously amused at your lack of answer. As you go to speak, you notice with even more shock that he's got an almost identical teardrop tattoo on the opposite eye as the man behind the counter.

"S-sorry," you manage to stutter, forcing your eyes from the tear. "Um, I'm here to get a tattoo." Maybe.

The guy behind the counter snorts dryly at your pathetic request and goes back to his phone, pausing for a moment to exhale a mouthful of smoke. His black hair is glimmering in the low lights of the shop.

"That's great!" Hoseok says cheerfully. "You're eighteen,

right?"

"Nineteen, actually," you respond. "That's okay, right?"

"Perfect." Hoseok nudges the guy behind the counter, insistently. "Yoongi hyung, can you hand me that paperwork?"

Glancing up at you again, Yoongi puffs out some smoke and clasps his cancer stick between two fingers. "It's your first tatt, huh?" he says in a deep voice. "You're nervous." With one hand, he passes a stack of papers to Hoseok.

You blush at his slightly mocking look, trying to hold your chin up straight. "It's my first," you confirm shakily. "I...it's kind of a new start for me. A new me."

Hoseok gives you a couple of papers, grinning a smile that makes you blink. He's got the most beautiful smile you've ever seen. The of his smile and his large, sparkling eyes and the aristocratic lines of his face disorient you.

He's really gorgeous.

"Just fill these out for me, and your artist will be out to meet you in a second," Hoseok says. "And don't be nervous. A new start, right? Jungkookie will be gentle, and he'll help you get that new start." Pausing, the brunette glances around the shop. "Do you know what you want? Anything catching your eye?"

Joining him in scanning the parlor's walls, you linger over a hand-drawn design hanging on the far wall. It's a cluster of flowers, delicate and beautiful, connected by a vine and outlined in a silvery color. There's about it that draws you in, and you unconsciously start to drift towards it.

Hoseok follows close behind.

When you get close up, the intricate details of the design only serve to fascinate you even more. Gently, you reach up and let your fingers brush against the smooth paper.

"This one..." you whisper, tracing part of the elegant vine. "Can I get this one?"

Glancing over your shoulder, you blink at the odd expression on Hoseok's face.

"Huh," he says. His long fingers. reach out and unpin the sketch, holding it in front of him, and he smiles a secret smile. "That's interesting." The black ring hanging from his nose flicks out when he exhales and clasps the thick sheet of paper under his arm.

"Is that a bad one to pick?" you hesitantly question. Regret pounds through you at the thought that you've already screwed something up. What are you doing here? As ironic as it is with your heritage, you don't know how to function in this world; this world that's barely corporeal, made of wispy smoke and dark lines.

However, Hoseok's immediate denial makes you feel better. "No, this one's perfect," he says with a sweet squinting of his eyes. "Where do you want it? This is a pretty big piece, so you need some space."

Oh. You haven't really thought about that yet. At the obvious cluelessness in your eyes, Hoseok chuckles and waves his hand. "If you don't know, it's okay. You can talk to Jungkook. He'll help you decide."

After you've finished filling out the paperwork and confirming your payment, you follow Hoseok out of the lobby and into a long hallway studded with doorways on either side, small lights on the ceiling the way.

Jungkook's room is in the back," Hoscok says, making conversation as you go. "He likes to kind of be away from everyone when he's working; it helps him concentrate. His room actually used to be the storage room, but we cleaned everything out and moved it so he could work in here." At the end of his sentence, Hoseok gently pushes open the dark door at the very end of the hall, openeing up a large room with a reclining chair in the middle.

There's a guy sitting in the chair, bare-chested and eyes closed while a second man leans over him with a whirring needle in his hand. At your entrance, the first guy's eyes flicker and he sits up a little, grinning. The two rings on the right side of his bottom lip shift with the action. The smile takes over his whole face in a rectangular narrowing the unbelievably beautiful eyes that rest under the fringe of his silver-dyed hair. His chest and arms are littered with various patches of ink, and a tiny cross-shaped tattoo is on the crest of his right check.

Seems to be a popular spot for ink when you work in this shop.

"Hyung, I told you to stay still." commands the second guy. You can't see his face as his back is to you, but his hair is pitch-black. and his shoulders look strong. You think you might spy a hint of ink on the nape of his neck, but then his head lifts and it disappears below his scruffy hair, covered by the high collar of his button-up shirt.

Which one of these is Jungkook?

Hosock shakes his head and

peers over the dark-headed man's shoulder, where he's drawing over the silver-headed man's ribcage. "What's he getting this time?"

Without even flinching, focusing tattoo artist continues to trace the needle over the guy's skin. "A freaking pair of angel wings on his ribs. Why?"

"Because I was a fallen angel

in past life, I swear," the

silver-haired man defends

cheerfully.

"Tae hyung," sighs the second guy.

"There are no words..."

Hoseok huffs out a laugh and pats Tachyung's hip. "Anyways, Kook, finish up, okay? You've got a customer."

There's no hesitation in his strong, immediate answer. "Send them to Jimin. I've got sketches to work on."

Stomach dropping at his outright you look at Hoscok's face. He seems unaffected by the younger man's command. It's curious how close all of them seem.

"Jimin's busy," Hoseok replies lightly. "And besides, she picked your tattoo. I thought you'd want to do it yourself."

That makes the dark-headed man pause, ignoring Tae's whine of abondonment when he straightens up.

Slowly, he turns around to face

you.

And when you see his face, you

stop breathing.

"Holy crap," you blurt out before you can stop yourself, then clamp your hands over your mouth.

The very insanely gorgeous guy named Jungkook raises a brow at you, looking you up and down slowly and obviously. There's an arrogant, superior glint in his eyes. Then he looks at Hoseok. "What did you just say?"

"Y/N here picked your tattoo," says the brunette cheerfully. He plays with one of his gages as he grins at Jungkook, holding out the thick sheet of paper with the sketch for his inspection.

When Jungkook's eyes fall on the sketch, his eyes go large. "Hyung," he hisses, snatching desperately for the paper. "I thought I told you to take this down!"

Hoseok allows him to take the paper back, never losing the cat-like grin spread across his face. He responds, and then Jungkook says something, and then they go off. The two tussle and banter back and forth, but you can't pay any attention to what they're saying.

You can't focus.

You can't think.

Because you know him.

This Jungkook guy, you've seen his face in a place where people don't want to be seen.

Those piercing doe eyes, and the nose below sloping elegantly down to an uneven mouth with a thin upper lip but a full lower one are unmistakably familiar, studded with the same double lip piercings, one in each side of his bottom lip. His soft-looking black hair had been brown in that fated picture that you saw on the last day you spent with your parents, and the matching cross tattoo on his cheek is also a new addition, but it's the same handsome face. He's a knockout for sure, ten out of ten, but the place that you remember seeing him drains any drop of attractiveness from your mind.

Because he was centered directly in the middle of your father's office board, surrounded by little red strings connecting him to various events that you now wish you'd paid more attention too.

Vaguely, you wonder if he's a good guy or a bad guy in this whole game of life.

If he was in your dad's office, you really can't tell.

"That's our policy, Kookie-yah," teases Hoseok lightly as you force your mind back to the conflict at hand. "Anything displayed on the walls is a choice for customers. And this was on the wall."

"But it shouldn't have been." Jungkook's melodic voice has dropped into a snarl, and he glares furiously at the older brunette. The silver-haired man, Tae, looks a little nervous to be so near Jungkook while the tattoo gun is still in his hand.

Said ebony-headed man whirls on you, crossing his ink-covered arms over the impressive expanse oh his chest.

"Sorry," he says, "But you'll have to pick something else. This is a personal design."

Gritting their teeth, Jungkook and Hoseok stare eachother down for a solid two minutes, during which you and Tae exchange an awkward glance.

"Um," you say hesitantly. "Hey."

"Hey," answers the silver-headed man in a shockingly deep, raspy voice. "I'm Taehyung. I would say it's nice to meet you, but under the circumstances..."

Both of your gazes trail back to the two men locked in the staring contest of the century.

"Likewise," you murmur.

Finally, the younger man relents under Hosoek's stare and hisses a curse under his breath. Turning to face you, Jungkook sighs and pinches the bridge between his nose.

"Look," he groans. "I understand that you didn't do anything wrong and you didn't know not to pick this one, so I'll make you a deal." He pauses, glancing with dark eyes at the other two men in the room. "As soon as my hyungs get out."

"Jungkook-" Hoseok starts, but gets cut off immediately.

"I'm giving her the tattoo, hyung, I just have a condition." Jungkook grins a little, licking at one of his lip rings. As he does, you see a flash of silver inside his mouth. Tongue piercing? "It's not any of your concern. Client confidentiality."

With a deep, soul-wrenching sigh, Hoseok places his hands on his hips and says, "Fine. Her paperwork's on the counter there. Come on, Tae Tae."

At Hoseok's beconking, Taehyung hops up and follows after, still bare-chested with his shirt clutched in his hands. Once again, you flush hot at the sight of a man's bare torso at such close range, forcing your eyes to stay away even though they long to explore the designs printed along the skin of his lean body.

The two men exit the room quickly, both throwing you a reassuring smile as the door closes behind them.

Then, you and Jungkook are alone.

"Sit down and let's talk," he says immediately into the silence, motioning for you to take a seat in the reclining chair.

You do so silently, keeping a wary eye on him as you hold your chosen tattoo close to your chest. Dissappointment floods through you at the thought of having to chose another. You don't know why, but you feel such a strong connection to this design. These flowers, intertwined so closely as if they're clinging to eachother for dear life, catch your heart.

If you're getting something stuck on your body for the rest of your life, this is what you want.

Jungkook sits in a rolling chair, which he scoots over closer to you so he can look at your face. The man takes one look at you, scrunched up on the recliner with wide eyes and holding on to his sketch like it's a life preserver and you're drowning, and he groans.

"Listen...what was it? Y/N?"

"Y/N," you confirm. You try to stop yourself from wilting under his intense gaze. Why can't you just be normal? It's not like he's going to murder you in this back room.

Jungkook braces his elbows on his knees and leans forward, using his pearly teeth to play with one of his lip rings. "Here's the deal," he says. "This design wasn't supposed to be out there, but in the end that's my mistake. So, I'll put this tattoo on you, but you have to promise me something."

Oh. Do tattoos usually come with conditions like this? "Okay," you says slowly. "What?"

Jungkook leans back in the chair and rolls one of his shoulder blades back, sighing in satisfaction when it pops.

"You have to remember," he says in a low, serious breath, "-that that tattoo will never be yours. It's mine. And you better frickin make sure that every single person who sees it knows this: this ink is property of Jeon Jungkook."

The heck?